Opera not-so Prima

So, we picked up a bottle of 2007 Opera Prima Merlot based solely on the bottle.... I thought it was pretty. This isn't exactly what it looked like, but close enough.... picture a big '07 instead of the '08 and well, that's pretty much what it looked like.

I opened it while I waited for Mr Big Dubya to come home from work, I poured a glass and began to sip...... it was acidic -- not very pleasing.

Let it breath, I told myself -- maybe this is one that will benefit from some breathing.

So I set my glass down and resumed yelling at my children.

Mr Big Dubya arrived home and poured himself a glass. Unremarkable and pedestrian is how he described it -- bland, slightly acidic but more so just blah.

We finished the bottle, but weren't wishing we had picked up another -- and probably wouldn't bother getting it again.

Holidays, Hops and Malts

I love the holiday season. And by "holiday season" I mean mid-October until, well, April when it starts to warm up a bit. It's a time for big, heavy and hardy beers; spiced beers; and beers that just warm you all over. Yes, I know beers are cold and thus not conducive to warmth, work with me here and just enjoy the vision and sentiments. Anyway, I have been doing a lot of tasting recently so you don't have to. I know, I'm a giver like that. At least that's what I tell myself when I step on the scale. Note to self, if you're gonna drink like it's 7, 7 n-n-n-o tomorrow, get to a gym once in a while. So, like I just mentioned, I've been trying a lot of beers the past several weeks and I figure now might be a good time to share. Yes, I realize I might have done this before all the parties and all, but where's the fun in that? Here's a reason to go out and celebrate Little Christmas - just my little inconsequential gift to you. No, no need to thank me. No, really.

River Horse Variety Pack: I'm a big fan of variety packs - something about spice and life or something like that. I love them because it gives me the opportunity to enjoy what that brewer believes might be a good combo for beer drinkers or some brews they're introducing. Or I just buy them because they come in a really cool box. Dude, there's a hippopotamus on the box. A hippopotamus! How could I not buy it? In this particular 12-pack were Hop Hazard Pale Ale, Special Ale, Lager and (my favorite just for its name) Hop-A-Lot-Amus. I'm not reviewing each beer, but let's say it's not a pack that you'll find much wrong with. All-in-all, these are very solid offerings, none of which disappointed. But, let's go back to my favorite, Hop-A-Lot-Amus. This is an unfiltered Double IPA. Repeat after me: UN-FIL-TERED(uh). There is a lot of sediment floating around this beer so if that's not your bag, baby, you might want to avoid this one. As far as aroma goes, there's some malts up front, but the hops do fight for your attention, eventually winning out and you will detect a piney, citrusy aroma. The bitterness of the hops really does mask its 8.5% ABV which may make for awkward situations (read: falling on the floor) if you're knocking back a few while seated. I think it's a pretty good Double IPA and won't disappoint you drinkers with a penchant (that's French for hankerin') for hoppy beers.

Berkshire Brewing Company Cabin Fever: Last year, The Dubyas were invited to a party in early December. On tap at this particular party was Cabin Fever. It was a 1/3 barrel, a "log" as it's known in liquor store parlance. And damn was it ever good. Flash forward two weeks later and you would have found another Cabin Fever log at Casa Dubya. Flash forward once again to this most recent Thanksgiving and you would have heard me squee like a schoolgirl when I found a few bottles at our local "packie." And, of course, at our most recent holiday open house, another log just happened to find its way to our humble abode. I really can't say enough good things about this seasonal. It opens with a nice maltiness with hints of caramel and some spices. The hops only add to this complex aroma with some bold fruitiness. There's a noticeable hoppiness on the tongue, but not overpowering, which is tempered by the nice breadiness of the malts. There's no outright spiciness like that found in other winter warmer-style ales, but there is a faint, sweet candy-like quality on the finish. Honestly, I haven't been disappointed by a Berkshire Brewing offering yet - Gold Spike, Steel Rail, Berkshire Ale, Lost Sailor - have all been great brews and ones that I find myself going back to often.

Woodstock Inn Brewery Red Rack Ale: Back in September I wrote about Woodstock Inn's Pemi Pale Ale. I mentioned that this beer intrigued me and I was anxiously looking forward to popping into the Inn during our trip to New Hampshire for Thanksgiving. Well, we did visit...twice. Unfortunately, I wasn't in an all too adventurous mood and stuck to the Red Rack Ale. Sort of a "I know what I'm gonna get" mentality. And, well, I'm at the brewery dammit. Anyway, it's a solid amber, but I think it could use a little more fullness. That is, some of the flavor you'd expect from a quality craft beer are washed out. It has a nice floral hops scent with malty, bready undertones. It maintained a pretty consistent yellow-tan head throughout. But when it came to the taste, I feel like it was lacking; like they missed an opportunity to give it something more. Now, that's not to say I won't try it again, but after the Pemi Pale Ale, it was a little disappointing.

Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale: Oh, Sierra Nevada, how quickly you have become my favorite. Can you open an east coast brewery so I can come and bow to your greatness? Huh? Was that out loud? That's internal monologue...internal! Well, what can I say about Sierra Nevada beers that I haven't already? Not much really. Celebration Ale is not what you'd expect of a winter offering. Why? One word: hoppy. Hoppy, hoppy, hoppy. Not spicy, not mulled, um, er, mulled-y and definitely not malty. No, this is another great pale ale offering from Sierra Nevada. It smells piney and citrusy so you know you'll get a mouthful of hop flavor. There is an ever-so-slight malty aroma but that quickly has its ass kicked and sent on its way. It has a medium mouthfeel and well-balanced carbonation which makes it easy to drink - if you don't have plans to drive it could easily be a great session beer. I must go buy some more of this. Allow me to reiterate: you can not, I repeat, can not go wrong with a Sierra Nevada beer.

Harviestoun Brewery Old Engine Oil: Now, c'mon and be honest, wouldn't you just want to drink this beer because of its name? Old Engine Oil: Viscous, Chocolatey, Bitter. Sounds good to me, sign me up. I had this beer over the weekend at J. Timothy's, which, if you live in this area or are ever visiting or lost, you should stop in and give it a try. Anyway, Old Engine Oil pours much like you think it would: thick and black and right off the bat you get hit with chocolate and coffee making it the perfect substitute for breakfast. There is a slight hoppy aroma but not overwhelming by any stretch. You will notice the chocolate taste right away followed closely by coffee. There is a slight fruitiness to it but the malt is much more prevalent, very much like one would expect in a stout. It is definitely a filling beer but with an easy drinkability and some kick to it. It is the type of beer that makes me want to look for more Harviestoun varieties. In fact, I'd love to find the Ola Dubh - that looks really good.

Beers that I still need to drink that are just sitting in the fridge waiting: Brewery Ommegang Three Philosophers Quadrupel and Barrington Brewery Yule Fuel.

Molly Who???

Happy New Year!

Yeah, I know, I know.... I've been a sucky blogger lately -- and it's not because I haven't been drinking.... oh no, I've been drinking a plenty -- just haven't been writing about my indulgences.

So, once again I am recommitting myself to this space -- I will share with you the joy (or disappointments) of the wines I try and I hope you'll do the same.

First up -- a friend recently mentioned a wine she fell in love with.... I just had to try it. So, I sent Mr Big Dubya an email and told him he'd be wise to pick up a bottle on his way home from work -- at $27.99 a bottle, it is a little more expensive than our typical selection -- but sometimes you just gotta splurge. The label alone is enough to make me love this wine -- so, I have a feeling it won't disappoint.

Will be diving into this bottle tonight, and will hopefully have plenty to say about it afterwards -- in the meantime -- Cheers to 2010!

Compre este vino

I think it’s happening again. A couple of years ago, Sue and I picked up a Spanish rioja at a really great price (about $12) that we loved. It became one of our go-to wines. Today, the Marqués de Cárceres rioja sells for closer to $20.

A couple of weeks ago, we picked up another Spanish red, a 2006 Sabor Real Toro, for $9.99. We both thought it was so good that I kept the bottle around to remind me to write a review (even if telling people about it will drive up the price).

The 2006 Sabor Real Toro is made from 100% Tempranillo grapes. Toro is the name of the wine, the name of the Spanish region that wine comes from, and the name of the Denominación de origen under which the wine is classified. (The Spanish are conservative with names like that; but for those in the know, the naming system quickly lets you know specifically where a wine is from.)

As I’ve written before, I’m terrible at telling you why I like a wine. But I can tell you that since Sue and I both liked it, that means it’s not too light and not too heavy, not too fruity and not too spicy, not too sweet and not too dry. I also know that we’re not the only people who have discovered that the 2006 Sabor Real Toro is an outstanding value. Just Google it and see what I mean.

If you find this wine—especially if it’s still about $10 a bottle—give it a try. And let me know if you agree.

P.S. Sue and I just joined the Zagat Wine Club. Have any of you tried this?

The Non-Reviews

So, over the weekend I hosted a partylite party. One of our daycare teachers is a college student and she became a partylite consultant to make a few extra bucks. I'm not really the candle-party-type, but I figured what the hell..... I'll open a bottle of wine and the consultant will do the rest.

Well, that was a great plan -- except..... not too many guests were able to make it (damn flu!) which made me anxious.... one glass of wine, led to another, to another -- bottle number two, bottle number three.......

So, I'm here to tell you that I had three really good bottles of wine on Saturday night and I can't tell you anything about any of them.

I think I'm going to go re-buy them

Sarah and Shafer Sitting in a Tree...

Last week my husband and I went to wine country. Please excuse the fact that there isn't a bottle of wine for sale at this place that falls within the price range of the average Whiney requirement. Hell, there isn't a varietal for sale at this place that you can buy for three times the under $15 suggested price, but I have to tell you about the best wine I drank when I was in California.

Shafer.


Let me start by saying that when I called Shafer for an appointment about five weeks before my trip the person who answered the phone laughed at me. She said they were booked up for over two months. I got on the waiting list for three different days.

That isn't how I got in.

I don't want to give away all the details but I will say that we completely got lucky. I was at another vineyard doing a tasting and by chance the guy who was doing the tasting happened to be married to someone who just so happened to work at Shafer. It was our very last day in California.

I begged, I groveled.

I told them I was a wine blogger.

THAT is how I got in.

That is also the exact minute I stopped being embarrassed to tell people that I blogged for a living.

People told me that Cakebread was the #1 place not to miss. I moved my appointment at Cakebread to go to Shafer.

I was not disappointed.

This is the tasting room.

As beautiful as this photograph is (my husband took this picture) it doesn't even do the room justice. The place was breath taking and the vineyard is 100% solar powered.

They gave us this:

That is five of their wines: the Red Shoulder Ranch Chardonnay, the 2007 Merlot, the 2006 One Point Five Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2006 Relentless (a Syrah and Petit Syrah blend) and the 2005 Hillside Select® Cabernet Sauvignon.

I know Chardonnay gets a bad rap as a shitty grape (we even saw t-shirts at Honig that said "Friends Don't Let Friends Drink Chardonnay") but this was the absolute best Chardonnay I've ever had.

And every glass of wine we tasted there was better than the last one.

Everything was exquisitely balanced.

Listen, we were in California for a week. The lowest end winery we hit was Sterling. We ate at The French Laundry and Cyrus and drank what was recommended to us. I drank a lot of wine last week and this wine was superior to every other thing I tasted.

I don't mean to gush, but DAMN!

If you ever want to buy a bottle of wine for a special occasion and you have $50 I highly recommend the Shafer Chardonnay or Merlot. I am not generally a fan of Merlot but in this case I make an exception. I would give up an entire week of football for this wine.

If you ever want to buy a bottle of wine for a special occasion and you have $70 the One Point Five and The Relentless are outstanding. I would wear a Rams t-shirt for the One Point Five Cabernet Sauvignon. I would wear a Kurt Warner jersey for a bottle of the Relentless.

For a bottle of the Hillside Select I would do unspeakable things.

Unspeakable.

I am talking about things that involve rooting for the Yankees.

The Shafer Hillside Select retails for $215 a bottle, assuming you can find it in a store. You might have to join the club to even have a chance to buy a bottle.

I joined the wine club. Hell, if there were some sort of Shafer cult I would have joined that too.

The wine was that good.

- GSS

I bought it for the label....

C'mon, look at this guy..... you'd want to bring him home with you too, right?

Okay, well if not the guy... unleash your inner 6-year old and buy a bottle of The Bastard!

I got this quite some time ago and wasn't really sure what to expect. This 2007 bottle of Il Bastardo Sangiovese Rosso di Toscana was really my first foray into Sangioveses.

A little history....the Sangiovese is a red Italian wine grape most commonly use in making Tuscan Chianti. The grapes themselves are said to be fruity like strawberries, but with a hint of spiciness and take on a distinct oakiness when aged in barrels.

The Il Bastardo winery is located in the Rufina area of Tuscany just outside Florence in the Sieve River Valley -- this is said to be the best area for Sangiovese grapes.

The Big Dubya opened the bottle and poured two healthy glasses -- I took my first sip and was very pleased. It was extremely mild -- fruity, sweet, but not sticky sweet. I didn't detect any strawberries -- but there was a hint of blackberry for sure. The flavors weren't terribly deep, but that was okay because they were comfortable -- complex in it's simpleness. The finish was pleasant and very smooth -- there was no bite at all. This is the kind of wine you could drink a lot of and not feel weighed down or heavy.

I found myself wishing I'd picked up more and at less than $10 a bottle -- I'll keep an eye out for this one.

Enjoy!