Wine

Give your summer guests the hard punch they deserve (and spend less time playing bartender) with these big-batch craft cocktails.

From the department of “daddy is allowed to have pregnancy cravings too”… The frito pie burger at HopDoddy “burger bar” in Austin, Texas. Super fun stuff…

Washington Syrah compares favorably with the best in the world. Washington Syrah generally falls somewhere in between the jammy Shiraz of Australia and the more austere Syrah of the northern Rhone. It generally has good acidity and tannins. Last Friday, we featured Washington Syrah from the 2009 vintage in our wine tasting dinner. All six wines paired perfectly with Mom’s dinner of tomato basil soup, mixed green salad with blue cheese, pecans, toasted walnuts, and dried cranberries tossed with a green onion, honey, Tabasco vinaigrette dressing, grilled beef tenderloin steaks, rosemary roasted sweet potatoes, asparagus with curry butter, and topped off with a German chocolate dessert topped with whipped cream and shaved chocolate. Four of the six wines received a Quality rating of 4 stars (out of 5). The 2009 Long Shadows Sequel Syrah came out on top in this outstanding lineup. Founded by Washington wine pioneer Allen Shoup, Long Shadows Vintners is a collection of ultra-premium wineries comprised of internationally acclaimed winemakers from the major wine regions of the world. Each winemaker is a partner in a unique winery dedicated to producing a single Columbia Valley wine representing a “best of type” that reflects the winemaker’s signature style. Sequel is a Syrah made by John Duval, one of the most famous winemakers in Australia and around the world. He is best known for his work with Penfolds Grange, Australia’s most famous wine, and now owns his own John Duval Wines. Really, you can’t go wrong with any of these wines. Washington State produces fabulous Syrah, and the winemakers who made these six wines are among the state’s best. From 1st to last in the group consensus rankings: 2009 Long Shadows Sequel Syrah (Columbia Valley, Washington): 99% Syrah and 1% Cabernet Sauvignon. Dark, dense purple. Gorgeous nose with spice, game, earth, and black fruit aromas. Blackberry, black pepper, game, herbs, and spice come through on the palate. Full-bodied with crisp acidity and high yet smooth tannins. Well-balanced with good complexity and a very long, lingering finish. Quality: 4.5 stars (out of 5) QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5) Where to Buy: Winery, $50; Available elsewhere, $42 to $55 2009 Force Majeure Collaboration Series III (Ciel du Cheval Vineyard, Red Mountain, Washington): 100% Syrah. Winemaker Mark McNeilly of Mark Ryan Winery. Deep, dark purple. Nice nose with black fruit and cinnamon aromas. Black fruit, black pepper, cinnamon, and a touch of earth come through on the palate. Full-bodied with crisp acidity and high tannins. Well-balanced with good complexity and a very long finish. Force Majeure winery was previously named Grand Rêve. Quality: 4.5 stars (out of 5) QPR: 4 bangs for your buck (out of 5) Where to buy: Winery, $55; Available elsewhere, $55 to $56 2009 Rasa Vineyards QED (Columbia Valley, Washington): 71% Syrah, 14% Grenache, 12% Mourvedre, and 3% Viognier. Deep, dark ruby red. Aromatic with black cherry, cinnamon, and a touch of smoke on the nose. Black cherry, spice, black pepper, and some oak come through on the palate. Medium to full-bodied with lively acidity and medium to high, silky tannins. Well-balanced with a long, lingering finish. Quality: 4 stars (out of 5) QPR: 3 bangs for your buck (out of 5) Where to buy: Winery, $50 2009 Betz Family Winery La Côte Patriarche Syrah (Red Willow Vineyard, Yakima Valley, Washington): 100% Syrah. Deep, dark purplish red. Aromatic with black fruit and smoked meat on the nose. Black cherry, blackberry, game, and a hint of earth come through on the palate. Medium to full-bodied with lively acidity and medium to high, smooth tannins. Well-balanced with a very long finish. Quality: 4 stars (out of 5) QPR: 2 bangs for your buck (out of 5) Where to buy: Winery, $55 2009 Fielding Hills Syrah (RiverBend Vineyard, Wahluke Slope, Washington): 94% Syrah, 2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Merlot, and 2% Cabernet Franc. Deep, dark purplish red. Nice nose with red and black f

Not cheap for a village level wine, but hey, it’s very good. Also, comes with a screwcap, which is worth a whole lot more.

Well, you sort of don’t know often, exactly, how much to include in the name of a wine. It’s all on the label anyway.

Have to say, from what I’ve tasted, 2012 is certainly a vintage where you can start to believe the hype.

It’s not the first time over the last 6 seasons that Don has ordered an Old Fashioned. I am happy, however, that he still does. For a while there, the show was overrun with Seagram’s alcohol and Johnnie Walker. It just got hard to write about things. However, this was just a nice, simple Old Fashioned. from AMC TV In 1935, my grandpa was a bartender. I currently have a couple of his bartending books, published in the 20s and 30s. I know Old Fashioneds have changed a bit since cocktails have become such an art, but I still like to page through the old books. This recipe (use the bourbon of your choice) really gets to the simplicity of the cocktail. From “Old Mr. Boston DeLuxe Official Bartenders Guide,” 1935: 1/2 lump of sugar 2 dashes bitters 1 jigger water Muddle well, then add a jigger of Old Mr. Boston Rye or Bourbon Whiskey and a large cube of ice. Stir very well and decorate with a slice of Orange, a twist of Lemon Peel, and a cherry. Serve in an Old Fashioned Cocktail glass.

The time has come once again for you to give your digitus secundus (that’s your index finger, by the way… you creep!…) a momentary workout by using it to click on your favorite finalists in the Wine Blog Awards voting, this being the 2013 version thereof. I’ve got a long (in Internet time) history with the WBAs: I’ve been a winner, a criticizer, a judge, and an improvement-committee-member (yeah, I know, that last one does not quite roll mellifluously off the tongue, does it?). This year, I’m a finalist in the Best Overall Wine Blog category (thanks to the judges, and most especially to you for that!). Please consider voting, as the recognition of hard work and efforts well-spent probably means a great deal to those who are among the finalists. Also, it’s the easiest way to fill your good karma quotient fit the day. And if you don’t vote, then the fleas of one thousand camels might infest your armpits [ editor's note: this may not actually be true ]. You’re under no obligation to vote for me, of course, unless you want Ron Washam to lose a bet in which he will publicly sing classic Journey hits while wearing a baby costume – seriously, I swear that’s our bet! [ editor's note: this may not actually be true ]. Whatever… look, just drink up and vote, okay? Following are the finalists in the Best Overall Wine Blog category: Hosemaster of Wine 1 Wine Dude Terroirist The UK Wine Show Steve Heimoff Along with those mentioned above, there are some very interesting picks in the finalists across all of the various categories this year, and many of them are passionate and relatively new voices in the wine blogging crowd. Personally, I’m particularly pleased to also see academicwino.com, The Wine Curmudgeon, Hawk Wakawaka, Bigger Than Your Head, On The Wine Trail in Italy, Washington Wine Report, Jameson Fink, The Drunken Cyclist (despite his terrible taste in NFL franchises), and my Portuguese brother-from-another-mother Andre Rib also being recognized as finalists in various categories this year (though Andre’s listing was subsequently removed, for reasons not yet explained to me as of the time of this writing). If you aren’t familiar with them, go check them out. Voting remains open through this Friday, May 24th, so… prevent bad karma flea-infestations and GO VOTE! As for some personal thoughts on all of this WBA stuff (hey, it’s my blog after all)… I’m happy and surprised to be a finalist again; even though it seems as if people expect 1WD to make the finalist cut in some way/shape/form during this annual wine blog love-fest (as one first time finalist told me earlier this week, “this is old hat to you!”), *I* don’t expect it every year. The lack of consistency in the WBAs year-to-year doesn’t help in terms of boosting one’s confidence, either (example: several of last year’s winners aren’t even represented in the 2013 finalists list… I mean, what kind of universe are we living in here, where Jamie Goode and Alder Yarrow don’t make the cut?!??). I take chances with 1WD. I do shiz on here that would be considered certifiably, straight-jacket, get-the-meds-now, balls-on, bat-sh*t crazy just about anywhere else (especially in print). In other words, it’s my truest self in writing terms. Some days I’m amazed that anyone reads the stuff, which means I’m always (always!) grateful when they do. I couple the bat-sh*t craziness with an insatiable urge to tweak, and an unhealthy defiance of convention. The minute that something appears formulaic to me, and even when my own version of bat-sh*t crazy starts to feel formulaic to me, I pilot the ship in a slightly different direction, ripping off those whose literature has inspired me…, er, incorporating different writing influences, and basically doing everything that I possibly can to make 1WD feel like nothing else that’s out there. I haven’t always gott

If there’s a Bussell in your hedgerow, don’t be alarmed now. It’s just a made up brand by the Grant Burge.

May Showers (of Wine) Bring Happy HoursThe scariest thing about this wine is an empty bottle.It's such a lovely time of year - but not so lovely that it couldn't be made a little lovelier. Tip a glass or few of these fine wines and let their euphoric glow bring a sparkling sense of well-being to sunny and blustery days alike. Also they're super-cheap.