January 2011 Archives
by Phil Anderson
This is number SIX in a series of articles aimed at acknowledging the importance of local wine bars and shops. Every decent city has them! Right?
And I am back in North Idaho for this little gem of a wine shop which is MORE than just a wine shop. The Dinner Party, in Coeur d’Alene, sets out to provide a truly unique collection that would lend richness and warmth to any gathering. There are examples of exquisite linens, eclectic table settings and art that will set the stage as you entertain, greeting you right as you walk into their shop. Of course, I am entranced with the fact The Dinner Party also offers distinctive wines that please the palette, pair well with food and expand the entire wine experience. YES! Now THAT’S what I’m talking about!
Balletto Vineyards Winemaker, Anthony Beckman, and I at The Dinner Party in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.
Often times on Saturday, Owners George and Mary Balling, along with a winery or distributor, will host a wine tasting. I’ve been to two such tastings, most recently a tasting of Balletto Vineyards, with winemaker Anthony Beckman, out of the Russian River Valley area of California.
There were five wines poured this particular afternoon and all of them showed well. Even the young 2009 Balletto Estate Pinot Noir showed well, though it was TOO bright and berryish for me. Shelley LOVED that one, however. It’s interesting what different palettes enjoy.
We started out with the 2008 Pinot Gris, moved on to the 2007 Estate Chardonnay, tasted the ’09 Pinot Noir, then a 2008 Balletto Winery Block Pinot Noir, which was my favorite of the two, and finished with their 2006 Estate Syrah. All of the Balletto wines we tasted had an undercurrent of mustiness and were fairly light, including the Syrah. The Syrah, however, did have a wonderful, huge peppery nose which I loved.
We didn’t have a white wine to drink when we got back home so we bought and brought the Pinot Gris back with us. Historically, Pinot Gris is not usually a varietal that makes it through our door. I think it has less to do with the grape varietal than it does the quality of the Pinot Gris we’ve tried. This one is a notable exception. Again, a little mustiness on the nose. It’s not like it’s over powering, but just enough to force you to give it some thought. They accomplished their goal of producing a French style Pinot Gris. We had it before dinner and it was wonderful.
The other tasting, a couple of months back, was of Renwood Winery Zinfandel’s. Renwood, also in Northern California, produces many different Zinfandel’s and they all were marvelous! As you may or may not know, I used to “dance” with Seattle Civic Dance Theatre when my daughters took dance lessons. I was privileged to be asked to “dance” in their two annual performances. Basically, we were walking props for the real dancers! One of the other Dad’s that did this was Jeff Peda and he was the one pouring for Renwood Winery that day! It was great to see him again, especially when he was pouring such quality Zin.
Here Jeff Peda of Renwood Winery talks about one of the fine Zinfandel's being served at The Dinner Party.
So, both times I’ve been to a tasting at The Dinner Party there has been some history. My relatiohship with Jeff was the first stop and this last time it was George’s relatiohship with Balletto Vineyards. George broke into the wine business by working for Balletto Vineyards and the winemaker, Anthony Beckman, made a special trip up North just for this weekend (which included a winemakers dinner the night before at a local restaurant).
Whenever I’ve walked into The Dinner Party, I am always welcomed by a smiling face, usually that of Mary. Though they both know about all of their stock, I get the impression that George knows a bit more about the wine and Mary knows a bit more about all the accessories for putting on a fantastic dinner party. When you’re stuck on what to use while creating a memorable dinner party there is really no other place to turn than The Dinner Party. I know this from experience!
Now, today the NFL Conference Championships were played. As you know, I predicted the Packers and the Jets would meet in the Super Bowl. NOT gonna happen. I split my predictions. Had Sanchez, a USC alum, not fumbled late in the first half the outcome might have been different. But, as my brother-in-law always says, “If if’s and buts were candy and nuts we’d all have a very Merry Christmas”. Sorry…
I will give you my Super Bowl prediction before the game. Until then, thank you for reading and, as always, bottoms up!
by Phil Anderson
This is the fifth in a series of articles aimed at acknowledging the importance of local wine bars and shops. Every decent city has them! Right?
The last submission I highlighted a small little Deli in Hayden, Idaho which is stocked full of quality wines but lacking in web presence. THIS will be the exact opposite. Well, not TOTALLY opposite.
Josh Wade knew what his target was when he started tweeting on Twitter and providing his status updates on Facebook. His goal was to get a strong enough following so that he could open his very own wine bar in Spokane, Washington. So, Josh tweeted, updated and posted, and then did it some more…and some more….and then he threw in some interviews and then tweeted and updated and blogged some more.
A couple of weeks ago was the culmination of months upon months of hard work and perseverance and the net result was the grand opening of Nectar Tasting Room, a calculated spin-off of his wine blog of the same name. Josh HAS the quality AND he has the web presence.
By Definition Nectar means, ”the life-giving drink of the gods”, which I rather like. If that’s too esoteric for you, then simply understand that Nectar means, “any delicious drink”. And that is what Josh is serving up, delicious drinks, the Nectar, if you will!
I had a chance to visit Nectar Tasting Room recently and discovered 30 wines by the glass offered ALL of the time. If somebody would like to try one of the 30 wines and the bottle is not open, then open it shall become. To keep track of all these wines by the glass you simply have to look at the menu…which is an iPad. There are four of them there. Social media started this so why not continue to use technology to the fullest! The room is a decent size and it’s clean and contemporary.
The 30 different wines are produced by five different wineries including, Anelare Winery, Hard Row to Hoe, Northwest Cellars, Skylite Cellars and Terra Blanca, all Washington wines.
I tasted five wines, one from each of the wineries. I had a non-vintage Pinot Noir from Hard Row to Hoe, a Northwest Cellars 2005 Merlot, a 2008 Skylite Cellars Rosé from Sangiovese, a 2007 Syrah from Anelare and a 2008 Late Harvest Chenin Blanc from Terra Blanca.
All had their pros and cons, as is typical when wine tasting, but my top two were the Rosé from Skylite and the Late Harvest Chenin Blanc from Terra Blanca. The Rose was certainly a European style with a mustiness on the nose that included prunes and raisins. It was absolutely delicious! Not as crisp as some Rosé’s tend to be. The Late Harvest Chenin Blanc had a delightful blend of peaches and flowers on the nose and it was VERY tasty.
To open a business in this economical climate, no less, a wine bar, is a risky venture to say the least. The location seems to be in a good place so hopefully Nectar Tasting Room can sustain a healthy business until the Summer rolls around when it will be a little easier. If you are in the Spokane area you should really try to make it over to Nectar Tasting Room.
As per tradition it is time to make some predictions for this weeks NFL Conference Championship games. By DEFAULT, I pick the Jets to defeat the Steelers. I can’t stand the Steelers and their quarterback, in my humble opinion, is overrated. How ’bout, 23-14. Gary Vaynerchuck will be pleased I’m choosing the Jets as well. If you watch ANY of his epidodes, you know he’s an obnoxious Jets fan that hopes to someday own that team. Oh, obnoxious in a GOOD way, Gary.
On the other end, how can you NOT pick the Packers over da Bears? Rogers is playing out of his mind and they are on a major roll, plus the Bears just up-ended my Seahawks, so still not too happy with them. The score will be 30-17. There you have it, the Jets versus the Packers in the Super Bowl in Dallas in 17 days.
I will write before THAT however to give you my Super Bowl prediction. Until then, thank you SO much for reading and bottoms UP!
by Phil Anderson
This is the fourth of a small series of articles aimed at acknowledging the importance of local wine bars and shops. Every decent city has them!
And Hayden, Idaho, is most definitely a decent city, because they have a number of great little wine bars, one of them being Daanen’s Delicatessen. Daanen’s is a small little deli that focuses on quality if not quantity. Their selection of meats and cheeses is top notch and they serve great micro-brews on tap. My friend, Ashley Routson would be in heaven with these beers!
But this isn’t a stinkin’ beer blog, it’s a WINE blog, and wine is what we’re GOING to talk about. Mark Daanen and his wife, Irene are the owners of Daanen’s Delicatessen. I have only had the opportunity of meeting Mark in person, as he’s there virtually everytime I stop by. The one time he wasn’t there, I was told he was in France, undoubtedly honing his wine knowledge.
And knowledgable he is.
Mark is a wealth of wine information, which I consider a must for anybody running a wine shop. He carries a great variety of different wines in which to choose from, from all over the world, just not many of any one type, as his shelf space is very limited.
On Friday nights, Daanen’s has a wine tasting where Mark puts together three different wines to sample, usually for a nominal fee. I had the privilege of attending one of these tastings about a month ago. Daanen’s used to give you the three tastings in one glass and Mark, who usually is pouring, had to remember which wine you were on for many people at one time. Now, you get three pours all at once served on a very clever little rack that holds all three glasses. With this you also get a card that provides the wine you’re sampling along with tasting notes and other information. The glasses are positioned in a way that coincide with the wines on the card so you know which one you’re drinking. I LOVE this! Did I get a picture of this? NO! Stupid, stupid, STUPID!
But I will! Watch for it on my Facebook page and you’ll see a picture of it next time I’m there!
The wines I tried this particular night were from Cline Cellars out of California. Cline has a reputation for making good wine at reasonable prices. Finding a bottle of wine from Cline Cellars in the store is usually not too difficult. Originally Cline Cellars was in Oakley, California but moved to the cooler Carneros region in Sonoma County in 1991 where they now specialize in producing Zinfandel and Rhone varietals.
I tell you this because the first wine I tasted was called Oakley Five Reds, a little shout out to where they started. This wine was my favorite of the night and it was also the least expensive, selling for under $14 a bottle! It is a blend that includes Barbera, Cabernet Franc, Syrah and Mourvedre (I know, what a jip, only FOUR reds!). I found it a bit dirty on the nose with hints of dark raspberry. I ordered meatloaf off of their bar menu for dinner and it was even BETTER with the meatloaf! The vintage of this blend was 2008.
The other two wines were Cline Cellars’ 2009 Cashmere and their 100% Zinfandel.
The Cashmere is also a blend, including Mourvedre, Grenache and Syrah in the mix. On the nose there was a slight smell of seafood. This also got better with the meatloaf but for the most part non descript. The Zinfandel I probably shouldn’t write about because it didn’t do anything to turn my wheels. This had no nose and had a bit of a bite on the finish. After a little time it DID open up but it was wound pretty tight so that was somewhat expected. Surprisingly, this didn’t change at all with the meatloaf.
Wine and food pairings are a whole new world of wine tasting for me that I can’t wait to get into more. If you love wine and love good food, pairing the two perfectly is almost indescribable it’s so good. In future posts I will talk more about that and the experience I had in June involving Jeffrey Saad, who is the host of the Cooking Channel’s newest show United Tastes of America.
If you have a chance to stop by Daanen’s Delicatessen in North Idaho, I would suggest you do. Make it on a Friday night when you can sample some wine and hopefully listen to some music at the same time (the night I was there the band cancelled–bummer).
Until next time, thank you for reading and bottoms UP!
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