Wine adventures occur in strange places, indeed.  I was at a prominent west side Los Angeles hospital, as a test figure for a major medical study.  My coordinator introduced me to one of her colleagues as I returned from a break in my days activities for them.  John had just been given a very lauditory intro to me by my regular guide in this process and immediately jumped in to ask if it were possible to buy $40 wines for $8 from Trader Joe’s.  I allowed that this could happen, but it  would clearly depend on circumstances, timing, etc.

At the end of my study period, John returned with three wines!  They were not from Trader Joes, but from Big Lots, the former Pic n Safe.  The wines were  Sonoma Creek Chardonnay, second  a 2004 Rosemont Estates Shiraz, and last was the Francis Coppola Blue Label Merlot.

We tasted.  The chardonnay had plenty of fruit, particularly apple, with minerality on the palate and a medium finish.  Not fat and oaky it “held together, and was a nice structured wine.  The shiraz had lots of alcohol on the nose, and altogether a lot of aroma.  It calmed down, with flavors, including coffee, and was medium bodied in strenth.  Over an hour or so, it substantially improved, with a burst of very nice flavors.

The merlot had a rough nose, was flat and, at best, undistinguished.  No further comment from me.

Moral of this tale:  wine can be tasted in some pretty interesting venues.  And, be bold in trying new stores, but test the waters carefully.  Don’t spend a fortune and then be sorry.

-Cheers and Happy Holidays.

Joel

Not too long ago, Terry Buss led me to CLINE CELLARS  in Sonoma County, where he worked the Tasting Room during weekends and some week days.  I’d never been there, so it was really a working visit.  I began with the 06 ROUSANNE (!6.00), which was not sweet, firm and crisp, and hard in terms of fruit.  We continued with the 06VIOGNIER (Also $16), which was nice, with good stone fruit there.

Then I hit the reds, starting with the 05 OAKLEY REDS ($11), which was full of berry/cherry and black pepper.  The 05 ANCIENT VINES MOURVEDRE ($18)  had a nice fruit nose, good color, and lots of chocolate and plum on the palate. The 05 CASHMERE,  blend of Mourvedre, Syrah ands Grenache, ($21)is spicy,mellow and has structure to its body.  The 04 COOL CLIMATE SYRAH ($16) followed, a balanced wine with pepper, berries and a smoky nose.  I thought this one, in the vernacular, quite quaffable.

We moved on to the 05 ANCIENT VINES ZINFANDEL ($18), which was a cherry explosion, with berry flavors.  This was pretty darn good.  The 05 LIVE OAK ZINFANDEL ($28) is smooth, with pepper and black fruits.  Very nice, and very drinkable…

The 05 SMALL BERRY MOURVEDRE, from Contra Costa ($36) was full of cherries,anise, mint, chocolate, and quite tannic. Interesting tastes.  Last was the 04 LOS CARNEROS SYRAH ($28),   a smoky, rhone type which went down nicely.

The family that founded the Jacuzzi (named after the grandfather who invented it) is quite open to tours, lunches, picnics, tours, and all sorts of activities.  A new facility is being built across the highway that should be a big tourist attraction.  Well, better than a housing development.

A while back Veronique Drouhin visited our city to show off her hard-to get Oregon wines (because they sell out so fast) as well as the new Burgundy line and she graciously granted me time for a good visit with her.

We started off talking about her Oregon wines, some of the stars named after her children. The 2005 Domaine Drouhin Arthur was a young wine, with good apple fruit. Fruity on the nose, it was spritzy, medium body, balanced with a nice finish. This young wine drinks well. The 2003 Vero Chardonnay went quite nicely with one of Wolfgang Puck’s Chicken Pizza. Made with Veronique’s selection of chardonnay gathered from Chablis, Rully, Mersault and Puligny-Montrachet, this bottle retails for about $22, and is a crisp, refreshing drink.

I asked Veronique to pick her red and white favorites from 29 wines being presented to us. The Cote de Nuit Village 2005 ($23 plus) was a lovely , big wine, opening up nicely, balanced with medium body, dark fruits, smooth, and very soft tannins. The Drouhin 2005 Mersault ($40+) is a good food wine, very beautiful and a typical Mersault, balanced, with roundness, with length to it and a great finish.

The 2005 Chambolle Musigny ($60+is a wine she loves, showing a smoky nose, smooth, elegant and

in beautiful harmony, balanced with a long finish. This is Veronique’s benchmark for creating Oregon pinots, reflecting “where they come from! A wine true to its terroire and origins”

The 2005 Laforet Pinot Noir ($15+) is their entry level wine. You can rely on a winery when their first red offering is “very good.” The 2005 Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru ($77+) opened carefully, and after an hour was elegant. The 2005 Chambolle Chambertin Grand Cru(app. $170) is elegant, and drank well. And,

the 2005 Glos de Vougeot, Grand Cru (($200+/-) opened gradually, was a deep dark sample, with graceful tannins, a gorgeous wine.

These wines are available, but the Oregon stock runs out extremely quickly.

Veronique Drouhin

Domaine Drouhin

-Cheers Joel

I willingly followed my brother and sister in law, Terry and Barbara Buss, into the maze of a mall in downtown Napa. We eventually found our destination, n.v. Restaurant and Lounge. The urban environment worked within the wine country setting. It was very much like some posh European restaurants remembered from a long ago past. The lounge seemed modern, attractive and probably hip later in the night after we had all gone off to sleep.

I liked the food a lot, Chef Peter Halikas does great with ingredients he finds in the local area. The night we dined, I thought we should try the winter prixe fixe menu, at $40 a head. My first course was the Dungeness Crab Wonton Soup, with Shitake Mushroom Broth. I loved the spices and thought it great. The table also had the Five Spice Marinated Quail Salad, which we all thought unusual, and excellent. My entree was the Venison Chop, accompanied by Sweet Potato Risotto and Cranberry Citrus Relish. The chop needed the sauce. Combined it worked, although the red wine we tasted with it needed the sauce.

Desserts included a Chocolate Coffee Torte (not to be missed) and I also tried a Banana Bread Pudding (from the table), with Maker’s Mark Hard Sauce, Oatmeal Streusel and Vanilla Ice Cream. No counting calories in thions meal…

Our extremely friendly and helpful General Manager, Sundiata White, is your person to call when you want to go to dinner at this lovely oasis in downtown Napa; and need any kind of information or advice. Now a few words about the chef: Chef Peter graduated from the New England Culinary Institute, and cut his teeth at the Ritz Carlton in Marina del Rey. Moving north, he worked at Domaine Chandon before deciding to look for more training. So, off he went to New York, and overseas, returning to SF to help open Restaurant Gary Danko. Then, back to Napa where he became Executive Chef for Leslie Rudd’s Dean and Deluca. Thus, after he felt comfortably grounded, he moved over to Napa, and began his own restaurant. In October 2005, the dream became a reality.

for reservations, call 707–265-6400

N.V. Restaurant and Lounge 1106 First St., Napa, California, 94559
Hours of operation:
RESTAURANT
Seven days a week 5 pm – 10 pm
LOUNGE
Sunday – Wednesday: 5 pm-12 am
Thursday – Saturday: 5 pm-2 am

-Cheers Joel

Perfect Photo by Alison Levine! – French Tasting with Friends
(L-R) Anthony Dias Blue, Michael Horn, Juliana McCNulty, Joel Fisher

Recent recent months brought varied tastings. The French Wine Connection introduced wines from eight regions and smaller wineries .to a lighter crowd. One region is Languedoc , where I have yet to visit wineries . Domaine Henri Schoenheitz, from the Loire , presented a 2005 Gewujrztraminer ‘Holder,” which I liked. This should sell for $22. Their Riesling “Holder” Vendanges Tardive (1996) I thought lovely. A fair price at $50.00.

Chateau Fantin, of Bordeaux , near St. Emilion, poured their Chateau Cantelaudette Blanc Couvee 2006, a blend, nice, too. No oak is used; the bottle sells for $15 or so. The 2006 Chateau Cantelaudette Graves de Vayres, is very nice; about $11 for half bottle. Blended from Semillion, Cinsault and Muscadelle, with lots of fruit, and nicely zesty. I liked it.

Champagne Dumangin is a champagne I’ve not previously tasted. I enjoyed chatting with Giles Dumangin and discovering they produce 150,000 bottles a year .His 2006 Champagne Dumangin Brut 17 (2004) is dry, good fruit, bubbly,. bit yeasty and lovely. Should sell at $40. The 2003 can be found at $45.00. 25% of production is derived from Champagne Dumangin Rose, a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier. I thought the wine was fruity, yet provides a nice, dry mouthful. Their Champagne Premier Cru 1999, a lovely blend of 56% Chardonnay and 44% Pinot Noir, comes from a single vineyard with great white fruit.

From Languedoc comes Domaine La Croix- Belle. Le Champ du Coq 2005 (Cotes de Thongue ) Costing approx. $15, this was very nice with Cheddar. The 2005 Le Champ des Lys (a blend of Genache and Viognier, approx. $15+) possessed a lovely taste, a great peach nose, with other floral aromas and drank well.

Domaine Joseph Mellot , producer of nice Sancerre’s, presented their Vin de Pays du

Jardin de la France which was nice, fruity and costing around $14. The “Sincerite” , label, from the Cabernet Franc grape was balanced, showed nice acidity and tannins and was quite approachable. Sancerre Blanc “La Grande Chatelaine 2003 was more floral, more fruity, with an acidic finish, and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Chateau Beaulieu is one of three wineries in Provence owned by PGA Domaine. Their 2003 Blanc (from Sauvignon Blanc, Semillion and Rolle) was an interesting wine. Their 2003 Chateau Beaulieu Rouge, made from Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah was full of pepper and spices and will cost around $15. Chateau des Gavelles Rouge 2005, blended from Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre, had lots of berry fruits, was clean, balanced, good colors, a nice and enthusiastic wine, costing about $11.00

Regardless or maybe because of, price, these wines are worth exploring. Cheers – Joel