Category Archive

Jason and I brought home some amazing wines from our Ampelos tasting earlier this month, including the 2006 Lambda Pinot Noir. The Pinot Noir’s flavors of black cherries with hints of earth and baking spices were the perfect partner for the grilled pork tenderloin. While many Pinots leave me wishing they had more “oomph”, this one delivered the goods with rich flavor, excellent balance and a long finish. A lovely bottle of wine and a simple meal at home – who says you have to go out for “date night”?

Tonight’s bottle is the 2004 Curran Sangiovese. This is a medium bodied, fruity Italian varietal which grows well in California’s central coast region. The Curran Sangiovese is more full-bodied and rich than its old world Italian counterpart. This is a decidedly food friendly wine, perfect for casual meals and any day that ends in “y”. I like this wine with pizza or pasta or any dish with a good level of acidity. Tonight we have it with kung pao noodles with vegetables and shrimp. An odd match, but it is one that works – the fruit and acid in the wine work beautifully with the exotic Chinese spices. Sangiovese is one of my favorite wines for lunchtime too, as it pairs well with lighter foods. Plus it often has a lower percentage of alcohol – so you CAN have a glass of wine at lunch!

I like to end my day with a glass of wine.  Tonight I am drinking the 2005 Curran Reeves’ Ranch Syrah. Winemaker Kris Curran is a favorite of mine because her wines are expressive yet balanced. Curran believes that fruit from the warmer areas of the Valley yield superior, more flavorful wines. However she doesn’t let the fruit get overly ripe which might result in jammy fruit bomb wine. Her 2005 syrah would be a fabulous partner to flank steak or some other red meat. Jason and I paired the wine with chicken in a chipotle sauce. I worried that the heat and spice of the chipotle would completely overpower the Syrah, however this unusual pairing was a successful marriage of tastes.

Tonight we opened up a 2003 blended wine from Arthur Earl called A Genoux. This wine is made from Syrah, Mourvedre, Cinsault and Counoise fruit procured from Paso Robles, Santa Ynez Valley and Santa Barbara County. Aristotle once opined that “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts”.  This is certainly true with the 2003 A Genoux. This is a lovely combination of fruit that yields a wine with a floral nose and rich flavors typical of Syrahs from Santa Ynez Valley. I have to admit that I thought the name of this wine was a little weird. If I recall my high school French lessons, “a genoux” literally means “has knees”. Curiouser and curiouser. When spoken, the name of this wine sounds like the English word “ingenue” which is a word which means naïve woman. Hmmmm…according to the Arthur Earl website, “a genoux” means “to your knees” and is a reference to a quote from Alexander Dumas, who famously penned The Three Musketeers. History tells us that Monsieur Dumas loved his vin, and in fact said it was so good that “you should drink it on your knees with your hat off”. While I share Dumas’ love of wine and his dislike of drinking while wearing a hat, I’d prefer to quaff with my shoes off on a warm summer evening.  No kneeling while drinking sticky sweet sacramental wine for me, merci beaucoup.   Bonne soirée Monsieur Dumas, a votre santé!

The sun was out and the ocean and island views were clear, so our friends Rick and Amanda went for a long hike up Romero Trail with Jason and me. Then we came home and opened a bottle of Tritono Malbec from the famed Mendoza province in Argentina.  Who knew that Malbec was such a tasty after-workout beverage? This is imported by Palmina and is available for sale in the tasting room and from the website.  The wine is a collaborative effort between New York restauranteur Joe Bastianich, Argentine vintner Matias Mayol and California winemaker, Steve Clifton (of Palmina and Brewer-Clifton).  Dark garnet color fills my glass – the taste is of dark fruits like black cherry, plum and holiday spices. This wine could be a good partner to many foods, especially red meat dishes. The winemakers tasting notes tell me that this wine will cellar well for the next 7-10 years. I suppose we’ll never know because the wine didn’t last a week in my house. 😉