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!

Orange County Home Brew Competition

I started brewing beer with a friend about two years ago.  Last November, he decided to bail on the endeavor and I kept going.  Since then I've brewed several beers and, of course, I think all are great beers - because I brewed them myself.

And truly, all are 'drinkable', most are gone, and only a couple were what I would call very tasty.  The rest were not unpleasant efforts but not something I would actually buy in a market or restaurant.  (That said, I've paid a hefty sum for some bottles in the market that weren't that good, either so, there!)

Anyway, one of my recent brews was good enough - at least in my mind - that I entered it into the Orange County Fair Home Brew Competition.

No, I didn't win, but it was fun to make something that I wasn't embarrassed to share with people I didn't know.  Note to home brewers - most of your friends will be so impressed with the fact that you pour out a beer that you brewed yourself that they'll love it even when you don't.

Today, the OC Fair held a lunch for participants and judges in the competition and announced the winners, many who brought ample quantities of their award winning brews to share.  Talk about fun!

Now, I tasted some pretty good brews today.  I met some really cool people.  I tasted a yummy sandwich.  I had a great time. 

I'd like to say I remember the names of everyone I talked with... there was Ian Akerson who won first place for his Imperial IPA.  This was the category I entered mine into and there's no question that I have some work to do.  Ian was also gracious enough to give me a few pointers on my own brew.

I also tasted some fantastic European style beers brewed by Todd Yenche - winner of 4 first place awards.

I did get into line to taste the Best In Show Baltic Porter, brewed by Jonathan Gunther but he ran out about 3 people before I could get a sample... by the amazed eyes and smiles of those who did get samples, it was clear that this was a damn fine brew... sorry I missed it.

Back at our table - heck, I don't remember all the names... there was Rich... Ian... Brian... anyway, doesn't matter at this point... but what does matter is we had some really great conversation about our collectively favorite beverages and foods to go along with them.  It was a good time all around.

I'm going to enter again next year - an award would be cool - but the people are all there to have a good time and I was caught up in it joyfully!

To those of you who at the table who take the time to read this, thank you.  I had a great time meeting you; wish I remembered all of your names and hope to run into you again soon.

To see a list of the winners, click here:

http://www.ocfair.com/competitions/pdf/results/10_homemade_beer_results.pdf

Cheers!

Dinner in Santa Barbara...

Last night, my youngest daughter, Jamie and I drove to Santa Barbara with our Honda Odyssey filled with a mattress, computer desk, clothes, etc to move my oldest daughter, Michelle into her new apartment.  One of Michelle's roommates met us at the door and soon after Michelle arrived with another friend.  The van was unloaded very quickly and food became the top item on our to do list.  We invited Michelle's roommate; her other friend left for work.

We went to Ruth's Chris Steak House at the La Cumbre Plaza and have a fantastic evening.  For one, I was in the company of three very bright young ladies who, we learned later, had garnered quite a bit of attention from the males working at the restaurant.

We were greeted by manager Kris and our very attentive and friendly server, Nicole.  Upon request, Chris was gracious enough to waive the corkage fee for the 2006 Denner Ditch Digger that we brought along.  Hospitable folks indeed!

Rather than order separate dinners, we decided to get several items and share.  This way, we could sample a variety of flavors and not walk out completely stuffed - easy to do here because the portions are very generous and the food so tasty that it's hard to stop eating it!

We started with the shoestring potatoes... a nice crunchy beginning to go with the first pour of the Ditch Digger - a fabulous wine, by the way - one that is filled with spicy, peppery, and dark fruit on the nose... tastes amazingly smooth just out of the bottle, then wham! - boysenberries and heck... I don't know... the wine simply explodes and seethes with flavors so mouth watering, almost Gothic, flavors of dark chocolate, pepper, mocha, and boysenberry pie!

Oh, back to the food.

We shared the seared ahi tuna - so tender and flavorful in a nice bed of ginger sauce... so refreshing... and a side note: the wine didn't back down for a second.

All the while, Nicole mentioned that we were the fun table and the one that the male servers wished they had.  Imagine me, two of my daughters and one of their friends... and I was completely enchanted listening to the three of them converse - oh yeah, I chimed in now and then but they have such incredible imaginations and were smiling all around... this is what great meals are made of.... the food is the soundtrack to the conversation!

Three of us ordered salads, with Jamie declaring that she would just help with what we couldn't finish... smart move.  These are man-sized salads with plenty of garden fare along with some nice touches around the fringe with miniature onion rings, or even Cajun spiced pecans.  Yummy!

Then came a single - what looked like 20oz - rib eye steak and the mushroom caps.  I challenge anyone to pair something like this with a big bold and elegant red from Paso Robles, such as the Denner Ditch Digger, and not moan in ecstacy!  Unless you really need to, there's no reason to buy steaks for every person (NFL players and others who burn calories on a sub-atomic level excepted) - each bite goes a long way.  The taste is incredible... for lack of a more explosive term... culinary bliss-ness!

The grand finale?  Two desserts - Chocolate Explosion (not on the menu) - an indescribable chocolate cake oozing melted dark chocolate, decorated with caramel and vanilla ice cream.... heck, I hope I remembered it well enough... then the Cheesecake... one of the best I've ever tasted... so creamy... and with a raspberry drizzle... drizzle... drizzle... (okay, it's nine a.m. the following day and I'm ready to go back already... )

Alas, the wine was gone... the dessert half gone... the smiles still there, the conversation still there, and a wonderful sense of.... wow!  What a fantastic way to celebrate or even just hang with family and friends.  Yeah, it's about the food, but it's more about the people. 

After dropping Michelle and Arielle off at their new apartment, Jamie and I drove back to Los Angeles and got home at midnight... and that was it... lights out... sweet dreams...

And here I am writing about it.

Thank you Kris, Nicole, and Ruth's Chris for a fantastic evening. 

You rock!

Cheers :)

A really cool wine store in San Clemente, CA

On Monday, I left my daughters off in downtown San Clemente while I aimlessly strolled around looking for a place to just kick back.... this is when I happened upon the San Clemente Wine Company. 

The San Clemente Wine Company is a small store with a wonderful variety of wines and an assortment of cheeses.  In the back is a tasting bar and they offer several tasting options, each selected by one of the very hospitable and kind folks who work there.  The wines are organized by varietal and priced very reasonably; especially for a small botique wine store.

Even the tasting prices are fairly modest - right around the $10 range for a flight of 4 tastes - give or take depending on the wines in each flight.  Flights can also be 'customized' to your liking if you see something in particular that appeals to you.  That said, I encourage you to just 'go with it' and enjoy what they have to offer because, based on my experience on this mellow Monday, the people here are quite adept at coming up with flights that are sure to arouse your taste buds and appeal to your senses.

As for me, I had the good fortune of tasting the 2008 Charles Smith Velvet Devil Merlot, the 2008 High Note Malbec, the 2007 Layer Cake Primitivo, and the 2006 J. Rickards Alexander Valley Zinfandel.  Sure this is a bold set of wines for an afternoon tasting, but the flavors were wonderful and diverse.  Even the Layer Cake and J. Rickards presented a diversified cultivation of the Zinfandel grape that left me wanting more, more more!

The downtown San Clemente area is a great place to walk around, dine, and enjoy great wine thanks to the San Clemente Wine Company.  I will definitely make this one of my regular stops when I'm in the area.... heck, it's actually worth a special trip.  Hang out, strike up some great and friendly conversations with others who also love wine, and bask in the mellow and enticing flavors emanating from each glass. 

You can find them at http://www.scwinecompany.com/ or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?profile=1&id=113285644765.

Cheers!

Wild Horses.... couldn't drag me away....

The classic Rolling Stones song sings it's way through my memory as I sip the last glass of 2008 Wild Horse Pinot Noir for the evening.... Such a mellow but powerful tune... leaves an impression, doesn't it?  The same can be said for the 2008 Wild Horse Pinot.

The beauty of this wine, in my opinion, is that the Wild Horse Winery website has no information posted yet on this vintage... as of today.  Of course, the elegant and complex 2007 is mentioned as well as the 2006... guess it's a bit early in the game... like the first verse of the Stones tune.... you don't know how great it really is until you hear it over and over again... or, in this case, taste it again and again...

Wild Horses... couldn't drag me away... indeed!

I'm a fan of Wild Horse Winery and I have been for about 5 years now; especially after tasting their Unbridled Pinot.  At this point in time, however, I have to say that the last 2 vintages of the Central Coast Pinot are two of my favorites from this winery.  Very approachable... I mean, er, uh, drinkable wines.  Yes, drinkable.  Just pour 'em and drink 'em....

Childhood living is easy to do.... the things you wanted, I bought them for you... and on and on and on...

Tonight, I paired the 2008 with some bacon-wrapped sea scallops with strawberry chutney.... artichokes... romaine salad with Roma tomatoes, purple onion, orange bell peppers, and avocado... chicken skewers....

And the wine is all that I can crank it up to be... kind of cranking up the Stones... this wine is meant to be heard.  It's got all of those gentle pinot-like characteristics... the soft spice notes, the mineral-like texture, and a soft strawberry nose... but this little horse has finesse and structure as well!  Didn't break down for a moment throughout the meal.  Not for a minute.

The things you wanted, I bought them for you....

And I'm buying more.  Pure an simple.  The 2008 Wild Horse Central Coast Pinot is a fantastic bargain, and would be worth twice the price, actually.  It's not just good for the price, it's just good.

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!

The 20th Anniversary of my 29th Birthday.....

... is on the 4th of June but it begins at about 1:00 in the afternoon on Thursday June 3, 2010... with my daughter, Jamie, at Arnie Morton's Steakhouse on Figueroa in Los Angeles... bottle of 2007 Isosceles in hand....

First off, the hospitable folks who manage and work at Morton's Los Angeles are some of the friendliest people I've meet in any restaurant... bar none.  This is why it is also my favorite Morton's location.  There has not been a visit where our time and money spent has not been worth it and some.  With the added bonus of celebrating my birthday (now an annual tradition for me: LUNCH at Morton's), both my daughter and I felt like royalty.  I'm not exaggerating.  It was all about us.

The food was exceptional - Cajun Rib Eye, Crab Cakes, Grilled Asparagus.... oh, and the Morton's burger Jamie ordered - with fries.... it's like the All-American steak and potato meal - it just LOOKS like a burger!

As for the wine - each year on my birthday, I open a new vintage of Justin Isosceles.  This is truly one wine that, year after year, meets and often exceeds my expectations ever since my first taste of the 1997 vintage.  As for the 2007, this is silky smooth - can benefit from decanting up front - but it's probably the softest (not without a bunch of flavor) Isosceles that I've had since the 1999... I've got a 2nd bottle that rounds out a 6 year vertical going back to 2002.  Not sure when I'll start on the older ones, but I can hardly wait!

Friday began with a family trip to Northern California to visit some good friends in Merced.  Now don't laugh.  I like Merced.  Even living in Los Angeles hasn't jaded me to small town life.  It's just a mellow place and, when the sky is blue, the snow-capped Sierra mountains are clearly visible from our friends' back yard. 

From then until Sunday, it was food and drink.  Steaks.... shrimp... pizza... hot wings.... homemade IPA, and a bottle of 2006 Columbia Crest Reserve Merlot.  Unfortunately, there might have been a 'slight' bit of cork taint on this bottle but, after a bit of air, it softened up beautifully.

The road back home was filled with music from the Rolling Stones' Exile On Main Street, Tattoo You, and Undercover.  My all-time favorite band, finishing off a very delicious and fun 20th Anniversary of my 29th Birthday.

Family, friends, food, fun.... and good wine.  It doesn't get much better than this!

Cheers :)