Opening anything special for Memorial Day?

[Robin Garr]

It being a summer-picnic sort of holiday, I thought I'd fashion some burgers (using local grass-fed beef) even though we're dining indoors with the air-conditioning on ... it's HOT out there!

I'm thinking about opening a <b>Jaffurs 2002 Bien Nacido Syrah</b> to go with it ... I like the winery and feel that they generally avoid the worst monolithic excesses of New World style ... but man! It's 15 percent alcohol! I'm wondering how I ought to season those burgers to bring them up to this.

How 'bout you? What will you open tonight? And ... any advice on the burgers?

Anne worked in the garden the entire day and I ran around after PearlAnne. I say that calls for something refreshing. If Anne wants more than a few sips, I'll open Chateau Lafayette Reneau Riesling (her favorite wine in the world) if I'm flying solo I'll do another Finger Lake Riesling, Sheldrake Point. I was on a panel at IEWC with the winemaker (Dave) and found him to be a perceptive taster and am excited to spend an evening with his wine. I've done Sheldrake point in the industrial sip and spit fashon before but I enjoy spending time with a wine, you get so much more.

I brought a 2004 "Oktoberfest" from Von Stiehl winery, which is in the up-and-coming wine state of Wisconsin. Yes, in the land of brats and whitefish, even the wines are given beer names. It's a blend of 80+% vignoles with some riesling and gewurz thrown in. IIRC, the vignoles comes from Michigan and the rest from the Pacific Northwest. Pretty nice stuff, recognizably sweet but reasonably balanced for a hot weather quaffer with nice sweet melon and peach flavors.

If that ain't a special bottle, I don't know what is!


Mike

This morning, I cut some nice tip steak into kabob chunks while my wife put together an interesting marinade she read about recently. Into the fridge they went for a good 8 hours.

After spending almost 6 hours (no lunch break for us today) working outside in part of our garden, we were ready for dinner. I opened a new bottle of red wine from Argentina that was featured at our local wine shop during a recent BBQ Wines Tasting. I let it stand while I created those kabobs, which included green pepper, red onion and summer squash.

Oh yeah ... it was a great meal. The wine was a 2004 Clos de los Sieti Mendoza Red Wine ($17); it has a prominent 7 on the label and top of the foil. It is a blend of Malbec (50%), Merlot (30%), Cabernet Sauvignon (10%) and Syrah (10%). This wine is very drinkable now with bright fruit, medium tannin, and just enough of a rustic (perhaps smoky?) finish to make it perfect match for grilling.

Our palates were soaring, even though our bodies ached. All in all, we had a wonderful day.

As I was pretty much run ragged with cooking BBQ for about 40 people, (see Food section - Chef Carey BBQ sauce thread) I simple put some of my home made Chardonnay and Cayuga on ice. I meant to bring out some Gamay also, but with all the running around and almost 90 deg. heat, it was forgotten.

In a spur of the moment decision, I opened my lone bottle of Vigna di Terre Rosse 2003 Colline-Saluzzesi Pelaverga -- first ever Pelaverga, and I hope not my last. It was definitely an "Oh my!" (copyright Florida Jim) wine. Notes to come.

Sun dried tomatoe humus and egg plant/roasted pepper confit on crostini for apps, grilled lamb chops and salad for main with strawberries and ice cream for dessert.

'00 Clos Roilette VV Beaujolais - An old friend, wish I had a couple of cases left instead of one bottle. Vibrant gamay fruit, complex, nice sustained finsh with a depth that says several more years remaining. This is the best example of Beaujolais I have ever had but there are lots of people on this forum that know more about this region than I do.

'04 Burnley Vineyard Chardonnay, Virginia - Brought this back from Virginia over the holidays and a visit to the winery. They make two chards, oaked (60% of production) and stainless steel (40% of production). With my oak phobia this was the SS Chard. A very pleasant surprise, crisp, focused fruit on the plate, good acidity and overall an excellent wine for $10. Reminded me of a village Chablis in a good year. Hats off to Burnley.
Walt

With grilled burgers, corn on the cob, grilled asparagus, and some fresh strawberries for dessert we opened a 2001 Columbia Crest reserve syrah. It was a good burger wine. Opaque purple color. The plum fruit had a bit of smokiness to it that suggested it was made from syrah, and a little lift to the aroma from some viognier they used. As with almost all WA state wines, this one had some oakiness, but it was moderate and didn't stick out too much. It was fruit forward and a bit sweet, but again decent enough for the menu. The tannins were soft and I don't think additional aging is required on this one. This was my 2nd favorite Columbia Crest wine after their Walter Clore bottling, which is a meritage blend.

The strawberries were the best ones of the year so far. California, I think as there are no local WA state ones yet. Perfectly ripe and full of flavor. Also we have enjoyed a great local asparagus season so far.

We grilled some ribeyes. My timing was off, so they came out medium instead of medium rare, but that's a small fault. Vegetables (carrots, zucchini, red bell pepper and onions) in the grill basket, potatoes baked on the upper shelf, and bread heated on the shelf as well.

I opened a 2000 Sebastiani Sonoma County Merlot. I'm sure there aren't many on this board who would think of this as special, but it's one of the better bottles in my meager collection! Dark and rich, it went well with dinner, though a more tannic cabernet sauvignon might have been better. Finishing off the last glass after dinner was a delight.

In all, everything was quite nice. I wouldn't hesitate to do it again, anytime.