6.22.2010

101 Cheeses Party @ Ten01

Arriving early at Ten01 to an already bustling cheese party, we were enthusiastically handed cheese maps and sent on our merry adventure. The path began at soft cheese, then through cow varieties, goat, sheep's, and finally blue! I have to admit skipping about 4 cow's milk cheeses, yet I still felt quite accomplished with tasting so many incredible and unique flavors. We chatted with sommelier Jeff Groh to discover his exuberance and excitement about the impressively affordable wine list he had created for the evening.
Through his presentation of so many carefully selected samples, Steve Jones proved to me that there is something magically unpretentious and delightfully complex about cheese.

6.20.2010

the Superlative Intoxicant no.7: A Complex Pinot for Home Cooked Lamb.

Matello Hommage a'A&D Pinot Noir 2008 vintage
visuals: deep beet juice. Definitely the fat girl of pinot noirs.
sniffings: burned rubber and vanilla raspberry extract
palate: light, rubbery, raspberry syrup and surprisingly acidic cranberries with a creamed blueberry finish; a highly recommended dinner wine if you're in the mood to splurge on a $25 bottle.

pair with: grilled lamb, roasted beets, and grape tomato / mushroom couscous.

for roasted beet salad: once the oven has reached 400°, toss quartered beets and shallots in olive oil, salt and pepper. loosely wrap in poil and roast for 35 minures, adding chopped asparagus 5-10 minutes before roasting is complete. serve topped with paresan reggiano.

the Superlative Intoxicant no.6: Punk Style Electric Red.

Kir-Yianni Akakies Rosé 2006 vintage
concoction: a personal new discovery - 100% Xinomavro. Being obsessed with rosé wines, this Grecian bottle lured me from afar. The only Greek AOC rosé, made from a grape I've never heard of, which is apparently delicious.
visuals: vivid fluorescent red.
sniffings: fresh, crisp lemons and strawberry juice atop the air of an ocean-side forest.
palate: an effortlessly lite and acidic, creamy finishishing, seeded, raspberry/strawberry lemonade.

6.07.2010

the Superlative Intoxicant no. 5: Buttered, Alcoholic, Black Cherry Frosting

Fuedo Santa Tresa Estate
Avulsi Nero d'Avola 2003 vintage
visuals: deep bluish red/purple.
sniffings: toasty warm cedar, just baked love bread with black currants... the scent I wish were my own.
palate: lovingly mirrors the nose with a dash of spice and a hint of tart black cherry with simply tannic walnuts.
ruling: yes!

6.04.2010

the Superlative Intoxicant no. 4: the Whiteness of Horse Heaven

Chateau SteMichelle
Horse Heaven Hills 2008
concoction: unadulterated sauvignon blanc.
visuals: the lightest white tea.
sniffings: crisp, ultra light lemon on a spring picnic in the newly cut grass.
palate: acid paired with beautifully crisp and effervescent minerality, which at room temperature tastes, of what else but green grapes with a hint of almond.
ruling: clean, steely, cartwheeling-on-your-picnic-in-overalls fun.

6.03.2010

the Superlative Intoxicant no. 3: Francis Ford's godfather of blends

Coppola Rosso
California red blend 2008 vintage
concoction: zin, syrah, cabernet
visuals: a transfixing garnet: the bright, deep illusiveness of a hypnotic snake dagger's jewels.
sniffings: toasty, just-out-of-the-oven blueberry muffin; you know: the box mix your mom used to make with the sugar crumbles on top. A sweet Belgian malted beer in the stratosphere of the nose.
palate: a buttery, non tannic blueberry from which each of the three grapes is simply distinct, magically replicating a fat (but not too fat) slice of chocolate cake with raspberry syrup.
pairings: take with Beecher's Flagship cheese (perhaps on a slice of Fuji apple) to cure your maple syrup on blueberry pancake comfort food craving.
ruling: for the price, I would drink this wine every night. A nice gift for your wine drinking friends. tasty. toasty. creamy. structured.