Whew, 10 days with no wine. We did “wave 1” on the Sonoma Diet (first time I have ever been on a specific diet). Recipes were mostly pretty good, so food wise didn’t feel especially deprived. Not having wine isn’t so bad either, but what surprised me was how much I missed our ritual - Betsy tells me what is for dinner (or I decide if my turn to cook),I think about match, I go to cellar and rummage, choose something, bring up and open, check for soundness, choose glasses. Then while we enjoy dinner I think about the wine and the match (and usually discuss briefly with Betsy), and after dinner make a quick note. Now 10 days of just sitting down to dinner.

Some friends started same day we did and so on Thursday (day 11) we had them for dinner- pork chops with a nice cauliflower dish (capers and garlic) and quinoa. The Sonoma pairing for the pork was “Merlot”, and I opened the 2004 Pavie-Macquin (St. Emilion). Good acid balance for a modern styled St. Em, some cocoa/mocha notes showing the oak influence, but nice black raspberry fruit and good finish. I’m surprised how open this is (good), and how little seems to be in reserve. Easy tannins, not going to plan on holding remaining bottle. Of course after 10 days without wine I’m an even easier grader. B+/B

Friday was salmon in an almond crust, ratatouille, and broccoli rabe, with the
2011 Litaud “Les Vieilles Pierres” Macon-Vergison. Green apple and lemon, very crisp, good with dinner but comes across as slightly underripe. B/B-

Saturday was cod in a Veracuz sauce, brown rice, and salad; wine was the
2008 Chidaine “Tuffeaux” Montlouis-sur-Loire. I think this is billed as demi-sec but the acids are so electric the effect is more sec-tendre. Full and deep, with mineral and earth accents. Fruit is candied citrus peel and sweet apple. It works ok with the fish and sauce (not an easy match), but does great with my snack of chopped fruit and hummus later. The wine excellent overall A-

Last night Dave joined us for roast chicken with a broccoli salad (pine nuts and sundried tomato); wine was the 2011 Felsina Chianti Classico. This was on the riper side (was 2011 a warm vintage) with rather lush black cherry fruit and even a hint of kirsch (shows 14%, so not that high, but I think higher than I remember in past), but it does have enough acidity to keep interesting. Pretty tasty, but not one to tuck away. B/B+

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very 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.Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.

On Monday, January 20, 2014 9:01:42 AM UTC-7, DaleW wrote:
> Whew, 10 days with no wine. We did “wave 1” on the Sonoma Diet (first time I have ever been on a specific diet). Recipes were mostly pretty good, so food wise didn’t feel especially deprived. Not having wine isn’t so bad either, but what surprised me was how much I missed our ritual - Betsy tells me what is for dinner (or I decide if my turn to cook),I think about match, I go to cellar and rummage, choose something, bring up and open, check for soundness, choose glasses. Then while we enjoy dinner I think about the wine and the match (and usually discuss briefly with Betsy), and after dinner make a quick note. Now 10 days of just sitting down to dinner.
>
>
>
> Some friends started same day we did and so on Thursday (day 11) we had them for dinner- pork chops with a nice cauliflower dish (capers and garlic) and quinoa. The Sonoma pairing for the pork was “Merlot”, and I opened the 2004 Pavie-Macquin (St. Emilion). Good acid balance for a modern styled St. Em, some cocoa/mocha notes showing the oak influence, but nice black raspberry fruit and good finish. I’m surprised how open this is (good), and how little seems to be in reserve. Easy tannins, not going to plan on holding remaining bottle. Of course after 10 days without wine I’m an even easier grader. B+/B
>
>
>
> Friday was salmon in an almond crust, ratatouille, and broccoli rabe, with the
>
> 2011 Litaud “Les Vieilles Pierres” Macon-Vergison. Green apple and lemon, very crisp, good with dinner but comes across as slightly underripe. B/B-
>
>
>
> Saturday was cod in a Veracuz sauce, brown rice, and salad; wine was the
>
> 2008 Chidaine “Tuffeaux” Montlouis-sur-Loire. I think this is billed as demi-sec but the acids are so electric the effect is more sec-tendre. Full and deep, with mineral and earth accents. Fruit is candied citrus peel and sweet apple. It works ok with the fish and sauce (not an easy match), but does great with my snack of chopped fruit and hummus later. The wine excellent overall A-
>
>
>
> Last night Dave joined us for roast chicken with a broccoli salad (pine nuts and sundried tomato); wine was the 2011 Felsina Chianti Classico. This was on the riper side (was 2011 a warm vintage) with rather lush black cherry fruit and even a hint of kirsch (shows 14%, so not that high, but I think higher than I remember in past), but it does have enough acidity to keep interesting. Pretty tasty, but not one to tuck away. B/B+
>
>
>
> Grade disclaimer: I'm a very 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.Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.

A diet that doesn't include wine would not go over at our house.

Interestingly, I have not enjoyed most of the Macons from 2011. In fact, I've had trouble with a lot of French wines from 2011. Was it excessively hot?