La Couleur de l'Amour

If love has a color, it's crème de cassis. If love has a smell, it's that of champagne. And if love has a flavor, it's kir royale... Ah, the Kir Royale...

Big surprise, the stunning cocktail was originally crafted in France (see also: French, the language of love.) It's simple & elegant; champagne + crème de cassis---basically the recipe for a love potion. If you just can't bare to tarnish that beautiful champagne that's been chilling in your fridge, use instead any nice little bubbly and you have love potion no.2, the Kir Pétillant. Hold on to your butts my friends, this' gonna be a passionate summer. Use with caution. ♥

Into the Realm of the Gentleman Nerd

Designer Martin Jakobsen is making some pretty silly glassware that really turns my geek on. A sideways glass! How adorable. WANT. Sure they look cute on the table---almost like little Japanese teapots---but as far as party-functionality? Definitely not mingling-grade. Not to mention we'll have to completely relearn the swirl-n' sniff.

So I may be a little crazy about designer glassware, but hey, it's functional ART! Check out what else is up in futro-luxe:

FLOAT by Molo | Piant-Forte-Mezzoforte by Chiara Onida | Carafes by Etienne Meneau

a-lotta-Garnacha

Ah, summer 'neath the grape vines. Tonight we're rocking' Grenache, whether it be new world, old world, flamingo pink or garnet red. While we set out to ruminate on wine, our minds were rightfully distracted by nibbles---kick-ass cheeses, spicy cured meats, gorgeous leg of lamb with chimichuri... Over brilliant bottles from Chateauneuf du Pape, Priorat, California's central coast*, and Oregon's Rogue Valley, we chatted about everything from forthcoming travels to local eateries and approaching summer happenings. 

Can't get my mind off vacation! Some of us, myself included, are saving pennies for a rosé sipping, brie-filled tryst in Provence, but when Heather announced she's booked a trip to Malta, I'm thinking what, exactly, do the Maltese drink? Apparently there are just 5 wineries on the tiny Mediterranean island, dedicated mostly to one red and one white local grape---Gellewza & Ghirgentina. Okay, I'll admit I've never even heard of these varieties, but man, dry some Gellewza in the hot Maltese sun for a sweet,  Amarone-style elixir and I'm sure we're talking molto delizioso!

. . .

*The Clos de Gilroy by Bonny Doon Vineyard is an homage to not only my place of birth, but to my most beloved writer, Marcel Proust. The label reads cleverly: "For a long time I went to bed aïoli, cloved in nothing but the barest essential oils. The wine... pays homage to the quaint, rustic town of Gilroy, the spiritual locus of all matters alliaceous."

Blinding Braun

It's wine-o'clock in the Rabbit Hole once again, and we've started brand-spankin-new notebooks devoted to blind tasting. I thought an Italian Pinot Grigio would be just the thing to challenge Braun for our books. Enter Erste + Neue with a classy (and classic!) Alto Adige:

Alto Adige is the northernmost wine region of Italia, and is also known as Südtirol (South Tyrol) by the neighboring Austrians. Other than the fact that they make other-worldly white wines and are super German, all you really need to know is:

Like a friggin fairytale barfed on the map... is it time to retire yet?!

Anyway, back to the blind tasting test. After pouring the wine and hiding the bottle, there was much deliberation over notes of white peach, minerals and pears, vanilla cake, white chocolate & flower blossoms, Braun was confident in his assessment that this, in fact was a Pinot Grigio from Alto Adige. Another blind tasting win!   

Summer Blush

The warmth of July has put peachy-perfect color on our cheeks, and rosy pinks in our glass. What better way to spend a gorgeous Monday than with great friends, good food, and rosé, rosé, rosé!

Favorite pinks of the night were our Bandol & Provence wines (big surprise...) from France's southern coast. Ah, the french stuff. In their stunning Mediterranean climate they make delicate little rosés from mostly Mourvèdre, Grenache, and Cinsault, and they pair excellently with nearly everything---from charcuterie to barbecued steak! But especially...

Panzanella! It's a breezy summer tradition for the Italians, based on tomatoes, olives, and toasted bread. You know, the good stuff. Sublime summer eats.

To Life!

Havin' a Time with Sushi & Wine

Battle: Lamb

Out with the old, in with the new? Life's just not that easy! We popped the cork on an 11 year old Aussie (that's an old new world) and a much younger Italian (a new old world*) and put them to a food challenge. We had these bad boys duke it out over juicy lamb chops, indian-spiced cauliflower mash, and some brilliantly zingy red-wine braised peppers. [Thanks, Devon! You're welcome, mouth.]

Our "down under" homeboy for the night was Torbreck's 2001 The Steading, a rather sexy-sophisticated GSM (Grenache, Mataró---another name for our beloved Mourvèdre---and Shiraz) which hails from the scorching Barossa Valley of South Australia. Boom! Subtle earthy complexities and lush tannins balanced impeccably with every inch of my plate. Felsina's 2009 Chianti Classico was next up to bat. At first, his manly-yet-romantic self needed a lot of breathing room (in fact, ended up tasting best day 2), but when he finally opened up we totally hit it off. While he held his head high in the lamb battle, he just couldn't beat the experience and finesse of our aged Aussie. All in all, wine + food were a match made in heaven, and both our wines brought their herbaceous, gritty, down-to-earth A-game to do the lamb justice.

Do we have time for a glamour shot?!

*Quick Terms: "Old World"---wines of France, Spain, & Italy. "New World"---everything else.