Tag Archive for 'California'

The Last BBQs of Summer

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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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Viognier/Roussanne/Marsanne Cheese Pairings

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joanie
on August 28, 2008
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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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Captain Jacks Tours

Published
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joanie
on August 27, 2008
in Joanie Hudson, Tasting Room and Winery Visitors
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Captain Jack (aka Mark Hicks) provides our most highly recommended organized all-inclusive tours in Santa Barbara.  Accommodating groups of all sizes and providing outdoor tours that show off California’s central coast, these tours allow guests to sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.  

I wasn’t aware of the myriad of activities that are available to choose from until I recently checked out the company’s website.  I knew that he provided daily organized wine tasting tours, but wasn’t aware of the coastal sailboat cruises, horseback rides, kayak tours, guided hikes and glider airplane flights that visitors can sign up for.  

His most popular tour is The Gaviota Coast Kayak and Hiking Tour, which starts with a scenic coastal drive, two hours of kayaking, lunch at a secluded resort, and ending with an hour and a half long hike.  The options are endless and the best part about it is that you don’t have to worry about planning.  Transportation, food, and activities are all provided and included.  

Wine tasting tours are $50 and include all wine tasting fees and transportation.  You will stop at four of the following downtown Santa Barbara wineries: Santa Barbara Winery, Summerland Winery tasting room, Carr Vineyards, Whitcraft Winery, Cellar 205, Giessinger Winery, or Sterns Wharf Vintners.  You will also stop for lunch at either The Bay Cafe & Fish Market or Pierre Lafond Bistro for deliciously gourmet sandwiches and chopped salads.  

You can also combine wine tasting with other activities such as kayaking, a glider ride, off roading, and horsebackriding (see detailed options at Captain Jacks Tours  If you’re on vacation, let somebody else escort you around beautiful Santa Barbara.  

Captain Jacks Tours

888-810-8687

Joanie Hudson, Assistant Tasting Room Manager, Santa Barbara Winery

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AIWF at The Cultured Abalone Farm

Published
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joanie
on August 18, 2008
in Joanie Hudson, Special Events and Wine and Food Pairing
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Yesterday I attended an event organized by the American Institute of Wine and Food (AIWF) at Santa Barbara’s own Cultured Abalone Farm.  This was the 4th Annual Tour and Tasting at the farm that the esteemed national organization has put together.  AIWF’s mission statement is to “enhance the quality of life through education about what we eat and drink.” With this in mind, they organize artisan food gatherings, winemaker dinners, and exclusive wine tastings for their members and guests, to name a few.  At the core of these events is the educational element, which is really where wine and food appreciation comes into play.  

Guests of the abalone event were first guided through the farm where we learned how abalone are bred, grown, processed, and marketed commercially.  Local restaurants such as Square One and The Wine Cask are just two clients who go directly to the source to obtain the freshest abalone.  We got to take a look at the “specialty market” tanks, which held abalone three times the size of commercially market standard size (which looked like it was about 3 inches in diameter).  The specialty market abalone are coveted by sushi chefs throughout the southern and central California coast.  After our tour we enjoyed a three course luncheon, which included a cooking demonstration by Chef Michael Hutchings, set up in the middle of the harvesting tanks.  The abalone was lightly breaded with granulated flour (which I learned doesn’t clump) and served with roussanne (2007 Jaffurs Roussanne - a classic pairing).  The shellfish and the richness of the rhone varietal white went together seamlessly.  

If you have an interest in food and wine, AIWF is worth looking into.  The organization has 25 chapters in major cities across the U.S., and over 4000 members.  

Cultured Abalone Farm (9580 Dos Pueblos Cyn Rd. 805-685-1956)

Joanie Hudson, Assistant Tasting Room Manager, Santa Barbara Winery

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Bottleshock - A History of Napa Valley

Published
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joanie
on August 10, 2008
in Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Competitions and Joanie Hudson
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It is truly amazing what a popular movie can do to generate hype and publicity for its subject.  In the instance of Bottleshock, a historical and revolutionary tasting becomes an issue of pop culture.  People love to see a story, become aquainted with characters, and watch events unfold.  Movies can bring historical awareness to the public on a grand scale in a way that no other medium is able to do. 

The movie Sideways brought awareness and a business boom to Santa Barbara County and pinot noir. Now Bottleshock has reintroduced the world to Napa Valley, as it chronicles the events leading up to the industry shattering breakthrough that was the 1976 Judgment of Paris.  Bottleshock debuted at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival to critical acclaim and opened in movie theatres last week.  It appeals to wine lovers, history buffs, and has a beautifully written story line to capitivate all audience members. 

Today Napa Valley (which means “land of plenty”) is home to over 300 wineries.  Although the first commercial winery was started back in 1861, it has been a rocky road to get where it is.  Phylloxera was the first major setback in the late 1800s.  1919 brought a halt to commercial winemaking practices with the enactment of Prohibition.  This lasted until 1933, and the industry has been slowly growing ever since, gaining an official designation as a recognized AVA in 1982.  California vintners flocked to Napa where they began feverishly producing vintage after vintage of chardonnay and cabernet.  Its global prestige is as recent as 1976, when it gained overnight fame in the Judgment of Paris. 

So what is this Judgment of Paris? What makes it so important that an entire movie is dedicated to capturing it?  The competition was organized by a British wine merchant named Steven Spurrier.  A panel of 11 French and American judges did a blind tasting of top quality chardonnay and cabernet from France and California.  The results were shocking to the wine world and promoted the expansion of California wine production (the emergence of New World wines).  California wines rated the best in each category when pitted up against the French.  Now, this is not to say that California wines are “better” than French wines.  The main outcome of this event was to really knock France off of their pedestal and bring California onto the same level playing field as the French. 

The wines that were entered into the competition are listed below:

Red Wines:

1973 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Cab 

1970 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild

1971 Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello Cab

1970 Chateau Montrose

1970 Heitz Wine Cellars Martha’s Vineyard Cab

1970 Chateau Haut-Brion

1970 Clos Du Val Winery Cab

1971 Chateau Leoville Las Cases

1971 Mayacamas Vineyards Cab

1969 Freemark Abbey Winery

White Wines:

1973 Chateau Montelena Chard

1973 Meursault Charmes Roulet

1974 Chalone Vineyard Chard

1973 Spring Mountain Vineyard

1972 Freemark Abbey Winery Chard

1973 Batard-Montrachet Romenet-Prudhon

1972 Veedercrest Vineyards Chard

1972 Puligny-Montrachet Les Pucelles

1973 David Bruce Winery Chard

Steven Spurrier discussed the controversy of the tasting results stating, “The results of a blind tasting cannot be predicted and will not even be reproduced the next day by the same panel tasting the same wines.  A side by side chart of best to worst rankings of 18 wines by a roster of experienced tasters showed about as much consistency as a table of random numbers.”

Joanie Hudson, Assistant Tasting Room Manager, Santa Barbara Winery

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Bottle Shock and Judgement of Paris

Published
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Pierre
on July 24, 2008
in Articles on Wine and Vineyards, Wine News and Winery News
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Two new movies about the 1976 Paris tasting which Hollywood will not let the French forget. No doubt encouraged by the sleeper success of Sideways these new movies will probably not receive the same critical acclaim – judging by this article in the Toronto Globe and Mail by Beppi Crosariol.

Wine connoisseurs - I call them cons

BEPPI CROSARIOL
bcrosariol@globeandmail.com

July 23, 2008

It was the taste-off that turned wine upside down.

In 1976, an esteemed all-French jury gathered in Paris for a blind tasting to compare eight of France’s greatest wines against a dozen upstarts from California. In an upset worthy of Hollywood, the United States trounced France, winning top honours in both the red and white categories.

Now, Hollywood has finally found its way to the story. Not one but two films based on the so-called Judgment of Paris will duke it out for attention this year. Bottle Shock, a rollicking comedy-drama based on true events that stars Alan Rickman, opens in Toronto on Aug. 6 and is slated to roll out to theatres across the country later in the summer. The second film, Judgment of Paris, based on the official story by the only journalist to attend the Paris tasting, Time magazine’s George Taber, is due later this year.

The event’s significance has predictably been interpreted the same way ever since: California had vaulted its way into the wine stratosphere. True. But if there’s justice, the films will also be a reminder - in these boom times for wine snobbery - of a message far more overdue…..

Ending with…

……Ironically, Bottle Shock perpetuates that superhuman-taster myth even as the factual part of the story undermines it. In one pivotal, fictional scene, Gustavo, a Mexican-American cellar hand employed by Chateau Montelena, wows a crowded Napa barroom by identifying the legendary 1947 Cheval Blanc, a red Bordeaux, in an impromptu brown-bag challenge.

So, let me get this straight: A spunky American kid can nail the nuances of great French terroir in a blind tasting when an esteemed panel of seasoned European experts can’t?

Apparently, 32 years after French arrogance got its comeuppance in the Judgment of Paris, wine jingoism is alive and well and living in America.

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French to buy Chateau Montelena

Published
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Pierre
on July 23, 2008
in Articles on Wine and Vineyards and Wine News
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Irony of ironies a French Chateau  is rumored to be buying the winery that startled the wine world in 1976 and which is the subject of a new movie soon to be released.

BERKELEY - Chateau Montelena, which shocked the wine world in 1976 when it beat French vintages in a famous Paris tasting, is expected to be sold, officials close to the deal said today. The buyer? The owner of a Bordeaux estate.

“This is the ultimate recognition, that the French are now buying these great California wineries,” said Jon Fredrikson, a wine industry consultant and publisher of the Gomberg-Fredrikson report which tracks wine shipments.

Company officials released a joint statement saying talks were in progress between Michel Reybier, owner of Chateau Cos d’Estournel in Bordeaux, and Chateau Montelena founder Jim Barrett for a sale, pending regulatory approval.

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