Author Archives: Maurice

  1. The Winners of the Oenophile Challenge

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    The Oenophile Challenge

    The Oenophile Challenge is a top chef-like competition with wine education.  All servers of Island Prime and C-Level picked a favorite wine by the glass.  The teams were made according to the wines they picked.  Each team presented their wine to a panel of judges.  The judges selected the most creative, the most informative and the most humorous presentations.  Twelve teams took part in the Oenophile Challenge, but only three were true Oenophiles.

    Oenophilia is a disease that is spreading throughout San Diego’s restaurant staffs.  This challenge only proves that we may never find a cure. (more…)

  2. Love Letter to Chardonnay

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     Chardonnay

    My dear Chardonnay, I know what you’re gonna say, “how can you have had so many loves in one lifetime?”  You probably think that I have serious relationship issues.  But to my defense, I love each of you in a completely different way.  In no way do I let one relationship interfere with the other.  Chardonnay, your juice is light and clear, it is not as aromatic as some of my past red lovers.  I hope you never felt inferior to my other grape loves.  I have always noticed a bit of insecurity in your personality, and may be that is what drew me closer to you. (more…)

  3. Inside the San Diego International Wine Competition 2013

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    SDIWC judging

    I always look forward to judging the San Diego International Wine Competition because I always learn something new.  I am always blown away when the winners are revealed.  I am also humbled when I see the wines that I selected as winners and the wines I did not award a medal.  There is always a surprise in the bunch.  Best of all I get a chance to hang out with other wine professionals that I rarely get to see.  Everyone is there to have a good time and there is no pretentiousness.  I guess it is difficult being pretentious when everything we judge is blind.  I really enjoyed judging with Thrace Bromberger from Villa San-Juliet and Mark Lovett a 30 year veteran at the San Diego International Wine Competition.  We had many laughs at our table and for the most part agreed with our choices for winners. (more…)

  4. Take The Vinturi Challenge: 7 Year Old Napa Meritage

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    Vinturi Challenge

    The Vinturi Challenge is where we test the Vinturi aerating system against the decanter and the traditional, straight from the bottle.  To see the details of the Challenge, read the 1st post of Barolo.  My intention is to find the best approach to each wine.  Some wines will benefit from decanting, others are better straight from the bottle and maybe we’ll find one which the Vinturi will benefit.  By the time we get through different wines, you will have a better idea of when to decant, when to Vinturi and when to let be.

    In a nutshell, we taste the wines blind.  One wine is decanted up to 30 min before tasting.  The other wine is poured straight from the bottle and the last is poured through the Vinturi.  The judges rate the wines on aromatics, flavors, tannin, alcohol and acidity.  At the end, each judge picks their favorite glass.  We then show the glass to see which was the judges preference. (more…)

  5. Take the Vinturi Challenge: First up Barolo!

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    Vinturi ChallengeI remember the day that a Vinturi was given to me.  It was the answer to decanting.  No longer did we have to wait half an hour before the wine was drinkable.  All I had to do was pour the wine through this sleek-looking aerator and…Voila!  The wine was ready.  I am always a fan of cool wine gimmicks and I think it is neat to see people get creative with wine.  Some gimmicks work and others are just…well gimmicky.

    About 7 years ago, my first Vinturi was stolen from the floor of the restaurant the first week I had it out.  I was going to try it with some of my regulars to see if the Vinturi really worked.  I guess the word was out, that sleek plastic rocket capsule-looking aerator was a hot commodity.   I remember trying it with an Argentinian Malbec and it seemed to soften the wine.  I also remember trying it with a Barbaresco and noticed that the tannins were much more milder.  What I didn’t do was try the wines side by side with the Vinturi, a decanter and straight from the bottle. (more…)