Another "A is for.. " Albertina-Review of "02 Cabernet Sauvignon

Under promise. Over deliver. I plucked this bottle from the garage wine looking for novelty and something that wouldn't taste nasty. What a nice surprise! A kinder, gentler cab it frisked out of the bottle with a pronounced raspberry jam flavor and a smoothness of tannin that was tasty on its own and also played nicely with food. The label reads it was aged in small barrels of French, American and Hungarian oak for 20 months. The initial raspberry smoothed to a more black currant-y taste. After about 2 hours, the flavors opened up to chocolate covered cherry and spice with a hint of woodsy goodness. Even the next day (after assiduous Vacu-vinning but no fridge), the essential character was still round and fruity. It developed the most interesting taste of violets on the mid palate. I liked it. I guess so did the Chronicle wine people who gave it a bronze medal. I think it will be difficult to track down another bottle as the production was only 475 cases. More about the winemaker here: http://www.gomendo.com/showrecord.asp?id=697 . Sounds like a great place to visit!

"A is for..." Review of Aglianico at A16

My quest to obtain "centurion status" http://www.winecentury.com/membership.php has gotten me actively seeking out things I ....:

a) never heard of....

b)can't pronounce...

c) let take me away from my true love, California Pinot.

Recently, I visited restaurant A16 in San Francisco http://www.a16sf.com/. Named for the highway that cuts across Campania/Southern Italy, the upscale rustic cuisine never fails to please. Especially the meatballs, with long simmered sauces constructed of freshness, tomatoes and herbs, toothsome pastas, pizzas, and "whatever's fresh" menu offerings will delight. Yum! Also, an impressive wine list heavy on the Italian and unsual also stays true to the local focus of the food by including many small production California wines. Hey, I am nothing if not a "grows with, goes with" kind of girl and love the nod to mi tierra. Thus the wine selection has never failed me when ordering. Coincidentally, my insistence on the unfamiliar (to me) Aglianico ("ah-LYAH-nee-koe" Wikipedia assures me) is a varietal originating in Campania, so I'm sure I looked super smart by a happy coincidence to my winey-foodie friends. The wine was a deep, dark purple with a lovely aroma kissed by oak with enough tannic energy to stand up to the food but enough complexity and balance to be enjoyable while we waited. Produced by de Conciliis in the Campania region of Italy, it had a dark spicy quality. Everyone at the table had Cali-centric palates and we all loved it. I found it tasty on its own, good with the entree and I even had enough left to try it with dessert.

There is a picture of this on A16's website, so I'm hoping it's a regular thing, because though the pairing was pleasing, the dessert on its own rocked my world. Called "Chocolate budino tart with sea salt and extra virgin olive oil" the name does not adequately prepare you for the taste treat you are in store for. Dark chocolate alchemically combined with creamy goodness renders a poufy mouthful of creamy, chocolate-dense lightness. This contrasted with the slippery floral olive oil, whose savor was enhanced by the surprise crunch of sea salt. I will admit I just rattled it off because someone else wanted chocolate and I had a half a glass of the wine left and was curious how it would mesh. I will also admit, I can't wait to go back, just to have this again---and this time not share! All in all, A "A" for A16, an "A" for aglianico and an "A+" for the Chocolate budino tart with sea salt and extra virgin olive oil.

Wine Blogging Wednesday #51 - Baked Goods

Let's get baked. Interesting challenge. Not being a girl who seeks out the port or madeiras, I was thrilled when Xandria found the perfect place to sample by the glass, Tha Alameda WIne Company in nearby Alameda, CA. I think of madeira as being old school and not necessarily in a good way. However the folks at the Alameda Wine Company have a great selection. Karen steered us toward the Rare Wine Company's Historic Series Madeiras flight. Partnering with R.D.V. Freitas, who owns Vinhos Barbeitos, they highlighted the connection between timeless US cities known for lapping up the Madeira throughout the 1700's and 1800's and the varietal they would love. Of the five possible varietals; Sercial, Verdelho, Bual, Malvasia and the elusive Terrantez, we were able to try three.
Charleston Special Reserve Sercial: The lightest in color and the driest of the three, this wine smelled exotic, like apple scented tobacco, rum raisin and something not quite vanilla. It was not sweet at all and had a sharp alcohol fueled kick. We had been given walnuts which rounded out the flavors and made a pleasing combination. By itself, well let's just say we made no plans to invite it to the St. Cecelia's Ball.
Boston Bual Special Reserve: Baked beans? Ha! Baked Bual! The Boston was much smoother and compared to my expections, had a restrained sweetness. It reminded me of a concotion I make by long term soaking of figs and vanilla beans in vodka. This wine showed excellent balance and a chocolatey finish.
New York Malmsy: I heart New York Malmsy! This had much more fruit in the nose and a choco-caramel aroma that was delightful. Sweetest and most viscous of the bunch, the Malmsy looked like Coca-Cola, but tasted complex and delicious. I could tell it wanted creme brulee!

We also ordered a Blandys Malmsy for comparison. It was simple and pretty and I think had I tried it alone, I would have liked it, but compared to the dazzle of the others, it ended up feeling more ordinary.

Completely not ordinary were the cheeses we ordered. Truffle Tremor made me shudder with delight! I selected a French triple creem cow's milk based Pierre Robert. Voluptously creamy with the butteriness of venial sin, this might get addictive. The chacuterie was tasty too and the portions stunned me as QPR off the chart! All in all a fun evening trying new things and finding a great new place! The Alameda Wine Bar offered a great experience combining easy parking, tasty snacks, great wine and expert guidance, I know I will be back and hope to see you there! http://www.alamedawineco.com/