Sometimes Life Gets in the Way

The title of this post is appropriate, not just for this blog posting, but for the fact that it's been so long since we've posted.

Sometimes Life Gets in the Way... But the moral of the story is to be SURE to drink that wine that's been sitting around while life happens around you.

It's sort of embarrassing that we haven't posted in 2 years. I guess surgeries, work and life changes come at you in unpredictable ways. In that vein, I share what happened when visiting a friend and making pulls out of his wine cellar.

First, I should back up and share that this friend is totally into wine, has a stellar wine cellar, and has lived in his house for 20+ years. There's some old stuff down there. Sometimes we go picking down there together, and sometimes he sends me down while he cooks. Nice to have friends like this, right?

I strike out on my first two picks -- they are being saved for family members. I joke that I'm picking something older for my third pick; it's from the mid 1980s.

The Oasis Vineyards cabernet sauvignon is smelling bad. He won't taste it; I do. It's awful, and down the drain it goes.

I traipse back downstairs -- fourth time now -- and pull a Grand Cru, which I warned I'd do if my last trip was unsuccessful. The 1985 Chateau Talbot from France is also smelling funky. We both sniff and sip. Big NOPE. Down the drain it goes.

I pull a vintage from another house -- 1986 this time. Dammit! Also bad.

He suggests pulling a '90 or '91 Spottswoode. We're having steak. We need a cab and the pickings in the cellar are getting slim.

The 1990 Spottswoode is easy to find. I think I racked this myself a few months back from a stack of cases sitting in the corner. We are fighting bad corks again -- he likes to swear at cork -- and we have another wine destined for the drain. Ugh, how can this be?

Finally, the lucky number seven pick. Another vintage 1990 Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon. I haven't heard of Heitz Cellars, but his eyes light up and he's hopeful once again.

The seal is removed, the cork pulled, a pour, a sniff... yes! This is our (now quite special) Monday night steak wine. You can still find this bottle in the mid-$200 range. We certainly didn't expect to be drinking this on a random Monday night but since it's Thanksgiving week, and we struck out 6 times, why not? The Heitz Martha's Vineyard cabernet (named for a woman and not the island off Cape Cod) is a highly regarded California wine -- famous for a hint of mint on the palate. We got notes of mint and basil, as well as blueberry. It was fantastic and I recommend drinking this wine soon. It seems to be at its peak.

Moral of the story is... you may not have time to blog, but there IS time for wine, and by all means... DRINK IT!

Size matters, people!

Sparkling Pear Whiskey Cocktail

Had an overripe pear to use up and was craving a cocktail, so decided to surf the interwebs to see if anything caught my fancy -- and, of course, something we had the ingredients to make. Enter the Sparkling Bourbon Pear Cocktail from Serious Eats, which we adjusted down from party size, and modified slightly.

Starting with one pear, we sliced it up, put it in a 9" cake pan, and roasted it at 375 degrees for 18 minutes.

In a blender, we squeezed one lime (didn't have lemon), and sprinkled in about 1/8 teaspoon of ground cloves.

The pear is supposed to be left to cool to room temp after baking, but we didn't have the patience for that and popped it in the fridge for 5-10 minutes. Then we added it to the blender, along with 1 ice cube, and pureed the mixture.

Once we saw how much pear puree that yielded, we added half as much maple syrup,

and twice the amount of Corner Creek bourbon whiskey. Blend again.
Pour that puree into two glasses (it's thick!) and then add champagne to taste. Give it a gentle stir to incorporate, but don't be so rigorous that you destroy the bubbles from the champagne.

We used a Riesling Brut from Weingut Geschwister Kowerich (Mosel, Germany). It was cozy and delicious! I can definitely see doing a big batch in the fall for Thanksgiving or Christmas. It was perfect for our rainy, windy, Oregon weekend.

Great Portland Wine Bar ~ with a Bonus Oscar Prediction

We heard about Pairings Portland wine shop more than a year ago from a Twitter comrade, but since it's on the east side, it took us forever to get across the river and visit. Better late than never!

The owner, Jeff, prides himself on a sense of humor, quirkiness, and a fun, approachable take on wine. He's a little obsessive (in a good way) about pairings. He'll pair wine to Harry Potter or other characters, to songs and bands, to movies and TV shows, to moods, dog breeds and astrological signs.
The day we were there, he had a tasting flight that was pairing wines to the ladies nominated for Best Actress at the Oscars. 

Cate Blanchett (Carol) was represented by a rose described as "elegant, hidden, a classic, cool, elusive".

Jennifer Lawrence (Joy) was represented by a rose brut described as "inspirational, bubbly, entrepreneurial, persevering".

Charlotte Rampling (45 Years) was represented by a blanco described as "assured, compassionate, modest, coupled yet solitary".

Soris Ronan (Brooklyn) was represented by a grinolino d'asti described as "young, beguiling, homesick, faithful".

Brie Larson (Room) was represented by a montefalco rosso riserva described as "strong, isolated, unexpected".

I haven't seen any of these films, so I have to make my Oscar Best Actress prediction based on my favorite tasting among this group. Before I spoil that segment of the show, I'll share that Jeff gave us a little taste of one of his own creations, a wine cocktail he named "Doctor Greg". It's a wine and vermouth combination that smells clean - almost like fresh laundry, but on the tongue it's fruity and herbaceous - very interesting.

Ok, unlike the Oscar broadcast, I won't make you wait 3 hours for the Best Actress winner:

I predict Brie Larson! The Fongoli Montefalco Rosso was just divine!

Wine pairing with Halloween Candy!

From Vivino: "The Halloween Survival Guide For Adults" -- an app/chart that tells you exactly which red or white you should be drinking with your candy of choice.
M&Ms with Syrah, please!

Enjoy!

Divine Summer Cocktail Recipe!

Just add sunshine!

Ok, so we modified the "Fruit Champagne" recipe from The Bartender's Guide to suit what we had on hand, and the results were AMAZING!

6 oz hand-squeezed grapefruit juice
2-1/4 oz blackberry brandy {We used a luscious blackberry liqueur from Brandy Peak Distillery in Brookings, Oregon}.
1 oz cognac
Champagne for topping up {We used Kramer sparkling "Celebrate!" muller-thurgau from the Yamhill-Carlton region of Oregon}.

Shake the grapefruit juice, brandy, and cognac over ice in a shaker and strain into a champagne glass. Top up with sparkling wine. Enjoy! Preferably outside!!!

Ooops... My Bad!