Page 59 - Blog

This past weekend I decided to do a trial run for Thanksgiving since I've never actually had to cook the turkey and all of the trimmings. I bought a beautiful 12 pound fresh turkey and followed a recipe by Alton Brown in which you brine the turkey for up to 24 hours. It was excellent by the way, if anyone would like to give it a try, just Google 'Alton Brown Turkey,' and it'll come up instantly. For the sides, we decided on a sausage and sage stuffing, Brussels sprouts with pancetta, green beans with hollandaise sauce and bacon and creamy garlic mashed potatoes. I think that covers it, and needless to say, I'm glad we did the trial run because this was no easy feat!

Now, onto the easy part AND the most important part, of course...choosing the wines! For the white drinkers, I knew I wanted something in the Riesling or Gewurztraminer family and for the red wine drinkers, I was thinking Pinot Noir or Bordeaux.  After combing our inventory, I settled on the 2010 Tramin Gewurztraminer

The 2009  Domaine de St. Pierre (95 points, Robert Parker) is going to please you. It's a bit young now, but I went ahead and tasted this now so you'll know when to drink it later. There are just 500 cases produced so don't wait until later to try to buy it...only wait to drink it. 

The color is very deep red, and I could detect smoke and leather scent. Everyone will consider this to be a big and bold bottle of wine, and it certainly is. There is dark fruit and anise on the palate with big tannins and pepper for the long finish.

You can drink this as early as 2014, but it's going to be most enjoyed if you can allow it about 10 years of bottle age. It should age very well for 25-30 years.

This 100% Syrah wine comes from a south facing

When one mentions the Veneto, enjoying a glass of white Soave might come to mind, or perhaps sipping some Prosecco while visiting Venice. But if you're a red drinker then Valpolicella or a hearty meal accompanied by its concentrated rich cousin Amarone probably comes to mind. These wines usually blend the indigenous varietals Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara. 

Rondinella is fairly neutral in flavor, used more for its color, and its high sugar content helps out in the drying appassimento method of creating Amarone, especially for the sweeter recioto style. Molinara is added to the blend when the winemaker feels more acidity is required. Corvina makes up the majority of the blend providing fruit flavors and aromatics.

Merlot is one of the principal varietals of Bordeaux, comprising a majority of the blend in wines of the Right Bank from Pomerol and Saint Emilion, and playing the secondary role for wines of the Left Bank from the Medoc and Graves. In Tuscany,

'Tis the season for , and this past weekend, we hosted a small dinner for family and friends. Wine always takes center stage on our table, as you can see from the picture. For this special night, we decided to indulge a bit and pulled out a 6 pack of 1997 Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve from our cellar with the bottles still in the original paper. So cool! Robert Mondavi needs no introduction to wine lovers?a trailblazer, a legend and an icon. We always enjoy the back vintages of the Reserve.

The 6 pack OWC doubled as a centerpiece for our food table, and even we don't often see OWCs used for that purpose! But it looked fantastic, and everyone noticed it too. For appetizers, we paired the Mondavi Reserve with various cheeses from artisanalcheese.com

Dave Sokolin catches up with Curtis Dahl, proprietor of Joseph & Curtis Cellars, builders of premium, custom wine cellars. J&C brings their clients' wine cellar dreams to life with their handcrafted, one-of-a-kind cellars. Whether working with homeowners or commercial businesses, they exceed expectations and are the recommended and preferred cellar builder of our professional wine team. We're delighted to have them as one of our strategic partners.

You're a former commodity trader. How did you & your business partner meet? And how did you transition into the world of wine and building wine cellars?
Joe and I met at the CME in Chicago. Joe ran the foreign currency desk for Virginia trading, and I was a runner. Joe thought so highly of me he started me at $750 per month! All kidding aside, he has always been a great friend and mentor, and it was his wood making skills that really started the business.

We secured the US exclusive on an amazing " The wine is called 2009 Clos la Boheme, and it is a must-try wine for anyone who loves the wines of Bordeaux. Finding this wine is the greatest discovery we've made since finding the 2001 Waterstone Cabernet Sauvignon! Hailing from the Haut-Medoc appellation, this is a garage wine - coming from a very small property with an area of only 3 hectares. The chateau is located between two famous classified growth chateaux.

As many of you know, the 2009 vintage will go down in history as one of the greatest vintages EVER, and critics have lauded the early drinkability of the 2009s. The best part about this wine is that it costs just $21.95 per bottle! This is your chance to experience the 2009 vintage for less.

A few days ago, we once again