Leaving NYC and moving to San Francisco
Tasted July 16, 2005 - July 17, 2005 by jamiekutch with 1,664 views
Introduction
The decision to take the leap of faith and follow my passion has been the best decision I have ever made in my life. Its so f”ing amazing how much good has come from my initial post on following a dream. From that day forward, the incredible heart felt emails haven’t stopped coming in. The wildest part though is the ½ dozen people who said that after reading the post they decided to make a major change in their own lives and pursue something they always wanted to pursue.
I posted some of my favorite letters in a .pdf last night
I must admit, I was nervous as shit the day I was set to leave NYC. I gave myself plenty of time and dragged my two suitcases into the elevator on my trip to the airport. Now I have never in my life been stuck in an elevator but that day between floors the elevator abruptly stopped. I pressed the alarm button and was told to sit tight by the doorman while he got someone to get me out. I had about 15 minutes alone in that box and started thinking could this be an omen. I was then scared to get on the plane. I quickly erased the thought when the elevators where pried open and I was hoisted up with the two bags. I took the stairs and the guys helped carry my bags. Weird… Next I was sitting on the tarmac with the plane waiting to take off. My stomach was killing from stress and I was totally nervous about the decision I made and all that I was leaving behind in NYC. That was absolutely the only moment I second thought my decision.
Since then, the whole thing continues to feel like the FORCE from Star Wars and after seeing the movie some weeks ago I totally related after it was over. I went for it. I am doing positive proactive things and thinking positively. The crazy part is how much comes back to you when you do that. People are friendlier, offer to help, give you their shirt off their back, etc. Totally weird again… Since the post I had the opportunity to dine with Robert Parker thanks to Dan Kravitz, was interviewed on GrapeRadio thanks to Jay Selman, Brian Clark & Leigh Older, was written up in Pinotfile thanks to Rusty, was quoted in Monterey County Weekly thanks to Charyn Pfeuffer, and soon to be written in Bloomberg markets when I sit down next week with Elin McCoy in S.F. who wrote the Parker Biography. It’s totally insane!!! I recently wrote how I am dying to taste some more aged Rochioli and bam within 30 minutes I received a PM from a board member asking when we can meet for dinner in LA and pop a few of his.. He even mentioned that he used to drink frequently with Alan Meadow's and maybe we could get together for some Burgundy... ROCK & ROLL!!!
Within the first week out here I met up with Andrew Vingiello and Brian Loring to attend the Pisoni Memorial day weekend party in the Santa Lucia Highlands (which I wrote up on the board) After that there was a great Rhone dinner at Rubicon I also wrote up. Roy Hersh was in town for a California dinner we also had at Rubicon and stayed with me at my new pad. Since my bed just arrived the day before, I put Roy up on the air mattress I had been using for the first week I was in town. The air mattress was brutal and my back was hurting for several days after sleeping on it. By the time you would wake in the morning, the air was all depleted from the mattress and you were literally sleeping on the hard floor. Sorry Roy.
Flight 1 - Christine's apartment: Dinner with Guillaume, & Christine (2 notes)
Guillaume Deschamps was next to arrive a week or so ago. With Guillaume coming to town, I decided to buy a new air mattress so he would be comfortable. We had a good time together and the first night went to Christine Huang’s new apartment literally 5 blocks away for some delicious home cooked food. Christine started us with a nice Duval Champagne and some prosciutto rolled with figs and goat cheese. It was delicious paired with the Bubbles. We then moved onto a killer salad with a beef cheek in the center of the salad. (Ask Christine for the recipe - her dishes were divine). It was paired with my epiphany wine, the 2002 Kosta Browne Kanzler that introduced me to Kosta Browne. I wanted to share it with Guillaume. Finally for the main we had lamb chops with the 1985 Chave Hermitage.. Wow was it a match made in heaven. It was a great night. and we had tons of fun. For a conclusion we did a scotch tasting. Guillaume brought 4 small airplane size bottles of scotch with him home. At night end, I was exhausted.
Red
1985 Bernard Chave Hermitage
France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
Great terroir nose of sous le bois. Mushrooms, tree leaves and bark, some saddle leather and beefs blood all signify the beautiful nose of this wine. An incredible accompaniment with the porcini crusted baby lamb chops we ate. Awesome pairing - thanks Christine.
Flight 2 - Offline with Guillaume - California Theme (6 notes)
The following evening, several local board members got together to welcome Guillaume to town. We had a good old time and the theme was 1994 California Cabernet. I never got around to taking notes on this dinner as I needed a break. I did jot down some brief notes in the beginning of the night on the older Cabs. Guillaume looked exhausted as well especially when we all went for cocktails at the conclusion of the dinner.
White
1999 Kistler Chardonnay McCrea Vineyard
USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Mountain
Golden yellow. Buttery nose with some honeysuckle notes. This oily, viscous Chard would pair well with some figs, goat cheese, and prosciutto. Full bodied with a clean pure finish that lingered on the back palate.
Red
1978 Stags' Leap Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
USA, California, Napa Valley
Still alive this bottle was purchased on release and never moved from 53 degrees. With its velvety style and subtle notes it was my pleasure to consume. Sweet fruit flavors on the palate of berry and some spice. A good clean finish - amazing it was as good, possible better than the 1979 cask 23 tasted alongside.
Red
1979 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Cask 23
USA, California, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District
Still alive this bottle was purchased on release and never moved from 53 degrees. In the glass its color is a red with a slight bricking rim. The nose has a beefy smell of some tar, chocolate, and game. The fruit is still there and is sweet and amazingly still succulant. The mid palate is slightly hallow though and finish is short and brief.
Red
1975 Mount Eden Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon
USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains
Still slightly alive this bottle was purchased on release and never moved from 53 degrees. With its lower alcohol, this mountain made cabernet was hitting on a few cylinders tonight. Light in style and silky soft its beginning to descend. Still holding some fruit and structure, it faded quickly.
Red
1984 Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Monte Bello
USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains
Color wasn't totally sound. With its bricking rim. The palate was drying and seems like this particular bottles history might not have been sound. A dissapointment.
Red
1994 Peter Michael Les Pavots
USA, California, Sonoma County, Knights Valley
Awesome wine with ruby red color. This is drinking brilliantly with its sweet fruit and great personality. The best 1994 of the night BLIND out of Caymus, Montelena, Shafer HSS, Monte Bello, La Jota, & Insignia. The aromatics fill the glass with succulant red fruit and the finish lasts 45 seconds plus. Bravo.
Flight 3 - Weekend with Leslie Sbrocco: ine Critic and Book Author (11 notes)
Next up was a great weekend up in Pataluma. Kristen, my girlfriend arrived on Thursday of last week and for the weekend we rented a car and drove up to Leslie's home. Leslie started and used to write the online wine column for the NYTimes and currently writes for the SF Chronicle, judges several wine competitions every year, and is working on her second book about wine. Kristen worked on her publicity at Harper Collins for her first book "Wine For Women" and they have a very close relationship. She is wealth of information and we were up till 2:00 am eating, tasting, and playing Twister. All the food we ate was delicious and very visually appealing. Doesn't that look good? It's common for Leslie to open 100+ wines in a weekend.. Damn what a job... We entered her garage and she asked, "what do you two want to drink". I almost fell over. It felt like I was in acandy store for the night. We started with some bubbly as a toast along with two damn good whites (notes below). We moved on to some delicious reds, and finally finished with some outstanding dessert wines - including a cask sample of 2003 Grahams . Yumm. Leslie even sent us home with a piece of her mother (a mother is a congealed piece of vinegar - you add wine to the jar and it continues to make red wine vinegar). We spent the night and I had trouble getting up the following morning.
White
1998 Domaine Leflaive Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet
France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru
Light yellow. When I saw this label I thought I was in for a big treat. I was slightly dissapointed with it. The nose started off with a dose of sulfer. With some air time that blew off and we had a nice clean acid driven Chard. with some rich ripe mid palate fruit. The finish dropped off though quickly especially compared to the Kistler. Certainly the more food friendly of the two.
White
1998 Kistler Chardonnay Kistler Vineyard
USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley
A golden hue - this rich, textured, full Chardonnay didn't disappoint. With its overflowing honey coated fruit, buttered popcorn nose and long lingering finish, its easy to see why Kistler is the Queen of the Chardonnay's (even though I would take a German Riesling any day of the week). It didn't match up nearly as well as the Grand Cru with food.
Red
1998 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape
France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Dark leather nose with some roast beef, bulls blood aroma. This is an awesome CDP, and was the first wine finished of the three on the table (1994 Stags Leap Cask 23 & 1995 Lynch Bages). While its not full blown open for business and not showing huge secondary notes - I still loved every sip. Concentrated with a long vivacious finish. Awesome.
Red
1995 Château Lynch-Bages
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Typical Lynch bages nose of lead pencil and saddle leather. With its secondary notes beginning to emerge it certainly entertained me. Some tobacco and cedar box notes in the background and plenty of sweet fruit. The tannins keep everything in check and are cashmere smooth. Plenty of time left for this pup.
Red
1997 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Cask 23
USA, California, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District
Dark and deep in color. The fruit is sweet almost jammy. The palate though is what gives away California with its sweet character and concentration flavors. Blackberry and espresso are two flavors that came to me. Velvety tannins that hold it all together with its low acidity.
Red - Fortified
2003 Graham Porto Vintage
Portugal, Douro, Porto
I will certainly be buying this wine after tasting it from a cask sample Leslie opened. Practically overflowing from my glass with ripe succulant fruit. The tannins hold the foundation of this wine oh and I mention the fruit? Bursting with black concentrated notes. Yumm.
Flight 4 - BBQ @ Michael Browne's home (6 notes)
The next day we drove up to Michael Browne's home in the early evening. Tony Velebil was already there and was sipping on a Coors from a can. Bahh... Michael is a wealth of information and it was great listening to him talk about winemaking all night. I wanted a special bottle to share with Michael and brought along a 1986 Lafite. Tony was out back sporting some wild sunglasses while the rest of us helped with the food preperations. It was another fantastic night with many dead soldiers on the table at the end.
Red
2003 Elk Cove Vineyards Pinot Noir Mt. Richmond
USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley
Wow, dark in the glass with dark extracted fruit. Amazing this is from Oregon. An awesome wine. The climate in 2003 really was Hot Hot Hot and you can taste it and smell it in the glass. The fruit is ripe and beautiful. Dare I say almost California like? Dazzling red and black fruit with hints of chocolate and light oak. The wine's smooth finish makes me lust for another sip.
Red
2003 Felton Road Pinot Noir Central Otago
New Zealand, South Island, Otago, Central Otago
Strawberry jam, rhubarb, and some roses popping from the glass. Nice structure and very food friendly. Crisp acidity that checks the wine at the door. A dazzling display of Pinot Noir from New Zealand.
Red
1986 Château Lafite Rothschild
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
The nose was amazing. Layer after layer of the Pauillac funk. Lead pencil, cassis, black cherry, Just amazing. Jumping out of the glass with its obvious grace & greatness. The palate lived up to the nose. Maybe it was even better. The most amazing level of fruit. Concentration, purity, and balance were perfect. This was one of those wines that was a privilege to drink. Nearly perfection in my book. The fruit just stayed with you for minutes after the wine was swallowed.
Flight 5 - Dallas TX offline with Craig Collins, John Kight, Rich O'Neill, and others (7 notes)
Next up was a trip down to TX. where I had the opportunity to meet some great board members. I flew in on a Monday night and when I got off the plane made a dash for a cab. Finally when I walked into room the phone rang and Craig said, "I'm downstairs, lets go." With a quick change I rushed to the offline carrying a bottle of 1993 Rochioli West Block and forgetting the camera behind. Bummer... It was a great night though and the wines were darn tasty. I look forward to going to Lola's next time.
White
2001 Kongsgaard Chardonnay
USA, California, Napa Valley
Golden yellow. Big buttery popcorn nose with rich notes of yellow pear juice sweetness. The palate attacks with mineral almost oily flavors of honey comb and a clean mouth feel. The finish sinks in to the palate for almost 30 seconds.
White
2001 Kistler Chardonnay Durell Vineyard
USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
Golden yellow. This was attractive with its citrusy, pineapple, and mineral components, along with spicy wood notes in the background. Full-bodied and outstanding pure.
White
1995 Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Gris Clos Windsbuhl
France, Alsace
Golden Hue. Delicious and even slightly rich. With a light sweetness and a perfect food pairing wine. Great acid backbone to hold the fruit in check and wonderful river rock, mineral notes similar styled to a German Riesling. An absolut bargain as whom ever brought it said they paid $40 at K&L for it. Wish I had some.
Red
1993 J. Rochioli Pinot Noir West Block
USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
Dazzling non filtered color of aged red wine. The nose has plenty of fruit with red rose peddles, strawberry and rubard. The palate cuts with some great acidity and a strong backup of clean fruit. Extremtly light as a feather with the most terroir I have ever tasted in a California Pinot. The only other wine I have ever tasted outside of Burgundy with this terroir style was a 1979 Ponzi Pinot from Oregan. Delicious juice.
Red
2002 McCrea Sirocco
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Yakima Valley
Purple on the rim. This Washington state wine was a blend of grenache, some mourvedre, syrah and a touch of counoise. While not the best wine with the cuisine, its style was unique. With pepper rasberry and a good up-front sweet attack, I enjoyed the small glass I poured.
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