Burger Thursdays at the Ritz!

Every Thursday, $20 will get you a gourmet burger/fries and a beer at the Ritz Half Moon Bay. So I decided to check it out knowing, of course, that I would get a glass of wine instead of the beer.

First of all, the Ritz is just beautiful. The "Conservatory" is the seating area just off the main lobby where they serve cocktails, wine, and gourmet bar snacks, including the burger. It's relaxed but high-end, with great views of the ocean and outside patio/firepit/etc. Also, they have live jazz! That always helps the ambience. So on Thursdays, they offer a burger special and drink specials in addition to the regular (pricey) "bar menu." For the burger deal, they actually have a few options too: classic burger, burger w/ bleu cheese, crab cake burger, sliders, portobello burger, etc. I opted for the classic (not knowing it came w/ bacon, but I just pulled it off). In terms of wine, their by the glass list is fairly expensive but they do have wine specials--at $8. I don't think I need to explicitly say that $8 is a reasonable/normal price for a glass of wine--not a wine "special." Anyway, they were featuring a Bordeaux blend or a Napa Cab and I asked the server to bring whichever would pair better with the burger--he brought the Cab.

Unfortunately, I can't remember the name of the winery it was from. Maybe because I actually didn't like it with the burger and was disappointed--a) because it didn't pair very well, and b) because I thought the Ritz would do a better job of pairing. Then again, I only had 2 choices on the $8 wine special list, so perhaps the Cab was the less bad option. While the cab didn't pair perfectly with the burger, it was very interesting nonetheless. The nose a had powerful, if not overwhelming, aroma of vanilla extract. Straight up vanilla extract that I would add to cupcakes or cookies. I don't know anything about the wine or how it's made, but this strong vanilla leads me to believe it was fermented/aged in new American oak. The palate was smooth and soft, with gentle tannins. I needed more for my burger. It was too soft and too vanilla-y to work with the juicy classic burger.

And more on the burger: solid, tasty burger. But not worth $20. Especially since I didn't get the beer with it for that price (next time I will!). And yes, there WILL be a next time. Mostly because I really enjoyed the ambience and the live jazz, etc. This past time I was excited to try their burger and follow their recommendation for wine (because I also happen to know their head sommelier was just invited to taste the 4th and final exam to become a master sommelier), but now that I know their burger isn't that special (and since I don't really like red meat anyway) I'll opt for the crab cakes or portobello burger with a chard or interesting white wine next time.

Petit Sirah....the mystery varietal.

What is Petit Sirah? I don't really know, but I had one tonight at a wine bar called "S.N.O.B." (Sonoma, Napa, or Beyond). I went to this bar hoping to capitalize on the "or beyond" part, since I need to expand my knowledge of Old World wines in preparation for my sommelier exams. So the first wine I had was a Spanish Garnacha. It was forgettable, to be honest. Cherry and pepper. That's about it.

Then I had the Spellbound Petit Sirah. Yes, it's from Lodi but at that point, I had abandoned my quest to learn more about the "beyond" and instead learn more about interesting varietals. This wine was really different: bing cherry and black cherry on the nose mixed with really pronounced notes of menthol/spearmint/eucalyptus. The palate carried on the minty notes, with a chalky texture and refreshing herbal mint in the finish. I didn't finish the whole glass, perhaps because I had nothing to pair it with, but it was really enjoyable nonetheless.

So what is Petit Sirah? Well I browsed 2 of my reference books (The Wine Bible, and Wine Encyclopedia) briefly and learned that it does actually have a relationship to Syrah (note the difference in spelling), and while its true origin is somewhat of a mystery, it's most likely the cross between Syrah and Peloursin, what the French call "Durif." Long story short, I still have much to learn about the varietal (or cross/blend?) and what it "should" taste like. But my all in all, i really enjoyed what i tasted of it tonight!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Monday the 18th was my birthday, and my thoughtful sister/roommate decided to make me a delicious meal of leg o' lamb, potatoes, and salad. What a great excuse (bday + lamb) to do a little wine pairing experimentation!

First, I opened a bottle of 2006 J Pinot Noir. I used to love this wine, perhaps because it's one of the first pinots i actually liked. Then again, it was probably the first decent pinot i ever tried. So long story short, i don't really like J anymore. they're total sell outs. I got the bottle on sale at Safeway from $36 to $26, which is great, but it just didn't taste that good. It was perhaps a little young, believe it or not, but it's fruits were unsophisticated, and it lacked the earthiness i was craving. We did not pair this with the lamb, either. Although i wish we did!

Mumm "Cuvee M Red": $30. This is a really interesting sparkling red wine. We got it as members of Mumm Napa. It's 96% Pinot Noir and 4% Syrah. It's very fruity and has a slight hint of sweetness. It did not pair well with the lamb. I think while the bubbly texture was interesting, its ripe fruit flavors did nothing for the rosemary/herbaceous lamb.

2006 Folie a Deux Zinfandel: $25? This wine is smooth, medium-full bodied, has ripe fruits, subtle spice, and a moderate finish. I'd characterize it as drinkable and smooth, but it also failed to uplift the lamb (or be uplifted by the lamb). I think we really needed something more herbaceous and/or earthy. Regardless, the wine was tasty, and the lamb was tasty.... just not together.

Lawry's the Prime Rib: Review

This place is a classic. Servers referring to themselves as Ms. _______, meat coming around on carts to order, meatballs and homemade potato chips in the lobby while you wait, just to name a few of its inviting characteristics. It's been a tradition in our family to go to Lawry's every Christmas to enjoy not only the food, but the live caroling provided by elaborately-costumed professionals. It adds a nice touch to your steak besides the horseradish and yorkshire pudding. Another delicious thing that adds a nice touch is......drum roll....great wine! As many of you know, I've recently started working for a wine importer and distributor that imports boutique, limited production wines from Argentina. So this year, we brought the 2005 Familia Cassone Obra Prima Cab Sauv $20 retail, and the 2008 Mi Terruno Malbec/Cab Blend $24 retail. Those prices are estimates...these wines aren't actually available retail yet. We're in the process of distributing them to restaurants in San Francisco. Also, my uncle brought the 2006 Hahn Pinot Noir from the Santa Lucia Highlands. The Pinot Noir was beautiful, and exactly my style: floral nose with notes of violet and ripe raspberry, smooth texture with a great mouthfeel and a soft, rounded finish. It was not overly barnyardy and it did not have that tart cherry i hate! By the time our food came, we were done with this pinot, which is fine because i think the prime rib would have overpowered it. First i tried the Mi Terruno Blend with the meat. I love this wine by itself because the 55% malbec makes it juicy and jammy, while the 45% cab gives it great structure and sophistication--i don't think it needs food! it did work well with the meat, but it was perhaps a little too fruity for my taste. The Obra Prima cab, however, was a beautiful match for the prime rib. It has smooth lush tannins, but enough of them to balance the rich fattiness of the meat. The more earthy subdued berry flavors worked a little better than the blend did for me.

All in all, it was a great experience. Delicious wines, and some pretty darn good food to pair with it. Oh, and great caroling too!

Every day= bubbly day!

For those of you who don't know, i'm a huge fan of bubbly. YUM! i drink it year round, with any meal. and i dont care that many others only drink it for New Years--more left for me the other 364 days of the year! This New Year's Eve, i'm doing a little sparkling wine tasting for which i'll feature a cava, prosecco, champagne, and sparkling wine from california. To prep for this, i've been doing a little online research to figure out which wines would work well for this tasting, and stumbled upon this champagne guide. It has a lot of interesting basic info, but the aspect i found most interesting, was the article's encouragement to use regular white wine glasses instead of flutes. Well, luckily i already use white wine glasses since i don't own any champagne flutes! Their reasoning is that the flute inhibits your ability to really take in the aromas and flavors; the 8-10 oz wine glass allows you to really get your nose in the glass, and it allows for the fruity/nutty aromas to be released out of the glass.

What are you drinking to ring in 2010?

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.