Langhe

Very interesting wine last night. I opened a 2004 Gianfranco Alessandria Langhe Nebbiolo. I decanted half the bottle and vacuum sealed the remainder.

I poured a small sample from the decanter and it was a bit of a wake up call for the early evening. Tannins were everywhere in this wine. After a little swirling I could get some flowery perfume and cherries and a definite whiff of tobacco. There was all that in the taste and more, like some chocolate overtones and perhaps a bright red plum or two. There was very good acidity, but the finish was mouth numbing tannin.

There was a pork roast braising in apple cider, mushrooms and onions in the oven so the wine sat in the decanter for two hours until the pork was ready.

After that two hours the tannins had ceased their relentless grip and the fruit came forward. The tobacco faded to just a suggestion, as though someone a room or two away was lightly puffing on a cigarette. It was replaced with a dry, clean earth impression. The wine was medium bodied and the cherries were there in force. The acid cleared the palate and there was still a good dose of tannin on the finish, but not nearly what there was straight from the bottle. Had there been time four hours would have been even better for this wine.

It was at its best with the somewhat rich pork as both the acid and tannin were refreshing. The wine was $25 and at that price it's a terrific buy as it is almost a "junior Barolo" at a much better price. The other two bottles have been moved to the section of the cellar for longer aging. Two more years should be about right for this wine.

Alessandria's wines continue to impress me. His Dolcetto d'Alba is outstanding for the price and the Barbera d'Alba is very good. The Langhe is the best of the lot before one encounters the Barolo San Giovanni, and there is one of those squirreled away with other two Langhe's quietly getting better.

New House Red

The search has been underway for six weeks and there is now a decision on a new "house red" to replace the 2005 Vina Alarba Old Vines Grenache that is now gone from the marketplace.

The winner, pictured here, is Ermitage du Pic St. Loup, a Coteaux du Languedoc wine that is currently in the market for an amazing $10 a bottle. A blend of mostly syrah and grenache with just a dollop of mourvedre the wine is a tremendous value at this price, and with a 10% case discount that makes it $9 a bottle.

Young and fruity on the nose with dark and red berries and dark plums on the nose, the taste hits you with the same but adds some black pepper and tannin to go with it. There's great acidity and more fruit in the finish. The wine is not overly polished and in this case that's a good thing. Probably not everyone's cup of tea but to me it is unique and delicious.

They were tasting this at the wine store and I liked it before I knew the price and before I turned the bottle around to discover that Kermit Lynch was the importer. Lynch is among the top importers in the country in my opinion and his selections nearly always agree with me.

The wine went great with a small strip steak and some veggies and it went great with some grilled chicken and rice the next night. Supplies are good but if they start to run low I have another case reserved.

Run, Squirrel, Run

Autumn officially began yesterday, and as if to make that point certain, late yesterday evening a squirrel ran by in a deliberate attempt to infuriate Scott. Mission accomplished for the squirrel.

Neither Scott nor Ellie were happy with this situation since they were both inside at the time and could only observe through the window. The neighbor saw it also so I suspect he will soon start putting out corn again to attract more of them.

This is not the same squirrel that made the near fatal mistake of ignoring Scott early last spring. That tree rodent is minus part of its tail.

The dogs were happy because it's something else to occupy their time and they were getting tired of watching doves.

Winging It - Hurricane Style

On Monday there was still no power and the major search was for a cup of hot coffee. I could heat hot water on the grill, but I always grind the beans just before making the coffee and I didn't feel like taking a hammer and beating the heck out of a plastic bag full of coffee beans.

We finally located a Starbucks about ten miles from home that was serving free coffee. Yes, they get some grief for over saturating the market, but I still like their coffee and the free price was just what I was looking for.

The refrigerator rescue began by throwing things into the freezer compartment in an attempt to save them. Some things were best cooked that day so the grill got a tremendous amount of use over the afternoon.

One of the other things I threw in the freezer was a bottle of E. Barnaut Grand Cru Champagne. If mother nature was going to throw obstacles in my path there was no sense not to thumb one's nose and actually enjoy the day.

One thing that needed to be cooked that day was some fresh shrimp that had been purchased early Sunday morning before the storm hit. When dinner time neared I decided I wanted a soupy shrimp and not just grilled ones.

I tossed the little guys with lemon juice, garlic, chopped shallots, lemon zest, red pepper flakes and olive oil and let the mixture sit while the grill heated. I threw the cast iron skillet on the grate over the hot coals, added a wee bit more oil and tossed in the shrimp mixture. Several slices of crusty bread were toasting on the other side of the grill. I stirred the shrimp a time or two then added a tablespoon of butter, a small bit of chopped, fresh oregano, and a good splash of the just opened champagne. When the entire thing bubbled it was dumped onto a large plate and then ladled into bowls.

By this time the neighbor was peering over the fence inquiring about using the grill so we invited him to join us. He claimed to not be a champagne fan but one sip of the Barnaut convinced him that what he really didn't care for was cheap sparkling wine. This "champagne" was a new and wonderful experience for him.

The champagne was bright and open with hints of green apples and citrus peel. There was a good dose of yeasty aromas to go with it. Nice tight bubbles stayed from the first glass all the way through the end of the bottle. At $40 this was a very good wine.

The neighbor's final comment on the evening was, "You know how to enjoy a disaster."
Scott and Ellie were having a grand time of it. They got grilled chicken pieces and a small pork steak chopped up in their dog food. Ellie, who cut her foot on a broken bottle on Saturday, was wearing a hood so she was doubly spoiled by getting her food hand fed to her. She had the contented look that said, "Peel me another grape."

Baby, You Got Class

The ultimate wine of the hurricane season came Sunday night about five hours after the power went out. It was my intention to roast a Cornish game hen and open a 1990 Lupe Cholet Aloxe Corton. It was about half way through cooking the five rice mixture that the winds blew through and knocked the power out. Undaunted - we improvised.

As soon as the winds died enough to light a match I lit the grill, rubbed the game hen with shallot pepper, wrapped some carrots in foil and made another foil pouch with some of the rice and cooking water. Everything went on the grill over indirect heat.

This was my third, and last, bottle of the Aloxe Corton. The first was very good but faded quickly. The second was dead on arrival. This one was something else indeed.

Opening the wine there was a strong aroma of fresh cherries laid over some dried darker ones mixed with just tilled soil. There was even a hint of cinnamon. Medium to light in color, it looked like a pinot noir should look, somewhat pale. There was just the slightest bit of browning at the edges. The aroma just kept coming at you from the glass, filling the room.

The cherries and dirt were there in full force on the taste, and the tannins and good acidity were there as well. The finish was mellow, long and wonderful. Nothing about this wine was out of balance. It didn't hit you over the head with fruit or tannin to announce its presence, it just wrapped you in its arms and smiled at you.

I suspect this was never an outstanding or over the top wine. It was never Ursula Andress walking out of the surf in Dr. No, a life changing experience if there ever was one. This wine was never a star, but was a secondary player who over the course of her career aged gracefully and never fell apart. In the end, and throughout the evening, this class shined through and never faded. It's good that the third bottle was the best because the first two never would have lived up to this one.

The game hen was delicious, as were the rice and carrots and they matched well with the wine. There was no parsley or basil or other "green things" to decorate the plate because they were growing in pots and the hurricane winds 'relocated' them to parts unknown. In their place I received siding from a house, shingles, mulch, lawn furniture, a grill cover, the top of a post light, three empty soft drink cans, a bird feeder, two balls, an unwrapped Sunday newspaper and at least 273 pine cones, all of which were embedded against the fencing surrounding the patio.

It made little difference, because there was still that wine....

Surviving a Hurricane

One of the things that we never get here in Ohio is hurricanes. That statement used to be true, but no longer. The remnants of Hurricane Ike which plowed into Texas last week made their way north and east and smacked this area on Sunday afternoon with four hours of constant winds, gusting up to 83 miles per hour.

The electric power went out at 1:00 PM Sunday and wasn't restored until 3:00 AM this morning (Wednesday).

The photo above was a big part of my survival kit. It's a glass of Distiller's Edition Oban single malt whisky.

We ate well during the blackout since everything in the freezer and refrigerator thawed and needed to be cooked on the grill. The dogs had a true feast of fish, beef, pork and chicken they don't normally get because there was nothing else to do with it. Ice disappeared from the area almost immediately though I managed to find a bag on Monday. At one time there were close to a million people without power, and estimates are it will be Saturday or Sunday before everyone is re-energized, so food is now scarce in the local area as the stores are having to pitch most of what they had in stock.

Fortunately I had full tank of gasoline in the car but on trips out it was strange to see the advertised prices rising and being changed on the placards, even though there was no power to pump it. One station went up three times on Monday and hadn't pumped a single gallon. A week ago gas was $3.45 a gallon and last night it was $4.35, though a few places were starting to drop the price. I can wait another four or five days before needing more.

The only saving grace was that very cool temperatures followed the hurricane. Had it been hot and humid I'm sure nerves would have frazzled even more than they did.

Enough! There were three really nice wines consumed during the course and we'll get to those soon.

Plato and a Platypus

Just as with wine sometimes a small book is best.

I read Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar by Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein a couple of years ago and since the authors have a new book out I thought it would be good to re-read this one. Subtitled "Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes" the book is small, quick, sharp and hilarious.

The jokes are sometimes corny and groaners, but the points made about what they illustrate are eyebrow arching if not totally unique. Both authors were philosophy majors at Harvard.

Want to understand a little existentialism? Try this joke.

A man is making love to his best friend's wife when they hear the husbands car in the driveway. He dives into the closet. The husband comes in and goes to the closet to hang up his jacket and sees his best friend standing there naked and says, "Lenny, what are you doing here?"

Lenny sheepishly shrugs and says, "Everybody's gotta be somewhere."

No need to go on, but if you are up for a three hour 'educational laugh' this is a good book.

Their new book? Aristotle and an Aardvark go to Washington, Understanding Politician Speak. With seven weeks to go before the U.S. elections I can't think of a better way to approach it than through another book from these two authors.

Canoe Ridge 2001

Four days of rain are starting so last night was probably the last chance to grill something.

That "something" turned out to be two loin, lamb chops. Rubbed with Dijon mustard and then coated with chopped thyme, garlic and rosemary they made a great Thursday dinner. I added some fresh pasta in a mushroom, saffron, white wine and light cream sauce.

The wine was wonderful. It was a Chateau Ste. Michelle Canoe Ridge, Columbia Valley cabernet sauvignon. Fully flavored with cherries, currants and other red fruits overlaid with some earthy aromas the wine was just a pleasure to sniff. It was even better to drink. Good acidity matched up well with the fruit and the tannins were soft and integrated into a total product. At then end of the second glass the wine fully opened up and was as good a wine as I've had for awhile. It's fully mature but showing no signs of going down the other side of the hill. There's a large glass left for tonight, and one more bottle in the cellar.

The lamb and pasta were great, and the wine was their equal.

Two Day Wine

This weekend was an audition. The Vina Alarba Old Vines Grenache that has been the "house red" for better than a year is gone from the market place so the search is on for a replacement. The rules are that it be good and inexpensive.

The Louis Martini 2005 Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon is the first candidate. The wine is normally $17 but there is "sale" in the market place at this time and it can be had for $12 a bottle or $10.80 a bottle if one buys a case. The $17 price is too high as is the $12 price for an every day wine, but the $10.80 is just about right.

The nose was a nice balance between ripe fruit and a little dirt. There were dark cherries and currants in the taste and just a hint of vegetables. This is a medium weight cabernet with moderate ripe tannins and good acid balance. The middle is fruity and sweet without being over ripe. There is just enough acid and tannin on the finish to clear the palate. Not a great wine but a highly drinkable one. The wine is 13.8% alcohol.

Saturday I spent the day waiting on the satellite TV repairman. That took most of the day but the thing is up and running again. Waiting around most of the day is frustrating so I wanted something simple for dinner. Garlic roasted potatoes, a small salad and a grilled New York strip steak filled the bill nicely. The wine was a nice compliment to the steak. Nothing profound here, just a good drinkable wine.

Sunday was to be all about salmon on the grill, but that got sidetracked when a reduced price on a small rack of pork showed up at the market. Rubbed with olive oil, garlic, lemon peel and fresh sage, the pork was cooked over indirect heat on the grill with just a few hickory chips added for a light smoky flavor.

There was some fresh, but store bought, pumpkin ravioli topped with olive oil, basil and pecorino Romano cheese and another tomato salad. The second half of the Martini cabernet was sitting in the bottle and it matched well with the pork. It had mellowed only slightly from the previous day so it was still fresh and fruity and still had enough on the finish to cut the richness of the olive oil. Dessert was simple - a large scoop of coconut, chocolate chip gelato.

The Second Half

Thanks to the remnants of Hurricane Gustav the hot, dry weather broke today with rain and much cooler temperatures.

By dinner it had stopped raining so I grilled a veal chop marinated in rosemary, olive oil, lemon juice and peel, garlic and red pepper. I added fresh almonds and a chopped jalapeno pepper to the leftover couscous from earlier in the week. There were still two glasses left of the River Village Cellars Syrah so out came the vacuum cork.

Once again the food and wine went great together. The Syrah showed very little deterioration for it's two days under vacuum. The fruit was still there and was especially pronounced with the reheated couscous. Definitely plums and berries again. For dessert there were a couple of plums from the vineyard.

The photo shows some of Syrah grapes for the 2008 vintage still on the vine at Kinkead Ridge. Barring a terrible turn in the weather over the next month this should be an outstanding vintage in this area. If the vineyard was in France they no doubt would already be talking a big price increase for the 'vintage of the century,' even though the grapes are still on the vines.

Spice and Fruit

Today was the hottest day of the year in this area, though to be fair it has not been an extremely hot summer.

Tonight's wine was the 2006 River Village Cellars Syrah, the second label from Kinkead Ridge. As previously noted the 2006 vintage in southwestern Ohio was plagued by rain and cold weather at harvest and this resulting wine is very pale for a Syrah. There is definitely fruit in the form of red plums in the nose and just a hint of spice. The wine is fruity with good acid, low tannins for a Syrah but is very well balanced. The red plums come through big time on the taste, with some black pepper and berry fruit as well. The winery believes there is some cloves in the wine, but it seemed more like star anise to me. The middle seems a little soft but there is a good palate cleansing finish. At $11 a bottle it's a good effort.

Not wanting to spend time outside on a hot day over a hot grill we did chicken thighs in the oven. They were dusted with a Turkish style seasoning - garlic, cumin, black pepper, oregano, paprika, sumac and cayenne pepper before being popped into a hot oven.

As a side I fixed some curried couscous. This was chicken broth, hot curry powder and dried currents boiled together. I added the couscous, took it off the heat and covered it for five minutes. It was finished with toasted almonds, chopped scallions and parsley and a couple tablespoons of olive oil and lemon juice. A sliced, orange tomato finished the plate. There was the bite from the the cayenne in the chicken and the curry in the couscous that really brought the fruit in the wine forward. If this was a tannic wine it would have clashed with the food, but in this case the lightness of the vintage was a nice compliment to the food. At only 12.7% alcohol it is also a wine that I could sip all evening (and that is exactly what I'm doing).

Summer's Almost Over

Technically there are three weeks to go until autumn, but by and large Labor Day marks the end of summer here in Ohio. The schools are open again after summer recess, everything is ripe or ripening and the weather is hot and dry. The days are getting shorter as well.

That said, today was the first 'autumn' trip. We drove two hours to the Kinkead Ridge Winery to pick up the 2006 red wines they were releasing this weekend. After tasting and buying at the winery we headed 'up the hill' to the vineyard, pictured above in a photo taken late this morning. The colors are representative of most of the area at this time of year. The only thing still 'lush' in the picture are the vines on the left of the image.

The 2006 vintage was a tough one as rain and cold weather plagued the area in late September and October and that played havoc with the red grapes. Kinkead usually produces four red wines, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Syrah. In 2006 they declassified the Syrah and Cabernet Franc to a second label, River Village Cellars, and the only red sporting the regular Kinkead Ridge label is a red blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. All three were good wines for the price, but it was easy to see why two varieties were put on a second label. Both wines are identifiable, but they are definitely shadows of previous vintages. At reduced prices they remain a bargain. The red blend is easily the best of the three, but it too is lighter than any of the 2005 reds, and the price is reflective of that also.

I'll be drinking a bottle of each over the next couple of weeks with an appropriate meal and will have more detailed notes then.

A good day.