Wine Outlook

Friday was Rosenblum’s holiday staff party. This one had tons of food, almost as much as there was at the End of Harvest Lunch. This time there was smoked salmon and apple-doused ribs with a few side dishes and many desserts. And, of course, there was a table full of wine. Sparklers such as Roederer and a variety of still wines, including older Rosenblum choices, were available, but my eye immediately went to the array of Robert Biale selections. I couldn’t help but go for the Black Chicken.

Other than that, I was a distant bystander. As everyone ate and drank and laughed downstairs, we ate our food up behind the bar, looking down on the action in between pours. That’s why the tasting room has its own party, but I couldn’t help but watch wistfully as everyone traded white elephant gifts and someone ended up with the painting of a rose in bloom again, which Shauna later stole. (more…)

Rosenblum’s holiday staff party

Readers and drinkers, I bet you forgot about those peaches from the Farmer’s Market. Well, I didn’t. I did make them into a peach cobbler as promised, with a few substitutions for missing ingredients. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the fixins for the Paula Deen version, but it was still quite tasty. Funny, I adore cobbler now but when I was little, I didn’t really like sweets and would completely ignore the blackberry cobbler my mom would make for Uncle Marion. Oh, to go back and have a bowl with him now….

Anyway, this particular night I ventured out to have dessert with my first ever TBA. The fifth (actually, sixth) level of ripeness for German wines such as Riesling, Trockenbeerenauslese, is also the least common. Conditions have to be just so for the noble rot to set in and requirements relating to potential alcoholic strength are even stricter than they are for Sauternes. Therefore, these wines are not made every year and are often quite expensive. The 1999 Anselmann Ortega Trockenbeerenauslese was about $20 at Trader Joe’s over a year ago, if I recall correctly. Perhaps the price was lower as it’s not made from Riesling…Ortega is more often used in blending. This bottle was hard to pass up, with its many stickers boasting of gold and silver medals from various international competitions. Turned out to be a good choice for the pairing–lovely notes of honey, orange rind, and apple blossoms.

Trockenbeerenauslese, 1999 Anselmann Ortega Trockenbeerenauslese, peach cobbler pairing

Last Sunday I composed another three-course meal for three of my favorite wine lovers. While I adore cooking and the world of possibilities for pairings that this set-up allows, it does require a bit of fancy footwork and less opportunity for chattng and relaxing. Plus, timing has never been my strong point in the kitchen. That and lively conversation made for no official tasting notes.

However, I want to share my dinner with you because I can still give you my impressions of the pairings. And because I’m proud of it….

To begin, I got to work on my mini-quiches, having made the little cups the prior night. Half were filled with red onion and mozzerella, to be topped with smoked salmon. The other half had garlic-marinated green olives and goat cheese. Both were salty and therefore went very well with the sparkling wine I poured as I popped them in the oven: the 2000 J Brut from Russian River Valley. This is a bottle I bought on my recent trip to J, without even tasting it, as it was from the library. You can read the tasting notes in the link, but just know that we were all pleased with it. You can never go wrong with J bubbly.

The second course is one of my best go-to dishes: Pasta Puttanesca. I’ve mentioned it before here and Sara had lovely things to say about it on her blog. With it, we consumed the 2005 David Noyes Tocai Friulano with fruit from the North Coast. A variety grown mostly in northeast Italy, it’s known for minerality and floral notes. I had seen the winemaker the night before at a tasting, where I gladly accepted a bottle from him. Also known as Sauvignon Vert, the wine’s crispness and hints of spice were a nice match for the acidity and heat in the pasta. (more…)

2000 J Brut, 2005 David Noyes Tocai Friulano

You may have gathered I like to cook, even if it’s just myself after a long day of work. But it’s always more fun to have people over because it gives me an excuse to go all out. That’s what happened last week when two regular dinner companions (the teacher and my Irish friend) came over to my place. In trying to decide what to serve, it struck me that I could do a Thomas Fogarty pairing dinner. With two bottles left over from work and one from my collection…the plan was set.

Up first. The girls chatted while I warmed the dressing–balsamic vinaigrette–to be drizzled over spinach, red onions, walnuts, and Harley Farms goat cheese. We ate our salads with the 2006 Thomas Fogarty Skyline Chardonnay. It’s unoaked, and so the crispness and minerality stood up to the sharpness of the dressing and cut through the creaminess of the cheese. I usually have a Sauvignon Blanc with this particular salad, but I was quite happy with this Chardonnay pairing. The girls agreed.

Course 2: Wild mushroom risotto made with chantrelles, porcini, crimini, and shiitakes. This is my go-to for risotto, and I almost always have Pinot Noir with it. The chosen wine this time was the 2004 Rapley Trail Vineyard B Block Pinot Noir. (more…)

2006 Thomas Fogarty Skyline Chardonnay, 2004 Rapley Trail Vineyard B Block Pinot Noir

Most Sundays you can find me pouring wine in the tasting room up on the mountain, dressed in Fogarty attire. This past Sunday, however, I got to put on my new red & white dress and sit down at a tea party with a group of lovely ladies. The weather was just right outside The Villa, with a cool breeze moving through our hair and the flowers on the table. The butler (who also doubles as Fogarty’s cellar rat) promptly filled my glass with sparkling wine, as we passed around the goodies. There were heart-shaped scones with raspberry jam, crab dip filled phyllo cups, a tower of cupcakes and tarts, and my favorite: little cucumber sandwiches with salmon mousse (which went especially well with the bubbly). I brought some of the TF Pinot Gris (sold out now, sadly), which went quite nicely with the almond chicken salad sandwiches.

Later we exchanged wrapped tea cups, about which I know nothing, though some of the other ladies were ooooing and ahhhhhing over Paragons and a Shelley…. Alas, we didn’t even drink any tea.

Head over to Sara’s blog for some delightful pictures of the afternoon.

tea party

Fogarty Sleepover, part 2

Where did I leave off? Oh, yes. The others arrived: my Irish friend, the theater buff, and even my tv show friend and his partner (up from L.A.). While I finished
dinner, I had the others set the table, with two glasses for each setting. To know me is to know that’s normal. Different wine for the salad (Sterling Sauvignon Blanc) than with the spaghetti and meatballs (Bonny Doon Barbera D’Asti and leftover Thomas Fogarty Sangiovese).

We had a great time at dinner, where the talk and wine flowed freely. Ghosts were momentarily forgotten. Somewhere after dinner, we drank Doug’s bottle of 2005 Vixen Viognier, which drew the most crowd participation. We got everything from bananas and pineapple to Fruit Loops and Juicy Fruit. (more…)

2005 Vixen Viognier

I have to say, I don’t usually bake. As much as I love to cook, I hate to be confined by the restraints of measurements, choosing instead to throw in a little of this and add an extra bit of that. Sometimes items are left out altogether (say, ginger), and some are put in which might not have been called for (most often: garlic). You may have noticed this makes it hard to share recipes, because I don’t actually know how much I’m using in order to pass the info along.

The other night, however, I decided to make a Berry Patch Pie. (Cue music: Patty Griffin singing one of my favorites of hers–”Making Pies”). While I used a Pillsbury roll-out crust for the base, I made my own crust for the top with this recipe. Granted, I didn’t use as much butter as it called for, and a little more water, but I still think it turned out pretty tasty.

My friend, the teacher, came over and we watched Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette, which I’ve been itching to see. Though the movie gave me the intense desire to have some petite fours, I think the pie, with its gooey berry center and topped with vanilla ice cream was decadent enough for two girls avoiding the Valentine’s blues. We had one of my favorite sweet sparkling wines: the Toad Hollow Risque’. Very light and tasting of candy apples and pears, this one is always up for fun… and dessert. (more…)

Berry Patch Pie, Toad Hollow Risque’

Speaking of making folks jealous, I just added a new category, thanks to the drooling my seafood inspired. With my leftover sushi, I had another fabulous meal. The tuna I soaked in soy sauce and made a breading out of smashed multiseed w/ soy chips from Trader Joe’s, salt & pepper, and finished off with a quick sear. The salmon I marinated in honey and soy sauce and cooked briefly in a skillet. I had also gotten some sea scallops from 99 Ranch, which I seared and topped with a sauce of butter, shallots, and Chardonnay. I had my leftover dinner with leftover 2004 Thomas Fogarty Chardonnay (perfect with the scallops, esp. since it was in the sauce), but there was nothing left over as I hurried to get ready for a friend’s birthday/ lounge lizard party…

scallop pairing, leftovers