Wine Blogging Wednesday #70: Celebrate with Spanish Sherry, Garnacha & Cava!

For over five years, each month wine bloggers gathered around a virtual fire to discuss a wine related theme or prompt. For a number of reasons, about a year ago Wine Blogging Wednesday waned and fell by the virtual wayside.

But some of us blew on the embers (by some tweets, blog posts, and other social media means), and lo and behold,  Lenn Thompson of the New York Cork Report got the fire going once again!

This month Wine Blogging Wednesday #70 comes to you from Ryan and Gabriella Opaz of the award winning blog catavino.net. Their prompt, not surprisingly from bloggers who specialize in wines from Iberia, is to blog about a Spanish wine today, Wednesday February 16 and to let them know about it!

They suggest we

Seek out Spanish wines that you’ve never had before! Get creative! Hunt for unique styles such as a Sherry, Cava, Fondillon or Mistella; an unheard of region like Arribes, Txakoli de Alava or Extremadura; or a unique native grape like Prieto Picudo or Treixadura

On Monday February 7, I  wrote about a Spanish Amontillado sherry for the Secret Sherry Society which I paired with Belgian chocolates and which was hard enough to find!  I found it equally difficult to find any obscure Spanish varietals that would allow me to an obvious way to get creative.

For this post, trying to find some unusual angle, I considered visiting a local wine bar, The Wine Rack, which sells Spanish wines made from familiar varietals  like cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay that taste familiar to American palates and are under $20. Owner Seana even offered to open any wines I wanted for me to taste (and write about!)

Instead, I went to the Ventura Wine Company, which, while lacking much of a selection of unusual Spanish varietals, did offer a few of one of my favorites.  I settled with choosing a varietal  I love grenache, or, as it’s known in Spain, garnacha, and tried two versions of it, a Vina Borgia Campo de Borja 2009 which retails between $6-10 and a Tres Picos Borsao 2008 which can be found from $15-20. Continue reading →

Wild Rock: Cupid’s Arrow NZ Pinot Noir for Valentine’s Day or any romantic occasion

If you’re still looking for a wine for Valentine’s Day –or some other romantic occasion– you can’t go wrong with Wild Rock’s Cupid’s Arrow from New Zealand.

The label is clearly a winner for romantic occasions: it features a person diving off a rock, possibly struck by cupid’s arrow!

We’ve chosen this wine a few times because it’s a good value ($20 retail but often on sale) and we really like it with simply grilled salmon, rice, and a vegetable (in this case, we had asparagus; it pairs just fine). We often grill salmon when we’re camping or having a cookout at the beach and we love that most New Zealand wines have easy open screw tops.  You might also like it with lamb or duck.

In the glass, the Wild Rock Cupid’s Arrow Pinot Noir has lots of color and it’s full of red fruit, especially fresh raspberry and cherry with some plum. There’s a nice earthy quality too–almost like you’re walking in an herb garden. Like most pinot noirs that I’ve had from New Zealand (and I’ve had a few!), it’s easily approachable with nice body and character. It’s not going to overwhelm your date like a cab might–but it’s not going to underwhelm them either! While you’ll probably finish it up the first night, I kept it cool and it lasted surprisingly well for a few days.

According to Wild Rock folks, this pinot noir is made from Pollard and Dijon clones, grown sustainably on hillsides in central Otago which is way way south of any place else where they grow wine. The grapes are 80% hand picked, fermented in stainless steel and using indigenous yeasts before 10 months in French oak barrels.

Happy Valentine’s Day! Or whatever you’re celebrating that brings you here!

(Please note that while I have purchased this wine in the past, this particular bottle was a sample.)

The Valentine angel is a handcrafted felted doll made by my friend Borbala Arvai…see more of her work here:

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!

Greening Valentine's Day with organic treats, homemade gifts & local, sustainable, organic, biodynamic wines of course! Even though Valentine’s Day screams RED: red roses, red foil chocolates, red sweaters, red hearts, and RED ink in your checking account, GO GREEN and SAVE GREEN this year! Turn your Valentine’s Day GREEN with some of these tips from LIVE Earth: Save a Little Love for the Planet on Valentine’s Day (photo by LA Green Girl). Wine Predator’s additional tips and commentary are in bold and italics. Valentine’s Day is fast approaching! February 14th is … Read More

via Wine Predator

For Your Valentine Angel: Sparkling Rose + Seared Ahi Salad with Blueberries!

What should you serve your Valentine?

Something pink? Something sparkly? Something as delightful and surprising as your Valentine?

How about a light “pink” sparkling wine with ahi tuna, seared to keep it a pretty pink inside?  Served on a bed of field greens with a white stilton with cranberries? And paired with a Domaine Carneros by Taittinger Brut Rose Cuvee de la Pompadour? Made in the traditional methods? And retailing at $35?

Take it from me, this meal of seared ahi and sparkling rose is a winner!

We’re fortunate here in Ventura to have a tuna boat come to our harbor about once a month from December through April or so. When it shows up, we go in with friends on a whole tuna and come home with bags of sushi grade meat that can’t really be any fresher. Continue reading →

Adventures in Wine Coming Up: Egypt, France, Portugal, Spain–and SoCal too!

I’m bathing in a wealth of wine and stories about wine right now! This afternoon, I head up to Bridlewood Winery to see my Wine Bloggers Conference friend Kelly Conrad (who does PR for Gallo) to meet Bridlewood Winemaker, David Hopkins (who I already know is quite a character!) and to look around and do some tasting too of course!

Tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday I’ll be out and about in Ventura County visiting as many of the Valentine n’Wine wineries as I can, then Tuesday, I’ll be at a French industry wine tasting, and Friday is PS I Love You‘s “Dark and Delicious.” At the end of the month, I’m attending a Paso Robles tasting.

Not to mention I have tasting notes and half written blog posts about Egyptian wine, Spanish wine (beyond sherry!) for Wine Blogging Wednesday #70, plus ideas for wines for Valentine’s wines and food pairings and posts on Portuguese wine too! And more!

So please subscribe to Wine Predator and receive an email to your inbox to let you know I’ve found more on my prowls to share with you!

Ventura’s Valentine n’Wine Weekend 2011: A Passport to Some Fine Wine Times!

What are your Valentine’s plans? Maybe a little sherry and Belgian chocolate like I suggested in yesterday’s post? I’ve got more ideas for you coming up! But in the meantime, you might consider checking out the following:

The Ventura County Winery Association invites you and your valentine  to a three-day wine tasting passport event to explore the wineries of Ventura County during Valentine’n Wine Passport Weekend.

Visit twelve participating wineries, taste award-winning wines and enjoy special food pairings at many locations from Friday February 11 to  Sunday February 13.

Each ticket holder will receive one regular wine tasting flight at each of twelve participating locations, during their regular operating hours.  Pay $45 online and pick up your ticket at one of several event locations; tickets may also be purchased at participating locations during the event weekend for $55 per person.

Find out which wineries are participating and more information about Ventura County’s Valentine n’Wine Weekend: http://www.valentinenwine.com/.

A Quest For Sherry (and love!)

A Quest For Sherry (and love!) my guest post for the Secret Sherry Society is up on their website–check it out! Thank you to the Secret Sherry Society for invited me to play!

Thank you also to photographer/blogger John Nichols who shared with me his sherry stories, one of which I included in this blog post!

PS Did you know sherry pairs well with chocolate and Valentine’s Day? Go read the post! And come back for more Valentine’s wines and tips!