Neat Thoughts About Food, Wine, Travel & More
Seghesio Zinfandel
Bright berry flavors reminded me of Grandma’s juicy raspberry pie. The word ‘succulent’ might have never applied to a wine better than this one. This Zin feels thick and sorts of coats your mouth in a most appreciated way. Tasted peppery and clove nuances. Amazingly well-balanced with solid tannins. A big, bold Zinfandel that delivers.
92-Point Wine Spectator
About $30.
Our party of four was greeted warmly upon arriving at this cozy, upscale restaurant and was seated at a table with great chairs. Yes, I’m mentioning chairs as I believe restaurants often omit splurging on this important décor item. The smallish space boasts a hip and wealthy crowd (can you say “Real Housewives of New Jersey”?). Since Café Panache is a BYOB, we’d brought four wines to enjoy.
The first wine we opened was a terrific Prosceco – La Marca Di Conegliano Valdobbiadene.
Tuna Tartare
The second wine we uncorked was a 2003 Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon. We drank it with our starters, which were outstanding: Tuna tartare with wilted seaweed on an avocado and wasabi puree, a wild mushroom and arugula salad with shaved parmesan and a pan-fried pulled pork cake. The tuna was served in a very generous portion and was a great contrast to the wilted seaweed. The intriguing pulled pork dish was simply great. Pulled pork was formed into a patty then breaded and pan-fried to create a crispy exterior. The huge parmesan shavings on the wild mushroom salad were delectable.
The third bottle we enjoyed was a 2004 The Dead Arm Shiraz and it was served with our entrees: A perfectly-seared loin of venison, braised short ribs with dark beer and black molasses, a stellar mustard seed-crusted and sautéed calves liver, and a special of the evening, a crispy John Dory on a bed of wonderfully al dente farro. Braising the short ribs in beer and molasses is a great way to prepare this popular dish – nice twist by Chef Kevin Kohler. The star of the evening was the sautéed calves liver. This dish was
Short Ribs
simply divine. Perfectly cooked to ensure its tenderness, and full of peppery flavor.
Our final wine was a 2003 La Chapelle de Calon and we drank it with our desserts: a cheese plate with solid options, a white chocolate mousse and a crème brulée. The mousse and the crème brulée were standard and okay.
I made a reservation well in advance for this popular restaurant and had very limited options, so plan ahead if you want to dine at Café Panache on a weekend night. The restaurant occupies what was formerly a Long John Silver’s, but you’d never guess it by the beautiful décor and warm atmosphere. If you haven’t dined at this restaurant, definitely put it on your radar for special occasions.
130 East Main Street
Ramsey, New Jersey
(201) 934-0030
Really enjoyed this wine. It’s a good example of a Saint-Estephe Bordeaux, especially for a second wine. Bold berry flavors and a super smooth finish that’s completely satisfying, particularly at about $25.
La Marca Prosecco
The pale yellow Prosecco is a great find and a smart buy at around $12.
The La Marca Di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco is light, crisp and offers a pleasant dry finish that’s citrusy and fresh.
This sparkling wine is affordable enough for any occasion, but could easily be featured at special events.
90 Points – Wine Spectator
Silver Oak Cabernet
This dark ruby wine is a big mouthful of ripe berries with woody herb nuances. It offers soft-ish, refined tannins but, if I must be critical, an understated finish. Somewhat pricey at around $80, but an overall very good wine.
2007 Cult Vines Cabernet Sauvignon
A while back I wrote about CultVines‘ Cabernet and Roussanne and they just sent me a very neat offer that I thought I’d pass on:
“Send some Holiday Cheer and receive Gary Vaynerchuck’s Book, “Crush It” for free!
Well folks, it’s that time of the year again, but this year we’ve got great news! After two long years in french oak, our 100% To Kalon Cabernet has been released and boy does it taste fantastic! We’ve already received rave reviews, such as this one. http://corkd.com/x1NBzS3 Cork’d | Wine Reviews for 2007 Cult Vines Cabernet Sauvignon (94 points)
Anyway, for the month of December, we’re celebrating by offering two promos. For every order of our white or red, we’ll throw in Gary’s new book “Crush It”. Its’ a great read and inspirational for anyone looking to have a great 2010. And, if you order at least 6 bottles, use coupon code promo30 and we’ll give you an additional 30% off our wine!”
I’m in!
I attended Wine Twits’ Spit & Twit event last week at City Winery in New York City. The launch event for this concept was very well-attended and featured over 100 wines from around the world. Steve and his team from Wine Twits really did a great job putting this event together. The concept is simple: 1) Taste a wine 2) Spit (or not) 3) Twitter about the findings. Large TV screens throughout the room display live feeds of the tweets as patrons send them. Neat, no?
I enjoyed some pretty great wines and met fabulous folks in the wine trade, and found the space at City Winery to be ideal for this type of event. Each winery, or wine distributor, featured his/her product at tables set up throughout the place and patrons made their way around the room savoring wines from around the globe. A sponsor of the event, Riedel, provided each guest with a fine piece of stemware upon arriving, and this made the tasting all the more enjoyable.
Some of the wines I particularly enjoyed were:
2008 Alder Springs Roussanne Westerly Vineyard
2007 Cabernet Sauvignon To Kalon Vineyards
2004 D’Arenberg The Dead Arm Shiraz
2007 Ravines Wine Cellars –Cabernet Franc
2007 Ravines Wine Cellars – Pinot Noir
2007 Benziger Signaterra Pinot Noir, Bella Luna Vineyards
I’m looking forward to seeing where Wine Twits will host its next event. Count me in on the concept of tasting then tweeting my findings.
Benziger Signaterra Pinot Noir
This wine personifies Russian River Pinot Noir. The 2007 Signaterra Pinot Noir shows a perfect marriage of fruit and spice, soft tannins and velvety mouthfeel.
Price: Around $50
I attended Wine Twits’ Spit & Twit event last week at City Winery in New York City. The launch event for this concept was very well-attended and featured over 100 wines from around the world.
While I enjoyed some pretty great wines and met fabulous folks in the wine trade, I especially enjoyed the two wines served by Cult Vines, whose motto is “is to provide the finest wine to discreet connoisseurs and collectors”.
2008 Alder Springs Roussanne Westerly Vineyard
2008 Cult Vines Roussanne
This golden honey colored Roussanne has a beautiful nose, huge mouthfeel, bright apple flavor. This wine is well-balanced but with higher alcohol content and would be outstanding with food. Could use some cellaring. Chardonnay drinkers, move over to this wine.
Price: Around $49
2007 Cabernet Sauvignon To Kalon Vineyards
2007 Cult Vines Cabernet Sauvignon
It was difficult to pull myself away from the lush fruit aroma in order to actually sip this wine, but I certainly wasn’t disappointed when I did. This Cabernet offers the darkest, opaque purple hue that’s easy to simply stare at for a while. This wine is full of ripe fruit, especially blackberry, and young, not at all unpleasant, tannins. Craved a rare porterhouse after the first sip.
Price: Around $125
2004 Dead Arm Shiraz
The 2004 The Dead Arm Shiraz was one of the top five wines I tasted at a recent event featuring over 100 wines. This fabulous full-bodied wine offers a beautiful dark purple color that’s impossible to resist. This Shiraz explodes in the mouth with bold blackberry, peppery spice flavors, and although still young it’s pleasantly tannic and complex.
Apparently, I’m not the only taster who enjoyed this Shiraz: “This deep, rich, full-bodied, tannic Shiraz should be drinkable in 2-3 years, and will last for two decades or more. It is the finest Dead Arm since the 2001.” Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate 95+ Points.
Price: Around $50.
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