Wines featured in today’s show:

• 2008 Redtree Pinot Noir (~$8)
• 2009 Alfredo Roca Pinot Noir (~$8)
• 2006 Due Mari Pinot Noir (~$8)

Recommended food pairings from The Som:

Yes, we all know that it’s tough to find really good Pinot Noir for under $20.00.  Hell, even 20 bucks is pushing it sometimes.  And yes, I know that even as I say that many of you are yelling, “What about Montoya? What about Angeline?”  These are the exception, not the rule.  I contend it’s a helluva lot easier to find really good $15.00 Merlot, Cab, Malbec, Carmenere, etc., than Pinot Noir.  So that’s what this show is about: Cheap Pinot Noir that I’m not ashamed to sell people.  And when I say cheap, I mean well under $10.

What to eat with really inexpensive Pinot Noir?  Dig this – - – have you ever noticed that sometime cheap PN seems to be fuller bodied than you might expect?  One of the reasons MAY be is that by law (and the laws differ slightly in most countries or even states or counties) the wine maker is allowed to blend in a certain percentage of another grape(s) and there is no need to mention it on the label.  Petite Sirah is popular in the U.S.  I’m not saying this is the case with any of the wines we enjoyed today…I’m just sayin’.

With that in mind lets think about summer BBQ’s, pork or ahi tuna.  Oh my God.   I’m not sure if I would have the guts to drink an $8 Pinot Noir with this dish, but I sure would cook with it.   And if anyone happens to have an extra copy of that Fois Gras cook book, please send it my way and I will give you props on the next show.  You can email me at JeffKycek@WineGeekTV.com and I’ll let you know where to send it.

Yes…I have no shame and can be bought for the mere price of a cookbook.

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:

• Robert Sinskey Vin Gris Pinot Noir 2008   (~$16)
• Château Beauchêne Le Pavillon Du Côtes du Rhône 2008  (~$11)
• Castaño Monastrell 2008  (~$12)

Recommended food pairings from The Som:

So I’m going through my recipe collections trying to come up with the perfect pairing for Rosè wines.   The problem was that every other recipe I looked at would work great…proving once again just how versatile Rosè wines truly are.  So I picked one, almost at random, that I think would be delightful.  Here we have chicken breasts layered with lots of Mediterranean flavors.  Honestly, this pairing works on the regional pairing level as well as the “break the meal down” level.  I do believe that a heavier bodied Rosè would work best (the Castaño from Spain in this case).  Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Dinner Wines

With the holiday upon us, we thought it prudent to suggest a couple good wines to pair with your feast!

Quick Show Note:

We were testing some new microphones. They really helped with the sound issues we were having, but they were highly sensitive and picking up sounds we normally wouldn’t wish to share (gulping and such). They were also picking up on some interference as well, so sorry for any static you may pick up on in the show audio. We’ll be working on perfecting our sound in the coming shows.

Featured in today’s show:

• 2007 Casillero del Diablo Reserve Gewurztraminer from Chile
• La Madone Gamay sur Vulcan from Cotes du Forez in France (sorry…couldn’t find a website for them)
• 2007 Ventisquero Pinot Noir from the Casablanca Valley in Chile

Recommended food pairings:

Thanksgiving is not the time for subtlety in wine. There is zero subtlety in a Thanksgiving dinner and the wine needs to mirror that. Thanksgiving is one of the few times you need to think about what is on the plate as a whole. There are too many flavors and too many styles to match a dish to one specific item. A “wine that goes with turkey” does not cut it.

• One of the first food and wine pairing rules is match the “weight “of the food with the wine beverage of your choice. It’s like drinking a glass of water with beef stew, or drinking a Porto with your Chef’s Salad…neither of which is very appealing.
• Thanksgiving dinner has a tendency to be on the salty side. High tannin wines (Cabernet, Syrah, Tannat, high end Petite Sirah, Nebbiolo,) can make saltier food and the wine taste bitter. Stick to fruity, full flavored, low tannin red wines like a Gamay (Beaujolais), a California Pinot Noir, or maybe a lower alcohol (13-14.5%) Zinfandel or Dolcetto. For whites, think about a full bodied, slightly sweet grape like a Gewürztraminer or Riesling, especially from the Alsace region of France, or a moderately oaked California Chardonnay.

What am I going to serve with MY Thanksgiving dinner, you ask?

• Chateau Valmer Vouvray: a full bodied, slightly sweet Chenin Blanc from the Loire region of France
• Firestone Santa Rita Valley Pinot Noir from Santa Barbara (nummy)

Here’s some great tips and techniques for preparing your bird.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Som

Featured in today’s show:

• 2007 Angeline Pinot Noir from the Russian River Valley of Sonoma, California
• 2004 Pape Johannou Pinot Noir from Greece (more about Greek wine)
• 2006 Meinklang Pinot Noir from Bergenland, Austria

Recommended food pairings:

• For the Angeline, a very simple but elegant salmon with dill sauce recipe that would work beautifully with the light fruitiness, combined with the herbiness (the dill)and the higher acidity of the Angeline Pinot Noir to cut the fattiness of the salmon. Combine this recipe with a spinach, cherry tomato, goat cheese, or light vinaigrette salad.
• For the Meinklang, or actually ANY Burgundy (Pinot Noir) wine, here’s a classic French recipe. Coq-au-Vin is a dish born of necessity and convenience. There is a long tradition of these types of “one pot meals” in agricultural communities. They are dinners that are usually prepared and brought in one pot to the table (back in the day, they took them directly to the farm hands and workers in the field to eat). In Southwest France, they call them a cassoulet. Here in the U.S, think “casserole.” If you want to make it at home, it will cost you a day and a half of work. If you order it at a restaurant it will cost you at least $20. Enjoy!