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Monthly Archives: August 2016
- Wine On Wednesday: Orin Swift Palermo
  
  Posted at 9:14 am by Lisa Cavallari
  
  Aug 17th
  Orin Swift used to make and own Prisoner wine until that was sold a few years ago. It doesn’t seem to be hurting their business or image though. With wine names like Trigger Finger, Machete and Slander, these wines have the same sinister, mystique like that of the brooding, sexy loner that you might have secretly lusted after in high school.
  
  Palermo is a blend of Cabernet, Merlot and Malbec. After opening the bottle, you could immediately smell that familiar scent of Napa soil. From the first sip to the last, it was exceptionally smooth with flavors of dark berries, vanilla and all that good stuff that comes from drinking an exceptional California Cab. I pondered with my friend who was kind enough to share this bottle with me if this was Orin Swift’s replacement for Prisoner. I think the only way to find out is to do a blind tasting very soon! Who’s with me?
  
  You can find this at Costco for $37.
  
  Wine Rating: 4 out of 🍷🍷🍷🍷wine glasses
  
  Cheers my dears!
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  Posted in Wine | Tagged Orin Swift Palermo
- Eat Like A Goddess…A Green One
  
  Posted at 7:35 am by Lisa Cavallari
  
  Aug 16th
  Here’s a flavor-packed, super easy recipe to help you soak up all the flavors of summer; or what’s left of it. 😦 Green Goddess Dressing was all the rage back in the 70s and 80s and it’s making a comeback. Drench a beautiful plate of greens, drizzle over raw or cooked veggies from your local farmstand or smear it on a sandwich. It’s so good and this recipe is a great way to use some more of that basil you might be growing outside.
  
  If you need more ideas for what to do with your basil, check out a few of my previous recipes: Tomato Basil Soup and Pesto.
  
  Let’s get down to business.
  Green Goddess Dressing
  - Servings: 6
  - Difficulty: easy
  - Print
  Ingredients
  
  1 cup mayonaise
  
  6-7 scallions chopped with white and green parts
  
  1 cup chopped fresh basil
  
  1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
  
  2 cloves garlic chopped
  
  2 tsp kosher salt
  
  1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  
  1 cup sour cream
  
  Directions
  
  Place all ingredients except sour cream in blender and puree until smooth. Add sour cream and mix just until blended. Enjoy!
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  Posted in Cooking | Tagged Green Goddess Dressing
- Wine On Wednesday: The Billionaire’s Vinegar
  
  Posted at 8:00 am by Lisa Cavallari
  
  Aug 10th
  I will forewarn you that this post is actually a book review, but the book itself encompasses all things related to wine and I took a lot away from it when I finished. This is the true story of the world’s most expensive bottle of wine ever sold. It’s a mystery that slowly unravels to reveal another layer of truth behind some bottles that were thought to be owned by Thomas Jefferson back in 1787.
  
  The author, Benjamin Wallace, is cerebral without being condescending. He begins with the history of Thomas Jefferson’s love of wine and finishes with present day wine collectors who unearth some very interesting information about the infamous bottles and the aged liquid inside of them.
  
  Without revealing the ending, because I strongly recommend this book to anyone itching to know more about wine regions (France, in particular) and basic knowledge about it, here are a few fun facts I learned.
  - We have probably all heard that a Magnum of wine is the equivalent of 2 bottles, but a Nebuchadnezzar holds 20 and a Melchior holds 24! That must be quite the party if someone is opening up one of those bad boys. The author pointed out that wine ages more slowly inside the bigger bottles which makes sense, but I had never considered that before.
  - Wine truly is a symphony of different components. Besides, the age, there’s the type of wine glasses to pair with each wine in order to maximize aromas and flavors. In France, they labeled their wines and glasses by region rather than by grape like we do here in the States. So there was a Bordeaux glass, a Champagne glass, etc. The game changer occurred when a glass artist created hand blown glasses for each kind of grape and brought a new element to wine tastings that made even famous wine critics rethink their reviews prior to the introduction of these glasses.
  - Another great element in wine tasting is the actual description of the wine. These days, we use an aroma wheel that was created by Ann C. Nobles, a sensory chemist in CA back in 1984. Before this wheel was invented, wine was described as simply dry, sweet, semisweet, and so on, but her invention included nutty, woody, spicy, floral, etc to describe the wine. Genius!
  - Besides wine, I learned a lot about Sotheby’s, Christie’s, Michael Broadbent – the auctioneer, wine critics and the notorious wine collector, Hardy Rodenstock.
  - Lastly, I realized that even so-called experts in the wine field are dependent on their sense of smell which can be extremely inconsistent and easily swayed by information fed to them.
  This book was not exactly a fast read, but definitely worthy of your time. Savor it like you would a glass of Yquem or Lafite. No idea what I am talking about? Read the book!!
  
  In case you need further convincing, a movie is in the works starring Matthew McConaughey.
  
  Oh, and remember, the next time you drink a glass of wine and taste something different than the rest of your compadres, don’t let it shake your confidence or your change your mind. You taste what you taste. Period.
  
  Cheers my dears!
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  Posted in Travel, Wine
- Wine On Wednesday: Love It Or Leave It
  
  Posted at 8:34 am by Lisa Cavallari
  
  Aug 3rd
  This post is a 3 for 1 because I was able to enjoy some great wines this past week as well as catch up on some much needed time with friends.
  
  The first was Gravel Bar Alluvial Red Blend from Washington’s Columbia Valley. I love wine from this region. It’s completely underrated and with the great mix of soils and geological composition, you get a superb wine such as this one. The blend is composed of mostly Cabernet with Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petite Verdot rounding it out nicely. This is a wonderfully balanced and smooth wine. It’s not too chewy, heavy or fruit heavy. There’s great flavors of cherry, vanilla, chocolate and with a great finish.
  
  If you’re local you can drink wine at Neo Pizzeria in St Charles. We went on Wednesday when some of the wines on the menu were half price. We went through 2 bottles of red, ordered 2 pizzas, a plate of Carpaccio and all under $25 a person. I call that a very good night!
  
  This wine can also be purchased for $16.99 at Binny’s.
  
  Rating: 🍷🍷🍷out of 4
  
  The next wine I will not spend too much time rehashing because it was revolting. Sorry. I won’t mince words. I usually enjoy drinking under the Chateau Ste. Michelle label, but their Sauvingnon Blanc was rather cloying and fruity on the palate. I was expecting crisp and light so no sense in drinking bad wine. Dump it and move onto the next.
  
  Rating: 🍷 out of 4
  
  The next was my favorite! I’ve sang the praises for Educated Guess Cabernet in the past, but now it’s their Chardonnay I’m loving. As the label depicts, this Sonoma winery put lots of time and thought into making this wine. They use both barrel and stainless steel fermentation to give this wine the perfect balance between minerality and creaminess. I could easily drink this one for the rest of the summer. There’s not a heavy, oak-filled aftertaste or tart finish, just great flavors of pear, apple (and I swore maybe a hint of rose petal!) with luscious notes of vanilla at the end.
  
  You can find it at your local wine store for about $19.
  
  Rating: 🍷🍷🍷🍷out of 4
  
  Cheers my dears!
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  Posted in Wine | Tagged Educated Guess Chardonnay, Gravel Bar Alluvial
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