Six delicious French wines to try

Oui Oui! French wine is delicious!! J'adore vin français (I love French wine!!)

I always thought I didn't like French wine. I had a few bad experiences with wine that tasted really horsey. Literally, it tasted like a stinky horse in the barn. So I shied away from French wine.

I'm happy to report that I was wrong!!!

The funny thing is, I don't think I'm the only person that is a bit shy about French wine.

I attended a French wine tasting at BevMo! last Thursday. Our guests at these tastings usually head straight for the bar and immediately start tasting. The atmosphere is always lively with guests sipping wine and friends chatting.

This night was different. Everyone walked into the tasting room and went straight for the cheese without filling their glass with wine. And no one was talking. It was weird.

I think they were intimidated by the labels. It couldn't have been our host. Emmanuel was delightful. He was friendly and charming with a twinkle in his eye. And come on, the French accent was divine!  Oooh la la!!

I didn't even need to say anything to him about our guests behavior. He grabbed the first bottle, walked out from behind the bar and started pouring the first wine, a Louis Michel & Fils Chablis. The guests loved him, and the wine. He charmed them all.

$29.99 Regular/$24.99 ClubBev!

That's all it took to loosen up the crowd.  Before you knew it people were busy tasting wine and buying it like crazy to fill their cellars. Talk about a 180!

My favorite was the Chablis - it was crisp and light with hints of peach like a Sauvignon Blanc, which as you know is my favorite wine. I would drink it every day if it was 12 bucks and not $24.99!

In fact, most of the wines were kind of expensive. So maybe it wasn't French wine I didn't like. It was CHEAP French wine I didn't like. I'm not too fond of cheap California wine either! Or cheap anything for that matter.

Give a bottle or two a try sometime and let me know what you think. Some of these wines are served at top restaurants like the French Laundry!

88 PTS WILFRED WONG. This wine makes a statement, the '10 Domaine J.M. Boillot Puligny-Montrachet offers ripe apple density, with a push of sweet oak; long and layered on the palate; bright finish.  $64.99 Reg/$59.99 ClubBev!

90 WINE SPECTATOR. The '10 Coudoulet de Beaucastel Blanc is ripe and creamy up front; butter-framed melon, creamed peach and pear notes; stony edge on the fresh finish; blossoms in the glass.  $45.99 Regular/$41.99 ClubBev!

The price point on this one had everyone giddy. Of course it wasn't my favorite. 88 PTS WILFRED WONG. Richer and more forceful than other from the same appellation, the '09 Perrin & Fils Cotes du Rhone shows substantial power and richness; red fruit and leather in the finish.  $10.99 Regular/$9.99 ClubBev!

89 PTS WILFRED WONG. Pure and honest, the red-fruited '08 Perrin Gigondas exhibits red fruit and mineral in the aromas; lively and energetic on the palate; bright finish. $32.99 Regular/$28.99 ClubBev!

My favorite Red - - 96 PTS WINE SPECTATOR. The '09 Beaucastel Chateauneuf-du-Pape is packed with dark cocoa, mesquite, tobacco and roasted fig; pure cassis and plum fruit flavors; long finish with vanilla bean notes. $99.99 Regular/$89.99 ClubBev!

I asked Emmanuel what his favorite wine is. He's currently drinking the '89 Ch. de Beaucastel Chateauneuf-du-Pape. We tasted the '09. His favorite is 20 years older. ha. Maybe I should buy one of these and save it for a special occasion.

Now go forth with a glass of French wine, and talk like a Frenchman!

Note: all prices listed are BevMo! prices.

BIN 38 Restaurant and Wine Bar Review

Don's wine flight

We went to BIN 38 in San Francisco last Saturday. We took Elli with us, which probably wasn't the best decision, but we were eating early (5:45pm) and thought it would be fine.

We rarely go out anymore. But now that I'm working again (woo hoo!) we decided to treat ourselves to a day in the city. Don did a quick search of places in SF and found BIN 38. We love wine so it sounded great to us. It was listed as a $$ price point. Which is a little misleading unless you're very careful with what you order.

It turns out BIN 38 is quite the happening singles scene and it's more wine bar than restaurant.

They made an amazing plate of pappardelle noodles with an alfredo sauce for Elli. It was super tasty so she was happy. Don and I each had a different wine flight, w shared the olive tapenade appetizer, and each of us enjoyed a really yummy entree. He had scallops. I had chicken.

Burrata $14

Castelvetrano olive tapenade, garlic puree, charred bread

Diver Scallops $25

Parsnip gratin, sunchokes, leeks, american caviar, celery, hollandaise

Wine Pairing: Domaine des Baumard Sauvennieres

Mary’s Chicken Roulade $22

Ricotta gnocchi, cipollini onions, artichokes, king trumpet mushrooms, truffle jus 

Wine Pairing: Michele Chiarlo Barbera d’Asti

The food was delicious, although my chicken was a tad salty. The wine was good. But the service was really slow and uneven. They were so busy on Saturday when we got there they didn't have any clean wine glasses. It took about 15 minutes for us to get wine. That doesn't seem like a long time, but it felt like a really long time as we sat there looking at everyone in the dining room drinking wine!

Our entrees came really fast - which made us feel rushed. Don ordered another glass of wine just to send a message that we were there to enjoy ourselves.

I guess they had the last laugh though. The wine Don ordered, which was part of the flight he sampled, turned out to be 20 bucks a glass. It wasn't even a big pour.

Needless to say, our bill was quite a bit bigger than we anticipated.

Olive tapenade appetizer

Chicken with gnocchi, artichoke and mushrooms

Scallops

The couple sitting next to us had a mix-up with their order. She ordered scallops and he had the burger. They brought her a salad, which was wrong. They took the salad away. It took FOR-EVER for them to bring her scallops. Her poor date sat there staring at his burger get cold. They nibbled on all his fries while they waited for her entree. It was uncomfortable to watch. The server should have kept his burger warm.

I wasn't being nosy. The tables are tight in the dining room so it was impossible to miss what was going on at their table.

Overall, the place was fun - if you're young, single and have a lot of disposable income.

I don't think we'll go back anytime soon. Or ever. Unless someone else is buying.

BIN 38
3232 Scott Street
San Francisco, CA 94123
Reservations are strongly recommended. Kids are not.

Zinfandel from Dry Creek Valley

Remember when I wrote about the Zinfandel festival about a month ago? Well I've been meaning to circle back and tell you about some of my favorites, but I've been busy working and goofing around on Pinterest and haven't gotten to it.

It's a good thing I took pictures of everything I tasted or I would never have remembered. This is a good tip for everyone out there. If you're in a restaurant and love the wine just grab a quick picture. There are some great wine apps you can use to organize your favorites but I'm not that organized. It's just one more thing.

When I came home and told Don how much I loved what I tasted he didn't really respond. He's not a big fan of zin. So I went to the store and picked up two bottles of the Dry Creek Vineyard Heritage Zinfandel.

"You have to try this. You're going to love it." I told him.

I poured him a big glass.

He swirled it. Sniffed it. Tasted it.

Silence.

I'm staring at him.

"Do you like it?" I ask.

"It doesn't take like Zin." he said. "It's good. I like it."

Duh, I told him it was awesome. Sheeesh. 

"I know, right? It's not totally jammy and heavy. It's awesome."

Seriously though, I knew he would like it because it's a blend of Zinfandel and Sirah. The two grapes are perfectly suited for each other. The Sirah give the Zinfandel grape a really nice spicy zip.

As I tasted my way around the festival I realized I really liked all the wines from Dry Creek. So my friend Rachel and I just stayed focused on trying those because she loved them too.

Here's a list of my favorites and pictures of all the labels. There were some from Lodi and Napa that I liked too. But pay close attention to those from Dry Creek Valley and Sonoma. Those were my favorites.

DRY CREEK VALLEY/SONOMA

• Dry Creek Vineyard, Heritage Zinfandel
• Main & Geary Zinfandel, 2010
• Seghesio
• CORTINA by Seghesio
• BELLA Maple Vineyards Zinfandel
• BELLA Lily Hill Estate Zinfandel
• Maurtison Zinfandel, 2010
• Cline Cellars, Ancient Vines Zinfandel, 2010
  
• Dry Creek, Late Harvest Zinfandel, Sonoma County, 2006
• Rockpile Ridge Vineyard 2010
• Kokomo Winemaker's Reserve, Timber Crest Vineyards 2009
• RIDGE Lytton Estate, 2009
• SALDO Zinfandel

LODI

• Zynthesis Zinfandel, 2010

NAPA VALLEY

• Peju, 2005
• Chateau Montelena, 2009 and 2007

EL DORADO

• Cedarville Vineyard

Main & Geary is a private label wine only sold at BevMo!

This one too. Although the Zynthesis is from Lodi.

Peju - Napa Valley

Dry Creek Zinfandel

SALDO - made by Orin Swift

If you're out and about in a wine shop, or in a restaurant, give one of these a try and let me know what you think! I may start a "I LOVE DRY CREEK VALLEY" club. You could be my first member.

Easy Chicken Curry with Vegetables

Life has been a little crazy here the past few weeks.

I'm used to being busy. But now I'm uber busy. Amazingly, we've been eating better than usual because I've had to shop and plan ahead. If I didn't do this we'd probably be eating cereal for dinner. Not really, I'm not a huge cereal fan. We'd probably be eating cheese and crackers. That's more my style.

I haven't quite figured out timing yet. We seem to be eating dinner at 8pm every night, which is a little late for poor little Elli. But I'll get that figured out. No one is complaining. Yet.

Trader Joe's has been my savior. They have amazing pre-made sauces which can be added to meat and vegetables for a tasty dinner. We like making it with chicken. But I'm sure it would taste good with other proteins.

I'm stocking the pantry with all their sauces so I can quickly pull together a meal. When I say quickly I mean get it on the table in under an hour. I have no idea how Rachel Ray does those 30 minute meals. I have yet to get one of those meals prepped, cooked and on the table in 30 minutes.

I don't really have a recipe for you. I'll just tell you what I do. You can adjust it to your liking. Oh, one more thing. The sauce is a tad spicy, and so is the Bangkok Blend.

Chicken Curry with Vegetables
Serves four  

What you'll need:
1. Thai Curry Red Sauce @ Trader Joe's
2. Bangkok Blend spice and/or Curry
3. Four Chicken Breasts cut up into bite sized chunks, season with Bangkok spice
4. 1/2 Bag of Shredded Carrots
5. 1/2 Bag of Fresh Green Beans, cut into one inch bites
6. 2 Shallots diced
7. Olive oil
8. 1 1/2 cups uncooked Rice - white or brown

Cut the chicken breasts into bite sized chunks season with Bangkok blend spice and set aside. Don't make the chunks too small. Start the rice.

Lightly oil a large saute pan. You'll need this to stir fry the veggies, saute the chicken and simmer the sauce in.

Stir fry the veggies in a little EVOO until just al dente. Remove veggies and set aside on a plate. Add a little more EVOO to the pan and saute chicken until browned on all sides. Don't worry if it's not cooked through, it will simmer with the veggies and sauce.

Add veggies and sauce to the pan and simmer covered for about 10 minutes until chicken is cooked through. It's okay to add a little water to the sauce so it doesn't reduce too much. And that's it!

Serve over rice.

Want to know what to pair with your curry dish? How about Champagne? Read this!

Okay, it's not really that practical for a Tuesday night. So I recommend a Zinfandel, Merlot, Viognier, Rose or Sparkling Shiraz as suggested by Kimberley with the Sydney Morning Herald.

Kimberley's picks:

Viognier: Low in acidity. Has the body to stand up to strong flavours but works better with a mildly-spiced curry, like a korma.

Zinfandel: Juicy and packed with fruit, with a little bit of spice of its own. A powerful wine is particularly useful with a vinegary curry, such as a vindaloo.

Merlot: They're soft and fruity without too many tannins which would interfere with the chillies and spices in an Indian meal.

A rosé would also be a hit for the same reasons - the tannins are light enough but they give a fruity mouthful with low acidity.

Her ultimate curry wine is a sparkling Shiraz - it has the sweetness to stand up to the spices and virtually no acids. The sparkle cuts through richer curry sauces; it almost 'resets' the palate between mouthfuls.

Full article here.

What do you think? Are you ready to make some chicken curry?

BevMo Spring 5c Wine Sale is ON!

YAY! This is my kind of wine sale. Seriously, who doesn't like a bottle of 90+ wine for a nickle?

{silence}

That's what I thought.

Here are some picks from my friends at BevMo! 

California and Arizona have slightly different wines in the sale so I have two lists so everyone will be happy. Well almost everyone. BevMo! can't ship to NY and various other states so they're not happy. Neither are people in Japan. Can't ship to them either - darn shipping laws. 

CA and AZ peeps? You are golden.

CA

REDS

Gen 5 Cabernet Sauvignon – 92 PTS Wilfred Wong

Buccaneer Cabernet Sauvignon – 93 PTS Wilfred Wong

Kuleto Cabernet Sauvignon – 89 PTS Wine Enthusiast

Zolo Gaucho Select Malbec – 92 PTS Wilfred Wong

Main and Geary Petite Sirah – 92 PTS Wilfred Wong

Schug Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir  89 PTS Wilfred Wong

WHITES

Coppola Director’s Carneros Chardonnay – 90 PTS Wilfred Wong

Sonoma Hills Russian River Chardonnay – 93 PTS Wilfred Wong

Dahlia Chardonnay - 90 PTS Wilfred Wong

Arca Maggiore Pinot Grigio – 90 PTS Wilfred Wong

Frog Haven Sauvignon Blanc – 90 PTS Wilfred Wong

Campo Viejo Brut – 88 Wilfred Wong

AZ

REDS

Montgras Cabernet Franc- 92 PTS Wilfred Wong

Zolo Gaucho Select Malbec – 92 PTS Wilfred Wong

Gen 5 Cabernet Sauvignon – 92 PTS Wilfred Wong

Ranch 32 Cabernet Sauvignon

Haywood Zinfandel – 91 PTS Wine & Spirits

Buccaneer Cabernet Sauvignon – 93 PTS Wilfred Wong

WHITES

Dahlia Chardonnay – 90 PTS Wilfred Wong

Fratelli Pinot Grigio – 88 PTS Wilfred Wong

Vigilance Sauvignon Blanc 91 PTS Wilfred Wong

Coppola Pavilion Chardonnay – 89 PTS Wilfred Wong

Tapiz Chardonnay – 91 PTS Wilfred Wong

Cupcake Brut Rose – 88 PTS Wilfred Wong

The best thing to do is fill up two cases. Because for every bottle you buy, you get the second bottle for 5¢. So that means the second case is just 60¢!  Ka-ching!

And then invite me over so we can drink wine together.

Sounds fun, right?

Zinfest 2012

Wow. What a fun event.

Last night was Epicuria night. Which basically means each wine was paired with food. There were amazing chefs preparing fancy little bites everywhere you looked.

I went with my friend Rachel Vorhees, another food and wine blogger. We were so excited to be there we could barely get our wristbands on as they handed them to us.

Then of course we had trouble juggling the plate, wine glass, iphone, purse, coat, and big camera. So we talked our new friend Bill Smart, from Dry Creek Vineyard, into letting us stash some of our stuff under his table. He really saved the day. I ditched the big camera and just stuck with the iphone.

We ran into a lot of wine friends we've met at events, and on Twitter. It was a really great time.

And the wine. Yum-my. There was so much good wine being poured. I did have three HUGE favorites of the evening.

Dry Creek Vineyard '09 Somers Ranch, Dry Creek Valley and '08 Old Vine, Dry Creek Valley

Grgich Hills Estate '08 Zinfandel, Napa Valley

J. Rickards Winery '08 Old Vine Zin, Brignoli Vineyard, Alexander Valley  

Favorite food of the evening goes to: 

Ruth's Chris Steak House - Lamb lollipops with Zinfandel demi-glace

Componere Fine Catering - Crispy pork cheek, smoked potatoes, spicy pickeled fennel

Johnny Garlic's - Seared Ahi on a wonton topped with mango-jicama salsa, eel sauce, wasabi cream

Fairmont Hotel on Nob Hill - House honey roasted winter squash bruschetta

Rose's Cafe - Whipped gorgonzola crostini with a spiced honey gastrique

Wayfare Tavern - Braised lamb shoulder, black pepper spaetzle, burnt orange, white anchovy salsa

Favorite desserts:

Koller Chocolates - Zinfandel chocolate truffles

Sonoma Cake Creations - Mini cupcakes, brownies and cheesecakes with Zinfandel sauces

Chef Tyler Stone - Zinfandel Ice Cream

We're both going back Saturday for the Grand Tasting. I can hardly wait for that! No food pairings, but lots of good Zinfandel. And BevMo! will be there pouring Zynthesis, one of their Vineyard Partner brands. Go BevMo!

One more thing before I wrap this up. I know Zinfandel gets a bad wrap from people sometimes. I just want you to know I did not try one overly jammy zin last night! They were fruity, and spicy and really so delicious. Rachel and I were both quite impressed with what we tasted.

So, go out and drink some zin. Or better yet, go to the big grand tasting in San Francisco on Saturday!

Here are some pics from our fun evening.

Rachel and Bill Smart, Dry Creek Vineyard

Sonoma Cake Creations - Mini cupcakes, brownies and cheesecakes with Zinfandel sauces

Tristan and Mark from Hahn, Cycles Gladiator and Boneshaker

Rose's Cafe - Whipped gorgonzola crostini with a spiced honey gastrique

The Chefs from Rose's Cafe

Keller Chocolates - Zinfandel chocolate truffles

Fairmont Hotel on Nob Hill - House honey roasted winter squash bruschetta

Johnny Garlic's - Seared Ahi on a wonton topped with mango-jicama salsa, eel sauce, wasabi cream

Componere Fine Catering - Crispy pork cheek, smoked potatoes, spicy pickeled fennel

Rachel and Thea, "The Wine Brat"

ZINFANDEL FESTIVAL - Schedule of events
FRIDAY - Winemakers Dinner
SATURDAY - Grand Tasting

Maybe I'll see you there on Saturday!