Not Quite

Sometimes I get a craving for a particular wine, and last night it was pinot noir. I suppose I was daydreaming of warmer weather (it barely got out of the 30s yesterday), and a lighter red to go with it. Bobby brought home a 2008 Cavit Pinot Noir (Trento, Italy), and while it was a pleasant wine, it did not exactly hit the bull's-eye. Of course it had the brightness and berry flavors you'd expect in a pinot noir, but this one had a slight bitterness that was off-putting. I liked the light texture, though, and the medium body (12 percent alcohol), but I think I'll keep looking for the pinot of my daydreams.

Bubbles and History

On Sunday we settled in for Oscar Night, which is something of a holiday at our house. The broadcast had its moments but was one of the most tedious I can remember: I would have slashed the homage to horror movies, the dance number before the best score award and the memorial for John Hughes, not to mention the cringe-inducing testimonials before the actor/actress awards. That would have saved 40 minutes at least! But I was excited to see Kathryn Bigelow with her big win as the first female director, for "The Hurt Locker." She deserved it for her intense, gut-wrenching masterpiece.
We feasted on shrimp cocktail, sushi and crème caramel, and the Champagne was one of my old favorites, Piper-Heidsieck ($38). Too bad the bubbly ran out long before the show was over.

A Charming Chard

Made French onion soup on Sunday night. No sherry in the house as the recipe requested, so I improvised with white wine, a 2007 Walnut Crest Chardonnay (Valle Central, Chile), and the soup turned out absolutely irresistible. Might have also been the thick layer of Gruyère, but who's counting?
So how was the wine in the glass? Drinking chardonnay reminds me of my relationship with coffee, which I started dabbling with in high school. I didn't love it at first but kept coming around to it in its different variations and eventually grew to love it. I can't say I love chardonnay yet, but it's trying to work its charms on me. This one had a clean, crisp scent of minerals and was light on the palate (no oak, 13 percent alcohol, about $10), with a neutral finish.
I could drink this again, and from me, that's high praise for a chard.

Spanish Simplicity

Scott dropped by for tea late Friday afternoon, and later we turned to something a bit stronger: the 2008 Abrazo del Toro Tinto (80 percent garnacha and 20 percent tempranillo). It was overly bright at first, with a strong aroma of cherries; it definitely tasted young but not in an unpleasant way.
This was a bottle left behind by Laura, who said she stocked up at Trader Joe's, during last week's marathon of assembling wedding invitations. I think she said she paid $5.99 for it -- a great price for a nice, versatile wine. I haven't worked up the nerve to venture into the TJ's in Union Square because I've heard the crowds are epic. Also, everywhere else the store sells its famous Two Buck Chuck, which here is naturally Three Buck Chuck. As Cindy Adams says, "Only in New York."

A Pair of Reds

Monday was Taco Night at the Armstrongs' and naturally I wanted something with a little spice. (I know "Mexican wine" exists although I have not had it -- yet; the phrase always makes me think of the great Fountains of Wayne song. Anyway, it seems to me that most of Mexico would be too hot to produce good wine.) The 2007 Faustino VII Rioja was a delicious match for our vegetarian tacos, and it is such a great deal at $10 from Union Square Wines & Spirits. A cozy winter night at home with our visitors, Jude and Betsy, and the Olympics and the Westminster Dog Show to flip between...

And on Wednesday, I met up with friends for dinner at one of my favorite Ninth Avenue spots, the Market Cafe. (The photo above is from their Web site.) The sea scallop appetizer is still a must-have for me, and I decided to keep it relatively light with a Caesar salad and a shared side of their addictive spiced fries. The wine list was a little funky -- they did not have several of their selections, and after I ordered a pinot noir (bottles are all $29), it was not the one on the menu. The 2008 Casa del Sole from Puglia had a mossy aroma, and was smooth and light on the palate (13 percent alcohol). I've always had good luck at the Market, but I wish they'd sort out the confusion in the wine department.

Inheritance

The dead of winter and my thoughts turn toward a warming measure of port. We inherited a case of it after Bobby's Uncle Jimmy died almost eight years ago, and we still have a few bottles left. It's the 1985 Smith Woodhouse Vintage Port, and I have loved every drop over the years. It's definitely the most expensive wine I drink on a regular basis (it retails for about $90 a bottle).
This wine wasn't exactly stored properly before we received it -- the corks must basically be shredded to get inside -- and then there is the straining and decanting. Every bottle has had a few tablespoons of sediment. But it's been delicious anyway, despite the abuse.
Here's one review of the wine from around the time I first tasted it:
Wine International, October 2003
Gold Medal – International Wine Challenge 2003
“At nearly 20 years old, this Smith Woodhouse’85 still has plenty of life in it. It still has masses of ripe berries and ‘fruits confits,’ as a French judge put it, as well as maturing caramel and burnt sugar flavors. It is stunningly complex and has huge length.”
I think it's only improved since then.

Red Bubbles

Wow, we're only about an hour from ringing in 2010. I have tasted a lot of interesting wines this year, and my last one for 2009 was the 2008 Paringa Sparkling Shiraz. I am a fan of Australian shiraz but I had never tried the bubbly version.
This one had a pleasing tartness and pretty mellow tannins for such a young red, but it didn't seem to hold its effervescence for long. At $11.99, a great deal for any decent sparkling wine in my book, it was an amiable match with tonight's dinner of homemade caramelized onion pizza with parmigiano reggiano.
Here's to a new year of adventures and delicious wine!