First Fruit / Friday Night wine

bsd
There could have been a time during the year when all was bare;
no sight of growth anywhere.
But the farmer tilled, plowed & pruned whatever & whenever was needed.
And then suddenly that first blossom,that first fruit.
An appreciation that can run so deep & so profound.
The fruit itself lasts only so long,but the gratefullness
can be without limit.
Have a good one; h

In honor of the birth of my daughter this week Wednesday I plan to open wines from the birth years of my older two children. I will be serving the Capcanes Peraj Ha'Abib 2001 and the Yarden, Single Vineyard, Cabernet Sauvignon, El-Rom, 2001 as well as a couple bottles of Hagafen's Late Harvest Chardonnay 2006.

Shabbat Shalom,
Yossie

" Look down from your holy place in heaven, send your blessing on your people Israel and on the land which you have given us, as you said in your oath to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey."

well, cant add anything to that now, can i?

however ironically, tonight, in a reversal of spaniard yehuda halevi's "My heart is in the east, and I am at the end of the west...." , i am in the east and my wine is from his locale....marques de riscal rueda 2006...to go with a lovely baked salmon.

when will summer ever end? had a few drops of the yoreh this morning in tel aviv. finally.

" Look down from your holy place in heaven, send your blessing on your people Israel and on the land which you have given us, as you said in your oath to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey."

well, cant add anything to that now, can i?.

Well, I may just be one of those bleeding heart liberals but I would ask God to bless all of the people and other living creatures on the planet.

Grilled salmon in our case and most probably with the 2004 Il Ducale of Ruffino. With that a spiced pumpkin puree, haricot beans in butter and garlic and a green salad following that and before several cheeses. With the cheeses (including a sweet Gorgonzola) a good chance at a sip or two of vishniak.

Best
Rogov

Well, I may just be one of those bleeding heart liberals but I would ask God to bless all of the people and other living creatures on the planet.

absolutely. well, maybe except those nasty "jukes" i sometimes find in the kitchen.

I might well be tempted to agree with that!

For those not in the know the term djuke (singular) or djukim (plural) are the Hebrew words for the infamous cockroach. Interesting note that there were no cockroaches in the Middle-East until the immigration of Jews from Germany who brought their furniture with them and in that furniture, cockroach eggs.

Best
Rogov

Interesting note that there were no cockroaches in the Middle-East until the immigration of Jews from Germany who brought their furniture with them and in that furniture, cockroach eggs.

Best
Rogov

wow, thats interesting....

and on the subject of german immigration, read this beautiful article in last weeks haaretz...

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1020617.html

i know thats way off topic, but my mind works by free association.

and now back to friday night wines...

Very undecided as to what wine to have tonight. Serving something akin to apricot chicken--what would go well with that?

Matt

Matt, Hi....

Consider a Sangiovese or a Primitivo/Zinfandel based wine. If in the mood for a white, a Viognier. If in the mood to be daring, an ice wine. Or, of course, brut or semi-brut Champagne!

Best
Rogov

Esteemed Wine Master - could Matt also think about a acidic Pinot (not one of those oaky fruit bombs)? Does a Pinot work in that space? I am in crazy agreement about the Viognier. I am so bummed about my friends who do not appreciate white wines - even good ones. Love the Goose Bay Viognier - a real joy the last time I had it.

Best Wishes....

Grasshopper.....

I would fear only that the Pinot would clash with the apricots.

Now....if you recall from where the "grasshopper" reference comes, on our next meeting I shall buy the coffee and croissants. If not (and no fair checking on Google), you buy the coffees.

Best
Rogov

P.S. An important P.S. Not with specific regard to this thread but in general, there is a world of difference between those who have the M.W. (Master of Wine degree) and the Wine Master degree, the first calling for the most rigorous knowledge and a fine palate, the second alas, rather easily attainable.

ahh so wise master po.

u must now buy me the croissants, because i also know of the shaolin monks of which u speak.

Grasshopper.....

I would fear only that the Pinot would clash with the apricots.

Now....if you recall from where the "grasshopper" reference comes, on our next meeting I shall buy the coffee and croissants. If not (and no fair checking on Google), you buy the coffees.

Best
Rogov

P.S. An important P.S. Not with specific regard to this thread but in general, there is a world of difference between those who have the M.W. (Master of Wine degree) and the Wine Master degree, the first calling for the most rigorous knowledge and a fine palate, the second alas, rather easily attainable.

Cool thanks for the heads up master of Wine! I can see how the Pinot would clash with apricots. Learning is so much fin

u must now buy me the croissants, because i also know of the shaolin monks of which u speak.

As is said, and in all seriousness, phone me at 050 7380351, and we shall make a date to meet for that coffee. It shall be my pleasure.

Best
Rogov

Well, never did serve any wine at all since it was just my wife and kids and we were all tired. However, for shabbat lunch we did have a 2004 Recanati Cabernet Franc (and I just love Cabernet Franc!) served with cold sliced brisket, turkey salad, chicken/spinach salad with a basil/balsamic vinegarette and assorted kugels.

The Recanati was very nice indeed. Some nice berry notes with some wood. Everyone really liked it.

Kol Tuv,
Matt

PS. I'll have to try a viognier sometime.
PPS. Thanks to all for the wine suggestions--greatly appreciated!

Hi everyone,

This week I was away with family. They aren't big wine drinkers, so we had a bottle of Segal's Red Fusion, 2005. It was a hit. Big and fruit forward with no oak and softened by micro-oxygenation (I'm a fan). It's a blend of 60% Merlot, and 20% each of Cab and Cab Franc. Deep royal purple to dark red in color, with notes of chocolate covered blackberries. Went well with a honey-garlic marinated Delmonico roast.

-Ilan

My first real experience (besides a brief tasting with exabegen) with the new Carmel Private Collection Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlot. Quite enjoyable! Firm and medium-bodied, this is a real improvement from Carmel and the PC series (which I may have to stop avoiding with the improvements of the 07 vintage and some good deals!)

Hamasrek cab blush 05,not bad just a hint of sweetness.also tried red fern merlot 2003 which is at this point tired.h

Had a Hagafen Prix Reserve cabernet sauvgnon MJT Block 2003 much better then last time, more open and blossoming, a full body with plum and general dark berries and twards the finish a quite noticble frenchvanilla coffe, and then the oak comes out, all in a nice balance and the finish a velvety texture, a very good wine, liked by everyone at the table.
a wonderfull week to all
Ciao
Menach

Was at friends for Shabbat dinner and opened the Peraj Petita 2006, Herzog Alexander Valley Special Reserve Merlot 2002, and a Baron Rothschild Haut Medoc 2002. Little disappointed with the Haut Medoc, but the Peraj was as usual outstanding. Have not tried the Herzog since i bought it a couple of years ago and it has aged well, full of flavor, though my wife found it too strong, which is not unusual for her and reds. It's an uphill battle.

This past Friday night: Gush Etzion 1999 cabernet sauvignon. Our last bottle, bought at the winery some years ago. Nose of black berries, e.g. cassis. Starting to dry out a bit but still very tasty, especially with a little air. Good and long finish.

The previous week (we drink both kosher and non-kosher wines, and i hope there's no objection to mentioning the latter) 1998 Givry Clos Salomon. Still closed in, surprising for a Cote Challonais of this age. A hint of quite deep fruit in the taste. Looks like it needs a couple more years to come near its peak.

First time I opened a 2005 Dalton Zinfandel. Aside of the berries, etc, had the surprise of green peppers. A different taste that I have not had before. Will definitely try this again in about a year.