King Estate Pinot Gris 2014

This was a very good wine, especially for the price of about $15. Beautifully complex and sophisticated. If there are any faults, it is the somewhat unpleasant acidity, but all the beauties make the wine worth it.

On the nose, you get a pleasant Parmesan smell, with lemon/lemongrass and lime, which are likely the cause  of the acidity. The acidity does go down as the wine breathes, but I think it is worth noting the negatives of a wine on opening nevertheless. It's like Sprite Plus though! Good shit.

Taste wise, it is the same in regards to the citrus fruits--the lemon and lemongrass--with a Parmesan finish with the aforementioned slightly unpleasant acidity. Underneath of citrus of the wine's body, there is an nice smoothness. There is a softer, fruity underneath it, floral or buttery, peach maybe--I cannot quite place it.

Overall, I rate this a 4.5 out of 5.

I could not find my little booklet at the time, so I did a voice recording for the notes. In a way it helped improve my noting. One thing I noted was that white wine is a difficult wine to perfect, not only in making, but in enjoying. To fully be enjoyed it needs to be chilled, but not too much, and not too little. Thanks to modern technology this can be fixed, but if you can't afford that fancy equipment, or are a romantic, an ice bucket works, though for me the freezer is just as easy. Put it in the freezer for thirty to thirty five minutes, no longer than forty. But for serving company, an ice bucket is good for presentation, but you should rotate it in and out of the bucket to avoid it getting too cold, say every ten to fifteen minutes. Chill it in the freezer, then get the ice bucket out. Another small note is use water in the ice. It makes it chill much faster. Also add kosher salt to the ice, which supposedly slows melting down. Also of course, use a towel to place the bucket on, as it will sweat profusely, and a hard object, like a wooden cutting board underneath it to avoid water stains on the table cloth or nice wood of the buffet. It should a full towel, folded up all the way that the bucket can fit on. Too little thickness, and the water soaks through. That's a nasty mess.

Here you can find notes on serving, regarding the difficulty of perfecting that matter;

http://www.winespectator.com/webfeature/show/id/45890

Oh, and since this is an Oregon wine, I have to share this adorable, charming video, being a romantic about Oregon. It is a dream of sorts to move there one day:

Montinore Estate 2014 Pinot Gris

It has been a while since I wrote anything significant or did any reviews. Money has been tight for one, and I participated in a study for a nasal version of an epilepsy medication which treats acute seizures, that is, the seizure itself, rather than the seizures; it is akin to what they use in hospitals to immediately stop a seizure, particularly a full blown gran mal, and more particularly, the possibly fatal status epileticus. On which note, November is Epilepsy Awareness Month, so please consider making even a small, tax deductible of course, charitable donation to the Epilepsy Foundation. You can click here and go directly to the donations page.

Now to the wine! So this medium priced wine was a gift, at least I think it was. It seems to be under around $15 now! It is organic by the way, for those of you who are big on that.

The notes:

On the nose it is interesting. There seem to be occasional Parmesan notes, but mostly lemon, floral notes, with lime, too, if I recall. The latter I did not write down, but it does have lime on the tongue if nothing else. I did write that down. You are smelling the roses with this wine though! Given the Parmesan note, this would go well with pasta, a red sauce even. Unlike one might think, you can drink white with a red sauced pasta. When it comes down to it, you can drink whatever in the hell you want, though it does help to drink a wine that compliments a dish.

For example, tonight I am having a Beaujolais with red beans and rice. I think the smooth texture will compliment the spice, cooling it down even, or something to that effect. To me, at least, Beaujolais is smooth, even watery you might say, but not in a bad way. Everyone hates getting a watered down bottle of wine. Beaujolais is good and simple, and good for those who do not like a full bodied or dry wine. It is fruity, but in an Old World, rather than New World way; that is, it is not the fruity go to Yellow Tail.

But back to the current wine. It's taste is one of apple, demon with a finish that is rather long and tangy, with that same Parmesan effect of the nose.

Overall, on a 1-5 scale, a 4, which I list as "Great" in my system. For me it is just at great. It is complex enough to be above okay. I say this objectively, because I am not a big fan of white wine, so for me personally the wine is "okay" in the sense that white wine is not my thing. But I think learning wine requires one to drink not just red!

PS....I will try to put up my red beans and rice recipe. It is the first time I am making it, and I am using other's recipes to a degree, but mainly following the basic principles rather than strict rules. There are not strict rules anyway with dishes like this, simply principles that must be followed to make it true red beans and rice. One of them, from what I understand, is dry beans, not canned ones. Also, for example, white rice would not really be proper, though I think it might go well with the sauce. Just "regular" rice for this.

Easy Thick Cut Pork Chops

It's bee a long while before I posted. I got some inch and quarter cut chops and cooked them up simple. Here is the recipe:


PREP TIME: 5 minutes.
INACTIVE TIME: 35 minutes (bringing pork to room temperature and resting)
COOK TIME: 30 minutes


INGREDIENTS 

• 4 thickly cut pork loin chops (1-1 1/2 inches thick) brought to room temperature.
• Olive oil
• Kosher salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. 
2. Having brought the pork chops to room temperature, moderately season with the kosher salt and pepper on each side. 
3. Lubricate a cast iron skillet or flat pan with olive oil and heat on highest heat until nearly smoking
4. Place the chops in/on the pan. Sear 2-3 minutes on each side. Do not turn for at least two minutes. It should be golden brown before turning. Repeat on the opposite side . You may even want to sear on the sides. Also, if you are cooking more than four, or have a small skillet, it may be best to sear the chops in batches. Lay the seared ones aside on a plate, and then place them all back in the pan before placing in the oven. 
5. Place in the oven and cook 10-15 minutes. This may seem not long enough to some, but remember they have been cooking on the stove. Americans tend to overcook pork. When the juices run clear when poked with a small knife, the pork is done. Remove. Covering loosely with tin foil, drain the chops on a plate with newspaper or paper towels, and allow to rest for five minutes. Then serve.  
6. Pair with a dry white or red. Serve perhaps with mashed potatoes and fresh green beans. 

I Ate His Liver with Some Fava Beans and....

Note: I must say, that in light of this piece, that I am by no means an expert in wine. But that is the reason I started this blog. I needed something to write about, and I figured why not wine? So, if I come off as ignorant or pretentious, forgive me! As this article shows, I learned something! 

So, I was going to review my next box wine, but I think I'll go about this differently. So the box wine, a Cabernet Sauvignon, by Almaden, I was not too happy with. Then I got a Chianti Classico Riserva by Bianti, vintage 2010. The Chianti did not seem to have a lot of depth, but I realized, in my humble understanding, that it was a big wine. I learned to like it. The Cabernet of the box wine is also big. But after drinking the Chianti, I drank the Cabernet; and since I had drank the Chianti, I noticed more depth in the Cabernet. Basically, the big, rather depth lacking Cabernet, suddenly had some depth. I tasted tarty fruit. It's pleasant, but interestingly not as pleasant as the Chianti. I must say that I like a more complex wine than the big Chianti, but I would buy it again to taste something different. It was a 2010, which was a good year for Chianti I am told. Though the Cabernet became more complex, I still preferred the simple and big Chianti. It is worth noting that I drank this Chianti to celebrate the premiere of the third season of NBC's Hannibal. In the movie Silence of the Lambs, Dr. Lecter, when he talks about the census taker and the fava beans, he says he drank it with a nice big Amarone.. But in the movie it is simply a nice Chianti. The liver is the important thing! This big Chianti that I drank, like Lecter's big Amarone, indeed would go well with a nice liver. It has a sort of pleasant metallic taste. So a nice big wine for sweetbreads.

Water and Wine, This Curse of Mine

The priest pouring water into the wine before the consecration during the Mass

So I took my wine back from yesterday because it was bad--corked or some other similar flaw. So I did not buy the same wine obviously, but a cheap Chianti that I have gotten in the past that is of good quality. Well, it was flat. Watery. It is drinkable and I am not going to pour it down the drain. Historically wine was watered I read, and it was considered low class to drink wine straight up. It is one reason Christ poured water into the wine at the Last Supper, and to this day it is done in the Christian liturgy of course. But no one waters their wine down anymore. 

But though the wine is bad, I am not going to dare take it back. If this were an actual wine shop, MAYBE. But two times in a row? I just think they will think me crazy or something. In fact, I've been getting a lot of bad wine this year it seems. Is it even possible to get many bad wines within a year if say you buy two bottles a month average? I've tried to say to myself that maybe it is myself, that I do not like the wine perhaps. But often these have been wines I have had before and liked. And when wine smells musty and cardboard like and has the same taste, I am pretty sure it is not just me. But I want to ask someone if I am just experiencing some twilight zone style coincidences, or if just maybe this is no unheard of?

Bota Box 2011 Zinfandel

So, I suppose this is a good chance to do a series on box wines. I'm on a budget now, and though I may be able to get a bottle a month, my Social Security Disability limits what I can spend. What, with rent, school, debts (maybe. Depends on if I feel like paying the banksters), and food (a food card is not enough) it is hard to buy bottles, and box wines are a great alternative for those on a budget. To the snobs, remember that you were once a college student, too!

I will also be cutting down on my intake. Say 2-3 glasses a day. Box wines allow that, since the bottle is not good after a couple days; and even the second day, it lacks something. I think I am going to try and live like a Stoic. Seriously, not just a figure of speech. I am going to start reading them again, and do Zen meditation, too to mix it up. Stoicism is great though. Cato, they said, drank the cheapest of wines, which if he were living today would be Franzia. I will do Franzia, but this month it's something less Americana. I think Franzia is a comedic image of your everyday American wino. It's been a while since I have had it, but it's worth revisiting. Actually back in 2010 is when, I think. My roommate got the stuff.

In any case: very fresh on the nose, like rain. I get woodsy aromas, too, or maybe that smell of fresh sawdust. There's something sweet but I can't quite name it.

Taste-wise it is rather tannic, not completely unpleasant, but putting in the decanter might help. But since I am only going to have a glass or two I won't worry about it. Besides the tannins, what comes to mind is holiday cranberries.The finish is interesting though. I have never eaten saw dust mind you, but sometimes you can kind of taste something by smelling it. It's worth putting in a decanter. Maybe I will leave it in the glass and see after say an hour. Yes, that seems the best idea.


****
Post-decanter 

Yes, softened very well. Now I get that rainwater smell that I like so much. I think of that plastic kids swimming pool, but I think rainwater is a more sophisticated adjective. I also get that sawmill smell layered in there, and the smell of cranberries, in a cranberry scented candle maybe , because there is a sweetness somewhere beneath it. Cinnamon maybe.

As for taste, the tannins have calmed down, though still somewhat strong. However after a medium finish of the tannins, it's really soft on the tongue. Berries too and maybe a little pepper. Quite a complex wine for something out of a box. Also there is a sweetness, and the box does say it has hints of chocolate or something like that. I love how they advertise wine. The main negative though is the tannins.

I give it an 86.

Next month I think I will try Black Box. Also, I might put a recipe up soon. I made some wicked quails last night. Rubbed with goose fat and everything! The negative of quail is there is so little meat for such a pricey meat. But it was worth it. Better than lamb.

Is it just me or is the wine really bad?

I have been getting a lot of bad wine this year. It makes me think maybe I am just imagining it, but I don't think so. I think the place where I usually get my wine (the closest store) may not be storing their wine well. But then again, I knew I should not have gotten this wine! I think the last time I had it, it was bad. Today it is drinkable, but not enjoyably so. The finish is really what's bad. Even on the nose this is so. At first it is like a pleasant bottle of wine, and then there is a musty finish, though it is not really strong. Taste wise it better when I swish it, but it is still sour with a musty finish. Hopefully, it will open up and the bad will go away. I decided to let it breathe. We'll see how it does in a couple hours. I really knew I should have gotten that other bottle, but it was more, and I was able to get two of these with a twenty. A year or two ago this was  very nice wine. To be fair to the store, it may be a mistake or chance with the maker. After all:

 So it may be nobody but God's fault. But still....I knew I should not have gotten it! Why didn't I listen to my judgment. Don't you just hate when you do that? It makes you want to beat yourself in the head: