Monday was our second wedding anniversary, and it started off with a lot of
romance- nothing like spending time in the village justice court with a
mediator. Our ex-landlord had refused to return our security deposit (citing
things like his need to replace a ceiling fan because there was dirt on the top
of the blades). We presented our case, I said I'd pay $200 for scratches on
wood floors (even though I think that's normal wear and tear), any more and I'd
take my chances in regular court- and demand interest and costs. In end, they
finally agreed to pay us $1400 of our $1600 deposit. It seemed like a hollow
victory- after 3 months & a s$%tload of aggravation we finally got most of our
money.

So we spent the day doing the suburban thing (minding yard and dog), then went
out for dinner. Harvest-on-Hudson in the nearby town of Hastings is on of
those rare waterfront restaurants that doesn't outright suck from a culinary
standpoint. Food is inconsistent, but sometimes good, and sometimes you just
want that view. We started off with a couple of decent glasses of Prosecco
(didn't note producer), as our Barbaresco breathed. First I had lamb spring
rolls w/tzatsiki sauce, while Betsy had wild mushroom ravioli with sage cream
and truffle oil. Then we split a calamari/ frisee salad, with a cayenne and
white miso dressing (you couldn't really taste the miso). She had the rack of
lamb with apricot couscous, I had the rabbit- wrapped in prosciutto and basil
with caramelized fennel.

Oh yeah, the wine. I almost order the 1999 Caparzo Rosso, but why order a wine
you know ? So we had the 1996 La Ca' Nova (Dario Rocca) Barbaresco Bric
Mentina. When I first tasted, I though "man, Dale, 'nova' in the name ,you
coulda guessed." First impression was very new-wave Nebbiolo, some apparent
oak, fruit-forward, not much else. Betsy is less analytical about wine that me,
but she commented it just didn't stand up to the lamb or rabbit. OK, so a $75
mistake, not the end of the world. So we finish out main courses, decide we'd
rather be at home than hang out for cheese or dessert. And I take one more sip.
Tar, violets, and bitter cherry. Not great Barbaresco, but far better than the
first 2/3 of bottle. We each quietly enoy one more small glass. If I ran
across a bottle in a store at less than $35, I might buy, but put away for a
while- or really decant for a while before serving. B+?

Tonight Betsy had a rehearsal then a performance, so I did dinner for stepson
and myself. I picked up some shrimp, made a pasta sauce using peppers, onions,
tomatoes, and garlic. Used some wine as well as butter, the wine being the 2002
Tin Roof Chardonnay (Sonoma County) from Murphy-Goode, a winert I haven't
bought much from recently. The name comes from their use of Stelvins. Modest
oak flavors, some good appley Chardonnay fruit, good acidity. Nothing special,
but a good not-flabby Chardonnay - reminded me of a decent Mcon. Decent value
at $8. B
(I'll buy again, just to encourage rebellion against the tyranny of corks!).

Grade disclaimer: I'm a pretty easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B
a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party
where it was only choice.

Dale

Dale Williams
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"Dale Williams" > wrote in message
...
> Oh yeah, the wine. I almost order the 1999 Caparzo Rosso, but why order a
wine
> you know ? So we had the 1996 La Ca' Nova (Dario Rocca) Barbaresco Bric
> Mentina. When I first tasted, I though "man, Dale, 'nova' in the name
,you
> coulda guessed." First impression was very new-wave Nebbiolo, some
apparent
> oak, fruit-forward, not much else. Betsy is less analytical about wine
that me,
> but she commented it just didn't stand up to the lamb or rabbit. OK, so a
$75
> mistake, not the end of the world. So we finish out main courses, decide
we'd
> rather be at home than hang out for cheese or dessert. And I take one more
sip.
> Tar, violets, and bitter cherry. Not great Barbaresco, but far better than
the
> first 2/3 of bottle. We each quietly enoy one more small glass. If I ran
> across a bottle in a store at less than $35, I might buy, but put away for
a
> while- or really decant for a while before serving. B+?

That is not particularly unusual for Italian reds. They tend to need a
_lot_ of aeration - especially if they are young - before they open up and
display what they've really got. I'm not sure why that is, but I've gotten
into the habit of pouring just a taste from a young bottle of Italian wine
and then putting my thumb over the end of the bottle and *shaking* it
vigorously. That seems to hasten the opening of the wine considerably. I
do this with most big, young, red wines but Italian wines seem to need it
more.

I wonder if the Italians use CO2 or an N2/CO2 mixture for sparging (or
purging if you prefer, Ian) at bottling, rather than the nitrogen blast that
is commonplace here in California.

Tom S

In article >, "Tom S"
> writes:

>That is not particularly unusual for Italian reds. They tend to need a
>_lot_ of aeration - especially if they are young - before they open up and
>display what they've really got. I'm not sure why that is, but I've gotten
>into the habit of pouring just a taste from a young bottle of Italian wine
>and then putting my thumb over the end of the bottle and *shaking* it
>vigorously. That seems to hasten the opening of the wine considerably. I
>do this with most big, young, red wines but Italian wines seem to need it
>more.

I think I didn't ask for a decanter because I was assuming it was a new-school
Barbaresco, as indeed it appeared. I've had good luck just serving those with
an hour or so breathing (as we did this time as we sipped the Prosecco). Live
and learn.


Dale

Dale Williams
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