Shorty got Merlot, low, low, low

As ridiculous as it sounds, I was actually stressing this week about choosing a wine to review. With limitless options, I was finding it difficult to narrow it down to one. What’s more, with several social commitments – craft night with Emily and Courtney, drinks with Meredith and Kat’s 30^th birthday dinner – I wasn’t sure when I was going to have time to enjoy even just one glass, you know, for the sake of the blog (wink).

So you can imagine how giddy I was when Emily showed up to craft night with seven cases of wine and champagne. Now even though the wine was purchased for her upcoming wedding, she had one rogue bottle of red to spare – so we went for it. I couldn’t believe my luck, I mean crafting and wine? A fan of efficiency, I was stoked about the opportunity to “feed two birds with one hand” as my co-workers at Save The Bay would say. And it gets better, Brian (Courtney’s hubbie/good friend of mine) was there with his fancy new camera, so he took some nice photos of the wine and our meal.

We opened up a 2004 Mosaic Merlot from Graton, CA – yet another completely new wine to me. I normally wouldn’t go for a Merlot; and no, it’s not because Paul Giamatti dissed it in Sideways. I basically just stopped drinking Merlot in college, when I figured out that I liked wines with a bit more fruit. It’s just not my favorite. But who am I to turn down free wine, especially when in the company of friends?

Based on looks alone, my expectations of the wine were good. With dark color and nice legs, it looked appealing in the glass. The nose was savory and earthy, almost salty – like black olives. I did get a hint of spice and maybe even a whiff or two of berries, but mostly I got bacon. And since I like bacon, I was intrigued.

My first sip was tart and tannic. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t spectacular. It didn’t knock my socks off. As I continued to sip, I tasted pepper and cured meats and earthiness. The mouth-feel was light, which I appreciated – I normally don’t like heavy wines, especially when I’m eating a light meal. But with each sip, I just kept getting “sour.” It had a lingering tannic finish, but it wasn’t particularly complex.

My overall impression of the wine was just eh. It was okay – not terrible, but not terrific. It definitely didn’t hold a candle to the delicious spinach quiche and salad lovingly prepared by Brian and Courtney, and it wasn’t really a wine I would drink alone. I asked the others what they thought of it and the opinions were pretty similar. Brian and Courtney thought it was good, but they didn’t rave about it. Emily said it was okay, but not as good as a different Merlot she had recently and loved. She "wouldn't buy it again."

In short, no one was jumping over the moon for the wine. It was fine as an accompaniment to dinner and DIY interchangeable cake platter making, but this was one mosaic where the pieces just didn’t seem to fit.

Amy Award: 1.5 stars (out of 5)
Spendy scale: $18ish
Best bet: With a greasy pizza or a craft night with friends

It’s a Mud House – lettin’ it all hang out

Last Friday Tim and I decided to play hooky and head down to Monterey to visit the famous Monterey Bay Aquarium. As a faithful Facebook fan and Twitter follower of the Aquarium, I have been jonesing to visit for quite some time now. I mean, a person can only take so many photos of those cute little otters before they just gotta see them in the flesh. Plus I think it had been ten years since I had been to the Aquarium, so I figured it was time. After some yoga, frittata, Cole Coffee and a quick trip to H&M, we were on our way.

When some of my foodie friends caught wind that we would be in the Monterey area, they recommended we go to Passionfish – a restaurant known for its marriage of fresh, local, sustainable seafood with a superb wine list. I decided dinner at this renowned green restaurant would be a fitting way to cap our visit to the Aquarium.

I was expecting my butternut squash soup with green onion cream and applewood smoked bacon to be delicious – and it was. I was expecting my sea scallops with tomato-truffle butter, risotto custard and minted celery to be amazing – and they were. But knowing relatively little about wines from New Zealand, I didn’t quite know what to expect from my 2009 Mud House Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough.

I was blown away.

Now for as much as I love zinfandel, I might love Sauvignon Blanc more. I just love its dry crispness and the tart, tropical fruit flavors that come with it. I tend to favor Sauv Blancs with more tart fruit – citrus, pear, apple – but I’m warming up to the grassier ones as well. Even so, when our server told me that Mud House was fairly grassy, with hints of fruit, I wasn’t sure I’d like it. But I went for it anyway. And I’m so glad I did.

It was a remarkable wine – enticing nose, strong tropical fruit and hints of grassy earthiness. It was delicious on its own and it paired nicely with the scallops. It was very crisp and dry, tart and refreshing. It was the kind of wine that you would drink on your front porch or back patio on a hot summer day – and it would go down so smooth. Sigh…

I managed to stretch my glass throughout the meal and wanted to order another glass (or bottle) to continue to enjoy for the rest of the evening, but alas it was not meant to be. With a quick check of his NBA playoff iPhone app, Tim determined that we could make the second half of the LA Lakers – Oklahoma City Thunder game if we got on the road straight away. So we were off.

We did manage to see the second half, which made Tim happy. But three days later, I still regret not getting that second glass. I plan to get a bottle to make up for it. And with summer on the way, I should have no problem finding a warm evening to enjoy this refreshing treat.

Amy Award: 4.5 stars (out of 5)
Spendy scale: $10-15
Best bet: A cool, fresh meal or a hot summer night

All in all, it's just another Rock in the Wall

I hadn’t originally meant to review two zinfandels in a row, but hey, when someone hands me a free bottle of wine, I don’t say no. Here is the story: last week Tim attended a fancy reception for an East Bay green business group he is a part of and brought home a bottle of 2008 Rock Wall Sonoma County Zinfandel as a party favor. Being a fan of anything local – did I mention Rock Wall makes and bottles all their wine in Alameda, CA? – I said yes please. I was only too happy to indulge in this freebie.

We didn’t open it until a few days later and for one reason or another, I wasn’t expecting much. I won’t say that I had low expectations, but rather I just didn’t have any expectations at all. I was pleasantly surprised. I should have known, I mean it had all the right ingredients – it was a zin (my favorite) from Sonoma County (my childhood home and zin capital of California) and the label billed the wine as “fruit forward” (the kind of zin I love most). After doing some sleuthing, I realized that wine-making vet Kent Rosenblum is a consulting wine-maker for Rock Wall Wine Co., and it all started making sense.

Having learned my lesson from last time, I made sure to decant the wine. My mistake this time, however, was pairing it with some spicy turkey tacos. It’s not that the wine didn’t stand up to the spiciness of the meal, but I just felt like the food was overpowering the wine and not allowing me to really taste it properly. After a palate cleanser and a small wait, I was able to taste the wine by itself and I liked that better.

Upon first sniff, I got a very powerful nose with a strong blackberry/boysenberry jamminess. I also detected some hints of sweet spice – cinnamon perhaps? – and some savory notes that reminded me of Manzanita. Staying true to the nose, the first sip was indeed very fruity, although not the fruit bomb I was expecting. It wasn’t overly sweet or jammy, but rather rich in fruit with light spice on the finish. The mouth-feel was also light with virtually no tannins. With every sip I just kept thinking: this is a nice, approachable wine that probably doesn’t need to be cellared for too terribly long before drinking. I think I mentioned that this was a 2008, so this particular bottle didn’t really get any rest at all.

Overall I’d say it was a good, solid, everyday, drinkable wine. It was well-balanced and tasty, and interesting but not pretentious. This is the kind of wine you bring to a party and everyone loves it. Especially if that party is in the East Bay.

Amy Award: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
Spendy scale: $25
Best bet: A weekday dinner or as a light afternoon glass

Livin' on the "Ridge" -- Sizing up the ’06 Lytton Springs

So I’m just a girl who likes wine. I don’t claim to know much about it, but I like it. Okay, so maybe I know a little bit – if nothing else, I can talk the talk…sort of. You see, I once spent a summer working at a winery and there began both my wine education and appreciation. I learned the buzz words like gamey, jammy, full-bodied, and approachable. I also learned about the growing, harvesting, and barreling processes of making wine. But mostly I just learned to like it. Since then I’ve mostly been an aficionado and not really a connoisseur, but at the very least I like to fake like I have a discerning palate. More than anything, I just love to open up a bottle with some good friends and enjoy.

I also like to write. Again, I’m not a “writer” per se, but rather just a gal who likes to put words down on paper. So in an attempt to marry two of my passions, I decided to blog about wine. Think about it as your lay-woman’s guide to wine. I’m not a professional, but I plan to cover it all. I’m happy to take a chance on a cheap bottle (and I’m even happier if it’s delicious!), but I’m also willing to shell out some cash if it means I’m going to be drinking something amazing. I like red; I like white; I like bubbles. I like California wines, Argentine wines, French, Spanish and Italian wines. And I’m excited to learn more about wines from all over the globe.

I decided that the first wine I would review would be from the winery that originally sparked my interest in wine – Ridge Vineyards. I mentioned that I worked at a winery for a summer; well Ridge Vineyards was that winery. I was lucky to have started there, as I was able to sip quality wine all day long. I sharpened my palate; and for a few months at least, I pretended I was a snob.


Tonight my husband, Tim, and I opened up a bottle of 2006 Ridge Lytton Springs – a fitting tribute to the winery (and location) that started it all. The Lytton Springs is a classic zinfandel and essentially the flagship wine of the winery's Dry Creek Valley location. I paired the wine with my version of “healthy pizza” – a whole wheat pita brushed with olive oil and topped with sautéed fennel and onions, spinach, garlic and some yummy goat feta I picked up at the farmer’s market yesterday. I also whipped up a fresh spring greens salad to get my roughage.

I was a little lazy tonight and I didn’t decant the wine; but it could have used it. I tried to let the first glass breath, but it was still a bit tight at first taste. It was a nice, dark burgundy color and I detected some hints of berry jam on the nose, so I was looking forward to my first sip. I won’t say that I was disappointed, but rather surprised. I was expecting something slightly more fruity, but what I tasted was tannic and earthy. The flavor was more savory than sweet, almost tart at times, with hints of black olives. The mouth-feel was light, but the flavor packed a much larger punch.

A little surprised by the heaviness of the wine, I checked the label to see what the winemaker had to say. He described the wine as “approachable now,” but with the structure to be “cellared and enjoyed over the next ten years.” He wrote that in 2008, which leads me to believe that I probably should have waited a couple more years before opening this particular bottle to let it mellow out. Don’t get me wrong, it was definitely a good wine – nice complexity and good spice – but I think it could have been better. I definitely learned my lesson – I’ll be sure to decant next time.

Proof that this wine goes with anything, tonight we enjoyed this wine with a little Jazz. I'm talking about the Utah Jazz. We sipped this zesty zin while watching the Jazz-Nuggets series of the NBA playoffs. Not exactly the barrel room, but it works for us.

Overall, this wine was solid. Earthy, spicy, savory and complex. Light body, but heavy flavor. Easy to pair with food (and basketball).

Amy Award: 3.75 stars (out of 5)
Spendy scale: $35ish
Best bet: A good meal with friends or a sophisticated party