Reds Whites and Bites

In Riva – What a Great Addition to the Neighborhood! @InRivaEastFalls

RW&B — Sat, 26 May 2012 23:20:13 +0000

I grew up in the Philly burbs, the main line to be specific and there is a well known dearth of good food in the area. It’s really unfortunate that we usually have to go to Center City for a solid meal. Manayunk used to be an outlet and there are still some solid spots there, but it’s nice to have something else close by that serves top-notch cuisine (at reasonable prices too).

It’s been a few weeks since our visit to iN RiVA, but I can still picture that amazing, bright green pea soup with the garlic foam. It had the sweetness of peas just picked from the orchard and the balance of roasted garlic in the foam. The pea soup I grew up with was a muddy green (no offense Mom) and lacked the brightness and depth this soup harnessed. It was truly a gem.

The rest of our meal, from the char-oven-roasted octopus to the chewy and yet still crispy pizza were a wonderful blur. All I can say is go, and go soon, before getting a reservation is just downright challenging.

Palmer Vineyards 2010 Gewurztraminer – Pear in a Bottle

RW&B — Thu, 17 May 2012 01:43:59 +0000

A couple weeks ago, we were in the Hamptons and picked up a bottle of the Palmer Gewurztraminer at Cork & Jug Liquors in Hampton Bays. This Gewurz (pronounced gev-ertz) is really more of a spiced pear like nutmeg spiced, not spicy like tabasco. It’s a bit sweet too, so it’s good on its own and also stands up nicely to food as well. Palmer is a vineyard in the North Fork of Long Island, so this is truly a local find.

Vina Robles Cabernet Sauvignon Huerhuero Vineyard 2008 @vinarobles @winelibrary

RW&B — Thu, 03 May 2012 02:13:58 +0000

We continue to be happy with the wines we drink from Paso Robles and this is no exception. The 2nd of 12 from our Wine Library purchase, this $15.98 (list $24) is a great bottle with a WE 90pt rating to boot. It’s a full bodied cab that is balanced with fruit throughout and a violet finish that tends to linger a bit. We enjoyed this with a grilled flank steak and veggies…and our animal crackers for dessert as well.

Jackhammer Pinot Noir Central Coast 2010: Not Your Grandmother’s Pinot! @CtlCstUncorked @winelibrary

RW&B — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 12:13:28 +0000

This is the first bottle we opened from our Winelibrary order (love that they ship to PA!). This Pinot from Jackhammer has grapes from each of the Central Coast counties (Monterey, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara) and is representative of all. For $14, this is a bargain as it’s tough to find a solid Pinot for much less than $25. This is a very full Pinot that reminds me more of a Tempranillo as it’s fleshy fruit is quite evident. It’s smooth without the earthy-ness that comes with the “traditional” pinots. Loved it!

Chappellet Signature Napa Cabernet Sauvignon 2006: “It’s Just Great” @Chappellet_wine

RW&B — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 02:03:49 +0000

We bought this great Cab when we visited Chappellet’s gorgeous winery and vineyard a few years ago. We went with a close friend who was making her initial pilgrimage to the Napa Valley…I think she’s ready to join the “wine country” cult.

This wine was just phenomenal, and not because Wine Spectator told us that it was. It’s a very full bodied wine – - what that means exactly, I can’t articulate beyond the description that my taste buds were overwhelmed by berry and smooth vanilla without the overpowering fruit bomb of many Napa Cabs. This lives up to the reviews and I look forward to visiting Chappellet this year during crush to pick up some of their new offering.

Zellerbach 2007 California Merlot: Smokey Cherry & Smooth @McNabWines @TotalWine

RW&B — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 01:35:25 +0000

There are many folks who shun Merlot in favor of Cabernet Sauvignon and other varietals. I’m not one of them and actually prefer Merlot in many cases to a big Cab…in fact there are some Merlots that can stand up to their big brother – the Cab Sauv any day. That discussion is for another time.

Last night we finished off this smooth bottle of Zellerbach Merlot which is a very food friendly wine. It’s not a cherry bomb, but definitely has some fruit and vanilla and a lightly smokey finish. I picked it up for $9.99 at Total Wine and it’s a great deal for Tuesday night or any other night of the week. Cheers.

Alpha Omega 2005 Napa Cabernet Sauvignon – Fruit, Tea, and Mint? @AOwinery

RW&B — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 01:34:58 +0000

Yes, this sounds like the name for a fraternity or sorority, but, in fact Alpha Omega is a serious winery in the heart of the Napa Valley. This is a Cab with some complexity and it’s delicious to boot. I think that once it opened up, this wine had some black tea up front followed by the typical dark berry fruit and a refreshing mint finish. Cheers.

Sawyer Cellars 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon – “These People Know What They Are Doing” @NapaVintners

RW&B — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 02:49:08 +0000

My wife made the above statement ”These People Know What They Are Doing” and she’s not kidding. I’ve had great experiences visiting Sawyer Cellars and, moreover, buying their wine. It’s always as good as when we bought it and tonight, we enjoyed the 2005 Cab Sauv. Sawyer tends to barrel age their wines longer than their neighbors, so we’re generally drinking their vintages a bit older than others, but this ’05 stood the test of time and is really a wonderfully balanced wine. This has the smoothness of vanilla and the simple fruit of ripe berries. It’s really a phenomenal wine that showcases the care that went into its production. I’m really looking forward to seeing the great folks at Sawyer in the near future.

Columbia Crest 2005 Reserve Cab Revisited – WOW! WS #1 in 2009 – @columbiacrest @WineSpectator

RW&B — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 13:58:52 +0000

I went on an exhaustive search a couple years ago when this wine was awarded No. 1 Wine in the World for 2009 by Wine Spectator.

I located and secured the last 8 bottles in the state of Pennsylvania and kept 4 for myself (initial post here) and shared the others with some friends. While it was hard, we let this one lay down for a couple years in hopes that we’d enjoy it with a hint of “age” on it.

I’ve found that we’re generally happy with the way Washington and California wines are drinking when they are bottled rather than after they have been “laid down” for a few years. So, maybe that means I’m not the extreme oenophile or just that I like a less restrained wine than those that are completely rested.

Either way, this Columbia Crest Reserve Cab stood up nicely to its hibernation in my wine frig. If I had to give it one flavor combination, I’d go with one of my favorite sodas: Cherry Cola. This wine was just phenomenal. I’d like to start buying a few of each vintage to see how they stand up and how they change year to year. This is a great value for the quality delivered and extremely consistent.

It’s a Breakfast Counter…that serves a great dinner: Sportello Boston @SportelloBoston @barbaralynchBOS

RW&B — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 13:58:52 +0000

When I was a little kid, my mom used to take me to a drug store for breakfast. Now don’t get the wrong idea, I wasn’t perusing the candy isle in search of M&Ms for my calories, rather, this store located in a shopping center on City Ave in Bala Cynwyd, PA had an old-style breakfast counter. I used to pony up to the counter and order my eggs and buttered toast so I could make a sandwich. Some days, I’d get to splurge for a grilled sticky bun. My mom would often read a newspaper and I’d watch the rest of the patrons, often regulars from week to week do their breakfast routine. The one-man kitchen was open and I could watch everything that went on from eggs to hash browns. I didn’t realize it then, but that ‘open kitchen’ was the wave of the future.

Fast forward to this past Thursday and I’m making a return visit to Sportello in the Fort Point neighborhood of Boston. I was in the area for a business trip and Fort Point is just 10 minutes from the airport. I called when we landed to find that they could accommodate us that evening. When we walked in, Jack (the manager?) introduced himself to all in our party and led us to a corner space at the counter. This was a friendly start to the evening which our server continued. We really felt welcome and part of the neighborhood.

Barbara Lynch’s concept of Sportello is outstanding – it’s comfort based on the space which sets your expectation for the food. Now, the food. I started with the porchetta tonnato, which is served a multitude of ways, but in this case, it was 2 bacon shaped pieces of pork belly with chunks of fresh tuna and accompanied by a bruschetta with a pesto gremolata. The combination of the rich pork belly, tuna, and capers was a nice mix and a different take on the traditional tonnato, but not entirely substantive. The gremolata was flavorful, if a bit salty, but enjoyable nonetheless. I really appreciated the flavor combinations of this dish.

For my entree, I devoured the buckwheat pappardelle which included braised lamb, golden raisins, and pine nuts. The salty-sweet combination with the raisins and the jus of the lamb was heavenly and offset the hearty-ness of the pasta. I couldn’t help myself with dessert and had their homemade vanilla ice cream which was rich and smooth and definitely proved to be the right decision. It reminded me of having that sticky bun as a kid – - I didn’t really have room, but loved every last bite. I’m looking forward to trying some of the other BLG restaurants, but it’s hard to resist another return visit to Sportello.