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Visual Aid :} to demonstrate different taste bud sections of the human palate

Under this funny title two wine professionals will offer a series of six sessions in Orange County. Both instructors are well known to us as very competent and passionate about wine. They are David Scales, owner of MAWL, a wine store in Garden Grove, CA and Blue Danube Wine's new sales representative for Southern California, Stetson Robbins.     In their promotional flyer for this innovative class they state: "Palate Builders is an in-depth, 6 week course designed to aid in your journey to identify what you like and why you like it. Our classes will help you to develop the faculties for understanding wine in a way that adds to the pleasure of buying wine, tasting it, analyzing it and sharing it with friends in a fun, casual and informative setting.     Our classes will take place at various restaurants through North Orange County on Monday evenings beginning August 4th. Each class is $50 and includes a tasting of 8-10 wines. We will have special guest speakers and guest winemakers. It is strongly encouraged that you sign-up for all 6 classes in the series as they are designed as one whole lesson, but it is not required."     If you'd like to RSVP for the courses, or if you have further questions, please email David Scales at ds@palatebuilders.com

a guided tour through Slovenia's wine regions - Vipava Valley

This blog entry is a shameless plug for a guided tour through Slovenia's wine regions, commencing on October 10 to 18 or on a second date, November 7 to 15, 2008.     If you have never been to Slovenia this is your chance to visit her vineyards in style. Just take a look at this gorgeous brochure and you'll see that Slovenia could be considered the Promised Land - if not of milk and honey then of excellent wine and gourmet food. This tour is not cheap but worth it if you can shell out $7,380 PLUS airfare. At least you don't have to bring some change to buy a glass of wine. Enjoy your trip!     Let me just add that I had the good fortune to travel through Slovenia's wine country with Emil Gaspari, our importer friend and owner of Slovenian Premium Wines. Emil knows and loves his home country and he was a superb guide to the estates of his portfolio. What a pleasant and informative way to get to know the wine makers and their terroir.

Our choice of bottle for the evening.

Prague has fully opened up as a tourist destination over the last decade or so. The country that was literally joined at the hip with Slovakia has come in to its own for those seeking the almighty "safe" destination to holiday in the formerly scary Eastern Europe.     Naturally, Prague is better known for its light, easy to drink, yet delicious beers. But, with the influx of tourists has come the rise of the wine bar. There are a good many around the city including Le Terroir, Cellarius, Viniční Altán, and Bandol. But, the one that really caught my attention was Vinárna Bokovka.     For starters, this wine bar is only a wine bar. A great many of the others moonlight as restaurants or vice versa. Also, this wine bar is immediately given a touch of artistic class because it was started by Jan Hřebejk and David Ondřiček who are two Czech film directors. The name of the bar? That means, "Sideways" in Czech and yes, you can indeed buy the movie of the same name as well as t-shirts from the bar which were unfortunately out when I was there.     The bar itself is tucked away on Pštrossova 8 in Praha 1. Unassuming from the outside, other than the sign, the interior is well-designed. Nothing about it is over the top and you feel comfortable, yet at the same time one can see that thought went in to the space. There is also no smoking, which is a rare thing to find in a bar in Prague.     The wine list is quite massive, but generally focuses more on wines from outside the Czech borders. I was curious and tried one of the Czech reds. The waiter (a friendly fellow with good English) recommended one of their house reds which was made and labeled just for them by a local producer. He did warn that the Czech reds weren't the strongest reds in the world. This was evident as the majority of other people around me were drinking whites chilling in ice buckets. Regardless, I went ahead and ordered it. Inevitably, yes, it wasn't the strongest red I'd had. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't remarkable. In any subsequent visit, I'd recommend a Czech white or taken advantage of their imported selections.     Overall, it's a good spot with a good wine list and it's quite close to a great number of restaurants to make this bar a fun stop before or after a meal in the area.

Plavac Mali grapes ripening towards the end of summer on the island of Hvar.

So, what is Plavac Mali? Where is Plavac Mali? How do you even say, Plavac Mali? Let's take a look at all of these items as we delve in detail into this particular grape.     Plavac Mali (pronounced Plahvahts Mahlee) is a red grape varietal that is native to Croatia and more specifically, native to Southern Dalmatia. This is a strip of land that has Bosnia Herzegovina to the east and the Adriatic Sea to the west. It gets an obscene amount of sun throughout the year, so Plavac Mali is a happy grape to have Dalmatia as it's home.     By far and away, Plavac Mali is the dominant red grape in Dalmatia. Others like Merlot, Shiraz, and a number of minor native grapes pop up here and there, but inevitably, if you see a field of red wine grapes, they will be Plavac Mali. It wasn't always this way though. Many, many years ago, there was another grape that enjoyed the Dalmatia summers which was called, Crljenak Kaštelanski. It has since been discovered that this wine is one and the same with Zinfandel in California and Primitivo in Italy. It just happened that as history went, Crljenak Kaštelanski didn't have the staying power of Plavac Mali and it's actually the case that while the Croatians loved the taste of Crljenak Kaštelanski, it can be a tricky grape to grow in the area. Thusly, they crossbred it with Dobričić and Plavac Mali was the outcome, which has grown far and wide over the rugged karst that forms the Croatian Adriatic Coast.     As to how Plavac Mali tastes, there isn't any one way to describe it. It varies whether it was grown in the north, the south, the mainland, the islands, or even by different neighbors. When grown in more of a New World, California style, it can pick up Zinfandel qualities, being a very deep, intensely flavorful wine full of fruit in the front of it. When grown in the traditional manners, the wine is a good deal lighter. The body isn't as thick and the finish can be very smooth. This allows it to be paired very well with meals.     My personal preference for the wine are the years where the vines get a great deal of sun with little to no rain. 2007 was a year such and the wines that I tasted in Dalmatia last year as they were aging showed all the signs of being strong, flavorful, and extremely welcoming to those of us accustomed to New World characteristics. Even still, the winemakers of Croatia tend to hold back a bit and at around 14% alcohol at most, the Plavac Malis we'll be seeing will pair better with most any meal than the California Zinfandels that can sometimes hit 19%.     If you're curious to taste this for yourself, check out Plavac Mali today.

One of the best wine blogs on the net.

Alder over at Vinography just wrote a great article summing up the merits of a number of the Slovenian wines we carry. Some of his favorites included, 2005 Kogl "Mea Culpa", 1999 Batić Reserve Pinot Gris, and 2004 Batić Pinot Gris Riserva. He went on to elicit, "Any wine lover who enjoys white wines I strongly urge to seek out some Slovenian wine and give it a try." Don't take our word for it though and read his entire article. It's a great summation of the Slovenian wine industry and the very high quality wines that they are producing and we are happy to import.     Probably the only thing we'd add is that Slovenian is not just about the whites. There are a great many reds that we feel warrant a lingering, enjoyable tasting.

A plate of jamón in a restaurant in northern Catalonia, Spain.

When it comes to a meat that is enjoyed across the Mediterranean, forms of cured pork have spread far and wide. Jamón, prosciutto, and pršut from Spain, Italy, and Croatia, respectively are all similar to some degree, yet share some differences from one another. As to which is the best, that's not a question to get in to with anyone from one of these three countries as they will always believe that theirs is the best. The most democratic approach is to say that they are all really good and they are best enjoyed within the countries where they are made.     Jamón is stunningly delicious and is pretty much only available in Spain. Export out of Spain is nearly non-existent because the Spanish wisely keep their prized meat safely at home. But when in Spain, it can readily be found and should be had in great quantities once found. When it comes to wines, many people fall prey to the old rule of white with pork and while a white such as Verdejo tastes wonderful with some nice slices of jamón, reds pair with it equally as well due to its heavier qualities. If one is looking for a good red, give Garnatxa (Grenache) a try. Its light qualities go quite well with the jamón and make for a delicious meal with some Manchego thrown in to balance out the palate.     Prosciutto is nothing new to those outside Italy. The Italians export it in great amounts and when paired with a Chardonnay, Pinela, Pošip, or a Zinfandel (or perhaps Primitivo in Italy), the imbiber will be in heaven. Despite the many similarities to jamón prosciutto is indeed different though and in my opinion leans more towards being enjoyed with a white. The buttery tones are so soft that a heavy red easily trounces them and defeats the purpose of having the prosciutto in the first place.     Then there's the pršut. This cured meat found in Croatia and other regions of the Balkans is very, very similar to prosciutto, thus the nearly similar name. Pršut is often smoked, giving a much more distinct flavor than the generally unsmoked variants. Croats will tell you that there are a great many differences from the Italian types, but at their core, they really are the same meat and both delicious. True to its origins though, pršut pairs very well with the wines in Croatia. Whether it's a Pošip, Malvazija, or even a Plavac Mali, wine and pršut are great friends. Pošip and Malvazija are always a winning combination for a few slices of pršut and some Paški Sir (cheese from the island of Pag), but the Plavac is just as good when the mood strikes. It's one of the beauties of Plavac in that is pairs well with foods, especially new arrivals like the Lirica that we've started carrying.     So, which combination is best? I'm just not going to touch that subject and risk a lynching. They are all good and it's up to people to find which they like best. For those in the US, this is probably going to mean pairing something with a prosciutto because it's just so much easier to find, although Jamón Iberico can be found in very limited amounts these days from a few importers. Unfortunately genuine Croatian pršut hasn't reached the US yet and the Croats, much like the Spaniards are probably happy to keep as much of it as possible at home.

Del Monte Restaurant is in Sunnyvale, CA

Since coming back from our trip to Southeastern Europe last summer, we haven't had the chance to eat any dishes from the region as San Francisco is lacking in restaurants specializing in Balkan cuisine. Fortunately, for all of us Ćevapčići lovers in the Bay Area there is Del Monte Restaurant in downtown Sunnyvale, on Murphy Avenue.     Del Monte, in spite of the name, is a 100% Croatian family business: Mate Slade, the head of the family, usually can be found in the kitchen doing what he loves best, while his wife Dragica can be found in the restaurant greeting the guests who all seem to know her, alongside her son who serves the tables. Originally from Dubrovnik, they came to California some 25 years ago by way of Louisiana, New Orleans and Washington D.C.     We recently had dinner for the first time at Delmonte with some relatives, and so we got to try almost everything in their menu. Although the decor is lacking in sophistication, it has a Croatian feel to it as well as a family atmosphere that we enjoyed together with the big plates of food.     Since the Slades are from Dubrovnik on the Dalmatian coast, we started with a Dalmatian platter of pršut (cured ham similar to Italian prosciutto), olives, Dalmatian cheese and anchovies in olive oil. Since they have a number of seafood and fish dishes, we decided to try some of them: fried calamari, mussels marinara, sole Dalmatian style and chicken with prawns. They even have linguine with different shellfish and calamari on a tomato sauce, which was very tasty.     They also offer meat dishes more typical of continental Croatia, such as different types of steak, a plate of mixed meats, or a delicious Goulash Croatian style which is one of their most popular dishes. However, our favorite dish was, of course, the Ćevapčići plate: pieces of minced meat made of a mix of different types of beef and pork, hand mixed and then grilled with a side of ajvar (red bell pepper spread). Heavenly meat.     To accompany this Croatian feast we needed to have Croatian wine, so we ordered a red and a white from their wine list: a Debit from Bibich that paired really well with the sole, and a Plavac from the Dingač Winery that we enjoyed as always with all sorts of meat. And, although we were too full to have a dessert, we couldn't resist finishing this perfect Croatian meal with a small glass of delicious Prošek, the nectar of the Gods!

Two of the American Wine Blog Award winners

Winners of the second annual American Wine Blog Awards were announced yesterday by Tom Wark who writes the wine blog Fermentation and who started them two years ago to give recognition to dedicated wine bloggers and stimulate new ones to start.     Among the winners we found one of our favourite wine blogs, San Francisco's acclaimed Vinography by Alder Yarrow, who won the awards for best overall wine blog and best wine blog writing. Not only is Vinography an excellent source of information and inspiration on restaurants and wine bars in San Francisco, but he has also reviewed several Austrian and Slovenian wines in the past, as well as one of our favourite Croatia whites, Bibich's Debit. We strongly suspect that he's been getting more into Croatian and Slovenian wines lately, since he celebrated the award with a bottle of Malvazija from Koper (perhaps by Santomas?).     Other winners of the American Wine Blog Awards included Good Wine Under $20 (best wine review blog and best single subject blog), Tablas Creek (best winery blog), The Wine Collector (best wine business blog), Chateau Petrogasm (best wine blog graphics), and Grape Radio (best wine podcast/video blog). Grape Radio is an excellent podcast (an online audio blog) that a while back devoted a very interesting show (click here to listen to it) to the Hungarian winery Disznókő, which produces really good quality Tokaji (such as this one or this one).     Twenty-four blogs in eight categories made it to the finals for the awards. Nominations were made by voters, and then winnowed down by a panel of 6 judges, followed by a vote of both the public and the judges to determine the winners. The public's tally got 70 percent of the weighting, with 30% of the voting power given to the judges. According to Wark, the judges were Jack Everitt, of the Fork & Bottle blog; Dan Fredman, of Dan Fredman Public Relations; Steve Heimoff, Wine Enthusiast Magazine's West Coast editor; Derrick Schneider, Obsession With Food blogger; Wolfgang Webber, Wine & Spirits Magazine's associate editor and blogger, and Tori Wilder, of Wilder PR.     Tom Wark, who said that currently there are more than 700 American Wine blogs, commented on the winners: "Anyone who has been paying attention to the development of the world of wine blogs will likely recognize the winners of the 2008 American Wine Blog Awards. They represent a variety of things in this world: The Standard, The Expert, The Innovators, The Dedicated".     For a more detailed description of all the winners, check the announcement, or if you're curious to see who the finalists were for each catergory, here's the complete list, which will provide you with a lot of good wine reading.

Vineyards in Paso Robles at sunset.

Last weekend more than 90 wineries participated in the 2008 Paso Robles Zinfandel Festival, which included an array of special events such as winemaker dinners, food pairings, seminars, open houses, a live auction and special tastings. Although (unfortunately) this year we didn't make it to the festival, we recently had the opportunity to visit Paso Robles Wine Country and to enjoy some of the region's fine wines.     Paso Robles is located on California's central coast, halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles. Paso Robles has a long history of winemaking and grape growing beginning in 1797 when the first wine grapes were introduced by the Franciscan missionaries at the historic Mission San Miguel Arcangel. The Padres produced wine for sacramental purposes and made brandy for export. After Mexico secularized the California missions in the 1840s the vineyards were abandoned until European immigrant farmers started to arrive in the 1860s, following California's independence in 1850.     Today, Paso Robles is California's third largest and fastest growing wine region, with over 26,000 acres of vineyards (more on Paso Robles Wine Country history can be found here). Cabernet Sauvignon is the leading variety for the Paso Robles appellation, accounting for 38 percent of the region's planted wine grape acreage. After that the most widely planted varieties are Merlot, Syrah, Chardonnay, Zinfandel, Petite Sirah and Sauvignon Blanc. With Italian, Spanish and Rhône varieties on the upswing, more than 40 other varieties with 300 to less than an acre are planted in the region.     In the last decade, Paso Robles has seen an increase from 35 to nearly 170 wineries, of which about two-thirds produce less than 5,000 cases.     Among the few wineries that we visited during our brief passage through Paso Robles, we can recomend Eagle Castle, ensconced in a real modern-day castle. Founded in 2000 by Paso Robles natives Gary and Marylou Stemper with the motto "A royal experience", Eagle Castle produces an award-winning Viogner, a rosé and a few interesting reds. Our favourite was the recently released 2004 Zinfandel, a bold red with peppery notes both in the nose and the body, as well as a strong jammy flavor and a smooth finish.     Another winery that we particularly enjoyed was Castoro Cellars who produces, in their own words, "dam fine wines". Established in 1983 by Niels and Bimmer Udsen, the name refers to Niels' long-time nickname "Beaver", which became "Il Castoro" (beaver in Italian) when he was working in Italy. In the span of a dozen years, Castoro Cellars has gone from making a few barrels of wine for family and friends in a rented corner of someone else’s winery to a production of around 40,000 at present. They produce half a dozen whites, about twenty reds and a couple of dessert wines. We were lucky to taste a good number of their wines, including their 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon blend which was so easy to drink that we took a couple of bottles home. We also enjoyed their affordable Muscat Canelli, a perfect match for a fruity dessert or just to sip in the terrace at any time.     For those of us who missed the Zinfandel Festival, on May 16-18th Paso Robles will be hosting their 26th Wine Festival, which will be a great opportunity to discover this fast-growing wine region or to explore it further. Cheers!     

Yesterday's article by Corie Brown in the L.A. Times, From Slovenia? Wild, wild wines speaks enthusiastically of wines from Slovenia, a region that "is getting hotter by the minute". The article highlights the boldness of Slovenian winemakers, who are young, experimenting and obtaining some really good results. Revered wine expert expert Jancis Robinson is quoted to have said after her recent trip to Slovenia:     "They are quite anarchic and individual in their use of oak and, to my mind, are making more distinctive wines than most of their neighbors in [Italy's] Friuli."     Brown also spoke to Pieter Verheyde, head sommelier at Bastide in West Hollywood, one of the best restaurants in the Los Angeles area that have embraced Slovenian wines in their wine list. For Verheyde, "they're lively and complex with unexpected flavors", and bring diversity to Bastide's 1,400 label list. He pairs the Santomas Malvazija with a ceviche of scallops, the Refošk with dry aged beef, and the Movia Pinot Noir with Hawaiian sea bass. It all sounds delicious.     The two winemakers that the article talks most about are also the most famous ones in the US. Aleš Kristiančić from Movia is one of the biggest producers in Slovenia, with a production of 10,000 cases of wine a year from 57 acres of vineyards that would be considered tiny by American standards. Movia, established in 1970, is also the oldest private winery in the country and has been selling wines to the US for almost 10 years.     Another famous Slovenian winemaker is Joško Gravner whose wines, according to Silver Lake Wine co-owner George Cossette, have introduced many adventurous enthusiasts to Slovenian wines. Gravner is the one that started the amphora project - in which Gravner ferments his wines in clay jugs buried up to their necks in the ground in homage to ancient Roman tradition. "Gravner is stripping away the human intervention to create minimalist art," Cossette says.     The article concludes saying that although not many Americans know where Slovenia is, let alone its wines, selling them requires more time than with other wines, and customers need to taste the wines and take the time to get to know them. But it is that sense of discovery, of adventure, that makes them so exciting.     If you haven't had the chance to try Slovenian wines, or if you are not convinced yet, the L.A. Times article came with extensive tasting notes of a great selection of both whites and reds, including some that you can get through Blue Danube Wines:     -2004 Batic Pinot Gris Reserve: "A weird and wonderful wine from Vipava, with delicate aromas of sesame seeds, herbs and wildflowers. It has good acidity and a lingering fresh apple finish".     -2004 Santomas Malvazija: "From the Koper district in Primorska, a richly aromatic wine with a round mouth feel, zippy fresh pineapple and other tropical fruit flavors".     -2005 Guerila Pinela: "From the Vipava district in Primorska, a delicate honey-toned wine with stony Chablis-like minerality".     -2003 Kogl Magna Dominica Albus: "A blend of equal parts Auxerrois, Riesling and Yellow Muskat, this wine has inviting peach aromas and a taste of honey".

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