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.

I often like to think of a wine beyond the sometimes limiting vocabulary of “the tasting note.” When I’m tasting a new wine and trying to remember what it’s like, I tend to jot down notes of colors or moods. Or clothes. I daydream about what I would wear while drinking that wine or what the physical embodiment of that wine might be. I thought it would be fun for a moment to share with you the pictures I’ve captured in my brain for some of the wines in my cellar. The following is a lookbook. A  lookbook of wines. Alternately, wine through the lens of fashion… if I wanna get real serious with it.

2009 Domaine Sainte Lucie MiP Cotes du Provence Rosé

Edmunds St. John Heart of Gold (vermentino/grenache blanc), El Dorado County

2005 Hidden Ridge Sonoma County cabernet sauvignon

Model: Bianca de Blancheblanc (Agency: Winehemina). Hair and Makeup: Invisi Jones for Headless Salon. Wardrobe: Polyvore

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If you want to see some other unorthodox wine tasting notes/match-ups, you can check out my experiment in Reality TV wine pairing as well as a look at 3 women’s impressions of the same wine here.

And one last beauty shot of the punt of the MiP. Just ’cause.

You lovely readers just met the cool Proof Wine Collective dudes Philip and Josh the other day. Well, when those super nice human beings were recently in LA, they brought me a gift.

Er- 3 gifts.

3 bottles of some rare Santa Ynez pinot- 1979, 1980 and 1981 Sanford & Benedict pinot noir. I know. They’re nice. What possessed them to give it to little old me? I’m only coming up with “I’m lucky.”  But, the real question is how in the hell they actually acquired these bottles. Josh said…

We got them from an old cellar of Michael Benedict. Who I am told didn’t want to have anything to do with the wine. Either he thought the wine was dead or the memories of the partnership with Richard was too painful/sad to keep in his life. They are some of the last vintages of S&B wines ever made.

I did a bit of digging and poking around to learn a bit more about these two Sanford and Benedict guys and why they only produced 5 vintages together. They planted their namesake vineyard 39 years ago…apparently the first pinot noir vineyard in the region- between Lompoc and Buellton (source.) According to the book North American Pinot Noir by John Winthrop Haeger, the pair made their first wines with “portable electric power and gas lamps, in an old rustic barn uphill from the vineyard” and that the “first fermentors, made of wood, were said to have been built in a friend’s hot tub factory.” (!)

Sad to say, but their partnership dissolved for whatever reason in 1980. Therefore, I have the last remains of what was the work of these two men together.  Sanford went on to make wines under his own label and Benedict sold fruit from the vineyard to other winemakers. The vineyard was eventually sold to a British couple in 1988, but they continued to give Sanford some amount of access to the fruit for his wines.

So- when should I drink this stuff ? Do I drink them all together and compare vintages? Do I save my birth year ‘81 for  the big 3-0 bday next year? I don’t know! But I do know I am excited to see what lies within those bottles. Will it be any good? Will the ghosts of friendship past float up and out in a cloud of  tears and heartbreak? Or, maybe instead a sense of possibility and magic and the beginning of things? I’ll have to find out.

PS- how cool is wine?

Last week, I had the pleasure of meeting a few guys whose work I’ve been admiring for a few months now.

Meet Josh McFadden and Phillip Muzzy. They are the founders and super talented brains behind Proof Wine Collective based out of San Luis Obispo. In their own words:

Proof Wine Collective is a collaboration that emerged to create an unequaled atmosphere for new ideas about wine. It exists to nurture innovation, fuse thinking with enthusiasm to develop original concepts until they become tangible creations. Proof is comprised of an eclectic group of creative individuals who want to make the wine industry better and who have built their lives around wine. They have come to this place from varied backgrounds including winemaking, print production, graphic arts, journalism, wine sales and restaurant and sommelier experience.

So, basically they’re cool and they design kick ass labels. I always think it’s so unfortunate when there’s a really great wine inside a really crappy package. Not so when Proof has anything to do with it. They realize that a lot of consumers buy wine based on label alone. Which is sad, but true; us humans are superficial. Like people, we judge our wine on outside appearance first. Sometimes never getting beyond a bad label to see the “beauty within.” It’s great when there is a marriage between the image and artistic representation of a wine and the wine itself.  Proof achieves this.  A few of my favorite Proof labels….

Keep up the good work boys!

All photos courtesy of Proof Wine Collective

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.

What’s For Sipper? returns for its 2nd installment with my dear friend and fellow Kentuckian Dean Fisher! She left sunny LA last year for the arctic circle that is Chicago (I kid…sort of) and I’ve been missing her something awful. And her ability to throw a stunning party on the fly and redecorate my entire apartment. Without further ado…

Name: Dean Fisher of My Little Apartment

Hometown: Lexington, KY. Current City: Chicago, IL

Favorite summer beverage: My first instinct is to say a Pimm’s Cup (I prefer mine mixed with champagne or sparkling lemonade- or both- then filled with sliced strawberries, cucumber, and torn mint).  Then again, I’m also a big fan of shandies.  And summer is probably the best time for a good rosé– We’ve been drinking a lot of the Meinklang Prosa 2009 Rosé from Austria.  Oh, and have you had that sweet tea vodka?  Just sayin’…

Favorite cocktail or spirit: Lately I’ve really been enjoying a classic Manhattan.  My boyfriend makes them better than anyone and it’s the perfect nightcap.

Favorite place to grab a drink:  Living in Chicago, there are TONS of great bars…but I can probably narrow it down to a couple of favorites.  The number one spot goes to The Whistler, hands down.  Paul McGee is a bartending genius and his drinks are always perfect, the atmosphere is just right, and the bar is small inside with a patio out back.  I also like Big Star’s “La Paloma” (el jimador, grapefruit, lime, mexican fresca), and The Rainbo is an old standby for cheap beers.  When I’m in LA it’s El Prado or Footsies and in Lexington I like Sidecar or Jonathan’s.

Favorite toast:  Sourdough. (haha)

Favorite post-dinner quaff: This is really a better question for my boyfriend.  He loves port wines and digestifs….After dinner I generally just want more wine.  Or tequila shots.

Favorite food & beverage pairing:  This is a TOUGH ONE.  Seriously, I have to pick a favorite?  Oh man.  Um…I mean, an amazing cheese plate with unique accoutrements is kinda one of my most favorite things ever.  I’ve been really digging on rosés this summer (and last…and the summer before that), and find that a great rosé/stinky cheese paring can have very interesting results.  I also love weird meats with a super nose-y, spicy pinot noir or pinotage.  Like oxtail or rabbit pate or beef marrow.  Oh!  And thanks to Whitney, I love a good Lambrusco with a thin-crust pizza.  But really?  I just love food. And drinks. [editor's note: word.]

and last but not least…

What’s for Sipper? I’m actually planning on taking a night off from imbibing, but last night I tried out a couple of rando bottles I picked up at Jewel.  I went to my friends’ house to attempt pizza-grilling and brought along a prosecco (don’t remember the brand) and Frenchhouse 2008 Syrah.  The prosecco was okay- the bubbles were nice, but it tasted a little vitamin-y to me.  The Syrah was great and paired so nicely with the pizza!  I’d definitely buy  it again!  PS: grilled pizzas are awesome.

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.)

I wanted to take a moment to honor the fine specimens of my refrigerator, cupboard and bar; my favorite items with which I could not live without. Seriously. I would perish.  So, I decided to stage a photo shoot in my kitchen…because that’s what people do on a Wednesday afternoon.

Item 1: My Ice-O-Mat, found at a thrift store in Echo Park. It takes regular old ice and crushes the crap out of it. Therefore creating my favorite kind of ice experience. The crushed kind. I don’t have a fancy schmancy in-door ice maker like some….so, this will have to do. And in my humble opinion, it’s way cooler anyway.

Item 2 (and 3): My old standby- Aperol.  Good buddy old pal. When would not be a good time for an Aperol spritz? Never. Case closed. And a new love- Dolin white vermouth. It’s “sweet,” not dry and is heavenly in a gin martini but also great on it’s own as an aperitif over ice with an orange twist.

Items 4 (and 5 & 6): Bitters! An essential for any bar to add complexity and well…a bitter note to a cocktail. I happen to be in love with the Aztec chocolate (used in my coco devereaux) and the rhubarb (used in my old smashioned.)

Items 7 & 8: If you aren’t new to the blog you’ve definitely seen the bottle on the left. Many times. It may be getting old at this point, but I don’t care. Bulleit bourbon is awesome (as evidenced by the almost empty bottle.) The little guy on the right should be illegal it’s so sinfully good. These Luxardo cherries are the perfect addition to a Manhattan. I’ve even infused them into the bourbon before to excellent results.

Item 9: Light agave nectar (aka the nectar of the gods.) I adore this stuff and use it ALL the time. Not only for cooking, but to sweeten cocktails. It is super light and not cloying. It gives a fuller, more rounded feel than granulated sugar but a more delicate touch than honey or molasses. And it is wonderful when wanting to make an infused simple syrup. (Item 9a: Mister Cow the creamer- from all the way out in Charleston, SC. Thanks Mom!)

Item 10: I just might be cuckoo for coco. Vita Coco coconut water is always in my fridge and it’s surprisingly good in fruit based cocktails and punch.  Highly. Recommended.

I simply remember my favorite things….And then I don’t feeeeeel so bad.

Welcome to the first edition of What’s For Sipper? Wherein I ask my friends, colleagues, funny people, interesting people, food and beverage people….you get the point. Where I ask them what in the heck they are going to be drinking. And what they like to drink in many a situation.

First up is the always lovely and charming Rachel, one of my partners in crime (see evidence: On The Lamb.)

Name: Rachel Humphrey

Hometown: St. Louis, MO. Current city: Los Angeles, CA

Favorite summer beverage: iced mint tea, historically, it’s a Missouri thing. These days I like mint & lavender iced tea, sweetened with honey!

Favorite cocktail or spirit: I love bourbon. Hands down. A perfect manhattan, not as in just perfectly rendered, but someone that knows how to make a “Perfect Manhattan.” Sweet & dry vermouth, a lemon twist rim & a dash of bitters. Or a wet gin martini.

Favorite place to grab a drink: Your house. You always have something I’ve never had! Or at Stella, it reminds me of New York & France.

Favorite toast: To life. Or…Get that water out’my way!

Favorite post-dinner quaff: I love herbal liqueurs if you’re really gonna do it. A great old Madeira is sublime & too rare. Armagnac, fantastic. Or, a really yummy spicy tea made of warm spices, like Good Earth tea with almond milk.

Favorite food & beverage pairing: Kimchi & lager. Or Animal’s poutine with a Burgundian red. Holy hell, I just died inside.

If you could travel to one wine region of the world where would you go? Wow, this is hard. I’ve been to a few that I would love to go back to, Gevry Chambertin, I would like to die there. But right now, I am so intrigued by Paso Robles & the lesser known Oregon areas, and then there’s Columbia Valley, Washington. Can I come back to this? No way to know right now!!!

But maybe I want to visit New Zealand wine country- not because they make my favorite wines, but because I am intrigued to find out if they are as much like French wine country as they say. But then there’s Mendoza.

Shoot. I failed that question.

And last but not least…

What’s for Sipper? It was a hot day, a Marlbourough sauvignon blanc.

I had my first tintilla experience the other day.  Tintilla, you say? Why yes…tintilla.

I think I just like saying tintilla….

It is an indigenous grape to the Canary Islands and is the star of the show in this bottling from Tenerife- the 2007 tintilla from Vinatigo, a Jose Pastor Selection. It was my first time tasting wines from the Canary Islands and I am very intrigued and ready to go back for more.  Here is a link to a post from Alice Feiring about her recent CI tasting experience.

Also take a look at my dear friend  and London wine presenter Christina’s recent post on her visit to the Canary Islands (jealous. Why can’t I have a husband that gets to travel for a living and take me with him?)