THANK YOU

It has been a long time since I got around to writing, so I figured I would use this last post of the year to thank the many people that have been instrumental in my growth of wine and wine education.


Without good people around you, growth and knowledge about this little fruit would never happen. There are really to many people to thank, but I am going to keep it to the ones that I have gotten to share some great wines with this very year.

Of course the very first person I have to thank is my big brother Michael.

It all started with him many many years ago in San Francisco where there have been to many great bottles of wine that we have had. Now 13 years later, and a great collection of wines put away, I owe my big brother many thanx for the education and knowledge that he has put into my head. This year we shared some Dunn Family and some Spottswoode which are 2 of my very favorite Cabernets produced in California. May we have 40 more years of tasting and drinking wines together.

To my best friend Jr. Duarte

Always there with an extra special bottle in hand. The Great bottles keep stacking up. I feel so fortunate to have had so many good ones with you, not to mention so many more to come.

To my Sister-In-Law Linda Montoya

Although she has a small collection it doesn't stop her from wanting to drink them all up. A very generous person with a big heart that I can call upon any day for a taste, pour or bottle. We have so many more great bottles to come that we are both looking forward too. Don't worry Linda, you will live long enough to enjoy them all.

Lisa Ceja, Ernie Ceja and the entire Vinatero Wine Shop Staff

http://www.vinaterowineshop.com/

The buck stops here for wine tasting. More bottles that I can count or remember. The education keeps growing as I continue to wander there great wine shop tasting each and every bottle. I am so thankful to the Ceja's for there generosity and to there staff for there knowledge and education.

Janet Dugan, Tom Dugan and the entire California Wine & Cheese Staff

http://www.cawineandcheese.com/

Another great wine shop that I have learned so much from. Tom Dugan shares the same birthday with my father and the same passion and love for wine like myself. There staff are both knowledgeable and entertaining every time I walk in the door. I have met so many great wine friends in this shop. Lisa & Dan Murphy, Dave Buckley and many more. A special thanx to Mr. Jeff Schultz and his great knowledge of cheese. When there is wine you must have good cheese.

Mr. Ken Rushworth

I am so fortunate to have gotten to become friends with Ken from my many trips to California Wine & Cheese. His generosity is more than I will ever be able to repay. His passion for wine is endless, especially for Pinot. We have gotten to drink and share some of the very best wines that California has to offer.

The La Cañada Flintridge Wine Club

With a very special thanx to my friend and client

Mr. Jon Jilg at the far right

It seems like just yesterday when I made my first appearance at one of your wine events. The Freemark Abbey did pretty good that day. Now 9 months later and more wines that I can remember, getting together is a highlight of my week. Again! I have tasted more wines with your group than I will ever be able to repay, but tasting and judging wines is the best way to learn and hone your skills. This is what makes this wine group so great. From "Brown Bagged" to "Black Glass", the Padres Panel rules. Thank you again for allowing me to join such a fun bunch of wine enthusiasts. May we continue to enjoy each others company for many years to come.

A special thanx to Randy Watson all the way from Tampa, Florida and his Wine Whore Blog & web page. http://www.winewhoreblog.com/. So many great wines and stories that keep me coming back for more.

And to the rest of my friends that slip my mind at this time. I learn so very much from people that love wine as much as I do.

So I say goodbye to 2009 and hello to 2010.

Another decade and more wines to collect and share.

I better get busy!!!!

Cheers

"STAR STRUCK???" PERHAPS!!!

2005 La Cancion de Jonata - Pinot Noir

Finally I got to drink SCREAMING EAGLE~~~

Oopps sorry~ It's only another project from the Guy that owns Screaming Eagle~

I first heard about this winery back in 2008 when I was celebrating my 40th birthday in April. Perhaps it was the Robert Parker sighting that allowed me to hear about this up and coming new winery owned and operated by the 2 gentleman that purchased Screaming Eagle back in 2006. News around the Grapevine now states that one of the gentleman has left the Screaming Eagle and Jonata project to pursue other wine ventures.. Oh well~

A show of Power?

A flexing of Muscles?

or perhaps 2 guys with way to much money? That just wanted to own the hardest wine to purchase from California EVER~

Either way the "Wine Geek" in me couldn't help to put his name on there mailing list to see if first; I could even get some of the wine and second; see just how good it is. Yes~ I was able to get my hands on the wine. as for ladder;; To Be Determined~

Opening this bottle for myself and 4 of my more knowledgeable Pinot Noir friends was exactly how I wanted it to happen. I wanted to get the reaction of others as to the quality of this wine. The La Cancion de Jonata Pinot is a good wine. A solid wine~ There are so many great producers of Pinot Noir in the Central Coast. Sea Smoke being my favorite, with Paul Lato, Clos Pepe, Alma Rosa, ETC, ETC.

This is a very very green project for this new up and coming winery.. Meaning that they have a lot to learn and or a lot of years of ageing before any really really great comes of this project. The wine had very very heavy tannins on the palate, which tells me that it needs a few more years in the bottle. Beautiful aromas of forest floor very similar to Richard Sanford's Alma Rosa Pinot's. Very nice bouquets of flowers on the nose as well that are so indigenous to a good Pinot Noir.

I wanna not like it; maybe because you hear so many stories about rich people that buy up land or buy up wineries and then think they know what they are doing... They can afford the best wine makers that money can buy for sure. Andy Erickson from Screaming Eagle also makes and consults for several other great wineries. Winemaker Mike Dees of Jonata started his career at Craggy Range in New Zealand. A Pinot Noir that I blogged about a few months back.

Overall the experience that myself and my wine friends had was very positive for the Jonata wine. I will have the chance to taste this and other wines in the near future and perhaps when the economy picks up. Buy a few bottles.

Like any True "Wine Geek" I look forward to it...

Give them a Try!~~

Cheers~~

A ghost from the past

2007 Paul Lato "Duende" Pinot Noir

2007 Sea Smoke "Gratis" Chardonnay

1 - 40 year old cooking pot!

When I think of all the times I sat there and watched my grandmother then my mother cooking rice in that old aluminum pot. I can't help but think that my career choice should of been in the Culinary field and not the Printing industry. As I have gotten older my love for spending an entire day in my kitchen prepping and cooking a meal for my friends and family brings a form of peace and calm to my soul. Even now as I sit here typing this story emotions flow threw me of the many family parties and functions I attended as a boy. So as I have gotten older my love and desire has grown to wanting to feed my family a big home cooked meal 2 or three times a week. I have talked before on how it is so difficult getting myself to cook Cuban food though. My families recipes taken with them as they have passed away. In the last couple of years my desire has grown though for resurrecting those family recipes. So that I can eventually pass them on to my children.

This 40 year old pot is a start! It was tucked away for the last 8 years in my father's garage. He actually thought that he had given it away to his neighbor after my mother had died 7 years ago. In a conversation one day we were having he mentioned to me that he had put away a bunch of pans and dishes in the garage. My father is getting older and a bit more forgetful so I figured one day I would attempt to search for it. Yesterday! buried in the back of a cabinet in the garage was that old oxidized aluminum pot and it's lid. I spent the majority of the morning trying to clean it and remove the rust. The pan was mainly used to cook rice, but I do recall both my mother and grandmother making some of my families Cuban staple dishes like picadillo and ropa vieja in it as well. For me there was really only one recipe I wanted to use this pan for.

Last month my father and son made a visit to New York to watch a couple of baseball games in the new Yankee stadium. We went out to dinner before there flight to my favorite Cuban restaurant, Cuban Bistro in Alhambra, California. http://www.cubanbistro.com/ After that meal I decided to email the owners of the restaurant and tell them how much I appreciate the many great meals I have had at there restaurant and if it was possible to have them give me there recipe for Rice Morros y Christianos. A good Morros y Christianos dish is what I hold a true Cuban restaurant accountable for its authenticity. When it's made perfect, as it is at Cuban Bistro, I have flashbacks of my grandmother cooking this dish. Cuban Bistro replied to my email with a thank you and the recipe. My first attempt at making the dish using there recipe was not a complete success. The rice came out a bit mushy, but the seasoning was correct. So this was the reason for searching and finding that old pot. To bring back the cooking vessel that my family used and see if the recipe would be better the second time around.

Dinner last night was a complete success!!! I served Pork Tenderloin marinated in Mojo and Cantaloupe with a pistachio crust. My famous Avocado Salad and the now PERFECT! Morros y Christianos Rice. The wines were a complete success as well. Paul Lato's "duende" Pinot Noir paired well with the pork dish. The wine is a bit young but had beautiful cranberry flavors. The Chardonnay "Gratis" from Sea Smoke which is a list members item only was a perfect blend of honeysuckle, oak and butter. A great example of Central coast Chardonnay.

But the real star of the night was that old pot! It worked its magic and brought back a moment in time so cherished from my childhood that I couldn't help myself from swelling up with emotions as I ate the dish.

Keep your families cooking history close to your heart.
They will serve you well in your old age.

Cheers!

"Smoking Guns"

First and foremost:

I am happy that all of my La Cañada wine friends

were not majorly affected by the fires.

My prayers go out to those people who were.

Oh my! This is probably why Zinfandel ranks low on my list of grape varietals. Waking up this morning was not easy as the high levels of alcohol in these wines definitely made that hard to do. I am still having flash backs of raspberry, blackberry, jam, smoke, pepper, wood and tobacco. Overall it was a very interesting wine tasting as so many different styles of Zinfandel's were represented.

I pat myself on the back for suggesting the theme.

Thirteen Zinfandel's plus one bad ass Cabernet. Prices ranging from $45.00 to $7.00 per bottle. Every area in California was represented including a winemaker himself pouring his own wine. A clear winner emerged. Rosenblum 2003 "Rockpile" at $23.00 per bottle. This wine was my clear winner as well. It had the right amounts of blackberry, raspberry fruit that were not overwhelming with small hints of wood, pepper and spice to balance the wine out perfectly. A great price at $23.00 per bottle. Good Job Greg! 2 out of the 3 tastings with the winner is pretty darn good.

My props go out to our homemade wine as well. Although Tom Pietzman gave the lowest score of all the tasters to his own wine at 72 points. I gave his Pietzman Family Zinfandel 92 points which was my second highest total of the night. This is what makes tasting wines blind so much fun. The Pietzman Zinfandel again had good combinations of fruit with a balance of spice which made it very drinkable. At a cost of $7.00 per bottle to produce this wine, I only wish more Zinfandel's hovered in this price range. I would probably drink a whole lot more of them.

I also pat myself on the back for understanding the losing wine. I can not give it to my good friend Jon with his 20 year old Caymus zinfandel. That just isn't fair! The real losing wine which was a mess of tree bark and tobacco gone mad that even after 2 hours of decanting as a friend of mine suggested that I do, didn't help the wine at all. Yep that is right! I brought the losing wine again. Outpost-Howell mountain. I am just happy that almost everybody also caught on to how flawed this wine is. I recognized the wine right away in the line up, because I still can't get that wine out of my head from the very first time I tasted it 2 years ago. Time warp back 15 years and I bet Caymus fairs much better against Outpost.

So let us never EVER do this again!!! 13 high octane, smoky, fruit forward Zinfandel's make you yell and laugh a bit louder than usual. They also give you a headache that only large amounts of Aspirin can cure. The varietal should only be consumed with large amounts of food. BBQ beef brisket would be my preference!

Till our next meeting!

Cheers!

PS
I think I am becoming a Mark Herold groupie as well Jon. That was one bad ass Cabernet.

USA "1" - FRANCE "1" - ME :-)

RUST IS THE KEY!

2 Absolute perfect bottles of well aged and ready to drink wines. 1994 Chateau Latour - 1994 Mondavi Reserve.

I don't really know how people like Robert Parker do it. Perhaps I should of asked him myself. Now that I think about it, he was probably just mooching some of my wine is all and this is how I really see the process of distinguishing one wine from another. On memory alone. I don't have any sommelier skills. I do have a good ability to retain information from bottles tasted before. Sight and aromas come first while flavors on my palate are last. Throw 3 different varietals of grapes in a glass in front of me and I loose my ability of sight instantly. I would be guessing the varietal. Stick my big Cuban nose into the glass and some memories would come racing back. Taste those 3 varietals and the memories of those thousands of bottles that I have tasted in the past would be in my head to assist me.

Tonight tasting these 2 beautiful bottles was a very special treat. Thank you again Jon for allowing us to make some great wine memories together. I must agree that on sight alone this was the most difficult of the 3 senses to choose. Both wines are blended with Cabernet, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Each wine had that rust characteristic in the glass. I seem to catch it the most as the wine is being poured into the glass. The Mondavi was the first wine that I poured out followed my the Latour. The rust factor is most recognizable as you are pouring the wine and along the edges in the glass. On looks alone Latour carried a bit more of the crimson, rust colors. On the nose again was Mondavi's wine first, and I instantly knew that I was smelling a familiar friend. To me California wines have more intensity of fruit. As they age, the wines loose some of that intensity. I don't believe that I have ever tasted 1994 Mondavi before today. I have had several other vintages and still own one bottle of 1996 30th anniversary and 2 bottles of 2001 vintages. This is a perfect example of a California Mondavi wine. There are no similarities to Opus one here. I also recognized an old friend in the Latour. Cedar, smoke, hints of wood and leather. They are what makes a Bordeaux. The 1994 vintage I have tasted in the past. I am happy that on the nose first I picked correctly because on the palate I was 100% sure.

I said in an earlier post what an honor it is to taste a first growth Bordeaux. It is also a great honor when opening a well aged California Cabernet. The old saying "Patience is a Virtue" is what makes for great wine memory like today.

Both of these fine examples of wine would of benefited from food. I do wonder what a few hours in the decanters might of done to them. They only would of gotten better and possibly harder to pick out.

Oh and as you see there were 2 other wines poured on this day. They were Rhone blends from California and France that I "brown bagged" to see if my friends could pick them out. All 3 of my friends were correct in picking out the California example which was the Morgan's "Cotes du Crow's. I must agree these were 2 completely different wines on the palate. Morgan which is a go to drinking wine for me is very fruit forward while the 2007 Cotes du Ventoux carried the heavier earth notes found in french wine examples. If I were to have tasted these 2 wines blind. On sight they were identical. I would of been guessing. On the nose some similar characteristics come forward on both wines. This is probably because of the similar blends that both wines have which is 55/45 Grenache and Syrah. The only difference being that the French wine has more Grenache while the California example is the other way around. Tasting these wines would of been the key. As all 3 of my friends picked correctly and if I were to have tasted them blind. I too would of picked correctly. Both wines are good examples of drinkable Rhone blends.


So remember to always retain those memories of wines that you have tasted in the past. They will serve you well in future tastings to come as you see in this photo.


Sorry Jon!! I had an advantage!


Cheers!

Goodbye San Francisco

When I think of the thousands of bottles of wine that I have had the privilege to drink. None have been better than the 1982 Chateau Lafite Rothschild paired with the absolute best Roasted Chicken I ever had!

It was July of 2001 and my brother had made the decision to move back to Los Angeles. For anybody in the wine industry, leaving San Francisco to come to LA would be career suicide, but our Mother was dieing of Lou Gehrig's Disease and my brother wanted to spend the remaining months of her life by her side. In 2001, I was still a novice when it came to understanding "WINE" completely. I had made several trips to San Francisco and the wine country before. Plus, I had already began to collect wines for several years under my brother's guidance of buying the best. This trip would turn out to be the last I ever make to San Francisco with my brother. There have been so many great wine memories in this city with my brother like my birthday dinner party where I insisted on eating Seafood Risotto even though I was drinking 1997 Bryant Family Cabernet. Would I love to get that memory back today and eat the right meal with that wine. An absolute YES! Unfortunately, there is no Bryant Family wine left in our collection.

So we come to that warm summer day in 2001. Where my brother Michael this time would insist that I must have Roasted Chicken from Zuni Cafe. The problem was he also wanted to open 1982 Chateau Lafite. By 2001 I had learned what to do and not to do when it comes to opening a nice bottle of wine, but this was Michael's farewell meal and he insisted that we go to his favorite restaurant in San Francisco of all time.

Zuni Cafe is located at 1658 Market St (between 12th St & Page St) which was walking distance from my brothers loft. When we arrived we quickly ordered the Roasted Chicken being that the dish requires 1 hour of cooking time. The dish is cooked in a brick oven and comes with a warm bread salad with red mustard greens, scallions, currants and pine nuts. As shown in the photo above.

We actually started the meal with a cocktail while the wine opened up. Both our thoughts at the time were of sadness for our mother's health and for my brother leaving San Francisco which I still believe is a much better food city then Los Angeles ever will be.

There are just a few words to describe 1982 Chateau Lafite Rothschild. Perfection would be one of them. But I still remember telling my brother as that first sip of wine hit my lips was how much better this wine was than anything I had ever tried before. The wine showed finesse and elegance that I had never seen before in red wine. Plums, Cedar, Liquid Smoke, and Earth are what a remember. Who cares that I had it with Chicken. Yes! it could of benefited from a rack of lamb, but now that I think of it, I would of drank this wine with dessert if I could. It is just that good.

PERFECTION! It has never been duplicated again!

As for the famous Zuni Roasted Chicken. It was the most succulent bird I ever had. The brick oven gave the chicken a beautiful smoky flavor that worked very well with the wine. The skin was a Utopia of crunchy perfection. The salad is a warm mix of crispy, tender and chewy chunks of bread. It had little slivers of garlic and scallions. Just the right amounts of currants and pine nuts with a handful of greens all moistened with vinaigrette and chicken drippings.

Today my mouth still waters when I think of that dish. The greatest white wine I ever tasted was 1992 Louis Latour Corton-Charlemagne. I had that wine twice. Both times with roasted chicken dishes, but on that day in San Francisco having to settle for Lafite at Zuni Cafe will do just fine.

As seen in the first photo at the top of this story. I own Judy Rodger's Zuni Cafe Cookbook. In the book, is the famous recipe. Temptation has always driven me to try and duplicate that dish.

Why mess with one of my most memorable "Wine Moments" of all time.

Cheers!

7 - 1 = GOOD

5 Chardonnays

1 Cabernet

1 Mysterious Bordeaux

It's fun when a bunch of passionate wine geeks get together to taste wines. It is how your wine knowledge and taste buds evolve. I have been looking for a group like this for years. A get together that can broaden my love and passion for this little fruit. Years of tasting wine have only taught me 1 thing. That I have years and years of education to go. So you have to taste wines over and over on a weekly basis. Personal opinions matter even if we disagree. That is half the fun of it. I will thank the "Padres Panel" for taking me under there wing and I look forward to sharing more great wines in the future.

TODAY'S LESSON

Is a simple one! Don't hold onto a wine to long. As we learned from tasting 1996 Kistler it's a bad idea. Sorry Padres Panel, I had to go back just one more time for another sip and dream that it would get better. It didn't! and I cried inside! There is hope though for California Chardonnay and there ageing probabilities. Tasting 1999 Kendal Jackson Great Estates helped the cause. Surprisingly holding its own, this wine had a good amount of both Oak and Butter that I love so much in a good Chardonnay. The wine had a good heavy feeling on the palate and was tasting really good even 2 hours later when my wife got the rest of it. I had to quiz her on the Varietal which she got right. Good Job Honey! I knew that some of my craziness would rub off on you eventually.

We also had the pleasure of tasting 3 more Chardonnays. 2007 Lincourt, 2005 Windbreak, and 2006 Landmark. In the process of tasting all three of these makes me again say how I am not a huge fan of Chardonnay. All three showed different levels of oak and butter and complexity that turn me off to having them with a meal. Relaxing with some friends and having a glass is OK, but pairing the wines with food would make my head spin. If I had to put them in order, it would be Landmark, Windbreak then the Lincourt would be the final results. Landmark had good amounts of balanced fruit, oak and butter that kept me interested in coming back. The Windbreak had to much butter that overwhelmed my senses a bit and the Lincourt just came up short on both oak and butter with heavy concentrations on mineral. If I had tasted this wine blind, I probably would of been fooled into believing it to be a Sauvignon Blanc.

Which leads us into the Red Wines. It is a great treat to have the chance of tasting a "Grand Cru" Bordeaux. With the price of some wines reaching $200 to $500 per bottle these days or more. They are well out of reach for this wino, so getting a chance to be apart of tasting 1989 Chateau Angelus is a great honor. I only have a few bottles of Bordeaux in my collection left. My thoughts are to save them for my most memorable moments yet to come in my life like my 50Th wedding anniversary in 29 years or maybe the birth of my first grandchild a million years from now :-) There is no problem in French wines lasting that long as is the wine presented in front of me today. I was the first person to pour the wine into my glass and the first words out of my mouth were "Look at that color!" My first experience with Bordeaux wines was over a decade ago. I believe that today, I would be able to distinguish the difference from a California to French wine just on the color. French wines will always have that dirty crimson, brick color. And if the wine was poured in BLACK GLASS! No problem, because the french wines carry so much leather, oak, earth and tobacco notes to separate them from California wines. There are but a few California wines that I have tasted that mimic a pure expression of a French Bordeaux. May we continue to try though! The 1989 Angelus was perfectly aged and well balanced. The wine would of benefited from a fat piece of steak or lamb. The characteristics would of been even more significant.

Oh and there was the 1999 BV Georges De Latour that we taste as well. I almost forgot because I am still in a French Coma! Let this wine be a lesson to all serious wine collectors. I tasted an 03 or 04 De Latour a few years back and my thoughts were that it was a great wine but at too high a price. Knowing that Greg bought cases of this wine years ago for around $20.00 per bottles is exactly what any wine geek should do. It is also what this wino has failed to do over the last decade. Buy a lot of 1 wine instead a 2 bottles of 3 or 4 different ones. The wine has developed very nicely with good amounts of fruit coming forward for a 10 year old wine. If I were to taste this wine blind, it probably would of ended up toward the top of the list. Great little treat to taste a solid wine that didn't break the bank with a few years under it's belt.

I have always said that I don't collect wines, but rather that I collect memories of wines that I have shared with friends and family.

I can't wait to make more!

Cheers!

Pinot Masters!

I will always have a big love for Pinot Noir's produced in Central Coast California. Especially the Santa Rita Hills. Pinot has become my second favorite varietal behind Cabernet. Elegance and aromas make this thin skinned grape so much fun to pair with different cuisines or at least making the attempt. As my Pinot collection has grown my Cabernet purchases have not. Maybe the economy is a reason for that. As Pinot typically costs less per bottle. Then again, I would rather believe that in my attempts to create in the kitchen, Pinot is the grape that I find most facinating of all.

Over the last month I have gotten to taste quite a few Pinot's and even a few Burgundies. These 2 that I write about now are perfect examples of what the Santa Rita Hills (ava) is producing on a regular basis. Then again Richard Sanford and his long time winemaker Bruno D'Alfonso are a big reason for that ava.

The first wine a tasted was Alma Rosa's 2004 La Encantada Pinot. This was the inaugural bottle produced by Richard Sanford's new venture Alma Rosa Wines. Richard Sanford came to the Santa Ynez Valley 38 years ago and started Sanford Wines. He was one of the first to recognize the potential of the Santa Rita Hills and the first to plant Pinot there. Differences in business philosophy with Terlato Wine Group led to a separation from his namesake winery Sanford in 2005. This also led to the firing of longtime winemaker Brundo D'Alfonso from Sanford as well.
The first vintage of Alma Rosa were released in 2006. I had the pleasure of visiting Alma Rosa's tasting Room 2 days after they had just opened there doors. Of course Chris Burroughs made famous in the movie Sideways was there in a make shift warehouse pouring the Alma Rosa wines. What I remember tasting that day at Alma Rosa was really familiar to the first time I tasted Sanford wines just 2 years before in 2004. The 2004 La Encantada is a bold, smooth, earthy Pinot Noir with great depth and balance. Richard Sanford's continued love for Santa Rita Hills puts him high on my list of favorite wine producers for this area.

Which leads me to another wine producer who happened to be Richard Sanford's winemaker while at Sanford Wines, Bruno D'Alfonso. Bruno tells the story of literally being told to pack your stuff and leave when Terlato Wine Group took over the Sanford Winery back in 2006. Why he didn't follow Richard Sanford to Alma Rosa is unknown to me, but Bruno also has years of experience producing Santa Rita Hills Pinot's under his belt. He also happens to be married to a pretty famous winemaker herself Kris Curran. I am really looking forward to there joint project under there new umbrella D'alfonso-Curran Wine Group. With the mastermind of 2 great Pinot Winemakers, the sky is the limit for the 2 of them. The 2005 Badge Pinot which is Bruno's second release is elegant, and a very delicate wine with plums, cherries and forest floor on the nose. The wine shows very similar characteristics to the Alma Rosa wine I had. Great ripe fruit with very firm tannins.

Santa Rita Hills is my favorite Pinot producing wine region in the United States, but as I have always said Pinot is still a grape that I must continue to educate myself about.

It is never ending hard work!

Cheers!

La Canada or Bust Part 2

Remember the ABC Wide World of Sports Theme?

"The Thrill of Victory and the Agony of Defeat"

Then they show that poor skier going down the long jump crashing and burning at the end. Yeah! It was kinda like that. My wine crashed and burned.

The best part of it though was once again getting together with a great group of Wine Lovers that love tasting wines blind so that we can chop them down one by one until there is but one standing. Good job Jon! You won fair and square. 2006 Kaesler Cabernet from Barossa Valley was a great choice for a wine that we had the chance to taste twice. Can someone say unfair handicap. Just Kidding! Hey at least my palate didn't let me down there. Numbers 8 and 9 were the same wine and I was right. Of course that was after I re-tasted them. And yes! I agree that my choice, Felino 2007 Cabernet was the worse wine of the night. Since I had drank the wine just 2 days prior, I recognized it right away when I tasted it but I couldn't very well vote it down. I had to pray that another wine would be worse. Number 5 was close. Which ever wine that was. Perhaps if I would of gone with my other choice which was Novelty Hill Cabernet from winemaker Mike Januik, I would of fared better. http://www.noveltyhillwines.com/wines-releases.html This was a wine that I had tasted and had past experience with. Plus Mike Januik's other project was represented last night. http://www.januikwinery.com/ and realistically I thought was the best wine of the night. Perhaps if I would of brought another Washington Beefy Cabernet, I would be celebrating instead of crashing and burning. Oh well!

I am very thankful to Jon for introducing me to such a fun group of wine lovers that follow the same guidelines as myself. I often think as a wine lover how much wine I have collected and consumed. ALOT! But in reality I collect memories of bottles to come and bottles that have been shared with friend and families over the years and years. To me it isn't about "Hey! Check out my wine collection!' But more about "Hey lets make this bottle memorable" I believe we did just that last night.

A special thanx for our host of the evening Chris Poole for allowing the new guy to pick another bottle to share from his locker. 1996 Silver Oak was the first bottle that I actually bought to collect many many years ago. I probably only have 1 or 2 left of the 96 vintage buried somewhere in my locker. It is a wine that brings back both good and sad memories every time I taste it. The 1996 Silver Oak Napa was still tasting great. I will also correct myself in calling out The Orin Swift's Papillon as a Paso Robles Wine. Trust me I have made dumb mistakes like that in the past. That bottle appeared later in the evening and was just another cherry on top of a great night of tasting wines.

Oh one last thing!!

Thanx Chris for recognizing the Charles Shaw before any of us started saying how great it was.

Man! I dodged a bullet there!

Cheers!

Twin Killers!

Did Someone say "Terroir" Again?

As a wine lover it is always so much fun tasting new wines from fellow wine lovers and hearing the story of how they come to love this winery and there wines. My thanx again to my friend Jon for telling the tale of Dumol and how he fell in love with this small boutique winery and there wines.

The first bottle of Dumol I ever tasted was a gift that Jon had given me. It was the 2005 Russian River Pinot. I took the wine up to Central Coast last year to celebrate my 40th birthday. I wasn't really sure if I would even open the bottle, but a very interesting moment happened while tasting wines at Tantara Winery with the owner and winemaker. http://www.tantarawinery.com/ I allowed them to taste the Dumol wine blind. The owner Bill Cates instantly stuck his nose in the glass and said "Russian River" and also mentioned that it was either 04 or 05 Vintage. They didn't guess the winery correct but knowing that they got Russian River right tells me again that California is developing a "Terrior" of there own. Ever since then I try really hard to remember those certain blackberry and plum flavors plus the earthy characters of mushroom, nutmeg, and star anise.

The 2006 Dumol Pinot Noir - Finn delivered on all those points. These are flavors that I believe represent the Terrior of The Russian River Valley. The aromas and flavors that stick in my mind since that day in Central Coast. This wine is the Estate Single Vineyard release while the wine I had last year was the spring release Pinot that is more affordable. Big bold flavors and aromas are what to expect when drinking any Russian River Wine.

The 2007 Dumol Chardonnay is also no exception. This wine was another beautiful gift from my friend Jon. Jon allowed me to choose either the pinot or the Chardonnay and since I had already tasted the Spring release Pinot last year. I decided on the Chardonnay. I have said it before that I am really not a big Chardonnay guy not to mention that California has a way of over-oaking there wines to the point of tasting nothing else. Few great Chardonnays come to my mind. Of course Tantara and Rombauer, are just a few that I love. The Dumol falls into that almost there category for me. The wine has Crisp acids with lemon, orange and nectarine notes. On the palate come tons of citrus again with a good lingering finish. What didn't come screaming threw more than I wanted were those butter undertones that I have come to love soooo much in certain chardonnays. Perhaps I should of aged this wine a bit more, but like my friend Jon I too have a wife that loves Chardonnay and this was the bottle of her choice for a quiet night of movie watching and popcorn at home. Either way Dumol is a solid producer of very limited wines and I look forward to continue tasting them in the near future.

Thank you again wine buddy!!

Cheers

"Twin Terrors"

Or did I mean "Terroir"

This native Californian wants to still believe in the Pinot "Wine Dream" I mean I waived the white flag years ago to Bordeaux when it came to those varietals. Why can't they just give us this one.

I want to thank my wine friend Peter from Vinatero Wine Shop for allowing me a taste of these 2 beautiful 2003 Burgundies. Terroir is exactly what they expel. "Hands over fists". Both wines produced by Domaine Michel Gros show very different characteristics. The Nuits Saint Georges showed heavy Cranberry flavors with very sharp Tannins while the Chambolle Musigny had a more familiar forest floor character similar to some Californian and Oregon wines plus a heavy lingering finish. Both wines had the perfume aromas of flowers, cherries that I would be able to distinguish blind. Yep! That is a pinot!

I have always said that I have very limited experience with wines produced in Burgundy. Pinot is just a grape that I only found recently in the last 5 years fun and exciting to pair meals with.

Can this Native Californian be swayed to the "Dark Side" of France once more?? Thank god that I have an open mind and palette for just those things. There really isn't a wine that I hate. It is just the fact that to enjoy a real good bottle of wine from any country, is to focus your attention on what may or may not taste great with the wine in question. Some Coq Au vin, lightly poached Salmon or stuffed mushroom caps will do just fine.

"Viva Le France"

Cheers!!

Shhhhhhhh! I like Beer too!

http://www.lbhb.org/

http://www.steinfillers.com/

I recently got invited to attend a meeting of the Long Beach Homebrewers Club. They are a members club based out of the city of Long Beach that gets together once a month to taste beers and share there recipes. All the beers are handcrafted by Home Brewers. Good friends of mine Monica and John whom are both home brewers themselves thought I would get a kick on how passionate these people are about making beer as any experts are about producing quality wines. Of course everybody knows me as a "Wino" and not a beer guy. But lets face it; alcohol is a "Gateway Drug" You always start with some cheap beer, wine, tequila or whiskey, then you move on up the ladder to bigger and better things and I don't mean narcotics. Beer was just my first choice for a legal drink in my early days. Budweiser (yeah I said it), then some Canadian beer like Moosehead.

Nowadays if I am really in the mood for an ice cold beer, I go straight for the Micro-Brew stuff like Stone or Lagunitas. Watching all the Beer aficionados pour and get up there and talk about there products that night was really neat. They all shared there recipes for the beers they produced that day. We all got a taste of each and everyone. Like some wines, some of the beers were just not my style, but it was so much fun getting to try so many different ones that night.

Sometimes I wonder how much fun it would be to make my own wine. Yeah there are services out there that let you buy some fruit and a kit to help you in the process right in your garage, but I am talking about owning the land and farming it. Then seeing the fruits of your labor in the bottle. I will stop dreaming now and leave that hard work to the experts while I continue to drink them.

Then again I do love to cook! and some beer brewing kits are under $100 bucks.

Thanx Monica and John! Now I just might get an itch that I have to scratch.

Cheers!

"Cheers"

The 6740

6740 Greenleaf Ave. Whittier, California

From the first time I ever walked into this little pub in uptown Whittier over 8 years ago till yesterday. Only it's interior has changed, but the lifetime of memories, friends and clients will live on for the rest of my life. Lets face it! I am a social butterfly! My best friend Jr. Duarte and I use to find places to meet after a long day working just to hang out. Several different places we frequented from West Covina to El Monte. Then came the day when my buddy was working at an office in the City Whittier back in 2001. He called me up and said "Hey! I found this little pub on Greenleaf that is really kool. You gotta come down and check it out one day." Sometime later that week Jr called me again and said I am chillin in Whittier watching the Dodger game. Come on down and I will buy you a beer! Hey!! I can't turn down a free drink and it was a slow day anyway. Why not! I still remember the first words uttered to me by Mike Kachoeff who is one of the owners of The 6740. I walked in wearing a New York Yankee baseball cap and he told me that if I was gonna be wearing that I had to leave. Thanx Mike for being brutally honest!

Pubs like the 6740 are an anomaly. Whether it is the tight knit community of Whittier that makes this place special or just the fact that 3 Gentleman, Mike, Dave and Audi just have the knack for welcoming anybody into there home like family. I have never left now for over 8 years. I have gone on a camping trip with Dave. I have played golf and drank wine with Mike! I even have a close connection with Audi! We are both Cubanos. Three business owners that I now consider close friends.

So many memories stand out for me here like my 35th birthday party! The big giant card signed by many that my wife got the day she was having surgery for Uterine Cancer or the day I cracked the seal on a box of Montecristo #4 Cigars from Cuba right at the bar and passed them out to anybody who wanted them to honor my mother passing away just 2 days before.

The friends and clients I have made here. Russ, Todd, Ed, Big John, Steve C., Terry, little Joe, Marc, Tony, Mr Baley, and Martin to name just a few. They all have different stories to tell about this little Pub as I have done, but there is always a "hello! How are you" every time I step foot in here.

Great owners and Great friends! These are the reasons that I come all the way out from El Monte just to sit back in a chair, have an ice cold glass of Lagunitas Hairy Eyeball or Stone IPA and relax the rest of my day away. You always wish you could find a friendly neighborhood bar where everybody knows your name! Yeah I am a kid of the 80's! I saw the show!


I believe that I have done just that.

Cheers!

Attack of The Mermaids

"Legend"

To: Grandmother Jerry - Big Anitra and Baby Anitra

thank you so much for making my day fun and making me smile remembering some great family moments!

A legend is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history. Is Heidi Peterson Barrett a legend. I have mentioned her name before. Yeah! something about how the women of wine rule the world.

Today I was fortunate to taste 2 of Heidi's wines. Her 2007 Moscato Azul - Muscate Canelli and her 2005 Napa Valley Syrah. I met Mrs Peterson 2 years ago at a tasting in Los Angeles. She herself was pouring the wines at the event which I attended with my big brother. Of course as we approached her booth, I wasn't even aware of who I was meeting. Just another wine maker pouring there wines. No!!!!!!! My big brother had to put me in my place and tell me just a little of her history. Okay the biggest part of her past history, which was her being winemaker for Screaming Eagle. Yeah!! That Screaming Eagle!! That is something you better learn if you are a wine buff or historian. Either way I was thrown back on how approachable Mrs. Barrett was in speaking about her wines then. A class act that needs no introduction to this wine lover ever again.... Fast forward 2 years later and nothing has changed. Mrs Barrett's wines are still a home run.

The First wine I tasted was her Napa Valley Syrah. Dark ruby color in the glass with aromas of Dark Chocolate, Currants and raspberry jam. On the palate perfectly integrated tannins with great length. Pure intense fruit flavors come forward. I was more impressed this time around with this wine then I was 2 years ago when Mrs Barrett poured the wine herself to me. Overall this wine is a winner.

The second wine tasted was the 2007 Moscato Azul. This is a Dry Muscat Canelli. I really don't have much experience with this grape varietal other than the sweet variety. Which I don't really like! That being said, tasting this wine makes you think of so many lingering sweet grape varietals like Riesling, Viognier, Pinot Gris. All of whom I do love very much. The wine appears almost white in the glass. Strong Peach and flower influences on the nose. On the palate come small hints of sweetness and lots of the same characteristics from the nose of peach and tropical fruit with hints of vanilla. The wine is very clean and crisp which would make it pair so well with sweet shell fish. Both wines can be purchased at Vinatero Wine shop. www.vinaterowineshop.com

Today I tasted 2 wines produced from a "LEGEND".

Tomorrow I shall wish I can drink more!

Give Them A Try!

Cheers!

80 to 120 Year Old Wine!

How do they do it?

How do they produce a wine in Spain from 80 to 120 year old vines, that only produce one ton of fruit per Hectare of land. Bottle it, Label it, and Ship it to the United States and only charge us $15.99 per bottle. This is a super wine for that price. I actually tasted another Grenache produced here in the United States this past week, that was $30.00 per bottle. Atteca was just as good if not better to drink right now.

The Spaniards have a magical way of producing high end, quality wines for a fraction of what they would cost here in the US or other European countries for that matter. I love reaching out for 2 of my favorite varietals, Tempranillo or Grenache from Spain. Well produced ones should cost you in the range of $12 to 20 dollars a bottle. What wino wouldn't want to pay under $20.00 bucks for a great wine that is ready to drink the minute you pop the cork.

Atteca has a beautiful dark purple color in the glass. Heavy blueberry and stone on the nose with a bit of graphite. Dark fruit like blackberries and plums come out on the palate with just the right amounts of wood.

This is an absolute perfect wine for sweet pulled pork BBQ or beef brisket. With July 4th being tomorrow, a match made in heaven. I tasted and bought this wine at Vinatero Wine Shop.
www.vinaterowineshop.com

Give it a Try!

Cheers!

Spain Vs. France

2005 Matchbook Tinto Rey

http://www.crewwines.com/index.php

This has to be the craziest blend of grapes I have ever heard or tasted. 43% Syrah, 40% Tempranillo, 7% Malbec, 6% Petit Verdot, 4% Graciano. Wow that's a mouthful. To my surprise that is exactly what it is. It truly is a Spain Vs. France war of grapes. Your Syrah for Boldness and fruit. Your Tempranillo and Graciano for tannins and fruit and your Petite Verdot and Malbec for the wood component and herb characteristics. This wine for $19.99 is a perfect everyday wine. I can see it pairing well with any Latin cuisine, pizza, BBQ, burgers, pasta, etc, etc, etc. It delivers good amounts of fruit, spice, wood and tannins. I love getting to taste simple yet creative wines like this one. You do have to scratch your head as to how they come up with these blends, but that must be half the fun in creating it. I bet they just sit around and play with Matches or juggle bottles of each varietal and see what falls out. Either way! You gotta love good, simple table wines.

This wine can be bought at Vinatero Wine Shop. www.vinaterowineshop.com

Give it a Try if you dare!

Cheers!

One of the Best!

We always try and have fun when we drink wine. My brother pictured above last year with our France Vs. United States war. We tasted the wine while we ate our dinner. France won the war with the food. That always seems to happen, but the good ole USofA came back with a fire around 2 hours after the wine was open. Ah yes it's Monte Bello and that bottle always delivers.

Lets Just say I have NEVER EVER had a bad bottle of Ridge Monte bello. I have had several vintages of Monte bello with a few still in my collection. Never has it disappointed. 5 stars all the way. Never is Monte Bello sold as a Cabernet being that the blend always changes. Yes it is a Bordeaux blend with every year being different. The years of experience that surround Ridge come full forward in the production of this wine.

But Friday I drank 2006 Ridge Geyserville Zinfandel and the wine came out a little flat. Yeah my brother and I drank it pretty fast and towards the end the wine was waking up a bit. But overall this wine which I have had in the past did not deliver completely. Ridge zinfandel's are actually a blend with the Geyserville having 70% Zinfandel - 18% Carignane - 10% Petite Sirah and 2% Mataro. Typically the blend works to perfection with the other varietals lifting up the wine. Not fast enough this time!! Zinfandel is not a grape that I have tons of experience with or even love all that much, but Ridge Vineyards has been around for a long time, and this wine lover has to ranks them up there as one of the best. There zinfandel's are pretty solid. East Bench or Lytton Springs I have also tasted in the past. They will deliver those Zin Characteristics you love like smoke and tangy fruit on the finish!

Keep blending your wines Ridge, Don't worry! I will keep drinking them when I can get my hands of them.

Give them a try!

Cheers

Man I hate the French

2005 Chateau Candeley Bordeaux

Actually I love the French. When I first started tasting and drinking wines back in 1996. I got to taste a lot of French Bordeaux. I have sampled some of the very best. The French have a way of incorporating the land into there wines. Terroir was originally a French term in wine, coffee and tea used to denote the special characteristics that geography bestowed upon them.
That's the definition and that is sooooooooo true!

Yes California has developed there own Terroir, but with France hundreds of years ahead of the game it makes me wonder if we will ever catch up. French wines to me just pair so well with the cuisine and the cheeses. They make you feel like when you are taking a bite of that Lamb and taking a sip, The stars align.

We all know how expensive 1st growth Bordeaux can be like Lafite or Latour. They are pretty much out of anybodies league. With 2005 being one of the greatest years for French wine production. There is always gonna be very attainable wines out there. 2005 Chateau Candeley Bordeaux is a great example of Solid, Good French Wine and at $17.99 per bottle a really good deal. The wine is almost an even blend of Cabernet, Merlot and Cab Franc. Out of the glass come all of those familiar aromas of wood, earth, hints of smoke and herbs like Thyme and peppercorns. On the palate are even amounts of tannins, fruit, dirt and rocks. Dirt and rocks you say??? Well it wouldn't be a French wine if it didn't taste like the motherland. That is what Terroir is all about. This wine is still very young. I shared the bottle with several people but I would of loved to of gotten a chance to try it 24hrs later with a big fat piece of steak or lamb. French wines especially young ones open up very slowly. The other problem I had was that this bottle was the last bottle on the shelf. Oh well, my loss for not buying up more 2005.

So don't be afraid ladies and gents to pick up a bottle of French wine. Yes we want to support our nations own product, but even the best winemakers from California and the rest of the world owe a debt to this nation.

Cheers!

Can Someone Tell me Where to find New Zealand Cuisine

2006 Craggy Range Single Vineyard Pinot Noir

http://www.craggyrange.com/

A really knowledgeable Wine Guy that I know mentioned to me how he went on a trip to Australia and finally understood the wines from there after he paired them with the local cuisine. I can believe that!! Kangaroo steaks with big bold Syrah! Hmmmmm maybe!

The wines from New Zealand can fall into that category. I have never really understood there biggest seller. Sauvignon Blanc which is one of my favorite varietals. They definitely have a very distinctive aroma and mouth feel. Pinot's are starting to make a name for themselves as well.

I tasted the Craggy Range 2006 Single vineyard Pinot last week along side with 2 other Pinot's. The Halleck Estate and the 2007 Kosta Browne Sonoma Coast! The Craggy Range wasn't a disappointment. It was just so much different then the other 2 wines. I tell myself that I have to continue to taste wines over and over and not fall into 1 country or style. The Craggy Range did have beautiful flower notes but it also carried heavy citrus aromas that I am just not too familiar with. On the palate some good amounts of Cherry come thru but also heavy amounts of smoke and wood. These wines I am not sure if they should be layed down for a few years or if they just require the right type of cuisine. I will continue to think about what the perfect pairing might be. Especially since more and more Pinot's are coming from this island nation.

I am not sure what Los Angeles shops might carry Craggy Range Wines. But Give them a try if you dare!~

Cheers!

Man! Am I Spoiled!

I am just such a lucky lucky guy. I have such great friends that love to share beautiful bottles of wine. Especially my friend Ken whom I got to know at another of my favorite little wine shops to visit, California Wine and Cheese in Monrovia California! www.cawineandcheese.com

Ken has a great love for what has now become my second favorite grape varietal Pinot Noir. He has shared some great bottles with me over the last 2 1/2 years. This bottle being one of them.

The 2004 Halleck Estate Grown Pinot is a sonoma coast produced wine. This to me is a very Burgundian style Pinot with Earthy notes of herbs and spice on the nose, but tart cranberry, sour cherry flavors on the palate. The wine is very long and drawn out on the palate lingering for quite some time. 75 cases were produced. Halleck Vineyard produces several Pinot's plus a Sauvignon Blanc. It is mailing list and restaurant only, so this would be my only chance to taste it. Get your name on there mailing list or look for them at your local restaurant. I have put my name on the mailing list for future purchases when the economy bounces back.

Cheers!

Happy Father's Day!

My father's day didn't see me bring out a big gun to drink with the Prime Rib roast that I cooked for my father. Why? The Damn Wine Storage where I house my collection closed early. Oh well! This is why I own so much wine. I can't touch it when I really wanna drink some.

I had bought 2 bottles of Ghost Pines from a local shop because:

(A) I wanted to taste it of course

(B) I needed to make a wine reduction sauce for my Prime Rib

Ghost Pines is produced by Louis Martini Winery. I cannot recall if I have ever had any Louis Martini wines in the past. They make an array of value Cabernet's and Premium Cabernet's plus several other varietals. The Ghost Pines project is new. They source there fruit from both Sonoma and Napa Valley. Blending the wine at 72% Napa County and 28% Sonoma County. Overall the wine did make a great reduction sauce. I infused it with fresh Thyme and Garlic with a half cup of beef stock.

A big success!

But the wine fell short for drinking. As the name indicates!! It did have a bit of spice and vanilla on the nose but not enough fruit on the pallet to keep me interested long. Even allowing the wine to decant for 3 hours did not bring out enough characters to this wine. I paid $19.99 per bottle for this wine. I assume I got what I paid for. In the last several years there haven't been to many GREAT Cabernet's that I have found under $30.00 per bottle.

Maybe my taste buds just won't allow it.

Give them a Try if you dare!

Cheers!

You got to be kidding me! Another Argentine Chardonnay!

Wait a minutes! Paul Hobbs makes it of Paul Hobbs Wines! http://www.paulhobbs.com/
Hey no wonder it taste like a California Chardonnay. A really good California Chardonnay.

This is my style of Chardonnay. A balance of Butter and tropical fruit with just a bit of oak. The wine has a luscious mouth feel. Hints of coffee on the finish. This was an interesting wine that a fellow wine geek opened for a few of us last night. It is a trio of winemakers Andrea Marchiori, Luis Barraud and Paul Hobbs. They produce some world class Mendoza Wines from there Vina Cobos line of wines. I am not sure if these are even available here in the States for purchase. It is the first time I have ever heard of them. I was told that this wine in particular can only be purchased if you are on Paul Hobbs mailing list and it is a 2 bottle maximum. It was a special treat from a very special wine friend. Thanx for sharing Ken! Oh! and the rest of the wines we tasted last night were not bad either.

Check under this website http://www.paulhobbsimports.com/ for more wines produced and distributed under Paul Hobbs import company!

Cheers!

"Home Sweet Home"

Wine Merchants are there to teach you something new about wine every time you visit.

Wine Merchants are there to have you explore wine and explain new flavors from the bottles they bring into there store.

Wine Merchants are there to share there knowledge of bottles that have been tasted in the pass and the history surrounding them.

But these VINATERO's have become more than just business owners and merchants but true friends and lovers of wine just like myself. In the time that I have gotten to know both Ernie and Lisa Ceja, we have tasted hundreds of wines together. We have shared dozens of bottles together. We have visited each others homes for dinners and parties. We have travelled to wineries to speak hands on with the owners themselves.

This little wine shop in the town of Whittier California has become my home away from home. I first met the Ceja's on the day that there little shop opened in 2007. 3 years before I sat around with my Big Brother and my best friend thinking why don't we open a wine bar in Whittier. I great idea in theory but no way would I or my friends and family could of pulled it off to the style that Ernie and Lisa have. Having a place to come and sample wine so close to my home has given me a bigger love and understanding for this little fruit that I love so much. Your education and understanding grows as you taste wines over and over. I can't thank the Ceja's enough for giving me that chance. My knowledge of varietals, regions and history have created a passion in me that puts me here now in front of my Computer to write about it. The more and more that I continue to write about wines that I have tasted and enjoyed the more reasons I have to thank the people that have got me there. My older brother Michael is the person that started it all back in 1996, but the Ceja's have also been very pivotal in that training, understanding and love of wine. I continue to think that someday I may just have in one form or another, a career in the wine industry someday.

I just wont ever forget the friends that I have made along the way.

www.vinaterowineshop.com

Cheers