Halcyon Cabernet Franc

Halcyon Cabernet Franc
Region: Paso Robles, California
Year: 2014
Price: $39
Retailer: Halcyonwines.com

A highly regarded mainstay of the Paso Robles landscape, it would be hard to find a lover of California wines who did not enjoy Tablas Creek. So when I heard that assistant wine maker, Tyler Elwell, was launching a new wine label of his own, I couldn't help but be very excited, especially considering it was cabernet franc focused and Loire inspired. Each wine has a playlist to accompany it curated by Tyler & Kim, which is extremely tight. 

It just started raining, and oh man, I couldn't be happier to be in sweatpants drinking this beauty. I opened the windows and let the wet draft in. It has been so long since I felt cold air on my face or smelled wet concrete and leaves.  The magenta bougainvillea outside my window hang heavy under the water weight, the shades of the petals mimicking the colors of Halcyon's dazzling label. 

The definition of the word halcyon is "denoting a period of time in the past that was idyllically happy and peaceful." But the beauty of Halcyon wine is that that happy and peaceful time is right now. 

Their website touts this cab-franc as a summer red, perfect for chilling and grilling. If I had reviewed this weeks ago, I would have agreed and told you to make burgers. But that makes me even happier that I'm reviewing it on this sublimely rainy evening because it's also perfect for sweatpants, making tomato soup and watching X-Files. I love how versatile it is! It's like the perfect date! Up for anything! And cool, composed and sexy throughout it all! It's just so, so smooth, but still a little edgy so you know it's real. Like it's down to chill for sure, but it will also call you on your shit and make you laugh. This is totally your summer fling that lasts through the holidays.

And when I say "lasts through the holidays", I mean it dumps you. You would never dump this wine. It's too perfect. You'd have to be one of those liars that were like, "I'm sorry you're too perfect." It's just so well balanced that if you are not into it, you are totally unbalanced. 

Tasting Notes: Cinnamon sticks, cranberry, orange and slight peat on the nose. Tastes like smooth, ripe, berry chiffon jam. Luxurious in texture, light in weight. Pristinely balanced. So traditionally California, but brightly French. A new favorite. 

Ross Test: So easy going. Ugh, like, stop trying to get me to stalk you after you dump me in January please.

On VICE Munchies: How to Stay Drunk on a Dangerous Camping Trip

HOW TO STAY DRUNK ON A DANGEROUS CAMPING TRIP

I went backpacking through Yosemite for a week and brought a bunch of wine with me and wrote about it for Munchies. It is my most contentious post yet, stirring avid outdoorspeople into frenzies of boohooing from the corners of an REI sale somewhere. I even had the pleasure of getting into my first fight with a stranger on Facebook about it! All of this is quite funny to me, considering it is one of the most innocuous pieces I've ever published. So, reader be warned: the content you are about to view may be light-hearted and humorous. 

Weekend Plans: A Fall Picnic

Will Leather Goods' Utility Tote, Olive & Poppy's California Appellation Peshmetal, Latest Dreamy Periodical

Ah, Fall. The season of Neil Young, light cardigans, and waking cab-sauvs from their slumber. Things seem to have finally slowed, everyone coming down from the intense stimulant of summer. It feels like a big sigh. And, get this, you can go outside! And enjoy it! Because it no longer feels like you're a Lean Cuisine with the plastic wrap left on while cooking twenty minutes too long in a microwave of death. 

To celebrate the change of seasons and perhaps experience a breeze for the first time in months, I spread out my new Olive & Poppy peshtemal with a few of picks from California and a fall inspired cheese spread that I picked up at my local spot, The Cheese Store of Silver Lake. 

Corison Cabernet Sauvignon, 2005, $125

The centerpiece of any fall wine picnic should be a favorite cabernet sauvignon. I say this because Cabernet has been totally ignored since March and when you bring it back into the mix, it shines. Classic but always mysterious, much like a full moon. Corison makes some of my favorites. Warm, smooth and infinitely interesting with deep berries, lavender and what could only be described as "notes of Robin Pecknold's voice". Calm and orchestral, it's easy to get lost in a cabernet like this. But that's what you want in a cab. You want to feel like you've wandered into a forest with your favorite wooly cardigan and your lover.

Genuine Risk Red Blend (76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Petit Verdot, 7% Cabernet Franc, 4% Merlot), 2013, $22.99

A good blend goes a long way, and will complement your cabernet pick without competing with its boldness. The Genuine Risk Red Blend is an awesome choice. It could be mistaken for a ridiculously expensive Bordeaux; so smooth with just the right amount of new oak. It tastes like you're drinking luxurious pillow cases, which I realize sounds silly now that I'm writing it down, but seriously. Pillow cases. So soft and comforting and opulent. 

Oceanside Ale Works "Daliesque" Lambic, 2012, $15.99

Mix it up with a lambic. I love lambics! Not a wine, but they're delicious. They work wonderfully as palate cleansers and awaken your tastebuds after you've drowned them in heavy reds and cuts right through the richness of the cheese. Try the Oceanside Ale Works "Daliesque" lambic. Warning: it is a very sour beer. Just like I like them! It's almost like lightly carbonated pickle juice with peach and a little caramel. 

From Left to Right: Heublumen (Switzerland), Tomme de Savoie (France), Oorsprong (Holland)

For as much as I know about wine, I don't know much about cheese, aside from the fact that I love cheddar. A LOT. But much like buying wine, that is why I buy cheese from people who know what they're doing so I can just be like, "Hey I love cheddar but am buying these wines, tell me what to do." And like magic, Maggie from The Cheese Shop of Silver Lake was like, "Try these!" and then I died and went to heaven. These raw cow choices worked so well with the wines I could just cry because I want to eat them all over again.

The Genuine Risk with a Raincoast crisp topped with the Oorsprong and a cornichon IS WHAT I WANT TO EAT EVERY NIGHT FOR DINNER FROM NOW UNTIL AT LEAST THE END OF NOVEMEBER. I MAY GET TIRED OF IT BY THEN BUT HOLY SHIT, TALK ABOUT THE BEST PAIRING EVER.

What wines are you excited to have back now that it's fall? Tell me in the comments so I can go buy them! 

Ignaz Niedrist Südtirol Kalterersee Auslese

Ignaz Niedrist Südtirol Kalterersee Auslese
Varietal: Kalterersee (AKA Trollinger, Vernatsch, or Schiava)
Region: Südtirol/Alto Adige, Italy
Year: 2013
Price: $28
Retailer: Esters Wine Shop & Bar

Last week I had a meeting on the west side and decided to make a day of it considering I was not chained to my desk on the east side. I finally visited Esters in Santa Monica, which may or may not be heaven on Earth. I love that it's a wine shop and bar. With excellent selections for wine by the bottle and glass, as well as a lovely menu perfect for habitual snackers such as myself, it was the best place ever to have a "Hey! I'm a lady who takes meetings!" lunch to herself. 

I had the pleasure of meeting the ladies of Esters, including Kelly who recommended this wine to me after I told her I was into "funky shit". She said something along the lines of, "How about an Italian wine that's German but not?" and I said, "What? YES."

And so here we are, with the Niedrist Südtirol. Real quick: Südtirol was a part of Austria and then it became a part of Italy and became Alto Aldige and now it is an autonomous state. So German verbage but Italian wine. Got it? Good. 

The Niedrist is quenching my thirst for fall right now. I've been dying to have some hearty reds, break out oversized fuzzy sweaters and turn in for an early hibernation. Unfortunately, it's too damn hot for any of that. But drinking this wine and putting together a fall playlist feels as close to fall as I possibly could be right now. Listening to a mix of Fleet Foxes and Alex Bleeker & The Freaks along with this wine that tastes like crisp strawberries wrapped up in a big brown crunchy leaf, I could be somewhere else if I just keep my eyes closed long enough.

I just want to move to Big Sur and call it a day. 

Step Right Up (And Pour Yourself Some Wine)

Alex Bleeker & The Freaks

If you like the body of gamay but are looking for something with more fallish flavors to bite into, this is what you're looking for. With its vibrant cranberry color, mulled cherry spice palate and nutty finish, it throws itself towards tastes of Thanksgiving without the "YO I'M BLOATED GONNA GO UNBUTTON MY PANTS AND SLEEP ON THE FLOOR FOREVER" feeling. 

I hate that feeling, but god damn what I would do JUST TO BE ABLE TO WEAR PANTS. I JUST WANT TO WEAR PANTS. AND MAYBE A JEAN JACKET. AND POSSIBLY GO TO AN APPLE ORCHARD OR DO SOME OTHER WILDLY FALL SHIT I DON'T GET TO DO IN LOS ANGELES. IS THAT SO MUCH TO ASK?! 

Tasting Notes: Light body and fruit forward but with a smooth woody/tobacco quality to it that reminds me of the inside of a cigar humidifier. Complex in its youthfulness, this wine holds structure while still maintaining a sense of delicacy. Make sure to let it breathe a bit, it's bitter straight into the glass. 

Ross Test: Not bad on the front but alcohol-heavy on the back end. 

Pascal Janvier Coteaux du Loir Rouge "Cuvée du Rosier"

Pascal Janvier Coteaux du Loir Rouge "Cuvée du Rosier"
Varietal: Pineau d'Aunis
Region: Loire, France
Year: 2014
Price: $20
Retailer: Silverlake Wine

This morning I woke to pouring rain, and breathed a sigh of relief.

The relief was short-lived. When I got out of my car at the gas station, my sunglasses fogged from the wretchedly high humidity and I knew all hope was lost. I immediately regretted blow drying my hair. Not that my hair is curly or anything, but because it now looks like I've been at the gym all day. I feel like I've been at the gym all day. Ugh. Humidity is the worst.

But nothing to pull you out of humidity grouch mode like a favorite bottle of wine, like Pascal Janvier's Coteaux du Loir Rouge. 

Pineau d'Aunis is a red varietal only found in the Loire, and is generally used in blends. But when it isn't getting thrown around in Touraine and is left to its own devices, Pineau d'Aunis is a light bodied beast. 

One Thousand

Dirty Art Club

The "Cuvée du Rosier" reminds me of gamay's sexy older brother. Same care-free attitude, but reads Politico and wears a subtle aftershave. You're probably hanging out in gamay's basement playing Mario Kart when "Cuvée du Rosier" rolls in and starts cracking jokes about John Boehner you don't really get, but laugh along with anyway because he has just the right amount of scruff and a really nice smile. One night he gives you a ride home, and you've been secretly making out ever since.

BUT GAMAY CAN NEVER KNOW!

Instead of gym hair, I'm going to pretend my hair is now playfully tussled "Cuvée du Rosier" hair. 

Tasting Notes: Bright berries and citrus on the nose. The palate is light but layered, with plenty of fruit, energized spice and excited minerality. Youthful and seductive. The kind of wine that reminds me why I love wine, with lots of warm butterflies. 

Ross Test: Oral sex

Montenidoli Tradizionale

Montenidoli Tradizionale
Varietal: Vernaccia
Region: Tuscany, Italy
Year: 2013
Price: $17.99
Retailer: DomaineLA

I don't know where this week went, much like I don't know where summer went. Ah time, that god damn vacuum. 

It's been extremely hot in Los Angeles, and I'm sure my electric bill at the end of the month will reflect that. I don't mind the heat, but fuck the humidity. I've lived in Southern California my whole life and I didn't even know what humidity was until I went to Walt Disney World when I was ten and told my mom I was going to die. A white wine was definitely in order... but which?

I decided on this vernaccia, an Italian white wine organically farmed with native yeasts, and totally up my alley. 

Until I opened it. I did not dig the bouquet. It smells like a rundown dollar theater you even avoid as a teenager because you know the dude who's inviting you is going to try to get a handjob and you've never done that and have no intention of doing so in a mildewy auditorium while watching an Adam Sandler movie. That smell.

Then SURPRISE!

No, not a handjob.
It tastes good!

It tastes like how I imagine eating a floral arrangement right out of one of those refrigerated cases would taste. Bright and not grassy, but stem-y and petal-y, with a strong satiny finish. It's a bit heavy but still quite refreshing. As it opens, its body grows and it gets a little pissy, making it more complex. This is definitely more of a meal wine rather than a "HEY IT'S FRIDAY AFTERNOON!" wine. In the future, I would pair it with a thoughtful meal like paella, or whatever else someone wanted to cook me that involved seafood. It would also go well with a big salad. 

Tasting Notes: Musky butter popcorn and hints of barnyard on the nose. Rich and floral with slight herbal notes on the palate. Definitely eat with it. 

Ross Test: Fine but not worth it. 

Philippe Jambon "Une Tranche Fine"

Philippe Jambon "Une Tranche Fine"
Varietal: Gamay
Region: Villié-Morgon, France
Year: 2013
Price: $21.99
Retailer: DomaineLA

If you can't tell by my makeup-less, top-knotted, surly-ass face, I was in desperate need of a gamay today in a way that only a woman immobilized by cramps sent from the depths of hell itself could truly understand. 

Despite still looking like an angry monster, "Une Tranche Fine" was just what the doctor ordered, along with Aleve and a passionate pursuit of high-grade painkillers, despite both of my god damned drug dealers ignoring my cries for help from the feminine product isle. If it wasn't for this wine, I would be crying or dying or both, presumably in the fetal position in bed while the DVD menu of Seinfeld looped for hours on end. 

But fortunately for the both of us, I have gathered the strength to persevere and tell you all about this wine.

Aside from its medicinal purposes, "Une Tranche Fine" is overall an exquisite example of organic French gamay. It tastes like bottled fireworks. Scintillating and skillful, its tart and carbonite fruits straight up explode in your mouth. I could get sexual with this, but I am not going to. But just know I could get sexual with this, and that you could also get sexual with this. It's a sexy wine! 

I feel like this would be a fun third date wine. I've only been on one third date ever and that was six years ago, but had I been drinking such bomb wine six years ago, I definitely would have pulled this out and been like, "Heyyyyyyyy. [wiiiink]" It's very flirty wine; friendly and quick, with light-hearted bitterness. "Une Tranche Fine" will make you smile and tug at the nape of your neck while you try not to fall in love. 

I just don't see how you're not going to bone after drinking this! It's too delicious and fun! It's like a carnival date!

Like a cool carnival, not a Dateline "Whyyy'd my baby get murdered?!" carnival.

Tasting Notes: Vibrant on the bouquet and the palate, with tons of energized cherry, cranberry, and sour rose petals. I need one or ten more bottles STAT. 

Ross Test: GOD DAMNED DELIGHTFUL AND PERFECT, FUCK A GLASS

OENO Pinot Noir

OENO Pinot Noir
Region: Sonoma County, California
Year: 2013
Price: $22
Retailers: LA/SF

I love quiet afternoons in sunny rooms with stacks of latest issues and books I've yet to finish, something enchanting echoing through the house. Today it's Travel & Leisure, Jay McInerney, and Les Baxter. Not all wines are meant for these moments, but I can't think of a better way to be enjoying the OENO Pinot Noir. 

It feels like a fuzzy throw blanket for my heart. And I love throw blankets. I have at least six throw blankets, and yet I can't help but want 400 more. I'm like this with most inventions of comfort and relaxation, including but not limited to oversized collections of overpriced candles, sweatpants, mud masks and bath salts (the kind for soaking, not for eating your neighbors' faces). 

I want to drink this wine while curled up in my throws while burning my favorite candle in my comfiest sweatpants wearing the tightest mud mask and somehow still be in the bath with these Fiddlefish bath salts I didn't need to buy but couldn't help it because I was stoned at the farmer's market and I CAN'T SAY NO TO BATH SALTS (in the non-eating-neighbors'-faces way).

I'm sure you're thinking, "Marissa, you can do that with any wine." And yes, but no. You're wrong. These sorts of "me time" activities-- like scanning Bon Appetit, eyeing shoes you can't afford and putting together new Pinterest boards because that is something you do now-- require a wine that is an ebb and flow of excitement and ease. You need a wine that is not only delicious and brings you back glass after glass, but that it is so easy to drink that you didn't even realize the bottle is gone and you have been shopping for vintage telephones on Etsy for two hours. 

The OENO Pinot Noir is that wine. 

But beware. This wine will be your new favorite throw blanket, but it will also tell you you are allowed to buy shoes for "Back To School" even though you are a drop-out with no plans of ever getting your bachelor's. So, what I'm saying is, it's your new favorite throw blanket/best friend. Kind of the same thing, to be honest. 

Tasting Notes: Energized bouquet, with tart red fruits, a hit of fresh cut grass and a touch of citrus. Bright and soft with lots of cherry and cranberry, hints of supple oak and a few stray Sour Patch Kids. Lovely warm and lingering finish, that throw blanket I'm talking about.

Ross Test: Good, but better out of the glass

Contadi Castaldi Brut Rosé

Contadi Castaldi Brut Rosé
Varietals: 65% Chardonnay, 35% Pinot Nero
Region: Franciacorta, Italy
Price: ~$25

Rosé fatigue is a real thing, a condition onset by the suffocating virality of rosé this season. I started actively avoiding them, going as far as vowing not to review another for the rest of the summer and cussing out a bartender for mockingly assuming that because I was a woman at a wine bar I was obviously ordering rosé.

But then, by the grace of god, the kind people of the region of Franciacorta decided to bless me with a few presents, one of which being the Contadi Castaldi Brut Rosé. It could have been any other brut rosé and I would have said, "Whaaateverrr" but IT'S A FRANCIACORTA, AND NOT ONLY A FRANCIACORTA, BUT MY FAVORITE!

I had the Contadi Castaldi Brut Rosé in Rome last summer. It was so fucking hot, and the Castaldi was so fucking refreshing, served in a beautiful little tulip'd glass that is the official vessel of Franciacorta. I looked for it in the states but never found it, and was sure that I wouldn't see my long lost summer crush again until I returned to my beloved Italia. 

And now here I am, once again enjoying its pleasures on an excruciatingly hot summer day, sadly not on the patio of a mozzarella bar.

You don't see Franciacortas that often in America, and that sucks because they're one of my favorites. Made using metodo classico-- otherwise known as méthode traditionelle when used for Champagne-- this Italian sparkler has an elegant, clean crispness that I just die for. Unlike Champagne with its nutty roundness, or Prosecco with its creamy melon, Franciacortas are a bit pinching and salty while maintaining graceful structure. It's the perfect middle sister between Champagne and Cava. 

The Castaldi reminds me of a tangled top-knot sitting upon the crown, effortlessly sophisticated. It's approachable and carefree, and yet, so god damn poised. It's the bowl of potato chips you're DYING FOR at the cocktail party, and it's Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face. It's quite perfect, if you love juxtaposing fanciful fun with time tested tradition. 

I want to drink this all night and pretend I am sweltering in Rome with only this brut rosé and my loved ones to find refuge in. I've already waxed extremely poetic about Italy this month, so I don't want to bore you, but I could float away on its bubbles into the Adriatic Sea for now until eternity.

Tasting Notes: Lay's Potato Chips dipped in carbonated rose gold. 

Ross Test: As with most sparkling wines, it's a painful burst of joy.