Twas the Days before Christmas

Greetings Friends

Food and wine is so much a part of my life. The end of the year is a good time to reflect back on great food and wine.
Highlights of my food and wine  year

• Piemonte, northern Italy
• Joseph Phelps Insignia 2006, 2007
• Cooking for friends, family and business associates
• Barolo and Barbaresco
• Chocolate from Teuschers, Zurich;Jacque Torres, New York; Diane Pindar/Donna's Chocolate, New Jersey and DeBrand, Ft Wayne
• Summit,NJ farmer's market produce and fish
• Fresh sour cherries for my sour cherry torte
• Sharing recipes with my sons
• Passionfruit souffle
• Book of Mormon (the play) every list needs to wander a bit
• Pio Cesare Gavi di Gavi

Wines of the week

We opened the Zenato Pinot Grigio and did not like it. It had a sweet finish which was not endearing. But the Charles Smith Pinot Grigio from Washington was very good. Light and fruity.
The Chinon was very good. A rustic red that went well with food.
Opened my last bottle of Wyatt 2007 Pinot Noir from California. I love this wine. Not a light wine but not heavy either. Not sure how other years of this wine drink. The wine is form sourced grapes so it can vary from year to year.
Tried the 2009 Deboeuf Beaujolais Villages and enjoyed it.Light and fruity. A typical Beaujolais.
Malvira Roero Riserva Monbeltramo 2005. This was a fantastic wine. Nebbiolo grape; excellent fruit, structure, intensity of flavor. I paid $32 but it usually sells for more.

I am still working on the Christmas day menu although leaning towards Thanksgiving redux.

New Years Eve means Champagne. Just bought Kirkland Champagne at Costco; $20. Also at Costco bought Deboeuf Jean Descombes Morgon 2010 $12.95. This is usually one of my favorite wines. Also picked up a Bonarda/ Malbec blend from Argentina(never had Bonarda which is also known as Charbono. It is a grape that may have originated in Italy but is big in Argentina)  and a small keg (5 liters) of HB Ocktoberfest beer.$13. Costco's house brand for everything is Kirkland. Kirkland wines have been getting some excellent reviews and they are priced very competitively. I have had  the Champagne before and it is good.

Every Christmas season I have a paella and Champagne party for my tennis partners. It gives us an opportunity to compare a number of Champagnes. It is amazing the different tastes that Champagnes have. More details on the party next time.

Enjoy!

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas

Wine shopping yesterday. I had to make up for staying home on black Friday. Goal was to keep all wines under $10. I was looking for interesting wines, good importers, no fruit bombs etc.
Montgras 2010 Sauvignon Blanc Chile $9.98
Duboeuf Beaujolais Villages 2009 France $8.98
Cuvee De Pena Pyrenees Oriental 2009 $8.98 South France This may be the best deal. The Wine Advocate went ga-ga over this one.
Fritz Windisch Kabinett Trocken 2009 Germany $8.98
Charles Smith Vino Pinot Grigio Washington 2010 $10.98 ( I couldn't help myself; Charles Smith is making some interesting wines. His Cabernet is very good.
Zenato Pinot Grigio Italy $8.98 ( I will compare Italy v Washington for Pinot Grigio. Why not)
Pico Maccario Berro Barbera 2009 Italy$9.98 Drank this last night and was disappointed. Had a touch of sweetness on the finish. I would not buy again.
Chais St Laurent Chinon, Loire France 2010 $9.99
Chapoutier Belleruche Cotes Du Rhone 2009 $9.98
Garciavalo Casamaro Rueda  white wine, Spain 2010
Borsao 2010 Spain 2010 $6.39 My wife loves this wine.

For Thanksgiving I started with a 2006 Chalone Estate Pinot Noir. Everyone really liked it so we had 2 more bottles of it. That was simple. The food rocked as did the family.

Other wines last week:

Merryvale Profile 2006. This wine was a gift. It is a super premium Napa cabernet. It was not a fruit bomb although it was high in alcohol. We really enjoyed it but it is not worth the price. Release price $135.
Anna de Cordorniu Cava Spain $10. Not a typical cava as it is chardonnay based with some parellada.. Liked alot. Nice fruit and balance and light. Drank it with wings and ribs and it worked well. I have been drinking syrah with barbecue.
Chablis Simonnet-Fevre 2009. Got a great deal at $11.99. The Wine Spectator liked it alot so did I. Not as steely as other Chablis' but very good chardonnay. Not much wood if any.
Achaval Ferrer Malbec 2010 Mendoza Argentina.$14. Highly regarded wine. First time for me. This wine is why I am finding malbecs boring. A decent, balanced wine with no terroir.

This past week celebrated 2 birthdays. Made chocolate mousse and hot passionfruit auntylilikoi.com (my source in Kauai for unsweetened passionfruit juice) souffle with passionfruit whipped cream for my birthday and a vanilla layer cake with chocolate frosting for my son. Also received a box of Jacques Torres chocolates. Love them. Recipes on request.

Keep drinking with moderation.