I hate to say this but thetexting slang of OMG is lame, yet, that’s all I can say about the fun night out after the Lauber Tasting with Julie Pedroncelli St John, a few sales reps, another supplier and Joe Guidice of NJ Housewives at Highlawn Pavillion last week.

We had a great time, eating more appetizers than we should have and sampling wine and vodka.  Julie’s wine was stuck in in the warehouse at Fedway, another victim of Hurricane Sandy, but we did get to have a nice bottle of  Collovray & Terrier St Veran from Cynthia Hurley, and the Goldschmidt Boulder Bank Pinot from New Zealand to spice up the menu. Joe was great  fun and it truly made me wonder how this whole phenomenon of reality tv takes place.

The night could have been a page right out of the screenwriters scenario, only obviously much more fun for us since we had the laughs with the wine…

Hard to believe I know…  Maybe it’s time to revisit this.  Haven’t been thrilled with most of the NJ wineries to date…

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/17/magazine/is-new-jersey-the-new-napa.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

What do you think about NJ wines?

The syrah is a blockbuster red from Boschendal….

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324880504578297550603183458.html

The Pedroncelli family has been making such great wine for over 80 years.

It’s a real pleasure to see the press opening up to landmark winery.  Their wines are just as friendly as the people who work there – almost all family members, by the way, just like any other good italian family!

And check out below.  New labels arriving soon on the Sauvignon Blanc & Dry Rose !!!

Quick note from Julie Pedroncelli: 2010 friends red

More good news as we have the pdf of the Wine Enthusiast review attached and you can download your own shelf talkers from their site after March 1:

http://buyingguide.winemag.com/

Dick Rosano also reviewed our Three Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon which I’ll subtitle Dry Creek Valley Cabernet: not just for Zinfandel anymore

http://theweeklywinepick.com/2013/02/08/dry-creek-cabs/

Don’t forget the Best of Class/Double Gold medal this wine has received as well as a Gold Medal—on the accolade sheet and website.

In other news, we just received these links for Valentine’s Day wines: one for Petite Sirah and one for friends.red. Either way, they are perfect matches:

http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/wine-country/2013/feb/11/romantic-weekend-away-sonoma-county-valentines-day/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/katiebell/2013/02/04/p-s-petite-sirah-i-love-you-the-best-red-wine-for-valentines-day/

Grape growing conditions report from Nick Goldschmidt for Southern Hemisphere wines: Australia, New Zealand, Chile & Argentina.

Weather here remains very cool but seems that we are looking good in the southern hemisphere.

• ·         Australia -  very hot and in fact too hot
• ·         New Zealand  – inclement weather during flowering but now perfect. Low crop again for both SB and Pinot. NZ dollar keeps going up
• ·         Chile -  so far perfect. Looking average in all cases. Peso is up though
• ·         Argentina – no hail or frost in our vineyards there so all good. Inflation is through the roof

Yes Maria there is a Turkey Day

In spite of all drama and trauma of the last few weeks, I am truly grateful to have you in my life and in my work.

What’s on your grateful list?

I am truly grateful that I found a turkey to cook for tomorrow, as my friend announced she was cooking ham for Thanksgiving tomorrow!  Oh the heresy!  I was only to bring veggies and freshly made artisanal bread (Yes baking season is here – ask me about my 5 minute bread recipe).

Another thing I am very grateful for is caramelized onions.  They are my goto comfort food right after dark chocolate!  I slow roasted these on my wood stove tonight to get a head start on tomorrow’s Turkey Day.  Yes Maria, there is a Turkey Day!  Everyone except Vegetarians and Vegans HAVE to eat Turkey!  No, you can’t get away from it.  I’m bringing it over tomorrow!

If you need short on turkey give me a call!  Or just come on over…

Let me know what you’ll be drinking with your feast…

 Cheers!

barbara

ps  Here’s a link to my famous Caramelized Onion Tart  http://LP.swiftpage.com/LP/2Q0QLRYQ/caramelized_onion_tart

great effort by Chef Rob -

Northern NJ Chef Offers His Kitchen to
Jersey Shore Chef/Owners Affected by Sandy

(Madison) – Robert Ubhaus, the chef/owner of Rob’s Bistro in Madison NJ, is offering any chef or restaurateur who has lost their kitchen as a result of Hurricane Sandy the opportunity to use his place to create a ‘pop-up’ restaurant of their concept on a Monday night, when Rob’s is n

Here’s a copy of an article from Press Democrat.

European grape growers might be crying into their wine as they bring in tiny crops, but on the other side of the Atlantic producers are in high spirits, describing this year’s harvest as “near perfect” and “epic.”

The French harvest is predicted to be the smallest on record since 1991, and Spain is suffering from drought, resulting in a crop that will be around 40 percent smaller than last year. Some reports estimate that Italy will see its lowest yields since 1950.

But in the United States, the picture could not be more different. California’s most famous wine region, the Napa Valley, is having a “great year,” according to the local wine industry association, the Napa Valley Vintners. “It’s been a near-perfect growing season,” said communications director Terry Hall. “The weather has been ideal, with warm but not hot days and cool evenings.”

Around 25 percent of the total crop has been picked in the valley, including all the white varieties and pinot noir. The region’s later-ripening red Bordeaux varieties, which represent around 70 percent of Napa’s total production, will be harvested over the coming two to three weeks. “People are running around the clock at the moment, but everyone is very excited about what they are seeing,” added Hall.

The story is the same further north in the state of Oregon.

“This harvest has been amazing,” said Jesse Lange of Lange Estate Winery in Dundee. “Epic is the word I used earlier to describe this coming vintage and it’s turning out to be accurate.”

The 2012 season has been one of the driest seasons on record. The long dry spell and warmer than normal temperatures have already led to comparisons with the 2002 and 2008 vintages. Jerry Murray of Van Duzer Winery believes it will turn out to be another 2002. He described the potential of the wine as “Voluptuous, curvy, but still balanced, fresh and elegant. These wines will wear dresses, but in bigger sizes.”

The harvest is nearing completion in Oregon this week and with a low front expected to hit the state this weekend, some producers will be taking the decision to pick before the first rains since July arrive.

Early estimates suggest that Oregon’s harvest tonnage will fall from its record of 41,500 tons in 2011 to the high 30,000s this year. In Napa, yields are ranging from average to a little above average after three difficult vintages with reduced crops.

Sweet Red Wine

Honey Badger does it so sweet!

I love it when people use real words to describe wines and talk to real people who drink wines….  That’s how like to relate to consumers and I’ve found someone else who believes the same!

Here’s a great link to the Reverse Wine Snob.  http://www.reversewinesnob.com/2012/09/honey-badger-sweet-red-wine-2011.html#more

When I first started studying winemaking in Burgundy 28 years ago (Holy shit, I can’t believe it’s been that long!)  I used to hitchhike through France usually jumping on the big 18 Wheel trucks from Beaune to Lyon every month or so.  I always remember what the truckers ate and drank.  Most of them are major foodies.  They really did eat ham and cheese sandwiches a lot!  (Jambon/fromage) and their wine was usually purchased in a plastic btl.  I was already a wine snob, but this helped make it real to me that wine is food.  It comes from grapes, and it should accompany as many meals as possible!

I have my favorite breakfast wines: really good brunch wines, aperitif wines, wines with light fare, wines with heavy meals, and wines fto drink without food.  Although my preference is always to pair wine with food.

The honey badger wine the reverse wine snob refers to is a sweet red.  And I always have people asking me for a sweet red at every consumer event I do.  It’s not too sweet which is another advantage,  making far less sweet than Sutter Home White Zin for example, but still fun and easy to drink.

I much prefer it chilled, and it’s a great after dinner wine, before you bring out the heavy digestifs, I like this for dessert.

I think I’m going to play with making a granite or sorbet out of it…  I’ll let you know how the experiments go…