Wines featured in today’s show:

• Monsanto Chianti Classico Riserva 2006 (~$25)
• Monte Volpe Sangiovese 2006 (~$16)

Show synopsis and recommended food pairings from The Som:

Sangiovese: one of the worlds greatest grapes that most people don’t know about.  Why?  Because the most famous examples of it say Chianti, not Sangiovese, on the label.  It’s a region located in central Tuscany, which is located just north of central Italy.  When it comes to almost fool-proof food wines, you can count on Pinot Noir and Sangiovese.  With both of them you get the acidity combined with cherry & cranberry notes, but Sangiovese adds that dusty tannin note that plays so well against grilled red meat.

By Italian wine law, winemakers are allowed to make a 100% Sangiovese Chianti Classico, but that was not always the case.   Currently wine makers may compose their blend with 75-100% Sangiovese, up to 10% Canaiolo, up to 15% other red grapes including Cab & Merlot, and even up to 6% of the local white grapes.  Sometimes the back label will inform you of the blend but often this is not the case.

What to enjoy with a nice Chianti? (insert fava bean line here) Most things in a tomato based red sauce work wonderfully,  but if one were to add short ribs to that tomato base and braise it low and slow like the great Anne Burrell suggests in this recipe, you have a melt-in-your-mouth meat course that will easily become the family favorite.  If that happens,  you’ll probably need a consistent supply of one of the worlds greatest wines in your basement in which to pair it.

Bon appetit!

Wines featured in today’s show:

• Bogle Phantom 2007  (~$20)
• Chateau Skulls Grenache-Mourvedre 2007  (~$20)

Show synopsis and recommended food pairing from The Som:

Watching this episode back I feel bad that I stepped on Bovee’s “inter-web” line.  Sorry buddy but sometimes I just won’t shut-up.  Especially when we are tasting wines that are fun, well made, and frightfully good.

The Chateau Skulls is always a Halloween favorite, and if you find some, grab it now.  Word out of Australia is that the company that imports it (Grateful Palate) is going bankrupt.  Big bummer considering how many awesome things they import.

Bogle Phantom is another story…a story of America success and innovation!   If you read it I dare you not to get emotional.   Perhaps you stand, place your hand over you heart and recite the pledge.  Perhaps it’s just me.

All seriousness aside,  this wine does mean a lot to Jeff and me.  We featured it, along with two other Bogle wines, for our big 40th episode and many believe it to be a turning point in the world of on-line wine blogging.

What to eat with this greasy, full bore and slutty wine?  Slow cooked venison is really rich and awesome.  Pair it with the Phantom and you may be complaining of gout symptoms for a week, but it will be worth it.  See you at the clinic!

There are two parts of this show:  the disaster, and the cover up.   Not sure if we really expected the first part to turn out successfully.   In a nutshell, we show you how NOT to open a wine bottle.   There’s a way to do it with a shoe and a solid wall.   We chose a boot and a tree, and the combo didn’t work well.    Jake Westerfeld from Cameron Hughes Wine did the best demonstration I’ve seen of this bottle-opening approach.

The second half is The Som sharing his favorite wine book.  He swears by it.  He swears a lot in general, but he really endorses The Wine Bible by Karen MacNeil.

Wines featured in today’s show:

• Chateau Grand Traverse Riesling 2008  (~$17)
• Chateau Grand Traverse Pinot Noir Vin Gris 2008  (~$17)

Show synopsis and recommended food pairings from The Som:

Bovee often complains that I talk about wines that no one can find at their local wine shop.  I want to be sorry about that but just can’t find the energy.  That is what Zipp’s is all about after all:  wines off the beaten path.  You don’t need me to point you at the mass produced crap that any moron can find.  I’m sharing with you all the stuff I live for…the stuff that turns me on the most:  unique wines.  I beg of you…if you are only drinking Napa cabs, you are really cheating yourself because there are world class gems out there for under $20.00.

Little Known Fact:  Did you know that every state in the union has a licensed and bonded winery?  Start with those and find your own local gem.  And if you happen to stumble across one from Old Mission Peninsula, make sure to say “Yes” to Michigan.  Say Yes!

When I went in search O’ a good food pairing for these wines, almost every single recipe seemed to contain only four things:  salt, pepper, flour and thyme.  Yawn.  Wake me when it’s over.   I finally found this taste treat you can rub all over your white bass.  It should work wonderfully with the well balanced fruitiness of the Whole Cluster Riesling.  Nothing better than a bit of heat being met with a kiss of sweetness and acidity.

Price: ~$18

Blend:

Roussanne, Clairette & Grenache Blanc

Nose:

Bit O Honey, marzipan and ripe pear

Palate:

Medium bodied and firm acid.  Shockingly intense apple, biscuit, honeysuckle and peach.  Long stony finish

Synopsis:

Chateauneuf-du-Pape producer, Andre Brunel, has been blowing people away with this white Côtes du Rhône for some time now, but it’s only recently come to my attention.  Shame on me.  As much as I love Rhône reds, the whites often leave me wishing I had opened something else.  This, on the other hand, is quite delightful.  It has richness and weight but balanced wonderfully with acidity and fruit.  Enjoy with baked salmon, roast chicken or fennel salad.

The Som Rating: 7/10 Scarlett Johansson Heads

Wines featured in todays show:

• Big House Red

Recommended food pairings and show synopsis from The Som:

With just a few ingredients you can make one of the classic Spanish bistro beverages, Sangria.  You can pair this with almost anything you want to eat.

BTW…did you know the word Sangria means “bloodletting”? Now you know, and knowings half the battle.

Sangria Recipe:

• 1 bottle of dry red wine
• 2 cups ginger-ale or Sprite or Fresca…you get the gist
• 1 Lemon thinly sliced
• 1 Lime thinly sliced
• 1 Orange thinly sliced
• spalsh of brandy or rum or vodka…you get the gist
• Up to a cup of sugar.  Start slow, stir and season to taste

Feel free to add: grapes, strawberries, kiwi, tangerine, pomelo, tangelo, pitted plum, blueberry, raspberry…the world is your oyster. Combine the whole thing, stir, cover and let sit at least two hours up to overnight.  Add the soda and ice when you are ready to serve.

Check out these other styles of Sangria:

• Cava Sangria
• White Sangria

Price: ~$37

Region:

Ribera Del Duero, Spain

Nose:

Deep, complex and intense.  Roasted beets, cherries, spice and vanilla.  This has spent at least 18 months in American oak.

Palate:

Let the fun begin.  When we put this in our mouths we all looked at one another and our eyes lit up like deer on the highway.  Round and full it expands with licorice, plum and cherry.  Tannins are present but round and savory.  The finish is juicy and memorable.

Synopsis:

If you’re not drinking Vega Sicilia from Ribera Del Duero (and honestly who can at that price?) then you should be drinking Pesquera.  Alejandro Fernandez was the first in the region to use 100% tempranillo and before him there was only Vega and cheap Garnacha rosé to call Ribera Del Duero home.

The Som Rating: 9/10 Scarlett Johansson Heads

Wines featured in today’s show:

• Château de Manissy Tavel (~$17)
• Quinta de Alorna Touriga Nacional Rosé (~$10)
• Wooden Valley White Gamay (~$12)

Show synopsis and recommended food pairing from The Som:

I know why Bovee used the song “C’mon Get Happy”, but it happens that it fits the world of Rosé perfectly.  There are few wines that bring more joy on a hot summer day while grilling brats or burgers on the grill than a nice juicy Rosé.  We’ve done several shows that highlight different foods that pair with them well (there are so many), so check out some of the other options for pairings on some of the other shows that have featured Rosé:

• Summer Sippers 2010
• Pizza Pairings
• Spring Rosés

Wines featured in today’s show:

• Hahn Meritage Central Coast 2007  (~$16)
• Château de Panigon Medoc 2006  (~$20)

Show synopsis and recommended food pairings from The Som:

Here’s a fun fact: did you know that at one time there was a sixth grape of Bordeaux?  Carmenere was once a part of the Bordeaux blend.  After the phylloxera epidemic of the late 1800-early 1900′s that wiped out many of Frances vineyards, it was decided that Carmenere’s characteristics were very similar to Merlot and that it was an unreliable ripener in Bordeaux’s sketchy climate.  Fast forward to modern day Chile and it’s become their signature red grape.  As I always say to young Master Bovee, “Never give up on a grape.”

I swear that over the last year the popularity of lamb has increased by quite a bit.  At least once a week I’m asked for a wine recommendation to go with some crazy lamb concoction.  Being a lamb fan myself I say, “Awesome.”

Looking at this recipe, an obvious choice might be a Greek Nemea (a wine region in Greece), and that would be quite delightful.  But here we have a Merlot based blend which is slightly earthy, nice acidity, fairly smooth with an easy going black fruit note.  Some people don’t fancy lamb much because of the gaminess.  But paired with something a little less rich that matches those earthy notes, it should work out very well.

The Hahn Meritage is a different animal.  Sleek, fruity, and very eager to please.  But be warned:  it can becomes a monster and steals the show.  All the hard work you put into your fabulous meal could be for not if you let this $16.00 show-off jump up on the table and take all the credit.  As if!  Save this for something fun and easy like when your mom stops over with friends to show them your new curtains or plastic head collection. Hopefully she remembered the blue cheese burger from Bakers Square you requested.

Now you can come up from the basement, Mr. Hahn.

Wines featured in today’s show:

• Francis Blanchet Pouilly Fumé 2008  (~$23)
• Drylands Sauvignon Blanc 2008  (~$19)

Show synopsis and recommended food pairings from The Som:

I have some friends that recently did a pretty extensive sauvignon blanc tasting.  They used the sauv blanc section of  Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl’s book Drink This as their guide.  It took them through about seven different sauvignon blancs in different price ranges, styles, and countries.  I believe the consensus was that Marlborough New Zealand’s Kim Crawford was the winner.   That doesn’t really surprise me because there is something about NZ sauv that screams “Love Me.”  Wine writer Oz Clarke says he loves using them in wine classes because the flavors you claim are there are so obviously there.    Grapefruit?  Obvious.  Lime?  Duh.  Cat pee on a gooseberry bush?   Well, yeah.  It’s all there and very noticeable.

On the food pairing side, wrap up some lightly peppered scallops in prosciutto, stab them with a skewer and put them on the grill, prosciutto side down, for about 2 minutes a side and set them on a bed of baby greens. Drizzle with your favorite citrus based vinaigrette.  Pop the Drylands and thank me later.

And now for the Blanchet Pouilly Fumé.   Do you remember your mom’s best tuna casserole?  I know I do.  When I was a kid I hated canned peas.   But in the casserole?  Awesome.   Here’s what I want you to do: grill 2 trouts and substitute the tuna for the grilled trout.  Rich and creamy but the great acid and citrus notes help temper it and keep it all so fresh.