A Port for all Seasons - Review of Terra D'oro Zinfandel Port

 Port seems to say special occasion without having to do much.  And for these days of holiday entertaining, the phrase "any port in a storm" can easily mean busting out a reliably effortless end of the meal treat in the form of ruby port and blue cheese.  The most die hard blue cheese naysayers can often be persuaded to give it a try and the combination of the palate cleansing alcohol with perfect matching converts the haters right and left.  Or to make a festive vinaigrette, equal parts port, olive oil, sherry vinegar, a little salt and finely minced shallots and you will easily produce a zesty, ruby hued dressing that will go well with pears, winter citrus, nuts, etc.  I recently received a sample of some very yummy port from the folks at Terra d'Oro.  Tucked away in the Sierra Foothills in Amador County, the 400 acres have been worked for the last 150 years.  Today the folks there work hard producing award winning wines, but still have time to be friendly.  Click here to find out more about instructions to visit:
As for the Port, Terra d'Oro Zinfandel Port, Amador County, USA ($17.99) starts out like the rest of the zins, but is carefully monitored till it reaches the state when it is ready to be fortified with unaged grape brandy. It's processed to harness the alcohol and sweetness to produce a higher alcohol, yet still balanced fortified wine.  The color is an opaque, almost inky ruby.  The wine is smooth with subtle flavors that belie the 19% alcohol level.  The flavors were black cherry, woodsy spice, hint of chocolate, with a finish of celebration soaked sultanas  Serve with blue cheese for a yummy finish to a meal with a little cranberry sauce and some hazelnuts.  However, I wanted to push the envelope a little and adapted a recipe for Meatballs in Red wine sauce to come up with a very tasty:

Zinfandel Port Glazed Meatballs stuffed with Blue Cheese:

To make the meatballs
1 lb 95% ground beef
1 egg
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1 tsp Bell's Poultry seasoning
2 tbsp milk
salt and pepper

Mix well, form into meatballs around 1 inch in diameter.  Stuff each meatball with 1/4 inch cube of blue cheese taking care to pinch meat tightly to completely enclose the cheese.  Bake in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.  Let sit while you combine:

2 Tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup Zinfandel Port
1 1/2 cup beef broth in a small bowl.

Then dredge meatballs in flour. Melt 2 Tbsp butter, then combine with 2 tablespoons olive oil in a non reactive skillet, dutch oven or pan (enamel or glass) over medium heat taking care to turn meatballs on all sides (about 6 minutes). You may need to work n batches.  Remove meatballs.  Brown and soften 4 Tbsp chopped shallots in the butter and oil about six minutes.  When the shallots are done, add in the broth mixture.  Then place meatballs back in pan.  Cover and simmer over med-low heat stirring occasionally till done about 40 minutes.  Whne finished you will have a yummy first course with some sliced, crusty bread or add toothpicks for a delicious hors d'oeurve.  

A Vision in Pinot - An overview of Vision Cellars

 Mac and Lil MacDonald of Vision Cellars characterize their process as "passionate". It's hard to encapsulate the rollicking good time you will have listening to them as it is to imagine the struggles, luck and serendipity that mark their progress.  But it's easy to drink their lovely Pinot Noirs, Grenache and Red wine.  Yum, my standard denotation for tastiness, does not encompass it. When Babe in Boots Jennifer invited me to a Vision Cellars tasting at her house, I threw together a Manchego, membrillo, chorizo appetizer, coordinated with Brix Chick Janesta and made sure to be there.  As expected, the folks at Vision Cellars brought the goods with some fabulous wines and some interesting stories.  Mac wanted us to evaluate the 2008's to see if we could detect any evidence of the fires that happened as that fruit started its journey to winehood.  I was in agreement with his restaurant customers in that I found all the wines deliciously complex and any effects of the smoke were special.

With my deep love of all things Pinot Noir, this tasting put me in hog heaven.  We started with a crisp Rose of Pinot with a lovely pale salmon color and bone dry savory taste.  On to a selection of Pinots from Russian River, Chileno Valley in Marin,  Las Alturas, and (my favorite) Rosella's vineyard, the last two from the Santa Lucia Highlands .  The wines had similar elegance and complexity with different expressions that came from the dirt.  As well, the invite said "appetizer" so, there was a diverse variety of bites, and the wines were up to it.  Pinot can be mercurial, so standing up to the collected treats impressed me, but according to Miss Lil, par for the course.  We finished the tasting with the '07 Red Wine, a 100% Cabernet sauvignon which ended up pairing like a long lost soul mate to the bitter chocolate squares provided.  Add in the talking up of the Greens Cook Off invite , which is a benefit of Wine Club membership and I was in.  I can't wait to receive my first shipment and attend my first Greens Cook off!

Winter Whites - Alternative Thanksgiving Wines

With turkey day almost here, the question of which wine to pair with turkey, naturally comes up.  Growing up, my parents always served Riesling or, on years they felt daring,  Gewurztraminer,   Of late, my choice is always Pinot Noir, Pinot Noir, then some more Pinot Noir, even though the bird itself gets marinated and basted in what looks like equal parts Chardonnay and butter.  The folks at Hunter PR were kind enough to send out some things to make this year's Thanksgiving dinner more adventurous.  And luckily, Trader Joe's has the supplies to make a Turkey day practice run as easy as navigating the defrost function on the microwave.  So this weekend I got the jump on holiday dinner planning.

First up, was the '10 Alamos Torrontes, Salta, Argentina($11):  The wine had a clear pale color.  Its aromas were hints of nutmeg, jasmine tea and a limey citrus with flavors of lime.  Crisp with nice acid, the finish was more jasmine tea.  While it was nice to sip by itself, I did not find this the best wine to serve with traditional fare.  It was good with the stuffing, just okay with the turkey, okay with the mashed potatoes,  but unpleasant with straight cranberry sauce. Which sounds like an unfair thing to attempt to pair except that the other two wines were surprisingly tasty with the sweet-tart whole berry sauce.  

The second sample was the '10 Martin Codax, Albarino, Rias Baixas, Spain ($15) .  This was my favorite wine to drink by itself.  Its color was citrine and it had yummy aromas of pear and peach.  With medium body, it had a nice mouthfeel and a pleasant peachy finish. While it was delightful to sip, it was not my favorite to pair.  It was okay with the mashed potatoes, but it brought up the gamy flavors of the turkey.  Although I will mention that gamy is not on my list of favorite flavors, so if you love the poultry taste of turkey, you might prefer this. I found it tasted good with the stuffing (cornbread and herb) and surprisingly good with the cranberry sauce.  

My surprise pairing favorite was the third wine, '10 The Naked Grape, Pinot Grigio, California, USA ($8). This wine  was light straw with a slight greenish cast.  Muted aromas of citrus along with flavors of pears.  Its mouthfeel had a pleasant roundness and medium body with a nice finish of Bartlett pear.  While the wine itself was simple and clean, my surprise was how well this offering went with the Thanksgiving food.  .  With the buttery mashed potatoes, the savory side of the pear flavors were heightened.  It was good with the turkey and good with the stuffing and surprisingly tasty with straight cranberry sauce.  And for under ten dollars a bottle, a great deal.  

So I think I will be mixing it up a little and inviting some newcomers to the holiday table.  If you are looking for a super affordable, easy to pair wine, here are three good candidates.

I received these wines as samples