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2006 UNTI Petit Frere

I took this up to Lee and Nancy's for the 2009 rendition of "Pumpkin Festival.... North." On deck for dinner were simple thin pies (think Roman style) from Mezza Luna in town. 

This nice, dry Grenache, Mouvedre & Syrah blend, while called "little brother", really just isn't. It's a nicely bodied Rhone blend with enough blackberry fruit up front to balance the Rhone sensibility on the back and providing a pleasant balance for everyday southern European inspired cuisine.

Mick Unti is doing a great job of very reasonable, drinkable and well-paired juice for food. 

2006 Unti Sonoma County Petit Frere

~$20

89 points

Gig Review - Aaron Parks @ Yoshi's SF

Ran up to the city to catch the 8:00 set by Aaron Parks on Monday, 20 Oct, 2008. Aaron's a gifted musician who's music I recently discovered. He's very contemporary jazz (not smooth jazz) focused and is currently touring in support of his new CD, Invisible Cinema. Joining Aaron was his regular guitarist, Mike Moreno, and new supporting rhythm section of Thomas Morgan on bass and the young Marcus Gilmore on drums.

Aaron's past is quite an interesting tale. A Seattle native, he entered U of W when he was 14, was a National Merit Scholar at 15 and at 16 packed it up with his family and they all moved to NYC where he studied at The Manhattan School of Music with Kenny Barron. Surely a difficult, but wise choice!

I was really looking forward to hearing this music live and the quartet delivered the goods! The title, Invisible Cinema, is very telling. I often feel like I should be seeing a film while listening to a soundtrack,  or I'll start playing scenes in my mind as if I'm FFC directing a scene..trying to find the right setting and story for the music. Very emotive!

Opening with Peaceful Warrior, the set was gentle, relaxing and engaging until the speed bump of a standard. When you have such wonderful music, does it make sense to disrupt the flow with something out of character? Perhaps. Perhaps not. For me, I would have preferred the flow, but was very satisfied with the set in general. It was a warm and rewarding evening.

There's a nice article on SFGATE.com that's a good read. It was written just before this gig. 

Workout Schedule Week of Oct 20, 08

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pINZkpd-qBKkaYsl-OJblIw&output=html

2006 Summers Napa Valley Estate Charbono

..she said..."Rambo, what means "Charbono?"

He said "huhhhh?" in his most Scooby-Doo like inflection.

Now, although Bill got all in my face and called me full of $h*t and a wine snob at the Rains' luau and it was all the zen master I could muster to not break his finger as it dented my chest, I really don't think I am, especially since I'd never heard of Charbono. Accordingly, in my geekdom, I did some research before I tackled this and stumbled across some really interesting info.

While there's too much to post here, I do recommend taking a look into several of the links in this search as it's kinda fascinating.

So, here's the reader's digest version....

* Only 80 acres grown in the USA. 100% in California.

* Imported by Italian immigrants in the 1800s

* Is a Piedmontese varietal - possibly related to Charbonneau (fr.)

* Is the 2nd most popular varietal grown in Argentina

Ok..Cool. Now what? Well, try some.

I know. Too far out of the box, too difficult to find, blah-blah-blah-blah. 

No? Good...actually, Great!

So this Charbono has wonderful mouthfeel that's extremely soft and delicate, but with significant bright fruit, mainly dark berries, but not a Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot type of berry. When I say significant, I mean subtle. Huh?

How can that be? Yeah, I know, but I don't know any other way to describe it.

I had this with a hearty fall soup, but it would also play well with most meats (non-beef), fowl (particularly Duck or Ostrich), and several other fall-style vegetable dishes.

2006 Summers Napa Valley Estate Charbono

~$25

90 points

Gig Review - Antonio Sanchez & Migration @ Yoshi's SF

On Tues night (23rd Sept), we made it up to the city to check out some of the best. Antonio Sanchez, as you likely know, is a phenomenal drummer who's recently played with the best of the best.  His band, Migration, consists of Scott Colley, Miguel Zenon and David Sanchez (no relation). 

Antonio made a very self-effacing comment that this was his first visit as a "leader" (quotes emphasized by Antonio), and while that's no small task, it's kinda cool. The really cool part is that this is not your typical "drummer" lead group that focuses a bit on the other players and then get ready to hunker down for the 15 minute drum solo.

Feh :(

Thankfully, Antonio gets it! He's got 3 of the most amazing musicians and he certainly let's them shine. While someone has to be the leader, live music, not even jazz, is a democracy, he does so as subtly as possible, allowing the creative energy to flow richly. When you've got Miguel and David interjecting with their own individual styles that so seamlessly mesh with the groove Scott and Antonio lay down, you just can't help boppin' along and having as much fun engaging with them as they are having trying to bring smiles to the audience and to the others on stage.

What a great night. Most of you know how much I enjoy live music. This was likely the highest level of musicianship I've seen assembled in one venue. Simply stunning.

2006 Seghesio Sonoma Coast Arneis

Arneis. Yes, Arneis. I know what you're thinkin'..."WTF is Arneis?" Well, it's a white Italian, specifically, Piedmontese, varietal that's more challenging to grow than Pinot Noir.

Again, I know what you're thinkin' "WTF could be more difficult to grow than Pinot?"

Arneis. Translates to "Little Rascal." One more time, I know what you're thinkin" " WTF...isn't that a TV show from the 30's?". Well, yes, but that's a whole different thing.

THIS Arneis is a really great find in our challenge. It's very Italian in style. Not as restrained as a white Cote d'Or, and not nearly laid back as Bordeaux's Sauv Blanc or Semillon, this Sonoma Coast grown wine is far more exciting, challenging, fiery and fun than its frog cousins. It appeals to your visual senses with a deep straw hue and to your nasal senses with it's stealthy anise aroma, taunting you to just taste a bit.

OK. So I did.   ....and now I'm hooked!

Chrysann came over for dinner on Sunday and we had this with our melon and jamon salad. It proved to be a great complement, providing further sweetness to play off the saltiness of the lovely Spanish cure as well as bright citrus notes and a very subtle anise tone to sharpen the effect of the sweet Galia melon.

....So before Summer turned to Spring, I turned to Arneis for one last summer fling.  We'll have to do this again...and soon.

2006 Seghesio Family Sonoma Coast Arneis

~$18

92 Points

Sunday in the Park

Here's a link to some pics from the dreaded crappy-fone-cam at the park on Sunday.

Look at all the GREAT t-shirts!!!

Inflection Point in Life - Take the challenge!

I was lucky enough to meet Ryan a couple of times before he passed, and yesterday, everything that everyone said was just validation of why I like him and Jen so much, and why I needed to be there. Of course, to support her, but for myself, and for Tina, too.

I really enjoyed the service; it felt so honest, comfortable, unpretentious and "connected", just like I heard from those who shared. Connected is just a remarkable way to describe someone. I wish I could be just a wee bit as connected as Ryan was.

The amazing impact that one life had on the world was evident both by the many touching and heartfelt stories we were lucky enough to hear yesterday, but also by the number of friends that were at the amphitheater yesterday, and their level of gratitude to have been touched by him.

I did some thinking and took some notes on the flight home last night, trying to make sense of my feelings.  To that end, and to further extend the touch of Ryan's energy in this world, I'm taking the challenge to make the following commitments in my life:

1) Whatever you do, do it with PASSION. Ryan was good at some things, great at others, but passionate about everything. If it's worth my time, I want to be passionate about it and be as committed to it as possible.

2) Care more. If I can make just half the effort to care about people the way Ryan did, people will be appreciative, thankful, and the effect of that is that I will be happier :) It's pretty tough to have a shitty or pessimistic attitude when people are appreciative of your honest and selfless help.

3) Smile alot. See pics of Ryan. Always freakin' smilin! Also, see #2 -- tough to be unhappy when you're smiling :-)

4) Be myself. He was SOOOO himself. People loved him for what he did and what he did was who he was.

5) Love more. Can you really love too much?

6) Be greatful...for every second, every memory, every friend.

7) Be positive to everyone. See this. I think Will may have pinched this from Ryan.

That's a good start. I'm working on this in every portion of my life from this day forward. I don't wanna be like Ryan. We're each individuals and they broke the mold after him, but I sure do want to live life like Ryan did :-)

Greetings from Stockholm!

Thought I'd post a quick note before I head out to dinner tonight at Aquavit, Markus Samuelsson's place here in Stockholm.

We've had some great days here. Sailing yesterday with Niklas, wondering the streets, people watching with great espresso & gelatto and shopping today around central Stockholm, and on Saturday walking the old town and visting Skanssen with Ylva.

Stockholm is a great place. Wonderful people who are all helpful and generous, a clean beautiful city with wonderful architecture and lots of southern Europeans visting, so I'm getting to work on my Castillian. (ouch...it's really ugly). I was talking to someone from Madrid last night at the hotel bar and it was a stretch to understand each other. Wow...my Latin Spanish is soooo much different and doesn't adapt very well :-)

I'll post some pics later.

Ciao,

jase

2007 Abacela Garnacha Rosado

From Abacela in southern Oregon, this bright rose is an nice example of the recent, well deserved popularity being attached to wines of Southern Oregon. Garnacha is one of my favorite varietals, and by doing a rose with it, winemaker Andrew Wenzl takes the bold to the beautiful.

The grapes are estate-grown on south-facing slopes in the Umpqua Valley, were pressed with limited time on the skins and fermented and aged in stainless.

Raspberry, roses and strawberries are all present in the nose. With a very bright acidity on the front end and pomegrates & candied cherries filling the mouth, it finishes very dry and mineraly.

Retail ~$15

89 Points

2006 La Bastide Saint Dominique Cotes-du-Rhone

OK, OK...stop gettin' your knickers in a twist. I finally had a decent red to review, so here you go. Pulled this little bottle out last night for something to pair with boneless pork ribs on the grill. They'd been in a salt brine with herbs de provence and a bit of pimenton for a day and I thought the Cotes du Rhone would make a super pairing. Bra-Vo!

I found this wine at the local wine shop in HMB and have had it aside for a few months, waiting for the typical summer HMB weather to arrive...well, it finally has and last night was a perfect time for a sultry glass.

It's mostly Grenache with 5% each of Syrah, Mouvedre & Cinsault and took some time to open up; about 15 mins did the trick. I was patient and was successful at taking something that was tightly tannin-ed up, to a nice relaxed, drinkable glass, or two....or the whole damn bottle. 

If you enjoy a deep inky-hued Cotes Du Rhone with a decent base structure, moderate tannin with a raisined nose and notes of blackberries and currants, then this is your ticket!

Retail ~$17

88 points

You too can play the mandoline!

People ask me all the time.....they say, "Jase, can you teach me to play the mandolin?" and I say, why in the world would you think I can teach you to play an 8 stringed difficult to learn instrument? Now, if you'd like to master the mandoline, I'm your go-to guy! 

The mandoline can be intimidating for many, with it's razor sharp mouth-like opening, ready to devour everything that gets within 2cm of its grasp! 

Fear not! 

It's just a mandoline and it's ready to help you make wonderful things. It slices and juliennes, but it doesn't dice.... sorry, its not a Popeil pocket fisherman, "The biggest thing in fishing since the hook."

I suspect the best advice I can give on using the dusty thing in the back of the bottom shelf that you've been saying you need to use for several years now, but hasn't see the light of day since the last time the 49ers had a winning season is: Yagotta Use It!!! 

It's pretty much the same as most things that are not common things, but with a sharp edge :-) Be respectful and remember your knife skills. The worst thing that can happen is an unscheduled manicure.

So to that vein, here's a simple recipe I mentioned the other night at the wine bar to a new friend who's mandoline needs some lovin'. Try it out!

Prawns and Apple in Cucumber (serves 4)

1 english cucumber

1 firm semi-tart apple ie: pink lady, braeburn or similar -- no red delicious or on the other end, granny smith!

1/2 lb (approx 10) 16-20 count raw wild prawns

4T calvados

1t sugar

cinnamon

unsalted butter

olive oil

S&P

..and although it's not an ingredient, you'll need a 3" ring mold ( a large cookie cutter will substitute....well, kinda)

Wash, then cut the ends off of an English cucumber, so the cuke is approximately the same diameter and doesn't taper at the ends.

Using your mandloline set for approximately 1/8", lengthwise slice 4 pieces of cucumber & reserve

Skin and medium dice the apple

Saute the apple until softened a bit (3-4 mins on med.) with butter and a bit of cinnamon. (Now, I know you're saying "How much is a bit?" I dunno. It's more than a shake and less than 1t. Maybe 2 or three shakes?? Try it. If it's too much, then try it again with less!)

Add the shrimp and 1t of olive oil and continue until shrimp are pink (approx 1 1/2 mins). 

Once shrimp are pink, remove the pan from the fire, add the calvados, then back on the fire and reduce for 1 min. Remove from heat.

Line the inside of the ring mold  with a slice of cucumber as if the cuke slice is standing on its edge inside the circumference of the ring mold.

Spoon 1/4 of the shrimp and apple mixture into the ring mold and remove the ring, leaving the cuke standing in a round on its edge.

Season to taste.

I'd serve this with a nice Pinot Blanc or Pinot Noir Blanc.

Have fun and remember, it's not going to be used if you don't use it...right C???

Happy Monday my friends!

Traveling plays havoc...but gotta keep it goin'

One thing that's nice about life right now is consistency. Consistency of my workouts, especially. While the workouts themselves are quite varied, I know that on Mon, Wed & Fri, I work strength with kettlebells, on Tues & Thurs, it's cardio on the treadmill at the office gym then Sat or Sun is a bike ride.

When I'm on the road for work, the change in scheduling makes things challenging to keep to my consistent routine. Last week I was in Raleigh, NC on business and tried to keep things progressing as much as possible.

...so, as usual, I meet up with Tim Anderson (link to his blog called "Life is Movement" in my "Thoughts by Friends" section) at least once. Tim lives about 45 mins south of my RTP office, so after work, I try and get a workout in there. 

Luckily, I was able to get 2 workouts in with Tim this trip, on both Tues & Weds, so I had to shift Monday to Cardio at the office gym for a few miles, then KBs with Tim. Thurs was a travel day back to SF and Friday I was so toast from the travel day that I rested. Sat was a 2 hour ride and today I'l do a short ride just to spin the legs a bit.

Tues workout: (wtXrepsXsets - each arm)

One Arm Swing

24x25x4

Clean

24x10x3

Guard Press

24x10x3

Triceps

16x10x5

Weds workout

Windmill

16x5x3

Double Snatch

16x10x3

SeeSaw Press

24x10x3

Press

40x1x1

Assorted Rope Work  (Tim, can you help out here)

So it was great to press the 40 again...this time on both arms. I've done it a couple of times before, but not very easily....mainly due to my rotator cuff issues. the RC is feeling a bit better now, so this was a nice return to the heavies.

Also, Tim showed me a bit of Z R-Phase, both some general stuff as well as an exercise to specifically target the bicep/tendon issue that's been going on. It's feeling quite a bit better now. I'll keep up the Z for a while and see what happens....and thanks for the nice "attaboy" in your blog, Tim :-)

it's a great Fri night ...and a bummer night, at Hellyer

Last Friday, we trucked down to Hellyer (the velodrome...see previous posts for details) for the first Friday night fiesta in quite some time. It started out great...several match sprint heats, a senior scratch race ....it was like summiting a nice climb....but then it turned ugly. 

In the first women's ride, a 30 lap scratch, there was a fairly low speed accident involving 4 riders. One got up, but the other three stayed down for some time. Not sure how it happened, but it really doesn't matter. What does matter is the three, albeit with some broken bones for each, are not very seriously hurt. Sure, broken bones are not trivial, but I was really concerned things were much more serious. From what I hear, everyone will be OK after a bit of healing.

..so our heart and thoughts out to the gals who are recovering..and to the ones who love them who were right there, TCB.

..beautiful night tonight? What are you freakin' nutz?

..so I'm pullin' into the hotel parking lot last night and one guy says to his buddy " beautiful night tonight, eh?"

Beautiful night? Are you kiddin? It's like 88 degrees and 95% humidity. What in the world is beautiful about that?

Sure, there are lot's of other things that are beautiful....I took a short drive down to Fuquay-Varina and got a great workout in with Tim....learned alot about Z today. Good stuff. I'm working on it tonight. Cool.

Also, the new road bike is doin' great for me. Gettin' some new pedals this weekend and I'll be ready for the 50K ride I'm planning in Sept.

..and geez, what else is NOT going well?

..well, only one thing. The weather in Raleigh/Durham. This beach dude is not used to this silly heat and humidity.

Racing 2Nite --- HELL-yer

Woo Hoo! Track racing tonight at Hellyer Velodrome.

It's been WAY too long and we're UBER happy to get back to watch Michael Hernandez & his "One Ring Circus" as we like to call it. Michael is the Friday event producer/announcer/bottle washer. He & his enthusiasm are not to be missed!

Friday nights always bring a nice bit of free food and beverage (it's been a keg of FatTire lately!) that are generously sponsored by local cycling teams/clubs. Tonight is sponsored by the nice ladies of Velo Bella.

..or like us, bring a nice bottle of home made sangria, some jamon and a bit of manchego and enjoy the fiesta!

2006 A to Z Pinot Blanc - Oregon

Ok, so don't get on me 'cause I'm doin' another white review. It's been hot here...STUPID hot. Of course, for me stupid hot = anything north of 85 degrees, but anyways, it's still hot and I just can't think of anything better than Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris or Sauvignon Blanc these days. 

Get over it, will ya?

So, for those of you who DON'T know, Tina and I are going to Stockholm for vacation this summer. Luckily,  I reconnected with a great friend from Stockholm recently and last night, we had dinner with Henrik and Ylva @ Pizza Antica in Mill Valley. They're in the middle of a 3 week journey driving from Chicago to Seattle, via the Dakotas, Wyo, all the other stuff in the middle, Yosemite, and SFO.

We ended up with a couple of great appetizers including house made mozzarella and antipasti and the A to Z Pinot Blanc did a great job of keeping up with the varying notes and textures.

The winemaker notes mention:

" ...walks a taut line between the Old World mineral driven aromatics (talc, wet stones, chalk) and New World fruit (melons, nectarines, tangerine, and white grapes overlaid with honey, lime blossoms, and hazelnuts)." and "The wine's richness and weight is held in place and balanced by crisp ripe acidity that gives focus and integrity" 

I have to disagree with the first and agree with the second. Don't get me wrong, I liked this wine, but the fruit forward sweet nose and tongue drive it over any mineral aromatics that might be involved in the party. To the second point, it IS quite rich and the crisp acidity provides a platform for the weight of the richness. 

I'd definitely order this again with seafood that wasn't rich (ie: lobster in butter or anything with bernaise), or with spicy Asian such as Vietnamese or Thai.

Also, A to Z is big in the "wine for the rest of us" game. That's they're mantra. Check them out!

Retail ~$15

88 points

The Tour, The Tour, boss

I'm nearly squealing that the Tour starts today.  Really like to watch the evening wrap show that Versus does for 3 hours nightly, so that's where you'll see me for the next 3 weeks.

I'm certainly disappointed that the best stage racing team in the world is sitting in front of the TV as well, but not surprised, given the politics involved here.

...so let's throw all the love behind Team Columbia, nee: HighRoad as well as Team Garmin/Chipotle, nee: Slipstream (and hey, I'm a Felt guy, too.)

It's just not a Friday without Hellyer

With the recent AVC past us now, I'm really missing getting to Hellyer. Certainly, there's racing on weeknights, but Friday is about the only convenient time for us to get there and spend the evening watching some great competition.

Unfortunately, the last Friday night fiesta staged by Michael Hernandez and gang was a couple weeks ago and the next one isn't until 11 July. Ouch...I think I'll try and head down for the Omnium this Sunday. It's not the same as a fun-filled Friday, but It'll have to hold me over.

Uber congrats to a new friend, Jen Triplett, who made the record books when she won the first Woman's 6-day event held at Alpenrose in PDX last week. That's quite an honor. I met Jen at the AVC a couple of weeks ago where she won the miss-n-out and did quite well overall. She's a really talented rider. Kudos, Jen!

2007 Sineann Pinot Gris - Oregon

Since I saw that a friend is in Oregon this week, I thought we'd start with a recent find from the PNW.

I first ran into this nice Pinot Gris at my local wine shop, HMB Wine & Cheese at a "Look Ma, No Cork" themed tasting. No, not a screwtop or silly pseudo-cork, but a glass stopper known as a "vino-lok selection" tops this Alsace-style green bottle. Retailing at around $18, this is a fine value for an Oregon Pinot Gris.

Sourced from the Wy'east Vineyard in Hood River Valley, the fruit provides a structured, but not overloaded base for the clean high notes of green apple, citrus and pear to stand out. I'd hesitate to call this Peter Rosback produced wine understated, but it's certainly not the typical Oregon Pinot Gris we've been accustomed to in recent times. I'd argue it's more similar to a Southern Hemisphere Sauvignon Blanc with its solid base, but certainly brings the Pinot notes forward.

I enjoyed a bottle of this with a little linguini & prawns fra diavolo with an heirloom tomato & avocado salad. Its high notes were a great balance for both the creaminess of the avocado and the heat of the pasta dish.

90 Points

..and On With The Show. Wine for the Rest of Us.

Before getting too into the wine discussion, I wanted to chat briefly about what I'm trying to do with the wine blog. I've found, thru several years of my interest in wine, that there's a gap, that is, a place that retailers, and many wineries, have neglected to address. 

Sure, it's really easy to go to Bev-Mo or your local bottleshop/grocery store and pick up some mass produced, mediocre at-best wine. Also easy is to pop into your local wineshop and pick up a >$50 bottle of Cabernet or Pinot. It will be great and if your "Wine Monger" has done their job, then you'll have a great meal.

...but what about the rest of us? There seems to be an obvious hole there between mediocre at-best and a bottle of Grand Cru Burgundy, and that's what we'll try to share. REALLY good wine for a really reasonable price.

Remember, we're not talking cheap here, but if your budget is in the gap, then you're looking for wine for the rest of us.

Welcome!

Shares (not so) Well With Others

OK, OK...so I'm jealous of:

Joe Sarti, the torture master, eh, my trainer. He's on TOP of his blog.

Tracy Reifkind - Super inspiring. I try and think of Tracy whenever I'm having one of those "I don't feel like working out" days.

Tim Anderson - I train with Tim whenever I'm on the East Coast. He and his family are wonderful to be around and they're so welcoming and accommodating when I'm in town. Tim's a fine example that youth is NOT wasted on the young.

Jen Triplett, my newest kick-ass trackie friend (Holy geez, she rocked this weekend at the AVC!!! --- I'm UBER impressed at her riding! You should really watch her ride. Smoother than a baby's you know what.) I'm hoping she posts a few pics from this weekend and you know what? She's got her blog updated from this past weekend ALREADY! You freakin' rock, Jen!

...and plenty of others who are on top of things, being both creative and inclusive in their blogs, so I gotta get on it!

So now it's finally time to do something about it. An occasional workout buddy saidt to me the other day, "hey, you should blog about the wine"...so here we are. Let's DO this, already.

We'll try and do a weekly wine review/suggestion (one red, one white and maybe an occasional pink), so feel free to send along a few bottles for our consideration  :-)   Also on tap are happenings in the local cycling scene, an occasional restaurant review, my famous rants on politics, and what's new in the contemporary (not smooth) and Nu-Jazz worlds...basically, all the other crap!