Aging NV

As you might have read in previous posts, we like both sake and sparkling with sushi, but typically when we get sushi at home we have bubbly with it. One of our go-to's is Roederer Estate NV Brut. Its a cuvee, with the current notes citing a 60% Chardonnay / 40% Pinot blend. Typically it can be found at Sams Club for around $16, although you can also find it at most wine shops for around $21-23. I happened to luck out and run across 4 bottles on a closeout deal at Sams Club for $9.91, so that was choice last night. Its really a great deal for $16; crisp, a bit fruity, but nothing close to sweet, not too yeasty, overall a nice pairing with sushi.

A few months ago I happen to run across that deal, as well as some Veuve Clicquot for under $30 (normally $45+), I found myself wondering how long NV (non vintage**) bubbly should be kept, particularly ones from California. Typically NV Champagne (from France) can be kept for many years, although do be careful, since its non vintage you might forget which NV bottle you bought in 2005 and which you bought in 2010. So, should you be wondering as well, I'll share my results with you.

After a bit of research, which of course included a ton of caveats that aging potential is based on quality (duh), I found a safe estimate is a California NV sparkling should be drank within 2-3 yrs from the release date and Franch NV Champagne could be 5-10 yrs (or longer). I'm assuming my Sams Club was clearancing out stuff they got last year, so being extra careful, lets say the bottle we drank yesterday was officially released in late 2008. I'll need to drink my Cali bubbly by the end of this year to mid next year and the VC by 2015.

Now, the Lush Wine Cellar isn't big enough to store so much that I would worry about being able to drink our stock of bubbly within a year, muchless 5 years, however, it does relax my mind that I don't need to unload (or drink) the good bubbly deals. Because really, who doesn't LOVE a good deal and who doesn't HATE opening a bottle that's past its prime??

**Non-vintage: typically wineries show the year in which most of the grapes were grown on the bottle; ie a 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon means the grapes were grown during the 2005 growing season.  A "non-vintage" wine is one where the grapes might be from 2 or more years; often sparkling wine makers will blend aging wine with newer wine to have a consistent-tasting product.

The Lush Margarita

I do love a good margarita. Of course, a good tequila is a must but so is a good, not too sugary, easy mix. So, here’s my favorite quick margarita recipe, which comes in at less calories than and also isn’t quite as sugary as the premade margartia mixes.  

• 1 can frozen Limemade (I use Minutemaid)
• ½ can frozen “Five Alive”
• 3-4 fresh limes

Take both concentrate mixes, put in 48 oz pitcher. Fill pitcher up with water. Juice 2 of the limes into the pitcher and use the 3rd for garnishing, or add it as well if you like your mix a little more tart.

That’s it, that’s your mix. Now, it seems like everytime I bring up margaritas, I get reminded of the 900 calories they have in them….good news, that’s just not the case with this one. The pitcher itself has 1050 calories, so your actual calorie count per margarita will differ based on how many margaritas you make from the pitcher, and how much liquor you put in there.

I take a pint glass, salt my rim, fill up with ice, and add in 2 oz-ish of tequila (silver or anejo) and 1 oz-ish Cointreau. (you can use Grand Marnier as well) I personally add liquor to the glass and top off with the mix, so if for some reason we don't finish the pitcher I'm not wasting good tequila. We use pint glasses and usually make 5. That’s about around 250 calories, give or take. So, that’s less than 500 calories for a pint size margarita.

Enjoy!

Back from blogging with a Big Cab

Here’s the problem with a break from blogging….I think of things all the time to blog about, but then I ask myself: “Do I really want my big post back to be about that?” And the answer is often no…it might not be a wine topic, or its too relevant to a certain person (ie I don’t want that person to read it and think I’m talking about them) so I don’t blog. Its silly really, but nonetheless has been responsible for the past 3-4 weeks of blogging absence. (before that I was busy, or just forgot about blogging, but I’ve been unemployed for about 6 weeks now, so I certainly had time)

So what is my “big post back” about? The wine we had on our anniversary! We went to Dierdorf & Hart’s and brought a wine from recent Gold Medal Wine Club Platinum shipment: the 2004 Cobblestone Vineyard Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. Here’s what the winery says: “….represents the best of the best from the winery’s estate vineyard on Napa Valley’s Atlas Peak. As the Cabernet matured, winemaker Sam Baxter set aside what he considered the finest barrels and from that juice he crafted this luscious, Reserve Cabernet, possessing incredible structure and showcasing the exceptional characteristics of the vintage. Cobblestone’s 2004 Reserve Cabernet is bursting with intense black fruit, spice, and minerality, beautifully balanced and enhanced by the winery’s extended barrel aging program. Wine Enthusiast awarded this Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 91 Points: “This Cab is quite soft and dry, and the fruit is beginning to show development. It’s changing from fresh blackberries and cherries to dried fruits and currants, with a dusty quality. The oak brings in sweetly welcome notes." Try pairing Cobblestone’s 2004 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon with braised beef short ribs, grilled lamb chops, and chicken breast stuffed with Asiago cheese.”


Here’s our thoughts- needed some air- Mr. Lush in fact said it was so oakey it reminded him of Silver Oak (not such a bad thing!) so the fact they had to decant it to get the cork out ended up being a good thing. (our waitress had a snafu with opening it….but I won’t ruin the story about the good wine with the story about the bad wine service) After about 45 mins of decanting, it still needed food. Luckily, we were at a steak house, so we had food available! I had the filet and Mr. Lush had the strip steak, both cooked rare. (ok, mine was very rare) The wine was amazing with the steak. Full bodied, oakey (aged 24 months in 95% new french oak, so that makes sense), dark fruit, a little bit of cedar, but not a ton. It was really wonderful with the steaks, a bit better with the strip, as it had more marbling, but it was great with both. It took about 1 ½ hrs before we felt like we could enjoy it without food, but really, a good big cab is supposed to need food, so we aren’t going to complain!


So, I’m back. I’ve got a couple of post ideas and I’m going to start randomly pre-posting as I think of them, so if my post happens to mirror some incident, please ignore it. Cheers and talk to you soon!