“Mix It Up” – Bordeaux Wine Party

Sharing wine with friends Steve, Gaby, Dave, Sarah, Jeff and KarinShared bottles are the best bottles – especially when consumed with friends.  Themed wine parties are a fun way to share good wine with good friends, and clear out inventory to make room for new discoveries.  Over the years, we’ve had fun hosting single-variety blind tasting parties with a lineup from our collection (Let’s Be Franc, Call Me a Cab, Pinot-palooza, Que Syrah Syrah). But, this past weekend, we decided to “mix it up”. 

We've discovered many of our favorite wines through shared bottles with friends, or from their recommendations.  So, for this dinner party, we thought it would be fun to “mix it up” and have everyone bring a bottle for blind tasting.  Keeping with the theme, instead of a single variety, we requested everyone to bring a Bordeaux blend (cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cab franc, malbec, petit verdot). 

The night started with Scharffenberger (yes, like the chocolate) Cremant.  This was not part of the blind tasting, just something to cleanse the palate before diving in (quite the tasty bubbly!)

Tasting the wines blind always adds a fun element, as all preconceived ideas about a wine are tossed out the window.  Inevitably, there is one bottle in the mix that surprises the group, and this time was no exception.  Here was the line-up for the night – can you guess the winner?

The Wines

2006 Blackjack Ranch – Allusion (Santa Barbara)

2009 Glen Carlou – Grand Classique (South Africa)

2010 Tobin James – 5 (Paso Robles)

2007 Vincent Arroyo – Petite Sirah (Napa).  Not a bordeaux, but a definite 'mix it up'

We tasted the wines on their own, and then with a cheese course (aged cheddar, creamy gorgonzola, and camembert).  It was fun noting the variations in nose, taste, and color....and hunting out the Petite Syrah! They were all very good wines, but there was definitely a clear favorite:

The 2007 Vincent Arroyo… petite sirah!  Not surprised a Vincent Arroyo wine overall won the night (it's claimed top spot in two other wine parties).  However… since it was a Bordeaux blind tasting, we all voted for just the bordeaux blends.  It was a tight race.  The winner....

Tobin James 5! 

We continued to enjoy all the wines with our paired menu of braised boneless beef short ribs, roasted butternut squash with red grapes, mashed potatoes and parsnips, and green bean bundles.  We finished the night with a couple of bonus bottles – Save the Ocean Bordeaux and Vincent Arroyo petite sirah port to wash down the lemonade pie.

A fun night with friends, discovering great wines! 

Do you have a wine Moby Dick?

Our wine Moby Dick, finally caught.It’s fun to pursue wine. 

To us, wine always taste better when there's a story involved. Maybe it's an adventure. Or perhaps a dear friend shared a bottle with us. The bottle may have been part of an important celebration. 

For the past year or so, I’ve looked for a bottle of E. Guigal Chateauneuf-du-Pape every time I wandered into a wine store. It became a mini-obsession. A wine Moby Dick of sorts.

I suppose I could have searched for it on the internet, but what would be the fun in that?

Sally and I first discovered the wine when we dined at Le Mistral in Houston with Sally’s brother Greg and his wife Jennifer. Sally’s mom, Mabeth, had treated us to a chef’s table dinner there for Christmas in 2011.

Mabeth's parting words as we left for dinner were, "Dinner is on me unless my son-in-law decides to buy an expensive bottle of wine!"

I couldn't do that. But that wouldn't stop my wife and her brother. They are their mother's children and full of mischief. Especially when they get a little wine in them.

They decided to order the nice wine recommended by the restaurant's sommelier. It was a good pick. The meal was one of our most memorable ever.

We’ve enjoyed a few bottles of E. Guigal’s Cotes du Rhone since then. We even shared a bottle of the Cotes du Rhone with our friend Darren in Dublin. Unlike the Chateauneuf-du-Pape, the Cotes du Rhone is readily available.

Truth is we don’t know a lot about French wine, but searching for this Moby Dick of wines gave me a reason to go into the French section of wine shops. It made me feel sophisticated. I could keep up the illusion as long as the conversation didn't go past this particular wine. Alas, I continued to strike out.

Then, last December, I finally found it. In BevMo of all places. 

We were driving to Houston to spend Christmas with Sally’s family a few days later. We bought a bottle with us to share with Greg and Jennifer and Sally’s Mom, Mabeth. 

Note: Don't despair if you don't know too much about Chateauneuf-du-Pape. It refers to a variety of wines from the appellation by the same name in France's southern Rhone region. There are thirteen varietals of grapes that can be blended to make this wine, but Granache is the most popular. The E. Guigal website lists their version as 80% Grenache, 10% Syrah, 5% Mourvedre, and 5% "others". How mysterious.

Petite Sirah holiday blind tasting party

Sally and I visited her family in Houston, Texas for Christmas and used the opportunity to host a dinner party at her Mom’s house. Joining us were Sally’s Mom Mabeth, Sally's brother Greg and his wife Jennifer, and our friends Will and Sherri.

The grape of the evening was Petite Sirah and we blind tasted a few bottles from our collection. If you’re not familiar with this varietal, it’s known for being big and bold, with dark fruit flavors and high tannins.  

Our stellar lineup of Petite Sirahs ready for blind tasting 

The Wines

We started everyone off with a bottle of 2011 Cuvaison Solitaire Sauvignon Blanc. It’s a light and refreshing wine and paired nicely with prosciutto-wrapped melon we served as an appetizer. As we noted in a recent blog post, white wine can still be heartily enjoyed in the winter!

Next, we moved on the the Petite Sirahs. They were served blind side-by-side so they could be enjoyed and discussed without any preconceptions. 

Here’s the line-up:

• 2007 Vincent Arroyo Greenwood Ranch Petite Sirah
• 2007 Seghesio Home Ranch Petite Sirah
• 2007 Simi Petite Sirah 

The Food

The tasting started off with a cheese course: 

• Lemon basil feta spread
• Aged cheddar
• Bellavitano Merlot Wisconsin cow’s milk cheese 

Dinner consisted of molasses bourbon glazed beef tenderloin, scalloped potatoes, and green bean bundles wrapped in bacon. 

The Winner

This may have been our closest blind tasting contest yet. The Vincent Arroyo and the Simi each received three votes as the best. 

The Vincent Arroyo received high marks for its outstandingly smooth taste and pleasant fruit. It was clearly the favorite for drinking on its own.

The Simi earned its votes for pairing so well with both the cheese and the meal. It was especially spot on with the lemon basil feta spread.

Everyone enjoyed the Seghesio, but agreed it wasn’t in the same class as the other two.

I was the only one who wasn’t drinking blind since I had served the wines, but I got to cast the deciding vote since it was a tie. For me, the Vincent Arroyo was my favorite.

This was the second win for Vincent Arroyo at a Share the Bottle wine party. They were also the top pick in our Cabernet Sauvignon blind tasting in 2012.

From left to right: Me (Jeff), sister-in-law Jennifer, Sally's brother Greg, Sally, Sally's mom Mabeth, Sherri, and Will.

Don't be shy about white wine in the winter

When Sally and I went on our annual trip to Napa last April, we discovered a lot of white wine that we really liked.

Summer was getting closer and we had plenty of ideas. We imagined ourselves relaxing on the patio with a bottle and some cheese and crackers. Or perhaps we’d pair a bottle with a light meal and take it on a picnic.

Consequently, we added a lot more white wine to our collection than we had planned on.

We tried to put a dent in our inventory over the summer. Contrary to popular belief, we don’t drink wine daily. We still had a large supply of white wine by the time fall came around.

This had us a bit worried since white wines often don’t cellar nearly as long as reds. This is especially true of the whites we typically like which often reach their peak at three years old. Many of the whites in our collection were already there.

Something magical happened a few weeks ago that changed our lives.

We discovered you can still enjoy white wine in the fall. (*gasp*) In fact, white wine goes very well with a lot of fall food. We paired some amazing Cuvaison Kite Tail Chardonnay with lemon chicken made in the slow cooker. We enjoyed some Saddleback Viognier with our Thanksgiving appetizers. A Saddleback Chardonnay was a perfect pairing with apple cider pork chops.

Winter is upon us and Christmas is coming up in a few days. Some people like a nice ham on Christmas. Guess what pairs with ham?! Fume blanc and Pinot Gris are among my favorites. Or, perhaps you’re a turkey kind of family. A neutral Chardonnay or a dry Riesling would go awesome with turkey.

Sally and I plan to keep chipping away at our white wine inventory over the winter so we’ll have room for more when spring arrives! 

Pacific Star Zinfandel

Mendocino County, located about 90 miles north of San Francisco, is known for having some of the best views along the pacific coastline.  They are also home to some great microbrews, and tasty wine. 

On our trip to the area earlier this year, we adventured up to the seaside winery, Pacific Star.  Located 12 miles north of Fort Bragg, Pacific Star sits right on the edge of the water, with endless views in all directions.  As if the scenery wasn’t enough, winemaker Sally Ottoson makes some pretty darn great wines, too!  While at the tasting room, we were fortunate to try a number of wines, including a Pinot Gris, couple of red blends (Dad’s Daily Red and It’s My Fault), petite sirah, a rare 100% Charbono, and one of our favorites, the Zinfandel.  

We recently took advantage of the beautiful winter weather in San Diego, and enjoyed a sunset sail with my mom and friends.  It seemed only appropriate to hit the ocean with a bottle of Pacific Star.  So, we grabbed a bottle of the Zinfandel to share.  This is a medium-bodied wine, lighter in color but rich in flavor.  Nice fruit upfront, medium tannins and a light pepper finish.  It was great to sip on its own, but we also enjoyed with a selection of meat and cheese.  With a  price point at $28, it’s not quite an every day zin, but it is certainly worth it! 

Wine can be purchased directly from the winery, and highly recommend visiting them on the ocean.  Pacific Star has a tasting room in downtown Ft. Bragg.  However, if you find yourself in the area, go the extra 12 miles.  You will be glad you did!