Lasagna Bolognese & Lamoresca Mascalesi

Ah, Lasagna, or as I like to call it, "Sweatpants for your insides."

Frankly, the lasagna and the wine didn't pair very well together and I knew it wasn't going to, but frankly my dears, I GAVE NO DAMNS. Because when you want to drink Lamoresca, you drink Lamoresca, because nothing else will do.

Their Mascalesi is one of my favorites. This blend of Nerello Mascalese and Frappato is like drinking a bright sweater woven with 50/50 cranberry wool & black cherry cotton that was tossed in the dryer with Bounce sheets made of pressed red roses, pepper & thyme. Volcanic and grippy, yet light enough to drink leisurely, this is hands down one of the best wines to curl up with on a cold evening.

And while this warm & fuzzy sweater didn't quite match the sweet tomato bolognese sweatpants, it's still an ensemble I'd gladly wear every night around the house.

VIETNAFEAST

Celebrated Antoin's mother last night, starting with Catherine et Pierre Breton “La Dilattante” Vouvray Brut (always a classic), and Com Thit Nuong & shrimp paired with the Peillot Altesse, as suggested by Lou. Cut “like an express lane” through the spice; green apple & honeydew on a limestone slab with shavings of pear & a liiiiitttllle pecorino.

Bucatini all’Amatriciana & Collecapretta “La Cese” Sangiovese

Bucatini all’Amatriciana & Collecapretta “La Cese” Sangiovese is the closest you can get to having sex while eating dinner in sweatpants. Bucatini all’Amatriciana is an especially spicy dish in this household, but the “Le Cese” tempered the heat while flattering the tomatoes, and is overall an herbal, ripe cherry chutney with dusty gravel & liquid pheromones. An absolutely perfect pairing. 

On Bon Appétit: A LOT

Bon Appétit has been keeping me so busy I forgot to tell you about all the shit I've been busy writing! So put down that beach read, because you have a lot to catch up on.

9 Situations in Which It Is Totally Fine to Put Ice in Your Wine

Why You Should Serve Magnums at Your Next Party

Where Do You Stand in the Boxed vs Canned Wine Debate?

The Wine You Should Be Drinking Instead of Rosé This Summer

Crucial Wine Pairings for Whatever BBQ You’re Making

9 Wines That Get Better with Age and Make the Perfect Wedding Gift

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! 

Please Please Me & Arca Nova Vinho Verde

Sauvignon Blanc may have been the white wine that converted me from Only-Drinking-Cabernet-FOR-LIFE-I-KNOW-EVERYTHING twenty-three year old, but Vinho Verde was the white wine that I first fell in love with. And that is why I enjoy this Arca Nova Vinho Verde ($9, Silverlake Wine) regularly. Maybe too regularly. Like, more regularly and dependable than my digestive system. 

Vinho Verde is the best for my favorite type of drinking: summer day-drinking. Cheap and low in alcohol, you can buy and drink a lot of it. Slightly sparkling, delightfully dry, and just juicy enough to be thirst quenching, I'm pretty sure it's the estival ultimate. 

There is nothing better for me than coming home in the summer with the AC blasting, popping a bottle of vinho verde and putting on some early Beatles. Is there anything more fun and poppy than Please Please Me? In my personal opinion, no. And it pairs perfectly with vinho verde. THEY ARE ONE IN THE SAME. If you look up "light & playful" in the dictionary [of my dreams], you will find a photo of the Beatles recording Please Please Me drinking vinho verde. They're laughing and chugging bright green & teal bottles and having a blast and blowing kisses to me through the glass cause I mean, I'm totally there in the dictionary [of my dreams].

The Arca Nova is bright and tastes like grapefruit lemonade, with hints of melon and Paul McCartney's sweat. I say Paul because it's kind of sweet but not as genuinely sweet as George's would be. Paul may write sweet songs but I don't believe he's as sweet as he lets on, and he's not as pure as Georgey boy. That being said, I fucking love that about Paul. You just know he's a bit of an asshole, and not gonna lie, I need my men with a bit of asshole. That sounds like I'm into buttstuff which is fine but I'm not into buttstuff but anyway, okay, ahem.... Anyway, Paul McCartney was my second crush ever after Disney's Robin Hood (yes the fox, the literal and figurative fox). And this is how I always imagined Paul's sweat tasting-- crisp, salty and intoxicating.  

THE POINT IS I LOVE IT.
PAUL AND VINHO VERDES.

Sidebar, real quick, uhhhh the guitars on "Anna"?
I listen to that song like 400x on repeat and then have to change my pants.
IT IS SO GOOD. IT'S LIKE THE CHERRY COKE OF GUITAR RIFFS.