Fess Parker Mackie's Blend Syrah 2002

The Central Coast Mackie's Blend Syrah is the least expensive Syrah that Fess Parker produce. The 2002 is less supple in fruit and more heavy on the tannins than the single vineyard Syrahs that Fess Parker makes. Raspberry and light, smokey tobacco and perhaps a hint of vanilla emerges on the nose. The raspberry follows you to the palate with tart cherry and red currant and tons of tannins that ends in a long finish. A not to shabby Syrah at $18, with nice varietal characteristics.

Foxen, Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir, 2004

Foxen belongs (according to me) to the top tier of Pinot Noir producers in Santa Ynez Valley. The 2004 Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir is their least expensive Pinot Noir ($30 at the winery) and the majority of the grapes comes from Foxen's own Block Eight of the Bien Nacido Vineyard. The nose reveals red cherry and berries. The cherry carries through on the palate with slight pepper notes and minerals. It ends in a pleasant finish with sufficient tannins. This is a good wine, while their other Pinots are great wines. I would pay the extra cost for their single vineyard Pinots. Especially the Julia's Vineyard ($46) or even better double my money to get the Sea Smoke Vineyard ($64) which is a true stand out. Probably one of the best central coast Pinots of the 2004 vintage. Well, that is if you can get a hold of it...

www.foxenvineyard.com

Duoro Valley

There has been a lot of buzz lately around the Duoro Valley in Portugal, famous for it's ports. The buzz however it is not about the port this time but about their red wine called Duoro wine. During the last couple of years the quality of their nonfortified red wines has radically improved, been discovered, and more importantly, been tickeling minds of the potential of these wine for the future, if quality continues to improve. Could they rival the port?

I went to our local BevMo today to pick up a bottle and to see what the hype is all about. I picked the most expensive Duoro wine they offered (a Wiese and Krohn for a daunting $9.99...), in hope to get a feel for what this valley is capable of.

The Wiese and Krohn "Valtorto" 2004 has restrained dark fruit and cherries on the nose. Once in your mouth the spicy plum and dark fruit is quickly drowned by a long spicy finish with tart tannins. This is a wine that requires a meal. A rich beef dish would be my choice.

This is my first Duoro wine and I need to taste more before having an opinion... However I think this particular bottle would be more enjoyable after some time in the cellar, or maybe just even decanted an hour before consuming.

Fess Parker Chardonnay II

Included in our last shipment from Fess Parker Wineclub was the 2004 Santa Barbara County Chardonnay. I have earlier reviewed Ashley's Vineyard Chardonnay from Fess Parker of the same vintage. This wine is a blend of that vineyard, Rodney's vineyard, White Hills vineyard and other premium vineyards in Santa Barbara County. This is a wine of the same spirit as the 2004 Ashley's Vineyard but not quite as refined as a single vineyard wine.
On the nose you get pear and tropical fruit. The palate shows more tropical fruit with citrus and light oak that ends in a long silky finish with round creaminess and soft acidity. A great every day Chardonnay for $18, or join the wineclub and get it for $14.40, www.fessparker.com. Great on it's own or with a light salad or other lighter meal. Rated 87 by Robert Parker. This is a great crowd pleaser with quality!

Las Vegas Dining

We just spent 3 night in Las Vegas and aside from shopping, going to a show and a little gambling we had time for some fantastic food. Las Vegas is another one of those places where there is such an large selection of dining opportunities that it can be very hard to decide where to go this trip and what to save for the next... But at the end of the day you have to make a choice...
We started of the first night with BOA Steakhouse at Caesars in The Forum Shops. We have previously had dinner at the namesake sister restaurant at the Sunset strip in Hollywood and wanted to see if the Vegas restaurant stood up to the original in L.A. We started of with the BOA Chop Chop, a great little salad with artichoke, salami, olives, tomatoes, aged Provolone and chick peas. I continued with the 40 day dry aged New York Strip with Bluecheese Crust and a Cabernet Reduction. This could have been great except from the fact that I ordered it medium rare and it came out medium +. Not having the energy to return it and wait for a new steak I ate it and felt a little disappointed... My husband on the other hand had a succulent, flavorfull dish of Syrah Braised Short Ribs with Parsnip Puree, Baby Carrots and Asparagus. We ordered two side dishes as well, Horseradish Potatoe Gratin and Sauteed Wild Mushrooms. Both excellent. We fininshed with S'Mores "All grown up" constructed of Kahlua Chocolate Cake, Marshmallow Sauce, Dulce de Leche Icecream topped with a homemade Graham Cracker. We had a bottle of 2003 Fiddelhead Seven Twenty Eight, Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir. A great balanced Pinot showcasing dark fruit and plum with nice cool tannins. Overall a very good meal if it wasn't for my poor overdone steak...

Night #2: We decided to return to a restaurant we dined at a couple of trips ago, Emeril Lagasse's Delmonico Steakhouse at The Venetian. Our first dining experience at this Creole influenced Steakhouse was fantastic and we were hoping for a re run. My husband started with the Hearts of Romaine Salad with Creamy Bluecheese Dressing topped with Crisp Pancetta while I just had to try the Creamy Lobster Risotto on a Mirror of Lobster Sauce Reduction. For main course I had the Cajun Spice Crusted Beef Tenderloin with Creamed Spinach. This time made to perfection! I savored a great, super tender filet with tons of flavor. My husband opted for a Tagliatelle with Creamy Chicken, Artichoke and Sundried Tomato. Very rich and creamy indeed, almost to heavy... After this rich meal we had no room for dessert... Again overall a great meal with the filet as the stand out. Minus points for the overly heavy and creamy pasta dish which could have been made lighter. The Loster Risotto also suffered of this rich creaminess and would have been more enjoyable if less heavy...
Night #3: Tired after two late night in the city that never sleeps we decided to stay within our hotel, Bellagio, for dinner. We were curious to see what Sensi had to offer and made reservations. This casual restaurant offers Italian, Asian, grilled and seafood classics in a minimalist, contemporary environment where the kitchen is the center. Separated from the dining room with only floor to ceiling glass walls you can witness the creativity in the kitchen as you dine. I just have to start to talked about the wine we had which was an outstanding Pinot Noir from the Central Coast. The 2003 Bonaccorsi Fiddelstix Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir shows great dark cherries, plum and blueberry on the nose with a beautiful balanced palate of dark fruit and berrries and tannins to support a long highly enjoyable fininsh. What a great Pinot! One of the best that I have come across in a long time. Bonaccorsi is a favorite of mine since a couple of years and this one surely will not disappoint anybody... Find it at www.wine-searcher.com from $49.99.
Now to the food. We started of by sharing the appetizer size Italian Thin Crust Pizza with Home Made Italian Salami, Tomato and Asiago Cheese. Great little crisp pizza to share with true Italian simplicity showcasing the fresh ingredients. Crisp Skin Salmon with Braised Oxtail Ravioli on a bed of Braised Cabbage and Poached Red Beets was my main course and a what an enjoyable one. The perfectly cooked, moist salmon paired great with the flavor intense ravioli and tender beets.
Chicken in Creamy Butter Red Curry Sauce with Indian Naan Bread and Basmati Rise smelled wonderful on my husbands plate and sneeking myself a bite my taste buds confirmed what my nose had predicted. A wounderful spicy curry perfect for future cold winter days.
Chocolate was the choise for dessert and contained of a Warm Center Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Icecream. A perfect ending to the meal.
Two other places worth mentioning are Todd English's Olives at Bellagio, where we had lunch one of the days (they have a great Seared Tuna Salad).

The best Margarita (for this trip at least) in Las Vegas can be found at Bobby Flay's MESA at Caesars, made from El Tesoro Platinum Teqiula, fresh lime juice and a splash of Grand Marnier.
Can't wait for the next trip and new food adventures...

Sierra Foothills Cabernet Franc

I have reviewed wines from Mt Vernon Winery before and now it's time for their Cabernet Franc. We opened the Mt Vernon Winery 2003 Placer County Cabernet Franc tonight (this was my first time tasting this variety from this winery). Met with restrained, dark cherries and plum on the nose I expected a conventional California Cabernet Franc and I was not let down on the palate. With dark berries, oak and firm tannins that lingured in the mouth this a pleasing good quality Cabernet Franc. Nothing exceptional or suprising, just solid and good.
At $23 @ www.mtvernonwinery.com it is well worth a try.

Chateau Crillon

We got a bottle of 1999 Chateau Crillon Cotes Du Ventoux from a friend Thanksgiving weekend and had it earlier this evening with a friend. I was not quite sure what to expect not having had a wine from this specific region of Languedoc before. This wine is made of 60% Grenach and 40% Syrah. It was very interesting to see how it changed. When I first poured the wine it had a almost "moldy" berry on the nose with an uninteresting, plain, fruity palate with short finish. So we opened the Koehler Syrah (review below) instead. But after letting it sit for an hour we thought we would give it a second try. What a change! Nice, earthy red currant and cranberries on the nose with more modest berries and fruit on the palate. Still not a huge finish, but more interesting with some nice tannins...
I am glad to have experienced this development of a wine in the bottle (I did not even think it was worth while decanting after my initial tasting...).

Foxen Canyon Trail Syrah

Tonight we are having a Koehler Winery 2004 Santa Barbara County Syrah (after not liking the first bottle we opened),(see above). Thought it would pair nicely with the hearty beef, barley and vegetable soup we had for dinner. The pairing was not perfect but good enough. The reason beeing that this is a very, almost to, fruity Syrah. The nose carries dark plum and berries, and once in your mouth you can taste rolling, round, plump, dark berries and fruit. The finish is long and all fruit. I am missing some additional tannins for a more balanced structure, but all in all it is a nice syrah. Best enjoyed on it's own because of the heavy, ripe fruitiness. Do not waste your time on this Syrah if this is not your style...

Ken Brown

Starting as Zaca Mesa Winery's first winemaker in 1977, Ken Brown went on in 1984 and spent his following 20 years as founder and winemaker of Byron Vineyard and Winery. After this great achievement he launched the Ken Brown label in 2003. I am enjoying his 2004 Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir tonight. This is not my first bottle of this wine and certainly not the last. I think it is a good value at only $22.98 at http://www.wine-searcher.com/.
It has plum and cherry on the nose with dark raspberry and cherry on the palate. The nice rounded tannins ends in a lingering finish. Although a little "plain" this is a good, approachable and enjoyable Pinot that will not break your bank.

Thanksgiving at it's best

Another Thanksgiving has past. Still full when waking up this morning I reflect on the meal and wine served. My mother in law had put together yet another wonderful traditional Thanksgiving dinner. The munchies served during the afternoon while mingling with family and friends, and putting the finishing touches to dinner, was shrimp with a homemade cocktail sauce (the best I've had), deviled eggs with a touch of refreshing, spicy horseradish and a great little green onion-cheese spread with crackers. The men had a couple of beers with this while watching the football, while I just had to taste the wine that was to be served with dinner. The wine in question was Carr Vineyards and Winery 2004 Turner Vineyard, Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir. Carr has produced wine since 1999 but this is their first vintage from this particular vineyard, only 129 cases produced. It had ripe, red berries on the nose promising a wonderful fruity wine. It pulled through as expected on the palate as a medium bodied, very straight forward fruity Pinot with red fruit and berries, and a good level of tannins providing a medium lenght finish. It did lack a little in complexity with not quite enough spice, but being the first vintage I see great potential in this wine. It was a really great red to pair up with all the different foods on the buffet and everybody seemed to enjoy it as much as I did. For the few around the table that preferred a glass of white with dinner, the 2004 Cambria Estate Chardonnay Katherine's Vineyard was served. I did not get a chance to taste this but it got great reviews from the guests having white (and having tasted Cambria wines at several earlier occasion I suspect I would agree with them if having tasted this wine).

Coming back to the food. This year my mother in law had opted for a oven baked turkey (last year we had a deep fried) which turned out succulent and juicy with great flavor. We had all the traditional side dishes, mashed potatoes, green beans with bacon, stuffing, gravy made from the drippings, cranberry jam, fruit salad and homemade rolls with honey and butter. For dessert (of course I had to try them all even though I was stuffed...) we had cherry pie, apple pie and my favorite for the evening, a pumpkin, banana mousse pie. I am not a huge fan of pumpkin pie but I will always have a little slice because it is traditional Thanksgiving food and kind of belongs on the table. This years pie however I could not get enough of. Light and airy with a not to heavy pumpkin taste and banana shining through on the palate this was the perfect ending to the meal. A guest and dear friend of the family brought this treat, and when asked if she would share the recipe, I was told that it is from one of Barefoot Contessa's cook books. So now I know what to go shopping for...
Rolling out of the door later last night, no matter how stuffed we were, we were already looking forward to next years Thanksgiving and another fantastic feast enjoyed with family and friends.

Another Central Coast Pinot Noir

It's only 7 pm and we just finish the bottle of Pinot from Laetitia (see below). We still have room for another glass of wine and decide to pull a less expensive Pinot from the wine fridge. Byron Santa Maria Valley 2004 Pinot Noir ($25 at http://www.byronwines.com/) has a beautiful ruby color with a hint of purple in the glass. This is a more "easy", less earthy, and more straight forward Pinot compared to the Laetitia, with bright fruit on the nose, and the same clean fruit of red plum and cherry on the palate. Nice tannins gives it a good length finish. I really like this one for the price and will make sure to stock up on it.

A wine to enjoy in front of the fireplace

We just left for Lake Tahoe today to spend Thanksgiving up here with family. I am right now sitting in front of the fireplace catching up on everything on my computer after today's traveling. It took me a frustrating 1 hour to get it to pick up the wireless connection here. Well, now I am connected and so much happier...
Me and my husband are having a nice little bottle of Laetitia Single Vineyard Les Galets Pinot Noir 2002 from Arroyo Grande Valley. It is a really nice big, full wine with dark berries, cherry and a hint of earth on the palate. The cherry is lingering with chunky tannins for a long finish. The winds howling outside our window, this was a perfect wine for warming up in front of the fireplace, paired with a lentil and beef stew.
$60 at http://www.laetitiawine.com/ (Rated 90 by Robert Parker and 92 by Wine Enthusiast)

Beaujolais Nouveau

Everybody else has been writing about Beaujolais Nouveau, so I thought I just might as well do it to.
For those of you who are not familiar with this wine, here is the quick rundown. Beaujolais Nouveau is grown in Burgundy and every year at 1 minute past midnight on the third Thursday of November this wine is released. And not a minute before that. This wine is at that point a very young wine that was only harvested weeks earlier, therefore "Nouveau" ("new" in French). Unlike other red wine this is best served slightly chilled (around 50 degrees). It is a great wine for somebody who is trying to make the transition from white to red. The reason being that this red contains no tannins, because the must is pressed only after three days. Making this a very light and fruity red.
To celebrate the release last week with the rest of the world, I picked up a bottle from BevMo.
Out of their selection I chose the Beaujolais Nouveau Bouchard Aine & Fils 2006, a 100% Gaway ($8.99 at BevMo). Light red/purple in the glass with lovely ripe raspberry and strawberry on the nose. Tart cherry and red berries on the palate, with a medium length finish. I drink these wine very seldom and in small quantities so it is a little hard to have an opinion. I did enjoy it and would simply like to describe it as a festive, fresh wine with a quality above the median Beaujolais Nouveau.

French chocolate at its best

I have tried quite a few chocolates through the years, and I just discovered my new star. Michel Cluizel is called "The Gold Smith of Chocolate". He started making chocolate in 1947 in southern Normandy, at that point being on of the few to process his own cocoa beans, and now runs the company with his four children. He has a wide range of chocolates and bonbons, but I always prefer to "judge" a chocolate maker by his pure chocolate bars.
I got their "1er Cru Collection" containing five single origin chocolates from around the world. This was a great way to discover and compare the different single origins tastes and characteristics.
The five origins are:
-Concepcion: 66% cocoa from Venezuela. Melting smooth with a hint of vanilla caramel.
-Los Ancones: 67% cocoa from Saint Domingue. Dark and luscious with a hint of dried currant.
-Tumarina: 70% from Sao Tome. Has a lingering finish of green olives.
-Mangaro: 65% from Madagascar. Hard to put a finger on but I would say tropical fruit.
-Maralumi: 64% from Papua, New Guinea. This is their chocolate with the most character. Spicy chipotle with a hint of tobacco leaves at the finish.
This box is the perfect pick for a chocolate tasting with good friends (4.9 oz for $19.50)
I highly recommend this chocolate and I am myself looking forward to receiving my order of the Caramel Mushrooms (their best seller). They also have various designs of chocolate lollipops for different occasions. Plus so much more... http://www.michelcluizel.com/

Wine Spectator Great Wine Values, Part III

Out of the five bottles I picked up from the list in October's issue of Wine Spectator, it was the Australian Shiraz turn this evening (see Part II from yesterday for the other wines).
Dark ruby red in the glass, the Pirramimma 2003 McLaren Vale shows spicy berries, oak and a hint of sweet vanilla on the nose. On the palate you taste spicy, fat, dark fruit covering your tongue , but before you know it the strong tannins take over to end up in a long finish. This wine was rated 92 by Wine Spectator and I found it at BevMo for $21.99. This is unfortunately not a 92 for me... I do like big, fruity wine but this was just a little bit to much for me. It also had a slight unpleasant "off taste" that I can not put my finger on. But please do not get turned of by me. Give it a chance and let me know what your thoughts are...

Wine Spectator Great Wine Values, Part II

Tonight I have tasted and reviewed two more wines from the list of Wine Spectator's Great Wine Values in October's issue. See Part I with the first two wines reviewed at 11/15/06.
I started of with the 2005 Chateau Ste. Michelle-Dr. Loosen Riesling Colombia Valley, Eroica. It is the seventh vintage of this wine and they are getting better and better with narrowing it down and finding their style. It received 90 points from Wine Spectator and 92 from Wine Enthusiast. Sweet, white floral on the nose lead you to believe that it might be to sweet, but once in your mouth it is lively and crisp with ripe apple notes and transforms quickly to a sweeter peachy tone with a long finish. Very tasty! $19.99 at BevMo.
I had planned to taste an Australian Shiraz after this but upon opening the bottle I discovered that it had bled through the cork. I am not afraid to return these bottles as it might have affected the wine, and so I will.
Instead I moved on to the 2004 Bodega Catena Zapata Malbec Mendoza from Argentina. Nicola Catena, an Italian immigrant, planted the first vines in 1902. The third generation is now running the winery, striving to put Argentina on the map as one of the premium wine producing countries. And they are on their way. The nose reveals red cherry and berries, and black berries and dark fruit on the palate with a long finish. Wine Spectator rewarded this beauty with 90 points and I agree. $19.99 at BevMo.

Tomorrow: the Australian Shiraz...

A costly affair (calories that is...)

Being obsessed with wine can mean a lot of extra calories. And on top of that they are so called empty ones...(empty sound good to me, like their less naughty, but I've been told it is quite the opposite). How many calories per glass though? Well, it depends on the wine. Most of the calories comes from the alcohol, so the higher the alcohol level the more calories. Sugar also plays a roll. Sweeter wines contains more calories than dry. In a 5 0z glass of table wine there is around 125 kcal. The US Department of Agriculture has a great little calculator for different foods and beverages. Just search for "wine" and all of the most common varieties will show up. Check it out at www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search and see how guilty you need to feel after that amazing bottle of Seasmoke Southing Pinot Noir... I really do not feel guilty at all when a bottle is that yummy, but... Oops a little bit of track. I guess what you can do to fix the damage is check it out and work out accordingly? As for the Seasmoke, I will go there another day...

The Gourmet Wine Cellar event

What an event! We had a wonderful night last night at the Ferry Building in San Francisco. Gourmet Magazine had their Wine Cellar event featuring local top restaurants, wine and wineries, cocktails, Wine Lab, demonstrations and great speakers. There was a lot of tasting, talking to wine and food professionals and more tasting. The event only lasted for 3 hours and I think another hour would have been great with so much to do and see.
We started of with champagne tasting at Moet & Chandon. They had four champagnes to taste and this was a great start to the evening. Next to them The Dining Room at Ritz Carlton served a wonderful Nantucket Bay Scallop with Sunchoke Puree, paired with Domaine Ste. Michelle Blanc de Blancs. So a lot of sparkling wine to start with.
Further down Bloomingdale's served a Sachimi Style Bay Scallop with Micro Greens and a Spicy Sauce, and an out-of-this-world Wild Mushroom Soup with Truffle Oil. This was my favorite dish during the night, and trust me everything at the event was delicious!
"Wines of Spain" poured a wide variety of wines and I tried a handful of them. Not usually a drinker of Spanish wines this was a great opportunity for me to try different varieties and styles.
Across from that Sara Moulton did a cooking demonstration. We caught the end of it and got her cook book that she signed.
The restaurant Scott Howard served up another fantastic soup next door, a Carrot Soup with Chervil Sabayon Truffle Oil and they did a cocktail pairing with this, Finlandia Spicy. The soup had a wonderful intense carrot flavor with beautiful creamy texture. A great fall soup. I did not try the cocktail. There was more wine to be had...
Next we attended the tasting lead by Michael Green, Goumet's Wine and Spirit Consultant. Named "Varietals from the Islands: Sardinia and Sicily" Tony Parise VP for Winebow, Inc. co-hosted with four wines. He started of with Argiolas Costamolino Vermentino di Sardegna 2005, a wine made from 100% Vermentino. Straw yellow in the glass, intense on the nose but more delicate on the palate. Moving on to Tasca d'Almerita Regaleali Bianco 2005, made out of three Sicilian native varieties, Inzolia, Cataratto and Grecanico, this had apple on the nose and some tropical fruit on the palate. Red was up next with the Argiolas Perdera 2004 from Sardinia with 90% Monica, 5% Carignano and 5% Bovale Sardo. A very good, rustic wine with red fruit and berries. Last tasting was the Tasca d'Almerita Regaleali Nero d'Avola 2004 with a little fuller body than the previous wine. Dark berries and cherry with a long finish. This was a very exciting tasting with a lot of new grapes I had not heard of or tasted before. I will definitely start to look for and buy some wines from these two Mediterranean islands.


After that the Wine Lab started, with Stephane Lacroix (Director of wine at The Ritz-Carlton) and Rajat Parr (Wine Director at the Michael Mina Group) as speakers. This was a sit down tasting featuring four wines as well. Moet & Chandon Rose Imperial started the tasting. Very nice Champagne with ripe strawberries on the nose. I just love Rose Champagnes! Next was Gallo Family Vineyards Pinot Gris, Sonoma Reserve, 2005. A very fresh and clean wine with apple on the palate. Would pair great with delicate seafood like scallop or lobster. After that they repeated the red wines from Sardinia and ended with the Chateau Ste. Michelle Cold Creek Cabernet Sauvignon 2003. This was a cool climate style Cab. with nice acidity, rich dark fruit and good complexity to it. Great tasting with a lot of thoughts and comments from the speakers. Hungry for more food we headed out to that section again and had a Maple Thyme-Cured Duck Breast Canape with Chive Cream cheese from Maple Leaf Farms. They offered a beer pairing with this. But again, no beer for me, still more wine that had to be tasted. On to Town Hall that served a Herb Biscuit with Shrimp Etoufee. Wonderful fluffy biscuit with tender shrimp.
A 16 paired a Lamb Polpettini with Tomato Ragu and Pecorino, bursting with flavor, pairing it with the Gloria Ferrer Jose S. Ferrer 2002 Pinot Noir. A great pairing. The wine really stood up to the very flavorful lamb.
Now it was time for dessert. Americano served up Mini Chocolate Cupcakes and Homemade Gelato in Mini Sugar Cones with Toppings and paired this with a very interesting wine from Italy. The Ca dei Mandorli Brachetto d'Acqui 2005 is a ruby red sparkling wine with sweet berries and raspberry on the nose. Looking at the wine in your glass you expect a super sweet wine and is pleasantly surprised with a not to sweet, crisp wine with ripe raspberries and strawberries on the palate. Rated 90 by Wine and Spirit, you have to try this sparkling wine for only $13.99 at http://www.wine-searcher.com/. It will surprise you.
The Gloria Ferrer station poured three wines, I tried their 2003 Carneros Merlot which I had not tried before. It had currant on the nose and dark fruit and cherry on the palate with a nice long finish.
At this point I was getting really full but decided to head over to Bix that served Crab Rolls in Brioche served with Chance Creek 2005 Sauvignon Blanc. Do I need to spell out that it was delicious? The crisp, full Sauvignon Blanc with tropical fruit and tiny hint of grass complemented the lobster very nicely.
At this point I almost cried realizing there was little time left and no room left in my stomach and so many more restaurants to taste from. But I just could not do it. I had had enough rich, amazing food, and I would have to survive without tasting everything that was offered. It had been a wonderful night with so many great opportunity to educate ourselves further in the world of food, wine and pairings. Happy and content we left the event and decided to come back next year again.

Tonight's Adventure

Oh, exciting day... I am soon to leave rainy Sacramento for the, hopefully not so rainy, Bayarea. Tonight is The Gourmet Wine Cellar event at the Ferry building in San Francisco. It's a big tasting event featuring wine, cocktails and food from top restaurants in the Bayarea. I expect great things!
Stay tuned. Tomorrow I will let you know all about it, who was there, what did they poor and how tasty was that food... Cheers!

Wine Spectator Great Wine Values

Last issue if Wine Spectator had a big report on 100 wine for under $25 that scored 88-94 points. I decided to check out the local "Beverages and More" to see if I could find any of the top scoring wines there. Said and done, I headed of with my W.S. magazine in hand. After about 30 minutes of looking through the shelves (politely declining all offers of help from the staff) I came up with 5 bottles. Tonight I tasted two of them (can't do all 5 during one night considering it is a work day tomorrow...) And following are my thoughts on them.
Let's start with the 2004 Antinori, Chianti Classico Peppoli. It get 90 points from Wine Spectator and is one of five Sangiovese to get that score (the highest score given to a Sangiovese in this report). I got red currant and earthy notes on the palate. W.S. says powerful. Powerful to begin with sure, but a little flat and week after the mid palate (at least more so than I expected). They recommend to put this bottle down until 2007 and I agree, and I suspect it will come to it's right with age and earn that 90 point score. I payed $23.99 at BevMo but you can find it online at http://www.winex.com/ for $18.99.
The next bottle made me more excited. Elk Cove 2005 Pinot Gris, Willamette Valley, Oregon has succulent floral and pear on the nose. It is light and delicate on the palate with slight sweetness and a full, creamy finish. Well worth its 90 points from Wine Spectator. Checking it out online it also gets 91 from Wine Enthusiast and 92 from Wine and Spirit. This is a wine I will buy again. BevMo $12.99.
Keep your eyes open for the remaining three wine reviews. We're talking Argentina, Australia and Washington...

Kidnapped to discover a local star

Last Monday I got "kidnapped" by a friend taking me up to a local winery, Mt Vernon Winery, that I had not visited before. Getting up there we discovered that the tasting room was not open that day. Pulling out of the parking lot a man came up to us asking if he could help us. Turns out he is one of the owners, Jim Taylor. His son Ryan was working in the vineyards and immediately came in to open up and pour us some wine. The two of them are the team of winemakers that opened the winery in 1996. In 2002 they opened the doors to the tasting room at the estate, the first one in Placer County since the advent of Prohibition and the collapse of grape growing and wine making in Placer County.
Ryan poured a myriad of delicious wines and after tasting I bought several varieties to bring home, and tonight I opened one of their chardonnays and a barbera.
The 2004 Sierra Foothills Chardonnay, Breast Cancer Research ($18) has pineapple and ripe pear on the nose with medium body, light oak and a creamy finish. Tasty!
The 2003 Sierra Foothills Barbera (only 320 cases produced) has a vibrant dark red/purple color in the glass. You will find sweet berries and black tea on the nose. On the palate discover cherry, spices, nice acidity and medium/large tannins. A great value for a great wine.
The difference with this wine is that it not only tastes good but it feels good to drink as well. The reason?
Dr. Bodai, CEO of CureBreastCancer Inc. and a Kaiser Permanente surgeon, after several years of work to get approval from the Congress and the US Postal Service, asked the Taylor family to put a label looking like the Breast Cancer postage stamp on their bottles. He asked for a 5% donation but the family felt so strongly about the cause they offered 12.5% of the sales price of each bottle. And that is their contribution since 2005.
So drink up. Order more. Feel good. It is all for a good cause.
www.mtvernonwinery.com

Wine Talk

At one point or another in our pursuit of wine we bump into a wine-related word or two (I've had more than a handful through the years...) that we do not understand, or if we're lucky enough to understand, have no idea how to pronounce. This is when the blessed internet can give us a helping hand.
Remember, there is no "right" way to pronounce a name. It is usually a matter of opinion or regional preference. But the following websites can help you along. They feature explanations for terms and phonetic names, and some of them will even pronounce it for you. Check out www.wineloverspage.com/lexicon/ or http://www.tastersguildny.com/ (in the "All About Wine" section). http://www.bbr.com/ (search for "pronounciation") is a guide for how to pronounce Red Bordeaux.
Check it out and become more wine savvy today.

Gourmet chocolate for the thin wallet

It started in a cocoa field in Indonesia. Timothy Moley was doing volunteer work there for USAID, and chewing on cocoa beans in the fields he pick up a fascination for chocolate. Home again he decided to make his own chocolate. He wanted high quality and affordability for the consumer, and put himself to work. For the past ten year he has been producing chocolate out of Boulder, Colorado. He named his two lines of chocolates Chocolove and Chocolatour. In the spirit of Chocolove the wrapper is designed to look like a love letter, and inside the wrapper hides a classic love poem. The Chocolatour is single origin chocolates.
I pick up 3 bars out of the Chocolove series at the local Wholefoods to see if he managed to meet his goals.
The 55% Raspberries in Dark Chocolate is delicious. Instead of infusing the chocolate with raspberry flavor he has mixed in crisp bits of raspberry in the chocolate. It results in a great smooth chocolate with bursts of raspberry flavor. Love it!
The 55% Dark Chocolate is a semisweet bar made with 100% African cocoa. It is melting smooth and has a the right amount of sweetness.
The 70% Dark Chocolate if African cocoa with a touch of Caribbean cocoa. A more bittersweet chocolate with great balance and toasty flavor.
At the price of $2.99/bar and great tasting chocolate that definitely fits under the category "gourmet chocolate", it's evident he met his goals.
Find it at Ralphs, Target or Wholefoods.

Spring Mountain Tasting

Last week my local wine store had a great wine tasting. Featuring 10 wineries from the Spring Mountain District in Napa Valley this was a great opportunity to taste and compare how different wineries in the same appellation showed their uniqueness through their wines. I did not have a bad wine during the whole night but want to mention a couple of standouts.
A new winery to me was the Peacock Family Vineyard. Apart from the label being gorgeous, the 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon was full of wonderful dark fruit and berries with a nice amount of tannins($65). Very much drinkable right now. The 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon was even more dense in the fruit and berries, hiding the tannins, and requires a taste for that expression of Cabernet.
Barnett Vineyards poured their well known Spring Mountain District Cabernet Sauvignon which was delicious as usual (the 2003 vintage for $65). Two varieties that I have not tasted from them before was chardonnay and pinot noir. Their 2005 "Sangiacomo Vineyard" Carneros chardonnay ($29) was really nice and fresh. Great balance between not to sweet tropical fruit, a hint of oak and light cream. Perfect late summer wine.
I am a big pinot noir fan, and knowing pinot is not Barnett's priority I did not expect what swirled down my throat after my first sip of this wine. The 2005 "Tina Maria Vineyard" Russian River Valley ($37) was a clear surprise. Despite it's youth, very approachable with full, lush, red berries with nice structure and tannins to carry it up. I will get some of this for my cellar...
Fantesca Estate was another winery with some great wines, among them their 2002 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($60). Their winemaker is Kirk and Nils Venge who owns Saddleback Cellars, which I am a fan of, making it extra exciting to taste the these wines. The frosted diamond patterned bottle makes this a great exciting wine to give as a gift.
Some other great wine I had came from Frias Family Vineyard, Cain and Robert Keenan Winery. All in all a fantastic tasting. What a night...

Flagship Pinot

The Pisoni Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands, Pinot Noir from Siduri is their flagship Pinot, and rightfully so. The 2004 is full bodied with dark, lush fruit and smooth, silky tannins. One of the best Pinot Noirs I have had from them. Robert Parker gives it a respectable 94 and the Wine Spectator rating is 91. This is a really great Pinot and I truly enjoyed it with a good friend, on its own, over small talk, although it would be a great companion to a meal as well. Get a bottle of your own at www.siduri.com for $55 or for a hint less ($53.99) at www.wine-searcher.com.

Chocolate Truffles

Harry and David has a great little box of truffles.
I just discovered that the other day when my dear neighbor and friend brought me a box, knowing I am a chocoholic. Digging into the box it showed an extremely creamy and smooth truffle, rich in taste with the right amount of sweetness. Coffee, Milk and Dark chocolate were all very good. The Raspberry Truffle however had an artificial raspberry taste.
Still make a great little gift for someone you want to spoil. Find it at Harry and David stores for $25.95 for 1 lb, or order it online at www.harryanddavid.com.

Crisp and cool

Getting stuck on chardonnay this summer I decided to have another white wine with dinner the other night and decided to try a Sauvignon Blanc. A lot of times I find that Sauvignon Blancs are a little bit to sweet for my palate but the Grgich Hills Fume Blanc promised Dry Sauvignon Blanc so I thought, why not? And it kept it's promise. A great crisp, medium bodied wine with light rhubarb and floral on the nose. Nice acidity and grapefruit on the palate with a long finish. This is one of the best Sauvignon Blancs I have had and truly enjoyed it.

Grgich Hill Fume Blanc 2005
Napa Valley
Dry Sauvignon Blanc

Buy it direct from the winery at www.grgich.com for $25 or find it for a bargain at www.wine-searcher.com from $10.95

Hershey's new premium line

After discovering Ghirardelli's new "gourmet" line of chocolates I just stumbled onto a similar project by Hershey in the store today, Cacao Reserve by Hershey's. It is a new premium line of all-natural chocolates and drinking cocoa. They have two 35% Milk Chocolate bars, one plain and one with hazelnut, and two 65% Extra Dark Chocolate bars, one of them with Cacao Nibs. With a nice creamy texture and a rich chocolate taste, this is a nice attempt by Hershey to keep up with the huge trend of premium chocolates. Checking out their website I learned that they are also introducing four Single Origin Chocolate bars and Premium Truffels in December. Looking forward to reviewing those. Stay tuned...

One of the great chocolates to bake with

...has always been Ghirardelli. But breaking of a piece from the bar to enjoy with some wine? Well... There are better chocolates for that. However, that has changed lately. After introducing their new line Intense Dark earlier this year I've been found many times breaking a piece right off of the bar when the chocolate craving sets in. The line comes in four different flavors, Twilight Delight, Citrus Sunset, Toffe Interlude and Espresso Escape. All great for your after dinner sweet fix. And they are really easy to find. Most local grocery stores carry them.

Stuck on Pinot

I guess I should start to review other wines than Pinot Noirs. I think you know by now that it is my favorite grape. I promise I'll do something else next...
Let me present to you an excellent every day drinking Pinot. Fess Parker 2005 Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir. Yes, this is one of the other bottles we picked up during our recent trip to Santa Ynez Valley. It is very fruity, which I love. It offers cherry, cranberry, red berries, tobaco and a nice set of tannins. $25 @ www.fessparker.com or as a wineclub member only $20.

Fess Parker Chardonnay

One of my favorite Chardonnay makers in Santa Ynez Valley is Fess Parker (I am a long time wineclub member). We were down there a couple of weeks ago and brought some friends from the Sacramento area for wine tasting. They usually go to Napa Valley and this was their first time in "our" valley, and I believe they really liked it. We both picked up some Fess Parker 2004 Santa Rita Hills, Ashley's Vineyard, Chardonnay. It has nice crisp pear, apple and light citrus, and just the right amount of cream and oak. Rated 91 by Wine and Spirit it is not to bad of a deal for $28, join the wineclub and get if for only $22. www.fessparker.com

New York Dining

We usually spend a week in New York during US Open in September every year (my husband is a tennis freak). Going to New York there's a myriad of fantastic restaurant to try. It's hard to decide which ones to go to when there are only so many nights before you have to leave again.
This year we arrived a night earlier than planned and asked the concierge at our hotel (Ritz Carlton for the first night) to suggest a casual but great place. He got us a table just around the corner at Quality Meats. Great decor with a mix of contemporary and old butcher shop. The Green Goddess salad made a great start, fresh and light. We both choose the Filet for the main course and had Corn Creme Brulee with that. All very delicious. For desert a decandent Chocolate Hazelnut Tart. Highly recommended with great food and ambiance! www.qualitymeatsnyc.com
The second night we went to the signature restaurant Fives at the hotel we stayed at the rest of the trip, The Peninsula. Good food (the White Asparagus-Morel Risotto with Poached Egg and Sweet Pea Foam was the highlight of the meal) and service but nothing memorable.
The night after we went to BLT Steak, www.bltsteak.com. Dinner started of with a delicious pop over, still warm from the oven. Then we had Tuna Tartar, Chopped Vegetable Salad, Rib Eye, Braised Short Rib in a red wine sauce, Sauteed Mushrooms and Corn Souffle. All very tasty and definitely a place to return to. We had a outrageously good wine with all of this. The 2002 Merus. Rated 95 by Robert Parker and 96 by Wine Spectator this wine is a fruit power house. This was not the first time I had this wine and certainly not the last. This is the best wine out there right now in it's price range. Find it at www.wine-searcher.com from $194. Not an inexpensive bottle but worth every penny.
After dinner we went for a drink at David Burke and Donatella, www.dbdrestaurant.com, one of our favorite restaurants from last years trip. We did not intend to return for dinner this year because we have the policy that we need to try new places every year. But after a drink with the manager we were convinced we needed to come back the next night, and I am glad we did. This was by far the best dining experience we've had in New York and even better than last years dinner there. We started of with a nice little salad and a fantastic asparagus risotto. After that my husband had a fantastic Rib Eye, perfectly done and juicy with tons of flavor. I had THE best dish I have ever had, period. An amazing dish of home made pasta in a wild mushroom cream sauce, topped with a pile of the most tender, flavorful short rib. Heaven on a plate! Bravo David! Although we were stuffed after this, there was of course still room to share a molten chocolate cake. Yummy.
On the way out we stopped to thank the manager when David Burkes cookbook caught my eye behind him. I got a copy and the manager informed us that David Burke himself was sitting right behind us, in the bar. We got introduced and to my thrill he signed my new book. He invited us to sit down for an after dinner drink and we had a great time with him and his friends. After this we all headed to the next door bar Lollipop, where you get a lollipop with your drink, and danced the night away. In all an amazing night for a foodie like me with excellent food and the privilege to meet and spend time with a genius chef, David Burke.
The last night we went to The Modern, a restaurant with a sleek, contemporary design. The food followed that theme as well, small plates, artisticly pleasing to the eye. We had a great meal (I loved my chorizo crusted cod) and highly recommend it. www.themodernnyc.com
Four pounds heavier we left a couple of days later after a fantastic food and tennis week.
I am already starting to plan where to go next year...

Today's bargain

I had no intention to buy wine today as I picked up groceries for dinner. But walking by the wine section the normally $35 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Napa Valley 2004 Chardonnay caught my eye, being on sale for only $21. I just could not leave the store without taking advantage of this, and so it went into my cart. I have only had the 2003 before which is a great chardonnay. The 2004 does not quite make it up to the 2003 level but is a nice wine if you like your white dry and earthy with green apple, citrus and some mineral on the palate. Find it online for only $19.95 at www.wine-searcher.com.
Cheers!

A Taste of Luxury

...was the name of the flight of three wines I had last weekend at the Ritz Carlton in Half Moon Bay, CA. I had it at the Wine Room which serves wine by the bottle, by the glass or in flights. A flight is always a good way of trying different wines and with about eight flights to choose from there was something for every palate. I picked a flight named A Taste of luxury which included Opus 2002, Merryvale Profile 2002 and Lewis Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2003. I'm not usually a big fan of Opus (I think it's overrated) but the 2002 was actually very nice with restrained dark berries, minerals and good tannins. Even better was the Merryvale Profile with blackberry and black currant. The highest score (from me) went to Lewis, Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve with dark berries, raspberry and caramel. Very nicely balanced, smooth and a pleasure to sip.

Later that night we went to the adjacent Navio for dinner. We started of with the Yellow Beet Salad and a bowl of the Half Moon Bay Artichoke Risotto. I continued with the Black Bass with Belgian Endive, Carmalized Figs and Foie Gras glaze. My husband ordered the Braised Creekstone Farm Short Ribs served over Polenta. All enjoyed with a great bottle of Ramey, Jericho Vineyard 2003. This was all delicious but the dessert, Molten Chocolate Cake, just blew me away.
I have tried every recipe of Molten Chocolate Cake I've gotten my hands over the last years. I have also tried it in every restaurant I've set my foot in. So when I say this is one of the best ones out there, you'd better believe it. Perfectly molten, rich, decadent chocolate with a scoop of perfect vanilla ice cream. I want another one!

A word on the hotel itself. Situated in the most beautiful, relaxing location with excellent service from the staff. Long walks along the bluffs and a good book by your very own fire pit outside your patio door. We just loved our weekend in Half Moon Bay that truly had A Taste of Luxury...