Desperate Times

As I may have mentioned, we are not big white wine drinkers but, in the grip of a heat wave, we longed for something cool and refreshing.  Let's face it, desperate times call for desperate measures! 

That's not to imply that we had to be desperate to open this wine - afterall, we did try it in the tasting room and brought a bottle home.  What is the non-red, you ask, that my partner-in-crime was willing to drink?  Drum roll, please..........Glen Manor 2009 Sauvignon Blanc, from the lovely state of Virginia! 

I've never been a fan, but my PIC contends that he used to enjoy Sauv. Blanc years ago but began to object to that thing that makes Sauv. Blanc, well...objectionable - to us anyway - it can be grassy.  Not so with this one!  It had beautifully balanced acidity with that minerality that I so love, and loads of tropical fruit on the nose and palate. 

It was like a tropical island breeze in the heat wave from Hell....ok, maybe not quite but it sure was nice!

From Here and There

"How much do you like yourself?", my partner in crime asked.  I love that question because if I answer correctly, it means that something special is coming out of the cellar.  "I like myself a lot", I replied and out came Saldo!

We are huge fans of Orin Swift Cellars The Prisoner - a Zinfandel blend - so when we saw Saldo for the first time, there was no hesitation to try it.  OSC Saldo is predominantly Zin  - more so than The Prisoner - sourced from some of the best vineyards in California, with a dash of Syrah and Petite Syrah thrown in for good measure.  It is a fruit-in-your-face blend; deep and dark in color with loads of dark fruit, strawberry and subtle vanilla on the palate.  The soft mouth-feel leads to a long, lingering finish of cherry and a hint of oak.

The word saldo has several meanings but in Spanish; it mainly refers to "balance on hand" or sometimes "from here and there".  And we have to agree.  It is a beautifully balanced wine from grapes from here and there.  I think we just started cheating on The Prisoner!

No More Begging!

Ok peeps, it's here; once and for all - the slow cooker pulled pork you've been asking for - the pulled pork of your dreams!!

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

Ingredients:

1/2 c. Ketchup
2 oz worcestershire Sauce
1 oz Soy Sauce
1/3 c. Apple Cider Vinegar
1 T Ground Mustard
1 T Garlic Powder
1/2 t Smoked Paprika
1/2 t Ancho Powder
1/4 c. Packed Brown Sugar
1/2 t Liquid Smoke
1/4 t Red Chili Pepper Flakes

1 med Sweet Onion
3-4# Bone-in Pork Shoulder, trimmed of fat

Method:

1. Combine first 11 ingredients in slow cooker; whisk until well blended.
2. Place pork and onions into mixture; turn to coat both all sides of meat.
3. Cook for 8 to 10 hours on "low" setting.
4. After meat is cooked, transfer from slow cooker to a plate; remove bone and shred meat.
5. Return to slow cooker, combine with warm sauce.
6. If sauce is too thin, transfer to a sauce pan and reduce, then return to slow cooker.
7. Can remain on "warm" setting for 4 hours.

Serving suggestions:

It's great on a potato roll with cole slaw or serve over warm polenta! 

Va La 2008 La Prima Donna

We're not really white wine enthusiasts with the exception of my new found appreciation for some Finger Lakes Rieslings, but sometimes the weather demands something a bit lighter and more refreshing than what we would normally open.  We happened to have a chilled LPD and she was just begging to come out and play!

This is no wimpy white!  From the southwest area of the home vineyard, LPD is a blend of Malvasia Bianco, Pinot Grigio, Viognier, Petit Manseng, and Tocal.  The grapes are picked separately and fermented on the skins for 2 to 3 weeks.  Aged sur lie for a year, it gets another year of bottle age before release.

This rich and complex wine is pale yellow in color with loads of interesting aromas.  It has beautifully balanced acidity and is exotic and spicy on the palate.  Crisp, dry, and refreshing, this lovely lady is said to peak at 4 to 8 years which begs the question, do we have another one?

A Beautiful Summer Afternoon Calls For...

A lovely warm, summy summer afternoon calls for a special wine and lucky for us, we had one.  Our last Finger Lakes trip included a tasting at Dr. Konstantin Frank on beautiful Keuka Lake.  One of the tasting room offerings was the 2009 Grüner Veltliner. 


Grüner Veltliner is the most widely planted grape variety in Austria and we tasted this with interest, having no reference point for comparison.  We took horrible tasting notes but we did bring a bottle home.


On this lazy afternoon, Grüner was a winner - crisp, dry, and refreshing.  It had some floral notes on the nose, perfectly balanced acidity and pear and apple on the palate.  The finish was long and lingering with hints of pink grapefruit and white pepper.


It has a reputation for being particularly food-friendly.  Maybe next time there will be some left to have with dinner.

Salute the Newt!

It's been just a week since learning of the tragic death of Deb Whiting and, in honor of her, we opened a bottle of Red Newt Cellars 2008 Viridescens - a blend of 49% Cabernet Sauvignon, 47% Cabernet Franc, and 4%Merlot.  We tasted this wine several times in the tasting room and loved it but it was after having it as part of a flight at dinner at the RN Bistro that we decided to spring for a couple of bottles.

When we tasted it last fall, it was a real spit-sucker.  That's not to say it was unpleasant, it is to say that it was drinking very young and the tannins were very firm.  Having said that, an additional eight months in bottle has done wonderful things for this wine! 

The initial oakiness on the nose blew off quickly and a fruity, almost jammy nose emerged.  Dark and brooding, we got plum, casis, and a hint of tobacco on the palate and a leather, cigar boxy finish.  Kind of like men's club in a bottle but without the smoke.  It was a lovely pairing with our eggplant-zucchini ragout...what was left of it, anyway.  Here's to you, Deb...and the entire Red Newt family.  Cheers!

A Holiday Weekend + Wood Fired Pizza = VA LA!!

PIC - that would be my Partner In Crime - had been longing to make another trek to Va La, not only for their outstanding wines, but they had wood fired pizza and jazz in the little vineyard!  Believe me when I tell you that we need no reason beyond the wine to make the 50 mile trip to Avondale, PA; however, the Glenn E. Williams Jazz Trio and pizza did make it a festive holiday weekend destination.

The pizza, by Chef Matthew Hans http://www.woodfiredpizzatruck.com/, turned out to be awesome!  We tried three of the day's offerings - El Blanco a white pizza; 'Wilbur', a wild boar sausage, spinach, and red onion pie; and The Spicy Italian, a hot italian sausage, pepperoni, jalapenos, and parmesan pie.  The pizzas are about 10" and serve one to two people, depending on how hungry you are...we were obviously pretty hungry! 

We started with perfectly chilled glasses of Silk to accompany our half white, half Wilbur pizza.  A rosato, Silk is a blend of barbera, carmine, petit verdot, nebbiolo, corvina veronese, and whatever else is hanging around the cellar.  It is what PIC calls a red wine drinkers rose.  Complex and deep in color, it drinks beautifully at room temperature or slightly chilled. 

When we moved on to The Spicy Italian - I said we were hungry - I stayed with Silk but PIC switched to Cinderbox, an earthy, rustico styled red made from Carmine.  Both were perfect pairings for the pizza. 

With our bellies stuffed, we relaxed in the little vineyard on a beautiful summer afternoon enjoying the jazz and wishing we lived closer..or not, that could be very dangerous!