Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Oregon - Willamette Valley - Chehalem Winery

Chehalem Winery
Willamette Valley
503-538-4700

Oregon is Pinot country, which means that it’s one of the most weather sensitive wine regions in the world. Pinot noir benefits from warm days and cool nights. 2002 was hailed as one of the best wine years in Oregon history (about 30 years total), and many wine makers believe that 2006 will rival that. Chehalem Winery in Willamette Valley produces a few popular and well distributed wines that can be found in most wine stores. However, far superior wines can be found when visiting their winery. With tastings by appointment only, I highly recommend the intimate and delicious experience their tasting offers (plus, they’re free).

Chehalem considers France’s Alsace region their standard for quality, and accordingly allow the weather to determine the taste of their wines. Some producers would rather force their grapes into a particular taste during the production, but, as Jason explained during our tasting, Chehalem prefers to allow their wines to reflect each year’s unique weather. For example, 2007 brought early rains, two weeks early in fact, so that year’s wines will have a higher acidity. Allowing such characteristics to come through allows drinkers to taste the past and perhaps develop a closer relationship with the wine region itself.

I liked Chehalem’s whites, particularly their 2006, Pinot grigio Reserve, which has an impeccability delicate toastiness similar to restrained Californian chardonnay while retaining the light fruit of the Pinot grigio grape. I was even more blown away by their selection of Pinot noir. Chehalem has three vineyards dedicated to the grape, hence the name of their most commonly found Pinot noir, 3 Vineyards, which combines them. Their three high-end Pinot noirs showcase one of each vineyard, and the particular growing conditions can be clearly tasted. My favorite was the 2002 Stoller Vineyard Pinot Noir, grown in volcanic soil. This tasting is not one to miss.

The Best Hot Chocolate in the Bay

Bittersweet, The Chocolate Café
Two Locations: San Francisco - 2123 Fillmore Street
Oakland - 5427 College Avenue
www.bittersweetcafe.com

What more can be said? If you prefer your steaming cup of cocoa more chocolate bar than chocolate syrup, the Bittersweet café will be a relief, if not a revelation. The menu offers a choice of five decadent hot chocolates, each meticulously researched for the better part of a year by the café’s founders (self-proclaimed chocoholics). As a staff member explained the mélange of milk chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate, non-dairy chocolate, and cocoa percentages, the science of it all made my head swim. Luckily, you don’t have to know the theory to taste it.

Just try The Spicy: with a blend of four chocolates plus cayenne and white pepper, it’s not for the faint of heart. Its delicate heat seems to come from all sides at once. If spicy isn’t your thing, the Mocha is the café’s signature chocolate latte, a combination of chocolate, espresso, and milk. The always friendly staff melt what look like pieces of chocolate bars, add espresso, then pour the almost bubbling concoction into the mug, where cool milk is added to achieve the perfect temperature, sometimes with a bit of “latte art” on top.

Besides the hot stuff, Bittersweet offers pastries, cakes, and seasonal gelees, all made in-house. But I’d put my money on anything chocolate. The croissants aren’t so flaky and have a pitiful amount of chocolate inside. The gelees are light and not overly sweet, suggesting the perfect piece of fruit, but why eat fruit when the chocolate cinnamon cake or ganache is a perfect accompaniment to your chocolate overdose? Further, a dazzling selection of hand-picked chocolate bars from all over the world lines the walls. To bring such delicacies to the Bay Area was what originally prompted the creation of the café.

Along with the warm cocoa and staff, the café’s décor is a blend of antique wood and pastels. Though the line can sometimes be daunting, it’s only because each cup is made to order. With an upstairs for extra seating, it’s a shame the café does not offer a wireless connection. On second thought, that might be a good thing: with internet access and hot chocolate this good, I’d have no reason to leave.

Brains In The 80’s: Review of Return of the Living Dead

With punk sarcasm, cheesy acting, and not-so-cheesy gore, Return of the Living Dead turns the Godfather of horror into a sleaze show. But that’s a good thing. Released in ‘85, the film picks up where George Romer’s The Night of The Living Dead left off, asking the logical question: What happened to all the zombies? It turns out the military vacuum sealed them in barrels, then lost them. Those canisters somehow got into the basement of a medical supply store, where they’ve been gathering dust… until now. Frank, hilariously played by James Karen, is a senior employee with an over-developed sense of humor. He’s teaching the new-kid the ropes when they accidently break one the canisters open, releasing a noxious gas that turns the dead, into the un-dead. Too bad for them the store is located beside a cemetery where a bunch of punks are listening to bad 80’s music on a huge boom box.

This movie succeeds in all the places it shouldn’t. With the exception of Karen, the acting is ridiculous; a bunch of teens with names such as Scuz, Spider, Suicide, and Trash, complain about life while desecrating a cemetary, yet refreshingly, and unexpectedly, by the end of the movie it’s clear that everything is the grownups’ fault. When the owner of the medical store shows up, he’d rather try to fix the mess himself than get bad press, which leads to some sick scenes in a mortuary, and furthers the spread of the infection. Then there’s the military, and they sure aren’t going to fix anything. By the time infected rain begins to fall on Trash, dancing naked between gravestones, the world seems long gone. But not before the movie cranks out a mass of solid gore to a soundtrack featuring such bands as The Cramps, Flesh Eaters, and The Damned.

Beyond the zombies’ obvious craving for brains, many of the film’s ideas are just plain demented. I mean, did anyone expect to see a split dog used for medical education barking on its side on the floor? Or two men who are still alive when rigormortis sets in and blood pools inside their flesh? Then there’s the torso of a woman, her exposed spine flipping around like a fish out of water, who shrieks, “Brains make the pain go away!” All right, maybe you would expect that. But there’s another twist: the zombies are smarter than those in Romero’s film and move a lot faster. This concept has been recently exploited, but seeing it done well in the 80’s is a treat.

Filled with epic moments, like a zombie reaching for a police CB and requesting, “Send more cops,” this movie is hilarious and surprising. But for all the camp, when the original zombie from the canister makes his appearance, the special effects are enough to gross out even the most seasoned horror fans.