Wine of the Moment: Bodegas Ordonez Nisia Verdejo

When you taste as many wines as we do a week, it is sometimes hard to find one that really grabs you.  It's not that we're tasting bad wines, it's just that the more you taste the more developed your palate becomes and therefore the pickier you get about what you buy. Which for you, our treasured customers, is a good thing because the quality of what you buy at Swirl at any price point has gone through our tried and true scrutiny.  The wine might not always suite your style, but I can promise, except in those rare occasions of an flawed or corked bottle, you'll be drinking a well made wine with its own charm and personality.

The down side of tasting all of these wines per week for me is that it takes a lot to get my attention.  Out of probably close to trying 75 wines per week, only 5-10% of those are considered for the store.  It's not about price, it's about quality for the money; it's not about just being "good" enough, but about over delivering.  And last week there were a few that met that criteria as we are looking for new wines for our wine bar list and were pleasantly surprised.

The Bodegas Ordonez Nisia was one such wine which is currently on our shelves and will have a spot on our new list which will be released on Wednesday.  The wine is a special project by importer Jorge Ordonez, who for the last 25 years has championed Spain, treasure hunting from La Rioja to La Mancha to bring its jewels to the world and especially America. Some criticize him for his new world style wines, a bit homogenized for old world palates, but there are some real gems in his portfolio no matter what your style.

Lately, over the past couple of years, Jorge and his sister, Victoria, have upped their investment by actually purchasing several Spanish estates and taking over every aspect of operations. The 2011 Nisia is the product of Ordonez' newest acquisition, a superb Rueda plantation of old-vines Verdejo just outside the city of Segovia. The harvest is done at night when the temperatures are much cooler than those during the day in September, the typical harvest month in Rueda. The vines used for Nisia are more than 60 years old, and you can taste the quality in this wine. The poor soils here, mostly river stones and sand, and low yields, results in a level of concentration that is seldom experienced in Spanish white wines.  You can buy this little beauty for under $15...what are you waiting for?

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 91 points
The 2011 Nisia is made from 100% old vine Verdejo (the youngest vines were planted in 1942, and others are nearly 100 years of age). The wine is aged sur-lie, and fermented in both stainless steel and large format French oak. It is undeniably one of the finest Verdejos I have ever tasted. Yields were less than three tons of fruit per hectare, which is noticeable in the wine’s old vine intensity. Notions of caramelized white citrus and tropical fruit blossoms along with a naked, natural texture as well as finish make for a terrific dry white with loads of personality and complexity. This beauty sells for an absurdly low price. Enjoy it over the next year.

Fondue Recipes and Pairings

We had a wonderful evening on Thursday at the shop with our friends from St. James Cheese for our Fondue and Wine class. PJ Rosenberg from Uncorked poured some really fantastic wines to pair with the cheeses and a good time was had by all!

We were talking last night about how the American fad of fondue in the '70's kind of diminished the importance of this age old tradition in Europe.  Historically the first evidence of the practice is given to a reference in Homer's Illiad regarding a mixture of goat's cheese, flour and wine.  The middle ages in France saw the use of raw meat dipped in hot oil for a quick meal during the busy harvest season and in the18th century the Swiss created the mixture we currently use.  As a wintertime, communal meal, hard aged cheeses would be melted with garlic, wine and herbs while the hardened, stored bread could be softened by dipping into the mixture. And of course it was the Americans who popularized the dessert version where cake and fruit are dipped into melted chocolate!

But what we focused on for our event were more traditional recipes.  So here they are and also listed are the red and white wine pairings that were definitely a hit last night as well.  St. James recommends the Swissmar Fondue Sets which they sell at the their store or you can find them here at Amazon.  All of the cheeses, wines and the kirsch are available at Swirl.

The wine lineup for the evening, the Schoffit Chasselas was amazing!

Traditional Nuchateloise Swiss Fondue
Served with the 2010 Domaine Schoffit Chasselas Vieilles Vignes and the 2011 Pierre Chermette Beaujolais

1-1/2 Cup grated Gruyere or Comte
1-1/2 Cup grated Ementhaler
1/2 Cup grated Vacherin Fribourgeois
2-3 T. of flour
1 garlic clove, halved
1 cup dry white wine
1 teaspoon lemon juice1 dash Trimbach Kirsch (cherry brandy available at swirl)
Salt & fresh pepper to taste
1 pinch nutmeg

Toss the shredded cheeses and flour together in a bowl until thoroughly combined.

Combine the wine and garlic in a 2-quart fondue pot or any flame-proof dish and bring to a boil over moderate heat. Boil for 2 to 3 minutes before removing and discarding the garlic.

Lower the heat so the wine barely simmers and add the cheese mixture a handful at a time, stirring constantly with a fork and letting each handful of cheese melt completely before adding another.

When all the cheese has been added and the fondue is smooth, stir in the kirsch, nutmeg, salt, and pepper.

Place the fondue dish over an alcohol burner in the center of the table and serve with cubed bread. Traditionally, each diner spears a cube of bread with a long fondue fork and dips it in the cheese mixture to coat it completely before eating.

Fondue aficionados know that allowing a crust of burned cheese to form on the bottom of the pot results in a treat which some consider the best part of the meal.

Italian Fondue
Served with the 2011 Caggiano Devon Greco di Tufo and the 2010 Revello Barbera D'Alba
 
2 T. butter
3/4 Cup whole milk
3 Egg Yolks, lightly beaten
4 oz. Fontina Val D'Aosta, grated or diced
4 oz. Sottocenere al Tatufo, grated or diced

In a bowl whisk together the milk and yokes and stir in the cheese.

Melt the butter in a double boiler set over medium heat

Whisking constantly, slowly add the egg, milk and cheese mixture until it has thickened, 8-10 minutes

Transfer to a warm fondue pot and serve with bread and vegetables

Wishing you all the Best in 2013

As we locked up the shop last evening, literally closing the door on 2012, I felt a calmness about the coming year that I've not experienced since opening the shop in 2006.  We've had a great year, our best yet in many ways both professionally and personally, and I finally feel like I may be able to stop holding my breath just for a moment and take it all in...Owning a small business, and we are truly a small business, is tough.  You have to wear multiple hats while spinning many plates and juggle standing on one foot.  But both Kerry and I love what we do and we love sharing it with you.  So as I relax in the moment for just a bit before I begin working on an even better 2013, I wanted to take a minute to thank all of you for your support.  Because without you, your sense of adventure, curiosity, and willingness to try something new, Swirl would not exist.

We know you have many places to shop for wine in New Orleans and options seem to be increasing rapidly.  Grocery store chains are beginning to realize that New Orleanians are looking for something other than Yellow Tail and Sutter Home and many energetic entrepreneurs are jumping headfirst into opening small neighborhood retail shops.  We understand how easy it could be to fill your grocery cart with wines while you shop or just pop into the closest place with easy parking.

So for those of you who still enjoy the thrill of discovering a new producer or obscure variety, selected by people who truly care about the products we stock or who like to hear the story behind a particular wine on our shelves or who just like hanging out in the shop enjoying a glass with friends, we thank you.  We thank you for trusting us to make your selections, for sharing your company and for supporting us through the years.  And for those of you who haven't been in the shop in a while for some reason or another, come by.  You'll always get the same warm greeting, thoughtful help and quality wine whether you are spending $10 or $100.

Cheers to you, and here's hoping you have the happiest year of your life ahead!

Thoughtful Gift Giving

Need a little help figuring out what to buy for your favorite wine drinkers?  Stop by and check out the local art on the walls, handmade tree ornaments, wine glasses, crystal decanters, govinos, beautiful wood corkscrews, wine preservation pumps, chocolates and more.  And of course, there is ultimate gift, a wonderful bottle or two or three of their favorite beverage, beautifully presented in our gold gift boxes.


But we are not a grab and go store where hundreds of pre-shrink wrapped gift baskets are lined up filled with processed cheeses that don't need refrigeration and generic bottles of wine all dressed in pre-tied red and green bows.  At Swirl, we're about thoughtful gift giving, nice wine and local products that we ourselves like to eat and drink. So give us just a few minutes of your time, we will help you pick the perfect bottle and wrap it in something unique; we're here to make you look good!

The New Host Studios Adjustable Aerator

Tired of letting your wine breathe for hours before drinking? The wait is over! With HOST's Adjustable Aerator, decant any wine from zero to six hours instantly.
The acrylic strainer filters out unwanted sediment while the flow meter regulates the pour for dependable aeration levels every time. With the stainless steel band and the seamless exterior design, this product is as functional as it is beautiful. Just pick your setting, pour your wine through, and enjoy.

• Covers up to 6 hours of decanting instantly
• High quality stainless steel selection band
• Integrated aeration intake negates the need for messy external tubes
• Regulated pour for dependable aeration levels every time

Check out a video here:  Host Aerator

Deal of the Month, 2009 Runquist Paso Robles Syrah

Jeff Runquist selects most of the fruit for his wines from California's Amador County, but he thinks the best Syrah comes from Paso Robles.  So for this bottling he combines fruit from three different growers in Paso, Steve Carter, Dan Westigard and Bob Goodwin. All three vineyards are located in the Estrella River Plain, where the thin soils,warm climate and cool harvest nights help tame this bold grape variety.  The resulting wine has lots of  depth and concentration, with jammy black fruits, mocha and milk chocolate and touch of hickory smoke. Rich and creamy on the palate with well integrated tannins.

Lucky for us the wholesaler was closing out the vintage.  I received 44 bottles on Friday and we are down to 2 cases. Once it's gone, it's gone....Check it out here on the winery's site at $24/bottle.  Swirl price is $17!  No other discounts apply!!

Antonio's Italy 2013, Wine & Culinary Vacation

Antonio’s Italy

July 20 – July 27, 2013 

Join Swirl Wine Bar & Market in July 2013 as Antonio Molesini, Italian Wine Specialist and native of Tuscany, takes us on a very special wine and cultural tour of his homeland. We’ll be living like locals, spending a week in a villa in Cortona and visiting Antonio’s favorite wineries, restaurants, hill towns and wine bars. With its centralized location, Cortona is the perfect base from which to explore both Umbria and Tuscany, allowing easy access to Umbria, Chianti, Florence, Lake Trasimeno and more.

Sorry, this trip is full!

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Calling all Wine Geeks, Sutton Cellars Tasting!

Wild yeasts; low alcohol; high acid; minimal oak; unfined; unfiltered; hand bottled; hand corked; natural winemaking....music to my ears in terms of wine production in any part of the world.  But Carl Sutton is doing this in the unlikely place of his urban winery in the historic Dogpatch neighborhood of San Francisco. David Kenney from Uncorked will be pouring 4 of Carl's cool, geeky wines at our Wednesday Nite Flites this week and this is going to be a night you don't want to miss!

Carl Sutton

Carl created Sutton Cellars in 1996 and started with an annual production of just 350 cases. He has increased production to 3000 cases, half of which is sold as part of a really tasty jug wine program. His grapes grow mostly in Sonoma County (with a little Mendocino in the mix), and are often single vineyard wines. At a time when many claim personal care, Sutton's brown label wines are actually filled and corked by hand. Often this kind of care implies high costs, but Sutton stays amazingly affordable at $17-$30 a bottle.

His brown label wines, which we will taste on Wednesday, are produced in lots of about 100-300 cases, making them very low production wines.  As per their website, the goal at Sutton Cellars is to coax wines of subtlety from the vineyard striving for lower alcohol, higher acid and less oak than is the commercial norm in California winemaking.

 
Carl displays his individuality and passion in the quality wines he produces. He is probably most noted for his Vermouth, the first artisanal wine of its kind to be released in California in a decade.  Made from a base of Sonoma wine and infused with 17 botanicals, including rosemary from the bush outside the winery, the Sutton vermouth is round and big-bodied, with a drier profile than most brands on the market. We'll have you try it alone first and then as a sprizter with sparkling water and lemon. The perfect apertif, it's dry and elegant, in an herbal-citrusy-savory way, and at the same time rich and mouth-filling from the fortifying brandy. 

We'll also be tasting his rose, a red made with 60 year old Carignan vines and a dessert style red.  Here's the info on the wines, but really you just need to come taste them! 

Vin de Noix - a California take on the apertifi drinks of the Dodogne region in France -  red base wine is fortified up to 17% and flavored by macerating green walnuts, spices and other botanicals.  The wine is aged both in glass demijohns and older neutral oak barrels.

2010 Rattlesnake Rose - made from 60 year old vines that are dry farmed and certified organic.  Barrel fermented in in older barrels with natural yeast and aged sur lie for 18 months.  Unfined, unfiltered and no added sulfites; only 150 cases produced.

La Solera

2010 Carignane - made from 60 year old vines that are dry farmed and certified organic.  Aged 18 months in older French oak.  Unfined, unfiltered and no added sulfites; only 150 cases produced. This single-vineyard old-vine Carignane is a scrappy mix of plum and just-cracked peppercorns for easy drinking.

La Solera - A blend of vintages from 1999- 2007 of equal parts Zinfandel and Syrah with 15% Carignane. Aged in old barrels with a portion of the wine baked in the sun in glass demijohns. It evokes Madeira, Banyuls, sherry, even whiskey, with whispers of burnt orange, and a golden richness from its time resting in the sun, a classic method he picked up in Spain.

Wednesday Nite Flites, November 28th, 6-8pm with David Kenney from Uncorked.  Be there!  No reservations required, special $10 flite because we REALLY want you to taste these wines!!!

Let's Talk Turkey, Annual Thanksgiving Hit List

Those of you who shop with us know that we just love food and wine pairing so helping to make your selections for holiday meals is a real treat. What should you drink with all of those sides and mounds of turkey? There are so many answers to that question that sometimes the best choice would be to open a bubbly, white, red and rose, put them on the table and let people chose for themselves because it’s all about personal preference!

Every year I give a few pairing tips and recommendations from our staff.   We’ve chosen traditional and some more adventurous options at different price points so there is something for palate and every wallet.  Each of the wines will have a tag with our silly turkey photo above to let you know who picked it and if you purchase any 4 of these wines for your celebration, we’ll give you a 10% discount.

1.  For the wide array of flavors on the Thanksgiving table, sparkling wines are a no-brainer. Bright acidity, fruit and yeasty undertones make bubbly extremely food-friendly. Especially good are Brut Rosé and Blanc de Noir, which can take you from the lox or chevre hors d'oeuvre to the vinaigrette salad right through the turkey and potatoes and onto the pie. The Pinot Noir grapes in these wines provide body, some tannin for texture, red-fruit character, complexity and acid balance. And in general, the bubbles from natural carbonation from the yeast, in concert with the wine's acidity, help cleanse the palate for the next course.

Our Picks: Beth: Terres Dores FRV Sparkling Beaujolais, $20; Mike: Calixte Cremant d'Alsace, $18.99; Matt:  Berlucchi Sparkling Brut, $18.99;  Kerry: Graham Beck Sparkling Rosé $19.99; Kimi: Jean Velut Champagne, $41.50

White wines with lively fruit and acidity and little to no oak are also versatile. With its aromas and flavors of citrus, apple and pear and zippy acidity plus herbal notes, Sauvignon Blanc pairs with everything from butternut-squash soup to green salad to turkey with a dressing made of briny oysters and herbs. Even notoriously tough-to-pair Brussels sprouts will sing with Sauvignon Blanc. Alsatian and German whites like Rieslings, Gewurtztraminer, Pinot Gris with their tropical fruit, citrus, green-apple, pear and mineral notes combined with thirst quenching acidity, work with almost any Thanksgiving dish except the cranberry sauce.

Our Pick:  Mike: 2010 Tablas Creek Patelin de Tablas, $21;  Matt: 2011 Closel Savennières la Jalousie, $23.99;  Beth: 2011 Andrew Rich Tabula Rasa, $19.99; Kerry: 2011 Contesa Pecorino, $17.99, Kimi: 2011 Enjingi Welschriesling

Fruity reds and dry rosés are a favorite "go-to" pick for Thanksgiving. They bring soft, easy drinking affordability to the table that's perfect for the cornucopia of flavors and large group setting that Thanksgiving entails. With their bright fruit flavors, they can perk up the milder dishes and enough have structure to hold their own with the more robust courses made with sausage and herbs. As an alternative, a good Dolcetto or lighter style Barbera can offer similar characteristics and are real crowd pleasers.

Our Pick: Mike: 2010 Tami Frappato, $17.99; $16.99;  Kimi;  2009 Villa Ponciago Beaujolais Fleurie Reserve, $21; Beth: 2010 Sutton Cellars Mendocino Carignane ; Kerry: 2011 Domaine Skouras Zoe Rosé and 2011 Terre Nere Etna Rosso

 Bigger reds with spicy, dark fruit and berries like Syrah and Zinfandel can bring out the best in cranberry sauces as long as the wine has soft tannins and ripe, forward fruit and the sauce is balanced -- moderately tart and not too sweet. 

Our Picks:  Mike: 2009 Radar Syrah, $17.99;  Matt: 2008 Dominio IV Technicolor Bat Tempranillo/Syrah, $23.99; Kimi: 2009 Ultraviolet Cabernet; Kerry: 2010 Clos de Caveau Vacqueyras, $20.99; Beth: 2009 J. Daan Cabernet Franc, $23.99

The most popular single wine to choose for Thanksgiving is Pinot Noir. This versatile varietal has tangy red fruit of strawberry and cherry, with nice acidity to balance and low levels of tannin. With elegance and a touch of earthiness to lend complexity, Pinot Noir will subtly support most things on the Thanksgiving table without overpowering them. Cranberry sauce and dessert are exceptions again, with the sauce too tart and the dessert too sweet. Something a little more adventurous, but with a similar profile could be an Etna Rosso or a Sicilian Cerasuolo.

Our Pick:  Matt: 2009 Pierre Andre Bourgogne Rouge, $15.99; Kimi: 2009 J.J. Pinot Noir, $19.99; Kerry: 2008 Moises Holmes Hill Pinot Noir, $36.99; Beth: 2007 Cristom Eola-Amity Hills Eileen Vineyard, $45
 
So there you have it! But remember the most important thing is to drink wines that make you happy with people that make you smile, because that is what it's all about!

Our Weekly Newsletter, November 5, 2013

This Week at Swirl Wine Bar + Market

Wednesday Nite Flite to Oregon!
After our trip to Pacific Northwest with James Moises, I can now add Oregon to my short list of wine region obsessions, second only to Italy as my favorite place to drink and eat!

I spent yesterday writing about our trip and my new wine quest which is to drink a new 2008 Oregon Pinot Noir a week until every bottle in the city is gone!  And all of that writing about Oregon made me want to drink more Oregon wines and share them with you so our Wednesday Nite Flite this week will feature 3 Oregon wines: the newly released 2011 Moises Pinot Gris, the 2009 J.J. Willamette Valley Pinot Noir (our new best selling Pinot!) a Syrah Tempranillo blend by biodynamic winemaker Patrick Reuter (see my post below on Patrick and Dominio), the 2008 Dominio IV Technicolor Bat.  It's a really great lineup, I hope you'll join us!  And here are my 2 blog posts and a little Oregon wine for thought:
Falling in Love with Oregon, One Pinot at a Time
2008 Pinot Quest, Dominio IV The Black and the Red

Election Day Sale, Tuesday November 6, All Day!
We will all need beverages to either celebrate a win or drown our sorrows so today only, take 15% off a 12 bottle mixed/same wine case or 10% off 6 bottles! 10% off all cheese, meats, pestos, olive oils and crackers too!  Afraid to use glassware because your friends might break something?  Take 10% of Govino shatterproof, stemless champagne flutes and wine "glasses" too!

Wednesday Nite Flite to Oregon Wine Country, November 7, 6-8pm
Join sommelier Kimi Kiviranna and Mike Fabianski for a great flite of wines from Oregon!  The newly released 2011 Moises Pinot Gris, the 2009 J.J. Willamette Valley Pinot Noir (our new best selling Pinot!) a Syrah Tempranillo blend by biodynamic winemaker Patrick Reuter, the 2008 Dominio IV Technicolor Bat. $15 gets you 3-2 oz. pours of delicious juice, no reservations required!

Italian Wine and Cheese Pairing at St. James Cheese! Wednesday November 7, at 7pmI'll be joining Chris Noyes from Winebow and Casey Foote for an evening of delicious Italian wine and cheese!  Chris will be pouring 6 exciting wines from the Allegrini family portfolio with wines from their Tuscany and Veneto estates paired with Casey's best picks from the regions. The event is at St. James and reservations are required, call St. James @ 899-4737 or click here to reserve on line, Allegrini.  $30

Friday Free For All, November 9, 6-8pmPeggy Hymel is joining us this evening for a Latin wine themed evening with wines from Chile, Argentina and Spain!  Walter is out this week, but we're working on a guest appearance from one of our favorite chefs... Check out our Facebook page on Friday for the lineup, chef and menu!
 
Saturday Hollygrove Happy Hour November 10,  4-6pm
Saturday afternoons are heating up at Swirl as we are THE place to pick up your Hollygrove Market box of fresh, local produce.  The infamous $25 Hollygrove box contains roughly 12 items at the peak of their season and can be picked up at Swirl on Saturdays from 4-6pm during our 1/2 priced Happy Hour.  See instructions here on how to order your box

New Tuesday "Cheesy" Hour with Casey Foote, November 13th
Casey Foote, the infamous cheese monger from St. James Cheese is the latest addition to the Swirl staff of talented, passionate professionals and on Tuesday nights we'll be giving he and Matt Snyder the opportunity to dazzle you with wine and cheese pairing ideas.  More details in next week's email, French wine and cheeses will be on the menu!

Special Wednesday Nite Flite with James Moises, November 21, 6-8
Tonight is a truly special flite where James will share his 2006, 2007 and 2008 vintages of his Moises Pinot Noir Yamhill Carlton.  Besides drinking three killer Oregon Pinots, you'll learn about the differences in the 3 vintages and how they effect what is in your glass.  Reservations are required for this event, please call for information, 504.628.1226

Special Wednesday Nite Flite Nite with Dave Kenney from Uncorked Wines, November 28, 6-8pm Uncorked's wine guru Dave Kenney joins us for a really cool lineup of wines from Sutton Cellars in Mendocino.  You know that I don't often feature California wines in our Flite Nite, but these are really special and Dave is a great presenter so come out and show him some love on his first flite nite!

Friday Free For All with Antonio Molesini, November 30, 6-8pm 
Join Antonio for a special tasting of wines from Umbria and Tuscany!  We'll also be releasing our itinerary for our 2013 trip to these two amazing wine regions and chef Walter will have some Italian themed small plates for us tonight.

Mark the Dates, Wine & Cheese Classes @ St. James!
November 28, The Killer B's, Barbera, Barbaresco, Brunello and Barolo, more details TBA. $50, 7pm. Call St. James for reservations at 899-4737.

2013 Wine & Culinary TravelAntonio's Italy:  July 20-27, 2013; Details and itinerary this month!
The Oregon Road Show:  Harvest 2013, October 9-13; Details and Itinerary coming soon! 
Drink Like a Pro @ SerendipityWe are so excited to have chef Chris deBarr, whose palate for interesting and different wines is a perfect match for our own, just blocks away in his new restaurant, Serendipity. We are already discussing events and his "Drink Like a Pro" events are a great way to taste and evaluate wines like those of us in the "business"!  This Thursday Chris welcomes Debra Lewis, of the wonderful French wine importer Vintage '59 and their amazing portfolio of artisanal winemakers, to New Orleans. Chef Chris is holding a special edition of "Drink Like A Pro" Wine Seminar on Thursday, Nov. 8, from 6-7:15 pm at Serendipity.  Call the restaurant for more information and reservations at 504-407-0818

Swirl and Savor
Our wine and food blog...here are a few from the past 2 weeks, but there are lots more at swirlandsavor.

Falling in Love with Oregon, One Pinot at a Time...
"Oregon is a pretty fabulous place that makes fantastic wines without any pretense.  It's a place where quality over quantity is the rule, sustainability is a lifestyle and where visitors always feel welcome and the winemaker is never far away…Click here for the post, Falling in Love

The 2008 Dominio IV Pinot Noir The Black and the Red
We spent a few hours tasting and talking with the passionate, dynamic winemaker/proprietor of Dominio IV wines Patrick Reuter on our recent trip to Oregon.  His tiny production wines are represented by James Moises in New Orleans and we've been big fans for awhile. His winery and tasting room are located in an old granary in McMinnville and will definitely be a stop on our Oregon Wine Tour 2013. Click here for the post, Dominio IV

New recipe on swirl and savor...
"...Everyone in the group loves to cook so each brought a dish with Kerry and I providing some appetizers and the meat course.  I decided on grilled pork loin, and a recipe that was fairly easy yet really flavorful, featuring my two favorite herbs for Italian cooking. Thanks to Kerry, sage and rosemary are in abundant supply in our garden!  Click here for Italian Grilled Pork Loin

Fish en Papillote
"Now that the MS Ride is over I feel like we can finally get back to cooking which means I can get back to writing about cooking!  One of the things I've really been enjoying lately is cooking fish and vegetables in parchment paper.  It is a super easy, quick, healthy and flavorful way to prepare food and while certain combinations give better results than others, you really can't go wrong!  Using filets of your favorite fish, fresh herbs and veggies served with pasta, rice or quinoa, the combinations are endless..."  Click here for Fish en Papillote

Positano Bites Deep...
"After 13 hours of flying and two tiring train rides, the five of us, later tagged as "le cinque donne", lug our suitcases down the very long train track in Napoli. At the end of the platform a pack of Italian male limo drivers awaits, holding up signs, maneuvering around each other, ready to whisk the "stanieri" to destinations on the beautiful Amalfi Coast." Click here for the post: Positano

A Dangerously Simple Summer Cocktail
"Sunday evenings = cocktail time.  We've done a long, hard bike ride at the end of a busy week, and a nice refreshing beverage is the perfect recovery tonic!  We love citrus based cocktails and this one with fresh lemon juice, ginger and agave nectar added to some Square One Organic Basil Vodka is the BOMB!"  
Olio, Limoni e Ospitalità del Sud (Olive Oil, Lemons and Southern Hospitality)
"...took a drive down the coast to visit a frantoio, an olive mill owned by friends of Vincenzo, perched atop the high cliffs of the Sorrentine Peninsula. Stomachs rumbling from the swervy coastal switchbacks and the small breakfast consumed hours ago, we were anxious for our lunch on the "dal patriarca", the local term for a coastal garden by the olive mill where they entertain guests lucky enough to know about this place..."  Click here for the post and a recipe Olio, Limoni

True Italian Lasagna
"The first time I had this amazing dish was in Tuscany last year on our wine and food tour.  Antonio's sister knows an Italian nonna who is in her 80's and makes the best lasagna you've ever eaten.  She made us two big pans that arrived at our villa still warm from the oven, and we served outside in the garden with some delicious Cortona red wines.  It takes her 2 days to make it, and now having done it myself, I know why."

I've been doing a series of posts on the recipes for the soffritto, the ragu, the pasta and the besciamella; now it's time to put it all together!  It's best to make this over a two day period....the links to the recipes are highlighted below.
Humble Beginnings, Italian Soffritto
Next Step, Tuscan Ragu
Time to Make the Pasta
Almost there, the Besciamella
True Italian Lasagna


Hope to See You Soon!
Beth, Kerry, Matt, Mike, Kimi and Sangi

Swirl Wine Bar & Market
3143 Ponce de Leon Street
New Orleans, LA 70119
504.304.0635

2008 Dominio IV The Black and The Red; Falling in Love with Oregon, One Pinot at a Time...

This weekend's treat!

We spent a few hours tasting and talking with the passionate, dynamic winemaker/proprietor of Dominio IV wines Patrick Reuter on our recent trip to Oregon.  His tiny production wines are represented by James Moises in New Orleans and we've been big fans for awhile. His winery and tasting room are located in an old granary in McMinnville and will definitely be a stop on our Oregon Wine Tour 2013.

Tasting some new wines with Patrick at the Dominio IV tasting room.

Patrick and his wife Leigh Bartholomew, who has also been the vineyard manager at Archery Summit for the last 12 years, bought land in Mosier Oregon with Leigh's parents in 2002. Their Three Sleeps Vineyard is certified Biodynamic and here they produce Viognier, Syrah and Tempranillo.  But knowing all of the Oregon wine jobs were in the Willamette Valley, they've based their operations in McMinnville where they source biodynamic and organic fruit from Moe and Flora Momtazi in McMinnville, the Stermer Vineyards, owned by the Lemelson family in Dundee and Bella Vida in Dundee.

3 Sleeps Vineyard

 The name of their wines, like viticulture, the word Dominio comes from deep in the past. The Spanish use the word to mean land or territory or dominion, where as the Romans have a secondary meaning of a feast or banquet, thus a feast from the land. Dom is also of the sun as in Domingo (Sunday). The number four represents four people, four seasons, four varieties of the grape and four quadrants of our symbol the labyrinth. Four is also the number of the earth. (from Dominio's website)

We featured Patrick's Dominio Pinot Noir Poetry and Roses in our 2008 Oregon Pinot Show but this is the first time we've tasted The Black and and the Red (where black midnight meets deep red cherry...) and it is a show stopper.  While it could still use a little bottle age, it opened up beautifully after decanting.

The Momtazi Vineyard in McMinville

 He sources 50% of the fruit from each Momtazi and Bella Vida vineyards.  The Bella Vida vineyards feature Willamette Valley's flagship dirt Jory, the basalt-based volcanic soil found in most vineyard sites in the Dundee Hills.  High in clay content and iron, Jory is reddish in color and nutrient-rich. The Momtazi vineyards are grown on the shallower volcanic basalt soils of the Nekkia series seen throughout Eola Hills and McMinnville.

This is a powerful pinot, dark black cherry fruit and plums with cinnamon and baking spices, it still has a bit of tannic edge to it buts opens up with decanting to a plush mouth feel with layers of complex fruit.  Very balanced, tons of aging potential!  And at $35.50, it is a steal! 175 cases produced.

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 92 Points
The 2008 Pinot Noir The Black and the Red sports a captivating nose of sandalwood, exotic spices, violets, black cherry, and blueberry. This is followed by a dense, ripe, loaded, suave offering with layered fruit, exceptional concentration for the vintage and 2-3 years of aging potential. This superb Pinot has a drinking window extending from 2013 to 2021.  

Cheers!

Falling in Love with Oregon, One Pinot at a Time...

Picking grapes at the Wahle Family Vineyard in Yamhill

Oregon Pinot Noir has been slowly, subtly, seeping its way into my wine consciousness since I met James Moises in the summer of 2009.  Wrongfully lumping it into my not so favorite category of new world wines, it has always been lurking just a bit under the radar for me.  And even though our wine reps have been bringing me Oregon Pinots for years, it was my personal relationship with James that made me want to learn more about this place that was drawing him away from his lifelong medial career and home town of New Orleans to make wine.  Well I got all of my questions answered on our trip last month with him to the Willamette Valley.

The Holmes Hill Vineyard, a 310 acre site in the Eola Hills

Oregon is a special place, and while there are a handful of big money, fancy wineries in the area, the majority of the producers are small and passionately making artisan wine from tiny, individual plots of land that they are farming themselves or from carefully selected purchased fruit.  Take Mark Wahle, James' business partner, as an example.  His family planted the earliest commercial vines in 1974 on a hundred acre plot in Yamhill.  He and his mother Betty Wahle manage the vineyard from the tending of the vines, picking of the grapes, and maintaining long term contracts to sell fruit to other wineries, as well as using it for their own wines.  One foggy, rainy morning we assisted in the picking of 3 tons of grapes with Mark, Betty, James and one worker, that were being sold to Ponzi. They are the real deal; farmers and stewards of the land who put their heart and soul into those vines and it is hard work!

The Carlton Winemakers Studio

Mark and James both currently make their wine in an eco-friendly, recycled-material-using, cooperative winemaking facility where a bunch of top-notch Oregon winemakers all share equipment and resources.  The Carlton Winemakers Studio became a leader in "green" winemaking when they came LEED Certified,  Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, an internationally recognized green building certification system. There is a wonderful environmental awareness pulsing through Oregon wineries and an amazingly collaborative, friendly wine community.  Winemakers and owners talked freely about what wines they made and how they made them.

Biodynamic winemaker Patrick Reuter of Dominio IV

And then there are the wines themselves.  I have to admit, I thought I would get bored with drinking Pinot for 5 days straight, but I didn't, not in the least.  The wines are the the perfect blending of the old and new world; subtle, elegant, higher acidity levels but still with beautiful, intoxicating fruit.  The different vineyard sites and vintages offered such unique expressions of the grape that I just couldn't, and still can't, get enough.  And what a treat to be spending time with Mark and James who know all of the winemakers and vintages and selected the most beautiful examples of what Oregon produces for our drinking pleasure!

One of our favorites from the trip.

And most importantly, Oregon is a pretty fabulous place that makes fantastic wines without any pretense.  It's a place where quality over quantity is the rule, sustainability is a lifestyle and where visitors always feel welcome and the winemaker is never far away…

James pouring a taste of the 2012 Yamhill from the tank.

So I'm on a bit of an educational quest right now in terms of Oregon wines.  And part of that quest is involving the drinking of at least one 2008 Pinot per week until the 2008's are gone from the city.  Not that 2008 is the end all be all vintage, but I had to start somewhere!  Each week I'll be writing about the wine that I've chosen, sometimes they will be available for retail, but sometimes not like the Willakenzie I had the last bottle of last week...and yes the educational research is also for an upcoming customer trip that I am putting together for next year's harvest, but more on that later!

Last week we popped the 2008 Willakenzie Estate Pinot Noir Aliette and this week's victim was the 2008 Dominio IV The Black and the Red. Look for my posts on my 2008 Pinot Quests weekly on swirlandsavor.
Cheers!

Italian Style Grilled Pork Loin

Last night we invited over our group of friends that will traveling with us to Positano next year.  It was a really fun evening of Italian wine and food and great company, all excited about our trip to one of my favorite places in the world!  Yes, I know the trip is 8 months away, but if you want to stay in the best place, Villa Le Sirene, and hire the best driver, Vincenzo Fusco, you have to plan ahead!

Everyone in the group loves to cook so each brought a dish with Kerry and I providing some appetizers and the meat course.  I decided on grilled pork loin, and a recipe that was fairly easy yet really flavorful, featuring my two favorite herbs for Italian cooking. Thanks to Kerry, sage and rosemary are in abundant supply in our garden!

The key to this dish is the brining and proper grilling. Brining improves the flavor, texture, and moisture content of lean cuts of meat by soaking the meat in a moderately salty solution for a few hours to a few days. Flavor brining also provides a temperature cushion during cooking, so if you happen to overcook the meat a little, it will still be moist.

At a minimum, a flavor brine consists of water and salt. Other ingredients may include sugar, brown sugar, honey, molasses, maple syrup, fruit juices, beer, liquor, bay leaves, pickling spices, cloves, garlic, onion, chilies, citrus fruits, peppercorns, and other herbs and spices. This one adds my two favorite herbs to the mix with garlic, salt and sugar.  I have to admit it was pretty delicious and was a perfect pairing with the newly arrived 2011 Terre Nere Etna Rosso!

For the brined pork

    3  ounces kosher salt (3/4 cup if using Diamond Crystal; 6 tablespoons if using Morton)
    1/4  cup packed light brown sugar
    3  medium cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
    3  large sprigs fresh rosemary
    3  large sprigs fresh sage
    3-pounds all-natural boneless pork loin, trimmed of excess fat

For the herb paste

    6  medium cloves garlic, peeled
    1/3  cup fresh rosemary leaves
    1/3  cup fresh sage leaves
    Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
    1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Directions
1. For the Brine:  In a 3- to 4-quart saucepan, combine the salt, sugar, garlic, and herb sprigs with 2 cups of water. Stir over high heat just until the salt and sugar dissolve. Add 6 more cups of water and cool to room temperature. Transfer to a large container, add the pork, cover, and refrigerate for 6 to 12 hours.

2. Put the garlic, rosemary, sage, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper in a large mortar and pound to a coarse paste with the pestle. Add the oil and use the pestle to work it into the garlic paste. If you don't have a mortar and pestle, combine all the ingredients in a mini food processor and pulse into a coarse paste.

3.Remove the pork from the brine and pat it dry (discard the brine). Spread the herb paste liberally over the entire outer surface of the pork.

4. Heat the grill to 350 degrees F. Put the roast in the cool zone on the grill, turning the roast about every 10 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted near the center of the roast registers 145 degrees F, 35 to 45 minutes.

5. Remove the roast from the grill and transfer it to a cutting board. Let stand for 5 minutes and slice thinly. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature. If you want, finish it off with a little sage fried crispy in olive oil!

Drink Like a Pro, Mondays at Serendipity

The newest restaurant in the city, Serendipity @American Can, announces a new weekly wine seminar program for Mondays that we call, "Drink Like a Pro Mondays." Chef Chris DeBarr, who won a Top 100 Wine Restaurant in the Nation honor this year from Wine Enthusiast Magazine for his previous wine selections at Green Goddess, is leading wine drinkers to new, unusual wine finds all over the globe at his new restaurant, Serendipity.

"What we want to do with 'Drink Like a Pro Mondays' is to give wine lovers a backstage pass at how we wine professionals evaluate wine-- in little 2 oz. pours, paired with a bit of food from my kitchen," says Chef DeBarr, "with at least 6 wines evaluated in each session." The idea to show & tell about wines, about the grapes in their vineyards & the committed farmers & winemakers who care for their treasured old vines, came from the sheer joy of learning that Chef DeBarr experiences buying wines to match his eclectic, soulful cuisine. It will be a rare chance to share experiences with a wide variety of committed pros who love the stories, flavors , and knowledge of what goes into great wine.

Reservations can be made for "Drink Like a Pro Mondays" at Serendipity by calling the restaurant at (504) 407-0818. The seminar starts at 5:45 and lasts about an hour, although DeBarr cautions that he "loves telling stories so as long as we are having fun..." and costs $25, which includes 6 wines and a glass of your favorite choice, with plates of precise matched dishes to illustrate the character & interplay of the wines.

The first 'Drink Like a Pro' features a New Orleans native, Karla Kilgore, who represents a terrific Spanish portfolio of small producers with Bonafide Wine Estates. Now based in Seattle, Karla graduated from Grace King High School and still has family here! We are proud of her accomplishments & her exquisite, daring palate and can't wait to showcase her treasures, particularly from Galicia. From maritime Albariño, to the ancient & steep vineyards of Godello in the Ribeiro Sacra, to the dark yet versatile red grape Mencia, Galicia offers fascinating wines that deliver depths of delicious history in every bottle. "Galicia," says Chef DeBarr enthusiastically, "is now one of my favorite wine destinations for my food! I am very excited to have Karla be our first pro & I hope we welcome her with a great event at Serendipity!" Karla also represents the better known Spanish portfolio of Classical Wines, where the Cava originates, but we adore finding such small, artisanal producers of outstanding quality in her Bonafide line.

'Drink Like a Pro Monday" with Karla Kilgore of Bonafide Wine Estates is this Monday, Oct. 22 from 5:45-6:45 at Serendipity @ American Can. We will also feature a lovely Cava & a very rare example of the nearly vanished Prieto Picudo grape, which makes an utterly memorable Rosé that sings! There will also be a whisper of Sherry from a small producer that we will all be lucky to have tasted once the seminar is finished! It's all quite a bargain for $25, which includes tax & tips and a few tasty treats from the kitchen at Serendipity.

On Monday Oct. 29, we are very excited to showcase Greek wines from one excellent producer, Ktima Pavlidas, from the Drama province in the northern reaches of Greece. High altitude and natural winemaking lead to a unique blending of Old World grapes, like Sauvingon Blanc & Syrah, with indigenous Greek varietals such as Assyritiko & St. George. We will kickoff the weeklong celebration of Pavlidis wines (Ktima means the equivalent of bodega or estate) with our 'Drink Like a Pro Monday' featuring Chris Badini of Athenee Wines, a terrific importer of Greek wines & spirits. Then we will showcase a "Wine & Dine Me" Tasting and Wine Pairing Menu all week...featuring these great Pavlidis wines & our Serendipity cuisine. It will be a remarkable exploration of flavors & places as we join Serendipity with Ktima Pavlidis wines.

In subsequent weeks, we have my good hoops buddy, Erik Christensen of Uncorked Wines, based here in New Orleans, postulating about the essence of 'Winter Whites' that are deft, expressive & capable of standing up to richer, creamier winter fare. Erik's 'Drink Like a Pro Monday' is set for Nov. 5th, and we have some real shockers planned to illustrate our point!

Then on Monday, Nov. 12th, my dear friend & veteran wine pro, Mike Procido from Wines Unlimited, will sit down with me as we make the point about 'Wines That Aren't Turkeys' as we discuss terrific, yet often overlooked, classic holiday wine pairings. The key to a a happy holiday pairing is versatilty in both the weight & taste, with good value. Mike and I are willing to share our trade secrets for happy wine drinking during family celebrations, which include lovely Beaujolais, sexy Valpolicella, and affordable sparkling wines.

In tandem, with 'Wines That Aren't Turkeys' on Mon. Nov 12th, we are looking into developing a Nola Locavore Dinner, "What Would Happen If the Pilgrims Landed in New Orleans?!!" at Serendipity. Chef DeBarr is steeped in the history of food & ingredients, and he promises to bring his creative pirate mentality to the foods that were here in Louisiana before the European conquest of the Americas. More news on that event, with menu & pricing, to soon follow....

We have more wine events headed your way, including the possibility that we might sneak in a visitor on other weeknights, whenever visiting wine pros from the wide world of Dionysian splendor show up in New Orleans. Please stay tuned...and don't hesitate to leave a message for us at (504) 407-0818 on the Serendipity hotline for reservations or questions! This is your chance to learn how a Top 100 chef/sommelier in Chef Chris DeBarr works to find his rare wine discoveries, every week!

We surely hope you will join us for these inaugural 'Drink Like a Pro Mondays' at Serendipity, especially if you feel like joining Karla Kilgore of Bonafide Wine Estates & Classical Spanish Wines this Mon., Oct 22nd to jump start our festive but very informative wine seminars. We promise that we will all have a ball....!

Remember Serendipity is now open 7 nights a week, 5-midnight, located at 3700 Orleans Ave. in the spacious American Can Apts, next to the Mid-City branch of the New Orleans Public Library.

For press contacts: reach Chef DeBarr at his cell (504) 919-7394 or on his email:
chefchrisdebarr@me.com for further details on 'Drink Like a Pro Mondays' @Serendipity.

Chef Chris DeBarr of Serendipity @American Can


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Puglian Wine Dinner A mano!

Taste the wine and food of Puglia hosted by winemaker Pasquale Petrera at A mano! 

 Fatalone

Pasquale is from the region of Puglia where his family has been making wines in the late 1800's.
Five generations in, he is still keeping a rich family tradition alive.

Tuesday, October 30th, 7:00 cash bar, 7:30 dinner. This 5 course unique dinner will include both family style and individual platings for $60, plus tax and tip!  Reservations required at 504-208-9280.

Antipasta

Louisiana oysters with satsuma, parsley, and pepper
2011 Fatalone Greco

Stuffed foccacia with braised chard, pepporoncino, mozzarella
2008 Fatalone Teres

Primi
Farrotto with roasted carrots, and carrot-green pesto
2006 Fatalone Primativo

Secondi
Salsiccia, vitellone and pork sausage, winter squash puree, local peas
2004 Fatalone Primativo Reserva

Dolci
 Coffee and
Cookies

Please inform us of any dietary restrictions. Menu may change based on availability.

Fish en Papillote

Now that the MS Ride is over I feel like we can finally get back to cooking which means I can get back to writing about cooking!  One of the things I've really been enjoying lately is cooking fish and vegetables in parchment paper.  It is a super easy, quick, healthy and flavorful way to prepare food and while certain combinations give better results than others, you really can't go wrong!  Using filets of your favorite fish, fresh herbs and veggies served with pasta, rice or quinoa, the combinations are endless.

Parchment paper  is a type of cellulose paper that is coated with silicone. Its a great nonstick disposable surface for baking and cooking as it can withstand heat and won't burn or smoke in the oven. I like to use it to line baking pans, no need to grease the pan and clean up is easy.  But my favorite use is with fish, folding it into little self cooking packets.  You buy it on a roll (Whole Foods sells an unbleached parchment roll), just like foil or wax paper, or in pre-folded single serving oven bags.  I use both but find the roll easier when you are working with larger pieces of fish. But there really is no substitute for parchment, you can't use wax paper, and while foil gives a similar effect, you have to be careful using anything acidic like citrus or tomatoes.

Experiment with different flavor combinations like Shallots, lemon, herbs and butter with fresh cod or drum with olives, tomatoes and asparagus with a splash of extra virgin olive oil.  The main thing to remember is that your vegetable need to be sliced thin so they will cook properly in the 20 minutes and you need a hot oven, with most recipes calling for 400-475 degrees.

For this recipe I used ginger, shallots and garlic with lemon and carrots, but as I said, play around with your favorite flavor combinations and see what you like best! I served this with a side of classic Aglio, olio and peperoncino pasta using the recipe from one of my favorite bloggers in Rome, but I confess I did add the parmigiano cheese!  We also popped a bottle of 2009 Lioco Chard (we currently have the 2010 in the shop) that had been at the house for awhile.  Unbelievably good and perfect with the food!!!

SALMON IN PARCHMENT (EN PAPILLOTE)
Serves 4

Ingredients
1 Salmon Filet (1 ½-2 lbs.)
Parchment paper
2 lemons (one to slice, one for juice)
1 ½" piece Fresh Ginger minced
3 cloves minced garlic
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
1/4 cup white wine
1 shallot minced
Salt and pepper
2 carrots julienned

Preparation
Preheat oven to 400. Leave cookie sheet in oven to also preheat.

• Tear off sheet of parchment paper about twice as long as salmon filet. Place salmon in middle, skin side down. 
• Rub top of salmon with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Mince garlic, shallot and ginger and rub on top of salmon. 
• Place thinly sliced lemon on top of salmon. Put carrots on top and around sides of salmon. Add dollops of butter on top of salmon and vegetables. 
• Add a big squeeze of  lemon juice and the white wine on top and seal parchment.
• Fold or staple parchment to seal (I like to fold and then tie the ends if the packs are pretty full), to allow salmon and vegetables to steam.
• Place packet on heated cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes.

Cool October Events @ Swirl!

                              

 

Ready or not, October is here which means our activity level at the shop gets kicked up a few notches!  We're really happy to be bringing back our wine and cheese pairing classes with Casey Foote from Saint James Cheese (October 11 & 18, see details below) plus we've got our last MS Fundraising Event, a visit from an Italian winemaker and James Moises, fun Wednesday Nite Flites plus our always entertaining Free Fridays! This week alone we have 4 events on the books so scroll down to see what to add to your social calendar!

Monday October 1, 6-10:30pm, Slow Food New Orleans Supper Bowl Jam!
Kerry and I will be heading over to the Slow Food NOLA launch held in true New Orleans style at Rock ‘N’ Bowl. The party gets started at 6 pm with music by Onward Brass Band and food available for purchase from Rock ‘N’ Bowl’s Straight Stick Ranch, La Divina Gelateria, Rue Chow, Frencheeze, My Time Coffee, a Slow Food Demonstrations by Gary Granata, PhD, RD and much more. For more details check out their Facebook Page!

Tuesday October 2, 6-8pm, Have a Drink for MS!!
This is our last week of fundraising for the MS Bike 150 this weekend so tonight we'll donate all of the profits from the bar and help Mike and Matt "prep" their legs for the ride with a leg shaving to raise money for MS!  Our own version of "locks of luv", for $10 you can take a swipe at their legs and all of the money they raise will go to MS! We'll have some amazing wine available at the bar as Kerry, me, Matt and Mike will all pick our favorite wines in the store to put on the list for the evening at special prices.

Wednesday Nite Flites, October 3, 6-8pm
We'll be celebrating our cooler fall evenings tonight with a flite of big reds!  Plus you'll probably need a drink before the presidential debates start at 8pm so come over to taste the Ridge Lytton Springs Proprietary Red(WA 95 pts, $42), B Wise Trios ($30) and the new vintage of Charles Smith's Boom Boom Syrah ($18) Flites are $15 for 3-2 oz. pours of delicious juice, no reservations required!

Friday Free For All, October 5, 6-8pm
Josh Prados will be pouring 4 great wines from Spain tonight accompanied by chef Papier's delicious tapas plates!  The wine tasting is free and plates are $5-$7.  Check out our Facebook page on Friday for the lineup and chef's menu!

Saturday Hollygrove Happy Hour October 6,  4-6
Kimi and Brenda will be pouring for Happy Hour today while Kerry, me, Mike and Matt ride the MS Bike 150! All wines by the glass are half price and you can check out the Hollygrove produce box pick up!  See instructions here on how to order your box!

Wednesday Nite Flites, October 10, 6-8pm
Join Kimi and Mike for flite nite where $15 gets you 3-2 oz. pours of delicious juice, no reservations required! Check out our Facebook page on Wednesday for the lineup and chef's menu!

Special Event! October 11, 6:30pm Italian Wine & Cheese Pairing Class at Swirl
Join Casey Foote of Saint James Cheese and Robin Shay, the Export Manager for Allegrini, for a wonderful tasting of wine and cheese from Italy.  We'll feature 6 gorgeous wines from the Veneto and Toscana presented by Robin including the Poggio Al Tesoro Sondraia (WA 91, $40) and Vermintino, the Allegrini Palazzo della Torre and Valpolicella, and the San Polo Rossi di Montalcino and Rubio Super Tuscan.  The tasting is $35 and reservations/prepayment are required.  Limited to 24 people, call 504.304.0635 to reserve your spot!

Friday Free For All, October 12, 6-8pm
Join Beth Kehn for a tasting of 4 great wines from Italy accompanied by chef Papier's delicious tapas plates!  The wine tasting is free and plates are $5-$7.  Check out our Facebook page on Friday for the lineup and chef's menu!

Hollygrove Happy Hour, Saturday October 13, 4-6pm
Saturday afternoons are heating up at Swirl as we are THE place to pick up your Hollygrove Market box of fresh, local produce.  The infamous $25 Hollygrove box contains roughly 12 items at the peak of their season and can be picked up at Swirl on Saturdays from 4-6pm during our 1/2 priced Happy Hour.  See instructions here on how to order your box!

Wednesday Nite Flites, October 17, 6-8pm
Join Kimi and Mike for flite nite where $15 gets you 3-2 oz. pours of delicious juice, no reservations required! Check out our Facebook page on Wednesday for the lineup and chef's menu!

Special Event! Thursday October 18th, 6:30-8pm, American Wine & Cheese with St. James Cheese & James Moises @ Swirl!
October is American Cheese month and our friends over at Saint James are bringing in lots of great domestic cheeses to celebrate!  So tonight we will pair up Casey Foote and James Moises for a wonderful evening of wine and cheeses from Oregon, Washington and California.  The tasting is $30 and reservations/prepayment are required.  Limited to 24 people, call 504.304.0635 to reserve your spot!

Friday Free For All, October 19, 6-8pm
Please join us for our weekly tasting of 4 free wines!  Lineup is TBA

Hollygrove Happy Hour, Saturday October 20, 4-6pm
Saturday afternoons are heating up at Swirl as we are THE place to pick up your Hollygrove Market box of fresh, local produce.  The infamous $25 Hollygrove box contains roughly 12 items at the peak of their season and can be picked up at Swirl on Saturdays from 4-6pm during our 1/2 priced Happy Hour.  See instructions here on how to order your box!

Wednesday Nite Flites, October 24, 6-8pm
Join Kimi and Mike for flite nite where $15 gets you 3-2 oz. pours of delicious juice, no reservations required!

Friday Free For All, October 26, 6-8pm
Please join us for our weekly tasting of 4 free wines!  Lineup is TBA

Hollygrove Happy Hour, Saturday October 27, 4-6pm
Saturday afternoons are heating up at Swirl as we are THE place to pick up your Hollygrove Market box of fresh, local produce.  The infamous $25 Hollygrove box contains roughly 12 items at the peak of their season and can be picked up at Swirl on Saturdays from 4-6pm during our 1/2 priced Happy Hour.  See instructions here on how to order your box!

Special Event!! Wednesday Nite Flites with Winemaker Pasquale Petrera from Fatalone in Puglia, October 31, 6-8pm
Join us for a great evening of wines from the Puglia region where Primitivo rules!  Winemaker Pasquale Petrera will be presenting 4 wines tonight and we'll have a nice selection of Italian cheese on our "bites" menu!  $15 gets you 3-2 oz. pours of delicious juice, no reservations required!

Help Us in the Fight Against Multiple Sclerosis

Bike MS Louisiana, October 6-7, 2012

We need your help.  And as small business owners, who gets asked for donations on an almost daily basis, we know how hard it can be to give money to every cause you care about.  But this is important as approximately 400,000 Americans have Multiple Sclerosis, and every week about 200 people are diagnosed. World-wide, MS affects about 2.5 million people so chances are you know someone who has been diagnosed with this disease.

We started Team Swirl when one of our friends was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2007. We had only 9 people on the team that year, but our enthusiasm towards raising money for this disease has attracted many riders over the years.  By 2011 we were the largest team in the Louisiana tour, 57 members strong, with almost every team member knowing and riding for someone with MS.

There have been significant advances in the treatment of MS in the past few years and we are excited and proud that Team Swirl's  participation in the Louisiana MS 150 has had a direct impact on those developments.  We have raised over $150,000 over the last 4 years and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society uses these funds to not only support research for a cure tomorrow, but also to provide programs which address the needs of people living with MS today. Because we can fight this disease by simply riding a bike, because we have chosen to help thousands of people through a contribution to the MS Bike Tour, we are now getting closer to the hour when no one will have to hear the words, "You have MS."

On October 6, Team Swirl will ride the Louisiana MS 150 for the sixth year in a row with an even deeper purpose as a team member just got diagnosed this summer.  Please consider helping us reach our fund raising goals as any donation, large or small, gets us closer to a world free of MS.  Help us in raising funds and awareness by clicking on our team personal page link below.

To make a tax deductible donation by credit card, please go to:  MS Fundraising Team Swirl
Or you can send a check made out to the National MS Society to:
Swirl Wines
Attn: MS Donation
3143 Ponce de Leon Street
New Orleans, LA 70119

Thank you for your support,

Beth Ribblett & Kerry Tully, Captains, Team Swirl


GO TEAM SWIRL!!!!!!!

The 2008 Oregon Pinot Show: 6 Artisan Producers from a Historical Vintage

Pinot Noir grapes in Oregon.  Photo by James Moises

"In the 2008's, you've got the best vintage Oregon has ever produced, the kind of vintage Oregon winemakers always hoped they could produce." Harvey Steiman, Wine Spectator.

Praise for the 2008 vintage in Oregon has been unanimous, from the New York Times, to Wine Spectator and all of the ratings rags, to the Oregon Wine Awards and more, it is simply superb.  With an uncharacteristically dry September and October, the warm days and cool nights allowed grapes to achieve ripeness without sacrificing the freshness provided by good acidity.  The wines are sought after by collectors and wine enthusiasts around the world making the 2008's harder and harder to find.

2010 harvest in Oregon's Willamette Valley.  Photo by James Moises

But on Wednesday, August 22, we are giving 20 lucky people an opportunity to taste 6 beautiful wines made by small artisan producers from this historic vintage.  The wines will be presented by James Moises, Oregon producer and distributor of limited production wines from Oregon and Washington, and promises to be an unforgettable evening of fine wine and great company!

James in the vineyards, Oregon's Willamette Valley.  Photo courtesy of James Moises

This is a seated event and reservations and prepayment are required.  We have only 8 spots remaining so please contact us at 504.304.0635 to secure your spot. $30


Here's a look at the line up:

2008 J. Daan Pinot Noir Willamette Valley, $24, 450 cases produced
Justin and Megan Van Zanten own this small winery in the Yamhill County town of Carlton. J Daan Wine Cellars, currently housed at the Carlton Winemakers Studio, is the effort of Justin and Megan Van Zanten. Justin's "day job" is as assistant winemaker to Andrew Rich, and he worked previously at major Oregon wineries, including Adelsheim and Chehalem.

The wine is produced from the Croft-Williamson Vineyard and Apolloni Vineyard grapes. This vintage shows off the best of Willamette Valley Pinot-- lush flavors of raspberry and cherry with an elegant finish and silky mouthfeel.

2008 Lumos Wine Company Pinot Noir Temperance Hill, $36, 688 cases produced

The Lumos Wine Company is the product of the efforts of its owner/winemaker, Dai Crisp, who was first introduced to viticulture in 1986 when he helped his parents plant a small, 10-acre vineyard on their farm in Wren, Oregon. In 1990 he became manager of Croft Vineyards where he began to develop his own unique style of grape growing. Then in 1999, Dai took on the 100-acre site at Temperance Hill Vineyard, where he is currently manager. While always interested in the process of wine-making, it wasn’t until Dai had proven to himself and others that he could grow an outstanding wine that he finally made the leap with his own label.

The wine won Double Gold at the Oregon Wine Awards! Lovely, brush-tinged juicy red fruits highlight this classy, fresh, delicious wine. Cristom is one of those producers who can do virtually no wrong. Great wine. Renowned vineyard manager meets famous vineyard. Result: Terrific wine. This stuff is dense, purple-dark, and laden with deep flavors and minerally structure.

2008 Capitello Pinot Noir Willamette Valley, $37.50,

Ray Walsh made King Estate's white wines from its start, developing the US's best known Pinot Gris. He rose quickly at King Estate, highly regarded for his ability to bring out the very best in Oregon grapes. Ray left King Estate last year to make his own Capitello wines.  Ray is a native New Zealander, and worked his way up from "Cellar Rat" to "Cellar Master" at Limeburner Bay, Villa Maria, Waitakere, and Coopers Creek Wineries before moving to the US in 1995. He started as Cellar Master at King Estate in June of 1995, then became winemaker in June of 1999. He was instrumental in the development of the King Estate wine style, and in the high ratings and national respect the winery has today.

The wine is sourced from two vineyard sites in the Willamette Valley; Mary’s Peak Vineyard (located just south of Philomath) and Rainbow’s End Vineyard (located in Monroe). Both vineyards are warm sites that are planted on Bellpine soil, offering richness to the fruit as well as elegance to the finished blend
This Pinot Noir gives off rich aromas of ripe raspberry & pomegranate fruits, while offering elegant oak spice, floral and earth tones. In the mouth, a full display of rich berry fruit and silky tannins shows  up front. The intensely bright raspberry -blueberry fruit along with oak tones fill out the mid-palate, leaves you with a viscous raspberry linger.

2008 De Lancellotti Family Vineyards Pinot Noir Chehalem Mountain, $63

The De Lancellotti Family Vineyard's owners Paul and Kendall de Lancellotti bring to Oregon Pinot Noir a dedication to organic and sustainable grape growing practices that is rare to find and hard to achieve.
A hallmark of Paul and Kendall's winemaking philosophy is their commitment to stewardship of the land. In 2004, they received Biodynamic certification for their 27 acre vineyard. Certification is a complex process involving a commitment to the land and to the cycles of nature, as well as to strictly regulated winemaking practices. The Bergstrom and the deLancellotti Family Vineyards operations were the first two vineyards in the Willamette Valley to be certified Biodynamic. In 2008 they received the highest level of Biodynamic farming, Demeter certification. Using France's great Burgundies as his benchmark, Paul deLancellotti aims to bring subtlety and elegance to his signature Pinot Noirs.

IWC & WS 92 points: Full, bright red. Sexy bouquet of raspberry, cherry-cola and potpourri, with subtle woodsmoke and anise qualities in the background. A juicy, spicy midweight that offers sweet red and dark berry flavors and a zesty mineral spine. Darker fruits come up on the finish, which lingers with impressive juicy persistence. Very attractive right now but has the balance to reward another four to six years of bottle aging, at a minimum.

2008 Dominio IV Pinot Noir Poetry and Roses, $33, 205 cases produced

The husband and wife team Leigh and Patrick are the driving forces behind the winery, supported by Leigh’s parents Liz and Glenn. Leigh is in charge of the Dominio IV vineyards, but her main job is to be vineyard manager and co - general manager for Archery Summit, a producer of ultra-premium Pinot Noirs in Oregon. Leigh studied viticulture at the University of California at Davis and joined the team at Archery Summit in 2000. Patrick also studied at the University of California at Davis and is the winemaker of Dominio IV.


WA 91 points: The medium ruby red 2008 Pinot Noir of Poetry and Roses displays an enticing bouquet of exotic spices, incense, floral notes, and assorted red fruits. This sets the stage for a sweetly fruited, elegant wine that also contains plenty of density, impeccable balance, and a lengthy, seamless finish. Drink this stylish effort through 2019.

2008 Moises Holmes Hill Vineyard, $38, 100 cases produced

Born and raised in New Orleans, Jesuit and LSU graduate, ER doctor and professor, Dr. James Moises is a busy man. Somehow between working in the ER and teaching, he is finding time to follow his other passion, making wine. And not just any wine, we’re talking very small production, serious Pinot Noir from Oregon’s Willamette Valley made with sustainable vineyard practices and minimalist intervention in winemaking.  James’ first vintage release was in 2006, producing an old vine Pinot with fruit from friend Mark Wahle’s original family plot that was planted in 1974, and a Holmes Hill Pinot from the recently planted 40 acre site. Total production was only 150 cases in 2006 and in 2007. With the release of the Vieux Carre, a blend of the old vine Yamhill Carlton and the Holmes Hill fruit, production increased to 300 cases. While Mark Wahle is the winemaker, James is there every step of the way, involved from planting to bottling and he wouldn’t have it any other way. He loves the creative process involved in “taking this cluster of fruit and producing something really special that will bring enjoyment to others.”


The Holmes Hill is my current favorite of James' 2008s and it has been since the night we did the 2008 release tasting of all of his wines.  Immediately drinkable, yet it has all the right stuff for aging.  Great plush, silky mouthfeel, delicious dark cherry fruits with balanced acidity and minerality it is a knock out! 

Positano Bites Deep...

“Positano bites deep. It is a dream place that isn’t quite real when you are there and becomes beckoningly real after you have gone.”  John Steinbeck

 After 13 hours of flying and two tiring train rides, the five of us, later tagged as "le cinque donne", lug our suitcases down the very long train track in Napoli. At the end of the platform a pack of Italian male limo drivers awaits, holding up signs, maneuvering around each other, ready to whisk the "stanieri" to destinations on the beautiful Amalfi Coast.  As I yell out into the crowd asking for Vincenzo, a jovial face makes his way to us.  An infectious smile with an easy, friendly manner, we exchange kisses on the check, feeling immediately comfortable with our new found friend and ready for the adventure that awaits.

Vincenzo Fusco, our friend and driver in Positano

Deliriously dazed, we pile into his van and make two request: bathroom and espresso.   With chaos of Napoli drifting behind us, Mount Vesuvius to our left and the bay of Naples to our right we leave the autostrada and begin ascending the infamous Amalfi Coast highway.  Zig zagging our way up past towering rocky bluffs and plunging gorges, the beautiful combination of the mountains meeting the crystal clear waters, I've never seen more spectacular views.  The pastel colored buildings clinging to the cliff ledges, sparkling in the afternoon sun, beckoning, seducing enchanting, what took me so long to get here and how am I ever going to make myself leave this place?

Our first look at Positano

We stop at the pinnacle of one of the cliffs on the highway and both requests are answered at a little tabacchi perched on the edge of the rock.  A little further down the road Vincenzo makes another stop giving us our first drop dead view of Positano.  Nestled in the rock crevice below, its deep blue water dotted white with boats, the dark pebbly beach lined with colorful umbrellas, we have arrived in paradise.  We descend, twisting, turning narrow streets bring us to the road above the villa.  I say "above" because to reach it you walk down a steep flight of 75 steps to reach the terraced ledge along which sits Le Sirene, our home for the next week.  We embrace Chiara, owner of the villa, as two burly porters lift the luggage of 5 women on their backs and bring it down the ancient stairs all in one trip.

View of Positano from Villa Le Sirene

I'd looked at the pictures of the view from the villa's terrace a thousand times, but as Chiara threw open the 12 foot tall double doors, nothing prepared me for the scene that awaited.  All of my senses are awakened from the exhausting trip as we walk out on the terrace and absorb the scene below us.  Sounds of waves crashing, children laughing, dishes clanking in the restaurants below, conversations drifting up the hillside, this little town is so alive with the most wonderful energy.  Salty ocean smells, clean sea air, and aromas from the seaside cafes, accompanied by visually stunning views, it draws me in as no place ever has, and we've only been here 5 minutes...

We settle in and decide on an early dinner followed by a good nights sleep to prepare for our first full day on the coast.  Out of the villa, puffing our way back up the 75 steps we came down earlier, we go left on the street to "Da Vincenzo"  a beautiful little spot on the main drag.  Of course it's early, way to early for any respectable Italian or anyone accustomed to the late dinner hour in Italy, but they we're totally accommodating to our bleary eyed and barely functioning group of tired women.

As soon as I see the menu, I know how I wanted to start my meal.  Insalata del Mare (salad from the sea), piled with fresh mussels, tiny delicate clams, langostino, octopus and squid in a deliciously simple marinade of local lemon juice and olive oil, is a staple on the Amalfi Coast and something that should not be missed.

And now the decision on the wine.  Familiar and beloved varieties like Falanghina, Greco di Tufo, Fiano di Avellino are on the white wine list, but I want something different, something that would taste like this wonderful  place.  So I choose from an unknown producer (who we actually got to visit on our next trip...), Tenuta San Francesco, and select their inexpensive Costa d'Amalfi Tramonti Bianco, a light, crisp blend of native varieties, biancolella, pepella and falanghina grown in a deep valley further down the coast.  Beautiful floral and herbal aromas with wonderful minerality and acid, it is the absolute perfect match for la cucina del mare in Positano.  It became one of our favorite wines on the trip, our go to bottle to accompany any of the fresh seafood dishes, and something I can't wait to have each time we go back.

Le cinque donne in Positano

Sipping on that wine, tasting the sea in that wonderful dish in that little restaurant with 4 of my favorite people around me, is a moment I will never forget.  A peacefulness comes over me, a feeling that there was no where else in the world that I want to be in this moment in time and it is a feeling that stays with me the entire visit.  There is something about this town, the warmth of its people, its natural beauty, culture, wine and cuisine that keep me coming back year after year.  It's affect on me is profound and hard to capture in words, all I know is that it keeps calling me back and I can't help but listen...

Links to our favorite people and places mentioned in this post.  Please tell them Beth & Kerry from New Orleans sent you...
Taxidriver Positano,  Vincenzo Fusco
Chiara & Giuseppe, Villa Le Sirene
Da Vincenzo Ristorante
Tenuta San Francesco

A Dangerously Simple Summer Cocktail

Sunday evenings = cocktail time.  We've done a long, hard bike ride at the end of a busy week, and a nice refreshing beverage is the perfect recovery tonic!  We love citrus based cocktails and this one with fresh lemon juice, ginger and agave nectar added to some Square One Organic Basil Vodka is the BOMB!
Salute!

1 1/2 oz. Square One Basil Vodka

3/4 oz. fresh lemon juice

3/4 oz. agave nectar or simple syrup

1/2-1 teaspoon of chopped fresh ginger

Combine all in a shaker with ice. Shake well and pour into a rocks glass.  Garnish with a fresh Basil leaf and a little of the chopped ginger.