Monthly Archives: December 2008
Vegetarian Chili, Roasted Chicken, and Weinstock White by “W”
This past weekend found searching for something we have not had in sometime. After searching the recesses of our minds for a dish that we liked in the past, we went with vegetarian chili from Mollie Katzen original vegetarian cookbook, which is getting harder and harder to find. We went with some honey, pepper, and lemon roasted chicken that we placed over a bed of frozen green beans and roasted for an hour. The chicken was extra moist and really nice and lemony, without it being too acidic, quite nice. If the chicken was good, the chili was crazy yummy. We started with the cookbook’s recipe, and modified it with sautéing some Crimini mushrooms, wine, and some extra canned tomatoes. The mushrooms added some lovely texture to the complex dish, and the tomatoes and wine added a depth of flavor that topped this dish off quite nicely.
As a wine to pair against these foods, I chose a white wine that I had not yet tried. It was a left over from the previous Mevushal Wine tasting, and it is an OK bottle for the price. The wine is the Weinstock White by W 2007. The bottle does not describe the fruit that as used to make the wine. After drinking it I was sure that it was a mixture of Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc (because of the sweetness and lychee/grapefruit/acidic core). However, after searching a bit on the web, I found it is a blend of Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc. The wine is a nice fruity, citrusy, and acidic wine, with its nose being one of its highlights. The mouth is nice but simple, with a bit too much acidity that throws the wine’s balance way off. This wine would be nice with sushi or a cold pasta salad.
Weinstock Cellars “White by W” 2007 – Score: B
The nose on this light straw colored wine is the wine’s true highlight, it starts with an attack of grapefruit, peach, lychee, citrus, and floral notes. The mouth on this over acidic and light bodied wine is sweet with a heavy acidic core, lychee, and lemon. The lemon and acidity carry till a medium long finish of more citrus and acidity. The acidity is mouth puckering and a flaw that makes the wine almost impossible to drink on its own.
Cheese with Four Gates, Galil Rose, and Segal Cabernet Sauvignon Special Reserve
This past week we had a cheese and wine party with our friends from around the area. The evening started with a mixture of hard and soft cheeses. We had a plate of Asiago, Swiss, and Cheddar cheese. Another plate of Muenster, Baby Gouda, Monterey Jack, Brie, and Chive augmented cheese as well. We had a bowl or two of walnuts. Finally, we had a few plates of latkes that disappeared quickly upon arrival to the table from the oven, and a quiche that a friend brought by.
To match all this yummy stuff we opened two bottles of wine and some friends brought some wine as well (along with more cheese!). We opened two Four Gates Winery wines, a Pinot Noir and a Syrah. Our friends brought over a bottle of Galil Rose 2007, while another friend brought over a bottle of Segal Cabernet Sauvignon Special Reserve 2004. A VERY important note, the Galil and Segal wines were nice out of the bottle, but became really yummy a few hours after it was opened.
We wanted to thank all the guys that came on over to share our holiday cheer. The wine notes follow below.
Four Gates Pinot Noir N.V. – Score: A-
Our previous notes are holding quite nicely, but I wanted to add that the mouth on the wine this time tasted far more full bodied than before. The tannins are slowing down a tad, and allowing more of the fruit to show through, under the wine’s velvety covers.
Four Gates Syrah 2004 – Score: A
Our previous notes are holding quite nicely, and this wine was not only the favorite of the evening, but it went exceptionally well with the Asiago.
Galil Mountain Rose 2007 – Score: B to B+
The nose on this vibrant pink colored wine was filled with grapefruit, raspberry, cherry, citrus, and floral notes. The nose is the true highlight of this wine. The mouth on this light to medium bodied wine is not very complex, but still a nice quaff. Raspberry hits you first, with wave after wave of acidity, citrus, and cloves. The finish is long with more acidity and spice. This is a truly acidic and citrus packed wine, with a bit of fruit to round out the wine.
Segal Cabernet Sauvignon Special Reserve 2004 – Score: B++
The nose on this dark garnet colored wine is packed with blackberry, cassis, raspberry, sage, mint, cherry, and oak. The nose was really nice and kept going and going, really nice. This full bodied and mouth coating wine starts with blackberry, cassis, sage, and mint. The mid palate has a nice acidic core with integrated tannins, and a touch of coffee. The finish is long with more coffee, oak, and integrated tannins. This is another nice wine for the buck.
Spaghetti Bolognaise and Tzora Judean Hills
This past weekend found me returning from the frozen tundra of Chicago, in search of warmth and unfrozen sidewalks and roads. So with an evening to cook, I opted for making some soup. We had frozen our previous week’s san fromage Spaghetti Bolognaise to make the transition back home easy. So an appetizer of warm soup was on order. I opted for a simple soup of sautéed onions and winter vegetables fortified with white wine and vegetable stock.
When choosing a wine to pair with the acidity and sweetness of the Spaghetti Bolognaise and the freshness and body of the winter vegetable soup, I chose a bottle of Tzora Judean Hills. The wine is really nice, not an overly complex wine. However, for the price, this wine cannot be beat (at least in the US anyway).
The tasting notes follow below:
Tzora Judean Hills 2006 – Score: B++
I have to say that this wine improves with a ton of air. The ripeness of the nose and fruit become far more pronounced and exciting. The mouth opens more as well, and the balance and body are more accentuated.
The nose on this bright garnet colored wine is filled with earth, blackberry, cherry, raspberry, and mint. The mouth on this medium to full bodied wine starts with blackberry, raspberry, and dirt. The mid palate is highlighted with acidity, integrated tannins, and coffee. The finish is medium long with spice, coffee, and more tannin.
Pineapple glazed salmon with Herzog Special Reserve Russian River Chardonnay
This week found me visiting with family in Chicago and boy was it crazy cold. I did come prepared, but it was still a bit too frigid for my taste. However, I stayed indoors most of the time, and so life was quite nice, especially the time spent with my close relatives. This evening we stayed in from the cold, and I was treated to restaurant quality food, in a warm and hospitable, family ambiance. They were truly kind to share their wonderful food and wine with me. The dinner started with a bowl of warm Minestrone soup. The soup was quite nice with just the correct amount of pasta and vegetables that gave way to your bite, but stood up to the spoon, quite nice. I helped whip up a quick batch of faux Spanish rice, by sautéing some onions until they were soft and sweet. Then I sautéed the rice until the rice glistened, then I added the prescribed amount of water, brought the pot up to a boil, and then let the rice cook under low heat. In the mean time, my in-laws put the final touches on some beautiful pineapple glazed salmon. First of all, the fish was just beautiful, a lovely orange that looked real instead of dyed. Then they took this lovely fish, and created a glaze made of pineapples, vinegar, and sugar. Finally, the fish was coated with the glaze, and then roasted in the oven along with pineapple chunks that become caramelized in the oven. My hosts said that they normally barbeque the fish on the grill, but with six inches of snow covering the deck and grill, that was out of the question, and downright unhealthy. While this was going on a bottle of Herzog Chardonnay Special Reserve was chilling in the fridge. The dinner was spectacular and greatly appreciated.
The wine was quite nice. The wine stayed the same pretty much throughout the diner and then the next day as well. It is a classic California Chardonnay, with so much oak and acidity, that even if all fruit has left the building, the wine is still kicking. The wine notes follow below:
Herzog Special Reserve Russian River Chardonnay 2000 – Score: B+
I must say that when my hosts were kind enough to suggest opening the bottle, I thought we better have a backup, as this bottle has to long gone. But to my surprise, this wine is still kicking, though most of the fruit has gone stage left. The nose on this dark straw colored wine, opens with a rich almost creamy aroma of sweet oak, peach, and ripe apples. The mouth on this heady and full bodied wine starts with ripe peach and summer fruits. The mid palate is dominated by rich and almost aggressive sweet oak, but balanced with bracing acidity and citrus flavors. The finish is long with sweet oak, citrus acidity, and spice. If it were not for the acidity, this wine would be unbalanced. However, the fruit and acidity still have enough presence to counter balance the sweet oak. I would say drink up and enjoy with friends and family.
Dalton Estate Cabernet Sauvignon and Spaghetti Bolognese
This past weekend saw me coming back to planet earth from my trip to Israel. This weekend, I was finally able to actually sleep through the night. What is so funny, is that the trip to Israel, and the return trip from it, showed no ill effects of jet lag. However, after having been home for a few days, the whole thing came crashing down on me like a ton of bricks. I could not stay awake, even with the aid of cups of caffeine. Finally, as this weekend ebbs away, I am once again my loud and gregarious self, and blessedly not sleep deprived.
So, with a bit of energy in my soul, I decided it was time to get some warm comfort food into my body. We spoke about it, and came up with Spaghetti Bolognese (san fromage). The Vegan version though was killer, if I can say so myself. The base was the usual mixture of onions, carrots, celery. But I added in a few ingredients that I am sure would make a Bolognian roll in his grave. I started by adding in some diced parsnip, and then throwing in some sliced sweet peppers for taste. Of course I then added in a couple of cups of red wine. Once the base was nicely reduced to a thick and bubbling cauldron of goodness, I threw in some soy meat and we were left with one of the best tasting pasta sauces I have made. We paired the Bolognese sauce with some whole wheat spaghetti, which has finally become quite edible. Before the recent improvements in whole wheat pastas, they were brittle, grainy tasting, and downright nasty. Now they are almost as good as their nutrient deficient siblings, with all the goodness they can possibly have (remember folks this is still pasta we are talking about, a pig is a pig even in with its husk on).
As a wine pairing I took out a bottle of Dalton Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2006. The wine was a real pleasure for a few reasons. The most important one being, that the wine was not yet another Cabernet Sauvignon. Not another over the top, over oaked, over extracted (though this had some nice extraction characteristics about it), and over fruity, bottle of wine. The wine is not so complex, as it is unique, a real nice change of pace for a Cabernet Sauvignon, and one that I would gladly buy again.
The wine tasting notes follow below:
Dalton Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 – Score: B+
The nose on this royal garnet colored wine is filled with black currants, cranberry, anise, mint, and spice. The mouth on this medium bodied wine has flavors of cranberry, currants, and mint. The mid palate is packed with acidity, integrated tannins, and spice. The finish is medium long with tart cherries almost bordering on cherry heering (a cherry liquor), almost bracing acidity, and a nice amount of vanilla and nice extracted spice. The wine is not so complex, as it is unique, and really, a nice change of pace from the common over the top Cabernet.
Mevushal Wine Tasting
Thursday night finds me at a tasting of kosher mevushal wines, which were brought over by the Royal Wine Company. It was a nice meeting of friends around a bunch of bottles of wine, all the while getting a chance to taste some interesting wines. Most of them were wines I have tasted before. However, some of them were wines that I did not know existed. Most of them were underwhelming, but some of them were exciting and they are all listed below.
I want to thank Royal Wines and my friends for the chance to taste this interesting array of wines. The tasting notes follow below:
Barkan Merlot Classic 2005 – Score: B
The nose on this ruby colored wine is filled with blackberry, raspberry, and spice. The mouth on this soft medium bodied wine shows flavors of raspberry and blackberry. The mid palate is soft with integrated tannin and sage. The finish is medium long with spice.
Weinstock Merlot 2007 – Score: B
The nose on this ruby colored wine is filled with currants, cherry, and raspberry. The mouth on this medium bodied wine shows flavors of currants, perfume, and earth. The finish is short with more perfume.
Barkan Cabernet Sauvignon Classic 2005 – Score: B-
The nose on this garnet colored wine is filled with cassis, blackberry, and asparagus. The mouth on this soft medium bodied wine shows flavors of cassis and blackberry. The mid palate is soft with acidity that is way off balance. The acid almost screams to the front and throws the wine off. The finish is long with spice.
Baron Herzog Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 – Score: B
The nose on this garnet colored wine is filled with cassis, blackberry, raspberry, and earth. The mouth on this medium to full bodied wine shows flavors of cassis and blackberry. The mid palate is structured well with the right amount of tannins. The finish is medium long with oak, tannin, and anise.
Herzog Cabernet Sauvignon Special Reserve, Alexander Valley 2005 – Score: A-
The nose on this deep garnet colored wine is filled with blackberry, raspberry, oak, and allspice. The mouth on this soft full bodied wine is complex with layers of blackberry and raspberry that flow nicely into a mid palate of integrated tannins and a surprisingly nice amount of acid – given its softness. The softness is clearly not a sign of weakness and the acidity will allow this to age for a couple more years at least. The finish is long with sweet oak and spice. As usual, the Herzog Cabernet SR is a wine you can count on when left with many unknown options. This is yet another wonderful installation in the long and successful Alexander Valley Cabernet history.
Barons Edmund & Benjamin de Rothschild 2005 – Score: A-
The nose on this dark garnet to black colored wine is filled with blackberry, raspberry, cassis, and oak. The mouth on this full bodied wine is filled with cassis and blackberry. The mid palate has slight hints of oak and integrated tannins. The finish is long and tannic with spice and leather. This is a wine that is showing better than usual. I have had it a few times before and was never impressed, this was a nice showing.
Teal Lake Shiraz 2005 – Score: B+
The nose on this dark garnet to black colored wine is filled with blackberry, raspberry, oak, and earth. The mouth on this full bodied wine is filled with blackberry, raspberry, and earth. The mid palate is tannic with nice acidity and oak. The finish is long and tannic with leather and acidity. I have always liked the Teal Lake Shiraz, and this was not one to let me down.
Barkan Pinot Noir Classic 2007 – Score: B+
The wine is not a bottled in a classic Burgundy shape, but rather in a classical Merlot styled bottle. The nose on this ruby colored wine is filled with cherry, raspberry, asparagus, and light earth. The mouth on this medium bodied wine is filled with cherry and raspberry, and earth. The mid palate shows off nicely integrated tannins, along with spice, and acidity. The finish is medium long and has more than enough acidity to make it quite nice. The bottle shape and lower label may throw you, but this is a wine worth trying.
Goose Bay Pinot Noir 2007 – Score: B+
The nose on this dark ruby colored wine is filled with earth, cherry, raspberry, and oak. The mouth on this medium to full bodied wine is almost velvety with cherry and raspberry flavors. The mid palate has integrated tannins, earth, and nice acidity. The finish is long with more acidity and earth. Yet another nice wine by Goose Bay Winery. The wine has a surprising mouth feel and overall structure. This is a keeper for sure.
Barkan Segal Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2003 – Score: A-
No question the sleeper in the wine tasting. I did not know that Segal made mevushal wines, and I did not know that this would be so tasty! The nose on this dark garnet colored wine is filled with cassis, blackberry, raspberry, currants, and oak. The mouth on this full bodied wine fills your mouth with cassis, blackberry and flows into a mid palate of integrated tannins and nice acidity. The wine’s balance and fruitiness make it stand out from the crowd. The finish is long with more acidity, light oak, and tannin.
