Tomato Ridge

Recently I had an unfortunate wine experience. I went to a tasting with a few California wine lovers who know wine and spend a lot of money on wine. Gordon Getty was there - former owner of the Getty gas stations before he sold them to Texaco in the 80s. He now has his hands in a few wine labels, restaurants, resorts and the like. I was late to the tasting so by the time I got there everyone was pretty tipsy, but I served my wine (blind of course) and it tasted like tomatoes. Tomato sauce, really. Wine tasting of tomato sauce may indicate a wine fault known as reduction, which means there is the presence of volatile sulfur compounds. Specifically, dimethyl sulfide may be the culprit behind tomato aromas. These volatile sulfur compounds can manifest in the fermentation process, from the yeasts being stressed or from lack of nitrogen or oxygen. At low thresholds these compounds can be desirable, resulting in aromas of fruit, flowers or minerality, contributing to the varietal character of certain wines, like Sauvignon Blanc, but of course, sometimes they can be off-putting.

This tomato wine was Ridge Paso Robles 2002, a zinfandel-based blend. Lucky for me, I had planned a trip to Ridge Lytton Springs in the Russian River Valley the next day, so I brought the bottle and they gave me a replacement from the current vintage, 2009, no questions asked. I'm going to age it a bit before drinking it, maybe for 7 years so I can do a more accurate comparison.

At Ma Peche, the Mother of all Pairings

On a recent business trip to NYC (I now visit NYC and stay in hotels, very different from being a resident there) I had dinner at Ma Peche, part of the Momofuku restaurant empire. Intending to just have 1 glass of wine, we ended up doing a light 3-course meal with a different wine for each course. My choices were semi random, not being at all familiar with the restaurant and cuisine, but they all ended up working out perfectly. It was really fun to try a new place and sample the wine list this way. Here are the pairings we did:

First Course
Summer rolls - pork/shrimp/tofu, lettuce, daikon, peanut
Scallop - coffee, brown butter, lime
Wine: Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon blend, Jean Medeville et fils, Bordeaux, France

Second Course
Beef tartare - soy, scallion, mint
Lamb corn dog - mustard, lamb's lettuce, pickle
Wine: Syrah, Chateau Maris 'Natural Selection,' Minervois La Liviniere, Languedoc, France

Third Course
Cheese plate of Moses Sleeper (Jasper Hill, VT), Prairie Breeze (Milton Creamery, IA), Caveman Blue (Rogue Creamery, OR)
Wines*: Touriga National Blend Ruby Port, Quinta de Honor, Portugal
Tinta Negra Mole, Henriques & Henriques, 'Rainwater,' Madeira, Portugal
*Between these two, the pairings differed depending on the cheese, but overall we enjoyed the Madeira more.

I think only wine geeks really care about food and wine pairing, but I find it pretty exciting to find that perfect combination without trying too hard. Case in point, I guess :)

Wine & Spirits' Grand Tasting

Last month my friend Oskar visited from the Finger Lakes and invited me to join him at the Wine & Spirits Top 100 Tasting, honoring the San Francisco-based magazine's chosen top 100 wineries of the year. Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard was honored for the 3rd year in a row, and I got to accompany Oskar as a representative of the winery. Going to industry tastings is always more fun with 2 people - you can share the responsibility of pouring the wine while having the chance to walk around and taste the other wines.

The best part was the Champagne and oysters section on the veranda of City View at METREON in downtown/SoMa San Francisco - great views and delicious indulgences. I tried Dom Perignon for the first time (it was ok; I've had better for cheaper) and sampled some other great names like Louis Roederer.

In the Riesling family, in addition to Wiemer's 2010 Gewurztraminer and 2009 Late Harvest Riesling, wines that I proudly helped produce, I enjoyed Joh. Jos. Prum's 2009 Mosel Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatlese (Germany), a similar style to our Late Harvest Riesling, and Loimer's 2009 Kamptal Reserve Langenlois Steinmassl Riesling and 2010 Kamptal Gruner Veltliner (Austria). I love this simple green label:

Again I sampled R. Lopez de Heredia's 1993 Rioja Reserva Vina Tondonia Blanco, the white Rioja I first had at San Francisco Wine Center over the summer; this is such an interesting wine. I also had their 2001 Rioja Reserva Vina Tondonia Tinto, the red version. Delicious Spanish wines.

Other notable reds included Leonetti Cellar's 2008 Walla Walla Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and 2009 Walla Walla Valley Merlot. I've had older Leonetti vintages and they have been divine, so it was nice to try the current releases and see what the wine is like in its youth. I also enjoyed Achaval-Ferrer's 2008 La Consulta Uco Valley Finca Altamira Malbec. I visited this winery during my trip to Mendoza last year but I hadn't tried this single vineyard Malbec.

I had fun bumping into Mary Burnham and Jordan Mackay, wine writers and instructors at SFWC wine school.

And as always, it was great pouring Wiemer to adoring fans from around the country.

Other coverage:
http://www.vinography.com/archives/2011/10/whats_your_best_wine_tasting_t.html