I'm thankful for the Zin we had last night!

Yes, yesterday was the beloved Turkey Day. After much research and debate, i finally decided to open the 2004 Pali Winery Pinot Noir, the 2007 Trinchero Chicken Ranch Merlot, and the 2004 J Winery Zinfandel. I had about 4 other bottles i was anxious to try, but there were only about 6 of us actually drinking the wine, so i decided to keep it simple.

2004 Pali Pinot Noir: this one confused me. I thought my dad had forgotten about it in his wine cellar since it's fairly old for a pinot. but apparently, he just bought it a few weeks ago at a tasting at Spitfire Grill in the Santa Monica Airport. It had nice fruity/floral aromas with subtle undertones of barnyard, but it was definitely on the fruitier side. The palate was light-medium bodied and had a nice mouthfeel but absolutely no finish. so in that sense, it didn't really harm the thanksgiving feast we were pairing it with, but it didn't help cut any of the richness at all either.

2007 Trinchero Merlot: This Merlot was pretty consistent with what i was expecting. Nice medium-ripe fruits (cherry, etc), medium bodied, smooth but slightly chalky tannins, moderate finish. Worked well w/ the foods, etc. What put me off about this wine, was moreso the Trinchero tasting room practices. We visited the tasting room in Calistoga last September, and they charge $20 to taste only 3-4 wines, and they don't give a discount let alone comp the tasting if you purchase wines.

2004 J Zinfandel: I honestly don't know that much about Zin and aging, but I remembered enjoying this wine when we tasted it 2 years ago, so I figured the peppery finish would have smoothed out a little by now. And indeed it did. The nose was pure blueberry pie: rich ripe blueberries, maple syrup, and butter on the nose, which then evolved into rich juicy flavors of plum, ripe berries, and raisins with a smooth and satisfying finish. I thought it complimented the foods really well because it was rich and juicy but still maintained excellent structure and body to cut through the richer parts of the meal (like my sister's sausage stuffing).

I thought all three wines worked well with the meal, and accommodated different people's palates. i also confirmed that you never really know what you're going to get when aging a wine. you can certainly guess when it may be appropriate to drink, but ultimately you'll never know til you open it.

That being said, I'm wondering if you all can help me out. when talking about aging wines, i have trouble finding the right word to describe the mentality that one may go through. i tend to argue that people "covet" wines unnecessarily, hanging on to them for too long, or waiting til a celebratory moment, when in reality the wine could be spoiled, or ready to drink sooner than anticipated. I'm not sure if that's the right word for describing "putting the wine on a pedestal." any thoughts?

Pinot and Bubbles!

Geez long time no write! Been distracted by my new job as Copa Fina Wine Imports' sales/marketing gal. For more info on that, check us out on Facebook or Twitter or our website: copafina.com

Anyway, back to the vino. A few days ago we went to a tasting put on by Uncorked Events--Pinot and Bubbles. I believe it was around $50 if you pre-bought tickets, or $60 at the door, and this included some small bites of cheese, crackers, meats and such (if you could squeeze your way to the table before they ran out) and (basically unlimited) tastings from about 25 wineries/brokers/importers/etc. I'm not really going to go into detail about all the different wines we tasted, but i'll say this: I still love bubbly, and i'm starting to like pinot a little more.

Some of the more expensive pinots we tasted we from Duckhorn. Unfortunately, my palate was off from the sparkling wine and cured meats i had just before tasting, and they ran out of crackers, but my peers said the wines were fabulous. Some other stand-outs were Hirsch Winery and Freeman Winery. These are small, family-owned wineries and they also make delicious pinots. We tried 05, 06, and 07 from Hirsch, and interestingly, we all preferred the '07. I suppose that confirms that pinot doesn't age well.

The take-away: the event was too crowded, but there were some great wines. I'm not sure that it was worth $50-60, though.

Homemade Pizza= Wine's Best Friend

I don't really have much experience with pizza (I don't really like it), but I stand by my belief that it's wine's best friend. And why, you ask? Well, because it has all the essential ingredients that pair with/enhance pretty much any wine! Think about it: cheese (mozzarella, feta, parmesan, asiago, etc), sauces (creamy sauces, rich tomato, barbecue sauce, etc), meats (sausage, chicken, pepperoni, etc), and of course veggies (probably the part I like most about pizza). The great thing about pizza is that you can really have any theme, and of course there are a range of wines that pair with each style.

For example: I met with some friends and we split in 2 teams to "compete" for the Best Pizza Award (which is really nonexistent and didn't have a prize). My team made a veggie/pesto pizza: pesto spread, a little mozzarella, feta, fresh basil, spinach, mushrooms, olives, pimientos, green olives. The opponent made a creamy/meaty pizza: garlic cream sauce, bacon, ham, garlic sausage, lots of mozzarella/cheddar, topped w/ sliced tomato.

The winners? MY TEAM!!! Our pizza had a nice balance of salty flavors (pesto, olives, etc) and herby fresh veggies. Pizza #2 was too creamy (from the cream sauce plus cheese) and really needed more tomatoes/acid to cut that.

But, that's not to say some delicious Chardonnay and Merlot didn't help the creamy/meaty combo. We actually enjoyed both of the (very different) pizzas with the 2007 La Crema Chardonnay and the 2006 SKN Merlot. The Chardonnay's full body and creamy texture worked with the cheese on both pizzas, and the nice crisp finish cut the overly-creaminess of pizza #2, and the salty herbaceousness of the victorious pizza #1. The Merlot had similar, yet different effects. The cheese on both pizzas helped mellow out the tart cherry flavors, and the tannins worked really well with the salt on both pizzas. This Merlot was actually pretty boring, but very drinkable and it flowed nicely with all the different flavors of both pizzas.

So, go pizza/wine! What are your favorite pizza styles and wine pairings?

Sparkling Wine and New England Clam Chowder: a Match Made in Heaven...or Beach Chalet, that is.

Ahhh Beach Chalet. What a great spot right on the coast (at the far west end of Golden Gate Park, on Great Hwy south of Fulton St). We went here on Prime Rib Night but, me being the predictable person I am, got halibut and sparkling wine!

Their wine list is nothing to write home about, and their only sparkling wine is the Gloria Ferrer Blanc de Blancs. But it's a solid, affordable sparkling wine, which apparently pairs pretty damn well with New England clam chowder! It cut the creaminess, but also enhanced the savory flavors. Unfortunately I don't really like clam chowder that much, but paired with sparkling wine, I'll eat it any time!

Expensive Syrah = Yummy!

I went to Winery Collective on Jefferson St in Fisherman's Wharf SF for the first time the other day. I wouldn't rate it as one my favorite wine bars because everything's expensive and they only have California wines. I ended up getting an $18 glass of Pavo Syrah from Sonoma. Apparently this is the first/only wine produced so far by the young 27 year-old winemaker. The woman helping us explained the back story, and that this wine was her all-time favorite Syrah...ever. So I trusted her opinion and ordered a glass (luckily my boss paid for it).

Pavo Syrah 2007, $18/glass, $35/bottle according to the Pavo website. A full-bodied wine, this syrah was initially very alcoholic, emitting lots of heat on the nose and palate (14.7% alc), but then its smooth texture and rich flavors shone through, with notes of dark berries and plum. It had a moderate and slightly dry finish, which was actually quite satisfying. Lately I've been enjoying really jammy wines, but this one somehow manages to be really juicy and satisfying on the palate but dry and succinct in the finish. I give it a 93.

Tuscanova @ Century City Westfield Mall

I almost don't even want to write about this so I can keep it a secret...but then again, no one really reads my blog, so who cares!

Tuscanova restaurant opened recently at the Century City mall in LA, and they have a seemingly too-good-to-be-true happy hour: 4-8pm, EVERYDAY, 51% off all drinks, and a FREE plate of apps! This definitely outshines Bar Pintxo! For $37 we got 6 glasses of prosecco, a cosmo, and a cappuccino (for my underage sister)! The free app plate isn't amazing, but it's definitely appreciated. It comes with little bites of pizza (homemade pizza, but not gourmet tasting at all...kinda taste like the thin crust fast-food pizzas you can get at the food court), mini ham/cheese sandwiches, and crostinis with a brushetta topping.

The prosecco was 51% off $10, so 3 glasses of it go down really easy. We actually ended up staying for dinner too, and that was not as good. It was actually pretty simple/healthy seeming, but lacked flavor because of that. For example, my mom got gluten-free pasta and it was really dry and boring. I got sea bass that was cooked perfectly and tasted simple but good, but it was $26 and didn't come with any side dish or anything!

So I recommend Tuscanova for happy hour, but then going to Houston's or Gulfstream next door for dinner.

Bar Pintxo: Overpriced, Oversalted Tapas (but great happy hour)

Bar Pintxo is on Santa Monica Blvd and Ocean Ave in Santa Monica. I've heard great things from my uncle about this place, so we made it in there before seeing Cirque Du Soleil this past weekend. They have happy hour from 4-6pm, featuring 6 tapas for $6! Now THIS is a great deal, but I didn't really care for any of the tapas featured on that menu (everything had either cheese and/or ham in it....boring!). Don't get me wrong, $6 is a great price and probably worth it, but I had to try their other more interesting items (which ended up being too salty and too expensive): garlic shrimp (3 for $9), scallops with fennel and cocoa dust (4 for $11), and seafood paella ($15). The paella was the only thing that was filling (because the rice) and not too salty. Luckily the cava I selected cut the salt pretty well for the other items though.

Wines: All their wines are Spanish, and their happy hour menu features 2 of them for $4-5 each, and also a sangria (which was watery and not worth it). I ignored these wines, and instead opted for a cava rosat at $11, then a regular cava at $9. The rosat was very interesting. Notes of cranberry stood out the most to me. The cava had more typical/expected nutty and yeasty flavors. I preferred the cava over the rosat, because it worked with my salty seafood a little better.

My conclusion: go here if you like Spanish tapas (salt, cheese, and ham). Don't go here if you're going to order other stuff on the menu--it's a rip off. I would definitely go here again and order the tapas. For $6, who cares if I don't love all of them?!? Also, I really appreciated that it wasn't crowded. On Friday night, at 530pm in the middle of happy hour, 6 of us could easily get a seat. I wonder why this is...no one's heard of it? Or no one likes the selection/prices...