Water into Wino

International Night Portuguese Style

Portugal was the destination of choice for my girlfriend's weekend "International Night" extravaganza. I was stoked by the possibility of finding inexpensive wines that most people would never bother drinking, and in most cases, never even locate. I also like to geek out on music for these dinners and this time I sparred no expense and abused my itunes account with another impulsive purchase. The music of the night was Guitarra Portuguesa by Carlos Paredes.

Quinta de Pancas Cabernet Sauvignon 2002
Portugal ($12)

The evening started with some olives, breadsticks, and dates accompanied with this Portuguese Cabernet. Old world comes to mind when describing this bottle. Medium body and well balanced with dark fruit. While lacking in the common overripeness of most cabs, it secured my attention with rustic earth accents and a graceful finish. Since most of the Portuguese reds I've had are native grape intensive, this was new to me.

Senorio de Sarria Crianza 1999
Navarra, Spain ($12)

The soup course, sopa de couves, was from Leite's Culinaria, a website run by David Leite which features some tasty Portuguese recipes as well as other cuisine. It is mainly chorizo, kale, and potatoes. My pairing reference book suggested, amongst others things, a Spanish red from Navarra. This tempranillo based crianza boasted soft as a baby's ass tannins and an extremely gentle structure of red berry fruit and cedar. Along with the chorizo, it was pairing perfection. This wine whispered old world and I loved every sip with the soup.

Esporao Reserva 2005
Alentejo, Portugal ($10)

From the same website came Porco con Ameijoas a Alenteniana, or in gringo terms, pork with clams. Vinho Verde would have been satisfactory, but my friend went above and beyond again with a couple bottles of a Portuguese blend of native Roupeiro, Arinto, and Anttao Vaz. Living in the Portuguese capitol of Long Island, or Mineola, has payed off several times over. This white was delicious as well. Full bodied with a sexy buttery oak flavor that added depth and complexity, this wine finished was a hint of sweetness. Another perfect pairing.

Dessert included Pasteis de Coco, coconut-custard tarts. What's Portuguese night without Port? I didn't want to find out so we ended with an Osprey's Dominion Port. Not bad at all.

Alsatian International Night

This past Monday was my night to cook our weekly "International Night." After numerous warnings that another Italian inspired menu wouldn't get a welcome reception, I chose an Alsatian French Country Comfort menu from Bon Appetite Magazine. In the past, my girlfriend had made croque monsieur for a French dinner and it went over well enough to start our weekly dinner tradition. The menu I chose was pretty straight forward without any crazy hard to find ingredients. As far as wine pairings are concerned, it doesn't get any easier to match these dishes, plus the folks over at Bon Appetite listed some as well.

The first course was the most challenging part of this meal. I've never made anything that resembled a muenster cheese souffle. Luckily my girlfriend is a natural in the kitchen so it worked out well in the end. The tomato and red pepper salad didn't excite me but I stuck with the recipe and pulled it off. I could have easily had another souffle serving if there was extra, which there wasn't, and I couldn't help but noticed every finished their souffle as well.

Blanck Gewurztraminer 2005
Alsace, France ($20)

I have to thank my friend that brought this bottle. He stopped by Chambers St Wines and asked for an Alsatian Gewurtztraminer and got a good one at that. This Blanck Family wine is made from "environmentally friendly" vineyards. This producer has about 90 acres in total and releases around 18,000 cases a year. This was one of the best Gewurztraminers I've had. It's not sweet although the aromas are of sweet ripe fruit. Supple texture and balanced acidity. It paired extremely well with the souffle, as from what I've read, muenster cheese and Gewurztraminer is a classic pairing.

The main course was Chicken in Riesling with prunes and cabbage with fresh herb spaetzle on the side. The chicken was extremely aromatic and fall of the bone tender. The herb spaetzle was an adventure to make without the proper equipment. Speaking of equipment, our Le Creuset Dutch oven makes a dish like this a pleasure to put together.

Hermann J. Wiemer Dry Riesling 2005
Seneca Lake, Finger Lakes, New York

Instead of searching out an Alsatian Riesling, I went with the Governor's Cup award winning Wiemer Riesling 2005 from the Finger Lakes. I not sure that I can find another New World Riesling this good for the price. An elegant combination of apple, pear, and lime refresh the palate and stimulates every taste bud. This dry Riesling is case-worthy, and I think it will get some people hooked on Finger Lakes wines if they haven't tried them already. The last time I was in the Finger Lakes I stopped by their winery and was impressed by everything I tasted. The staff was very serious and informative...pretty classy for it all being in a barn.

I diverted off the written menu for the dessert and went with a red wine poached pear with cream and lemon zest. It's also funny that Dr. Vino had a discussion about red wine and citrus recently. The lemon zest and Bordeaux red paired well. For it being such a simple recipe, it was pretty damn good. The reduced wine with pair essence poured over some whipped cream was a good followup to the pear with cream as well.

A Four Bottle Friday.

Anytime I time I get to taste four wines in one night I am happy. This past Friday, my girlfriend and I did up some panini for our friends during our weekly international theme dinner. On the menu was a hot soppressata and fontina with arugula and olive tamponade panini. And for the vegetarian choice...fried eggplant and mozzarella with tomato sauce and basil. On the side was a bean, potato, and red onion and rosemary salad. My love of everything fried drove me to make fried nutella ravioli with vanilla ice cream dessert.

The first bottle we opened was Tres Picos Garnacha 2004, from Campo de Borja, Spain. Grown on 35-40 year old vines. Ripe red fruit on the nose. Bright red berries and plums blast the palate. Sweet and soft tannins and a balanced finish make this a good on wine on its own or with food. These Borsao wines from Campo de Borja consistently deliver for the price.

Up next was the Cottanera Barbazzale Rosso 2003 from Sicily, Italy. It's wearing a serious label with a delicate illustration of a vine and some cursive Italian writing. This is a blend of 90% Nerello Mascalese and 10% Nero D'Avola. Ruby in color. Aromas of plum and dark cherry. Soft tannins and a well-balanced tart cherry fruit flavor. Good clean gentle finish. It went well with the panini.

My contribution consisted of a Gladiator Copertino Reserve 1999. I have enjoyed several negroamaro based wines in the past, most of which were Salice Salentinos, but I've also had a few Copertinos. This fella here has 70% Negroamaro, 10% Malvasia Nera, 10% Montepulciano, and 10% Sangiovese. Sounds delicious right? The label is bad ass with the gladiator helmet and the royal blue color. Inky dark red color. Concentrated dark fruit on the nose with earthy tones and leather. Full bodied lush texture with soft tannins. I think this wine is at its peek. It was very well balanced and finished with a spicy oak flavor that worked extremely well with the fruit. My grade: A-

With my nutella ravioli, I opened a bottle Banfi Rosa Regale Brachetto D’Acqui 2004. As far as dessert wines go, this one is welcome on my table anytime. It pairs well with chocolate, so that’s all I have to say. Strawberries, raspberries, and a hint of rose petals combine for a refreshing taste. Perfect as an apertif also. My grade: A-

Southern Style BBQ

International Night reared its hungry head at my place last week. It was my girlfriends turn to cook for us. Breaking away from the not so unusual themes of French, Italian, and Latin, she made BBQ pork sandwiches with cole slaw, baked beans, and roasted potato wedges.

My choice of wine for the dinner was one I had drank before. My recent Spanish wine kick taught me that a wine imported by Jorge Ordonez is never a let down. So I chose a $10 tempranillo at a neighborhood liquor store. A friend of mine brought over a California Rosso table wine and another brought an Australian Shiraz.

Niebaum-Coppola Francis Coppola Rosso Classic 2004 California ($9)

Deep violet color and medium bodied. Cherries and berries are evident with an almost refreshing fruity taste. Definetely not complex but a decent table wine. Had some sharp white chedder with it. Probably not a best buy at $9.

Penfolds Shiraz Thomas Hyland 2003 Australia, Southeastern ($15)

Dark berry nose with a fleshy plum and berry taste. Subtle spice and well rounded tannins make this a pleasurable wine that has a long satisfying finish. I tasted some spice at the end from the oak which was very well balanced with the fruit and alcohol. Went very well with my BBQ pork sandwich. A $15 price tag doesn't make this a best buy but a predictably good buy that delivers. My grade: B

Elaborado Y Embotellado Manoamano 2003 Spain, La Mancha ($10)

100% tempranillo aged in french oak for six months creates this well balanced robust wine that was just what I needed to down the last bites of my BBQ pork dinner. There wasn't as much spice as in the previous Shiraz, and wasn't velvety like the Shiraz, but it was as complex a wine as I would need as the night came to an end. I wouldn't dare try to score this wine because my judgement was overwhelmed from stuffing my face. It gets my nod of approval and it will end of on my table again in the future.

International Night Explained

Once a week my friends and I get together for a homecooked meal that boasts a certain regional theme. The tradition has lasted over a year now and usually involves at least 3 bottles of wine that moderate thought has been used in each purchase. Expensive wines are rare on these nights because the quantity needed to pacify a group of six for the night doesn't necessitate pricey buys.

These wines are rarely drank side by side, we usually finish one and open the next, working our way from lightest to heaviest. My palate is bombarded the whole night and there is no spitting, so by the time the last bottle is opened, I have let the alcohol and tannins affect my interpretation of the wine. I will not always give a numbered rating to these because I rarely take notes on international night. I will try to make constructive comments on each as well as include a picture when possible. Three to four bottles meet their fate each international night for good or bad. If it gets opened, it gets finished.