Sunday, August 9, 2009

Of course I saw "Julie & Julia" this past weekend - like you had to ask?

As my fellow foodies and wineys* know, "Julie & Julia" (http://www.julieandjulia.com/) opened this past Friday so my friend, Rachel, and I just had to see it. The reviews have been good, but not great. However, we both LOVED the movie and laughed out loud at several parts. I could go into a lot of detail, but you should just go see it yourself. Plus, this isn't a movie review!

Most importantly, as Rachel and I had expected, the movie left us craving wine (and lots of butter). That left us with only one option - Bin 14, a wonderful wine bar and bistro in downtown Hoboken (Bin (14) There, Loved That).

As soon as we sidled up to the bar, Rachel said, "We just saw 'Julie & Julia'" and I added, "So we need two glasses of a medium bodied French wine." Our bartender poured us a structured, tight Cabernet Franc, but it was a bit too dry for me to just be sipping without food. Rachel liked it and stuck with it, but I moved on to an Australian Shiraz that the bartender recommended.

I've been weary of Australian Shiraz because value Australian Shiraz became really popular several years back and as it goes with popular wines, was over-planted. For the past few years the market has been flooded with a lot of tasteless crap. However, the good people at Bin 14 know their stuff so I trusted I'd be getting something good and they were on it. I had a glass of Omrah Shiraz 2005. The nose was jammy with a lot of blackberry. The first sip was a little surprising as it was quite spicy, but then I got a big hit of fruit that lingered through the mid palette. It was a joy to sip as we replayed our favorite moments of the movie.

At some point Rachel made it on to her second glass which ended up being a Lange Pinot Noir. Lange (out of the Willamette Valley in Oregon) is one of my absolute favorite Pinot producers and I cannot believe I didn't see it on the menu. Of course I was excited that I could order it for my second glass. Unfortunately, I found out the hard way that chasing pretzel bites and fake cheese sauce with a good Australian Shiraz = seriously bad heartburn. Or at least it does for me. So I had to forego the second glass. Bummer. Now I know what I'm ordering the next time I'm at Bin 14!

Please go see "Julie & Julia" and stop by your own local Bin 14 after or plan to have a bottle ready for when you get home. It's would be way to cliched for me to say Bon Appetit, so I'll just leave it at....

Cheers,

Alli M.

*If the term "winey" has not yet been officially coined, I'm taking credit.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Winey....sure its been coined and used by many a mother lol

elliej said...

My plan is to see J & J, followed by a lovely French meal and of course, an exquisite bottle of wine -- but I'll have to wit 'til it's Netflixed.

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