Weekly Wine Online

The pressure was on for the Wino this weekend! My beloved uncle came to visit and took me on an architecture tour of San Francisco’s modern buildings. We toured the amazing Frank Lloyd Wright building on Maiden Lane, saw the new, beautiful Contemporary Jewish Museum, which just opened last week, and peered up at some of Richard Neutra’s beautiful San Francisco homes, which juxtaposed against the crystal clear sky under which we were lucky enough to be graced were just gorgeous, sparkling modern gems!

After such a grand tour with such a grand guest, I wanted to reciprocate in the best way I knew how – with vino, of course! So up to my roof we went and sipped Provencal rosé as the sun set on San Francisco.

It’s kind of pathetic, I suppose, but whenever I want to impress a family member who is senior to me, I go for French wine. In most cases, I actually think that there’s much greater value to be found in wines from other places (especially those from countries where the currency isn’t so strong). But I took a trip to Burgundy and Provence this past September, so I am always eager to share wines from those region, especially ones I was able to experience in situ. 

To start with, I picked a rose from Provence, just south of Burgundy, because in my opinion, there’s nothing better than a rosé on a sunny day. So up to the roof we went, and, of course, I left the meat cooking too long, forgot the rice, and just cooked a pretty darn mediocre meal. But nothing goes better with a bad meal than a great bottle of wine – and a great bottle we did have! Louis Jadot’s Nuits-Saint-Georges proved to be just as lovely as I expected, with dark, spicy cherries and a bit of black tea on it. I felt like I was sipping down cooked cherry juice mixed in with a tender finish of black mushroom and meat. Just delicious!

Thus, while I still can’t seem to impress with my culinary arts (or lack thereof), thankfully France came to my aid and provided enough of a sidekick to leave my uncle singing poetry and raving about the meal long into the night.

Vive la France! And all the wine that comes with it! Even if it does cost a bit more these days, sometimes a great French wine or two really is worth the splurge. Especially if you can’t cook!

About Louis Jadot's Nuits- Saint- Georges 2005, from the website www.louisjadot.com:

A deeply coloured powerful, fullbodied Nuits-Saint-Georges of intense colour. It develops ripe, robust fruit flavours and nuances of oak in the bouquet. It will accompany red wine sauces, marinated or roasted game, medium tasting cheeses.

Other write-ups about Nuits-Saint-Georges: I'm sad to say I couldn't find any! Thus Bloggers of the world, I recommend you get out and write about this tasty wine!

Where to Buy It:

$40 at Sherry Lehman

$43 at Wine.com for the 2004