Terrain at Styer's birthday dinner

Brian and I dined at Terrain last night for my real birthday dinner. Uncorked a wine from our 2008 California trip: Arista 2006 Longbow Pinot Noir. We were so relieved it was better than we remembered and had yet to peak. After our first sip, we just sat there with eyes closed savoring it and the memory of the trip.

Our second bottle should be beautiful in about six months.

Birthday dinner

Sampled at Dom. Hudson on 9/27/10 at a true "wine with friends" dinner.

Praxis Pinot Noir Monterrey, CA 08
Great nose. Lots of rich berry. Smoky nose. Slow start but stronger mid-palate pulls through to long finish. Bittersweet chocolate flavors barely there. Reserved fruit. Strong aroma was my favorite part of this wine, best of the three here. 7 of 10

Le Cadeau "Red Label" Pinot Noir willamette valley, OR '07
More delicate nose. Restrained. Odd bitter mid-palate but not unpleasant. Fades slowly. Better with food. 5 of 10, 6 of 10 with food

Daniel Rion Bourgogne, Burgundy, FR '08
Vegetal, sweet nose. More vegetal and definitely more tannic than the le cadeau. Sour cherry flavor. Light body. Probably too light for food; nuances disappear.

Food:
1st: Polenta with shirred egg and truffle oil
2nd: Wild mushroom risotto
Dessert: Poached peaches (plus fourth drink - a lovely tawny port)

The unofficial drink of Dewey

Orange Crush (because you know you want one)
Fill pint glass with ice.
1 part Vodka
1 part Triple Sec
Fill up 3/4 full with Sprite (or lemon-lime beverage of your choice)
Top with juice of 1 freshly squeezed orange.
Shake or stir.

Be prepared. Buy a crate of oranges in advance. You're going to need it.

- Brian

Hot hot heat calls for white, crisp wine

Poured myself a big glass of Ravines Dry Riesling moments after getting home. Less steely than I remembered. Absolutely fine on its own. Waiting on the sweet potato fries to finish baking and then all will be good. Or at least better than it was before the wine happened.

Random Summer Beer #1 (found in cooler)

So we had an idea for a last minute 4th of July weekend BBQ. Apparently none of my friends had plans, because about 25 people showed up. The plan? BYOB + side dishes and we'll provide the main course as well as fresh Orange Crushes. The results, a good night with friends and a cooler full of 10 different types of summer beers. The benefit for Nic? Summer beer taste-off for the blog!



Spaten Franziskaner Weissbier
Hefe-Weissbier
Munich, Germany
$1.99/bottle, $39/20-pack

Appearance: Cloudy with amber hue
Aroma: Yeasty sweetness dominates with light herbal hints
Flavor: Mild & mellow, yeasty, touch of sweetness and citrus notes. No bitter bite.
Mouthfeel: Light body. Fine carbonation/no discernable bubbles. Texture is a little too "Miller High Life champagney". Wouldn't reach for this as a thirst quencher because of the carbonation and yeastiness. Would be a good food beer.
Overall: An easy pick when paired against domestics. Not as much personality as locally produced Hefeweizens.

- Brian (first guest post!)

We interrupt this wine blog...

Have to apologize for being MIA again! My goal of a post/week has been difficult with extremely busy work load, vacation, visiting family, wedding planning and all things summer. Even my photos still haven't been downloaded from my camera so you know it's nuts around here.

Good news! The boy will be out of town for a few days so I am hoping and planning on getting caught up on posts.

Rose Month

As the temperature and humidity climbs, we're naturally reaching for something refreshing. To kick off the week-long Italian Festival, we stocked up on a few rose wines (plus a case of Modelo Especial and a Smuttynose summer six pack). The first few bottles of rose have been poured and consensus is in. It is a tad difficult to remember wines in a social setting, so the notes on these bottles are a little spare.


Jaboulet Parallele 45 Rose 2008
Cote du Rhone, $12
Favorite rose wine of the summer - so far! Lovely salmon color. Bright, intense fruit aromas. Fresh, light and easy drinking with pleasantly long finish. Half grenache (plus 40% cinsault; 10% syrah).










Bonny Doon 2008 Vin Gris de Cigare
Santa Cruz, CA, $11
Strawberry aromas dominate. Dry and lean with light body. More grenache in blend than cinsault or roussanne.