Benessere Vineyards 2000 Napa Valley Sangiovese

When up in Napa Valley earlier this spring my friend picked up a bottle of this wine at the Benessere Vineyard, and tonight she shared it with me.

This wine has a slightly cloudy, ruby red, appearance in the glass. On the nose I pick up smells of the ocean, dark cherry, tea and a musty earthiness. Once in the mouth muted plum, black cherries and black currant shines through. The berries come with a hint of spice, the tannins are relatively smooth on the mid palate but leaves you with an astringency at the end of the finish. This is a medium bodied wine that shows good quality both in the fruit driven aspect but also shows a lot of terroir. We both enjoyed it along with a good conversation and would have it again if this was not the last bottle.

Searching online I can not find it for sale. I think the original price at the winery was about $25-30/750 ml bottle at the winery, but I can not confirm that at this point. FYI: we tasted a 375 ml bottle that's why the glass is bigger then the bottle...


Vote for my blog here and help me reach top 10 on The Blog Top
I am now in top 11!

Clos Pegase 2005 Mitsuko's Vineyard Carneros Chardonnay

Tonight I had a shrimp and broccoli fettuccine for dinner and paired it with the Clos Pegase 2005 Mitsuko's Vineyard Carneros Chardonnay.

This wine has a clear, medium straw color in the glass. Sticking your nose in the glass you pick up citrus and white peach with light floral notes, and a hint of almond. Sipping it ripe pear, citrus, and again, the white peach, coats the palate. It has soft a creaminess with some buttery oak, balanced out by medium firm acidity giving this white a clean fresh finish, with metallic minerals leaving it's mark at the very end.

It paired very well with dinner and having 90 degrees+ up here today a chilled, not to oaky chardonnay was exactly what I needed. I got this at Safeway on sale for $22.99, but you can find it at Wine-Searcher.com for as low as $19.99.

Vote for my blog here and help me reach top 10 on The Blog Top
I am now in top 11!

Article: Get the service your bottle deserves.

Last week I read a great article in Los Angeles Times: Get the service your bottle deserves.
It addresses what good wine service in a restaurant should look like, and if that is not what you receive, how to steer it in the right direction.
Whether a beginner or old dog in the world of wine this is a great article to read.

Read the article here.

19 Kitchen~Bar South Lake Tahoe

We spent the Memorial Day weekend in South Lake Tahoe with good friends. For Friday night I had made reservations at 19 Kitchen~Bar, located at the 19th floor of Harveys' Hotel, in South Lake Tahoe.

After having a delicious Pineapple Ginger Mojito in the bar we got seated promptly.
We started of with two starters shared by the table, Warm Goat's Cheese Strudel with Arugula, Mushrooms and Balsamic Vinaigrette ($12). Very good with great balance of the flavors and the right amount of creamy goat's cheese in the strudel. The second starter was the Lettuce Wraps with Chicken, Water Chestnuts, Mushrooms and Szechuan Sauce ($12). Very tasty as well with a nice spiciness to it, although I preferred the Goat's Cheese Strudel.

For entree I choose the Sea Bass with Shrimp Risotto and Lobster Broth ($29). This was a beautiful dish with mild flavors, the sea bass cooked to moist perfection and the risotto had the right texture and creaminess. The Lobster Broth was poured around the risotto and added a distinct sea food flavor. Delicious dish!
My husband had the Wet Aged Filet Mignon and ordered the Adult Fried Mac and Cheese as the side dish. I did not taste the Filet but according to him it was flavorful and cooked to his liking. The Mac and Cheese came in the shape of huge french fries. Crispy fried on the exterior with gooey, cheesy interior. Tasty comfort food in a very adult version in deed. A little lack of flavor existed and it could have used some extra salt. Other then that, very naughty and tasty.

For dessert we shared the Cake and Shake, a intense moist bitter sweet chocolate cake with a coffee milk shake on the side. Dipping pieces of the cake in the milk shake was sinful and delicious. Can't go wrong with this one if you are a full blown chocoholic like me.

We really enjoyed our meal at this restaurant, and the great view of Lake Tahoe and the amazing sunset only added to the meal and experience. The service was just right and perfectly attentive. We will certainly return on our next visit to South lake Tahoe.

Vote for my blog here and help me reach top 10 on The Blog Top
I am now in top 11!

Fess Parker 2003 American Tradition Reserve Santa Barbara County Syrah

We had this wine last night when having a BBQ in the backyard. The dinner contained of a Spanish spice rubbed chicken with spicy parsley and mint sauce, grilled vegetables and a tomato/corn salad.
This syrah has a dark, dense, purple/red color in the glass. On the nose it shows black cherry, dark fruit and black currant. On the palate, intense dark, ripe, cherries again with black berries and some oak. This wine was very concentrated in the dark, ripe, fruit and berries but manages to balance that pretty well with decent acidity and round tannins. Over all not an amazing syrah but certainly good. Worked well with our meal, and it won't break your bank. Find it at Wine-Searcher.com from $26.45.

Vote for my blog here and help me reach top 10 on The Blog Top
I am now in top 11!

Sea Smoke Cellars 2004 Botella Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir

Tonight we are having a wine loving guest over and I opened the Sea Smoke Cellars 2004 Botella Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir. This is an absolute favorite since a couple of years back. Very hard to get a hold of unless you are willing to pay twice the price of original "retail price".
I was lucky to get a hold of a couple of bottles at $55 at a local wine shop when it was first released.

This wine displays a clear ruby red/purple color in the glass. The first thing that greets you on the nose is black cherries that opens way for the black berry, lingon berry and subtle oak.
Sipping this beauty you discover that there is more fruit/berries on the nose than on the palate, although it displays wonderful black cherry and black currant with a spicy note. It is well balanced with firm tannins and good acidity that provides a nice back bone. Full bodied with a long savory finish. Over all a great Pinot Noir that will last quite a few more years in the bottle! This was my last bottle and I wish I had some more.

For those of you that don't mind paying a big mark up, it can be found at Wine-Searcher.com from $104.95. No matter how delicious this was I can't get over the fact that that price should give me two bottles...

Vote for my blog here and help me reach top 10 on The Blog Top
I am now in top 11!

Elk Cove Vineyards 2006 Willamette Valley Pinot Gris

Tonight I am revisiting a favorite from last year, the Elk Cove Pinot Gris, but this time the new vintage, 2006.
Elk Cove Vineyards was founded in 1974 by Pat and Joe Campbell, and to this day it remains family owned and operated. In 1995 Adam Godlee Campbell joined the team as the winemaker. All the fruit is estate grown, the estate being 350 acres, 120 of the dedicated to vineyards.
They use gravity flow and gentle handling to intervene to a minimum, to let the grape express itself in the wine.

The 2006 Willamette Valley Pinot Gris was whole cluster pressed, cold fermented in stainless steel tanks, and did not go through malolactic fermentation.
It has a clear, very pale, straw color, with perhaps a hint of green, in the glass. On the nose white, sweet floral with citrus and a touch of tropical fruit. The first impression on the palate is that of medium viscosity and sweet, soft creaminess. As that subsides fresh citrus with great acidity kicks through and gives this wine a great refreshing feel at the finish.
This vintage is a little more full bodied than the 2005, and has more flavor with higher viscosity and sweetness.
What makes this wine so good though, is that the great acidity balances the round richness beautifully.

This is a wine I'll make sure to stock up on for summer get togethers. You can find it at Wine-Searcher.com and WineZap.com from $14.99.

Vote for my blog here and help me reach top 10 on The Blog Top
I am now in top 11!

Rideau Vineyard In-Circle Cellar Club, Iris' Estate, Bon Temps Vineyard Syrah

We bought this wine when visiting Rideau Vineyard last summer. I pulled it from the wine fridge tonight anticipating a good match with the BBQ flank steak and Santa Maria style salsa I was preparing.
This wine has a dense, dark, inky purple color in the glass. Looking at the color you expect massive dark fruit and berries, and it sure delivers. Greeting you is a big punch of black pepper, dark berries and black currant. Sipping it, the ripe, dark fruit hits you again with a hint of vanilla. Big, soft tannins and black berries finishes this wine.
This is a voluptuous, big, maybe even huge, naught, naught syrah. But oh so good!

It worked to a certain extent with our meal. The pepper and big body was perfect, but it was a bit to ripe and fruity. Still, we had a great meal and a great wine. Perfect match or not....
Robert Parker gave this wine 90 points. I bought it for $58 at the winery. Searching the web I could not find it for sale. If you do run across it, grab a bottle or two. It is worth the price.


Vote for my blog here and help me reach top 10 on The Blog Top
I am now in top 11!

Smoked Pork Loin, Leek and Gorgonzola Pasta

It's been quite a while since I posted a video but now I am back, this time cooking a Swedish inspired pasta dish with smoked pork loin which is a common ingredient in the Scandinavian Cuisine.


Episode 10: Cooking Smoked Pork Loin, Leek and Gorgonzola Pasta.

Smoked Pork Loin, Leek and Gorgonzola Pasta Recipe

4 smoked pork loin slices, 1" thick

1 leek

10 baby bella mushrooms

1 cup peas

1 1/4 cup Creme Fraiche (substitute with sour cream if not available)

3 oz crumbled Gorgonzola

1 lb Penne pasta (or any other shape you might want to use)

Start by boiling up plenty of water in a large pot to cook the pasta. Cook the pasta according to directions. In the meanwhile cut the pork loin across in thin strips and then cut in half, to half the length. Slices mushrooms and cut leek in 1/2" slices across. Saute the leek and mushrooms in butter in a frying pan on medium high heat for about 5 minutes until they soften and start to brown. Add pork loin and peas and saute for 1 minute. Add creme fraiche/sour cream and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat, and let simmer for about 4 minutes to heat everything through and cook the peas. Take of the heat and add the Gorgonzola and stir for it to melt. Taste and add more salt and/or pepper if needed. Serve over the pasta.

A super easy and fast recipe with a Swedish twist. Perfect for week night dinners.

Vote for my blog here and help me reach top 10 on The Blog Top
I am now in top 11!

Kara's Cupcakes in San Francisco

My sister-in-law, Kristina, searched out Kara's Cupcakes when visiting San Francisco earlier this week, after reading about this bakery at DailyCandy.com. Knowing me and my addiction for sweets she brought home some of the goodies for me to taste.
Kara's Cupcakes are baked from scratch daily at their bakery at Scott Street. All of the ingredients are locally sourced, and many of them are organic.
They feature 14 kind of cupcakes on their website, 10 "regular" ($3 each) and 4 filled cupcakes ($3.25 each). I got to taste three of the regular ones.
Ghirardelli Chocolate: This is a chocolate cupcake topped with chocolate frosting. The cake is really moist and light in texture and the topping has a delicious, creamy,sweet, chocolate taste. Next up was the Chocolate Velvet: Chocolate cupcake with a bittersweet chocolate butter cream. If the Ghirardelli Chocolate was great this one was amazing, as it has a more intense, less sweet chocolate flavor. The cake is still super moist but the butter cream is just more intense in chocolate while maintaining the creaminess. A perfect treat for a chocoholic like me!
Last but not least, Banana Cupcake: This cake is just like a banana bread on steroids. The texture of the cake is a little bit more dense from the banana, but never the less really moist. It has a great banana flavor without all the heavy spices usually found in a banana bread. Topped with a smooth, rich cream cheese frosting, this one is home run.

I am not a cupcake connoisseur but I feel pretty confident saying that these are all high quality, way above average, delicious cupcakes. This bakery is a must-stop-by for me next time I am in San Francisco! I am dying to try the Fleur De Sel: Chocolate cupcake with caramel filling topped with a ganache frosting and Fleur De Sel. Tell me that doesn't sound out of this world...

Vote for my blog here and help me reach top 10 on The Blog Top
I am now in top 11!

Fess Parker 2005 American Tradition Reserve Santa Barbara County Chardonnay

This is another bottle we got in our latest shipment from Fess Parker wine club.
The 2005 American Tradition Reserve Santa Barbara County Chardonnay has a clean, medium dark, straw color in the glass. On the nose this wine shows citrus, apple, white floral, caramel and oak. The apple shows up on the palate again, this time more green and tart. Citrus and good acidity balances the round, creamy palate. Much to often chardonnays leave you with a too creamy, cloying finish but thanks to the really nice acidity, this one exits with a pleasant round, but fresh feeling.

This chardonnay is not yet available to the public. I payed $30 through the wine club and it will be around $35 as it reaches retail. A really nice Chardonnay but it seems to belong more in the $25 range... Give it a try. You be the judge...

Vote for my blog here and help me reach top 10 on The Blog Top
I am now in top 11!

Fess Parker 2005 Melange Blanc Santa Barbara County

We got this wine in our latest wine shipment from the Fess Parker Wine Club.
It is a white Rhone blend, the primary grapes being Rousanne, Marsanne and Grenache Blanc. It has a clear, medium straw color in the glass. On the nose floral notes, ripe apple, peach and a touch of tropical fruit. On the palate this white offers sweet floral and fruit with some sweet vanilla. It is round and soft in the mouth with a creamy finish.

The floral and fruit is to sweet for my taste and it doesn't have enough acidity to give it the lightness and freshness it needs to balance those characters. This is not a bad wine, but neither is it one that I particularly enjoyed, so I can't recommend it.

This wine is not yet available on Fess Parker Winery and Vineyards' website, but will be. It was $18 in our shipment and should be around $21 for non club members. There are definitely better wines to be found at that price...

Vote for my blog here and help me reach top 10 on The Blog Top
I am now in top 11!

Galante Vineyards

We were in Carmel this weekend for Mother's Day. Passing by the Galante Vineyard Tasting Room I just had to stop by to taste their wines. I had not heard about this winery before and I got some good information from the very knowledgeable and friendly tasting room staff. They explained the wineries wine making philosophy and methods. The wine maker strives for the wine to express what in France is called terroir. That means, in short, letting the soil, surroundings, location and weather express itself through the fruit in the wine and intervene as little as possible. The wines are gravity racked and have not gone through fining or filtration.

On to the tasting. I tasted around eight wines and I will mention the ones I liked the best.
First out was the 2006 Carmel Valley Sauvignon Blanc ($25). It has intense peach aroma and flavor, with a hint of tropical fruit. Good acidity gives this wine a nice freshness.
The 2005 Carmel Valley Petit Sirah is much more delicate than most Petit Sirahs that I am used to. Soft medium dark berries and soft tannins. Very easy to drink. Recommended by the tasting room staff as a summer BBQ wine.
On to the Cabs. I got the 2002 ($40) and 2003 ($30) Red Rose Hill Cabernet Sauvignon side by side to compare. The 2002 is a more elegant wine with red cherries and berries and softer tannins. The 2003 was my favorite with dark cherry and berries, and a hint of violet, with more pronounced acidity and firmer, but still moderate, tannins.
Their most expensive Cabernet is the 2003 Blackjack Pasture Cabernet Sauvignon ($60). This is their most intense and complex wine with dark fruit, black berry, black currant, and a hint of oak. Great medium big, smooth tannins, medium plus acidity, with the dark fruit, gives this wine a long finish. A really nice Cab.

Find these wines at Galante Vineyards website.


Vote for my blog here and help me reach top 10 on The Blog Top
I am now in top 11!

The Truffle Shop in Nevada City

On our little day trip to Nevada City last week we found The Truffle Shop. Being a chocoholic there was no way I could possible resist it, so into the store we went. Rows of huge truffles awaited us...
The shop was opened in 1986 with Chef Willem DeGroot, as Master Chocolatier. DeGroot came to the States with his parents when young. After high school he decided to become a Capuchin monk in Franciscan monasteries. This is where the recipe for the truffles was developed. After 13 years he left and eventually opened today's Truffle Shop. The recipe is still the same and still remains a secret.

I got a box of six truffles:
Raspberry Cream: This truffle has a red colored raspberry filling. And although it was very god and intense in raspberry flavor I prefer when the raspberry is blended with a dark chocolate truffle, with a less intense flvor from the raspberries as a result.
Highlander: The majority of the truffles has some kind of hard liquor in them. This one is a semisweet truffle flavored with Glenfiddich Scotch. Intensely flavored and real hit if you are a Scotch lover.
151 Rum: 151 Rum is blended into dark chocolate, and covered in dark chocolate. This truffle has a mild rum taste that fits me perfectly as I do not normally like alcohol in my chocolate. This was still mild enough for me to enjoy. Very good!
Black Forest: Black cherry mixed into semisweet chocolate, topped with a cherry and then covered in dark chocolate. Very nice balance between chocolate and cherry. Not over powering, but complementing each other.
Double Dutch: This was my favorite. Three bittersweet chocolate mixed together to an incredibly light and airy truffle. Still very concentrated in flavor.
Cafe Diablo: This is a great little fun truffle. The bittersweet chocolate is flavored by strong coffee and alcohol, and the two small pieces of orange zest is put on top, resembling horns, and then dipped in dark chocolate. Diablo...horns...a fun little visual twist! And great tasting...

One thing that all of these truffles have in common is the lightness and airiness of the truffle. A lot of truffles have a tendency to be really dense and almost to much. These have a light, velvety, mouth feel. Definitely worth trying.
They also make several delicious looking tortes, but I did not have a chance to try these.

You can find and order these chocolate treats at The Truffle Shop's website.

Vote for my blog here and help me reach top 10 on The Blog Top
I am now in top 11!

Rusack 2005 Reserve Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir

When we were in Santa Barbara last weekend we picked up a bottle of Rusack 2005 Reserve Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir. After having the 2005 Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir not to long ago (and really enjoyed it) we were very excited about this one-step-up bottle.
The Reserve Sta. Rita Hills is a 50/50 blend of grapes from Fiddlestix Vineyard and Rancho Santa Rosa. 445 cases produced.
It has a great bright, dark red, color in the glass. On the nose I got dark fruit with a sweet touch of oak with caramel at the end. Swirling it in the mouth, black berries and medium dark cherries emerges with enough acidity to give it some structure and kind of firm, but still smooth tannins (what do you call that kind?). Overall it has medium to dark fruit/berries, showcased in a more elegant style. This felt like a very food friendly wine. We really thought this was a very good wine for not to bad of a price ($35.99).
Find it at Wine-Searcher.com from $29.99 or at
Rusack's website for $38.

Vote for my blog here and help me reach top 10 on The Blog Top
I am now in top 11!

Venge 2000 Family Reserve Scout's Honor Napa Valley

We got this bottle quite a few years ago when having a private tasting at the Venge Family's winery, Saddleback Cellars. The Venge 2000 Family Reserve Scout's Honor Napa Valley is made from 81% zinfandel, 14% charbono and 5% petite sirah. It is named after the very first winery dog at their property, the yellow lab, Scout. Scout passed away months before the first release of this wine and was named in his honor.
This wine has been put away for quite a few years and pulling it from the stack today I was afraid that it would have past it's prime. I fooled myself...
This wine has a beautiful dense, ruby red, color in the glass with medium clarity. It displays great black cherries, black berries, tobacco, and some oaky vanilla on the nose. Moving to the palate, again black cherry and black berries, with black currant and earthy spice. This really held up a lot better than I expected it to and we, me and my husband, really enjoyed this wine.
I can not find it online for sale after moderate research. We bought it in 2002/2003 (my memory fails me...) for $30. Well worth it considering both the story behind it and the quality. Long live our precious best friends (our dogs)!

Vote for my blog here and help me reach top 10 on The Blog Top
I am now in top 11!

Hartley Ostini Hitching Post 2005 St. Rita's Earth Pinot Noir

Owners Frank Ostini and Gray Hartley

Thursday night we tried a new Pinot Noir from Hartley Ostini Hitching Post Winery. The 2005 St. Rita's Earth, Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir. The grapes for this wine comes from Sanford & Benedict, Fiddlestix and Clos Pepe Vineyards.

Medium dark red, cloudy color in the glass. On the nose red cherries and not overly ripe, dark fruit, with a hint of vanilla. On the palate the red cherry follows through with blue plum and berries. Medium acidity and some what firm tannins, in play with the fruit, gives this wine a long savory finish.
We really enjoyed this wine, but I would give it some time in the bottle, if even just 6 months or so, to settle down a little bit, and I think it will show even better.
Find it at Wine-Searcher.com from $29.99.

Vote for my blog here and help me reach top 10 on The Blog Top
I am now in top 11!

Citronee Bistro and Wine Bar

June, me and Robyn in Nevada City

Myself and two friends spent the whole day, Monday, up in Nevada City, celebrating a birthday. We started of with a pedicure, went on to lunch, and after that, spent the afternoon shopping and wine tasting. For dinner we went to Citronee Bistro and Wine Bar. Never having been to Nevada City before I had done some previous research online to check out some good places, and this one was on the top of my list. We started of with a wine tasting paired with cheese by the Chef Robert Perez, in the Wine Bar. After taking a look at the menu we decided to stay for dinner for sure.
We started of by sharing the Scottish Salmon (cured lox style) on Belgian Endive and Baby Greens with a delicious Citrusy Vinaigrette. Very fresh and a great start to the meal. The acidity in the citrusy vinaigrette cut perfectly through the fatty salmon.
For entre I had the "Today's Special", Braised Short Ribs with Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes and a Red Wine Reduction. The wonderfully tender, melt-in-your-mouth, short ribs had been braised for 5 1/2 hours and they were almost up there with the ones from David Burke and Donatella in New York. Very intense in flavor and succulent. The mild cream potatoes and the intense reduction was the perfect match.
For dessert we tried the Creme Brulee, a Snicker Doodle and Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream, and of course, for me, The Valrhona Chocolate Mousse with Fresh Berries. All of them delicious!

We had the wine steward pair each of our courses with wine, and he did a very good job. The over all service was very attentive and timely without beeing smoothering, and we had the pleasure of having the chef visit us at our table to see how our meal turned out. Our answer was excellent. And that was an honest one...

If you're ever in Nevada City, do not miss this excellent restaurant. I can't wait to bring my husband. He is after all the "Short Rib Connoisseur" in our family...

Vote for my blog here and help me reach top 10 on The Blog Top
I am now in top 11!

Tapiz 2006 Mendoza Argentina Chardonnay

Thought I would try this Chardonnay from Mendoza when I found it one the 5 cent sale at BevMo (buy on bottle for full price and get the second for 5 cents).
This wine has a medium light, clear, straw color in the glass. On the nose, creamy, ripe, green apple with lemony citrus and a hint of buttery oak. On the palate the apple is more of the tart character with citrus and round, creamy mouth feel and medium acidity.
This wine was fermented in new French oak for 8 months and you can certainly detect it both in the nose and on the palate. It is however still a relatively refreshing chardonnay with not to heavy creaminess.
I got his at BevMo for $ 14.99, with bottle number two for only 5 cents, so that means that I only paid $7 per bottle. This wine is by no means going to "break any scoring records" but it is a solid, nice chardonnay for a good price. This is a wine that will most likely please the crowd considering the realtively low price.

Vote for my blog here and help me reach top 10 on The Blog Top
I am now in top 11!