The Wine Hacker.com

Bloomspot Offers Discount Cakebread Tasting

Oh boy! Oh boy! Oh boy!  Opened my email from Bloomspot this morning, and found a wonderful surprise.  Cakebread tastings that are usually pricey are offered at a tremendous discount - $15 for two tastings of regular wines (usually $30) $28 for two tastings and a tour, and $48 for two for the premium wine tasting (usually $80).  Hubby and I have a trip back to our timeshare in Windsor scheduled for late January, so I just purchased the premium tasting for two.  

Cakebread makes yummy, time-honored and much acclaimed reds in Napa Valley, and is a family owned winery.  They were the 39th winery established in Napa Valley, so there is a great sense of history and pride of ownership.  I have served Cakebread at many fine occasions, so am very excited to taste and review their new wines.  I particularly love their Cabernets, which are usually deep, dark and mysterious yet fruity with a big nose and strong finish. 

If you want to join me in this amazing offer - just click here and subscribe to Bloomspot San Francisco.   I have been a member now for just a few months, but so far, I am impressed.    

Stay tuned for my reviews of the premium Cakebread wines!

 

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. 

Our Sweet Neighbor, Murphy's California, and the 2010 Stevenot Chardonnay

If you have read earlier blog posts of mine, you have probably read about my quest to find the perfect bottle of Chardonnay for my very sweet "83 years young" neighbor.  She enjoys a glass of Chardonnay in her beautiful garden every night before bedtime, and is always bringing us something delectable from her kitchen. 

During a Memorial Day trip to Arnold and Murphys, California - I visited the tasting room of Stevenot Winery, where I managed to find a wonderful nightshirt that reads, "Wine Takes the Bitch out of Me".  I also found this incredible Chardonnay that Beverly tells me was my best "score" for her of the entire summer.  

My tasting notes (yes, it has been a while since Memorial Day), read that this wine was very smooth with just a hint of oak, lemon, and butter.   It was light without feeling like a Sauvignon Blanc, but not too heavy - just nicely balanced.   

Several weeks ago, when Beverly's daughter visited from Oregon, she opened the bottle I brought her for all to share.   I was amazed to find that it tasted even better than I remembered it.  Beverly served it chilled, with fresh berries in every flowered glass.   This was a particularly nice touch, and it blended very well with the fresh brie and crackers she offered on her garden table.    

I would definitely recommend this wine as one of the best Chardonnays I have ever tasted.

Food Pairings:  A light shrimp scampi would be fabulous with this wine, as would rock cornish game hans glazed with apricot jam and roasted in a 350 oven for 40 minutes.   I really enjoyed it with brie, crackers, and almonds.   A parsley crusted Tilapia filet also comes to mind, as the fresh parsley flavors would complete the bright fruit in the wine. 

Music Pairings:  The music of Bay Area local Christian Tamburr would be lovely while sipping this Chardonnay - I really enjoy his light touch and lively, progressive jazz sounds.  Vivaldi's Four Seasons - Spring selection would be wonderful with this wine as well. 

Other Pairings: This was the ideal end-of-summer garden party wine, sipping something so fruity and well-balanced is particularly enjoyable while looking at the harvest moon and gardens.   

Where to Buy: You can find this wine at the winery or winery website .   Finding it elsewhere is a bit trickier, as it appears the winery ownership is changing hands.  I suggest keeping your eyes peeled at Bevmo or local wine shops.   

Yes Virginia, Frogs DO Have Teeth

 Fall is in the air - and this year, I have had many wonderful summer outings and memorable events.  One of the best of the year was Memorial Day weekend with friends John and Susan Worley -  we "road-tripped" to Arnold, California which is a quaint little mountain town located near Murphy's California, which is a fledgling new wine growing region. Both are in historic Calavera's County, the home of the famous Mark Twain inspired "Frog Jumps"; a yearly event that draws thousands into this usually quiet area of the world.  

Susan and I were wandering the streets and shops of downtown Murphy's  when we happened across the Frog's Tooth winery.  It is a bit off the beaten path, but we couldn't miss the large green frog beckoning us in for a taste.   Once inside the tasting room, we got the answer to the question of the hour - yes, frogs DO have teeth.   According to the Frog's Tooth Winery signs, frogs have very small teeth  - hey, how else can they chew all those yummy insects? 

We also discovered a wonderful Cabernet - full of jammy berry flavors, Thanksgiving cranberry overtones, and what the winery refers to as "whispering tannins" - which is a fancy way of saying that the wine gave evidence of structure and its 24 month aging in French oak without tasting like a picnic table. The fruit was forward, approachable, and "in-your-face", just like a bullfrog moving towards a tasty fly.   

The finish was smooth but with a "zing" that actually enhanced the overall experience.   

This wine is only available to wine club members - but would be well worth the investment and time.   

Food Pairings: I would serve this Cab with a steak salad dotted with dried cranberries and crumbled blue cheese.  It would also be lovely with Stroganoff crepes (simply make crepes from any recipe,stuff them with Beef Stroganoff, top with shredded Mozzarella or Gruyere cheese, and bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees)   Yet another suggestion, given the fruity character of this wine, is to serve it with marinated salmon steaks - try a marinade of sesame oil, garlic, fresh mint, seasoned salt, white wine, and freshly ground pepper.   A nice cheese plate with a pungent Stilton cheese and a creamy Camembert would be another pairing option. 

Music Pairings: Hints of complexity peer from behind a cloud of sweetness and light with this wine, just like Claude Debussy's Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun.  I also see this as a great wine to reminiscence by, while listening to How High the Moon, or I Left My Heart in San Francisco by Tony Bennett. 

Other Pairings: Would love to enjoy this wine while sniffing samples of new perfumes from Sephora, or looking at the latest patterns for wine glasses by Waterford.  This wine would also blend well with Christmas shopping by catalog, as it hints of holiday flavors to come.   I see it as a great scrapbooking with friends wine, or a crafting while listening to light classics wine. 

Where to Buy: This Cab is only available at the winery, at http://www.frogstooth.com/cabernet-sauvignon.asp , to wine club members.    

 

 

 

Everyone Needs a Little Menage a Trois..

A great inexpensive wine buy for those special, but still every-night dinners is Menage A Trois by Folie a Deux. At about $8-9/bottle, it won't break the bank and is ideal for celebrating Bastille Day (unless, of course, you happen to have a bottle of Chateau Margaux just hanging around, just sayin').  I first had this wine on my birthday in 2010 at the Elephant Bar in Cupertino, it went perfectly with the grilled platter (steak, shrimp, and chicken) that my husband and I ordered.  It was February, but nice enough to sit outside with a little heater.   Hubbie loved this wine so much that it is now his "go-to" wine when he needs to give a gift to someone, like the kind person who just vacuum sealed all the nice Salmon he caught yesterday. 

A blend of Zin, Merlot, and Cab - it is fruity and flavorful, with a nice color and nose.  I would rate it at an 88, would be more, but it lacks complexity.   It has nice strawberry jam flavors, with a hint of black cherry and just a touch of spice.  

Food Pairings:   Serve with grilled foods such as pork tenderloin, BBQ chicken on the grill, anything Chinese in a plum sauce, summer salads with candied pecans, chicken strips and blue cheese, and sliced Fontina with whole grain crackers.  

Other Pairings:   This is a great "watching the Giants play" wine!   It also goes with finishing up expense reports (mindless, but necessary so a little wine buzz won't hurt), playing board games, and watching reruns of McCloud on Netflix.  Oh yeah, also goes with very cool combo Fedora/Bowler hats.    

Looney for Luna Sangiovese

During a recent Jon Anderson concert in Napa Valley, friend Dan and I went wine tasting as a prelude to the music.   The 2008 Luna Sangoviese from Tuscany delivered on the promise of good wine in Napa, even though it is from Italy,

A strong wine, it is not for the wimpy!  It is deep and smoky, with strong tannins, claret, and black cherry flavors.   I would give it an 89 on the typical wine rating scale.   The only negative I can see is that it lacks a strong nose. 

Food Pairings:  The complexity and strength of this wine lends it well to a gourmet steak dinner, such as Steak Au Pouive or a nice German Rouladin.  A steak salad with hearts of romaine and balsamic dressing would be another good choice on a summer's day.  

Music Pairings:  Complex and heavy, this is a good John Coltrane wine.  It smacks of smokey rooms with bebop changes and wailing saxophones.  Jazz is...

Other Pairings:   This wine is great for watching a heavy movie like Revenge with Kevin Costner.   It is also great for opening up dangerous IRS letters, reading any Ludlum novel, or walking your pet pitbull.

Where to Buy:  This wine can be found at Wine.com by clicking on the picture below.