Mood: Enlightened

Wine Selection: Bonny Doon’s 2000 Le Cigare Volant

Happy New Year All!  I had a fantastic bringing in of the New Year.  It involved awesome wine and great food.  Cafe Cruz, a Santa Cruz County favorite restaurant, came through with a delightful roasted chicken with garlic roasted potatoes…YUM! 

I brought the vino, not because Cafe Cruz doesn’t have a great list, but it’s New Years, I wanted to bring some wines with gusto.  I brought two bottles (there were 4 of us so don’t worry), the first was Silver Mountain’s double gold medal winning Pinot Noir.  The fruit was sourced from Tondre’s Grapefield in Santa Lucia Highlands…phenomenal!  This 2003 Pinot still had bright fruit and the classic earthy finish that I love.  That wine went with the appetizer and it matched the bruschetta perfectly! 

On to the the main course, the chicken that I mentioned earlier with the 2000 Bonny Doon Le Cigare Volant was delicious. 

This wine is a flagship for Bonny Doon and is typically more fruit foward with an elegant tannin finish.  Due to the age, and old school cork closure, the fruit had become much more elegant as well.  It was so rounded, I didn’t want it to ever end!

Now for the enlightened part of my mood…I realized that I have control over how I react to my environment.  I know that this may seem odd, but I was “sweating the small stuff.”  What’s the point?  Bad things happen, it’s how you react that makes them either a TERRIBLE experience or a learning experience.  It’s not rocket science, I know, but try it.   It definitely takes a conscious effort.

Good Luck!

The Moody Wine Drinker

Mood: Curious
Wine: Parducci Chardonnay

GREEN, Sustainable, Organic…the list goes on and on. What is going on? It seems as though wineries are jumping on board with the trend of being more environmentally responsible, but does it really change our spending habits? What if there was a place where you, the consumer, could get information about wine producers that are doing their part to be more responsible? Would it matter? Would you go for a wine that was maybe $2 more expensive because in a round about way it would help the environment?

Let me know! I want feedback. Parducci was the first winery to claim “Carbon Neutral,” did anyone know this? Does anyone care?

Cheers!

Erica
The Moody Wine Drinker

Mood:  Chilly

Wine Selection: 2005 Coutet, Sauternes (375ml) 

“Surprisingly dry, this has richness rather than sweetness, and intense, powerful botrytis. The honey is intensely perfumed, along with baked apples and spice. Certainly a long-aging wine.” (06/08) 92-94 points Wine Spectator…

This classic pairing of the intensely rich Foie Gras and the Sauterne danced on my tongue for a remarkable experience that was worth writing about.  The meal went on to Steak Frites paired with a Cabernet Franc, then to the cheese plate for desert….it was an experience to remember!

The best part?  Yes, it gets better…it’s only $20 on K&L’s website!

Cheers!

Erica Lauesen

The Moody Wine Drinker

Mood: Thankful

Wine Selection: Gatos Locos “Santa Cruz Mountain” Pinot Noir

I’m nearing the end of month two in St. Helena. I have flirted with loneliness, dodged depression, and met a few great people. Merryvale is great! Luckily, I love my job! The people I work with are diverse and I intend to learn the most I can from all of them. The main downside is that I haven’t met many people, outside of the workplace. I don’t live in walking distance to downtown, so I can’t meet people that way. I don’t work with the public, other than on the phone, so I can’t meet people that way. Crush just ended, so hopefully more people will be out an about. I’ve had a lot of loose ends to tie up back in Santa Cruz, so I have been going home a lot on the weekends. The only things getting me through this social dry spell are my family and friends! They are amazing! They are always there to listen, to talk to, to see when I go home and it’s like I was never gone. I am so lucky to have such remarkable people that support me. Thank you to all of you, you know who you are.

My wine selection, is based on this time of year and it’s time for TURKEY! My favorite wine for turkey? Pinot Noir…it’s delicate and flavorful nature is just enough to compliment delicate turkey meat, even if you drown it in rich gravy! Gatos Locos is my selection for a perfect wine for this time of the year. I was reminded of the wine at my former bosses, now friend, wedding. He and his husband were lucky enough to be married at Vine Hill’s beautiful winery and this pinot noir was served with a variety of finger foods and it went perfectly with everything.

Aromas of baked cranberry tart, spiced apples, vanilla, and orange peel, with spicy flavors of white pepper and coriander.

Another great part about this pinot is that it’s only $29! I have a rule when it comes to Pinot Noir…never reach for a bottle that is under $25. It’s not snobby, it’s based on experience. I have done the $7 pinot, I’ve done the $15 and the $20 and none are worth it! Pinot Noir is a very thin skinned red wine grape. The significance? The fruit is more susceptible to the elements. Good Pinot Noir fruit has to have a perfect climate, usually cooler, and perfect canopy management or it will be under ripe or burnt by the sun.

Enjoy!
The Moody Wine Drinker

Mood: Amused

Wine Selection: Flora Springs 2005 Trilogy

I love Halloween when it falls on a Friday! You get to dress up at work, dress up in the evening, scare some little kids when you give out candy, then go out! Can’t beat that. In my case, the ladies at Merryvale, were invited to the last “summer” lunch held at Flora Springs winery. I had no idea what to expect. We arrived and were seated under an open sided building, handed a glass of their Sauvignon Blanc and got to relax and gaze at their estate vineyards, while the rest of their guests arrived. Can’t beat a glass of wine in that setting on a lunch break. Hugh Hefner, aka Jason, was our guide for the day and he was fantastic!

He’s funny, he’s knowledgeable and he can read a crowd like a book. We were given a short intro to the history of Flora Springs, then we were taken to their caves, that is not only under ground, but also under their natural spring (hence, Flora Springs). Mr. Hefner gave us some information about the 3,000 barrel capacity caves, the barrels that Flora Springs uses, the vineyard practices, then he thieved some wine out of a barrel from the Wild Boar vineyard designate Cabernet Sauvingnon. It was obviously young, but you could already taste the potential. We couldn’t believe it….

That’s not our real hair

From there, we went into the entertaining room, where we sat with Sean Garvey, Flora’s grandson. We were engaged in fun, educational conversation throughout the lunch. The lunch was the icing on the cake (pun intended) and was catered by Grapevine Catering. It all started with a mushroom, goat cheese, caramelized onion appetizer that was served during the tour. Then we had a salad with mapled walnuts and fuji apples. The main course, that was so good I had to take a picture!

The pumpkin was so cool! It reminded me of a twice baked potato, but in fact was a roasted pumpkin, filled with roasted acorn and butternut squash, with scallions and truffle essence. The pork tenderloin was topped with a Trilogy wine reduction sauce, Trilogy being their flagship wine that was also paired with this dish. It was SO good! The meal ended with a cupcake and a marzapan tombstone. The chocolate fudge frosting was so good, it could have been eaten a la carte. Back to the Trilogy, their Bordeaux style blend:

Sean Garvey says it best…

Each varietal is vital to the outcome - the Cabernet exhibits black cherry and dark cocoa character, while the Merlot carries these flavors to the back of the palate where the Cabernet Franc adds notes of coffee and toffee to the finish. Unrelenting with power and grace, the 2005 Trilogy is the perfect wine to mark Flora Springs’ 30th anniversary year.

The 30 years has obviously taught them a few things because the entire experience was EXCELLENT: excellent service, excellent wines, excellent conversation, excellent food…the works! The best part? There was nothing pretentious about Flora Springs. They are a refreshing breath of fresh air in a valley that can use a little more.

Cheers!

Erica Lauesen

The Moody Wine Drinker/Tinker Hell

My evening costume…Peter Pans worst nightmare, comes to life with “Tinker Hell!”