Monday, April 20, 2009

Wine Bottle Obituary - Bottoms Up!

Riff - Raff 2006 Columbia Valley Red Wine
Purchased at Seattle Wine Co.

A very intelligent person recently said to me 'a good bottle of wine should cost $15', actually that person was brilliant!

Riff - Raff (riff' raff') defined
noun
1. those people regarded as worthless, disreputable, etc.
2. worthless stuff

AU CONTRIARE!! This wine is nothing of the sorts and for $15 bucks it has a lot to say!

To start, a marginal Warning: One way or another the alcohol content will have you smiling, either realizing it's there or upon feeling its effects. Ethanol aside, you may very well find malted chocolate, red and black fruits as well as Ron Burgundy's 'rich mahogany' (actually cedar-but it sounded good). A sip or two and discover texture-to-the-third-power! Riff-Raff's center has sweet tones of rich port-like flavors, more chocolate, fine tannins and bright food-friendly acid.

Although not flawless, this wine is still a little diamond in the ruff. I guarantee it crushes (haha) most of its WA state $15 dollar competition and it's worth a try. Remember this label, heck even go out and search for it!

Friday, April 17, 2009

It All Starts Somewhere

I remember something. Of which, there is much I have forgotten. A reckoning that stained a lovely-vividness upon my life and propelled me to this place I find myself today. In a short time I have learned that wine is a metaphorical hug and handshake, at times a kiss and at others it makes love. It is a pickup line, a gesture in peace, an element to mourn, TO CELEBRATE, to communicate. A language of articulation, utilizes imagination, implies travel..it's destination in the glass. Give it time and effort and you'll see it. Here's what I remember...

I was living in Orlando, Florida. My roommates were friends and culinary graduates of Johnson & Wales University, the same school I had attended for Hospitality Management. I found my way back into their lives to help open a catering business, THAT we did! Now if you know catering or don't let me tell you it's hard work and has little rewards. On this day, it was Chef Lo (27 yrs. old from Laos) and myself. We as usual, packed up his Denali and headed to the event. IT, was at a wine shop! At this point in my life I was dabbling with wine, had a concept of food pairings and was CERTAINLY blindsided by the events to follow.

We unloaded the van. The function, for a bank I think. We were serving small bites. There was ceviche, Oysters Rockefeller but surprisingly, no bruschetta (industry joke)! The white wines were RIESLING and the reds I've certainly forgotten. As the night wained on the food disappeared, as too did the guests. This left us to cleanup and what do you know, 'would you two like some wine?', the owner said. Me a Hospitality major and Lo an Asian easily effected by alcohol, obliged! Outside beat with Florida's blazing heat, inside with even the air conditioning, the Riesling was quick to become our friend. I think the whites were about $60 a bottle, so of course at the time, that made them better! We were offered corks for the remaining wine of our choosing, so we chose! No surprise, no red!

Packed and shipping off and in the car Lo suggested a late dinner at his parents house. It was 8pm or so. I was 'in', and so we went, and on our way I remembered. Asian food...riesling.....Asian Food...Riesling ...ASIAAN FOOOD...RIESLINGGGG!!!!! Now understand these were thoughts to myself, I had understood that the pairing existed but at the time it still seemed a myth. Well when we arrived at his house, dinner was over. Everyone was gone, but his mother. However, she took over, down we sat and watched and waited. I in anticipation.

Not one thing did I recognize but the wine and the rice. From a basket and with our hands we scooped the rice out and onto our plates. In a bowl came an awkward looking green soup as I recall. A taste. Received with a spice of massive intensity, power and heat, however balanced like never a spice I have had since. Following that, an internal grin that probably spilled out over in tasty amazement. A glance to my host and then at the words Spatlese! A sip then I took that I can STILL taste and feel today, but no words now, a pause...................and another sip. It was happening, like 'the second coming', I had ARRIVED, then a new dish. It was tongue. Beef tongue to be specific and my first. Spicy once again, more rice, more wine and a bite. It was euphoric and a high I can only try to explain, never will I do it justice. Lastly thin strips of sliced beef, fried and crusted in sesame seeds. Firm and jerky like, its authenticity never questioned. The final sips and so it goes.

The details and specifics now are fuzzy. Lapsed time has done the memories in, but that's what I remember. Like love, you'll never see it coming. You can't prepare for it. However when it arrives you'll know, and I did. I'm certain that Lo doesn't know about this life shaping moment in my life, heck he might not even recall the night at all. Like peering over 'the other side' I saw something, I remember it and I want more.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Buzz Worthy


Christopher Columbus Would Approve This Discovery

NACHO ordinary, every day chardonnay, look what I found! This wine is a conversation piece for the rest of your life! I would have to say just being in it's presence, heck even reading about it through this blog makes you 'cool-by-association', no doubt! I've never had one, HOWEVER - it sounds fascinating! Have a read...

Vin Jaune (or 'VJ' if you prefer) is a unique wine from the Jura, located in Eastern France. Vin Jaune gets its character from being matured in a barrel under a film of yeast called the voile (veil) . The wine is made from late harvest Savagnin grapes, as they mature in barrel they are exposed to light levels of desirable oxidation, imparting its unique aromas and flavors. Vin Jaune is required to stay in barrel for over 6 years before bottling, after this allotted time only 62% of the original wine remains due to evaporation. Historically the bottle size alludes to the amount of wine left over after the 6 years. The bulbous, wax-sealed bottle looks different than any other wine bottle. Cool points, YES!

Vin Jaune wine ages extremely well. It is generally recommended that it not be drunk until ten years after bottling, that is, about 16 to 17 years after the vintage. The wine will keep for a long time, and 50 to 100 years is not unheard of. The wine can be paired with savory food dishes and local Jura cuisine including chicken recipes where the wine is cooked with the chicken itself and as a sauce component. Another common pairing is the local Compte cheese that is produced in the French-Compte region.

Ahhhh, thanks for the imaginary calories and drool Vin Jaune, can't wait to drink you! Please people, let me know if you beat me to it, I want details!

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

The Secret Wine Weapon

WHAT I AM ABOUT TO TELL YOU, WILL CHANGE YOUR WINE BUYING AND ORDERING BEHAVIOR FOREVER, IN A GOOD WAY!

Hello boys and girls (21 and over), on your way into the the Seattle night, armed with all the intentions of having some VINO to get the evening underway! First off cheers to THAT, your already obvious intelligence and to all of our better looks soon to come!

I have for you some questions and I already know the answers, please follow along. Do you sometimes find ordering a bottle of wine at a restaurant intimidating? Do you spend more time in the wine isle at the grocery store just staring, only to pick a bottle based on the label? Do you do much the same at the wine shop? Are you worried about trying something new for fear of not enjoying it? Do you want to make all of this much easier, with less risk and add far more value? You're damn right, I do too and here is how you do it! Use cellartracker.com.

Cellartracker.com is a free media site that was originally built for personal wine cellar management. What it is now, is much more than that and its strength lies in the reviews of wine by its 80,000 members. This virtual online wine collection houses over 12 million bottles from personal cellars around the world, all awaiting the faith of consumption, a review in the form of tasting notes from their owners and a final score based on the 100 point system. Largely the way the American public purchases wine is through ratings from popular critics who have developed reputations based around their OPINIONS about wine. While these OPINIONS are justified by the critic’s experience level, it is unarguable that one persons taste often varies greatly to that of another’s--it is for this reason that we deal with a flawed system. The strength of cellartracker.com is that a single bottle of wine is often reviewed by many different consumers, all with different palates. You will often have more than 20 different postings about a single bottle as well as an average score for that wine.

There are several things to keep in mind when using cellartracker.com. Remember to read the tasting notes about the wine you're searching, it can often be the make or break. When looking at the scores, I find it best to disregard the extreme high and low ratings and focus on the majority. Understand that many of these users aren't wine professionals, but do take wine somewhat seriously, otherwise they wouldn't be using the website. Use cellartracker.com tasting notes to help in identifying a wine flavor profile (the things you taste). It's SOO fun to review and score a wine for yourself then go the site and compare your thoughts with the rest of the wine community.

Do yourself and your friends a favor, add cellartracker.com as an App to your iphone or save it as a bookmark. Use it as a reference, before you buy your next bottle of wine and the many, many more to come. Impress your lady, show off to your man and start making tactical wine buying decisions that will from here on out emphasize value. You should know that we have only scratched the surface of this website, it offers far more depth than we have covered, like using it as your paperless wine journal! I'll leave you with that, enjoy the BUZZ!