On KTLA this morning!

How to make your wine taste even better!
I had the great pleasure of spending a few hours with KTLA's Kurt "the Cyberguy" Knutsson, and we discussed wine, wine, and more wine! In this segment, we explore one of my favorite wine gadgets, the Vinturi wine aerator. As you can see, I like them! Be sure to keep an eye out for other segments, where we'll be discussing wine "apps" and pairing wine and music! Cheers!

 

The Wine Minute with Jonathan Mitchell - Ian Blackburn

In this Wine Minute, I am with my buddy Ian Blackburn of Learn About Wine, as we taste Argentinian wines at his event at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood
Ian's company, Learn About Wine, put on this trade event to promote the wines of Argentina. There were hundreds of incredible Malbecs, Cabernets, Chardonnays, Pinot Noirs, and blends. Some of the highlights for me were the wines of Clos de la Siete, made by 7 French Bordeaux makers who are in Argentina making fabulous Bordeaux-style blends, and the wines of Bramare, made by Paul Hobbs down in Argentina. His Cobos line is the super-premium, with a phenomenal Malbec and a KILLER Cabernet Sauvignon. To learn more about the great wines served at this event, go to Ian's website, learnaboutwine.com.

Wine Minute Blooper – Hide Sushi

Whoops! A bad take!
I love to eat sushi and drink sake-it's a perfect pairing.
But sometimes you drink too much sake, and THIS is what happens! :-)

The Wine Minute with Jonathan Mitchell - Sake!

I love shopping in Japantown. Problem is I always end up buying the expensive sake! Today I got excited and bought 2 of my favorites, a Kikusui Junmai Ginjo (2nd highest level of rice polishing) and a Waketaki Junmai Daiginjo (the highest level of rice polishing).
These are both big, rich, and full-bodied sakes that will stand up to pretty much any foods. Drink them cold, my friends! Kanpai!

Wine Minute with Jonathan Mitchell, featuring Kurt Knutsson (The Cyber Guy)

Up at the Esquire House in the Hollywood Hills, I was shooting segments for KTLA's Kurt "The Cyberguy" Knutsson. I brought a couple of great wines to pair with music. One was Wente's "Riva Ranch" Chardonnay, which I paired with the new Dave Koz CD. They are both bright and sunny and would be great on a picnic up in wine country.
We had a blast shooting the segments and Kurt, being a fan of "The Wine Minute", offered to tape one for me. Here it is! What a guy! :-)

On the set with KTLA's Kurt "the Cyberguy" today @The Esquire House.

Examiner.com's take on the Boys vs. Girls Wine Challenge!

And here is another article from Examiner.com's Roberta Rinaldi. Enjoy!!  :-)

Sommeliers face off at The Taste of Beverly Hills

For those of us obsessed by wine, Saturday was an exciting day at The Taste of Beverly Hills.  Eight sommeliers competed (click here for bios) in the "Boys vs Girls Sommelier Blind Tasting". Moderated by event sommelier, Bonnie Graves, teams of four girl and four boy sommeliers were playfully pitted against each other, one pair for each of the four wines tasted.      

The group featured some of California's brightest, most cutting edge sommeliers.  On the feminine side were Rebecca Chapa (Culinary Institute of America), Diane De Luca (Providence), Dana Farner (CUT--wearing the best sundress ever!) and Carolyn Styne (AOC, Luques, Tavern). Representin' for the boys were Chris Lavin (XIV), Mark Mendoza (Comme Ca and Sona), Jonathan Mitchell (Palm Restaurant) and David Rosoff (Pizzeria Mozza).

Bonnie started out by guiding the audience through how to approach a glass of wine; beginning with the eyes, then nose, mouth and brain.  Next she set the rules.  One point each was assigned for guessing the varietal, the wine growing region and vintage.  The group was also asked to say what they would pay for it by the glass.
The soms went for it in a raucous battle starting with Styne and Lavin.  This was a fantastic opportunity to hear the experts think out loud, and to learn how they reach their conclusions.  Styne analyzed the nose first: grapefruit and tropical fruit.  On the palate she found Meyer lemon, bright, racy acidity and no oak.  Both agreed it was a Sauvignon Blanc from the Loire, with Lavin leaning toward Pouilly-Fume.  She said 2008, he said 2007.  Each would pay $11-12.00 per glass.  The wine, in fact, was a 2009 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand.  One point for the girls, one for the boys.
And so it went, with the best round being round three.  Rebecca Chapa and David Rosoff were completely stumped by a bottle of Two Buck Chuck Merlot, which she guessed to be a Chinon Cabernet Franc, and he thought to be a Dolcetto!  Since the teams were allowed to reach conclusions by consensus; this was a great example of how group think leads wine tasters to cede their opinions to others, when they'd be better served to follow their gut instincts.  Jonathan Mitchell had a thigh-slapping moment upon the reveal, when he exclaimed that his first impression was of a cheap Merlot, then went along with David.
Dana Farner lead the girls to victory with great aplomb in round four, with her brilliant evaluation of a 2006 Rioja Riserva.
  

My interview with Examiner.com's Roberta Rinaldi

Wine chat with sommelier Jonathan Mitchell

Sunday, the first annual Los Angeles Times Celebration of Food and Wine, was held at Paramount Studios. Judging by crowd size alone, it was a smash hit.  Of special interest to oenophiles, were the Wine Chats; one of which featured the charming, affable Johnathan Mitchell, (sommelier and assistant general manager for Palm Restaurant), who generously granted an interview.

RR: "What was the first "aha" moment when you realized food and wine really did something for each other?"
JM:  "Probably the first time I had a great bottle of Chinon, a Cabernet Franc from France; and I said to myself, 'I'm not sure I understand this wine.  It's angular, or something.  I know it's a great bottle of wine. Everyone raves about it, but I'm not getting it.'  I was in a restaurant, and no food had come out, and was ready to get a whole different bottle.  Then I ordered eggplant parmesan, and there was a garlic component, and a cheese component.  Now I took a bite, and then I took a sip of the wine and I said, 'Oh my God!'"
"When you taste it together, it creates this thing, a gestalt, where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and you GET it, because what one lacks the other has.  It formed this partnership where all of a sudden the proteins in the food brought out the subtleties in the wine.  Where there was no sweetness in the wine before, now the inherent sweetness in the garlic gave basis to the wine, so the spice nuance and the fruit that was there kind of jumped out.  That's when you realize you cannot judge a wine by itself, and if you're a real oenophile, you almost don't want to judge a food by itself.  If you love wine, and view it as a part of the meal, like I do; you want to find a great wine for the food, and enjoy them together just to see what the possibilities are."
"The relationship is symbiotic.  It's really critical that you play with it, and don't worry too much about what other people tell you works.  I don't care if people say a big, buttery, rich Chardonnay goes with lobster.  Try it!  But also try a crisp, light, unoaked Chardonnay, with no malolactic fermentation. Try them both."
"The most important thing I tell my guests is to take notes.  When you drink, it's very easy to just enjoy it and forget.  If it worked well for you, and you really loved it, write it down.  You'll be so grateful that you did."

The Wine Minute. Finding the perfect wine to go with SPICY food!

One of the great perplexing wine questions of all time is WHAT wine goes with hot and spicy food? In this Wine Minute, I explain why Viognier  (VEE-OH-NYAY) is such a great match for Thai, Chinese, Mexican, etc.
The slight sweetness of a Viognier offsets the heat of the chilis. You don't believe me? Just try one. Let me know what you think.
And don't forget to have FUN with wine!!  :-)