Our good friend and food/wine pairing expert, Nick Benz, graciously hosted the tasting at Landmark Vineyards and lined up about 20 tasting positions, each with a clean glass  for each wine and a scrap of paper for taking notes and voting.

The California Entries:

Eric|Kent 2006 Dry Stack Vineyard Syrah

Landmark Vineyards 2006 Steel Plow Syrah

The Washington Entries:

Fielding Hills 2006 Wahluke Slope Syrah

Syncline 2006 McKinley Springs Vineyard Syrah

Each wine was carefully selected to represent the best each state had to offer (in the sub $50 category) and came highly recommended from various sources, both professional and consumer.  Professional scores were all in the low to mid 90’s.

The tasting was based on the +/- formula and each individual taster award 2 +’s as well as 2 –‘s.  I found this to be a fair format, especially when 20 tasters were simply voting for their two favorite wines. Each wine was concealed and poured into A, B, C, D glasses.

The wines were remarkably unique in style, while maintaining the expected state tendencies. Having 4 high quality Syrah’s next to each other it was easy to see how unique the  different styles of Syrah  could be.  The California wines were easily identifiable and both had delicious fruit and very nice balance.  The Washington wines were dramatically different from each other, and from the California wines. Some had flavors of coffee and chocolate, and none had the high alcohol spiciness that you often find in an unsophisticated Syrah.

What I heard around the room:

• Lots of Coffee in this one. (Fielding Hills)
• Too harsh, needs more time (Syncline)
• Perfect balance, very drinkable (Eric|Kent)
• D is for delicious (Landmark)
• California brought the fruit to the party
• Those wines tended toward the minerality and complexity of a European Syrah.
• I knew these were the California wines, so I voted for them.

After the votes were tallied the results were all too appropriate… a first place tie.  The best of California turned out to be just as good as the best from Washington, with Landmark not too far behind.

1. Fielding Hills tied with Eric|Kent

3. Landmark

4. Syncline

Traveling with a 2 month old, we were not allowed into any of the show courts, so we weren’t able to watch Roger Federer’s run at the Grand Slam record or the Williams sisters utter dominance of this years womens draw… but it didn’t matter.  Just being there was an amazing experience.

We learned a lot from the experience and have this list of recommendations for fans traveling to Wimbledon and looking to get last minute Wimbledon tickets.

1. get your queue gear ready – bring a blanket, and umbrella and plenty of food and beverages.  Its likely to be raining or sunny and the umbrella will come in handy either way.  Queue lines can be very long and if you arrive at the wrong time, you could wait up to 5 hours.

2. get there early or late.  I’d recommend arriving at the queue before 9am or after 5pm.  If you are early, you’ll get in quick and get to expeirence the entire day.  If you arrive late, the line moves much faster and they start letting everyone in.

3. get ready to take some pictures.  the grounds are beautiful and the town of Wimbledon is as charming as the UK can muster.

4. take time and watch a match on the side courts.  Its amazing how close you can get to these professionals.

5. pims and lemonade followed by strawberries and cream.  there is a reason they all do it.

Wimbledon is amazingly accessible to the average fan, or tourist.  Our tickets were around 15 pounds.  We will definitely be going back on our next visit.

The Harvest Vine Top 10

1. ambiance is A+
2. sitting at the bar is like taking a cooking class
3. wine list is unique
4. parking was easy
5. staff was friendly and very knowledgable
6. basque food is damn good
7. they know how to cook the basque food
8. its not confused
9. the dungeon is a great place for groups
10. i’m still thinking about the pork tenderloin

Please enjoy this guide to the city, and share your own experiences in the comment section.

Getting Around Florence

Top Florence Day Trips

Dining in Florence

Where to Stay in Florence

Tourist Attractions in Florence

Andiamo!

If my friends and family are reading this, they’ll think my mind has spun out of orbit. You see, I have long run with a pack who champions bubbly as an all-the-time pleasure. And I still do. My heartsick separation from Champagne has nothing to do with a dip in my eternal amour for the sensation of fresh biscuits and spiced honey percolating across my willing palate. It has strictly to do with economics. For the first time in my life, I’ve sat with pen and pad, hammered out expenses, and begun the unsavory process of strikethroughs. Among other biting cuts, my unjustly robust Champagne budget has taken a distasteful punch. Sigh.

So do I keep drinking my favorites and imbibe less often? Ha! No. Instead, I’ve had to find something I can love as much, for less. Which means I’ve taken a serious look at – and taste of – sparkling wines from other regions, made by other methods, and am relieved to have found a surprise solution in which this fickle bubbly snob can relish. In a word: prosecco. Or rather, prosecco!

I don’t mean to negate other sparkling wines. Spain’s Cava, made in the traditional method, can be quite satisfying and inexpensive, but for subjective reasons didn’t make the cut on my Great Champagne Replacement Hunt. Examples of domestic sparkling wine can be found towards each end of my “Top 20 Favorites,” but the price point of our countrymen’s fine craftsmanship doesn’t help the situation at hand. Prosecco is Italy’s answer to my woebegone cries. To be clear, Prosecco is not like Champagne. Nor does it strive to be like Champagne. And in this time of economic disaster, I’m not looking for a Champagne experience.

Prosecco, made from grapes of the same name (and a couple/few others on occasion), comes from northern Italy’s Veneto. Or it should, anyway. If you’re interested in a long-lasting love affair with prosecco, don’t buy offerings from countries that aren’t Italy. And if you can, stick to prosecco with the easy-to-spot DOC labeling around the top of the bottleneck. DOC is a designation given to wines that meet specific standards, like where the grapes are from (in this case Conegliano-Valdobbiadene, that is, the town of Conegliano, in the district of Valdobbiadene), how the wine is aged, and how much of the prosecco grape is in the bottle (must be at least 85%). Note that there are some fine Italian proseccos out there without DOC recognition.

Unlike the mousse of fabulous Champagne, a nice Prosecco has an effervescence I like to call frothy. In the best examples aromatics are subtle, but not simple. Citrus and melon fruits, and florals dominate, and the lasting mouth feel is clean and refreshing. The acidity will never be the racy version found in bubbly made in the traditional method. Prosecco is made in the Charmat method, which doesn’t require the lengthy bottle aging of the Champagne method. Prosecco is much softer, and shines when consumed young.

Prosecco caught my eye, and then my heart with its light, cheery attitude. It’s happy; it’s fizzy. It doesn’t shy away from my southern cooking. It’s a lively companion with brunch, lunch, and dinner. It’s the original fizz of the classic Bellini. It’s been around for ages, and never made a kitschy fuss for attention. I fell for prosecco because I can easily stay in the magic arena of under $20. In fact, since I live near a great wine shop, I can hover around $10. For all of that, my strikethrough budget rallies to a victory cry: Cin cin! See you on the other side, friends!

Having just finished a fascinating book, “The Emperor of Wine” by Elin McCoy (more on this in another post), I became intrigued by the garagistes, a group of innovative winemakers in the Bordeaux region, producing “Vins de garage”, or “Garage wine”.

Maybe what was missing this fall was some sort of hand in the harvest season.  Not being able to join in on the picking, I thought I could at least celebrate the best grapes the state of Washington and try my hand at some garage cabernet sauvignon. 

After selling the idea to a couple friends, by over simplifying and perhaps over romanticizing the process, together we set out to try our hands at making a few gallons of our own wine.  Check out these posts as we have made our way from grapes to wine:

Sorting and Crushing

Primary Fermentation

Pressing

The First Racking

Second Racking and Tasting

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The gentlemen at Tavola Rosso have passed me the T-Day baton, perhaps not realizing I have inflexible thoughts about what to drink, and what to shun, on the Great Day of Turkey. Warning: it’s not going to make you Europhiles happy. Check back when it’s Bastille Day.

I’m uncompromising in my belief that on this great American holiday, we should drink American wine. I don’t care where you’re from, or how well your country makes vino. American wine consumption on Thanksgiving should be as ingrained in the tradition as pardoning the turkey. I have a dream that one day, if you aren’t drinking domestic wine, people will say “Look at you! So non-traditional.” And in light of the economy’s spot-on impersonation of that bridge in Minneapolis, my conviction has matured into a bit of tyranny. Not only should we drink American wine to honor our awesome country on a holiday that is embraceable by all people in this great land, we should drink American wine to put money into our American economy. And they said I was no rocket scientist.

You aren’t going to find advice about bottles over $25 in this year’s write-up. I can’t responsibly encourage you pick up a couple bottles of Neal Family Vineyard’s library selection of Howell Mountain Estate Cab 2002. (But if you can, do. Seriously.) I’m happy to insert a pointed quote from the cool-headed owner of Grape Nutz Inc, Riley “Mama” Gerber, who says “Now’s not the time to be spending extra money on wines. Thanksgiving is about fellowship and being together.”

So, shall we start with bubbly? Great news for those who love Champagne: the homeland produces great sparkling wine that is easy to afford, and you can be proud to pour for your friends whether they’re wine snobs or normal.

To wit, enjoying Gloria Ferrer Sonoma Brut ($15) is as easy as mashing yams. If you come across Ferrer’s Blanc de Noirs or the Blanc de Blancs, go for it. While the particular nuances will vary in each wine, the house style seems to produce spright little bubbles and a mid-palate creamy flourish across the board.

Never forget the incredibly impressive First House of Sparkling Wine, Schramsberg. Everything in this lineup is jaw-dropping lovely (and some have the price tag to prove it). The non-vintage cuvée Mirabelle retails for about $20 all over the country, and is a first-rate example of our winemaking panache. It’s big in the mouth, and if you had a checklist of fabulous flavors in bubbly, here’s what you might say to yourself: “Apples, check. Lemon, check. Biscuit dough, check. Gentle, provocative spice, bingo!”

Is Anderson Valley’s Roederer a reliable source for delicious bubbly? Yes. But it’s French-owned. Ditto Domaine Carneros. I have massive affection for Le Reve from the latter, and the former’s Rosé, but on T-day, I’m solid. I’m talking all the way USA.

Those who drink white wine have a lot to be thankful for on November’s 4th Thursday. Not the least of which is gewurztraminer. This aromatic grape can complement all of the flavors on your table, from traditional fare, to a Mexican fiesta. The grape is naturally high in sugar, but doesn’t necessarily produce a sweet wine. It’s typically more off-dry. Flamboyant is another way to describe gewurz (guh-VERTS), and be prepared for a nose-filling blanket of lychee nut. Whew! Look for Claiborne & Churchill’s Dry Gewurztraminer 2007 ($18), or the ripe and racy Estate Grown version from Hook & Ladder Vineyards ($16).

If you’re about to buy a homegrown riesling (because riesling is another tres awesome choice on Thanksgiving) like Washington’s award-winning Milbrandt Vineyards Traditions 2006, a $12 floral, crisp, soft fleshy fruit, and mineral bargain that could teach justice a thing or two about balance, sniff around that aisle your standing in for a gewurztraminer. They’re usually fairly close together.

Another reason white wine drinkers can be thankful is that I’m not going to stroll off into a domestic chardonnay tirade, except to say this: boorrrring.

Now, I understand why you might hem and haw over staying on the domestic track when it comes to red wine. We’re limited to about a million extraordinary options from res publica. A few of the red varietals we’re doing really well here include: pinot noir, syrah, sangiovese, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, zinfandel, petit sirah, grenache, mourvedre, a little nebbiolo, a smidge of barbera, and what the hell, merlot. Throw in the infinite amount of blends stemming from any number of these grapes, and surely you can find something palatable? Let’s do it for our country.

Francophiles, may I please introduce you to Unti Vineyards Petit Frère ($20). The 2006 has just been released and you’re looking at 86% grenache, 10% syrah, 4% mourvedre. Unti is a small winery making big wines in Dry Creek Valley. They’re biodynamic, almost totally unfiltered, and omigod you guys, everything they make will have you briefly tripping over your words. The Petit Frère is screaming at the top of its lungs to be on your T-day table in place of your favorite Gigondas or Chateaunuf-du-Pape. You’ll drink it and thoroughly enjoy the young, bright fruit, silky tannins, and lush, spicy mouthful. You’ll probably end up buying a few more just to have, and if you let one sit for a couple years, you will be handsomely rewarded. If this sounds great to you, call your favorite retailer now about getting your hands on Unti. I’m not exposing an underground secret here – and those who know are quick to gobble up every bottle made. Which, for the record, isn’t much.

Bearing in mind the across-the-board higher price for pinot noir over other varietals (growing pinot noir is a tumultuous love affair – occasional utopian fantasy, frequent heartbreak) locating a pinot noir in the $20 range that is unflinchingly enjoyable is a precarious task. That said I’ve always quite enjoyed Tolosa Pinot Noir from the Edna Valley AVA. It’s intensely aromatic with an enviable pinot funk that is best described as, well, the pinot funk. The red berry fruit is always beautiful without making the overall sip too fruity, and it fills the mouth with soft sand-like tannins that are simply gorgeous. Try Tolosa’s SLO pinot noir 2006 ($23ish).

Benton Lane is an Oregon winery that finds its way to my wine shelf year after year. Great black cherry balanced with earth. Ripe and smooth. The 2006 pinot noir is a good buy at about $25. Willamette Valley Vineyard’s Oregon Pinot Noir 2006 ($25) is a solid choice for those who prefer a brighter berry poppin’ fruit.

Washington is making some formidable cabernet franc. Syrah in any price range from Sonoma’s Russian River Valley is a great place to experiment. I could ramble on for pages. The gist is this: America is a phenomenal country, and we make some astonishing wine. If you can’t find a way to fill your stemware with domestic succulence, you might consider reverting back to the old faithful American tradition: Budweiser. A couple of cool aluminum cans should knock you off that snooty high horse, and the fruits of our own labor will finally appear to you in all their ambrosial glory.

Gobble gobble, turkeys.

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Armed with a bottle of Amity Pinot Noir, we tracked down some fresh alaskan silver salmon for the occasion. With a side of mashed potatoes and another side of kale we had ourselves a nice little dinner to watch the media fest.

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Last month, Nick covered the benifits of pairing bivalves with sparkling wine with some amazing background on why sparkling wine goes with just about everything.  I agree.

A couple weeks ago, Liz and I, surprisingly found ourselves with a half bottle of left over sparkling wine following a celebratory dinner at home.  We have a favorite recipe for latkes that we like to make on weekend mornings at home (see below). I recommend poaching an egg, frying your favorite pork breakfast product, and dialing up a bottle of sparkling wine for the perfect weekend morning.

Latkes are essentially potatoe pancakes, and this recipe is inspired by one from Kurt Dammeier’s Pure Flavor cookbook.

Take a couple pounds of your favorite pototoes and grate them.  Mix the potatoes with a pinch of salt and a couple squeezes of fresh lime.  Allow this to sit for five minutes before wringing out as much liquid from the potatoes as possible.  I’ve also used a lettuce spinner to remove the excess water from the potatoes.

Combine the slighly dried potatoes grates with two eggs, a diced green onion, a diced shallot, a handful of chopped italian parsley, a sprinkle of smoked paprika, and a generous amount of freshly ground pepper. Shake into patties and pan fry in an even mixture of olive oil and butter for 3-4 minutes per side until golden brown.

Some additional sparkling wine recommendations:

• Argyle Winery makes a broad selection of nonvintage and vintage sparkling wines from the Williamette Valley. All are very good.
• Karma Vineyards Methode Champenoise is excellent and the best Washington State sparkling wine we have enjoyed.
• Mark’s favorite up and coming champagne, Henriot, is excellent.

]]> http://tavolarosso.com/2008/09/what-about-brunch-2/feed/ 0 http://tavolarosso.com/2008/07/summer-bbq-wine/ http://tavolarosso.com/2008/07/summer-bbq-wine/#comments Fri, 25 Jul 2008 00:30:27 +0000 Nick Benz http://tavolarosso.com/2008/07/summer-bbq-wine/ It’s summertime, also known as BBQ season, and you are planning your next party…

Charcoal? Check.

Food? Check.

Libation?……Libation?

Okay, so you don’t know what to serve. That’s okay; BBQs are hard meals to pair with wine, mostly because your guests and your parties come in all shapes and sizes. For instance, if you are planning to invite 50+ people for a day by the pool, where a spontaneous game of Marco Polo is likely to breakout, do yourself a favor: buy some burgers, dogs and cheap brew. By the time your friend Jimmy hits the water, no one will care what is in his/her glass. However, if you have planned a more docile affair, wine is a brilliant option.

The first thing to remember about BBQs is that they are often centered around food, which typically highlights meat. Burgers, sausages, steaks, and chicken are four of the most common items prepared. The second thing to remember is that BBQs often occur on warm, sunny days. This is where the conundrum arises: should you serve a white wine on a warm, sunny day, or can you serve a big red? The answer: do the right thing…pull out the red. Why? Dry, crisp whites aren’t greasy burgers’ or the spicy sausages’ best friend. However, both have been getting chummy with Syrah for decades.

I like Syrah with my BBQ for several reasons. First, is the cost: you can find a great bottle of Syrah for $15-$25 and a good one for $10. Second, it’s versatile; Syrah is produced all over the world. In France, its native country, it’s dark, intense and plum-like, with hints of dark berries. Domestically, it tends to have a bit more ripe fruit flavor and less tannic punch. In Australia, it is grown in very warm climates, which produce very ripe grapes, that create a sweeter, juicer wine that is high in alcohol*. Finally, and most importantly, it pairs wonderfully with smoky, grilled meats.

To further illustrate my point, I’ll ask you this: would you order a Sauvignon Blanc with sirloin in March? Then why are you doing it in July? Some might say that it’s warm, and they can’t handle a heavy wine. Wine drinking is an experience, and by choosing the right wine with your meal, you will only enhance that experience. The problem most people have with drinking a red wine on a hot day is that they serve it too warm. Red wine should never be served above 65 degrees, or cellar temp. However, most of us don’t have cellars, so we consume our reds at much higher temperatures, often upwards of 75 degrees. Next time you open a red, try cooling it slightly in the fridge, no more than a few minutes. I promise, if you follow these tips, you will be drinking Syrah year-round.

*In Australia they bottle their Syrah under the name Shiraz. This practice has been adopted by many Southern Hemisphere wineries and even some domestic, but it’s still the same grape.

Wines to consider:

- Landmark Vineyards Steelplow Syrah, ‘05: Simply put, it’s BBQ in a bottle, great value, almost Rhone-like goodness

- Spicerack Vineyards “Punchdown” Syrah, ’06: Just as the name implies, full of spice, made by 1 of 5 Marin County wineries