Gettin Hot in Here… Gotta Pull Some Corks…

"should hit 100 degrees in the Valley today"

“should hit 100 degrees in the Valley today”

SoCal is burning up. 100 degrees every day. Only the Angels seem to like it (second best record in baseball). We took off for San Diego. That was a very good decision. Boogie boarding in Solana Beach. Gay Pride parade in University Heights. As Stuart Scott would say “cooler than the underside of the pillow.”

While we were waiting on the Borax 20 Mule Team to haul us away here is what were tasting.

bowarrow-medici102012 Bow and Arrow Pinot Noir Medici Valley Chehalem Mountains $33 (Eno Fine Wine): Purchased this in the past year. New World organic Pinot Noir that does not taste like most New World Pinots. Citric, acid notes. Like tasting the skins on which the wine was fermented. Natural wine from Oregon. You mention the Chehalem Mountain district and we think ripe over oaked fruit bomb Pinot. No wonder we gravitated to Ribbon Ridge where the living is more severe and the wines like Patricia Green’s have more spine. Not this wine. Welcome surprise. Domestic Pinot is not an easy sell among the snob family. We cleaned out Goldun’s remains. Look at the low alcohol. 11.5%

paraiso-09-PNWEB2009 Paraiso Pinot Noir $16: Picked this up at the winery in Santa Lucia Highlands about 12 months ago. Looked like a deal at the price. We did taste int eh winery but that is almost always tainted with expectations and sappy BS. Funk on the nose. Ripe without much oak. Light to medium weight. A bit ripe. Will wait another 6 months. U20. 14.2%

lathuiliere-Morgon-10WEB2010 Gravallon-Lathuiliere Morgon Cuvée Premium $18: “Real wine” as Senor Goldun puts it. Pure juicy Gama wine with acidic backbone to firm it all up. Big by little standards. Think US soccer player Michael Bradley with the quick feet and fine touch. World class if not at the top. Bright and muscular. Superb bottle that wold complement any Mediterranean summer meal. U20. 13%

Dining spot dining spot dining spot…we can all afford.

Culver City is the cultural capitol of LA’s Westside. When a decent dining spot – FIN – can open that serves fine cocktails, has a small efficient wine list and very good food, and has a speakeasy in the alley [ed. speakeasy?], and hardly any of the mega critics cover it… that means Culver City has arrived.

One dining room with 15 tables and a mezzanine for the overflow. The $35 prix fixe menu featured 3 plates that did the trick. Main course was a pan seared black cod with miso sauce. We were served a Pinot Grigio from Italy that had enough backbone to handle the salty cod.

Here is coverage from Urbandaddy. Checkitout. Washington and Grand View.

The North Coast of San Diego County is stunningly gorgeous, especially in the summer. Who needs Hawaii? This is from May 2014 at the beach we like to take out our boogie boards.