Wine around the world

The High Road Collection

Those close to e know I’m an avid wine love. Some would call me a wine snob, but alas, what can I do? Comes iwth the territory of liking the finer things. Anywho, my dad is a friend of the guy who started The High Road brand and wines. I’ve tasted the 2005 and 2006 Classique and Reserve Blends and much to my delight, the 2007 Classique arrived just the other day. Don’t you just love getting new wine bottles…nothing holds the promise of a great time like a lovely bottle of red, lol.

So, decided to open the sucker up and I was pleasantly surprised. The 2005 and 2006 were great (the vineyard even got the Investec Winemaker’s Choice Diamond award for their 2006 Reserve) but this was even better..so smooth and so many great discoveries on the palate.. It is a Bordeaux style blend (which means Cab Sauv/Merlot blend – Google further for more info, lol) and so worth the penny for this premium wine. Check them out at The High Road website.

Last week I was invited by my friend to his house to taste a wine I do not have access to, as it is only available to Herzog Wine Club members. The wine is the 2008 Eagles Landing Sauvignon Blanc. Please DO NOT confuse Herzog’s Eagles Landing wines with the Iowan Eagle’s Landing Winery – that is NOT kosher!

Disclaimer – I do NOT work for Herzog, but this question keeps coming up on Daniel Rogov’s forum.

So start of tangent.

What are the Eagles Landing and Waterford Lismore Reserve wines that are popping up here and there? They are wines crafted by Herzog and Joe Hurliman to showcase the winery and give the wine club an air of exclusiveness, as these wines are not available in any other way, other than through the wine club.  The wines are made in limited supply, and according to Jay Buchsbaum of Royal Wines/Herzog:

“Eagles landing is similar to Herzog reserve and Weinstocks cellar select (reserve) wines. Meaning same winemaking (and attention to grape selection) care with perhaps a slight difference and oak treatments etc than the Herzog reserve, without the ‘kosher’ recognizable brand labels. It was created as a direct request of one of our largest distributors, who recognized the, ‘Herzog reserve quality but wanted something that was not recognized as kosher, for non kosher restaurants’ (paraphrasing their words not ours). Voila, Eagles landing was born”.

In full disclosure, the Sauvignon Blanc bottle I tasted had a clear and present OU certification on the back label. I admit this is a bit different from all other Herzog bottles, which have the OU on the front and back. However, the Chardonnay bottle that my friend also received from the wine club, had ZERO kosher certification on the labels, but one was added to the bottle after the labeling was complete. A friend that I respect told me that the most recent Eagles Landing Cabernet Sauvignon was less than exciting, while the Chardonnay was nice. I tasted the Sauvignon Blanc and that was OK, but a bit funky. It is an interesting marketing idea and one that I hope gains some sea legs, as it is about time for Kosher to lose its stigma. The Waterford Lismore Reserve wines were received with a far more warm reception from my friends. I hope to taste these wines one day. Till then I will rely on my friends to keep you all up to date.

End of tangent

We were invited for Friday night to a different friend’s house, so no recipes or other designs. That said, we brought a fun bottle of ELVI Wines Classico from Spain to our friends and they shared an interesting bottle with us as well. Finally (one more), some friends of mine swung by the house and I cracked open a wonderful bottle of the 2004 Yatir Blend. We had this bottle for a fleeting moment at the Carlebach Shabbaton. This time I had more time with the wine. There is no change to report about the initial blush of this wine, but some more data about how it acts after a few more hours. So, it was a nice wine filled weekend and one that I am happy to share with you all.

The wine notes follow below in order they were tasted:

2008 Eagles Landing Sauvignon Blanc – Score: B++
The nose on this straw colored wine starts off with a nasty damp and almost petrol smelling “aroma” that dominates the nose and takes forever to blow off. Once the nose clears up, it has displays kiwi, tart lemon, slight oak, nice butterscotch (from the oak), and a balancing orange peel.  The mouth on this medium bodied wine starts off tart and acidic but rounds out over time. This is not a crisp Sauvignon Blanc, and is not a bottle that will ever travel there. The mouth starts with lemon and kiwi. The mid palate flows into a round-like acidic core with orange peel peeking out from under the acid haze. The finish is long, spicy, and tart with orange peel and slight custard notes. As this wine opens, it shows far more oak extraction. The wine fleshes out with a nice bright, round, spicy, and butterscotch persona. This is not your classic Sauvignon Blanc, but then, this is not a wine that everyone gets to taste, so why not shake it up a bit. Cool.

2007 Elvi Wines Classico, Ribera del Jucar – Score: B+
The nose on this garnet colored wine, which is a blended wine of 87% Tempranillo and 13% Merlot, is ripe with plum, cherry, raspberry, and spice.  The mouth of this medium bodied wine is soft with raspberry, cherry, and plum.  The mid palate is bright with core acidity and a hint of coffee.  The finish is medium long and spicy with more acid, soft tannins, coffee, and pepper/spice. This winery keeps delivering.

PLEASE NOTE – This is the ONLY Mevushal wine from the Elvi Wines group. All other wines from them are not Mevushal.

2003 Kiddush Hashem Syrah – Score: B to B+
This wine has a fair amount of lore, much of it not true. That said, it was a lovely wine some time ago. It is also a wine that the wine maker was still selling on his web site a few months ago. Recently he starting liquidating his stock, and it was a good idea. The bottles are hit and miss. I tasted this wine years ago and it was OK. Three weeks ago I tasted it again, while visiting a friend of mine, and it was felshy, black with ripe blackberry, nice tar, pepper, and licorice. This past week, it was not as good, though the fruit, tar and licorice were present. Still, the wine was unbalanced, off kilter, and trying too hard to make me like it.

2004 Yatir Blend (40% Cabernet, 40% Merlot, 20% Shiraz) – Score: A-
The nose on this dark purple to black colored wine is hopping with coffee to start, mint, dates, crushed herbs, rich oak, blackberry, ripe black plums, and tobacco. The mouth on this full bodied wine is concentrated with fruit that follows the nose, blackberry, ripe black plum, rich oak, along with nicely integrated tannins. The mid palate flows off the mouth with bracing acid, oak, tannin, rich tobacco, and licorice. The finish is long and spicy with ripe plum, oak, and a cloud of tobacco. This is a nice full bodied wine.

Chronic Cellars

My first experience with Chronic Cellars happened many miles from the sprawling vineyards of Paso Robles.  We were up in Mammoth Mountain enjoying a tasty apres snowboarding dinner at a restaurant called Petras Wine Bar & Bistro.  I noticed a white wine on the menu called La Muneca (meaning “the doll”) from Chronic Cellars that was described as having clean acidity with just the right amount of sweetness and notes of tropical fruit, pineapple and peach.  I decided to try a sample and ended up ordering a couple of glasses with my meal.

Chronic Cellars

I knew Chronic Cellars was in Paso Robles.  In fact, we had driven past it many times making funny remarks about the name, never thinking the wine could actually be good.  But after trying La Muneca in Mammoth, I put Chronic on the top of my list for our next wine trip and I’m very glad I did.

Chronic Cellars tasting room

Chronic Cellars rebels against every wine tasting stereotype in the book.  At the tasting room, you’ll find no pretension, no overpriced wines, no corporate-looking decor, and no stuffy tasting room staff.  Brothers and co-owners Jake and Josh Beckett focus on making great wine that is fun, causal and accessible.

Chronic Cellars tasting room

The Beckett brothers came up with the concept of Chronic Cellars in the midst of harvest in 2004.  They had used the term “The Chronic” to describe likable objects before, but had never considered it a suitable descriptor for wine.  They sat alongside the crush pad one evening in wine stained clothes and wet boots laughing about the idea of a wine that targeted a casual lifestyle.

Jake and Josh were raised in the heart of Paso Robles wine country and have always had a deep connection to the art of wine making.  After graduating from college, they joined the team at Peachy Canyon Winery and spent a decade each immersing themselves in all aspects of the wine industry.

Chronic Cellars tasting room

After their time at Peachy Canyon, they decided it was time to try something new and use all the knowledge and tools they gathered over the years to work on their own dream.  They had an undeniable vision and desire to make a statement in the wine industry and took their first step toward Chronic Cellars.  Their dream became reality when their first wines went public in 2008 and they’ve been going strong ever since.

I’ve actually visited Chronic Cellars a few times now and am currently a member of the Connoisseurs wine club.  My most recent visit was a club event to celebrate the release of their summer shipment.  The Chronic Cellars Connoisseurs Club is one of the best wine clubs I’ve seen – 2 shipments of 6 bottles per year with a 30% discount on each shipment plus 30% off all other purchases of wine and merchandise.  It ends up being around $100 for 6 great bottles of wine which really can’t be beat.

Artwork on the walls at Chronic Cellars

Artwork at Chronic Cellars

I decided to pick up my summer shipment at the tasting room and enjoy the little party.  Immediately upon entering, my senses were overwhelmed by the colorful hand-painted Dia De Los Muertos inspired artwork that covered the walls.  Bluegrass music played in the background and I noticed an ever so subtle hint of incense in the air.  Both Beckett brothers were in attendance – 1 pouring wine and 1 manning the grill outside.  It felt a bit more like walking into a comfy living room than your average tasting room.

Wine & cheese at the Connoisseurs' Club summer event

Next we decided to taste the 6 wines they were pouring, each paired with a locally made cheese.  One thing you notice immediately about Chronic Cellars wines are the fantastic wine labels and clever wine names.  The bright-colored labels are drawn by Joe Kalionzes, an amazing artist and good friend of the owners.

While La Muneca was no longer on the tasting list, I was excited to try 2 new whites that took her place.  The first was ’09 Stone Fox (55% Grenache Blanc/28% Roussanne/17% Viognier, $20) which was light, mildly acidic, and full of peach, pear, pineapple, and citrus fruit on the nose and the palate – perfect for a hot day.

Stone Fox was followed by ’09 Sofa King Suite (54% Viognier/46% Albarino, $13.99) which was well-balanced and a bit sweeter with flavors of gummy fruits, candied orange rind and freshly cut peaches.

Wine & cheese at the Connoisseurs' Club summer event

Next was a series of reds.  ’07 Purple Paradise (95% Zinfandel/5% Petit Sirah, $13.99) was full of raspberries, strawberries, white pepper and vanilla.  It was smooth on the palate and great for everyday drinking.  ’06 Dead Nuts Zinfandel (100% Zinfandel, $20) had concentrated flavors of dark fruits and peppery spices.  ’08 Sofa King Bueno (65% Syrah/12% Petit Sirah/11% Grenache/11% Mourvedre, $20) was my favorite with lots of juicy fruits, bing cherries and toasted vanilla.  Finally, ’08 Suite Petit (100% Petit Sirah, $30) was full of concentrated blueberry, blackberry and sweet oak flavors.

Outdoor patio at Chronic Cellars

We left the winery with 6 great bottles of wine and, as usual, smiles on our faces.  Chronic Cellars is truly one of a kind with a unique personality, a casual and welcoming vibe, and a great portfolio of tasty wines that can be enjoyed without feeling like you’ve broken the bank.  I’m already looking forward to picking up my winter shipment…

Click here to visit the Chronic Cellars website.

Yes, I sabered a bottle of champagne. But no, it was not as graceful and smooth as youtube.com or any other member of my class would have you think. All week-long the instructor of my wine immersion class kept talking about how we would be sabering champagne. Unlike apparently everyone else in my class I had never heard or seen sabering done that I could remember. It’s done by running the blade along the seam of the champagne bottle and whacking the lip so theoretically the glass breaks and the champagne shoots out the end. The instructor kept stressing the dangers if you turn it towards someone (and one girl did actually have the cork shoot out prematurely on its own) and that if the wine was too cold the whole bottle might explode. But each person who went in class stressed how much easier it was than it seemed. One guy in my class even stated “I usually do it with a butter knife.”

Then it was my turn. It took me two bottles of champagne and all 4 seams.

First bottle, first seam: I nicked part of the lip off

First bottle, second seam: I couldn’t get anything. then my instructor took it from me, hit it and the entire neck flew off. He then explained I must have made a small hole on the other side so air was leaking so when it went it was going to explode. So of course now I’m even more nervous…

Second bottle, countless hits. Everyone told me I was doing it too weakly-well I am too weak! Additionally the bottle was too big for my hand and the condensation made it threaten to slip out of my hand so I couldn’t get a good grip. Somehow on the second bottle though I did manage to crack the glass but for some reason the cork didn’t shoot off as its supposed to. But after a second whack it finally did. Unfortuantely due to the 1 million attempts I made no one got a photo at the exact moment I got it:

Another weekend flew by again, just like that.

Wine – At Fresh, a cosy little Thai/Sushi cafe, right under the Wellington train tracks. The sushi was tasty and fresh, and went down well with the wines that we brought (a Pacific Rim Riesling, and a Groth Sauvignon Blanc – which didn’t stand up to the other two SBs we had this week, the most outstanding being the Duckhorn, followed by a cheap but solidly good Kim Crawford)

Karaoke – large raucous bunch of Q’s friends and friends of friends crammed into a private karaoke bar yelling out songs

Sailing – Sailing with the (hungover) Rs, and K, who was in town for her birthday weekend. Best wind conditions yet (although the Rs might beg to differ)!!!!! It was just glorious to be out.

Hot pot – Noisy hot pot dinner with 6 girls and J. Opened the trusty Nora Albarino, followed by L’s Kim Crawford. The other girls weren’t big drinkers (though K was somewhat uncharacteristically pounding down beer), so we brewed lots of agave-sweetened roasted rice green tea instead

Climbing – K and H joined us at the gym to see what it was all about. Put in three solid hours there… gotta train up for the upcoming trip down to KY

Chinatown – Met up with my new coworker for some Cantonese dinner, even though we were feeling quite stuffed from the whole weekend of feasting

Wine – Strolled over to the Rs, to admire their new deck furniture while knocking back two bottles of chilled white (Terleto Chardonnay – crisp and refreshing, but could do with a fuller body; and the Grgich Chardonnay – oaky, buttery, and yeasty)

Right, so before you ask, I know winter here in OZ is now a day old, but needless to say last weekend in order to satisfy a menu requirement I needed to rustle up a new batch of mulled wine for the bar, and in the process it got me thinking of the basic recipe I adopt when brewing such a delight. I know there are a myriad of variations on the mulled wine recipe, rather like the bloody mary every bar seems to have their own take on it, but here is my version for a simple, no fuss, but dam tasty brew, which is open for variation and further experimentation…

The following measurements are based on the premise of one bottle of wine, which roughly offers up a dozen glasses of mulled wine, depending on your serving vessel. Obviously if you’re going to use this as a guide, simply multiply the ingredients in line with the number of bottles you use per batch.

What you will need:
one bottle of a good full-bodied red (I use Hunter Valley shiraz)
80-100ml water
30g sugar
half an orange, cut in reasonably thick slices
whole lemon, cut into wheel slices
2 tsp cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
3 whole star anise

Method:
simply add the wine, water and sugar to a stainless steel pan, dissolving the sugar on a low heat. Add the spices, studding the lemon and orange slices with 3-4 cloves each (as pictured). Simmer it on a steady heat for around 15mins, do let it boil as otherwise you’ll not only bitter the sweet spices but also unnecessarily burn off the alcohol. Once complete take it off the heat, strain the mix and serve in heated glasses to waiting imbibers.

mulled wine

Tips:
* I work on the premise that by adding the water, it allows you to mull the wine but not lose any quantiy of liquid through the cooking, therefore by using the above rough measurements you should still end up with a bottle of wine in volume at the end. This helps if you’re making this ahead of time and reheating it, as you can simply store the mulled wine in the original bottle it came from.
* As I say be careful not to boil the mix, you’ll not only reduce your quantity proportionally but also bitter the sweet spices used. After around 15mins at a steady heat you’ll notice the citrus flesh will start to peel away from the slices, this is a sign cooking time is up.
* Play around with the types of sugar you use, demerara works well, as does raw or brown sugar, caster or white have less of an impact.
* Also play around with the type of red you use, but make sure it’s not too light. Shiraz I find works best, but tempranillo would work well. Do not just treat mulled wine as a way to dump any forgotten or old wine, using a bad base will only lead to a less than exciting end result.

I’m from rusty mailboxes,
from Super Mario Brothers and red clay.
I’m from a dead end road.
I’m from cherry blossoms and pine trees
whose sap was an eternal annoyance to a mother of four.
I’m from squash casserole and smart remarks,
from Fanny, Irene and Marvin.
I’m from the better late than nevers
and the glasses of wine poured
to watch the sunset over the bay.
From you’re not made of glass and
get your elbows off the table.
I’m from may the Lord be with you,
and also with you.
I’m from the Highway 247,
from broccoli and instant coffee.
From fireworks launched from John’s cast,
the hearing aids Milly won’t wear,
and Amy’s secret smokes behind the barn.
I’m from the walls and closets
of my parents and grandparents,
from boxes kept safe from Katrina in a shed.
I’m from the stories the pictures can’t tell,
to my grandmother’s great relief.
Stories she retells every forth of July.

     I started this blog four weeks ago today. In a month’s time, I’ve received one hundred and ninety visits, and two comments. Much love to those of you who give a shit. Next month, I do anticipate a greater presence. I have no idea how to achieve that, but somehow, I’ll think of something as the days turn into nights, and back again. Perhaps I’ll act a bit nicer. I’ve noticed that a lot of blogs by writers have this sensitive, overly polite demeanor about them. Everybody who is hopeful, who is a prospective author appears to have a good attitude about life. Such optimism…where do these people find inspiration? On second thought, I’ll do me, and not act like the sun shines everyday.

     I thought that it would be a cutesy wootsy idea to review a cigar today, this being something of a special occasion. Four weeks blogging, but I’m sort of broke today, and as much as I love cigars, they are but a luxury for me to have and to savor every now and then. Not always. So in light of my weekend excursion to banal and scenic Iowa, I just wrote this poem in the last twenty minutes or so. Not revised. Far from refined. Sounds like a great addition to my “Special Reserve”.

     I wrote that last sentence over an hour ago, having been sidetracked by many other things. I forgot what I was getting at. Happy one month anniversary, blog! Not that anybody gives a fuck…If you do care, contact me, for I will gladly be accepting gifts  in the form of wine and rum.

Elk Cove Vineyard

It was supposed to be just another ride around Hagg Lake from the Grand Lodge on Sunday. But we were all tired and not really feeling it so my friend Mandy suggested we hit a couple of wineries and take it easy. Sounded like a great idea! Except the taking it easy part didn’t exactly work out.

We started 4 miles into the ride at Montinore Winery. They charge $5 for 5 tastes which is pretty standard in the Willamette Valley. At Montinore, however, you get to choose your wines from a list of 10 or so. Their Pinots are decent and their Pinot Noir chocolate sauce is to die for! You can ask for a sample. The staff are super friendly and very knowledgeable (I learned a lot about the difference between Hungarian and French oak).

From Montinore we decided to head up to Elk Cove or Kramer. What we did not realize was that once you leave Hwy 47, the three miles to Elk Cove is one giant, unrelenting hill. I was beat by the time we got there! The winery staff seemed impressed with us for making the climb. We paid our $5 and tasted their wines. They have very nice pinot noirs. The vineyard has amazing views of the vines and the surrounding hills. I tend to take out of town guests here.

The ride down the hill took no time at all. I maxed out at about 31 mph which is about as fast as I am comfortable with especially on winding roads. We then headed back toward Forest Grove through Gaston (which is actually a cute little town and may be worth a visit in the future) and stopped at Patton Valley Vineyard. Getting to Patton Valley was a challenge because from Old 47 the road is about a 3/4 mile climb on gravel and we all had road bikes. We walked and rode at intervals and there seemed to be a lot of muttering and cursing, but we made it.

We were greeted by two adorable black dogs and the owner of the vineyard. My friend Gretchen was pouring the wine. I had never been to Patton Valley before but I will be going there again. The second Pinot Noir they poured is one of my new favorites. Like most pinots, the $35 price tag is more than I will pay on a regular basis, but I will certainly keep it in mind for special occasions. Yum!

After bumping down the hill back to Old 47, we rode another eight miles back to the Grand Lodge to reward ourselves with happy hour food and a beer before heading back to Portland. I think I want to try biking and wine tasting in other areas as well. McMinnville maybe? Or Dundee? Any suggestions?