Posts tagged with 'bottoms up'

The Wedding Weekend-Part Three-The Aftermath In Temecula

  • Posted on December 27, 2011 at 3:41 pm

by Phil Anderson
We had been in Temecula for two days and now we had only our schedules to adhere to, which meant, no schedules at all.  One thing WAS for sure, however.  We were going to do some MORE wine tasting!  We checked out of our somewhat disappointing hotel and decided the first place we would visit would be South Coast Winery which is also a resort and spa.  As we walked in a grand fountain marked the wine tasting room entrance.  It was a spacious room indeed, with rustic beamed ceilings and Tuscan decór. The tasting room walls are an original painting: a mural of the entire Southern California Temecula Valley Wine Country and surrounding mountains.

We toast at South Coast Winery. Shelley (R) with a 2008 Grenache Rose' and mine, a 2010 Tempranillo Rose'.

Within the first five minutes of our visit, however, we realized we weren’t in Kansas anymore (or more specifically, we were tasting wine in California).  The tasting fee is about 5 times more than the wineries tasting fees in Washington, give or take.  After I swallowed hard and paid the fee, my building regret for having stayed a few more hours to taste some more Temecula wines started dissipating.

It was fairly busy at the time we were there (after all, it WAS around Noon on a Monday) and they had two people pouring behind the bar.  The person pouring for us was named Jennifer.  Jennifer was not for the timid.  She spoke her thoughts and opinions and was very much in command of what was going on.  She was a perfect blend of somebody who could give impeccable customer service yet would never be taken advantage of.  I’ve been to enough tasting rooms to have seen many classless and snooty people with countless personality disabilities try to one-up, two-up or even three-up the poor person pouring the wine.  Jennifer would dice and slice anyone like that, but do it in a way that they would have no idea what hit them.

Fortunate for her (and probably for me, as well), we are pretty easy going and will let the person behind the bar guide us through the best experience possible.  That isn’t always the case, for many reasons, and we were happy where things were heading.  Jennifer started us out with an extra dry sparkler that was marvelous.  It was very crisp, light and simple but I loved it.  We tasted so many wines including, Tempranillo, Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Petite Verdot, Sauvignon Blanc, Petite Sirah, <taking a breath> Late Harvest Riesling and Port.  Whew!

Jennifer definitely had a passion for Italian styled Red wines and she steered us in that direction which was fine with me!  One of them was a 2006 Wild Horse Peak 100% Sangiovese with a smokey nose and luscious, soft tannins.  There were two Syrahs that were outstanding as well, both 2006 vintage, one a Reserve and one from Wild Horse Peak.  Both were big and bold and packed a punch.  We also enjoyed a Tempranillo Rose’ that was absolutely exquisite, perfect for a hot summer day.

But the one that stood out over all of them, in my opinion, was their Black Jack Port, which is a blend of Tinta Cao, Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Zinfandel and Alicante Bouchet.  WOW!  Deep raspberries on the nose and so many layers.  We had this with milk chocolate kisses and it paired beautifully.

So many times at tasting rooms the wine is superior but then the person pouring is snobbish.  Or the other way around, with an outstanding person pouring a less than satisfactory wine.  In the cases where you have both a snob and poor quality wine, it’s best to just back out the door slowly and make a mad dash to anywhere but there!  In our experience at South Coast Winery we were treated to both excellent juice and a very knowledgable and friendly person behind the counter, Jennifer.

The enchanted entry to Briar Rose Winery.

Our last stop of the day was at Briar Rose Winery, mostly because of the name and because we were given a coupon for “buy one tasting and get one free”.  I’m glad we had it, too, because this was even more expensive than the last place!  It was a very cute property that Beldon Fields purchased in the 1970′s and built replicas of Snow White’s cottage for his wife.  Beldon worked for Walt Disney and was one of many artisans who built Disneyland’s Fantasyland and Toon Town.

In the early 1990′s, Les and Dorian Linkogle purchased the beautiful estate from Beldon Fields with the promise to not change the architecture of the cottages.  It turned out that the estate location was perfect for growing grapes.  So, in the late 1990′s Viognier grapes were planted along with Merlot, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon and Riesling.  Their grand opening was in 2007, so they are a very young winery, indeed.

We were the only ones there and their cat kept us company at the bar while we glided through the tastings.  This was tannin city! Every single one of their red wines had sharp tannins.  I didn’t give huge scores to any of the wines we tried but there were two worth noting.  We tasted a 2007 Citronier which surprised us with a zingy lemon finish.  Light and crisp and brilliant lemon flavor.  The other was their 2008 Estate Zinfandel which had quite a lackluster nose but made up for it with an explosion of flavor.  This wine was extremely smooth and balanced.

This finishes The Wedding Weekend trifecta which marks and honors the marriage of Shelley’s son Tyler to his new bride, Jennifer.  Wherever we go we try and incorporate a winery visit.  For this momentous occasion we probably wouldn’t have because the priority was on the wedding, as it should be.  However, we were blessed to have the wedding events be in and around the wineries of Temecula and so it was a perfect combination.

If you have any comments please feel free to write them below.  You can also reach me by following me on Twitter and “Liking” me on Facebook.  If you’d prefer to go (semi) old school my e-mail address is drinkwine@generalwinethoughts.com.  As always, thank you so much for reading and remember, bottoms up!

 

The Wedding Weekend-Part Two-THE Big Day

  • Posted on October 24, 2011 at 11:26 am

by Phil Anderson
This is the second part of a three part series about our trip to Temecula wine country.

The big day had finally arrived.  All the girls spent the day doing make up and getting their hair and nails done.  The guys swung the sticks on the course.  I tried to find somewhere to lie out in the sun and soak up a few rays since this is something I love but can’t seem to find the time to do it.

As the hours ticked off and the time drew nearer and nearer to the ceremony starting, we got all dressed up and prepared ourselves for a limo ride from our hotel to Leonesse Cellars, where the wedding was to take place.  Having been to the rehearsal the day before I knew that it was going to be beautiful but not THIS beautiful!  They did a phenomenal job decorating, although, it’s not too hard with the vineyards as the backdrop for the ceremony.

The Rock Star couple after the ceremoney during pictures in the vineyards at Leonesse Cellars.

Everything went off without a hitch (and the happy couple WAS hitched!) and then we were shuttled from the ceremony location to where the reception was to be held, Leonesse’s barrel room.  Two barrel rooms in two nights!  There was a bit of a wait while they shuttled 150 people to the reception (it was a rather long walk…).  During this wait I met somebody whose career I found quite interesting.  Click HERE to read all about THAT story!

This barrel room was much larger than the one at Ponte Winery the night before.  It was fabulously decorated and had a wonderfully festive ambiance.  This might surprise you but, the moment we got settled at our table, I sashayed to the bar to find out what they were pouring.  I was VERY much looking forward to trying their wine!  (If you are a fan of Drinking Wine on Facebook you will know we have a wine neighbor that is always bringing wine over to our place.  She brought a bottle of Leonesse Port that we had with chocolate one night that was WONDERFUL!)

We started out with a  Leonesse Melange de Blanc which consisted of 44% Roussane, 41% Viognier and 15% Marsanne.  With all the celebrating activities going on it was difficult to really savor the experience of the wine but the Viognier really stood out as their were notes of peaches a hint of honey.

Dinner was uttlerly spectacular.  It was a buffet that featured (in my case, anyway, because I didn’t try the grilled chicken with brushetta) top sirloin with bacon, shallot and Gorgonzola compound butter.  I paired a  2007 Leonesse Melange de Reves with the sirloin and it was perfect!  It was a red blend of 54% Syrah, 25% Cinsaut, 16% Grenache and 5% Mourvedre and it was a bit smokey with flavors of peppory raspberries.

A bonus was a sparkling wine for the toast of the bride and groom.  This wine wasn’t produced by Leonesse but from Wilson Creek Winery and Vineyards, also in Temecula.  Wow!  It was an almond flavored sparkling wine that was absolutely delicious!  I didn’t expect the almond taste but it was certainly there.

After writing her own personal note of good luck on the Leonesse cork to her son and his new wife, Shelley places the cork into the cork catcher at the reception.

This night was, obviously, a very special occasion as Shelley’s second child was the first to be married off.  There was dancing, laughter and high spirits, great food and wonderful wine at a magnificent venue, Leonesse Cellars.  It was seamlessly orchestrated by Meghan and Katie of Intertwined Weddings and Special Events. I would typically not even mention them but the night was so flawless they deserve special mention.  People even wrote little notes of luck to the bride and groom on corks and pitched them (ok, more PUT them) in the cork catcher I had made for them as a wedding present.  We met new family and friends and sampled the best that Temecula has to offer.

The only downside was Shelley’s Nikon digital SLR turned up missing and I ended up making two trips back to the winery looking for it without success.

I would suggest a trip to Leonesse Cellars for sure to sample their extraordinary wines if you have the chance.  It is certainly a winery that takes great pride in producing high end juice!  Or better YET, if you’re planning an event and you’re near Temecula, why not consider Leonesse Cellars?  Laura Mitchell, the Weddings and Events Manager at Leonesse who handled this wedding would be more than happy to hear from you!

Thank you so much for reading and remember, bottoms up!

 

 

Networking At Weddings

  • Posted on October 10, 2011 at 11:04 am

by Phil Anderson
I wanted to use, “Pardon The Interruption”, or, “Now For Something Completely Different”, as the title to this post since it is NOT Part Two of The Wedding Weekend, but they are both taken, and, undoubtedly, trademarked.  However, what happened on the night of the wedding is REALLY worth writing about on SO many levels, so here you go!

I know it’s considered taboo to do business at weddings but this was something I didn’t see coming.  So, since I was caught off guard I didn’t even KNOW I was networking!  While standing in the horde of people waiting to get from point A (the wedding ceremony) to point B (the wedding reception) I was introduced to one of Shelley’s friends whose wife happened to be in the wine business.  DOH!

While we all said what we did for a living, Andrea’s explanation piqued my interest.  She told me she worked for ONEHope Wine and she went on to tell me what the winery’s mission was.  Apparently, what I did (write a wine blog!) piqued hers, as well and we exchanged contact information.  A new wine relationship was born!

ONEHope Wine, as it turns out, is a winery that supports great causes through the sales of their wines! Can you say, “Win/Win”?  Some research uprooted an interesting story of a sales rep for a large wine distributor, Jake Kloberdanz, who, while stocking shelves with wine at a store realized specialty items used to raise awareness and proceeds would garner and enjoy preferential and prominent placement on shelves and thus move faster than other products off those shelves.  Six months later he had created Hope Wine, a name that has since been changed to ONEHope Wine.

In a nutshell, ONEHope Wine produces several varietals of wine, each of which help support a particular cause with the proceeds.  For example, 50% of the profits of their  2010 Cabernet Sauvignon, which runs $18.99 and was co-created by Rob Mondavi Jr., goes to help the Fight Against Autism.  They also produce a Merlot which helps in the Fight Against AIDS, a Pinot Noir which goes to Supporting Children’s Hospitals, a Sauvignon Blanc which goes to Supporting Our Planet, a Zinfandel which goes to Supporting Our Troops and a Chardonnay which goes to the Fight Against Breast Cancer.  In all cases, 50% of the profits go to the cause in which that varietal is supporting.  In fact, Rob Mondavi Jr. has his hand in each of these wines as well!

Andrea was nice enough to send me a bottle of their 2009 Zinfandel and their 2009 Chardonnay.  Because we are in the midst of Breast Cancer Awareness month (did you know that each year it is estimated that nearly 200,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and more than 40,000 will die?), I am writing about these wines today!

Suffice it to say, many products that represent causes or issues are….how do I say…um….well, not of high quality.  I am happy to report that this is NOT the case with these wines!2009 ONEHOPE California Chardonnay

They chose their Chardonnay to help with the Fight Against Breast Cancer because one out of eight women are effected by breast cancer in this country today plus they prefer Chardonnay 2 to 1 over any other varietals.  Ours had a very light and balanced hint of oak on the nose.  It opened up to butterscotch and butter.  It was simple and delicious.  We paired it with breaded Talapia and it was phenomenal!  It will go with other light fish perfectly.  This wine finished very well and I would recommend it without pause.  The bonus of drinking this delicious Chardonnay is that you know that you are directly helping to fight breast cancer!

We opened the Zinfandel and paired it with one of Shelley’s fabulous steaks.  It was not a big Zin, a bit light, but paired very well with the steak.  What I love about Zinfandel is the spicy, peppory, earth tones and this one didn’t disappoint.  It was also very berry-ish and fruit forward which I loved.  50% of the profits from this wine goes to help support our troops which is outstanding because, since 911, more than 8,000 children have lost a U.S. service member parent as a result of the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.  OHEHope Wine is right there to help with each bottle of their Zinfandel bought and enjoyed.

I love the concept behind OHEHope Wine and I hope you will pick your favorite varietal (or two…or three….or……?) and give them a try.  The juice is good but what they’re doing is even better!

I will write about Part Two and Part Three of The Wedding Weekend next but I am excited to announce we’re having another big tasting and it’s happening this weekend!  We are tasting through some quality Pinot Noirs (hopefully even my very FAVORITE Pinot I’ve ever tasted, from Patricia Green!) and sparklers.  It’s like Christmas in October!

As always, thank you so much for reading and I look forward to reading your comments especially those comments about how much you loved the OHEHope wine you tried!  Be sure to find me on Facebook and Twitter!

Bottoms up!

 

Hello, It’s Me

  • Posted on August 31, 2011 at 10:13 pm

by Phil Anderson
Remember the song, “Hello, It’s Me.  Haven’t been around for a long, long time…”?  How relevant is THAT?  Once again I find myself having to apologize to those that find refuge in my little wine blog but yet don’t see anything new for awhile.  My bad.  My TOTAL bad!  What I’ve grown to understand is that summer time is exceptionally busy.  I’m not trying to make excuses.  It’s just reality.

The UP side is that I’ve still been drinking wine and taking notes…well, except for an eight day hiatus just before I traveled down to California, but I’ll tell you all about that in my next post.  Other than that, I have a lot of content and I look forward giving you my general wine thoughts.  I also have a guest blogger lined up to tell of her trip to Opus One!

So, even though the last blog post was written eXACTLy five months ago to the date, I’m ready, willing and able to produce for you.  It’s football season, afterall, and things have started to slow down just a tad.

We spent a week in California recently, so look forward to a mini series about that trip, as we were in Temecula for a wedding, and visited five different wineries.  I also had the chance to taste a varietal I was not familiar with, Nero d’Avola which I look forward to writing about.  I have also had the opportunity to taste some wine from a winery that is doing GREAT things to help some great causes.

So get ready as they will start coming at you, rapid fire.  Until then, as always, you can reach me at drinkwine@generalwinethoughts.com or find me on Twitter as well as Facebook.  I hope you will and thanks for reading!  Until next time, bottoms UP!

 

 

Here’s To Good Friends-Part Three

  • Posted on March 31, 2011 at 9:40 pm

by Phil Anderson
Part One was all about the oldest vintage wine we tasted on this very special night with our group, including Shelley, Laureen, Katie, Diana and myself.  Part Two was all about the year 1984, tasting three wines from that vintage.  Part Three we bring in some pretty heavy hitters: 

Here is evidence of what is about to come--empty, but ready, glasses and decantors. The proverbial quiet before the storm.

1996 Chateau St. Jean Cinq Cepages, Sonoma County
1999 Robert Mondavi Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2002 Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon, Carneros
*Bonus tasting-keep reading…

After tasting the first four wines while standing around the island in the kitchen we decided to adjourn to the dining room to finish the night tasting while seated.  The next wine up was the 1996 Chateau St. Jean Cinq Cepages from Sonoma County.  This wine was ranked #1 by Wine Spectator in 1999.  It sold for around $30 then but now fetches around $200 a bottle.  The first vintage of this wine was 1990 and the 1990-1995 vintages are no longer available meaning this was the oldest available vintage of this wine.  Although a blend, Cinq Cepages always has 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, and this vintage used Merlot as the predominent blending varietal.

This was the only wine that we did not decant during the evening.  We only had four decanters to work with, although, I DID find another one around the house AFTER the night was over.  I poured everyone a small glass and we did a swirl and smell.  Now THIS is what I’m looking for in a big red wine.  Although this wine was 15 years old (if you did the math by years, but probably a bit less in reality), it was VERY balanced and smooth.  I didn’t notice any color change and the taste held up wonderfully.  It is probably prudent to mention that, although I had PLANNED on spitting during the course of the evening (7 bottles of wine to taste with five people equals Phil drinking WAY TOO MUCH RED WINE IN ONE NIGHT and I had to wake up at 6:30 the next morning to play piano on our worship team at church), I didn’t spit more than 2-3 times during the course of the evening.     With that said, I was starting to feel the alcohol a bit and so my notes began to fade.  It’s just so hard to justify spitting such quality juice!

SOME of the wine made it to our vinegar pot but not much.

The next one to open was the 1999 Robert Mondavi Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon which was unfiltered.  I did decant this after I poured a beginning pour for everyone.  It was even better than the last one!  I will confess, this was my very favorite wine of the entire evening and I kept coming back to this one over and over again.  Suffice it to say, this wine and I became well acquainted with one another.  This wine had marvelous mouthfeel and was quite complex.  It had very good structure and was big and bold.  This wine originally sold for around $125.

Lastly, we tried the 2002 Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon from Carneros.  Originally this wine sold for about $60 and it’s hard to say anything bad about this wine.  Also very big and more fruity than the ’99.  It was interesting that most of the people at the table enjoyed this more than the other two later vintage wines.  We did a “somewhat” blind tasting with Laureen as I poured both the ’99 and the ’02 and had her guess which was which to see if she really DID like the 2002 better.  She nailed it!

These two wines were very comparable, however.  It’s not as if I liked the ’99 a LOT more than the ’02 but I kept tasting all three over and over, with chocolate, with dip, with chocolate, with cheese and also with some chocolate….did I mention I tried these three with chocolate?  Ok, good.  They all three were really very, very good wines, in my opinion.  It was just hard for me to NOT put the 1999 on top.

We had started this night of wine tasting by opening the first bottle, a 1979 Beaulieu Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, at 7:15 PM and the last bottle, the 2002 Robert Mondavi Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon at 9:45 PM.  It was near Midnight when people started to clear out.  We tasted through 23 years of California Cabernet Sauvignon in just under five hours.  Before anyone was allowed to leave each had to sign and date a cork from the evening and then toss it into the cork catcher.

It was a magical night, to be sure.

The aftermath of what was an epic night of wine tasting is evident by the debris on the table.

I told you about a bonus.  Well here it is.  While down in Walla Walla last year for the Wine Bloggers Conference I came back with a bottle of Sherry.  I had never been a Sherry fan but man-o-man I became a fan really quickly after tasting this particular Sherry.  I broke it out for Laureen and Katie after Diana had left, just so they could try it.  They got the last two sips of this bottle!  They absolutely loved it.  This Sherry is so nutty and smooth but the thing that amazes me time after time is that after the initial taste and swallow, you count to five and then there is a powerful flavor explosion in your mouth!  SO interesting!  Now I have to find a new bottle of that same, exact Sherry! 

I remember back in the day of my grandparents and, perhaps, even in my parents’ generation, neighbors would knock on one anothers door if they needed cream or sugar or salt or what-not, if they ran out.  I don’t think that happens nearly as often, anymore, if at all, which is sad.  I think we have just come up with a replacement to that old tradition, as Laureen completely outdid herself in sharing some of her wonderful wine with us.  I think we will just head over to her house the next time we need “some” wine!  The Mondavi family was very lucky to have employees the likes of Laureen and Katie working for them during the trailblazing days of Napa Valley wine.  “Mister” may not be around anymore but his spirit lives in his wines from yesterday and we became well acquainted with it.

“Whatever you do, pour yourself into it.”
-Robert Mondavi

Thank you, again, for reading.  Be sure to catch me on Twitter and Facebook.  Until next time, bottoms up!

Here’s To Good Friends-Part Two

  • Posted on March 28, 2011 at 10:15 am

by Phil Anderson
In the year, ’84, ’84…….’84….

Well, that’s not exactly how the song goes but it certainly is how the wine flows, at least for this particular night of wine tasting with our friends, Laureen and Katie.  Part one was all about the oldest vintage we tasted, the 1979 BV Cabernet Sauvignon.  Today I’m concentrating on three other wines we tried, all from the same vintage, one from Sonoma and the other two from Napa. 

As in George Orwell’s novel, 1984, where the individual is always subordinated to the state, we, as a group, were subordinated to the wine.  We tasted three Cabernet Sauvignon’s, a proverbial hat trick, from the 1984 vintage from three different producers:

William Wheeler Vineyards, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County
Robert Keenan Winery, Napa Valley
Far Niente Winery, Estate Bottled, Napa Valley

The William Wheeler Cabernet Sauvignon was the first one we tasted and was our least favorite, as a group (though their was a stinky one in the future that would push this thought).  I noticed a little licorice on the nose but all in all, it was aromatically challenged.  After tasting it I noticed it tasted more like a Merlot than a California Cab.  After the initial light pour to taste it right after it was opened I decanted it.  After 55 minutes (we realized we should not decant as long after we messed up with the ’79) we gave it another go and I felt it recovered and opened up nicely.  Finally it had a nose!  Adding to the licorice note was a bit of black pepper, which I am always fond of.  The others didn’t see this as I did, however, as they were still unimpressed.

Here's to good friends! L-R Laureen, Katie, Diana and Shelley raise their glass of 1984 Robert Keenan Cabernet Sauvignon.

The second wine we tasted from this vintage was from Robert Keenan.  This was interesting because Shelley and I had opened a 2001 Robert Keenan Merlot to go with pork chops two weeks prior.  Now we had a chance to go back even further with this producer.  After the first pour it was much smoother than the William Wheeler.  This wine also still had some tannins which suggested it could go a little longer before being awaken from it’s slumber, which is probably why I had such a hard time getting the cork to come out.  It was a battle for, what seemed like forever, but was more like about five minutes.  In the end, I won as I got all of the cork out without any staying behind in the bottle.  Needless to say, THIS cork didn’t make it to the cork catcher!  I didn’t notice much of a difference when we went back to it after about 45 minutes.

The last of the 1984 trifecta was one the entire group highly anticiapted, the Far Niente.  Before I go any further, I must confess, I didn’t know the pedigree of this producer.  I would go as far as saying I MAY have heard of the winery.  I didn’t let on to this fact on this night, however.  Immediately upon opening and the first pour there was an air of disappointment.  VERY stinky!  Stinky stink stink.  I wasn’t sure if this was because it had gone bad or if it was a European style but it certainly was barnyard.  Fortunately, it tasted better than it smelled, but not a lot better, to be sure.  After 40 minutes of decanting it became even more of a pronounced barnyard smell with about the same taste.  Not much to it, sadly, and I would say this particular ’84 was, in the collected minds of the group, a flop.

All in all, I liked the Robert Keenan the best, even better than the ’79 BV Cabernet Sauvignon.  The group, however, all seemed to have a fondness for the ’79.  With that said, nothing was blowing our socks off, other than the fact the ’79 had help up all these years very well.  Before I give you a preview of Part Three, and last part, of our epic night of tasting, I must confess that I went into this tasting with a very open mind, pretty much convinced I wasn’t going to “hate” any of them.  When a wine is as old as these wines were, I think back to the people who were involved in producing that wine:  The people who tended the vineyards, who were involved in the harvest, the crush, sampling and bottleing.  How many of those people are no longer with us on earth?  How could I judge these wines with an arrogance? 

I told the group before we started I inteded on liking all of the wines we tasted, especially the older ones, whether they were spectacular or not.  We were lucky; I don’t think any of these wines had gone bad.  Were some of them over the hill?  Probably.  The William Wheeler and the Far Niente for sure.  But it was SUCH a pleasure to carefully, and respectfully, taste through each bottle with these special people. 

<pause for a moment for dramatic effect>

When I write next I will tell you about some of the younger vintages we tried and what we thought of those.  I will even add a bonus so be sure to keep an eye out for that!  Until then, thank you so much for reading and bottoms up!

Here’s To Good Friends-Part One

  • Posted on March 22, 2011 at 8:42 pm

by Phil Anderson
Remember that Budweiser commercial that stated, “Here’s to good friends, tonight is kinda special….”?  We had one of those nights recently that involved good friends, new and not so new (I try to avoid the word, “old” when talking about people and friendships as they MIGHT think I’m calling THEM old!).

Now before I get started on recounting the evening I will say there has been a lot of time that has passed since my last post.  Green Bay DID, in fact, win the Super Bowl, which I also predicted.  The score was 31-25 and I predicted 20-16.  Not too shabby.  Valentines Day has come and gone.  I made veal for Shelley and we paired a lovely Pinot Noir with it.  Also,  Open That Bottle Night came and went.  I was playing at an event called, “MarriedLife Live” at church that night so, not only did we not have any fun wine, I personally didn’t even have a GLASS that night!    I have no excuses why I haven’t written but this post will hopefully be worth the wait.  

So, back to good friends and that kinda special evening. 

A neighbor of ours, Laureen, used to work at Robert Mondavi Winery.  She knew Mr. Mondavi quite well and always called him, “Mister”.  A friend of hers that also worked there, Katie, was visiting Laureen here in North Idaho and they got to going through some of Laureen’s wine collection.  She has quite a collection!  They picked out seven wines to open and try but, much to our happiness, wanted to share these wines with a couple of other people she thought might appreciate them.  Twist our arms!  Now THIS is true March Madness!

There is so much to write about this night that I’ve broken it down into three parts.  Part One will really only be about one wine, although, throughout the evening we were treated to vintages in 1979,1984, 1996, 1999 and 2002, all from California and mostly from Napa.  I will tell about all but one of those in a later post.  This column is about one bottle of wine and one vintage.

Here the bottle of 1979 Beaulieu Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon sits in front of the the decantor that holds its juice.

I graduated from West Seattle High School in 1979 and it was during that summer of ’79 that the grapes from the first wine we tried were being baked by the Napa sun.  They were harvested later that year with some of those grapes making the juice that went into this first bottle of wine we tried, a 1979 Beaulieu Vineyard Estate Bottled Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve.  This was 100% Cabernet Sauvignon.  It was so old the label didn’t even have the website of the winery on it!  In fact, I had visited this vineyard only three years earlier with my family.  How interesting to try this particular wine on this night.

There were five of us tasting these wines and I carefully, but eagerly, opened this bottle.  I poured a small amount in everyone’s glass and immediately noticed the brown color of the wine, not the deep purple you might get from a new vintage of Cabernet Sauvignon.  This is natural in an older vintage. 

We all toasted to what the night was about to become.  As I raised the glass to my nose, after a fair bit of swirling, I noticed notes of raisins and nuts.  It certainly smelled like it had held up all of these years and the taste was not bad either!  You tend to worry about a vintage this old that it may have seen better days but this one was still delivering with a very long fig finish.

After we all had our initial giddy response to such an old jewel I carefully decanted the rest of the bottle to try a “little” bit later.  Well, that “little” bit later was actually about 65 minutes and, by then, it had fell off the cliff.  It was a mistake, on my part, that resulted in most of us being disappointed.

All in all, the 1979 BV Cabernet Sauvignon was a great way to start the evening and it produced the first of many ooooooze and aaaaaaaahs this night was to bring.  But this bottle found a soft spot in all of our hearts because of it’s age and how it really tried to show how it had attempted to hold together all these years.  For me, it brought me back to that summer of ’79 when I finally felt like I could do whatever I wanted after having just graduated from High School. 

I feel so blessed that Laureen asked if Shelley and I would participate in this casual tasting of these wines.  I looked forward to it for days and it was even more than I expected.  I’ll tell you even MORE about the evening in Part Two of, “Here’s To Good Friends”, as we visit the year, 1984.  Until then, thank you so much for reading and remember, bottoms up!

Drinking The Nectar Never Felt So Good

  • Posted on January 20, 2011 at 10:31 pm

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!

The Definition Of Local Wine Bar is Daanen’s Delicatessen

  • Posted on January 13, 2011 at 2:30 pm

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!

West Seattle Cellars Is “Bearish” On Their Wines

  • Posted on December 17, 2010 at 11:27 pm

Bearish In A GOOD Way!

by Phil Anderson
The very first wine shop I think I ever went into, other than The Wine Exchange, in Southern California, was West Seattle Cellars, in West Seattle (obviously).  It was a small little shop and the first person I met was Bear Silverstein.  A gruffish looking character (ok, bearish) I remember wondering, at the time, just how much this guy knows about wine. 

All it took was his perfect (at least to my ears) pronunciation of a French wine to get my attention.  Turns out he was one of the three partners.  I found myself going into the shop anytime I could and was never disappointed.  My wine budget wasn’t much at the time so I enjoyed their “under $10″ bins.

This is the third of a small series of articles aimed at acknowledging the importance of local wine bars and shops.  Every decent city has them!

West Seattle Cellars has been serving West Seattle since 1995 when the shop opened in a little house on California, near the Morgan Street Junction. Bear Silverstein, Tom DiStefano, and Jan Martindale, bought the shop in 2000 and it has continued to grow:  in 2005 they expanded into a new building adjacent to the original shop. The new space has given them more room, including a second floor loft where they hold classes and special events and which is available for rental.

Recently I had an opportunity to experience that second floor when I participated in a Champagne tasting.  West Seattle Cellars doens’t charge for their tastings so it was an added bonus to taste some boutique Champagne for no out of pocket cost.  Two distributors were there pouring seven different wines ranging from $40-$52.

On this night, none of them knocked my socks off, but that could be because I’m not used to drinking actual Champagne.  Most had a pungent  nose, which is typical.  There were three that stood out from the rest of the pack.  Of those three, one was at the $40 price point, the Laherte Freres Brut Tradition, which I found to have a lot of licorice on the nose and was floral on the front end.  The finish wasn’t long, however, so it was kind of a tease. 

Then there was the one that was VERY fizzy.  I mean VERY fizzy!  It  was the Marc Chauvet Brut Selection that caught me off guard because there was basically NO nose then POW, the fizz punches you right in the face.

I have another column to write about a small little wine shop and deli in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, but I wanted to write this one first because today is Bear Silverstein’s birthday.  He passed away earlier this year from health complications and the wine community took a major hit and is still reeling.  This is the reason for the title of this column.

Tom and Jan have done well holding down the shop during this very tumultuous year and they were both there the night of the Champagne tasting.  If you’re ever in West Seattle, I would suggest popping into West Seattle Cellars and saying “hello”. 

Remember you can follow me on Twitter and I also have a Fan Page on Facebook, that is gaining some steam, that you can “like”.  And, as usual, thank you so much for reading, have a wonderful holiday season and bottoms up!

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