The Oenophile Network Wine Blog

Interesting story in the LA Times. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-wine8-2009apr08,0,3819303.story

Although the cheese selection in the U.S. pales in comparison to those in other countries (particularly France), the artisan cheese movement has gained so much steam in the last 25 years that it is possible to create a terrific cheese course using domestic cheeses alone. The SF Chronicle has done a terrific job with its Food & Wine section in highlighting California cheeses in particular. In today's edition there's an article regarding 10 iconic California cheeses. I've tried most of them and I can confirm that these really are terrific cheeses.

My favorites from those chosen in the article include:

Cowgirl Creamery Red Hawk
Okay, so it isn't Époisses de Bourgogne, but if you let it warm up enough (key with most cheeses for proper taste and consistency) this washed rind cheese is beautiful. It is also widely available (especially in the SF Bay Area).
Tip: It is larger than it looks. Be sure you buy good cheese wrapping paper to ensure the other half keeps for a few days after you devour the first half.

Vella Dry Jack
Created by Ignacio Vella, this jack is the best you'll ever have. Period.

Cypress Grove Humboldt Fog
There's something about the way this cheese looks and tastes, with its layer of ash in the middle, brief bit of creaminess near the rind, and pleasant texture (mixed creaminess, crumbliness and soft and yummy rind). It is a memorable experience to eat, every time.

Anyway, there are a ton of other California cheeses that are terrific and an easy way to make a quick meal or an opening (or closing) course. Very little effort, a ton of results.

This article's main point (that US film studios are increasingly thinking globally and acting locally by producing local versions of US films) is a bit boring. But the description of the Japanese version of "Sideways" is humorous and worth reading. Be sure to catch the parts about how comments about merlot destroyed the grape in the US, the need for the Golden Gate Bridge to appear in the Japanese version, and, most especially, the photos showing the picnic scene in both versions. Worth a read. 'Sideways' Returns, Uncorked for Japan - NYTimes.com

Had a nice Pinot Noir tonight. A bit jammy, slight oak undertones; ready to drink now.

I have been wanting to go to A16 for forever. For one reason or another, every time I had planned on going, something would come up and I couldn't make it. (Is there a Murphy's Law for restaurant reservations?)

Well, last night I finally made it over there. Like so many things (movies, books, restaurants), I was more concerned that my overextended, hyped expectations would be let down by a merely excellent dining experience. This has happened before and I'm sure it will happen again. But it didn't happen last night at A16.

It was superb.

I didn't take pictures and I didn't remember much about the wine we had, unfortunately. (I was with my in laws and didn't want to live blog it or take notes; besides, I was loving the food too much to care.)

But I do remember exactly what I ate:

Starters - For the table.
We started out by splitting the Ciccioli (house-cured) salumi and the Bianci pizza. I probably wouldn't have picked them together (and didn't), but really loved each. The salumi was a perfect example of the resurgence of house-cured salumi in the SF Bay Area. The pizza (online controversies notwithstanding) was very good with a nice spicy kick.

It went well with the glass of Emanuele Scammacca, 'Murgo Brut', Sicilia 2004 (Nerello Mascalese) we had; and, a bit later, with the Greco di Tufo too. (Sorry no additional details there.)

From there we moved on to the Sardines al beccafico with oranges, fennel and golden raisins and the Roasted beets and Full Belly Farm farro salad with roasted cipolline, mint and ricotta salata. The Sardines were terrific -- make sure you like sardines, these were huge. The beet salad was tasty too (which means, in my book, that it didn't taste like beets).

Wine
I'm sad to say, I didn't get the opportunity to see which red wine we were drinking. The sommelier was out on maternity leave (gave birth that day!), but the acting sommelier was terrific as well. We trusted her (per the recommendation of some friends) and were rewarded with a rich, floral southern Italian red. (Next time I promise to pay attention.)

Entrees - Split with my wife
I had the Beef braciole in red wine sauce, with a side of polenta. The red wine sauce was rich and full without being overdone.
My wife had the local petrale sole. It had a nice flavor, but swapping between that and the sole probably didn't do it justice.
Both were very good, although I had a preference for the braciole.

Dessert
I had the Chocolate budino tart with sea salt and extra virgin olive oil, and the table split an almond ice cream, almond crusted almond thingy. Both were really good, but I'd avoid the desserts and order an extra side if I had to do it all over again.

Service
Service was great. Non-intrusive but prompt and efficient and polite. Special accolades to Ryan (at the front + bar) and "the new girl" Ella.

A16 lived up to my expectations. My expectations were huge, so that's quite a compliment.

A colleague of mine, Spencer Jackson, and I attended a great wine tasting event last night called Wine 2.0.

Wine 2.0 was founded by Cornelius Geary and is run by Cornelius and Smoke Wallin. (Full disclosure, Cornelius's company, Radcru, is a client of mine.) Wine 2.0 brought together 200 wine industry, technology and venture capital folks for a wine tasting with over 40 different wineries and producers. Some of the wineries were well known (like Chateau St. Jean), some were unknown. It took place at Crushpad.

The attendance was unbelieveable and Cornelius was a great host. Oh, and the wine? Yummy too. I recommend keeping your eye out for future Wine 2.0 events.

Here are some pics:
Cornelius and Smoke

Stephen and Spencer

more pics after the jump...

Continue reading "Wine 2.0 - A terrific tasting event" »

Had a nice simple lunch today at left bank. Good graves and poullet. They did say bon soir three times, though, and it was noon.

I've never (ever) had a glass of wine at a baseball game. But, after reading a recent SF Chronicle article about how Giants crush A's in wine pairing, I just might. I don't care much whether the wine at the A's park is worse than the wine at the Giants park, but I do like the fact that I might be able to find a decent glass of wine at PacBell, err, AT&T Park. Now, if I can get over my phobia of looking a little less than cool at the park with a glass of vino in my hand...and perhaps find some good cheese too...

I often struggle with the correct pronunciation of wine names and terms, like Chassagne-Montrachet. There are a bunch of resources on the web to help with that, including audio clips and text pronunciation guides. There are also a couple of pretty good wine-dictionaries too, which explain wine tasting terms and other things like masceration.

Robin Garr's Wine Lovers' Page Lexicon
A pretty good general dictionary of wine terms. Also has audio recordings of basic wine terms like Auslese, Charbono, Chianti, Gewurztraminer, Pauillac, Pinot Meunier, and Verdicchio. Most of the audio recordings are French. A good smattering of tasting terms are defined, too—like chocolate, hazelnut, leather, ripe, etc.

Louis Latour
Louis Latour's page is perhaps the best place to go to find Burgundy-related audio clips of pronunciations.

Berry Bros. & Rudd
BBR.com has audio clips demonstrating the proper pronunciations of virtually all of the Bordeaux Chateaux. (It appears that there should be links to other areas here, but I couldn't find them.)

Strat's Place Living Audio Wine Dictionary
The Living Audio Wine Dictionary has many audio clips and definitions of wine terms—best to go here if you aren't finding it at the others listed here. It does have a more diverse set of terms, but I found the site difficult to navigate and it did contain some dead links. Definitely worth visiting if you're not finding it elsewhere.

Tasters Guild New York
Tasters Guild New York has a pronunciation glossary, but no audio clips. If you're looking for a dictionary-style text guide to pronunciation (i.e. Chambertin (shahm-bear-tan)), this is the place to go. The number of definitions is very limited, however. You might have more luck with a traditional dictionary site if you're not finding it here.

Other wine dictionaries include:
Epicurious - A good dictionary of commonly used terms (and some less common too).
Terroir France - A short guide to French terms.
Interwines - One of the few dictionaries that helps translate Spanish wine terms to English.

Continue reading "Wine Pronunciation Guide" »

A Google news search for "champagne election day" returns 137 current news stories. The most frequent reference seems to be "popping the champagne" in reference to, depending on the point of the story, "democrats not popping the champagne yet" or "they're getting ready to pop the champagne".

Regardless of your political affiliation (or the results of the election), I think sparkling wine is definitely the best wine to enjoy election day. On election day (and maybe the 4th of July), it just doesn't seem right to drink the French stuff...though...the best stuff does tend to come from French producers.

Want a great compromise?

Go with a Roederer Estate sparkling wine. Roederer is the California outpost of Louis Roederer, and they make great wine in Anderson Valley.

The Roederer Estate 1999 L'Ermitage Estate is terrific (about $45), as is the the Roederer Estate NV Brut--probably the best deal around right now, going for $20 or less at most places.

And, if you just have to go French, the Louis Roederer 1999 Cristal Brut is stellar. But, at $200-$240, I'd stick with the domestic stuff, especially on Election Day.

Regardless of your political affiliation, I urge you to vote on Election Day. And enjoy the bubbly Tuesday night...no matter the results...celebrate democracy.

Continue reading "Champagne Favorite Election Day Wine?" »