the legion of the purple teeth

If you don’t have one of these, Amazon is sellin’ em this week for $6.95. Booyaka.

I forgot to take notes on this wine because I was too damn busy enjoying it. Professionalism always!

Anyhow, Inland Empirical and I managed to squeeze our hungry arses into this month’s Auntie Em’s popular Farmer’s Market Dinners. When Jody, Auntie Em’s excellent fromager saw that our wine was from Healdsburg, she immediately cracked open some Pug’s Leap goat cheese, also from the area. It was an excellent match, and it didn’t hurt that the cheese was damn near perfect, runny, ripe and creamy (see here). Dinner was excellent! I went with the Braised Lamb Shank even though I’m usually shank-phobic, but I tore it apart with a carnivore’s delight.

I, uh, promise to take notes next time. Sometimes you just want to drink something, you know? The wine developed as the night went on and had developed such a lush spicy nose by the end. I would definitely re-guzzle it.

(In the writing of this post, I had to look up what the cheese world equivalent of a sommelier was, and stumbled upon this excellent blog.)

Jager Bomb = One shot of Jager carefully loaded into a glass full of Red Bull. I did not participate as I cannot stand Red Bull…okay, not that I cannot stand Red Bull, it’s just that if I have Red Bull I just start to talk WAY TOO FAST and you shouldn’t do that around friends. Let other people have opinions. Let them be the friggin’ drunk ones!

Anyhow, we had this down at a bar in Fullerton behind the Orange Curtain called The Slidebar. The menus were designed like record albums and the place had a dark video game arcade NOT full of stinking adolescents. I likee!

Yum. This is the fourth and last wine club shipment I’ll get from Bonny Doon this year. Then it’s onto SEGHESIO, which comes next month.

Anyway, the bottle on the left is a 2005 Rosé of Pinot Noir – 75% Pinot Noir, 25% Pinot Gris (Central Coast). The little tasting sheet says I should drink this with “Gravlax, Garden Lettuces with Grapefruit & Avocado, Ham & Gruyere Quiche, Poached Wild Salmon.” Mmmm, all vegetarian stuff. I will try to save it for a time when I’m dining with an herbivore. I know a few. A FEW.

The bottle on the right seems promising as well, the 2003 Puglia – 75% Uva di Troia, 8% Aglianico, 8% Negro Amaro, and 8% Primitivo (from Puglia, Italy!). This was made in conjunction with the De Corato family of Azienda Agricola Rivera – the same folks who helped Bonny Doon make the tasty “La Violetta” Il Circo Uva di Troia bottling. Pairings? “Pecorino, Lamb Kabobs, Meat Ravioli, Cured Sausages and Pasta al Pesto Genovese.” Holy moly, all those things are super tasty. This is definitely a bottle to share with my boyfriend who will eat all of the above things. Or one of these Italian dudes. (Careful, not for work. Unless you work someplace HOT.)

I have a total thing for Alcove Bakery on Hillhurst in Los Feliz. It’s a bit of a ‘be seen’ sort of place, with lots of patio seating underneath trees and umbrellas, but with more of that eastside vibe – smoking and cell phones will get you the dirty eyeballs. They’ve got great paninis, always served with the crispiest fresh panini bread, and a wide variety of sides, including french fries made from yukon gold potatoes (which need just a little tweaking to be heaven on earth). To top it off, they always have a great little selection of wines by the glass. My usual Alcove meal is a glass of viognier with their crab cake sandwich.

You are receiving this Purple Teeth Alert because Alcove is currently serving some tasting looking sangria by the carafe ($10) and make-your-own-mimosas for the same price, but you get to mix your mini bottle of champs with your preferred amount of OJ. After you’re done, check out the gourmet food shop next door and the hidden gem of a wine store behind the restaurant. Glorp! Happy guzzling.

Full Name: Opera Brut Champagne

Technical Details: This is a “blanc de blanc” which is more fun to say than “100% Chardonnay”.

Interesting Label Stuff: The label sports a small sillouhette of the Paris Opera House where this is the house champagne. You can tell your friends this while you affect a silly Fronch accent, non?

The Occasion: A baby shower full of pregnant women! Which means I had *a lot* of it.

And?: First of all, I am proud to say I got the cork out by myself with not a lot of drama. I went out in the backyard with a friend nearby for moral support, and went to work with a tea towel. “Hold the cork, turn the bottle!” I chanted and the cork came out with a little pop. I was not so lucky with the other bottle I brought, but it was thankfully the super-budget champagne I brought for bellinis.

Clear and crisp with a very light color, wonderful little fizzy bubbles, this dry sparkling wine goes down easily with no sign of skunk face (which is not just a beer phenomenon). I cracked this open when we were heading for our little dessert course, tasty yellow cupcakes with a thin layer of chocolate frosting, topped with perfectly toasted coconut. The champagne was a great complement, cutting the sweetness of the cupcake just a little and accentuating the coconut. Glaaaargh, I thought, like a cheap line from a Bridget Jones novel. I’m sorry the pregnant women can’t enjoy this.

Will I Buy It Again?: Are you kidding me? For $11 this is a steal and a good switch for someone who has been downing Rosé at my many Hollywood Bowl picnics all summer. You can pick a bottle up on your next run to the Colorado Wine Company in Eagle Rock.

Tony and I go to a lot of estate sales and thrift stores on the weekends. This Saturday we were at a pretty good one in Silverlake, up in the hills off of Hyperion. He is a vintage photo collector and managed to snag this one. Can’t see the label but I certainly appreciate the sentiment.

Transportation Security Administration screener Corali Montez throws away a bottle of expensive wine at the security check-in at San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco, Thursday, Aug. 10, 2006. Growing lines of irritated travelers snaked through U.S. airport terminals Thursday as people waited hours to reach security checkpoints, where they were ordered to dump all liquids, water bottles, suntan lotion, even toothpaste, following the discovery of a terror plot involving planes leaving Britain. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)

Do you know how much I would have cried if this had happened when I was travelling recently? I had 5 bottles of wine in my bags!

Anyway, I’m not sure if it’s my imagination but I think that’s a bottle from Dry Creek’s winery in Napa. Those poor people. FROM THE REST OF THE WINE DRINKING WORLD TO YOU, I APOLOGIZE! STUPID TERRORISM!

Full Name: 2001 SketchBook Winery Mendocino Estate Syrah

Technical Details: Syrah – 97%, Petite Sirah – 3%

Interesting Label Stuff: Unfortunately for me, this was Molly’s bottle and she got to take it back with her! The label was covered in wonderful ink sketches by an artist depicting scenes from Mendocino wine country.

The Occasion: Picnicking outside the Pageant of the Masters down in Laguna Beach. We had this with the Vixen sparkler.

And?: Lots of pros here. Little kick of Petite Sirah deepens the berry flavors. Not a whiff of that ‘rubber tire’ stink that sometimes comes with overripe grapes. Elegant and round with just a little leather and cigar rich guy vibe (technical terms). Not very pushy – I wouldn’t have it with big heavy food. It went perfectly with fruit and breadsticks and didn’t need a lot of accessories. A chic ladies quaff, I think.

Will I Buy It Again?: I like big powerful roundhouse liver kickers when it comes to Syrahs and this is rounder and smoother than I’m accustomed to. I would definitely try the other wines from this winery. They also have a Merlot and a Cabernet Sauvignon. Happy guzzling.

Here we go, round one!

Full Name: Fox Creek Vineyards Vixen Sparkling Shiraz, McClaren Vale, Australia

Technical Details: Sparkling Shiraz – 81%, Cabernet Franc – 10%, Cabernet Sauvignon – 9%.

Interesting Label Stuff: “…grown in black clay soils using advanced trellising and are pruned by hand.”

The Occasion: Picnicking outside the Pageant of the Masters down in Laguna Beach.

And?: This is some tasty stuff that sends you back to your glass over and over again until the bottle is empty and everyone says, ‘Aww.’ It’s still very much a Shiraz with its lip smacking fresh berry blitz, but perhaps the bubbles and the addition of the mellow Cab Franc makes it less peppery and more soft. This was picked up at the Silverlake Wine store after tasting it during their annual summer wine & BBQ tasting and yes, it could go excellently with the grilled meat closest to your heart. Mmmm, short ribs anyone?

This is the kind of bottle I like to give to people or bring to a party because it is such a crowd pleaser and conversation starter. Girls who ‘don’t like red wine’ are going to love this because it’s so close to being a dessert in a glass.

Will I Buy It Again?: Oh hell yes. At $21 though, it’s not an everyday treat.