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