Maui, Part 1; Theater Alert-- Hamilton, the musical; Valentine's Day Wines

Maui Part 1

Just returned from a trip to Maui. Me, my wife, my son and his friend all went.  We had a great time. It has been about 5 years and we were reminded how much we love the island. I will have several segments on the trip. Spoiler alert - Hana is a new foodie destination.

Day 1 We took a non-stop flight from Newark to Honolulu and then a short flight to Maui.We rented our car and went off to Kaanapali and to our hotel, the Hyatt Residence Club.http://kaanapalibeach.hyatt.com/en/hotel/our-hotel.html  Kaanapali is a planned resort that has a number of hotels and condos. There is a Hyatt Regency Hotel, Marriott Vacation Club, A Westin Hotel and a Sheraton Hotel.  It can get crowded but you can walk places and the views are insane. The sunsets framed by Lanai and Molokai are sunsational.


 The Hyatt is a brand new time share condo that is next to the Hyatt Regency Hotel on Kaanapali Beach. We had a 2 bedroom, 2 bath oceanfront suite with state of the art kitchen and a huge terrace overlooking the ocean. We paid an intro rate of $199 per night for 5 nights and we had to participate in a sales presentation.

The sales presentation was gentle with no real pressure to buy. The price was $60K for a week in August with $2400 per year maintenance. We politely declined.
The resort played music from 8am to 8pm everyday. It started to drive us crazy. We just wanted to enjoy the view and natural sounds. while the Concierge agreed with us, no one seemed to control the music.
We had one silly occurrence. The grand opening for the building was on a day that we were there and it was listed on our weekly activity sheet and was held in the lobby. We went down at the appointed time and there was food and lots of people. I went and grabbed a shrimp and a women came over to me told me that I was not invited to the event. I had no idea what she meant but she insisted that we were not invited. It was embarrassing! I complained at the front desk and they called the asst front desk manager who also explained to me that we were not invited. I explained that we were staying there and it was on our weekly activity sheet. She still said no, politely. We left to go near the pools and a women who also worked at the hotel saw me and said good night. We had chatted previously and I explained the party situation. She was very upset and went to tell her manager. Several minutes later he came over to me and apologized but told me that they would try to do things better in the future but we were not welcome at the lobby party.
I left for a short car ride and my wife called me an told me that someone had called our room and explained that it was all a mistake and that we were invited to the party. Oh well. So much for Hyatt Maui hospitality. It was all so silly. I was really interested in finding out more about the building and could care less about their tasteless shrimp. We did not take up the late invite. I tweeted the Hyatt Concierge and have received no response.

We ate dinner at Leilanis  http://www.leilanis.com/at the Whalers Village in Kaanipali. It is a nice walk along the beach path that goes along Kaanapali Beach and connects all of the resorts. The path is paved and easy to navigate but one is never more than 20 yards from the water as the beach is not that wide.

We had fish tacos, nachos and a veggie burger with some Maui onion rings. Everything was  quite good and we were right on the beach. A great way to start the trip. We had draft beer to wash everything down, For dessert we had their famous Hula pie. A huge wedge of ice cream with Macadamia nuts, chocolate syrup, whipped cream and oreo crust.

Day 2 Me and the boys went off to explore. We went to Leoda's http://www.leodas.com/ for breakfast. Leoda's is somewhat new and serves locally sourced food. The food was good and reasonable. The boys had the frittata of the day and I had an apple muffin. We then went off to the IAO Valley to see the IAO Needle and to experience rainforest. It was raining so we had the real experience.

 Iao Needle

We then went to Costco for food. The Maui Costco is amazing. It seems to support the entire island. They have mainland prices. Things are so cheap that when you go to a normal supermarket like Safeway, you taken aback as to how much more things cost.
We bought local fish, Ono, Opah, and Mahi mahi. We bought local tomatoes, mushrooms, salad and bananas. Costco has a gas station that sells gas for $2.50 a gallon when other gas stations are selling at $3.50 a gallon. Costco also sells gift cards to local attractions and restaurants at reduced prices. We bought gift cards for a catamaran sail for $75 for a $100 card.

I also bought wine. The Maui store had the best wine selection of any Costco I have seen. I bought an Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, a Sancerre, a French rose, a Spanish rioja and Champagne. We drank well in Maui. Costco makes Hawaii affordable.

For dinner I made the ono and opah (pan sauteed) and we had a Miraval Rose from Provence that I had bought at Costco for about $20. The fish was great and wine was crisp and light.

Theater Alert

We saw Hamilton last night. It is at the Public Theater  http://www.publictheater.org/en/Public-Theater-Season/Hamilton/in NYC and is a rap, hip hop and incredible musical about the life of Alexander Hamilton. Lin-Manual Miranda wrote in it and stars in it and it is brilliant. Brian D'Arcy James plays King George III and is hysterical. It is a must see however the buzz about the show is so loud that the show is sold out thru the end of its run in May. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/08/theater/lin-manuel-miranda-and-others-from-hamilton-talk-history.html   http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/onward-and-upward-with-the-arts There are plans to move it to Broadway but they are waiting to see the reviews of the play. The official opening is February 17.

Anguilla

The NYT's has a 36 Hours Anguilla piece this weekend.http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/02/04/travel/36-hours-anguilla-interactive-map.html?_r=0 As I have been writing for a while, Anguilla is a great place for a beach vacation.

Valentine's Day Wines

For Valentine's Day romantic wines try the following:

 Juve y Camps Pinot Noir Cava $12. It is a deep red and it does not taste like the color would imply. It is dry, balanced, light with good fruit. We drank it last night and I highly recommend it.

Or one could try a Cru Beaujolais from St Amour. Many different wineries. Around $20 and look for 2011 or 2012.

Or try a Chateau Calon Segur from Bordeaux. It may not be inexpensive but it has a heart on the label. Look for an off- year such as 2007 or 2011 for a reasonable price. The wine has decent amount of Cabernet Sauvignon in it.

Enjoy

1. 

2015, The best of 2014, What is an "inexpensive" wine, Wine Tasting

The best of 2014

My favorite wine experience of the year was  "dinner with friends". I cook and we share wines from all over the world. It is really special to able to taste and compare a number of excellent wines. I find it fascinating to compare different wines and I think that it the only way to really determine the comparative worth of individual wines. When you drink one wine it can taste great but when compared to other wines you might not like it as much. I also like to cook for a crowd as I can make many interesting dishes.

On the other hand I need a substantial taste to have a decent opinion on a wine. Big wine tastings are not my cup of tea. About 7-8 bottles among 10 people is ideal. 4 bottles among 4 people is also good but we usually won't finish all the wine.

Atlantic City  We like the Borgata and  the restaurants there. The fact that the ocean and beach are part of AC makes it special. Great Pho is icing on the cake.

Anguilla If you love the beach, great swimming conditions, quiet, good food, great hotels and ease of getting there, then Anguilla is the place. You can't go wrong at The Viceroy, Cuisinart or the Allamanda Beach Club.

Cru Beaujolais -  Love these wines. Fleurie, Morgon, and Brouilly. 2011 was a good year. 2012 is not bad.

Domaine Drouhin Oregon - Love their wines. Visit the winery if you get a chance.

On the Town If you are in NYC or going there very reasonably priced tickets are available. (like $79 for the orchestra). You will love Hildy. Bernstein, Comden and Green and Robbins, Wow!

NJ Seafood The best.

Interesting Article

Lettie Teague had another interesting column in the http://www.wsj.com/articles/flute-glasses-for-champagne-lose-some-fizz-1420764962?tesla=y&mg=reno64-wsj&url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB12274156626456164535504580387494125957292.html  WSJ this week. The column is on the trend of not using flute glasses for Champagne in restaurants. Somms are using regular wine glasses to bring out the real flavor of Champagne. So precious! Champagne is great in flute glasses. What is old is new since there are not too many combinations of things. Before flute glasses Champagne was served in wider flatter glasses. I like flute glasses for wine. I also happen to love to play the flute. Jethro Tull.

Breaking news - What is an inexpensive wine?

The NY Times wine columnist Eric Asimov tweeted that he had found a good inexpensive Pinot Noir for $24. When I responded that when did $24 become "inexpensive" I was taken to task by Mr Asimov and a number of other tweeters.  I realize that it is very hard to find a Pinot Noir that is good for under $25 to $30 but does that make $24 inexpensive.What do you think? Wine is a universal drink not reserved for the affluent. As you know from reading this blog, it is possible to find good wines for under $15 although I agree that it is difficult to resist buying wines that are priced higher. See my next topic for confirmation.

Wine Tasting

My son set up a wine tasting for me. He blind folded me and then let me taste 7 wines with no clues. I correctly identified 2 wines as white and 5 as red. I correctly identified the best wine as a Bordeaux blend (Chateau Suau 2009 $17) and I thought that the wine tasted similar to another wine. It turned out that he had given me the same wine twice. I found 1 wine disgusting. It was a kosher Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile that had cost $5 but recommended by someone at the WL. However I found a white wine (Chardonnay) and red wine(Merlot) OK with scores of 86 and they turned out to be $3 Trader Joe wines. They were quite drinkable but did not taste like the grape on the bottle.

The experience confirmed that I know something about wine - I can tell red from white - but also showed how the price of a wine might influence our judgement. Would I have liked the Trader Joe wines if I knew what they were before tasting?

Wine Spectator Year in Review

The Wine Spectator gave a recap of their year of reviews. They rated an a very large percentage of wines 85 and above. More next time.

Wine of the Week

Melville 2012 Pinot Noir $30. 14% Alcohol. Try a bottle. Balanced and delicious. This is one PN that does not taste like cough syrup.

Enjoy!

Have a Happy New Year

Duck and Champagne

We have created a tradition of Duck and Champagne for New Year's Eve. Tonight the menu is Peking Duck from the Peking Duck House in NYC http://www.pekingduckhousenyc.com/?page_id=86, dumplings, and bitter greens. For dessert, Italian pastries from Ferraras http://www.ferraracafe.com/home.php, chocolates, and maybe a hot passionfruit souffle.

The Champagne will be Delamotte Blanc de Blanc 2002. Will report on how it tastes; I have never had a Delamotte Champagne. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/21/dining/reviews/blanc-de-blancs-champagnes-review.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

I am trying to put together a list of my great wine and food experiences in 2014.

Have a Happy New Year.

BAM, Nutcracker, Christmas

Nutcracker at BAM

We saw the American Ballet Theater's rendition of the Nutcracker at the Brooklyn Academy of Music(BAM). This was the first time that we had been to BAM. BAM includes several buildings and a number of theaters. We were in the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House. The building also houses movie theaters.http://www.bam.org/   The ballet was great. Alexei Ratmansky is the choreographer of this version which debuted in 2010. Ratmansky is the new, young choreographer of the moment. This is somewhat different than other versions but was very well done.  Gillian Murphy was the star ballerina and she was sublime. The second act has the serious dancing and we thoroughly enjoyed. The kids were great especially  Clara, the Nutcracker and the mouse. The music is by Tchaikovsky uplifting and it was a great night.

We went out to dinner after the ballet. We are trying to explore Brooklyn. The theater is in the Fort Greene and Boerum Hill sections of Brooklyn. We walked about 5 blocks and ate at Bacchus http://www.bacchusbistro.com/ The food was OK. I had hanger steak $19 with salad and fries and my wife had mussels with fries $16. We had glasses of French wine for $8  and $10. Prices are reasonable. You can actually drink wine in Brooklyn for a reasonable price. Compared to Manhattan the prices in Brooklyn are cheap. The restaurant had a good vibe although the music was loud.

Wines for Christmas

Lettie Teague at the WSJ wrote an article this weekend about wine gifts. http://www.wsj.com/articles/holiday-gift-wines-guaranteed-to-bring-good-cheer-1419008168 Interesting article that could have been titled "anything but Veuve Cliquot". For Christmas gifts of wine I like to buy wines that the intended recipients like. To me it is not a time to introduce people to a new grape or wine region. For example if  a person likes Chardonnay, buy a Chardonnay that is well regarded in your price range.

From my prospective I have bought a number of California Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons this year since the people I know like the wine. I am not a fan but I am not buying the wine for me.
Some wines to consider are the Caymus 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon $54. I had a taste and wasn't overwhelmed but Parker gave it a 96 and Caymus is a media favorite year in and year out. The price is not bad considering.
Another wine to consider is Oberon 2012 from Michael Mondavi. It is a California Napa County Cabernet Sauvignon and a very good value at $20. I have not tasted it yet but the pedigree is there. Michael Mondavi lost control of the Mondavi Wines to his brother so he opened up a new winery. Oberon is their entry level wine.

Another Cabernet is consider is the 2012 Columbia Crest H3 Cabernet Sauvignon for $12. The WS gave it a 92 rating and the price is amazing. The wine is has great aroma and initially tasted great. However I became tired of it after a glass. I find many cabernets to have no complexity. Tell me what you think if you try it.

BTW 2012 is supposed to be a great vintage in California especially for Cabernet Sauvignon. The prices reflect this as well. I recently saw the Hall Cabernet 2011 for $37 and the 2012 for $120. No difference except the vintage and the ratings.

Vintage is important in wine especially for top wines. However as a caveat, good wineries make good wine in bad years it is just not as good as the better vintages. This fact can lead to some buying opportunities. I just bought a bottle of Domaine De Chevalier 2011. 2011 was not a good year in Bordeaux but Domaine De Chevalier has received some top reviews. At $54 it is not cheap but the wine is a classic Bordeaux estate and in good vintages, it is very expensive.

The experts including Lettie Teague all suggest Champagne as a gift. I love Champagne but my experience shows that it is not a good gift unless you are getting it for me. Most people that I know do not like Champagne that much. You would be better off getting a bottle of Cava for a third of the price. Your friend will be happier as well.

For the wine nerd a 2010 Barolo or a 2010 Bordeaux would be great. However  I would give the Barolo to a young friend as the wine might be ready to drink in 20 years. As I have written previously the 2009 and 2010 Bordeaux wines are great and reasonably priced. I am still seeing a number of very good wines under $25 coming to stores.

Some reasonably priced wines that I like are Monsanto Chianti Classico Reserva $20, Termes from Bodega Numanthia in Spain $22, Melville Pinot Noir $30, Domaine Drouhin Pinot Noir $40, Chateau Retout  2009 or 2010, $18, Chateau De la Chaize 2012 $17 from Beaujolais or try other Cru Beaujolais wines from 2011 or 2012.

Not sure what we are drinking for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.

Happy Holidays to all.

Atlantic City Pho, Thanksgiving, Wine Bottle Variation

Atlantic City and Sydney Pho

We went to Atlantic City again and checked out some pho at Pho Sydney. Apparently Atlantic City has a large Vietnamese population. http://www.yelp.com/biz/pho-sydney-atlantic-city    Pho is Vietnamese soup. The pho was very fragrant from lemongrass and cilantro. It was good but not my favorite. The broth was richly flavored and not very salty. I had rare thing slices of beef in the soup with the noodles.Sydney Pho is very reasonable as our 2 dishes cost about $16. We also had noodles with barbecued pork. The pork was delicious. Grilled flavor with some sweetness.

We stayed at the Borgata again. (they like us) We ate at Bobby Flays and sat at the bar. Paul the bartender is great and he served us the last time we were there. You can order from the entire menu at the bar. We had spice rubbed hanger steak and chopped salad with shrimp. The steak was cooked perfectly and was great. It  was also a bargain at the restaurant at $33. Also ordered a bottle of Maison L'Envoye  Two Messengers 2012, an Oregon Pinot Noir for $66. The WS gave it a 92 and we enjoyed the bottle. 2012 is a great year for Willamette Valley wines. At the bar we were talking to everyone. Someone we were talking to bought us glasses of Fonseca Tawny port and another person sitting next to me let us try his Stags Leap Artemis Cabernet Sauvignon, which was better than I expected. For dessert we had a 10 layer chocolate cake with espresso cream between layers. The cake was light and we really enjoyed it.

 
Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. We had the entire family and I made the usual menu of turkey, chestnut stuffing, spinach souffle, cranberry relish, sweet and baked potatoes, pecan pie and apple tart. This year I added string beans and stuffed mushrooms. The wine was a magnum of Chalone 2006 Estate Pinot Noir, one of my favorites. the wine is fruity but has good acid and tannins and drinks beautifully. We also had Italian pastries from Ferrara's in Little Italy in Manhattan. http://www.ferraracafe.com/home.php including my favorite rainbow cookies.

Bottle variation in wine

I have been discussing bottle variation in wine for a while. Recently James Laube wrote a column on it in the WS. Interesting article. http://www.winespectator.com/blogs/show/id/50917?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=most_popular  I find that many wines taste very differently from bottle to bottle. It could be that our tastes are different at different times but sometimes the taste is so different that it must be  the wine. Have you ever experienced this?

Coming soon some Christmas wine selections  and ideas.

Enjoy.

New Orleans, Arlo Guthrie, Wine Alert

Last tomatoes were picked from my garden this week. November tomatoes in NJ, wow.

New Orleans
I was in New Orleans last week and had a chance to check out some of the newer restaurants and 2 old standbys. I had not been to New Orleans in over 30 years. Not sure how much has changed downtown.I went to Peche http://www.pecherestaurant.com/ for dinner. It is in the trendy Warehouse district.I did not have a reservation but sat at the bar.The place was packed and it was Wednesday night. I ordered mussels with curry sauce $11 and smothered catfish $16. I had a glass of  Sauvignon Blanc, Sancerre “La Baronnes”
Henri Bourgeois ‘13 Loire for $9. The mussels were okay. The flavoring was good but the mussels were not very plump. The catfish was not to my liking. All in all a pretty place and it could be in any city USA. Food was so-so. Prices were reasonable and  the wines by the glass were reasonable and good. The charge on the basis of 5 glasses to the bottle, which makes the price of a glass cheaper. Of course it all depends on how much they pour into a glass.
  Curried Mussels

 View from the bar

 smothered catfish

OK so I felt like I was missing the real New Orleans. So I walked to the French quarter and found Cafe du Monde. http://www.cafedumonde.com/beignets Real ambiance, kind of a dump but the beignets were really good. You get 3 fried pieces of dough  for about $2.65 with tax. They sell beignets and coffee and other drinks. I took out the beignets and the gave me them in a paper bag while they were very hot. Amazingly they were not greasy. The bag showed no signs of grease. I ate 2 of them they were great, lots of powdered sugar.

The next day I figured I was on a roll so I discovered that K-Pauls Kitchen https://www.chefpaul.com/kpaul is open for a deli-styled lunch on Thursdays and Fridays and Saturdays. So off I went with a few friends. You sit at the regular tables of the restaurant but you go up to a counter to order. They bring the food to you. We shared a shrimp po- boy $13, a jambalaya po- boy $13 and some sauce with green tomatoes. I had cole slaw with the po-boy and it was great. It had apple in it and was not creamy. Every thing was really good. The flavor of  the Jambolaya was complex and spicy but overpoweringly hot. I had bread pudding $4 with hard sauce for dessert.The hard sauce was light and tasted of some sort of alcohol, but just enough without being overpowering.

 Green tomatoes with sauce and sweet potato fries.

 Bread pudding

 As I really in a groove now, I needed to find a good dinner spot. I had checked out Cochon http://www.cochonrestaurant.com/and it sibling Butcher http://www.cochonbutcher.com/  the night before and they looked good. Cochon is a regular restaurant but Butcher is a butcher and restaurant where you order at a counter and they bring the food to you. Noticing a pattern here. They cook and season their own meats. I ordered the all-American meal, cold roast beef sandwich, potato salad and apple pie for dessert. Washed it down with a local beer. You can take fresh meat and cooked duck, roast beef , salamis, sausages. Everything looked great and what I had tasted great. Reasonably priced as well.

I had a chance to walk down Bourbon Street. Lots of music and bars.New Orleans did not overly impress me. Not sure what one would do their for more than a couple of days. There is a big casino that was OK. They have an outlet mall on the river. It does have a branch of Cafe du Monde without the ambiance. There is another fancy mall and I guess they have the Superdome. The French Quarter was interesting to walk through but I did not find any cafes or pastry shops to hang-out a bit. Lots of bars.

Arlo Guthrie

We saw Arlo Guthrie in concert at a small venue last wee. He was very good. He is a link to the folk song past, having known Leadbelly, Peter Seeger and obviously, his father growing up. He is a  great story teller and he made 2.5 hours go by magically. Next year he will be doing the 50th anniversary Alice's Restaurant tour. Listening to Alice's Restaurant is a Thanksgiving tradition. If you are not familiar with the song, it around 25 minutes, check it out. A classic song. 

Wine Alert

Chateau Fleur la Mothe 2010. I recently purchased it a the Wine Library for $12.55. It is a Bordeaux from a great vintage. A 90 rating from the WA and the WS. It is 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and 60 Merlot. I have had 2 bottles of it and it is very good. If you can find it, stock up. It should develop for 5 to 10 years. 

Recent Wines

 2012 Kirkland Signature Cabernet Sauvignon Red Mountain    

10/28/2014 - I like this wine: 88 points 

Nice cabernet. Not complex but good fruit with some tannin. A bit tart. Light to medium bodied. Enjoyed the wine with a steak. Might try again. Not a bad value.

 2011 Domaine Daniel Rion et Fils Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Beaux Monts Pinot Noir   

10/28/2014 - I like this wine: 90 points 

Tasted at the WL. Great bouquet but the taste was not up to the Les Chaumes. OK fruit and nice balance. Not overly tannic. A good wine but at $65 probably not worth it. Would not buy.

 2011 Domaine Daniel Rion et Fils Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Les Chaumes Pinot Noir   

10/28/2014 - I like this wine: 91 points   

Tasted at the WL. Nice bouquet. medium bodied. good fruit and balance. Flavor was very nice. Finally at Burgundy that I could appreciate but the price around $64 is steep. Not sure that I would buy a bottle at that price. I might stick with Oregon.  

 2011 Domaine Daniel Rion et Fils Côte de Nuits Villages Le Vaucrain Pinot Noir   

10/28/2014 - I don't like this wine: 84 points 

No fruit; tasted at the WL. Lots of terroir but meh. Would not buy. 

  

 2012 Domaine Daniel Rion et Fils Bourgogne Pinot Noir   

10/28/2014 - I like this wine: 87 points (Edit)  

Good fruit but not complex. Tasted at the WL. One of the better reasonably priced Burgundies that I have tasted. Might buy a bottle at around $24.  

 2013 Domaine des Valanges Mâcon-Davaye Chardonnay   

10/29/2014 - I like this wine: 88 points 

Not bad. Medium bodied with some nice fruit and good acid. Finish is weak but an enjoyable wine. Drank with salmon. Would drink again.  

 2009 Viña Herminia Rioja Excelsus Tempranillo Blend, Tempranillo   

10/24/2014 - I wrote: 87 points

Interesting wine. Tasted balanced with nice fruit but it took a little time to get used to it. It is like 2 wines put together; the syrah and tempranillo. The tasted good but no characteristic that stood out. The wine is boring. Not sure about it being a WS top 100. WA much better description. Not sure I would drink again.  

 2011 Xavier et Nicolas Barbet Moulin-à-Vent Cuvée Vieilles Vignes Gamay   

10/26/2014 - I like this wine: 90 points 

Delicate complex wine. Terroir, nice fruit. Drank with ribs. A good value; an enjoyable wine. Will drink again. 12.5 alcohol. 

  

 2012 Domaine Cornu-Camus Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Beaune Pinot Noir   

10/26/2014 - I wrote: 84 points 

Good mouthfeel in this medium weight wine but little else. Cheap Burgundy is an oxymoron. Drink a top of the line Cru Beaujolais instead and enjoy.

  

 2013 Domaine De Robert Morgon Côte du Py Gamay  

10/22/2014 - I like this wine: 87 points 

terroir and acid predominate. Some fruit; it began to open up after a while; not up to the 2011's; I have another bottle to try. Drank with roast chicken. 

  

 2013 Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc Cellar Selection Marlborough    

10/20/2014 - I like this wine: 87 points (Edit)  

Typcial NZ sauvignon blanc. Nice bouquet, fruity but with good acid.  

 2012 Poggiobello Colli Orientali del Friuli Sauvignon   

10/22/2014 - I wrote: 85 points 

Interesting wine; decent fruit and acid with a different taste; not sure of the grape; would probably not drink again.  

 2001 Reignac Bordeaux Supérieur  Red Bordeaux Blend   

10/18/2014 - I like this wine: 94 points A great bottle. Great color, bouquet and tasted balanced with rich flavor. Amazing it was 13 years old and only 13% alcohol. Gee, and I thought you needed 15% to get flavor. The wine was great to the last drop in the bottle. Drank with steak and baked oysters. Would drink again if I can find it. Reignac is an interesting wine as they make another wine called Chateau de Reignac which gets confused in ratings by most wine publications.  

 2010 Grgich Hills Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley   

10/18/2014 - I wrote: 88 points  

Tasted at the WL. Very tannic, very young, it may evolve but not in my lifetime. Decent fruit but tart and probably should try it again.  

 2010 Faust Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley    

10/18/2014 - I wrote: 86 points

Tasted a the WL.Very young but tasted unripe. Some fruit peeking through. Not my taste. Maybe I needed a bigger taste.  

 2010 Domaine Testut Chablis Rive Droite Chardonnay  

10/12/2014 - I like this wine: 90 points 

Good basic Chablis. Enjoyed with flounder. A little age has enhanced the wine. Dry but enough fruit to make it interesting. 

 2013 Tiburzi Montefalco Colle Scancellato Sangiovese Blend, Sangiovese   

9/19/2014 - I like this wine: 88 points 

Solid, fresh with decent tannin; medium bodied, drinks like a big wine but does not have the alcohol; enjoyed; will drink again.  

 2011 Gérard Bertrand Syrah / Grenache Languedoc Roussillon  Syrah Blend, Syrah   

10/16/2014 - I like this wine: 87 points 

Nice red. Started out grapey but quickly opened up. Very smooth, low tannin. Not that high in alcohol, which is good. Good value, under $10 at Costco. Not a wine for cellaring. Drink now.  

 2013 Corte Gardoni Bianco di Custoza White Blend   

10/15/2014 - I like this wine: 88 points Fruity but with good acid. Enjoyed wine with salmon. Medium bodied would drink again. Not sure of the grape.  

 2013 Les Vignes de l'Aire Côtes du Roussillon Effet Pappilion Red Blend   

10/9/2014 - I like this wine: 88 points 

Nice light to medium bodied wine with good fruit and acid. Enjoyed with a steak. Good value. Would drink again.  

 2012 Pio Cesare Barbera d'Alba 

10/10/2014 - I like this wine: 89 points 

A nice fruity wine with some tannin. Not as light as one might expect. Drank with Italian appetizers at a restaurant in PHX for $40. Not a bad price. Group enjoyed the wine. Would drink again.  

 2007 Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona Sant' Antimo Fabius Syrah   

10/10/2014 - I like this wine: 90 points 

Drank at a restaurant in PHX for $60. Always good to try a wine with a little age on it. A big wine but just enough fruit. Some spiciness from the Syrah. I understand that this is a top producer and that this wine comes from a Brunello region. Drank with pork chop and Italian appetizers. Group enjoyed the bottle. Would drink again.  

 2010 Agricola San Felice Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Il Gregio Chianti Classico DOCG  Sangiovese Blend, Sangiovese   

10/7/2014 - I like this wine: 91 points 

Drank at a restaurant in PHX for $65, not a bad price. Complex wine that developed as we drank it. Good fruit and tannin with balance. Drank with grilled pork chop. Would drink again 

 2013 Domaine De Robert Morgon Côte du Py Gamay   

10/2/2014 - I like this wine: 88 points 

Nice bouquet; initial taste of lots of fruit with lots of flavors however the finish is a short and abrupt. Enjoyed the wine with a roast chicken; my first 2013 Cru Beaujolais. will drink again, decent value at $16.  

 2013 Henry Brochard Sauvignon Blanc Val de Loire  

9/29/2014 - I like this wine: 88 points   

Nice bouquet with lots of fruit; taste is medium bodied, dry with a short finish; enjoyed the wine with flounder; good wine and a nice value; would drink again. 

 2012 Joseph Drouhin Côte de Beaune Villages Pinot Noir   

9/28/2014 - I wrote: 85 points  

Keep hoping to taste a Burgundy with flavor; light, tannic with some fruit peeking out; food helped a little, we drank it with duck breast; not what I had hoped for, no excuses, oh well.  

 2009 Guido Porro Barolo Vigna Lazzairasco Nebbiolo   

9/27/2014 - I like this wine: 90 points 

Tasted at the WL; nice medium bodied with some fruit and complexity; should develop nicely; may buy a bottle as I have the 04 and 05, which are very good.  

 2009 Giovanni Sordo Barolo Rocche di Castiglione Nebbiolo   

9/27/2014 - I don't like this wine: 84 points  

Not sure what was going on in the wine but disjointed and maybe needs lots of time. Tated at the WL.  

 2010 Giacomo Grimaldi Barolo Nebbiolo   

9/27/2014 - I wrote: OK somewhat fruity Barolo. 87 points   

Thanksgiving is coming up and it is one of my favorite holidays and I love the meal. Turkey, chedstnut stuffing, spinach souffle, potatoes and cranberry relish. Pecan pie, apple tart, Italian pastries and maybe something new this year.Wines -drink whatever you like. Beaujolais works great. Nouveau Beaujolais is out for Thanksgiving but it is a gimmick wine. Check out a bottle or 2. Search out Cru Beaujolais for the real stuff. If you would like any recipes, let me know.

Enjoy.

Scottsdale/Phoenix; New wines and new wine critics; Raves for "On the Town"

On the Town on Broadway

The reviews are in and both Ben Brantley http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/17/theater/in-on-the-town-the-city-is-candy-colored-heaven.html?hpw&rref=theater&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=HpHedThumbWell&module=well-region&region=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-w in the NY Times and Terry Teachout in the WSJ gave unqualified raves to On The Town on Broadway.. You heard it here first a few weeks ago. If you don't have tix yet, get them.Go see it!

Interestingly, Ben Brantley and Terry Teachout disagree quite often so their raves about On The Town are special.

Scottsdale/Phoenix

I recently had a chance to eat at Sassi  http://www.sassi.biz/ in Scottsdale, Arizona. I have been there before. The place is beautiful. We had a great table that partly covered and partly outside. It was a beautiful evening. The service was very good and the food was better than  average.

The wine list is large, well chosen and not crazy expensive. We had a 2012 Pio Cesare Barbera D'Alba $40, 2007 Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona Sant' Antimo Fabius $60, and a  2010 Agricola San Felice Chianti Classico Gran Selezione Il $65. The Barbera was fruity and light and very good. The Ciacci was a Syrah from Italy. It was spicy and fruity and it opened up very nicely. The San Felice was complex with good fruit and tannins. It can still develop.

Also ate at Lamp Pizza http://www.lamppizza.com/ The pizzas were baked in a wood burning oven and were quite good. Prices were reasonable. The big surprise was the desserts. They had a ricotta cheesecake that was refined and tasty. It is hard to find ricotta cheesecakes. I make a great one from a Pollio recipe from a long time ago. It is simple and delicious. If you would like the recipe, let me know.

The restaurant also had gelato which came with cookies. The cookies were pignoli cookies without the nuts. Basically almond paste cookies. The had great texture and were not too sweet which can be a problem with these cookies. All in all a pleasant dessert surprise in the desert.

Went to a Costco with wine last week. They had some interesting stuff. Bought a  2012 Bordeaux for 6.99 that was light with delicate fruit. Also bought a Pio Cesare 2010 Barolo for $53 that I have not tasted yet. The WA gave it a 95 but the reviewer was Monica Larner. I have not had any experience with her reviews but I really like Pio Cesare wines..

Wine publications want us to follow all of their scores for wines but I tend to follow the reviews of particular writers at those publications. The Wine Advocate has had a great deal of turnover in their writers over the last few years so read it with care. Antonio Galloni is banking on his reputation at the WA to help him start his own wine publication Vinous.http://vinousmedia.com/ He is charging a decent amount for a subscription which I have not yet paid so I don't know much about his new website.

I find the Wine Spectator reviews of Oregon wines to be useless. They are done by one writer so I try to remember to discount any reviews he makes. My reviews are strictly personal, although I think I have good taste. I do not follow a rigorous tasting ritual although I can be easily influenced by my wife. Bottom line for me is that any critic is not a substitute for your own taste. I use reviews to narrow down the field. I could not possibly see all movies or all plays that come out. However there are several critics whose reviews track my tastes. I will then use their reviews to help me pick my selections.

I also find it impossible to taste lots of wines at one time. That is why I do not go to any of the big wine tastings that are staged frequently. I find that it takes a more than a sip for me to determine if a wine is worth drinking again. These things tend to be personnel so just go with whatever works for you. One other point, don't buy wine by price. Try to understand wine labels and your own tastes. When you go to a wine shop, look things over and try to find a wine on your own. You can also do some preparation before you shop and review what some wine writers are saying. See if you can find some writers that recommend wines that you like and use their recommendations on other wines.

If you go into a wine shop and ask the wine guy for a wine in the $20 range not sure what you can expect. When someone brings me wine, I am impressed by the wine not the cost. Have the courage to go with your tastes.

The weather is still holding in NJ so I am still getting tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and lettuce from my garden.

 Looking for good apple cake recipes. Let me know.

Enjoy the fall.