Wine and Cigars - What a Pair

So, along with the large amounts of wine consumption, I do love a good cigar. Because my vices include both wines and cigars, how do I pair the two. Now don't get me wrong, I've tried not to allow the two to cross paths, but because I enjoy them both immensely, it was inevitable. So I lit up a La Gloria and began to think, what wines would pair best with this cigar? My first question was, am I leaning towards a red or white wine? Maybe it's me, but the thought of trying to pair a cigar with let's say, a Pinot Grigio did not seem too appealing. Although I do believe a buttery Chardonnay from napa may have done a decent job. However, I believe the job of matching a cigar with wine, fall to the dark side of the wine world, the reds. So let's run down the list, Pinot Noir - mostly too fruity and light, Cabernet Sauvignon - mostly too big, and Merlot - too inconsistent. On to the wines that captured the rare essence of this cigars complexities. In this case Syrah and Zinfandel were the best pairing for this cigar. To be more specific, a person looking to syrah should focus on the Rhone region of France and Santa Barbara in California. You may ask, why these regions for Syrah, well let me explain. In the Case of the Rhone Valley (The birth place of Syrah) and Santa Barbara, the soil allows its wines to have pure round fruit cloaked in peppery minerality which seems to cater to some of the vanilla/cocoa nuances that most cigars tend to exhibit.

As for the Zinfandel Grape, it displays bright rasberry, jammy red currant, and a tobacco component, YES I said tobacco. Some places, I believe produces the kind of Zinfandels with the ability to match up well with Cigars, are Sonoma Valley and Lodi. Sonoma tends to produce Zinfandels with an ideology standing firm on the foundation of structure, meaning that the flavors are concentrated, but the fruit doesn't overwhelm your palate. Sonoma County's Zins tend to pair well with medium bodied Cigars. Lodi is a whole different story in regard to most of the Zinfandels they make in that area of northern California. Lodi leans towards the fruit first aspect of wine making. When tasting a Zinfandel from Lodi, red fruit bombs (high in alcohol) seem to drop heavily on your palate, accompanied by hints of tobacco that linger long after the wine has gone down, look to pair with big robust cigars. Although, I mostly lean toward a premium Scotch or Brandy when consuming a Cigar, if you have followed me on previous posts, I do like to try new things. See if these pairing work for you, and if you have any ideas of wines out there that I need to try, please leave a comment.

Some Like it Hot

Okay, maybe not hot, but some of you do like your wines at room temperature and some like them chilled. To tell the truth, it's your personal preference. Don't let some so-called wine expert (except for me, you don't have to reply to that statement, your silence is confirmation enough) tell you how you need to drink your wines. So take it or leave it, but here's my preference. I like my red wine at room temperature, for me, when it's chilled, it seems to mute the nuances and complexities that I love so much. There is a exception though, have you ever spent a good amount of change on a bottle of red and when you tasted it, it didn't sit well with your palate? I have two suggestions, the first thing is let the wine get more air in it, sometimes the bitter tannins in the wine can settle down, and the second thing is, if this tear jerker wine doesn't subside, throw some ice cubes in it and call it a day.

In regards to white wines I tend to straddle the fence. Like most people, I too like my white wines chilled, but because I tend to consume more white wine during the hot months, it's always refreshing drink something cold. The thing is, when I'm in my "wine nerd mode," I like my whites at room temperature, again allowing me to taste all of the subtleties in the wine. Chilling wines tend to mask some of the fruit for me, but for people with more discerning palates, maybe it doesn't matter, you be the judge.

Changing Perceptions of Pairings

When it comes to food and wine, some consumers believe that there is some sort of formula when pairing the two. Right now, I want you, who are reading this to remember back to a time that you were told to drink red wines with beef and whites with seafood and poultry, now remove that suggestion from your mind. In the words of Eddie Murphy who starred the Nutty Professor's, "Yes I Can." Following suit, I now say to you, yes you can switch up your pairings. If it's a hot day but you don't want to sit inside the restaurant (example, because of the hot weather, there's beautiful half dressed eye candy roaming thoughout the city), and for some reason you're in the mood for a flank steak, don't be afraid to pair it with a full bodied Chardonnay, a Pinot Gris from Australia, or a Blanc from Northern Rhone in France. On the flipside, if you are in Monterey county and you are sitting outside (note to anyone who isn't from the southbay of California, even on hot days, the nights tend to get a bit chilly out there), you order the broiled catfish, but are reluctant to drink a white wine because of the windy chill derived from the coast, "don't be scared," suck it up and order a red. It's okay to order a Pinot Noir from Oregon, Burgandy in France, Otago in New Zealand, or maybe if you're at a Italian restaurant, order a Sangiovese from Tuscany. Either of the previous wines should pair extremely well with your catfish, or most of big flavored fish. So step up to the plate, try new things and like in life, don't be afraid to make a mistake, if you want to better understand yourself, those mistakes are necessary to you truly understanding yourself and in the case of wine, your palate. To all of you wonderful foodies and winos who grace my site with your presence, have a good Labor Day, and if you are doing something interesting leave a response so I know what's crackin' these weekend. To good wine, food and company, I raise my glass to you.

Bubbles, bubbles, and more bubbles - Lambrusco Dell’emilia Bianco Dolce Le Grotte

Bubbles bubbles and more bubbles, It’s hot outside and champagne is in full effect. Let’s be serious though, not everyone has the pocket book for quality champagne. There are many sparkling wine wannabes out there, but to me, they always seem to fall a little short from the real thing. So I thought, let’s try some sparkling wines from different countries... and what a surprise! My search for a good sparkler lead me back to my favorite wine regions, Italy. Although, primarily known for their great red wines, Italy has some of the most interesting white wine varietals in the world. Some great white wines that spring to mind are Pinot Bianco, Vermentino, and of course Pinot Grigio. I’ve also come to find that Italy makes a number of high quality sparkling wines at a very, very reasonable price. Two out of the many great Italian sparkling wines that I found were Prosecco (for the wine connoisseurs, you probably already know about this great, light, acid laden white wine) and the second wine being the Lambrusco Bianco. In the past I had only crossed paths with the red version of Lambrusco, therefore, I had to try the white. So, let’s get on to what this wine brings to the table. The actual name on the bottle is Lambrusco Dell’emilia Bianco Dolce Le Grotte. For those who are interested, the only place I’ve been able to locate any white Lambrusco has been at Trader Joes. What this Lambrusco brings to the nose is hints of sweet smelling Acacia flowers and lychee fruit, this is a wonderful smelling bottle of wine. But as happy as I was with the nose I was even more impressed with the taste. This wine held within its grasp lychee fruit, which translated beautifully from the nose to the mouth, also on the mid palate a hint of orange peel and floral aspects meshed together very well. You add the variables of lychee, flowers, orange peel and pair it with the high and light acid, and this recipe brings my taste buds to life like Frankenstein. This is a beautifully executed sparkling wine which at that price point of 4.00 dollars, yes I said 4.00 dollars, it's an absolute steal. If you don’t believe me, buy a bottle and post your comments.

Everyday Drinking Wines - Vendemmia 2007 Beneventano Anglianico Epicuro, Riserva 2005 Salice Salentino Epicuro

Yes, my wonderful wine drinkers, we have two bottles. Today my taste buds take me to Italy. Well not Italy as in the Boot in Europe, but Italy as in soul of the country found in both of these bottles I'll be reviewing. Both bottles contain not well known grapes of Italy, at least not in the United States. The Vendemmia 2007 has 100% Anglianico and the Salice Riserva 2005 is 80% Negroamaro, Malvasia Nera is 20%. Now ask yourself, have you ever tasted any of these grapes let alone heard of them, for 80% of you, the answer is no, well you are in for a treat. These wines are easily accessible, they are located at the nearest Trader Joes in the Italian section. So let's get into my tasting notes. The Vendemmia 2007 Beneventano Anglianico Epicuro (priced at 5.99), on it carries with it cassis, strawberry, hints of hickory and some floral aspects. There's something about this nose seems pretty silky, which excites me a little. On the front I taste a mix of red ripe cherries and black berries which extends into the mid-palate adding hints of vanilla. This wine finishes silky, still allowing the fruit to remain intact, this is an everyday wine that is not too complex, but because of the fruit and sexy silk appeal, I find it delicious.

The Riserva 2005 Salice Salentino Epicuro (also priced 5.99) has a big fruit forward nose. This wine contains plum, cassis, candied blackberry, and oak. The taste contains good acid, good mouth feel, plum from front to mid, with a long finish of ripe cherry. Also like this wine's brother in brand, there is also a bit of cream in the mid which makes for a silky transition to a chalky cherry finish. For the price these are definitely a good couple of wines, and maybe a good choice for the fourth of July. Happy fourth of July to all.

The New Popular Grapes to Indulge in California

For all of us, there are foods that our taste buds seemed to be drawn to. As we grow, these taste buds that seemed so enthralled with these certain foods of infactuation sometimes, down the road, starts to look for the exit door of your mouth. I am no different, for me I had an enormous sweet tooth, and as a child I loved sweets so much , that when my parent bought any type of economy size container of airheads (try to think back that far), I could literally smell them out in whatever hiding place my parents had at the time. So after my parents went to sleep I would sneak out of my room and sniff out my treats. I continued this until, I ate too much one night and felt sick the next day, that was when me and sweets parted ways. I know that my story is different from most, but underline message is that as we get older our taste buds change. I believe the same thing applies to wine, and if you've read any of my previous writing you know that I'm all about different types of wine. Everyone knows I drink alot of wine, and I believe that as my palate broadens I should be sharing whatever new knowledge I obtained with any anyone willing to read or listen. And yes, I know that because we live in California , most of our knowledge of wines lie in the grapes of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc. Well my friends, my home work for you is to check out some new grapes, some grapes that are world wide in their exclusitivity, and also could save you some money in comparison to buying California's current social lubricants from Napa. Some of my favorite new white wine grapes, at least new to the California market, or maybe they are just rising out of obscurity finally, are: Torrontes, Vouvray, Vermentino, Viognier, and Vinho Verde. Also some red wines grapes that should be on your radar if you don't already know about them are Carmenere, Sangiovese, Tempranillo, Malbec, and Tinto Cão (from portugal). I've tried all of these grapes in different forms, most were good , some were not. All in all, what I ask for is that people try new things,and for the price point on these wines, it's worth the money to try and expand you palate. Now I normally would break all of these grapes down for you readers, you know, what characteristic they hold, but, I really want to know you're true reactions to these grapes. So go out, spend less and drink better wines, whether it's today or a whenever down the road, if you try one of these grapes, go ahead and leave your comments. Till then take care and God bless till next time.

Carr Winery - Santa Barbara, nice escape for an enlightened soul

Hello all, for any of you who have been following me on this little journey of exploring wines who's low price tags contradict the quality of it, here's another little fun fact about me, other than wine, a secret passion of mine is music. I feel as if life is a soundtrack. Normally my day starts off with a little jazz, then transitions into hip-hop throughout the period of my nine to five, and by the evening my days long set is concluded with some smooth R&B. But when I'm in a total relaxed mood, meaning I'm away from work, and the day is ripe with sun, wine and a good cigar, for me, nothing is better than some soulful Aya, Dwele, Blue Six, or a Rebirth album. I know you guys could care less about my self-indulgent rumblings, you want to hear about the wines. Well here it goes, last weekend a few of my friends whom I hadn't seen in a while, decided we wanted to get away from our normal lives and drive down to Santa Barbara. Although, the trip was supposed to include four of us some last minute roads block came into play for some of my journey men, so from four we were two. That was fine, I personally just wanted to see something different and Santa Barbara did not disappoint. Walking from winery to winery, my feet moved at the tune of Om Lounge and Jamiroquai, allowing the flow of the city to guide me in this relaxing place of beautiful beaches, beautiful people, beautiful culture, and beautiful wine. Ododa and I went to a number of different places but there was one place that seemed to stimulate all senses was Carr Winery. When walking into this place of understated sophistication, the layout itself was curious to the eye, with a square bar to the left outlined by bar stools and animated with classic and new world vintages (or should I say patrons), smiling and drinking in each others merriment. As a person who loves how wine allows people to interact with different types of other people, I personally was all smiles and once I had walked in pass the bar on the left, there sat an open space with tall round tables, a space big enough for a large party. My friend Ododa and I sat down expecting that with all this eye-appealing scenery, the wines would fall by the waist side. I was indeed surprised by a number of their wines. To spotlight some wines, there was Pinot Noir Rose 2008 that was complex enough on the palate to turn me back into a fan. This Rose was not that typical Rose that tasted like lightly sugared cherry kool-aid, this had hints of vegetation, black-berry and mint leaves. The word refreshing comes to mind when drinking this Rose, which means a perfect drink for those hot days and a perfect pairing for those dishes of spicy game, fish and shrimp. Along with this refreshing Rose, Carr had many other wine such as the 2006 Cabernet Franc. This wine held within it's confines; chalky shavings of chocolate, cherry, hints of cinnamon and spice. It was definitely a big boy's wine, and because of the winemakers touch of class, it had concentrated hits on the palate. All in all, Santa Barbara supplied me with good impressions and a good quality of life. Life should always be about the quality, not about how many hours you work at the job you are not even interested in. So with saying all of that, I implore you to find you passion an invest in it, also find your personal soundtrack and move to it. Everyone is different like food and wine tasting palates, so embrace yourself, I will continue to do so myself........