Portuguese Grapes In A Great Red Blend

The wines of Portugal really reach me, and few have reached me more than the wines of Pedro Ribeira of Rocim Winery. I was given the opportunity to sit with him for a tasting during his visit to Southern California, and I'm glad I did.

The Herdade do Rocim 2023 Mariana Red Blend comprises 40% Touriga Nacional grapes, 30% Aragonez, 20% Alicante Bouschet, and 10% Trincadeira. The fruit was grown in the Alentejo region of Portugal, the Vidigueira subregion. Alcohol hits 14% abv and the price sits at around $10. Unbelievable.

This wine is medium dark in the glass. Its nose brings a powerful blast of aromas. Raspberry, blackberry, currant, and plum dominate the bouquet. A touch of smoke leads a savory streak which includes tobacco, tar, and earth. In the mouth, the fruit steals the show. A firm set of tannins just begs for a juicy steak, while the finish goes on and on. 

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Blood Of The Vines - Shipboard Follies

Pairing wine with movies!  See the trailers and hear the fascinating commentary for these movies and many more at Trailers From Hell. This week, our wines are paired with films that are set on the high seas.

 A Countess from Hong Kong is a romantic comedy from 1967, back before they referred to the genre as romcom. It was written, directed, and scored by Charlie Chaplin. I don't know how many directors have written the music for their movies, but I imagine it has to be a rarity.

Countess starred Marlon Brando and Sophia Loren. Brando's character must have been pleased, in some way, to find Loren stowing away in his stateroom. Tippi Hedren, as his wife, was less enthused. Chaplin's son Sydney is also in the film, along with Margaret Rutherford. She plays someone named Gaulswallow, which sounds a lot like typecasting. But, she was great at that type. 

Chaplin worked on the script on and off for three decades before finishing it as a Loren vehicle. He originally intended for his wife Paulette Goddard to star, but scrapped that plan when they split. "Never give a good role to your ex" may have become a Hollywood axiom if it hadn’t been for Woody Allen.

The tune "This is My Song" was a hit for Petula Clark and probably made more money than the film did at the time. Critical opinions on the movie have softened over the years after an initial bunch of less-than-lukewarm reviews. Maybe the critics simply didn't like Chaplin's politics. It's a good thing one's polítical stance doesn't hurt one's career today, isn't it?

The 8th Estate Winery bills itself as Hong Kong's only urban winery. They source grapes from Australia, Italy, and Washington state, and ship them to Hong Kong after flash-freezing them. This, I suppose, allows their label to say "product of Hong Kong." It's an expensive way to make wine, and it shows on the winery's website. Awhile back, they announced their Christmas sale: "$1200 for 6 HK wines!!" Pardon my gasp. If you find yourself in Hong Kong and want to do a tasting there, it's $80 for a flight of four. That's even pricier than Napa Valley. An Asian social/food site claims the wait time for a table at the winery is one minute. No doubt. Who can afford to stay longer? 

1957's An Affair to Remember stars tuxedoed Cary Grant and evening gowned Deborah Kerr. Their affair begins on a transatlantic cruise. The film is considered one of the most romantic ever made, with the possible exception of those whose spouses have fallen in love with other people. They'll probably call it salt in the wound. It's also a pretty good Christmas movie, as if that helps those jilted movie goers. 

The two leads part ways after docking, but encounter each other again long after the seafaring tryst, with a twist. 

Good memories last a lifetime, or so we hope. A good memory plays a part in the movie's climax, so why not pair a wine from South Slope Wines' Memory line with Affair. They offer a variety of Sierra Foothills grapes, like Cabernet Franc, Sangiovese, and Touriga Nacional, starting at about $50.  

Triangle of Sadness was heralded as one of 2022's best movies. The story follows a group of rich people on a luxury cruise. As they, no doubt, eagerly await their big tax cuts, a storm hits and shipwrecks the passengers on a remote island. There are some genuinely funny moments as well as some genuinely surprising ones. 

The castaways' struggle to survive takes a page or two from Lord of the Flies as wealth and beauty become their legal tender. It's too bad they couldn't find refuge at a fabulous resort, huh? Is it too late to say, "spoiler alert?" Aah, you’ve probably already seen it, haven't you?

Wines that were recovered from a sunken ship would be the perfect pairing, although they are hard to find and tend to be on the pricey side. Aaron Wines has a San Luis Obispo Pinot Noir called Seafarer for $40. It didn't travel on the ocean, but the vineyards are just six miles from the California coastline. Use your imagination.

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Incredible Portuguese White Wine At An Incredible Price

Portuguese wines are a treat, whether you’re drinking a wonderful Porto or a still wine from the Douro Valley. Today's wine is from the Alentejo region in the south of Portugal.

Herdade do Rocim's 2024 Mariana is a white Alentejano wine which was named after a cloistered nun. Mariana Alcoforado lived in the Beja Castle in the 17th century. The castle was already centuries old at that time. Why the namesake? From the terraces of Rocim Winery, one can see the famed tower of the castle. She reportedly wrote Letters of a Portuguese Nun, a collection of five letters she wrote to her lover, a French military man. That's the story, anyway.

The wine is even more interesting than the story behind the name. Mariana is made from 60% Antão Vaz grapes, 30% Arinto, and 10% Alvarinho. Antão Vaz is a thick-skinned white grape which thrives in hot weather. Arinto delivers high acidity, and Alvarinho is the Portuguese name for the Spanish Albariño. The wine was aged for three months in concrete tanks, has an alcohol level of 12% abv and sells for around $20. 

This wine has a clean, yellow glow in the glass. The nose is full of lemon and herbal aromas. Minerals abound on the palate, along with a delightfully racy acidity. Sweet lemon flavors and a mineral-laden salinity mark this wine as one to look for.

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Great Wines From Portugal's Alentejo Region

The wines of Portugal are amazing. It should be enough that the country produces Port wine. What more could anyone ask? Well, Portugal has a lot more to offer.

I was gifted the opportunity recently to sit with Pedro Ribeira at Gjelina in Venice, California. With his wife, Catarina, the wines of Herdade do Rocim are made. Located in southern Portugal, in the Alentejo region, The Ribeiros have assembled a line of wines the likes of which anyone would be proud to claim. 

His Mariana wine is concrete fermented and aged. It is at once fruity and savory, sweet and salty. The wine is dry as a bone and has a zingy acidity that will refresh no matter how hot the weather is. The red Mariana is also fermented in a concrete tank, then aged nine months in neutral oak. 

The Amphora wines, one white, one red, are elegant and have a mineral streak a mile wide. 

The Grande Rocims, again in red and white, are only produced in exceptional vintages. The white gets a year's aging in Austrian oak, the bold and unique red is made from Alicante Bouschet grapes which were planted in 1961. 

The star of the tasting was the Vinha da Micaela. It is an astounding wine, rich and decadent. I got the distinct sense of chocolate in my sip. 

I will be writing more about the wines of Rocim in the coming weeks. Watch this space.

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Blood Of The Vines - Hypnotic Heists

Pairing wine with movies!  See the trailers and hear the fascinating commentary for these movies and many more at Trailers From Hell. This week, we steal some wine pairings for three movies where the stakes were much higher than a bottle of vino.

Scratch any cinephile, and you'll see traces of the 1955 French crime thriller, Rififi. A jewelry store heist is the star of the film. The one-sheet shows Jean Servais doing his best Bogie impression, dressed in a trench coat, gloves, and a fedora at a mean slant. The caper outlined in the film has reportedly been copied by actual criminals through the years. To paraphrase Pablo Picasso, steal from the best. Or maybe that was Igor Stravinsky. Or T.S. Eliot. Whoever it was, thanks for the inspiration.

Jules Dassin got the Best Director award at Cannes for his work on Rififi. Did he make a splash under the Palme d'Or? Word has it, he stole the show. Not bad for a guy who was blacklisted in the bad ol' HUAC days, huh? I guess Republicans were scared of talent back then. Oh, they still are today.

Let's pop the cork on a Champagne for the big French winner. Nicolas Feuillatte's Palmes d'Or Brut will run a man a couple of Benjamins, unless you know a guy. Plus, the neat studded bottle reminds me of the Hellraiser guy. 

Michael Mann's big screen debut was Thief, from 1981. Mann wrote and directed it. This heist film is about a safecracker, so don't munch on your popcorn while he's trying to hear the clicks. The safecracker gets swindled by his fence. Man, you can't trust anybody in a crime film.

The movie stars James Caan, Tuesday Weld, Jim Belushi, Dennis Farina, and Willie Nelson. Huh? Yes, that's what it says here. Mamas don't let your babies grow up to be safecrackers. They say clothes make the man. In this case, a bullet proof vest was a pretty good idea.

Cooper and Thief Winery is located a bit off the wine trail, in Ripon, California. That's in the lovely Central Valley, between Modesto and Stockton, if you'd like to set your GPS. I like to think the winery was named after a barrel maker and a guy who steals barrels, but I doubt that's the case. At any rate, their wines are all aged in bourbon and brandy barrels for that little extra oomph we look for in Ripon grapes. 

The Asphalt Jungle is a 1950 crime noir, one that kept alive the golden age of the genre. John Huston directed, so, okay. That's good. Also contributing some dark goodness are Sterling Hayden, Louis Calhern, Jean Hagen, James Whitmore, Sam Jaffe, John McIntire, and Marilyn Monroe, in one of her earliest roles. They're so good, maybe they'll all get to share a prison cell. Well, except for Monroe and Hagen. Maybe they'll get cast in a Women Behind Bars flick. 

Hayden plays an ex con who masterminds the whole gig, and he seems born to play that kind of role. That, and Brigadier General Jack D. Ripper, of course. But that's a story for another trio of films. 

The story follows a jewel heist gone wrong. Is there another way for a jewel heist to go? Can't have noir without something going wrong. Spoiler alert: not everyone makes it to the comfy confines of the Hotel Graybar. 

There was a heist of sorts at San Diego County's Hatfield Creek Vineyards in Ramona. The crooks made off with only about $15,000 worth of goods, and no safecracker was needed. The winery's website seems more geared toward nibbles and the cornhole game that's likely to be going on when you visit. But, as one satisfied customer commented: if you're on the way to Julian, you might as well stop in and have a glass of wine. If you really want to make it rain, try the Rainmaker Rosé.

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Italian Wine: The Cesanese Grape From Lazio

The Cesanese grape is thought to be indigenous to the Italian region of Lazio. The red grape has a long history there, dating back to the winemaking of the Romans. Today, the Cesanese grape is primarily found in Lazio, and rarely outside of the area.

Lazio is home not only to Rome, but to Casale del Giglio. Vintner Antonio Santarelli and Winemaker Paolo Tiefenthaler got 14 awards recently for their concoctions. They dedicated those awards to the Italian region they call home, Lazio.

The Cesanese grape ripens late and is usually not harvested until October. Alcohol sits at 13.5% abv. I purchased their 2022 Cesanese Rosso for $23 at Eataly in Los Angeles.

This wine is very dark. It looks that way and it smells that way, too. The nose offers a funky, earthy, dare I say barnyard-y package of aromas. The fruit that is there, the blackberry, currant, and black plum, is muted and dwarfed by the savory smells. Tar, creosote, forest floor, and cigars are the main event. The palate bears much more fruit. Flavors of dark berry, black currant, plum, black cherry, elderberry and black Mission fig all vie for attention. The mouthfeel is fairly elegant, which is surprising after the brute force of the nose. Fine tannins and a gentle acidity will make a nice pairing with meatballs in a Bolognese sauce or sautéed mushrooms. 

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Portuguese Pink Wine

Orlana Vinho Verde Rosé is one of those bargain wines which is almost invisible online. I could not find much information on it, save for the million and one retail outlets that carry it, all under $10 and all the blubs pretty much the same. 

It is a Portuguese wine, from the Minho region in the northern part of the country. It carries the Vinho Verde designation. That translates to "green wine," but it is a reference to style, not color. The wines are youthful and exuberant. Most Vinho Verde wines are white, but this one is a rosé. It has a low alcohol content of 11% abv and it cost only $7 at my local Whole Foods Market. That's a couple of dollars less than when I had it a year ago.

This wine has a lovely salmon tint in the glass, as well as in the clear bottle. There is a bit of a frizzante quality upon pouring. The nose offers some strawberry, guava, lime and mineral aromas. The palate has red fruit with a splash of citrus minerality. The acidity is quite good. The wine finishes short, but is a delight while sipping. 

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Blood Of The Vines - Burning Bridges

Pairing wine with movies!  See the trailers and hear the fascinating commentary for these movies and many more at Trailers From Hell. This week, we have wine pairings for three films starring an actor who is aging like a fine wine himself.

 My favorite Jeff Bridges movie is The Big Lebowski, but that's just, like, my opinion, man. In 2009's Crazy Heart, Bridges does a fine job as a burned out, broken down country singer, the archetypical hardcore troubadour. From commanding big arenas to playing bowling alleys, it's been a sharp decline for Bad Blake. Throw in a lovely reporter who comes around to do a where-is-he-now article on him, and the humiliation is complete.

The film was a big success, getting praise from critics, dollars from paying customers, and a Best Actor Oscar for Bridges. The Academy also awarded a statue to the song, "The Weary Kind," written by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett. I mean, how often will I get to mention T Bone Burnett in this column?

About 15 years ago, Jeff teamed up with Ledson Winery in Sonoma County to produce a Meritage blend of Cabernets Franc and Sauvignon. It benefitted the Harmony Foundation for Children at $125 a bottle. It's not clear if any is still available, but if so, it's a good cause. Explore the website for other ways to contribute.

Winter Kills is probably not as convincing as JFK, but is likely a lot funnier. The 1979 black comedy spins a yarn based on the John F. Kennedy assassination. Bridges stars as the half-brother of a fictional president who was assassinated 19 years earlier. 

Want an all-star cast to go along with Jeff? How about John Huston, Anthony Perkins, Eli Wallach, Richard Boone, Toshirō Mifune, Sterling Hayden and Elizabeth Taylor. Despite the roster, the team didn't make the playoffs. Winter Kills tripped over its own complexity and earned only a fraction of its budget at the B.O.

While Kennedy was in the White House, he reportedly had Champagne flowing like the Seine. Pick up a bottle of your favorite Veuve Clicquot and drink like it's Camelot all over again. It starts at $40, but does not come with a conspiracy theory.

Fat City, from 1972, has Stacy Keach playing a has-been boxer who is trying to punch his way past his demons. This boxer is so down on his luck that he works in the fields with migrant workers to make money. We could use him out there today. A guy with fighting skills could match up nicely with all the ICE agents getting in the way of the picking.

The elder pugilist sees something in Bridges' young fighter, and begins training him. Maybe director John Huston saw himself in the young boxer. As a teen, Huston was quite the amateur lightweight himself. He quit the sweet science after getting his nose broken, possibly figuring that a movie career would be easier on his face. He went on, of course, to be a heavyweight in films.

This was supposed to be a vehicle for Beau Bridges, but he felt he couldn't convincingly play an 18-year-old. He felt that his kid brother could, and Huston agreed. Jeff was fresh off his breakout performance in The Last Picture Show, and Fat City sent him further on a successful acting career. It was quite an upswing from playing bit parts in his dad's TV show, Sea Hunt.

I'll resist the urge to pair a boxed wine with a boxing movie, although I'm told wine in a box can be pretty good. I don't have room in the fridge for a box of wine, so let's look at a fighting wine from Australia. Mollydooker is Australian slang for a left-handed boxer, and Mollydooker's The Boxer Shiraz packs a punch for about $30. I am leaving, I am leaving, but the fighter still remains, lie la lie.

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Spirits From Washington State

If you like your spirits with a heck of a backstory, and maybe some Prohibition-era moonshine running mixed in, you will want to check out Wohlfert Distillery in Snohomish, Washington, 

Here's how they tell the story, and after all, it's theirs to tell. "Distiller John Wohlfert always appreciated a well-made distilled spirit, but imagine his surprise when the 'spirits' who moved him to found his craft distillery were his ancestors, passing down the tradition and thrill of the moonshine trade they plied during Prohibition when John's grandfather convinced his dad to move their family into a home and install a 3 story tall still transforming their small family bakery into a thriving business."

"Moonshine mash is simply the fermentation of yeast with sugar and corn, and the bakery had access to plenty of both. By 1925, the family had gone from one struggling bakery to three thriving 'bakeries' that became the center of a prosperous operation which kept the family fed and the neighbors well sauced.

"Something of that spirit was passed down to great-grandson John, a Microsoft engineer by day. In 2022, he 'reverse-engineered' the family recipe and opened his distillery, and new traditions were started from there.

"Wohlfert celebrates the history and lore handed down over the years, from daring great-grandparents to the Outriders, brave men who planned delivery runs and scouted for safe routes on their motorcycles during prohibition. Those cycles and riders gave the various Wohlfert Spirits their names, after coded catchphrases and speakeasy passwords of simple motorcycle parts that kept the riders safe during prohibition. Such as Starter, a reference to the moonshine, or High Beam, a warning to "Be On The Look Out." Clutch meant to "Speed Up Delivery."

Appreciating the classic heritage and obvious connection to the 1920's, John took the opportunity to partner with Janus Motorcycles. Today, a classic 1920's replica Janus Halcyon 45 motorcycle is being created for the Wohlfert spirits brand. John will bring that bike from the factory in Indiana to his tasting room in the charming Clearview area of Snohomish. It's open on weekends or by appointment.

Here are cocktail suggestions, some from me and some provided by Wohlfert in the sample pack they sent to me.

With Wohlfert’s 100 proof High Beam Vodka, I made a nice G&T, except it's a V&T. Lime juice makes it flash those high beams. 

For the Head Light on Sunset Drive, pour up the Wohlfert's Head Light Vodka with some Cranberry and orange juices. Add a squeeze of lemon, if you're looking to boost that vitamin C.

The Classic Spark Gimlet uses Wohlfert's Spark Basil Vodka, lime juice, and simple syrup, shaken, not stirred.

Great Grandpa's Classic Manhattan starts with Wohlfert's Starter Sugar Shine over ice. Add sweet vermouth and Angostura bitters. Throw a Maraschino cherry on top to make it fancy.

The Apple Crisp Torque has, naturally, Wohlfert's Apple Liqueur, topped with Prosecco and club soda, on ice. Choose a fresh garnish of apple slices, lemon, or mint. It's a good way to use up some of that mint that's overtaking your garden.

Now for the coffee course: The Espresso Clutchtini. Wohlfert's Clutch Coffee Liqueur meets your espresso, left to cool a bit. Put some ice in a cocktail shaker with Clutch, coffee and Irish cream. I tried it with orange liqueur, because I like it that way.

Enjoy these beverages safely. Stay off the motorcycle after consuming them. And, watch out for those T-men. 

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Sonoma-Cutrer Wines Are Always On My Radar

I'm glad the folks at Sonoma-Cutrer like me. They send me a sample whenever they release a new wine, for which I am grateful. But if they stopped sending them, I'd still buy them. I really would.

The 2024 Sonoma-Cutrer Sauvignon Blanc was fermented in stainless steel and allowed to sit on its lees before being blended and put back in the tank. Director of Winemaking Cara Morrison says that the reception to the Sonoma-Cutrer Russian River Valley Sauvignon Blanc has been so good, they decided to do a Sonoma County version. Alcohol resides at a pleasant 13.2% abv and the wine sells for around $25.

This wine colors up a pale golden green. The nose is quite fragrant, with aromas of lemon, lime, grapefruit, flowers, and minerals. The minerality shows prominently on the palate as well, along with very ripe fruit. The lengthy finish brings all that citrus back around, paired with a clean salinity. I paired it with a chicken salad sandwich and it was delicious. 

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Blood Of The Vines - Bogie And Bacall

Pairing wine with movies!  See the trailers and hear the fascinating commentary for these movies and many more at Trailers From Hell. This week, our wine pairings are paired with one of Hollywood’s finest pairings, Bogie and Bacall.

To Have and Have Not is based on Ernest Hemingway's book of the same title, although the country was changed to protect the innocent. Wartime Martinique, not Cuba, was the backdrop for this initial pairing of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. The paying public ate it up. It was a top ten grosser in 1944. Critics called it Casablanca II, but nobody ever says "We'll always have Vichy."

Bogie's character tries to stay out of politics, but he was living in a time when good people had to stand for something, lest they fall for anything. It's amazing how history repeats itself.

He turns his fishing boat into an escape pod for members of the French Resistance. That's an act of heroism akin to hiding Anne Frank in the attic, or walking away from Ingrid Bergman to form a beautiful friendship with a French cop. 

Located just outside Vichy is the Saint Pourçain region. Domaine des Berioles makes white wines from the rare Tressallier grape and chillable reds from Gamay. They run a Vichy drinker anywhere from $20 to $50. For the stateside drinker, there are several wineries in the Vichy Wine and Arts District of Napa. They could leave you thinking, "We'll always have Vacaville."

The Big Sleep has Bogie and Bacall in their 1946 noir splendor. Everyone in this movie is running from someone else, except of course hard-boiled private eye Philip Marlowe. He's probably the man you see when you look over your shoulder. 

Bogart makes murder and intrigue look about as hard as leaning against a wall and flipping a coin. Bacall sings "And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine" with just the right amount of hair-flip-I-don't-care. 

Try The Big Sleep Cocktail: cognac, champagne, sugar and a squeeze of lemon. I hear it's pretty good. But we need something a bit darker, don't we? Talbott's Sleepy Hollow Vineyard Pinot Noir brings the magic of the Santa Lucia Highlands to us for a bit less than $40 a bottle. That AVA name, Santa Lucia Highlands, always makes me want to hear "The Happy Wanderer" on bagpipes, even though I know it's in Monterey County.

Key Largo is a film noir from that genre's golden age, 1948. It's also the fourth and final film pairing of Bogie and Bacall. Bogie is a war hero who visits his dead buddy's family. It sounds like a dreadful time, what with the hurricane and all, but Lauren Bacall plays one of the family members. Things are looking up.

Edward G. Robinson is cast as a holed-up mobster who claims to be on a fishing trip. That story doesn't hold water for anybody.  It brings to mind the old joke that wraps up with, "You didn’t come here to fish, didja?"

Just the words Key Largo summon images of the film's tense standoff between Bogart and Robinson. Unfortunately, it also dredges up memories of the pop song that was far too popular for a solid stretch of 1981. Where were A Flock of Seagulls when we really needed them?

It may be hard to imagine a winery in the Florida Keys, but Key's Meads, on Key Largo, has mead for the adventurous. Mead is wine made with honey, and it's pretty tasty. Of course, it may be easier to get your hands on a Largo Ridge wine, from up around Ukiah, CA.

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Incredible White Wine From Alto Adige

If you have never tried a white wine from Italy's Alto Adige region, I don't know how that happened. But you need to fix it, pronto. The area has a focus on white grapes, with some 60% of the vineyards planted white. 

The 2022 Cantina Terlano Tradition Pinot Bianco is a full varietal wine, 100% Pinot Bianco grapes grown in the Alto Adige region in Italy's northern area, near the Alps. It was aged on its lees in steel tanks for six or seven months. Alcohol is a modest 13.5% abv and it sells for around $20. Mine was provided by a publicist. 

This wine has a pale yellow color with a greenish tint. The nose is amazing, full of minerality and salinity, with citrus, apple, and pear notes. The palate is loaded with minerals, too, and that beautiful, salty flavor. The acidity is invigorating, and the finish is lengthy. The winery suggests pairing with a wide variety of foods, including seafood, scampi, salads, even spaghetti carbonara. I had mine with a chicken salad sandwich, and again with some Rancho Gordo beans and rice. It was a great fit both ways.

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Unoaked Red Wine From Spain's Central Plateau

The Tempranillo grapes for the 2023 El Jefe were harvested from sustainably farmed family vineyards in the northern part of the central mesa, known as Castile-Leon. The wine was fermented in traditional cement vats, and it is unoaked, a rarity in Tempranillo wine. 

Unoaked red wines are always a joy for me to try, and this one is no exception. It reminds me of Beaujolais Nouveaux, but with some differences. The nose and palate are very earthy, not nearly as fruit-dominated as one might expect. The alcohol content is 12.5% abv and the price was $17 at Larchmont Wine, Spirits and Cheese in the Larchmont village portion of Los Angeles. It comes in a one liter bottle, and was imported by Vinos Libres Wine Merchants of New York City,

This wine is fairly dark colored and smells of blackberry fruit and tar. It’s not a very complex nose. The palate brings similar earth tones, very bold and dark, with none of the oak spice that generally finds its way into a red wine. The tannins are rather soft, but there is enough there to make it a decent pairing with a steak. If you have never tasted an unoaked red wine, it’s worth a $20 bill with some change back. 

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Blood Of The Vines - Remembering Lalo Schifrin

Pairing wine with movies!  See the trailers and hear the fascinating commentary for these movies and many more at Trailers From Hell. This week, we pay tribute to one of Hollywood's most memorable music men, Lalo Schifrin.

1967's Cool Hand Luke features an Oscar-nominated original score by Schifrin. He channeled Aaron Copeland for this masterpiece of movie music. One section of it lived on beyond the film, as the newscast theme for some ABC local stations. When royalties increased, copycats started issuing themes that "sounded like" Schifrin's work, while sidestepping the copyright.

At the beginning of Cool Hand Luke, Paul Newman's character is drunk and pruning the head off a parking meter. As a result of his ill-advised adventure, Luke gets to join a group of men working in the fields. They don't get paid even a low wage. They live behind bars, work in chains and are watched over by a prison guard with mirror sunglasses and a shotgun. He's usually a bigger thug than the inmates. Think ICE agent.

I'm thinking it's jailbreak time. Make a run for the nearest wine tasting event and hang out near the media.  In your dirty, sweaty, tattered prison rags, you'll blend right in. While tasting, remember to sip, swirl and spit. Otherwise, what we have here is failure to expectorate.

The Prisoner is predominantly Zinfandel, with a chain gang of other grapes mixed in. This Dave Phinney favorite is one to take with you if you're going away for a long time.

Bullitt, from 1968, was a showcase for Steve McQueen and the Ford Mustang. When the talk turns to great chase scenes, the crazy pursuit through the streets of San Francisco usually dominates the conversation. Just how many hubcaps did that Mustang have?

Schifrin's jazzy score was re-recorded for the soundtrack album when the producers wanted to give it a "poppier" sound. Hmmf. A soundtrack album with the actual movie music didn't appear until 2009. That may seem like a tiny tidbit to you, but jazz aficionados can tell you what kind of sandwiches were ordered for the session from the deli down the street. 

Bulleit bourbon would be a great choice for Bullitt, if we were doing a bourbon and movies column. But we're not. Bullitt's Winery in Kentucky has reportedly closed, which is okay with me. I'm not inclined to do business with Kentucky at the moment. I will, however, do business with Escondido, where Cheval Winery lives. Their Bullet Cabernet Franc/Syrah/Merlot blend sells for $77. Don't drink and drive. Especially if you drive like Steve McQueen. 

The 1971 classic Dirty Harry was set in San Francisco. Schifrin's jazzy theme breathed life into the city that is forever linked with film noir, hard-boiled detectives and elusive murderers.

The tense music highlights our hard-boiled detective as he hunts down a psycho killer. Did people like Dirty Harry? You bet they did. It made their day. And it spawned four sequels, the mark of a Hollywood success. Schifrin also scored several of the ensuing entries in the Harry Callahan oeuvre.

The Pearl and Stone Wine Company makes a Snoqualmie Valley Syrah/Mourvèdre blend that's deep and dark, just like Dirty Harry. In fact, it's called Dirty Harry's. $45. Now, Washington state is a long way from Southern California. And you've gotta be asking yourself, "Will FedEx be able to deliver?" Do you feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?

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Kosher Chardonnay From Galilee

Not all kosher wines are suitable for Passover. Look for a "Kosher for Passover" designation on the label. That guarantees that the wine is free from chametz, or leavened ingredients. Recanati carries a kosher certification, ensuring all their wines are suitable for Passover and other Jewish holidays. 

The 2023 Recanati Galilee Chardonnay is hand-harvested from the high-altitude vineyards of Israel's Galilee region. The 100% Chardonnay grapes were taken from a single vineyard and aged eight months in French oak, on the lees. Alcohol hits 12.5% abv and the wine retails for $20.

This wine is pale yellow in the glass. The nose has lots of lemon, lime, and tropical aromas held together with minerals and a touch of salinity. The flavor package disappoints. Rather than bright, zingy fruit, we get a rather dull, savory palate. The taste of apricots does come through and the finish leaves traces of hazelnut. It is an odd wine, but not one that is completely off-putting. It pairs nicely with a plate of beans, but there are probably better choices. 

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Paso's Ancient Peaks Give Up The Good Stuff

I still think back to a particularly enjoyable vineyard tour I took a number of years ago. It was at Ancient Peaks Winery near Paso Robles. Sustainably farmed Margarita Vineyard is the southernmost vineyard in the Paso Robles appellation. It's surrounded by the Santa Lucia mountain range which are the ancient peaks from which the name was taken. It is the only vineyard in the area, and its location in the Santa Margarita Ranch is where grapes were first planted by Franciscan missionaries in 1780.

The vineyard features five distinct soil types: ancient sea bed, sedimentary, shale, volcanic and granitic. The folks at Ancient Peaks feel these different soil types bring added dimension and complexity to their wines. There are plenty of ancient oyster shells imbedded in outcroppings and even scattered about the hillsides of the vineyard.

The 2023 vintage of Ancient Peaks' Sauvignon Blanc comes from that storied vineyard. The alcohol hits 13.5% abv and a bottle cost me, I think, about $12 at my local Whole Foods Market.

This wine has a faint yellow tint in the glass. It gives up intense herbal aromas, very grassy. The palate has a fresh acidity and is loaded with grapefruit and gooseberry, heavy on the citrus and flintiness. The grassy, herbal feel carries on in the lengthy finish. Pair it easily with any sort of seafood, especially something fried. 

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Blood Of The Vines - Before He Was POTUS

Pairing wine with movies!  See the trailers and hear the fascinating commentary for these movies and many more at Trailers From Hell. This week, a look at the work of Ronald Reagan, from before he lived on Pennsylvania Avenue.

The Girl from Jones Beach is a 1949 comedy starring Reagan, alongside Virginia Mayo and Eddie Bracken. Written by I.A.L. Diamond, before he teamed up with Billy Wilder, it's about the search to discover the identity of a certain swimsuit model. Yes, high-minded stuff. 

Critics of the day thought the script was weakish, but they liked Virginia Mayo in a bathing suit. They really liked that. A lot. That's pretty much all they could talk about. Reagan is in the movie, but the critics apparently weren't moved to applaud his acting. Maybe he should have tried a swimsuit.

The movie runs well shy of an hour and a half, but the story still seems stretched as thin as Boardwalk taffy. 

Have a Long Island wine with The Girl from Jones Beach. Del Vino Vineyards is in Northport. They offer a rosé which blends Syrah, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc. That's a blend I don't think I've ever heard of in a pink wine. Sounds interesting for $20. 

The 1964 version of Hemingway's short story, The Killers was done first in 1946. It was done again in the '50s, a Russian production, which is probably on permanent loan to Putin these days. 

The noirish film has Reagan appearing with an incredible array of acting talent: like Lee Marvin, John Cassavetes, Angie Dickinson, Clu Gulager, Claude Akins, and Norman Fell. It was Reagan's final acting job before entering politics, that is, if you don't count politics as acting.

There's a lot of killing going on here. Most of it is pretty senseless. Hell, all of it is senseless. Why all the killing? For money, of course. And love. Nah, it's all about the money. The movie was supposed to have been one of the early made-for-TV movies, but NBC thought America would go nuts with all the violence, so they scrapped their plans to air it. Too bad. America went nuts anyway and started slurping up the violence with a big soup spoon. The movie was just a bit ahead of its time.

Let Hemingway guide us to a wine for one of his short stories. He liked the wines of Valpolicella greatly. He even wrote about them. One of his characters says Valpolicella has a "softness that soothes and a warmth that grows." You don't have to twist my arm to have an Amarone. It's a bit of a splurge, maybe $50 for a good one.

Dark Victory, the 1939 weeper, stars Bette Davis, George Brent, Humphrey Bogart, and Geraldine Fitzgerald. Reagan's smallish part is almost lost in the melodrama.

A wealthy heiress has a good news/bad news visit with a doctor. The bad news: she has a brain tumor. The good news: they can operate. More bad news: it didn't work. More good news: she's in love with her doc. More bad news: she'll die soon, but go blind first. Since she was able to keep getting out of bed every morning, we assume she must have had terrific health insurance.

After all that illness and dashing of high hopes, we could use a glass of wine. Melodramatic Wines has a Cabernet Sauvignon/Petite Sirah blend called Melodramatic Darkness. You had me at "melodramatic." $12 at your supermarkets and finer gas stations. 

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Cab Franc From Virginia's Shenandoah Valley

Virginia is one of my favorite wine states. There is such a wide spread of varieties being grown there. I've sampled Virginia grapes that represent Bordeaux, Burgundy, the Loire, the Rhône, Spain, and Italy. Not to forget, of course, the all-American Norton grape. The good grapes in Virginia are abetted by good winemaking practices, as well.

I was blessed with samples of the winners from the 2025 Governor's Cup event, which started in 1982. A Zoom call featured the makers of the 12 wines which made this year's Governor's case, the top dozen bottles from the event. Here is one of the award-winning reds.

The 2023 Paradise Springs Winery Cabernet Franc is a varietal wine that was grown in Brown Bear Vineyard in the Shenandoah Valley. The north-south mountain range provides shelter from the weather, and the county is said to be the driest in Virginia. Winemaker Rob Cox says aging took place in new and neutral French oak barrels over only eight months. Alcohol sits at 14% abv and the price tag reads $42.

This wine is a medium garnet in color. The somewhat muted nose offers aromas of jammy blackberries, a bit of earth, some black pepper and anise. The palate is loaded with dark fruit and cherry, with very fine tannins. It's a smooth sip. It's also a fresh sip, as the light touch of oak lets the grapes speak for themselves.

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Virginia Takes On Tannat

50 West Vineyards and Winery is named for the highway you take to get there. Once you're there, you can enjoy their lively estate and seating area, with a nice glass of wine in your hand. It's the site of some historic Civil War battles, and you can take in the scenery from the bluff on which the winery sits. For some more recent historical notes, winemaker Jason Burrus put in six years learning the ropes in California, in Napa and Sonoma counties. 

The 2021 50 West Vineyards Aldie Heights Cuvée was made using grapes from the winery's Shenandoah Springs & Shenandoah Ridge vineyards. The composition is 47% Tannat, 44% Petit Verdot, 7% Merlot, and a 2% splash of Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine was aged for a little more than two years in French oak barrels. The alcohol content is 14.5% abv and the price is $70.

This wine is very dark in the glass. Its nose is fairly complex, with notes of cassis, blackberry, plum, clove, and anise. The palate delivers a rich display of the fruit, plus a savory, earthy aspect. The tannins are fine and there is a fresh acidity. This is a great wine to pair with a steak or pork loin. 

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Blood Of The Vines - Wolfing It Down

Pairing wine with movies!  See the trailers and hear the fascinating commentary for these movies and many more at Trailers From Hell. This week, we have three films vying to keep the wolf from the door, and on the screen where he belongs. Lap up a wine pairing for each movie. 

An American Werewolf in London bared its fangs in 1981, written and directed by TFH guru John Landis. 

Two backpackers decide to see how much trouble a couple of young Americans can get into on the English moors. A lot, it turns out. Griffin Dunne and David Naughton bring laughs to the horror as the latter is bitten by a werewolf and suffers some howling side effects. Naughton's character is left wishing he could have stayed a Pepper. 

How does one kill a werewolf? Well, first, you gotta find one. But once you do, it's probably too late for you to be the one doing the killing. There's the rub.

Landis kept the script in his top drawer for more than a decade when possible backers felt it was too funny for horror and too horrific for comedy. It turned out to be a huge hit, prompting the musical question, "What do producers know, anyway?"

Werewolf wines are from Transylvania, and they sport the scariest "critter labels" I’ve ever seen.  They even glow in the dark.  The line features Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir, all of which pair well with werewolf. So I'm told. 

1943's Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man has Bela Lugosi donning the monster clothes, while Lon Chaney unleashes the Wolf Man. A couple of grave robbers unearth the Wolf Man, who then chips Frankenstein's monster out of a block of ice. Wolfie gets a date and goes to the Festival of the New Wine. How lucky! The monster decides to get some of that new wine, too. Cue the villagers. They are not having it.  

Pick any wine from the Alsatian Grand Cru Frankstein Vineyard.  I know, not actually Frankenstein, but it's close.  Oh, wait...

South Africa's Radford Dale Winery has a Pinotage called Frankenstein. The name was given due to the bad reputation the Pinotage grape has for being harsh and medicinal. They say if the grape is treated meanly it will show its angry side. Pinotage, they say, "is not a monster; it is a soul with a heart and one which will repay kindness with abundant generosity of its own."  Keep your pitchforks in the barn.

The 2001 French horror film, Brotherhood of the Wolf, actually features a beast which is later found to be a lion. Maybe I should have employed a spoiler alert there. Oops. That lion didn't stop the Brotherhood from giving naming rights to the canis lupus. 

The French have trouble solving a string of murders, so they call in a band of Iroquois Native Americans to help in the fight. WTF, right? Stay with me. Their paths had apparently crossed during the American Revolution. Now it all makes sense.

This movie is set in 18th century France, and is noted for its action scenes, mixing swashbucklers with martial artists. Think Bruce Lee with a sword. I'd buy a ticket to that, and even stand in line at the New Bev to see it.

The Beast is a Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon from Del Dotto Vineyards. It runs close $300 a bottle, and you have to be a VIP member for the privilege of purchase. So it's true, “membership has its privileges.”

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