Disney Day 6: Epcot Food & Wine Festival

Or as I prefer to call it the Wine & Food festival. Priorities people, priorities.

We met up with our friends Angie and Scott to experience the festival together and had an AWESOME time. Anything that involves food and alcoholic beverages is a plus, but to get to do it with good friends is even better!

I’ll try to remember everything we tried – there were some hits, some so-so’s and no misses that I can recall.

Brazil: Grilled Pork Skewer with Farofa – this was just OK for me.

Spain: Poema Cava Brut Sparkling Wine – this was nice and refreshing on a hot day

Argentina: Beef Empanada with Tomato Salsa – very tasty

Greece: Chicken souvlaki with tzatziki – just so-so

China: Chris got a Happy Lychee drink and it was very good

Ireland: We tried a few things here:

Kerrygold Cheese Selection: Aged-Irish Cheddar, Dubliner and Ivernia Cheese with Apple Chutney and Brown Bread – this was nice but I love cheese so this wasn’t a surprise

Warm Chocolate Lava Cake – OMG. Heaven.

Bunratty Meade Honey Wine – yummmm. Reminded me of something Harry Potter would drink at Hogsmeade.

Australia: Rosemount Pinot Noir – very smooth

Morocco: Royale Tangerine Mimosa – this was great, Chris had the baklava and he really liked it

South Africa: Seared Beef Tenderloin with Sweet Potato Purée, Mango Barbecue Sauce – Excellent

Italy: Primavera drink – mix of strawberry, banana and peach slush – very good vacation drink in the sun

Canada: Maple sugar candy – Good but not the same as the local stuff

Mexico: Mousse de Piña y Coco – yummy coconutty mousse

Poland: Chopin Raspberry Chiller – awesome!

Germany: Apple Strudel with Vanilla Sauce – yum yum yum – it was warm too!

France: Escargot Persillade en Brioche – good

I know Chris had tried a few others but I can’t recall – and I know I’m missing some wines in there too… It was a great festival and one I would definitely do again.

We also stopped at the Rose & Crown pub for a drink. The guys each had a Guinness, Angie had a cool-looking Leaping Leprechaun and I had an apple cider. Getting out of the sun was good too – I have a mean sunburn

After Epcot, we headed over to the Disney Boardwalk (which we didn’t even know existed! Luckily we were there with some expert locals ) We had some drinks and snacks at the ESPN bar where the crowd was quite excited about the baseball game. We then headed over to Jellyrolls, which is a dueling piano bar where you can make requests for songs and sing along – which was an awesome place.

It was a great day – this day really made our trip.

Race and Family

DNA, our genes what we are made up from. Why do we behave the way we do? I’ve been thinking about that this week because I’ve let myself down, and wonder why I do that to myself, (had a bit too much wine if your wondering). For a while now I have curbed my drinking and our weekly consumption is within healthy guidelines most weeks. I can say that there have only been three nights this year where I have really over indulged but when I drink too much I have a huge feeling of guilt, no matter what I do. This week I have been told I was funny and there is no harm done but I want to know why I drink more than I should on occasion.

Is it an inherited trait? My mum never drank alcohol so not from her. My dad liked a drink as they say, but I only remember him being ‘drunk’ occasionally, Christmas, New Year, odd Saturdays and very occasional parties.

All this got me thinking about my family tree. My mum was from the far south of Italy, her dad was from Calabria and I have dark skin and dark eyes with a funny flap thing that I once identified from a book as a sand catcher.

When I was on holiday in Greece a few local people spoke to me in Greek, one old man even gave me a row for being with a tourist until I spoke in English then he nearly died from embarrassment.

I believe my family come from poor stock have moved about for generations trying to improve their lot.

And that is today’s smile, from a hangover I ended up thinking about my ancestors and how adventurous they must have been to travel away from home to make a better life. I don’t know where I come from originally, I think it’s further south than Italy and I love that as an idea. I want to know where I am from and the thought of desert ancestors or North African blood just seems amazing for a west coast Scottish girl to come from.

An excuse for drinking too much, probably not unless I go with the idea of stocking up when there’s plenty because peasants never had enough, I don’t really think that washes though.

Cool Label....

*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from Sort This Out Cellars.

Not so cool wine. Overall, I really enjoyed the wines I received from Sort This Out Cellars. However, this bottle was the exception to the rule.  We tried the 2005 Sort This Out Cellars Rockabilly Red with our burgers the other night.  Although it clocked in at 13.5% alcohol by volume, I found it be overwhelmingly alcoholic.  It had a real cork closure and retails for $25.

On the nose I found spice, cranberry, raisins, alcohol, chocolate, and cherries.  In the mouth I got dark berries, dark cherries, and sour fruit.  The tannins, acidity, and alcohol just didn’t seem in balance to me and it threw off the whole wine.

 

Anthony Austin - Using all the senses

Part 2 of a series

In our last episode, winemaker, Anthony Austin, part of the Vintage Wine Estates winemaking team, spoke about how and why he chooses to barrel ferment the Sonoma Coast Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc. In this video he shows us how he uses sight, smell, taste and even sound to check on the progress of the fermentation. Yes, you read that right: sound. Listening through the bung (the hole on barrel), he can tell you what’s happening inside. I’ve never listened to wine before and last sound of wine I remember is the pop of the cork, so this was a really unique experience worth recording. So put your ear up next the computer speaker and imagine it’s an oak barrel and give this video a look and listen. Ahhh…I can almost smell the aromas right now.

A couple terms used in this video may need an explanation.

Headspace: The air space in the bottle (or in this case, a barrel) between the wine and the closure.

Reduction: A fault during fermentation that occurs due to a lack of oxygen in the container, resulting in a suphide (rotten egg) smell.

Wine Thief: Someone who steals your wine. No, seriously, in winemaking, it’s a tubular instrument used to steal a taste of wine from a barrel.

Let Your Sales Flag Fly: 5 Tips for Boosting Holiday Direct Sales

As the “O” of O,N,D draws to a close, there’s not a winery out there that’s not feeling the squeeze – or lack thereof.  It seems that smaller wineries and boutiques are hardest hit, with retailers and restaurants alike eschewing these lesser known bottles for product with recognizable names and brand affinity. This doesn’t hurt just businesses in the wine industry – consumers will only have a fraction of the choices they would normally have this season for gifts and special occasion wines. With small businesses losing ground in retail and restaurant environments and consumers looking for more variety, wineries have a chance to make up the loss this holiday season with two magical words: Direct Sales.

At one time taken for granted and simply relegated to the “Wine Club” list, direct sales will be many businesses bread and butter this season. The unprecedented access to new consumers via social media and the significantly higher profit margin of selling bottles at full retail give wineries both the platform and the flexibility they need to be creative and drive sales for the season.

Unfortunately, it’s not as easy as it sounds. There is a tremendous amount of planning, logistics, creativity, outreach, time and effort involved in pulling together a successful direct sales campaign. But the payoff, for this season and for holidays to come, is well worth the effort. Below are a few tips on how to formulate the plan that’s right for YOU.

1. Assemble a Team and Make the Commitment – Hand-pick a small group of people within the business to help create and execute the plan. These should be people with different skills and interests that you can draw from to build a solid direct sales plan. Once you’ve assembled your team, make the commitment to create a plan and see it through – and ask that they do the same.
2. Take Stock of Your Resources – Take a good hard look at the resources you have at your disposal, and I mean everything. Take into account  the obvious like your mailing list, wine club, upcoming tasting events, etc., but also think outside the box a bit. Is there an artist in your midst? Is your young tasting room employee a social networking whiz? Have you earned a nickname from the locals? Get your team together and write up a list of these resources. Keep this list in full view while you are coming up with your plan.
3. Give People a Reason to Buy – It’s not just enough to have the product, you must give your consumers a reason to purchase YOUR product. Is it great pricing? A special bottling? Are you donating some of your proceeds to charity? Is your winemaker signing the bottles? Look to your list of resources and come up with a reason or reasons why people must have your wine.
4. Create a Full Campaign – Sales campaigns are not just for huge corporations. Gather your team, keep your list of resources in full view and let yourself be a marketing genius. Create a fun and catchy name for the plan, set your goals and timeline, create special pricing or shipping terms, and make sure you have the infrastructure to support everything on your website and in the tasting room. Aside from having all the logistics in place, it’s also important to have FUN while creating your campaign. Using humor is a great way to get people interested in your product and campaign.  The more fun it is for you, the more fun it will be for your potential consumers to be a part of it all.
5. Use Social Media – If you could push a button and magically reach THOUSANDS of new consumers that you’ve never had access to before, would you use it? OF COURSE. That “magic button” is social media. It doesn’t matter if you’re not on facebook, or don’t understand twitter – find someone who does. There is no reason to deny your business of the successful season you need simply because you don’t “get” facebook. Social media is a tool that businesses must use to get the most out of any campaign. Choose someone intimately familiar with social networks to be on your team and utilize their knowledge and contacts.

It’s not too late to make the most of this of this season for any winery who has the drive. Incorporate these five tips while coming up with your direct sales plan, watch an episode of Mad Men for inspiration, get up, and take the season into your own hands.

up and running

After making the decision to start making wine, we made some investments in our facilities the following day. In addition to good equipment, great ingredients and an over abundance of patience, you also need an ideal space to let your wine come to life. For many people, this might be a closet tucked away in a spare bedroom, it may be a laundry room, a less used bathroom, a garage or a shed. In our case, it’s something a little different. Since we’re not blessed with lots of extra space around the house, or power in our shed, or heat in our garage, I decided to build a temperature controlled, three chambered wine making “rig“. After a couple days construction, testing showed that the heating and cooling system would easily keep the compartments within 3 degrees of their target tempurature.

 

Once the tests were complete on the tempurature system, our equipment was sanitized, and everything else was prepped and standing by, we actually started our first fermentation for our first wine, a baraolo to be labeled Old Road 54. The process is pretty simple – at a high level you ferment the grape juice by adding yeast to convert sugars into alcohol, and once that’s complete, you let the wine stabilize and clear before barreling or bottling, after which you let it age and build character and flavor. We merely started the first step, adding some basic chemical components to rid the juice of unwanted enzymes, some toasted oak to add barrel flavor without buying a barrel, and wine yeast to chow down on the sugars.

 

From here we let it sit between 65 and 75 degrees for close to a week, allowing the aggressive portion of the fermentation to complete. Next we’ll rack the wine into a glass carboy and allow the alcohol and acidity levels to normalize. More to follow in a couple weeks when we have some updates on the wine’s progress!       

 

 

 

 

Rhône vs. Barossa

Two legendary winemakers behind two world-renowned properties came together for a joint wine dinner last week at Tribeca Grill.

David Powell and Daniel Brunier

David Powell is behind Torbreck and Daniel Brunier is behind Vieux Télégraphe and the two men could not be more different – their backgrounds, their demeanor and their wine making style.  Daniel is the 4th generation in a family that’s been making wine for 110 years; David started Torbreck in 1994.  Daniel was quiet and reserved while David was larger than life.  My two favorite quotes from the evening capture their personalities well.

“If you don’t make a wine you like, you’re not a real winemaker.” -Daniel

“Don’t share me a good idea or I’ll try to steal it.” – David

Tasting the wines side by side was like the classic exercise old world vs. new world.  Daniel’s wines were elegant, earthy and restrained while David’s were rich, lush and in-your-face.

Both were delicious and it was incredible to see the range that these two producers could achieve using the same Rhône varietals – Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Viognier, Marsanne, Roussanne and so on.

My favorites of the night were the 1995 Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape (dark cherries, coffee and cloves); it sang with the braised shortribs and the 1999 Torbreck RunRig 1999 (concentrated with black fruits and leather); it stole the show with the artisanal cheese course.

You know when you push the "surf" button on the remote?

The wine tasting tour was a great day! I had a lot of fun and found some new favorite wines. (Holiday at Brotherhood was amazing! The Raspberry Cider at um…I don’t remember which stop. There was a fireplace? I’ll look later BUT! Oh gosh…I can see that one being something to get a guy lucky if he’s smart about it…)

 There’s not much else I want to say about it other than SUPERFUN, AWESOME and it left me very SMILEY.

There’s so much spinning around my head at the moment…clicking through as if my head is a tv that’s had the channel surf button pressed and just keeps flipping through…

A lot of it is complicated or at least has complications involved so I’m writing it down to see if it helps…

Things I’m leaning towards saying “No” to:

~More hours at the Pool. Not sure I can handle them really…but I’ll prob say yes anyway…

~One of the guys I used to hook up with is back from Cali for at least several months. He’s already asked to see me…I’m feeling like the answer should be no because although it’s fun and pretty good sex, it’s just about sex and well…meh. Sex used to be part of hanging out with him and hanging out with him was fun, now it’s the main event and not so much fun.

~My landlord emailed me about them selling their rental properties and asked if I’d be interested in buying one of them. Tempting as it is, I’m not sure I should because I don’t know where I’ll be next year. Not sure I want to buy something and leave. I have a couple of weeks to think about it.

Things I’m leaning towards saying “Yes” to if the opportunity does come through:

~Making out with someone who has hurt my heart in the past. I’m curious to know if hes as good as I think he might be. Don’t worry. I’m awesome at keeping the heart protected if I want to just have some fun.

Frankly it would be out of curiosity and attraction more than any sort of attachment thing. My eyes are wide open. (And anything that would happen with him would be a situation of it not being expected or planned…maybe hoped for, but that’s about it. The fun would be in laughing with him again.)

~Depending on the money involved, taking one of the jobs I’ve applied to even though it’ll mean staying here longer. Maybe sticking around town wouldn’t be the worst thing. I guess as long as I make enough money to go a visiting/ on vacations it would be ok.

~Seeing the guy who is back from Cali. Bored and horny goes a long way for me…

~Applying for a teaching program that if accepted into WILL force me to stay in the area for at least 7 more years. (They pay for the classes etc and you give them 5 year commitment after you’re done…)

Also, I’m thinking about the fact that I’m not doing as well with my 101 Things as I would like. I’m going to rearrange some things schedule wise and try harder.

What’s on your mind?

Privacy With A Hot Iron Fish

I got an interesting email from my sister the other day in reference to the fishy tasting wine blog I wrote last week. Apparently I’m not crazy or the only one, however the study is a bit skewed. The study shows pairing red wines that have a high iron content with fish results in an unpleasant fishy aftertaste. It’s very rare I drink wine with dinner, unless I’m out somewhere fancy and it’s very rare when I’m out to dinner that I would order fish, unless it’s a lobster, which usually doesn’t happen unless I’m in Provincetown at The Lobster Pot and my drink of choice then is usually a Jack and Coke or a frozen margarita or something Provincetowny or vacationy. The point is, I don’t need to be eating fish for some red wines to leave a fishy aftertaste in my mouth, so perhaps I’m more sensitive to the high iron content in some red wines. That must explain why some others are quite appealing to me–lower iron. And anyway, isn’t it supposed to be red wine with beef, white with fish? So, then it’s the renegades’ own fault for not obeying that simple rule.

I want to quickly return to Friday’s blog, specifically about the Scoville scale. I learned what it is and thought I’d share it with you. Wilbur Scoville, who in 1912 was working as a chemist for the Parke Davis pharmaceutical company, developed a way to measure the heat of a chile pepper. In his test, he blended pure ground chiles with a sugar-water solution and a panel of tasters sipped the concoctions in increasingly diluted concentrations and a number was assigned to reflect that dilution. This method had been under scrutiny for some time considering the time it took and each individual’s own tolerance levels, but what a nightmare it had to be when they tested peppers towards the higher end of the scale. Nowadays there are more scientific means to study pepper heat and the results are fairly compatible with the Scoville scale. My rule of thumb, if your tongue falls out of your mouth, that’s too hot.

Did you hear about this? A 29 year old Virginia man, Eric Williamson is facing a charge of indecent exposure after someone passed by his house and spotted him standing naked in his kitchen, making coffee. There are two versions of the story and they both lead me to side with the man. The first version says that at about 5:30 am, Williamson, who was alone in his house, went to the kitchen, fresh out of bed, naked and got a cup of coffee, when a woman claims she and her 7 year old son could see him as they walked past his house. Okay, first of all, the naked man was in his own home, minding his own business, having a cup of coffee. Secondly, at 5:30 in the morning, it’s dark out, he wouldn’t be aware that someone was peering into his home. And the report says the woman and her son cut across the man’s lawn as a shortcut. So, here we have voyeurism and trespassing.

The second account, the woman’s, states that it was 8:40am and she was walking her son to school (and cutting across his lawn) and she saw him standing naked in a doorway then he moved to a larger window as she passed with the intent to expose himself to her. The report doesn’t say whether this was an exterior or interior carport door leading into the house.

Another piece of information that was later revealed is that the house is across the street from a school bus stop. Do 7 year old kids line up at a bus stop at 5:30 in the morning? If not, and it’s later, when it’s brighter outside, I would think it would be harder to see inside a house across the street. Even if he had been seen in all his glory, maybe rather than throw him jail for a year and slap him with a $2,000 fine, maybe have the police ask him to be more careful and put on a robe, or at the very least, some Fruit of the Looms. So, unless this guy is running outside while kids are waiting for their bus, I don’t believe he should be charged.

I’ll be keeping an eye on this story, as I am all for the sanctity of the home. Jeez, the next thing you know, it’ll be against the law to blog in the altogether.

LET’S GO PHILLIES!

ghostship 0.4: some major rewrites

A few days ago I noticed that my ghostship software had much more bugs than I thought – in fact some bugs that prevented even bigger bugs (that happens sometimes…). Today I had enough time, so I read through all the code again, gave it better comments, simplified it where possible and rewrote some parts. The ship does still need a lot of testing and fixing, since some parts (shutdown, viewer and the init scripts) do not work anymore.

As said before, I will release an officiall tarball (gotta love that word) as soon as I think it is stable. But feel free to literary check out the svn and tell me what you think about it if you want to.

Meet Our NY Sommelier: Seth Leibman

Seth, peeking out from behind the bar at Michael's, surrounded by some beautiful bottles of red.

Seth Leibman, an incredible, hospitable guy who loves wines, joined the Michael’s family a year ago. We are so happy to have him on the floor with us every night, working to keep our customers happy.

He came to us after being part of the teams at some of the East and West Coasts’ best restaurants.  At Gramercy Tavern, working under Danny Meyer, Seth learned the importance of hospitality. Then he moved to San Francisco and took up residence at Rubicon, working with the amazing Larry Stone.  Seth grounded himself in a straightforward and down-to-earth style that Stone respected and encouraged. He then worked under sommelier Brian Kalliel at Melisse in Santa Monica, where he learned the power of generosity in the restaurant world.

Seth loves finding new wines and small producers. His passion for wine shines through in the beautiful choices he makes for our guests, whatever their tastes or budgets. He loves helping people find the right wine for the meal and making everyone happy.

This man is most definitely not a wine snob. He is warm, friendly, and beyond helpful.  Come on down for dinner, and Seth will help you choose the absolute best wine, or wines, to pair with your meal.

The Annual Pilgrimage North

It seems that about this time every year, I find myself up in Napa. It’s rare that we go up in the summer (too hot, too crowded), and I’ve never gone during the winter (too rainy). Spring is lovely during bud break, but if I had to pick a time of year to visit, it’s definitely autumn. The vines’ foliage is still abundant, yet you can’t help but notice the tinge of golden yellows, fiery oranges and even deep aubergine that have begun to creep amongst some of the rows. The air is crisp, and clean, and a few vines still play host to the late season varietals — often merlots and cabernet sauvignons. By mid to late November, the fields are awash with autumnal color; who needs trees that change color when you have vines that do the same thing?

Last weekend, I spent Saturday visiting a number of wineries with Joe and some of his co-workers. Phelps, Paraduxx, Grgich and Sequoia Grove all made the list. Verdicts?

Listen, you can’t beat the views at Phelps. The last time I was there was in the spring, and the valley below the tasting room was a lush, verdant green. Now, it was apparent that summer had come and gone, but the expanse of land wasn’t any less beautiful to look at.

See that first blush of orange and red I was mentioning? Perfection.

The wines? We’ll get to that in a bit.

Next on the tour was a stop at Paraduxx, where some kind soul in our group had arranged for a food and wine pairing. At this point in time, I’d had a glass of Veuve Clicquot, two glasses of a friend’s yummy (and newly released!) personal Howell Mountain Cabernet from Crushpad (all just in the van ride up), and the entire portfolio of tasting wines at Joseph Phelps, plus a glass of their Le Mistral. As such, the camera never made it out of the bag. I can tell you that their harvest is still in full swing, that they use a mix of T-bins and large fermenting tanks, and that the shaking table wasn’t out that day. Hmm.

After a leisurely lunch snack there (and four bottles of Migration and a bottle of Canvasback safely stored in the car), we headed to Grgich Hills.

Grgich Hills failed. Unmemorable wines at the general tasting, overly crowded, too dark. The end.

Redemption was found in the form of Sequoia Grove, just down Hwy 29, where we discovered THE wine of the day — perhaps the wine of the season (we’ll see how long the love affair lasts).

Okay, so what tasted good that day?

Wine notes from the trip:

Joseph Phelps

• Their Chardonnay! I know, I know, you don’t even know who I am anymore, right? But surprisingly enough, Phelps’ Chard winemaker learned the trade in Burgundy, so how else do you expect her wine to turn out other than Chablis style? Too often, Napa Chards go heavy on the oak toast and end up a buttery, butterscotchy, caramely mess. But not this gem. Slide me a dozen oysters and I would’ve been just fine. Wave it in!
• I don’t know how they manage this, but their Viognier is just too much for me. Heady, oily. I think I like a little more restraint in my Rhone-style whites. Maybe the Viogniers I’ve had were always blended with something to keep that perfumey quality in check (Pine Ridge makes a totally decent Viognier/Chenin Blanc table white, and who can’t resist a good Marsanne/Roussane/Viognier blend?), but this particular label always bowls me over — and not in a good way. Seller.
• Insignia. Meh. It’s good, but not $200 good. Seller.
• ‘06 Cab and ‘06 Merlot. Maybe I’m just not a Cab fan. I’m definitely NOT a Merlot fan, and this is pre-Sideways, okay? It clods along in the mouth, clumsily, like a big, sweaty oaf. Perhaps I’m a meanie for relegating Merlot to the realm of blending wine, but whatever. I don’t like it. Seller.
• Le Mistral. As far as I’m concerned, the most interesting red of the bunch. A unique blend of Syrah, Grenache, Carignane, Petit Syrah and Alicante Bouschet. Too bad Phelps recently sold the label to Ventana Vineyards, so the wine will be produced solely out of Monterrey now. Wave it in!

Paraduxx

• Some rosé, I forget the name, and Paraduxx hasn’t figured out how to put ALL their wines on the Duckhorn website. It was okay. I like them drier. Seller.
• Canvasback, a mix of Syrah, Grenache, Carignane and Cabernet Sauvignon (Oh. I just realized the trend. Good thing I’m going to Provence next year.). Obviously, we waved this one in, since we bought a bottle of it and drank it tonight with some pizza. It was good.
• Paraduxx red wine. The Zinfandel/Cab thing is interesting, but probably just not my bag. These wines are just too much for me. Maybe it was the setting — warm day, bright sun, cool breeze. I think this wine needs a ribeye and a fireplace to brood over. Seller.
• Postmark. See above. Although, Joe really liked this one, but we don’t have to listen to him.

Grgich Hills

• Inebriated though I might have been, I still maintain their tasting portfolio had nothing to offer. Seller.

Sequoia Grove

• Who cares about any of the other wines they were pouring? DING! DING! DING! DING! We have a winner in their 2007 Rebellious Red. It’s a proprietary red wine, and REALLY proprietary — they won’t reveal what’s in it. It could have rat pee as the secret ingredient, but all you need to know is that it’s good. Really good. GREAT spice, beautiful fruit, perfectly balanced acidity and a texture that’s smooth as a new velvet jacket. We bought two bottles. I would like to wave in two cases. It’s the new thing in our household.

All of this merry-making was followed by what seemed to be an extraordinarily short van ride back to the city (where, inexplicably, the entire populace of the van all needed to urinate very, very badly at the exact same moment when we were crossing the Bay Bridge), and a well-deserved dinner at Perry’s on the Embarcadero. I woke up on Sunday not wanting red wine for a week.

So of course, Joe and I drank an entire bottle of Rebellious Red on Monday. It’s just how we roll ’round these parts.

I can’t wait for the next trip!

First 2009?

*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from Bin Ends Wine so I could participate in the Wines of Argentina Twitter Taste Live.

I think that this is the first wine from a 2009 vintage that I’ve had. Usually I don’t see the 2009s until maybe late spring of the following year. So to have one in September, well, I was surprised! Another wine from Argentina tasted in conjunction with the Wines of Argentina Twitter Taste Lives, I believe this is the last Torrontes of the bunch.  I have 2 more bottles of red wines to review and then it’s on to the Wines of Germany.  Last up for the whites, the 2009 Crios de Susana Blabo Torrontes. It had a screw cap closure, clocked in at 13.5% alcohol by volume, and retails for about $15.

I sat up and said “Wow” when I opened this bottle.  I could smell it as soon as I took the cap off.  On the nose I found honey, white flowers, honeysuckle, slight vanilla cream, white pepper, spice, tropical fruits, and pineapples. I’d call the nose “spritzy.” In the mouth I got white peach, yellow apple, citrus, lemon, tropical notes, orange blossoms, and pear.  The wine had an almost slightly oily finish though it was crisp and acidic through mid-palate.

Wine=Não é emulador do Windows!!!

Para vc que utiliza a plataforma Linux e sente a falta de executar aqueles seus programa prediletos do Windows como: Winamp,Internet Explorer,Microsoft Office e outros então seus problemas acabaram!Utilize Wine!Este programa não é um emulador do Windows,até como o próprio nome diz: Wine Is Not an Emulator!

Segue um descritivo do site Wikipédia:

Wine (acrónimo recursivo para WINE Is Not an Emulator, isto é, WINE Não é um Emulador) é um projecto para sistemas operativos UNIX que permite a executar nesse ambiente algum software especificamente concebido para o Microsoft Windows. Wine traduzido literalmente do inglês para o português significa vinho, o que levou à escolha de uma taça de vinho como logomarca do Wine.

O WINE é uma implementação livre das bibliotecas do Windows no Linux, não sendo portanto um emulador, pois ele  não faz nenhuma emulação para executar softwares para Windows. O WINE funciona como uma camada que expõe uma API compatível com a do Windows; ao serem executadas as diferentes funções, o Wine irá traduzi-las para rotinas em UNIX cujo resultado seja idêntico.

O WINE atua então apenas como um tradutor ou um interpretador de linha de comando, muito parecido com um shell, toda vez que ocorre uma chamada para a função desenha Cubo que estava implementada na DirectX.dll por exemplo, o WINE traduz esta chamada para uma de suas próprias bibliotecas em que alguém escreveu uma função similar para realizar o mesmo, desenhar um cubo na tela. Por isto as vezes os jogos que rodam em cima do Wine geram erros, pois executam chamadas a funções que o WINE não sabe como interpretar, isto é, chamam bibliotecas ou funções muito novas que os desenvolvedores do WINE não implementaram. Se o wine fosse de fato um emulador e uma máquina virtual perfeita, a princípio, todos os programas do Windows deveriam rodar no Linux sem problemas.

O Wine ainda disponibiliza a sua própria biblioteca (Winelib) por forma a que o código-fonte dos programas concebidos para Windows possa ser compilado no ambiente UNIX.

fonte: Wikipédia

url: http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wine 

acesso em: 18/10/2009 ás 19:34

Doing 50 in Bristol from Billecart-Salmon to D'Oliveiras

Thank you to my amazing wife Liz for suggesting, and as much to our Trans Atlantic chums Sir and Lady Tidmarsh for hosting, our belated 50th birthday celebration in Bristol, England this past weekend.  The Tidmarsh’s organized a 40th birthday soiree in our honor back in 1999 and it did not take long for all of us to concur that 10 years of personal aging required a proper encore.  After all, the ’99 version provided a good excuse to drink a birth year 1959 Latour along with a whole bunch of other vintages back to 1907 Latour that were just collecting dust in a naturally dark, damp, and catacomb-like Bristol cellar. 

Suffice it to say, Jay and Virginia Tidmarsh are most special, humble, down to earth, and generous friends to Liz and me; and the ultimate host and hostess.  I don’t know much about this first hand, but think some of the relaxed magnetism and hospitality are requisite qualifications shaped even further by the territory of Jay’s previous Royal service posts as High Sheriff and then Lord Lieutenant of Bristol, before the Queen honored Jay and Virginia as Knight and Lady last year. 

We arrived in Bristol by train on a warm and sunny October Saturday morning and were immediately whisked out back to enjoy the Clifton Indian summer day in the terraced gardens that scale their way down a steep hill towards a river claiming the second most severe tidal rise and fall of any in the world.  Not more than a couple hours after boarding our morning London train, a cork was disgorged from a bottle of 1995 Billecart-Salmon Cuvee Nicolas Francois Billecart.  Snacking on a few small bowls of fresh quail eggs, olives, and fruit I looked out over the stone wall to the green hills and was momentarily transported to the French countryside as I listened to the snap-crackle-pop emerge from my glass’ surface.  The dozen or so years in the cellar had mellowed the wine in a way that tamed the fizz without completely losing a most pleasing tiny bubble effervescence.  A distinct biscuity character was in evidence, and the wine was supple and elegant offering the very beginnings of some advanced flavoring.

Along with old wine, the Tidmarsh’s are fond of old glassware.  In the early afternoon Liz inquired about the “N” that was engraved on all of the Champagne glasses we drank from.  With a few small gulps, we learned they once belonged to Napoleon.  Of course, not THE Napoleon, but a close relative that eventually became King.  Oh well! It was a fitting launch to another day where I couldn’t help but occasionally marvel at the easy simpatico that always seemed to bridge our two worlds.

We divided and conquered, Virginia and Liz returning to the kitchen and me helping with a full cellar transporter that needed emptying after Jay’s quick disappearance among the wine stocks.  The carrier was laden with 2003 Hugel Pinot Gris Tradition “Hugel”, 1989 Montrachet Grand Cru Bouchard Pere et Fils, 2000 Chevalier Montrachet Henri Clerc and a 1992 Leflaive Batard Montrachet (we never managed to get to the Leflaive).  The ladies needed our help carrying the freshly baked scallop pie and accompaniments to the garden before we all regrouped to try or 2nd, 3rd, and 4th wines at this mid day point. 

The Alsatian Pinot Gris from Hugel was quite delicious with pear and melon intermingling with rose petals on the nose.  The color was quite light, with a whitish yellowish hue.  The mouth feel was rich and coating, yet smooth and easy.  I was happy to be exploring this wine in accompaniment with the warm rich scallop pie following the elegance of the Billecart-Salmon.

In what appeared to be  a perfect preordained order, the Burgundy was poured and I sensed we just stepped the food and wine pairing up a notch with the older Montrachet.   The 1989 from Bouchard was significantly more orange than the Pinot Gris, but not the deep orange we would discover in the younger Chevalier Montrachet.  It had burnt caramel and licorice on the nose (Virginia noticed Gooseberry aromas, which was news to Liz and I since neither of us ever smelled the hairy berry).  The wine was silky and rich with enough acidity to provide ample structure to a highly nuanced 20-year-old Chardonnay.  We loved it!

The 2000 Chevalier Montrachet by Henri Clerc was past its prime and disappointing.  The color was deep orange but the wine was flabby and missing fruit.  Still, it was not completely lost, but definitely over the hill.  We were surprised this younger white Burgundy, bought on release, had such a short life in comparison to the Montrachet at twice its age.  We reminded ourselves that there was still something to appreciate in this wine, that it no longer offered a classically aged profile, but there were nuances that were interesting to note, even though the wine was approaching its useful end.

Click Image for Video

Our host and hostess had paid a visit to Madeira (click thru on the image for a quick tutorial), the island off the west coast of Portugal.  While there, their friend and prominent Bristol wine merchant John Avery organized meetings and tastingsin a few cellars and Jay wanted to share a couple prime examples of the Brandy fortified wine now that we were on a roll.  He produced two different bottles of 1989  D’Oliveiras; the Sercial and Malmsey.  These are two of four Madeira designations indicating levels of dryness.  The Sercial is driest, and had a toffee alcohol soaked nose, reminding me a bit of the Babba Rum pastries I used to crave from Ferrara’s in New York’s little Italy.  The flavors and finish were dead ringers for alcohol soaked fruit cake.  It was a perfect foil to the primarily local countryside cheeses we were snarfing down post meal. 

Even richer, the Malmsey rings the bell for the least dry designation.  The wine smelled like stewed raisins.  Its flavor was reminiscent of dried candied apricots.  It was silky and dangerously smooth, with a long, long warm finish. 

I ranked the wines from this afternoon in this order of preference:

1995 Billecart-Salmon Cuvee Nicolas Francois Billecart

1989 Montrachet Grand Cru Bouchard Pere et Fils

1989  D’Oliveiras Malmsey

1989  D’Oliveiras Sercial

2003 Hugel Pinot Gris Tradition “Hugel”

2000 Chevalier Montrachet Henri Clerc

We vowed to walk and then maybe a zizz (napping reference in Bristol) before a 6pm decanting wake up call for Jay and me.  We had lots of business ahead that night.  More close friends, of which several were members of the venerable Bristol branch of the Commanderie de Bordeaux (looms as serious trouble), were showing up for our celebration.  It promised to be a great evening of new friends, wonderful food, and wines we mostly dream about.  Later this week I will add Part II of this post that will include highlights and photos from that evening which included Champagnes from the 1920’s, home blending, gorgeous Cheval Blanc, my favorite vintage of D’Yquem ever, and much more.

For now, I need to think about extending my morning run regimen for just a few days.

Macarona Maknekesh, and 2006 Baron Herzog Zin Gris Lodi

This past Friday night saw us lying low after a long Holiday (Sukkot and Simchat Torah) and as such we made a nice and simple meal that hit the spot.  It is called Macarona Maknekesh – which is a Tunisian pasta recipe that hails from their earlier Italian roots.  The recipe is really quite simple.  It is essentially a macaroni/pasta and lentil concoction that is served hot.  It melds classic Italian styling with a nice dose of  Mediterranean flavors and textures.

1 oz of olive oil
2 diced onions
8 oz sliced mushrooms
salt
pepper
cumin
basil
1 lb of lentils
28 oz of tomato sauce
1 lb macaroni or pasta of your choice

Fry the diced onion in the olive oil until browned.  Throw in a bit of salt to help the onions release their liquid.  Then throw in the mushrooms and brown them as well, with a bit of salt as well.  Once browned, throw in the lentils and sauté them until all the liquid has been soaked in.  Cover with water and bring to boil.  Once the lentils are totally cooked (some 45 minutes), place the tomato sauce in the pot and let simmer until the flavors meld.  Once the sauce and lentils look right, throw in the pasta/macaroni and add water or wine if necessary.  It takes some tries to get the water content correct, but it is worth the effort.

I had hoped the wine would pair well with the dinner, but it was an unfortunate disappointment.  The wine felt unbalanced and almost muted, with the nose being the shining star of the wine.

The wine note follows below:

2006 Baron Herzog Zin Gris Lodi – Score: B
The nose on this bright rose colored wine is the best part of the wine. It starts with cranberry, raspberry, strawberry, floral notes, and bright acidity. The mouth on this light to medium bodied wine is soft with raspberry, strawberry, and tart unbalanced fruit. The mid palate has a bit of acidity and more tart fruit that do not help to balance the wine. The finish is medium long with tart fruit that lingers on the palate. There is also a bit of almost green tea on the finish that really throws the wine. Quite a shame, as the nose starts off so promising.

No One Said Following Your Dreams Would Be Easy

I don’t have an iphone, an ipod, or even a fancy TV. I don’t have expensive jewelry, designer clothes or a diamond ring. But I do have a family, good friends, nutritious food in the fridge, a roof over my head, heat on a cold rainy day, and water to quench my thirst. And one more thing…..did I tell you?  Have you heard? I am following my dream.

My cars were born before the turn of the century. They have dings, cracks, rust and a little rat-a-tat-tat. My hair is not dyed. My skin is not tan. But I have a beautiful little girl, who has taught me so much. She may be a handful, but I love her just the same. And one more thing…..I think that you know…I started Project Do What You Love, not very long ago.

Now all my days are not sunny, and I do whine and worry. My wine is not rare and my entertainment is rarely out. But I have no doubt, that I am doing the right thing. I guess I will find out.

Love and peace to all.

Mrs. Amber Scott

{champagne} when Dom met James

Just charting 007’s tryst with Dom Perignon

*Moonraker: The literary James Bond first drinks Dom Perignon — he has two bottles of the ’46.
*Dr. No: The villain stops 007 from using a bottle of ’55 as a weapon, to which Bond quips, “I prefer the ’53 myself.”
*Goldfinger: Bond declares a preference for the ’53
*Thunderball: He orders a bottle of the ’55.
*The Man with the Golden Gun: 007 offers a bottle of ’64 to Dr No saying, “I prefer the ’62 myself.”
*The Spy Who Loved Me: Bond says about Stromberg; “Any man who drinks Dom Perignon ’52 can’t be all bad.”
Dom anyone?

Serving Techniques

Port Sippers

Serving wine in the glass appropriate for its’ type is not just to impress your guests, but serves a purpose.  For example, smaller glasses are used for Port and Sherry because they are so rich and are consumed in smaller qualities.

Pouring wine correctly can add class to the occasion and is a matter of courtesy.  Decanting wine is pouring wine into a decorative container for the purpose of removing sediment.  By taking a few precautions and following some guidelines, not only will the presentation be better, but also your wine can actually taste better.

Wine Glasses

The shape of a wine glass can impact the taste of the wine, and for this reason different types of wine are served in different glasses.  Hold any style of glass is by the stem; this keeps fingerprints off the bowl and keeps your hand from heating the wine.

What kind of glasses should you buy?
Not only do glasses come in different shapes, but they range in size as well.  Too large a bowl can make a glass unsteady.  For a good all-purpose wine glass, opt for a minimum capacity of 10 oz.  The glass should be transparent to enable you to examine the wine’s colour and body, and curve in at the top to retain the bouquet.  All-purpose white wine glasses will suffice for serving red wine, but don’t serve a white wine in a red wine glass.

There are three main types of wine glasses:
- Standard white wine glass (tulip shaped)
- Red wine (larger bowl, more rounded)
- Flutes for sparkling wine (tall and thin)

Breathable Glass

There are also larger glasses developed for serious wine tasters that allow the nose to enter the glass so the drinker can smell the aroma.  A new development in stemware are “Breathable Glasses” which help the bouquet and flavors of the wine develop in a fraction of the time it takes in a non breathable glass.  Small goblet style glasses are good for dessert wines since they are drunk in small portions.

Multiple Personalities

It is a beautiful day in South Africa, early summer and we have wall-to-wall sunshine. All the leaves are out and our world is a variegated green against a perfect blue sky.

It reminds me of a fabulous meal that JW and I ate in Cape Town, on our own little restaurant balcony looking over the sparkliest blue ocean. We had lobster and chilled Sauvignon Blanc and talked and laughed the idyllic afternoon away.

I like to drink spritzers (a cocktail of dry white wine and club soda), I often say that I am what I drink – “Dry white and sparkling”.

JW is also what he drinks, when he has beer he is flatulent and repetitive, brandy and coke makes him dark and broody, absinthe causes unpredictability, Margaritas result in brackish bitterness and red wine makes him to sulky, self pitying and spiteful.

After he has been out, all of them together make me feel angry, scared and tearful.

que syrah, syrah.

Fall is definitely here.  It is the first day of a heavy rainstorm in Sonoma County.  Nine roads were closed due to flooding and cellar workers are scrambling to finish crush in the rain. For myself, it was a day of comfort food and catching up with work…

Breakfast: Oatmeal with soy milk and a spoonful of almond butter, thanks to Jenna from Eat, Live, Run for the tip.

Lunch: Grilled Cheese made with fresh baked bread and Tillamook cheese (thanks to them tweeting to me this morning).

Snack: A chocolate/caramel turtle, stolen from my roommate.

Dinner: Acorn squash stuffed with wild rice, onions, garlic with a tomato soup base and topped with spicy green beans with cacao nibs.  Since it is the beginning of fall, I knew I had to pair my meal with a good spicy Syrah, especially to go with the spicy green beans (adapted from a TCHO chocolate recipe) so I chose a Kunde Estate Syrah that I received as a birthday present from a tasting room employee (so yes, I am disclosing that I received this bottle as a gift).

The Syrah is a PERFECT pairing with the fall squash and spicy beans.  Just enough spice and fruit to hold up to the food.  It definitely needed to open up to its flavors.  A great food wine!

Another Syrah that I just recently had was a gift from David Cole, owner of James David Cellars. I paired this with some Thai Drunken Noodles and it actually worked.  The noodles were not too spicy that it over powered the Syrah and vice versa.

I may be a known Pinot lover, but fall food really does call for a good Syrah and an awesome scarf!  No wonder I love this time of year.

What I've learned on my vacation

As I sit in the Oakland airport, waiting for my flight, I’m reminiscing about what a fantastic trip it was, and also some observations/learnings from this enlightening vacation.

First, a few learnings and observations:

1. There’s definitely something to be said for taking a “selfish” vacation – don’t take selfish to have a negative connotation here, but as I mentioned in an earlier blog this week, theoretically, I probably should have saved my money and not come on this trip, so soon after a lot of financial “events” if you will, but I firmly believe there is a time and a place to take a trip even when you think you shouldn’t. I’m so glad I went for it (and honestly, it wasn’t as expensive as I thought and I didn’t feel stressed or too restrained with what I spent, which felt great!), because I would have regretted not doing this for my 30th birthday, and for ME. This was totally a ME trip, and I enjoyed every second! If you ever have the chance to take that “me” trip, even when the financial forces may be pressing against you, please go for it. You won’t regret it in the long run.
2. Take a vacation with a mix of couples and singles is a good mix – though the group of us was somewhat heavier on the couples side vs. the singles side, the mix of people was well-balanced, and I didn’t feel overly sad about being single or wishing I wasn’t alone. I didn’t really feel alone, and I was so glad to experience this trip with those that came.
3. I value my alone time more than I thought – renting a house was the best decision for this trip and 95% of the time, I was glad to be surrounded by everyone. But, there was a tinge of wanting to just be quietly by myself to regroup. I guess I value that far more than I thought!

And, now, a few of my favorite things from this trip:

1. Springing for the wine club at Field Stone Winery – I was hesitant to go for a wine club, only because it is a bit costly, but after visiting a few wineries and cross-comparing prices etc., the wine club at Fritz was actually really good, and I REALLY enjoyed the mix of whites and reds we tried. My first shipment (”fall”) is already on it’s way, too, which is so exciting!
2. Being introduced to a slew of new wines I never new existed: Pinotage, Petit Verdot , Zinfandel (for some reason, didn’t realize there was a red zin!) and Meritage…just a few of the new wine blends I tried (and purchased!).
3. Re-capturing a love for white wine and champagne – I tried some REALLY good white wine at J. Winery - Sauv Blanc, Pinot Gris, and a DELISH Rose Brut…so much so that I purchased a few bottles and can’t wait to try them!
4. Visiting as many wineries as we possible could – in addition to J., and Fritz, we visited William Hill, Louis Martini, Gallo, Kokomo (just for the name alone, Kokomo!), Bella Winery, Simi Winery and Field Stone Winery. There are so many wineries in Napa and Sonoma, I could definitely go back over and over!! Planning on it!
5. Experiencing Healdsburg – what a fantastic little town nestled right next to Sonoma! It was very cute, had some funky shops and not one chain restaurant anywhere, which was way cool. There were a few delicious bakeries, including Downtown Cafe and the Flying Goat (YUMMY scones!) and the views were breath-taking. The house we rented was tucked right into the side of a mountain, with a super windy, topsy-turvy road to get there (and 60 steps up to the front door!). Awesome choice.
6. Some amazing tours – we had two awesome tours at William Hill and Louis Martini that were unforgettable. We got to see the inner workings of both, where they bottle the wine, how the process works, and we got to taste the grapes off the vine. At Bella, we also got to tour their caves where they keep the wine, and taste wine FROM the tank (that was crushed and tanked TWO days prior), which was pretty funky (I won’t lie, I was a little afraid of how it would taste, but it was pretty good!) and from the barrel (a mix of zin and petiti syrah), and had a broader tasting in their special wine-tasting room that was lit with candles. I felt like I was in a scene out of the board game “Clue” (I’ll append a pic when I upload them when I get home! It was so funny!).

So, there you have it, a few musings, a few observations, and four-ish unforgettable days of fun, wine, and experiences of a lifetime. If you ever have the chance to go, GO. So worth it.

3.3 Poached Pear Tart: Putting the Pieces Together

美女廚房: Baking Edition

So in HK there’s this cooking show called ’Beautiful Cooking’ based on pseudo models who essentially have to ‘cook’ for a guest panel of male judges while wearing skimpy outfits.

Screw that, we got our own ”美女廚房” right here except we can actually produce something quite impressive. So here is the final step. I usually do this about two hours before serving it to ensure that the crust is still crisp and not soggy- but I know how hard that is to time. And gainm you can find the full recipe here:

 

Remove pears from poaching liquid. Pour poaching liquid into medium saucepan; boil until syrup is reduced to 1/2 cup, about 10 minutes. Chill wine syrup until cold.

Cut pears lengthwise in half. Scoop out cores and center veins; cut off stems. Place pears, cut side down, on triple-thick layer of paper towels. Cover with triple-thick layer of paper towels. Pat pears dry, changing paper towels as needed to absorb excess liquid. Cut each pear half lengthwise into 4 to 6 slices.

Spread pastry cream in crust. Arrange pear slices decoratively atop pastry cream, covering completely. (Can be prepared 2 hours ahead. Cover loosely and chill.)

Scatter caramelized pistachios over tart. Cut tart into wedges and serve with wine syrup.

 

A Visual Guide to Prepping Pears

I cut out the caramelized pistachios (I did almonds for Stacy’s) because I thought then there were too many complex and overwhelming flavours and textures from just a slice. Rather, I substituted this by making a vanilla bean cream. My cousin took me to an American bulk buy grocery store in Sheung Wan called ‘Gateway’ and lo! I found five vanilla beans in a test tube for $88! What a steal! Actually perhaps not but I will pretend like it’s cheap and whip them out occasionally when the dessert deserves a little more class. Kidding.

Gutting a Vanilla Bean

 

Agnes and I divvied the pear tarts: the largest one went to my coworkers while we gobbled one up as a tester, one for my cousin, the other for a friend and Agnes took the other two.

When tea time came at our office, at the sight of the tart one coworker goes, “who are you???”
I am Sara Lee and Betty Crocker reborn as a Chinese. Kidding.

And what did our guest judge give us out of ten? 9.5/10: 0.5 off because the crust was a little too thick.

Eisch — Breathable Glassware for Wine?

If you haven’t heard about Eisch Glaskultur, the wine glassware that has a unique “breathable quality,” I encourage you to check it out. Eisch applies a special “oxygenizing” treatment at the end of the manufacturing process that opens the nose of wine and softens the hard edges, particularly tannin and acidity. Amazingly, all of this happens within a few minutes after pouring, and can potentially have the same effect as an hour or two in a decanter. I know it sounds a little far fetched, but I have conducted numerous taste tests against comparable wine glasses and have experienced consistent results. I recently was involved in a tasting with both reds and whites and Eisch excelled again.

Eisch produces a wide line of glassware and decanters, but the three “breathable” wine glass lines regularly sold in the U.S. are Superior, Vino Nobile, and Vintec. I use the Vino Nobile and Vintec at home, and regularly put them in the dishwasher without any problems.

Admittedly (and amazingly), Eisch still sometimes does not show up on the radar of some wine industry veterans. Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher reviewed wine glasses in their Wall Street Journal column yesterday, “Glasses, the Background Music of Wine,” and Eisch did not even garner a mention, even though they analyzed 25 different glasses. I’m not sure how their “broad search” could generate an article—which I thought was good in all other aspects—that did not include some sort of a nod to Eisch.

Ronn Wiegand (www.restaurantwine.com/), Master of Wine and Master Sommelier, has conducted extensive tests and has noted that Eisch enhances the taste of a wide variety of wines. Recommendations do not come with much higher authority than that. I would encourage you, however, to conduct your own taste test and/or ask for an opinion from your favorite wine shop or restaurant. Even if you do not buy into the “breathable” aspect, the glasses are beautifully made and durable enough for even restaurant use. (www.eisch.de)

(Disclosure: The wine distributor I work for also sells Eisch Glaskultur. I write about food, wine, hotels and ancillary products that I sincerely enjoy and use. Inevitably I will, from time to time, have some sort of connection to the subject matter of my posts. I would like to think that this does not disqualify me from writing about subjects I appreciate. When the associations are substantial, such as Eisch, I will disclose them. I welcome your comments.)

Bali Restaurants

It is hard to distinguish between delectable and just so so restaurants when on holiday.  So what we have done for you is to put together a compilation of restaurants featuring local dining spots that have something very unique to add to your memorable experience in Bali.

http://www.whatsonbali.com/index.php?option=com_alphacontent&view=alphacontent&Itemid=6

What’s on Bali – Home
http://www.whatsonbali.com

FREE BaliSocial Network – FREE BaliSocial listing – FREE BaliSocial Events
http://www.balisocial.whatsonbali.com

FB Group

http://www.facebook.com/groups.php?ref=sb#/group.php?gid=139023863708

FB Application

http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=109036484791&ref=mf

1, 2, 3, 4 I Declare a Thumb War

*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from Thumbprint Cellars.

Some days I start to think about what wine we’re going to drink that night early in the day.  This was one of those days.  We were having Tilapia with bread crumbs and I usually go straight for a Sauvignon Blanc.  However, the folks from Thumbprint Cellars had recently sent me a bottle of their 2007 Thumbprint Cellars Russian River Valley Chardonnay.  It’s 100% stainless steel fermented, but they let it go through just a touch of malo-actic…I was intrigued and thought it might be a good match for the Tilapia. It retails for $29, had a screw cap closure, clocked in at 14.3% alcohol by volume, and is a Vegan wine (never seen that before!).

On the nose I found peach, pear, yellow apple, lemon, citrus, and tropical notes.  The Pear really dominated the nose, which overall I found to be very aromatic. In the mouth I got green apple, stone fruit, lemon, lemon zest, tangerine, orange spice, lemon oil, and spice.  The wine had a long finish and just the slightest touch of a creamy mouthfeel which went perfectly with our baked Tilapia.  Thumbprint Cellars was new to me, I’m interested in checking out some of their other offerings!

:: hump day ::

here’s what’s getting me through the week this week. i love going to the grove. sitting out on the expansive patio under the fantastic sizeable oak trees, talking to best friends and enjoying great food with a great glass of wine. it’s the perfect ambience and the perfect way to end the week. friday can’t come soon enough!

{images belong to ellisphoto & seandreilinger}

Wine From California!

*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from J. Keverson Winery.

With all the Argentinian wines around here, I bet you thought I’d gone and forgotten I’d started this wine blog to tell you about the wines from small California wineries that I drink.  No fear, I certainly haven’t abandoned my love of small family Californian wineries, but when you open 6 bottles of Argentinian wine in a night and there are only two of you, it takes a while to drink through the open bottles!  The Starkey’s Court Zin clocked in at 15.3% alcohol by volume, hails from Dry Creek Valley, had a real cork closure, and retails for…well, I can’t find that info at the moment, sorry!

On the nose I found blackberry, vanilla, blackberry crumble, plums, spice, and pepper.  In the mouth I got tart black fruit, black cherry, back plum, blackberry, spice, and pepper.  We served this with blue cheese and bacon burgers off the grill and it was a great match given the hint of pepper with the excellent structure and well integrated fruit and tannins.

Wine App for BlackBerry

I’ve been searching for a wine review / cellar management application for my BlackBerry for quite some time.  With the release of the iPhone, it’s become even more frustrating with the flood of applications of this sort that were developed for the iPhone.  For some reason, however, the BlackBerry was entirely overlooked by developers.  Enter BlackBerry App World.  So now that BB owners finally have a centralized distribution channel to search for BB apps, we are still waiting for certain apps to materialize.

Well, over the last year, I have been contacting a few of these iPhone wine app developers and a few online cellar management companies to see if anyone has plans to develop a BlackBerry version of their app.  And as of today, I finally have some good news to report.

I received an email from Eric LeVine (founder of CellarTracker!) today to let me know that Cor.kz has been working on a BlackBerry app that will provide wine reviews and cellar management using data from CellarTracker.com.  Currently, they have an iPhone version of app that has received great reviews and is rated as one of the top 5 wine apps for the iPhone.  I emailed the developers at Cor.kz and received confirmation from them that this is no rumour.  They said that they expected to have it released by now already, but that they had run into a few difficulties that they were working to resolve before releasing the app.  So, the good news is that they are almost there.

The best part of this story is that CellarTracker.com is a great online cellar management tool that is used by 84,000

users already and has reviews/information on over 14 million different bottles of wine already.  It’s a great database that I currently use to manage my cellar and read reviews.  So it’s great that this is the data the Cor.kz BlackBerry app will be using.

I’ll post an update once I hear anymore information.  But at least now we can say that someone is working on it.

Three Wines, Six Hours Later. Part 2.

Honig Sauvignon Blanc

 

The tell-tale sign that this was an excellent wine was I drank the whole bottle in one night, it went down really smooth and the best part, wait for it… no hangover. Not even a little… I even had coffee and a muffin for breakfast with no problem. It was probably the best bottle of wine I have had to date. I am still in shock about how terrific it was so please check out thier webite for more info. I indeed will have it again, and probably get other kinds. Thier website is pretty straightforward… the company is successful… blagh blagh, the bio on the owner goes on about how he’s a great businessman, dipping his fingers in everything… I care more about a company that is more about inspiration… but I cannot deny… the wine is one of the best I’ve had so far.

Mooncakes + Zuma + Feather Boa…

When Adam and I eventually got back to our room we found these at our door! These are mooncakes. Last weekend was the Full Moon Festival in Hong Kong and Saturday was a public holiday for this.

I tried the mooncake immediately and was shocked to find an egg yolk in the middle. I did NOT like this thing . Oh well – it was fun to try something new. The rest of the cake is Lotus seed paste.

Once refreshed and ready for dinner, we had a pre dinner bevvie in the Hotel lobby with our crew for the night.

Adam, me, David, Hannah, Gibbo and Neil

We cabbed off to Zuma in Central.

Zuma sign and sushi bar on the ground level.

We dined in the more “cosy” level 2 area.

I had a gorgeous raspberry martini to start with a super sweet fresh raspberry in there.

We also ordered plain Edamame

and chilli (which I loved) to start while we perused the menu.

This went down VERY easy! We moved on to Pinot Griggio quickly after that…

First up our sushi came out, from memory we had spider rolls, soft shell crab rolls, spicy tuna rolls, not sure what else.

This was a wagyu beef dish

We got some bowls of rice for the table

Awesome tempura prawns

and if you guessed I was eating a prawn head before then you were right! Can you sense my apprehension???

It was actually really yum, very crunchy!

Chicken yakatori  

More beef

Lamb chops

I might have strolled by Miu Miu on our way out…

Then we hit up my favourite bar of all time – Feather Boa. When Adam and I first went to Feather Boa in 2005 on our holiday to Hong Kong, we read about this place in the Luxe guide. It has no signage from the outside you’ve just got to find the door and walk through – then hope you can find somewhere to stand!. It has a baroque French feel with lots of antique furniture and paintings. The cocktails here are to die for, this is the famous strawberry daiquiri with chocolate powder all around the glass! It’s VERY messy but worth it.

I had WAY too many of these…

The boys enjoyed them too

The coffee martini’s are also awesome!

We then proceeded to bar hop around Soho and Lan Kwai Fong and many more drinks were consumed.  We eventually called it a night, thank goodness. I am still recovering! Those daiquiris are dangerous! But it was an awesome night.

FYI – Exercise consisted of lots of dancing to MGMT etc. at Play nightclub.

Cow Bombie

Cabernet Merlot 2008

What a classic piece of Margies wine marketing. Any local will have an insiders chuckle at the name, Cow Bombie being one of the biggest breaks off the Margaret River coast line. The wines are a bit more approachable than the juggernaughts rolling off the deep sea reef, smooth easy drinking reds and atypical clean balanced Margaret River whites. Great Lable! Unlike some of their competition the current release reds achieve their ‘drink now’ status without any greeness or rough tannins. A problem encountered far too often in the New World is  young wines being released prematurely and being marketed to drink as soon as they hit the shelves. Cow Bombie is one of the rare gems under $15 that is young but still has primary fruits and integrated tannins.

The Cab Merlot has the leafy eucalypt nose of margies cab with mixed forrest berries down the middle of the pallet. A slight cigar box  nose hinting at just a touch of oak.

The aroma is one aspect lacking in this wine, no pronounced primary fruit to speak of. However it must be kept in mind that this wine definately achieves its purpose of being a social wine.

Its designed to be drunk after release with friends and enjoyed in good company………. or maybe for dutch courage before paddling out into the watery monster its named after.

This wine will go well with tomato based sauces or a even bette,r a Napoletana pizza down at Sea Gardens (the local pizzeria overlooking the ocean, beautiful spot). Priced at $15.00 a bottle you can’t look past it for value. Found at most independents and also Dan Murphies. Appearence: 3/3 Aroma: 5/7 Palate: 7.5/10 Total: 15.5/20

10 dias de Ubuntu 10.10

A escasos dias de haber salido la beta de Karmic Koala, un usuario, Tanner Helland, ha hecho una serie de posts (10) donde presenta 10 caracteristicas que (a el) y muchos mas, les gustaria que se incluyeran en la version 10.10. Quizas sea algo temprano para ello, pero los puntos que expone son ciertos, aqui un mini resumen:

1.-Una mejor experiencia al agregar y remover programas:
Tanner habla de 4 puntos sobre este tema: Cambiar el nombre de la software store (ya hecho), un manejo aun mas sencillo de los paquetes, busqueda simple de aplicaciones (por ejemplo al buscar excel arroje resultados como OO.o Calc, Gnumeric o Kspread) y un listado standard que tenga reseñas, capturas de pantalla, tamaño del archivo y asdf.

2.- Un reproductor de musica que no apeste
Esto ya es desde hace varias versiones. Rhythmbox no es precisamente muy popular, y casi siempre es cambiado por otros como Exaile, Banshee, Amarok o Songbird. Es este ultimo, que es puesto como el posible candidato como reproductor por default para la version 10.10, aunque le faltan caracteristicas como ripear Cds, pero que el autor espera que ya esten, antes de la release.

3.- Mejorar la estetica
La primera impresion cuenta dicen, y esto es lo que se refiere, se necesita un cambio en la interfaz y no, no se refiere al fondo de pantalla, sino como efectos de escritorio configurados a tu hardware (KDE lo hace), y que los efectos ya configurados se han de utilidad. Y aqui toca un trollpunto muy importante:

Idiota, de eso se trata el codigo abierto-puedes configurarlo como quieras

Si es cierto que se puede cambiar, y poner a punto, pero por que no se provee un tema que se vea bien.

4.- Mejor integracion con Wine
Una propuesta que se considero en Karmic, ofrecer a los usuarios que vienen de otro sistema una experiencia mas fluida al utilizar Wine.

5.- Un editor de video solido
Aqui se aborda la situacion sobre los editores de video donde se cita, “Linux ofrece muchas posibilidades, pero no se sienten completas”, y se ven 5 editores de video que pueden llegar a desmentir ello (Yo me quedo con Kdenlive)

6.- Herramienta de respaldo sencilla e integrada
¿Y donde esta la Time Machine de Linux?, ademas de poder hacer backups en linea con servicios como UbuntuOne o Dropbox.

7.- Fraternidad
Si, parece que a muchos les gusta odiar a Ubuntu, porque, no se la razon. Aqui se mencionan 3 puntos: Mujeres en FOSS (por algunos comentarios ofensivos hechos por Mark Shuttleworth), Usuarios Debian (si hay unos cuantos que no toleran Ubuntu), y usuarios de otras distros <–I didnt start the flame war

8.-Mejor experiencia en video en linea
No podria estar mas de acuerdo. Quizas para cuando la version 10.10 llegue podramos tener un disfrute real del tag video por HTML5 sin necesidad de flash, que le ha causado dolor de cabeza a mas de uno.

9.- Marketing
Ermm…Creo que lo dice todo

10.- Detalles, detalles, detalles
Quien dice que 100 paper cuts no funciono, esas pequeñas molestias en la interfaz de usuario, algunas han sido corregidas. Aunque parezcan insignificante esos detalles son los que la gente aprecia a la hora de usar un SO.

Que opinan?

Articulo Original: 10 days of Ubuntu 10.10 features requests

{all drinks} booze vacations

If you are looking for a great way to spend your next vacation, have loads of time and money to spare, have a great travel buddy, and love adventure/drinks, why not take a tour of the best wineries, distilleries and breweries around.
I found some valuable top 10 suggestions here ranging from Jalisco Mexico for Tequila, to Loretto Kentucky for Bourbon and Martinique West Indies for rum! Way to go.

Malbec on My Mind

*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from Bin Ends Wine in order to participate in the Wines of Argentina Twitter Taste Live.

Now, I”ll be the first to admit that Malbec doesn’t usually float my boat.  I often find them to be overoaked, tannic beasts that just don’t seem balanced for me.  (And this coming from me, well known to appreciate BIG wines.)  We tried many Malbecs in the course of the Argentina Twitter Taste Lives and I found some that I really enjoyed! Including this one, the 2006 Trapiche Federico Villafane Malbec.  It had a real cork closure, clocked in at 14.5% alcohol by volume, and I see it available for about $40.

I would pay $40 for this.  I found it to be intensely concentrated with complex layers, well worth the price point in my opinion.  On the nose I got blueberry compote, berries in the hot sun right off the bush, pencil lead, spice, dusty tannins, cedar spice, cloves, and chocolate.  In the mouth I found blueberry, blackberry, black cherry, chocolate, spice, earth, smoke, and vanilla cream. Overall, the wine had a juicy quality but with plenty of structure to spare. Like dessert in a glass!

Life is just not Fair

A month or so after entering the Trade, and the largest annual event was coming to town, The London Wine Fair. Now for those of you that have never been…..it’s Massive!! Tables full of bottles for as far as you can see, with wine from all over the globe. Many from new winemakers, whom are desperate to find an importer into the UK market. For me, it was purely an exercise to experience new aromas and familiarise myself with all the different varieties. Obviously!!

I was accompanied to the event by a friend Ed Burnett, who was at the time an influential seller of Charles Taylor Wines. As a result I spent most of the morning hiding behind him like a little boy. However after visiting several of the Argentinian tables, dutch courage kicked in (I wasn’t really spitting for reasons I’ll explain in a later post).

I began to wonder off, like a bird fleeing the nest for the first time. Finally, I found an empty table and was engrossed in conversation for about fifteen minutes with a Portuguese winemaker. His wines were pretty good, and I was just so excited to be holding my own. The chat was flowing, and we were laughing at each others jokes whilst I complimenting his wines, he was complimenting me on my “shop assistant” role in my shop (it was written on my name badge). It was a kind of business flirting.

Ed suddenly appeared and before he had introduced himself, he had a half glass and the winemaker’s complete attention. And before I could say “Ed, back off! I saw him first!” The pair of them were swapping business cards. For a split second, I felt like the ugly friend. Then realisation hit, it’s all about who you are and who you know. I lacked on both!

Although I did manage to get one business card from a German winemaker, called Mr Kuntz….so I was happy.

On More WestSide Paso Wines

As stated in an earlier post, Paso Robles’ west side offers a bountiful list of tasting rooms to visit. When the Adelaide Inn offered us complimentary tour and tasting at Justin and knowing their reputation, I knew this was something we had to do. Since Justin was a 30-minute drive, we planned this day around this first stop. On the downside, some of the wineries we hoped to see we had to pass because of they were closed on this day.

Justin
Jim, our guide and taste leader, was outstanding. Given harvest and production was in progress, we tasted production-ready grapes and 4-day old juice, observed grape sorting, toured the wine cave, and received a clear explanation of the processes used to make Justin one of the finest wines anywhere. We bought here and will consider joining their wine club.

Halter Ranch
Jim (from Justin) recommended the stop. Halter Ranch sells 70% of its grapes, but makes fine wine from what it keeps. Growing 19 varietals allows them to produce both blends and single varietal wines. Very good, but we didn’t purchase.

Opolo
Since 3-4 sources recommended Opolo, it was a must stop – and it didn’t disappoint. I loved the tasting barn’s casual ambiance and their zinfandel had the taste I wanted. Buy!

My thoughts of zin grapes falling from the sky must be a dream.

Four Vines
We stopped at Four Vines because they are noted for their big zinfandels. Since they were out of the ones I wanted to try – plus we can get some Four Vines wine at home – we didn’t taste. Besides, they were in the midst of remodeling.

Peachy Canyon
As another noted zinfandel producer, I was looking for another zin that I couldn’t find at home – besides, we were running out of time. Tasting 5 zins and a petite syrah was such a pleasure, I called my friend Bill (at home) just to find out what he was doing at the time. Snow and Especial zins were outstanding! We bought here. By the way, their Incredible Red is a very-reasonably priced daily wine with a wide distribution.

Nut Groves & Oils
No, this is not a winery, but walnut, almond, and olive grooves are located throughout the region.

West Side Wineries to Visit Next Time

• Dover Canyon
• Minassian-Young
• JanKris
• PasoPort
• Jack Creek
• Booker
• Tablas Creek
• Thatcher

Other Posts about this Trip

• On a Paso Vacation
• On Paso Wines
• On Downtown Paso Wines
• On Paso East Side Wines
• On Rustling Paso WestSide Wines

Foggy Bridge - 2006 Bien Nacido Pinot Noir

So here it is after some anticipation, The 12 Days of Pinot Noir has arrived to welcome in October. Over the next 12 Days quite a few Pinots will be covered and recommended  here. But where to start? Back in July I was out at the Wine Blogger’s Conference and had the opportunity to taste a Chardonnay from an urban San Francisco Winery. That Chardonnay from Foggy Bridge made an impression and when I was rounding up wines to taste for possible inclusion in the 12 Days of Pinot Noir, I checked to see if they made a Pinot, and sure enough they do. So theirs will be the inaugural selection for this 12 Day Pinot Fest.

The 2006 Foggy Bridge Pinot Noir is made from fruit sourced at the well known Bien Nacido vineyard in Santa Maria Valley. This wine is 100% Santa Maria Valley fruit and all Pinot Noir. Oak aging was accomplished over 12 months in French (90%), and American (10%) oak. 426 cases of this selection were produced and the suggested retail price is $38.

Wild strawberries and bing cherry fill the nose of this wine along with touches of crème fraiche and vanilla bean. The palate which gently coats your taste buds is loaded with medium dark fruit; cherries dominate. These are joined by subtler mushroom and earth characteristics. Light chicory notes lead a lingering finish that also has cinnamon, chocolate and solid flourishes of sour cherry. Soft, supple tannins and good acidity round out this wine.

This Pinot Noir provides a ton of varietal character which is particularly important to note when there are a lot of examples out there that don’t. This wine is a classic case of a Pinot that will pair well with a wide array of food. Don’t hesitate to drink it on it’s own though as it’s delicious solo too.

If you want to read more about Foggy Bridge head over to my other site Drink Dry Creek where we recently wrote about their 2007 Zinfandel.

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