Priorat & Pizza

Last night we went to Colorado Wine Company for their "No Corkage" Wednesday. You simply buy a bottle off their shelf and they'll open it for you to drink there. Great idea. We picked a bottle of 2005 Vinícola del Priorat Priorat Ònix Clássic with their recommendation to go with our pizza we were picking up from Casa Bianca.

A blend of 50% Grenache and 50% Carignane. It was a great wine with very nice structure and red fruit. Can't argue with the price of $13 either.

The Prisoner

Last night we had a bottle of 2005 Orin Swift "The Prisoner" ... it was very good and had gotten a decent amount of press from the usual sources. It was obviously a zinfandel blend with a decent amount of dark fruits on the nose and palate (plum, blackberry). The finish was a little short. I think it will hold its structure for another year or two though. It cost me around $30 for the bottle, I think there are better deals out there that are more my style.

Alma Rosa & Lafond

After sitting by the pool and enjoying a bottle of the Koehler Riesling that we picked up yesterday we went to Alma Rosa on our way back to LA. They are finally back in the place on Santa Rosa Road and it was good to be back. The place seemed a little cleaner than it used to be, but I'm sure that'll change! We were poured:

2005 Alma Rosa Pinot Gris, Santa Barbara County
2005 Alma Rosa Pinot Blanc, Santa Rita Hills
2005 Alma Rosa Chardonnay, Santa Barbara County
2005 Alma Rosa Pinot Noir, Santa Rita Hills
2005 Alma Rosa Pinot Noir, La Encantada Vineyard

So good. Everything. Lucky for me I was able to join this wine club. Two bottle of each of their Pinots when they are released each year. Figured since I'm going to be buying them anyway I might as well get a discount! While we were there the guy recommended going to Lafond just down the street before we headed off to LA, so we did just that. We tasted:

2005 Lafond Chardonnay, "SRH"
2005 Lafond Chardonnay, "Lafond Vineyard"
2005 Lafond Pinot Noir, "SRH"
2005 Lafond Pinot Noir, "Lafond Vineyard, Clone 113"
2005 Lafond Pinot Noir, "Lafond Vineyard, Clone 777"
2005 Lafond Syrah, "SRH"

Everything was good. The Pinot Clone 113 was just opened and not showing to well, it came around a little with a good deal of swirling ... would be much better with more time. We bought a bottle of the SRH Syrah cause it was hard to beat for $18.

Beckmen party (plus Foxen and Koehler)

On August 11th Beckmen had their annual Wine Club party. The poured a selection of wines, both current releases and a few library wines. Here's what we had:

Current Releases:
2006 Beckmen Sauvignon Blanc, Estate
2005 Beckmen Sauvignon Blanc, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2006 Beckmen Grenache Blanc, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2005 Beckmen "Le Bec Blanc"
2006 Beckmen Grenache Rose, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2005 Beckmen "Cuvee Le Bec"
2005 Beckmen Grenache, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2004 Beckmen Syrah, Estate
2005 Beckmen Syrah, Estate
2005 Beckmen Syrah, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2005 Beckmen Syrah, "Barrel Select"
2005 Beckmen Syrah, "Block Six"
2005 Big Hands Syrah
2005 Beckmen Cabernet Sauvignon, Estate

Library wines:
2000 Beckmen Syrah, Estate
1999 Beckmen Syrah, Purisima Mountain Vineyard
2001 Beckmen Grenache, Purisima Mountain Vineyard

Wow! A lot of wine. We were there for about four hours and managed to try everything. I was really surprised with the Grenache Blanc and we bought a couple bottles. Also bought a bottle of the 2005 Beckmen "Atelier" ... a blend of Cabernet Franc and Merlot if I remember correctly. I've never had it, but this is the last year they're going to make since they've torn out their Cab Franc grapes.

After Beckmen we went to Foxen, it had been a while since we had been there and I've really liked everything they've had in the past. Here's the best that I remember of what we had:

2004 Foxen Chenin Blanc
2006 Foxen Pinot Noir, Santa Maria Valley
2004 Foxen "Cuvee Jean Marie"
2004 Foxen Cabernet Franc, "Tinaquaic Vineyard"

Loved everything ... only bought a bottle of the Cabernet Franc though. I've been on the waiting list for this wine club for over a year and can't wait to get on it. Although I'm not sure we'll be able to afford more wine! After Foxen we zipped down Foxen Canyon Road to make it to Koehler before they closed. We tasted:

2005 Koehler Sauvignon Blanc
2006 Koehler Riesling
2005 Koehler Grenache
2005 Koehler Pinot Noir, Santa Barbara County
2005 Koehler Pinot Noir, Santa Rita Hills
2005 Koehler Syrah

Everything was good ... we love the Riesling and bought a few bottle of that. We had one at the pool the next day and it was fantastic. We went to dinner at The Vineyard House in Santa Ynez and had a bottle of 2005 Qupe Syrah, Central Coast with our meals. Good stuff, especially for the restaurant price of only $25.

Pizzeria Mozza

Holy cow ... it's been a while since I posted. It's not that I haven't been drinking any good wine, just been really busy :)

We went to Pizzeria Mozza for the first time this past Saturday for dinner. Overall a fantastic experience and worth every penny. Here's the way it went down ...

We each had a glass of N.V. Prosecco di Valdobiaddene, Ruggeri (Veneto, Italy) with our appetizers of ...
- Fried squash blossoms with ricotta
- Artichokes al forno

For dinner we had a bottle of 2003 Rosso di Montalcino Sangiovese, Fattoi (Tuscany, Italy) along with our pizzas ...
- Fennel sausage, panna & spring onion
- Funghi misti, fontina, taleggio & thyme

And finished it off w/ a dessert of 3 gelatos, hazelnut/chocolate, espresso, and caramel.

It was fabulous ... the food, the service, the wine. Couldn't have improved on it at all. Hope we get to go back soon ... maybe for lunch at the bar or something .... fingers crossed :)