Chateau Paul Mas - 2005 Coteaux Du Languedoc

$15 at McCarthy and Schiering. It's late, so this is going to be short. According to the label on the back, it's a syrah/grenahce blend. It has the lovely, smooth, dark fruit of good syrah and the nice tannins to boot. It's very full bodied, Jenny says it "tastes like a November wine." In short, well worth the $15.

Douro - 2006 Vale Da Clara

$11 at McCarthy and Schiering. I wrote about this wine in the pre-blog days. From March 23, 2008:

Very tasty, complex, with darker fruit flavors and nice tannins. A great deal at $11. A little too dark to accompany the simple, bright tomato sauce I served it with: sautée some rosemary and two cloves garlic, dump in some canned diced tomatoes, salt and pepper, drizzle with balsamic and cook until it thickens a bit, correct seasoning and toss with pasta, torn basil and fresh parm.

I'm going to buy a case of this stuff, but I'll reserve it for food a tad meatier. I think it would be perfect with something like my chicken cacciatore.

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Apparently I forgot about the above advice, because after buying every bottle McCarthy and Schiering had in stock, I served it tonight with a vegetable soup. While it again overpowered the delicate flavors of the dish, this bottle remains a steal at $11. With the weather turning, I'll be grilling soon and this Douro will be the perfect accompaniment.

Domaine Roc De Chateauvieux - 2006 Loire Pinot Noir

$11 from McCarthy and Scheiring. I was delighted to find that the French grow Pinot Noir in places other than Burgundy. This is a very pleasant and easy table wine. Exceedingly food friendly, I think it it would be a good match with nearly anything brought to the table; it certainly went well with the delicate vegetable soup I made tonight. It's got a floral, almost perfumy nose, and bright acidity balanced by fine tannins.

As an added bonus, it's bottled with a Stelvin closure (aka screwcap), so it's easy to open. It's a Vin De Pays, which I've learned is a French wine classification that translates to "country wine." This classification is below Apellation d'Origine Controlee (AOC), but above Vin De Table.

A steal at $11. I'm going to buy a case of this to have on hand for weeknight dinners.

Telepatch: my other blog

Way back in the dot.com boom, I worked for a great little company called Net Perceptions. The engineers sat in a giant cube farm, where the cubes were organized in little groups of four that my friend Dan called "cube patches."

I shared my patch with three of the best people you could ever hope to work with: Dan, Scott and JJ. With the dot.com bust and the demise of Net Perceptions, we've taken different jobs and scattered across the country. We've kept in touch via e-mail, and often pine for the good old days and camaraderie of "the patch."

A couple weeks ago, we started a group blog called telepatch, where we prairie-dog remotely. It's been fun so far, you should check it out.

Tom Colligrino

Last Saturday was very warm here in Seattle. It was sunny and the high probably got close to 70. It felt like the beginning of summer, so I bought the ingredients for one of my favorite summer cocktails, the Tom Colligrino.

This drink was invented by my good friend Darren Vengroff. It's nothing more than a shot of vodka and half a can of San Pellegrino Limonata, on the rocks with a slice of lime. Fancy-pants mixologists out there may look down on the Tom Colligrino as unsophisticated, but to my mind it elegantly captures the low-stress, back-porch, hanging out with friends essence of summer.

Of course yesterday the weather was miserable: it hailed in the morning, and all afternoon was a mix of rain and snow. But some days you come home from work and you want a cocktail. Yesterday was one of those days for both Jenny and me, and I've found that if you close your eyes and sip a summer cocktail you can conjure the feeling of summer regardless of the current conditions.

Farecast acquired by Microsoft

Farecast, the company I work for, has been acquired by Microsoft. I'm probably not allowed to say much more at the moment, but the fact of the acquisition is public knowledge.

Quinta De La Rosa - 2004 Douro

$18 at McCarthy and Schiering. Yum! I really, really like good Douros, which may be unsurprising given my affinity for port. This wine has big, dark fruit and elegant tannins, perhaps a bit shy on the acid, but I don't miss it at all. It's very full bodied, so much that I wanted to describe it as "rich," as if every sip was a little bite of dessert, even though it's not sweet. (This was, perhaps, a tad distressing as my mid-western upbringing makes me eschew dessert until I've "earned it" at the end of a meal. Oh, the tribulations I must overcome!)

Sadly, it's out of my price range for a nightly opener. I pulled it out tonight to have with asparagus and a simple tomato sauce over pasta only because it's been siting in my cupboard, bugging me, for weeks and I could no longer resist.

In short: well worth the $18, go buy some.

2006 Conclass Rueda

$10 at McCarthy and Schiering. This is the second Rueda I've tried since reading Eric Asimov's NY Times article (the 2006 Naia is the other).

Asimov chose the the Conclass as his best buy, and I totally agree; it's a steal at $10. Jenny described it as floral, and I get the mineraly quality that I really like in old world whites. I just looked up Asimov's description and was pleased to find that we agreed on two of four descriptors. He says, "Vivacious with enticing lemon, floral and mineral flavors and a touch of honey." Maybe I've got a future as a pro wine writer?

I think I've found this summer's Gruner-Veltliner.

Roagna - 2006 Dolcetto d'Alba

$17 from McCarthy and Schiering. An interesting educational experience. I was all prepared to pan this wine. My initial impression of it had some positive notes, it had the "tastes like Italy" quality that Jenny and I like in Italian reds, which I think other people call "earthiness." But it was aggressive to the point of harshness on the palate, and excessively tannic, which isn't in keeping with the character of dolcetto.

"Maybe we should have decanted it," I lamented. Jenny suggested sticking the cork in and shaking the bottle up. It's something she's seen wine professionals do at work. Always up for an experiment, I jammed the cork in and shook the bottle like it was a can of Rust-oleum. I was surprised to find that a little aeration mellowed the tannins significantly, making it quite pleasant.

So, I withhold judgment on the Roagna. At $17 it's got to be pretty good to earn my endorsement, and I'm not quite certain about it. Perhaps I'll buy another bottle and report
new findings.

Caparzo 2004 Rosso di Montalcino

I didn't feel like cooking on Friday, so Jenny and I walked up to the top of the hill to get dinner. At 7:30 with no reservations we were prepared to wait a while, but we got lucky at Betty, where we were able to sail right in.

We scored two of eight seats situated on one side of a "bar" that looks into the hot part of the kitchen. We were seated directly in front of the expediter, and got to watch plate after beautiful plate being assembled within arm's reach.

This is as close as I've ever been to a working line going full bore - it was the rush, and the cooks were really busting ass. Perhaps the most amazing thing was the consistency of their work. Their grill man in particular is a remarkable craftsman; there was a pork loin on the menu that was served sliced and fanned out. Every one of the dozen I saw was cooked perfectly (except the ones ordered well-done which went out perfectly over-cooked).

Oh yeah... the wine. Rosso di Montalcino is the baby brother of the fabled Brunello di Montalcino. Brunello is a strain of Sangiovese grown near the hill town of Montalcino in southern Tuscany. The Rosso di Montalcino has less stringent requirements on composition and aging, so it's a lot cheaper than Brunello.

This bottle was very floral, I immediately got the scent of lavender that marks the presence of Cabernet Franc (wine people typically name this fragrance "violets"), which I was surprised to learn is sometimes added to Rosso di Montalcino. Beyond that it was very fruity - concentrated, not light. All in all, a perfect accompaniment to a lovely evening.

Garbel Prosecco - NV

This bottle has been rolling around in the back of my fridge since last Thanksgiving, when I traditionally serve prosecco as an aperitif. I made pasta yesterday, so a little Italian sparkling wine seemed appropriate.

For those unfamiliar, Prosecco is a grape grown in Italy's Veneto region. It is sometimes used to make still wines, but is usually made sparkling. This bottle was quite dry, with tart green apple flavor. The label says that it has "Zucch. 13 g/l." I've no idea what the range is, but 13 grams per liter must be a rather low sugar content.

2005 Cline Red Truck

$9.50 from Metro Market. Funny. A year ago I was totally happy drinking red truck. Since then I've developed a habit of going to McCarthy and Schiering at the top of Queen Anne Hill, where I ask them to put together a case for me. When they ask how much, I say "Under $12, though you can throw in one special bottle." They wander around the shop picking inexpensive bottles they like, describing them in varying detail until we've come up with a dozen, and then I'm off.

Tasting these wines, combined with the exercise of writing these reviews has (I think) sharpened my appreciation of different wines, perhaps to my detriment. I really used to like red truck, but no more. In Jenny's words, "It's uninteresting." I find it very fruity, and a more than a little harsh on the palate.

Would I say the same if served it in a blind tasting, where someone told me it was some spectacular new Sonoma red? Maybe, though I certainly wouldn't bet on it, especially after the experiment where snooty wine people couldn't tell the difference between red wine and white wine dyed red.

That said, I think the facts are that there are far superior bottles to be had for just a dollar or two more, or maybe the same price if you're willing to hunt a little. And even when all you're having for dinner is leftover pizza, a pleasant bottle of wine is a welcome comfort.

Update: For a spectacular experiment on the importance of context when appreciating beauty, see Pearls Before Breakfast, wherein the impact of "one of the finest classical musicians in the world, playing some of the most elegant music ever written on one of the most valuable violins ever made," is judged in the context of a DC metro station.

San Quirico - 2006 Vernaccia di San Gimignano

$12 at Metro Market. Yesterday as I was getting ready to leave work, I decided to make the spring vegetable risotto in this month's Cooks Illustrated magazine. I made out my shopping list, which included a bottle of dry white wine.

I walk by the Metro Market on top of Queen Anne Hill on my way home, and so stopped there for groceries. I fully intended to pick up the first cheap Pinot Grigio I saw, but as I scanned the shelves, this bottle popped out at me.

When Jenny and I were in Italy last year, we went to San Gimignano, a beautiful and ancient hill town in Tuscany. We had an excellent lunch there, but I don't recall the wine at all (I suspect it was a mezzo of the house red). Unable to resist the wine of a place I recalled so fondly, I set off for home with a couple leeks, a pound of asparagus, some peas, a chunk of parm, and of course, my bottle of dry white wine.

The risotto came together very well... not quite as rich as restaurant risotto, but they probably add double the butter that I do. The wine was delicious. Complex and full bodied, it is easily the equal of the white Burgundies that I enjoy during the summer months, and well worth the $12.

The Wine Lover's Companion says that the Vernaccia di San Gimignano grapes are thought to be of Greek origin, other sources say they may have been brought to the region by the Estruscans (ca. 800 BC). This region was the very first to recieve DOC status when Italy began implementing its wine classification system in 1966.

This was the last bottle of the San Quirico they had at Metro Market, I'll make it a point to explore the Vernaccia di San Gimignano grape more as the opportunity rises.

Naia 2006 Rueda

$11 McCarthy and Schiering. I'd never heard of Rueda before reading Eric Asimov's recent column in the NY times. I don't like being one of those foodies that just does what they're told: "You must go to this restaurant." "This wine is the hot new thing." But I was intrigued by the article and so I stopped by the wine shop on the way home.

Bracing myself, I timidly asked if they had any Ruedas on hand. As expected, they mocked me (good naturedly), "Rueda huh? I wonder where you heard about that." We chatted a bit and they confirmed that every time Asimov writes a new column, hordes of people come in looking for whatever it is he's talked about. I might easily have been the 100th person to ask for Rueda that day.

Anyway, this bottle was one of Asimov's top picks. I certainly like it. The back of the bottle says that grapefruit is one of the classic flavors of the verdejo grape, and I certainly get that flavor. My book says that wines based on verdejo from Rueda should be full bodied, but I find the Naia to be light and refreshing.

I need to explore Ruedas some more, but it might become this summer's Gruner-Veltliner, and this bottle is a strong contender.

Chateau d'Oupia - 2006 Minervois

$12 from McCarthy and Schiering. Complex and full bodied, well worth the $12 price tag. Nice balance of fruit, acidity and tannins.

Minervois is an apellation in France's Languedoc-Rousillon region. The wines are primarily from Carignan, Cinsault, and Grenache, with some Syrah and Mourvedre added to increase quality.

I plan to buy more of this.

New blog about wine and whatever else comes to mind

Jenny and I drink a bottle of wine nearly every night with dinner. For a long while, we bought the first bottle we found under $10 with an attractive label at the grocery store; we drank them with a similar level of thoughtfulness, which is to say, not much.

This strategy yielded many mediocre bottles, but from time to time we'd run across a truly great bargain. Sadly, we'd inevitably forget about the great ones in a day or two, which proved terribly frustrating.

To remedy this problem, some months ago I resolved to take a photo of every bottle of wine I drank, and write a capsule review of it. This has forced me to really taste the wine I drink, and to learn about different grapes, regions, styles, etc.

As I told friends about this new strategy, I started emailing them my reviews. As of today the list of people I send my reviews to has become large enough that it's easier for me to simply start this blog, posting my reviews for all to see.

For now, this blog will primary play host to these mini-reviews of the wines I drink on a regular basis, but it is by no means limited to that topic, I plan to write about whatever strikes me as interesting from time to time.

Thanks for reading; I hope you find it interesting.