I am a big fan of wines made from obscure grape varietals, or at least from varietals that have not made it to the consciousness of the wine drinking general public yet. Varietals like Tannat, Egiodola, Counoise and Torrontes. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good Cabernet, a Pinot Noir or a Chardonnay for that matter, but I also love the discovery and enjoyment of not so popular wines, which could also be great wines depending on the winemaker and its appellation, but no one knows about them yet, outside of few oenophiles and geeks.
For example, most Americans don’t know about Torrontés, the white grape varietal that has become synonymous with Argentina along with Malbec. Torrontés is a delicious white wine with low acidity and a tropical nose which offers relief from the summer heat when it is served chilled. The technical name for the most common type is Torrontés Riojano. DNA testing has shown that Torrontés Riojano is a close relative of Muscat Alexandria, the ancient grape varietal reputedly enjoyed often by Cleopatra. It is believed that Spanish colonist brought it to the new world, since Torrontés is common in Spain as well.
In Argentina, around 33,000 acres have been planted with Torrontes grapes and that makes about 10 percent of all the white wines planted in Argentina and about 20 percent of all white wines sold in Argentina.
During my last trip to Argentina, I had a chance to taste, once again, many wonderful wines, including of course Malbec and Torrontes wines. During my meetings with various winemakers and winery owners, I was informed that, and my taste buds confirmed this, that the best Torrontes wines come from Mendoza and Salta regions of Argentina. Of course Mendoza is the Napa Valley of Argentina. Salta on the other hand is a wonderful wine growing region as well along with La Rioja, San Juan and others.
Mendoza is the leading producer of wine in Argentina, with its vineyards at altitudes between 1,970-3,610 feet above sea level on the slopes and in the shadows of the Andes Mountains. Salta on the other hand, is 750 miles north of Mendoza where the weather is warmer, since you’re closer to the equator. Therefore, Torrontes wines from Salta tend to be sweeter then Torrontes wines from Mendoza.
What to look for in a nice Torrontes wine? First make sure it is well chilled; between 50 to 54 degrees. Color: Pale yellow color with golden tones. Nose: Intense aromas of white flowers, roses, jasmine with gentle touches of citric fruits and white peaches. On the palate: Vibrant acidity and silky long finish. You may not have all of these elements in all Torrontes wines, but the good ones will have most of these elements.
You can enjoy Torrontes by itself or with Asian dishes or with spicy dishes in general, shellfish or with fruits.
Go out and pick a nice bottle of Torrontes today from your favorite wine store; it should run you between $10 to $15 and enjoy it with family and friends. Cheers!
Tuesday, September 06, 2011
Monday, April 04, 2011
Santa Rita Hills Tasting
I was at the Santa Rita Hills Winegrowers Alliance tasting in Glendale this afternoon and here are the highlights:
• 07 and 08 Cargasacchi Pinot Noirs
• 09 Cold Heaven Viognier and the two new Pinot Noirs “Makepeace” and “Nevertell”
• D’Alfonso-Curran Pinots
• 09 Gypsy Canyon Pinot Noir “Trois”
• Longoria Pinots
• Pali Summit Pinot
• 09 Prodigal Chardonnay
• Sweeney Wine Co. 777 Clone Pinot and 777 + 115 Clone Pinot
• Zotovich 07 Pinot
• 07 and 08 Cargasacchi Pinot Noirs
• 09 Cold Heaven Viognier and the two new Pinot Noirs “Makepeace” and “Nevertell”
• D’Alfonso-Curran Pinots
• 09 Gypsy Canyon Pinot Noir “Trois”
• Longoria Pinots
• Pali Summit Pinot
• 09 Prodigal Chardonnay
• Sweeney Wine Co. 777 Clone Pinot and 777 + 115 Clone Pinot
• Zotovich 07 Pinot
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Pinot Dayz...
Yesterday was the 2nd Annual Pinot Days in Santa Monica. Steven and Lisa Rigisich once again did a great job of putting this event together. However, I am not sure why they limited the trade tasting to two hours. Two hours is just not enough time to taste all or majority of the great wines that were there. In two hours yesterday I was only able to cover maybe half the wineries that were there. Not fair to the wineries and not fair to us, members of the trade.
Yesterday, I focused on the wineries and the wines that I had not tasted before. I love wine tasting events; it gives me a great opportunity to meet wonderful people and taste the efforts of their hard work.
There were three wineries, new to me, that stood out yesterday. Riverbench Vineyard & Winery, MacRostie Winery and Vineyards and Pacific Coast Vineyards were my three “finds.” Not only these wineries had great pinot noirs, true to their appellations, but the people behind the wines were great also; pleasant, helpful and nice to talk with, unlike some other winery representatives, who don’t have the people skill and the personality to be dealing with the public.
It was a good day yesterday; any day one starts tasting great wines at 11:00 a.m. is a good day. So go and visit wine tasting events and wineries, meet the people who’re not only pouring their wines, but their heart and soul into your glass and enjoy. Cheers!
Yesterday, I focused on the wineries and the wines that I had not tasted before. I love wine tasting events; it gives me a great opportunity to meet wonderful people and taste the efforts of their hard work.
There were three wineries, new to me, that stood out yesterday. Riverbench Vineyard & Winery, MacRostie Winery and Vineyards and Pacific Coast Vineyards were my three “finds.” Not only these wineries had great pinot noirs, true to their appellations, but the people behind the wines were great also; pleasant, helpful and nice to talk with, unlike some other winery representatives, who don’t have the people skill and the personality to be dealing with the public.
It was a good day yesterday; any day one starts tasting great wines at 11:00 a.m. is a good day. So go and visit wine tasting events and wineries, meet the people who’re not only pouring their wines, but their heart and soul into your glass and enjoy. Cheers!
Sunday, October 31, 2010
My Picks for Tuesday’s Elections in California
My Picks for Tuesday’s Elections in California
Governor: Meg Whitman
U.S. Senator: Carly Fiorina
Proposition 19: NO
Proposition 20: YES
Proposition 21: NO
Proposition 22: YES
Proposition 23: YES
Proposition 24: NO
Proposition 25: NO
Proposition 26: YES
Proposition 27: NO
It’s time for a change in California. Enough is enough!
Jerry Brown has been there and done that with not much success. He even admitted that he lied and did not have a plan for California then and does not have a plan for California now. Just watch this tape.
On the other hand, princess “call me senator” Boxer has not done much either. It is her policies that she has implementing in Washington that have caused the demise of industries in the United States and shipping of jobs overseas.
As to the propositions, these are my picks. We’re being asked to clean up the mess that Sacramento creates and is unable and unwilling to do the right thing.
For these and a slew of other reasons, I am voting for Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina and for and against these propositions on Tuesday. To paraphrase President Obama, we need change…
Governor: Meg Whitman
U.S. Senator: Carly Fiorina
Proposition 19: NO
Proposition 20: YES
Proposition 21: NO
Proposition 22: YES
Proposition 23: YES
Proposition 24: NO
Proposition 25: NO
Proposition 26: YES
Proposition 27: NO
It’s time for a change in California. Enough is enough!
Jerry Brown has been there and done that with not much success. He even admitted that he lied and did not have a plan for California then and does not have a plan for California now. Just watch this tape.
On the other hand, princess “call me senator” Boxer has not done much either. It is her policies that she has implementing in Washington that have caused the demise of industries in the United States and shipping of jobs overseas.
As to the propositions, these are my picks. We’re being asked to clean up the mess that Sacramento creates and is unable and unwilling to do the right thing.
For these and a slew of other reasons, I am voting for Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina and for and against these propositions on Tuesday. To paraphrase President Obama, we need change…
Monday, April 12, 2010
Weekend at Pebble Beach Wine & Food
For the weekend, we went to Carmel for the Pebble Beach Food & Wine, a grand event in the food and wine world. Of course as you drive north from Los Angeles, there are many wine temptations along the way and we gave in; we picked up a lot of wines for the weekend; some familiar and some new, since we were going to cook there and we needed wines.
A new discovery for me was the Vina Robles Red 4, $16.00 (51% Petite Syrah, 43% Syrah, 4% Tannat and 2% Touriga, a Portuguese varietal similar to Merlot), a bone dry and very delicious red wine filled with blackberries, cherries and currants. Loved it!
On Saturday we went to Pebble Beach for the food and wine festival. This was my first time at this festival, although our friends and family who came with us had attended it before and they have been bragging about it for the whole year. My hat’s off to the organizers. I don’t think you can have a more beautiful place to hold a wine tasting and they had done a GREAT job of putting together a grand event. There must have been five thousand people there along with hundreds of wineries pouring wines and dozens of chefs putting out bite size morsels of their creations.
Regarding the food, I was not impressed with the quality and the creativity of what was being served. I realize that these were mass produced for the 5000 people who were there and the chefs and the sous chefs were working very hard to serve the hungry and sometimes drunk masses, but the food could have been better.
As to the wines, once again, maybe I am jaded and have tasted a lot of wines; I attend many trade wine tasting events almost on a weekly bases, but I was not impressed with what was being poured. Don’t get me wrong, there were a lot of good wines being poured on Saturday, but nothing excited me, with few noted exceptions.
• Donkey & Goat, a small winery out of Berkeley, yes Berkeley, CA, with very interesting and enjoyable wines.
• Morlet Family Vineyards, delicious wines, on a grander scale coming from Napa and Sonoma, with matching prices, but nevertheless wonderful, delicious and classy wines.
• Paraiso Vineyards from Santa Lucia Highlands with their Pinot Noirs and in particular their 2008 Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir was simply delicious; it had all the elements in the right amount specially the nose. It was great.
This was a wonderful weekend to get away with family and friends and enjoyed it tremendously. After all when we are with our loved ones and there is plenty of food and wine, it doesn’t matter where we are. We are blesses and we should be grateful!
A new discovery for me was the Vina Robles Red 4, $16.00 (51% Petite Syrah, 43% Syrah, 4% Tannat and 2% Touriga, a Portuguese varietal similar to Merlot), a bone dry and very delicious red wine filled with blackberries, cherries and currants. Loved it!
On Saturday we went to Pebble Beach for the food and wine festival. This was my first time at this festival, although our friends and family who came with us had attended it before and they have been bragging about it for the whole year. My hat’s off to the organizers. I don’t think you can have a more beautiful place to hold a wine tasting and they had done a GREAT job of putting together a grand event. There must have been five thousand people there along with hundreds of wineries pouring wines and dozens of chefs putting out bite size morsels of their creations.
Regarding the food, I was not impressed with the quality and the creativity of what was being served. I realize that these were mass produced for the 5000 people who were there and the chefs and the sous chefs were working very hard to serve the hungry and sometimes drunk masses, but the food could have been better.
As to the wines, once again, maybe I am jaded and have tasted a lot of wines; I attend many trade wine tasting events almost on a weekly bases, but I was not impressed with what was being poured. Don’t get me wrong, there were a lot of good wines being poured on Saturday, but nothing excited me, with few noted exceptions.
• Donkey & Goat, a small winery out of Berkeley, yes Berkeley, CA, with very interesting and enjoyable wines.
• Morlet Family Vineyards, delicious wines, on a grander scale coming from Napa and Sonoma, with matching prices, but nevertheless wonderful, delicious and classy wines.
• Paraiso Vineyards from Santa Lucia Highlands with their Pinot Noirs and in particular their 2008 Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir was simply delicious; it had all the elements in the right amount specially the nose. It was great.
This was a wonderful weekend to get away with family and friends and enjoyed it tremendously. After all when we are with our loved ones and there is plenty of food and wine, it doesn’t matter where we are. We are blesses and we should be grateful!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Napa Valley Greats!!!
Among the benefits of being in the wine business, besides doing what I love is that I get to meet some amazing people who have dedicated their lives to making the best wines they can make and taste some amazing wines. Yesterday was the annual Taste Napa Valley in Westwood, California. The tasting was appropriately at the Napa Grill in Westwood, where close to 100 wineries were represented and pouring their heart and soul through their wines.
Here is my list of the best wines I tasted; some for the first time:
• 2003 Ackerman Family Vineyards Napa Valley Cabernet
• 2007 Ashe Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Entre Nous, Oakville
• 2008 Ashe Family Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc, Entre Nous, Oakville
• 2005 Atalon Winery Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
• 2006 Baldacci Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Black Label, Stags Leap District
• 2005 Beaucanon Estate Cabernet Franc, L Cuvee, Napa Valley
• 2005 Beaucanon Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Longwood, Napa Valley
• 2007 Blackbird Vineyards Bordeaux Blend, Arise, Napa Valley
• 2007 Blackbird Vineyards Bordeaux Blend, Contrarian, Napa Valley
• 2004 Broman Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
• 2004 Broman Cellars Syrah, Napa Valley
• 2005 Grgich Hills Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
• 2006 Harris Estate Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Lakeview Vineyards, Napa Valley
• 2006 La Hota Vineyards Co Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
• 2006 La Hota Vineyards Co Cabernet Sauvignon, Heritage Release, Howell Mountain
• 2006 La Hota Vineyards Co Merlot, Howell Mountain
• 2007 Peter Franus Wine Co Zinfandel , Brandlin Vineyard, Mouth Veeder
• 2006 Peter Franus Wine Co Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
So to all of you who do what you do; thank you and keep up the good work.
Here is my list of the best wines I tasted; some for the first time:
• 2003 Ackerman Family Vineyards Napa Valley Cabernet
• 2007 Ashe Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Entre Nous, Oakville
• 2008 Ashe Family Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc, Entre Nous, Oakville
• 2005 Atalon Winery Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
• 2006 Baldacci Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Black Label, Stags Leap District
• 2005 Beaucanon Estate Cabernet Franc, L Cuvee, Napa Valley
• 2005 Beaucanon Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Longwood, Napa Valley
• 2007 Blackbird Vineyards Bordeaux Blend, Arise, Napa Valley
• 2007 Blackbird Vineyards Bordeaux Blend, Contrarian, Napa Valley
• 2004 Broman Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
• 2004 Broman Cellars Syrah, Napa Valley
• 2005 Grgich Hills Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
• 2006 Harris Estate Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Lakeview Vineyards, Napa Valley
• 2006 La Hota Vineyards Co Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
• 2006 La Hota Vineyards Co Cabernet Sauvignon, Heritage Release, Howell Mountain
• 2006 La Hota Vineyards Co Merlot, Howell Mountain
• 2007 Peter Franus Wine Co Zinfandel , Brandlin Vineyard, Mouth Veeder
• 2006 Peter Franus Wine Co Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
So to all of you who do what you do; thank you and keep up the good work.
Saturday, January 09, 2010
Random Thoughts!
Why can’t people say “no” anymore? Is it because they are afraid to commit and they think they will come across rude or judgmental.
If at first you don’t succeed, have a glass of wine, and see where the mistakes were and learn from it.
Don’t take no for an answer.
Success is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.
“Your Questions, Your Money Live” is a great show on Fox Business Saturday mornings.
I love reading the Weekend Edition of the Financial Times. Great news, great insights from the world of food, wine, art, music, travel, restaurants, fashion, books, business, poetry; great perspectives from all over the world.
If at first you don’t succeed, have a glass of wine, and see where the mistakes were and learn from it.
Don’t take no for an answer.
Success is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.
“Your Questions, Your Money Live” is a great show on Fox Business Saturday mornings.
I love reading the Weekend Edition of the Financial Times. Great news, great insights from the world of food, wine, art, music, travel, restaurants, fashion, books, business, poetry; great perspectives from all over the world.
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