Dirty South Wine

Enjoying the Blur: A Burning Goose of Funky Juice

The Interim:  This week back in Atlanta has been 2 parts scrambling to tie up loose ends, and 1 part the bacchanalian equivalent of the human cannonball.

I've been extremely fortunate to get together with some great friends in Atlanta, open many ridiculous bottles, and wake up with cold sweats every other night.

 

Woodfire Grill

Chef Kevin Gillespie is on another planet-- Rockin; the pure Dirty South flavor.  7 of us camped out and were blown away by his cuisine.  (Catch ATL's Kevin, Eli, and Hector on Top Chef 6 starting on 8/19.)  Kevin, Bernard and Nick run a hell of a restaurant and this place is really like home.

With a ridiculous amount of bottles, I'm often amazed at how the seemingly simple bottles shine...  In a line up of all-stars, the 2006 Foillard Morgon "Cote de Py" (Cru Beaujolais aka Cru-Boo) delivered an anvil of justice (who doesn't need more anvils of justice???) when paired with Woodfire's pork rib.  The Foillard totally drives me wild. Floral, tart, acidic, and just sexy.

Chez Dirty: Pizza Pahty!

Delivery pizza and poppin' funky bottles.  Chadd dealing with an overdose of brett (this wine smelled like chicken poop).  A little can add a touch o' funk-- But a lot is like eating a plate of nachos on hot day at the petting zoo. 

Tasty "The Mother-Funky'" China!!!!!!

In what has become a staple of the Atlanta wine scene, Tasty China is the playground for juice greatness.  No corkage fee (but bring your stems and cork screws) and crazy Sichauan food... This is where weird bottles come to shine.  Late harvest Condrieu, 1975 Napa Riesling (???), and a bevy of light reds-- pairing insanely well with Sichuan Beef Tongue, pork belly, tofu, and whatever seemed to be dropped in front of us.

The world is spinning quickly-- Grab some bottles, a couple of friends, sit down for a meal, and be happy. 

(Photos courtesy of Rowdy Food)

"Where Have I Known You Before?" : Ampelos Cellars

About two weeks ago, I had the chance to taste through some of Ampelos Cellars wines with owner Peter Work and Andres Loaiza of Aria Restaurant.

Based in the Sta. Rita Hills, in northern Santa Barbara county.  Ampelos is smack dab in the midst of the Pinot Noir country made famous by, yes, do I need to mention it, "Sideways"...  But, hey, you now know where I'm talking about.

Note: Ampelos farms organically and is now awaiting certification. 

We tasted through a couple of bottles- Viognier, Rose, their estate Pinot Noir, and a "Syrache"-- Syrah, Grenache blend.  To me, the Viognier was a standout.

2008 Ampelos Cellars Viognier
(US, CA, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County)  Approx $25, 175 Cases made
No oak, no malolactic fermentation- Full bodied, lots of stone fruit, good acidity, and solid, solid, juice.  I usually don't get that jazzed up about US Viognier, but I really liked this one.  Bold, upfront, but not over the top or cloying. 

2006 Ampelos Cellars Pinot Noir Lambda
(US, CA, Central Coast, Sta. Rita Hills)  Approx $35.
Though an 06, smelling this, I was hit by an incredible richness-  Like most people's 07 level of concentration.  I had to double check the vintage...  The second whiff was an incredible familiarity-  Sea Smoke.  It had been awhile since I've had any Sea Smoke wines, but it triggered the Return to Forever / "Where Have I Known You Before?" thoughts.  Ampelos has a lot in common with Sea Smoke-- clones, barrels, yeast, and Peter's son Don, is now Sea Smoke's winemaker, and Kris Curran, Sea Smoke's past winemaker, is now helping with winemaking at Ampelos... (previously Don was head winemaker at Ampelos, and assistant winemaker at Sea Smoke)-- Got all that?

Tasty, big, complex, rich, Pinot Noir- extremely well made, crazy depth, and texture.  Bigger than my personal preference, but I shared the leftovers with Jimmy from Eat It, Atlanta and he really really liked it.  Wine Spectator dug it as well-- giving it a solid 92.

My thoughts-  The Viognier is great, and if you are a fan of Sea Smoke's style of Pinot, you will totally dig the Ampelos Lambda Pinot Noir (at a fraction of the price of Sea Smoke). 

Let's Put The Terror Back in Terroir!

 

Though I profess the passion and joy of wine, I think my new stint for the week day is going to be

"Wine = Terror!"

Wine scares the pee out of a lot of people-- Not just the weak bladdered and not just the over-served.  In a recent poll, 6.4* out of 10 of the over-served had an "uh-oh..." while answering wine questions. (*The .4 was because it was difficult to determine if one of the "uh-oh's" happened prior to the questioning or not). 

I realize that new tastes, flavors, and delicious essences of grapes from far off lands are a horrific concept--  (think the twins in The Shining). There are the funny words, threatening glasses, and mustachioed men (that we've only ever seen on TV)  with big noses and bad attitudes that refuse to sell us wine that we can't possibly understand...  Seriously,  have you ever met this guy?  I have, and he still doesn't know that his wallet is missing.

-----------------

When we think of wine, one thing we have to keep in mind is

"What do we have to lose vs what do we have to gain?"

We might not like it.
Buck-up Billy and Billie-Jean! How long does that last?  15 seconds?  More horrific experiences happen to us at our primary care physicians, yet we seem to shake it off after a few hours, a couple of drinks, and a lifetime of denial.

VS.

We might love it!
That lasts a lifetime.  Then we can tell our frenimies that their taste in wine stinks, and we loves us some Vee-og-nay! or Vee-og-ner, or that gawt danged V-juice! (Turn the tables, Rattle the cage! Now is our chance to intimidate!  Make it rain chainsaws in their house!)

Which leads us to...

We don't know how to pronounce it.
We happily mispronounce the island of Anitgua, but it doesn't stop us from going there and voluntarily submitting ourselves to torture while we get those sweet, tropical, cornrows.  "Island style, bra'!"

We don't want to waste money. 
If you've ever spent money on the Detroit Lions, checking the box on your tax returns to support  election campaigns, and have never negotiated the price of a mattress or gym membership, you've wasted far more scratch (and there is a picture of you somewhere that looks like this)  Why deny others the pleasure?

Even if you don't like it, wine still has 13-16% Alcohol. Turn that pout inside-out and see how fast you can drink it!* (goodetobefirst.com does not advocate you blaming someone else for taking poor advice)

Isn't a lot of wine made by commies, socialists, and hippies?
Uhm, is there a difference?  Most of the products in our homes are made by communists that somehow missed the point that the most fun about proclaiming a love of Maoism / Marxism, is that it came with rights to expand our mind and get all frisky at love-ins, sit-ins, and disguising these to the general public as Contra Dancing

In the end, people lineup to spend millions and millions of dollars ever year to buy "Terror"- Books, Magazines, movies, and we even spend countless hours searching the web for photos like this.  Why not capitalize on fear of wine?

It's time to put the Terror back in Terroir!

A $12 Viognier and Another Killer ATL Burger!

2007 Le Paradou Viognier Vin de Pays Blanc

(France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Côtes du Luberon)  Viognier.  $12 at Barrelman.  Jon David Headrick Import

Rowdy emailed me from ENO's bar a few weeks back, saying he was sipping on a steal-  A direct, clean, Viognier for a screaming $12 (in their retail shop).  Curious about his enthusiasm, I walked over to Barrelman, grabbed a bottle of my own, and  opened it (and a couple other jugs) at Dynamic Dish for pizza night.

Yellow, slightly pale.  At first, the nose was closed for business- a little rock, a touch of dried fruit, and then nada.  About 20 minutes later (and a few degrees warmer), this nose came alive- Beautiful floral notes, more rock, some mixed fruit (peach? citrus?), medium bodied, slightly bitter,  (almost a little constricting), nice acids, and a medium long finish.  Solid juice!  For $12-- I dig it. 

Thanks to Cathy, Katie, and Jimmy for joining Lady Dirty and I.

Just after leaving Dynamic Dish, I got another text from Rowdy saying I needed to head to Repast to try their burger with some 99 Bourgogne.  Not that I needed any more food, but a declaration that it was perhaps the equal to another ATL burger had me intrigued...  That is one serious burger! Hats off to Joe!