You've all probably heard the term terroir used before.  It's that French word that doesn't completely translate into English but takes in account how nature (and man to much a lesser degree) infuses a wine with a sense of place.  Anyway, I think there must be a terroir-like reference for a restaurant.  To me it's not only great food, great wine, and appealing atmosphere, but also the chef, wine steward, and wait staff.  Add to that another important ingredient, the people you are sharing the meal with. You could also add time of day, occasion, and on and on.  To simplify, what makes dining at a particular place make you want to go back again and again. Trattoria Lisina in Driftwood has great terroir.  

The restaurant has a wine tie-in for us.  Angie and I were attending the Texas Wine Festival in Austin several years ago, and got to meet Damian Mandola.  Damian and his nephew, Johnny Carraba, started the successful chain of Italian restaurants, Carraba's.  He had recently opened a Texas Hill Country winery near Driftwood.  He announced at the wine festival that he would be also opening an Italian restaurant right next to the winery.  Mandola Winery (now Duchman) and Trattoria Lisina have become one of our go-to places for out-of-town guests who love wine and food like Angie and I.

A couple weeks ago, I got an e-mail from Trattoria Lisina advertising a cooking class.  While I can whip up a good breakfast, my better half is our chef.  I thought an evening out built around cooking tips from a great chef would be right up her alley.  Well, let's just say we both really enjoyed the evening.

Chef John Lichtenberger entertained and informed us while preparing an outstanding seafood dinner.  He emphasized the need for quality ingredients in any recipe.  Four folks from the audience got the opportunity to stand in front of the crowd and cook portions of the meal under the chef's direction.  We all had the recipes and were able to follow along.   After the demonstration phase of each course (Seafood Risotto and Olive-stuffed Swordfish with Salmoriglio Sauce) we got to taste a full menu-sized portion.   

When you have food of this caliber, you've got to have wine up to the pairing challenge.  We had four from Italy.  Starting with the antipasti ( home cured salmon, prosciutto wrapped Tuscan melon, marinated olives and grilled shrimp), we were served Pieropan Soave from the Veneto region in the Northeast.  I thought it must be a Sauvignon Blanc, initially with a grassy nose and hint of white peaches.  Next, with the risotto, it was a Ceretto Blange Arneis.  Hailing from Piedmont (Northwest), many may have not heard of the Arneis grape.  The wine is a little spritzy which helps with a slightly lower acidity level.  It was a good match with the seafood flavors in the risotto.

In keeping with the learning aspects of the evening, the main course of swordfish arrived with two wines: a white and a red (the only one of the evening).  They wanted to demonstrate how red wine can go with fish.  In this case, it was the body of the wines (light-medium) that allowed you to switch back and forth while savoring the lovely swordfish.  The white took us down the boot to the Campania region (East of Naples).  The 2008 Terredora Dipaolo Greco di Tufo introduced us to another Italian (actually originated in Greece) white varietal.  I caught a slight honey aroma with some pear.  The red was Sicilian, Planeta 2008 Cerasuolo Di Vittoria Sicillia.  This red is a blend of Nero d'Avola and Frappato.  Nero d'Avola is the most planted red grape in Sicily; the Frappato adds a little floral component to a nose that reminded my of hard cherry candy.   Needless to say, I enjoyed both.  The rolled, stuffed swordfish was grilled.  The Planeta brought out the flavors of the grill.  The Greco di Tufo paired more with the Salmoriglio sauce. You wouldn't miss with either choice.

And last, but not least, it seemed as if everyone we met that evening was like us, foodies and wine-ers.  We enjoyed the conversation with our dinner mates and the folks at Trattoria Lisina.  This is a crowd I could hang out with again.

The entire evening goes into the win column. Well, excluding the traffic on I35, but it was fairly insignificant compared to the culinary enjoyment.  We will patiently await the next cooking class.  I'm thinking Gnocchi and pancetta...

We love to go out to restaurants and have a number that we visit fairly often.   Over  the past few days, however, we embraced great food at home (and not just ours).   Three times in less than a week, I've been blown away by great flavors, textures, sauces, meats, seafood, and veggies without having to get a reservation or tipping a waiter.  Well, I did do some dishes and cleanup, but it was a small price to pay.  Yes, we had some good wines to go along with it.

On Saturday, Angie treated us to chicken lettuce wraps and a grilled steak salad.  While it may not sound gourmet, believe me it was head and shoulders above similar dishes I've had out.  The lettuce wraps had a nice tang without going overboard and the marinated steak cooked with veggies on the grill, kabob-style served over greens with green beans and bleu cheese was to die for.

We started out with a Schloss Vollrads Riesling Kabinett 2007.  The slight sweetness and great acidity stood up easily with the red pepper flakes in the lettuce wraps.  Next, I opened a Pinot.  While it wasn't the idea choice for the marinated beef, it balanced well with the veggies.  Our Pinot of choice was a Pellegrini Olivet Lane Russian River Valley 2007.  Again, the wine's acidity worked for the most part.  I will revisit this wine soon with a meal more suited for it's characteristics.

Monday afternoon had a Spanish flair.  Ang made some Gazpacho while our friend Michele put together Paella.  Cold veggie soup followed by a combination of mussels, scallops, shrimp, sausage and chicken kept dinner conversation to a minimum.  Needless to say, both were outstanding.  To honor the theme, we had a Rioja Diamante Malvasia - Viura 2008.  Malvasia is noted for higher alcohol and residual sweetness (Oxford Companion to Wine), the Diamante came in at 12%, more in line with German Riesling range. The blending grape, Viura (also known as Macabeo) is the most planted in Northern Spain (OCW).  We all enjoyed the Diamante.  The acidity wasn't what I hoped for, but, again, the slight sweetness worked seamlessly with the meal's spiciness.   

The next night we got an invitation to friends Mark and Cindy's home and a meal that pushed me ever so closer to being a seafood lover.  I will start out by saying I never cared for mussels.  They were a little too fishy tasting for a land lubber like me.  Mark prepared them with a tomato base and pesto that had me clean my appetizer plate before my wife (a girl raised on the Gulf Coast).  I praised the chef, but Mark also gave credit to the fact that the mussels were fresh.  The entree was equally as great: grouper in a killer champagne sauce with caramelized plantains.  Wow!

Being a wine-r, I was remiss in recording the names of the wines we had, but I do remember the styles.  The appetizer was served with a sparkling white.  I've heard that this is an ideal pairing for oysters; well, it ain't too shabby with mussels either.  The Grouper was paired with a nice not-over-the-top Chardonnay.  The light buttery Chard was another hit.

I'll never get out of the restaurant habit.  Well, at least not until I'm forced to retire and end up on the side of the road with a "Will host a wine tasting for food" sign.  At the restuarant, I don't have to do the dishes (at least not yet, see previous sentence).   But a week of eating great food at home helps me appreciate hanging out with friends without having to decided how to split the check.

Every wine geek wants to have their own vineyard.  Right?  Not actually, but I do have a single vine planted proudly at the edge of our porch.  It's been there for four or five years and I haven't killed it yet.  This year we may even see ripened grapes, but I won't hold my breath.

We got the vine at Dry Comal Creek Winery during a tasting event.  As we were walking in, Angie spotted the vine cuttings in their small plastic pots near the entrance.  We joked about buying one, knowing absolutely nothing about the care and feeding of the beast.  

Our new purchase was a native grape called Black Spanish.  That just happens to one of the many names for the Lenoir grape.  A key feature of Lenoir grapevines are resistant to Pierce's Disease.  The disease is a result of bacteria spread by leafhoppers that feed on the vines.  It can wipe out a vineyard in a few years and has caused some major problems here in Texas.  A friend who manages another Hill Country winery says they don't even mention the disease by it's name, but only use the initials "PD" in hushed tones.

We planted the vine along side some of our flowering perennials: Plumbago and Esperanza.  Those plants are pretty hardy and had been in the ground for around six years.  We don't have an automatic sprinkling system, so, it's hand watering on a whenever-I-get-around-to-it basis.  The soil is shallow before you hit rock on rock-like clay, and there is only a small strip between the sidewalk and our slab.  It sure wasn't anywhere near the ideal growing conditions for a grapevine, but we do get flowers every year from the other plants.

Well, it survived.  After the third year, we even saw some grapes, briefly.  There were a few tiny bunches in the last couple years, but they didn't last.  Whether it was birds, insects or just poor treatment, the grapes were gone before even approaching pea size.  

I attempted to bring some order to the wild nature of the vine this year with a make shift trellis.  Ok! So, I just strung single strands of wire between the porch roof support beams.  I picked three shoots on each side and tied them gently to the wire.  I know now that I should have picked one and then pruned back in the fall, but I'm not a vineyard owner.

A couple year's of drought and minimal watering seemed to wake up the vine this year.  We also had a wetter Spring.  I was very pleased to see about 17 groups of small flowers that I assumed would be grapes.  I was correct, but not the number I hoped for.  As of this week, there a six bunches of varying size.  I did remove any large leaves that blocked sun from the grapes.  I also trimmed the excess growth produced by the late spring rains.  As the rains slows in the heat of Summer, I will have to ensure I don't over water.  The vine needs a little stress to keep working on the fruit.

According to a Texas Agricultural web site, I still have about two months for my grapes ripen.  Those that made it this far and nice and green and still growing.  I'll keep ya' posted...

Our 22nd wedding anniversary arrived after a hectic week.  We didn't even decide to go out until the day before and wanted a restaurant fairly close to home.  It had to have good food and wine list, of course.  Luckily, we have Grey Moss Inn only 15 minutes away.  It had been a few years since we last visited. We had gotten into the "let's keep trying new places" mode and tended to keep driving across town.

I had downloaded the restaurant's wine list the day before and had already picked a red and white (you never know what the special dishes would consist of).  I love trying new wines, but at restaurant prices, I also want a sure thing.  I had a couple old standbys in mind, but I'm always open to suggestions from the wine steward or server.   This night was no different.  

Our excellent server Greg, suggested the A. Rafanelli 2006 Dry Creek Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.  It was the same price as the red I was thinking about.  He said that after tasting both, he preferred the Rafanelli. That was a good enough recommendation for me.

 A. Rafanelli winery is located north of Healdsburg, California in the Dry Creek Valley AVA (Sonoma County).  It is now in the fourth generation of family ownership and operation.

Greg brought the bottle and offered a taste.  Even just after opening, this wine appealed to me.  The nose presented dark fruit aromas and just a little dustiness.  Flavors of big black cherries and black currants led to a very long finish.  The acidity level indicated that it would go great with food.

The wine begged for big red meat, so, we obliged by ordering the Filet.  The steak was grilled over mesquite charcoal (a great feature of this restaurant).  It was accompanied by twice-baked, sour cream potatoes and squash with cumin.  For a starter, we had their wild game sausage and berry chutney; tonight it was caribou and venison.  We also shared an interesting salad with peaches, tomatoes, red onions, freese, spinach, candied walnuts. and goat cheese.  The food was great, just like we remembered from previous visits.  While the wine was not a perfect match for berry chutney and salad with peaches, it was a really worked with the steak and accompanying sides.

We made a promise not to wait so long before our next visit.  Now, it I could just find a local establishment that sold A. Rafanelli wines...  

From a wine lover's perspective, how often do you get the opportunity to meet an Italian winemaker, taste some of his wines and follow it up with some great Italian food.  Thanks to Tre Trattoria (one of the Jason Dady family of restaurants in San Antonio),  Ang and I plus our friends Michele and Robert got that chance recently.

The winemaker, Antonio Sanguineti, is part of an interesting group of wine importers call Small Vineyards.   Their goal is to introduce the family-owned, small wineries from Italy (soon to add some from Spain and Greece) to the American wine drinking public.  Without Small Vineyards, these wines would slip under the radar.  As we know from many boutique wineries in the US, they are small, but have a great product to offer.  

I readily admit that I'm often at a loss when it comes to Italian wines.  I know something about the grapes and regions, but have much to learn about the who's who.   It's nice to have an organization doing some homework for us, finding and presenting a good product at a price often below the bigger wine importers.

For the price of admission this night, we got to taste four wines (or in my case, three plus a repeat).  Antonio's wines represent Tuscany well and are all based on the Sangiovese grape.  First, I tried the 2003 Vino Nobile di Monteplulciano. It had a cherry and slight earthy nose, medium body and good acidity.  Tanins were smooth. My second taste was his Super Tuscan.  The term Super Tuscan came about when producers in the Chianti region wanted use grapes other than those authorized by the Government regulating body.  The could not call their wine Chianti.  Antonio's 2005 Super Tucsan (Nessan Dorma) is a blend of 50% Sangiovese, 30% Merlot, and 20% Syrah.   This wine has some spice notes, dark berry flavors and very silky tannins.  The Merlot reals softens the mouthfeel.  My final pick ( I actually used my fourth ticket for a second look) was the 2003 Brunello di Montalcino. It was my first Brunello.  At first, the nose was too tight, having just been opened.  At I furiously swirled to get air into it, the wine started to open in the glass and big black cherry emerged as well as a hint of chocolate.  I would love to try it after an hour or more of breathing.  I believe it would be a great wine with food.

The wine was great, but we also got to sit down with Antonio and Jay Hutcheson, the Small Vineyards Regional Sales Representative.  They went out of their way to talk with everyone who showed up for the tasting.  With all the questions about wine and wineries running through my head, we talked about traveling to Italy instead.  We would love to tour Tuscany before I get to the age where I don't remember if I'm wearing pants or not.  Anyway, it was fun hanging out with the guys for awhile.  They treated everyone as a favored guest.

Following the tasting, we settled down for a great meal of roast golden beats, gnocchi with gorgonzola, and the Tuscan marinated rig eye. The food capped the perfect evening out for the wine and food enthusiast. 

After a great Russian River Pinot a couple weeks ago, I decided start exploring more from the left coast (no political pun intended....ha ha, well maybe just a little).  Anyway, Angie suggested we do some Pinot and food pairings.  Our first exercise put Cambria Julia's Vineyard 2006 with roasted pork tenderloin, creamy Gruyere grits and a tomato, red pepper relish.  Like a baseball player, it's great to hit one out of the park on the first try.

The wine earned an Editor's Choice and 93 points from Wine Enthusiast (December 2009).  The author called  it "the best Pinot Noir at that price on the market."   Given some breathing time, the wine really evolves in the glass with cola, cherry, strawberry, and spice aromas.  Flavors of tart cherries leads to a nice long finish.  The color is lighter like a French Pinot, garnet with some hints of brick red.

Cambria Estate in located in Santa Barbara Country on what is called the Santa Maria Bench.  With cooling breezes from the Pacific Ocean (17 miles away), the Pinot Noir grape thrives here. This particular vineyard is named after the owner' youngest daughter.  

The meal was to die for.  Angie rubbed the pork tenderloin with rosemary, thyme, olive oil and a little mustard and roasted it to perfection.  Now for someone born north of the Mason-Dixon Line, grits is a bit of an oddity.  I remember Cream of Wheat on a cold Illinois morning with butter and sugar.  A dish with similar consistency served with cheese was alien to me for some time.  Angie cooked the grits with gruyere cheese and cream. I'll never add sugar again!  To top it off, she made a relish with basil, parsley, tomatoes, roasted red pepper, olive oil and white balsamic.  The pork, grits, and relish presented different but complementing textures and flavors.  The wine enhanced it all.

After this meal and wine, I hope we haven't set the bar too high, but it's will be fun trying...

With the 2010 New World Wine & Food Festival taking place in and around San Antonio this week, we had to pick at least one event to attend.  The closest venue won out: Sip, Savor and Shop at The Shops at LaCantera.   I tried to downplay the "shop" part of the title but was the ladies just laughed at me.

The event was a lot of fun.  For your entrance fee, you were given a plastic glass and unlimited tasting of the available wines and samplings of some great food.  I'm convinced we got our money's worth.

There were some more well known gems in the wine selection such as a Franciscan Magnificat (Bordeaux Blend), Robert Mondavi Merlot, and Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon.  However, tastings give you the opportunity to try something new; so, we did and then some.   My favorite new wine of the event:  A-Mano Primitivo.  This Italian from the Puglia region (heel of the boot) was full of red fruit flavors and soft tannins.  It went well with the pizza from Grimaldi's Pizzeria.  Another interesting wine was the Seven Daughters red blend.  Imagine a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Syrah, Carignane, and Sangiovese.   There were both red and dark fruit flavors with a peppery finish.  Not to disrespect white wines, Angie and I both enjoyed the Fall Creek Sauvignon Blanc.

Among the food items that stood out was a crab bisque from the restaurant at Nordstrom's, a Fortina sausage courtesy of Magianos, and a knockout macaroni and cheese from the Yard House. We joked about going to dinner after the tastings, but we were all pretty full.  The generous food samples were more than a single bite that one would expect from this type event.

I wish we could have attended a few more events this year, but I'm very pleased we chose this one.  And as for the shopping...Ang says, "Thanks Free People for the 15% discount on the earrings!"

Since Angie would be spending Mother's Day with her mom, I decided to take her out for dinner on Saturday evening. I already earned some points with the roses...(Good husband, eh?)  The choice was Bohanan's.  We always talked about going there, and now was our opportunity.  We had a great time.

Bohanan's is located on Houston Street in downtown San Antonio (right across the street from the Majestic Theater).  The service at this restaurant is incredible.  From the attendant opening your car door at the curb through a big thanks for visiting from our servers and the manager, you couldn't ask for more. Jose and Shaun really took care of us during dinner and made us feel special.

The food is fantastic.  Some of you may remember the Mike Myers character on Saturday Night Live, Coffee Talk, always saying something was "Like butter." That was what is was like cutting into the filet.  We don't order steak very often, but it is a specialty at Bohanan's and it was obvious from the first bite, they know their stuff.

The meal also marked a first for me, oysters.  Our ticket got mixed up in food prep, and we had to wait a little longer than normal.   To make up for the delay, we were presented with French grilled oysters.  At first, I told Ang they were all hers, but she insisted I try them. I'd never had the slightest interest in that fare.  I was soon to reverse my stand.  The light breading, a squeeze of lemon juice and a slight amount of cocktail sauce and "Wow!"   

And, by the way, they have a great wine list.  They were recognized by Wine Spectator (Best of Award of Excellence) more than once. Granted, a lot of the bottles are way out of my price range, but there were some gems on the affordable side.  One item of note for the wine snob in all of us, the server pours your wine into a decanter.  From what I could tell, this is a standard practice here regardless of how much or little the bottle costs.  

 This evening, I picked the 2004 Amici Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.  You need a big cab with a big steak, right?  In this case, yes you do.  The winemaker let the 2004 vintage have an extra year and a half aging in the bottle before releasing it late in 2008, and it paid off.

The slight delay in the main course arriving worked out for us.  When the steak hit the table, this wine was ready.  The balanced tannins and acidity with gorgeous blackberry, black currant flavors grabbed my taste buds and took them for a big ride.  Add a bite of delicious filet and I was in my happy place. If you find this wine locally, I highly recommend you pick one up for the ole wine fridge.  

One another note, my wife was right as usual. She said we would most likely see some members of the Phoenix Suns at the restaurant. They are in town to take on our beloved Spurs for the second round of the 2010 NBA Western Conference playoffs.  Saturday was an off night.  Sure enough, Grant Hill walks right by our table, followed shortly thereafter by Channing Frye and his party.  

Well, thanks to Bohanan's, Jose and Shaun for the fun evening, and if the Suns could find a way to blow a 3-0 lead, that would be real special...

Once again I learned about a great new wine thanks to a waiter's recommendation.  Last night we were at Cypress Grill in Boerne, and Angie, Michele and I all decided on non-red meat entrees.  Since I've been on a Pinot kick lately, I suggested we go that way instead of a white.  I checked the wine list for something in my price range from a winery or region I was semi familiar with.  I quickly spotted a Russian River Valley Pinot from the Gary Farrell Winery. I'd not had a chance to try it before, but I remembered reading a favorable review.  As our waiter took my order, he asked if I may like to try another Pinot from the same area.  He went on to mention that one of the owners, not a Pinot fan, really liked this particular wine and bought all the sales person had.  It was only a few dollars more and with an owner/chef's recommendation, how could I go wrong?

I was not disappointed.  The 2008 En Route Les Pommiers is a great food wine.  I had the Chilean Sea Bass with shrimp, and lima beans in a light green curry sauce.   A bite of food and a sip of wine and I was in a winer/foodie paradise.  It worked equally well with the tuna and chicken dishes.

The owners of EnRoute have a great pedigree; they also own Nickel & Nickel, Dolce, and Far Niente wineries.  They chose the Russian River Valley to produce a great Pinot, and my first taste left me wanting more.

The day after, I got online to find where I could buy a bottle or two.  The first stop was their web site, and it was also the last.  This wine is produced in very limited quantities.  It is only sold at restaurants, fine wine stores and online through the winery.  To buy it from them, you join their wine club.  The club allows you to buy a 3-bottle pack of the current vintage, if not sold out.  Then, for each new vintage, you are allocated three bottles, but you chose whether to buy it or not.  There are no automatic shipments.   I vowed not to join join another wine club, but, hey!  It's only a once a year purchase.  At least, that's how I explained it to my wife...

Easter has come and gone, but we will always remember the last one as the time we had Easter dinner at 12:30 AM.  Why so early?  We have friends and a nephew that work until around midnight Saturday evenings.  So, we decided to have the meal and fun after they left work. 

Saturday started with a trip to the Pearl Brewery Farmer's Market.  The brewery is no longer active, but is getting a facelift with a Culinary Academy, restaurants, shops, and the Saturday morning market.  At 9:00 AM, a young lady walked through the crowd, ringing a bell.  It was "Shoppers start your engines!" 

Ang and I purchased fennel, beets, carrots, artisan bread, goat cheese, and a strawberry plant.  Everything was fresh and folks selling it were Texas friendly.  We also got to sit in on a cooking demonstration.  Tom Stevens and Paul Thompson from The Cypress Grill in Boerne (one of our favorites) showed us how to make the tastiest sandwiches consisting of lamb, beets, strawberries, arugula, there own special Champagne dressing on fresh made rolls.  Whoa..... 

After the market we hit the HEB Central Market for more ingredients for the feast.  It was here that I decided on the wine theme for the evening, Pinot Nior.  Like a kid in the candy store, I like to wander up and down the wine aisles.  I look for wines I've read about or in this case, I check out those that the store's wine folks like.  You know the little signs that say something like, "Bobs, Pick." 

This day I wanted to try different styles of Pinot.  The first choice was  Machard de Gramont Domaine de la Vierge Romaine 2006, a French Burgundy with a price I could justify.  Next, I wanted an Oregon wine.  The Bethel Heights Vineyards Estate Grown 2007 Pinot Noir was my number two.  Finally, I skipped to California's Central Coast and Lucas & Lewellen 2006 Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir.  The French wine was the driest; the California least dry, and the Oregon somewhere in the middle. All were good and helped make the feast.

Ang slow cooked a ham most of the afternoon that had our dogs drooling.  She added a frittata with fresh vegetables and a delicious beet salad.  Michele created a midnight table setting on our deck and prepared the Easter egg hunt;  I was in charge of schlepping, dish washing and keeping the critters out the ladies' way.  I also decanted the wines so they were ready by the time company arrived.

It was a gorgeous day and everything ran like a Swiss watch all day; we even got a nap.  If I was going to stay awake past midnight, a nap was a must.  At around 12:25 AM, we were ready.  I took  the dogs outside for a potty break right before the guests arrived. While standing out in the still warm night, I felt a light misting rain starting up.  <Expletive deleted here> 

As a group, we decided that we had invested too much work into the meal and setup not to eat outside, so there we sat, and ate and drank and had a great, if not slightly wet time in the light Easter rain. It was a memorable early morning spent with good friends .  We may have started a tradition here, but next year we may pay a little more attention to the weather forecast....or not...