Villa Maria Marlborough Pinot Noir 2006

I picked this wine up fairly randomly at the local wine store. I've been reading some books, and I keep seeing how good and reasonably priced New Zealand wines can be, so I thought I should give it a shot. The store had 4 or 5 pinot noirs from NZ, and this one was priced in the middle, at $22.

The color is a standard pinot pale purple, quite nice to look at it.
Really nice nose, with ripe fruitiness of cherries and plums and some tart cranberry (very seasonal). There's also some smokiness in the background.

The taste is tart but not at all sour, and very pleasant. Sour cherries, a little cola taste. Really elegant. The word "zippy" comes to mind too.

We had this with pizza, which maybe pushed the wine a little too much to the tart side, but on its own and with the salad it was delicious. This is a beautiful wine. I went back to the wine store and bought a few more bottles, just to have on hand.

I actually mentioned this one in another post but there I thought it was from 2008. I asked at the wine store what they'd had from this producer and they said they only had 2006, so I must have been mistaken. As far as NZ wine goes, what they are really known for is sauvignon blanc, but that's not my favorite varietal. I've also heard that chardonnay from NZ can be amazing, but I haven't had a chance to try it yet.

Bear Republic Racer X Double IPA

There's a fun beer app that I've got on my phone called Untappd. It's got some social networking aspects, but mostly I use it to keep track of beers that I've had. You can also get little accomplishments, called badges, for things like drinking a certain number of Irish beers having a beer in a particular place. There's a "special" category of badges which are only available for a limited time. There was one for Racer X at the end of October. When I saw it at the grocery store, I picked it up, but when I checked the app, it looked like that was the last day to get the badge, and I wasn't really in the mood for beer, so I stuck it in the fridge to enjoy later. When I decided to have it a few days later, I checked into the beer on Untappd and I was happy to see that the badge was still available, so it all worked out.

Actually, it really did all work out. This is my kind of double IPA. There's a strong malt backbone with caramel notes topped off with lots of hops. It's very well balanced, and that's perfect for me. Too bad it's seasonal because I think I like this better than the standard (and really easy to find) Racer 5 IPA.

Is it a coincidence that great wine-making regions are also great at making beer? There's Firestone Walker in Paso Robles, Anderson Valley Brewing Company, and in and around Sonoma County, there are three amazing breweries with Bear Republic in Healdsburg, Russian River in Santa Rosa, and Lagunitas in Petaluma. My next trip to Sonoma I plan to go to Lagunitas, which we skipped before, and I need to plan a trip further up to Anderson Valley to check out both their wine and their beer in person.

Crios Malbec red blend 2012

I'm not very familiar with either wine from Argentina or Malbec, so tasting this was a little outside of what I usually have. I have had some Malbec before, either from Argentina or California, but I haven't had enough of it to really form an opinion about it. I was interested in this bottle because in addition to 40% Malbec, it also has 40% Bonarda (plus 15% Tannat and 5% Syrah). I did a little research and I discovered that the grape called Bonarda in Argentina is known as Charbono in the US, where it's fairly uncommon. However, I have had Charbono before, at Sarah's Vineyard in Gilroy, and I really liked it.  This wine only cost about $14 at my local wine shop, so I thought it was worth a try, and it definitely wasn't a mistake.

The wine pours a pretty dark purple color, with a very fruity nose of stewed strawberries, vanilla, and orange peel. The nose made me think it would be bold and fruit forward, which is exactly right. The taste was fruity but not jammy. The wine is young, and it was pretty tannic, and there was a slightly bitter aftertaste. I had another glass after about an hour, but I couldn't tell that it opened up much, so I think you just get what you get from this wine. It was still very pleasant and easy to drink. I had it with beef tacos and it worked out well, and I'd guess this wine can be enjoyed with just about any meal.

My research on the varieties in this wine turned up that Malbec ("bad mouth" in French) is so-named because in its native Bordeaux, where it is one of the 5 permitted red varietals, it doesn't actually taste very good and so is grown in only very small amounts. It's not really known why Malbec was planted in Argentina, but it's good thing that a grape that doesn't get much love at home has become such an important part of wine growing in other parts of the world.

Talbott Logan Chardonnay 2012

I went to the Talbott tasting room when we went wine tasting in Carmel Valley earlier this year. It had a huge 3-sided bar in the middle of the room, with antique cars and motorcycles along the walls. It was a beautiful day outside, so we spent the tasting out on the ample patio, only venturing back in for the next taste on the list. Talbott really only makes two varietals - Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. We didn't buy anything that day at the tasting room, mostly because you can find their lower end wines at stores pretty easily, and their higher end wines, while delicious, are pricy.

The Logan Chardonnay is sort of the mid-range. It's not as inexpensive as the lowest end, the Kali Hart, but at $20 at Bay Area grocery stores, it's still very reasonable. The higher end, Sleepy Hollow, is usually around $35, and there are some that are even higher than that. At the tasting room, where we got to compare them all side by side, I thought the Logan was by far the best bang for the buck.  It pours a lovely light golden color. The nose is bright, you just want to dive right in. Really nice and floral, with honeysuckle notes, and fruity with pear and kiwi. The taste is tangy with a long finish. It reminds me of lemon meringue pie. This is one of my favorite Chardonnays, especially given that it's not expensive and is easy to find.

Completely unrelated - I was planning on writing a blog post about New Zealand pinot noir today, since I had one a few weeks ago that was excellent and I was really excited about them. But then I had one that was nothing special, and I had one yesterday that I found basically undrinkable. So now I'm wondering if the first one was a fluke, or if the other two were just duds. The one I liked was Villa Maria 2008. 

Samuel Adams Third Voyage Double IPA

The Boston Beer Company (aka "Sam Adams") is a great beer company. They are, by definition, the largest craft beer company in the United States. However big they get, that's how big the biggest craft beer company is. The other craft beer companies agree to this status because Sam Adams does so much to help out the smaller guys. Similar to Sierra Nevada and other big beer companies, they use their flagship Boston lager to make lots of money so they can release small batches of other things. Now, I like Sam Adams as a company and respect what they do, but I'm not always blown away by their beers. I think they can be a little boring.

Fortunately, this Third Voyage Double IPA is not boring at all, and it's actually pretty good. I bought it in a 4-pack of 22 oz bottles at Costco. The other three were gose, imperial white, and honey beer. I thought the imperial wit was good, but I didn't care for the other two. The Third Voyage pours reddish-pale, a little darker than most double IPAs, with a 2-finger head. It's not too hoppy on the nose, just a hint of citrus, but more notes of caramel. The taste is hoppier, with a bright citrus and faint pine notes, but a really big malty backbone of caramel and toffee.

As far as double IPAs go, this is the kind I like, with some structure that's not just hops dialed up to eleven. I'm not sure if you can get it outside the 4-pack, but if I saw it on its own, I'd buy another bottle of it. If I saw the imperial white on its own, I'd definitely buy it.

Since the holiday season is coming up, Sam Adams will soon be releasing their holiday variety pack, if it's not been released already. For the past few years it has included some beers that I liked a lot. One is the Old Fezziwig Ale. The other is Chocolate Bock. I don't really like either the Boston lager or the standard seasonal winter lager, but the variety pack is worth buying just for these two, if they are in it this year.

Creekview Melodious 2009

I think it was while I was drinking wine from Creekview that I realized there are a lot of kinds of wine out there, and while someone might personally enjoy some more than others, they can all be appreciated. The first time I went to Creekview, I tasted a bunch of wines - at least 7 or 8. And I enjoyed every single one of them. I went back again a while later, and even though the wines weren't all the same, I had the same sort of experience. Both times they had a Bordeaux blend that really knocked it out of the park. They're still doing it with Melodious.

As I've mentioned before, a Bordeaux blend is a mix of the traditional varietals of the Bordeaux region in France. The St. Francis wine that I reviewed before was mainly petit verdot and malbec. This one is a little more standard, with more cabernet sauvignon than anything else, but there's no single varietal that dominates. I like that there's at least 10% of each of the 5 grapes. I've heard it said that a Bordeaux blend shouldn't be "just another Cab" and I agree. Blends are great because they can really have a synergy going and let the winemaker express something interesting.

This one has a beautiful nose, it's smoky and oaky and has a lot of black cherry. It fills the mouth really well, no holes anywhere. There's some vanilla and almond and it's nicely tannic. I'm having it with cheese and crackers, and the tanginess of the cheese is bringing out something that tastes a little like toast and jam, but the wine isn't jammy at all. 

Creekview is in St. Martin, on the south end of the Santa Clara Valley. Before Prohibition, the whole valley was a big area for vineyards, but now pretty much the only ones left are around Gilroy. The winery has a beautiful patio area with walkways through the vineyard. They're only open the 3rd weekend of each month, and you're almost guaranteed to meet the winemakers since they operate the winery behind their house.  You can do an afternoon of wine tasting in this area less than an hour's drive from San Jose, and some of the wineries are really top notch. Others in the area that I like are Sarah's, Aver, and Sycamore Creek.

Dawn's Dream Carmel Valley Pinot Noir 2010

The wineries around Carmel Valley and the Santa Lucia Highlands are known for Burgundy-style wines of pinot noir and chardonnay. The tasting list at Dawn's Dream included 5 different pinots. They started out very light and fruity and gradually became more full-bodied and complex. The Carmel Valley 2010 was the 4th of the 5 we tasted that day. They were all very good, but this one really jumped out at us.

It pours a pretty color, not super dark but not as light as you see with some pinots. The nose is strawberries, canteloupe, and roses. The floral note is fairly subtle but adds a nice elegance. The taste is really silky with a long finish especially in the mid-palate. There's a touch of spice and tobacco, and lots of strawberry and some cranberry. It's not a delicate pinot, but it hits all the right notes for me with elegance, the medium body, and the long finish. We had this wine with roasted chicken and it was a nice pairing.

When we went wine tasting in Carmel Valley, there were only a few wineries we had planned to visit in advance. The town is really small, and there are a lot of wineries basically next door to each other all the way down the road. We got a recommendation from one place to go to Joyce, and at Joyce they recommended Dawn's Dream. Both were really nice, and I liked that they had different styles. Joyce had a pinot noir as well (it's got to be on the list for wineries there), but they also had a good Riesling and a good Merlot. Then it was nice to head to Dawn's Dream to see what different kinds of style you can get even within the same varietal. Learning what different winemakers like to do is something I really enjoy about visiting small wineries like these.

Regional Wine Week - South Bay area

October 6-12 is Regional Wine Week, and it seems like a good time to highlight some of what I love so much about the local wineries here in the South Bay area. You may be thinking, "Come on, it's still California, that's not very 'regional.'" Well, I disagree--not that it's California, that's true enough, but it certainly is regional. When I bring up a wine tasting trip with friends, they often think that means driving up to Napa Valley, as if that's the only place worth talking about. Here are a few reasons why wineries in the San Jose vicinity deserve some consideration.

First, they're really close to home! Sure, I can drive 2+ hours to get to Sonoma, Napa, or Paso Robles, but I can drive less than an hour to get great wine from the Santa Cruz Mountains and Santa Clara Valley. There are wineries and tasting rooms in Saratoga, Sunol, San Martin, Los Gatos (among many others) and even downtown San Jose. If you want to get away from it all, there's no shortage of wineries to visit out in the hills at the end of long winding roads where chances are pretty good you won't have mobile service.

Second, there are options for all tastes. You like delicate pinot noir? Try Hallcrest (they have a pinot-only wine club option). Maybe big juicy zinfandels are more up your alley. Satori Cellars has some very nice ones. Perhaps you are interested in something a little different. Check out the pinotage at Loma Prieta or the charbono at Sarah's Vineyard. And let's not forget the whites--the area produces excellent chardonnay, such as those at Cinnabar and Creekview, and MJA has some of the best sauvignon blancs I've ever had.

Third, you don't have to break the bank. It seems like the more well-known a region is, the more they charge for the wine, or even just the tasting experience. There are a ton of South Bay wineries that offer a tasting for $5, which is usually waived with a purchase. And the wines themselves are very reasonable. Some of my local favorites are under $20. I'm also a lot more tempted to join the wine club of a local winery. I can go to pick up my wines in person, so I don't have to pay shipping costs, plus it gives me an excuse to visit on a regular basis.

Fourth, there are some famous names here, and they help lift up the little guys. Ridge is a big winery, no doubt. Their most celebrated vineyard, Monte Bello, is at the top of a hill outside of Cupertino. If you go visit Ridge (and you should, the view is amazing), you have to drive past a couple of smaller ones on the way. Why not stop in for a tasting? Bonny Doon is a well-known name in Santa Cruz. They have a tasting room and restaurant in town that's in the same center as several other wineries. So go check out the famous players, but drop by the small wineries too. They'll be very glad to have you, and you might find a new favorite.

In short, if you live near San Jose, you love wine, you haven't tried any of the local wineries, what are you waiting for? Consider this your engraved invitation.

Seghesio Sonoma County Zinfandel 2011

When we went wine tasting in Sonoma County earlier this year, Seghesio Family Vineyards was a recommendation from some friends. Their tasting room is in Healdsburg. We didn't get there this year, but I noticed that Seghesio zinfandel is available by the glass just about everywhere in Healdsburg and Santa Rosa, and it's not hard to find down here in the South Bay either. About a month ago I noticed this bottle at Costco for $20, so I decided to get it to see what all the fuss is about.

As it turns out, this wine is good if big fruity zins are your thing. For $20, it wasn't much of a risk. The color is dark, but not deep dark. It was promising. The nose is really fruity, full of plums, ripe berries, and vanilla. The taste follows through on all of this - it's a fruit bomb. Very bold and full-bodied, and the flavor coats the tongue. This is a good example of this style. It's not subtle. The fruitiness is in-your-face, but it's not at all unpleasant. It went well with homemade pizza.

I've had a number of California zinfandels, and more often than not, they feature the big fruity notes. I like that, and I think the Seghesio avoids falling into so fruity it's jammy, which is just a little too far for me. Compared to other zins that are very similar, $20 is a really good price. If you see it at Costco, or you're in Healdsburg, give them a try.

Sierra Nevada Beer Camp #94 Black IPA

Black IPA is a trendy sort of beer style. Before a few years ago, they were more experimental and something interesting for brewers to play around with, but with the explosion in popularity of IPAs in particular and craft beer in general, they're becoming something that many breweries offer. I've reviewed a couple of other black IPAs before (Wookey Jack and Back in Black), let's see how this one compares.

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. is best known for their pale ale, which is a great example of the taste of cascade hops. Sierra Nevada pale ale is easy to find, and even at the saddest convenience stores you can often find it beside the Coors Light and Corona. I should do another post one of these days on the standby craft beers. Anyway, Sierra Nevada is still an innovative craft brewery, and the success of their flagship beer allows them to have limited release brews for beer fans to try. Every year they release a handful in the Beer Camp series, mostly on draught, but with some available in 22 oz. bottles. I got this one at Costco, and the label says "Belgian-Style Black IPA".

The beer pours very dark with a big foamy head. The nose is pleasant and fruity. I'd know it was Belgian-style from that alone. There's nothing that screams out IPA or stout to me. First sip - big taste, again, fruity, and not really bitter or roasty at all. At the finish, the hops come through a bit, and it's a little bitter on the tongue at the end. It's very nicely balanced and super drinkable. I wish I had more bottles of it.

How does it compare to the others? Well, I thought Wookey Jack was too hoppy and not anything else. Back in Black is a great beer with a good blend of piney hops and coffee notes. The Beer Camp #94 is something different. It's not really very hoppy, nor is it very roasty. It's more like a Belgian-style strong ale, and I think that's a great style and relatively hard to find (and when you can find it, the bottles are usually expensive). At 7.7% it does have the higher alcohol content of beers these days, but what are you going to do?  I suggest you sit back, pour a glass of this beer, and enjoy.

Cantillon Rose de Gambrinus

My local beer store sometimes holds drawings for the opportunity to buy rare beers. Last week, they had a drawing for the Rose de Gambrinus, a raspberry lambic from Belgium. I like sour beers and lambics, so I thought, why not?  A few days later I got an email that I'd been selected, so I went down to the store to pick it up, and I was a little astounded that it cost $15.99 for a 12 oz. bottle. Of course I went ahead and bought it. I'm used to sour beers costing more than other types, but this is a little ridiculous. I guess it's for the novelty of the thing, and how hard it is to get.

The bottle came both with a cap and a cork. The cork was a little tough to extract. I almost broke the cork while I was pulling it out, but I managed. The beer pours pink and fizzy. It looks more like strawberry soda than beer. It has a super fruity nose, like raspberries, but with a citric note too.

The taste is really tart. Super tart. But in a mouth-watering sort of way. It reminds me of the way a tart lemonade leaves you a little thirsty, so you drink more. Lambic is made by letting the cooled wort (basically, the unfermented beer) stay open in the brewery and ferment from whatever yeast or bacteria happen along. The raspberry flavor is from fruit or syrup that's added to the brew. I didn't actually detect a lot of fruitiness in the taste, but the nose is beautiful.

I'm glad I got a chance to try this. I think this is only the 2rd or 3rd time I've had a true lambic, and it was interesting to get to compare to other types of sour beers that I've tried more recently. It compares very favorably. At $16, it's a little steep to go for again very soon (and I probably wouldn't get the chance anyway, considering how I got this bottle), but it's always worth it to me to try something new. If you want to try a sour beer that's a little cheaper and easier to come by, try Duchesse de Bourgogne. If you ever see a Russian River sour beer in the bottle at the store, definitely buy one.

Campari Cocktails

Even though I haven't blogged much about cocktails, I do enjoy drinking them. I also enjoy reading about cocktails and what's in style at any given time. My tastes have evolved over the years and I've found that keeping an open mind about cocktails has helped me find new things to enjoy. For instance, I used to like apple martinis, and I ordered them pretty frequently. I've still got some apple vodka from those days. But at some point I started finding them too sweet and not at all complex, so I moved on to the dark and stormy and old fashioned, drinks I'd read about and once I finally tried them, found that I liked them quite a lot. Today I'm exploring some cocktails with a bitter component. Bitter is a flavor that people sometimes need to get used to, but there is a whole world of bitter ingredients out there once you're open to trying them.

Campari is a bitter Italian liqueur. It has a bright pink color, so it looks like it should be sweet and syrupy. It is a little syrupy, but there is a bracing bitterness that you don't expect. There are two well-known cocktails where Campari has a starring role - the Americano and the Negroni.

Americano

The American is equal portions Campari and sweet vermouth, topped up with club soda. Today I'm using San Pellegrino. Apparently in the James Bond novels, this was Bond's favorite cocktail before he became a vodka martini man. The cocktail is a very pretty color - pink at the bottom with a nice gradient to clear at the top. There's no nose at all. The first sip I had before stirring, and it just tasted like the San Pellegrino. After stirring, it's different. Bittersweet, like grapefruit juice. Bright and refreshing. It tastes rather sophisticated but it's a simple drink to make with the right ingredients. Most recipes call for a twist or a slice of orange, but I don't have one, so I'm doing without. 

Negroni

The Negroni is equal portions Campari, sweet vermouth, and gin. It should be served with an orange twist but again, I don't have one, so I'll just have to imagine what orange rind would be bringing to the party. It looks like a vodka and cranberry. It doesn't taste like one. The nose is all gin pineyness. Maybe that's because of the gin I'm using, Tanqueray, but I'm not sure. The taste is similar to the Americano, but with the evergreen notes from the gin. It's a stronger drink, and a little sweeter. 

Of the two, I prefer the Americano, and I'd drink it again. I don't really like gin, but I thought I'd give the Negroni a chance. I can see why people like it. It's a very adult sort of beverage. I like that the Americano isn't that strong. It seems like a nice drink when you don't want to get wasted, but you still want to enjoy what you're drinking. It's not like when I have a gin and tonic, which is something I order when I don't really want to drink at all, but I also don't want people constantly bothering me for not having anything. My tastes will continue to evolve, and while I don't know where they are headed, the Negroni is something I will revisit again someday, maybe with a different gin.

Red Branch Hard Lemonade

There is a very unassuming little bar in Sunnyvale called Rabbit's Food Meadery. I first went there about a year ago with some coworkers because I read the outstanding reviews on Yelp and we were curious what all the fuss was about. They offer a tasting of a few different meads, beers, and hard ciders for about $5, so we all tried that. Everything they had was good, but what really blew us away was the cider. They usually have 2 or 3 different ciders on tap and they sell 500 ml bottles. My husband has never even been to the bar, but he's hooked on the hard apple cider, which they sell at Jane's Beer Store and Savvy Cellar in downtown Mountain View.

I was at the bar last week with coworkers again, and I had the last of the peach cider on tap. I also took a few bottles to go, including the hard lemonade. Today we opened it up and if the only hard lemonade you ever had was Mike's, you are in for a treat. There is a base of apple cider, which provides fruitiness and a little sweetness. Then there's a tart lemon flavor on top of it. Red Branch cider is already one of the less sweet ciders I've had, which is something I really like about it, but this extra tartness in the lemonade is really nice.

They make these ciders with honey, and they are able to make them stronger than you might think, around 7%. The problem is, they don't taste like they have that much alcohol in them. They go down like juice, actually, so you have to be thinking about that when you drink them. Otherwise you'll get into trouble. If you live in the area, check out the meadery, taste everything they have, then buy Red Branch cider whenever you see it. This is great local stuff.

Hook & Ladder Estate Sangiovese 2010

In April we decided to do something we hadn't really done before - go wine tasting in Sonoma. Crazy, huh? We often go to wineries in the Santa Cruz mountains and the Santa Clara valley, those are basically our backyard. We've been to Paso Robles and Carmel Valley and the Santa Lucia Highlands, but aside from stopping at St. Francis, Sonoma wasn't a place we'd ever gotten around to. Preparing for a tasting trip in Sonoma is daunting. There are tens, if not hundreds, of wineries you can visit, either that are open on weekends or you can call ahead for an appointment. I asked some friends for advice, and they suggested a place in Russian River Valley. We weren't really impressed with it, but I'd seen good reviews for Hook & Ladder, which was right down the street, so we decided to go there next.

One really nice thing about Hook & Ladder is that they offer free tastings. They had several wines available, and they were happy to let us try as many of them as we wanted. That's pretty rare these days, when tastings can sometimes cost $10 or $15 and they only let you try 3 or 4 wines. The tasting room is decorated with firefighter t-shirts from around the world. We met a couple on vacation from Florida who came to this winery specifically because one of them was a firefighter.

The Hook & Ladder Sangiovese is good.  The nose is just lovely, like a new leather wallet. Also some smoke and fruit that reminded me of darkness. The taste was a little jammy at first but that softened up after a while. On the heavy bodied side for the varietal, but with a short finish. Sangiovese is an Italian varietal, so we had it with spaghetti and it was a nice pairing. Before every sip of this wine, I continued to really enjoy that nose. This is a nice table wine. I think we paid about $25 per bottle.

As for Sonoma, we went to a few places in the Russian River Valley and Dry Creek Valley, and here's a list of some we liked the most:

• Iron Horse - they specialize in sparkling wine
• Truett Hurst - we really enjoyed their wine and they have a lovely garden and creek view
• Russian River Vineyards - good pinot noir, they offered a lot of wines to taste

Lost Abbey Saint's Devotion with Brettanomyces

Sour beer is interesting. Some people absolutely hate it. I think it can be pretty good, under the right circumstances. In a nutshell, brewers take ordinary beer, and add brettanomyces or other fungal or bacterial agents to add extra funkiness to the beer. These agents are normally things that they'd want to keep out because the tastes that they can develop are considered "off" but when things go just right, they get the sourness they are looking for, which is nice for people who like that sort of thing. Russian River Brewing Co, who I've mentioned before, makes some terrific sour beers. Because of the time it takes for the beer to get soured, and the uncertainty about what exactly flavor profile they're going to get, sour beer tends to be relatively expensive. I picked up this Saint's Devotion with Brett because I hadn't had it before, and it was one of the less expensive that the beer store had, $5.99 for a 12-oz bottle.

This is a Belgian golden ale with brett to add the sour dimension. On the nose it's got a sour element going on that reminds me of lemon juice. Promising. But the taste is actually pretty moderate. This tastes like a golden ale that's just got a hint of sourness. It's refreshing. A lot of sour beers I've had, it's hard to drink more than a couple of ounces, but I didn't have any problem finishing off this whole bottle. I've never had the same beer without the brettanomyces, so I can't really compare the two just now.

I've read a few articles talking about how sour beers are trendy, but given the expense and fact that a lot of people just don't like them, I'm not sure how big they're going to get. I think they're a fun way for brewers to experiment with what flavors they can get out of their beer, and they can be a treat for sour beer fans when they happen to find one. I wouldn't expect to see most breweries having one or more available all the time. But if you do see one, definitely give it a try. It's very different from what beer usually tastes like.

Whiskey and Coke

My first cocktail post!  How exciting. Actually I don't drink cocktails that often, which is a shame when you consider the liquor collection I've acquired over the years. I guess I'm just not that interested in coming up with something I have to mix myself when opening a beer or a bottle of wine is so easy.  Still, sometimes I want something "free," as in no carbs and therefore no calories that count (at least the way I count them). Red wine is basically free too, but I don't always want to commit to a whole bottle.  So that's when it's a good time for a cocktail.

My go-to is a whiskey and Coke.  Particularly, Maker's Mark and Coke Zero. I've got other, better whiskeys which I might even use in cocktails, but not in one like this. This is a cocktail for when I just want a drink. Maker's Mark is still a pretty good bourbon. If I had something less fancy on hand, like Jack Daniel's or Wild Turkey, I might use it instead, but tonight I didn't.

If I were in a mood to pretty up my drink, I'd add a mint leaf or a lime wedge. I don't have either one of those things today. What I did have is some orange bitters, so I added a dash of that. It adds just a little something to the taste. Other fruit bitters tend to work well too. Actually, you can add these to pretty much any cocktail (no matter or basic or complicated) and add a nice background note to it.

So my whiskey and coke recipe goes something like this:

1. Fill glass with ice.
2. Pour 1.5 oz whiskey in glass.
3. Fill glass with Coke.
4. Add a dash of orange bitters.
5. Stir and enjoy.

Morgan G17 Syrah 2011

A few months ago we took a weekend trip down to Carmel with some friends to visit some wineries. Most of the places we went to were either ones that at least one of us had been to before or recommendations we got while we were there. Morgan was actually a place my hairstylist suggested. It was a little unusual in that their tasting room is in an upscale strip mall in Carmel, rather than down in tourist-quaint Carmel Valley. We were in a hurry to get drinking that day, so we showed up right at opening time and had the place to ourselves.

Most of the wineries in the Carmel area focus on Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, since they grow so nicely in the nearby Santa Lucia Highlands. Morgan does too, but also a little unusually they have some syrahs from the same region. They have both high end and low end, but the G17 is on the low end, around $22. It is from Monterey, so the vines were local.

It has a deep dark color, not quite inky but a very appealing dark purple. The nose has ripe berries, nutmeg, and I can detect some canteloupe in there. When I tasted it right after it was opened, I thought the heat really overwhelmed everything else. It just went right up to the top of my mouth and stayed there. I let it open up for about an hour, and it had mellowed out a lot. Now the heat was a lot less noticeable and rather the taste lingered more in a good way. There are notes of stone fruit, still some of that melon, and baking spices.

This could be a great table wine, just remember to open it at least an hour before you plan to drink it. It's worth the wait.

The Beers of Alaska

It's been a while since my last post. All, well, zero, of my readers have surely been wondering what I've been up to, and why I haven't been blogging what I was drinking. For your information, nonexistent nosy person, I was in Alaska. We flew to Anchorage, spent 2 days there, then took a cruise down to Vancouver. We had stops at Icy Strait Point (near the village of Hoonah), Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan.  And I had a lot to drink.

In Anchorage, we went to the Midnight Sun Brewing Company. I had a Sockeye Red IPA and a Joan of Arctic. The Sockeye is a malty IPA with a nice balance which I enjoyed. Joan of Arctic is a rhubarb pale ale. It was fruity and floral but had no particular rhubarb character, with a slightly more bitter finish than I enjoy. They had a ton of beers on tap, easily 12+, and the food was good too. The next day, we headed by Humpy's, but it was crowded so we went to the pizza place next door which is apparently under the same management, Flattop Pizza. They had a bunch of beers on tap too, and there I had a Dolly Varden Nut Brown from Kassik's Brewery, and an Alaskan Brewing Co. Summer Ale. The Nut Brown was ok, a little boring tasting to me with not enough nut character. I like nut brown ales with a lot of nut (like Rogue Hazelnut Nectar). The Alaskan Summer ale was really nice. It's a kolsch and that's one that I usually enjoy, especially on a warm sunny day. It was Alaska, so it wasn't particularly warm or sunny, but I liked the beer all the same.

In Skagway, after our excursion up to the Yukon Territory (which was amazing and you should do if you ever get the chance), we went by the Skagway Brewing Company for lunch. The fries were among the best I've ever had. We liked them so much we ordered another basket of them after we finished our sandwiches. The beer was pretty good too. The pint in the picture is what my husband ordered, Spruce Tip Blonde. Spruce tips are a local thing (literally picked off spruce trees), and add a sweet sort of evergreen flavor to the beer. It was very pleasant. I had the sampler, which included Alaskan Summer Ale again (they were out of their pale ale which usually goes here), Chilkoot Trail IPA, Boom Town Brown, and Blue Top Porter. The IPA was really good. It tasted like a double IPA, very assertive yet balanced. I had a pint after I finished the sampler. The brown was disappointing. It was syrupy and thin. Unfortunately I didn't take any notes about the porter, but I don't remember anything about it in particular. 

Between a bar in Ketchikan and the bars on the ship, I think I had almost every beer that Alaskan Brewing Co makes. White ales are not, in general, my favorite style, but I tried it in Ketchikan because I hadn't had it yet. It was fine, a little orangey and easy to drink. The IPA is good, nothing special but there's nothing wrong with it either. I had it several times on the ship. The Alaskan amber is a good example of the style. Again, it's not my favorite, but I thought it was fine. The oatmeal stout was pretty good. It was creamy and not too dry. And then there was the Summer Ale, the kolsch, which I already mentioned that I definitely enjoyed. I don't think the ship ever had it, otherwise that's probably all I would have had.

Overall, Alaska has a lot of breweries and makes some very nice beers. I guess they don't have much else to do up there during the long winter. The scenery is gorgeous, and I'm very glad I went and got to enjoy many things that the 49th state has to offer.

Knee Deep Simtra

IPAs are trendy. I get it. Breweries are doing what they can to make bigger and hoppier beers. It must be paying off because so many of them have the "standard" IPA, the double IPA, and maybe even the triple IPA.  Pliny the Younger, from Russian River, is a triple IPA and is, according to many, the world's best beer. I've never tried it. As long as trying it means waiting in line for many hours at one of the very few bars that gets a keg of it, I'm not sure I ever will. Fortunately, there are others that you can get a little easier, like this one from Knee Deep. I bought it at the local beer store for $10.99, but I've seen it at the grocery store too for about the same price.

It has a big thick beautiful head. The nose is full of pine and grapefruit notes, which I expected, but it's also a little sweet. The taste is liquid hops. A tiny bit of sweetness at the end, but mostly just hops. This is what they mean by triple IPA, I guess. At 131 IBU, what else can you expect? I'm glad the hops are simcoe and citra, since those are ones I generally like. After you get on an IPA kick, you start being able to tell. Amarillo, for instance, is one I'm not crazy about.

After an hour, I left a note for myself: "Fucking strong." I drank 22 oz. of 11% beer by myself in that time, and while it's hoppy as hell, it also goes down pretty easily. Be careful out there.

I like a lot of IPAs, and some double IPAs. This triple business might be taking things a little too far, speaking just for myself. As far as I can remember, this is the first one I've tried, so I'll find another one for comparisons, but I like a beer to have at least some balance.

Hallcrest Mr. and Mrs. Smith Pinot Noir 2009

I've mentioned Hallcrest before. About a month ago I was in the neighborhood with a colleague and I suggested we go by for a tasting. We were fortunate to get to try a few wines I hadn't had before. One was a merlot that I didn't care for, but this pinot noir didn't disappoint at all. It was a little on the high side for me (about $45 before the wine club discount) but worth it.

So the other night my husband suggested opening a bottle of wine, and I wanted to get something that was new to him. He blind tasted it and guessed it was a syrah. It is a little darker than pinot noirs tend to be. It is also fuller bodied. It is not a delicate flower of a wine.

On the nose it is smoky, with blackberry and plum. it has a big fruit-forward taste, that lingers on the palate, especially in the back of the tongue. This is a good wine for someone who likes Rhone varietals like syrah and grenache but isn't always wowed by pinots. It went very well with roasted chicken.

Hallcrest has a variety of pinots to choose from, and they are always pouring at least one. One of their wine club choices is to only receive bottles of pinot noir. They do it right.

Graveyard Chardonnay 2011

I drink red wine a lot more than I drink white wine. Even in summer, I tend to reach for red when I want wine, and stick with beer (hence all these beer posts I've been doing lately) or fruity cocktails when it's hot. So it's just a strange series of events that brings me to reviewing the second white wine from Paso Robles since I started this blog. They're very different wines, though.

The first one was an albarino which was on the sweet and fruity side.  This one is a chardonnay, on the dry and oakey side, from Graveyard Vineyards. It's an interesting winery. It overlooks an old cemetery, hence the name, and they take the theme as far as they can. There are skeleton and tombstone decorations all over the place. We stopped by because it was on the way between two others that had been recommended to us, and we liked it well enough to buy a few bottles.

So, the wine. It's a fairly oakey chardonnay, so it's good with food, but it tastes great on its own. The nose is full of peaches and vanilla. It made me think of peach pie. The taste is big and a little spicy. I got hints of white pepper with some passion fruit in there. It nicely lingers on the tongue with each sip. We had it with pork ribs and wilted kale, and it went really well with it.

I'm not sure why I prefer reds to whites. I think a lot of white wines are boring. It seems like there's not much you can say about them except they taste like apple, or tropical fruit, or whatever it is. It might taste fine, but just not be particularly interesting. So when I do like a white wine well enough to buy it, it's because there is something to it that is a little different. I think it was the spice in this chardonnay that I found particularly appealing. It was a good price too, $22 at the winery.

Allagash Curieux Ale

Costco has really upped their game lately when it comes to beer selection. They've always had a nice wine selection at good prices, but in the past few months I've been very pleasantly surprised to see the quality of the large beer bottles they have for sale. Last weekend, I picked up a bottle of Allagash Curieux for $11.99. That's about $8 cheaper than at other stores.

Curieux (French for "curious") is a Belgian-style triple that's been aged in bourbon barrels. It pours cloudy gold with a nice head and quite a lot of bubbles. The nose is gorgeous, almost like a wheat beer with banana, cloves, and oranges.

The taste is spicy! Really spicy. I think that's the bourbon coming through from the aging. This beer is for sipping. Even if it weren't 11% alcohol, I'd want to take it easy with this beer, to really savor it. The taste lingers on the roof of the mouth after every drink. It's really good, and it took a while to get through the bottle.

The next time you're at Costco, check the beer selection. Try something new. They weren't all $10+. There were also a few different Firestone Walker brews for $5.99.

Firestone Walker Wookey Jack

I saw this beer for $5.99 for 22oz at Costco, which is about a dollar less than it costs at other stores, so I thought I'd give it a try. It's a black IPA, like Back in Black, and from Firestone Walker, makers of Double Jack, which I adore. I thought there was a good chance I'd love this one too, but unfortunately I don't.

It pours black and very dark. It looks really appealing and rich. The nose is IPA all the way. It smells like grapefruit and pine, almost exactly like Double Jack in fact. I'm not sure I could tell them apart by the nose. The taste is kind of complex. Super hoppy, at first, but then it fades a bit to a little caramel. Then the hop comes back with pine notes at the front, and then there's a coffee-like bitterness at the end.

It just doesn't quite mesh well together for me. The mouthfeel is really nice and creamy, but I can't quite get past the bitterness at the end. It seems overwhelming.  I had some pretzels with it, and the saltiness helped cut it a little bit, but I can't see myself reaching for this over Double Jack or Back in Black.

You can't like 'em all. This is why they make lots of beers!

Diamond Bear Southern Blonde

I like to drink local products. Here in the Bay Area, we're lucky to have a huge selection of high quality beer and wine produced right here. Fortunately for the rest of the country, craft breweries are popping up all over the place.

I was in the Little Rock airport over the weekend, so to pass the time before my flight I headed to the bar. I was really happy to see a couple of beers from Diamond Bear on tap, so I ordered a Southern Blonde. I expected a blonde ale from the name, but what I received tasted very much like a kolsch. I was actually wrong on both counts. The description on the brewery website says it's a pilsner. The color was pale gold, with very little head. The nose was really nice, with a biscuity aroma and some citrus in the background, like a nice Meyer lemon. The flavor was very smooth, a little bready and sweet but then with a bitter finish.

I went in with zero expectations, but I really enjoyed this beer. Kolsch is one of my favorite summer beverages, and while I'm not quite so crazy about pilsner, this one didn't taste like other pilsners I've had.  I've got family in Arkansas, so I'm there once or twice a year, and the next time I'll look for it again. The airport bar also had an IPA from the same brewery, but they were out. I'd be interested in trying it too.

21st Amendment Back in Black IPA

I'm a big fan of the 21st Amendment brewery. Their beer and food are both good, and it's in a great location, very convenient for after Giants baseball games. Their beer is easy to find in the Bay Area, and they ship it in cans. They say it keeps the beer fresher, and cans are easier to tote around.

Back in Black is a dark IPA. I've seen a few other breweries with this style of beer. It seems like a logical blending of dark roasted beers and hoppy ones. I think it works really well. The color is very similar to a stout: dark with reddish highlights. There is a nice head that stuck around a while. The nose is toast and coffee and citrus.

It tastes smooth and a little sweet at first then bitter at the end. It's not really noticeably piney but a little citrusy, with some coffee flavors from the dark malt. Overall, it's very balanced and refreshing. I think it tastes more like a red ale than a stout, really, as far as the dark malty notes go. For the IBU (65) it's not really that hoppy or bitter tasting, but easy drinking.

Among the beers they make, 21st Amendment has an IPA that is very good, and a watermelon wheat beer which some people love, but I personally don't care for. I bought a single can of it at the local beer store, and I didn't get through more than a couple of ounces before I decided it wasn't for me and threw it out. I'll stick with the hoppier ones.

Four Winds Petite Sirah 2010

It's been a busy week!  We took a long weekend to go down to the Carmel area to visit some wineries and enjoy the fantastic weather. I had a lot of wine, a beer, some cocktails, good food, and tons of fun. The area is known for chardonnay and pinot noir and we had some notable ones. My favorite wineries that we went to are Marilyn Remark and Joyce, and I'll get to them eventually, but I'm going to review something different today.

After we got back our friends opened up a bottle of Four Winds Petite Sirah 2010. It was really closed up at first, so they decanted it, and as we sipped we noticed how much it opened up. It's a lovely dark color, with a nose of dark fruit and leather. As it opened up, the taste was full of blackberries and deep fruity tones (black cherry? hard to place). Leaving it open overnight probably would have been even better, but even as it was this was a delicious wine.

Four Winds is near Murphys, CA, in the Sierra Foothills. This entire area along Hwy 49 is really up and coming in the wine industry, but they've been growing vines out here for many years. The area is known for zinfandel, but there are many other varietals (like the petite sirah).  I've never been to any wineries there, but we're planning a little road trip in September to check it out.

Barton Albarino 2011

We went to Paso Robles for wine tasting the first time two years ago. We had heard some really good things about the wine, but also that the wineries were a lot of fun to visit and lot like how Napa Valley used to be. I've never actually been wine tasting in Napa (!!) but from what I've been told, it's not necessarily a good time anymore. The roads are congested with buses and limos and drivers of questionable blood alcohol levels, the tasting rooms are crowded, and the tasting fees are high. Again, just what I've heard. Paso Robles wasn't like that at all. We had a pleasant experience at every winery we went to.

One of them, Grey Wolf Cellars aka Barton Family Wines, was a recommendation by some dear friends, and it was a great one. We liked it so much that when we returned to Paso in December, we went back to try it again. They have some of the best white wines in Paso that I've tried. This bottle was the 100% Edna Valley Albarino. The color is very pale yellow, and the nose is of green apples, watermelon, and lemon blossoms. The taste is apples, tropical fruit, and a touch of sour candy. It was sweeter than I remembered. It was also a little hot from alcohol - a whopping 14.6%, which is huge for a white wine.

It made a perfect drink for Memorial Day afternoon with some grilled chicken. I prefer white wine a little on the sweeter side, so this was one I really enjoyed. Also, it's completely unoaked which I like because I think too much oak in white wine can be overwhelming. We only had one bottle, but we've still got a bottle of Roumours, a marsanne/rousanne blend, which I look forward to opening sometime this summer. I'm sure we'll get back down there this year to stock up on more.

Other wineries in Paso Robles that I recommend:

• Ranchita Canyon - one of my favorites anywhere
• Still Waters - great wine, nice people, beautiful view
• Tobin James - a little commercial, but they have something for everyone, and they're fun
• Dunning - long drive to get there, but the wine is worth it
• Graveyard - quirky wines, lovely people

St. Francis Anthem Meritage 2008

Last year I had a university alumni event in Sonoma, and as we were headed home, we drove past St. Francis Winery. I have a friend who had been there before and really enjoyed it, so I stopped to check it out. The only wine of theirs I'd had before was Old Vine Zinfandel, which is pretty easy to find in stores and restaurants, and it's a safe bet when you want something inexpensive. The wines at the winery were generally a lot more expensive, but they were really good, too.

My favorite of the bunch was this 2008 Meritage.  Meritage is a Northern California name for Bordeaux-style blend, which means it is made with some or all of the traditional red wines of Bordeaux: cabernet sauvignon, merlot, malbec, petit verdot, cabernet franc. Bordeaux blends are usually heavy on the cabernet sauvignon, but this one is primarily petit verdot and malbec. It's a very big wine, and it tastes like a very serious wine, but it's really good. Not cheap either, I think it was about $60.

The color is very dark, almost inky (that's Mario Puzo's favorite word to describe wine in The Godfather, inky). I'd hate to spill it. The nose promises big things, with strong notes of leather, tobacco, oak, and really ripe fruit. The taste really fills the mouth. It's big in the back and the flavor lingers. It's very spicy and has all the flavors the nose indicated. There's even a little chocolate flavor. It all comes together in a nice way. It totally overwhelmed the pork chops we had for dinner.

This isn't an easy drinking wine; it's one to linger over. It was interesting to see how the flavor changed after the bottle was opened. After an hour, the chocolate flavor was a little more pronounced, and the spiciness had backed off. The next time I'm in Sonoma (which, as it happens, is next weekend), I may have to go back and see what else St. Francis has.

Anderson Valley Brother David's Double Ale

Back in the day, I didn't care for beer. I thought it was all too bitter and not the least bit refreshing. I think it was Belgian-style beer that helped me change my mind. I've got a friend from Montreal who is a big fan of Unibroue which makes some of the best Belgian beers outside of Belgium. Several times we drank these big, strong ales that come in all colors and flavors, which helped me to get a better understanding of the variety of beer.

The day I went to BevMo for the Double Jack I also bought a bottle of Brother David's Double, from Anderson Valley Brewing Co. This brewery is in Boonville, CA, a couple hours' drive north of San Francisco. I haven't been there, but I'd love to make a little road trip and visit one day. I've tried a few of their beers before and enjoyed them. They don't specialize in Belgian beer, and I was interested to see what this one was like. The 22oz bottle was $7.39.

Turns out, it's a pretty tasty ale. It pours brown with amber highlights. Not much head. On the nose, I got citrus and banana, and it reminded me of a wheat beer. The taste is sweet from malt, and a little tangy. It doesn't taste like a wheat beer, but there's a understated spice that's similar. Cloves, maybe. It's easy to drink, which you've got to watch out for when it's a 9% beer.

It's not quite as good as some of the offerings from Unibroue, but it was plenty tasty. There was also a triple ale, and that would be a fun one to try as well.

Domaine des Braves Régnié Beaujolais 2010

Almost everything I know about wine I learned from California wine. After all, I live here, and almost all of the wineries I've ever visited have been here. My friends who are also into wine drink mostly the local stuff. Not that there's anything wrong with that, California is a world-class wine producer. Other places just do things a little differently. France, for example. For many people, when they think wine, they automatically think French wine. It's like the mother country for oenophiles.

Last night I decided to try something a little different for me, a French red wine from Beaujolais, a Régnié 2010. If you're like me and mostly familiar with California wine, the name takes a little unpacking. The name of the winery is Domaine des Braves. Régnié is a village and the name of the Cru, of which there are 10 and they make up the highest category of Beaujolais, the name of the overall region. 2010 is the vintage, and Régnié is meant to be drunk within a few years of production. All Beaujolais reds are made using the gamay grape, which is related to pinot noir and to which it has a lot of similarities.

It has a nice bright red color. The nose needed a minute to open up after I poured the glass, but then I started getting some fruit like cherry and blackberry. The taste is pretty fruit-forward. Cherry, plum, and a tartness that lingers on the back of the tongue. It's very much back of the palate, and the front drops off immediately. It's a fairly light-bodied wine, but it has some backbone to it.  I made some chicken risotto and roasted broccoli for dinner, and it matched up very nicely. It seemed to mesh really well with black pepper.

I got the bottle for $15.99 at a wine store. I asked for a Cru Beaujolais, and they had this one, and a Moulin-à-Vent (another Cru) for a few dollars more. He recommended this one (the Régnié) if I was planning on opening it the same day, which I was. I think he was pleased that I asked for this type of wine. He asked me why I was interested, and I said I was just exploring new things, and that I like Burgundy (French pinot noir) so I figured I would like this. And I did.

Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout vs. Homebrew

Someone I know at work mentioned a while ago that he was into homebrewing. I told him I'd love to try his beer, and he said ok, but I had to promise to give him my honest opinion of it.  Last week he gave me 3 bottles each of amber ale and oatmeal stout. Over the weekend, I decided to try the stout, but I wanted to have a solid comparison for it, so I bought a bottle of Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout. It's one of the most popular Oatmeal Stouts at BeerAdvocate.

I poured a few ounces of each into tasting glasses. The color is very similar in both beers, dark with a reddish tinge where the light hits it. The Samuel Smith looks a little more opaque, but not much. It definitely has more of a head and as you can see in the picture, it was still there a couple of minutes later. The homebrew has very little head and it completely dissipated within a minute.

I tried the Samuel Smith first. The smell is just like what you expect in a stout: rich coffee and promise of a deep roast taste, which is what I got. Smooth, creamy, coffee. It's pretty dry. I can't tell the oatmeal has added much sweetness if at all, but it's contributed to the smoothness.

Next the homebrew. I was a little surprised that there is no stout nose at all, just a sort of mild beer-y smell.  The taste is more surprising. If I didn't see the beer and know from the brewer, I'm not sure I'd know it was supposed to be a stout. No coffee, chocolate, or deep roasted flavors at all. It tastes more like a Belgian beer. It does have a nice mouthfeel. Not sure what happened to the oatmeal or the stout though. It's a little bitter on the finish. Maybe that's the stout coming through a little bit?  It tastes very, very different from the Samuel Smith.

I taped labels to the bottom of the glasses, so I could mix them around and do a blind tasting, but the difference in the head made it obvious from looking at them. I closed my eyes and switched the glasses around a few times, but it was still really clear which one was which. I'll tell my homebrewing friend that he might want to consider telling people it's a dark Belgian style, rather than a stout.

Kona Koko Brown

I have a weakness for all things Hawaiian. I've been to Hawaii several times and it's one of my favorite places. I love the beaches, the lush tropical landscape, the craggy hills of Kauai and the enormous mountains of Maui and the Big Island... there's just so much to enjoy. They also have some pretty good beer.

Koko Brown is the spring seasonal from Kona Brewing Co.  There are some others you can get year-round like Longboard Lager, but this one I've seen in stores from March-June. Since it's a brown ale, it's got some sweetness from the malt, but it's got even more sweetness from toasted coconut that they add to it to give it some special Hawaiian flavor. It reminds me of Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar. They're both sweet, creamy, and nutty. I like to enjoy each sip, and one bottle is usually plenty. I've had this 6-pack for about a month, and I have to be in the mood for it to open one. Liquid Aloha, they say.

If you ever watch Hawaii 5-0 you'll see people drinking Kona beer all the time, usually Longboard. I don't know if it's a paid promotion or if they're just using a local product. It's not really in your face, but the labels are distinctive. Poor Maui Brewing Co. gets no love (but I like Kona better too).

Kona Brewing has brewpubs on the Big Island and Oahu, and if you're ever in the neighborhood, go visit. The pizza and sandwiches are good, and they have a big selection of beer on tap that they don't bottle. In Kona the place is away from the ocean in a warehouse area, but in Hawaii Kai (east of Honolulu) it's right by the harbor with some nice views.

Firestone Walker Double Jack

Because this blog is about drinking, not just drinking wine, I thought it was time to turn to something a little different, so tonight I've got a 22 oz. bottle of Double Jack, a double IPA from Firestone Walker in Paso Robles. I got it at BevMo for $7.69.

You guys. This beer is seriously delicious. I was talking with a friend the other day about our favorite IPAs (Brew Free or Die, Blind Pig, Lagunitas, Racer 5...), and she said this one is hers. I've been to the brewery before and I may have tried it as part of a sampler, I don't recall, but my beer palate has expanded considerably since then at any rate. A couple of years ago I wouldn't have been able to get past the hops here, but now, I think it's great.

There's about a half inch of foam that mostly dissipated by the time I actually took a sip. The nose is the usual piney IPA with floral notes and something citrusy in there that's hard to put my finger on. But the taste, oh, the taste. That citrus comes out with big grapefruit notes, the pine is well integrated, lots of bitterness from the hops, and then a little maltiness in the background. It's not sweet at all, but it's very smooth. 

It goes down ridiculously easy which is kind of dangerous at 9.5% alcohol. Often when I drink a beer that strong, the first sip makes me think "Whoa Nellie!" but not this one. It just makes me think "MOAR!" Is it my favorite IPA?  I'm not sure. I'd have to taste them side by side to really say, but this is very good stuff. This is probably the best double IPA I've had.

2 hours later.....

Drink this beer while it's still cold. At room temperature the balance is off a bit, it has lost some richness in the mouth-feel, and you can taste the alcohol more. Note to self: drink faster.

Savannah-Chanelle Central Coast Pinot Noir 2009

A few years ago, I spent an afternoon wine tasting in Saratoga and Cupertino, and I remember going to Savannah-Chanelle and trying their wine. After you've been wine tasting a few times, you start to sort them into 3 groups: the ones you loved and can't wait to go back to, the ones you hated and will warn your friends about, and the ones that just weren't particularly memorable. This one was the third kind. I think we bought a bottle or two, but I don't remember anything about them.

Last night I had dinner with a friend, and he had a bottle of their Central Coast Pinot Noir from 2009 that he bought a few weeks ago on a tasting afternoon of his own. I was glad to revisit and see if it was more memorable this time.

It pours on the dark side for a pinot. The nose was full of ripe berries and leather. After a couple of swirls it was very pleasant. The wine started out very delicate on the tongue, just about what you expect from the varietal, but then it brightened into a bigger taste of sweet strawberries and tart cherries. There was a little almond at the end. It wasn't a big wine, but it wasn't super soft either, just nicely in between.

We had garlicky lamb burgers for dinner, and it was a little too much for the wine. I think it would go better with something less strongly flavored. Fortunately we drank most of it before got to the food. Bottles are about $26 at Savannah-Chanelle, so cheaper than a lot of pinot noirs and a pretty good deal if you want one that's medium-bodied and easy drinking like this one. It's still not particularly memorable but it's perfectly drinkable.

Organic Wine Works Bountiful Blush 2010

Organic wine is not always my cup of tea. It's not hard to find wine made with organically-grown grapes, and I think that's a fine thing. But organic wine itself is different and sometimes not so good. Happily that's not the case at all with Bountiful Blush. This bottle was the 2010 vintage, and it's a rosé made of cabernet sauvignon. The bottle notes that it is vegan.

This is a very easy drinking rosé, which is usually what I want from one. It's on the sweet side, but not too sweet, and it went pretty well with pineapple chicken pizza. It's also just a perfect warm afternoon wine.

It costs about $12 at Hallcrest Vineyards in Felton, CA.  This winery sells wine under both the Organic Wine Works label and the Hallcrest label, and if you in the area, it is a great place to stop and taste some wine.