San Diego Says Good Bye to an Icon, the Reuben E Lee

I was so fortunate to be there on Monday, April 23rd, 2012 the day that the Reuben E Lee was hauled away after 40 years of being docked on Harbor Island.  The Reuben E Lee is an iconic restaurant which was well ingrained in San Diego’s dining history.  I bet every San Diegan born before 1990 spent some time aboard the Reuben E Lee.  I can remember it being the obvious choice for a family get together or birthday celebration. Read Full

Paolo Menezes Rio Velho winemaker on Brazilian Wine

Brazilian wine has not made its way into the mainstream wine market, yet. It is only a matter of time.  Below is a short video of Paolo Menezes, wine maker of Rio Velho expressing his views on where the future of Brazilian wine.  Make sure to turn on the captions.

Bottling Wine at Almaden Winery in Brazil

The journey to bottling wine is a year long process of growing, harvesting and wine making.  I had the opportunity to visit one of the largest wineries in Southern Brazil, Almaden.  The winery was once owned by an American company, Natural Distillers and it was sold to Seagram, then Pernod-Ricard and today belongs to Brazil’s largest wine company, Miolo Wine Group.

The wines are not of fine wines.  They are intended for early consumption and run about $3 per bottle.  The Charles Shaw of Brazil.  I am not going to write a review or post tasting notes about Almaden.  The wines are fruity and perfect for a hot day with a scoop of ice cubes. Read Full

Moshin Vineyards Crusaders for Balanced Wines

Moshin Vineyards, crusaders for balanced wines

In 2009 Moshin Vineyards and Winery celebrated it’s 20^th anniversary; 20 years as a crusader for balanced wines.  The owner/winemaker is Rick Moshin who began making wine out of his garage in the 1970’s.  His professional career included a 12 year stint at Gary Farrell where he solely focused on Pinot Noir.  When he erected the Moshin Winery he chose to stay true to this finicky grape.  In staying true, Rick uses biodynamic farming techniques in the vineyard and does not add sulfites, letting the natural acidity preserve the wines.  The winery uses a gravity flow system so that very little human contact interferes in the temperamental juice’s journey in finding a resting place in barrel.  Upon sitting down and tasting with Rick, he mentioned that his intention is to make Pinot taste like Pinot.  This day in age other winemakers are pushing ripeness and the Pinot Noirs are loosing their inherent liveliness and acidity.  At Moshin the opposite is true; pushing acidity rather than alcohol which ultimately, while in the glass, shows that it has a sense of place.

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Wine Tasting Notes March 2012

My Wine Tasting  notes for March 2012

March was a light month tasting month.  Most of the month I spent getting myself organized and ready for my departure for Brazil.  I postponed many of my tastings until my return.  The few that I did get around to tasting were pretty amazing.

My intention in posting my wine tasting notes is to give a brief description of some of the many wines I come across over a months time.  Some wines will make the wine list and others will not.  Choosing one wine over another for the list, comes down to what holes need to be filled.  Keeping my notes online allows me to access them for future reference. Read Full