Monday, November 30, 2009

Bodegas Muriel Reserva, Rioja

2001 Bodegas Muriel Reserva, Rioja

I do not buy a lot of wine from Spain, main reason being that I do not know enough about Spanish wines. But the other day I made an exception and bout a bottle of ‘2001 Muriel Reserva’ from Rioja, Spain. Made of Tempranillo grapes, this wines is just wonderful, rich and full, lot’s of red forest fruit, silky and smooth the tannins.

As you can see from the picture below, the colour of the wine is already like a brick. Reserva wines by Muriel are aged for a minimum of two years in oak barrels and three years in the bottle. It was a great pleasure to drink this wine. I need to learn more about the wine region of Rioja and its wines. We had the wine with dinner, of course.

The colour of the Rioja

Muriel is located in the heart of the Rioja region in the small town of Elciego, next to the river Mayor, east of the E-804 from Zaragoza to Bilbao. When in 1973 on our final study tour before concluding “Gymnasium” (high school), I passed the area on my way from Burgos to San Sebastian not knowing anything about the famous wine region (not that I would know much more today).

Muriel also makes a white wine, from Viura grapes, the website said. Honestly, I have never heard of the Viura grape, what an ignoramus I am. There is so much to learn out there. Life is just beautiful.

[Via http://themanfrommoselriver.wordpress.com]

THERE'S MORE TO SAN SIMEON THAN A CASTLE!

There’s More To San Simeon Than A Castle! By Rona Edwards

 

When I was a kid, we’d travel up the coast to Carmel and always stop at Hearst’s Castle in San Simeon. I remember the castle, and its huge towers along with the gorgeous view of the coastline. Mostly, I remember my mom ooing and awing about the furnishings when all I wanted to do was jump into the Grecian pool. But I was a kid then…and now as an adult I ventured on up to San Simeon not only to revisit the castle but to explore the area, which turned out to be much more than a circle of motels and a beach. This time would be different because my traveling companion would be my dog, Bizou, a miniature French poodle who was delighted to be on a road trip with me. I always carry his water bottle and some treats for him, while keeping one of his precious play toys near him for comfort while driving. I had his favorite pillow bed decked out in the backseat for him to lay on for the three and a half hour plus drive.

We made the prerequisite stop in Santa Barbara at La Super Rica Taqueria on Milpas Street. You can spot this unassuming restaurant by the line of people streaming out its doorway; otherwise you might drive right past it. The #7 – tri-tip tacos with onions and peppers along with the tamal de verduras – chayote, potato, corn, zuchini and cheese are my favorites. Afterwards, I took Bizou for a short walk around the block and stopped at the Trader Joes by the freeway to pick up more dog treats (and some human treats) before departing northward.

Driving up the coast is the best way for me to decompress. The ocean waters and blue skies make me forget the stress of Los Angeles. With good music on the mp3, Bizou sleeping in the back seat, and the never-ending views, I felt like I had been away for days and it had only been a few hours.

Our next potty break came at Arroyo Grande just below Pismo Beach. There’s a little park there that Bizou loves to walk in and I get to indulge myself at Doc Bernstein’s Ice Cream Lab located on the main drag of this quaint antique town. Why is it called a Lab? Because on Wednesday nights the public is invited to come, learn how to make ice cream and then concoct their own creation. Whatever flavor wins becomes a flavor in the ice cream parlor for the next week. Some of those flavors include Champagne Confetti Fudge, Marsh Potatoes and Gravy (marshmallow ice cream with chocolate toffee butterscotch chips and caramel cups) and Chai Cherry Blast, etc.

We arrived mid afternoon in San Simeon and stayed at The Morgan right      on the circle before Hearst’s Castle. The Morgan, owned by the Broughton Hotels, a favorite of mine, is dog friendly. They have a wonderful enclosed pool with the roof exposed and it’s only a short walk to the beach. The hotel used to be the Orchid but has been totally remodeled in a “W” sort of way. Named after the architect of Hearst’s Castle and a woman ahead of her time, Julia Morgan, there are blue prints on the walls illustrating her work for the castle. The hotel offers plush bedding (Bizou jumped right up and was very comfortable) plus they provide a continental breakfast, cheese and wine tasting on Friday nights, and even have a spa with massages and facials available. I had one of the most relaxing and best warm stone massages ever so I highly recommend it.

Being so close to the beach, Bizou and I ventured off after unpacking to romp on the beach at sunset. Then I put him to bed and ate at the hotel’s restaurant, El Chorlito, serving delicious traditional style New Mexican food and kickass margaritas. You can also substitute tofu for any meat or seafood dish. I chose to eat in the bar area – dimly lit, brightly colored south of the border charm with wood beams and gas light lamps illuminating the Mexican watering hole. The crab enchilada and chicken taquitos were muy bueno with no filler, and was followed by my favorite New Mexican treat, sopapillias.

After a sumptious night’s sleep of listening to the waves of the night ocean, Bizou and I had our breakfast and then ventured up the coast to Piedras Blancas, home of more than 7,500 elephant seals. During the winter months, you can see the females beached and giving birth while their mates eye next year’s conquest. What a sight to behold and is a must for anyone coming to this area. The docents are very helpful and answer any question you may have about these odd looking mammals. I was told I had just missed two babies being born. As we watched the male seals posturing to gain the attention of the females, one docent told me they are not monogamous creatures.

I took Bizou home from his day with the seals and headed off, solo, to Piedras Blancas Light Station, six miles north of San Simeon. I’ve always loved lighthouses and Piedras Blancas, first illuminated in 1875 and under restoration today, is not only historic but in a beautiful setting and well worth the tour. With no beacon on top and now governed by the United States Department of the Interior, volunteers, dressed in Victorian garb, guide us through the different buildings, explaining the architecture, foilage and details of the lighthouse.

For lunch, it was Lin’s located in Cambria, a quaint artist’s community that has grown by leaps and bounds since I was there last. Lin’s is famous for their meat and vegetarian pot pies which are probably the best I’ve ever had as well as their famous Olallieberry pie. The Linn family moved to the central coast to become farmers in 1976. By 1985, they opened Linn’s Fruit Bin, a real country fruit stand and pie making business. Using the little known Olallieberry, it became the cornerstone of their success. First developed in 1949 by the U. S. Department of Agriculture at Oregon State University by crossing a Loganberry with a Youngberry, the result was called the Olallie, a Native American word – meaning blackberry. Physically the Olallieberry looks like a classic blackberry but genetically it’s two-thirds blackberry, one-third European raspberry.

Near the restaurant is Linn’s Easy As Pie café and Linn’s Farmstore where you can take the pies home, wrapped in newspaper that keeps them frozen up to seven hours. Buzzing with galleries, shops and restaurants, Cambria and its environs is also home to a budding coastal wine industry. My first stop was Moonstone Winery owned by Todd Clift (whose card says Grape Stomper on it) and has only been open since 2007. Located in the heart of Cambria, it offers a nice respite where the tasting is five dollars (seven if you want to keep the glass). Todd worked for four years at the other known winery in the area, Harmony Cellars before venturing out on his own. Moonstone and Harmony Cellars present distinct chardonnays, pinot gris’, zinfandels, sangioveses, syrahs and barberas that could someday rival their neighboring wine consortiums. Plus they’re just plain charming to visit. Bizou came with me and sat very patiently as I tasted at the Harmony Cellars and chatted with fellow wine tasters amidst the gardens and coastal countryside views. At Harmony, you can get six tastings for three dollars (seven if you want to keep the glass). Housed in a country barn like style, with a gazebo and views of the valley, Harmony is located in the town of…yes, you guessed it, Harmony just south of San Simeon. I liked their wine so much I joined their club.

After our sunset walk on the beach, Bizou was exhausted and I headed to Manta Rey on the east side of the hotel circle where seafood is king. Owned by Miguel De Alba, who worked as a bag boy at a local market while starting his restaurant, the food is continental and elegant with a wine list spotlighting the region. The ambiance is one of a seafood shanty and the wine list is definitively Central Coast and Santa Ynez Valley. I ordered the full flavored and very tasty Lobster Crusted Sea Bass whose panko and flour mixed with lobster gave a new take on the old standard breading. The dish has a rich saffron butter sauce but is surprisingly light. For dessert, Miguel wanted me to try the Chocolate Decadence – flourless chocolate cake topped with chocolate ganache and raspberry sauce. But it was the Orange Ice Cream (not sherbet or sorbet) made with real oranges that was the winner. Manta Rey offers early bird dinners as well starting at $11.95.

While I think San Simeon is more than just a castle, I still made a reservation to visit it anyway. I hadn’t been there since I was a kid and it was very interesting to me to see it from an adult’s perspective. I wasn’t disappointed. I noticed things that I wouldn’t have before as a child and because of my background in the movie industry as well as my fascination with the beginnings and history of Hollywood, it felt like I had been there for the first time. I was in awe with the decorative styles and the stories that were told. The ornate fixtures and opulence of an era now forever gone haunted the grounds. One thing that I found fascinating was that the Hearst family gifted the Castle to the state of California but maintain the largest single-source supplier of free-range, all-natural, grass-fed and grass-finished beef, fully sustainable Hearst’s Ranch. While at the castle, order the beef, sauces and dips from the Ranch. Personally, I love their smoked ketchup.

 Another walk on the beach with my boy who enjoyed all the accoutrements of the hotel and surroundings followed by one last night of dining pleasure before heading back down to the hustle bustle of Los Angeles. This last night I chose to eat at Black Cat Bistro in Cambria. Owned by a former film and television producer, Deborah Scarborough, it is described as an American Bistro and Wine Bar and serves up such fare as prime beef filet, cocoa rubbed over roasted rack of elk, stuffed pheasant, pancetta wrapped pork tenderloin, salmon and ahi tuna. The food and produce is seasonal so you never know what the menu might highlight. This is definitely one of the best fine dining restaurants on the central coast.

Sad to leave but feeling fulfilled and yes, restored, Bizou and I packed up, had our breakfast at The Morgan, and stopped one more time at Lin’s to pick up our take home pies where we partook in a final Olallieberry lemonade. We drove through the Paso Robles Countryside, stopped by one more winery, Four Vines, bought a beautiful Syrah, and enjoyed the countryside one last time before heading down the ramp of the 101 towards Hollywood. Both of us had a vacation, yet we learned a lot about San Simeon. Where else can you get elephant seals, lighthouses, wineries, the beach, gorgeous sunsets, charming towns and shops, and award-winning California cuisine? The castle was definitely the icing on this trip but the filling was so much more.

 

Photography by Rona Edwards. All Rights Reserved. No portion of this article or photos should be used without author’s consent. Copyright 2009 Rona Edwards.

[Via http://oursideoftown.wordpress.com]

Post Turkey Day...Gobble

So my Thanksgiving was good, how about yours?  I feel like I’ve been completely absent from here for so long…I’m having withdrawals!

I like when long weekends start with Happy Hour or some type of event after work before the weekend starts.  It seems like it makes the weekend longer or something.  I started off my Thanksgiving weekend with a little shopping in Union Square and then Happy Hour with some friends at Heaven’s Dog on Mission between 7th and 8th and then dinner at Miss Saigon.  We had a good time and I was glad that we went to Heaven’s Dog for Happy Hour, which is every day between 4:30 and 6:30.  ($5 drinks…very good!  $10 drinks…yikes!)

Thanksgiving was a pretty small affair with just my parents and my brother.  Everyone enjoyed my “Pumpkin Pecan Pie with Ginger Snap Crust”!  We agreed that we’ll have to use that crust on any future pumpkin pies because a regular crust would be boring!  My “Brussels Sprouts with Orange Maple Dressing” dish went over well, too.  (Both recipes can be found on the Prevention Magazine website.  Yes, those were “healthy” dishes.)

Friday I went wine tasting in Healdsburg with Mom and my brother.  The weather was nice after the rainy morning and the roads weren’t too crowded.  We ended up hitting three wineries:  Hop Kiln, Armida, and White Oak.  We liked all of them, especially Hop Kiln, where you could actually buy a full glass of wine if you wanted one.  (Remember in Sideways when Paul Giamatti wanted a full glass and they wouldn’t pour one?)  You could also purchase a full bottle and take it outside and use the wine glasses that they provide free of charge.  (You grab them by the door and bring them back in when you’re done.)

Nice Tree

Nice tree at Armida Winery

The cost for the tastings is way cheaper than Napa Valley.  Armida had a complimentary tasting (!!) and Hop Kiln’s was only $5 for five pours (or $7 for the one with two reserve wines included in the five pours).  Healdsburg gets a big thumbs up!  Next time I want to hit up Ferrari-Carano again.  I went there a few years ago and the grounds reminded me of being in Italy….click on the name in the prior sentence and you can see what I’m talking about.  (The wine wasn’t bad either!)

I’ll be uploading some additional pictures from Hop Kiln and Armida to my Flickr account, but meanwhile, here’s another gratuitous shot at Armida Winery.

Armidy Winery View

Pretty View from Armida Winery

Saturday I went to a baby shower at Yoshi’s (San Francisco location) and then picked up a friend for dinner at Mi Lindo Peru.  For once I didn’t have lomo saltado!  We tried several of the appetizers, like the fried calamari, fried cassava (yes, two fried items), crab dip, and the avocado salad.  Yeah, it wasn’t the lowest calorie dinner, but we couldn’t finish all of it (except for the 1/2 liter of sangria…ha ha).  I need to write a Yelp review because I’ve been to Mi Lindo Peru so many times and it never fails to deliver.  After that we headed over to the 3300 Club for another drink and then made an early evening of it.  (I hadn’t ever visited that bar, but it was actually OK.  The bartender was very friendly and the bar wasn’t too crowded or too loud.  Of course, it was Thanksgiving weekend, so it might be different on another night….)

Today I feel like I didn’t do anything, but I went to the gym, then meditation class, and then over to the Mission with a friend for a taco at Taqueria San Francisco and some decaf at Sundance Coffee, so I guess I did do some stuff!  Now I’m washing a few of my rugs and getting ready to vacuum.  After that I’m going to relax with a little Mad Men and try to finish my book even though I should be working on Yelp reviews for all these places!

[Via http://misskimsf.wordpress.com]

Friday, November 27, 2009

La Linda (#13)

After Tucuman I went to Salta. Salta is located in the northwest of Argentina and also know as La Linda, the beauty. Salta is indeed a nice city, though as in many Argentinian cities it is all about the main square. The three main cities in this area (San Miguel de Tucuman, Salta and San Salvador de Jujuy) are located close to eachother. Within five hours you are in another city!

In the afternoon of my arriving day I strolled a bit around the city, just to have a look how the city is built up. As many cities in America (not only south), Salta has a grid patron, hard to get lost! But every junction and so ever look the same.

The second day I went with a cable car up to the hill to have a view over the city. This was nothing special, just another view over another city. Since it was incredibly hot for my standards I spent the rest of the afternoon mainly near the pool of the hostel and bought myself the Lonely planet of Chile!

Because I decided to have seen the city up to visit Cafayate, with a tour up to the second biggest wine region (mainly white) of Argentina. The tour to Cafayate was nice than Cafayate itself, but it was worth the money anyway. The region you have to pass is dry, extremly dry, and the most beautiful rock formations can be seen. After the next mountain you are suddenly in an area with enough rain to feed the grapes. Of course a few wineries were visited and so was the church. Good thing about churches is that they are quiet (after the rush of a town, city), nice (architecture) and cool (instead of the main plaza next to it). Pictures will follow, they are worth it, even when you have not been there!

The day after I went to Tilcara, pretty Tilcara!

[Via http://r1857.wordpress.com]

Brunello di Montalcino and pasta

2004 Pietroso Brunello di Montalcino

Just a simple dinner with a pasta and a salad. I grabbed a bottle of red from the wine fridge and woh, where did I buy this wine? It was a ripper of a red, ‘2004 Brunello di Montalcino’ by Pietroso (about 100 km south of Florence in Tuscany).

Aged for 36 months in oak barrels, this 100% Sangiovese wine is just a wonderful drop. Intense forest fruit flavours, great structure, good mid-palate weight and a long finish, round and silky. It took us by surprise.

A delicious pasta

We had just a simple pasta for an ordinary dinner during the week. When I went back to the supermarket the next day to look for this wine, I could not find it any more. I know why: it’s marvelous. Look out for this Brunello di Montalcino. It’s worth it. Azienda Agricola Pietroso produced 2004 about 13,000 bottles of this Brunello. I think it was one of the best wines we had had recently.

[Via http://themanfrommoselriver.wordpress.com]

The choice

Nihilism Poetry

I have chosen darkness
in it
poetry swells,
literature breeds
dark and oppressive
I breathe in an atmosphere of coal
black ash swarms in metaphors and
contradictions
beating heart that’s become
sullen with life
I choose obscurity
like the ambiguous rose
within an unmovable abyss
I choose the ungraspable void
where borders and objects
interfuse with phantasmagorical thoughts
leaving no content, awaiting an obscure name –
in this dark dream
the Mysterious
is like wine
flowing through the veins
of whatever I am.

nihilistic poetry

[Via http://nihilisticpoetry.com]

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Cool Yule

Christmas is one month away as of today. I’m stunned, to be honest. I really can’t believe that the year is almost over (life is moving so fast that I almost feel like it’s flashing before my eyes!)

Given the symmetry of the date, I’ve chosen today to launch my holiday gift guide series that I’m calling Cool Yule. Anyone can toss a bottle of wine in gift bag and make a gracious offering; however, giving gifts that are on trend and show off your good taste is so much better, don’t you think?

At about $300 I’ve chosen a high ticket item to kick off Cool Yule 2009; however, it’s just so perfect for the oenephile (that’s a wine lover, btw) on your list. This wine essence set features 40 aroma flasks that can be used to help train your nose and isolate the aromas in wine.

Besides being a great gift for a wine lover, it’s also fun to pull out at a wine tasting, so if you’re planning one during the holidays, it might make a good gift for yourself, too.

Smaller kits featuring 12 aromas commonly noted in white or red wine are also available at a considerably lower price.

Contact Browne & Co. in Canada for information on availability in your area.

[Via http://danamccauley.wordpress.com]

Denver, Day 1.

Day 1.

My first day in Denver was spent on my grandmother’s couch. As I had said, I watched three movies, eventually falling asleep at 4 am. Nothing out of the ordinary from GAC, but I was hoping Denver would allow me to find a better sleeping schedule, I’m not in Irkutsk yet. I woke at around 3 pm to the sound of the garage door opening and my grandmother’s voice asking if I was alive. I fell out of the couch and went over to the table were more food awaited. My friends in Russia tell me that piles of food on the table is a norm, obviously Nanny knows this too, many of our conversations so far this trip have consisted about how I will be eating while I am in Russia. After finishing off the pizza from last night, and eating the rest of the brownies with milk it was time to motivate and see the rest of the family.

Nanny took my cashmere-silk $90.00 Banana Republic sweater, which I so intelligently decided to participate in an art project in, to the dry cleaners while I took a bath, yes a bath, something I have wanted to do for months, I get tired standing in the shower and I miss our jacuzzi tub at home so much. After primping and polishing I got dressed in my best and set off to see my Aunt Mimi, Uncle Danny and Cousin Kevin at their favorite Irish Pub, McCabe’s.

We ordered food, Calamari for me, my favorite and played I don’t know how many games of pool. There was also this unfortunate child sitting in a booth not far from us, who was screaming his head off. By screaming I mean screaming at the top of his lungs, just because. The parents sat there with the slightest bit of  acknowledgment toward the little shit, while the rest of the people in the pub covered there ears and gave deathly glares of disapproval. I hate parents who don’t know how to discipline their children. At one point I was contemplating doing it for them.

After the pub, Kevin and I headed back to my Aunt and Uncle’s house to wait for his girlfriend to get off work. 9:30 rolled around and we went to go pick her up from work. All of us then went back to Kevin’s apartment, dropped off my things and caught up a little bit. I had tons of new information to share.

The two of them also gave me a quick history of the film ‘Boondock Saints,’ did I mention we were going to number 2? We got to the theater around 10:30. The ticket man was a douche bag. Let me explain: He thought I was 13, and was just a douche bag. I mean what 13-year-old has stubble and dresses in nice clothes?  not many. I was taller than him too. Anyway, I had to show him my ID, he looked at it and then at me as if it were fake. I gave him the ‘yes asshole, people do live in Alaska and yes asshole I am 19′ stare right back and got my ticket. Clearly he made me a little upset, thank god the movie was amazing! I won’t spoil it for any of you.

After the movie we headed back to Kevin’s apartment. Paige and I each had a glass of wine, well not all of the glass, it was gross. Don’t buy Fat Bastard. I was still super excited about ‘Boondock Saints 2′, so much so that I begged to watch number 1. It was equally if not more amazing. Went to bed at 4 am, and woke up the next morning tired, of course.

Breakfast by Paige next.

[Via http://rynrussia.wordpress.com]

The best 10 German dry Riesling wines

It was a bit disappointing for a native from the Mosel River to read through the list of best dry Riesling wines of Gault Millau’s newly released wine guide 2010.

Among the best German dry Riesling wines of 2007 and 2008 there was not a single one from the Mosel, Saar or Ruwer.

I know that my home region is more famous for its semi-dry and sweet Rieslings but…

The good news it that a wine from the Nahe where my materal grandfather had introduced me to dry wines many decades ago was ranked the second highest.

Moreover, the vintner of the year is also from the Nahe. Tim Fröhlich (35) was awarded this prestigious title. The family estate Schäfer-Fröhlich is one of the best wineries in the Nahe Region and produces outstanding dry and sweet wines.

The winner for best dry Riesling (with 96 points) was a wine from the Pfalz, a ‘Forster Kirchenstück GC’ by Dr. Bürklin-Wolf (70 €). Emrich-Schoenleber received 95 point for a ‘Halenberg Grosses Gewächs’ (29 €). Among the top ten five Riesling wines came from Pfalz, two from Rheingau and Rheinhessen each and one wine from the Nahe.

That the Franconian wines were missing from the list was a further disappointment. Also in Franconia the 2007 and 2008 vintages were outstanding (as is the 2009).

Two other wines received 95 points, a ‘Abtserde Grosses Gewächs by Keller Estate, Rheinhessen and a ‘Forster Pechstein GC’ also by Dr. Bürklin-Wolf, Pfalz (35 €). 94 points were awarded to three wines: a ‘Deidesheimer Hohenmorgen GC’ by Dr. Bürklin-Wolf (35 €), a Rüdesheimer Berg Schlossberg by Georg Breuer, Rheingau (40 €) and a ‘G-Max’, also by Keller Estate, Rheinhessen (I found a price of 160 € from an internet sales website). From some chat on the internet I got the impression that you won’t see a bottle on any shelf. This wine is “rationed” and reserved for special customers. Keller estate was “the producer of the year 2006″ of Gault Millau.

Two wines were given 93 points: ‘Kastanienbusch Grosses Gewächs’ by Rebholz Estate, Pfalz (32 €), and ‘Rüdesheimer Berg Rottland Alte Reben Goldkapsel’ by Josef Leitz, Rheingau (65 €). Wine number 10 received 92 points and it was a ‘Birkweiler Kastanienbusch Schiefer’ by Siener Estate, Pfalz (16.50 €). This is the only wine in my price-range.

Needless to say that all the wine gurus of the world have written about these wines and these producers, John Gilman, Jancis Robinson, Eric Assimov to name only a few. Some of the wine reviews you can find on the internet, some of them are linked by the specific estate named above. It seems there is lots of research to be done.

Go wine enthusiast. You can, of course, also buy the wine guide, Gault Millau.

[Via http://themanfrommoselriver.wordpress.com]

Monday, November 23, 2009

Charming My Darling, Charming

*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from Folio Winemakers.

I decided I would really love some Gruner Veltliner for Thanksgiving. And I wish it could be either of the Laurenz V. Gruners that I’ve tried in the last few weeks. Alas, I am visiting my folks for the holidays and the wine shop near their house only had one Gruner on the shelf and it was rockgut. Not what I  was going for.  Oh well, at least I have the memory of the 2006 Layrnz V. Charming Gruner Veltliner to keep me going. (PS-the person in the wine shop told me Gruner isn’t very popular…so is it really just popular with Sommeliers? Because I see it stores at home as well as all over restaurant wine lists….) Anywho. The Laurenz V. clocked in at 13% alcohol by volume, had a screw cap closure, and retails for $24.99.

On the nose I got lemongrass, pineapple, tropical notes, peach, and green beans.  In the mouth I found white peach, white pepper, tropical notes, pineapple, and nectarine.  I found the wine to be round up front with nice acidity on the finish.  It felt fuller/lusher than the other Laurenz V. I tried a couple weeks ago.  I served this with Matt’s signature dish: Gruyere/bacon quiche and it was a fantastic match. I’d recommend both Laurenz V. Gruners that I tried, though for bang for you buck I’d highly recommend the Laurenz . and Sophia Gruner I tried earlier this month.

 

[Via http://wannabewino.com]

Wine is fine: Three Buck Chuck International Chardonnay 2008

 

It'll get you drunk.

 

One of the hardest things about moving to Fitchburg is not living within walking distance of Trader Joe’s anymore.  I was recently at Barriques Wine Cave for some wine training and couldn’t help making a stop at TJ’s before I headed home.  Now I don’t really need to espouse the phenomenon that is Charles Shaw wine.  Depending where it is you call home, you may know it as Two-, Three-, or Four-Buck Chuck.  Here in Madison, it’s Three Buck, and aside from a wine called Tisdale that I found at Woodman’s that matches it, is just about the cheapest you can get for wine made from actual grapes in a corked bottle.  Before my foray into the world of wine, Chuck was generally only found in my home as a cooking aid, but now that I’m a burgeoning oenophile on a budget, I’m always on the lookout for bang-for-your-buck grape drink.

Wine: Charles Shaw International Chardonnay 2008

Origin: South Eastern Australia, Bottled in Napa, CA

Vitals: 12.5% abv, $3 a bottle

My take: Pours a pale straw color.  Nose is vibrant with bright with notes of tropical fruits – banana and pineapple come to the front – with a light lemongrass back end.  Tropical fruits continue through to the palate where the overall impression is “pina colada” and citrus.  Mouthfeel is full and lingering, with a robust acidity cutting through to keep it drinkable and a hint of butter in the finish. I’m doubting this is oaked (from a quantity, efficiency and price-point perspective), but I could be wrong.  Certainly much more tropical and funky than the more traditional chardonnays I have had, though I’m not sure whether that may owe to its Aussie roots or its quick and dirty production.  Either way, this is a fun and flavorful, if not refined wine that is certainly worth its asking price.  It’s $3, folks.  It doesn’t taste like nail polish remover.  That’s saying a lot.

 

[Via http://43north89west.wordpress.com]

Famous wines draw visitors at Hermannhof Winery

The clink of wine glasses and happy chatter fill the main wine tasting room at Hermannhof Winery. Couples and friends sip the famous Vignole and Norton wines that are most popular from this area while others peruse the merchandise that promote the tagline, “peace, love, wine.”

Hermannhof is one of the many wineries in Hermann, Mo. located in the heart of the Missouri River Valley. This classically German-styled winery produces award-winning wines on a consistent basis, according to Paul LeRoy, the general manger at Hermannhof Winery.

“This is three times now that a Vignole from Hermann has kicked butt over the snooty California Wines,” LeRoy said proudly.

German settlers moved to the Missouri River Valley in the 1800s because the landscape was reminiscent of their homeland. This lush river terrain also happened to be perfect for growing grapes and sparked the booming wine industry in Hermann, Mo.

“We like to think that it all started here,” said Donna McEarchern, who works in the tourist department at the Hermann Chamber of Commerce. “Before prohibition, Missouri was the second most popular place to grow wine in the country.”

Missouri wines are unique because they are hybrids of French wine with American rootstocks and French grapes. A Missouri native came up with the combination when the French wine industry was suffering from droughts and damaged roots.

“In essence, Missouri saved the French wine industry,” LeRoy said. “Without the American/French hybrid, French wines would be quite scarce.”

Hermannhof Winery, however, takes no credit in being one of the first wineries to come up with the hybrid. In fact, Hermannhof began as a brewery in 1852 producing very little wine.

“The current owners, The Deerbergs, bought this place in the 70s,” said LeRoy. “They knew it had been a brewery so they were surprised when they kept finding old wine cellars underneath all of the buildings.”

Hermannhof has some of the oldest wine cellars in America. Made entirely from local resources, the infrastructures were built in the 1850s. These damp, cave-like structures provide a cool home for the famous wines produced at Hermannhof.

“We are very proud of our wines here at Hermannhof,” said LeRoy. “The Norton grape probably produces the best. It has been cultivated here for dry, robust, spicy, red wine.”

However, Hermannhof is known for more than just good wine. It is one of the largest wineries in Missouri and has the most modern equipment. The long narrow grounds of the winery are well kept and back up directly to the river, mirroring German landscaping.

“It follows German style precisely,” said McEarchern. “The Hoff Garten is beautiful and it has the best German music in Hermann.”

Hermannhof is open all year round for tours and wine tasting; however, the extensive events such as Oktoberfest in October and the Christmas events in December bring in the most visitors.

“Everything Hermannhof does is beyond classy,” said McEarchern. “Hermannhof should not be passed up on a trip to Hermann.”

[Via http://rookieramblings.wordpress.com]

Friday, November 20, 2009

Excellent Red Wines Coming Out Of Argentina

You Know, There Are Some Excellent Red Wines Coming Out Of Argentina

By Kip Quinlan

So, what do you think of the wine? To be honest, I thought it was a little meek. Passable, but meek. Did you happen to catch what kind it was? Obviously, it’s a cabernet, but I can’t quite put my finger on the vineyard. Wherever it’s from, it’s certainly not the best I’ve had.

If our hosts wanted something nice, they might have done better with something from Argentina. A lot of people don’t know this, but there are some excellent red wines coming out of Argentina right now. Most people don’t think of Argentina as wine country, but you’d be amazed. There’s more to that country than the pampas and gauchos.

If you ask me, Argentine wines are highly undervalued. The Mendoza region is on par with the Simi Valley of California. For whatever reason, the Malbec grape just does really well there. It’s got a really fruity bouquet, but don’t hold that against it. The ‘99 Trapiche Iscay Merlot-Malbec offsets that fruitiness nicely. If you ever have the chance to buy a case, do not pass it up. I read in Wine Spectator that it’s going to be the next hot vintage and will be quite hard to come by soon.

Hold still—I think you have something on your sweater. There. Got it.

This is a great time for wine drinkers. I mean, we have so many options and choices available. And with the world economy in the toilet, there’s no shortage of great wines at great prices. It would be criminal not to take advantage of it.

If you’re interested in trying some Argentine wines, you could come over for a private tasting. I’d be happy to let you sample my stock. After all, my wine cellar’s gotten so full, I could really use some help clearing a little room! Anyway, here’s my card. Call me any time. I’m there all week, except when I’m on the boat.

Counterpoint I Hate You, I Hate You, I Hate You

By Natalie Tran

Is that right? Are there some excellent wines coming out of Argentina these days? Please, tell me more about Argentine wine. Tell me everything you know. I’m begging you.

God, what a colossal prick.

A lot of people here might enjoy this conversation, but I’m not one of them. Who gives a shit where you get your wine? The way you’re guzzling it, I’d be surprised if you can even taste it. And I’m really impressed by your references to gauchos and the pampas. What a worldly, cultured man you must be to know those two words. Should we have sex here or in one of the upstairs bedrooms?

I hate you, I hate you, I hate you.

If there’s one thing more irritating than wine guys, it’s wine guys with personal-space issues. I can hear you fine: Quit acting like the music’s so loud that you have no choice but to lean in close to my ear.

Do you ever shut up? I wish I lived in your world, where I could spew a nonstop stream of dull facts and think people actually care. If you love the Mendoza region so much, why don’t you move there? No, I’m not going to buy a case of anything, I’m just looking for a graceful way to get away from you. Where do you think you’re putting your hand? Oh my God. He actually just did the invisible-lint thing. I don’t think I’ve had a guy try that one on me since college.

This would be a great time to kick someone in the testicles. I wish I had the assertiveness to say something, but I haven’t even had a chance to open my mouth. I’ve just smiled politely and nodded. Won’t someone please get this guy away from me? Won’t someone please hold a loud conversation about golf or foreign cars that this guy will overhear and want to join? Oh, how I long to hear this man say to me, “Excuse me, but I need to set someone straight about the merits of the new Big Bertha XP-200 titanium driver.”

Thanks so much for your card. I’ll be sure to use it if I ever need a piece of scrap paper.

© Copyright 2009 Onion Inc. All rights reserved.

Wacky Wavy Crazy Day

Evening! How are you doing on this fine Thursday? Today has been a strange day and I’ve felt a little out of sorts for most of it! Not in a bad way, just… different.

This morning I woke up bright and early, eyes-a-burnin’, ready to work.  I made a pot of coffee (and drank it black, which is unusual for home-brew… I usually only drink it straight when I’m out) and got breakfast ready.  It was nutty,fruity, and choco-coconutty.

In the bowl:

  • 1/2 cup oats
  • 1/2 cup water
  • frozen berries
  • leftover un-balled chocolate snowball dust
  • flaxy PB

I worked all morning, got ‘er done, and before I knew it, it was almost time to go to physical therapy.  But what about lunch?! I made a very quick salad, and ate it even faster.

In the mix:

  • baby spinach
  • escarole
  • grape tomatoes
  • 1/2 Gala apple
  • celery
  • Morningstar Farms Pizza Lovers Burger
  • sesame vinaigrette

When I left the house it had started raining, and kept on for the rest of the day.  I got to the subway and they were doing track work on my line again, so I had to call my PT and push the appointment back. Again.  They must hate me! But I was able to get an appointment at 3:30 instead of 2, even though I probably would have made it on time.  I was scheduled to run five miles today; it would have been too dark by the time my appointment was over and I got back home, but I didn’t have enough time to go to the gym first.  Quite a conundrum! So I decided to push the run back until tomorrow, but it’s supposed to rain again so I might just have to tough it out and get wet.  I’m going to have to figure this out soon, though, because it’s getting darker earlier and earlier now (4:30) and I don’t think it’s a good idea to run in the park at night by myself.

While I was weighing each option, I took shelter from the rain in the subway and snacked on a cup of Strawberry Oikos.

My appointment went well; I did a lot of leg work on the pilates machine which I have a feeling I’ll feel tomorrow!  Even though I had recently eaten, my stomach was grumbling the whole time and as soon as I walked out of the office I dug into my purse and found an Apple Pie Larabar.  Never underestimate the importance of the “emergency snack.”

The bar held me over for a while, but when I got home at 5:30, I was already thinking about dinner again.  I think it must be the darkness outside that’s throwing off my internal clock.  I looked in the pantry, the fridge, and the hanging produce basket to see what I could see.

Brandi’s pasta-stuffed squash inspired me, so I decided to combine two of my favorites: roasted veggies and loaded macaroni and cheese.  I cut an acorn squash in half and rubbed each with olive oil, salt, pepper and cayenne; then I roasted them at 450˚ for about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, I sipped on a glass of Rosemount Sauvignon Blanc.  Sauvignon Blanc is one of my favorite white wines, and from my experience, unless the wine is really cheap (and you remember buying it at the liquor store near your college’s campus), it’s a pretty safe bet.

Rosemount is an Australian-based vineyard. In traditional French Sauvignon Blanc,  Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon grapes are often blended together; Sémillon come from Bordeaux and Southwest France, whereas Sauvignon Blanc can come from Bordeaux, the Loire Valley, southwestern France and Languedoc.(FWFD 19).  “Sauvignon Blanc is the dominant grape variety (60 to 100 percent) in most of Bordeaux’s dry white wines, whereas Sémillon dominates the sweeter white wines…. The Sauvignon Blanc part of the wine offers immediate charm; it’s crisp, lively, herbaceous, light0bodied, and develops early” (FWFD 70). Rosemount’s version is also a Sémillon blend.

When the squash was just about done, I made a bowl of macaroni and cheese mixed with tuna, nutritional yeast and chili flakes.

I packed the mixture into the squash halves and baked them for 2 minutes longer.

These were so good! I loved the sweetness of the squash, the saltiness of the tuna and the cheesiness of the pasta noodles.  I know I’ve been getting a little crazy with my mac ‘n cheese lately, but it’s so much better that way

I was craving ice cream for dessert, so I started with a Pure Dark Chipotle/ semi-sweet/bittersweet chocolate sauce.  A few drops of water, 30 seconds in the microwave, and a quick stir gives you melty freshness that’s far better than Hershey’s.

I added a little Brown Sugar ice cream, and had a nice lil sundae for myself.

I needed to take the night off from thinking about (un)employment, so I climbed in bed with my dessert and popped Wristcutters: A Love Story into the DVD player.  It was pretty cute, in a twisted sort of way.  I’m going to try to get a quick yoga sesh in and hit the sack.  Bed before 10? You betcha!

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Armeno Wine Tasting Event Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009

One of the difficulties with selecting the perfect wine for a Thanksgiving celebration is the varied character of the menus.  Not everyone serves turkey, and even if you do, the flavors and themes of the menu can vary widely, from the traditional stuffed and basted bird and sides to menus with distinct Southwest, Mediterranean, Italian, French, or even Eastern flair.

This Saturday’s Thanksgiving Wine Tasting Event at Armeno Coffee Roasters, 75 Otis Street in Northborough, Massachusetts, offers a sampling of wines sure to compliment your festivities, regardless of the menu.  And with prices starting around $10 per bottle, there are suitable selection for every budget.

Last weekend, we tasted and learned about wines from Oregon to California, France, Italy and even Hungary.  This Saturday, November 21, from 1 – 4pm, Armeno will feature a completely different selection of wines.  So if you enjoyed last week’s event, join us again to sample even more wines.  If you missed last week’s event, don’t miss this one.  (And don’t forget to pick up a pound of our freshly roasted Holiday Cheer Blend Coffee for a satisfying and aromatic compliment to your dessert course.)

And, like last week, all our wines are 15% off during the event.

This weekend, our features wines include:

  • Mionetto Organic Prosecco
    If you prefer a sparkling beverage, this Prosecco from the Piedmont region of Italy, may be the choice for you.  Certified organic, and delivered in a 100% recyclable bottle, foil, necker and packaging, the wine comes with a story all its own.  The SFoodie blog has a fantastic description of the wine and the winery.
  • 2007 Matanzas Creek Sonoma County Sauvignon Blanc
    The Matanzas Creek signature style of ‘non grassy’ Sauvignon Blanc is achieved by blending Sauvignon Musque (a clonal cousin of Sauvignon Blanc) which balances the wine’s natural acidity, strengthens the mid-palate and provides a longer finish. They also ferment and age 21% of the wine in very fine grain French Oak barrels to preserve the fresh aromatic qualities of these varietals.
  • 2007 Villa Antinori Toscana Bianco IGT
    This wine is a blend of 70% Trebbiano and Malvasia, 30% Chardonnay toscano, Pinot Bianco and Pinot Grigio. Villa Antinori Bianco was first released in the 1931 vintage by Niccolò Antinori; since then the label has practically remained the same. In the 1980s a small percentage of Chardonnay was added, for greater structure. It is pale straw-yellow in color with intense aromas of white flowers on the nose and a fresh, soft and nicely lingering palate.
  • 2008 Cono Sur Viognier from Chile
    Dressed in the beautiful medium golden color characteristic of this variety. Sweet notes of apricots, citrics and peaches anticipate final hints of azahar flower notes. Fresh and lively in mouth, this Viognier is concentrated, tasty, full and savory. A wine of great character, density and structure, with a good acidity level and great persistence. For an interesting description of the wine and the region, visit Rhone Around the World blog.
  • 2007 Chateau Saint Michelle Indian Wells Riesling
    A ripe, tropical style of Riesling, which comes from warmer sites in Washington’s Columbia Valley. This wine shows Riesling’s ripe and racy side with a great combination of warmer rich tropical fruit-driven aromas with a hint of minerality. The wine is rich and unctuous, while maintaining a fresh, elegant style that is typical of Washington State Riesling.
  • 2008 Cono Sur Pinot Noir
    Fresh, elegant and aromatically intense, this wine is everything a good Pinot Noir should be. Dressed in a beautiful, bright ruby red colour, it comes from the Colchagua Valley. Fruit notes of cherry, ripe strawberry, cherry and raspberry combine with hints of chocolate and coffee. In mouth it’s silky, full, structured, and persistent, with fruity notes and soft tannins.
  • 2006 Freeman Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast
    The most complex and complete of the 2006 Freemans, this is fragrant, with wilted rose petal, blackberry and wild berry and hints of loamy earth. Both supple and firm on the finish. Drink now through 2014. 1,680 cases made.
  • 2007 Casello Monaci Salice Salentino Liante
    A ripe, darkly concentrated blend of negroamaro (80%) and malvasia nera (20%). Possesses an intriguing array of dark red fruit, sweet herbs and licorice in a round, expansive style. Pretty notes of tobacco linger on the long finish.
  • 2006 Chateau Saint Michelle Indian Wells Cabernet Sauvignon
    The purple-colored 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Indian Wells (with 10% Syrah included) was sourced from the Wahluke Slope and Indian Wells Vineyard and aged for 18-20 months in predominantly new French and American oak. The nose reveals smoke, spice box, violets, black cherry, and black currant. This leads to a dense, sweet, layered Cabernet with enough fine-grained tannin to evolve for another 2-3 years. It will offer prime drinking from 2011 to 2018.
  • 2007 Murphy-Goode Liar’s Dice Zinfandel
    The 2007 vintage is a combination of both Dry Creek and Alexander Valley fruit. The Dry Creek grapes contribute black raspberry and currants. The Alexander Valley fruit imparts rich, fruit flavors of black cherry and blackberry jam. Soft tannins perfectly balance the sweetness of the fruit. They blend 4% Carignan to add balance and structure to this well rounded Zinfandel.

Armeno Coffee Roasters

Enjoy!

Sorry dear, my friends are nicer and you know it.

What can I say about today’s choice of  image, I like cats.  I get annoyed that Francy won’t allow me to have a cat, but if  we hadn’t met, I would most likely be a crazy cat lady.

 

Today’s post comes to mind because on Saturday we will be having a party of sorts.  Of sorts because I said it was to celebrate Thanksgiving, but this was just to convince Francy.  After our last day out with his friends we decided that a pleasant afternoon with friends shouldn’t include shouting anti-Muslim and anti-foreigner rants.  (note:  when one woman caressed my face and said “When I say foreigners are bad people, I don’t mean you.  You’re integrated into our society. You’re a nice girl”)

It was all I could do to not give her a double f-you and f-you alla Berger in Sex and the City.

Ok, let me get back on track.  My goal in convincing Francy to have a party with my friends is that he’ll have a nice afternoon.  No, we don’t always agree on every subject, but the mere ability of my friends to listen to and consider someone else’s viewpoint (without swearing and yelling) wins big points with Francy.  I mean yes, my friend Paedar’s wife has a weird habit I haven’t figured out yet, but I don’t win the debate by using the f-word repeatedly.  Paedar is Irish (he’ll agree that it’s a sad stereotype, but just give him potatoes in any form and he’s a happy man) and his wife is Italian.  Since they are usually the only 2 Italians present when we get together, they often have a debate on the state of THEIR nation.  For some strange reason, her defense is always “well, they have that in America too” or some other bizzare and random criticism (apparently she prefers to be ignored by salesclerks vs offered help as is the case in America).  That’s fine, I’ll politely explain to you that in modern American society we don’t have a  lot of rogue 3-card monty tables on the street, but you can think we do if it gets you through the night.

Then there’s Paul.  Paul is fabulous.  He’s a little brusk at times.  Sometimes he goes into anti-social mode, but if that’s the case he also goes into hiding until he’s human again.  Paul is smart, funny and as Paul said about my wedding reception,

“There’s wine, lots of wine and when I want more wine, I just ask.  What is there to complain about?”

We’ve decided to risk adding 3 more Italians to the mix.  One is Alessandro, a friend of Paedar’s who is teaching Francy and Paedar how to drive.  He must be a saint or the world’s most patient man and therefore deserves to be invited.  Then we have Alessandro and Isabella.  It’s risky because they are younger and while much more open-minded than Francy’s friends, we’ve never thrown them into the mix before.  Alessandro #2 however, will always have a place in my heart simply for the story of when he went to Miami.  He didn’t know about sales tax and proceeded to argue with the cashier until she gave him 3 Snickers and told him to get lost.  He took the candy and left, but will forever be confused by “tax not included”.

Next time: The morning routine.


Wine of the night - Milan Ruz

Hello to all,

Tonight is the entry level Dobra wine, Milan Ruz.  That being said, it is the thing that keeps me going back.  Dobra Zemlja!  Although, I have to admit, that this last time that I went there, I did not feel the love.  There was a new duo behind the counter.  I was flying solo, which could be a bad thing, but Terra d’Orro & Bray treated me like royalty.  But, I will not hold that against them this time, I will wait until my next visit.   Regardless of my latest experience, I say go to Dobra and grab a bottle of the Milan Ruz and enjoy.  I was there, and could not helpmyself…hehe.  A bottle of Milan Ruz, Zin & a Tempranillo for my dad.  I have not told him yet, so shhh keep it a secret…lol.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Whine and dine

I happened upon “The Bonnie Hunt Show” during my business travels last week, and her floor director made a comment that I’m thinking about putting on a t-shirt.

Bonnie was teasing him about the number of cookies he was eating before the show, and he replied, “I’m an adult now. I can eat as many cookies as I want.  I’m in charge of me.”

Damn straight.

Even at my age, I am asked time and time again to explain my behavior, simply because it goes against some preconceived societal norm.  The one that irks me the most?

“You don’t want wine with dinner?  Everyone else is having a glass.”

I am so tired of answering this question.  Why should my not drinking alcohol ever be an issue?  But for some reason, it is.  And I find myself explaining, again and again.

Do I ever make people explain why they choose beer…or wine…or a mixed drink?  No.  Because I don’t care what they drink.  It doesn’t affect my enjoyment of what I’m drinking or eating, so why should my decision to drink iced tea affect theirs?

Heck, iced tea looks like liquor — a darn big glass of it — so by all appearances, I’m drinking.  And if you’ve hung around with me, you know iced tea makes me very, very happy, and when I’m happy, I’m very, very social.

Yes, this is a pet peeve.  But I feel better having vented. Thanks for listening.  Heck, let’s all go grab a cookie…or two…or five.

We’re all adults here, right?



Mushrooms

Apologies for the absence, The Daydream Kitchen has been on holiday in the New Forest, picking mushrooms and daydreaming…
A few days in the New Forest were spent in a blissful romantic and gastronomic haze: splashing and squelching and strolling arm in arm down paths and through trees, shuffling and searching and peering and crouching and picking and checking, just to be sure, the mushroom book. The thrill of the find, as the dense bloated stem of the Cep is grasped beneath its penny bun cap and plucked from the crumbly black forest floor. The rush for the next and the next, as the eyes tune into the forms and camouflage of the quarry.

To devour our foraged fungus we kept it simple, matching buttery pan-fried mushrooms with rich, golden scrambled eggs, briny bacon and nutty spelt toast – a filling and motivating breakfast to fuel another day’s shuffling through the woods with eyes to the ground.

Firm, nutty Ceps are a meaty, substantial mushroom, accented by the delicately flavoured corrugated sunset of the Chanterelle. They combine earthy, autumnal looks with depths of flavour and texture, which would be well suited to a range of dishes, provided the temptation to throw them straight into the frying pan is resisted. Our fungal forays have got me a dreaming of mushroom dishes: oozy unctuous risottos; firm, earthy terrines; mellow, creamy soups; stuffed meats; and fat, flat field mushrooms topped with blue cheese, breadcrumbs and garlic butter before grilling to a golden top. Hearty, robust fare for lengthening evenings and biting winds, and ideally followed by a wine in front of the fire evening: warm, drowsy, end of the day fatigue and a satisfied slumber.

San Francisco 2009.


If you’re reading through Facebook, click here.

Elena and I spent last weekend in San Francisco. My grandmother has been in Toronto since the end of August–she’s just hanging out around here for about 6 months, and she wanted to visit her family in Sacramento. We took her to SFO so she could get picked up by her sisters. She’s spending the rest of the month in Sacramento, and Elena and I had the rest of the weekend to explore San Francisco together.

Some places you should definitely check out:

  1. Mama’s: An awesome breakfast place in North Beach. They’re really good and really popular. Get there early if you want to try their food. We waited about 45 minutes but it was worth it. The place closes at 3pm everyday.
  2. Tadich Grill: The oldest restaurant in California serves awesome seafood. Again, really popular. The staff there is awesome–they’ve probably been working at the restaurant for decades.
  3. R&G Lounge: A popular Chinese place in China Town. Try their live deep-fried crab with garlic, ginger and hot peppers.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Thanksgiving Meal?

…Texturally rich, with a fatness and a bit of flatness on the mid-palate, also a little buttery; a dense, fresh, taste with attractive dark, gravelly blackcurrant backed up by earthy, minerally notes, melting in to a rich, bold, sweet pear fruit together with some honeydew melon and vanilla sweetness so the palate is finished with an elegant, attractive and sweet after taste of cherry, lemon and raspberry garnished with some rich spicy oak notes.

No, not a Thanksgiving meal actually- wine tasting notes…

more Hemel-en-Aarde wine accolades

Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, La Vierge Sauvignon Blanc performed well in the Santam Classic Wine Trophy and Decanter International Wine Awards. Domaine des Dieux, Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge, performed particularly well with Silver and Diamond awards in the Michelangelo and Winemakers Choice Awards for all 3 their wines.

…this was taken from Marc van Halderen’s “you heard it through the grape mine” newsletter

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Take a Management Time Out

I have to say that winery owners and managers are some of the hardest workers I know.  Working hard is important, but it can be overwhelming–leaving winery owners and managers little time to ponder how effective they are working.  As hard as it is, managers need to take a daily time out to ask themselves how they can work more effectively and delegate more tasks.  In this post, I’ll show how successful winery owners and managers use their time outs to break some vicious cycles.

Vicious cycle #1: Management Time Drain

Winery owners and manager have a lot of tasks to manage on a daily basis.  Some of these tasks are unexpected—causing even more work each day.  One very busy winery owner put it to me this way:  “I miss having time to think!”  The preponderance of daily tasks causes a vicious cycle—as one becomes busier, the occurrence of unplanned problems becomes more likely, resulting in a drain on management time.  I call this vicious cycle #1.

 

Vicious cycle #2: The Do-It-Yourself Dilemma

In order to make more time for management, one has to delegate some daily tasks.  This delegation can be one of the hardest tasks for any manager—trusting someone else to do something you know you could do better!  Surely, if you let other people do some of the work, they will mess it up!  If you have hired and trained the right people, then this thought process is an illusion.  If you never give others responsibility for tasks, they will never learn how to do them right.  This can make the management time drain even worse.    

Success Cycle #1:  The 80/20 Rule for Managers

A very efficient manager once told me that the effectiveness of her daily work follows the 80/20 rule: 80% of the meaningful work gets done in 20% of the time.  In her case, 20% of the time was spent organizing and planning, while the remaining 80% of the time she spent doing “busy work” such as answering phone calls and solving small problems.  In order to stay efficient, she made it her primary focus to constantly shave down the busy work (or make it more efficient) so that she could concentrate more on the effective work.   

By taking a time out each day to plan and organize your business, you will reduce the possibility of unplanned problems—reducing the amount of busy work in the long run!  I call this success cycle #1 and it is the opposite of vicious cycle #1.  

    

Success cycle #2:  Effective Delegation

Effective delegation breaks the do-it-yourself vicious cycle.  If you are imaginative, you can also see how effective delegation can also solve the management time drain vicious cycle.  If the opportunity exists to delegate tasks, take it.  This is a critical piece of success cycle #2.

 

How do you take a time out?

The missing key ingredient in many small and mid-sized winery operations is time.  In order to have enough time for management, it has to be a priority and you have to schedule time for it, otherwise it will remain elusive.  However, when you start viewing management problems in cycles, you begin to realize that there are a lot of vicious cycles that exist simply because the solution takes time to implement. 

One of the focuses for the 2010 Winery Benchmark will be work routines and task efficiency.  How long should certain jobs take?  How many personnel are required?  What are industry best management practices?  For more information on this topic, consider becoming a participant in the Winery Benchmark program.

Have comments or questions you would like to share with the group?  Please include your thoughts in the Comments section above.  Want to contact me directly?  Please email me, Steve Richards, at info@wineryprofitability.com.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Scandinavian journalists and sommeliers visits Hemel-en-Aarde wine wards

A Scandinavian group will be visiting the 3 Hemel-en-Aarde wine wards tomorrow for a tasting of their wines.  The visitors will be hosted to a food & Hemel-en-Aarde wine pairing at Creation Wines, www.creationwines.com Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge and will overnight at High Season www.highseasonfarm.com.   The visitors from Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland are as follows:

Sweden:   Anna Vasseur, Anders Levander – journalist for the biggest wine magazine in Sweden – Livets Goda. He´s planning to do a “Fine Wine” edition of the magasine, with SA exclusive wines; Niklas Löfgren – preparing for the Swedish Sommeliers’ Championship. He´s currently working as a sommelier in the F12 group in Stockholm
Kajsa Bergkvist – a former world champion in high jump, and a free-lancing sommelier. She is a wine ambassador for SA wines; Maja Berthas (WOSA representative in Sweden)
 
Denmark:  Ingela Svanström (WOSA representative in Denmark); Rasmus Holmgård
 
Norway:  Merete Bö – Winner of the Nordic Championship 2009. Very important journalist that writes for the biggest daily newspaper in Norway.
Dan Lystad – Head of the Sommelier education in Oslo & a wine consultant for many top-end buyers in Norway.

Finland:  Samuil Angelov – Head sommelier at the prestigous resturant Savoy in Helsinki

2009 wine is bottled!

Well we are now officially out of 2008 stock and our 2009 wine is bottled and on the shop shelves.  It is a relief to put our first year behind us after coming up against a recession and an oversupply of wine in the market. 

We are stoked with how our ‘09′ wines are tasting -  and of course we aren’t bias .  But then we had expert assistant winemakers – a whoppa thanks to all of you who took part in the blend. 

The big new one for us is our NASA Sauvignon Blanc – No Added Sulfur Around.  It’s summed up by the blurb on the back of the bottle:

“Sometimes we get crazy ideas while we wait around for our beautiful Fiasco fruit to ripen.   How about making a wine without throwing in any of the usual additives and preservatives?  Simply harvest the fruit, coax out the juice, ferment it with yeast, lightly filter, and bottle.  The idea appeared radical but with good clean fruit and careful wine making we knew we could give it a blast.  And so the NASA concept took off –No Added Sulfur Around!  We must confess though – this bottle does contain small amounts of sulphites but only because the wild yeast that arrived in our juice love to produce them naturally.  And we should probably warn you that in time your NASA may form a small amount of sediment -don’t worry its harmless! ”

Reflecting back on this time last year, it’s exciting and encouraging to now have some wine outlets approaching us  – instead of rejecting our approaches – understandably as a then unknown new label.  We still have plenty of work to do in getting our Fiasco name out there – but we are making progress and each little step forward is great for the ole motivation.  It is actually quite scary when you stand in the bottling company watching thousands of bottles come off the bottling line – it’s hard not to have moments of panic and thoughts of -  “Crikey can we sell all this?!”  But this time around we have a steady flow of orders and we are ever grateful to all of you who buy our end product – it’s immensely rewarding  to see our year’s work bottled and a real buzz to know it’s being enjoyed by folk all over NZ and increasingly Australia.   Cheers all!

Doin' what I do

I had a chilly, windy 5 mile run in the dark tonight…grrr…DST. But what are ya gonna do? It’s dark before work, and now it’s dark after work too. Runners still have to run.

But right now makes it all worthwhile: just finished watching Part 2 of a great NOVA series on PBS – Becoming Human: the Birth of Humanity. According to this documentary, early humans learned social skills by doing just what I’m doing right now – sitting around a fire and waiting for food to cook! Can’t escape your roots!

Although I don’t think they were sipping Layer Cake…

…or adding too much celery to their homemade chicken soup…

It’s nice to know how far we’ve come.

I wasn’t planning on running tonight – it was dark and windy after work and I decided to just come home and do some exercises on the ol’ stability ball and call it a night…but halfway through, I caught the bug, and I just had to go running. (who else is thinking Forrest Gump right now?)

So, it was already dark, and it was cold and windy, but dang me if I didn’t have the best 5 miler of my life!

I can’t explain it, but sometimes everything just falls into place, the stars align, your legs feel longer, and your feet carry you like you’re weightless.

I am the apex of millions of years of evolution. So far, anyway.

Monday, November 9, 2009

Wine nights at Oba

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We’ve been doing this for awhile, but it never hurts to remind people…

Sunday and Monday nights are “wine nights” at Oba. This means that guests receive 50% off bottles of wine from our main list, with purchase of an entree.

So if you’ve been waiting to enjoy a Beaux Freres pinot noir or Jordan cabernet, today’s your day to splurge — at half the price!

Kind of a nice cure for the Monday blues, right?

To book a reservation, call us at 503.228.6161 or book online with Open Table.

Impressions from Jakarta - Social House

The centre of Jakarta

We were lucky that we got a seat in the first place. “Social house” was, as always, booked out. We had a great view of the fountain at the city centre, odered two pizza and two glasses of house Malbec, a drinkable red wine.

Social house menue

About food and wine

Pizza

Social house wine cellar

There is nothing more relaxing than having a meal with a good friend, in a location where my heart is: Jakarta. Glorious memories and good company. What can be better in life

Friday, November 6, 2009

The Luxe, Spitalfields

Got rather smashed with my friend Max at the Luxe last night.  Its the baby of John Torode (him off Masterchef and of Smiths of Smithfields fame) and the first time we went, the man himself showed us to our table and brought our drinks which I thought was a great touch.  As a massive Masterchef fan, I really wanted to chat to him about it, but all I managed was to ask him where the toilet was… On Sunday its a fantastic place for brunch inside or outside – great atmosphere, interesting menu, great spicy bloody mary.  We had a chicken salad which was yummy and whitebait which were lovely and crispy and served with lemon mayo.  You could never eat the amount that you get – great value too.  Last night it changed somewhat – it was more of the City crowd and really noisy.  Good music though and a good drinks list.  Started with an amazing raspberry martini, then went on to wine, and finally prosecco, whoops.  The bar snacks – chicken legs, falafel, whitebait and chips – were delicious and really good value at around £4 a pop.  If you can bear the city crowd, then it is highly recommended.

Red Wine Friday (1)

Yes! This evening will be the first installment, of what I hope will be many installments, of Red Wine Friday. If you read my post yesterday, you’ll know that I was going to try to get organised and buy a bottle of red wine, let you know what it was, so that if you wanted to, you got get the same one and taste it with me. I managed to get organised, (amazing!) so, tonight’s wine is: (drumroll please!)

Stormhoek Pinotage (Dido) 2008.

It cost me R45 in Pick’n'Pay.  I can’t find much info on this particular range of wine so I haven’t got much to go on, but as far as I can tell, Platters gives it  2.5-3/5 stars. The cellar’s website (here) doesn’t give much in the way of actual info about the actual wines. I hope that you will able to drink along with me. We’re going to have it with chicken Kiev (recipe below), mashed potatoes, and probably a salad. (yes, red wine with chicken…I know that that’s not supposed to be how it g

If you can’t find that exact wine, I encourage you to get out there, choose a cheapish bottle (we’ve limited ourselves to R50/bottle. That’s about US$7.00 or € 4.50) that you haven’t tried before and go for it! Share what you thought in the comments section. Let us know what bottle you bought, what year it was and how much it was, and of course, why you liked it (or not).

Anyway, back to yesterday/today. I had coffee with Carol and she shared all her stories about the exchange to Scotland. It sounds like it was a fantastic experience! This was a work exchange, not a student one, so she got to meet other social workers in Scotland and the UK. The idea being to share knowledge, methods and learning experiences. Its run by Rotary all over the world. She and I have made a standing date to go ‘power’ walking on a Thursday evening. Which will be great. I have felt very unfit and blah recently. Nothing to do with the 3 tops and pair of jeans I tried on, none of which fit! I’m claiming that Woolies sizes are odd. We’re also going to force ourselves to go for cocktails this evening. J’s playing field hockey so she and I will just have to pass the time somehow!

This weekend is another round of cricket, against Port Alfred this time. I hope they show up-there have been all sorts of rumours that the Club has folded so we will see. I’m going to spend some of Saturday morning at the Grahamstown Flower Festival (clicky!) where I hope to get some nice indigenous flowers and bulbs to tart up the garden a little. I am not sure what our plans for Sunday are-probably something lazy and easy. Probably planting out my purchases!

I hope you all have a lovely weekend! Check back Monday for wine notes

Chicken Kiev

Ingredients (for 2 people)

1 or 2 de-boned, skinless chicken breasts per person

1 egg

50g butter

Bunch fresh parsley, chopped finely

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

Breadcrumbs (for coating)

Corn starch (for coating)

Salt & pepper to taste

Toothpicks

 

Method

1. I usually serve 1 breast per person, but if you have hungry men, you can serve more.

2. Put the breasts in a plastic bag, bash them with a rolling pin or a sturdy bottle until they are thinner and flattened. Not too thin, but about half their original thickness. Put aside

3. In a small bowl, mix the softened butter, parsley and garlic. Toss in some salt and pepper to taste.

4. Take the breasts and put about 1 tsp of the butter mixture into the middle of each breast. Fold the meat up and around the butter and secure it with toothpicks. You’ll have a little parcel of chicken with butter in the middle. Pop these in the fridge/freezer for about 30 mins to help the butter harden up.

5. Beat the egg in a shallow dish. Put just enough cornstarch and breadcrumbs on separate plates for coating the parcels.

6. Dip each parcel into the egg, then into the cornstarch, then into the egg again, and finally into the breadcrumbs. The cornstarch makes the coating lovely and crispy.

7. Arrange on an oven-proof dish and pop into the oven (middle shelf) for 25mins at 180C (350F).

8. Serve hot with your choice of veggies and either rice or mashed potatoes. As you cut into the parcels, the lovely garlic-parsley butter will spill out and smell divine! Warn your guests about the toothpicks!

 

 

A whole new way of eating/thinking

Bush lemons

I have never put so much thought into finding the food I want in my whole life and career in food. If I feel like eating an Asian meal or anything Mediterranean I am used to just heading off to the shops to buy whatever appeals and looks good on the day. The discipline of searching out as many as 75% of ingredients from just one state of Australia is a novel challenge.

We have visitors at the moment, both are from New Zealand and I cannot resist telling them where the food is from and hope they appreciate the quality of the ingredients and are not bored by the unsolicited information.

As I write this the guests are driving along the Bay of Fires coastline and I am cooking a leg of spring lamb in an electric frying pan. Now here is a cooking device that I never use but as I inherited it with the house I thought I would do a retro dinner.  I do remember my mother using it regularly when it first came into vogue. Now of course as it bubbles away nearby I recall that electric frying pans do not keep an even heat, the thermostat seems to go up and down, it slows the cooking and then send it back up to the temperature you set it on and everything starts madly bubbling and steaming.  It will suffice but only just for the braise method I am using but I will revert back to the oven or cooking it on the stove top in a heavy cast iron Dutch oven. Trouble is I still don’t trust my Fisher and Paykel under-bench oven. It smokes if you put the oven fan on and I have cleaned it just in case there is grease that is causing the smoking. I cannot wait to get a new one.

Having said that I did manage a successful Lemon Delicious pudding last night, thank you Philip Johnson for your recipe. And I cooked my first Anzacs with success. I used the Tasmanian Elgaar Farm organic rolled oats. I do not have a biscuit sheet, another item for the shopping list so I used a flat pizza stone with a sheet of baking paper.

My Anzacs

When I went to the Salty Seas, yesterday, it is a shop here that looks more like a fishermans’ coop, the only fresh fish was flathead and ling. I bought the ling and instead of the usual pan fry approach I poached them lightly in lemon juice and water. Kept them warm whilst I made a sauce with cream and Hill Farm horseradish. I added a couple of egg yolks and watched it like a hawk so it would not turn into scrambled eggs. I poured the sauce over the fish and took away the bland look with some fresh chopped parsley. This was a recipe I had never cooked before and what’s more I have never used horseradish as a seasoning for fish and it actually worked. The recipe came from Vicki Wild’s Seafood Kitchen. I did not take a photo of the fish dish as it was more important to get it to the hungry men sitting at the table whilst it was hot. The wine for the fish…. a Freycinet Vineyard Riesling 2008 and it’s crisp minerally long aftertaste worked well with the creamy sauce. Another wine to add to my faves so far.

Lemon Delicious with Binalong Lemons

The Lemon Delicious here was made with lemons that were a gift from a neighbour.  The photo up top shows some the lemons in a white ‘milk glass’ fruit dish I bought at St Helens market back in February this year. But when I made the Lemon Delicious one of the guests wanted a photo so I rushed a quick one before it deflated a little. I served it with Van Dieman’s Land Vanilla Bean ice cream from The East Coast Providore in St Helens.

Next meal is at the local restaurant Angasi in Binalong. Our guests are treating us so I am hoping it is as good as it was last time we were here back in February.

Roz

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Duh, It's Not Food That Made Me Fat, It's My Food Allergies

By Bianca

I was reading The Huffington Post yesterday when a headline caught my eye. Are Your Food Allergies making You Fat?

Now like any good fatty, I know that the fat on my body is not my fault. It has nothing to do with my eating or exercise habits at all. It’s purely genetic. The fact that I had pizza for dinner last night, and breakfast this morning, has no effect on my weight whatsoever. None.

However that argument is sometimes just not good enough for people. Don’t you just hate the phrase ‘Eat less and exercise more’? It seriously drives me up a wall. There was a time in my life that I did eat less and exercise more. I had a major eating disorder that screwed up my metabolism, making me fatter than ever.

Basically what I am saying is that eating less and exercising more made me fat. I am of a good mind to sue the jerk who came up with that little catchphrase. Anyone want to jump on the bandwagon, so we can take this to class action status?

As I said, people like to disagree with genetics, and argue with you, so I am always on the look out for new reasons to throw at people about why I am fat. I am certainly not going to take responsibility for it. And anything who thinks I should is lame. Like people who eat basil (if anyone besides Sylvia gets this reference, I will love you forever).

So I was beyond delighted to see that there was an actual doctor out there, who was telling the world that food was not making us fat, but it was in fact our allergies to said food that caused us to pack on the pounds. Take that fatty haters!!

Of course, there was also a bunch of sciency stuff and big words, so I kind of skimmed alot of the article. But I did notice at the end that the doctor recommended cutting certain food – gluten, dairy, eggs, corn, yeast and peanuts – out of your diet for a few weeks. And that’s where the article got on my bad side. Is he seriously suggesting that I stop eating cheese for 3 weeks? Ohhh, and I just googled ‘Does wine have yeast in it’ and IT DOES, so this jerk of a doctor wants me to stop eating cheese and drinking wine, just because he says so? Oh, we are so fighting now.

Food allergies can kiss my fat ass.

H-ARRR-vest 2009

I moved to Oregon in September of 2004.  Hard to believe that was five years ago!  I was hired by Erath Vineyards and, although I took a job in sales and marketing, my intention was to get closer to the source to learn more about viticulture and/or production.  I wanted to eventually land in the realm of winemaking.  Five years later, I never really got into the winery or vineyard, as I had hoped.  Some of my employers allowed me to dapple in some fruit sorting or other light tasks of harvest work, but I never was able to fully experience what harvest was all about.

This year, since I had a more flexible schedule in consulting, I decided it was time to work crush.  In March, I had contacted my friend and colleague, Thomas Houseman, winemaker at Anne Amie Vineyards.  I met his winemaking team and signed on for harvest cellar work.

I started in early September with bottling some of the 2009 wines.  It was a great way to get familiar with the cellar and winemaking team.  By mid-month, I was helping with organizing and numbering new barrels.  By October, we were in production.

My tasks as a cellar worker ranged from sorting fruit; cleaning and sanitizing equipment and tanks (which I did a lot!); following various work orders; monitoring fermentations (and by this I mean sampling for pH, gathering Brix and temperature data); punch downs;  barrel topping; and so on.

Here I am sorting Muller Thurgau grapes..

The best part of harvest is working on a crew.  I would say it’s like being on a pirate ship.  A collegial pirate ship.  You work very long hours doing really hard work.  You plunder, and by plunder I mean you steal your crew mate’s galoshes and fill them up with water.  You walk the plank over a tank to do your punchdowns.  It’s exhausting and at times dangerous (you might slip on deck!).  You are accountable for your work and your team relies on you to pull your weight. 

There is a romance about making wine.  Most people imagine bringing in baskets of pretty grapes and carefully placing the fruit in large baskets where beautiful women proceed to stomp the grapes with their perfect bare feet.  Okay, maybe not.  But, there truly is a romantic notion about making wine.  And, every person who has ever worked on a cellar crew knows that the reality of it is that you are cold, wet, dirty, physically beat and bruised, and tired.  It’s not romantic at all.  But, what it is – well, it’s something hard to describe.  You have to work a harvest to understand. 

Here I am in rain gear, connecting a hose,
getting ready to hose down the sorting line… 

There is a Zen nature to doing harvest work, in the meditative repetition of tasks.  When I would hose down the sorting line or do my early morning rounds of collecting samples from tanks of Pinot noir, and even when I got to do punch downs, I felt a rhythm with nature and science, with space and time.  I was very content.  My “real life” seemed far and distant.  I had been transported to a place that clamored with the sounds of beeping forklifts, wine pump-overs and loud hip hop or new wave music.  I was fed well by an incredible chef who catered to our culinary needs.  I was made fun of, harassed and prodded in good fun - hence, being part of a pirate crew.  I dished out as much as I could.  But, mostly, I learned a great deal from the excellent people who challenged me to experience a real wine education.

This was my first harvest, my first crush and it sure as hell won’t be my last.  Arrrr!

Stuffed Pumpkin!

Here’s the pumpkin dish I promised you a few days ago. I found it on this site called the Prudent Baby, and while I don’t think mine is nearly as delightful as hers, I am pretty pleased with how it turned out!

I started by cutting the top off the pumpkin and scooping its innards out. First of all, scooping the innards out of a sugar pumpkin is hard. They are little and the stringy stuff is much more stubborn. After much trial and tribulation, I had mine as cleaned out as it was going to get. While scooping out the pumpkin, I toasted some bread because while mine was day-old Weaver Street bread, I don’t think it was quite stale. Oh, and I soaked the stem so it wouldn’t burn.

After the pumpkin was cleaned out and the bread was toasted, I sprinkled some salt and pepper inside and started stuffing the pumpkin in layers of cheese and garlic followed by bread. I used mostly goat cheese, but through in a layer of bleu cheese for a little extra oomph. And I tried to stuff it really full per PB’s instructions.

That shit on the left is cream with nutmeg and white pepper,which comes into play in a second. Can you tell I’m all over the place with this post? No shots of a really full pumpkin before the addition of cream, no shots of pumpkin carnage, nothing. Sorry, folks.

After the whole pumpkin was stuffed to the gills with cheese, bread, and garlic, I poured the cream over it all.

Mmm. Cheesy creamy pumpkiny goodness.

Then I popped that sucker on a pie plate covered in tin foil and threw it into the oven for an hour and twenty minutes at 375 degrees.

Then my house started to smell like heaven, of course, and I had to satiate myself eating the three leftover cubes of bread that I’d toasted and hadn’t been able to fit in the pumpkin. Not so cool. After it cooked for that first little bit, I took the pumpkin’s lid off and let it cook for about twenty more minutes.

And here is the finished product!

I think that I could have done a few things differently – I think I should have toasted the bread a little bit longer; used less cream; and let the pumpkin bake initially a little bit longer. Or at least two of those things – I just think the bread was a little too soft. But all in all it was delicious – and the pumpkin peeled away from the skin so easily!

This is one of those meals that really make me realize that meat is just not a necessity for feeling full after eating. It was a little too rich, I think, with the cheese and thick bread and pumpkin flesh – but quite delicious, and a good cold-night meal.

And here’s what I’m drinking in honor of my darling pookie Gypsy, who no longer has to wear that beastly e-collar.

Monday, November 2, 2009

Just around the corner

The morning we took off to make the big rounding of Point Arguello and Point Conception, I knew we had secured just about everything but ourselves to the boat but I kept wondering what we had forgotten.  As a planner, I suppose that is my nature, to always be thinking about the one variable I haven’t thought about…as we pulled up the anchor I knew if there had been forgotten the next few hours would give up what we had not thought about. 

Korbey steered Darlin out of the safe harbor of Port Saint Luis into the already big seas, we knew as the day wore on they would only build so time was not our friend.  As we neared Point Arguello the washing machine action of the oceans waters intensified but we passed that test without incident, now onto Point Conception.  NOAA http://www.noaa.gov was predicting 11 – 13’ waves with 17 seconds intervals, they would be big long rollers. The wind would be from behind us at 20 – 25 miles with gusts up to 35 out of the north northwest. They’d be pretty much on the stern pushing us along. The big challenge for our courageous Captain was keeping the boat from breaching as the surfed on a 50’ 15 ton board! 

Korbey mastered the seas and the maneuvered the boat around Point Conception into a big lake like ocean…we were on our way safely to Santa Barbara!

The ocean after Point Conception as we headed to Santa Barbara - this was nice...

With a big sigh of relief, Darlin pulled into Santa Barbara marina and we tied her up to the guest dock at The Santa Barbara Yacht Club http://www.sbyc.org shortly after 5pm. We checked in with the Harbor Masters office – boaters please make note that Santa Barbara charges $7 per key, it’s an administrative fee you, unlike most marina’s, don’t get it back. 

After showering, Korbey and I wondered up to Chuck’s Waterfront Grill http://www.chuckswaterfrontgrill.com .  We feasted on a grilled artichoke, Cajun Seared Ahi and Clam Chowder and a Rib Eye Steak and of course, some great local wine!  Believing the worst was behind us, we slept like babies.

The next day, Friday the 23rd of October, while I worked, Korbey discovered that much to his joy, the greatest thing about Santa Barbara was the fact that there was a West Marine store http://www.westmarine.com right in the marina.  He also found a couple of used dive tanks at a reasonable rate. We had a bargain lunch at Sushi Go-Go, where the lunch special was $7.50 for a 3 course meal, the day we were there it was teriyaki chicken, California Roll and a Spicy Tuna Roll with a cucumber salad. After a little retail therapy at a local tourist shop with a new top tucked under my arm I went back to the boat to finish up my work for the day.

As good yachtista’s that evening we dined at SBYC.  When we arrived we were greeted by the clubs’ friendly manager, who guided us to a lovely table by the window.  In honor of the fact that Korbey currently holds the Commodores chair at Oyster Point Yacht Club http://www.opyc.com they had a table with his name and club affiliation.

We plan to leave the next morning for one of my former and favorite stomping grounds: Marina Del Rey.  The trip should be a short easy 8 hour run.

Two Seas

When we opened this I thought that we had consumed an earlier vintage of the same bottle. I distinctly remembered the “Entre Deux Mers.” But I went back and looked through the blog, and while we had a bottle with the same title, it wasn’t from the same winery.  Tonight’s bottle was the 2008 Chateau Grand Rousseau Entre Deux Mers.  It arrived in a shipment from a wine of the month club that I got as a gift, had a pressed cork, clocked in at 12.5% alcohol by volume, and I think it retails for somewhere around $10-$13.  This bottle was the best of the wine of the month club…I haven’t really been a fan of any of the other wines that came in those shipments…in fact, some of them were downright awful!

On the nose I found lemon, melon, lime, tropical notes, apple, white peaches, lime zest, and citrus.  In the mouth I got more lime zest, tart peach, citrus, and slight tropical notes.  Overall I found the wine to be tart and acidic with a simpler palate than nose.  It was very refreshing and easily the best of the bunch from this wine club.

 

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Girls’ Night Out

Did you all have a fun Halloween? I can hardly believe that it is November 1st. It is quite warm here in Boston today, and I was grateful for that extra hour of sleep after a very late night out. Normally Sundays kind of bring me down, but not this week. I can not even believe that in a few short days I will be on my way to San Francisco to eat, drink, and meet new people at the Foodbuzz Festival. It seems like we have been waiting for this forever! A 4 day work week means crunching a lot of work in, but the thought of being in wine country this time next week will definitely keep my spirits up!

I had a really fun Saturday night. After spending the day cleaning and TRYING to become a self-hosted blogger, I had a little glass of wine and some Trader Joe’s arancini with my friend Raija. The arancini were good, a little bland, but perfect when paired with some spicy tomato sauce.

We each had a glass of Rejadorada, a big, fruit forward Spanish red from one of our Bin Ends wine flea market purchases. I love this wine, it is super dark red with an explosion of flavor of dark berries and cherries. Yum.

We had 7:30 reservations at Les Zygormates, and when we arrived it was pretty empty. We were immediately served warm, crust French bread.

 

The birthday girl ordered a bottle of 2006 Château Nuits des Dames, Côtes du Rhône, Southern Rhône, France, and we all toasted to her last year of her twenties, and the official start of our thirtieth birthday yearlong celebration.

I kind of like candlelit photos even if they aren’t super crisp. They’re so warm and cozy looking.

The rest of my photos for the dinner came out really blurry, so my descriptions will have to be enough We started with the mussels in white wine with dijon mustard, shallots, and tarragon. I absolutely love tarragon, and my favorite part of mussels usually ends up being the bread and sauce part. For my entree, I ordered two appetizers, a frisee salad with a poached egg and bacon vinaigrette and the citrus cure salmon with Yukon gold blini, crème fraiche. I always order this salmon dish because it is absolutely delicious. The potato blini especially, soft, warm potatoe-y heaven.

I skipped dessert and instead had a beautiful glass of Moet.

After dinner, we walked across the Fort Point bridge and headed over to Barbara Lynch’s Drink, the subterranean creative cocktail hotspot.

 

I love many things about Drink including its more adult crowd, as opposed to the many college-student thronged bars in Boston. They also have an amazing spread of fresh ingredients like herbs, fruits, and spices.

We had a really fun time requesting drinks with different flavor profiles. My favorite of the night was a “bone” which is made of rye whiskey, lime, simple syrup, and tabasco sauce. I had asked for something spicy, and I got it. My mouth was burning, but I love hot food, so why not hot drinks?! We had planned on going to the South End, but an absolute downpour started and we decided to stay at Drink. So many combinations to try, so little time.

At a VERY late hour, my wonderful husband picked us up and dropped everyone home safely. He is the best.

I spent part of today having lunch with a lovely group of Boston bloggers, and I will be posting about that later today or tomorrow. Stay tuned. . .

BTW. . . as you know I am obsessed with checking the search terms used to find my blog, and almost ALL of them today were for Trader Joe’s Super Red Drink Powder! It must be very popular!