The Denham Cheat Sheet
On the best Livermore Valley wines:
“One of the best Petit Verdots in California is from Cuda Ridge. … There’s a great red blend from Nottingham Cellars called Supremacy, and the Sauvignon Blanc from Page Mill Winery, too.”
On the best local tasting rooms: “Murrieta’s Well. They’re working with some Portuguese and Spanish grapes. And Nottingham Cellars — really friendly guy. I like his attitude, his hunger.” On the Wine Steward’s best bargain
wines: La Domitienne’s Pique Poul ($11) — “unoaked and refreshing; really great for this warm weather.” La Grange de Piaugier’s Côtes du Rhone ($11) — “just wonderful.” Carletto’s Ricco Rosso ($8.99) — “a friendly blend of Sangiovese, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon from the Adriatic.” On food pairings: Syrah from the Sonoma Coast the Northern Rhone with lamb “makes my soul happy.” Verdejo, a Spanish white, with fish tacos — “zingy.”
On dining well in Livermore: “Uncle Yu’s is a great irony: a Chinese restaurant, an urban setting and one of the best wine lists in the whole Tri-Valley area. And then Wente Restaurant — the setting is worth it, and the wine list is incredible.”
On aerators: “See what happens without them. They’re great when you need to mellow out a wine in a hurry, but you miss a lot of the wine, the aromas.”
On screw caps: “I love them. … Corks are improving these days, but what other company allows for a 3 to 4 percent failure rate?” On his own suburban farming project: “My dream is to fill up one of those old, large barrels. Six hundred liters of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre, neutral oak. One of these days, I’ll get there.”