Help Steve Cuozzo navigate a wine list

Steve Cuozzo, restaurant critic for the NY Post, has a rant about wine lists today (“Sour Grapes“). He complains about “esoteric or pretentious” wine lists, filled with Greek wines and grapes he’s never heard of and producers he doesn’t know. Such lists leave him stumped and “at the mercy of a sommelier determined to teach [...]

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Return to Woodrose Winery

Woodrose WineryWinery 2012 Woodrose has been one of our favorite growing wineries over the past several years.  This year?s visit provided some unexpected pleasures.  The last time we visited at Woodrose they were just completing construction on their special events building.  This time we found the center was done and open for business.  Tastings were … Continue reading »

Source: http://thegrapesaroundtexas.com/2012/07/03/return-to-woodrose-winery/

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The Capital Grille turns the page to their Summer Plates Menu

The Capital Grille, with locations across the country, recently revamped their lunch Plates menu. Turning the page from spring to summer, they're offering a three course lunch ensured to be completed in 45 minutes at a cost of $16.

New entrees on the menu include a Wagyu Cheeseburger with Fried Egg and Crisp Onions and Seared Sea Scallops with Sweet and Sour Tomatoes. Mini Tenderloin Sandwiches and a Lobster Roll carry over from the spring, rounding out a variety of tempting choices.

I  coincidentally stopped in for lunch with customers on the last day of their spring menu and again on the first day of their summer menu. Additionally we stopped in with the kids before a Red Sox game for dinner in the dining room. Three out of four days at one of my favorite restaurants? When it rains it pours I guess.

From the summer lunch Plates menu I went with the Carrot and Ginger Soup, the Wagyu Cheeseburger and a Watermelon Salad with Feta Cheese. The soups are strength of these lunch offerings, and the Carrot Soup is no exception. I'm not a chef - though I have watched several seasons of Top Chef - so I know that a test of the kitchen is the quality of their soups. This one continues to be a strong point in the path paved by the Porcini Bisque from winter and the Asparagus Soup from spring.

But the main event, and the dish I was looking most forward to trying, was the Wagyu Cheeseburger. The admirable qualities of Wagyu beef and similarly but more specifically Kobe -- known for their marbling -- are said by some to be a waste when obfuscated in a burger. That may be true to an extent but who cares? The burger is outstanding.

When the buttery toasted brioche bunch is placed on the fried egg, the yolk cascades down the burger creating a built-in dipping sauce. And an experience best enjoyed with knife and fork.

The burger receives a simple seasoning prepared in-house: Salt, pepper, and a little sugar. I'll have to give that a try next time I'm grilling burgers. Although I may not achieve similar results as my Weber grill doesn't reach up the 1200F their equipment is capable of which delivers burgers with a seared exterior and an even red color and temperature throughout.

It all comes together incredibly well.A 94+ point burger in my book.

The watermelon salad was a bit of an odd pairing with the warm burger. I was hoping to achieve a bit of a "hot with the cold" situation but I think I'd try it with the French Green Beans next time. Or the Truffle Fries if you want to play it safe.

All-in the lunch Plates menu continues to present a tremendous value - if you can show the discipline to not order alcoholic drinks and dessert. But really - how often do we cut out of work for a nice lunch these days?

The Capital Grille distinguishes itself with its consistent quality across the menu and it's upscale, intuitive style of service. Highly recommended.

If you're visiting The Capital Grille for the first time, here are a few sure-fire, iron-clad, can't-miss favorites:

  • Wedge Salad with Bleu Cheese and Applewood Smoked Bacon
  • Pan Fried Calimari with Hot Cherry Peppers
  • Lobster Mac 'n Cheese
  • Bone-In Kona Crusted Dry Aged Sirloin with Carmelized Shallot Butter
  • Flourless Chocolate Espresso Cake
  • Coconut Cream Pie
Further Reading:
Disclosure: Plates Lunch on a complimentary blogger/press invite.

Question of the Day: What are some of your favorite menu items at The Capital Grille?


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iTunes Now Includes All Podcast Episodes

This podcast predates iTunes so when it started only a portion of my shows appeared on the feed. After I posted my latest podcast I decided it made sense to consolidate all the shows into the iTunes feed with all future podcasts published in mp3 format. Down the feed to Winecast 33 are enhanced AAC [...]

iTunes Now Includes All Podcast Episodes originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.

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A Little Competition Never Hurts!

That’s right – it’s time. The Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Competition begins tomorrow. Nearly 100 international judges, more than 3,000 international wines. Who will take the gold? Keep coming back to find out more information about the 3-day event and watch for judges to be blogging and twittering in between judging!

Source: http://blogs.fairplex.com/blog/wine/?p=60

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Littorai Visit and Tasting Report

 
Littorai is a Sonoma based winery focused on the sustainable production of high end Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Founded in 1993 by Heidi and Ted Lemon, they seek out sites with outstanding potential then let those vineyards reveal their unique character in the wines they produce.
 
I visited Littorai a month or so ago and got a chance to see first hand what makes them special. When you talk about "off the beaten path" in Sonoma it has an entirely different meaning than in Napa. If you think a small mailbox with a family name is charming, try visiting Littorai. They take take it to the next level. Ask for a visit and you'll be greeted with directions and a gate access code for a property you'd never find on your own with no signage whatsoever.
Founder, owner, and head winemaker Ted Lemon can seem like the grown-up in the room when extolling the virtues of terroir driven wines, balance, and the potential for California Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. What resonated with me about his message is that he's not looking simply to emulate Burgundy in California. He's looking to embrace the unique characteristics and capabilities of each site and deliver wines that speak purely to that site.

 When I visited I met with assistant winemaker John Wilson who most recently worked with highly regarded Thomas Rivers Brown of Schrader/Outpost/Rivers Marie fame. He took me for a tour around the thirty acre site - only three of which is dedicated to vines in the form of The Pivot vineyard. The site is also home to Littorai's winery which is built with hay bale walls and features gravity flow wine movement.

 

 
We tasted through the Littorai Chardonnays first. Ted Lemon has a great line in the video embedded below along the lines of "Chardonnay's first duty is to make you forget red wine." These white wines were brilliant and delicious and made me think I should drink more white wine - especially Chardonnay of this style. They're flavorful and powerful yet elegant and light. Really pretty.

 The Pinot Noirs showed fabulously as well, each with different characteristics that rang true to the Littorai focus of letting sites speak for themselves. All of the Littorai single vineyard Pinot Noirs are made exactly the same way. The only difference is the site.

 My only complaint with the tasting experience is that it was a little chilly so it was hard to differentiate the Pinots as much as I'd have liked to. The room felt south of 55F and I like to taste Pinot in the low to mid 60Fs.

 
When I got home I had a chance to sit down and spend some quality time with a 2010 Littorai Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir. It was a beauty. Here are my thoughts on that wine:

 

2010 Littorai Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir
13.3% alcohol
$38

 Aromatically expressive immediately upon opening with rounded edges of strawberry and raspberry fruit, spice box, and tea notes. Elegant on the palate with a touch of acidity and tannic grip, it's a pleasure to drink.

 Serious, but not overly so. This wine succeeds in finding the intersection between being terroir-driven and letting the site speak for itself and revealing the California sunshine. A tremendous introduction to the producer.

 93/100 WWP: Outstanding

 Lemon was named winemaker of the year in 2010 by The San Francisco Chronicle. Check out this excellent piece by Jon Bonne.

 Check out this outstanding video with wine director Raj Parr of Sandhi Wines and Ted Lemon from Littorai:

  
(try if the video doesn't embed sucessfully)

 Littorai's wines can be hard to track down. You can do a wine-searcher.com search for retailers in MA that sell the wine but you won't currently find any. But check out The Urban Grape in Chestnut Hill if you're in the area. They've got a bunch of 'em. Case club?

 You can sign up for their mailing list by visiting their website: http://littorai.com

Question of the Day: Have you visited Littorai or tasted their wines? If so, what did you think? Either way, what are some of your favorite terroir-driven California producers?

 


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WellesleyWinePress/~3/MJxhf7iNlg4/littorai-visit-and-tasting-report.html

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High- End Audio Speakers To Satisfy the Taste of the Earnest Music Fans

Are you a music lover? Want to possess speakers that will render the finest sounds of the world and will make you fell in love with it, then check out this expensive speakers that will cost you a whopping £237,000. The grand Exquisite designs the absolute conclusion of the high-end in audio, using reality as [...]

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August 3 ? 2012 ? Florida Jim Cowan?s 2012 Tasting Notes Archive

The 2012 archive is presented by date the notes were compiled and submitted. Prior year?s tasting notes may be found here. August 3, 2012 2004 Rhys, Pinot Noir Home Vineyard: 13.4% alcohol; extremely expansive aromatics, opened the bottle and you could smell it across the room; mostly dark fruit, somewhat sweet, touch of jalapeño, noticeable [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/gangofpour/uncZ/~3/nUQeMMr7YtY/jim-cowan%e2%80%99s-2012-tasting-notes

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$10 off $50 at Wine.com

Wine.com is offering $10 OFF $50+ orders with code TENOFF50 through 7/28

This is probably not of interest for most, give that their shipping costs are high and many of their wines are priced with plenty of margin.

But for Steward Ship members this might be a nice time to order. For example in Massachusetts you could get a bottle of 2008 Cakebread Cabernet for a nationwide low price of $54.99. Or a couple bottles of 2008 Passopisciaro for $28.99/btl - again nationwide lows when comparing on Wine-Searcher.com.

So what do you think: See any good wines at good prices at Wine.com right now?


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