2010 Roadblock

Sounds like the name of a wine, but it's not.  It's the result of my lack of interest in much of anything, or perhaps my interest in so many things that I became incapable of doing much more than just dabble in a bunch of stuff.  Over the year I brewed 13 new homemade beers, mostly IPA's.  I wrote 17 new songs, 12 of which are going on my new album.  (Yes, it's a new album - even for those of you who didn't know that I had ANY albums at all.)  I began school again - yes, again.  I guess I needed to get out of my head and open myself up to new ideas, even old ones that I'd not considered. 

And I tasted some really good wine.

And I got pretty cynical about wine in general.  At what point does it really matter?  I mean, we have our individual taste buds and some of us like one thing while some of us like the other.  Take note: taste buds don't know that you have a credit card.  They can't read tasting notes.  They can't distinguish between wine of the year awards and those that are never mentioned. 

But taste buds can tell the difference between the things you've decided that you like and don't like. 

Personally, I care as much about what I don't like as what I like.  The dichotomy of these polar opposites give me perspective and reference points.  So, when I opened a bottle of Penfolds bin 128 Shiraz that I paid $18 for and find out that I like it less than the $6 Pillar Box Red, I take note of both. 

That said, my favorite wine for 2010 - the one that resonated with me the most - is the 2008 Pali Riviera Pinot Noir.  I like the price and the 'big-ness' of this otherwise delicate pinot stunned me.  It's flat out delicious. 

So is the 2008 Columbia Crest Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet - tastes like chocolate.  I love chocolate.

The 2006 and 2007 Zaca Mesa Santa Ynez Syrah's are both magnificent.  As is the 2008 Marquis Philips Shiraz and the 2009 Mollydooker Boxer and Two Left Feet. 

The 2009 Santa Barbara County Syrah from Jaffurs in, um, Santa Barbara is a wonderful treat.   My daughter, Michelle, and I joined them early September to help with bottling.  The kind folks at Jaffurs served up a tasty Mexican lunch with many different wines before we jumped to the mobile bottling assembly line.  A very fun day!

I drank some Sea Smoke, some Williams Selyem, Mondavi, Justin, Yellow Tail, Layer Cake... found something enjoyable in all of them.

Love what Rosenblum has been doing over the last couple of years, especially in the Zinfandel area - they know what they're doing, in my opinion.

And this is all my opinion.  That's it.  Tonight I'm going to cook a steak and open a bottle of something; I don't know what yet.  I'll let the moment decide.  Meanwhile, have a great Christmas season and I'll catch you next year.

Thanks for reading.

Cheers!

Some random photos....

I'm a man of few words this morning... excited about this weekend as my oldest daughter, Michelle, graduates from UC Santa Barbara.....

The pictures here include the 2009 Mollydooker Violinist, the 2007 Sea Smoke Southing, the 2006 Zaca Mesa Syrah, and the 2007 Wild Horse Pinot....

cheers!

Sea Smoke on the Water

I remember hearing the Deep Purple classic back in 1973 or so in junior high school. We had a dance and the opening chords of this song infiltrated my brain and I was an instant fan. My next album was Machine Head. It rocked. I decided to buy more Deep Purple albums after that.

They were good.

But they weren't Machine Head.

I was unable to recreate the same feelings and reaction that I had when I first heard Smoke on the Water.

I had a similar experience with Sea Smoke Southing. The 2005 and 2006 were incredible. I couldn't get enough. These wines had the depth and structure of cabernet. Intense. Full bodied. I figured that I would just keep buying Sea Smoke wines forever and ever.

I bought the 2007 last year.

It's not as good.

We opened it last Saturday night and it's not great.

I expect greatness for $50 per bottle. Plus Tax. Plus Shipping.  I have a right to.

It's not great.

It's good... but has almost no depth. It's not unpleasant tasting but it's wimpy. Like if Deep Purple started covering Barry Manilow songs.

We drank it anyway. Because it cost $50. Plus Tax. Plus Shipping.

But it wasn't worth it.

After, I plucked a 3-day old bottle of 2007 Columbia Crest Grand Estates Cabernet.

It walked all over the Sea Smoke.

The fog cleared. The $7.99 bottle was better than the $50 bottle. And I didn't have to pay shipping.

I'm not disappointed, though. It's like music. Just because an album is great doesn't mean the next one will be. Except it's not like music.

Once you drink the wine, it's gone. You can't go back and drink it again.

But I can go back and listen to Machine Head over and over again. And enjoy it with several bottles of $7.99 wine.

And I won't miss the Sea Smoke at all.

But I'll have Smoke on the Water.

And, at least this year, that is even better.

Cheers!

2007 Sea Smoke Southing

Yesterday, my wife and I celebrated our 21st Anniversary at Arnie Morton's Steakhouse in Los Angeles.... for lunch!

We love this particular location - not only because the food is as good as any we've tasted, but because the folks there are some of the friendliest people we've met at any restaurant - bar none. From management all the way through the ranks, we are greeted with smiles, treated warmly, and provided with an experience - every time - that gives use one more great memory of Morton's.

Yesterday, we brought our own wine... a brand new bottle of 2007 Sea Smoke Southing Pinot Noir. As soon as I dropped my nose into the glass, I could tell this was a winner. The semi-sweet raspberries and cranberry aromas were soft and... well... were kind of like foreplay. The wine tasted.... incredible. This is a very BOLD.... BOLD Pinot. It's got the kind of structure one would expect from a Cabernet or Syrah (Please don't tell me that Syrah is added to this wine)... and the finish has incredible acidity and minerality...

Enter our food - I had the Morton's Cheeseburger.... with grilled onions, mushrooms, horseradish cheddar, and fries.... my wife had the Rib eye and mashed potatoes....

And the 2007 Sea Smoke Southing Pinot Noir handled the whole thing!!!!! The wine didn't weaken or faint once... in other words, if the food was the stage, this wine pole-danced all around it... naked and alluring, sultry, full of style and substance....

Okay... when is the last time you heard of a wine being compared to a stripper?

Take the cork out of this one and drink up... but save 1 or 2 for aging... this wine will last 3-5 years easily.... on my scale... it's a bold 95 points.... but, then again, with wine this freaking good, who's counting?

Cheers!

Central Coast Musical Road Trip

Okay, I can't visit the Central Coast of California without thinking about wine. Everywhere I go, drive, walk, stay, there are reminders of the rich winemaking that exists all up and down highways 101 and 1 - extending from Santa Barbara up to Paso Robles and everywher in between. Hotel lobbies are full of brochures on wine trails and vineyards that one can visit. There are simply too many to catch in one day... or one week.... I estimate it would take 2-3 years for a serious wine lover to vist all of the wineries in this area.... over 500 of them.

Thing is, we weren't there for the wine... we were there for the music. My daughter, Jamie and I perform as The Beckers - a Rockin' Family Friendly Father Daughter Musical Duo. We performed at Bernadette's on July 4, Last Stage West on July 5, and returned to Los Angeles for a show that happened to be cancelled at the last minute. This didn't matter... we had a great trip, met some really cool people, and tasted some good food! Also, thanks to Hotwire and Priceline, we were able to get some semi-premium lodging at rock-bottom prices.

Along the way, however, I did manage to have some wine. We stopped in the Olive Garden in Santa Maria on Sunday night and I had a glass of the Columbia Crest Grand Estates Merlot... 2006, I think - anyway, this is a great wine. After two days of bbq food, burgers, ribs, etc, I settled on their breadsticks and salad bowl. My daughter (who is only 14) had the Poratabella Mushroom Ravioli.... she shared a bite with me and I washed it down with the merlot.... very nice!

This stop was after a 3 hour show at the Last Stage West in Atascadero... if you're ever in the area, stop by, have some incredible slow-cooked baby back ribs and say hello to Tom. The folks there are more hospitable than many that I've seen at fancier places, and the food is simply fantastic! Tom also has a small wine selection from local vineyards in Paso Robles - diverse enough to please anyone who likes wine with bbq.

On Monday morning, we drove down Highway 1 through Lompoc and stopped at the warehouse at 333 Highway 246 to pick up my 2007 Sea Smoke purchase. I can hardly wait to open one of these bottles. It's one of my favorite wines a few years running and I've no reason to believe that the 2007 will dissapoint. Although I believe there's been some personnel changes at Sea Smoke, the location of their vineyards and the high expectations will make the production of top notch Pinot a mere link in a very successful chain of great Pinot from Sea Smoke.

Well, I realize this is a bit incoherrent, but I don't really care. It was a great weekend.... some wine, lots of music, and good times with Jamie and my wife, Eva. Heck, even Michelle and Kristna joined us from UCSB on Saturday at Bernadette's.

Cheers!

A darn good dinner at home....

Last night we had an amazing home-cooked meal... with some fantastic wine. I'll make it short.

I grilled some salmon that was glazed in lemon olive oil and Cajun spices... right on the grill... grill marks and everything :)

With that we had a baby greens salad and some baked potato.

The wine? 2005 Sea Smoke Southing Pinot Noir.

Enough said.

Oregon Pinot... overrated?

The first time I visited Willamette Valley, I was stunned and blown away. I visited Ponzi, Archery Summit, Domaine Serene, Domaine Drouhin, White Rose.... I think there were a few others as well.

I couldn't believe the diversity in Pinot that I tasted that day... and, as usual when tasting a lot of wine in one day, the wines just keep getting better and better. It also helped that it was a beautiful May day and everything was so green... much greener than in most of Southern California, where I live.

I singed up for all kinds of wine clubs... I couldn't wait to tell everyone I knew that was into wine how this new discovery had opened my eyes. Within the next 4-6 weeks, a UPS truck was at our house at least 2 times a week delivering more of this wonderful wine. At that point, I looked at my AMEX bill and decided it was time to quit the wine clubs.

But now I had a lot of Pinot! Pinot! Pinot!

It's all gone now... along with a bunch of other Pinot that I've had over the last 2 years while comparing wineries, vintages, and regions... you can add Sea Smoke, Williams Selyem, Sanford, Castle Rock, Carmel Road, Domaine Alfred, Flowers.... a whole bunch of Pinot People to the list...

And, my favorite so far?

The 2003 Fort Ross Sonoma Coast Symposium... about $30. I like it better than all of the above. Too bad I only bought one bottle.

Cheers!

More on wine shopping....

In a recent post, I listed several wine stores that I frequently shop at. Most were large warehouses that typically have large inventories or buy such large quantities of wine that they are able to discount prices significantly... this is great, especially when I'm looking to buy a few cases of the stuff.

However, I don't want to discount (pun intended) the local small wine stores. There's something very cool and personal with the little neighborhood wine store. For one, they are usually a bit nicer and friendly than the folks moving large amounts of merchandise. Second, they tend to make honest attempts at stocking wines that can't easily be found elsewhere... they are especially good places to avoid all of the big name popular brands that are typically found in every major supermarket. (Side note - ever notice how Ralph's, Von's, Safeway, Albertson's, etc all have the same wines?)

One of my favorite local stores is Vinatero in Whittier, CA. Lisa and Ernie are two of the kindest and hospitable folks you're likely to meet. They also have a passion for wine and even a greater passion for helping their customers enjoy their wine experience to its' fullest. They have a very nice inventory - diverse both in varietals and in price. For instance, you can find wines from Kosta Browne, Justin, and Sea Smoke as well as wines from Mollydooker, R Wines, and Poppy. It's a fun place for good conversation, a nice tasting menu, and good tunes piped into the store.

Perhaps you have a store near you like Vinatero... I'd like to hear about it. Cheers!