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Showing posts from 2011

Baby vino

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Evan is now 8 months old. I am happy to report that he shares my interest in fine drinks! 2009 Burgundy, 2001 Priorat, and 2011 Breast Milk - he is clearly getting the short end of the stick (and not happy about it!) Sipping a Rioja on Halloween A little Riesling for Thanksgiving Some fine Burgundy is not wasted on the Iron Chevsky Jr. Occasional bubble tea And always salivating for more

Enoteca 100 2011 impressions

Following up on the previous post , I am happy to report that Donato Enoteca remains not only one of my favorite places to eat, but amongst the top two best Italian wine tasting venues of the year (along with the venerable  Tre Bicchieri ). And when you factor in the laughable admission price for this caliber of food and wine, and the convenience of being able to order anything you taste at or under retail (rather than restaurant) prices, this is by far the best quality and the funnest Italian wine tasting event of the year in the Bay Area that I know of. Here are the highlights and faves: Note #1: For the first time, I tried La Fiorita Brunello 2006 - never heard of it before - delicious, with hints of strawberries, and relatively approachable at this young age, very pretty wine, although I didn't dig the label (but who cares!). Note #2: Produttori del Barbaresco, though missing a photo above, was excellent and IMHO is probably the best value (under $30) from Piedmonte

Enoteca 100 2011

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I never used to love Italian food as much, until I started loving Italian wine. That love affair with vino drove me to explore and appreciate Italian cuisine, which in turn nudged me to explore even more of Italy's wine regions and varieties. No other place has helped open my eyes to all that more so than one of my favorite restaurants in the Bay Area - Donato Enoteca . Not only do they serve great food and wine all year around, they also feature some of my favorite winemaker dinners. And once a year, Donato Enoteca throw their annual Enoteca 100 Italian wine extravaganza. This year, it's on December 3. I documented this event in the past -- highly recommended for sheer joy of living! Taste 100+ fine Italian Wines & Donato's Creations The WINE: Barolo, Barbaresco, Brunello, Franciacorta, Amarone, Valle d'Aosta, Piemonte, Alto Adige, Veneto, Friuli, Toscana, Sicilia and Sardegna, Festive Sparkling wines from all across Italy! The FOOD: Prosciutto, Speck

Wine & Spirits Top 100 Wineries of 2011

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Third year in a row I attended Wine & Spirits Top 100 Wineries of the Year event, and it always strikes me in one peculiar way -- if you want to know which profession all the pretty ladies go into, look no further - wine trade clearly. Not sure if this attracts me to the wine or distracts me from it... But W&S Top 100 has got to be the best looking assembly of well-dressed, super-friendly female professionals in the Bay Area! Now, as far as wine, a lot of tasty treats await one here, accompanied by mouth-watering bites from the best eateries from around the Bay. This is where I confirm my perennial faves, and open my buds up to new ones. This time around, I really enjoyed Diamond Creek - one of the oldest and best regarded wineries in Napa (since 1968) focusing exclusively on Cabernet Sauvignon, with the delightfully sprightly founder-owner Boots Brounstein (see in the photo below). I had tried their cabs once or twice before, and I was impressed with almost an old-wo

Iron Chevsky on TV - pairing wine with Chinese cuisine

This interview conducted by Millbrae Community TV with yours truly at the Millbrae Arts & Wine Festival aired live on September 3, 2011 on local Bay Area cable. The topic of conversation was "Pairing wine with Chinese cuisines".

1992 and 2008 Ridge Monte Bello

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This is a guest post by my friend, wine and food gourmand - Dan Snyder, from his September 2011 visit to Ridge. A gorgeous September afternoon in the Santa Cruz mountains, fall releases, two great vintages of Ridge Monte Bello, wood fired organic pizza, and Paul Draper mingling with his huge snowball of a dog. There was a lot to like about the Ridge fall release party! The highlights were the 1992 and 2008 Monte Bellos side by side. '92 is of course a legendary vintage and kinda kicked off the "new age" of sought-after California cabs. Kudos to Ridge for keeping pricing in line and sticking to their style. The similarities were striking in the wines -- although sixteen years apart. Good earthy, loamy, mushroomy minerality are threads throughout. The '08 of course being younger, wilder and sexier. The '92 was still absolutely gorgeous and at a great balance of fruit and development. 1992 Ridge Monte Bello  -  80% cab, 11% merlot, 9% PV. Effusive nose of cr

Little Evan enjoys Rosh Hashanah with Franciacorta

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For Jewish New Year a couple of weeks ago, Evan (5.5mo old) and I got into our newly renovated hot tub and celebrated with a glass of the always reliably delicious Ca'del Bosco Franciacorta - one of Italy's top sparkling wines. The little one approved. Salute!

Top Champagne Tasting of Year in the Bay Area

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The Institute of Masters of Wine Annual Champagne tasting event comes to San Francisco each year in September. Hosted in the beautiful Ferry Building at Embarcadero, with an eye-popping view of the Bay and the Bay Bridge, for $50 it is one of the greatest values you can find of any wine events in the Bay Area. You get to taste hundreds of Champagnes, many costing in triple digits, poured by Masters of Wine, the rare and highly respected breed of only 300 in the world, who can answer any wine questions you can ever think of (although asking them for a champagne recommendation can be exercise in futility). Starting at 5, the room stays relatively light until about 5:30, when crowds rush in. If you are able to navigate your way through until about 7:30, the place lightens up again, and you get unobstructed (and repeated, if I might say so) access to most of the wines. Needless to say, my friends and I take full advantage of the opportunities and delights this event affords us. Each yea

The Maiden of Harlan Estate

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I tasted in quiet contemplation, taking time to explore every reflection of the light, every smell, every sip. Fourteen wines in front of me. Most mere mortals never experience any of them... it was a privilege. I talked a lot about Bill Harlan and his vision in a recent BOND article . To sum it up, in Napa, it doesn't get much "cultier" than Harlan Estate . In its rarified stratosphere of wine prestige only few others make it - Screaming Eagle, Araujo , Harlan's other great label BOND , a handful of others. These are the American "first growths", with mad following to stalk their wait lists and price tags to match. "First growth" may be a French concept, but to me, Harlan tastes nothing like its famous Bordeaux brethren. Distinctly new-world, Harlan is a wine of decadence, perhaps the most hedonistic, luscious, richest red wine I've ever had. I asked the director of Harlan Estate - Don Weaver, who has been with the estate for 26 years, tha

Rayas elixir of blood

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Yesterday I had the pleasure of drinking 2001 Chateau Rayas, paired with bbq ribs expertly made by my friend Chris B. Chateau Rayas is considered by most winos I know the best winery of the Southern Rhone. Located in Chateauneuf-du-Pape, it is as close, in my opinion, as Rhone comes to Burgundy. Color - translucent blood. Velvety texture and light body - so Burgundian. Flavor - Southern - spice box, berries, and a hint of veggie. Mezmerizing. Unusual for Southern Rhone where GSM (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre) blends rule the reds, Rayas is 100% Grenache. The best expression of Grenache in the world. I don't even like Grenache - it tends to be alcoholic, soft and low-acid. That's why it's usually "strengthened" by Syrah and Mourvedre. But not this wine. At 10 years of age, Rayas was an amazing elixir for those who look for both elegance and adventure in their bottle. Somehow images of classy vampires (from the movie Underworld) come to mind. Just look at the color

Heirloom tomato taste-off of 2011

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AC Joseph's annual tomato taste-off comes around in September. For the past two years, I have attended and documented this event not just for fun but also for my next year's pick of heirloom tomato seedlings. AC and her friends, myself included, take tomatoes quite seriously. Come August-September, we enjoy Palo Alto nature's bounty with fresh buffalo mozzarella or burrata, fresh olive oil from Sigona's , fresh basil, and various other herbs and greens from my garden nearly every single day. And a basket of them makes a great gift. The rainbow of flavors, shapes and colors of heirloom tomato beauties are a feast for the senses; and they go well with a variety of summery white and rosé wines on a warm Palo Alto weekend. It seems that 2011 has been a great vintage for tomatoes in the Bay Area. The warm, dry weather cooperated, and there are more flavorful darlings this year than in the last two. Out of 3-4 dozen varieties in the contest, I found at least a dozen that

Tango tasting #1

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Last week was the inaugural wine tasting at my new company - Tango . The place is so cool, the head of HR actually asked me if I would conduct wine tastings! All I have to do is come up with a theme, bring wines, whatever I decide, and talk about them. For a relatively small startup, more than twenty people signed up for the "Tango Winos" wine group, the execs jumped in too - why not?! - three of them are French! The company paid for nice Riedel glasses and for the food. At Tango, we get breakfast, lunch and dinner every day, catered from popular local restaurants, suggested by the employees. But the cost of wine for the tasting group is shared among the participants. (It's a good tactic to discourage frivolous "drive-by" drinkers, even if the company were willing to pay for it.) I arranged the wine tasting to go with the dinner on Wednesday at 6pm. Since so many people told me how much they loved big, thick, juicy Napa Cabs (and on the flip-side, how they we

Manresa delights

Manresa - my favorite Bay Area gastronomic restaurant south of San Francisco, two Michelin stars well-deserved. The garden freshness of their dishes seems to represent a style perhaps slightly less fancy and lighter on its feet than French Laundry. Rona and I used to come here for anniversaries until we had a baby. Recently remodeled into a more modern feel, prices notched higher, a 15-course chef-menu dinner ensued. The wine director suggested a tasty bottle of Blanc de Noirs Champagne (100% Pinot Noir) by a relatively obscure producer Barnaut. At under $50 retail ($125 at the restaurant) this is a good value. Then Dan and I pulled out our own suave 2004 William Fevre Chablis Bougros Grand Cru and the mesmerizing Domain Jacques Prieur 2001 Clos Vougeot Grand Cru Red Burgundy. The latter was in the early stages of its adulthood, starting to show incredible secondary notes, satiny texture, and all the elements that kept me glued to the glass until the wine was gone - reminding why red

Quiet weekends in Palo Alto - with white Burgundy, Chianti Classico, and a great VT CdP blanc

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Baby Evan is now four months old, and Rona and I are starting to get out for an occasional picnic or lunch, while enjoying simple yet delectable food and wine pairings from local foodie joints that we've been missing. Here are a few photos from the past two weekends, taken with my trusty iPhone4 camera. Enjoying 2009 white Burgundy from Domaine Jacob (under $17, courtesy of Garagiste) at the  Old Port Lobster Shack  in Redwood City (the corkage is only $5) - excellent, lively, mineral-infused, flavorful, Chardonnay with no new oak. I expect value-driven red Burgundies to do well in 2009, across the board. But the whites in 2009 may be hit or miss. This one certainly hit the nail on the head. Fantastic with New England clam chowder. Below is the same wine, equally excellent with fish and chips, and Maine lobster rolls, and fries! Then an excellent Chianti Classico from a very solid producer Il Molino di Grace from the very good 2006 vintage. Got this wine for under $15 fro

Some whites get fatter not better with age

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Two of the white wines I was very excited about, are not tasting so good anymore. I had stocked up on 2008 Bruno Giacosa Roero Arneis (from Piedmonte, Italy) and 2007 Chante-Perdrix Condrieu "Authentic" (from Northern Rhone, France). 1-2 years ago they tasted great (see my old raves here and here ), but in the past year, they have fattened and lost some of their freshness. I am glad I am down to my last bottle of each, while they still taste okay, especially when paired with just the right food. This is a reminder that stocking up on wines to keep them for years is not always a good idea, particularly when it comes to Arneis (the white grape of Roero) and Viognier (the white grape of Condrieu) grape varieties. You've been warned!

Sushi at home with Riesling and Red Burgundy

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At our local Japanese supermarket - Mitsuwa - located off of Saratoga exit off of 280 in San Jose, you can buy great quality, sashimi-grade raw fish and have your own sushi feast at home. We buy probably 10 different kinds (total about $50-60), and it's enough to stuff four people until they can't eat anymore, at about a quarter of what it would cost at a restaurant. And it's so much more fun to DIY! No fancy rolls, just sashimi, nigiri, and handrolls. Get a pack of dry nori (seaweed sheets), some shiso leaves, sprouts, cucumber, and avocado. Steam rice, add rice vinegar. Slice the fish. And sculpt your own sushi masterpieces to your heart's and stomach's content. Yum! Always perfect with Kabinett (slightly off-dry) level of German Riesling, as the elements in the wine complement the umami elements in the fish, soy sauce and wasabi. I also like an entry level red Burgundy, the lighter the better, such as from the light 2007 vintage, with good acidity. It goes

Kumeu River Chardonnay

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The Wine Spectator's #41 in The Top 100 of 2009 wouldn't normally mean much to me. But when a wine shows up at a weekly Burgundy vs. New Zealand line-up at the staunchly old-world wine shop VinVinoWine in Palo Alto, I know there is something interesting going on. New Zealand's Kumeu River Chardonnay is starting to get reputation as more "burgundian" than a typical new-world chard. From the first sip of the 2007 Kumeu River Estate Chardonnay, I tasted the unmistakable acidity I'd come to expect from New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc , with a kiss of oak of a Chardonnay. 100% barrel fermented, 100% malo-lactic, 11 months maturation in small oak barrel (20% new wood) imparted no heaviness or butteriness of a Napa Chardonnay. I appreciated a relatively low level of alcohol - 13.5%. Some even ascribe Premier Cru status to the winemaker's Mike Brajkovic' finest cuvees. With a body somewhere in between a high-end Chablis (such as from William Fevre) and a white

Giacomo Conterno Barbera with cheeseburger

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I mean, what DOESN'T go with a juicy cheeseburger?! - IMHO, the greatest creation of American gastronomy! To continue his annual tradition of pairing vinous greats with burgers, Dan pulled out Giacomo Conterno ! Conterno is one of the top three names in traditional Barolo - the other two are Bruno Giacosa and Bartolo Mascarello. Yes, there are many others, commanding great respect and high prices. But you mention the name of Giacomo Conterno, and drooling starts. Barolo is Conterno's top expression, but the winery also make impressive Barbera - structured, deep, balanced, and not cheap. Now, of course I have asked in the past - why should Barbera aspire to greater heights than an everyday drink that Piedmontese have traditionally taken it for? But be that as it may, this year my friend Dan "the gour-man-d" served his fantastico garlic shiso burgers with two 2008 Conterno Barberas d'Alba - Cerretta (new vineyard) and Cascina Francia (venerable old vineyard). C

Paella at Scott's with Marisa Cuomo, Bandol, and Marqués de Murrieta Rioja

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These days with baby Evan, I find less time to get out for fancy dinners, much less document them. Fortunately, I found a few minutes to sit down and rave about my friend Scott's mouth-watering paella feast from Friday night. The dinner started with tapas, which paired well with one of Italia's top white wines - Marisa Cuomo "Fiorduva" 2006 - a supreme expression of three (unheard-of) indigenous grapes (30% Fenile, 30% Ginestra and 40% Ripoli) from Furore on the Amalfi Coast of Campania. A fitting description from K&L website : "Fresh, like the sea, the wine envelops with lemony zip on the nose and notes of apricot and tropical fruit with hints of ocean air that continue from the bouquet onto the honeyed and floral palate." There is plenty of acidity and body. Italy's answer to white Burgundy? (How dare I?!!!) The 2006 is drinking with elegance, matching well the gorgeous tapas - padrons, red peppers with fried garlic vinaigrette, shrimps with lem

Ladies going gaga over my baby

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Oh, and that's Delamotte Champagne (Champagne Salon's little sibling) in a Ridge glass - high-acidity refreshing pleasure for a hot summer afternoon in Palo Alto.