Dinner with Josh and Phillip

“How did three people go through so many glasses?!!!”, said Kara as she walked into the kitchen. You’d think she’d be used to it by now. Four courses paired to wine with some educational tasting in between… Sure, why not?

One of my co-workers, Josh, and his roommate Phillip came over the other night. Josh and Phillip are wine novices, but with a strong interest in learning more. I quickly put on my cape with the big “S” (that stands for “Sommelier”, of course) and threw together a spontaneous meal to show off some interesting wines they might not have seen before.

When they arrived, I poured the Paso a Paso Verdejo. This is a cool little Spanish white that is pretty readily available on the market. I often equate it to a flatter version of Sauvignon Blanc, smelling a bit like green bell pepper seeds and taking the grapefruit/citrus down a couple of notches. I often like this with Prosciutto and mild cheeses, but tonight we just rocked it out as an aperitif while I took care of last looks in the kitchen.


First course was a simple shrimp cocktail served classically on crushed ice with a ramekin of cocktail sauce center stage. I paired up a Mantlerhof Gruner Veltliner 2007. Niether of these guys had ever had a Gruner before! This particular bottling leans a little more toward the off-dry set, but with the typical acidity of Gruner, it just comes off feeling really round and plush. Great balance and less of the radish/asparagus focus than most Gruners. Burnt orange rind, yellow peach, a little smoke. It’s good stuff!

Since it was their first time with Gruner and they were loving it, I had to give them a compare/contrast. I opened a half bottle of Brundlmayer’s Berg Vogelsang Gruner 2008, just to show them a more classic style of Gruner Veltliner. This pushed much more of the mineral quality and was certainly much drier. The peach was more of a white peach, with underripe lemon, white pepper and chalk. I preferred the Brundlmayer, myself. But it was a more austere vintage which I tend to like.

For our second course, I paired a simple Girardin white Bourgogne 2006 with my homemade Lump Crab Cakes and Mustard Mayonnaise Sauce. I really love this little Burgundy. And it’s CHEAP! Apple and pear flavors that are ripe and round, with just enough acidity to keep it lively. It’s a crowd-pleaser. We’ve been pouring it at Jar for awhile now as our “entry-level” Chard and I’ve never had a complaint – even though it isn’t from California, which seems to be sacrilege in Los Angeles.

Moving on to the main course, we had New Yorks with some freshly Sauteed Corn and Sauteed Cremini Mushrooms. I gave them a three-pronged pairing for this extravaganza. First, the 29 Songs Syrah 2005: a 100% Syrah from cool-climate Napa. They only make just shy of 300 cases. It’s so much like Northern Rhone Syrah! Meaty, peppery and roasted herbs all over the nose. The palate is pure blueberry (but not jam), raspberry and blackberry. It was my favorite wine of the flight.

The second wine was some leftover Bertaud-Belieu Cote de Provence 1999. This has been open a little too long and wasn’t holding up due to the bottle age. I just smelled it and had to dump it. It’s a 50% Syrah and 50% Cabernet Sauvignon blend. Normally, it would’ve been showing well. Doomed for my next sauce now.

The third wine was the 2002 Neal Family Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. This is 100% Cabernet blended from Mark’s vineyards across the valley. 2002 was one of my favorite vintages for a long while. Just plush and generous on the fruit. This wine was no exception. Loads of cassis, black currant, a hint of cola and showing signs of age with anise and dried baking spices. This is my favorite Cab they’ve ever made, including the higher end single vineyard wines. It’s drinking beautifully with some time left in it.

With the Butterscotch Pudding for dessert, I just poured them a few interesting things. A 2004 Sauternes, a Chamomille Grappa from Marolo, and a small shot of Fernet Branca. The Grappa is one of my favorite pairings with the pudding. It totally brings out this spiciness and cuts the residual sugar in the Grappa. If you’re in the area, you’ve got to get to Jar to check out this combination!


(I think Josh may have been a little loopy by the time I got this photo...)

I spent the morning after washing stemware. It was worth it though. I think the guys learned about a couple of new wines and certainly had the chance to differentiate between some things by doing a side-by-side. That’s usually the big part of learning wine is getting things together to compare them. God willing, Josh will be able to make an educated guess whether a wine is a Syrah or a Cab now. If not, that terrible hangover will have all been for nothing!

Until next time…

Victoria Pinot Noir

I think we all went through our Australia-phase at the same time. It was right around 2002/2003. Parker was rating everything under the sun more than 90 points - and this is back when we still trusted him. I know I bought my fair share of 93 point Shiraz for $15 when I was just learning what it was all about. So, for awhile, I drank all those syrupy 16% alcohol port-like wines and tried to convince myself that they really were good wines because they must be if Parker said so.

Flash forward to 2010. I can't sell a bottle of Aussie Shiraz to save my life. Everybody is over it - been there, done that! Argentina, Chile and Spain are the homes to great value now. And not even Mr. Parker can get us to buy them because a 93 point score does not a good wine make.

During the latter half of last year and into this year, I was participating in a series of seminars put on by the Australian Wine Commission to revitalize the interest in Australian wines here in the states. It was a great experience and I learned quite a lot. The very first day, they poured Rieslings and Pinot Noirs. Australian Pinot Noir?!!! I was practically running out the door. But I was astounded at the balance and restraint of these wines. AND - they had such wonderful acidity!

So, I decided to participate in a promotion with them, showcasing Victoria Pinot Noirs by the glass at Jar. We've been running it since the beginning of June and the response has been great. Although, I must admit that I list the wines as being from Mornington Peninsula (not Australia...)

Victoria is the region at the Southeast tip of Australia. It's the smallest and most southerly region on the mainland (the island of Tasmania is actually more south and even smaller). Having so much exposure to the coast, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay do pretty well here. I'm not sure of the exact count, but they've got well over 200 producers here. Not bad for a region you've probably never tried a wine from!

For our entry-level Pinot at Jar, we are using the Cooralook Pinot 2009 from Mornington Peninsula and Strathbogie Ranges. It's young and fresh with candied red fruit - think Jolly Rancher cherry and Strawberry Twizzlers. But it also has this underlying herb tone and a little spice that reminds me of BBQ. Great value for the money. We're selling it for $10 a glass.

The real surprise is the Stonier Pinot Noir 2005, also from Mornington Peninsula. This jumps up to $15 a glass, but boy is it worth it! For true Pinot-lovers! It looks like a dark rose (very light in color). Elegant red fruits of sour cherry, cranberry and plum. A significant dollop of mushroom and earth, those same roasted herbs from the Cooralook that are more evolved. The real hook to this wine is how much elegance, balance and femininity it shows. The complete opposite of what I'd expect from an Aussie Pinot. You just don't see Pinot like this from the New World.

The great news is that as a result of participating in this promotion, a lot of people got exposed to some cool Pinot Noir they might never have tried. And yours truly is being flown to Australia to by the Australian Wine Commission to further enhance my studies of the big island. I'm obviously very jazzed about it, having not been to Oz yet. There will be plenty of stuff to read about it come next March/April if you and I are both still around.

I LOVE waking up to an e-mail that says I'm being flown across the world to drink some awesome wines! How could work be any better...?

Teaching the Monkeys

Part of the job as Wine Director is educating the staff (or the Monkeys, as I affectionately call them...) Over the past week, they have been getting "certified" on their wine opening skills. Basically, they just have to open a bottle of wine for me as if I were a guest so I can correct them on any procedures that are a little off. It's a good opportunity to fine tune the process because we all get into bad habits over time.

Tonight, I am launching their first foray into the important regions of the world. Over the coming weeks, I will be providing them a study guide for a particular country and holding them responsible to pass a quiz on that region. Two months from now, the servers at Jar are going to be superstar wine experts! Well... They will be able to tell you what grape is in a Barolo, anyway. Maybe a year from now they'll be superstars.

Our first week of study will feature the wines of France. This study guide took me forever to write. Sometimes I forget how diverse and rife with variety the wines from France are. From the crisp Loire whites to the profoundly age-worthy Bordeauxs. It would be very easy to drink only the wines from France and never be bored.


I'm giving the servers two weeks in France. It's a lot to cram into their brains. And I'm not doing too much more than requiring that they know the grapes and just a little about the region. For example - red Burgundy is Pinot Noir and the whole concept of the region is based on place/vineyard. How's that for dumbing down the most perplexing region in the world? But it's a start! We all start somewhere. I'm fairly certain we will revisit Burgundy somewhere down the road.

Wish the Jar servers luck! They are going to need it!

All in a Day's Work: Pairings

I love having a captive audience! Most nights at Jar, when pairing a bottle of wine to food, I find myself coming to a common ground on the wine that will not insult anyone's dish. Most often, with a fish on the table, I'm working with lower tannin wines that may or may not still have some body to them. Or substituting acidity for tannin.

Next Saturday, we have a charity buyout that affords me the opportunity to truly dig in and pair some wines to specific dishes. Everyone will be enjoying the same thing. When does THAT ever happen? These are the moments when I get to stretch out my legs and hope that I haven't turned into the Tin Man. So, let's shake off the cobwebs and turn it out!

One of my favorite reference books is called "What to Drink with What You Eat" by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. They basically talked to a bunch of Sommeliers and wine professionals and organized this amazing catalog of foods and wines that you can cross-reference to see what works together. And it's coming from a collection of people who are REALLY in the biz.

The cross-referencing is the best part with this book. Having pot roast? Look under pot roast and see a list of wines that are recommended. Better pairings are in bold. Mind-bending pairings are in bold and capital letters. OR - want to drink an Aglianico tonight? What should you eat with that? Look up Aglianico and find a list of dishes to pair with it. Awesome!

The weakest spot for me in this book is the cheese section. There are a lot of great cheeses listed, but it's particularly weak in the American selections. Granted, one really needs a whole book to be thorough on cheese and wine pairing, so I don't hold it against them too much.

I highly recommend having this resource close by. Sometimes, it will spark an idea that I never thought of and spawn some amazing pairings.

I'll tell you more about the menu and the wines after we hold the event. Wish me luck!

The Progressive Wine Program at Jar

After believing in this concept for so long, I have finally been able to get it off the ground. Suzanne has agreed that now is the time for us to take up the flag and stand against high restaurant mark-ups! Super exciting!

The following will be posted on suzannetracht.com this week. I thought it might be appropriate to post it here as well. I hope we see you at Jar for some awesome juice soon:


Over the past few years, there has been a lot of buzz in the cyber world about the prices that restaurants charge for their wines. The arguments generally go back and forth, consumers arguing that restaurants are a rip-off, and restaurant owners listing all the costs involved in running a wine program that justify the hike in price. I’ve been reading these posts, blogs, etc. for years now and have always been surprised that no restaurant has ever responded to this wave of outrage from the guests who are keeping them afloat.

What costs are involved in running the wine program…? Yours truly, for number one. There IS the expense of hiring a wine professional to maintain and purchase wines for the program. It certainly involves a lot of time in labor. Many argue about the expense of stemware and decanters. Frankly, if your servers are careful and don’t break a dozen glasses every day, then it’s just the washing and that’s pretty minimal. Storage and refrigeration can also be an expensive undertaking, depending on how much inventory you have. I can certainly see the restaurant side – heck, I’m a part of it!

But whatever happened to “the guest is always right”. If people feel ripped off, then they just aren’t going to buy the product. And where does that leave your wine program then…?

The simple truth is that with all of the online retail now, most people know what they should be paying for a given bottle. And let’s face it – everyone is a little more frugal these days. So, unless you’re the “hot-spot” restaurant that everyone is just dying to eat at regardless of what they charge you, then you are playing the same game as everyone else. And up to this point, restaurants have fortified themselves with no one allowing a crack in the wall.

I am extremely pleased to announce that Chef Suzanne Tracht and I have decided to do what’s right for our guests and drive the wine program in a new direction. We have lowered the prices on the entire wine list to make them more reasonable and comparable to what is charged at your local retail store. The days of paying two to three times what retail charges are over. Jar is pleased to usher in the new era of the wine program, offering affordable prices on all of its wines.

What does this mean?

- Duckhorn Merlot at Jar will cost the same as Duckhorn Merlot at Wally’s Wine Store
- Freemark Abbey ‘Bosche Vineyard’ Cabernet 2003 will be cheaper than anywhere you can find it online
- Our rare and allocated wines will be snapped up by our regular diners who are lucky enough to be there the week the wines arrive
- Paying a corkage fee to bring wine in will most often be costing you more than if you had bought a comparable wine at Jar

We are not discouraging corkage. We are encouraging you to take advantage of a new concept that we are very proud of and that we hope leads the way for other restaurants to do the same.

I hope to see you at Jar where you will still find all of the same wonderful, small-production and boutique wines that we strive to find, but at a significantly more valued price to you. You won’t believe what you’re drinking for the money!

The Foundry on Melrose and Burgundy

There's this really cool promotion out here in LA (also in NY and San Francisco) called Blackboard Eats. It's a discount website where restaurants offer some kind of deal for a thirty day period. We participated at Jar earlier this year, offering a blanket 30% off all the food, liquor and wine list. It's a smokin' deal and a great way to introduce people to a new restaurant.

I've been signing up for a number of them and finally took the opportunity to use one. Kara and I decided to go for a late night dinner at The Foundry on Melrose. It's chef-owned and operated by Eric Greenspan who has worked some pretty reputable places. And at 30% off, we decided we'd better go hungry.

Great atmosphere! We sat on the patio next to a fireplace. The jazz was jammin' out by the front door. The place was pretty full for 9:30 at night. Cool vibe!

I quickly ordered a bottle of Servin 'Premiere Cuvee les Pargues' Chablis 2007 to get us started. I love this wine! It's a killer-value (especially at 30% off). The schtick is that it's supposed to be former Premier Cru vineyards that were declassified because the women of the village didn't want to walk so far away as the vineyard was. So, they knocked it down to AC level. Sounds like a sales pitch, but they write this whole story on the front label, too. Regardless, I really enjoy the wine. Very mineral-driven with a core of green apple and lemon flesh. That little mushroom-y tone is beginning to develop. It was wonderful with the Beer-Steamed Mussels.

We heard so much about the Foundry Burger that we had to order up a burger course between appetizers and dinner. It was pretty good. The bread was a little doughy/chewy for my taste. But the meat was very flavorful. The condiments were extra fancy. Definitely an "upscale" burger. I tend to prefer the really awesome "classic" burgers, myself. Morton's Steakhouse still has one of my favorites to date.

For the burger and dinner, I brought along a bottle of 1999 Louis Latour Clos Vougeot. It was showing great! I haven't had this wine in years. Much softer than I thought it would be showing. Terrific black cherry and pomegranete flavors with chalky tannin, a slightly metallic/iron-like character, truffle, wet earth, and a little green pepper. It was better with Kara's Chicken Confit than with my Rabbit Royale. We also grooved on a pot of Mac & Cheese that may have been our favorite part of the meal.

This is a great "neighborhood" joint and if I lived close by, I'd probably be back regularly. It's pretty inexpensive, too. It was only $150 before the BBE discount (that includes the $50 bottle of wine). And as it turns out, Eric stopped charging for corkage! If you live around there, it's a pretty cool scene. Check it out!

Masters Tasting Group 7/10/10

I'm very fortunate to be allowed to attend the Master Sommelier Candidate Tasting Group in Los Angeles. It sounds a lot more formal than it is. Basically, at 10am every Friday, we bunch of drunkards all show up at Cut to taste wines blind. Well, maybe that makes it a little less smart than it is...

Essentially, for the Advanced and Master's exams, you are poured six wines (3 white and 3 red) to taste blind and analyze completely. You have 25 minutes. There are points awarded for certain characteristics of certain wines so you pretty much have to talk about everything. Oh - AND come to the correct conclusion of what grape thes wines are, where they are from precisely and what year it was made. Easy, right? We are basically practicing this format every week.

So, the cast of players in our little band of merry men (and woman):
Keith Goldston, Master Sommelier and Tutor of the group
Chris Miller, Wine Director of Spago
Dana Farner, Wine Director of Cut
Paul Sherman, Wine Instructor at Cordon Bleu Culinary School and Valentino's Server
Anthony Anselmi, Restaurant and Retail Sales for Kermit Lynch Importer
Jared Heber, Key Accounts Manager for Regal Wine Co. (formerly the Wine Director of Mozza and Gordon Ramsey at the London)
Mark Hefter, Wine Director of The Montage, Beverly Hills
Rob Harpest (me), Wine Director of Jar

This week, Keith poured us four whites and four reds since only four of us were in attendance. This way, we each got two wines to do aloud. The wines were:

Hermitage Blanc
Macon-Fuisse 2007
Central Coast Viognier
New Zealand Gewurtztraminer
Argentina Malbec
Chianti Classico Reserva 2005
Central Coast Syrah 2006
Barossa Australian Shiraz 2005

Overall, we did fairly well. Paul nailed the most, if I remember correctly due to his call of New World Gewurtztraminer. The two I did aloud seemed to be the most elusive. None of us called Malbec for Wine 4, and most of us called Barolo/Barbaresco for the Chianti. At least we were in the right country...

I personally felt pretty good about nailing most of the grapes. I was off on location and year a few times. I'm only heading in for the Advanced Certification. I'm pretty confident my performance would have been a pass with an accurate assessment of the characteristics of the wines.

This was more of an introduction to our format. Future posts on this topic will be more detailed. I will include our triumphs and defeats in the constant pursuit of figuring out what is in the glass. Hope you enjoy!!!

Sandrone Nebbiolo 2006

Kara and I drank a bottle of Sandrone Barbera d'Alba our last night in Italy on our honeymoon. She's been a Sandrone fan ever since. And why not?! She likes New World-styled wines. And doesn't Sandrone really exemplify the idea of a New World-styled producer making wines in the Old World? Riper, more extracted and friendly levels of fruit that speak to an American palate.

Kara was closing last night and I didn't have time to make dinner. There was a little pizza in the fridge so I figured we'd build around that. Better go Italian on the vino.

I thought we'd try the Sandrone Nebbiolo Valmaggiore 2006. This is Sandrone's "entry-level" Nebbiolo. It does not come from Barolo, as their other more famous Nebbiolos do, but rather from the Valmaggiore area in Roero. As it was explained to me, you can get a better quality Nebbiolo from Roero than you can in buying a Nebbiolo d'Alba. Reason is: all the great Nebbiolo from Alba goes into the Barolo and/or Barbaresco. In Roero, all the good stuff can just go into a Nebbiolo bottling. Make sense? Yeah, I thought it sounded like a weak sales pitch, too, but I bought the wine anyway.

I remember trying this at a tasting at Jar. My notes said "tastes like a cheap, entry-level Nebbiolo - overpriced". I did like it, though, and we didn't have any Roero Nebbiolo on the list. So, I thought I'd buy a bottle to try at home.

Kara came through the door starving at almost one am. I told her all we had was a little pizza. She bolted out the door to In and Out, which she has, unbeknownst to me, been craving. Minutes later, bag in hand, she returned and we were underway with our Animal Style Double-Doubles and Nebbiolo.

While I wasn't planning for burgers with this wine, it worked out great, I have to say. The wine was particularly floral (most would call it rose petals) on the nose. The fruit was ripe almost to point of raisiny, but also fresh cherry at the same time. An odd, underlying jalapeno/tobacco green note as well. The tannins were present, but not stripping. This bottling was meant for early consumption. I must say, the wine worked pretty well with the burger. The tannins were stripped by the meat and cheese, while the raisined tone was brought to balance as well.

Ultimately, I guess I haven't changed my opinion on this wine at all. I still think it's overpriced for what it delivers. But, I do like it. Kara, not knowing the cost, also really liked it. Although, her comments did elude to the fact that she assumed it might be in the "value" range as pricepoint goes. Oh, well.

If you want to experiment and you've got a few extra bucks, check this one out. Sandrone's wines are not cheap, in general. Even his Barbera is over $30. I don't think it will disappoint. But if you're a hardcore Barolo fan, I'd likely just put the money toward a more classic producer's Barolo.

A Quick Note on Regional Pairing

In the Introductory Sommelier course, the Master Sommeliers offered a brief bit of advice on pairing wines to food, since that is a large part of what we do in our work. It was a very short part of the program and very general in nature, but it fascinated me at the time because I was still more invensted in learning regions and grapes at the time. I had not even ventured into the world that would fascinate me most.

One of the approaches to pairing was pairing "regionally". That is, food from the region will often go well with the wine from the region. For example, Italian food with Italian wine. Or more particularly, the specific region! Montchevre goat cheese which is tangy and acidic with Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc, also high in acid. Mind you, these are just general rules of thumb. Nothing works all the time and you have to just keep experimenting, but it's a good place to start.

I was simply reminded of this the other night and thought I might touch on it briefly. We ordered pizza from a local place called Barone's. Their pizza is very rustic (made in a rectangle shape) and you can tell the crust is made in house. It's a dry style of pizza using very little sauce. So, I always pull out a juicy red wine with plenty of red fruit. We get Pepperoncinis and Pepperoni usually (amongst other things) so a higher acid wine is usually in the line-up, too.

Hence, the Bertille Vino Nobile de Montepulciano. Considered the red-headed step-child of Brunello di Montalcino by some. They seem to model themselves after the wines of Montalcino in some ways, but are often cheaper, as well. I often find it to be a cross between Brunello and Chianti, myself. Their soils are more clay which makes the wines a little more "watered-down" than Brunello due to water retention. Nonetheless, when pairing with pizza, these are the wines I love most.

Ripe red fruits, licorice, a little chalky, plums, cherries, tobacco. It was terrific with the pizza. We plowed through it maybe a little too quickly. But every bite of pizza wanted a sip of wine and vice versa. Nothing profound here, but a good value in Italy at probably about $25-$30 retail. And a small-producer many of your friends may not know.

For an even better value, seek out the Rosso di Montepulciano wines. They're the grapes that don't make it into the Vino Nobile. Even cheaper and usually awesome for fun foods like pizza as well. When I pop a bottle of decent Italian Rosso, I'm always transported back to a piazza in Italy, drinking a delicious wine out of a caraffe and watching the sun set.

Good wines don't have to be mindbending. Just good. And good with food. Which is really what Italy excels at. Viva Italia!

Blackjack Ranch

Took the night off tonight. Sometimes I love a recession! Particularly when it affords me the opportunity to spend a few hours with a friend I rarely get to see over a glass of wine. My good friend Matty works a bazillion hours a day and twelve days a week at a very popular entertainment television show that doesn't afford him much time to spend socializing. I was very happy to hook up with him for a visit.

Matty had a rough day today. We started out with a shot of Orinoco Rum. God love a rum that doesn't make you cringe! I try not to make it a habit to shoot liquor, but you can't let a friend do it alone and he was in definite need.

I popped a bottle of Stonestreet 'Black Cougar Ridge' Cabernet Sauvignon 2002 for Matty. He prefers non-acidic wines so I tend to lean toward New World wines when he visits. It was unfortunately slightly corked. At these moments, I curse the day I ever learned what corkiness tasted (or didn't taste) like. Another one bites the dust...

It prompted me to revisit a winery I used to support quite a bit: Blackjack Ranch. This is a small Santa Barbara winery located on Alamo Pintado Road just south of downtown Los Olivos. Roger Wisted is the proprietor and winemaker. Having made a good dollop of money creating the "California Blackjack" known as 22, he bought this winery and named it accordingly. He's a big Francophile and has been trying to make his wines in a similar style. Unfortunately, Santa Barbara does not lend itself to particularly French-styled wines.

Blackjack Ranch was one of the few wine clubs I ever joined in my fledgling stages of wine interest and early years spent in California wine country. While many people I took care of in restaurants said they were treated rudely in their tasting room, I always had a great experience there and found the wines quite enjoyable. I still took Robert Parker's opinion to heart at the time and he was a Blackjack Ranch fan. So, I blew some of my hard earned cash each year supporting Roger, as well as convincing my manager to pick up the wine so I could sell it in my restaurant.

I ditched the wine club years ago due to a small disagreement regarding their 2003 Harmonie. It was the only wine he'd ever made that Parker gave a "classic" score (95-97, to be exact) and Roger refused to send it to his wine club since he would have to discount it. As a wine club member, I was pissed, to say the least. He also doubled the price on the wine. I finally saw what all of the nay-sayers of Blackjack Ranch had seen. So, I've never purchased a bottle of Blackjack Ranch since. OH - except that I found that particular wine which he would not discount on close-out at Wine House a year after it was released. I picked one up, I regret to say, but I have a small OCD about things I can't have.

Tonight we opened the previous vintage: the 2002 Harmonie. This is a Bordeaux-styled blend, Cabernet Sauvignon dominant. I've held this bottle since its release, never having had it since it came in the wine club. I have to say, I'm kind of impressed. It reminded me a little of the 2003 Chateau Gloria from St. Julien upon opening, with a dirty graphite quality under the red/black fruits. Also, an interesting minty/herbal tone that is consistent with Santa Barbara Bordeaux varietals. Dark-roasted coffee, too. After an hour of air, it fell into a more typical Santa Barbara style, but that first hour offered a fair amount of pleasure. The structure was still fairly firm and this wine seems to have a decent life ahead of it. At the $50 price he charged through the winery, I think it's overpriced. The 2003 Chateau Gloria was only $30 at the same time and a better wine.

All-in-all, I still like the wines Roger makes. I think they're overpriced, unfortunately. And he, more than anyone, tried to ride the Sideways train. One of his labels was featured on a quarter of the screen for barely a moment in the film. That doesn't mean he didn't frame and hang the frames in his tasting room to promote the winery. It's business, right. Like not offering your best wine to your long-time wine club supporters because you'd have to discount it. Business, too.

So, I continue to drink the Blackjack Ranch right out of my cellar over time. Each time, I feel like I'm putting one more nail in the coffin and it sort of makes me a little happy. Is that wrong? I don't think so. Wine is about relationships, too. I think we've all experienced that at some point and some level. I hope you understand this small rant and have a point of reference in your own life for it.

And by no means do I intend to slander Roger Wisted or Blackjack Ranch in offering my experience and opinion. As with everything, I hope you make up your own mind, having tasted his wines for yourself.

Tandem Chardonnay and Sea Bass

After the lunch with Greg La Follette, I felt compelled to go back and taste a wine from his final vintage with Tandem. I'm a reborn La Follette fan at this point. I have a tendency to immerse myself in themes to the point of obsession.

A simple dinner by myself at home: Sea Bass, Roasted Summer Squash and Duck Fried Rice. Also, a bit of Jar's Caper Berry Relish on the side. The Tandem wine I opened was his 2007 'Ritchie Vineyard' Chardonnay. The Ritchie Vineyard has provided magnificent fruit to some of the best Chardonnay producers in California: Aubert, Kistler and Ramey are the first that come to mind.

The Sea Bass and the Chardonnay worked beautifully together. The already integrated oak was further pushed into the background, emphasizing the delicious apple/pear fruits. This is my style of Chardonnay. Crisp acidity and well-balanced. How can you not like this? I don't recommend the Caper Berries for it, however. Not tragic, but not a positive pairing.

Now, off to watch some Party Down! Have you seen this show...? Catering waiters. It has some of the funniest moments I've seen on tv in awhile. Check it out on Starz or stream it through Netflix. Check out the ninth episode of the first season and make sure you watch the credits. Priceless!

The 4th... Whoof...

Bear with me. I'm STILL recovering.

I'm happy to say there was not an American wine to be found at our July 4th celebration. It seems I've been plowing through so many of my Californian wines lately (actually just trying to get rid of them) that I never actually get a chance to drink what I like to. So, in honor of Independence Day, I granted myself the opportunity to drink fun, summer-y wines from the Old World. Nothing fancy, but good.

(And I will refrain from giving tasting notes on the Pabst Blue Ribbon that everyone was drinking. I didn't taste it, but I understand it tastes like beer-flavored water.)

As you might have guessed, this was completely informal:

Started out with a Simmonet-Febvre Cremant de Bourgogne Rose NV. This is a Champagne-styled rose sparkler based made from Pinot Noir and Gamay in Chablis. Delicious and fresh with peach, raspberry, green apple flavors. Also, good value for about $18 retail. Pinot Noir out of Burgundy for $18, you say? AND they do methode Champenois? That's what I'm sayin'!!!

We quickly moved on to a 2006 Dry Tokaji Furmint from Degenfeld. This is a Hungarian wine we don't often see. Sure, lots of Tokaji dessert wine out there made from this same grape, but what fun to see the dry version! What's it taste like? On the nose, it reminds me a bit of Sauv Blanc if you nix all the citrus - so smoke, parsley, and minerals. On the palate, particularly interesting is how it hits sort thin, but then expands into this Pinot Gris-bodied wine with a particularly long finish where all the real character shows. An inverted wine, if you will.

On to rose: a Cote du Rhone rose from Caillou 2009. This wasn't really my style of rose, but many would like it. Aromatically, it reminded me of those old popsicles that had banana and fudge flavor in them. Like Star Pops, but brown and yellow. Much too tropical for my taste. A nice wine, but I prefer a crisper, cleaner rose. Perhaps this would've been awesome with a beet salad so the beets had some fruit to tear away.

Next, the Re Manfredi 'Bianco' from Basilicata 2009. This is a Southern Italian blend of Muller Thurgau (a cross between Riesling and Sylvaner - supposedly) and Traminer (Gewurtztraminer). I often find Gewurtztraminer way too heavy to drink, unless paired with the right food or cheese. By blending in 70% Muller Thurgau, I get all the flavors of Gewurtz, but a lighter wine on the palate. Call it, Gewurtztraminer Light! So, stone fruit and flower-driven, lanolin, but also crisp citrus tones as well. Probably about $20 retail.

On to reds for the burgers: Bielsa 'Old Vines' Garnacha 2008 and a Cote-de-Brouilly by Domaine de la Voute des Crozes 2007. The Garnacha was the better fit for the burger, but I chilled both down for fun. The Bielsa is an unoaked old vines grenache from Spain. Dirt cheap and absolutely delicious! Ripe berry fruit that is pure and un-affected by wood - one of the cheapest wines on the table and probably the one I enjoyed most (particularly with the food). The Cote-de-Brouilly sort of got lost in the shuffle, I'm afraid. I tasted it with the food, then quickly returned to the Garnacha. And after eating, I immediately flipped back over to white wines. I don't think anyone actually drank it. If anyone live in the Toluca Lake area and wants to pick it up, let me know.

Lastly, as the night began wrapping up, we drank a Stephen Ehlen 'Erdener Treppchen' Kabinett Riesling 2007. Totally dig this inexpensive little German Reisling. She's so musty on the nose with the kerosene notes, but also honey and peach/lime fruits. Sweet, but not overtly, and it hits all the little targets that I love about Riesling. Retails probably for about $15. We didn't kill this one off, but I snuck it out with me to drink on the 5th. I know, it's poor etiquette, but the rest of the bottles were still quarter to half full and the party was winding down!

All-in-all, a great time. We watched the fireworks from Universal Studios on the corner where there was a perfect view. It was one of the best displays I've ever seen. Good friends and good fun! Can't wait to do it again.

Torbreck and La Follette at Hatfield's

I wasn't entirely sure what I was walking into. I RSVP'd for an event at Hatfield's hosted by Master Sommelier Evan Goldstein. Having not been inside the newly relocated Hatfield's restaurant, and having heard great things, I figured that was reason enough to check it out. Oh! And they were going to pour Greg La Follette's new label that is being released this fall.

Greg La Follette is a superstar in the world of Pinot. He's also a super genius when it comes to winemaking - he literally wrote the book on it. Wildly brilliant and still passionate about it, he is a joy to listen to. With a resume that includes working at BV with Andre Tchelistcheff and launching Flowers and Tandem wineries, how could you not want to spend a few hours with the man?

The event began with a glass of Torbreck's Roussanne/Marsanne/Viognier blend from Australia to whet the palate for the lunch to come. I have traditionally been a fan of Torbreck's wines. They are a controlled version of what Australia has to offer. Don't let the crazy Robert Parker scores fool you. The wines actually have balance, while still showing decidedly Australian character. This was no exception. Beautiful stone fruit nose with florality. On the palate, not overbearing or heavy at all, as one might expect. A delicious aperitif and summer wine.

The lunch was very good. It's always a challenge to serve a full dining room of people at the same time. Some of the food did not come out better than luke warm, but it only entices me to come back when they are serving on their normal rotation. The ingredients were creative and well-connected. The octopus paired wonderfully with a Tandem Chardonnay, as did a squid ink pasta. The boiled chicken was cooked perfectly to match the older vintages of Torbreck Run Rig and Struie, both 2001. They showed fabulously! The younger vintages of 2006 Struie and Run Rig were, of course, paired to some hearty red meat.

Run Rig, in particular the 1997, was one one of those wines that stopped me in my tracks and changed the way I thought about wine. When Kara and I closed on our first house, we opened the 2001 Run Rig to celebrate. It was a wonderful opportunity to check in with it again at the event, having added two and a half years of evolution. She's aging beautifully. Copious amount of ripe fruits, herbs, cracked pepper. It's a big one and I will most likely not open the last bottle I have of the 2001 for another decade. I'd like to see its long-term aging potential.

After lunch, we moved into a private dining area to preview the new La Follette line of wines due to release this fall. Three Chardonnays and four Pinot Noirs from Sonoma. I did not take detailed notes, but I am happy to recap their styles, which were all very unique and decidedly different. All vintages were 2008:

The Lorenzo Vineyard Chardonnay was typically oaked for the California palate. While not a butter-bomb, it definitely speaks to the New World craving for woody flavors. The first thing I asked Greg was how much new oak he used. 60% new and the most oak he used on the three whites. The Sangiacomo Chardonnay was nothing short of spectacular. Ripe fruits, well-integrated oak, and seamlessly constructed. Truly sexy California Chardonnay that gives one hope for the wines we could be creating here. The Manchester Ridge Chardonnay was also good, but my recollection of it fell flat after the Sangiacomo.

The Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir, a blend of the three single vineyards, represents a good value. Meant to showcase the best elements of the more expensive stuff, Greg puts more effort into this one since, for many, it will be their introduction to the brand. It showed green notes on the nose that are surprising at first, but when meeting the ripe red fruits on the palate, only serve to add complexity and interest to the overall experience of the wine. The Sangiacomo Pinot, from one of the coolest (and I mean coldest) vineyards in Sonoma, was pure elegance. Light-bodied and caressing the palate, it showed subtlety and was the most expressively fruity wine on the table - a real crowd pleaser! The Van der Kamp Pinot was my least favorite because of a very strong herbal tone on the finish that reminded me of the inside of a garden hose. It had a stronger spice element as well. While a good wine, for my taste, the character that it represented was not my favorite. The wine that grew on me as I continued to retaste it was the Manchester Ridge. At one point, Evan leaned over to me and said, "It tasted like Nuits-St.-George". He was right, but that's why he's an M.S. For many, this will be a hated style of California Pinot. It is the anti-Sea Smoke. Very bracing acidity, green herbs, high-toned raspberry, meatiness. It's definitely the wine geeks Pinot out of Sonoma and very much the opposite of the Sangiacomo.


The line of wines was very impressive and offered such a wide and refreshing variety of style. Greg offered us a wealth of information and passion in his unassuming, George W. Bush-like demeanor. I wish I had recorded his words on the texture of Pinot Noir. I felt as though I had been transported into a better version of the movie Sideways.

Please seek these wines out if you find the opportunity. They are well worth trying and when you know how much effort and passion goes into the construction of them, you can't help but want to experience them.

Chateau Margaux with Paul Pontallier

When I was invited to attend dinner with Paul Pontallier, General Director of famed first growth Bordeaux Chateau Margaux, I was prepared to lose my job in order to be there. Thankfully, we were a little quiet at Jar last night and I was able to sneak out after monthly inventory to participate.

The Commanderie du Bordeaux hosts these amazing dinners from time to time. Last I was invited, they pitted eight or nine different vintages of Mouton-Rothschild against Leoville Las Cases blind. They are always well-organized and very classy. It's a treat to be a participant. One might call it a little stodgy: a bunch of guys, almost all over 60 years old, sitting around in their Commanderie crests, politely drinking Bordeaux and talking about recent business ventures. It's very much the antithesis of how I like to enjoy and treat wine, but still a wonderful experience.

Dinner was held at the California Club in downtown Los Angeles. This is an amazing place, if you haven't been there. Super old-school! There aren't many places like this left, particularly in California. High ceilings, antiques, large paintings, a maze of little rooms and corners to explore. It's like being transported to the past. The food was very good, but in my opinion, was as classic as the Club. The preparations and sauces also felt like they were from the ancient past. Almost as if they were using the same recipes from the 1960's. It brought to mind the food at Pacific Dining Car, which has been open since the early part of the 20th century and has never changed since.

On to the wine: The purpose of this dinner was for the members of the Commanderie to introduce young people to Bordeaux and Chateau Margaux. They were asked to bring someone under 40 years of age to the dinner as their guest. The wines poured were: 2008 and 2005 Pavillon Blanc, 2006 and 2004 Pavillon Rouge, and Chateau Margaux from 2004, 1999 and 1983. For dessert, we enjoyed a wonderful 1986 Barsac from Chateau Climens.

Unfortunately, my specific tasting notes were scooped up and thrown away while I was taking the photo above. So, I have nothing but memory to report. My apologies for the generalities and broadness of the information. But I was swallowing the wine, naturally, and thoroughly enjoying every minute of it.

The Pavillon Blanc is 100% Sauvignon Blanc every year. Margaux does not even plant Semillon. The 2008 was wonderfully fresh with loads of citrus, tangerine candy, lemon pith and white flowers. Their 2005, a reputedly better vintage, was not showing as well. Fruits were clearly more baked, like an orange tart straight from the oven. However, the oak was much more dominant in the finish, to a severely noticable degree. There is a great quote from Paul in "What to Drink With What You Eat" about oak being like the frame on a piece of art: It should accentuate the picture, not overtake it. His words were much more eloquent, of course. I felt as though the frame was showing a little oversized on the 2005.

The Pavillon Rouges were drinking beautifully, which is the intended effect. Drink them while you are cellaring your Chateau Margaux. The 2006 was wonderfully fresh and elegant with wonderful ripe fruits and florality. The 2004 suffered from a greener character shown as tobacco leaf, cigar box and spice. One can definitely tell that this was a cooler vintage. I actually like that aspect in my Bodeaux, personally. These were wonderful wines, but completely eclipsed when we hit the first labels.

The 2004 Chateau Margaux was still incredibly young, but definitely drinkable. Paul proclaimed that great Bordeaux does not HAVE to be cellared. It is drinkable young as well as with time in the cellar. As a general note, the first label shows much more perfume and elegance. They are wonderful to simply smell: spice box notes, vanilla, currant, fresh flowers and cedar. The 1999, while showing development, was also youthful with a terrific life ahead. Again, showing the signs of green from a cooler vintage, but beautiful to drink.

The 1983 was nothing short of spectacular. I cannot give wildly specific notes because there was variance in the bottles and I did not taste any one bottle individually. My first glass was a combination of two bottles, and at halfway consuming it, was topped off from a third bottle. Even tasting the mix of them, it is clear that what they say is true: there are no great wines, only great bottles. My first glass was showing stronger signs of barnyard and leather. It may have even been slightly corky, but Eric (our sommelier) was checking the bottles. With the topping of the third bottle, it showed much more youthful characteristics and vibrant fruit. It was actually a wonderful experience! The advanced development of the first glass joined with the slower of the mixture only improved the overall experience.

I have nothing to say about the Barsac except "yum". In a conversation with one of my co-attendees, I said, "Even when Sauternes sucks, it's still pretty awesome". The Climens was a far cry from sucking.

I was pleased to hear that Chateau Margaux is experimenting with alternate forms of closure for the wines. He mentioned synthetic corks and Stelvin (screw caps) in particular. However, he said they would never release a wine to which they had been applied until they knew that it absolutely made for a better wine. He assured they would never experiment on the customer. So, it sounds as if we may not see those new closures until the end of this century, if they perform well.

He also expressed concern about the 2009 futures and pricing some of their regular consumers out of the market. Unfortunately, business is business and they must follow the pack.

It was a let-down to return home and drink a 2005 Trespass 'Rendezvous' 2005 with Kara. But there was no real way to follow up Chateau Margaux, short of opening another one. The 'Rendezvous' is a right-bank Bordeaux-styled blend with primarily Cabernet Franc and Merlot. It was fair, with balanced plum, cherry and violet/cola tones. Not wildly generous on fruit, such that we consulted the lunar calendar to see if it was a "root" day (more on that another time). I have really liked this wine in the past and hope that it's just in a funky place in its evolution. It was not a disappointment as a late night bottle, though.

In short, thanks to Paul Pontallier for making some of the greatest wines on the planet. And for taking the time to spend with us over some of them here in Los Angeles. I will not soon forget the experience.