Pizza, Friends, & Pinot Noir (Bogle Vineyards, 2009 Pinot Noir)

Brand Name:  Bogle

Vineyard: Bogle Vineyards

Vintage:    2009

ABV%:      14%

Varietal:    Pinot Noir

Appellation:   California

Price:        $11 + tax

Tuesday 7:00 pm, after a long day in the glamorous world of numbers, blueprints, and computer monitors, I met my friend at home for some Mates , a type of hot tea. 

 

Mate

While listening to a blend of music by Babasonicos, Los Pericos, et all, and discussing how to fix the world, it was decided that as opposed to enjoying rounds of Mate we would instead open a bottle of wine that was lingering around the room.  The bottle, a 2009 Bogle Vineyards Pinot Noir from California, had been brought by someone during a previous dinner and was waiting for someone to enjoy its structure and flavors.   Since the wine did not reflect any specific region, it implied that the grapes came from one or multiple regions within the state shown on the label, this is typically an indication that the aromas and flavors of the wine will be more about fruit than terroir . By U.S. wine law the region used on the labels denotes the following:  

• Wines displaying a state name on the label requires 100% of the grapes to come from that state. 
• Wines displaying the county name on the label requires 75% of the grapes to come from the named county.
• Wines displaying an AVA (American Viticultural Area) name on the label requires 85% of the grapes come from the named appellation.

The wine displayed a deep garnet color, usual of a younger Pinot Noir.  Pinot Noir wines, typically, are lighter in color and more translucent than other red varietals, a key factor in being able to identify a Pinot Noir.   The “lack” of color in Pinot Noir is due it's due to the thin skin which has lower levels of anthocyanin, blue, violet, or red pigment found in plants. 

source: http://winefolly.com/tutorial/red-wine-color/

On the nose the wine was fruit driven, displaying perfumed violet aromas and ripe notes of strawberry and raspberry indicative of a wine typical of a warm wine producing region and new world style.  A cool region or old world style, i.e. Burgundy, Pinot Noir would have displayed more earthiness thus exhibiting bouquets of undergrowth:  an earthy and leathery quality.

On the palate the wine displayed the characteristics of a general “California” labeled region wine: ripe fruit notes of strawberry and raspberry accompanied by some dried cranberry.   The wine had lingering warmth, moderate acidity, and displayed and enjoyable velvety texture along with smooth tannins.

After the first glass and a long talk our appetite developed and I decided we should prepare a meal to accompany the discussion and the wine.  Having moved in to a new place recently the options for ingredients were limited: pizza dough, bell peppers, mozzarella cheese, eggs, hummus, flour, olive oil, salt, and pepper were the selected ingredients to make a pizza and a faina. The thin crust pizza was made in the oven laden with a thin layer of olive oil, chunks of mozzarella cheese, red and yellow bell peppers strips, and topped off with round slices of hard boiled eggs.  The faina, a type of pizza dough typically made using garbanzo flour, was improvised using hummus and adding eggs and some flour which would later be baked next to the pizza.  

20 minutes later, voilà, a tasty meal was ready to accompany the Bogle Pinot Noir.  Pizza is not a meal typically paired with a Pinot Noir, perhaps because most pizzas have tomato sauce requiring a wine with good acidity (our pizza "sauce" was just olive oil); however, the medium plus body of the Pinot Noir and fruit flavors paired nicely with the mozzarella creaminess, the peppery consistency of the pizza, and the earthiness of the faina.

Faina

Meal Time w/ good friends: "gallego" & "panchitos"

Salmon & Chardonnay (Santa Barbara Winery, 2010 Chardonnay)

Brand Name:  Santa Barbara Winery

Vineyard: Santa Barbara Winery

Vintage:    2010

ABV%:      13.8%

Varietal:    Chardonnay

Appellation:   Central Coast AVA (Santa Barbara County)

Price:        $14 + tax

Upon return to Los Angeles after spending a week in the cold, grey, and rainy winter of Bogota, Colombia, I met up with a friend to enjoy an evening of travel stories, sunset, and a meal in Santa Monica Beach.   My trip had experience a diet of steaks and thus when Salmon was suggested as the main ingredient for the meal I was excited to explore culinary and wine alternatives.  A trip to the store resulted in the following ingredients:  Wild Alaskan salmon, blue cheese, Portobello mushrooms, potatoes, and yellow and red peppers which would add some color to the plate.  To accompany the soft and oily texture of the salmon and the sharp, creamy and salty consistency of the blue cheese, which were the main ingredients, we selected a reasonable priced 2010 Santa Barbara Winery Chardonnay ($14+tax).     The wine was selected for 2 reasons:  (1) an early vintage chardonnay typically lends brightness to the fruit intensity in the wine and (2) I wanted to complement the creaminess of the dish with a wine offering a similar silky and creamy consistency, a texture typically found in an oaked California wine which developed more body than unoaked versions.

In the glass the chardonnay displayed a light golden tint which indicated some oak barrel fermentation.  Bright fruit notes of apricot, peach, green apple, and nuances of pineapple and vanilla emerged from the glass providing an aromatic and perfumed experience.  On the palate, the wine was a dry, moderately flavored wine with a ripe fruit profile and lingering warmth.  The ripe flavors of tropical fruit such as apricot and pineapple and the warmth caused by the alcohol level were characteristic expected from a wine native of Santa Barbara County which is a wine growing area with abundant sunshine and warm weather conditions.  The wine was moderately creamy unlike other California big buttery Chardonnays indicating that the Santa Barbara Winery wine probably had not gone through malolactic fermentation which typically yields diacetyl, a compound responsible for providing wine a buttery consistency and the scent of butter used in baked goods or pop-corn. 

 Picture by KdD

The wine proved to be a good selection for the meal due to the nose and the flavor profile offered at $14/bottle; its moderately oaked profile and gentle viscosity did not overpower the characteristics of the blue cheese and the creaminess of the salmon but rather it provided a silky bond to connect the creamy qualities of the ingredients.  Furthermore the young ripe apricot and light nuances of pineapple and vanilla added another dimension of flavors to the meal.  The meal and wine were enjoyed while listening to Little Dragon. Here is one of the tunes that accompanied the evening:

Salute.

El Tunel & El Enemigo (El Enemigo, 2008 Malbec)

Brand Name: El Enemigo

Vineyard: El Enemigo

Vintage: 2008

ABV: 14.5%

Varietal: Malbec (93% -Petit Verdot 7%)

Appelation: Uco Valley

Price: ±$24.00 + shipping cost

In lieu of tasting notes indicative of the flavor profile of El Enemigo, the back label presents the wine with a phrase: “Al final del camino sólo recuerdas una batalla, la que libraste contigo mismo, el verdadero enemigo, la que te hizo único”.

To me, the presentation of the wine is symbolic of the inner struggle the wine maker felt as he had to formulate what would be the best varietals, blend percentages, and fermentation processes in order to materialize an idea into something tangible and unique, El Enemigo. The phrase, in _English, reads: At the end of the road only one battle is remembered, the one you had with yourself, the real enemy, the one that made you unique.

El Enemigo is a ripe, warm, and velvety Malbec, with a touch of Petit Verdot, wine produced in the Uco Valley, a top viticultural region southwest of Mendoza City in Argentina. The Uco valley is a gently sloping plateau providing a long growing season and average altitudes over 1,200m (3,900 ft) which influences the soil, temperature and amount of sunlight of the region in different ways:

• Acidity Retention: Higher altitude equates to cooler weather resulting in more acidity retention in the grape. Moreover higher altitude results in a pronounced diurnal temperature variation between the night and the day. The pronounced drop in temperature at night further helps the preservation of natural acids in the grape.

• Sunlight Intensity: The higher the altitude the higher the sunlight intensity (the strength of the sunlight) resulting in a thicker grape skin. The thicker the grapes skin the higher concentration of total tannins.

• Long Growing Season: A long growing season provides conditions for the grape to enjoy the benefits of sun exposure for properly ripening of the grape.

• Crop Yield: The alluvial soil conditions of Mendoza change with higher altitude resulting in soil particles of larger diameter. Larger soil particles result into better drainage which prevents the storage of water and nutrients in the soil which in turn limits crop yield (agricultural output). Due to limited water and nutrients, plants focus its efforts to reproduction by directing energy supply mainly to fruit growth and not in vegetative growth (leaves). The fruit becomes more concentrated in color and flavor to make it more attractive for animals which will help reproduction cycle of the plant by the dispersal of seeds. For humans the concentrated color and flavor results in a better grape to make a wine.

The interaction of climate and geographic characteristics, terruño as it is known in Argentina, were factors kindly displayed by El Enemigo in its structure through reasonable acidity, moderate tannins, and a medium plus body.

Once poured into the glass, El Enemigo displayed brilliancy and minor aging through its intense plum like pigments which were beginning to change from a young purple blue color to an aging purple ruby color. The wine settled into the glass showcasing youthfulness through the moderate intensity of primary aromas representative of the grape: juicy plum and other black fruit notes such as black cherries, blueberries with violet aromas. Minor toasty nuances of cedar and even some eucalyptus emerged from the second glass poured, although in very low concentrations and after ±15 minutes of breathing the wine in the bottle.

On the palate, El Enemigo provides a moderate flavor intensity showcasing a dry, warm wine balanced by the juicy density of black fruit and moderate oak notes of toasty cedar. The finish of the wine is velvety and lengthy. The blend of moderate tannins and a medium acidity level produced a food friendly wine which was paired with a thin crust pizza topped with fresh tomato, basil leaves, and mozzarella. The moderate acidity and tannins worked nicely with the acidity of the tomatoes while the bright black berries flavors worked nicely by brining out the inherent sweetness of the cheese and tomatoes. Though El Enemigo is a food friendly wine, the wine can also be enjoyed with a good conversation, music, or a book.  All in all, El Enemigo offers good flavor and aroma profile at a very reasonable price.

Next time I come across a bottle of El Enemigo, I plan on accompanying its flavors with a grilled coarse salted Tira de Asado (flanken-cut short ribs), one of my favorite argentine meat cuts. The fattiness found in a Tira de Asado will pair nicely with the moderate tannins of the wine while the gaminess and coarse salt of the meat will enhance the fruit flavors of wine. I imagine a meal enjoyed as one of my favorite songs, Por Una Cabeza, plays in the background. Although originally performed by Carlos Gardel, I have fallen in love with a more contemporary cover by Andres Calamaro:

Interestingly, I was not aware of the existence of El Enemigo and I was looking for a different bottle yet I purchased the wine for two motives: First, partially as a result of the recommendation given by the store clerk while I searched for a new Malbec during my last days of vacation in Buenos Aires, Argentina. My second and more significant motivation was the quote on the back label which created a personal connection to a phrase in a book I had just finished reading a few days before: “In any case there was a single tunnel, dark and solitary: mine, the tunnel wherein passed all my infancy, my youth, my entire life.” The book is entitled The Tunnel by Argentine writer Ernesto Sabato Throughout The Tunnel, the main character struggles with decisions and finds himself examining, through probability, the possible outcomes for the choices made; a struggle of decisions, that as I mentioned, the back label of the wine denotes (to me).

I am a firm believer that a good wine should not only create a connection with one’s palate but also a connection between personal experiences and music, almost a nostalgic sentiment.  El Enemigo presented me the opportunity to feel a personal connection to a book and its story, a book given to me by someone special in my life, a wine that not only created a link with flavors I enjoy but also with a people, objects, and experiences.