The Naked Vine: Wine Advice for the Rest of Us.™

A Super Basic Primer on French Red Wine

2012-02-03T07:32:00.000-05:00

I had the good fortune of leading another wine tasting last week focusing on French reds. While it’s pretty impractical (and nearly impossible) to run the gamut of French wine in a single tasting, a “’round the country” on the basics is possible. I didn’t have a map of France handy at the tasting as a visual aid in this circumnavigation, so I went with a geometric example.

France looks roughly like a pentagon pointed upwards. (Work with me here.) Almost all the French red wine you’ll commonly see comes from one of five regions. To get a sense of where these regions are, if you travel clockwise around this shape with the tip of the pentagon at 12:00, Burgundy is at 3 o’clock. Almost in a straight line south from 4-5 are Beaujolais and the Rhone Valley. Continuing around, Bordeaux is at around 8 o’clock and the Loire Valley runs inward from the coast at around 10.

[In case you’re interested, Paris is straight south of high noon, Champagne is at around 1 o’clock, Alsace is at 2, and Provence and the Languedoc run along the south coast from 5-6. Armagnac clocks in at 7 and Cognac is at 9. Put all this together and you have what sounds like a perfectly reasonable drinking schedule.]

Let’s rock around the clock, shall we?

Burgundy – We’ll start with my favorite of the five. Burgundy is easy to understand. If you see a bottle of red Burgundy, there’s a 99% chance that you’re looking at a bottle of Pinot Noir. Yes, there are a couple of other types of red grapes grown in Burgundy. Much like Jerry Lewis movie marathons, you usually won’t see wines made from them outside France’s borders. Good Burgundy curls sensually around your palate. Sipping away a bottle of this light bodied deliciousness is an evening’s pleasure. In my experience, no wine changes and develops more once the bottle opens. With well-prepared food ranging from meaty fish to almost any kind of beef or pork, Burgundy is an absolute champ. When a special occasion meal rolls around, you’ll almost always find Burgundy on my table.

The only downside to this fabulous wine? It’s pricey. It is very rare to find a decent bottle of Burgundy for under $20, honestly. The one for the tasting, the Domaine Jean-Luc Dubois 2008 Chorey-Les-Beaune, checked in at around $24. As an entry to the world of good Burgundy, though, it’s worth every penny. Deliciously balanced and soft cherry, pepper, earth, and smoke in every sip. If you can’t find that particular bottle, try almost any in your price range from anywhere near the town of Beaune. (as in Chorey-Les-Beaune, above.)

Beaujolais – If Burgundy is slow, languorous, and sensual, Beaujolais is a quickie on the kitchen floor. Maybe it’s not quite as romantic, but there is joy in being straightforward, fun, and a little sloppy. Beaujolais is made from the Gamay grape, which yields light-bodied, food-friendly wines that tend to lack the delicacy of Burgundy. These wines tend to be more acidic and “fruit forward.” Beaujolais are produced in a slightly different style. Rather than picking grapes, crushing them, and fermenting the juice, winemakers put the grapes in a tank, add yeast, and allow the grapes to crush themselves as they ferment. This process is called carbonic maceration. Also, while Burgundy can age for decades, you’re not going to impress anyone by pulling out 1999 Beaujolais. These are wines to enjoy within 3-4 years of bottling. You can pair Beaujolais with just about anything short of a big steak or a rich stew, and you can guiltlessly open one and knock it back, as it’s relatively low in alcohol. You can usually find higher-end Beaujolais, called Beaujolais cru (the name of its town will be on the label) for $12-20. A good starter Beaujolais is the Louis Jadot 2010 Beaujolais-Villages, which is a small step down in quality and is usually around $10.

Rhone Valley – The wines get a little heavier as we move south into the Rhone Valley. As you learn wines, you might see a wine referred to as “masculine” or “feminine.” Preferences for human gender pressed against your lips notwithstanding, this phrase usually refers to the general style of flavor. Feminine wines are usually lighter bodied and delicate. (Burgundy is the quintessential example.) Rhone wines are more “masculine.” Masculine wines have more “in your face” flavors, be it the fruit, the tannin, the bouquet, etc. Rhone wines are almost universally blends. Some 21 different grapes end up in Rhone wines – but the majority of the ones you’ll usually find will be largely comprised of Grenache and Syrah.

Rhone wine flavors are all over the map, but there’s usually a plummy or dark berry fruit, some fairly strong earthy scents, and medium tannin. The most famous Rhone wines are from the area called Chateauneuf-de-Pape. They command fairly high prices (like the one we poured – the Cuvee Papale 2009 C-d-P at $36). I normally stick to the ones labeled “Cotes-du-Rhone,” which can be similar blends – but just aren’t from that particular locale. I use Cotes-du-Rhone as a pairing for earthy dishes, stews, and dark chocolate. You can find very decent Cotes-du-Rhone (similar wines are Cotes-du-Luberon, Cotes-du-Ventoux, and Gigondas) for $12-15.

Bordeaux – Returning to our masculine/feminine comparison – Bordeaux is the masculine yang to Burgundy’s feminine yin. Bordeaux alone produces almost as much wine each year as the entire state of California. Known as claret in Great Britain, Bordeaux is a blended wine usually comprised largely of cabernet sauvignon and merlot. (Other grapes allowed are cabernet franc, petit verdot, and malbec -- the latter two usually in very small quantities.) If you’re looking at Bordeaux in your wine store, ask whether a bottle is “left bank” or “right bank.” This refers to the side of the Garonne river on which the vines are planted. Left bank wines are predominantly cabernet sauvignon, while the right bank wines are majority merlot.

The flavor profile of Bordeaux usually centers on currants and blackberries. There’s usually a floral or “vegetal” scent in the bouquet as well as leather and earth. Bordeaux is a classic pairing with beef, pork, and lamb roasts as well as strong cheeses. Bordeaux does have a pricing issue. There’s a classification system for Bordeaux set up in 1865 that rewarded certain producers, thus cranking up the price for “” Bordeaux, such as Chateau Latour or Chateau Lafite Rothschild. However, wines grown less than a quarter mile from the vineyards producing the most expensive bottles in the world can sometimes be had for a tenth the price. The one we poured was the Chateau Briot 2009, which you can get for $10.

Loire Valley – Finally, we work our way around to the Loire, home of some of the more interesting reds in France. The Loire is best known for whites such as Muscadet and Sancerre. The Loire has one of the coolest climates for wine growing in France. In many vintages, the grapes don’t ripen fully. To combat this, winemakers in Loire can add sugar to their fermenters (a practice called chapitalization, which is illegal in most of the rest of the country) to “make up” for some of the unripeness. Loire reds are exclusively cabernet franc. You may have to hunt for them a bit, as they’re relatively uncommon. If you see “Chinon” on a bottle, that’s a Loire red. These reds tend to be medium bodied and almost always have an undertone of minerals – described as a “graphite” flavor. Raspberry is the fruit flavor most commonly associated here.

Loire reds also often have what wine critics refer to as “brett.” Brett is short for Brettanomyces, a strain of yeast that, unchecked, will give a wine a horrid odor. A little bit, however, adds a scent of smoke (or sometimes bacon) to the bouquet. The one we poured – the Catherine & Pierre Breton 2009 “Trinch!” (French for the sound of two wine glasses clinking) certainly had a bacony nose, and the flavor was quite nice. ($19) Loire reds are polarizing. People usually either really like them or can’t stand them. I’m in the former category, thankfully.

Jeff's Wine & Dinner of the Month Club: The Last Hurrah!

2012-01-31T22:54:00.000-05:00

Editor's Note: It is with a heavy heart that I present the last entry of Jeff's Wine & Dinner of the Month Club. What started as a birthday present for his lovely wife, Christine the Pie Queen, turned into a two-year labor of love for the Vine. Many thanks from the bottom of my Vinous heart for his well-written, love-driven, good-eatin' entries.

Jeff, if you didn't live across the alley, I'd sure miss you...

****************

This is the final entry for the Wine and Dinner of the Month Club. I started this as a present for my wife – a paired wine dinner cooked by me each month. It’s been very well received and I plan on continuing to prepare the meals each month for Christine, but I won’t be blogging about them. Thanks to all my readers and enjoy this month’s entry. With the exception of the Coq Au Vin, for which I provide a link, the recipes come from The America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook, Third Edition © 2010 by The Editors at America’s Test Kitchen. January is also Christine’s birthday month, so I added an extra dessert wine as a special treat.

Menu
French Onion Soup

Slow Cooker Coq Au Vin

German Chocolate Cake

Wine

2008 Gerard Raphet Burgundy

2008 d’Arenberg The Nobel Wrinkled Riesling

I woke up early on the day I was preparing the dinner and started the Coq Au Vin. This entailed browning the chicken and layering it over the chopped vegetables in the slow cooker. I set the cooker on low and went about my day. Don’t be surprised if the recipe seems oversized. The chicken and vegetables cook down considerably and while I thought we were going to be eating leftovers for days, we actually had just enough for the two of us with a little for one serving left over.

Later in the day I started the French onion soup. I cut the recipe to one quarter what was called for and it came out to be the perfect amount for two. I simply cut up the onions and sautéed them in a sauce pan. The recipe calls for using a Dutch oven, but we don’t have one so I improvised with the saucepan and it worked just fine. Once the onions are dark and sticky (about 30 minutes) you add beef and chicken stock and some other ingredients and let it simmer. In the meantime I baked a baguette and cut it into some slices to top the soup. When the soup was ready, I dished it into our new soup bowls (given to us by Christine’s parents for Christmas) and floated the bread slices on top. These I topped with some shredded Gouda cheese and put into the oven until the cheese melted. The recipe called for Swiss cheese, but we had Gouda in the refrigerator so, again, I improvised. The soup was hearty with a smoky flavor and was excellent with the Burgundy.

After the soup course, I dished up the Coq Au Vin. This dish can be served over rice or couscous, but I didn’t think it needed anything added to it, particularly since we had already had the soup course. However, I did serve it with the rest of the baguette. After being in the slow cooker all day, the chicken literally fell apart, so it made sense to eat it more like a stew (thank goodness Christine’s parents gave us four soup bowls for Christmas). Like the soup, the Coq Au Vin was hearty with deep rich flavors that went very well with the Burgundy. Even novices like Christine and me can appreciate wine pairings. A light white wine would have been swallowed up by the rich flavors of either the soup or the Coq Au Vin.

Finally, we had dessert. Christine’s favorite cake is German chocolate, and it’s become a tradition for me to make it every year for her birthday in January. I paired with the d’Arenberg Noble Wrinkled Riesling. The wine was a very sweet dessert wine but not cloying. The cake, while being sweet, is made with semi-sweet chocolate so it is not overly sweet. I actually think this helped it pair well with the wine. If the cake had been too sweet, I think it would have been a little overwhelming given the sweetness of the wine.

And now, a word from Christine the Pie Queen:

I have thoroughly enjoyed my two years of wine-paired meals that have been amazing (ribs!), fun (WV debauchery and KY neighbor brunch!), at times strange (jell-o!), fattening (four cheese lasagna!) and just plain wonderful, cooked and served with love by my hubby. Thank you Jeff!

How does one motivate their partner to start cooking? What is my secret, sly recipe? Well, I did it with a little help from a friend of mine at The Naked Vine. Mike had been the inspiration for Jeff to start brewing beer and making hard apple cider (both of which he does extremely well) and so, I said to Mike, “Now, how can we get Jeff more interested on the food side?” I do the majority of the cooking around the house and just wanted to share that “joy” with Jeff. Along comes my birthday and Jeff decides to buy me 12 bottles of wine for the next year. He goes to Mike for wine suggestions and *BOOM* Mike sees his opportunity and suggests pairing each of those wines with a home-cooked meal…the rest now documented in pixels. Quite a success story! Thank you Mike!

And thank you, Jeff and Christine! Cheers!

Naked Vine Live -- French Reds

2012-01-23T09:49:00.000-05:00

Hello all! Looking for something to do this week? Truck on down to the Party Source on Wednesday evening. My pal Danny Gold and I will be pouring French reds from the major vinicultural regions. The show gets going at 6:30 on Wednesday the 25th. Tickets ($20 -- and you get a $5 gift card) are available by clicking here.

Come on down. Learn some basics. Drink up.

Hope to see you there!

New Year’s, New Zealand

2012-01-10T08:48:00.000-05:00

Welcome to 2012, everyone! May it be an excellent year for us all. This year’s started off with a bang here, thanks to the welcome return of the Naked Vine New Year’s Feast & Festival of Sloth.

For the last couple of years, the Sweet Partner in Crime and I haven’t been able to prepare our usual table. For the uninitiated, we usually pick a theme or region of the world, get a bunch of wine, hunker down, and cook a raft of recipes to pair with them. This year, we decided to do New Zealand. Why?

Well, aside from the whole notion of discovering new cuisine, I’d picked up a couple of relatively high-end New Zealand pinots in my wine-shopping “travels” a year or so ago, and I wanted a good excuse to do a side by side tasting. So, armed with this notion, we took to the reference sources to find foods and to the wine stores to collect other wines. Here they are:

We quickly discovered that New Zealand hasn’t historically been a big contributor to international cuisine. New Zealand is historically known for the “boil-up,” a Maori dish of boiled pork, squash, and whatever else is lying around. Since we both prefer low country style if we’re just going to boil meats and such, we needed to be a little more creative. Thankfully, the invasion of hobbits also brought along some very interesting Asian & Australian fusion cuisine, so we decided to approach it from that angle. (Maybe not completely authentic, but hey…it’ll be tasty…)

New Zealand, of course, is known for sauvignon blanc. They make unique versions. Many of the commonly found ones are from the Marlborough region, although there are more and more available domestically from Hawkes Bay and Wellington. (Together, these latter two are called “East Coast” wines – and they are the “first grapes to see the sun each day” because of their geographic location.)

Another difference this year…the advancing of years first gave us the idea to do our little culinary adventures in the first place and do an all-day feast. The still-advancing years (and our wildly successful “Channiversary” celebration) had us stretch New Year’s Eve into a full weekend’s better-paced gluttony. So, away we go…

Friday – New Year’s Eve Eve

Our first course was a “New Zealand Fish & Chips.” Baked sweet potato fries alongside some mussels, steamed in a red vermouth and garlic sauce. (No real recipes for these. The sweet potatoes were cut into strips, coated with olive oil and tossed with salt, pepper, and garam masala. The mussels were – well – steamed up with the aforementioned sauce.) Next to this little bit of yumminess, we put Cloudy Bay 2011 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. ($20) The Cloudy Bay was a very pleasant, mineral-laden sauvignon blanc with a strong lime-citrus flavor. Just before I served the mussels, I added some parsley to the sauce, and that worked nicely, playing off the traditional New Zealand-y herbal flavors in the wine. We kicked our little adventure off with a bang, to be honest.

Next up was a roasted red pepper soup with seared scallops, paired with Villa Maria 2009 Cellar Selection Marlborough Riesling. ($17) This is the first New Zealand Riesling that I can remember trying. Based on my experiences with the sauvignon blancs, I expected this to be a big, fruity Riesling. I couldn’t have been more off. This is a lean, aromatic wine that really reminded me more of an Alsatian Riesling than anything else – although it had a wee bit of sweetness there. Actually, this became a theme with the non-Sauvignon Blanc wines we tried. Most of them were lean and minerally, regardless of varietal. As for this one, I found lots of lime and lavender on the nose. “Crisp and cool” was my note.

The food pairing note I have was simply “OH MY GOD IS THIS GOOD.” This was easily the best pairing of the whole weekend and was honestly one of the best hand-in-hand food and wine pairings that I’ve had in the last year. I can’t begin to explain why. It just works. Trust me. It’s an easy recipe, too. Try it. Trust me!

Saturday – New Year’s Eve

A lazy New Year’s Eve in front of us, we spent the day relaxing on the couch, watching crappy bowl games, as is our tradition, and we started getting peckish. For Christmas, we’d been given a Hickory Farms-style sampler, and one of the cheeses was something called “Brick Cheese.” Turns out it’s a cross between cheddar and swiss, and one of the recommended pairings is Chardonnay.

I braved the crowds and brought back a bottle of Oyster Bay 2009 Marlborough Chardonnay ($11) from the store to go alongside. This was a really interesting wine. As we were discovering, this wine was full of crisp citrus and mineral flavors, but the oak gave it a little bit of butterscotch. with a little butterscotch from the oak. Again, lime was a major flavor in the mix. We decided that, had it been from anywhere else in the world, we would have thought it to be a sauvignon blanc. It reminded us of Sancerre (a French Sauvignon Blanc) a little. You know, it actually went really nicely with the Brick.

The dinner hour came near, and it was time for what I thought would be the main event, cracking open these two pinot noirs from Pyramid Valley Vineyards. These pinot noirs, called “Earth Smoke” and “Angel Flower” are from adjacent vineyards, one of which faces north – the other facing east. I was curious to see the differences. These were both from the 2008 vintage, so they may have been a little young. Still, I thought it would be tasty. We decided to pair them up with grilled beef medallions with a cauliflower-broccoli hash, but we wanted to try these wines first.

These may have been the two lightest pinot noirs I’ve ever tried. They looked almost watery, but they were fully-formed, although super-delicate wines. I think they were definitely young – probably a couple of years away from full maturity. They were…well, like nothing I’ve ever had. I started with the Angel Flower. My note says, “I have no frame of reference for his wine. Smells like wind blowing across a meadow and pond. Delicate and fascinating. A wine to be drunk rather than paired.” That said, there really wasn’t much else to this wine other than the interesting delicateness. There were some spice and some berry flavors, but nothing overly strong. The SPinC said that the smell reminded her of the “Divinity” dessert from Stuckey’s that she’d long ago sampled on the byways of the Midwest on the drive to Grandma’s house.

The Earth Smoke had, as implied by the name, a little bit of a smoky, earthy undertone – as well as some strawberry but still, the delicacy of the flavors were hard to catch. The SPinC said that these wines “don’t taste like anything in the world, and I don’t know if they’d pair with anything in the world.”

Still, we tried. We put together the meal – and, not surprisingly, even something as simple as the grilled beef overwhelmed it. We pulled a random Australian pinot noir from the rack, and it was a better match. I didn’t regret opening the wines at all to assuage my curiosity, but I’m glad I have a couple of other bottles in the cellar to stash for a couple of years.

After that, we had a fire in the backyard, then popped a bottle of bubbly as 2011 came to a close…

Sunday – New Year’s Day

We slowly recovered from our revelries and finally got the energy up to do some exercise. By this point, it was mid-afternoon, so we decided to split our last day’s meals up. We figured we’d be fine with one dish for the day. This time, we went with a Kim Crawford 2008 East Coast Pinot Grigio ($12) to go alongside a spicy ginger ground pork in lettuce wraps. Something a bit lighter, you know. Turned out to be a very nice pairing. The pinot grigio was quite tasty, full of apples and pairs, again with a backbone of that lime and mineral. Cooled down the heat of the pork nicely and just made for a nice little meal.

For that evening, we decided to just have some leftovers and relax. We figured that we’d do the last pairing the next night. Well, you know what they say, “life is what happens when you’re making other plans.”

Monday – Black Ice

I had to go to work on Monday. My office doesn’t have windows, so I didn’t realize that while I worked away that afternoon, the roads were slowly becoming covered with a bizarre black ice event. There was a 30 car pileup on the interstate, which I didn’t hear about until after I almost fell on my ass going to my car. On the way home in bumper to bumper traffic, my car overheated. (The mechanic told me later that my radiator had actually exploded -- a “baseball-sized hole” in the top of the radiator qualifies as an explosion in my book.) I was stuck for three hours in 20 degree weather on the side of I-275, waiting for a tow. Needless to say, I didn’t feel much like cooking when I got home. So, we strung things out for another day.

Tuesday – The Finish

I make a killer risotto. And one of the recipes we’d found during our research on New Zealand cuisine was a Mediterranean-inspired risotto with asparagus and mint. Now, this would have been a more appropriate meal for springtime, but hey…it’s summer in New Zealand, right? Since I had feeling in my extremities, I cooked this up for us to enjoy to close out the feast. We had this with the And Co 2009 Sauvignon Blanc – an SB from Hawkes Bay. It had a fascinating top – it was sealed with a beer cap. (Which, honestly, would be the best way to seal any wine for longevity.) We took one sip and just looked at each other for a second.

It’s unlike any other EnnZedd sauvignon blanc we’ve ever tried. It bills itself as “old world wine in the new world” and it certainly tastes more like a white Bordeaux than a Marlborough sauvignon. The nose is full of almonds and apples. It’s medium bodied, braced with more apple and pear flavors and just a hint of herb. There’s barely a trace of bitterness. Seriously, I felt like the “bitter” taste buds on the back of my tongue were taking a rest. Then came the meal. The asparagus risotto couldn’t have found a better pairing. Since asparagus makes most wine go bitter, the complete lack of bitterness allowed everything to mesh – the creamy risotto flavors and the milder fruit went hand in hand. This was a strong runner up pairingwide to the soup.

Automotive strangeness aside, I’d chalk this up as a success – and I would definitely recommend trying New Zealand whites other than their famous Sauvignon Blancs – especially if you’re a fan of minerally offerings like you’d find in Oregon or France.

Happy New Year, everyone!

The Naked Vine does Simply Naked

2012-01-09T09:23:00.000-05:00

On the heels of my review of the Dreaming Tree wines, Megan at Constellation (thanks again!) asked me if I’d like to give the “Simply Naked” line of wines a try. The connection, after all, is reasonably obvious. I said that I’d be happy to give them a run. Any excuse for more of The Naked.

Simply Naked markets itself as the “nation’s first complete line of unoaked wines.” I thought this was an interesting twist. I appreciated when California started easing back on the heavy oak on Chardonnay, but I hadn’t given much thought to what might happen if a winemaker did, say, cabernet sauvignon entirely in stainless steel.

The wines are produced with grapes sourced from vineyards across California. The wines are the brainchild of winemaker Ryan Flock, who is also the winemaker at Talus and Elkhorn Peak wineries.

These wines should be fairly easy to locate. All of them have a suggested retail of around $10. Here’s my thoughts on this lineup:

Simply Naked 2010 Unoaked Chardonnay – This is a fairly straightforward unoaked chardonnay. The nose is floral with a just little bit of citrus. On the palate, the dominant flavor I got was melon with just a tad of earthiness. The finish is slightly alkaline and has a touch of honeylike sweetness from some residual sugar. I thought it was a decent enough wine as an everyday selection, although I wouldn’t call it outstanding.

Simply Naked 2010 Unoaked Merlot – At first sniff, I was greeting with a big, plummy, “traditional fruity merlot” nose. I completely expected this to be a straight-up fruit bomb. When I got a taste of it, it turned out to be much more subtle than a lot of inexpensive California merlot. I thought it had some nice dark fruit flavors and solid, nicely balanced tannins. The finish is smoky and evenly dry. I really liked this wine, to be perfectly honest. Exceptional with chocolate, too. A keeper.

Simply Naked 2010 Unoaked Pinot Grigio – Dropping the old snoot into the class gave me a nose of lime and peaches. The body is heavier than I expected. There’s certainly a little weight – perhaps more in line with what I’d expect from a sauvignon blanc. There seems to be a bit of residual sugar, which likely adds to the weight. It still comes across as reasonably crisp with flavors of lime and apple juice. The finish is fairly light, fruity, and has an interesting hint of smoke. Interesting to me, but probably not for everyone.

Simply Naked 2010 Unoaked Cabernet Sauvignon – Like the merlot did, the nose made me brace myself for fruit-bomb land because of the big plum and blackberry scents. The body is more tame. The fruit on the palate is somewhat subdued, moving from blackberries into tannin and hanging out there for awhile. It seemed a bit imbalanced, though, so I gave it some air for awhile and came back a couple of hours later. Unfortunately, even with air, there’s much the same flavor – fruit forward, then the tannic tug at the end. Fairly simple and plonkish. Not my favorite.

A cool thing for Kinkead Ridge

2012-01-05T10:21:00.001-05:00

Our friends at Kinkead Ridge winery in Ripley, OH recently earned themselves a pretty cool distinction. Here's the release from Kinkead:

Kinkead Ridge featured in 1000 Great Everyday Wines from the World's Best Wineries

As reported by the Wine Buzz Magazine (www.thewinebuzz.com), two Kinkead Ridge wines are featured in the recently published "1000 Great Everyday Wines from the World’s Best Wineries" (DK Publishing, 337 pp.; $25). Former Wine Spectator editor Jim Gordon and his team of writers/tasters identify a range of good and affordable wines (which he equates with “the price of an entrée at a good restaurant”) from around the world with character that reflects their origin. France gets the most ink, followed by Italy, Spain, Germany, California and other wine-producing regions.

“The rest of the U.S.,” which is everywhere but the West Coast, gets a mere two pages. Ohio merits a mention of Kinkead Ridge Winery for its Cabernet Franc and Viognier-Roussanne, long lauded by an enthusiastic fan base for their high quality.

Interspersed among the recommended wines are charts on how to read labels, profiles of grape varieties, tips on doing a home tasting, and many other useful tidbits for the wine enthusiast.

I can attest to the quality of these wines. Congrats to Nancy and Ron!

#NakedVineNewYear

2011-12-31T16:48:00.003-05:00

Happy New Year, everyone!

We've stretched our New Year's celebration over a few days, so follow the feast on Twitter at #NakedVineNewYear...

Belt Tightening, Celebration & Last Minute Gifts

2011-12-20T13:42:00.000-05:00

As we prepare to bid adieu to 2011, we find ourselves in the last throes of the holiday season. The last two weeks of the year become a multicolored haze of festive dinners, office parties, and gift exchanges all wrapped up in a nice pretty bow of the holiday shopping orgy. You can’t really go wrong this time of year with the Swiss Army knife of presents – a good bottle of wine.

For most events, an inexpensive bottle (such as most of the ones we normally discuss around here) will suffice. Anyone who wends the way through this social maze knows that people are usually looking for something palatable to quaff so that making small talk becomes more bearable.

That’s not always the case, though. Sometimes you need a special bottle – something with a little more flavor and complexity for a more meaningful occasion. As we’ve discussed in this space before, the end of the year is the best time to snag major bargains for your cellar or gift bag since wine stores are trying to clear inventory to make room for “next year’s model.”

This opportunity is further amplified by the continued economic doldrums. The super high end stuff that can cost hundreds – wines like classified growth Bordeaux, Screaming Eagle cabernet from Napa, rare Barolo and the like – they’re always going to sell. There will always be collectors who can afford them. On the other end of the scale, the demand for the $15 and under bottle increases as wine drinkers are more judicious about discretionary income. The market slice getting hammered are the wines with “in-between expensive” price points – say $20-100. Ask almost any wine buyer. These wines just aren’t moving very well.

Here’s where you can score big if you look closely. There are “in-between expensive” bottles just sitting out there. If you’ve read those descriptions on shelves in wine stores, you’ll see many lines like “Drink between 2005-2011.” Odds that these wines will sell briskly after that window closes? Small. Wine stores need to clear these puppies off the shelves, so many of them get offered at enormous discounts. You can also find good values looking for wines that are from neighboring regions to super-expensive wines, especially if you’re thinking about French wines. For instance, a wine from a classified growth chateau may be hundreds of dollars a bottle, but a wine produced a few hundred yards away from similar grapes can go for a fraction of that cost.

Feel free to use these ideas as a great way to either score cool gifts or try some higher-end stuff that you might not have had the opportunity to crack on your normal travels. Take advantage of this. Go to your wine store and ask your friendly neighborhood wine guide to show you some “special occasion” wines that they have on end-of-vintage sale and see what happens.

Great example – the Sweet Partner in Crime and I got hitched a couple of years ago on Dec. 10^th. As readers of this space know, we’ve been together awhile. Prior to our actual wedding, we’d used Dec. 18^th, the date of our first date, as our anniversary. So we wouldn’t have to choose, we deemed these eight days our “Channiversary.” For our celebration this year, The SPinC went looking for three bottles – one from 2001 (the year we met), one from 2009 (the year we tied the knot), and another bottle, because things work better in threes. Here’s what she came up with:

La Croix de Rameaux 2009 Brouilly – The SPinC is a sucker for Burgundy, so that’s what she asked about first. Burgundy from 2009 would be too young to drink now, but she was pointed in the direction of Beaujolais (which is, after all, in Burgundy). 2009 is, by all accounts, one of the best years in Beaujolais in history, and the cru Beaujolais are not only exceptional – they’re ready to drink right now! (A Beaujolais cru will have the name of its city instead of “Beaujolais” or “Beaujolais-Villages” on the label.) Many Beaujolais, including cru, can be a little thin, but not this Brouilly. For a light red, this had an exceptionally friendly and layered fruit and acid balance. Lots of full cherry flavors and a smokiness that was more reminiscent of a Burgundy than a Beaujolais. It was good on its own, but it truly shined as a charcuterie wine. (Which was good, because we didn’t feel like cooking the night we opened it.) With the serrano ham (oh yes!), salami, and chorizo we’d laid out...all delicious. We found it was also especially good with goat cheese, a usually-challenging pairing. Just a lovely wine to munch with. Ordinarily $32, we got this one for about $24.

Il Bosco 2001 Cortona Syrah – Italian syrah? I think I’ve seen some of it blended into Super Tuscan wines, but I don’t remember it as a single varietal. Apparently more and more Italian winemakers are giving it a go but, until recently, these wines were much more a boutique purchase. This was the wine with the “Drink between” dates I mentioned above. Strike while the iron is still hot! Goodness, was this some tasty wine. My initial comment was “it smells more Italian than it tastes.” (Although I didn’t have much of a basis for comparison with syrah.) The nose is lovely. Plums, flowers, and smoke. Lots of earthy blackberries and cherries on the palate with a hint of that underlying Italian chalkiness. There’s also some smoke that got amplified towards the end as the tannins kicked in, leaving coffee behind. Wonderfully complex. I’d certainly be interested in trying more straight syrah from Italy. For dinner, we had salt-crusted roasted leg of lamb. Heavenly pairing. Cut straight through the lamb’s fattiness, enhancing the rich flavors. Super. A $80-ish wine that ended up at around $35.

Chateau de Bellevue 2000 Lussac-St. Emilion – I readily admit that I don’t usually get Bordeaux. It’s just not one of those Old World wines that I generally crave the way that I do Burgundy or various Italian bottles. Just the same, a nearly 12-year old bottle has an appeal, and I’ve since learned that 2000 in St. Emilion was a historically good vintage. In retrospect, that little factoid makes perfect sense. We decided to open this with an attempt at making a more-or-less true cassoulet. (Mmm…rendered duck fat!) We got to cooking and I poured the wine into a decanter. Bordeaux are notoriously slow-breathing wines. After about an hour and a half, we decided to try a glass. Oy! Tannin bomb, coming in! This wine gave both of us lockjaw. We couldn’t speak. Heavy charcoal and graphite. We decided that it needed a little more time to open, and we had an hour or so before the cassoulet came out of the oven. In the interim, I swirled the hell out of what was left in my glass for awhile, and hooboy -- was I ever rewarded. The wine started to open beautifully. The nose exploded into herbs and chocolate covered cherries. The charcoal and graphite powered flavor mellowed into a much more pleasant balance of cherry and smoke. The finish went on and on and on. The wine continued to change over the course of the evening, yielding more and more complex flavors. This was the big deal about Bordeaux.

With food? Ye gods. While waiting for the cassoulet to finish, we tried it with some “drunken” goat cheese. Absolutely outstanding. A true “eyes rolling back in your head” combination…at least until we finally got to the cassoulet. Heaven. There really aren’t words for how good this pairing was. We did a version of cassoulet with ham instead of sausage and smoked duck. The smokiness of the wine complemented the rich duck perfectly, while the tannins tamed the salt from the ham while cutting through the fat. We lingered over this meal and the last drops of wine in the decanter for a long, long time, savoring. Perfect pairings come along rarely – those French know what they’re doing with wine and casseroles, to be sure. Many 2000’s from St. Emilion currently run well over $100. This wine from the surrounding region? $30.

So go forth, find bargains, and enjoy your holidays! We’ll see you in 2012!

Vine Quickie -- The Bookmaker

2011-12-17T17:47:00.001-05:00

Thanks to the good folks at Balzac, I had the chance to try the Parlay “Bookmaker” 2009 Red Wine. Parlay is the “blended wine label” for Ramian Estates winery. Ramian is the fairly recent creation of Brian Graham, a Bordeaux and Burgundy-schooled winemaker who now calls Napa home.

Many California red blends are put together to maximize something –tannin, a certain fruit flavor, et al. Graham says that his French experience taught him the importance of balance in blending, and he’s tried to use that framework for this series.

For this particular blend, he’s managed to cobble together a pretty decent balance for a big, fruity, unquestionably Napa-flavored red. It’s about 70% cabernet sauvignon with the rest an amalgamation of syrah, petit sirah, and petit verdot.

First sniff brought along strong vanilla, blackberry, and mint notes. Lots of dark fruit and pepper on the body. It’s fruity, but definitely not a fruit bomb. The tannins aren’t particularly heavy, which I thought was nice, and the peppery finish goes on a good long while. I thought it was a pretty good quaffer on its own and it’s quite nice with a chocolate-based dessert. I thought the price point was slightly high at $20, but it was certainly worth a $15-16 snag. (Graham says that this wine can be aged for 6-8 years. Since this is the brand spanking new vintage, it might be more in its wheelhouse in a couple of years.)

The Parlay label also has a Viognier-based white blend called “Payout.” Raiman makes a single-varietal “reserve” series and a higher end “J.Garret” series. Brian Graham is also the winemaker for Jack Wines, another fairly new Napa label. I haven’t had the chance to try those. Bottom line, a pretty solid wine. I’d be very interested to try it in a couple of years after the flavors have had a chance to even out a little.

Wine & Dinner of the Month Club -- December 2011

2011-12-12T14:18:00.001-05:00

This month’s wine is a nice Italian white that goes well with seafood and creamy dishes. I had to make some alterations to the recipe and the dessert wasn’t as big a hit as I thought it would be, but it all turned out well. Enjoy.

Seafood Risotto with Steamed Asparagus
Green Salad with Grape Tomatoes and Sliced Dates
Strawberries 'n Cream Minis

Wine

2008 Bisci Verdicchio Di Matelica

We didn’t have an appetizer this month so I started right on the main course. When I was searching for a pairing for this wine, I kept coming up with seafood risotto so it seemed a simple enough decision. The only problem is Christine isn’t a huge seafood fan, so I altered the recipe to only include shrimp, adding extra to replace the now missing scallops, and exchanged the clam juice with an extra cup of chicken broth. The risotto was creamy with a slight briny taste from the shrimp and a subtle yellow color from the saffron. Risotto can be a side dish, but is so rich that it also works as a nice main course. The wine was a perfect pairing with nice acidity that helped cut through the creaminess of the risotto. I steamed some asparagus as a side dish, but let the asparagus steam a little too long. It tasted okay but was a little mushy and everyone knows you don’t want to have a limp spear.

After the main course, I served a green salad using the last of the lettuce that Christine grew this year in the local community garden. I garnished that with grape tomatoes and sliced dates. Then it was time for dessert. I was looking for something simple and what could be simpler than Jello (our neighbor Marlane, a native Minnesotan, would be so proud!) Who doesn’t love Jello? But instead of just Jello, I souped it up with some white chocolate and condensed milk. I was able to make it ahead of time and just had to garnish the individual servings with strawberries before serving. Okay, it was alright, but not great. The texture was a little odd. I think Christine likened it to strawberry Play-Doh. We finished the dessert, but I don’t it will be repeated…ever.

The Dreaming Tree -- Wines from Dave Matthews

2011-12-06T21:22:00.001-05:00

Let’s go drive ‘til the morning comes,

Watch the sunrise to fill our souls up.

Drink some wine ‘til we get drunk…

-Dave Matthews, “Crush”

For the sake of full disclosure, I’ve never been an enormous fan of the Dave Matthews Band. I’ve always appreciated them, but they’re one of those bands that have always been on the periphery of my music collection. However, after a friend of mine, forwarded me a press release announcing the release of Dave Matthews’ new “Dreaming Tree” series of wines, I was curious. I sent an email to Megan at Constellation Wines and lo and behold, there were samples to be had! While I may not be a fanboy, I’ll give big ups to anyone willing to let me try his wine.

I do, actually, have a tangential connection to Dave Matthews. Several jobs and a couple of lives ago, I found myself working at the University of Richmond (VA). I lasted less than a year there – working in residence life, riding herd over drunken, horny, segregated-sex college students wasn’t exactly my bag.

from http://www.dreamingtreewines.com

However, I was in Richmond right around the time the Dave Matthews Band (from just up the road in Charlottesville) was blowing up around the country. Not long after I moved to Richmond, the DMB was playing a show in Richmond just before the release of their second album – the now-ubiquitous “Crash.” More than one of my students told me, “Dude (yes, “Dude.”) – you gotta go to The Dave Show.” That’s the only way I ever heard him referred to in Richmond – “Dave.”

A small, fragrantly smoky venue in Richmond is probably the best way to experience the Dave Matthews Band live for the first time. As my musical tastes expanded, DMB joined a few other bands I liked in my mid-20’s as bands I’d hear from time to time and go, “Hmm…not bad” and then let it pass from my attention. Except for “Crash into Me” – which I heard once as a first-dance wedding song – which is just lyrically creepy if you think about it.

In any case, Dave Matthews’ first experience with winemaking was a property he bought in Charlottesville, Virginia he wanted to farm. “I started making wine and that process kind of enlightened me,” said Matthews. “Through a few different instances I met Steve, and that brought the possibility of making wine in a place that’s designed for making wine!”

“Steve” is Steve Reeder, head winemaker at Simi winery in Healdsburg in Sonoma County, the aforementioned well-designed place for wine. “From the first time I talked to him on the phone,” said Matthews, “I got the sense that he wanted to do something with me. Not because he thought I was a great winemaker, but because he was curious. I think that’s pretty bold and also pretty generous.” Matthews went to Sonoma to discuss life and winemaking with Reeder, and The Dreaming Tree (named after a song on his “Before These Crowded Streets” album) sprouted.

“I want to work in collaboration with Dave to make wines that are approachable, still food friendly, fun wines that are available for pretty much everyone to drink,” said Reeder. “I like to make wines for people to drink, not wines to be put in the cellar.” (This is only half true. Simi makes some cabernets in the $60-$100 range that I wouldn’t classify as everyday!) Matthews and Reeder collaborate on the composition of the wine in small batches. Reeder takes care of the heavy lifting in production, since he has Simi’s ample resources at his disposal.

The Dreaming Tree produces a chardonnay, a cabernet sauvignon, and a red blend called “Crush,” all from California grapes – a much better source than Charlottesville, to be sure. The information on their website stresses environmental sustainability in production and bottling, which is a nice plus. All three retail in the neighborhood of $15. So, how are they? Have a seat crosslegged ‘round the fire and read on:

The Dreaming Tree 2010 Central Coast Chardonnay – Sourced from grapes in Monterey and Santa Barbara counties, my note after the first sniff was “lemony!” I was pleasantly surprised with the balanced fruit and oak. There’s definitely a background toastiness to it, but it’s doesn’t overwhelm the flavor, which is the tendency of many newbie California winemakers playing with chardonnay for the first time. Solid flavors of lemons and apples on the palate. The finish is quite gentle with a hint of citrus and some lingering toasted oak. I thought this was a very pleasant bottle of white that paired nicely with some broiled salmon filets topped with sautéed fennel and a light curry sauce. The oak brought out a little more of the grill smoke flavor, but it was quite pleasant on a cool night.

The Dreaming Tree 2009 “Crush” North Coast Red Blend – The Crush is a 2/1 blend of Merlot and Zinfandel. While these wines are designed to be “open and drink,” this one certainly benefitted from a little time in air. At first slug, the flavor was a little “grapey” without much structure, like a very inexpensive merlot. However, some time in the glass with a few strong swirls pulled vanilla out of the nose. Once the wine opens up a bit, it’s got a very full flavor with strong blackberry and vanilla tastes. I thought it was just a bit too dry for a “quaffing by itself” wine. As it is, it would likely be good for gnawing on a plate of barbecue ribs. Unfortunately, that’s not what we had that evening and disappointingly, it wasn’t all that tasty with evening chocolate. Another recommended pairing from the website was “Spanish orange and onion salad,” but I have a hard time envisioning that.

The Dreaming Tree 2009 North Coast Cabernet Sauvignon – Made with grapes largely from Sonoma County, this was my favorite wine of the three. The nose is full of blackberries with a little bit of vanilla. When I took a sip, my first thought was “Bacon?” There’s a smoked meat flavor that I didn’t see coming at all. After a few days, it hit me where I’d run into that scent before. Dave Matthews is a native South African, and this smelled as much like a Pinotage (the pride of the Rainbow Nation) as any Cabernet I’ve tried. That bacony smokiness mellowed out quite a bit after a few minutes to something a little more balanced, although as the finish sat, there were still hints of that savory goodness at the end. Otherwise, lots of dark blackberry and cherry tastes with a finish that doesn’t start tannically at all, but quickly dries into smoke. This wine ends up being a mouth-coater of a cabernet. Like most wines with a South African flavor, this would be right at home next to a big hunk of something grilled. They recommend rack of lamb or lentil salad, both of which I could see without too much of a problem.

Matthews claims his wine philosophy is “If it tastes good to you, then it’s good wine,” which has been one of my standard lines at the tastings I have led for years. As Reeder so aptly put it, “Great minds drink alike.”

A Chill in the Air, Some Whites for your Glass

2011-11-18T13:24:00.001-05:00

I had a couple of requests after the last column (“A Chill in the Air, some Reds for your Glass") for a companion piece on cool-weather whites. As I ease into fall, I tend to think about white wines less. I don’t usually get a craving for a big glass of pinot grigio on a day where the wind is whipping the heat from my bones, but I can’t lose sight of them altogether. Dinner parties, social events, or perhaps the occasional 80 degree day in December might call for whites, albeit slightly heavier ones. Here are a few that you might want to stash away:

Yalumba 2010 Viognier – I haven’t had a lot of luck with inexpensive Viognier lately. Viognier’s a great blustery-weather white. It’s probably got my favorite white wine aromatics, but the inexpensive ones can taste a little bit “oily” and have an alkaline aftertaste. Not pleasant in my opinion and not my usual cup of tea. Still, since it had been a while and after happening along a few offerings from South Australia, I thought I’d give the grape another whirl. I was pleasantly surprised to find this one. The Yalumba (great name, too – Aboriginal Australian for “all the land around”) has plenty of peach and floral scents on the nose, followed up by a nicely balanced peach flavor. It’s “weighty without being heavy,” if that makes sense. Viognier is a great choice with a traditional turkey meal and it also works well with spicy stuff. As a bit of a warning, this is a high-alcohol white. It clocks in at 14.5%, which is around cabernet sauvignon level. Not to worry, the alcohol is masked with a little residual sweetness. Swirl well and approach gently. $9.

Villa Maria 2008 Marlborough Riesling – Staying with the Down Under selections, we pop “next door” to New Zealand for this extremely food-friendly Riesling. I found it to be a intriguing mix of some of my favorite “traditional” Riesling styles. My best description would be “dropping a hunk of pineapple into a glass of Alsace Riesling.” Alsace Rieslings are almost always bone dry and full of mineral flavors, while the pineapple reminds me of Pacific Northwest dry Riesling. Trust me – for some reason it works. The Villa Maria has a lovely tropical-fruit-and-flowers nose. I picked up lots of minerality at first taste, blended with the aforementioned pineapple. The burst of fruit quickly yields to dryness and flint on the finish. If you enjoy “drinking rocks” as I do, you’ll love this wine. At around $13, this is a nice alternative to more expensive Alsatian offerings.

Adler Fels “Kitchen Sink” (NV) California White Table Wine – I’m honestly not sure why I picked this wine up. I was browsing the California white section for a sauvignon blanc. Since I’d used “everything but the kitchen sink” in a work context that day, the faucet on the label caught my eye. I took that as a sign. I read the back label and thought, “Huh…Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, and Gewurztraminer. That should be fun.” I thought it might have a little more oomph than a sauvignon blanc for the meal I was planning, and I wasn’t disappointed. Even though it’s comprised of over one-third California chardonnay, it’s still a fruity, acidic white. My first taste yielded lemons and tangerines. The finish is surprisingly crisp even with its nice weight. I thought it was very pleasant on both palate and pocketbook for around 10 bucks. What was the meal? Orecchiette pasta with chickpeas, greens, and grilled calamari (sounds weird, tastes nummy). Flavors from all directions made friends in this pairing. I would imagine it would stand up to cream sauces as well.

Gruet (NV) Blanc de Noirs – I would be remiss in putting together a whites column without throwing in a sparkler. One of the primary differences I find between French sparkling wines and other sparklers like cava is the “creamy” flavor that accompanies the fruit and the bubbles in the French offerings. There’s usually also a pleasant, somewhat “yeasty” aroma in the bouquet that reminds me a little of freshly baked bread. When I got a sip of this little number from New Mexico, I thought it was about as French-tasting as any inexpensive sparkling wine I’ve sampled. I found berries and cream on the tongue with good “mousse” (WineSpeak for “bubble strength and feel). The finish is toasty and pleasant. We cracked this as an aperitif for a recent dinner party for our neighbors (including Dinner Club Jeff) and it got raves. Around $12-13 and well worth it.

Wine and Dinner of the Month Club – November 2011

2011-11-18T10:34:00.001-05:00

This month’s meal was a simple affair, but no less tasty. The wine was a Sonoma Valley Cabernet Sauvignon which said on the label it was good with grilled rib eye or braised lamb shanks. We had braised lamb recently and I wasn’t really in the mood for a big rib eye, but some strip steak fit the bill. I don’t really have any recipes this month except for the dessert, but I think it’s mostly self explanatory.

Mushroom Bruschetta with Parmesan Cheese
Grilled Strip Steak with Sautéed Mushrooms, Turnip Puree and Purple Broccoflower
Green Salad with Walnuts and Steamed Beets
Apple Fritter Rings

Wine

2006 Kunde Family Estate Sonoma Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

I started out early in the day by marinating the steaks in olive oil, garlic and a little salt and pepper. When I was ready to start dinner, I baked a small baguette and sautéed some chopped mushrooms. I sliced the baked bread and brushed olive oil on both sides of each slice. I rubbed some garlic on each side as well and then topped the bread with the mushrooms and a little parmesan cheese. I put these in the oven and let them bake at 350 degrees until the cheese melted thoroughly. I had already decanted the wine and Christine and I sat down for the appetizers.

After the appetizer, I started the main course. First I started boiling the potatoes and turnips for the puree. After these were cooked, I put them in a food processer with a little butter, buttermilk, salt and pepper. You really just have to experiment to get the right consistency. Mine was a little loose, but it worked out okay. I threw the steaks on the grill since they did not need a lot of time to cook and started steaming the broccoflower. Once I brought the steaks in and the broccoflower was ready, I sautéed some more mushrooms and plated it all up. Now, you may ask yourself, what is broccoflower? Well, it’s a cross between broccoli and cauliflower. I was planning on having broccoli as the side, but when I was in the grocery store I saw the broccoflower in purple and orange and green and decided to have a little fun. I think it added a nice and unusual splash of color to the entrée.

After the main course, we had a green salad with lettuce that Christine grew in our community garden, steamed beets from the local farmers market and walnuts from our local…grocery store. Okay, so the walnuts probably weren’t that local. In America the salad is usually before the main course, but Christine likes to have it the Italian way after the entrée as a little bit of a palate cleanser, particularly with a nice vinaigrette dressing. I agree that it does make for a nice transition. Give a try sometime to mix things up.

Finally, I prepared the dessert. This recipe actually came from the December issue of Martha Stewart Everyday Food magazine. We had some Northern Spy apples from Hidden Valley Fruit Farms near Lebanon, OH that are delicious cooking apples. I first cored, peeled and sliced two apples to make little apple rings. I dredged these in a batter and dropped into 350 degree vegetable oil in a cast iron skillet. They cook really quickly with one turn half way through. After they had a chance to dry a little on some paper towels, I tossed them in a little cinnamon/sugar mixture and served them warm. The batter gives them a nice crispy texture and the cooked apples inside are like apple candy. And the best part is that they actually came out looking like the picture in the magazine (well, enough of them did for this picture).

As far as the wine, it was an excellent pairing with the bruschetta, the steaks and salad. The richness of the wine nicely balanced the earthiness of the meat, mushrooms and the root vegetables. However, as you might expect, it did not go so well with the apple rings. They were far too sweet to go with the dryness of the wine.

Wine and Dinner of the Month Club–October 2011

2011-11-07T09:10:00.001-05:00

After being chastised by my editor for tardiness last month, I made sure to get this entry written in time. I did; however, my lovely assistant had a month of intense work and travel and in her not-so-usual way, submitted the article late. She also thought she deleted the photos, but happily found them included with the Hallowheeling “Pollination” photos.

In early October Christine and I were in Washington, DC and went to dinner with her parents at Taste of Morocco in Arlington. After enjoying all the great flavors, I decided that this month’s dinner would be a Moroccan feast.

Menu

Dates Stuffed with Goat Cheese and Almonds
Date and Celery Salad
Lemon Couscous
Moroccan Bastilla (Chicken)
Moroccan Orange Cake

Wine

2007 Wild Horse Central Coast Chardonnay

Though it looks involved, the entire dinner was really pretty easy. There was some prep time involved, but once you got past that it all went quickly and a lot of it could be done ahead of time. I was home for the day so I was up early working on the meal. The first thing I did was bake the cake to get that task out of the way. Next I prepped the salad ingredients which involved slicing dates and pealing and cutting up the celery.

It was helpful that this step could be done ahead of time and the ingredients stored in the refrigerator until dinner time. Next I started on the bastilla. The ingredients for this dish can be prepared ahead of time as well and assembled later. After preparing everything and putting it in the refrigerator I even had a little extra time to go outside and work on the deck. Who says I can’t multitask?

About half hour before we planned to eat, I started cooking the bastilla, placing sheets of phyllo dough in an oven proof pan, adding the filling, and cooking it for about 15 minutes. While it was cooking I stuffed the dates with goat cheese and almonds and started cooking the couscous. You may remember the stuffed dates from an earlier dinner. At that time I stuffed the dates with parmesan cheese and walnuts. This time I switched to goat cheese and almonds for a more Mediterranean twist.

After we had the stuffed dates, I assembled the salad by mixing the celery in with coarse salt, shaving some parmesan cheese on top and sprinkling it with balsamic vinegar.

I served the warm bastilla with the couscous on the side. The bastilla was filled with an egg and chicken mixture surrounded by an almond, cinnamon and sugar mix. Additional sugar and cinnamon is sprinkled on top creating a delicious combination of savory and sweet. I have to admit, when I researched bastilla, chardonnay did not come up as the best pairing, but we thought it actually went very well. The chardonnay was crisp with a bright acidity that complimented every course.

We ended the night with a slice of orange cake before heading off to our local theater company to see Debbie Does Dallas the Musical. But that’s another story.

A Chill in the Air, Some Reds for your Glass

2011-10-27T19:19:00.001-04:00

Can you feel the cool on the underside of the breeze? It’s a’comin, folks. Real fall weather. Red wine season. I personally go through a lot more white wine in the spring and summer, but when the leaves start to change – I load up on the rouge.
Recently, my wine-pal Danny and I led a wine tasting. Since autumn is descending, and many stores are already hanging their seasonal decorations, we thought we’d get a jump on the holiday season and do a full spread of red. We wanted to provide a few suggestions for the upcoming dinner party (and party in general) season. Whether you’re stocking the cellar or stuffing the stockings, snagging a case of most of the wines we poured wouldn’t set you back too far. All of them fall squarely into the “flexible food wine” or “slurpable party wine” categories. (Well, there was one deliciously notable exception…)
Have at ‘em:
Vina Borgia 2008 Garnacha – I’ve long been a big fan of this wine. It’s one of my go-to inexpensive bottles. It’s 100% Garnacha (or Grenache, if you prefer) from the Aragon region of Spain. You won’t find anything overly complicated here. You’ll pay six or seven dollars for a bottle and be rewarded with a nice nose of blackberries and spice, a body that’s medium weight with a good balance of dark fruit and pepper, and a nice firm finish. For the price, it’s one of the best balanced reds out there. It’s perfectly drinkable on its own or a good accompaniment with flavors from chicken to grilled meat. I think it’s great wine choice for a holiday table when you’re buying in bulk. The Vina Borgia is also available in a 1.5 liter bottle for around $12 or a 3 liter box for $18. Can’t beat it.
Vinterra 2010 Pinot Noir – One of the things I love about pinot noir is that the grape has a real sense of “place.” If you pour a California pinot, you’ll usually get bigger fruit flavors and higher levels of alcohol. Burgundies will be lighter and earthier tasting. New Zealand pinots, like this Vinterra, tend to be light, delicate critters. It’s a very pretty smelling wine – flowers, cherries, and strawberries are prominent. The body is extremely light for a pinot. By way of comparison, I’d put it at the same weight as a Beaujolais. This is another wine with very nice balance, giving you flavors of strawberry and cherry cola. The finish is gentle, drifting away on a mist of cherries. Like most pinot noirs, this wine basically goes with any food, and it’s a great wine to pull out if you have someone around who “doesn’t like red wine.” It’s almost impossible to find pinot noir this good at $15, but here you have it.
Ocaso 2008 Malbec – I wouldn’t want to write a column that extended through football season and the requisite manly grilling without throwing a masculine malbec in there. As I always say about malbec, anything you can drag across fire –veggie burgers to grilled mushrooms to a big ol’ ribeye – will snuggle right up to a tasty malbec. Argentinean wines remain some of the best values out there. As Danny said, “Take most wine from Argentina and double the price. That’s what you’ll pay for a comparable red from France or California.” Blackberries and coffee were my first thought when I got a slug of this one. It’s tannic, but not overly so, and it’s nice and muscular if you’re in the mood for something along those lines. I’ve read that it actually goes well with vegetables, too – but that wouldn’t be my first choice. You can find this for around $10-12. Ocaso also makes a malbec rosé that I poured next to the aforementioned Vinterra. The rosé ($8) is actually heavier, believe it or not.
Elvio Cogno 2007 Dolcetto D’Alba – If you’re looking to step outside the Chianti world for a relatively light Italian red, Dolcetto is a very nice alternative. Dolcetto translates as “little sweet one,” although this is hardly a sweet wine.. I thought this was a wine that was basically built to be passed around a dinner table – like most good Italian wines are. It’s got a fair amount of acidity, which allows the flavor to cut through almost anything with a red sauce, be it pasta, chicken parmesan, or brasciole. I recently poured this next to a roasted eggplant-and-red-pepper soup and it was simply divine. If you don’t like the “chalky” flavor that Chianti sometimes have, but you like the acidity and the full fruit flavors, this is a great choice. It’s around $15 and worth every penny if you’re cobbling together a little feast for friends.
Chateau de Bel 2009 Bordeaux – Bordeaux is one of the more vintage-dependent wines out there. Bordeaux from an “off year” can be overpriced and uninteresting. The 2009 vintage, however, apparently has the potential to be one of the great vintages in Bordeaux (and in much of the rest of France, as well). The quality even trickles down to the more inexpensive bottles, like this one from Chateau de Bel. This 90/10 merlot/cabernet blend is an impressive bottle, especially for $15. Intense fruits and a nice dose of the “old world funk” that I like so much in Bordeaux. A little tannic, a little oaky – it’s just a very solid all-around wine. For the Francophiles out there, consider squirreling away a few bottles of for five years or so. I’m very interested to see how this one develops over time. Or just lay out some rich cheeses, grilled pork chops, or some good stew. You’ll thank me later.
Domaine La Roquete 2007 Chateauneuf-de-Pape – Danny couldn’t resist being a showoff. He pulled this little gem to put the rest of our selections to shame. He said that if he were forced to only drink one kind of wine for the rest of his life, he’d choose Chateauneuf-de-Pape – which is a predominantly Grenache/Syrah blend from the town of the same name in the Rhone valley. This is one damned delicious wine. You may have heard wines described as “elegant.” This one falls squarely into that category. It’s a deeply layered wine. As you take successive sips, you’ll find different flavors emerging: currants, cherry, nutmeg, blackberry, and a backbone of nice earthiness. Chateauneuf-de-Pape is an expensive wine. You’ll often see this wine start at around $50-60 and go up from there. This one was under $40, and for my money – if you want to impress – this is a nice selection to have in your arsenal. Or have this one the day after your dinner party as you’re relaxing the next evening. Be selfish. You deserve it.

Massandra 1931 Ai-Danil Tokay...and Happy Birthday, Dad!

2011-10-19T09:09:00.000-04:00

I could devote many column inches on the enormous impact my father has had on the fabric of so many people’s lives over the years (Google “John Rosenberg AppalRed” or “John Rosenberg civil rights lawyer” for a taste), but that’s for another venue. What’s the wine connection?

What do you get the man who doesn’t need anything? He’s happy, healthy, and still doing the work he loves. A milestone like an 80^th birthday deserves an appropriately celebratory gift. After some pondering and a little poking around online, I was able to locate (via Sotheby’s Wine – a New York offshoot of the London auction house) something appropriate. Ladies & Gentlemen, let me introduce:

Massandra 1931 Ai-Danil Tokay

The wineries in Massandra were built during the reign of Czar Nicholas II. During the process, wine caves containing thousands of bottles were constructed beneath the city. This “personal wine cellar” of the Czar contained tens of thousands of bottles. These caves survived the Russian Revolution, both World Wars, the fall of Communism, and Yakov Smirnoff. In 1990, about 13,000 of these bottles – never before available in the West – were put to auction. (Read more about the auction here: http://goo.gl/B86Uc) A couple of decades later, FedEx brought one of those bottles to me.

The bottle itself was quite a sight. Standard sized wine bottle, green glass, no label. The Sotheby’s wrapper had the identifying information. The wrapper was necessary for cleanliness purposes, as the bottle was still caked somewhat with the Crimean cave dirt in which it had rested for about sixty years. Wax seal, still mostly intact, over the cork.

Tokay (or Tokaji), in case you’re wondering, is a dessert wine originating in the Tokaji region of Hungary (the wine is mentioned in the Hungarian national anthem). During the days of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ukraine was part of the Tokaji region, so those wines maintained the moniker. The wine is made from grapes affected by “noble rot,” like French Sauternes. The result is a golden-colored, fragrant, sweet wine with enormous aging potential. As the wine ages, the color changes like a sunset – from gold to increasingly deep red. The complexity of flavors follows.

I consulted with a couple of sommelier friends of mine to get some pointers on handling such an old bottle. The short version of said advice: “Keep the bottle as still as you can so you don’t disturb the sediment, and be careful decanting it.” Later in the evening, my brother-in-law said that he thought there was either something alive or explosive in the box, since I was handling it so gingerly.

The potent fear when opening wine this old is that it might not be wine anymore. It doesn’t take much going wrong over the course of 80 years to complete a wine’s journey to Vinegar-land. After Dad had a chance to see the bottle, the moment of truth was at hand. I slowly started extracting the cork. I immediately saw that there was only about a quarter inch of dry cork left. I’ve seen two-year old bottles with similar looking corks be utterly shot. Butterflies were cutting complex maneuvers in my gut. The cork came free.

My nose met a blast of honey, fruit, and flowers. Intact! The relief and excitement evoked a long-ago summer camp memory of a brown-haired girl’s smile as she whispered, “You can kiss me if you want.”

Grinning and trembling a bit, I decanted the Tokay. All things considered, I did a pretty good job. I was able to keep almost all of the sediment in the bottle. The wine had continued its darkening over the years and was now a deep reddish-chestnut. I poured small amounts for everyone and we toasted my father.

How’d it taste? Unbelievably good. One of the most “layered” wines that I’ve ever tried -- rich, full, and sweet without being cloying. Each sniff and sip yielded something a little different. The notes I managed to scribble (which really don’t do it justice): “Nose: honey, prunes, sunshine, violets. Body: raisins, caramel, honey, peach, pear. Back: spice, honey, little lemon zest. LAYERS. 3 minutes of finish. Stupendous, worthy, rich. Wine for a king’s table.” (Or, as I learned above, a czar’s.)

Since very little of the wine had evaporated over the years, we had enough to actually brave a food pairing. The suggested pairing with Tokay is pears and blue cheese. Lovely. The pears amplified the fruit in the wine. The creamy funk of the Roquefort shook hands and gave the honey a warm hug. Stunningly tasty.

We continued with the birthday celebration, and I managed to slyly move the decanter from the table so that the Sweet Partner in Crime and I could have a nightcap. Not surprisingly, the soul of the wine, preserved so long, left quickly. The wine was still

drinkable a couple of hours later, showing some of the same flavors, but the bouquet and layers of wonder and complexity had flattened. No matter. This wine lived 80 years and shone brightly for we who were lucky enough to be around when it was opened…like my Dad.

Technorati Tags: Tokay,Tokaji,Hungary,Crimea,wine,wine pairing,Nicholas II

Wine & Dinner of the Month Club – September 2011

2011-10-12T22:35:00.001-04:00

[Ed. Note -- Jeff was a wee bit late this month, but we won’t hold it against him...]

For September, I took a different course in preparing the meal. I used the slow cooker. I always forget about the slow cooker, and when I use it I wonder why. It’s a simple matter to put the ingredients into the pot in the morning and when you are ready for dinner everything is cooked to tasty perfection. I highly recommend you give it a try.

Cheese Plate Appetizer
Braised Lamb Shoulder with Luscious Legumes
Pop-Tarts (The Homemade Kind)

Wine

2006 Marques de Caceres Rioja

For some reason, we had a lot going on in September so I was looking for a meal that could be prepared with a minimum of fuss. A slow cooker recipe was a natural fit. Generally Rioja goes well with roasted meats such as lamb or duck so I opted for a lamb dish. The recipe originally called for lamb shank, but when I went to the grocery store they were out of the shank so I opted to use some shoulder cuts. It worked out to be a perfect substitution. I figured the beans, mixed with some spices, onion, carrot and celery would make for a good savory accompaniment.

One thing to remember about dry beans, which I prefer to the canned variety, is that you will probably have to soak them overnight. If you remember that tip, it will save you from scaring your wife to death when you jump out of bed at night shouting, “I forgot to soak my beans!!!” With the beans appropriately soaked, the next morning was a breeze. I coated the lamb shoulders with a mixture of flour, salt and pepper and browned them lightly on all sides. They went into the cooker on top of the beans with a sprig of rosemary tucked underneath. I then cooked the vegetable mixture which included onions, carrots, celery, garlic, the zest and juice of an orange, some beef broth and a little red wine. After this mélange softened I poured it over the lamb and beans and set the cooker on low. Here’s a little tip I like for celery or some other vegetables: if you need just a little bit and don’t want to buy, for example, a whole stalk of celery, pick up just what you need at the salad bar if your grocery store has one. [Ed. Note -- For this tip alone, we forgive his tardiness...]

While the lamb was cooking I rolled out the dough for the pop-tarts, which I had prepared the night before and stored in the refrigerator. The tarts are simple to assemble by cutting out rectangles of dough and putting strawberry jam inside. Once assembled the pop-tarts went into the freezer until ready to bake.

At dinner time I put out a cheese plate of crackers and a couple cheeses, including a delicious goat’s milk Gouda.

After the appetizer, I dished out the lamb and beans and served them with the wine and some crusty bread. The lamb was fall off the bone tender and the juices from the lamb and the vegetable mixture had combined with the beans to create a deliciously savory and hearty meal that paired well with the fruity dryness of the Rioja.

While we ate dinner, I had the pop-tarts baking. After taking them out of the oven and letting them cool, I sprinkled them with confectioner’s sugar and served with fresh strawberries. My only problem was that I forgot to cut slits in the pastries to let out steam and the filling overflowed out of the crust. They were still tasty and I heard no complaints.

This was a delicious meal and very easy. I can certainly see doing more slow cooker recipes, particularly during the cold winter months ahead.

Naked Vine Live!

2011-10-10T10:54:00.000-04:00

Howdy folks! Wanted to give you a heads up -- Danny Gold of the Party Source and I will be leading a wine tasting this Wednesday, October 12, at 6:30 pm. We're going to line up a bunch of quality, affordable reds to give you an early jump on the holiday season.

Click here for more info!

Cerruti Cellars/Tudal Family

2011-10-02T16:45:00.000-04:00

Thanks again to our Friends of the Vine at Balzac for passing along this pair of bottles from Tudal Family Winery in St. Helena in Napa. They’ve recently started Cerruti Cellars for their “second label wines” in, of all places, Oakland (across from the very cool-sounding. soon-to-be-opened Jack London Market). Cerruti makes a couple of red blends, a zinfandel, a rosé, and a sauvignon blanc. Tiffany sent along the first and last of that list.

The first one I had a chance at was the Cerruti Cellars 2010 Napa Valley “Honker Blanc” Sauvignon Blanc. This white’s moniker comes from a flock of Canada Geese that use their vineyard as a stopping point on their annual migration. Their way station is apparently just behind the Tudal crush pad. (I sincerely hope that they clean the crush pad not long after the geese move along…) The bottle is adorned with a picture of these geese and a “subliminal message.”

The Honker is quite a full bodied sauvignon blanc, bordering on overly thick. The nose is pretty – floral with a little bit of citrus and spice. The flavors I found were largely green apple and lime with a wee undertone of residual sugar. It passes into the distance slowly with lime and honey flavors that turn slightly bitter at the end. If you’re a fan of slightly heavier sauvignons, this a decent choice at $15.

The other bottle was the Cerruti Cellars 2009 “Tractor Shed Red” Red Blend. The Tudal Family winery uses a ’47 Massey Harris tractor as one of its prominent symbols, and this piece of equipment is predictably emblazoned on this red. It’s an interesting blend of Sangiovese, Zinfandel, and Merlot. (Again, glad to see more California winemakers doing Sangiovese!) At first sniff, the zinfandel through strongly with nicely balanced plum and wood flavors. It’s lighter bodied than I expected, and I could really taste the Sangiovese. There’s even a nice hint of the Italian “chalk” mouthfeel that makes it such a nice pairing with red sauces. There’s also a Chianti-ish cherry base for the flavor, along with plums from the merlot and pepper from the zin. The finish is dry with more of that chalkiness and a little lingering fruit. If you’re a fan of Italian wines, I’d certainly give this one a run alongside any meal with which you might pour a decent Chianti or Barbera. (I put it next to pasta in a sausage & mushroom marinara. When I looked up the price, I was taken a bit aback. For your red sauce pleasures, this is a steal at $11.

BuzzNet Tags: California,Wine,wine reviews

The Alphabet Soup Project – I is for “Inspiration”

2011-09-22T08:15:00.000-04:00

Hope folks didn’t mind bit of a pause while the Sweet Partner in Crime and I were vacationing (well, I was – she had to work for a few days...) in Amsterdam. If you’d like to take a gander at our pictures...

Like my travels, one of my great wine tasting joys is discovery. That’s the kind of experience that made me start writing this crazy thing to begin with. This bolt from the blue can take lots of different forms. I might be impressed by someone’s advice on a wine; I could find a random pairing that works; or I could run into into something unexpected. Let me share a few of those fun times with you…

My newly-certified sommelier buddy James V. turned me on to the Domaine Sautereau Sancerre. This is a French sauvignon blanc from the eastern part of the Loire. He gave it two thumbs up and I trust his palate, so I gave it a run. This is simply a pretty smelling wine. "Flowering cantaloupe" was my first thought. Yes, I know – that’s an odd description, but I like it better than "floral with melon undertones." The flavor was intriguing. Like most Sancerre, this is a light bodied, acidic, minerally wine. This one, however, had a wonderfully balanced creaminess that I had never tasted before in one of these wines. Made me light right up.

When James first tried this wine, he had the good fortune to visit the property. He told me that they served it with chevre (goat cheese) and hard salami on crackers, so I tried to duplicate the experience. I was initially a bit skeptical. With the cheese alone, the wine developed an odd flavor, but adding the crackers and meat -- unearthly good as a pairing. I experimented by replacing the water crackers with a rosemary-flavored Triscuit -- and it turned into one of the best "appetizer pairings” I’ve had. The wine is into the 2010 vintage now. It’s $22 from Bond Street Wines (http://www.bondstreetwines.com), and I highly recommend it.

Another day, the Sweet Partner in Crime and I cooked up a pot of turkey chili, which was an interesting concoction. I ran out of cumin, one of my base spices, so I substituted garam masala, an Indian spice blend, and a little bit of coffee. (Rule of good chili: Just keep throwing things in until it tastes right.)

With this amalgamation. we were at a loss for a wine. After reviewing our on-hand options, I rolled the dice and cracked the Bodegas Salentein Killka Collection 2008 Malbec – a $12 Argentinean number I’d picked up on a whim. I love it when a plan comes together. The Killka turned out to be a fruity, fairly complex wine that went down nicely on its own. It had plenty of blackberry and vanilla to start, and its flavor stays quite smooth throughout. There’s that yummy smoky quality a good malbec has, but it lingers in the background and stays subtle on the finish – a finish with a good, firm fruity flavor and enough tannin to be interesting.

Alongside the chili, the malbec’s tannins worked nicely with the spices, revealing some very interesting complementary flavors. The Indian spices deepened and the chili powder had a “fuller” flavor. Also, since tannin is an acid and capsaicin (the molecule that makes chili hot) is a base, the malbec tamed the fire a bit. I don’t know if I could duplicate it, but we sure liked it.

Trips to the wine store occasionally shoot a bolt of inspiration. K2, one of my wine pals, recommended the Highflyer 2009 Grenache Blanc, saying it was his “favorite white wine of the moment.” The Highflyer is a Napa Valley creation. I don’t think I’d ever tried a white Grenache that didn’t come from the Rhone or Spain, so I was, on one hand, really looking forward to the experience . That said, I was also somewhat wary of a white wine from Napa, since I’m not usually a big fan. I had the heavy oak and heavy butter of Napa chardonnay in my head, but I was trusting. I poured and swirled. Bottom line? It’s a tasty, tasty bottle. My first reaction was, “This is California chardonnay, dialed way back.” Sure, there’s oak and butter, but that’s nicely balanced with some prominent pear and berry flavors. The body is medium with am evenness of oak and pear. The finish is oaky and softly lasting. Very enjoyable. It also turned out to be a killer choice with some spice rubbed, grilled chicken breasts and a green bean salad. The Highflyer will run you around $20, but it’s worth it.

Every once in awhile, I even get a little twinkle of inspiration from something utterly mundane. It’s not always tasting central around Vine HQ. Sometimes, one of us just needs a glass of wine to throw down without thinking. We usually have a box of white wine lingering in the fridge for just such a purpose. I’d snagged Big House Wines “The Birdman” Pinot Grigio at around $18 for 3 liters. I was aware of Big House red & white, but I hadn’t tried one of their “single varietals” before. In past experiences, box pinot grigio is normally one step above flavored water. The Birdman was a very pleasant find. (Somewhere, Chris Anderson is smiling…) Light and pleasant with actual structure in its pear and lime flavors, it’s a simple, easy quaffer that’s certainly not the flabby, watery mess you might expect. For a box wine, that’s pretty much all you can ask for.

Technorati Tags: wine tasting,wine reviews,wine

National Tempranillo Day

2011-08-31T23:04:00.001-04:00

The joys of social media continue. I learned that tomorrow, September 1, is National Tempranillo Day from my new friends at TAPAS – The Tempranillo Advocates, Producers, and Amigos Society. They invite everyone to open a bottle of Tempranillo on that date, drink up, and share the experience on Facebook and on Twitter at #TempranilloDay. They were also kind enough to send along some samples of Tempranillo grown in the good ol’ USA for me to try.

I’d not heard much about North American tempranillo. It’s a grape indigenous to Spain. It’s the main grape used in Rioja and Ribera del Duero wines. There’s also plenty of relatively inexpensive Spanish tempranillo out there. I’ve always found it to be an incredibly flexible food wine. It’s a good summer red option as it’s usually not overly heavy. It’s one of my favorite alterna-reds.

I’d long wondered why this grape isn’t grown in many US wine regions, especially some of the warmer, drier regions of California. It’s a grape that thrives on big temperature swings and dry weather. (I’d enjoy seeing what tempranillo would do in Temecula, outside of San Diego, for instance.) A growing number of winemakers have decided to take a swing at it and I was interested to try this new bounty.

I wanted to spread the wealth, as well. Our friends Milwaukee Mike and @gourmetgroup were hosting a “wine club” gathering at their place. This was our first ever visit to this gathering. The samples showed up just before the scheduled date, so I offered to bring the wine for the group to sample. I didn’t have to twist arms too far. (Also, we discovered were were the lone childless couple, so the Sweet Partner in Crime and I concluded that the club made an excellent excuse to go somewhere after dinner and extend the evening if a sitter was already lined up…)

While high-end Rioja and Ribera del Duero can run into the triple digits, much Spanish tempranillo you’ll find in your local wine store will probably be under $15. Since there’s not a huge amount of tempranillo grown in the US, the prices tend to be a little bit higher. The retail on these samples were between $15-30. I cracked the wines and let the assembled folks have at it. A few decided to play along and help me with tasting notes. Milwaukee Mike, who spent much of the evening wrapped around a bottle or other of Rivertown Brewery Hop Bomber Ale (a Cincinnati concoction which my beer drinking readers need to check out!), gave this helpful note: “They all taste like red wine.”

We had six tempranillos to try – five from California and one from Washington. @gourmetgroup laid out some delicious tapas (the manchego/prosciutto fritters were divine!) and we set to it:

Duarte Georgetown 2007 “Georgetown Divide” Tempranillo – When all was said and done, this wine from Modesto, CA was the big winner of the evening. This wine had little other than positive comments all evening, especially once it had opened up a bit. “Not too fruity,” said the Sweet Partner in Crime, “with some nice mineral on it. Tastes like a European wine, which I like.” @gourmetgroup enjoyed the balance – as did I. My tasting sheet has “Balance!” double underlined. Big cherry notes and a long finish on this. It was the most expensive of the group, retailing at $29.

Pomum 2008 “Tinto” Tempranillo – from Yakima Valley in Washington comes this one, also a crowd favorite. It’s made mostly from tempranillo with some Grenache and merlot thrown in for good measure. It’s a very “solid” wine. @gourmetgroup described it as “tight” and “bracing” – by which I think she meant that you get a whole lot of flavor all at once. Jammy was her thought. An easy drinking, all around quality wine. $25.

Ripken Vineyards 2008 “El Matador” Tempranillo – This wine from Lodi, CA won the award for the best comment of the evening. “This smells like dirty bulls’ balls” said @gourmetgroup. The assembled, for whatever reason, did not press her on how she had definitive evidence of this, but we digress. “Inoffensive but not interesting,” said the SPinC, “Not doing much for me.” I noted that it was a bit funky and earthy, but only stays with you for a moment. I described it as a “hi/bye” wine. At $22, not our favorite.

St. Amant 2008 Amador Tempranillo – Also from Lodi, CA, but the response from the assembled was the other pole from the Matador. The Fat Bastard chimed in with, “This is very easy to drink and goes with every bite of food I’ve tried,” he said, “I can’t say this so much about the others, but I would buy this wine.” This was my favorite of the bunch. I thought it tasted a little like a pinot. Nicely complex, balanced, and just downright tasty. @gourmetgroup wasn’t quite as hot on it, thinking that it needed food. The SPinC thought it was the easiest of the bunch to “just drink” – meaning that it didn’t cry for food. A number of other folks thought so too – it was the first bottle to bite the dust. It’s perfect for parties where folks are just drinking and socializing while nibbling on lots of different foods – like…say…tapas. $23.

Stein Family 2007 “Just Joshin’” Tempranillo – From Napa, CA. This wine with the joker on the label drew decent reviews. I thought it was straightforward and a bit tannic. “Decent, but that’s as far as I’d go,” said my note. The SPinC really liked that it wasn’t a fruit bomb – which is a bit surprising in a wine from Napa. She thought it was a bit “thin,” but that was OK with the profile. @gourmetgroup said that it was “friendly, not aggressive” and “pleasant but with some depth.” At $15, the least expensive of the group.

Tejada Vines 2005 Reserve Tempranillo – “Bring on the funk!” exclaimed @gourmetgroup as she hoisted the last wine of the evening. The SPinC, always a fan of “dirty wine” (as I put on my tasting sheet) wrote, “This is great, IMO. Low fruit, funky but not heavy, but still with a full flavor. Would be so, so yummy with food.” I concurred. I thought that its funkiness (“it’s Parliament, not Prince,” I’d written for some reason) screamed for a steak. This wine also came in a heavy, industrial strength bottle. By “heavy,” this bottle weighed more empty than many bottles of pinot grigio weigh full. Or at least it seemed that way by that point in the evening. Milwaukee Mike considered keeping the empty bottle by the bedside for home defense. “That’s quite a punt,” said @gourmetgroup with a look in her eye that frightened me a bit. $25 and worth it.

I’ll be interested to watch the tempranillo market over the years ahead. If these wines are any indication, there’s an opportunity for U.S. winemakers to make a broad range of styles up and down the west coast, much as they’ve done with shiraz/syrah and merlot. It will certainly be fun to follow.

On a personal note, a big thank-you to our hosts and the other members of the wine club for being such good sports about my little tempranillo experiment. Good fun.

Technorati Tags: California,Washington,tempranillo,social media,wine

Wine and Dinner of the Month Club – August 2011

2011-08-31T18:30:00.001-04:00

August brings us a very local based meal with fruits and veggies from our garden and a couple farmers markets. The wine is a nice sparkling wine with a twist – it’s a rose. The recipes this month, with the exception of the tapenade which I just made up on my own, are from The America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook Third Edition (© 2010 by The Editors at America’s Test Kitchen). Enjoy.

Wine

Gruet Rose Brut

What I had planned for this month was a Mexican inspired meal using dried hibiscus flowers in all of the recipes. Do you know how hard it is to find dried hibiscus flowers in Cincinnati, particularly on short notice? Not that easy. I’ll have to plan for this meal a little better next time. Fortunately, Christine was in the mood for a less exotic meal made with some of the local goodies we had in our garden and from other local sources. I started the ratatouille by chopping the vegetables and mixing them with olive oil and some spices. The tomatoes and squash for this dish came from our garden and the eggplant and onion came from McGlasson’s Farm, a farm with a produce stand along the Ohio River about 13 miles from our house (http://www.mcglassonfarms.com/). Everything went into a baking pan and into the oven.

While that was baking I prepared the appetizer. We had a lot of little cherry tomatoes and some sweet peppers and I was wondering what I could do with those. In this situation my motto is “olive oil and garlic to the rescue.” I cut up some tomatoes and the peppers and blended them in the food processor with some olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. It made for a yummy spread on crackers with a little goat cheese.

Since the ratatouille was still baking, I got started on the rice for the side dish. We recently acquired a rice cooker and if you follow the directions correctly it makes pretty good rice rather flawlessly. The key phrase here is “follow the directions correctly.” I thought I had done just that, but it turns out I did not add nearly enough water for the amount of rice I was cooking. Is rice supposed to be crunchy? I don’t think so. Christine, who is more adept with the rice cooker, pointed out the error of my ways and we made another batch that turned out perfect – firm but tender and nice and fluffy. I plated this up with the ratatouille and we sat down to dinner.

The wine went well with both the appetizer and the main course, which you would expect from a very food friendly sparkling rose. There was not a lot of fat in either dish so the wine didn’t have to compete against that, and the sweetness helped offset some of the acidity from all the tomatoes.

Finally, we had dessert of baked peaches. The peaches for this dish came from McGlasson’s as well. I also made up a raspberry sauce to go over top of them, creating a type of Peach Melba. Pouring a splash of bourbon over the peaches gives them extra flavor and creates additional sauce in the pan to put on them. They were great with just a little vanilla ice cream. If I had it to do again, I would change two things. First, I would not make the raspberry sauce. The sauce from the baking pan is enough to
give the peaches some additional moisture and I thought the raspberry sauce rather overwhelmed the peach flavor. Second, even though the recipe did not call for it, I would peel the peaches. Even after baking the skins were a little tough and hard to cut through with a spoon, particularly since the peach
flesh was so tender.

43 Things Tags: recipes,naked vine

Pinot Smackdown!

2011-08-26T08:39:00.000-04:00

While I may never get the hang of the full-on Twitter tasting, I’m certainly enjoying the benefits of the integration of social media into the wine tasting experience. I received notification that August 18^th was the “2^nd Annual Pinot Noir Smackdown.”

According to the release, this day-long event was an online competition among the pinot noir growing regions. Participants tasted pinot, tweeted (or Facebooked) their reviews, and voted for the region they felt was superior. Ed Thralls, marketing manager for Sonoma Coast Vineyards, Windsor Vineyards, and Windsor Sonoma, was good enough to send along a few samples from Sonoma County for the occasion.

I had three bottles to check out:

Sonoma Coast Vineyards Freestone Hills 2009 Pinot Noir ($45)
Windsor Sonoma Russian River Valley 2009 Pinot Noir ($30)
Windsor Vineyards 2010 Pinot Noir ($25)

We started with the Windsor Sonoma. At first pour, even after being allowed to breathe for 45 minutes and aerated, it tasted a little harsh and heavy on the fruit. We split a glass, and we were a bit confused by it. I think we expected a softer profile. This was initially a fruit bomb of a pinot. We finished a glass, recorked it, and decided to try it again in a day.

That next day, we opened the Sonoma Coast Vineyards and poured it side-by-side with the W-S. The Windsor Sonoma had mellowed a bit. It still had a bit of a “spiky” flavor. What’s “spiky?” You’d get big fruit, then an acidic bite, then some smoke. The flavors were all there, but they just didn’t balance as well.

The SCV was a better wine. The flavors were much more integrated initially, but we had to give this one the same treatment. The fruit on the front was just too strong, washing out much of the subtlety usually found in a pinot. After a day, the wine mellowed considerably. It was still fruit forward with lots of cherry and cola flavors, but there was at least a silky smokiness to back it up. I think I liked it more than the Sweet Partner in Crime, who is a huge fan of Burgundy (French pinot noir) which is much more earthy and is a lighter-styled wine.

This lends itself to the idea of terroir. Terroir is the term for the location where a wine’s grapes are grown. More specifically, the climate and the soil where grapes are grown. Sonoma does a lot of things well. Some of our all-time favorite cabernet sauvignons and zinfandels hail from Sonoma. Those wines are big, fruit-forward, and high alcohol. Pinot noirs from Sonoma tend to have that sort of flavor profile, which isn’t generally the characteristics we’re looking for when we crack a bottle of pinot.

Interestingly, our favorite of the three was the least expensive. The Windsor Vineyards was ready to drink right out of the bottle. Even though it was still “Sonoma-ish” with a strong fruit flavor, the cherry and smoke balanced exceedingly well. We tried it with a chicken souvlaki, which had a range of flavors – grilled chicken, lemon, cucumber, yogurt – and it held up extremely well. It was just a plain ol’ nice wine.

Based on these wines, my vote in the Smackdown went to my old standby. I still think that Burgundy makes the world’s best, most consistent pinot noir – my 1^st place vote went to the French. The worldwide smackdown winner? New Zealand. I just so happen to have a few bottles of New Zealand pinot down in the cellar. Perhaps next year…

43 Things Tags: pinot noir,reviews,California

Repurposing Wine

2011-08-08T08:16:00.000-04:00

You may have seen “repurposing” cropping up from time to time in various contexts. First time I saw it, I thought it was first simply a synonym for “recycling,” but I came to understand that it means “converting something for other than its intended use.” For example, if you take an length of old copper pipe, cut it into different lengths, attach it to a piece of scrap wood with fishing line and put a hook on top, you’ve “repurposed” a bunch of junk into a windchime.

Can someone repurpose wine? Sure, I suppose. I guess folks have been doing this for millennia. Vinegar, after all, is just wine that’s gone bad. (the word “vinegar” is actually from the French “vin aigre” – “sour wine.”) But I don’t want to wait until wine is over to repurpose it. For our purposes, why not think about repurposing wine in terms of pairings? When the “traditional” pairing doesn’t work, why not think outside the box?

One evening, The Sweet Partner in Crime and I had a hankering for pepperoni pizza. We ordered one from Newport Pizza Company ( absolutely top notch ‘za, by the way!). We figured we’d crack open an Italian red to go with it. Of course, after we placed the order, we discovered that we didn’t have any Italian reds in the homestead. (Egads! How could this happen?) After an initial panic, we regrouped.

I’d seen a couple of cab francs described as “good pizza wines” recently. I was a little skeptical. I’d thought about it as more of a lighter wine to go with red meat or grilled pork – something to use in place of cabernet sauvignon if that sounded too heavy. We opened the Steele 2006 Lake County Cabernet Franc as a stand-in for our missing Italian.

This turned out to be a good decision on our part. The Steele has a fruitier nose than many Italian wines, but the body and flavor is relatively Chianti-ish. It’s more fruit-forward, but the flavor profile more or less holds – cherries and chalk. The finish has some minerality to go with the tannin. With the pizza – quite excellent. The wine was big enough to stand toe to toe with the meat and come away mostly unscathed. The extra tannin in this wine also helped cut through the inevitable grease. $14-16.

A couple of weeks later, we were at the end of a long weekend and we found ourselves with a bunch of veggies (again from The Chad), a bag of frozen shrimp, and a pack of lo mein noodles tucked away in the back of our pantry. Stir fry time. I cobbled together a spice sauce, so I figured I’d go for a Riesling alongside. Alas, again embarrassingly, there was none to be had in the household. What we did have, however, was a Doña Paula 2009 Torrontes. I’d picked up this Argentinean bottle on a whim. I figured I’d use it for a grilled chicken or fish pairing, but Asian spice wasn’t close to my mind.

Why did I choose to crack it? To be honest…it’s a screwtop, so I didn’t have to think much or go fetch a corkscrew. (Worst case scenario? I get the opener and find another bottle.) The Doña Paula turned out to be a very nice substitute. Rich apples on the nose along with some floral fragrances. The body is a little on the heavy side, but there’s a good amount of apple and lemon flavors. The finish is long, floral, and a little sweet. That sweetness, however, made for a nice match with my spicy lo mein throw-together. The wine had enough weight to be interesting and was firm enough to handle the power of srirachia as a condiment. Certainly a workable choice. $13-15.

I started thinking more about this repurposing thing. Could one go earlier in the winemaking process and repurpose grapes? Turns out the answer is a big ol’ yes. For instance, consider the Rua 2010 Valdeorras. This Spanish white is a blend of Palomino, Dona Blanca, and Godello grapes. While I wasn’t at all familiar with the last two grapes, I’d heard of Palomino. It’s one of the primary grapes in sherry. I’d not tried it in a still wine before. (much like the Pedro Ximenez I mentioned a couple of entries ago). A pretty decent repurposing. It’s got a very light nose of flowers and lemon zest. The body’s of medium weight. It’s got a little bit of glycerin (instead of sugar) thickness there with some minerals at the back. It finishes crisp and dry with plenty of pineapple-citrus flavors. A great summertime white. Had it with some fish tacos. Tasty, tasty. Great deal at $8-10, too.

Since I’ve been stretching the definition a bit here, I’ll close out with an actual repurposing. Perhaps you’ve had a party recently and one of your “friends” brought (and left) a bottle of white zinfandel. You see it every day, sitting forlorn on the bottom of your wine rack. If you’re in this situation, you can make killer Sangria from a white zin:

Cut up a bunch of fruit. I like apples, pineapples, sliced grapes, and strawberries. Put these in a bowl. Pour about a cup of inexpensive brandy over the top. (E&J works well.) Sprinkle with a little bit of brown sugar. Stir this up and put the bowl in the fridge for an hour or so. When you’re ready (since your friends have shown up to drink), get a large pitcher. Add ice. Add the fruit/brandy mixture, the bottle of white zin, a couple of cups of club soda, and three shots of peach schnapps. Stir. Pour. I’m not responsible for what might happen afterwards, but I think you’ll thank me.

LiveJournal Tags: wine,wine reviews,repurposing

Wine & Dinner of the Month Club – July 2011

2011-07-27T14:34:00.001-04:00

It’s July and that means parades, flags, fireworks and RIBS! This year Christine and I were visiting her sister Vida and brother-in-law (and my doppelganger) Rob and their two boys Orion and Jonas. They live on Bainbridge Island near Seattle, Washington, so we got to spend time with them and experience some of the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest. Since we were going out there, we decided to take the Wine and Dinner Club on the road. With luck and plenty of bubble wrap in the luggage, the wine made it in fine shape, supplemented by some Washington state wines that Rob picked up for the occasion. Enjoy.

Wine (We had a GOOD TIME!!)

2008 Owen Roe Ex Umbris Columbia Valley Syrah
2007 Dominio IV Columbia Gorge Syrah/Tempranillo
2008 Sagelands Columbia Valley Red Wine
2004 D’Arenberg The Love Grass McLaren Vale Shiraz (Naked Vine Recommendation)

We started with some cheeses and cured meats as an appetizer. The cheeses were a manchego and a herbed goat cheese, and the meats were a spicy cured Italian salami and some thin prosciutto. They were served with a sourdough baguette and the first of the Washington state wines, the Ex Umbris. We had asked Rob to pick up another bottle of The Love Grass for the meal, but his local wine shop did not have it in stock and would have had to order it in special. When asked about an Australian wine, the person at the shop said, “Well, that’s one way you could go.” According to Rob, he then went on to espouse the superior quality of Washington state wines and pelted Rob with granola until Rob relented and bought the local fare. (That last part may have been a little exaggerated.) As I recall, and since there were four bottles of wine I don’t recall much, nobody was really bowled over by the Ex Umbris. It had a little spice to it, but not enough to stand up to the spicy salami. I thought it went well with the manchego and would probably be good with a simple piece of grilled meat. Thus, we decided it was a good M&M wine (Meat & Manchego).

After the appetizer we had the main meal which included the slaw, corn and ribs that had been cooking low and slow in the oven at 225 degrees Fahrenheit for about five hours. We did two racks. One I dry rubbed with Southside Market & Barbecue Premium Original BBQ Seasoning from the Southside Market in Houston, Texas and the other with Colonel’s Smoky Rub from Colonel De Gourmet Herbs and Spices at Findlay Market in Cincinnati, Ohio. To cook the ribs you just wrap them in aluminum foil, sealing it tightly, and put them on a baking sheet to catch leaking juices. You don’t even have to watch them and they come out supper moist and tasty. I always put a little barbecue sauce on them and put them under the broiler for a while to give them a nice glaze. Oh, and did I mention Rob is the source for my rib recipe? The other key is to wear an orange shirt!

The ribs were delicious and between the four of us we finished both racks. The slaw was tangy and a little sweet and was a cool contrast to the spiciness that the rubs imparted to the ribs. Of the two, the Southside rub was spicier with more pepper in the mix, while the Colonel’s Smoky Rub was just that, smoky. The coconut basted corn was sweet and was a great accompaniment to the meal as well. By this time we were well into the Dominio wine. It was good, but again, nothing really outstanding. We liked saying that the Syrah was tempered by the Tempranillo, but that was probably just the second bottle of wine talking. Before we finished the meal, we broke open The Love Grass. We thought this one was a lot different than the others and much better with more flavor and good tannic structure (take that granola boy). Or so I recall. Hey, give me a break - this was the third bottle of the night!

After the ribs came out of the oven and while we were eating, I put the pie in to bake. We took a long break after the dinner waiting for the pie to finish cooking and then let it cool while we cleaned up the kitchen. The pie was delicious with the sweetness of the strawberries offsetting the tartness of the very rhubarb, and the filling could not have been more local with both the strawberries and the rhubarb from Vida and Rob’s garden behind their house.

We finished The Love Grass and opened the Sagelands, which was good, but not too complex. It was a nice sipping wine to finish up the evening. Thank you to Vida and Rob for a great July 4^th getaway!