India's Grill in Los Angeles

On Friday, my wine friends headed off to India's Grill in LA. Since there is only a $6 corkage fee, we all brought different wines for everyone to share.

India's Grill
428 S San Vicente Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90048

The food is phenomenal and quite inexpensive! We brought in all of our wines and stems, and I don't think they even charged us for corkage. We had a bevy of different dishes, chicken curries, grilled okra (so delicious!), lentils, lamb, a couple of other chicken dishes, and the bread (naan) was great. Excellent service, too. I can't wait to come here again.

Here are some of the wines our group brought in for the evening, wines that would match with Indian food.

Occhipinti Il Frappato
2004 Saxum Syrah Bone Rock James Berry Vineyard
2008 Gutzler White Pressed Pinot Noir
1999 Abbazia di Novacella Praepositus Lagrein
2005 Pipestone Viognier
A white wine from Louisiana!
2008 Ameztoi Getariako Txakolina Rose Rubentis
2005 Van Volxem Scharzhofberger Riesling
1991 Stony Hill Gewurtz Traminer (sic)
Alfred Merkelbach/Geschwister Albertz Erben
2005 Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling Auselese, Mosel,
2006 Domaine Weinbach Cuvee Laurence Gewurtztraminer Vin d'Alsace
2006 Porter Creek Old Vine Carignane


All the wines were fantastic and wines I might not think to get for myself. My favorite wine was the 2006 Domaine Weinback Gerwurtzraminer from Alsace. Luscious, honeyed, and pleasing. There were a couple of other wines not mentioned. All in all it was a great outing.

Are some Red Wines better for you than others?

There is a dizzying amount of articles touting the benefits of drinking red wine in moderation ...but are some red wines more beneficial for you than others?  Is a Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon better for your heart versus  a Pinot Noir from Russian River?  Is a Central Coast Syrah just what the doctor ordered for the old ticker?

Two articles discuss two lesser-known wines; one from the southwest portion of France (where they grow the grape, Tannat), and another wine from Sardinia, Italy (known for growing Cannonau, a.k.a.: Grenache).  They also add that it is not Reservatrol that we should be concerned with, but instead, procyanidins.  

Interesting. Keep in mind that the people they are studying are living in small provincial towns in Europe where they have different lifestyles and diets than in the U.S. The optimist in me wants to believe that drinking the right kind of wine would allow us to reap some great cardiac benefits. Below are the articles.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=forget-resveratrol-tannin

http://www.winespectator.com/Wine/Features/0,1197,3564,00.html

Three Italian Beauties

Disclosure: I am lucky enough to be representing these three wines. They are all made from the same grape, Nebbiolo, but crafted in entirely different ways. All are stunning in their own right.

Varaldo Langhe Nebbiolo 2006

Bright red fruit, sour cherry, good acid. Think of a bumblebee in your mouth (without the stinger). Delightful!

Varaldo Barbaresco "Sori Loreto" 2004

Same producer as the first wine, this is the "big brother" to the Langhe Nebbiolo. More depth, black cherry, wood presence and a lasting finish. Great acidity. This wine stood well for 3 days after opening. Again, this is stunning wine. If you are into Robert Parker, he scored it a 94.

Reverdito Barolo "Bricco Cogni" 2001

My favorite of the pack. A deep, rich wine with tons of earth. Close your eyes, and you are outside, in the dark, stepping on Fall leaves and smelling damp soil. I swear I could taste this wine for 20 minutes after. Gorgeous.

A musical moment

Paul McCartney has perfect pitch.

Happy Hour Week in OC - April 12-18

http://www.happyhourweek.com/

April 12th marks the beginning of the First Annual Orange County Happy Hour Week. During this week you will be able to visit some of your favorite restaurants for some fantastic happy hour specials. The best part about this is that most restaurants will be offering these fantastic happy hour special all day long for the entire week! No more rushing to try and get your order in before happy hour ends! Here are some of the participating restaurants and the menus that they are offering. More may be added soon.If the restaurant name is clickable, you can view their special happy hour menu.

***Many of the restaurants are offering their happy hour specials all day, some only have extended hours though. Please check the page for the restaurant you are going to before going down to the restaurant.***

118 Degrees - Costa Mesa
21 Oceanfront - Newport Beach
Ambrosia - Santa Ana
Avilas El Ranchito - Newport Beach
Bistro West - Tustin
Bluewater Grill - Tustin and Newport
Brix Wine Bar - Sunset Beach
Chaparosa Grill - Laguna Niguel/Tustin
Citrus Fresh Grill - Aliso Viejo
Commonwealth Lounge - Fullerton
Daily Grill - Irvine
French 75 - Newport Beach
HUSH - Laguna Beach
JT Schmid's Restaurant & Brewery - Anaheim/Tustin
Karl Strauss - Costa Mesa
Kimera - Irvine
K'ya Bistro - Laguna Beach
Leatherby's - Costa Mesa
Lucca - Irvine
Mozambique - Laguna Beach
O’Neill’s Bar and Grill - Mission Viejo
Orange County Mining Company - Orange
Pinot Provence - Costa Mesa
Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen - Anaheim
Royal Hawaiian - Laguna Beach
Ruth's Chris Steak House - Irvine
Sage - Newport Beach
Sage on the Coast - Newport Beach
Savannah at the Beach - Huntington Beach
Simply Fondue - San Juan Capistrano
Sorrento Grille - Laguna Beach
Stonehill Tavern - Dana Point
Summit House - Fullerton
Sundried Tomoto - San Clemente
Sundried Tomato - San Juan Capistrano
TAPS Fish House and Brewery - Brea
Terra Nova - Costa Mesa
The Clubhouse - Costa Mesa
The Loft Bistro at Montage - Laguna Beach
The Melting Pot - San Clemente/Irvine/Brea
The Ranch Sports Grill - Ladera Ranch
The Red Chair Lounge - Huntington Beach
The Rooftop Lounge - Laguna Beach
The Winery Restaurant and Wine Bar - Tustin
Tommy Bahama's Island Grille - Newport Beach
Zov's Bistro - Tustin
Zov's Neighborhood Cafe's - Irvine/Newport Beach

2009 Wine Blog Awards

There are some really great wine bloggers out there, and you have a chance to vote for them now if you follow this link

http://www.fermentation.typepad.com/

Voting ends March 4, so sooner the better! Also, please check out their sites if you haven't already. They are pretty awesome. Alder Yarrow, who writes "Vinography.com" is a pretty cool guy, with a great palate and who does honest assessments of wines and the wine world. You should definitely check him out if you haven't already.

2009 Wine Blog Awards

Peace!
V

Bipolar ... bottled up.

This is Urban Uco, a 50/50 blend of Tempranillo and Malbec, grown in Argentina.

You see the deep, mulberry color at first, but be patient. There is a finesse to the wine that catches you off-guard....that is the tempranillo taking over. Very rustic (leathery...baseball mit kind of leathery, but surrounded by dark berries). The lean, old world nature of the Tempranillo grape mixes with the Malbec (which is also an old world grape, but entirely different). The malbec fleshes out the tempranillo... makes it rounder and fruitier. Then it catches you off-guard again, as it packs a wollop. The bottle is stating 14.5%, but I am guessing more like 15% alcohol. But the wine is perfectly balanced. No heat, just intriguing flavor.

This is a wine presented by the Spanish importer, Jose Ordonez. He is known for choosing interesting wines at modest prices. This wine goes under $10 and is a good sipper.