Sunday, December 30, 2007

December's Monthly Wine Tasting

Sunday, December 9, 2007

This was the monthly wine tasting that I normally attend. This year I was on vacation in Sonoma (wine tasting naturally) so the rest of the mortals had to do without my company (for which they probably were relieved that they got a break).

The theme of this months gathering was "Vintage Champagnes and Full Bodied Pinot Noirs". Someone was gracious enough to keep track of the wines in my absence and send me a list.

I would have liked to try the 2000 Roederer Cristal but I bet the 1996 Duval Leroy was just as good.

The list of Pinots was quite interesting. Ran the gamut from Laetitia to Sea Smoke.

Wine & Dine

I did not attend the monthly "Wine & Dine" dinnerfor November as I was attending the monthly "wine gathering". Hope it was good and everyone had a good time.

Christmas Brunch

Sunday, Dceember 2, 2008

This was my yearly Christmas Brunch that I host. I decorate my house and put up the tree on Thanksgiving weekend. I tend to think that it is a jump start for merriment before the realities of tasks that lie ahead for us with shopping, wrapping, baking etc., set in.

32 people were in attendance and 6 no shows which was probably good as we had quite a crowd in my 950 sf condo.

I put out juices and bubblies to make mimosas, bellini's etc. Everyone brought additional bubblies and wines so a really good time was going on.

I put out a ham and several egg casserole dishes. The sides and the desserts are brought by everyone else. There is always an over abundance of food but the is what the season is about.

I enjoy the Christmas season much more than Thanksgiving. I personally would rather watch the football games than sit down to a huge dinner with a meat that I don't like.

Monthly Wino's Gathering

Saturday, November 17, 2008

Today was our monthly gathering of the "winos". The theme today was "Wines from Amador, Alameda, Calaveras, Contra Costa and San Joaquin Counties". These counties are in a contiguous line from the Sierra Foothills to the bay. There were 24 wines conforming to the theme and 3 wines that did not. Along with 4 dessert wines

The strange thing is that the 3 non-conforming wines were all the same wine (year, producer and varietal) . They were from "El Dorado" county which is next to Amador County but it was not on the list. I don't know if these 3 people don't know their states geography or if they couldn't be bothered to find a wine from the correct area. Everyone else seemed to be able to find wines that fit the theme, so I have not figured out what their problem was.

I also find it very strange that the 2 Turley Zinfandels were emptied way before the other bottles were half gone. We use 1 oz pourer's so everyone gets a chance to taste all the wines. It seems whenever there is a really good bottle brought it disappears fast. Makes me become very suspicious that one or more persons are taking more that their one pour. (this is a known fact and a few of us know who you are).

As always the food was abundant and good. The hosts made a spanish sausage stuffed beef roast which was excellent.

I had a friend visiting from Australia with me and he was quite taken with our whole concept. I had taken him to a couple of wine tastings at the local wine stores. They apparently do not have that in Australia, which is their loss. He had a great time and really enjoyed Lisa & Oliver's spicy fried chicken.

We had gone to BevMo for a bubbly tasting and he was looking at the wines in the Australian section. Most of them he had never heard of of and speculated that they were made specifically for export and he considered most of them "swill". I wonder if the "swill" wines we export are as popular as the Aussies "swill" here.

Stone Brewery Co. Tasting

Wednesday, November 14, 2008

Wine Country in Long Beach, http://www.thewinecountry.com/, hosted at tasting tonight of beers from Stone Brewery. There were 17 beers available , 7 of Stone Brewery and 10 from other brew houses that they rep. Along with the required, sausages w/mustard, etc. we also received a glass or tankard. They did not have enough of one kind so there were 5 styles to choose from. It was a frenzy with everyone grabbing at the same time.

Several of the brews I was not in to. I am not an IPA fan. A couple that I really liked was the "Mad River Brewing Co. Extra Stout" , The "Ale Smith Anvil E.S.B.", the "Stone Arrogant Bastard Ale", the "Stone Smoked Porter" and the "Stone Double Arrogant Bastard Ale".

These beer tastings are always a lot of fun and the price at $35 was a bargain.

Monday, November 12, 2007

Lobster Fest

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Sitting at my desk this Tuesday working away when the phone rings, as I answer I hear my friend Stan's voice. As soon as I heard the voice I knew. Stan went diving and got his limit. Doing anything tonight ? he says. Of course I'm not doing anything when their a lobster calling my name. Left work early (Torrance area) to drive home (Huntington Beach) to get a "good" bottle of wine and then went to Santa Monica for dinner. At least I could carpool with a couple of others that were invited. Stan used one whole lobster to make a "lobster bisque" which was excellent. There were six for dinner and we each had our own tail. They were served half at a time in a butter sauce with chantrelle mushrooms sauteed in it. I had my 2 halves and a hunk of another tail. It was sublime.

The wines that night were all very good. I brought a 2005 Kosta-Browne Russian River Pinot Noir and a 2004 Stolpman Sauvignon Blanc (the only year this wine was made, which is to bad because I really like it).

The rest of the wines consumed that night are:

2002 Sea Smoke Southing Pinot Noir (at its prime now, if you have some drink it)
1999 Martinelli Charles Ranch, Sonoma,Chardonnay
2005 Blackjack TwentyOne, Chardonnay
1998 Kistler McCrea Chardonnay
2004 Nachtgold, Rheinhessin Eisweinn

Sure hope this proves to be a good season for "diving". There is nothing like extremely fresh lobster. It really makes a difference in the taste.

Also worth mentioning is a "truffle gouda cheese" and a "truffle infused salt" that was on the table.

German Wine Tasting

November 9, 2007

The Wine Country hosted "Dry German Wine Tasting" tonight. This is to be the only public tasting for these winemakers and importer Rudi Wiest. All the other tastings across the country will be for the trade only. This really made for a very special evening. And a very surprising one.

All the winemakers from Germany were young, most in their early 30's. A really nice bunch of "krauts". (I can say this because I'm half German so don't get on your political bandwagon). Actually one of the winemakers was a dead ringer for my cousin. Different ages of course, but this guy looked just like my cousin did 30 years ago. Uncanny.

We tasted Rieslings, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Noir. There were 30 wines altogether and there was not a "dog" in the bunch. These wines were clean, finished well and had nice balance and acidity. Fruit forward without being sweet.

I was very surprised at the Pinot Noir "Spatburgunder". One that Rudi Wiest said would age 20 years was a 2005 Becker Dry Grosses Gewachs, "St. Paul @ $110 a bottle. For that price it should. I really liked this wine.

A few of the others I was taken with were the Becker 2006 Riesling Medium Dry, "Laissez Faire" at $30, the Furst 2006 Riesling Dry Grosses Gewachs, Burgstadter Centgrafenberg at $70, the Von Buhl 2006 Rielsing Medium Dry, Maria Schneider "Jazz" at $15, the Von Buhl 2006 Riesling Dry Grosses Gewachs, Ruppertsberger Reiterpfad at $42, the Wirsching 2006 Silvaner Dry Estate at $15 and the Wirsching 2006 Riesling Dry Grosses Gewachs, Iphofer Julius Echter Berg at $42.

This indeed was a memorable evening and for a price tag of $40 it was a true bargain

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Chinese Dinner

Saturday, October 27, 2007

After a long hiatus, due to Henry's wife Evan having back surgery, we returned to our favorite Chinese restaurant "Duong Son" in the Little Saigon area of Westminister. There were 8 of us tonight and two were newcomers to the scene. This dinner was bittersweet. Cora who finally started to get her taste buds back after her neck surgery and enjoy what life has to offer will have to go through another round of chemo & treatment. They found another mass in the area where she had her mastectomy a few years ago. But on top of that, treatment cannot begin until after she has surgery on her shoulder which has a large tear that needs to be repaired. It makes you wonder about the luck of the draw. Time to get out the offerings to the gods.

Henry always does the ordering. I kept a list of the wines but did not write down all the dishes that we had. We had salt & pepper calamari, lettuce wraps, garlic green beans with white sea bass, shrimp with chinese broccoli, crab with soft noodles, barbecued pork ribs, and for the life of me I cannot remember the other dishes. Senility is starting to rear its ugly head I think.

The wines tonight were all outstanding except for some mango wine which we all agreed needed ice cubes and vodka to enhance it.

The wines we had were as follows and there was very little left at the end of the evening.

2001 Poggio Le Coste Barbaresco
2006 Oyster Bay Chardonnay
2002 McKeon-Phillips Nebiollo Reserve
2002 Sanford, Sanford & Benedict Vineyard, Pinot Noir
2000 BV, Rutherford Cabernet
2006 Pine Ridge, Clarksburg, Chenin Blanc/Viognier
2004 Nickel & Nickel, Branding Iron, Cabernet
2005 Alma Rosa, Chardonnay
2004 Chateauneuf de Pape
NV Pierrer Joulet , Champagne
Procesco Inloudo

I think there was another wine but I was writing the list on a napkin and I cannot read what I wrote. (senility again) And the napkin is falling apart.

Hope we can get another dinner together before the end of the year. We try to do these every two months. With the holidays it gets very busy and I will be away for 10 days in December. Taking a trip to the wine country around Sonoma. That I will take copious notes on.

Burgundy Tasting

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Tonight Wine Country, www.thewinecountry.com, had a Burgundy tasting with Michael Sullivan of Beaune Imports. There were 10 wines being poured tonight along with some very good cheeses to accompany the wine. These wines are all made to go with food, unlike our big California Pinots that we consume as a cocktail wine.

A couple of the standouts for me were the 2003 Domanine de Montille. Pommard 1er Cru Les Pezerolles at $80, the 2005 Cahtrau de Puligny-Montrachet Meursault @ $52 and the 2005 Chateau de Puligny-Montrachet @ $61

Monthly SAWG Gathering

Sunday, October 21, 2007

This was the monthly gathering of the "winos". Today's theme was " California sparkling wines from French houses and a red wine that you would drink with a meat lasagna. Naturally meat lasagna was the main dish. The red wines turned out to be quite a selection, mostly Italian but others from California, Argentina and Germany. A few of the stand outs were 2000 Cersi Chianti Classico, 2001 Querceto Chianti Classico, 2001, Poggio Barbaresco-Foggio Le Coste and a 2003 Marchesi di Barolo.

There were 5 bottles of sparking brought and 1 bottle of Tattinger Brut Champage which did not conform to the theme as it was from France not California. But it was the first bottle bubbly to be finished. All together there were 24 bottles of wine opened that day.

Delius Passport Tasting

Sunday, October 14, 2007



This was the first passport tasting at Delius' new location. I was anxious to see how they would accommodate people since they are now having walkin dinners along with the prix fixe dinners. Since this was at 4:00 in the afternoon the brunch crowd had left and the passport tasting was held in the walkin dinning room. Anyone coming for dinner after 4:00 was seated in the prix fixe dinning area. A treat for them.



There were 36 wines being tasted that day along with a nice buffet. On the buffet were Louise's excellent vegetable lasagna, civiche, a pork/black bean cuban stye dish, a crab & cheese dip, cheeses, fruits, Italian meats and several types of cookies for dessert. The waitstaff came around with trays of lamb chops, mushroom stuffed pastry cups, salmon on cucumber rounds, satay's, and mini cream puffs.



Next years passport tasting will be on Sunday, October 12, 2008. This is an annual event for me and I'm never disappointed.



Saturday, October 13, 2007

Dinner at S

Friday, October 12, 2007

Met friends at MAWL wines for a quick tasting and then ventured forth to a restaurant called "S". http://www.sfinedining.com/, David at MAWL wines had hosted a dinner at this place last week and unfortunately I was having a medical procedure preformed the next day so I could not attend. Everyone that went to the dinner that I talked to raved about it, so I was anxious to try it.

This restaurant is at Westminister Mall. It faces Bolsa and is a separate building from the mall. It basically in front of the Macys/Target area.

I thought the ambiance was really good and they also had a piano player for your enjoyment. I pictured this place in Saigon, before the war. A place where the upper class would go for a fine dining experience.

I had only had Vietnamese food once before and that was at a wedding, so everything was pre-ordered . The Vietnamese wedding and reception was a great experience. Different from our traditional western weddings.

So five of us ventured forth and took a look at the menu. Its a good thing that a couple of dishes had been highly recommended, because the menu was very extensive. But it did have very good descriptions of the dishes and they all sounded great.

We settled on an appetizer plate to start with, two types of spring rolls, one fried and one wrapped in lettuce. Some type of shrimp batter on a sugar cane stick that was fried, spicy meatballs (very good), shrimp, chicken and beef skewers and two great dipping sauces, one peanut and one fish sauce.

We decided to each order one dish and then we could share the meal. Our waiter was top notch (naturally a wanna be actor - in California is there anything else ?), he had the kitchen separate the dinners and put each item on a separate plate. The spinach was on one, the rice in a bowl and the salad also separate. Each of the meat/fish dishes were also kept separate which made for a nice "family style" dinning and a lot less messy than trying to take portions off everyones dinner plate. We had lamb chops, halibut baked a banana leaf, shaking beef (recommened), Chilean sea bass with black bean sauce (also recommended) and duck breast.

All the food was very good, the service and the ambiance was good. Its definitely worth going back again. It is not he most inexpensive place to eat. Most entrees were in the $18 to $22 range and corkage was $12 a bottle which they waive for us which was nice because we had 6 bottles of wine. So the waiter did get a generous tip. I did not look at their wine list but Terry did make a remark about it "You don't want to see it". High priced

I did not keep track of the wines everyone brought, but there was a Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Blanc. I brought a 2002 Saxum Broken Stones Syrah, which was outstanding, and a 2005 Federspiel Rhein Reisling which someone brought back from Austria for me. This wine was dry with a little spice to it and light fruit. It was a nice drinking wine. There also were 2 other red wines and a French white wine. Cannot remember what they were and I did not take notes. I was too busy eating and drinking.

I feel that I am a very lucky person to have good friends and be able to enjoy their company along with good food and wine.

Oktoberfest

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Wine Country in Long Beach, http://www.thewinecountry.com/, hosted a beer tasting this evening. All imported German beers. It's always curious to me that foreign beers taste so much better than the mass produced American beers. American beer is like drinking water, no flavor and dull.

Tonight we tasted 14 beers and they were served with, naturally, sauerkraut and sausages, warm German potato salad and the must have large baked pretzels with mustard. The mustard had a sweetness to it. This is a mustard that I will definitely buy.

Among my favorites of the night was Ayinger Jahrhundert-Bier, a larger from Bavaria, Ayinger Brau-Weisse (this beer was voted one of the top 50 in the world, ) the Spaten Optimator (we were calling it Arnold's beer) and the Kostritzer Schwarzbier, a very dark, almost black, larger.

Everyone got to take home a Pilsner glass or a tankard. They unfortunately did not have enough of each kind (3) to give everyone one of each, so it was mad scramble at the end to grab the one you wanted.

Next month is Stone Brewery tasting at The Wine Country and I am attending that also.

I believe in being a equal opportunity alcohol beverage consumer. As long as its good quality.

Sunday, October 7, 2007

Beer at BBC

When I pulled up my blog today to post I realized that the comments I typed in on the beer dinner at BBC were deleted. Since this is a month later, I no longer have my notes. It was Belgium beer, most of which I liked and If I remember correctly the food was good except for the dessert. The chef obviously is not a dessert person. The dessert was some store bought mini eclairs. They have better ones in the frozen food section of Costco.

The ambiance was nice, sitting out next to the water at night and the people at the next table were entertaining. It was a friends daughter and she was with several people in her age bracket. They know how to party.

Sunday By The Sea

Sunday, September 30

Today I boogied on down the roller coaster road at Portuguese Bend in Palos Verdes to attend a fundraiser for the Trinity Hospice Foundation. This also was the second time I have attended this particular event. This was held at a very large (and expensive I'm sure) estate in Palos Verdes. The house (mansion) sits on a piece of land that juts out from the main area and has a bay on each side and the Pacific ocean right in front. Absolutely spectacular view, and no one on either side and in front of you. Their tennis courts are in the back along with some small out buildings and that keeps them from seeing their neighbors behind them. Seclusion at its finest.

Of all the wine & food fundraiser events I have done over the years, this one ranks the highest for the quality of the food. All the food is donated by local "South Bay" restaurants and every body was talking about the quality.

They may not have as many wines as others but its more than adequate and they also have "spirits". Tried a new drink make by Uluvka Vodka, www.uluvka.com. They crushed fresh sage leaves in the bottom of a tall glass, added simple sugar, pineapple puree, ice cubes to the top of the glass and then filled it with vodka. It was a very refreshing drink similar to a Mojhito.

Their silent auction tables are filled with interesting and expensive items. The start bids on most of them is out of my league. But its always nice to be a "looky loo".

I definitely will be doing this fundraiser again next year.

Diapers to Dipolmas

Saturday, September 28

This was the second time I have attended this event which is a fundraiser for the Boys & Girls Club of Garden Grove. The weather cooperated and it was a nice fall day to be outdoors. The wines were donated by David Scales of MAWLwine. www.MAWLwine.com, nice variety and I picked up a couple more varietals to add to my quest for the second 100 varietals tasted. The food was donated and served by Outback Steak House and there was plenty of cheese, crackers and fruit yo keep you nibbling. Towards the end they put out bags of cookies, donated by the Radission Hotel and since we had paid $10 extra to have a table to sit at, we were given a box of cookies to take home and also were allowed to take the small cheese trays and center pieces home. So for my $85 fee which is a tax write off, I more than got my moneys worth and had a really good time.

The only glitch to the day was that one of the items I bid on in the silent auction and won that bid, was mistakenly given to another person who bid on the package next to mine. They did take the charge off my credit card and are supposed to contact the person and have him return the package, which supposedly I then can get and pay for again. I will have to call the office next week to see what is going on as they have not called me. I'm not getting good vibes over this incident. That person knew the package wasn't his as he and I were talking at the auction table about the items and he had bid on the similar one last year the same as I did. The personnel that evening said he had about 12 items he won so he may not have been aware that he had mine also when he left, but when he got home he would have known. I hope he turns out to be a honest person and returns my bid item.

Wine Bottle Sizes & Names

I always find the names that they gave wine bottles back whenever they decided they needed names, very interesting. I can never remember any name except Jeroboam & Nebuchadnezzar and then I only know that a Jeroboam is 6 bottles and the Nebuchadnezzar is bigger. I recently came across an article about the subject, so for my own information I'm going to keep in my "musings".

Spilt or Piccolo....................... 187 ml
Half-Bottle.............................. 375 ml
Standard Bottle...................... 750 ml
Magnum .................................1.5 L equal to....2 bottles
Double Magnum ....................3 L .....................4 bottles
Jeroboam................................ 5 L..................... 6 bottles
Rehoboam..................... 4.5 / 6 L.............. 6 to 8 bottles
Imperial or Methuselah........ 6 L..................... 8 bottles
Salmanazar .............................9 L.................. 16 bottles
Nebuchadnezzar................... 15 L................... 20 bottles
Melchior .................................18 L................... 24 bottles
Solomon................................. 20 L................... 26 bottles
Sovereign.............................. 25 L.................... 33 bottles
Primat................................... 27 L.................... 36 bottles
Melchizedek......................... 30 L................... 40 bottles

Saturday, September 29, 2007

Surprise Ending

Friday, September 28, 2007

Normally I do not post to the blog my weekly wine tastings that I do on a regular basis. But tonight was special, I stopped at the local wine shop MAWL, www.mawlwines.com, for my weekly "fix". David had Pinots on the agenda tonight. Several people were there that I knew, but a little later in the evening, old friends, Terry & Cora came in. This was their first wine tasting in several months, since Cora had surgery on her neck. She showed me her scar which looked like a huge zipper. It ran from the base of her skull down at least 6 inches. It was the same surgery Laura Bush just had but Cora had 5 places in her spine to repair and Mrs. Bush had one.

After tasting the wines we decided to go to Buhkara for dinner. 5 of us went and had a great time. The food is extremely good (Indian Cuisine) and the fact that Cora was finally getting her taste back was a joy. I brought a bottle 2002 William Seylem Pinot and along with the other 2 bottles we consumed them all. It was a great dinner, because of the company making it special.

Life is too short not to have good food, good wine and very good friends.

Sake Seminar

Wednesday, September26, 2007

Wine Country, www.thewinecountry.com, had another "Sake Seminar". I so enjoyed the one last year, I had to attend this one.

Sake is made with four simple ingredients. Rice, water, mold & yeast. It is a very labor intensive product to make. I will not go into the details but I was very surprised at how long it takes to mill the rice and make sake.

Good Sake is always served cold. The 3 levels of sake are, Junmai, Junmai Ginjo and Junmai Daigingo. Only 0.5% of all Sake production in Japan reaches the Daiginjo level, hence the price reflects it.

Tonight we tasted 6 Sakes . These Sakes had alcohol levels of 14.9% to 16%

First up was "Nabu Bijin "Southern Beauty" served with Oysters on the half shell with shallot vinegar.

Next was Fukucho "Moon on the Water" - made by a female sake brewer and Chiyonosono "Scared Power". These were served with steamed clams in white wine, shallots & parsley and asparagus with aoli.

The next two were Sato no Homare "Pride of the Village" made by a 6oo year old brewery, 55 generations of the same family and Ginjo Shizuku "Divine Droplets" . These were served with a Pork tenderloin with a peach glaze.

Last up was Tozai "Voices in the Mist". This was an unfiltered Sake. Served with a spicy salmon tartare and rice.

There is a website that has a lot of information of sake, http://www.esake.com/,

Belgium Beer Dinner

Monday, September 24, 2007.

The last beer dinner of the season was held tonight at The Belmont Brewing Company. The weather was perfect for sitting outside. The light from Long Beach and the LA Harbor were intoxicating and the sound of the waves crashing on the shore made for a very romantic interlude. But alas, I was with female friends and married men and a crowd of 60 people.

First course was a Cheese and Prochuitto (spelling taken off the menu) plate served with "Wittekerke White, a wheat ale. Very light beer and something good to start off the dinner with.

The soup served was a roasted red bell pepper with smoked gouda and served with "Bornen Double". The soup was very good but the beer wasn't to my liking. I guess it was good if you like that type of beer.

Next came a salad made with bibb lettuce, blue cheese and apples. Very good combination. This was served with "Bieken Honey Ale". A good pairing but I drank a very small amount of this beer. The taste of the honey ale's always gets to me fast. A little goes a long way.

Main course was a lemon herb dill chicken with rice and vegetables. It had very good flavor but by this time I was starting to get full so 90% of this dish went home with me for lunch the next day. This was served with "Piraat Triple"

Dessert is always a disappointment at BBC. The chef obviously is not into desserts. We were served "institutional" eclairs. They sell better ones at Costco. I ate 1 small eclair. There were 3 on the plate. It just wasn't worth the extra calories to eat something very mediorce. This was served with "Golden Draak". One of the better beers of the night.

The evening was great, most of the food was good, the conversation was good, the ambiance spectacular and "Jack" was out preforming himself. When I left he had a huge grin on his face and was a little wobbly so we all assumed he had a great time like we did. Probably better by the looks of him

Monthly Wine Get Together

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Our monthly get together was held today. The theme was Central Coast Pinots (Noir, Gris & Blanc). Technically the "central coast" runs from Edna Valley to Monterey but everyone includes the Santa Barbara area in their interpretation. Which is good because we had some very good Pinots from that area. The real standouts were Sanford (2002), Ken Brown, Sea Smoke and Badge. All the wines brought were good except for the 2004 Sanford.

It was interesting to compare the 2002 which was that last year Bruno D'Alfonso made the wine and the 2004 which was not up to standards. Also the 2005 Badge is the new label of Bruno D'Alfonso and to compare them was quite a treat.

We had 14 Pinot Noirs and 6 of them were from the Sta. Rita Hills.

Spanish Dinner & Flamenco Dancers at Sebastiani's

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Thursday, September 13, 2007

Pizza Wines & PIzza

Friday, September 7, 2007

This is the third year that I have attended the "Pizza Wines" shindig at Wine Country, www.thewinecountry.com, . This year they served 4 different kinds of pizza. First out was a cheese, spinach, olive pizza. It had ricotta cheese under the creamy cheese topping. Next came a sundried tomato and basil pizza, followed by a tomato topped pizza and then the always popular sausage pizza. I did enjoy this tasting more than last years where they only served 2 types. The wines all paired well and if you saved some of the first pizzas to try with the wines that were brought out later it was an interesting taste test. We had a good time and were literally stuffed by time we ran out of wine.

I tasted two more varietals of wines tonight and have added them to my list for the Century Club. My count is now 116 varietals tasted.

Saturday, September 1, 2007

Stone Brewing Beer Dinner

Monday, August 27, 2007

Belmont Brewing Company, http://www.belmontbrewing.com/, hosts about 6 beer dinners over the course of spring & fall. I had not attended one since last year . Since I do like the beers of Stone Brewing, http://www.stonebrew.com/, so I decided to forget my irritation with the BBC and attend this dinner. It was $50 plus tax & tip. The tip is what grates me. Mandatory 18%. It should be 15% and let me add more if I feel the service warrants it. Like last year the bread came out late. It should be brought to your table when you are seated., not at the second course

On with the dinner.

The setting was perfect. Outdoors next to the sand and water with the sunset coming. When the sun set could see all the lights from Long Beach, San Pedro and Palos Verdes. BBC does have a great piece of real estate.

At 6:30 they started bringing bottles of the first beer around which was "Levitation Ale" a very light ale, only 5%, which paired nicely with the Andouille Sausage with a Honey Tomato Basil Chutney. The chutney was really good and paired well with the sausage. They did come around and ask if you wanted more beer.

They were very generous in the amount of beer they served. One bottle per person and if you wanted more you could have it. The Levitation I did finish my bottle.

The second course was an Italian White Bean Soup. I did have to add salt & pepper to bring out the flavors. But tasty. It was served with the pale ale, which is not one of my favorite beers. I had about a third of the bottle.

The salad was Heirloom Caprese with Balsamic reduction. I did eat one slice of a yellow tomato and the mozzarella cheese. I am not a big fan of raw tomatoes and that is why I picked the yellow which had great flavor. Less acid. They served this with the "Arrogant Bastard" beer, which is one of my favorites. This beer was the only draft beer and it came around in pitchers.

The main course was a Seabass with Risotto Cake in a Bisque Sauce. This was a good dish. Not to sure about it being seabass but it was a white fish with a very good sauce. The risotto cake
was a nice touch and the veggies were julienned. The beer with this was "Ruination". A good pairing.

Dessert was another story. This was the great disappointment of the evening. The beer with dessert was a smoked porter which I really like. It has a chocolate flavor to it and it could have paired well with so may simple things that the chef could have made. (easier to serve that what we got). Dessert was a scoop of Spumoni ice cream with a biscotti. The ice cream was half melted by the time we had it placed in front of us. Did not pair with the beer at all. It was like the chef forgot about dessert and threw something together at the last minute. A Sticky Toffee Pudding, A Gingerbread Cake with a Caramel Sauce, a Dark Chocolate Cake or Brownie Volcano Cake would have been great with this porter.

It was an enjoyable evening and I will probably do the next dinner in October at BBC, which will be Belgium beers.

No Wine & Dine This Month

Saturday, August 25, 2007

Today was the "Wine & Dine" monthly dinner. It is being held at Ante's in San Pedro. A Croatian Restaurant that has been at their location it seems forever.

I was not able to participate in this months dinner as this is the day the my nephew decided to have a memorial "gathering" for his father who passed away earlier this month. And as I had known my brother-in-law (51 years) before he met my sister, it took precedence over me going to dinner.

So no report on a August Wine & Dine dinner.

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Pine Ridge Winery Dinner

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

A Pine Ridge Winery dinner was held at Z'Mario Restaurant in Irvine, http://www.myzmario.com/, This used to be the Chanteclair Restaurant. Dinner was held in a separate room from the regular dining area. There were approximately 25 people in attendance and the table was set up in a "U" fashion which made for good conversation with several people.

Dinner was scheduled to start at 6:30. I arrived abut 6:05. We were allowed to enter the dining area at approximately 6:20. It was a little strange to have bread & butter plates but no bread. I would have thought that they would have provided that while you were waiting for the dinner to begin. Bread is relatively cheap. At around 6:50 the wine rep started pouring the first wine. A 2006 Chenin Blanc Viognier blend. This was really a very clear crisp wine with a slight sweet taste at the end. They did pour a second glass of this wine when the appetizer arrived at 7:05. I personally find that 35 minutes after the supposed start of the dinner the first food arrives unacceptable, especially when we had no bread or crackers. I can give 15 minutes leeway but 35 minutes is too long.

The appetizer was a very nice crab cake with a beurre blanc saffron sauce, It was topped with a butterflied shrimp which I found to be totally tasteless. No flavor at all. I do not know if it was a frozen shrimp or farm raised but they could have left it off the crab cake for what it added to the dish.

Next course as Macadamia Crusted Mahi Mahi with baby vegetables and garlic mashed potatoes and a small clam. This was an extremely good dish. It was paired with 2005 "Dijon Clones" Chardonnay which saw 9 months in French oak. It was still a tad to oaky for my palate. Others raved about it.

The lamb chops were served with a port reduction sauce and they were nicely seasoned. They were cooked just right for me. Rare. They chops were good but I have had better quality meat so I am spoiled. This was served with a 2004 "Crimson Creek" Merlot. This was a very "BIG" merlot. Bold and Big. It did open up after having swirled it for several minutes. This wine may have been better served, decanted. It was a very good combination.

The main course was an Angus Filet Mignon with a green peppercorn sauce and served with polenta and baby vegetables. The meat was cooked to just past rare and was very tender and had good flavor. The wine with this dish was 2003 Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon. Again a very good combination.

Dessert was a "Chocolate brownie filled with raspberry sauce, chocolate ice cream canelle and fresh berries. The menu indicated whipped cream and nuts but I didn't see or taste them at all. The 2004 Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon was served with this dish.

Big difference in the Stags Leap and the Rutherford Cab. Interesting to taste both of them at the same time.

For the most part this was a very nice dinner aside from a couple of "faux paux's". Well worth the money. If I was managing this restaurant I would have some way of putting up drapes over the french doors that look out onto the bar area. Even if there was a temporary way of hooking them onto the doors. Not only was the noise from the bar noticeable but you could see the bar lights through the glass. I was sitting on the inside of the "U" and had a full view of the bar. It was at times a little distracting. Drapes would have blocked some of the noise and all of the lights. When I "dine", I do like quiet. If I want noise I can "eat" at a chain restaurant.

The food was good and the wines were excellent and the company was great. Makes for a very pleasant evening. I would dine at this establishment again.

Monday, August 20, 2007

Monthy Wine Soriree

Sunday, August 19, 2007

This was our monthly meeting of "the winos". As the host always selects the theme, and today's was Zinfandels and Pinot Noir based Rose Sparklings & Champagnes. 20 bottles were opened for consumption.

There were only 3 bubblies today, which was unfortunate as the temperature was "arising".

Personally I cannot handle red wine in the heat unless I'm in a very cool air-conditioned environment.

I tasted all the bubblies and about 6 of the Zinfandels. I took about a 3/4 ounce pour on the reds which was all I could handle. Even drinking copious amounts of water could not rid me of the headache I acquired. Which is too bad as I would have like to tasted several of the zin's that I was not familiar with.

I did taste the older zins that were brought. It is always interesting to taste older wines and see what they were in the past. There was a 1990 Gallo, Frei Ranch and a 1991 Segehsio Sonoma. The old zins lose their "zinnest" and start to take on the caricature of Cabernets. That's why most people enjoy Zinfandels that are young.

As always the food that was brought was good and there was a lot of it to choose from.

I left about 7:00 and the temperature was starting to cool down to a comfort zone. Maybe we should have started this soiree at 7:00 instead of 3:00

Sunday, August 5, 2007

Dinner in The Vineyard

Saturday, August 4, 2007

Sure glad I was not the designated driver this trip. After an afternoon of Pinots and bubblies we wandered back down 246 to Ballard Canyon Road to look for the balloons on the gate at Stolpman Vineyards. http://www.stoplmanvineyards.com/ This we found without having to back up or make a u-turn. (amazing) .

The festivities started at 4:00 and we arrived about 5. They had some Poetry in Red wine still out, The L'Avion, Rosato and the Poetry in White had been sucked up by the thirsty horde. An appetizer table was set up with salami, sausages, olives, crackers , and a fruit studded melted brie which you spooned up onto small slices of french bread. Stolpman olive oil was on the table for dipping. After everyone had their turn taking the tractor ride around the vineyard, dinner was served.

This dinner was so much better that the one served last year. (we won't even go there) We had salmon with a cream/caper sauce, pork loin, wild rice, roasted potatoes, salad, Dolmas and grilled vegetables and Foccaia/Garlic/Cheese bread. Frankly I'm not to sure why the "Dolmas" (stuffed grape leaves). It didn't seem to fit but the catering company spokesman said he was trying to do a "Mediterranean theme".

Bottles of Stolpman Sangiovese and Syrah littered the tables. We did not want for food or wine.

After dinner plates of cookies, biscotti and cannolis were put on the table.

Then they passed out a paper with a quiz on the history of Stolpman Vineyards with the winners getting a bottle of wine for a prize. I ended up with a 2005 Stolpman Estate Syrah. Our group got 3 bottles of wine to take home.

So at dusk we left (there are no lights in the vineyard or on the roads). Bottles of wine, bags of cookies and grapevines to take home to plant our own syrah vines - are hands were full, our stomachs ached from all the wine and food we "had" to endure today but we had smiles on our faces.

Another successful weekend and I hope that the two events will be held on the same day next year. (only 1 motel bill)

Clos Pepe Release Party

Saturday, August 4, 2007

Drove up to Buellton/Lompoc area today to attend the 2006 release party at Clos Pepe Vineyards. www.clospepe.com

We stopped in Summerland on the way up (just outside of Santa Barbara) and managed to get a parking space which is hard to do in that blip of the road. Tasted a few wines at the Summerland Winery tasting room. I found them all pleasant wines and nicely priced. Worth a stop if you are in the area.

Since we were meeting our guests for the day at 1:40 we have a little time to kill so we hit the "Shoestring" Winery. On 246 on the way into Solvang. It is close to hwy 101 so it was a convenient stop. Apparently they had cleaned the floor (which is made of sawn timbers that have creosote in them) that morning and the smell really took over the tasting room. I'd rather have a dirty floor that the smell.

Met up with our guests and boggied on down 246 towards Lompoc. Clos Pepe is right after Melville and Babcock and the driveway has Italian Cypress trees growing next to it but every time we seem to miss the driveway by a hundred feet of so and have make a U-turn . Today was no different. After finally driving through the correct gate was were stopped by the "keeper of the list". If your name was not on that list you got no further. After finding that indeed my name had not been deleted (I'm always amazed) we were allowed to enter.

The release party was held at the main house (magnificent) as it was last year. New West Catering was busy making gourmet pizzas and grilling vegetables and sausages. As usual they were really good. Saw quite a few people that I knew from various events. Old home week.

We tasted the 2006 release of the Estate Pinot, the VS Pinot and the Chardonnay. All were excellent. Then off to the table with the 2005's. The Estate Pinot is the only wine available from that vintage and it is in short supply.

We headed to the library table with vintages from 1999 to 2004. Ken Brown was there pouring his 2003 and 2005 Clos Pepe Pinot. The 2003 is really drinking nice. Arcadian was there pouring his 2005 Clos Pepe Pinot which will not be released until 2008. I really liked this wine. I will have to check out their website.

Bubblies were the theme of this years addition to the party. Every year they have a theme and ask people to bring a bottle per their group to add to the festivities. I remember the first year I attended the theme was Burgundies at least 10 years old. I remember I tasted a 1970 something Romanee Conti. This time with the bubblies it ranged for high end Champagnes to inexpensive Proseco's. A fun time was had by all.

The house was fully opened to everyone and you could sit any where you wanted. I heard a glass break and I really hope it did not have wine in it. The house and the furnishings are outstanding.

They had an auction of various items to raise additional money for the familes of the two workers that were killed in an accident this summer in the vineyard. A bottle of burgundy went for $3,100. A lot of high rollers in this group.

Clos Pepe has a small breed of English sheep that they keep in the vineyards to weed between the rows. The sheep are so small they cannot reach the grapes so they just keep munching away on the vegetation close to the ground. They have a new ewe and had a contest to name it. I sent in the name "Penelope" and that was chosen for the new ewe. I was given a bottle of 2000 Clos Pepe Pinot for my effort.

It was starting to get close to 4:30 so it was time to say our goodby and head on down the road to the Stolpman Vineyards for "Dinner in the Vineyard"

Sunday, July 29, 2007

Update on Century Club

I have received my certificate from "The Wine Century Club". It was mailed from England, gold seal and all.

There as a letter enclosed with the certificate and I will quote a potion of it.

"Congratulations on becoming a member of the Wine Century Club. As of today we have 255 members from all over the world" (its hard to believe that little ol me is part of a very elite group of winos).

"Most remarkable is the rarity of your proficient imbibing: just 3.3% of those that downloaded the application have become members" (at least I'm recognized as a proficient imbibler)

So I encourage all of you who read this to go to http://www.winecentury.com/ and download the list and start the hunt. Two years ago when I started, I had 63 varietals listed and when I sent in the list last month, I had 111 varietals tasted and I added the 112th a few days later. I have tasted hundreds and hundreds of wines in the past 2 years and made it a mission to get this accomplished. I have gone out of my way seeking odd varietals and asking loads of questions of the wine reps at the tastings and dinners I have attended. Some of them have given me great leads but it does take time and perseverance.

If you cheat on the application just so you can have bragging rights you really are cheating no one but you. And you will be the loser in the long run. Unfortunately I do know a couple of people that would do this. How sad someone has to cheat to build up their ego.

Dinner At Pasta Al Dente

Saturday, July 28, 2007

July's gathering of the "Wine & Dine" group was at Pasta al Dente in Naples (Long Beach). There was 21 in attendance for tonight's dinner. We sat outside since it was a very nice balmy evening. A touch of humidity, which in Southern California creates moans & groans from the natives. We get very few humid days so we are very spoiled when it comes to weather.

There were approximately 22 bottles of wine on the table. I can remember a few but did not keep track. I don't consider these dinners wine tastings, but sharing wine with everyone. I did bring two bottles. A 2006 Palmini, Honea Vineyard, Santa Ynez Valley, Tocai Friulano. http://www.palminawines.com/. A dry slightly fruity white white. It had nice acidity and was nicely balanced. It went very well with some of the food that was served. Several people wrote the name of the grape down (Tocai Friulano) to add to their quest for the Wine Century Club certificate. www.winecentury.com, I also brought a 2002 Clos Pepe, Sta. Rita Hills, Pinot Noir. http://www.clospepe.com/ . This wine was showing very well and at least six people commented that they thought it was the best wine there. It was elegant, very well balanced, good acidity and a beautiful finish. I was very pleased with the wine. It paired very well with the mushroom dishes.

The dishes that were served this evening are as follows:

Appetizers:

Foccaia bread with balsamic vinegar & oilve oil

Fungi di Oggi - sauteed mushrooms flambeed in brandy, Marsala wine and loads of garlic (somehow I did not get the "loads of garlic", maybe because I use a tremendous amount of garlic when I cook and it wasn't enough for me).

Fungi Imbottiti - baked stuffed mushrooms with pieces of chicken breast, green onions, cream cheese, herbs, finished with a Romano cheese bread crumb gratinate. I really liked this dish. I could have made an entire meal out of it.

Pizza: Shrimp Pesto - Bay shrimp, red onions, mozzarella, parmigiana, romano and regular pesto sauce. This was definitely a winner. Very tasty and very filling.

Salad: Riso Con Pesto - Risotto, chicken pesto, tomatoes, basil, onions and pine nuts on a bed of baby greens. This was tasty and several people raved about it, but at that point I was starting to get very full and probably did not enjoy it as much as I should have.

Pasta: Ravioli di Asparagi - ravioli filled with fresh asparagus, sun dried tomatoes, tri-colored roasted bell peppers and aglio olio. The flavors were very good. I did like this dish (which I took home)

Entrees:

Petto di Pollo con Noce di Coco - coconut chicken breast topped with cranberry mango chutney and roasted rosemary potatoes. This was similar to coconut shrimp. The flavor was wonderful. I did have a couple of bites of the chicken but I never saw the potatoes. I really liked this dish.

Vitello Picatta - breaded veal medallions topped with a lemon caper sauce served with rice and vegetables. This was good but I have had better veal picatta. I prefer my breading to be on the very light side and this tasted heavy to me. The sauce had great flavor.

I was stuffed to the gills, but we had ice cream on the way for dessert, so I put the balance of my coconut chicken, veal piccata and the ravilois in a take out container ( I will have the leftovers for lunch on Sunday)

It was a great dinner, with good wines and friendly people and this is what food and wine is all about. Having fun and enjoying life.

Next month we are off the Ante's in San Pedro. A Croatian restaurant which I have dined at before and liked it enough to go back several times.


Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Monthy Meeting of Winos

Sunday, July 22, 2007

The monthly gathering of the "winos" today. Today's theme was Petite Syrah and Chardonnay. I think for the first time we had more white wines than red. 9 whites and 7 reds. A couple of the wines that I particularly liked were the 1996 Charteau Chamirey, Mercury, Chardonnay, the 2002 Pouilly-Fuisse, LaCote-Ricotte, Chardonnay, the 1994 Markham, Napa Petite Syrah, 2002 Rosenblum, Rockpile Road, Dry Creek, Petite Syrah and the 2004 Robert Biale Vineyard, Thomann Station Petite Syrah.

As always the food was good. The hosts made a pork loin with fruit sauce which disappeared fast. Some of the notable appetizers included mini crab cakes, sauteed shrimp and mini bell peppers (red, yellow & green) stuffed with a cheese mixture.

Next month we are off to the land of "Zinfandels & Pinot Noir based Rose Champagnes & Sparklings"

Sunday, July 22, 2007

10th Annual Extravaganza For The Senses

Saturday, July 21, 2007

This was the 5th time I have attended this event. It is a fund raiser for the LA Free Clinic. It was again held at 20th Century Studios in Los Angeles. The nice thing about having events at the movie studios, is that the have the fanciest" porta-potties".

This event is always interesting because of the "people watching" you can do. It seems to bring out the young "wanna be Paris Hilton" dollies and the old "wanna be Brad Pitt" geezers. You also get the "botox", "cosmetic surgery" queens. There was one blond female there that had so much done to her face she was grotesque. She looked deformed. Yet by her attitude she thought she was "gorgeous". They had a photo area where you could have your picture taken. She spent quite a bit of time having her picture taken, looking at the results and having a re shoot.

We saw "Jose Conseco" the baseball player. Now that is a person who thinks he is "gods gift". He was very tall, 6'4" or more. Very, very tight black pants, a white, form fitted shirt and a very attractive, dewy eyed blond with an extremely flat stomach, skirt hanging on her hip and top just covering the boobs who looked like she was "barely legal" piece of arm candy on his arm. When you got it, flaunt it.

Wine and food were in abundance as is the case with most of these fundraisers. Its a big pick and choose, especially if you are the designated driver (which I was). I was prepared to eat myself into pig heaven .

One of the busiest food booths was serving sushi and spicy tuna hand rolls. We also had, raviolis stuffed with lobster and shrimp, mini carnita tostadas, (instead or tortillas they used a very thin corn cake), barbecued beef tamales with a tomatillo sauce that was to die for (the vendor is right around the corner from where I work ) " http://www.cornmaidenfoods.com/ ". Macaroni & cheese seems to be a "comfort food" item . 3 vendors were serving different versions of it.

Beef on a roll, pork on a roll, different versions of bruschetta, many kinds of salads, some with meat, Lawry's prime rib sandwiches. A lot of pasta dishes, most of which I did not eat. I go for the sushi and meat at these events. Someone was serving a roasted pork, which was so juicy and the skin cracked when you bit into it. They did lack in the dessert department but one of the best ice creams I have had was "Choctal". It is available at Bristol Farms and Whole Foods. Don't know the cost but I'm definitely going to get some. Their "Madagascar Vanilla" was to die for.

In all there were 33 vendors for food and 121 wineries represented, some with more that one wine available

I did like the Rochioli Pinot Noir, the Piper-Heidsieck Rose Champagne, Henriot Champagne. I stuck with the lighter wines since I was the driver and didn't taste to many of the others. I did have a "Bicardi Mojito". That was the only hard alcohol vendor there. In years past they have had martini bars, margarita bars and other types of beverages. Even the rep from Alize was not there this year as he has been in the past.

This event has been one that does not seem to be consistent in its food and beverage department. Some years it seems to be better and some years it lacks something. Even the silent auction items were not that impressive this year.

I sometimes wonder if these "fund raisers" that put the squeeze on the restaurants and beverage suppliers are getting to be "too many".

I was told by a wine rep that he has a budget of wine that he gets at the first of every year from his company. This is for these type of fund raisers. When he runs out of items to furnish towards the end of the year it gets to be a scramble for him to find wine for those organizations that get their requests in late. Those who request early are the ones that are taken care of and get the better wines furnished to them. Its an interesting business.

Big California Reds Tasting

Friday, July 20, 2007

Wine Country in Long Beach had a tasting tonight of "Big California" Red wines. Price was $65. Retail prices on the 13 bottles that were poured was from $47 to $130 with the majority of them being over $70.

I will not attempt to make a comment on each wine. I will list what we tasted and state which ones I preferred.

2004 Stag' s Leap Wine Cellars "Artemis", Cabernet, Napa
2003 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, "Fay Vineyard" , Cabernet, Napa
2003 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, "S.L.V." Cabernet, Napa
2004 Duckhorn "Estate Grown", Merlot, Napa
2004 Duckhorn "Three Palms", Merlot, Napa
2003 Duckhorn "Three Palms", Merlot, Napa
2003 Duckhorn "Howell Mtn", Merlot, Howell Mtn.
2004 Duckhorn, Cabernet, Napa
2003 Round Pond "Estate", Cabernet, Rutherford
2003 Beau Vigne, Cabernet, Napa
2004 Oakville, "East Exposure" Cabernet, Oakville
2002 Heitz Cellars "Bella Oaks, Cabernet, Napa
2002 Heitz Cellars, Martha's Vineyard", Cabernet, Napa

I did prefer the Heitz Bella Oaks over the Martha's and The Stag's Leap Artemis over the other 2 Stag's Leap. The Round Pond is a new winery. It was slightly herbaceous but was very nice for the new kid on the block. I'm not a big Merlot fan, but the 2003 Duckhorn Three Palms was as close to a Cab as you can get. Like Randy indicated, if you blind tasted this wine with a Cab you would have a very hard time telling the difference. All the wines were good, but my personal 2 favorites were the Bella Oaks and the Artemis.

At the end Randy pulled out a bottle of a blackberry liqueur that he sells in his store. $13 for a 375ml bottle. My first thought was a new "martini". Vodka, with the blackberry liqueur and blackberries on a stick in the glass. Maybe I will try that on my next "Mary's Martini Madness" night

Sunday, July 15, 2007

Delius Open One Week

Saturday, June 14, 2007

Delius Restaurant has now been open for one week. Went with friends for dinner there tonight. We tried to get into the prix fixe dinner but it was booked way ahead of this date. We did have them reserve a table for us in the walkin side.

Since its only been a week they are still working the bugs out (Stay away for a month if you are perfectionist) We had reserved a table for 5. It was only set for 4 and we had to wait for another chair which took more time than it should have to arrive. The 5th set up had to be asked for. The waiter opened a bottle of wine that I brought and poured everyone a glass from it without letting me taste it first to make sure it was good. We all ordered soup and 3 of us got our soup right away and the other 2 soups came after we finished ours. These are all staffing problems and Dave will be having a staff meeting to address these issues. Like I indicated in an earlier post, it takes close to a month to get the kinks and bugs worked out of a new restaurant and all new waitstaff, some who have not had much experience working in a higher end establishment. And as all new places go some of the waitstaff will probably not make the cut. Time will tell.

The food that we had was typical Delius food. Perfect. We all had the tomato/basil soup with lobster. What can I say. It was so good.

The Caesar salad had anchovies in it like a true Caesar. A filet was cooked just to medium rare which was requested. A special of the day was a pasta with a marinara sauce with shrimp, crab & lobster. I was told it was great also. I did not taste it because of the tomato sauce. My lamb shank was perfect, juicy and full of flavor and fell off the bone when I started to cut into the meat. The food is always top notch at Delius. They are my standard when I go to compare restaurants.

I took a bottle of 2004 Kosta-Browne Pinot and a 2003 Stolpman Angeli (syrah). Good wine was made to shared with friends. And these wines were both very good. Dave and the bar manager, Ed were both impressed.

I did notice that the end of the bar area did have the doors on to hide all the bar "stuff". This was done since I was in on Tuesday. Hopefully the back bar will be in place soon. That is going to look so good. And when the trim gets around the five wine coolers on the wall it should really take on a look of sophistication.

The place was packed, the prix fixe dining room was full and everyone seemed to be having a good time. They still need to get the acoustic problem fixed in the walkin dining area. Hopefully soon.

I will be back in this next Tuesday with friends for dinner. It will be interesting to see what more has been done inside to complete the interior. And I will get to try another new food dish.

Sunday, July 8, 2007

First Night At Delius

Friday, July 6, 2007

This is the first day that Delius is open to the public for business. www.Deliusrestaurant,com . When I arrived at approximately 5:30 the place was close to being full. Sat with friends in the bar/lounge area and ordered a couple of appetizers and a light dinner.

Service did start out slow, but as the night progressed the waitstaff seemed to be getting into the groove. This is a new place with new personnel and it does take some time to get used to working with people. I only saw one person from the old establishment. If you are a person that can't go with the flow, then I would suggest that you wait a month before coming in. By then the bugs will have been worked out.

As always the food was good. The menus has some old favorites but a lot of new items. Pricing has gone up slightly, but less than I thought it would.

I had the wild mushroom stuffed ravioli at $13. It came with soup or salad. I opted for the soup, salmon bisque. The cup of soup was close to the same size as the bowl at the old place. Friends had the bacon wrapped chicken breast stuffed with blue cheese with a starch & vegetables, $16 and the chipotle macaroni & cheese., $10. Other friends who came later ordered a bowl of salmon bisque, $6 (larger than the old place), and an iceberg lettuce wedge with a maple ranch dressing, goat cheese, avocado and macadamia nuts, $11, which they said was very good and the procuitto wrapped shrimp, $10. All entrees come with either soup or salad

I noticed that the place was full almost all night long. There was a turnover of people, but always full. This bodes well for Dave & Louise.

I can't wait to start trying all the other new items on the menu. Yes this place is different than the "old" Delius. Not the little cozy nook that we were all used to. But it is new, exciting and still has the friendly atmosphere and the great food they are known for.

Delius' Finally Opened

Thursday, July 6, 2007

After many months (actually close to 2 years) the new Delius' doors opened for a pre-opening soiree.

The first thing you notice is a large parking lot that is not shared with anyone else. (Hallelujah)

When you walk in the front door, right in front of you is a very large expanse of mahogany with outcrops (shelves) of mahogany and recessed lighting. This same detail will be on the back wall of the bar area.

It still has the Delius touch. The main walk-in dining area is with the bar/lounge area. There are free standing tables, booths and a long banquette against the far wall with small tables. Track lighting with individual spotlights for each table hangs from above. There are soffitts around the dining area which soon will be filled with an acoustical sound absorbing material. Right down the noise level is high. The ceiling is open to the roof with exposed ductwork, etc. painted a dark color so you do not notice that it is open.

4 wine cellars line the one wall in the main dining room. Hopefully they will soon be filled with the wine that is stacked very high in the "new private" dining area that has a window that looks out into the kitchen area that Louise will be cooking in.

The prix fixe dining area is a separate room with a back entrance/exit for the servers coming from the kitchen (no more coming through the dining room to get to the bar). The other dining room is served by a second door in the hallway.

The kitchen is set up into 2 cooking areas. One for the cook and one for Louise who will still cook the high end dinners for the prix fixe dining room (reservations only) The dishwashing area is larger than the kitchen at the old place.

We were served an assortment of appetizers, true to Delius' reputation. Endive leaves, stuffed with a lobster concoction, stuffed mushrooms, procuitto wrapped grilled shrimp, ginger wontons, chicken wrapped up in a very small crepe like roll with a sauce , gourmet pizzas, freshly made, very thinly sliced potato chips (addicting), small pieces of chicken in a lemon dipping sauce, miniature cream puffs and cookies. Wine was being poured freely and the bar was open for those who purchase mixed drinks.

Everyone I talked with tonight felt the same as I did, that this place is going to be a real winner.



Sunday, July 1, 2007

Dinner At Tantalizing Thai

Saturday, June 30, 2007.

This was the monthly gathering of "CJ's Wine & Dine" group. There were 14 in attendance tonight. We have been to Tantalizing Thai several times in the past. Convenient location and ample parking which is always a big plus for me.

Tonight it seemed that were a lot of champagnes and sparking wines brought. More so than what is "normal" for this group. I did not keep a list of what we drank but there was a 2005 Carmondy McKnight Cab Franc and I brought a 2003 Stolpman Angeli. http://www.stolpmanvineyards.com/, . Since we had so much bubbly and I had been tasting wines earlier in the day at the LA Wine Fest, I did not get into the reds that much.

We started out with "Tom Yum Koong" which is a spicy broth soup with shrimp and straw mushrooms. I really like this soup and had three bowls of it.

Next out of the kitchen was Satay Chicken with peanut sauce and Thai Spring rolls.

Our entrees included, Pineapple Fried Rice, Green Chicken Curry (I'm not a big fan of curry but this dish is very good), Tantalizing Mixed Vegetables (basil, eggplant, asparagus, cauliflower, tomatoes stir fried in a Kra Prao sauce).

The next two dishes were my favorites. Crying Tiger Steak (ribeye with a lime juice sauce) and a new dish we had not had before - Three Flavor Salmon. (Grilled salmon with sweet, sour and spicy wok blended sauces.) This salmon dish was very good.

A nice group of people, lots of bubblies and good food. What more can you ask for. I was a contented female (what a novelty).

L.A. Wine Fest

Saturday, June 30, 2007

Attended the LA Wine Fest, http://www.lawinefest.com/, aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach. The tasting was held in the Grand Salon which is where "Sunday Brunch" is held. It took awhile for all the vendors to show up but about 3:00 it was starting to get very crowded and busy. The air circulation left a lot to be desired.

There also seemed to be a bit of "lack of knowledge" of the staff. In their program book they had a list of winemakers that were to appear. When we started asking where these people would be, no one knew. Even a person that was supposed to be one of the organizers didn't know what we were taking about. I had to show her the list in the program but she did not have a clue. We finally saw one of the "winemakers" that was on the agenda and found out they were giving a series of lectures in an adjacent room. No sign next the room of any kind to inform people of what was taking place. One of the speakers was Wes Hagen from Clos Pepe Vineyard. http://www.clospepe.com/. I just had dinner at their house last weekend. (see posting).

There were 80 vendors attending. Some of the vendors were distributors or wine stores. They had multiple wines on their tables that they were pouring. One of the wineries that I did like and I had tasted their wines last year at the "Passport" tasting at Delius Restaurant, http://www.deliusrestaurant.com/ , was Barretto Cellars, http://www.barretocellars.com/, They are in the Paso Robles area and they specialize in Spanish varietals. .

Twisted Oak cellars , http://www.twistedoak.com/. They are from the Murphy area in Calaveras County were there also. About 6 years ago when I was in the Sierra Foothills tasting, I walked into their tasting room which had been opened only 9 days. I had a barrel sampling of their Tempranillo and was impressed. They had since received many good reviews on their wines.

The price of the ticket was $40 for a 1 day pass and $70 for Saturday and Sunday. I opted for the one day pass but in retrospect, if I attend next year I will a get a 2 day pass. It was difficult to get to all the tables because of the crowd of people. I think you really need 2 days to take in all in.

For the most part this was a lot of fun. My biggest gripe was the lack of knowledge from the staff and the lack of air circulation. If you were on the porthole side of the room, you were getting quite heated. Perhaps when they move into the Queen Salon for Sundays event, things may improve. They also needed to keep the cheese and cracker tables better supplied.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Wine Trivia

One Bottle Of Wine Contains:
2.4 pounds of grapes (39 oz)
25.6 ounces of wine
4 glasses of wine

One Case Of Wine Contains:
30 pounds of grapes (468 oz)
307.2 ounces of wine
12 bottles of wine
48 glasses of wine

One Barrel Of Wine Contains:
985 pounds of grapes (59 gallons)
24.6 cases of wine
295 bottles of wine
1,180 glasses of wine

Century Club Submittal

Monday, June 25, 2007

Today I faxed my application to the Century Club. http://www.winecentury.com/. I had a grand total of 111 varietals that I have tasted . (yes the can be in blends). This was strictly a personal quest that has been a lot of fun. And I will continue to look for little known varietals to add to the list.

I wonder if anyone has actually tasted all the varietals on the list. It would be interesting to find out.

Monday, June 25, 2007

Premier & Grand Cru's

Sunday, June 24, 2007

This was the monthly gathering of the "winos". Today's theme was Premier Cru's and Grand Cru's. Several people were out of town so we ended up with a small group, which worked out well. We got to taste the wines a second time and some a third time. This is always good especially when the caliber of the wines were on the higher side. (one of the attendees laughed and said that these high end tasting weeds out the people who bring "inexpensive" wines).

We had wines from 1990 to 2005 vintages. Lynch Bages, Chambertin, Montrachet.

I got to bed at 1:00 am and left Buellton at 6:10 am this morning so needless to say I was dragging, but it not stop me from enjoying the great selection of wines we had today. Its a dirty job but someone has to sacrifice themselves to do it

Dinner at Clos Pepe

Saturday, June 23, 2007

I have been waiting for this dinner since I attended the one in 2006. I was really stoked about getting one of the 18 seats available to the "common folk". There were 79 people in attendance. Should have been 80 but David Chan didn't make it. So I guess this year there will be no pictures of the dinner posted to his blog.

When I arrived about half of the people were there already. Three tables were set up in the courtyard area. One for each of the winemakers to show their 2006 barrel samples of Pinot Noir, all sourced from Clos Pepe. Brian Loring of Loring Wine Company, http://www.loringwinecompany.com/, Andrew Vingiello of A.P. Vin wines, http://www.apvin.com/, and Wes Hagen of Clos Pepe, http://www.clospepe.com/. There was also a new wine sitting there a Pinot sourced from Clos Pepe. Roessler was the name. http://www.roesslercellars.com/, Roger Roessler was there. He is from Sonoma . This is a new one for me. (but then again almost every week I hear about a new winery - they are like rabbits ). Clos Pepe has an outstanding reputation for the quality of their grapes. They sell most of their grapes off to other winemakers and just bottle a small amount themselves. Their allocation list is closed but you can get on the list to get onto the allocation list.

Gourmet pizzas were served as an appetizer. They have a wood burning pizza over built into the wall in the courtyard. We had "Albino King Salmon with Mascarpone & Basil", "Venison Sausage with Pear & Brie" and "Carmelized Onions,Duck Prosciutto with Blue Cheese & Arugula". It's hard to pick a favorite. They were all great.

We cleansed our palates with a "Miniature Pomegrante Popsicle". Beautiful deep ruby red color and fantastic taste.

When it was time to seated at the dining tables inside the house, I again sat at Brian Lorings table. Which proved that my luck was still holding. (more on my luck at the end).

First Course: Tower of lump crabmeat w/avocado, papaya & lemon, along with a Kumamoto oyster and Clos Pepe olive oil - this was served with the 05 Roessler Chardonnay and the 05 Clos Pepe Estate Chardonnay. Beautiful pairing and the dish was right on.

Second Course: Crisp confit of duckling w/savory red cabbage & wild boar bacon - paired with 05 A.P. Vin Clos Pepe Vineyards Pinot Noir - doesn't get much better than this.

Third Course: Pinot braised beef short ribs with pearl onions & marrow bone - paired with 05 Loring Wine Company Clos Pepe Vineyards, Pinot Noir. My father and I used to fight to see who got the bones with the marrow in it when I was growing up. Needless to say, I was one happy camper.

Fourth Course: Epoisses & Robiolina ( very soft cheeses) with aged fig vincotto & pea shoot salad - paired with 05 Clos Pepe Estate Pinot Noir . They could have kept the pea shoots but I suppose I do have to have something green. ( I have to set an example for Barbara). The fig vincotto (sauce/puree) was really wonderful with the cheeses.

Dessert: Tart of roasted pear & fourme d'ambert (cheese) with honey butter - paired with 01 Clos Pepe Sweet Farewell (chardonnay). Again a really great pairing.

I hope I get invited to next years dinner. This could get to be a fantastic habit. Now for "My Luck Holding Out".

Last year there was a gentleman and his wife sitting at the table I was at and after dinner he produced 2 bottles of Y'Quem Sauterne for whom ever was left at the table to drink. This year as my good luck was, we again sat at the same table. Just like last year, after dinner and most of the guests had departed, he again brought out from under the table several bottles of wine to share with the "chosen few". I have never tasted a 100 point wine before, but tonight I had a golden opportunity. A 1995 Cuvee Madame Monbazillac. It looked like a 500ml bottle. This was the 100 pointer. He also put on the table a 1970 Chateau Filmot and a 1989 Y'quem. These were both 750ml bottles as was the Maderia. Wes Hagen added a 1922 D'Olveiras Boal Maderia and Brian Loring came back with 2004 Jorge Ordonez #1, & # 2 Moscatel. At that point there was close to a $1,000 in wine sitting in front of me. Now is my luck still with me ? I think so.

Some of the other diners that hadn't left yet came to join us. Among them was the "Pinot Report" author/editor/publisher along with Kimberly Loring, Brians sister and his mother also. Wes Hagen and his wife Chandra had departed to go to bed along with Steve and Cathy Pepe. There were about 12 or so sitting there tasting these incredible wines. It just doesn't get any better than this. Kimberly started laughing and said if it was her house we wouldn't be sitting there after our hosts had retired for the night. If it was my house, we wouldn't be there also. The Hagens and the Pepe's were the ultimate hosts and I sure hope we didn't disturb them. Of course the house is so huge I doubt if they could hear any noise from the other side.

A fabulous dinner, great wines and good company. A perfect end to a day that did not start well. The gods were looking after me again. Why can't other restaurants (ie: Park Avenue) produce food and wine pairings reasonably close to dinners of this type. There was only $20 difference in price and look what I got.

I will be back up at Clos Pepe in August when they host their "futures" get together in the afternoon and then I will be attending the "Stolpman Dinner in The Vineyard" in the evening.