Wines featured in today’s show:

• Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc 2008   (~$11)
• Domaine Begude Chardonnay 2005   (~$13)
• Grans-Fassian Victoria G Riesling 2008   (~$16)

Recommended food pairings from The Som:

You go to a restaurant and ask the waiter for a glass of white wine…and he brings you something ice cold in a wine glass filled an eighth of an inch from the rim.  You sip it thoughtlessly as you enjoy a fish taco and a chat with an old, dear friend.  Sound familiar?  This episode is really more about trying to get you to think a bit more about what you are drinking.  All white wines are not alike and have vastly different flavor profiles.  Once you start thinking about and become familiar with them, it makes ordering and drinking them that much more enjoyable.

• Sauvignon Blanc
  • Summary:  medium body, bright acidity, with flavors of tart lime or grapefruit flavors, and can have grassy or flinty notes
  • Great With: Mexican food, light summer fare, goat cheese (chevre), grilled fish
  • Recommended Recipe: Halibut with Bacon
• Chardonnay
  • Summary: medium to full body, rich and mouth filling, featuring flavors of pineapple, coconut, banana, vanilla (pina colada anyone?),  or even buttered toast
  • Great With:  cream soups, roasted chicken, lobster, crab legs, popcorn, polenta
  • Recommended Recipe: Duck a L’orange
• Riesling
  • Summary: medium body, clean, zesty acid, with flavors of peach, lime, honey, and apple
  • Great With:  spicy shrimp, scallops, smoked fish, egg rolls, Pad Thai
  • Recommended Recipe:  Pad Thai

Wines featured in today’s show:

• Ventisquero Sauvignon Blanc 2008  (~$11)
• Vietti Perbacco Nebbiolo 2006  (~$28)

Recommended food pairings from The Som:

C’mon…Sauvignon Blanc is one of the great food paring “cheater” wines of all time.    So, when in doubt suggest a Sauv Blanc.  The fuller body, bright acid, and tell-tale grapefruit notes work well with so much stuff that you really can’t miss.  Fish, fried chicken, shrimp, oysters, grilled pork chops; you get the idea.

Nebbiolo on the other hand, is so unique that it can only be great if grown in a small are in Northern Italy.  When was the last time you drank an awesome Nebbiolo from Napa or Sonoma or Greece or Tuscany or France?  It does not happen.  Great Nebbiolo’s are grown in Piedmont, Italy;  PERIOD!

That being said, what shall we enjoy with one of the great grapes of the world?  How about his unreal first course of Risotto al Barolo courtesy of Mr. Batali?   Then work your way into a fantastic grilled rib-eye with miso butter.

Can you imagine?  Rib-eye, miso butter, and Nebbiolo?  YOU WIN!

Region:

Central Otago, New Zealand

Nose:

Damson plums and chocolate covered cherries over cinnamon and sage.

Palate:

Medium Bodied.  Bright, juicy acidity and round, juicy tannin. (Notice the related theme to our latest show?)  Distinct coffee notes underneath the ripe berry fruit.  Moderately long finish but really no waves of flavor here.

Synopsis:

In the grand scheme of the wine world Pinot Noir and New Zealand are very recent acquaintances.  Not until the last 10 years did New Zealand grape growers decide that Pinot Noir would work really well there.  I feel that the jury is still out.  Is this a solid, well made Pinot?  Yes.  Would I regularly pay $20+ for it?   Hell no.

But, as I said, the jury is still out in my opinion.   These vines are still very young and not producing world class fruit yet.  I don’t think we will truly understand the potential of NZ Pinot Noir for at least another 5-10 years.  Keep your palates primed.

The Som Rating: 7/10 Scarlett Johansson Heads

Wines featured in today’s show:

• Librandi Cirò Gaglioppo  (~$13)
• Ampelo Malvasia Nera Salento  (~$18)
• Graham Beck Pinno Pinotage 2008  (~$11)

Recommended food pairings from The Som:

One of the many joys of my job is turning folks on to grape varieties that they might not get the opportunity to try otherwise.  I’m often reminded of a story that a friend of mine tells about a wine dinner he attended in Napa.  The good people of Napa Valley tend to be very parochial when it comes to their wine habits….meaning, Napa folk drink Napa wine almost exclusively.  It was about halfway through the dinner, and a few bottles as well, when one fella asks my friend, “Tell me Corey, are Minnesotans as sophisticated wine drinkers as we are in the Napa Valley?”  Corey puts down his glass, looks the guy square in the face and says, “No. They are more sophisticated.”  At that, the table began to buzz and all eyes turned to Corey.  “What do you mean?” asked the incredulous fella.  Corey posed the question, “When is the last time any of you drank a wine from Bulgaria or Switzerland or Brazil or from Greece, even?”  The man then made Corey’s case by answering, “I just drink wines from Napa.”
 
My point is that we are very lucky in Minnesota.  The wine laws here make it very easy to import, distribute and sell wine from almost anywhere in the world, and stores (like Zipp’s) take advantage of that as much as possible.  So the next time you go to your local wine shop, tell your wine guy to give you something different…something off the beaten path.
 
In the show, I mentioned eggplant parmesan for the Cirò, and BBQ will work well with Pinotage.   So let’s just focus on the Malvasia Nera.  Medium to full bodied, decent acid, not much in the way of sticky tannin.  Round, ripe fruit and a fairly short finish.   Hmmm…let me see.   Ah!  Here we go:   A great curry wings recipe  from Food & Wine magazine.   I believe the heavy fruit of the wine combined with the mango notes will help tame the heat and turn this into something pretty special.  But ya know what?  A good winter ale might be better.  Try both!

Wine’s featured in today’s show:

• Espelt Rosé 2009  (~$12)
• Enotria Dolcetto 2007  (~$18)
• Cristalino Cava Brut  (~$9)

Recommended food pairings from The Som:

I love when Bovee and I have a show that we have always wanted to do but never quite get too.  I’m so happy we finally did it.  One of the things I enjoyed about this episode is that when I’m at Zipp’s, I am often asked for a good pizza wine.  For me the problem is, at home, I already have something open and then my wife suggests pizza for dinner so I give recommendations based on sound food and wine pairing techniques.  Except for the Enotria Dolcetto, I was just figuring these other two would work.  It turns me on that they not only worked, but worked well.   But enough of me patting myself on the back.

Ever made a calzone?  Try the Dolcetto with this recipe.   By the way…if you make your own dough and live within 10 blocks of a pizza shop you are wasting your time.  Stop in and ask your pizza guy for some fresh dough.  He may charge you a dollar or, like my guy, he may not charge you at all.  Other than that, follow this recipe, pour the Dolcetto, and enjoy your life.

Or…if you happen to live in the Twin Cities, swing your cute little patootie over to Cossetta’s on West Seventh Street in St. Paul (across and just down the street from the Xcel Energy Center) and get yourself one killer piece of pie.

Nose:

Roated meats, raspberries and red licorice

Palate:

Full bodied. above average acidity and smooth, ripe tannin.  Intense and up front fruit of plum, blackberry and black cherry.

Synposis:

This is rich and intense but it finishes light on it’s feet…like a long barefoot walk in the park after your first viewing of Reservoir Dogs.  The price of these wines reflect the labor it takes to produce them.  Bovee and I did a whole show on the wonders of Valpolicella and the many style of wine they can create.

This Ripasso style should be used with pretty hearty and intensely flavored foods.  It’s also perfect for the cold night on the bear skin rug with your loved one.

The Som Rating: 9/10 Scarlett Johansson Heads

Wines featured in today’s show:

• Yellow Tail Shiraz 2008  (~$7)
• Bodega Del Desierto 25/5 Syrah 2005  (~$18)
• Blacksmith Syrah 2004  (~$20)

Recommended food pairings from The Som:

Honestly, aside from a few exceptions, I’m not too sure that “New World” Syrahs will ever set the world on fire.  I keep hoping and trying but, as we say in the wine retail world, they are hand-sells.  Sometimes that is not a bad thing.  But if they stay that way over time and few people come back to buy more, it gets really tough to maintain their sales long-term.   Know what I mean?  But I keep up the good fight because I think good Syrah is worth the battle.  They’re full bodied with lush, dark fruit notes and often with a hit of peppery spice.  That is right up my alley.

When it comes to food pairing, the one thing I would be wary of is the higher alcohol percentage in Syrah.  It can get up there pretty easily and as I’ve cautioned before:  spicy food and alcohol don’t team very well together.  Noticeably high alcohol in wine can enhance the heat in spicier foods.  If that’s your thing, cool.  If not…be warned.

That being said, I’m often flummoxed by the BBQ/Syrah suggestion.  BBQ ribs, chicken, brisket with Syrah makes little sense to me.  Sure, a burger on the grill and Syrah sounds great.  But anything with dry rub and/or sauce, it’s best to get some beer, or Sauvignon Blanc, or even a Sparkling wine.

For the perfect recipe, lets go Old World.  They tend to have a little higher acid and more vegetal notes.  I’m thinking of stuff from the Northern Rhone valley, but those prices tend to get crazy.  If you pick something from St Joseph (the largest N. Rhone region) or Crozes-Hermitage (the most bastardized N. Rhone region), you can cut the price down to the high teens or low 20’s.  With that in mind, and having a very prolific deer hunter in the family, I present to you a pretty fool proof and simple venison roast recipe that would do well with a bottle of Northern Rhone Syrah.

As Chef Tell would say, “very simple, very easy.”

Now, where did I put my bow?

Price:  ~$23.00

Region:

Umpgua Valley, Oregon

Nose:

Ripe, burnt cherry with smokey bacon fat, and a touch of tobacco store.

Palate:

Full bodied with smooth, round tannin.  Powerful notes of roasted cherry, pine, vanilla and Christmas spices.  Very smooth and velvety finish.  It’s drinking great right now.

The Som Rating: 9/10 Scarlett Johansson Heads

Wines featured in today’s show:

• Bretz Eiswein Riesling 2003  (~$30)
• Bretz Eiswein Spatburgunder Rose 2002  (~$33)

 Recommended food pairings from the Som:

These things are built for luscious, full bodied, slightly sweet desserts with a touch of that “dark spice” (as the kids say).  Check out this winner bread pudding recipe and pair it with a Riesling ice wine.  Here is the secret to pairing wines to dessert:  the wine must be at least as sweet as the dessert.  Make sense?  If the wine is drier that the dessert it is being paired with, it will turn the wine to a boring, sour mess.
 
For the Pinot Noir…oh, I’m sorry, the Spatburgunder (as the Germans call it)…I was thinking of the tasting notes we mentioned during the show (apple or peach cobblers and rhubarb pie).  This recipe would probably be damn near perfect.  And if it isn’t, I will shut our little WineGeekTV thing down!

I kid, of course.
 
Thanks for the time!

Price: ~ $30.00

Nose:

Toasty nose of black cherry, roasted beef and minty thyme.

Palate:

Full bodied, high acid, moderate tannin.  Bright, intense kick of raspberry, cherry and bitter chocolate but a truly fres and juicy finish.

Synopsis:

My one issue with this wine is the tannins are a bit harsh on the back end.  Other than that, there is plenty of freshness and vitality.  As these tannins soften slighty over the next few years this will become more & more delightful.   You should try and find it now because only about 100 cases were produced.   Grab some and enjoy it all summer long with grilled pork.

I love Adam Lee’s passion and the kind of wines he makes.  His Siduri line consists of his large variety of Pinot Noirs.  All of his other goodies are under the Novy name (his wifes maiden name).  This Grenache is from the Bennet Valley, a cool climate growing area north of Sonoma Mountain.

The Som Rating: 7/10 Scarlett Johansson Heads