This month, Wine Blogging Wednesday is on a Friday because founder Lenn Thompson of the Lenndevours wine blog has teamed up with Alberto from Il Forno a premier food blog and founder of Is My Blog Burning. So for IMBB 26 and WBW 21 the rules are fairly simple. For us wine bloggers, pick a bottle from your cellar and find a recipe to pair with it; for food bloggers it’s the other way round choosing one of their favorite recipes and then finding a wine.

So when I read about this theme last month, I immediately thought of a food podcaster, Anne Bramley of Eat Feed, to give me some recipe ideas for the wine I chose. I spoke with Anne earlier today and she gave me several recipe ideas that might match with the White Rose Estate, Pinot Noir I selected from my cellar.

After considering all of Anne’s suggestions, I picked the pork with apples and brandy cream we spoke about and cooked it for dinner this evening. Anne suggested a couple other recipes that can be found online here:

- Pork Chops with Quinoa Pilaf and Dried Fruit
- Pork Tenderloin with Gorgonzola and Figs

Here are my tasting notes for the wine and match with the meal. Much more detail is available on the podcast:

White Rose Estate, Pinot Noir, White Rose Estate Vineyard 2002 ($65/gift from Jay Selman from Grape Radio) - Ruby in color with powerful aromas of earth, black cherry and spice. Some people might be put off by the gamy, earthiness of the aromas of this wine, but I rather like this aspect. In the mouth its concentrated raspberry, black cherry and a little earth, finishing with supple tannins and good acidity to match with food. I really found this wine to be delicious, but I can see why others might not like this style at all. Score: 9/10

As for the match with the dish, I thought that the shallot cream sauce and the mild gaminess of the pork tenderloin matched almost perfectly with this wine, really enhancing the fruit. But when tasted with the sautéed apples, it really didn’t work too well. I think the next time I make this dish I’ll omit the apples or at least reduce the quantity down to a single apple.

Thanks for Alberto and Lenn for a great idea to merge the two leading wine and food blogging events and to Anne Bramley for some great recipe ideas. I’ll see you next month for WBW 22, where I most likely will not have to cook

Show Notes:

00:22 - Welcome and show theme
01:12 - Conversation with Anne Bramley of Eat Feed
15:03 - Selected recipe
16:58 - White Rose Estate, Pinot Noir, White Rose Estate Vineyard 2002 ($65)
18:14 - Wine and food match
20:12 - Contact Details
20:31 - Next Show Theme

Feedback: winecast@gmail.com
Copyright 2006 Acan Media, Inc. Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

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Today’s podcast is a return after more than a month away from the mic with a look at Sonoma’s Russian River Valley AVA.

Show Notes:
00:22 - Welcome
01:01 - Russian River Valley Background
02:20 - Tasting Notes
02:40 - Papapietro Perry Winery, Pinot Noir, Elsbree Vineyards 2004 ($45)
03:06 - Papapietro Perry Winery, Pinot Noir, Leras Family Vineyards 2003 ($45) *
03:41 - De La Montanya Winery, Pinot Noir, Tina’s Vineyard 2004 ($38)
04:23 - De La Montanya Winery, Pinot Noir, Christine’s Vineyard 2004 ($38)
04:51 - De La Montanya Winery, Syrah, Estate Vineyard 2004 ($30)
05:05 - De La Montanya Winery, Pin-up Series, “Cabaret - Series II”, Cabernet / Zinfandel / Syrah 2003 ($38)
05:59 - Felda Creek, “Pinot Squared” 2004 ($32)
06:36 - Moshin Vineyards, Pinot Noir, Barrel Select 2003 ($22) +
07:18 - Moshin Vineyards, Pinot Noir, Lot 4, 2003 ($35)
07:37 - Davis Bynum, Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley 2002 ($28)
08:28 - Davis Bynum, Pinot Noir, Lindleys Knoll Vineyard 2002 ($55)
08:46 - Davis Bynum, Pinot Noir, “Le Pinot”, Rochioli Vineyard 2002 ($80)
09:23 - Davis Bynum, Cabernet Sauvignon, Laureles Estate Vineyard 1999 ($50)
09:48 - J Vineyards, J Vintage Brut 2000 ($30)
10:24 - J Vineyards, J Chardonnay, Russian River Valley 2003 ($32)
10:47 - J Vineyards, J Pinot Noir, Nicole’s Vineyard 1997 ($40)
11:12 - J Vineyards, J Pinot Noir, Nicole’s Vineyard 1998 ($40)
11:30 - Best of Tasting *
11:43 - Best Value +
12:05 - Full Disclosure
12:44 - Contact Details
13:13 - Next Show Theme

Feedback: winecast@gmail.com | Audio comments: +01-206-33-WINE-9 (+01-206-339-4639)
Copyright 2006 Acan Media, Inc. Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

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Domaine du Chateau de Marsannay, Bourgogne Rouge, “Estate Bottled” 2001 – A recent gift from my parents trip to Burgundy, this one doesn’t seem to be available in the U.S. or online; I can’t imagine this to be more than a few Euro a bottle.

Light ruby in color with aromas of black cherry, wet earth and cloves. Fading black cherry fruit, spice and earth flavors with a simple, short finish. A fairly decent everyday Burgundy that was probably better a year or two ago when it had more fruit. Score: 7.5/10

I was over at Solo Vino this morning picking up some wines for WBW 20 and Chuck cracked open a just received case of Chilean Pinot Noir for me to try. I’ve had some interesting Pinots from their selection in the past, so I was keen to give this one a try tonight:

Undurraga, Pinot Noir, D.O. Central Valley, Chile 2005 ($9/sample) - Clear, light ruby in color with aromas of wild cherry and watermelon. Tart bing cherry and strawberry fruit flavors with light tannins and a nice acidic edge on the finish. A good everyday red in a light and fruity style that is more reminiscent of Gamay Noir than Pinot. Score: 8/10

Thanks, Chuck; another good call!

MacRostie Winery, “Keltie Brook”, Pinot Noir, Carneros 2002 ($15) - Garnet color with strong black cherry, raspberry and vanilla aromas. Round raspberry and cranberry fruit flavors finishing with a bit of spice, earth and toasty oak. A very good Pinot for the money. Score 8.5/10

I hope everyone here in the U.S. had a great Thanksgiving; I thought I would share my tasting notes from our feast:

Mommessin, Beaujolais Nouveau 2005 ($10) - Ruby in color with a purple rim, black cherry and strawberry aromas; strawberry and cherry fruit flavors with soft tannins and good acidity. A very good nouveau that portends an excellent Beaujolais vintage. Enjoy until the end of the year. Score: 8.5/10

Ponzi, Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon 2002 ($30) - Ruby color with powerful raspberry and plum aromas; raspberry and black cherry fruit flavors with a nice cinnamon note on the finish. Excellent concentration of fruit and pleasing acidity. Delicious now and will continue to please for another year or two. Score: 9/10

Now back to my turkey coma and the rest of the 4th quarter of the Cowboys game - Go Broncos!



Only 24 hours or so before our annual harvest feast day here in the U.S. and the wine blogosphere is buzzing with a few picks for the best wine matches to pair with the traditional turkey dinner (even with Alder sitting this one out). My choice is Pinot Noir and I have already given you a couple of Pinot’s to pick up if you have a large group to feed, but I think I will choose a Ponzi Pinot Noir 2002 from Oregon’s Willamette Valley I first reviewed in Winecast 8, with White Rose Estate Pinot Noir 2002 as my back-up bottle (although I might be tempted to call an audible and drink this one first!). Another tradition we have is to start off the festivities with a glass of Beaujolais nouveau. This year I have 4 of them to taste for an upcoming podcast, but probably will pull the dependable Louis Tete bottling, like my podcast buddy Alan, a.k.a. The Cellar Rat, already has.

If you must have a white wine, I suggest either an oaked Chardonnay or a crisp, fruity German Riesling from the excellent 2003 vintage. Look for “Kabinett” on the label and you will be good to go. Which ever wine you choose, make sure you have a backup bottle should cork taint raise its ugly head or your celebration requires further replenishment

A new weekly side podcast highlighting some of the wines I have recently tasted and think you would enjoy. In this first installment I review two California Pinot Noirs for under $10 a bottle:

- Mark West, Pinot Noir, Central Coast 2004 ($8)
- HRM Rex-Goliath, “Giant 47 Pound Rooster�, Pinot Noir, California NV ($8.50)

Feedback: winecast@gmail.com | Audio comments: +01-206-33-WINE-9 (+01-206-339-4639)
Copyright 2005 Tim Elliott. Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

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Today’s show is my first podcast on France’s Burgundy region, I share an audio comment and play a song sent in by a podsafe artist relating to wine.

Show Notes:
0:22 - Welcome
0:39 - Burgundy background
5:14 - Strategies to pick Burgundy*
6:18 - Tasting notes
6:30 - Louis Latour, Pouilly-Vinzelles, “En Paradis” 2003 ($13)
7:04 - Vincent Girardin, Santenay 1er Cru, “Les Gravières” 2002 ($30)
7:47 - Audio comment from Johnee Bee
9:22 - Further reflections on wines tasted in last 2 shows
11:36 - Hurricane relief PSA from Dave’s Lounge
13:12 - Virtual tasting wines
15:08 - Thanks to Steve for theme music remixes!
15:20 - Clare Fader’s “The Wine” from The Elephant’s Baby
19:44 - Contact details
20:08 - Next show theme

* Strategy 1:
Reds
- Gevrey-Chambertin
- Chambolle-Musigny
- Savigny

Whites
- Meursault
- Puligny-Montrachet
- Chassagne-Montrachet

* Strategy 2:
- Saint-Aubin
- Cote de Nuits-Villages
- Santenay
- Marsannay
- Givry

Feedback: winecast@gmail.com | Audio comments: +01-206-33-WINE-9 (+01-206-339-4639)
Copyright 2005 Tim Elliott. Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

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Mark West, Pinot Noir, Central Coast 2004 ($8) - Ruby in color with black cherry and spice aromas; raspberry and black cherry fruit flavors finishing with nice balancing acidity and light tannins. Enjoyable for current drinking and another great value in California Pinot Noir for under $10. Score: 8.5/10

Buy this wine online