St. Lucia

I have a tendency to spend all of my vacations in wine regions. Or at least tying the vacation into wine somehow. Even my honeymoon was spent in Tuscany with a few winey visits thrown into the mix. After nearly being together for nearly thirteen years, Kara finally put her foot down and insisted on a tropical vacation where I couldn't focus on wine. St. Lucia - here we come!


What the hell do I have to write about in regards to St. Lucia...?


Believe it or not, the island has some domestic beverages that are quite good. They don't get as much imported liquor and wine as you might think. Common names such as Grey Goose and Ketel One are absent from bars and grocery stores. I asked for a Belvedere martini and the bartender asked what was in it... There are less than ten beers on the island, about four of which are made there.

Here are a few of my new beverage experiences in the Carribean:



Piton is what seems to be the most popular domestic beer on the island. It's one of three lagers available, challenged by Caribe (another Carribean beer) and Heineken. I drank more than my fair share of this on the trip. It was slightly better than your average inexpensive lager, with a pronounced cheap hoppy flavor. Kara and I comiserated that it really just tasted like cheap college keg beer. But very quaffable and at those daily temperatures, I was glad to have a glass or two.



Venturing out to the local markets, I discovered the rest of the beers available on the island. Rooster was a dark, malty ale that tasted like an adult chocolate malt. Super light on hops and barely noticable. Sort of like a less good version of Chimay Blue. It was tough to get through a full bottle, but not bad. I paired it with some local banana chips. The chips were dry and not sweetened so it actually made an interesting contrast and complement to the beer. In the photo, you'll also find the cat Kara adopted: Lucy.



At the store, I also found a Ginger Wine from Jamaica. I'd never heard of Ginger Wine so I picked one up to give it a try. On the nose, it smelled like a Coke when the ice has melted and it's gotten watered down. Sweet on the palate and exceptionally spicy from ginger, it also shows some oxidative notes on the finish that remind me of Oloroso sherry. I couldn't drink more than a few sips of this so I toured it around the resort allowing other guests to try it. One of the locals recommended adding a little soda water to it as a serving option which I thought would be an interesting way to cut the sweetness, but I'd moved back on to beer and didn't try it.

Of course, as one might expect, they distill a number of different styles of rum that are made on the island. I'd intended to make my way over to the facility during the stay, but spent more time scuba diving than I expected. I did, however, grab a few bottles from the store to taste upon returning home. If they are anything to speak of, I will certainly post about them, though I expect they will be fairly standard.

Enjoying wine was a tremendous challenge as there isn't much of note and particularly little from Europe. Argentina and Chile have a fairly strong presence in the market with a little from California, New Zealand and a smattering of French and Italian. We managed to try a couple of wines with dinners: an Orvieto and 'Parallel 45' Cote du Rhone, which is commonly seen here in the States. I also found a bottle of Trimbach Riesling 2007 which we had at one of their nicer French restaurants. It was actually pretty good: lots of lime and green apple, chalk, petrol and white flowers. Very crisp acidity and hardly any residual sugar. This was killer with the appetizers and with the breaded pork entree we ordered. I even had some with the Filet Mignon (because I certainly wasn't drinking the Beringer Stone Cellars Cab they had by the glass).









This was just amazing to see...










All in all, a great time. As soon as we walked back in the door, Kara asked me what I was longing for from home. "A great bottle of wine", I replied. So, as we stumbled in at 2:30 am (which was 5:30 to us coming from the east coast), we popped a bottle of Grand Cru Blanc de Blanc Champagne and welcomed ourselves back to California, great sushi, and world class wines. It's always good to come home!

Arnaldo Caprai '25 Ani' Sagrantino di Montefalco 2001

Another casual dinner at home on our days off. As Kara plowed through an episode of America's Next Top model, I was plowing through some Marc Bredif Vouvray 2004. I've been holding on to this bottle since its release, curious about its age-ability. It's held up surprisingly well. Still very focused with honeyed notes of Golden Delicious apple, citrus, quince and very minor amounts of that wet-wooly Chenin tone. This is a user-friendly Vouvray that's built for the masses, showing less minerality and more obvious fruit character. Probably still has a few more years in it, too. And it was a fine match for my truffle cheese.

For dinner, I opened an Arnaldo-Caprai '25 Ani' Sagrantino di Montefalco 2001. Marco Caprai is akin to the Robert Mondavi of Sagrantino in Umbria. His mission was to make this relatively unknown grape into a world-class wine. He began his mission back in the 1970's and seems to have succeeded, gaining popularity for his many wines and turning his facility into a full-scale and massive operation. In 1991, he helped in earning Sagrantino di Montefalco a DOCG status and truly securing its place in the world market. He offers two bottlings of Sagrantino (three, if you count the Passito), the best of which is the 25 Ani, made from the best lots.

Sagrantino, if you've never had it, is a beast. It's simply one of the most tannic wines you'll ever have, but also balanced by dark, ripe fruit and with a layer of earth. It reminds me in many ways of domestic Petite Syrah, with its dark, jammy fruits and leeching, herbal tannin. This bottling was no exception: Ripe plum and blackberry, with roasted coffee, ground baking spices and Italian dirt. Lush on the palate, until the tannins take hold and wring your tongue dry, demanding that you have another bite of red meat.


Kara I were fortunate enough to spend National Wine Day at Arnaldo-Caprai when we visited Umbria. The winery, which is enormous, had a walking tour through the vineyard with five stops, each offering a different dish and Caprai wine to match. At the final stop, the party really took off with a live band. It was a madhouse, but an amazing experience. On a hot summer day, as it was, the Grecante (made from Grechetto grapes) was really hitting the spot.

As I was enjoying the New York and Long-Grain Wild Rice with the Sagrantino, I noted that the wine really wasn't delivering as much as I would have liked on the palate. The nose was so perfumey and enticing, almost like a theoretical combination of a new and old Bordeaux mixed in the same glass. But the wine fell a little too flat on the palate. I noted that I was drinking from the over-sized Riedel Cabernet stem, which George had called his "troublemaker". I opened a half bottle of Anakota Cabernet the night before and had the same experience with that wine. The glass, perhaps? Could it possibly be George Riedel coming back to haunt me?!


I brought out the Hermitage glass for comparison. The nose was much less perfumed and expansive from this stem. The aromas were more focused, like a laser beam to the nostrils. The complexity of the nose remained, but the alcohol and volatile acidity (nail polish remover) were turned up a notch. It would be difficult to match the beauty of the nose achieved from the Cabernet glass. However, on the palate, the wine from the Hermitage glass gave me the desired balance and flavors I was expecting from the Sagrantino. The rich fruit giving way to the even more emphasized tannins and fruit seed bitterness. I definitely preferred this glass on the palate.

So- what to do? Like a real wine geek, I smelled the wine from the Cabernet glass and sipped from the Hermitage glass. Yeah - I know it's weird, but I get to fall back on the fact that it's my job. How are you going to explain that you want two different glasses the next time you go out to a restaurant...? Well, you could always tell them I told you so...

Chicken Cordon Bleu: Old World vs. New World

I've been getting more experimental with some of my favorite home recipes these days. The first time I ever made Chicken Cordon Bleu was in college from a book called 365 Ways to Cook Chicken. Having only experienced mediocre versions of it as a kid, having a freshly made rendition was mind-blowing. I've used some aspect of that recipe ever since.

To vary things up this go-round, I whirred up some fresh bread crumbs for a change. I've been making bread like a madman with this new sourdough starter I'm growing. I also switched up the cheese for a truffle cheese Costco is carrying right now.

Now - the wine! I made this two nights in a row so we had the chance to do another little Battle Royal. On Night One, I served the Sanguis 'Fractured Flowers' 2008, which I had never tried. Matthias made less than 300 bottles of this 100% Viognier from old vines in the Bien Nacido vineyard. I was allocated three bottles on the mailing list. Jar didnt get any... Classic Viognier! Peach and citrus aromas wrapped in white flowers. Controlled on the palate and expressing the typical peach pit bitterness on the mid-palate and into the finish. This Viognier doesn't feel fat or acidulated, which are the major pitfalls with this grape. Beautiful balance and typicity.

As a pairing, this wine actually made an interesting addition to the meal. The wine showed more of an accent on the citrus tones with the food. However, I loved the layer of cling peaches with the fried bread crumbs. It reminded me of being in the south and having fried chicken and peach cobbler. This wouldn't have been my very first choice for this dish, but I was jones-ing to try this wine and there wasn't much chance of it being an offensive pairing.


On Night Two, we took things to the Old World with Pascal Janvier's 'Cuvee du Silex', Jasnieres 2008. Chenin Blanc from forty miles north of Vouvray and planted on the infamous Silex soil of the Loire Valley. I've had this wine a number of times before and it always surprises me how it plays with food. The wine is a funky little girl: the musty wet wooliness of Chenin is there, but also honeyed notes, Meyer lemon, peach, and a green layer that Kara called asparagus, but I though was more in the realm of grass or tea. The wine is definitely off-dry, and while Kara noted that she didn't think this wine had any acidity, she changed her tune when we hit the food. The dish toned down the sweetness and allowed a salty lemon-curd character to shine in the Chenin. The dish really took this wine to another level.

I don't think I can say one of these wines was better than the other. Each worked in their own way. If pressed, I'd probably take the Sanguis, but it wasn't really as refreshing as the Jasnieres turned out to be. Sommelier's Recommendation: Open both and have a glass of each!






On an unrelated note, Cooper seems to have developed an alcoholism issue. This, along with Parker's disturbing love for Prosciutto, concerns me for my safety while I sleep...

New Kid on the Block in Beaujolais

As I'm sitting here wrapping up monthly inventory with my mug of Starbucks, my thoughts return to one of the bottles I tasted this week. While one often thinks of enjoying a nice crisp white about mid-day (especially with your face buried in a spreadsheet of the great wines of the world), with the cool breeze that's currently glazing over Los Angeles this afternoon, I'm reminded of how delicious and refreshing Cru Beaujolais can be at a time like this. And with the profound 2009 vintage on the market right now, there will likely never be a better time than right now to go enjoy a bottle!

"Beaujolias?!!!", you say? "Isn't that the black cherry Jell-o tasting stuff that's like grape juice?!" Well, in some cases, yes. Particularly on the Nouveau end of things. But Cru Beaujolais from the major villages can be as interesting as many wines from Burgundy and often more refreshing. And likely more drinkable in their youth, but with a potential to show earthy complexity over the following ten years or so. Of course, the stigma attached is hard to overcome for most. Even George Riedel at his recent seminar in Los Angeles quoted the Duke of Burgundy as saying "Take this crap south!", in reference to the Gamay grape Beaujolais is made from. But I know you're more open-minded than that...

2009 is being touted as the best vintage in Beaujolais in decades. Perhaps the best ever? Though it seems we hear that about some region every year these days. In my estimation, it's definitely an arguable level of quality, as it was in the Rhone in 2007. In much the same way, the wines are riper and more generous than usual, making them perhaps a little less typical. In my tastings so far, I would agree that these wines are darker, denser and more "real" wines than many that I have experienced. Fuller-bodied, due to commonly experienced higher alcohol levels, and richer mouth-feel are not uncommon.

So, back to the bottle I'm reminiscing about in particular: the Thibault Liger-Belair 'Les Roucheaux' Moulin-a-Vent 2009. Dark and rich on the nose with blackberry, black raspberry and black plum, fresh tobacco, almost a feeling of smokiness, and elegantly perfumed florality in spades. Much more austere than expected on the palate, showing structure and crisp acidity. This is wildly perplexing because it's austere, but also fresh and generously fruity at the same time! Only 375 cases made with a retail price of about $25/bottle. Kara, who blind-tasted this as usual, placed it as a really good Dolcetto (mostly because she liked it so much, therefore it must be Italian). Not a bad call.

This is the first vintage from Thibault Liger-Belair who recently acquired this property with vines of, on average, sixty years of age. Pretty impressive start: property in the Moulin-a-Vent, arguably the best appelation in Beaujolais, and from the 2009 vintage. These wines are probably a little on the higher side of the price spectrum for Beaujolais, making the value a little less pronounced, but the delivery is well worth the few extra bucks. Unfortunately, there is a miniscule amount of his three bottlings. If you spot them, they're well worth your time and dollars.

The Riedel Seminar

I love Riedel stemware. We don't use very much of it at JAR, but I keep an extensive amount of styles at home to experiment with. Ever since my first seminar with George Riedel, I was sold on the importance of the shape of the glass and its effect on the wine. Since that first eye-opening experience, I have always made it a point to attend any of his seminars that I can get to.

Each seminar I've attended has had its own focus, generally centered around a collection of three different stems. My personal favorite was the spirits seminar, which I found to be the most dramatic. The grappa glass was a real eye-opener! This seminar was focused strictly on red wines: Pinot Noir, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon.

To begin his lecture, Mr. Reidel, who is actually a very funny and talented public speaker, showed the effect of the delivery of each glass. By using a mineral water, he illustrated how a particular glass can strike your palate in a different way, thereby changing the experience texturally. An interesting approach, given that there is no flavor to water. The Cabernet glass was the clear favorite in its delivery of the liquid across the palate in the most thirst-quenching manner.

Getting down to the wines, each of the glasses showed its intended varietal in the purest way. The Pinot Noir glass highlighted the florality and acidity, which was lost completely in the Cabernet glass, as well as any aromas at all. The Syrah showed the most flavors out of the Hermitage glass, and accented only a few characteristics from the other stems. The Cabernet changed slightly from glass to glass, but was the least dramatic of the examples. With a different Cabernet than the extra-ripe 2007 Barnett Cabernet, I think it would have been a more effective showing.

In the final leg of his lecture, Mr. Riedel offered that food is a key component with wine as well. "I have provided chocolate", he chimed in his Austrian accent, referring to the Lindor truffle at each of our seats. He suggested that the positives and negatives of food and wine pairing were also accentuated by the proper stem. This message was lost on me since I don't really care for chocolate with dry wine and found it a poor pairing in either case. But I did appreciate the chocolate.


I highly recommend attending one of these seminars if the opportunity presents itself. They are usually very eye-opening and, even if you don't choose to buy a bunch of different Riedels, they will encourage you to think more about which glass you pull out of the cabinet. I just re-organized my wine glass cupboard to have easier access to all of my various stemware so I can do a little more experimentation at home. Heck - you can even grab a few different Riedels at the store and perform the seminar yourself! But I guess it won't be the same without the Austrian accent...

6th Annual Boys and Girls Brunch

Every year or so, a bunch of wine geeks and I get together for a blind smackdown at a Sunday brunch. The tradition was spawned from an old friend who invited all of his male buddies for such an event called "Boys' Lunch", but girls were not allowed. Kara would always be upset that she wasn't invited, so I fired up an inclusive version and named it "Boys' and Girls' Brunch", or BGB.

The idea is fairly simple: Every participant brings a foil-wrapped bottle of wine. Throughout the brunch, the wines are tasted blind and ultimately voted on for first, second, third and LAST place. The first place winner gets a free brunch. The dreaded last place recipient is forced to imbibe some horrific concoction. For example: a shot of Fernet Branca, olive juice, Campari and milk would not be out of the realm of possibilities. It's a refreshing change for me especially since we aren't trying to deduce where the wine is from or what grape(s) it's made from. Rather, this is just about deciding which wine you think shows best - or, more simply- which is your favorite.

The attendees have changed over the years. This year, we had quite a range of experience, including a Master Sommelier candidate, at the table. Even our casual wine drinkers had fairly extensive cellars from which to draw their wine. With so many experienced palates, it was actually quite difficult to determine a wine that would speak to all of the tasters.

With everyone in attendance in the lounge at JAR, the tasting commenced. I poured all of the wines from a decanter to ensure no one would recognize their bottle or foil work. A few white wines were in the mix, as well as a sparkler, which were poured first. I poured slope-shouldered bottled before Bordeaux bottles in a blind effort to create some kind of fair order.

After the initial tasting, we offer the opportunity to retaste any wines side-by-side to determine any close calls. Usually, these tough calls are for first or last place.

With the votes placed and the results on the paper, here is how it all shook out. For those who were willing to donate their notes, I have included some of the comments as they were recorded:


1st place: Domaine de la Bouissiere ‘La Font de Tonin’, 1997 Gigondas

Comments: Tobacco, cigar box, Chinon?, sediment, red, old, GSM, spice, old Bordeaux, gritty tannin, super interesting, Rhone Blend, awesome


2nd place: Orin Swift ‘Abstract, 2009

Comments: Really juicy blueberry and bramble, balanced, Syrah, could be Spanish Garnacha, nice nose, not as boisterous as #7, cherry cough syrup, jammy, blah -, extremely fruity, Beaujolias?


3rd place: Sanguis ‘Waxing Poetic’ 2006Syrah

Comments: Perfumey, dark fruits, butterscotch, brown sugar, brownie batter, viscous, menthe and eucalyptus, lush and sweet, Aussie Shiraz/Cab, big alcohol, nice oak integration, eh...


And the DREADED Last Place: Ravenswood ‘Barricia’ Zinfandel 2006

Comments: Very restrained, lacking much of anything, lavender and herbs? Tight and young – not expressive, can’t get any nose, Malbec/Zin?, cooked?, yucky!, blech!, boring -, too tight and young



The losing participant (who shall remain nameless) was forced to drink the decanter rinse of all ten wines. No spit, but one of the wines was corked.



Other wines on the table were:


Gramona, Cava NV

Comments: Marmalade, toast, apple, fresh fruit, crisp, Schramsberg?, light floral, Roquefort, lemongrass, bright citrus, crab apple, refreshing but not a lot of character, tasty


Cable Bay, Riesling, New Zealand 2007

Comments: Petrol, lime, austere nose, lime bud candy, off-dry, good but a little sweet, buttery nose, fairly soft, tropical, roundness, some age, passion fruit, grapefruit, wet gravel, nice acid, chalk, light, fat and waxy


Tramin, ‘Stoan’, 2006 Alto Adige (Chardonnay, Pinot Bianco, Sauvignon Blanc and Gewurtztraminer)

Comments: Grapefruit, grass, citrus rind, New World Sauv Blanc?, bright fresh and sweet on nose, honeysuckle, pineapple, lime, fresh pineapple, warm climate, some oak, Like!, Chard – balanced oak, White Burg?


Chateau de Fonsalette, Cote du Rhone 2000

Comments: Candied red fruits, fat juicy Grenache character, wishy-washy, smells like port, raisins, over the hill, flat, tannin, structure, bland, lighter, a bit mushy


Freemark Abbey ‘Bootleg’ Cabernet Sauvignon 2003

Comments: Mountainside herbal tone, black fruit, restrained, good but not expressive, youthful, strawberry jam, not distinctive, dusty, thin, hedonistic, balanced, young, pretty standard Cab


And, in another tragic case of TCA, a bottle of Pichon Lalande 1995 was corked and disqualified. The cork dorks we are, we immediately tried the Saran Wrap trick. If you're not familiar, there is a theory that Saran Wrap bonds to the molecules of TCA, thereby removing the offensive musty smell. However, the truth is that it doesn't really bring back the fruit to the wine, nor its integrity. That seemed to be the case here, in my estimation.

As always, it was a fantastic time and I leave the event meaning to increase its frequency, but a year always goes by so quickly. A special thanks to all of the participants and their insightful selections. See you soon!

Bond and Burgers! - Again!

We couldn't possibly be together with my folks and not have burgers at Morton's. It's a staple for us. Through its many phases - "Bordeaux and Burgers", "Cab and Cow", "Bond and Burgers", "Harlan and Hamburgers" and other alliterative combinations as well - we decided to revisit Bond and Burgers because of Kara's love for the winery on this trip.

To begin, we tried the new release of Luc Morlet's Chardonnay 'Ma Douce' 2009. While good, I found it somewhat underwhelming. It showed terrific balance and control, but fell into a small trap between the lines of Burgundian and Californian style that left me unclear as to what Luc was going for. None of us really commented on the wine, which lead me to believe that none of us really thought much of it. I do like these wines, but I hope the higher end efforts express more character and hook.

With the burgers, we broke into a Caymus 'Special Selection' 1999 and a Bond 'St. Eden' 2003. The Caymus was drinking great, but I think it's right in its window now. Lots of spice on the nose and palate with present but softening fruit on the palate. When you taste current vintages of Caymus, you realize, in comparison, how quickly the fruit in these wines fade and when your preferred window of drinking might be. This 1999 was right there for me - maybe a hair past even. On the flip side of the soft spicy Caymus, was the Bond: Super-ripe and less characteristic of my favorite Bond bottling than I had hoped. Aromatically, it smelled of freshly crushed Cabernet grapes and stems. I know that sounds weird - but I once crushed grapes in my kitchen with the stems and this was precisely the same compound. I think this bottle showed a little more oxidation than most might - there was an edge of Port-iness to it that I found off-putting, but it was a delicious drink and lent a tremendous amount of juiciness to the burger. There are better vintages of St. Eden and I would not really recommend this one as an introduction to the vineyard or Bond style based on the showing of this particular bottle.

Another episode of Morton's burgers under our belt, we returned victorious to the house, making plans for a lighter dinner on our last night. I think we need to stock up on some more white wines...