Paraiso's Pinot Noir

P A R A I S O pinot noir

Santa Lucia Highlands, Monterey County

2007, 14.3% abv

I bought this wine about six months ago - a rec from Todd at Hi-Time (Costa Mesa). It's a nice value pinot that cost about $15. The wine displays nice red fruits, tea, and autumnal notes. No stemy quality, which is common is less expensive pinots, and the alcohol blows off after a few minutes. Light and flirty. Enjoy!

1997 Salon

What a treat it was to taste this beautiful champagne. Its distinguished texture and silencing complexity leave me with only brief copy and an image for you from their website:

Salon

I love this image and greatly anticipate my first taste tonight at the Wally's Delamotte & Salon tasting. Check out the link to watch the video about '97 Salon:

http://www.champagnesalon.com/1997/flash.php?LangueSite=en

I Love Pumpkins

They're easy to arrange. Decorating with them brings up zero color scheme challenges. They don't need watering. Pumpkins just chill on your front porch all day looking really cute. And mini pumpkins...cmon... :)

World Buckets (Old & New)

Rule of Thumb:

Old World wines come from the "classic wine making regions" aka Europe. New World wines come from "not Europe" aka anywhere else in the world wine is made.

Break It Down:

Old World: 

France, Germany, Austria, Italy, and Spain

New World: 

Latin America, Australia, America, South Africa, and New Zealand

I love using maps when I'm studying wine. It helps me remember things. I also tend to write all over them. When I read about a wine growing region like the Mosel in Germany, I can write a bunch of things on the map next to "Mosel" like Old World, cool climate, riesling, and some top wine makers/producers (names I could recognize in the future on wine lists or at tastings). Or if I was working on a California map, for Paso Robles I'd note that it's considered part of the Central Coast and is recognized for its rhone blends and zinfandels.

Here is an example of a world wine map for this high level New/Old World exercise. When you start learning about specific regions, just work with regional maps!

Wine Math

One simple equation:

SUGAR + YEAST = ALCOHOL + CO2 + HEAT

What can we learn from this?

"Riper" grapes have juice with higher sugar levels. If the juice is fully fermented (all sugar converts to alcohol) to make a dry wine, the wine will have a higher percentage of alcohol.

Sometimes the wine is not fully fermented (riesling for example) and will have a lower alcohol level and, what's called, residual sugar. These wines will taste a bit sweet.

Book/Wine Club

This could be a really fun thing to start with a group of friends who want to learn about wine or just plain like it. You could pick a chapter from a wine book to read and then meet to talk about it. Coordinate to bring different wines discussed in the text and then try them together.

Here are the books that won't put you to sleep and teach you a great deal about wine:

The Wine Bible by Karen MacNeil

Oldman's Guide to Outsmarting Wine by Mark Oldman

Wine Education

I taught a wine class at the Wine Lab earlier this year. I'm going to start posting some educational nuggets on the blog. I'll try to keep the posts short and sweet and hopefully you can learn something you never knew about wine! There's still a ton I'm learning :)

Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape 2005

I had the treat of drinking this young rhone with a friend over three hours. It's taken me some time to write about it, but now I'm ready so here's my review:

The wine started very tight. The alcohol and tart notes pushed everyone else out of the way. The wine carried its density elegantly. After a half hour or hour decanted the wine began to catch its breath. The nose evolved to show off more fruits (dried and ripe) and a hint of smoke and bacon. Very satisfying palate journey and finish. I recommend buying this wine and decanting two hours before serving. The wine will also age well, so you may choose to cellar. Whenever you decide to open this wine, it will be a quite a different experience for those used to drinking New World rhone blends.

Here is Wine Spectator's review and rating:

(Wine Spectator 96 & TOP 100 2008)

"One of the largest estates in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation, this property is owned and run by the Perrin family. In 2005, they produced their best regular cuvée since 1989 (Wine Spectator's Wine of the Year in 1991). The Beaucastel vineyard produces dense and explosive wines from a collage of 13 different grapes, most notably Grenache and Mourvèdre. Each is fermented separately in concrete or wooden vats. The third year of drought, 2005 only intensified the concentration and structure of this ageworthy red."

Dream

I've started telling people it is my dream to be a wine writer. They suggest I find a magazine to write for or try to get featured in a local periodical. Game on.

An '05 Burgundy Sunday Afternoon

Opened this delicate Domaine A.-F. Gros Vosne-Romanee with a new friend halfway into the party yesterday. Having just tasted some rich red blends and cabs, it was quite a challenge for the subtleties of this wine to capture the attention they deserve. Typical of the varietal (pinot noir) and Burgundian wine making practices, the beauty of this wine is that nothing jumps out at you. It's soft on the palate, humbly carries complex aromas and flavors, and - especially the 2005 vintage - strikes heart-stopping balance. Given my slightly abused taste buds, I still managed to tune into the delicate dried raspberry, field strawberry, tart red cherry, rose water, and tea notes. Now I need to introduce my friend to one of the Gros Richebourgs... :)

Party Time

Last night Wine Gallery celebrated their 10th anniversary with an afternoon bbq and wine tasting. They brought out the best for us from cult cabs to grilled tri-tip and everyone had a blast. I got to taste through most of the whites (the Alsace Grand Cru riesling won) but really slowed down when it came to the reds because I got distracted by a bottle of Burgundy upstairs halfway through the affair (2005 A.-F. Gros Vosne-Romanee tends to do that). The reds I did have a chance to taste were excellent though. Here's my shortlist of gems:

Pinot Noir, Domaine Serene's "Yamill Cuvee"

Willamettte, Oregon, 2006

delicate red fruits, integrated alcohol, confirmed the loved i had for this producer's wines after their anniversary dinner at Delmonico in Las Vegas this past spring

Cab blend, Rudd's "Crossroads"

California, Napa Valley, Oakville, 2006

delicious wine good for drinking young, it's nice balance of rich dark fruits, good acidity, and silky tannin deserve its retail price of around $60

Cabernet Sauvignon, Round Pond

California, Napa Valley, Rutherford, 2005

prefer the Rudd over this but still noteworthy if you can find a deal on it (retails for about $65)

Cab blend, Turnbull's "Black Label" (reserve cab)

California, Napa Valley, 2006

like a slice of flourless chocolate cake...dense, decadent, but not too sweet

The Privilege To Drive

I am working on regaining the privilege to drive in the state of California in mid November (I'm confident you can do the math here.) After functioning for four and a half months without a license, I have a fierce new appreciation for laws and social responsibility. Plus, an awareness of the luxury of exercising logical forensics to make an exception to policy. I have waited in line for hours. I have paid temporally and financially. I have never been a more humiliated, and, of course, humbled. I'm now more patient. More respectful. (Sorry for all of the "I"s.) And I'm thankful this happened. It is easy to go through life and never experience what I did. Respect your fellow humans and the law. If you don't, the clock is ticking. Think it is only fair to finally share this.

Today I Found Out

at the ACS Discovery Shop that my friend with cancer was told she had six months to live December '08. Given this diagnosis, I think my previous post is an even greater testament to the power of her spirit. I've heard many similar stories and I feel lucky to be in the company of a survivor firsthand. She came in again today to volunteer and my goodbye to her was "See you next Wednesday!"

I Have A Friend With Cancer

I met her at work and she is going through chemo right now. The radiation treatments are awful and she still manages to come into volunteer at the American Cancer Society Discovery Shop (it's a second hand (donation only) retail store in Corona Del Mar that donates 75% of revenue to ACS.) She came into today with a wristguard on because the radiation is now giving her carpal tunnel. 

Everyone is sensitive to her weak immune system and low energy, but she still wants to help out so we find her small jobs. I'm amazed and overwhelmed by her passion for life and activity. She is past pain. And I think just wants to be treated like a capable human being and not a sick person. She will live longer, or, even better, beat cancer because of this. A truly inspiring woman.

Learn how to volunteer for the American Cancer Society in your neighborhood:

http://www.cancer.org/docroot/EMP/EMP_0.asp

"Her Eyes"

I heard this song by Pat Monahan today in the car and liked this little line.

She's old enough to know,

and young enough not to say no.

Lately, I miss that "young enough not to say no" feeling. Feel me?

drybar ~ a blow dry bar

My sister-in-law, Alli Webb, is opening a blow dry bar in LA - Brentwood, specifically - in January. I'm beyond excited for her and completely in love with the concept (even though I have superthin hair that air drys in 5 minutes and doesn't take a curl...a.k.a. not an ideal drybar client). She will have a sexy teaser website up soon and has started a blog if you want to follow her journey of being an entrepreneur, in addition to Grant and Kit's mom and a rockstar wife, sister, and friend. Here's the link. Please cheer her on with me!

http://thedrybar.blogspot.com/

Boom Boom Pow

Love the Black Eyed Peas version? I did too, until I heard this one by the Maccabees (thanks Shwan!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmE2w7eCF98

If Only

we all looked as cute as my nephew, Kit, on the bowl.

I Apologize

for the lack of posts recently. I have been home for an overdue visit to friends and family in New York and Connecticut, reading to try to improve on my writing, working on launching two new companies (that, unfortunately, have nothing to do with wine) before Feb '09, and finally attending to things that I've neglected over months when I've prioritized blogging, wine tasting, traveling, and mulling over life questions on long walks by the ocean. Bottom line is that not too much wine sipping and exploring is going on at the moment...I'm just happy if I can squeeze in a Leffe and a twenty minute walk around sunset time.

The purpose of this blog has always been to add value (wine knowledge, recommendations, philosophical exercises, etc.) to the lives of my readers through its content. I hope to resume posts in this nature in the next few weeks. Thanks for your patience. XO