The Violinist... with music!

Instead of a blog, I've got some music.... recorded by my daughters Serena (on vocals) and Jamie (on violin) while I provided the guitars and production, here's a very cool version of Sheryl Crow's "Strong Enough".  I hope I'm not getting into copyright trouble here (Sheryl?) but I think it's a great soundtrack to a great and delicious wine... the 2009 Mollydooker Violinist.




Cheers!

Becker on Beckmen

It's so easy to remember a name that is so similar to mine.  And when that name is also attached to a vineyard, it's easy to remember the wine, too.  And if the with is particularly good, then it's even easier to remember it.  So, I'm writing a few words about Beckmen Vineyards.

I visited the winery yesterday after leaving my daughters off in Goleta and Solvang, respectively.  I pretty much drove by Braille knowing I would eventually find it and my instincts were on target, perhaps from a map I looked at a while back? 

No matter.  I found the winery and it's in a beautiful location.  There's a few turns to make but the rolling hills, rose-lined roads, and fantastic landscaping next to the winery make the drive a very pleasant one.  It's a very mellow location, great place to kick back, taste some really good wine, and engage in great conversations. 

The tasting room is small but roomy with a nice balcony overlooking a wide and beautiful green valley.... well, it's May, so the valley is green.

Beckmen offers three tasting options.  I don't remember all of the wines in each tasting, but I chose the premium option which gave me a chance to taste the Marsanne, the Purisima Mountain Vineyard Grenache, and three of the premium Syrah's offered at Beckmen.

To simplify my opinion, all of the wines are very good.  The Marsanne surprised me with almost a smoke and melon flavor that finished delicately.  The Grenache, blended with a small amount of Syrah, is fantastically balanced and framed in the soft peppery tannins of the Syrah.  Each of the Syrah's I tasted were unique and stood up on their own.  It wasn't much of a progression as it was a triple display of three distinctly different styles of Syrah, all delicious, all age-worthy.

Beckmen vineyards is not located amidst other wineries and could be overlooked if one isn't specifically looking for it.  I found it based on a friend's recommendation coupled with a few bottles that I tasted a few years ago - at another friend's house.  It would have been fun to taste all of the wines.

The only recommendation I would have is, instead of having 3 different tasting groups, let the customer pay a single tasting fee then select 5 or 6 of the wines.  For example, it would be fun to maybe taste all of the Syrahs, or just focus on the Grenache wines - both of which are really delicious.

There's lots of Beckmen wines to go around and, unlike some wineries that make one or two really good wines amidst otherwise average offerings, I truly enjoyed all of the wines I tasted. 

I highly recommend a visit.

Cheers!

Santa Barbara Winery

I can be skeptical.  Wineries named after the town they are in immediately conjure up images of a tourist spot first, winery second.  However, after visiting Jaffurs winery in downtown Santa Barbara a few weeks back and tasting some really great wines, I decided that the advice I received from one of the customers to also visit the Santa Barbara Winery might not be bad advice at all.

So, yesterday, I set aside some time and stepped into the tasting room of the Santa Barbara Winery.  Like my experience at Jaffurs, it's almost surreal to walk into a winery that is located amidst a semi-industrial business area instead of at the end of a winding path in the country.  It's surreal because, once I was in the doorway, I could have been anywhere. 

Stacks of oak barrels provided a serious backdrop to the rectangular tasting area that allowed customers to gather on all for sides amidst walls decorated with current and past vintages, gifts, and several awards bestowed on the Santa Barbara Winery over the years.

To start with, I love a tasting fee of only $5 - AND I get to keep the glass!  Sign me up. 

Of course, that's not the focus here but it does speak of customer service and appreciation. 

But, at the Santa Barbara Winery, it's not about the glass.  It's about the wine. 

I started the tasting with the 2008 Sauvingon Blanc - a very tasting wine with some very nice tropical fruit nuances framed in soft acidity - I got hungry the moment I tasted it.

From there, I tasted two Chardonnays - the 2008 Santa Barbara Country, fermented in stainless steel, and the 2007 Santa Rita Hills, fermented in oak.  The SBC Chardonnay was crisp and fruit-forward with a very delicious toasty vanilla note on the finish.  The SRH had similar characteristics but was was immediately more suited to aging and was full-bodied from start to finish. 

Subsequently, I moved on to the Reds with a taste of the 2005 LaFond Pinot Noir.  I love this style of Pinot with the slight strawberry and spice on the nose with a lively mouth feel and soft tannins on the finish.  I would have loved a glass of this to enjoy on their modest but inviting patio. 

From there, things got fun.  I love those wines that just 'go with anything' and the next taste was right up my alley.  The 2008 California ZCS (Zinfandel, Carignane, and Sangiovese) is flat out delightful.  It's a Delicious wine that doesn't need food but would pretty much go with anything you can throw on a grill.  This is the wine you want to have just lying around for everyday drinking or to keep that dynamic conversation carrying on into the night.

Finally, I tasted the Primitivo.  As a tenacious fan of Zinfandel, I loved this wine.  It sailed through from start to finish with those fantastic spices and fruit that are truly food friendly but with a structure that will only evolve over the next few years.  Delicious!

This is where I stop.  My appreciation to the fine and friendly folks pouring the wine and engaging in very enthusiastic conversation about their wines and even pulling out a map to show me where the grapes came from.  It was fun.  And whether I was a tourist, a blogger, or just someone looking to taste some good wine, I can truly recommend a stop at the Santa Barbara Winery. 

Hang out. 

Chat.

Taste.

Enjoy.

Cheers!

No Right Foot

Three nights ago, I embarked on a mission. I wanted to see if I could 'break' the the 2008 Mollydooker Two Left Feet.  In other words, I wanted to see if I could cook up something bold and spicy just to find out if the Two Left Feet would hold up.

So, I cooked up some Mezzetta Napa Valley Bistro Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce in a crock pot and added 6 spicy Italian sausages from a local market. I cooked this for about 6 hours and served it on top of spaghetti noodles. To top it off, I added a romaine salad with purple onions, orange bell peppers, vine-ripe tomatoes, and Italian dressing.

The Two Left feet didn't even blink when it came to the spaghetti. Even with the slight red-pepper spices in the sausage, this very versatile and full-bodied wine survived very nicely... all the way to the end of a very long finish.  I've overwhelmed many Cabernet, Merlot, and Syrah/Shiraz in the same price range - usually unwittingly, but not this bad boy.  The wine is at 16% alcohol, which can sometimes be a bit much - sometimes masking flaws in an average but over-the-top wine.  However, I found that the heat of the Mollydooker was an asset in this meal as it took a bit of the edge off of the red peppery spices while leaving the dark fruit flavors and leathery tannins to sail on until the end.
For ‘fun’, I save the salad for the 2nd course. I will say that the salad was almost a bit much, especially following such an intense main dish, but again the Two Left Feet survived the abuse. I’m thinking that, next time, I’ll eat the salad first and pair it with a nice pale ale and THEN open the wine.... more on that later...

Anyway, I completed the evening a couple hours later having a small glass of the Two Left Feet…. We’ll call it dessert! It was ffabulous.  I didn't even need a chunk of dark chocolate to pair it with, although that would have been a perfect combination.

.... soooooooooooooooooooo.... that took care of half the bottle and half the adventure.

The next evening, I made a pizza.  I make my own crust using basic ingredients - flour, salt, sugar, olive oil, and just a touch of crushed basil leaves.  On any given night, I'd also use olive oil instead of Tomato sauce.  However, I was on a quest!  So, I used some of the leftover spaghetti sauce (now full of spice) on the pizza and topped it with mozzarella, pepperoni, sun-dried tomatoes, and a bit of medium cheddar.  The salad was the same as the previous evening, but this time I used a balsamic vinaigrette for dressing.
 
The wine was even better the second time around.  After being opened for 24 hours (spending much of that time in my little Vinotemp fridge), the Two Left Feet softened up very nicely and lost absolutely nothing in terms of nose, flavor, or finish. 
 
I ate the salad first.  I washed it down with a glass of the Two Left Feet and, once again, this wine didn't even blink.  If this vino from down under can handle this, I thought, then the pizza will be a breeze.

And it was.  In fact, it was phenomenal.  The complexity of the Two Left Feet - laced with dark berries, mocha, black licorice, and a hint of pepper was perfect for the pizza.... and after my 2nd (and last) slice of the evening, I finished the wine and smiled.

I smiled because I've had this wine with numerous foods... steak, blackened salmon, and now spaghetti and pizza.  And I loved it every time. 

Now, where is the chili cheeseburger?!!!

Cheers!

Oyster Bay

I tasted my first Oyster Bay wine last night.  Specifically, a friend brought a bottle of the 2008 Oyster Bay Marlborough Pinot Noir to our home and we paired it with grilled mahi mahi, steamed rice, and a romaine salad. 

I looked up Oyster Bay's website and read the following "Elegant, fragrant, and subtle wine"... I would say it's more than that.  For me the wine had me at hello.

This is a wine that is both gentle and filled with wonderful cherry and spice aromas, with just enough acidity to make it quite a bit more versatile that most Pinot Noir's I've had in this price range - under $20. 

It's a pet peeve of mine that it's really difficult to find truly satisfying Pinot Noir in this price range as so many are laced with Syrah or who knows what else to prop up an otherwise dismal wine.  In other words, they cheat.  This is particularly noticeable when that classic hint of white or black pepper finishes off the so-called "Pinot".

Conversely, I could not detect anything but Pinot in this Pinot!  It's almost velvety smooth with tannins that are quite nicely rounded and gentle - framing a complete wine-drinking experience.  I keep going back to the price and I'm pleasantly proud to recommend it, even if it were a bit more expensive.  I've tasted Pinot that hovers in above the $30 and $40 mark that does not have the structure and appealing array of flavor that I found in the Oyster Bay.

Notes from their website say that Michael Ivicevich is the Chief Winemaker. 

Micheal?  Are you listening?

Nice work.

But you already know that.

I'm buying more.

Cheers!

I'm quoted on Mollydooker.com

Imagine the smile on my face when I received an e-mail from Victoria Savage at Mollydooker wines asking if they could quote me on their website!  Of course, my response was that they could use anything they wanted from my blog.  Their wines are spectacular year after year, both elegant and very fun to drink as well as being some of the most food friendly wines I've ever had - pairing well with a variety of foods - even spicy bar-b-que stuff. 

I would definitely call myself a fan and encourage anybody reading this to become one too.  Just because a wine is full of big flavor, doesn't mean it's not also complex and subtle.  For me, that's the definition of a great wine. 

And Mollydooker makes great wines.

Click here to read the quote