Va bene!

Apologies to Suzie, if that's not how you say "Wow!" in Italian.

The highly anticipated Swirl occurred last night at Barry and Suzie's cucina, the pork roast holding center court. The usual suspects were on hand, save for that social butterfly Kay, who has created such a delightful oasis in Salem that her guest beds are seldom, if ever, empty.  We soldiered on without her, hardy souls that we are :-D

My angst over the perfect wine for the cubano pork settled on a 2001 Mas Donis, Capcanes, from the montsant region of Spain, the area surrounding the more famous priorat.  Made mostly from old vines (80+ years) garnacha, it seemed a good choice for a sumptuously roasted pig.  Indeed it was, the earthiness complementing the moist, succulent pork to a "T"...at least in this taster's opinion.

Yes, we had more than pork (but it is the pork that still resonates most in my mind).  Jewel blessed the proceedings with a kale/corn saute that was a divine choice. Ruth brought a potato dish (?kugel) that baked up yummy with mushrooms nestled within.  KT freshened our palates with a splendid spinach, roasted red pepper salad, and Lee (with Rick doing the "flip") brought it all home with a dreamy, creamy pumpkin caramel creation.

The table also sported a lovely melange of wines: barbera d' alba from Vietti (!), very lively with lots of festive italian fruit; pirouette from WW Long Shadows, dark fruit candied goodness in it for the long haul; cabernet sauvignon from Bogle, a really approachable Cali cab - words I don't often utter; and another very drinkable cab from Cali with the moniker of "Cask"....so drinkable, in fact, that it was drained first!

These crisp beautiful autumnal days are off to a flying start.  I love this "shoulder" wine season. Still time to revel in whites and roses (like there's an 'off' season for that!), yet the fare begins to resemble the dinner hour and the wine choices, growing darker by the day.  This my friends is truly la dolce vita.

Laugh Night Repast

Monday's have become our laugh night.  Although we aren't often slouched in front of the television, for some  reason a series of what are called "situation comedies" have caught our fancy.  To fortify our soon to come belly laughs, we had a simple dinner of last of the season corn on the cob, compliments of our CSA and supported that with a sausage/potato/egg in a skillet bake.  Nice and spicy, the Italian sausage!  To embellish this melange, we had a 2008 Penner-Ash Roseo, or as they describe it, a pink, pink wine.  Yum!  Now I know why we bought it.  We are not huge P-A fans; the few times that we've gone to the winery, they just seem so snobbish, so California-esque.  But the Roseo (which I don't think was a mercy buy, since we don't feel any affinity towards the winery or servers) and a Riesling found a home here and we have enjoyed them.  It's nice to have an alternative to the ubiquitous pinot noir.

This coming Saturday we will be going to Barry & Suzie's for a SWIRL.  Suzie's famous pork!  A whole week to find the perfect wine.  My favorite homework.

Recent Swoonings

It's only Wednesday and already KT and I have knocked back two sensational wine pairings.  Monday night, it was a delicious roasted chicken thighs/cherry tomato feast graciously accompanied by Lopez-Heredia's 2001 Vina Cubiillo.  Primarily a tempranillo blend (65%), this wine was suave and sultry, deceptively so.  It's so comfortable in its skin that it doesn't need to strut; it purrs with subtle pleasure that you can dabble in or go deep if you take the time. Like a skilled lover this one: relax, you are in good hands, and L-H is quickly becoming my favorite winery of this time.

Tuesday night's treat was more spontaneous.  Our "tub o' vegetables" from the CSA included some zebra skinned tomatoes. KT had her heart set on some chopped tomatoes with buffalo mozarella and basil, dressed lovingly with an artisnal olive oil from Oregon, no less.  It was tremendously good, with flavors that just kept coming in waves.  For some reason, I opted to pair this with an Austrian riesling.  The 2004 Prager riesling was spot on with this dish. The wine's lovely acidity worked in harmony with the acidity of the tomatoes to create a clean, bracing flavor that  kept the acid of the riesling intact while allowing its caramel flavors to show through.  No unctuousness or insipidness here; just tight, taut, clean flavors that soared.  Six years in our basement had not induced any oxidative qualities to this wine; it was pure heaven.  Can't wait to see what the rest of the week holds!

If A Blog Falls in the Forest...

The intervening month has been brought to you by a two week vacation and a two week cold. Most of the former was embellished with drinking astonishingly good scotch with a scot.  Glenmorangie's Quinta Ruban is a gift from the gods.

This week, though, now that I can drink wine without coughing my lungs out has seen the return of some gorgeous offerings.  Earlier in the summer, I shared a bottle of 2000 Lopez de Heredia Vina Gravonia with a close group of friends and it b-l-e-w m-e a-w-a-y!    A ten year old white rioja that was among the finest beverages I have ever consumed. So, I sought out a sequel (I can't believe this wine is still around) and it was equally astonishing.  100% viura grapes...mystical, strange spices, reminded me of retsina in spice profile (KT agreed). Just an extraordinary wine of amazing depth and I didn't find it oxidized or showing any deleterious signs of age.  I wish I could drink it weekly.

Later in the week, we had a great bar-b-que burger fest (the Oregon fall is devine) and I opened a 2000 Perrin Cote du Rhone Reserve. It too was tasting at its peak, with a profound cinnamon nose and delightful  balanced dark fruit (plum, fig, prune) taste and a very, very long finish. The full flavor that I always associate with CDR (wild herbs and spice) but with an elegance that I've not known in a generic rhone.

Tonight I'm back at a wine that I bought a case of and it is tasting so much better than when we first opened a few bottles.  It restores my faith in the wine seller who tempted me into a case.  The 2005 Domaine du Prieure Bourgogne is a delightful unpretentious great food wine.  Pork and pasta were the guests and monsieur Prieure was a perfect companion.  Light bodied, but full of classic pinot elegance, sour cherries, cloves and a blood/iron flavor that speaks of the dirt. The fruit is so much more apparent tonight. In previous openings it had mostly seemed like tart cherries and little else.  Nice to know that it, like we, is/are evolving.

The Moody Blues Got Nothing On Me

Tuesday afternoon and the weather has given notice that the glorious days of fall are here.  As with most seasons in Oregon, they begin and end with rain which works for me!  Simple home cooking tonight. Tried my hand at spaghetti carbonara (primo chef KT was occupied with work) and produced a plausible facsimile. The encyclopedic tome for the recipe, "Italian Cooking", suggested a light red to accompany. Lacking the time and energy to scare up a lighter italian wine from our cellar, I settled, instead, on a half bottle of Pinot from Willakensie; their 2007 estate cuvee.  Bought a case of these from Vino a while back and they are perfect for just such occasions.

The wine worked well with my gringo version of italian pasta; dried cranberries, dusty spices (cinnamon, nutmeg) and fading roses a serviceable companion.  Meanwhile, KT arrives from her fifteen feet after work commute and whips up a red curry dish with eggplant (yikes!). I opened a bottle of Penner Ash riesling for her enjoyment, sticking with the 2007 vintage. Never one to pass up an open bottle, I sampled a bit and am anxious to dive back in soon. It was delightfully dry, with petroleum hints that make a riesling so unique. As my palate was somewhat jaded by the pinot/pasta combo, I expect my next tasting of this riesling will show the real stuff.  We shall see.

Oh Why Not?

Well now. When last we left the blog-o-sphere, we looked very different and the intent of this fledgling project was to document the many wonderful things that found their way onto our plates and into our glasses, at our SWIRL gatherings.

But a lot has changed since then. Some for the better and some....well I'm not sure yet. But one thing is certain: the quality of food, of wine and of the company has improved and improved and well, we are just so blessed with abundance, both within the comfort of SWIRL and within the vortex that a SWIRL will create.

It has been a good break. I've learned a lot reading other blogs and now have the "bug" to begin again. A blog: the ultimate investment in ego because it presumes someone actually gives a damn what you think and what you have to say. With your indulgence, then.

This has been a busy week! Monday we went to Uptown Billiards with L & L for a tasting of southern France wines, the Languedoc mostly. It was hosted by Domaine Selections who I didn't realize is a clearing house for a variety of importers. The wines were lovely and worked well with the charcuterie and deep fried sardines that were offered as snacks. Since it's been a week, my memory of the exact wine lineup is gone, but suffice it to say we had wonderful wines, amazingly affordable and came home with a box of them!

Two nights later I went to a great northwest Italian restaurant, Serrato, with my former boss. A lovely woman of impeccable grace. I was self conscious about her picking up the tab (a habit that I can't seem to shake) and so ordered a cesaer salad and hamburger. I had a wonderful glass of Cherverney to accompany and, sadly, I neglected to write down the producer. It was delicious and, frankly, I've always had good wines from this area of the Loire, both red and whites.

The next night, we went to LUCCA with R&L for a sumptuous tomato feast, featuring the wines of importer Small Vineyards. The food was wonderful and the wines pretty good. We started with a Prosecco that I ended up purchasing (one as an anniversary gift for the 26yr R&L). The next wine, a white, was oxidized and of the current category called "orange" wines. When I asked the importer about it, he merely said that his staff had pulled the 07, when we were supposed to be drinking the 09's. Not really the answer that I wanted and makes me worry about the storage facilities for Small Vineyards: if the 07 is that oxidized, and they aren't vinted that way, they have some serious issues. We are routinely drinking 06 and 07 whites in this casa and they are showing just fine without a hint of oxidation. At any rate, the red offerings were okay, with the 07 brunello tasting very well. I bought a bottle of it. The importer thought it would last another twenty years in the cellar, but for my tastes it is at its peak right now.

Phew! We still keep going. The crown jewel of last week was last night when we blessed to be invited to join our dear pal the Minkster at Noble Rot for a birthday bash. We got things going by bringing in a magnum of champagne. You know, I'm not all hung up on the "size" thing but I have to say that wine in a "big" bottle is a wondrous thing! After the champers, we had assorted whites - an arneis, a vino verde, a riesling- and assorted reds - a shiraz, a priorat and I think an Italian (it never made it to our end of the table). The food was typical NR fare: nothing to scream about but adequate. The wine was good food wine, as it should be, but the company was the gem of the evening: thank you Minky for letting us be part of the fete. We adore you!

September and The Scribe is Away

Filling in for the scribe who is away with his consort eating and drinking wine in Europe, I will note a fine evening minus three, plus one of the usual suspects.

Tim and Jewel started us off with a Prosecco and an original recipe by Chef Jewel: home made ricotta, corn and _______ wrapped in radicchio and grilled. Wow! There was also a tomato tart.Suzie made pork tenderloin with caramelized onions over quinoa and roasted broccoli.Lee made a beautiful salad that included mint, lovely.Ruth finished the meal with a delicious pear turine with gorgonzola and walnuts.

The wines:Zerba Wild Z 2005Andrew Rich Grenache Ciel du Cheval Vineyard Travignoli Chianti Rufino 2004

A beautiful evening and we look forward to some fine stories from the travelers at our next gathering.