Author Archives: Braxs

Tacos and Tequila San diego 2019

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This year we decided to do something a little different.  We attended, one of my favorite events, Tacos and Tequila in San Diego.  First of all, you can’t beat  San Diego for a venue.  The weather was great and the location of Marina Park was perfect.

Marina Park

THE TEQUILA’S

Unfortunately, you are only given 6 tickets to use for the private tequila tasting event.  Considering that there were more than 10 different brands, each pouring a Blanco, Reposado and Añejo, some were going to be left untasted.  I decided to only taste the tequila I was not familiar with.  This led to some great discoveries.  Let me tell ya about them.

Nuda Tequila

Owned by Frances Reyes.  Nuda Tequila is triple distilled.  The Añejo is aged for 26 months in French Oak barrels.  Aromas of Agave and Vanilla.  On the palate I experienced; light agave flavors, vanilla, oak and a hint of caramel.  The extra Añejo was delicious with notes of agave, vanilla, coco.  I was lucky enough to have been able to try all four of Nuda’s Tequilas, including the Blanco and Reposado.  I have to admit, they were my favorites at the festival.  Price point is $80 for the Añejo and $100 for the extra Añejo.

The owners of Nuda Tequila

SOME OF MY OTHER FAVORITES

 

UNO POR FAVOR TEQUILA

Uno Por Favor Blanco is a tequila with more citrus notes.  It is very smooth and light on the tongue.  The Reposado adds notes of caramel and oak. $40 for the Blanco.

MANDALA TEQUILA

Mandala Tequila.  The extra Añejo is aged seven years in French Oak barrels.  I found this one to be a little sweet with tasting notes of toasted oak, agave and vanilla.  Price point is $130.

MI CAMPO TEQUILA

Mi Campo Tequila.  Surprisingly, this brand was probably the best tequila under $30.  The Reposado was aged in Robert Mondavi French wine barrels.  Great minerality and mouth feel with notes of toasted oak, vanilla and honey.

REVOLUCION TEQUILA

 

Revolucion Tequila.  This tequila aged in traditional America White Oak barrels.  The Añejo has good minerality and a smooth finish with hints of caramel, honey and butterscotch.  They put their extra Añejo through a charcoal filter to remove the color and they call it Cristolino.  This is a good line of tequila and I believe the price point of $50, $60 and $80 for the Reposado, Añejo and extra Añejo, is dead on for this quality tequila.  

There are some really good things going on in the tequila world.  From adding oxygen to the distillate to remove impurities to using nontraditional  vessel for aging.  the industry is evolving and I look forward to keeping up.  Enjoy.

-Brax

 

 

 

 

 

 

quick getaways

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Fantastetic4 got together to attend the winemaker’s dinner at kukkula winery. The 5 course dinner was absolutely fabulous and I would love to post pictures and tell you more, but honestly, I got caught up in the moment and just enjoyed the experience.

We did have the opportunity to check out some wineries for the first time. Law Estate Wines tasting room was recognized as being in the top 15 in the world. Beautiful architecture. Law Estate Wine tasting is by appointment only. I highly recommend making an appoint and enjoy the experience.

TH Estate Wines is a must visit. They specialize in Rhone varietals. By appointment only. TH Estate Wines was formally known as Terry Hoage Vineyard. Their wines are well structured, and full body. Their blends are complex and well balanced.

Levo Wine, Benom wines and Wine Shine distillery were the big find for us on this trip. They are both located in Tin City. Tin City is like an adult Disney. Located just South of Firestone Walker Brewery, Tin City is filled with wine tasting rooms, breweries, distilleries and a cider house. Food trucks are available on a lot of the properties. Just take a share ride in and enjoy. Check them out and tell me I’m wrong.

-Brax

TACOS AND TEQUILA

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Drew and Crew

Tacos and tequila is one of my favorite events.  San Lorenzo Park in Santa Cruz California was an excellent location choice.    The weather was perfect and the crowd was friendly and festive.  The event was festival style with multiple choices of tacos venders, margarita bars, merchants, bands and of course tequila tasting.  I did notice that there were not as many tequila reps this year as there were last year but, the ones that were there this year were great. 

I had a chance to hang out and talk to Drew Garrison from Dulce Vida, about tequila.  We had a great conversation and I learned that Dulce Vida allows their tequila to go through malolactic fermentation.  Their tequila is 100% Puro  Agave, one of the highest rating given by the Mexican Government.  They have a blanco that is done in stainless steel and they also have infused tequilas.  Their agave if from Arandas, Jalisco Mexico.  I found the Organic Blanco to be lite to medium agave flavor, easy over the tongue.  It could be drank with just a cube of ice.  According to Drew, it is available at Bevmo and Total Wines.  Price range is $22 to $24.

Don Antonio Aguilar

I had the pleasure of meeting Cesar Garcia from Real de Jalpa.  He is the Rep for Don Antonio Aguilar Mezcal.  If you are one of those people that turns their nose up when you hear the word Mezcal,  I guarantee Don Antonio Aguilar Mezcal with change your mind.  It is a Mezcal with a lot of the same qualities as tequila.  Real de Jalpa own their own fields in Zacatecas Mexico.  They produce approximately 6,000 liter a day.  Cesar brought for Reposados with him.  They ranged in age from 4 months to 11 months.  For Mezcal, they were not smokey.  I found them to be earthy with good agave flavors.  The older reposados had more oak notes and easy finish.  Price range from $30 to $60.

Blue Iguana Tequila

Blue Iguana Tequila was the surprise find.  It is double distilled from agave from the Highlands of Jalisco.  They were pouring a 2 months, 4 months, 7 months, 11 months and an 18 month tequila.  The 7, 11, and 18 month olds were aged in whiskey barrels.  I found the tequila to be very neat and clean.  Good agave flavor with a short smooth finish.  Well balanced oak notes from the whiskey barrels.  According to the Rep, it can be found at Raley’s for $28 to $35.

Azunia

Another surprise find was Azuñia.  100% Puro de Agave from the Valley of Jalisco. Azuñia is hand harvested and roasted in traditional clay hornos.  The blanco and reposado good agave flavors that were not overpowering.  An earthiness that was complemented by lite oak notes.

We had a Fantastetic time.  Made some new friends, ate some tasty taco and tasted some excellent tequilas.  I am looking forward to the next event.  Where ever that may be.

Ciao for now

Brax

 

 

 

 

Provence. Cassis and Bandol. Chapter 1

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You may be familiar with Bordeaux, Champagne and Burgundy but, have you heard of Cassis?  Not many people know that Cassis was the first Appellation D’Origine Contrôlée in France.  So, it is only fair that we begin our adventure in Provence, in Cassis.  We stayed in a cute farm-house surrounded by vineyands, in the valley between the Medieval towns of Le Castellet and La Cadiere d’ Azure.  Our friends, Kim and Todd found the house on VRBO.  It is in the heart of Bandol and the perfect location for our base of operation.

Le Castellet

Le Castellet

 

 

 

Cassis Harbor

Cassis Harbor

 

 

Cassis is located on the French Riviera.  It has some nice beaches and it  is  surrounded by cliffs known as the Calanques.  The Calanques provide spectacular views of private beaches only accessible by boat.

Calanques

Calanques

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Wines of Cassis

The red and rosé wines are Grenache based blends, with Syrah and Cinsault.  The white wines are a blend of Ugni Blanc, Clairette, Marsanne and Rollé.

Domaine du Bagnol.  White wine: Marsanne, Clairette and Ugni Blanc, aged in stainless steel.  This one reminded me of a Sauvignon Blanc from Cuvasion, Napa Valley.  The rosé is 48% Grenache, 34% Mourvedra and 18% Cinsault.  Domaine Bangol produces 100,000 bottles per year.  Our next stop was Domaine du Paternel.

Domaine du Paternel produces approximately 450,000 bottles per year.  They produce a GSM + Cinsault and Rollé aged in stainless steel.  Their Blanc de blanc is a blend of Clairette, Marsanne, and Ugni Blanc.  Their red is a blend of Grenache and Mourvedra aged for one year in oak.  Our final stop of the day was at Le Moulin de la Roque.

Moulin de la Roque was established in 1950 and it is located in the AOC of Bandol.  They produce 1.3 million bottles per year.  They are a co-op of different vineyard owners.  They bottle under five different labels to showcase their five different terriors.   In the Bandol AOC, the red and rosé wines has to be a minimum of 50% Mourvedra.  The Blanc is made of Ugni Blanc and Clairette.  The rosé is Mourvedra, Grenache and Cinsault.  The red is 90% Mourvedra, 10% Carignan.  They have a second blend of 95% Mourvedra and 5% Carignan.  I found the Mourvedra in this region to have a lot of minerality , lite fruit hints and tannins from the mid pallet to a short finish.  Our host was Tim, was kind enough to give us a tour of their facility.

Moulin de la Roque

Moulin de la Roque

We ended the day with fine dining at a Michelin Star restaurant Todd found.  Le Goguette is located in the Medieval town of Le Castellet.  Dinner was superb.  Wine with dinner was Domaine Richaud ,Cairanne 2015.  A well balanced blend of Claret, Bourboulenc, Roussane, Vigonier and Marsanne.  The red was from La Sagesse.  A blend of 95% Grenache and 5% Syrah.  I highly recommend Le Goguette and Domaine Richaud’s Cairanne 2015.  Perfect paring.

Carrot puree with lemon vinegar. Artichoke with mushroom and carrot puree. Fras Gras with strawberries and basil. poisson of snapper. Chocolate cake with ginger ice cream.

Carrot puree with lemon vinegar. Artichoke with mushroom and carrot puree. Fras Gras with strawberries and basil. poisson of snapper. Chocolate cake with ginger ice cream.

Au Revoir for now.