flown the coop?....

I think not!
I've been absent because, sadly, there hasn't been much good handy wine drinking going on. I mean, of course there's been wine, but it hasn't been Wine. Instead, let me air some beef about drinking wine.

As of recently, my husband, and co-lover of wine, has taken to drinking wine like this:
Swirl (to open up smell)
Sniff
Oggle colour
Sniff
Sip-areating by sucking in some air at the same time (reverse whistle)
Swallow

None of that bothers me...not one bit.
BUT THEN. Oh then...

2nd sip, he areates again by doing the 'reverse whistle'but DOES NOT swallow
immediately (I hear all the 'that's what she said' giggles out there, don't think I didn't chuckle even though I'm on a rant), instead, he sloshes the wine all over the inside of his mouth, stripping it (and himself) of any dignity by likening it to mouth wash.


Don't yell at me, I get it. Let it coat all of your tastebuds and whodawha. We have an expert here who expounds on the way he likes to taste. It makes sense...http://www.viddler.com/explore/winelibrarytv/videos/889/
But it's the 3rd sip that puts me over the edge though...it's mouthwash motion again before swallowing. I mean. COME ON.

There's tasting and then there's drinking.
Here's to drinking!

Salut!

Batman: "Not you, Robin. They have strict licensing laws in this country. A boy of your age is not allowed in a drinking tavern."

I was in Canada this weekend, and guess what we drank...that's right. Yellowtail. I opted for the Chardonnay and to keep myself afloat, mixed in some Perrier water. On the Eastern European block we call this handy mix: gemist (geh-misht).

Not much to rave about there.

BUT. Batman and Robin came to mind when I felt my tastebuds sigh in relief and then cringe in despair tonight. I don't mind Zinfandels (hereafter known as zins), and my appreciation for them grew while we were trouncing around the California wine regions this past February. For a non-zin drinker, the abundance of zin was definitely a surprise (who knew that almost every blimey winery in the north coast (sonoma county) including russian-river, alexander valley, dry creek valley etc grows the zin grape? Not this girl).

Anyways, so I made a "hearty tuscan bean stew" for dinner tonight (v. tasty) but before I took a taste of the stew, I sipped a bit of #10 of the top 100 of 2008, Wine spectator's Seghesio Sonoma county Zinfandel (2007).

Strange nose (mind you, I've been chopping onions and mashing garlic all day-my significant other gave me a description of a chocolate berry mix with a dash of pepper, but I just didn't get that) but the flavour. Oh the flavour. It carries a flavour that soothes the palate. No other way to describe it. I hummed in pleasure and then turned back to re-read the label. It's a zin alright-but it doesn't matter that I'm prejudiced a wee bit against them. This is just one good bottle of vino.

AND THEN.
BAM!!!!!!!!!!
WHAP!!!!!!
POW!!!!!
(Think Adam West Batman theme....)

I took a bite of the bean stew, chewed on a crushed piece of garlic, and had my teeth cry out in agony. My eyes widened as I realized my mistake (stupid stupid Juli). My tastebuds had been blown to bits and I could really do nothing to soothe them...or so I thought. How to revive my tastebuds...good ol' yahoo answers has provided me with some options.

Well, I don't have time (just wait it out they all say) or ginger lying around. Oh but coffee, I have coffee. So here is my female mind at it's best most amazing problem solving moment: Laura Secord Espresso Dark Chocolate. (Laura's a chocolatier from Canada..I think). TA DA!

And so I sit writing and munching, sipping and waiting for the flavour of the wine to impress me once again.

Cheers!

Surprises are wonderful!!!

So generally, I don't like surprises. I mean, random flowers are lovely, chocolate even better but I draw the line at surprise parties.








but even that can be remedied with a surprise pinata...I mean, who DOESN'T like having an excuse to hit something AND get rewarded for it!?


The surprise this weekend came in the form of a bottle I've never heard of: 2004 Crauford Wine Company, Cabernet Sauvignon, Tattoo Maroon Vineyard.

SURPRISE!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh boy, I purred like a kitten when it invaded my mouth. Reading some cellar tracker reviews (http://www.cellartracker.com/intro.asp), most note that it is quite drinkable after an hour, but doesn't change much if you leave it to aerate over a few days, or decant for a bit longer.
I couldn't have cared less. Talk about a great wine that didn't need pairing to get two flaming thumbs up.

If you're having a ladies night, this is an excellent bottle to start with...have dinner with...end with. Yes. I was that impressed.

Ziv!

yellow tail, bellow schmail

I'm sitting at a coffee shop writing this and I just heard the most giggle worthy thing. That I'm actually still giggling to myself really means something's up....
I heard...A FOREIGN ACCENT!!!! (Which let me tell you, in Pittsburgh, isn't heard very often). I think he's French and he SOOO knows that I'm giggling at his 'soo, k'en youh tell mee...'.

Sigh. I obviously didn't sleep well last night.

Yellowtail Shiraz.


The wine almost all of Canada thinks is an excellent everyday drinking wine...and from what I've read, most of Yellowtail profit comes from Canuks buying it up. As a former resident of Canada, I agree. Yellowtail dominates, at least in Ontario.

I don't like it.

And neither should you.

Let me give you some better options if you're spending frugally...
1. Killer juice Cabernet Sauvignon. It's a box wine. No no. No cringing. Its slogan is 'the box that beats the barrel'. In the case of that YTShiraz, they're right.

2. Little Penguin Shiraz--still in relatively same price range but much better

3. ANY OTHER YELLOWTAIL. Okay, so I'm totally not using the spitoon for other Yellowtails, but the Shiraz is particularly gross. Especially if you're drinking various bottles..you'll see. Do a taste testing at home.

Why am I talking about YTS as if I've recently drank it? Because I did. Last night. My husband and I have a rule, don't crack a good one if the other isn't around to share (sharing is caring, my friends, sharing is caring). So, I was out, and he looked at the options of blekky wine and decided for the YTS. Now, by itself, it actually wasn't too bad (I had a glass, or two when I got home). So, if you do happen to LLLOOOVVEEEEE it, don't shoot me. I'm telling you that if you work that nice palate of yours up to a good level you'll see that you'd rather grace it with a different wine's presence.

alas, the freeze hath ruin'ed the crop

Right. So the Freemark Abbey wine has plummeted down to become a cringeworthy shadow of its former self.

Elegy to the late harvest that was killed out of sheer stupidity:
Your flavour, never fully recognized
You were too young to go this way
Your colour, deep as a simply setting sun
Your potential, as robust as newly budded roses
I bow my head in shame for my carelessness
Oh thorn of life, how could you take this one from me.

Frozen=not good.

In the state I was in on Easter, I ended up taking another bottle of dessert wine up as 'next in line'. It was a Freemark Abbey 2008 Edelwein Gold Late Harvest Rielsing. Well, it was just in the cellar so in my brightened heightened state of mind, I popped it into the freezer to cool until we were oh-so-ready to drink it. Oh sigh.

So when I looked in the freezer yesterday evening my heart sunk to my stomach and left a lingering acid indigestion. Like most liquids, this one expanded when it froze and almost fully de-corked itself. It now sits in our fridge, beckoning to be consumed.

Oh well.
Cheers! Zivili! Salut!

Easter Wines

So our menu was vast and had an array of foods...none of which we really made to pair properly with the wines we drank...

1. Chappellet (Pritchard Hill estate Vineyard) Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006
2. Chateau Montellena, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2004
3. Chappellet, Merlot, 2006
4. Chateauneuf-du-pape, Chateau de Beaucastel,2004
5. Grgich hills Estate, Zinfandel, 2005
6. Amarone della valpolicella, 2005
and crowning glory is.....drum roll please....
7. O'Shaughnessy Howell Mountain, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2004

However, my favourite part of wine drinking, seriously, is the dessert wines. The one we cracked open to celebrate Jesus's resurrection was Geyser Peak, Block Collection, 2008 Late Harvest Riesling.

A bit about what I know about what I drank! [Ahem..clearing my throat]
An Ode to Chappellet...okay, not really an ode, but well, a blurb...

Chappellet is understatedly BEAUTIFUL. I had the privilege of visiting this past Valentine's day weekend (my husband had a gig out in Berkley). And I say privilege because they don't do open taste testings. The directions to the winery are more than vague, but the wine itself is worth getting lost for a few hours. As we drove up the hills, following mailbox signs saying that Chappellet is this way then that way, turn at the big boulder, etc. we got to a building looking like it stepped out of the 70's and hasn't opened its eyes yet. The building itself is 70's brown. There are no distinctive, over the top welcome to Chappellet signs telling you that yes, you did make it! Good for you! Instead, a true Chappelletian knows that the building is actually in the shape of the tri-triangular symbol on every bottle...check it out...http://www.chappellet.com/index.cfm?method=homepage.showpage

One of the first things you notice when you step out of your vehicle is the smell. It smells, well, green. Chappellet is on top of Pritchard Hill and has done as little damage to the surrounding forest as possible. You walk up a wooden stairway to huge glass doors and walk in. 2 desks welcome you with a floral arrangement in the middle of the small triangular room.

The pleasantness of our tour guide was surprising as was her casual, "I love Chappellet" demeanor. She made us feel at home with any questions we had, our constant oohing and ahhing and pausing to touch the vines in the vineyard.

I have to say, the view is Killer. You look out, and in the foreground is their vineyard and in the background stand hills and a lake reflecting the sun. Just the memory makes me smile.

Anywho, if you're going to enjoy a Chappellet wine, I'd start with the Merlot (I know I know. Most seasoned wine vets spit on Merlots...but I REALLY REALLY like this one).

Salut! Zivjeli! Cheers!