Possibilities

How is it possible to go almost a month without talking about wine?

Because I've been so busy enjoying it!

Let's start with last weekend. I did a wine tasting at a Christmas party. Everyone brought a bottle of wine (their choice) and we did a blind tasting. Throughout the tasting we discussed the complexities and nuances of good wine and what makes a bad wine bad. I was reminded that everyone has different palates. What's good for one person may be only marginal at best for another. Something that hasn't changed is that great wine is always recognized as great. Somewhere there must be a line that is crossed where a wine can cross all palates and become truely great in the taste of every beholder. Do you get what I'm saying? There are wines we can disagree on. Then there are wines where we all have to agree they have reached the threshold of wonderful. When does this happen? What wines reach that threshold? This is my quest.


This weekend my husband, 9 mo. old daughter and I ventured to Palm Desert to stay with an old college friend, Tim. Tim is a Director of Pharmacy. He works with Cancer patients. He is very knowledgeable at his job (that's an understatement), but more importantly, he is one of my husband's best friends and therefore regarded as part of the family. In short, we love Tim. We spent a weekend of eating and wine drinking. Last night, Tim made a wonderful pork roast with mashed potatoes and green beans. He also concocted this butternut squash soup that was to die for. Fresh sage. Need I say more?

With last night's dinner we had a bottle of Nadeau "Critical Mass" Zinfandel. Wonderful. The BEST Zinfandel I have ever had. Honestly. It was a 2005. You won't find it in any stores, you have to go on the net or go to the winery in Paso Robles. Even then, your chances are they have run out of the wine as it is a small family vineyard and it goes quickly. But it is worth the hunt. I promise. It is full of fruit. Jammy is a word that comes to mind. It would pair well with beef. It did fine with the pork and mushroom gravy we had--but we are critical mass groupies and would drink this wine with anything and follow it to the ends of the earth. Seriously.

After our dinner and Critical Mass, we traveled to the local "living desert" zoo to see the Christmas light display they do every year. What fun! We have decided to make this a yearly tradition. Still happy from the Zinfandel, we braved a maze of hay, but my husband had to back out because the stroller wouldn't fit around some corners.

Tonight we had leftover pork, a wonderful pasta dish, and a salad made with homemade dressing. That is following a breakfast of chocolate pastries and bagels with cream cheese and lox. I think I gained 5 pounds. We shared tonight a bottle of 2002 Hewitt Cabernet from the Rutherford Valley (Napa). It was just as deep in color as the Zinfandel, but less fruit and more earth. There was a definite "wood" to the Cab as well as some herb tones. Again, there are those who would say this Cab wouldn't pair with pork, but we say, "We're drinking it!" Tim said he looked online and it's about $68 a bottle, so we felt privileged to be able to share this with our friend.

As I am writing this, we are about to leave Tim's and head back to reality. Well, for a few days anyway. Wednesday I am off to Morro Bay with the baby to visit the folks for Christmas. I am very blessed indeed.

More on Pinot Noir

Thanksgiving is approaching. Pinot Noir goes great with Turkey and all the trimmings because of the high amount of acidity in Pinot. It is hard to find a good Pinot Noir under $20 due to the fact Pinot grapes are more difficult to grow and maintain.

Cooking Light magazine's November 2007 had some great suggestions for Pinot. I will also add Acacia's Pinot Noir 2005 to the list. You can find it at Trader Joe's.

"And Noah he often said to his wife when he sat down to dine,
I don't care where the water goes as long as it doesn't get in the wine."
-G.K. Chesterton

Pinots continued

To add to the previous post of Pinot Noir...

Landmark's Pinot Noir is very good with Salmon. I know, I know, we've always been told that you can't drink red wine with fish. Usually this is a good standard to go by, but Salmon is a rich enough fish that it can stand up to Pinot. I wouldn't go crazy and pair Salmon with Zinfandel or Cabernet, but Pinot is permissible.

p.s. When I was wine tasting at the Harbor Festival in Morro Bay, I stuck a business card of a fairly new and wonderful winery in my daughter's diaper bag. Now I can't find it. When I do find it, I will share it with this blog. (The name of the winery, not the diaper bag).

A Trio of Pinot Noirs

There's a lot to be said about Pinot Noirs...especially good ones. For today, let's just take a trip to the WILDHORSE Winery in the Paso Robles wine country area. My parents are wine club members of the winery, which has it perks. One of the perks of being a wine club member is the "pick up party". (No it doesn't mean that). When you attend a "pick up party" you get to not only receive your wine shipment without having it sent to you in the hot sun via UPS, but you usually get a wine tasting of the newest released wines with a few snacks as well. Pretty tasty stuff.

Anyway, another perk of being a wine club member is that you are invited to partake of the "Pinot Noir" tasting. Something that not all visitors are aware of. I've done it about 3 times because as I've said before, my parents are members and of course, sharing the perks of a wine club membership is a loving thing for parents to do.

The pourer behind the bar sets before the taster a laminated description of 3 Pinot Noirs. The pourer also sets out 3 glasses. One in front of each description. The WILDHORSE Central Coast Pinot Noir is placed in the center. Then two "Unbridled" wines are placed on either side. It is suggested that the Central Coast Pinot be tasted first and then the others in any order you prefer. All 3 are excellent Pinots with something special to offer, but the Central Coast is the most affordable. I always change my mind on which one I like best. During one tasting it was one of the wines labeled "Unbridled", during another it was the Central Coast.

Reviewers of the Central Coast Pinot Noir from WILDHORSE describe it as having much fruit. Such as raspberry, strawberry and even some blackberry. I agree there is much fruit, but you can't miss the spice either (what's a Pinot without some spice?). The finish is definitely smooth.

If you like Pinot Noir, the WILDHORSE tasting room is a must. I end up walking away with at least 2 bottles. Purchased with my parents club discount, of course. It's the loving thing to do.

Branching Out

I must confess--unless I'm at a winery or a wine tasting, I won't drink a wine I don't know anything about. Well, that's not true...my parents may serve a wine I've never tasted before, but I've never had a bad wine at my parents house (they've retired to the central coast wine country) so I trust their judgement. I can stand before a plethora of wines in Trader Joe's or BevMo and still end up buying something I know I will like because I've tried it before.



That is, until recently.



Long story short--I rarely drink Cabernet anymore--I'm a Zinfandel gal, but I tried Rodney Strong Cabernet and found it very drinkable. It wasn't an "in your face" type of wine like most zins I like, but it was mellow. Smooth. Slightly smoky, but not annoyingly so. Earthy. In short, I really enjoyed it.

Soon we will discuss Pinot Noirs. Yum.

Tobin James Refosco 2005

An excellent wine--especially on the 2nd day. Reminds me of a very fruity zinfandel with a little spice. Kudos to Tobin James for making another great wine!



"Good wine is a good familiar creature if it be well used."
William Shakespeare