Hip Tastes Blog

Extra, Extra! Become a Bottling Wunderkind, Get Cool Cred @ Hip Tastes Bottling School

2012-01-31T07:40:41Z

Enter to be considered for a spot on the bottling line for Hip Tastes' new red blend - our first-ever commercially available wine - debuting this spring! A small group of Hip Tasters will pitch in over barrel samples and snacks at Oakland's Urban Legend Cellars this Saturday 2/4/12 (note: timing and details to be confirmed once bottling team selected). To be considered, visit our Facebook page, like us and post a note on our wall telling us why you would make the best wine bottler ever.

Extra points for creativity, natch.

The Bachelor Weekly Updates: Winemaker Hottie, Drunken Confessionals, Cat Fights!

2012-01-31T01:44:13Z

[photo: ABC]
When my editor at food blog Eater SF - where I dish on beverage-related gossip in a recurring column called The Swill - asked me to document this season of ABC's The Bachelor, I quickly accepted the challenge. With SF-based Sonoma winemaker Ben Flajnik of Envolve Wines in the lead role, it's a choice opportunity to be dishy not only about wine, but about reality TV to boot (oh what a glorious pairing!). Check in on my coverage - updated weekly throughout the season - here at Eater, and stay tuned on Twitter, too. #TheBachelor hashy is a great read come Monday nights whether you're watching or not (if not, skip right to the recap on Tuesday).

Liquid Farm: Insanely Cute Wine People, Liquid Gold, Santa Rita Score

2011-12-31T23:18:58Z

One of the most delightful new people I met - virtually, via Facebook in this case - in 2011 is Nikki Nelson of Liquid Farm. Nikki runs Liquid Farm - a 100% Chardonnay project - with her husband in Los Angeles, with the wine made in the Lompoc wine ghetto. She was kind enough to share with Hip Tastes these pics of her "Wine Nerd Wedding" with Jeff, a longtime rep for Henriot Champagne. After the jump, more on their in-the-vineyard nuptials (I so love this pic of them holding grapes in the vineyard, which they captioned "Chardonnay and Us") and the startup label, which takes inspiration from the whites of Burgundy but equally channels the richness and purity of the Santa Rita Hills. Onward, to wine geek fabulosity!

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The Wedding
Nikki shared that the wedding was planned in just two months and featured mostly friends as vendors, including Erik Kelley of the Cheese Store of Beverly Hills - a fav haunt of my mine when I lived in the BH - who oversaw the food. Nikki and Jeff were married in Kessler-Haak vineyard, from which they source some of their fruit, by Nikki's grandfather. Instructions to guests were to wear comfortable shoes or boots for the dusty ceremony, and to bring dancing shoes for the reception at Dragonette Cellars, where Liquid Farm is made. The couple arrived - true wine nerd style - on a tractor. Pics from the reception show them dancing among wine tanks, clearly at home and most happy when immersed in the trappings of their mutual love (i.e. the good stuff). Their affection for each other only grew when they discovered that they both especially loved Champagne and white Burgundy.

Clearly, these are Chardonnayphiles of the highest order.

The Couple
Here's the back story, in Nikki's own words: "We met while I worked with Henry Wine Group (Henriot's sole CA distributor). We were colleagues and when we finally got to dating we fell in love over the 2009 barrel samples of Liquid Farm at Fess Parker Inn (in their lobby!) and a month or so later I transferred with HWG from San Luis Obispo to Beverly Hills and about a year after we were engaged and now married :)"

Jeff has been in the wine biz for over 20 years and specializes in Champagne houses (having worked for Veuve and Laurent-Perrier) and has been with Henriot for five years as their Regional Division Sales Manager representing Henriot Champagne as well as Bouchard Per et Fils, William Fevre and a few smaller producers from Italy and Spain. Nikki originally hails from Temecula, So Cal's southerly wine region sandwiched between LA and San Diego, and caught the wine bug while working at a wine store there. She attended Cal Poly in the insanely cute town of San Luis Obispo, majoring in wine business before moving on to work in sales at HWG, where she met Jeff. Nikki just recently left her job to focus on Liquid Farm full-time.

The couple sells their wine throughout Southern California, with eyes to expansion to the Bay Area soon (for now, you can purchase Liquid Farm through K&L). It's clear that their backgrounds in sales and the contacts they've made in the marketplace are huge advantages as they build their brand. The whole project/partnership has the trappings, please indulge the cliche, of a perfect (wine) match.

When it comes to these wedding snaps, Nikki gets most excited dishing on the shot of them drinking Henriot Blanc from magnums, "cannonball style" without glasses, after the ceremony. It certainly looks like a good time was had. Also: these have to be the coolest wine "nerds" I've encountered. Just sayin'.

The Wine
Liquid Farm debuted with the 2009 vintage in two cuvees: White Hill and Golden Slope. The former is named for the chalky (aka white) hills of Chablis, the latter for the undulating slopes of Burgundy's Cote d'Or. Nikki shares that the two bottlings were made from the same vineyard, harvested at the same time and made using the very same winemaking regimes. Of the four barrels made, "two of the barrels had more minerality, a different texture. The other two were more voluptuous, hazelnut-driven. We decided to bottle [the two lots separately]," Nikki explained in a recent radio interview with Tom Leykis on his Tasting Room program. Just 96 cases were crafted of the 2009 vintage, though 350 cases were made of the 2010 White Hill alone - not a surprise given that the 2009s sold out in less than a month.

Note re the radio show: Nikki was recruited to be on the show by Barrie Lynn, AKA the Cheese Impresario, another cool So Cal lady who's taken an interest in Liquid Farm for its superb pairability. If you'd like to listen to the program, you can find the mp3 here (FYI Nikki comes on a little over halfway through). I've also posted a pic of Nikki and Barrie with Tom above. It's fun to hear Nikki move suavely between expert-caliber banter on soil types, winemaking specs and product positioning; she's clearly a fantastic salesperson, and she also comes across as sincere and very cool (again, not very nerdy).

Tasting Notes
I was lucky enough to taste the '09s, and I was impressed. I found them more similar than markedly different: both were unmistakably Santa Rita Hills in origin, boasting a custard-y richness that was balanced by a breezy minerality and unusually low alcohol for the region (13.3%). The Kimmeridgian limestone-derived minerality was apparent, if not as bracingly so as in French renderings, and I suspect that with time the White Hill especially will suggest more rich Burgundy, less Cali. With the 2010 vintage, vineyards sources include Zotovich, Kessler-Haak, and Rita's Crown; all of the wines are made with neutral oak barrels.

2010 White Hill Santa Rita Hills Chardonnay ($35)
The 2010 "White Hill" - just released this fall and which I tasted over the Thanksgiving holiday - issues forth with hedonistic notes of banana cream, golden apple, cinnamon stick and white peach. The palate brings more restraint in the form of pear skin and lemon curd notes backed by spice. It's a richer pour than the previous vintage at 13.7% ABV, though it still demonstrates some restraint: Rombauer this is not. And while it's not exactly laser-focused-acidity-wrapped-in-minerality Burgundy, it's further along the continuum in that direction that most of its CA brethren. (Besides, in a realm of unabashed "California palates," is it wise to make a wine that hews 180 degrees from what the customer base drinks?)

Given Liquid Farm's emphasis on typicity - which Nikki and Jeff define as "the degree to which a wine reflects its varietal origins" - it bears noting that regions have typicity, too. Chardonnay from Santa Barbara County's Santa Rita Hills is singular: it's sophisticated in its mineral-tinged persona and crisp acidity, but it's also hearty. When made well from good fruit, it walks the tightrope well indeed (and we hear the buyers at Spago and Cut agree with Liquid Farm's interpretations).

And so: Here's to a standup new effort from a couple whose sincerity, charm, industry savvy and superb palates have already set them apart as Cali winemakers to watch. That they rode into their vineyard wedding on a tractor and cannonballed Champs afterwards distinguishes them further: these are winemakers to watch AND party with. Here's hoping we all get the chance to do so in 2012.

Auction Me (Literally), Plus: Bazaar Gifting, Culinary-preneur Hotness Tonight!

2011-12-10T00:06:15Z

It's T minus one hour to La Cocina's annual holiday gift bazaar in the Mish. This is just a quick note to say that if you're looking for something to do tonight and you love supporting local food talent while also finding totally fabulous stocking stuffers and hostess gifts and pantry musts this time o' year - then head over to the Mission Cultural Center tonight for some goodies between 5 and 9.

AND, don't forget to check out La Cocina's silent auction - which runs through the 12th - online. I am offering a private in-home tasting and 3 signed copies of Hip Tastes! Talent is fierce on the auction roster with heat coming from the likes of Chez Panisse, Food Network hottie Aida Mollenkamp and more - please help me represent! Proceeds go to this fantastic non-profit that makes a wonderful impact on our community while enriching lives and enabling business building dreams. ;)

Silent Auction overview
My item @ eBay

- CC

Mechanical Pipettes, Hot Pink Pens, Cool Amador Pours, Or: Blending at Urban Legend

2011-12-05T18:21:19Z

Last week I paid a visit to the affable Steve and Marilee Shaffer at Urban Legend Cellars, their Oakland-based vinous outpost that strikes quite the appropriately urbane mold. I'm working with Steve and Marilee to create the next Hip Tastes blend, a red featuring Amador County fruit to be released March 31, 2012 at a splashy HIP TASTES Event at the winery (mark your calendars!!).

At their website, Steve and Marilee describe themselves as: "Husband and wife, serial entrepreneurs, high tech alumnae, flavor junkies, and, likely, moderately crazy, but in a nice, togetherness sort of way (would that be a folie a deux?)." Check out the Flickr album for more on their technicolor tasting room, cool mechanical pipettes for blending (srsly high tech!), our method and the day that was. Oh, and there's also a pic of my cool new cowboy boots for a hit of fashion flair. ;)

AND: Stay tuned for more on what's shaping up to be quite the exciting collaboration!

Photos Are IN: HIP TASTES: Mix It Up! + Debut Wine Capsule Collection

2011-11-21T21:25:26Z

Hip Tasters gathered Saturday at Sutton Cellars for our first ever urban winery event with Twitter-powered scavenger hunt. Featuring the debut Hip Tastes wine (Hip Tastes Red!) and custom blended beverage-inspired scents, 'twas a merry day in Dogpatch. Stay tuned for more on future wine collaborations, events and Hip Tastes culture. For now, happy almost T Day. May you drink well and make many good memories with your nearest and dearest.

See the pics - by the one and only John Curley - at Flickr, and don't forget to "Like" Hip Tastes on Facebook! Images are posted there, too, so please tag yourself and share, share, share!

xoxo, Courtney

Gastro Highs, Cool Haunts & Hot Prizes for Hip Tasters in Dogpatch Tomorrow!

2011-11-18T17:43:18Z

Now that there are numerous urban wineries in Dogpatch, a natural wine bar, several excellent restos, myriad catering companies, ice cream and chocolate purveyors (Recchiuti just opened YESTerday) and droves of hungry workers in the area's booming industrial spaces-cum-offices/workshops, Dogpatch has become an "it" 'hood bar none - especially for the gastronomically inclined. Tomorrow, Hip Tasters who come to Mix It Up! (2-5pm @ Sutton Cellars) will get an intimate look at more than a half dozen of these cool neighborhood haunts courtesy of our scavenger hunt, which will take place during the event. What could be better than a social media-powered 'hunt through this sweet emerging 'hood?? PRIZES.

That's right, there are quite a few of these to be had, including gift certificates for prime butcher cuts, ice cream, wine tasting and brunching. Oh, and an art class and made-to-order messenger bag, both of which are valued at a cool $100. Read on after the jump for a bit more on the businesses we'll visit. And, for goodness sakes, if you haven't bought your ticket yet, it's high time! Here's that link, and another to the full Flickr album for the businesses.

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Mr. & Mrs. Miscellaneous
As 7x7 notes, "Ian Flores and Annabelle Topacio have pastry chef pedigree--they've both worked for Wolfgang Puck at Spago in Southern California and Maui and CUT in Beverly Hills." Annabelle shared with me: "We have done about 189+ flavors since we have opened in May of 2010, a huge amount of them are flavors we have made up ourselves - the Pink Squirrel, Candied Violet, Croquantino, Crema Catalana, etc. Many of them are not as simple as they sound and do not only contain one component." The scavenger hunt will entail sleuthing some cool details about their flavors - details at the event.

3 Fish Studios
3 Fish Studios is home to the artistic duo Annie Galvin and Eric Rewitzer, who create bold and whimsical (at the same time, it's really great) pieces that sometimes invoke the industrial backdrop of Dogpatch. Eric specializes in Linocut Printmaking, transferring images to linoleum carvings which he puts through an etching press to create beautiful limited prints. When he's not making his own pieces (ex SF mayor Gavin Newsome has one of his coveted Giants World Series prints), he teaches classes. The scavenger hunt will entail making a print from a custom linoleum carving Eric made especially for Hip Tastes (!). So much fun.

Yield Wine Bar
With an emphasis on natural wines, Chris Tavelli's Yield has been in the 'hood since 2006 and is know for being San Francisco's first eco-friendly wine bar. Per the website: "All of our wines featured on our rotating wine list are environmentally friendly -- they are made from grapes that are farmed organically or biodynamically. While many of our featured wineries even receive certification, all of them are as focused on making the best wine possible as they are on making it in the most environmentally conscientious way." We like it. For the 'hunt, Hip Tasters will do a brown bag tasting at Yield and tweet their tasting notes using the #HipTastes hash tag. Woops, we mean twasting notes.

Serpentine
The tagline is
HONEST FOOD
CLASSIC COCKTAILS
We like them already. Sophie Brickman at the Chronicle has a great write-up on the place highlighting menu hits, crowd and ambiance. A highlight: "...You enter Serpentine, Slow Club's sister restaurant, where the cocktails may be classic but the food and vibe are most certainly modern. Honor the past with a timeless cocktail and the present with bar nibbles, a cheeseburger and salted caramel ice cream..." The 'hunt will entail getting to know the spot's whisky/ey selection a bit. Yep, keeping it in the beverage bent.

Olivier's Butchery
Sustainably minded butcher Olivier Cordier hails from Burgundy, and his busy shop around the corner from Sutton Cellars draws gastrophiles who can't get enough of his expertly sourced meats. According to the website, "All of our fresh carcasses are hand picked by Olivier himself. We utilize the whole carcass and practice old world methods and tools to select, age and hand cut every piece to your order. Customers can pre-order favorite cuts, or stop by the the shop and select from traditional French cuts as well as American cuts." The hunt will entail an activity relating to cuts of meat. Let's hear it for the carnivores! (photo courtesy of Olivier's website)

Rickshaw Bagworks
Another great tagline: "Fresh bags made daily." Rickshaw is a totally delightful biz operating an end-to-end manufacturing operation in the heart of Dogpatch. Using sustainable and often recycled materials, Rickshaw makes coveted messenger bags, computer sleeves and tons of other great stuff. The 'hunt will entail getting to know their products better via a search through their on-site retail store for a certain item, then posting it to Facebook with the answer to a trivia question. Max points for creativity, something the folks at this super-creative space will no doubt appreciate.

Game on!

Event tickets

Black Rock City Cool, Sharp Dressing and Pro Surfer Envy - Or, Why John Curley's Pics Rule

2011-11-18T00:07:06Z

This Saturday at Mix It Up! we can look forward to being snapped in all our finery by none other than John Curley, SF photog extraordinaire and all around bon vivant. I first met John when he photographed a 2006 Hip Tastes event for San Fran Mag, and then convinced him to shoot my SF book launch the following year. John's made a name for himself documenting the fabulosity of the Burning Man camp build each year, though he also shoots weddings, advertisements and much more. Look for him at the custom photo backdrop at Hip Tastes (props to include mustaches, suspenders, top hats, Wayfarers, more - it will be FUN) and throughout the event. Pics should be amazing and amusing, and I couldn't be more excited to be bringing John back into the Hip Tastes family. ;)

Read on for a Q&A with John and more of his images after the jump (more on those Burning Man collaborations, professional surfer envy, and adult beverages), and check back here next week for event pics. Oh, that's John in the top image.

PS: check out the San Fran Mag piece here + book party pics here.

]]> Q What is your favorite thing you've ever shot?
A For the past four years, I've documented the building of Black Rock City, the place in the middle of the Nevada desert where the Burning Man festival is held. I arrive there when there is virtually nothing but the barren desert floor. Four weeks later, the gates open for 50,000 revelers. Seeing how it all comes together, and meeting the people who do it, has been the most amazing experience of my photographic life.

Q What drew you to photography?
A I'm not sure, really, because I don't ever remember a time when I didn't want to take pictures. I was fascinated with making images from a very early age, and my parents were good enough to encourage that fascination. They even tolerated me setting up a darkroom in the basement when I was in high school.

Q Did you have formal training?
A I didn't originally go to school for photography. I was an English major in college, and that led to writing for newspapers. Eventually, I became an editor, and I worked with photographers and others to design pages. I started studying photography formally about 11 years ago, when I began participating in workshops and taking courses at San Francisco City College.

Q You teach now, yes?
A Yes, teaching is one of the things I do now. Photography is what I spend most of my time doing, but I also do freelance writing and editing. I also teach in a certificate editing program at UC Berkeley.

Q What's the most exciting assignment you've ever had?
A Well, the Burning Man stuff has been pretty exciting, but there was also the time that a couple had me shoot their wedding in Sayulita, Mexico, which is just north of Puerto Vallarta. I wound up being there for about 10 days over the New Year's holiday, which turned out to be pretty exciting, too.

Q What's the best thing about photographing events?
A There's just a sense of excitement and enthusiasm at events that is contagious. People are usually ready to have fun, and they're looking sharp, and they might be enjoying an adult beverage. It usually makes for a convivial atmosphere, and when people are having a good time, they look good in pictures, too.

Q What are you most looking forward to about photographing Mix it Up?
A Well, I'm sure the decor will be lovely, and there will be fabulous things to eat and drink, but for me it's all about the people. I love making connections with people, and then photographing them. It's the best job in the world.

Q If you could be anything besides a photog, what would it be?
A That's a hard question, because I learn so much about people and what they do when I'm photographing them. I wind up wanting to do exactly what they do! Yes, I want to be a winemaker! Yes, I want to be a professional surfer! Yes, I want to act! ... But I've always come back to photography. It's what I love most.

John's Flickr Stream

Hot Shoes, Pre-Nuptial Excitement & "Mix It Up!" Flair Fabulosity

2011-11-07T02:59:46Z

I met up with soon-to-be-wedded pal and expert-o-crafting-arts, Ariel Sutro, to put together decor and accessories for my upcoming Mix It Up! event (11/19). Not only is Ariel's SF abode super stylish, it's a veritable "bus station" (her words) of family members and friends shuttling through on various errands or to say hello. I'm thrilled she found time to help given all this activity and that her wedding is the weekend before my event.

Check out Ariel's GORG Givenchy wedding shoes - they fit right in with the be-feathered "flair" we created for Hip Tastes and set the tone for high style! After the jump, lots more pics from my visit and the story on the bespoke bouttonnieres, fascinators and feathered clips we're crafting for Mix It Up!. Peruse the full Flickr album here.

Pictured: Shoes, Ariel's pad, flair in process; below, Le Couple: Ariel with her fiance Josh at their joint bachelor/ette fete in Golden Gate park

]]> Flair-tastic
At Mix It Up!, Hip Tasters can expect organic-inspired accessories that incorporate "earth" elements like cork, feathers and leaves. How so? Stroll up to our flair bar and select the goods that appeal to you most, wear them around the tasting and then take them home as souvenirs. Ladies with longer hair may be drawn to feather-studded 'extensions' in suede, while gents may understandably be drawn to bouttonieres or - wait for it - faux mustaches. Yep. We're bringing it, and the pics are gonna rock! More soon on our illustrious event photog.

One of the best things about planning Mix It Up! has been the opportunity it's presented to get out of my normal work mode and do different things (though writing and hosting corporate tastings are admittedly cool modes of work, even these can get a little monotonous at times!). Take making these bespoke accessories: I have had to familiarize myself with glue guns (tricky - props go out to DIY crafters). I've scoured the aisles of Michael's crafts alongside moms carting multiple kids AND giant Starbucks drinks (again, tricky). I've gotten to know the SF Flower Mart in all its floral fabulosity (helLO mega discount orchids). And that's just for the flair piece of the event!

More crafting awaits yet: this weekend I'm sandwiching the mega portion of the Mix It Up! crafting between Ariel's wedding and a big dinner with friends. It's going to be quite the weekend o' glue gunning and feather-applying. Wish me luck, and meanwhile, feast your eyes on these visual treats from the crafting session at the bride-to-be's. She whipped me up an organic "green food" drink mid-crafting, and I thought it only right to share it given the beverage bent of the blog. 'Twas surprisingly tasty, certainly wholesome and fittingly "earthy" for the occasion.

MUST LOVE PIZZA (Match.com Vinous Fantasy + Existential Tomatoes)

2011-10-18T09:27:56Z

Originally penned this for a freelance client who didn't love this wine, hence it's landing here (you may recall an earlier entry in which I teased the piece - but it didn't wind up being published after all). I'm a fan of this easy-drinking red so no matter. If you're acquainted with Match.com, it's almost a beat-by-beat adaptation of the profile format.

About Me & Who I'm Looking For: I'm looking for someone adventurous who loves to LOL, doesn't take himself too seriously, and - this part's a "must" - has a deep, uncompromising love of pizza. Deep dish, thin crust, New York, Neapolitan - it doesn't matter to me which type you [heart symbol] (though it's even better if you [heart symbol] them all). So long as you partake of the pie when we're together, this relationship is destined to be one with sizzle.

]]> Interests: Cocktail hours, happy hours, home-cooked meals, long meals, fast-casual meals, picnics.
For Fun: I like to mix it up and hit the occasional tailgate party, book club get-together and excursion to the cool new wine bar. I even like to smuggle into a movie if it's a title I can relate to on a deep personal level, like The Hangover Part II.
Favorite Hot Spots: I'm raised in vineyards throughout the Golden State, ultimately winding up at our winery on California's Central Coast, not far from the infamous Soledad State Prison (hence the name "Big House," heh). It may not be the sexiest place to come from, but it's home. I gladly venture out for dates and will meet you pretty much wherever you are - providing you strike me as worth the journey (see handle above).
Last Read: The Cheese Manifesto, American Pie: My Search for the Perfect Pizza, and The Great Tomato Book. Right now I'm really interested in the existential state of the tomato in its post on-the-vine, pre prepared-sauce incarnation.
Sign: I come largely from very special 100+ year-old vines, but I don't recall exactly in which month these vines were born back then. Can you blame me? While memory wanes in old vines as it does in humans, both also get better with time (FYI: I am * very * young at heart). The complexity I offer thanks to concentrated old-vines fruit is smartly offset with reasonably low alcohol (13.5%) and suave notes of jammy red berries, black pepper, olive and a dash of spice akin to the red pepper flakes you love on your pizza.

My Date: You like to go out, but you are equally happy staying at home for the night with a pie and a cool flick. You have an unabashed zeal for life and are drawn to the quirky over the urbane, the quality over the costly. Last but not least, you know a good thing when you see it, and you believe in always seizing the bottle - er, moment.

Even better: both.

>>Who I am: 2009 Big House "Beastly Old Vines" California Cardinal Zin

Vignoscenti, Willamette Valley Bender, "Smokin" Pours, T-Day Insights at Wine & Spirits Top 100

2011-10-14T02:03:21Z

My coverage of last night's fabulous Top 100 tasting just dropped at EaterSF. Here's a teaser on the intro:

"The vignoscenti turned out in their best duds last night for the annual Wine & Spirits Top 100 tasting, a gustatory tour de force highlighting the best of some 10,000 wines the mag's staff samples annually. Many a back was slapped, luxe bubbly tippled and Hog Island oyster slurped against the winking backdrop of the SoMa skyline as seen from Cityview at the Metreon at dusk..." Full story at Eater

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Read on here after the jump for more on one of my fav wines of the evening, a 100-year-old Sherry, and how it's hands-down the best tool for basting your turkey this Thanksgiving. Pictured, moi with said Sherry. (For all of my event snaps, check out my Flickr album.)

]]> Sherry for Turkey? You Bet!

I'm loving Sherry right now for its weird fabulosity. It's briny whether it's dry or sweet, and with age it develops incredible nuance but doesn't usually carry the same insane sticker price as other older wines do. One of my favorite tables at last night's event was home to several excellent sherries I sampled; it was helmed by the very affable Tom George, who - in addition to sharing insights as to how to make a truly wonderful Thanksgiving turkey - insisted he take the picture of me featured in this entry. I often go through an entire event like this without appearing in any photos, so it was fun to come home and discover this shot with the SoMa skyline behind me.

Because his turkey tale was so compelling, I asked Tom to send me his insights by email, and he obliged. I share them here with you, verbatim (links mine):

Hi Courtney,

It was nice speaking with you last evening at the wine show.

The sherries I showed you were from Bodegas Pedro Romero. They were Pedro Romero Aurora Manzanilla, Pedro Romero V.O.R.S. Amontillado, and Pedro Romero V.O.R.S. Oloroso. V.O.R.S. stands for Very Old Rare
Sherry. These last 2 sherries are about 100 years old. Aurora is their flagship Manzanilla.

The recipe we talked about is a turkey recipe. I do not have all of the ingredients handy, but the main ingredient is the Dry Amontillado sherry. Of course, you need a turkey also. The recipe essentially
calls for the carcass to be stuffed with quartered oranges and then the Dry Amontillado poured over the entire turkey. When it bakes in the oven, the oranges give the turkey a slight citrus flavor and add
additional moisture. The Amontillado seals the skin so the turkey cooks in its own juices, while it imparts a slightly nutty flavor. Use the drippings to make the gravey. The result is a turkey to die for. I always struggled to have turkey once a year on Thanksgiving. But this
recipe makes turkey one of my favorite dishes.

All the best and thanks for stopping to taste our sherries.

Tom George
Frontier Wine Imports

***
Thanks, Tom!

At Home with Beverly Alkire: Custom Botanical Scents for Hip Tastes, Sensual Wormwood, More

2011-09-16T19:33:55Z

I dropped in on talented botanical perfumer Beverly Alkire at her Inner Sunset flat to discuss blends for my upcoming Hip Tastes event (details going up 10.11). Beverly has a great eye for color and interiors and I was looking forward to the visit as much for the chance to check out her cool abode as for the work we set out to do there!

I'm working with Beverly to come up with three custom unisex scents for Mix It Up! Blending In Three Acts Featuring Earth, Wine & Scent (Nov. 19 @ Sutton Cellars). The event is a chance to explore the art of the blend across different mediums, including - naturally - wine. And while I know that guests will love learning a bit about how wine blends are created, I suspect they'll be as excited to learn about how perfumes (and more!) come to be. Guests are invited to meet Beverly at her perfume bar on Nov. 19 to learn more about these three scents. Then, because we're cool like that, you'll be able to take a generous sample of your favorite scent home with you!

>>More on blends, juniper & wormwood, Bev's method & how learning scents isn't that different from leaning wine...

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Here's more on the blends:
Beverly was keen to tie in booze-themed ingredients to the Hip Tastes scents - and I was obviously thrilled at this prospect. Right away she suggested juniper, as I'd mentioned the event will also feature a vermouth component tasting bar highlighting the makings and musings of the illustrious (and sometimes Mad Scientist-like, in a very good way) Carl Sutton, who owns the venue. If you're not a booze hound, you might not know that juniper is a key herb used in making vermouth. Beverly quickly segued to another hot beverage herb we can use: WORMWOOD. As in, the infamous and - for a long time - illegal key ingredient used in Absinthe. Um, YES. Let's do that. So you can look forward to "experiencing" wormwood as an ingredient in one of the three Hip Tastes scents!

We also dished on base ingredients for the scents. We'll be using three different "bases," as they're known, and we decided that these will be: 1) fractionated coconut, 2) grape alcohol (woot!) and...wait for it...3) vodka. Though the second two tie in seamlessly to the beverage theme, the first will be fun as well in that the coconut creates a lovely filmy texture that is really appealing. We're getting together again mid-October to determine the final blends of the three scents. At the event you'll be able to smell components alongside the final scents as you determine which you'd like to take home.

More On Bev
In addition to her perfume work, Beverly runs a busy green consulting practice. She's found a way to integrate her perfume wizardry into her practice by offering - in addition to the standard consulting fare - team building workshops around scent-building (e.g. she produced a perfume "bar" for a Dreamworks event). I love LOVE working with Beverly because she is clearly passionate about what she does, even geeking out fairly hard core on an artisanal distiller in her apartment. I mean, who has a vintage perfume pot still in her home???

I'll leave you with Beverly's responses to a series of Q's I put to her - and stay tuned for the 411 on event tickets asap!

Q How long have you been working with scents?
A I took my first class in 2001, so 10 years.

Q What kind of a class?
A I worked with Mandy Aftel, the foremost botanical perfumer in the world.

Q What are a few fav scents to work with?
A Tube rose. Others have changed over time, kind of how your taste for wine evolves. As you work with scents, you get acclimated e.g. to lavender as you might come to know Chardonnay very well. Then you move on to something more exotic...vetiver is one of my new favorites. Some classics you always love: jasmine, bergamot, sandalwood.

Q What exactly is a botanical perfume?
A It's something derived from nature, extracted in a way that's minimally processed. Nothing is synthesized; it's as close to raw material as you can get - except for picking it off the plant.

Q Do you customize scents for people?
A Yes. [To do so] you take them on a 'scent journey;' I interview them about types of scents like: flowers, herbs, trees. Then from there I start pulling out particular scents and it develops organically as you work with them. I typically profile 1-3 scents that are going to be the focus of the perfume - a scent profile. Then I build on experience to hone in on which [blends] highlight those.

Q What are your favorite wines?
A I love Pinot Noir. I'm just back from South Africa and I fell in love with their Pinotage. I had something called "Chocolate Pinotage"...when it's fermenting they add oak slabs that taste like chocolate. Chocolate and [Pinot Noir-like wine] is my idea of heaven.

Q What are you most looking forward to about the Hip Tastes event Nov 19?
A Being part of a complete sensory theme with other like-minded people, and meeting like-minded people. I think it's going to be an interesting event that draws an interesting crowd of other sensualists like myself.

CC Thanks, Bev.

Full Flickr Album Here

Labor Day, With Sake

2011-09-08T00:30:59Z

I'm something of a Sake pacifist, I must admit. It's a drink I've always loved but never written a lot about, penning a meager one write-up of a divine sparkling version of the stuff some years ago. But when I received an assortment of very special bottles from Oregon craft producer Momokawa, I knew I needed to delve a little deeper into the fabulosity that is rice wine.

The perfect occasion presented itself in a Labor Day pool party I attended with my sis. It was at a smartly re-imagined Marin abode that just underwent an update by a young couple we know. The whole vibe was very California indoor/outdoor living in the 60s/70s. I took all these shots with my iPhone and put them through the photo filter application Instagram when I got home for a really cool 60s/70s patina. I'm loving the 'gram so please follow me there to check out what I hope will be a rich feed going forward (handle is @HipTastesMaven, just like on Twitter)!

Marin County Wines: The Ultimate Accessories for Your Nor-Cal Local Lifestyle

2011-08-20T08:29:08Z

I had the good fortune to enjoy a gorgeous mid-July lunch in the Russian River with DeLoach owner and bon-vivant-extraordinaire Jean-Charles Boisset, his affable and talented chef, Michel Cornu, bulldog Frenchie and a few other lucky scribes. The occasion was a tasting of DeLoach's brand new - as in first release ever, the 2009 vintage - Marin County wines. We were accompanied by winemaker Brian Maloney and consultant Dan Goldfield, Mr. Coastal Pinot himself, a real treat. It all got me wondering: what could be more chic for a Nor Cal-er keen on all things local??? Pretty sure you can see where this is going...

Click here to view my Flickr album from the day. After the jump, my fav wines and more on what I learned about Marin wines.

Pictured, on top: Chef Michel Cornu, myself, J-C Boisset; below, I make friends with J-C's mega cute pooch Frenchie (how apropos).

]]> Pinot Pioneer
DeLoach, longtime Pinot and Chardonnay producer purchased by Boisset's family in 2003, is a Pinot Noir powerhouse. When I first got to know the brand, the Pinot talent that is Greg LaFollette (past right-hand man to Tchelistcheff at Beaulieu, later head honcho at Flowers) was helming winemaking operations. Today the young Maloney has the reigns and he seems to be flourishing. DeLoach's Sonoma PInot-Chard efforts are impressive, but that story's has been told time and again (around since 1973, Russian River pioneer, Biodynamic standout). The debut of the spot's Marin County wines prompted my first-ever foray into learning more about this region just over the bridge from SF, and it was a sweet way to get my feet wet where Marin County wines go.

Marin: Cold, Difficult
Why are Marin County wines special? For starters, they're mega-cool-climate wines, as far as California goes; Marin County is one of the coldest wine growing regions in Cali. Because the region is so cool, the wines aren't viable every single year, a fact that makes them still more European-sounding. Here in CA we don't readily comprehend the concept of vintage variation, because most vintages are pretty spectacular: warm summers, cool nights thanks to proximity to the Pacific, low rainfall near harvest time. Easy. Not so in Marin, where early spring frosts and high winds can destroy crops before they even have a chance to get started (a phenomenon called "shatter" destroys nascent clusters when there is too much wind during this delicate early stage of the season).

Plus, yields are "terrible," in the words of Goldfield, with some sites yielding a paltry 1/2 ton/acre. In winespeak, that's like, abysmal. And the final nail the coffin, so to speak, is that it's terrifically $$$ to develop vineyards in Marin, given sky high land prices. Completing the Marin wine picture, it's important to note that it's remote and sparsely populated in the western reaches of the county, in stark contrast to the bustling, densely populated eastern portion. Drop in to an eatery in some parts of western Marin County and you'll still get stares from the locals, along the lines of "what the heck are you doing way out here???"

"Marin County needed Jean-Charles," said Goldfield, a Marin County wine specialist bar none. What a compliment. But a just one, given the French wine impresario's impressive turns acquiring key California properties over the years and seeking quality improvements across the board while maintaining the integrity of the brands. His family biz's latest acquisitions, Napa's Raymond Vineyards and Sonoma's Buena Vista, seem to be headed from solid directions to superb. I also noticed a keen respect for people in J-C; our table was set with a menu featuring all guests' names (I'm trying to recall if I've ever had a winery list the names of journalist guests on materials, and I'm at a loss). Beyond, he was eager to introduce us to his chef, winemaker, consultant Goldfield and others, and let them do much of the talking.

His charmingly foppish airs and eager hospitality were other highlights. That he is stewarding growth and awareness for Marin wines seems in synch with his innate curiosity for all things vinous, his seemingly boundless energy and his experience.

Reviews: Fairy Dust & Full Body
My favorite wine of the tasting was the 2009 DeLoach Skyview PInot Noir Marin County ($40, 235 cases made). If you want to geek out, it spent 15 months aging in 40% new French oak. It boasts a reasonable, very Euro-esque, 13.5% ABV. Boisset said the wine reminds him of renderings from southern Burgundy's Rully and Mercurey, districts known for producing leaner offerings than those to the north. Good value Burgundies with enough character to catch your eye and a strong affinity for food. I found the comparison apt.

The wine has a pretty ruby-pink hue and offers up "BRIGHT" (so say my tasting notes) red-pink cherry, bergamot, cola, rose petals and...a fairy dust sprinkling of brown spice and minerality to top it all off. I don't know quite why I wrote "fairy dust" in my notes but it just worked. The wine is super elegant if not overly complex (the vines are just 6 years old) - in synch with the southern Burgundy comparison. The palate brought tart, pert flavors of red cherry, toast and a hint of minerality. Fine grained moderate tannins and bright acidity made the whole package sing with ease of sipping, and the med+ to long finish was a terrific conclusion. I scored in 91 points and "promising." Merci.

I also enjoyed the 2009 Marin County Pinot (gave it 89/90), but want to address the 2009 DeLoach Stubbs Vineyard Chardonnay as it makes a nice counterpoint to the Pinots. I found it hedonistic, almost too over-the-top on first impression. It announces itself with a totally un-shy 14.5% ABV, a characteristic that, when matched up with its high viscosity, almost sent me to Rombauer in my mental comparison set. But on the nose it's far more restrained than that flamboyant white, issuing forth with charming moderate-plus intensity aromas of caramel corn, toast, hazelnut, white peach, poached pear, macadamia nut, meringue and margarita lime. The wine's 8 months in barrel in 40% new oak is certainly showing up here in the toast and hazelnut. But while prominent, it works.

On the palate, too, it defied all-out intensity with medium-plus acidity - a gift, certainly, from Marin's super cool climate. The palate brought the big stuff, checking in with flavors of lush golden apple, white peach, green table grapes, lemon sugared candy, hazelnut, toffee, pineapple and honeydew melon. The finish is lingering and delivers tasty notes of bananas brulee and green apple, two nicely balanced elements that epitomize the hedonistic/refreshing duality of the wine. On the whole, I'm not sure I could drink more than a glass of this in a setting due to its intensity, but I found it excellent all the same. I scored it 90 points.

Not all wines are meant to be consumed by the multi-gulpfull. I think this wine would be dynamite on a pairing menu at a Michelin-starred spot, paired, perhaps with a to-die-for lobster concoction. Then again, as I'm allergic to lobster, better not to use that word and "die" in the same sentence!

In all, the wines were impressive. The Pinots especially struck me as the perfect accessory to a local-everything picnic basket that, until now, lacked a wine even more local to SF than those you'll find in Sonoma or Napa. Plus, it's something different. And it's always chic to be novel.

Date Night (SF Chefs): Seduction Meal Plan, Quadruple Threat Hotties & Hair of the Dog

2011-08-11T06:50:45Z

SF Chefs brought a tasty treat to hungover souls brave enough to be up at 10:30AM Sunday after the previous eve's Grand Tasting: an aphrodisiac-fueled food demo and tasting featuring four easy-on-the-eyes gastronomes. I was on site at the Westin Union Square to capture the hotness of it all for Eater.

Pictured: Louis Maldonado, Marisa Churchill, David Bazirgan, Aida Mollenkamp.

The sexy dets: Eater's Hottest Chef in America, David Bazirgan of Fifth Floor, demo'd fresh oysters in a Prosecco reduction; Aziza hottie Louis Maldonado prepped a flower-laced, oil-poached Louisiana prawn; Top Chef alum and (new!) "Sweet & Skinny" book author Marisa Churchill pulled together a "sexy lemon dessert" that riffs on her grandma's cooking. She shared that her recipe is authentic and flavorful but has half the fat of the original (a tasting confirmed this factoid), and what's not sexy about that? Foodcrafters starlet Aida Mollenkamp MC'd, adding still more heat to the affair. Wines by Antinori Antica were tres tasty and just the thing to take the edge off of everyone's hangover. Yes, please.

Get the full story at Eater, here.

And check out my Flickr album ici.