Good Morning!

It has been a long, hot summer and I have guilty of spending too much time by the pool sipping white wine. (I know, tough life Tammi…I am not bragging or complaining, this summer was da BOMB). But I did some lounge chair tasting research and the study was SOOOOO scientific, I went to the wine store and bought 3 cases of white wines, all less than 10 dollars. Each wine had to be different and under $10 retail. I did not care where it was from or which grape varietal.

I found some really great whites and I found some whites with so much acidity that I had heartburn for days. In my search for great tastes, I did find some food pairings that I really enjoyed, that I would never have thought about during the project. I loved the fact that I found most of these wines with screwtops and many of them where from outside of the US.

I tried Rieslings from Germany, I had unoaked Chardonnay from California, I tried Viognier from Texas, Vinho Verde from Portugual and Pinot Grigio from Italy, just to name a few. I found a lot of wine to be kinda non-descript without being good or bad, but I found many I loved and I ended up buying more cases of white wine under $10, over the summer I have tried over 120 wines, bottle by bottle. Of course, I shared them with many wine lovers with kinda uneducated palates, my palate is not very educated yet either, but I did take notes and learned about my preferences and what I really did not like.

One of my favorite wines of the summer was from Argentina and the grape was Torrontes. My favorite producer is Finca el Origen Reserva. It is crisp, mineraly, 14% ABV, and it goes perfectly with a raft and a book. It is peachy, and stone fruitish, is fruitish a word? But it is so clean and pure and really a beautiful kiss of wine, I have fallen in love with this reasonably priced wine.

I am not sure if I am as tickled about loving this wine for it’s price or for the fact many of the expensive wines I have tried over the summer really were lame. It is fun to love this wine, much like admitting sometimes I prefer a grilled hot dog over some really high end 5 course meal.

Anyway, Summer is mostly over and I will soon to head to California for the harvest and I am looking forward to the cooler weather and all the fun to be had during the fall. Go find Torrontes, I love it with triscuits and sliced tomatoes, with a little olive oil drizzled over it, sound weird, it is the perfect summer pairing for me!

If you have a perfect summer pairing, please share it with me!

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi

Good Morning!

Over the weekend, I got an email asking me about my teeth and it struck me as funny as first, then I did some checking to find answers. I have great teeth and as crazy as it sounds, the one body part I do not want to change is my big smile. Over the years I have spent a fortune on my mouth. As a kid, I had braces and all the regular dental check-ups. (Back when everyone had dental insurance).

In my career my teeth were really important because I had to meet many clients face to face. When I first started drinking wine I never thought about staining my teeth by drinking wine. But about 15 years ago I was one of those people who had my teeth whitened and when I would go to the dentist he would ask if I drank a lot of coffee. I have never drank coffee in my life, except once a year with Bailey’s at Christmas time.

So I ask him a million questions and we figured out that I had great dental hygiene and we started to figure out the red wine and green tea might be working against my bright smile. I ask about how often I could use the Crest strips, should I get the ZOOM whitening process again, I would do about anything but I will not give up wine. I also ask why my teeth looked whiter in the morning and he said that the teeth are dehydrated in the morning but once you start hydrating throughout the day, the color could appear less white.

Here are some ideas to keep your teeth white….( I have only tried 2 of these ideas or tips)

1. Drink water after each glass of wine to kinda rinse, I do this when tasting reds.

2. Use daily whitestrips, I have used white strips but it bothers my gums.

3. Eat cheese while drinking red wine.

4. Drink wine through a straw.

5. Drink white wine after red and the white will remove the red particles.

6. Wipe your teeth with a napkin after you drink the red wine.

7. Put a small amount of Vaseline on your teeth before you start drinking.

I thought a few of these ideas might be a good, some sound weird but it’s your teeth so if you have another option that you try and use, let me know.

I know my teeth are porous and I brush them more than most people brush their teeth, a habit I started back at age 11 while wearing braces, but it seems if I rinse, drink and repeat I can keep my teeth looking pretty good. The one wine that really coats my teeth is Petite Syrah, the inky, dark, density of these amazing grapes really grabs on to my mouth…..I guess I could drink more lighter reds like Pinot Noir’s and Beaujolais, but I want to try all wines of the world.

I think smiling and laughing is the best medicine in the world and the next best medicine is wine. Have an awesome week!

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi

Good Morning!

Yesterday I received an email asking me what wine would I pair with tofu. My first answer is it depends on else your eating, because tofu is kinda bland tasting to me, so I have to ask more questions before suggesting a wine. Tofu is made by coagulating soy milk and pressing the resulting curds. It can be soft and silky and firm and almost firm like a mushroom cap. If you have not tried it plain, you should, it can taste creamy like cheese, it can be more of a texture than an actual flavor…this is my opinion only, my chef and foodie friends will fight me on this.

My first taste of tofu was at a Japanese restaurant and it was tempura deep fried and you dipped it in sauce and it was light tasting without being greasy from frying. I would have paired it with champagne, the bubbles and acid would cut the fried taste and let the tofu be the star.

My next time I had tofu was in a “bean curd” dish from the China King carry out menu and it was a super spicy dish and tofu was really minced so it kinda just a texture not really a standing out taste of tofu. I would have paired this tofu dish with Gewurztraminer or Riesling, either of these wines would be a great balance of the heat in this dish with the lightness and slight sweet finish on these wines.

Then I had tofu in salad, it worked pretty much like when someone adds beans in a salad. The dressing in the salad was a very light vinaigrette. I would pair that with a very “green” wine, like Sauvignon Blanc, or Vinho Verde, they seem to work best with raw vegetables and balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

Then I got brave and started making many stir-frys at home and instead of meat, I used tofu as the protein. Many of the stir-frys had mushrooms, green and red peppers, onions and any other great veggie I could find and I like to use soy sauce as one of the base flavors, so to pair with soy sauce or anything salty..I like bubbles and I really lean toward Cava…bubbles from Spain or Prosecco from Italy, bubbles seem to pair well to may palate.

One friend of mine grills tofu and I have no idea how I would accomplish grilling this delicate food, but I had it and it tasted great but he used BBQ sauce that was smokey and kinda sweet….I paired that with a big ass zinfandel…BBQ and Zin are best friends in my mouth.

So my friend Jim who ask me about tofu, maybe this will get you thinking about wines and some tofu ideas. I know you want to eat lighter and not give up wine…perhaps this will help you! If any of you have a tofu recipe or great wine pairing, please let me know so I can share it!

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi

Good Morning!

Last night I watched the 8 GOP candidates debate about how the US can turn around and I was entertained, educated and I had some thought provoking moments. I love watching politics, I love the verbal battles and I love knowing that at the heart of each politician is someone who “thinks” they have a way to make the world a better place. I hold anyone who wants to spend their career doing what they think help others in a good place in my mind. Over the years, many folks have gotten so jaded, I prefer to see the good. It’s like saying all people in sales are just like those “Used Car” salesmen…that’s not fair to people who do the right thing for their clients and products and make a good living.

But anyway, let’s talk about wine and politicians….Here is what I would have paired with the candidates last night…

Rick Perry – He came across as a big, bold, take no prisoners drive a truck, life is either black or white and the answers are simple and the process will be tough, John Wayne sort of cowboy…so if I were to relate this to a wine, I would say the best wine that matches his personality would be a really young, Napa Cabernet, straight from the barrel before it has settled down. It might age out or be blended out so people can enjoy it in the future.

Herman Cain – This guy is really down to earth and smooth, very matter of fact and smart. He has a lot of business background, so he comes from a place of the “working family”. Herman would be perfect with a well aged Merlot and a New York Strip.

Newt Gingrigh – Back in the day Newt was the deal, he was so respected and he welded some political muscle. He is still a smart guy but when I hear him talk all I hear is the teacher from Charlie Brown, “Wah, Wah, Wah”…I have not idea why I think he is not really a contender, but it’s just my thought. Newt if I am going to pair you with anything, you are one of those wines that you are given at a retirement party, with the custom label that says “Happy Retirement Joe, We will Miss You”. The wine is bulk made with who knows what grapes but it is a nice idea for everyone to take home a bottle.

Michelle Bachmann – She is an interesting candidate in my mind, mom of 7 and foster mom of 20 plus kids, she looks great and is very quick to discuss her religious and personal views, she is to me, Sarah Palin 2.0…I like her energy but I think she lacks substance. If I were to pair her with a wine, there is a new wine brand out there called Naked, it is lovely but kinda lacks depth.

Mitt Romney – I think Mitt shows well. He is smooth and articulate and I may or may not think his record in MA is good, he is comfortable in any situation, does not seem to get to upset and asks great questions and he is complex….Mitt, you are paired white fine Burgundy. Both the wine and Mitt seem to be very polished.

Ron Paul – This is a smart and experienced man, one comment on twitter by Peter Dunn “Pete The Planner”, said Ron Paul is one hard candy away from yelling, you kids get off my lawn! Hahaha…he does come across as angry, but he loves the country and is willing to be unruly in his message delivery. He is perfectly paired with A really, tannin drenched Syrah from down under.

Jon Huntsman – If I closed my eyes while he was talking, I could believe him, but when my eyes were open, all I could see was the political version of George Hamilton. Dude, the make-up or fake tan, you look like Snooki’s uncle. This candidate has a HUGE successful political record in Utah…Very low unemployment, strong economy, high morality etc…or at least that is what he claims. He has a smooth, articulate, direct manner, he is kinda “salemanish” to me, but with his high level of success, his smooth and confident delivery, He pairs best with an aged Bordeaux from a “left bank” producer.

Rick Santorum – When Rick Santorum spoke about himself in 3rd person….I could not take him seriously… I am sorry, he is paired with a 1985 wine cooler.

I am sure I have shared too much of my personal opinions here, but I do agree with all the candidates on one issue, we have to find a way to make everything feel possible again and we need to stop feeling defeated as a country, we are the USA, the greatest country in the world.

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi

Good Morning!

I recently watched Leslie Sbrocco (The Orginial Thirsty Girl and wine author) on the Kathy Lee and Hoda show and she said the most brilliant thing about wine glasses…any glass with wine in it becomes a wine glass! Brilliant! I have personally always loved my Riedel wine glasses and at one point I had a bunch of different glasses that all were for different grape varietals. But then I got real about how much cabinet space I had when I moved to San Francisco and my apartment was really spacial challenged.

Years ago when I still drank a lot of wine from boxes, I loved those thick wine glasses with fun designs on them. I have grown up a bit since then, but wine can be good in a Ball jar or a really thin crystal stemware glass. I have tried them all over the years and I have spent a fortune and been sick when I heard that crack sound that only means one thing…it is broken and there is nothing you can do to fix it.

I actually have been really careful and I have had one glass that I have tasted out of at home for over 10 years…and it has lived through a cross country move. I went to a wine tasting party hosted at Kuhn’s fine wines in Carmel, Indiana, the evening was sponsored by Riedel the company that makes fantastic glasses. I was not convinced a glass would make a difference in the wine…I was wrong! We tried a $6 bottle of wine in a water glass, then a not so expensive wine glass, then a mid ranged priced glass, then the Riedel glass…each sip I became more aware of the differences in the aromas I could better connect with, each sip helped the wine hit my tongue in different places and forced the wine to new areas of my taste buds. I was blown away. I wanted to try every wine in two of three glasses for the next couple of years.

It seemed to me that the glass does take a good wine to a level ….So that is when I spent a ton on the entire Riedel wine glass set. I still have the one glass I have tasted in for years. Many folks make great glasses and recently I have fallen in love with the idea that you do not need a ton of different glasses and I love that many people are now drinking champagne out white wine glasses, the theory being that the flutes all revolve around keeping the bubbles tight, fast and furious. But if you pour the bubbly in a wider white wine glass, you will get way more aromas, pick up more of the beautiful acidity and if you are worried about losing the bubbles, drink faster!!

Recently, I found some really great glasses by Master Sommelier Andrea Robinson called, The One. She has designed one white wine glass and one red wine glass and they work beautifully for all the wines I have tried. They are not as pricey as my beloved Riedel glasses, but the are about $50 for 2 glasses.

Anyway, just wanted to share with you what I have learned about wine glasses…but really, I have had Rose’ in a jar, Chardonnay in a tumbler, Cabernet in a high ball glass….when you want to enjoy wine, find something to put the wine in and it is instantly transformed into a wine glass.

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi