Take it away C & C!       

It’s hard not to wonder how “the other half” lives.  Being enthusiasts of the finer things (wine and fashion, respectively) that tend to comprise the more expensive, less necessary things in life, we are well aware where each dollar goes, and enjoy these material things to the fullest, albeit, for what they are—little pleasures.  And when it comes to wine, it’s all about the experience—the indulgence—with full appreciation for what went into it.

“The other half” does things like order astonishing bottles of wine, have a glass each, then sign the bill and leave the bottle on the table.  Our friend, Meg, author of blog The Maker’s Table, sent out a tweet describing this scene a few weeks ago:  “Two tables over, they order a Ridge Monte Bello, 2000. They drink a glass each, pay, and go.  Next table gets the bottle.  Lucky dogs.”  Sigh.  The other half.

Photo Courtesy of Corks and Caftans

There was one night, however, where we found ourselves sandwiched right between both halves.  For our first anniversary, we journeyed back to Nantucket, the place of our nuptials.  We were huddled inside Black Eyed Susan’s on a blustery, cold Grey Lady night.  We’d brought a bottle we bought in Napa during our honeymoon from Rubicon, Edizione Pennino.  The couple at the table next to us were astonishingly good-looking, well-dressed, and wrapping up a meal with two open bottles. (BES’s is a BYOB joint, and a fun place to keep your eyes out for what others are bringing in.)

Photo Courtesy of Corks and Caftans

We were talking about the wine and taking notes for a post, and this caught their attention.  As they got up to leave, they offered us the rest of their (very expensive, very lovely) bottles to enjoy—a white and a red.  He mentioned he was a wine distributor, and she was in fashion.  We swooned.

Photo Courtesy of Corks and Caftans

You know that thing—and don’t try to say you haven’t done it!—when something really fantastic happens, and you wait until you’ve got a moment alone, and you do the happy dance.  The victory shake.  The jump’n’clap.  We totally did.  And with more wine than we knew what to do with, we dove into a fabulous meal.

When we broke to lift our heads, we noticed we were the only ones left in the restaurant.  The kitchen—which is completely open and basically inside the dining room—was closing up shop. The chef and sous chef were behind the bar chatting.  We looked at one another, then stood up with the bottles in hand.

We spent the next hour sharing the bottles with the remaining staff, talking shop, talking wine, and talking island life.  It was so incredible to get to share this gift from complete strangers with those who had slaved away to create such an amazing meal for us.  The upper echelon of the wine world, the culinary magicians working behind the scenes to earn their keep, and the two that fall somewhere in between.

See, that’s the thing about wine lovers—and it doesn’t matter where you fall in the mix.  It’s about passion and sharing.  It was a perfect anniversary dinner we’ll never forget.

Thanks Carey and Rob for sharing your WineLife experience with us!

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Tell us about it Meghan…

On my very first trip to Northern California this past September (there have been 3 since, I guess I kinda liked it!), the very first winery that we visited was Gundlach Bundschu.  We were actually staying in San Francisco and decided to drive up to Sonoma last minute, so we had no plan in mind at all.  A guidebook lent to me by a coworker had Gundlach Bundschu, or GunBun as one of the best and oldest wineries to visit, and since it was close by we decided to visit.

GunBun was a lucky first choice, and between the delicious wines that we tasted and the very friendly tasting room staff, we were wine club members by the time we left.  One of my favorite things about the wine clubs that we belong to (currently GunBun, Castello di Amorosa, and Travessia) is the element of surprise. I often forget when wine is coming, and it is always a treat to come back from a meeting to an unexpected box of wine in my office!  I tend to open the box of wine right away and enjoy reading the labels and any correspondence included from the winery, in addition to looking up the wines online so I can know what to expect.

Photo Courtesy of Travel Eat Love

One of our most recent wine club “surprises” was a bottle of 2007 Estate Grown Tempranillo.  Here’s a little information about the 2007 Tempranillo from the GunBun website:

Vineyard Rhinefarm Estate Vineyard
Estate grown, produced and bottled
Huichica clay-loam topsoil with light stream gravel deposits
One 4.6-acre vineyard block of Tempranillo
Clone UC Davis 2
Yield 2.4 tons/acre
Winemaking
Harvest Date: September 2007
Brix at Harvest: 24.5°
Vinification: Harvested by hand in the cool morning hours
Yeast strain EC1118
Concurrent primary and malolactic fermentation
Fermented 14 days with twice-daily, gentle pump-overs
Lightly filtered to bottle
Oak Regimen: 14 months in 100% American oak (35% new)

Photo Courtesy of Travel Eat Love

We opened this wine on a recent weekend evening and immediately noticed the pop of juiciness and the dark berry red color.  Like all of the Gundlach Bundschu wines I have tasted, the Tempranillo was full of concentrated flavor.  This wine offers smooth but noticeable tannins and a little bit of smokiness along with the dark berry flavors that give it a lovely lingering finish.  It was remarkably MORE delicious about 24 hours after opening, a great sipping wine and one that would also likely go well with grilled meats at a summer barbeque.

If you have the chance to try Gundlach Bundschu wines, I am also a huge fan of their Gewurztraminer, Rosé, Pinot Noir, and their Mountain Cuvée.

Happy wine drinking! 

For more of Meghan’s wine and food adventures, visit Travel Eat Love.  Just don’t go there too hungry!

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Here are three bottles that I recently blew the dust off of to see whether or not they’d kicked the bucket or if they were still showing strong vital signs.

2001 Chateau Thebot Bordeaux (France) - I don’t have a large stash, but France makes up the majority of my collection.  This particular wine was awarded the silver medal at Vinalies International 2003 by the Association of French Enologists.  Unfortunately, this once good Bordeaux was cooked and finished, not to mention – brown!

2000 Chateau Reignac Bordeaux Superieur (France) – Like many, I took notice of all the accolades that were being thrown around about the 2000 Bordeaux vintage – “the first exceptional year for a new generation in Bordeaux“ (Wine Spectator) and “the greatest vintage Bordeaux has ever produced” (Robert Parker).  And like many, I bought some Bordeaux futures that I could afford.  One of my purchases was the 2000 Chateau Reignac Bordeaux.  This particular Bordeaux received 92 points from Mr. Parker.  This wine was once pretty spectacular when I had it a few years ago and only set me back about $20 when I purchased it.  Unfortunately, this one also set sail into the sunset.  It was showcasing a whole lot of funky unearthly qualities and not a whole lot of lush, ripe fruit that this vintage was known for.  It just wasn’t the same wine that I remembered enjoying when it was first released and even when I had it just a few years ago.

2001 Petersons Block One Mudgee Shiraz (Australia) – Petersons is a family owned and operated winery, which has been growing grapes for 37 years and making wines for 27 years in the Hunter Valley.  Petersons was named Champion Small Winery of Australia in 2001.  This particular Shiraz came from the winery’s Mudgee vineyard which consists of 100 acres of various red varieties that include:  Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Durif, Zinfandel, Malbec, Petit Verdot and Chambourcin.

Winemaker’s tasting notes on the 2001 Petersons Block One Mudgee Shiraz: 

“The palate is a complex combination of pepper, spicy fruit and cedar.  Having spent 14 months in American oak, the fruit, acids and tannins are well balanced and integrated. This wine would also benefit from careful cellaring of 5 -8 years.”

Mission Accomplished!  Let me tell you – the tasting notes are spot on!  This wine is a total powerhouse and it tastes just as good now.  It certainly appears that there’s still plenty of mojo left in this wine’s tank before it hits any downward spiral.  I just wish that I had another bottle of this Aussie treat to monitor its evolution!

So maybe my theory doesn’t always hold true, or maybe I just need to store my wine better; but it does give me good reason to drink my wine sooner than later!

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The Languedoc is one of the most exciting wine regions in the entire wine world.  Why?  Because it’s a region that possesses hundreds of small producers making awesome wines ranging in all colors and styles.  But the really cool thing about wines from the Languedoc is that most of these tiny producers still make wine in the Old World way, which allows these wines to showcase their distinctive characteristics and gives them a true sense of home.  And the best of all – you can experience many of these unique and wonderful wines for less than 15 US dollars.

Here are a few Languedoc killer values that I’ve been just plain old gaga over since first tasting them a little while back.

2008 Le Jade Picpoul de Pinet (<$10 US) – This white wine gem wallops a dynamite grapefruit, lime and pineapple acidic charge from start to its glorious, zesty finish.  It’s extremely food-friendly and has the chops to stand up to anything from bacon-wrapped scallops over Southwestern seasoned mixed vegetables to a melted Manchego cheese and Italian Sopressata quesadilla!  I speak from experience on these two.

2008 Cave de Pomerols Picpoul de Pinet HB (<$10 US) – This is another white treasure from the Languedoc.  All I can tell you is that this or the Le Jade are normally sitting in my refrigerator at all times.  For less than 10 bucks a bottle (in most parts of the US), both of these wines are outstanding values.

 2004 Château La Clotte-Fontane “Cremailh” (<$13 US) – This is a new discovery for me.  This red wine consists of 60% Syrah and 40% Grenache grapes.  It has just the perfect amount of weight and richness to it at the very first sip and the prominent red fruit (raspberry) flavors are outstanding.  But the big draw for me about this wine is its spices.  It packs an awesome punch of interesting sweet and peppery notes from start to its long finish.  If that’s not enough to grab you, how about this – the owners of this winery enjoy bullfighting in their free time.  That’s reason enough to give this red a shot.

All three of these Languedoc offerings are tops in my value book and will go terrific with a variety of different types of food.  So don’t get hung up on what you may not understand on these and other French labels, and discover the great juice that’s inside!

To learn more about wines from the Languedoc, check out Ryan O’Connell’s website called Love That Languedoc.

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Photo Courtesy of Gonzo Gastronomy

My favorite blogging pal, Katie Pizzuto from Gonzo Gastronomy, recently experienced one of these wine glass moments and was kind enough to share it.  Here’s Katie’s story!

There is a pain to be felt in this life unlike any other.  It is pain that is colorblind, that does not discriminate sexually, and that will cut you down at the knees whether you are 40 or 80. In fact, I have given drug-free childbirth, have had teeth extracted and have even gotten 18 stitches across my thigh with nothing but a little poorly-distributed anesthesia from a pimple-faced, fucknut anesthesiologist to abate the pain, and still I describe those memories with less recollection of pain than I do…say…a broken wine glass. Not just any wine glass, but a $35 wine glass. And not just a $35 wine glass, but a $35 wine glass I was given. The sound of that glass hitting a glass table…hitting a wood floor…hell, hitting just about everything other than the ceiling…is enough to make a grown woman cry (and inevitably console herself with freshly poured wine, in a $3 glass).

I have…ugh, I mean had…only 2 expensive wine glasses in my home, both samples sent to me from the manufacturers for experimentation/review. My home has never seen the likes of $10 glasses much less $35 glasses because the people residing in said home are not merely accident prone, but accident friendly—one of them an 11-year-old boy who has already seen the inside of an emergency room 3 times. Throw into the mix 2 cats with a penchant for jumping up into your lap at the least opportune moment and you have what I lovingly call a cluster fuck of chaos. Welcoming not one, but two expensive glasses into the home was done with a whole lot of trepidation and distant early warning like, “please don’t ever wash these glasses, I’ll take care of it…please don’t ever try to put these glasses away in their boxes, I’ll do that…please don’t ever sneeze, belch or fart near them, I’ll…oh, that’s enough I guess.” I looked at these as delicate flowers, to be taken out only when a moment really called for them, never left at the mercy of even a strong breeze.

So there it sat, a lovely Eisch breathable glass, gracing my living room table with its belly full of syrah. The lights had been dimmed, it was 9:30 and the boy was saying good night. But “saying good night” is relative in my house. It comes with several verses of an Eminem or Iron Maiden song, a few righteous “kills” with his laser tag machine gun, and usually, if dinner was good, a giggle-accompanied fart while he kisses his dad. As he kisses me goodnight, he turns so quickly with his machine gun that he comes within centimeters of knocking over the glass. “Jesus!” I scream. “Would you please watch where you are going?! You nearly knocked over my glass! Do you have $35 to spare if you break it? No, I didn’t think so.” There, I thought, I let him have it! He bounds up the stairs to brush his teeth, the hubby heads outside for a cigarette and I decide, with my program paused, that I’ve gotta see a man about a horse. I never got that expression, but whatever. I gently move the blanket off of me, get off the couch, take two steps towards the bathroom, and CRASH. I froze. The kid came bounding back down the steps. The husband came back wincing. The cats began lapping up the syrah, getting their buzz on despite the chards of glass in their tongues. OK, I made that last part up. I carefully remove my bare feet from ground zero and stare at the disaster I’ve left in my wake. And what does the kid do? That kid that I just chided to be more careful? That kid that had maybe $3 in his piggy bank? In that golden-moment opportunity, where he could’ve thrown everything I had just said back in my face, he chose, instead, to wrap his arms around my waist and console his grieving mother. “I’m sorry, mom,” he said, and then farted one more time for good measure as he bound back up the stairs.

Thanks Katie! 

Eisch, if you happen to be reading this tragically beautiful story – could you please help my friend out and send her some new glasses?

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