Blame it on Rioja! - Review of Montecillo Wines

I really do have an Uncle Manolo, and he really is from Spain. When I visit my non-drinking aunt, he does his best to knock the California bias out of me with Spanish delights. So I was a little prepared for the vinified goodness in store for me at the recent Bodegas Montecillo events I was fortunate enough to attend. Held at a private residence, we enjoyed delicious wine in a relaxed, luxurious venue, but best of all, also got the extra special delight of meeting and speaking with the winemaker herself, Maria Martinez Sierra. When Maria speaks, her passion shines through. Spanish flair, loamy earth and a determined spirit glow in her words and her deeds. The result? A beautiful, refined product and for me a crash course in the the Montecillo brand's expression of Rioja. First, Maria clarified that in addition to the rules the Spanish D.O.Ca has to diffentiate between Crianza, Reserva, and Gran Reserva, she further imposes her own standards of excellence on the wine, resulting in not every vintage making the cut in her estimation and therefore, Montecillo will skip years if the product is not up to Maria's standards. Sampling all three was a great way to get an understanding for what Montecillo does. First,
'04 Montecillo Crianza, Rioja, Spain: Garnet with a slightly darker cast, this had delicious aromas of cherry, vanilla and sarsaparilla. The flavor delivered a choco-cherry blast mid palate. It has slightly bracing acidity, which went exceedingly well with food.
'03 Montecillo Reserva, Rioja, Spain: 100% Tempranillo as all these offerings are, this was my favorite. It had a silky mouth feel that I liked very much. As well, the tobacco notes and the balanced fruit taste made it clear, this is a sophisticated wine. Used as I am to the fruit forward nature of my beloved California, I responded to this more restrained but still fruit showcasing wine
'05 Montecillo Gran Reserva, Rioja, Spain: Drinking these all together, the gran reserva was more elegant but with the same restrained fruit, balanced acidity and food friendliness. I loved the different experiences with a consistent cherry nose and flavor.

Tasting all these together provided a perspective on the Montecillo offering as well as kind of hooked me on the delights of Rioja. Then, came the big guns. As Maria delighted us with personal stories of developing the on site cooperage to further enhance her program and how to make a Spanish Asador (lamb cutlets roasted over vine clippings), she also "found" a bottle of

'81 Montecillo Gran Reserva, Rioja Spain: Wow! Aromas of cedar and hay. A color like the skins of red plums with coppery undertones. Flavors of tobacco, cherry, cedar...Silky mouthfeel with soft, tannins that seemed to undulate on my tongue. This wine had Bordeaux inspired elegance. The real stunner was the affordability. I thought this would be over $100 and hard to find. Well, BrixChick Liza, we're not in Napa anymore. $45 online!

I am totally planning on springing this on my wineaux friends for an Open That Bottle night, This is a discovery that needs to be shared.

Speaking of food friendliness, the Spanish charcuterie and cheeses served with these wines served only to heighten the experience of tasting these wines. I tried most without the food and found them delightful, but with food, especially the expertly chosen Spanish treats, Knock outs.
And speaking of food, I was invited to the winemaker dinner. It sounded like tapas and more wine, but ended up being an uber gourmet feast with expert pairings that began with fried cod in lobster sauce, included a tempranillo marinated pork dish and concluded with a Pedro Ximenez late harvest. Rocked my world! Many thanks to the whole team at Janet Kafka for bringing such an amazing event to the SF Bay Area. The epitome of gracious hospitality, I can think of no better match than a great product to help me enhance my own efforts at hospitality, presented by a team that lives and breathes it!
PS: On May 1st, 2009, Montecillo will roll out an Albarino. Mark your calendars. I wonder if Amazon will let me preorder?

Restaurant Review: Red Sea Ethiopian Restaurant

Credit for this find goes to BrixChico, Vince, who scours the offerings on KQED religiously. Red Sea, located on the corner of Telegraph and Claremont is a simple, unprepossessing location, but watch out: the food is off the hook. Whether you are a vegetarian or like meat with your meat, there is something on the menu to delight. For 16 years, the folks at Red Sea have been putting out authentic and tasty Ethiopian food. Our visit was no exception. Another nice feature for us wineaux, is the $5 corkage. Since BrixChicks/Chicos (emphasis on the CHICO) can be Wine Snarks, this was a nice feature as it freed us to bring some finds of our own, rather than settle for beer or cocktails. We congregated at this spot on cold, rainy evening, but our server/hostess had a smile that lit up the space and was cordial, helpful and fun. In fact, we all got a chuckle as we ordered, when I misspoke the combo I was ordering and she was concerned we would not have enough food. Clearly, she didn't know who she was dealing with! By the end of the order, I think her concerns had shifted to the kitchen---as in would they have enough food! Schedules being what they are, it had been a long time since Xandria and I had hung out, so I picked something I thought she liked and she also dusted off something she thought I would like. BrixChicks rule! So, I brought an '08 Ironstone Riesling I had acquired on a recent trip to Murphys. With a petrolly nose and floral spicy notes, it was the perfect counterpoint to the crispy, fried Vegetable Sambusas. The heat of the jalapenos which infused this appetizer were zippy with the refreshing off dry Riesling. The four of us positively hoovered the Riesling and apps, in time to clear the table when our main entry arrived. Xandria had brought a delicious Boarding Pass Shiraz This dark, fruit forward wine had enough presence to stand up to the exotic spices in the food. So excited at the wine was I that I neglected to snap a photo of the delectable color wheel presented to us. They had aggregated the the Vegetarian House Combo with the regular House Combo, which featured chicken, lamb, beef, and shrimp alitcha. Alitcha means sauteed in garlic, gingerroot and turmeric sauce, which produces a bright yellow, aromatic delight. But my personal favorite was Bamiya, okra and potatoes cooked in mildly spiced red pepper sauce with onions, garlic and ginger. We sopped all this up with the Injera. Injera is the Ethiopian bread, which looks like acrylic fleece, but has a soft, sour taste and makes it easy to grab all the delicious sauces up. The restaurant website encourages "the giving of gursha. Gursha means 'mouthful' and refers to a small morsel of food, which one places carefully in another's mouth. This is an exciting and somewhat erotic part of the culture. Used as a gesture of affection, Gursha can be exchanged between husband and wife as well as among close friends and relatives". Maybe next time. All in all a fabulous find. I will so go back!

Red Sea Eritrean & Ethiopian Restaurant
5200 Claremont Street Oakland, CA 94618
Phone (510) 655-3757

Hours: Mon - Sun 11:30 am - 10 pm

Introducing BrixChick Janesta: Review of Duckhorn Sauvignon Blanc

Hello! I am the newest official member of the BrixChicks. Having enjoyed many adventures with Liza and Xandria, I was thrilled to be tapped to start blogging. My first love is white wine. Well, to be truthful, I really love an icy vodka martini, but I also have a strong preference to white wines. I am looking forward to the opportunity to learn more about wines beyond my current favorites. But to start, Liza and I work on a fund raising committee for a school in West Oakland, St. Martin de Porres. We are fabulously lucky to embody the "work hard-play hard" motto, and our meetings are made even more fun by always having great wines and delicious food to make our Monday evening tasks lighter. If you are not already busy on March 17th, think hard about attending our fundraiser, "St. Patrick's on Broadway" and if you can't there are many, many wines---white or red---rare and special that you can bid on. Go to town. It's for the kids! But I got sidetracked didn't I? Anyway, I first tried the '07 Duckhorn Sauvignon Blanc at my fund raising meeting. The color was pale yellow. When I smelled it, I noticed the delicious scents of tropical fruits, young coconut and pineapple as well as something that smelled like peaches, It was also sort of spicy. When I tasted it, it had a silky consistency. The flavor was out of this world! Layers of complexity that managed to be savory, tropical and delicious. A little sweet it went great with the cheese and light snack our hostess had provided and inspired me to work a little harder on the event. I looked at the price $26.99, a generous treat from our hostess. Thanks Francine! This is BrixChick Janesta, signing out for now.....