The Wine Hacker.com

Pizza Night at Via Romano in Camino, CA is FAB!

One of our favorite wineries here in El Dorado County is Via Romano, and for the first time ever, our busy schedules allowed us to attend their bi-monthly pizza night.     Jon and Leanne, the winemakers, purchased an Italian style pizza oven that cranks out unique and delightful creations about every ten minutes for the duration of the event.   What a great time we had!  The pizzas ranged from a traditional pepperoni and red sauce with cheese to a delightful pesto, tomato and arugula creation.  They even had wonderful, piping hot calzones oozing with cheese and veggies.  Nothing is better than this, fresh from the oven and enjoyed on the winery patio under the stars.  

If you want to attend these events, I suggest booking early as they sell out fast.  Live music is featured every pizza night, we got to listen to Wanderlodge from Oregon, which was a folksy, southern rocky kinda small town band with a style all their own.   And you have to be quick as the pizzas get put on the table in front of the oven where hungry guests dive bomb them.  The veggie pizzas don't go quite as quickly as the meat ones do, but are every bit as delicious. 

We enjoyed the new 2015 Sangiovese with our dinner and it was just lovely, with big jammy flavors and the rich complexity that Italian wines bring to the table in spades.  It perfectly complimented our delicious pizzas, and the night was just fabulous.  

The only down side was that I did a great VLOG of this event that I lost as I was just learning my video blogging platform.....which was upsetting.   Next time...

 

 

 

 

The DiVittorio 2013 Barbera - A Bargain at $20!

One of the reasons I moved up to El Dorado County was the cornucopia of incredible wineries with reasonable prices for reds that melt in your mouth.  This special Italian varietal from DiVittorio is no exception; we enjoyed it with a steak several months back and we still remember how special it was!

The DiVittorio winery was founded by Dr. Al DiVittorio and his wife Sally (an RN) - both of Marshall Medical Center here in Placerville.   Dr. DiVittorio is a well known surgeon who probably saved my neighbor's life a year ago, but that is another story.  The winery is unique and features wonderful reds and ports - and hails from a family recipe the DiVittorio's brought with them when they immigrated to America from Italy in 1904.  This winery is a friendly, sunny spot in Camino, CA where all are welcome and tasting is free.  Cheese and crackers are available to complement your experience, and a small jewelry case with finds made by local craftsmen graces the front entrance. 

A Silver medal winner in the 2016 El Dorado County Fair,  this wine is big, rich and bold, like a Barbera should be.  It is also smooth at the same time, and doesn't have the brash after taste found in many lesser Barberas.  The color is deep and rich, and it has a very pleasing earth and leather nose with a hint of fresh flowers.  I enjoyed the velvety texture of this wine as well as it's mineral content and rich, chewy tannins (which tell me that it would have aged well, too bad, I drank it).   Like most of DiVittorio's reds, this wine is a bit on the sweet side.  This is because DiVittorio is also known for some of the most incredible ports you will ever drink, and the reds here also take on some of the port character.   I would definitely recommend stopping by DiVittorio if you are ever in the Placerville/Camino area.  It is well worth the visit - and they also have a special running where you can get a case of their 2005 (that's right, 2005) Cabernet and Syrah for $110.  That is cheaper than grocery store swill folks. 

Food Pairing Suggestion:  We enjoyed this wine with a nice steak, but it would also pair well with any grilled meats or Italian dinners.  I would love to try it with Spaghetti and Meatballs myself.   Although I shouldn't be eating Spaghetti and Meatballs (but yet again, that is another story). 

Music Pairing:  My husband and I have an Alexa (Amazon Echo) in our dining room and we love to play our unlimited music while eating great food and drinking great wine.  We listened to (what else?), Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack while enjoying our Barbera and steak.  It was simply a magical combination, and could only get better if we were actually in Italy. 

Activity Pairing:  This is a sit down dinner wine in elegant surroundings, preferably with Italian decor.  I would pay corkage and bring it to an upscale Italian restaurant.  It would be a "date" wine that would wow, and set the stage for better activities to come if you get my drift.   

Be sure and get this great wine before it is all gone!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Easter Dinner and the Crystal Basin 2009 Renegade Red

Easter is a bright and lovely holiday - and deserved a bright yet soft and lovely wine to share with friends.   After not writing ANY blogs for many months, I am returning to my beloved wine blog - and the 2009 Crystal Basin Renegade Red is a wine deserving of being my first blog post for the resurrection of The Wine Hacker.  

It's no secret that I love a good red blend - the Renegade Red is crafted of 18% each 2009 Malbec, Merlot, Petit Verdot, and Sangiovese, with the majority being the 2009 Zinfandel.  This wine is soft with delicious strawberry and plummy flavors, but packs a Malbec and Zinfandel punch - with toasty oak coming from barrel aging in French and American oak for 18 months.  When tasting, I tasted a cedar finish with a soft vanilla overtone complimenting the beautiful raspberry/strawberry zinfandel front palate flavors. 

Crystal Basin calls this it's "Tuesday night, non-pretentious, Pizza-and-Pasta wine", but I found it lovely enough to take to a gathering of my friends for Easter, all of whom found it perfect for the occasion.   It stood up nicely to the Easter ham as well as the cheesy broccoli casserole and green beans without losing brightness or character.  It also has great clarity and a wonderful claret red color, making it more elegant that just a "pasta" wine. 

Blends tend to get a bad rap as some lesser labels have used them to use up "leftovers", creating blends that widely vary in quality and taste.  Crystal Basin is a small, El Dorado county wine producer with a solid reputation for quality.  The Renegade Red is not a vat of leftovers - it is a masterfully blended and well crafted cornucopia of El Dorado wine essence, with only the best grapes included.  I found this a "friends and family" wine, and it tasted magnificent!  

As my friends and family know, about three weeks ago I had a very significant life event - a heart attack.  Red wine in moderation is GREAT for your cardiac health, but moderation means no more than two full glasses for a woman with one being preferred.  If you sip a great wine, it is not difficult to drink in moderation.  Its the bad wines you want to drink quickly so you get them over with!!!  This one I enjoyed with generous sips of water in between. 

Also thanks to my significant life event, I made a firm decision to spend more time doing what I love - which is writing!

Food Pairings:   Like most wines that are predominantly Zinfandel, this wine IS a great pasta and pizza wine - yet it also complimented ham quite nicely.  It has more softness than most Zins and a beautiful oak taste as well - I think it would go well with BBQ'ed ribs, lasagna (yeah, that is pasta too), pork tenderloin, or a rack of lamb.   

Music Pairings:  This is a warm and friendly wine - the kind of wine that inspires friends to gather around the piano and play 60's music while singing (maybe even a bit off key).  I see it as a Beatles White Album kind of wine, or even a BB King and Diane Schuur album mash up kind of wine.  Its soft yet warm and complex flavors echo the blues scale - as well as 60's rock and roll.  I hear great bass too, when I sip. 

Activity Pairings: A great family and friends holiday gathering wine, this would also be a good jam session wine or rock and roll concert replay wine. 

 

 

 

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A Heavenly "Naked" Blend - the Jac Cole 2014 Mosaico, Napa Valley

LOVE LOVE LOVE this wine!  

Recently, I joined the 75K member strong band of Naked Angels - a club that sponsors new and upcoming winemakers called NakedWines.com. It's been an incredible journey of discovering new and unknown wines and wine makers through Naked - and you gotta love the name!  Naked Angels received discounted wines through the club, and get targeted selections by rating the wines they receive.  A Facebook-like interface lets you interact with other wine lovers as well as the wine makers in discussing the wines you are enjoying in real time. 

A random selection turned out to be a gem - the 2014 Jac Cole Mosaico.  Oddly enough, the Naked rating engine told me that I wouldn't like this one.   When I first opened it and smelled the fruity, intense nose, I knew the selection engine was off on this one.  

Rich chocolately flavors blend with forward mulberry and plum fruit in this light yet rich Bordeaux blend.  A hint of Malbec gives it a bit of a kick, and adds complexity to the middle note of the wine.  An earthy tone that is so characteristic of French wine is present in this Mosaico, which made it a great choice for a spicy dinner like Orange Spiced Chicken wings.

Others on the Naked site said that aeration improved the flavor even more, which makes sense as this is a young wine.  I plan to buy more and try this, along with another suggestion that this fabulous Mosaico was amazing alongside a yummy pork tenderloin. 

 

Music Pairing Suggestions:  This wine is fun yet regal and sophisticated, rich yet not too overpowering.  I suggest enjoying it alongside some Philip Glass, or vintage Moody Blues.   

Food Pairing Suggestions:  I enjoyed this wine with my Blue Apron shipment dinner of Spicy Orange Chicken Wings and Shitake -Sesame Rice.  The earthiness of the wine paired nicely with the rich Shitake mushroom taste, and the chocolately - licorice flavors helped to take some of the bite away from the chili sauce that graced my wings (Blue Apron tells you that you can add as much as you want - I dumped in the whole container).   Others from the Naked site recommended enjoying this wine with Mac and Cheese, or a grilled Pork Tenderloin.   

If you haven't tried Blue Apron - it is a service that ships you three recipes a week along with all the ingredients you need to make the recipe.  It is heaven for foodies - we haven't had a non enjoyable meal yet!

Activity Pairings:  This was a great wine to watch Star trek by!

 

Special Offer!!   The first person to comment on this blog (who isn't already a Naked Angel) gets a code worth $100 off on a case of Naked wines, which can include this special blend.    Be sure to send me your email address when commenting.   

 

Red Blends are HOT! Remembering the 2009 Paraduxx Z-Blend, Napa Valley

I just got my new issue of Food and Wine magazine; and learned that red blends are very trendy and popular right now.  This is great news, as I have always loved the unique nature of blends.  Today's market features a wide variety of blends, from your garden variety "casserole" wine to highly complex "filet mignon" wines.  One wine that I really loved from last year's tastings came to mind immediately as I was reading; the 2009 Parduxx from the makers of Duckhorn.

Paraduxx is THE only winery in Napa that is entirely devoted to blends, and what lovely blends they make!  This Z blend was released in February of 2012, and is 62% Zindfandel (which is where the Z comes from), 31% Cabernet, and 7% Merlot.  This unique combination has all the intensity of a fine Zinfandel, with the structured tannins of a Cabernet and a hint of softness from the Merlot.  A very bold and "in-your-face" wine, it has hints of fine spice such as clove, juniper and allspice in the middle notes, which is a nice follow up to the raspberry forenote.  It has a creamy feel to it, and is very strong without being harsh like some zinfandels can be.

This Z blend was aged 16 months in oak and has a distinct toasty oak flavor which adds to its grandeur.  Although the Paraduxx website is showing it as sold out, a careful shopper may be able to find some in wine shops or on the web.  I haven't yet tasted the 2011 which is available from Paraduxx, but given the high standards shown by this winery, I am sure it is equally divine. 

 

Food Pairings - The Z-blend would stand up very well to spicy foods, such as a nice Indian Vindaloo or a Panang Thai Curry.  I would also pair it with chocolate laced with hot peppers, or a beautiful steak salad

Music Pairings - This is a wine far too regal for rock and roll - I would pair it with the bold brass and percussion found in Schuman's 8th symphony while enjoying an exotic, spicy dinner. 

Activity Pairings:  Sophisticated yet rugged activities pair well with the Z-blend - I would drink it while watching tennis, soccer, or even polo!

 

 

A Great Bordeaux - In California?

In November, after our sky diving trip to commemorate our 3rd wedding anniversary, Bert and I decided to go wine tasting in Gilroy.  Gilroy is located south of San Jose and is mostly known as the home of the Garlic Festival held in July every year, but the entire corridor from Gilroy through Morgan Hill is making another great name for itself as a wine growing region.  

Right across the street from Garlic World (a touristy shop known for all kinds of garlic goodies) is the Rapazzini Winery.  I am sure this winery is tres busy during Garlic Festival season, but on this fine Sunday in November, we were the only visitors to its quaint tasting room.  We loved it, as we got lots of individual attention from the tasting room staff and the greeter - a very friendly little dog with lots of energy and love to give.   

The star of the tasting set was the 2007 Bordeax Select made from Santa Cruz Mountain grapes.  At $38/bottle it was a bargain given the level of quality, complexity, and downright drinkability it demonstrated.  If I did a blind taste test between this wine and a Grand Cru from Bordeaux, France, I highly doubt that all but the most sophisticated of tasters could tell the difference.  Immediately, I snatched a bottle and gave it to my trumpeter friend John Worley as a birthday present, knowing that a good Bordeaux is "nectar of the gods" to most Bay Area jazz musicians.  

My tasting notes?  This wine had all the earthiness of a great French Bordeaux with a hint of California Cab character.  The color was inky deep, with crystal-ball clarity.  The nose was identical to a French bordeaux , with earth and spice in the foreground.  I tasted structured tannins without any roughness, this wine was butter smooth.  Soft leather, rich plum tastes with a hint of both peaches and cloves blended beautifully to create a masterpiece of taste sensation.  I loved this wine! 

Food Pairing:  This lovely wine is definitely a special occasion treat, I would pair it with a rich French dinner like a Steak au Poivre, French Hanger Steak, or Pork Chops with Mustard Sauce, where the earthy flavor of this wine would bring out the subtle flavors in the rich mustard sauce.  

Music Pairings:  Rich and complex, I would drink this wine to the sounds of saxophone music - like the Bari Bari ensemble , Kristen Strom in Crossing Borders, or some good old fashioned John Coltrane.  If your tastes go more to classical, I suggest anything by Philip Glass.  

Activity Pairings: John served this wine at his birthday concert at the Art Boutiki in San Jose - with Bari Bari!  It went well with birthday festivities including a sparkler cake,  and the anime and comic book decor of the venue.   

 

The 2010 Sterling Sauvignon Blanc - A Nostalgic Look at Summer Through my Tasting Notes

My dear readers, I have TONS of tasting notes from the summer that I simply haven't had time to write up yet.  Now that we are nearing year end and the temperatures are dropping, I am revisiting the sunny summer days spent tasting and catching up on sharing all my notes.  This way we can all close our eyes and pretend we are again in sunny climes! 

A highlight of our summer was a visit to Napa, where we visited beautiful Sterling Vineyards.  I consider Sterling VIneyards a must for anyone coming to Northern California!  The pic above is the view from the gondola ride that takes visitors from the parking lot to the actual winery tour, which provides many photos ops as well as a view over the entire Napa Valley.  Once you arrive at the winery, you can take even more pics to wow friends and relatives from an expansive balcony extending out from the actual self-guided tour grounds.  

The self-guided tour allows you to move as quickly or slowly as you want, and your tasting is spread out into "stations" located at various points throughout the tour.  The very first tasting station was set amongst humongous oak barrels, and was the 2010 Sterling Sauvignon.   I must admit that I almost just tossed it in the barrel, as I usually am not very excited about Sauvignon Blancs.   They usually taste like water to me - I am known as a red drinker amongst my friends.   But this one was special! 

The nose was the first giveway that this one was worthy of sipping.  It smelled like fresh grass, ripe lemons, and light jasmine perfume.   After taking a sip, I was glad I didn't pour it out.  The lemon flavor persisted with a burst of fruit and white grape tastes,but it was also refreshingly flavorful and dryer than most Sauvignon Blancs.  I savored every bit of this light yet full wine until reaching my next station.  As I continued to sip, I tasted subtle hints of grapefruit, kiwi, and coriander along with the lemon and white grape.   

Food Pairings: I want to drink this with lemon sauteed tilipia with almonds, green beans, and watermelon while watching videos of beach vacations to chase the chill away!  I think it would go well with shrimp cocktail, fresh crab legs, and peach salsa with chips.  

Music Pairings:  Light and sophisticated, this is the ultimate "Chamber Music and Canape" wine.  I can also see drinking it poolside, with classic 80s rock blaring.  Or with fresh Peter Tosh music.   

Other Pairings: Rainy or frosty days when you wish summer were still here are great times to sip this wine and reminisce.  I would also sip this wine while planning next year's vacation,  sitting over an autumn backyard fire, or planting bulbs for next year's spring garden.   

Where to Buy: Snooth.com lists five stores that carry this crisp, fruity wine. 

Hot Tubbing and Twisted Oak 2009 "Cockamamie" Syrah - What a Great Combo!

As a member of the "Twisted Few" (Twisted Oak's Wine Club), I get their wonderful Calaveras County wines shipped to my door several times a year, and it is always a great day when I come home to a box of good red wine.  My shipment this week included the luscious 2009 "Cockamamie" Syrah, which I deemed worthly of a blog post, my time, and fluent words of praise.  

So what's with naming a great wine "Cockamamie"?  On the back of my bottle, in a blatant poke to our Aussie friends, the winemaker says, " We figure that if a nameless place in another part of the world (let's just say their bathtubs swirl the other way round) can have the cockamamie idea to call their Syrah "Shiraz", we can have the cockamamie idea to call our Syrah "Cockamamie". Right?"

Twisted Oak is 100% "TUDE" - and they have the big, bold reds to go with it! I love this winery and wine club for both the quality of their wines and the fun they attach to every bottle.  A visit to one of Twisted Oak's two tasting rooms in Calaveras County is really a treat - if you visit the main site in the forest, you get to walk through the "Rubber Chicken Forest" (does anyone remember Gary Larson's Farside Rubber Chicken cartoon?).  I must admit I have only visited the main tasting room in downtown Murphy's,CA, but a visit to this great landmark has made my bucket list.   The folks at Twisted give every new member of their wine club a rubber chicken as a gift to remember them by.  Mine is proudly displayed next to my wine rack.  

Hubby and I took unbreakable glasses of our "Cockamamie" to our hot tub last night, and enjoyed it under the stars while letting the stress of the week slip by.   A perfect compliment to the bubbly water, the "Cockamamie" Syrah was light yet rich and "plummy" - with flavors of elderberry, blackberry, red cherry, and a touch of cedar.   Hubby thought it might even have been too light for a Syrah, but I thought it was like a delicate yet bold, yet non filling dessert.   Just right.  

Also from the wine maker's site, "This Syrah is Big, Bold and Deep Purple in color. You’ll detect pronounced aromas of ripe olive and blackberry, along with perhaps a little Smoke on the Water. You’ll taste Lazy flavors of plums, blueberry and leather. This is a wine that might make you feel like a Highway Star, but it might be better to stay at home and enjoy it with your Woman From Tokyo."  

Hmm mm....I missed the olive, which is a good thing  because I hate olives! 

Food Pairings: This is a good Foccacia wine if I have ever seen one, and I was salivating imaging the big rosemary taste of Foccacia last night (sadly, none in sight).  Add some garlic hummus and it would be total heaven.  I can see this going with the little weiners in BBQ sauce that my Ex and I used to serve at Halloween parties, affectionately dubbed "Microweenies" too.    

Activity Pairings:  One awesome hot tubbing wine, I could also enjoy it while playing horseshoes, watching reruns of Family Guy, or sitting through one more showing of Mars Attacks (ack ack ack ack.....).  

Music Pairings: An irreverant wine calls for irreverant music.  I vote for AC/DC - light, fun, "out-there", and bold but not too complex.   How about "Big Balls"?  The winemaker has  other Classic Rock suggestions in their review too....  If you're more into jazz, I suggest Sun Ra. 

Where to Buy:  Twisted Oak's website is the only place I know for now to get this wine.  The good news is that it is reasonable. 

More from My Tasting at Duckhorn - The 2009 Three Palms Merlot

Each wine I tasted this summer at Duckhorn was so exquisite that it deserves its very own blog post!  Perhaps the most famous wine made by Duckhorn, the Three Palms Merlot most certainly deserves individual attention as it was simply awe-inspiring.  

Since 1978, Duckhorn has produced this legendary wine from the Three Palms Vineyard in the northeast corner of Napa Valley. The soil there is rich with minerals, and full of rocks that hold in the sun's heat during the night, keeping the grapes warm and protected from the cold of the night.  The rocky, well-drained soil allows the roots to grow deep into the earth to draw the minerals and water into the fruit.  

Duckhorn's Three Palms Merlot was one of the first top rated wines I have ever enjoyed, and is one of the reasons I became a fan of a good Merlot no matter what the current movie-induced trends were.   

The Three Palms Merlot was second only to the Duckhorn Discussion (the subject of an earlier post) in my opinion - and my tastebuds were dancing for joy for hours after leaving the vineyard. The nose was delicate and fruity, as well as distinctive - no other Merlot has anything even close to the fine fragrance of a Three Palms Merlot. The fore palate is full of refined black current, cola,  rhubarb, and fig flavors.   Very complex,rich and full-bodied, this Merlot has structured tannins and is nicely chewy without any "pucker factor".  I tasted a hint of spice, cedar, and fine oak as well.  I really loved the texture of this wine; rich and velvety, with a deep, rich garnet color that looks like a jewel in your glass.   

The composition is 82% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot.  Aged in 100% French oak for 18 months, I would bet that this wine will improve with more cellaring.   The vintner's notes tell us that if you don't plan to cellar (recommended by other experts until at least 2015), then the wine would benefit from decanting.  

Simply a classic, the Duckhorn Three Palms Merlot was worth the entire drive up to Napa for tasting.   One of the more famous Merlots on the planet, this 2009 vintage just got a nice writeup by Bloomberg's Business Week - after all, what is business without a nice wine to cap it off?

One more tidbit of information - the Wine Spectator gives the 2009 Three Palms Merlot a 92 on it's rating scale.  Anything above a 90 is really hard to get, and there are very few wines at 92 and above.  

Food Pairings: Complex but yet soft and velvety, the Three Palms Merlot would pair nicely with venison steaks or any rich game, a chateaubriand with a delicate wine sauce, or a rack of lamb.   

Music Pairings:  A classic in every way, I would pair this wine with anything by George Gershwin that doesn't remind me of a United Airlines commercial,  the Art Blakey " A Night at Birdland" album, or John Coltrane, "Round Midnight".  

Other Pairings:  This is the ultimate romantic evening wine, perfect for warm beachfront picnics or summer garden trysts.   Drink it while wearing a sultry black dress.  

Where to Buy: Duckhorn's web page is one place to purchase, but you can also find this at K and L Wines. 

The California Beach Boys and the 2011 Jason Stephens Estate Chardonnay

Every year in September, the growing town of Morgan Hill holds a wonderful food, music, crafts, and wine festival called "The Taste of Morgan Hill". This year, festival-goers were blessed with great weather, a wonderful car show, and a headliner band called "The California Beach Boys".  A tribute band to the original Beach Boys, they were so close to the original that I had to blink twice to keep from seeing Brian Wilson on the stage!

The outdoor Morgan Hill stage had a lovely little wine stand, featuring a wide choice of local South County wines and souvenir "Taste of Morgan Hill" wines.   The bright happy sounds of the Beach Boys called for a nice white wine like a Chardonnay - although many red drinkers were in the crowd.  Having just enjoyed a nice Cabernet from the Jason-Stephens Winery, I opted for the 2011 Estate Chardonnay from this local Gilroy landmark. 

 Wow!  What a bright, happy, tropical wine!  It was the perfect accompaniment to the balmy night, overhead stars, and Beach Boys harmonies.  I tasted vanilla ice cream, pineapple, banana, and papaya flavors in this light, lemon colored glass of heaven.  In my beautiful Taste of Morgan Hill souvenir glass, I could see its exceptional clarity and light honey color.   One note, although I loved this wine, it was a little sweet for hubby so not everyone would enjoy it as much as I did.   It is considerably "off-dry" for a Chardonnay, but perfect for a tropical night or island adventure.  

This relatively new winery (formed in 2008), is one to watch in the future.  

Food Pairings: A great choice for anything light, this wine pairs nicely with a fruit salad, a fruit and cheese plate, a pear-blue cheese-candied walnut salad, or a Chinese chicken salad. 

Music Pairings: Beach Boys Baby!! 

Other Pairings:  Cruise ship trekking, an island luau, a pig roast, or an outdoor pool party.