Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Wine… with a little help from my friends.

June 24, 2011

Ideas?

I’ve got a lot.

One of which is to ask you for ideas.

What do you think?

So, here’s the deal…

I’ve got 8 wines that I’ve been thinking about opening up.  What I need you to do is take a look, and leave a comment telling me which of the wines you would like me to taste for you.

Okay?

Go!

A) Vina Zaco 2006 Tempranillo

B) Cocobon 2009 Red Wine

C) Chateau Du Seguinier 2005 Bordeaux

D) Chateau Ballan-Larquette 2006 Bordeaux

E) Franciscan 2007 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon

F) Joseph Drouhin 2007 Pinot Noir

G) Mont Gras 2009 Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon - Syrah

H) Kendall-Jackson 2006 Syrah

So now it’s up to you.

Leave a comment, and let me know which wine you want me to taste.  If you think I should try something else, let me know.

Let

me

know.

I get wine with a little help from my friends.

Stay Rad,

Jeff

This Justin: Man tries a new wine and likes it.

June 22, 2011

Justin time!

“Have you ever tried Justin?”

“No,” I responded to the wine buyer at Rocca’s Market in San Martin, “but I’ve heard good things.”

“It’s good stuff.  Enjoy!”

The Justin 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon from Paso Robles cost me $23.99.  It’s usually a good sign when you get a set of Farmers’ Almanac-type notes from the wine maker on the label.  It gives you a good sense of the respect that a winery has for the terroir.  I was happy to learn that the Justin Cab is 100% free run juice.

Opened it Justin time for dinner.

Color:  This wine is a dark beet red.  Look…

Justin case you wanted to see it.

Nose:  There is an immediate smell of lush dark plums.  There are hints of smoke, leather, and blackberry.  There is also this chalky mocha thing that I love.  You know me by now.  I’m a teacher.  I love chalk!

Taste:  Up front, there is a tart cran-raspberry cocktail flavor.  The tannins are very soft, round, and pleasant.  Probably because it is free run juice; it is very silky.  It has a long, tart, mouth-watering finish.  There is just a little bit of a buttery pie crust (or maybe crescent roll) component.

I’m a big fan of the Justin.  This wine would pair well with a thick bloody steak.  Give it a 91, and buy it.

I’m Justin love with this one.

Stay Rad,

Jeff

Leftovers on a hot day? Kara-gria!

June 20, 2011

Kara and I got back from a quick trip to Capitola Village to a HOT ASS HOUSE.

We didn’t have much left in the fridge, save for a few half full bottles of Rose and Chardonnay and a GANG of PRODUCE!

So…

Kara made a dope Sangria.  Let’s call it a Kara-Gria:

In a large pitcher add:

1/2 a bottle of chilled chardonnay

1/2 a bottle of chilled rose

1 bottle of sparkling apple juice

1/2 cup of gin

1 whole orange… sliced

1 diced nectarine

hella sliced strawberries

Stir that sucka up.

Chill in the fridge.

Enjoy responsibly.

Stay Rad,

Jeff

Fantasy Baseball 2011: Halfway to Glory!

June 20, 2011

I’ve been playing fantasy sports since 2001.  It started as a way to keep in touch with one of my long time high school friends when he was living in another state.  It did not take long, however, for this hobby to become an obsession.

The first league I took part in was of the fantasy football variety.  I’ve always been a San Francisco 49ers fan, but I never really paid attention to the rest of the NFL.  In that first season, I had a horrible draft, I didn’t win a game until week 8 (Thank you Trung Canidate!), and I got hosed in the worst trade of all time (I traded Steven Davis for Doug Flutie and Larry Centers!).  In a word, I was UNPREPARED.

In the seasons to follow, I learned the value of watching more games, reading injury reports, and listening to “experts”.  I realized that the more time you put into the game, the better your team would perform.  Don’t get me wrong.  Luck plays a HUGE role in the success of your team, but hard work is what puts you in the position to win it all.  It was not long until I won my first Fantasy Football Championship.

Football is the perfect sport for an introduction into fantasy.  Most people already watch it.  Each team only plays 16 games in the season.  There’s a limited number of players on each team that can earn you points.  And let’s be honest… Football is just RAD.

I have played other fantasy sports.  I did fantasy basketball for two seasons, but gave it up after I lost out on the championship because of a tie-breaker.  For the last two seasons, I’ve played fantasy hockey.  I hate hockey, but my buddy asked me to play, so you know…  I won the championship my first year, and came in second this last year.  If I had to choose my favorite fantasy sport though, it would have to be baseball.

My first season of fantasy baseball was in 2004.  Much like with my first football league, I came into baseball being unprepared.  My draft was horrible, and my team sucked ass for the first half of the season.  Since the baseball season is so long, I did have time to improve my situation through trades and free agency.  Although I finished 9th out of 12 teams, I knew that if I worked hard enough, I could eventually master fantasy baseball.

Here’s how I’ve done over the years in my hardcore fantasy baseball league…

Year:       Team Name:                                              Place:

2004       The Sweet High Heat                               9th of 12

2005       Tha Team Builders                                   6th of 12

2006       A Dumb Owner                                         3rd of 12

2007       The Vampire Bats                                     4th of 12

2008      The Mythical Beasts                                  8th of 14

2009      The Witty Retorts                                      4th of 14

2010       Big Papa Shango                                        4th of 14

Before the 2010 season, we decided to turn our league into keeper league, in which you can keep up to 3 players by drafting each player a round earlier than you got them the year before.

My keepers going into this season were Andrés Torres (12th round), Nick Swisher (13th round), and CJ Wilson (20th) round.  Midway through the season, Here’s what my current roster looks like…

Chris Iannetta – C

Carlos Pena – 1B

Ben Zobrist – 2B

Alex Gordon – 3B

Troy Tulowitzki – SS

Logan Morrison – OF

Nick Swisher – OF

Shin-Soo Choo – OF

Bobby Abreu – OF

Andrés Torres – Util

Jayson Werth – Util

Raul Ibanez – Util

Ryan Roberts – Util

Edwin Encarnacion – Bench

Ryan Dempster – SP

David Price – SP

Derek Holland – SP

Carlos Marmol – RP

Rafael Betancourt – RP

Leo Nunez – P

Tyler Clippard – P

Chad Qualls – P

CJ Wilson – P

Eduardo Sanchez – DL

Brad Lidge – DL

I have 3 other roster spots that I use to stream pitchers.

So here’s the deal.  My team does not look good.  There’s nothing sexy about it.  I’m middle of the pack in home runs and runs batted in.  My batting average is horrible.  My most dominant statistic is walks, for crying out loud!

With all that said, at the halfway point of the season, guess whose team is in first place?

I’ll give you a second…

That’s right!  Mine!

Big Papa Shango is in first place by a game and a half!

I’ve been asked what the appeal is with fantasy sports.  For me, the answer is simple.

I pride myself in being right… ALWAYS.  If I am beating you in fantasy sports, what it means is that I am RIGHT.  I’m running my team the right way.  I’m making the right decisions.  I picked up the right pitcher on the right day.

If I beat you, that means I’m better than you.

The problem with fantasy baseball is that I haven’t won a league yet.  I’ve been in first place before.  I’ve dominated all season long.  The playoffs, however, are a different story.  When it comes to the playoffs, that’s when my team usually lets me down.  As much as I get a kick out of winning, it’s the losing that sticks with me.  Losing is Hell.  Until I win a championship in fantasy baseball, I will never be able to have peace.

Fantasy baseball is my Mount Everest.  Halfway done, I’m feeling good.  Just half a season more ’til glory.  Glorious glory.

Wish me luck… and stay rad,

Jeff

Bundled up in Gilrory. Music by Naked in Vegas.

June 18, 2011

Sarah's Vineyard is in Gilroy... but not really.

On Friday, Kara and I decided to head over to Sarah’s Vineyard in Gilroy.  Sarah’s is a small winery, tucked into the Santa Cruz Mountains.  The breezy climate makes it perfect for Burgundian and Rhone varietals.  I am a big fan of their light style of wine making.

The reason for the trip was to attend their Summer Music Series.  They have a neat patio and lawn area where different local bands will come to play.  The tasting room stays open late to sell their wines by the bottle to enjoy with the music.  You can bring your own picnic, or buy something to eat from whichever catering company is there (it changes from week to week).

Kara and I brought homemade Brie Paninis with Mango Chutney, Turkey (for me), and Spinach.  We also bought a bottle of the Sarah’s Vineyard 2006 Central Coast Pinot Noir for $15.

Sarah's Vineyard 2006 Central Coast Pinot Noir and Kara's foot 2011.

Color:  This Pinot had a cloudy dull red color.  You could recreate that color by mashing a bunch of over-ripe roma tomatoes into a paste and adding water and a pinch of dirt.  I know that doesn’t sound very appetizing, but I must say it looked fantastic.  See…

Tomatoes and Dirt and Awesome!

Nose:  There was a nice whiff of smoke, butter, and pepper.  As I took a bit more in, I noticed a rubbery cola aroma.  Nice!

Taste:  This Pinot Noir had a very meaty and buttery taste on the palate, rounded out with a touch of cherry cola.  On the finish, a touch of cranberry and walnuts became present.

I really liked this wine.  I also appreciate that Sarah’s did not jack up their prices for the event.  I give it a solid 87.

As the sun began to set, the wind really started to pick up. It got hella cold, hella quick.  The cover band, Naked in Vegas, was alright.  They were not, however, good enough to keep our cold asses at the vineyard after we had finished our bottle of Pinot Noir.

Naked in Vegas? More like bundled up in Gilroy!

Don’t worry, Sarah’s Vineyard, we will be back.

Stay Rad,

Jeff

Everything’s coming up Rosés: A three bottle throwdown.

June 16, 2011

Yesterday, Kara and I did a little tasting at Guglielmo Winery.  I originally went there with the intention of tasting and scoring EVERY wine we tasted.  Things did not go as planned.  The problem was that a tasting room is not an ideal space to score wines.  Too many people.  Too many wines.  Too many distractions.  That, and it’s embarrassing to write down a score in front of people working for the winery you are scoring.

I will say that I had a great time there.  None of their wines felt like must-haves, but Guglielmo is a fun place to be.  All of their wines fall in that 83 – 89 point range for me.  All of the people that work there are more like 92’s.  Great, great folks and a neat place to visit if you are ever visiting the Santa Clara Valley.

The wine that stuck out the most to me was the 2010 Estate Grown Rosatello.  It was an interesting rosé wine made from the grignolino grape (a super nerdy varietal from Italy).  Guglielmo claims to be one of only two wineries in California to grow the grape in any significant quantities.  The wine seemed food-friendly enough, so I purchased a bottle for $16.

I’m not a HUGE rosé drinker, so it is a tough category for me to score (It’s tough to type too.  Alt + 0233 = é).  Part of this blog experience is to try new things.  So how do I transition from a novice into an expert on pink wines?

THE THREE BOTTLE THROWDOWN!

This morning, I picked up two more bottles of Rosé from Trader Joe’s to compare against the Rosatello.  One from the Rioja of Spain ($6.99) and one from the Rhone of France ($4.99).  I know what wines I have purchased, but I will not know which of the three I am drinking until after I take my notes.  I had Kara pour the wines into three different glasses…

The three Rosés were labeled with wine charms: "Red", "White", and "Blue". In the battle between Spain, France, and the USA, I think we all know who should win... or do we?

After I taste the wines, I’ll see which one is which.  Wish me luck…

Wine #1:

"Red": You know what time it is!

Color:  This is the darkest wine of the bunch.  It haa a cool blood-orange type of color.

Nose:  There is a really pretty nose to this one.  Peach skin, oranges, and licorice dominate the nose.  There is a strong minerality that is rounded out with a hint of strawberry.

Taste:  This is what I would expect a Rosé to taste like.  Very dry.  There’s a nice orange and peach fruit to this, but the wine is much more driven by its minerality and acidity.  There is a long rubbery finish that I really like.  My guess is that this is the French Rose.

Wine #2:

"White": More like orange! Heyohhhhhh!!!!!!

Color:  The color is a very dull, very light, orange tint.

Nose:  The nose is very tight.  There are hints of sugar and salt.  There’s a subtle touch of peach.

Taste:  The first second of the taste was salty minerality.  This flavor gave way in an instant to a beautiful mouth full of cream and licorice.  It has some oak notes that remind me of a California red wine.  I really like this!  I’m thinking that this is the Spanish Rose.

Wine #3:

"Blue": The candle is for Evan.

Color:  The color on this wine is almost identical to that of the second (“White”) wine.  Light, dull, and orange.

Nose:  The nose is giving subtle hints of peach and minerals.

Taste:  All I can think of when tasting this wine is the viscosity.  This wine is the thickest of them all.  There’s a light acidity and minerality.  This wine would go well with food, but mostly because it would not get in the way of the food.  I doubt, however, that it would do anything to enhance the food experience.  This wine confused me.  It’s not bad.  It’s pleasant.  It just doesn’t bring much to the table.

Now…

The scores have been tallied, and the I’ve seen what’s what.  Here are the results from worst to first.

In last place…

Marques de Caceres 2009 Dry Rose Wine. Rioja, Spain. This wine made me "Blue".

I originally gave the Marques de Caceres an 85+, but the more I thought about it, the more I disliked it.  Again, it is not bad.  The problem is that for 7 bucks, I can find at least two wines that are significantly better in a similar price range.  Give it an 82 with shrugged shoulders.

In second…

Cellier du Rhone 2009 Cotes du Rhone Rose. "Red" and Rad!

The Cellier du Rhone is a steal at 5 bucks a bottle!  Give it an 86.  This is what I want from a summer time rosé.

And in First Place…

Guglielmo Private Reserve 2010 Estate Grown Rosatello. Santa Clara Valley, California. In spite of the look, this is NOT a crappy "White" zin.

The Guglielmo Rosatello is not your typical rose.  I am, however, in love with the creaminess of this wine.  Give it an 88 and save it for a hot summer afternoon.

So, there you have it.  I don’t know if I’m an expert yet, but I think I learned a lot today.

Take it away, Ethel.

Stay Rad,

Jeff

When it gets hot, slow down.

June 15, 2011

Back from the run. Let's reheat the coffee and make some brek (That's short for breakfast).

Yesterday, Kara and I noticed on the tail end of our morning (10:00 am) run how hot it is starting to get.  For the most part, during the fall, winter, and spring you can run any time of day outside without the fear of overheating.  As the summer time rolls around, you have to start earlier in the day.  You have to.

Sure enough, later that day (with the temperature exceeding 90 degrees farenheit) it seemed like everywhere we looked we saw people running.  Stupid people running.  Running with sweatpants on.  Running with their big thick-coated dogs.  All of them (people and dogs) looking like they wanted to die.  All of them (just the people here) looking stupid.

“We are not those people,” I told Kara.  “We will never run in that type of heat.  Tomorrow, we run EARLY.”

I woke up this morning at 6:30 am.

The fab four: Mug, Grinder, Beans, and a Coffee Pot

I fed the dog.  I brewed a pot of some tasty Puerto Rican coffee (A special thank you to my sister.  The greatest out-of-the-blue gift I’ve ever been given).  I got dressed.  Walked the dog.  Mixed up some of my electrolyte drink (Gu Brew).  Grabbed Kara.  We got to the trail at 8:15.

The plan for me was to do a mile warm-up, six miles at my tempo pace (~7’30″/mile since I’m training to run a half-marathon at 7 minutes a mile), and a mile cool down.  That’s Eight Miles if you are counting, Eminem.  I felt okay during the warm-up.  When I started my tempo run at mile two, I was doin’ alright.

Then…

The turn-around.

I was 4 miles away from my car, and when I turned to run back toward the starting point, I saw it.  The hot, bright, unforgiving Sun.  It had been at my back during the first half of my run, but now it was going to kick my ass.

My face and chest started to heat up.  I felt beads of sweat run down my forehead, along the side of my nose, under my sunglasses, and now they were pooling up just under my bottom eyelids.  As the ponds of salty water got bigger, they began to drain into and subsequently sting my eyes. What was once a brisk 7’30” per mile pace quickly slowed to a shuffling 11 minute mile.

I was spent, and I still had two miles to go.  Just nearing the end of the run, I caught up to Kara (who was finishing a six-miler).  “How was it?” I asked.

“Hot!”

“We are not the kind of people to run in this kind of heat, Kara.  Tomorrow… tomorrow, we run EARLIER!”

When we got home, I was dog tired… AND HUNGRY.

I still had some left over hamburger meat from the other day, so I figured I’d make my version of a Joe’s Special.  If you’re not from the Bay Area and don’t know what that is, I forgive you.  If you are a local and you don’t know what I am talking about, I will find you and slap you… HARD.

Traditionally, the Joe’s Special is an egg scramble with ground beef and spinach.  Outside of that, you can take any angle that you want.  I didn’t have any spinach on hand, but I did have hella tortillas so…

I threw the ground beef into a hot ass pan. Yes. That is a Rachel Ray omelette pan. It rules. That, and the handle is orange.

I put two taco sized corn tortillas in the toaster and set it to "bagel".

The beef was broken up and given some chopped onions, salt, pepper, and Trader Joe's curry powder. Mucho authentico!

Add egg, and scramble it up. Plate on top of the two interlocking tortillas. Top with half an avocado and 3 tomato slices. Joe's Special? More like Jeff's Rad! Am I right?

Save the leftovers so your wife can have a veggie sandwich later.

I ate this hearty brek while watching Sam Raimi’s “Drag Me to Hell” on the DVR.  The movie was okay.  Kind of fun.  I think it paired well with the fluffiness of the eggs.

I think the story would have worked out better for the main character if the title was "Don't Drag Me to Hell". What do you think?

After breakfast, Kara and I set out to do a few errands.  The heat was so draining, that we gave up on them about half way through.  With plenty of time left in the day, we headed over to Guglielmo Winery to use our free tasting coupon.  We spent almost two hours there… Just kicking back and enjoying the day.

Sometimes when it gets too hot, you just have to slow down.

Stay Rad,

Jeff

Burgers, Beer, the Bachelorette, and Wine: L’Authentique Barbecue

June 14, 2011

Inspiration abounds when ground beef and Tecate Light are in the mix.

KaraIsRad, my wife, was to be back from the gym in about 15 minutes.  The clock inside my brain told me it was time to start prepping.

80/20 ground beef?  Check!

Veggie Patties (For her, dude!)?  Check!

Grill on?  Fa’ sho!

Tecate Light?  No doubt!

Let it be said that I do love hoppy craft beers.  Love ’em!  Make them so hoppy it tastes like I just bit a rose bud off of a 5 year old bush.  Flowers for days.  Love me some micro-brew!

But…

When a grill is involved, you have to bring out the canned lager.  The macro-brew, if you will.  Something cold with a tinny (aluminum) kick.

I’m a Coors Lite fan.  Not that I think it is any better than Bud or Pabst or Modelo.  It’s not even different.  I like the Coors Lite because of the can.  There’s only one can that can tell you it’s cold using blue mountains.  One!  That’s the Silver Bullet, baby.

I had some Tecate Light on hand, because I’ve been on a taco kick lately.  Again… there is no (okay… a little) difference in taste here.  If you’re making tacos on the grill, however, your canned lager MUST be Mexican.  I don’t make the rules, holmes.  I just stick to ’em.

Now…

I was deep in it.  Getting my mise en place for the ultimate Blue Cheese Burger w/ Garlic Dijon Aioli, when I thought to myself,

“You know what would go great with this burger?  WINE!”

I dropped my Tecate Light like it was cold, and grabbed me this sucker…

The L'Authentique la Caumette NV and my dope ass Nokia (Phone Book) leaning against a turtle lamp.

When I picked up this $4.99 bottle of L’Authentique la Caumette NV Red Table Wine at Trader Joe’s, I swear the elderly stock clerk gave me the same look that Bastian got from that dude at the book store in Never Ending Story.  His eyes said to me, “You can’t handle this!”  I started to shake just before he ripped the bottle out of my hands…

I was shocked to hear him speak in such a calming tone  “Nice.  This is an EXCELLENT bottle of wine,” he told me in a gentle French accent.  “This wine has good fruit, nice acidity, and for the price… it cannot be beat.”

This Non-Vintage French table wine does not list the grape varietals being used, but the word on the street is that it’s a blend of syrah, grenache, mourvedre and carignan.  The back label, showing a map of France with a little dot near the Southern Rhone, leads me to believe that the aforementioned blend is entirely possible.

I poured two glasses.  One for me and one for KaraIsRad.  Then, it was back to the barbecue…

Pre-Heat to Hell Fire... ALWAYS!

80/20 ground beef w/ egg, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, and dill. Shape like a deformed heart, and lay it down!

Always oil up the grates to get sear marks. Only flip it once. Man Code!

Time to eat… I mean… taste the wine.

Blue Cheese Burger w/ Garlic Dijon Aioli, Arugula Salad w/ Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Feta (by KaraIsRad), and L'Authentique in a big glass. Not L'Fake!

Color:  This wine is as red as red can get without being black.  I’m talking BLACK!  It’s what I would envision the back alley of Fangtasia from True Blood to look like.

Nose:  My fist thought is of orange zest.  Very ripe, but acidic in nature.  There is a chalky feel to this nose.  I love chalk.  Throughout it all, there is a red raspberry fruit that balances everything out.

Hey…

The Bachelorette is on!

Told you!

Look… I’m not a huge fan of the show, but it is a great conversation starter:

“Who names their kid Constantine?  Or West?  Or Ames?”

“What’s up with that guy’s face?”

“Why does she wear so many belly shirts?”

“How come that dude is always squinting?”

“Is that dude missing his lower set of teeth?”

“That dude runs like a girl.  What’s his problem?”

Oh yeah…

Back to the wine!

Taste:  On the initial attack, there are these extremely dry, mouth-filling tannins.  They are lasting 30+ seconds, easily.  Dee-lish!

There is that same orange zest component that I smelled earlier, but it is rounded out with hints of lemon and lime.  There is this not-so-ripe strawberry flavor that is really nice.  Great acidity!

I just took my first bite of the burger…

"These burgers are crazy!" - The Moldy Peaches

It is F-ing Amazing!

The beefiness of the burger, paired with the lactic notes of the blue cheese and tanginess of the aioli bring out some chocolaty tones from the wine.  It gives my entire mouth a rich milky feel.

KaraIsRad made a fresh arugula salad with sun-dried tomatoes, feta, and a red wine vinaigrette.  This highlights the flavors of orange blossoms and chalk.

You have to respect this wine for what it is.  A red table wine.  What do we put on our tables?

Food.

By itself, the wine is a solid 88.  With food?  Give it a 90.  This is the perfect wine for a weeknight meal with the wife.  And a steal at 5 bucks.

Pair it with Pizza, Pasta, Burgers, the Bachelorette, and possibly the Bad Girls Club.  This wine is THAT versatile!

Have you ever seen a wine bottle this full?

Stay Rad,
Jeff

This wine makes me want food… Now!

June 12, 2011

Setting the mood: I have this tempranillo decanting in two huge wine glasses. The candle is for show. It will not be lit.

There are a few advantages to having summers off.  One such advantage is having a ridiculous amount of time to kill.

The other day, I spent almost two hours at the Gilroy BevMo just looking at wine.  Scoping the labels.  Reading the blurbs.  Scouting for deals.

A “deal” is NOT the same as a “sale”.

They are having their 5 cent sale right now.  It’s a scam that will be discussed on another day.

By deal, I’m talking about value.  A Rad wine at an equally Rad (if not Radder) price.  With so much time on my hands, I found that the best deals (on paper) were in the Spain, Chile, and Argentina sections.  I came across hella wines that were highly rated by the Wine Spectator, Wine Enthusiast, and Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate (Not Wilfred Wong!  Again… will discuss on another day) that were in the 10 to 20 dollar range.

From that BevMo adventure, I ended up buying 3 bottles of wine.  Of the bottles, the one that I am the most excited to taste is this bad boy…

The Mas Que Vinos 2007 Ercavio Tempranillo Roble cost me $10.99 and was given a 90+ rating by Robert Parker.  Now, Gary Vaynerchuk would tell me to trust my own palate, but I must say that my palate usually agrees with that of Robert Parker.  For 11 bucks, why not try it?

Now, it’s time to taste…

Mas Que Vinos Ercavio Tempranillo Roble 2007

Those smudges on the label are not supposed to be there. I'm that messy.

Color:  This wine is a DARK ruby.  There is a not quite rusty rose color along the outer edge of the glass.

Nose:  One sniff of this tempranillo filled my mouth with cocoa powder.  You know how you’ll be opening a packet of instant cocoa and a cloud of powder wafts up to your nose?  THAT kind of cocoa powder.  The chalkiness of the nose also reminds me of opening the box for a new bicycle tube.  There is a green component to this wine as well.  Slightly minty.  A little like fresh lettuce from the garden.  There is a deep note of plum.

Taste:  I don’t want this to throw you off.  My first thought in drinking this wine was of a grapefruit.  Imagine that tart citrus component of a grapefruit.  Now take away the mouth-puckering sour aspect.  I guess I’d call it essence of grapefruit.

Now, take that grapefruit and dip it in chocolate.  Delicious!

There is a lingering acidity.  A little lime.  There are some nice soft tannins that tell me this is as good as this wine is going to get.

This wine is a solid, confident, beast…

This wine makes me want food… Now!  I want tacos.  I want burgers.  Bruschetta.  Cheese.  It is extremely versatile.

After my initial taste, I jumped up to raid the fridge.  My initial thought was to grab some cheese.  Since I was thinking about tacos, I grabbed some hard cotija cheese from Mexico (Literally!  I flew down to Mexico just now to get this cheese).

While I was cutting the cheese (Childish joke.  Though not intended… appreciated!)  My mouth began to water with this flavor of caramel and chocolate (Rollos anyone?), so I grabbed some strawberries.

The saltiness of the cotija paired very well with the acidity of the wine.  The strawberries did a great job of stepping up those chocolate notes.

This wine is a solid, food friendly, mo fo.

Considering that this is my first official review for this blog, I had a tough time scoring this wine.  I must tell you that I loved it.  You must also know that I doubt it has the structure to last another two years in the cellar.  All I’m thinking right now, however, is that I want to go buy a whole case right now.  I want to drink this wine with as many different food pairings as I can.  It is THAT good.  But… I’ve had better.  But… It’s only 11 bucks.

I’ve got to tell you, I could not have asked for a better wine to score first for you.  This is THE threshold for me.  I’m giving it 90 points, and I’m telling you that you MUST try this.

Rubbery, synthetic cork. Chocolaty, authentic wine.

Stay Rad,

Jeff

“If you don’t like Jeff, you don’t like people.”

June 11, 2011

When I was a senior in high school, my mother was talking with my uncle on the phone.  My name had come up in the conversation, and my uncle proceeded to tell my mom,

“If you don’t like Jeff, you don’t like people.”

My mom relayed the words to me a few days later, and I was completely flattered.  That is, without a doubt, the greatest compliment I have ever received.

Those words were said well over a decade ago.  Although I doubt today that neither my mother nor my uncle would recall that conversation, I’ve worn those words like a metal ever since.

That quote means so much to me, because they explain so perfectly how I want people to think of me… A genuinely nice person.  That’s not always the case (just ask one of my old roommates), but I try.

Whether you’ve known me since I was a kid in Ben Lomond, met me as a punk rocker at San Lorenzo Valley High School, studied biology with me at San Jose State, or are reading my words for the first time in this blog (Hello There!), I want you to know that I’m a good dude who’s always looking to enjoy life.

That brings me to this blog.

My goal here is to highlight as many good things in life as I can.  I want to tell you about what I’m watching on TV.  I want to tell you about my fantasy sports teams.  I want to tell you what I’m listening to on my iPod.  I want to tell you how my last race or long run went.

BUT

I also want to give you focus.  Because of this, I’ve decided to make this a blog about WINE.  I can’t think of any one thing that does a better job of bringing all of the good things in life together.

What am I sharing with my wife when we watch TV together?

How do I celebrate my fantasy football championships?

How do I set the mood?

How do I congratulate myself for a job well done?

WINE (period)

This blog will be THE place to find my wine reviews.  I am not an expert.  I am not critically acclaimed.  I do, however, love wine.

You will also read about the people and places I encounter whenever wine is involved.

My hope for you, is that you simply enjoy this blog.  Please subscribe to it, and tell your friends, if you like it.  If you can’t get enough of me, you can also follow me on Twitter @JeffIsRad.

It’s possible that some of you could end up reading this only to find that you hate me.  (Yikes!)   You may think that my writing lacks pizzazz.  (Ouch!)  You could be frustruated by my spelling.  (Yowza!)  You will tell your friends that I have no business writing a blog about wine at all.  (Noooooooooooo!!!!!!!!)

If that is the case, please just remember what my mom once told me my uncle said to her on the phone over a decade ago…

Don’t you feel bad now?

Stay Rad,

Jeff