Portugal- Lisbon and Madeira; Wine Heaven; Part 1

Introduction to Portugal

We went to Portugal two weeks ago and had a great time. We spent 4 nights in Lisboa (why do we change the spelling of foreign places; Lisbon i.e.)and 3 nights in Funchal, Madeira. Madeira is an island that is part of Portugal. It is in the Atlantic south of Portugal, even with Morocco. Portugal is easy to get to from New Jersey. Prices in the country are very reasonable. While we did not see extreme poverty the country is not as affluent as other western European countries.

Portugal is a small country with 10,000,000 people. Imagine New Jersey with its own language , history and culture. The country has had a large impact on the world as its explorers went all over. Brazil is now  the largest Portuguese speaking country in the world.

The wines of Portugal were a revelation. Wines were uniformly excellent and the prices were crazy low. We found good wines for $5 in stores and $10 in restaurants. Information on Portuguese wines is scarce and apparently many of their wines are not exported. Most of their wines are blends of grapes ( 3 or 4) that are unfamiliar. White wines are very good; they were dry with enough fruit to keep things interesting. The red wines were good and they make some great red wines. However the availability of very good and reasonably priced white wines makes Portuguese wine special as I find that it is generally easier to find a good cheap red than white.

The main wine making areas are the Douro, Dao, Alentejo and Lisboa. The Douro is the oldest wine region. It is in northern Portugal.They also make Port from the Douro. Madeira, a fortified wine like Sherry comes from the island of Madeira. The Portuguese are very proud of their wine and most stores and restaurants only have Portuguese wines. The following are some of the wines we drank or saw in stores.

BTW the WS current edition is all about Portugal. However I don't believe that they captured the true spirit of Lisboa as they seemed to concentrate on fancy restaurants.

$15 in restaurant

 Great wine. $22 in store. Not sure I can find it in the US.

Wines to dream about.

 Crasto make some of the finest wines in Portugal.

 A great Madeira.

Some Port at 4 euros a glass.

 A very nice white wine by a top producer. $5 in stores. The WS just gave this a 89.

A really good  red wine by a top winemaker Alvaro Castro.

Lisboa (Lisbon)
Day 1 We flew from Newark to Lisbon via Heathrow. Our flight to London was delayed for 2 hours due to a "catering" delay. Can't make it up. We made our connecting flight to Lisboa by 2 minutes, literally. The flights were OK but United now advertises free food on international flights. The food was pathetic. Bring your own food. You are forewarned. Look at the "barbecued chicken". United should be ashamed.

 We took a cab to our hotel. It was 20 euros. On our return to the airport we realized we had been overcharged. The true cost was about 14 Euros. We stayed at the Bairro Alto Hotel bairroaltohotel.com in the Bairro Alto section of Lisboa. We booked through TripAdvisor for about $250  per night including breakfast and taxes.

They had our reservation and took us to our room. The hotel was great. An older building that has been remodeled. The staff was very helpful and friendly. Our room was on the top floor basically in the attic. We had 2 small window looking out on the square outside. The bathroom was very modern and nicely set out. They gave us free bottled water and a small fridge. The coolest part of our room was that it was 1 floor up to their rooftop bar. The bar had beautiful views of Lisboa and the food was good and reasonable.
The hotel.

 Praca Luis de Camoes. He was a poet.

The food at the hotel's rooftop bar. Caesar Salad.

The view  from the rooftop bar.

Breakfast at the hotel.

We bought 24 hour passes for the mass transit in the city from the hotel and went out. We were very hungry so we went to a new market that houses a number of food stores. Mercado de Campo de Ourique.  We took a taxi there as the trolley was packed. Cabs are relatively cheap in Lisboa as is just about everything.

Lisboa is a really nice city. Prices are very low, things work pretty well and the city has lots of interesting neighborhoods that are quite old. There are lots of hills in Lisboa but there are ways to keep the exertion to a minimum. There are trolleys and there are Elevadors/ funiculars on all steep hills. The 28E trolley is the main tourist trolley though is used by everyone. It takes you to all the basic neighborhoods.

Elevador da Gloria. Notice the graffiti. It is everywhere in Lisboa.

 A steep hill. The Elevador makes lots of sense.

28E Trolley

Anyone remember Lancers Rose. They make a sparkling wine. 2 euros a glass at the market. 

 A food stall at the market. There were tables in the middle to eat.

 Great meats at this stall.

 This platter of lamb chops was 10 euros. We had 6 lamb chops, thin but tasty.

 Glasses of wine at the market were very reasonable; 5 Euros was the good stuff. We also had shrimp with rice. The shrimp were small but firm and with that real shrimp taste. We took the trolley back and got off in another neighborhood.

To be continued.

Recent Wine Purchases

Recent Wine Purchases

Needed some cellar defenders for the summer so I did a Wine Library winelibrary.com visit. I don't think that I have mentioned that the WL did a fashion show a few weeks ago. Sandra modeled and MC'ed. Everything was tasteful and well done. It was a hoot.

Anyway I bought the  following wines. I have tried to explain why I bought them and I think they will make for some great summer drinking:

Adelsheim 2012 Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley Oregon; $19.19, a reasonably priced and very good Oregon PN

Marques De Gelida Xarello 2012, $9.98, Spain, Light, delicate white wine from the area in Spain where they make Cava, uses a Cava grape. Dry but has good fruit.

Jaume Serra Cristalino Cava, Spain, $7.34, Can't beat it for the price, light, refreshing, good with all kinds of food, low alcohol.

Michele Chiarlo Barbera d' Asti 2011 $10.49, Rustic red, earthy, good flavor, great with Italian food.

Di Majo Norante Sangiovese IGT 2013 Dependable red made from the grape of Chianti, medium bodied, fruity but not grapey.

Domaine de la Madone Beaujolais La Perreon, France2014 $11.74 a classic Beaujolais with that Gamay fruit flavor, good acidity, light but flavorful. 2014 looks like a good year in Beaujolais, avoid 2012 and 2013.

Produttori Del Barbaresco Barbaresco 2010, Italy $24.75, 2010 was a very good year in Piedmont. This wine is a very approachable Nebbiolo at a reasonable price for a Nebbiolo, terroir and fruit, not flashy but will improve as you drink the bottle.

Lopez De Haro Rioja Crianza 2010 Spain $9.99 I have not had the 2010 but the 2008 was a great value. Light but full of flavor with great balance. A crowd pleaser.

Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc 2014 New Zealand, $13.33; They make alot of this wine but the 2014 is more delicate and balanced than some other vintages. NZ Sauvignon Blancs are fruity but this wine has good acid to balance and is more refined than most, closer to a Loire Valley SB.

Manoir Firetiere Muscadet de Sevre et Maine Vieille Vignes (old vines), France $11.98 I have not tasted this wine yet but Muscadet are value wines that can be very good, old vine wines can be very good, a seafood wine that is light with good acid. Worth a try.

Nervi Erbaluce Di Caluso, Italy, $15.99, An obscure white wine from Piedmont that I tried at the WL when the owner of the winery visited, good white wine from a grape I have never heard of, fruit and acid balanced in a pleasing package, The winery's Gattinara 2006 from Nebbiolo is great.

Vallanges Macon Davaye 2014 , France $13.98, I have had this wine in other vintages and it is a good white Burgundy. I have high hopes for the 2014 vintage in France, worth a try.

Portugal article to follow shortly. We had a great time.

Wine Stored in the Ocean, Preakness Weekend, Baltimore dinner with Cal Ripken, Recent Wines

Underwater Wine Storage (Can't make this stuff up)

Read an interesting OP-Ed piece in the WSJ. It was written by a winery owner (Jim Dyke Jr of Mira Winery in Napa) who has been told by the federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB)to stop selling wine that has been stored in Charleston, SC harbor.The reason for the ban is the wine could be unsafe to drink. The winery chose Charleston harbor after much research. They needed to find water with the correct temperature, currents and light. The idea is to find an environment in which the wine will age quicker. /http://blogs.mercurynews.com/eat-drink-play/2015/03/20/ocean-aged-wine-may-illegal/
Apparently the TTB has actually issued an advisory on the dangers of ocean aged wine.http://www.ttb.gov/announcements/ttb-announcement-underwater-storage-of-wine.pdf Wow. Wish they paid this much attention to railroad safety.

Baltimore

Spent the Preakness weekend in Baltimore. Found a restaurant that was good. The WineMarket Bistro. http://winemarketbistro.com/ They have a wineshop where you pick out your wine and they charge you $8 to drink it at dinner. We had a good 2010 St Emillion.  2010 Château Fombrauge St. Émilion Grand Cru  Red Bordeaux Blend. The food included Rock bass, shrimp and pork dumplings, fried oysters and charred brussel sprouts. Everything was good and the ambiance was great. We ate  the bar. Cal Ripken was eating there when we entered but we did not notice him.

Summer Wine

The Domaine Drouhin 2014 Rose was great. It is light to medium bodied, great floral bouquet, nice color and lots of flavor but delicate. Their rose is usually heavier. If you get a chance try this wine. It is only available from t he winery.

In the summer we gravitate towards lighter wines. To me a lighter wine is one with lower alcohol but still has lots of flavor.We enjoy reds and white and roses. We drink a decent amount of Cava and Champagne. WTSO has been having Champagne offers with bottle prices from $19.99 to $24.99. I have had a few of these and they have been very good. Champagnes have the highest average rating from the WS so don't be afraid to try low priced Champagne. Remember it must be from France and and say Champagne on the label

Cava's are also a house favorite. You can still find a Cava for $8- $10 and they are light, fruity and fun to drink with most food. Try red wines with fish this summer. Chill the wine a bit. The French drink chilled young Bordeaux in t he summer.

Recent Wines

 2012 La Crema Pinot Noir Willamette Valley 
 I like this wine: 89 points
Enjoyed at Blue Bell Inn in PA. Light, good earthiness, reasonable $54 in restaurant.

 2005 Eagles Trace Latitude 38 Napa Valley  Red Bordeaux Blend  
Really enjoyed this wine. Nice blend, good fruit and acid, tasted just right, would drink again,

 2011 Domaine Lafage Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes Bastide Miraflors Vieilles Vignes Syrah Blend, Syrah   
 86 points
Very funky bouquet but tasted fine, fruit and acid but not up to WA review, Not my fav.

 2010 Chalone Vineyard Pinot Noir Limited release Founder's Club exclusive  
 I don't like this wine: 79 points This wine has been very inconsistent and the source of the grapes is not clear. There have been lots of changes at Chalone over the last few years.

 2010 Château Fombrauge St. Émilion Grand Cru  Red Bordeaux Blend  
 - I like this wine: 91 points  
Drank at restaurant in Baltimore, big wine, good acid and fruit, drank with rock bass, enjoyed the wine , would drink again, $47 at store in restaurant with $8 corkage. Will improve with age.

 2013 Acacia Pinot Noir Carneros   
 I don't like this wine: 82 points  
Not very good, some fruit but nothing much.

 2014 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 
 - I like this wine: 90 points  
This wine gets better, light, good acid , somewhat delicate, good balance of fruit and acid, will drink again.

 NV Philippe Fourrier Champagne Carte d'Or Pinot Noir
- I like this wine: 91 points  WTSO
Full bodied, lots of flavor, yeasty, enjoyed with linguine with clam sauce, will drink again.

 2012 Château de La Chaize Brouilly Vieilles Vignes Gamay   
 I like this wine: 90 points
Nice bouquet, light body but good flavor, nice acid, not much tannin but lots of earthiness, more fruit than the regular bottling, will drink again, the 2011 has more body, not for long term cellaring

 2011 Domaine Bernard Defaix Chablis 1er Cru Côte de Léchet Vieilles Vignes Chardonnay 
 I like this wine: 90 points  
Medium bodied, golden color, acid balanced with fruit, good mouth feel, an enjoyable wine, drank with scallops and oysters, would drink again if I could find it.

 2006 Nervi Gattinara Nebbiolo   
- I like this wine: 93 points
Earthy, tannic but the fruit balances the wine beautifully, light color, nice bouquet, medium bodied but floats, drank with lobster tails and steak, will drink again, a good value, Nebbiolo rocks.
 
 2011 Xavier et Nicolas Barbet Moulin-à-Vent Cuvée Vieilles Vignes Gamay  
I like this wine: 88 points  
Earthy and tasty with enough fruit to keep things interesting, drank with grilled chicken, I would like a bit more fruit but my wife really likes this style of wine, balanced with tannins, might drink again.

 2013 Ca' del Baio Langhe Nebbiolo Langhe DOC   - I like this wine: 87 points  
Earthy, terroir, light, lots of tannin, good with food, could use a bit more fruit, might drink again, drank with flounder, baked oysters and veggies.

 NV Juvé y Camps Cava Brut Rosé Rosé Blend  
 I like this wine: 90 points
Good bottle. Lots of flavor, great color, drank well til the last drop, drank with paella with scallops, would drink again. Bubbles and acid balanced with fruit.

 2013 Domaine Drouhin Oregon Pinot Noir Cuvée Willamette Valley    
 I like this wine: 92 points
Light in color and body, good earthy flavor with good balance of fruit and tannin, actually tastes like a Cru Beaujolais, which is a compliment. Would drink agai except it hard to get and not cheap. Drank with strip steak. Went down easy as we like this style of wine. This wine is only available from the winery.

 2014 Domaine Drouhin Oregon Pinot Noir Édition Rosé Dundee Hills   
 I like this wine: 93 points  
Amazin stuff, fragrant, great color, delicate fruit, beautiful finish, a substantial wine but with great finesse, previous vintages have been much heavier, one of the best roses that we have encountered, will drink again, drank with a whole black sea bass.

 2004 Marquis Philips Sarah's Blend South Eastern  Red Blend   
- I like this wine: 92 points
Bought for my son's birthday in 06 and drank for his birthday tonight, remarkably fresh and smooth, alcohol added some spiciness, good fruit, nice bouquet, aging can create wines that can be a pleasant surprise, would drink again but will never find again, Bottle was signed by the winemaker who had just taken over at Marquis Phillips. Drank with sushi and ribs.  

 2009 Château Fontenil Fronsac  Red Bordeaux Blend  
 I like this wine: 92 points  
Balanced, tannins blended well, good bouquet, enjoyed the wine and stood up to some very good wines.

 2007 Ruffino Modus Toscana IGT SuperTuscan Blend   
I like this wine: 92 points
Heavy wine with rough tannins but drinks a bit lighter as the alcohol is not that high, good fruit, nice balance, nice bouquet, interesting wine, enjoyed with veal parm, would drink again but probably not available, wine is probably at it peak. WS gave this an awesome review.

 2010 Casa Santos Lima Vinho Regional Lisboa Confidencial Reserva Red Blend  
 I don't like this wine: 82 points  
Decent blend, nice fruit but the finish disappoints. Probably would not drink again.

 2012 Château de La Chaize Brouilly Gamay   
I like this wine: 87 points
Light, earthy, needs a bit more fruit but enjoyed the bottle with Arturo's pizza. Might drink again but the old vines version. We visited this winery when we were in Lyon several years ago.

 2013 Beni di Batasiolo Gavi Cortese  
 I like this wine: 87 points
Light tasty white wine with decent flavor and lots of acid. $36 at Fornaletto at the Borgata. 12% alcohol, fun to drink.  

 2009 Clos Troteligotte Malbec K Lys Cahors  
4/15/2015 - I like this wine: 91 points (Edit)
Very nice wine with good acid for a Malbec, not a fruit bomb like many Argentinean malbecs. Would drink again.  

 2008 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon Special Selection Napa Valley  
 I like this wine: 93 points  
Big wine, started out fruity but tannin asserted itself as time passed, balanced, enjoyed the wine, will drink again, nothing can justify the price.  

 2013 Dominique Cornin Mâcon-Chaintré Les Serreudières Chardonnay  
 I like this wine: 87 points  
Tart, crisp white, clean taste, just enough fruit to keep it interesting, drank with salmon, might drink again.
 
2011 Domaine le Murmurium Ventoux Syrah Sublime  
I wrote: 85 points
Ok wine. Nothing special. Balanced with some fruit.

 2010 Herdade do Esporão Vinho Regional Alentejano Monte Velho Red Blend  
 I don't like this wine: 80 points  
Funky bouquet, sour finish, OK fruit, not for me. Drank with with cheese. Will not drink again.  

 2002 Frank Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Winston Hill Rutherford  
 I like this wine: 93 points  
Complex wine with some age to it, drank with friends, spicy,jammy, but more subtle than one expects, cab is not my favorite grape but this wine is distinctive and went well with lamb and spinach pie. Probably will not have an opportunity to drink again. C'est la vie.

 2009 Château Les Grands Maréchaux Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux  Red Bordeaux Blend 
 I like this wine: 91 points
This wine really rocked last night, we opened after drinking a very good Calfornia Cab, this wine had good bouquet, lots of flavor, nice balance, not jammy but lots of fruit, maybe this wine is finally coming around or is their bottle inconsistency, drank with friends, food was lamb brochettes and spinach pie, will drink again.  

 2012 Domaine Drouhin Oregon Pinot Noir Dundee Hills  
I like this wine: 92 points
Complex, subtle and great flavor, drinks easily, nice bouquet, an enjoyable wine, drank with friends while eating cheeses, oysters, and other small plates, will drink again. My friend who professed not to like Oregon PN's, really liked this wine.

 2013 Ghiaccio Forte Morellino di Scansano Vigne del Passero Sangiovese Blend, Sangiovese  
I wrote: 86 points  
A bit grapey, lots of flavor, nothing special, might try again.

 2008 Nervi Gattinara Nebbiolo  
 I wrote: 86 points
Tart wine, a bit funky, light ,more tannin than fruit at this time,the 06 is drinking much better now. Tasted at the WL at seminar with the winery owner.  

 2006 Nervi Gattinara Vigneto Molsino Nebbiolo   
I like this wine: 91 points
Balanced and smooth, medium bodied, nice bouquet, tasted at WL at seminar with winery owner, enjoyed the wine and would drink again except that the wine is quite pricey at $80. Less tannic than many Barolos. Stick to the 06 Gattinara at $27.

 2013 Domaine des Valanges Mâcon-Davaye Chardonnay   
 I like this wine: 89 points  
Good solid white Burgundy; fruit and acid in good balance, medium bodied, drank with stuffed flounder; will drink again. good value.

 2012 Columbia Crest Cabernet Sauvignon H3 Horse Heaven Hills  
 I like this wine: 90 points  
Second try of this wine. Good bouquet, medium bodied, very nice fruit with smooth tannin, turned a bit sour as we drank it but overall I liked it alot better than the first bottle. A very good value. Might drink again.

 2009 Sokol Blosser Pinot Noir Estate Cuvée Dundee Hills   
 I wrote: 88 points  
Interesting wine, spicy but probably due to high alcohol content, earthy with some complexity but the wine lacked something.

Food
First of the year NJ Strawberries today at the farmer's market. Really enjoying them today.

Montclair Bread http://www.montclairbread.com/ is expanding and they have a funding request on Kickstarter. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1561531723/montclair-bread-co They have the best ancient grains bread and they are making the wildest and best donuts anywhere. We still love the basic jelly donut.

We are off to Portugal in the near future and should have some good stuff to report.

Enjoy.

Early Spring Blues; Philadelphia; Barnes Collection; Atlantic City; The King and I

Spring has arrived but slowly. My son is helping me start our garden for the new season. We have planted potatoes, onions and lettuce with much more to come. Interesting article in Consumer Reports about pesticides in food and when to buy organic. The article is a big wake up call. Certain veggies and fruits have large amounts of pesticides. String beans, strawberries, apples and potatoes - buy organic. http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/health/natural-health/pesticides/index.htm

Philadelphia and the Barnes Collection

We had a chance to go to Atlantic City and stay at the Borgata again. We had a good time. The ambiance is still great. During the day we went off to Philadelphia to see the Barnes Collection. http://www.barnesfoundation.org/ It is a new museum that houses the collection of Dr. Barnes. Fascinating story that you can read on the website. The art is jawdroppingly spectacular. Renoir's, Matisse's and Cezanne's galore with Picassos, Van Goghs and Modiglianis thrown in for fun. The art is arranged in groupings that defy convention. I can't believe that I had never visited the collection. It is a pricey place but worth it.

At night we saw America and the Beach Boys. Embarrassing story - we did not know who was playing and singing when we were watching the Beach Boys. Apparently Brian Wilson is not part of the band these days. The main members are Mike Love and Bruce Johnston. We met Bruce after the concert but I thought he was Mike Love. Oh well. The concert was fun and the "Beach Boys" put on a good show. Just wish they had told us who they were.

The Rodin Museum is next door to the Barnes. The Thinker and the Gates of Hell are outside so no need to go in to the museum. It is easier to visit Philly than Paris but the Rodin Museum in Paris is special.

Lettie Teague will be at the Wine Library this Saturday. I won't be able to attend but she is an interesting wine writer. She wrote an good  article on Gavi, white wines from Piedmont in Italy. http://www.wsj.com/articles/gavi-does-a-wine-beloved-in-the-80s-hold-up-today-1428679615  One of the wines she recommends is the Pio Cesare Gavi. I have had it and like it alot.

The King and I

We had a chance to see the King and I at Lincoln Center. The show is great with one flaw. Kelli O'Hara is great, the production is sumptuous  and the singing is great. The one flaw is Ken Watanabe, who plays the King. His speaking is unintelligible and his singing is so-so, etc. etc.The play is worth seeing.

More on recent wines shortly. I have an interesting shipment from Domaine Drouhin coming soon. Their new rose is out and I have a few bottles coming. It is usually outstanding. It is a rose from Pinot Noir so it not a light wine. It is only available from the winery.

Enjoy.

March Madness; The Cayman Islands; Phoenix, Arizona; Bordeaux Vintages

March Madness

It is time for March Madness. Besides basketball it is time to start thinking about farmer's markets and starting my garden. The tournament pools may be very boring this year as everyone will be picking Kentucky. I may start a pool to pick the runner up.

Check out Lettie Teague's article this weekend in the WSJ on sulfites in wine. I have previously discussed this and she reiterates how wine needs sulfites so it does not spoil. http://www.wsj.com/articles/wine-headache-chances-are-its-not-the-sulfites-1426250886 As she concludes, if wine gives you headaches, maybe it is the alcohol.

Grand Cayman Island

I had a chance to visit Grand Cayman Island again. All appears to be good there. The sting rays are still the major tourist attraction and the snorkeling and scuba diving are great. Had a chance to eat at Tukka Restaurant and Bar, which is owned by ans Aussie, and it was surprising good. I had lobster and it was straight from the ocean. http://www.tukka.ky/  Also a thumbs up to Kaibo for its location and ambiance. http://kaibo.ky/?page_id=98  A true happening bar with good food on a beautiful beach.

BTW the local beer Caybrew is still very good. You will be amazed. Try their dark beer Ironshore Bock on draft.http://caybrew.com/

Phoenix and Scottsdale

I have also been able to be in Scottsdale and Phoenix a few times recently. For comfort food try Binks.http://binksscottsdale.com/ Located in a strip mall, it is the casual bistro of the chef who has a much more expensive place a few miles away. Not sure if the menu changes in the summer, but I had braised lamb shoulder with pomegranate glaze. The meal starts out with biscuits topped with butter. Delicious but heavy stuff.

I also finally had a chance to eat at a branch of Pizza Bianco called Pizzeria Bianco Town and Country.http://www.pizzeriabianco.com/locations/  The branch was hidden in a nondescript mall behind a Nordstrom's Rack. The pizza was great. Wood burning oven, chewy charred crust, good sauce and cheese. We also had a salad that was superbly dressed very lightly with olive oil,(I think some vinegar or lemon juice) and salt. The prices are reasonable; $13 for a Margherita pizza.

I also had a chance to eat at  Parlor Pizzeria.http://theparlor.us/ The place is hip and the menu appears to interesting with many healthy choices and fresh food. The pizza does not compare with Pizza Bianco but it is decent and the other food was good. They have a good wine list and we had a
2010 Sottimano Barbera d'Alba Pairolero for $50. It was very good, Earthy, some fruit and good acid.

I also had a chance to eat at BLT at the Marriott Camelback Resort. They have a dessert called Crepe Souffle with Passion Fruit sauce. It was very good. It looked like an omelet in sauce. I love passion fruit and this dessert hit all the right spots.

Wine Vintages

One of the great things about wine is that there is always another vintage. Bordeaux had 2 great vintages in 2009 and 2010 but the 2011 and 2012 years were not that great. There still are a number of reasonably priced 2010 Bordeaux's coming to stores. I have not tasted many of the 2011 and 2012 wines yet. 2013 appears to be a very poor year and 2014 appears better but it is still too early to tell. In great years lesser wineries can have very good wines as the quality is spread around. Thus in 2010 a number of less famous wineries in Bordeaux made some very good wines. As I have been saying for a while, it is easy to purchase a great wine for under $25 from Bordeaux form 2009 and 2010. However I would warn that the same wines in poorer vintages may not be as good.

Willamette Valley wines are celebrating 50 years of wine making and they are having a tasting event at City Winery in NYC. The event called Pinot in the City is on April 14. http://willamettewines.com/event/pinot-in-the-city/

Recent Wines


 2012 Domaine de la Janasse Côtes du Rhône Cuvée Réserve $14.99 Good stuff. Lots of fruit but good tannin to balance. It is 14% alcohol which is not over the top. An Eric Solomon wine.

2014 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc $13.33 with a $3.00 rebate. The 2014 vintage of this wine is light and not overly fruity. It has good acid and is thoroughly enjoyable. With the rebate which expires shortly the wine is a steal. The rebate is good for up to 12 bottles and gets better the more that you buy.

I have also had the Melville 2012 Estate Pinot Noir a few time now and it is very good. The wine is fruity but with terroir and is 14% alcohol, which is light for Melville. It is around $28 in a store and $62 in restaurants.

Maui Part 3; Hana, the new foodie destination

Maui

Day 6 continued -- So we were back in Makawao and decided to go to the Market Fresh Bistro for lunch.http://marketfreshbistro.com/farms/ We ate outside on tables. You go inside to order and they come to your table with the food. The prices are reasonable and the food was very good. I had an ahi sandwich. The salads and other sandwiches were also very good. We had some great brownies for dessert.

 The restaurant is at the end of the courtyard.

The restaurant also does weekly dinners with many courses and everything is from local farms. The only problem is that Makawao is long drive from the big hotel areas and is tough to get to at night.

We made another stop at the Komoda Bakery for some more doughnuts for the trip to Hana. We then went to Costco again to get some more wine and few other things since there is not much in Hana. We were staying 3 nights in the Travaasa Hana Hotel  http://www.travaasa.com/hana/accomodations/and would not have a kitchen. We dropped the boys off at the airport and went on our way to Hana. The Road to Hana or the Hana Highway is not crowded when you go to Hana in the afternoon as most people and tours go in the morning and come back at night.

We arrived at the hotel in around 2.5 hours and checked in. We had stayed there before in their Garden rooms. This time we had an oceanview Sea Ranch cottage room. The hotel is very interesting. It has been there a long time and has had many owners. Travaasa has owned it for about 4 years. No one knows what to do with the hotel. The location is beautiful and the grounds are gorgeous. The hotel can be very expensive but they do have deals at different times. We found a very good deal on Luxury Link http://www.luxurylink.com/inventory/main.php?kw=Hana%2C+Maui%2C+Hawaii&dtin=&dtout=&guests=2 that included credits for dinner, spa treatment and activities. The 3 night package came to $1100 with a Luxury Link discount. Expensive but not outrageous.

The problem with the hotel is that it is not a "luxury" hotel. They have never had TV, radio or clocks and the rooms are gorgeous but desperately need updating, especially the beds. There is no air conditioning which is fine, (there are ceiling fans) but the bed was lumpy and the bedding sparse. I believe that they are slowly upgrading the rooms.

 Our room.

 Sea Ranch Cottages

 View from the room.

Hana is very isolated so until recently there were only 2 places to eat dinner - the hotel's very pricey restaurant and the Hana Ranch restaurant across the street, which is not very appealing. We knew this and came prepared. We brought wine with us and we planned to have room service for at least one night.

On one of our previous trips to Hana we had stayed at a condo with a kitchen and had brought food with us. On the other trip we had stayed at the hotel and just winged it with one night of room service, which was very good. This time, we checked out the restaurant menu and confirmed that we could order room service. Around 7 pm we ordered room service. Our order was a NY strip steak for $50 plus service charge and some bread. The order arrived promptly. Can't make this up; here is how it was delivered.

The steak came in a cardboard box, like takeout Chinese food and the steak was on top of the mashed potatoes and veggies. The gave us some plastic plates. Wow. The steak was good but it was not Maui beef; it was from the Sierra Nevada ranch, so they said. Apparently the restaurant is run by an Italian restaurant in Lahaina. The restaurant menu does not go with the hotel proclaimed style and is also very expensive. You would not want to eat there more than once.

Our wine with dinner. A very good Adelsheim Willamette Valley  Oregon 2012 Pinot Noir bought at Costco for around $23. The is earthy with decent fruit and we enjoyed. I will drink it again.

Travaasa is a hotel group that pushes a healthy "experiential" stay at their hotels. They have another in Austin. I understand that they have no manager on site and the place is just treading water. We love Hana but would much prefer a place with a kitchen. Things cannot stay the same forever unless we move to Brigadoon. (There hasn't been a revival for years) Oh well.

Day 7 -- However, lo and behold all kinds of new food places have been opening up in Hana the last few years. Thai Food by Pranee and Nutcharee's Authentic Thai Food are open only for lunch. Believe or not they are the same place except 2 different people run them on  different days. I believe Nutcharee is Monday through Friday and Pranee is on weekends. The restaurant is a tent like shack in a jungle like area. The food is cooked to order so it can take some time for the food to arrive as the place is packed. The prices are reasonable and the food is terrific. My wife had curry with fish and I had a noodle dish.

BTW Yelp has the best and most up to date list of places to eat in Hana.

One of our favorite things about the Hotel Hana is Hamoa Beach. The hotel is within walking distance of Hana Bay, which is the local hangout and has some facilities. Hamoa Beach is about 2 miles further down the road and is one of our favorite beaches in the world. It quiet, rustic, gorgeous and best of all the swimming is great. Sandy bottom with some nice waves. It can get quite rough. The best thing is that if you are a guest at the hotel they have a house on the beach with changing rooms and bathrooms and there is an attendant. You show up and he provides chairs, an umbrella and water. This is amazing in Hawaii.

The beach.

 The facilities.

For dinner we found out that Hana Farms has pizza night on Fridays and Saturdays. Called the Clay Oven, it off the highway behind the Hana Farms stand in the jungle. There are 2 clay ovens, wood burning and 2 tents for eating on picnic tables. One tent was the "smoking" tent.

 The menu.

 The take-out box.

 Our pizza.

 The wine we brought.

Pizza in the jungle.

 Hana Farms stand.

We brought wine glasses and wine with us. The wine was a very nice Chianti Rufina from Nipozzano. Another Costco special for around $20. Good rustic  taste with nice fruit. Will drink again.

The pizza was very good with a chewy crust and good ingredients. It is hard to get good mozzarella cheese in Hana but they use the best they can obtain. We had a salad with local greens and steak that was huge and very good. The pizza was $17. We sat at a picnic table and had a great time talking to other folks, sharing wine and experiences.

Day 8 -- We drove to the 7 pools which is part of a National Park.  There had not been rain in a while so the pools were dry. We had been there when they were full of water and fun to swim in.

 For lunch we went to Braddah's Hut which is a truck with some picnic tables. We had Mahi mahi with rice and it was very good. Braddah's Hut is only open for lunch.

After lunch I went horseback riding. It was me and the horse guy. We had a great time riding through the fields along the beach and talking. He gave me lots of info on the hotel and the Hana area. The horse was comfy and knew the way.

 The stables.

 

For dinner I discovered 2 more trucks that were open for dinner. They were a short walk from the hotel. One served tacos and the other Thai food. The trucks were very clean and the food cooked to order.

 The Taco truck

 The Thai truck.

 Satays.

 Mahi tacos.

Day 9-- We checked out of the hotel and made the airport in Kahului in 2 hours. We drove in a heavy downpour and the road to Hana was real fun -- downed trees, fog and cascading water falls.

 We were flying to Honolulu for 1 night and it was the day of the Superbowl. With a 5 hour time difference  the game started at 1:30 pm in Hawaii. We took the 20 minute flight to Honolulu and took a shuttle to our hotel in Waikiki - the Marriott Waikiki Resort. Waikiki is Times Square on the beach and it is not our favorite spot. The hotel was big and not very nice. We checked in and since I am a gold elite member of Marriott, they gave us some extra perks like faster Internet, free drinks and 1 free buffet breakfast. They do not waive the $30 resort fee for elite members. Resort fees are rip-offs and Marriott should be ashamed. Our room was basic and had a view of Diamond Head and the beach which is pretty.

We rushed off to catch  the game. The Marriott had set up a few TVs at their outdoor restaurant but they were small and unwatchable so we went next door to another outdoor restaurant at a hotel and it was a little better. Luckily I did not like either team so we just took it all in stride.

We walked around Waikiki, just lots of shopping. The Ala Moana Mall is huge and some of the fanciest shops west of the Short Hills Mall. Apparently it caters to the Japanese as does all of Waikiki. There are at least 3 bus lines that are only for Japanese tourists.

For dinner, we found Dukes. http://www.dukeswaikiki.com/ Dukes is a part of a chain and we have eaten at many of them We also had eaten at this one previously. It is very crowded but it has 2 parts- the beach bar and the more formal restaurant. We only had to wait 5 minutes for a ocean front table at he beach bar. We had ribs and conch with a bottle of wine. The wine was a California Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc from Ferrari Carano for $32, a very good price. We had a great dinner on the beach in Waikiki with a bottle of wine for $65.

 The Marriott.

 Waikiki.

 Dukes famous Hula Pie. Oreo crust, Macadamia nut ice cream and chocolate sauce.

Wine Spectator statistics for 2014.

Ever year the Wine Spectator publishes their statistical round-up of their reviews from the previous year. They reviewed 17,643 wines. The average price of wines that they reviewed was $80. 1% of the wines received a 95 -100; 31% received 90-94;  57% received 85- 90 and 10% received 80-84 and 1% received less than 80. Wine apparently is getting expensive and the quality is unbelievable if you believe the WS. Best quality wines were Champagnes as 87% of Champagnes reviewed received a 90 or better. Washington and Oregon wines were rated very  high.

The worst wines rated were California Merlots and Other US wines meaning other than California. Oregon, New York and Washington.

Coming soon Scottsdale and the Cayman Islands updates. I will also have detailed wine reviews in the coming weeks.

Theater tip; Kelli O'Hara  and Ken Watanabe are starring in the King and I at Lincoln Center this Spring. Previews start March 12. I am hoping it will be great. http://www.lct.org/shows/king-and-i/?gclid=CIPT9bXph8QCFeFj7AodBigAoA Kelli O'Hara's last 2 musicals (Far from Heaven and The Bridges of Madison County) have not been my cup of tea but she is great.

Enjoy. Our winter is not ending here in NJ. It is snowing as I write this.