Half Priced Wine at Hearth!

Excited to try out the (limited, but interesting looking) food and half priced wine at Hearth this Wednesday!

http://onetwentysix.net/

Loire Valley Deliciousness

Why I love the Loire:

1) Interesting, food-friendly whites (Pouilly-Fume, Muscadet Sevre et Maine) ;
2) Light, user-friendly reds (like Chinon, their Cab Franc that is just outstanding with a light chill during the summer months);
3) Delicious Cremant de Loire; my favorite these days is still Baumard "Turquoise" (my go-to choice when eating oysters at Neptune Oyster in the North End).

In short, this region provides the opportunity for great wine at reasonable prices!

So I was very, very pleased to be invited to the trade tasting of the Loire Valley's offerings at the end of this month. What a great way to close my summer.


Upcoming

Weddings and Wine

My friends Travis and Jordan got married on Saturday in Belfast...which was lovely (even with the rain!). Great to see old friends and great to meet new ones.

Their reception was at the Mount n' Sea Inn in Northport, and they did a great job. In addition to a ton of food, they had just oodles of Charles Shaw (aka two buck chuck) chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon. I mentioned to someone that, all joking aside, Charles Shaw chardonnay was actually an award winning wine; this was laughed off.

So to the naysayers, I present the *double gold winning* two buck chuck: Charles Shaw Chardonnay reigns supreme!

Old Money, Steak, and Malbec

Restaurant Week in Boston, a great time to try a place you're curious about!

My snazzy friend Meg, who loves a good steak, had suggested we go for a nice slab of meat; she, I, and her awesome friend Eleanor wandered out to Morton's in the Back Bay.

The space feels very traditional-steakhouse-power suits-and-bankers, with booths, velvet seats at the bar, cabinets with wine, and a big ol' tray of raw meat so you can see the cuts that you're ordering. It's in a basement, but you don't really notice the lack of natural light.

We started with a wine-based cocktail, the Morton's Spritz, with Lunetta Prosecco (I used to pour this--just light and easy sparkling wine) Aperol (an apertif that is similar in flavor to Campari, but with less alcohol), a little orange juice, and sparkling water. Very light and a perfect pre-dinner cocktail. (Also a steal @ $6 at the bar...I have to say, the Morton's bar menu is very well-priced.)

From there, we all ordered our salads and filet mignon. I got a glass of Trapiche Broquel Malbec, a deep, inky glass of balanced fruit which went very well with my steak (which was excellent, by the way). The wine struck me as a perfectly cut navy blue suit--nothing flashy, just pure class, through the length of it.

I have no complaints about the wine selection at Morton's, but the prices were outrageous. Morton's seems to have about a 5 to 1 markup from the RETAIL price (going rate for a bottle of the Trapiche Broquel Malbec is as low as $11; my glass was about $14). I verified their markup with another wine I know, the Segura Viudas (regularly listed as one of Boston.com's choices for sparkling plonk at less that $10 a bottle--and $9.00 a glass at Morton's). According to Food and Wine, a reasonable markup to expect is 3 times WHOLESALE (with sparkling wines tending to be a bit higher). I shake my frugal fist at you, Morton's!

After enjoying our steaks and getting into dessert (a disappointing, chalky cheesecake and a decandent chocolate mousse), I thought it'd be fun for us girls to continue to look for the best steaks in Boston...thus we have THE STEAK PROJECT, a monthly quest for meat! September's assignment: great steak frites. Stay tuned :)

Summer Wind

The summer wind, came blowin' in...in freaking August, after one of the coolest, wettest Junes on record.

So at the beginning of July, Bin Ends (a great wine store in Braintree with an amazing online presence; they do once daily emails for good deals) sent out an email about a Pinot Grigio that drinks well (similarly to Santa Margarita, which is about $20+ a bottle) that would be less than $5 a bottle when bought by the case. Both loving a good deal AND feeling like an excess of good white wine around for the rest of summer would be a happy, happy thing, I bought a case.

The wine is Cavatina Pinot Grigio--and it's one of the best low-cost wines I've had in a while. Pinot Grigio, in my opinion, is light and easy wine. It's backyard lawn chairs with your girlfriends kind of wine, halibut with fruit salsa wine, a cool refreshing gulp in the middle of the summer. The Cavatina is typical of Italian Pinot--crisp flavor, good acidity, thin...but it's exactly what I want to drink on the back porch when the sun is finally going down, the air feels good, and I've had a long day.

Grenache, Germans, and Homemade Pizza

I got home after the gym to find my roomie entertaining a nice friend of his from high school, her husband (who is German) and their adorable children (who speak German). Reminded me how much I appreciate multilingualism. I love the idea of raising children speaking something besides English, but I'd have to learn another language first :)

Nils had made a few pizzas (pesto with pecans, peppers and onions) and a big salad, and we all sat around, had dinner, and watched the kids draw on the white board (the oldest has a real artistic flair). I opened a bottle of Yalumba Bush Vine Grenache to go with the pizza, and I was pleasantly surprised. I'd tried a few of Yalumba's offerings at the wine tasting last weekend, and enjoyed their Viognier and Shiraz/Viognier blends (very Cote Rotie of them!).

The Grenache was pinker than I expected with nice fresh red fruit flavors, pretty easy drinking but a slight bite. Price point is usually under $15--I found it in Whole Foods. Great while the air is still cool but the promise of spring is very real.

Sweet Endings

For Restaurant Week/Eric and Jon's birthday a few of us went to the Beehive, a trendy-as-hell place in the South End. It's somehow cavernous and still intimate.

The wine list here is great, with bonus points for an amazing collection of sparkling wine/champagne. Mike and I shared some Mumm Napa Prestige with oysters and a proscuitto flatbread (the wine was actually great with it, cut through the rich saltiness of the meat well), then he opted for the duck risotto (fine) and I got the hanger steak with a substitution of sage and sea salt frites (disappointing). Our dinner wines (Pinot for him, a Bodegas Tempranillo for me) were also nice and appropriate.

But the highlight of the meal was the dessert (and dessert wines) we had. Mike had the chocolate pot de creme with the Pfeiffer Muscat (an Australian dessert wine that was luscious and decadent, sweet dried fruit flavors, and a nice match with the chocolate). I had the Irish cream cheesecake with Dr. Loosen Auslese Riseling, a honeysuckle-scented glass of richness (and since the Irish cream flavor was essentially missing from the dessert, actually a great pairing too). Reminds me that I need to experiment more with dessert wines...last night, this was the perfect way to end our meal.

Lush and Full, Light and Fun

Last night Mike and I had a delicious dinner at Temple Bar (we split the lamb shoulder and mussels, he chose scallops for his entree, I had steak frites, which were damn tasty). For the glass with my steak, I selected a red blend I'd never tried, Clayhouse Adobe Red. My impressions:

1) At first whiff, the alcohol is prominent, almost off-putting in its intensity.
2) The mouthfeel is lush, like drinking a glass of burgundy velvet.
3) Nice spice notes, some vanilla, dark cherry/berry. Mike's first thought was to try it with dark chocolate. (He also compared it to anal sex--I'm taking that to mean pleasurable in the most base, direct sense of the word, but not subtle.)

And today is a dear, dear friend's birthday party and the theme is PINK. I'm thinking of bringing one or all of the following:

Sofia Blanc de Blancs cans (it's a four pack of pink cans of sparkling wine, and always cracks me up...you expect 22 year olds to be drinking this on the T)
Domaine de Chandon Rose (perfectly serviceable sparkling rose, nice with strawberries)
Sergio Rose Prosecco (off dry, sexy...you want to kiss this off the lips of someone delicious)
Mionetto Prosecco (tons of bubbles, light and barely apple-y) with a bottle of Chambord for fun

Clearly the theme here is something delicious and festive...totally appropriate for my kickass friend's birthday!

Zinfandel...for when the Weather Turns

I am a very seasonal wine drinker.

Here are some absolutes:

For that first cool night, a Pinot Noir.
When it comes out, Beaujolais Nouveau (yes, I get that it's lame, lame wine. Don't care. It's a fake celebration I dig a little bit!).
New Year's Eve, something sparkly (I am partial to Cava actually).
And when the weather is cold, and stays cold, a nice robust wine...a Syrah/Shiraz or a Zin.

I tried the Cline Zin at a Zinfest (at Kappy's of course!), and loved its texture, and most of all its silky vanilla undertones. Yum. Nils and I bought out their stock.

Dropping by the Kappy's near me, I found two more bottles (it is hard to fine, strangely enough...maybe it's already too popular). Good fruit, good oak, and a sexy wine that calls up the image of sitting in front of a fire with someone you'd like to warm up with.

Lovely Sake and Sushi

We went to Hana for sushi this evening and, in addition to our delicious sushi/sashimi combo, had a nice bottle of sake.

Murai Nebuta Honjozo is a dry sake, with light fruit flavors, but the best part is this descriptor: "the mouthfeel of midsummer rain." I love that image.

Sauvignon Blanc and a Birthday Celebration

Yesterday I helped celebrate our friend Kerri's birthday. We started in the surprisingly nice Dillon's (it's on Boylston Street, which always reminds me of drinking huge noxious fishbowls at the Foggy Goggle). Dillon's has the kind of vibe, especially in the back, that it would be a lovely place to have a glass of red wine on a cool night...they have a fireplace, the light is low and warm, and it feels quite cozy.

Last night, however, it was warmish and wet, with summer lightening. Felt like a white wine night. The wine list there isn't terribly extensive, nor terribly creative, but it has some decent pours (and I was impressed by their ACTUALLY APPROPRIATE FOR WINE SIZED glasses, instead of the squat, sturdy glasses I would expect in that part of town).

I ended up w/ the Nobilo Sauvignon blanc, a reliable and tasty New Zealand pour with lots of grassy and citrus-y notes. It was the clean, crisp, low key end I needed to this week, and a perfect fit for sitting in a cushy chair, watching the rain, and helping our friend celebrate.

Two Bottles, Two Dinners

My local wine store (Kappy's in Medford, a veritable Wal-Mart of liquor) has tastings every Friday and Saturday, and I've found some delicious bottles as a result. Our wine Saturday came out of one of these tastings...I was looking for a nice Beaujolais (Morgon, probably) to lightly chill with our lamb loin chops. I stumbled on the Kris Pinot Noir, a DOC Italian wine that has great fresh fruit flavors, almost with the same juiciness you find w/ a Beaujolais. We had that, grilled asparagus, broiled lamb chops with some salt, pepper, and garlic. Great Saturday night date meal. The Kris is delicious (I would probably drink it on the first cool night in October or so...it tastes like that balance between summer and fall).

For Sunday (traditionally our "have a nice meal at home" night), I cooked swordfish steaks in foil with lime and onions, blanched green beans, and made Barefoot Contessa's potato salad with dill. We had Les Vieilles Vignes Muscadet with our fish, which picked up the nice citrus and herb elements of the meal. It's a nice sip of wine, less than $10, bracing and clean. Not super complicated, but that's the way Muscadet should be.

Tapas and Cava

Last night we went to Toro in the South End for delicious food, sangria, and an impressive Spanish wine list. My favorite way to end the meal at a tapas restaurant is with a glass of cava, and I tried the Casteller rose cava last night for the first time. Lovely glass of wine--beautiful deep pink color, lush berry flavors, and a nice clean finish. Laurel and Kerry agreed--definitely worth buying retail. Best part is the price point--about ten dollars most places. GREAT value!

Here's the review from Port Wine and Spirits:

N/V Casteller Rose Cava: From Pendes, Spain. 88 Points-The Wine Advocate. "This non-vintage Rose Cava is made from 70% Trepat and 30% Garnacha. Dark pink in color, it offers strawberry and floral aromas, ripe flavors, and excellent length. If there is any better value in Rose bubbly, I'd like to know about it." Jay Miller Feb. 2007 Everyday Price $12.99

Pinot Gris...how I love you.

Mmmmm. Crisp. Clean. Stony. Food friendly. Refreshing.

My top five descriptors of Pinot Gris...which more and more, I am drawn to for warm weather drinking. And Oregon pinot gris--fruit flavors, but without the bedazzled fruit of Italian pinot grigio--is among the best, in my humble opinion.

We brought a few bottles to Gif and Monica's for dinner, including the A to Z Pinot Gris (I had heard good things from Wine Spectator and Food and Wine, and it seemed a good user-friendly choice for a crowd). Below is the promotional description:

Rich and ripe. The color of the 2006 Pinot Gris is yellow gold with beautiful flashes of emerald. Powerful aromatics are redolent of ripe citrus fruits, acacia flowers, tropical fruits (mango, papaya and kiwi), lychee, powdered sugar, honeysuckle, nectarines and pineapple. A concentrated wine with ripe acidity. The finish rolls seamlessly off the mid-palate and lasts forever. The lasting impression is a wine of great ripeness and opulence balanced by wonderful juiciness and succulence. The 2006 Pinot Gris will drink wonderfully for the next two years.

My take: easy drinking pleasure. Balanced fruit flavors that cry for a piece of grilled seafood.

Reposted from LJ

One year when I traveled with a group of customers to Schmitt-Wagner, he brought out a treasure remarkable even by his standards, an Auslese from the great 1937 vintage. I had tasted the wine once before (this is a generous man) and I waited for what I knew would come. As the wine was poured the group inhaled audibly at the color, and I saw many faces grow meditative as they sniffed those first mysterious fragrances. But when you expect to be moved you’re too self-conscious and you can’t be moved. That was me. My guests had walked through that little tear in the curtain out into the other world. I was happy for them.

Someone asked Herr Schmitt, “Did you make this wine?” “Oh my goodness no, I was just a child,” he answered. Then he grew pensive and said “But I do remember being a boy of six, picking the grapes alongside my grandma,” and then I lost it. I was looking at his hands just then, as it happened, the hands of a vigorous old gentleman still ruddy from a life in the open air, and I suddenly saw the child’s little hands inside them. And saw the child trotting along at his grandma’s side, happy to be included in the general activity, proud to be useful, there among the vines. And now it was sixty-four years later. The wine in our glasses was enthralling enough to us, but to our host it was the pure blood of memory, bound to the filaments of his earliest joys, with affection and usefulness. This is a man of Wine, I realized. This is what it means to be a man of wine.

(From Terry Theise's 2006 Catalog)


I started this entry with a quote because I met the man writing above and he embodies everything I want to be as a wine drinker and buyer and lover. He is slightly weird (in the best possible, most genuine way--he is *ACTUALLY* a little strange instead of just trying to act strange), modest, considerate, well spoken, and kind. Perhaps more importantly, he truly loves wine--loves it for its highs and lows, loves it for its evocation, and is as eloquent as anyone I've ever read in expressing that love. (He was also Food and Wine's Importer of the Year in 2005, and has been named as one of the top wine personalities in the world.)

Backtracking.

Friday I took the day off, got the place ready--Nitch, Bedlam and Ryan got here, we had plenty of bread, brie, the boys had brown sugar kielbasa, we had wine and beer and just hung out until 2AM ish.

Saturday I got up and went to the gym BEFORE going to volunteer...which, being a little hung over and EXHAUSTED, was sheer torture. Nitch, Jess and I went to our volunteer shifts. By some great gift of the gods, I got Wine Seminars as my volunteer assignment...which meant that I went to these seminars, collected tickets, and in both of the ones I was assigned to, actually got to sit and TASTE these incredible $60 boutique wines with the wine maker or facilitator speaking.

The first seminar, the focus was on Oregon Pinot Noir (and the wine was truly interesting and at times impressive). The difficulty with the seminar was that the first half at least was just Powerpoint slides of different maps (topological, etc). DRY DRY DRY.

The second one was on Gruner Veltliner, a slightly obscure Austrian grape that enjoyed a vogue in the late 90's and, at least according to Terry, deserves a place on every table crying for dry white wine. The seminar ended up basically being an extended conversation--funny, approachable, engaging. I was enthusiastic about the wine, enthusiastic about the way I tasted them, and just enthralled by Terry. (For those in the know/interested--he described Gruner Veltliner as a possible love child, flavor wise, between Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier.)

I got done w/ my duties in time to hit the tasting floor for a few moments, tried the Sergio Rose Prosecco I'd been googling, as well as some surprisingly balanced Sauvignon Blanc, then we all headed back to Casa de Leah. Much Guitar Hero ensued.

Sunday I had my session with Julian (he continues to rock), then we went to the GRAND TASTING!!!! AHAAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHH!

This year was my favorite, because I felt mostly like a knowledgeable taster. I find that my palate and questions get better every year.

Some standout stuff from the Expo:

All the sake from Michael Simkin (the very hip sake expert who offered me a mentorship in sake if I ever want to learn more).
Thirsty Lizard's environmentally friendly, recyclable and more energy efficient package (and the Semillion/Sauvignon Blanc that went in it).
David Bruce Petite Syrah (I'm excited to try the Pinot Noir). Dense and rich. Somehow very lovely despite being assertive
Long Flat Destinations Riesling (Clare Valley)...and the patient Australian pouring it for drunken middle aged folks next to me. Nice stony/fruity combo. Very user friendly.
Markus Molitor Riesling.
Domaine de Baumard Cremant de Loire (tasting sparkling non Champagne....YUM! Good fruit and a nice price!).
Chef Oga's salmon tartare (which we had at the celebrity chef stage).
All the Gruner Veltliner from Terry's presentation.
Elk Cove (Oregon) Pinot Gris.
Four Vines kick you in the face wine!! And getting another NAKED tattoo!
Working on my spitting technique (and not actually getting wine on anyone or anything when I *WAS* spitting it out.


All in all, a great weekend and some incredible food for thought.

Non-Champagne!

I love sparkling wine in all of its glory. I love Champagne, Cava, California sparklers, even Fingers Lakes Sparklers (Great Western, with its Concord grape flavor, is actually quite nice).

I've had a few new ones that are worth mentioning.

Segura Viudas "Aria" is a clean, crispy treat. I enjoyed the Segura Viudas brut, but this is even more delicious. It sort of tastes like a January evening--clear and refreshing. Tasting notes from the company: "ARIA Estate Brut is a dry, lively refreshment appropriate for any occasion. Its flavor is dominated by fresh pineapple, almonds, honey and straw, with hints of pears and fresh bread."

Mionetto Sergio: A surprisingly complex sparkler from the Veneto region of Italy. When I was doing tastings, I sold this as the "novel, while the other Proseccos I have are the Cliffs Notes." It got a lot of praise from the Champagne drinkers. Some almonds, some honey, some citrus. Delicious, refreshing...this is a great reason for drinking sparklers. Delicious as any sort of aperitif, or with shellfish/oysters.

In short--sparkling wine feels festive (hence the markup at restaurants/bars!), but I love it for its clarity, its tingle, its surprising versatility with food.

Wine Tasting @ Kappy's!

Sunday Kappy's had the grand holiday tasting. Here were my standouts:

Tangley Oaks Chardonnay: A hint of sweetness, SO refreshing compared to the buttered popcorn Chardonnays I'd been having. Food friendly, versatile, some fruity apple notes. YUM YUM YUM YUM.

Oriel "Etereo" Barolo: Structured, some tannins but not unctuous. Red fruit, spice. At $70 a bottle, not something I could drink every day.

Stangeland Pinot Gris: Clean, good drinking. Light fruit, a great "house white"...and I love the story of the retired chemist deciding to make wine!

Gancia Prosecco Extra Dry: I still like the Mionetto Prosecco Brut better, but this was a party in my mouth. Crisp, easy drinking sparkler.

Oriel "Palatina" Riesling : Fruity but not sweet, steely mineral notes. Food friendly and a fuck of a good wine.

Renwood Zinfandel: What a pleasant surprise! Fruity, jammy easy drinking wine. I guess I like my fruit bombs!

Banfi Pinot Grigio: Light citrus, apples, pears. Great with seafood. MMMMMMMM.

Eating Crow and Drinking Wine

At some point (two Boston Wine Expos ago I believe), I tasted several dreadful sparklers . One was a sparkling white zinfandel (I'm fairly sure it's Beringer, and I wouldn't recommend it), another was a sparkling Shiraz. In any event, despite loving sparkling wine in general (and I'm not opposed to sweet or unsophisticated!) these two wines left me cold.

As will happen when you drink 100+ samples of wine in a few hours, I mixed up the name of the sparkling Shiraz and Banfi Rosa Regale, a delicious frizzante--lightly sparkling--red dessert/aperitif wine we had last night at Icarus. I was denouncing the Rosa Regale during one course and loving it in the next. I'm not too proud to admit I was wrong!

And I was wrong--the Rosa is a sweet and fruity treat, great with the peach compote/poundcake combination it was paired with, but also delicious with the decadent chocolate cake I had. It's low in alcohol and gorgeous in color. And it definitely has a celebratory tingle. Drink it with a smile!

Lightly Chilled Beaujolais and Date Night!

Mike and I had a hell of a good time last night.

We'd gotten some lamb chops at the grocery store...which I let sit in a cup or so of Louis Jadot Beaujolais Villages 2005, five or so garlic cloves (minced roughly), good olive oil, a little apple cider vinegar, some salt and pepper.

While that was marinating, I made panzanella (an Italian bread salad--the bread is toasted in olive oil--with shallots, tomatoes, cucumbers, red and green peppers, plenty of fresh basil, and a yummy mustard vinaigrette). Letting that sit, I threw the lamb chops in the broiler (if we ever get a house, a grill is absolutely a must!). We had that spread with the Louis Jadot Beaujolais, lightly chilled (maybe half an hour in the fridge). Not the most complex of wines of course, but the fruity flavors really paired nicely with the pepper and sweetness in the salad. I also liked the contrast of the intense earthiness in the lamb chops with the slightly rustic flavor of the wine. By far the best red wine drinking experience I've had in the summer months.

If you're curious, the recipe for the panzanella is here (I changed the red onions to shallots and left out the capers).

The Punk Rockers Strike Again!

I had written a review of the Four Vines Old Vine Cuvee Zinfandel...a fruity Zin blend that makes me want to buy one of their "Zin Bitch" shirts.

Anyway, fun little surprise in the Boston Globe...every month they recommend some "plonk" (relatively inexpensive and surprisingly drinkable wine) and Four Vines Naked Chardonnay is one of their picks!

When we were at the Boston Wine Expo, they slapped a "Naked" tattoo on my arm because I liked this unoaked Chardonnay so much. Gives me a little validation for my palate.

Here's the "Barebones Chardonnay" Plonk of the Month.

Here's the Four Vines Wines.