the Crush Pad

Review of Another Super Sexy Merlot

This week while drinking through a great assortment of Super Sexy Merlots, my husband and I stumbled across this one…Pine Ridge’s 2003 Crimson Creek Merlot. With a cellar chucked full of Pine Ridge’s wines from my days of working with the winery, I rarely look towards some of the older vintages in my cellar, thinking that I should hold onto some of the more rare bottles I have.  Though the Crimson Creek is not a rare bottle, this vintage of 2003 is not something that I had a lot of with this particular wine.

Speaking truthfully, 2003 was not my favorite vintage for many wineries in the U.S.  With the hotter temps of the vintage came hedonistic, fruit driven, over-ripe wines.  And really, I remember tasting the 2003 Crimson Creek then – I hated it.  I remember now being very hard on the wine calling it ~over-blown, saturated and sticky.  But now…my tune has changed.

This settled down version, only seven years later, is one with complexity, dirt, tobacco, supple yet dry fruit and also rich with cocoa, dried herbs and velvety tannins.
My husband has been craving Merlot recently, but has also asked for something to really blow him away.  After having it over the weekend, he can’t stop talking about it.
Of course, the vintage is no longer available but at the time when it was, the cost was about $30-$35.  And in my opinion, unbelievably worth every single cent.  If I would have known it was going to turn into this, I would have bought a palate!
Just goes to show you, never judge a book by its cover, in other words…take another drink maybe a couple of years later – especially with some of these beastly hot vintages. In my case, I was more pleasantly surprised with a mouth-full of delicious dirt rather than all that over-ripe fruit that I tasted from it a few years back.
Cheers and here’s to Ms. Stacy Clark, Pine Ridge’s former Winemaker of over 25 years, for making such a delicious Merlot!

Merlot, poor baby Merlot – tossed aside and what we thought…would be left for dead…after one silly line from a movie “I’m not drinking any f- Merlot!”  Well, she’s comin’ back and in a SUPER SEXY WAY!

Last Monday night, March 1st, I taught a fun class called:  The Queen of Grapes ~ Merlot @ my favorite MSP Cooking School Cooks of Crocus Hill.  With a menu that was sure to knock your sox off and a shmattering of vino that was more than DELISH, the pairings were hard to beat.

While, of course, we think of Merlot’s home land as being Bordeaux, Monday’s class journey took us around the world!  From a fresh, vibrant Merlot from Banrock Station (Australia) to the BIG, BOLD and Tannic Saint-Émilion (famous for growing Merlot in Bordeaux) the wines were so fun to taste all side by side.  Some notes on a couple went from a palate of bursting fruit, saturated dirt, funky forest floor to gorgeous crushed red velvet.  Merlot, being one of those grapes that makes itself around the globe pretty good, is hard to showcase in just 6 pours.  Knowing that every corner of the world from New Zealand, South Africa and Oregon could have been part of our drinking journey – I chose Merlots from Australia, Washington, Italy, France, Napa and Sonoma, CA.

Here are some of our favorites from class~

A Rock ‘em Sock ‘em kind of Mind Blowin’ OMG Merlot – 2003 Livio Felluga Merlot of Friuli, Italy.    “Founder Livio Felluga is a 5th generation winemaker credited with innovating and mastering modern winemaking in Italy. He is known for creating exceptionally lush, crisp and well-balanced wines that are recognized as the finest in their categories. Livio Felluga has been called one of the 7 stars in the last 100 years of Italian winemaking.”

This wine was paired to Chef Mike Shannon’s Mushroom, Parmesan, and Walnut Pasta.  Creamy, earthy, toasty and down right delicious – the wine was an amazing pairing savoring the mushroom, enriching the walnuts of the dish to preserving the creaminess of the pasta and its sauce.  Even though this Merlot hits a high ceiling with pricepoint approx $40, it’s almost impossible to find in the Twin Cities.  This class may have enjoyed the last few bottles of its vintage left in the Twin Cities!

The other fav of the nite…the 2005 Swanson Merlot from Oakville, CA.  Paired to a Mixed Berry Bread Pudding ~ I don’t think I couldn’t have imagined a better way to end our class.  With the lushy notes of the fresh fruit, to the stewed berry notes of the wine – the two may have just become a part of my TOP TEN PAIRINGS!  The toasted notes of the bread pudding, snuggled into baby ramekins, and the softness of its filling were mouth-watering but only second to the supple, rich components of the wine.  When the two hit – I think I saw fireworks!  Again, the Swanson, a hefty price to pay for an every day wine – but for a Friday nite date nite or a special occasion, this is well worth the buck.  Plus, they are a winery that I think deserves to be thanked for still making gorgeous California Merlot.  Thank you Swanson!

Again – if you haven’t made these PERFECT PAIRING classes with Mike and Leslee, you’re missing out!  They are so much fun and just loaded with great culinary and wine info – not to mention, are always…GOOD EATS!

Family Meschini Talks Malbec, Mendoza and their LOVE for their family-owned Argentine Winery.

In a country like the U.S.,  already chucked full of Minnesota based or born Winemakers, we’re still finding MORE!

Minneapolis couple talks Malbec, Mendoza, and their LOVE for the wines that they produce from their Argentinian Winery. Meschini Winery, family owned and operated, owners Teresa and Eugenio give you detail, pricepoint and show you truly why they LOVE their Argentine Malbec!   All…For the Love of Malbec.   In HD

Last week at a popular series of Twin Cities Wine Classes that myself and pal, Anissa Gurstel of Pairings Wine Market, teach at one of Minneapolis’s newest hot wine retail spots – Pairings Food & Wine Market, named GIRLS GONE WINE – a brand new wine and a brand new winery from Croatia was unveiled.  The GIRLS GONE WINE Series is a pretty fun way to spend a couple of hours on a Tuesday nite in the dead of winter when you have two enthusiastic chicas like Leslee + Anissa, to drink wine with.  Why?  Because who needs pretentious, snotty, “I only drink very expensive wines” kind of peeps, when you have two fun gals loaded with passion, experience, and laughs?!   My take:  Drink What Tastes Good to You, Learn a Little Along the Way, and always…Try New Things!

The theme for this month’s setting:  Red, White and Drunk All Over.  Anissa’s take…wine drunk from all over the globe and Leslee’s…a red, a white and possibly a wine with a little “drunk” (more alcohol)!?#   Go figure?

The tasting started out with two very interesting white wines:  Insolia from Sicily (a fresh, fun, zippy, sort of lemon rind scented white grape) and a brand new white wine from Croatia.  The grape: POSIP (pronounced  “POSHIP”).  The Posip, when first opened was perfumey like a Viognier, rich and sort of oily.  After letting it sit for a few minutes, turned full and round like an ‘unoaked’ Chardonnay.  So fabulous!!  And, both…made me crave raw oysters…  Aha! Moment:  What Grows Together Goes Together!

The others in the line-up were: the MAN Cabernet from South Africa  $7.99!(see my blog post: More Wines for Under $10 – for this review), the Guardian Peak Cab, Merlot, Shiraz, another South African for $12.99! (see my blog post: The Best of Twin Cities Food and Wine Pairings Class Strikes Again!  – for my review) and a FAT, DRUNK, Syrupy, Port-like Zinfandel from Californian Winery, Rombauer – $30 (great with chocolate cake). 

But my favorite for the nite, The Croatian Winery, Korta Katarina, Posip.  So unexpected and layered with seashell nuances, fresh floral scents, yet upfront with some fullness that kept changing and unveiling.  And, on the shelf for $22.  A great value for everything that you get from this wine.

Here’s the amazing part… PAIRINGS WINE MARKET of Minnetonka, MN is the very first to carry it on a retail level in ALL of the U.S.!  Seriously, who says that Minneapolis is not on the cutting edge?  This is the first placement of this wine in the entire country.  The winery: Korta Katarina, a MN family owned establishment, is boutiquey, unique and produces wines well worth every penny you pay for them.  The Red Wine produced from the winery is their Plavac Mali (the name of the grape) – on the shelf for $37.99 and again, so worth the dollar! 

See my YOUTUBE Video for a complete review on the Korta Katarina Plavac Mali and some others in its region~
Minneapolis Sommelier Reviews Croatia’s Top Wines

Minneapolis Sommelier Reviews Croatia’s Top Wines

In the dead of the winter, when spring seems still like months and months away, all Minnesotans need to enjoy the little things in life to keep them going.  For me, it’s good food and good wine.  Last nite, I enjoyed just that.  With a Saturday nite off, a very rare experience for me, my husband and I stepped out on the town for a little small plate enjoyin’, wine sippin’ evening.  Because we are small plate kind of peeps and do enjoy a fun atmosphere, I recommended 112 Eatery in Minneapolis.  Located in a dark little section of the hopping downtown scene, 112 Eatery is just the place for small bites and good sips. 

The menu, which is loaded with fun ‘want to try’ kind of bites.  From cold cuts, fois gras salad, sauteed sweetbreads to full entrees like buttermilk fried chicken and a 1# lobster plate.  While everything look delicious along with the wine list which varied from a fun lite easy drinkin’ white like Picpoul (which I had, yum!), the always good  Pine Ridge Chenin/Viognier (my husband had) to a gooey Malbec and into a couple of Pinot Noirs and Cabernets – the decisions on what to eat and drink were difficult. 

Here’s what we had…The duck & radicchio salad, which was absolutely fabulous with it’s crunch and little bits of duck layered in between the bits of vegetables.  I oohhed and awwed with every single bite.  My husband had the romaine leaves with Roquefort, which had a great element of heavy earthiness to it (I’m guessing from the style of Roquefort).  As we moved on, we had the cauliflower fitters (delish!), stringozzi with lamb sugo (so wonderful), and the Chinese fried eggs. 

Chinese fried eggs? you say…one of the best things I have had in forever.  Sometimes, I’m a bit harsh on the Twin Cities Food Scene, picking on dishes that I saw on either coast 10 yrs ago. But this morning I say – tired of the food scene in Msp?, take your butt to the 112.  OMG, the eggs – which were just the way I love them – sunny side up with fried crispy edges.  Here’s the secret, they were bathed in an oyster sauce with freshly sliced jalapenos and scallions!  Un-freekin-believable.  I am telling you, you have to have them. 

The wine…because we were having an array of foods for the nite and well, so many flavors – I choose what sounded good to us – the Pierre Amadieu Vacqueras.  Vacqueras, a southern Rhone (France) appellation is such a great region to pick up – what I call – a Cotes du Rhone on steroids.  The red wines are, by appellation limit, at least 50% Grenache while the other half usually consisting of Syrah and Mourvedre.  The juice is dark, meaty and sometimes very tannic – this one last nite, full with minerals (awesome with the duck salad!) and lush with crushed velvety marionberries, raspberries, currants and over ripe plums.  Very very good and for only $43 on the list!

Did you think that I was leave you without telling you about the two amazing desserts we had??  Tres Leches Cake, come on…so wonderful soaked in a heap of heavy cream, rich, and seductive.  And my favorite, the Nancy Silverton’s Butterscotch Budino.  Nancy Silverton, who I just saw in Aspen this past summer @ the Aspen Food + Wine Classic, is business partners with Mario Batali and a crazy gourmet foodie.  And this, her recipe, taken on by 112 – is just a little pot of heaven.  A creamy, silky, gorgeous pot of butterscotch.  So good I think I licked the end of the pot!  Even though this little pot of gold stole the show, it was the last pairing we put together that made it even more heavenly.  Paired with a Sangiovese based Vin Santo.  Vin Santo, an Italian dessert wine made from grapes that are vinified after leaving them to dry to concentration on straw mats.  Seriously?  The wine with the butterscotch, was just about the best darn thing I’ve had in a restaurant on the Minneapolis/St Paul food scene.  The sweetness levels balanced themselves out, leaving nothing but little glittering stars in your mouth and one big swelling belly!

If you haven’t been to this hot little spot 112 Eatery, you must go.  And here’s the fun part…the chef:  Isaac Becker, was just nominated for the James Beard Award for his food. 

My vote’s in, Sir Isaac!

With a slew of fabulous recipes and 7 (yes, 7!) different wines to pair, last nite’s food and wine pairing class:  Que Syrah, Sirah, Shiraz!  was a hit.  While I teach across the Twin Cities with an array of unbelievably talented chefs, some of my favorite and also most popular classes are taught at  COOKS OF CROCUS HILL  with Culinary Director, Chef Mike Shannon.  Sharing the same love for food and wine, along with the same philosophies on the trade - MIKE AND LESLEE’S classes are a sold out success month after month across the Twin Cites.  The topics of our classes range from every grape on the planet, to specific themes and/or regions (IE: BBQ, BORDEAUX and MO’).  Last nite, however, was one of my favorite grape topics: Syrah.  As the grape takes on a zillion different personalities from region to region, participants found that it was certainly clear that Syrah/Shiraz does have several common traits: smoke, dirt, blackberry spice and YUM! 

The reason for my rants this morning do however, pertain to one recipe and wine pairing that I woke up thinking about…okay, two.

One: Gouda Bacon Leek Pancake (yes, I can finally have BACON inside my pancakes!) – paired with the Michel Picard Cotes du Rhone.  The pancake, which was loaded with bacon, leeks and hints of Dijon and Gouda was an immaculate pairing with the Cotes du Rhone, an earthy blend of Grenache and Syrah.  The wine lightly hinted to the subtle spice in the Syrah, which made instant friends with the bacon.  The herbal ingredients and the crispy edges of the pancake were out of this world and with the wine, heaven!   The crunch, spice, earthy fruit and the creamy bits of Gouda, made us all see stars. 

If interested in the GOUDA BACON LEEK PANCAKE recipe email me @ leslee@amuseewine.com

The second perfect pairing… Zesty Southern Pork Ribs paired with the South African, Guardian Peak – Frontier Red (a feisty blend of Shiraz, Cab and Merlot).  The ribs were hot, hot, hot and the wine, a perfect, juicy, textured, rich accoutrement to the fire and spice!  I’m telling you, the spice was distinct and very much in your face, but the wine – came in and cleaned up the spice, acting as nature’s little fire extinguisher to the burn (Important, because choosing the wrong wine can actually accentuate the burn!)  The Guardian Peak is a killer wine with meat, game, lush raspberries and spice.  On its own is exciting enough for $12.99 on the shelf, but to have with Mikey’s ribs- yowzaaaa!  I’m telling ya, let a southern boy cook ribs and a wino pick the juice – BAM!  I think we’re ready for a THROWDOWN!!

If interested in the ZESTY SOUTHERN PORK RIBS recipe email me @ leslee@amuseewine.com

The recipes are simple, easy to buy for and a perfect meal for any dinner occasion! 

By the way…both wines are available @ Pairings Wine Market in Minnetonka, MN located on the corner of 169 + Shady Oak Road.  The Michel Picard runs roughly $15 and the Guardian Peak approx $13, both are a steal for a Saturday afternoon wine buying trip!

Wine Homework:  2008 Orin Swift ‘The Prisoner’

The wine:  46% Zinfandel,  26% Cabernet Sauvignon,  15% Syrah,  10% Petite Sirah,  2% Charbono,  1% Grenache

Region:  Napa, CA

How I came to drink it:     Everyone, I mean EVERYONE  kept saying, ‘Have you had it?’, ‘It’s the best wine ever!’, ‘Leslee you HAVE to have it!’ – and so, I did. 

When a wine comes so highly recommended (IE: see earlier blog entry with the green MR YUK face), you just can’t help to run out and get it.  But, when I RAN to the shelf to get it, bummer…it was $40.  Ouch, a steep price to pay for wine homework tonite.  Seriously. 

My Tasting Notes:  (Taken right from my book after drinking it in a dark corner of a local restaurant) – Smells of burnt cherry wood, and candied like the chocolates you get for Christmas with the cherries and fake cordial cream centers.  Tastes like dripping black cherries, but it’s over the top.  Creamy blackberries, spice and could remind of you of wandering through a fat brior bush as a kid, but wait…the overwhelming caramel takes over this lovely fruit and kills my drifting childhood memory smells.  All I taste is the burnt, heavy charring, dripping caramel over these lovely boisenberries and blackberries – OAK.  In the nose it becomes more and more apparent.  Hot on the alcohol and abrasively thick now like cough syrup.  Hmmm, not my style. 

My words:  I paid $40 for this?!  Bummer.  If I wanted Chateau 2X4, I would have asked for an over powered Chardonnay.  I’m just not an ‘oak’ person.  It ruins the fruit for me.  My only advice for drinking this, is putting something up food wise that will make friends with the wood.  A heavily charred ribeye perhaps.  Something with grill marks and make ‘em deep!  Maybe an sweet onion glaze to go with your steak, now that sounds pretty good with this wine.  See?  Weight for weight, you can always find something to fill in those spots that you’re not fond of, drinking it alone.  It needs a pal, food.

At the end of the day – I’d recommend, the Marietta Old Vine Red – found on the shelf for: $11 and this one comes without the oak. Same style fruit (juicy, fat sassy Zinfandel-y), still grown in CA (Sonoma) and really, really lovely for this style of wine.  $11 versus $40 – buck for buck??

WITHOUT the WOOD!