Brokenwood Semillon 2010

Wow! What a lunch at home... A lazy Sunday at home prompted a "clean-out-the-fridge" meal that always seems to turn out surprisingly well. Kara was marvelling as we walked the dogs that some of our spontaneous lunches are better than meals we get out. I have to say, I think I may have even impressed myself.

As an appetizer, I prepared a Jar recipe that I've never tried to execute at home: the Lump Crab and Melon Salad in a Jalapeno Vinaigrette. Working with the materials I had, I used a red watermelon and an "orange flesh" melon, which I had never tried before. Sadly, the lump crab was from a container and not fresh, but tossed in the vinaigrette and treated to some torn mint leaves and red onion, I didn't mind at all. This is my favorite summer salad this year. I totally dig a Kabinett Riesling with this usually, but today Kara and I just shared a Kern River "Just Outstanding" IPA, which worked fine. Simcoe hops add an almost sweet citrus and citrus pith that has savory bitterness on the finish. I just discovered this bottling and, as far as I'm concerned, the name is not an exaggeration.

As a main course, I prepared a simple lemon beurre blanc with some crushed garlic cloves and crushed red pepper. Tossing in some cooked store-bought shrimp, I served this "scampi" over a homemade Sage-infused rice and garnished it with a little fresh parsley. I went a little heavy on the lemon in the sauce since I knew I was going to open the Brokenwood Semillon 2010 from Hunter Valley in Australia. The pairing was perfect! The wine, which has a core of very crisp lemon and minerality, matched the acidity in the sauce and drew out the sandier pear flavors in the wine, without altering its character. Both the dish and the wine were continuously refreshing each other and I think we both ate more than we intended to. Kara commented that each bite of the rice was like an burst of lemon and butter on the palate. Now - why has no one made a chewing gum like this...?

I am continually finding myself more drawn to these Australian whites. At a meager 12% alcohol, and with such clean, simple flavors, this Brokenwood Semillon is a sommelier's dream! I am suddenly thinking of all the things I want to try it with. Whoops - better go buy some more first, I guess...

Cooking Class at Jar: August, 2011

For our August cooking class, we had a very intimate group. The menu included her simple (but wonderful) Heirloom Tomato Salad as a starter. For the entree, she prepared her Braised Ox Tail along with Long-Cooked Kale. Our pastry chef prepared a Peach Cobbler for dessert. Despite not being an entirely "summer-y" menu, I would not be upset to be eating any of these things for lunch this month.

I poured the Ca' del Roro Prosecco, Brut NV as an aperitif. As always, I emphasized how wonderful Prosecco can be as an easy quaffer, a start to dinner, or the only way to begin drinking at 11am when class begins. A wonderful palate primer, it features very clean green apple and hay flavors, with crisp lemon and also an intersting honeyed note as well. Very classic, not particularly sweet or overly fruity, it's a loverly and inexpensive little sparkler.

To match the Heirloom Tomato Salad, I leaned on my new favorite summer wine: the Schloss Gobelsburg 'Gobelsburger', Gruner Veltliner 2010. We're pouring this by the glass at Jar at the moment. Produced from vines under the age of twenty years in the Kamptal region of Austria. The fruit and acidity in this wine, as well as the savory minerality, make this imminently easy to drink, despite its youth. Classic "green" flavors that fit the radish/asparagus profile with the spicy white pepper on the finish. Lots of citrus and even a peachy edge. Completely food-friendly and I'm likely to drink my case of this before the end of September.

The Ox Tail is probably Suzanne's favorite dish on the menu, so I pulled one of my favorites from the list for the class: the Brovia Barolo 2005. I've written about this before, but I will happily express how wonderful and classic this wine is again. The tar and rose aromas with the solid core of both ripe and dried cherry is mesmerizing. Elegantly spiced, to match the spices in Suze's recipe, and with firm tannin that is drinkable on its own, but serves the fattiness of the ox tail as well. I liked the regional match of the cippolini onions with Italian wine as well.

Another great morning in the Jar kitchen with both new and old friends!

Liquid Farm

I just have to tell you about this wine! I generally only drink the same bottle once a year - sometimes twice. I've drunk this three times already this month! Although, I hazard to put the word out because they only made two barrels of it (about fifty cases...). I think it bears some talking about, though.


Liquid Farm is a brand new project in the Santa Rita Hills in Santa Barbara County. Known for its particularly cool climate, Pinot Noirs from this AVA have been flying off the shelves for a number of years now due to a little film called "Sideways". While a winemaker's style can sometimes get in the way of expressing what this climate has to offer (in cases such as Sea Smoke), there are a few producers who are working to showcase what can be accomplished in this area from the Old World perspective. Some of those producers are dabbling in Chardonnay, due to its classic roots in Burgundy and notoriety for expressing terroir and minerality.

With the winemaking team from Dragonette Cellars to assist, Liquid Farm has set forth their goal of showcasing California Chardonnay in its best light. Their focus is on typicity of the grape, minerality, food-friendly acidity, balance, and overall drinkability. Their efforts to avoid manipulating the wine really shine through: no acidification, new oak or heavy alcohols. This is Chardonnay in its most natural light.

The Liquid Farm 'White Hill' Chardonnay 2009 succeeds at every level of what they set forth to accomplish. Beautiful flavors of Golden Delicious apple and Anjou pear, a soft cinnamon note, quince, a touch of lemon sorbet - and stoney minerality like water rushing over rocks. The acidity makes this wine completely refreshing and, in my experience so far, completely food-friendly. I've enjoyed it with Dim Sum, where it was truly amazing (especially with curried noodles), and also Truffled Chicken Cordon Bleu. Both occasions were a real treat.

In addition to the two barrels of 'White Hill', they have also produced two barrels of another Chardonnay called 'Golden Slope', which I have not yet had the opportunity to taste, but will definitely seek out. One wonders how such a large effort that yields such a small, albeit amazing, result is worth the time and energy involved. All I can do is applaud their passion and dedication. And, of course, drink their wine.

It's a real treat, as a sommelier, to find producers who are undertaking the challenge of introducing the world market to a new style. I'm pleased to say we have been pouring The Paring Chardonnay 2009 by the glass at Jar for some time now, another crisp Chardonnay without oak influence from Santa Rita Hills. I hope that this is a trend that will continue in the years to come. From what I've seen, people are responding in a positive way to these changes, although they may not be able to put their finger on how these Chardonnays are different from the ones they normally drink. But when they order a second glass, it tells me that Chardonnay drinkers are open to the change.

Bolognese and Italian Wines

I had to cover a Sunday evening at Jar, which is normally our day off. Kara decided she was going to make dinner for me. Bolognese Sauce to be precise. My thoughts immediately turned to Barolo and I could not wait for service to be over. These are two of my favorite things in the world! To have them on the same table at the same time is sheer heaven for me.

As I entered the house, the smell was intoxicating. I quickly raced up the stairs to the computer, practically dropping my suit on the floor as I went. Scrolling frantically through the Piedmont section, I was reeling with excitment. Kara already had the water boiling for the pasta as the sauce was getting happier by the minute. I agonized over what to open, as I always do. Some wines were locked up in cold storage offsite. Some were completely too young. I pored over the wines again and again, looking for just the perfect one. Before I knew it, Kara had the food plated and there was no more time for selecting, much less decanting. ARGH!

I sighed and grabbed the Guido Porro Barolo 2004 from the "guest cellar" since it would be the closest, fastest, and best instantly ready wine I had on hand. (I need to get more efficient in my decision-making process when it comes to selecting wine at home...) Not to say that this is not a good wine, by any means. It's a terrific, inexpensive and servicable Barolo. It shows perfect typicity and manageable tannin levels. I must admit it was perfect with the sauce, which was heavenly. The florality was expressive on the nose and the structure was still felt on the palate, even with the amount of bacon Kara included in the dish. She knows me so well...



I had one of those crazy sommelier moments about halfway through the meal and decided to open another wine. Morbid curiousity. Nothing was going to be the equal of the Barolo! But I had to satisfy the madness. I popped the cork on the Terre di Balbia 'Balbium' 2009, a new wine we're pouring by the glass at Jar that I've got a crush on at the moment. Up to now, I haven't really played with it in terms of pairing so it seemed like as good a time as any. The wine is made in Calabria by the owners of Venica y Venica (a well-known white producer in the North) from 100% Magliocco. Stylistically, it reminds me of a cross between Barbera and Syrah. It expresses peppery and spicy flavors over the fruit of a rustic Italian quaffer, but backed by mild tannin and surprising acidity. It's a total wine geek wine and people have just been loving it.

As a pairing for this dish, however, it fell flat. Lacking the structure for all the delicious fats, it became a wishy-washy, non-descript, fruity blob. More tannin please! I think it may have shown better with a marinara or arrabiatta sauce. I will be interested to try this experiment on another day.

Returning to the Barolo, I relaxed into my happy place. Why did I ever leave you, my darling...? I may need to start working Sundays more often.