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

What!!!!! A Chardonnay from Argentina

I just don't like Chardonnay!!!

If I plan a dinner party. Usually it will be 3 courses. A starter of fish or salad. A main Course of meat and a dessert. For me Chardonnay is a hard grape varietal to pair a starter with. My preference is a Sauvignon Blanc, Albarino or Viognier. They just go so much better with shell fish or a salad with a homemade vinaigrette. Sometimes I think the reason is because I was just so spoiled early on tasting white Burgundy's. The French have a way of getting perfect balance in there white wines especially white burgundy. That being said, I have to continue to look in the mirror and say!!

"I AM A WINO" "I AM A WINO"

I must taste more Chardonnay. My preferential Chardonnay leans more toward the butter scale then the mineral scale. I feel if the wine has to much Oak it starts to taste to much like a Sauvignon Blanc or Viognier. BUT!! If the wine is a true "BUTTER BOMB" it becomes un-drinkable. It's a balance game! Oh yeah! This is why I don't like this varietal. In California the style usually is over oak the wines. Lots of new oak will hide the imperfections of the wine. There are some good California Chardonnays out there, don't get me wrong, but prepare to pay threw the nose.

So my quest is to seek out other alternatives that won't break my bank account. But Argentina??? Huh? Well I am not gonna say it is the best Chardonnay you will ever have, but when I tasted this wine I was pleasantly surprised at just how good and balanced it was. Argentina is not an area I usually think of for white wines. Hell! I am barely starting to try more Malbec wines from the area.

The 2007 Catena Chardonnay is harvested from 3 distinct vineyards on the property. They each have different altitudes. The Catena family explains that in blending from the 3 the wine gains a balance of tropical fruit, citrus and minerality. This wine does exactly that. I was very pleased with the balance of both butter and mineral on this wine. The wine does see 35% new french oak, but does not come off showing to much of the wood components. Overall it was a good fine and a wine that I wouldn't mind pairing a roast chicken with.

The best part was the price. $18.99 per is a solid deal for this wine. I purchased it at my favorite wine shop. Vinatero Wine Shop in Whittier California. http://www.vinaterowineshop.com/

The wines importer is Winebow, Inc. in New Jersey!

Give it a try!

Cheers

Para mi Madre Y Abuela

Lucia Perez y Olimpia Rodriguez

I thought I would finally release a Cuban recipe from my heart out to my fellow bloggers and wine Lovers. The photo above is of my grandmother and mother back in 1992. The photo was shot by my big brother. Of course, they were the most influential women in my life and both of them taught me to be a man and have a love for cooking. Both my grandmother and mother have passed. My grandmother of bone cancer in 1994 and my mother of Lou Gehrig's disease in 2002. I still remember the days when my grandmother lived in my parents guest house when I was very young and she would be cooking all of those Cuban staples like picadillo, papas rellenas, tamales, empanadas, croquetas and of course black beans and a lot of rice. My mother on the other hand never attempted to out-cook my grandmother. I think it might of been a sign of respect, but my mother always had home cooked meals on the table for me growing up. I can still taste her pinto beans, mariquitas and of course every morning coming to visit her where she would have a cup of Cuban coffee waiting for me. These are the fondest memories of my childhood.

So being that my grandmother's birthday and my mother and father's wedding anniversary are celebrated this month, I pass onto you the one Cuban recipe that I didn't mention above. "Ropa Vieja" aka Old Clothes. I actually made this recipe this pass week for a birthday party we attended that had an "Old Clothes" theme. I believe that my dish was well received by all of the guests. This recipe is not passed on from my grandmother recipe. I believe that this is the way that I honor her, but I cannot help myself in attempting to make Cuban food. When both of your parents are Cuban, you better learn. So here is my recipe, with the cooking instructions.

Oh!! and my wine of choice with this meal would be any Tempranillo or this one. http://vosselections.com/Domains/1188.html

Which is bad ass!!

Enjoy

"Ropa Vieja"

1 (2 1/2 pound) Flank steak cut in half.

2 bay leaves

2 carrots

2 onions

1 tablespoon of dry Oregano

1 Tablespoon of Cumin and extra for rub

1 Red Bell Pepper julienne

2 green bell Peppers (one julienne and the other rough chopped)

2 heads of Garlic. (one smashed and one finely chopped)

2 Cups of Whole tomatoes, Canned then hand crushed.

1 1/2 Cups of Tempranillo Wine (A good one OK!!!)

1 can of Beef Stock

1/4 cup Mojo Criollo marinade (Store bought is OK - Goya)

1/4 cup of Good Sherry

Olive Oil

salt and pepper to taste

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:

Dust the flank steak with a little cumin, salt and pepper and sear off in stock-pot. Add 1 of the onions, 1 head of garlic crushed, the 2 carrots rough chopped, 1 green bell pepper, the bay leaves, 1 cup of the wine and the can of beef stock. Make sure the liquid is high enough to cover the meat completely. If the liquid in the pot isn't high enough add water to cover. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for approximately 2 1/2 hours. Pull the meat out and let cool. Dump the contents of the pot (or save for a good stock some other time). Cut the meat against the grain into 2 inch cubes. Then shred the meat with 2 forks with the grain.

Bring the pot back up heat with olive oil and add the julienned, onion, finally chopped 2nd head of garlic, 1 red and green bell peppers. Saute for a few minutes and deglaze with the 1/2 cup of wine, 1/4 cup of mojo sauce and 1/4 cup of sherry. Add tomatoes and hand crush in the pot, 1 tablespoon of Cumin and 1 tablespoon of oregano. Cook for about 15 minutes. Add the shredded meat and mix well. Cook for half and hour. Salt and pepper to taste. If dish appears to dry. You can add a bit more wine or tomato sauce.

Serve over white rice or on top of a Cuban cracker with a dab of Avocado.

Enjoy!

Cheers!

The Glass Makes a Difference!

Myself - Tammy(aka Riedel Stemware Representative) - My big Brother

http://www.riedel.com/


I have been wanting to write about this subject for the longest time. Now that I have a blog this might interest some of my fellow wino's. I have lots and lots of wine glasses in my home. Glasses from wineries that you get after a tasting. Glasses that were given to me as gifts. I use them all the time. When friends come over that love wine or don't love wine. I keep those glasses in a cabinet in my dining room.

But in another "SPECIAL" cabinet I keep my good stemware. This is the only stemware that I bought and paid for myself. What is that stemware! Riedel! I own 6 Bordeaux, 6 pinot, and 6 Chardonnay glasses. Now you might think why own all of these different stemware when you usually taste wines at events from one type and only one type of glass. Well! that all changed after a great seminar that my brother and I got invited too last year.

George Riedel the 10Th generation glass maker from Austria and owner of Riedel put on an event showcasing his Stemware. The catch was tasting 3 wines, a chardonnay, a Cabernet and a Pinot from 5 different vessels. 4 of the glasses were all different sizes with the last glass not being a glass at all but a plastic cup. The 4 glasses represented his signature series for different wines. The first glass made for young White wines, 2ND glass was his standard series that you probably see in every restaurant or wine bar, the 3rd Glass for Burgundy Wines, and his last for Bordeaux style wines.

Mr Riedel walked us threw the tasting starting with the Chardonnay, the Cabernet, and then the Pinot. We were asked not to move ahead and not to dump the wine. Until told!. At first you are wanting to question if this is even true, but as Mr. Riedel began explaining the wines structure in each glass, you really wanted to pay attention. All of the aroma notes and flavor profiles came off exactly like he explained in each glass. The Chardonnay was beautiful in the young white wine stem while there was to much citrus coming off of the wine in the Bordeaux and standard Stems. The Pinot and Cabernet seemed closed up with hardly any aroma notes from the white wine stem. While all of those beautiful flower, earth, chocolate or wood notes come threw in the Pinot and Bordeaux stems. In some cases the wines flavor profiles completely change as the wine will tend to roll into your mouth at different speeds from the different shapes of the glasses. His explanations make you say that without a brilliant Glass there can really be no understanding of the different structures in a wine.

George Riedel made me a believer to the point where I had to own at least a half dozen proper glasses for 3 different grape varietals. I spent some bucks, but it was well worth it.

Oh and what about that plastic cup that he made us drink out of. Well! Lets just say that all wino's should try this sometime. Taste a wine from a proper stem and taste it from a plastic cup.

Where did the wine go?????? I don't Taste anything!!!!!!

Give that I try someday!!!!

Cheers!!!

For My Love of Wine!

I decided to take a little drive this weekend to visit some old and new friends of mine in Santa Barbara Wine country. My best friend who is as big a wine collector and lover as me tagged along. Our first stop was at the very famous Sea Smoke Cellars. http://www.seasmokecellars.com/

My love of Pinot Noir started 6 years ago. My favorite varietal has always been Cabernet. In the beginning I learned so much about wines from both France and California. I started purchasing Cabernet's and Bordeaux back as far as 1997. Yeah my collection is out of control. Thank god for Wine Storage. When it came to Pinot Noir though I am a little under educated with Burgundy. Not to mention I don't have the wallet right now in tough economic times to purchase a lot of wines period. So my favoritism is a bit lopsided toward California. The first Pinot I ever started to purchase came from Sea Smoke Cellars. My vintages go back to 2003. The only bottle I have left from the 03 is the "TEN". I am holding onto that wine a few more years. Every other vintage I still have a few bottles of.

Sea Smoke is in the process of moving to a bigger facility out of the Lompoc "Wine Ghetto". The new facility will house all of there equipment and store all of there wines. I still don't believe that they are gonna open a formal tasting room, but who knows. We were not able to see the new facility on this trip but I am already planning a new trip back in late August to check it out. For now I drove by the old facility to see if the Vice President of sales Victor Gallegos was around. There was no one around so I guess we will have to meet in a few months.

We decided to take our chances in the Lompoc "Wine Ghetto". Several wineries make there home there with almost a half dozen having tasting rooms. Our first stop was the famous fiddlehead Cellars

I have always always loved Kathy Josephs Sauvignon Blanc. It is one of my favorites. Her wines were tasting really great that day. In particular her Willamette Valley Pinot. This wine showed all of those traditional cherry, cola, aromas. I was very impressed. We asked the lady working here if anybody new had moved into the Ghetto. She pointed us to our next stop which was Nicolaysen Family Vineyards. http://www.nfvwine.com/

Bob Nicolaysen is the owner and operator and was happy to assist us this day. He gave us this great poem above, that I believe truly shows the potential of real wine making. He allowed us to taste 5 wines. 2 pinots, 2 sirahs and a late harvest dessert wine. Both of his pinots were well aged. Bob prefers them this way. The first was 2001 vintage. Which still had good tannins and berry fruit. The other Pinot I did not care for. The wine had to heavy of a fungal / Truffle nose which kinda turned me off. the Sirah's were nice wines but a bit heavy on price at $38.00 per and the late harvest has never been my thing. Although I did pick up a bottle at Fiddlehead earlier for my wife. The things we do for our spouses. Anyways! The only reason I did not buy any wines from Nicolaysen was that tough economic times thing. Which made me have a strict budget. Overall a fun stop, which I do suggest you check out someday.

Our third stop was at Samsara. http://www.samsarawine.com/ Which is a new project by Chad Melville. Chad's father owns Melville Vineyards, http://www.melvillewinery.com/ Melville Pinot Noir's are some of the best in Central coast. Samsara shows alot of potential as well. We tasted 3 Pinots, 2 sirahs and 1 rose. All the wines showed a lot of the same characteristics from Melville wines. My only complaint would have to be that pricing should be a bit lower for a new upstart project. I was very satisfied though with all of the wines, but again no purchases were made.

Our next stop was at Ampelos Cellars. http://www.ampeloscellars.com/ They practice and promote bio dynamic farming here. The owner Peter and his wife Rebecca were pouring that day. I met Peter back in what I believe was 2004. I tasted there very first produced wines then. I believed they were pretty good with a lot of potential to come. Peter didn't remember me this day as I mentioned that story to him, but it really doesn't matter. Peter is one very fun host! He makes you very welcomed and he plays the part of the dirt farmer very good as you see in the photo below. Oh! and his stepson happens to be winemaker at Sea Smoke. Another great person to hang out with.

Our last stop was one of reasons I wanted to come up this weekend. Besides Sea Smoke which falls at the top of my Pinot Noir list of favorites. A very small producer named Paul Lato Wines http://www.paullatowines.com/ invited me up for a barrel sample of his upcoming wines. Now I know that I have mentioned the "tough economic times" thingy already but last year I had the chance to taste Paul Lato's "Suerte" Pinot at my 40th birthday bash. The wine blew me away. So I made sure to get on Paul's waiting list the very next day. To my surprise I was allowed to buy some of his wines a few weeks ago. Yeah I dropped a boat load of money, but I believe it is gonna be well worth it. All of Paul's wines score very high on both Spectator and Parker's websites. All of his wines are under 100 cases of each. I am not usually a "score whore" kinda guy, but I do make exceptions and when a great tiny producer comes around, it is a real great treat. As I thought Paul is an exceptional guy. He is a trained wine sommelier. He really is on his way to making a Big name for himself. I was very very impressed with every wine that he poured for us. He even allowed us a taste of a new Pinot he will release next year from a plot of land in the Pisoni Vineyard estate. Talk about a big name in the game. Try getting wine from there. Mailing list only I believe. We had a great time hanging out with Paul. We talked about wine and the upcoming harvest. I might get my hands dirty and help him out with the harvest! I can't wait to get back there.

Overall we had a great great time. I am so very fortunate to live just 3 hours away from this beautiful area of California. So making a day trip is so much fun.

Cheers