Personally, I can’t imagine a #Cabernet Day better than last year’s at the Burning Man Festival in the Black Rock Desert. I was joined at my Art Predator and Wine Predator camp in Kidsville by Jim Morris (aka Sonoma Wine Guy on Twitter) and Tony Fletcher (blogger, dj and author of several books on music and musicians including Keith Moon) plus author Mark Lorentzen aka Puma who always brings over $1000 worth of fine wine to Burning Man.
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St Patrick’s Dessert: Exclusiv St. Pat’s-tini
Ok, so I agree, Saint Pat’s-tini is a stupid name. But it’s a great drink. We thought it should be called the Shamrock because with this drink you’re sure to get lucky. But that name is probably already taken.
I know that this blog is called WINE PREDATOR and you expect to read about wine here. However, every once in a while, as much as I love wine, port, sherry, and cognac, I move beyond grape based adult beverages.
That’s right, I do love martinis. Yes, part of the affair is the romance of the glass–there’s nothing more sexy than a martini glass if you ask me.
I usually go for a gin martini up with a twist. Too many cocktails called martinis are too sweet for my taste.
I have discovered a few martinis that meet my standards, that make me swwon. One is the house martini at the Edison in downtown LA that features St Germain, that magical liquer made from elderberry flowers (!).
Just the other day, some friends and I tried out a St Patrick’s Day martini using Exclusiv vodka and a recipe they sent me (they sent me the vodka too…). We tasted a regular and an orange vodka then we tried the plain in the St Pats-tini. And then we tried another round just to make sure it was as good as we thought it was.
It was. Unmistakably YUMMY. So yummy that I am going to bring this to the Triiibes and Linchpins martini smackdown in Ventura on St Pat’s Day!
So if you’re looking for a dessert cocktail that’s a purty nice green, isn’t too sweet, and will very likely make you very lucky, try this:
Exclusiv Saint Pat’s-tini2 oz Exclusiv Vodka1/2 oz Creme de Cocoa1 oz Bailey’s Irish Cream1/2 oz green Creme de Menthe
Exclusiv suggests you shake the first three ingredients then pour into a chilled martini glass then sink Green Creme de Menthe then garnish with a mint leaf and chocolate shavings. We liked the drink better with it all shaken together even though it isn’;t as pretty this way. We never got around to making the chocolate shavings but the fresh mint was definitely awesome and I have it conveniently growing in my garden. By the way, they sent me the fancy picture with the recipe; the top one of Helen I took with my iPhone and I think I took the other one with the daffodils too. (Note–don’t drop your iPhone on the edge of the martini glass–the glass will break and the precious liquid will spill sticky stuff everywhere…)
Here’s more about what Annie, Dave, Helen (pictured) and I thought about the vodka:
REGULAR
–doesn’t smell like stinky socks! (like many vodkas)
–smell and taste reminds us of gin
–very smooth
–seems expensive, classy bottle
–on the sweet side
–mixed with grapefruit soda: very refreshing
–make a great mixer
ORANGE
–very nice essence of orange
–orange flavor not overwhelming
–beautiful orange blossoms
–nice clear taste, not cloying, no unpleasant after taste
–mix with cranberry, lemon slice or on the rocks very chilled
About Saint Patrick’s Day St. Patrick’s Day was first celebrated in America 1737 and has long been synonymous with celebration. Once confined to Irish neighborhoods, this March 17th holiday has grown dramatically in popularity over the years with over 100 U.S. cities including Ventura, will host St. Patrick’s Day parades this year. Here’s how to join Ventura’s parade on your bike or walking!
About Exclusiv Vodka From the gentle rolling wheat fields of Moldova, Russia, near the shores of the Black Sea, Exclusiv Vodka uses “the highest quality winter wheat and the finest distilling process, giving it a sweeter, more polished taste without polishing techniques.” The International Review of Spirits Award gave Exclusiv Vodka their Gold Medal and the Best Buy Rating.
We thought Exclusiv Vodka is very reasonably priced at $20 for 1.75 liters. You can “Like” Exclusiv Vodka on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ExclusivVodka and follow on Twitter @ExclusivVodka.
And now to go experiment with some Exclusiv Vodka and St Germain recipes!! Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!
Jo Diaz Names Wine Predator As A Wine Blogger Who Matters
Recently Jo Diaz discussed Steve Heimoff’s column “Beyond Blogging” about Jeff Lefrevre’s column “How to Become a Wine Wonk” in Forbes. (Did you follow that or did it get too incestuous?)
In his column, Jeff recommends several wine sites and wine bloggers worth reading and why. His list of 12 sites includes Joe Roberts aka 1 Wine Dude, Alder Yarrow of Vinography, Tyler Coleman aka Dr. Vino and Steve Heimoff of Steve Heimoff.com, all fine wine bloggers, many I have come to know, some better than others, at the various wine bloggers conferences and through social media.
Steve talks about monetization among other topics and in a comment on Steve’s blog, Jo not only points out that the wine bloggers worth reading and writing about were all males (and I think they’re all white as well), but she was also willing to follow up on this topic on her own blog and to discuss this in public AND call attention to the fact that women in wine end up on the “living” section of the news. (Another commenter left this link with numbers to back up the observation about gender and race).
Jo then listed women wine writers that she thinks have “grace and style, who are blogging and have sites that really matter.” And –here comes the good news–I am featured on her list of these women wine bloggers!
For her article, Jo compiled the photo above. From left to right, you’ll see Megan Kenney aka Sonadora of the blog Wannabe Wino, Sondra Barrett Ph.D who blogs at SondraBarrett.com, Alana Gentry who blogs at girl with a glass, and finally myself.
Jo’s article includes a nice write up about each of us then goes on to mention Pamela Heiligenthal of Enobytes, Gabriella Opaz of Catavino, Jancis Robinson, Leslie Sbrocco, and Karen McNeil.
So if you’re looking for some weekend reading, you might explore one or more of these sites–written by both men and women. And certainly you should make Jo’s blog part of your regular reading!
Wine How To Redux: Avoiding Palate Fatigue
Nearly two years ago I wrote the following blog post about palate fatigue. It’s one of the Top 10 posts on this site so I thought maybe I should review my advice and see if I still agree with it!
Fortunately, I do.
During the past week, I tasted a lot of wine: about 2 dozen wines at Bridlewood with winemaker David Hopkins, 15-20 wines at three Ventura County wineries on Friday, a couple of bottles on Saturday at home for blog posts, on Sunday another 20 or more wines at 4 Ventura County Wineries, two more wines on Monday, then on Tuesday about 50 wines at an industry event in Los Angeles. That’s a lot of wine, but I didn’t have any problems with palate fatigue (no hangovers, either).
And I’m preparing for Dark & Delicious where I will taste as many as 50 different Petit Sirahs! Insert image of red wine tongue here!
So in addition to the ideas about palate fatigue in the post below, I’ve learned this about attending tastings:
1) Drink lots of liquids before (and after) the tasting; don’t drink water during. I like protein shakes before.
2) If you taste a lot of wine often, you don’t get palate fatigue like you do as a beginner.
3) Dump. Spit. Dump. Spit. Dump. Spit. You’re not going to offend anyone!
4) When in doubt, don’t drive. When your palate is fatigued, maybe this is a sign for you to stop tasting. There was a woman at the tasting Tuesday who insisted she could drive home. While I prayed the valet didn’t give her her keys, we went for sushi and let the traffic die down. I didn’t want to be on any road she was on.
5) Wear dark clothes!
Keep reading for more tips on what to do about palate fatigue.
via Wine Predator
5 Ways to Green Your Valentine’s Day
How can you “green” your Valentine’s Day? Here are five ideas on how to green everything you need from cards to candles to wine to chocolate covered strawberries!
via Wine Predator
Perfect Gift: Gorgeous Wine Glasses
Like shoes to many women, I find it hard to say no to fine wine glasses and fine linens–especially if they’re on sale.
What makes linens and wine glasses better than shoes is that they almost always fit. You have a very good chance that you’ll have a bed in your house for those sheets or you’ll know someone who does.
And wine glasses! I’ve found they make an excellent hostess gift and you can never have too many at home…because, unfortunately, they break. And since I’m often involved in events where wine is involved, I want to make sure the wine is served in decent glasses (and not plastic cups!) both for the aesthetic experience and to be greener. Even inexpensive wine will taste significantly better in a glass of any kind while fine wine really deserves to be served in glass.
While it’s obvious to my eye and my touch the difference between the look and the quality of linens, wine glasses aren’t. And really, I wondered, beyond being a reasonable size, does the shape of a wine glass make that much of a difference?
Yes, Virginia, just like there’s a Santa Claus, there IS a huge difference in how a wine tastes in different shaped glasses.
In the coming weeks, I plan to explore the world of wine glasses to educate myself and to in turn share what I learn with you, dear reader so that you too will know which wine glasses to get!
But in the meantime, some quick advice about a few wine glasses you might be considering picking up Continue reading
Wine Weds: Frei Brothers Sustainably Grown Syrah, Cab, Sauv Blanc, Chard
It seems to me that if a winery donates wine for an event, the wine should be respected: served in wine glasses by someone who knows a bit about the wine, and with information about the wine available.
So when Frei Brothers donated several cases of wine to me to u
se at various arts, cultural, and environmental events, I spent some time becoming familiar with the wine and producing materials for a display on the table for those interested in learning more. I would also be pouring the wine.
The following are some of those materials that I developed for the VCCOOL Benefit Concert August 28 and for the Art City First Fridays Open House and ArtRide after party. My information came from materials Frei Brothers sent, from their website, from my tasting notes, and from fellow blogger Rob Bralow in this blog post by which includes an interview with Frei Brothers Chief Viticulturist Jim Collins discussing specifics. Continue reading
wine predator.............. gwendolyn alley 