Thursday, July 28, 2011

What Wine Do You Serve with Eddie Izzard?















No! I did NOT have dinner with Eddie Izzard... While that would be a dream come true, I CAN say that I enjoyed some wonderful wines while watching him perform at the Hollywood Bowl recently. Joining us in a Garden Box were our good friends Daniel and Monica.

Kara and I couldn't wait for our notoriously late guests who took the shuttle, so we broke out a delicious 2010 Rose of Pinot Noir by Soliste in Sonoma to go with our selection of cheeses. This is my summer wine! Raspberry, underripe strawberry, crisp and delicious. What more can you ask for from a rose? Claude, the French owner of Soliste, models the wine after Domaine Tempier in Bandol.

When Monica and Daniel arrived, we broke into a bottle of Iron Horse sparkling that she provided. The show was just beginnning so I never did get to see which bottling it was. It was a perfect Bowl wine as the sun was going down and we enjoyed the last of the heat of the day. This is a really wonderful sparkling wine house and doesn't fall into the trap of overripening the fruit, in my opinion. It satisfies my craving for Champagne, rather than leaving me disappointed as many domestic houses can.

As the cool breeze of evening was washing over the Bowl, I turned to red wine in the form of a Leon Barral Faugeres 2007. It was totally hitting the spot with the Delice de Bourgogne cheese. The pepper, earth spice and violets were singing over the dark fruits. I love this wine! Not overly intellectual, but completely satisfying for complexity, fruitiness and drinkability.

As the show was nearing its completion, we opened but did not finish a Pahlmeyer Pinot Noir that Monica brought. I do sometimes like Pahlmeyer, but this Pinot was everything I hate about the California expression and production of it. Fat black fruits, cola and spice, gooey on the palate. Not for me. But Kara, who usually doesn't like California Pinot, was digging it.

The show was a blast! We got last minute tickets and somehow managed to get great seats at that. It's also fun for me to see what people are drinking at the Bowl. Dom Perignon, Nickel & Nickel, schlock from Trader Joe's, etc. It's an experience on a level all it's own. Not too mention milling around with the likes of Eric Idle, Alannis Morisette, Florence Henderson and many others. And, of course, Eddie Izzard was a riot. He ran from the stage to the back of the Bowl at the beginning of the show - an impressive feat in itself. Then, to do stand-up!

Great job, Eddie! You rock!

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