2011 Reininger Malbec

Well, it was a busy day of leaf collection, thankfully it seems we are nearing the end of it, or perhaps just entering the middle of it, oh forget it, I just confused myself!  At any rate, after a long day of raking and leaf blowing, I figure it's time for a nice glass of wine and a nice dinner before I head out to the Elkhart Civic Theater to see Young Frankenstein this evening!  And tonight's wine is the 2011 Reininger Malbec, and for those who know, I'm not the biggest Malbec fan but in the case of Reininger's limited production (only 56 cases!) I always make an exception!

The wine is a beautiful garnet color in the glass leading to an almost inky hue at the center.  The nose is quite nice, ripe black fruit, rich blackberry, plum and currant easing into notes of leather, graphite and a hint of rose petal.  The taste is quite refined, with a rush of ripe fruit that quickly subsides, leaving you with some woody notes and a hint of spice midpalate.  The tannins are quite smooth, lending a nice foundation to the long, smooth, sultry finish that leaves you practically begging for another sip.

Overall I would rate this wine a solid 8.5, and at $45 with my wine club discount this is a premium bottle but well worth it!  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with a classic dinner that hearkens back the the Andean origins of modern Malbec, a thick rare Angus ribeye along with a big baked potato and some grilled leeks and Brussels sprouts, really a last gasp of summer before the Autumn really kicks in!  Cheers!

2006 Sawtooth Skyline Red Wine

So tonight I've decided to open up a bottle of wine that I bought about a year ago at a KOA campground in Twin Falls, Idaho of all places!  In my cross country drive, I decided to stop and camp at this KOA, and it was a real first class operation, you could buy firewood and they'd deliver it to your site, and the camp store had a lot of grocery items and a selection of local wines.  I picked up a bottle of the 2006 Sawtooth Skyline Red Wine to have with my dinner cooked out in the moonlight and decided I liked it so much I bought another bottle the next morning to bring back.  The wine is from the Snake River Valley, a still developing wine region that has a lot of hidden gems I've discovered.  This particular wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (62%), Syrah (29%), Merlot (8%) and Cabernet Franc (1%).

The wine itself is a nice ruby color in the glass and the nose has some sweet, tangy notes, along with some leather, smoke and green herb aromas.  The taste is modestly fruit forward, with some flavors of ripe plum and blueberry that transitions to some smoky, woody flavors midpalate.  The finish is very dry, with some flavors of limestone as the rather brusque tannins leave it a bit short.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8, as it's a very pleasant drinking wine from an unexpected place, and it was a good value at only $13 (even at a campground store that likely has higher markups!).  Tonight I paired this wine with a nice northwest dinner of cedar planked salmon, whole grain shells with four-cheese sauce and some haricots verts almandine.  The smoky notes in the wine along with the acid and fruit played really nicely against the smoky richness of the salmon, so yummy!

2009 Reininger Walla Walla Malbec

Well, this one is a bit off the beaten path for me, as most who know me realize that I am just not a huge Malbec fan, as often these wines are just too rustic for my taste.  But the kind folks at Reininger were kind enough to send me two bottles of the 2009 Malbec for my wine club selection, so I figured I should at least try them right?

The wine was a deep garnet, edging toward purple in the glass.  The nose was quite rustic, almost woodsy, you know, that somewhat barnyard type aroma that some wines seem prone to, but this one wasn't as woodsy as some I've tried.  The taste however was a dramatic step in the right direction, with lovely tastes of dried fruit, some wonderful floral notes and a hint of leather.  The tannins were somewhat subdued, however the finish was still quite dry.

Overall I would rate this wine a solid 8, mainly because it's a Malbec, and even though I thought this wine was fine, it did not convert me to a fan.  We had this wine with some wonderful Lucques olives from the Languedoc region of France and some Manchego cheese from Spain, and the spice of the cheese and richness of the olives really complemented the earthiness of this wine.  Cheers!

A wonderful Italian dinner!

Recently I had the pleasure of discovering a wonderful Italian eatery not very far from my home, of course I knew it was there, but I had no idea how good the food was!  The little gem is called Flo's Pizzaria Ristorante and Sports Bar, and I think it's the last part that threw me off.  Now to be fair, I had known about this place but had never been in, until I found out that one of my students from last semester's Finance Ethics class that I teach at Grand Valley State University was an owner of this place.  So, given I didn't want to have a conflict of interest, I told him I'd come out for dinner after the semester is over (you know how easy it is to bribe ethics professors with food right?) and recently I had the pleasure of dining in Belmont.

Now to be fair, we enjoyed a few items that were not regularly on the menu, but quite a few are there everyday, so for any local folks that would like a nice, tasty Italian dinner you can enjoy anytime, this is a great place.  We started with an eggplant parmigiana appetizer that was simply delicious, perfectly cooked (i.e. no bitterness in the eggplant) with lovely breading that offered great texture contrasts.  Then we had the main course, which was really four courses in one, sort of an Italian sampler that included Spitini alla Siciliana that was basically a beef tenderloin, sliced super thin, tenderized, then coated with a layer of breadcrumbs, ham and cheese (a secret family recipe) and rolled up and grilled.  I expected it to be very dry, but it was moist, and the flavors of the wood grill on the beef were outstanding.  Next was the classic Italian sausage and peppers (on the menu every night!) that they make themselves, and the seasoning was just perfect.  Trust me, having lived in New York with many close Italian friends, this is the real deal!

Oh yes, then there was the wine.  Davide Ucello, my student and the proprietor honored me with two bottles of wine that was produced by his uncle in the town where he was born, Partinico in Sicily.  The first was the 2006 Honoris Causa, a blend of Nero D'Avola (75%) and Syrah (25%).  This wine had wonderful aromas of black currant, ripe plum and leather, with just the faintest hint of anise. The taste was marvelously fruit forward, with ripe berries and a jammy like fruit, which gave way to a wonderful spiciness midpalate.  The finish was quite dry and long, with well structured tannins that supported the velvety finish.  Overall that would be an 8.5 in my book, even though I have no idea where I could get more!

Now back to dinner, on that platter of deliciousness, we also had some wonderful baked manicotti, stuffed with spinach and beef, it was all at once rich and fresh as the spinach was a nice counterbalance to the richness of the beef and sauces.  This one was Davide's mother's recipe and it was fabulous!  Finally, we had some fettuccine with Italian Gorgonzola sauce (this one is also on the menu everyday) which was simply delicious but deceiving, since it looks like plain boring fettuccine Alfredo, but once you taste it, the Gorgonzola blows you away!

Then of course there was the second bottle of wine, which I honestly can't tell you much about from the label.  The 2008 V90 Vinovantarossosicilia, which from what I've been able to find is a blend of Nero D'Avola (85%) and Merlot (15%).  This one is similar to the Honoris Causa, but the addition of the Merlot to the blend adds something quite different.  This one appears to be a somewhat lighter body, and the nose presents some lovely red fruit and floral notes, and a good bit of sweetness.  The taste is very fruity, with a lot of ripe blackberry and plum that transitions to a somewhat woodsy blend of earthy flavors midpalate.  The finish is quite nice, very rounded, almost voluptuous, with nicely balanced tannins to support the bright fruit.  Overall, I would rate this one a solid 8, as I just liked the first bottle a bit more.  The crazy thing is that these wines are quite good in their own right, but they aren't on the menu at Flo's!  We will have to do something about that.

So if you are in the Grand Rapids area and are looking for a nice Italian dinner, or just someplace to grab a pizza and watch the game, I can't recommend Flo's Pizzaria Ristorante and Sports Bar in Belmont more!  In fact, for you locals, I mentioned to Davide that I planned to try my best to make it up for dinner at least once a month, so on the third Saturday of every month I plan to be there.  Let's make it an event!

2010 Espelt Old Vines Garnacha

To start the new year, I've decided to make a new dish and try it with a new wine!  So tonight I am enjoying a Spanish wine (lately I've come to really appreciate the breadth of the wines Spain has to offer), the 2010 Espelt Old Vines Garnacha, a lovely Spanish take on Grenache, a wine I've also taken quite a shine to over the last few months.  This particular wine hails from the Emporda region in the northeastern corner of Catalonia, a place where wine was rumored to be introduced by the Phoenicians in the 5th Century BC.

This particular wine has a very dark, brooding color in the glass, a bit unusual for a Garnacha which in my experience tends to be a bit lighter. The nose over very pleasant, with notes of ripe berries, smoke and the faintest hint of woodsy earthiness.  The taste is a burst of ripe fruit at the outset, ripe berries and plums, that quickly transition to some floral notes intermingled with spice that really makes this wine interesting.  The youthful tannins play nicely for a long, smooth finish (we're talking 30+ seconds here!).

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8, it's a wonderfully complex wine that's drinking well now, and it was a tremendous value at under $11 at my local wine merchant, G.B. Russo's.  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with a meal that's somewhat off the beaten path.  Recently, I was at my butcher and he had a lovely looking tied pork roast that was on sale, so I decided to buy one, even though I had no idea what I was going to do with it.  So over the course of time I decided to sautee some aromatic vegetables, onions, peppers, celery, carrots, garlic and turnip in some olive oil, while browning the roast.  After the roast was browned I put it in a slow cooker.  After the vegetables began to caramelize I poured in about a half bottle of basic dry red wine, and then let the alcohol burn off for a few minutes.  I put that mixture in with the roast, and then added 2 cans of San Marzano tomatoes (if you use regular plum tomatoes, make sure to add a bit of sugar to make up for the sweetness of the San Marzano tomatoes).  I added some fresh oregano and let that simmer all day long.  About an hour before finishing I added some fresh basil to the mixture and in the end, I had a lovely roast pork, perhaps the most tender, fall apart roast I've made, and a wonderful sauce to put over it.  Now tonight I served this over white rice, but it would be perfect with orzo, or even some smaller pastas like orecchiette.  Delicious!

2009 Las Rocas Garnacha

Happy Birthday!  No, I'm not doing my best Frosty the Snowman impersonation, but today is my birthday, 12/12/12, and I spent most of the day in New York, but made it home in time for a late dinner and a bottle of wine, and the wine I chose was the 2009 Las Rocas Garnacha.  Now I partly blame my dinner companion last night, as I met a fellow Snooth board member, Greg T. in SoHo at a lovely little French bistro called La Sirene, which is all BYOB, with no corkage!  So Greg brought a lovely 1998 Rioja so I've had Spanish wines on the brain!

This wine comes from Calatayud, which is deep in the interior of Aragon, Spain, and from what I've read, the terrain can be quite intimidating, very rocky, with lots of limestone, and quite arid.  Yet somehow the Garnacha (or Grenache in France and elsewhere) vines took root, producing some of the loveliest wines I've had the pleasure of tasting, and as a bonus, they are seldom priced at a level that would suggest their true quality!

This wine has a lovely deep ruby color in the glass, and a nose that is a wonderful blend of jammy fruit, black cherries, currant, anise and somewhat of a sour twang, suggesting that the sweet fruit might be well balanced by acidity.  The taste is an explosion of fruit in your mouth, with rich ripe berries, yet the acidity of some sour cherry notes really balance the fruit mid-palate.  The finish is quite smooth, yet it has a wonderful woodsy sort of taste on the finish, which again is a surprising counterbalance to the rich fruit.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8, particularly given the price, as this was a recent office wine club selection for only $8!  As for pairings, for my birthday, I had a hankering for some Thai food, and there is a new Thai restaurant that someone told me about last week, called Thai Chef, which was right on the way home from the airport!  So I enjoyed this one with some wonderful pad kee mao, and I found the fruit and acidity really played nicely with the spice of the dish, and the fragrant Thai basil!  Not one of my more traditional pairings, but it worked, cheers!

2009 L'Ecole No. 41 Petit Verdot

Happy Labor Day!  What a wonderful holiday where we celebrate the joy of working but cooking out and enjoying a last gasp of summer with family and friends.  And what better way to celebrate the end of summer than with a bottle of wine from one of my favorite Washington wineries?  Ha!  Rhetorical questions that one!

So with my lovely Labor Day cookout, I've cracked open a bottle of 2009 L'Ecole No. 41 Walla Walla Valley Petit Verdot, what is normally a blending grape for Bordeaux, all on it's own.  Now a few weeks ago I tried a bottle of the '09 Cabernet Franc, and I must admit I really like this Petit Verdot a lot better!  I'm not sure whether it's the varietal or just the character of this year's vintage, but this is simply an outstanding bottle of wine!

The wine is a deep ruby red to purple in the glass, and the nose is a wonderful combination of luscious ripe fruit that causes your brain to immediately start thinking of juicy plums or berries just dripping down your chin. The nose is an ethereal blend of ripe fruit, with elements of grape, plum and anise, transforming to a bit of cocoa, baking spice and just the faintest hint of woodsy earthiness.  The taste is a delight, with a shock of fruit right at the outset, rich grape, plum, berry which then transitions to real dryness midpalate, before the tannins come rushing in to provide that long, tart finish.

I really have no idea if this is what the true expression of the petit verdot should aspire to, I just know that I really love this wine and could go on sipping it for the better part of an afternoon.  Overall, I would rate this one a solid 8.5, one of my personal favorites and one I wish I had more of since it's sold out!  As for pairing, tonight I had it with my typical Labor Day feast of a ginormous 28-ounce boneless ribeye grilled rare with a tossed salad of baby herbs and a bit of 25-year balsamic vinegar.  So yummy!!!