Learn How To Easily Find Wines Of $50 Quality For $10 Or Less. Impress Friends With Your Expanded Wine Knowledge. Eliminate Your Dependence On Wine Salespeople. And Take The Hassle Out Of Buying Wine.
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Small Plates, Perfect Wines, a new cookbook from Andrews McMeel Publishing, featuring mouthwatering recipes and wine pairing tips, is now on bookstore shelves and available to order online.
Meze, tapas, antipasti, antojitos–no matter what you call them, small plates offer big flavor, and this is a style of dining and entertaining that has taken the country by storm.
Searching out those small dishes with big flavors, Wine Country cookbook author Lori Lyn Narlock presents more than 50 recipes by Kendall-Jackson Executive Chef Justin Wangler and the Culinary Team, with assistance from Lou Rex, Jackson Family Wines Director of Special Events. Wine tips are provided by Kendall-Jackson Winemaster Randy Ullom.
The book is divided into chapters on salads, vegetables, meat, seafood, and desserts, with each delicious recipe paired with one or two wines. The wine information is presented in a conversational fashion, and includes the basics of pairing wine with food.
Each recipe has been beautifully captured by photographer Dan Mills, with pages exquisitely produced by graphic designer Jennifer Barry. Small Plates, Perfect Wines is colorful, festive and informational, making it the perfect gift for wine and food lovers, and anyone who loves to entertain.
Due to the unusually cool summer, and the recent rainfall, Oregon's Willamette Valley wine producers are nervously biting their nails, dreading a harvest with grapes that are not fully ripened. Without the proper heat units, the grapes will not reach full maturity, although they may look fully ripe. The cooler weather will likely mean that harvests in Oregon will be delayed as much as they can be, without pushing the grapes over the edge.
Look for the next two weeks to be crucial to the '07 harvest.
OK, so there’s alot of hub-bub about that the Wine Spectator expose that happened by blogger Robin Goldstein. And first let me say a couple things. Bloggers are extraordinarily important to the world and this is just the latest example of some good citizen journalism. Bravo to Robin for the work on setting up this sting. Nice, ethical, and well executed.
As a marketing professional for a decade and a half I’ll say this though - what did you think the award was? Wine Spectator is a “for profit” private entity that has what, 100 employees? I’ve dealt with many many awards for the rediculous number of products and companies I’ve launched and I’ll tell you this, whenever there is a for-profit entity involved then you’re going to pay-to-play. And if you pay-to-play then you’re probably getting an award! There are several technology related firms that have pay for entry, then I win the award, then they call me back and pitch me Ad space, and then tell me to be involved in the award ceremony I have the great opportunity to present my product/company at a high profile industry show…for yet another fee.
update: On side note for the history books. In the late 1990s, what I call “Bubble Days” of tech, pay-to-play got ridiculous. There were analyst firms that would take EQUITY in a startup and then write a positive report. Subsequently, these firms would go public and thanks to the Tech Bubble some people got very rich for their “award” or “positive outlook”…nuts…
This Wine Spectator debacle is nothing new or unexpected. They’re leveraging their brand, which has the power today to make a $20 wine into a $100 wine overnight, to make more money. What is unexpected is the fact that they were complete IDIOTS about it and obviously do zero vetting not a very thorough job vetting applicants. Dumb dumb dumb. But I’m not surprised the award is the way it is. Not at all actually. Maybe thats part of the marketer’s secret code or something but thats how these things go. If this didn’t happen (the dumb non-vetting move being exposed), who wouldn’t pay $250 for this “Excellence” award, hence “profit” opportunity. Look, even now, if you have a real restaurant whats to stop you from fudging the wine list? The sting was a totally fake place, but what stops you from doing this again? Pay-to-play, thats how it works. Its a revenue generator for the company, thats all.
Now, I do want to point out something in stark contrast. The “American Wine Blogger Awards“. Whenever they come around everyone gets in Tom Wark’s grill about “who are you to judge me” and “what makes you think this award is valid at all”, and so on. I mean he gets HEAVY criticism. Well guess what - its decided on by people submitting nominations, then the finalists are chosen by a panel and voted on by the people again. Oh yeah, and it FREE. In fact, when I offered to sponsor the AWBAs Tom turned that down. So even though its not perfect I view it kind of like how I view the American Democracy - its not perfect and sometimes its not fair (just look at my tax bill every f’in year), but its about the best you’re gonna get!
Another Moronic Convergence set for our place tonight: tonight's showdown is Monastrell/Mourvedre. So far, I think we have to Spanish, two Californian, and one French.
As you may have noticed, Enotheque has been missing some updates for some time now. At the moment, I'm on the road at a very challenging but rewarding consulting job. The days are long and the nights seem all too short, resting only in brief moments before it's time to attend to the task at hand again.
I'll bring back some good posts with recommendations, interesting regions, values and interviews soon enough. For the time being, enjoy the other subscriptions of your Google Reader, since nobody is ever truly caught up with it anyway.
In the spirit of the upcoming Presidential election, one Washington DC restaurant, OYA Restaurant and Lounge, is pitting Arizona wines (from Senator McCain's home state) against those from Illinois (Senator Obama's home state). Neither state is well known for its wine industry, but according to the restaurant's Director of Wine Marketing & Sommelier, Andrew Stover, "Illinois has over 70 wineries and has been producing wine since the late 1700s. Arizona's wine industry is on a much smaller scale with close to 30 wineries."
According to Stover, the Lynfred Seyval Blanc has slightly outsold the Arizona wines during the summer, but fall could usher in a preference for the red wines of Arizona. The promotion will continue through the election in November.
Oya Restaurant and Lounge is located in Washington's Penn Quarter neighborhood. They serve an innovative menu that combines Asian ingredients with French technique.
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by Martin Field The chief boffin in our R&D department is about to patent a design for an electronic menu. Basically, the E-menu (as she likes to call it) is designed to increase efficiency of ordering, to provide detailed information to diners, to minimise the unwanted attention of pushy waiters and sommeliers and thereby to reduce the number of floor staff. There are obvious cost savings related to this latter aim. The wi-fi menu can be permanently installed in dining tables, one at each setting or, as a less expensive alternative, can take the form of a menu folder to be handed out to individual guests.
Experienced Oregon winemakers are quietly enthused about the potential of the 2008 vintage. Winemakers are rightfully conservative in their assessment of a vintage at this point in time because you never really can be sure about the quality of a wine until it’s actually wine. However, with experience winemakers obviously develop a pretty good idea of what to expect. Those expectations are starting to sound quite high for 2008.
Laurent Montalieu is one of the Willamette Valley’s most experienced winemakers. A veteran of Willakenzie Estate, today Montalieu owns Solena Cellars, the Northwest Wine Company and his newest venture, the ultra-premium custom crush winery Grand Cru Estates. Montalieu, pictured here (left) sampling a vineyard with winemaking consultant Tony Rynders, who is also winemaker at the new Grand Cru estates, has one of the widest experiences with the full range of Willamette Valley vineyards as his Northwest Wine Company deals with vineyards located throughout the Valley. Montalieu comments about this vintage, “The beautiful Indian summer has saved us one more time? essentially right now I am looking at hanging the balance of our fruit as late as possible?.. if the fruit is not getting worse it has to be getting better?. So far the ferments have shown great purity of the aromatics and the extraction level will be quite structured .We are in for a treat of a vintage, remember 1999?”
Winemaker Scott Wright, owner of Scott Paul Cellars, also has a great depth of experience with Oregon vintages. Before founding his own winery, Scott was general manager of Domaine Drouhin Oregon. Wright says of the 2008 vintage so far, “We?ve been very happy with the quality of the fruit we?ve brought in so far ? very clean and healthy, excellent flavors, really nice pH & acids ? potential alcohols in the low 13s ? exactly what we?re looking for. Yields have been on the low side ? averaging about 1.5 tons per acre so far. We?ve got about 2/3 of our fruit in now, and will likely finish up today and tomorrow. The potential is there for a really nice vintage!”
Superstar winemaking consultant Tony Rynders (pictured above, right) had a decade knocking out one 90+ rated wine after another as winemaker at Domaine Serene before launching his own consulting company and taking on winemaking duties at Grand Cru Estates. On the 2008 vintage Rynders notes, “Harvest 2008 is well underway in the Willamette Valley. We have remained about 10 days behind in ripening based on the last ten years. But is actual fact, we are right at our long term average for harvest timing. After a little rain at the beginning of the month, we have had a nice stretch of weather for the last 12 days. Flavors have come on strong and the sugars are very reasonable. This latest weather development has been critical for flavor development and phenolic maturity. The cold soaks are showing beautiful color. The wines are going to be very pretty with excellent balance. We are about 60% complete with another 20% due in the next three days.”
You are hearing similar comments from winemakers throughout the Willamette Valley. The potential is there for a very special vintage in the classic Oregon style, which emphasizes balance, structure, aromatics and elegance with moderate alcohol levels. I’m looking forward to drinking these wines.
Pictured below, a picker in Tony Soter’s Mineral Springs Vineyard.
Established in 2002 by Sam and Audrey Watt from what was an apple orchard, this small vineyard makes microscopic amounts of wine. We found this place mainly due to the attractive accommodations but the wines are something of a surprise bonus. The vineyard currently spans over 5 hectares with vine densities of 2600 vines per hectare. The soil here is predominantly clay from the Moutere area. What I would really like to highlight here is their 2007 SVSauvignon Blanc which is one of the best expressions of New Zealand SB I have had this trip and perhaps the top handful I have had from New Zealand. Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm not going to mince words here - if what you want is a light, tart and aromatic quaffing wine then this is not it. Sometimes, I am convinced that the British wine trade wants to box in New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc as aromatic, tart thin thirst quenchers to serve before the serious wines- bullocks. If that's what people think will sell then it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
This starts with an explosion of intense aromatic fruity & zesty fireworks. It is then followed in the mouth by intensity, density & concentrated nectar with a lingering finish. This has character, guts and strength. The fruit were late picked (by hand) and yielded 2.5 ton/acre (quite amazingly low yields for this grape and the region). 92+ Points
In a tasting of her wines, Audrey Watt put the Sauvignon Blanc last as she was afraid it would dominate if it was first. In most other shops the SB is invariably first to taste. She also told me that the wine judges didn't know what to make of her Sauvignon Blanc - I can see why it's totally out of their comfort zone and hit the ball way outside the park.
We return to Cyrus after a couple of years and have a truly great meal. Prices are up but our recent experience definitely justified the Michelin two stars. The food sets the highest mark in Sonoma county, but we'd still like to see more focus on local purveyors. If elaborate dining is what you seek in Sonoma, Cyrus is the perfect destination for indulgence.
Here is a message I recieved after finishing my talks on social media…
Hey Joel. I heard you speak at Inertia’s event. I really like your point about moving from technology to sociology. You’re a great speaker. And you didn’t call anyone a “douche-bag” which - although strangely endearing when Gary V says it, probably didn’t go over too well with the “old guard” wine insiders…
Im just getting into all the social networking stuff after really just putting it off to long. You and Gary inspired me to do that!
Sour cherry aromas and pipe tobacco with a hint of chocolate but the wine is cold. Breath and warm it up; Palate--cherry with slight evergreen mid palate, nice! Fresh Sangiovese flavors; a mature wine with a touch of anise emerging. This is a nice wine; mature and tasty! It's a bit pricey at $22 but a nice treat. Raise a glass!
The good wines of the small big companies. The Malbec 2004 Marguery Family
"FAMILY MARGUERY" elaborates his wines in the locality of Cross of Stone, Mendoza, into Republic Argentina .
"Exclusively we are compromised by the production of wines of high quality "enologica" by means of the use of the last technological advances and in limited items. Our grapes come from ancient vineyards strictly selected of the localities of Uco's Valley (Mendoza - Argentina) seeking to express the peculiar characteristics of every "terroirs", says Marguery.
This wineries of Argentina was founded in the 2000 year. " We look for wines of good concentration, complex and expressive, for it and consistent with our vision, we work in this respect from the vineyard. Everything there speaks about the care and the dedication that we have with our plants wineries. There helps us very much the height that they have on the level of the sea (1.100mts.), the desert conditions of the climate, the poverty of the soil, the thermal extent, that is to say all conditions that favor the ideal development of the Malbec ".
The French wine appellation of Gigondas tends to get overshadowed by its flashy and better-known cousin, Chateauneuf du Pape. However, the smooth red wines of this Rhone Valley region have a charm and complexity all of their own. Like Chateauneuf, they are made with primarily Grenache grapes, but the similarity ends there as James Molesworth of "Wine Spectator" magazine illustrates in the video below:
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Concentrated dark fruit flavors are lathered with molten chocolate and sweet, spicy notes. The ripe finish ends with fig and raisin. Drink now. 5,666 cases made.
I think Frank is having an affair. He mutters her name constantly ? sometimes lovingly, sometimes not so much so. Her picture appears in books on the coffee table, on the dashboard in the truck, even pinned on the bathroom mirror with some unintelligible scribbles and notations below it. I know he sometimes even takes her to bed.
Like all relationships, there is a definite up and down cycle to his infatuation with this woman. As his WSET exam gets closer he finds her more frustrating. At other times, he finds her charming, witty, and distinctly sexy. But he relies on her totally and without reservation. ?I just can?t be without her,? he?ll sometimes confess.
I suspect that if Frank ever actually met her face to face and in person, he would give her the traditional European greeting ? three kisses on alternating cheeks ? right, left, right. He might even hug her.
Tonight Frank writes the vinticulture portion of his WSET Diploma exam. Perhaps when he?s done and the marks are tallied, he will close the Oxford Companion to Wine and Jancis Robinson will be forgotten for a short while. Perhaps. At least until it?s time for the next exam.
Domaine Daniel-Etienne Defaix Chablis Grand Cru Les Blanchots 1997 Oxidised, very tired. NR/100
Tyrrells Vat 1 Semillon 1999 So young! Appealing nose of lemon and quince. Structured palate with a great line of acid and very good length. Plenty of potential to improve and develop here. 92/100
Rousseau Gevrey-Chambertin Village 2002 Quite “new world” in style with cherry and strawberries on the nose. The palate is on the thin side, with the flavour slightly dilute. Decent, drinkable, but uninspiring. 86/100
Ksara “Cuvee du Troisieme Millenaire” 2004 From Lebanon, made from Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc and Syrah. Interesting nose of Raspberry, herbs and spices, ceder, smoke and cherry. The palate is well structured and balanced, with medium intensity of flavour, a supple texture and good length. Will improve over the next 5 years. 89/100
Seppelt St Peters 2002 Spice, red berries, some vanilla and some hinted floral characters. Concentrated palate, quite bold and ripe without being overwhelming. Tannins are quite soft, I wonder if they’ll hold up. Good, but not nearly as good as a bottle a couple of years ago that was exceptional. Might just be in a bit of a awkward spot at the moment, I will leave the next bottle for 4-5 years before trying again. 89/100
Clonakilla Syrah 2006 Complex, bright nose of floral elements, five spice, chocolate and bacon fat aromas. The palate is charming and almost impossible not to love, great length and balance between oak, fruit and acid. World class and a brilliant wine. 95/100
Domenico Clerico Barolo Pajana 2001 Nose of tar, pine, roses and cherries. Required food to tame the tannin on the palate. The fruit on the palate is bold and serious without being too over the top. Very good now, but patience will be rewarded. 91/100
Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Auslese 2006 Honey and a touch of spice to the nose. The palate is not as sweet as I expected, quite refined, minerally and subtle. Tasty and easy to drink. 90/100
Inniskillin Vidal Sparkling Ice wine 2004 Unusual if nothing else! Peaches, nectarine, honey and pineapple aromas on the nose. The light spritz cut through the sweetness somewhat but it still finished sweet. I think I’d rather it without the bubbles but glad to have tried it. 88/100
I thought the food was of a high standard with good use of fresh ingredients and I felt like it was good value for the money (ended up around $75 a head for food, corkage and tip). We needed to take care with some of the dishes and the spice clashing with the wines (the Hokkien noodles especially!) but it was manageable. We had the table for 6-8 people that you can book, any more than 6 people and I think it would have been too squished.
The food was as follows:
Steamed Prawn Wontons with Organic Brown Rice Vinegar Dressing Steamed Scallop Wontons with Sichuan Chilli Oil Homestyle Fried Biodynamic Eggs with Organic Soy & Homemade XO Sung Choi Bao of Free-Range ‘Kurobuta’ Pork, Ginger & Mushrooms
Crispy-Skin Duck White-Cooked Free-Range Chicken with Shoyu Organic Soy, Chilli & Coriander Red-Braised Pork Belly served with Fennel & Leek Dry-Fried Organic Hokkien Noodles with Homemade XO Sauce Dry-Fried Green Beans with Organic Miso Paste & Garlic
Organic Steamed and Fried Rice
The wines were;
1995 Jacquesson Signature Grand Vin: The nose is bready, with lemons and green apples coming through. Youthful and taut on the palate with lemony acid at the fore. Very good, and it should get better as it unwinds over the next 7-10+ years. 90/100
2002 Marcel Deiss Altenberg de Bergheim GC Alsace: Nutty, orange peel, peach, smoke and floral notes. Richly fruited with opulent weight. Balanced palate, with the acidity holding up to the residual sugar and fruit sweetness. Finishes long and clean. Was a superb match with the slightly spicy Asian food being consumed. 94/100
1996 Zind Humbrecht Riesling Rangen de Thann Clos St Urbain: Light citrus, minerals and a touch of candy on the nose. The palate is incredibly austere. The length is good, but with the acid dominating the palate, it was not very enjoyable. 85/100
2000 Bonneau du Martray Corton Charlemagne: Cashew nuts, smoke, graphite and chalky aromas comprise the nose. Lovely richness to the fruit on the palate. Balanced, long and very, very tasty. This is a beautiful wine that will only get better as it develops over the next 8-10 years. 93/100
2000 Fourrier Clos St Jacques: Earth and game meat aromas on the nose. Nicely balanced and textured on the palate. Seems to be in a pretty approachable place at the moment, although it is lacking some depth. 90/100
2004 Dugat-Py Charmes Chambertin: Forward, interesting nose of green beans, tobacco leaf, spice, blackcurrant and cherry aromas. The palate shows some green, slightly under ripe tannins. Good length, but the green elements distract from the experience. 88/100
2006 Hillcrest Reserve Pinot Noir: Cherry, floral, earth and spice aromas on the nose. Excellent layers and balance to the palate. Sweet fruit provides good weight and the tannins and acid provide great structure. A wine of obviously high quality and I think it will develop well in the bottle over the next 5-10 years. 92/100
1986 Chateau L’Eglise Clinet: Savoury aromas of game, smoke and tobacco - with some time the aromas became more bretty and animal like and a bit overpowering. Palate was smooth, medium bodied and well resolved. Best on pouring, the brett coming forward was a shame but it was still quite nice overall. 89/100
1997 Castelgiocondo Brunello di Montalcino Riserva: Complex nose of floral notes with tar, liquorice, blackcurrant and cherry. Well structured and balanced palate, with the bold, deep set fruit balanced well with the medium intensity tannins and well integrated acidity. Delicious. 92/100
NV Campbells Merchant Prince Rare Muscat: Maple syrup, caramel, coconut, brown sugar and raisin aromas on the complex, layered nose. Palate is superb - balanced, complex, delicious and brilliantly long. Technically and tactically world class. 97/100
Anselme Selosse believes the magic of Champagne takes place deep underneath the region?s chalky soil, where the vines take hold of what he calls the essence of the earth.
Continuing our coverage of the 2008 Hospice du Rhône, we had some burning questions and we wanted some answers. What do today’s winemakers, producers, importers, and attendees think of: High alcohol wines? Your favorite: French vs. American wines? What’s your favorite amongst the 22 Rhone varietals?
The font of the title is pleasantly wacky, and the title itself promises a dream-like escapade in which Feiring daydreams herself ?saving the world? and falling in love with a superhero winemaker. Not a bad concept. This is not a journalistic effort like other recently released wine books, To Cork or Not to Cork, The Billionaire?s Vinegar, First Big Crush, Wine and Philosophy. This is a personal essay on a personal point of view. The book is a small-format book?hardbound, 5 ½ ? by 8?, 158 pages exclusive of acknowledgments and index, and can easily be read in a few hours. In the introduction she says, ?I am hoping to intrigue those who want wines that truly have a story to tell. Once people experience these wines and winemakers, once they know that wine truly does have soul and character, it will be difficult for them to cozy up to wines made by the numbers and not from the heart.? I hope that this book fulfills her mission. Unfortunately . . .
by Martin Field ?How did you become a wine writer?? It?s perhaps the most frequent question I?ve had from wine drinkers over the years. What they really mean is ?How could I go about becoming a wine writer?? In other words, they too would like a job they assume involves nothing more than the consumption of an endless round of free lunches and gratis wine samples. My life is nothing like that, I tell them. (I can lie like a politician when necessary.) The process My ticket on the gravy train was easy enough to obtain. The process really was as simple as follows and the dialogue is as accurate as memory will allow.
London?s Pombagira have unleashed a monster. This is a double CD, over 90mins of slow, heavy, crushing doom with some intense stories to tell. A bit like France?s Monarch but without the female vocals. Only 4 tracks are presented here and it is best to be wickedly stoned and/or patient otherwise you will not understand or enjoy this musical art form. I like the way the band has cool unique intros and endings to their songs. No real guitar solos are presented here but some pretty dirty, nasty twisted guitar at times lies underneath the corpse of the DOOM riff? Doom on! .Info stolen from; Lowcut.dk
For most, announcing your arrival on the scene with a double CD would be an act of arrogance akin to striding into a job interview wearing a crown and cape, scoffingly rapping your prospective employers across the knuckles with a jewel-encrusted sceptre. Just as well, then, that London?s Pombagira are actually pretty good, combining the slothful, drawn-out gait of early Corrupted with the lysergic rasp and stumble of Dopethrone-era Electric Wizard, somehow managing to be both relatively easy-going and heavy as all fuck in the process. Opener ?Castdown Earthbound? sets the mood for what?s to follow in exemplary fashion, driven by a repetitious, downtuned Jus Oborn groove before fizzling downward into a moping, Om-ish mantra and back again into the good ol? riffs n? roars, a pattern ? or at least a variation thereupon ? that?s largely followed over the album?s two-disc duration, give or take the occasional hushed ?Llenandose De Gusanos? piano motif or creepy child-voiced sample. .Info stolen from; Collective-Zine
Perhaps the only thing worse for winemakers than getting a below average review in a wine publication is being mentioned in any publication that describes itself as investigative. "Normal" journalists, namely those that don't normally focus on food, wine, or lifestyle issues, have a pretty lousy reputation in the wine industry, and sometimes for good reason.
Especially when they publish pieces like this. Or when they try for a "new angle" on a particular issue.
Tecnorati
Small Plates, Perfect Wines, a new cookbook from Andrews McMeel Publishing, featuring mouthwatering recipes and wine pairing tips, is now on bookstore shelves and available to order online.
£5.99 and 
$12.71 
