Thursday, December 22, 2011
Quite closed still, tasting somewhat thin and tough. Opens after some air to more generous cherry flavors. Not great at this stage. 13% ABV indicated.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
When cold – very pleasant, balanced, clean Pinot rosé. Delicious.
When slightly warmer – the 14.4% ABV starts to show, giving distinct bourbon flavors: corn and alcohol.
($13, Costco)
Saturday, December 10, 2011
This bottle, bought from a local grocer’s close out bin, is the orangest orange wine that I’ve ever enjoyed. I had no idea at the time of purchase. Significantly tannic, crisp, dry, and extremely herbal. Fascinating and tasty, if not overly complex. I’d love to get more but I suspect I’ll never see another bottle. 11% ABV indicated. ($4.50, Zannotto’s)
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Acceptable red table wine- acid and spice. 13% ABV indicated. (Safeway)
Monday, November 21, 2011
This apparently has some barrel aging, and it comes through in the nose, which is a bit stewed and sweet/boozy. There’s good structure and the fruit is darkish, but the overall effect is somewhat cavernous – appearing large, but hollow. 12.5% ABV indicated. ($17, K&L)
Saturday, November 19, 2011
This is an amazingly long name for a sub-$15 wine. That said, tasting it at 5 years old, I’m really delighted with it. It’s light in texture, earthy/smoky/dark fruited in flavor, and beautifully balanced with juicy acid. It’s the most pleasureful wine I’ve tasted in many months. Drinking this makes me wonder how New World producers can charge $30+ for unremarkable, stewed clumsy monsters. 12.5% ABV indicated. (K&L, $9)
Thursday, November 18, 2010
(Approximate recipe)
—————————
4-5lb boneless beef short ribs in 1″ cubes
butter
2 dried chile de arbol
4 dried chile negro/pasilla
2 dried chile california
handful dried porcini mushrooms
2-4 canned chipotle in adobo
1Tbs cumin seed
2tsp dried oregano
1 bay leaf
2 shallots or 1 small yellow onion
4-6 cloves garlic
1 cup crushed tomatoes and/or 1/2 cup tomato paste
fresh tomatoes (optional)
beef stock
salt and pepper to taste
Remove stems and seeds from dried chilis. Combined dried chilis and mushrooms in a small bowl and add boiling water to rehydrate them.
Heat butter in a large cast iron skillet. Working in batches, brown the cubed short ribs very well on as many sides as you can. Don’t over-fill the pan – there needs to be room for the liquids to cook off without boiling the meat. Transfer browned meat to a heavy enameled cast-iron pot with a tight-fitting lid.
While browning the meat, add the rehydrated chilis and mushrooms to a blender, along with chipotles, shallot/onion, garlic, bay, cumin, and oregano. Add some of the chile/mushroom soaking liquid to assist in blending and blend to a smooth paste.
When the beef has all been browned, pour chili paste into hot skillet and stir, scraping off any browned bits. Add chile paste and tomatoes to the beef pot, add beef stock until liquid level reaches at ~2/3 of the way up the pile of beef, cover, and simmer on lowest heat overnight. Alternatively, a faster cook (medium for a few hours) will work, but do stir regularly to prevent burning on the bottom. Remove lid from pot and evaluate liquid level. Cook uncovered over medium heat, stirring frequently, to reduce liquid. (Or, alternatively, just ladle some liquid out.) This chili should be thick and rich, resembling cubes of meat in a thick gravy rather than a soup.
Season to taste and serve with diced onion and shredded cheddar.
Exceedingly pleasant SB for the price – contains the tart berry, cat pee, and rocks that I like in the variety without the grass or lurid tropical fruit that I don’t. ($6ish, Trader Joe’s)
Well, it doesn’t SMELL corked…
