Getting Down with a Wine and a Burrito

December 13, 2012

It’s a quiet night around my home tonight, so I decided to get me a burrito from Tortilla House…

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Super Burrito de Carne Asada

And pair it with a wine I picked up this weekend while holiday shopping…

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Moulin de Gassac 2010 Guilhem Pays D’Herault Red Wine

This wine cost me $11 at a local wine shop.  The Guilhem is a blend of 40% Syrah, 25% Grenache, 20% Mourvedre, and 15% Carignan from the Languadoc Roussillon (a French region that is bringing more and more value these days).

Color: Ruby red to purple, verging on black.

Nose: Big nose of plum, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, and earthy mushrooms with a touch of sweet oak.

Taste: Wow!  There is a juicy blast of dark and red fruits that transitions into mouth drying sour red fruits.  Cranberry is the dominant fruit.  There is a great earthy funk to this wine.  It’s got a long finish of clove and tobacco spice to go with a long finish of bright acidity and dark Earth.

Score: Wow!  This wine amazing!  Wow!  This wine was $11, but it drinks like a $30 wine.  At 93 points, this is the steal of the century.  I love this wine.

I guess it ain’t that quiet around these parts after all.  This Guilhem is bringing the noise!

Stay Rad,

Jeff

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Having a (Matzo) Ball

December 11, 2012

It’s Hanukkah, y’all!

I love me some Jewish food.

I don’t eat it that often, but I love it.

The other night, I decided to cook some up, and show Kara how to celebrate right…

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Here’s some Matzo Ball Soup. So fluffy. So creamy. So savory. So right.

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Here’s some Potato, Onion, and Beet Latkes with Apple Sauce, Greek Yogurt, and Green Onions. So crispy. So crunchy. So earthy. So awesome.

To go with this holiday feast, we had to have some wine…

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Moselland 2007 Zeller Schwarze Katz Qualitaswein

This is a Riesling based white blend that is a little on the sweet, apple juice side of delicious, but it’s the perfect compliment to the Latkes.  I picked it up for $11 at BevMo.  You may want to try it out the next time you’re doing a salty/savory dish.  The sweetness and acidity do just the trick to liven up the food.

Happy Holidays, Everybody!

Stay Rad,

Jeff

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Stay Rad Wine Blog TV Episode 75: Oops is Right

December 10, 2012

In this episode, Jeff does a Chilean wine by request…

Wine Tasted:

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Oops 2011 Cheeky little red. Carmenere/Merlot

Stay Rad,

Jeff

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What I’m Reading: Gifts for Wine (and food) Lovers

December 9, 2012

I read.

I read a lot.

This may come as a huge shock to my parents, but it’s true.

I spend a lot of time reading books, magazines, and blogs about my favorite subject…

Wine!

If you have a wine (or food) loving friend on your holiday shopping list, you may want to skip the wacky wine gadgets (considering that most of them stink), and pick them up a book.

With that in mind, here’s what I’m reading right now…

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Naked Wine: Letting Grapes Do What Comes Naturally by Alice Feiring

This is a really fun book that follows wine writer, and natural wine advocate, Alice Feiring, as she attempts to make her own fermented grape juice.  If you’ve ever been curious about natural wine, or how wine in general is made, you’ll get a kick out of this one.

Speaking of all things natural…

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Heart of the Artichoke and Other Kitchen Journeys by David Tanis

I first came across this book, while crashing at a friend’s house after a concert.  I woke up pretty early that morning, and was having trouble going back to sleep.  I saw this book laying on his table, so I decided to crack it open.

I’ve never come across another writer who can make the most simple of foods sound as delicious as he does.  I was drooling after reading his description an apple.

There are a butt load of great recipes, as well as some fantastic stories behind them.  This is a book about food for wine lovers to obsess over.

Back to the wine…

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The Oxford Companion to Wine by Jancis Robinson

Not really a front to back type of read.  This is an encyclopedia of all things wine.  Entries are anywhere from a couple of sentences to a couple of pages.  From abboccato to zymase, this book will tell you anything you ever wanted to know about wine.

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Windows on the World Complete Wine Course by Kevin Zraly

Recently, I had someone ask me how I knew so much about wine.  I had trouble answering.  The reality is that I don’t feel like I know much at all about wine.  I’m always in the process of learning.  The more I learn, the more I realize I don’t know anything.

That being said, if I were to recommend one book that could really help the world of wine seem a lot more accessible, this is the one I would push in your direction.  Zraly does a fantastic job of breaking wines down style by style, and region by region.  Do yourself a favor…  Pick this book up, and taste along with Kevin Zraly.

Finally…

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Wine Spectator

I love me the Wine Spectator magazine!

Each issue contains a ridiculous amount of tasting notes.  I really enjoy reading the tasting reports for different regions.  It’s just a really good mag.

Getting a subscription to this bad boy was one of the best presents I’ve ever received.

Happy shopping y’all!

Stay Rad,

Jeff

PS – What wine related gift are you expecting under your tree this year?

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The Cornerstone of a Tasty Meal 1.4

December 8, 2012

Today, I had this hankering for Filet Mignon…

So I bought me some…

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And wrapped it in bacon!

I had another sample from Cornerstone Cellars, so I decided to break it out…

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Cornerstone Cellars 2009 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Color: Dark ruby-red to black.

Nose: Blueberry, blackberry, and raspberry fruit with a hint of leather, spice, menthol, and tomato skin.

Taste: Up front, there is this beautiful dark fruit component with a pop of red fruit.  Think of blackberry and plum with a blast of cranberry.  There are these awesome, velvety tannins that round this wine out beautifully.

Score: Fantastic!  It’s not often that I refer to a $65 bottle of wine as a steal, but this wine can go toe-to-toe with the best of them.  93 points.

Back to the meal…

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Bacon-Wrapped Filet Mignon with Blue Cheese and a Big Ass Baked Potato

The juiciness of the filet mignon amps up the black and blue fruit in the wine.

Very nice!

Stay Rad,

Jeff

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Stay Rad Wine Blog TV Episode 74: Under the Radar on a #WW

December 5, 2012

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…

Scroll

Down

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Babcock 2010 Under the Radar Syrah

Stay Rad,

Jeff

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The Cornerstone of a Tasty Meal 1.3

December 1, 2012

After 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…

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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…

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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…

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And I didn’t!

Stay Rad,

Jeff

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Here’s What We Had: Thanksgiving Edition

November 23, 2012

It’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…

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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.

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We had the white wine with some crab cocktail, which brought out a buttery apple flavor in the wine.

Up next…

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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…

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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.

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Here’s my dad and his turkey.

Here’s hoping you had a happy Thanksgiving, everybody.

Mine was sick.

Stay Rad,

Jeff

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The Cornerstone of a Tasty Meal 1.2

November 16, 2012

Last night I reached into my samples that I recently received from Cornerstone Cellars, and pulled out this bad boy…

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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…

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Get about a pound of brussels sprouts, chop off the butts, peel the leaves off into one bowl, and toss the hearts into another…

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Halve the hearts and saute them in some good olive oil…

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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…

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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…

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Wavy Lay’s! The salty and crunchy chips totally brought out the apple flavors in the Chardonnay.

Yum!

Stay Rad,

Jeff

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The Cornerstone of a Tasty Meal 1.1

November 14, 2012

When 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…

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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…

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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…

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Beet greens and stalks.

Here’s how I plated the dish…

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Roasted Beets on a Bed of Beet Greens and Stalks with Cherry Tomatoes and a Balsamic Reduction

And here it is up close…

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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

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