California Wine Merchant

Interesting experience at California Wine Merchant last night...I stopped in to the shop on Chestnut St just to see if they carried the Capiaux and the Peay that I tried at A16. They had the former for $35 (it was $72 at A16) but not the latter. No problem. I was chatting with the employee for a minute, hoping to further my knowledge on Pinot Noir when a man collapses at the bar behind me. Apparently he hadn't even been drinking (like the rest of the crowd at the wine bar/shop), so the employees called 911. The fire department showed up quickly and came to the asistance of not only that first man, but his friend who collapsed shortly thereafter as well! Luckily the men were alright, but their situation meant that I was "trapped" in the back, wearing basically my pajamas, surrounded by well-dressed drunk people who found the whole thing rather amusing. I just wanted some Pinot.

Now the Capiaux (and also a Bolletto) are safely in my new wine fridge (which is a separate entry that I'll work on soon) and I'll let you know when I try them!

A16 and Pinot Noir

I'm not really a fan of Pinot Noir. In fact, I've only tried a few, and they've all be pretty bland/boring (as opposed to "subtle," "elegant" etc). Sure I get the earthy, soft smokiness, but I don't really see what the big deal is. Plus I feel like Sideways with all its pro-Pinot anti-Merlot banter really has a lot to do with it.

That said, I am never going to reject a wine or continually turn it down when I obviously don't even know much about it. Plus many of my friends and colleagues really love it. So there must be something going on that I'm missing.

A few weeks ago I asked my pinot-loving friend to take me to a winery that has quintessential pinots, and she took me to J Winery which has some of her favorites. We tried their 2005 and 2006, and I enjoyed them both. I think I actually prefered the '06 because it was more tart and had more going on. The 05 had definitely mellowed, and had softer flavors. I'm a cab/zin lover. I like flavor. Maybe my palate can't recognize gentler flavors. Regardless, I did enjoy them, and I think they'd pair well with lighter foods.

NOW: A16 restaurant on Chestnut. Delicious. The service was great, the food was great, and teh pinot noirs were GREAT! We had steamed clams and a beet/ricotta salad to start. For a main course I had rock cod with mussels and scallops. It was in a light yet flavorful tomato/wine broth.

Wine: My friend chose the wine, and she wanted Pinot (test my palate!) so the sommelier brought us a 2007 Capiaux pinot noir from the Russian River Valley. IT WAS DELICIOUS! It was rich, fruity, earthy, and very flavorful. It paired perfectly with everything we were eating. Next the sommelier brought us a 2007 Peay pinot noir from the Sonoma Coast. ALSO DELICIOUS. 2/4 liked us, 2/4 didn't like it as much as the first. I think it was actually a nice transition. The Capiaux was fruitier and more saturating, the Peay was more earthy which was nice with my fish.

In conclusion: Capiaux gets 94 points, the Peay gets 92 points and A16 gets 5 stars!

Summer Solstice at Bin 38

Went to Bin 38 last night to take advantage of their "Summer Solstice Happy Hour": a free glass of wine! Unfortunately, you could only choose between white, red, or beer. The white was a chardonnay (the bartender was too swamped to really go into details in terms of brand, tasting notes, etc), the red was a Syrah I think, and I didnt even ask about the beer.

I didn't really want any of those, so I paid $9 for a sparkling rose instead, the Gruet Rose from New Mexico. It was refreshing, fruity, and had a moderate dry finish. I ended up having 2 glasses actually!

Hi all-

So I came to a realization the past few days while I was enjoying my wine course: this blog is boring. My entries are too long, and no one wants to read them. That said, i'm going to try and make them shorter, more succinct, and more interesting!

After taking the Career Discovery course at the Culinary Institute in Napa, I have a whole list of interesting topics to write about (from winemaking techniques, to styles, to specific wines and flavors, and so on). I'm going to write short entries for each of these over the next few weeks, instead of cramming them all into a long (boring) entry.

So enjoy!

Torrontes: the other white grape

I've only tasted Torrontes once prior to tonight, at Town Hall restaurant in SOMA (San Francisco). But even from the small tasting I split with my fellow diners before ultimately settling for a Sauv Blanc (how safe and typical of us!), the varietal made an impact on me. Mostly because it was like nothing I had ever tasted before. I'm in the beginning stages of developing and refining my palate, so as an "amateur taster" it's really easy for me to compare varietals (ie: this tastes like a less-tangy cab, or a flavorful pinot). But what I've tasted of Torrontes cannot be compared. 

Tonight, I had the privilege of enjoying a few glasses of an Argentine Torrontes, Elsa Bianchi 2008. As with the one I tasted a few months ago, it was peachy and sweet on the nose, like a late-harvest, a Reisling, or a Gewurstraminer (there i go with comparing varietals), BUT the flavor was surprising and impossible to compare. It saturated my palate as it rolled over my tongue. I got the sweet tree fruit flavors that I smelled, but the finish was quick and tart and did NOT leave me regretting sipping it (like many sweet wines often do). Instead, it invited me in for more. This wine was very well-balanced in and of itself (wet enough to coat the tongue and leave you satisfied, but tangy enough to entice and cleanse the palate). 

Pairing: Not too sure. We drank it through our meal, from appetizer through dessert. To start we ate a watermelon salad with goat cheese and mixed green with balsamic vinegrette. I think it paired well with this, because the sweetness sort of merged with the watermelon sweetness (did not clash) and the goat cheese provided some musky tang to contrast with the fruit of the wine. The balsamic perhaps clashed a little for me, but it wasn't really a big deal.

Main course: we had chicken with spices like garlic, onion, cumin, salt, pepper, etc. paired with avocado/corn/black bean salsa and Israeli couscous. I think it went just fine. I wouldn't say it was a "match made in Heaven" but the smooth roundness of the wine seemed to escort all those different flavors quick well. It matched the sweetness in the corn and the savory pungent flavors of cumin and the like just fine. I think the ripe fruit and crisp finish even might have done something for the comforting starchy flavors of the Israeli couscous.

Dessert: angel food cake with blackberry and blue berry compote. Side note: this dessert was "purple" and "gold" colored to honor the Lakers, even in their defeat. They'll get 'em in games 4 and 5. Anyway, that said,  I actually didn't really taste the two together. Anyone have an opinion on these flavors? Feel free to comment.

Long story short: Go Torrontes! There have been so many times when I'm craving something in a white that's more substantial and will satiate my thirst for a juicy, but refreshing and crisp, libation without bogging me down with too much oak or sweetness. Thank you, Torrontes, and thank you Argentina for making some great wines from this grape at a great price! ($9.99, Elsa Bianchi 2008 Torrontes)

Oaked vs Unoaked

Let me start by saying I'm not a huge fan of oaky Chardonnays, the buttery, vanilla that is so typical of big California Chards. I have been hearing a lot about the "new" Napa style of unoaked, steel fermented Chards and have been eagerly anticipating a larger presence of these.

That said, some friends and I wanted to see for ourselves what the big difference is between oaked and unoaked Chards, and also Sauv Blancs (which are muche less frequently fermented in oak). So we gathered together for a blind tasting of 1 oaked chard, 1 unoaked chard, 1 oaked sauv, 1 unoaked sauv. This is what we discovered:

#1: tart, grassy, lemon. We all agreed it was probably the unoaked Sauv Blanc.
#2: vanilla nose, buttery, slight smoke, rounded, smooth, and a nice finish. We all agreed this was probably the oaked Chard.
#3: This 3rd one threw us off. The nose smelled oaky--slightly warm and sweet, and actually it smelled like dank rotten lettuce. We wondered if maybe this is was oaked Sauvignon Blanc smells like. The taste made us question everything: it was well-balanced, citrusy, and rather pleasant. It did not have the vanilla/butter/smoke after taste of an oaked Chard. What was this one? Unoaked Chard? Half of us thought it was the Oaked Sauv, the other half thought it was the unoaked Chard. Weird.
#4: Made us even more confused. Pear and citrus on the nose, effervescent well-rounded and slight acid finish. I really liked this one, it was probably my favorite. Everyone had their own theories. Personally, i thought this was the unoaked Chard. I think the 3rd had more oaky qualities than this last one.

The Verdict:
#1: Girard Sauv Blanc 2007, unoaked
#2: White Oak Chardonnay 2006, oaked
#3: Silver Chardonnay 2007, unoaked (WOW!)
#4: Ferrari Carano Fume Blanc 2007, oaked (DOUBLE WOW!)

The first two were easy, the last two were not so easy. I thought the buttery vanilla of the 3rd was indicative of oaking, and the smooth clean flavor of the 4th was what Chard tasted without oak. I was wrong! The buttery vanilla flavor is simply what this particular Chard tasted like, even without oak. And the oak in the 4th on functioned to smooth out the natural acid vinegar of Sauv Blanc.

I guess maybe I DO like oaked wines.