Posts Tagged ‘JeffIsRad’

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Augtobeerfest: An International Affair

August 23, 2011

Augtobeerfest.

I know what you’re thinking.  “Jeff just made that word up to be funny.”

Well, I didn’t.

I couldn’t.

I’ve never been funny in my entire life.

How dare you?

Last Saturday, Kara and I walked down to the El Toro Brewpub in celebration of Augtobeerfest.

Here’s their special event menu…

AUGTOBEERFEST! See?!?!?

If you check out El Toro on Yelp.com, you’ll find that the knock on this place is consistent.

They make amazing beer, but the food is suspect.

There was something about Augtoberfest that I think would have changed the minds of those critics…

25 ounce Marzen

Maybe it was the 25 ounce stein of Marzen I had when I walked in the door.  It was the perfect balance of crisp hops and round malts.

Bratwurst with bacon, sauerkraut, and german potato salad.

Maybe it was the bratwurst that I paired with the Marzen.  The tanginess of the sauerkraut.  The fatiness of the bacon.  The rich german potato salad.  It brought the flavor of the beer to a whole new level.

The Internationals!

Maybe it was the fun-loving music provided by The Internationals.  Quite possibly my favorite traditional German band.  Okay…  They’re the only German band I know…  And their music ain’t that traditional…

25 ounce Mo Hill Pils

Maybe it was the 25 refreshing ounces of the Mo Hill Pils…

Nachos!

Maybe I was still hungry and ordered some nachos to go with my  Pils…

Still rocking on Swiss horns.

Maybe people take pubs, and the food inside of them, way to seriously…

With great beer, great music, and amazing friends, how could you ever complain?

Prost!

El Toro, I’ll see you at DecemBEERfest.

Who’s coming with me?

Stay Rad,

Jeff

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Sit By Me and drink a margarita, amigo: Back to the land of the living.

August 20, 2011

Have you ever seen the movie Stand By Me?

Darlin', darlin' stand by me.

It’s bad ass!

Adventure.

Comedy.

Death.

The 1950’s.

Stand By Me has it all.

The only problem with the movie, is that it puts me in a weird mood.

The film takes place in the last week of summer, when four friends are about to enter junior high.

I hate the end of summer.

Always have.

Always will.

Let me explain…

I was always a good student.  I always loved school.  With a mother who was the first in her family to graduate college (putting herself through nursing school), and a dad who was a math teacher for over 30 years, I was never given the option not to succeed.  Having an older sister who is the smartest person I’ve ever met being the valedictorian of her high school class, the competition to break from her shadow was always there.  I did not need much motivation to try my hardest, and I took a lot of pride in bringing home report cards littered with A’s.

I loved my teachers.  Every single one of them.  Though I probably annoyed the crap out of many, I am certain that they knew how much I appreciated their hard work.

And friends?  Forget about it!  The friends that I made all throughout elementary, high school, and college were some of the greatest people who have ever walked this Earth.

As much as I loved school, I HATED going back to school.

Hated it!

HATED!

There you are.  It’s summer.  And much like Gordie LaChance and his buddies, you haven’t a care in the world.  You’re going on adventures.  Every single day… YOU PLAY!

And then it happens…

The end of July…

The beginning of August…

IT

HAPPENS

You start to see the ads.

Your friends start talking about it.

Your parents start bringing it up.

You start to realize that eventually you’re gonna have to go back to school.

And that is when the fun stops.

And that is when the mood sets in.

No more adventure.

No more taking the bus to the baseball card shop every day.

No more staying up late.

No more sleeping in.

BACK

TO

SCHOOL!

Every year it was the same thing.  From the moment of my back-to-school awareness until the end of the first day of school, I was in a mood.

The mood?

Nervousness.

I was just a bundle of nerves… and I would obsess.

What were my teachers going to be like?

Was I gonna have any friends in my classes?

Was I gonna get that girl to notice me?

I was filled to my ears with anxiety.

And the night before the first day of school was the worst.

THE

WORST!

I was so anxious, that I could not sleep… AT ALL.  I’d just have these thoughts and fears racing through my head.  I was a miserable wreck.

Having never slept the night before, on the first day of school I would always feel like a zombie.  Dragging myself from class to class.  Eyes glazed over.  And drool… There was lots of drool.

It would usually take me about a week to acclimate myself to the daily routine of school life.  And, like I said, I really came to love everything about school.

From a young age, I always admired teachers.  Having a dad who was one sure helped.  And I always kind of knew that I wanted to be one.  I figured that if you were a good student, why wouldn’t you be a teacher?  Why wouldn’t you share what you know?  Why wouldn’t you show people the tricks that worked for you?  It just made sense.

You must know, however, that there was an ulterior motive behind my pursuit of a career in education.  In retrospect, it seems silly.  But, at the time, it made all the sense in the world…

I figured that if I was always nervous about going back to school as a student, and the opposite of a student is a teacher, then going back to school as a teacher must be the best thing ever.

No more nerves.

No more anxiety.

No more sleepless nights.

Well…

I just started my ninth year of teaching this last week, and I’ve got to tell you…

IT’S WORSE!

I love teaching much more than I ever loved being a student, but I would never wish my back-to-school anxiety on my worst enemy…  It’s not like I have any enemies, but you know what I’m sayin’.

My back-to-school mood is so bad that I have been avoiding Stand By Me for the last nine years.  I just don’t want to be in that mood.  And that movie, as good as it is, is a trigger.

The first day with students was this last Tuesday, so of course I did not sleep a wink on Monday night.  I was a zombie.  I think I even drooled on one of my students.

It would have been nice to go straight to bed after school on Tuesday, but I had a softball game that night (we won), so I wasn’t much less of a zombie on Wednesday.

After school on Wednesday, we had a department meeting, so I was still a little drained on Thursday.

And of course I had to hit the gym after school on Thursday to train for my next half-marathon… So it wasn’t really until Friday that I started to feel normal again.

Kara is a teacher too.  She is technically back to school, but her students don’t come back until next week.  She did have some meetings to go to on Friday, so a bunch of her coworkers decided to do happy hour at El Amigo in San Jose.  She called me up to ask if I would join them.

I was all, “Okay.”

Like an old friend... El Amigo.

Happy hour at El Amigo goes until 6pm, but I wasn’t gonna make it until 6:15, so Kara got me a margarita before I got there…

The El Amigo House Margarita aged gracefully for 30 minutes.

Though most of the ice had melted, and the glass got a little sweaty, I was really stoked on this margarita.  Sometimes, margaritas can border on being too sweet or too tart.  This bad boy was neither.  In fact, it had a little richness going on.  Not a profile you would ever expect, but it was definitely appreciated.

Since I arrived so late, I was not in an appetizer type of mood.  I ordered the Plato de Carnitas…

Plato de Carnitas

Carnitas are a traditional form of pork that is marinated and slow roasted.  These thick chunks came with the traditional rice, beans, salsa, flour tortillas, and guacamole.  The Carnitas were very nice.  I used the tortillas to make my own burritos, ’cause that’s how I roll.

As far as restaurants go, El Amigo is all right.  I’ve had better Mexican food.  I’ve had worse.  What’s important here, is that it was time well spent.  Time where I could finally relax.  For that, El Amigo, I thank you.

When I got home last night, I tried to write a blog about my week, but my brain just kind of shut down.  I had something more important to do…

SLEEP!

This morning, I woke up feeling fantastic.

It’s great to be back in the land of the living.

Stay Rad,

Jeff

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About last night…

August 14, 2011

Here’s the deal…

I told you yesterday that I was going to a party.

And I did.

Kara and I headed down to Gilroy to visit our friends, the Rockings, and have a good old-fashioned campout in their backyard.

They provided the food and beer.

Fat Tire and a Taco.

And of course…

I brought the wine.

Red Splash 2007 Red Wine by St. Francis

I picked up the Red Splash 2007 Red Wine for $9 at BevMo, because I wanted something simple.

Just a nice red wine.

The Red Splash did not disappoint.

Here’s the breakdown…

Color: Dark burgundy.  Almost purple.

Nose: The wine smells very oaky, with a little vanilla action.  The nose is also very hot.  You can smell the alcohol.  That’s not a good thing.  There is a nice red fruit component with hints of cranberry, raspberry, and cherries, but the alcohol distracts from it.

Taste: I like the taste of this one.  The body is medium to light for a Cabernet/Zinfandel based wine, but there are some nice lingering tannins that stick around for a while.  It’s got that cherry and cranberry fruit that I smelled earlier, along with some good oak.  There is a richness to this wine.  It made me want some cheese.

Score: This is a good wine.  It’s not trying to be anything but a red table wine.  I could imagine that this wine has the chops to pair with a variety of foods.  Pizza.  Steak.  Baked potato.  A light salad with goat cheese and walnuts.  This wine makes me hungry, and that’s what a table wine should do.  Give it an 86+.  Give it a try.

Here’s the thing about last night…

We had a blast.

But it did get a little crazy…

A good idea?

Stay Rad,

Jeff

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K.I.S.S. – A lesson from Gordon Ramsay and Girls

August 13, 2011

I’ve been thinking a lot about Girls lately.

Okay…

That doesn’t sound right.

Let’s start over…

I’ve been thinking a lot about my old friend, JR, lately.  He’s in a band called Girls.

JR. Christopher. Girls.

Girls is an amazingly complex band.  At the same time, they are all about the simple things in life.

Love.

Heartbreak.

Rock and Roll.

Friendship.

Pizza.

Wine.

Girls.

It’s that simple.

Their first album is called, “Album”.

It’s that complex.

A few days ago, my buddy G-Rat shared an article on Facebook that he found on Eater.com.  It was an interview with JR (who was at one time a chef) about similarities between music and food.  The interview, to me, circled around one common theme.

Simplicity.

When asked about what he learned during his time as a chef, JR spoke of simplicity.

“If you have a couscous and want to put salt-cured olives in it, you don’t want an overwhelming amount of the olives so that the bites that do have olive say something. If you’re going to put parsley in it, chop it big so they can taste it. Maintain the excitement.”

So complex.

So simple.

When asked about the type of restaurant that he would want to open up in the future, he hammered the point home.

“Whatever it would be, it wouldn’t be fine dining. It would be rustic, simple, the kind of stuff I’ve made my whole life.”

So simple.

So right on.

That article, obviously, got me thinking about food.

The article also got me thinking about TV.

Reality TV.

Of all the reality shows on TV, my favorites involve food.

Since Gordon Ramsay stars in 500 reality TV shows, I can’t help but think of him.

One of his shows is called Kitchen Nightmares.  On the show, Chef Ramsay visits restaurants that need a little help getting back on their feet.

It seems like every time he helps out a restaurant, the theme of simplicity comes into play.

Make the menu simple.

Clean up the dining area to make it simple and elegant.

And the food.

Make the food with passion.

Plate the food with love.

Always use simple, fresh ingredients.

Simple.

Fresh

Ingredients.

Simple!

With that in mind, here’s what I had for breakfast today…

Breakfast.

Potatoes.

Onions.

Salt.

Pepper.

Rosemary.

Eggs.

Milk.

English muffin.

Simply delicious.

In the complex world of wine, we get so wound up with the minutia of it all that it gets overwhelming.  It doesn’t have to be that way.

Wine can be simple.

Sugar (from the grapes) + Yeast = Alcohol + Carbon Dioxide

That’s it.

It’s simple.

I’m going to a party tonight.

I will bring some wine.

And I will keep it simple.

Red Splash 2007 Red Wine. Simple.

K.I.S.S.

Keep

It

Simple,

Stupid.

Stay Rad,

Jeff

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The Rules of the Game Hen

August 11, 2011

You know I hate eggs (although I have been Facing My Fear).

I’ve alluded to my fear of birds (I’ll tell you about it some day).

I have, however, been really into roasting poultry lately.  There’s something really fun about tending to a bird in the oven.  Trussing.  Basting.  Butchering.  It’s kinda primal.

To those that know me well, I’ve been looking very primal lately.  Up until this morning, I hadn’t shaved in about a month.

I’ve also been getting primal in my eating habits.  I’ve been throwing a lot of meat on the grill.  You can’t get more primal than heating flesh over an open fire, can you?

Birds!

Back to birds…

I’ve been on a huge Rock Cornish Game Hen kick in the last few months.  I’ve got my Oven Roasted Game Hen down to a science at this point.  I love the richness of the bird.  I love the gamey (obviously) flavor of it.  It takes me back to those primal roots.  You remember how our Neanderthal ancestors used to crossbred chickens to produce smaller birds with bigger breasts and a tastier flavor, don’t you?

On Monday, I decided to mesh all of my primal inclinations, and roast a Game Hen on the grill… with the help of Weber’s Big Book of Grilling.

Here’s how to make it…

Almost always, game hens come frozen… So the day before, I like to thaw out the hen under some cold water in the sink (if you don’t want to quick-thaw it, put it in the fridge two days before you plan on cooking the bird).  After the thawing, I will brine the hen in a stock pot over-night.  The brine is made using a pot of water, half a cup of brown sugar, half a cup of salt, one bay leaf, a bunch of fresh rosemary and thyme from the garden, and one orange and one lemon thickly sliced.  This brine should ensure that the bird is juicy and flavorful when all is said and done.

The next day is when the magic happens…

Finely dice up some green apple, carrot, yellow onion, and celery.  Mix it up in a bowl with some room temperature butter, salt n’ peppa, and a little fresh rosemary and thyme from the garden.

Remove the hen from the brine, and try to stuff as much of the veggie butter mix in the body cavity as you can.  Using cotton butcher string, truss the bird up nice and tight so the legs and wings are snug against its body and the cavity is closed up.  Rub the body of the bird with more of the veggie butter mix.  Set any extra mix aside (we’ll find a use for it later).

Now it’s time to prep the grill…

Put a drip pan with thickly chopped pieces of apple, celery, carrot, and onion along with some salt n' peppa, fresh rosemary and thyme, and butter under the grates of the grill where you will be placing the bird.

Replace the grates on the grill.  It’s time to pre-heat.

The bird will be roasted using indirect heat on the grill, so turn on the three exposed burners to high and close the lid for about ten minutes (until the grill gets between 400 and 500 degrees fahrenheit).

While the grill is heating up, melt some butter in a saucepan with salt n’ peppa, rosemary, and thyme.  You will use this to baste your bird.

Now, let’s roast this sucker!

Turn the exposed burners down to medium high. Place the bird breast side down on the grates over the drip pan (not on the flame). I like to make sure that the cavity and legs are facing out to make it easier to check the temperature of the bird. Using a baster, coat the bird with some of that melted butter. Shut the lid.

Even though we are keeping the lid shut, you do need to pay attention to your grill.  You want to make sure that the temperature of the grill stays between 425 and 475 degrees fahrenheit.  Adjust the burners accordingly.  Every 15 minutes or so, go back to the bird to baste it with more of that melted butter.

The bird is done when the thickest part of the thigh is 180 degrees fahrenheit (45 – 80 minutes depending on your grill).

It should look like this…

Booyah!

I like to serve game hen with cornbread stuffing.  Remember the diced veggies and butter left over from stuffing the bird?  Mix those veggies in with your favorite instant stuffing.  It’ll be dope.

When the bird is done, remove the back and cut the hen in half.  Serve it on a plate with some stuffing.

Yum!

Yum!

“Hey Jeff,” you may be asking, “What wine should be used to pair with this bad ass game hen?”

Well…

Here’s what I had…

Joseph Drouhin 2007 Bourgogne Pinot Noir and a cook book.

I’ve had this  Joseph Drouhin 2007 Bourgogne Pinot Noir in the wine fridge for about a year now.  The current vintage is on sale at BevMo for $13.39, so I’m guessing it cost me that much.  Joseph Drouhin is one of the great shippers of wine from Burgundy.  This is his entry-level Pinot Noir.

Color: Of course this wine is light burgundy in color.  Like any wine made from 100% Pinot Noir, I was able to see my fingers through the wine.

Nice!

Nose: Red grape skins.  Minerals.  A hint of bacon fat.  Strawberry.  Red bell pepper.  This wine smelled delicious.

Taste: The fruit is a little bit tart up front.  Think of cherries, cranberries, and under-ripe strawberries blended together.  The mid-palate transitions to tomato seeds and vines.  It has a nice finish of green bell peppers.

Score: I liked this wine a lot.  It was really fun to drink.  It’s the kind of wine that makes you think.  This was a solid 89+.  Pick it up!

The Drouhin went really well with the bird.  The fat and gamey taste of the hen elevated the normally light styled Pinot Noir to having the full-bodied apeal of a Cabernet Sauvignon.  It also highlighted some raspberry flavors that had been hidden in my initial tasting.   Very nice!

One could say the pairing of the Burgundy with the game hen RULES… At least… I did.

Stay Rad,

Jeff

PS – When it’s time to clean up, don’t throw away the hen carcass or the veggies from the drip pan.

Use it to make a bad ass stock!

Throw all of those leftovers into a stock pot. Fill it up with water and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and leave it uncovered for 3 hours.

When all is said and done, you're gonna have this awesome game hen stock. I used mine to make risotto.

Lates!

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The Last Stanza

August 9, 2011

Kara is on fire!

The other night I was feeling lazy, so she decided to pick up some wine and whip up some dinner for me.

What a bad ass!

Stanza 2008 Chardonnay

She came back from BevMo with the Stanza 2008 Chardonnay.  Right now, this Lodi wine is on sale at BevMo for $10.71… so it will probably sell for $10.99 when the sale is over.  Wilfred Wong gave the ’09 vintage of this a 91 (Surprise!  Surprise!).  Here’s my take…

Scope the juice, homie.

Color: Golden to light straw.

Nose: Pineapple with a touch of creamy oak.  The nose is dominated by the fruit.  Nice.

Taste: Medium in body, this wine is a nice blend of pineapple and honeysuckle.  A good balance of acidity and richness up front, with a clean finish of stone minerality.

Score: Stanza is one of those labels that BevMo is always trying to push on its consumers.  You know, the stuff that is always on sale.  The stuff that is always open for tasting on Saturdays.  The stuff that Wilfred Wong always scores 90 and above.  Normally, I try to avoid these wines, but I’m glad that Kara picked it up.  This is a very nice wine.  At the price, this guy is perfect for a lazy summer afternoon.  Score it an 86+, and do not avoid it.

Thank you, Kara.

Oh yeah… And there was also dinner…

Veggie meat and dill yogurt cabbage wraps and a soy bean and rice salad. Rad!

Thanks again, Kara.

Stay Rad,

Jeff

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My new diet: When I seafood, I drink wine.

August 7, 2011

Yesterday, Kara and I had a hankerin’ for some fish.

I thought it would be really neat to prepare it two ways, so I decided to make a Tilapia Ceviche and some Barbecued Shrimp.

Before heading out to get some groceries, I opened up Kevin Zraly’s wine book to get an idea for what types of wine go well with seafood.  After flipping through his chapter on the white wines of France, I left for the store with the intention of getting either a Loire Valley white (like Sancerre or Muscadet) or a white Burgundy (Chablis perhaps).

While at Trader Joe’s, I spotted this gem…

Chateau Des Cleons 2010 Muscadet Sevre Et Maine

The Muscadet region is on the Eastern end of the Loire Valley of France where the Loire River meets the Atlantic Ocean.  These wines are made from 100% Melon de Bourgogne grapes.  They should always be dry and light in style.  See how it says “Sur Lie” on the label?  That means that it was fermented on its skins (not really… see the comments below), so it should have a bit more body than a Muscadet that does not read as such.  The book says that Muscadet is good with shellfish and fishfish, so I was more than happy to pick this bad boy up for only $6.99.

I’ll get back to the wine in a bit.

But first…

The food!

Here’s how I make my Tilapia Ceviche…

Cube up about a pound of fresh Tilapia and throw it in a non-reactive bowl.

The key to Ceviche is to layer the flavors.

Here’s a fun game…

Take a sip of wine for each new layer.

Dice up half a large red onion and throw it on top of the fish.

Mince up one clove of garlic and throw it on the onion.

I added a small green bell pepper from my garden. Diced, of course.

Next I put in one quarter of a jumbo yellow bell pepper that Kara picked up from the farmers' market.

Here, I piled in a third of a large cucumber which was cut into little pizza wedges. So whimsical!

Add one small diced avocado. California love!

Open up a small can of diced chillies and dump it on top.

Chop up some cilantro. Add it in with some salt n' peppa. Stop to bust a move while humming the music to "Push it!".

The secret ingredient is carne asada seasoning. Shhhhhhhhh!!!!! Don't tell anybody.

Zest one lime over the top. Squeeze in the juice of three limes. The acid from the lime juice will "cook" the fish.

Stir, but do not mush it. Cover with plastic wrap and throw it in the fridge for a few hours.

While the Ceviche is marinating, we move on to the Shrimp…

These are large peeled shrimp from the seafood counter at Safeway. I marinated the pound of shrimp in a shallow glass dish with olive oil, salt n' peppa, fresh rosemary and thyme from the garden, and the juice of one lime for about 20 minutes.

While the shrimp is marinating in the fridge, preheat the grill with the burners on high.  After ten minutes, set to medium indirect heat.

Now…

Arrange the shrimp on pre-soaked bamboo skewers, making sure that all the shrimp are facing the same direction.

Grill the shrimp for 3 minutes a side on indirect heat with the lid closed.  Be sure to baste the shrimp in the marinade.

The only thing left is to serve,

But let’s get back to the wine…

Hip hop hurray... Muscadet!

Chateau Des Cleons 2010 Muscadet Sevre Et Maine:

Color: A nice straw yellow.  I was pleasantly surprised by a tiny bit of frizzante action.

Nose: Lemon/lime spritzer with a touch of grass and minerality.  Nice.

Taste: I see now why this wine is recommended for lighter fare.  It is dominated by its acidity, which pairs well with food.  There is a nice floral component, mouth cleansing lime, and a dancing minerality.  There is a nice touch of spice.  The skins give it a medium to light body.  Very cool.

Score: All I’m thinking about this wine is how clean it was.  It was fresh.  It was vibrant.  Every sip made me thirst for another.  This wine is a solid 88.  Way to go, Chateau Des Cleons!

Back to the food…

Duo of Seafood: Grilled Shrimp and Tilapia Ceviche a la Jeffrey w/ a light Spinach and Shallot Salad

The spinach and shallot salad was prepared by Kara.  A very clean, palate cleansing bite.

The ceviche was very fresh, with a perfect balance between the acidity of the lime and the fattiness of the tilapia.

But the shrimp…

The shrimp…

The SHRIMP was Tha BOMB!

Juicy.  Rich.  The flesh just pops when you bite into it.

Amazing!

And with the wine?

Hella Dope!

The clean flavors of the wine just rounded out the fatty richness of the seafood.

But wait!

There’s more!

Morgan Hill Cellars Blackberry Wine with a long-lost friend.

Kara and I have been sitting on this Blackberry Wine from Morgan Hill Cellars for about a year.

I’ve been dying for some vanilla ice cream for the last few weeks.

So…

Vanilla Ice Cream with Blackberry Wine... I got my just deserts.

De-Lish!

Stay Rad,

Jeff

PS – If you ever make ceviche, do yourself a favor…  After you serve the ceviche, save the leftover juice from the bowl you marinated the fish in.  Peruvians refer to it as Leche de Tigre, and it is known to be a cure for hangovers.  I just drink it ’cause it’s awesome!

Farewell indeed!

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Love/Hate or The proof is in the off-putting.

August 5, 2011

Wednesday was a free day for Kara and me… It was our last free day of the summer, so we decided to hit up a few local wineries.

You’ve got to know that we had an amazing day.

AMAZING!

The amazing 2007 Lila's Cuvee Rhone Blend paired with an amazing view at Clos La Chance.

I could tell you about how much fun we had at Clos La Chance…

2008 Biagini Vineyard Pinot Noir side-by-side with the 2008 Erwin Vineyard Pinot Noir at Clos La Chance. Both wines were hella RAD!

I could tell you about our awesome pre-dinner visit to Bubbles Wine Bar…

Bubbles?

Hella to the yeah, son!

The only thing better is bubbles and oysters. Dope!

I could even let you know about the Rad Mexican feast we had at Sinaloa Cafe…

Come for the margaritas. Stay for more margaritas.

So please forgive me if I don’t.

I’ve been dying to write about some wine that I hated…

I mean HATED.

HATED!

Please alow me to present Fortino Winery…

Fortino... unfortunately = (

Fortino is a neat looking venue on the corner of Watsonville Road and Hecker Pass in Gilroy.  We hit it up after Clos La Chance because it was one of the few wineries in the area that was open on a Wednesday afternoon.

Now, you should know that I’ve been to Fortino twice before.  Once was about two years back before I was as passionate about wine as I am today.  It was also well before I would take notes on wine.  The other time was after a long day of tasting during the Santa Clara Valley Passport Weekend, so my palate was shot.  You even read about me having their Almond Champagne at the Garlic Festival.  But this time… This time, I was gonna take it seriously (Not so fortunate for Fortino).

Here’s the breakdown…

Whites:

2009 Chardonnay ($16.95):  Nose of honey, pineapple, apple, and flowers.  Not bad.  The palate was a thick and sweet version of lemon/lime soda.  Not good.  Score it a 75 and trust me… You don’t want it.

2010 Black Muscat Blush ($16.95):  Tropical fruit (mango and guava) on the nose.  The taste was of ridiculously sweet flowers.  This wine is obnoxious.  I’m mad that they served it at the beginning of the tasting, because it’s basically a crappy version of a desert wine.  78.  Pass.

On to the Reds:

2008 Carignan ($18.95):  Here’s where I start to get angry.  Carignan, when done right, is one of my favorite varietals.  Fortino makes a big deal about their estate carignan coming from 80 year-old vines.  The only way you could mess this up is if you don’t know how to make wine, or don’t care how it turns out.  My guess is that Fortino falls into the latter category.  There was this nose of green bell pepper that gave me some hope, but it came with this over-the-top sweet red fruit that destroyed it.  The taste was sweet red cherries with just a little bit of tires and nice acidity.  The problem with this wine was there was no balance.  It was all sweetness.  If I want a sweet red wine, I’ll hit up 7 Eleven.  This is a 79.  In a better mood, maybe I’d give it an 80-.

Non-Vintage Maribella ($16.95):  The bar menu reads, “This off-dry blend named after Marie Fortino offers hints of cherry and raspberry.  Blended from Cabernet, Sangiovese & Carignan”.  Here’s what it should say, “We threw a bunch of leftover grapes from a bunch of different vintages together and came up with this nasty sweet red wine.  We named it after our grandma to guilt you into buying it.”  This wine smelled like sugarfied sweetness with tires and fruit.  It tasted like cherry syrup.  This wine, more so than the others, sucks ass.  58.

2008 Zinfandel ($22.00):  The bar menu reads, “Aged in vintage oak barrels for 20 months, these Santa Clara Valley grapes go great with chocolate”.  It should say, “We went to our local nursery, picked up a few wine barrel flower pots, superglued them together, and were all like, ‘We should put some Zin in here!’  So we did.  It doesn’t taste good, unless you have it with a brick of chocolate.”  The nose is big and chocolatey, with a bit of plum.  It showed some promise, but then I tasted it.  Imagine taking a jar of canned cranberry sauce and spreading it over a dirty ass chair that had been left outside for years.  Now wait for the hottest day of the year, and take a bite of that dirty cranberry covered chair.  Doesn’t sound good, does it?  The wine wasn’t good either.  60.

2008 Cabernet Sauvignon ($28.00):  Cured ham, blackberry and oak on the nose.  Blackberry, black olive, and oak on the palate.  I’m giving it an 81.  The good news is that it’s not horrible.  The bad news is that for $28, I could buy half a case of something better.  What a shame.

Sparkling Wine:

Non-Vintage Almond Champagne ($16.95):  You’ve heard me say it before.  The almond tastes very fake, but the wine is still nice and refreshing.  It’s made from 100% French Colombard.  In making conversation with our server (who was very nice), I asked her where the French Colombard was from.  Her response, “Well… I’m not sure.  There’s this other company that makes it for us.  We just put the label on it.”  That makes sense.  No wonder I’m giving it an 84.  This is worth trying.

Fruit Wine:

Apricot ($16.95):  How can you dis fruit wine?  It’s delicious.  It smells like a bag of dried apricots.  It tastes like apricots.  I would try it with some vanilla ice cream (I gots ta get me some of that).  But, at the end of the day, it’s fruit wine.  I have a physics teacher friend that makes stuff like this for fun.  Take some fruit.  Crush it.  Throw it in a vat.  Add some yeast.  Let it sit for a few weeks.  Bottle it.  83.

Here’s the thing that gets me mad.  There are tons of vineyards in this area.  Tons!  Please check the map.  The fruit, from one vineyard to the next is essentially the same.  And the fruit is good.  There are plenty of wineries in the Santa Clara Valley that are making great wine with their grapes.  The problem is that there are almost as many wineries in this area that just don’t care enough to make good wine.  They use cheap methods (like using “vintage” barrels), and have no problem pushing a crappy product on their customers.  That’s just what Fortino is doing… and it’s off-putting.

If you look at their website (which looks worse than this blog) or their Yelp Page, it becomes apparent that they are much more into pushing events and weddings than making good wine.  In fact, the only other people in the tasting room that day, were two different couples that were planning to have their weddings at Fortino.  I overheard one couple say, “We don’t normally like Cabernet, but this stuff is great.”  On the other end of the bar, the other couple was all, “This Maribella is great!”  Kara and I just shook our heads.  I could not imagine having to serve that kind of garbage at my wedding.

Now look…

Fortino has a loyal following.  Many more than I have.  If you’re a big fan of them, all the power to you.  You’ve got your own palate, and you should trust it.  I’m sure they put on great events.  I’m sure the weddings there are beautiful.  And hey… The Almond Champagne and Apricot Wine ain’t bad.

BUT…

I’ve got a message for Fortino…

I love wine.

You make bad wine.

I hate it.

You can do better.

Step it up.

Get Rad,

Jeff

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Dessert… and just deserts.

August 2, 2011

My folks LOVE dessert wine.  They LOVE it.

I’m kind of like, “Eh… I can take it or leave it.”

For me, dessert wines are more of a special occasion drink.

Last night was the finale of The Bachelorette.

I’ve been sitting on some icewine that my folks gave us last year.

With my worlds colliding last night, it was time to have my just deserts… for dessert.

Jackson-Triggs 2007 Vidal Icewine from the Niagara Peninsula, Canada.

The Jackson-Triggs 2007 Vidal Icewine is produced when the Vidal grape freezes and the ice crystals are removed.  This leaves the grapes much more concentrated, and very sweet.  The grapes are picked very late in the harvest season, so the grapes’ sugar content is at 40.1 Brix.  As sweet as they are, the alcohol content is a very low 10.5%.

Here’s the breakdown…

Color: Gold.  Caramel.  Brown.

Nose: Apple cider.  Syrup.  Pear.

Taste: It is tough to describe this wine other than the fact that it is sweet.  It has a very viscous mouthfeel.  The fruit is straight up apple.  Apple covered in maple syrup.

Score: The Jackson-Triggs is what it is.  Icewine.  It’s dessert.  For the second blog in a row, this wine made me want some vanilla ice cream with it.  I think the creaminess could give a good balance to the straight up sweet flavor.  Think of it like apple pie a la mode.  This wine is good, but… In the end it is one-dimensional.  Give it an 86.

Now…

Back to The Bachelorette.

SPOILER ALERT!

Here’s what happened…

Ashley really liked J.P…

Ashley and J.P. at lunch before the stuff went down.

But then Ashley’s older and foxier sister was all like, “I don’t think J.P. is right for you.”  So Ashley started crying and called her older sister the B word…

"You're a B word!"

Having caught wind of Ashley’s sister’s disapproval, Ben (the winemaker for Evolve Winery in Sonoma) thought he had it in the bag.  So he was all, “Will you marry me?”

"Will you like marry me... and stuff?"

But Ashley was all like, “No!  Get out of here!”

So Ben was all, “Fine!  Be that way!  You’re lame!”

Then Ashley cried some more.

Then J.P. was all, “Will you marry me, then?”

"How's about you marry me, then?"

And Ashley was all, “Let me see the ring first!”

So J.P. was all, “Check this rock out!”

That's pretty big, right?

So Ashley was all, “Heck yeah!  I ain’t no foo!”

But then Ashley’s sister was all, “I still don’t get what you see in him?”

So Ashley was all, “I picked J.P. to make you mad, you stupid B word!”

Looks like someone got their just deserts.

Stay Rad,

Jeff

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This changes everything!

July 28, 2011

Remember The NeverEnding Story?

Remember when Bastian first starts reading?

There’s this troll-looking dude that flies around on a bat, and he’s hanging out with a guy in a top hat who rides a racing snail.  So they’re chillin’ in the woods, when they hear a rumbling in the distance.  It gets louder and louder and LOUDER.

Eventually, out from the trees comes a giant dude made of rocks riding a tricycle.

See? I told you!

They called him the Rock Biter, since his diet consisted of rocks.  I guess you are what you eat.

Anyway…

The Rock Biter starts hanging out with the other dudes, and they get to talking about this thing called The Nothing (an entity that is threatening to destroy their world of Fantasia).  The dude on the racing snail and the troll begin to tell of the things they had heard second-hand, but the Rock Biter had an actual run-in with The Nothing.

He told them about this beautiful lake that was in the center of his home town.  It was loaded with plenty of delicious lime stone rocks (which would be important to a rock biter).  But one day… One day The Nothing came, and then the lake was gone.

“What do you mean it was gone?  Did it dry up?” the racing snail dude asked.

“No.  It was just not there anymore.” the Rock Biter responded.

“What?  Like there was a hole instead of a lake?” the troll dude asked.

“No.  A hole would have been something.  There was NOTHING there!” the Rock Biter explained.

I totally understand what the Rock Biter was saying.  You can talk about The Nothing as much as you want, but there is no way you could ever understand it unless you experienced it.  In the movie, the Rock Biter moves with just a little more urgency because he knows what The Nothing is all about.  He wants everyone to understand what The Nothing is.

I started thinking about The NeverEnding Story last night while tasting some wine.

I started to think about The Nothing.

I’ve always been a fan of Riesling.  I’ve especially been into the Rieslings of Washington state.  I’ve never been afraid to bring a 6 dollar Riesling to a dinner party, because they are always crowd-pleasing.  They always have a nice balance of acidity and a little residual sugar.  Perfect with food.

Recently, I’ve been reading through Kevin Zraly’s wine book, and he spends quite a bit of time talking about the wines of Alsace (specifically Riesling).  While reading it, I was all like, “I know about Riesling.  I know that the stuff from France is gonna be a bit more dry.  I know it’s gonna have nice mineral notes.  I know it’s gonna have some good acid.  I know it all.”

Apparently, I had no clue.

It turns out that Alsatian Riesling is my Nothing.

Here’s what went down…

Alsace (France) vs Washington State

I picked up two completely different Rieslings from two different stores for two different reasons, and decided to taste them side-by-side…

F.E. Trimbach 2008 Riesling from Alsace, France

I picked up the Trimbach 2008 Riesling at BevMo for $21.99.  Easily, the most I’ve ever paid for a Riesling, but this is the first wine that Zraly suggests you taste in his book.  If I am to know about the Rieslings of Alsace, I’ve got to taste them.

I figured that if I really wanted to get to know this wine, I had to compare it with something I was familiar with.  So yesterday I picked up this…

Chateau Ste Michelle 2010 Riesling from Columbia Valley, Washington

The Chateau Ste Michelle 2010 Riesling will set you back $5.99 at Trader Joe’s.  This is my go to Riesling.  This is the one that I bring to parties.  This is the one that is just delicious.

And now…

The tasting.

Sing along with me! "Feelin' so fine. Tasting some wine... Side-by-side!"

Color: The Trimbach was a straw yellow.  It was considerably darker than the Chateau Ste Michelle’s pale yellow hue.

Nose: The Trimbach was hella complex on the nose.  Tons of small, not quite ripe, green apples.  White raisins.  There’s this crushed vitamin C characteristic that is really cool.  There’s also a little lime, fig, and motor oil.  The Rock Biter would also appreciate the lime stone minerality of it.

The Chateau Ste Michelle smells EXTREMELY sweet, in comparison.  There’s lots of fruit on the nose.  Pear.  Apple pie.  Peaches.

Taste: This is where it gets fun.  The Trimbach is RAZOR SHARP in its acidity.  I never understood the whole “Razor blades on the tongue” description that Gary Vaynerchuk talks about until I tasted this Riesling.  This is intense!  There’s a ton of lime and grapefruit on the palate.  There are also hints of green apple skin and walnut.  But really… the star of this wine is the dry, sharp, mouth-watering acidity.

The Chateau Ste Michelle, in comparison, is almost dessert-like in its approach.  I never felt that way about it before.  This thing is SWEET.  It has light peach and mango fruit on the palate.  There is a nice, clean acidity to this wine, but the fruit wins out.

Score: By all accounts, the Trimbach was everything I’ve read about Alsatian Rieslings, but nothing I could have ever expected.  This wine is a game changer for me.  I could write about this wine until my fingers fall off, and you still wouldn’t understand it.  Much like The Nothing, I need you to know how great this is.  Give it a 91.  Buy it.  Save it as an aperitif to a fancy seafood dinner at home.

The Chateau Ste Michelle is a good Riesling.  It is a respectable 87, and a real value.  I have no problem with popping this open with some Tuesday night Tai food.

But that Trimbach…

That Trimbach was something.

And since we had plenty of the bottle left after the tasting, Kara and I had the rest with dinner…

Meatless Mediterranean cabbage wraps and romaine salad of cucumber and dill by KaraIsRad. Entertainment by Dish Network.

The Nothing teaching me about Riesling?

Ain’t that something!

Stay Rad,

Jeff

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