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Boy’s Night – My Turn

2009 February 22

The gang
Last night was Boy’s Night and it was my chance to host.  Not only was it an opportunity to drink some great wine, but also the chance to make some homemade pizza that I’ve wanted to try in a long time. However, the highlight of the evening was the wine. And we had some really great wine.

20090230Tres Donne The first pizza was one I had the first time I visited Napa and the Mondavi Winery.  They had just released their first sparkling wine available only at the winery and they were serving this pizza with the release.  It was so good that I remembered it to this day and thought, “Wow, I want to make that one day for a wine tasting.”  So 15 years later, I finally got to make this pizza for my friends. Cream cheese layered with smoked salmon lox and caviar. KistlerTo start off with the salmon pizza, I broke out a bottle that really need to be consumed before it went bad. A 2003 Tres Donne Moscato d’Asti. Here’s a sparkling wine that really needs to be drank while young, but despite problems getting the cork out, the wine was still very good. A nice floral aroma and easy drinking with 5.5% alcohol, the caviar offset the sweet melon flavors of the Moscato. It went well with the food and was a good start to the evening.  

The next wine was a 2005 Kistler Vine Hill Vineyard Russian River Valley Chardonnay with a nice buttery aromas and taste from the oak aging and crisp flavor that set the stage for the reds to come.

 

20090231AlionThe second pizza of the evening was a very simple one of pepperoni, mushroom, hot italian sausage, and mozzarella on a tomato sauce base.  Always one of my favs and a big hit with everyone. Probably more so than the salmon pizza but that’s to be expected with this crowd. It was so good in fact, that I made this one again for the last pizza. And yes, four guys nearly polished off four pizzas.  Are we pigs or what?  

TorbreckThe first red was one that Travis brought, a 1999 Bodegas y Viñedos “Alion” Ribera del Duero that had a nice fruit forward aroma, balanced acidity and good finish. It went well with our meat and mushroom pizza and fit into my Spanish wine kick.

Next, we started into the New World serious reds with one from down under. A 2001 Torbreck “The Factor” Barossa Valley Shiraz. With such a lush silky smoothness in the mouth and quite the aromatic plum and dark fruit, it was one of the best of the evening.

20090232The third pizza was a variation of a marguerite pizza.  Instead of tomato sauce, I used a basil pesto sauce topped with mozzarella, fresh roma tomatoes and basil.  This was Kahlid’s favorite but by then, we had eaten quite a lot and were actually starting to get full.  

LewisThe next wine was one made by a former Indy car driver, Randy Lewis.  The 2001 Lewis Cellars Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon was so big and bold with a nice balanced structure, a great earthy nose and flavors of mocha and blackberry, that it was definitely worth a second pour.

CarlisleThe final wine of the evening was the 2006 Carlisle Montafi Ranch Russian River Valley Zinfandel.  Very dark and aromatic with notes of cherry, blackberry and spice.  It tasted of vanilla, plum, blackberry jam and white pepper.  A little hot to the finish but not unexpected for a Zin.  All in all, another great wine.

I also must mention the great food that Travis brought including the selection of cheese and paté and the dark chocolate.  Too bad we didn’t get to pop open his Riesling that he brought, but we’ll save that for our next get together.

Oh, by the way, I set up my studio strobes and took these photos of the wines.  Not the best setup—I usually have a better softbox—but not bad for throwing a background up and snapping a few shots. And yes, most of the bottles are half empty. By the time I got to the photos, everyone had drank most of the wine.

Copyright © 2009, Eric Hwang and BricksOfWine. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Eric Hwang and BricksOfWine with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

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