Carmenere, Maipo Valley, Chile, April 2011

Chile is a fascinating sliver of land. I first paid attention to Chile when a friend introduced me to Isabelle Allende and her husband years ago.  The famous Chilean writer of the House of the Spirits and other novels, was reportedly influenced by Pablo Neruda, Chile’s Nobel Prize winning poet.  Neruda died many years ago, but I visited one of his fascinating homes in Santiago.

The land of Chile is doubly fascinating when you discover it’s diverse wine regions.  Grapes are grown at the high altitude sunny slopes of the Andes, next to the cool hills of the Pacific Ocean and on the edges of the waterless desert. In terms of  public awareness, Carmenere is to Chile as Cabernet is to Napa.  But in fact, Chiles’ many microclimates support ideal growing conditions for Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Chile’s most popular exported variety is Cabernet Sauvignon.  It’s easy to find in the USA and has an excellent value to quality ratio.  TerraNoble makes a Cabernet Sauvignon Gran Reserva ($18.99) that is food friendly. The 2008 was shy and pretty on the nose unlike big Cabernets that leap out of the glass like ghosts of dead grapes. The TerraNoble winemaking team aims for fresh, modern, elegant wines with fruit flavors that highlight each variety.  The Gran Reserva achieves it. There are many winemaking styles in Chile, so my recommendation (as always) is to purchase some and try it.

Read Full Post »

Label Provided by Kaiken.com

KAIKEN Ultra Malbec 2008

• Wine Name: KAIKEN Ultra Malbec 2008
• Varietal: Malbec (with 3% Cabernet Sauvignon)
• Designation: Mendoza, Argentina
• Appellation: Valle de Uco (Vistaflores, Altamira, Gualtallary) and First Zone (Agrelo, Vistalba), Argentina, South America
• Alcohol: 15.2%
• Website
• Awards: Too many to list including Wine Advocate (90 pts), Wine Spectator (90 pts), etc.

In my opinion~ Many wines creep up on you, they take a moment to settle or they improve with time in the glass or decanter, Kaiken Ultra Malbec 2008 captured my heart immediately. It’s rich, deep purple (almost black) color was inviting.  So many smells emanate from wine, I get tired of stinky wine that I have to taste anyway; Kaiken was a relief–I was grateful to serve a wine that would please upon initial sniff.  My first sip was exciting. I knew this was a balanced wine, food friendly, with plenty of structure and smoothness to stand on it’s own. A note to folks who won’t drink wines over 15% alcohol, this is an excellent example of one that doesn’t show the alcohol during or after drinking. (Food helps with the after part, of course.)

Alana’s Tip: I found this at my local Costco for $14.59.  The value is crazy good. Bring this to a BBQ and it will be the first empty bottle.  My favorite Malbecs are from the Valle de Uco region also written as Uco Valley, so you might want to look for Malbecs from this region.

Pairing: I paired this with bacon rosemary wrapped boneless pork chops, creamed sweet potatoes with bacon and a small amount of butter, maple syrup, & brown sugar, and a spring lettuce & micro greens salad with Brianna’s honey mustard dressing. The secret to this pairing is to grill the meat and whenever you are serving a white meat or fish, use spices and add earthy full flavors if you are serving a full-bodied wine.

**The label picture above is 2006 but the ’08 looks the same.

Read Full Post »

Leyda Lot 5 Chardonnay 2009 Leyda Valley, Chile

• Wine Name: Leyda Lot 5 Chardonnay 2009
• Varietal: Chardonnay
• Designation: Block Nº 5, the coolest parcel of their vineyards located in the recently discovered Leyda Valley, 12 km from the Pacific Ocean.
• Appellation: Leyda Valley, Chile, South America
• Alcohol: 14.3%
• Website
• Awards: Descorchar Magazine 2011, 90 pts.
• It sells for around $20. Unfortunately, this wine is hard to get (only 500 cases) but you can contact the importer.

In my opinion~ This is a fascinating area of South America in general and Chile specifically. It’s cool from the Humboldt current (wind coming from the ocean up the hills), and there’s a lot of experimentation going on. Many people only know the hot regions that support Chile’s famous Carmenere.

Alana’s Tip: Find where to buy any of Leyda’s Chardonnay or Pinot Noir in your area or online. Prices vary from $12 – $30. You may or may not like it but it’s a pretty small outlay for potentially finding a favorite Chardonnay.

Pairing: This is a complex wine.  It’s crisp with nice acidity but has a touch of vanilla on the end. I would try it with scallops, toasted nuts and white wine sauce, and a salad with pear vinaigrette dressing.

Read Full Post »

Baileyana 2007 Grand Firepeak Vineyard Chardonnay (Edna Valley)

• Wine Name: Grand Firepeak Cuvée
• Varietal: Chardonnay
• Designation: Grand Firepeak Vineyard
• Appellation: Edna Valley, Central Coast, California, US
• Alcohol: 14.1%
• Website
• Awards: Wine Enthusiast Rating 9o pts. (other vintages rated even higher)
• Purchased at Costco for around $20.

In my opinion~ The Edna Valley in San Luis Obispo County is not too hot nor too cool and has excellent soil so the growing conditions are ripe for bringing out the best in the Chardonnay grape. Soil and vintage matter, but so does the winemaker’s talent.  The winemaker blends the best of several small lots to create each year’s cuvée.

Alana’s Tip: This cuvée is consistent enough that vintage doesn’t matter, which is good news if you want to enjoy this brand for years to come.

Pairing: I love this wine all by itself, sipping with a girlfriend any time of year. If you try it and like it, I suggest you buy 3-6 bottles (or get a case discount) and experiment with pairing with it. It has a lot of flexibility.

Read Full Post »

View from Catena Zapata

Sunset in Argentina

A few pics taken with my Nikon D50, 18mm – 200 Nikon VR lens.  This is Nicolás Catena’s winery.  He was the 2009 Decanter Magazine’s man of the year.

Nicolás Catena is the Robert Mondavi of Argentina.  His story is well-known so I won’t repeat it in full.  In summary, he took it upon himself to significantly upgrade Argentina’s wine making and market position after following his father’s footsteps in the viticulture business. Catena is the pioneer of high altitude grape growing and modern Malbec.  Listening to him talk while tasting a 1995 Malbec and 1997 Chardonnay was a highlight of the Winebow Media Tour to Argentina.

Because of Nicolas Catena and a handful of other producers, Argentine wine (Malbec and other grapes) is in a similar place in history to California in 1976 when California wine bowled the world over at the infamous Paris tasting.  The quality is that good.

Look for more articles here over the next  few weeks as I reveal the secrets and breaking news about Argentina’s current position in the worldwide wine market. I’ll also tell you which wines to buy, drink and hold.

Read Full Post »

Is Petite Sirah still the cult wine it’s rumored to be or is it morphing into something else? It’s an enigmatic grape, still fairly scarce (only 9,000 acres grown worldwide), and while Petite enthusiasts and winemakers are equally smitten, the general public hasn’t caught on…yet.

Read Full Post »

Today, we ascribe a bit of romance to cooking from scratch–making our own bread, cooking “homey” stews with cheap cuts of beef.  Thirty years ago, my mom cooked from scratch to save money and feed a large family.  I thought she worked too hard so I decided I wasn’t going to be a housewife and that meant, not learning to cook.  She laughed (encouragingly) at my feminism and crowned me, Microwave Queen. My teen years, I only ate microwaved Elena frozen burritos every day.  I even proudly made a pineapple-upside-down cake in the microwave. Then I went to a liberal arts college on the far north coast of California.

I lived off campus with older students who were health conscious.  No microwave allowed.  The little cooking I did consisted of putting food in a steamer basket in a pot and putting the lid on.  When I moved to San Francisco, I loved, loved, loved eating out.  I could tell you the best place for a Martini, roasted garlic and baked brie, Italian pot roast or the best French restaurant.

After marrying and moving to the ‘burbs, I thought Hubby was going to cook because he had been a bartender and foodie early in his career. He made the drinks but he only cooked if it involved an outdoor grill. For a decade, I made spaghetti, steak, microwaved potatoes and salads.  I subscribed to Sunset Magazine and played around with recipes a bit.  I thought my friends who followed Martha Stewart were neurotic.

Meanwhile, Hubby built me a huge raised bed garden.  I remember looking at him cross-eyed, saying under my breath, “do you know how much work gardening is?”  I gamely filled the beds with herbs, vegetables and flowers.  By the third year, it was a pitiful plot of under-nourished leggy herbs and pale, sickly vegetables.  I was working full-time and traveling a lot. Hubby’s response was to buy me a few cooking classes and a wine refrigerator for Christmas.  I traded one of the classes for a knife sharpener but I did learn all about wine.

His persistence has finally paid off. Seventeen years after we started dating, I’m in cooking school and actually learning how to cook.  My favorite recipes come from Epicurious and I no longer scoff at Martha Stewart.  The garden is once again functional–I’ve even started seeds this year.  Hubby’s throwing out hints about raising chickens which of course, I’ve always called horrid dirty things.  Fresh eggs would be nice though…

Read Full Post »

I loved my Mom’s hearty stews, probably because I remember her happily pouring Burgundy into them (and probably enjoying a glass herself). Until I took this Kitchen On Fire class, I had no idea how to make a great stew or pot roast. Chef Olive introduced stewing, braising and steaming by evoking his childhood in France.  His mom would often make a stew, or braise an inexpensive piece of meat because people dropped in all the time and she wanted to have plenty of food to share.

Here’s what I learned:

• Chef Olive says, “there is no real difference between stew and soup. If you mess up stew, you cross it out and write soup.”
• The great thing about an oven as opposed to a stove is it cooks food gently. When you want 145°F internal temperature, you heat the air in the oven to 400°F and cook it slowly. Compare this to a 400° griddle–if you put your arm in the oven, the air will not burn it, touch a 400° griddle, ouch!
• Quick braised baby carrots (very French): high heat on stove, water covers carrots, cook until the water is gone, add fat (butter) and you’re done.
• Braising means using some liquid to cook your protein or veggie, steaming means adding a lid.
• Techniques interconnect – searing (browning) the meat adds flavor so that when you put the meat in the pot to braise, flavor is added to your liquid.
• Don’t be afraid of “losing nutrients”, the longer you cook proteins and veggies, the more flavor.
• Why are stews great? Cheap cut of meat and one pot.
• When you dry out meat in high heat and then add liquid, the meat rehydrates itself–that’s how you get a beautiful stew.
• Making fish soup/stew is tricky because fish does not have much flavor.  Instead make a veggie soup and then add the fish the last 5 minutes.
• Any recipe that calls for stock–you can substitute wine. (Love the French!)
• Mini bok choy is chock full of nutrients, just brown it in a little oil, deglaze the pan with liquid (wine, stock), cook the little guys until tender and remove.  Add any flavors, salt/pepper/herbs to liquid and serve it over the veggies.
• If you use flour to thicken your stew, add it 10 minutes before you’re ready to serve.  If you wait until the last minute, the flour flavor will be too strong.

Extra Credit

• Chef and I both use these granular broth products (pictured).  Who has time to make broth? These keep well in the fridge, are all natural and have wonderful flavor. I mix and match my broths by adding a little lobster to beef or veggie to the chicken broth.

Read about Classes 4, 3, 2, 1.

Read Full Post »

My Petite Sirah checklist has evolved over years of tasting.  As a newbie, I thought 1) they are all around 15% or more in alcohol; 2) when they are young they are too in-your-face (not in a good way); 3) I have to use my brain to pair them (unlike a Merlot) and 4) they mostly cost over $20 a bottle.  After ten years as a PS fan, now I know, 1) many Petite Sirahs are actually 13.5 but if they are well balanced, who cares if they are 15? 2) The best ones are not released too soon and it is definitely a grape to cellar; 3) after so many years of pairing, I relish a challenge and 4) even though most Petites are $20 and up, I’ve never thought of them as expensive because they are such hard-to-get unique wines and there are several larger producers like Bogle that sell for around $10.

Consistent with it’s current multiple personalities, Petite Sirah can be paired with lots of different food depending on winemaker style, terroir and age.  I’ve enjoyed easy-drinking Bogle with tri tip, mushrooms, Worchester, red pepper and brown garlic rice.  In 2007, I wrote enthusiastically about a memorable pairing of a 2004 Guenoc Petite Sirah with apple bourbon pork chops.  The ’08 Harney Lane reminds me of popcorn.  A winemaker recently told me that a Chef shocked him by creating a perfect pairing of mint chocolate chip ice cream and a brownie with his Petite.  He said it was one of the best pairings he’s tasted in a long time.

This is one reason Dark & Delicious is my favorite event of the year, every vintner is paired with a food station, the way I think all tastings should be.  One of the best pairings this year was BBQ pulled pork on a rice crisp with micro-greens by DK Catering.  I did not expect the rice crisp to work but it was the true genius of the pairing.  Another surprise winner was a special paella from Venga Paella Catering paired with Berryessa Gap’s field blend with 86% Durif (Petite Sirah’s other name).  The winemaker is a UC Davis researcher who believes strongly that it’s all about terroir so he does very little “tinkering” to make signature and expressive wines.  Berryessa Gap also advocates pairing food with Petite and has an annual Paella party in May.

Many Petite producers have recipes on their web sites and grilled meats are popular.  Smoking Loon suggests trying a burger with a Balsamic reduction sauce with their Petite.  My pairing trick for unfamiliar wines; look up the winemaker’s notes online or on the back of the bottle and then create a menu that reflects some of the descriptors, e.g. blackberries, smoke, cinnamon, etc.  I also open the wine while I’m cooking, taste it and adjust my recipe accordingly.

Read Full Post »

Laura Catena & Girl with a Glass Talk Wine Writing

Argentinean wine is a winner for casual drinkers, enthusiasts and experts.  It’s not difficult to find low-priced, excellent wines; it pairs well with meat and home-cooked traditional American food as well as other ethnic dishes; and when you seek out top-notch Argentine wine, it is inarguably world-class.

I started buying Argentine wine in 2002, during my 5-year course in wine and food pairing. Like many enthusiasts, I knew that  it was well-priced and that if I was going to buy Malbec, make sure it was Argentinean.  Looking back at my notes as a budding oenophile I wrote…competes with a cab, smooth long finish; rich, full, balanced; dry like a cab with flavor but not too fruity; just right, buy more.  The prices ranged from $5.99 (Bevmo 5-cent sale) to $38 for a bottle of Salentein Malbec (ordered at Boca, an Argentinean Steakhouse in my neighborhood).  Most Argentine bottles in my database are between $11 – $15.

If you are new to Argentine wine, my recommendation is to pick up a few bottles of Malbec.  If you’re looking for budget wine, get an inexpensive one and pick up a Reserve too.  The Reserve will introduce you to the winery’s idea of a slightly “better” wine–your palate is the ultimate decider of course.

If you are an enthusiast, Laura Catena authored a must-read book, Vino Argentino, An Insider’s Guide to the Wines and Wine Country of Argentina.  Belonging to the fourth-generation of an Argentinian-Italian winemaking family, Laura is a San Francisco emergency room doctor, a mother of three, and owner of her own wine brand, Luca. Her father is Nicolás Catena, a pioneer of modern winemaking in his country and owner of the acclaimed Bodega Catena Zapata label.

I love this book because it captures exactly the same information that I like to share about Sonoma/Napa–it’s truly an insider’s guide. Here’s a blurb about the book from the publisher, Chronicle Books:

Vino Argentino is an insider’s travelogue to the Argentine wine country. It is part viticultural primer, part cultural exploration, part introduction to the Argentine lifestyle. It is about the ascent of the mighty Malbec grape into the stratosphere of world-class wines. It is about single-lane roads lined with vineyards and patches of brush set against a breathtaking backdrop of snow-capped Andes peaks. It is about schoolchildren in white uniforms holding hands on dirt sidewalks, and gardens overflowing with flowers and fruit. In this book, I will take you exploring through the countryside of my childhood, so that you come to know its towns, vineyards, restaurants, and inns as intimately as I do.

Read Full Post »