Top Rosés: Francis Ford Coppola Sofia

The Rosé party is long over, but I am finally posting the last few wines from that event. I thought the top wines from our tasting deserved a little more attention than the others, so I will post each one separately.

This week is the Sofia Rosé from the Francis Ford Coppola winery. This is a really soft, delicate wine, with all the flavor characteristics claimed by the company website. Lots of rose petals and strawberries, cherries and raspberries. For me it was more raspberries and rose petals than anything else. This is something I find a little strange, because the wine is described as 100% Sonoma Coast pinot noir. The Sonoma Coast region is probably one of my favorite wine regions on Earth, and certainly in the U.S. The wines, and especially pinots from that region, have this incredible quality that I always find myself short of words trying to describe. They are also one of the first wines I could immediately identify on first sniff. This wine had none of those Sonoma Coast qualities.

Don’t get me wrong, it was excellent juice, and I’d be delighted to open another bottle sometime, but in terms of smelling or tasting like Sonoma Coast fruit, it fell flat. The other area where it came up a little short for me was acidity. A perfect rose should have an excellent balance of fruity and acidic qualities. This wine has the fruit down, and in spades, not overly fruity like juice, but certainly noticeable and contributing to the overall presence of the wine. For me it was just a little shy on the fruit end of things.

I probably would have been more glowing about this wine if I had not reviewed the technical notes on the Coppola website. Having seen where the pinot juice is supposed to be from I now feel like I’m being a little hard on it, but if you are going to claim a specific viticultural region, it should at least carry the primary qualities of that region.

All in all an excellent offering from California, and certainly a bottle I would not hesitate to enjoy again.

Review: John & Kiras

John & Kiras is a local and national company that produces high quality gourmet chocolates and also contributes to philanthropic projects. They are famous for their Garden Mint flavor, which is made with fresh mint that is grown by a local Philadelphia elementary school. Garden Mint is my personal favorite, and whenever I taste their mint chocolate pieces, I can taste the fresh, sweet, and clean flavors. The fact that the mint is grown and purchased from a local school makes me feel less guilty about eating it!

Other flavors from John & Kiras include Raspberry, Honey Lavender, and Pistachi-Oh! Every one of the chocolate flavors that comes out of this company perfectly showcases the main ingredient. The textures are perfect–a bit truffle-like but firm, and the chocolate has a creamy but tart quality to it (more European than American). Each flavor has its own specific design on the top of the piece, so you know which flavor you’ll be trying!

You can purchase John & Kiras chocolates directly from their website, and they often have seasonal specials. The most unique aspect of this chocolate producer is their conscious effort to give back to the local community in as many ways as possible. They are also reaching out to other urban communities to continue their Project Mintpatch.

Roundstone, County Galway, Ireland

Even if you aren’t a fan of The Matchmaker, starring Janeane Garofalo, Roundstone is a must-stop town on your trip to Western Ireland. Located in the scenic Connemara region of County Galway, Roundstone is accessible both by car or public bus.

There is one road running through the center of town, the same road that runs to Clifden in the West and Galway city in the east. Besides being the location of The Matchmaker, Roundstone is also known for famed local celebrity, Malachy Kearns, owner of Roundstone Musical Instruments, home of the Irish drum, the bodhran; and Mt. Errisbeg, which looms above the seaside community.

Climbing Mt. Errisbeg can be an adventure, if not a physical test of endurance. When I climbed the mountain, it was during the Food and Mouth disease outbreak, that hadn’t seemed to reach the outskirts of the wild West. Using the tiny map in my Lonely Planet guidebook, I found a path next to O’Dowd’s pub and then a small lane by some houses and farms.

I came to a dead end with a house right at the end of the path, with the mountain looming up in front of me. A man standing outside the house joked with me when I asked him if I could go through his back yard to climb the mountain. He said it would cost five (punts) to hire him as a guide and also told me there were a lot of “wild animals” up there. I went through his gate (“just close it behind you,” were his last words to me) to his pasture where his sheep were grazing. The whole mountain was used for sheep grazing and I’m surprised no one was worried about me spreading Foot and Mouth. But I am slowly learning that in Connemara, rules mean nothing.

I made my way up the mountain, carefully avoiding the streams and sheep droppings, and scaring the herds as I walked by them. It was a beautiful mountain with no real path and when I got to the top I could see the entire town and the water down below. The strong, chilly wind kept me from lingering too long at the top, so I quickly started my descent. I should have left a trail of breadcrumbs because I got lost and disoriented on the way down. I couldn’t remember which way to go and soon I couldn’t even see the town for a landmark. Also, there were gates and walls up around me and I couldn’t figure out how to get around them. I feared I was on the private property of people not as kind as the man who offered to be my guide and that they would come out of their homes and yell at me. I made a lucky guess on the direction I had to go in and the man’s back yard and gate was very close to where I was as I made my way back to civilization.

I went to Roundstone Musical Instruments store to browse for the second day in a row. A man having tea said, “Hello again” and I said hello even though I had no idea who he was. He began talking to me and I soon learned that he was the bodhran man, Malachy Kearns, owner of the shop, maker of the most famous bodhrans in the world, a vary prominent man, actually. He makes drums for all of the famous Irish musicians, including the Chieftains. I told him that I was planning on purchasing one of his bodhrans and he proceeded to force me (kindly) to sit and talk with him over some coffee and a delicious cream pastry. He took me over to his collections and pointed out some particularly nice drums. It just so happened that we liked and admired the same one—the skin used to make it wasn’t perfectly white—it had some darker patches running through it—and a painted Celtic design of a bird. Malachy actually gave it to me along with three beaters (“sticks” to hit it with) and a manual on how to use it. It was such a pleasant surprise because we had just met and didn’t even know each other very well. I only had to pay the 24 punts shipping charge to send it home so I wouldn’t have to carry it around with me. I think it was worth around 50 punts, which is actually inexpensive for a bodhran. I thanked him profusely and told him I would stop in the next day to say hello.

I had to find something to do to fill the next day because the bus didn’t come until 4:50, so I wandered into town and back to the music shop. I had coffee with Malachy, two local men, and a Swiss couple who bought one of the only replicas of the Book of Kells (the original being on display in Trinity College in Dublin). The Book of Kells is an illustrated manuscript from the year 800, which makes it one of the oldest books in the world. It is believed that monks on the island of Iona, off the western coast of Scotland, produced the book and moved it to Kells in Ireland to keep it safe from a Viking raid in 806. To buy your own copy of this book would cost $18,000 but a paperback version can be bought for $17.99. Malachy said he wanted to buy one of the copies and display it in his shop and they were all discussing how he could do that (how to display it, how to keep it safe, among other logistics).

After Malachy gave a brief talk on the bodhran and an explanation and a demonstration to a hoard of German tourists, I left the commotion and went to O’Dowd’s Pub for lunch and caught the bus on the way to Oughterard, which is another adventure I might write about later.

Rose Partay: Middle of the Pack

Sorry it has taken me so long to get to part two of our rose review. The middle group was dominated by wines that had a great overall quality but didn’t quite amaze or overwhelm. Many of these wines are all really solid and very enjoyable.

#4: Red Bicyclette French Rose- This Gallo produced wine from France is made from grenache, syrah and cinsault grapes, the French trifecta of rose grapes. The grapes are sourced from various parts of the Languedoc region, the worlds largest grape producing area. Some people feel that the Languedoc produces really low-end grapes, but if you seek them out, there is some top-quality fruit to be had at bargain prices. I don’t quite think of this as top quality. However, it’s definitely solid juice, with a nice overall balance, a very fun and easy-going wine lacking a little on the acid side of the equation, but definitely with some enjoyable fruit.

#3: Marquis de la Tour sparkling Rose- This producer from the Loire valley in France started out as the Remy Pannier negociant in the 1800’s. As the link will inform you, this company has been held collectively by the vineyard and winery owners since 2002, which I think is pretty cool. As an additional plus, it’s a bubbly wine for under $10 that actually tastes pretty good. The grapes going into it are: Cabernet Franc, which is widely grown in the Loire region (famous as Chinon…but that’s another entry…), Grolleau, Syrah and Grenache. Altogether, this is another highly enjoyable wine for when you’re looking for something a step or two above that frightening bottle of Andre, but you’re not interested in paying $35 for a starter bottle of French champagne. Very Fun Bubbles.

#2: Vin Gris de Cigare- Mm-Hhmmm…so this wine comes from Bonny Doon Vineyards, just outside of San Francisco. The winery owner and wine-maker are known to be unusual even within the wine trade, which is truly saying something about them. Unorthodox to the maximum, the website features whimsical alien/spaceship designs–a major focus of their label design and packaging. Back to the wine though. Gris refers to grey, usually reserved for certain types of “black” grapes that end up producing white wines. Here, though, they use a considerable amount of Grenache Blanc to soften the other darker fruits that tincture the wine. It has great fruit flavors but not much complexity. Overall that’s the main thrust behind most of the wines in this category: great fruit, easy-going, but not much in the department of complexity. But hey, Rose is a fun, easy-going kind of wine meant to be flexible, tasty, and highly quaffable.

#1: Vanda Rose-This wine from Cherry Hill winery in Willamette Valley, Oregon is a pinot noir single varietal rose. This 2005 vintage bottling is still holding up quite well, and the fruit comes across very nicely. It was a favorite among our friends as the party. Very bright fruit, but because the wine has been in bottle for a while, the acidity and structure are somewhat minimal. Still an excellent wine that’s very enjoyable. This was also one of the higher priced bottles we had, with everything being between $9 and $18, this particular one came in at $15.

Overall, the wines in this middle group are all very enjoyable with solid fruit and good balance across the board. Some of them were pleasant surprises, like the Red Bicyclette and the Marquis de la Tour, but the Vin Gris and the Vanda were definitely good contenders for the top block. This time I promise to deliver the final selection of top rose from our little partay soon.

Sonoma Grille: Restaurant Review

We recently ate at The Sonoma Grille in Pittsburgh, PA. Overall it was an amazing dining experience.

We started with the Tapas Platter for two ($22), which included a Tandori chicken satay with sweet onion ginger sauce; Shrimp Tempura with Asian slaw and scarlet orange and apricot chutney; Flash fried calamari with a twelve pepper remoulade; Ahi ceviche with blood orange, chipotle and pepitas, and plantain chips; and Duck confit and apple samosa with cilantro mint chimichurri.

The tapas plates were arranged very uniquely in the middle of the table on a wine barrel stave. The duck confit fritters pleased everyone–even the pickiest of eaters–while the ahi ceviche was bursting with fresh fish and citrus flavors.

We had ordered a single serving appetizer of the calamari ($9) before we realized that it was the same as the tapas platter. This came before everything and even though it was fresh, lightly breaded, and tasted like squid is supposed to taste like, it was a little too small for $9. I am of the mindset of American portions being obscenely large, but this appetizer was small enough that it appeared in the middle of the table, served on a bread plate, and half of us didn’t even notice it was there.

The menu was overwhelming at first, but had a nice variety of choices. I was tempted to try the $85 4-course with wine paring menu but I’m glad I didn’t because I would have gorged more than I did. Instead I chose the “Mixed Grill” option, which was kind of like a “Choose Your Own Adventure” meal.

The “two selections” of a main dish was $24 and I chose the Spicy cilantro and lime crab cake (4oz) and Filet mignon and mushroom kabob (5oz). I could then choose two different sauces, from which I got the Zinfandel demi-glace and the Harissa cumin mayonnaise. My side was the last choice, and I opted for the side of the day, which was fettuccini with an olive and artichoke sauce.

Everything on my plate was phenomenal: cooked and seasoned perfectly. I probably would have been happy with the $14 option of just one main dish, but I almost cleaned my plate because everything tasted so good.

The other meals of choice were:

Grilled Filet Mignon with Gorgonzola scalloped potatoes, smoked tomato demiglace, grilled asparagus for $26 (one of these was asked to be lightly seasoned, and to substitute green beans for the asparagus, which was not a problem for the chef). The picky eater was satisfied with their lightly seasoned filet.

Cowboy Bone in rib eye steak (18 oz.) for $38 with a side of Perucian potato and alouette pierogis for $8. The Rib eye had a bourbon glaze that brought to mind woodsmoke and old whiskey and bourbon barrels. The cut of meat was excellent, a solidly fatty piece of rib eye, but not overwhelmingly so, with no noticeable gristle or other detractors. Doneness was requested at medium rare, and was delivered just right. The pierogies were very well prepared, with a sort of beet slaw mixed with fresh cream beneath the tasty packages that has been lightly pan cooked with an exterior that was neither too soft nor too hard, but just right.

The one possible detractor to the overall experience would be décor. It was a little “tired,” kind of like a family restaurant, but it was packed from 7:00 when we got there to 9:30 when we left. The service was slow or relaxed, depending how you like it. Some servers did not seem as knowledgeable as they should have been, especially with such extensive food and drink menus.

The wine list is bold, inventive, and extensive. All the wines are from the United States, with a heavy concentration from Sonoma Valley or other parts of California. The owner selects wines from all over the place without even tasting them, since his knowledge of various producers and vineyards from the regions where he buys wine is quite extensive.

The owner also owns Seviche across the street from the Sonoma Grille, which had al fresco dining and a line out the front by the time we left at 9:30. While dining we got word that the team behind Sonoma Grille may be adding new restaurants in various locations. We’ll be sure to follow up and let you know as soon as we hear more!

The Green Truck

There is a new phenomenon in North Philadelphia: The Green Truck, a lunch truck that serves organic, local, inexpensive, and delicious fast food. I recently went for lunch with some coworkers and was so pleasantly surprised with the service, quality, and price of the food that comes out of this truck parked out side of the student center at 13th and Montgomery Aves.

The concept originated between a veteran truck owner whose business was stalling and a Fox business student, and since they teamed up, business has been booming for The Green Truck.

The menu is extensive and affordable. For lunch, you can get a combo meal for $4.50 that includes a pita sandwich, side of sweet potato fries, and an iced green tea. I got the hummus pita and I really felt like I was eating herbs and veggies from my own back yard. It was bursting with flavor–a little messy, but only with balsamic vinegar, not oil–and the combinations of sweet, savory, and salty, went perfectly together.

I thought that the sweet potato fries were just a tad bit soggy, but I really enjoyed the break in monatony from the typical greasy side of fries (usually in a styrofoam container) that comes with most lunch combos at other trucks.

The iced green tea was refreshing and not too bitter. I’m pretty sure they added just a touch of sweetener to it, which I don’t usually like in my tea, but it was so small that it was barely noticeable.

Click here to read more about The Green Truck and how it is eliminating the carbon footprints that come from North Philadelphia.

Rose Partay part 1 (the bottom rankings)

Rose-
It’s a huge shame, but this style of wine suffers a very poor reputation based on the side effects of the 80’s. What makes it one of the best types of wines out there is what a good rose represents. Quality rose wines are dry, can be still or sparkling, and are typically only good for two years, tops, after production. There can of course be exceptions to this, but that’s the general rule. The other wonderful thing about rose wines is that a good rose blends the fruitiness of a red wine with the bright acidity of a white. This results in a truly versatile wine that can play well with a wide variety of foods.

To illustrate the power of rose, we recently had a little party and invited everyone to bring a bottle. The results were varied and pretty interesting. Below I will outline the bottom five wines (these are my picks, not the group of partygoers, just to be fair and establish that I am not speaking for any of my friends.

#5: Woodbridge white zinfandel. This wine was light pink, very sweet, with not much complexity or enjoyability to it. It sort of felt like I was drinking a wine cooler instead of wine. That said, it did go fairly well with some of the spicier things we put on the table, like the curry chicken wraps.

#4: Rockbridge’s Jeremiah, the one with the cute frog on the label. Interestingly, we had wines at this tasting from Virginia, California, Pennsylvania, Oregon and France. This one came from Virginia, and whereas the Woodbridge was light and rosy and pink, the Jeremiah was a light ruby or garnet color, with some deeper fruit flavors, but it felt almost syrupy. Maybe I didn’t put this one dead last only because I am biased against Woodbridge…sorry.

#3: Clover Hill Winery near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, I believe. The winery does state on their website that this wine is one of their sweeter offerings, which I can’t say I would disagree with. It has the familiar aroma and taste of North American grapes, being made from Catawba. It smelled strongly of concord grapes though, but to me that’s just what most American varietals remind me of…very sugary, but I am a sucker for the aroma of those native grapes.

#2: This I might get in trouble for. E. Guigal Cotes du Rhone Rose. I think part of why I ranked this wine so poorly is because I am a huge Rhone fan, and so I tend to judge those wines the harshest of all. Guigal makes decent, consistent wine that is the same basically year after year. They have had some excellent productions in the past, but personally, the style is not particularly to my liking. It’s difficult because I can’t quite put my finger on what it is that I don’t like about it, but there’s just something that doesn’t appeal to me. For a rose, I felt this was a little on the bitter/tannic/earthy side of things, which could be from throwing all the grapes, sticks, and everything else into the press, or could just be the fact that it is, after-all, Rhone wine.

#1: Williamsburg Plantation Blush, the other wine representing Virginia at our little soiree. This was definitely still a sweet wine, but for me it actually had a little character to it. Most of all, it had some great body and even though it was fairly dark for a rose, it had some nice acidity that balanced out the deeper fruit quite well, making it actually very enjoyable to drink. This was the one for me to go with the southeast Asian food or other spicy options.

I am trying to make up for the lack of wine posts recently by giving you lots of wine for thought at once. This is the first in three segments on Rose, which, depending on your interest, may either come one after another, or interspersed with other posts.

Section two, “The Middle of the Pack,” should be along fairly soon.

Restaurant Review: La Tasca, Washington D.C.

I recently ate lunch at La Tasca in Washington D.C. with about 12 coworkers. We took advantage of the Wednesday lunch special, which offered unlimited tapas for $20 per person. The tapas menu available had a good selection of about 30 choices.

My overall experience was fair–it is a chain restaurant and the food that we got reflected that, except that it was tapas instead of more typical American chain fare. This was something I am not used to, as in Philadelphia, the tapas restaurants are all very upscale and expensive. La Tasca served mediocre food compared to what I am used to eating when I dine out, but the overall flavors and dishes tasted like good, down-home tapas.

The service was extremely slow, even for a party of 12, as it took us 40 minutes to be served and two hours to get through the meal. Towards the end of the lunch, someone spotted a cockroach on the wall and it put me off of the entire restaurant.

As for the food, I tasted the following:

Atun a la Plancha en Costra de Hierbas con Piquillos y Salsa Verde (Herb-crusted grilled tuna loin and “piquillos” sweet peppers)
The tuna in this dish was dry, but it worked well with the peppers, which were soft, roasted, and smoky.

Patatas Bravas con Ali-Ali (deep fried potatoes in a spicy sauce and garlic mayonnaise)
These were delicious and rich. The potatoes were soft and caramely, and the garlic mayonnaise was smooth, light, and tangy.

Champiñones al Ajillo (Mushrooms lightly sautéed in garlic and olive oil)
The mushrooms were the perfect consistency for my very picky mushroom palate—not too raw but not too mushy! They were the perfect side dish for all of the other tapas, as they were simple and the flavors were light and refreshing.

Buey al Jerez (Grilled marinated flank steak with sherry and mushroom sauce)
The mushrooms in this dish tasted exactly like the mushrooms in the previous dish. I love flank steak, and this version did not disappoint me.

Albondigas a la Jardinera (Our famous Spanish meatballs, served in a vegetable and tomato sauce)
This was the most delicious and unique dish of all. The meat was well done but moist, and the sauce was rich and filled with a variety of spices.

I would give La Tasca a second chance, as most of the food I was served was delicious, but I’d keep a close eye on the service and the cockroaches.

Comparative Wine Tasting: Value Sauvignon Blanc

Lately some friends have requested wine reviews of white wines. Although I do drink far more red wine, I like quite a few whites as well. One of my favorite varietals is Sauvignon Blanc. I also want to make an effort to review some “value,” otherwise known as cheap or affordable, wines for people (like myself) who want to save a buck or two.

The result: my first ever comparative tasting.

The Turning Leaf was only $8.99, a fine bargain here in Pennsylvania. At first sip, I thought this was going to be my preferred wine of the two. It was extremely lemony and citrus-flavored, with a very high acid and strong mouth-feel. At only $9.99 the Lake Sonoma Wine was very light and delicate and felt like an innocent bystander to the turning leaf juice. The Lake Sonoma wine had more of a light yuzu and lemon-grass citrus effect, with a little bit of grassiness. The Turning Leaf was more of a heavy-handed funky, grassy wine that really exploded in your mouth. As I continued tasting between the wines and trying them with food, I found that the Lake Sonoma was far better at going along with foods and complementing them, whereas the Turning Leaf was so overpowering that it basically left my palate overwhelmed and made it hard to detect the flavors of the food. Nor did the Turning Leaf really add anything to the party when consumed with food. It clearly stands as more of a single note Sauvignon Blanc, maybe most enjoyed by the red wine drinker looking for a summertime white to quaff. The Lake Sonoma Winery Sauv. Blanc is more of a party pleaser, appealing to a wider palate range and more versatile with a variety of foods.

So, overall for me, the Lake Sonoma Wine wins the day, providing more options and thus more bang for the buck. The Turning Leaf wine is good for drinkers looking for a specific type of high-acid, aggressive mouth-feel wine.

Additionally, the site for lakesonomawinery provides far more information about the wine at hand, which can be really appealing to wine geeks everywhere. Information about the appellation, acid levels, and case production tells you volumes more than the Turning Leaf site, which is comprised mostly of buzzwords and marketing jargon. Very little information about the wine is available other than the fact that the grapes are sourced from all over California.

In the overall scheme of things, I wouldn’t give a terribly strong recommendation to either wine. Neither of them really left any great impression, but the next time you are looking for some inexpensive wine for a summer party, or to go with some seafood anytime, the Lake Sonoma winery Sauvignon Blanc might be worth considering.

Review: Washington D.C. Public Transportation

I spent the week in Washington D.C. and felt compelled to write about their public transportation system. On the weekend, I stayed in Reston, VA with a friend, and we took the Metro into the city every day/night. I had pre-purchased a SmartCard online before I went and it cost $5 for the card. I got it in the mail in 2 business days. Once I got to Union Station, I was able to put a pre-set amount of money on it using cash, debit, or credit. So easy. At each station, the turnstiles have a scanner for your card so it automatically deducts the cost of the trip when you exit the station. If you get to your station and you don’t have enough money left on your card, there are machines that let you add money so you can exit.

The Metro is clean, efficient, safe. It’s very extensive and well marked from the street. The cost is low–within the city, a one-way ride usually doesn’t cost more than $2. From the suburbs, a ride costs around $3.

The buses are also wonderful and easy to use. The “loop” buses that run through the city only cost $1 per ride, and you can use your Smart Card for those as well. Those buses will take you virtually anywhere you need to go around the city.

I never got lost, never felt unsafe, and was always helped by very friendly staff. Take that, SEPTA!
Of course, the metro and buses do stop running at a certain time of night, and at that point you are stuck with taxis that don’t use meters (until June 1) and charge you $10 for a 4-block ride.