First Annual Pinot & Pig Shootout

We had our usual wine group over to the farm yesterday for an assortment of Pinot Noirs and grilled/smoked pork products. It rained pretty much all morning, but I soldiered on and manned the dueling Webers; one charcoal and one gas. The welcoming "course" was NV Gloria Ferrer Blanc de Noir, Carneros offered with brie, Sonoma jack cheese, bacon-wrapped scallops and bacon-wrapped chicken livers. Calling the wine a "blanc" de anything is something of a misnomer as it has a beautiful, pale salmon color. They should just go ahead and call this a rose. Just wonderful yeasty, raspberry flavors and a fine, fine mousse. Due to my shellfish allergy, I couldn't try the scallops, but it was quite nice with the grilled chicken livers and cheeses. Nice sparkler for under $15.

The rest of the food was served "family style" on large platters all at once. I knew I wanted to smoke a pork shoulder, but I stayed away from the traditional BBQ route by keeping the BBQ dry rub in the cabinet. Instead, I marinated it in red wine overnight and then rubbed it down with dried rosemary, fennel seed, crushed red pepper flakes, sea salt and other dried herbs. This was smoked over apple wood for about 5 hours. The meat was succulent and delicious. I also used the apple wood to smoke two pork tenderloins that were coated with a spicy jerk seasoning. This was served with a raspberry/whole grain mustard sauce. I grilled up a mess of Italian sausages and red peppers, sliced them and then poured a balsamic vinegar/honey reduction over it. And since we needed some vegetables on the table, we wrapped some asparagus in proscuitto and grilled it lightly.

The first (still) wine we tried was the 2008 Sean Minor 4 Bears Pinot Noir, Carneros. Pretty cherry/vanilla aromas and flavors. Clearly the most fruit-driven of the line-up and the crowd's favorite. The wines from Sean Minor continue to impress me as very good values. About $15

I think the most disappointing wine of the night was the 2007 Erath Pinot Noir, Oregon. The color on this wasabout as thin and washed-out as I have ever seen. I've literally seen roses with more color. Very little aroma (some slight mushroomy/forest floor in there) and no flavor to speak of. Not sure what happened here, but had we taken a vote I have no doubt this would've been a solid 4th place. Not worth the $20 tariff.

The next wine was the 2008 Wild Rock Cupid's Arrow Pinot Noir, Central Otago, New Zealand. I'm not a huge fan of Pinot Noir from down under, but I really enjoyed this one. Lots of fruit in here of the restrained sweet/tart cranberry and pomegranate varieties. And it had a nice mineral streak, good acidity and moderate tannins. This was particularly good with the raspberry/mustard sauce that was served with the jerk tenderloin. Priced in the low $20 range.

The final Pinot was the 2003 Parent Bourgogne. Initially, this showed a beautiful Earthy/cherry nose but the palate never quite delivered. And even the nose faded with just a brief amount of air. I kept thinking this would open up but instead it just kept getting more and more shut down. Perhaps this needed some extended decanting. Really hard to judge this one. I have one more bottle and I'll give it another shot in the near future.

Dessert was the always-delicious 2007 Adelsheim Deglace Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley. This is a late harvest Pinot Noir made from frozen grapes that shows tons of earth and beautiful raspberry flavors. It is quite sweet, but there is enough acid in there to keep it crisp and refreshing. It was the perfect pairing with raspberry truffles from Andre's.

2007 Dunning Zinfandel

Dinner tonight was home made meatloaf with sauteed spinach and steak frites. Figured the 2007 Dunning Westside Zinfandel, Paso Robles would be appropriate. Not quite as complex as previous offerings from this winery, but it still shows considerable concentration of raspberry liqueur and French oak. 15.5% alcohol is quite noticeable, too. I have two more of these. I'll probably try another one in a year or so and see if there is any change. This winery continues to be one of my favorite hidden gems from California.

2007 Renwood Viognier

Opened the 2007 Renwood Viognier, Lodi tonight as an aperitif. Pleasantly thick with lots of peach and floral notes. A bit sweet for drinking on its own, but in the past this has been nice with spicier foods. Good value at $10-12. Will certainly appeal to fans of Torrontes.

Truglo Switchback

Took the plunge on a Truglo Switchback. Had it for about 10 days now. Quite rugged and heavy-duty but not too Rambo-ish. I like the fact that it's a simple, 3-hand design. No extra time zone hands or chronographs that most of us will never use.

Even though the bezel is marked in minutes from 1-20 (something a diver would find useful in a decompression dive), it is fixed in one position. This makes it pretty worthless for a diver, but it's fine for the rest of us who don't need that feature anyway. Basically, a nice aesthetic feature rather than a functional bezel.

Sells for $169 all over the internet and at outdoor retail shops. But if you go to Truglo's facebook page, you can find a deal to get it for $69 + shipping.

I didn't really care for the ballistic nylon strap it came with so I called them back and purchased the rubber strap ($30) that comes with their $900 Truglo Chrono. I like it much better.

Truglo is best known for making tritium optics for guns. And they put the same tritium in the markers on their watches. The result is an incredibly intense glow that doesn't require hitting it with a flashlight beam or exposure to sunlight.

2007 Carmel Road Pinot Noir

Bought the 2007 Carmel Road Pinot Noir, Monterey on a lark and opened for dinner guests on Saturday. I thought this was a pretty dense, smokey take on Pinot that also featured a lot of nice raspberry and hickory flavors. Picks up a bit of herb/sage on the finish. Great wine with the food. Not my favorite $20 Pinot Noir, but I wasn't at all disappointed.

My wife's boss always keeps us well-stocked with pheasant that he shoots in Iowa. Someday I'd like to go hunting with him, but that's another blog.... On Saturday I wrapped the breasts in apple wood smoked bacon and smoked them for about 35 minutes over charcoal with a few apple wood chunks. Earlier in the day, I took the breastbones and made them into a pheasant stock that I used to make a risotto while the breasts were smoking.

The risotto itself was made with red wine and the aforementioned pheasant stock. At the last minute, I wilted some shredded radicchio in (with butter and Parmesan, of course). All in all, it was a pretty fantastic meal.

2007 Box Car Syrah

Opened the 2007 Red Car Boxcar Syrah, Santa Maria Valley tonight to accompany lamb burgers. Packs quite a punch. I thought it showed a lot of red fruit and licorice on the nose and palate. Not terribly complex, but what's in there is pretty intense. Picks up a neat iron/graphite note on the finish where the tannins really clamp down. Already throwing tons of sediment. Reasonably priced at $20.

2000 Cordero di Montezemolo Barolo

Opened the last of my 2000 Cordero di Montezemolo Monfalletto Barolo tonight with a rack of grass-fed lamb that I started on the grill and finished in the oven. The dry herb rub mainly consisting of dried rosemary and fennel seed was the perfect choice of seasoning for this wine. Being a Nebbiolo, the color was typically washed out and faded. This thing already looks like it's 20 years old. But the nose is alive with fennel seed, lavender, old saddle leather and dried cherries. The palate is already showing a touch of oxidation, but it adds complexity. Dried fruit and licorice are the major players here with some tannin playing a supporting role. Nice, long finish. Overall, this is a very pretty wine and I'm not disappointed having paid $32 for it.