Wannabe Wino

*Disclaimer: I received this bottle as a sample because I am a member of WineQ's Beta Club.

The wine for the night was the 2005 Vare Vineyards Bianco. It's a blend of Ribolla Gialla, Pinot Grigio, Tocai Friulano, Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay. I love wine blends, I find them to be really interesting and I like to see how the different grapes work together. The wine comes in a 500mL bottle, has a plastic cork, clocks in at 14.5% alochol by volume, and can be purchased from WineQ for $22.49.

On the nose I found toffee, caramel, honey, oak, sandalwood, clove, lemon, tropical fruit. In the mouth the wine was creamy! I got flavors of cream, grapefruit, apple, lemon, pineapple, and tropical fruit. The wine had a medium body, was surprisingly tart, very crisp, and had a long finish. I thought it was quite tasty and totally different form any other wine I've ever had. I think I'm digging the Ribolla Gialla grape, this is now the second time I've had it from Vare vineyards and I really like it. I also love that the wine comes in a 500mL bottle, it's perfect for just a couple glasses.

*Disclaimer: I received this book as a press sample.

All wrapped up into one book! Several months ago (yes, I'm incredibly delayed on this one) I received a copy of the Billionaire's Vinegar by Benjamin Wallace from the publisher. I saw a wave of reviews in the blog world, and while I had read my copy, I didn't have a chance to write up a review of the book until now.

I have never been so captivated by a wine book before. It read like a mystery and I couldn't put it down. I wanted to keep reading to find out who (if anyone) was guilty and how the final proof was found.

The Billionaire's Vinegar brought me into a world I cannot even imagine being a part of: wines that cost thousands of dollars, being opened on a regular basis, to "one up" the previous party. Tens of thousands of dollars of wine being opened in one evening. And the crux of the book: the $165,000 (yes, you are reading that correctly) bottle of wine sold at a Christie's Wine Auction that purportedly belonged to Thomas Jefferson.

At times the book sways into the nitty gritty details of the science of dating wine, the intricacies of how bottles were made at certain time periods, and what distinguishes a fake from a real bottle, but overall, the geeky details made it even more interesting.

And this is no false tale. The stories of the lavish parties, the money thrown around at the upper echelons of wine collecting (or, in my opinion, hoarding), and the mystery of the Jefferson Bottles are all true.

I think the ultimate endorsement for the book comes in the form of my husband Matt. Wine geek he is not, history buff he is. I started to tell him about The Billionaire's Vinegar and he wanted to read it. And read it he did, in less than an afternoon, he'd devoured the whole thing, and wasn't even bogged down at all with the details.

If you haven't had a chance to read this one yet I'd highly recommend it. The Billionaire's Vinegar would also make a great holiday gift (yes, it's September, we can start talking about holiday gifts because Christmas is only a few months away now!) for your favorite wine geek or history buff.

*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample because I am a member of WineQ's Beta Club.

The wine for the evening was a 2004 Deerfield Ranch Merlot Cuvee. It's a blend of 75% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Sangiovese, 5% Malbec, and 3% Cabernet Franc. Being 75% Merlot, the wine qualifies to be labeled as a single varietal Merlot, however, Deerfield has chosen to call it a Cuvee instead. I admit to being confused, but upon reading the label, the winery says it wanted to emphasize the blended nature of the wine rather than it being just a regular old Merlot. The wine had a real cork closure, clocked in at 14.2% alcohol, and is available for $26.49 from WineQ.

On the nose I found chocolate, anise, plum, spice, oak, flowers, and red berries. A very nice and captivating nose. In the mouth I got flavors of plums, berries, milk chocolate, anise, and strawberry. Overall the wine was smooth and rounded with a full mouthfeel.


I served the wine with grilled cheeseburgers admist the tomato plant forest in our backyard. We've been taking advantage of the gorgeous weather we've been having and eating outside these last few days. The wine was very food friendly with nice acid and a good backbone. It went really well with our hamburgers and baked potatoes.

Matt and I love Michel Schlumberger. So on our most recent CA adventure it was a no brainer to stop by for a 2nd attempt at a tasting when we were out and about with Russ (who I will be hiking with on Wednesday!) and Patrick (who hopefully can join me for lunch on Thursday, haven't talked to him yet...) in Sonoma. I will also be heading back to Michel Schlumberger this coming week for another tasting! I promised you yesterday that I'd take a look and dig up my notes from the latest tasting as a preview for the upcoming Bin Ends Wine live Twitter tasting!

We tasted through the current line up, and some barrel samples, though I know since the tasting, the 2006 Chardonnay has come out, as well as the 2007 Pinot Blanc (which you can get through the tasting pack I created for Domaine547.)

2006 Pinot Blanc: Crisp, citrus, melon, tropical, one of my favorite CA white wines that I've had the pleasure of tasting.

2005 La Brume Chardonnay (the 2006 will be part of the Bin Ends Wine tasting): apple butter, lemon, pinepple, very tasty.

2004 Pinot Noir: Estate grown, cherry cola, cherries, raspberries, tannic, I bought two bottles to bring home with us.

2005 Syrah (part of the Bin Ends Tasting): chocolate, tannic, dark fruit, dark berries. I have a bottle from a club shipment. You can find my full tasting notes from the post I wrote on this wine here.

2002 Cabernet Sauvignon Deux Terres: minty, herbal, strawberry, tannic, needs some time, very nice though

2003 Cabernet (the 2004 will be part of the Bin Ends Wine tasting): sweet currants, cherry, very fruity, tasty. I have the 2004 from a club shipment.

2005 Deux Terres Cabernet Sauvignon: Barrel Sample. Dark chocolate, herbs, slight berry, licorice, dark fruit, tannic. I expect this one to be excellent on bottling.

So there you have it. I don't have any notes for the Merlot we will be tasting, though I did have the 2002 Merlot in 2007 and thought it was good. I hope you will all join us on September 18, 7pm est for the live Twitter tasting!

More details area available for the upcoming (September 18, 7pm est) live Twitter tasting hosted by Bin Ends Wine and co-hosted by moi!

The line up for the wines, all from Michel Schlumberger, is:

• Chardonnay "La Brume" 2006:
• Syrah 2005
• Merlot 2004
• Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

Now, I have the Chardonnay and Cabernet in my basement already and I have an 05 Merlot...but I'll be picking up the correct Merlot and the Syrah from Bin Ends!

Bin Ends is selling all 4 bottles as a tasting pack, including shipping, for $110. That's a pretty sweet deal in my opinion as I believe that Cabernet alone usually retails for about $45!!

If you have yet to taste Michel Schlumberger's wines, now is the time to pick up the tasting pack, follow us on twitter, and get to taste live and ask questions live of the winemaker!! How cool is that?

All the details, and the link to the tasting pack are available here. I hope you will join us for the live tasting, last month was a blast!

I have some brief notes from my latest visit to Michel Schlumberger and I will try to find those today and give you a slight introduction to some of the wines we will be tasting!

The wine for the night was a 2007 Ceja Bella Rose. It's a blend of Syrah and Pinot Noir, has a real cork closure, clocks in at 12.7% alcohol by volume, and I purchased it through WineQ for $21.99. I've enjoyed several of Ceja's wines from WineQ previously, so I was very excited to see another option added. However, I will say that the price for this bottle struck me as a bit high, even though I really enjoyed the wine. I have trouble wrapping my head around an over $20 bottle of Rose.

The color on the wine was great. It almost looked dark enough to not be a Rose and it certainly wouldn't win any palest Rose contests! On the nose I found red raspberry, flowers, strawberry, kiwi, and spice. The nose was aromatic and smelled crisp. In the mouth I found red berries, strawberries, raspberries, cherries, limes, and cranberries.

Overall the wine was dry as could be (in fact, I wrote down dry in 3 different places in my notes) and had great red fruit laced with citrus flavors. This Rose was refreshing and tart, and would make a great match with my easy BBQ ribs, or just as a wine to enjoy on the porch.

Our hot days and even hotter nights are winding down here now that fall is approaching, however, I can't yet seem to give up my cheap and cheerful Sauvignon Blancs. For this evening, the wine was a 2007 Matariki Sauvignon Blanc from Hawkes Bay. It clocked in at 13% alcohol by volume, had a screw cap closure and was part of my last 12 under $12 case from Total Wine & More. In the glass I was struck by the pale color of the wine.

On the nose I found grass, grapefruit, lemon, peppers, and herbs. In the mouth I got flavors of grapefruit, other citrus, and green pepper. This was no complicated wine, but it was racy and refreshing, with a good amount of lip-puckering acidity that lends itself so well to our hot swampy climate here in the DC summers.

Ever since I went to law school, I find myself with a short attention span for reading books. I think reading thousands of pages of case books a week in order to try to stay on top of your class material did a number on my desire to read. So I don't read much anymore, which is a small tragedy for me, since I used to read anything and everything I could get my hands on, including backs of cereal boxes, random pamphlets, and even, at times, the dictionary.

So when I find a book that I actually want to finish, and in fact, don't want to put down, I get excited. And that's what I found in Extremely Pale Rose: A Very French Adventure y Jamie Ivey. I purchased this book on a whim from the local bookstore, R.J. Julia's in my parents' town, when I was visiting for Christmas.

Extremely Pale Rose details the adventures of the author, his wife, and one of their good friends, on a whirlwind adventure in France, searching for France's palest Rose. It all started one afternoon at an outdoor cafe, where they sat drinking Rose with their niece Rosie. A language barrier and a misunderstanding sets them off on a year long challenge to find a Rose paler than the one produced at Chataeu Etienne or else facing the challenge of finding an English importer for the Chateau's wine.

The books is told from Jamie's point of view, as they give up their flat in England, and prepare to leave for France. Adventure after adventure follows the threesome through France, as they scramble to meet their one year deadline. I found myself saying "Ok. I'll just read one more chapter, and see if they find a really pale Rose in the next town." And then, after that chapter was finished, I just had to read the next. I was rooting for them throughout the book, wanting them to suceed, fearing they would not.

And do they? Well, you'll have to read it for yourself to find out! An easy read, and it was perfect for my plane ride and lonesome hotel stay on one of my many work trips this year.

I've seen this list popping up all over the blogosphere, most recently at McDuff's Food and Wine Trail. I thought about participating earlier this week when I first started seeing it, however, other endeavors got in my way. Today, however, is Labor Day, and my only plans for the day include catching up on my much neglected roaming of the interwebs ;). The idea behind The Omnivore's Hundred list is that you check off all the things you've tried, and cross off the things you would never try! The official rules are:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment at Very Good Taste linking to your results.

Here's my list, things I've tried are in bold, italics (because I can't figure out how to strike-through...) are things I wouldn't eat, I put stars next to the things I can't identify, which probably means I haven't eaten them.

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho*
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi*
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses*
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream (I don't like nuts.)
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet Pepper (I'd like my tastebuds to be able to taste wine..)
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters (I'm allergic.)
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda*
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi*
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float (I don't drink soda of any kind, ever.)
36. Cognac with a fat cigar (I'll take the cognac, minus the cigar, the smoke would give me an asthma attack(
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal*
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu*
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi*
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal (I don't eat at McDonalds.)
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin*
64. Currywurst*
65. Durian*
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini (I've had caviar, no idea what blini is though...)
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu*
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong*
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum*
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky*
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa*
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

I don't think I make a good foodie. I've only had 38 of these things and I wouldn't eat 6 of them. Further, I have no clue what 16 of them are. I'm a bit of a picky eater, but I've gotten better in recent years...

The wine for the evening was the 2003 Esporao Trincadeira 2003. I purchased this wine from Domaine547 for $24.99, it clocked in at 14.5% alcohol by volume, hails from Portugal, and I believe it had a real cork closure, though to be honest I didn't write it down. (For some reason my Firefox spell check has decided that it doesn't like contractions anymore...)

On the nose I found blueberry, spice, blackberry, plum, raisins, prunes, vanilla, and toast. The wine's nose struck me as a combination of a Syrah and Petite Sirah. I purchased this bottle in my quest to try some new varietals, so I had absolutely no expectations leading into trying the Trincadeira grape, nor do I have anything to compare it to!

In the mouth I got flavors of blueberry, plum, blackberry, spice, baking spice, and raisins. The wine had huge tannins. It was full in the mouth, fruity up front, but drying in the back palate. I was really struck by the blueberry in this wine, making me lean almost toward it being kind of Peite Sirah like.

We drank this on its own, but I think with the big tannins it would have shown with a nice thick steak or a rack of lamb.