December 11th, 2009
You are meeting friends for dinner and are the first to arrive. You order a glass of Cabernet. Something red and wet arrives and you sip as you wait. Your friends arrive and together you choose a bottle of wine that will go with the food and happens to be a favorite of yours that you would like to share. So what is the difference between your glass pour and your bottle selection? Experience.
The glass pour fills the same place in your time and attention that a glass of water or cocktail would. A beverage to prelude something better. But what makes the bottle special and the glass pour pedestrian is not the liquid itself, but what the bottle represents. A bottle is shared. A bottle can be discussed like the latest film. Everyone’s impressions are different and interesting. The further discussion of how the food pairs with the wine links the meal as a holistic experience. The next day you remember how nice dinner was, the food, friends and of course the wine.
A bottle is the perfect amount to share. Depending on how you pour, a bottle can be shared between two to five people, connecting everyone to the same pleasurable experience. Think about dinner at home. Would you serve different wines to each person or do you open a bottle and share it? It is the connective experience of a bottle that makes it superior to other beverages. The feeling it creates beyond flavor and alcohol.
That being said, a bottle of wine makes a great gift. It is both tangible and intangible. You can hold it, but only by consuming it do you release the producer’s intent, and then it is gone. You are giving an experience which is more environmentally friendly than buying that unwanted turtleneck at Wal-Mart that came fresh from China, packed and re-packed, then wrapped in paper and now sitting on the bottom of your drawer, waiting until you can safely throw it out without the giver noticing. Yes, please give me wine, and I will share it with you.
Happy Holidays!
Tags: bottle, bottle of wine, bottle or glass, holiday wine, sharing wine, wine, wine bottle gift, wine for christmas, wine gift
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September 11th, 2009
Is it tedious that my favorite cocktail is made with wine? Not from a chardonnay or merlot but a cranberry wine from Washington. I have always thought that the traditional version of a cosmopolitan was just a mixed drink served up and not a true martini that deserves a stem. But replace the cranberry juice, usually a sugary Kool-Aid at a bar, with Pasek Cellars Cranberry wine and you have a drink worth savoring. A Cosmo with a kick. Below is my recipe for what I like to refer to as the…
Northwest Cosmopolitan
One and half parts vodka (give or take a part)
One part triple sec, Cointreau or Grand Marnier
Three parts Pasek Cellars Cranberry wine
Splash of fresh lime simple syrup
Pour the above ingredients in a pint full of ice, shake and strain into martini stem
Garnish with a floating lime wheel and skewered cranberry
I have also used their pineapple wine in a Pina Colada recipe and a splash of their raspberry dessert wine in a dry, sparkling wine for a Northwest Kir Royal. I have not yet tried their passion fruit or guava wines but I bet they could enhance a Mai Tai or another tropical drink. Of course this is just one more example of the versatility of wine. From Vinho Verde to Pedro Ximenez, there is a wine for all occasions.
Tags: cosmo, cosmo recipe, cosmopolitan, cosmopolitan recipe, cranberry wine, kir royal, Pasek Cellars, pasek cranberry wine, pina colada recipe, pineapple wine, versatility of wine
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August 13th, 2009
How do you pick wine for someone you don’t know? My Aunt was to attend a wedding where the happy couple requested the guests give wine as gifts rather than toasters. Sounds like my kind of celebration. But it can be a daunting task to pick wine for another’s consumption. I was asked my opinion and jumped online to see what wine stores in their area carried.
After a quick perusal, I decided that although one really nice bottle would be a great gift, a group of wines would be more fun and put together a half case for the bride and groom.
The picks begin with a Gruner Veltliner, the fashionable white from Austria. This wine is refreshing, dry and spicy with substance. Drink this with grilled fish and vegetables or other summer foods.
Next is an Alsatian Pinot Blanc, one of my favorites. I drink Pinot Blanc where others would drink Chardonnay. Actually Pinot Blanc can look and act quite a bit like Chardonnay but I find the producers in Alsace don’t put as many expectations or heavy-handed winemaking techniques onto the Pinot Blanc.
Then there is a Beaujolais Villages. This light, fruity red pairs great with grilled salmon, chicken and pasta. Low in tannin, it can be drunk on its own in the backyard. Try chilling it a few degrees before serving.
From Spain I chose a seductive little Garnacha. Fabulous red fruit and easy body, this wine drinks well with just about anything but if you are having BBQ then really this would be the wine to open.
The last red is a Petite Sirah from California. Rich, dark and a bit heady this wine should be opened on a cooler, rainy night. Sip it by the fireplace with a strong cheese, maybe an Oregon blue. Hmm…I am getting hungry.
Last there is a 10 Year Tawny Port. Any good meal can be finished with a few ounces of this rich juice. I would strongly suggest trying it with crème brulee. It turns to a warm caramel in your mouth.
I hope the newlyweds enjoy the wine. I know this half case could get me by for a happy week of meals. Or at least a few days…
Congratulations John and Carrie!
Tags: 10 year tawny port, beaujolais villages, food and wine, garnacha, gruner veltliner, petite sirah, pinot blanc, wedding wine
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July 29th, 2009
It is late July and the days are heating up. When I am selecting wine for the week I think about this heat and the type of food I will be eating. As much as I like a bold, red wine with my grilled steak it is simply too hot out. In fact, I may skip the steak. Grilled vegetables, seafood and salads are more likely to be on the menu. As for the wine, the focus is refreshment.
Of course, my predilection for Rose is well established. This is my go-to wine all summer. A dry, cool pink can pair well with picnic foods, BBQ or just hanging in the backyard. I also like a Vinho Verde, the quick fermented white from Portugal. Actually, it can be made red and I recently had a Rose Vinho Verde. It was good.
Sauvignon Blanc can also refresh. Try one from New Zealand or Chile if you like the intense grapefruit and grassy aromas. White Bordeaux, usually a Sauvignon Blanc blended with a little Semillon, is a little tamer but easier to drink in quantity. Of course, for a few more dollars a Sancerre can offer an elegant, serious Sauvignon Blanc.
I tend to stay away from Chardonnay in the summer. Chablis or unoaked chards are great to cool down with but new world oak bombs are too much for the palate in the heat. The same wine that I enjoy in the fall with Dungeness crab or chicken with buerre blanc will taste like licking a barrel in the summer.
Trendy white wines like Albarino or Gruner Veltliner are fun and thirst quenching. Affordable and found in better grocery stores these wines can be a distraction from the ubiquitous sun. If you like Riesling then try one from Alsace or Germany. The aromatics on new world Riesling are enticing but the bracing acidity in the old world wines can awaken the senses.
Northern Italy has one of my favorite whites, Gavi. Made from the Cortese grape, this wine is simply delicious and pairs well with grilled prawns and other seafood.
So, the sun is climbing higher as is the temperature but not in my refrigerator where a bottle of Torrontes from Argentina awaits. This will go with crab cakes and basil cream. What are you doing for lunch?
Tags: argentina wine, cortese, crab cakes, gavi, new zealand wine, riesling, rose wine, sauvignon blanc, summer wine, torrontes, white bordeaux
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February 27th, 2009
A friend of mine has taken to drinking the same wine every night. At first he drank a bottle of this simple Pinot Grigio after work and found it refreshing, delightful. The next night he looked forward to this same experience but found that the exact same wine tasted completely different. Why?
A while ago I had the same experience. I had picked up a couple of live crab and wanted a nice white to compliment. I found an Orvieto that fit my budget as I already spent $25 on the crab. The wine was crisp, mineral and clean next to the Dungeness and butter. It was a heavenly match because the difference of acid and fat danced back and forth, allowing all the individual tastes to be equally enjoyed.
I went back the next day and bought another bottle, this time to go with a salmon piccata I was craving. The capers, butter, lemon and white wine with the fish was divine and the Orvieto was great with it but tasted completely different than the night before. The wine tasted more like an echo of the piccata flavors rather than the contrast I enjoyed with the buttery crab. Both pairings worked and were quite enjoyable.
It is easy to expect the same wine to taste the same way, like scotch or beer. But because it is so engaged with the rest of your palate, anything you eat or drink will affect the overall taste. Even the temperature outside can affect how appealing the wine may be. I start enjoying rosés in June and can’t touch a drop of it after August. When it is hot out then rosé tastes both refreshing and full. In January rosé tastes sharp and watery. And try drinking a Shiraz in July. I cannot fathom drinking a big, full-bodied red on the porch when it is 80 degrees.
So my friend continues to drink his Pinot Grigio, looking for that first magical refreshment. I know that after a hard day of work a white wine can be quite welcome to a thirsty palate. But I have to say that you cannot expect a wine to perform the same at every occasion. Wine is more like a sensitive artist than a trained dog. Good thing there are so many wines out there to pair with dinner and company. I mean, if you had to choose one wine to drink for the rest of you life what would it be? And would you eat the same food with it as well? To me this seems like a punishment handed down by Zeus, or Dante. At some level of Hell or Purgatory you are forced to drink the same wine for all eternity. Perhaps this punishment is saved for people who collect wine and don’t drink it, or those who jaywalk.
Tags: crab, Food and wine pairing, orvieto, piccata, pinot grigio, white wine, wine
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January 30th, 2009
It isn’t the vintage, the winemaker,
or the Terroir that I seek.
It’s the dark cherry, black currant,
herbs and tea.
It’s dreary outside
and the roof echoes jazz taps and rhythms of rain.
I’ll open a Napa or Coonawarra, and with some bread and bleu,
let the windows cry
and we can celebrate.
Tags: Cabernet, poetry, rain, terrior, wine, wine poetry
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January 29th, 2009
I, like many of you, am finding that my budget for wine consumption is shrinking while the price of wine is rising. The cost of imported wine, especially wine from Europe, has risen each year since the inception of the Euro. The American dollar is just not as strong and blue chip wines like Bordeaux first growths are being bought up by new money in Asia. What’s a low-budget sommelier to do?
The first thing of course is to drink less. I will not sacrifice quality for quantity. Given the choice of bad wine or no wine I will go without. That said, here are some suggestions for drinking wine that costs less, not tastes like it costs less.
If you enjoy big, fruity wines from California, Australia or other new world producers then buying a good bottle for $10 or less can be tricky. Australia is known for fabulous Shiraz and Cabernet but also for bulk bottles, and boxes, of anonymous juice and oak chips. Be sure to buy from a reputable producer and stay away from the end-caps at grocery stores with bright bottles picturing neon animals. If the same producer makes six or more different varietals all for the same price you can be sure none of them are memorable. A good alternative would be a nice Malbec from Argentina. You can often find a South American Malbec in the $9-$12 range that is quite good. Malbec is originally from Bordeaux but produces a robust and fruity wine in the Mendoza region.
If you are looking for a wine that is lighter-bodied or with more finesse, try a Beaujolais over a Pinot Noir. Ever since the movie, Sideways, the price of Pinot Noir has gone through the roof and every producer that can make some is. This of course leads to a market full of expensive and mediocre Pinot. The Gamay grape in southern Burgundy is not as earthy or nervy as a good Pinot Noir but offers a lighter-bodied quaff that can satisfy a picky and thirsty palate. Also, some of the best producers offer a Beaujolais Village for less than $15!
If you are looking for a white wine then you can do even better. If you like Champagne, try Cava, Spain’s sparkler. Good bottles can sell for as little as $8 and in the $15 range you get a great product. Although not the same as Champagne, it offers all the versatility as well as secondary fermentation in the bottle. It even comes in pink.
For still whites, try varietals other than Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio. In the value market these grapes are sold on notoriety and not always on quality. Pinot Blanc is a great alternative to Chardonnay. It can be round and soft or crisp like Chardonnay from different producers and regions. If you like New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, then try one from Chile. I have found similar notes of grass and citrus for half the price. Chenin Blanc is a welcome alternative to Pinot Grigio. It is aromatic with peach and white floral and can be made dry or sweet. This is one of my patio favorites.
The world of wine is vast and there are hundreds of decent, inexpensive bottles. Just be a little adventurous with your low end quaffs, conservative with your high end wines and maybe have a beer now and again.
Salud!
Tags: budget wine, Cabernet, chardonnay, cheap wine, good wine, inexpensive wine, pinot grigio, sauvignon blanc, shiraz, sommelier, wine
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October 23rd, 2008
Last night, October 22, I presented a Portugal Wine Dinner at Dockside Bistro in Olympia. The food and wine were wonderful, as was the company.
Our first course was olive oil-poached geoduck and pear served with a Vinho Verde. The pairing was phenomenal. The acidity of the wine really showcased the freshness and delicate preparation of the geoduck.
The next course was octopus and black eye pea salad. This was served with Alandra, a white blend of Manteudo and Diagalves, both indigenous Portuguese grapes. There was an earthiness to the salad and subtleness to the grilled octopus. The wine itself was both weighty and refreshing. White floral and pear on the nose with a solid mouth feel, yet no oak.
After our mojito sorbet we had a trio entrée of clams and Chorizo, slow-cooked pork with marinated vegetables and tripe. This was served with a 2003 Esporao, Touriga Nacional. The food was a great background of flavors and substance for the masculine darkness of the wine. A grape used predominantly in the production of port, Touriga Nacional can be quite tannic. This wine indeed was throwing off quite a bit of sediment. The nose was both black cherry and spice.
Our grand finale was a dessert trio served with a flight of ports. The wine included a white port, a 10 year tawny and an LBV. The pairing was great but I especially enjoyed the tawny and the flan together. They tasting like melted caramel and warm honey.
Not too bad for a Wednesday.
Tags: 10 year tawny, alandra, alicia, Dockside Bistro, esporao, LBV, Olympia, port, portugal wine, portuguese wine, touriga nacional, wine, wine dinner
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October 20th, 2008
I don’t often find wine and food pairings that surprise me. At least not like this one. I had a sample bottle of 2007 New Gewurtz from Alexander Valley Vineyards that was half full and I put in the fridge hoping for a chance to try it again. My first taste was great. Light, fruity but not tiring. Great, fresh acid really balanced out the spicy nose and hint of sweetness.
But then I opened it with my pancakes and sausage the next morning. Wow. It made cloves and honey in my mouth. It had the acidity that champagne would have had with my breakfast but it brought so much more. Levels of spice and sugar between the syrup and the Gewurtz actually danced on my tongue. It was literally sensational.
New Gewurtz is the first wine AVV bottles each vintage. It is produced with organically grown Gewurztraminer grapes and features frolicking grape pickers on the label. The best part is that it retails for $9. Again, a great match for pancakes. I wonder if they have a corkage fee at IHOP?
Tags: Alexander Valley Vineyards, alicia, AVV, Food and wine pairing, New Gewurtz, Pancakes, wine
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October 13th, 2008
Last night, October 12, 2008, I had the honor of speaking to the Olympia Wine League at Water Street Cafe and Bar. I presented a line up of seven blind wines with a discussion format. I had a great time and enjoyed everyone in the group. I just wanted to take a moment and talk about this little-known wine league.
The Olympia Wine League, or OWL, was established in 1972 and is the oldest wine league in WA state. The group meets about six or seven times a year and usually features a speaker or winemaker. The events always include wine tasting and some members have been attending for many years.
My first encounter with OWL was about seven years ago when they were still meeting at the since then burned down Genoa’s restaurant. I have also been able to participate now and then with some events including a great trip to Woodinville. This past Sunday was a lot of fun and I look forward to more events with OWL.
For more information on the league see olympiawineleague.com.
Tags: alicia, Olympia, olympia wine league, OWL, water street cafe, wine
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