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June 28, 2001
Are any of you
Winos in the same position I am? My
parents have reached that point when they have decided to move to their
retirement home. This means they
are cleaning out the crap that has been tucked away in closets and attics for
the past 41 years. Yes, 41 years
ago they bought their starter home in the suburbs, well Bloomfield was a suburb
in 1960. The peach farm had been
sub-divided into 35 x 140 foot lots with a babbling brook bringing a countryside
escape from the city. Weeping willows
line the edge of the brook where we learned to ice skate and raft and swung on
an old Chevy Biscayne tire tied to the outer most limb hanging over the pond.
As the kids
departed, we took the essentials, but left the things that would not fit into
our starter apartments. My younger
brother moved to Manhattan and space was a premium. My older brother went
west and the cost to move in the 70’s prohibited his taking the unnecessary
stuff. This leaves my sister and I to rifle through the remains of the stuff we
grew up with and decide what to keep, what to throw out, and what to take home
and throw out once we are out of sight.
I know, this is
a long days journey into a wine story, but indulge me for a bit, I have not
rambled nonsensically for awhile. The
weekend came for me to do my part in the clean out of the house and I headed
down to the basement to see what was left after the third yard sale.
Had I known then what I know now, I would have saved all my GI Joes and
accessories. The only things I
found were my Gemini Capsule, one GI with life-like hair and my original GI Joe. There is a footlocker with the original Navy uniform and the
night watchman’s sweater and Le Beau hat.
Now at 400-500 dollars for boxed GI Joe’s I could have funded the
Bordeaux section in my wine cellar with all first growths.
We were
board-game kids and there were a few left that I took in hopes of one day
playing with my kids…
So now I get to
the tie-in with wine. Thank you Wino Bob, I was just about to click on the White
Zinfandel homepage from your touching childhood memories…
One of the
board games, yes Gen Xer’s, this was what we had in the olden days before
video this and handheld that. One
game was called Risk. This game was
a Neo-Napoleonic war strategy game to conquer the world using dice and these
wooden tokens that represented your armies.
OK, graphics were not the highlight.
When my brothers and I would play this game, I had a strategy where I
would bolster my armies in Canada, and come across Kamchatka, through Yakutsk
and into Ural. Once there, one
could capture China, Siam, India, Australia and Indonesia if Ukraine was your
strong hold.
Today, I was
looking at the board and realized if I were playing it, I would defend to the
death the wine producing regions of the world.
From France, Italy, and Germany, to Australia and South Africa, I would
be the Armies of the Grapes. I
would pick the purple wooden tokens that would represent my armies and fend off
anyone trying to attack the richest soils that my nectar of the Gods grew on.
This game has a whole new meaning to me now, I don’t want to conquer
the world, and I just want to control the wine production and distribution to
the world from the best wine growing regions.
The rest of the
stuff will sit in my attic until I decide to retire and one day my kids will be
going through the attic and find Risk in the corner. I hope it goes into
the pile they take home and throw out, instead of trashing it in front of me.
Or worse, maybe I’ll wind up in a home, in a robe, babbling senselessly
(since I have such practice at it now) and clutching the game Risk, challenging
the other old people to defend the World of Wine…
June 24, 2001
Wino Wally, I
thank you for forcing my to drink white wine.
As the hot, humid nights of summer have captured the New Jersey area, a
nicely chilled white wine has me rethinking my wine cellar.
As you saw in the past from Wino John’s depiction of my wine rack,
white wines were the intrusion in my red wine cellar.
Since Wino Wally recommended we look for summer white wines, I have
enjoyed grapes I never knew existed; sylvaner, gruener veltliner, vernacci and
now my latest example- steen (what most of the world calls Chenin blanc).
In the past I
have tried some Chenin Blanc, but found them too green and steely for my taste.
South Africa has made one that I greatly enjoyed, much different in style
than the California Chenin Blanc’s I have had in the past.
I found this
wine to be floral and fruity at the nose, with a great fruit/acid balance.
I need to try this with several different foods to see how it holds up,
but I will admit, this is a wine that caught my attention for it’s flavor and
fruit. For the price, this is a
must drink this summer for me.
By the way,
next week at Bacchus the wine tasting is called, Porch Wines,
great value wines for the summer. I
wonder where they got that idea? Do
you think Joe the Wine Guy read Wino Wally’s column?
Seems coincidental…
2000 KWV
Steen $ (7.50) 
Not a premium wine, buy this to drink through the hot summer months.
Great value for this wine. Tops
my Porch Wine List…
June 23, 2001
Tuscany, the
Italian Mecca of Red Wine, according to the tasting we went to. “The
sangiovese grape makes a beautiful wine that can be so versatile with food.
No other wine can complement as large a variety of dishes that Chef Mike
can prepare,” stated Sylvia Frodella, owner of Bacchus.
Sylvia spoke passionately for the opening of the wine tasting, about the
area her people come from in Italy and the great producers of wine.
For Sylvia, the Super Tuscans surpass the Bordeaux region in age and
quality of wine.
As pictured
here, white wines are not the grapes of the region. Out of the 8 wines we
tasted; one was white and mediocre at best.
The reds are where it’s at. Joe
the Wine Guy gave us a nice selection of wine, though I had to bring my own
bottle of Sassicaia to finish off the evening at the top of the food chain.
We tasted the following wines:
San Quirico,
Vernaccia di San Gimignano- the Vernaccia grape produces a crisp white wine with
mild fruitiness and could be considered for drinking on a hot summer day as long
as the wine is well chilled. To be
open minded, I would list this on the Wino Wally Summer Wine list of mine.
La Braccesca,
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano- the red wine I liked the least, not much character
and the fruit faded quickly.
Castello di
Meleto, Chianti Classico- a good representation of the true nature of the
sangiovese grape. I would drink
this with pasta and mussels in marinara sauce.
Castello di
Brolio, Chianti Classico- a more structured wine with good dark cherry fruit.
Castello di
Meleto “Fiore”- a super Tuscan at a great price, this blend has character
and depth at a $38.00 price. My
favorite of the night, but I have a tendency to enjoy blends due to the changing
characteristics offered by the different grapes.
Altesino Rosso
di Montalcino- good fruit, but a wine that I could take or leave
Argiano,
Brunello di Montalcino- Big, Bold, plum and dark cherry fruit that has length
and enough tannin to know this will drink well into the future.
As the sangiovese wines go, this was king, but was edged out by the super
Tuscan style wine that captured my palate.
June
20, 2001
Long
summer
days mean plenty of time to sit on the porch drinking wine.
Last night I went to have a glass of a cool crisp white wine to combat
that hot, muggy New Jersey weather. As
I settled into the bar stool that soon will have the brass plate with my name on
it, Tom told me he had a new wine by the glass he wanted me to try.
Not wanting to send shock waves through Fairfield and refuse his
recommendation, he poured up a pleasant Zin that was fresh, with good fruit and
a light finish. Not a wine I could
put on Wally’s Summer list, but this Zin was not as harsh and heavy as some I
have had in the past.
While
I was there, I was fortunate enough to sign up for a Tuscany Wine class tonight.
Joe the Wine Guy tells me the class is booked out, people love Italian
Wines. So tonight I go to get an education in search of those great
Italian wines that don’t send my wallet into apoplexy.
1998
Kempton Clark Mad Zin $ (12.00)
This wine is called MAD (Multiple Appellation Designate) and brings grapes from
several great wine regions in California. Comprised
of 85% Zinfandel, and the balance Alicante Bouschet and Petite Sirah. Balanced and full of berries, this is a pleasurable wine to
consume on a clear summer night when the sun and humidity have dropped and a
light breeze occasionally rustles the leaves.
June 16, 2001
Any
of you Winos live in a town where they have an arena football team?
Any of you Winos ever attend an arena football game?
For those of you who have not had the pleasure, you might find this
amusing. Last night I attended a game
between the NJ Gladiators and the Florida Bobcats.
Attendance at Continental Arena, 1,123.
Yes, the Arena seats 20,000 so everyone is within the first 40 rows.
To sum things up, the players are not good, the fans consist of people
who cannot get tickets to the NFL and the wine list is none existent.
With the Gladiators down 38-20, the half time entertainment was AGNI, Man
of Fire. AGNI juggles, waves, holds,
and dances with fire. For his grand
finale, AGNI holds this liquid in his mouth, and holds a torch in front of his
face. The music heightens and AGNI
sprays out this liquid, which I believe is Grappa based on the crap I have had
in the past.
Well,
last night, as AGNI performed his big closer, which the world has enjoyed for oh
so many years, AGNI’s liquid did not all come straight up to the flame.
No, this time trails of liquid trickled down his chin, which immediately
ignited AGNI’s face, as the disco song , “Burn Baby Burn”, cranked in the
background. AGNI dropped his
torches on the Astroturf, starting a small smolder as he tried to put out his
face. Hey, sounds like a great
family night of entertainment. What,
does this have to do with wine? NOTHING. I just thought it was a
wild story and wanted to share it with my friends.
Did
any of you get the Sassicaia Packet from American Express this week?
I did, the 1998 is in the cellar sleeping for the next 10 years, but the
autographed book is beautiful. Be
ready for the Sassicaia facts to start flowing over the next few weeks as I dig
into the book.
When
I got home, I had to calm myself from the AGNI incident with a bottle of red
wine. It made me sleep easier.
1998
KWV Rooderberg $ (11.00)
A pleasant blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon which brings a smooth, fruity
sensation to the palate. A wine for
enjoying with friends with blackberry and cherry and mild tannin.
Enjoy now or over the next few years, but not a keeper for more than 5.
June
8, 2001
Did
this ever happen to you? I
know that I say way too much about my personal life for a wine review page, but
why stop now?) You are having a
great meal with friends and then the dreaded moment when dinner is over and the
couple you are with invite you back to their house for coffee.
Sometimes after a great meal, I prefer heading home in case one of the
five courses has an adverse reaction. So,
as fate would have it, I am in the home of an acquaintance and the second course
starts running through my stomach like a flash flood in a desert rainstorm.
With too long a drive and not wanting to abruptly leave, I excuse myself
to the bathroom and turn the water faucet on to save the embarrassment of the
symphony that followed. With time
on my hands, I looked through the magazines on the small heart shaped stool to
the right of the commode. Underneath
the Family Circle and the Martha Stewart magazines was an old issue of Food and
Wine magazine. This dated back to
December 2000, the Christmas Issue. Leafing
through the context, I found two articles suited for my wino friends Wally and
John. The first was an article
entitled Gadget Guidance, perfectly suited for Wino Wally’s love
of the Gadget. This was an
interview with Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon.com.
Look at all the connections, Internet guru, gadgets, wine…
Jeff’s favorite wine related gizmo is the Metrokane’s Rabbit
Corkscrew. This thing looks like a
hand-held drill press sporting a pair of vise grips to hold the bottle.
I suddenly found myself with Corkscrew envy.
The
article that really captivated me was the one on dining in Silicone Valley with
billionaire Jim Clark, founder of Netscape, Healtheon, Silicon Graphics and
whatever else he feels is worth investing in.
Boater, culinary expert, and serious Pinot Noir Wino.
Wino John, if I were you, I would contact Mr. Kaplan, author of the
article and show him the date on your published theory that wine and technology
have been co-joined since the birth of the transistor.
I know the article is 18 months old, but if you do get the chance to dig
through the magazine pile at a friend’s house, take the time to read this
issue. By the way, just a little hint, if I ever come over for
coffee after a great meal, make sure there is plenty to read in the library.
1998
Justine Estate Syrah $ (20.00)
Deep ruby color, smoke and fruit nose and a pleasant jammy flavor.
Hints of tannin, and a gaminess of wild berries and beef jerky.
Drinkable now, but this is a wine that will last over the next several
years.
June
3, 2001
 With
the warm weather dancing in the air, and me needing to get back to the red wine
I prefer over the summery white wines, I tasted two Spanish wines last night.
Yes, it was at Bacchus and yes, Wino Joe made the recommendation.
By the way, if any of you are looking for something exciting to do on
June 12th, the owners of Bacchus, the beautiful and talented Sylvia
and Mike, are doing a cooking demonstration and wine pairing.
Sylvia has a great sense of humor and should make a fun experience out of
it.
Wanting
a wine on the lighter side, Joe recommended a Reserva from the best know wine
region in Spain, the Rioja. (The insert on the left shows the vineyards of the
La Rioja Alta SA winery.)
This soil gives rise to the famous Tempranillo grape and the
complementary Granacha. (Grenache for us Rhone people).
The
second wine I enjoyed very much due to its blending of Granacha and Syrah.
This second wine comes from a lesser know region called Tarragona (see
insert)
This wine is a much heavier style then the Rioja and fit more to my
style. Both were summery red wines,
though the Tarragona I would save for after the sun went down, a bit full for
the late afternoon heat.
1994
La Rioja Alta Vina Ardanza Reserva $$ (40.00 rest.)
M
1999
Cellar Cooperatiu de Capanes Mas Donis $ (15.00)
Full-body, deep, dark color with violet shades. This blend of 80% Granacha and
20% Syrah brings weight to the palate and tons of fruit.
Hold on for the ride, this has a long finish and a moderate amount of
tannin. A great dinner wine for Big
Red drinkers.
May
29,2001
Wino
Wally, your summertime challenge has me drinking white wine made from grapes I
need to read encyclopedias to find information on.
But the one I had today was a winner and one I expect you and Sometimes
Winette Sharon to serve at your next Bar-B-Q.
The wine was made from a grape called Sylvaner (silvaner). I have seen it
spelled both ways. It is a grape
hailing from the Alsace region of France and has been lessened by the upswing in
great Johannisberg Rieslings from this region. This is a grape that has also been crossed to yield the
Muller-Thurgau hybrid and a Scheurebe as well. White wines are not all Chardonnays and this is an easy
drinking grape for a hot summer day.
1999
Dopff & Irion Crustace $ (7.99)
Rating this on price and value, this is a buy in my book. Clean, zesty,
and with a citrus flavor, this wine has a floral nose and an easy drinkability.
Not a classic, but a great summertime wine.
A great complement to Salmon in Lobster Bisque, it did not shy away from
the sauce.
1998
French Creek Ridge Chardonnay $ (11.00)
This is the first bottle from French Creek Ridge of Pa. that I liked.
The oak gives this a body and creaminess with a classy vanilla flavor.
The length was disappointing since the set up is so strong.
I haven’t liked anything else from this winery yet, but this one was
good.
May 28, 2001
-
I thought I’d share a few
facts about the French Wine production in the area I love the most, the
Rhone Valley.
-
72,300 hectares and 7,000 wine-producing properties.
-
The second largest AOC-producing
vineyard in France, in terms of area and production.
-
More than 3 million
hectoliters produced each year.
-
442 million bottles sold per
year.
-
Annual turnover of FF 6
billion, FF 1.2 billion of which are from exports.
-
Largest provider of work in
the Rhône Valley in terms of direct and indirect employment.
Surface area and yields:
 With
a surface area of 72,000 hectares and production on the order of 3 million
hectoliters per year, the Rhône Valley wine-producing area is larger than
Burgundy's and the Loire Valley's combined, and it is the second largest
wine-producing region in all of France.
Allocation of land in the rhône
valley:
There are three colors of wine
in the rhône valley: white, red, and rosé.
May
27, 2001
Memorial
Day weekend. My hat’s off to any of the winos out there that served this
great country of ours. No big
speeches, just a big Thank You. I’m
sure the bars in Southeast Asia aren’t known for their fine Bordeaux. As Memorial Day weekend is upon us, two things come to mind.
First, this is the official kick off to the great Bar-B-Q season as the
summertime fun and activities lead me to many a mosquito infested night on the
front porch. Second, it’s a three
day weekend, leaving Sunday night as a “Let’s drink the whole damn bottle,
since I don’t have to get up at 6 AM tomorrow.”
Being
one to never shy away from a challenge, I have taken up to finding light
summertime white wines per Wino Wally's request. Not being a white wine
drinker, I went to the expert, Joe the Wine Guy.
Joe loves white wines, which is odd for someone working around all that
meat in the Chop House. Be that as
it may, I was tempted to drink a Sancerre, but instead Joe the Wine Guy brought
out a wine that I bet Sometimes A Winette Sharon would love for a refreshing,
light summertime wine. Keeping with
the theme of new experiences and keeping an open mind, I drank a bottle made
from Gruner Veltliner. Yes, to my
never-ending educational process, this is a white grape that makes some famous
wines from Austria. Though Rieslings are more common from this region, the Gruner
Veltliner is a great summer wine
The
wine comes from the Kremstal region and the Nigl Family Winery is an
award-winning vineyard. Try
something new, fresh and summery and let Wino Wally know if it makes your list.
1999
Nigl Gruner Veltliner $ (18.00)
Young, crisp, clean and refreshing with a zip of citrus flavor.
This is a great compliment to grilled fish, lobster and shrimp.
1999 is a great year in Austrian wines.
Enjoy.
May
25, 2001
Winos
and winettes, I am embarrassed to admit that I have not been keeping up with my
entries. The world as we know it is
hurling through space at 1000 miles a minute and so has the time since my last
entry. Sometimes I need to have
Superman fly to the equator and slow down the spinning so there is more time in
the day. I never understood how he
could fly into outer space and still breathe.
The one thing that gets me the most about Superman is when the bad guy is
cornered and unloads the six rounds at Superman’s chest, bullets ricocheting
off him left and right. Then, what
does the bad guy do every time? Yes, he throws the gun at Superman!
Now think of this. A piece of lead hurling across six feet at a
thousand meters per sec cannot penetrate Superman’s chest, but a 34 oz. gun
thrown at 45 miles per hour is going to do what?
Wino
Bob, what the hell does this have to do with wine?
Nothing. Sorry, my mind was just caught in a momentary lapse…
I
have enjoyed wine over the past week and have had a new grape that I never heard
of until Joe the Wine Guy served it up at the bar in Bacchus. I did go to the Wine Pairing Dinner at Bacchus and had an
excellent time. Bacchus will put
together a custom wine pairing for six or more so get your wino friends together
and make a time with Joe the Wine Guy to enjoy an absolutely fantastic meal.
Just
to give you an idea of the menu:
Grilled
veggie buschette and salmon and goat cheese over toasted (fill in the
blank here, Bob) was complemented by a 1999 Michel Brock Sancerre from
the Loire Valley. This wine is
light and refreshing with a great fruit/acid balance.
This is a lighter summer time wine that I would put on my list for Wino
Wally.
Caramelized
diver sea scallops with aspiration and orange zest in a citrus buerre blanc.
We altered the menu here and went with White Burgundy. Since Joe the Wine
Guy altered this at my request, I did not have the label available.
I will tell you that the minerality of the White burgundy was a great
companion to the scallops.
Pink
peppercorn-dusted rare Ahi Tuna with cucumber noodles in a pinot noir reduction.
1998 Dureuil-Janthial “Rosey” from the Rully region of Burgundy.
This Burgundy had the nose of a spicy Rhone style and stood up well to
the dusting of pink peppercorn. I
tend to shy away from Burgundies since it is such a fleshy, soft grape. But fellow winos, this is a wine to experience.
Not like the traditional Pinot Noirs but rather bold and expressive.
Grilled
fan fillet ostrich with blackberry chutney and Idaho potato ribbons.
1998 Domaine Alfred “Chamisal Vineyard” from Edna Valley, California.
The region is moving closer to the excitement Pinot growers have about
Carneros. This wine is a more
traditional berry flavor that was enhanced by the blackberry chutney.
And
if there was room for desert, tri-color sorbet.
1998 Quady, “Elysium”, Black Muscat. The
perfect ending to a gourmet experience.
I
do not know how else to express the fact that for anyone close to North Jersey,
you need to see Joe the Wine Guy and set up a pairing dinner. You will never be the same afterwards.
I
am not making a new entry because I failed to write down the label, but the
other night, Joe the Wine Guy served us up a bottle of wine made from the grape,
Tannat. I never saw, heard, or
tasted Tannat until last Tuesday, but this is a big bold grape.
Traditionally used in the Madiran region in Southwestern France, the wine
we tasted was from Spain. This
grape is not for the weak at heart, having jaggedness to the finish, with a bit
of a bite. A long time in the
bottle will bring the jammy fruit to the front and make this a more enjoyable
experience.
1998
Hedges Columbia Valley Red Wine $ (11.00)
Dark and deep purple color, this blend of 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 8%
Cabernet Franc, 5% Syrah gives this depth and complexity.
Raspberry, chocolate and cranberry flavors dance in your mouth, but the
wine does not last long enough to push this higher on the list.
May
24, 2001
Dear
Bob-
Thank
you for your interest in Clos Pegase and for your kind words about or
1991 Artist Series
Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. The blend of the grapes for
that vintage was
52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot and 12% Cabernet Franc.
Please
let me know if there are any further questions I can answer.
Thank
you.
Amy Scribner
Marketing
Assistant
Clos Pegase
ascribner@clospegase.com
Phone 707/942-4981
Fax 707/942-4993
When
in doubt, ask the vineyard. I
really enjoyed that Clos Pegase and wrote them to ask the blend.
The fruit was driven but the Cabernet Sauvignon and the Merlot backed the
tannin down to make this wine a treat.
May
20, 2001
Nouveau
Cuisine, another French invention. Why
don’t they just call it Big Plate, Little Colorful Food With a Drizzled Sauce?
Big on presentation, but a sure trip to Wendy’s on the way home to load
up on some good old greasy fries.
My
younger brother is doing the Newhart thing.
Yes, he is giving up a secure job as Dean of the Engineering School in an
Ivy League university in Manhattan and is moving to Hawaii.
His hope is to locate a nice piece of property and open a Bed and
Breakfast. It must be nice to be in
a position to lock up the apartment you own in NYC and head out to start anew in
a tropical paradise. And if things
don’t work out, it’s back to NY City to find a new career.
So
today, we threw a dart on the map that was centrally located for the Clampets to
meet and we had a “Good-bye, Congratulations, Best Wishes Sunday Dinner” at
a restaurant in Basking Ridge, NJ. We
thought we were going to a place called Girafe, but it changed names and
cuisine several months ago. The
food was tasteful, but the dinner was appetizer size, though the plate was not.
Having a bunch of non-drinkers in the family (that’s why I am making up
for it), I was relegated to the wines by the glass.
I did see the wine list and it had some top brands, but the pricing was
OUTRAGEOUS. Most high end wines
were one hundred dollars or more over retail price.
I just can’t see spending that freely when I know I can buy it almost
two for one and enjoy it at home.
Their
wine by the glass selection was small, but since it was an Italian restaurant, I
went with the waiter’s selection, which turned out to be an enjoyable wine.
So to my brother, Richard, I drink a toast to his new venture in Hawaii,
hoping that things will work out and I will fly there to help him establish his
cellar and pair the first menu.
1998
Castello Banfi Centine
$ (11.00)
From the winery that brings us the big, bold red wine, Summus, this is a
lighter, fruitier wine that is well balanced and refreshing.
Comprised of 60% Sangiovese, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Merlot, this
wine is a good companion to pastas and grilled meats.
Fun for a summer’s night, but not for an elegant dinner.
May
18, 2001
Winos
and Winettes, for those of you who still have your Platinum Am Ex cards even
thought the cash you had in the market is disappearing, American Express is
offering a special on the original Super Tuscan.
Yes, Sassicaia, the first Cabernet Sauvignon made in the Chianti region
of Italy, has made available a limited supply of the 1998 soon-to-be-released
wine, with a book that reveals the history of the wine and the family who
produces it. These books are signed,
no not by Wino Bob, nor Kevin Zraly, but rather the author of the book.
For
those who cannot get to the offer in time, I will review the book after I read
it this August when they are planning to send out this special gift.
Happy Wining…
May
13, 2001
Civil War, Jumbo Shrimp, Government Intelligence. George Carlin put it
best. Polar opposites. That was my wine experience last night.
After many hours in front of the computer yesterday, I sought comfort in
a place that, by now, most people know my name.
Yes, I have become Norm taking my usual seat at the corner of the
fiber-optic lit bar top that blends color changes every 20-30 seconds.
Like a mood ring on crack, this thing goes from green to blue to purple.
Nothing too dynamic, just soft subtle colors to enhance your mood.
As I ran over the wine list for the first time in 3 days, I wanted to
order something new. While I was
making my selection, Joe the Wine Guy poured me a glass of the Saturday night
featured wine, a Rhone. Sticking
with the theme, I ordered a Syrah, big surprise there.
The comparison between the wines was striking. Right from the pour,
these wines were on different tracks. Needless to say, I went with the big
heavy wine as my choice, but that’s why you have to try.
The wine they were serving as the house special is a solid, by-the-glass
wine for red wine drinkers who usually drink Chardonnay. Well, actually,
the wine was more like dyed water. It
was great to quench my thirst for the moment, but in my opinion, its similarity
to my style wine was that it was red and did come in a wine bottle with a cork.
Be that as it may, the beef carpacchio was a great compliment to my syrah
and the cheese platter brought it together very well.
1998
Cote du Luberon Les Petite Tourettes $
(12.00)
Any wine with the word tourettes in it leaves me wondering. This is red
water, great for a hot summer day, with ice, when you want to appear like you
are drinking an adult beverage. Dangerously close to the category of white
zin… I can’t even write the word.
1999
Syrah Paraiso Springs Vineyard, Mendocino $$
(25.00)
Generous fruit, deep dark hue and a lengthy, layered finish.
Enough tannin to lay this one down for several years, but a strong
blackberry flavor to enjoy now. Toasted vanilla, spice and a hint of
chocolate make this a delight. A
syrah style to treat friends to.
May
12, 2001
Being the Year of the Syrah, I went back to the Rhone for
an enjoyable bottle of wine.
If Darryl Dawkins doesn’t mind, I am calling this one Chocolate
Thunder. Now,
the King of Love Tram may not be a wine lover, and most likely he did not drink
this wine to come up with his nickname, but from the nose of this wine, all I
can smell was Chocolate.
It was not like I was at Hershey Park, but the aroma and flavors in this
wine screamed Bosco.
The wine showed great fruit and a smooth, velvet finish, but that’s
what Darryl Dawkins used to say about himself.
So, without pissing off Darryl, I recommend you find this wine, drink it
and see if it helps with your backboard breaking slams…
1998
Jean-Luc Colombo Cornas Les Ruchets $$$
(65.00)
This is what made me fall in love with Rhone wines, power and grace with flavors
and aromas that excite the senses.
Chocolate by the mouthful, dark berry fruit that is light in tannin,
velvety and smooth with a long finish. Cedar brings a touch of spice to the
palate. A
wonderful full body wine to sip with friends or cellar for a special dinner
party.
May
9, 2001
As a kid, did you ever run with scissors?
Come on, we all know there are strict rules that we must follow, but when
you have to be back at your desk and you are transporting a sharp object, you do
what needs to be done.
What happened, you got caught, the teacher yelled at you, they may have
even pinned a note on your shirt to take home that you were caught running with
scissors. Inside,
you basically told the teacher to take a hike, it’s no big deal.
No one got hurt and the Macaroni man looks great hanging in the hall.
Well, it seems that France is intolerant of those who do
not follow their strict guidelines.
It seems that the brothers Marion, former owners of Chanson Pere &
Fils, got caught running with scissors.
OK, so it wasn’t scissors, no the brothers ran into a crop of grapes
that they knew was not going produce the best they had to offer, so they blended
some grapes from a different region.
Think about it, they knew they were going to charge
outrageous prices for their wine, so they wanted to make a better product.
I don’t know, but there is this thing in France where they are real
strict about placing appellation controlee labeling and only using
grapes from that vineyard.
Sounds like they were just trying to make the best Macaroni Man they
could and if they had to run with scissors to grab the best pieces of macaroni,
so be it.
I ask you, is there no flexibility in France’s wine
structure? Is
it better to produce a crappy wine that can be labeled correctly because all the
grapes come from the property?
Or is the true reason you place your trademark on a bottle to ensure a
high quality wine even if your vineyard had a bad crop?
I am a wine enthusiast, not a snobby purist.
Give me the best damn wine you can produce even if you have to get grapes
from England…
Let me know your thoughts.
May
2, 2001
The
napkin, with every glass of wine they serve, you get a napkin. If you are like me, that absorbent paper has detailed more
get rich schemes then Ralph Kramden. I
don’t know what it is but as I start drinking wine, the mother of invention
wells up inside and dances through my brain.
I start thinking I can design a cold fusion machine or a cryogenic
tire-recycling unit. The more wine,
the more details flow through my pen onto that napkin. Usually by the end of the bottle, I have the schematics for
the system that will put me in the company of Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham
Bell. The alcohol unleashes the
roadblocks that my Clark Kent exterior hides during my normal working day.
I have the marketing plan, the business plan and the first round of
capital all thought out. As I leave the bar, I stuff that napkin in my pants pocket
and head home to sleep on this invention that will make me the next millionaire.
Did
you ever look at that napkin the next morning, through bloodshot eyes and a
headache? What the hell is this?
It looks like an egg and a triangle, with a scrolled series of Gothic
style “S” letters and a colored-in tulip.
What the, who the….
I
only wish I owned a bar, I’d collect all those napkin master pieces and
publishes them with the explanations given by the inventors, while the wine is
running fast and furious through their veins.
I wonder how many ideas that have become million dollar products started
on the napkin drawing over a bottle of wine and friends shooting the shit about
how their current job sucks and they could be so much better off if they could
only invent this wine gizmo that will make them enough money to buy a vineyard
in the Rhone Valley and export Syrah to the USA….Sorry, I’m getting too
personal again, never mind.
Anyway,
I had one of those lunches today and sketched out my latest hair-brained idea
that will never come to market. The
best thing about the event was the great bottle of wine I enjoyed while
scribbling. The wine made the mind
loosen up and get crazy. If this
one ever becomes a product, I will refer back to this bottle of wine and this
wild lunch with visions of the next great idea…
1997
Lancaster Reserve Alexander Valley
$$$ (59.00)
The blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot and 14% Cabernet Franc is
an elegant wine that is smooth and full of black cherry.
This wine will cellar for the next 5 years to bring out more of the
beauty in the bottle. By the second
glass, this wine balanced the tannin, fruits and floral aromas. Enjoy this one
over a special dinner with real silverware and crystal goblets.
May 1, 2001
What
do Dolly the sheep, OJ Simpson and Wino Bob have in common? Lovers, occasionally, but the bigger picture evolves around
the controversy of DNA. Yes, Wino
Bob loves a good sheep now and again, but a good grape I will take any day of
the year. After drinking the Puglia
blended wine, I looked into the Primitivo grape and found a bit of controversy
brewing. In one of the articles I
read, and on the label on the back of the wine bottle, Primitivo is called the
Father of California’s Zinfandel grape. Yes,
research in DNA testing yields results that have some believing that Zinfandel
is the direct descendant from the Primitivo grape. Zinfandel, as we winos know, is a California phenomenon, but
it just didn’t fall out of the sky. As
I dug further into this, on the golf course with OJ, since we weren’t
successful in uncovering the other one in a billion person that had that blood
type found at Nicole’s, we did find that the DNA finger printing done at U.C.
Davis by Professor Carole Meredith had matched Primitivo and Zinfandel
identically. However, a variety of
grapes, such as Zinfandel can have sub-types.
A clone is a sub-type, but they have identical genetic makeup.
On the vine, the two grapes appear different and yield far different
attributes on the palate. Enough
distinction exists for the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to
classify them as separate varietals. If
a guy that drinks, smokes cigars and owns a gun says, they ain’t the same, I
believe him. So, although the ATF
has not classified anyone else that visited Nicole that night and OJ to be
different varietals, they have classified the Primitivo and Zinfandel as
cousins, not father and son.
April
30, 2001
Winos
and Winettes, I have been left to ponder two very important questions.
The first is like the old chicken and egg thing.
As a wine enthusiast, is it better to go to a restaurant with a great
wine list, or is it better to go to a BYOW(bring your own wine) place?
As I drank my wine tonight with dinner at a new restaurant in Fairfield,
NJ, I thought about the pros and cons for each.
Recently, one of the great waiters from Bacchus (The Official
Second Home of WinoBob) left and is now heading the staff at a restaurant called
Aria located at 4 Little Falls Road in Fairfield.
As you can guess, this is an Italian restaurant and Enrique greets
everyone with a smile and service that makes you feel comfortable.
Aria currently does not have a liquor license leaving you free to bring a
great bottle of wine from your cellar to compliment your meal.
The
pasta at Aria is made fresh on premise daily and I recommend the Cavatelli Con
Pollo in a light pink sauce for a taste sensation of what they have to offer.
Without the wine bill, your credit card company won’t be embarrassing
you by having you come to the phone and verify that you sent the check a few
days ago and they will cover you this time since you are with people that will
find it damaging to their delicate hands to wash dishes all night to pay for the
meal. NOT that I have been in that
position before or anything…
The
tough part of BYOW is that when the bottle is finished, your buzz and bravado
cannot order the wine list and pick out that second bottle of wine that is twice
as expensive as you can afford and you can only drink half of it 'cause the
Sambuca and espresso are on the table with the dessert tray. Also, if the wine sucks, you are stuck, unless you bring the
$75.00 bottle, that you know you like and the restaurant would have charged you
a buck and a half. So I ask you,
are BYOW places better than a great wine list?
I
know not one of you will respond to the question but I am interested in finding
out other opinions. So to, the 2 other people that will read this, Wino
John, Wino Wally, BYOW or Great Wine List???
Since
I was not sure of the fare at Aria, I brought a bottle of red and a bottle of
white. I didn’t know what kind of mood tonight... Hey, if there
are any music industry winos out there, does that sound like it would make a
good song? Anyway, I brought a
white wine from the Tuscany region of Italy and a red wine from the Puglia
region. The white wine was produced
in the hills around San Gimignano. Puglia
is in the heel of the boot and was a blended wine.
Both were good, not great.
1995
Teruzzi & Puthod Vernaccia Di San Gimignano $ (11.00)
This is a summer’s eve wine, not a heavy meal wine. Light, crisp, fruity and low in alcohol, this wine is
something like refreshing lemonade on a hot summer day.
Next time I have a bar-b-q in the middle of August and I have guests that
like wine coolers, I will throw a few bottles of this on ice and serve well
chilled. Fruity without the
sweetness to offend.
1998
Terrale Sangiovese
$
(5.99)
A blend of 80% Sangiovese and 20%Primitivo, this wine starts out harsh and
acidic. As the wine opens, there is
a good fruit balance of black cherry and plum that plays in your mouth.
The disappointment in this wine is the shortness and thinness you
experience after swallowing this berry drink.
The Primitivo adds a dimension to the lighter Sangiovese, but all is lost
in the lack of length to this wine. But
for fewer than six dollars, not a bad buy.
April
29, 2001
Lest
anyone think I haven’t been drinking wine, I have, but some of it was wine I
commented on before or it was not worth commenting on now.
The problem is I haven’t been keeping up with the entries.
As the march for World Wide Web domination for Winostuff.com continues,
and in light of the news Wino John posted regarding wine.com, Wino Bob has
bartered wine for goods to keep our costs down.
At our last Winostuff.com Board Meeting, Wino Wally defined one of the
action items for the growth of our organization.
“What we need for this company is… business cards. That’s
right, we can’t be the President, VP, or CEO of an organization unless we have
a card that is printed with a title under our names.”
Having
a friend who owns a printing shop, I stepped up to the plate and volunteered to
secure the business cards. Now, I
just had to figure out how to pay for them, since our revenue stream is zero and
our VC money, application, paperwork, and... never mind.
Like beads for Manhattan, I dug up some wine for business cards.
I pulled out a couple bottles I never tried before, poured out 2 glasses
and handed over the winostuff.com logo to Wino Tom for printing the official
business cards which we can use at the high powered meetings with our bankers
and lawyers, or at least we now have something to stuff under the leg of the
wobbly table at Bacchus so we don’t spill our wine.
1999
Kanonkop Pinotage $ (12.00)
South Africa’s specialty, the hybrid between Pinot Noir and Cinsault, this
wine leaned more to the darker, richer Rhone grape than the Burgundian fruit.
Medium acid, good fruit, vibrant and snappy.
This is a wine for easy drinking.
1994
Vina Arana La Rioja Alta Reserva $$ (27.00) I
am not rating this wine due to the fact that the aroma was offensive to me, I
spilled the wine out. The taste was
not the issue; the pungent, musty odor offended my palate and made this an
unpleasant experience.
1996
Bodgegas y Vinedos Alion $$ (43.00)
Medium body, red fruit and mild tannins, this wine came on a bit strong up front
but mellowed nicely in the glass. Not
a long wine but a great compliment to light fare.
Cherry and vanilla flavors delight the senses.
April
28, 2001
I
know we spend time posting all the great wine restaurants in the nation.
Well actually, Wino Wally and Wino John travel the world. My restaurant
experiences are usually within a 10-mile radius of my computer.
I have an entry for this category and it’s not Bacchus.
Unfortunately, the review is not good, so I’m warning you right now.
Several
nights ago I was invited to a boy’s night out to see game one of the Devils
round 2 playoff series against Toronto. As
customs go, dinner is first, since a hot dog and beer at the arena runs about
the same as a Porterhouse steak. The
people who invited me picked the restaurant, so who am I to bitch?
We
went to La Dolce Vita in Lyndhurst, NJ, and I was given the honor of picking the
first wine. For an Italian
restaurant, the wine list was smaller then my cellar’s selection, first hint
of trouble. Not wanting to order
the only Italian wine I recognized, Ruffino Classico, I selected a Barolo. Nebbiolo from Piedmont, how could I go wrong?
“Sorry, Senior, we no have the Barolo.”
What? NO Barolo in an Italian Restaurant? This is an out
rage, an insult to my knowledge of the great Italian wines, since I have become
the searcher of great Italian Red wines.
So around the horn it went until the third man up finally selected a
bottle of wine they had, good old Travaglini Gattinara.
So they pour, Harold swirls, sips and spits, right back into the glass,
the Gattinara was Badttinara, salad dressing at best.
After
wasting a half hour we finally ordered the Ruffino and, as expected, it was a
good wine.
April
17, 2001
Just a quick note to the NJ wine lovers
in the crowd, mark your calendars as follows:
-
April 25, 2001- White Lies- yes there
is more to white wine than Chardonnay and Joe the Wine Guy wants you to
learn about it.
-
May 9, 2001- Ode to Bordeaux- find out
why this region is credited with the birth of red wine.
You will taste 8 wines at each class
and the cost is $38.00 per class. Sign
up early. I’ll see you at the
Bordeaux class.
April
16, 2001
Well, did you see the Discovery Channel
last night? It’s a fact, Wino
Jesus drank red wine. It was on the
Discovery Channel. It can’t be disputed now.
I hope the Wine Lovers amongst us
enjoyed the celebration. Isn’t it
a blast that we created all these holidays so we have an excuse to drink.
On most Monday Mornings, I wake up with a headache and shaking like a
newborn because I review wines. But
this morning, I woke up that way for a good reason. It was a Holiday and I
had to drink wine. And wine I did
drink. As Easter is a celebration
of ANEW, I myself joined the festive spirit and drank a new.
I drank a new bottle of 1999 Chilean Wine, I drank a new producer of an
Italian Red (yes, I am trying to get this thing right) and I drank a new grape
varietal as a dessert wine, which is also new for me.
Traditionally, with Easter morning
fare, I would have cheap Cava and Orange Juice, but this year I took the path
less traveled for me and brought out a bottle of Canadian Ice Wine. Yes, as I
can attest to, there is a great deal of ice in Canada. What I didn’t
know was the amount of Ice Wine produced in Canada. So after a traditional
Polish Easter breakfast filled with every artery clogging meat and cheese known
to the Eastern Block countries during the time the Germans actually told Poland
it no longer was a country and my ancestors pressed goat milk into a brick of
crumbled cheese, we drank a very enjoyable glass of Canadian Ice Wine that I
will talk about later.
Circling the wagons and getting ready
for round two, I wanted something different while I watched the NJ Devils go up
2 games to nothing in their bid towards another Stanley Cup. I opened what I thought would be a wine to enjoy with cheese
and crackers and nachos, a Cabernet from Chile, where good solid value wines
have been coming from but this one just didn’t cut it. So down the drain
it went and off the list for future purchases.
I dug up the wine I was planning to have for dinner, the wine made
especially for Easter, yes the Aussie triple play, Holy Trinity. This I had before, loved it as you can see from my review
section, and it helped me clean out that Chilean Wine.
Dinner was Italian food and the only
thing to do would be to get a great Italian Red. I was given a 1981 wine
by a guest and figured this was the winner.
I usually do not serve the wine brought by guests, since I plan my wine
before I plan my guests, but with the selection we were having and my desperate
search for the Italian Red Wine I could add to the list, a 1981 peaked my
interest.
Dessert was usually cordials, but this
time, I opened another Ice Wine, yes this one from the famed French Ridge Creek
in Pennsylvania. I will just say
this; there is not as much ice in Pa. as there is in Canada and therefore, ipso
facto, there is not as much good Ice Wine.
My opinion, but that’s what Wino John pays me the big bucks for, going
out on a limb and making bold statements…
All in all, I managed to drink a bunch
of different wines and keep the bed from spinning like the propeller on a spy
plane.
1999 Valle Andino Cabernet Sauvignon
$ 8.99 Sorry, this one was bitter and harsh going
down no matter how long I swirled, and let sit.
It never opened though it softened a bit, not a pleasant wine experience.
1981 Adesso Tenuta Zerbina
Sangiovese di Romagna Superiore ? (Gift) The color on this wine was a fine
brown from the years it rested, the nose gave a faint red fruit aroma, mild,
with not much of a bouquet. The
fruit was fading and the weight was thin and watery.
This wine had passed its peak and is resting on the shade slope.
1997 Magnotta Winery Vidal Ice Wine $$
27.95 Honey syrup pours into the glass and a
rich vibrant aroma of apricot greets your nose.
A lush weighty wine with honey, apricot and apples with a finish of nut. Not too sweet for a dessert wine, a good compliment to raisin
and cheese babka.
1997 French Ridge Creek Vidal Ice Wine
? (Gift) Mild pineapples, citrus and
apple nose and an acidic after taste. A
mild amount of fruit and sweetness arrive as the oxidation changes this in the
glass. Short finish.
April 14, 2001
Bacchus’
Wine Class Survival Kit was waiting at the place setting as we began Joe the
Wine Guy’s class in the cozy glass enclosed room in the dining area at
Bacchus. Joe the Wine Guy was
greeted with a question from one of the guests (who had been drinking during his
dinner before class.) “What are your credentials to teach us about wine?” I found out that Joe the Wine Guy went to Wine College.
Jesus, why was I so stupid? I
studied herbs in college.
Anyway,
to warm us up for California Wine night, Joe the Wine Guy gave us a brief
history of wine in California which one day I will learn how to scan into my
computer and post. The Survival Kit
comes with maps and charts of the AVA (American Viticulture Areas) in Cal., and
we even discussed the aroma wheel. What
I enjoyed the most is the fact that the class size is intimate enough to have an
open discussion about the wines, letting everyone describe the smells and taste
sensations. It was more like a
small study group in college, rather than being in a big lecture hall with a
Professor taking an intellectual dump. We
talked and joked and asked questions as we swirled and sipped and sipped and,
hell, we drank the wine. The wines
we tasted were as follows:
Whites
1998
Hidden Cellars Sauvignon Blanc Mendocino - crisp, but not my style
1998
Napa Wine Co. Pinot Blanc Napa Valley - a crowd pleaser, good fruit
1999
Benziger Chardonnay Carneros - Not oaky enough for me, but Carneros is
Chardonnay heaven
Red
1999
Bearboat Pinot Noir Russian River Valley - light and fruity
1999
Kunde Estate Bottled Merlot Sonoma Valley - deep lush cherry flavor
1998
Bonny Doon Le Cigare Volant - Rhone Rangers ride again! I think Joe the
Wine Guy threw this one in for me.
1997
Chateau Potelle Old Vines Zinfandel Amador County - Robitussin Cough syrup never
went down this easy.
1997
Franciscan Oakville Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley - deep, rich and full
of fruit. This was my favorite of the night.
The
next class, in two weeks, is all about White Wines.
I will be missing that class. However,
the class after that, I will be sitting front and center to learn about Italian
wines. I understand the enrollment
for that class is so large already, they will fill up the main dining room.
For
any Winos and Winettes in NJ, this is a great class that is only $38.00.
The food to enjoy between wines is worth more than that.
If you can make the class, please come by, drink some wine and have some
fun. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.
April
13, 2001
Needing
to upgrade the technical aspects of my wine knowledge, I decided to investigate
the science behind the age-old question, “Wino Bob, are a good pair of legs
important in a fine wom…, wine?” Legs,
tears, tears of Christ, rivulets, a rose by any other name all have been used to
describe this effect. I am moving
deeply into Wino John territory, but I wanted to know for myself what causes
this effect on the inside of my Riedel stemware.
I
found reference to work credited to Carlo Marangoni, who in the 1870’s
provided surface tension-driven convection research to identify this phenomenon.
As I dug more deeply, understanding this effect was outlined in 1855 in a
paper by James Thomson entitled, “On Certain Curious Motions Observable at the
Surfaces of Wine and Other Alcoholic Liquors.”
In Wino Bob simplified terms, wine is composed of water and ethanol
(alcohol). As you bring the glass
down from your mouth, a thin film of wine coats the inside of the glass.
Ethanol evaporates more readily at room temperature than water.
The resulting surface tension increase wicks more liquid up the inside of
the glass until it becomes too heavy and drains back into the stemware. The higher the alcohol content, the great the numbers of
these tears, legs, or rivulets. Since
alcohol does not equate to quality in a wine, there is no correlation to use the
legs in a glass to decide a great wine.
I
leave myself open to the editorial comments of our technical staff, but Wino
Bob’s position remains that the only true way to determine the quality of a
wine is to DRINK IT.
Enjoy
April
11, 2001
Winos
and Winettes, if you can take only one wine class, if you have some time in NYC,
do yourself a favor and sign up for Kevin Zraly’s Wine Class.
I guarantee you knowledge and fun and wine in a fast-paced 2 hours at the
summit of NYC. Spring in NY is a
great time, the weather brings a sense of anew and people seem to shed their
winter grumbles for a more cheerful attitude.
I took the water ferry from Hoboken and the 5-minute ride to the
Financial district is relaxing. Clear weather let us see from the Varranzanno to the George
Washington Bridge. The river was
bustling with boaters eager to get a jump on the season and freighters heading
up the East River.
The
view from 106 stories up is like a postcard.
Though Monday night there was a lightning storm that created sights that
were spectacular, Kevin informed us.
The
wine was from France, inside France it was from Bordeaux, inside Bordeaux it was
from Medoc, inside Medoc it was from Pauillac… Kevin reinforced the important
aspects every beginner and not-so-beginner needs to remember to be able to
understand the process. To keep the
class fun and educational, we tasted inexpensive and expensive wines, older and
younger wines and Merlot based and Cabernet based wines.
I cannot comment on all 11, but I will tell you the wines.
Kevin blind tastes the cheaper and more expensive wines so we are not
influenced by the label or reputation of the wine.
It really is a brilliant way he conducts the class and please, do
yourself a favor and call the Wine School Office at 914-255-1456.
I do not get anything for the recommendation, but it helps our
credibility if you mention you heard about the Wine School from WinoStuff.com.
The
Wines we enjoyed were as follows:
1997
Mouton Cadet- inexpensive and the largest Bordeaux sold in the US- Blind Tasted
1997 Barton & Guestier - Saint Julien
1996 Chateau Les Ormes de Pez - St. Estephe 1996 was a great year
1995 Chateau Haut Batailley - Pauillac, another great year
1994 Chateau Meyney - St. Estephe blind comparison with next two wines
1994 Chateau Duhart-Milon Rothschild - Pauillac, blind comparison, forth growth
1994 Chateau Lafite Rothschild - Pauillac- blind comparison, needs time first
growth 1855 classification
1993 Chateau Phelan Segur - St. Estephe
1993 Chateau Gruard Larose - St. Julien second growth- power and beauty
1989 Chateau Simard - St. Emilion, Merlot heavy, not my style
1988 Chateau Leoville-Las Cases - St. Julien, second growth, pure heaven, a wine
that could be cellared for yet another 20 years, but shows all the attributes of
why Bordeaux wines are the most sought in the collectors market.
Tonight
I will be at Bacchus, tasting California wines with Joe the Wine Guy’s class.
I will let you know the selection and styles of this class.
April
9, 2001
The
key to staying current with your craft is to read and take refresher courses so
one stays sharp. Each year I take
one Alumni class with the Kingpin of Wine, Mr. Kevin Zraly.
I looked at my Palm Pilot today and realized that tomorrow is this
session’s refresher class for me. I
signed up for the Bordeaux Class that will be held tomorrow from 6:30PM - 8:30PM
on the 106th Floor of the World Trade Center.
This time of year is great since the sun is setting later and the evening
sky in Manhattan can be spectacular. Drinking
wine and looking down on NY harbor, seeing the Statue of Liberty and Ellis
Island gives one a feeling of patriotism. I
take the water ferry from Hoboken, which is a great ride in warm weather.
Kevin
requires the class to drink a bottle of wine from the region he will be speaking
about. With Bordeaux he wants you
to keep the wine price reasonable. So
I did my homework and dug into a bottle of “inexpensive” Bordeaux.
Yes, I enjoyed this wine with a culinary treat called “an Italian Hot
Dog”. For those of you out there
not from the NY area, an Italian Hot Dog is deep fried so the skin blisters like
a 3rd degree burn, served with fried peppers and onions, French fried
potatoes and mustard and ketchup, all stuffed in a pizza bread.
Do they call them French Fries in France?
So
the food choice was not the best but I was under the gun to do my homework.
The one thing you do not want to do is go to Kevin’s class unprepared.
The wine I chose was from Medoc, on the Left Bank of Bordeaux.
From a sub-appellation called Pauillac.
The other sub-appellations are Margaux, Saint-Julien and Saint-Estephe.
If you are Bordeaux junkies like Wino John, you know that the Left Bank
is heavy on the Cabernet Sauvignon in their blend; the Right Bank is heavy on
the Merlot.
1996
Duhart-Milon Rothschild $$ (36.00)
An earthen nose and dark fruit rise from the glass, but the taste of this wine
was a bit flabby.
Smoke and tobacco and soft tannins kept this from standing out.
April
6, 2001
My
theory holds true. Wino Bob loves expensive Italian red wines.
Last night, I met business associates/friends for dinner and we went
to…dare I say, Bacchus (The Official Chop House and Wine Bar of
WinoStuff). The associates I met
with were the guys I ate a great meal with at the Rainwater Restaurant in San
Diego, Ca. Being Beef and Red
winos, I treated them to a reciprocal dining experience.
These
brothers own a contract manufacturing shop in Paterson, NJ. Did I mention
Paterson is the home of Lou Costello? One
of the brothers and I had lunch at Nino’s last Friday with that really nice
twelve dollar wine. Anyway, I did
what any novice would do when faced with a wine selection with which I have
limited experience, I picked a name I read about and a price that should deliver
a good wine. Since I haven’t had
the chance to speak with Wino John since his trip half way around the world, I
asked if he would join us and we could have our big business meeting after we
were all liquored up. Dinner was
great as always, but made better by technogeek speak interwoven with detailed
stories of great bottles of wine.
The
two wines we enjoyed through dinner have me back in search of more Italian red
wines. At one point, I looked
around the table and as each of us picked up our glass to drink, we first took a
lingering hit of the bouquet in the glass.
By the end of the meal, Joe the Wine Guy suggested a dessert wine and
Belgium Chocolates that I never would have thought to pair.
That’s why Joe IS the Wine Guy.
We sat there for several hours talking shop and when the conversation
slowed, we took a drink and commented on the wine and that fue |
