I’m incredibly lucky that I live in an area where excellent dining and wine choices are abundant. I have regular access to food and wine that folks in many areas can only dream of seeing. So, lucky for me, bad meals and bad wines are a rare occurrence. But they do occur.
The dilemma when one blogs about food and wine — especially when in the business himself — is what to do about disappointing experiences. I hate writing negative things about restaurants and wines that I know are labors of love by their producers. Personally, such writing can cause some awkward moments with my peers. Professionally, such candor can come back and, well, honestly, bite me in the ass.
Folks should keep in mind that my experiences are just that, my own. Your mileage may vary. With just a few exceptions, we go to restaurants that have good reputations and drink wines that come recommended by folks I trust. If you try the wines that disappoint me (or the ones I like) or dine in places I pan (or those I loved) and don’t agree with my assessment, I would love to hear about it. I’m all for giving them a second chance.
With restaurants, I’ll try to write about what I experienced that was both good and bad.
With wines, I score wines very literally and strictly based on the Cellartracker.com scale. Note, 75-79 while damning in some publications, means “Average.” Although in this day and age, I believe it is not that difficult to find an above average wine at almost any price point, average does mean average. To me, it is a competent, if unremarkable wine.
Cellartracker scale:
* Extraordinary (96-100 points)
* Outstanding (90-95)
* Very Good to Excellent (85-89)
* Good (80-84)
* Average (75-79)
* Below average (70-74)
* Avoid (50-70)

Think Napa Valley. Think wine. Think food. You should also think “spa.” Nothing refreshes the body after a strenuous day wine tasting and eating like a massage, mud bath, aroma therapy, or some other rejuvenating technique from the non-traditional healing arts. Between you and me, I just like it ‘cuz it feels good. It’s really nice that there are a lot of places in the Valley that one can get a massage with little notice. This story has to deal with one such visit.
But first, the stage must be set. One should not forget that the Napa Valley, with all its “landed gentry” feel and wine country lifestyle, is definitely located within Northern California. You’ve heard of Northern California? You know, where Berkeley is located. We won’t be getting in to politics here, but it is important for one to understand two things: a) my previous perception of someone working as a massage therapist is that they were probably not leaning really far to the right and b) I’m a talker during a massage and the last thing I want to be thought of while lying there in my birthday suit is that I’m uncool.
Anyway, one day I “assumed the position” on my stomach in a massage. The therapist came in and introduced herself as “Iona.” This didn’t phase me at all. If one gets enough massages, he runs in to many Crystals, Sunshines, Harmonies, Starrs, etc. Just par for the course here in Northern California where the name you were born with is actually just a suggestion on what you should use for the rest of your life.
“Nice to meet you, blah, blah, blah…” I drifted off into a peaceful state, but before long, my mind wandered back in to reality and I started wondering to myself, “hmmm… Iona. I wonder where that comes from.” Asking her the origin of her name would reveal me both as enlightened and cool. I expected some story – just a little flakey – about how it was Celtic for “Wise Searcher” or Wapoo for “Evening Dew.” You get the idea.
Iona, without skipping a beat, explained. “Well, I’m from the Midwest. And when I was born, my father didn’t know what to name me. He looked outside and there sat an old, rusted out International Harvester tractor. But most of the letters had rusted away. What was left was IONA.”

The last time I wrote about a restaurant, it was a relatively undiscovered new place. Judging by the crowd queuing all Tuesday evening, Lalime’s in North Berkeley is still on everyone’s radar. And deservedly so. The setting is a converted house in the craftsman style. We were seated in a semi-private room near the main entrance. Service for our party of 7 was friendly and speedy. Especially impressive was the waiter’s knowledge of the menu. He patiently described numerous menu items and made them all sound delicious. I bet he was right. I can at least vouch for my appetizer of Deep-Fried Maryland soft shell crab with pineapple-ginger chutney ($14) and entree of Crisped duck leg with sweet corn spoonbread and poblano chile coulis ($19). Unfortunately, I don’t remember the exact preparation of my dessert, but it was a raspberry mousse crepe with a coconut pistachio cookie. It was phenomenal. Order it even if you don’t have room!

• 2007 Edmeades Winery Zinfandel – USA, California, North Coast, Mendocino County (7/21/2009)
  I was a bit leery when I heard a dinner companion order this wine. I wasn’t familiar with it and some less expensive CA Zins can be too big and jammy for a typical meal. I was wrong. This wine was soft and balanced with pretty red fruit that while it doesn’t wow, it doesn’t muscle its way into the meal. >15% alcohol is fairly well hidden. Notes of new leather accompany the red plum fruit. (86 pts.)
• 2008 Quivira Sauvignon Blanc Fig Tree – USA, California, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley (7/21/2009)
  Very California style Sauv Blanc. Grassy nose but lemon taste with a touch of sweetness. Fun, but not a wine that spurs much thought. (80 pts.)
• Posted from CellarTracker

I really shouldn’t be telling you this since this restaurant is just a mile or two from my house, the food was awesome, and six of us were able to snag a table without a reservation on Friday night at about 8PM. I guess I know that easy access isn’t going to last whether I let the cat out of the bag or not.
Commis is a fantastic new place at 3859 Piedmont Avenue in Oakland / 510-653-3902. Chef and founder, James Syhabout, after many years with David Kinch at the famous South Bay restaurant Manresa, has opened a small, very sparsely decorated, well staffed, eatery where the food does the talking.
The format is a three course Prix Fixe for $59 and folks may choose items from any section of the short menu to serve as your appetizer, main course, and dessert. Portions are adjusted accordingly. We all chose to skip the dessert section and load up on apps and entrees. There were no complaints, only raves, for all the food served to our table that night. I may be missing a dish or two, but I do remember:
Monterey Bay Sardines, lightly cured then smoked with green tomato confit in rhubarb juice, bronze fennel and pollen
Soft Farm Egg with Potato and Allums, fermented black garlic and pork jowl
Morro Bay Cod with Brandade, mussel liquor and vermouth, pardron petter
Corn Fed Chicken, Poached then Roasted in Summer Savory, crushed english peas, crepes emulsified with foie gras
Corkage is $20 for the first bottle, $30 for the second, however one corkage is waived for each bottle purchased from their short, well-thought, fairly priced list. Our choices:
NV Fracois Pinon Chenin Blanc Brut Dose Vouvray $48
2007 Domaine du Salvard Sauvignon Blanc/Chardonnay Cheverny $30
2004 Match Butterdragon (brought)
2006 Match Baconbrook (brought)
All the wines were excellent — if I do say so myself — but especially surprising was the 2006 Baconbrook. This wine will not be released until this fall and typically our Baconbrook vintages are more for the cellar than immediate consumption, however, this bottle was singing that night.
So, I guess I have spoiled this “secret” for myself and the few who have stumbled upon this place that doesn’t even have an exterior sign yet. Is there any way I can discourage you from going and crowding it up? I know, and this is the honest truth: Parking is a pain in the butt and they are now reading the meters until 8PM in Oakland. Stay away from Commis!

• 2001 Novy Family Wines Syrah Napa Valley – USA, California, Napa Valley (6/5/2009)
  I pulled this wine from the cellar with hope that it hold its own with the spicy food at Tamarindo Antojeria Mexicana (Oakland – awesome restaurant). With the exception of the grilled habaneros, anaheim chiles, and jalapenos, the wine did serve the meal fairly well. Fortunately, the very hot (EtOH) nose of this wine doesn’t overwhelm once you take a drink. Grilled teriyaki steak, dark berries, anise, a bit of a medicinal note, smooth and mouth coating. Drinking at its peak. Interesting, I’m going to give this wine a score not too different from previous tasters on CT but I liked it and their TN seem to indicate otherwise. Excellent wine. 88+. The “plus” is because I’d bet the wine would be even better with a rack of lamb. (88 pts.)
• 2005 Bodegas Sierra Cantabria Rioja – Spain, La Rioja, Rioja (6/2/2009)
  I’m not that experienced with Rioja, but this one seemed quite pleasant a great addition to the Spanish tasting meal at Mezze Restaurant in Oakland. Cherries, wood smoke, fresh turned earth, some crushed sage leaf… not a big wine or especially complex but certainly worth the $30 off a restaurant wine list. (84 pts.)
• 2001 Neal Family Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain Estate – USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain (5/27/2009)
  Tight with cedar and sour blackberries. A bit austere and angular right now but should improve with 2-3 more years in the cellar. By about hour 4 in the decanter, it edges had softened a bit and the wine displayed a smokier character. (88 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

Tell your wine life story in pictures. I’ve started with the mosaic to the left. You can create one and upload it directly to our Facebook Page.

Instructions:

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search (http://www.flickr.com/).

b. From the pages of search results, pick an image. You may choose to be literal or rather esoteric.

c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images (the thumbnail image location) into Mosaic Maker. Change rows to 3 and columns to 3 (http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/mosaic.php).

d. Save the image to your hard drive and upload it directly to our Facebook Page.

Note: if you upload the photo to Facebook yourself, it will not be anonymous. If I do it, I will leave out all names.

1. What is your first name?

2. What is your favorite red wine pairing?

3. What is the vintage year of the oldest bottle of wine you own?

4. Where were you when you first experienced your wine drinking epiphany? The place or situation where you realized wine was more than just a liquid to quench your thirst?

5. What is the first and/or last name of the person living or dead with whom you’d like to share a special bottle?

6. What is your favorite wine growing region?

7. What is your favorite pairing with white wine?

8. Where were you born (city, state, country, anyplace)?

9. What is your favorite wine varietal?

The other night we celebrated a special occasion in San Francisco at Chef Hubert Keller’s Fleur de Lys. Amazingly, even after many, many years in the Bay Area, we’d never been to this famous restaurant known as one of the most romantic in The City. It is one of those restaurants that stays consistently outstanding (Chef Keller has been at the helm since 1986) and continues to thrive while trendy places come and go. The food, service, and atmosphere were impeccable. I’m not going to pretend to be a food writer since I can’t do this meal justice, so I will just list our menu. I would not hesitate to recommend anything here:
Amuse bouche
Chilled Carrot & Coriander soup and Chilled Cucumber & Mint soup
First Course
Pan Seared Artisan Foie Gras with rhubarb, corn, and truffle sauce
Veal Sweetbread “Meuniere” with morel mushrooms, poached egg “purse”, toasted brioche, veal jus
Second Course
Chilled Dungeness Crab Salad with shavings of young vegetables, lobster infused vinaigrette, and lobster fondant with caviar
Wild Prawns with brioche crust (unfortunately didn’t get the full description of this one)
Third Course
Slow-Braised Snake River Farm Waygu Beef Cheeks with Pretzel Crust on spatzle, choucroute gratin and scented beer sauce
Oven Roasted Venison Chop with Truffled Baby Bok Choy accented with rich cocoa nib red wine reduction, Spanish chorizo, and cocoa tuile
Dessert
Chocolate Souffle
Grand Marnier Souffle
A four course menu is priced at $82 per person though there are additional surcharges on a few menu items. Corkage was $35 which is reasonable in The City at a restaurant of this caliber — especially since they treat the wine you bring the same as if you had ordered it off their list providing proper stemware, decanting, and giving fantastic wine service. Kudos to Marcus, the manager and sommelier that evening for making our dinner special both in food and wine.
Speaking of wine, I guess I should explain the rest of the title of this post…

• 2001 Harlan Estate The Maiden – USA, California, Napa Valley (7/14/2009)
  Wood smoke, sweet blackberries, molasses, cedar, toasty oak, river rock, and chargrilled meat. It was an outstanding wine after about an hour in the decanter and proved to be a great compliment to the meal. Not overpowering, it was a graceful heavyweight that stood up to the rich, big flavors of the French Alsatian meal at Chef Hubert Keller’s Fleur De Lys (San Francisco). The one negative: after about 2 hours in the decanter, I did notice the fruit starting to trail off and the tannins coming across as a bit dry and dusty. It makes me wonder if the time to drink and enjoy this wine is now, not later. (91 pts.)
  Posted from CellarTracker

• 2001 Neal Family Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain Estate – USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain (5/27/2009)
  Tight with cedar and sour blackberries. A bit austere and angular right now but should improve with 2-3 more years in the cellar. By about hour 4 in the decanter, it edges had softened a bit and the wine displayed a smokier character. (88 pts.)
• 1998 Château Pavie – France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru (5/18/2009)
  Absolutely wonderful. Creme de cassis, chocolate covered cherries, mint leaf, eucalyptus, and smooth, sweet oak. Drinking very youthful, but “ready.” Wine Searcher shows this wine around the country at $175 – $200. It would be worth it. (96 pts.)
• 2001 Gemstone – USA, California, Napa Valley, Yountville (5/2/2009)
  I had forgotten that 18 months ago I had decided to hold this for 3+ years. That shows how tough it can be to make such predictions because this wine is rocking and rolling right now. It is wonderfully balanced, walking the tight rope between lush, extracted fruit while still supported by a smokey, secondary complexity. Kind of the best of both worlds: Mouth coating, but not heavy. Earthy, but not rustic. Extremely long finish with tannins fully integrated.

  Gemstone is a list that I allowed myself to drop. When the wines were released, I found them cloying, but if this is how they can be at age 8, I need to rethink my decision to not buy. (95 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

Time and again this Court has held that, in all but the narrowest circumstances, state laws violate the Commerce Clause if they mandate ‘differential treatment of in-state and out-of-state economic interests.’ This rule is essential to the foundations of the Union. States may not enact laws that burden out-of-state producers or shippers simply to give a competitive advantage to in-state businesses. We have viewed with particular suspicion state statutes requiring business operations to be performed in the home state that could more efficiently be performed elsewhere. – Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy

Sigh. Despite the statement above from a 2005 ruling by the US Supreme Court that states can not discriminate against out-of-state wineries and must treat them as they do their own in-state wineries, the powerful liquor/wine distributor lobby keeps trying to preserve their power to, in my opinion, the detriment of the consumer and the wine industry. A federal appeals court in NY has upheld a ruling that NY can bar out-of-state retailers from shipping wine into NY while NY retailers can ship wine.
This ruling seems, to me, to be counter to the 2005 Supreme Court decision. There are several similar cases coming up in the future in Texas and other states. Unless the Supreme Court steps in and broadens their decision and resolves the apparent conflict between the 21st ammendment (which grants states the power to regulate the sale of alcohol) and the Commerce Clause of the Constitution, we’re going to keep seeing this sort of thing happening. The only way around it is to make sure that your state passes laws that are in the best interests of the wine consumer.
Based on a story from Wine Spectator online.

Alder Yarrow of Vinography used the 4th of July holiday to post an excellent article declaring independence for modern wine drinkers. Everyone should read it and “sign” it. In fact, you should regularly read Vinography. It is, in my opinion, the best wine blog out there.