A Really Great Tempranillo and the Coolest HiFi Wine Bar
Lot's of great wine recs in this newsletter!
I moved this week and found this photo of me circa 2019 from the first night in our loft. Matt made pasta and we had to use our suitcases as seats because we didn't own a single piece of furniture. I wish I could remember what I was sipping that night! Probably a tempranillo, if I'm being honest. I was very into tempranillo back then.
I shared a lot of sappy posts over the weekend about our home. That space symbolized so much for Matt and I, both individually and as a couple. We saw so much growth and happiness there. It felt like the REAL start of my life.
We're getting settled into the new place and I haven't unpacked my wine yet (which is over 7 cases of wine, by the way). But the first bottle of wine we opened in the new place was a bottle of Las Jaras sparkling 2020. A gorgeous Carignan, direct press, so the color was a beautiful pale terracotta color. A great celebration wine. Of course, I forgot to take a bottle shot, but I’ll link it here.
Speaking of Tempranillo:
We had Sunday dinner at one of our neighborhood joints this weekend and I was delighted to see my friend Say When’s Tempranillo on the menu! The perfect pizza pairing!
Rachel’s last vintage was one of the most exceptional releases of 2023. She sources her grapes from some of the best vineyards in California and her wines are always elegant and thoughtful — and honestly, pretty flawless to me. This Tempranillo (sourced from Ibarra-Young vineyards) is reminiscent of a great tomato sauce: lots of herbs, fennel seed, sweet tomato, and a touch of silky black olive at the end. Pair this with the most classic pepperoni pizza, or my fave sausage and fennel! I can also see it with a delicious lamb rigatoni or pasta bolognese… Okay I’ll stop because I’m actually starving and can only think of pasta.
What I’m eating/drinking:
The last meal in our old house was a perfect mushroom risotto made with a few simple ingredients: butter, herbs, garlic, parm, and rice. I paired it with a wine I think about often: Terre di Giotto Bianco Toscana.
I first had this wine at Ilcaffe, picked by my dear Cosmo. I think about it often, so I picked up another bottle knowing it would pair perfectly with the earthy richness of risotto. The wine is made using Malvasia varietals and aged in amphora, giving it a fun earthy and farm-y note to it, but as it opens it up, it becomes an orchard of spiced pears and apples with enough body to stand up to the rich risotto.
Wine Bar You Should Check Out:
This bar is as effortlessly cool as my friend Matt Z who recommended it. It’s a cozy, rustic little wine cave and listening bar, inspired by Japanese jazz kissa. They curate the music to match the ambiance—all analog of course—on high fidelity sound systems. The wine selection is curated as well as the music with lots of French and Italian natural wine options, but their Japanese whiskey, high ball cocktails and vermouths definitely stand out as well!
Wine Term You Should Know:
Mouthfeel.
In the simplest terms: the way a wine feels in your mouth. These are usually described as textures, like: silky, velvety (malo, remember?), crunchy, or rough. Different components of the wine create the mouthfeel: acidity, tannins, sugar, even ABV.
I might describe a German riesling as “sharp and crisp with a smooth finish” (high acid, not a lot of sugar and not a lot of tannin) and the tuscan Bianco mentioned above I would be “silky with a little weight” (probably because it under went malo at some point, not as acid forward, a touch of sweetness to soften it and create more body).
If you’re still reading…
and you’re free this weekend, I’ll be pouring wine at Los Rodeos in Echo Park to celebrate Desglose Studios latest art experience, I Need Your Love.
Need Your Love Is That True, curated by DESGLOSE, explores the capacity to expand our love by accepting our longing to belong, loving in observation, and how connecting to the subtle nurtures our trust that life will unfold the multitude versions of what love could be. The pop-up exhibit is accompanied by the debut of DESGLOSE’s first magazine titled PUBLIC LETTERS ON LOVE, featuring love letters from contributors across the country and world.
See you soon xo.
Love a pizza wine rec, thank you!