Bar P.C.H.

PCH (Pacific Cocktail Heaven) is a bar in San Francisco.
It's in downtown and good place to have some pick-me-up before sometimes challenging Bart ride.

The atmosphere is cool enough to feel cool and comfy enough to feel homey.

Their menu is mostly original cocktails.
The head bartender/partner Kevin Diedrich has been a known figure in this industry and his cocktails are fun yet carefully calculated and well balanced.

Sherry Cobbler.
It felt rich but alcohol was not that high.
The seasonal fruit gave "special drink" feel.

This cocktail wasn't on the menu yet so I don't know the name.
It had some Japanese ingredient which was unusual for cocktail. I can't remember what...I must have been tipsy...
We ordered it for fun, but was surprisingly delicious!

This one didn't have a name yet, too.
It was incorporated with green tea.
I was skeptical at first about these "exotic drinks" but it was sophisticated cocktail.
I still tasted the green tea flavor, but really well integrated. Amazing!

Good drink, good people, good atmosphere.
The problem about good cocktails is that they have good mouth feel and don't feel harsh even with high alcohol, so I might drink too much and get drunk before I know.
The solution is to leave while I still want another drink, and that's what I did.
This way, I can come back anytime for another drink without the bad memory of a hangover.

Reserve de la Comtesse Pauillac 2010

Reserve de la Comtesse Pauillac 2010

Reserve de la Comtesse is the 2nd label of Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, Second Growth of Pauillac, Bordeaux.

The wine had black fruit such as black cherry and blackcurrant, violet, mint, blackcurrant leaf, cedar.
Tannin was there, but felt very supple.


It was surprising that tannin from Cabernet Sauvignon could be so 
soft. I think I don't know anything about Bordeaux. 

It was good wine.
Could be aged longer? Maybe. But I liked it now.

We had this wine with Beef Sauce Pasta.
JC said the wine tasted very Bordeaux with the food.
What is "very Bordeaux"? 

I still don't know.

Cooking with Chambertin

JC came home with Bernard Dugat-Py Chambertin Grand cru !!

Chambertin is the grand cru vineyard in the village of Gevrey-Chambertin.

The vineyard is on the south-facing slope which helps grapes to ripen fully and accumulate sugar and tannin.

It is supposed to have beautiful aromas and flavors of concentrated fruit, very firm and well integrated structure and long finish.

It is supposed to... but this wine had VA (volatile acid).

VA is not necessarily wrong thing to be in wine. With right amount, it adds complexity to aromas; however, this wine had too much VA and I couldn't smell or taste anything else.

 

The wine was about to be thrown away, but JC didn't want to see this piece of art discarded so brought it home to use for cooking.

He made wine reduction and cooked Coq au Vin with it.

It was very rich and tasty!

Now I understand why French recipe books say not to be cheap on wine for cooking. It sure makes big difference (I don't know if I can keep doing this practice, though).

I couldn't taste wine, but I could fully enjoy the Coq au Vin.

Thank you JC for saving the wine.

Argiolas - Sardinian Wine Tasting

There was a tasting of Argiolas, winery from Sardinia, Italy.
This winery focuses on indigenous grapes to the island.

Sardinia belongs to warm Mediterranean climate, but the series of hills provides the diverse topography and temperature for grapes to grow.

Costamolino 2015
100% Vermentino
Pronounced aromas of lemon, grapefruit, honeysuckle, caramelized pear, olive.
There was savoriness, too. this would be a good food wine.

Perdera 2013
90% Monica. This is a grape variety cultivated only in Sardinia. They use cement tank for this grape otherwise it oxidizes too fast due to its low tannin and acidity.
Candied and stewed red fruit.

Costera 2013
90% Cannonau, which is a local name for Grenache.
Strawberry and burned caramel.

Korem 2013
55% Bovale Sardo. This is a variety used mostly for blending.
Once became out-of-fashion and almost disappeared, but this winery is trying to revive this grape and made this gorgeous wine.
There was a balance between the richness of preserved fruit and freshness.

Turriga 2012
85% Cannonau
Candied cherry, strawberry, rose, coffee and citrus leaf-like greenness.
Great wine, with a price to match.

Interesting wines. Costamolino was very approachable. Perdera and Costera had rustic feel, and Korem and Turriga were concentrated and complex.

We bought Korem which the winemaker said drinkable in youth, so we will open this sometime soon!

Miso Marinated Tofu

Miso marinated Tofu.
It sounds weird, but this is actually old recipe.
I found this in "Tofu Hyakuchin," a bestseller Japanese cook book published in 1782.

The recipe is simply to marinate Tofu with Miso.
First, drain water from Tofu really well. I slice Tofu into about 1 inch thickness.
Then marinate Tofu with Miso.
You can use just Miso. I add a little bit of Sake to miso, mix well, then marinate.
Keep it in fridge for several days.

When you eat, just wipe off excess Miso and eat with crackers or you can grill the surface.
And this tastes like cheese!
If you keep Tofu marinated for weeks, it becomes really like cheese, but mold might grow.

We had this with Monchiero Carbone Cecu Roero Arneis 2014.
White wine from Piedmont.
This wine goes really good with cheese, so it was a good pairing.

trebicchieri

trebicchieri in San Francisco.
trebicchieri is a tasting of Italian wines which won high recognition from Gambero Rosso magazine.

Tasting wines from 135 wineries in three hours is an exciting but not easy task.
We (or he) did research and planned which wines were the must, and arrived there early.

Here's some of the wine I remember.

Podere Sapaio from Toscany.
Bolgheri Rosso Superiore 2013
Ripe fruit and smokiness. Very good structure. Great wine.

Piaggia from Toscany.
Carmignano Riserva 2013 was stewed fruit. Carmignano Sasso 2014 was cooked fruit.

Tenuta di Gracciano della Seta from Toscany.
I always liked their Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva 2012, and I confirmed I really liked it.

Castelfeder from Alto Adige.
A.A. Gewurztraminer Vom Lehm 2015 was creamy and very floral.
A.A. Pinot Bianco Tecum 2014 was just beautiful.

Masi from Veneto.
Gorgeous and complex Amarone della Valpolicella Cl. Vaio Armaron Serego Alighieri 2011.
The picture on the screen was how they dried grapes for Amarone.

Elio Grasso from Piedmont.
Barolo Ginestra Casa Mate 2012
Sour cherry, dried rose, cedar. Decent Nebbiolo.

Sandro Fay from Lombardy.
Valtellina Superiore Valgella Ca Morei 2013
Ripe fruit and coffee. It was somehow rustic and delicious.

Arnaldo Caprai from Umbria.
Montefalco Sagrantino Collepiano 2011
Ripe and perfumey fruit. Strong tannin but elegant.

Torrevento from Puglia.
Their Primitivo 2013 had dried and decayed fruit...it was like Zinfandel for adult!

Aldo Rainoldi from Lombardy.
Valtellina Superiore Sassella Riserva 2012 had fresh and decayed fruit and herb. Good tannin.

Vite Colte from Piedmont.
Their Barolo was good, but I really liked Barbaresco Spezie Riserva 2008.

There were more wines to be mentioned but I forgot to take note, forgot to take picture, or they ran out of wines by the time we got there (like Donnafugata!).

Three hours felt so short, but when we left the place, it was already becoming dark.

Vintage Wine Merchants in San Jose

We usually go to the same wine shop.  We know people there and they know what we like, in short, we can trust the wine we get from there.
However, sometimes it's fun to try totally new wine store and explore what they carry and what they recommend.
  
One sunny Sunday, we visited a wine shop called Vintage Wine Merchants in San Jose.

It didn't look like a big store from the outside, but they had quite a wide selection, from renowned producers to obscure varieties.

There were tables and you can try a glass of wine, that was what we did.

I had Champagne and JC had Merlot from Slovenia.
The snack was black truffle and cheese. Delicious!

Then we asked for their recommendation.
Their suggestion was Weingut Prieler. A wine made from Blaufrankisch from Austria.

I never had this variety before. It was from cooler region, so I expected something light and acidic, but this wine was ripe and very concentrated. Firm structure.
A recommendation to give good surprise.
In fact we bought a bottle to take home.

They also have tasting event.
It was Cabernet Sauvignon Tasting this day: from Bordeaux to jammy Napa Cab.

Tokaji Gift Set!!

We browsed the store just to read the labels because the selection was interesting.
Fun event, fun and exciting selection, it was a kind of wine shop you go when you want to treat yourself.

Blind Tasting Challenge

I’ve been giving JC blind tasting quiz for years, but recently he started to test me with blind tasting.

I was nervous when he gave me the blind tasting first time, but after some months of training now I can taste with ease although I hadn’t got the answer right yet.

Today’s wine was red wine with medium ruby color and purple hue.
The wine had fresh cherry, cranberry, blueberry, lavender, rose, spearmint, dry rock.
Medium intensity, medium acid and medium+ tannin.
It was a thick skin grape but didn’t have the greenness of Bordeaux varieties so I thought it was Syrah, and judging from the aromas of fresh fruit, it was from cooler region, Northern Rhone.
It didn’t possessed the quality which Cornas or Hermitage has, so this must have been from the larger area like Saint Joseph or Crozes-Hermitage.

The answer was: E. Guigal Saint-Joseph 2012

It was a vague answer but I was right!

It wasn’t a clear answer: I reached it with the process of elimination, but I was still right!

I didn't think I would ever get it right, but perseverance took me here. If I keep trying, I wonder how far I can go. Even if I don't get too far, at least I still can enjoy wine.!

Burgundy-A Barrel Tasting of Vintage 2015

There was “Burgundy A Barrel Tasting of Vintage 2015” at Top of the Mark in San Francisco.

Wines from 10 wineries were presented there.

Here’s some of the wines I remember.

Stephane Aviron from Beaujolais.

Beaujolais Villages were ripe and fresh. Cru had good structure.

Friendly and likable.

I wasn’t a big fan of Beaujolais before, but tasting good wines like this recently, I became fond of their Gamay.

Domaine Armand Rousseau.

Ripe fruit, butterscotch and smooth texture. Complex and good structure. What a beauty!

Reds from other wineries were good, too: fruity and easy to drink, but it seemed to lack some depth. Probably because they were still young. 

Domaine Christian Moreau Pere & Fils.

They have been making wine in Chablis from 1814.

Chablis AC and 1er Cru are fruity and approachable.

Grand Cru had more mineral and structure.

Domaine Billaud-Simon

Chablis AC was surprisingly refreshing.

My favorite was Chablis Vaudesir Grand Cru. With sweet and sour citrus.

Last but not least, Chateau Fuisse.

Pouilly-Fuisse “Tete de Cru” had citrus and citrus flower.

Pouilly-Fuisse “Les Combettes” was floral.

Pouilly-Fuisse “Les Brules” had apple and mineral.

Pouilly-Fuisse “Le Clos” were creamy, nutty, and had a hint of citrus zest.

They all had different characters and were good.

Overall, whites were more impressive than reds.

Reds should develop in years, though. I hope I have a chance to try them again someday.

Ravenswood Teldeschi vineyard Zinfandel 2007

Ravenswood Single vineyard Teldeschi Zinfandel Dry Creek Valley 2007

The wine had aromas of red cherry, plum, raisin, violet, and some spice like nutmeg or clove.
Good, strong structure but easy to drink.
This might be able to be held a little longer, but I think this wine is in it's peak now.
Really good wine.

had it with hamburger

Many people, including me, have an image of Ravenswood as wine that you can find at any supermarket and is not necessarily considered to be quality wine.
However, Ravenswood produces quite good stuff, too. You just have to go find it.

We bought this wine at their winery in Sonoma 6~7 years ago.
It was a sunny, delightful day.
We enjoyed the line of their Zinfandel and the beautiful scenery.
They are big winery but the atmosphere was cozy and people were friendly, I still remember.

When I bought this wine, I didn't imagine that I would drink this years later as I remembed this day.
Wine is a fun drink.

Vodopivec Classica 2005

There is a wine called Orange Wine.
No, it's not made of orange. It's white wine.

After white grapes are crushed, the must (grape juice) is usually send to the press immediately to avoid oxidation, but for the orange wine, the must is macerated with skins for days, or longer, and extracts color from the skins which makes the wine orange.

Orange wine once became out-of-fashion, but now some wineries in Northern Italy make this.

Vodopivec Classica 2005 
A wine from Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy.

The grape variety is Vitovska. 
I've never heard of this grape. They are grown near Italy/Slovenia border.

Beautiful color.
It had oxidation like Sherry and refreshingness at the same time. And pickled fruit.

It was my first time to try Orange Wine. 
Judging from the name and the color I expected light, fruit juice-like wine, so it was a bit confusing at first, then I became to like it. There were uniqueness and seriousness.
I'm not a big fan of Sherry-like oxidized wine, but enjoyed drinking this wine.

Monchiero Carbone Tasting

There was a tasting of 6 wines from Monchiero Carbone.

Monchiero Carbone is a winery in Roero, Piedmont.
Roero is located just north of Alba, and Roero DOCG produces red wine from Nebbiolo and white wine from Arneis.

Wine made from Arneis is very floral. The grapes are so fragrant that they are planted near Nebbiolo vines to distract pests' attention from valuable Nebbiolo grapes with their strong aromas.
Traditionally, a small amount of Arneis can be added to Nebbiolo to soften its tannin.

Roero is near Barolo and Barbaresco, just the other side of Tanaro river yet their Nebbiolo doesn't enjoy the fame like other big two does. Trying these kind of wine reminds me of treasure hunting.

Recit 2014 is a white wine made with Arneis.
There were stone fruit and white flower. Rich texture.

Cecu d'La Biunda 2014 is the same vintage, same varietal as Recit, but vines grow on the different soil.
Grapes for Recit are grown on mixed soil and Cecu were from sandy soil, which makes wine more concentrated.
This one had more herbs and minerals. This would be good to have with cheese.

Perisa 2013 is Barbera.
Ripe fruit and herb. Easy to drink Barbera.

Sire 2013. This is Langhe Nebbiolo.
Still young but approachable for Nebbiolo.
Cherry, rose, violet, fennel. Tannin was high but soft.
Good with pasta +meat sauce.

Mon Birone 2011 is another Barbera. Old vine from single vineyard.
Deep ruby color. Ripe raspberry and prune. Texture was smooth.
Surprisingly heavy weight for Barbera.

Printi 2008 is another Nebbiolo.
It felt rich like cream. Dried fruit like raisin, tar, chalk.
High in tannin and acid, but well balanced. Very good wine.

It was a fun tasting: same varieties from different soils, and same varieties with different styles.
I always like tasting wines, but tasting with some kind of theme like this helps me to understand better.

Weaving stash

It's fun to buy new material to make something: many hobby craft people admit that choosing materials at stores is more exciting than actually making something.
It's also fun, however, more challenging way, to come up with the idea to use the left over materials, which many craft people also admit accumulating in shelves.

I found pale and dark green color linen yarn which were too long to discard but too short to make something by themselves, and decided to make a small floor mat.

The pattern I used was #518 from A Weaver's Book of 8-Shaft Patterns.
Warp is green, weft is beige

It was a little looser than I wanted, so I washed vigorously hoping that it would shrink and become tight, but no avail.

I made this for summer and the loose linen fabric has summer feel, right...?