Don't Be a Menace to Sonoma While Drinking Your Wine in the Parlour

Special thanks to Corrado from Corrado's Wine Diary for posting this little detour from the norm!

So Cheron asked if I’d rap a bit about how I taste and rate wine. Some background first. I would say I’ve been serious about wine for about 2 years, corrupted by this little site called wine.woot.com. My typical daily drinker is in the $12 - $18 range. The most expensive bottle I own is $120 (Retail value, Mondavi Cabernet Reserve). The most I’ve ever paid for a bottle of wine is around $60 (2006 Ty Caton Tytanium, Iron Horse Q Pinot Noir). My “diamond in the rough” wine is a 2005 Morgan Twelve Clones Pinot Noir, purchased for $18. Best Pinot Noir I’ve had under $30.

All that background wasn’t intended to be showy. My point was to give you, the reader, a paragraph glimpse at the wino writing this. Wine.Woot built my cellar and Vaynerchuck (tv.winelibrary.com) helped build my vocabulary. What follows is an unintentionally vino-erotic, blow-by-blow description of how I taste & rate wine.

I've pulled a bottle of Woot Cellars “Tøøthstejnn” (Sangiovese blend) from the cellar (55F; love winter in Vermont!). I paid about $10 for this bottle and purchased it about 2 months ago. Narcoleptics may want to simply skip to the next blog post or watch the dust collect on the nearest flat surface.

First thing I do is pull off the tin cap on the wine (I usually have to cut the plastic ones off) I've noticed that you can tell a serious winery (or at least one that wants to be serious) by whether or not they splurge on the tin caps. I've never had a better-than-average/good wine with a plastic cap. Sorry, off topic… (how's that dust lookin'?).

Next very important step is to remove the cork with my kick-ass double-action wine decorkerizer (note that this does not apply to screwtop wines). I check the cork for condition and see if there's anything cool printed on it. I sniff the cork and comment to self that I'm being retarded. Sniffing a cork is like Sex on Cinemax – all show & completely meaningless. I check the inside of the neck for schwag. If schwag = yes, strain into decanter, else proceed directly to glass selection.

My default tasting glass is a Waterford Mondavi Cabernet glass for meatier reds and a Spiegelau Vino Grande Burgundy glass for lighter bodied reds. I pour a bit of wine into the glass, swirl, sniff, ponder, swirl, sniff, taste. Assuming the wine is fine, I pour a proper amount (1/5 to 1/4 bottle) into the glass. Party on, Wayne!

Now the fun begins. I note the color, clarity, opacity, and saturation of the wine. This is where I try to come up with a new way of describing "red." Clarity is rarely an issue. I can’t recall the last commercially produced wine I had that had clarity issues. Opacity and saturation are different in my book (I haven't yet resorted to giving hue and gamma comments). For the Tøøthstejnn, I would say it’s wine.woot-website-theme red, bearing the typical moderate-bodied appearance of a Sangiovese. Colors out toward the edges getting more earth-toned. Color score: 5/5.

Now that I've dicked around the wine for 5-10 minutes, it's had a chance to open up a bit and ready for some serious schnoz action. A few vicious swirls and into the glass with the nose. I begin thinking of different ways to say, "smells like wine." Sometimes I get absolutely nailed with something obvious. Most of the time it's repeated trips back to the glass to try to tease out a few things. Fruit I'm decent with. Spices, not so much. I just realized that I tend to close off my right nostril with the glass and sniff with only my left; tried sniffing with my right nostril and didn't exactly get the same things (time to get out the pledge yet??). For the Tøøthstejnn, I'm kinda lost. I'm getting a lot of musty/woody aromas (socks?), some black raspberry, and wine (no, @&*%$... dammit, where’s that Thesaurus?). I'd probably give the TS a 10/15 on the nose. While it is fairly aromatic, it's got a pretty one-dimensional nose and doesn't do a lot to wow me.

After all this work, I'm now hella thirsty! To quote the great Paul Masson, I will drink no wine before its time… and IT’S TIME TO GUZZLE WINE! Since I've been writing for a few minutes, I take another sniff and decide that there's some kind of Tootsie-roll or molasses thing goin' on in the back ground. Beaming with pride at having pulled that out of my ass, I taste. I take a bit in, gently caress it around in my mouth, roll it around on my tongue (down people! I'm married!! Get back to dust patrol!), try to aerate a bit by sucking in air without drooling wine or aspirating it into my lungs (both of which occur at some point while learning to do this and are equally entertaining to those around you). Here I really just to figure out what's going on and what I want to pay attention to on subsequent glugs.

For the second taste I pay a lot more attention to what's going on. How does it feel? What's going on? Does it start off with a bang? What seems to happen between the instant you take a sip through the 10 seconds or so you move it around your mouth, to the instant you swallow, to what's left afterwards, how long it lasts, and if that finish continues to evolve new flavors after the wine has reached Mr. Tum-Tum.

For the Tøøthstejnn, I'd say it starts pretty big on flavor (dried cranberry), but doesn't really take off from there and coasts on through the mid-palate. Mr. Tannin and Mrs. Acidity wave their hands out the window to say, "Hey, we're here, but just passing through!" leaving a plume of earthy dried fruit that lingers on the palate quite pleasantly. Flavor I'd give 7/10 and Finish 8/10 or a total of 15/20 for Parker's scoring. I break them up because, well, I do. I typically like to describe each independently and always ended up scoring that way in my head so... voila. (Can you write "Pledge me!" on your coffee table yet?)

Now onto the BS portion of the show. Aging potential? I'm still way too much of a novice to be taken seriously with any predictions. I think I can tell when a wine will improve with age, but knowing when it should peak and when it will die, I'll leave that to the pros. I break Parker's "Aging/Potential" category down into "Potential" and "Overall" ratings. Potential is where I describe what I think the future holds for the wine. Low potential means peaked or past peak. High potential means the wine will be better in the future than it is today. Overall is where I steal 5 points for my subjective rating of the wine and put it all together.

For the Tøøthstejnn, I'd give it an aging potential of 3/5, which is my default for, "I don't know, but it's a new vintage, so it can probably drink well for a few years, but it's drinking pretty damn well now." As an overall, I'd give it a 4/5. I can see where some folks would review it as 'watery' but I've had similar northern Italian reds that have a similar mouthfeel. This is not what I would call a "lush" wine, but it has good flavor, very nice balance, and doesn't have the fakeness you're likely to get from $10 wine (like the bottle of wine my in-laws brought to Thanksgiving dinner this year).

My Corrado-rating puts the Tøøthstejnn at 87 points, my 'gut rating' would have been 88 (where I would expect it to come out if I took the time to rate it properly). A better nose and fuller flavors could have pushed it up towards 90, but it's a solid 87+ wine today.

...and now my glass is empty, it's time to go fill my 375ml swing-top bottle, put it in the fridge, and enjoy the second glass of wine for the night. Come back tomorrow night! We’re going to do… FRACTIONS!

And now for something completely different...

Hey folks! Just in time for the Holidays, I've got something a little different and special cooked up for you. It's not wine nor food, but it is a special collaboration of a few wine bloggers. Over the next week or so, I'll be featuring a special guest blogger each day sharing his/her thoughts and comments about how we all score wines, just to give you a little insight into our psyches. I'm hoping this will add some depth of meaning to what you're reading here (and on their blogs) and provides extra value so that you really know why we score things the way we do.

Hope you enjoy, and have a great Thanksgiving!!

Veal Stuffed Peppers and Merlot

Merlot has been snubbed a little too often lately as being just one of those all-too-common wines. But this varietal has a lot of flavor that shouldn't be passed on. It's truly versatile, and pairs well with a wide array of meats. So for tonight I chose a meat that is considered white but eats like a red - veal!

Wine: 2004 Reininger Merlot Helix
Meal: Veal Stuffed Peppers

Tasting notes on the wine:

Color: 5/5
Inky, dark purple, almost black. The color runs just about to the glass. The liquid is clear, but opaque. Absolutely beautiful.

Nose: 14/15
Unlike the previous post, this is definitely one of those sit-and-sniff-all-day wines. Black cherries, blackberries, plum, leather, vanilla, woodsmoke... just wow. Very complex nose. Just beautiful.

Flavor: 7/10
Not as impressed with the taste of this. It's still really good, and drinks pretty well straight out of the bottle, but after a nose like this one had, the flavor is a bit of a let down. Jammy and tannic, some hints of cocoa come out. Fairly smooth, and after about 20 minutes in the glass, all the heat blows off. Oaky, dark fruits dominate the palate. Pleasant and easy to drink, but not as complex as I was anticipating.

Finish: 8/10
Smooth finish, lasts about 30 seconds. More oak, and once the wine opens up, you get vanilla and plum as well. Nothing special, but it's clean and enjoyable.

Aging: 3/5
It's truly a New World style, and I think there's enough tannic action and fruits going on that this will continue to develop for a few more years. Definitely ready to go now, but will probably drink well for at least another 6-8 years.

Overall: 4/5
A nice daily drinker. Easy to drink, and I can see this one holding up well to stronger meats, as well as being subtle enough for the more delicate cuts. Maybe a little overpowering for poultry and pasta, but pork and veal are just fine, as would be filet or strip.

Total: 91pts

Want to make this meal?

Veal Stuffed Peppers
3/4 lb ground veal
1/4 c white rice
2 large bell peppers
1 Tbsp butter
1 rib celery, diced
1/4 small red onion, diced
1 small tomato, diced
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, divided
pinch Kosher salt
1/4 cup dried shitake mushrooms
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried sage
1/4 cup panko

Reconstitute the mushrooms in warm water. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Meanwhile, triple wash the rice and put in a small pot with 1/2 cup of water on high heat. When water begins to boil, reduce heat to low and cover, allowing to simmer for 15 minutes.

Slice the tops off of the peppers and remove the seeds and stem. Dice up the tops, leaving the bottoms intact as a bowl. In a medium skillet, melt the butter, and add the diced peppers, celery, onion, and tomato, and sprinkle salt on top. Cook down until onions are translucent and veggies are tender-crisp.

Strain off the mushrooms, reserving the water, then dice the mushrooms. Pour 1/4 cup of the mushroom water into the veggies and allow to simmer uncovered for approximately 5 minutes. Strain the veggie mixture and reserve the liquid.

In a medium bowl, combine cooked rice, mushrooms, lamb, rosemary and sage. Mix in veggies until well combined. Add 1/8 cup cheese and panko, and mix well. Spoon into pepper bowls and place in a loaf pan with about a cup of water on the bottom. Sprinkle a little more panko on top. Bake for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, pour reserved liquid into saucepan over medium heat and stir in remaining cheese, and reduce by half. Remove from heat until peppers are done.

Once peppers are done, plate peppers, and pour the liquid from the loaf pan (along with any solids) in with the reduced juice. Return to medium heat and reduce again by half. Spoon sauce over top of the peppers and serve.

Enjoy!

Capellini Prawns and Sauvignon Blanc

Shellfish and whites are a no-brainer, but sometimes finding just the right white for the preparation of the dish can be tricky. You generally want to find something crisp, light, and refreshing, and not overly sweet or fruity. This one pairs pretty well, although I think I could have done better.

Wine: 2007 Wellington Vineyards Sonoma Valley Sauvignon Blanc
Meal: Capellini Prawns

Tasting notes on the wine:

Color: 5/5
Sparkling sunshine. There's a few bubbles clinging to the side of the glass. Perfectly clear though, and the color runs very nearly to the edge of the glass. Excellent cling, especially for a white. It's a happy color to look at.

Nose: 12/15
Minerally, earthy. I get some pear and lemon zest in there, but it's a little hot. Pleasant, but not one of those sit-all-day-and-sniff noses.

Flavor: 9/10
Very true to the varietal, there are definite grassy and tropical tones to it. Grapefruit, pineapple and pear lead the forefront with a touch of dandelion. It is crisp, slightly tart like a sweettart, but a little on the oily side. I think this is because I had this closer to room temperature than intended. A second glass, chilled, removes the oiliness and keeps the flavor, even making it a little more tart. Although Sauvignon Blanc is typically a dry wine, this one seems to lean a little more to the semi-dry, almost semi-sweet side. Really nice by itself, works well with food too.

Finish: 10/10
This is one of those finishes that just goes on and on. You can still taste it long after you've put the glass down. Much more grassy on the finish, like lemon-grass and more of the dandelion. Very smooth and pleasant, and leaves behind a fresh feeling. Superb!

Aging: 1/5
It's a white, and Sauvignon Blanc is not exactly known for its aging potential. This one is ready to go, right now, and I wouldn't keep it longer than 3-4 years. Then again, I'd probably drink all mine long before then anyway! Drink this now - 2011.

Overall: 4/5
Really nice white. Well balanced, as I've come to expect from Peter Wellington's wines, and really easy to drink. I'm pretty excited about this one!

Total: 91pts

Shellfish is obvious for this, the sweetness and crispness should balance well with the typically sweet shellfish meat. I'd like to give this a swirl with sushi, and I think pasta with marinara would be good as well.

Want to make this meal?

Capellini Prawns
1 rib celery, diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1/4 red onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
pinch Kosher salt
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp artichoke dip
2 Tbsp freshly grated hard cheese (like parmesan), divided
1/4 cup dry white wine
6 prawns
balsamic vinegar
4oz capellini (angel hair) pasta

Cook pasta according to package directions.

In a medium skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and add celery, carrot, onion, garlic, and salt. Allow to cook, stirring occasionally until the onion becomes translucent. Place prawns in skillet, allowing them to sit directly on the skillet (not on top of the veggies). Add wine. Cook prawns thoroughly until the shells are pink, then remove and set aside. Stir in artichoke dip and 1 Tbsp cheese. Remove from heat.

Toss skillet mixture with pasta and plate. Place prawns on top, drizzle with a little balsamic vinegar, and sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Enjoy!

Serena Salsa Frittata and Gewürztraminer

Who says you can't have breakfast for dinner? And who says wine doesn't go with breakfast? Here's a meal to dispel that unpleasant myth!

Wine: 2006 Castello di Amorosa Gewürztraminer
Meal: Serena Salsa Frittata

Tasting notes on the wine:

Color: 5/5
Shimmering damp hay, with a touch of sunshine. Gorgeous color.

Nose: 14/15
Floral and citrus, and a bit of aromatic spices. Really nice, fun to sniff.

Flavor: 9/10
Vanilla, spice, and citrus. Tangerine or grapefruit, maybe a little of both. Very easy to drink, nice and smooth. This begs to be a morning kind of wine, really nice with the eggs. Drinks pretty nicely alone, too. I started this one cold out of the fridge and sipped at it as it warmed up, and I have to say, it's a lovely wine at any temperature between fridge cold and room temp.

Finish: 8/10
Nice finish - nothing overpowering. The floral notes come back on the finish, lasts a decent length - maybe about 30 seconds. It's pleasant!

Aging: 3/5
Since I'm writing this up a few days after having first tried it, I've been able to taste it over a few days. Maybe almost a week? It has held up really well this whole time, so I'd like to think that this will actually have some time available in the cellar. Not several years, perhaps, but a few at the least.

Overall: 4/5
Wow. Really. This is a beautiful, gorgeous wine, and if you can find it, you should definitely get it. VERY nice, well balanced, great effort!

Total: 93pts

As I mentioned above, this one works really well with breakfast type foods - the citrus really shines gorgeously, and complements the eggy, cheesy goodness quite well. I could also see this going with a stuffed salmon or tilapia, or a creamy pasta.

Want to make this meal?

Serena Salsa Frittata
5 1/8" slices of 3 Sisters Serena cheese
3 eggs
1 Tbsp milk
2 Tbsp salsa
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp dried chives
1 bell pepper, diced
2 tsp oil
pinch of salt

Heat a skillet over medium heat with the oil. When it thins out and spreads evenly (because it may not get to the smoke point), toss in the bell pepper and salt. When the bell pepper has begun to brown, drop in the salsa and stir.

In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk. When the liquid from the salsa has bubbled off, pour the eggs into the skillet and spread to coat. Arrange the cheese slices around the top, and sprinkle the seasoning and chives over it all. Cover and let cook for approx. 5 minutes, or until the eggs have set and are cooked all the way through, and the cheese has melted.

Loosen the edges with a spatula, and slide the frittata out onto a plate. Mine had an unfortunate accident on the way out of the skillet and ended up flopped over. It was so pretty!

Enjoy!

Lobster and Chard

This past Friday I was treated by a friend to a wonderful lobster dinner with roasted fennel and risotto. She was kind enough to share with me a couple bottles of wine that I'd not yet had. What a meal! This is a little more complex of a meal than I've posted so far, but definitely worth it. I also only took formal tasting notes on the Chardonnay, so the TyTanium will simply be my impressions.

Wine: 2006 Laura Zahtila Vineyards Chardonnay and 2003 Ty Caton TyTanium
Meal: Lobster medallions and claws with saffron cream sauce, roasted fennel, and risotto

Tasting notes on the wine:

Laura Zahtila Chardonnay
Color: 5/5
Totally translucent and golden. Beautiful color. Clear at the edges to about 1/8" in.

Nose: 12/15
A little simple on the nose. Earthy and minerally, a little granny smith apple. Simple, but nice.

Flavor: 8/10
Okay, I'm not a fan of chardonnay. Typically. This is not your typical chardonnay. My notes say "red drinkers' chardonnay" - you don't get that over-oaked, buttery flavor that you find with most chards these days. It's different. Grassy, with green apple and citrus notes. A little hit of oak, but not in your face by any means. It's a little tart to me, and not my favorite flavors, but a good effort.

Finish: 7/10
The finish falls short. Nothing of note there - it didn't really last long enough to pull anything out.
But it wasn't unpleasant. Just ... forgettable.

Aging: 2/5
Not exactly a cellarable wine. But that's fairly typical for whites. I'd say drink this in the next year or two.

Overall: 3/5
Worth a try, especially if you don't care for your typical chardonnay. Definitely a better wine with food than without. Good with creamy things, and shellfish. So probably a seafood alfredo would be absolutely divine!

Total: 87pts

This chard with the risotto is quite possibly one of those "perfect" pairings. The creaminess of the risotto with the earthiness of the mushrooms in it just accented the wine beautifully, and really toned down the tartness of it. The fennel, well, not so much. I wouldn't recommend doing that - the lemony flavor of the fennel just makes the wine super acidic and extra tart. Not good. But the lobster was quite good with it - better without the sauce, in my opinion, but good either way.

We had the TyTanium as dessert, and even though it's not a dessert wine, it sure holds up well as one. Cocoa was the dominating flavor on the palate for this, with a lingering vanilla spice finish. Very memorable wine, and gut instinct rating without working out the numbers would place this at a 90+ wine. Beautiful offering.

Want to make this meal?

Saffron Cream Sauce
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon crumbled saffron

Wrap the saffron in a foil packet and bake in a toaster oven for about 5 minutes at 300.

In a medium saucepan heat the cream until just simmering. Crumble in the saffron, crushing it between your fingers. Let the sauce reduce by about 1/3, and remove from heat.

Lobster Medallions and Claws
3 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 lb lobsters
2 Tbsp olive oil

Kill the lobsters using the method found on Lobsters with Laura. This is the most humane way to kill them as it is swift and painless. Don't be surprised if the lobsters still move even after they are dead; the muscles have reflexes that will activate while you are preparing them.

Break off the claws at the main joint, place in a shallow pan, and roast in the oven at 400 for 20 minutes. These can be placed in at the same time as the fennel.

Cut the tails into medallions but cutting them at each joint. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil until it begins to lightly smoke, then add the medallions, cooking them for about 3-4 minutes on each side until the meat becomes opaque.

Plate with a little of the saffron cream sauce poured on top.

Roasted Fennel
2 fennel bulbs (thick base of stalk), stalks cut off, bulbs sliced
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Preheat oven to 400°F.

Rub just enough olive oil over the fennel to coat. Sprinkle on some balsamic vinegar, also to coat. Line baking dish with silpat or aluminum foil. Lay out piece of fennel and roast for 15-20 minutes, until the fennel is cooked through and beginning to caramelize.

Recipe courtesy of Simply Recipes

Creamy Risotto
4 chicken or vegetable stock
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
1/3 medium red onion, diced
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine (we used Sake)
Salt to taste
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup mixed dried gourmet mushrooms, rehydrated

Put stock in a medium saucepan over low heat. Put oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a large, deep nonstick skillet over medium heat. When it is hot, add onion, stirring occasionally until it softens, 3 to 5 minutes.

Add rice and cook, stirring occasionally, until it is glossy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add white wine, stir, and let liquid bubble away. Add a large pinch of salt. Add warmed stock, 1/2 cup or so at a time, stirring occasionally. Each time stock has just about evaporated, add more. After about 5-10 minutes, add the mushrooms.

After about 20 minutes, begin tasting rice. You want it to be tender but with a bit of crunch; it could take as long as 30 minutes total to reach this stage. Remove skillet from heat, add remaining butter and stir briskly. Add Parmesan and stir briskly, then taste and adjust seasoning. Risotto should be slightly soupy. Serve immediately.

Recipe adapted from The New York Times

Enjoy!

Malbec, Take 2

Wine: 2006 Bodega Catena Zapata Malbec Alamos Selección
Meal: Pan-fried Panko Breaded Chicken with broccolini

Not much difference in the flavor of the wine today, after 5 days in the fridge. Still quite good, and I stand by my previous notes and scoring. The only real noticeable change is that I'm now getting black cherry flavor coming through on the palate and the finish, and the tannins are completely calmed down at this point. It's much easier to drink by itself this time.

So without further ado, the recipe!

Pan-fried Panko Breaded Chicken
1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
1/4 cup panko
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
1 Tbsp paprika
2 tsp dried sage
1 egg
1 tsp milk
1 tsp water
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp unsalted butter

In a shallow dish, combine panko, salt, cumin, paprika, and sage. In a small bowl, combine egg, milk, and water.

Using a meat mallet, pound out the chicken until it is approximately 1/4" thick throughout. Dip the chicken in the egg mixture, then into the panko mixture, tossing to coat.

Heat oil and butter in a skillet until the butter has melted and begins to smell nutty. Place breaded chicken in skillet, and cook for about 6 minutes on each side, or until the chicken has cooked through.

I cooked up the broccolini in a similar method to the previous veggies (garlic and olive oil), except that that I simply placed the broccolini in the pan and then covered it, and let it cook until tender-crisp.

Enjoy!