CLOS DE GILROY, EASYGOING IN THE RHONE RANGE
In a recent Friday night tasting a dark red wine appeared in a slope shouldered bottle,blinded as all our bottles are. It had a subtle smoky nose and clean, light-berry fruit with a dash of bacon. It moved on to a pleasantly fruity, unoaked, acid finish. It was an easy drinker, nothing magnificent, simple but amiable. Many of us, myself included, guessed it as a Cotes du Rhone. We all liked it.When unveiled, a surprise! It was domestic, from Santa Cruz, California. An old friend."I cut my Grenache teeth on Clos de Gilroy," I remarked to my puzzled tasting mates.Composed[...]
A TALE OF TWO CONTERNOS
In a recent Friday night tasting we received a special treat. Dr. Browne contributed the bottle you see below, a 1971 Barolo from a well respected wine maker, Conterno. Before it was unveiled, most of us guessed Barolo already. It had an obviously old, earthy nose and was lean on the palate, with lots of acid, and moderate tannins. While not a wine that would endear the hearts of California Cabernet lovers, it was nonetheless grand and, more to the point, alive.Two weeks later another Conterno appeared, this one contributed by our friend Dr. Padmesh, a 2006.It looked and tasted[...]
HOLLYWOOD SOMM IN THE BIG APPLE, SON CUBANO
The last time we checked in with Jerrus Roxas, alumnus of our Friday night wine group, he was a sommelier at Fig & Olive, a swank West Hollywood restaurant (see my 11/9/2014 blog). He has since moved east, working as a manager and somm at Son Cubano, a 280 top New Jersey restaurant along the Hudson Riverfront with spectacular views of Manhattan across.A family owned establishment, Son Cubano serves not only Cuban food but also Cuban culture, in particular, nostalgia for its 1950s glamor. The Son in the name of the restaurant refers to traditional Cuban music of the 1930s[...]
ARISTA; ANOTHER SECRET REVEALED
Another secret revealed. Bay Area life is an endless series of such predicaments.Beginning in the late 1990s, when we had Wednesday night subscriptions to the San Francisco Ballet and Symphony, we had only one go-to restaurant. Located in the Hayes Valley, Absinthe, which opened in 1998, was a touch of Paris not only in food and decor, but also because it was one of a few that served late dinners beyond 10 p.m. We quietly enjoyed its cassoulet, seafood, and duck confit with bottles of Chablis or red Rhone while eavesdropping on nearby conversations among dancers or musicians whom we[...]
$10 OR LESS AT TRADER JOE’S; THE WHITES
When it comes to wine prices, buyers often act irrational. With most consumer goods they search for the high quality at low prices, but with wine they stay within certain price ranges regardless of quality. Many convince themselves that defective wines they paid high prices for are actually good, while they think cheap wines are bad. Is that really so? Recently a friend of mine, Mark Gibson, an opinionated aficionado and true quality seeker, proposed that we assemble cheap wines from a store that carries a lot of them and let our palates decide. There is no better store[...]
ALBARINO; GUZZLE-AND-ENJOY
There are some wines that should not be intellectualized. Just buy and drink, preferably with matching foods and enjoy their simple pleasures. For me Albarino is foremost on that list. I have been buying them in Bay Area restaurants for years and enjoying them with seafood tapas and appetizers, with minimum curiosity and understated pleasure. It's a wine that has previously flown below most radars but nowadays better recognized, no longer a secret bargain in wine lists. As summer approached and our thoughts naturally turned to whites, going contrary to my instincts, I proposed an Albarino tasting.Albarino is the main[...]