Following the instructions of an online food/wine pairing guide, a group of friends and I got together the other night to find out the nitty gritty on Sauv. Blanc--that drinkable, refreshing, "pairs-with-anything" wine that many of us turn to on a warm summer evening. What I discovered was somewhat surprising.
The online guide explained that Sauvignon Blanc is often appreciated for its tart, crisp, acidity, which can be completely masked (if not ruined) if paired with the wrong foods. To illustrate this point, the guide instructed us to taste a crisp, light, California Sauv. Blanc (like Duckhorn 2007, which is pretty tasty), then taste vinegar, then taste the wine again. The results were interesting: first of all, we all really enjoyed the tangy effervescence of the Duckhorn upon first sip. And many of us actually enjoyed the taste of vinegar after (even though we were initially really put off by the thought of drinking straight vinegar). My sister even remarked "Wow this is really good!" I thought she was talking about the wine, but she was talking about the vinegar! Bizarre, but beside the point. Anyway, when we revisited the wine after tasting the vinegar, it was flat, boring, and almost sweet. The vinegar saturated our palates, and completely sapped the wine of that bright acidity that we all enjoyed so much in our first few sips.
The take-home: don't pair Sauvignon Blanc with highly acidic foods because it will "ruin" the flavor of the wine. Instead, pair with creamy/fatty foods, and also herby vegetables, specifically: brie and mango quesadillas, asparagus, and light olive oil citrus vinaigrette.
This is just the tip of the iceberg though. What about oak vs. un-oaked? I'm planning a follow-up with some friends, so I'll let you know what we find out!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Napa Part 2
Went to Napa yesterday, a fun "booze cruise" with about 20 others. First of all, the weather was perfect. It was a beautiful Saturday in the valley, and all the wineries we went to had great outdoor areas. In my opinion, this definitely affects the psychological aspect of tasting (and purchasing) wine. We went to 4 wineries:
Laird Family Vineyards: It was a pretty typical tasting, Sauv Blanc, Chardonnay, 3 cabernets. It was interesting tasting the cabernets from newest (and least developed) to oldest (and, in theory, the best). The 2008 was definitely tart and flat. The 2005 was definitely milder on the palate but still left my tongue very dehydrated. It wasn't the type of dryness that makes you want more...it was the kind that needs food pairing to be remedied. And that's fine. It just depends what you're looking for: casual sipping wine, or a pairing wine. I purchased a 2007 Sauv Blanc that we didn't taste for $12 (probably just an easy go-to wine), and a Pinot Noir for $34.
Steltzner: This was an interesting tasting. We had a Rose, Pinotage, Malbec, Claret, Cab Franc, and Cab Sauv. The wines here had substantially more character, and I purchased the Rose at $18, which I felt was a good value for the drinkable, not too tart, and not sweet, wine. I also purchased the Cab Franc and the Cab Sauv. They were both around $40, and they were both smooth, had great fruit and balanced tannins. These will be nice in a couple years or now. One thing I didn't appreciate was how stingy they were-- $15 per person instead of the normal $10 per person, and no discount on purchased wines, even though we brought them a lot of business.
Silverado: We had our own tasting/banquet room overlooking the valley. It was beautiful. Unfortunately, after two wineries and 2 bottles of wine at lunch, tasting became a little difficult. I didn't buy any here, because I don't think the wines matched the price-point. I've noticed in general though that the wines one tends to taste are usually the newest vintages and therefore not aged to their full potential.
Cline: The winery was beautiful, flowers, lake, etc. They also gave us cheese/crackers in our own tasting room which was great and much appreciated. We tasted: pinot gris, viognier, cashmere blend, mourvedre, and a cab. I am a huge viognier fan. Theirs wasn't my favorite, but i I thought it was fair for $16, and I purchased it to encourage the production of Viogniers. I'm pretty tired of Chardonnay, and rarely drink it. So Viognier is my medium-bodied replacement.
All in all, I really enjoyed Laird for it's hospitality and family feel, Steltzner and Cline for their different varietals, and Silverado for its views of the valley. I think we had the perfect mixture of wine types and we saw the variation in styles.
In conclusion, I just want to say that wine country is yet another HUGE reason why California is the best state. Seriously, no other state can compete!
Blind Tasting
We had a housewarming party a couple weeks ago, and decided to do a little blind tasting before. I selected 2 whites and 2 reds, concealed them in paper bags, and asked the guests to guess the varietal and/or region, and the price point. I had opened the bottles about 1.5 hours prior, so they had some time to breathe.
1. white, drinkable, tart/clean finish: Sauvignon Blanc from Chile; Trader Joe's, $2.99. People thought it was decent, maybe half the guests guessed that it was a Sauv Blanc, others guessed Reisling, Chardonnay, and Pinot Grigio at $5.99.
2. white, similar tasting: Sauvignon Blanc from Sonoma; $13.99. I didn't actually intend on having two Sauv Blancs, but between BevMo, Costco, Trader Joe's, the aquarium/fish store (bought an awesome voracious little Betta named Walu), and cleaning the house, I somehow dropped the ball in variety of varietals. The guests were thrown off by the fact that it tasted similar because in theory it should have been a different varietal. People guessed all sorts of grapes. In fact, I think only 1 out of 10 people guessed that it was Sauv Blanc. They did think that it was more pricey than the first one.
3. Tart, acid, weak tannins: Charles Shaw "two buck chuck" Merlot, $1.99. People didn't like this wine. They thought it was flat and bland, and I agree. In terms of varietal, people were all over the map. People thought it was a Bordeaux blend, or maybe a cabernet sauv. Maybe a Zin or a cheap Pinot. When I revealed that it was 2 buck chuck, people seemed relieved, and it seemed that the price point explained the poor flavors.
4. Smooth, balanced tannins, nice fruit/crispness, very drinkable, J. Lohr Syrah, $14.99. This one was everyone's favorite, and i'm glad we finished with this one so we could have nice memories of the tasting. People had no idea what it was though. A few guests even said the "forgot about Syrah."
In general, people weren't really confident about the varietals. If i were to have an oak-aged Chardonnay to compare to the Sauv Blanc, it might have been easier to distinguish. If I were to have a classic Cab or a spicy Zin, maybe people could've guessed those varietals. But one thing my friends did know, was which were cheaper than the others. The ones that tasted bad, or rather, didn't match well with our palates, were definitely a lower price point. I actually was expecting that we'd like some of the cheap ones and be able to say "See? It's not all about the brand/price! This $2 Chilean white is great!" But that wasn't the case. It seems the pricier ones were actually more valuable for our enjoyment...
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Napa, Napa, 400 Wineries on the Map-a
A few weeks ago, I finally had the opportunity to travel the short 60 or 70 miles from San Francisco to sample the magical juices from one of the world's most talked about regions--Napa Valley. February is an interesting time because unlike summer/fall, which is harvest season, the vines are bare and it was also raining all weekend. This year specifically was unique for Napa's vitners because of the bizarrely warm weather all through the holidays and January. A woman at Clos Du Val explained that while the vines "hibernate" much like roses during the winter, the warm weather may have affected them strangely and the wine makers will not know the ramifications until they actually tast the wines some time from now. That aside...
I had stressed about planning and coordinating, when in reality, all you really need to do is drive down the Hwy 29 or Silverado Trail (which are parallel, North-South highways running all the way from Napa proper, through Yountville, Rutherford, Oakville, etc to Calistoga and beyond) and pull over at whatever winery looks good to you. Some are more touristy (and more expensive) and some are small and unrecognizable because they only sell their wines at their winery (not in stores like my beloved Trader Joe's). So we decided to try out all types of wineries and what they had to offer...
I had stressed about planning and coordinating, when in reality, all you really need to do is drive down the Hwy 29 or Silverado Trail (which are parallel, North-South highways running all the way from Napa proper, through Yountville, Rutherford, Oakville, etc to Calistoga and beyond) and pull over at whatever winery looks good to you. Some are more touristy (and more expensive) and some are small and unrecognizable because they only sell their wines at their winery (not in stores like my beloved Trader Joe's). So we decided to try out all types of wineries and what they had to offer...
Friday, February 6, 2009
Laiola: Spanish Wine, Tapas, and LOTS of Salt!
I've been to Laiola on Chestnut at Fillmore twice now: once for a full meal a few weeks ago and last night for Happy Hour. I have conflicting opinions of the small, attractive, Spanish restaurant. Let me explain...
The wine list at Laiola has only Spanish wines, which makes sense for the restaurant since it's Spanish, and is ok so long as you like the mild, anti-climactic flavors of Spanish wines. And I didn't mind the flavor, especially after tasting how incredibly salty all the food is! When we first went a few weeks ago, we ordered the following:
-Marinated olives (lemon, thyme, etc...ironically the least salty thing on the menu)
-Chickpea croquetas (6 pieces that look like steak fries, made of ground chickpeas and cheese; delicious but salty)
-safron rice stuffed squid (cooked perfectly, my favorite besides the olives)
-whole roast sole (pretty great, but on a bed of kale that was really salty!)
-quail (delicious, moist and gamey, but again--salty)
To drink I had the Tempranillo Reales which was $13 for a 1/3 bottle caraffe. It was mild, fruity, earthy...borderline bland. But it really did help cut the salt of everything else.
Last night we went back for happy hour because I had heard it was good. The menu was actually pretty meager= olives, chickpea croquetas, ham, patatas, and 1 cava, 1 red, 1 white, and 1 rose. Everything was $5, but somehow added up quickly and was not completely satisfying. I had the red, which was another Tempranillo, the olives, and the chickpea croquetas. I wanted something more to eat since this would count as my dinner, but they didn't have much to offer and I didn't want to risk getting something excessively salty again.
The highlight of my time there (besides the olives) was the fact that it was pretty much empty and the bartender offered us a tasting of another wine he had, a 2004 Alesia Pino Noir from the Sonoma Coast. The bouquet on this wine made my Tempranillo smell like water. It was fruity, floral, and just had a lot more going on than the Tempranillo. And of course, it wasn't Spanish and it wasn't on the menu.
In short, I like Laiola for its atmosphere and some of its small plates, but since Spanish wine isn't my favorite, Laiola needs something more to keep me going there (but not more salt, please!!!)
The wine list at Laiola has only Spanish wines, which makes sense for the restaurant since it's Spanish, and is ok so long as you like the mild, anti-climactic flavors of Spanish wines. And I didn't mind the flavor, especially after tasting how incredibly salty all the food is! When we first went a few weeks ago, we ordered the following:
-Marinated olives (lemon, thyme, etc...ironically the least salty thing on the menu)
-Chickpea croquetas (6 pieces that look like steak fries, made of ground chickpeas and cheese; delicious but salty)
-safron rice stuffed squid (cooked perfectly, my favorite besides the olives)
-whole roast sole (pretty great, but on a bed of kale that was really salty!)
-quail (delicious, moist and gamey, but again--salty)
To drink I had the Tempranillo Reales which was $13 for a 1/3 bottle caraffe. It was mild, fruity, earthy...borderline bland. But it really did help cut the salt of everything else.
Last night we went back for happy hour because I had heard it was good. The menu was actually pretty meager= olives, chickpea croquetas, ham, patatas, and 1 cava, 1 red, 1 white, and 1 rose. Everything was $5, but somehow added up quickly and was not completely satisfying. I had the red, which was another Tempranillo, the olives, and the chickpea croquetas. I wanted something more to eat since this would count as my dinner, but they didn't have much to offer and I didn't want to risk getting something excessively salty again.
The highlight of my time there (besides the olives) was the fact that it was pretty much empty and the bartender offered us a tasting of another wine he had, a 2004 Alesia Pino Noir from the Sonoma Coast. The bouquet on this wine made my Tempranillo smell like water. It was fruity, floral, and just had a lot more going on than the Tempranillo. And of course, it wasn't Spanish and it wasn't on the menu.
In short, I like Laiola for its atmosphere and some of its small plates, but since Spanish wine isn't my favorite, Laiola needs something more to keep me going there (but not more salt, please!!!)
Monday, February 2, 2009
Superbowl Sunday: Mediocre Football, Great Excuse to BBQ!
Everyone knows the Superbowl is never about the game. It's just a great excuse to get together with loved ones and break all those New Year's Resolutions. Sure you promised you'd go vegetarian for a few months, or cut back on alcohol. But all that flies out the window come the last Sunday of the month.
Now, I do enjoy watching sports on TV or live, but for some reason, I never really get around to watching the Superbowl game. Even though yesterday's game was surprisingly more exciting than usual, it could barely hold my attention. I guess I do have good reason though, what with the pounds and pounds of chicken, ribeye, burgers, sausages, prawns, salmon, veggies, and the like rotating to and fro the bbq. And that's not all we had...I'm referring, of course, to the 750 ml bottles of Chimay circulating. I know I know, kind of random and "fancy" for a superbowl party, but that's how my friends and I do it. Firstly, it's 9% alcohol, so you can get away with drinking less to save more stomach space for the above-mentioned pounds and pounds of food. Secondly, the flavor actually pairs pretty nicely with red meat and chicken. We usually marinate the meat in beer anyway, then having a dry, somewhat bitter beer like Chimay to pair with that is simply devine. I will say, however, that it wasnt the best match for the spicy prawns we had. The beer wasn't sweet enough to take the Cayenne pepper sprinkled on the shrimp. But, then again, I'm also sensitive to spiciness, so maybe it is a good match. What do you guys think? What beer did you drink yesterday? Anyone have wine with their bbq?
Now, I do enjoy watching sports on TV or live, but for some reason, I never really get around to watching the Superbowl game. Even though yesterday's game was surprisingly more exciting than usual, it could barely hold my attention. I guess I do have good reason though, what with the pounds and pounds of chicken, ribeye, burgers, sausages, prawns, salmon, veggies, and the like rotating to and fro the bbq. And that's not all we had...I'm referring, of course, to the 750 ml bottles of Chimay circulating. I know I know, kind of random and "fancy" for a superbowl party, but that's how my friends and I do it. Firstly, it's 9% alcohol, so you can get away with drinking less to save more stomach space for the above-mentioned pounds and pounds of food. Secondly, the flavor actually pairs pretty nicely with red meat and chicken. We usually marinate the meat in beer anyway, then having a dry, somewhat bitter beer like Chimay to pair with that is simply devine. I will say, however, that it wasnt the best match for the spicy prawns we had. The beer wasn't sweet enough to take the Cayenne pepper sprinkled on the shrimp. But, then again, I'm also sensitive to spiciness, so maybe it is a good match. What do you guys think? What beer did you drink yesterday? Anyone have wine with their bbq?
TJ's: a Booze Inventory to Be Remembered
Ah Trader Joe's. I love that store. For fresh produce and protein, I'm all about Whole Foods. But for the fine variety of alcohol, it's TJ's. I can always count on them to have the obscure pilsner I tried in Berlin a few years ago, or that Yellowtail Cabernet-Merlot blend I became so fond of in college because of its flavor and its price ($5 is a little steeper than TJ's famous "Two Buck Chuck" but it's worth it!). TJ's prices and variety of beers, wines, and spirits might even make it better than BevMo in my mind. And it was a particular vodka that reminded me of why I love TJ's...
Over the holidays I was discussing with my family the different vodkas out there, and what taste tests have revealed. We perused the Internet to see what everyday people like us have said. Apparently, Grey Goose scored fairly low because they infuse it with some "flavor-eliminating" substance that actually makes it taste a little strange. Stoli was ranked fairly well (and that has a decent price point too), and of course Belvedere, Chopin, Hangar One, and all the top shelf vodkas did well. But the one vodka that supposedly outshined all the rest, was one neither I nor my family had heard of: "Tito's Handmade Vodka" made in Austin Texas!
And where did I stumble across Tito's Famous? Good ol' TJ's. And a fifth of it was only $17.99! Now, I have to be honest: I haven't tried the stuff yet (yesterday was the Superbowl so we opted for beer) but I'll report on my findings as soon as I do try it.
In short, Trader Joe's hasn't let me down in the booze department. And their chocolate snacks are really great too. I'll let you know what I think of Tito's Handmade Vodka.
Cheers,
Laura
Over the holidays I was discussing with my family the different vodkas out there, and what taste tests have revealed. We perused the Internet to see what everyday people like us have said. Apparently, Grey Goose scored fairly low because they infuse it with some "flavor-eliminating" substance that actually makes it taste a little strange. Stoli was ranked fairly well (and that has a decent price point too), and of course Belvedere, Chopin, Hangar One, and all the top shelf vodkas did well. But the one vodka that supposedly outshined all the rest, was one neither I nor my family had heard of: "Tito's Handmade Vodka" made in Austin Texas!
And where did I stumble across Tito's Famous? Good ol' TJ's. And a fifth of it was only $17.99! Now, I have to be honest: I haven't tried the stuff yet (yesterday was the Superbowl so we opted for beer) but I'll report on my findings as soon as I do try it.
In short, Trader Joe's hasn't let me down in the booze department. And their chocolate snacks are really great too. I'll let you know what I think of Tito's Handmade Vodka.
Cheers,
Laura
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