MD Cru June Offline: Rieslings, Malbecs, Chorizo, Shrimp, Scallops and Flank Steaks- “Life is good.”

“Life is good.” That statement, which was made about halfway through dinner Saturday night by history guru “GF”, would be sufficient to sum up the evening. This was, of course, the monthly meet-up of the MD Cru- a group of food and wine enthusiasts who organize through the Wine Spectator forums to share great food and stories. And of course we open a few bottles of wine as well.

This month we were in D.C., at the beautiful historic home of one of the groups long-time members (there is no official group, or membership, for that matter, but it’s an easy way to refer to what has become a gathering of friends). The wine theme was two fold: German Rieslings and Argentine Malbecs. Other wines made it into the rotation, of course; a couple whites to start, a Champange, dessert wines, and a “pair” of ringers from Chile. Read more

MD Cru May 31, 2008: A night of Northern Rhones

What is a Northern Rhone? France’s Rhone Valley is home to some of the best wines in the world including the renown wines of the Southern Rhone’s Chateauneuf-du-Pape region. But it is in the Northern Rhone region that the best Syrah’s in the world are produced. Though it is true that Syrah and Shiraz are one in the same (as far as grape is concerned), the Syrah’s of the Rhone are vastly different than their Australian (or elsewhere) Shiraz counterpart. Whereas the New World style creates wines with subtle spice notes, more concentrated fruit flavors and often more “oak” influence, the Old World Syrahs of the Northern Rhone tend to be more “terroir” driven wines with subtle earth and more moderate spice and pepper notes.

The MD CRU. This past weekend a group of friends (who happen to be fine food and wine enthusiasts) met up to share old stories and of course some Old World Syrah’s. These monthly outings, or off-lines, began years ago with a small group of laid back and generous friends meeting up through the Wine Spectator forums. Years later, many of the faces have changed (Kim and I are new to the group as of October 2007) but the main idea hasn’t: great food and wines shared at either a restaurant or someones home amongst a group of the most unpretentious and outgoing wine lovers this side of the Chesapeake. Read more

The Perfect Steak; and a few reasons I hope my kitchen renovation takes a little bit longer!

With the kitchen about 1/3 of the way renovated, I’m beginning to enjoy our dinner options: Eat out or grill. Last night we rewarded ourselves for getting the tile in this past weekend with a nice surf and turf on the grill. Here’s my recipe for the perfect steak, and a recap of our night:

The Perfect Steak:

1 1/2 - 2″ thick dry-aged ribeye steak (brought to room temperature)

1. Rub steak with olive oil, salt and pepper.
2. Place on very hot part of grill to sear each side, approximately 4 minutes total.
3. Move steak to indirect heat location of grill and maintain interior temperature of the grill at 300 degrees. Cook for an additional 6 minutes per side.
4. Remove from grill, top with 1 Tbsp butter and add salt to taste.

It’s that easy! Enjoy. Read more

Tasting Notes: A Few Wines From Kim’s Birthday!

1978 Chateau Latour: The cork came out in two pieces, but was in good shape. Decanted for sediment, immediately poured. Medium garnet color with slight bricking. Lovely aromas of a mature Bordeaux- sweet notes, minerals, subtle notes of cassis . On the palate, the wine was soft and elegant, but the fruits have faded almost completely leaving a bit of awkwardness. This bottle has been dead for some time, but still an enjoyable experience.  No Rating

1978 Gaja Barbaresco: The cork came out in one piece, decanted for sediment and immediately poured. The nose on this wine was beautiful and complex. Herbs and spice notes with mushroom, minerals, raspberry and cherry, and other red fruits. Each sniff gave the impression of something new and exciting. On the palate the wine a real delight. Flavors of tobacco, leather, cherry, bay leaf, spice, earth came in waves giving way to a touch of acidity and elegant and refined tannins. The finish was unique with new flavors showing up long after the decanter was dry! A great wine experience.  My rating: 96 pts

2001 Il Paradiso di Frassina Brunello di Montalcino: Purchased at vineyard. Decanted 30 minutes, drank over 2 hours. Another very enjoyable bottle of this ‘01 Brunello. Loads of dark fruit, elegant tannins, great spice and earth notes with a complex finish.  My rating: 92 pts

A message from Lucy: ECEFCJN V

If you’ve never received a message from a 8 month old…then you might not know what “ECEFCJN V” means.  My sister gave my niece Lucy control of the keyboard for a few seconds tonight and this is the message I received.  This might not mean much to anyone else, but being Uncle Mike, 500 miles away, seeing “ECEFCJN V” means the world to me!

Anyways, just a reminder on how great family is!  I hope you all are close with your loved ones- no one better to share wine with than your family (even a brother-in-law, love ya Dane!).

Cheers!

Looking To Buy: Small goat farm somewhere near Baltimore, prefer at least 5 “fainting” goats

Have you ever tried to buy a small goat farm? It’s not the easiest thing to find online. Cows are one thing, but goats…whew. I can’t even find anything on Craigslist or Ebay! Oh, and the ones available aren’t even the right kind! So here’s my plea to you all- where are all the fainting goat farms?

As you may know, fainting goats (myotonic goats) have a neurological condition that causes their muscles to freeze for 10 seconds or so when they are startled. The result (seen above) is the goat becoming temporarily paralyzed (though not unconcious) regardless of whether they were running, standing or just walking about. Seems like a bizarre pet or animal to raise, know? Then you’re wondering why I am looking for a fainting goat farm?

Because in less than two weeks Kim will be having a milestone birthday (let’s call it her 21st) and her first birthday request came in: a fainting-goat farm. I was hoping the full kitchen, dining/bar area, backyard renovations were going to be sufficient…but she wants goats! I’m a lot easier to shop for, I just want 30 or so acres of vineyard area in Oregon or Northern California!

If anyone out there is looking to get rid of a small goat farm or a few fainting goats- let me know!

A short note on QPR

What is QPR?
A wines Quality to Price Ratio (QPR) is an assessment of a wines value based on the ratio of how good the wine is to how much it costs. Wines with high QPR exhibit good value and are generally recommended (the quality of the wine warrants its price). In contrast, a low QPR wine isn’t unnecessarily a bad wine, just one that isn’t worth the money.

QPR based wine ratings are used either in place of, or along side, traditional numerical ratings. These tend to give consumers a better idea of whether a wine is worth the price. For instance, I would purchase what I feel is an 89 point wine if it was $15. This is a good quality for the price. Take that same wine, and put it at $25, and to me (and many people), it’s no longer worth it. With thousands of other wines avaialable, I’m better off seeking out another bottle of wine before spending this much on what I would consider 89 points. Read more

MD Cru March 2008 Wine Tasting: Spanish Wines!

Good company is the best pairing with any wine. This past Saturday, I enjoyed what is becoming a classic pairing: wine and the MD Cru. MD Cru refers to a small group of wine enthusiasts who organize through the Wine Spectator forums to meet up once a month in the MD/Washington DC area to share wine, food and good stories. Venue ranges from the homes of some of the members to local restaurants. Each month we have a theme with the March 2008 tasting focusing on the wines of Spain. Overall the wines were very good and went great with the food menu (below). Here is the list of wines we tasted with my picks for “Wines of the Night”. A big thank you to PH, CS, and HWT for dealing with the organization and logistics of the event. A few wines received a score with a “+” symbol after it. This represents wines that I may have scored higher had there been sufficient pour volume and time to taste it over a few hours. Without further ado:

Wines of the night:

1. 2004 Alto Moncayo (Great wine, outstanding value even at $35- a must try for those new to Spanish Wines)
2. 2003 Clos Mogador (Still a bit young, but very good- hold 2-3 years or decant 2+ hours)
3. 2001 Cims de Porrera Priorat Classic (a load of ripe fruits, good structure and balance)

Read more

Drink wine and you get shrinkage - of your hippocampus! (Overview of a recent study and rant on the media and science)

I was holding off on commenting on this study until I reveal a project I’m working on, but so many wine blogs out there have talked about it, I feel like adding my $0.02.

As you may be aware, I am a medical researcher who spends countless hours each week studying the hippocampus. Each day I take little glass electrodes and place them on brain cells in the rodent hippocampus observing changes in cellular calcium and electrical current in response to glutamate (excitatory neurotransmitter) stimulation that I control with a laser. My research has implications in memory and epilepsy. As a neuroscientist studying the hippocampus and a wine enthusiast, the recent topic of the effects of wine on the hippocampal volume hits pretty close to home.

Here is my overview of the study (I’m trying to not be too technical here - please leave a comment with questions): Read more

Wine Shop Shelf-talkers: Do they influence your purchase?

A “shelf-talker” is a written or pictoral descriptor designed to describe a wine which is placed on the wine rack near the wine it describes. The content on shelf-talkers range from a few words describing flavors in the wine or specific numerical ratings, all the way to details about the producer and in depth tasting notes made by a wine critic, the shop owner or staff. I’ve even seen images of a brain inside of a prohibited circle (such as the no smoking sign) - these wine purchases are a “no-brainer!” However they hang, shelf-talkers are meant to be helpful to us consumers by giving us information about wines we are going to spend $10-$100 on so we know what we’re getting ourselves into. Nothing spells letdown more than buying a $40 bottle of wine and finding it unpalatable!
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Dining: Siberian Husky Style

A nice dinner we made at home last week featured two medium rare strip steaks, fettuccine with shaved white truffles, and outstanding olive oil (Croce di Mezzo) and a nice Brunello (2001 Santa Lucia Riserva) we picked up in Montalcino this past November. As you can see, we weren’t the only ones anxious to eat the meal, nor were we the only ones to enjoy it. Gotta love Huskies! (For a video of this action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b16N9f6CiZg)

MD Cru February 2008 Recap: Traditional Pairing of French Cuisine and Big Cali Wines!

On Sunday February 24, 2008 the MD-Cru (previous events: Big Wines, Chateauneuf du Pape) met up for it’s monthly gathering of friends, new and old, to talk wine, catch up on politics, and drink a few bottles of wine with a light meal. This month’s venue was familiar to many of us in the “Cru” - Cafe de Paris in Columbia, Maryland with the wine theme familiar to any serious wine enthusiast: California Wine.

When I say “few bottles of wine”, I mean 20 outstanding wines, including 2 barrel samples from Stefania Winery. And by a “light meal” I mean onion soup, fois gras, ratatouille on crustini, ribeyes, lamb chops and duck breast finished off with decadent chocolate moouse and other delectable desserts. Classic French Cuisine with the traditional pairing of big Cali wines…at least we started the evening with Champagne!
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Wine Pairing Advice For The “Men’s Health Top 10 Worst Foods in America”

Disclaimer: Following the food and wine pairing advice below involves ingesting large amounts of calories, fats, carbohydrates and sodium and is not recommended for those suffering from heart disease, hypertension, or renal or hepatic disease! Side effects may include nausea, upset stomach, dizziness, weight gain, loss of sex drive, and obesity!

American’s are overweight. As a nation, our obesity rate is very high, especially compared to other industrialized nations. Not surprising, the rate of Type-II diabetes, heart disease, and a handful of other serious ailments, is through the roof. Our poor health can be attributed to the combination of an overall lack of physical activity and poor diets - many of us eat 2 or more meals at fast food or other PNLP (Poor Nutrition Large Portions) establishments. It’s far more convenient to pick up carry out food, run through a fast food window, or head to the local neighborhood diner than to prepare a healthy meal at home. Unfortunately, these meals out (which often involve large portion sizes filled with 2-3 times the daily requirement for calories, fats, carbs and sodium) may be one of the biggest problems when it comes to our obesity rates as a country.
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Is Ignorance Bliss? The evolving palate.

Although wine ratings are subjective and only useful when you have an understanding of the background and palate of the person that is scoring the wine, I support their use and post ratings on this website (see My Ratings page for my system). Lately I’ve been thinking about my ratings and thinking of ways to improve my reporting of the quality and value of the wines I taste (see my new “Value” rating system). I’ve also noticed that in all of the reviews I have written, I have yet to give a wine a rating of 100 points (perfect score). While I have had 100 point wines (per other critics ratings) I do not feel that I have had a “perfect” wine. This leaves me asking myself, am I stubborn? Is there even a difference between 99 and 100 points? Maybe not from a bystander’s perspective, but from my perspective there is. Read more

Oh what a night!

On Friday, October 19, 2007 a group of wine lovers met up at Cafe de Paris in Columbia, MD to say farewell to old friends and welcome in new (check back soon for a full review of the restaurant). The theme of the event: “Big Reds”. Completely vague, this led to a very interesting assortment of wines from around the world. Although putting together flights was quite a challenge, Newsguy (the celebrated man of the evening) did an excellent job. The event was my first time meeting up with the group but I feel confident in saying it wasn’t my last! Kim and I had an amazing time and look forward to future events.

Without further ado, here are my notes from the evening. I did not include the notes for the NV Cafe de Paris Cuvee which was slightly watered down and did not leave a lasting impression. Oh what a night!

1990 Charles Heidsieck Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne Blanc des Millénaires: The nose on this thing was incredible. Very nutty with subtle melon and grapefruit. The wine literally made me smile upon tasting it…it was that good. The palette had explosions of elegannt fruit and such great texture. It was very refreshing into the finish that left me searching for another splash. My rating: 96 pts.

1995 Boizel Brut Champagne Joyau de France - I opened the first bottle and was surprised by the lack of a “pop”, concerned the bottle had been compromised. The second followed the same suit and both were good with consistent notes. A lot of ripe fruits but a little tight. I would expect this to get better over the next 5 or so years. I’d give this 90 pts with hope that it would develop nicely. My rating: 90 pts

Final Notes: The Blanc des Millénaires was incredible. The best Champagne I can remember having and definitely drinking quite nicely. I think the Boizel was a little young but definitely saw some potential in it. Winner here was an easy one: Blanc des Millénaires

Round 1:
2001 Le Macchiole Bolgheri Superiore Paleo (100% Cab Franc): The nose on this wine was wonderful and complex. I noted berry fruits, mineral, saw dust, carrot, amazingly unique! Great structure and balance with solid fruits and a creamy texture. Lovely wine. My rating: 95 pts

1998 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau: I got a lot of unique notes on this one as well. Cajun spice, red pepper, herbs, plum, boysenberry, gentle tannins with a subtle, lasting finish. This gets my vote for the most interesting wine of the night - I really had a lot of fun with it. My rating: 92 pts

1998 Brancaia Il Blu (Sangiovese with Merlot and Cab Sauv): Raspberry, dark fruits, floral nose. Mild acidity with soft tannins and quite a long finish. My rating: 92 pts

Round 2:
2001 Hanna Bismark Mountain Noir: Elegant nose of raspberry, sweet french oak, green pepper and a touch of tomato, which was interesting in a good way. As the wine developed in the glass it became “dark and serious” as pointed out by newsguy. We agreed the French oak fell off fast but the wine maintained great balance. My rating: 90 pts

1996 Flora Springs Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley St. Rutherford Vineyard: Cigar box, cedar, currant nose. The fruits were alive and came in layers while the tannins soft and elegant. I agree that this wine was overshadowed by the other two in the flight, but I felt that overall it was the most balanced of the bunch. My rating: 94 pts

1999 Fatboy Cabernet Behrens & Hitchcock: HUGE. I could leave it at that, but I’ll continue. This Fatboy lives up to its name. Big nose of dark cherry, blackberry and butter with a touch of thyme. The wine attacked my palette with big fruits and mouth drying tannins. Overall great balance and integration - was amazing with the lamb (as pointed out by Mrs. Jace!). What I want out of a big cab - My rating: 93 pts

Round 3:
2001 Sette Ponti Oreno Great color to this wine. Great fruits on the nose with mineral and smokey oak. Huge body with good balance and velvety tannins to match. The finish was incredibly long but fell apart a bit early. My rating: 91 pts

2003 Numanthia-Termes Toro Numanthia A first for me (Numanthia) but will not be the last. The wine had a deep, dark color with a big bouquet of fruits and earth. The wine started off complex and developed very nicely on the palette. Maybe a bit young or just needed a few more hours in the decanter? Regardless, exceptional wine that may be better in 5 years. My rating: 92 pts

2001 Casa Lapostolle Clos Apalta Colchagua Valley Spicy, dark fruit and anise on the nose with a touch of tar. Big wine that moves with elegance and grace across the palette, reminding me again on the finish of it’s great depth. My rating: 91 pts

Round 4: (warning: at this point my notes became less detailed and often a mere “good fruit, elegant…yum” or “this is fun”, but I feel confident in my overall impressions)
2002 Viader Napa Valley Worried this would be young, I was pleasantly surprised. The wine was not sharp at all and had a good structure and soft tannins. I noted the usual dark fruits, buttered toast, and a touch of herb that came in layers with a drop of cocoa on the finish. I gave this one 91 pts…Kim rated it much higher at 95 pts. My rating: 91 pts

1999 Dalla Valle Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Creamy nose with good dark cherry and raspberry and chocolate. All I have beyond that is “WOW…one of the best tonight, 94 pts.” I wish I had more to say! I know of the three, this had the longest, most exciting finish. I’ll stick with My rating: 94 pts.

1999 Viader Napa Valley This was more young than the 2002 and a bit more wound up. I agree that it needs a few more years but can see this becoming as good as, if not better than, the 2002. Similar fruit notes to the 2002. My rating: 91 pts.

My Wines of the Night:
1990 Charles Hiedsieck
1996 Flora Springs Cabernet
2001 Le Macchiole Bolgheri Superiore Paleo
1999 Dalla Valle