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.

Happy New Year!

Hope your New Years was peaceful and lovely and spent with those you care for.

Yours truly celebrated the New Year by opening a bottle of the 1996 Henri Abelé Champagne - Brut - Reims, France ($55). Its makeup is: 47% Chardonnay; 34% Pinot Noir; and 19% Pinot Meunier.

This is a gorgeous, savory, rich-tasting wine. The color is a dark straw yellow, apricot on the nose, sporting an almond and croissant flavor. This Champagne is a bit acidic, so best to pair with food.

The semifreddo I made for dessert paired magically with the Champagne, cutting through the dessert's sweetness, but still showing its nutty character that matched the semifreddo. A semifreddo is an Italian term for a half-frozen dessert. In this case, the flavor was chocolate hazelnut.

Here is the recipe for the semifreddo. It is delicious and extremely easy to make.

Chocolate Semifreddo

• 2 1/4 cups chilled whipping cream
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons of Frangelico (Hazelnut liqueur)
  
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• Toasted almonds
  
• 9 chocolate cups
  

Take a handful of almonds, chop into small pieces, and toast under a medium-low heat being careful not to burn. After the almonds have browned, immediately transfer to a glass or ceramic bowl and set aside. Combine whipping cream and vanilla in another large bowl. Sift powdered sugar and cocoa over. Using an electric mixer, beat at mid-high speed, add in vanilla and liqueur, continue to beat until soft peaks form. Spoon the mixture into chocolate cups, which can be purchased in a gourmet/specialty store. Freeze until cream is set, at least 1 hour. Top with toasted almonds.

-------

When you are buying a bottle of Champagne* or Sparkling Wine, you will notice different jargon on the label (for example, XD or Brut). This is important because it is in reference to the Champagne's degree of sweetness. Listed below are the different levels of sweetness, starting from bone dry like the Sahara Desert, to sugary sweet. The most common type of Champagne/Sparkling Wine is Brut, although throughout the 19th century Champagne was generally much sweeter than it is today.

Levels of Sweetness in Champagne/Sparkling Wine (starting from driest to sweetest)

• Brut Natural or Brut Zéro (less than 3 grams of sugar per liter)
• Extra Brut (less than 6 grams of sugar per liter)
• Brut (less than 15 grams of sugar per liter)
• Extra Sec or Extra Dry, XD (12 to 20 grams of sugar per liter)
• Sec (17 to 35 grams of sugar per liter)
• Demi-Sec (33 to 50 grams of sugar per liter)
• Doux (more than 50 grams of sugar per liter)

* Champagne can only be called "Champagne" if it is made in the Champagne region of France, blah, blah, blah. Everything else is called "Sparkling Wine".

Jim, (our Champagne guy) in LA Times Magazine

Hi-Time hit the trifecta (quadrafecta?), media-wise. This is our Champagne buyer, Jim. He knows more about Champagne than most people in Champagne.


































Also this month, The Tom Leykis Show featured our Italian buyer John, and one of our Spirits guys Trayce, on his Sunday show called The Tasting Room. Here are links to the podcast:

Part I: http://www.hitimewine.net/mp3/tom_leykis.mp3

Part II: http://www.hitimewine.net/mp3/tom_leykis2.mp3

Interview: Todd, by Orange Coast Magazine

Todd (our Winebar manager and Cheesemeister) was featured in December's issue of Orange Coast Magazine.
A great read.

By Anne Valdespino / Photography by Jason Wallis

If you shop at Hi-Time Wine Cellars in Costa Mesa you’ve probably seen him, and if you hang around the tasting room you know him personally. Todd Johnston, the guy with the Chinese tattoos, the motor mouth, and the rakish, hip-guy charm, stocks the cheese case and runs the tasting bar like a Vegas pit boss. The 34-year-old Newport Beach native—a self-described third-generation Hoag baby—attended culinary school at
Orange Coast College. His specialty is European wines; he loves Rhones and Champagnes. California cabernet bores him; he says he has never been to Napa.

Cork. Synth or real?
Synthetic. I’ve opened too many bottles of corked wine that I’ve saved for a long time and it really [ticks] me off.

Favorite bubbly at the moment?
José Dhondt Brut Rosé de Saignée Champagne ($56.98).

Favorite red?
Jaboulet ’98 La Chapelle Hermitage ($300). It’s the poster child for a better Rhone. Super dry, earthy. Bramble. Briar. Liquid beef jerky.

How many wines do you taste in a shift?
Between 10 and 30.

Worst wine you’ve ever tasted at work?
We have a list. And the bad ones are just as memorable as the great ones. It’s a Zen way of looking at it: “Oh my God that is so bad. It’s great!”

Favorite seduction wine?
Moscato d’Asti Nivole by Michele Chiarlo ($12). I’m a firm believer
that Moscato d’Asti is best served in a bellybutton.

Cork dork or wine geek?
Grape nut.

Worst tasting-room faux pas?
I had a patron spit into my glass. She said, “Oh my God. I’m so sorry,” grabbed it, and drank it. Her husband said, “We’re done. Let’s go, honey.”

Your taste in vino is pretty expensive. Any regrets about developing your palate?
There was a time when I drank Mouton-Cadet and thought, “This stuff’s great!”
I long for those days. I’m not gonna lie.

So, steer us to a great deal.
I drink tannat [a varietal] from Uruguay, Viñedo de los Vientos 2006.
It’s $16, I love it.

So, California cabernet bores you. Got anything against chardonnay?
I hate California chardonnay and I love blanc de blanc Champagne [made from the same varietal]. The Champagne guy here says it’s because blanc de blanc is the purest expression of the varietal, not mucked up with
oak and malolactic fermentation.

Is most chardonnay overstyled?
Kendall-Jackson came along in the ’80s and convinced housewives that’s what chardonnay should taste like. They wrecked it. They killed it.

Can you hit the spit bucket from three feet like they do in France?
I’m Scottish. We don’t believe in spitting. Call it the industrial liver.

Favorite wine-and-cheese pairing?
Morbier and Crozes Hermitage. It’s a serious cheese and a serious wine.

What should we drink with our turkey?
Chenin blanc, Vouvray, and Champagne.

Most underrated region?
Südtirol (Italian Alps).

Most overrated region?
Burgundy and the whole state of California. I’ll take Washington over California any day.

What does a dude need to know about wine to impress a woman?
Guys do that I-don’t-drink-white-wine thing. That’s ridiculous. It pays to have an open palate. It’s a lot more important to keep her happy than to spout off about your wine knowledge.

Does the ignorance of some customers amuse or annoy you?
I aim for mockery of the customer, but I don’t want them to feel bad. I strive for the insult that they don’t get until they’re driving home. “Wait! What?” Just kidding. I like my customers.

Do you have to be a super taster to do your job?
Not at all. It’s more about dealing with personalities. The cougars down at the end of the bar want something completely different than the serious wine tasters over here, or the novices in the corner; they’re my favorite. They’re so excited to learn about wine, they’ll try everything. •

Hi-Time Wine Cellars
250 Ogle St.
Costa Mesa
949-650-8463