Chateau La Commanderie De Queyret – White Bordeaux 2009

Thursday, July 15th, 2010

Named for a Commandery of Knights based here in the 13th Century, this highly respected estate sits on 106 hectares of clay/limestone soils, 20 of which is planted in Sauvignon Blanc- used in this wine.  A delightfully pungent aroma and taste of sweet pea, lemon/lime, and grapefruit greets you, along with a dusty grey stone minerality and bracing acidity.  It will enhance any seafood dish like trout, oysters, or shrimp, as well as salads, poultry, tex/mex dinners, and especially Asian stir-fry with snow pea pods.  The 2009 vintage is being raved about by experts as one of the top vintages EVER in Bordeaux.  So, it’s an exciting pleasure to get to sample whites from this vintage now, like this one, before the reds are released.  Something to look forward to!

$14.99 /sale price- $16.99 / regular

Tom Bates

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DOMAINE HOUCHART ROSE 2009 – COTES DE PROVENCE, FRANCE

Friday, June 25th, 2010

It’s summer and that means it’s time to break out the roses – like this one from the locals of Aix-en-Provence.  With newly renovated wine making facilities, the 5th generation Houchart family estate has made a dandy.  Sourced from 5 different grape varieties(Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Mourvedre), it’s salmon pink in color and loaded with dark red fruits. Lively, fresh and DRY, this one has good structure, concentration and intensity enough to satisfy you red wine drinkers out there. Serve between 50-55 degrees with any grilled meats, ham, salmon, pizza or Asian dishes.      Look for the gorgeous wallpaper type label.

Price: Reg. $15.99 / Sale  $13.99

Tom Bates

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Mirror Pond Pale Ale – Deschutes Brewery – Bend, Oregon

Friday, June 25th, 2010

Looking for a new pale ale to try instead of Bass, Sierra Nevada, or even our award wining Summit?  Check this out!  Very British in style, it instantly  brought back fond memories of English Real Ales found in all the pubs there.  After pouring, you notice a deep coppery amber color, and then the distinct floral ester aroma of the Cascade hops.  You’ll get caramel, citrus, lemon, and grapfruit flavors with a fresh yeasty bread doughy character that leads you to a light toasty and satisfying finish. But don’t take my word for it, Alstrom Bros from the Beer Advocate gives this brew an A-.  I would give it an A+.  Cheers!

Price: $9.99 /6pk  or $3.99 /22oz bottle

Tom Bates

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Donnafugata “Anthilia” 2008 – A White Blend from Sicily

Friday, June 18th, 2010

The Donnafugata estate has been consistently producing some of the best wines in Sicily for 150 years. “Anthilia” is a white blend of four indigenous grapes – Ansonica and Catarratto(both comprising 80% of the total), plus two other rarities. It’s very fragrant with floral notes, crisp, with rich fruit of lemon/lime, white peach and yellow plum. Only 12.5% alcohol, this is an excellent and refreshing summer alternative to the popular Pinot Grigio. A complete and complex Italian white wine, it is best served at about 50 degrees with light pasta dishes, chicken, fish, and all types of salads. It was a big hit at a recent patio party!
 $15.99

Tom Bates

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Cheesemonger Sandwich: A forgotten favorite

Wednesday, January 20th, 2010

We received a nice bit of press recently from the Pioneer Press about our fennel salami sandwich.  I will say that I really do enjoy that sandwich and it is often one of my choices for lunch.  However  there is one other sandwich that I feel like is just as worthy:  the cheesemonger.

Those of you who remember the dark days of the Minneapolis cheese shop recall that for some time the only sandwich we had was the cheesemonger.  And the only reason we had that sandwich (and the reason we call it that despite the fact it is not a cheese only sandwich) was because I would often make myself one for lunch.  I am a big enough man to admit that a cheese shop without a nice sandwich menu was like a dive bar without a dusty jukebox.  Huh?

Anyhow, I enjoyed a cheesemonger sandwich for breakfast today.  It was delicious.  Truly.  Rich, delicious salami from Salumeria Biellese in New York City, a couple of slices of salty provolone from Wisconsin, and our awesome pepper-onion relish.  3 simple ingredients all working together in harmony.  We’ve progressed to sandwiches with more than 3 ingredients but I still stand by the idea that it less is more and you just need to find the best ingredients you can and try not to mess them up.

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Great things in store for 2010

Friday, January 15th, 2010

There is certainly plenty of bad news about persistent unemployment and underemployment, the foreclosure crisis, the unwillingness of banks to make loans to small businesses, and the impending commercial real estate implosion. Add to this the slowdown in restaurant wine sales and the across-the-board retail phenomenon of “trading down” by the consumer. Finally, toss in a reluctance by wineries and importers to reduce their prices on existing inventories and a succession of several good vintages. Take it all together and what do you get?

One of the best opportunities for wine value buying in a decade.

You see, as long as the Earth continues to revolve around the Sun, grape vines will continue to produce fruit. Because the wineries have been sitting on their wines, hoping upon hope that the wine market would shape up (or perhaps for a bad vintage), they now have a prodigious glut of wines in their cellars. And I’m not talking about one vintage, but more like three or four, with the potential for another one (2010) right behind it.

If you are a wine buyer, prepare yourself for one of the best buyers’ markets in years. The best deals will probably be in bottles that would have been in the $30-$40 range on the shelf. These will see reductions of 30-50 percent. (Not silly “nickel” games played in some venues where the price gets raised just to show a bigger discount, but honest reductions.) As time goes by, we may even see items in the high tier ($50+ retail) start to slide, too. For now, the wineries are desperately defending their crown jewels, but with so much erosion coming in the mid-tier, the upper-tier cannot be that far behind.

Plus, the longer the producers wait, the worse the damage will be to their market position.

In the end, we will probably see a sad cascade of vineyard failures and winery closures. It’s likely as necessary as it is inevitable. But in the meantime, drink up! We will see great prices for the foreseeable future. After that, who knows?

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All Things Goat

Monday, January 11th, 2010

With all that fancy Flamenco, Manchego, Jamon Serrano and Penelope Cruz, goat’s milk isn’t the first thing to come to mind when you think of Spain. But no longer.

Enter Monte Enebro, Garrotxa and Pata Cabra. In my humble opinion, some of the best cheeses goats have to offer.

Monte Enebro –This creamy, amazing, log-shaped beauty is handmade in the town of Aviles, Spain. Each log is coated in the same mold that’s used to make Roquefort, resulting in a slightly acidic, delicious flavor– and a high pitched squeal every time a fresh new log arrives in the shop. It’s that good.

Garrotxa – Possibly my favorite. Produced in the Catalonia region in Northern Spain, this slightly tangy, unassuming cheese barely has time to settle into the case before it’s snapped up. Silky, semi-soft texture, and milky quality. Not to be missed.

Pata Cabra – I recently fell in love with this cheese when dining at Alma, and was thrilled to see it show up at our doorstep. Another log-shaped goat cheese – this one hailing from Zaragosa, Spain — Pata Cabra falls on the milder end of the spectrum. With a provolone type texture, and subtle goat flavor, this is a great cheese for the beginner (or more hesitant) goat enthusiast.

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Beckmen Cuvee Le Bec

Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

This wine is a blend of Grenache, Mourvedre, Syrah and Counoise.  If I were going to marry a wine (again!) this would be it.  Rich dark fruit without falling into the “tough guy” wine category.  Wonderful on it’s own or with a nibble of cheese.

It is located in the alternative red section of the shop and has a “Bill Highly Recommends” tag on it.  Pay no mind to that and buy it anyway.  Delicious!

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St. Francis “Red” 2005 – Sonoma County, CA – $14.99

Tuesday, January 5th, 2010

The St. Francis Winery owns 600 acres of some of the highest quality vineyards in Sonoma County and has been making their own estate wines for over 35 years.

Their St. Francis “Red” 2005 is a Meritage blend (popular these days), made up of Merlot (58 %), Syrah (25%), Cabernet Franc (9%), Cabernet Sauvignon (6%), and Zinfandel (2%).  Very much in the California style (big fruit & oaky), it is still smooth and well-balanced.

You will find ripe plummy black cherry and currant fruits, toasty mocha, exotic spices, and black and green pepper overtones.  A perfect party or barbecue wine that is best with grilled meats, hefty pizzas, and hearty pastas with red sauce. 

Named as one of the “Best American Wines Under $15.oo” by Food & Wine Magazine.  I agree!

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Better than that great bottle of Scotch you got for the holidays?

Saturday, January 2nd, 2010

Well, the gift of a great bottle of Scotch is hard to top, so I’m not even going to try.  “So, why are you writing this post, then?” you may ask.  Well, I’m not going to try to top it, but I’m going to divulge the decadent way that I found to savor a glass of Scotch that I gave to my sweetie for X-Mas — hey, it was understood that he’d be sharing…  The Scotch in question:

Bunnahabhain 12 Year Islay Single Malt Scotch Whiskey $48.99

Tasting Notes:  like any Islay single malt, this has a smoky-peaty influence, but in this case it is harmonious, expressive yet subtle, and perfectly balanced by the smooth, rich, sweet caramel finish.

The Experience:  sitting on the couch together after a long day of work and a cold drive home, sipping delicious Scotch while enjoying small bites of artisan dark chocolates (that I purchased from the France 44 Cheese Shop, naturally).  Ideally there would also have been a fire crackling in the fireplace and soft jazz playing in the background, but I won’t exxagerate…  The Scotch and the chocolates played off of each other beautifully!  The Scotch brought out the complexities in the chocolates, the chocolates brought out the complexities in the Scotch…  It just got better and better with each little sip and each little bite.  Now, we aren’t talking about Hershey’s, here — comparing these artisan dark chocolates to Hershey’s would not only be sacrilege, but would be like comparing a single malt Scotch to, oh, I don’t know, moonshine sounds a bit extreme…cheap whiskey, ok?  In all, we sampled four different chocolate bars.  As with any pairing, some worked better than others.  The home-run?

Rogue Chocolatier’s “Hispaniola,” (70 % cacao, sourced entirely from a small cooperative in the Dominican Republic):  This LOCAL Chocolatier – local, as in NE Minneapolis local – makes arguably the best chocolate I’ve ever sensed.  “Sensed?!”  Well, the word ‘taste’ doesn’t go far enough.  The silky texture of Rogue chocolate is as important as its extremely layered and complex flavors.  And, talk about flavors – Rogue chocolate bars even come with tasting notes! ($6.99)

Conclusion:  Pairing artisan dark chocolates with good Scotch was a such a memorable sensory (shall I say sensual?), experience that I cannot recommend it highly enough.  And thank-you Rogue for bringing chocolate to a new level.

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