Brunellos Have More Fun

adventures in wine consumption

Meet My New Friend: Mr. Roaster

Feb 3

Posted by whitney in California, Tastings | 2 Comments



randy roaster

I had a palate-awakening experience today. It involved thousands of single origin coffee beans and their smooth-talking boyfriend the San Franciscan Roaster. Let us begin at the quasi beginning- I’ve never been much of a coffee drinker. I’m not one that needs caffeine or desires it, really. My 10 thousand mile a minute brain tends to agree more with chamomile and chai. Soooothing things. But, as a “beverage professional” (yes, I just said that), coffee is something I need to know more about. I leaped at the opportunity to attend a “cupping” (again, yes, I just said that) with some dear friends that are opening a fantastic coffee shop. Nestled among a nondescript stretch of Culver City warehouse landscape, there is a nondescript building secretly housing rooms filled with fresh roasted steam and some of the best beans around.

really steamy

steamy

mister roasty

goody bags

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Sunday Sip: Ice Cider

Jan 31

Posted by whitney in California, Food Fun, Sunday Sip | 6 Comments



This Sunday, I’m putting a little Vermont in my Los Angeles. It very well could be snowing there so, I will just take the fermented beverages and dairy products and keep my LA sunshine, thank you.

picnic

Veronica Pedraza of the amazing  Jasper Hill Farm in Vermont happens to be a friend of my dear friend Rachel.  Veronica sent her a lovely package of cheese and some Eden Ice Cider. Rachel, being the generous woman that she is, shared those gifts with us. Also, she knew that if she didn’t, we would be come to her house at a midnight hour and run swiftly away with the goods.  So we “agreed” upon the following equation- a park + sunny afternoon + a handful of smiling friends + the cheese and cider. The sum:  a bunch of happy bellies.

friends

bottle

corkage

label-age

This is an ice cider, not an ice wine. So, we’re talking apples, not grapes.  I was super excited to give this a try as I had never had an ice cider before. The husband and wife team at Eden make this cider with a blend of 5 different heirloom apples. The fruit is harvested when it is ripe and it is then held in cold storage until frost-like temperatures arrive in Vermont. The apples are pressed and the juice is left outside in the cold to freeze for 6 to 8 weeks. Water is separated and the remaining apple concentrate  is fermented. And there is no added sugar! The result is a crisp, clean and bright apple flavor with just enough natural sweetness to keep glass to lip. Delicious and a pleasure to drink. Everyone loved it.

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The Nose Workout

Jan 27

Posted by whitney in California, Court of Master Sommeliers, Food Fun | 4 Comments


herbalicious

As you possibly already know, I am studying for my certified sommelier exam conducted by The Court of Master Sommeliers. One of the components of the exam is a blind tasting of 2 wines. The Court, being ever so thoughtful, has devised a deductive tasting method that I first learned about last year at the Intro exam. It’s essentially  an easy way to break down information into clues about what a wine is based only on sight, smell and taste.  Before I get into tasting grids, viscosity, clarity, faults, new oak- I want to start at the beginning. I need to remind my nose of what black pepper smells like, chocolate, vanilla, the subtleties of different citrus fruits. All of these things matter in the world of blind tasting and identification. They are clues.

A Master Sommelier gave me some good advice; just start smelling stuff. Smell the flowers at the farmer’s market, pick up produce at the grocery store, dig around in your kitchen cabinets. Smell, smell and smell some more. Train the nose to understand that you are smelling coconut and sawdust as opposed to vanilla and cocoa.  The latter being a telltale sign of French oak and the former of American oak. French oak= Old World. American oak= New World (for the most part.) I’ve seen some really super expensive “aroma kits” that are like a smell encyclopedia come to life. However awesome they may be, I can’t drop $400 on some vials of liquid. Therefore, I must do as my Master says… dig around in the kitchen.

variety pack

pantry raid

Berries, herbs, tea, vanilla, black pepper. Fun times. I might next be seen around the Los Angeles neighborhood of Silverlake foraging for wild herbs, picking grass samples and possibly smelling dirt. Don’t be alarmed.

Stay tuned for the next installment of the “Master series.” I am going to break down the tasting grid and then get to the fun stuff. Blind tasting. I am putting not only myself to the test, but my friends as well.

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Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: 3 Square Brunch

Jan 24

Posted by whitney in California, Food Fun | 12 Comments



Every month, Foodbuzz.com chooses 24 bloggers from their Featured Publisher network (see that ad in the right column of the screen?) to cook/prepare drinks/organize an event and write a blog post about it in 24 hours on the 24th day of the month. I decided to submit a proposal and I was one of the lucky 24 chosen. What was that proposal, you ask? Brunch. Not only brunch- possibly the best category of meal- but, brunch 2 ways; a traditional version and its modern twist counterpart. Along with two of my dearest friends and business partners, Joy and Rachel, we set out to make 3 courses with 2 versions of each course both paired with drinks. So…3 square(d) brunch.

menu

After a week of rain, every. single. day. in Los Angeles (writing that sentence is even difficult), I woke up to hear birds chirping and to see- wait, what was that?- oh right… sunshine. Hallelujah. I don’t know about you, but a gorgeous day on a weekend screams eggs, toast, crispy pork products and a slight afternoon buzz. With a gaggle of friends and nothing but time, I think you’ve got yourself one perfect brunch. And by one perfect brunch, I mean this one.

ready set

background players

cocotte

For the classics, we decided to tackle potato latke with smoked salmon, french eggs en cocotte and doughnuts. The fun task was deciding how to reinvent these dishes and what “brunch” beverages would best complement all of them side by side.

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Soda Pop Pit Stop

Jan 21

Posted by whitney in California | 3 Comments



I have been hearing about this place called Galco’s in Los Angeles for a while now. Actually, the shop’s full name is Galco’s Soda Pop Stop. And why I didn’t get in my car and race to the neighborhood of Highland Park upon first being told about it is beyond me.  The other day I finally got my act together and made the trek to the mecca of soda.

soda mania

candy cave

memorabilia

Stepping through the doors, I immediately became the child version of myself. There were huge wall length containers of every kind of candy you can think of. Candy you didn’t even think was made anymore. And the sodas. Something like 4 full aisles of the stuff from every corner of the globe. Owner John Nese has been doing the Galco shuffle since he was a stock boy as a child. Back then, it was a regular neighborhood grocery run by his father. Now, he keeps the shelves full with almost 500 different sodas and supports smaller companies that bottle their soda without any of the yucky stuff (syrups, preservatives and fake sugars.) And the bottle collection doesn’t stop at soda, John has a great looking aisle of beer too. The grown up version of myself was very excited about that.

For me, the sodas served as endless inspiration. I was there to get a few things for an upcoming event and also get ingredients to test out a few cocktail recipes. It was really hard for me to walk away from Galco’s without a cart full of goodies. I could’ve easily spent $50 (on soda!) but, I managed to resist the temptation and walked away with just 3 interesting bottles.

sweet trio

bubble bath

  • First up: Plantation Style Mint Julep soda from Natrona Bottle Co. in Pennsylvania. I am a Kentucky girl, so if you put mint julep on a label I am going to want to try it. Upon first gulp, it too closely resembled mouthwash to my taste buds. Upon second gulp, definitely borderline diluted fizzy mouthwash. Didn’t really want to go back for a third.  The mint was just a tad too synthetic spearmint.
  • The next bottle fared far better. The Sweet Blossom Elderflower soda rocked my world. It was like St Germain’s little baby sister in a cotton candy pink dress on easter. Delicate, floral and sweet without being too much of any of those things. It is made by Global Beverge Enterprises in Ft. Lauderdale, FL.- kind of an unfortunately generic corporate sounding name for such a great company but nevertheless, they also make a Caribbean Mabi refresco, a Rose and a Jasmine soda. Yum.
  • Lastly, in spirit of my day full of Pinot, I had to try Vignette Wine Country Soda’s pinot noir. What a great way to be able to taste just the juice and let the pure pinot noir fruit stand on its own. It was delightful and a full on fizzy raspberry explosion. Way better than a glass of Welch’s.

It took a couple of years to get my butt to Galco’s, but it will definitely not take me anywhere near as long to return. I’ve got a lot more gulping to do. 497 more bottles worth.

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Sunday Sip: My Pinot Cup Runneth Over

Jan 18

Posted by whitney in California, Sunday Sip | 1 Comment



Yesterday, I attended the first annual Pinot Days tasting at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica. Pinot and airplanes- a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

wings

pinot hungry

hangar

I have to say, this event was very well organized. It was in a spacious venue, the tables were organized alphabetically, parking attendants made it a breeze to get in and out, outposts of bread and cheese kept a serious buzz and hunger at bay and plentiful spitoons were available. And they were constantly being emptied- a majorly important activity in my book. My biggest pet peeve at tastings is having hundreds of tasters’ mouth-rinsed wine remains splash up in my face as I spit into an overflowing bucket. Gross. Gross times 10.

On to the wine. I love Pinot Noir.  As do many people, especially after Sideways blew up everyone’s wine worlds. So, I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to taste newly released vintages from some fabulous pinot producers from California and Oregon or the ability to side by side compare these distinctly different growing regions. My friend Rachel and I were really digging the Russian River Valley and Central Coast Cali pinots. They tended to express more fruit and less minerality than their Oregon counterparts. And what I really love about pinot is the fruit and when that fruit is elegantly expressed.  Some may be surprised to know that there are definitely producers in Southern California making pinot noir that wouldn’t be likened to an oaky fruit “bomb.”

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A Master in the Making

Jan 14

Posted by whitney in California, Court of Master Sommeliers, Tastings | 3 Comments



Every year, The Court of Master Sommeliers holds exams throughout the US and the UK. There are 4 levels of exams: the Introductory course, the Certified exam, Advanced exam and finally the Master Sommelier exam (by invitation only). I started my journey with the Court last year in April when I attended the Intro course in San Diego and took the 1st exam. It was a wonderful couple of days meeting other wine professionals, tasting a lot of wines blind and learning from 3 Master Sommeliers. That exam was multiple choice and covered theory, wine service and spirits. A 60% pass rate is all that is needed to go on to the next level so it’s hard to fail if you have done any kind of studying at all. Or paid attention to any of the lectures the day prior.  Even still, my heart pounded as they were reading the names of the list of people who had passed and received a Court pin (I so wanted that pin). There was no way I could fail, right? That would be embarrassing.

lapel

I passed. That’s my pin, right up there. In March, I will take the Certified Sommelier exam and it doesn’t hurt that I will be taking said exam at the Bellagio in Vegas. Not bad. Not bad at all. After I pass, I can then officially call myself a sommelier. But, to be honest, you don’t need a certificate or pin that says you are a sommelier to work in this business or be a sommelier. You just need to know your stuff. But I view it as a rite of passage and a great challenge. The worst thing that could come out of it is me learning more.

The one-day exam is in 3 parts; written theory, a blind tasting of 2 wines and practical service. Over the next few months, I will take you with me on my studying adventure.  I’ll be blind tasting as much as possible, doing a lot of reading and perfecting my champagne-opening  and wine-decanting skills. In addition to learning how to count cards. Viva Las Vegas!

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A Goy Walks into a Kosher Wine Shop…

Jan 12

Posted by whitney in California | No Comments



And leaves with a 2004 Barbera d’Alba. Badum-bum.

glass

skyfront

I spent today exploring a part of LA’s hasidic Jewish neighborhood, otherwise known as N. Fairfax Ave. The street is lined with bakeries, the famed Canter’s deli and fading signs and storefronts of a once thriving strip of Orthodox outposts. I strolled into what I thought would be a wine shop named My Kosher Wine as it states on their website. But, in actuality, it is a single aisle in a seemingly nameless kosher grocery. But a long aisle. And it wasn’t stocked with only Manishewitz and Baron Herzog. There were Chateaux wines from Bordeaux, bottles from Chile, California, Spain, New York, Australia, South Africa, Israel (of course) and also…Italy.  I first realized Kosher wine was being made in Italy, of all places, when I visited Andrea Pandolfo of Sant’Andrea, a winery an hour or so south of Rome. They make fantastic wine and in the past 10 years realized with just a few more  steps in the process they could also add Kosher wine to their lineup. Good Italian Kosher wine. Gotta love it.

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Clean Up, Aisle 2: We’ve Got an Italian Wine Mess Over Here

Jan 8

Posted by whitney in California, Italy | 1 Comment



Cheap grocery store Italian wine. It usually frightens me to some degree and I avoid it. Trader Joes. It usually excites me (affordable organic goods and free food samples at all times) and I never avoid it.  Although, the wine aisle of TJ’s is another story. Yes, I realize my behavior may seem a wee tad wine snobby, but I would rather get bottles that are nearly as affordable from my fav neighborhood shop selling interesting wines from quality producers. Today, as I was loading up on groceries, I decided to venture into the scary unknown. If I was going to take a studied look anywhere, of course, it would be the Italian section. I approached with an open mind and hope that possibly I have been mistaken all this time. There must be something exciting…

bottleshock

jugs o juice

No. No, there wasn’t. The prices ranged from 2.99 (!!) up to $19.99. That price belonging to the omnipresent Santa Margherita pinot grigio. There was also a $16.99 Amarone and a 2005 Barolo from La Loggia for $14.99. Really? The white wine theme = pinot grigio. The red wine theme = chianti. Nothing surprising. I began to turn the bottles around to see who was importing this stuff and the same three California importers, unknown to me, dominated the shelves. D’Aquino (with 2 organic wines from Abruzzo among others), Americal Beverage Group and Santini.

Enough looking, I had to take one home to taste. Because I wasn’t really keen on any bottle in particular, I searched for the wine that had the most bottles missing from the shelf. What is everyone buying? The Marchese de Petri 2008 “Il Valore” sangiovese from Puglia. The price: $2.99. No wonder it was the most popular.  But, I do have to say it “gives good label.”

lonely

“Smooth and fruity with a touch of red berries.” I guess that was true, just with a touch of cough syrup as well. OK- it wasn’t offensive. Just entirely forgettable. Which is fine, but why  is anyone importing and shipping this all the way across land and ocean to get it here? And $2.99 a bottle is usually how much it costs just to bottle and label the thing. How much are the people making the wine even profiting? You can find these prices at wineries in Italy, but that is because you are getting the young wine directly from the source, no shipping involved. When I see numbers this low on imported wine, it just makes me suspect.

backside

Marchese de Petri, the “winery”, also makes a Chianti riserva with the same “Il Valore” label. I couldn’t get much more info but all the wine is bottled in Pisa by one C. Campagna Gello. Hmmmm…..A mystery I don’t care to solve.  I guess what I am ultimately feeling from this little trip down vino lane, is a bit of sadness. And confusion. The market is so overwhelmed with stuff like this, that some of the real stars of Italy don’t ever get a spot on the shelf. But, maybe my idea of a real and affordable star  is a wine that could never be mass produced for the US market anyway. And for that, I’ll just have to get shipped back to Italy to get.

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Sunday Sip: Interpretive Drinking

Jan 4

Posted by whitney in California, Sunday Sip | 7 Comments



What you experience when drinking a glass of wine is completely subjective. The smells, the tastes, and even the possible images and memories evoked are purely personal. While describing wine in a restaurant to guests, I always wonder if my comment of high acidity and lemon are someone else’s medium acidity and grapefruit. It is always difficult to discuss wine in a universal way, because it changes and evolves depending on the palate consuming it, the season and temperature outside, how young or old the bottle is and so on and so forth. Sometimes annoying, but one of the main reasons wine is so endlessly interesting. Yay wine!

I had two of my best lady friends over yesterday and had a bottle of wine hanging around (a gift for my homecoming last week as my stock of wine was completely depleted before I left for Italy).  I thought it would be fun to see what each of  us thought of the wine and how we would describe it. Yes, I am lucky that I have equally as nerdy food and wine friends that won’t laugh at me for handing out pieces of paper and pens to fill out a survey about the wine I am serving them.

strike a pose2006 Peachy Canyon Incredible Red. An affordable and available bottle from a well-know California winery.

With wine in our glasses and a few moments to sniff and swirl, I asked the following 3 questions:

  • What color best describes what you see and feel (figuratively) when you drink this wine?
  • What are the top 3 things you smell and taste?
  • In one sentence, describe a visual scenario or palpable situation that IS this wine to you.

The answers were interesting, to say the least. There were definite similarities and synonymous flavor vibes going on. And somehow an overall theme of large men, cigar smoking and leisure suits. Confirming why my friends are so awesome.

notes

Rachel:

  • 2-piece mens maroon velour lounge suit
  • Bramble, dark berry, gasoline (trying to kiss up to the teacher with extra credit points of: milk chocolate, plum, lollipop, star anise)
  • Seated on a sun porch after a dinner of roast and potatoes, overlooking the berry patches. You can smell the garage around the other side of the house, relax in your maroon velour leisure suit and soak in the late dusk.

Joy:

  • Ugly, dirty vintage mauve drapes
  • Lit then unlit cigars,  musky sweaty armpits that have since dried,  grocery store prunes
  • A cigar lounge in early winter in Vancouver, Canada surrounded by big fat white men who think they know great wine.

Me (I was a bit more forgiving and less, ahem, judgemental):

  • Blackberry &  rust
  • Wet rocks, sour black cherry, charred wood
  • In an old appalachian mountain cabin on a cold, grey fall day next to the fire that has just gone out listening to the creek trickling along outside.

Needless to say, we didn’t LOVE the wine. It was a bit lean, a bit bitter and didn’t have much of a finish. But, a fun experiment nonetheless. Which basically proves that there is no wrong or right when it comes to wine. Sure, a wine can be flawed and as a sommelier, tasting observations are practically a scientific chart. But, to the everyday wine drinking population, you taste what you taste and enjoy what you enjoy. Like art, it is only what you interpret it to be.

—

I would like to thank Miriam and Matt for providing me with said bottle of wine and not hating me for hating on their generous and thoughtful gift. Please continue to feel free to give me wine. I will drink it.

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