The Corkdork - Wine and Food Musing

Corkdork in Cork (Ireland)

I know my postings have been scanty these days, but the last couple of weeks has been a mad dash to finish up school for the kids, pack them off to various camps, and then pack ourselves up for more than two weeks in Ireland. We're really here for a celebratory return to herself's roots on for a landmark birthday, and coincidentally a not-so-landmark birthday for me in Cork City.

Big thanks to Boo.com (a Euro-Yelp) for a couple of great eating suggestions, first in Dublin, then in Cork and Kinsale. A few recommendations I give at this point (Day 4 in Ireland): In Dublin, a great lunch or dinner (if you book enough advance) can be had at the Winding Stair, close to the famous Ha'penny bridge. The Winding Stair has a good bookstore on the ground level and some windy steps that bring you up to a cozy spot focused on the local and organic. I had two special things for lunch --a seafood terrine with incredible brown bread, caperberries, and light aoli. This was followed by local celeb smoker Sarah Barnes' smoked pollack poached in milk with onions and cheddar mash - excellent. Very good wine list as well. We had a nice Alsatian Pinot Blanc. Also try the lamb chops, which for Americans, are very mild and fine.

First pint in Dublin was actually not Guiness, but a "Plain" from Mssrs MacGuire's (Master Brewers). Fresher and lighter in body than any Guiness I've had and very delicious. Herself had the "Haus" pilsner which is in Czec style, racy and delicious.

Next off to Cork County. We started off for Issac's for my birthday dinner, but when the menu didn't look food-allergy safe, we stumbled in to an alley next door and a very special place: Greenes Bar & Restaurant
Entrance through
Cobblestone Arch
48 MacCurtain Street,
Cork.
T: 021 4552279 F: 021 4506355
E: greenes@isaacs.ie
www.isaacs.ie
The first thing that strikes you is the beauty of the waterfall outside in the courtyard where you can sit and have a drink and wait for your table. The iridescent rock was there for millennia but the waterfall is actually man-made and well lit so it dominates the view from inside the restaurant as well. The hostess was French as was much of the staff, and the food is surprisingly well executed. An amuse-bouche came out of beautiful chicken liver mousse over some onion confit and drops of special balsamic vinegar. Since it was a special occasion, I got something totally unexpected and decidedly non-native...kangaroo tenderloin with roasted zucchini for my appetizer whilst herself went local...Irish beef carpaccio. Then onto (maybe a tad too) ample entrees of Monkfish with potato gratin,  and Beef Filet with potato cake and chanterelles for me. Both were very nice indeed, though the Filet's chanterelles were odd and unlike any mushroom I've ever had . We had a memorable bottle of wine as well, 2005 Mercurey 1er Cru Champs Martin from Domaine Emile Juillot (Theulot Vineyards). Fresh bing cherries pop out of an earthy core. Well worth seeking out. (I plan to when I return to the States).

Today we were off to the quaint village of Kinsale to the south of Cork. Best find there was the small tables at the Fishy Fishy retail store where the place was hopping on a rainy day with people enjoying the excellent seafood chowder, oysters, and crabs. We liked it so much that we bought dinner to bring home and warm up --little aluminum coquille-st.-jacques shells filled with cod, smoked cod, and salmon, bound together with cream and potatoes and topped with delicious basil bread crumbs. This, with a loaf of there excellent homemade brown bread was a great simple supper.  A late night find? The Long Valley for a cool pint of Murphey's.

Tawny Port on a hot Day

Time to stop treating Tawny Port only like some kind of precious dessert wine! I know it sounds like heresy, but Port is good cold. When I met with the folks from Symington Family Estates at the Vin Portugal tasting a while ago, they told me that in Portugal, cooled aged Tawny Ports are consumed with snacks on a hot day during cocktail time.

My first reaction was that it seemed like a waste of good Port, but now I'm convinced. Sometimes cocktail hour demands something that doesn't pack the alcohol wallop of a tall G&T and Graham's 20 year old Tawny Porto is just the trick. It's even good with a nice chunk of salty aged Wisconsin cheddar, akin to cheese and a little dried fruit or guava paste accompaniment. After sampling the exciting Tawny Ports they sent me below, I looked for one that acid and bright fruits for the experiment. The Graham's 20 fit the bill: it tastes very fresh and bright with flavors of dates, fruitcake (my Grandmother's delicious one!), and crème brulée. With its lime-peel citrus nose, it seemed to be the right choice to chill down and try on a hot day, and I was pleasantly pleased. Give it a try. 

Tawny Port Current Release Roundup

1994 Smith-Woodhouse Colheita (vintage aged tawny, pronounced "Co-LATE-uh") Lots of vanilla caramel on the nose. This is full of character, very youthful with great acidity. Keep this for the long run. I'm a huge fan of vintage Tawny and I've had Colheita Ports from the 1940s and 1950s, and some vintages taste young and bright even after extensive aging. This and lots of other Colheita Ports can be found at the Spanish Table in Berkeley. In fact, the selection at the Spanish Table is so good you can often find affordable Colheitas from the 60s and 70s.

A rare treat --a vertical of aged Tawny Porto from Dow's. I opened all these at once and really lived with these wines for a week or so, getting my friends to try each one, and seeing what they liked. Tawnies can live for a couple weeks with a quick spray of argon gas wine preservative, and for several weeks in the 'fridge. The older wines, like the 30 and 40 year are special treats, and quite pricey, so I would let them get back to at least cellar temperature before enjoying them if you've put them in the refrigerator.

 

Dow 10-year Tawny: Lots of fruit, sweet and raisiny. There is a nice tartness to offset the stickiness, but this affordable Tawny is for those who prefer it more forwardly sweet.  A nice touch of banana on the finish.

Dow 20-year Tawny: What hit me straight off was the aroma of egg-washed warm brioches and apple charlotte. The addition of the older wines makes this start to hint at the richness of a good vintage port. Very round and full. Less of the stickiness of the 10 year.

Dow 30-year Tawny: This one took an hour or so to open up and expose its beauty. Still has plenty of fruitcake/dried fruits but it is layered with freshness and a beautiful acidic backbone. All in all, especially considering the price, this is the wine I keep coming back to. I just love it. Recommended.

Dow 40-year Tawny: Clearly this is the pinnacle of the Port blender's art. The 40-year is very spicy with a fabulous butterscotch color. Very aromatic right away and most surprisingly, this is the biggest in terms of aromas and flavors, yet the body is still quite light. I suspect that more of a particularly great year is kept back to blend into the 40 year. At nearly $170 this one is for a splurge and I would suggest that even though they do keep well, open this at a good sized party of 8 or more so you and your friends can savor this one when it's in its pristine shape.  Highly recommended.

 

WBW #46 White Rhône Varietals: Domaine La Bastide Roussanne 2006

This has to be a quick post, I'm afraid. It seems this one caught me a little off guard. When I saw Dr. Debs' post earlier today, my heart sank and I realized I hadn't realized the date. The good thing is that I love Rhône wines and always have a few whites around, as well as a few American bottles made with white Rhône  grapes. I particularly like Roussanne, especially once the weather starts to get warm. Something about a grape that really has to be picked ripe, similar to Viognier, that still packs a nice bit of pucker appeals to me.

I rushed home after work and started rummaging through my cellar and couldn't find the Picpoul blanc I really wanted to try tonight, but did put my hands on this extremely well-priced offering from the Languedoc. I'm pretty sure this one came from Paul Marcus Wines in Rockridge, which always has a large selection of white Rhônes at very good prices for summer drinking.

The Domaine La Bastide Rousanne 2006 from Guilem Durand is 100% Roussanne from vineyards that average 15 years old in the typical sandstone pebbles of Southern France. After cold fermentation, it stayed on the lees for four months with weekly stirring, then filtered and bottled.

The color is  a pale yellow with a nice green tint. On the nose I get fresh melon, citrus, flowers, and Camomile tea. There is a typical oily character to the mouth-feel and it really has a nice bit of acid on it. Of course, since this is such ripe wine and had a lot of tartrates at end left in the bottle, I do have a suspicion that it received a healthy  dose of acidification. None the less, at around $14.00 a bottle, it is really a steal and recommended for a nice night.

Willamette Tour 2008 Part Three

Next stop on the tour was a visit with Scott Paul Wright at his eponymous winery and import HQ in Carlton, Scott Paul. Scott is a rare breed in the wine business. He's a Burgundian in an American's skin, really. After a thirty-year career in the music and radio industries, Scott found his calling in the wine trade, capitalizing on his love and expertise on Pinot and Burgundy. Now, he's not only making first class Oregon Pinot, he's bringing in some excellent producers into the U.S. from the vin-motherland. If you're traveling to the Carlton area, don't miss a visit here. Where else can you taste beautiful red and white Burgundies and Oregon Pinot at the same stop? Here are my favorites:

Burgundies:

2006 Chablis Domaine des Chenevières/Frédéric Gueguen
Big bright minerality, clean, warm, and fat. 100% Stainless killer Chardonnay. Recommended.

2004 Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Domaine J-J Confuron
Huge spice and primal, earthy tones. Beautiful wine and a 2004 not to overlook. Recommended.

2004 Pommard Charmots Domaine Aleth  Girardin
Punchy and dense, a lovely mid-palate hit of sweet fruit, dry and tart finish. Recommended.

2005 Morey- St. Denis Domaine Taupenot-Merme
Spectacular texture and balance. There is again a ripe fruit backbone mixed with perfect acid and earthy barnyard aromas. Highly recommended.

2005 Mazoyeres-Chambertin Grand Cru Domaine Taupenot-Merme
Young and tart with a cherry lift. Juicy and spicy. Delicious.

Scott Paul Wines

2006 Scott Paul La Paulée Pinot Noir
Scott's love of the dense Burgundian sweet-fruit mid-palate comes through. The La Paulée has an unusual long wild strawberry finish. Big, round, and lovely. Keep this for a few more years, though before opening it with a special meal.Highly recommended.

2006 Scott Paul "Audrey" Pinot Noir
This bio-dynamic Pinot  is unfortunately sold out, but if you were luck enough to acquire some, age this for a few more years to bring out the blackberry and dense cherry aromas. Delicious.

The Billionaire's Vinegar: Quick reivew and personal appearance notice

I've been reading an advance copy of Benjamin Wallace's The Billionaire's Vinegar: The Mystery of the World's Most Expensive Bottle of Wine and I have really been enjoying this. Though I'm not quite done with it, I wanted to make sure to put up a quick post as the author is appearing in San Francisco this week at the Mechanic's Institute on Wednesday, June 4th at 6:00 p.m. Members of the Institute can attend free, others pay $10.

The Billionaire's Vinegar is written in a tension-building style that always seems to be holding back a little something of a punch-line for later, and it keeps you turning page after page. Anyone who keeps up with the wine trade will love the not-so-gentle jabs at the likes of Marvin Shanken from the Wine Spectator and the bumbling dilettanteism of Malcom Forbes. The descriptions of the uber-tasting sessions of 18th and 19th Century wines will take your breath away and the cast of wine archeologists, dealers, swindlers, and stuffy English writers will make you howl.

Recommended and just released. Go see Mr. Wallace speak if you can.

Willamette Tour 2008 Part Two

Back to blogging. I got busy. Though it's now not day-and-date coverage, there are still some wonderful things I was turned onto and new friends made in Oregon and I have to share them.

The first evening, we did a little grazing for dinner, first stopping for some tapas at:
Toro Bravo
120 NE Russell St. Portland, OR 97212
503.281.4464 fax: 503.281.4700

Most were the usual fare, but the last plate we got was some simple morels in a sherry-tinged cream sauce with some perfect grilled bread. Heaven. Go there now during morel season while the gettin's good.

Next stop was
Ken's Artisan Pizza
304 SE 28th Ave (at corner of Pine St.)
Portland, Oregon 97209
503.517.9951
Genius pizza. Order anything seasonal and it will come with a perfect open pizza-fire char on the edge. We had a young stunner with our pizza, Cristom's Eola-Amity Hills Marjorie Vineyard Pinot Noir 2005.

Morning came and with it more wine appointments and some surprises. The first appointment of the day was at Belle Pente (rhymes with shell font) where Brian O'Donnell poured some spectacular whites from the Yamhill-Carlton District and then some lovely Pinots. He has a light touch on the earth, with most wines either organic or bio-dynamic. I liked pretty much everything he poured, and had him ship a case back to me right away. Here's the rundown:

2006 Belle Pente Willamette Valley Muscat- bright apricot pit. Flinty and mineral notes, special for a Muscat. 80% Muscat Ottonel and 20% Early Muscat. Refreshing and delicious. Recommended.

2006 Belle Pente Reserve Pinot Gris - This lovely off-dry Alsace-style Pinot Gris is oily and floral. Earthy and dense flavors. Recommended.

2005 Belle Pente Willamette Valley Riesling - The low yield, steel tank fermentation, and neutral barrels made for a very lean, dry, austere wine. Floral with a classic touch of petrol.

2006 Belle PenteWillamette Valley Riesling - Much riper than the '05, round and lush with a touch of botrytis.

2005 Belle Pente Willamette Valley Gewurztraminer - From an old plot, this is another slightly oily model of austerity.

2006 Belle Pente Cuvee Contraire - Rosé-Style blend of Gamay Noir and Pinot Noir - round and ripe thanks to a touch of residual malo. A serious pink.

2006 Belle Pente Yamhill-Carlton District Pinot Noir - Lively cherry, light in color but heady. From young vines in a year with an early harvest.

2005 Belle Pente Estate Reserve Pinot Noir - From vines planted in '94, this lovely Pinot has scents of lavender , spice, basil, and smoke. Recommended.

2006 Belle Pente Vineyard Pinot Noir (tank sample) - very bright cherry notes with a lot of spice. Medium-round body.

2006 Belle Pente Estate Reserve Pinot Noir (tank sample) Kirschwasser and cassis notes. Has a dense darkness to the mid-palate. Very grand structure to this wine. Look for this next year and buy it. Recommended.

Willamette Tour 2008: Day one: Ponzi & J.K. Carriere Wines

As a preface to this next series of posts, I'll start by saying when I cooked up this trip with my tasting buddy, O, I had only an inkling of how food focused Portland is, and how many new wines were waiting to be discovered in Willamette Valley. We had some pretty spectacular meals, hit all the foodie hotspots, and even cooked for 14 at a blowout dinner party.

Up at 4:30 PST for me, and 4:00 EST for O, we got to Portland before 10 PST and got right to it. First stop, the first of many cups of perfect joe we were to enjoy through our 4 day stay, at the Albina Press at 4037 North Albina. They make a capuccino that rivals Blue Bottle in the Bay Area (without the sometimes hellacious wait), and is a must stop for any serious coffee freak. Billy Wilson pulls a perfect shot and the milk is somehow the perfect temperature for the quick gulp. No Starbucks-tongue-scald here.

Then off to the Bijou Cafe for breakfast at 132 SW 3rd Ave. Stay clear of the weird roast-beef-hash and eggs. It is as it sounds, like leftovers. Stick with their best-ever scrambled eggs, local bacon, and Pearl's baguette.

First tasting of the day was a Ponzi. I had met Dick and Nancy Ponzi at the Bay Wolf Anniversary Party last year and was looking forward to meeting more of the family.  Unfortunately, there was a home emergency that had to be attended to, so we got a nice private tour, but only got to taste the normal tasting room fare. I tend to like the wines with less oak, so the reserves were not the standouts for me. Of the wines we had, my favorites were:

2007 Ponzi Pinot Gris - nice honeysuckle and pear aromas, very clean. Good value.
2006 Ponzi Pinot Noir Tavola - licorice and smoke. Another good value.
2006 Ponzi Vino Gelato -  Orange muscat and older-vine Riesling, this is a very clean and delicious desert wine. Plenty of acid and nice balance.

Next stop: J.K. Carrierre Wines

I was already familiar with one of Jim Prosser's wines, the 2005 J.K. Carriere Pinot that I had at the S.F. Wine Center, and knew we were in for the kind of winemaker hang worth getting up at 4:30 for. When we first were shown in to the 105 year old barn the winery occupies for now (while they build a few miles away) we were brought up to the attic where a huge kinetic sculpture where the oars a long viking war boat swing gently back and forth. It's great when art and wine collide. Jim's first vintage was 1999 and he has good contracts with some of the best vineyards around: Corral Creek, Shea, Anderson Family, Temperance Hill, Momtazi, Gemini, Brick House, Eola Hills, and Stony Mountain. He trained in Oregon, Burgundy, and Australia and clearly his vintification techniques come mostly from his Burgundian experiences.

The first thing I tasted was his famous 2007 Glass White Pinot Noir. This is a blush colored wine that if you close your eyes, tastes like a flat pinot-based champagne and it's a fascinating wine. It has great acidity and a smokiness like a Pouilly-Fumé, but a round leesy mid-palate. It's made by adding back chardonnay lees from another winery through the bung, which is a tricky procedure. Recommended.

Barrel tasting several elemental Pinots from the 07 vintage showed great signs of next year's releases. Jim is meticulous about the fruit he uses and selects different clonal characteristics to suit each final blend. The Eola Hills  has an earthy cola taste to it, the Temperance Hills (27 year vines) is a little rounder and has lots of raspberries to it. The Shea has nice spice from the 777 clone.

2006 Provocateur Pinot Noir - (Provocateur is French for troublemaker) and this release is Jim's bigger-volume Pinot.  2006 was the second warmest on record, so it's a pretty big wine but approachable now. I don't know many other Pinots in this price range (around US$24) that have the sense of place and structure of this wine. Recommended.

2001 J. K. Carriere Pinot Noir Willamette Valley - Jim does make some single estate Pinots, but asked if we wanted to taste one of those or something with some age on it --I voted for age. I really wanted to see how his wines developed over time. The 2001 was stunning. Lighter in color than the 2005 or 2006 and beginning its light rustiness around the edges, the nose was of black raspberries and dusty charcoal. Highly recommended.

Wine Skin: Why didn't I think of this?

While I was in Willamette Valley this week, I stopped in to the Carlton Winemaker's Studio to see what producers they were featuring, and on my way out, Wine Skins caught my eye and I had to buy 5 of them. (US $10) These clever packages are leak-proof bubblewrap bottle envelopes for putting wine in your suitcase. I had a bunch of wine to bring home, and tried it out.

There is basically an inner bag of bubble wrap, and then 2 different seal points, one on the inside, then another when you close the end flap. None of my wine bottles were broken in transit, so I can't attest as to they're being perfectly leak-proof, but these are well made and would make an excellent gift for any wine lover that travels. Recommended.

New Restaurant Etiquette: Playing Cards During Dinner

Last night a group of us had a very good meal at Paley's in Portland, which would be called fine dining by anyone's standards. Early in the meal, while we were waiting for nettle pastas and escargots with marrow bones, we looked over at the four-top opposite us and they were playing a busy game of cards between courses! And then when their main course came, they didn't put the cards down, but continued to play. The only thing that interrupted their game play was a brief bit of their singing together every once in a while. While it was endless entertainment for us, it was distracting. All of us had been to hundreds and hundreds of fine restaurants and have never seen such behavior. I know Portland is a different kind of town, but this was a new one. The waiter said he has seen it before. From a thread about this over at Chowhound, it appears that in many states this can be construed as gambling and is actually illegal and can jeopardize the restaurant's liquor license. Have any readers out there ever seen this? Comments please!

Wine Blogging Wednesday #45 Old World Riesling

An excellent theme for this month's WBW, Old World Riesling, from one of the grand poobahs of the WBW, our own Tim Elliot from the Winecast. Thanks for hosting, Tim!

Riesling is a grape of the ancients, dating back to Roman times, but why has its universal appeal continued? I imagine what it must have been like to sit at a fine table five hundred years ago and why riesling was so attractive. I suspect the high-toned floral component and spice aromas,  along with a sweet muskiness,  must have been welcome amongst the other less savory smells that must have all around in those days. The onslaught of too-ripe meats and too-ripe people must have been pretty overwhelming, so a fragrant white wine would have been a fine thing to bury ones nose in to get away from it all.

Another miracle within the Riesling vine is the ability to grow in the harshest of winter climates. Riesling is grown in most northerly region that fine wine grapes can grow, which fosters great acidity. All the best grapes are grown on a south facing slope to suck in every last ray of sunshine. Terry Theise describes the slopes of Domprobst as impossibly steep. In fact, some vineyards are so steep they need small monorail trams to help workers move grapes down the hillside to the sorting table.

Picking German Wine

I'm the first to admit that picking a great German wine is pretty daunting. For me, I find the vineyard names difficult to memorize and like a lot of fine wines, the devils and the angels are in the details --in those vineyard names. A lot of producers make thousands of bottles of their lesser table wines and only a few hundred cases of their special small vineyard designates. To make matters worse, even the most famous of German vineyards, Piesporter and Bernkastel for instance, were synonymous with both greatness and cheap plonk for many years, especially the wines exported to the U.S. so it was only those in the know who were the dependable producers.  Fortunately, quality has improved greatly in the export market and we're now able to get even more spectacular wines from Germany.

If you're new to German wines, I recommend highly the section in the Karen MacNeil's Wine Bible on all things German. According to Karen MacNeil, the new stars of Germany include: Müller-Catoir, Fritz Haag, Willi Schafer, Lingenfelder, Gunderloch, Karlsmühle, and Dönnhoff. Certainly don't overlook Dr. Loosen, Egon Müller, Joh. Jos. Prüm, and Selbach-Oster.

On to Tasting Notes: 2006 Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Kabinett Riesling

Extravagant nose with lots of earthy honey, challah/brioche, orange blossom and a touch of petrol. Perhaps a bit of green mint. The quivering acidity makes your tongue come alive and then it's soothed by the off-dry luscious coating. This is a wine that you can drink all night, and at 8.5 % alcohol, you might as well. Absolutely recommended. I immediately bought more of this, and the Auslese #14 after tasting this.

How to Read This German Wine Label:

1. Region: In this case the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer

2. Producer: In this case, one of the best producers in the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer

3. Year: 2006 was a difficult year for weather in Mosel, but in the hands of a good producer, results were excellent

4. Vineyard designation: In this case, the Graacher Domprobst is the main vineyard holdings of Willi Schaefer estate.

5. Sweetness level: Kabinett is the next to driest level of sweetness, so expect off-dry but not sweet.

6. Grape: Riesling
7. QmP designation showing this is a "quality wine with special attributes."

8. Alcohol: in this case, 8.5% which is 50% of the strength of that Paso zinfandel, and the equivelant of 2 strong Belgian beers.

South African Maverick: Eben Sadie of Sadie Family Wines

Last night, at the SF Wine Center,  I had a chance to meet a very special bi-hemispherical winemaker, Eben Sadie from Sadie Family Wines (pending website) who makes world-class wines both  in South Africa and in Priorat (Spain). His first love is South Africa, where he grew up and has access to long term leases on many tiny parcels of prime grapes. When I asked him if he owned these, he said in South Africa there are laws that prevent anyone from buying land that can not be deemed financially self-sustaining. In real terms, this means that while Eben can make enough wine from a single parcel of a hectare or two, it's only because his wines command high prices. The South African government is thinking in terms of regular agriculture, like wheat, where a parcel that small isn't financially significant.  This odd arrangement makes it easier for the mega producers to acquire land in big parcels. His African Home base is the Swartland region which stretches north of Cape Town, between Durbanville and Piketberg, inland from the Atlantic Ocean, centred on the town of Malmesbury.

Clearly a man that needs to stay moving all year round, he has set up a winery in Spain and is now starting to release single-vineyard Priorat wines bursting with old world charm and terroir --and fetching world-class prices for Spanish wines. He has acquired both land and leases for very old-vine Grenacha and Carignane plots and because of his experience in South Africa with Rhône grapes, he has a midas touch.

The majority of his wines are either organic or biodynamic but that's not enough for Eben. His dream is to make wines with as little mechanical intervention as possible in the future. He would like to be crushing en pied, pressing only in basket presses, and is already using gravity to move grapes and juice around the facility.  It will be interesting to see if he can balance this romantic vision of the ancient Roman winemaker with the market pressures to create more bottles. All of his wine is pre-sold in allocation as it is.

As usual, I'll only be commenting about the wines I really enjoyed, which in this case is all of them! Eben was kind enough to provide some technical data on some of the current releases.

Tasting and Technical Notes:

Palladius 2006 (White)
This was the first wine in the line-up and the moment I put the rim to my nose, I already judged it the best South African white I had ever had. Round and viscous with Chenin giving structure and the vioginer the high perfumes. Very delicious and recommended.
Vineyards: Swartland Paardeberg Mountain
Grapes : Chenin blanc 30%; Viognier 30%; Grenache Blanc 20%; Chardonnay 20%
Soils: Various – Granite & Gravel

Sequillo White 2006
This has an old world oiliness to it, probably from the Rousanne,  with a hint of Condrieu uncuousness, even though the very ripe Viognier is only 10% of the blend. Eben Sadie is very proud of this wine, but the 2007 is more what he's aiming for. I still really liked it.
Vineyards: Swartland Paardeberg Mountain
Grapes : Chenin blanc 65%; Grenache Blanc 15%; 10% Viognier,
10% Roussanne
Soils: Various – Granite & Gravel

Sequillo White 2007
The 2007 version of the Sequillo white has all the fruit of the 2006, but the early pick of the viognier brought the wine to a steel-edge focus. A remarkable balance, and another stunner S.A. White. Recommended.
Vineyards: Swartland Paardeberg Mountain
Grapes : Chenin blanc 65%; Grenache Blanc 15%; 10% Viognier,
10% Roussanne
Soils: Various – Granite & Gravel

Pinot Noir 2006
Vineyards: Elgin/Stellenbosch
Very dense cherry, drier fruit in the dark mid-palate. Light in color but is lovely and densely flavored. From 18 year old vines.

Sequillo Red 2004
Ripe and round but very pretty. Medium body with lots of Gigondas-like forest floor aromas.
Vineyards: Swartland Area
Grapes : Syrah 60%; Mourvedre 30%; Grenache 10%
Soils: Various – Granite & Gravel & Slate & Clay

Sequillo Red 2005
A bit spicier with a lot more grip. The first smells are that of a bright and herbaceous, with a hint of tarragon and mint. This was a big year, so the tannins and chewiness will do well with several years age.
Vineyards: Swartland Area
Grapes : Syrah 60%; Mourvedre 30%; Grenache 10%
Soils: Various – Granite & Gravel & Slate & Clay

Columella 2004 and 2005
In my first review of the 2004, I was really impressed with the 2004. The 2005 has more grip, even more blackberry bramble and lots of backbone. Though it's a bit backward now, up to 10 years will make this a stunner. Recommended.
Vineyards: Swartland Mountain Areas
Grapes : Syrah (80%) & Mourvèdre (20%)
Soils: Various – Granite – Slate – Clay – Gravel

Sadie Family Spain

The new releases of Priorat wines from Eben Sadie are amazing wines, indeed. The retail prices range from $87 to $140 US retail so they are at the high end of the range most Americans are used to paying for Spanish wines, so it should be interesting to see how they sell. Early word is they are a hit with restaurant wine buyers. Look for these to hit our shores in June 2008.

Terroir al Limit 2005
Very rich and ripe old vine Grenacha. Only 2000 bottles made. Tight now, but patience will pay off. Delicious.

Arbossar 2004
This is 80% Grenacha and 20% Cariagne from a high northern slope vineyard. Very distinctive aromas of Priorat rhone grapes, exploding with perfume on the nose. Tart and tight. My favorite of the three and highly recommended.

Dits del Terra 2004
This is very tight at this point and it had some chocolate aromas and a bit of spice. This I would like to re-taste in five or six  years. 

Julia and Me

I grew up in a household where every response to "Where's this recipe from?" was either simply Volume One or Volume Two. Mastering the Art of French Cooking, by Julia Child,  was the single driving force that elevated my family's eating habits, now going on influencing a third generation. My father took it upon himself to cook through hundreds of dishes in MTAFC  to teach himself to cook, and as life started to revolve around the kitchen more and more, I sat and watched at first, then joined in. Now my kids have grown up with classic dishes, like Carbonnades de Boeuf a la Flamande, that I gave up needing the recipe for 20 years ago.

Julia Child's posthumously published memoir, My Life in France, is a beautiful testament to her unfaltering joie de vivre and no matter how much of the book actually was penned by Julia herself, her voice and personality sparkle throughout.   There are times you can hear her cackle-y voice propelling syllables at you, half-winded, half-laughing.

I know it sounds strange, but many times as I read this book, I was struck with the chills as she described the first time she discovered a dish that has become part of my cooking DNA.

Thon à la Provençal is one such dish. When I was 8 years old or so, fish came in sticks. But the first time my father made this dish it filled the house with such amazing smells, I begged for a taste and I think it was tasting that exotic herbaceous tomato sauce the first time that woke me up to how wonderful food could be. He made it with swordfish, as fresh tuna was very hard to come by in the seventies, and for years, I would eat something kid friendly early in the evening with my brother, then again with my parents at eight o'clock or so to get more of that dish whenever he made it.

Hearing Julia describe her balcony view in Marseilles overlooking the harbor and her first encounter with a beautiful slab of tuna, just pulled in, her poaching it in tomatoes and herbs...I was transported back to our little dining room in Mt. Lakes, New Jersey and that first bite. 

After reading My Life in France, I couldn't help but pull out my copy of Volume One, which is completely falling apart (I got it for my birthday nearly 30 years ago) to refresh my memory on her writing style. Typical is her detailed article describing three ways to de-scum veal when you are making blanquette de veau, written in a matter of fact style at once funny, inviting and demystifying. I urge you to read this book and reflect upon the impact Julia Child (1912-2004) had on cooking in America, and at your house.

It's now available in paperback.

Tasting and Touring the San Francisco Wine Center

This evening I got a sneak preview of the newly opened San Francisco Wine Center, SOMA's unique combination of wine storage, tasting center, wine distribution center, and clubhouse. Owners Brian McGonigle and Paolo Mancini are industry insiders that are trying to create something different in San Francisco: a gathering place for the serious wine collector and the newbie. With two areas that will be used for formal tastings and informal open-a-bottle-with-friends gatherings, they hope it will allow lots of local wine geeks to mingle. Tastings will be largely like the one I was treated to today: wines that Indie Wines, the distribution wing, carry, hopefully along with the winemakers themselves. This will give an opportunity to learn first hand from the winemakers from as far away (like the upcoming event with Eben Sadie from South Africa) and get first crack at their wares. The storage area is like the one you are keeping those LPs that you can't seem to throw away (guilty as charged!) --only much colder! Check out their website for all the pricing details. Like any storage facility they have lots of different options and incentives.

As for Indie Wines, they are bringing in some good stuff to the picture as well. I had a chance to taste a few wines with them this evening. Here are my favorites.

2006 Greenwood Ridge Sauvignon Blanc, Mendocino County
This has so much Semillon in it that you might think it's not SB at all. It has the floral character of a cold-weather Viognier with  lime-tinged roundness in the mouth. This is not the wine to grab when you want a grassy Cloudy Bay knockoff, it's just a different, but very delicious beast altogether.

2005 J. K. Carriere Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon
Lots of bright cherry fruit and forest floor on the nose, bright on the nose, but brooding on the tongue. Delicious but I'm looking forward to this with a couple more years on the bottle.

2003 Temple Bruer Shiraz/Malbec blend, Langhorn Creek, Australia
Something completely different than your garden variety Aussie glug. The heavy dose of Malbec makes this a pretty wild-smelling wine. Plenty of wood going on as well. The vineyards have long been organic and sustainable and the result is clean and complex with good grip.

2006 Schild Estate Barossa Shiraz
Very spicy and young, bright and ready to be put down for a few years of rest. Very new world with deft dose of oak. Nice and well priced.

2004 Columella, Sadie Family, Swartland, South Africa
The best of the flight, especially after an hour of so in the decanter. It is a Syrah dominated blend but the rest of the components are a mystery that maybe Eben can reveal himself when he visits. Huge mouthfeel and filled with ripe New World fruit, the blend of 25 parcels of grapes is extremely artful. My comment at the event was that I would like to see this wine in a few years when the makeup fades a bit. Recommended.

2001 Tom Eddy Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
This is a blend of several Napa parcels and the result is very pleasurable indeed. There is a touch of bramble, tobacco and cocoa on the nose with a very big, classy mouthfeel. Slick and drinkable now. Recommended

The Pleasure of Inexpensive Chardonnay: Paraiso Chardonnay 2003, Santa Lucia Highlands

Just a quick post about a wine I found at BevMo a few weeks ago and couldn't resist. I really don't buy that much wine that I haven't tasted before, but they had a crazy sale: buy one bottle and get another for a nickel. What made me grab it was its Central Coast Santa Lucia Highlands provenance. I'm getting more convinced that the climes of the Central Coast are under appreciated, especially with Pinot, Syrah, and Chardonnay. In the case of Chardonnay, the cool weather leads to lovely tropical notes.

Paraiso's owners, The Smith family, who has been growing and making wine for more than 30 years, were leaders in the creation of the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA in 1991. They now have over 150,000 vines on 3,000 acres of SLH property. This lends itself to high yields and relatively low prices.

Normally, the Chardonnay runs around $17 a bottle, so at 2 bottles for $15 at BevMo, it was a steal. Too bad it seems it's all gone. Look for the current release of 2005.

Tasting notes:

2003 Paraiso Chardonnay, Santa Lucia Highlands

Upon first opening this, especially when it is cold, the oak on the nose is pretty strong, but after some time in the glass and it warms up a bit, the oak turns out to balance out the lemon, pineapple, and tropical aromas nicely. The acidity is also well balanced and made a good foil for one of our family staples, chicken schnitzel over salad with mustard vinegarette. This is good solid Chardonnay for every day drinking.

Searching for Sonoma Syrah: Leo Steen 2005

It's not often that I get turned on to a wine that has a little mystery behind it. I was in my old neighborhood in San Francisco the other day and popped in to say hello to Gary over at the San Francisco Wine Trading Company. I had him pick out a couple of bottles for me and I asked him for a nice big syrah I could have for dinner that night. He walked over to the Cal Syrah section and as soon as he spied this one, he said I had to try it. First the notes, then the rest of the story.

2005 Leo Steen Sonoma Mountain Syrah

First of all, let me say I loved this wine. It also would pop out at any tasting, as it has a more distinct aroma of cloves than any wine I've ever experienced. Meaty and viscous, this Syrah has a lift of blackberry bramble-y brightness around a firm spicy core. It has an excellent balance between the ripe juicy fruit from the 900 ft. elevation at Scala Estate, oak, and acid. The wine is unfined and unfiltered with minimal intervention and it shows. Drinking very well now, I am curious to see what this will do in another 5 years. $27.00

After I looked at the winery website, which consists of a single paragraph and a PDF order form, my interest was piqued. Either he is so busy that he can't get a proper site up with some background on the grapes and winemaker himself, or he has some non-compete clause preventing him from doing too much of his own publicity. I dare say that he will have no trouble selling out of this wine, as I understand he made only 46 cases (2 barrels). So after more searching, there is no Leo Steen, but instead this wine is made by Leo Hansen, winemaker at Stuhlmuller Vineyards. Hansen, who grew up in Denmark in a food-trade family, became a certified European sommelier and was sent to the U.S .on a buying trip for Kong Hans Restaurant in Copenhagen. (Check out the prices! $90 entrees!) In 2000, he decided to move to Sonoma and landed work at Clos du Bois, then later, Chateau Souvrain. After working with Stuhlmuller fruit at Clos du Bois and Souvrain, he moved on to working in the cellars at Stuhlmuller and in 2004 became winemaker.

We should all keep our eyes out for this very talented winemaker. I'm going to seek out some of his other efforts as soon as I finish this post!