In this episode, Jeff tries another GV Special in a brown bag for #WineWednesday…
Wine Tasted:
It’s a blind tasting, but…
If you’re dying to know…
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Stay Rad,
Jeff
Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Stay Rad Wine Blog TV Episode 74: Under the Radar on a #WW
December 5, 2012The Cornerstone of a Tasty Meal 1.3
December 1, 2012After taking a good week off from the blog to battle this cold, I’m feeling much better (Thanks for asking).
In order to get back into the swing of things, I decided to open up another one of my samples from Cornerstone Cellars while doing a little cooking…
Cornerstone Oregon 2010 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir
Color: Light burgundy red with a light tomato hue at the rim.
Nose: Tomato skin (hmmmm), leather, strawberry, cranberry, and fig notes with a nice spice rack blend to round things out.
Taste: Wow! Delicious fruits of strawberry, blackberry, and cranberry. There’s a great component of allspice and leather that transitions into a long, luscious, velvety finish, and a great acidity that makes it a very food-friendly wine.
Score: Here’s what I love about Pinot Noir. It’s so subtle… It’s so reserved… But… It’s so complex… If you take the time to think about it. This effort from Cornerstone Oregon is a shining example of how great Pinot Noir can be. I love this wine. 92 (I gave the 2009 vintage of this wine a 91+)
Now…
On to the food…
Farmers Market Fresh Ahi Tuna Tower of Green Onion, Chiles, Cucumber, Mango, Cilantro, Lime, and Stagecoach Vineyard Olive Oil topped with Edamame Cakes on an Okonomi and Sriracha Glaze
I guess I went a little overboard on the food, but that Pinot got me real excited.
I was very happy with how both the dish and the pairing turned out.
The wine brought out the freshness of the cucumber in the Ahi Tower, which could have been overwhelmed by the savory/spicy dish. The savory flavors of the tuna bumped up the previously muted flavors of cola/sassafras in the wine.
With a wine this food-friendly, there was no way I was gonna waste a single bite of this dish…
And I didn’t!
Stay Rad,
Jeff
Here’s What We Had: Thanksgiving Edition
November 23, 2012It’s Thanksgiving!
Okay…
Thanksgiving was yesterday, but I don’t have to go back to work ’til Monday.
So…
I’m pretty much okay with still calling this Thanksgiving.
Anyway…
Since I am currently visiting my folks in Reno, Nevada, I was planning on doing a video with my Dad… Or even my sister, who is visiting from Atlanta, Georgia.
But…
I’m sick right now.
I’ve been sneezing like crazy.
My nose is hella raw.
My eyes are bloodshot.
My throat is killing me.
I look about as bad as the New York Jets right now.
So…
Instead of posting a video, I’ve decided to share with you the wines that we had with our Thanksgiving dinner last night.
Here they are…
Domaine Laurent Barth 2010 Racines Metisses Alsatian White Blend
I’m a big fan of white wines from Alsace, France. This is a blend of Pinot Blanc, Sylvaner, Riesling, Pinot Gris, and Muscat. It’s got a light straw yellow color with a little frizzante action in it. The nose gives good fruit of green apples and pears with a good touch of minerality. On the palate, fruits of lime and pear skin are balanced out with a nice acidity, flinty minerality, and just a touch of residual sugar. I give it an 89.
We had the white wine with some crab cocktail, which brought out a buttery apple flavor in the wine.
Up next…
Domaine des Maisons Brulees 2009 L’Erebe
The L’Erebe is a natural wine from the Loire Valley of France.
It is a blend of Cabernet Franc and Cot.
Cot is Malbec.
I really enjoyed popping the bottle cap off of this one.
This wine is a dark ruby-red.
This wine has a funky nose of Earth and dark berries.
On the palate, this wine brings the funk hard.
Tires for days.
Ripe red fruit. Strawberries. Raspberries. Cherries.
Black pepper.
Lime zest.
90!
For the final wine of the night we broke out this bad boy…
Cascina Tavijn 2009 Barbera d’Asti
This Barbera is a nice, light, ruby-colored wine. It’s got an oaky, almost buttery, nose with a bit of cranberry and black pepper. The taste of this wine is rich and earthy, with blackberries and cherries. 89.
This is a great wine to have with turkey.
Here’s my dad and his turkey.
Here’s hoping you had a happy Thanksgiving, everybody.
Mine was sick.
Stay Rad,
Jeff
The Cornerstone of a Tasty Meal 1.2
November 16, 2012Last night I reached into my samples that I recently received from Cornerstone Cellars, and pulled out this bad boy…
Cornerstone Oregon 2010 Willamette Valley Chardonnay
This is another wine that I have had before, but never with food.
Color: Golden yellow.
Nose: A very pretty scent of butter and apples. There is a good stone minerality to the aroma as well.
Palate: Very tasty. Creme brulee and lemon custard meet a great acidity and plenty of minerality.
Score: This is a hella good, and balanced Chardonnay. This is not your over-the-top California butter bomb. This Oregon wine is straight up Burgundian! 90 (When I first tried this wine at the tasting room in the Napa Valley, I gave it a 91)
Now…
On to the food.
I’ve been in a farm-fresh type of mode with my food lately. Last week, I picked up a bunch of brussels sprouts at the farmers market. Usually I will roast these guys with some olive oil and rosemary, but I wanted to try something different…
So I lifted this recipe for Apple-Blistered Brussels Sprouts from Michael Mina’s website Cook Taste Eat…
Get about a pound of brussels sprouts, chop off the butts, peel the leaves off into one bowl, and toss the hearts into another…
Halve the hearts and saute them in some good olive oil…
Remove the hearts and layer them in the bottom of your bowl…
To the same hot pan, add about a cup of fresh apple juice and a couple of pats of butter. Bring it to a boil and reduce to a simmer…
Add the brussels sprouts leaves to the pan with some salt and pepper. Let ’em cook down for a few minutes…
Layer the leaves on top of the hearts in your bowl. Top it with some salt and pepper. Serve and enjoy.
The sprouts were really good.
The leaves picked up some nice sweetness from the apple juice, but the hearts maintained a crunchy, earthy characteristic. Very tasty!
When paired with the Cornerstone Chardonnay, the sprouts amped up the butteriness of the wine.
The pairing was good, but I couldn’t let this wine pass without matching it up with one of my favorite Chardonnay pairings…
Wavy Lay’s! The salty and crunchy chips totally brought out the apple flavors in the Chardonnay.
Yum!
Stay Rad,
Jeff
The Cornerstone of a Tasty Meal 1.1
November 14, 2012When I visited the Cornerstone Cellars tasting room in the Napa Valley a few weeks back, Craig Camp (wine guy extraordinaire at Cornerstone) talked quite a bit about how his wine is meant to be paired with food. A week later, I received a few more samples from Cornerstone. Some wines I’ve tasted before, and some I’ve yet to try.
So…
I’ve decided that I’m going to taste all of these samples with a home cooked meal.
I am calling this series “The Cornerstone of a Tasty Meal”.
Enjoy!
Now…
Let’s check out the first wine…
Stepping Stone by Cornerstone Oregon 2010 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir
Color: Light burgundy.
Nose: Fruits of strawberry and tomato along with a bunch of mushrooms. This wine smells fresh and Earthy.
Taste: Strawberry and tomato up front, surrounded by a leathery mouthfeel and spices of black pepper. This wine has a long, mouthwatering acidity that makes it a great food-pairing wine.
Score: A great, complex, food-friendly wine. 91 (When I originally tried this wine at the tasting room, I gave it a 90+. Good to know that my palate is pretty well calibrated.)
Now, on to the food.
I just got some HUGE beets from the farmers market, so I decided to chop ’em up and roast them with olive oil, salt, and pepper…
Into the oven at 425 for 30 minutes.
These beets came with some HUGE stalks and greens attached to them. Rather than throw them away, I decided to chop ’em up and saute them in some good olive oil, green onions, and cherry tomatoes…
Beet greens and stalks.
Here’s how I plated the dish…
Roasted Beets on a Bed of Beet Greens and Stalks with Cherry Tomatoes and a Balsamic Reduction
And here it is up close…
Pretty much the same.
First of all, the dish was fantastic. When you roast beets, there is this great play between Earthy and sweet flavors.
With the wine, it was off the hook, son!
This was a great pairing of Earthy meets Earthy. The sweetness of the beets and tomatoes also amped up the fruit in the wine.
Very good.
You should try this.
Stay Rad,
Jeff
Exploring Albarino
November 12, 2012Recently, I was contacted by the Albarino Explorers Club, the website dedicated to sharing their love for THEE white grape of Rias Baixas, Spain.
They wanted to me to do write-up for their blog, showing the diversity of food-pairings that can work with Albarino.
I was all like, “Sure!”
The next thing I knew, I had two bottles of Albarino sent to my house, and Kara and I headed over to one of our favorite local restaurants to try ’em out.
They just posted my blog today on their website, and I’d love to see what you think about it.
So…
If you like crisp and zesty wines like this…
And this…
And farm-fresh food like this…
And this…
And this…
And this…
You should go read this…
http://www.albarinoexplorersclub.com/blog/a-great-pairing-at-the-good-fork
Stay Rad,
Jeff
Stay Rad Wine Blog TV Episode 73: Talkin’ 2010 Rhones
November 10, 2012In this episode, Jeff takes a break from the grill to try a value wine from an epic Rhone Valley vintage…
Wine Tasted:
Cave de Monterail 2010 Cotes du Rhone Villages
Stay Rad,
Jeff
Stay Rad Wine Blog TV Episode 72: I should have known…
November 7, 2012In this episode, Jeff goes blind on a GV Special for Wine Wednesday.
Wine Tasted:
It’s a blind tasting, but if you really want to know, scroll down.
Russiz Superiore 2005 Cabernet Franc del Collio
Stay Rad,
Jeff
Stay Rad Wine Blog TV Episode 71: Go Vote!
November 5, 2012In this episode, Jeff announces his plan to run for office in 2016. He also tries a value Zinfandel that you can find at a store near you.
Wine Tasted:
Ghost Pines 2009 Winemaker’s Blend Zinfandel
After the Facts:
1. I said the Zin had an alcohol content of 4.6% twice. In fact, it’s 14.6%.
2. If you are not registered to vote in the California, you can do so here.
Stay Rad,
Jeff
Napa Fun Time 1.5: Good Night and Good Bye
November 1, 2012To bring our amazing Saturday in the Napa Valley to a close, we headed over to Celadon in downtown Napa for dinner…
Celadon
To go with dinner, we ordered up a GSM by Hanh Winery. I’m a big fan of California Rhone Blends these days. As far as a balanced red wine with good acidity goes, for the money, this wine can’t be beat.
While waiting for our dinner, we took full advantage of the free bread.
For starters, we shared the Macadamia Nut-Crusted Goat Cheese with Port-Poached Figs, Apples and Crostini.
Of course, I also ordered the Hearts of Romaine with Caesar Dressing, Croutons and Parmesan Cheese.
For the main course, I had the Pork Porterhouse, Herb Spaetzle, Butternut Squash, Watercress and Pomegranate Jus. Yum!
What a great night!
The next morning, before heading home, we made one last stop to do some wine tasting at Artesa.
Located in the Carneros region of Napa, Artesa specializes in Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and sparkling wines (which thrive in this Southern-most region of the Napa Valley). Artesa, however, is probably more well-known for having one of the most beautiful wineries in the area.
Artesa
Here are a few of the wines that we tried…
Artesa 2009 Estate Reserve Pinot Noir
Artesa 2010 Limited Release Tempranillo
Artesa 2007 Limited Release Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Artesa 2007 Foss Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Of all the trips that Kara and I have taken to the Napa Valley, this one easily tops them all.
Stay Rad,
Jeff
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