Wine Tasting on Television: “Vine Talk ” Talk Show

Wine Tasting on Television:  ”Vine Talk”

He says: We were intrigued by the concept of the tv show on PBS called “Vine Talk.”  

She says:  DVR in action, a few episodes in the cue and we’re  ready to sit down to learn, laugh, have some wine and have some fun.

She says:  We all have Gary Vaynerchuck to thank for boldy creating a new model for wine tasting and creating Wine Library TV.  His episodes are short, electric, smart, briefly educational, to the point and often really funny.  So, as happens, when people with more production savvy and access to stars decide they can do it to0 … and do it better – they make it a 1/2 hour show, add some stars, etc.    This is the part where you see me get confused, because sometimes when seasoned professionals create, they forget to include the magic.

He continues: Sadly, this show is plonk. First off, the format is weird. It’s hosted by Ray Isle, the executive wine editor of Food and Wine magazine.  Smart guy – nice voice.  He talks about the theme of that episode and gives you 20 seconds of background on the region or varietal.  So far, so good.  Ray then introduces a celebrity host (we saw Jennifer Coolidge and Stanley Tucci).  Our celebrity host introduces three additional celebs, two of whom you most likely have never heard of.

She says:   This is one place where we differ.  I actually enjoy being introduced to new people who I might like to know about. They’re accomplished in their respective fields and they might have additional, insight into wine tasting.  But, this is where HE’s former television producing skills come to the surface… get ready!

He continues:  Then a wine expert briefly introduces the six wines that will be tasted blindly, and then spends 10 seconds with a group of about 20 non-celebs (“the crowd”) who are tasting the same wines in a bar downstairs. Back upstairs, the celebs start tasting the wines.

Ray the host, excuses himself and disappears to who-knows-where.  (Are you confused yet?) The wine expert tries to focus the celebs on the the wine, but instead they talk about most everything else. It’s so boring – like you’re the fly on the wall of  a bad cocktail party. Then Ray pops in for a bit, before leaving again. (Where the hell is he going?)

Another oddity is that they have a waitress pass out each wine to the three celebrities but the wine expert pours the wine for him/herself and the host. Why can’t they pass out wines for 5 or pour for all five? Then for the moment of truth, they gather downstairs and reveal which wine the crowd liked best and which wine the celebs chose. And that’s it. You really don’t learn much about the wines and to sit through the celebrity chatter is painfully dull. Put a cork in it, I say.

She says:  I’ve never heard so little laughter while people are tasting wine.  I mean this could be really entertaining.  So I wonder, “What is it that could work here?”  Oh my god – I LOVE Stanley Tucci – he’s one of my favorite actors and one of my favorite human beings.   I would do just about anything to give him more screen time any day and then as an actress, I’d REALLY do ANYTHING to work with him.  You could “put a cork in it”, but I think there might be any number of ways to give the show more mmph, energy and make it relative to our lives.

First off – what’s with separating the “commoners” from the celebrities – that is hilariously bad manners and as we see,  bad TV.  There’s a reason no other talk show does that on TV.

This show treats the audience like they’re the problematic cousins or the groundlings from Elizabethan theater days. “We’re glad you’re here – could you wait in the basement?”  Oh dear.   I would keep the numbers of the audience small, but set it up so the audience can be in on the experience, possibly at cocktail tables but in the audience. To simulate a wine bar perhaps.   The audience would laugh at the guests jokes and clap and enjoy themselves and most importantly, take the pressure off of the hosts.

IMDB shows just one season, so no word on whether it’s been renewed.  That’s ok.  I want Stanley Tucci back to work with his real acting.

Vine Talk on IMDB

New Years Breakfast – an easy French Holiday Breakfast

SHE SAYS: Winter holidays! Yeah!  A friend asked me the other day what my preferred winter holiday is and I must confess, I love them all and I probably embrace them all because I want to be able to say “Yes!” to every party… lol.   Hanukkah?  Great! Winter Solstice? Sure!  Christmas? Always!  Kwanzaa? I wanza!

For our Christmas Breakfast this year I chose to create a French Christmas Breakfast and it was a perfect breakfast.   Beautiful, tasty, super-simple and so much fun.  We are sharing the details so maybe you can recreate it for your New Year’s Brunch or any special Sunday brunch which might be fun with a French perspective.  Croissants, quiche, a copy of French newspaper Le Monde, French radio from iTunes, photos of Christmas in Paris and you’ll have a magical morning!

HE SAYS: Now, you know SHE doesn’t cook, right?  Her skills are cutting, placing, setting the table, and setting the mood.  If SHE’s in charge, it’s going to be super-simple.  No recipes here,  just stuff to buy in advance and set out the morning of your French Holiday Breakfast.   But take a look -  beautiful.

French Holiday Breakfast

SHE SAYS: Correct.  A trip to one or two stores and you should be ready to go!
Here are the details in a grocery store style list:
An assortment of French cheeses (We chose four that were new to us. May we suggest you try something new!)
French style salami – (salami soaked in wine)
Dried Apricots (or dried cranberries or both!)
Fresh cut fruit salad (we chose citrus, pineapple and blueberries)
Croissants (of couse!)
Baguette (partially baked – you finish baking it the morning of your breakfast)
Madelaines (savory Madelaines made with rosemary, but you can serve any type)
Nonettes (Small  orange flavored sponge cakes wtith a spot of orange preserves inside)
La Barquette (small cookies with dried apricot filling)
French Roast Coffee – (your favorite coffee brand is fine)
Quiche (pre-made from your favorite grocer) – just reheat the morning of your breakfast
Quince Paste (brought by a guest)
Chocolate gold coins sprinkled on the table – very fun!
Champagne or sparkling wine
If you have French food favorites that are different, like caviar and fois gras then add those.  We simply wanted a focus on cheese.  (HE says:  Cheeses for Jesus! – and SHE can only laugh.)

A few props and music to set the mood:

French Radio – Free on iTunes – Real French holiday music!  We tuned into Paris Chansons.
Le Monde – the French newspaper on the coffee table (1 day pre-order from a hotel or news stand)
Assortment of “Christmas in Paris” photos slide show playing on the big screen TV, via the laptop.
A few “fussy pillows” and Votive candles and remember at least one good picture of Papa Noel!

FIRST COURSE: Our cheese course.    A quick trip to a specialty cheese store and we found four new-to-us French

Four French cheeses, French style salami, dried apricots.

cheeses. Animals represented –  cow, goat, sheep – all three made a gift.  An assorment of soft, hard and semi-hard make nice options for everyone.  We found ours at The Cheese Store of Beverly Hills, but you can also find a world of cheeses right at Trader Joe’s or your local Whole Foods Market along with intelligent foodies working behind the counter to help you taste and choose wisely.   Details on our cheese choices here: Barrysentials Cheeses for Jesus.

Label the cheeses with little tent cards you can cut out at home, and write out a few words of your own impressions of the taste of the cheese to enlighten your guests before they choose.  Place your thinly sliced French style salami on the corners of your cheese platter (we used a piece of slate), put your cheeses in the middle and sprinkle dried apricots around it all. You’ll want to set your cheese & salami out approximately 1 hour before your guests arrive.  These cheeses and salami will taste best at room temperature.

French Holiday Breakfast - Nonettes & Madelaines

NEXT: The forbidden white flour bakery products which you’ll add to your table for one day of guilt-free eating.  Croissants, French baguette, La Barouquette cookies, Madelaines and Nonettes.  Croissants purchased at the grocer’s bakery – re-heat in the oven, when you remove from the oven, place in  a basket and cover with clean kitchen towel so they stay warm.  Partially baked baguette – heat at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove from the oven then cut the bread into slices on an angle, place in a basket and again cover so it stays warm on the table.  La Barouquette’s and Nonettes – purchased at a nearby French Market – just take them out of the box and set on small  plates and set them at various places on the table.  Our Madelaines came freshly baked from one of our guests – if you don’t have a baking guest, you can purchase them at many grocery stores and bakeries.

Fruit Salad: Ours was super-simple.  Pineapple pieces, orange sections (cut by HE) and blueberries.  I poured a teaspoon of sparkling wine on mine for fun, but everyone else ate theirs plain.   Another combination of citrus (pink grapefruit, white grapefruit, naval oranges, mandarin oranges) can also make a perfect holiday fruit course. Toss in a few maraschino cherries or dried cranberries for splash of color.

Quiche: Make it easy on yourself, darlin’, you have way better things to do than spend hours in the kitchen.   Just purchase a quiche from your favorite breakfast restaurant, or your favorite grocer and re-heat it at home, then set on the table. You’ll look brilliant.   Your friends aren’t coming over to check out your cooking – they’re coming over to see you, laugh with you and have a good time as you prepare for a new year.

Champagne or Sparkling Wine:  Dom Perignon is always nice for New Year’s, yes it is, and Veuve Cliquot is a fantastic second, but for this casual French breakfast we chose French sparkling wine Trocadero. In addition, a guest brought a fantastic surprise French sparkling wine Charles LaFitte Rose Prestige – yes it’s pink! Inside the bottle and outside the bottle on the label.  Nice! Read a little more information on these two sparkling wines on this blog post.

There you have it!  If you plan your own French holiday breakfast, please post some pictures!  We wish you blessed holidays, Bonne année and Happy New Year!

 

 

 

Wine from Catalina Island? Yes!

SHE has said to HE a few times, “Lets take the ferry over to Catalina Island.”
HE has replied, “What for?”  lol…
Now SHE can respond, “To taste the wines!”  SHE wins!

SHE SAYS: Alison Wrigley Rusack is my new best friend.  I hope she doesn’t mind.  She’s made

Catalina Vineyard View - She says "Gorgeous!"

sure the Rusack wine making legacy now includes grapes grown on Catalina Island, about 20 miles off the coast of Los Angeles, California.  She wants to share the beauty of that island with as many people as she can and a vineyard is a brilliant way to accomplish that desire.  Hooray!

Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Zinfandel grapes are on their way to becoming wines. Read the full story at the LA Times:  
http://lat.ms/LATimesRusackCatalinaWines

Read even more about the Catalina harvest on the Rusack website: 
http://bit.ly/RusackWinesonCatalina

Is it too soon to camp out for the opening?

Magnificent Wine Flavor Visualization

Carl Tashian's Wine Flavor Visualization

SHE SAYS: It is magnificent to cross boundaries of many sorts.  An  NYU Grad student, Carl Tashian has taken to cross the boundaries between two senses — taste and sight, to create a visual representation of how wine tastes. — W-hat??

“Preposterous!” you say?  Ney, possible and beautiful to boot.   Take a look.  
http://tashian.com/wine-flavors/
Notice how each line curves, is not straight.  See that?  Yes!  Exactly like your thoughts after a few sips.  I smell a Nobel Peace Prize in his future.   Anyone who can do this, can certainly bring us world peace.
“Peace Through Wine”   Yes.  This is your mantra for the weekend.

Andeluna Vineyard and Winery – Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina

He Said "Que bella!" She Said, "Que freddo!" The Vineyards at Andeluna Cellars

 

HE SAYS:  On the second day of our wine travels in Mendoza, we drove down to the Uco Valley. It was about a one hour drive from our lodge, part of it over some rolling hills.
The Uco Valley is higher elevation – the snow-capped Andes Mountains tower right there to the West. It is the highest altitude of the growing regions in Mendoza, and the area is more undeveloped so that seems to be where most of the new vineyard and winery expansion is occurring. Andeluna (meaning Andes moon) is a beautiful new winery, built by H. Ward Lay, of the Lay potato chip family. It took about five years to build this winery, but they did a fantastic job creating a contemporary version of an old Argentina ranch (estancia).

Their winemaker, Silvio Alberto, was named “outstanding young winemaker of the year,” and he crafts the wines, and gets input from famed consulting enologist Michel Rolland.

The lovely Gisela

Andeluna does charge for touring and tasting, but we got a great private tour from Gisela, a very personable young lady. Outside in the vineyard she explained how they manage the vines to have a specific number of spurs and clusters, and then how they go through and thin the clusters by 60-70% to concentrate the flavors in the grapes that do remain. I had the giant tasting room all to myself, as my wife thought 10:30 in the morning is too early to drink wine. Nonsense!
SHE SAYS: Shall we be accurate?  I was in the tasting room, too.  You were just in a world of your own and forgot I was there. And pretty cute you were, too.

2007 Andeluna Cellars Winemaker’s Selection Torrontés
HE SAYS: This was my first chance in Argentina to taste a Torrontés, which is the only wine considered to be 100% Argentinian. I really enjoyed this wine, which reminds me of a cross between a viognier and sauvignon blanc. The Andeluna Torrontés had nice fragrant nose and yet was very crisp and clean with grapefruit and tropical fruit flavors. This wine, with grapes from the Tupungato area, didn’t see any oak, and was very nicely balanced – a terrific food wine. 15  SHE SAYS: 10:30 in the morning  is too early to drink wine.

He Said "Wine. She Said "Coffee."

 

2005 Andeluna Cellars Reserve Chardonnay –
HE SAYS:  Half of the wine was aged for a year in American and French oak, while the rest stayed in stainless steel. This chardonnay had a nice, clear golden color and honeysuckle nose. It was nice and clean with a touch of oak amongst the citrus and vanilla flavors. It still had enough acid to go with food. Very tasty. 15+   SHE SAYS: Thx for the coffee.

2005 Andeluna Cellars Reserve Merlot –

She Said, "You're tasting how many wines?"

HE SAYS: This was a very nice Merlot, with a deep and dark rose nose. It was soft, with dark berry and touches of cinnamon and cocoa flavors. It had a good body and nice balance, with the fruit emerging from the medium tannins. It was aged for a year in French (80%) and American (20%) oak, then aged six more months in the bottle. I suggest aging it another 3-5 years. 15
SHE SAYS: 10:45 in the morning  is still too early for wine.

2005 Andeluna Cellars Reserve Malbec–
HE SAYS: Great purple color on this Malbec. It was dryer than the Merlot, with earthy berry and cherry flavors. Nice finish, but medium high tannins masked the fruit somewhat. 15
SHE SAYS: I love you, Malbec – but even 11:00 in the morning is too early.

2004 Andeluna Cellars Reserve Cabernet –
HE SAYS: This is a big wine, but the tannins were so strong that much of the fruit was masked. There were chocolate essences to it, but it definitely needs more bottle time to soften the tannins and let the flavors emerge. Hard to figure out at the moment. 14+
SHE SAYS: Ok, Ok, I’ll try it.  :-*/  !*!   I was right.  It’s just too early.

2003 Andeluna Cellars Grand Reserve Pasionada –
HE SAYS: A terrific Bordeaux-style blend, comprised of 35% Merlot, 35% Cab; 20% Malbec and 10% Cab Franc. (The proportions change each year, depending on the quality of the grape. In contrast, the ’04 is 49% Malbec, 26% Merlot, 17% Cab and 8% Cab Franc.) The wine was aged in new French (85%) and American (15%) oak for 18 months, and then aged for 8 more months in the bottle. This was a truly terrific and elegant wine, with great full flavors of cherry and berry and a touch of cocoa. The tannins were medium, so it could sit for a bit. By far, it was the best of the red wines by Andeluna and is worth seeking out. 16+
SHE SAYS: I believe you.

Clos de Chacras Winery, Chacras de Coria, Lujan de Cuyo, Argentina

Clos de Chacras – Vineyard and Winery

Clos de Chacras Gran-Estirpe Malbec

SHE SAYS: Want to feel really good?  Like you are in love?   Then click the link right here and go to the Clos de Chacras website.  Listen to the music while you read what we’ve written about this Bodega.
HE SAYS: This is another boutique winery in the city of Chacras de Coria in the Luján de Cuyo area.   Bautista Gargantini was one of the fathers of the Argentine wine industry in Mendoza.  By 1911, their winery ranked as one of the world’s leading producers. In 1921 they opened a facility in Chacras de Coria, but it was later sold.   Then in 1987, Bautista’s granddaughter Silvia Gargantini, and her husband, Alejandro Genoud, purchased it.  Some remodeling and updating was required, but beyond that the approval process took an astounding 17 years and they just reopened in 2003.   Well, it was well worth the wait.

Clos de Chacras - The gate to the barrel rooms.

SHE SAYS: It’s not very often that someone has the patience to wait for 17 years to create  something they love, but here you will see and feel the value of those 17 years.  The preservation of their history and the permanence of their long-term choices for the life of their winery are seen and felt in every corner.

Clos de Chacras tour. The cement fermentation tanks.

HE SAYS: We were lucky again and received a private tour of their old wine-making facility and saw some of the new improvements. Their old cement fermentation tanks are located underground, and the original gate that is reflected on their bottles is still there in the bottle storage area.

Clos de Chacras

They have long-term contracts to purchase grapes from the nearby Maipú area and the La Consulta and La Carrodilla areas in the Uco Valley. They make two lines – Cavas de Crianza, with Malbec, Merlot and Cabernet varietals, plus a blend of the three – and Gran Estirpe, their premium Malbec wine. We paid about about $10 US each for the tour and tasting, which included cheese and crackers.

SHE SAYS: The 2004 Gran Estirpe is why we are here.  When we tasted the Gran Estirpe at Vines of Mendoza, we knew we had to visit Clos de Chacras.  Seek the Gran Estirpe.  

2006 Cavas de Crianza Malbec –
HE SAYS: Gorgeously purple colored Malbec from the Maipú region, with fruity and soft flavors. It shows great balance and is very smooth and has a wonderful mouth feel. This sold for about $30 Argentine pesos, or less than about $10 U.S. This is a great wine and a tremendous value. 15+

SHE SAYS: This is our forth winery of the day.  I can tell you this one is beautiful, but I have no more words than that.

2005 Cavas de Crianza Cabernet –
HE SAYS: This also comes from Maipú and was deep and dark, with an earthy component to it. It is very good and very complex. It can age for about 5 or 6 years they think. Also a great value at around $10. 15
SHE SAYS: This one makes me cry.  In a good way.

2005 Cavas de Crianza Blend –
HE SAYS: A blend of 40% Malbec and 30% each of Cab and Merlot. It was nice, had medium tannins, but was not as distinguished as the Cab or Malbec. As I recall, the blend costs just a bit more. 14
SHE SAYS: I am tired. I will trust you on this one.

2004 Gran Estirpe Malbec –
HE SAYS: We tasted this through the Vines of Mendoza. The grapes for this Malbec come from 100-year-old vines in Lunlunta (Maipú) in the Luján de Cuyo area. It has brilliant purple color and a full mouth feel, soft and warm like a warm brie. This Malbec has merlot and cabernet and was one of the best malbecs I tasted. They only produced 6,100 bottles and it has won a few awards, so it is well worth seeking out. Really delicious. 16+
SHE SAYS: Seek the Gran Estirpe.  Since they make only 6,000 bottles, this will not be a part of your scheduled tasting.  Just buy a bottle and take it home with you.  You will have no regrets.

The Gran Estirpe aging in bottles.

2008 Montes – Sauvignon Blanc, Leyda Vineyard, Leyda Valley, Chile

Montes, Sauvignon Blanc, Ltd. Selection

HE and SHE both say: Well, here we are, in South America again. Only figuratively speaking this time. A Chilean Sauvignon Blanc we picked up at Costco for about $10.  It was made by Montes, a pioneer in the Chilean wine industry, and the writeup seemed promising, so let’s give it a shot.
2008 Montes – Sauvignon Blanc, Leyda Vineyard, Leyda Valley, Chile, Limited Selection — (a very long name) –

After we’ve been drinking the wine for a few minutes . . .

HE SAYS: Smell it — what do you get?

SHE SAYS: Occasionally I breathe wine up through my nose!  (Purely by accident. Just thought you should know.)

HE SAYS: Uh, OK.  What do you taste? I taste a distinct citrus fruit. (And then he looks at SHE daring her to guess which citrus.)

SHE SAYS: (Visibly sorting through her limited mental notes on citrus) I’m going to guess. . . that the citrus you taste . . . must be . . . lemon?

HE SAYS: Grapefruit.

SHE SAYS: Ha, ha, ha!!!! So wrong again!  ( She lets one of her famous laughs rip through the night air and slaps the table.)

HE SAYS: This is a very nice sauv blanc. The nose was maybe a bit of butterscotch and grass.  Taste is grapefruit and light tropical flavors, nicely balanced with a crisp amount of acid. A good food wine, especially with shellfish. Quite nice, especially for the price.  Score: 15

SHE SAYS: This is a happy, friendly wine! Welcome to my summer table any day.  It would even be great with breakfast.

HE says: About Montes Premium Wines.  Aurelio Montes pioneered much of the quality production in Chile.  His Montes Alpha M line of premium red wines from the Apalta Valley garnered great accolades and really put Chilean wines on the map (and table) for the rest of the world. This Sauvignon Blanc is from the Leyda Valley in Chile, which is a new Denomination of Origen, about 6 miles from the Pacific Ocean.  This wine is fermented in stainless steel and has never touched oak.

SHE SAYS: They have a picture of a llama on their site, so I can’t wait to visit.  Can we consider a llama instead of a dog?

Cornerstone Cellars, Napa Valley, CA

Cornerstone Cellars in Napa Valley asked us to review two wines for them.  We’re honored that they trust us enough to know that we would be honest even when the wines are complimentary.  That’s just how we roll.  So, let’s get to drinking and sharing… Cornerstone Cellars makes just two (2) wines.  Both Cabernet Sauvignon, one named Howell Mountain and another named just Napa Valley.  They make their wines in a collective facility helping to make a smaller carbon footprint in Napa Valley.   SHE loves environmentally aware people and products and this is an extra special bonus for these exceptional wines. Celebrating their 17th vintage, Cornerstone works with one of the world’s finest winemakers, Celia Masyczek. The wines arrived and SHE showed exceptional discipline, let the wines settle for two weeks and we drank last night with another foodie while we dined on small grilled steaks, roasted rosemary potatoes, grilled asparagas and a luscious salad with HE’s homemade Parmesan dressing.
CORNERSTONE CELLARS 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon, Howell Mountain — From the moment SHE opened it, poured and sniffed, she said, “It’s a classic! It smells exactly like a perfect cabernet.”  From the Howell Mountain district, the grapes were fermented on the skin before pressing.  Aged in French Oak (75% new) Beautiful results.
HE SAYS: Very good structure.  He gives it a 16+ (you’ll recall HIS high score is a 20 and he scores like a Russian judge).  Low tanin, medium acid, HE tastes Cocoa, dark fruit and berries.  Has a great mouth feel.  Drink in a few years.
SHE SAYS: Attenzione!  If I could trade you in for water, I would.  Forget water — just serve me the 2004 Howell Mountain.  I love a wine that bites me back and this one did just fine.  This wine would turn me into a very fun companion on long car trips.
CORNERSTONE CELLARS 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley – Remember the song from kindergarden “My hat it has three corners…” Well this Cabernet hails from three corners of Napa: Howell Mountain, Oakville and Southeast corner of Napa Valley.  Grapes were tank-fermented before being pressed and then aged in oak.
HE SAYS: Softer and Silky feel.    Cherry and Berry flavors.  GREAT FRUIT! – Delicious. A berry bomb.  More acid than tanning.  A really approachable wine.  Enjoy this wine now.
SHE SAYS: You’re nice, and I like you, I’ll drink you in toto — but why do you make me work so hard to know who you are?  (In the black and white film version of this moment, she, looking suspiciously like Veronica Lake,  throws the glass across the room and it shatters on the yellow wall.  The glass is empty. She drank it all.)

Visit their site,
http://www.cornerstonecellars.com
learn about their intense dedication to winemaking and order a couple of bottles for yourself.  You’ll see – well, actually, you’ll taste and then you’ll see.  Thank you, Cornerstone Cellars!