Dolcetto - the other Gamay?

Peter recommends this little wine. He's working hard up there in Lompoc right now!

Cavallotto, Dolcetto d'Alba, Vigna Scot, 2006. 

A great year in Piedmont, this is a fairly fat and ripe wine, with loads dark red strawberry fruit. I like Dolcetto because its fruity, but dark and has good structure and moderate tannin unlike its frequently compared to cousin Beaujolais. 

Since my bank went under last week I've been a little more fiscally responsible. This is $16.99 at The Wine Country in Signal Hill. 

Also, it's hot as balls outside and I've been drinking a lot of Campari and Soda lately. Cheap and refreshing!

And I haven't even tasted it.

Pictured is Chris Keller with Joe Miller, Syrah, 2006 from Santa Barbara County. 

Ok, for the first time, I am writing about and recommending a wine I haven't even tried! Suffice it to say that I trust Chris, he makes Paige 23 wines, and is a really good guy. You can only get this wine at Joe's in Venice - so head over to Abbott Kinney and tell me what you think!!

Cave wine.

Pere Ventura, Cava, Brut Nature, NV.

I'm into alternate sparkling wine only because I can't afford to drink Champagne everyday. Cava is cool though because its made the same way Champagne is made and frequently the same varieites, like Chardonnay and Pinot are used, though traditional varieties like Parallada, Xarel.lo and Macabeo can also be used (This isn't news to some of you out there.)

The Pere Ventura is crisp, clean, minerally and fairly neutral in terms of fruit. I'd also say that the moderate acidity serves as a good palate cleanser as you prepare for your afternoon Sherry. The Brut Nature means that it's drier than dry. Like gnawing on a bone. 

$14.99 at K&L.

Merry Sherry.

Sherry. What in the Jerez are we to do with it? (That's a wine joke). I went to a great tasting today sponsored by the Sherry Counsel of America at Bar Pintxo in Santa Monica, and had them all from dry elegant Fino to the slightly more oxidized Amontillado to downright nutty and dark Oloroso to Pedro Ximenez there's a Sherry out there for everyone. Look at all the colors!!

I really likes the Oloroso because it was almondy and full of dried fruits, pruney and delicious. Perfect for Thanksgiving and Christmas. And good with savory foods. 

El Maestro Sierra is available in all flavors and styles at Joe's in Venice and Bar Pintxo for cheap!

Trebbiano to make you tremble.

Il Poggiale, Trebbiano, Tuscany, 2006. 

Yum-o-rama! I can't help but have a soft spot in my heart for Trebbiano. It just that it's so juicy, fairly low in acidity with pears and apple and other enticing fall fruits like... well, ok maybe just apples and pears...

It makes me think of Thanksgiving. And while that may not seem so pleasant right now, I look forward to it because that's essentially when I will see my long lost husband again.

So drink a glass of Trebbiano to the harvest widow. 

Available at El Vino in Venice, $16.99 (I think! I actually can't remember the exact price - but it's under $20!!)

Whazzup? The Great What's It.

My good friend Jill of Domaine 547 is now a brand owner. That's right, you heard it here second (or more likely 6th).

The Great What's It 2005 is 100% Syrah all estate grown from Stolpman Vineyards. It's a deep and luscious wine - dark, masculine and brooding like Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights. One might say the elegant but feisty finish is comparable to Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice. And one might also say that it's limited availability, only 25 cases, is much like Jude the Obscure.

I don't often make references to characters in classic literature when talking about wine, or when talking about anything really, but the Great What's It really brings out the scholar in me. It will make you smarter or my name isn't Orville Redenbocker.

America's next top Rioja.

First of all is anyone else totally irritated by this season of America's Next Top Model? Tyra is killing me with all the acting scenes. My index finger is hurting from fast forwarding through all the crap! Give me models! Give me models that hate each other! But don't give me Tyra acting like a space age robot!

The only thing good about this past Wednesday night with ANTM is the recommendation by Cobras and Matadors' own Bill Fernandez. 

La Rioja Alta, Rioja, Reserva, 2001. I blogged about the 1995 last week. 

The wine helps to ease the model malaise. Bill gives a nice description, he says the wine exhibits lots of tobacco leaves, cedar and orange peel flavors that you get from hanging out in new American Oak. 

I had the same experience with the wine, although it was far more advanced in age than I expected it to be. That's not a bad thing, it's just that it had an oxidative style that I associate with a wine at least 5 years older. Bill is the expert on la Rioja Alta, so perhaps he can fill us in on why this is the case (something about Reserva really being a Gran Reserva?)

I bought it for $28 at the little wine shop next to Cobras on Beverly which looks a fright right now due to some serious remodeling. Still, Bill is ever present peddling his Spanish goods for the tapas loving crowd.