1313 Main: A Lucky Wine Bar for Bubbly Lovers

January 13th, 2012

The downtown Napa wine bar 1313 Main features adiverse selection of wines, servers that know Napa like insiders and a comfortable modern setting.


A couple weeks ago, a friend asked me the word for being afraid of the number 13. It’s triskaidecaphobia, though I admit I had to look up the exact spelling.

I didn’t think much of it until I realized that this month, which began with Sunday the 1st, would include a Friday the 13th.

But 13 isn’t always an unlucky number. A trip to Napa that started out poorly – when I discovered I’d left my wallet at home – ended with me feeling quite privileged to experience 1313 Main.

There’s a clever logo of mirrored 13s on the front, along with a window showcasing some of their favorite champagnes and sparkling wines. Inside, 1313 has a modern decor done in a range of neutral tones accented by warm red and carnelian touches.

Like most wine bars, 1313 Main offers a selection of flights. The Bubble Trouble features NV Mumm Napa Brut Prestige, NV Taittinger Cuvée Prestige and NV Lucien Albrecht Cremant d’Alsace Brut Rosé. Since I was still getting over a cold, I limited myself to a taste of the Lucien Albrecht, a pristine 100% pinot noir traditional method wine with subtle flavors of plum and berries. The two-ounce tastes range from $3.50 for the Mumm Napa to $5 for the one I chose to $10 for Champagne Collet.

Every Friday, 1313 features a Bubble Bar with a rotating list of 13 sparkling wines by the glass. The lineup usually includes wines like sparkling vouvray from Domain Vigneau-Chevreau, Gruet Brut Sauvage and Schramsberg Mirabelle Brut Rosé. The lineup also includes something amazing, like Krug Grande Cuvée or Salon which are rarely seen in wine bars, let alone by the glass.

Can’t wait for my next visit to see what’s featured on the Bubble Bar.

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Drink to Your Health: Studies Show Bubbly & Red Wine Good For You

January 9th, 2012

Enjoyed in moderation, red wines like this sparkling shiraz can help prevent diseases like breast and prostate cancer, according to scientific studies.

Booze of all kinds gets villfied in January, as if it’s the (fill in the name of your favorite tipple here)’s fault that we drank too much of it over the holidays and gained weight or started the new year with a horrific hangover.

So in the interest of equal time, I thought I’d highlight some of the scientific studies showing that drinking in moderation is good for your health.

Most people know that red wine is good for your health. But did you know that champagne and sparkling wines have health benefits too?

A 2009 study conducted at the University of Reading in the UK found that polyphenols found in champagne raised nitric oxide levels in the blood vessels, keeping them relaxed. This is important because increased blood flow helps prevents any blockages which can lead to strokes or other problems.

A new wine health study by Cedars Sinai Medical Center reported on Science Daily found that moderate red wine consumption may reduce one of the risk factors for breast cancer. The 36 women in the study drank 8 ounces of Cabernet Sauvignon or Chardonnay for 30 days and then switched varietals for the next month. The study found that the Cabernet Sauvignon drinkers had elevated levels of testosterone along with lower levels of estrogen, which has been found to foster the growth of cancer cells. The doctors believe plant chemicals in the skin and seeds of red wine grapes cause the beneficial effects.

And men shouldn’t feel left out either: a 2003 study found that the red wine antioxidant resveratrol may help inhibit the growth of prostate cancer. The study by researchers at MD Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas found that a glass or two a day should do the trick.

Many people start the year with a month-long liquor fast to give their livers a break. But we needn’t bother, according to a report from the British Liver Trust covered by the BBC. Instead, it’s more effective to give the liver a little break each week, by skipping alcohol for a few days.

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Celebrate New Year’s Eve with
the Best Bubbly of 2011

December 31st, 2011

Vouette et Sorbée is a biodynamic grower champagne house in the Aube that's becoming a sommelier favorite.

It’s hard to believe another year is coming to a close! As we get ready to welcome 2012, I can’t help but think back to all the delicious champagnes and sparkling wines I’ve enjoyed this year.

Here’s some of the bubbly that I’d love to taste one more time as the calendar changes:

NV Vouette et Sorbée Saignée de Sorbée

I heard about this grower champagne house in the Aube from both Christine Dufault and Rajat Parr while interviewing them for a story this year. I was thrilled to get to taste the range at the Arlequin Champagne Tasting. Each of the wines had a singular quality; the Blanc de Argile is extremely lean and austere, while the Saignée de Sorbée is a bold wine, extra-brut with flavors of plum, strawberry, minerals and smoke. About $88.

Champagne Lanson Black Label has a bright crisp quality balanced by the right hint of French champagne toastiness.

NV Champagne Lanson Black Label

I first tasted Champagne Lanson at the Grand Champagne Tasting at the Fairmont Hotel this spring, and rediscovered it again this winter after meeting Lanson Managing Director Paul Beavis. I love the way Lanson Black Label has a bright and fresh quality mixed with an edge of toastiness that to me says fine champagne. According to Beavis, the difference is that Lanson is made without malolactic fermentation, so the acids in the champagne stay bright and crisp, like a green apple. About $40

Gloria Ferrer Blanc de Noirs tastes even better at the winery's Sonoma County tasting room overlooking the vineyards.

NV Gloria Ferrer Blanc de Noirs

I love blanc de noirs  – sparkling wines made from a mix of pinot noir and pinot meunier grapes – for the way they showcase the flavors of those red grapes. This style is extremely food-friendly as well, working with richly flavored dishes like salmon, pork or lamb. Every time I taste the Gloria Ferrer Blanc de Noirs, it delights me with hints of strawberry, baked apple and white flowers.  About $14.

Schramsberg's first wine release was the Blanc de Blancs and it remains one of their best offerings.

Schramsberg 2008 Blanc de Blancs

Jack and Jamie Davies’ Schramsberg was the first U.S. winery to make a méthode champenoise blanc de blancs, which is crafted from chardonnay grapes. It’s still one of the best, with a 2008 vintage that’s vibrant with flavors of citrus balanced by a richness from two years on the yeast. This wine became internationally known in 1972 when then President Nixon served it at Toast for Peace in Beijing, China. About $25.

Four bottles of Krug Grande Cuvée on ice - what a beautiful sight!

NV Krug Grande Cuvée

With its blend of youthfulness and age, simplicity and complexity, each time I taste Krug Grande Cuvée, it inspires me. A tasting at the Hotel Vitale was even more memorable by the opportunity to meet the charming Maggie Henriquez, CEO and President of Champagne Krug. About $135

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Uncorked: Discovering My A-ha Moment with Champagne

December 8th, 2011

An a-ha moment is when something becomes very clear to you. Kind of like the ideas in  Oprah’s back page column “Things I Know for Sure.”

During the recent Mutual of Omaha campaign to capture real people telling their own stories, I talked about the a-ha moment on the way to my becoming The Bubbly Girl. I remember being in Aspen for the Food & Wine Classic and sitting with a group of people at Nobu. One of managers at the restaurant asked me “why Champagne?”  I think I felt put on the spot a bit; it’s not often a stranger asks you to defend your chosen avocation. But I realized, “why not Champagne?”

I love wines with bubbles. I like the way there’s a sense of danger associated with opening a bottle, if you don’t handle it right. It’s like an implied message that this is special stuff and you have to respect it. The physical properties of a méthode champenoise wine force you to observe the ritual of chilling it, not shaking it up, holding the cork carefully so it doesn’t fly off in your face. Even an expensive bottle of Bordeaux doesn’t have that kind of power.

Then there’s the moment when the cork leaves the bottle – either with a pop or soft sigh. Either way, that bubbly is talking to you, loud and clear. Other wines speak once you get them in the glass and start to taste, but bubbly can make a statement before you take a single sip.

And then there are those bubbles, those magical and mesmerizing streams of tiny pearls that erupt once champagne or sparkling wine is poured into a flute. I love the way they a release a stream of memories; maybe it was the Sunday afternoon bubbly with a boyfriend or girlfriend,  the Dom Perignon at a wedding, the prosecco and prosciutto on a trip to Italy or the before-dinner champagne with a friend who’s not with us anymore. Thinking back, those moments were all happy ones, and that glass in our hand connects us to all those bottled up good feelings.

Plus when it comes to food-pairing, bubbly just happens to be the best category of wine in the world. I like the idea of  bringing more happiness to people’s lives, especially when it’s something as simple as opening a bottle of bubbly.

I think we have – or can have – a-ha moments all the time. Maybe even every day. We just have to be paying attention to that little voice inside that tells us “this is not for me” or “yes, this is what I want to do”

So what’s your a-ha moment?

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Warm up the Winter with Four Roses Bourbon – Plus a Fat Washing Primer

December 5th, 2011

Bacon-infused bourbon, apple cider and a 4505 Meats chicharron were winning ingredients in the Autumn Rose cocktail.

Of all the brown spirits, bourbon is the one I’m warming up to the fastest. I guess it must be the warm flavors of caramel and vanilla and the hint of sweetness from the corn mash that makes it easy to appreciate. I’ve sipped it on the rocks, but love the way it works in cocktails. I’m not the only one apparently: this spring, an organization called Bourbon Women had their coming out party in Kentucky. Founded by Peggy Noe Stevens – the first female master bourbon taster – the group celebrates the heritage of bourbon and educates women about it through tasting events around the country.

I got a personal lesson in the versatility of bourbon this fall when I judged a Four Roses Bourbon cocktail contest at Bourbon & Branch.The Four Roses legend starts with Paul Jones, Jr. who was in love with a local belle. He asked her to marry him and coyly suggested that if her answer was yes, she should wear a corsage of four red roses to the next dance. She did, and the rest is history. These days, Four Roses is admired by connoisseurs for Jim Rutledge’s careful blending five yeast strains and two grain mixes to create 10 distinctive bourbon recipes. Each blend is aged in new white oak barrels, and only Rutledge’s favorite is selected as their Single Barrel bourbon.

For their annual cocktail contest, creative Bay Area mixologists made diverse cocktails with their own corn milk punch, rootbeer and combination of amari and other brown spirits. But in the end, we were most taken with the way the bourbon was enhanced by a combo of bacon, apple cider and a spicy 4505 Meats chicharron in a drink called Autumn Rose by Christina Cabrera.

Autumn Rose

2 ounces bacon-infused Four Roses Bourbon
1/4 ounce Gran Classico
1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
3/4 ounce apple cider
1/2 ounce honey
1/2 ounce maple syrup
2 dashes chocolate bitters

Add all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake until well-chilled and strain into a coupe style cocktail glass. Now take a bite of the chicharron before sipping the cocktail.

Now Christina’s recipe used maple bacon infused honey. Since I didn’t have any of that around, I decided it was time to make some bacon-infused bourbon. This is a simple version of the technique called “fat-washing” that mixologists and chefs use to add the flavor of a fatty food like bacon or foie gras to a spirit.

Bacon-Infused Bourbon

4 pieces thick-cut, old-fashioned bacon, ie  applewood smoked
1 bottle bourbon

Basically, all you do is pour the fat released by cooking the bacon into the bourbon, or whatever spirit you’re infusing. Let it sit for a day or two and then freeze it before pouring the bourbon back into the bottle through a cheesecloth or strainer. The bacon fat will have transferred flavor into the spirit.

For a more involved description of fat-washing, check out this post on Blender Booze blog; I also like this profile of fat-washing pioneer Eben Freeman in Food & Wine Magazine.  I learned the lard ..er hard way that it’s important to let your bourbon sit in the refrigerator while it’s infusing with the bacon fat. I let it sit on the counter as one recipe suggested and the bacon fat took on a rancid odor, not the sort of thing one wants to drink. I also think the effect works best if you use a more smoky style of bacon.

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The Nutty Persimmon: A Halloween Cocktail in Orange & Black

October 29th, 2011

Persimmon creates a delicious and seasonal orange cocktail for Halloween drinking. A fresh candied walnut makes a spooky garnish.

When it comes to creating orange drinks for Halloween, most people reach for a can of pumpkin. Or more creatively, some sweet potato puree. But both of those are so thick and starchy, they make rather substantial drinks.

I’ve discovered that persimmon is the perfect orange base for a Halloween cocktail. They’re a beautiful hue, persimmons are really coming into season in mid-October and their sweet unassertive flavor mixes well.

Visit Maria’s Good Things for more persimmon recipes.

I paired my persimmon syrup  (created by mixing a cup of organic persimmon puree with a brown- sugar simple syrup) with some preserved fresh walnuts from Harvest Song Ventures. They’re black, soft and sweet,  and often paired with blue cheese or even foie gras. The  baby walnuts do look rather alarming, so  you could say they were decaying eyeballs, spider eggs or something equally gross for Halloween.
The Nutty Persimmon

1-1/2 ounces persimmon syrup
1-1/2 ounces Laird’s applejack (or bourbon)
1 teaspoon walnut syrup
juice of 1/4 lemon
shake nutmeg
shake powdered cinnamon
float of blanc de noirs sparkling wine
1/2 fresh walnut, for garnish

Add the persimmon syrup, applejack, walnut syrup, lemon juice and spices to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake until well-chilled, then strain into a small martin glass or a coupe. Top with the blanc de noirs and stir lightly. Garnish with the fresh walnut half.

Makes 1 cocktail

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Champagne: The ultimate lifestyle & luxury drink for #ChampagneDay

October 28th, 2011

Krug Champagne commissioned a $500,000 hot air balloon as a symbol of the brand's image as a luxurious hand-crafted product.

I love champagne. Its effervescence excites me, its crispness makes me smile and its very aura is appealing. I drink it all, from the little grower champagnes to the Grand Dames. No other drink has the same complex creation, the unique history or the emotional impact.

Today on Champagne Day, I’m sharing a piece I wrote a few years ago about the way champagne is marketed to maintain its unique pop culture status.

Clear morning sunlight is just breaking over the distant hills, but I’ve been sipping champagne for an hour, floating in a hot air balloon at 2,500 feet above the Sonoran desert near Phoenix. A white scarf that recalls the magnificent men in their flying machines is draped around my neck.  The silence is broken by the roar of the propane burners that keep the elegant white balloon with its silvery vine logo afloat.

The occasion? Krug Champagne is flossing its unique brand of bespoke luxury in this $500,000 balloon outfitted with hand-tooled white leather, a mid-fight repast created by a French culinary designer and a pilot with a British accent.

Welcome to the new world of luxury champagne marketing. It’s not enough to tout the tastiness of your bubbly in a competitive industry set at just under $6 billion in 2010 according to trade group Comité Interprofesionnel du Vin de Champagne. Whether with cleverly designed bottles and baubles, super-exclusive cuvées or champagne lifestyle experiences, venerable maisons are busy dreaming up ever-more opulent ways to one-up each other and attract attention.

Veuve Clicquot hired über-designer Karim Rashid to create a curvy pink tête-a-tête style loveseat with an ice bucket built into the center that sold for $10,000. His latest effort is Globalight, a $4,500 limited edition champagne cooler and carrier that keeps your rosé at the ideal temperature while bathing it in soft pink light.

Piper-Heidsieck – which first linked fashion and fizz with a bottle dressed in a Jean Paul Gaultier  red vinyl corset – has dressed Rosé Sauvage in a pink and black upside-down bottle by Viktor & Rolf. Last year they released a Christian Louboutin-designed crystal slipper (which also might be idea for Cristal-sipping). This year’s conceit was a bondage bottle dressed in black fishnets and a mask by Gaultier that cost $285 (at Park Avenue Liquor Shop) if you could even get your hands on one.

Perrier Jouët By and For – a true bespoke bubbly — burst on the scene this spring as the most expensive champagne to date. Celebs Sophie Marceau and Marianne Faithfull have jumped at the chance to be one of the lucky 100 to buy a case for about $98,000. The price includes a trip to Paris for four, “personality” champagne blending with the chef de caves, and lunch at the Maison Belle Epoque in Epernay. If that’s not enough, then consider dropping another $165,000 for the Van Cleef & Arpels anemone flower brooch set with 450 diamonds and 259 yellow sapphires that commemorates the launch.

But by far the most egregious example of the power of marketing is Armand de Brignac champagne, aka “Ace of Spades” that was introduced by rapper Jay Z. A few years ago, the Cattier family had little success selling champagne for about $64 a bottle in the U.S. Their fortunes changed after Cattier Champagne – poured into a shiny gold bottle – appeared in the Jay-Z video “Show Me What You Got.” Now it sells for $300 a pop.

Though the flying Krug room takes champagne marketing to new heights, at least there’s a historical precedent. In the late 1700s when the French balloon aviation pioneers took a flight, they always carried a bottle of champagne as a peace offering since the balloon were prone to landing unexpectedly in some poor farmer’s field.

“That’s the same wine in the bottle and the taste has not changed,” said Rémi Fritsch-Frontages, Krug’s brand director. “What you create around it that makes people see it with new eyes.”

So what’s next? The Krug Formula One race car… the Krug yacht?  Or maybe they’ll follow the lead of Hermès and launch the Krug Kopter.

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Make a Bloody Moscow Mule for Halloween

October 27th, 2011

Adding a little grenadine creates this easy Bloody Moscow Mule that's a seasonal Halloween cocktail recipe. The skull vodka bottle makes a great bar prop.

When I got a bottle of the Crystal Head Vodka in the distinctive skull-shaped bottle, I knew it would be perfect for a Halloween cocktail shoot. Since it was released, I’ve seen some tequilas in painted Day of the Dead-style calavera bottles. But they look dowdy next to this perfectly clear gleaming skull.

The Moscow Mule is the only vodka cocktail I drink regularly. It’s like a gingery mojito and it’s super simple to make, since there’s absolutely no muddling involved.

The story goes that the Moscow Mule was created back in 1941 for a promotion by the Smirnoff Company to help market their new vodka. The recipe was released along with special copper-colored mugs.

Holding the cold, sweaty mug in your hand adds to the refreshing experience of the drink. But to see the bloody effect I created by swapping the simple syrup in the recipe for the pomegranate syrup known as grenadine,  you’ll want to make this cocktail in a clear glass.

By the way, that’s not a stain on the front of the cranium, that’s a signature from actor, bluesman and entrepreneur Dan Akroyd who owns the brand! (Off topic, but if you’ve never seen Akroyd in ’80s movies The Blues Brothers or Trading Places – which has a great Halloween story line – go check them out on Netflix.)

Bloody Moscow Mule

2 tablespoons natural grenadine, like Stirrings
1-1/2 ounces vodka
3 ounces ginger beer
¼ ouncd fresh lime juice
1 sprig fresh mint
1 slice lime

Pour the grenadine into the bottom of your cocktail glass. Fill the glass three-quarters with ice, add vodka and lime juice. Stir gently to combine. Top with ginger beer and stir. Garnish with mint sprig and lime slice.
Makes 1 cocktail

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Wine Review: Va de Vi from Gloria Ferrer

October 18th, 2011

Va de Vi from Gloria Ferrer is an off-dry sparkling wine that's perfect with sushi and spicy dishes.

People often ask me to name my favorite bubbly. And my answer is always the same: it depends.

I appreciate sparkling wines ranging from the crisp brut nature champagne to the deep dark sparkling shiraz from Australia to the sparkling ice wine from Canada. What I want depends on what food I’m eating.

I found that the right food made all the difference with VA de VI, a relatively new dry (read slightly sweet) sparkling wine from Gloria Ferrer in Sonoma. The first time I tried it, we didn’t connect.

But when I tried it with a variety of Asian foods that might be challenging for other wines, Va de Vi charmed me with its versatility.

Va de Vi is a  golden méthode champenoise sparkling wine with persistent medium-fine bubbles. The winery calls it an “ultra cuvée” crafted from a blend of 89% pinot noir,  8% chardonnay plus 3% muscat and then aged for 18 months. The aroma is quite fruity with hints of golden apple and peach. The golden apple carries through in the flavor, along with toasty bread notes and some deeper hints of cherry and plum.  And while Va de Vi has a hint of sweetness, it’s also got a mouth-watering acidity.

A friend who often shares bubbly with me even though it’s not his thing liked it right away. He said the Va de Vi felt softer than some of the other sparkling wines we’d tried.

The first food I tasted with it was a Japanese seven spice-crusted ahi tuna salad with pickled ginger, avocado and a rice vinegar and soy dressing. The Va de Vi brought out the sweetness in the ahi tuna and ginger while complementing the saltiness of the soy sauce.

I poured another glass with my leftovers from a weekend trip to Mission Chinese Food, where most of the food is laden with Szechwan peppercorn, red peppers and jalapeno for good measure. The Va de Vi was the perfect foil for Thrice Cooked Bacon, a smoky jumble of bacon, salty black beans, chewy tofu skin, bitter melon and healthy dose of chili oil. The wine tamed the spice while lifting the flavor of smokiness of the dish.

I poured the last of my Va de Vi with spicy tuna roll and California rolls with real crab.  Va de Vi was a perfect sushi wine, as it enhanced the flavors of the seafood while softening the edges on the soy and wasabi. – By now, Va de Vi felt like an old friend.  And I was sorry to see it go.

NV Gloria Ferrer Va de Vi Sonoma County Sparkling Wine, about $19

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Think Pink & Bubbly for Breast Cancer Awareness

October 10th, 2011

October is National Breat Cancer Awareness Month. Help raise funds for a cure with some pink bubbly and make sure to do your own breast exam.

I never, ever need an excuse to drink brut rosé sparkling wine or champagne. But there’s even more reason to enjoy pink bubbly when it helps raise money for breast cancer research during the month of October.

On October 13, Domaine Chandon presents Pink Party 2011, the winery’s annual fundraiser for breast cancer awareness. This year, the exuberant party has been restyled as “Eve of Hope”, a swank $125 per person fashion show featuring creations by Whitney Port. Port gained name recognition after appearing on The Hills and The City. But she proved she had some fashion cred by working for Diane von Furstenburg before launching her own line Whitney Eve.

Whitney Port is the featured designer at "Eve of Hope," the Oct. 13 Domaine Chandon Pink Party to benefit The National Breast Cancer Foundation. Tickets are $125.

Party-goers can expect lots of Domaine Chandon Etoile Rosé  – a subtle rosé with hints of dried cranberry and hazelnut – to accompany appetizers by Chef Perry Hoffman of Etoile Restaurant. To order tickets for the 5:30 to 8:3 p.m. event, call 888-242-6366 or visit www.chandon.com

Australian sparkling wine producer Yellowglen is sponsoring a Sparkle for a Cause campaign during the month of October. For every bottle of Pink – their fun and fruity rosé – purchased this month, Yellowglen will donate $1 to the Making Memories Breast Cancer Foundation.  The company has pledged to donate a maximum of $25,000 to the organization which creates memorable events for people losing their fight with breast cancer.

Neck tags on the Korbel Brut Rosé announce that the winery is donating $1 towards breast cancer research for every new "Like" on their Facebook page.

Korbel Winery is working to raise money for a cure with its Toast Life Foundation. For every new “Like” on the Korbel Facebook Page, the company is donating $1 to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, with a maximum donation of $10,000. If you’ve never tried it, Korbel’s Brut Rosé is a dry (as in not sweet) méthode champenoise wine with lots of strawberry and cherry notes, thanks to its blend of pinot noir and gamay grapes.

So spread the word, buy some bubbly and help fund a breast cancer cure. And while you’re at it, take time this month to do a self breast exam- remember, early detection saves  lives!

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