By demand, an update to the wine blog. First update in a year!! So I usually write about "new world" wines: California, Australia, Spain - basically anything is considered new world except for France, Italy and some German whites. Why? Well the biggest reason is new world wines typically have the better values and I'm all about finding cheap wines that taste great. HOWEVER, I do also enjoy splurging once in a while with Bordeaux and Barolo (the 2 kings of red wine). Hence the update below of two tasting parties we hosted in the last couple of months. The first 4 pics below just occurred this past weekend and was a tasting of 3 Italian wines: a white Pinot Grigio, a Cabernet-Sangiovese blend and the king of them all a red Barolo. Barolo is never cheap, but when you taste a good one, you'll know why. Awesome. It is made from the Nebbiolo grape and typically needs about 5 years from harvest to open up to be drinkable (in fact I believe it is Italian law that Barolo's can't even be exported unless it's 5 years past it's harvest date - the vintage on the label). The one listed here is a 2003 Boroli. I poured it from the bottle into a decanter to allow oxygen to quickly aerate the wine. This softens the tannins and oh man does it work! This was served with our famous seared beef, chicken with grilled vegetables. Awesome. PS - the Pinot Grigio we started with was served with some artisanal cheeses and an Italian loaf. The white listed below was pretty simple, but a refreshing "Appetizer" wine to prepare us for the heavier, complex Barolo.




The 2 pictures below are from a few months ago and was a very nice 4 bottle Bordeaux tasting. Without getting too geeky, these 4 bottles represent different regions in Bordeaux, France. Unlike the Barolo above which is made from a single grape (Nebiolo), Bordeaux is always blended from 5 different grapes in differing ratios: Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. The Cab Sauv gives Bordeaux it's "muscle", the Merlot gives it it's softness and fruitiness the others are typically used for additional complexity and texture. Not cheap here - each of the below bottles cost at least $30 - some approaching $45. Wow. But if you're going to drink lots of wine, it's nice to know what exists at the upper end of the spectrum. Because this was so long ago, I forget what exactly we served with it, but if memory does serve I believe it was a grilled rack of lamb with roasted potatoes. And in both tastings, what makes it most enjoyable is having good friends over to help get through the bottles.




As you can tell, when we host wine parties, it's always with grilled food. Why is that? I guess it takes me back to my MSU days with brats and burgers and a tiny Hibachi and a keg of Busch. I guess this is the adult version of that!

Happy drinking!

New recommendation

Australia is beating California in cheap, extremely high quality wines. Get to the wine store tomorrow and find these. Mollydooker label, name The Boxer, varietal Shiraz, vintage 2006. About $20. Awesome. Tightly knit, well balanced, extremely complex flavors. May be tough to find though, they're selling these out like crazy. If you find one sitting on a shelf, purchase it. This is a screw top closure which most people associate with Boone's Farm. Little do most people know, screw tops are considered superior to both synthetic and natural cork as it prevents early oxidation and a "disease" called TCA which is only given out by natural cork (not harmful but tastes and smells horrible). Even French Bordeaux wines are slowly beginning to go to screw top closures.

The other one shown here, you will almost undoubtedly find. Yellow Tail - The Reserve. Not the regular Yellow Tail. Either 2005 or 2006 vintage, again Shiraz. Over the past 3 or so years I've tasted upwards of 250 different wines, and this is by far the most aromatic wine I've had in that time. Again, very tight and balanced with a great finish and after taste. Best part - should only cost you about $9 - $10. Both of these wines are rated 90 or above.

PS - US restaurants and most consumers are drinking red wine way too warm. This brings out the alcohol too much and overpowers the fruit making it seem unbalanced, maybe even spoiled. Red wine should be served between 55 and 60 degrees. I've been to a couple of wine tastings where the exact same wine was served at two different temperatures and the tasters were asked to vote which wine was better. Over 95% invariably picked the lower temp wine (not knowing both tastes were the exact same wine). Suggestion - put the bottle in the fridge for about 30-45 minutes before opening. Open the bottle and let aerate for about 15 minutes then pour. At a restaurant, ask the waiter to bring an ice bucket to drop your bottle into for a few minutes. The waiter will roll his eyes thinking you're an idiot, but we'll all secretly know the truth.

Sidebar - while most restaurants serve red too warm, I will go on a limb and say white wines are ALWAYS served way, way, way too cold. Too cold inhibits every thing in the wine and it sometimes feels like you're drinking pure ice. Biggest secret of all - red and white should be served just a few degrees apart from each other.

All that said - if you like red wine warm and white wine with ice...well then that's the best way to have it and to hell with what I or anybody else says right?

Happy drinking!

Wine "life"

For lack of a better title, and no real cohesive subject to these pics, I'm calling it wine life. Just a few miscellaneous pictures of my latest wine find (it happens to be from the same winery that won the inaugural Rick Francisco Wine of the Year 2006!). For 2007, this RN Estate Syrah Mourvedre is currently ranked 2nd place for 2007 (but it's only July). My number 1 choice will be revealed in January (hold your breath!). Our friend Jianping is staying with us again as she completes her new job orientation here in San Jose (Silicon Valley headquartered but she's staying in Orlando) and another pic of Pam's recent beef creation we ate al fresco (again) a few days ago with a bottle of Thomas Fogarty. Until next time, Salud!

Grilled beef, deep fried oysters, roasted vegetables, corn on the cob and Skyline Red from Thomas Fogarty.
Jianping enjoying wine country.
Zinfandel grapes hanging from the vine. Harvest is in 2 months.
From the makers of the wine of the year 2006!

Drinking with family

Last Sunday was Sean, Gerry and Deb's last night of vacation here in Northern California. What is it about the last few hours of family time that make it the most memorable? The four of us, along with a longtime friend of the family, Edwin went wine drinking crazy in my backyard. We had the tiki torches lit, James Gang and Wings on the iPod, 70 degree weather even at 11PM and good laughs and stories. And of course, raiding my cellar. These pics show the 6 bottles we had consumed to that point - after the picture taking, 2 more were opened and emptied for a total of 8 bottles consumed (OK so maybe 3 were half full from the previous days), but it still felt like college days all over again. This time, however, the company was far better, the conversation much more intelligent and there was not a keg of Busch anywhere around.

Sean, Gerry, Deb - we had a great time during your visit! I know we're several thousand miles away, but don't be strangers. This goes for all family!!!

Another wine country

My nephew, Sean arrived at noon today from Chicago which completes the family unit scheduled to visit with us this week. I picked him up from SJC at noon, and pretty much immediately took the family out for a wine tasting tour. As I may have mentioned before, almost every region in California is "wine country" (which I have no problem with!), so we set out for the one and only winery I know in the Santa Cruz Mountains - Pichetti Winery. 2 hours and 2 wineries later, we had purchased a total of 15 bottles, signed up for 2 wine clubs, learned the legal laws of shipping to Michigan and Illinois, and basically got drunk all within 15 miles of my home!!! Who knew we would be able to sample some world class Pinot's, Merlots, Chardonnay's and driven up to about 5000 feet elevation within 15 miles of my house. I even learend some new geography today. If I've never said it before (and I know I have); I love California!!!! Kristen, Kelly, Bit and Ronnie - get your butts out here and let's do some wine drinking!!!!

Pichetti Winery - Santa Cruz Mountains

Cooper Garrod Winery - Santa Cruz Mountains

Savannah - Chanelle Winery - Santa Cruz Mountains

All 3 wineries less than 15 miles from home!!

Our favorite spots in Norcal

So, as I've seen on the Weather Channel (exactly where it belongs) mother nature has not been good to the midwest or northeast over the last week or so. As we develop spring fever and get ready to shop for central air conditioning again, family and friends are getting the winter coats, gloves and scarves back out. Again - that weather belongs on the weather channel as far as I'm concerned.

Looking for a nice vacation? Check out some of our favorite spots in NorCal. Have lunch or dinner at a top floor restaurant with a great view of San Francisco. Drive an hour into Napa and live Tuscan style at Villagio for a weekend (with a wine happy hour - and we're not talking low end, or even medium level wines). Have dinner at the Bistro Jeanty or Bouchon. Excellent mussels, steaks, sea bass, and of course a very, very impressive wine list. Prepare to splurge though (why not - everyone works their butt off 50+ hours a week only to go home to cut grass, shovel snow, parent an infant, put in new tiling, do dishes, make dinner etc, etc). Spend the couple hundred once a year or so and treat yourselves.

Stop by and visit Jeremy and the family. Drink from my own personal cellar (I save good bottlings just for that occasion - Sean, Gerry and Deb - prepare for a high end 5 wine tasting in a few weeks including a 1996 Zin I've been saving). Have a cookout - I love grilling.

Let us know. We love family and friends as guests!










http://www.villagio.com/
http://www.frenchlaundry.com/bouchon/bouchon.htm

Top 3 Wines

And now the moment 2 of you have been waiting for (imagine a drum roll), the 3 top wines of the year (tasted in 2006)!!!

1. RN Estate, 2004 Westside Cuvee - boutique winery in Paso Robles on the central coast. Bordeaux style blend made of Cab. Sauvignon, Cab. Franc, Malbec and Syrah. Firm tannins and well balanced. Expensive at about $35 / bottle. Will you find this in the store? Doubt it. How did I find it? I run around in wine circles now
:-). www.rnestate.com

2. St Francis, 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon. Wrote about this before. Will not be able to find this one anymore as the 2002 vintage is probably sold out. Tried the 2003 which just got released which you will find, and not quite as good but not bad at all.

3. Peachy Canyon, 2004 Zinfandel. Also from Paso Robles. Full body with complex flavors. Nice spice at the front with velvet tannins. Excellent balance. Paired perfectly with Pam's creation of pasta and a light cream sauce of chardonnay and olive oil with sausage and shrimp.

Enjoy!