Christmas Fish and a French Sancerre

Christmas Eve always means seven fishes at the Oliva's. For as far back as I can remember we have been keeping this Italian tradition. Why seven fishes? It's unclear why seven fishes rather than any other number but many feel the number seven represents the seven sacraments of the Church or possibly the seven days of creation in the Book of Genesis. Whatever the reason, it's a great way to celebrate Christmas Eve with the family. As you can see from the photo, one of the dishes was a beautiful bowl of steamed muscles in a red sauce. To compliment the muscles, I served a 2006 Benton Lane Pinot Noir. I had served this at Thanksgiving with a tremendous result. See my past post. This 2006 Pinot is a particularly good vintage in that the growing season in Oregon was extremely hot. This added an amazing lushness and depth to this already excellent wine.

The next dish Mary served was a large bowl of vermicelli and home made clam sauce. To go with this, I served a French Eric Montintin 2007 Sancerre . I didn't go with our usual New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. I wanted to test Eric's last post in which he highly recommended the French Sancerres over the New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs. We were all happy we followed Eric's advice. Dave's fiance, Angela, said she "had never tasted a wine quite like this." Mary agreed that it was superb. It had a strong but not overwhelming bouquet of citrus with a pleasing color and a smooth, well-balanced body. It was dry and had citrus hints (mostly grapefruit to my taste)up front with a long and pleasing finish. The rest of the meal consisted of Alaskan Salmon, Fillets of Sole, Shrimp, and Crab and Cod cakes. We unanimously stayed with the Sancerre! A testament to its superior quality.

Christmas Eve dinner was a great success thanks to Mary's superb culinary talents, Eric's wine suggestions and great company. To learn more about Sancerre go to this site: The New York Times.

According to the Novovino Wine Company "Eric Montintin Domaine is located in the small town of Savigny-en-Sancerre, just 10 km north from Sancerre town. Eric started very small 10 years ago after returning from s stint as a wine buyer at a UK wine merchant. Today he owns a small 1.5 hectares vineyard in Sancerre and a couple more in Quincy and Menetou Salon. His Sancerre vineyard is entirely farmed organically and every grape from that vineyard was picked per hand."

Thanks Eric and on to New Year's Eve!

Bob

1990 Vintage

Adele and I remember vividly the summer of 1990 in Europe. We traveled through much of France in extremely intense heat. The temperature in the Loire Valley was in the upper 90s and reached 104 when we arrived in Bordeaux. A few days later, when we stayed in a hotel in Carcassone without air conditioning, some guests slept with their doors open. If the heat debilitated people and made sightseeing onerous, it was certainly beneficial for the grapes. 1990 was the sort of vintage that occurs only once every 20 or 25 years, in which outstanding wines are produced in nearly every European wine region. It was probably the best vintage of the 1990s for Red Bordeaux, a milestone in modern Red Burgundy, superb in Tuscany and the Piedmont, excellent in Rioja. Yet, perhaps no wine region had more exceptional results than the Mosel region of Germany. In 1990 its Rieslings had a purity of concentrated fruit combined with high but refreshing acidity that is more commonly associated with years of less extreme heat and sunshine. The balance of these qualities is what distinguishes most 1990 Mosels from those of other fine years. Excluding 1971, which for many lovers of German wines remains the standard by which great vintages and wines are measured, I consider 1990 my favorite Mosel vintage of the last half century (Verdicts are still out on 2001 and 2005). I was reminded just how wonderful these wines are last night. After dinner Adele and I shared a 1990 Erdener Teppchen Auslese from Meulenhof, whose wines have been imported to the US for many years by Terry Theise. Its color was deep yellow, almost orange, It had an enticing fruity bouquet (apricot?, peach?, pineapple?), a taste of very rich fruit allied with that strong streak of acidity, and a long finish that reminded us of citrus fruit. When I first tasted this wine, in 1992, it was exceedingly sweet. Now, over 16 years later, it tasted virtually dry. Adele remarked that it would have been perfectly appropriate to serve it with a meal.

Eric

New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc

New Zealand has been producing the best Sauvignon Blanc since the 1970s. Once an unknown in the wine world, for the past 20 plus years it has taken the wine world by storm. Robert Mondavi did a great job with his Fume Blanc and the French certainly do a good job. But it is in New Zealand that this forgotten grape has made its mark. I started drinking Sauvignon Blanc just a few years ago. If memory serves me I was on the prowl for an interesting white to go with a summer dinner party Mary and I were planning. I picked up a Goldwater New Dog, probably a 2004 or 05 vintage. Mary and I were, as we used to say, blown away. It had a strongly lush nose and lime front with a long delicious finish. It was minerally and nicely textured with a rather full body for a white wine.

The second Sauvignon Blanc we've been tasting is Coopers Creek. It's full of grapefruit and nectarine that's in your face. It has great balance, is refreshing with a long lush finish. Coopers Creek is a classic New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. I have found it to be especially good in the warm months of Summer. It's brisk, fresh acidity is uplifting on those long hot days. We have added Villa Maria, Kim Crawford and others to our repertoire. These Sauvignon Blancs make wine tasing exciting. They can be brash and in your face. I am rarely so excited when drinking wine as I am with a New Zealand SB. It is a unique wine tasting experience to savor a fresh, crisp Sauvignon Blanc via New Zealand.

Sauvignon Blanc pairs well with food. It can go with poultry, fish, dips, vegetable dishes, etc. Please try this exciting and bold white wine.

Tempranillo - A Pleasant Surprise

The long awaited visit of our nieces,Jackie and Kelly, along with my brother Mike and sister-in-law Jane took place yesterday. I took the opportunity to visit Villa Liquors to purchase a few good wines to celebrate and enjoy at dinner. As usual, Tony was great with recommendations and a 10% discount on my wine order. Things really worked out. In doing some research, I came across a Spanish wine, Tempranillo. I knew we were having fresh mozzarella, provolone and Sicilian olives for appetizers with roast beef for dinner with baked potatoes and string beans. I needed a substantial red for both parts of the dinner. The Tempranillo seemed to fit the bill. I picked up a Venta Mazzaron Tempranello 2004. I also purchased a Banfi Chianti Classico 2004 and a Domain de Vaufuget Vouvray 2007 for the white wine aficionados. You can read about the Tempranillo grape at: http://archive.supermarketguru.com/page.cfm/194. It will give you a good sense of this outstanding Spanish wine.

My brother, son Chris, Dave's finance Angela and I fully enjoyed the Tempranillo. Although usually a blend, the Mazzaron was 100% Tempranillo. It had a very full nose, surprisingly so. The bouquet spread through the room strikingly. The color was deep and impressive. Tasting was a real pleasure. It had very mild spiciness with a berry front (although Angela disagrees with this). I enjoyed the lowish acidity and fine finish. The texture was full and the wine was well balanced with enough complexity to make it interesting.

Give this wine a try. It's a great addition to anyone's collection. It went perfectly with the cheeses and olives and I'm sure it would be a great compliment to beef and poultry like goose, turkey and duck. My brother said after a few sips: "Spain is a great food and wine country!" I agree and plan to try Tempranillo with Christmas dinner.

For dinner, I opened the Banfi Chianti Classico 2004. It was perfect with the roast beef. The wine was a tad spicy, with cocoa overtones, with berries and medium body. The pairing was perfect. You just can't go wrong with this Italian classic. For the white wine lovers I had opened the Domain de Vaufuget Vouvray 2007. This was a surpising wine. It was not as sweet as some Vouvrays. My wife, Mary, mentioned she was taken aback by the up front fruit the wine displayed. It was crip and refreshing and was not over powered by the strong cheeses and olives. I found it delightful. A great choice.

Mary made a wonderful dish of roasted pork ribs and sauerkraut,served with string beans, corn and brown rice. The ribs were both large and small and seasoned with a simple salt and pepper. I opened a bottle of Da Vinci Chianti 2006 to go with the meal. I had purchased the wine recently from Villa Liquors in Garden City South on the recommendation of Tony the wine consultant at the store.

The Da Vinci Chianti comes from a town made famous by Leonardo da Vinci. The region is undergoing a certain renaissance in wine making. The Cantine Leonardo da Vinci, is an innovative Chianti that seems suitable to modern tastes. With cutting-edge technology Chiantis are being produced that are softer and more fruit forward.

The nose was very mild with a slight spiciness and some muted plum and maybe berries. The color was deep and strong. The Da Vinci is a medium Chianti with a simplicity that is pleasing. I found that it was able to offer a great balance, not to thick and not to watery. The spiciness saved it from being bland. I enjoyed the Da Vinci with the pork immensely, great complementarity. It's a good wine to drink, very smooth, a mild finish. I would like more complexity and a stronger finish but it's a very suitable wine and costs only about $15.00. I recommend it.