Originally, Larry Stone, master sommelier, president of Evening Land and one of only two Americans to have won the competition for International Best Sommelier in French Wines and Spirits from Food and Wines from France, was supposed to attend. However, as it often does, life got in the way. But, Natalie made up for his absence with her knowledge, passion and enthusiasm for the wines. And when you add the insight from Bailey’s Sommelier, Jennifer Jaco, you have created a wine lover’s dream. FYI – Jennifer has built one of the best wine lists in town at Bailey’s with over 715 labels and it’s on par with the Fairmont Hotel’s, which was the best I have found in terms of fun/unique and scope of wines.

The winery owns land in Occidental Vineyard in Sonoma and Santa Rita Hills Estate in California, Eola-Amity and Seven Springs in Oregon as well vineyards in Burgundy in collaboration with Dominique Lafon of Domaine des Comtest Lafon. Evening Land is committed to selling the best pinot noir and chardonnay possible. The wines have a color-coded, tiered label system of blue, silver, gold and white, which reflects pricing. Blue is the most affordable and starts at about $25 leading up to the white label, which runs about $120 a bottle. Isabel Meunier is the wine maker in Oregon; Christophe Vial is the winemaker in Beaune, France, and Sashi Moorman in California. Lafon continues to consult in France.

Executive Chef Grant Morgan created a number of dishes matched with the different wine regions from France to Oregon to California. We were served a pinot noir and chardonnay with each course.

Our first course was Foie Gras, Black Pepper Lavash and Apricot Jam served with the 10 Evening Land Vineyards Etoile Pouilly Fuisse ($28.99), France, which had notes of lemon, minerality, a little butterscotch and a nice mouth texture. It was fabulous with the food and the Old World style of white that I enjoy. The next wine served was the 10 Evening Land Blue Label Bourgogne Rouge ($25.99), France, which earthy with notes of black cherry.

The second course was served with my favorite white wine of the night, which is almost impossible to procure since only 100 cases are made. The 09 Evening Lane Vineyards Summum Chardonnay, Seven Springs Eola-Amity Hills from Oregon ($125.99) was a treat. Citrus, apple, tropical and minerality. Very old world style and my favorite chardonnay. When served with the cherry stuffed Oregon quail breast with creamy polenta and sweet onions, it was a match made in heaven. The 09 Evening Land Vineyards Seven Springs Estate Pinot Noir, Eola-Amity Hills from Oregon ($39.99) was the epitome of Oregon in a glass — earthy, Old World, black cherry. I really liked this wine.

We then moved to California with roasted duck breast, almond toast, braised California rhubarb and watercress. The almond toast was almost like dessert, and when I asked Grant about it, he told me I didn’t want to know how fattening it was because it was cooked in duck fat. Sigh. Oh, but it was worth it. The wines served were the 10 Evening Lands Blue Label Chardonnay, which was full bodied with some apple, flint and citrus. The 09 Evening Land Vineyards Santa Rita Hills Estate Pinot Noir, had ripe blackberry and dark fruit with a big finish.

We finished with a fabulous tray of desserts, that I couldn’t stop eating, and joined Natalie and Jennifer for a fun chat about wine and a rich 20-year-old glass of Ramos Pinto 20 Years Old Quinta do Bom Retiro Tawny Port from Portugal.

The most creative Piropo will win a four-pack of wines, a Spanish-themed cookbook and some other fun material.  What is a Piropo you may ask?  Translated literally it is a “flirtatious or poetic compliment to a woman.”  Things like, “If beauty were a sin, you’d never be forgiven” or “So many curves, and me without brakes” (shudder).  But, that’s been so done.  I want to see how clever and unique you can voice your appreciation for wine.

Tapeña—the wine with the little fork on the label—is a blend of tradition, camaraderie and gathering close friends.  I had the chance to partner with them a few years ago on an event so if you want to know more about the  wine.

For more info about Tapeña, check out their website, Facebook  http://www.facebook.com/tapenawines or Twitter @tapenawine.  They also have a reward program, for those of you who become fans, where you can get more free stuff.

 The fine print – you must be 21 years or older to enter, and that by entering you verify you are over 21.  The contest will close on January 31 and you can enter here.  Looking forward to seeing your poetry in motion.

Courtesy of Doug Holt Photography

Elman was born to an oenophile father and a Brazilian chef mother.  She spent her youth in Brazil, France and New York exposed to food and wine.  These experiences honed her passion for wine and she worked for Perrier-Jouet Champagne in France and later Sherry Lehman.  Working for these firms exposed her to some of the lesser-known wines in the world, which seemed more honest to her than many of the larger labels.

Elman’s blindness never slowed her down.  She continues to search the world for the best wines to bring to the U.S.; however, now she has her seeing-eye dog, Hanley, as her companion.  In 2009, she created her own label, Alex Elman Wines, which was released in November 2010.  The focus – sustainability and representation of the wine’s terrior. 

Our group tried four varietals from Argentina—a Chardonnay, a Torrontés, a Cabernet Sauvignon and a Malbec.  The two group favorites were the Chardonnay – yes, stop the presses!  It was a crisp white with notes of green apple, toast and vanilla.  In other words, a Chardonnay that appeals to those who do not usually like Chardonnay.  The other was the Cabernet Sauvignon with its big berry, licorice and notes of cedar.  All bottles retail for under $15.

Israel has been producing wine for over 5,000 years and started nearly 2,000 years prior to the Greeks and Romans in Europe.  In 1882, Baron Edmond de Rothschild, owner of Chateau Lafite, founded Carmel Winery.  It took about 100 years for the wine folks in California to conclude that the Golan Heights had the right climate — volcanic soil, altitudes, temperature and water — to make some quality wines.  It took Royal Wine Corporation 50 years later to decide to import these wines to the U.S.  It took about another 100 years for Sheldon Stein to decide that Glazer’s needed to bring these wines to Dallas and beyond.  I’d personally like to thank them all.

The most widely grown varietals in Israel include cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, merlot and sauvignon blanc with up-and-comers cabernet franc, riesling and syrah.  The five wine regions include Gali (Gaililee including the Golan Heights), Shomrom, Samson, the Judean Hills and Negeve appellations.  Currently there are more than 250 large-scale, co-operative and boutique wineries that produce 30 million bottles annually.

The thing that I’d like to urge you to do is to not think about these wines as kosher wines (actually not all Israeli wine is kosher), but award-winning wines made with great care and by great people.   Lior Lacser, Carmel’s winemaker, discussed the need to bring these wines forward to consumers who drink fine wine vs. a kosher sell.  His focused is elegant, balanced wines that showcase Old World style with New World techniques.  We tasted 12 wines — a mix of white, red and dessert — in two different categories and at price points from $15 to $80.

We started with several white wines including:

• Carmel Ridge White 09 — fruity, crisp, lots of citrus and pear with good minerality.  A very nice everyday food, friendly wine ($17.99).
• Carmel Private Collection Chardonnay 09 — tropical notes with a little too much bite in the finish for me, but as you know, I’m not a huge chardonnay drinker ($21.99)
• Carmel Kayoumi Vineyard Riesling 10 — orange blossom, off dry with honeysuckle, citrus and petroleum.  This was an awesome representation of riesling and the winemakers favorite wine today ($26.99)
• Sha’al Gewurztraminer Late Harvest 07 — apricot, honeysuckle, lychee and a fabulous dessert wine ($21.99)

Our red line up included the following:

• Carmel Private Collection Cabernet Sauvignon — spice, cedar and eucalyptus ($22.99)
• Carmel Carignan 07 — this was a labor of love for the winemaker and a grape that used to be part of Israel’s history.  Big cherry, spice and mocha.  Awesome and full of character ($28.99).  Also loved that these labels are “whimsical” with a variety of fauna from biblical Israel that are hand-drawn
• Carmel Petite Syrah 07 — smoke, blueberry, floral with rich, juicy notes.  These grapes originally were relegated to grape juice until Gava saw the potential and this is NOT your average Welch’s ($29.99)
• Binyamina The Cave 07 — vanilla, toasted oak, earth, cardamom, sage, black berries and menthol.  Lots of depth and layers to this one ($22.99)
• Yatir Red Blend 06 — Herby, fruitier, definitely not my favorite of the tasting, but an interesting wine ($42.99)
• Carmel Mediterranean 07 — big black cherry, leather, earthiness abound; a great wine ($60.99). 
• Carmel Limited Edition 07 — a flagship high end wine that is made only when the conditions are optimal.  I tasted petroleum, tobacco, chocolate, mocha and eucalyptus.  An elegant wine with an elegant price at (86.99), but I’d put this up against almost any high-end Napa wine at the same price point (or even above).

We learned about a new association of 20 Israeli wineries founded a month ago, solely dedicated to taking these wines to a new level in America.  From what I understand, there are many fabulous wineries missing not in the Royal portfolio, but it’s a good launching pad.  You should be able to find these at Sigel’s, Centennial, Mr. G’s, Central Market and Corner Wines.  After almost 200 years of winemaking, I can assure you that they are quite good at it.  I plan to buy and cellar some — I’ll keep you posted on the evolution.  I challenge you to do the same.

When I was invited to a TasteLive event featuring Freixenet and Gloria Ferrer sparkling wines, my need to celebrate took over. We were supposed to pair these with cheese, but I was in diet mode so I decided to use Mediterranean food, which paired ridiculously well.

Our group of four started with the Freixenet Cordon Negro Cava, which we universally agreed was a good budget, easy drinking sparkler. It was nice on its own with apple, pear and citrus flavors, but it was almost begging for fresh squeezed orange juice.

The Gloria Ferrer Sonoma Brut tasted of brown toast, citrus, green apple and had a nice minerality to it. It was described by one of my group as the one that she would drink for the evening because it was the most interesting and had some depth.

The Segura Viudas Brut Rose Cava, which is always a sparkling stand-by at my parties, was fruity with notes of raspberry and cherry. It paired perfectly with the hummus. I really like this wine and think it is a fabulous value for the price.

In a month where celebrations abound, pick up some sparkling that will be easy on your palate and wallet.

The first that we tried was an Arnaldo-Caprai Grecante Grechetto.  Grecante Grechetto is a white wine made in Umbria, Italy, from the indigenous Grechetto grape.  It was a well balanced and fruity wine, but had enough acidity to be soft.  This was a new grape to me, and it will definitely be on my list of refreshing white wines that I will buy in the future.

The second wine was the 11 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc, known as one of New Zealand’s top Sauvignon Blanc classics.  I discovered this by chance on a wine list several years ago and it was one I would always order when I could.  This wine had a stronger grapefruit taste than I remembered, but it still had notes of stonefruit, grass, pine nut and lots of acidity.  Our gang of four was divided on this one, but I still am a fan.

The third wine was the 09 Terrazas de los Andes Reserva Malbec.  This was a very concentrated wine with notes of licorice.  I liked its smokiness and this was one that unified all four tasters.  And, since Malbec is one of the fastest growing grapes in the U.S., this is an affordable and tasty way to try one.

As a part of my ongoing and often sporadic “Can You Get a Decent Glass of Wine from a Chain Restaurant” series, I was invited to Russo’s Coal Fired Italian Kitchen, a chain of more than 25 Italian restaurants.  I’d never been to Russo’s before and so I made the ride to Richardson, TX, with my friend, David, who graciously agreed to be a part of the taste experience.

This series started after I told my husband that I did not want to meet him for drinks after work at Mi Cocina due their very pedestrian wine list.  While I have been pleasantly surprised  with the results of this series (I’ve had two good experiences at Cafe Express and The Olive Garden),  I wasn’t sure what to expect from a pizza and pasta chain.  Again, I found that I need to check my pre-conceived notions at the door.  

We were warmly greeted by Chris Demers, director of operations for Russo’s, who began talking passionately about the wine program.  Russo’s offers twelve wines by the glass — one prosecco, five whites and six reds — and ten of those rotate monthly.  All of these wines retail for $7 for a 5 oz. pour.  When we visited the restaurant, there were some other specials including Ferrari Carano for $6 and Masi for $9.  Demers has a background of helping bring The Wine Loft, a national wine bar concept, to fruition so when he came to work at Russo’s he immediately overhauled the wine program.

He told us that, overall, Richardson (Dallas) wine drinkers were adventurous and while he needed to have some traditional Italian Chianti’s and Pinot Grigio’s on the menu, people were also willing to try Argentian Malbec and Chilean Sauvignon Blanc.  After checking his website, we realized the list Demers has is different from the Russo’s wine list.  That is by design.  Half of these wines aren’t available via retail as he’s trying to encourage a positive adventure in wine for his diners.  It is paying off — since he overhauled the wine program, sales are up over 50 percent.  There has only been one exception — Mark West Pinot Noir.  He tried to replace this crowd favorite and quickly realized it was a sacred cow.

Here’s the line-up that we had the night of our tasting:

White:

• Cavit – Lunetta Prosecco 09.  I tasted peach and pear with a mineral ending.  A very nice drinkable sparkling to start your meal.
• Castegio – Pinot Grigio 10.  This is a crisp and tart pinot grigio.  This grape isn’t my usual first choice in wine, but it was a good representation.
• De Martino – Sauvignon Blanc 10 (Chile).  This was my favorite white.  Lots of citrus and pineapple, but with the minerality that I like.  If I tasted this blindly, I would have said this was a sauvignon blanc from New Zealand.  Note this one is very hard to find in Dallas.
• Alias – Chardonnay 09 (California).  Loved the story behind this project by eight un-named wine makers who wanted to make a good wine.  This was made in Old World style with lemon, tropical fruits and honey, but without being a butter bomb.  This was David’s favorite white and a very nice chardonnay.
• Chateau Ste. Michelle – Riesling 10 (Washington State).  Always a critics’ favorite — especially at this price range — this had lots of stone fruit flavor and was a great value riesling.

Red:

• Mark West – Pinot Noir 09 (California).  The people have spoken.  No comment.
• Ruffino – Sangiovese 10 (Chianti).  You have to have a by the glass chianti, but there are much better options on the list.
• Ca’Momi – Merlot 09 (Napa).  This is one of them.  A big jammy, food-friendly wine with notes of plum, cherry and menthol.  A really nice merlot and David’s favorite red.
• Altos – Malbec Classico 10 (Mendoza).  A very nice representation of a Malbec with vanilla, mocha and chocolate. 
• Blackburn – Cabernet Sauvignon 08 (Paso Robles).  Run, do not walk and see if you can find this wine in Dallas (if I don’t buy it all first).  This drank like a $30 cab and was off the charts good.  Big notes of plum, cherry, earth and menthol.  

We also got to sample a few of the menu items, prosciutto with buffalo mozzarella, which I didn’t try because I’m allergic to pork, and the spinach and artichoke dip, which was off the charts good.  My advice for you is to come from 3-6 for Happy Hour or on Wednesday’s when wines are $5.  Order the dip and the Blackburn and savor the fact that not only can you get a good glass of wine from a chain, but you have found a cabernet that is a fantastic price to taste ratio.

Salud.

I was wrong.  When I arrived at the restaurant I noticed a team of three people in branded Mollydooker shirts bearing bottles of their top labels.  As I got closer, I realized that aside from Krissy, none other than Sparky Marquis, co-owner and winemaker (along with his wife Sarah) and his mum, Janet were joining us.   I was immediately greeted with a left-handed shake by the team. 

We began our lunch by tasting the 2010 Enchanted Path, Carnival of Love and the Velvet Glove.  I am a huge fan of the Velvet Glove which is harder to find since a forklift dropped a crate of it containing 462 cases in July of this year.  Mollydooker lost one third of its inventory — almost all of its U.S. allocation — of this almost $200 a bottle wine.  But instead of “crying over spilled wine” and the profits lost, they approached it as an opportunity and five days later called the local TV stations and newspaper to see if anyone had an interest in the $1 million loss of wine.  The story immediately went global.  In a note of irony and a bit of luck, the insurance company had upgraded Mollydooker’s insurance status six days prior to the accident because of the care they took in storing their wine in three separate tracks vs. one.  And judging from the comments Sparky made during the lunch, I think it may become harder to obtain the remaining Velvet Glove inventory as Sparky Marquis himself has expressed a commitment to drink as much of this wine as he can.  

Sparky, who is known for his time at Fox Creek, Henry’s Drive, Parson’s Flat and Marquis Phillips, began to tell me their story with fun interjections from Janet.  I had assumed Mollydooker was backed with big marketing dollars and lots of money however the true story is that Mollydooker was almost a story of failure, but that changed due to the perseverance of just four people and a miracle or three thrown into the mix.

Mollydooker was founded with an investment of $1,000 in 2005.  In March of 2006, Sparky and Sarah realized money was running low and let their grape growers know they could only afford to pay $200 a ton for grapes.  They encouraged their suppliers to sell to someone who could afford to pay but every last grape grower who could afford to stay did.  As Janet put it, “they had more faith in us than we had in ourselves.”

They were nearing the wine blending and bottling stage and received a call from their financial and legal advisors requesting a meeting.  Mollydooker was down to its last $17 and the advisors were worried they would be in default based upon the payments still due.  Because Sparky and Sarah believed in paying their invoices on time they realized they had about two weeks for a miracle.  A couple of days late that miracle arrived.  A gentleman, who  Sparky had impressed at a local networking luncheon a few weeks prior,  came to the winery and asked him if there was anything that he needed.  Sparky proudly said everything was fine.  The businessman asked the question again and said he was leaving for China for a month and wanted to make sure Mollydooker was around when he returned.  At that point, Sparky broke down and told him the truth. Without asking for a business plan, the businessman asked what Mollydooker needed to survive the month.  A check was written on the spot for $300K.  The blending continued during the month and the label was named a few days later after a brainstorm between Sparky, Sarah, mum and his father.   

Sparky and Sarah knew they would run out of money again soon, so they tried to think about the one avenue where they could get out publicity about their wines in the biggest way.  Enter Robert Parker.  Sarah was sure that Robert was also “a Mollydooker” (or left hander) from a prior meeting.  The team analyzed several photos, but couldn’t be sure.   Robert usually doesn’t take random appointments and is booked for months ahead so after much debate they sent him an overnight package of wine on a wing and a prayer.  Surprisingly, Parker bit and Sarah was right about him actually being left-handed.  He gave them two dates in a two month period to come visit him.  They chose the first one on June 10 as they knew they’d run out of cash by the second.  Maxing out their credit cards, they booked two flights to Baltimore.  Upon arriving in the States and knowing this was their last shot, they were disheartened to hear that Parker had suffered an injury, was hospitalized and might not be able to make the tasting.  But miracles happened again and Parker rallied.  He literally hobbled to the Oregon Grill on that date refusing to take his pain medicine, so he could properly taste the wine.

He invited them to stay for lunch after the tasting and suggested that the Mollydooker Violinist would be perfect with soft shell crab.  He ordered some and Sarah immediately ate it like you would eat traditional crab. Parker first stared, asked her what she was doing and then taught her the etiquette of eating soft shell crab.  At the end of the lunch he made an offhand comment that he’d try, but couldn’t guarantee, to fit them in his Best Value Wine Guide as it had been delayed for ten days at the printers.

Sparky and Sarah had no idea had no idea what the Best Value Wine Issue even was or how quickly their lives would change.  On July 1, they received a phone call at 3 a.m.  The Mollydooker Boxer was rated the best value wine in the world under $20.  The Mollydooker Two Left Feet, named in honor of Sparky’s inability to dance, was named second best value.  The Mollydooker Maitre’ D was named fourth best value and the Violinist was named the top white.  The winery sold out of its existing inventory in America in 19 days.  But they still had no money, only purchase orders, and had to convince the bank to lend them the money to get the shipments to their customers.  With this success, they immediately paid back the angel investor, growers, and creditors and gave the staff bonuses and raises.

A little while later, Parker reviewed Mollydooker’s two new wines, The Carnival of Love and Enchanted Path, and gave them 99 and 96 point reviews.  A wine that no one had ever tasted sold out in five days and by September they were cash flow positive.  When a year later a vineyard that met their requirements came up for sale, they jumped at the chance and acquired the label’s first real asset and that became the home of Mollydooker.

Is it a charmed life, miracles or luck?  I’ve heard that you make your own luck and I am a big believer in karma.  When hard working, talented, generous, hospitable, charitable and kind people set out on a path — especially with an infectious enthusiasm — I’d like to think the world wants them to succeed.  When I asked about their success, Sparky answered that he doesn’t think about things that way, the family is just having the time of their lives and doing what they love.  The simple premise behind making Mollydooker wines is to take the time to do things right and the results will follow.  Sparky wants the wines to taste two times more expensive than the list price to give his customers a value and make the wines accessible.  And, the founders believe in miracles and know those miracles became the pathway to their success.

I learned much about the family during my conversations and thought it would be fun to talk about the top things you don’t know about Sparky, Mum and Mollydooker:

• Never ever try to pay for lunch for Sparky.  During a vacation in the early years of their marriage, Sarah and Sparky took a vacation they could not afford while they were working in Tasmania.  Staying in the wood cutters bungalow and driving their rusted Ford Falcon, they splurged and went to a nice dinner with no alcohol because it was too expensive.  There, they met two couples that bought them a glass of port.  Serendipitously, they kept running into the same couples who asked them to lunch.  At this point they were staying in a youth hostel with cold showers.  When Sparky finally admitted to one of the couples that they couldn’t afford to join them, the man said, “I built my business so I can take people to lunch and pay for it.”  That lesson rang true and became part of Sparky’s creed.   
• Go-karting is very important and a family enterprise.  Sparky, his daughter and his son all hold titles for their age groups.  Holly, his daughter, holds the 12-year-old record.  Luke, his son, who is 15, has two state titles, is the Australia junior champion and was recently offered one of four professional go-kart racing positions in the country.  Sparky holds the #2 over 40 position and the #2 20-year-old position in the state (don’t ask).  Another fun fact is that Sparky was en route to the track to race the day the broken container news went global.  What usually is a one-hour drive took four because he kept pulling over to do media interviews.
• The Velvet Glove was the last wine from Mollydooker to have a cork.  As of 2010, the new releases are all screw tops.
• Each year mum finds a favorite wine and if you are lucky enough to tour with her, she draws the wine from her jug as a part of your tour.  The Gigglepot Cabernet was last year’s favorite and the inventory of 240 cases was severely depleted as they bottled only 142 cases.  Go mum!
• There is an open invitation every Monday for wine enthusiasts to have lunch with the family.  Four hours is the minimum that you’ll taste, and some folks have stayed for ten.  Mum suggested the best time to see the harvest and all of the activity is March or April.
• The Mollydooker shake became a marketing tool after a trip to Hawaii.  The number one wine writer in the state was at the same restaurant and watched Sparky shake the bottles.  Her comment to her dining companion was that man knows nothing about wine.  Later, she was introduced and commented, “I hope you aren’t Sparky Marquis”.  The Mollydooker shake was born on the spot.
• I never have met anyone that could handle spicy food and fresh jalapenos the way that I can.  I have met my match in Sparky.
• Ninety percent of the wine that Mollydooker makes comes to America and this is the only country where they hold dinners to show appreciation. 

When some friends, Peter and Jen, invited us over for a night of cards, great food and wine, I knew there would be a group of wine lovers who would be able to give me lots of good feedback on wines from a number of regions.  Thus, we popped open the corks and began to taste.

We first tried the Nine Walks Sauvignon Blanc.  It had tropical and citrus notes combined with some herbalness.  It was a very crisp wine and at $11 a bottle, tasted much more expensive than its list price.

We then tried several wines from New Zealand’s Craggy Range, a vineyard that I was already familiar with for its Te Kahu label.  The first wine was the 2010 Te Muna Road Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc.  Lots of green in this wine — but complexity came from hints of vanilla.  The 2010 Kidnappers Vineyard Chardonnay, which was made in an Old-World style without lots of oak, had notes of lemon, almond and some depth. Hands down the favorite was the 09 Te Kahu Gimblett Gravels Vineyard.  A Bordeaux blend of merlot, cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon and malbec, it was a great red with notes of blackberry, deep fruit, sandalwood and tobacco. 

We then moved to Chilean wines and tried the full line from Casillero del Diablo, the flagship line of wines from Concha y Toro. The story behind these wines is fun.  At the end of the 19^th century Don Melchor de Concha y Toro, a successful businessman and vineyard owner, discovered his wines had been stolen from the “casillero” (cellar) under his house.  To keep folks from stealing more, he created a rumor that his cellar was haunted by the devil.  These wines are also affordably priced at $12.  We tried several including the 10 chardonnay, 10 pinot noir, 09 syrah, 10 merlot, 10 carmenere and 10 malbec.  The group favorites were the more traditional Chilean wines including the carmenere with its notes of plum, chocolate, oak and spiciness and the malbec with blackberry and mocha notes.

We then delved into Spanish wine.  The first one was the 07 Montecillo Crianza Tinto. This was nice with notes of dark blackberry, vanilla and smoke.  The second wine was the 03 Montecillo Rioja Reserva.  This was a rich cherry, spice, vanilla and dark fruit that I really enjoyed.

After dinner, the wine shipping boxes became the most coveted thing with the under 7 group proving that imagination can still win over iPads, Play Stations, iTouch and all the other latest technology.  Seemed an appropriate nod from the kiddos — especially with many of the wines tried made from an Old World-style.

Julia Zuccardi from Santa Julia

Last month I attended a lunch at Komali to introduce Santa Julia wines from Argentina to the Dallas market.  Julia Zuccardi, the namesake of Santa Julia and a third-generation family member of one of Argentina’s family-owned wineries, was our gracious host.  In her words, and said with a smile, “my father named the winery after me because he thinks I am a saint.”

Ana Rodriguez Armisen of Santa Julia’s Casa del Visitante jointly planned the menu with Abraham Salum of Komali and it was focused on Argentinean cuisine.  I felt like I needed expando pants by the time I finished the three appetizers followed by a four course menu paired with seven wines.  I had taken the afternoon off as we had what is known as a very leisurely European lunch and a few of us were checking our watches after two and a half hours due to other commitments as much as we would have loved to stay.

Santa Julia wines are all about sustainability and focused on four pillars — people, vineyard, energy conservation/reclamation and environment.  The wines are bottled in lighter weight glass to lower carbon emissions and organic wines comprise of 30 percent of the vineyard.  The Mendoza-based vineyards grow estate-planted grapes and the wines retail for under $13.

We started with passed hors d-oeuvres — sopes de tinga de pollo con queso fresco, slices of grilled beef over home-made countryside bread and chimichurrie sauce, which was later demonstrated by Armisen; and grapes and raisin bread with goat ricotta cheese dressing of frantoio olive oil from the estate, black olives and fresh arugula.  The wines included the Santa Julia 10 Organico Cabernet Sauvignon with lots of cherry and spice; the 09 Organico Malbec with mocha, chocolate, deep berry and vanilla; as well as the Santa Julia Brut Rose NV with red fruits, floral essence and a creamy texture.  I was really impressed with the sparkling especially at a price point of $10.

Already full, we moved to our first course — a fresh green salad with mustard shoots, carob’s bread croutons, grapefruit and cured trout with a grapefruit juice and manzanilla olive oil dressing paired with 10 Santa Julia Torrontes.  What a fabulous pairing – the grapefruit, peach and minerality worked exceptionally well with the salad. This is a great wine for $10.

Our second course paired with a roasted snapper filet, pumpkin seed pipian and nopal salad was matched with the 10 Santa Julia Organica Chardonnay.  The pairing worked, but this was my least favorite wine tried, but still a solid chardonnay option for $11.

The third course was grilled lamb with crispy smashed potatoes with frantoio olive oil, Malbec reduction and warming salsa criolla paired with two 09 reserve wines. The first is the Santa Julia Reserva Malbec with fig, chocolate, terrior and mocha.  This was a more balanced and deep wine than the first Malbec tried.  The second wine was the Santa Julia Reserva Cabernet with black cherry, currant, leather and blackberry.

The grand finale, and it was fabulous, was a capirotada-Mexican bread pudding with piloncillo syrup, Mexican raisins, fresh mango and queso Cotija matched with an 09 Santa Julia Tardio, la ate harvest Torrontes.  The bread pudding was almost cobbler like and one of the best desserts I’ve had in a long time.  Matched with the Tardio, the dried orange peel, apricot, honeysuckle and almond present in the wine was one of the most sublime combinations I’ve ever tried.