Guest Critics: Madeleine and Andrew
Madeleine: Madeleine is a part-time therapist and yoga instructor. She speaks fluent French and Spanish. When not working, Madeleine enjoys knitting, "date nights" with her husband, and playing with her two-year old daughter.
Andrew: Andrew works for a large corporation and frequently travels around the world on business. Ironically, unlike his wife, Andrew does not speak other languages. But to his credit, Andrew graduated with a Masters from Stanford University. When at home, Andrew enjoys time with his wife and playing with his two-year old daughter.
Dinner: This dinner was served by Andrew and Madeleine at their beautiful home which sits against the one of Portland's many urban evergreen forests. Jason and I enjoyed the peaceful view and wonderful company--and, of course, the fabulous dinner!
- garden salad with cherries and homemade vinaigrette
- barbecued salmon
- barbecued corn on the cob
- Madeleine's lemon custard cakes
- cheese
- grapes
Wine:
- Gaetano D'Aquino, Pinot Grigio, 2005
- De Ponte Cellars, Pinot Noir, 2005
Posted by Denise on July 29, 2007 8:00:00 PM PDT
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De Ponte Cellars, Pinot Noir, 2005
Smell: Vanilla, burnt toast, heavily oaked, raspberry and a bit floral.
Taste: Rose, raspberry, currant.
Finish: Doesn't finish with a vanilla and burnt flavor which is surprising. Its a gooseberry finish.
Cost: $$$
Rating: ***
Gaetano D'Aquino, Pinot Grigio, 2005
Smell: Citrus.
Taste: Chemical, kind of flat, floral, a little bit like earl grey tea. A good light white summer wine.
Finish: Chemical.
Cost:
Rating:
4.0
Guest Critics: Herb and Alexandra
Herb: Herb works for Providence in the mental health field. Originally from Brooklyn, NY, Herb is a closet historian and may have anarchistic leanings.
Alexandra: Alexandra is a mental health therapist. Alexandra loves to cook, read, tackle crossword puzzles and frequent the beach.
Dinner:
Wines:
Alexandra: Alexandra is a mental health therapist. Alexandra loves to cook, read, tackle crossword puzzles and frequent the beach.
Dinner:
- garden salad
- fried zucchini
- braised celery
- ahi tuna with mashed potatoes and pepper sauce
- fresh local berries with vanilla yogurt
- cheese
Wines:
- Maryhill, Syrah, 2003
- Penfolds "St. Henri" Shiraz, 1997
- Fairview Cellars, Meritage, 2001
Posted by Jason on July 28, 2007 8:30:00 PM PDT
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Fairview Cellars, Meritage, 2001
Smell: Earthy.
Taste: Moldy cork.
Finish: A little thin.
Cost:
Rating:
4.0
Penfolds 'St. Henri', Shiraz, 1997
Smell: Mossy, dirt, mushroom.
Taste: Complicated--its subtleties are difficult to describe. Earthy, mushroomy and prune. Has great counter-transference--it has broken through the neutral barrier.
Finish: Smooth as silk. Dry prune finish--not sweet. Damn good!
Cost:
Rating:
9.5
Maryhill, Proprietor's Reserve, Syrah, 2003
Smell: Peppery, molasses, vanilla, berry, a hint of woody, smokey.
Taste: Tea, coffee, black olive, currant.
Finish: Clove. Has a nice, smooth finish--almost a pinot finish. Not that gritty.
Cost:
Rating:
6.0
Guest Critics: Peter, Jean Ann, Herb and Alexandra
Peter: Peter is a philosophy and creative writing teacher to middle school students. Peter was a volunteer with Canadian Tools for Peace and worked with the Sandanistas in Nicaragua, teaching literacy and picking coffee. He lives with his wife and two daughters in Ontario, Canada.
Jean Ann: Jean Ann is a 1st and 2nd grade teacher. Her hobbies include running and reading. Jean Ann lives with her husband and two daughters in Ontario, Canada.
Herb: Herb works for Providence in the mental health field. Originally from Brooklyn, NY, Herb is a closet historian and may have anarchistic leanings.
Alexandra: Alexandra is a mental health therapist. Alexandra loves to cook, read, tackle crossword puzzles and frequent the beach.
Dinner: This dinner took place at the family's habitual beach retreat, Road's End. We ate outdoors on an old wooden picnic table underneath a wind-twisted pine. It was a wonderful evening with aunts, uncles, cousins and siblings sharing stories and laughing around a table of food and wine. The scent of the salty air and the rustic setting convinced the second generation to revive the yearly pilgrimage to this sweet, cherished corner of past and future memories.
- crab and avocado salad
- roasted beets with blue cheese
- pan-fried shrimp with mango-tequila sauce
- corn cakes
- Molly's no-bake cookies
Wines:
- Roads End, Pinot Noir, 2004
- Ken Wright Cellars, Guadalupe Vineyard, Pinot Noir, 2005
- David Hill, Pinot Noir, 2004
Favorite quotes heard underneath the pine tree:
- "Is the red face from the wine or from the sunburn?" --Peter
- "This is where we start kicking the French's ass!" --Jason (after consuming a glass of Ken Wright)
- "Why waste a drop? Lick the bottle!" --Alexandra
- "I don't know about it... I need more!" --Herb (requesting another glass of Road's End)
- "Did I say anything significant?" --Alexandra
- "Oh my god! It's so smooth!" --18-year old Caleb (who hasn't yet had the opportunity to critically discern box wine from bottled wine)
Posted by Jason on July 16, 2007 8:30:00 PM PDT
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David Hill, Pinot Noir, 2004
Smell: Earthy, honey, pepper, mossy-lichen, big-time tobacco.
Taste: Peppery, berry, kerosene, tobacco, burnt. A bit like an ashtray. One of the most unusual tasting wines we've had--very memorable.
Finish: Dirt, bark, very tobacco.
Cost: $$
Rating: ***
Ken Wright Cellars, Guadalupe Vineyard, Pinot Noir, 2005
Smell: Vanilla, rose.
Taste: Amazing--wow! Delicious and beautiful. Very full-bodied, subtle fruit and rose. Complex. We did not have enough, but we are satisfied. Magnificent.
Finish: Fades into being smooth, raspberry.
Cost:
Rating:
9.0
Roads End, Pinot Noir, 2004
Smell: Prune, currant, vanilla, spice.
Taste: Mossy soil, fruit forward, blackberry on the end, fruity.
Finish: Fruit finish, earthy "lick and nibble" at the end. Really, really smooth.
Cost:
Rating:
8.5
Guest Critics: Monica Drake and Kassten Alonzo
Monica Drake: Monica is a local writer who published her first book, Clown Girl, in 2007. In addition, Monica is a part-time writing professor at Pacific Northwest College of Arts and a full-time mother of a toddler.
Kassten Alonzo: Kassten Alonso was born in Seattle, Washington and graduated from Willamette University in Salem. Kassten has previously published in the Portland Mercury, Portland Monthly, and the Oregonian. Core: a Romance is his first published novel, and was nominated as a finalist for the Oregon Book Awards in 2005. Kassten is currently working on his next novel.
Dinner:
- garden salad
- slow-cooked carrots with parmesan cheese
- corn on the cob
- poached salmon with roasted potatoes
- strawberry shortcake
- cheese
Wines:
- Albacela, Vinter's Blend #7, Red Table Wine
- Torii Mor, Pinot Noir, 2004
- Phantom Hill, Pinot Noir, 2001
Favorite quotes heard around the dinner table:
- "Let's duct tape the kids to the wall and party!" Jason
- "And you've chosen us for our complete lack of skills?" Monica
- "So how do you like the salmon?" Kass imitates Jason clubbing a guest on the head and turning them into soy-lent green for future dinner parties dishes.
Posted by Denise on July 8, 2007 9:00:00 PM PDT
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Phantom Hill, Pinot Noir, 2001
Smell: Has a lot of aroma, vanilla, oak. A chemical smell, pungent, like nail polish remover. Smells like a manicure--chemical and floral. It's granny wine.
Taste: Date, cherry, band-aid and burnt match. This one you can drink forever. A notable and provocative wine: if you took this to a party, people would ask, "What wine is this?"
Finish: Really smooth. That grandma... it's a finish with a big orange lipstick smooch (without the hassle).
Cost: $$$
Rating: ****
Torii Mor, Pinot Noir, 2004
Smell: Floral, vanilla, oak, resinous.
Taste: Vanilla, woody, earthy phenolic. Clean with a little wicked bite at the end. This is a wine you can take to a party and not feel embarrassed by it. This is the Goldilocks wine: not too hot, not too cold, just right.
Finish: Instead of smooth and clear, it is texturally clear. Not a round and robust smooth, but smooth in a different kind of way.
Cost: $$$
Rating: ****
Abacela, Vinter's Blend #7, Red Table Wine
Smell: Spicy, fruity, prune and fig.
Taste: Floral to fruity, lavender, cherry, black currant. Good wine for a camping trip. Good wine with pizza. Not wholly civilized, but it's enjoyable.
Finish: Mineral. It's got a texture to it, not smooth.
Cost: $$
Rating: **
Guest Critics: Elizabeth and Kenny
Kenny: Kenny works in construction finance for Kaiser. He volunteers for Habitat for Humanity and his hobbies include golf, soccer, the outdoors and music. This "Weegie" is originally from the west coast of Scotland.
Elizabeth: Elizabeth is a commercial real estate investor. She is active in many Portland nonprofits and is busy raising her two-year old daughter.
Dinner:
- garden salad
- corn on the cob
- spinach
- ahi tuna with mashed potatoes and a pepper gravy
- strawberry shortcake
- Chateau Bellevue, Bordeaux, 2000
- Feraud-Brunel, Gigondas, 2003
- Chateau Hanteillan, Haut Medoc, 1996
Posted by Denise on July 7, 2007 5:30:00 PM PDT
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Chateau Bellevue, Bordeaux, 2000
Smell: Earthy, cherry.
Taste: Slight sourness, no "meat" to it at all--disappointing, nutty.
Finish: Chalky.
Cost: $$
Rating: **
Feraud-Brunel, Gigondas, 2003
Smell: Cherry, woody, apricot.
Taste: Raspberries, apricot, way fruitier than we expected, a lot of berries.
Finish: Very smooth.
Cost:
Rating:
8.0
Chateau Hanteillan, Haut Medoc (Cru Bourgeois), 1996
Smell: Vegetative, artichoke, very bell pepper.
Taste: Earthy, mossy, artichoke, bell pepper, a bit peppery, not as tannic as others.
Finish: Smooth, velvety.
Cost:
Rating:
8.0
Domaine Serene, Winery Hill Vineyard, Pinot Noir 2003
Smell: --
Taste: OMG, delicious! 2003 seems like it's ready to drink! Boy, this was good with chocolate.
Finish: Very smooth.
Cost: Unknown
Rating: ****
Domaine de Fontsainte, Corbieres, Rose, 2004
Smell: Grapefruit.
Taste: Grapefruit.
Finish: Am I eating a grapefruit?
Cost:
Rating:
2.0
Casa Contini, Biferno, Reserva, 2001
Smell: --
Taste: Another good table wine. Not great, but you can't always drink insanely expensive wine. And this is not a bad one to drink.
Finish: --
Cost:
Rating:
6.5
