Search: pineau d'aunis

The Last (Summer) Hoorah?

by whitney on September 4, 2012

Wait. Is Summer over now? Is this an official thing? I’m not sure if I’m totally happy about this. But, I’m definitely ready to get my scarf and boot thing going on, for sure. So there’s that.

This past long holiday weekend, my dear friends Molly and Tyler invited me over for some grilled halibut tacos with mango salsa and crunchy slaw. I’m smart about choosing my friends. I brought along some Carmela ice cream sandwiches (!) and Domaine Sauvète 2011 Meli-Melo Rosé of Pineau d’Aunis. This rosé has been a pal all summer long. It’s been swell little Meli-Melo!

Even though it’s kinda always summer in LA, I can feel a shift in my taste buds towards more harvest-friendly flavors. I’m starting to crave skin contact whites and light, spicy reds. What I’m trying to say is, you might not be seeing that much rosé around these blog parts for a while. Let’s have a moment of silence.

…..

PS- If I totally write about rosé in two weeks, don’t hate.

A Day in the Sun

by whitney on May 29, 2012

I had quite the weekend! Many of you could probably say the same thing. Memorial Day really swings the door to summer (drinking) wide open, doesn’t it?

I spent some of my time poolside in Palm Springs. Life sure is rough…

Not surprisingly, I drank a crap ton of rosé. First up, Germany in the hizzy! The Von Buhl I blogged about recently got the party started.

There was a lot of pink in my day.

Hot dogs- one of my favorite food groups. Seriously.

We also tucked into some pineau d’aunis. Talk about a great, affordable traditional method sparkler. This will be near me poolside more than once this summer. Thanks for the wine companionship Domaine Brazilier! D-R-Y, some pretty fruit and a good dose of minerality all for around $15.

Let the (summer) games begin!

Un Petit Porc

by whitney on December 20, 2011

Staff holiday party!!!

Jill, my boss, happens to be totally hip and with it. So, naturally, she reserved us a table at the one night only porc extravaganza with Chef Ludo at Gram and Papa’s. It was a veritable porchetta FEAST complete with Southern style fixins.

There was a massive wait and many eager bellies, as to be expected with Ludo. Downtown LA is as interesting a place as any to have to wait on the sidewalk. Side note: a homeless man approached our group as we were leaving the restaurant and before he uttered any words I turned him away. Like an asshole. Then he said, “Man! I was just gonna ask what time it was!” #downtownLA

Hello Kathy Bates!

Hello kitty!

Hello Chef Ludo!

BTW- can you tell I got a new lens for my camera…that I am OBSESSED with?? I couldn’t put the camera down. It was probably annoying to my dinner companions.

All right. What wine did we drink? Awesome wine is what we drank. We started off with a duo of two bubblies. First, Olivier Lemasson‘s playfully named Pow Blop Wizz– a grolleau and pineau d’aunis fun fest. I really enjoyed this wine. A LOT. All of us did.

If you’d like to be further entertained, please watch this rather funny video of Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot. It helps to explain the name of the wine.

Our other sparkler? None other than the pure, spectacular beauty of Cedric Bouchard. This grower Champagne is the gateway drug to Champagne of a higher level of bubbly consciousness.

This current vintage is more toasty than last year’s. It has a little more depth and richness to offset that always present razor focus and bright acidity.

Oh, hello there Lopez de Heredia! You were delicious with the the herbed porchetta and ALL of the side dishes (grits, charred greens, crispy potatoes and baked beans). This wine, which I like, became much more enjoyable with the food before us.

And the food before us was….THIS!

And definitely this.  A bowl of grits! An empty bowl. That I housed. Courtney, a Tennessee gal, and myself proclaimed this to be maybe the best grits we’ve ever had. Sacre bleu! Grits made by a Frenchman. I know, I’m as shocked as you.

Caption contest! This was our dessert….

It was a baked apple. I’m also referring to it as a decaying tennis ball and a twice baked apple potato. Regardless of its appearance, it was highly edible.

Thank you Ludo for the eats. Thank you Jill for the wine (and the eats)! What a great year. I’m almost scared of how good 2012 will be.

Blackberry Chronicles: Miscellany

by whitney on October 15, 2011

Finally went back to Night + Market for some dineLA action! It was as delicious and extra spicy as always.  You know what’s fun? When you get to be the one that enjoys the very LAST bottle of something. This 2010 Clos Roche Blanche L’Arpent Rouge pineau d’aunis was scarce in LA and sold out lightning fast. So Kris, being the crafty genius he is, decided to order some from whatever was left in NYC. This was the last bottle he had. And he let me drink it! Many thanks.

If you aren’t already hip to the Salvadorean food game, hop to it! If you live in LA, I highly recommend getting your grub on at Atlacatl on Beverly Blvd. It is LEGIT. And 2 people walked out of there stuffed and with beers in belly for $15! Seriously.

Do you “like” Domaine LA on Facebook? You should. For many reasons, if not this one- every Thursday we post a photo of a wine label that one of us hates and one loves. Then you tell us if you are Team Whitney (clearly, the way to go at all times) or Team Jill. The label on the Domaine de L’Arlot below is one I really liked and Jill definitely didn’t.

As we were posting the photo, I looked down and realized I was basically a walking version of the bottle.

Speaking of Domaine LA, we had a guest chalkboard author last week! Josh Goldman aka @JoshtheSomm. He’s the main wine man over at the very newly opened ink. Can’t wait to go check it out!

Do you follow me on Twitter? Facebook? Do you even care? Maybe so, maybe no. I’m just giving you options!

Wine Wear Daily: TOMS & Lemasson

by whitney on October 12, 2011

We’ve got wine and fashion. Getting dressed and drinking wine. Two things one MUST do.

This post could also double as a Label Love post since I am OBSESSED with these labels. And the wine, of course – three of the 2010 red offerings from Olivier Lemasson of Les Vins Contes. It’s a Loire Valley gamay, pineau d’aunis, côt, grolleau lovefest! All of these wines are incredibly drinkable, aromatic, fresh and great with a little bit of a chill. Not to be taken too seriously, but seriously good wines nonetheless.

I imagine myself drinking any one of these in a chambray artist’s smock and these corduroys with a hunk of baguette and some fresh cheese nearby. Maybe there’s an easel in front of me and the Eiffel Tower nearby? OK- I don’t know about that, but these shoes would be on my feet.

You know what else this post can double triple as?? A how-to/DIY post, that’s what. My pal Harpal came to dance class the other week with his TOMS splattered with paint. What started out as an accident while doing some crafting turned into a brand new pair of shoes. Since I had an old pair of navy blue TOMS sitting in my closet not getting much action, I decided to totally copy Harpal and get a little Jackson Pollack with them. Et Voila!

And, as always, last but never least…the beauty shot. Gotta love a good foil!

All wines available at Domaine LA

It’s My Party

by whitney on July 11, 2011

…and I can drink what I want to.

It was my 30th birthday a few days ago. I’m sure everybody reading already knows this. See- I like to make sure EVERYONE knows. Strangers, new friends, co-workers, blog readers. If a day can be all about you, just go for it. Soak in it. Accept gifts, praise and love in abundance! Do it.

I raided my cellar at home and decided to open up some of my favorite all-stars for a little birthday BBQ with friends- the La Clarine Farm syrah, the Ameztoi rosado, some Donkey & Goat and Chenu pinot. I also threw in a couple new dudes just to keep it fresh- Luis Pato baga, an Edmunds St. John and Clos Roche Blanche pineau d’aunis among others.

If that wasn’t enough, add hot dogs to the mix and the situation just got straight up joyous.

There were hot dogs in various shapes and sizes…

So, the sun went down and that’s when things got all Super 8 up in here. Take a bunch of buzzed adults, give them toys you light on fire and then watch float away and you’ve got a recipe for some childlike glee.

Gracias Jenelle and Toby for documenting the seemingly cult-like launch of the Chinese floating lanterns! Those things really brought the party to the party. I highly recommend them! Maybe they are illegal or something? I don’t know NOTHIN’. I DO know they are compostable, though…so there.

A  huge thank you to all my lovely, special, hilarious, weird, talented friends for showing up and being you. I love you all. Almost as much as my wine.

 

Last summer was epic. Epic. The kick off to that fabulous and shenanigan-filled summer? A blind rosé tasting with my best gals. You can see a few photos from that here (bypass the bolognese and pasta.) It was only natural to continue/establish the tradition and have another tasting. Not only to imbibe some delicious pink wine, but to wear pretty dresses and hopefully bless this summer with good mojo vibes.

I picked 4 very different rosés; different countries, varietals and style so my pals could see how versatile they can be. I apologize for the lack of pics- it was getting dark and, well, I was having too much fun…you know- drinking.  I do have one rosé wine porn pic for you….

Philippe Bornard’s “Tant-Mieux” petillant naturel. Sexy.

Anyway- here’s a little label photo fest so you can see what we were lucky enough to sip on…

1998 Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia rosé  (garnacha, tempranillo and viura)

2009 Weingut Christ rosé (zweigelt)

2009 Christian Venier Gris Gourlaouen rosé (pineau d’aunis)

Philippe Bornard “Tant-Mieux” pet nat rosé  (poulsard aka plousard)

Ladies’ favorites of the night: the Christ zweigelt and the 1998 Heredia rioja! Here’s to a great summer ahead….and as long as its filled with a crap ton of rosé and my lady friends, I think it’ll be all right.