by Christina Waters | Mar 17, 2010 | Home |
I love the new label that maverick winemaker Jeff Emery is trying out for his crisp 2009 Quinta Cruz Verdelho. Actually, the duct tape here isn’t so much a cloaking device as it is expedient.
The labels haven’t yet been attached to this latest installment of Emery’s highly drinkable white varietal. Fast-moving on the palate, graced with a slight spritz, this Portuguese grape is quite distinctive, offering a quick floral nose before settling into citrus, wintergreen and a tropical fruit center.
The finish is woody, haunted by a hit of bubblegum. Terrific stuff.
Stop by the Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard tasting room and give it a whirl. $22 a bottle is a bargain for a wine that is immediate, polymorphous and exotic.
by Christina Waters | Mar 17, 2010 | Home |
Meatloaf. Ready to heat and eat. Delicious and yes, I’ll say it: just like mama used to make.
I picked some up yesterday, along with a half freshly-baked loaf of traditional Irish soda bread.
And for a side dish, a substantial square of feather-light, fresh corn frittata. Dinner for roughly $11 – plus extra for lunch the next day.
by Christina Waters | Mar 15, 2010 | Home |
Chase the last gloomy nights of winter with a Sacred Hearth.
1 part Cynar
1 part Campari
2 parts gin
a squeeze of lemon
no ice
If you haven’t tried Cynar — a high-octane distillation of artichoke — you haven’t lived.
by Christina Waters | Mar 14, 2010 | Home |
From the small Glen Haven estate of Hunter Hill comes this new pinot noir release by winemaker Vann Slatter. And it’s a big bold creation powered by dry-farmed grapes grown high above Soquel.
Hence the intensity of this 13.5 % alcohol wine.
The 2007 Estate Pinot Noir can do anything a syrah can do — it loves lamb. But it also shows its complexity alongside salmon and pasta.
This spicy pinot starts out cleanly with plenty of black cherry and finishes with a long, slow meditation on licorice and sassafras. Along the way we noticed a rhythmic unveiling of fruit and tannins (yes, just like the dance of the seven veils). Two hours after opening, the unmistakable earth flavors of rootbeer chimed in with the licorice.
Wine worth thinking about as you taste. We found it for $24.95 at Shoppers.
by Christina Waters | Mar 9, 2010 | Home |
That would be the Chalone Vineyard Chardonnay 2008 from Monterey County decorating the bargain rack at Shoppers Corner.
I can’t believe this wine doesn’t cost twice the price!
We liked this smartly-constructed, lightly-oaked wine for its balanced 13.5% alcohol and its lovely blend of peaches, melons and hazelnuts. Rounded with a crisp, if brief, finish, it is a wonderful wine. But more than that, it is a very, very inexpensive, well-made California chardonnay for under $10.
It will run you a mere $9.99.
Especially nice with steelhead and braised bitter greens.
by Christina Waters | Mar 5, 2010 | Home |
May Day: Joseph Schultz is set on opening his new India Joze on May 1. Stay tuned….
Oyster bar Mondays coming any minute now to Soif. Stay tuned closely.
No more Black China retail/cafe – instead there’s now Caffe Tazzina, with an all-new, not entirely vegetarian menu. Continue to stay tuned. …
Is Tacos Morenos under new management? Get back to me on that one. Thanks.
(“New” is definitely the word du jour, no?)
