A Magical and Mystical Wine Ride

I’ve been thinking a lot in the last couple of weeks about how drinking wine makes me feel. How does enjoying a glass of wine impact my mood and my emotions? What are the physiological effects and what mental images does it evoke? I’ve specifically gotten fixated on the transportative (not a word in the dictionary, but tell me you don’t get it) and transcendental aspects that follow from a sip of some wines. Where can a sip of wine take you?

I’ve concluded that based on my own reality there are two basic versions of this experience. The first is what happens when you are taken to back to a place where you previously enjoyed the same or similar wine, where the wine is made or any place from a prior experience with it. This feels somewhat like free word association to me, and isn’t at all surprising. There are so many connections made in our brains between different sensory stimuli. Our flavor and aroma memory is completely connected to our tactile, visual and auditory memories to form a composite picture (memory) that might be recalled by any of the different parts of the puzzle. These experiences are likely quite common and so much so that they are potentially easy to overlook. Pay attention people!

The second experience is when the taster is transported to a place defined by the harmony of the attributes of the wine, a place of pure fantasy, intense depth, color, passion, emotion, etc. I don’t think I’ve had this experience, but I will admit that without my attention properly focused at every occasion I’ve enjoyed a glass of wine I may have missed it. If this is the kind of experience I can expect to live the rest of my life searching for I am happier for it.

So how did a hitch a ride on this magic carpet? A book. More specifically, a graphic novel. I have to thank my friend Richard Auffrey (aka the Passionate Foodie) for his reviews of the Drops of God series. He’s a voracious reader and a very, very passionate wine & food lover creating a consistently winning combination. The Drops of God is a serial graphic novel about a wine journey, actually many wine journeys, from Japan. The first three volumes have been released and I have been fortunate enough (it really is that good) to have read through all three. Richard’s reviews of the first three segments (Vol 1, Vol 2, Vol 3) contain spot on summaries and his own ponderings on the messages contained with the their pages. Here is my one sentence summary. The main character’s father passes away, wills him his prized wine collection on the condition that he can identify thirteen wines from only the descriptions provided in the will, and the ensuing journey of experience and education offers lots of twists and turns. Please read Richard’s summaries and reviews for the rest of the pertinents. I just don’t feel the need to cover that ground with such a solid resource just a click away.

As Richard points out in his reviews of volumes 2 & 3, there are quite a few words written about scores, ratings and critics. At each offering there is clear counterpoint though. What about personal tastes and the imagination of the consumer? It is possible that this is exactly what the author hoped to stir up for reflection and conversation. At first it was hard to get through these sections because of the tacit pretention, it made me wonder what we might have lost in translation, but ultimately I found other aspects to focus on. I would wholeheartedly recommend these books for any wine lover. They are a quick read, yet dense with imagery and points to consider over a glass of wine or two.

What I was most taken with was the metaphysical journeys that the characters, and especially the main character Shizuku Kanzaki, are taken on when they taste the different wines presented in the story. These journeys begin a mere twenty-five pages into the first volume and continue repeatedly. Presenting this type of imagery in a graphic novel is potent. The illustrations are detailed, nuanced and transportative for the reader as well.

Both types of journeys (recall and fantasy) are represented in the books, from visions of the vines of French chateaux visited in childhood, to the richly nuanced images of a primeval forest as part of the picture of the first of the thirteen wines; and finally, varying scenes representing the five great wines of Bordeaux at the end of volume 3.

As I got to thinking about the images from the book a few of my own experiences came to mind.

Any time I drink Riesling I think of my wife. It was the first kind of wine we mutually enjoyed. We both drank Boone’s Farm in college but not together, and thus the Riesling memory stuck. A certain flutter in my gut is typical when I get the chance to try a new Riesling. I rarely miss an opportunity. Maybe I now know why I like Riesling so much. I love my wife, so I why shouldn’t I love the first wine we enjoyed together?

I’ve also experienced a form of projection (a variation on the recall experience) where a wine from one region brought me back to somewhere else where I enjoyed wines made from the same grapes. I visited Provence in February 2011 and had the distinct pleasure of standing next to the vines at the ruins of the Pope’s summer house northeast of Avignon. The earth there is covered with smooth, rounded stones colored in various shades of tan and light brown. The vines are craggy and old. In February the vines are dormant and pruned back. They look like little trees with no leaves, the trunks of bonsai trees come to mind. Plots of land that look like this were visible in all directions from where I stood. During that trip I tasted wines from Cote du Rhone, Vacqueyras, Gigondas, Beaumes-de-Venise, Chateauneuf-du-Pape and others that currently escape me. The red wines from those areas are made with from Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre, Carignan and several other grapes. On that trip I was visiting with friends (adopted family) for a wedding and the whole experience was rich and full of emotion. 

Later in 2011 I visited Santa Barbara and tasted several wines from the LaFond label. The wines were blends of Syrah and Grenache or 100% Syrah, with some bearing similarity to some of the wines from the Rhone. At the first sip of one of the Syrah/Grenache blends I had this weird feeling like I had been “somewhere” before. It was my first trip to Santa Barbara so the sensation made very little sense. My emotions were being tweaked in an odd way. Standing at the tasting bar in that urban winery I was feeling like I was surrounded by family. The feeling was pretty weird. I had a sense of being taken somewhere by the wines, but I didn’t give it enough thought then to work it out. Only now do I fully understand what was going on. I felt like I was back in Provence. The aromas and flavors of the wines had taken me back to that place and the wines and people. What a trip!

I love wine, I drink it often but don’t have a drinking problem perse, but I can see myself coming to love the experience of being taken somewhere even more. This could be addicting and cause all sorts of trouble I would guess. It is clear that I can’t expect these experiences to be frequent or conscious if I don’t pay attention to what I am drinking and slow my roll (Kid Rock is playing in the background) so that I can be fully receptive to my senses and not miss a moment of any potential journey. I doubt I will get this all sorted out today.

Does wine take you on a journey? Have you ever been transported somewhere by a sip of wine? Leave a comment about your experiences with wine imagery. I’d love to learn more about how others are experiencing wines they encounter.

Cheers!

Jason

Extra, Extra! Read All About It! - Margot Loves Stout

As we have explored the expanding world of craft beer (going back to the early boom in the mid 1990’s) Margot’s interest in what we were finding has waxed and waned like the cycles of the moon. In college she drank beer like everybody else, but none of us drank anything worthy of a review. More recently Margot has taken an interest in the darker styles we have been trying, and has decided that she is a stout girl. This affirmation doesn’t bother me at all since I too love stout and can envision many days ahead where we both get to enjoy stouts wherever we go.

In honor of Margot taking on the title of “Resident Stout Expert” we bought three different selections (all of which Margot had never had, one I had tried before) to taste, review and share with you.

Rogue Chocolate Stout
(reviewed by Margot)

Poured from a 22 oz. bottle. Dark as night. Profound dark chocolate and espresso aromas. Very thick and creamy, finishing with the bitterness typical of high % cacao dark chocolate. Hints of vanilla almost like the steamed milk or cream in a mocha. The finish is clean and of medium length, making for an easy drinker. Most of the chocolate sensation is coming from the aroma, deeper breaths while drinking it accentuated the perception of the chocolate flavor.

Oskar Blues Ten Fidy Imperial Stout
(reviewed by Jason)

I first had this beer at the American Craft Beer Fest in Boston a few weeks back. In that post I listed this beer in my Bad Ass section, cause it is potent (10.5% ABV) and from a 12 oz. can! I picked up aromas of coconut almost immediately (something I am finding I enjoy in juiced up stouts) and as I drank it I couldn’t help but think of flavored coffee. There is an easily perceptible sweetness in this beer, but not the sweet tooth kind so it doesn’t diminish the enjoyment. The roasted flavors and acidity carry through a medium finish. I couldn’t sit down to drink multiple of these at once, but savoring it with dessert like a port wine easily comes to mind.

Samuel Smith's Imperial Stout
(reviewed by Margot)

Poured from an 18.7 oz. bottle. Aromas of brown bread and coffee beans. A noticeable bitterness in the taste that translates into a bit of sour in the after taste much like caraway seeds in rye bread. Flavors of baking chocolate and overall a similar profile to barleywines I have tried and not like before. I would have enjoyed this more if it was a bit sweeter and with more pronounced mocha like flavors.

Well, there are three stouts for you to go find and enjoy, that is if stout is your thing. We have a local brewery in NH named White Birch that makes a series of barrel aged stouts (that are only available in limited situations) that never fail to please. Margot hasn’t been lucky enough to try all of them yet, but it would seem like we need to arrange that so we can share more of her “expertise”! We visited White Birch this past weekend and will be sharing our tasting notes, interviews with the staff and pictures this coming week.

Cheers!

Margot & Jason

Santa Barbara Food & Drink Guerilla Style

We planned one day for a guerilla visit to an area of downtown Santa Barbara near the hotel where stayed and the site of the WineMaker Magazine Conference later in the week. We packed in a nice walk down State Street from Stearns Wharf, a visit to Santa Barbara Roasting Company, lunch at Santa Barbara Brewing, wine tastings at the Santa Barbara Winery, Oreana, Kunin and Municipal Winemakers, and dinner at the Fish House.

We grabbed the Harbor-Zoo shuttle shortly after 10 AM and got off at Stearns Wharf. The opposition of the mountains and the ocean under the spring sun was a great way to start our short vacation. State Street is a very commercialized area with an incredible diversity of shops, restaurants, bars and services. Like most areas of its type these days there are plenty of spaces in transition and not currently active. We took a stroll through a store named World Market that contained an eclectic mix of seasonal, lifestyle and food/beverage products. I don’t know how far we walked up from the wharf. We turned around at some point and made our way through a cute open air galleria with shops on multiple floors winding through a series of brick lined “side streets”.

We made our way to Santa Barbara Roasting Company to share an iced mocha. We’ve always used simple measures of a place, and a good mocha is a strong vote! The coffee was intense and strong, but the chocolate wasn’t overwhelmed and it wasn’t heavy on the cream. I felt at home checking the work iPad with along all the other very connected coffee house guests.

A few blocks off State in several different directions you can find portions of the Santa Barbara Urban Wine Trail. We started our journey at Santa Barbara Winery at 202 Anacapa St. and ended up visiting 4 places on that same street by the time we were done.

The tasting room staff were friendly and set us up right away to taste 8 styles of wine. As we went the source of the fruit, fermentation process and aging characteristics were presented. The Santa Barbara Winery is the oldest in the county and has been operating since 1962. We learned that all of their bottling occurs at the facility attached to the tasting room (thus the larger AVA level designation for the wines instead of a sub-region) and that their white wines are processed an aged on site as well. The processing and aging of the reds is done up at the LaFond winery facility located in the Santa Rita Hills to the north.

We both loved the all-stainless Sauvignon Blanc and the beautifully oaked Reserve Chardonnay of the 3 whites we tried. The Chard has dried fruits in the middle with easily accessible spice and a little residual sugar. We tasted a Pinot, Nebbiolo, Grenache/Syrah Blend and a varietal Syrah. The Grenache/Syrah Blend was the mutual favorite, and hugely reminiscent of the aroma and flavor combinations we found in the Cotes du Rhones we enjoyed in France in February. We ended up buying some of each of our favorites and sprung for some of the LaFond (a boutique label run by the same person) Syrah and Pinot to have in our cellar.

 

Next up was Oreana. I picked this one off the trail because it was newer and was a single facility operation. All of the wines are processed, fermented and aged on site. The space was decorated eclectically and there was bottling active when we arrived. We were greeted warmly and I dipped right into my 6 tastings. I enjoyed the two un-oaked whites and picked out some watermelon on the Sauvingon Blanc which made me think of summer parties. My favorite was the Pinot which was designated as Central Coast because of the 3 sources of fruit from that area that went into it. It was very fruity and dry with mild but working tannins. I also tried a Syrah and Zin and remarked that the Zin was quite austere in comparison to many of its relatives. I took a bottle of the Malbec Rose with me to share at lunch on one of the conference days.

With that it was lunch time and we headed back up to State street and to Santa Barbra Brewing Company. I keyed right in to the beer sampler and got one ordered, with tasting glasses of 8 different styles to look forward to. To eat I ordered a French Dip sandwich and Margot ordered a Blue Cheese Chicken Wrap, both with the Garlic/Parmesan French Fries.

The beer came before the food and I got to work. The selections were Harbor Light, Marzen, Orange Wit, IPA, Red, Old Town Brown, XX IPA and a Stout.

• The Harbor Light is a typical lighter pale ale and not something I usually dig. It was made well and was refreshing so I can’t say anything bad.
• The Marzen had honey and black tea flavors, almost no aroma with a bitter finish. I could see this being a good Spring beer.
• The Orange Wit is one of the best beers I have ever had! So much orange wrapped in malt an grains. The finish was clean with citrus riding down the back of the throat. We immediately thought of trying to amp up our upcoming Wit like this, which we are in fact already underway with.
• The IPA was super fruity and hoppy with a piney finish and a clean exit. Definitely a solid example of a well made IPA.
• The Red ale was slightly sweet in the middle with hops in the finish. This is another style I am not too keen on, but again there was nothing wrong at all with it.
• The Old Town Brown was superbly nutty and malty with hops coming in late and lingering through the finish. It was lighter brown in color than I expected, but clearly enjoyable nonetheless.
• The XX IPA is a bad-ass beer. It has the clout of a big beer with hops, fruit, malt, sweetness, a clean bitter finish that is smile inducing. I suggested I wanted to swim in this beer!
• The Stout was disappointing as it was way too light. Margot is the Stout expert and put it down right away. I didn’t finish it because I felt it wasn’t balanced between the body and flavors. Can’t win ‘em all!

Lunch was very tasty and the Garlic/Parmesan fries really did live up to the hype. They were cooked perfectly and had tons of real flavor. (Look at the picture, how could they not?) My French Dip contained thin sliced beef that had been cooked with care on a crusty French roll. The au jus was flavorful and not too salty. The XX IPA killed it with the fries and the regular IPA and brown ale were good matches with the sandwich.

At this point we took a break and headed back to the hotel for a swim and some quite time in the sun. The Santa Barbara weather was beating the rain and cool temps at home so we couldn’t pass up the chance!

Back on the wine trail later in the afternoon we first stopped at Kunin. Kunin’s space was full of windows and bright sun which complimented the restrained décor very well. I tasted 5 wines, including my first Viognier from the area. I found it to be floral and fruity in the nose with more fruity and minerality in the palate. I got hints of creaminess in the body of the wine which were interesting to ponder. The Pape Star is a riff on a Chateauneuf-du-Pape style blend that definitely lives up to the name. The balance between the fruit, space, earth and oak was spot on. Their Grenache, Syrah and Zin were all solid representations of the style with more of that classic jammy southern California character. We got to talking Tour of California (bicycle racing & Lance Armstrong) with some other tasting room guests. We had no idea it would be right nearby on Friday. You see what kind of priorities we had!

Our last stop of the wine trail was to Municipal Winemakers. I picked this one because of their very offbeat presentation on the web and for the fact that offered 1 liter refillable bottles filled from kegged wine. I had to try that! Right away we knew we were in for a treat. The name of their wine club is Club Awesome! I tasted 6 wines most of which focus on Rhone grapes and blends. The rose was a remarkable pink color and as primarily made from Grenache. My favorite was their Dark Red, a blend of Cab, Syrah and Petit Verdot. It had this little hit of sweetness in the center that resonated well with me. I did get a to-go bottle of Syrah which I shared with a group later in the week. The concept of the refillable bottle and wine on tap was new to many folks and something I bet won’t be so new in years to come.

We again made our way back to the hotel, this time walking along the beach. The scenery was really beautiful and with almost nobody around it was peaceful.

We finished our guerilla mission on Santa Barbara food with dinner at the Fish House. I was growing tired and didn’t bring my notebook along so I don’t have a full report here. Spending some QT with Margot without the camera going off scored some points so you’ll just have to take it. I had an appetizer of wonton wrapped deep fried prawns that performed well beyond expectations. The prawns were crispy and served with a medium hot chili infused sauced. My dinner consisted of one of the best pieces of Mahi I have ever had that had been breaded with sesame and crushed wontons and cooked just until done. The sauce that sat around it was creamy with some killer savory flavors. We enjoyed our meal with the Dry Creek Vineyard 2008 Chenin Blanc. It was dry with melon and island fruits which coordinated well with our meal.

Clearly you can do a lot in one day if you are willing to be on the go. We enjoyed this city crawl and would recommend Santa Barbara to other who are looking to find a place with enough diversity to do several different things all in close proximity.

Cheers!

Jason

Washington State Merlot

Just about one year ago Margot and I were getting ready to head off to the WineMaker Magazine Annual Conference for the first time. It was being hosted in Stevenson, WA situated on the Columbia River along the Oregon border. We had been to the state before, but not its winemaking areas, and didn’t have a chance on earlier trips to visit any wineries for tastings. Our plans included those activities on this trip, and we packed with much excitement.

( Great place to hang and drink! )

One of the types of wine we had the chance try from a number of difference sources was Merlot. I had heard many great things about WA Merlots and had never really explored them. My favorite from a winery visit was the Ethos Merlot at Chateau Ste. Michelle. The night of the swap meet we tried Merlot varietals and Merlot based blends from a number of local wineries and winemaking clubs. We enjoyed several homemade versions shared by local-area conference attendees. All together I felt I had gotten to know the style much better. Across all the selections we tried we found a great balance of fruit and earth with dark berries and cherry wrapping touches of chocolate, spice and smoke. The smooth textures and manageable tannins made these wines so very approachable and great casual drinkers. I kept thinking about food pairings and what I wanted to try at home with wines we would bring back.

One of the things we found so interesting were subtleties between the single vineyard Merlot bottlings at the Columbia Winery. They presented the wines from varied growing areas, conditions, the differences and we found so much of it to be accessible. At the conference I shared a rose I bought made from Merlot at Phelps Creek Vineyard (no relation) from just over the border in OR. At first folks didn’t seem interested, but once the first person at the table said something good about it, it was gone. Check out what we wrote back in June of 2010 from our trip notes.

So it was with great excitement that I was assigned a WA Merlot for a recent group tasting with the Boston Sommelier Society. I felt like I knew it better because of my experiences and knew more about the region giving me a good basis to search for. I considered the CSM Ethos but opted for something else and stayed within the CSM family. I came across the 2006 Canoe Ridge Merlot and grabbed a couple bottles to try. At $20 a bottle it should be a solid performer, but not an everyday drinker. I found a healthy dose of cherry, vanilla and a dusty soil note. The tannins are there but softening and really helping to define the wine. I bet this 2006 will be much better in 3-4 years.



Washington Merlot started stalking me at this point and this time in the form a perk from the Kloutperks Influencer program. As an influencer I received a $100 credit to Lot 18 and found wine and olive oil that would make for great adventures back at Ancient Fire Wines. The Pepper Bridge 2006 Walla Walla Merlot two-pack was a steal. The wine is good, but needs more time to mellow.

It is garnet in color with a touch of purple. The rim variation has a slight brown shift and the staining and viscosity are low inferring a lighter wine. The alcohol is up there, 14.1%, but noticeable, and makes the chocolate, cherry, spice, pepper and soil flavors a bit hard to completely pin down. The tannins are moderate, but feel like they are softening and time may be an asset here.

We are again getting ready to head off to the WineMaker Conference, this time in Santa Barbara, CA, home to several winemaking regions that will be worth visits. Pinot Noir perhaps, or Sauvignon Blanc or Viognier, oh my! We’ll be live tweeting from the conference, including the awards dinner. We won 9 medals last year and we have more chances than that again this year! Wish us luck!

Cheers!

Jason


I was given a free product or sample because I'm a Klout influencer. I was under no obligation to receive the sample or talk about this company. I get no additional benefits for talking about the product or company.
http://klout.com/perks/disclosure

Ignite Bar & Grill – Manchester, NH

Margot is back working in Manchester. This is a joyous thing for several reasons. This time I work from home a couple days a week so meeting up for lunch in the city once a month is a snap.

For our first outing we picked Ignite Bar & Grill on Hanover street. We have read several reviews of this place, seen their ads in the local papers but hadn’t stopped in yet. They have a great location right near the Palace Theater. I could see this place getting busy before and after shows. The bar has seating for a decent sixed crowd. There are also two open rooms with seating sporting modern décor and at least when we were there some groovy music playing.

We started with the fried pickles. Seriously, when you see something like that on a new menu can you really refuse? The best asset of these is that they are salty, and that saltiness prohibits eating them by the container-full! They were fantastic. A light breading covers your typical pickle chip. Perfectly fried and not greasy. There was a Jamaican Ranch dipping sauce provided, and it only added character to this already winner of a starter.

Margot went with the ostrich burger (Big Bird) and I had the fish & chips. Both were again excellent, although I think Margot liked the fish better. The ostrich burger is what you would expect a lean white meat burger to be. It has more structure (think less fat) than a beef burger and isn’t quite as soft. I thought the flavor was great and the sweet potato fries were surprisingly good.

The fish and chips were cooked extremely well. This is an easy dish to screw up and clearly the folks at Ignite know that and came through. The batter on the fish was light and just this side of cooked so it was crispy, but not hard. The fish was flaky and clean tasting. The standard fries were great and since they show up on quite a few of the plates, getting them right is pretty important. I had a Long Hammer IPA with my fish & chips and found it to be a worthy partner with the meal.

I would definitely recommend Ignite as a new place to try in Manchester. With so many places to try I’m not sure how soon we will get back there to try more selections from the menu. If you go be sure and let us know what you had and what your experience was like.

Cheers!

Jason

Tasting De Loach Pinot Noirs

On Thursday night I participated in the #earthdaywine Live Tasting Event with De Loach Vineyards, Bottle Notes and the KloutPerks team.

I hadn’t gotten my wine sampler kit (shown in the picture above) yet, but I watched live as Jean-Charles Boisset described the approach De Loach has taken, their success with organic and sustainable practices and his vision of where Pinot from vineyards in Sonoma county can become.

Alyssa Rapp from Bottle Notes hosted the tasting and had questions for Jean-Charles. They both otherwise helped folks taste through the 6 bottle sampler kit available for the event. During the live tasting folks were tweeting away about their wines and impressions of the tasting. I noted several things that if you watch the taped #earthdaywine video from the session you might also pickup. Here are some of my tweets and related story:

I saw confidence and passion on the part of Jean-Charles.

"he (Jean-Charles) is clearly passionate in his pursuits. never a bad thing. #earthdaywine (live at http://ustre.am/x7jc)"

Jean-Charles was talking about bring wine to market in small barrel like dispensing systems for the home and restaurants. I immediately thought of our recent trip to France.

"we saw 10L boxes in France. idea++! RT @mwangbickler: Love the idea of selling wines in barrel. #earthdaywine (live at http://ustre.am/x7jc)"

During the chat Jean-Charles mentioned “Little Burgundy”. He was referring to the sampler and how it allowed a taster to survey what Pinot from Sonoma can be. The term “Little Burgundy” is one he uses to describe it. I think this notion is a powerful one to consider. The wine can take you to a place, and not the one it is from, but one it evokes. Pretty heavy stuff!

Bottles Notes used their Daily Sip e-mail newsletter yesterday to recap the event. Check that out at http://www.bottlenotes.com/the-daily-sip/wine-tips/earth-day-live-tasting

With my wines coming in after the event, they arrived the next day, I was able to live taste several of them for myself. I have been playing with video blogs a bit. What I came up with is linked below. I am still working out the video production bit. I had a couple of stutters in there with pronunciation or at one point the tannins of one of the wines had my tongue twisting. I need better lighting, but I need a lot of other things too! Otherwise it was a fun way to recap the event and try some of the wines.



Here are my detailed tasting notes from all six of the wines. It really is a great example of breadth from one wine portfolio!

Le Roi

This wine definitely had the most tweets about it amongst all the wines. I found it dry and sleek with wonderful grilled fruit flavors. I picked up cherries easily and a hint of gameyness, something like the aromas of goat cheese perhaps. I could easily recommend this wine to folks of all stripes, including those who don’t drink a lot of red wine. The balance and middling tannins make it a great occasion wine and a food pairing wine with braises and meats cooked in wine!

Masut Valley

There is diversity in this flight and this wine is the proof. Much more spice and earth is found in this one from some of the others. I picked up some root essence within those spices, much like the skin of fresh peeled ginger. The mouth on this wine is full of dark cherries with a dried fruit twist. The tannins are also a little wilder in this wine. I also felt this was the darkest of the six wines.

Van Der Kamp

This is the one I found the wildest aromas and flavors in. It is balanced, a tad high in alcohol, but has fruit, earth, herbs, and some natural funk that is the foundation of many great wines. The tannins in this wine are a little bolder, but don’t overwhelm. Margot tasted this one and remarked at how smooth it was. It reminded both of us of some of the Pinots in Washington/Oregon last year.

Maraboshi
The wood aromas come through on this one. I got more tannins, and both wood and grape types during my first sip. It is dry and much more austere than the Van Der Kamp, but not as focused as the Le Roi. I picked up cherries again and something floral, although this time it smells more like wild flowers or greens. There is some pepper and just a hint of pine on the finish.

Sonoma Stage

This wine is one of the lighter ones with light red berries, some cherry and some earthiness expressed in leather. The tannins are again restrained, but present. The fruits also seem slightly cooked, rather than ripe and fresh. Excellent dinner wine and another one for those notorious non-red drinkers!

Green Valley

This is another selection I saw a lot folks talking about. I smelled raspberries and what came across like flowers, maybe rose. This wine has restrained tannins and would be a pairing partner with a wide range of dishes from lightly season steaks, to salmon and some game meats. The acidity in this wine does a good job of cleaning up. With the alcohol at the high end (14-15.5) all of these Pinots leave a little heat on the finish. I actually enjoyed it, much like a fine cognac or bourbon leaves the smolder behind as it exits.

The price point on these wines range from $40-60 per bottle. The performance (taste/price ratio) on these wines is only OK when you factor in the price. Getting the tasting kit gave me many ideas that I would specifically pick up a single bottle to pair with a meal made for it. It isn’t an everyday for me, with the winery in my basement!

I really enjoyed this opportunity and would recommend others check out the sample packs from TastingRoom.com and the events sponsored by BottleNotes.com. Travel the world, one bottle at a time!

Cheers!

Jason

{ I was given a free product or sample because I'm a Klout influencer. I was under no obligation to receive the sample or talk about this company. I get no additional benefits for talking about the product or company. http://klout.com/perks/disclosure. }

Alley Cat Pizzeria - Manchester, NH

There are those places in every town that you always here buzz about. “Oh, you have to go.” or “I cannot believe you have never eaten at.” Alley Cat Pizzeria in Manchester NH is one of those places. This is the pizza place that many in the area say is a must go to. They have won Best of the Best in the local HippoPress for years. So, as someone who is searching out great pizza places to blog about in New England this one in my hometown seemed like a no brainer.

We purchased to large pizzas, one mushroom and one Stray Cat. I always like to try a simple topping along with a specialty when trying a new place in order to get a real feel for what they have to offer. We picked up the pizzas and headed home on our 15 minute drive. The Jeep smelled wonderful and Jay and I had a hard time waiting until we got it home to dig in.

Alley Cat is known for its super thin crust that is perfect for the NY fold in half technique. Our crust lived up to that super thin reputation. The crusts ends were nice and crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside and though thin it was not soggy. Both pizzas were light on the sauce, which for me is preferable when dealing with a thinner crust, less messy and not overpowering. The flavor of the sauce was somewhat unremarkable, beyond tomato there was not a lot of discernable flavors.

The cheese was the right amount, not skimpy, but not so thick that you could not bit through it. The Stray Cat specialty pizza had both mozzarella and ricotta. It was impressive that while the mozz was well cooked and slightly brown, the ricotta was not a dried out mess as can sometimes happen. The Stray Cat also included breaded eggplant, which was well cooked with perfectly toasted breading. The mushrooms on the other pizza were fresh and were a nice size. As for seasoning on either, Jay and I did something we have never done, we used salt to kick up the flavor a bit.

As we ate our pizza there was a bit of silence, though not the normal silence that accompanies the devouring of pizza. I think that Jay and I were both trying to find the words to describe our experience. The build up to the pizza at Alley Cat had been so strong and so big. Best pizza in the area, the pizza you would travel for, you have to try it! I am not sure if any pizza could have lived up to the hype, but was the hype causing our reaction? Maybe. When we finally spoke our conclusions were in agreement. Alley Cat Pizza is very good, unsophisticated, pizza. It is the pizza that you remember from those late nights in college. It is the pizza that you may have eaten on your first date in High School. I guess one could call it nostalgic pizza. If you are in the neighborhood looking for a quick slice I would definitely recommend it, as it will not be dissatisfying. My goal now is to find a place in Manchester, which may not be getting the hype but leaves a stronger impression.

Mangia!

Margot

Kate the Great Day, Portsmouth NH

( Kate The Great, Russian Imperial Stout )

We continue Beer Week with a guest post from a local NH beer blogger. Take it away Brian!

Hey there! I'm Brian from Seacoast Beverage Lab (www.SeacoastBeverageLab.com), a beer blog I write based in Portsmouth, NH. I come in peace and not to convert you all to beer drinkers but to cross interests and learn from you as well as you hopefully open your minds to trying some great beer. Jason and I have been talking back and forth and I asked him to write a post about wine to my beer drinking readers, introducing them (and me) to the world of wine. I hope you stop by for a good read. I am always open for comments and suggested. Below is post about one of the biggest days of the year involving beer and it happens in my town. Kate the Great Day. Enjoy!

( No, it's not the American Idol concert. It's for beer! )

One day a year, Portsmouth NH turns into a madhouse. Not it’s not the time the Tall Ships dock in town, or the first day the decks are open, it’s all about beer. I am of course talking about Kate the Great, a Russian Imperial Stout brewed by Tod Mott at the Portsmouth Brewery. Why would people go nuts over a beer on one day out of 365? Long story....

For starters and probably the most obvious, the beer is really good. I can attest that it is the best beer I have had. Now I haven’t been exposed to many of the world’s unique beers but I know a good beer when I taste one. Next is the hype. Beer Advocate, a magazine focused on reviewing and reporting on beer, in 2006 or 7 rated this beer as the #1 beer in the US and the 2nd most sought after in the world. This of course gets people to literally fly in when Kate is released. The beer is only brewed once a year for no reason other than the hype (I believe). There are so many other great beers that the Portsmouth Brewery has that they want to keep the taps rotating in and out with everything from their Milk Stout, Dirty Blonde, Wheat Wine, Saison, Winter Rye, Wild Thang and their ridiculously hoppy and good 5C’s IPA, and many many more.

( Ahh, the food & beverage bloggers workspace! )

I had the opportunity to be in the thick of it this year for Kate Day as their official live blogger. In previous years people would line up as early as 12am to have the chance at purchasing 1 or 2 of the 900 available bottles. This year the game changed as they released 10,000 scratch tickets at $2 a piece with a chance to win one of 900 bottles. The beer community was a little shaken up, but it didn’t stop the hype. 12am on the dot, 2 people were in line waiting to be the first to taste Kate the Great from the taps. By 9am there were about 200 people in line and when the doors opened at 1130, the lined wrapped around the street and into the public garage, a real sight to see.

Talking to people trying it for the first time, the response is identical, they love this beer. Some people take it more serious than others, but those willing to make the trip have a story to tell. It truly is a great beer and a beer event worth getting up crazy early to go to.

( Getting ready to pour the new batch. )

( A hopping bar in the middle of the day! )

As a wanna-be wine drinker, I wonder to myself what is the Kate the Great of the Wine community? Do you all take wine as seriously as beer drinkers? I am as far from a snob as possible but I take great pride and appreciation in the work that goes behind a great beer. What makes wine so “great”?

Check out my live coverage of this year’s Kate the Great day here: http://seacoastbeveragelab.com/kate-day-2011-live-blog/

Thanks for reading wine drinkers!!

Cheers,

Brian

I’m Back with Crispin

In my first post reviewing Crispin Ciders from early February I shared my thoughts on two of the free samples that were sent to me take for a test drive. For this installment I offer tasting notes on three more.

First up is the Browns Lane Classic English Dry Cider which is produced entirely in England and imported into the US for distribution.

Browns Lane

Made from English bittersweet cider apples and comes in at 5.8 % ABV.
Gold color, with columns of small bubbles from the bottom of the glass.
Unripe apple aromas.
Very fine carbonation, but lots of it.
Super tart and dry.
Savory apple flavors, liked with baked ham.

I really liked this, but dry ciders are more my thing than Margot. This is the style I know from Quebec and the UK imports we can get in US. I would never tire of having this around!

For the second review we return to the Artisanal Reserve line and The Saint, a cider brewed with Belgian Trappist Yeast & organic maple syrup.

The Saint Artisanal Reserve

Pale, almost cream colored & unfiltered.
Smells like sweet cider & spices.
6.9% ABV
Tartness in the finish.
Yeasty, with spicy sweet bread flavors.
The flavor combination reminded me of the warm apple gallete w/ caramel sauce and bourbon cream glaze I had over Christmas.

This is one that I would stock at home and could have a good deal of fun with in different pairing scenarios. Dessert pairings are the first to spring to mind, but I also think a roast pork tenderloin would make for a good match as well.

The last review is of a pear flavored hard cider from the Fox Barrel line, which is the brand of a company Crispin acquired in 2010 located on the west coast.

Fox Barrel Pear Cider

Flavor reminds me of the pear wine we made in 2008.
Subtle aromas, I couldn’t pick out the fruits.
Gold color with moderate carbonation.
It had a good bite of acidity and a clean finish.

I can’t say I either enjoyed or didn’t enjoy this cider, it just was. It would be immensely refreshing on a hot day and since it presents itself quite simply, it should appeal to a wide audience.


Cheers!

Jason




Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Book Review of Kitchen Confidential

In May of 2000 when Kitchen Confidential was published I did not know of Anthony Bourdain. I have come to know him through his show No Reservations (the book is also on my reading list) and found that I enjoy his mélange of food, culture, personal stories and intellectual meanderings in each episode. No matter what you think of Anthony Bourdain I will make one simple assertion, he is real.

In a recent interview I saw with him he went back and thought about who he was and what his life was like during the times chronicled in the book. He claims it wasn’t pretty and assures the audience that he was perpetually one step away from disaster. I wanted to know more.

Kitchen Confidential is a moderately quick read, broken down into sections like a good multi-course meal. While not strictly chronological, it does flow largely in that direction allowing the reader to get a good idea about where the personality comes from.

Before I read the book I took a shot at what I expected my premise of the review to be. A wild story about the expansion of his personality from all of his real-life adventures. I believed that through all of it he was still that hot headed, addiction-prone, life on the edge guy, but with more appreciation of how to pull it all off with grace, skill and class.

Jackpot!

The other theme which is taken literally from the book’s title and notes is a picture of what really goes on in restaurant kitchens around the world. I don’t actually think that story is all that surprising, or it shouldn’t be. Office buildings are also full of real people with sordid stories, e.g. sex, drugs, failure and all that. Kitchens can’t really be that different.

Bourdain makes it clear that restaurant kitchens are as much about people as they are about food. The necessary skills of the people who make up a good and real kitchen staff are explained to be varied and include, working long hours away from family, the ability to give and take shit from everyone, a fondness for booze and drugs, the desire to share details of one’s life well beyond “too much information”, a low threshold for pain, uber multi-tasking and finally an air of unpredictability in every waking moment. Artistry with food or refined culinary skills aren’t the primary focus of the characters in the book, although many do have culinary passions and are really good at what they do. Just not in that celebrity chef sense. These are real chefs, cooks, service and cleaning staff; the ones who actually do all the dirty work to get restaurant meals on to tables. In the end Bourdain paints himself as the ring-leader of a merry bunch of misfits who wouldn’t be pegged by anyone to be doing what they do.

Along the way he makes specific mentions of how much he had to learn about the people themselves, their cultures and their lives in order for him to be able to make use of their talents. Knowing what one particular person sounds like after a notable weekend bender, or how much money a line cook makes on the side selling dope to the staff or even which cultures accept jokes about sex with their mother don’t really seem like the things we would think of for an chef to worry about. But that is real life and why the stories were so fun to read. He does reflect on these teachings and how it helped him appreciate and deal with many things that would serve to frustrate most of us in his position.

There are also some nice tips for the restaurant patron to consider, like not ordering fish on Monday as it is likely the dregs from the prior week. It is also noted that specials are often the vehicle to get rid of things hanging around rather than use some unexpected ingredients. Again I don’t see any surprises here. Restaurants are businesses and many of them have to be concerned with the bottom line rather than haute cuisine and absolute freshness.

With this book in the bag I am very much looking forward to No Reservations picking up the trail of more stories from Anthony Bourdain.

Cheers!

--Jason