Red, White, and Beer

Wondering what to serve while celebrating this weekend?  With the help of What to Drink with What you Eat, here are suggested pairings with traditional, and not so traditional July 4^th grub.  Because sharing a cold one is sometimes the way to go, we’ve added a few favorites to the list, creating our Red, White, and Beer recommendations ~ Happy 4^th!

You should find all of these at large beverage stores, such as BevMo, Specs, and TotalWine - all are under $20

Hot Dogs

RED: A to Z Pinot Noir

WHITE: Seghesio Pinot Grigio

BEER: Anchor Steam

Hamburgers

RED: Smith & Hook Cabernet Sauvignon (especially with cheeseburgers!)

WHITE: about as “white” as you may want to get is Rose – go with any Spanish one

BEER: Abita Amber

BBQ

Any meat with smoky and/or sweet sauce

RED: “The Franc” – Cosentino Cab Franc

WHITE: Chateau Ste. Michelle Columbia Valley Riesling

BEER: Blue Moon White Ale

Grilled Meatloaf

RED: Plungerhead Old Vine Zinfandel

WHITE: Ferrari-Carano Fume Blanc

BEER: Shiner Bock

Apple Pie

By this time, I’m sure you’ll just want a nice cup of coffee.  If not, a little sherry always goes nice with pie.

This Benessere Zin is P.F.G.

Sally and I have a little code system when we go wine tasting. A check mark on our note sheet means it's good, a check + means we'd buy it if the price was right, a smiley face means we want to buy some, and P.F.G. means...

Well, use your imagination.

Benessere's 2009 Black Glass Zinfandel is a P.F.G. wine. It's jammy without being overpowering, very smooth on the palate, and a little pepper on the finish. The beauty of a great wine like this is it can goes well with a wide variety of food or is perfectly fine all by itself.

We enjoyed a bottle at Del Mar's Poseidon restaurant last Saturday. Our patio table overlooked the beach, giving us views of the late afternoon surf and sand activities that gradually gave way to a spectacular sunset. Zinfandel is universal, but the winemaker's notes suggested steak, so that's what we did.

We first discovered Benessere when my friend Pat gave me a bottle of their 2008 Holystone-Collins Zinfandel. We profiled that wine in a post confirming that shared bottles are the best bottles. 

This initial impression of Benessere was so good that we added them to the itinerary on our trip to Napa last April. Wow. Wow. Wow. Their wine is good. 

The crazy good part about this is the Black Glass Zinfandel wasn't even our favorite wine among the ones we tasted at Benessere. The 2010 Holystone-Collins Zinfandel absolutely blew us away. We just might have to invent a new ultimate designation of wine greatness if the Holystone-Collins really does top the P.F.G. Black Glass when we uncork a bottle and pair it with a meal.

Perfect pairings for your Memorial Day cookout

The original Memorial Day was on May 30, 1868 when people were urged to decorate the graves of soldiers who died in the Civil War. The date is believed to have been chosen because flowers would be in bloom all over the country. Today, Memorial Day Weekend marks the unofficial start of summer and many Americans observe the holiday with a barbecue.

Here are some of our favorite wines for a cookout. All of them are under $20 and are available at BevMo, Specs, Total Wine, and many other retail outlets.

Steak
Go with a Hess Select Cabernet Sauvignon. This was one of our first go-to wines and remains a favorite to this day. It's also on our list of Great Wines Under $20.

Pork
We're huge fans of Cycles Gladiator Pinot Noir, which won a blind taste test at our HalloWine party in 2010. It's a great match with Pork but is also enjoyable on its own.

Chicken
Simi Sonoma County Chardonnay is a good choice if chicken is on the menu. We often recommend this wine for gatherings because it is nicely balanced without too much oak or citrus.

Hamburgers
Our selection here is Cline Zinfandel. It's a repeat from last year's Memorial Day BBQ list, but it's also one of the few tasty Zins that's available at BevMo, Specs, and Total Wine.

Hot Dogs
Most of us will go for a beer if hot dogs are on the menu, but why not wine? Caymus Conundrum, a distinctive white blend, would actually make an excellent pairing. It's a perfect summer wine and we always try to keep some in the house.

National Moment of Remembrance
Let us not forget that Memorial Day is a time to remember all of the men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. In 2000, Congress passed the National Moment of Remembrance Act. It calls on all Americans to pause at 3 pm local time on Memorial Day for a moment of silence to remember those who have died while serving our country.

After the moment of silence, consider raising a glass of something good to honor the memories of our fallen heroes.

Chef’s Table Dinner at La Villa (in San Diego!)

Sally and I enjoyed an unforgettable chef’s table dinner in late 2011 that may have been one of our best meals ever. So it was no wonder that we were excited when we heard about a chef’s table at La Villa San Diego.

La Villa is an Italian farm to table restaurant in San Diego’s Little Italy neighborhood. It’s part of the Buon Appetito Restaurant Group, whose Buon Appetito restaurant is no stranger to this blog. Don’t bother searching for the chef’s table on their website. Just know that it’s there and call to make your reservation.

Our five course dinner was paired with wine and was simply outstanding. 

First Course
Beef carpaccio with parmesan, capers, and chianti mustard served over a bed of lettuce. Paired with NV Gruet Demi-sec (sparkling wine).

Sally and Jeff's Mom, Kathy

Second Course
Burrata with oven roasted tomatoes, artichoke, frisée, wild arugula, balsamic, olive oil, and pesto. Paired with a 2010 Stolpman L’Avion Roussanne.

Jeff and Jeff's Dad, Bob (Jeff is on the right)

Third Course
Ravioli with poached egg and mushroom. Paired with a 2010 Windy Oaks Estate Pinot Noir.

We're all enjoying course #3

Fourth Course
Prime rib-eye paired with potatoes, carrots, and sweet peas. Paired with a 2010 Storybook Mountain Zinfandel.

Mmmm!

Fifth Course
Dessert two ways (a polenta cake and ice cream). Paired with a Canadian ice wine (apple) and a South African late harvest Chenin Blanc.

Dessert two ways paired with dessert wine two ways

2013 Oscar Wine Party Results

Sally and I are always up for having some friends over to the house, opening up some good wine, and doing a blind tasting. We're also big movie fans, so the Academy Awards make a great excuse to throw an Oscar party with wine and wagering.

Wagering

We keep things simple - everyone chips in $5 and picks the winner for each award. This year's pool was a three-way tie between me, Sally, and our friend Paul. We each correctly picked 18 out of 24 awards. Not to shabby!

Wine

Just like last year's party, we served four wines blind at pairing stations and had our guests vote on their favorites. They all sold for less than $20 at San Diego Wine Co and were either current favorites or had been recommended by friends.

4th Place: 2010 Klinker Brick Zinfandel
This was a good wine, but it wasn't nearly as amazing as it was the first time we tried it when we thought it was almost too good to be true. It was paired with beef meatballs in a cranberry chili sauce.

3rd Place: NV Roederer Estate Brut
Surprise! Last year's winner came back to defend it's crown and wound up in third place. It was still tasty, but our friends weren't as much in a bubbly mood. We paired it with Mediterranean pinwheels that contained prosciutto, feta, and basil.

2nd Place: 2011 Conundrum
Yum. This is one of our house table wines, and it was a hit with our friends too. It was paired with puff pastries stuffed with chicken salad (chicken, apples, raisins, mayo, and curry). 

1st Place: 2010 Smith & Hook Cabernet Sauvignon
Recommended by our friend Robin, we went into this one blind. It was on sale at San Diego Wine Company for $12.95, which was quite a steal considering how smooth and drinkable this wine was. We paired it with mini sandwiches made with marinated London broil, arugula, and mustard.