World Series Wine Pairings

With the wine country team (San Francisco Giants) competing for the World Series this week (and next week they’ll play some Japanese teams so the term “world champions” is more meaningful…), it only makes sense to drink wine rather than beer for this year’s version of the fall classic. Here are my pairings for each game, assuming it goes to 7 games.

Game 1 – Matchup: Lincecum vs Lee

This one should be interesting, and considering that I’m watching it as I’m writing this, it already is. The two aces face each other in the city by the bay, and given that Cliff Lee hasn’t given up a run in about 3,132 post season innings (until right at this moment!), it could be a tough go for the G-men. For that reason I’m going with a nice high alcohol California Zinfandel. The only issue is I don’t have any of these in the house and I’m not about to miss an inning to go get one, especially when Lincecum himself is up to bat. Prediction: Rangers 4 Giants 2 (considering it’s now 2-2 this is not looking likely, but I stand by my original guess)

Game 2 – Matchup: Cain vs Wilson

It just so happens that October 28 is international Champagne day, and it also happens that this will be the first of four Giants victories in this series – oh that dude was just beamed though. To celebrate the complete game shutout pitched by Matt Cain I’d recommend a Blanc de Blancs Champagne – 100% Chardonnay to celebrate California’s best white grape but from France to celebrate that one guy with the French name on the team. Prediction: Giants 3 Rangers 0

Game 3 – Matchup: Sanchez vs Lewis

Of all the games in this series this one is most likely to have a bench-clearing brawl. It’s a Saturday night and the Rangers will be angry after Sanchez throws at some dude’s head. An Australian Shiraz will accompany this occasion, and it’s un-natural tartaric acid should meld nicely with some baby back ribs, Texas Rangers style… too bad they’re going to lose. Prediction: Giants 6 Rangers 2

Game 4 – Matchup: Bumgarner vs Hunter

Considering I don’t know anything about these pitchers nor the city of Arlington, Texas, this is a tough one. It’s a Sunday night in Texas, which I think probably means drinking alcohol is illegal. This will pair well with a nice White Zinfandel, considering it’s not really wine, but Kool-aid. Shish kabobs are an ideal pairing, especially vegan kabobs, but I think that’s also illegal in Texas. Prediction: Rangers 7 Giants 4

Game 5

At this point ESPN stops guessing the matchups, which is upsetting. It’s also upsetting they couldn’t put this game on Tuesday so we could still enjoy Monday Night Football featuring the 49ers losing again. I’m going to assume it’s Lee vs Lincecum again, and this one will be low scoring. Since it’s the last game in the Lone Star state, a nice Texas Semillon should be paired since it could be another 4 decades until the state sees the World Series again. Since Texas Semillon isn’t easy to find here, I’m going with wine from Tim Lincecum’s home state: Washington. A nice Merlot will hit the spot, because Washington can make it well – sorry, California, but you’re out matched in this one, wine wise. Prediction: Giants 1 Rangers 0 in 11 innings

Game 6

The series will find itself back in San Francisco with the Giants needing but one win to win it… not clinch it. That word is overused. It’s likely that this game will feature some sort of Steve Bartman-esque moment in left field, and it will last over 5 hours with rain delays. Knowing this, I’d recommend a 2005 Barolo so that by the time the game is over the tannins may have softened enough to make the wine drinkable. Make sure to decant the wine and don’t bother starting the risotto with osso bucco until well into the 5th inning. Prediction: Rangers 12 Giants 10

Game 7

This game will be so hyped that my neighbors who normally would be watching GLEE at this hour will switch to the World Series during commercial breaks. The Giants will finally prevail after a long season, and then go on to miss the playoffs in 2011. However, during this moment the only viable option for wine is more Champagne. A magnum might be appropriate, since it’s about as big of a moment as having a baby. Pair with orange and black cupcakes and deviled eggs. Prediction: Giants 7 Rangers 3

The Terroirists Show: Old World Winery tasting third and final part!

Sonoma Spring Break: Part 2

After a quick lunch in Healdsburg, my trip continued at Donelan Family Wines. (Pax became Donelan Family starting with the 2008 vintage after a falling out between owner Joe Donelan and winemaker Pax Mahle.) I had the pleasure of tasting the full line-up of 2008 Donelan wines as well as the 2007 Pax Cuvee Christine. All of the wines were stunning, and the Pax could easily be likened to a Cayuse of Sonoma. Starting in 2008 all of the wines were made by Tyler Thomas. Despite only trying one Pax wine there seemed to be a slight difference in style between the two, which would be expected.

Maybe it was just the difference between the 2007 and 2008 vintages, but the Donelan wines seemed to me to be less over the top. The Venus – 93% Roussanne and 7% Viognier – is my new benchmark wine for American Rhone-style whites. The other stand outs were the Kobler Family Vineyard Syrah and the Obsidian Vineyard Syrah. These wines have caused me to rethink the idea that Washington makes the best Syrahs in the new world – I’m not ready to give that up yet, but we have some serious competition.

Knights Valley Sunset

Leaving Donelan, I had to drive straight to Chalk Hill Winery for an interview. Of course I asked to taste the wines at the end, and I must admit that I was quite impressed. Perhaps because the grounds are so beautiful I didn’t have huge expectations for the wines, but their Sauvignon Blanc made me happy, and so did their Cabernet Sauvignon.

With some time left I made the quick jaunt to Healdsburg, which is a really cool little town. The only tasting room I could find that was still open was Rosenblum. As usual, when the tasting room girl found out I was from Walla Walla I became an instant celebrity. It is the place so nice they named it twice, after all. She asked for a good Washington Syrah that she could find in the area. I responded by saying that we don’t send our good wines to California because we keep them all to ourselves.

Stunned, she continued the torrent of zinfandel, and I found great pleasure in the 2007 Richard Sauret from Paso Robles, so I took a bottle with me. It was a fun way to end a day of sipping and spitting, and I would definitely visit them again even though they are corporate. I’ve given up on avoiding corporate wines – it’s just too hard these days.