Most people who know me know that I favor red wines over white. I love great zinfandels, syrahs, and even merlots. That is not to say that I don’t enjoy white wines. I do like them but there has to be something extra special about them.

A couple of years ago a co-worker of mine gave me a bottle of Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc for my birthday. I thanked her graciously as any co-worker would and took the bottle home. Because it was a white wine I put it in the fridge when I get home so that it would get a nice chill. However, I didn’t drink it for several weeks because it was, of course, a white wine. More than that it was a sauvignon blanc and I really hadn’t found one of those that I was crazy about.

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At the end of August, we decided to go to Vegas. as we do most years. When we returned I realized that we were running low on red wines and remember that I had this bottle of sauvignon blanc in the fridge. I decided to open it and serve it with the dinner I was making that evening. I was quite surprised with this wine. Its intense, vibrant flavor was quite refreshing. For those of you who don’t know it is usually quite hot in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles in September. This crisp, chilled wine actually hit the spot and  made you forget about the heat, as well as any other stresses of the day. The taste is of citrus (i.e. grapefruit & lime) as well as a bit of herb makes it extremely refreshing.

  The aroma is very bright and cheerful. For some reason when I drink it reminds me of Hawaii, even though it is a New Zealand wine. I have definitely found this wine to be a jackpot and have bought it for numerous friends. The flavor is unbelievable and it retails for a mere $12.99 to about $19.99. This wine is delicious all year long but in the heat of Southern California summers it is absolutely a must have. Go out and pick up this gem…summer is on the way!

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Tonight a really good friend of mine and I met for dinner. We decided to go to Delmonico’s Steak and Lobster House in Encino, California. Delmonico’s ambience is elegant and the food is fresh and delicious.  There are many great things on the menu, however, one of the best is the  lobster bisque which is absolutely phenomenal. Another favorite is the spicy ahi tuna tartare with crispy wontons. Having dined there on many occasions, I really haven’t found any food on the menu that I didn’t like.

I wish I could say that about the wines. Delmonico’s wine list is very limited and the choices of wines you can choose by the glass really leave a lot to be desired. Tonight I was in the mood for a red wine. A syrah or zinfandel would have been nice but they didn’t offer either by the glass. They did have a couple of merlots, cabernet sauvignons and pinot noirs. I initially asked the server to bring me a sample of the  Hogue Genesis Merlot. The first taste was bitter and dry so I opted not to purchase a full glass. I am not adding it to the craps list (see Craps Page) because I only tasted a sip and I can’t say I fully experienced it. After perusing the wine list again my friend and I finally chose to go with the  Haymen & Hill Pinot Noir. When our glasses came and we took the first sip we were quite befuddled. This pinot wasn’t like most. It was strong and full-flavored. The texture was not silky like a typical pinot noir. It also did not have a smooth finish. We both found this wine t0 be quite unappealing.

We finished our dinner and made it through our respective glasses of wine, needless to say without ordering another. It really surprises me that a restaurant of Delmonico’s quality would have such a skimpy wine list and that those wines on the list would be of poor quality. Although the wine wasn’t good, it didn’t take away from the dining experience. Our food was good and the fellowship was great. Next time we go to Delmonico’s we will just bring our own wine.

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As a young adult I remember being told by a slightly older lady that a woman should always keep a little black dress in her closet for that “special” occasion. To this day I still follow that advice and have that special little black dress that has come in handy for many types of events 

About a month ago, the term “little black dress” took on a different meaning for me. You see, it was then that I discovered Little Black Dress Pinot Grigio. Although light, this wine makes a lasting impression on you with its clean citrus flavor. Chilled, this wine goes well with a variety of foods or stands alone as a refreshing drink on a hot summer day.  Like that little black dress in your closet, this wine with its floral aroma and hints of tangerine and orange goes well with any special (or not so special) occasion.

Little Black Dress Pinot Grigio is fermented in 100% stainless steel which brings out it fruity flavor.  This wine is primarily made up of the pinot grigio grape. However, two other grapes give it special character…the muscat and the viognier.

The muscat grape is one that even when fermented still gives off the smell of fresh grape. It can also smell of roses. Muscat in the LBD gives it a spicy kick.

Muscat Grape

 The viognier grape gives this wine its floral component. This is a difficult grape to get right as it doesn’t age well. The original home for this grape is in northern Rhone.

Viognier Grape

The combination of these grapes with the pinot grigio grape make a fabulous wine that you can enjoy for a relatively cheap price.

Pinot Grigio

 This wine retails from about $8.00 to $10.00 in your local supermarket. Pick some up today. And for the guys out there, remember women aren’t the only ones who should have this Little Black Dress in their closets (wine closet that is). You’ll enjoy it too!

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Last weekend while grocery shopping I met a lady in the checkout line who was buying a bottle of Talus Collection Pinot Noir. Being the wine lover I am, I struck up a conversation with her by asking her what she liked about this particular wine. She began to tell me that it had a great flavor and that it really wasn’t that expensive. Her main thing was that it went well with fish, which is what she was serving for dinner that night. I told her that the next time I was in the store for wine I would pick up a bottle and try it.

Well today, I needed to pick up a few things to go with the salmon I was preparing for dinner. I decided to stroll down the wine aisle and I remember this bottle of wine and the promise I’d made to this lady. I finally located this bottle on the bottom shelf in the Pinot Noir section. My first thought was “bottom shelf, must not be that great”. I immediately turned the bottle around so that I could read the statement on the back and was interested to see that the two food items the winemaker felt this wine went well with were roasted pork tenderloin and grilled salmon. So I decided to go ahead and purchase it to try  with dinner.

Prior to the completion of preparing my food I decided to sample a small taste in order to judge the wine pre-meal as well as during the meal. I was happy to discover that this wine had a nice spicy fragrance and that it was absolute in the initial taste. This followed by a smooth and but somewhat bitter finish. Now I must say I am not much of a Pinot Noir drinker as I find them all a bit to smooth for my taste. (I prefer more robust reds like Zinfandels, Syrahs and Cabernets). However, I didn’t find this wine bad. I felt it complimented the fish nicely. Which brings me to my point. For years I have heard that white wines should be served with poultry and seafood and reds with meats. I must say that I have never subscribed to that belief and have found some of my most interesting and delicious red wine experiences while eating a seafood dinner. So my question to you all is do you only do whites with seafood or do you mix it up and try reds as well?

Back to the Talus…at the end of the meal I decided to have a little more and found the bitterness becoming a bit more prevalent, again, not to the point to where I felt it wasn’t drinkable. Again, this wine went well with the salmon but I am not really sure how it would have stood up to a red meat.  I feel this wine is  average and I won’t be adding it to the Jackpots section because I don’t know that I will specifically search it out for purchase again. I also won’t be adding it to Craps because if I had to drink it again I could. Hopefully my opinion won’t   dissuade you. I think you should always try things for yourself because no two palates were created equally. Until next time, salut.

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This evening my husband and I attended the Louis/Dressner Portfolio Wine Tasting held at the Woodland Hills Wine Company in Woodland Hills, California. This was a unique event for the WHWC. It was a casual walk-around tasting where you met some of the finest winemakers from Europe. Included below are the producers who attended:

Francois Pinon – Vouvray

Luneau-Papin – Muscadet

Franck Peillot – Bugey

Terres Dorees – Beaujolais

Domaine Louis-Claude Desvignes – Beaujolais

Domaine Marechal – Burgundy

Azienda Agricola Montesecondo – Toscana

Campi di Fonterenza – Montalcino

Occhipinti – Sicilia

Eric Texier – Rhone

Vittorio Bera & Figli – Piedmonte

Chinati Vergano – Piedmonte

Each winemaker poured two or three of their wines for tasting. There were several good wines among these and a few not so great wines. Three wines that stood out for my husband and me this evening. The winner for me was the Campi di Fonterenza – Montalcino 2006 Sangiovese IGT. For those of you unfamiliar with the Sangiovese, it is a red grape grown primarily in Tuscany, Italy. It is Italy’s most planted variety and creates the framework for many Italian wines including Chianti and Carmignano. Of all the wines I tasted this had the most elegant flavor. It is age for six months in a stainless steel tank and then for six months in Slovenian oak barrels. The fruits of this wine come alive as you inhale its aromatic bouquet. This wine is medium-bodied but has a rich flavor unlike many European wines. It retails for about $30.00.

My husband’s pick of the evening was the Chianti Classico by Azienda Agricola Montesecondo – Toscana. This was somewhat shocking to me because this is a quite a robust wine and my husband tends to like a sweeter flavor. I thoroughly enjoyed this wine and we both agreed that it would serve well with a nice pasta dinner. It had a very rich flavor but was smooth at the end. This is definitely one for the wine cellar. Retailing for about $28.00, it is definitely a good buy.

Our final pick was quite surprising for me because I am not a lover of sweet tasting wines. However, we both found the Moscato d’Asti by Vittorio Bera & Figli – Piedmonte quite refreshing. Today was an unusually hot day in the area we live in so this chilled and moderately sweet wine really hit the spot. The hint of orange and melon provided you with a sense of relief from the 100-degree temperature. Its crispness almost made you feel as if you were not drinking wine but instead a sparkling ade.

Overall this was quite an interesting tasting. I have tried French wines on several occasions but never really find one that excites my palate. French wines tend to be a bit to smooth and mellow for me. When drinking wine I like a little excitement on my taste buds. However, I will continue to try them. The Italian wines really were the jackpots for my husband and me this evening. So much so that we definitely made a few purchases before leaving. If you get an opportunity please tastes the wines I’ve mentioned here and let me know what you think. Also, check out the Jackpots & Craps sections on this blog and see which wines made the list.

Until the next time…Ciao!

         Before my husband and I were married we would take the occasional trip to Sin City (Las Vegas, Nevada) to catch a show, do some shopping and partake in a little harmless gambling. On our first few trips there we would mainly stick with the slot machines. It never failed either that my guy would win a decent amount of money and I would sit there continually feeding this one armed beast that would never produce anything for me. Eventually my husband ventured off to blackjack and soon developed an incredible winning streak with that as well. I stayed faithful to the slot machines and again never really won anything. One night my soon to be husband turned in early, but before doing so he gave me a nice amount of money to play. I sat at that machine and watched every dime disappear. When I returned to the hotel room my sweetie just looked at me and said baby it’s all in the last name. You see his last name is Gamble. He explained to me that once I became a Gamble my luck would change.

We finally got married and for our one-year anniversary we decided to celebrate in Vegas. We stayed at the Signature Hotel, which is a great attachment at the MGM Grand. When we got there we put our bags down and immediately decided to go out and check out the casino at the MGM Grand (there is no casino at the Signature). As usual my husband decided to play an initial game of slots before heading off to the blackjack table. He asked me where I wanted to sit and I chose a couple of machines off in a corner in the back. When we settled in and I put in my player’s card, inserted my money and hit the spin button. All of the sudden my machine appeared to be frozen. I asked my husband to come over to take a look. He came over and laughed. “Baby you won,” he stated. I couldn’t believe it. Before I knew there was a lady at the machine telling me that I’d won $1300.00 and taking down all of my pertinent information. I was in a state of shock. I’d never won anything. I know what some of you may be thinking… $1300.00 what’s so great about that. To me, though, that was a jackpot as significant as any other. I knew then that I was truly a Gamble. That wasn’t the only jackpot of the trip. My husband did well at blackjack also.  Then on our actual anniversary we decided to dine at Emeril’s in the MGM. Another jackpot occurred there. We researched the wine list and decided on the Gnarly Head Zinfandel. I’d never heard of it and was a little apprehensive. However, I found the name interesting. When the wine arrived at the table and the waiter poured the initial tasting I was pleasantly surprised. I wrote down the name to research this wine further when I returned home to Southern California.

At home I looked the wine up on the Internet.  This very good wine is an Old Vine Zin from Lodi, California. The vines range in age from 35-80 years old and are so unruly that the name Gnarly Head just seemed appropriate. According to the company these vines produce only a small amount of small grapes but they are intense in flavor. Gnarly Head Old Vine Zinfandel has the taste of berries, oak and spices with a hint of vanilla and chocolate. It retails from $8.99 to $11.99 so it’s a bargain to boot. This wine pairs very well with a variety of dishes. We keep it on hand as a wine that we can enjoy with just about any meal I prepare.

Gnarly Head Zinfandel is now easy to find in many wine shops and supermarkets. Below is the link to the website. If you’ve not tried it please do. I think you, too, will be pleasantly surprised.

The company also produces a more intense version of this wine called Gnarlier Head Zinfandel. It retails for about $19.99. It’s not as easy to find in stores. When I tried it I had to order it through a local wine shop (The Green Jug). The flavor, to me, is a lot more robust than the milder brother, Gnarly Head. Try them both and let me know what you think.  

As always, please remember to drink responsibly.

http://www.gnarlyhead.com/Wines/