Once known as Melon de Bourgogne, Muscadet has vanished from that pricey zip code and has now made a home in Loire Valley as Mucadet, where is is made into the affordable, zippy wine that pairs so well with shell fish. Of the three zones within the appellation of Muscadet, Sevre et Maine is the best ripening area for the Muscadet grape type. Gerard and Daniel Vinet run the well-known estate of Quilla in Sevre et Maine Sue Lie, Loire Valley.

The yields are not excessive and all the fruit is harvested by hand. The real key to the wines from Domaine de la Quilla is that the Vinet’s keep the wines sur lie for eight months before being bottled at the end of May, unlike most in this appellation who bottle in March.

This transparent, straw-color wine shows its snappy minerality, delicate and evocative aromas, and subtle white fruit. Flavors are consistent: clean, tart and citric.

Truffle season is upon us.. my favorite foodie time of year! A perfect excuse to splurge and visit Madeo’s Restaurant in West Hollywood for their delicious black truffle pasta. After the long trek from SLO to LA, I was hugely disappointed when the waiter did not include the dish in his specials presentation, so I asked if it was possible to make.. When he informed me that they could make it with white truffles instead of black, I said “Yes Please!! “

Until I got the bill… The usual $40.00 dish was now $120.00. Holy Smokes!!!  I left the restaurant thinking I may be in the wrong business. If there are truffles in Italy and France, why not the Central Coast?

So I googled and found out that truffles grow underground among the roots of oak, elm, chestnut, pine and willow trees and are found with aid of a truffle hunting dog or pig (dog is preferred since pigs love truffles too).

And of course, there is a website www.trufflehuntingdogs.com.  For the bargain price of $12,500 you can have your very own truffle hunting dog. They even deliver the dog to your doorstep!

As much as I love truffles and dogs (ok, not so much love for dogs), there had to be another way to get my truffle fix… And so I decided to combine my two favorite culinary delights; truffles and cheese, and add Memoire; truffle gouda to our Cheese Plate menu at Granada Bistro.

Memoire combines Dutch gouda with a melange of black Italian summer truffles to give this creamy cheese a special, rich and exclusive flavor. Mémoire is prepared the traditional way, to high quality standards, at a Dutch cheese farm. It acquires its rich flavor from pasteurized North Holland cow’s milk and the addition of real truffles from Italy.

Now my only problem is eating more than I sell… Occupational Hazard!

Cheers

One of my favorite pleasures of restaurant ownership is creating our ever-changing wine list. On Friday, we released new menus for October, including a couple new by the glass offerings: an Italian Gavi and a Tempranillo from Spain.

Gavi di Gavi, Broglia, Italy 2009

I first tasted Gavi at a Mi Piace in Pasadena a great italian restaurant on Colorado Blvd. perfect for people watching and enjoying a leisurely Sunday afternoon.  I was not familiar with Gavi and there were 3 different producers listed on the menu so we decided to order all three. Bottle #1 was delicious, Bottle #2 was delicious, Bottle #3 was delicious.. Seemed we couldn’t go wrong with Gavi’s crisp and flavorful bouquet of fruit and acidity.. and it was low alcohol, so we walked, not stumbled, out of the restaurant.

Gavi comes from the Piedmont area of Italy, and is made with the Cortese grape.  Gavi, for Italians, is the standard white wine and tends to have a straw color and a neutral, mild aroma. Our Gavi is by Broglia and comes from vineyards planed in 1953 and 1955.

Tempranillo, Bodegas Triton Castilla Y Leon, Spain 2008

We first introduced this Tempranillo as a Wine Of the Week, and it sold out in a day!.. It’s crazy that we are able to offer it for $8.00 a glass.  This is 100% Tinto de Toro (Tempranillo) from gnarly old vines just outside the Toro DOC. The winery has a total of 50 hectares (123.5 acres) with 90% of these vines are very old pre-phyllozera un-grafted vines planted between 1904 and 1965.

Meticulously vinified in small lots and aged in new French oak for fifteen months, the wine shows aromas of violets, black plum, leather and bacon fat. On the palate you’ll taste plums, spice and meat with a smooth finish of rich dark chocolate. Basically, you can drink this as a 3 course meal, its so damn good!

-How to double your pleasure with Juicy Fruit-

I have no kids. I have no pets. But this year, I finally felt grown-up enough to have a garden; tomatoes, peppers, corn, squash, beets, lettuce, carrots, onion, artichoke, and herbs. For the last 5 months, I have watered and nurtured my garden every day. I’ve watched my tomatoes grow from tiny little sprouts in the ground to 6 foot tall amazonian bushes adorned with bright red luscious morsels of perfection.

A couple weeks ago, I went out of town for a few days and came back to carnage. The entire tomato section of the garden was littered with gopher holes, and half eaten tomatoes were strewn across the ground attracting little bugs and spiders.

I stood there in shock for a solid hour with a jagged stick in my hand, ready to stab any daring gopher willing to face me, but nothing ever happened. I tried sticking the hose into their holes and drowning them out, but the water never rose. Those squatting little vermin had plotted, planned, and decisively attacked the garden in my absence. Now it was my turn to respond!

My first thought was to buy a gopher snake at Petco, but they didn’t have any for sale. Next, I headed to Home Depot and bought all the poison, traps, and bombs on the shelf.. but after reading the fine print, was worried about contaminating what’s left of my wholesome organic veggies.

And then yesterday, Bianca tells me that gophers love Juicy Fruit gum which their intestines can not digest, so when they eat it, they die. After reading the ingredients list of this 100 year old American gum chewing icon, I can see why:

INGREDIENTS: SORBITOL, CORN SYRUP, MALTITOL, GUM BASE, GLYCEROL, ACACIA, MANNITOL, SOY LECITHIN, CITRIC ACID, COLORS, ASPARTAME, MALIC ACID, ACESULFAME K, CARNAUBA WAX, BHT. PHENYLKETONURICS.

Perfect!! Bought a pack of Juicy Fruit and stuck a piece in every hole I could find until I ran out of gum. Thank you Wrigleys.

On Thursday we gave new meaning to the phrase “drink to your health” as we pledged our support to breast cancer awareness with the launch of our new limited-edition  CHEERS TO A CURE Borracha Blend. A Rhone style Syrah made by Paso Robles winemaker, Amy Butler.

We held the event during Farmers while the street was closed to traffic. Local band, ‘Simon Says’ made their debut performance on the bench outside Granada, while we poured samples of Borracha Blend alongside an aroma and tasting bar in Borracha headquarters next door.

Not only did we sell (and drink) a lot of wine in support of the cause, we also held a lively little auction, hosted by Victoria Kromhout.  The highlight of the auction was the last item.. a dozen “boobie cakes” from Amy Bakes cupcakes, which went for $60.00… The lucky winner was gracious enough to share his edible art with the party goers. It was a pretty hilarious finale, seeing 12 dressed up adults holding a glass of Borracha Blend in one hand, with a boobie cake in the other.

In two short and fun filled hours we raised almost $1000 for the Cancer Program at Marian Medical Center.

If you’re interested in trying our delicious Borracha Blend; stop by and grab a bottle from 15 Degrees in Templeton, Gather Wine Bar in Arroyo Grande, or Granada Bistro in SLO. Or you can order it online at www.borracha.us.  A portion of proceeds from every bottle sold benefits the Cancer Program at Marian Medical Center in Santa Maria.

Cheers!

I have come to terms with the fact that I do not like sales. I don’t like cold calling, or calling of any kind. I am much happier writing, emailing and researching. Can I run a business like that?  Not likely. It is, in the very least, going to pose some major challenges to getting the Borracha Blend placed in retail shops if I don’t approach my list of potential buyers. So on this cold and rainy day, I am going to do what most outside sales reps loath doing when the weather sucks, I am going to make sales calls and get our Borracha Blend placed in a hand full of shops before Breast Cancer Awareness month passes us by and I end up drinking all 50 cases of of our delicious limited edition “Cheers to a Cure” Blend instead of raising money for the Breast Cancer Program at Marion Medical Center.

Cheers!

Most health pro’s say 5 small meals a day (breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner) is vital to healthy lifestyle.

Well, my idea of an afternoon snack is a glass of wine and a little nibble, but finding that perfect pairing can be tricky, so I took home a few of my favorite bottles from our wine list at Granada and began the delicious and enjoyable task of finding the perfect adult snack.

Sauvignon Blanc, Staete Landt, New Zealand paired with goat cheese, hummus, and proscuitto: an innovative mix of salty, tangy, creamy enhanced by a crisp mineral driven wine.

Bubbles, Graham Beck, South Africa paired with hot buttered popcorn. Even sitting through a bad movie will be enjoyable with this fun and delicious mix.

Sauternes paired with a warm baguette topped with butter, salt and roquefort. I know this sounds like a stomach ache but its worth every ounce of fat and cholesterol. Serve this as a snack to impress the wine snobs in your life.

Garnacha, De Fuego, Spain and a dark chocolate cupcake (Amy Bakes Cupcakes are the best). Satisfy your sweet tooth and get a little buzz at the same time.

Ok, so maybe these aren’t the healthiest choices for the afternoon snack but they are the tastiest.

Last week at the Bistro we featured Mas des Bressades rose from Rhone Valley as our WOW (Wine of the Week). So I am excited to now introduce, Mas Carlot  “Tradition”; a Marsanne/Roussane blend from the neighboring winery.. Not only are these two wineries neighbors; the owners are also married and have four kids together!

In the old Provencal dialect Mas means farm, and Nathalie Blanc-Mares is beautifully managing this 75 hectares farm. Mother of 4 kids and married to Cyril Mares, owner of Mas des Bressades, Nathalie is considered a pioneer for women winemakers in France.

This Rhone white wine wine is refreshing and bright without being racy or austere. Perfect for a picnic or a warm October day!

Nose: Layers of lees, honey, and lanolin aromas, supported by subtle tropical fruit notes.

Palate: Clean and broad, balanced with medium acidity. Unoaked. Notes of baked apple, peach, toasted brioche and almond milk. The alcohol is a touch forward, but it’s balanced by the ripe fruit and nutty, roasty flavors. A delicious hint of vanilla appears on the finish.