A random 2001 Vino Nobile di Montepulciano

On our second night in San Francisco, Mark, JJ, Dave and I went back into the city for dinner. After the conference sessions had concluded there was a reception with wine and hors d'oeuvres among the vendor booths (good strategy: get the attendees tipsy, then sic the sales guys on 'em). Having diddled around at the reception for too long, it was eight or so before we started thinking about dinner.

Dave, never having been to San Francisco before, really wanted to go into the city (the conference was at a hotel near the airport). We hemmed and hawed for a while, trying to figure out where we'd go and the best way to get there. After some minutes, it was clear that we were making no progress, so JJ just started walking to the front of the hotel.

With no clear plan at all, we hopped into a cab and asked the driver to take us into the city, we'd tell him precisely where later. After ten minutes of furious cell phone yelping and calling for reservations we decided on some obscure Italian place, the name of which has completely escaped me. This is unfortunate as it was one of the best meals I've eaten in a long time.

We shared two appetizers. The first was some truly remarkable grilled vegetables, which under any other circumstances I would rave about at length. Sadly for the veggies, they were upstaged by a plate of burrata (a fresh buffalo mozzarella shell, filled with a mixture of more mozzarella and cream) accompanied by crostini and caponata. The burrata was exquisite, fresh, creamy, lightly sweet... I've never tasted anything quite like it.

For my entree I had a plate of braised rabbit with polenta. The preparation was very traditional; no fancy flourishes, just flavor so rich and complex that it makes you want to cry.

This wine was up to the task of accompanying such a fine meal, though I must admit that I don't recall much about it. This is ok, I think. Wine doesn't always have to announce itself. Like a good server, sometimes it's enough that wine makes everything come together smoothly without your even noticing.

Grigenti 2002 Nero d'Avola

I spent Monday and Tuesday of this week in San Francisco at the O'Reilly Velocity conference. After scouring Yelp for a little while, Mark, JJ and I decided that Tommaso's in North Beach looked like a fun place for dinner on Sunday night. Luckily, we arrived just ahead of the rush and were seated almost immediately; by the time we left, a crowd of people waiting for a table spilled out onto the sidewalk.

We had a couple of pretty good pizzas, a plate of assorted cured meats, and some pickled vegetables. While not insanely great, it was good value, everything was pretty cheap.

This wine, recommended by our extremely effficient server, may have been the highlight of the meal. Nero d'Avola is a grape cultivated in Sicily, originally near the town of Avola in the south of the island. This bottle was light and easy to drink, with soft tannins and a lovely floral nose.

La Vieille Ferme - 2006 Cotes Du Ventoux

I grabbed this bottle from Metro Market because I was planning to make wine glazed vegetables with lentils for dinner, and I don't like pouring a bunch of "good" wine into a pot.

Reasonably priced at $9, this bottle is totally serviceable in cooking and at the table, though in my opinion it's not especially balanced, with too much alcohol on the palate.

Pascal Aufranc 2006 Chenas

Jenny was at the market yesterday and stopped by Sosio's to pick up vegetables for dinner. Nothing caught her eye until she alit upon some garlic shoots, also called garlic "scapes," you can see a decent photo here. I'd never tasted or prepared them before, and none of my books had anything to say about them, even the bible.

On the way home I picked up a chicken breast, planning to saute it and make a simple pan sauce with the cut up garlic shoots. The bunch we had was pretty big, too big to put all of it the sauce, so I steamed the rest, finishing them with butter, salt and pepper.

They were delicious. Raw they had a strong peppery bite, but once cooked they were very mild, tasting vaguely like asparagus spears. I think I preferred them just steamed with a touch of sweetness from the butter; in the pan sauce they were overwhelmed by the other flavors.

This wine went very nicely with dinner. Chenas is the smallest of the 10 Crus in France's Beaujolais region, and this bottle tasted like a really concentrated Beaujolais. $15 from McCarthy and Schiering, and worth the price.