Potter and Pinot

Fun Stuff:

If you did not see it already, scroll down a bit and see me as a Simpson's character. Funny ;)

I have not seen the Simpson's movie yet, but I did see the Harry Potter movie and I am reading the final book in the Harry Potter series. Claudia and I went to see the fifth Harry Potter movie, The Order of the Phoenix, at the "local" drive-in theater. In this case "local" means it is only thirty miles away.

Anyway, the drive-in was kind of cool. I had never been to one before, and sadly it is the closest thing to the Alamo Drafthouse that we have. You can get crap to eat at the snack bar, but luckily they have no problem with customers bringing their own food in. On top of that awesome fact, the sound system is as good as you make it. The soundtrack is broadcast on a radio station, so it sounds as good as your stereo system can make it sound.

Oh yeah... the movie was fine.

The last book in the Harry Potter series, The Deathly Hallows, is pretty good so far, but I expect it to get much better. Claudia has already finished the book. We bought two because I did not want to wait for her to finish, and she will die of old age before I finish. I am special. I recommend the series for young and old.



Wine Stuff:

Mmmmm, Pinot Noir. LOOK AT THAT BURGUNDY COLOR AND CLARITY. It is so pretty.


I wrote about Burgundy (Bourgogne) not too long ago, well I just opened the first of the Burgundys that we brought back from France. While in France, I found that finding good Burgundy was no trivial task. Finding good value was even harder, so when I came accross this one, I was a little nervous. It had good reviews, but it only cost about 6 euro 50 cents. It is easy to find a decent Cotes Du Rhone for that, but Pinot is another story.

Well I lucked out, and that means that if you can find it here in the U.S. it will not be outrageously priced. This is a 2004 Bourgogne, Hautes Cotes de Beaune, Domaine du Clos Ministere.

The color, as I began to mention at the top, is a pale consistent ruby with no browning near the glass edges (signs of age). In the nose, the most obvious scent is young eucalyptus followed closely by car tire. Those come through at my storage temperature of 60 degrees F, but as it warms, the fruit starts to come out. Interestingly a little cinnamon peeks out from the notes of warm cherry pie. On the palette there is a high acidity and ripe tannin well ballanced with red fruits and herbal notes. It is only an 04', and I think it will reach its peak in another two or three years. It will probably stay there, happy to be drunk, for another five years.

happy drinking,
-PMo

The Simpson's Are Taking Over

Funn Stuff:
Here I am in all my Simpson's glory.

Wine Work and the Wine we Work for

Fun Stuff:

Today is a first because the “Fun” stuff is the same as the “Wine” stuff. For those who do not know it already, I do not want to be an engineer forever. My dream is to open a wine bar some day. Well, I finally started doing something related. I got a part-time job at one of the best New York wineries. The vineyard/winery is called Millbrook. It is the oldest in the Hudson valley producing vinifera varietals (European grapes).



I should learn a lot from this job, and the income, poetically, will go straight to the purchase of wine. I have only worked one day, but I learned a lot from the winery’s 23-year-old assistant wine maker. Nick is a CIA grad who knows about and loves wine. I am envious.



Wine Stuff:

So far, probably because it is summer, my favorite Millbrook wines are the Tocai Friuliano and the Proprietors Special Reserve Chardonnay. This Tocai, which has nothing to do with the Tokay d’Alsace (pinot grigio), is the most widely planted grape in the Friuli region of Italy. It is a great summer sipper, but it is also surprisingly versatile with food. It is not a sweet wine, but so fruity, that most confuse it for sweet. I know it is not sweet because it has less that 1% residual sugar after fermentation ;)

The PSR Chard has already become a staple at our house. It underwent barrel fermentation in 80% French oak and 20% American oak. The fruit was picked nicely ripe and is well balanced by the heavily-French oak aging/fermenting. I lean a bit French when it comes to oak, so this is right up my alley. I don’t know how easy this stuff is to find outside of NY, but I recommend it.



happy drinking,
-PMo

NYC and Paradis (Pronounced "pair-ah-dee")

Fun Stuff:

My brother Brian and our long-time friend Ben were in town visiting last week. Prior to their visit we had been into New York City three times, but while our guests were here we visited some of the major tourist attractions. We saw the statue of liberty, the museum of natural history, Times Square, the Neue Gallerie, and a few other small attractions. The statue of liberty was as impressive as you might expect, but I really liked the sculpture (on 6th ave, near 59th street), based on the 1932 photo of construction workers having lunch, taken by Charles C. Ebbets. Claudia is in love with the city, and I would rather live in Berlin ;)




Wine Stuff:

I liked the idea of my recent post which gave a brief bite of information as well as a blurb on a recently quaffed wine. I am going to try that again, and I would like to hear/read your thoughts on this style.

Oak… The final frontier… Just kidding. You are probably all dreading my exciting dissertation on cork, so I will save that for another day. Instead I will chat a little about oak.

What is the mystery with the oak barrels that are used to age wine? There is a ton of interesting (to me) information on this subject, but let’s distill it down to the most important factors. Oak is used for two things in the wine aging process:

• To change the character of the wine, i.e. taste, texture, aroma, color.
• The porous (though not too porous) nature of oak allows the slow oxidation of wine

The flavors, aromas, mouth feel, and color of wine can all be affected by oak because the oak barrels release substances into the wine during aging. The oxidation process assists in all of these things. There is, however, a lot of chemistry involved and not only are the details a little dry, but I am definitely no expert.

The last word is devoted to the battle between French and American oak. French oak barrels typically impart a more subtle oak flavor to the wine, and less vanilla flavor, while American oak is generally considered to add a more aggressive wood flavor. This is slowly changing in favor of American oak due to changes in production that help decrease the harsh flavors that American oak tends to produce. This is good for wine makers because American oak is a lot less expensive than French.

On to what I drank today

Tonight I had a 2005 Chateau Paradis that is made from 50% Sauvignon Blanc and 50% Grenache Blanc. The Sauvignon is aged in stainless steel while the Grenache sees some oak. My palette is probably not discerning enough to know, but my guess is that the wine is aged in second-use barrels for a fair amount of time. The oak is subtle but helps round out the aromas and gives the wine a nice creamy finish. The pairing of the two varietals is pleasant because I think the fruit forward tart character of the Sauvignon is well balanced by the less acidic, round, soft/sweet flavors of the Grenache. I think a wine like this goes well with grilled fish or chicken. I would recommend against sweet or spicy marinade because the tannins in the wine will be the only thing that stands up to the marinade. A glass full of tannins is no fun.

happy drinking,
-PMo

Local Crazies and Old Yellow Wine

Fun Stuff:

We have been getting to know our neighbors a bit lately. Like us, they like to sit on the porch and watch life go by while drinking a beverage.

They told us about the local "crazy" people. We use the term loosely here, as none of us have had a doctor examine the people in question. We have young crazy guy who carries a portable stereo and sings (to everyone presumably), crazy older guy who looks kinda like a mountain man or maybe he just has not seen a razor in ten years, crazy talking to herself lady who will surprise you during a run, and I am sure there are others we do not know about. That will change with time.

Gertie, by the way, tried to chase crazy older guy and one of the local villagers. Crazy older guy turned to face her, and she freaked out, while the local villager ran down the street with his young son freaking out. I pursued yelling "SHE IS NOT GROWLING, SHE IS JUST TRYING TO BREATHE!".

Wine Stuff:

Before I get into the wine I drank today, I want to introduce a wine that might not be very familiar to many. I have to talk about it because I recently learned how it is made, and the process stands out in a crowd.

There is a wine in France, from the Jura appellation, call Vin Jaune. The name translates to yellow wine, and it is typically made from the Savagnin grape. In recent years Jura has been producing Chardonnays made in similar fashion, but the Savagnin is somehow special.

In a nutshell:

• The grapes are picked when very ripe (as late as November)


• Fermentation is done in old oak casks and it take 6 YEARS and 3 MONTHS


• The wine undergoes slow fermentation wihtout topping off the cask


• Because the cask is not topped off, there is a large surface of yeast growth on the top of the wine protecting it from over-oxidation


• The process and flavor resembles sherry fino, and the wine is bottled in .62 l bottles. This is because, it is said, that for one liter of grape juice, only .62 l remain at the end of the process


• Vin Jaune, it is said, can be kept for 50 to 100 years (but not mine)


• This stuff tastes so good

So, I first learned about Jura when I was in Germany. I learned of a dessert wine that is also very interesting, but a story for another day.

I have never found Jura wines here in the U.S., though I am sure they exist. Please try to find one, and let me know what you think. Also, tell me where I can get more. I have only one bottle left from 1996 gifted to me by, obviously, a good friend in France.

On to what I drank today
I had another nice summer wine today from the finger lakes here in New York. It was a Seyval Blanc from the Glenora vineyard. I have to thank my new wine fridge for having the bottle ready for me at the right temperature. The nose is big and interesting, full of honey and a little apple. I doubt, however, that these notes would be evident if the bottle had come out of our normal refrigerator or if we had chilled it on ice. I recommend drinking at around 48 degrees F. The palette was first tart, then sour apple, then the medium length finish was granny smith apple. The advertised notes of vanilla and spice were almost undetectable to me.



happy drinking,
-PMo

Our Home and Not Wine

Fun Stuff:

In case you are wondering about our new home, here is a picture. We still consider Austin to be "home", so we are just renting for now. We are not renting this whole house though! We can barely afford to feed ourselves ;)



Claudia and I really like the place. The house is a 1920's Victorian with wood floors everywhere, a nice porch, spacious living dinning and bedrooms, a cute but tiny kitchen, small bathroom, and an extra room. Oh yeah, I should not forget the damp not-very-cool basement. No wine is going down there!

We are seven minutes walk to from the train station, and five minutes walk from main street. It's a great location.

Wine Stuff:

I do not only drink wine, though I get a lot of flack for being a beer hater. I am not actually a beer hater though... To me beer is like Modern art. I have a lot of respect for it, and can understand the statement the artist was trying to make when he painted the canvas solid white, but I am not going to buy it.

Actually I just do not like the taste of hops, and that is pretty much what beer is.

Which brings me to my point. I am currently drinking a Mike's Hard Crisp Apple, and on the bottle it reads "Flavored Beer" on the neck label, and "Malt Beverage" on the bottle label. Well, sure, beer is a malt beverage, but I am sure there is no hops in this stuff.

What is the world coming to when a label can be so misleading?!

Anyway, I drink Mike's various Hard Beverages, and so many other things it's not even funny.

Beer: a general name for alcoholic beverages made by fermenting a cereal (or mixture of cereals) flavored with hops

Malt: Malting is a process applied to cereal grains, in which the grains are made to germinate and then quickly dried before the plant develops

happy drinking,
-PMo

WOW! A Lot has Happened! The News and The First NY Wines

Fun Stuff:

Fun stuff might not be the right wording... A lot has happened since February. Of course, anyone might guess that "a lot" can happen in almost 4 months. Well I think I can trump the average story.

We were abruptly ripped from the comfortable womb of Grenoble, we moved back to Austin for a short time, long enough to get new embarassing clothing for Finn and Gertie, we bought a hybrid, we saw a beautiful midnight storm in El Paso from afar while visiting Claudia's family, we visited our nations capitol on the way to our new home, we moved into our new home in NY, and we bought something in which to keep all of our wine. In a nut shell.

BEAT THAT. (click on the picture to enlarge)



It has been a roller coaster ride until now, but we are settled into our new environment and it is growing on us. We have been into the big city a few times, and that is certainly a bonus. I think we can be happy here for a while.

Wine Stuff:

We were able to bring back a few more than ninety bottles of wine. We have wanted to get a wine fridge for a long time. So the wine import coupled with the desire to make it last urged the decision to finally get the fridge.

I will post images of our new digs soon, but suffice it to say, it is very "us". We are renting for now. We are not sure how long we will be here, and we need to determine where is the best place for us anyway. We live in Beacon now, and we like it. In fact, we grow more fond of it each day. We live within walking distance of Main street, food is good, and there are some good bars and coffee shops.

Some of our friends were the first to have a housewarming party, and on that ocassion, we were able to give some NY wine a try. The one wine I remember was actually owned by the NY winery, but produced in CA. It was a typical oaky chardonnay, that luckily had some fruit flavor behind the chunks of oak I was drinking. Actually not too bad if you are an oak lover. The same winery does a Burgundy style chard which should be much more subtle and interesting. I did not get to try this yet.

Tonight I am back to the old world. Italy to be specific. I just had a glass of 2005 Palagetto Vernaccia di San Gimignano. Vernaccia is the grape, and it is a wonderful summer wine. Light and tart with interesting undertones of nut. The finish is long with a surprise of grapfruit that shocks your tounge with its combination of tart and bitter.

San Gimignano is in the province of Siena in Tuscany. The vernaccia vines of San Gimignano are cultivated in their sandstone-based soil and the vines are likely unrelated to any other vernaccia. The wines from San Gimignano are DOCG status and there are references to vernaccia in the archives farther back than 700 years! This stuff is much more interesting than the common Trebbiano and Malvasia blends of Tuscany. Try to find some!

happy drinking,
-PMo

Cold White and Hot Red

Fun Stuff:

Winter arrived late in France. In fact, unlike in the U.S., it is still limping along. We had a good snow about four weeks ago, and we got some snow again today. I hope it sticks around for a little while. You have to go up to about 2000 meters to get freezing temperatures, and therefore, good snow for snowboarding.




These are the closest slopes to us. This is les Sept Laux (the seven lakes). There are plenty of better places in France, but we can get from our door to these slopes in 45 minutes. Most of that time is spent just driving up the mountain.

I have been learning to snowboard, and It is great fun. There is, however, a lot of falling involved. Snowboard falls are fast and violent. They just sneak up on you, and in the case of two of my friends, they break stuff. I hope to make it through the season without needing x-rays.

Wine Stuff:

Hot red wine is what winter is all about. No kidding. One of my favorite things about Europe is the Christmas markets. Every ten feet you can grab some hot mulled wine to tide you over until the next ten feet.

The French do a pretty good job, but the Germans do it the best. At any Christmas market in Germany, you can get your Gluewein spiked with rum, or amaretto, or basically anything alcoholic you can think of. If you are lucky enough to get invited to a German household around Christmas time, you might get the pleasure of participating in a feuerzangbowle. This is a traditional preparation of Gluewein. You create the wine mixture not unlike a sangria, only hot. Then you put it in a punch bowl, and place a firetongue, a simple metal bridge, over the bowl. Place a sugar cone on the tongue and soak it in rum of higher than 50% alcohol (for good burnin'). Light it up and let the sugar melt into the wine. If you have done a good job, the wine will catch fire too.

happy drinking,
-PMo