Monday, July 20, 2009
Black currants and chicken
One of my most spectacular failures in recent cooking was making a black currant sauce to accompany chicken breasts. Now, mind you, I was actually combining a recipe I found online for this dish and one for black currant sauced duck breast, so I felt pretty good going into the dish. But, for some reason, the dish became very bitter and unpleasant. And, mind you, both Julie and I like black currants, as a matter of course. But this one was bad enough to require procurement of alternative food. Not good.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Red Currants
Red currants make a wonderful sauce for pork chops. Who would've thought? Tonight, I cooked some up in butter wtih a bit of honey, paired it with stove-top cooked pork chops. Nice, tasty, acidic. Not bad at all. In addition, we added quinoa and wax beans to round out dinner. A schuerebe wine from closeout at Wednesday group paired decently, but was a bit too sweet for the meal.
Northern Michigan, Day III
This was a shorter day, spent near Traverse city, and driving back to Ann Arbor. One winery, one restaurant, one hippie coffee shop.
Lunch: At Trattoria Stella, in the old mental institution, which is being converted to a series of shops. This was the best meal of the trip, hands down. We did an appetizer plate of seared beef, greens, olives, raspberries, strawberries, pickled ramps (man, they were garlicky!), hazelnuts. Yum. I did a cheese stuffed pasta in yellow tomato sauce--amazing--as my main. Julie had a gussied up nutella type sandwich with fruit. It was also good, though not to my taste. Dessert was amazing--I had gelato--a mix of blackberry and rhubarb, and Julie had panna cotta. We each did a glass of L. Mawby Talisman with lunch--a great pairing for everything.
Left Foot Charley: Modern tasting room, also at the institution, very knowledgeable, friendly staff, really good wines.
2008 Pinot Grigio: Strong acid, moderate pear and lemon fruit, some minerality, but a bit hot.
2008 Pinot Blanc - Island Vineyard: Amazing wine with great acid, minerality, green apple, lemon. Wow!
2008 Rose of Cabernet Franc: Classic cab franc notes of tobacco, herbs, with strong cherry fruit. well made, would compete with Chinon.
NV Murmur: Blend of pinot grigio, riesling, traminette. rather fruity and floral, a tad sweet, reminiscent of Alsatian Edelzwickers.
2008 Riesling Medium Dry. Floral and white peach notes, hints of sweetness, great balance.
2007 chardonnay: oaked, but not overly so.
2008 Riesling Seventh Hill Farm: Great dryish rielsling, balance of acid and fruit, substantial complexity, apricot; should age
2008 Riesling - Longcore Vineyard: Sweeter, has acid to balance. Not as much to my taste, but well-made.
2007 Red Blend: Mostly cab franc: Classic cab franc notes, but NOT overproduced; has good fruit, tobacco, but not over tannic, overoaked. Pleasant drinking wine.
In all, we had a great trip. Tried dozens of wines. Liked many of them, learned a ton about what Michigan wines are all about. And, at long last, the blogging on this is done!
Lunch: At Trattoria Stella, in the old mental institution, which is being converted to a series of shops. This was the best meal of the trip, hands down. We did an appetizer plate of seared beef, greens, olives, raspberries, strawberries, pickled ramps (man, they were garlicky!), hazelnuts. Yum. I did a cheese stuffed pasta in yellow tomato sauce--amazing--as my main. Julie had a gussied up nutella type sandwich with fruit. It was also good, though not to my taste. Dessert was amazing--I had gelato--a mix of blackberry and rhubarb, and Julie had panna cotta. We each did a glass of L. Mawby Talisman with lunch--a great pairing for everything.
Left Foot Charley: Modern tasting room, also at the institution, very knowledgeable, friendly staff, really good wines.
2008 Pinot Grigio: Strong acid, moderate pear and lemon fruit, some minerality, but a bit hot.
2008 Pinot Blanc - Island Vineyard: Amazing wine with great acid, minerality, green apple, lemon. Wow!
2008 Rose of Cabernet Franc: Classic cab franc notes of tobacco, herbs, with strong cherry fruit. well made, would compete with Chinon.
NV Murmur: Blend of pinot grigio, riesling, traminette. rather fruity and floral, a tad sweet, reminiscent of Alsatian Edelzwickers.
2008 Riesling Medium Dry. Floral and white peach notes, hints of sweetness, great balance.
2007 chardonnay: oaked, but not overly so.
2008 Riesling Seventh Hill Farm: Great dryish rielsling, balance of acid and fruit, substantial complexity, apricot; should age
2008 Riesling - Longcore Vineyard: Sweeter, has acid to balance. Not as much to my taste, but well-made.
2007 Red Blend: Mostly cab franc: Classic cab franc notes, but NOT overproduced; has good fruit, tobacco, but not over tannic, overoaked. Pleasant drinking wine.
In all, we had a great trip. Tried dozens of wines. Liked many of them, learned a ton about what Michigan wines are all about. And, at long last, the blogging on this is done!
Northern Michigan, Part II
Day two was Leelanau Peninsula. The peninsula is a lot bigger than Old Mission, and accordingly, has more wineries, if a bit less dense development.
1. We started the day at Chateau de Leelanau. The tasting room is removed from most of the rest of their operation, and is part of a building with other shops and hte local Chamber of Commerce. It was a rainy, cool day, and we were the only ones there, and the staff person was very friendly, if not all that knowledgeable about the wines. They were pouring a number of rather old wines, which may or not have been particularly age-worthy wines. Of note:
2004 Sur Lie Chardonnay: Lot of fruit and acidic, still fairly fresh for the age, surprisingly enough.
2004 Barrel-Fermented Chardonnay: Oak. All oak, and nothing but the oak.
2008 Dry Riesling: This was their standout, with petrol hints on the nose (Yes, this is a good thing), along with apple, lemon, pear, and great acid.
2005 Pinot Gris: Pleasat enough, not a stand-out.
2007 Bianca: Not a grape with which I'm familiar, was quite fascinating, if not stellar. Tropical fruits, includin mango.
2003 Semi-dry riesling: Cloyingly sweet, honeyed, floral perfume notes.
2005 Rose of cabernet franc: Tons of strawberry and raspberry, a bit over the hill at 4 years old.
2005 Pinot Noir: Surprisingly nice, fruit driven, with tobacco and pepper from judicious barrel time.
2004 Cabernet Franc: usual tobacco, tar, herbal notes, rather stemmy, tons of tannins. Lacked fruit to hold up to barrel time.
2005 Select Harvest Riesling: Tons of sugar, moderate fruit, low acid.
2. Willow Vineyard: Not a producer we were familiar with, perhaps the most pleasant surprise of the trip. Really a neat producer on a hill overlooking West Bay that has the best view imagineable. Wonderfully landscaped, great knowledge of the wines.
2007 Chardonnay: Oaked, but not heavily, rather burgundian in style, remarkable minerality.
2008 Baci Rose of Pinot Noir: Stellar pink. Reminded me of the subtlety of French Sancerre rose. Lovely wine.
2007 Pinot Noir: Great balance of fruit and oak, a tad sweet, cherry, tobacco notes.
2007 Pinot Gris: Hints of swetetness, big fruit, pear, peach.
3. L. Mawby: Focuses exclusively on sparkling wines in two lines. The first, and arguably better, are marketed as L. Mawby, produced in tradition champagne style method. THe second, M. Lawrence, are less expensive as a whole, less complex, and use a less traditional production method. They're intended to be fun, and a bit more "mass market", with names like "Sandpiper", "Sex", and so on. We mostly tasted from the traditional L. Mawby line, and were quite impressed. The tasting room staff was knowledgeable, able to accommodate everyone from the "fun" casual wine drinker to geeks like us, and were friendly and fun about it. Yay!
The wines:
Sandpiper: moderately sweet, good fruit, not to my taste.
L. Mawby Talisman: The best of the lineup in my mind. From vignoles, chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot gris. Quite dry, very complex, toasty notes, some fruit, huge, long, minerally finish.
L. Mawby Cremant Classic: From vignoles. Rather one-note in nature, well made, but not to my taste.
Jadore: Some age, a sweeter version than the others, balance of sweet fruit notes and acid.
Blanc de blancs: 80% chardonnay, 20 pinot gris. Light, minerally, lemon and acid, some steely notes. Well made.
Blanc de noirs: from pinot noir. Strong berry notes, fruit, cherry, not as austere as blanc de blancs. Well made.
Conservancy: "everything" blend, a bit sweeter and more complex than above two. I thought a bit muddled and undistinctive, but still well made.
4. Shady Lane: Rather busy, young staff, not particularly attentive or knowledgeable. We sampled two for free, and decided against staying to try more.
2007 semi-dry riesling: cloyingly sweet, lacking acid to back it up.
2006 pinto noir: Decent wine, oak a bit strong for my tastes.
5. Black Star Farms: One of the larger and more corporate operations. Friendly and knowledgeable if over-extended staff. Wines didn't impress as a whole.
2007 Bedazzled: Sparkling from chardonnay and pinot noir. Sweet fruit notes, somewhat flat, bubbles large, due to forced carbon dioxide rather than traditional bottle fermentation.
2008 Pinot Noir rose: Dry berries and minerality.. Not bad, not great.
2007 Pinot Gris: Crisp acid and minerality, one of their best wines.
2008 Arcturos Riesling: easy drinking, crisp acid with some residual sugar.
2008 Sur Lie chardonnay: Not bad, not distinctive, crisp notes, not malolactic.
2008 Barrel Age Chardonnay: Too much oak.
2006 Arcturos Pinot noir: Well-balanced between oak and fruit
2004 Isidor's Choice Pinot Noir: Fruit driven, rather over done.
2007 Cabernet Franc: Rough drinking without the complexity to make it worhtwhile.
2007 Isidor's Choice Terrace Red: Cab Franc, Regent grapes. Remarkably pleasant, but not all that good of value. Tobacco, fruit blend.
6. Chateau Fontaine. These guys weren't supposed to be open, but I called, and since it was rainy, they were working in teh tasting room and had opened it up. The room is run by the owners and winemaker, so we got to talk to the source. That matters a lot. It was VERY busy, but the owner managed to keep up with everything very well indeed. Really a fun place.
2007 Pinot Gris: Harsh, unpleasant finish
2007 Chardonnay: Hints of oak, but good fruit, some minerality. Not outstanding, but decent.
2008 Woodland White (Auxerrois): This is their best wine, by far. Crisp acidity, citrus, floral notes, very well made. Impressive, award winning wine.
2007 Gewurztraminer: Honest gewurz, floral notes, some lychee, subtle.
2007 White Riesling: Moderately sweet, perhaps not enough acid for balance.
2006 Pinot Noir: Fruit, showing very little oak, not bad
2006 Woodland Red: Cab Franc, cabernet Sauvignon, merlot, and syrah. Bizarre that cab sauv and syrah, in particular, produce this far north. The wine suggests that perhaps it's a stretch.
Cherry wine: NOt bad--off dry, well made, pleasant, FOR what it is.
2008 Off-dry Riesling: Great balnace of acid and fruit, lemon and apricot notes.
7. Bel Lago: A nice tasting room, friendly and knowledgeable staff. Good line up of wines. Got to try both 07 and 08 vintages of two of their white wines, and recommend the 08's highly!
2007 Pinot Grigio: More acidity and crispness than most PG's from NoMi.
2007 Auxerrois: Good fruit, floral hints, minerality
2008 Auxerrois: As above, but on steroids--crisp minerality, tons of complexity, wow!
2007 Semidry riesling: Good balance for vintage between acid, fruit, sweetness.
2007 Gewurztraminer: Lychee on nose, palate runs rather hot.
2008 Gewurztraminer: Again, as above, but on steroids, except not hot. Great perfume, lychee, classic!
2006 Pinot Noir: Pepper strong on nose, apparently from Dijon Clone 777. Reasonably well balanced.
NV Bel Lago Red: Cab Franc, merlot, regent, dornfelder, maruette, gamay, anything else tey can find. Core is 2005, a great red year, and it shows. Fruit driven.
2005 Tempesta: High end wine, intended for aging, cab franc based. Lots of tannins, but integrated already.
We did dinner at Tuscan Bistro. It was a disappointment. The carpaccio was acceptably good, and the homemade pasta was nice, if not spectacular. Our server was not terribly knowledgeable about wine, so we were on our own for figuring out pairings and so on. I had a chianti classico with a pasta bolognese, which worked ok, although the wine was rather new world in style, and Julie had a pinot grigio with a cheese stuffed pasta, again an OK pairing. Neither wine stood out.
1. We started the day at Chateau de Leelanau. The tasting room is removed from most of the rest of their operation, and is part of a building with other shops and hte local Chamber of Commerce. It was a rainy, cool day, and we were the only ones there, and the staff person was very friendly, if not all that knowledgeable about the wines. They were pouring a number of rather old wines, which may or not have been particularly age-worthy wines. Of note:
2004 Sur Lie Chardonnay: Lot of fruit and acidic, still fairly fresh for the age, surprisingly enough.
2004 Barrel-Fermented Chardonnay: Oak. All oak, and nothing but the oak.
2008 Dry Riesling: This was their standout, with petrol hints on the nose (Yes, this is a good thing), along with apple, lemon, pear, and great acid.
2005 Pinot Gris: Pleasat enough, not a stand-out.
2007 Bianca: Not a grape with which I'm familiar, was quite fascinating, if not stellar. Tropical fruits, includin mango.
2003 Semi-dry riesling: Cloyingly sweet, honeyed, floral perfume notes.
2005 Rose of cabernet franc: Tons of strawberry and raspberry, a bit over the hill at 4 years old.
2005 Pinot Noir: Surprisingly nice, fruit driven, with tobacco and pepper from judicious barrel time.
2004 Cabernet Franc: usual tobacco, tar, herbal notes, rather stemmy, tons of tannins. Lacked fruit to hold up to barrel time.
2005 Select Harvest Riesling: Tons of sugar, moderate fruit, low acid.
2. Willow Vineyard: Not a producer we were familiar with, perhaps the most pleasant surprise of the trip. Really a neat producer on a hill overlooking West Bay that has the best view imagineable. Wonderfully landscaped, great knowledge of the wines.
2007 Chardonnay: Oaked, but not heavily, rather burgundian in style, remarkable minerality.
2008 Baci Rose of Pinot Noir: Stellar pink. Reminded me of the subtlety of French Sancerre rose. Lovely wine.
2007 Pinot Noir: Great balance of fruit and oak, a tad sweet, cherry, tobacco notes.
2007 Pinot Gris: Hints of swetetness, big fruit, pear, peach.
3. L. Mawby: Focuses exclusively on sparkling wines in two lines. The first, and arguably better, are marketed as L. Mawby, produced in tradition champagne style method. THe second, M. Lawrence, are less expensive as a whole, less complex, and use a less traditional production method. They're intended to be fun, and a bit more "mass market", with names like "Sandpiper", "Sex", and so on. We mostly tasted from the traditional L. Mawby line, and were quite impressed. The tasting room staff was knowledgeable, able to accommodate everyone from the "fun" casual wine drinker to geeks like us, and were friendly and fun about it. Yay!
The wines:
Sandpiper: moderately sweet, good fruit, not to my taste.
L. Mawby Talisman: The best of the lineup in my mind. From vignoles, chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot gris. Quite dry, very complex, toasty notes, some fruit, huge, long, minerally finish.
L. Mawby Cremant Classic: From vignoles. Rather one-note in nature, well made, but not to my taste.
Jadore: Some age, a sweeter version than the others, balance of sweet fruit notes and acid.
Blanc de blancs: 80% chardonnay, 20 pinot gris. Light, minerally, lemon and acid, some steely notes. Well made.
Blanc de noirs: from pinot noir. Strong berry notes, fruit, cherry, not as austere as blanc de blancs. Well made.
Conservancy: "everything" blend, a bit sweeter and more complex than above two. I thought a bit muddled and undistinctive, but still well made.
4. Shady Lane: Rather busy, young staff, not particularly attentive or knowledgeable. We sampled two for free, and decided against staying to try more.
2007 semi-dry riesling: cloyingly sweet, lacking acid to back it up.
2006 pinto noir: Decent wine, oak a bit strong for my tastes.
5. Black Star Farms: One of the larger and more corporate operations. Friendly and knowledgeable if over-extended staff. Wines didn't impress as a whole.
2007 Bedazzled: Sparkling from chardonnay and pinot noir. Sweet fruit notes, somewhat flat, bubbles large, due to forced carbon dioxide rather than traditional bottle fermentation.
2008 Pinot Noir rose: Dry berries and minerality.. Not bad, not great.
2007 Pinot Gris: Crisp acid and minerality, one of their best wines.
2008 Arcturos Riesling: easy drinking, crisp acid with some residual sugar.
2008 Sur Lie chardonnay: Not bad, not distinctive, crisp notes, not malolactic.
2008 Barrel Age Chardonnay: Too much oak.
2006 Arcturos Pinot noir: Well-balanced between oak and fruit
2004 Isidor's Choice Pinot Noir: Fruit driven, rather over done.
2007 Cabernet Franc: Rough drinking without the complexity to make it worhtwhile.
2007 Isidor's Choice Terrace Red: Cab Franc, Regent grapes. Remarkably pleasant, but not all that good of value. Tobacco, fruit blend.
6. Chateau Fontaine. These guys weren't supposed to be open, but I called, and since it was rainy, they were working in teh tasting room and had opened it up. The room is run by the owners and winemaker, so we got to talk to the source. That matters a lot. It was VERY busy, but the owner managed to keep up with everything very well indeed. Really a fun place.
2007 Pinot Gris: Harsh, unpleasant finish
2007 Chardonnay: Hints of oak, but good fruit, some minerality. Not outstanding, but decent.
2008 Woodland White (Auxerrois): This is their best wine, by far. Crisp acidity, citrus, floral notes, very well made. Impressive, award winning wine.
2007 Gewurztraminer: Honest gewurz, floral notes, some lychee, subtle.
2007 White Riesling: Moderately sweet, perhaps not enough acid for balance.
2006 Pinot Noir: Fruit, showing very little oak, not bad
2006 Woodland Red: Cab Franc, cabernet Sauvignon, merlot, and syrah. Bizarre that cab sauv and syrah, in particular, produce this far north. The wine suggests that perhaps it's a stretch.
Cherry wine: NOt bad--off dry, well made, pleasant, FOR what it is.
2008 Off-dry Riesling: Great balnace of acid and fruit, lemon and apricot notes.
7. Bel Lago: A nice tasting room, friendly and knowledgeable staff. Good line up of wines. Got to try both 07 and 08 vintages of two of their white wines, and recommend the 08's highly!
2007 Pinot Grigio: More acidity and crispness than most PG's from NoMi.
2007 Auxerrois: Good fruit, floral hints, minerality
2008 Auxerrois: As above, but on steroids--crisp minerality, tons of complexity, wow!
2007 Semidry riesling: Good balance for vintage between acid, fruit, sweetness.
2007 Gewurztraminer: Lychee on nose, palate runs rather hot.
2008 Gewurztraminer: Again, as above, but on steroids, except not hot. Great perfume, lychee, classic!
2006 Pinot Noir: Pepper strong on nose, apparently from Dijon Clone 777. Reasonably well balanced.
NV Bel Lago Red: Cab Franc, merlot, regent, dornfelder, maruette, gamay, anything else tey can find. Core is 2005, a great red year, and it shows. Fruit driven.
2005 Tempesta: High end wine, intended for aging, cab franc based. Lots of tannins, but integrated already.
We did dinner at Tuscan Bistro. It was a disappointment. The carpaccio was acceptably good, and the homemade pasta was nice, if not spectacular. Our server was not terribly knowledgeable about wine, so we were on our own for figuring out pairings and so on. I had a chianti classico with a pasta bolognese, which worked ok, although the wine was rather new world in style, and Julie had a pinot grigio with a cheese stuffed pasta, again an OK pairing. Neither wine stood out.
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