bclevy's Profile
Red wine with Thai Green Curry?
I think this is a good suggestion. I found one time that a chilled Chinon
went very well with a Thai dinner at a restaurant in Paris. Since Chinon
(cab franc) and carmenere have the same veggie taste, I would
expect that carmenere would also be a good match.
menu for west coast wine tasting party
Grilled Harris Ranch steaks for the CA cabs and zins.
Paso Robles Sangiovese?
The Vistalba "purchase" of Renwood was really a part of the
bankruptcy auction. I guess I should drop by to see what has
changed.
Paso Robles Sangiovese?
In my opinion, Vino Noceto stands head and shoulders above other Amador
sangiovese producers. I recommend inparticular their block designate
sangioveses: Hillside (sangiovese piccolo, i.e. Chianti style) and Doas Oakies and Marmellata (sangiovese grosso, Brunello style).
For syrah, I would say that in Amador, Domaine de La Terre Rouge
is closest to a classical Rhone Valley style. In El Dorado county,
Cedarville and Holly's Hill make also fine syrahs-- Cedarville
also in a Rhone style, whereas Holly's Hilll's Wylie Fenaughty syrah
is a new world beast, but tastes great!
BTW, I think Renwood has gone bankrupt. Its founder was an East Coast
venture capitalist who arrived in Amador with grand plans of making
the best CA zins. However, his wines never quite matched his
rethoric.
Sacramento - which of these restaurant.com spots are worth checking out?
This list may be based on paid advertisements. I don't recognize most of the
names, and the few I recognize would be hard to recommend: Mountain Mike's Pizza
is a franchise chain and the quality is very uneven. In Davis, where I live,
I saw 3 incarnations.The first one was excellent, then the owners sold out and
the pizza became horrendous. It was taken over and I could see some improvements,
but then the restaurant went bankrupt. Same thing for Strings Italian Cafe. It is also a chain.
It used to have a restaurant in Davis which was ho-hum, and then it went away.
I would recommend sticking to all the proven values recommended in Sacto
boards, like Waterboy, Biba's, Ella's, Lemon Grass, etc.I don't know how the
Sac location is, but Aioli Bodega Espanola in Davis used to be great. I was sad
to see them go. So I would be tenpted try out the Sac location.
Croatian Wine
In my neck of the wood, Dobra Zemlja in Plymouth was founded by a Croatian
family. They pride themselves in making "the biggest Amadors" i.e., extremely
robust wines (particularly Zins). I favor a more restrained style, but their wines
are quite popular. The whole family gets an A+ in terms of friendliness and
hospitality.
Best Wine Book for Novice
FWIW, when I started getting into wine in the late 70s, I found Hugh Johnson's
Pocket Wine Book quite handy. It was concise and full of useful tips.
TN: A Chateau Musar Vertical (2003-1966)
Thanks originalfig and zin. This gives me the green light for digging deeper
into Lebanese wines. The only problem with the Sacramento Lebanese
restaurant (Kasbah Lounge) which has this nice wine list is that the food
is not quite on par with the wine.
TN: A Chateau Musar Vertical (2003-1966)
I have a question for all Musar and Lebanese wines experts. I have tasted Musar
at a Sacramento Lebanese restaurant, but I noticed that this restaurant has also
other Lebanese wines: Chateau Kefraya and Chateau Ksara. By looking at several
French websites, it seems these two wineries are very popular in Lebanon, whereas
Musar targets mainly export markets. So has anyone tried Kefraya or Ksara wines?
I think I am done with French wine
So you are giving up before even starting. I grew up in France so my palate was formed with
French wines and I live in Northern CA, where, like you, I have easy access to literally
hundreds of wineries. So I drink about 60% CA and OR wines. However, there are certain
varieties for which there is no escaping France and Italy. I do not think CA wineries have
mastered nebbiolo and dolcetto, so I have to go to Italy for that. Similarly, even though
you can find reasonable cab francs or chenin blancs in CA, I really enjoy much more
Chinons or Vourvrays from France. Likewise, there are decent Cotes du Rhone or CDP
styles wines in CA, but the real thing still cannot be really matched. What you need to do is
focus on French wine producing areas one at a time, and within the limits of your
budget try a sample of each main wine, say for the Rhone valley, try Chateauneuf du Pape,
Gigondas, Vacqueyras, Cotes du Rhone, Saint Joseph (red and white), and so on -- you
can use K&L notes and Cellar Tracker reviews to guide yourself. Then once you have the
lay of the land worked out for that wine producing area, move to the next, say the Loire Valley.
Picking French wines at random from areas you have never heard of will not build
your knowledge base.
Inexpensive white to pour at a fundraiser
This will be a bit above your target price, but the Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc
and Viognier blend is a nice wine for $12.
Wine websites
Wine Access is quite reliable, particularly for French and Italian wines-- I think
they tend to be overenthusiastic for CA wines-- besides, since I live in Northern CA,
I can do just as well on my own.
K&L is also very dependable and offers consistently a high QPR.
New world wine in the old world?
K&L wine attempts to bring quality French wines to CA at a reasonable price.
However, in my experience, the ideal location in the USA to get the best of
the New and Old World wines on an even playing field pricewise is the East Coast.
New world wine in the old world?
I live in CA, but I grew up in France and I travel to France regularly.
New World wines are almost impossible to find, and what few USA wines
are available are low-end unattractive wines. The main problem is that
there are a lot of quality French wines at a relatively attractive price
point (say 8 to 12 euros per bottle). If you factor in shipping costs, American
wines cannot compete. In addition, as mentioned earlier, French drink primarily
French wine. They hardly drink Italian or Spanish wines. Furthermore,
they usually drink wines made in the area where they live-- people from
the Rhone Valley, Alps and Provence drink mainly Rhone Valley wines,
People from Alsace drink Alsacian wines, people from Burgundy and Champagne
drink Burgundian wines and Champagne, people from Brittany and Normandy
drink hard cider, etc.... The food and drinks of each area are usually well matched
to each other (like crepes and cider, cassoulet and cahors, etc...)
TN: A Chateau Musar Vertical (2003-1966)
Here is a writeup on the history of Chateau Musar:
http://www.cornucopia.net/aboutwol.html
Must be tough to produce quality wine under the shadow of Hezbollah.
need white wine pairing with Swiss raclette
If you wish to stay consistent with regional wine pairings in Switzerland or France,
you should look for Fendant du Valais or Roussette de Savoie. Both are inexpensive
wines (about $15). Looking at K&L's website, they have a Roussette de Savoie
available for $11, I don't know the producer (Frederic Giachino) so I cannot comment.
The grape used in Roussette is called Altesse, and it may have been brought back from Cyprus
at the time of the Crusades (the origin is disputed).
Buttery Chardonnay (looking for syrah)
In my neck of the woods, I like the Unti Benchland syrah, the Holly's Hill
Wylie Fenaughty syrah, and the Cedarville and Terre Rouge syrahs. In fact Cedarville had
a vertical tasting of its syrahs at its open house last June and the 2004
and 2005 syrahs are perfect for drinking now. Unti is located in Dry Creek valley
in Sonoma, Holly's Hill and Cedarville are close to Placerville in El Dorado county,
and Terre Rouge is in Plymouth in Amador county. Terre Rouge has
actually 3 syrahs ranging in price from $18 to $35 to $90. I think the middle one
is a reasonable compromise between quality and price.
Dill Pickle Smell in Cabernet Franc
Each person reacts differently to cab franc, but I would primarily associate
bell peppers or celery with the variety, rather than dill or pickle.
Next time a wine connoiseur looks down on your choice of wine....
You have obviously not followed oil for very long if you think prices
on oil futures markets only go up. Oil crashed all the way down
from $30 to $10 in 1998. Look at current nat gas futures which
lost 75% since 2007-2008.
Corked bottles
It is not entirely clear which enclosure system is best:
http://www.forbes.com/2009/01/29/great-wines-cork-lifestyle-wine_0129_wines_cork_screw_cap.html
I suspect screw caps are better for all white wines, but for red wines,
the story is more complicated.
Is Torrontes the next Malbec?
Tannat from Uruguay and Carmenere from Chile are other possible candidates.
Some people are put off by Carmenere's veggie taste, but it shares this characteristic
with Cabernet Franc.
Favorite White Blends that don't defer your retirement
In addition to some of the wines already mentioned, I would add Holly's Hill
Patriarche Blanc (60% roussanne, 40% viognier) and Unti's Cuvee Blanc
(50% genache blanc, with some picpoul and vermentino).
Favorite wines at Costco? (Looking for recs for wedding)
I was in Kauai last week and there was a big difference in quality and price between
the wines available at Costco in Lihue and Safeway in Kapaa. Although Costco
has a narrower selection, the quality and prices are much more favorable. As
another poster suggested, there seemeed to be quite a few Aussie and NZ wines.
Wine Country Off the Beaten Path
Hi Jason:
As small addendum: you may have Placer County confused with El Dorado county
where Placerville and Fair Play are located. There are about 15 wineries in Placer
but upwards of 50 in El Dorado, including some well known ones such as Cedarville,
Holly's Hill and David Girard. Placer County has more restrictive regulations than
El Dorado concerning opening and operating wine tasting rooms. From North to South,
the 4 Sierra Foothill counties are Placer -> El Dorado -> Amador -> Calaveras
Calaveras has also a few noteworthy wineries clustered around Murphys,
like Hatcher and Twisted Oak, among others.
Need a Viognier or Chenin Blanc to pair with cod chowder...
Your friend may look down on my suggestion since it is very easy on the pocketbook,
but Pine Ridge has a very nice chenin blanc viognier blend which is a great summer
wine and which goes for $13. For less than $20 you will be able to find a good
Vouvray as well.
Next time a wine connoiseur looks down on your choice of wine....
There are futures for oil, gas, corn, wheat, coffee and virtually every crop
under the sun. Futures are about hedging economic risk. Why should
that instrument not be available to wine producers?
Wine Country Off the Beaten Path
If you like pinot noir, the Willamette Valley of Oregon is cool and has
great wines. In my experience, with the possible exception of Napa,
all wine tasting rooms are uncrowded outside of the week-end.
For Sonoma, you would have to focus on its subareas-- like
Russian River (Westside Road), Dry Creek, or Alexander Valley.
I usually go tasting there on the day after Thanksgiving. The
weather is perfect, but wineries are slightly crowded. However,
the week after (or before) Thanksgiving should be a good time.
Best tourist experience in Napa Valley [moved from Wine]
First, why Napa if you are a non-wino? I think this group heard about Napa
and just wanted to get a feel for the place. If you are familiar with Vietnam, it tends to be crowded and a bit dirty. This group was impressed by the beauty of the place (the
weather was just perfect: warm but not too hot) and how well tended were all
the grounds and vineyards. Some of the side roads of Napa between Hwy29 and
the Silverado Trail are nice and shady.. We met at Domaine Carneros
and did the tour. I personally liked the winery and the tour, but I don't think this group
knew enough about wine to appreciate some of the subtle differences between
different types of pinot noirs or what makes a sparking wine $40 and another $90,
We then went to Robert Mondavi where they took lots of pictures. We tried to get
into Frog's :Leap, but it just happens they were closed for the Peach Festival.
However, they kindly recommended Rutherford Hill as a nice place to picnic,
and they were absolutely right. It is higher up so there is a good view of the valley.
The picninc area was nicely shaded (I think by olive trees) and we had a good time
there. We did the tasting, and then finished our trip with Sterling which was
very crowded, and very touristy, but it always is.
I think our guests had areasonable experience. In the recent past, I have taken
a number of French visitors to Domaine Carneros, and they have always liked
it very much. You might expect they would recoil at the sight of the reproduction
of a French chateau in Napa (it is a copy of the Taittinger's castle in Champagne),
but they always get a kick out of it, and recognize the wine as being very well made.
I am sorry we missed Frog's Leap since it would have been an interesting experience
based on the description of the tour on their web site. I am not really into the Robert
Mondavi and Sterling tourist crowds, but I am happy we discovered Rutherford Hill
as a great picnic location.
Best tourist experience in Napa Valley [moved from Wine]
Thanks all for the suggestions. Re. the wine train. My wife and I went on it
10 years or so ago and we were bored stiff. It actually takes 3 hours or so.
I really do not recommend it to anyone.
