There was something for everyone at July’s Crush Barrel Wine Market, from bubbly bruts to earthy Bordeaux blends. The event was set at Fort Mason, in San Francisco, where wine enthusiasts could try and buy, directly from the winery. Here are the top picks of the market:

Best of Show – Stein Family

A new discovery and overall best of show winner was Stein Family Winery. Josh Stein was on hand to personally pour his two wines— a 2009 Los Carneros Semi-Dry Gewürztraminer and his Just Joshin 2007 Tempranillo, from the Sierra Foothills. The Gewürztraminer was beautiful with honeysuckle and rose pedals on the mid-palate with a big of orange and lemon to round it out. A touch of residual sugar adds to this wine, kicking up the acidity a bit and making it a desirable wine for my next outing to a thai restaurant.

The tempranillo further illustrated that, to me, the grape is Cabernet’s baby sister. It ripe and ready to drink now, though you might want to wait a few years for the soft tannins to further settle. There’s a bit of blueberries and red berries mixed with a mocha aspect, further added by a dusting of dirt (terrior). Tempranillos have a higher bit of acidity, making it perfect for your next lamb shank dish.

Here are a few other noteworthy wines of the Crush Barrel Wine Market:

Aver Family Vineyard 2007 Homage (Syrah) – The wine is tasting beautifully right now. The tannins have somewhat resided and what you are left with is a medium spice coupled with a bit of vanilla and dark berries. It’s ready to drink now, though you could lay this down for another few years.

Ricardus Corculum 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon – Using a mixture of new French Oak as well and neutral, Ricardus Corculum has crafted a beautiful Cab. Blackberries can be found both on the mid-palate, along with a cedar plank spice and a bit of mocha. The wine is clean, with good, strong tannins. This is a wine that you’ll want to lay down for 10+ years.

R&B Cellars Fortissimo “Port” Desert Wine – A beautiful wine to finish off the wine tasting. I coupled this with a few chocolates from different tables to really get this port to shine. Tobacco, leather and plum can easily be found in this wine. It’s thick and leathery; simply beautiful.

Cheers,
Haydn

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Haydn Adams is the author of the book, Wineries Beyond Napa Valley: Dry Creek and Alexander Valley, an insider’s tasting guide to the hidden gems region. He also contributes to the Beyond Napa Valley Wine Blog, writes for vinvillage.com, and can be found roaming the hills of Sonoma County (and at times, Napa Valley) looking for the next hidden gems. You can contact him at haydn@beyondnapavalley.com.

This question was posed, half-in-humor, while I was in Las Vegas a few weeks back. At the time I lightly brushed off the question, no, wait, light scoffed off the question, the answer is a bit puzzling. I should disclose that I’m a fairweather Pescatarian, so the simple thought of eating at McDonalds is not something that comes to mind very often. That being said, I still thought, “I’m up for tackling this perplexing question”. I now ask that you sit back, and relax as I ask the timeless question, “What Wine Goes With McDonalds”?

The goal of wine is meant to enhance the flavor of the meal. While great food can stand on it’s own, wine has the catalytic power to push the food to heights one can only dream of. And then there is McDonalds. The land of the two all beef paddies, lettuce, pickles with some more fixins piled in on a sesame seed bun. Is it possible to elevate the quality of food that costs the same as a few Washingtons? I say yes.

For most of the food, the grease is a big factor. Yes, it is yummy and produces a great spike the ‘ye ole blood sugar, but it also greatly interferes with the wine. So for most of the foods at McDonalds, a safe bet is to go with a dry Riesling. It will do a good job of cutting down on the grease monkey and help to hold up the meat / poultry / fish that you’re eating. Another quality of any Riesling is it’s alcohol content. Most range from around 9% to about 11 or 12% if you get your hands on a non-German. The prices are affordable for most of the varietal so that you won’t feel bad breaking the bank on the wine while skimping on the food budget.

With the burgers and the chicken, including the McChicken and Chicken McNuggets, look for a fruit-forward Merlot. There easy to spot. Simply take a stroll down your local Seven-Eleven wine aisle. The larger producing wineries are sourcing grapes from the central valley of California and, in turn, producing big big berries with a lot of juice in them. That results in a strong fruit-forward style of wine. Beringer, Mondavi, and other common ones will have a Merlot that is going to go great with the items mentioned above.

If you are just going with the fries, then a Chardonnay that has touched some neutral oak will be your friend. The salt of the fried spuds will mix well with a mellow oakiness that will most likely be present. Unfortunately, you’re going to have to hunt these down and probably spend fifteen times the cost of your fries on that bottle of wine.

All in all, be aware how much you’re spending in a place that advertises their food for a buck. Yet at the same time, it could make that buck-fifty sandwich taste like ten with the right wine.

If you have tried a certain wine with McDonalds, I’d love to hear your comments. Feel free to e-mail me at haydn@beyondnapavalley.com.

Enjoy,
Haydn

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Haydn Adams is the author of the book, Wineries Beyond Napa Valley: Dry Creek and Alexander Valley, an insider’s tasting guide to the hidden gems region. He also contributes to the Beyond Napa Valley Wine Blog, writes for vinvillage.com, and can be found roaming the hills of Sonoma County looking for the next hidden gems. You can contact him at haydn@beyondnapavalley.com

What wine goes with CJ Bitz??

CJ Bitz – $19.99

That holidays have arrived, which means desserts are sure to take center stage. Aside from the ham, the turkey and other proteins, it’s impossible to think of the holidays without mentioning any kind of sweet. One sweet treat that should be on your winter radar is CJ Bitz, made locally in Marin County (but available nationwide, see their retail locations). The question of the week then, is What Wine goes with CJ Bitz?

If you’re thinking dessert, then dessert wine should be on your radar, namely Tawny port. The reason I’d go with a Tawny is the toffee characteristics will match the toffee that’s added last when making CJ Bitz. Other ports will match decently, but the Tawny Port should match very well. I’d recommend taking a trip to your local wine market and seeing what they have in stock. Tawny’s can get up there in price so be aware what you’re picking out before you hit the checkout aisle.

If you are not a dessert wine fan, then you could go Zinfandel. However, you generally want to reserve the Zin for darker chocolate then what CJ Stix has. That being said, you’re other option would be to go for the Petite Sirah. Two Petites I’d recommend are from Optima Winery in Dry Creek and Judd’s Hill ($30) in Napa.

Both the dessert wine and CJ Bitz would work great during your next holiday party!

Cheers,
Haydn

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Haydn Adams is the author of the book, Wineries Beyond Napa Valley: Dry Creek and Alexander Valley, an insider’s tasting guide to the hidden gems region. He also contributes to the Beyond Napa Valley Wine Blog, writes for vinvillage.com, and can be found roaming the hills of Sonoma County looking for the next hidden gems. You can contact him at haydn@beyondnapavalley.com

What wine goes with Ribs?

I love barbecuing on the 4th. It one of the few days of the year when I forego my pescaterian diet (primarily comprised of fish and vegetarian options; hello veggie burgers) and dive into some meet. This year, ribs were on the menu. And my good friend Helen sent me into her wine cellar for a bottle (or two in my case) to drink with the ribs. Here’s what I dug up.

Wine #1: Quivira Anderson Ranch 2004 Zinfandel

I’m going to sound like a broken record, but when in Rome… (I’ll let you finish that line) The same applies to Zinfandel and American food, especially barbecue. WIth the ribs, I was looking for a wine with a slight spice to balance out with the dry rub that was applied to the meat. The Anderson Ranch had just that tad of spice I was looking for, and the slight vanilla aspect really enhanced the flavor. This was one of Quivira’s flagship Zin’s of that year. Aside from the Anderson, I could also see myself sipping on one of their others when it came to ribs. But that was the wine I pounced upon.

Wine #2: Arrowood 2004 Syrah

Syrahs can be tricky to pair because they can range quite a bit depending upon where it was grown. Thankfully Arrowwood does a great job of moving towards the Rhone side when it comes to their Syrah. Again, a bit spicy but not enough to overpower the spices in sauce that was later applied to the ribs. A bit of blackberry could also be found. The wine was so good that Helen switched her decision over what she wanted to drink upon tasting the 2004 Syrah.

The hardest part I found when drinking wine with ribs was exactly how to pick up the glass when your hands were covered in sauce. Thankfully a costco-sized amount of napkins took care of the job.

I’m curious, what did you have / to drink on the 4th? Did the pairing work out? You can leave me a comment here or e-mail me at haydn@beyondnapavalley.com.

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Haydn Adams is the author of the book, Wineries Beyond Napa Valley: Dry Creek and Alexander Valley, an insider’s tasting guide to the hidden gems region. He also contributes to the Beyond Napa Valley Wine Blog, writes for vinvillage.com, and can be found roaming the hills of Sonoma County looking for the next hidden gems. If he is not working in Marin or San Francisco, you can find him roaming the streets of Sonoma County (and at times, Napa, and at times Lodi) looking for that next hidden gem.

Image courtesy of sfgate.com

Restaurant: Baretta

Location: 1199 Valencia St, San Francisco, CA (map)
Haydn’s rating: A
Haydn’s Synopsis: Baretta’s supposedly known for their mixed drinks, yet it was the wine that took center stage at this Italian eatery in the Mission in San Francisco.

When one thinks of delicacies in the Mission, one doesn’t jump right away to Italian food. However, Baretta’s is changing that thinking. Nestled on the corner of 24th and Valencia sits an overpacked eatery. While the rumor was to go for the mixed drinks, I, naturally gravitated to the wines by the glass. And as the old saying goes—when in Rome, do as the Romans.

The same is true with Italian food. No other country so freely consumes this luscious liquid like the Italians. However, the grapes of Italy are often the most unknown. It’s not that we don’t care about the Italian grapes in America, but rather overlook them. It’s also quite difficult to get Italian wines here in the U.S. Yet, Baretta manages to not only get their hands on single-varietal wines from Italy, but it’s the only thing you can order by the glass. Barbera, Montepulciano, Nebbiolo, Sangiovese, Vermentino, along with a few others I’m sure (I didn’t take the menu home so the actual wine varietals may vary slightly) could be found on the menu.

At first, the Italian wines may startle you—having no commonplace wines such as Chardonnay or Merlot to rely on. Yet you still can fall back on the fact that their wine list does go from lightest to darkest, in terms of the strength of the wine.

What is also true about the Italians is that they make their wine to go with food. Such was the case with the Sangiovese. While it was good, albeit a tad light on the palate, the wine sparkled when paired with many of the pizzas offered on the menu—it was a wine clearly made for food. In contrast, the Montepulciano was good drinking on it’s own, but fell down when it came up against the pizzas. It was none-the-less a beauty of a wine to drink.

Overall, a job well done when it came to sticking with Italian food and Italian wine. Just remember to get a reservation as this place gets more crowded that a Fiat repair shop on a Friday night.

Cheers,
Haydn

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Haydn Adams is the author of the book, Wineries Beyond Napa Valley: Dry Creek and Alexander Valley, an insider’s tasting guide to the hidden gems region. He also contributes to the Beyond Napa Valley Wine Blog, writes for vinvillage.com, and can be found roaming the hills of Sonoma County looking for the next hidden gems. You can contact him at haydn@beyondnapavalley.com

Lodi Zin Fest – Part 1 – The Winemakers dinner
This is a three-part series on the wine and festivities of the Lodi Zinfest.

by Haydn S. Adams | Beyond Napa Valley Wine Blog
May 17th, 2009

The winemakers dinner at the Lodi Zinfest, was held on May 15th in Lodi, California. According to the advertising, we were to experience the top 12 Zins of Lodi. In addition, I was told that the food at the dinner was “barbecued wine country cuisine”. Thankfully the wines held up because the “barbecue” did not.

It turned out that the second wine that I had at the dinner (out of about 10 or so, a few non-Zins) was to be one of my favorites. The m2 Zinfandel was a true gem with a bit of strawberries and deep blackberries and a touch of black pepper. According to the winemaker it’s a “velvet elvis”. The m2 “artist series” Zin was also featured but it lacked in structure. A tan thinner than I would have come to expect. I was happy they didn’t use “reserve” on the bottle. I rated the m2 ‘artist series’ an 88 and gave the other Zin 90pts.

There were a few other shining gems, including a wine that was dry farmed, and appeared to mimic the look of Petite Sirah (it was literally staining my glass), one that topped the alcohol charts at 15.9% and others that were just textbook Zinfandel. Overall, I was happy with what was coming out of Lodi. While they did lack the overall complexity as you would find in a few Dry Creek Zins (Zinfandel capital of the world), they were overall very satisfying.

It was also a pleasure to talk with the wine makers who were literally at arms distance as I was critiquing the wines. After the initial wine tasting round, we found our seats (thanks in part to vinvillage.com), and continued to pour a few more glasses and awaited the “barbecued” food.

Unfortunately the “barbecued” food was nothing more than over-grilled chicken and steak on skewers. No finger-lickin good sauce dripping from the meat. No, “pass me some more napkins”. Just plain ‘ole chicken. It was a bit of a disappointment because the peppery, fruit forward and strong Zins would have been awesome with some KC masterpiece sauce, and maybe a few ribs.

While, the food was average, the impromptu balloons were anything but. I’m not sure who had the smarts to pull this off, but my hat goes off to whomever who did. Imagine a room with a few hundred guests, some of them wine makers and vintners, and then introduce a few big purple balloons into the mix. Complete that with white shirts and filled wine glasses of red wine, and you’ve got a party.

Overall a very fun experience. I met a few wonderful vintners (coming up in my next article) and learned a great deal about Lodi wine.

What wine goes with Shrimp?

I was recently asked by a friend what wines to pair with various foods. In thinking of the questions, I felt it would be a great subject for a series of postings.

It seems that shrimp seems to be as readily available as chicken in the supermarket. It’s favorable cost makes it a wonderful dish or appetizer. Yet, it is a finicky little guy when it comes to wine. My advice with shrimp is to think of the opposite. Pairings should always compliment the dish, not mirror it.

For me, I’d go with a well-bodied white. My first idea would be a sparkling wine. Sparkling wines do two things. They lighten the atmosphere and clense the palate. I’d even go with a Brut Rosé when it comes to shrimp. To get even more precise, I’d look for a Brut Rose with either a Grenache grape or a Pinot Noir. These will soften the sharpness of the Sparkling Wine and smooth out the acidity in the shrimp.

My other wine would be an abariño, of course, from Spain. The abariño is a tad bit thicker and will quench your palate after the first sip, especially if you’re dipping it in cocktail sauce. It might be hard to find this particular varietal in your normal supermarket, so you’re probably going to have to find a specialized wine shop. BevMo and/or Cost Plus might have a few, but I wouldn’t count on them. Bigger stores buy wines that sell, and, unfortunately the poor abariño has been hidden away under the bigger boys, Sauvignon Blancs, Chardonnays and Rieslings. But with most abariños coming in well under $20, it is not hard to find that wine that will meet or exceed your budget.

While you might default to a Sauvignon Blanc, it’s characteristics are too similar and it won’t add much to the dish. The acidity in both pieces will mute themselves out. Playing it safe is fine, but wine should bring out the taste, not just help it along.

Here are a few wines that I’d recommend:

• Bodegas Martin Codax Albarino 2006 (Retails for $14.95)
• J Brut Rose ($40.00)
• Cristalino Brut Rose Cava ($7.99)