Showing posts with label LAW. Show all posts
Showing posts with label LAW. Show all posts
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Wining all around town...
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Not Your Usual Halloween Party...
Imagine my surprise and delight when Ian emailed me and asked if we wanted to participate (and work, of course. You know we work for wine!). I replied "YES" and then Ian threw in the kicker - He needed me to research all the wines so I could talk about them. I knew Ian would know all the technical stuff about the wines, so I looked for interesting facts and stories. It made for a great combination, especially with Ian as Elvis in a white jumpsuit - with a cape!!
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Wining in Napa, Sonoma and Lompoc...Part 2...
July 27th. Decided to spend the day checking out wineries along Rte. 29. First stop, Peju Province. We had met the Peju folks at various LearnAboutWine events, but didn't call ahead for a private tasting. Won't make that mistake again. Peju has lovely wines and a gorgeous winery; they obviously receive truckloads of visitors, and have figured out a kind of assembly-line tasting experience. JD and I were herded to a counter along with 4 other couples. I pulled out my card, and Jeff, the very pleasant sommelier behind the counter graciously comped our tasting and gave us the trade discount. He poured 8 wines, spoke knowledgeably and enthusiastically about all of them, offered wine jokes and stories, and kept interaction to a minimum. The presentation was very professional, but felt scripted. Next time, we'll call first.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Wining and dining all over the place with friends...
So much going on! So little time to write! And so many folks out there who are telling everyone what they should drink and what they should think. But not me. I'm just telling you about my life...
First - there was the day of tasting in Malibu with Marya, Shawn, Debra, Xochitl, and Barry at the Cornell Winery, one of our favorite places to hang and taste wines from the Malibu AVA. The highlight of the day for me was my friend Shawn's own wine, a deep, dark Syrah under the Shai label. He's been pouring at some small events, and for friends (thankfully!). He'll be releasing it soon. Watch for it!
First - there was the day of tasting in Malibu with Marya, Shawn, Debra, Xochitl, and Barry at the Cornell Winery, one of our favorite places to hang and taste wines from the Malibu AVA. The highlight of the day for me was my friend Shawn's own wine, a deep, dark Syrah under the Shai label. He's been pouring at some small events, and for friends (thankfully!). He'll be releasing it soon. Watch for it! Thursday, February 4, 2010
Wining in Beverly Hills with LearnAboutWine.com...
Had a great time at the STARS of Santa Barbara event last night, although by the time we were able to start actually tasting, I wasn’t much in the mood, if you can believe it! It seemed a bit crowded, and Ian was on the microphone making a lot of noise while encouraging folks to sign up for the silent auction.
Laura and Joni and Meagan were glad we were there; we saw a bunch of friends – Mike Donovan (MD3), Deb Bizek and Kristen, her former roommate, sommelier Reneé Kuo (my new best friend), the gorgeous Karinna Zarate (pictured with us), Steve and Anne Cassidy of WineShop at Home, Sherry Campbell (formerly of LAW), winemakers Karen Steinwachs of Buttonwood, Josh Klapper of La Fenetre, Brian Loring of Loring, Michael Roth from Demetria, Teri Love from Gioia, and lots of new folks (well, new to us), too! Everyone seemed to having a good time, great wines were being poured. Had time at the end to chat with Karen, who gave us the remainder of her open wines – lots of stuff to sample tonight!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Wine, Family, Wine, Friends, Wine, Networking, Wine, Wine, Wine...
Quite a weekend. Friday night was opening of The Jamb by J. Stephen Brantley at ECT. Really liked it much more than I thought I would, although it did tend to slip into soap opera at times. Beautiful performances by Brad Wilcox and Garrett Liggett, and solid showings by Kerr Seth Lordygan and Kenlyn Kenouse (whose part was underwritten). We poured inexpensive wines purchased at Trader Joe’s, paired with cheese and munchies. A good time was had by all.
Saturday, up early for breakfast with the gang. Then briefly home and on to Phyl and Ron’s to spend the day and evening with Steven and Judy (in from Seattle) and Mark and Shannon and Blake and Tori and Andi and Mike and the dog. Everyone was on pretty good behavior, Phyl brought in food from Brent’s Deli, we drank a lot of BV Coastal Estates Merlot, although JD finally opened a bottle of WSAH Talmage Merlot, which rocked. The decibel level started to get too loud, and JD was bored and sleepy, so we went home around 9 p.m.
Up early on Sunday, around the block to the Coral Café for a solid breakfast, and then down to the Barker Hangar at Santa Monica Airport for Pinot Days, a huge event with over 75 wineries all pouring Pinot Noir (and the occasional bottle of Chardonnay pulled out from under the table). A lot of my colleagues have already posted their observations about the event, and I got more feedback the next day from Eve Bushman about the public portion. I was grateful that JD and I got into the Trade portion of the day. The basic setup of the event was just fine, although there was some initial confusion about where the actual entrance was going to be. Once that got sorted out, we walked around the hangar, scoping out the wineries we wanted to taste – there were so many that we didn’t want to go to wineries we knew (although we did check in with our friend, Josh Klapper, at La Fenêtre for his lovely Pinot). There were a few standouts:
Domaine Chandon - Yes, pouring still Pinot Noir! 2007 Carneros Pinot Noir with aromas of dried cherries, cedar and traces of dried tobacco; 2006 Chandon Reserve L'Argile Carneros Reserve Pinot Noir has layers of sage, dried berries. Rich flavors of blackberry, dried strawberry, cardamom and cedar and a bit of orange zest in the finish. And as a special treat, they poured a 2007 Carneros Pinot Meunier. Delicious!
Three Sticks - We weren't familiar with Three Sticks, but we really liked the wines and the ladies behind the table, who were properly respectful of the Goddess of Wine! 2006 Durell Vineyard Pinot Noir (WS90) - just a lovely, lovely wine. It has a wonderful nose, fruit in the mid palette and a smooth, integrated finish. The 2007 was also just wonderful.
Sand Hill - These wines are from the other side of the Durell Vineyard! They also poured a 2006 and 2007. Gorgeous wines; completely different from the Three Sticks wines, despite the fact they share the same winemaker, Don Van Staaveren! I love this biz!
Morgan - We've been fans of Morgan for a while. Dan Morgan Lee, who grows the grapes, and Gianni Abate, the winemaker, combine to make some amazing Pinots from the Santa Lucia Highlands. 2007 Twelve Clones Pinot Noir - Leather, toast, and vanilla, with cherry, rose petal, herbs, and some spicy/earthy notes. I love this wine - it's already in my cellar!
Inman Family Wines - Finally got to meet Kathleen Inman, a dynamo of a winemaker, wine grower, all-round one-woman show. All the wines she poured were unique and tasty, but I especially liked the 2006 Olivet Grange Vineyard (OGV) Pinot Noir from the Russian River Valley, Sonoma County.
Merry Edwards - Wasn't familiar with this winery, but Travis said I had to taste it, so I did. 2007 Pinot Noir, Klopp Ranch, Russian River Valley. This is a BIG Pinot! Highly extracted fruit, somewhat surprising for a Pinot. This wine needs to be served with steak and rich sauces. A bit big for my taste, but well-made, and obviously an event favorite, based on the crowd around the table.
The most amazing thing is how many folks we ran into, starting with sommelier Debra Belcastro, sommelier Jared Hooper, Julie Brosterman of Women and Wine (one of the sponsors of the event), Brandon Beeson of Color and Aroma Magazine, blogger Erin McGrath and her fiancé, Russell (she’s posted an interesting take on the day on her blog, Vintwined), wine consultant Tom Stangl (whom we know from many events at LAW), the gorgeous JJ Rodgers and her newlywed husband, Travis Brazil, the Wine Director at Inn of the Seventh Ray, blogger Eve Bushman and her hub, Eddie, new friends Xochitl Maiman and her husband, and Barbara Cohen and her husband (all from ‘I’ll Drink to That’ a wonderful networking group), various others we see at LAW events and Duke of Bourbon events all the time, Michelle McCue, whom we met thru LAW, and now has her own PR and Marketing firm, Lucien Fick (another LAW friend and wine buyer for Whole Foods), and others I’m sure I’ve just forgotten because of too much wine and the passing of a few days. It just seemed as if every time we turned around someone called my name, so we actually spent a whole lot of time talking and catching up, and not quite as much time tasting as we had hoped.
Although the Trade portion of the day was relaxed and fun, when the Public was let in at 1 p.m. – all 2200 of them, it seemed – it got very, very, very crowded very, very, very quickly, and suddenly we couldn’t even get close to a table to taste anything. We started to make our way out, which took a while because we were still running into people – in a good way. Even one of the volunteers engaged us in conversation as we were trying to turn in our glasses – which she said we could take with us. We chose not to, as we have enough glasses at home already, and these glasses weren’t that special.
Finally got outside and discovered the rain had started. Made our way back to Northridge to spend some additional time with Steven and Judy. The four of us waited until around 5 p.m. and then headed over to Alessio Restaurant on Reseda Blvd. We brought two Cabernet Sauvignons with us, just because we figured we’d be tired of drinking Pinot Noir – which wasn’t the case. However, we started with a Joseph Phelps 2006 ‘Innisfree’ – lovely, fruit forward, but with enough backbone to handle the heavy Italian food. Finished the Innisfree pretty quickly and opened the WSAH 2007 Pied Violet Reserve Cabernet. Also big, fruity, tannic, delicious. Both wines paired nicely with all the different pastas and sauces, and especially well with the tiramisu we shared at the end of the meal. Back to Phyl and Ron’s, and then home fairly early after bidding S and J farewell, as they were heading North on Monday.
Monday, being a holiday, I got up early and went to Pilates, where TJ was trying to work with her mom, Lois, who was visiting from Florida (I think). Lois was a bit of a Southern belle, and really not into exercising on a machine that resembles a torture device. It was pretty funny, and I got a huge workout, as TJ was concerned that she wasn’t paying enough attention to me, and gave me some additional time and stretching. Two days later I’m still feeling some aches in muscles I didn’t know I had – and I’ve been doing Pilates for close to two years!
Home to shower, and then over to Bistro Provence where we were meeting Eve Bushman for lunch. Bless Eve for driving in from Santa Clarita in torrential rain. It was raining and blowing so hard during lunch that the restaurant door kept blowing open. We brought a bottle of 2006 Midlife Crisis Rooboy Red with us. I had a bowl of perfect lentil soup and BP’s signature roasted chicken with pommes frites, JD got a salmon dish that looked delish, and Eve had a pasta Bolognese. And we dished about the Pinot Days event. Apparently, it got very crazy once the public was allowed in, and a lot of folks weren’t happy. Eve felt that the promoters underestimated the LA audience after they had a less-than-successful event in Chicago, and they oversold the event. Based on Erin McGrath’s blog, apparently a lot of people got drunk and behaved badly, and some of the better wines were not being poured for the public – they had been poured for Trade. People couldn’t get to the food that was being offered, and the cheese and bread that was on tables around the event ran out in record time. We were glad we left when we did, and happy with the wines we sampled.
Eve took off in the driving rain, and we sailed home for a few hours until our next event.
We headed over to the Artisan Cheese Gallery for a meeting of “I’ll Drink to That” a group of business folks interested in networking over cheese and wine. This is Xochitl Maiman and Barbara Cohen’s group. I met Barbara at another networking group, and we clicked. I’m so glad she and Xochitl invited me to IDTT – like-minded folks getting to know each other and discover how we can help each other’s business over great wines and cheeses.
Wines and cheeses paired as follows:
Borgo Magredo Prosecco - 100% Prosecco - paired with Pecorino Ginepro -sheep's milk bathed in balsamic vinegar & juniper berries; aged in oak barrels; Romagna, Italy
Segura Viudas 'Aria' NV Cava from Torrelavit, Spain - 60% Macabeo/20% Parellada/20% Xarel-lo paired with Patacabra - goat's milk with washed rind, aged 45 days from Zaragoza, Spain
Marquis de la Tour Brut Rosé - lovely, dry rosé from the Loire Valley, France, paired with Campo del Montelban - mixed goat, sheep and cow milk from Spain
Laetitia NV Brut Cuveé - Arroyo Grande Valley - Chardonnay/Pinot Noir/Pinot Blanc - paired with Piedmont unpasteurized Friesian sheep's milk from Rapidan, Virginia. Really liked this combo!
Martin & Weyrich 2007 Moscato Allegro dessert wine paired with Stilton from the Colston Bassett Dairy in Nottingham-Lancashire, England
Wonderful pairings! Lovely folks! I’ll be back!
Cheers!
Saturday, up early for breakfast with the gang. Then briefly home and on to Phyl and Ron’s to spend the day and evening with Steven and Judy (in from Seattle) and Mark and Shannon and Blake and Tori and Andi and Mike and the dog. Everyone was on pretty good behavior, Phyl brought in food from Brent’s Deli, we drank a lot of BV Coastal Estates Merlot, although JD finally opened a bottle of WSAH Talmage Merlot, which rocked. The decibel level started to get too loud, and JD was bored and sleepy, so we went home around 9 p.m.
Up early on Sunday, around the block to the Coral Café for a solid breakfast, and then down to the Barker Hangar at Santa Monica Airport for Pinot Days, a huge event with over 75 wineries all pouring Pinot Noir (and the occasional bottle of Chardonnay pulled out from under the table). A lot of my colleagues have already posted their observations about the event, and I got more feedback the next day from Eve Bushman about the public portion. I was grateful that JD and I got into the Trade portion of the day. The basic setup of the event was just fine, although there was some initial confusion about where the actual entrance was going to be. Once that got sorted out, we walked around the hangar, scoping out the wineries we wanted to taste – there were so many that we didn’t want to go to wineries we knew (although we did check in with our friend, Josh Klapper, at La Fenêtre for his lovely Pinot). There were a few standouts:
Domaine Chandon - Yes, pouring still Pinot Noir! 2007 Carneros Pinot Noir with aromas of dried cherries, cedar and traces of dried tobacco; 2006 Chandon Reserve L'Argile Carneros Reserve Pinot Noir has layers of sage, dried berries. Rich flavors of blackberry, dried strawberry, cardamom and cedar and a bit of orange zest in the finish. And as a special treat, they poured a 2007 Carneros Pinot Meunier. Delicious!
Three Sticks - We weren't familiar with Three Sticks, but we really liked the wines and the ladies behind the table, who were properly respectful of the Goddess of Wine! 2006 Durell Vineyard Pinot Noir (WS90) - just a lovely, lovely wine. It has a wonderful nose, fruit in the mid palette and a smooth, integrated finish. The 2007 was also just wonderful.
Sand Hill - These wines are from the other side of the Durell Vineyard! They also poured a 2006 and 2007. Gorgeous wines; completely different from the Three Sticks wines, despite the fact they share the same winemaker, Don Van Staaveren! I love this biz!
Morgan - We've been fans of Morgan for a while. Dan Morgan Lee, who grows the grapes, and Gianni Abate, the winemaker, combine to make some amazing Pinots from the Santa Lucia Highlands. 2007 Twelve Clones Pinot Noir - Leather, toast, and vanilla, with cherry, rose petal, herbs, and some spicy/earthy notes. I love this wine - it's already in my cellar!
Inman Family Wines - Finally got to meet Kathleen Inman, a dynamo of a winemaker, wine grower, all-round one-woman show. All the wines she poured were unique and tasty, but I especially liked the 2006 Olivet Grange Vineyard (OGV) Pinot Noir from the Russian River Valley, Sonoma County.
Merry Edwards - Wasn't familiar with this winery, but Travis said I had to taste it, so I did. 2007 Pinot Noir, Klopp Ranch, Russian River Valley. This is a BIG Pinot! Highly extracted fruit, somewhat surprising for a Pinot. This wine needs to be served with steak and rich sauces. A bit big for my taste, but well-made, and obviously an event favorite, based on the crowd around the table.
The most amazing thing is how many folks we ran into, starting with sommelier Debra Belcastro, sommelier Jared Hooper, Julie Brosterman of Women and Wine (one of the sponsors of the event), Brandon Beeson of Color and Aroma Magazine, blogger Erin McGrath and her fiancé, Russell (she’s posted an interesting take on the day on her blog, Vintwined), wine consultant Tom Stangl (whom we know from many events at LAW), the gorgeous JJ Rodgers and her newlywed husband, Travis Brazil, the Wine Director at Inn of the Seventh Ray, blogger Eve Bushman and her hub, Eddie, new friends Xochitl Maiman and her husband, and Barbara Cohen and her husband (all from ‘I’ll Drink to That’ a wonderful networking group), various others we see at LAW events and Duke of Bourbon events all the time, Michelle McCue, whom we met thru LAW, and now has her own PR and Marketing firm, Lucien Fick (another LAW friend and wine buyer for Whole Foods), and others I’m sure I’ve just forgotten because of too much wine and the passing of a few days. It just seemed as if every time we turned around someone called my name, so we actually spent a whole lot of time talking and catching up, and not quite as much time tasting as we had hoped.
Although the Trade portion of the day was relaxed and fun, when the Public was let in at 1 p.m. – all 2200 of them, it seemed – it got very, very, very crowded very, very, very quickly, and suddenly we couldn’t even get close to a table to taste anything. We started to make our way out, which took a while because we were still running into people – in a good way. Even one of the volunteers engaged us in conversation as we were trying to turn in our glasses – which she said we could take with us. We chose not to, as we have enough glasses at home already, and these glasses weren’t that special.
Finally got outside and discovered the rain had started. Made our way back to Northridge to spend some additional time with Steven and Judy. The four of us waited until around 5 p.m. and then headed over to Alessio Restaurant on Reseda Blvd. We brought two Cabernet Sauvignons with us, just because we figured we’d be tired of drinking Pinot Noir – which wasn’t the case. However, we started with a Joseph Phelps 2006 ‘Innisfree’ – lovely, fruit forward, but with enough backbone to handle the heavy Italian food. Finished the Innisfree pretty quickly and opened the WSAH 2007 Pied Violet Reserve Cabernet. Also big, fruity, tannic, delicious. Both wines paired nicely with all the different pastas and sauces, and especially well with the tiramisu we shared at the end of the meal. Back to Phyl and Ron’s, and then home fairly early after bidding S and J farewell, as they were heading North on Monday.
Monday, being a holiday, I got up early and went to Pilates, where TJ was trying to work with her mom, Lois, who was visiting from Florida (I think). Lois was a bit of a Southern belle, and really not into exercising on a machine that resembles a torture device. It was pretty funny, and I got a huge workout, as TJ was concerned that she wasn’t paying enough attention to me, and gave me some additional time and stretching. Two days later I’m still feeling some aches in muscles I didn’t know I had – and I’ve been doing Pilates for close to two years!
Home to shower, and then over to Bistro Provence where we were meeting Eve Bushman for lunch. Bless Eve for driving in from Santa Clarita in torrential rain. It was raining and blowing so hard during lunch that the restaurant door kept blowing open. We brought a bottle of 2006 Midlife Crisis Rooboy Red with us. I had a bowl of perfect lentil soup and BP’s signature roasted chicken with pommes frites, JD got a salmon dish that looked delish, and Eve had a pasta Bolognese. And we dished about the Pinot Days event. Apparently, it got very crazy once the public was allowed in, and a lot of folks weren’t happy. Eve felt that the promoters underestimated the LA audience after they had a less-than-successful event in Chicago, and they oversold the event. Based on Erin McGrath’s blog, apparently a lot of people got drunk and behaved badly, and some of the better wines were not being poured for the public – they had been poured for Trade. People couldn’t get to the food that was being offered, and the cheese and bread that was on tables around the event ran out in record time. We were glad we left when we did, and happy with the wines we sampled.
Eve took off in the driving rain, and we sailed home for a few hours until our next event.
We headed over to the Artisan Cheese Gallery for a meeting of “I’ll Drink to That” a group of business folks interested in networking over cheese and wine. This is Xochitl Maiman and Barbara Cohen’s group. I met Barbara at another networking group, and we clicked. I’m so glad she and Xochitl invited me to IDTT – like-minded folks getting to know each other and discover how we can help each other’s business over great wines and cheeses.
Wines and cheeses paired as follows:
Borgo Magredo Prosecco - 100% Prosecco - paired with Pecorino Ginepro -sheep's milk bathed in balsamic vinegar & juniper berries; aged in oak barrels; Romagna, Italy
Segura Viudas 'Aria' NV Cava from Torrelavit, Spain - 60% Macabeo/20% Parellada/20% Xarel-lo paired with Patacabra - goat's milk with washed rind, aged 45 days from Zaragoza, Spain
Marquis de la Tour Brut Rosé - lovely, dry rosé from the Loire Valley, France, paired with Campo del Montelban - mixed goat, sheep and cow milk from Spain
Laetitia NV Brut Cuveé - Arroyo Grande Valley - Chardonnay/Pinot Noir/Pinot Blanc - paired with Piedmont unpasteurized Friesian sheep's milk from Rapidan, Virginia. Really liked this combo!
Martin & Weyrich 2007 Moscato Allegro dessert wine paired with Stilton from the Colston Bassett Dairy in Nottingham-Lancashire, England
Wonderful pairings! Lovely folks! I’ll be back!
Cheers!
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Thoughts on December 24th...
It's been an odd week. Thought I'd have written a post earlier about the delightful day JD and I had last Friday tasting wines at the Cornell Winery and the Rosenthal Winery tasting room and dinner at the Sunset Restaurant, and yet, somehow, I just wasn't getting it together. I'm sure it had something to do with the one-year anniversary of my mom's death on the 20th - been thinking a lot about her this week. Even though she had been mostly lost to us due to Alzheimer's for several years, this past year I kept wanting to talk to her. My mind would play tricks on me - I'd have a thought about something or other, and think, 'Oh, I have to tell Mom about that!' And then I'd remember. I really miss her.
Meanwhile, last week JD and I had a 'stay-cation.' Slept in almost every day. Took our time. Had few actual plans for the week. It was refreshing! After Tuesday evening's special event at Craft, we had a theater management team meeting at our house, where in the middle of the meeting we got to test the stain-stopping ability of white wine over red when JD accidentally spilled a large amount of red wine on the carpet. We quickly opened a bottle of white wine that we had no intention of ever drinking (long story), poured it over the red, sopped up the liquid with paper towels, and it worked surprisingly well! Our friends couldn't believe we just opened a bottle to spill! Pretty funny.
Friday, got up a bit earlier for a doctor's appointment. Got a clean bill of health and a cortisone shot in the shoulder (just bursitis and tendonitis, nothing serious), and headed for a solid breakfast at IHOP. JD had pumpkin pancakes and eggs and stuff; I had the crepe Florentine, which was actually pretty good, although I'm not really sure about the chicken being real chicken. Had an odd consistency. Finished breakfast and headed north.
The Cornell Winery is a wine shop and more, located up in the Agoura Hills, owned by Tim and Denise Skogstrom, that features wines grown and made locally, meaning wineries and vineyards in the Malibu AVA. Tim is a close friend of Ian Blackburn (LearnAboutWine), and Denise and I went to LearnAboutWine School together two years ago, and I was delighted to see, when we entered the store, that another alumna of that class was behind the counter. Deanne welcomed us and then tried to figure out why she knew me. Then, we tasted wines.
2008 Rosenthal Surfrider Sauvignon Blanc - Edna Valley. Clean, grassy nose, with lots of grapefruit and a long finish. $17. Bought 2 bottles.
2008 Republic of Malibu 'Beach Blonde' Chardonnay - 91% local (Malibu)/9% Viognier from Santa Ynez; aged in stainless, 'rested' in oak; winemaker Michael Barnes from Santa Monica; winery in Camarillo. Pale gold color, aromatic light oak in the nose, lightly toasted flavors, very drinkable right now. $22. Bought 1 bottle.
2007 Republic of Malibu 'Pink Lady' - Rose made from Syrah/Grenache from Corral Canyon vineyards. Lovely bright pink color; clean and slightly soapy (in a good way) bouquet; very dry, cherry cola flavor. I liked it; JD not so much. He found the finish oddly bitter. $19. Note: The label displays the Malibu Pink Lady, who briefly appeared above one of the tunnels on Kanan Road back in the 60's.
2007 Cantara Cellars Barbera from Lodi. Deep red in color, big berry nose. Lots of berry fruit and licorice, but not sweet. I would drink this with cheesecake - with berry topping! $32. Bought 1 bottle.
2007 Milan Vineyards 'Maximilian' - Santa Monica Mountains, Topanga Canyon. 50% Merlot/25% Syrah/25% Cabernet Sauvignon. Proprietors Amy and Milan Rubenstein have fashioned a gorgeous deep purple wine, redolent of sweet, yet smoky cherries, deepening and finishing with black pepper. $45. Bought 1 bottle, and am looking forward to drinking it!
2006 Hoyt Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon - Malibu. Nose was vegetal, kind of barnyard-ish; taste was green pepper, black pepper and anise in the first sip. Swirled and tasted again - black cherry came to the front! I wondered if there were Cabernet Franc in the mix, but Deanne said that Hoyt's vineyards - extremely local - have a distinct flavor that she can identify blind. $19. Didn't buy, but am still curious about it.
2005 Malibu Valley Vineyards Reserve Syrah - mainly from the Triunfo vineyard off Kanan Road. Deep red color, not much nose, but dark red fruit to taste. Low alcohol, which was nice and unusual for a CA Syrah, but JD and I didn't find it that interesting. $15. And I keep asking what CA winemakers mean when they use the term 'Reserve', as it means nothing legally.
NV Saddlerock Old Vine Tawny Port. Saddlerock is the second label of Malibu Family Wines. Off-sweet with lots of chocolate and cherry and a kind of candied pecan nuttiness going on. Wonder what grapes are actually used. 19% alcohol. $20. Bought 1 bottle.
All during the tasting, we were admiring the wonderful local artists' work displayed throughout the tasting room. We spent much longer there than we planned, but we were having so much fun with Deanne and Deanotta (sp?), that we just stayed and played. We left with 6 bottles of wine and promised to return soon.
Got back on Kanan Road, which becomes Kanan Dume Road, winding thru the Santa Monica mountains to the sea. We turned left on PCH - that's Pacific Coast Highway for those of you not native to Ellay - and looked for the Rosenthal Winery tasting room. The tasting room shares a parking lot with Beau Rivage restaurant - a landmark in its' own right. We've been fortunate to have actually visited the Rosenthal estate (working for LAW - will work for wine!), an extraordinary estate in Newton Canyon, not open to the public. The Malibu Hills Vineyards are situated at elevations between 1,450 to 1,510 feet. To the west of the vineyards is a 1,630-foot ridge making a unique microclimate in the hills above Malibu. We've been fans of Rosenthal for a long time, but had never visited the tasting room!
Sean welcomed us, presented us with the tasting menu and the 'sushi' card for choosing which of the wines we wanted to taste.
2007 Surfrider Riesling - from Arroyo Seco in Monterey. Nose is honeysuckle and jasmine; in the mouth lots of apple and stone fruit with a creamy finish. $20. Bought 1 bottle.
2008 Surfrider Viognier - from Arroyo Grande in San Luis Obispo county. Lovely perfumey nose; slightly sweet, fruity. $21.
Skipped the rest of the whites and hit the reds!
2008 Surfrider Pinot Noir - Edna Valley/Firecreek Vineyard. Light-bodied, cinnamon on the nose, strawberries in the mouth. $27.
2000 Rosenthal Merlot - Malibu Estate - Newton Canyon. Elegant, with with hints of red cherry, plum, exotic spices, and a kiss of oak. Bright berry fruit, smooth mid-palate, and a lingering finish with well-integrated tannins. We liked this wine a lot, and it was on sale!!! for half price. That made it $11.25/bottle. We bought a six-pack, some of which will be under my sister's Xmas tree.
2001 Rosenthal Merlot - Malibu Estate - Newton Canyon. Lots of veggies/green pepper in the nose. I asked about the makeup of the wine, and Sean said there was some Cabernet Franc in the mix, which explains why a Merlot would smell like green pepper. Too much oak for my taste. $25.
2000 Rosenthal Cabernet Sauvignon - Malibu Estate - Newton Canyon. Deep purple color with aromas of oak and spice. The wine tasted a bit tired - maybe the bottle had been open for a while? Still, the tannins were surprisingly firm and there was a strong, black pepper finish. $30.
2001 Rosenthal Cabernet Sauvignon - Malibu Estate - Newton Canyon. Same deep purple color, and similar nose to the 2000, but tastes of blackberries and mint, with sage rounding out both the nose and mouth. Lovely. $35. Bought 1 bottle.
2004 Rosenthal Cabernet Sauvignon - Malibu Estate - Newton Canyon. Consistent with the previous Cabs, elegant and tasty, although this wine could stay in the bottle for while. Tannins were extremely firm. Nice spicy finish. $39.
2005 Surfrider 'Red' - 73% Merlot/26% Cabernet Sauvignon/1% Petit Verdot, all from the Newton Canyon vineyard. Cherries, vanilla, violets on the nose; red fruit and spice on the palate with a bit of oak. Lovely. $29.
Just a note about the Surfrider wines: Since many people associate Malibu with surfing and beautiful beaches, Rosenthal designed a label incorporating this coastal lifestyle with fine wines. Each wine features a different label series that changes with each vintage: California's picturesque coastlines, surfers, Woody's, VW Vans, and wooden long boards are all featured on their various varietals.
These wines support the Surfrider Foundation, a grassroots, non-profit, environmental organization that works to protect our oceans, waves, and beaches. For each bottle purchased, a donation is made to this praiseworthy enterprise.
The sun was beginning to get low in the sky, so we headed north on PCH to the Sunset Restaurant, located right on Zuma Beach in Malibu. We've been there a few times, and we're always happy. The setting is extraordinary - right on the beach, dolphins swimming by, perfect sunsets. And the food is good, too! We brought in the bottle of 2001 Rosenthal Cab, showed our LearnAboutWine membership card so they would waive the corkage fee, and settled down with a huge garden salad with goat cheese, pomegranate seeds and pecans (or walnuts?). My hanger steak arrived with perfect, crunchy pommes frites. JD's swordfish steak on a bed of garlic mashed potatoes with Chinese broccoli was also plate-licking good. Dee-lishus!!
The sun set gorgeously while we ate dinner. Got some good shots that I'll post on Facebook later. Took a leisurely drive home to end a perfect day. Now, getting ready for the holiday weekend. Cheers, everyone!
Meanwhile, last week JD and I had a 'stay-cation.' Slept in almost every day. Took our time. Had few actual plans for the week. It was refreshing! After Tuesday evening's special event at Craft, we had a theater management team meeting at our house, where in the middle of the meeting we got to test the stain-stopping ability of white wine over red when JD accidentally spilled a large amount of red wine on the carpet. We quickly opened a bottle of white wine that we had no intention of ever drinking (long story), poured it over the red, sopped up the liquid with paper towels, and it worked surprisingly well! Our friends couldn't believe we just opened a bottle to spill! Pretty funny.
Friday, got up a bit earlier for a doctor's appointment. Got a clean bill of health and a cortisone shot in the shoulder (just bursitis and tendonitis, nothing serious), and headed for a solid breakfast at IHOP. JD had pumpkin pancakes and eggs and stuff; I had the crepe Florentine, which was actually pretty good, although I'm not really sure about the chicken being real chicken. Had an odd consistency. Finished breakfast and headed north.
The Cornell Winery is a wine shop and more, located up in the Agoura Hills, owned by Tim and Denise Skogstrom, that features wines grown and made locally, meaning wineries and vineyards in the Malibu AVA. Tim is a close friend of Ian Blackburn (LearnAboutWine), and Denise and I went to LearnAboutWine School together two years ago, and I was delighted to see, when we entered the store, that another alumna of that class was behind the counter. Deanne welcomed us and then tried to figure out why she knew me. Then, we tasted wines.
2008 Rosenthal Surfrider Sauvignon Blanc - Edna Valley. Clean, grassy nose, with lots of grapefruit and a long finish. $17. Bought 2 bottles.
2008 Republic of Malibu 'Beach Blonde' Chardonnay - 91% local (Malibu)/9% Viognier from Santa Ynez; aged in stainless, 'rested' in oak; winemaker Michael Barnes from Santa Monica; winery in Camarillo. Pale gold color, aromatic light oak in the nose, lightly toasted flavors, very drinkable right now. $22. Bought 1 bottle.
2007 Republic of Malibu 'Pink Lady' - Rose made from Syrah/Grenache from Corral Canyon vineyards. Lovely bright pink color; clean and slightly soapy (in a good way) bouquet; very dry, cherry cola flavor. I liked it; JD not so much. He found the finish oddly bitter. $19. Note: The label displays the Malibu Pink Lady, who briefly appeared above one of the tunnels on Kanan Road back in the 60's.
2007 Cantara Cellars Barbera from Lodi. Deep red in color, big berry nose. Lots of berry fruit and licorice, but not sweet. I would drink this with cheesecake - with berry topping! $32. Bought 1 bottle.
2007 Milan Vineyards 'Maximilian' - Santa Monica Mountains, Topanga Canyon. 50% Merlot/25% Syrah/25% Cabernet Sauvignon. Proprietors Amy and Milan Rubenstein have fashioned a gorgeous deep purple wine, redolent of sweet, yet smoky cherries, deepening and finishing with black pepper. $45. Bought 1 bottle, and am looking forward to drinking it!
2006 Hoyt Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon - Malibu. Nose was vegetal, kind of barnyard-ish; taste was green pepper, black pepper and anise in the first sip. Swirled and tasted again - black cherry came to the front! I wondered if there were Cabernet Franc in the mix, but Deanne said that Hoyt's vineyards - extremely local - have a distinct flavor that she can identify blind. $19. Didn't buy, but am still curious about it.
2005 Malibu Valley Vineyards Reserve Syrah - mainly from the Triunfo vineyard off Kanan Road. Deep red color, not much nose, but dark red fruit to taste. Low alcohol, which was nice and unusual for a CA Syrah, but JD and I didn't find it that interesting. $15. And I keep asking what CA winemakers mean when they use the term 'Reserve', as it means nothing legally.
NV Saddlerock Old Vine Tawny Port. Saddlerock is the second label of Malibu Family Wines. Off-sweet with lots of chocolate and cherry and a kind of candied pecan nuttiness going on. Wonder what grapes are actually used. 19% alcohol. $20. Bought 1 bottle.
All during the tasting, we were admiring the wonderful local artists' work displayed throughout the tasting room. We spent much longer there than we planned, but we were having so much fun with Deanne and Deanotta (sp?), that we just stayed and played. We left with 6 bottles of wine and promised to return soon.
Got back on Kanan Road, which becomes Kanan Dume Road, winding thru the Santa Monica mountains to the sea. We turned left on PCH - that's Pacific Coast Highway for those of you not native to Ellay - and looked for the Rosenthal Winery tasting room. The tasting room shares a parking lot with Beau Rivage restaurant - a landmark in its' own right. We've been fortunate to have actually visited the Rosenthal estate (working for LAW - will work for wine!), an extraordinary estate in Newton Canyon, not open to the public. The Malibu Hills Vineyards are situated at elevations between 1,450 to 1,510 feet. To the west of the vineyards is a 1,630-foot ridge making a unique microclimate in the hills above Malibu. We've been fans of Rosenthal for a long time, but had never visited the tasting room!
Sean welcomed us, presented us with the tasting menu and the 'sushi' card for choosing which of the wines we wanted to taste.
2007 Surfrider Riesling - from Arroyo Seco in Monterey. Nose is honeysuckle and jasmine; in the mouth lots of apple and stone fruit with a creamy finish. $20. Bought 1 bottle.
2008 Surfrider Viognier - from Arroyo Grande in San Luis Obispo county. Lovely perfumey nose; slightly sweet, fruity. $21.
Skipped the rest of the whites and hit the reds!
2008 Surfrider Pinot Noir - Edna Valley/Firecreek Vineyard. Light-bodied, cinnamon on the nose, strawberries in the mouth. $27.
2000 Rosenthal Merlot - Malibu Estate - Newton Canyon. Elegant, with with hints of red cherry, plum, exotic spices, and a kiss of oak. Bright berry fruit, smooth mid-palate, and a lingering finish with well-integrated tannins. We liked this wine a lot, and it was on sale!!! for half price. That made it $11.25/bottle. We bought a six-pack, some of which will be under my sister's Xmas tree.
2001 Rosenthal Merlot - Malibu Estate - Newton Canyon. Lots of veggies/green pepper in the nose. I asked about the makeup of the wine, and Sean said there was some Cabernet Franc in the mix, which explains why a Merlot would smell like green pepper. Too much oak for my taste. $25.
2000 Rosenthal Cabernet Sauvignon - Malibu Estate - Newton Canyon. Deep purple color with aromas of oak and spice. The wine tasted a bit tired - maybe the bottle had been open for a while? Still, the tannins were surprisingly firm and there was a strong, black pepper finish. $30.
2001 Rosenthal Cabernet Sauvignon - Malibu Estate - Newton Canyon. Same deep purple color, and similar nose to the 2000, but tastes of blackberries and mint, with sage rounding out both the nose and mouth. Lovely. $35. Bought 1 bottle.
2004 Rosenthal Cabernet Sauvignon - Malibu Estate - Newton Canyon. Consistent with the previous Cabs, elegant and tasty, although this wine could stay in the bottle for while. Tannins were extremely firm. Nice spicy finish. $39.
2005 Surfrider 'Red' - 73% Merlot/26% Cabernet Sauvignon/1% Petit Verdot, all from the Newton Canyon vineyard. Cherries, vanilla, violets on the nose; red fruit and spice on the palate with a bit of oak. Lovely. $29.
Just a note about the Surfrider wines: Since many people associate Malibu with surfing and beautiful beaches, Rosenthal designed a label incorporating this coastal lifestyle with fine wines. Each wine features a different label series that changes with each vintage: California's picturesque coastlines, surfers, Woody's, VW Vans, and wooden long boards are all featured on their various varietals.
These wines support the Surfrider Foundation, a grassroots, non-profit, environmental organization that works to protect our oceans, waves, and beaches. For each bottle purchased, a donation is made to this praiseworthy enterprise.
The sun was beginning to get low in the sky, so we headed north on PCH to the Sunset Restaurant, located right on Zuma Beach in Malibu. We've been there a few times, and we're always happy. The setting is extraordinary - right on the beach, dolphins swimming by, perfect sunsets. And the food is good, too! We brought in the bottle of 2001 Rosenthal Cab, showed our LearnAboutWine membership card so they would waive the corkage fee, and settled down with a huge garden salad with goat cheese, pomegranate seeds and pecans (or walnuts?). My hanger steak arrived with perfect, crunchy pommes frites. JD's swordfish steak on a bed of garlic mashed potatoes with Chinese broccoli was also plate-licking good. Dee-lishus!!
The sun set gorgeously while we ate dinner. Got some good shots that I'll post on Facebook later. Took a leisurely drive home to end a perfect day. Now, getting ready for the holiday weekend. Cheers, everyone!
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Historic Bordeaux with LearnAboutWine...
After a quiet week recovering from the flu, my birthday week got off to a grand start: The Historical Bordeaux tasting at LearnAboutWine. Ian outdid himself with this line-up, and JD and I were thrilled to be among the 20 or so guests who were privileged to taste these wines.
There were 3 welcome wines - all tasted blind, and everyone got a chance to guess:
1. 2006 Chablis Premier Cru 'Les Vaucopins' - Domaine Long Depaquit. I recognized the nose and taste, and thought it was something by Jim Clendenen, but it was truly French! Embarrassing - I have this in my own cellar!
2. Chateau Brown White Bordeaux - somehow didn't get the vintage. A lovely golden blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon.
3. 2004 Lang & Reed Cabernet Franc, Napa. We all agreed it was Cab Franc, with some thinking it was Old World and others thinking New. Not many people liked it. I think the bottle was slightly corked.
The welcome wines were paired with glorious appetizers made by Matt Poley of Heirloom Catering. Butternut squash ravioli made a delicious sweet and savory combo. Matt also served a duck confit in a lettuce wrap, guinea hen with sausage and arugula (my fave!), and parmagiano/reggiano cheese balls with red pepper sauce. Yum!
Then we got serious:
1986 Chateau Cheval Blanc, Premier Grand Cru Classé, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, Bordeaux – 92RP - $600 value. A blend of Cab Franc and Merlot; the percentages change every year. Medium tannins, black cherry, rich, intense wet earth. Drink thru 2012. A delightful way to start the tasting!
1983 Chateau Latour, Premier Grand Cru Classé, Pauillac, 94WS - $500 value. Beautiful cherry nose, chocolate and meat (yes, meat!) blended with fruit and tannins. Elegant, soft structure. Wonderful.
1995 Chateau Margaux, Premier Grand Cru Classé, Margaux, 100pts WS - $750 value. Unfortunately, slightly corked, which got worse as the wine opened up. Interestingly, Ian showed us how to eliminate corkiness in the strangest way: Pour the corked wine into a bowl or container lined with plastic wrap and swirl the wine so that the plastic wrap touches all the wine. It removes the cork taint! I would not have believed it if I hadn't done it myself. Note to self: Always make sure to carry plastic wrap!
2005 Chateau Calon Segur, Grand Cru Classé, Saint-Estephe - 94RP - $125. Still really closed and young. This wine is made in true Robert Parker style - big, tannic, damp earth, black cherries, asian spices; big structure, short finish at the moment. Parker says to drink from 2020 - 2050. I liked this wine and hope that I will still be alive to enjoy it when it reaches its' full potential!
2003 Chateau Calon Segur, Grand Cru Classé, Saint-Estephe - Not a great year. Full-bodied with some exotic softness, similar to the 1982 (say Ian and Martin Weiner, both of whom know these things).
2000 Chateau Calon Segur, Grand Cru Classé, Saint-Estephe - $125 value. Opaque purple, nose full of creosote, cherries, cassis, licorice, and hamburger. Well, cooked meat. Not my fave.
The following wines are all Chateau Montrose - a truly historic vertical tasting:
2003 Chateau Montrose, Grand Cru Classé, Saint-Estephe, 100WS/RP97+ - $450 value. How do you even discuss a wine rated 100 points? Dense, black purple in color, tasting of scorched earth, blackberries. Not a lot of joy right now. You can appreciate it, but it's tight and shut down. Drink from 2010 - 2035.
1996 Chateau Montrose, Grand Cru Classé, Saint-Estephe, 92WS/RP91 - $200 value. Wow! What a nose! Crushed berries and vanilla. Drink now, by all means!
1994 Chateau Montrose, Grand Cru Classé, Saint-Estephe - Non-classic vintage; rained heavily that year. Still sweet blackcurrant, very pretty and drinkable right now.
1990 Chateau Montrose, Grand Cru Classé, Saint-Estephe, 100RP - $575 value. Big, meaty, very extracted fruit, a huge blockbuster of a wine. Inky ruby in color, black licorice in large amounts. Did I mention Robert Parker rated it 100 points? Whew!
1989 Chateau Montrose, Grand Cru Classé, Saint-Estephe, 97WS/98RP - $400 value. A completely different wine from the 1990. Seems soft compared to it. Sweet nose of minerals, black fruit, cedar, wood; highly extracted fruit, low acid; somehow more evolved than the 1990. Completely drinkable right now, but I'd like to see it in another 5 years.
1982 Chateau Montrose, Grand Cru Classé, Saint-Estephe, 96WS - $295 value. This was the flagship wine for many years. Kirsch, currant, spice, velvety tannins, long finish. Delicious. Much joy.
1970 Chateau Montrose, Grand Cru Classé, Saint-Estephe, 92RP - $295 value. Had a bit of a scare trying to remove the cork. Martin, a true wine expert/educator, confirmed that the wine had been perfectly stored and was in excellent condition. Earthy notes in the nose, as well as dried/stewed fruit and tobacco. Softened up quickly. Lovely and amazing to drink. Still youthful, dark and astringent (in a good way).
1959 Chateau Montrose, Grand Cru Classé, Saint-Estephe, 96WS/RP95 $300 value. The corks were getting very scary at this point, but the wines were still astonishing. Wow. Mushrooms in the nose. A lovely old wine with light fruit, soft tobacco and tannins that softened very quickly.
1899 Chateau Montrose, Grand Cru Classé, Saint-Estephe, 97 point vintage - valued at $2500. Tasting a 100 year old wine is a special occasion. Not all wines can make this journey, but a great house like Chateau Montrose may. This bottle is a great specimen of history, but it only lasted a few moments once open. Amazingly, the nose and body still had fruit for several minutes. The color changed from amber to dark brown within a few minutes of exposure to the air, and the taste changed from moment to moment. One interesting note: The bottle had no seam - it was hand-blown; something that doesn't happen anymore.
The experience of tasting a wine this old is rare, and Ian had no idea how this bottle would respond to opening, but loving wine as I do, I found the experience to be very inspirational, and definitely qualifies as one of life’s great moments!
We finished the evening with a 1995 Chateau D'Yquem, "Lur-Saluces", Sauternes, – Valued at $300+. D'Yquem is considered the greatest dessert wine in the world. At the Classification of 1855, D'Yquem was put in a class by itself - partly because it wasn't a red wine, but mainly because it was like no other wine. 1995 is said to be a good, not great, vintage, but this gorgeous amber/gold wine was the perfect end to a thrilling evening.
Cheers!
There were 3 welcome wines - all tasted blind, and everyone got a chance to guess:
1. 2006 Chablis Premier Cru 'Les Vaucopins' - Domaine Long Depaquit. I recognized the nose and taste, and thought it was something by Jim Clendenen, but it was truly French! Embarrassing - I have this in my own cellar!
2. Chateau Brown White Bordeaux - somehow didn't get the vintage. A lovely golden blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon.
3. 2004 Lang & Reed Cabernet Franc, Napa. We all agreed it was Cab Franc, with some thinking it was Old World and others thinking New. Not many people liked it. I think the bottle was slightly corked.
The welcome wines were paired with glorious appetizers made by Matt Poley of Heirloom Catering. Butternut squash ravioli made a delicious sweet and savory combo. Matt also served a duck confit in a lettuce wrap, guinea hen with sausage and arugula (my fave!), and parmagiano/reggiano cheese balls with red pepper sauce. Yum!
Then we got serious:
1986 Chateau Cheval Blanc, Premier Grand Cru Classé, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, Bordeaux – 92RP - $600 value. A blend of Cab Franc and Merlot; the percentages change every year. Medium tannins, black cherry, rich, intense wet earth. Drink thru 2012. A delightful way to start the tasting!
1983 Chateau Latour, Premier Grand Cru Classé, Pauillac, 94WS - $500 value. Beautiful cherry nose, chocolate and meat (yes, meat!) blended with fruit and tannins. Elegant, soft structure. Wonderful.
1995 Chateau Margaux, Premier Grand Cru Classé, Margaux, 100pts WS - $750 value. Unfortunately, slightly corked, which got worse as the wine opened up. Interestingly, Ian showed us how to eliminate corkiness in the strangest way: Pour the corked wine into a bowl or container lined with plastic wrap and swirl the wine so that the plastic wrap touches all the wine. It removes the cork taint! I would not have believed it if I hadn't done it myself. Note to self: Always make sure to carry plastic wrap!
2005 Chateau Calon Segur, Grand Cru Classé, Saint-Estephe - 94RP - $125. Still really closed and young. This wine is made in true Robert Parker style - big, tannic, damp earth, black cherries, asian spices; big structure, short finish at the moment. Parker says to drink from 2020 - 2050. I liked this wine and hope that I will still be alive to enjoy it when it reaches its' full potential!
2003 Chateau Calon Segur, Grand Cru Classé, Saint-Estephe - Not a great year. Full-bodied with some exotic softness, similar to the 1982 (say Ian and Martin Weiner, both of whom know these things).
2000 Chateau Calon Segur, Grand Cru Classé, Saint-Estephe - $125 value. Opaque purple, nose full of creosote, cherries, cassis, licorice, and hamburger. Well, cooked meat. Not my fave.
The following wines are all Chateau Montrose - a truly historic vertical tasting:
2003 Chateau Montrose, Grand Cru Classé, Saint-Estephe, 100WS/RP97+ - $450 value. How do you even discuss a wine rated 100 points? Dense, black purple in color, tasting of scorched earth, blackberries. Not a lot of joy right now. You can appreciate it, but it's tight and shut down. Drink from 2010 - 2035.
1996 Chateau Montrose, Grand Cru Classé, Saint-Estephe, 92WS/RP91 - $200 value. Wow! What a nose! Crushed berries and vanilla. Drink now, by all means!
1994 Chateau Montrose, Grand Cru Classé, Saint-Estephe - Non-classic vintage; rained heavily that year. Still sweet blackcurrant, very pretty and drinkable right now.
1990 Chateau Montrose, Grand Cru Classé, Saint-Estephe, 100RP - $575 value. Big, meaty, very extracted fruit, a huge blockbuster of a wine. Inky ruby in color, black licorice in large amounts. Did I mention Robert Parker rated it 100 points? Whew!
1989 Chateau Montrose, Grand Cru Classé, Saint-Estephe, 97WS/98RP - $400 value. A completely different wine from the 1990. Seems soft compared to it. Sweet nose of minerals, black fruit, cedar, wood; highly extracted fruit, low acid; somehow more evolved than the 1990. Completely drinkable right now, but I'd like to see it in another 5 years.
1982 Chateau Montrose, Grand Cru Classé, Saint-Estephe, 96WS - $295 value. This was the flagship wine for many years. Kirsch, currant, spice, velvety tannins, long finish. Delicious. Much joy.
1970 Chateau Montrose, Grand Cru Classé, Saint-Estephe, 92RP - $295 value. Had a bit of a scare trying to remove the cork. Martin, a true wine expert/educator, confirmed that the wine had been perfectly stored and was in excellent condition. Earthy notes in the nose, as well as dried/stewed fruit and tobacco. Softened up quickly. Lovely and amazing to drink. Still youthful, dark and astringent (in a good way).
1959 Chateau Montrose, Grand Cru Classé, Saint-Estephe, 96WS/RP95 $300 value. The corks were getting very scary at this point, but the wines were still astonishing. Wow. Mushrooms in the nose. A lovely old wine with light fruit, soft tobacco and tannins that softened very quickly.
1899 Chateau Montrose, Grand Cru Classé, Saint-Estephe, 97 point vintage - valued at $2500. Tasting a 100 year old wine is a special occasion. Not all wines can make this journey, but a great house like Chateau Montrose may. This bottle is a great specimen of history, but it only lasted a few moments once open. Amazingly, the nose and body still had fruit for several minutes. The color changed from amber to dark brown within a few minutes of exposure to the air, and the taste changed from moment to moment. One interesting note: The bottle had no seam - it was hand-blown; something that doesn't happen anymore.
The experience of tasting a wine this old is rare, and Ian had no idea how this bottle would respond to opening, but loving wine as I do, I found the experience to be very inspirational, and definitely qualifies as one of life’s great moments!
We finished the evening with a 1995 Chateau D'Yquem, "Lur-Saluces", Sauternes, – Valued at $300+. D'Yquem is considered the greatest dessert wine in the world. At the Classification of 1855, D'Yquem was put in a class by itself - partly because it wasn't a red wine, but mainly because it was like no other wine. 1995 is said to be a good, not great, vintage, but this gorgeous amber/gold wine was the perfect end to a thrilling evening.
Cheers!
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Thoughts while down with the swine...flu, that is
The week didn't turn out quite as planned. After our delightful lunch with Ally on Black Friday, we headed up the coast to Malibu, and I suddenly started coughing. A dry cough. Out of nowhere. The last time this happened - in August - it wasn't pretty. We had a nice drive, went home, and I was in bed by 8:30 because I was not feeling well.
Saturday morning, rose early as Ana was coming to clean. Was still coughing a bit, but felt OK. Had breakfast with the gang, got over to Pasadena and got our hairs cut by Gina. By that time I was coughing more and getting worried because it wasn't developing into a cold, but it was definitely something. Went back to bed, had BAD night - high fever, ague (I love that old-fashioned word!), really bad, weird dreams, and the cough that wouldn't stop - and felt bad enough on Sunday that I called the doctor. She listened to my symptoms, said, "It's probably the swine flu, but don't worry about it." I said, "WHAT!!??!!" She suggested that I might just want to ride it out, but I was nervous about it, so she called my pharmacy with a prescription for Tamiflu. Four days later, I'm much better, but have spent most of the week sleeping or watching TV. And pretty much had to reschedule my life for the week. Now I'm just trying to get it together so I'll be OK to teach the LearnAboutWine Wine Camp class on Sunday!
For those who want to get started learning about wine, Wine Camp is a great place to start. We taste some great wines, using them as a basis for understanding how to taste wine, what wine pairs the best with what foods and brings out the best in food, how to purchase and store wine, and there's history, anecdotes, laughs - lots of laughs! This Sunday, we'll be tasting the following wines:
> Scheid, Sauvignon Blanc, Monterey, 2007
> Matanzas Creek, Chardonnay, Sonoma, 2006
> Joseph Faiveley, Macon-Prisse, France, 2006
> Pali "Huntington", Pinot Noir, Santa Barbara County, 2007
> Rosenthal “Devon Vineyard” Merlot, Malibu, 2000
> Signorello “Estate” Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, 2005
> Starlite Vineyards, Zinfandel, Alexander Valley, 2005
You should join me! The class is casual and fun, and there's wine!
Cheers!
Saturday morning, rose early as Ana was coming to clean. Was still coughing a bit, but felt OK. Had breakfast with the gang, got over to Pasadena and got our hairs cut by Gina. By that time I was coughing more and getting worried because it wasn't developing into a cold, but it was definitely something. Went back to bed, had BAD night - high fever, ague (I love that old-fashioned word!), really bad, weird dreams, and the cough that wouldn't stop - and felt bad enough on Sunday that I called the doctor. She listened to my symptoms, said, "It's probably the swine flu, but don't worry about it." I said, "WHAT!!??!!" She suggested that I might just want to ride it out, but I was nervous about it, so she called my pharmacy with a prescription for Tamiflu. Four days later, I'm much better, but have spent most of the week sleeping or watching TV. And pretty much had to reschedule my life for the week. Now I'm just trying to get it together so I'll be OK to teach the LearnAboutWine Wine Camp class on Sunday!
For those who want to get started learning about wine, Wine Camp is a great place to start. We taste some great wines, using them as a basis for understanding how to taste wine, what wine pairs the best with what foods and brings out the best in food, how to purchase and store wine, and there's history, anecdotes, laughs - lots of laughs! This Sunday, we'll be tasting the following wines:
> Scheid, Sauvignon Blanc, Monterey, 2007
> Matanzas Creek, Chardonnay, Sonoma, 2006
> Joseph Faiveley, Macon-Prisse, France, 2006
> Pali "Huntington", Pinot Noir, Santa Barbara County, 2007
> Rosenthal “Devon Vineyard” Merlot, Malibu, 2000
> Signorello “Estate” Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, 2005
> Starlite Vineyards, Zinfandel, Alexander Valley, 2005
You should join me! The class is casual and fun, and there's wine!
Cheers!
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Ramblings
In my previous post, I told how JD and I met Ian Blackburn at LearnAboutWine. We continued to volunteer at his classes and events, tasting great wines and meeting like-minded people. In the fall of 2007, Ian launched his LAW (LearnAboutWine) School, and I was part of the inaugural class, passing the BAR (Beverage Aptitude Requirement) Exam and receiving my certification as a Junior Wine Executive and a cool lapel pin. It was challenging and exciting. The real revelation was the Reidel glasses. I never would have believed it would truly make such a difference in the smell and taste of the wine. I’m a believer now! Ian was funny – he said he didn’t want to make ‘glass snobs’ of us, but I gotta tell you, this fully confirms what I’ve been saying on a much lower level for many years: No drinking wine from plastic glasses!! There is just no point at all. No flavor, no nose. Amazing.
After completing LAW School, Ian asked me to pour wines at his events, rather than just help with set up and tear down. It was an opportunity to be able to learn more about wines - there is always research involved before the event, because Ian wants his pourers to be able to speak knowledgeably about the wines we're pouring. And so my education continued.
What I discovered is something that I should have realized long ago - I like to talk. People who know me will be howling with laughter at that disclosure, but I never really thought I would teach, until I discovered how passionately I felt about wine. And so that's one of the paths I'm taking - becoming a wine educator. Ian has been a great help in this - I've taught his Wine Camp (Wine 101) class, and have been the primary educator a few of his events, and he continues to encourage me and refer clients to me.
I've also joined the Society of Wine Educators as a Professional Member, and have started studying so that I can take the exam to become a Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW), which is the first step to becoming a Certified Wine Educator (CWE). I wasn't sure I was going to do that until I met Yvonne Rich, a long-time CWE. She was inspiring.
And I'm also doing in-home wine tastings for WineShop at Home, which provides another kind of venue for wine education, and about which I'll write tomorrow.
After completing LAW School, Ian asked me to pour wines at his events, rather than just help with set up and tear down. It was an opportunity to be able to learn more about wines - there is always research involved before the event, because Ian wants his pourers to be able to speak knowledgeably about the wines we're pouring. And so my education continued.
What I discovered is something that I should have realized long ago - I like to talk. People who know me will be howling with laughter at that disclosure, but I never really thought I would teach, until I discovered how passionately I felt about wine. And so that's one of the paths I'm taking - becoming a wine educator. Ian has been a great help in this - I've taught his Wine Camp (Wine 101) class, and have been the primary educator a few of his events, and he continues to encourage me and refer clients to me.
I've also joined the Society of Wine Educators as a Professional Member, and have started studying so that I can take the exam to become a Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW), which is the first step to becoming a Certified Wine Educator (CWE). I wasn't sure I was going to do that until I met Yvonne Rich, a long-time CWE. She was inspiring.
And I'm also doing in-home wine tastings for WineShop at Home, which provides another kind of venue for wine education, and about which I'll write tomorrow.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Learning About Wine
During the last 4 or 5 years, as my wine collecting seemed to be getting more and more serious, and I was assiduously taking notes on every wine I tasted, not knowing what to do with the notes; and reading book after book about wine and grapes and viticulture and...well, you get the picture. It finally occurred to me that maybe, just maybe, I should be looking for a job in the wine industry. But doing what? I didn't know anything about actually making wine, and couldn't see myself doing it. I signed up for alerts about wine jobs in the region, and discovered that most of them involved driving all over the state and carrying cases of wine around, and I didn't want to do that. I've done outside sales jobs where you just drive and drive and spend hours in traffic. Granted, I did it before there were cell phones and GPS and all those lovely modern technological marvels we all take for granted today, but still...just didn't want to drive that much.
So what to do? I searched the Internet for wine jobs and wine education and wine anything. And in January of 2007, I found a company called LearnAboutWine.com. And they were offering a course called 'So You Want to be in the Wine Business?'. I thought this might be something that could help, so JD and I talked it over, and we signed up.
Fighting rush hour traffic to get downtown to the Arts District - not the Music Center, but a much older area East and South of there, near Little Tokyo - we found street parking and went upstairs to meet Ian Blackburn of LearnAboutWine and hear what he had to say. As we sipped on his welcome wine, an interesting white from Mexico (who knew there was wine in Mexico? so much to learn!), more students arrived, many of whom seemed to know each other - making us feel a little like we had intruded on someone else's party.
But we sat down at a table for four, and the class began. Ian introduced himself, talking about how he had started LAW as a blog, and then grew it into a wine education business. We went around the room, introducing ourselves, and to my dismay, it seemed that JD and I were the only ones who were not already involved in the industry. There were winemakers, and wine writers/bloggers, and people who were opening wine stores, and winery/wine company reps. And us.
It was an eye-opening evening. I came home more confused than ever. Where did I fit? What could I do? What skills did I bring to the table, other than a decent palate and a passion for wine?
A week or so later, I received an email from LearnAboutWine, advertising an event at HD Buttercup (the former Helms Bakery building in Culver City), a high-end furniture store. It was around $65 per person, and I was thinking I just couldn't afford to spend that much money, and I noticed, in small print, a note that said, 'Interested in volunteering? Click here.' I was intrigued, and clicked. It launched a new email, so I sent off a note about JD and me. We have a lot of experience with events, and getting things done quickly and efficiently. A few more emails went back and forth, and Ian agreed that we could come as volunteers.
JD and I arrived at HD Buttercup around 6 PM and found Ian's team somewhat in disarray. There were several Cordon Bleu students in white uniforms, and a few other folks milling around. A pleasant young man named James seemed to have some idea of what was going on. It became clear that there were around 30 tables to set up for a 7:30 event, and the manager was not going to let us do anything until 6:30, which was going to make it very...um...challenging to get everything done that had to be done.
Ian looked around, focused on me, and asked, 'Can you handle the cheese?' I replied, 'Of course!' He told me to take the cheese cart - which had close to 20 different cheeses on it - and gave me a list of the wines on each table, and told me to match them up as well as I could. I grabbed a couple of students and JD, and we hurried thru the store, talking to the winery reps, trying to determine what cheese went best with what wine. We got it done, of course. Everything fell into place, and when we ran into Ian about an hour later, he told us we were 'awesome'. Very gratifying! I reminded him that we had a LOT of experience getting things done, and that he should feel free to call on us whenever he needed help.
We went home with a couple of bottles of wine and feeling that something important had changed in our lives.
So what to do? I searched the Internet for wine jobs and wine education and wine anything. And in January of 2007, I found a company called LearnAboutWine.com. And they were offering a course called 'So You Want to be in the Wine Business?'. I thought this might be something that could help, so JD and I talked it over, and we signed up.
Fighting rush hour traffic to get downtown to the Arts District - not the Music Center, but a much older area East and South of there, near Little Tokyo - we found street parking and went upstairs to meet Ian Blackburn of LearnAboutWine and hear what he had to say. As we sipped on his welcome wine, an interesting white from Mexico (who knew there was wine in Mexico? so much to learn!), more students arrived, many of whom seemed to know each other - making us feel a little like we had intruded on someone else's party.
But we sat down at a table for four, and the class began. Ian introduced himself, talking about how he had started LAW as a blog, and then grew it into a wine education business. We went around the room, introducing ourselves, and to my dismay, it seemed that JD and I were the only ones who were not already involved in the industry. There were winemakers, and wine writers/bloggers, and people who were opening wine stores, and winery/wine company reps. And us.
It was an eye-opening evening. I came home more confused than ever. Where did I fit? What could I do? What skills did I bring to the table, other than a decent palate and a passion for wine?
A week or so later, I received an email from LearnAboutWine, advertising an event at HD Buttercup (the former Helms Bakery building in Culver City), a high-end furniture store. It was around $65 per person, and I was thinking I just couldn't afford to spend that much money, and I noticed, in small print, a note that said, 'Interested in volunteering? Click here.' I was intrigued, and clicked. It launched a new email, so I sent off a note about JD and me. We have a lot of experience with events, and getting things done quickly and efficiently. A few more emails went back and forth, and Ian agreed that we could come as volunteers.
JD and I arrived at HD Buttercup around 6 PM and found Ian's team somewhat in disarray. There were several Cordon Bleu students in white uniforms, and a few other folks milling around. A pleasant young man named James seemed to have some idea of what was going on. It became clear that there were around 30 tables to set up for a 7:30 event, and the manager was not going to let us do anything until 6:30, which was going to make it very...um...challenging to get everything done that had to be done.
Ian looked around, focused on me, and asked, 'Can you handle the cheese?' I replied, 'Of course!' He told me to take the cheese cart - which had close to 20 different cheeses on it - and gave me a list of the wines on each table, and told me to match them up as well as I could. I grabbed a couple of students and JD, and we hurried thru the store, talking to the winery reps, trying to determine what cheese went best with what wine. We got it done, of course. Everything fell into place, and when we ran into Ian about an hour later, he told us we were 'awesome'. Very gratifying! I reminded him that we had a LOT of experience getting things done, and that he should feel free to call on us whenever he needed help.
We went home with a couple of bottles of wine and feeling that something important had changed in our lives.
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