by whitney on August 31, 2010
Luis Moya is the owner/importer of Vinos Unico and he brings in some great value (and delicious) wines from Portugal, Spain and Argentina as well as making wine right here in California. Luis is Cuban…but he sure knows how to make a mean paella. He and his crew were in LA making the rounds this past weekend showcasing the portfolio and they made a stop at Rosso Wine Shop. Luis arrived hours before the tasting with a car full of fresh seafood, spices and rice from The Spanish Table in Berkeley, some giant paella pans and a bad ass double ring burner made just for paella cookin’.
And now- the evolution of the paella…
One of the wines of the night- 2007 Luis Pato Baga from Portugal. And yes, baga is the name of the grape!
Also on hand for pouring- 2009 Murahlas Vinho Verde rosé (one of my favs this summer), 2009 Luis Pato Maria Gomes, NV Capote Velho and many more. Safe to say everyone had a full belly and always a full glass.
And then these wine loving guys pulled up and decided to play an impromptu live concert!
Fun times! Gracias Luis for your hospitality, contagious energy and lively spirit, great wines and of course- your paella.
by whitney on August 15, 2010
You’ve already seen one of the fine establishments I call an office. Here is the other- Rosso Wine Shop.
Meet Lisa and Jeff.
Aren’t they the best? Yes, I agree.
Meet some wine bottles.
And a blackboard.
Every Friday (and Saturday) Jeff offers up a tasting flight. Sometimes there are yummy nibbles to go with the wines. But there are always some great regulars that stop by and imbibe. Sharing stories of their week. Their travels. Work. Family. It’s a nice thing. And another reason why wine is so lovely; it brings people together around a bar, around a table and gets them to talking and sharing.
This past Friday was a little special…On The Lamb was in the house for food pairings! I chose a beer (!) and 2 new Argentinian arrivals to pair with our loosely themed Cuban menu.
With the tropically fragrant Durigutti torrontes- a papaya salad with cotija cheese, papaya seed vinaigrette, pickled walnuts and herbs.
And the Durigutti bonarda got matched up with papaya marinated skirt steak topped with chimichurri on homemade flatbread. The Schneider Weisse unfiltered hefeweizen was paired with a plaintain “tostone” with citrus black bean and chorizo salsa. Safe to say it was a fun night for all taste buds involved.
by whitney on August 8, 2010
Us On The Lamb ladies were hired to put together a Puglian wine tasting yesterday. Puglia! The clients had just returned from an amazing trip to the Southern part of the region and wanted to celebrate and remember the adventure. Since I just traveled there a few shorts weeks before them, it was right up my alley (or should I say, vicolo.)
I chose 4 wines from Puglia to taste and Rachel threw down some delicious food pairings for the most spectacular aperitivo hour ever. In history. My friend Ginger just happens to be the importer for Castel di Salve which is the winery these fine folks actually visited and fell in love with while in Puglia. How perfect! I presented 3 of their wines along with a Malvasia from Vinosia.
The pairings! Let’s get to it:
- Prosecco toast with grape & rosemary focaccia. Also house pickled walnuts and zucchini with lupini beans, olives, rosemary and orange peel to nibble on.
- Wine 1: 2007 Vinosia Malvasia with peach and burrata caprese topped with chiffonade of basil and Puglian olive oil.
Wine 2: 2009 Castel di Salve Santi Medici rosato (100% negroamaro) with zucchini fritters topped with arugula ricotta cream, heirloom tomato, fried scallion and key lime zest (tomato and key lime foraged from the client’s backyard!)
Wine 3: 2009 Castel di Salve Armécolo (80% negroamaro, 20% malvasia nera) with homemade black olive, onion & roasted cherry tomato flatbreads complete with fried anchovy.
Wine 4: 2007 Castel di Salve Cento su Cento (100% primitivo) with handmade orecchiette in slow braised lamb ragu finished with 12 yr aged pecorino. I must say- this pairing knocked our collective socks off. And I also must say- I made the orecchiette (with Rachel’s guidance) and am giving myself a rather large pat on the back. The lamb ragu though….damn. I could bathe in that stuff.
Sorry for the lack of more food porn pictures, but I was a busy bee working and the natural light quickly dwindled….but I think it’s safe to say everyone had a great time and, most importantly, full and happy bellies.
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Where to buy: the Vinosia malvasia and Sommariva prosecco can be found at Rosso Wine Shop. The Castel di Salve Armécolo (my fav) can be purchased at Domaine LA, as well as Venokado (they have the full Castel di Salve line-up.)
by whitney on July 23, 2010
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.
