Italian Stick Wine

 The sun starting to peek through the clouds after hours of rain, glistening on the waves below as they crash along the shoreline. Sandpipers scurrying along the sand. Seagulls singing from above.

A light warm breeze blowing and the smell of ocean mixed with sand and air.

 Where I am truly at peace - at the ocean on the Outer Banks of North Carolina

Absolutely nowhere on earth makes me happier.

My favorite simple pleasure.

Ti voglio bene! 

That means "I love you a lot" in Italian.

Italian?  Why am I speaking in Italian when referring to the ocean?

Obviously, because I tried an Italian wine while on vacation and enjoyed it immensely!!

I am not that fond of Italian wines but, just like French wines, I feel the desire to learn more about them and acquire a taste for them.  I have found one here or there that I could fathom but while on vacation I found one that I would definitely buy again.

At first glance, I was drawn to this wine because of the bottle.

 A simple, scripty label with a stick tied around its neck in twine. How unique!

I also can actually say "Montepulciano" and feel so fancy when it rolls off my tongue.

So much fun to say and I feel like I'm saying something incredibly sensual.

It spoke to me for some reason and I just had to buy it.

Who knew it would be so incredibly delicious!?

One evening while on vacation I decided to stay home and make dinner for the family.

Mom loves my lamb ragu (which probably isn't a true ragu but sounds better than lamb pasketti, or maybe it doesn't on second thought) and it was at her request that I prepared it for dinner.

Through some quick research, I found that this wine SHOULD pair well with lamb dishes so here came the moment of truth!

Successo!

Upon opening the bottle, I was almost speechless.

 The ocean gives me a sense of peace that I cannot explain.

The lamb ragu always makes my stomach and taste buds happy.

This Italian Stick Wine, as I have so affectionately begun to call it, gave me a sense of comfort in a bottle. It was a perfect combination - the ocean, the wine and the meal.

Just close your eyes, take a deep breath, release and let the contentment surround you.

A very deep-colored wine with very simple rustic notes of plum, leather and tobacco gave way to smoke, black pepper and blackberry flavors.  Paired with the lamb ragu, the "rustic" was less pronounced but the aroma bloomed like a perfect rose and the soft but well-rounded tannins made this a delightful wine to drink.

Ti amo!

Just as I long for my next visit to the ocean, I also shall long for my next bottle of this captivating yet serene Italian Stick Wine.

"Because there's nothing more beautiful than the way the ocean refuses to stop kissing the shoreline, no matter how many times it's sent away.”

― Sarah Kay

The Birth of the Dirty Pinot Girls

On the third day of my birthday month, Goldschmidt Vineyards came to my happy place for the quarterly IYI event. It would seem as if they had this event just for me since it was September.
 I suppose not everyone would agree but what does that matter?! We all know the truth here.

 

Almost every winemaker in Napa and Sonoma has worked for Nick Goldschmidt and he consults with many vineyards all over the world.  He does something that is incredibly rare when making wine. His wines are 100% varietal meaning each wine is only one single grape. A lot of winemakers will blend wines to add different characteristics to the wine. In order for a wine to be called that varietal it just needs to be 75% of that grape. 

 

 I knew right from the start we were in for a treat!

 

2012 Boulder Bank

Sauvignon Blanc

Fitzroy Vineyard

Marlborough, New Zealand

 

 

The only white wine of the night was a Sauvingon Blanc that I actually could tolerate! It did not have an overly dominant grapefruit fragrance or taste like most Sav Blancs, but smelled more of tangerine and lemongrass with a citrus taste.

 

 

I asked the representative why this Sav Blanc was different and he said because this vineyard lies below sea level!!

Now I know what I need to look for  - Sav Blanc vineyards that live below sea level! 

I wasn't madly in love with this wine but it wasn't screaming grapefruit like every Sav Blanc so I was really pleased!

 

 

2010 Boulder Bank

Pinot Noir

Fitzroy Vineyard

Marlborough, New Zealand

 

 

Being a self-proclaimed Oregon Pinot Noir snob, I was not expecting much from this wine. I mean after all, what does New Zealand know about Pinot Noir, right? Well, did I get knocked off my pedastal with this one!! It stole the show for me and the Evil Red Genius!!

 

 

Being the first 100% Pinot that I have ever tried, I was impressed. At first whiff, I immediately wanted to be sitting outside at a fire pit toasting marshmallows on a cool Fall evening in shorts and a sweatshirt under the stars. It has the dirty, mossy, wet forest fragrance that is known to excite me and has a very light taste but also finished DIRTY!!

(Cue Christina Aguilera song here)

 

These Pinot vines are cane-pruned which allows more exposure to the sun. With a more open canopy there is better airflow. Smaller berries also equal better ripening and greater complexity! Evidently, New Zealand DOES know what they are doing when it comes to Pinots!

 



 

At the end of these evenings, whatever bottles are still open we are allowed to taste again. Everyone was running to the big expensive Cabernets for another taste. Normally, I would be racing to that end of the table as well, and don't get me wrong we definitely did partake, but the Evil Red Genius and I were smitten by this New Zealand Pinot Noir!! Arthur was even shocked at that idea and we both ended up buying two bottles to take home. It was THAT fantastic!

 

2012 Forefathers

Cabernet Sauvignon

Lone Tree Vineyard



Alexander Valley, California

 

 

I definitely liked the smell of this wine better than the taste. It had aromas of mulled spices - clove, cinnamon and nutmeg. It made me think of Fall which is one of my favorite seasons.

 

 

2012 was marked by very small berries which make the wine very intense. That explains why I thought this wine was pretty harsh and it even had a burning aftertaste. It tasted very young to me and needed to be put away and forgot about for a while.

Only 15 barrels were made and it should age well.

 

 

2010 Goldschmidt

Cabernet Sauvignon

Yoeman Vineyard

Alexander Valley, California

 

 (This wine was voted the evening's best Cab Sav by the Dirty Pinot Girls)

 

 

The Yoeman vineyard faces north and doesn't receive hot afternoon sun which is why this wine has higher alcohol levels and shows enormous power and layering which is not typical for Alexander Valley wines.

 

 

This Cab has a spicy, stinky smell with baking spices and red fruit on the palette.  I immediately thought of a licorice stick in a mud puddle with a hint of vanilla. Pretty vivid, eh?

Yeah, you can't make this stuff up. Sometimes it just hits me!

2009 Goldschmidt

Cabernet Sauvignon Plus

Yoeman Vineyard

Alexander Valley, California

 

Only four barrels were made of this wine. Five tons of grapes go into one barrel. You do the math. I'm too pretty to do math. At least that's what my boss tells me. I run with it whenever I can.

The Alexander Valley Plus has a spicy but earthy aroma.

Its taste reminded us of a bitter garden marigold.

 

 

How do we know what a marigold tastes like? Good question. We don't, but trust me.

You taste this wine and you'll immediately think of a marigold. It tastes like a marigold smells.

Add a hint of fresh mint to the marigold there ya have it!

 It's Orbit gum wine. Don't have a dirty mouth - drink Orbit wine from the Alexander Valley!

Ding! Minty fresh!

 

 

 I'll explain more about the Plus wines (No, they aren't bigger. They aren't plus-sized. Those are called Magnums. See what I did there?) with the next Cab.

 

 

2009 Goldschmidt

Cabernet Sauvignon Plus

Game Ranch Vineyard

Oakville, California

 

The Oakville Cab Sav Plus is also a small production wine and only four barrels are made. 

Nick does something very special with his Plus wines to speed up the VA (the formation of vinegary characters which are the result of the growth of acetic acid bacteria which are destructive to wine) so that it spikes very early and then levels off for the remainder of the fermentation. 

 

What does that mean? That means that the mouthfeel of the wine is changed considerably and the wine is given more depth and complexity.  It's a really good thing; however, it is also very risky and can become very expensive if there is a mishap.  (Expensive mistake is bad.)

 

The Plus wines also go into new tight grain French barrels for one year and then repeated. The tighter the grain the less porous the wood which ensures a watertight barrel but releases the oak flavor into the wine more slowly. (Subtle oak is yummy.)

 

Now the secret is how Nick extracts the wine out of his tank.

(That sounded dirty, didn't it? You're welcome.)

He decided to keep this to himself because he only knows of two other wineries that use this technique and they charge well over $500 for a bottle of this wine. However, they all have the same problem - they can't make the volume.

 

Why is all of this important? It yields a incredibly powerful and supple wine.

Even better.. Nick was told, "You HAVE to sell this wine for $500 a bottle."

Nick's response, "No, I don't."

Keeping it real and simple. Thanks Nick. I like simple.   

 

 

 

 

The Oakville Cab Sav Plus has an aroma of peppery Elmer's glue along with flavors of blueberry, black currant and a smokey nutty finish.  Delicious, right?  Yes, but not my kind of Cab.

I can appreciate it and all that goes into making it but to each his own.

 

Once again, I had such an incredible evening at my happy place. Proves to me yet again why I decided to change my membership to the premier club, the If You Insist (IYI) membership.

I get to try wines that I otherwise would never even know about much less get to taste!

 



Most importantly of all, it was on this very evening, at this specific event, at my happy place during my birthday month, all because of a dirty $25 New Zealand Pinot Noir that
 the Evil Red Genius and the Velvet Devil
 proudly joined forces to become
the power duo known as

 "The Dirty Pinot Girls"!

Time to "Take back the cork"

We have all heard of the Take Back the Night Foundation which aims at fighting sexual and domestic violence.  It is a very powerful organization fighting a very tragic problem.  While I am not making light of the foundation, its cause or the enormity of this problem in our society, I couldn't help but think of a play on its title a few weeks ago which seemed to fit my mood at the time.

 

You may remember the "Val, the Virtual Bachelorette" post and how I was making an appearance in the online dating world. Skeptical, I still took a chance and decided I was going to attack it as pure entertainment and if anything good came out of it I'd be pleasantly surprised, if I survived that heart attack from the impending shock that would follow. (I'm not a pessimist; I'm a realist.)
 

I also decided, following the handing out of roses theme on the popular reality show, The Bachelorette, that I would instead give out wine corks to worthy suitors.

During my three month stint online (and I can't even begin to tell you the frustration, anger, disappointment and disgust that I endured), I had a few dates, made a few friends, had a lot of laughs and even gave out a cork. Yep, just one cork. 

 

 I mean, does this face look like it gives out corks to just anyone? Yeah, I didn't think so.   
 

 

Unfortunately, just because I give someone a cork doesn't mean that I can't take the cork back.....

 

I had signs, of course I did. I tried to be understanding. I tried to be accepting. I tried to take a deep breath and just let it go. After all, this was all new to me. Step back and stop trying to take control.

Then he "forgot" about our dinner date one night. Forgot? Yeah, forgot.
I have been called a lot of things in my 41 years but one thing I've never been is "forgettable."

 

That changed things. Drastically.

 

But what sealed his fate was when he decided he was too "busy" to celebrate my birthday, two hours before my birthday dinner. Knowing how important my birthday is to me and how I celebrate all month long didn't seem to faze him. Disappointment and hurt quickly turned into disgust and anger.

"There’s only so many times you can allow someone to let you down before you will no longer tolerate being disappointed. When things go wrong between two people, something has got to give. You get to the point where you get tired of being the only one trying to fix things, it’s not giving up, it’s realizing you had enough.”
~Brigitte Nicole

Hey, don't feel sorry for me though.
When I'm done I'm done! I live life with no regrets!

On September 15 at about 5:30 p.m., very matter-of-factly, without a shred of emotion,
I, without even a second thought, took back the cork.



 

 

 

Be a girl with a mind, a woman with attitude, and a lady with class.

- Julia Roberts

 

 

 

Wine, cheese and the ocean

There's nothing better than pairing wine and cheese. Ok, maybe there is. Add a warm baguette to the mix... Wait and the best part is wine, cheese and bread while overlooking the ocean!

 

Yep, sounds like a dream, right? Well, it is but it was a dream come true for me a few weeks ago.

 

For this season's Outer Banks family trip, we decided to take one car and as a result, we decided to not bring much wine. Wait.. what? No wine on a week's vacation? Calm down... it's because we have a fabulous wine shop at the Outer Banks! Now we'd have an excuse to go there early in the week and stock up on wine to drink there and to take home!

 

 

Trio, such a wonderful little find!!

 

Back in the Spring, I placed an order for a case from Kenny, the wonderful owner, and my friend went down and picked it up for me. He wanted an excuse to go to the ocean because he hadn't seen it in years. (Gasp! Years? How could I not take him up on that offer! It was for his own good, anyway) 

 

 Kenny is fabulous and often gets wines that we don't get up here at my happy place and (don't tell Arthur) at cheaper prices, too! I had told him I was coming for a week and would of course stop in. He knows I am an Orin Swift fanatic and the minute I walked in he proceeded to tell me which Orin Swift wines he had in the store. Gotta love him! (Hey, maybe I'll just move to the OBX and work for him.... now there's a fabulous idea!)

 

Dad and I bought a case. I mean it didn't make sense not to because if you buy a case then you get 10% off. Plus we had six days to cover and I threw in a few special ones to take home and save.

 

Now, while I had obviously been here before, the special treat we decided to give ourselves this time was to check out the cheese case. Why hadn't we done this before, you ask? Good damn question!

 

 

My only regret was not taking a photo of the "cheese guy" because he was so entertaining and pretty good lookin' too!  His biggest mistake was to tell me and Mom we could try any of the cheeses in the case! Well, buddy, good thing you're not busy because Mom and I snickered and thought, yeah you're going to regret telling us that..... Lucky there weren't chairs or we'd have been there longer.

 

 

 

I enjoyed all the cheeses we tried but these four were my favorite. Cave Aged Gruyere, Lamb Chopper, Challerhocker (prounced Hall-er-hock-er but like you're going to hock something up when you pronounce the first H. I know it's gross but that's how you say it!) and Brabander (the staff favorite).

 

Dad hasn't been a big cheese fan like Mom and me are but we are quickly convincing him.

It's amazing what wine will make you like and do!

 

Dad and I were pretty pleased with our purchases and couldn't wait to get back to the house and have lunch!

 

 

Back at the house, I prepared, on the finest china in the house, our three cheeses to try along with a baguette and Mom's delicious crab salad.

 



 

 

 

 

Knowing that Dad likes Rieslings and I'll only drink it if there is spicy food or a fantastic cheese available, we bought a Riesling to share. Why? Well, the Brabander cheese actually mentioned on its review that it goes perfectly with Rieslings. Guess what? It does!  I did not care for the wine by itself, but the Brabander wine took the sweetness of the wine away and made it very enjoyable.

 

While we opened the Riesling and I enjoyed it with the cheese, I also decided to open up the Justin Chardonnay that we purchased.

 

 

I knew that in October my happy place was having a Justin winery tasting and this Chardonnay was reasonable so why not try it. It was a beautiful golden color with aromas of buttery toast and green apple. On the palette were the same tastes as aromas except with a more toasted appeal.  It was a very rich Chardonnay and almost too much for my liking. It definitely needed food and the cheese helped. My first reaction to this Chard was it reminded me of scallops sauteed in butter sauce. While I would love that entree, I wasn't fond of the liquid form.

 

 

  Wine, cheese and the ocean.... my own simple "Trio". Nothing more comforting.....

 

 

"I was happy anywhere I could see the ocean.”

― Ai Yazawa

Twice in three days!

 

I love trying new restaurants.

I love finding amazing food and staff at tiny little dives and local bars that you wouldn't normally expect. It's not about apperance to me as much as it is about quality and comfort.

 

When we make our annual Outer Banks trip, we always look forward to going to

Miller's Waterfront Restaurant on the sound. 

 

 

Normally, I would stay away from restaurants like this simply because they are "vacationer draws" and the food is usually not that good, you don't get much and it's overpriced. You are paying for the atmosphere because it is on the sound and soundside is where the sun sets every night. There is a huge outdoor deck, with a pier and even adirondack chairs on the grassy area by the water. 
 

 

Well, yes, you do get all of that BUT you also get delicious food, fantastic staff, and a place that lures you back every trip. We couldn't wait to go to Miller's Waterfront this past September trip.  
We didn't even mind the 30 minute wait that we had in the off season because we enjoyed sitting on a bench on the pier and watched the sunset. 
In fact, we hoped for a wait just so we wouldn't miss the complete sequence.

 

Of course that also gave Dad a chance to have a glass of wine and for me to have whiskey.
My whiskey was pretty photogenic - with the sunset and on the marsh side.

The sun set and, almost instantly, our table was ready!
 Perfect timing!



 I had the evening's amazing special - filet mignon topped with lump crab meat and bearnaise sauce with a side of sauteed squash and zucchini and redskin mashed potatoes.

 

I truly did not want this meal to end. At one point I made such a moan of happiness and caught the man sitting a table over from us grinning. I had to call him out and say "Are you laughing at me?"

He just sheepishly smiled. I love good food, what can I say? I'm not apologizing!!

 It makes me happy and evidently my happiness made someone else happy even if just for a moment. You're welcome, random stranger.

Naturally, Dad and I had to have a bottle of wine to share with dinner. 

At first, I didn't recognize anything on the list and then I found it......

 

Murphy-Goode 2011 Homefront Red

I had heard of this California winery before but hadn't tried any of their wines. However, I had always wanted to try Homefront Red because for every bottle sold, Murphy-Goode will donate
50 cents to Operation Homefront, a national nonprofit that provides emergency and financial assistance to the families of service members and wounded warriors.

Not only was this blend of Syrah, Merlot, Petit Syrah and Zinfandel surprisingly delicious but by purchasing it, we were helping out military families in need. How ironic we tried this wine the day before September 11! Even more ironic than that was the importance of sharing it with my favorite wounded warrior, my dad, who was was drafted and wounded in the senseless Vietnam War.



 

Homefront Red is a food-friendly wine and it paired beautifully with my steak but also well with Dad's soft shell crab dinner. Its fruit forward flavor of dark berries was very pleasing to the palette.   When I asked Dad what it smelled like he said "wet rubber" and that it reminded him of his wet poncho when he was in Vietnam. That was a new one for me but hey, he was kind of right after I thought about it.....

I love asking people what they smell and taste because it's a great conversation starter if nothing else. Everyone always starts out hesitant and says they don't smell anything when in reality they don't want to be "wrong". The thing is you can't be wrong! It's your nose!! You know what you smell! Who cares if I agree with you or not? It's part of the fun!

Case in point... because dad said the first thing that came to mind - wet rubber - we nicknamed this wine "Wet Rubber Red Wine". Try to say that four times fast!
Yeah, we were laughing too. See, isn't wine fun?

 

A few close family and friends know that I not only believe in in the afterlife but I also have been able to communicate with some of my loved ones in spirit. I have been fortunate to be connected through my dear special friend who is a medium and also have had many of my own connections usually based on smells, electricity and intuition.  

This evening was no different. While were seated at a round table for four, we only had three seats filled. At one point of the evening, I looked at the empty seat and had a strong sense that one of dad's friends from Vietnam who had been killed in combat while with my dad was there with us. He was proud of our enjoyment with Homefront Red no doubt. It was an incredible feeling.
God bless you, sir!

We left that evening with our bellies full, our taste buds happy and our hearts full of love.

 

But wait... it's not over yet! 


We enjoyed ourselves so much that on our last night of vacation, we decided to go back to Miller's Waterfront and have dinner again! While trying out numerous restaurants over the years as well as that week, we just couldn't stay away from Miller's Waterfront!!
It was raining that day so we didn't even go for the sunset.
We simply wanted the food!!

 

I am not a huge hushpuppy fan but Mom definitely is and we devoured these both nights.





I remembered having the Noble Vines Chardonnay last year for the first time but I only had a glass. Knowing Dad would enjoy it and that it went extremely well with seafood, I suggested we share a bottle.



 

 

Noble Vines is a brand of the Delicato Family Vineyards in Monterey, California. 
Reasonably priced, you can find this line at most grocery stores here in Virginia.  This Chardonnay has a fragrance of apple, pineapple, apricot and lemon. It is a bit creamy with a toasty vanilla spice flavor. It is slightly tart but the tartness doesn't linger. A wonderful compliment to seafood!



 

 

This Chardonnay was fantastic with the hot cheesy crab dip that we shared as an appetizer!

 

 

 

Even better with my Trawl Boat entree - broiled shrimp, scallops and crabcake

 

"You know when food is really good because you eat it really slow

and you don't want it to ever go away."

Yep, a quote by yours truly with both meals I had at this restaurant.

Dad enjoyed the wine so much that he wanted to make sure we got every last drop in the bottle!

 

 

We were fortunate enough to have the same waitress, Sarah, both nights. She may have thought we were completely nuts but she loved it! I told her she was my little sister...who cares if she probably could have been my daughter! Isn't she just adorable?

 

 

 

 

 Once again, we left Miller's Waterfront Restaurant not only satisfied but extremely happy!

 

 

 

"There is no love more sincere than the love of food.”
― George Bernard Shaw