Somm

Posted on December 23, 2013 by melsmosaic

While on a flight today I had the chance to check out a movie I hadn’t heard of, on a topic I love – wine! The name — Somm.

It’s about four sommeliers who attempt to pass the (prestigious) Master Sommelier exam, a test with one of the lowest pass rates in the world. The movie’s about 90 minutes and goes through their lives while they study for the test and highlights other somms (that’s what they are, don’t use that multi-syllabic word, it’s old-school in their world).

After taking the WSET course it was so fun/interesting to watch this and understand a tiny bit what they were going through. Apparently some people take this test many times and don’t pass. There are very few Master Sommeliers in the world.

Totally check out this movie of you have 90 minutes to spare.

Cheers to the MS and happy holidays!

Holiday Lunch

Posted on December 19, 2013 by melsmosaic

Today called for a holiday lunch, which also meant I got to check out a new (to me) location in DC. Had a nice 3-course meal at Decanter at St. Regis with some colleagues.

We started with delicious focaccia and a mesclun salad. Under all the lettuce was an amazing tapenade. Heaven for olive lovers!

For the main course I opted for the scallops. Pan seared with both a chickpea puree (can we say hummus?) and chickpeas, along with great seasoning. Very nice portion size, too!

Though white would have paired a bit better with the scallops, I went for some Malbec. The waiter said this stuff was great and I couldn’t turn it down. The rest of the table was drinking beer or white so I had to take one for the (red) team. I enjoyed some Siete Fincas from Argentina. Medium body, smooth, fruity.

The other food options were a steak or pasta. They were both inhaled/enjoyed quite a bit.

The meal closed with a nice dessert of 3 sorbets — lemon, raspberry, lime, with a little meringue on top. Perfect ending.

I would be interested in checking this place out for dinner, as well. Delicious food, excellent service, nice atmosphere. Might just add it to my list.

Annual Champagne Expo

Posted on December 17, 2013 by melsmosaic

Last year I accidentally found out about an annual champagne event that takes place at a wine/liquor store in DC when I was just walking by the store. It’s Magruder’s Annual Champagne Expo that features 15-20 bubblies for you to sample/taste/enjoy/leave with or without. People call in advance to find out when this event takes place, bring their own glasses, and have quite the afternoon.

This year there were five table and a total of 18 champagnes. When you walk in, you get your tasting card for the vendors to mark and you’re off!

Table 1

Trouillard Brut — creamy

Roland Champion Aramis — ‘chunkier,’ earthy, mineral, (ugh)

Roland Champion Grand Cru Brut — softer

Roland Champion Grand Cru Rose — unique, nice

Table 2

Perrier-Jouet Brut — apple, citrus, light, crisp (on sale for $32.99 — I know this because I left with a bottle). The box is great! White case.

Mumm Cordon Rouge — less fun

Nicolas Feuillatte Brut — marginal

Domaine Carneros Brut — NICE (on sale for $22.99 — yes, proud owner)

Table 3

Laurent-Perrier Brut — smooth yet sharp, bottled 3 years

Delamotte Brut — chardonnay, good, but not great

Schramsbert Blanc de Blanc — sweet, Napa

Table 4

Andre Clouet Brut Rose — NO!

Voirin Jumel Blanc de Blanc Cramant — unique, nice, 100% Chardonnay

Andre Clouet Grand Reserve Brut — GREAT! #1

Chapuy Grand Cru Blanc de Blanc — 100% Chardonnay, ugh (keep in mind these are my own tastes)

Table 5

Ruinart Blanc de Blanc — ok

Ruinart Rose — smooth, perfect, if only it wasn’t (on sale for) $79

Pommery Brut — high carbonation, true champagne

So come the end, the taste buds were happy and overwhelmed, I left with two amazing bottles and learned more about many bubblies. Until next year.

Ripple Effect

Posted on December 8, 2013 by melsmosaic

Checked out this new place (to me) in Cleveland Park (a DC neighborhood, if you’re not from around here) last night and it was quite nice! From cocktails to wine to menu, you can’t get bored. The name — Ripple, hence the name of the post. Side note, there are quite a few meanings of Ripple Effect. Check them out of you want some good conversations pieces to either draw people in or get them away during upcoming holiday parties.

They have quite the cocktail, wine and beer selection and after watching the bartender add some type of liquid to a glass from ‘something’ that looked like it could have been a funky whipped cream container, I come to find out they make their own juices and soda and have these cool, funky pressurized, carbonated container, vessel things. Good terminology on my side, right? The key point was that I had to try something. After some debate, I opted for the Herbivores Delight — chamomile vodka, grapefruit-thyme soda. The sage leaf on top brought it all in!

Now, jumping forward awhile, while the bartender was prepping that, the folks next to me were trying some wine. They had a taste so I had to inquire. I had a sip as well. That was my pre-planned round 2! When I see wines I’ve not tasted, bring it on. I have now added to my shopping list Donkey and Goat 2012 Carignane from Mendocino. Of course when you go to the website you find it’s Limited Edition, but hey, it’s just new a new winery to explore!

Food-wise, for some reason I flipped to the cheese menu and saw they offer sheep’s milk cheese, aka lactose free! Opted for the ossau iraty. Also ordered some prosicutto and olives. They serve the cheese and meat on a nice board and complement it with house-made mustard and honey. Then, they throw their bread crisps in there. Ahhh….heaven.

(had already eaten most of these)

So, if you’re in DC, check this place out. And this was just part of the menu. So much more to explore!

“Weight” of Wines

Posted on December 6, 2013 by melsmosaic

Going through long-lost wine class notes, there was a great chart of the “Weight” of wine. They go from light to full bodied. Good to have on hand when deciding what buy, serve or just open. Cheers to the weekend!

Whites

Soave, Orvieto, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Blanc

Riesling

Muscadet

Sparkling Wines (including Champagne)

Chenin Blanc

Cremant (sparkling) or some aged, vintage Champagne

Chablis (from France), unoaked Chardonnays

Sauvignon Blanc

White Bordeaux

White Burgundy

Gewurztraminer

Oaked Chardonnay

Reds

Valpolicella, Bardolino

Beaujolais

Dolcetto

Barbera (old style, emphasizing fruit)

Rioja (and other wines made from tempranillo)

New World Pinot Noir (California, Australia)

Burgundy

Barbera

Chianti

Zinfandel, Rhone

California Merlot

Chianti Classico

Cabernet Sauvignon, Chateauneuf-du-Pape

Bordeaux

Petit Sirah

Syrah, Shiraz

Barbaresco, Amarone della Valpolicella

Barolo

Brunello di Montalino

20 under $20

Posted on December 6, 2013 by melsmosaic

While reading/following Shape magazine, I came across a great article/post about The Best Wines Under $20.

I will say, I love the Ravenswood Zin, any bubbly, will have to try the Terrazas Malbec and the Hahn Pinot. Have tried quite a few of the others on the list and they are good finds!

Cheers to the holiday season!

International Pinot Noir Tasting

Posted on November 29, 2013 by melsmosaic

For Thanksgiving we opted to do an international Pinot Noir tasting. Since the varietal is one that has been rumored to pair well with turkey, we thought it would be fun to see how different country’s respective grapes compared. We went for three continents — get everybody to join the party!

Hob Nob, 2011, Languedoc, France: Smooth, oh so smooth. I could taste chocolate. Not a great pairing for turkey, but we took one for the team and still enjoyed it! Hand me some chocolate covered pretzels and this wine…oh yes! Very reasonable — about $10-$12.

Nobilo Icon, 2012, Marlborough, New Zealand: More acidic than Hob Nob, much better pairing for turkey, traditional Pinot taste. I say that as nothing jumped out about it but still very nice. About $15.

Schug, 2010, Carneros, California: Same as above…more acidic than Hob Nob, much better pairing for turkey. Taste of cherries then a bit of smoke at end. About $17-$20.

Definitely a fun element to add to Thanksgiving dinner and it was great listening to all the comments at the table on people’s specific tastes, likes, distinctions, characteristics they took from each wine. Go Pinot!

Wine Notes, continued

Posted on November 26, 2013 by melsmosaic

There were more great tips in the wine notes I found from my class years ago. These were on Basic Flavors. This is something I (and could likely do a generic ‘we’) often think about when selecting a wine to pair with food.

Salty
- Works well with crisp, dry white wines
- Trick: adding salt to food reduces the tannic impression of some red wines

Spicy
- Reduces the sweetness of wine, making some dry reds taste astringent
- Works well with ripe fruity wine

Sour (e.g. lemon, vinegar)
- Generally very hard to pair with wine
- Rely on crisp, acidic wines like Sauvignon Blanc

Savory (e.g. mushroom, soy, umami)
- Red wine, preferably full bodied
- Rarely works well with white wine

Smoky (e.g. smoked meat, smoked fish, even some smoked cheeses)
- A bit of sweetness will work, like in Sherry of Gewurztraminer
- With smoked fish or pork, German Riesling
- With smoked meat, try spicy Zinfandel or (Australian) Shiraz

Sweet
- Sweet foods make the wine taste drier than it truly is
- With desserts, wine should always be sweeter than the food, otherwise the lose their body and often taste sour

And some side scribbles:

White before red
Young before old
Simple before complex
Dry before sweet
Temperature – 20 minute rule – need to remember the exact specs, but I think it’s put a red in the fridge for 20.
Cork does you no good for testing
Crystals on the cork are no problem
Price a bottle of wine between the cost of 1-2 entrees
The wine doesn’t have the match the main ingredient on the plate
Red fish = red wine
Short cooking time = white wine
Soft cheese = white wine
Hard/veined cheese = red wine

Double Magnum

Posted on November 24, 2013 by melsmosaic

We normally go get our bottle of wine — nice 750ml. Sometimes when we need a bit more we might buy the magnum, two bottles worth.

When at a tasting last week there was a raffle for an even bigger bottle and one of the people I was with was beyond lucky and was the winner of a DOUBLE magnum. It’s one of those bottles that you just see but never think about ever drinking from (and might sometimes wonder if there is even wine in it). It holds 4 regular bottles worth of wine. So, she is now the proud ‘owner’ of a double magnum of Bogle Phantom — nice stuff!

Here’s a comparison picture of bottle size, double magnum vs. regular.

Wine Notes

Posted on November 22, 2013 by melsmosaic

I was flipping through my recipe binders last night searching for something to make for a gathering this weekend and what do I come across? Notes from a wine class I took in 2004. Hmmm…I knew nothing about wine back then. I remember drinking that bright blue bottle of super sweet Riesling and other quality stuff. I never sank so low as White Zin, though, fear not. I loved reading over some of this info. Lots of good notes to keep in mind.

Basic Rules (per the instructor):

-Drink what the locals drink — ‘when in Rome, …’

-Drink what you want to drink, not what somebody else tell you is the ‘right wine’

-Beware that some pairings will clash (like spicy Shiraz with angelfood cake)

-Main ingredient is important but…

-Accents in the sauce and seasonings are the focus of the flavors

-Time of day is important:
-afternoons – maybe whites or roses work best
-evenings – fuller-bodied whites and reds are more satisfying

-Season:
-hot summer afternoons
-cool to cold winter evenings
-instructor deep thought — air conditioning was probably invented so that red wine would taste better in the summer. Nice!!

-Temperature:
-cold dishes need cold wines, usually lighter wines
-warm/hot dishes need bolder flavors and bigger wines

-Length of time cooking:
-short cooking (stir fries, seared, etc) suggests lighter wines
-longer cooking suggest heartier wines

-What else is on the plate?:
-one bottle for an entire meal presents problems
-some meals, think Thanksgiving, offer a wide range of flavors that are tough to match

-Pick wine that matches the weight and ‘size’ (bigness of flavor):
-simple, fragile wines with simple, fragile flavors
-robust wines with hearty dishes

-Texture:
-best example of texture in wine is sparkling wine (or beer) with spicy Asian food
-consider this range of texture: filet of flounder, lobster tail, steak

-Cooking with wine:
-easiest rule: serve the same wine
-therefore: never cook with cheap wine

-Sweet wines are tough to match with main dishes, but not impossible:
-Americans are used to drinking sweet drinks (soda, iced tea) — why not sweet wine?
-the secret is in balancing sweetness and acidity

Great wine (vs food) for thought when hitting the stores this weekend and deciding what to pick up.