wine in the news
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Classic Food and Wine Pairings: Sauvignon Blanc + Goat Cheese
For years, I have been aware of several classic food and wine parings and have used them to my advantage on many occasions ("we have to open this syrah — we're eating lamb!"). I have also had some terrific experiences with amazing food and wine pairings in the past. This is something that restaurants can do very well, but at home, most great pairings were almost accidental — the result of a very successful guess or stroke of luck as opposed to premeditation and comprehensive knowledge. So I set out to my favorite wine shop to talk shop (well, wine) with the experts.
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New Food and Wine Pairings: Vegetarian Fare
Early in my journey of discovering wine, I single-handedly (and perhaps somewhat arrogantly) concluded that it was impossible for a vegetarian to fully appreciate wine as a meat-eater could. I felt that there was no way for someone who abstained from animal fat to enjoy the rich and powerful red wines I had come to love and establish in my mind, naïvely, as the point of reference for wine in general. But that was then; my perspective is more nuanced now, as a result of having learned a great deal through tasting and formal study. And although I still don't believe a vegetarian can fully appreciate the synergy of a full-bodied red wine well-matched with food, I do acknowledge the plethora of wines that actually beautifully complement vegetable or grain dishes. But there's a catch to pairing vegetarian food.
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Classic Food and Wine Pairings: Pinot Noir + Duck Breast
I love duck. It has long been one of my very favorite things. I love duck breast cooked just under medium with a nice crisp layer on that wonderful fat. I love duck confit, duck stock, Chinese duck and scallion pancakes, and duck skin cracklins — it's all fantastic! And while I'm professing love for things, how about pinot noir: I love the sweet and musty Carneros pinots, I love the amazing pinots coming from Oregon (I went to Willamette a few years back), and I have had my share of amazing earthy burgundy as well. Though I don't consider myself a wine expert, I know enough to know how little I know, and this makes me eager to learn and appreciate. So when I embarked on this exploration of classic food and wine pairings, I jumped on the duck and Pinot Noir idea and never looked back.
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Recent Reviews+Interviews
Sonoma Viticulturist Strikes Out on Own with Vineyard-Designated Burgundian Varietals — An Interview with the Owner/Winemaker of Bjornstad Cellars —
Greg Bjornstad wasn't raised to be a wine lover. Yet judging from his early internship with a prestigious First Growth producer, eventual colloboration with several renowned Napa and Sonoma trailblazers, and current devotion to exploring and manifesting the utmost potential of the Burgundian grape varieties, one would think he'd been born among vines. Indeed, the learning curve of his career has been steep, one reason of which was his direct involvement in the construction of vineyards that eventually contributed to Sonoma Coast's increasing significance as a wine producing area. And yet, in spite of his illustrious career track, which includes work at Joseph Phelps, Flowers, and Peter Michael, I'd known next to nothing of Bjornstad when I first sampled his wines at a small, private tasting event at the facility where he makes them. Hailing from some of Sonoma Coast's most esteemed vineyards, these wines immediately struck me with their mesmerizing grace and seductive allure. It was at that point when I'd resolved to meet with the winemaker, only to learn that his winemaking talent is but a recent vector on a long trajectory of viticultural work. As I sat down with Greg in the spartan confines above the main cellar of Vinify Wine Services in Santa Rosa, we talked of vineyards, varietals, and vintages, all while reflecting on the development of both his career and the recent releases of Bjornstad Cellars.
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Sonoma Winery Delivers Quality with Value — An Interview with the Proprietors of Charles Creek Vineyard —
I'm normally very cautious about making sweeping generalizations when it comes to wine. As an artisan-driven product with a dizzying array of styles, production techniques, regions of origin, distribution channels, and variations stemming from climate and soil, wine is entirely too complex to sum up with a single turn of phrase or flourish of hand. But when it comes to the wines of Northern California, namely from the likes of Napa and Sonoma, there's one generalization that I have no hesitation with asserting: they are expensive. That is, of course, if you're looking for wines of quality. Granted, it might be stating the obvious that a price tag must be high for something well made. But if we take a good look at the continuum of wines produced in this region, many will agree that below $30 per bottle retail, their quality sharply plummets into a category overwhelmingly dominated by the uninspired and insipid. Much of it frankly verges on plonk. There are, however, a few regional producers who manage to make wines of exceptional value in the $20 to $25 range, one of which is Sonoma's Charles Creek Vineyard. In an effort to learn the story behind the portfolio of wines I admire so much for its remarkable quality in the context of great value, I spoke with the winery's proprietors, Bill and Gerry Brinton, over a casual lunch on Sonoma's main square.
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An Interview of Coterie Cellars, an Urban Winery
There was a time when the term "urban winery" would have been considered an oxymoron. But for wine producers who source their fruit from growers, the lack of attachment to any particular vineyard allows for a great degree of choice regarding winery location. An increasing number of them are opting to set up shop in areas that may be a distance from the nearest grapevines, but which are conveniently located, both for themselves as well as potential customers living in more urban areas. One such winery is Coterie Cellars, a newly established micro-production facility located amidst the quasi-urban sprawl of San Jose. Though I'd briefly met the proprietors, Kyle and Shala Loudon, during the 2008 Pinot Days tasting event in San Francisco, I followed up with the domestic garagistes more recently during a visit to their rather compact winery, where I learned more about the evolution of their urban endeavor.
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wine in the news
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