Memorial Day Weekend

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We decided to stay home and have a “civilized” dinner with good friends. Ray and Flo came over and I cooked 7 or 8 small courses. The night, like my food and the pictures, got more and more out of focus as we worked our way through 4 bottles of wine and 2 dessert wines. It’s amazing how poor one’s judgment can get after that much wine. My seasoning went to hell fast. Luckily I was under-seasoning rather than over-seasoning since under-seasoning can somewhat be fixed (well a little bit).

Our first wine. Wente Vineyard’s Nth Degree Chardonnay (I don’t remember the vintage). Ray brought this one over. It was very nice for a California Chardonnay – some malolactic fermentation but not overly buttery.

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One of our first courses. A leek velouté and an asparagus velouté:

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Another early course: Tomato and Melon with vanilla oil and fried basil

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Our second wine: 2001 Corton Charlemange, Marc Colin. In terms of white wine, I’m a huge burgundy fan – enough said.

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Our third: 2001 Sterling Three Palms Merlot. One of my favorite California Merlots.

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Our fourth: 2002 Emilio’s Terrace Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville. This wine was from Andrea’s A-List wine club. A really nice wine with lots of licorice on the nose. The wine finished with some incredible mouth watering acidity with hints of black cherry. I enjoyed this wine but we actually opened it after our meal. I think it’s best to enjoy this wine with food.

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4 Comments

  1. I hope you find some nice bottles at K&L. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable. Just be sure to find the respective expert for each region. FYI, they have wine tastings every Saturday from 1 – 4PM at the Redwood City location. The cost is usually around $20-$30. I believe this week is 2003 Bordeaux. Also checkout their newsletter for some good recommendations: K&L Newsletter

    That’s funny that I remind you of your sister’s boyfriend. I’ve been getting mistaken for someone else a lot lately. A little while ago, Chef Kinch from Manresa (one of my favorite restaurants) thought I had apprenticed in his kitchen. Apparently some guy with the same last name who looked similar worked there for a while. At first I thought I had a great hookup, until I found out the guy couldn’t handle the heat and quit. I’m glad I clarified that I was not him!

    Alsace sounds wonderful…one of these days I have to go. No apologies necessary that they “are French.” 🙂 I’m a huge Francophile. Since your boyfriend is French, do you guys know about Fleur de Cocoa. I think Pascal Janvier is the most talented pastry chef in the Bay Area. Does your boyfriend have any other suggestions for great French food/pastry?

    Here is a post about the pastry: Best Pastry

    Have a great weekend too!

    Eric

  2. Hi Eric,

    FYI, I’m going to K&L to get a Marc Colin bottle this weekend^^! I’m quite excited about that. I know I can trust a wine connoisseur like you. Also, it’s bc you look (just a wee-bit) & remind me of David, my sister’s boyfriend who loves wine like no other.

    Again, thanks for the thorough info on the Moselle… I’m glad I stumbled on your site. I tried too many times before searching online for any info on wine to enjoy “now” & most of the time, I got results that brought me to wine shops & wineries. Once in a while, I’d read great comments on certain wines, but the comments were out-dated.

    Alsace…. wow, how I love that region!! I’ve only been there 5 or 6 times (hehehe… well, my boyfriend comes straight from Alsace, right in the center of all the “route des vins”). That region is incredible! They are French, yes, but they have an almost completely different culture of their own! Every year during July-August, they have their wine festival almost every weekend. Each weekend at a different village. I’ve been to a few of those & the experience is nothing I’ve had before! I’m sure you can guess how that would be… everyone flocked from all around Alsace, not to mention there are tourists & visitors like me from around the world as well… & age does not matter^^. I felt like I was living in the medieval times, except it’s more sanitary now =oP. Unfortunately, I don’t have any picture to show anyone about it, but do take my words for it^^.

    Well, Eric, please keep trying the wines & cuisines & let us know! Until next time, have a great weekend!!!

    Tram

  3. Hey Tram!

    Thanks for your kind words.

    If you’re in the Bay Area, I think your best chance to find wines from Marc Colin would be K&L (http://www.klwines.com/). I really love Marc Colin’s wines and also Vincent Girardin’s (http://www.vincentgirardin.com/). I’ve had a bunch of wines from Alsace but I did a poor job journaling the details. I know for sure I’ve had Trimbach since I think they are a pretty large producer. I’ve added the names you mentioned to my list and I look forward to trying some of them.

    We did have a wonderful Moselle last week: Chateau De Vaux Moselle Blanc ‘Les Gryphees’ 2004. “It is an unusual blend: 30% Auxerrois, a white grown in small quantities in Alsace and Burgundy; 30% Muller-Thurgau, a German hybrid white grape; 30% Tokay Pinot Gris, and 10% Gewurztraminer (the latter two being among the noble white grapes of the nearby Alsace district).” (quoted from Andrea Robinson’s tasting notes)

    Thanks for the link, I’d absolutely love to check that region out. Have you been? Do you have any photos of the vineyards in the region?

    Eric

  4. Hi there,

    Thanks for all the wonderful posts/updates on cuisine & especially the wines. I’ve been jotting down all the wines you’ve suggested on your site. I can’t wait to try the “2001 Corton Charlemange, Marc Colin”.

    Have you ever tried any from Alsace? At the moment, they’re my favorite white wines. Among my favorites are:
    – Gerwurztraminer
    – Pinot Gris
    – Tokay
    – …and of course, the Riesling

    Also, among my favorite makers are Domaines Schlumberger, Trimbach, Domaine Zind-Humbrecht, Lucien Alrecht … just to name a few.

    Keep up the great work! Your site is bookmarked on my favorites!!

    P.S. If you ever have a chance to visit Alsace, France: http://www.alsace-route-des-vins.com/NewVersion/index.cfm/Language/En.cfm ^__^

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