Drink Eat Love

Monday Night Wines: Blind Tasting Fool

(Image from Bordoverview)

I have begun to study for the Master Sommelier exam again and that means a lot of blind tasting. The greatest part about blind tasting is the amount of wine that is accumulating in my house. Not all of it is good but this week I tasted a gem! I did not call the wine correctly, I thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the bottle later that evening. The above image is what makes this wine so special: fossils. Over 150 million years ago a good majority of mainland Europe was underwater allowing oysters, ammonites and many other mollusks to settle on the sea floor and help form Kimmeridgian soil (Here is a great primer on soil types). This soil type provides Champagne, Burgundy, and parts of the Loire Valley with a distinct minerality that gives each of the region's wines much of their soul. The small wine region of Chablis is one of the beneficiaries of this amazing soil type and its wines are an olfactory time machine. I have always loved the wines of Chablis and the 2007 Savary Chablis AC is a standout!

Monday Night Wines: Simply the Best

 I am not sure how many posts I have dedicated to Nebbiolo, but it is a grape I WILL NEVER tire of. There are those that find Pinot Noir the beguiling grape but I am so smitten with Nebbiolo I can hardly control myself. If you are not familiar with Nebbiolo it is the grape used to make two of Italy's greatest wines: Barolo and Barbaresco. These two amazing wine regions are right next to each other yet express the grape in different ways, hence the reason for separate appellations. This past Monday I had the night off ,a friend was in town and we wanted to check out Pizzeria Mozza. I was hunting around in my cellar for something to drink and I came upon the 2006 Produtori del Barbaresco, which I had not tried since May and wanted to see how it was drinking. Barolo and Barbaresco are long lived wines that tend to take time to come around and express themselves fully, but the 2006 is quite lovely now. Produttori del Barbaresco is simply the best wine for the money I know!

Old Wine...

(Image from Unreserved)

Oh I'm ready for some Football

 

Monday Night Wines: It's so simple

(Photo by Shauna Leytus)

Flour + water + egg = Pasta. It really is that simple. Looking back on my career in wine and food there is a constant theme of Italy. I have been more than fortunate to travel the globe in search of great wine and enjoy more food than the average person should. Yet, it is always Italian food and wine that make me the most happy and fill my soul with the joy that makes life  wonderful. Italian food is about simplicity. The idea that great ingredients prepared simply with little manipulation produce flavors that are pure and intense. The same can be said with wine and this past week I was shown a wine that personifies the philosophy of less is more.

DEL - Quick Tips: SALT

(Image from The Sydney Morning Herald)