Vietty
Posts: 159
Joined: 4/6/2013
From: Southern California
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SATURDAY:
SHED for breakfast: the salted fish board was the highlight from here. You wouldn't think that would be the first thing you'd want to eat in the morning, but you do! They do a great job with their espresso. Got a cappuccino the first time and a cortado the second time. Wife loved her fresh juice. I bought some bottarga from here and looking forward to making some squid ink pasta from scratch with an uni sauce and grating some of that bottarga on top. They have a beautiful larder in the store with rows of fermenting products. One of the workers there recommended Katz "The Art of Fermentation". It's a large 500+ page book, just started reading it and looking forward to continuing.
Happy group photo
You want this fish board. Yes you do.
Wife's eggs benedict
My polenta with poached egg and mushrooms (very filling).
Arnot Roberts spring release party: nice event with all of the recent release wines in a row, some in magnum form which made it feel more celebratory. All the people pouring were nice except for the woman in the middle who was really stingy with her 1 ounce pours. I literally couldn't even get a mouthful of wine to get an impression, but what the heck it was free. If I wanted more I was free to ask for more I suppose but there were a lot of chatty people blocking the lines. I wish they would step aside while chatting so that the rest of the line can get their wine. My overall impression: whites were more on the savory side/interesting geeky side. The gamay noir was like a juicy california version of Beaujolais. The syrahs (Que Syrah and Clary Ranch) were blue fruit dominated with loads of pepper. Not too dense or heavy/syrupy. Whole cluster, neutral barrels. The cabs were heavy on the tobacco notes and too young/tannic. To be fair, I think my palate was a bit fatigued by this point so I would like to retry on another day.
Rochioli: we had a picnic at Rochioli which was a very popular idea. Luckily got the last parking spot and last table there to snack on some sandwiches and salad that we purchased from SHED. The last time I was here was about 8 years ago, and it was one of the first pinot noirs that I really enjoyed. I finally got an allocation for 2013 SVD and bought a half case last year, looking forward to drinking them. From this tasting I enjoyed the sauvignon blanc out in the warm sun. The chardonnay was not as bright as the previous day's Banshee Heintz chard. I think they have a larger % oak and do sur lee stirring. Not bad, but to my palate I preferred the Banshee style more.
Littorai: if you ever visit this winery make sure to follow their instructions and not your GPS! We used GPS initially to get us in the area and then their written instructions for the last 15 minutes of the drive. I was able to taste the 2014 Hirsch vineyard at my wife's law firm Christmas party last year and really looked forward to this visit. Honestly, I think my expectations were to high and the tasting had a very corporate and sterile feel. I was surprised that we were not seated for the tasting, instead standing next to a makeshift bar in their small cellar. We went through the wines very quickly (one chard, three pinot noirs, one late harvest wine). To be fair, Maureen was really pleasant and informative and offered to allow us to revisit any of the wines. The wines were very good and Ted Lemon is an amazing wine maker. If you guys haven't heard it, Guildsomm did a great podcast of California chardonnay about 5 years ago and Ted Lemon was a featured guest for part one.
Me and my better half.
Boheme: Kurt Beitler is one of the nicest and easy going wine makers that I've had the pleasure to taste with. I found out about his wine through Berserker Day, and was interested in his cool climate pinot noirs. I like how all his wines are estate grown. They are from "true" Sonoma coast with many photos in the tasting room showcasing how close the vineyards are to the ocean, high above the fog line. Kurt was very generous with opening new fresh bottles for us to try and when I expressed interest in learning what stem inclusion does for the texture/taste of the wine he opened up a different vintage of the same wine to show me the difference 10% stems vs 20% (don't quote me on that number though, as I didn't write down detailed notes). While the previous vintage was good, I think the 2013 was a step up with some of the changes he made. He also educated us about the different pinot clones in his wines. Our group went through quite a few stems that day as he allowed us to do many of the tastes side by side. My overall impression is that I came in with the false preconception that cool climate meant lower density in flavor. These wines are really flavorful with great acidity and silky texture. Alcohol at mid 13% to low 14%. I believe the wines show distinction between vineyard sites. I think all of the wines are ready to drink now, but will benefit from aging 5-10 years. We tasted through the 2013 vintage, but when I found out his 10th anniversary 2014 vintage was almost ready for release I asked to purchase the 2014 since it was my son's birth year. My friend and I split a case with him purchasing 2013 (his twin's birth year) so it will be fun to taste these two vintages together in the future. If you are in the area I highly recommend emailing him to schedule a tasting with him! One caveat, the tasting room is a bit rustic (but charming).
2013 Taylor Ridge Pinot Noir: of the three I felt this one had the most fruit expression and drinking well that day. Easy to go through a whole bottle (and we did since we purchased a bottle of us to go with dinner that night).
2013 English Hill Pinot Noir: fruit is still there, but with earthy/mushroom notes coming in. Moderate round tannin. Nice balance.
2013 Stuller Vineyard Pinot Noir: again the fruit was still there, but I really enjoyed the savory/mineral flavors that backed it up. This wine had the most grip and I felt can really benefit with some time. My favorite wine from here. Something you can have a glass of and enjoy the layers of complexity.
2012 Occidental Hills Syrah: really nice mix of dark red fruits with black olives and pepper. I think the age really helped to integrate the flavors. Nice finish. I was amazed because my wife enjoyed it and she's never liked a syrah before. I think it's because it's not over the top. Nice balance. 80% from Que Syrah vineyard and 20% from English Hill. Unfortunately his last vintage of this wine, and he noted that he may stop opening bottles of this in his tasting room because he's running low.
Chalkboard for dinner: Really tasty food at more than fair pricing. The service was a bit rushed though but understandable as I'm sure they want to flip tables on a Saturday night. Highlights: everyone loved the pork belly biscuits (think pork belly bao but with biscuit instead). Personally, I prefer the soft bun of the pork bao which is more neutral flavored and highlights the pork belly flavor more. However, I can see why this dish would be a crowd favorite. The korean chips are ok, but is a pass if you don't have the appetite. We ordered three the pasta dishes to share. The hare with peas was my favorite, very spring inspired. My friend enjoyed the pork sugo most. The duck with hazelnut with foie gras sauce was a mild miss. I felt like it was too sweet without the flavor to back it up. I've had a foie gras pasta at Acquarello in SF many years ago and that was amazing. This version was off the mark a bit. We also ordered an order of the steak which was also good. For dessert we decided to head to....
Pork belly biscuit, everyone else took theirs and shoved it into their face already =p
Fried chicken thighs. Highly recommend this dish and very reasonable price.
Fingerling potatoes were really good with the fava bean puree. The Korean potato chips were tasty but I liked the other dishes a lot more.
Pasta! Yum.
Hanger steak
Duck pasta a bit off target.
Noble Folk Ice Cream! I wish I had this place locally. Although I'd probably be diagnosed with diabetes pretty soon after. Ecclectic flavors like brown butter sage, strawberry miso, etc. My wife had the homemade oreo which was delicious but I preferred my almond cardamom to cap off the night. Great... now I'm craving ice cream.
That concludes day two!
< Message edited by Vietty -- 5/16/2017 9:46:46 AM >
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