Archive for the 'Joanie Hudson' Category

Chesapeake Blue Crab

Published
by
joanie
on September 9, 2008
in Joanie Hudson and Wine and Food Pairing
. 2 Comments

I spent a long weekend visiting Washington DC and got the chance to enjoy the Chesapeake Bay’s signature crustacean, the Blue Crab.  These beautiful crabs are native to the Atlantic, particularly in the area of Maryland and Virginia.  They have electric blue claws and are known for their aggressive sharp pinches when they are alive. The whole crab experience was very unique to the area, especially when I went to the wharf to collect a dozen and a half live shellfish, which after stretching their claws upwards as if to say “pick me!” were tossed into a bag to take home to steam.  

Choosing a wine to serve at a casual dinner like this doesn’t need to be over thought, especially since such a wide variety of whites work well with steamed crab.  Nobody will be paying too much attention to the wine anyways when they are snapping and hammering at the legs and pulling apart the body, digging dutifully for a well worth it bite of meat.  Choose a medium to full bodied white that has balanced fruit and acidity.  Crisp, yet rich, French Chablis is a nice match, as well as white Rhones, Pinot Gris, a dry Riesling, or Chardonnay.  If you like prefer a good amount of melted butter on your crab, California Chardonnay is a good way to good.  These wines can pack that necessary balance of richness and acidity that works really well with the delicate and sweet shellfish.  

Joanie Hudson, Assistant Tasting Room Manager, Santa Barbara Winery

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Online Wine Video Theater

Published
by
joanie
on September 9, 2008
in Articles on Wine and Vineyards, Joanie Hudson and Pinot Noir
. 0 Comments

I have always been a visual learner.  Lately I have taken up to watching informational videos on wine to increase my knowledge.  Two of the best sites that I have found to do this are winelibrarytv.com and the video theater section on Wine Spectator’s website.  These are great ways to focus in on specific areas that peak your interest as well as to learn about something you had no previous knowledge whatsoever about.  On winelibrarytv.com Gary Vaynerchuk takes viewers through a live blind tasting.  He will choose either a certain varietal, a specific region, or diverse price points (to name a few) and then line up a few wines and taste them in front of a camera.  Viewers can see his honest reactions and develop their wine vocabulary and flavor profiles (your spice cabinet of wine descriptors).  

Wine Spectator’s videos are put together by their editors.  James Laube, a senior editor, put together an interesting piece on Russian River Pinot Noir that I just watched where he speaks to the winemakers of famed cult winery, Kosta Browne.  They discuss the ideal climate for pinot noir grapes to flourish in, pointing to cool nights as an integral part of the process.  The fog rolls in at night to the Russian River Valley, like it does in the Sta Rita Hills, to keep the area from getting too warm.  Pinot is a delicate grape that does not do well in areas that have hot days or warm nights.  These cool nights allow the grape to develop its vibrant acidity to the full potential and the purely seductive bright fruit that it brings to the palate.  

Check out both of these sites to learn more about your favorite grape or region.  Or if you’re just a wine nerd like me…

Joanie Hudson, Assistant Tasting Room Manager, Santa Barbara Winery

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New Release - 2007 Chardonnay

Published
by
joanie
on September 3, 2008
in Chardonnay, Joanie Hudson and Tasting Room
. 0 Comments

We have a new release in the tasting room, the 2007 Santa Barbara County Chardonnay (color label).  We transitioned from the 2006 to 2007 yesterday, and put it on the tasting list along with a few other changes.  The 2004 Nebbiolo is on the list, which is an interesting one to taste as it is unlike any of our other wines, and a very unique grape.  We also have the 2007 Pinot Gris on the list, as well as the 2007 ZCS.  The 2007 Rose and 2005 Sangiovese will stay put for now.  

Our color label Chardonnay is one of our most popular wines, our signature wine I guess you could say.  It makes up about a third of our total production.  It is relatively consistent through the years, but this year we had a different assistant winemaker, Ryan Ralston, than previous vintages.  Always interesting to see what a different winemaker brings to the mix… Come try the new tasting list, which is offered daily from 10-5.   

Joanie Hudson, Assistant Tasting Room Manager, Santa Barbara Winery

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LocalWineEvents.com

Published
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joanie
on September 3, 2008
in Joanie Hudson, Other News and Special Events
. 0 Comments

I recently discovered a great comprehensive resource for finding wine events in Santa Barbara. Localwineevents.com has all sorts of information on events happening all over the world.  The calendar of food and drink events has a weekly e-newsletter that is called The Juice, and it displays wine tastings, wine dinners, wine festivals, cooking classes, beer festivals, and more - in your area coming up in the next 30 days.  Food and drink professionals can add their events to the calendar for free. They have resources where you can find answers to the most obscure wine questions, wine articles, and blogs.  

Each Juice newsletter contains quiz questions to test your wine knowledge or learn something new, the calendar of food and wine events, a Q&A section, Wine FAQ’s, and tidbits.  The calendar provides event details, costs, and contact information.  I get my newsletters every Tuesday morning, and it has been the best way that I have found to find out about events in the area.  It’s also just an great way to keep in touch with the wine community, see what everybody is doing, and learn one or two tidbits a week.  To sign up for the newsletter just go to localwineevents.com and register (click on ‘be notified’).  

Joanie Hudson, Assistant Tasting Room Manager, Santa Barbara Winery

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The Last BBQs of Summer

Published
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joanie
on September 1, 2008
in Joanie Hudson and Wine and Food Pairing
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Wine Spectator’s website is where I go for global updates on the wine world, and there was an article that caught my eye today that I will share.  Perhaps it is because it is a perfectly timed article to contemplate post Labor Day, while the weather is still warm.  While Labor Day marks the “official end of summer,” we are lucky here in Santa Barbara to be able to keep our flip flops out through December.  Unfortunately the shorter days definitely inhibit evening barbeques…  

The WS article was ‘White Wines and Seafood for Labor Day’ (say goodbye to summer).  It highlights California chardonnays and some delicious seafood recipes to pair with your wine.  Host your last summer barbeque with this article in mind.  Three recipes are featured: Herb-Grilled Wild Striped Bass, Grilled Shrimp and Clams, and Emeril Lagasse’s Spicy Butter Poached Shrimp.  Each recipe has wine tips, which are ever so helpful when trying to match flavors and create successful pairings.  

For the Bass, it is recommended to look for a chardonnay with some oak to “complement the smoky char on the vegetables.” For the Shrimp and Clams (which are served in an acidic lime butter sauce), “avoid oak and tannin, and stick to lighter bodied chardonnays with plenty of citrus character” (2006 Santa Barbara County Chardonnay).  Emeril’s butter dish calls for a “full-bodied chardonnay with enough fruit to stand up to the heat of the spicy sauce.”  

Pay attention to the weight of a particular chardonnay by doing your research and finding out the fermentation styles that were used to produce the wine.  This is very important for matching your food and drink.

See the full article and recipes this link:

Joanie Hudson

Assistant Tasting Room Manager, Santa Barbara Winery

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Santa Barbara Winery September Wine Club Selection

Published
by
joanie
on August 31, 2008
in Joanie Hudson and Wine Club
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Finally, summer is coming to an end and cooler weather is upon us, which means that it is time for another Santa Barbara Winery wine club shipment.  This month’s selection will go out a little bit later in the month than usual as we are still waiting for it too cool down all over the country.  Suzanne will send out an email notifying you of the exact day that the wine will go out, but it will roughly be around the third week of the month.  If you notice that you have been charged for your wine mid-month, but have not received it yet, that is because we need about a week to process everything before packing and shipping. 

One more thing to keep in mind - if you know that your shipment is coming and you would like to purchase and add more wine (taking advantage of our flat 9.50 shipping rate), just call us and we will add the wine to your club shipment for no extra shipping charge.

The September Wine Club shipment will include the following:

Mixed:
2007 Pinot Gris
2007 ZCS
2006 Lafond SRH Pinot

Red:
2005 Petite Sirah
2007 ZCS
2006 Lafond SRH Pinot

White:
2005 Lafond SRH Chardonnay (This is a library wine. Try the 06 next to it for a vertical tasting!)
2007 Pinot Gris

*If you aren’t sure if we have your email address on file, just give us a call and let us know, we will make sure to add you to the list.

Enjoy!

Joanie Hudson, Assistant Tasting Room Manager, Santa Barbara Winery

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Viognier/Roussanne/Marsanne Cheese Pairings

Published
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joanie
on August 28, 2008
in Joanie Hudson and Wine and Food Pairing
. 0 Comments

Last night, Spiritland Bistro’s Wednesday Wine and Dine theme was Viognier/Roussanne/Marsanne (white wines from France’s Rhone region), and the cheese pairings were so perfect that I must share.  If you haven’t read my previous posts about this event, in short, Spiritland hosts a themed four course dinner on the last Wednesday of each month.  They choose a theme (July’s theme was Rose, September/October’s theme will be SRH Pinot), and during the first hour guests are able to pour themselves a taste of all of the wines that each person brought along.  During this first hour, guests graze on cheese from local shop, C’est Cheese that are meant to complement the wine.  

There were three cheeses last night, all served at a recommended room temperature so that they become almost spreadable on crackers.  First there was the Idiazabal from Spain.  This is a pressed unpasteurized sheep’s milk cheese that comes from the Basque country.  It has a buttery flavor with hints of hazelnut and is slightly acidic.  Nice for cutting through the richness of Rhone varietal white wines.  

Second we had Toma Maccagno from the Valle Cervo in Biella, Italy (Piedmont).  This one was best kept at room temperature because it is semi soft to begin with and was the perfect consistency to spread on a tiny cracker.  Toma is made from cow’s milk.  It is rich and earthy and like the Idiazabal has a buttery texture.  

Last there was my favorite, the Hoch Ybrig (hohk ee-BRIG) from Switzerland.  This is a full flavored cow’s milk that has a firm texture and ripe stone fruit essences, primarily apricot.  This wine would also be nice with a Riesling.  

The wine’s were fantastic, as usual, and I particularly enjoyed the 2006 Tablas Creek Bergeron that I brought.  Bergeron is 100% Roussanne (a French Savoie grape). If you are not familiar with the Tablas Creek wines, they are one of my favorite wineries in California and produce Rhone varietals in Paso Robles.  One reason I love their white wines so much is that their acidity keeps them nice and crisp, never cloying.  Their lean character makes them very food-friendly and balanced.  

Hope to see you at the October 6 SRH Pinot dinner!  See a previous post for the menu.  

Spiritland Bistro, 966-7759

Joanie Hudson, Assistant Tasting Room Manager, Santa Barbara Winery

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