Thursday, July 29, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Cellar Cats
I sincerely think that if I had to pick only one wine to have for the rest of my life (that I could afford to purchase for myself), it might be my adored Sausal Cellar Cats Red Zinfandel.
UPDATE 1-3 -13: It was with a heavy, heavy heart that we learned a few months ago that our beloved Sausal has been sold by the Demostene family to Silver Oak. We honestly pray that Silver Oak understands what they've purchased. Sausal's century Zinfandel vines are precious and beautiful. They were on the property when Leo and Rose Demostene purchased the land in 1956. Many of the original vines were included on an 1877 atlas of the area. Our final shipment of closeout Sausal wines arrived here in Bogart yesterday: two cases. My little "DonDon always loves Cellar Cats" song and dance is now performed sadly and with a tear in my eye. Each of these last bottles will be dearly appreciated. Sincere thanks and best wishes to the Demostene family.
UPDATE 1-3 -13: It was with a heavy, heavy heart that we learned a few months ago that our beloved Sausal has been sold by the Demostene family to Silver Oak. We honestly pray that Silver Oak understands what they've purchased. Sausal's century Zinfandel vines are precious and beautiful. They were on the property when Leo and Rose Demostene purchased the land in 1956. Many of the original vines were included on an 1877 atlas of the area. Our final shipment of closeout Sausal wines arrived here in Bogart yesterday: two cases. My little "DonDon always loves Cellar Cats" song and dance is now performed sadly and with a tear in my eye. Each of these last bottles will be dearly appreciated. Sincere thanks and best wishes to the Demostene family.
Birthday Wines
Monday was my birthday, so we've pulled a couple of nice bottles lately. First was a 2005 Domain Raymond Usseglio & Fils Chateauneuf-Du-Pape we enjoyed with lamb chops. This wine had just the right age for me, very smooth and drinkable.
The next night brought filets done on the little Weber, which is the perfect filet-grilling device. What wine? 2006 Pride Mountain Vineyard Merlot. SO good! Can you tell that we still like some size to our reds? We visited Pride Mountain last spring and it's a gorgeous place.
The vineyards and winery straddle the Sonoma and Napa County lines. The drive up and back down is a bit hairy, but the views and the cave tour are worth it. The merlot we drank Monday was labeled 58% Sonoma and 42% Napa.
The next night brought filets done on the little Weber, which is the perfect filet-grilling device. What wine? 2006 Pride Mountain Vineyard Merlot. SO good! Can you tell that we still like some size to our reds? We visited Pride Mountain last spring and it's a gorgeous place.
 |
| View from Pride's patio |
 |
| Pride Mountain Vineyards |
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Selecting & Enjoying Wine: A facebook Reprint w/ Edits
Some of my facebook friends asked for my input on selecting and enjoying wine for novices, so here is an updated note I posted there awhile back:
I like wine better with a meal.
To begin learning about wine you like, find a “wine guy” (my own non-gender specific term) you can trust. Tell the guy what you think you like about wine (be honest!) and what food you’re serving. Ask for suggestions and give his recommendations a try. Make notes about what you did or did not like about the wine the guy picked. You’ll find some wine guys who have similar taste preferences to your own; take advantage of their ability to taste lots and lots of wines and make good suggestions for you. I mean, they get to taste WAY more wine than you ever will; it's their job.
Some of the best less expensive wines come from other countries. Try Australia, South Africa or Chile.
Read about how to begin enjoying wine: books (check your local public library of course!) or on the net. For instance, about.com’s Wine Basics gives good advice about the importance of “price, preference, pairing.”
Attend some tastings and/or visit some wineries. And if you can, sign on for some extended vineyard/winery tours. Walking through the vineyards, seeing the grapes on the vine, seeing where the wine is grown and made really is informative. If you care at all about farming or gardening, you'll love vineyard tours.
Most people start off enjoying wines on the sweet side, but the more you drink wine, the less you’ll like “sweet” as your norm. That’s not a snob thing; your taste really is changed by the wine itself. If you’re wanting to move on from jug or mass-produced wines try a German Riesling, or a Rosé, or a Merlot (Columbia Crest Grand Estates for example). Yes, I said “merlot!”
Back to pairing, read up on it some, but basically, I tend to like a wine that matches the locale of the food, Italian wine (or grape variety) with Italian food, etc. That’s oversimplified, but you get the idea.
Do take a little time to notice and consider whatever wine you’re drinking. Smell it first. If it’s spoiled or “corked” it may smell like paper maché (wet cardboard). Swirl it in the glass to really get a good whiff. Look at the color. Look through the wine to see how deep or thick the color is. Use plain, clear glasses btw. As a sideline, I don’t care what anyone else says, those glasses with a scientifically designed shape for the various grapes DO WORK! Once you get used to enjoying good wines, the shape of the glass really can make a difference in the taste of a specific wine.
Sadly, do expect to pay more per bottle as you learn more about wine, but again, your wine guy can help you find good value.
Tasting, tasting, tasting leads to learning, learning, learning.
Cook up something good, or unwrap some nice cheese, uncork/unscrew a bottle, and pour me a glass!
I like wine better with a meal.
To begin learning about wine you like, find a “wine guy” (my own non-gender specific term) you can trust. Tell the guy what you think you like about wine (be honest!) and what food you’re serving. Ask for suggestions and give his recommendations a try. Make notes about what you did or did not like about the wine the guy picked. You’ll find some wine guys who have similar taste preferences to your own; take advantage of their ability to taste lots and lots of wines and make good suggestions for you. I mean, they get to taste WAY more wine than you ever will; it's their job.
Some of the best less expensive wines come from other countries. Try Australia, South Africa or Chile.
Read about how to begin enjoying wine: books (check your local public library of course!) or on the net. For instance, about.com’s Wine Basics gives good advice about the importance of “price, preference, pairing.”
Attend some tastings and/or visit some wineries. And if you can, sign on for some extended vineyard/winery tours. Walking through the vineyards, seeing the grapes on the vine, seeing where the wine is grown and made really is informative. If you care at all about farming or gardening, you'll love vineyard tours.
Most people start off enjoying wines on the sweet side, but the more you drink wine, the less you’ll like “sweet” as your norm. That’s not a snob thing; your taste really is changed by the wine itself. If you’re wanting to move on from jug or mass-produced wines try a German Riesling, or a Rosé, or a Merlot (Columbia Crest Grand Estates for example). Yes, I said “merlot!”
Back to pairing, read up on it some, but basically, I tend to like a wine that matches the locale of the food, Italian wine (or grape variety) with Italian food, etc. That’s oversimplified, but you get the idea.
Do take a little time to notice and consider whatever wine you’re drinking. Smell it first. If it’s spoiled or “corked” it may smell like paper maché (wet cardboard). Swirl it in the glass to really get a good whiff. Look at the color. Look through the wine to see how deep or thick the color is. Use plain, clear glasses btw. As a sideline, I don’t care what anyone else says, those glasses with a scientifically designed shape for the various grapes DO WORK! Once you get used to enjoying good wines, the shape of the glass really can make a difference in the taste of a specific wine.
Sadly, do expect to pay more per bottle as you learn more about wine, but again, your wine guy can help you find good value.
Tasting, tasting, tasting leads to learning, learning, learning.
Cook up something good, or unwrap some nice cheese, uncork/unscrew a bottle, and pour me a glass!
 |
| Seasmoke in the glass! |
Not That Easy
I'm sure I'm not the first blogger to say that this isn't as easy as it sounds. I started this blog because I was finding that most of my status updates, wall posts or links on facebook were about food and drink. Rather than bug friends there all the time with food info, why not record it on Blogger?
Trouble is, I've been a little under the weather since I put this thing up so I haven't been eating much that's very interesting!
I promised to start thinking about this more though; I see this blog as a space for me to store future memories about the wonderful food Edward and I share.
Trouble is, I've been a little under the weather since I put this thing up so I haven't been eating much that's very interesting!
I promised to start thinking about this more though; I see this blog as a space for me to store future memories about the wonderful food Edward and I share.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)