Sparklers New Years!

Hello Wine Lovers!
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Wow, how fast it all got here! There has hardly been enough time to write any entries in this blog, let alone shop, trim the tree, put up lights, go to all the parties, remember to be grateful... you know, the usual. Which brings me today's entry, Sparklers for New Years Eve. I know many of you make big plans, out on the town with your sweetie and friends, dinner, dancing and of course drinking. That's where I come in. When you arrive at your friend's home with one of the two bottles (or both) I am about to talk about, you will be known as their new favorite friend!
I also realize that the two wines I am speaking of are slightly above my limit... but the Champagne / Sparkling category is very difficult indeed to find a bottle worthy of time and energy under $10. There are a few, but I thought it important to raise the bar for such a grand occasion.
Gruet Blanc de Noir NV, $11.99 Wine Discount Center and Binny's. You will find this wine to be beautiful in the glass with a nice color of fresh Salmon and lots of bubbles. The rich and toasty character of this wine is superb. Aged for two-year minimum, the palate is developed and shows rich complex flavors with raspberry and lots of finesse for a wine at this price point. It is crisp and will keep you filling your glass all night!
Wine #2... Sharffenberger Mendocino County Brut NV for $13.99, also at WDC and Binny's. This is a beautiful brut, easily worth its price. It shows the fancy elegance of more expensive bubblies, with its refined texture and rich but subtle flavors of strawberries and peaches. This is a pale, dry sparkling wine with a robust Pinot Noir scent. It is made of two-thirds Pinot Noir combined with one-third Chardonnay. The 100% malolactic fermentation adds a vanilla cream characteristic to the finish, it is full-bodied with a nice long finish. If anyone at your party doesn't like this wine, ask them to get out!
Have fun this holiday season but most of all, be careful!
Cheers!
J

Columbia Crest Horse Heaven Cabernet

Hello Wine Lovers!

I want to talk about this wine but usually it is out of the price range I write about ($10 or less) The fine folks at Binny's and Wine Discount Center have it on sale for $10.99 and the extra .99 is well worth me writing about for you folks! I also want to talk a little about the perception of wine... but first the wine.

Columbia Crest is a mass producer from Washington State that for the most part, put Washington on the map as far as wine production. There entry level wines certainly graced many family tables through the years with their low prices and easy drinking wines which were very approachable. As with any winery, they also wanted to produce higher end wines and to keep pushing the envelope with cutting edge developments and more "serious" wines.

Horse Heaven Wines are from a specific area south of the Yakima Valley and named after the wild horses that roamed the valley. (see map) The soil drains well with a sandy-loam soils and high winds through the region. H3 (the nickname) is made up of 88% Cabernet, 7% Merlot, 3% Syrah and 2% Malbec. You will find a mouthful of dark berries, cassis, licorice and a slight earthy finish which is smooth as a baby's butt. Nice wine for the money!

Now for the often misunderstood perception of the wine world. My beautiful Bride and myself volunteered Saturday morning (I played an elf and passed out presents along with Santa Claus for kids in need) and after it was over, we went to lunch with Santa Claus and his wife.(not the real one, but the one that played Santa... just so we're straight on this) We sat down and the waitress approached and of course asked us if we would like a drink to start off our meal. I ordered a glass of red wine and our friends ordered a beer and proceeded to tell me that he likes wine but is too intimidated to order it. So of course that started a long conversation about wine, food, cooking and restaurants! I asked him and his wife what intimidated them about wine. Both stated they liked to drink wine when someone else brings it to their home, but they don't like to drink it at a restaurant. They went on to say swirling the wine, smelling the the glass, looking at it, describing it in words they had no idea what they meant, and making such a fuss over something they drink was just too much for them. I asked them if they like the smell of apple pie baking in the oven, or the smell of steaks on a grill, or fresh bread in a bakery, or the smell of a rain shower in July. Of course, the answer was yes to all the questions I asked. I stated it was no different than smelling wine. I asked them if they smelled their beer before they tasted it, both said no. Needless to say, by this time I ordered a bottle of wine for all to share and the tutorial began. By the end of lunch they had a completely different thought process about food, wine and even the beer they drank. The bottom line is this.. too often we don't take the time to stop and smell the roses! Our sense of smell is connected to our memories, both past and present. Think of the first time you smelled your new baby, the first time you smelled a fresh cut lawn, Mom baking chocolate cookies... the point is smell is not intimidating. Maybe the wine snob that describes it is, but smell itself, is not! The moral of the story is this... don't worry about all the things someone tells you to smell, just take the time to smell, think of a memory of the smell, and drink the wine, beer, whiskey, scotch or what ever. You either like it or you don't, period! Have fun with whatever your experience at the time. If you are cooking or baking, take the time to smell. If you are drinking a new beer, take the time to smell it and really enjoy it! If you experience a new wine, take the time to smell, take the time to enjoy life to it's fullest! We only have one!

Cheers!

J

Four Vines Naked Chardonnay

Hello Wine Lovers!
I thought today I would not only talk about a wine but since Thanksgiving has just passed, and it reminded me of so many traditions that I'm quite sure we all have, I would also talk about just that... traditions. Wikipedia defines "tradition"as a ritual, belief or object passed down within a society, still maintained in the present, with origins in the past. The holidays always bring about memories of my family traditions I grew up with. Some I didn't understand at the time, some I passed on to my own family, and some have gone by the way side. I'm sure you have many traditions of your own and I hope reading this reminds you of them and sparks a few laughs!
I'm going to start with a few beginning with Thanksgiving. I always run a 5k on the morning of Thanksgiving. My reward for that is a glass of champagne and a nice cigar. Next comes football, I always watch the Cowboys on Thanksgiving! I'm willing to bet you watch football too... it's an American tradition. Next comes a dear friend's tradition, after football, eating the bird, smoking a cigar, he then begins to mumble (because he had too much wine)and we all bet what time the mumbling will show it's ugly head. We share a few laughs at his expense, but all in fun. We then pass the calendar and we all pick a day for the first snowfall, winner gets a bottle of champagne! Another tradition is to begin to decorate the house for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving, not a day sooner, not a day after, Friday. Christmas music, the tree gets delivered, the lights, the ornaments, the fire place burning... you get the picture! The next tradition we have is we always volunteer for one of my darling wife's causes the first week of December. A time to give thanks and to share with the less fortunate. I hope this has sparked a few memories, traditions of your own, and maybe thoughts of your old childhood traditions.
Finally the wine... Four Vines Naked Chardonnay, for about $9 at Wine Discount Center and Binny's. Why is it called "Naked" you ask? No oak! That's why I am writing about it! You can actually taste the grapes and not the oak, this wine is clean and naked! This Chardonnay was fermented in 100% stainless steel and is crisp, concentrated Chardonnay with all its natural acid. You will find apple, white peach, and pear, finishing long with hints of citrus and mineral. This wine is a perfect match for oysters and friends! Enjoy it often! The pictures posted with this entry are all of Four Vines and the winemaker.

Cheers!
J

Pedro Romero Sherry

Hello Wine Lovers!
This morning a good friend receives his annual delivery of Christmas Trees for the season and as I have for a number of years, along with many friends and neighbors, we gather to help him unload 2 semi's full of trees, wreaths and roping. By no means was it cold, but it was chilly. You spend a couple of hours out in he weather today and a chill comes over you. After it was all over, I headed home with the anticipation of two things. Lighting a fire and retrieving a bottle of Sherry out of the cellar. I did both! Which leads me to this entry...Sherry. What is it and my review of the Sherry I opened. Let's talk Sherry!

Sherry is a fortified wine made from white grapes that are grown near the town of Jerez (Jerez de la Frontera), Spain. In Spanish, it is called vino de Jerez.
In Europe, "Sherry" is a protected designation of origin; in Spanish law, all wine labeled as "sherry" must legally come from the Sherry Triangle, which is an area in the province of Cádiz between Jerez de la Frontera, Sanlúcar de Barrameda, and El Puerto de Santa María. (See map)
After fermentation is complete, sherry is fortified with brandy. (Somewhat like Port)Because the fortification takes place after fermentation, most sherries are initially dry, with any sweetness being added later.
Sherry is produced in a variety of styles, ranging from dry, light versions such as finos to darker and heavier versions known as olorosos, all made from the Palomino grape.

Jerez has been a centre of viniculture since wine-making was introduced to Spain by the Phoenicians in 1100 BC. The practice was carried on by the Romans when they took control of Iberia around 200 BC. The Moors conquered the region in AD 711 and introduced distillation, which led to the development of brandy and fortified wine.
Christopher Columbus, brought sherry on his voyage to the New World and when Ferdinand Magellan prepared to sail around the world in 1519, he spent more on sherry than on weapons, my type of guy! Ok... now we talk about styles.
*Fino ('fine' in Spanish) is the driest and palest of the traditional varieties of sherry. The wine is aged in barrels under a cap of flor yeast to prevent contact with the air.
*Manzanilla is an especially light variety of fino Sherry made around the port of Sanlúcar de Barrameda.
*Manzanilla Pasada is a Manzanilla that has undergone extended aging or has been partially oxidised, giving a richer, nuttier flavour.
*Amontillado is a variety of Sherry that is first aged under flor but which is then exposed to oxygen, producing a sherry that is darker than a fino but lighter than an oloroso. Naturally dry, they are sometimes sold lightly to medium sweetened.
*Oloroso ('scented' in Spanish) is a variety of Sherry aged oxidatively for a longer time than a fino or amontillado, producing a darker and richer wine. With alcohol levels between 18 and 20%, olorosos are the most alcoholic sherries in the bottle. Again naturally dry, they are often also sold in sweetened versions (Amoroso).
*Palo Cortado is a variety of Sherry that is initially aged like an amontillado, typically for three or four years, but which subsequently develops a character closer to an oloroso. This either happens by accident when the flor dies, or commonly the flor is killed by fortification or filtration.
*Jerez Dulce (Sweet Sherries) are made either by fermenting dried Pedro Ximénez (PX) or Moscatel grapes, which produces an intensely sweet dark brown or black wine, or by blending sweeter wines or grape must with a drier variety.
*Cream Sherry is a common type of sweet sherry made by blending different wines, such as oloroso sweetened with PX.
Wow... all that, now just drink it!
My entry today is Pedro Romero Amontillado Sherry, available at Binny's for around $10 a bottle. Buy it, on those cold nights, have a glass with a nice fire, a good book and your honey sittin close to you!
You will find this wine to be Medium-bodied and off-dry, with caramel, roasted walnut and nut flavors. Builds nicely on the palate to a long, caramel-tinged aftertaste with a smooth finish.

Cheers!
J

Liberty School Cabernet

Hello Wine Lovers!

Lets get right down to it... this is a great value from Paso Robles California. Priced at $8.99 a bottle at The Wine Discount Center and at Binny's, you don't want to miss this one! Liberty School is part of the Hope Family of wines. The Hope family arrived in Paso Robles in 1978 and planted vineyards, as one of the pioneering families of this distinctive wine community, the Hope family is dedicated to sustainable farming and making wines that are delicious, affordable and memorable. Still family-owned and operated, Hope Family Wines now makes five individual brands: Liberty School, Treana, Candor, Troublemaker and Austin Hope. The 2009 Liberty School Cabernet Sauvignon offers up-front aromas of ripe red fruit, followed by rich berry flavors. Silky but firm tannins lead to excellent structure, while maintaining a soft approachability reflective of Paso Robles Cabernet. The wine has a ripe finish with good length and is much more sophisticated than it's modest price! Impress your friends, pour them a glass of this little number and watch their face light up! I found it to be a nice match to Barefoot Contessa's recipe for Beef Bourguignon that I made on Sunday. Open a bottle and start cooking!
Cheers!
J

1 3-pound filet of beef, trimmed
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3 to 4 tablespoons good olive oil
1/4 pound bacon, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups good dry red wine, such as Burgundy or Chianti
2 cups beef stock
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 sprig fresh thyme
1/2 pound pearl onions, peeled
8 to 10 carrots, cut diagonally into 1-inch-thick slices
3 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced 1/4-inch thick (domestic or wild)


Look Inside

With a sharp knife, cut the filet crosswise into 1-inch-thick slices. Salt and pepper the filets on both sides. In a large, heavy-bottomed pan on medium-high heat, sauté the slices of beef in batches with 2 to 3 tablespoons oil until browned on the outside and very rare inside, about 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Remove the filets from the pan and set aside on a platter.

In the same pan, sauté the bacon on medium-low heat for 5 minutes, until browned and crisp. Remove the bacon and set it aside. Drain all the fat, except 2 tablespoons, from the pan. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.

Deglaze the pan with the red wine and cook on high heat for 1 minute, scraping the bottom of the pan. Add the beef stock, tomato paste, thyme, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Bring to a boil and cook uncovered on medium-high heat for 10 minutes. Strain the sauce and return it to the pan. Add the onions and carrots and simmer uncovered for 20 to 30 minutes, until the sauce is reduced and the vegetables are cooked.

With a fork mash 2 tablespoons butter and the flour into a paste and whisk it gently into the sauce. Simmer for 2 minutes to thicken.

Meanwhile, sauté the mushrooms separately in 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon oil for about 10 minutes, until browned and tender.

Add the filet of beef slices, the mushrooms, and the bacon to the pan with the vegetables and sauce. Cover and reheat gently for 5 to 10 minutes. Do not overcook. Season to taste and serve immediately.

Finca el Origen, Malbec

Hello Wine Lovers!
I thought today I would fill you full of fun little wine facts and review a great Malbec from Argentina! I'll make this light and fun! You know, fun little facts you can wow your friends with!
Let's talk wine first. Finca el Origen 2010 Malbec. This wine is packed with plum, cherry and blueberry with a little oak and herbal tea thrown in for good measure. This wine is smooth with a somewhat complex finish. (Certainly for the $) This little baby will set you back a whopping $8.99 at your neighborhood Wind Discount Center. Get in your car, drive to the shop, tell the person to load as much as you can fit into your trunk and put in your basement. There, you're all set for winter!
Now fun facts!
It takes approximately 21/2 pounds of grapes to make a bottle of wine.
Approximately 800 gallons of wine is produce from 1 acre of vines.
There are over 10,000 different grape varieties.
California produces over 17 million gallons of wine each year.
There are 85 calories in a 4 oz glass of red wine.
There are 60 gallons of wine to a barrel.
There is approximately 400 vines to an acre.
Wine making can be traced back to 6000 BC, by the Mesopotamians.
Screw caps seal 93% of wines from New Zealand and 75% of Australian wines.
90% of all wines should be consumed within 1 year.
Yellow Tail is the number 1 selling imported wine in the US.
The term bouquet refers to the total scent of the wine. Aroma is the scent of the grapes. When wine tasters want to describe the bouquet and the aroma together, they use the term nose.
In 2008, the top five wine-producing states in the U.S. were California (3.4 million tons of grapes crushed for wine), Washington (145,000 tons), New York (45,000 tons), Oregon (40,000 tons), and Pennsylvania (13,200 tons).
California grows more Chardonnay grapes than anywhere in the world!
Chardonnay is the number 1 selling wine in the US.
Wine has no fat or cholesterol (otherwise I would be one fat son-of-a gun!)

That should keep you busy for a while. Go impress your friends!
Cheers!
J

Spellbound Petite Sirah

Hello Wine Lovers!
Halloween is just around the corner and I love this time of year! The weather is changing and we all need to exchange our wardrobes from summer to fall, pumpkins, corn stalks, apple cider, bonfires and of course, it i time to drink some Sirah's. Spicy and sometimes tannic, the perfect wine for this time of year! Today's entry is Spellbound Petite Sirah from Robert Mondavi's son, Rob. The fruit is sourced from Lodi and is loaded with jammy flavors of dark berries, chocolate, coffee and a touch of vanilla. Some lots were aged in stainless steel and some lots aged in French and American oak barrels. The wine was then blended before bottling and then to market for $10! This wine is perfect for burgers on the grill while you hang out around the fire!
Let's talk a little about Petite Sirah... or also known as Durif.
Durif is a variety of red wine grape primarily grown in California, Australia, France, and Israel. It is the main grape known in the U.S. and Israel as Petite Sirah, with over 90% of the California plantings labeled "Petite Sirah" being Durif grapes. It produces tannic wines with spicy, plummy flavours. The grape originated as a cross of Syrah pollen germinating a Peloursin plant and is named after François Durif, a botanist at the University of Montpellier in France.It was in a Peloursin vineyard near the university that he discovered the unique vine that he named for himself in 1880. The grape's high resistance to downy mildew encouraged its cultivation in the early 20th century in areas like Isère and Ardèche, although the relative low quality of the resulting wine caused the grape to fall out of favor with local wine authorities. Today, it is almost nonexistent in France. When it is handled correctly you are rewarded with a mouth full of jammy fruit! served this wine with the recipe here from Pine Ridge Vineyards for braised boar. (I used pork shoulder) Enjoy!
Braised Wild Boar with Egg Noodles and Thyme
Serve with Onyx
Created by Winery Chef Eric C. Maczko

Ingredients:
6 pounds wild boar shoulder, boneless with excess fat removed
3 ounces 2003 Onyx
Salt and pepper to taste
Flour, as needed for dusting
Grapeseed oil, as needed for searing
2 white onions, quartered
1 tomato, seeded and chopped
2 quarts beef stock, preferably homemade
Aromatics (place all in a tea infuser for easy removal): 2 each of bay leaves,
thyme sprigs, juniper berries and cloves
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
6-8 cups egg noodles
1 tablespoon whole butter
Fresh thyme for garnish

Method:
Preheat oven to 350°. Dice meat into 1" cubes and toss with wine to marinade. After 1 hour, drain meat and pat dry with paper towels, reserving marinade. Season meat with salt and pepper, and dust lightly with flour. Heat sauté pan with 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil over high heat and sear meat in batches, making sure all sides are nicely browned (drain spent oil between batches and replace with fresh oil). Remove meat to casserole dish or deep pan designated for braising.

Once all meat is seared, sauté onion in same sauté pan until lightly browned, approximately 4 minutes. Add tomato and sauté one minute more. Add marinade and scrape the pan into the casserole dish. Add stock, aromatics and vinegar, and cover with lid or foil. Braise in oven for up to 2½ hours, or until very tender.

While boar braises, any additional vegetables such as Brussels sprouts, carrots or pearl onions can be prepared as desired to serve with the boar. Approximately 20 minutes prior to serving, cook noodles in well salted boiling water until al dente. Drain and toss noodles with butter while still warm, and place into small cups for individual servings.

When boar is finished, remove from oven and allow to cool slightly. Remove aromatics and skim any impurities that may have risen to the top. Adjust seasonings if necessary. Plate boar and vegetables in a shallow bowl. Top with stock and garnish with fresh thyme leaves.

Terra Rosa Old Vine Malbec

Hello Wine Lovers!
My entry today is two fold, an extremely value driven Malbec from Terra Rosa made from old vines from Mendoza Argentina, and my feelings on wine and dinner. First the wine. Here is the kicker... the winery is owned by Patrick Campbell who also owns Laurel Glen Winery in California. After the wine finishes fermentation, it is brought up to our California winery by ship in temperature-controlled 24,000 liter stainless steel containers to age in French and European oak barrels for 15 months. So what is the kicker you say? The cost is only $8 a bottle! Think about it, everything this wine goes through and it still shows up at market for this price! Available at Binny's and Wine Discount Centers. This wine is teeth staining, dark violet in color with a nose of licorice, tobacco and smoke. It has a juicy mouth full of dark plums and spice with nice tannins to round out the wine. Very complex for a wine of this price point! Before they run out, go and grab all you can carry, you will not be disappointed!
Now dinner. Last night my wife and I shared dinner with a wonderful couple (of which I happen to work with the husband)who's company and conversation was divine. At one point our dinner conversation led us down the path of a changing society and how different things are now than when we grew up. My point is (I do have a point...)I think one of the factors that has shaped our society today is the dinner table, or lack of. Without getting too involved and lengthy I'll tell you what I think. With both parents working, kids enrolled in everything from soccer to violin lessons to baseball, commuting to and from work, long hours of work, and the cell phone... there is never time for dinner! Dinner should be planned and thought about, not a drive through in between games or lessons. You plan dinner, you sit with your kids and you talk! You laugh, you ask questions, you get connected to them! You listen, and I mean really listen, to each other. The nucleus of the family is at the dinner table and without it, in my opinion, it starts to crumble. This is just one guy's opinion but I'm sticking to it!
Cheers!
J

Chateau de Macard

Hello Wine Lovers!
Fall is here! Football every week, cool nights, leaves changing colors and starting to fall, and of course, hearty stews and slow cooked meats, hearty pastas with rich red sauces. And wine changes with the season too! Now we drink big reds with tannins to keep us warm at night. What comes to mind are Syrah, Bordeaux, Cabernet and of course the occasional Cabernet Franc! Which leads me to today's wine entry... Chateau de Macard Bordeaux Superieur. For about $8 at Binny's you won't believe this little beauty! This wine is a blend of 50% Caberent Franc, 20% Cabernet and 30% Merlot which leads to a mouthful of fruit with cassis and blackberries and a little tobacco notes as well. This wine is aged for 18 months with half in oak barrels and half in stainless steel tanks. This wine is just what the doctor ordered for this time of year! Speaking of which... I also included one of my favorite dishes for you to give a look see and this wine will match nicely! Enjoy!

Cheers!
J

Ingredients
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 dry bay leaf
2 whole cloves
Cheesecloth
Kitchen twine, for bouquet garni and tying the veal shanks
3 whole veal shanks (about 1 pound per shank), trimmed
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
All purpose flour, for dredging
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 small onion, diced into 1/2-inch cubes
1 small carrot, diced into 1/2-inch cubes
1 stalk celery, diced into 1/2 inch cubes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup dry white wine
3 cups chicken stock
3 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon lemon zest
Directions
Place the rosemary, thyme, bay leaf and cloves into cheesecloth and secure with twine. This will be your bouquet garni.

For the veal shanks, pat dry with paper towels to remove any excess moisture. Veal shanks will brown better when they are dry. Secure the meat to the bone with the kitchen twine. Season each shank with salt and freshly ground pepper. Dredge the shanks in flour, shaking off excess.

In a large Dutch oven pot, heat vegetable oil until smoking. Add tied veal shanks to the hot pan and brown all sides, about 3 minutes per side. Remove browned shanks and reserve.

In the same pot, add the onion, carrot and celery. Season with salt at this point to help draw out the moisture from the vegetables. Saute until soft and translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the tomato paste and mix well. Return browned shanks to the pan and add the white wine and reduce liquid by half, about 5 minutes. Add the bouquet garni and 2 cups of the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover pan and simmer for about 1 1/2 hours or until the meat is falling off the bone. Check every 15 minutes, turning shanks and adding more chicken stock as necessary. The level of cooking liquid should always be about 3/4 the way up the shank.

Carefully remove the cooked shanks from the pot and place in decorative serving platter. Cut off the kitchen twine and discard.

Remove and discard bouquet garni from the pot.

Pour all the juices and sauce from the pot over the shanks. Garnish with chopped parsley and lemon zest.

Santa Ema Merlot

Hello Wine Lovers!
Sorry for the 2 week delay in my entry, things have been a little crazy! Because of all the craziness in my world right now it made me think it is very easy for all of us to get caught up in our every day lives to slow down and "smell the coffee" as they say. In today's world we are connected 24 hours a day! Smart phones, laptops, I-Pads, text, e-mail, Facebook, Twitter... etc etc! Slow down! It is not life or death! Relax, have a glass of wine, sit in your favorite chair, get your dog to curl up with you and read one of these books on wine!

1. Wine for Dummies.
Another entry in a long line of books and this one is helpful for beginners!
2. Wine & War
A book about WW II and what the Nazi's did to France, a good read.
3. Great Wine Made Simple
Do I need to say anything?
4. 1001 Wines You Must Taste Before You Die
Fun and interesting prospectives on wines of the world
5. Judgement of Paris
A must read! About the 1976 Paris wine tasting that launched American wines into the forefront of the wine world! (My dear friend was at this tasting and is mentioned in the book)
You can find all of these books used on Amazon for ridiculously low prices and I think you will find them not only interesting but educational as well.
Now for the wine review! Santa Ema Reserve Merlot from the Maipo Valley in Chile. This wine will blow your socks off for the money! About $8 at Wine Discount Center and Binny's. I am not usually impressed by Merlot at this price range, but I gotta tell ya... this one changed my mind! You will find it to be a dark violet color with a very fruity nose of plums, blackberries, and black currant, accompanied by intense notes of caramel, chocolate, and vanilla. On the palate soft, ripe tannins which lead to structure and balance. I don't think you will be disappointed with this wine!
Good Reading!

Cheers!
J

Malbec

Hello Wine Lovers!
As I am sitting on my porch writing this entry today I can't believe summer is over already! It seems just like yesterday it started, and now with Labor Day and the leaves are already starting to fall in my yard, (that's a real sign of fall) I have no other choice than to accept it. All of this leads me to my topic... preserving that open bottle of wine. (I would like to preserve summer and open it up on those really cold days in February)
Let's get one thing perfectly clear before I get started, finish the bottle when you open it! That is the best way to keep it fresh and vibrant, but if for some strange reason you do not, here are some options. The enemy to wine is oxygen, the more you can keep it away from the wine, the longer the wine will taste fresh and the integrity of the wine will remain. There are a number of devices on the market today that claim to keep your bottle fresh. Probably the most common and least expensive is the "VacuVin" pump. The idea is to replace the cork with a rubber stopper and then you place the pump on top of the stopper and pump the air (which of course has oxygen) out of the bottle. It is this guy's opinion that it helps the wine remain somewhat fresh up to 48 hours. Much after that reduce it for a sauce or use it to make a stock. The next market item is called "Private Reserve". This is a mix of gasses (Nitrogen, Carbon Dioxide, and Argon) that you spray into the bottle. These gasses displace the oxygen in the bottle and create a protective blanket over the wine. After displacing the air immediately place the cork back in and store the bottle upright. The gas mixture has no aroma of its own, so it does not corrupt the wine. I have found this to also be helpful and as the VacuVin, is available at most wine shops for around $10. I also suggest you store the open bottle in the fridge to slow down the oxidation. (Remember the 20 / 20 rule I wrote about a few blogs ago) Another option is called "WineTap System" and is available at some wine shops and on line for around $100. This system uses a nitrogen cannister with a nozzle you place in the bottle and then hook up the canister. When you hook up the canister it displaces the air and then allows you to dispense the wine from the bottle using the handle. This also works for up to 24 -48 hours. The bottom line is this... for the money buy the "VacuVin" and pump your wine, place it in the fridge and drink it tomorrow!
Today's wine is the Diseno Old Vine Malbec from Argentina (Where else?) You will find this wine to have a nose of wild dark berries with a touch of chocolate and coffee. When you taste the wine you will find earth tones, dark fruit, coffee and cocoa with substantial tannins. It is a perfect wine to pair with grilled meats and hearty red sauces. It can easily over power some food so be wise. For about $9 at Binny's you can't go wrong. I Served it with the recipe below and it was a perfect match! The recipe is simple and packs a lot of flavor... enjoy!

Cheers!
J
Argentinian Chimichurri Sauce:
• 1 cup lightly packed chopped parsley (ideally, flat leaf "Italian" parsley)
• 3 to 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon chili pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves (optional)
• 2 tablespoons shallot or onion, minced
• 3/4 cup vegetable or olive oil
• 3 tablespoons sherry wine vinegar, or red wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice

Directions
Preheat a grill.
Place all chimichurri sauce ingredients in a blender or food processor and pulse until well chopped, but not pureed. Reserve.
Place the steak directly over a hot grill, and cook to medium rare. Remove the steak from the grill, let rest 5 minutes and top with the chimichuri.

Wine Harvest

Hello Wine Lovers!
Here it is Sunday and so far I have survived my birthday weekend, it was a little "touch and go" last night after dinner, but I pulled through. My family goes out of their way to make me feel special and this year was no exception! My two kids came over yesterday afternoon to help Mom with another superb four course extravaganza and between courses I started to think what it took to get the bottle of wine, my daughter so graciously gave me for my birthday, to the table. As you know from reading this blog, I write about $10 or less wines and I am always amazed how a bottle shows up at a wine shop for that price range considering what it goes through! Harvest is just around the corner and I thought I would point out a few items to get you thinking "How can they do this for $8?"
Wine can be traced back to over 8000 years ago and there are thousands of different varietals. The price put on a bottle of wine is as much perception as it is business, in other words, what will the market bear and will the consumer think it is a good enough wine for the money?

Price also plays into the perception of value, said Vic Motto, a senior partner at Motto Kryla Fisher, a wine industry consulting company in St. Helena, Calif. ''If I made the best wine in the world and charged $1 for it,'' he said, ''no one would believe it was the best. They'd say it's a great bottle of $1 wine.''
But there is much more to the cost of a bottle than the wine inside. To start with, the retail price on the shelf is generally twice what the winery sold the wine for. That means a $100 wine was $50 when it left the winery and $50 was added by the distributor and the retailer.
Wineries, of course, also like to make a profit. A $100 wine that cost $50 when it left its maker may have cost as little as $25 to produce. For wines in the $7 to $10 range, the margin is far less, because the makers make money on volume. But coming up with a precise number is hard because overhead like electricity,staff costs, the cost of the bottle, cork, labels, equipment, and lets not forget the price of an acre of land! It is like anything in our great big world we live in, what is it worth to you? If I open up a bottle of 1961 Cheval Blanc and you taste it and don't like it, that bottle is certainly not worth the estimated $3000 price tag to you. On the other hand you open up a bottle of $9 Cabernet over looking Niagara Falls with your sweetie on a perfect sunny day, and that bottle has a lasting memory of one of your favorites! Whether it is a car, a home, a designer, a dentist, a clothing store, whatever it is, it is what you are willing to pay for a good or service. Value is the key!
Wow, now that's out of he way... let's talk about a wine! Santa Julia Reserva Malbec, from Argentina for $7.99 at the Wine Discount Center. (I believe Binny's has it too)
This wine is loaded with cherry and ripe fruit with a nice bright finish of light tannins. It is dark in color and has a nose of licorice and spice. This wine pairs well with grilled meats and hearty sauces. Again, how the heck do they get this wine to market for well under $10 is beyond me!
Cheers!
J

My Favorite "Wine" Movies

Hello Wine Lovers!
This wondrous morning after a run, breakfast, dog walking and a little gardening I decided to take a little time for myself and slip in a movie and light up a cigar and enjoy. The movie I put in the player was "Dr. No" the 1962 Jame Bond flick, which I feel is the best Bond film. But at any rate it made me think of my favorite movies with wine in them. Not movies where wine is the focal point, but movies where
it clicks: Wine plays a significant role, the filmmakers get the wine parts right, and the movie is a pleasure to watch. So using this criteria here is my list with a little antidote about each one. Grab your sweetie, make some popcorn (hint: a buttery Chardonnay from California goes really good with buttered popcorn) and watch one or all of these movies. Pay attention to the wine scenes!
#1 Casablanca:
Champagne is the wine of choice in this famous epic and Claude Rains, as the jolly French policeman Capt. Renault, specifically orders 1926 Veuve Clicquot, "an excellent French wine," for the Nazi Maj. Strasser. Rains and Henreid also enjoy Champagne cocktails. Champagne's finest moment comes during the flashback to Bogart and Bergman's romance in Paris, when they're drinking bubbly in a small cafe. As Bogart's faithful friend Sam plays "As Time Goes By" on the piano, Bogie says to the cafe owner "says to finish this bottle and then three more. He says he'll water his garden with Champagne before he'll let the Germans drink it."
#2 Notorious:
Only Alfred Hitchcock can make it nerve-racking to watch people drink Champagne!Bergman stars as the title character, a "notorious" woman whose father is convicted of treason for spying for the Nazis. Bergman also once loved current Nazi spy Rains, and is now a hard drinker accused of promiscuity.
Grant plays an American spy who manipulates Bergman into flying to Rio de Janeiro and back into Rains' arms in order to see what he's doing now. Grant suspects that the Nazis are hiding a substance used to make radioactive weapons in wine bottles. He and Bergman poke around in the wine cellar of a mansion, opening bottles, while the Nazis throw a big party. If someone finds them down there, they'll be killed.Meanwhile, the high-society guests are drinking huge amounts of Champagne. All the while, we know that if the Champagne upstairs runs out, someone will be sent to the cellar to fetch more, and Bergman and Grant will be shot. Once again, the suspense of Hitchcock will keep you on the edge of your seat!
#3 Dr No:
James Bond has always been a sophisticated drinker, with much more of a taste for Champagne than the vodka martinis he's now most famous for.However, the moment that establishes Bond to audiences as more than a well-trained assassin, but a well-polished gentleman as well, involves Champagne.Invited to dinner while held captive by Dr. No, Bond grabs a bottle of Dom to use as a weapon."That's a Dom Perignon '55," says the evil yet cultured Dr. No. "It would be a pity to break it."Bond shrugs, puts the bottle down, and says, "I prefer the '53 myself." Now, think of when this movie was released and American audiences had to think he was a complete wine geek to know what year was important! You can judge how good a Bond film is by the vintage of Dom he orders. In the entertaining film "Goldfinger", Bond enjoys a bottle of the '53 Dom with a beautiful woman. But in "Thunderball", he orders a bottle of the '55 he once scorned! I rest my case, Thunderball was not as good as Goldfinger!
#4 The Earth is Mine:
Filmed at what is now Rubicon Estate, in Napa Valley,with workers appearing as extras, this film is a portrayal of the issues that divided Napa Valley in the 1930s still seems prescient today, and some of the gender-preference innuendo in Hudson's dialogue is pretty interesting even now. In this steamy version of Napa life, marriages are arranged to bring desirable vineyard property into the family. Affairs of all types are never out of the question. Hudson's mother, played by Anna Lee, says at one point: "Andre is thinking of selling Stags Leap. Cutting it up into little parcels. Selling it off to all the riffraff that come flooding in here because the price of grapes is high." Rains plays a noble character, believing that wine grapes are a gift from God. "The grape is the only fruit that God gave the sense to know what it was made for," he says. The film gives simple-to-understand descriptions of both the winemaking process and how to taste and appreciate wine. If you pay close attention, it is like "wine 101"
#5 Sideways:
About a trip through California's wine country with one character getting married and the other a failed writer with a passion for Pinot Noir, and wine in general. It is fun to watch Miles teach his friend about wine. He hates Merlot and Cabernet Franc and there is a great scene outside a restaurant you won't want to miss. Even though he hates those 2 grapes, his favorite wine in the world is made up of them both, yet the director doesn't throw it in your face. If you know the wine, you will know what I am saying!
#6 Disclosure:
Demi Moore sexually harasses Michael Douglas and a key point to the film is her special ordering him a 1991 Pahlmeyer Chardonnay which later is a point of guilt on her side. There is not a lot of wine drinking but the movie did put the Chardonnay on the map!
This should keep you occupied for a few Sundays with your sweetie!
Enjoy!
J

Argentina Malbec

Hello Wine Lovers!

Another week has gone by here in the latter part of summer in beautiful Chicago which translates to beautiful lake front walks and BBQ on the patio! Which leads to Malbec, the perfect wine for summer! Today I am talking about Andes Crossing (Top 10 Whole Foods wine) for $8.99 and Don Miguel Gascon Malbec also for $8.99 at Binny's. Both wines are form Mendoza Argentina which means both are grown at high altitude in the Andes Mountains. Lets talk about Andes Crossing first. You will find this wine dark in color (typical of Malbec) with wild red fruit flavors and violet tones with a long smooth finish and well balanced tannins. Quite a mouthful for $9!

You will find the Gascon Malbec slightly more elegant with a full body and soft tannins with flavors of blackberry, blueberry and dark cherries with a hint of chocolate at the end. Here is a few notes from the winemaker, Ernesto: "The 2010 growing season in Mendoza was characterized by a slight delay in ripening, lower alcohol potential and higher acidity, compared to the previous one. A late-season frost in 2009 prevented normal bud formation in the spring, resulting in lower yields. January and February saw unseasonably warm weather throughout the region, and consequently, veraison occurred earlier than normal in most areas. Sugar accumulation arrest in the berry was delayed and led to lower potential alcohol levels in the fruit than in 2009. Throughout the summer, the weather remained both hot and dry, resulting in generally thick skinned fruit with very concentrated flavors. The fruit also maintained excellent levels of natural acidity, lending freshness and vibrancy to the grapes. Overall, the dry season combined with lower yields resulted in fruit with intense color, exceptional levels of concentration and complexity". There ya have it! (That is his picture)

I was visiting a friend last week who had a bottle of red wine in their refrigerator (Due to the fact he did not have a cellar or wine fridge) and it reminded me of the 20 / 20 Rule for serving wine. It goes like this... take a bottle of white out of the fridge for 20 minutes before serving and place a bottle of red in the fridge for 20 minutes before serving. This will get both wines, white and red, close to the proper serving temperature. Whites show best at around 45 degrees and reds show best at around 56 degrees. Use this rule when serving your wine and you won't go back to "room temperature" red wines or white wines that are 40 degrees or less ever again!

Cheers!

J

Concannon Petite Sirah

Hello Wine Lovers!
Today I thought I would talk about a wine that has certainly started many debates over the years, some may even call them arguments... but what the heck, that's what I'm here for. One of the reasons you are reading this blog (I assume anyway) is to learn something as well as confidence when choosing a wine for the evening's dinner or party or BBQ, or wedding or... oh the list goes on and on!
The wine, Concannon Petite Sirah from California available at Binny's for about $7.99, and my lovely Bride found it at our local Jewel store for $8.99! Anyway, back to me...
You will find this wine loaded with fruit, blackberries and cassis with a kiss of vanilla and a finish of tobacco and spice and a long lingering mouth feel. Perfect for the weather and outdoor fun!
But lets talk about what has sparked all the fuss! You will sometimes find labels with Petite Syrah VS Petite Sirah and this my friends is what causes all the fun! Briefly, Petite Syrah is a smaller grape from the world renowned region of the Rhone Valley in France, small intense berries packed with flavor and know for it's quality. Petite Sirah is actually known as Durif in the US and Israel, over 90% of the wine produced in these countries with the label Petite Sirah is Durif. It was named after François Durif, a botanist at the University of Montpellier. It was in a Peloursin vineyard near the university that he discovered the unique vine that he named for himself in 1880. The DNA fingerprinting at the University of California, Davis in 1997, Syrah was identified as the source of the pollen that originally crossed with Peloursin flowers.The grape's high resistance to downy mildew encouraged its cultivation in the early 20th century although the relative low quality of the resulting wine caused the grape to fall out of favor with local wine authorities. Today, it is almost nonexistent in France. Most winemakers use this grape to blend and few will produce a wine made up of all Petite Sirah grapes.
Now you know...
Here is another recipe my Bride and I prepared last week from Giada. Not only is it simple but it is really packed with flavor and the citrus is so "right on" with the hot summer weather!
Cheers!
J

Ingredients
Salsa:
2 large oranges
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 scallions, finely sliced
3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed, drained and coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons orange zest
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Salmon:
Vegetable or canola oil, for oiling the grill
4 (4 to 5-ounce) center cut salmon fillets, skinned, each about 3-inches square
2 tablespoons amber agave nectar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
For the salsa: Peel and trim the ends from each orange. Using a paring knife, cut along the membrane on both sides of each segment. Free the segments and add them to a medium bowl. Add the olive oil, lemon juice, parsley, scallions, mint, capers, orange zest, lemon zest, and red pepper flakes. Toss lightly and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Set aside.

For the salmon: Put a grill pan over medium-high heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill. Brush the grilling rack with vegetable oil to keep the salmon from sticking. Brush the salmon on both sides with the agave nectar and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Grill until the fish flakes easily and is cooked through, about 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Transfer the salmon to a platter and allow to rest for 5 minutes.

Spoon the salsa verde on top of the salmon or serve on the side as an accompaniment.