- Started replacing the word "now" with "meow", ala Supertroopers, when interacting with customers.
- Decided to use the word "schnozberries" when describing a wine this holiday season.
- Sang Bruce Springsteen songs an entire 8 hour shift.
- Sold a ton of wine.
The End
Friday, November 28, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
First Wine?
You always hear that wine takes some getting used to. People always say that you have to work your way into it, starting with something like white zin and eventually "graduating" to dark, muscular reds. So my question to you is, what was the first wine you tried?
I distinctly remember having Carlo Rossi Old World Chablis out of the box in my buddies hot tub back in highschool. That's in addition to your Yellow Tail and Duck Pond. Your turn!
I distinctly remember having Carlo Rossi Old World Chablis out of the box in my buddies hot tub back in highschool. That's in addition to your Yellow Tail and Duck Pond. Your turn!
Friday, November 7, 2008
Non-wine post no. 3
Anytime someone says "Go for it" are you overwhelmed by the need to say "connect four!" aloud? No matter who is around?
Yeah, me neither...
Yeah, me neither...
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
A few pinots
The tasting yesterday was all about the NW and here are a few pinots that caught my eye.
- Cana's Feast Bricco 2006 Pinot Noir (plus 2006 reserve)
Bricco/Cuneo/Cana's Feast, whatever they are going by these days, always make fun wines. In my mind they always make very ripe wines, more aggressive and fruity than other producers. This was my first time trying their pinot noirs and they defintely brought the thunder! Lots of extraction, deep color and a really rich mouthfeel. These two wines (reserve and non-reserve) had lots of layers and a richness that I don't find in a lot of pinots, especially from OR. Now, with all their richness and opulence they managed to stay true and balanced, unlike some pinots from other areas like California that can get some of those same elements but end up with an artificial aspect to them. I think I saw on a info sheet that the non-reserve 2006 just got 92 points from Robert Parker, but I'm not sure. I could defintely see it though. Good stuff!
- Bethel-heights Eola Amity Estate Grown Pinot Noir 2006
Now this pinot, while compared to the Bricco wines, is not as much as a blockbuster it's a truer representation of what OR pinots are. It has a solid nose filled with all of those Oregon features, some earth and a mushroom quality. The nice thing about this wine is that it has a beam of fruit (almost blueberries?) that shoots right through the earthy aspects and keeps it interesting. the midpalate is fairly lively and there's enough on the finish to keep it interesting. If you're looking for something new in this price range (~$29?) it's worth a shot.
- Cana's Feast Bricco 2006 Pinot Noir (plus 2006 reserve)
Bricco/Cuneo/Cana's Feast, whatever they are going by these days, always make fun wines. In my mind they always make very ripe wines, more aggressive and fruity than other producers. This was my first time trying their pinot noirs and they defintely brought the thunder! Lots of extraction, deep color and a really rich mouthfeel. These two wines (reserve and non-reserve) had lots of layers and a richness that I don't find in a lot of pinots, especially from OR. Now, with all their richness and opulence they managed to stay true and balanced, unlike some pinots from other areas like California that can get some of those same elements but end up with an artificial aspect to them. I think I saw on a info sheet that the non-reserve 2006 just got 92 points from Robert Parker, but I'm not sure. I could defintely see it though. Good stuff!
- Bethel-heights Eola Amity Estate Grown Pinot Noir 2006
Now this pinot, while compared to the Bricco wines, is not as much as a blockbuster it's a truer representation of what OR pinots are. It has a solid nose filled with all of those Oregon features, some earth and a mushroom quality. The nice thing about this wine is that it has a beam of fruit (almost blueberries?) that shoots right through the earthy aspects and keeps it interesting. the midpalate is fairly lively and there's enough on the finish to keep it interesting. If you're looking for something new in this price range (~$29?) it's worth a shot.
Food and Halloween Pumpkin Patch Trip
I was recently recounting a horror story of sorts to coworkers about a trip to a "pumpkin patch". This patch was certainly not a pumpkin patch, but a hodge podge of picked pumpkins placed on someones lawn, a haunted house, carny-esque folk and caged animals. This farm/patch had all sorts of animals caged up that were outside of your normal animals-in-cages viewing pleasure. Patagonian curvies, two tigers, camels, sugarbear, lynx and other things. This is not a professional zoo. This is some caca flavored farm in Canby, OR. They had a sign up declaring that many of the animals had been abondoned and that they were acting as a sort of refuge camp. It just didn't feel right, and the lady with no chin eating a hot dog and telling us we could buy one of her hogs didn't help.
But to the meat of the story, as I was telling people at work about all the different animals they got excited, even though I was making an effort to express the creapiness of it all. Now, you that know me know that I really have nothing against caged animals. There are lots of arguments to be made for more humane conditions and against factory farms, but all in all I think there is enough human suffering that we should be worrying about, even in our own back yard.
So I came to this conclusion: I'm not against animals being caged up, I just want the opportunity to eat them when they are. At least then if they are being caged they are being raised for a purpose. But a tiger? Patagonian curvy? Lynx? I can't eat you, let's get you out of that cage!
But to the meat of the story, as I was telling people at work about all the different animals they got excited, even though I was making an effort to express the creapiness of it all. Now, you that know me know that I really have nothing against caged animals. There are lots of arguments to be made for more humane conditions and against factory farms, but all in all I think there is enough human suffering that we should be worrying about, even in our own back yard.
So I came to this conclusion: I'm not against animals being caged up, I just want the opportunity to eat them when they are. At least then if they are being caged they are being raised for a purpose. But a tiger? Patagonian curvy? Lynx? I can't eat you, let's get you out of that cage!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Two pinots, two pizzas
I tried two different pinots this week (so far), so I should probably report on them. And I made lots of yummy pizza! Three different ones in two days. For the record, one was cheese with marinara, one was sausage and onion on pesto base and the last was sauteed mushrooms on a pesto base. Good stuff all around, but let's talk about the vino!
Tyee Cellars pinot noir 2005:
- picked this up on a really good sale. It's one of the few 2005's that are still hanging around (there are even some 2007's). I hear that they tend to make more robust pinots, bigger in style and such. I wanted to give it a shot because I tend to go for the bigger wines myself. It was certainly aged in oak a bit more with medium tannins. The fruit was ok, but even on a great sale of $17/btl I wanted a bit more. Pass.
Foris Rogue Valley Pinot Noir 2006:
- So I was recently turned on to this wine by a customer who brought in an article from the WSJ. This article listed three different wines that I carry (Ponzi pinot noir 2006, King Estate pinot 2006, and this wine) that were suggested as ones to check out. I had tried the 2005 pinot from Foris and wasn't blown away. It was OK be all measures but that was about it. The 2006 is defintely worth checking out. It is solid value for the money in Oregon pinot land, where a bottle of wine can easily reach over $20. Do yourself a favor, pick one up this weekend. Good fruit, solid tannins that give it nice structure (which differentiate it from the cheap OR pinots that to me taste like raspberry iced tea), overall it is a really solid made wine for the price. This is one I'll be picking up for the holidays and knowing my family we'll tear through a couple cases before I even get off of work!
Tyee Cellars pinot noir 2005:
- picked this up on a really good sale. It's one of the few 2005's that are still hanging around (there are even some 2007's). I hear that they tend to make more robust pinots, bigger in style and such. I wanted to give it a shot because I tend to go for the bigger wines myself. It was certainly aged in oak a bit more with medium tannins. The fruit was ok, but even on a great sale of $17/btl I wanted a bit more. Pass.
Foris Rogue Valley Pinot Noir 2006:
- So I was recently turned on to this wine by a customer who brought in an article from the WSJ. This article listed three different wines that I carry (Ponzi pinot noir 2006, King Estate pinot 2006, and this wine) that were suggested as ones to check out. I had tried the 2005 pinot from Foris and wasn't blown away. It was OK be all measures but that was about it. The 2006 is defintely worth checking out. It is solid value for the money in Oregon pinot land, where a bottle of wine can easily reach over $20. Do yourself a favor, pick one up this weekend. Good fruit, solid tannins that give it nice structure (which differentiate it from the cheap OR pinots that to me taste like raspberry iced tea), overall it is a really solid made wine for the price. This is one I'll be picking up for the holidays and knowing my family we'll tear through a couple cases before I even get off of work!
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
One Day, Two Tastings
Last Monday played host to two seperate tastings (that I knew of). One was a total book tasting, from Oregon to California to the Old World. The other was focused 2005 french, champagne to bordeaux.
Let's start with the total book tasting from Galaxy Distributing! some highlights
- Abacela Vineyards
I've mentioned this winery before, based out of southern oregon in Roseburg. One of the owners, wife Hilda (I believe) was there pouring, which was pretty cool. They were pouring mostly everything they make. Highlights were Vintners Blend #9 which has a darker profile with a nice core of dark fruit. On sale at Safeways for ~$15/btl. The nose is really nice. I always like their tempranillos but they were also had their 2006 port. It smells like silk berries! It's very young but I'm a sucker for young vintage ports. Great frutiness and a hint of something extra.
A-Z Wineworks' new pinot gris 2007 was on show, along with their other wines. It's something like $11 or less and I was pleasently surprised. It had good mouthfeel and a nice nose. Good fruit there, too. Solid value worth trying. I wasn't as crazy about the pinot noir 2007. It was alright but a bit on the light/lean side. Still, not a bad value I suppose.
Elk Cove pinot gris 2007 was available, too. Melons and peachiness that follow through in the mouth with a bit of richness. .5% residual sugar backed up with good acid. Check it out.
And now a quick note from 2005 France. Duval-Leroy 1996 Vintage Brut impressed with hints of caramel and coffee, which I love in champagnes. The finish is there and it has this lemon/lime thing going on too. A good splurge and more fun than a lot of the big name mass produced champagnes that I've tried (Cristal and Dom Perignon included). Now while bordeaux is the 2005 star I had tasted a lot of wines by the time I passed the champagnes. I'm thinking 40 wines at this point, which is a whole lot of spitting. So I focused my efforts, stopped taking good notes and headed to southern France. Domaine Lucien Barrot Chateauneuf de Pape 2005 is made in the traditional style, no new oak. Real rich nose, lots of cherries, some strawberries. Medium tannins on the finish, a standout. Domaine Bonnefond Cote Rotie Cote Rozier 2005 had a real nice nose and was more rustic in style. Strong berries and a hint of tar. The midpalate was rockin' and the finish was right there, too. Yummy yummy.
That's it for now!
Let's start with the total book tasting from Galaxy Distributing! some highlights
- Abacela Vineyards
I've mentioned this winery before, based out of southern oregon in Roseburg. One of the owners, wife Hilda (I believe) was there pouring, which was pretty cool. They were pouring mostly everything they make. Highlights were Vintners Blend #9 which has a darker profile with a nice core of dark fruit. On sale at Safeways for ~$15/btl. The nose is really nice. I always like their tempranillos but they were also had their 2006 port. It smells like silk berries! It's very young but I'm a sucker for young vintage ports. Great frutiness and a hint of something extra.
A-Z Wineworks' new pinot gris 2007 was on show, along with their other wines. It's something like $11 or less and I was pleasently surprised. It had good mouthfeel and a nice nose. Good fruit there, too. Solid value worth trying. I wasn't as crazy about the pinot noir 2007. It was alright but a bit on the light/lean side. Still, not a bad value I suppose.
Elk Cove pinot gris 2007 was available, too. Melons and peachiness that follow through in the mouth with a bit of richness. .5% residual sugar backed up with good acid. Check it out.
And now a quick note from 2005 France. Duval-Leroy 1996 Vintage Brut impressed with hints of caramel and coffee, which I love in champagnes. The finish is there and it has this lemon/lime thing going on too. A good splurge and more fun than a lot of the big name mass produced champagnes that I've tried (Cristal and Dom Perignon included). Now while bordeaux is the 2005 star I had tasted a lot of wines by the time I passed the champagnes. I'm thinking 40 wines at this point, which is a whole lot of spitting. So I focused my efforts, stopped taking good notes and headed to southern France. Domaine Lucien Barrot Chateauneuf de Pape 2005 is made in the traditional style, no new oak. Real rich nose, lots of cherries, some strawberries. Medium tannins on the finish, a standout. Domaine Bonnefond Cote Rotie Cote Rozier 2005 had a real nice nose and was more rustic in style. Strong berries and a hint of tar. The midpalate was rockin' and the finish was right there, too. Yummy yummy.
That's it for now!
Sunday, October 12, 2008
B-day wine: Del Dotto Cab
Del Dotto Cabernet 2006:
My parents just picked this bottle up during their recent trip to Napa. If you have seen pictures of their cave and tasting room, by all means, check it out tonight! Pure opulence, Italian marble, ornate everything. The cool thing is that in this super fancy setting the owner Dave Del Dotto was pouring at the tasting bar! He struck up conversation with my parents, talked about his favorite place to get oysters in Portland (Jake's) and then called my parents out on pinot noir. It went something like "So you Oregonians think you can make good pinot huh? Well I'll show you something!". He ran into a back room and grabbed a bottle of their pinot noir which was even on the tasting list and popped it open. "Take that Willamette Valley!".
Anyways, the wine was tasty tasty (yes, two tastys). Very young but accessible already. It is super full of spice and oakiness. There are a lot of layers of flavor going on here. A solid core of fruit is there all the while. I enojyed it because it wasn't over the top fruity like a lot of higher end Napa cabs can get. It should be fun to see how this develops, but I doubt the other 2 bottles are going to last that long! I might have the opportunity to crack open a bottle of their Cab Franc for my dad's b-day, which is coming up in a few days. I'll surely report if and when we do...
My parents just picked this bottle up during their recent trip to Napa. If you have seen pictures of their cave and tasting room, by all means, check it out tonight! Pure opulence, Italian marble, ornate everything. The cool thing is that in this super fancy setting the owner Dave Del Dotto was pouring at the tasting bar! He struck up conversation with my parents, talked about his favorite place to get oysters in Portland (Jake's) and then called my parents out on pinot noir. It went something like "So you Oregonians think you can make good pinot huh? Well I'll show you something!". He ran into a back room and grabbed a bottle of their pinot noir which was even on the tasting list and popped it open. "Take that Willamette Valley!".
Anyways, the wine was tasty tasty (yes, two tastys). Very young but accessible already. It is super full of spice and oakiness. There are a lot of layers of flavor going on here. A solid core of fruit is there all the while. I enojyed it because it wasn't over the top fruity like a lot of higher end Napa cabs can get. It should be fun to see how this develops, but I doubt the other 2 bottles are going to last that long! I might have the opportunity to crack open a bottle of their Cab Franc for my dad's b-day, which is coming up in a few days. I'll surely report if and when we do...
Friday, October 10, 2008
Beast: a few thoughts
A real fun dinner. 2.5 hours long. For the money ($55) it's a real nice treat, going with the full 6 courses. Here are some quick thoughts on the various dishes.
www.beastpdx.com
CARROT SOUP WITH WASHINGTON MUSSELS
& SAFFRON CREAM
- a nice surprise and not something I would normally order. Not overpowering carrot flavor, had a hint of brininess from the mussel (which was huge and super tender). Almost seemed to be a hint of orange in the mix. Little bits of shallots give a little bit of texture and are a nice touch.
CHARCUTERIE PLATE:
FOIE-GRAS BON BON, SAUTERNES GELEE
STEAK TARTARE & QUAIL EGG TOAST
PORK, PORK LIVER, PRUNE & GREEN PEPPERCORN PATE
CHICKEN LIVER MOUSSE WITH CASSIS, HOUSE CRACKER
- very yummy, little bites of all of the above, including some house made soppresata and house-pickled veggies. Everything was quite good. My first foie-gras experience: it just melts in your mouth. The richness of the foie with the sauternes gelee and a hint of salt all played well together. A pleasent surprise was the chicken liver mousse.
BRAISED LOCAL BEEF SHORTRIBS
ROUGE D’ETAMPS PUMKIN, GOLDEN RAISIN AIGRE-DOUX
MUSTARD GREENS WITH CHILI & GARLIC
- the serving size of the shortribs was actually pretty substantial, which was a nice surprise. The roast pumpkin was so-so, could've had more flavor but the shortrib and sauce totally made up for it. Mustard greens gave a nice hint of bitterness. Very good.
WEPPLER FARMS FRISEE
LOCAL APPLES, HOUSE PANCETTA
& CANDIED HAZELNUTS
- A nice salad, the house pancetta was a good foil to the apple slices
~SELECTION OF STEVE’S CHEESE~
TOMINI-COW & SHEEP (IT)
GABICTON- RAW COW & SHEEP (FR)
BLU DEL MONVISO-RAW COW (IT)
CRACKED BLACK PEPPER SHORTBREAD
MARS-VENUS GRAPES & CHAMPAGNE POACHED APRICOTS
- The cheese plate was good, but didn't blow me away. The raw cow/sheep cheese was the best in my opinion. Served with local honey. The champagne poached apricot was ridiculous. Seriously, apricots shouldn't be this good!
CHOCOLATE POTS DE CRÈME
COCONUT SORBET
ALMOND FLORENTINE
- This being my second dessert at Beast (the first at brunch) I realized why I like their desserts while I usually don't care for them. They aren't super sweet like so many molten chocolate lava cakes or other way overdone/oversweet desserts out there. The flavors flirt with each other, in harmony with each other. The coconut sorbet was full of flavor and went great with the chocolate pudding, which wasn't real sweet. The almond biscuit threw in some nice texture. Good stuff.
www.beastpdx.com
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Beringer Third Century Pinot Noir
Pretty solid on the nose. Nice fruits and some of that 'pinot quality' coming through. Some of those berries follow thru on the palate, with a hint of spice. It's a decent finish for the price on a California pinot. Might be worth checking out if you're not married to Oregon pinots. Widely available. 86 pts.
Birthday Dinner = Beast!
It has been decided, made official with reservations. Thursday night at 8:45 I will be dining at Beast in Portland, home of Naomi Pomeroy. I've been there for brunch (see post below) and am really excited for dinner. I'm definitely going for the full 6 course meal (cheese and dessert). I'm contemplating going with the wine pairings too. Why the heck not?! It's my b-day dinner! Here is their menu for this week. Hopefully I can follow up and post some notes afterwards!
CARROT SOUP WITH WASHINGTON MUSSELS
& SAFFRON CREAM
BARGEMONE COTEAUX AIX EN PROVENCE ROSE-2007
CHARCUTERIE PLATE:
FOIE-GRAS BON BON, SAUTERNES GELEE
STEAK TARTARE & QUAIL EGG TOAST
PORK, PORK LIVER, PRUNE & GREEN PEPPERCORN PATE
CHICKEN LIVER MOUSSE WITH CASSIS, HOUSE CRACKER
LARREDYA JURANCON SEC-2007
BRAISED LOCAL BEEF SHORTRIBS
ROUGE D’ETAMPS PUMKIN, GOLDEN RAISIN AIGRE-DOUX
MUSTARD GREENS WITH CHILI & GARLIC
DOMAINE BRANA IROULEGUY ROUGE OHITZA-2005
WEPPLER FARMS FRISEE
LOCAL APPLES, HOUSE PANCETTA
& CANDIED HAZELNUTS
CLOS DE LA ROILETTE FLEURIE-2006
~SELECTION OF STEVE’S CHEESE~
TOMINI-COW & SHEEP (IT)
GABICTON- RAW COW & SHEEP (FR)
BLU DEL MONVISO-RAW COW (IT)
CRACKED BLACK PEPPER SHORTBREAD
MARS-VENUS GRAPES & CHAMPAGNE POACHED APRICOTS
LOUPIAC-GAUDIET-2003
CHOCOLATE POTS DE CRÈME
COCONUT SORBET
ALMOND FLORENTINE
BLANES MAURY LATE HARVEST GRENACHE-2005
Monday, September 29, 2008
Friday, September 26, 2008
Birthday wine
My birthday, as previously mentioned, is coming up. In addition to looking for a cool restaurant to dine at I'm looking at picking up a special bottle of something. I tried some nice Spanish wines at a tasting last Monday, perhaps one of those. Priorat? Rioja? Or keep it in the US? Or maybe Italy? A nice barbaresco or brunello? Thoughts or ideas? I'd love to hear 'em! I'll follow up and post about whatever does come of it all!
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Upcoming post: seasonal beers
As the local news just noted, there are less than 12 hours left in summer. The upside is that the new spread of seasonal beers is on it's way. Soon in the NW we'll be sipping Full Sail Wassail (released this last week), Deschutes Jubelale (available Monday or Wednesday...and my favorite beer EVER!) and New Belgium 2-below. Full write up to follow when I can pick up a 6-pack of each.
9.21.08 - Brunch at Beast
I took a personal day from work with the expressed intent of going to brunch at Beast with some friends. I get two personal days a year and one went to Beast today. Was it worth it? You bet. Here's a short write up, menu from memory.
It's a four course affair, replete with your choice of coffee (french pressed Stumptown) or juice (fresh squeezed OJ, no less). I opted for the coffee. I'm usually an espresso purist but this cup o' joe fit the bill perfectly. No need for sugar or cream. You can also get a mimosa ($5) or wine pairings (!) for $20.
We indulged in:
- Brown butter crepe with whipped cream, marionberries and bacon with maple-bourbon sauce
- short rib hash with duck fat potatoes, poached egg and mustard grain hollandaise
- three cheeses with greens topped with sherry/balsamic vinaigrette
- stumptown coffee ice cream on hazelnut pastry
Highlights:
- The crepe dish was quite tasty, but could've been a bit warmer when it hit our table. A bite of crepe, berry, bacon and whipped cream all together was delish.
- Short rib hash was quite tasty, too. As my dining partner Margaux remarked "the mustard hollandaise isn't too overpowering and compliments everything really well". Well put my dear.
- The three cheese course (a hard english, a camembert and another soft cheese) was fun. the greens were good and accompanied by a few venus (?) grapes and a candied apricot. The apricot was bomb. My favorite cheese was the hard english cheese. Lots of crunchy bits inside, the mark of a good cheese
- Normally I'm not a dessert guy. Give me something fried and salty instead. This was Awesome. Capital *A* well deserved. The coffee ice cream had a nice, rich coffee taste, which for some reason I often find lacking in said dish. The hazelnut pastry was a layered square containing chocolate. It was just really, really good.
- Service was solid, too. We got a fresh change of silverware with each dish. The knives were Langiuole and the stemware (for wine pairings or your juice) was Riedel. Kudos.
-It's a comfy feel inside. I liked the communal seating (there's just two tables inside. one = 10, the other much more). the all lady kitchen crew plated and washed dishes in view of the diners.
It was a fun brunch and now I just gotta make it out there for dinner! Worth checking out
$28/person
It's a four course affair, replete with your choice of coffee (french pressed Stumptown) or juice (fresh squeezed OJ, no less). I opted for the coffee. I'm usually an espresso purist but this cup o' joe fit the bill perfectly. No need for sugar or cream. You can also get a mimosa ($5) or wine pairings (!) for $20.
We indulged in:
- Brown butter crepe with whipped cream, marionberries and bacon with maple-bourbon sauce
- short rib hash with duck fat potatoes, poached egg and mustard grain hollandaise
- three cheeses with greens topped with sherry/balsamic vinaigrette
- stumptown coffee ice cream on hazelnut pastry
Highlights:
- The crepe dish was quite tasty, but could've been a bit warmer when it hit our table. A bite of crepe, berry, bacon and whipped cream all together was delish.
- Short rib hash was quite tasty, too. As my dining partner Margaux remarked "the mustard hollandaise isn't too overpowering and compliments everything really well". Well put my dear.
- The three cheese course (a hard english, a camembert and another soft cheese) was fun. the greens were good and accompanied by a few venus (?) grapes and a candied apricot. The apricot was bomb. My favorite cheese was the hard english cheese. Lots of crunchy bits inside, the mark of a good cheese
- Normally I'm not a dessert guy. Give me something fried and salty instead. This was Awesome. Capital *A* well deserved. The coffee ice cream had a nice, rich coffee taste, which for some reason I often find lacking in said dish. The hazelnut pastry was a layered square containing chocolate. It was just really, really good.
- Service was solid, too. We got a fresh change of silverware with each dish. The knives were Langiuole and the stemware (for wine pairings or your juice) was Riedel. Kudos.
-It's a comfy feel inside. I liked the communal seating (there's just two tables inside. one = 10, the other much more). the all lady kitchen crew plated and washed dishes in view of the diners.
It was a fun brunch and now I just gotta make it out there for dinner! Worth checking out
$28/person
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
In case anyone is reading in Portland...
My birthday is coming up. I usually don't do much of anything for my birthday. Always been content with just hanging with a friend or two, watching a movie, whatever. But my 25th is coming up. As you all know I live in Portland, OR. I'm also a bit of a foodie. So I'm thinking, real nice dinner at some cool restaurant. Here is the short list I've worked up so far. If anyone is out there I'm more than open to suggestions!
In no particular order:
- El Gaucho
I've always wanted to go to a fancy steakhouse and Gaucho fits the bill for me. A couple of friends of mine have been there and I've only heard awesome things. I just want to eat a fat steak, get super awesome service and have some nice wine (which hopefully won't break the bank too much).
- La Pigeon
This restaurant has gotten raves in all the local publications, some national included. Chef Gabriel Rucker has rocketed into the Portland foodies conscious (hey, how many chefs can you name in Portland. Point made). I just wanna eat there. I feel like it should is a Portland food rite of passage.
- Beast
Started by chef Naomi Pomeroy, who was one of the chefs that seemed to spearhead the Portland/food destination before the NY Times was writing about us. There's a good amount of drama involved with her backstory (most of which seems to involve her old partner) but I don't care to do the research to get the facts straight and report here. Here's what I do know. Beast is her new restaurant. It has a rotating menu, depending on what is available and fresh. Fixed price menu of either 3 or 5 courses. Can add wine pairings if you desire for the extra money. No substitutions. Lots of meat. Foie gras, too. Gotta try foie gras, dammit!
In no particular order:
- El Gaucho
I've always wanted to go to a fancy steakhouse and Gaucho fits the bill for me. A couple of friends of mine have been there and I've only heard awesome things. I just want to eat a fat steak, get super awesome service and have some nice wine (which hopefully won't break the bank too much).
- La Pigeon
This restaurant has gotten raves in all the local publications, some national included. Chef Gabriel Rucker has rocketed into the Portland foodies conscious (hey, how many chefs can you name in Portland. Point made). I just wanna eat there. I feel like it should is a Portland food rite of passage.
- Beast
Started by chef Naomi Pomeroy, who was one of the chefs that seemed to spearhead the Portland/food destination before the NY Times was writing about us. There's a good amount of drama involved with her backstory (most of which seems to involve her old partner) but I don't care to do the research to get the facts straight and report here. Here's what I do know. Beast is her new restaurant. It has a rotating menu, depending on what is available and fresh. Fixed price menu of either 3 or 5 courses. Can add wine pairings if you desire for the extra money. No substitutions. Lots of meat. Foie gras, too. Gotta try foie gras, dammit!
Airlie Pinot Noir 2005
Picked this up on discount, $10/btl. It usually goes for around $18. It's pretty solid, especially since I picked it up for a 10-spot. Low in alcohol: 12.8%, which you don't see too often, even in pinots these days.
Some nice cherry aromas, surrounded by enough hints of clove/spice. I like it and I'm not crazy about pinots. It paired nicely with my mashed potatoes and skillet chicken with bacon. The finish is a little lacking, but I think for the price the nice nose makes up for it in my book. If you can find it for around $15-16 on sale I would give it a run. It's a good Tuesday night pinot. Won't break the bank like so many of them can and will play well with whatever meal you've got going on in the kitchen.
Some nice cherry aromas, surrounded by enough hints of clove/spice. I like it and I'm not crazy about pinots. It paired nicely with my mashed potatoes and skillet chicken with bacon. The finish is a little lacking, but I think for the price the nice nose makes up for it in my book. If you can find it for around $15-16 on sale I would give it a run. It's a good Tuesday night pinot. Won't break the bank like so many of them can and will play well with whatever meal you've got going on in the kitchen.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
What's the oldest wine you've ever tried?
Mine was 30 years old. Marques de Murrieta Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial 1978. It is really a treat to try a wine with such age. It's something that I love about wine because it is a living thing. It takes such a craft to create a wine that will last for 30 yrs! Especially when 9/10 wines out there today are meant to be drunk on the short term. Tasting notes:
Light in color, but amazingly still alive thanks to lively acidity. Has something on the nose that to me seems a bit like something you smell on a nice port. Some cherries and raisins in the mix. Just fun to drink! ~$240/btl
91 pts Wine Spectator
Light in color, but amazingly still alive thanks to lively acidity. Has something on the nose that to me seems a bit like something you smell on a nice port. Some cherries and raisins in the mix. Just fun to drink! ~$240/btl
91 pts Wine Spectator
Monday, September 8, 2008
Maisons Marques & Domaines Tasting: 9-8-08
Maisons Marques & Domaines have some big names under their belt. Louis Roederer, Roederer Estate, Napanook, Dominus, Ramos-Pinto, Pio Cesare and Querciabella to name a few. Here are some highlights and tasting notes, along with any awards, professional scores and cellartracker scores, when applicable, to compare to mine. Let's have a look!
Bubbles:
Roderer Estate Brut NV - A lovely sparkler from the California outpost from the French Champagne producer. I've always liked this one. It's always a good value and in my opinion cane take the place of French champagne for at least $15 dollars less. Solid apples and toasty notes. Good depth, solid value. 90 pts.
88-90 Wine Spectator, 89 avg. cellartracker.com
Roederer Cristal 2002 - So I finally got a chance to taste the famed Cristal. Perhaps best known to many as one of the most expensive champagnes around and lauded by rappers in their ego driven songs. It was elegant and on the lighter side. The finish didn't go on and on like I expected. I just wasn't blown away, regardless of what the cost would have been. Fun to say you've tried it, though! 87 points.
91 avg points Cellartracker.com (3 reviews)
Reds:
Dominus Estate Red 05 - I first heard of this wine by the cake decorator at work. She had a bottle of '02 for her anniversary and raved about it. I found it had a strong core of dark fruits (cassis) with shadings of oak and spice. The finish is real strong and graceful, with good mineral notes. Would love to throw this up against some nice leg of lamb or fat ribeye. 91 pts
95 pt avg cellartracker (2 reviews),
Pio Cesare Barbaresco "Il Bricco" 04 - Poured this along with the 04 barolo, and while the barolo was certainly good (nice long finish, solid blackberries and hints of spice I'd give 92 pts), "Il Bricco" brought the thunder! Let's look at my tasting notes: "Boom! Dark fruits with smokey, tar nose. Nice wine, has many years ahead of it with it's strong tannins." A truly yummy, high-end Italian wine that competes with anything else I've tried. A favorite of the day.
93 pts
94 pts Wine Spectator
Ramos-Pinto 20 Tawny Quinta Bom-Retiro - An absolutely lovely tawny port. Real full caramel, nuts. The finish goes on for minutes, leaving your mouth lingering with creme brulee and caramel. Well played, well played.
92 pts
93 pts Wine Spectator (2003), 89 Cellartracker.com
Bubbles:
Roderer Estate Brut NV - A lovely sparkler from the California outpost from the French Champagne producer. I've always liked this one. It's always a good value and in my opinion cane take the place of French champagne for at least $15 dollars less. Solid apples and toasty notes. Good depth, solid value. 90 pts.
88-90 Wine Spectator, 89 avg. cellartracker.com
Roederer Cristal 2002 - So I finally got a chance to taste the famed Cristal. Perhaps best known to many as one of the most expensive champagnes around and lauded by rappers in their ego driven songs. It was elegant and on the lighter side. The finish didn't go on and on like I expected. I just wasn't blown away, regardless of what the cost would have been. Fun to say you've tried it, though! 87 points.
91 avg points Cellartracker.com (3 reviews)
Reds:
Dominus Estate Red 05 - I first heard of this wine by the cake decorator at work. She had a bottle of '02 for her anniversary and raved about it. I found it had a strong core of dark fruits (cassis) with shadings of oak and spice. The finish is real strong and graceful, with good mineral notes. Would love to throw this up against some nice leg of lamb or fat ribeye. 91 pts
95 pt avg cellartracker (2 reviews),
Pio Cesare Barbaresco "Il Bricco" 04 - Poured this along with the 04 barolo, and while the barolo was certainly good (nice long finish, solid blackberries and hints of spice I'd give 92 pts), "Il Bricco" brought the thunder! Let's look at my tasting notes: "Boom! Dark fruits with smokey, tar nose. Nice wine, has many years ahead of it with it's strong tannins." A truly yummy, high-end Italian wine that competes with anything else I've tried. A favorite of the day.
93 pts
94 pts Wine Spectator
Ramos-Pinto 20 Tawny Quinta Bom-Retiro - An absolutely lovely tawny port. Real full caramel, nuts. The finish goes on for minutes, leaving your mouth lingering with creme brulee and caramel. Well played, well played.
92 pts
93 pts Wine Spectator (2003), 89 Cellartracker.com
Friday, September 5, 2008
The Omnivore's 100
One of the frequently visited websites, seriouseats.com, had a post about something called "The Ominvore's 100". It's a list of 100 food items, put together by the lovely folks at verygoodtaste.co.uk. Basically you go through it and bold all the items that you have already tried and cross out any items you would not try. Helpful wikipedia links included for the more obscure items! How do you rank?
The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:
1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart (in NYC and Eugene...miss that guy)
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese (been eyeing it at safeway...)
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl (in Boston, nonetheless)
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Why I love food (and cooking)
Many people have many hobbies, but I'd like to make the case for my hobbies as king(s) of the mountain. My major hobbies are obviously food (with a focus on cooking) and wine (with a focus on drinking?). First, let's tackle food.
As I sit here waiting for my calzones to finish cooking (Matt's original recipe to follow below) I started getting excited about them. There is something so satisfying in making something from scratch in this ready-made world we live in. We get to experience food and cooking with all of our senses. While a lovely painting may please our eyes I would argue a well plated dish can do just the same thing, just more. When you're cooking you smell the aromas, taste the flavors and feel the texture in your mouth. No other form of art or expressing yourself can give you such corporeal pleasure, while giving the same pleasure to the people you are performing for (in this case cooking for). That short blurb out of the system and my calzones out of the oven, let's move onto the recipe.
Matt's Calzone Recipe
You will need:
- pizza dough (12")
- a couple cups of spinach
- a few slices of onion
- 1/2 pound or so of italian sausage
- 3/4 pound crimini mushrooms
- sprig of rosemary, minced
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 4 oz. ricotta cheese
- shredded parmesan or other italian hard cheese
- basil, sliced
- marinade, for dipping (optional)
- olive oil
- butter
- salt and pepper
Cook the italian sausage until broken apart and caramelized. Remove to plate lined with paper towel. Then throw in onion slice into pan, cook until sweet and have some color. When finished cooking the onions, remove to same plate as sausage. Now toss the halved mushrooms into the pan with a bit of olive oil. Cook for a few minutes, tossing occasionally. After a few minutes, throw in a tablespoon of butter and the minced garlic and rosemary. Cook until the garlic and herbs become very aromatic, just a minute or two. Salt as needed here (eat a few mushrooms! they're delicious!). Once the 'shrooms are done you can toss them onto the plate with the other fillings.
Cut the pizza dough in two and work out until 1/8" thick or so, oval shaped. Spoon some ricotta cheese on the close side of the dough. Add prepared toppings as desired, including fresh basil, parmesan cheese and chopped spinach. Once properly filled pull the far end of the dough over the filling and pinch the dough together to avoid leakage. I like to rub a bit of olive oil on the calzone to help get it a nice golden color. Toss in a preheated oven (450-500 degrees) on a pizza stone for 10-13 minutes, until golden brown. Serve with marinara on the side.
As I sit here waiting for my calzones to finish cooking (Matt's original recipe to follow below) I started getting excited about them. There is something so satisfying in making something from scratch in this ready-made world we live in. We get to experience food and cooking with all of our senses. While a lovely painting may please our eyes I would argue a well plated dish can do just the same thing, just more. When you're cooking you smell the aromas, taste the flavors and feel the texture in your mouth. No other form of art or expressing yourself can give you such corporeal pleasure, while giving the same pleasure to the people you are performing for (in this case cooking for). That short blurb out of the system and my calzones out of the oven, let's move onto the recipe.
Matt's Calzone Recipe
You will need:
- pizza dough (12")
- a couple cups of spinach
- a few slices of onion
- 1/2 pound or so of italian sausage
- 3/4 pound crimini mushrooms
- sprig of rosemary, minced
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 4 oz. ricotta cheese
- shredded parmesan or other italian hard cheese
- basil, sliced
- marinade, for dipping (optional)
- olive oil
- butter
- salt and pepper
Cook the italian sausage until broken apart and caramelized. Remove to plate lined with paper towel. Then throw in onion slice into pan, cook until sweet and have some color. When finished cooking the onions, remove to same plate as sausage. Now toss the halved mushrooms into the pan with a bit of olive oil. Cook for a few minutes, tossing occasionally. After a few minutes, throw in a tablespoon of butter and the minced garlic and rosemary. Cook until the garlic and herbs become very aromatic, just a minute or two. Salt as needed here (eat a few mushrooms! they're delicious!). Once the 'shrooms are done you can toss them onto the plate with the other fillings.
Cut the pizza dough in two and work out until 1/8" thick or so, oval shaped. Spoon some ricotta cheese on the close side of the dough. Add prepared toppings as desired, including fresh basil, parmesan cheese and chopped spinach. Once properly filled pull the far end of the dough over the filling and pinch the dough together to avoid leakage. I like to rub a bit of olive oil on the calzone to help get it a nice golden color. Toss in a preheated oven (450-500 degrees) on a pizza stone for 10-13 minutes, until golden brown. Serve with marinara on the side.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Iron Chef!
Iron Chef Matt Presents Three Dishes!
The Iron Chef Cook Off went down tonight in West Linn, OR. Here's a quick recap of ingredients and dishes.
The required ingredients were as follows:
- mango
- chicken
- cocoa powder
- havarti cheese
- potatoes
- tomatoes
My quick three dishes:
Appetizer:
- Mini BLTs with fried havarti cheese
These were a hit and won me "best side dish/appetizer". Stuck the cheese in the freezer to get it real nice, cold and hard for frying. Cut sourdough into half-slices, without the crust. They were all identical and the perfect few bites. Went with the regular BLT recipe, subbing spinach for lettuce. As far as secret ingredients, killed two birds with one stone. And who can't resist bacon and fried cheese?!?
Main:
- Chicken breast stuffed with Mango salsa and oven potatoes
Overcooked the chicken a little bit and the potatoes didn't turn out as crisp as I had hoped. They were red potatoes instead of russets, which I am used to. Not my best dish. Should have stuffed the chicken with cheese and covered with the mango-basil salsa. Oh well. Lesson learned.
Dessert:
- Mini Mochas
I was having a hard time figuring out what to do with the cocoa powder. Never really used it before and I didn't want to put it on the chicken (maybe I should have in hindsight!). Mini Mochas came to the rescue. Whipped up some espresso and added some sugar (a decent amount) and cocoa powder. Then heated up some half and half and milk, added it all together and divided them into five mini espresso cups. Placed them on a plate and sprinkled paprika (for color only) onto the plate for presentation points. It was actually a nice complement to the meal and good use of the ingredient. I was pleased, especially since I made it up as I was going along.
And the winner is...
ME! By one, literal point. Out of over 300 points. Apparently I am good in the miniature (BLTs and mochas), while struggling in the main dish. That's what saved me.
Things learned:
preparing three dishes, creatively, in under an hour (which didn't quite happen) is very hard. Especially with just two burners. Lots of running around, a few minor burns and hopefully no cross contamination from the chicken ;) And a huge mess afterwards.
Also, fried cheese is freaking delicious! It was the first time I had fried cheese and it turned out pretty well. Add it to my BLT anytime! A nice little trick/technique to wow the judges, I think.
My gracious opponent, Danielle, wowed us with some bananas foster after we had all eaten the different dishes. Great stuff! If you weren't here, you missed out!
The Iron Chef Cook Off went down tonight in West Linn, OR. Here's a quick recap of ingredients and dishes.
The required ingredients were as follows:
- mango
- chicken
- cocoa powder
- havarti cheese
- potatoes
- tomatoes
My quick three dishes:
Appetizer:
- Mini BLTs with fried havarti cheese
These were a hit and won me "best side dish/appetizer". Stuck the cheese in the freezer to get it real nice, cold and hard for frying. Cut sourdough into half-slices, without the crust. They were all identical and the perfect few bites. Went with the regular BLT recipe, subbing spinach for lettuce. As far as secret ingredients, killed two birds with one stone. And who can't resist bacon and fried cheese?!?
Main:
- Chicken breast stuffed with Mango salsa and oven potatoes
Overcooked the chicken a little bit and the potatoes didn't turn out as crisp as I had hoped. They were red potatoes instead of russets, which I am used to. Not my best dish. Should have stuffed the chicken with cheese and covered with the mango-basil salsa. Oh well. Lesson learned.
Dessert:
- Mini Mochas
I was having a hard time figuring out what to do with the cocoa powder. Never really used it before and I didn't want to put it on the chicken (maybe I should have in hindsight!). Mini Mochas came to the rescue. Whipped up some espresso and added some sugar (a decent amount) and cocoa powder. Then heated up some half and half and milk, added it all together and divided them into five mini espresso cups. Placed them on a plate and sprinkled paprika (for color only) onto the plate for presentation points. It was actually a nice complement to the meal and good use of the ingredient. I was pleased, especially since I made it up as I was going along.
And the winner is...
ME! By one, literal point. Out of over 300 points. Apparently I am good in the miniature (BLTs and mochas), while struggling in the main dish. That's what saved me.
Things learned:
preparing three dishes, creatively, in under an hour (which didn't quite happen) is very hard. Especially with just two burners. Lots of running around, a few minor burns and hopefully no cross contamination from the chicken ;) And a huge mess afterwards.
Also, fried cheese is freaking delicious! It was the first time I had fried cheese and it turned out pretty well. Add it to my BLT anytime! A nice little trick/technique to wow the judges, I think.
My gracious opponent, Danielle, wowed us with some bananas foster after we had all eaten the different dishes. Great stuff! If you weren't here, you missed out!
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
BV Napa Cabernet and Apple Cider, plus Stir Fry
BV Napa Cabernet 2005 $17:
- Real nice dark color, pretty in the glass. Solid dark cherries on the nose, followed through in the mouth. It's got a little bit of extra on there, maybe a hint of oakiness or chocolate. It's enjoyable all around. A solid bottle of wine. It goes for around $17. If it were $14 I would recommend it all the time, but getting so close to the other $20 bottles (Simi, Clos Reserve, Franciscan, Martini Napa) I think you can upgrade to more complexity for those extra few bucks.
Douche' de Loungeville (Hard) Cider $7:
- Made from apples from Normandy, France. Real pretty golden color. 4% alcohol, so no zinger here. Finishes quite dry with a decent finish. A nice change of pace. Try it with anything that goes with apples (like the pork chops I prepared below!).
Douche' de Loungeville (non-hard) Cider $7:
- Once again, real pretty golden color on this. Noticeably more sweet than the hard cider, but not cloying sweet. Definitely more enjoyable than Martinelli's Cider, which I find to be overly sweet. It's a nice change of pace, indeed.
In other wine/food adventure related news: I got another cast iron pan! This one is a 10", flat, round skillet, as opposed to our current square 10" with grill marks. I'm quick becoming a fan of cast iron pans. Their great heat distribution, stove top to oven portability and natural non-stick qualities make the Iron Chef in me giddy. Broke it in tonight by working up some homemade pork stir fry. Excellent... Recipe follows (thanks to Albert, the China Chef at Safeway for the tips along the way!):
Pork Stir Fry, ala Albert:
2 tablespoons Cornstarch, divided
Sliced pork, thin - from pork chop or loin
8 oz. frozen stir fry veggies
cup of white wine (I use dry vermouth) or chicken broth
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon black bean paste
1/2 tablespoon sugar
salt, pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons minced ginger
3-5 minced cloves garlic
Heat the oil in a cast iron pan over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, toss pork with 1 tablespoon cornstarch and season with salt and pepper. When oil reaches temperature, toss pork in and brown. Don't worry about cooking all the way through, just brown it well on both sides. Once browned, remove from pan and set aside.
Throw veggie mix into the hot pan. Meanwhile, mix white wine or chicken broth, soy sauce sugar and remaining tablespoon of cornstarch. Mix well. After about 2 minutes, add the garlic, ginger and black bean paste to the side of the pan and let sizzle to bring out flavors. After 2 minutes more, when veggies are cooked through and crisp, add the liquid and mix well. Keep over heat, stirring frequently to avoid burning. 1-2 minutes later, you've should have a nice sauce consistency. Serve over rice and enjoy!
Top Tip:
When I was picking Albert's brain about stir fry he gave me the following advice. The worst thing you can do is overcook the vegetables. It makes a big difference and those frozen veggies cook up surprisingly fast in a well heated skillet.
- Real nice dark color, pretty in the glass. Solid dark cherries on the nose, followed through in the mouth. It's got a little bit of extra on there, maybe a hint of oakiness or chocolate. It's enjoyable all around. A solid bottle of wine. It goes for around $17. If it were $14 I would recommend it all the time, but getting so close to the other $20 bottles (Simi, Clos Reserve, Franciscan, Martini Napa) I think you can upgrade to more complexity for those extra few bucks.
Douche' de Loungeville (Hard) Cider $7:
- Made from apples from Normandy, France. Real pretty golden color. 4% alcohol, so no zinger here. Finishes quite dry with a decent finish. A nice change of pace. Try it with anything that goes with apples (like the pork chops I prepared below!).
Douche' de Loungeville (non-hard) Cider $7:
- Once again, real pretty golden color on this. Noticeably more sweet than the hard cider, but not cloying sweet. Definitely more enjoyable than Martinelli's Cider, which I find to be overly sweet. It's a nice change of pace, indeed.
In other wine/food adventure related news: I got another cast iron pan! This one is a 10", flat, round skillet, as opposed to our current square 10" with grill marks. I'm quick becoming a fan of cast iron pans. Their great heat distribution, stove top to oven portability and natural non-stick qualities make the Iron Chef in me giddy. Broke it in tonight by working up some homemade pork stir fry. Excellent... Recipe follows (thanks to Albert, the China Chef at Safeway for the tips along the way!):
Pork Stir Fry, ala Albert:
2 tablespoons Cornstarch, divided
Sliced pork, thin - from pork chop or loin
8 oz. frozen stir fry veggies
cup of white wine (I use dry vermouth) or chicken broth
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon black bean paste
1/2 tablespoon sugar
salt, pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons minced ginger
3-5 minced cloves garlic
Heat the oil in a cast iron pan over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, toss pork with 1 tablespoon cornstarch and season with salt and pepper. When oil reaches temperature, toss pork in and brown. Don't worry about cooking all the way through, just brown it well on both sides. Once browned, remove from pan and set aside.
Throw veggie mix into the hot pan. Meanwhile, mix white wine or chicken broth, soy sauce sugar and remaining tablespoon of cornstarch. Mix well. After about 2 minutes, add the garlic, ginger and black bean paste to the side of the pan and let sizzle to bring out flavors. After 2 minutes more, when veggies are cooked through and crisp, add the liquid and mix well. Keep over heat, stirring frequently to avoid burning. 1-2 minutes later, you've should have a nice sauce consistency. Serve over rice and enjoy!
Top Tip:
When I was picking Albert's brain about stir fry he gave me the following advice. The worst thing you can do is overcook the vegetables. It makes a big difference and those frozen veggies cook up surprisingly fast in a well heated skillet.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Pork chop extravaganza!
All this Iron Chef talk has sparked the gourmet holed up in my head to peak out and want to get back into the mix. Since I had a few moments during work (slower Wednesday) I started making a shopping list. Like most shopping lists I make I end up only getting half of the things on it. My grocery list isn't so much a list but a brainstorm. I write down all the ingredients I think I might need to create a couple of different dishes and then depending on the sales and my whim I whittle it down. Here's what come together tonight.
Pan Fried Pork Chop Stuffed with Havarti, Fresh Basil and Carmelized Onion with Port Sauce:
Double breaded the chop in a mix of flour and breadcrumbs. Stuffed it with about a slice of Havarti (which melts beautifully), fresh basil and caramelized onion. Threw it in the cast iron skillet on high heat for just a couple minutes a side, until nice and browned. Then it's into the oven at 400 degrees for about 10 - 12 minutes.
After pulling the chops out of the oven I made a port sauce. Poured some (cheap) port into the skillet, scraping up the little bits. After the sauce has reduced a bit I threw in a tablespoon or two of butter and whisked. This helps bring the sauce together a bit.
Served with roasted potatoes and carrots, it turned out to be a proper dinner! I'm all about browning the meat on high in the cast iron and then finishing it in the oven. You should try it if you haven't already! It really helps to not overcook the meat.
Had it with the H3 Columbia Crest Merlot. I've discussed it before, so I won't do the whole redux thing here. I'm really here to talk about the food. And I've done that. So until next time...
Peace Love and Chicken Grease,
Matt
Pan Fried Pork Chop Stuffed with Havarti, Fresh Basil and Carmelized Onion with Port Sauce:
Double breaded the chop in a mix of flour and breadcrumbs. Stuffed it with about a slice of Havarti (which melts beautifully), fresh basil and caramelized onion. Threw it in the cast iron skillet on high heat for just a couple minutes a side, until nice and browned. Then it's into the oven at 400 degrees for about 10 - 12 minutes.
After pulling the chops out of the oven I made a port sauce. Poured some (cheap) port into the skillet, scraping up the little bits. After the sauce has reduced a bit I threw in a tablespoon or two of butter and whisked. This helps bring the sauce together a bit.
Served with roasted potatoes and carrots, it turned out to be a proper dinner! I'm all about browning the meat on high in the cast iron and then finishing it in the oven. You should try it if you haven't already! It really helps to not overcook the meat.
Had it with the H3 Columbia Crest Merlot. I've discussed it before, so I won't do the whole redux thing here. I'm really here to talk about the food. And I've done that. So until next time...
Peace Love and Chicken Grease,
Matt
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Upcoming Iron Chef Cook-off!
A Iron Chef competition is in the works with one of my roommates, Danielle. Consequently I've been reading up on different cooking magazines, cooking books and mentally planning meals the last week. What are my strengths? What are my weaknesses? How could I work the things that I do well into the competition, which will invariably involve multiple servings of the same dish (i.e. translating a big pizza into separate appetizers)? for your enjoyment...
Strengths:
- I think I am a decent cook overall. I've picked up a couple of techniques that I think can help win over a crowd. One dish I will probably try to work in is a type of stuffed chicken breast. The great thing is you can stuff it with just about anything. I find the trick is browning it in a skillet on both sides and then finishing it in the oven. Otherwise it becomes too difficult to try to cook the chicken all the way through and not burn it, all while not letting the chicken sit in a bunch of oil and getting too greasy.
I also feel like I make good pizzas (something that is a few years coming). I've been kicking around the idea of making small, mini pizzas. These could serve as appetizers of some sort. I haven't tried to miniaturize my big pizzas, but figure that it couldn't be too difficult.
- Potatoes. I eat a lot of potatoes. I've prepared them many ways. I can get good hashbrowns, homefries and potato chips, besides the obvious baked/mashed dishes. I feel this gives me a good advantage and flexibility with whatever gets thrown at me.
- Italian cooking. As mentioned with the pizzas above, I've been cooking Italian for some time. Risotto is a favorite that I don't make too often and can work well with lots of different ingredients. Pastas can come together nicely, too.
- Food Network. Ok, I know as well as anyone that watching people cook on TV does NOT translate to being a good cook at home. Practice makes a good cook. That said, remembering those little tricks and tips can help make that little difference in whatever you are preparing.
Weaknesses:
- Desserts. I'm not a big dessert guy, so this could pose a problem (especially if we go with a three dish requirement, appetizer, entree and dessert). I could minimize my loses here by staying basic and simple. My trump card right now is figuring out how to make homemade caramel sauce.
- Sauces. Besides my glorious homemade chicken gravy (see below posts) I haven't made a lot of progress by way of scratch sauces. I've come up with stir fry sauces that work pretty well, thanks in big part to Albert the China Chef where I work. On second thought, however, I've experimented with making port reduction sauces that have turned out pretty well, so I might be OK here, as long as I can play towards I've practiced.
- Presentation. I cook for myself. I don't care how the food looks on the plate. I don't present to myself. I'm lucky enough if there's still food left by the time I get to the table. I'll need to work on height of the dish on the plate (thank you food network) and spreading sauces on the plate all fancy like (see above problems).
All in all it should be pretty fun. Our kitchen is set up nicely for something like this, with two burners each, an oven each and half a prep area each. Depending on secret ingredients, I think it would be fun to do a new version of an old classic. Like spiffing up fish and chips, pizza or breakfast dishes. We'll see how it all comes together. I'm excited! I'm going to try to work in wine pairings to win over the crowd, too.
Strengths:
- I think I am a decent cook overall. I've picked up a couple of techniques that I think can help win over a crowd. One dish I will probably try to work in is a type of stuffed chicken breast. The great thing is you can stuff it with just about anything. I find the trick is browning it in a skillet on both sides and then finishing it in the oven. Otherwise it becomes too difficult to try to cook the chicken all the way through and not burn it, all while not letting the chicken sit in a bunch of oil and getting too greasy.
I also feel like I make good pizzas (something that is a few years coming). I've been kicking around the idea of making small, mini pizzas. These could serve as appetizers of some sort. I haven't tried to miniaturize my big pizzas, but figure that it couldn't be too difficult.
- Potatoes. I eat a lot of potatoes. I've prepared them many ways. I can get good hashbrowns, homefries and potato chips, besides the obvious baked/mashed dishes. I feel this gives me a good advantage and flexibility with whatever gets thrown at me.
- Italian cooking. As mentioned with the pizzas above, I've been cooking Italian for some time. Risotto is a favorite that I don't make too often and can work well with lots of different ingredients. Pastas can come together nicely, too.
- Food Network. Ok, I know as well as anyone that watching people cook on TV does NOT translate to being a good cook at home. Practice makes a good cook. That said, remembering those little tricks and tips can help make that little difference in whatever you are preparing.
Weaknesses:
- Desserts. I'm not a big dessert guy, so this could pose a problem (especially if we go with a three dish requirement, appetizer, entree and dessert). I could minimize my loses here by staying basic and simple. My trump card right now is figuring out how to make homemade caramel sauce.
- Sauces. Besides my glorious homemade chicken gravy (see below posts) I haven't made a lot of progress by way of scratch sauces. I've come up with stir fry sauces that work pretty well, thanks in big part to Albert the China Chef where I work. On second thought, however, I've experimented with making port reduction sauces that have turned out pretty well, so I might be OK here, as long as I can play towards I've practiced.
- Presentation. I cook for myself. I don't care how the food looks on the plate. I don't present to myself. I'm lucky enough if there's still food left by the time I get to the table. I'll need to work on height of the dish on the plate (thank you food network) and spreading sauces on the plate all fancy like (see above problems).
All in all it should be pretty fun. Our kitchen is set up nicely for something like this, with two burners each, an oven each and half a prep area each. Depending on secret ingredients, I think it would be fun to do a new version of an old classic. Like spiffing up fish and chips, pizza or breakfast dishes. We'll see how it all comes together. I'm excited! I'm going to try to work in wine pairings to win over the crowd, too.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Oregon Brewfest 2008
I managed to get last Saturday off, as wedding duties called for the third weekend in a row. To my (pleasant) surprise the wedding didn't start until 6 pm. That left me with a free afternoon and the chance to go to the Oregon BrewFest. I never had the opportunity to go before, always working and such, so I jumped at the opportunity.
Here are some standouts:
New Holland Brewery (MI): Dragon's Ale
- Classified as a "strong ale", this comes in your mug looking like a porter. Nice and dark with all those stout/porter flavors you love, backed by some decent hops. The key to this one is that it is finished in oak bourbon barrels. Being a lover of Jack Daniel's for it's oaky/charcoal/sweetness on the finish I was high as a bird that the beer had a very similar finish. If you like 'em big, strong and dark, search this one out.
Surly Brewing Company (MN): Coffee Bender
- Once again, my bias towards two things I love a) dark beer and b) coffee find a winner. Full of maltiness, carmel notes and (duh) coffee, I was in heaven. Delicious.
There were other standouts, too, but alas, I left my program in the porta-potty. And I didn't take any real notes anyways. These were the two winners in my book, so search 'em out beer lovers!
Here are some standouts:
New Holland Brewery (MI): Dragon's Ale
- Classified as a "strong ale", this comes in your mug looking like a porter. Nice and dark with all those stout/porter flavors you love, backed by some decent hops. The key to this one is that it is finished in oak bourbon barrels. Being a lover of Jack Daniel's for it's oaky/charcoal/sweetness on the finish I was high as a bird that the beer had a very similar finish. If you like 'em big, strong and dark, search this one out.
Surly Brewing Company (MN): Coffee Bender
- Once again, my bias towards two things I love a) dark beer and b) coffee find a winner. Full of maltiness, carmel notes and (duh) coffee, I was in heaven. Delicious.
There were other standouts, too, but alas, I left my program in the porta-potty. And I didn't take any real notes anyways. These were the two winners in my book, so search 'em out beer lovers!
Adventures in cooking, fryer chickens
I roasted a whole fryer chicken the other day, piecing together different recipes to try to get something that interested me. I ended up going with a rosemary/lemon zest rub under the skins, then poured a olive oil/lemon juice mix over the top before hitting the oven. The chicken ended up a little on the dry side (damn it all!) but was pretty good. The killer part about the dish was the gravy.
i browned the chicken in our cast iron skillet first, then it was to the oven. After I poured the vinaigarette over the chicken I sliced an onion and placed it around the chicken. When the chicken was cooked through there was a whole lot of delicious chicken juice simmering away at the bottom of the pan. I pulled the chicken out of the skillet and threw the gravy on the stove top, put it on high and added about 1/3 cup dry vermouth. Reduced down and made one of the best damn chicken gravies I have ever, ever had. It was plenty rich (thank you chicken fat), but balanced by all the lemon juice I threw in. Rosemary for some herbage and the onions which had become deliciously moist put it all together. the white wine helped to bring it down to the right flavor mix, not too heavy, but not light.
Needless to say I've been working off this chicken since tuesday. I've been the happiest so far with my roast chicken sandwhich. Throw the meat on a toasted potato bun, add lettuce, some of the gravy and onions and blue cheese and you are set to go. Sadly the gravy can soggify the bun, but it's so good you can't help but woof down the whole sandwich.
And on to the wine of the evening: Waterbrook Chardonnay 2006
A subtle chardonnay, with some pear aromas and hints of oak. Picking up on some spiciness on the finish, too. Medium bodied mouth feel. Not too shabby for the price.
Bloggers note:
I took a look at the professional tasting notes from Wine Spectator after thinking about this wine in my glass and was pretty much spot on. Must be doing something right...
i browned the chicken in our cast iron skillet first, then it was to the oven. After I poured the vinaigarette over the chicken I sliced an onion and placed it around the chicken. When the chicken was cooked through there was a whole lot of delicious chicken juice simmering away at the bottom of the pan. I pulled the chicken out of the skillet and threw the gravy on the stove top, put it on high and added about 1/3 cup dry vermouth. Reduced down and made one of the best damn chicken gravies I have ever, ever had. It was plenty rich (thank you chicken fat), but balanced by all the lemon juice I threw in. Rosemary for some herbage and the onions which had become deliciously moist put it all together. the white wine helped to bring it down to the right flavor mix, not too heavy, but not light.
Needless to say I've been working off this chicken since tuesday. I've been the happiest so far with my roast chicken sandwhich. Throw the meat on a toasted potato bun, add lettuce, some of the gravy and onions and blue cheese and you are set to go. Sadly the gravy can soggify the bun, but it's so good you can't help but woof down the whole sandwich.
And on to the wine of the evening: Waterbrook Chardonnay 2006
A subtle chardonnay, with some pear aromas and hints of oak. Picking up on some spiciness on the finish, too. Medium bodied mouth feel. Not too shabby for the price.
Bloggers note:
I took a look at the professional tasting notes from Wine Spectator after thinking about this wine in my glass and was pretty much spot on. Must be doing something right...
Monday, July 7, 2008
Homemade pizza v.02
The second in a previously unpublished post, I made homemade pizza for the second time this week! The first time was last week with dough purchased at the grocery store (pillsbury, for shame!) and was consumed with the wine from the previous post, Columbia Crest Vineyard 10 red. Well, this time I got it right and went to the closest pizza place (Pizza Schmizza) and purchased some dough. Soooooo much better! In addition to being less than half the cost of the supermarket brand, it was so much easier to work with and get real nice and thin. I purchased the amount of dough used for a 12" pizza, which costs $1 and works out to a pizza that stretches the limits of my pizza stone.
I decided to go with a straight cheese pizza. One of my favorites is sausage and onions but my onion wasn't looking too hot, so I kept it simple. Cranked the oven to 500 degrees, heated up the stone, dressed the pizza and about 8 minutes later I had a tasty cheese pizza that cost me probably less than $2 altogether. I defintely recommend buying dough from your local pizzeria the next time you make pizza at home. It is cheaper and easier than making your own and no doubt there is some kind of pizza joint nearby.
I'm still working on getting the pizza crust just the way I like it. An oven as hot as it gets and a pizza stone are surely two important factors. In addition, not overworking or overflouring have helped. Room temperature door and sauce will help to cook the dough all the way through without burning the outside. The closest I've come to recreating the pizzas I've had in Italy was placing a pizza stone on the gas grill, cranking up the heat and then using the grill like an oven. this actually worked quite well. Good char on the bottom of the pizza, golden crust cooked through and crisp with some chewiness and cheese not burnt. However, I gave up on that method after gently moving my pizza stone resulted in a three piece stone, never to be used again.
And, since this is indeed a wine blog, I suppose I should talk about the wine I had. A by Acacia Pinot Noir 2006. Retails around $16. I wasn't too impressed. It's a pretty simple California pinot noir, light red fruit (strawberries on the nose?) and light raspberries. Just a hint of spice but really no finish. Pass...but only on the wine. And pass me another slice of that pizza!
I decided to go with a straight cheese pizza. One of my favorites is sausage and onions but my onion wasn't looking too hot, so I kept it simple. Cranked the oven to 500 degrees, heated up the stone, dressed the pizza and about 8 minutes later I had a tasty cheese pizza that cost me probably less than $2 altogether. I defintely recommend buying dough from your local pizzeria the next time you make pizza at home. It is cheaper and easier than making your own and no doubt there is some kind of pizza joint nearby.
I'm still working on getting the pizza crust just the way I like it. An oven as hot as it gets and a pizza stone are surely two important factors. In addition, not overworking or overflouring have helped. Room temperature door and sauce will help to cook the dough all the way through without burning the outside. The closest I've come to recreating the pizzas I've had in Italy was placing a pizza stone on the gas grill, cranking up the heat and then using the grill like an oven. this actually worked quite well. Good char on the bottom of the pizza, golden crust cooked through and crisp with some chewiness and cheese not burnt. However, I gave up on that method after gently moving my pizza stone resulted in a three piece stone, never to be used again.
And, since this is indeed a wine blog, I suppose I should talk about the wine I had. A by Acacia Pinot Noir 2006. Retails around $16. I wasn't too impressed. It's a pretty simple California pinot noir, light red fruit (strawberries on the nose?) and light raspberries. Just a hint of spice but really no finish. Pass...but only on the wine. And pass me another slice of that pizza!
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Columbia Crest strikes again
Columbia Crest, one of the biggest producers in Washingston state, had done it again. They have recently released two different labels that you need to check out. I'll start with the cheap one. Vineyard 10
Vineyard 10:
Produced in both a red blend and white, this bottle should ring in around $7/btl. While the white blend was plenty good for the money (can't remember the blend, but perhaps some sauv bland, semillon, etc) I'm here to focus on the red. Vineyard 10 red is a blend of mainly cabernet, syrah and sangiovese (with touches of grenache, my new favorite grape). You'll be pleasantly surprised by this inexpensive red. It's got good simple red fruit on the nose. But where it earns it's buck is in the mouth. It's surprisingly rich in the mouth (and easy to drink thanks to what must be some residual sugar). Try it out, then buy it by the case. This is your new house wine. You're welcome.
H3 (Horse Heaven Hills):
Alright, so if you follow the ratings on wines you probably already know that the H3 chardonnay was rated 91 pts by Wine Spectator ("one to buy by the case") and that the cabernet also garnered a 90 pt rating. The great thing? You can find these wines for under $15! Sometimes on a volume discount you can get them for under $11 (which I did last week). The wine that has not been scored by WS yet is the merlot, and honestly I think it is the best of the bunch. Easily a 90 pt wine. It has the softness and fruitiness that you expect of a Washington merlot, but with a little something extra. This wine has an element of earthiness/smokiness that really did it for me. This is a wine that I recommend quite often during the work week (along with the chardonnay) and haven't had any complaints yet. Brought it to a family get together, too, and it was quite well received. It's one of those bottles that drinks like many $20 plus bottles, and that's why I love it.
Vineyard 10:
Produced in both a red blend and white, this bottle should ring in around $7/btl. While the white blend was plenty good for the money (can't remember the blend, but perhaps some sauv bland, semillon, etc) I'm here to focus on the red. Vineyard 10 red is a blend of mainly cabernet, syrah and sangiovese (with touches of grenache, my new favorite grape). You'll be pleasantly surprised by this inexpensive red. It's got good simple red fruit on the nose. But where it earns it's buck is in the mouth. It's surprisingly rich in the mouth (and easy to drink thanks to what must be some residual sugar). Try it out, then buy it by the case. This is your new house wine. You're welcome.
H3 (Horse Heaven Hills):
Alright, so if you follow the ratings on wines you probably already know that the H3 chardonnay was rated 91 pts by Wine Spectator ("one to buy by the case") and that the cabernet also garnered a 90 pt rating. The great thing? You can find these wines for under $15! Sometimes on a volume discount you can get them for under $11 (which I did last week). The wine that has not been scored by WS yet is the merlot, and honestly I think it is the best of the bunch. Easily a 90 pt wine. It has the softness and fruitiness that you expect of a Washington merlot, but with a little something extra. This wine has an element of earthiness/smokiness that really did it for me. This is a wine that I recommend quite often during the work week (along with the chardonnay) and haven't had any complaints yet. Brought it to a family get together, too, and it was quite well received. It's one of those bottles that drinks like many $20 plus bottles, and that's why I love it.
Monday, June 23, 2008
henry weinhard ipa
I find myself tonight continuing my beer posts, perhaps for a couple reasons, but probably because beer is just cheaper than wine. $4.25 gallon of gas will make a 6 pack that can last a few nights look a lot better than a $10 btl that won't last as long.
So I picked up a 6 pack of Henry Weinhards IPA. It's the new seasonal from the Oregon brewer. It's inexpensive and tasty for the price. I tend to find the other Henry Weinhard brews (blue boar, blonde, hef) to have a bit of funk/bite to them. In other words, they taste like how much they cost (under $6 a 6 pack). But the IPA is a different story. Mild hoppiness is paired with nice malty notes. A very nice summer beer. Even went back for a 12 pack when I hosted a BBQ last week. It's safe to say that I have found a new, cheaper alternative to my microbrews. I hope this becomes a year round addition.
So I picked up a 6 pack of Henry Weinhards IPA. It's the new seasonal from the Oregon brewer. It's inexpensive and tasty for the price. I tend to find the other Henry Weinhard brews (blue boar, blonde, hef) to have a bit of funk/bite to them. In other words, they taste like how much they cost (under $6 a 6 pack). But the IPA is a different story. Mild hoppiness is paired with nice malty notes. A very nice summer beer. Even went back for a 12 pack when I hosted a BBQ last week. It's safe to say that I have found a new, cheaper alternative to my microbrews. I hope this becomes a year round addition.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Northstar Merlot 2004
Picked this up on a really good sale yesterday and cracked it with the parents. Wanted to see what was happening because it received a 91 pt rating from Wine Spectator. So after having some pulled pork (papa home made, of course) I poured myself a glass. Initially a little slow to show itself it definitely opened up quickly. The nose has some nice richness to it. Berries and something else I can't quite name. Tasting notes say white pepper and olive, but I was kind of thinking a hint of licorice, but I think that was stretching it. Well, while the nose was quite nice I was a little disappointed when I put it in my mouth. I thought it was a little flat. It had some nice tannins but those followed a midpalate that didn't do much for me. Now, keep in mind that for me "a little disappointed" is related to the fact that this will cost you generally ~$40/btl. Overall a good wine, but I wouldn't push it past 89 pts.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Abyss (!) and Vitamin R
I finally cracked the Abyss open last night (!). It was heaven. Really good stuff. Full of chocolate and coffee aromas and flavors. Barely carbonated. Dark as night. The smell made me think of a coffee milkshake at first. This is the beer that people were freaking out about. There were stories about people calling from out of state and offering to buy restaurants allocations for three times the normal mark up. Hard to get your hands on. Basically, you had to be on the list months before the release and quantities were very limited.
All in all it was really good. I wish I could pick up another one. It had a bit of sweetness, too. It beats the hell out of Guinness, and I love me some Guinness!
In other beer news, out at Slabtown in NW Portland they carry Rainer tall boys for $2. I was actually pretty excited for this beer because I hadn't seen it since I visited a friend out in La Grande. After the bachelor party weekend, which involved many divey places, it seems to be quite available. Shows where I go out to. It's cheap, that's for sure, but I personally think it's the best cheap beer out there. It drinks better than PBR and High Life. After doing some research it seems that this "local" cheap brew is actually brewed under contract in California. It used to be brewed up near Seattle. I think I like it for the added fact that it is nicknamed "Vitamin R". Mmmmmmm, vitamins
All in all it was really good. I wish I could pick up another one. It had a bit of sweetness, too. It beats the hell out of Guinness, and I love me some Guinness!
In other beer news, out at Slabtown in NW Portland they carry Rainer tall boys for $2. I was actually pretty excited for this beer because I hadn't seen it since I visited a friend out in La Grande. After the bachelor party weekend, which involved many divey places, it seems to be quite available. Shows where I go out to. It's cheap, that's for sure, but I personally think it's the best cheap beer out there. It drinks better than PBR and High Life. After doing some research it seems that this "local" cheap brew is actually brewed under contract in California. It used to be brewed up near Seattle. I think I like it for the added fact that it is nicknamed "Vitamin R". Mmmmmmm, vitamins
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Rogue Chipotle Beer and Oswego Hills PG
Beer and spicy food go together like, well, beer and spicy food. So why not mix the two? Or so goes the thinking from our beloved Rogue Brewery in Oregon with their Chipotle Ale. It carries a bit of a bite and the chipotle pepper, well known for its smokey/spicy character, shows itself the most on the finish. It's not real hoppy or bitter (35 IBUs), which I imagine would fight the heat too much. It's a mixed bag for me. I like the experimentation but overall it was kind of hard to get through the whole 12 oz. Worth a sip on the tasting menu and could make for some interesting food pairings.
Oswego Hills Winery is located no more than probably 4 miles from my house in the West Linn/Lake Oswego area. I've heard about their wines from customers, mostly positive. At dinner last night we cracked a bottle of their 2005 Pinot Gris with baked salmon, roasted potatoes and broccoli. It had just a touch of effervescence and some nice tropical fruit flavors. On the lighter side but still enjoyable nonetheless. Their website lists it at $15/btl.
One last teaser for the blog that I can't remember if I shared earlier. I got my hands on a bottle of Deschutes Brewery Abyss Imperial Stout. There was such a hoopla when this beer first came out due to its limited availability and reports of how good it is (called by some the best imperial stout. ever.). I've been holding on to this for about a month. Almost popped it open a week ago but was battling a bit of a cold. Look forward to that one coming soon!
cheers
Oswego Hills Winery is located no more than probably 4 miles from my house in the West Linn/Lake Oswego area. I've heard about their wines from customers, mostly positive. At dinner last night we cracked a bottle of their 2005 Pinot Gris with baked salmon, roasted potatoes and broccoli. It had just a touch of effervescence and some nice tropical fruit flavors. On the lighter side but still enjoyable nonetheless. Their website lists it at $15/btl.
One last teaser for the blog that I can't remember if I shared earlier. I got my hands on a bottle of Deschutes Brewery Abyss Imperial Stout. There was such a hoopla when this beer first came out due to its limited availability and reports of how good it is (called by some the best imperial stout. ever.). I've been holding on to this for about a month. Almost popped it open a week ago but was battling a bit of a cold. Look forward to that one coming soon!
cheers
Sunday, May 18, 2008
A Portland Blog Worth Reading
I love Portland. I love Hamburger. I love Portland Hamburgers.
http://portlandhamburgers.blogspot.com/
http://portlandhamburgers.blogspot.com/
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Lucky # 13, Lagunitas Red Ale
Lagunitas Lucky # 13 Red, $2.79:
Nice copper/bronze color. Some nice hopiness mixed with pinecone. There is an inescapable sweet soy sauce note too (!). Never smiled that in a beer before. Interesting. It's strong at 8.3% and clocks in 75 IBU (bitter units). For under $3, it's not bad.
Rogue Buckwheat Ale:
Actually tried this one sometime ago but it was memorable enough to write about now. It has the unmistakable smell of, well, buckwheat. In your face buckwheatiness. It was different enough to be interesting and enjoyable. Worth seeking out. Don't remember much else other than liking it, so thumbs up!
Nice copper/bronze color. Some nice hopiness mixed with pinecone. There is an inescapable sweet soy sauce note too (!). Never smiled that in a beer before. Interesting. It's strong at 8.3% and clocks in 75 IBU (bitter units). For under $3, it's not bad.
Rogue Buckwheat Ale:
Actually tried this one sometime ago but it was memorable enough to write about now. It has the unmistakable smell of, well, buckwheat. In your face buckwheatiness. It was different enough to be interesting and enjoyable. Worth seeking out. Don't remember much else other than liking it, so thumbs up!
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Some recent sips
Willamette Valley Vineyards Pinot Gris 2007:
This has just rolled out into the market and I decided to give it a run tonight. It shows some nice melon shaded by citrus notes. It has a very very light color, almost lacking color. Some would call it "light straw". Gives some good flavor throughout the palate. A little on the front, some nice mouthfeel and midpalate of melon. Finishes with nice acidity and a little citrus, green apple notes. Pretty enjoyable as an apertif, would match up with a nice variety of foods. Worth checking out.
Deschutes Brewery St. Tanith Belgian Ale:
Deschutes just opened a new brewpub in Portland (hooray!). In addition to all of their great beers on tap (some cask conditioned too!) they offer brews that are only available at the pub. They were offering an extra pale ale (passed), a couple others and one that caught my eye, their Belgian style. It comes in a brandy snifter glass and packs a punch at around 8%. Good fruitiness with some hops and that Belgian fruitiness on the beer that makes it awful good. A great deal at $3.50! I've added it to my short list of bars to frequent downtown. imperial pints (20 oz!) for just over $4, say no more.
Stumptown Tart:
Another Belgian style beer from an Oregon brewery. This one sets itself apart by being brewed with marionberries and then aged in pinot noir barrels. It's available in bombers in some places around town for $3/btl. I went quarters on a case with some coworkers. I was half expecting a framboise, sweeter style beer. But that wasn't the case. It didn't have much sweetness but some nice berry notes. It didn't knock me out right at first, however it grew on me. It does have a certain flavor note that I would chalk up to the pinot noir barrels. For the price, it's a nice change of pace for the improving weather.
This has just rolled out into the market and I decided to give it a run tonight. It shows some nice melon shaded by citrus notes. It has a very very light color, almost lacking color. Some would call it "light straw". Gives some good flavor throughout the palate. A little on the front, some nice mouthfeel and midpalate of melon. Finishes with nice acidity and a little citrus, green apple notes. Pretty enjoyable as an apertif, would match up with a nice variety of foods. Worth checking out.
Deschutes Brewery St. Tanith Belgian Ale:
Deschutes just opened a new brewpub in Portland (hooray!). In addition to all of their great beers on tap (some cask conditioned too!) they offer brews that are only available at the pub. They were offering an extra pale ale (passed), a couple others and one that caught my eye, their Belgian style. It comes in a brandy snifter glass and packs a punch at around 8%. Good fruitiness with some hops and that Belgian fruitiness on the beer that makes it awful good. A great deal at $3.50! I've added it to my short list of bars to frequent downtown. imperial pints (20 oz!) for just over $4, say no more.
Stumptown Tart:
Another Belgian style beer from an Oregon brewery. This one sets itself apart by being brewed with marionberries and then aged in pinot noir barrels. It's available in bombers in some places around town for $3/btl. I went quarters on a case with some coworkers. I was half expecting a framboise, sweeter style beer. But that wasn't the case. It didn't have much sweetness but some nice berry notes. It didn't knock me out right at first, however it grew on me. It does have a certain flavor note that I would chalk up to the pinot noir barrels. For the price, it's a nice change of pace for the improving weather.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
A trip to Willamette Valley Vineyards
Although I made this trip down to Willamette Valley Vineyards about a month ago for a wine steward meeting, it's still worthy of sharing three weeks later. Here are some highlights from the trip:
1) Blending seminar
We had a pinot noir blending seminar which was really interesting. We had three different pinot clones (115, 667, 777 and pommard) set out in front of us. We went through each one separately, noting their different characteristics and then made out own blend, which we then compared to the winemakers blend. He won.
2) Cellar tour
Foris, the head winemaker at WVV, gave us a tour through the wine making facility himself, which was a nice treat. He was a real down to earth guy and readily answered any questions our group had. The cellar was jam-packed with barrels and barrels of wine. We got to barrel taste two different wines, the first being their estate pinot. I thought it was showing quite nicely. I'm sure it could and will develop further but it was pretty tasty right then and there. The other little treat we got was tasting their pinot noir port. Being a pretty big fan of port I was excited about this. It's not too often I experiment with non Portugese ports. However, I was pleased with this one. No spitting on that one.
1) Blending seminar
We had a pinot noir blending seminar which was really interesting. We had three different pinot clones (115, 667, 777 and pommard) set out in front of us. We went through each one separately, noting their different characteristics and then made out own blend, which we then compared to the winemakers blend. He won.
2) Cellar tour
Foris, the head winemaker at WVV, gave us a tour through the wine making facility himself, which was a nice treat. He was a real down to earth guy and readily answered any questions our group had. The cellar was jam-packed with barrels and barrels of wine. We got to barrel taste two different wines, the first being their estate pinot. I thought it was showing quite nicely. I'm sure it could and will develop further but it was pretty tasty right then and there. The other little treat we got was tasting their pinot noir port. Being a pretty big fan of port I was excited about this. It's not too often I experiment with non Portugese ports. However, I was pleased with this one. No spitting on that one.
Panther Creek Pinot Noir 2006
Just brought this home tonight. The new 2006 vintage hit the shelves just last week. I was interested for two reasons:
1) the 2005 was bottled kinda green (i.e. bottled/released a bit too young) and wanted to see if it was the same story
2) it was on a really good sale
First off you can tell it's an '06. The alcohol is up from 13.5 to 14.5 and it's drinking a little hot. 2006 is showing itself as a pretty ripe year. Look to see 2006 Oregon pinots to be more on the fruity/juicy side than perhaps elegant and restrained.
The nose is showing some good raspberry fruit with a little of that alcohol that I mentioned. Light to medium bodied with a decently juicy midpalate. A tiny hint of spice and a medium length finish round it out. I'll give it an 88 points. I've had better, I've had worse.
Also, I just had some of this with milk chocolate and fresh strawberries. Wow, delicious. Makes the wine all that much more enjoyable. One of those pairings that makes the wine and the food both better. Yummy
1) the 2005 was bottled kinda green (i.e. bottled/released a bit too young) and wanted to see if it was the same story
2) it was on a really good sale
First off you can tell it's an '06. The alcohol is up from 13.5 to 14.5 and it's drinking a little hot. 2006 is showing itself as a pretty ripe year. Look to see 2006 Oregon pinots to be more on the fruity/juicy side than perhaps elegant and restrained.
The nose is showing some good raspberry fruit with a little of that alcohol that I mentioned. Light to medium bodied with a decently juicy midpalate. A tiny hint of spice and a medium length finish round it out. I'll give it an 88 points. I've had better, I've had worse.
Also, I just had some of this with milk chocolate and fresh strawberries. Wow, delicious. Makes the wine all that much more enjoyable. One of those pairings that makes the wine and the food both better. Yummy
Friday, March 21, 2008
2006 White Bordeaux
2006 Château Bonnet Entre-Deux-Mers Blanc:
Another tasting bottle a picked up about a month ago. Decided to crack into this bottle tonight because I was out of champagne. And as my good friends know, Thursday is "Lost" and Champagne night. Don't try to make any plans with me. It's all bubbles and mysteries. Anyway, back to the wine...
It's a sauvignon blanc/semillon blend, with a touch of muscadelle (10%). Green apple (think Jolly Rancher but not as assertive) and melon hit the nose. They follow up nicely in the mouth and ends with a bit of a citrusy note. This is an enjoyable white wine that would probably pair quite nicely with a white fish. 84 points
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Three recent drinks
Clos du Val 2004 Merlot:
Initial thoughts are I like it more than their cabernet. Getting cherries with some oak, maybe a bit of strawberries on the nose. Decent mid-palate, nice and dry on the finish, which hangs around for a little while. It's nice enough, but at ~$26 I just don't know. I've had other wines in the same price range that have impressed me more.
Desert Wind Ruah 2005:
I had this at a family birthday and it was quite popular. A blend of cab, merlot and cab franc it drinks nice and smooth and has a good finish. At ~$12 it's a great buy and widely available. It's also the second year in a row that this wine has garnered a 90 pt rating from Wine Spectator. I'm thinking about picking up a case...you should too at this price.
Nippozano Chianti Rufina 2003:
Picked this up on the discontinued wine rack for half price ($12) and also had it at the family birthday (we went through about 7 bottles that night...). It had that nice strong cherry Chianti characteristic with good acidity (went well with the spaghetti). It's definitely the time to be drinking up this 2003 but it was a nice accompaniment to the Italian food.
Initial thoughts are I like it more than their cabernet. Getting cherries with some oak, maybe a bit of strawberries on the nose. Decent mid-palate, nice and dry on the finish, which hangs around for a little while. It's nice enough, but at ~$26 I just don't know. I've had other wines in the same price range that have impressed me more.
Desert Wind Ruah 2005:
I had this at a family birthday and it was quite popular. A blend of cab, merlot and cab franc it drinks nice and smooth and has a good finish. At ~$12 it's a great buy and widely available. It's also the second year in a row that this wine has garnered a 90 pt rating from Wine Spectator. I'm thinking about picking up a case...you should too at this price.
Nippozano Chianti Rufina 2003:
Picked this up on the discontinued wine rack for half price ($12) and also had it at the family birthday (we went through about 7 bottles that night...). It had that nice strong cherry Chianti characteristic with good acidity (went well with the spaghetti). It's definitely the time to be drinking up this 2003 but it was a nice accompaniment to the Italian food.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Interesting wine sites
I thought I would pass on some wine related websites that I check out regularly.
www.cellartracker.com
- If you're looking to check out a certain wine but don't have access to scores from pay sites like winespectator.com this is a great place to start. It's like a wikipedia for wine where users log in, write tasting notes and give ratings for whatever they've drank lately. Fun to keep an online journal for yourself, too! And most importantly, free...but feel free to donate
http://wine.woot.com
- This website features selections from one winery for purchase on a weekly basis, usually at great prices. This week's feature is a trio of wines from local Amity Vineyards. Fun to check out now and then. The forum can be worth stopping by as sometimes the winemakers will pop in and answer questions. Just ignore the inevitable "this is a forum on the internet and I must spam and post every 10 mins" chat. It happens.
http://tv.winelibrary.com
- If you haven't experiences Gary Vaynerchuk, get ready. If you have experienced Veynerchuk, we either love him or get your fill real quick. This guy has all the energy of that really hyper kid that sat next to you in Mr. Websters algebra class back in 10th grade. He is all about "knocking down the wine walls" and just talking about wine. He's definitely a character and can be fun to watch when he is tasting a lot of wines.
www.cellartracker.com
- If you're looking to check out a certain wine but don't have access to scores from pay sites like winespectator.com this is a great place to start. It's like a wikipedia for wine where users log in, write tasting notes and give ratings for whatever they've drank lately. Fun to keep an online journal for yourself, too! And most importantly, free...but feel free to donate
http://wine.woot.com
- This website features selections from one winery for purchase on a weekly basis, usually at great prices. This week's feature is a trio of wines from local Amity Vineyards. Fun to check out now and then. The forum can be worth stopping by as sometimes the winemakers will pop in and answer questions. Just ignore the inevitable "this is a forum on the internet and I must spam and post every 10 mins" chat. It happens.
http://tv.winelibrary.com
- If you haven't experiences Gary Vaynerchuk, get ready. If you have experienced Veynerchuk, we either love him or get your fill real quick. This guy has all the energy of that really hyper kid that sat next to you in Mr. Websters algebra class back in 10th grade. He is all about "knocking down the wine walls" and just talking about wine. He's definitely a character and can be fun to watch when he is tasting a lot of wines.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Homework/Tasting Notes; part 1
Clos du Val Cabernet Sauvignon Napa 2004
- Initially pretty shy and quiet on the nose, so needs some time to breathe before you get much out of it. Once it opens up I'm getting some cherries/currants along with some oak. A hint of spice kinda sneaks through, but there's not much to it. Alcohol clocks in at 13.5%, making it pretty tame by modern Napa cab standards. The finish doesn't hang around too long. For the price ~$30 on sale I wanted a bit more. ~87 points. Got the '04 Merlot next, so we'll see how that goes.
- Initially pretty shy and quiet on the nose, so needs some time to breathe before you get much out of it. Once it opens up I'm getting some cherries/currants along with some oak. A hint of spice kinda sneaks through, but there's not much to it. Alcohol clocks in at 13.5%, making it pretty tame by modern Napa cab standards. The finish doesn't hang around too long. For the price ~$30 on sale I wanted a bit more. ~87 points. Got the '04 Merlot next, so we'll see how that goes.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
The great Merlot tasting of '08
Today as a training exercise at our wine steward meeting we ending the day with a blind merlot tasting. Although my palate and I were fading quickly, here's what the 18 wine (three flights of 6 each by region). All we knew going into the flights were the fact that they were Merlots. Tasted wines listed in bold.
Flight 1) Australia
- since our import section of austrailian merlots is pretty small, none of these wines were more than $9 retail. Believe it or not Yellow Tail Merlot was my favorite, although the competition was Alice White, Lindemans, Jacob's Creek, Rosemount and Penfold's. It seemed to be the most popular on the whole too. Rosemount was second followed by Penfold's for me. I must say I was expecting the Yellow Tail to be a more expensive wine.
Flight 2) California
- here I had a split on favorite of the group. I was more or less tied for Toasted Head and Robert Mondavi Napa. These are around $13 and $22, respectively. Taking another look at my tasting notes at home I would have to give the edge to Mondavi as I noted the Toasted Head finish was fairly short, although had some interesting things going on in the nose. Others tasted were Fetzer, Beringer Napa (or was it Knight's Valley?) and some other wine that I didn't catch. The surprise was the Beringer Merlot, which was my least favorite, which is rough at $20+. It was soft, with light berries but fell dead in my mouth. No finish and hardly a mid-palate for me. Fetzer, around $6, was real easy drinking, so a good deal if you're in to that category.
Flight 3) Washington
- Merlot is Washington's grape. Another split for me on this flight with Chateau Ste. Michelle and Northstar, $12 and $40 respectively. The Ste. Michelle gave some nice cherry flavors, good fruit depth and nice tannins while Northstar you could tell had some more oak on it, was showing quite well and had the best aftertaste of them all. We also did Covey Run, Silvan Ridge, Columbia Crest Grand Estates and Blue Moon. Pass on the Blue Moon big time.
All in all it was a fun exercise and honestly kind of made me feel a bit uneasy. What if I liked the cheapest wine? What if I can't differentiate enough between them? The only big surprise was Beringer Napa Merlot price/quality-wise. It's a great way to build your palate and learn to trust yourself to make your own decisions about what you are drinking.
We hit up a decent amount of wines at the meeting and perhaps I'll stop by in the next few days and let you know some of the highlights and wines that you can look for on the shelves. I also got a few bottles of homework to take care of over the next couple of weeks so I'll fill y'all in on that too. Off the top of my head we are looking forward to:
-Renwood old vine zin 2005
-Clos du Val Cab
-Clos du Val Merlot
-some white bordeaux
-Yellow Tail Sparkling (already drank, not bad, will please the YT crowd. a bit sweet)
-Columbia Crest Horse Heaven Hills Merlot (had at tasting, too, yummy merlot...more to follow)
Cheers!
Flight 1) Australia
- since our import section of austrailian merlots is pretty small, none of these wines were more than $9 retail. Believe it or not Yellow Tail Merlot was my favorite, although the competition was Alice White, Lindemans, Jacob's Creek, Rosemount and Penfold's. It seemed to be the most popular on the whole too. Rosemount was second followed by Penfold's for me. I must say I was expecting the Yellow Tail to be a more expensive wine.
Flight 2) California
- here I had a split on favorite of the group. I was more or less tied for Toasted Head and Robert Mondavi Napa. These are around $13 and $22, respectively. Taking another look at my tasting notes at home I would have to give the edge to Mondavi as I noted the Toasted Head finish was fairly short, although had some interesting things going on in the nose. Others tasted were Fetzer, Beringer Napa (or was it Knight's Valley?) and some other wine that I didn't catch. The surprise was the Beringer Merlot, which was my least favorite, which is rough at $20+. It was soft, with light berries but fell dead in my mouth. No finish and hardly a mid-palate for me. Fetzer, around $6, was real easy drinking, so a good deal if you're in to that category.
Flight 3) Washington
- Merlot is Washington's grape. Another split for me on this flight with Chateau Ste. Michelle and Northstar, $12 and $40 respectively. The Ste. Michelle gave some nice cherry flavors, good fruit depth and nice tannins while Northstar you could tell had some more oak on it, was showing quite well and had the best aftertaste of them all. We also did Covey Run, Silvan Ridge, Columbia Crest Grand Estates and Blue Moon. Pass on the Blue Moon big time.
All in all it was a fun exercise and honestly kind of made me feel a bit uneasy. What if I liked the cheapest wine? What if I can't differentiate enough between them? The only big surprise was Beringer Napa Merlot price/quality-wise. It's a great way to build your palate and learn to trust yourself to make your own decisions about what you are drinking.
We hit up a decent amount of wines at the meeting and perhaps I'll stop by in the next few days and let you know some of the highlights and wines that you can look for on the shelves. I also got a few bottles of homework to take care of over the next couple of weeks so I'll fill y'all in on that too. Off the top of my head we are looking forward to:
-Renwood old vine zin 2005
-Clos du Val Cab
-Clos du Val Merlot
-some white bordeaux
-Yellow Tail Sparkling (already drank, not bad, will please the YT crowd. a bit sweet)
-Columbia Crest Horse Heaven Hills Merlot (had at tasting, too, yummy merlot...more to follow)
Cheers!
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Tonight's dinner and wine
Tonight I popped open a bottle I had been holding on to for awhile. The girls are out of town and my brother is visiting from college. It also just so happened that we had three ribeye steaks just waiting to be grilled up. I had been battling a bit of a cold/general sinus stuffiness and had decided to wait until the ol' sniffer cleared up. The timing was perfect. The stars had aligned. It was the moment of Clos Figueres Font de la Figuera 2005 Priorat.
Let's start with the color. A dark, inky purple fills the glass.
First sniff. Straight out of the glass this wine means business. It's already rich and full of character. I'm picking up candied cherries and plums, with a hint of licorice as you pull out of the glass. (I read a review that mentioned the aroma of flowers, which I will also agree to). It's a wine that has the richness to draw you back to the glass a couple of times as you try to figure out exactly what is going on.
In the mouth. It follows up on the flavors you get on the nose, those candied cherries/plums. It used to be that when I heard plums used to describe wines I never thought highly of it. My mind has been changed. There is also a an element of sweetness to the wine that will make it intriguing to newcomers who want an impressive wine as well as those who have been drinking for awhile. Let's face it, a good wine is a good wine.
The ribeyes were grilled and served up with grilled onions and peppers. The coup e'tat was chimichurri sauce, which is basically a pesto like sauce made with garlic, parsley, olive oil and crushed red pepper flake. This was a happy meal.
Overall, I give the wine 90 points. Solid wine from the Priorat region in Spain. I picked this out from a tasting of Spanish/Portugese tasting. I'm excited to dive into more wines from the region. Should retail around $32.
Let's start with the color. A dark, inky purple fills the glass.
First sniff. Straight out of the glass this wine means business. It's already rich and full of character. I'm picking up candied cherries and plums, with a hint of licorice as you pull out of the glass. (I read a review that mentioned the aroma of flowers, which I will also agree to). It's a wine that has the richness to draw you back to the glass a couple of times as you try to figure out exactly what is going on.
In the mouth. It follows up on the flavors you get on the nose, those candied cherries/plums. It used to be that when I heard plums used to describe wines I never thought highly of it. My mind has been changed. There is also a an element of sweetness to the wine that will make it intriguing to newcomers who want an impressive wine as well as those who have been drinking for awhile. Let's face it, a good wine is a good wine.
The ribeyes were grilled and served up with grilled onions and peppers. The coup e'tat was chimichurri sauce, which is basically a pesto like sauce made with garlic, parsley, olive oil and crushed red pepper flake. This was a happy meal.
Overall, I give the wine 90 points. Solid wine from the Priorat region in Spain. I picked this out from a tasting of Spanish/Portugese tasting. I'm excited to dive into more wines from the region. Should retail around $32.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
A recent article
The other week there was an article in either the Times or the Journal about this chap. This was no ordinary wine chap but someone who has achieved some of the highest recognized wine titles/degrees/etc in the world. And who happens to be a recovering alcoholic. The article revolved around him challenging traditional food/wine pairing, basically saying by playing with certain flavors in the dish (salt, mainly) you can make certain dishes play well with wine, therefore eliminating nasty aftertastes or bitterness from the pairing.
I'm certainly no wine god and don't have any wine related diplomas under my belt but I thought all this 'playing with the recipe' to make it more wine friendly was defeating the purpose. The dish, without being changed or extra-salted or having whatever done to it, stands alone. It is delicious in it's own right. The chosen wine, tasted and drank on its own, is also delicious in it's own right. The tricky part is getting the right combo where they both elevate each other to new deliciousness. I suppose my argument is that certain dishes have been prepared certain ways for a reason. They are supposed to taste just the way they taste, whether or not that makes it easy or hard to find a wine that will play along. It's finding the correct wine (be it varietal, region, style within varietal) to elevate the dish that makes it difficult.
I'm certainly no wine god and don't have any wine related diplomas under my belt but I thought all this 'playing with the recipe' to make it more wine friendly was defeating the purpose. The dish, without being changed or extra-salted or having whatever done to it, stands alone. It is delicious in it's own right. The chosen wine, tasted and drank on its own, is also delicious in it's own right. The tricky part is getting the right combo where they both elevate each other to new deliciousness. I suppose my argument is that certain dishes have been prepared certain ways for a reason. They are supposed to taste just the way they taste, whether or not that makes it easy or hard to find a wine that will play along. It's finding the correct wine (be it varietal, region, style within varietal) to elevate the dish that makes it difficult.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Renato Ratti and Produttori Tasting
Just got back from a Piedmont tasting. On the pour today were some Piedmont riservas, current releases and futures from Renato Ratti and Produttori del Barbaresco. The Piedmont region is in northwestern Italy near the French border. It is responsible for some of the best wines that Italy, and the world, have to offer. Here are some notable finds from the tasting. You can probably find these at various wine retailers and possibly some more upscale supermarkets. Here are my three:
- Renato Ratti Nebbiolo d'Alba Ochetti 2006:
Showing nice cherries and red fruits with some nice complexity for such a young wine. A nice Italian value at $22
- Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco 2003:
From a year when no single vineyards were declared. Apparently the conditions didn't quite allow for those riserva wines that you'll here my raving about shortly. So what happened to those vineyards that usually grow the grapes specifically for the riserva bottlings? They went into the general 2003 bottling. This wine gives you a good idea of some of the complexity barbarescos can achieve while not costing $50/bottle. A good show of Italian barbaresco at $26
- Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Rio Sordo Riserva 1999:
Ok, now we are getting into the big boys. This wine and the following show what I love about a nice aged Italian barbaresco. The nose is nice and complex and begs you to come in for another sniff. I found sweet tobacco and dark chocolate notes along with nice darker red fruits, notably plum. This is a bit of a splurge at $44 but if you're looking for that classic Italian this gives you a lot of mileage. Just plain ol' good juice.
- Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Moccagatta Riserva 1999:
This wine echoes the Rio Sordo in aromatic qualities. It has those delicious and deep dark chocolate and dark fruit notes. One difference between the two is that I find the Moccagatta to have a bit more elegance and a touch of port-like qualities on the nose, which I loved, being a port lover myself. Another great '99 from Produttori and worth your money at $44.
I'm always thinking of and looking for wines that to me, for the dollar, represent good bang for your buck. Seeing as I may one day move over into restaurant wine work when I taste a wine I think to myself "Would someone pay for this at my restaurant, particularly if they have never had that certain wine?". This is a very important, and subjective, question. I think the above wines (listed above at retail prices...double it for restaurants) would sell. Maybe one day I'll get to find out if my wine instincts are right.
- Renato Ratti Nebbiolo d'Alba Ochetti 2006:
Showing nice cherries and red fruits with some nice complexity for such a young wine. A nice Italian value at $22
- Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco 2003:
From a year when no single vineyards were declared. Apparently the conditions didn't quite allow for those riserva wines that you'll here my raving about shortly. So what happened to those vineyards that usually grow the grapes specifically for the riserva bottlings? They went into the general 2003 bottling. This wine gives you a good idea of some of the complexity barbarescos can achieve while not costing $50/bottle. A good show of Italian barbaresco at $26
- Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Rio Sordo Riserva 1999:
Ok, now we are getting into the big boys. This wine and the following show what I love about a nice aged Italian barbaresco. The nose is nice and complex and begs you to come in for another sniff. I found sweet tobacco and dark chocolate notes along with nice darker red fruits, notably plum. This is a bit of a splurge at $44 but if you're looking for that classic Italian this gives you a lot of mileage. Just plain ol' good juice.
- Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco Moccagatta Riserva 1999:
This wine echoes the Rio Sordo in aromatic qualities. It has those delicious and deep dark chocolate and dark fruit notes. One difference between the two is that I find the Moccagatta to have a bit more elegance and a touch of port-like qualities on the nose, which I loved, being a port lover myself. Another great '99 from Produttori and worth your money at $44.
I'm always thinking of and looking for wines that to me, for the dollar, represent good bang for your buck. Seeing as I may one day move over into restaurant wine work when I taste a wine I think to myself "Would someone pay for this at my restaurant, particularly if they have never had that certain wine?". This is a very important, and subjective, question. I think the above wines (listed above at retail prices...double it for restaurants) would sell. Maybe one day I'll get to find out if my wine instincts are right.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
a brief note on rieslings
Last Monday I went to a tasting of Kesselstatt rieslings. I had read about how in some rieslings you can pick up a distinct petrol or diesel aroma but had never actually smelled it in a wine. Probably because I don't drink a lot of riesling and those that I tend to drink are usually domestic (I believe the diesel thing comes mostly from German rieslings...). So at this tasting, not more than 3 wines into the show I smelled that diesel. It was coming through real good. I didn't feel this transfered into your mouth as far as taste goes, although one of the more inexpensive ones did have a little something quirky going on. It was fun and kind of exciting to actually smell the diesel component. And this brings up another quick question...
Is this such a good thing? I mean, I heard it was a mark of a well made riesling. But smelling diesel in your wine could easily be offputting. While I was doing the tasting I was moving at about the same pace as another gentlemen. He practically read my mind when he said "Well, it's just like being down at the farm!" He was right. I could picture the diesel tractor fired up (especially on one wine that had the diesel thing going on and then some hay/almost barnyard notes). Who'd a thought? Diesel in your wine. Now I just gotta find a nice example of cat piss.
Seriously, it's considered a good thing in some French reds...
Is this such a good thing? I mean, I heard it was a mark of a well made riesling. But smelling diesel in your wine could easily be offputting. While I was doing the tasting I was moving at about the same pace as another gentlemen. He practically read my mind when he said "Well, it's just like being down at the farm!" He was right. I could picture the diesel tractor fired up (especially on one wine that had the diesel thing going on and then some hay/almost barnyard notes). Who'd a thought? Diesel in your wine. Now I just gotta find a nice example of cat piss.
Seriously, it's considered a good thing in some French reds...
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Wine and Going Out
Going out is nice. Going out and having drinks is nice. But going out and having wine is not always nice. Here are some reasons:
- stemware:
All too often restaurants serve their (often overpriced) wine in clunky stemware. If I'm paying good money for decent wine, I want the stemware to match it. This leads me to a) ask about what type of stemware they are using (which I won't do because I feel like an ass), b) scope out what glasses are on the surrounding tables or c) don't drink wine except when at a winebar/restaurant, which will have the good stuff.
- uncertainty:
I once had wine at a northeast restaurant and it was served lukewarm. Not room temperature, but actually warm (I believe they store their wine either above the espresso machine or in the hot kitchen). It didn't do much for the wine or the experience.
Also, when you order by the glass, how long has that bottle been opened? Bottles get opened and go undrunk often (part of the reason why restuarants/bars will have the price of a glass be near the wholesale cost of the bottle). I want to know how long it's been open or if it's a fresh bottle.
- pricing:
Venues are charging upwards of 300% above the wholesale cost of your bottle of wine. Some places are even moving that markup to 300% above retail. There are all sorts of reasons for this: good stemware (when they're using it) is costly and breakage works into that, sommeliers (when employed) need to have a salary from somewhere, proper storage, the fact that when people have a bottle of wine they hang around at the table longer (therefore reducing quick table turnover/more business) and pay a premium for it and of course because this practice represents a bloody cash cow in a business that is notorious for having financial problems. It takes a lot of money to open/run a restaurant and having customers that are willing to pay these premiums help add to those slim margins.
So what do I do? Well, I usually only drink wine when I go out to a place that also functions as a winebar. This usually minimizes some of my risk. I also will usually just have a beer or cocktail with my meal. The next good option is to bring a bottle of wine from home. Do some research before hand and check out what the corkage fee is. They will usually run around 10 - 15 dollars. This can save you some hard earned cash while insuring the wine you brought is in optimal condition.
So I suppose all of this grief just reflects my growing standards for what wine is, should and can be.
- stemware:
All too often restaurants serve their (often overpriced) wine in clunky stemware. If I'm paying good money for decent wine, I want the stemware to match it. This leads me to a) ask about what type of stemware they are using (which I won't do because I feel like an ass), b) scope out what glasses are on the surrounding tables or c) don't drink wine except when at a winebar/restaurant, which will have the good stuff.
- uncertainty:
I once had wine at a northeast restaurant and it was served lukewarm. Not room temperature, but actually warm (I believe they store their wine either above the espresso machine or in the hot kitchen). It didn't do much for the wine or the experience.
Also, when you order by the glass, how long has that bottle been opened? Bottles get opened and go undrunk often (part of the reason why restuarants/bars will have the price of a glass be near the wholesale cost of the bottle). I want to know how long it's been open or if it's a fresh bottle.
- pricing:
Venues are charging upwards of 300% above the wholesale cost of your bottle of wine. Some places are even moving that markup to 300% above retail. There are all sorts of reasons for this: good stemware (when they're using it) is costly and breakage works into that, sommeliers (when employed) need to have a salary from somewhere, proper storage, the fact that when people have a bottle of wine they hang around at the table longer (therefore reducing quick table turnover/more business) and pay a premium for it and of course because this practice represents a bloody cash cow in a business that is notorious for having financial problems. It takes a lot of money to open/run a restaurant and having customers that are willing to pay these premiums help add to those slim margins.
So what do I do? Well, I usually only drink wine when I go out to a place that also functions as a winebar. This usually minimizes some of my risk. I also will usually just have a beer or cocktail with my meal. The next good option is to bring a bottle of wine from home. Do some research before hand and check out what the corkage fee is. They will usually run around 10 - 15 dollars. This can save you some hard earned cash while insuring the wine you brought is in optimal condition.
So I suppose all of this grief just reflects my growing standards for what wine is, should and can be.
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