Peirano Estate Petite Syrah, 2003 Lodi

Excellent wine from the first tastes. Ordered this last night at Fire restaurant. It went well with all of our entrees: 1 lamb and 3 fishes. In looking through this blog's archives I was surprised not to find any other syrah entries. Mary and I have been drinking more of it in the last year but I guess not any lately. I looked in our wine rack to jog my memory and found a Novy ($17.99) and a Wild Horse. The Novy we have had and it is excellent. Grab yourself a bottle from a local store.

Winemaker's site says: "Ripe, dark fruits tempt the senses. The palate is filled with ripe blackberry, dark cherry and firm tannins."

I wonder about the availability of some restaurant wines in local stores. Do they order directly for their cellars? Will have to look for this one stores.

Evans & Tate Unwooded Chardonnay 2004

Welcome Home Chardonnay! For the past 5 years or so I have thought that chardonnay in general... blows. Is that too harsh for a wine blog? Should I be more refine? No. Face it. Chardonnay was my White Zinfandel. A semi-sweet wine that got me into other wines. I now prefer a drier white such as savignon blanc or pinot grigio. Lately I have heard of a trend away from the oakier chardonnays so I went in search of this elusive wine.

I went to Village wine shop in English Village and asked about it. They put me onto this wine from Western Australia. With unwooded in the name I figured I was on the right track. What a great wine! I drank it before, during and after a pork tenderloin dinner. The two things that stand out for me are the price and the top. The wine is only $9.99 and yes, it has a screw top. And you know how I am starting to love the screw top. I would like to tell you that the screw top kept the wine fresh for days but I'd be lying. Leigh and I drank the whole bottle.

Drink up.

Steele Cabernet Franc, Lake County 2002

As I was balancing my checkbook I noticed a business card that I had tacked to my cork board above my monitor and written on it was a very good bottle of wine. I had it at one of the Atticus Christmas parties which must have been in December 2004 at Bottega. The waitress suggested this. It was a very good bottle of wine and I haven't been able to find it but honestly I haven't searched very hard. Here is some iformation from the Steele web site.

"While we are not known as a Bordeaux/Cabernet kind of winery (we tend to make more Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Zinfandel) our location in Lake County allows us to produce several of these varieties in styles which would make our neighbors to the south a bit jealous. One of these is Cabernet Franc. When we started buying grapes from the vineyard of Floyd Silva we found that he was growing some of the best Cabernet Franc that we had ever tasted. His vineyard is on a gravelly bench, which overlooks the Big Valley area of Lake County. The vines grow well but not too well and have a great balance of flavors, structure and tannins."

"While most people are not familiar with this variety, once we get them to taste the wine they are converts for life. This wine is a mouthful of pleasure: lots of fruit, medium tannins and a long lingering finish. We would recommend some cellar time for this wine if only to allow all of the great aromas and flavors properly meld."

"This is a very versatile red wine. You can serve it with a variety of traditional foods such as Beef Wellington, grilled steaks, or a bowl of beef stew. Or try something new like grilled Salmon, an assortment of cheeses or rack of spring lamb."

If you happen to find this in a local store, do tell.

ZD 2004 Pinot Noir, Carneros

Special edition from Park City, UT

On Saturday night my group of 4 ski buddies was wrapping up our trip at the Blind Dog restaurant. After starting with a glass of California Syrah I wanted to have a Pinot with my duck breast entree. The bartender recommended this ZD. It was an excellent match up ... smooth with hints of fruit complementary to the cherry reduction on the plate. About $30.

The Blind Dog was excellent, by the way. Eat there if you are in Park City. Our entrees included some very impressive NY strips, monkfish, and duck breast.

Cline Red Truck 2004

Found in the wine store in old town Park City, UT, this proves to be another good inexpensive red (about $10). Shawn says it can be found in Birmingham.

The winery's website describes it as a blend of Syrah, Petite Sirah, Cabernet Franc, Grenache, and Mourvedre. It's a product of Cline Cellars, located in the Carneros region of Sonoma County.