Bring in the New

Spoiler alert, I’m gonna talk about the super fun bubbles from Argentina you too could be ringing in the new year with at the end, but first, how about a little catch up?

What a year it has been. Actually, it’s the first year in a while that has felt like a real REAL year, with in-person stuff and everything. And yet I have so many things I want to be better in 2023. I want to feel refreshed, because I am still a touch torn down. I usually keep it light and breezy here but I’m going to be real, the last few years have been a special sort of hell, with the occasional kiss of heaven, and I know not just for me. Physically and emotionally I’ve been through some shit, from seizures due to my body’s inability to maintain a reasonable level of sodium, to a bunch I won’t get into. But it’s been an exhausting few years.

Of course there has been the good too. I went to Italy twice last year. I keep saying that to myself because it feels like a triumph. I wrote a boatload, both scripts and wine/spirits/food stuff. I acted in some animated things and a spec episodic show, and took part in a bajillion table reads of other people’s scripts. I figured out I’m definitely bisexual. Late blooming but here I am–sex with women is great! Highly recommend. I started my own writer group, which has been invaluable both for the camaraderie and for forcing me to actually finish scripts–oh yeah I also finished a pilot and have the outline for a movie.

So what now in 2023? Honestly, so far the only big plan I have is too keep a “best of” contenders list of things I drink so that I can round them up and in a year share them with you. I taste a TON of things and my computer brain usually puts them in the “this is useful now or could be in the future for an article” but I seldom make a note when my mind gets blown. Maybe I’m not getting blown enough take that to mean what you will. Anyway. That’s my promise is in a year I’m gonna have a “best of” list. I’m also going to look for representation for my script writing. I also plan to continue healing my soul and keeping my health (and electrolytes) up and keep acting and…OH big thing…

I’m gonna start a Youtube wine show. It’ll be a crossing of wine education with some silliness thrown in and I want it to be both useful, and a place people can tune into because they’ll feel like I am their own personal wine buddy. Right now the working name is “Taste with Elle” cause that gives me leeway to throw in the occasional cocktail of food note. I’ll let you know.

And I AM gonna get a cat. Another black cat because ever since having one I can’t go back. I’ve been spending a lot of time scrolling for pussy and not just cause the bi thing.

But what to drink for the new year?! I am drinking this on New Year’s Eve eve actually but carry it forth with you as an idea for the future! I’m 99.99 sure I have not had traditional method sparkling wine from Argentina. I am putting it out there that I have-not been to a wine region in the Southern Hemisphere. Argentina, you don’t have to cry for me if you bring me to your vineyards.

So, I give you your new thing for 2023…MASCOTA VINEYARDS UNÁNIME SPARKLING WINE. It’s an intriguing blend of 85% Chardonnay and 15% Malbec, straight out of the Uco Valley, a subregion of Mendoza that boasts ridiculously high altitude. It exudes rich n ripe vibes straight out of the glass and into my nose–I smell ripe pears, pineapple, honey and sweet corn. Full body with a friendly sparkle, the bubbles are subdued. All the aromas come out in flavors on the palate, plus some browned applesauce and caramel drizzle. It’s a voluptuous but tenderhearted bubbly, outspoken but gentle.

Try it.

One last “for 2023” thing…getting even more acquainted with bubblies from around the world. I need to do that. That was the test I came closest to not passing in my WSET Diploma. And (one more MAYBE) if I decide to go after my MW I need to be on point for EVERYTHING.

But most of all myself. I can be here for you but I can’t let myself treat me poorly. The last few years I’ve been trying to get back on track. And I will.

Walla Walla Woman Winemaker Wine x Tempranillo Day

Ooooh love a winery with a cheeky name, plus a history that also tastes fabulous and hey! is made by a woman.

In the last few years, my hope for women in the wine industry has grown greatly. In Los Angeles I’m surrounded by amazing women who are bosses at whatever they do in the industry and Get Respect. Despite having felt the need to pen this article about my experiences as a woman in wine, I felt like times they were a-changing. I crave those female-led enterprises.

And then of course I went to a big Pennfold’s tasting on the arm of a male friend, and every single new person we talked to (male and female) was eager to get his attention (he’s the beverage director for a restaurant group) and I got condescending smiles–like they didn’t even think I possibly could be a wine person. Maybe they thought I was the wife? Which I’m not, and even if I was that wouldn’t rule out me being in the industry. Incidentally, his wife is a one of the best tasters I know even thought she doesn’t work in wine. Anyway.

Later that night at another venue, we met the aforementioned super taster he’s lucky enough to be married to, at Wally’s, which employs women…and oh my oh my CAN IT EVER be the breeding ground for toxic vinous masculinity. The three of us were being blind-tasted by our section’s somm (also a friend of my male friend) and I called it a Chablis (aka Chardonnay from Burgundy), and said several times it seemed really reduced, and he ignored the shit out of me. Then mansplained that it was Puligny-Montrachet (ALSO Chardonnay from Burgundy) and that it was “reductive” as if I didn’t at least get the grape and region at large correct. Maybe technically reduced was the wrong way to say it was reductive?

But pretty sure he literally didn’t register that I existed the whole time. So.

GRRRRR.

Anyway. Let’s lighten this up and get to today’s gem: No Girls, which is all about the ladies, and makes this stellar Tempranillo. They have a woman winemaker by the name of Elizabeth Bourcier. The winery got its name for the building the owner bought in Walla Walla which had once been a bordello. At the top of the staircase “NO GIRLS” had been spray painted in the 1960’s, perhaps signifying women finding their power outside the hands of men…at any rate all I can tell you is they make good wine. I had the Grenache on my podcast awhile back, and I saved this bottle for…

OH HEY! It’s Tempranillo Day. Yay again.

Beyond mentioning it is tasty AF FTW here are some tasting notes yay yet again.

No Girls Tempranillo 2018

Deeply hued and murky. Smells of auburn fruit leather and damp earth, plus baking spices, from cloves to nutmeg, with a finish (can a smell have a finish? I say it can) that is saline. Dry dry dry as can be. The silkiest medium tannins you could hope to find partnered with a full but silk-tastic body. Still with prunes/dates/mud palate but augmented by even more potpourri and a certain tartness, like sour cherries that have been dried and rehydrated. yup. And the finish is…Montenegro amaro? Crazy. In my mind it conjured a mincemeat pie that had undergone just a soupçon of smoking, if I am being honest and I am.

I want to wear this wine by a fireside. And also? Fuck the patriarchy.

Yay.

Seriously Good Grigio

There are wines that Wine People dismiss. And when I say Wine People, dare I say wine snobs? I do dare, and confess I might be one just-a-little-bit. And I am guilty of overlooking today’s grape. Is it because I’ve noticed it is the go-to white wine for a lot of my friends who aren’t Wine People/Snobs? Maybe. Well, the more I think of it, the more I realize that that’s a silly reason to dismiss a wine–if it brings people happiness, maybe I should pay attention.

I’ll stop the preliminary banter. The wine I am speaking of is Pinot Grigio. There are SERIOUSLY good Pinot Grigio wines out there, especially once you learn you can get one of higher quality–more complexity, more balance, more beauty– by looking to a Pinot Grigio from a specific appellation.

The appellation in question today is the DOC Delle Venezie, which was created in 2016 to draw out the best of Pinot Grigio from the Triveneto, aka Tre Venezia. The Delle Venezie DOC includes a few different regions: the Veneto, Friuli Venezia Giulia (never can I ever remember this region’s in full–somebody take my Diploma from me) and Trentino, all located in Northeast Italy.

I actually was just in one of those regions, the Veneto, in June, chilling out, the way wine people do, sucking down quite a bit of Pinot Grigio, from sunup to sundown, on the shores of Lake Garda. As one does. So Pinot Grigio was on my radar as something to rekindle my relationship with. And then I was lucky enough to be sent a couple of bottles of it from the DOC Delle Venezie, which solidified my feelings that I’d been neglecting the grape for too long.

A little terminology tutorial: DOC stands for “Denominazione d’Origine Controllata”, and is meant to ensure that if you drink a wine labeled as such-and-such DOC, that you know where it came from, what grapes it was made from, how it was made, and so on. But most of all, you can be assured that the quality of the bev in the bottle will be what you expect, what you wanted, in some situations what you NEEDED, and that you will not be disappointed because it’s a friggin’ DOC. And DOCs have STANDARDS.

DOC Delle Venezie is a standard bearer for the quality Pinot Grigio.

There are a bunch of reasons why three different regions (which in reality are not so far from each other) can lend one named denomination to the grape. In terms of climate, they all benefit from the protection of the Alps to the north. And then there are multiple rivers that flow through them. So there’s coolness to moderate sun which yayyyyy (if you are an acid-lover like me) usually means the wine will sport refreshing acidity. Flowing water also often means the terroir will be well-ventilated. Temperatures (especially when on hills) will vary from night to day leading to a long ripening span(yay ripe fruit) and acidity levels that never say die.

Now that you know a little more about the region, here’s a smidge more about the grape; let’s call it Pinot Grigio basics: The skin of the grape has a grey-pink tinge, leading to the wines having a coppery color, and in fact when more skin contact is allowed Pinot Grigio can be look like a rosé or sometimes even orange wine. Typical aromas include citrus, stone and orchard fruit. The acid tends to be elevated (see: porch pounder), and other fave pinot-tastic flavors include a certain beery-y nature as well as hints of peanuts. and sometimes flowers.

Within the Pinot Grigio Delle Venezie DOC one can be assured that yields are limited–an important part of quality control, as overcropped grapes=diminished quality. And in this DOC the wines actually undergo a tasting to make sure each bottling stands up to the regional standards. I myself tasted a couple of examples from the region and both made me happy to have Pinot Grigio in my glass.

NATALE VERGA PINOT GRIGIO DELLE VENEZIE DOC

Tart n tangy! A lot of peach yogurt vibes and traditionally PG all day–bruised fruits, peanut shells and stale beer (in a good way, trust me). Look, here is the thing: Classic Pinot Grigio is like a baseball game beyond those last two tasting notes. It has peaks and lulls and you’ll come back for more.

ALLEGRINI CORTE GIARA PINOT GRIGIO DELLE VENEZIE 2020

Lighter and fresher and fun. More citrus-y and less lees’y although there was a hint of shells and lactic quality to it, if that makes sense. But most of all, the acidity was clean and clear and I was drinking it with girlfriends on a hot hot day and we couldn’t get enough.

TAKE HOME MISSIVE

Learn how to find the good. Drink the good. Do good. Be you. And if you are a Pinot Grigio lover, this post was for you.

This post was sponsored.

Rosé indoors al fresco

Skip to the end for this entry’s challenge.

Mouton gets the award for lushest swag of the year:

The hearty canvas of the bag they sent me with the accompanying insulated sleeve and picnic throw scream “I am solid! But also pink! So!”

And so.

So I had myself a little indoor picnic because I like to celebrate small goth victories like the clouds of Los Angeles’ June gloom.

Not pictured: pistachio cake with pistachio frosting, lemon curd, and milk crumb topping.

Oh wait here’s a picture. It’s ugly though.

There’s a reason this blog is called Scrumptious GRUEL:

I could go on about the marvelous things I make from the Momofuko Milk Bar cookbook but let’s get to the rosé.

Here’s what you’ll feel in a bottle of Mouton Cadet Rosé:

Raspberries and stones. running streams. Strong love. An embrace with vigor. Which is my favorite type of embrace.

Vigorous.

Damn that’s a great word.

More stony up front perhaps a masquerade of the masculinity assumed with Bordeaux yet label and swag is pink but masculine pink and I do maintain real men wear pink.

And so do real goths.

Humble request for someone to make a Venn diagram of goth, toxic masculinity, pink, mental health, and…last one is your call.

Go!

Here I am

Oh dang I’m sorry I don’t really write enough. I’ve been busy working my arse off and then putting it back on at dinners like the one I attended at The Meadowood in the picture above. That was the finale of my trip to the Professional Wine Writers Symposium which was a dream. Oh no it was real. Real dreamy.

I’ll try and post a bottle here more often. I swear. In the meantime I’ll be gabbing on The Wine Situation and writing about things silly and not like whether wine is vegan or not over at Delectable so enjoy and forgive me for not being here.

Maybe I should start a new thing? I could always try to juggle more.

Bittersweet love

Hallo! I wrote another lil’ something for Delectable about amaro! You can learn all the fancy fun facts (and lack thereof) and get my tasting notes on them here but in the meantime let me introduce you to my favorite new find of the year: Amaro Dell’Erbolista.

I broke down and got it after numerous people sang it’s praises to me. It’s a big ol’ bottle and once you taste you’ll be glad. It is one of the bitterest if the bitter yet has a backdrop of toasted marshmallow that haunts you. Close your eyes take a sip and see if you don’t see a campfire. Like if you could put a toasted marshmallow on an autumn leaf I imagine it tastes like this bathed in citrus juice.

Granted I haven’t had a toasted marshmallow in a minute, being vegetarian. But I’ve a had a vegan mallow here and there so I think I remember what the genuine article tastes like?

Get some and you be the judge.

Muah, dahlings. Off to shoot an audition then get back to work on my next two Delectable pieces for September. Hope to keep them bitter and sweet as my…personality? I dunno I’m not bitter. Just a little damaged. But hopeful. Okay not gonna get deep here.

Go get some amaro.

A tribute to Jonathan

In the past five years, writing about food and wine had played an ever-escalating role in my life. These days more wine than food but I enjoy both for the same reason I love being an actor. Both food and comedy offer a respite from the world, and form new ways to connect with other humans.

Drama, comedy and flavors toe the line between the intellect and animal sensibility in a way I cannot define but wish to express and share. Hence my need to to make you giggle or cry, or to ply your tastebuds with whatever groundbreaking thing to consume I’ve happened upon.

Jonathan Gold died today. He was the food writer whom we (especially angelenos) looked up to. If you haven’t seen the documentary City of Gold you must. Jonathan Gold took a meal and made it history, an art lesson, and slice of life all in one that somehow made us all feel closer to our city and closer to each other.

He will be missed. I only hope to that I can continue to learn from his writing and spirit.

I don’t know what I’m saying with this post except that he made an impression on me and many, and we should all raise a glass, be it wine or water to a man who touched so many.

Another milestone

I finally had a grand cru. So now I’ve had a birth year wine and a Grand Cru. And Cristal.

All were beautiful. But I think I’m having post-winum depression like…what’s next?

Still haven’t had a Bordeaux first growth. Or Chinese wine. Or a wine younger than 1965 (it was a Wendt Bros. Pinot Noir). Or Winston Churchill (the prestige cuvée of Pol Roger). Or Opus One. Or the REST of the Burg and Bordeaux crus so I’ve got my work cut out for me if I REALLY want to turn into a namedropping ladyyyy.

Which I don’t.

Except I do wanna try all that stuff.

I also really wanna taste a Valtellina Inferno cause the goth in me craves the dark hellfire of wine with a name like that.

I need to make a checklist of wines to try somedayyyyy. In the meantime I have to say that Grand Crus solidly rock.

If I ever check everything off the list I’ll be forced to start my own winery. I have a name in mind.

What a beaut

Before I get into it remember that the first three letters of beautiful are Bea.

And I now present for your adulation Azienda Paolo Bea’s 2010 Umbria Rosso “San Valentino”, a 70% Sangiovese/15% Sagrantino/15% Montepulciano that I want to marry.

Bea is also the first three letters of Beau. This wine will be my lover. And my Valentine(o). Good god the wordplay is endless. I’ll try to restrain my verbal tendencies.

Why do I love this wine? The Rosso is sturdy and dark-souled, but elegant. I guess I want to court a regal beast.

Also don’t forget Bea switched up is Bae.

It is man enough to, well, manhandle me. Sturdy tannins for days.

But graceful enough to make it last. It is all tomato balsamic and earth and cola and more dirt but thats just flotsam in a dark berry river running down dry as fuck riverbeds. And me and my beau are rafting through on a float made of 50 year old vines.

Beautiful Bae, I want this Bea to be my beau.

I either need to drink more wine, or get laid, which is which. As it is I am writing this sober at home on a Tuesday. I’m going to eat some ice cream and dream of getting my greedy hands on more Bea.

You do you.

New column! Crack the Dom Ruinart!

I’m going to be contributing to Delectable–first column here! For those of you not aware Delectable is the app arm of Antonio Galloni’s Vinous. It serves as both a way to keep track of what you drink, and a way to see what others are saying and drinking! I’ve actually made friends using it. Do take a read of what I titled:

The Big Guys V The Rest of the World

For my first column I spent the weekend at Effervescence LA, a three day celebration of bubbles, and wrote about the difference between Champagne and other traditional method sparklers. Check it out! I’ll still be putting things up on Scrumptious Gruel, and The Whine Situation podcast is coming up on a one year anniversary so there is much to celebrate. Thank you to everyone who is tuning in to any and all of my wino exploits. Someday I wish to toast with every one of you.

❤