red wine » Deep Red Cellar

Picnic On The Beach

Brunello, California, baguette, docg, food, proscuitto, recipes, red wine, tomatoes, wine 2 Responses »

Aug 182010

My husband and I recently celebrated our anniversary. It is amazing to reflect back on a life that started as a couple, grew into a family and now is in the thick of tag teaming raising a child. We’ve shared such a full, fun-packed ride. But this is not a Hallmark card so let’s move on….

I was looking through a MINI Cooper magazine my father gave me when I came across an article on picnics – what foods to take, what wine to drink, etc. It inspired me to buy a picnic basket and take my husband on a beach picnic to celebrate our many happy years together. I thought it might be a fun twist to the typical “get dressed up and go to a fancy restaurant” type celebration we usually do.

I searched the internet for the perfect picnic basket. It had to have wine glasses, real plates (plastic was out), silverware and have an overall cool look about it. I was surprised to see so many sites devoted just to picnic baskets but the options became narrower the more I looked. I ordered one but sent it back for poor quality (the challenges of internet shopping) but then I found a second one that was perfect!

Our date started by going to our wine cellar and selecting a special wine. We chose a 2004 Brunello di Montalcino from Il Palazzone. This is a winery I stumbled on too late in our Italian adventures to visit but sent our current landlords there on a recent Italian vacation. Laura Gray*, the estate manager, gave them the red carpet treatment and our landlords in turn brought this bottle of Brunello back for us! Il Palazzone is a very small winery producing only 8,000 bottles of wine a year. Although American owned Laura and her husband, Marco Sassetti, an indigenous Montalcinese live on and run the estate. After enjoying our bottle, I can assure you the wines Il Palazzone are exquisite and a perfect reflection of why Brunello di Montalcino is a prestigious DOCG wine worthy to be the center of any special occasion (see “Boots And Brunello In Montalcino”). Our Brunello was bold, balanced and complex with a beautiful bouquet of dark cherries and plums along with notes of leather. It was really quite decadent. We were surprised and sad to see the bottle empty so quickly.

Since my husband is into food almost as much as I am, we decided to include shopping for the picnic as part of the date. We went to Boney’s Bayside Market – a quaint market that has healthy and gourmet foods all perfectly wrapped up into one. We spread our blanket on beautiful Coronado Beach and enjoyed our picnic fare as we watched the fog roll in and the dolphins gracefully swim by. It was one of the best anniversary celebrations yet…and we even got to wear flip-flops!

I encourage you to pack your own picnic and spread out a blanket on the beach or a grassy knoll. In fact, I’ll give you our menu as a sample to spark your gourmand within. Don’t forget your wine opener. Now go out there and have fun!

Menu

2 Demi Baguette (perfect size for the basket)

Crackers

Black Peppered Crusted Brie

5 Year Aged Canadian Sharp Cheddar

English Cotswold

Thin Sliced Proscuitto, Coppa & Genova Salame

Pork & Chicken Liver Mousse With Black Truffles

Seafood Pate

Roasted & Marinated Red Tomatoes

Fresh Sliced Strawberries, Blackberries & Blueberries

Chewy Date Nut Bars

Pellegrino And A Great Bottle of Wine

*To make reservations to visit Il Palazzone in beautiful Montalcino, Italy contact Laura Gray at laura@ilpalazzone.com or Tel. (0039) 0577 846142 and tell her Julie from Deep Red Cellar sent you – I guarantee the red carpet will be rolled out for you too!

Even More Savings On Barrel Blend

California, Napa Valley, Specials, discount, red wine, winery No Responses »

Jul 132010

I forgot to mention in yesterday’s posting about the exclusive discount offer from Hill Family Estate the extra savings…

In addition to the 15% discount offered exclusively to Deep Red Cellar customers, you get a 10% discount for ordering a case of any wine with Hill Family Estate. That means a generous 25% discount on this great balanced red wine (mixed cases excluded).

Don’t wait….order your case today!

A Surfer’s Wine – Discounted for Deep Red Cellar Customers Only!!!

California, Napa Valley, Specials, discount, red wine, wine No Responses »

Jul 122010

I am re-posting the below write up on Napa Valley’s “Barrel Blend” wine because the good folks of Hill Family Estate have offered a DISCOUNT exclusively for Deep Red Cellar customers!

15% Discount on a case of Hill Family Estate “Barrel Blend” wine.

Go directly to www.hillfamilyestate.com and put BB15 in the “offer code” section during check out.

This is being offered exclusively for you, the customers of Deep Red Cellar.

I have some good news! I have found a really good wine that does not taste like it was made for every wine drinker on the planet. You may think that is NOT good news, but I say it is. After living in Italy for 3 years, I came home to America to find most of the “everyday drinking” wines tasting the same – all geared toward ease of drinking but lacking in complexity and finish. But alas, I have stumbled on a really great everyday wine that has some depth to it.

I was happy to see a new wine store in my town called Wine Styles. They carry many reasonably priced bottles of wine, have a monthly wine club and offer special events like tastings, pairings, etc. It was about day 3 of being in town that my husband and I walked into this store to purchase some wine (afterall, a hotel room with no wine is not really a hotel room at all). I was signing us up for the wine club, and my husband started talking with one of the employees. Turns out, the employee was professional surfer, Kyle Knox, who just happens to have a passion for wine. So much so, in fact, that he teamed up with Hill Family Estate to make his signature “Barrel Blend” wine (the pun is intended).

I bought a bottle to try and was very impressed. Gone was the overly fruit forward taste that had drained me of all hope in finding reasonably priced, reasonably complex California wine. This wine is really good. It is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Petit Verdot and Malbec. Sounds enticing doesn’t it – a great blending of varietals. This wine is all about balance. Hill Family Estate winemaker Alison Doran puts it best: ”The nose has a great ‘wow’ factor – unmistakably Napa in its elegance, but with an earthy blackberry and vanilla appeal that really makes you want to take a sip. And the palate is lovely, balanced, seductive and interesting, with plushy berry fruit and vanilla scented oak playing backup on tannins.”

Maybe it’s just me, but I also tasted plum. Whatever the case, this wine will be coming home with me often. I may not drink it literally everyday (retails for about $20 a bottle) but as often as I crave a balanced, interesting wine.

*tasting note source: http://business.transworld.net

Almost But Not Quite

pinot noir, red wine, wine 1 Response »

Jun 232010

My husband brought me a couple bottles of Pinot Noir back from a recent trip he took to Vancouver, British Columbia. And if you’re thinking it, you’re right…..he is a good man.

I have to say, I’ve not heard much hype about Pinot Noirs from Canada (or any for that matter) but was hopeful as I’ve tasted a few good wines from our northern friends and a spectacular Merlot not so long ago.

I opened the first of two bottles – a screw cap which I love. I think all wineries should switch to this method. Of course, that would eliminate any reason to pull out the snappy wine openers we love to use (my favorite is a “Laguiole” corkscrew made of olive wood). The wine, 2008 Road 13 Pinot Noir, and I couldn’t wait to try it. I was intrigued by the description on the bottle. It said “This light colored, light bodied wine has a silky texture and pleasing complexity…Pinot Noir, not Merlot under a Pinot Noir label.”

I definitely noticed the beautiful pale, red color but the aroma was unspectacular and the taste about the same. I did not taste any of the complexity the description referred to but that could be because it needed more time in the bottle. While looking for words to describe it, I came up empty - it was uninspiring, flat and unpleasing. The first time I drank it, I woke up with a headache – something that really doesn’t happen to me when I drink wine. I wrote it off as a coincidence but the second night, I poured a glass with dinner and woke up with yet another headache. I ended up tossing the rest of the bottle which is a rare event in my world.

I am not going to say the good folks of Road 13 do not make good wine. Maybe they do but this particular tasting has made me a little more skeptical about that second bottle of Canadian Pinot Noir sitting in my wine cellar.

Who Knew…A Shoe!

france, red wine, white wine, wine 2 Responses »

Jun 182010

Now here is an interesting way to open a bottle of wine (complements of YouTube – who else)!

I was just curious enough to try this myself. After studying the video I gave it a try but my bottle just wouldn’t open. I thought maybe for some peculiar reason it was because I was trying to open a white wine. So I went back to my wine stash and this time grabbed not only a red, but a French red thinking maybe the French bottle their wine specifically so it can be opened with a shoe. Maybe they often have reason to use their shoe instead of a simply adequate wine opener. After this attempt, I was left in the same place I was after attempting to open the white wine…only now I have two bottles of wine who have lost their foil and are waiting to be uncorked. If you succeed, please tell me your secret.

2007 Brodatious Crane Ranch Vineyard Napa Valley

California, Napa Valley, Specials, cabernet sauvignon, red wine, wine No Responses »

Jun 142010

Wow has this wine gotten great reviews from the Wine Access customers! Phrases like: ”…wonderful balance from the first fruit to the long finish.” “…the best cabernet I have ever tasted.” ”This made my dinner party a huge success.” ”…enjoyed by novices as well as experts.”

The Crane Ranch Vineyard Cabernet has had a great track record raising eyebrows and pleasing palates with the 2005 and 2006 vintages and now the best yet, 2007 vintage. The tasting notes make it highly enticing!

The price is almost as enticing as the wine. New release price: $40. Today, just $22.99/bottle on cases. Shipping included on 4 bottles or more.

Tasting Notes from the WineAccess Travel Log
2007 Crane Brothers Brodatious Crane Ranch Vineyard Napa Valley
“Dark purple color to the edge. Explosive, dark berry nose, packed with brambly purple and red fruit intensity. Rich, concentrated and remarkably suave on the palate, with nice broad shoulders bracketing a luscious kernel of cassis. Tannins are fine, ripe, but perfectly present. Drink now (hard not to), or age for up to 7 years. This should age beautifully.”

2007 Crane Ranch Brodatious for as little as $22.99 on cases with shipping included! You save 43%!

(just click the above link to purchase)

A Surfer’s Wine

California, Syrah, cabernet sauvignon, merlot, red wine 5 Responses »

May 182010

*tasting note source: http://business.transworld.net

Save Now On Prestigious Stag’s Leap Cabernet Sauvignon!

California, Specials, cabernet sauvignon, red wine 10 Responses »

May 112010

I don’t think I’ve ever given a wine special two days in a row but when this came across my path, I just couldn’t help myself from sharing!

2006 Anselmo Vigne Cabernet Sauvignon Veloce Napa Valley

Steve Simi took great care in planning for this great wine. He chose vineyards that sit on a 5-acre eastern hillside at the southern edge of Stags Leap and trimmed the yields to less than 3 tons per acre. The result is an elegant, deep purple cabernet sauvignon. Only 400 cases were produced from Steve’s pristine hillside so take advantage of this opportunity while it’s still available!

Interested in purchasing? Click here: WineAccess.com Deals of the Day!

Tasting Notes from the WineAccess Travel Log
2006 Anselmo Vigne Cabernet Sauvignon Veloce Napa Valley
“Deep purple color to the edge. Bright fresh, lush aromas of currants and violet. Rich on the attack, with fine fruit delineation. Excellent depth of flavor, slowly unfolding (even weightier on Day 2), melting into a finely honed finish. Tannins are present, but ripe, beautifully integrated, helping to balance out all the rich cassis fruit. Drink now for its Stags Leap hedonism or age for up to 7 years.”

Russian River Valley Pinot Noir

California, Specials, pinot noir, red wine No Responses »

May 102010

Here is a Pinot Noir that sounds divine. The fruit is purchased by the arce as opposed to the ton so the farming is highly customized. The wine has been described as a perfect mesh of California style and the highly coveted Vosne Romanee style in France – just no way to go wrong. In addition, the 2007 vintage is believed to have had the perfect growing season. This is a good aging wine; however, if drinking now, decant for an hour or two before consumption.

Interested in purchasing? Click here: 2007 Pinot Noir Dutton Ranch Russian River Valley ST 90 for $29.99 today at WineAccess.com

Tasting Notes (compliments of Wine Access)
2007 Dutton-Goldfield Pinot Noir Dutton Ranch Russian River Valley

“Bright, medium cherry-red. Vibrant aromas of black cherry, raspberry, rose petal and orange zest; a real essence of pinot noir in a Chambolle way. Then juicy, silky and brisk, with red fruit, orange peel and spice flavors framed by ripe, harmonious acidity. There’s no oakiness to get in the way of the pure, sharply focused fruit of this very suave and high-pitched pinot.”
90 points–Stephen Tanzer, International Wine Cellar

“Bright ruby color to the edge. Explosive aromas of wild cherry and red fruits, finely layers. Rich and vibrant on the palate with a slowly unfolding, deep red fruit kernel. Air is this wine’s friend. After two hours in a carafe, more weight, more intensity, filling out. Excellent, firm, finely honed finish, speaking for a nice long stay in bottle. Drink now for the wild cherry explosiveness or age for up to 7 years.”
–WineAccess Travel Log, April, 2010

Arrivederci Italy

cantine del mare, food, italy, mozzarella di bufala, opportunities, red wine, tomatoes, white wine, wine, winery 6 Responses »

Apr 072010

I’m writing this with less than a week left in Italy. It is hard to believe. I came here three years ago thinking the time would seem so long but, as I’m staring at the very end of this tunnel, I realize the time has flown. Now, I find myself reminiscing. Sure, there were some bad times but there were a lot more good times – many of which happen to center around food and wine. I think that may have something to do with the fact that I happen to love both.

So take a moment to relish in some of those experiences with me as I recount what will hopefully linger as great memories for years to come and possibly encourage you to plan a trip to Bella Italia yourself:

1. I’ll start with the obvious….I love that Italians make such good wine!

2. I love that the food of Italy is made up of ingredients that are high in quality and low in quantity.

3. I love that Italians are adamant that certain shaped pasta must be eaten with specific sauces.

4. I love that the biggest wineries down to the smallest wineries in this country usually are experienced with your own personal tour guide….followed by a great tasting.

5. I love that in my little town of Monte di Procida there is Cantine del Mare Winery and La Taverna dei Sapori Ristorante. Both of which have wonderful owners who opened up their doors and hearts to me.

6. I love that what we Americans consider “fru-fru” gourmet produce, and pay high dollar for, grows wild alongside the road in abundance here – plants like fennel, arugula, asparagus, chamomile, etc.

7. I love that I happened to be placed in the region that is famous the world over for Mozzarella di Bufala and that I can buy it at a store in my town where they greet me kindly by name as they place a bag of freshly made cheese in my hand.

8. I love that I have become infatuated with many new wines…. and rediscovered my appreciation for white wines.

9. I love that I can experience several micro-climates in one day from merely looking out the wall of windows in my house….not to mention the breath-taking sunrises and sunsets.

10. I love that I have eaten all kinds of crazy foods just so I wouldn’t offend the chef. My palate has truly been widened.

11. I love that a friend of mine didn’t finish his food and the chef actually sent someone out to our table to see why.

12. I love that each region’s food and wine is so different from the next and rarely cross paths.

13. I love that NO one over-cooks the pasta.

14. I love that Italians really do make the best caffe’ (espresso) - and I don’t even care for coffee all that much.

15. I love that wine is such a part of the Italians lifestyle that the children grow up being able to explain the vineyards and wine making process as if they were born with it just rolling off their tongues.

16. I love the tomatoes of Campania – I am already consoling myself knowing I will not be able to enjoy them on a regular basis.

17. I love that even the highway rest stops have really good Italian sandwiches made with items like prosciutto, mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, etc.

18. I love that I can buy lemons as big as my head from a man selling them out of the back of his truck on the Amalfi Coast.

19. I love that in restaurants sparkling water cost about 1/8 of what it costs in America….and so does some of the wine.

20. I love that there are huge sugar doughnuts here known as Graffa…something so irresistible yet so necessary to avoid.

21. I love that I can get authentic pizza delivered to my door in 10 minutes by a kid on a Vespa for about 10 bucks.

22. And finally, perhaps most importantly, I love that Italians, no matter how rich or poor, really do embrace their motto of living “La Dolce Vita.”