Owner: Wine Outlook URL:http://www.wineoutlook.com Join Date: Thu, 01 Feb 2007 20:15:47 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: Wine made easy and interesting: reviews, food pairings, anecdotes, and poetry by a Southern girl working at a CA winery Site statistics:Click here
Wine Club Members Rock! 2007-05-23 11:52:08 Everyone always thinks my job is the best gig in the world. Working on top of a mountain, pouring great wine, a lovely view out the window… However, people are people wherever you go. Sometimes that means complaining about prices or the size of the pour, insisting on discounts for no reason, making a mess of the clothing items, or just plain rudeness.
That’s why it’s so nice to have people come in the door that you are truly excited to see. In my case, that usually means wine club members. Having been at the winery over a year now, I’ve gotten to know many rather well.
A few examples: I can always count on the Gullo’s to bring me cookies on Wine Fest days, for a little extra wine. It was fun to hear about Chuck and Tracey’s wedding plans, and they’re finally married now. (Congrats, y’all!) The Walkup’s are always willing to let me test their wine knowledge–for instance– if they can pick which Cabernet is my favorite Read more:Members
Wine Pairing Dinner: Easy as 1-2-3 2007-05-22 14:56:52 You may have gathered I like to cook, even if it’s just myself after a long day of work. But it’s always more fun to have people over because it gives me an excuse to go all out. That’s what happened last week when two regular dinner companions (the teacher and my Irish friend) came over to my place. In trying to decide what to serve, it struck me that I could do a Thomas Fogarty pairing dinner. With two bottles left over from work and one from my collection…the plan was set.
Up first. The girls chatted while I warmed the dressing–balsamic vinaigrette–to be drizzled over spinach, red onions, walnuts, and Harley Farms goat cheese. We ate our salads with the 2006 Thomas Fogarty Skyline Chardonnay. It’s unoaked, and so the crispness and minerality stood up to the sharpness of the dressing and cut through the creaminess of the cheese. I usually have a Sauvignon Blanc with this particular salad, but I was quite happy with this Chardonnay pairi Read more:Dinner
How Sweet Are Your Bubbles? 2007-05-21 11:11:35 KD, fellow 451 Press blogger who is new to wine, sent me an e-mail asking about dry sparkling wine. I already replied to her with specific recommendations, which I have written about over the past few months, including here and here.
Based on the residual sugar in the wine, there are different levels of sweetness. To help you know what to look for in different languages, here is this handy chart, courtesy of The Oxford Companion to Wine and its editor (my hero!) Jancis Robinson. Sadly, the formatting doesn’t look as nice as the original.
English…..French….German…..Italian….Spanish
dry…………. sec…………trocken…….secco/ ……….seco
…………………………………………………..asciutto……………
med. dry..demi-sec…halbtrocken.. Read more:Bubbles
, Sweet
Wednesdays Are for Wine Blogging 2007-05-25 10:07:17 Today is Friday, I know. I’m not that mixed up. However, I wanted to draw attention to Marcus and his round-up of Wine Blogging
Wednesday #33. I was included despite my missing the price range….
So many new wines to look for.
Catie over at Through the Walla Walla Grape Vine has already posted the theme for #34: Cabernet Sauvignon, from Washington, of course. June 13 is the big day, but see her post for more details.
Wine Blogging Wednesday
Read more:Wednesdays
Shipping Wine…Or Not 2007-05-30 10:31:42 Here’s a link to my last column in the Jackson Free Press, which addresses issues with wine shipping laws. Living in California now, it’s easy to take it for granted. But some states do not allow direct shipping, leading to great disappointment, let me tell you.
If you read it, I’m adding the original conclusion below. (My piece must have been too long.) (more…)
Read more:Shipping
Good Things Come in Three 2007-05-29 10:59:54 Last Sunday I composed another three-course meal for three of my favorite wine lovers. While I adore cooking and the world of possibilities for pairings that this set-up allows, it does require a bit of fancy footwork and less opportunity for chattng and relaxing. Plus, timing has never been my strong point in the kitchen. That and lively conversation made for no official tasting notes.
However, I want to share my dinner with you because I can still give you my impressions of the pairings. And because I’m proud of it….
To begin, I got to work on my mini-quiches, having made the little cups the prior night. Half were filled with red onion and mozzerella, to be topped with smoked salmon. The other half had garlic-marinated green olives and goat cheese. Both were salty and therefore went very well with the sparkling wine I poured as I popped them in the oven: the 2000 J Brut from Russian River Valley. This is a bottle I bought on my recent trip to J, without even tasting Read more:Three
Memorial Day Is For Wine 2007-05-28 11:28:55 I’d like to extend yet another holiday invitation to Bay Area wine drinkers and readers. Thomas Fogarty Winery will be open for tasting today from 11 until 5 (we’re usually closed on Monday). Though I must admit, I hope it’s not quite as crazy as yesterday. I don’t think I had time to breathe until about 5:30 or so.
But I’m rested and ready to go again, so come visit us for tasty wine and spectacular views. There’s also plenty of hiking trails and the ever-fun Alice’s Restaurant to have some lunch. Or bring a picnic and have a bottle of wine at our tables out front.
We’re on Skyline Blvd/Hwy 35 between Page Mill Road and Woodside Rd/Hwy84. (call 650-851-6777 if you need directions.) If you tell me you came because of this post, I might even open something special for you.
Thomas Fogarty Winery, things to do in the Bay Area on Memorial
Day, Skyline Boulevard
Read more:Memorial Day
NO Sauvignon Blanc 2007-05-27 12:56:01 Now, I definitely don’t mean I don’t want to drink any Sauvignon
Blanc; it’s usually one of my favorite whites. The name of the wine I drank the other night was the 2004 NO Sauvignon Blanc
. The fruit came from Lake County and the NO Vineyards and Winery reside in Healdsburg, according to the label, but in my brief time online, I couldn’t find a website. I bought this bottle a few months ago at K & L for $6.99 and wasn’t sure if it would be any good. But the back label sounded right up my alley: ” NO oak aging. NO cork. NO malolactic fermentation. NO attitude. NO kidding.” Just how I like SB.
This one I had with my trusty salad of crabmeat, grapefruit, and goat cheese (no avocado, sadly). The wine itself seemed to have the smell of too much sulfur at first, but once that blew off, I found grapefruit, grass, and a touch of cat pee. On the palate, there was more grapefruit, along with lemon and pineapple. Not my favorite Sauvignon Blanc
Shish Kabobs and Cabernet 2007-06-01 12:25:47 Last week was a night for sitting outside at The Villa, having a quickly-made, long-enjoyed dinner with friends. The grill worked overtime for shish kabobs with spicy chicken, tasty tri-tip using the fancy box of salts, mushrooms, onions, and tomatoes. The cellar rat piled all the ingredients on one large platter so we could fill our plates. It’s hard to beat a meal that tastes so good and takes so little effort to make. Yum.
The wine I decanted while the boys grilled was the 2003 Martella Heart Arrow Ranch Cabernet
Sauvignon. Michael had given me the bottle earlier that day–a gift I was excited to receive as that’s one of my favorite Martella wines. Though I’m not sure Micahel appreciated my first impressions of the nose. I told him the next day the first thing I got upon inhaling the heady scent of the wine was Ben and Jerry’s Strawberry Cheesecake ice cream. “Not very Cab-like,” he said. “Delicious, nonetheless,” I repli
Healdsburg Suggestions? 2007-06-05 13:02:23 Readers, sometimes I like to turn the tables. Instead of offering you information, I want to ask for some. Tomorrow I’ll be driving up to Healdsburg for the day. I’ve got a couple places in mind, but I’m wondering if anyone has suggestions for wineries (or other destinations) that I should not miss.
Healdsburg
Shopping Makes Me Thirsty 2007-06-04 17:33:25 Despite the great discussion in my last post over women’s rights when it comes to wine (resulting in this interesting piece by Gillian), I can be as girly as the next gal.
After a meeting last week, I drove into San Francisco to meet my Irish friend. We began with brunch at The Liberties (where I learned about black and white pudding) and made our way downtown, shopping as we went. A couple hours searching for shoes and clothes, to some success, made us thirsty.
We chose to go to Straits in the Westfield Mall. It was our second time to go and I was trying to figure out why I didn’t write about it before. Then I looked at the wine list and decided that was it. Not very many choices by the glass. They didn’t have one Cabernet Sauvignon listed, so LG got an Alvides Tempranillo instead while I opted for a Domaine de Nizas Rose from Languedoc. Neither was very note-worthy.
We didn’t eat at Straits on this visit, though I did remember that when we did on the l Read more:Shopping
, Thirsty
What? Women Know Wine? 2007-06-03 12:40:28 They say (in more places than you can shake a glass at) that the majority of wine purchases are made by women, though often in reference to those bought in stores. However, I have to wonder if that number is different for restaurant selections because sometimes it doesn’t seem to be what’s expected…especially after my experience the other night.
BK and I were having dinner at Il Fornaio–a lovely time over glasses of Mumm Brut and calamari made by someone other than me. At that point I preceeded to order a Primitivo. Except when the server came back to the table, she presented it to BK, who knew better and sent her over to me. Sadly, this was not the first time for this to happen nor surely the last. Read these comments at Uncorked, or this article in Boston Business Journal for more examples. And I have other stories, too, from back in Mississippi. How even if I asked for the wine list, the server would often question my boyfriend (who didn’t know muc Read more:Women
Wine Bloggers Get Love In Print 2007-06-08 11:19:49 Funny that my post about women & wine stirred up Dr.Debs and Catie to address issues with Wine Spectator. Funny because my last column for the Jackson Free Press also addressed the Wine Spectator, except my point was not so much gender-focused but more income-based.
Therefore, I advised readers to look online for free and helpful info, giving special shout-outs to some of my fellow wine bloggers. With only 400 words, I couldn’t get to them all.
But to the ones who did make it in (El Jefe, Josh, Megan, Russ, Dr.Debs, Alder, Beau, and John) and those who couldn’t fit–happy drinking and writing!
p.s. The quotation marks were added later. They make it seem like Vinography and Alder yarrow are two separate blogs. Oops.
wine bloggers
Read more:Print
Grappling for Gruet 2007-06-07 10:34:45 The other night I opened the bottle of NV Gruet Blanc de Noirs I bought a few weeks ago (at Beltramo’s for $11 or $12). Now, I admit I’ve been a bit in the dark as to what Gruet signified for this New Mexico sparkling wine…grape? producer? style? Turns out, the family responsible for Gruet et Fils in Champagne decided to plant Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in New Mexico in 1984, after stumbling upon other Europeans who’d found wine luck in the state. These years later, Gruet makes seven sparkling wines and two each Chardonnay and Pinot.
And though New Mexico might not be your first stop for wine, this one was pretty good. It was dry, very light, and slightly bready. The fruits were pretty muted but they hinted at raspberry and lemon. I served this particular bottle with an old favorite, but changed up the preparation. This time the smoked salmon went along with citrus-vinaigrette-dressed greens, and was highlighted with a mascarpone-dill spread, finished with c
Taste the Mountains:SCM Vintner’s Festival 2007-06-06 10:02:53 This Vintner’s Festival
is two weekends long, and I was so wrapped up in my own issues, the first one smacked me in the back of the head. We were super busy filling glasses, and everyone seemed to have a great time, so don’t be shy–join in.
Split up to cover the eastern side of the mountains last weekend and the western side this coming Saturday and Sunday, here’s the explanation from the Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers Association: (more…)
Vintner’s Festival
Stay Tuned… 2007-06-10 16:08:30 Curses! Right as I was preparing to write a big post with a big announcement, computer issues strike again. This is just to say I’ve got some major news and will share as soon as I can.
Join Me in My Next Wine Journey 2007-06-14 10:26:00 Hint: world-class Zinfandel (and much more) made in Alameda….
***********************************
If you guessed Rosenblum Cellars, ding ding ding You’re right! I’ve been training for the past two days to be the assistant manager in the tasting room. What an operation! With nearly 60 different wines and 200,000 cases annually, it’s definitely going to take some work to get into the groove. And when I have a little more time to breathe, readers and drinkers, you’ll get to hear all about it.
new adventures in wine, Rosenblum Cellars
Read more:Journey
She’ll Be Going Down the Mountain 2007-06-13 01:58:25 I had been putting this post off anyway and then when I was ready to write it, the borrowed computer wouldn’t work nor was mine ready yet. Appropriate. Uncanny, like the song that came on my Ipod when I began writing this the old-fashioned way (pen and paper). Six Feet Under had the most brilliant series finale where Claire drives away from the funeral business and into her future while “Breathe Me” is playing, interspersed with vignettes showing the fragility of life. I couldn’t stop crying, and that song gets me every time.
It mirrored the sadness I feel in something else ending.
Here’s what I haven’t been able to write yet: (more…)
Six Feet Under
Read more:Going
, Going Down
, Mountain
Finding My (Wine) Way 2007-06-15 10:41:37 Last night I was planning to catch up on my blog reading and writing. Honestly I was. But after work we had a going-away soirée for the girl whose position I am taking. I’ve only known her a little while but can easily see why everyone loves her so much. Hard shoes to fill. Damn hard.
I made a sign on bright yellow paper: Good bye and good luck, Shalini…You will be missed. When some others found out I made the sign, they called out P.S. Thanks for leaving and Thanks for the job!
Seriously, though, it was last night that I suddenly felt completely confident I was going to do just fine. Reason 1) My co-workers love to drink bubbly. We started with a delicious bottle of Champagne: the Billecart-Salmon Brut Rose, went into some sparklers from Alsace and the Loire Valley, a magnum of Domaine Carneros, and some 10-year-old bottles of Gloria Ferrer Brut Reserve. Reason 2) Right after they toasted Shalini on her departure, they toasted me on my arrival. Reason 3) I can&
Wine Pairing At Its Best 2007-06-21 01:33:24 This meal was from over a week ago, but I’m just now getting around to posting about it. That says nothing about its merit; however, it’s actually the best thing I’ve made in a while, and the pairing was perfect. I know I sound quite pleased with myself and maybe it’s because I am. Three things to go with two wines. One was my beef and broccoli. The other two came from the cellar rat’s fresh catch from Bodega Bay. I prepared the salmon two ways, one to go with Riesling and one to go with Gewurztraminer. The first was glazed with a marinade of honey, soy sauce, and garlic. For the second I made a paste of lychees and mascarpone, thinned out with some of the lychee juice.
(more…)
Things Keep Slipping Away 2007-06-20 10:38:20 Here are some reasons my new job is great:
And… (more…)
More Wine Destination Suggestions 2007-06-18 10:52:50 Readers and drinkers, I did go to Healdsburg, and I promise to post about it soon. I even have a couple pictures, which is amazing at the rate I haven’t been taking them lately.
But I thought I’d get a head start on my trip to Paso Robles next weekend. (Did I mention I love my new schedule at Rosenblum? I actually get a weekend day off every week!)
So–what wineries in Paso Robles do you think I shouldn’t miss?
winetasting in Paso Robles
Read more:Destination
Preparing for Inventory and Winetasting 2007-06-28 16:07:31 Readers and drinkers, it’s gonna be a long day. After the tasting room closes, we’ll be counting wine for the end of the month. That’s right–no getting away from inventory for this girl. At least it’s not every day, though!
Much later this evening, I’m heading down to Paso Robles, to secure an early start in the morning. I’ve had some fantastic suggestions but haven’t even had time to look and see when those wineries are open. I’m hoping to get a map in the very near future to make some specific plans.
In the meantime, here’s a link to my last Jackson Free Press column on Zinfandel, which I actually began before I even knew I had the job at Rosenblum.
When I get back, I’ve got to get working on my next column, that new writing project, and catch up on older posts, including the fantastic meal I had last night.
Read more:Inventory
Maybe Martinelli Missed the Mark 2007-06-27 10:49:27 Or maybe it was me…
On the way home from Healdsburg, we made a stop at Martinelli Winery in Windsor. A friend from back home had raved about their Zinfandels when I was doing some research for my JFP column. Martinelli is another fairly small operation with 12,000 cases annually. All the vineyards are estate-owned and all wines are 100% varietals. The family has been making wine for over 100 years, and the story is a great one….two young Italians eloping across the ocean to settle in California and scrimp up enough money to purchase land for a farm and vineyards. Five generations have worked the land and built up the winery, with Helen Turley coming into the picture in 1993.
(more…)
Read more:Maybe
Zinfandel Tasting–Two Years Apart 2007-06-26 02:59:25 It’s always fun to engage people in my nerdy little wine experiments. This time I had a partner in crime. I get to work with the most enthusiastic fellow, Kenny G, and he helped me conduct a side-by-side tasting with some new club members. We had a grand time comparing the 2002 Rosenblum Hendry Reserve Zinfandel (pulled from the library for that appreciation party) with the 2004 Rosenblum Hendry Reserve. The first still had fruit going strong, mostly blackberry, with pepper and vanilla and tons of smoky bacon. The 2004 was a huge fruit bomb with plums, boysenberries and blackberries, laced with cocoa. Both quite good, so we were torn 3-2 in favor of the older vintage. That one’s no longer available, but the 2004–my pick–is still available in the tasting room.
side-by-side tasting, 2002 Rosenblum Hendry Reserve Zinfandel, 2004 Rosenblum Hendry Reserve
Read more:Years
Some About Wine and Some Not 2007-06-24 13:00:49 Tagged by both Jaime at Fiction Scribe and Megan at Wannabe Wino, I’m supposed to share 7 ( or 8 ) random facts about myself. I feel I do that anyway, but it’s a fun post to write, so here goes. Some wine-related, some not.
1. Sadly, the only time I’ve been to Europe was when I was 16 and had no interest in wine. Italy, Germany, Austria….all that missed potential.
2. I’m absolutely terrified of sharks because I read Jaws when I was in third grade.
3. Inspired by Megan’s # 1, I have to admit I’ve got a picture buried somewhere that shows me back in the day, a plastic cup of white zin in my hand.
4. I was voted Most Intellectual and was valedictorian of my high school, which I think might surprise those familiar with my memory.
5. For ages my compter’s wallpaper has been a picture I took last summer of some Chardonnay grapes, but I just changed it to something non-wine:a funny one of me and my girl, Val, from my March trip to Montana.
A Zinfully Good Meal 2007-07-05 08:53:24 This post is from a dinner about two weeks ago, but I couldn’t not share. The first course was my second go at a delicious preparation of scallops I got from a trusty wine cookbook: The Perfect Match. You season them with olive oil, sea salt, and thyme, then sear quickly on both sides. The sauce is made with morel muchrooms, sun-dried tomotoes, and shallots sauteed in Chardonnay and a little butter, with more thyme. Therefore, they are ideal dining companions for a slightly buttery Chardonnay.
The main course was courtesy of BK–perfectly seared lamb served with a medley of zucchini and seps (kind of mushroom) drizzled with a bit of the Zinfandel. The wine was another older vintage from Rosenblum, one with a cult following. In 1888, a vineyard was planted behind St. Peter’s Catholic Church up in Sonoma County, within the city limits of Cloverdale, with soil of black loam and its fair share of gravel. Among the wines taken from the library, the 2002 St. Peter’
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