French Onion Soup: White or Red?

One of the first things I learned how to make when growing up was French Onion Soup. My mom had a fairly easy recipe and it was a great place to start on cooking. Cook some onions, add some broth, melt some cheese and you're good to go! Needless to say, I'm still cooking French Onion Soup, but in a more complicated way these days. Recently, I've been clinging to an Emeril Lagasse recipe that uses Bourbon and takes about two hours to slowly cook the onions. And I've been lightening it up by melting the Swiss on a toasted bread rather than imprisoning the soup under a fortress of cheese.

So, when I have some gut instincts but am curious about what to pair with certain dishes, I always go to my reference guide: "What to Drink With What You Eat". Their recommendations for French Onion Soup were as I expected. Beaujolais, Cote du Rhone Rouge, and Alsace Pinot Blanc. Also, Manzanilla Sherry, which I would've loved to have but didn't have any in the house. I wasn't completely excited about any of these pairings, so I veered off on to the scenic route:

David Arthur, Chardonnay, Napa 2006 VS. Morlet Family, 'Coteaux Nobles', Pinot Noir, 2006 Sonoma Coast

I love a good side-by-side! Especially white vs. red!! Everything about this dish says red wine, right? Caramelized onions, beef stock, bread, hearty amounts of cheese. But I was taking the underdog's side and putting my bet on a white wine. Of course, the white has sentimental value since Kara and I ate the Chardonnay grapes off the vine from David Arthur in 2006 about thirty minutes before I proposed to her in Napa...

The Chardonnay was fairly typical: Grilled pineapple, vanillin and baking spice from oak, baked apple and pear, plus a nutty oxidative note that makes me suspect I'd better drink my last bottle of this sooner rather than my usual annual re-visit. With the soup, the fruits toned down to a cleaner and crisper (more youthful...?) tone. The oak characteristics were minimalized by the bread. I only had Blanton's Bourbon in the house (and didn't want to waste it in cooking) so I used a cheap Brandy instead. I found the oak character of the Chardonnay filled in the void of the American oak that I was missing having used Brandy instead of Bourbon. All in all, I must say this was a much better wine with the soup and I found myself wanting to return to this glass throughout the meal. But when the soup was gone, I left the Chardonnay gladly.

The Morlet Pinot was pretty awesome! Having tasted this wine a couple of times already (once with Luc Morlet himself), I still like to check in with Cellar Tracker sometimes to see what Joe Wino thinks the wine is doing these days. All the reviews seemed to lean toward a more Burgundian style and a highly reserved wine. I found quite the opposite: this is just well-crafted California and Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir in the way that it should be made! Very perfumed and floral, with controlled ripe fruits: ripe cranberry, ripe black cherry, pomegranate, touches of baking spice and cocoa from oak. This is far from Burgundy, but it's interesting to think that the American palate finds this Burgundian in light of all the Pinots they have become used to. With the food, this wine showed very well and consistent flavors with or without the food, but it felt a little heavy-handed in comparison to the Chardonnay.

My vote: David Arthur Chardonnay. Perhaps it was the cool temperature that made it so refreshing to come back to? Maybe I just had myself convinced I was going to like it already? Not sure, but when you WANT to drink a wine with the food you're eating, but run away from it as soon as you're done with the dish, that speaks to me of a great pairing. At least, as far as the wine is concerned. Both wines were completely acceptable and showed their best.

You should definitely seek out Luc Morlet's wines. They're really quite amazing, but also very pricey. You may know Luc from his work at Peter Michael where he was the winemaker for a number of years. These are terrific examples of what California can do with Pinot Noir and are well worth seeking out. He also produces some great Chardonnay, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and a terrific White Bordeax-styled blend called 'La Proprtion Doree'.

Barbaresco at Firenze Osteria

I feel like I may have mentioned Firenze Osteria before. It's our new favorite restaurant in the valley where finding decent food is the biggest challenge. Top Chef contestant Fabio is the owner and chef. It's very cute and reminds me of restaurants we dined at in Tuscany. The food is pretty solid with some hits and misses in the pasta category, but light years above every other Italian restaurant in the area.

Today, we grabbed a bottle of Pio Cesare Barbaresco 2001 and headed out to our new favorite haunt. The wine was showing beautifully - right in its window of happiness! This is hardly a profound wine, but it is textbook Barbaresco. I have blind tasted this wine and nailed it down to the vintage. Bricking at the rim, rose petals and chalk on the nose with candied cherry fruit. Grippy, but only from the varietal character. It's pretty spot on right now!

It worked wonderfully with the Burratta and Bacon Crostini we had as a starter. And even better with the Orechiette with Sausage and Spinach. This was an awesome pairing! I ate the whole dish myself and didn't really share much with Kara. But she was much happier with the Butternut Squash Ravioli in the Brown Butter Sauce, even though it was not that great a wine pairing.

A quick note on how restaurants recover from bad experiences, because this was the real highlight of the day: They have this really awesome olive focaccia at Firenze Osteria. Kara dug in as soon as it hit the table and was about to take a bite when she saw that one of the olives was actually a dead fly. She quickly notified the server who apologized. The manager came by shortly thereafter and apologized, informing us the least they could do was take care of our lunch. What a recovery! As a restaurant manager, I don't expect this kind of response. We're the easy guests to deal with because we've been there a hundred times on the other end of it. But it reminded me how good it feels and how important it is to come back hard when a guest has a bad experience in your restaurant. The "recovery" from something like that is so important! I already liked this place, but now I know that if anything ever goes wrong, they've got my back! And I will definitely be telling my staff about how this bad experience was turned into an amazing one. Great work, guys!

So - another fantastic day in the world of food and wine. Hope you're drinking some good juice as well!

33rd Birthday Celebration

After our party the night before, Kara and I were a little slower getting started the morning of my birthday than we'd hoped. But, we eventually got our act together and jumped in the car to head down to Disneyland. Kara is convinced that I'm at my happiest when in Disney theme parks. What better place to spend the birthday? Bill and Beckie were meeting us down there with Callie (their daughter) to spend the day.

The park was a blast, as usual. California Adventures serves wine, beer and margaritas as well. So, I had a Karl Strauss Oktoberfest with my chicken soft tacos for lunch at the Pacific Wharf. Then, with a full stomach and fading hangover: off to the Paradise Pier Roller Coaster to start the day!

After a day full of festivities and rides (including the re-screening of Captain EO with MJ!!!), Kara and I snuck off to the Napa Rose Restaurant in the Grand Californian hotel. I'd never been, but had been wanting to go for a long time. We got in without a reservation. The atmosphere is okay: Kara said it had a "cafeteria"-feel to it, but also made her not feel so bad about wearing a tank top and sandals. There were elements that infiltrated from the theme park that made it a little tacky. But the food and service were top notch.

After cocktails, I ordered a bottle of Abazzia Barolo 2004. Incredibly young, I know! But a great vintage and it was one of two Barolos on the menu (the list is very heavy in California, as one might expect). After a quick decant, we dug into it along with our Rabbit Meatloaf and Quail Egg, Red Pepper Ketchup and Fava Bean Salad. After this course, we knew it was going to be an awesome experience. The Barolo was perfect with the rabbit cutting the firm tannin and showing off some more spice notes and florality. Kara was most impressed with the Red Pepper Ketchup.

For dinner, Kara ordered a Roasted Duck with Goat Cheese Stuffed Cherries. I ordered the Braised Short Ribs in Zinfandel Jus. We accompanied that with a Truffled Orecchiette and Cheese (Mac and Cheese!). The Duck was the best pairing of the night with the Barolo, I must say. It just sung. The Short Ribs, while awesome, were a little heavy for the wine, but dang were they good! Their Truffle Mac is pretty awesome as well. Everything on the table was excellent and we were totally happy.

We had to run off immediately to get back to see the new water show called World of Color. This show was absolutely spectacular! A must see! Words can't really do it justice - even trying to explain the concept or technical aspects will make it sound lamer than it is. You just have to see it.

This was one of the most fun birthdays I've had in years. Granted, after working most of them, having the day off was a plus. But I can't thank Kara enough for showing me such a great time. Can't wait 'til next year!

On the Eve of 33

I don't usually "get into" my own birthday. I'm pretty sure I've worked for the past ten of them of so. Even my 30th! But, I figured I was crossing a boundary this year into the wild world of Middle-Agedom (closer to 35 than to 30 - ) so why the heck not?! And I was about due to celebrate a birthday for a change. So, we started celebrating on the Eve of 33!

Matty, Bill, Beckie and their daughter Callie all dropped by on Monday night for a low-key hang. Kara had tried to organize an official party, but just couldn't get everyone together on a weeknight. So, we got some pizzas from our favorite local joint and just popped some corks while Callie was entertained by one of my Tom and Jerry DVD's in the background.

The line-up:

We started out with a Vine Cliff Cabernet Sauvignon 1995. Rob Sweeney (part owner of Vine Cliff who we ate with at Redd recently) had been saying that this was one of their better wines. I just happened to have a bottle that I picked up with a '94 last year and thought we might give it a shot. The '94 we drank earlier this year was going vegetal and was definitely past its prime. Tangy and green - not a good showing. This '95 however was far more structured and dark, with dusty/chalky tannin and still showing good black fruits. It seems it may have a few more years ahead of it even. While not a profound wine, it was very good for a fifteen year old California Cab and better than I expected from it. And I picked it up for about $30 after shipping off Wine Commune. I think I just saw a couple close at $25 this weekend on that site. Pretty awesome deal!

Next, on the complete opposite end of the spectrum, I pulled out a Lewis 'Mason's' Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 for Bill. I've written this wine up recently so I won't bore you with the tasting notes again, but this was clearly the favored wine of the evening. Bill was one of my bartenders when I was the GM of Sterling Steakhouse in Hollywood. We poured this by the glass as our premium Cab, but I'm fairly certain we drank more than we sold. Still great and instantly gratifying and it has never disappointed anyone I've poured it to or myself for that matter.

I let Bill pick the next wine out of the "Guest Cellar". He selected the Berronia 'Gran Riserva' Rioja 2001. Well, while I think this wine is a terrific value and I do like it, there was no way this was going to follow up the Lewis. Dirty baby diaper, coffee and plum/cherry fruit with dill are always a disappointment after a big ole jammy Cab. So, we corked that back up and I dove down into the real cellar to pull something to redeem myself.

I pulled a Barrel Sample of the 2003 Phelps Insignia. A good friend who worked at Phelps gave us this bottle when we visited a number of years ago when the 2003 was still in barrel. We never did get around to trying it so it became sort of a collector's piece: useless! So, I popped it for fun. Interesting: it definitely wanted a heavier dollop of oak than it had, which I know the final product did. There was a prickle to the mouthfeel still, even after years in the bottle. But the fruit was beautiful and pure Insignia. This was a cool experiment and I'm kind of glad I kept this bottle and finally chose to open it.

Before we even finished the Insignia, I pulled a bottle of L'Aventure 'Optimus' 2003 because Bill has five of them in his own cellar he is saving. He loves the winery. I thought I'd open my last one so he can check in with it to see how it's drinking. It was good, but not as good as bottles I've had in the past. The fruit seemed a little less pronounced (tired, perhaps..?) and while still showing structure, that youthful vivacity that is so joyful in his wines seems to have passed. I personally am glad this is my last bottle, but I will be interested to retaste this over the next day or two.

So - a hearty thanks to the gang for coming over to celebrate with me. These events are always better spent with friends.

Chateau Lassegue and Wellington

Just looking at this picture makes me SO happy. I adore Beef Wellington and I've become something of an expert at making it as a result. It's like my obsession with the Club Sandwich: I'm disappointed more often than excited so I simply have to make them at home to ensure satisfaction. A Club seems so simple that anyone could do it, right? But good bread is quintessential, as is the quality of the turkey and the crispness of the bacon. Every piece of the puzzle is integral to the quality of the final product. Such is the case with the Beef Wellington!

So, let me get off my soap box to talk about this spectacular dining experience and the wine that accompanied it:

I use a good Bleu Cheese and wild mushrooms instead of Foie Gras on my Wellington. I think it creates the same earth tones, but adds more complexity. And it's sort of more fun to pair a wine to! The side dish was actually from a local restaurant that we discovered recently: Osteria Firenze. This is their "Naked Spinach Dumpling" which seems to be just a ball of spinach and cheese. It was sort of disappointing when it arrived as an entree in the restaurant, but the leftovers made a badass side dish for this dinner.

To pair, we opened a Chateau Lassegue St. Emilion Grand Cru 2004. This is a project run by Jess Jackson (yes - of Kendall Jackson...) and made by Pierre Seillan, who also makes the highly touted Verite wines domestically. I must say, for what I paid for this wine, it was really quite wonderful. It's definitely a more "New World" style of Bordeaux. But as California can not create the terroir of France in its wines, Bordeaux can not seem to hide the terroir that is inherent even when dolloped with 80% new oak. The wine was showing a lot of youthful character still and seems to have a significant life ahead of it. Rich, youthful and dark fruit mixed with lots of oak character and mineral/earth. Solid stuff. And much better than his Tuscan wine of the same cepages (Arcanum) which we tried recently as well. There is no question that Tuscany's Bordeaux blends have nothing on the "real" Bordeaux.

I think this retails for about $60-ish. I don't know if it's worth that much. But they've been discounting it to move out the old vintages so you might find a good deal. At $30 it's be a good steal!

Teaching the Monkeys 2: The US

The staff at Jar have traversed their way through the unit on France, fairly successfully I must say. The scores on the exam were very good and it was obvious who put a little effort into their study. Good thing we didn't use a bell curve because Cheree got a 100%.

This week we are throwing the gauntlet down again with the wines of the United States and the flavor profiles of major grapes. It's another unit with a lot of information, but all of great importance. It touches on what AVA's are and the bottling regulations, major AVA's on the west coast, and the common flavors found/tasted in varietal wines.

I hope that this unit improves their tasting ability and vocabulary a little bit. Having a textbook list of flavors for each grape was always helpful to me in the early stages. My recommendation was that they think of all the potential flavors as ingredients in a dish that would be cooked together, rather than thinking of each fruit individually. The combo of blackberry, cassis, eucalyptus and licorice is different than just thinking of if the wine tastes like any of those things individually.

Study hard, Jarheads! Your next exam is written and awaits the fruits of your efforts!

All in Good Fun

This idea has been a year in the making. We've just never been able to get our act together to shoot it. Finally got it done last night! We had better takes than this one, but there's something I really like about the "realness" of this one. As well as the brilliant performances!

And I must say that I have nothing against the winery. It just wasn't as funny with any other name...

Napa - Day 4 "The Sonoma Side"

We rolled out of bed and hopped in the car to race over to Sonoma for our last day in the valleys. Sojourn, a relatively new Pinot Noir producer, was hosting us at their guest house. It was gorgeous - right in the middle of their "Home Ranch" vineyard (from which they have just begun bottling a new Cabernet Sauvignon in the 2007 vintage), as well as on the Sonoma Country Club golf course.

In continuing with our "laid back" MO, we found a cute little oyster bar just off the Sonoma Square called Meritage. We started with a delicious martini that used Hendricks, Lillet Blanc and cucumber. A dozen oysters and the party was started! For the Sage/Speck Mini-Pizza and Steak Sandwich, we moved over to the Italian Margarita which used a floater of Tuaca - very cool layer to the classic. The server informed us Happy Hour was from 3-6 and all the oysters were 1/2 off. We immediately began making plans to come back in a mere three hours.

We walked the Sonoma Square which is adorable and eventually made our way into Sojourn to taste the current lineup. Very good wines, in general with a couple of standouts. The Rodgers Creek Pinot 2008 (which Spectator slammed with a score of 78) was actually quite good, but very herbal. It might not be for everyone, but Kara and I selected it as our favorite of the Pinots, which also featured the Sonoma Coast blend and Russian River blend. Then, the three Cabernets which are new this year, of which our favorite was the Spring Mountain. The Howell Mountain was also good, but showed some rubber and tar. The Sonoma Cab was chalky and restrained, but also a good representation.

We returned to meet my folks at Meritage again, powering down a bottle of 2007 Araujo Sauvignon Blanc with four dozen oysters, two orders of mussels, fried calamari and truffle parmesan fries. I also tried their Dirty Cougar martini which used Citrus vodka, St. Germain, grapefruit and Lavendar Honey. It was fairly sweet, but very unique and a real crowd-pleaser.

We drug the folks back to the house where we had a half-bottle of the Dana Estates 'Lotus' 2007 which has the distinction of not being released yet and was awarded 100 points by Robert Parker. We were all sort of let down by this wine, but with 100 points in tow and a $300 pricetag, there are a lot of expectations. It was fat and inky, very dominant in alcohol, and fairly one-dimensional. Fun to try, though, and with the score behind it, I'll likely try to make a few bucks on buying it.

Dinner was at Cafe La Haye where we drank a 2007 Seven Stones Cabernet against a 2000 Pichon Lalande. The Pichon was certainly more my speed, but still VERY young and primary. It has a ways to go, but the nose is just beautiful right now with plenty of mineral and youthful, ripe black fruits. The Seven Stones was good, but way overpriced at $175 retail. The food was really great! I highly recommend this cute little spot, but make ressies because it is tiny!

And so ended the trip! Whenever I leave wine country, I always think that I'm going to need a week off from drinking, but I know I'm going to want a glass of wine the night I get home because I'm going to miss the valleys. The best thing is that each glass of wine transports me back there, and that's one of the things I love about wine. It's like a mini-vacation in a glass!

Napa - Day 3 "The Day After"

The morning after is never welcome, is it...? Actually, I felt pretty okay. But we were definitely a little slow in getting started and far from motivated throughout the day.

We did, however, manage to get out and do a few things. The day started with lunch at Rutherford Grill, a favorite hang of ours and most of the Napa Valley, as well. We ate lunch at the bar next to Elias, the winemaker from Shafer. The burger really hit the spot with the Mothership Wit Hefeweizen. I also snaked a couple of sips of Kara's Bloody Mary.

Fueled up, we were off to work. We started out at Steltzner in the Stag's Leap District. I was intrigued that this is one of the only domestic wineries I know of that grows Pinotage (a varietal mostly grown in South Africa). I had to try it. We started with their Syrah Rose, which was fairly heavy, but still showed nice balance and offered much summertime enjoyment. The Hendricks Pinot Noir was fair, but underwhelming and possibly just in need of more time. The Malbec was very full in the mouth, with real boysenberry and blackberry jam characterisitcs. I always think of Malbec as tasting both ripe and underripe at the same time - this was plenty of ripe! The Cabernet was solid, but nothing that really rocked my world. It certainly showed plenty of eucalyptus which seems typical for Stag's Leap. Then, they broke out the Pinotage for me: It was surprisingly tannic. Fairly full-bodied, with the typical "rubber hose" only a whisper under the black fruits. It was an interesting wine, but much like all the Pinotage from South Africa, nothing impressive. Props to them for growing it, though. I love that!

We drove half the valley with the top down since it was such a gorgeous day, and ultimately wound up at Heitz, where we had not visited in years. They poured us a Chardonnay to start. I was surprised how much I enjoyed this, but not surprised to find out that it did not go through Malolactic Fermentation. No wonder I liked it! Very lean, crisp in acidity, with controlled oak. A real anti-California style! The Zinfandel was also restrained and showed wonderful structure. I would definitely consider it a Zin for steaks! The Napa Cabernet was good, but a little pricey for what it delivered, although only $42 retail. The real surprise was the 2000 Bella Oaks Cabernet they had released from the library. 2000, being a pour vintage, I wouldn't have expected much from. It was drinking great and the tannin seemed to me to have a fairly long road ahead. Certainly an old-school style, I had to pick up a few bottles. And, of course, the Martha's Vineyard 2005 was phenomenal, as it ought to be for $150.

We met up with my folks, who were also touring the valley, at Futo. This is a new "cult" producer in Oakville tucked in just beside Harlan and Bond. The tour was excruciating, but the wines were actually pretty good. Kara and I recently drank the 2006 OV (which is their second wine) and I thought it was solid for the $70 price tag. We tasted the 2007 at the winery and it's not bad: very friendly fruit and softer, ripe tannin. It paled in comparison to the bigger brother, Futo 2006. It showed much more nuance and complexity with expressive layers. It's still a baby, but I wonder what this wine and winery will accomplish in the future.

We chilled at the Hotel Luca with my folks during the afternoon and had some Epoisses, prosciutto and a bottle of Philippe Colin's Chassagne Montrachet 'Les Chaumees' 2007 which was great with the cheese.

Dinner was at Redd, and while this ought to be its own post, I didn't bother to take notes on the wines so I'll just relay the lineup: Krug 1996, a Puligny-Montrachet 2006 (didn't see the producer), Clos des Papes Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2003, Guigal d'Ampuis 2003, Conseillante 1989, Lynch Bages 1990, and Pichon Baron 1990. We ate with Daniel Ha and Pete Perry who run Dana Estates, as well as Rob Sweeney who is part of the Vine Cliff family. Great party group and great wines, which were all showing very well, with the exception of the Conseillante which was showing a lot of green notes that were offputting.

We crashed directly after that at the Hotel. The rest of the gang went across the street to a bar for a nightcap, but Kara and I had hit the wall. We had to save up for another full day in Sonoma.

Napa - Day 2 "The Wedding"

We started the day out with a visit to the Krupp Brothers. Even if you haven’t heard of their winery or any of their wines, odds are fairly good that you have drank some of the grapes they have grown. They own a meager 680 acres on and around Pritchard Hill. They’ve had the good fortune to sell many of their grapes to some established wineries such as Caymus, Pahlmeyer, Paul Hobbs and Miner, as well as up and comers like Alpha Omega.

Although he was not slated to host our tour, Jan Krupp joined us on the excursion out into the vineyard. We joined a few visitors from Florida on a small terrace in the heart of Stagecoach. Tasting through the wines in the vineyard is always a treat. Their Synchrony 2006 was superb! A Cabernet Franc blend that showed such perfume and an ability to age. Shortly after tasting the wines, I geeked out with Jan to the point where we began pruning some of the vines: cutting off wings, etc.

After a scenic ride back to our cars, we made it down the mountain in time to change clothes and make a quick stop at Trespass Vineyards on the way to the CIA. Donnie hosted us for an impromptu tasting in the vineyard of his new releases. I must say, his line-up is better than it has ever been! The 2007 Cabernet Franc is perfect. His 2007 Rendezvous (a Cab Franc/Merlot blend) is clearly one of the best wines he has ever made. And the newcomer to the line-up: Intrigue (a Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot blend) is delicious and affordable, particularly for a boutique wine out of Napa. I couldn’t help but pick up a case of each for Jar’s list.

After all of the wedding formalities, namely the “I Do’s”, the party began! The CIA prepared a wonderful dinner of Tuna Tartare Tower, paired t Chateau St. Jean’s Chardonnay and a Roulade of Beef with Mushrooms. Coincidentally, Trae had chosen Trespass’ Cabernet Franc 2006 for the meat course, and also the Lewis Cellar’s Reserve Cabernet 2007. What a juxtaposition of oak these two wines were! The Lewis was pure spice and wood layered over extracted ripe fruit, where the Trespass exuded varietal spice and florality with excellent balance. Both wonderful wines and fine with the beef.

The party was absurdly fun and there was much debauchery. I ended the night covered in candle wax and half undressed.

I love weddings!

Napa - Day 1

After spending a little time at the guest house, we were off to Neal Family Vineyards on Howell Mountain for Trae and Hillary's rehearsal dinner/pig roast. Jar has had a long relationship with Neal Family wines so it really was like going to a family reunion.

They poured the 2009 Sauvignon Blanc and the 2008 Zinfandel as cocktail wines. For the dinner, they offered the 2006 Napa Cabernet and also the 2005 Howell Mountain Cabernet. As a bonus, for dessert, they presented the Rutherford Dust Petite Syrah (2006?), which was a wine I had never seen from them before.

The roasted pig was delicious! Kara was a little freaked out by a whole pig laying out on the table, but she gave it a shot. Thankfully, there was grilled chicken breast in reserve for her!

Mark Neal's son took me on a go-kart out to the chicken coup to see the 300 chickens they own. Wine grower, vinyard manager, AND chicken farmer...? Who has all this time?!!!

The wines were all great! I was partying so there are no tasting notes except to say that the wines always taste better at the vineyard from whence they have never been shipped. It was an excellent party and the wedding is certain to be a blast as well!

Wedding In Napa

It's been a LONG week. I'm sure you've had your share. But the end of that challenging tunnel has arrived. And the light at the end of it sits on a vineyard in Napa at the Paradigm Winery guest house. And that is where I sit right now scribing this brief blog to you, my friends.

My good friend Trae is getting married tomorrow at the Culinary Institute of America. I was fortunate enough to be asked to be a part of his wedding party. Any excuse to go to Napa, eh? Kara and I got home around 1am last night (this morning?) and quickly packed all we might need. After a few hours of sleep, we hopped in the car and sped up here to make it in time (barely..) for the rehearsal.

It's absolutely gorgeous up here today. Seventy-eight degrees, not a cloud in the sky and a cooling breeze. I think the grapes are very happy. I couldn't think of a more perfect place to be typing to you from. The picture above is taken from where I am sitting right now at the kitchen table window. Yes, those are vines out there! And the grapes are only just beginning to change color. But it's still beautiful. I can't wait to get back up here in October!

We had a bottle of Paradigm Cabernet Franc 2006 waiting for us in the kitchen. Aromatically, it smells like cherry Twizzlers and fresh black cherry, fresh tobacco leaves. On the palate, fairly well-structured with fruit opening up into blackberry and black plum. The tobacco morphs more into a cigar box with dusty tannin that also eludes to cocoa powder. It's a cool little wine. They don't distribute it so I'm always excited to have the opportunity to try it.

Well, I'm late to get to the rehearsal dinner at Neal Family Vineyards. We're having a pig roast and a boat load of wine, I'm sure. It's going to be a fantastic weekend. I'll keep you posted!

Mini Burgers and Mini Wines

We had an impromptu hang with our neighbors Cher and Chris the other night. It was the perfect "leftovers" tapas party. Kara and I had some tidbits left from a dinner we cooked the night before that I was able to construct into some little bites. Chris recently acquired a "Slider Kit" which he had used the night before and wanted to share with us.

In honor of all the little tidbits, I thought I'd break out this really cool collection Seghesio winery had sent me. They bottled six of their wines into little 1 oz. tasting bottles under a zero oxygen environment. Sounded intense to me! And what a cool way to get to taste the wines. Not under pressure of a salesperson or at a tasting room, but out of little baby 1 oz. bottles in the comfort of your own home.

Sad to say, while it seemed like a great concept, the result was severely disappointing. All of the bottles were affected by oxygen and tasted port-like. After tasting the third wine, it was clear. Tragic! Chris, who is in marketing, concurred that it was a great idea, but obviously a poor execution. So, I have no tasting notes to offer on the six wines they provided, except that they were all damaged.

In lieu of those, I did have a half bottle of Seghesio Sonoma Zin 2008 onhand that I opened for the gang to show what their wines taste like normally. What a difference! Structure, ripe fruit that remained controlled, tobacco and pepper. It was a delicious Zin and thank God I had it or I might have left the table cursing the name of Seghesio winery.

I hope they get this concept worked out. It was a brilliant thought!

The Trevor Project Fundraiser

Jar was shut down on Saturday night for a private event. One of our biggest supporters, Quinn Taylor, hosted a fundraiser for the Trevor Project. We had about 70 people in attendance and I was thoroughly pleased because it's not so often that I get such a captive audience. We prepared a five-course with wines paired especially for this event.

Dinner opened with our delicious Dungeness Crab over Watermelon and Jalapeno Lime Vinaigrette. One of my favorite pairings at Jar is this dish with a German Riesling. We used Donnhoff's Oberhauser Leistenberg Kabinett 2009. The spiciness of the Jalapeno is counteracted by the residual sugar in the wine. Also, you need a slightly off-dry wine because of the sweetness in the dressing and the melon. It was not my first choice to open with a sweeter wine, but the order was chef's choice. American palates sometimes get freaked out when you pour an off-dry wine, and such was the case here, but I found it worked brilliantly.

Second course was a Gnocchi with Oven-Roasted Tomato. Suzanne is notorious for her gnocchi and she rarely makes it, so when she does, people go crazy. To pair, I poured a Hiedler 'Spiegel' Pinot Blanc 2006 from Austria. I really dug this wine. Flavors of orange, a little petrol note, ripe pear. A more austere version of what you would find from Alsace. People were loving this wine.

Third course was our Butter Lettuce Salad with Breakfast Radishes and Parmesan. This was just screaming for a great Gruner Veltliner, so I poured Schloss Gobelsburg 'Steinsetz' 2008. Super-typical Gruner: stonefruit and citrus with that green asparagus/radish note and a big ole blast of white pepper on the finish. Perfect fit for this salad. I always love a good Gruner. I find myself tucking more and more of them away in the cellar these days.

The last savory course was a Venison with Roquefort and Cherry as well as Potatoes Anna. I have to say that this Venison was really awesome. Suzanne threw a piece at me as I was passing by and I promptly tasted it with a pour of the 1991 Lopez de Herredia 'Bosconia' Rioja that I used. This was such a cool pairing. The Rioja was light in body, but with some structure underlying. The fruit was super-elegant and perfect after all the light, crisp whites. We could've gone heavier, but with this many courses and wines, a heavier wine would've been a shock in the overall experience, I think. Even cooler, the venison has this metallic/meaty quality that was also in the Rioja, and both cancelled each other out leaving pure juice cherry/ plum in the wine.

For dessert, and as a toast (and just why not?!!!), we poured the Chartogne-Taillet 'Cuvee Fiacre' 2002. This is a superb Champagne vintage and, in my experience, a very ripe one. Loads of orange marmalade and yeast on this baby, with a slightly oxidative note. The Chardonnay really shines in the blend in the form of pear liqueur. I was pleasantly surprised by the power of this.

During the course of the dinner, they auctioned off a personalized meal for 6 cooked by Suzanne at the bidder's home. During the auction, I offered my services as a personal sommelier as well and paired wines. That pulled in another $2000. The dinner went for $6000 total - pretty impressive. I'm excited about it!

All in all, it was a great event and raised a significant amount of money for the Trevor Project. Everyone left happy. Job well done!