The Corkdork - Wine and Food Musing

Welcome New Readers of the Corkdork Wine Blog

Thanks to the Feature Story on the Corkdork on Typepad's homepage, I suddenly have a lot of new readers so I thought I would jot a quick introduction to what this blog is about and why it's here.

What you'll find on the Corkdork is a record of some of the good things in life I've had the pleasure in tasting. Unlike a regular wine and food critic, you'll mostly find the positive and I'll do my best to omit the purely negative. If I write about it, chances are, it's because I want to remember it in a positive light, and let you, the reader, take advantage of my filtering. The main exceptions will be in the name of being thorough at big tastings, or the rare time I don't like the bottle I've chosen for Wine Blogging Wednesday.

In the spirit of a journal, I also try to put up recipes I've concocted in the kitchen or cocktail shaker that I want to remember or to share with friends. Though I do occasionally get trade samples, the vast majority of the things I write about are things I've bought myself.

I hope you'll subscribe, and I'll do my best to keep it upbeat and informative. Welcome!

Cocktail Roundup

We had an old fashioned cocktail party last night for our neighbors and I thought I would share the cocktail and nibbles of the evening. Ultra-premium spirits and flavorings are the key to an excellent cocktail.

Corner Creek Manhattan

2 parts Corner Creek Reserve Bourbon Whiskey
1 part Martini & Rossi Red Vermouth
3 shakes Ang0st0ura bitters per drink
1/4 tsp. Stirrings Grenadine per drink

Served up. Fill martini glass with ice while you prepare the drink. In a shaker, place all with generous amount of ice. Stir several times, no need to shake. Toss ice in the glass and strain into glass. Garnish with a good cherry and a small twist of lemon.

Pink Floyd (Adapted From Food & Wine Magazine)

2 parts Gin (I use No. 209 a local gin made in San Francisco)
1 part Orange Liqueur (I use Prunier Liqueur d'Orange)
1 part fresh lime juice
1 part cranberry juice
1/2 part Pimms
1/4 part simple syrup

Prepare glass as above. Shake all ingredients with generous ice. Toss ice in glass and strain into martini glass. Garnish with twist of lemon.

Blackberry Mojito (adapted from the Huckleberry Mojito at Foreign Cinema)
1 part blackberry syrup (see below)
2 parts rum (I use Appleton's V/X)
1/2 part simple syrup
1/2 part lime juice
Club Soda
Fresh Mint Leaves

Muddle 10 mint leaves with simple syrup per drink in a highball. Add ice. Then rum, lime juice, and blackberry syrup. Stir well and top with generous splash of club soda. Serve with a straw to avoid getting a mouthful of mint leaves.

Iron Butterfly (Original Corkdork Cocktail)

3 parts. Christiana Vodka
1 part. Pama Pomegranate Liqueur
1/2 part. Grand Marnier or Prunier d'Orange
3 good shakes Fee Brothers Orange Bitters per drink
1/2 part freshly squeezed lime juice

Fill a martini glass with ice while you prepare the drink.

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice and add all the ingredients. Toss out the ice in the glass. Shake the drink well and strain into the martini glass. Garnish with a tiny lime slice, or a twist of lime or orange.

Continue for nibbles

2000 Montona Cabernet Sauvignon, Andretti Winery

I had this wine last night at the home of friends we don't hang out with nearly enough, accompanying a perfectly cooked strip steak roast. Yum.

The Montona label is the Ultra-premium line of wines from the joint effort between Robert Pepi and Mario Andretti. The name comes from the village where Mario was born on the Istrian peninsula. In 1948 the village was part of the post WWII land settlement and was ceded to then Communist Yugoslavia. The Andretti family fled to Lucca and eventually in 1955 to New York, settling in Nazareth, PA.

Today Montona is part of Croatia and was renamed Motovun.

We were rooting through my friend's cellar when he spied this and it had a mysterious inscription on the bottle, To "C" from xxxxx. "C" just couldn't remember who on earth gave him this bottle. Looked like Jim somebody.

Since it was a 2000 and looked like a nicely made high-end Cab, we went for it.

The nose was very leathery and heady with cigar-box aromas and anise. The wine has a beautiful color and luxurious body to it. It probably started off life as a moderately tannic wine, but with 7 years in the bottle, its edges have smoothed out to a wine with pretty softness. This is really a lovely cab, and a testament to how good wines can be even from what appears to be a vanity project. In fact, it's a pretty serious steak wine.

And who was xxxx who signed the bottle? A quick google search on autographs revealed the answer...Mario Andretti himself! Oops. Maybe he wanted to keep this a bit longer!

Best Brunch Ever: Foreign Cinema

Another quick post. It was a busy eating weekend.

I took the family to Foreign Cinema for brunch on Saturday and was just blown away. First, a perfect black-peppery Bloody Mary, then some house "Pop Tarts" filled with huckleberries in one, and persimmon in another. My omelet was a revelation: Black truffle scented eggs, perfectly soft, with tiny bits of sautéed apple and chanterelles. Other things at the table were also a wonder: my son's fried eggs with balsamic and radicchio and potatoes (he ate every bite), and my daughter's eggnog-y French toast with dried fruit compote and mandarin orange butter was delicious. Do not skip the brown sugar roasted bacon - this is really tough to do at home without making sweet bacon jerky and here it's done to perfection.

I really doubt there any other brunch out there that is more amazing. Thanks, John & Gayle!

Full disclosure: my friends, John & Gayle are owner/chefs of Foreign Cinema, but that doesn't make it any less wonderful.

To My East Bay Loyals: Go to Maritime East!

Just a quick post. If you haven't tried the newest addition to the Berkeley eating scene, Maritime East, you owe it to yourself to give it a shot. The dungeness crab gratinée appetizer was worth the whole trip. I could have eaten 3 of them; perfect crab meat with coconut milk and apples --amazing. The octopus app was also amazing and unexpected. This has only  been open for a month since taking over the old Zax space, and it's still getting up to full steam in the kitchen. But, we need to spread the word!  Also, the Work Sauvignon Blanc was an excellent foil to the oysters and apps, and was very reasonable.

Alert!: $1 oysters after 10 p.m.  Holy cow.

Check it out.

2826 Telegraph Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94705

WBW#40: Que Sirah Sirah (Petite Sirah, that is...)

Thanks to the Wannabe Wino for hosting this month's Wine Blogging Wednesday, our 40th month of co-global-tasting and blogging.

With humble apologies to my friends at P.S. I Love You, I usually put this grape firmly in the blender category. I say this because Petite Sirah is usually such an inky massive beast, that a little goes a long way in a blend. That being said, it's not just the color that it imparts in a blend, but also an aroma lift that adds complexity.

My wine this month didn't disprove my preconceived notion above, I'm afraid. It was a gift from a great Greek friend, who I begged to bring me some Greek wine one dinner party. Even out here in the land of wine, she couldn't find anything...alas, she did find a bottle with a Greek name! - Orpheus.

I often like Lolonis' Zinfandels, so it was a welcome gift. Lolonis is known for its organic practices and the ladybugs that are their trademark. You can meet the family and get a ladybug sticker next ZAP. This wine was blended with a small amount of Valdiugé, but subsequent years have used Gamay.

Lolonis "Orpheus" Petite Sirah 2001

This wine's aroma is a heady brew of blueberries, allspice, and quality new oak, with hints of dried mushrooms that show its age. The flavor is quite peppery with puckery tannins and a clean, but short-lived finish. There is a shocking amount of sediment in this wine, so much so in my bottle, that it was tooth coating and almost chalky. Not really recommended, I'm afraid.

Thanksgiving 2007: Wine Omission: 2006 Harrington Pinot

2006 Harringon Pinot Noir, Gap's Crown Vineyard

I can't believe I forgot one of the more amazing wines of the evening, Bryan Harrington's Gap Crown Pinot Noir 2006.  Yes, I said 2006, and though it seemed infanticide at the time, this is an incredibly well made, balanced wine with gobs of red fruits and heady earthy scents. Unfined and Unfiltered - just the way I like 'em. 160 cases produced.

It's always reassuring when you've just had a wine at a big tasting and open it late into a party and low and behold, it's just as good as you remembered. This was a standout from the tasting I did a couple of months ago at the opening of Grange, along with the other Harringtons I had. Very highly recommended.