Last Night's Bottle - More Organic Please - Bonterra 2009 Pinot Noir

I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving.  I sure as hell did.  It was surprisingly sane low-key this year. 

Moving on...

For anyone who hasn't already noticed, I've been on an organic kick lately.  Unfortunately, the choices @ the local wine shops are less than desirable.  In any case, I'm making my way through the few choices they do have to offer.

While better than Stellar Organics from last week, Bonterra's 2009 Pinot Noir still didn't live up to expectations. Not bad by any means, but definitely not great either.

Bonterra website tasting notes:
This Pinot Noir has aromas of strawberry, raspberry and cola accented with hints of oak spice and vanilla. In the mouth, this wine is rich with nice soft tannins with flavors of berries, vanilla and spice that fade into a lovely long finish.

ES tasting notes:
Ripe fruit aromas of berry & plum. On the thin side, but silky with a subtle hint of vanilla & oak. Smooth lasting finish. $18.99

Again this wine was superior to the bottle from Stellar, but I was still left dissatisfied.  The good news is that organic winemaking is gaining in popularity.  With that said, the only direction to go from here is up.  I look forward to discovering new labels of organics and reporting back to you. 

If anyone has any good organic recommendations, throw them my way. If I can find it, I'll try it and be happy to share my experiences with you.

Hope you all make the most of the last day of the long weekend.

Until next time,
ES

http://www.bonterra.com/

 

Last night's bottle - To be or not to be organic...that is the question.

It's fair to say that I often preach the benefits of fair trade, eating organic, being green etc.  But the reality is that it's easier said than done to just one day transform you daily habits to meet the goal of living a wholly organic lifestyle. So for me I simply do what I can, when I can to be a responsible human and minimize my effect on destroying the planet and or/my body.  And there you have my best attempt at a PSA for organic living.

Last night was one of the few times I decided to open a bottle of organic wine and grabbed a bottle of Stellar Organics 2009 South African Shiraz off the shelf.  For anyone who has read this blog, it's probably not a surprise to hear me say that I am a big fan of Shiraz.  I mean my blood is red for a reason, I keep my body properly stocked with red wine as much as I can. It runs through my veins.

As for last night's bottle, I wasn't sure what to make of it at first.  Organics are not my specialty.  So I can simply tell you what I thought and you can choose whether or not to try it for yourself. 

The color was deep and dark as you might expect, but the nose is uncharacteristically light and airy.  The palate not as deep & rich as expected but this bottle does in fact go down easy. Hints of dark fruit jump out with a hint of cedar which make way for an earthy finish. The acidity is low and not at all overpowering. Ultimately, I found the wine to be well balanced but lacking in depth.

In short, this is a "fine" bottle of wine.  Definitely worth bringing to impress share with friends that may or may not be @ the OWS rally this morning.  In all seriousness, this would be good addition to your rotation.  Its always good to be diverse and this pleasant organic is a good start.

Until next time.

Cheers,
ES

http://www.stellarorganics.com/

Last Night's Bottle - Layer Cake 2009 Shiraz

Last call before a much needed vacation. 

This is my first bottle of Shiraz in awhile.  I have been spending more time on the locals than just randomly purchasing bottles from the local wine-o.

Layer Cake Shiraz - 2009

Vineyard Notes: Layer Cake Shiraz is produced in South Australia which is arguably one of the top shiraz-growing regions of the world.  Within SA, the McLaren Vale is the most diverse and historic sub-region with vines dating back to the 1830’s.  The microclimates within McLaren Vale are what give Layer Cake Shiraz its complexity.  For our Shiraz, we pull from vineyards all over McLaren Vale; from the full-clustered, sandy soiled blocks on the sea coast of Gulf St. Vincent, to the Terra Rosa based, tiny-berried wind- blown hills across the Vale.  The vineyards are all within a few miles of each other, yet give us a broad array of flavors to blend into a complete wine.  Each year we pull a small amount of fruit from tiny vineyards in Padthaway and Wrattanbully for added layers; combined they represent less than 10% of the blend.

Personal notes: Deep & dark yet smooth. Fruity aromas of berry & plum mixed with a subtle potpourri of spice. This wine possesses a ripe fruity palate with mild earthy undertones. I got a kick out of the self proclaimed description of this wine being "A pure fruit bomb".  It is undoubtedly well balanced with a lingering finish.

For the price of $14.99 I would definitely grab a bottle or two next time to share with friends.

Until next time, happy tasting!
-ES

A taste of Broooklyn

I was faced with a mission of brining home something good without breaking the budget. Well I guess that is always my mission when it comes to buying wine. 

Last night I found a bottle of Brooklyn Oenology 2006 Social Club Red ($13.99) collecting dust in the "local" section of a nearby liquor store. It was by accident was I even there in the first place seeing that they tend to stock a lot of garbage, but this time it was a mistake I would come to appreciate.

BOE as they like to call themselves proclaim their wines to be "a celebration of both heritage and the artisinal resurgence in Brooklyn".  Ok, you got me.  "Artisinal" is the current buzz word to describe everything from spray cheese to paint colors. But whatever, they had me at the word "local".  Seriously, if you've read anything I've written before (all 3 of you), you know I am a huge supporter of all things artisinal, uh I mean local.

Onto the wine.  The Social Red is a Bordeaux style blend of Merlot, Cab Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Malbec & Syrah. Yes, yes, yes & yes. This is like the holy trinity of wine for someone like me.  Wait, a trinity is a group of 3...anyway. So yes, this wine has all the makings of a true champ.  There are floral notes of rose & not so floral notes of plum. The wine posseses a woodsy flavor with hints of cherry & clove. They say chocolate as well, I say I was already too impressed to tell.  The finish was bold & deep yet lasting & smooth. That is not a contradiction. Next/first time you try this wine you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.

In short, this wine was a slam dunk for me.  And for the record, the wine while billed and labeled as a Brooklyn Hipster really grew up on the NoFo.  So either way the NYC snobs will probably still look at it as B&T all the way. That's why I support the snobs, they tend to ignore good wine from unsuspecting places.  That only means more amazing red for us.

Happy Tasting!
-ES

www.brooklynoenology.com/

A tale of two tastings

What better way to reward ourselves after the Shelter Island 5k than a trip back west through LI Wine country? 

A relatively little known new add to the tasting scene is Mattebella Vineyards in Southold.  Since August, Mattebella has been entertaining guests out of their quaint tasting shed while showcasing their wines which are cheerfully advertised as being produced "the old fashioned way".  The wines are harvested sans machinery and the vineyard is "committed to using sustainable viticulturural practices, while incorporating as many organic practices as possible into their farming method".

Mattebella has prided themselves on a more friendly, laid back environment and it shows.  The shed and accomodations are simple yet effective.  While they are open through December, this is purely a seasonal establishment.  Figuring that it will take a few seasons to work out the kinks, I still suggest stopping in to say "Hi" and grabbing a bottle on the go.  Unless of course the sun is shining  and your lucky enough to grab one of the Adirondack chairs out back.

The second stop of the day was a few clicks down the road @ Sherwood House in Jamesport.  The tasting house is a converted 1860's farmhouse complete with fireplace, deck and event barn.

From the second you arrive you feel as if you've stepped into a Williams Sonoma catalog. The farmhouse chic decor spills out to a patio complete with raw bar featuring local oysters & clams. For me, that's as close to heaven as I'll ever get.  The wine isn't so bad either.

In all seriousness, if you enjoy the scenery as much as you enjoy wine, Sherwood is the place for you. Dan's paper has rated them among the very best in multiple categories the last few years and I tend to agree with their asessment. Some vineyards pride themselves on style over substance, but in this particular instance Sherwood has acheived both near perfection.

46005 Main Road (Route 25)
Southold, NY 11971
http://www.mattebella.com/

TWO TASTING ROOMS:

1291 Main Road, Jamesport & Oregon Road, Mattituck
http://www.sherwoodhousevineyards.com/

Brooks & Porter Steakhouse - A mild departure from just talking about wine.

I recall a time when this place was called The Crease and I'd spend entire Sundays dominating plates of wings & pitchers of beer while watching 10 different football games simultaneously. Sadly, those days are long gone. On the bright side, a fancy more adult less college frat house steakhouse has sprung up where the old pub once stood. 

Brooks & Porter has been anchoring Merrick village for the last few years and turning out charred pieces of meat like a factory ever since it's inception.  Upon a my first visit shortly after their grand opening I was surprised to find a pretty damn good steakhouse in an otherwise generic "main" street lined with stores perpendicular to Sunrise Hwy.  That was then.

Since we have moved to the "outer reaches" of Suffolk, it had been awhile since we had been there.  Some old friends of ours who still live nearby suggested we stop in and check it out for dinner.  Without question, we agreed and met them for dinner last night.

To be fair, I know about as much about steaks as I do wine. If I like what I taste, then I'll go back for more.  Hence, this was our second time back.  Knowing I had been there before I suppose I spent a little time looking around and perhaps a bit more critical as well.  The decor screams modern steakhouse with it's combination of simple lines, dim lighting & deep dark wood finishings. But oddly enough, the menu is framed as if the place were 100 years old and once called Ye Olde Meat House (i.e. a bit gimmicky).

The menu is what you would expect with the typical assortment of different cuts made to order, various offerings of fish, a raw bar & chicken for those who don't like beef.  One item of note is that the restaurant offers various side sauces to "compliment" your steak.  Maybe I'm old school, but to me a steak should be able to stand on it's own.  But that's just me.

The wine list was pleasantly long and the waiters good at pretending to know a little bit about everything that was on there.  In addition, they will serve a bottle in a decanter and single glasses in a mini-carafe. Did someone just say "gimmicky"?  Ah yes, that was me in the last paragraph.

Having said that, I obviously ordered a beer. 

Which brings me to me next point. I tried something I had never tried before and thought maybe the glass it was poured into was dirty. On the other hand, the beer might have had some depth and meant to possess that smokehouse flavor. Rather than send it back, I powered though and even ordered another.  Let's just say that after trying the second beer, my instincts were correct. The smokehouse flavor was in fact not meant to be part of the brew master's plan...MMMmmmm.

Our waitress was great, but @ 8pm on a Saturday night the busiest night of the week she made it seem pretty standard to already have been sold out of 3 items on a not so extensive menu. Although, she did say that the head chef was a bit finicky and sent a full order of fish back to their purveyor.

dirty glass - check
limited menu - check

I can't say that I've ever really not liked a steak.  But I can say that I have had a few steaks that stand out above all the others.  This was not one of those times.  My sirloin was bit overcooked.  Even I know enough about proper cooking times & temperatures. I would expect that for $50, my chef would know far more about that than me.  But again, I powered through and moved on.  I don't ever send anything back unless it might kill me.

dirty glass - check
limited menu - check
overcooked steak - check

Lastly, there was dessert.  Let me say this, go for the pumpkin cheesecake if nothing else.  I sincerely mean that.  While the entire meal was forgettable with the exception of the company I was with, the cheesecake stood out above all else.  It would seem that Brooks & Porter has a much more prosperous future as a dessert studio than steakhouse.

As previously mentioned, this place used to be pretty damn good.  But that was about 3-4 years ago. Last night proved to me that Brooks & Porter has officially jumped the shark. If you're looking for a good steakhouse, this is a pass.  On the other hand, if you're in the mood for an amazing piece of pumpkin cheesecake then by all means order two.

It is safe to say this was our final trip to B&P.  If I want a piece of cheesecake, I suppose I'll have to spend some more time searching for a good bakery.

Until next time,
ES

Brooks & Porter Steakhouse

16 Merrick Avenue

Merrick, NY 11566

(516) 379-9400

http://www.brooksandporter.com/

Last Night's Bottle - Leo Family Red

I originally couldn't recall if someone gave this as a gift or I bought it myself but then it finally dawned on me that we purchased @ the Winemaker Studio the last trip out. Either way, we drank the bottle dry. 

This is the first and so far, only wine released under the Leo Family label. A blend made of sustainably farmed grapes: 80% Merlot, 7% Syrah, 6% Petit Verdot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 2% Cabernet Sauvignon from the North Fork of Long Island. Aged 18 months in French and Hungarian oak, released spring 2011.

A robust, smokey, woodsy blend with undertones of fruit (prune & berry) & spice (clove).  Very well balanced with low acidity & tannins.

Paid $40 which is above my usual budget but I feel worth every penny.  My only regret was that I didn't overcelebrate (i.e. drink way too much) all weekend with the family & friends. I would have enjoyed it a little more if I wasn't fighting off the after effects of my weekend long bender. Will have to better observe my limitations next time.

Cheers.

-ES