An "Over the Top" Christmas Eve

No - Sylvester Stallone didn't drop by for arm wrestling... But that would've been an interesting party, too. Christmas Eve was a balls-to-the-wall exercise in decadence this year! Not sure why that particular bug bit in 2010, but everyday is a party, they say. So, why not kick it up a notch for the holiday?!!!

Kara's tradition for Christmas Eve is hanging out and eating appetizers. She has a bean dip that she makes every year which is the anchor to this concept. I get to fill in the goodies all around it. So, I figured it really knock it out of the park:

We opened with side-by-side glasses of Paul Bara Brut Champagne NV and Moreau's 'Les Clos' Grand Cru Chablis 2008. I paired these to a dozen Fanny Bay oysters (yes - I shucked them myself...) and an ounce of Russian Osetra Caviar. The Champagne was nice: crisp minerality, balanced fruit, but really just a servicable sparkler. It worked well with both foods. The Chablis was awesome! I think the quality of the wine itself made this the favorable pairing for both the caviar and the oysters. It was salty, with chalk and butter compound, ripe fruits, perfumed with white flowers and moderate body. This Chablis was just ranked in the Top 100 by Wine Spectator, so grab it while you can.

Our next course was Alaskan King Crab Legs, also paired to the Chablis. This was pretty awesome to see the change in the wine. The Crab Legs really drew out the fruitier aspects of the Chardonnay, while the lighter seafood dishes played on the minerality. I knew these wines would be versatile and fine pairings for all of these dishes, but I had no idea how delicious and interesting this Chablis was going to be!

Lastly, Kara's bean dip hit the table. No pairing here except for some beer. In retrospect, I should've filmed her eating the bean dip. You've never seen such a small girl put away so much. "Selective hunger", she calls it...

All in all, a great Christmas Eve! Hope yours was as enjoyable!

A Random Observation...

Well - I thought the point of advertisements and literature at the retail level was to encourage you to BUY the product. Perhaps I was wrong...






While shopping at Bevmo for some festive holiday ales, I came across this ad for the joint venture between two breweries I like. At $20 for a 750 ml, it ain't exactly cheap as beer goes. Curiousity immediately took hold and my first reaction is, of course, GRAB IT!

But something sat uneasy with me on this good night and I re-read beyond the names of the two breweries that had pretty much sold me on the beer. "Light" - ALL the way up to the "short finish". Sounds like a Pellegrino. How ever could they craft such an amazing roller coaster ride of a beer?

Look - I love a light-bodied beer as much as the next guy - but short finish? I'm out!

Needless to say, I passed on purchasing the beer. Congratulations, Bevmo! You just lost a sale thanks to the literature you posted to promote the product.

The Saveur/Alsace Event at Jar

We had a great event at Jar last night! It's been a long and arduous process in getting it together, but ultimately a good time was had by all. "Wines of Alsace" hosted a tasting via Saveur magazine for Los Angeles sommeliers. It was held late night so somms could relax and cut loose after work. Wines and food were paired by yours truly, showcasing the diversity of Alsace.

Here were the wines selected and poured for the event:

Rene Mure, Cremant d’Alsace NV
Trimbach, Pinot Blanc 2006
Weinbach, Pinot Blanc ‘Reserve’ 2007
Trimbach, ‘Cuvee Frederic Emile’, Riesling 2002
Pierre Sparr, Cremant d’Alsace Rose NV
Weinbach, ‘Cuvee Ste. Catherine L’Inedit’, Riesling 2006
Zind Humbrecht, Pinot Gris 2009
Marcel Deiss, ‘Beblenheim’, Pinot Gris 2004
Zind Humbrecht, Gewurtztraminer 2009
Schlumberger, ‘Kitterle’ Gewurtztraminer 2005

It was a great glimpse into the style of Alsace, ranging from entry level to Grand Cru wines, dry to off-dry, and great vintages to mediocre. While not my favorite region in general, it always surprises me how well these wines DO work with food. Although, as a sommelier, you do have to get past that initial shock for most American palates of the residual sugar in some of the wines. Or as one of my former servers once said that really sums it up, "It's sugar water!!"

The real standouts in the lineup are shown above. The 'L'Inedit' Riesling by Weinbach was the clear favorite, and not a surprise. It was the first wine on my list when I was asked to select the wines. Even from a shoddy vintage, this wine is deftly balanced and just a treat to drink. A picture of elegance! And great with the Char Siu Pork Croissants! I also found myself returning to the 'Cuvee Frederic Emile' Riesling 2002 by Trimbach. A bit more austere with more present acidity and less residual sugar than the Weinbach, it was an excellent contrast and better suited to the Hamachi it was paired with. I also found the Marcel Deiss 'Bebblenheim' Pinot Gris 2004 to be quite delicious with a very intriguing nose that could be considered offensive to some. It was paired classically to a deliciously rich Onion Tart. And lastly, Schlumberger's 'Kitterle' Gewurtztraminer 2005 was intense! Decidedly off-dry and bordering on sweet, showing all the rose, lychee, baked apricot that makes Gewurtztraminer the Elvis Presley of wine. It was a wildly interesting and unique pairing with Lamb Meatballs in a Honey Dipping Sauce.

I included Zind Humbrecht because they are considered one of the best, if not THE best, producers in Alsace. However, the reception to their wines was less than favorable. I thought they showed fine, but it seems many did not understand their style. Granted, these were not their premier wines, but they were the entry-level wines that most would be exposed to.

A great thanks to our talented chef Suzanne Tracht for her hard work on the six dishes that I was able to pair to! And to the Wines of Alsace and Saveur for allowing us to put on this fun event.

2001 Produttori Barbaresco 'Moccagatta'

Still drinking Nebbiolo -









I found the 2001 Moccagatta from Produttori del Barbaresco at a tasting held at Pizzeria Mozza almost four years ago now. The tasting featured the entire lineup of their 2001's, other current releases, and a vertical of the Poro vineyard (I think...). We've had the wine on the list since that time and when it came down to my last bottle, I just had to buy it and say goodbye properly.

The menu featured a Prime Ribeye from Costco, the last of our Chino Farms corn sauteed with some red bell pepper, and a long-grain wild rice provided expertly by Rice-a-Roni. I love that stuff! I grew up eating Chicken-flavored Lipton rice for almost every meal. Twenty minutes in the microwave so it got crusty on the edges... Look - you have some weird childhood foods, too!

The wine is drinking beautifully. Still firmly structured and fuller-bodied than the recently reviewed Brovia Barolo. Red cherry, leaning its way toward black, roses and tar, plum and blackberry. The dusty spices are there as well. To my recollection from the tasting, the Moccagatta was the fruitier and more crowd-pleasing bottling and that seems to still be the case.

Delicious wine and great with the meal. I suppose the Ribeye could have taken a heartier wine, but I was certainly not complaining. When great wine is great, fine-tuning to food is usually irrelevant.

Brovia Barolo 2005

We just picked up the 2005 Brovia Barolo at Jar and, having not tasted the 2005 yet, I figured I might as well pick one up and give it a shot. I've been on a Nebbiolo kick lately and any excuse to dive into one is welcome.

While not profound, the Brovia 2005 Normale is everything I look for in a Barolo at a young age. The core of cherry fruit is there with the roses, tar, dusty spices and gripping tannins. This is Barolo in the classic style: light-bodied, elegant and built for hearty foods to tear down that wall of tannin.

An interesting point: There is a small blurb in "What to Drink with What You Eat" from Silverlake Wine owner (and former somm at Campanile) George Cosette about Barolo. He says that people are sometimes surpised when they taste Barolo at how "light" it is when they were told or think that it's a "big" wine. I encountered this last night when I served a bottle and the table was surprised at the light color and light body with jarringly (no pun intended) firm tannin.

This brings up the issue of wine vocabulary. "Big" can mean a lot of things. Big fruit, big tannin, big alcohol, big body. My buddy Josh means big tannin. Most people seem to mean big body or dark fruit. So, in that sense, Barolo is not a big wine.

Yes - back to the Barolo at hand. By the time said table had food, the Barolo had been open and was singing with the dishes. While still not a full-bodied wine, it was better with food. Personally, I was hoping they'd refure the wine so I could taste the staff on it and maybe pour it to some cool guests in the dining room. Or worse, drink it at the end of the night! No such luck.

Tenuta di Trinoro Estate 2003

Every so often, disappointment rears its ugly head...





I opened a bottle of Tenuta di Trinoro Estate 2003 with dinner last night after a long night at Jar. Kara and I were enjoying a Kansas City, some roasted carrots and sauteed corn from Chino Farms. A Bordeaux blend from Tuscany seemed a good fit and we hadn't tried this in a few years.

I accept that 2003 was a hot year for Europe that produced less terroir-driven wines, but this was practically a Californian wine. Kara blind-tasted it as New World Bordeaux-blend. The fruit showed as wild berry jam mixed with violets, soft tannins and a short finish. And this is not a cheap wine! While I have confidence in the quality of this producer, I cannot recommend the 2003 vintage of this bottle.

It's possible that this paled in comparison after tasting the 1996 Phelan-Segur and the 1997 Shafer Hillside Select at Jar tonight, which were both showing beautifully. I think I'm suffering from wine envy tonight...

Penfolds with Chief Winemaker Peter Gago

I was invited today to a tasting of Penfold's wines featuring chief winemaker Peter Gago as a speaker. He is in town for the recorking clinic tour. If you're not familiar with this, Penfold's offers to recork any bottle of Penfolds older than fifteen years for free. They see a lot of wines from the 50's, 60's and so on. So, to our benefit, he decided to hold this trade tasting of mostly current releases.

Upon entering, we were served the 2009 Bin 51 Riesling. Plenty of petrol and lime on the nose, dry on the palate (austere, even...) with peach underlying. Also a touch of tropicality in the nose with orange as well. Very straightforward and a nice, friendly Riesling.

At our prepared seats, we had a line-up of whites and reds. To start we tasted contrasting Chardonnays. The 2009 Bin 311 Chardonnay represents the more Burgundian-styled with less new oak, but still showing baked apple, buttered toast, fig and orange flavors with crisp acidity that support a moderate finish. On the other end is their premium Chardonnay: the "Yattarna" Chardonnay 2007, which sees a lot more new oak. Wildly buttered grilled pineapple, lemon, green apple, showing nice balance in its components, but certainly a powerhouse. At $100 a bottle, I'd stick to the Bin 311.

Moving on to reds, we tasted the Bin 2 Shiraz/Mourvedre 2009 which shows amazing freshness on the nose, almost as if it were not oaked at all. Also, cracked black pepper, black cherry, a little herbaceousness, blueberry and a touch of raspberry. Following this, in comparison, they poured the Bin 138 GSM 2007. Bin 138, sealed with a screw cap, showed an incredible amount of reductive flavors that needed blowing off. However, underneath the rubber, it showed black and red fruits with dried flowers, a touch of coconut, and a nice balance on the palate.

The Bin 28 "Kalimna" Shiraz 2006 began to showcase what Penfold's is known for: Shiraz. This wine was textbook Shiraz with cherry liqueur and chocolate on the nose, blueberry and blackberry mixed with black pepper, sweet aromatics, and somewhat firm tannin. Following this, and more in the style I would prefer, is the "St. Henri" Shiraz 2005, which is aged in large oak casks, minimizing the oak flavors and emphasizing the purity of the fruit. This wine showed Queen Anne Cherry Cordials and vanilla on the nose, a very clean fruit component, balance, florality, blueberry and black cherry, a hint of meat as well as a saline character. Moderate body and soft tannin with a beautiful texture on the mouth. Following this was a library selection of the 1999 Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon , poured from magnum. It was difficult to get past all the new oak on this wine. It reeked of freshly sawed cedar on the nose as well as on the palate. Underlying, there were sweet flavors of brown sugar, coconut, vanilla, Twizzlers, blackberry and cassis, baking spices. The tannins are very firm suggesting this has a way to go, but I doubt that oak will ever integrate.

And finally - the 2004 Grange. Firm tannin dominates the palate right now, suggesting this has got a long life ahead. 100% new American oak shows on the nose and palate, but it's much more integrated than the other bottlings. The florality here is fresher and the fruit is sweet, but not AS sweet. The finish on this guy is pretty impressive and overall, for elegance in Australia, this is top notch. I wouldn't pay the prices they're charging these days, but I certainly wouldn't turn away a glass if offered.

Lastly, they poured a Grandfather Rare Tawny. I love Aussie dessert wines in lieu of dessert. They have so much to offer! This was full of walnuts, cherry flesh, tangerine candy, brown sugar, raisins, fig, toast. Wildly sweet, of course, but complex and a delicious end to a meal with some cheese.

With as much wine and as many labels as Penfold's makes, it's a wonder they can make this many solid wines. Overall, they are crowd-pleasers and don't push the envelope in any one direction, but their commitment to showing different styles and vineyard sources is commendable. A hearty thanks to Mr. Gago for making some time for the Los Angeles wine market!