Italian Penicillin

It’s Friday night. A little light Jazz is playing in the background. Time to decompress. Did you have a hard week at the salt mines, dear wine friends? I know you did. So did I. Come closer. Closer. Not too close! Yeah, that’s it. Let’s take a little trip to a Mediterranean island together.

To wash the week way, and to work on an attitude adjustment, let’s take a mental vacation to Sardinia, Italy. Can a mini-vacation be found in an alluring bottle of Cannonau di Sardegna? I’m here to tell you that it can. This wonderful, old world wine is the cure for the working persons’ blues. Think of it as Italian Penicillin.

This mini-vacation is incredibly inexpensive at just $13.00 a bottle. That cute little Travelocity gnome, and you have to admit that he’s pretty damn cute, could never offer you this kind of deal. Not convinced? Wait until I describe this wine to you.

There’s a mouthful of berries in every marvelous sip (or gulp if you’ve had a week like me), of this Italian wine from the island of Sardinia. It’s like what summer raspberries feel like in your mouth. You know how raspberries feel in your mouth, right? They have that amazing furry feeling on your tongue while bursting with refreshing berry goodness. The color is light purple the way I imagine happy, wild flowers must look on this island off the west coast of Italy. It smells like berries and picnic baskets filled with luscious, purple grapes and some hard cheese, and perhaps some olives and crackers as well. This medium bodied wine has nice acid that pairs well with red meat or pasta dishes.

This wine, at 13 measly Obama-bucks, is a great way to start the weekend. Have you put the long, hard week behind you yet? I have.


The Stats:

What: Dry red - Cannonau
Producer: Sella & Mosca
Vintage: Riserva 2005
Varietal: Cannonau
Alcohol by volume: 13.5%
Location: Sardinia, Italy
Cost: $13.00
Location purchased: Esquin Wine Merchants, http://www.esquin.com/, Seattle, WA

Here’s Blood in Your Eye

I received an email from a friend that lives (however temporarily) in China last night. He confessed that he is currently enjoying an over oaked Chardonnay binge. I say – enjoy it while it lasts! Why do I say that? Because as stated in a previous post: been there, done that. It was a long, shallow love affair. It left me satisfied for a while, or so I thought. I had no clue. That’s right. I said it. The Wine Muse was clueless!

I have awakened. Like the young, vividly blue-eyed man in Dune who suffered many visions and dragged the storyline out so the movie had to be on two DVDs, the awakener has awakened. Rent the movie if you don’t understand what I’m talking about then come back and we’ll talk.

Anywho, let me just say that I understand your fascination with over oaked Chards, my tall friend in a land of height-challenged peoples. I drank Chards like they were going out of style. I drank Chards like the world was ending next week. I drank Chards like I didn’t know red wine existed. I even drank Chards like I had never seen “An Interview with a Vampire.” Then one fateful night in a swanky lodge in Woodinville, WA, the man that I was dating at the time brought something very special and different to my attention.

There I was with this wonderful, sexy, and very smart man in wine country. The Napa of the Northwest. We were getting ready to enjoy a glass of wine before dinner. I was about to perform my usual, albeit tired, ritual and drink yet another over oaked Chardonnay. As I was about to raise the glass to my lips, inhale the over-powering scent of oak, never really smelling the grape that was underneath the disguise of too much time spent in new French oak and drink the over-powering taste of oak, or vanilla, or coconut, or whatever was the “hook” in that particular Chardonnay, this amazing man said to me, “Here. Look. This is a Zinfandel. Look at this. It looks like blood.”

I looked at the glass filled with Zinfandel. I smelled it. It smelled delicious and powerful. He was right. It did look like blood. It was downright sexy. And the wine tasted wonderful, and the tears (also known as legs) on the glass were thick and juicy, and finally — it looked like sex in that glass. How did I not notice this before?

That man. His observation. That fateful night and that glass of Zinfandel. That moment in time — it changed my life forever. Ever since that fateful evening, gazing into that man’s eyes, gaping down at the wine in that glass that looked very much like blood, provided an incredible epiphany and life has not been the same. It’s been oh so much better.

I raise my glass of inspiration tonight – filled with a delicious, rich, earthy, smoky Syrah produced by the Gordon Brothers Cellars from the Napa of the Northwest — to the man that changed my life forever. Salud!

The Stats:

What: Dry red – Syrah
Producer: Gordon Brother Cellars
Vintage: 2005
Varietal: Syrah 100%
Alcohol by volume: 13.7%
Location: Columbia Valley, WA
Cost: $20.00

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Gifts from the Earth

Last night I poured wine at an annual fundraiser for South Seattle Community College where I attend wine classes. The event was called Gifts from the Earth and the purpose was to raise funds for the Culinary Arts, Wine Studies, and Hospitality programs at the college. The evening consisted of a silent wine auction, dinner, and then a live auction. The tickets went for $175 each. There were 15 chefs from restaurants around Seattle making dinner for the ticket holders and wine from 30 different wineries to pair with the foods. Fortunately for us, the winery folks didn’t attend so the lucky ones (me, for one) were the sommeliers for the evening.

We were told that each sommelier would pour wine for two tables and we’d each have a table captain to let us know when to pour the appropriate wine prior to each course. Emphasis on prior to the course being served. We were also told that we were to stay in the wine room unless we were pouring wine or clearing wine glasses. Easy enough! I was given a packet of information to familiarize myself with the menu and wines for my two tables. I immediately set to work memorizing the wines and tasting notes for each.

When it was time to open the wines it was also my task to taste each one to make sure none were corked or had some other defect. I was born to do this job!! I whipped out my trusty cork screw I had tucked away in my left sock. No pockets so what’s a girl to do? I opened three bottles of the Fidelitas Semillon. The first cork immediately broke. Damn! I managed to get the rest of the cork out after it broke a couple more times. Must’ve been a bad cork or something. I started on the second bottle and the cork broke. What the frack??! Did I suddenly become retarded? Moving onto the third bottle of Semillon. The cork came out of that one in one piece. Phew. Redeemed. Then I moved onto the first batch of red wines. I think I broke three corks out of about six or seven bottles when I started wishing for my “Rabbit.” The Rabbit is a fancier cork screw and makes you look unprofessional but at least it rarely breaks corks. Continuing onto the last three bottles of red wine, the Chilean wine, the corks were “composite” corks that literally fell apart when I tried to pry those out of the bottles. Can we please just all get over the stigma that comes from using screw caps?? Okay. I finally got over destroying corks, tasted all of the opened wines that I would be pouring, and waited for the signal from my table captain to start pouring wine.

I got the signal from my table captain to begin pouring the first wine, the Semillon. Chef Sean Rogers from the Broadmoor Golf Club cooked dinner for my two tables and for the first course he chose butter poached Sturgeon on a warm wild mushroom salad with organic baby arugula. As I walked around my second table to pour the Semillon, one of the women asked me if I had memorized the tasting notes for all of the wines and I said yes. Then I showed her and her date that I had written the tasting notes on the back of my left hand, just in case I forget. Her date laughed and said, “Oh my God! You did write them on your hand. I love you!” I love you too fundraiser attendee, I love you too.

Things were going along swimmingly so far. The next course at my table would be braised oxtail ravioli over saffron pasta, dino kale, salsify chips with natural jus. Reggie and Lenny (Reggie is the wine program coordinator and Lenny is one of the food and wine pairing instructors and he’s a chef) decided that the Nota Bene Cellars Miscela, a red blend (see stats at the end of this post), that was chosen to pair with the ravioli didn’t really pair well so we’d give them red and white with this course. My table captain would follow behind me and pour a Chandler Reach Viognier as this was decided at the last minute this would be a better match. Everyone loved the Viognier.

Next course was crisp sweet breads prepared with mustard, house cured bacon, shallot jus and braised endive and the wine I was to pour was the Nota Bene Cellars Kestrel View Estates Vineyard red. I went back out to check on my tables to see if anyone needed more wine and to see how things were progressing. I leaned over to ask one of my guests how he was doing and he pointed to his sweet breads, which were nearly gone, and said, “Weren’t we supposed to get the next wine with this?” I apologized profusely and begged forgiveness, then I blamed it on my table captain. Oh table captain? Yoo-hoo! Where did you go? I rushed back to the wine room and grabbed the appropriate wine and there was my table captain. I snarled at her that the sweet breads had already been served and she didn’t tell me. I quickly went around both of my tables and poured the wine trying to be as invisible as possible. No one seemed too upset.

Everyone got a dollop of fennel sorbet for a palate cleanser. They were all very happy and delighted at such a combination.

The next course was pancetta larded quail breast with lamb crepinette, parsnips, quince vanilla jus, and crisp asparagus. I would pour the final wine, the Chilean cabernet blend. Again, I went out to clear wine glasses and see if everyone was doing okay. Again, the quail breast course had been served and no signal from my table captain beforehand. Can someone please fire my table captain??!!! Okay, we were volunteers but sheesh! Again, after rushing back to the wine room, I snarled at my table captain that I didn’t know that the next course had already been served and handed her one of the bottles and told her to serve the second table while I served the first table. I tried again to look as small and invisible as possible. I guess at that point in the evening everyone was drunk or had enough because no one yelled or got huffy about the faux pas.

For dessert, everyone got persimmon French toast on pine nut ice cream with seckle pear gastrique.

All evening I prayed that we’d get leftovers from the dinner. Nope. We were allowed to “sample” all of the wines while we were hanging out in the wine room.

It was a fun event, and it was for a good cause, but I learned an important lesson. If I work this event again next year, I won’t assume that my table captain is doing her job.

The Stats:

What: Dry white – Fidelitas Semillon
Producer: Fidelitas
Vintage: 2006
Varietal: Semillon
Alcohol by volume: 13.8%
Location: Columbia Valley, WA
Cost: $22.00

What: Dry red – Miscela
Producer: Nota Bene Cellars
Vintage: 2004
Varietal: Merlot 40%, Cabernet Sauvignon 36%, Cabernet Franc 24%
Alcohol by volume: 14.9%
Location: Producer is located in Seattle but the grapes come from five different vineyards in Washington State
Cost: $28.00

What: Dry red – Kestrel View Estates Vineyard
Producer: Nota Bene Cellars
Vintage: 2004
Varietals: Cabernet Sauvignon 52%, Merlot 24%, Cabernet Franc 12%, Malbec 12%
Alcohol by volume: 14.6%
Location: Producer is located in Seattle but the grapes come from Yakima Valley, WA
Cost: $28.00

What: Dry red – PengWine Humboldt Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon blend
Producer: PengWine in Seattle imports the wine from Chile and puts their label on the bottle
Vintage: 2003
Varietals: Cabernet Sauvignon 75%, Merlot 10%, Cabernet Franc 6%, Petit Verdot 5%, Malbec 4%
Alcohol by volume: 14.4%
Location: Maipo Valley (Central Valley), Chile
Cost: $25.00

Genie in a Bottle

The label is simple. Clean. White. Stark comes to mind. The name of the wine, The Chocolate Block, is stated clearly in dark chocolate-colored block lettering at the top of the nearly pristine label. What’s inside, though, is the complete opposite. There is a genie inside every bottle of The Chocolate Block waiting for the person lucky enough, or smart enough, to take one of these special bottles home. Once you’ve taken home The Chocolate Block, rub it, make a selfish wish that you’d never tell anyone, remove the cork, and release the genie that’s waiting inside to grant you that selfish wish.

Would you like to hear the story about how I discovered this wine? Of course you would!

I’d walked past this wine for months at Esquin, my favorite wine shop in Seattle. I’d see the label and stop and stare. What could possibly be in this bottle with the stark, white, label? About half Syrah, some Grenache Noir (you don’t see that grape in a red blend every day), Cinsault, Cabernet Sauvignon (very small amount – good!), and a splash of Viognier. Interesting blend. I’d look at the price of $37.00 and wonder if this South African red blend could really be worth the price of admission. It’s not that I’m a cheap-ass. I’m really not. I really don’t mind spending a few extra dollars once in a while for a special wine. I wasn’t ready to commit yet. I’d never talked to anyone who tried this one and the name, The Chocolate Block, implies that this wine might be too - something.

I was at a wine tasting last summer with friends and after tasting at a large wine shop, Pete’s, in Bellevue, we went to a very small wine shop, Seattle Wine Company (it’s in Bellevue so I haven’t figured out why it’s called Seattle Wine Company) for another tasting. What? Two wine tastings in a row? Hedonist! No, it was summer and the days are very long here in the summer. Shut up! Anywho, I was perusing the wine shop and came across The Chocolate Block and I performed the usual ritual. I stopped and stared at the label. I looked at the price. Hey! This one was $32.00! That’ll work. I took the plunge and bought a bottle. The clerk in the wine shop told me to open it at least an hour before drinking to let it breathe. I took the bottle home and tucked it away. I opened it a few months later at a red wine blending party I had at my place. I know. This one was already a red blend. I decided to open it to share it with friends thinking it would be too – something – for me to drink alone.

I opened that first bottle early in the day, around 2:30. The party wouldn’t start for another 4 hours. I let the genie out of the bottle. And the genie granted my wish. This wine was everything I had hoped for and much, much more. It was dark red - the color of blood. I stuck my nose inside the glass and inhaled deeply. It smelled delicious like cherries but it wasn't open enough yet to smell much. I tasted it and smelled it once an hour for hours. I was rewarded with aromas of dark chocolate covered cherries, leather, bacon fat, and flowers. The genie grew larger and more powerful as time went on. I tasted dark cherries, a hint of dark chocolate, spice, smoke, pepper. This genie wasn’t just another pretty face granting wishes willy-nilly. This genie was complex, muscular but balanced, juicy, beautiful blood-like in color, fragrant, earthy, and definitely worth the price of admission.

I opened my second bottle of The Chocolate Block a couple of nights ago and shared it with a wino friend. I invited my friend over for a dinner of lamb chops and saffron rice. The wine and the lamb chops were a wonderful match. The genie came out again and granted me my wish. Open a bottle of The Chocolate Block when you have plenty of time to enjoy the amazing transformation this wine goes through and be prepared to have the genie grant your most selfish wish.

The Stats:

What: Dry red wine – The Chocolate Block
Producer: Boekenhoutskloof
Vintage: 2006, 324 Barrels
Varietals: Syrah 55%, Grenache Noir 17%, Cinsault 15%, Cabernet Sauvignon 9%, Viognier 4%
Alcohol by volume: 14.5%
Location: Franschhoek, South Africa
Cost: $38.00
Location purchased: Esquin Wine Merchants, http://www.esquin.com/, Seattle, WA

By order of the President of the United States

The excitement has been building since November 4th - the day Barack Obama was elected the President of the You-Knighted States of America. The Messiah. “That One” as John McCain so ineloquently stated it on the telly during one of the Presidential debates.

Today was the day. It was finally time to knight the new and improved King of the US of A. Things will be different from now on, so sayeth our new Prez. And I had just one really big question on my mind. What to drink tonight to celebrate the historical occasion? Should I spend my hard earned Evil Empire bucks on expensive Champagne? No. Champagne isn’t really my thing. There are so many other delicious and inexpensive bottles of bubbles that can be had. Spanish Cavas are wonderful and quite a steal at about $7 or $8 a bottle. Then there are the Italian Proseccos that are screaming deals priced around $11 - $13 a bottle.

But our new Prez told us in his inauguration speech that we need to think about things differently now. We need to set aside our childish ways and step up. Be more responsible. I tried to read between the lines. Was this a secret code for stop spending money on needless electronic gadgets that I can’t afford? Was he trying to say that I should cook at home more often to save money? Should I cancel my gym membership and climb the stairs in my building to be more fiscally conservative?

I could do all those things and more! I’ll drink an inexpensive bottle of Malbec from Argentina to celebrate. Brilliant! Killing two birds with one stone feels great! So what if it wasn’t the deep red of a more full-bodied Washington Malbec, like the delicious and gorgeous version that William Church Winery is currently making? Who’s to know but me if it was more like the color of a medium-bodied red wine? And who cares if it tastes like fruit that I might’ve passed by in the marked down bin at the local grocer? I asked myself a serious question on this unusual and historic day, “Do I always need to say “WOW” when I drink a red wine?” Okay. That’s an unfair question for a self-proclaimed wino. The answer to that question would be yes!

But no. The real answer is - I can’t always afford to drink the good stuff. Sometimes it’s okay to drink a so-so bottle of Malbec from Argentina. Heck! It was $8! And it wasn’t that bad. It tasted like grapes. And it was a shade of red. I even caught a slight buzz from it.

Just following our new President’s suggestion. I feel more like a good American already.

The Stats:

What: Red wine – Arido Malbec
Producer: Bodega
Vintage: 2006
Varietal: Malbec
Alcohol by volume: 13.5%
Location: Mendoza, Argentina
Location purchased: Esquin Wine Merchants, Seattle, WA
Cost: $8.00

Washington State versus Sonoma

It was fight night at the monthly Seattle Wine Society meeting. Washington State wines had challenged Sonoma wines to a duel, a “taste off,” if you will. Who would come out the winner? California wines are the “darlings” in this country. They’ve been the champions of the “top-producer-of-wine” bout since the beginning of the wine industry in this country but Washington State has moved into second place. Washington is now a contender! Sonoma accepted Washington’s challenge and the “taste off” was on!

The monthly Wine Society meeting was hosted by David LeClaire, a local Seattle wine guru. David’s bio states he’s a certified sommelier from the Court of Master Sommeliers. He’s a freelance writer for Northwest Stir and Hospitality News magazines. He’s also an instructor at North Seattle Community College. What I’m saying here is this man knows what he’s talking about. Too bad it was nearly impossible to hear him because he wouldn’t use a microphone. Most of David’s education was lost in the air of the large room and drowned out from all of the members sitting at tables discussing the differences between the Washington Wines and the California wines and which wines went best with the food that was served. Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa! What can I say? I was at a table in the back of the room and so I gave up trying to hear David at the front of the room.

Enough whining! Get on with it! Okay, keep yer knickers on!

The first wines we tasted were Chardonnays. I have long since “gotten over” Chardonnay. I had a pretty long love affair with the over-oaked California style Chards. After tasting so many other whites that are WAY better than Chards, I’ve grown. Or at least I’ve moved on.

Just a quick question. Are you as tired of Chardonnay as I am? Craving something new and delicious? Some great alternatives to Chardonnay are: (the dry whites) dry Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc (try the ones from Marlborough, New Zealand and Sancerre, France), Vermentino (Italy), and Viognier (Rhone varietal but WA state is making some great ones), (the sweet whites) Gruner Veltliner (Austria), Marsanne (usually blended with Viognier and/or Roussanne), Muscat, Riesling, and Roussanne. There are many, many other great whites, but these are pretty easy to find and there are lots of producers of these varietals offered at all price ranges. Why not try something different than what you usually reach for at the grocery store?

Okay. Back to our regularly scheduled program.

The Chards were paired with crostini with smoked salmon and crème fraiche. I had to pass on the salmon as it was served raw, and as adventurous as I am with food and wine, raw fish makes me gag (that’s probably TMI for some of you), so I can’t comment on which wine was the better match. I can tell you which Chardonnay I preferred. The Sonoma Chard was overly-oaked (go figure!) and the flavor of the grape was lost. It was very oaky on the nose but it did look nice. Pale yellow in color and clear and bright. The Washington Chard was much less oaky. It was almost identical in color and clarity. It still had too much oak for me and although I wouldn’t walk across the street for a bottle of Chardonnay, the WA Chard was the lesser of the two boring renditions. For all of you Chardonnay fans, if I’ve offended you, tough! This is my blog so I can say whatever I want.

The second wines we tasted were Zinfandels. Both were a beautiful deep garnet color. The Washington version smelled like black cherry and coffee. It was fairly high in tannins, which is pretty typical for a Zin and tasted of dark berries, tar, and coffee with some leather. The acids weren’t too high and the alcohol wasn’t too high, so overall, I thought the Washington Zin was well balanced. It had a long finish as well so I gave this one two thumbs up. The California Zin was just as good and it matched the roasted eggplant and olives in filo cups dish that was served with them better than the WA Zin. The CA Zin had a dark berry aroma and tasted earthy and mushroomy. The tannins weren’t out of control, nor was the alcohol. Some Zinfandels can taste “hot” and burn the mouth from too much alcohol but both of these were well done. The CA Zin had an extremely short finish so that was the only thing negative thing I can say about that one. I’d say that there was no clear winner in the Zin category so I’m calling this one a tie.

The third wines we tasted were Cabernet Sauvignons. I know what you’re thinking. Do we really have to go through this? The world is full of Cabernets and everything that can be said about them and done to them has been said and done. I’m with you. But, we tasted them so I feel obligated. The WA Cab was a beautiful deep purple in color and was subtle berry on the nose. It had the typical dark cherry and cedar notes on the palate. Overall, it was subtle for a Cab. The Sonoma Cab had the same deep purple color. The nose was very intense and it made me want to drink it — all of it. So I did. It tasted as delicious as it smelled. Dark cherry flavors and earthy, some spice. The meatballs with piperade matched both versions of the Cabs well. My pick of the two Cabs was the Sonoma version. Yawn. Next.

The fourth and last wines we tasted were Syrahs. At this point in the evening my palate was starting to get a little tired or perhaps it was me as it was approaching my bedtime. I didn’t take notes on the Syrahs except I made a note that the WA Syrah was the better match for the mushroom strudel than the CA Syrah. Sorry, folks, that’s all I wrote down and apparently, neither were all that remarkable or I would’ve remembered. Probably.

The was no clear winner here as I picked one Washington wine, one California wine, one was a tie, and apparently, my Adult ADD kicked in at the end or I fell asleep or something so I’m not sure which one was the Syrah winner. Sorry folks. Next month’s wine program will focus on wines of Provence. I’ll try to do better next month.

The Stats:

The Chards – Washington vs. California
What: White wine - Chardonnay
Producer: Ryan Patrick
Vintage: 2007
Varietal: Chardonnay
Location: Columbia Valley, WA
Cost: $20.00

What: White wine - Chardonnay
Producer: Chateau St. Jean
Vintage: 2007
Varietal: Chardonnay
Location: Sonoma, CA
Cost: $14.00

The Zins – Washington vs. California

What: Red wine – Zinfandel
Producer: Barnard Griffin
Vintage: 2005
Varietal: Zinfandel
Location: Columbia Valley, WA
Cost: $22.00

What: Red wine – Zinfandel
Producer: Coppola “Director’s Cut”
Vintage: 2006
Varietal: Zinfandel
Location: Dry Creek, CA
Cost: $22.00

The Cabs – Washington vs. California

What: Red wine – Cabernet Sauvignon
Producer: Chateau Ste. Michelle “Indian Wells”
Vintage: 2005
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon
Location: Columbia Valley, WA
Cost: $19.00

What: Red wine – Cabernet Sauvignon
Producer: Rodney Strong
Vintage: 2005
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon
Location: Alexander Valley, CA
Cost: $23.00


The Syrahs – Washington vs. California

What: Red wine – Syrah
Producer: Substance
Vintage: 2007
Varietal: Syrah
Location: Walla Walla, WA
Cost: $17.00

What: Red wine – Syrah
Producer: Novy
Vintage: 2006
Varietal: Syrah
Location: Sonoma, CA
Cost: $21.00