Left Behind, Montpellier Pinot Noir

Montpellier, California Pinot Noir- 2008

After sweeping up the chip crumbs, wiping down any and all flat surfaces of queso remains and searching for empty beer bottles in the rose bushes, there are a few pleasant elements of hosting the party at your place. Take for example: an assortment of microbrews left in the refrigerator, half full bottles of Tito's and Bacardi in the freezer, and a few unopened bottles of wine left on the counter.

The bottle of wine you see pictured above is the Montpellier, California Pinot Noir from 2008. Valued at $6.00, I was super-skeptical of this particular pinot. As many of you may know, pinot noir is one of the most expensive wines to produce because of the grape's sensitive and unstable characteristics in both growing and winemaking. Expensive to produce = expensive to buy. So, you can see why I was a little leery of a $6 bottle of Pinot from Napa. Pour, swirl, sniff and taste. The color is a juicy, vibrant, clear cherry red and the nose is bright and fruity. Flavors of light oak and young cherries, it is fruit forward and simple - simply pleasant. The finish is not long and there is hardly any complexity, but I would not expect that from a bottle of this price. But overall, this is a nice bargain wine. It is enjoyable to drink and well suited for a late summer's dinner. Do not expect too much out of the Montpellier and you will not be disappointed; I would recommend this for you easy drinkers (or the white wine fanatics). Read more!

Leggo my Prosecco

Italian DOC region of Prosecco, Valdobbiadene Hills

Today, we will learn a lesson Italian wines and their classifications. For this lesson, I will be using Karen MacNeil's The Wine Bible and Hugh Johnson & Janice Robinson's The World Atlas of Wine. The Italian government is sometimes frustrating, corrupt and just plain confusing. Let's be honest, here. And their wine regulations and laws are no exception.

In 1963, Italy enacted their DOC laws (Denominazione de Origine Controllata) to regulate standards for certain types of wine. Shortly thereafter, winemakers across Italy were up in arms because the standards were based on "traditional" practices and "traditional" tastes. Certain winemakers (making undeniably great wines using nontraditional, innovative practices) got tired of their wines being considered vino da tavola (table wine, the lowest status), because of these regulations. In 1980, the government passed a new -and misleading - regulation DOCG (Denominazione de Origine Controllata e Garantita), wines of exceptional quality and renown. The standards were enven more strict than the DOC. Examples of DOCG wines are: brunello di Montalcino, Barolo, Chianti Classico, and many more. As with the DOC, there were problems with DOCG regulations: the word "garantita" implied the quality was guaranteed when it was not, and it applied to an entire region sometimes including the most plebian of wines. So instead of reforming the regulations, they just created one more IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica) to include the country wines. The IGT wines are thought to be good and sometimes great wines, but historically are not as recognized as the DOC and DOCG wines. Jump for more!

All this being said, there is a new DOCG (divided into two regions, actually) for prosecco. Prosecco is a grape originating from the Tre Venezie, a larger area of three wine regions that surround Venice in Italy's northesat corner. Known as the Italian bubbly, prosecco is a spumante or sparkling wine; it is less dramatic, slightly sweeter and softer than Champagne. The new DOCG regions of Prosecco will begin with this coming vintage and they are Conegliano and Valdobbiadene.

This past Thursday, Jimmy's Food Store had a free Prosecco/Sparkling Wine tasting. The wines were largely prosecco with a few moscato d'Asti. The back wine room was packed with prosecco fans and neophiles alike. It was a vivacious group of interested customers and informed wine reps. A few favorites were the Caposaldo Prosecco, one of the most traditional proseccos in the room; Rotari Talento Rose, an elegant sparkling Rose, and lastly, one of the sweeter proseccos, Bastianich Flor Prosecco. The tour of pours ended with two wines from the new DOCGs of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene. Slighlty more expensive, these wines were distinctive in structure but overall, I found the less expensive non DOCG proseccos most enjoyable. For a great buy, check out the Mionetto Prosecco Brut!

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being catty - 7.17.09

Iced Vietnamese Coffee (Not Pictured at Mai's)

Hydraulic El Camino in Parking Lot? Check. Barred Windows and Doors? Check. Crack House Across the Street? Check. I have a newfound appreciation and slight obsession with “dives”. Mai’s Vietnamese Cuisine has all the outside elements of a “dive”, but inside the restaurant is surprisingly neat. Now don’t misunderstand me here, Mai’s is no substitute for Lemongrass, Tei Tei or other fashionable Asian locales. But much like its food, it is comfortable and enjoyable.


On a Monday night, the restaurant has about 10 parties dining and picks up throughout the evening. There are still plenty of tables to spare but the crowd looks worldly and relaxed; they must be regulars. Mai’s is another BYO restaurant and if you know me well enough you know I’ve done my research for food and wine pairings. I’ve learned that white wines like Grüner Veltliner, Gewurztraminer, and Riesling are great with most Asian food as their slightly sweet nature contrasts to the salty, spicy heat of the cuisine. We brought a German Riesling from the Mosel region.


Our server greeted us and was a little anxious to take our orders. As we often do, we ordered many different things to share. Both of us are adventurous diners, but for two very different reasons: I like to individually taste as many things as possible to get an overall sense of the restaurant and learn about the food and he just likes to combine as many different food items as possible onto one plate/bowl at the same time. (Yes, you can see me shaking my head now; dining together was VERY difficult at the beginning of our relationship. I am over it now. Well okay, not completely over it, but I’m working on it.)


We began with a variety of their rolls ($1.00ea): Fried Vietnamese- much like your typical egg roll, a bit too greasy, served with a sweet and sour dipping sauce; Grilled Pork Imperial Roll- tender slices of pork with lettuce, rice noodles tightly rolled in a thick rice paper, with hoisin-peanut dipping sauce, topped with chili paste; Shrimp Imperial Roll- just like the Grilled Pork version but with boiled, slightly boring shrimp. The Imperial Rolls were crunchy and refreshing and a little indulgent with the sweet-spicy peanut dipping sauce; they are the perfect summer finger food.


Onto the next course: a cup of Pho. Pho is a traditional Vietnamese soup, influenced by Chinese and French cuisines. It is typically made with beef stock, different cuts of meat and sometimes rice noodles. They are served with a garnish plate of bean sprouts, variety of herbs, jalapeno peppers, and limes so that the diner can customize the flavors of the soup. We ordered the Chicken Pho ($2.95-cup) but unfortunately, only the bowl or larger sizes come with the garnish plate. Nonetheless, the Pho was warm and soothing as it should be, but it lacked the depth of rich, beefy stock.


For our main course, we shared a Chicken Curry Clay Pot ($7.95). Clay pots are another traditional Asian cooking method; cooking in the pot itself creates a moisture lock and the food inside stays tender, piping hot and surprisingly healthy. No additional oils are needed to cook with the clay pot, so the food is lower in fat and the vegetables retain more nutrients as they are not overcooked. The presentation of a clay pot is impressive in itself; the pot is rustic, sometimes colorfully painted and the server removes the top to unveil a steaming, (hopefully) tasty dish. My favorite part about a clay pot dish: the rice at the bottom of the pot is nutty, slightly burned with a nice crunchy texture. The Chicken Curry Clay Pot was a conglomeration of rice, chicken, mixed vegetables in a coconut-yellow curry sauce. This is probably one of the most Americanized- Vietnamese dishes on the menu, but it’s my favorite of the evening. Forget mac n’cheese, this is the best comfort food I’ve had in a long time! The sweet coconut milk and spice – and a good deal of it, too – of the curry complement one another perfectly. The chicken and vegetables are tender, indeed.


For dessert, don’t miss the Vietnamese Coffee. Our fellow diners ordered it over ice; I mean, it’s only 104 outside! Vietnamese coffee is made with a simple, filter style pot. They are individually brewed inside the little chambers, making a strong coffee that falls somewhere between espresso and an Americano. The best part of the coffee, it is served atop a nice, thick layer of condensed milk. Yes, you heard me right, the condensed milk sweetens and thickens the coffee, transforming into something downright holy.


Mai’s is pho’ sho the best value for Vietnamese food in Dallas, so get there in a curry hurry and roll on in.

Mai’s Vietnamese Cuisine
4812 Brian Street, Suite 100
Dallas, Texas 75204
214.826.9887

Photo Credit: InFusion Coffee & Tea Gallery

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