Last week, we started looking at the areas included in Burgundy, and discussed Chablis. Moving South, we now hit what is arguably one of the most important wine producing regions in the world- the Cotes d'Or. The word "Cotes" loosely translated means "slope", and this aptly describes the "Slope of Gold" where these fantastic wines come from. The Cotes d'Or is broken into two smaller sections, Cotes de Nuits, and Cotes de Beaune. We will be looking at Cotes de Nuits briefly today, and the Cotes de Beaune next week.
When looking at the Cotes de Nuits, the first thing to notice is that it produces nearly exclusively red wines. One easy way to remember this is that "nuits" can mean "dark"- thus, it makes dark wine. The wines that come out of this region are absolutely stunning. They have a range of flavors varying from dusty cherry to licorice to tobacco to barnyard. It really is amazing to see how the wines from individual vineyards can all be made of Pinot Noir grapes, yet taste so vastly different. Since we are just looking briefly at the area, we will just mention the major ones. The easiest way to tell how good of a wine a vineyard will produce is to look at where it lies on the hillside. Essentially, the vineyards toward the top of the slope are better, as they have much more drainable soil and sun contact. Most of these vineyards are first recognized by the villages that they are near. The villages with Grand Cru vineyards are:
Gevrey-Chambertin
Morey-St. Denis
Chambolle-Musigny
Vougeot
Flagey-Echezeaux (which contains the remarkable Echezeaux vineyard)
Vosne-Romanee (which contains the Romanee-Conti vineyard, often one of the most expensive wines in the world)
Remember that a Village wine often has a hyphen in the name, whereas a Grand Cru wine sometimes will, sometimes not. It's confusing trying to know that a Gevrey-Chambertin is a village, and that Charmes-Chambertin is a vineyard, I know. At least you don't have to memorize it for a test!
So, there you have it- a brief overview of some of the top red wines you can possibly buy. Go buy one, and toast on Christmas!
Cheers!
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
One big rock
I just had to put this on here- it has nothing to do with wine. This is a picture of a gift that one of my wife's co-workers received from a supplier that likes him. 
I don't even know what I would say if someone gave this to me, other than "Wow, I hadn't ever thought of asking for one of these before."
I don't even know what I would say if someone gave this to me, other than "Wow, I hadn't ever thought of asking for one of these before."If you were thinking of giving one of these to me for Christmas, ummm...Don't.
Cheers.
Port Cider
A quick way to warm you up in this holiday season:
Port Cider
To make this, simply take a 1/2 gallon jug of your favorite apple cider, and put it in a sauce pan. Add as little or as much of port (don't go expensive, the cheap stuff is fine) as you want- I like a pretty stout cider, so I use probably 2-3 cups. Then add a couple cinnamon sticks, and sprinkle some nugmeg over it. Warm the concoction up, and serve in mugs.
This also goes well in a crock pot or a percolator (sp?) for a party.
Cheers, and enjoy!
Port Cider
To make this, simply take a 1/2 gallon jug of your favorite apple cider, and put it in a sauce pan. Add as little or as much of port (don't go expensive, the cheap stuff is fine) as you want- I like a pretty stout cider, so I use probably 2-3 cups. Then add a couple cinnamon sticks, and sprinkle some nugmeg over it. Warm the concoction up, and serve in mugs.
This also goes well in a crock pot or a percolator (sp?) for a party.
Cheers, and enjoy!
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Now on twitter
I'm now on twitter:
sippinstl
I'm just figuring out how to work this thing, so be patient
sippinstl
I'm just figuring out how to work this thing, so be patient
Atomic Cowboy
I want to briefly thank the folks over at Atomic Cowboy for their generosity. I have gotten to know the ownership and staff of this place over the last couple of years, and I really like this place. If you haven't ever been there, you should check it out. At first, the vibe can be a bit intimidating. Don't let the tattoos and piercings scare you, though. Think a mixture of just about every section of population- businessmen, construction workers, hipsters, pimps, transvestites, preachers, and wine sales reps- all in a place where the food is good, the drinks are great.
Two years running, they have invited us to their Christmas party. The food was fantastic (we ate way too much), there was an open bar, and everyone is really cool there.
So, everyone who reads this from the Saint Louis area, please say to yourself "I'm going to head over to Atomic Cowboy for a drink and bite to eat sometime soon", then keep true to your word.
That's all I got- I'm grumpy today.
Cheers,
Two years running, they have invited us to their Christmas party. The food was fantastic (we ate way too much), there was an open bar, and everyone is really cool there.
So, everyone who reads this from the Saint Louis area, please say to yourself "I'm going to head over to Atomic Cowboy for a drink and bite to eat sometime soon", then keep true to your word.
That's all I got- I'm grumpy today.
Cheers,
Monday, December 14, 2009
Thoughts from the weekend...
This weekend was full of helping people in need, whether it was a friend having a fight with his wife, a low-income family in need of affordable Christmas presents, or a buddy meeting up with me when I needed to get out of the house. My random thoughts are as follows:
-The juke box at the Bleeding Deacon is amazing. Where else can you get Hank Williams Sr, GnR, Snoop Dogg, and the Smiths all in one place?
-Sometimes, if a friend is a bit down, all they really need is a well cooked steak, a glass of really good red wine, and to laugh until they snort at a stand-up comedian.
-Most people's relationships (including my own) would go so much better if we would just quit being selfish, and start being nice.
-We have crafted a drink called the "Donde estan mis pantalones", and it is delicious- Patron Cafe XO, Creme de Cocoa, and egg nog. Perfect for the holidays.
-My church does an annual event called Affordable Christmas, where low income families can buy Christmas gifts for their kids at drastically reduced prices. It's amazing the look on these people's faces when they realize they can give their kid something really nice as a gift. We were able to help over 170 families gift gifts to 560 kids. That deserves a great big "Cheers"!!!
-It is so nice to be at a dinner party where nobody gets out of control, the food is fantastic, the wine tastes good, and everyone is laughing. We were part of that combination on Saturday, and it was great!
-7 women making cookies in my kitchen does not make for an easy time watching the football game. I would like to thank Syberg's for being there when I needed an escape route.
-I'm done planning any more activities from now until New Years- too many dots on my calendar, when I look at the month setting. If it doesn't pay, then I'm not putting it in there!
-A note to Matt Cassel- Four interceptions and 0 touchdown passes makes it hard to win a game.
Today's wine recommendation- Guigal Rose. Yeah, that's right, I'm recommending rose during the middle of winter. We had some with smoked salmon on Saturday, and it was a killer combination. Plus, you can get the bottle for around $11 retail.
Cheers!
-The juke box at the Bleeding Deacon is amazing. Where else can you get Hank Williams Sr, GnR, Snoop Dogg, and the Smiths all in one place?
-Sometimes, if a friend is a bit down, all they really need is a well cooked steak, a glass of really good red wine, and to laugh until they snort at a stand-up comedian.
-Most people's relationships (including my own) would go so much better if we would just quit being selfish, and start being nice.
-We have crafted a drink called the "Donde estan mis pantalones", and it is delicious- Patron Cafe XO, Creme de Cocoa, and egg nog. Perfect for the holidays.
-My church does an annual event called Affordable Christmas, where low income families can buy Christmas gifts for their kids at drastically reduced prices. It's amazing the look on these people's faces when they realize they can give their kid something really nice as a gift. We were able to help over 170 families gift gifts to 560 kids. That deserves a great big "Cheers"!!!
-It is so nice to be at a dinner party where nobody gets out of control, the food is fantastic, the wine tastes good, and everyone is laughing. We were part of that combination on Saturday, and it was great!
-7 women making cookies in my kitchen does not make for an easy time watching the football game. I would like to thank Syberg's for being there when I needed an escape route.
-I'm done planning any more activities from now until New Years- too many dots on my calendar, when I look at the month setting. If it doesn't pay, then I'm not putting it in there!
-A note to Matt Cassel- Four interceptions and 0 touchdown passes makes it hard to win a game.
Today's wine recommendation- Guigal Rose. Yeah, that's right, I'm recommending rose during the middle of winter. We had some with smoked salmon on Saturday, and it was a killer combination. Plus, you can get the bottle for around $11 retail.
Cheers!
Friday, December 11, 2009
Chablis
So this morning I'm waiting for the U Verse guy to show up, and simply move my modem from upstairs to downstairs. One would think they could give me a more accurate timeframe than "From 8-12" as to when they will arrive. I'm a prisoner in my own home, until he gets here. The best part- I'm paying for it!
It does however give me a few minutes with which I can make up for the missed French Class yesterday. Since we are talking Burgundy (by the way, notice the spelling difference- burgAndy is a color), I think we should move North to South. This puts us in Chablis. This wonderful area is the second most northern wine making region in France (Champagne is the first), and is part of the Burgundy area. It is located about 100 miles North of the rest of Burgundy, and surrounds the town of Chablis. Nearly all of the wine produced here is white, and as we learned last week, this means it is made from the Chardonnay grape. When you are blind-tasting a Chablis, the way you can tell where it is from is the distinct "flintiness" of the wine. This comes from the fact that the area has a type of soil called Kimmeridgean Soil, basically chalk, limestone, and crushed up fossilized seashells. The wines are normally produced in either large, old oak barrels that impart very little oakiness to the wines, or stainless steel. Some modern winemakers are starting to use a bit more oak, much to the chagrin of the traditionalists.
Chablis is broken into AOC wines, labelled "Appellation Chablis Controlee" on the bottle, and then into Premier Cru and Grand Cru vineyards. The 7 grand crus are: Bougros, Les Preuses, Vaudesir, Grenouilles, Valmur, Les Clos, and Blanchots. These make up less than 3% of the wines produced in Chablis, but are stunning examples of Chardonnay. If you are looking for Chablis, your options will likely be limited in the Midwest. If you can find it, try La Chablisienne Petite Chablis (from a Junior appellation in the area)- it's good and inexpensive.
Please note that the big jugs of wine from california labelled "Chablis" have nothing to do with the real thing- those wines are gross, and should only be used to wash cats.
This weekend, try a dessert drink that we dubbed "Donde Estan Mis Pantalones"- use 1 measure of Patron Cafe, 1/2 measure creme de coco, and either egg nog or whole milk to top it off (chocolate milk works fine, too). Es muy bueno.
Have a great weekend,
Cheers!
It does however give me a few minutes with which I can make up for the missed French Class yesterday. Since we are talking Burgundy (by the way, notice the spelling difference- burgAndy is a color), I think we should move North to South. This puts us in Chablis. This wonderful area is the second most northern wine making region in France (Champagne is the first), and is part of the Burgundy area. It is located about 100 miles North of the rest of Burgundy, and surrounds the town of Chablis. Nearly all of the wine produced here is white, and as we learned last week, this means it is made from the Chardonnay grape. When you are blind-tasting a Chablis, the way you can tell where it is from is the distinct "flintiness" of the wine. This comes from the fact that the area has a type of soil called Kimmeridgean Soil, basically chalk, limestone, and crushed up fossilized seashells. The wines are normally produced in either large, old oak barrels that impart very little oakiness to the wines, or stainless steel. Some modern winemakers are starting to use a bit more oak, much to the chagrin of the traditionalists.
Chablis is broken into AOC wines, labelled "Appellation Chablis Controlee" on the bottle, and then into Premier Cru and Grand Cru vineyards. The 7 grand crus are: Bougros, Les Preuses, Vaudesir, Grenouilles, Valmur, Les Clos, and Blanchots. These make up less than 3% of the wines produced in Chablis, but are stunning examples of Chardonnay. If you are looking for Chablis, your options will likely be limited in the Midwest. If you can find it, try La Chablisienne Petite Chablis (from a Junior appellation in the area)- it's good and inexpensive.
Please note that the big jugs of wine from california labelled "Chablis" have nothing to do with the real thing- those wines are gross, and should only be used to wash cats.
This weekend, try a dessert drink that we dubbed "Donde Estan Mis Pantalones"- use 1 measure of Patron Cafe, 1/2 measure creme de coco, and either egg nog or whole milk to top it off (chocolate milk works fine, too). Es muy bueno.
Have a great weekend,
Cheers!
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