What are your favorite wine and cheese pairings?

Awesome cheese pairings with Match Cabernet Sauvignon:

Petit Basque (French sheep)
Il Boschetto al Tartufo (blend of sheep and cow with truffle pieces).

I picked up both yesterday from Sunshine Foods Market in St Helena, which, by the way, is THE BEST PLACE to shop for groceries in the Napa Valley.
Sunshine Foods Market
1115 Main Street
St Helena, Ca 94574
(707) 963-7070

CellarTracker just reached 1,000,000 user posted tasting notes. What Eric Levine began 5 years ago as a way to track his own wine collection has grown to be among the most influential and in my opinion the most useful wine website out there. I, along with 82,000 other registered users, manage our own wine collections, record our thoughts on the wines we’re drinking, and research other wines using this website. A good measure of CellarTracker’s range is, according to a press release from CellarTracker, leading wine magazines Wine Spectator and the Wine Advocate each publish about 1000 reviews per month. CellarTracker users post on average 1100 tasting notes a day.
I think this milestone represents more than just the success of one website. It, and certainly some other sites (even Facebook), are giving wine lovers the tools to learn more about their passion and decentralizing the information available. The influence of any one critic has been reduced. While some may argue that “amateur” tasting notes and reviews are not of much value, I think that when you get enough of them, you really start to get a feeling for what a wine is like. This, in my opinion, is the greatest value of CellarTracker. 30 positive reviews on CellarTracker are far more influential to me than one guy’s experience on one particular day, even if that guy was dubbed the emperor of wine.
I may be just preaching to the choir as I know that many folks who will read this already use CellarTracker, but those who aren’t, give it a try. It is based on the shareware model. It is free to register and use but there are suggested donations based on the size of cellar you are tracking. Donations also turn on some additional value added features like links to professional reviews and wine auction values. Note: I don’t have any commercial or other interest in CellarTracker. I’m just a very enthusiastic user.
I’d love to hear about your favorite feature or discovery on CellarTracker. Feel free to also post the negatives and suggestions too. Anything constructive, I’ll pass on to Eric Levine.

Search CellarTracker for notes on Match Vineyards’ wines.

• 2007 Melville Chardonnay Estate Verna’s – USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County (8/8/2009)
  Earlier this year, we took a marvelous trip to the CA Central Coast and did a tasting at Melville. Based on that visit, I bought 6 bottles of this wine. Today was the first time I opened a bottle and am very happy with my purchase. Deep green-golden hue. Lemon and roasted nut aromas. Outstanding chardonnay grape flavor with lemon zest, tangerine, green apple and just a hint of vanilla and oak. Big mouth-coating feel and long, tropical sweet-tart finish. I believe I like this one considerably more than some previous CT tasters and thankfully, did not experience the big oak and butter that one mentioned. I’ll be drinking most of these over the next 3 years but will probably lay down one or two long term. (90 pts.)

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• 2003 Elk Cove Vineyards Pinot Noir La Bohème – USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Yamhill-Carlton (8/7/2009)
  Rich, full flavors of red raspberries with cherry pie, clove, Christmas spices, and a hint of sweet oak. Not a huge wine, this medium-bodied Pinot still went wonderfully with grilled salmon and wasn’t even embarrassed when it followed a few bites of filet mignon. Drinking well now, there’s no big rush. I’d open between now and 2012. Dominated the 2003 St Innocent Pinot Noir White Rose Vineyard it was served alongside. (89 pts.)
• 2003 St. Innocent Pinot Noir White Rose Vineyard – USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley (8/7/2009)
  Bing cherries, mushroom, soy, in this light bodied wine. Pronounced acidity is a little off putting without some bigger flavors to balance it out and was certainly overpowered by grilled salmon and veggies. Judging by CT notes from a few years back and by this particular bottle, I’d say this wine’s best days are behind it. Drink up. Tasted alongside 2003 Elk Cove Pinot Noir La Boheme which was significantly better. (84 pts.)

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• 2006 Casa Nuestra Tinto Classico – USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville (7/29/2009)
  Rustic and earthy with dark ripe plum, tar, bacon, cedar, graphite, and black licorice. Unique field blend that for lack of a better comparison, reminds me of something I might find in an Italian village. (87 pts.)
• 2006 Outpost Zinfandel – USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain (7/28/2009)
  I’m not normally one to give a tasting note based on a wine on Day 2 after opening, but this time, that’s how it worked out. To my benefit. Yesterday the wine was unexciting: big boysenberry syrup fruit and some tart acidity but reticent on showing anything else. Today, it is showing much better. The boysenberry has been tamed to a more integrated package with some nice white pepper, freshly tanned leather, and brambly forest floor. Hold this wine until 2011 and enjoy a really good, well-balanced Zin that doesn’t overwhelm its company at the table. (90 pts.)

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Kirk Venge, of Venge Vineyards, is well on his way building a reputation as one of the most talented young winemakers in the Napa Valley. He has big shoes, or perhaps I should say, a big cowboy hat to fill as his father is the famed legendary winemaker Nils Venge. I’ve really been impressed in the past by Venge’s Scout’s Honor Zinfandel. This summer, I keep finding myself buying bottles of his Champ des Fleurs white wine.

• 2008 Venge Vineyards Champ des Fleurs Proprietary White – USA, California, Napa Valley (7/26/2009)
  This was my third bottle of this wine. I really like it. This propriety blend of Chardonnay, Viognier, and Sauvignon Blanc offers a light enough package to work as a pleasant quaffer on a hot summer afternoon but complex enough to cause pause for thought. Initial notes of lemon grass and melon give way to a hefty dose of creme brulee and buttery pastry. A nice dose of acidity lifts it up and keeps the residual sweetness from being cloying. I’m considering picking up a case as a house white. (88 pts.)

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Thursday night I had the pleasure (and challenge) of feeding myself and 3 teenage boys at home. Sasha is traveling. What better than some grass-fed rib-eyes from Long Meadow Ranch? LMR is a winery and farm in the Mayacamas Mountains of Napa. Although I have yet to have the pleasure of trying their wines, their produce stand at Rutherford Gardens is a regular stop on my way up the Valley. Selection varies by season. In the winter, one may only find an unattended ice chest full of delicious fresh eggs where you pay on the honor system but in season, a veritable cornucopia of fresh veggies and meats are available. We love their meats, especially the grass-fed rib-eye ($17.99 lb.). And if their produce and meats weren’t good enough, Ted and Laddie Hall and their son Chris, owners of Long Meadow Ranch, are some of the nicest folks in Napa. Check out their website. I just did and it looks like a visit to their produce market is just the tip of the iceberg in experiencing all that LMR has to offer.

Long Meadow Ranch Rutherford Gardens
1796 So. St. Helena Highway (SR 29), just north of the intersection with SR 128
So what would a great cut of meat be without a great wine?

• 1997 Viader Proprietary Red – USA, California, Napa Valley (7/30/2009)
  I’ve been breaking into my ’97s to see if rumors of their demise are true. The 1997 Viader Red Wine is at a good place. Youthful appearance of medium ruby with virtually no bricking. Blackberry cobler flavors are followed by sweet cherry tomatoes and a backbone of cedar and mint. Sounds odd, I know, but it works. Tannins are still significant. At first I thought it didn’t need a decant but found it better with about 1/2 hour of air and a big rare steak. Drink now until 2012. (91 pts.)

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In addition to the 2008 Quivira Sauvignon Blanc Fig Tree here are some white wines I’ve tried recently to quench the summer heat.

• 2008 Araujo Estate Sauvignon Blanc Altagracia – USA, California, Napa Valley (7/24/2009)
  This wine needs more body. It is tart and thin and possesses very little taste beyond a big burst of lemon. Served btg at “Go Fish” restaurant in St Helena.(79 pts.)
• 2006 Bodegas Naia (Viña Sila) Rueda Naiades – Spain, Castilla y León, Rueda (7/16/2009)
  Pretty golden color and aromas of a bowl filled with tropical fruit and a hint of jasmine. Flavor starts out with a very tart lemon zest but that mellows as the wine warms and opens up to more of a lemon flavored salt water taffy, banana candy, and a bit of petrol. Don’t serve this wine too cold and perhaps even decant for best results. Well made, but personally, I didn’t love it, especially with the tariff of $30 from a premium Napa Valley grocer. It would have been more acceptable sub $20. (83 pts.)
• 2007 Osseus Wine Company Sauvignon Blanc – USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley (7/12/2009)
  Lovely and vibrant. Zesty lemon grass, grapefruit, even unsweetened lemonade with a tart laser beam of citrus acidity. Blind, I would have thought I was drinking a wine from New Zealand rather than Santa Ynez. Awesome summer wine. I wasn’t familiar with this label but will look for more. (87 pts.)

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• 1997 Chateau St. Jean Cabernet Sauvignon Cinq Cépages – USA, California, Sonoma County (7/22/2009)
  A bit of bricking on the edges. Currant, pencil lead, anise in a light body wine. Tannins are still pronounced but the fruit is a tad thin. Drink up now. Significant downturn since 2004. (88 pts.)
• 2003 Sloan – USA, California, Napa Valley (7/2/2009)
  Some blueberry, tobacco, and sage, but that’s about all the positives I can note about this wine. Not flawed. Out of balance, the fruit was awkward rather than being integrated. Heavy alcohol aroma and taste (in fact it burns the throat). Astringent. Overbearing raw, green oak. With time in the decanter, the EToH blew off a bit but the wine’s rough edges just became sharp pointy corners that hurt. This reminded me of one of those wines that you get poured for you from the bar at a big party or event and you decide to switch to beer. Perhaps acceptable if in the sub-$10 category, but I’m quite surprised at the low quality here. Yes, 2003 was a difficult year in Napa but this wine is an example of the need for winemakers to adapt to a vintage rather than trying to force that big Napa style. I would have bulked this wine off and declassed the vintage. I’m a literal scorer so this below average wine would have received the same score no matter the price, but it probably would have escaped the scathing comments. (73 pts.)
• 2005 Raymond Vineyard & Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve – USA, California, Napa Valley (6/28/2009)
  Spicy with a dark berry medium long finish. Disconcerting alcohol aftertaste. Not wonderful, but not bad. It’s one of those wines that it all depends on how much you paid for it and what your wine budget is. I got this one free in a gift bag. I’d say it’s worth about $35 when compared with its peers. (83 pts.)
• 2004 Adrian Fog Pinot Noir Oppenlander Vineyard – USA, California, North Coast, Mendocino County (7/20/2009)
  My experience with Adrian Fog pinot is that it is built for the cellar. This one was no exception: the 2004 is starting to open up but still could use some time. Tart cherry, cola, black olives, forest floor, and a touch of celery seed in this medium bodied wine. Not big and fruity but rather subtle and complex. (90 pts.)
• 2001 Kistler Chardonnay Vine Hill Vineyard – USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley (7/2/2009)
  Roasted almonds, lemon meringue pie, green apples… nice acidity keeps it light and uplifting. Drink now. (92 pts.)
• 2005 WesMar Pinot Noir Oehlman Vineyard – USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley (7/1/2009)
  Elegant and very delicate in both flavor and texture. Strawberry, citrus, crushed tea leaves, and a bit of black olive: as the wine opens in the glass each taste offers a slightly different nuance. Lovely. (90 pts.)
• 2000 Corison Cabernet Sauvignon – USA, California, Napa Valley (6/25/2009)
  Rather reticent nose but lovely flavors of raspberries, chocolate, and espresso. Not a big wine, or built for longer aging, but drinking just fine right now. (89 pts.)
• 2004 Alban Vineyards Syrah Reva Alban Estate Vineyard – USA, California, Central Coast, Edna Valley (6/16/2009)
  Big, boisterous wine with blueberry fruit, woodsmoke, molasses, grilled meat, and sweet mouthfeel. Really heavy alcohol nose eventually blows off but I just have to ask “why?” to the 16.7% abv. Another taster said a “well-made fruit bomb, but not my style.” I agree. (88 pts.)
• 2006 Radio-Coteau Pinot Noir Alberigi – USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley (6/10/2009)
  Dark and brooding, earthy and dusty. Hot nose, tannic finish. Rum soaked cherries, charred wood, soy. Less acidic than Terra Neuma from same vintage but hold also for 2-3 years.
• 2006 Radio-Coteau Pinot Noir Terra Neuma – USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (6/10/2009)
  Tart Strawberry, rhubarb, sage… big mouthfeel and will ultimately, I predict, be a great wine, but currently overshadowed by puckering acidity. Hold for 2-3 years.
• 2000 Château Lescalle – France, Bordeaux, Bordeaux Supérieur (6/9/2009)
  A shy wine that doesn’t show much even after an hour in the glass. A pleasant attack of slightly sour raspberry, pine box, and a bit of pencil lead but thin on the palate with a short finish. Drink now. (83 pts.)

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Brix Restaurant in Yountville has been around in various iterations for quite a while. Years ago, it was a good, but not great, place that we tried a few times, usually because Mustards or another better first choice was full. Consistency always seemed a challenge for them. Just when we had decided to write them off, they’d pull off a decent meal luring us back again. Then, it went through a modest name change (and an extensive staff/ownership? change) and went even further downhill. They’re trying again. To quote their website, Brix “is an entirely new incarnation of the wine country classic, with a renewed focus on farm-to-table dining.” Chef Anne Gingrass-Paik, formerly of Spago, Postrio, and Hawthorne Lane is now at the helm. Six of us headed down there on Saturday night to give it another try. The results were mixed.
The wine themed decor does a lot to mitigate the big open feeling of the dining room though I just couldn’t get out of my mind a hotel’s dining room all open and square with the ability (or curse) of looking out over every single table in the place. A nice touch are the booths fashioned out of what appear to be reproductions of old wooden wine fermentation tanks. The stemware and dishes are first rate but one wine glass on our table was not just dirty, but disgustingly dirty. We had to point it out, but it was quickly wisked away by the server.
The wine list is extensive and fairly priced on California selections including a nice variety of by-the-glass and half bottle options. Corkage, I believe, was $20.
Food:
Beausoleil oysters with classic mignonette ($2 ea) – excellent
White corn and porcini soup ($10) – excellent
Heirloom baked beans ($5.50) – I found them “unexciting,” others were even less complimentary
Farmer’s cheese polenta ($5.50) – mediocre and very bizarre consistency of warm breakfast cereal
Grilled zucchini – This side dish was so good, we ordered another one. However, the second time it was inedible, bitter and dry. What happened? The waiter removed it from our bill but unfortunately, the same bad mess was served with one of the entrees. You’d think someone in the back would have checked out a dish sent back before serving more from the same bad batch.
The entrees were all excellent:
Roasted corn & candied bacon pizza with arugula ($15)
Porcini rubbed new york steak with blue cheese and porcini mushrooms ($37)
Atlantic farmed salmon with lima bean puree and kohlrabi relish ($23)
Beef filet with green peppercorn pesto and braised italian string beans but the string beans were replaced by the nasty zuccini ($30)
So what to do about Brix? It appears that they have returned to where they were some years back: good but not great. Saturday night, it was a restaurant not firing on all cylinders and one would expect on a weekend during the high tourist season you would have the “A” team at work. The service was knowledgable and professional though not especially warm and friendly. The pace of the meal was really off. There were noticable lags between courses and in clearing our plates. I’m a forgiving sort so although I wouldn’t rush back there, eventually I guess I would give them another go. I might have to do it alone however, because my dinner partners said they would never come back. I really can’t blame them. Competition is tough and a restaurant really needs to have a better selling point than we can’t get in anywhere else. Especially at these prices.

Brix Restaurant
7377 St. Helena Hwy, Yountville CA 94558
(707) 944-2749
Brix serves Sunday Brunch which seems like a good idea so close to Yountville, the largest supply of hotel rooms up Valley. There is also a small gift shop and wine store in front with some nice, but expensive, selections.