The Iron Chevsky Wine Blog

From last Thursday's Thanksgiving feast, all I can say is... Turkey with Pinot Noir. For me - from Burgundy, of course. Robert Chevillon's 2006 Nuits-Saint-Georges "Les Bousselots" 1er Cru is so seductively perfumey, it undresses you with one whiff! No need to get overly creative, my friends. Perfection is perfect!

In the morning the kitchen still smells like crabs. In a good, fresh, oceany way. The belly feels light, the mind satisfied. We spent the whole Friday exploring Half Moon Bay - visiting the Pillar Point Harbor where we bought 3 of the freshest, right out of the ocean, 2-lbs. dungeness crabs (only $3.50/lb!), ate catch-of-the-day fisherman's stew and fish-and-chips right on the ocean front, and strolled along the beaches and lawns on a crisp, sunny, picture-perfect day after Thanksgiving. And at night, we steamed those monsters and gobbled all 6 lbs., with just a little dipping sauce and the most amazing pairing of a German off-dry Riesling. The purity of that meal and the combination of the flavors of the fresh, light, subtly sweet crab meat, the tangy Chinese black Chinkiang vinegar and wasabi dipping sauce, and a Kabinett level 2006 Schloss Schonborn Riesling from one of the absolute top vineyards in Rheingau, Germany - Erbacher Marcobrunn, was proof that food-and-wine pairing i...

Amazingly, even serious winos don't seem to know Roero . Specifically Roero red wine, made from Nebbiolo, and in many vintages just as elegant, intense, and charming as Barolo and Barbaresco. A neighboring appellation (DOCG since 2004), Roero is better recognized for their white Arneis wine - the most famous white wine export of Piedmonte, which I love on its own right. But it's the red that I am happy for so many others to overlook, thus keeping prices down for those in the know. Here is a very good article on Roero from the Dehli Wine Club (of all places!). A quick excerpt is telling: The aging periods required by law are significantly different - Barolo needs to undergo 3 years, while Barbaresco can age only for 2 years. Roero can do with a year and a half as it can be released on July 1, second year after harvesting. So the Barolo and Barbaresco producers would claim that Nebbiolo grape requires long aging to tame the tannins... The young Roero is too tannic, closed and n...

If you've never had an Austrian sparkling wine (called "Sekt" in Austria and Germany), then you are like me. Or more precisely like I used to be until today's Thanksgiving dinner when I tried my first bottle. And boy, what a wine! For years, I've been searching for a wine that goes with Russian cold appetizers (salads, cured meats and fish, all kinds of salty, vinegary, and savory goodies), and this most excellent sparkler fit the bill perfectly. Perhaps it's the relative similarity of Russian, German, and Austrian cuisines that makes Austria's wines suit the Russian table? My family were impressed (not an easy feat for a gang used to drinking everything from Shaoxing rice wine to tequila to vodka). Wiener Gemischter Satz Sekt is not the type you are likely to see even in the most esoteric wine shops (but check wine-searcher.com, this wine costs ~$30-35), and is yet another fabulous find in my recent chain of Austrian revelations ! Vienna is the only cap...

The Refuge's Reuben: pastrami, sauerkraut, melted swiss, russian dressing, toasted rye. I have a newfound respect for Austrian wines. Austrian? What?! Rona and I picked up her sis from the airport, and stopped by at the Refuge in San Carlos. Last time their amazing pastrami sandwich sang chorus with a Borgueil, a Loire red wine made from Cabernet Franc. This time, I tempted fate even more, and brought a totally obscure Austrian red - 2008 Blauer Zweigelt from Anita and Hans Nittnaus. I mean who ever drinks Austrian reds?!!! For around $15/bottle, at the low 12.5% alcohol, the wine is more versatile than, say, a Borgueil, nicely balanced in a European (rather than Californian) sort of way (meaning you can taste veggie and fruit), medium-body, reminiscent of a cool climate Pinot Noir but with darker fruit and touch of spiciness. In other words - really really great with the Refuge's menu! Blauer Zweigelt is an Austrian grape variety that's a cross of relatively obscure but...

Not everything that sparkles in California is gold. Sometimes it's J! With the holiday season approaching, I found myself in Healdsburg in the heart of Sonoma County a week ago speaking at a technology growth and innovation conference . Meeting many cool and impressive techies and social media gurus was a lot of fun. That, plus a picture-perfect 80-degree weather in the middle of November put me in a groovy mood. So on the way back to Palo Alto, I felt like sparkling wine. Sonoma county is relatively well known for a number of reputable sparkling wine producers, who make bubblies in the traditional Champagne method (i.e. second fermentation in the bottle). In my mind, with all due respect to all other methods of getting CO2 into a wine, the method of Champagne is the only way to go for any serious drinkin'! And while nothing touches Champagne itself (with the exception of perhaps Italy's Franciacorta and Trento DOC), our traditional method domestics from Napa, Sonoma and Me...

On Tuesday last week, I dropped in on the first (ever) session of the newly minted San Francisco Wine School. Their introductory course was France. I had previously announced the opening of the school on this blog (see here ), but wanted to check for myself what it'd be like, before I really stuck my neck out and put the Iron Chevsky seal of approval on these guys. On the second floor of a swanky'ish old Hotel Triton in the super-happening downtown area close to the Union Square, I walked into a cozy room with a small group of students, and two wine Jedi presiding. One of them - Maureen Downey, specializes in managing wine collections and wine auctions (her copious credentials can be seen here .) The other - David Glancy is a Master Sommelier and a long-time educator and department chair in the Professional Culinary Institute in Campbell, CA. Both were incredibly knowledgeable. The first class focused on Alsace, a region that is supposed to be the easiest to understand in Fra...