Wine Connections

Wine Blogging Wednesday 51: Baked Goods

2008-11-11T18:50:00.000-08:00

I'm not much of a fan of sweet wines, but I enjoyed the results of participating in this month's Wine Blogging Wednesday. The topic is Madeira: The wine the American colonists drank (according to the Wine Bible we were responsible for importing a fourth of all the Madeira made.)

One of the unique steps in making Madeira is how it is aged. Like port, the fermentation process in a Madeira is halted by introducing clear brandy, which neutralizes the yeast. Your left with a "fortified" wine (read high alcohol content: 17-20%) with varying amounts of sweetness based on how much fermentation went on. Next comes the special step: heating. The original process was accomplished when the Madeira would get hot in cargo holds aboard ships that carried the wine from Portugal to the world. The result was actual enhancement to the flavor, a caramel, toffee flavor.

Some modern Madeiras are heated to achieve this effect. But the better quality wines are aged naturally over years in attics. This can take anywhere from 5 to 20 years. Different grapes can be used resulting in sweater or richer wines. Raisin and caramel are the distinct notes you'll find when drinking a Madeira.

I once had a wine that had been accidentaly oxidized. The wine had a distinct raisin flavor that grew overwelming as I drank it: an unpleasant experience! However, the Madeira I drank for this post was very enjoyable. It too had the raisin flavor and even what could be considered a "burnt" flavor. However, these didn't become overwhelming as I drank the wine. The sugar content was balanced by the alcohol. The wine had a nice medium body that felt nice in my mouth.

The grape used to produce the Madeira I had is called Bual. Bual grapes are grown in warm vineyards and make concentrated Madeiras with a medium-rich style. This style is lighter than port and the malmsey style of Madeira.

I enjoyed the Bual Madeira on it's own mostly. I tried it with ice cream, too, almost like a topping. The raisin flavor added a nice contrast to the sweet, richness of the vanilla in the ice cream. I'm not sure this is how our founding father's enjoyed the wine, but it worked for me!

Cossart Gordon 15 year Madeira Bual (19% alcohol)

Color: Reddish bronze

Aroma: Port like, raisins and caramel

Taste: Smooth mouth feel, raisins

Finish: Nutty with raisin

PS,

This edition of Wine Blogging Wednesday gives me my 52nd grape in my quest for the Century Wine Club!

A Taste of Rhone

2008-11-04T13:42:00.000-08:00

I finally opened a bottle of wine from my first shipment from wine distributor Garagiste. I wanted to start with something familiar so I selected a French syrah based wine from the Northern Rhone. I love the flavor of syrah and especially the style from Rhone. I still like the big, bold flavors of an Australian Shiraz, but to get a distinct flavor of the grape without a lot of fruit the Rhone can't be beat.

The Domaine de Montine Seduction is 90% Syrah and 10% Viognier. I couldn't detect what flavors or aromas were contributed by the Viognier. For that matter, I couldn't pick out any distinct fruit. But when I smelled and tasted the wine, I thought Rhone! I went to a Rhone wine tasting two years ago and really enjoyed the wines. There was an almost rubber smell and taste to the wines. This sounds bad, but it is just what I have come to associate with the unique character of a Rhone. This was a 2006 bottle, so maybe it needed to age more for the fruit to be expressed better. But the wine was very enjoyable as it was. I do wish I had purchased two bottles and been able to save one for four years to experience it with more age. Maybe next time!

This wine would have gone really well with a hearty meat dish, especially one with a gamey flavor to it like duck or maybe venison. My wife and I enjoyed it all by itself, but I think we missed out. This is a great start for my Garagiste wine stash!

Tasting Notes:

Color: Deep purple

Aroma: Rhone (for lack of being able to smell better), rubber

Taste: Rhone, again I'm lacking in skill here

Finish: Long and enjoyable. Really nice tannins that would compliment a red meat dish well

Opening The First Case

2008-10-30T13:47:00.000-07:00

I was afraid I'd have to wait another day for my first case of wine from Garagiste. I was crestfallen. The email from UPS said the package would arrive by 7:00 PM and my watch showed 7:03. What went wrong? My wife told me to go pick up some food and maybe by the time I got back the wine would be here. I doubted it. Somehow, when you anticipate something so much, the disappointment of a deley causes you to lose hope.

I went to the car, pressed the garage opener button and expected to be blocked by the UPS van. The driveway was clear. Sighing heavily, I pulled out and then drove off to get a late dinner. Normally we go to my mother's church for dinner on Wednesday night, but I stayed home so as not to miss the delivery. We could have gone.

On the way back I tried to cheer up by thinking about what I'd do tomorrow night when the delivery arrived. I'd slowly open the box and stare at the contents: 12 bottles of special grape juice. A few of the bottles would contain wine made from grapes I'd never tried before. Some would be familiar grapes but made in a way I hadn't tried. Probably some I wouldn't like at all, but I'd enjoy them just the same.

I had created a spreadsheet from the list of my wines on the Garagiste web site. I added notes from the emails with descriptions of each wine that Jon Rimmerman had written. I planned to use these notes in my wine blog when I reported on them. I wondered which wine I'd write a post on first...and then I saw it: the UPS van was parked in front of my house! The driver was getting back into the van! He was driving away. The wine had arrived after all! After parking the car and grabbing the food I made myself walk into the house. There it sat by the front door: my first case of Garagiste wine!

It took a long time to match the wines with the sheet I had printed up. I read each label, learning where each bottle had come from and which grapes each wine was made from. There were ten bottles from Italy (I must have ordered most of these while under the influence of reading Vino Italiano) and two from France. Ten of them were red and two white. I'm glad we don't own a video camera: I'd hate to see the silly grin I had on my face a I loving placed each bottle in the wine fridge.

I didn't drink any of the wine last night (did I eat the food?); that will be for another time. Instead I had a different kind of enjoyment from the wine. To savor the opening of a box will be a rare event. It was a lot like I remember Christmas morning used to be when I was a kid.

Waiting for Wine

2008-10-29T08:44:00.000-07:00

Today's the day!

My first shipment from Garagiste is due today. I went a little crazy after finding out about this online wine dealer and bought two cases of wine over a 6 month period. However, I have not had delivery of any of the wine because they don't ship wine during the hot summer months.

I found out about Garagiste from a posting by Dr Debs on her "Great Wine Under $20" blog. What attracted me to Garagiste was:

The wine is very well priced (provided you don't order too much)

The wines featured were different from wines I normally drink

I love shopping by mail

When I was a kid I would eat through a box of cereal as fast as I could so I could cut out the boxtops to save for a prize like a Matchbox car. When I had enough box tops, I'd mail them in and wait for my prize. It seemed to take forever, 6-8 weeks is an eternity to a ten-year-old! The day I opened the mailbox and found that special box from the cereal company was like Christmas!

I feel like that all over again today. It's UPS that will be delivering my 38 pound box, but the feeling is the same. When I open that box it's going to be like I've found a treasure box. Wines from all over the world (Spain, France, Australia, Portugal, Italy) are in that box. Juice from grapes I've never tasted will be present. I've waited so long (6 months is an eternity to a 50 year-old!) for this delivery that I want to relish each bottle.

My wine fridge has just one bottle in it right now. I'm going to have fun tonight as I fill it back up! I hope someone is home when UPS arrives; I can't stand to wait one more day!

Foxy's Fall Century

2008-08-21T07:28:00.001-07:00

I'm signed up for my first century: Foxy's Fall Century on October 18, 2008. It's the day after my 50th birthday!

I'm also registered for the Auburn Metric Century. I think this one will be more difficult because of the hills. It's on September 20th. That will give me a month to recover!

Better Attitudes About Fat

2008-08-12T07:55:00.000-07:00

From Bicycling Magazine

Get Lean Not Light
Simply losing weight isn't the answer. The key to peak perfomance and better overall health is learning to feed your muscles--and starve your fat.
By Matt Fitzgerald
©C.J. Burton

We're all obsessed with weight loss.

More than two-thirds of Americans are overweight, and we spend billions each year on products and services that promise to help us shed pounds. Cyclists typically aren't overweight by average American standards, but we're nonetheless fixated on weight, wanting to make bike and body alike ever lighter in a quest for better performance. Yet the latest research shows we've all misplaced our focus, and that body composition is a much better indicator of overall health and fitness.

"Body weight tells us nothing about health," says exercise--nutrition expert John Berardi, an adjunct associate professor of exercise science at the University of Texas at Austin. "You could be 165 pounds and quite lean, or 165 pounds and quite fat. Regardless of your weight, the higher your body-fat percentage, the greater your risk of fat-related illnesses like heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and certain cancers."

In terms of measuring performance potential, the bathroom scale is equally useless, says Paul Goldberg, a Colorado-based dietitian and coauthor of The Lean Look. "It doesn't distinguish muscle mass, which enhances performance, from fat mass, which hinders performance," he says. The key to going faster on a bike is improving your power-to-weight ratio, by either raising your power output or lowering your weight, or both. Power comes from muscle, so the best way to tune your body for better performance is to maintain your muscles while shedding only fat to lose weight.

Eating for pure weight loss tends to lead to the loss of both fat and muscle, as well as to undereating. "Undereating carries with it a host of problems such as deficiencies in key vitamins and minerals, reduced muscle glycogen storage, loss of muscle mass and diminished power output," says Berardi. Inadequate carbohydrate intake may reduce blood volume as a by-product of depleted glycogen stores (because glycogen is stored with water), and insufficient protein consumption limits your muscles' work capacity. "Each of these factors is a performance killer," says Berardi. Combined, you don't stand a chance. Eating for leanness is more complicated than simply restricting calories. On one hand, you need to provide muscles with the nutrition they need to function optimally. On the other, you need to deliberately starve your body's excess fat so it's broken down to provide energy for muscles and never replaced. The key is in consuming the right kinds of calories at the right times throughout the day. Here are 10 proven strategies.

1. Monitor your body-fat percentage to be sure you're eating enough calories.
The typical cyclist needs to consume 15 to 18 calories per pound of body weight per day to maintain muscle mass, but don't waste your time counting calories, advises Goldberg. "Counting calories is like tracking every pitch of a baseball game," he says. "Stepping on a body-fat scale is like jumping straight to the final score." If your body fat holds steady or decreases, you're getting enough calories. If it goes up, even though your weight may be holding steady or decreasing, it's a sign that your body is breaking down muscle because you're not consuming enough calories.

2. Consume at least 0.5 gram of protein per pound of body weight.
Protein is the primary structural component of muscle. Research shows that this is the minimum level of daily consumption required to maintain muscle in endurance athletes engaged in moderate to heavy training.

3. Eat a high-carb meal before each ride
An example is to eat a bowl of oatmeal or a vegetable stir-fry with brown rice. Also, during rides lasting more than one hour, consume carbs on the bike; the simplest way is to sip a sports drink according to your thirst. "Ensuring that your muscles are well supplied with carbohydrate fuel for training will minimize the amount of muscle tissue that is broken down to provide fuel," says Goldberg.

4. Drink or eat a recovery supplement or snack within an hour of finishing a ride.
In this time frame, the body uses carbohydrate and proteins most efficiently to replenish and rebuild muscles. A study from Ontario's McMaster University found that female cyclists maintained muscle mass and performed better during a period of increased training when they consumed a carb-protein supplement immediately after workouts, rather than with breakfast.

5. Limit your consumption of extremely calorie-dense foods
These include ice cream and just about anything fried. These foods provide far more calories than your body needs to meet short-term energy needs. When you eat these, the excess calories are stored as fat.

6. Fat Consumption Goal: 25%
Keep fat consumption to no more than 30 percent of total calories, and ideally no more than 25 percent. The average American consumes 34 percent of daily calories from fat--and remember, the average American is overweight.

7. Get most of your carbohydrates from low-glycemic-index sources
These include vegetables and whole grains. Carbs from these foods are slowly absorbed into your bloodstream for longer-lasting energy; carbs from sweets and refined grains are rapidly absorbed. Choose low-GI foods at all times except during and immediately after rides, when quickly absorbed sugars will replenish glycogen stores fast.

8. Divide your daily calories over four to six eating occasions, not just two or three. "Eating frequently encourages smaller portions," says Berardi, "and eating smaller portions minimizes the number of excess calories you're likely to consume each time you eat."

9. Concentrate your calorie intake during times of greater energy needs
These times are first thing in the morning and before and after rides. Your body is least likely to store calories as fat when your muscle and/or liver glycogen reserves are low, such as when you wake up, and during and after exercise.

10. Get enough omega-3 fatty acids.
Known for boosting heart health, the omega-3 fats found in foods such as wild salmon, flaxseed and mackerel may also promote leanness. One study from Berardi's lab showed a 400--calorie-per-day increase in metabolic rate, -1 kilogram of fat lost and 1 kilogram of lean mass gained in subjects who supplemented with fish oil daily for three weeks.

Matt Fitzgerald, coauthor of The Lean Look, is a health and fitness writer in San Diego.
How Lean Should I Be?
Your optimal body-fat level depends on many factors, including gender, age, genetic makeup and your starting point. To find your ideal level, eat right and train smart, then see where you end up. Based on testing large numbers of people, this table, adapted from John Berardi's Precision Nutrition, a multi-media nutrition kit for athletes (precisionnutrition.com), can serve as a rough guideline. Most cyclists should aim to be within the athletic range, at least. Not everyone can reach the elite range.

MEN

Age: 25-30
Elite: <9%
Athletic: 9-12%
Average: 13-16%
High Fat: 17-19%
Overfat: 20%+

Age: 31-40
Elite: <11%
Athletic: 11-13%
Average: 14-17%
High fat: 18-22%
Overfat: 23%+

Age: 41-50
Elite: <12%
Athletic: 12-15%
Average: 16-20%
High fat: 21-25%
Overfat: 26%+

Age: 50+
Elite: <13%
Athletic: 13-16%
Average: 17-21%
High fat: 22-27%
Overfat: 28%+

WOMEN

Age: 20-30
Elite: <17%
Athletic: 17-20%
Average: 21-23%
High fat: 24-27%
Overfat: 28%+

Age: 31-40
Elite: 31-40
Athletic: 18-21%
Average: 22-25%
High fat: 26-29%
Overfat: 30%+

Age: 41-50
Elite: <20%
Athletic: 20-23%
Average: 24-27%
High fat: 28-31%
Overfat: 32%+

Age: 50+
Elite: <21%
Athletic: 21-24%
Average: 25-28%
High fat: 29-35%
Overfat: 36%+
Step On It
Track your progress the easy way.

Body-fat scales ($40?$150) use a technology called bioelectrical impedance, in which the device sends a weak electrical current through your body and measures the degree to which your tissues resist it. Muscle impedes the current more than fat. "This method is not quite as accurate as more-involved ways to estimate body fat," says dietitian Paul Goldberg. "But what body-fat scales lack in precision they make up for in consistency." In Bicycling's experience, these scales tend to measure high, but are useful for tracking changes--you don't get an accurate value, but you'll know if you're making progress.

Be sure to buy one with an "athlete" mode, which uses a slightly more accurate calculation for people who are already fairly lean. Goldberg recommends the Tanita Ironman line of body-fat scales, all of which are tuned for athletes. In addition to body-fat percentage, higher-end scales such as the Ironman BC-549 ($150; tanita.com) also estimate your hydration level, bone mass, basal metabolic rate and visceral fat.

The Get-Lean Meal Plan
What--and when--to eat to blast fat and boost energy.

This sample menu from sports-nutrition expert John Berardi assumes a rider weight of 165 pounds and a two-hour ride. It supplies 2,500 to 3,000 calories, depending on portion sizes, so adjust portions up or down based on differences in your weight or workout time.

Breakfast

Omelet with 2 whole eggs and 2 egg whites

1/2 cup oatmeal with 1/2 cup fruit and 1/2 cup mixed nuts

1 cup coffee or green tea

Large glass of water

Snack

Smoothie made with 1 cup low-fat or unsweetened soy milk, 1 scoop vanilla protein powder, 1*2 cup fresh or frozen berries, 1 cup spinach, 1 tbsp. flaxseed

Lunch

Chicken salad with two 4-oz. chicken breasts, spinach and a variety of other vegetables, plus olive oil and vinegar dressing

1 piece of fruit

Large glass of water

Snack

1 slice whole-grain bread with 1 tbsp. all-natural peanut butter

1 cup baby carrots

Large glass of water

Dinner

6-oz. piece of fish such as salmon or orange roughy

1/2 cup wild rice

2 cups steamed veggies

Large glass of water

Postworkout Recovery

Drink or snack containing 50g carbohydrate and 25g protein

2 cups low-fat chocolate milk

Omega-3s

Supplement your diet with 3,000mg of fish oil daily with meals, says Berardi.

Price and Wine Enjoyment

2008-06-19T13:34:00.000-07:00

I heard a story on NPR the other day about how people get better results from taking expensive pills — even when the "expensive pill" is a placebo with no active medical ingredients. It’s amazing what our minds will do when we anticipate that something is better.

The same results were discovered from research done on the correlation between enjoyment of wine and the price of the wine. The majority of the time, when people drank what they thought was a more expensive wine; they enjoyed it better than the less expensive wine. A wine that retailed for $90 was sampled by different groups of people. When they were told the true price, they loved it. When other people were told that the wine was just a $10 wine, they didn’t rate it as highly.

What’s even scarier to me is what was going on inside the test subjects’ brains. While the subjects tasted and evaluated the wines, their brains were scanned using an MRI, focusing on the activity of a brain region that is involved in our experience of pleasure. The researchers concluded that, "prices, by themselves, affect activity in an area of the brain that is thought to encode the experienced pleasantness of an experience”!

So much for trying to be objective about wine.

I’ve been facing a choice lately as my budget gets stretched with rising gas and food prices. Do I buy cheaper wine or quality wine less often? This study makes me think that perhaps I just need to learn more about what wines I like and find the great bargains out there. If I can learn to ignore the price tag and concentrate just on the wine itself, I may be able to drink wine with every dinner meal after all.

I wonder if that’s possible given the following statement from one of the researchers:

"If you think about it, the brain should only be influenced by the core components of the wine — its chemical composition. It should not be influenced by something like price," Shiv said. "But in the study we found a functional change in activity in different areas of the brain despite the same chemicals being experienced."

Maybe I need to have my wife buy all the wine and label each bottle with a price tag that says $100!

There's a Cheetah in my Bottle

2008-06-18T09:13:00.000-07:00

Certain parts of the world are known for a particular grape. Pinotage is that grape for South Africa. I’d bet that not many people consider Pinotage their favorite grape, but I found my first sample of a wine made from this grape interesting.

Pinotage is a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsaut created in 1925. The hope was to create a grape with the great flavor of Pinot Noir and the hearty growing strengths of Cinsaut. In South Africa, Cinsaut was called “Hermitage” which explains how the grape is called Pinotage and not Pinotaut.

From what I’ve read about wines made from the grape, they can range from “light and fruity and best consumed young to heavy and tannic examples that needed years to reach maturity.” Flavors of pepper, black fruits, spiciness and acetone are used to describe these wines. It appears that these wines can have an unattractive earthiness. One site said that Pinotage has “has enjoyed great success in a short amount of time but may have had its 15 minutes of fame.”

The wine I tried was a Sebeka Syrah-Pinotage blend. The wine is 60% Shiraz, 40% Pinotage. It reminded me of a cross between a Syrah and a Zinfandel with nice fruit (but not sweet) a little jammy and some pepper flavor. At times the wine seemed to turn a little harsh (maybe the earthiness of the pinotage) on the back of my tongue as I swallowed it. It was almost the same experience as drinking an earthy French wine, but not quite as pleasant.

I wouldn’t go out of my way to buy this wine, but for the $5 I was able to buy it for, it was a nice wine. I found it interesting that the same wine was $10 at another store in town. It probably would not have picked it up for that price. The chettah on the label normally would put me off as a little too much marketing effort to sell a wine that can’t stand up on its own merits. Jerry Hall who used to have a wine blog called Wine Waves reviewed a wine from Sebeka and posted a great picture of the over for the Sebeka brand (though the yellow cheetah spotted cork is cool!) Gallo Wineries owns the Sebeka label, but the grapes are grown in South Africa and made into wine there. There is even a cheetah endangered species fund associated with the wine, but I don't know how much of this is marketing and much it really helps the animals.

I bought a bottle of 100% pinotage to get a better taste of what the varietal is like. But I think I can call Pinotage my grape # 57 in my Century quest.

Tasting Notes:

Sebeka Syrah Pinotage "Cape Blend" (13.5% alcohol)

Color: Dark cranberry

Aroma: Cherry, zinfandel and syrah like

Flavor: Cherry, like a jammy syrah with a hint of black pepper

Finish: Mild tannins but an earthy bite, unpleasant at times

This wine went really well with garlic, pepper spiced Tri-Tip.

You Only Live Twice

2008-06-13T15:10:00.000-07:00

"Writers live twice. They go along with their regular life, are as fast as anyone
in the grocery store, crossing the street, getting dressed for work in the morning.
But there's another part of them that they have been training. The one that lives
everything a second time. That sits down and sees their life again and goes over it.
Looks at the texture and detail."
Natalie Goldberg in Writing Down the Bones, page 48

I have not been posting about wine for almost three months now. There are several "reasons" but the biggest one has been lack of funds. I was buying wine and blogging about them at a rate beyond what my budget was able to handle. I decided to stop blogging to decrease the temptation to buy so much wine.

Then I came across Natalie Goldberg's quote, the one at the top of this page. If I really want to cut back on my spending but still enjoy wine, what better way than to drink each bottle twice!?! I still drink wine, I still want to learn more, I still want to share in this cool blogging world.

I may have ruined my credibility as a blogger by abandoning my blog without a warning, but I'm back and I will keep posting. I can't wait to read everyone else's blogs like I had been doing so regularly. What better way to experience wine than by sharing it with others.

Sorry for the absence...hope to read from you soon!

Wine Blogging Wednesday: French Cab Franc

2008-04-02T07:53:00.000-07:00

This month's host for Wine Blogging Wednesday is Gary Vaynerchuk from Wine Library TV and the topic is French Cabernet Franc. I wasn't able to find a wine that was from a majority of this grape but I did find a nice wine. First, a little information about the grape. (Click on the Wine Blogging Wednesday logo to learn more about this monthly blogging event.)

Cabernet Franc (Cab Franc) is one of the six red grapes permitted to be grown in the Boredeaux. Depending on how it's grown, Cab Franc can be both fruitier or more "vegetative" than Cabernet Sauvignon, although lighter in color and tannins. Wines made from 100% Cab Franc tend to have a spicy aroma and plums. The grape is usually blended with either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot instead of as a stand-alone wine. It "contributes finesse and a peppery perfume to blends with more robust grapes."

The wine I tried was from the Fronsac region on the "Right bank" of Bordeaux. The Fronsac is located where the Isle River flows into the large Dordogne River. This creates a microclimate that reduces night frosts in spring and cools the summer's heat. The steep slopes in Fronsac help the Bordeaux grape varieties grown here create powerful and complex wines. The soils are clay mixed with limestone.

Fronsac wines are described as being "masculine" and full-bodied. Grapes were grown in this are before the more famous Saint-Emilion just down the river. Merlot grows better here than Cabernet Sauvignon, so like other Right-bank areas, Fronsac is know for it's Merlot blends. Cab Franc is used to add spiciness and enhance the tannins.

The Bordeaux blend I tried for this WBW is from Chateau Villars, a two hundred year old winery in Fronsac. For the past two decades, the owners of Ch. Villars have been modernizing their vineyards and wine making practices. One example of this is that grapes are picked at maximum ripeness, causing the harvest to spread over several weeks. I learned from the book Nobel Rot (the Wine Book Club selection for April) that traditionally grapes were picked to insure maximum harvest before rains came. By waiting for maximum-ripeness, wines with fuller, fruitier flavors are produced.

The Ch. Villars wine I had was 75% Merlot, 18% Cab Franc and 8% Cab Sauvignon. It was 100% barrel-aged for a year in oak barrels, a third of which were brand new. This was a really nice Merlot, though it was different due to the amount of oak used. I had never been able to detect oak in a red wine before this wine, but it was definetly present in the Ch. Villars (Gary would make a comment about the "Oak Monster" I'm sure!) When I first smelled the wine, I could detect cherry and a fresh bread aroma. I couldn't name the fruit I tasted but there without being "fruit forward."

The wine has a medium mouth feel and really nice tannins that don't overpower the fruit or my toungue. Then just before I was about to swallow I could detect the oak. It wasn't excessive, but contributed to make the wine seem fuller. Some may not like it, though. The finish left a pleasant sour cherry taste and lasting tannins. This wine would be really good with food.

Its interesting how the oak effect the middle of my tongue more than any other area of my mouth. The oak also came back again in the finish. I've had other Merlots before, but I'm not sure what part the Cab Franc contributed to this wine to make it different. The oak was more detectable for me. I'll have to read other WBW posts today and try to find some of those wines to get a better feel for what Cab Franc offers. It would be cool to taste a 100% Cab Franc, a 100% Merlot, and then my Ch. Villars blend to see if I could then pick out the different varietals in the blend. I would definitely buy this wine again. The winery website said the wine will be best between 2012 to 2025. It would be nice to try it then to see how the wine deveolops.

Tasting Notes:

2005 Château Villars Fronsac ($19.99)

Color: Dark purple

Aroma: Cherry and bread (wonderful Merlot nose)

Taste: Fruit and oak, medium mouth feel

Finish: Sour cherry, medium tannins and oak

April 2008 Events

2008-04-01T07:49:00.000-07:00

This month holds several wine events for me, three in this week alone! Here's a run down of what April holds for me:

April Fool's Day: Two events

The first event today is a virtual wine tasting being hosted by Gary Vaynerchuk of Wine Library TV fame titled "Gary's April Fool Surprise."

Gary has picked three different wines to review in this virtual tasting. Viewers cchoose to buy in advance and then taste along with him to compare notes. Shipping was free and you could buy either a one bottle pack, a two bottle pack or all three.

I went with the one bottle pack and I was VERY pleasantly surprised. Not only is it a great wine, there is a tie in with the Wine Blogging Book Club book of the month! I'll be drinking the wine and watching today's episode so I can compare notes with Gary and other viewers. I'll share my observations in a future blog post.

Midtown Winers:

Today is also the monthly meeting of an old fashioned wine tasting event where people actually gather together and taste the same wine and talk about it. Strange concept, but it's been working for quite a while at the Midtown Winers in Sacramento, CA. This month's topic is "Obscure Varietals," defined as the lesser know Bordeaux varietals of Petite Verdot, Malbec and Cabernet Franc. I bought a Petite Verdot to share. I also bought a Cabernet Franc, but that has to do with the next event.

April 2: Wine Blogging Wednesday

This monthly virtual wine tasting event is also hosted by Gary Vaynerchuk and the theme is French Cabernet Franc. What a coincidence! I was not able to get a 100% Cab Franc, my wine only has 18% Cab Franc. I hope it counts. Maybe I'll run across a 100% Cab Franc at the Midtown Winers tonight. Either way, I enjoyed the Bordeaux wine I tasted for WBW # 44.

April 20: Winery Event in Clarksburg

I'm going to need a break after this week! Fortunately the next event isn't until the middle of the month. A local winery, Scribner Bend Vineyards, is having a "release party" in Clarksburg. They have a varietal I've never tried a white wine from the Fiano grape! I enjoyed my trip to Clarksburg in March and it will be great to see the vineyards in full bloom a month later.

April 29: Wine Blogging Book Club

The second book of the Wine Blogging Book Club is Nobel Rot. I've really been enjoying reading this book. It not only details a year in Bordeaux, but it gives great history of Bordeaux and details about making wine from grape to bottle.

Dates Through April: My first Garagiste delivery

Dr. Debs, from Good Wine Under $20, wrote a post back in January about the hush, hush web-site Garagiste. The owners of the site get hard to find wines from all over the world for affordable prices. I intended to buy a case of Italian wines from Corti Brothers, but my plan was put on hold when I discovered this web site. I'll be receiving my first case from Garagiste this month. There are several wines from varietals I've never tried, some great sounding wines from great regions like Bordeaux, Burgundy, Rioja and Scilily to name a few. I'll have even more interesting wine to blog about once the bottles start arriving!

Here's hoping your April is as promising looking as mine and that your April Fool's day is uneventful!

A Cheap Experiment

2008-03-31T09:07:00.000-07:00

I was killing some time this weekend while I was waiting to pick up my son. While he finished his Magic tournament, I was browsing the wine isle of a nearby grocery store. A bottle on the discount table caught my eye. First, the price was only $3.29 and second, one of the grapes in it was one I haven't had before: Müller-Thurgau (# 56 towards my Century count.) I didn't expect much from this purchase but thought it would be a cheap way to start learning about the grape. I'm afraid I'm more confused now!

It appears that Müller-Thurgau is not held in high regard. This grape is a cross of Riesling and Silvaner created by Dr. Hermann Müller in an effort to bring the quality of Riesling to the productivity of Silvaner. I read in several places that the grape is great for growing in colder regions of the world because of it is early ripening and very productive. However, comments like "Müller-Thurgau has never been known for quality and is almost single-handedly responsible for the decline of Germany as a world power in fine wine production" made me wonder about how wine made from this grape would taste.

The wine I bought off the discount table was a Ludwig Neuhaus Piesporter Michelsberg made from 70% Riesling and the remainder from Müller-Thurgau and Silvaner. The first taste was sweet, but it wasn't an overpowering sweetness like I've had with other off-dry Rieslings. The wine had a different flavor, that I can only describe as nut like, though that doesn't quite fit. The wine was more interesting than I expected. The sweetness was balanced by acidity and changed into the "nutty" flavor. The finish, though laking any tannins, left a sour apple flavor. I was surprised at how much I liked the wine.

The sweetness didn't quite allow it to go well with food, but maybe I just didn't have it with the right dish. We had spaghetti noodles with asparagus, zucchini and tomatoes that had been sauteed in garlic and olive oil. By itself, this was a great sipping wine. I think it would be great to serve before dinner.

My lingering confusion comes from enjoying the wine so much but paying so little (I may be falling into the high price = good wine trap.) Also comments like:

"Piesporter Michelsberg is a sub-region of the Mosel surrounding Piesport, not a vineyard. The wines under this declaration mostly come from flat mediocre vineyards at best, and is almost always of very, very, very poor quality."
How to select German fine wine

make me wonder if my palate just isn't experienced enough.

Have you tried a Riesling with Müller-Thurgau that was enjoyable? Especially let me know if you've tried the wines from Ludwig Neuhaus. If I find any bottles of this left when I go back to the grocery store I plan to pick them up. This would make a great wine for the coming hot Sacramento weather.

Related Note:
Last week, Mike Dunne from the Sacramento Bee had an article on Riesling. One of the things he mentioned was an idea to use color coded circles on bottles of Riesling to help consumers know what kind of a Riesling they are buying. Colors "ranging from green for a perceptibly dry Riesling to red for a dessert Riesling, the sweetest of the genre," were suggested. Read the article and let me know what you think.

Tasting Notes:

2005 Ludwig Neuhaus Piesporter Michelsberg Qualitatswein (9% alcohol, $3.29 on sale)

Color: Light golden yellow

Aroma: grass

Taste: light sweetness, nutty flavor; both blend well with the acidity

Finish: slight sour apple

Carvalho Family Wines

2008-03-28T09:34:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of the month I visited several wineries in the Clarksburg area of California. This little know AVA (American Viticultural Area) Is a sixteen mile long by eight miles wide area spanning Sacramento, Solano and Yolo counties. It has over 9,000 acres of vines. Travelling the levee roads along the Sacramento River, you cross many old draw bridges to view the fields of grape vines. Summer days can be very hot in the Sacramento Valley, but the cool Delta breeze keeps the area nine degrees cooler than the city and suburbs of Sacramento.

More than twenty wine grape varietals grow well in the Clarksburg area. The grapes that grow best here are Chenin Blanc and Petite Sirah. Although there are about ten wineries located in the area, 90% of the grapes grown here are crushed outside the appellation. Several wineries are now producing under the AVA name, which may bring recognition for the area. One winery worth getting to know is Carvalho.

Carvalho Family Wines, according to their wed site, has been making wine "over 100 years, starting in the villages and vineyards of Portugal." Their heritage is evident in the port they make using traditional Portuguese varietals of Touriga, Tinta Cao, and Alvarelhao. Other port like wines I tried from other Clarksburg wineries were made from Petite Sirah and Zinfandel. The Carvalho port tasted like the real thing.

The Carvalho family owns the Old Sugar Mill, a former sugar mill converted to a warehouse where they and several other Clarksburg wineries age barrels of wines and have their tasting rooms. It's a convenient way to sample wines from five different wineries in one place. The day I visited I wasn't able to meet the Carvalho wine maker, but the staff that poured for me were very knowledgable and answered all my questions.

One of my goals that day was to sample Clarksburg Chenin Blanc. Just that week, an article came out in my local paper about Darrell Corti being inducted into the Vintners Hall of Fame. In the article, Mike Dunne mentioned Corti's claim that "the best chenin blanc made in California is made in Clarksburg." The Carvalho Chenin Blanc proved Corti's claim.

I have had Chenin Blanc before, but couldn't remember it. All I can remember is descriptions I've read putting it down as a bland jug wine. However, its supposed to have mineral flavors and high acidity that balance well with the sugars when its made off-dry. These sound like the flavors I like about Riesling or a good Sauvignon Blanc. Also, well made Chenin Blanc from the Loire has a distinctive, musty, damp straw aroma. The grape is also grown in South Africa where it is supposed to be made into enjoyable wine. In fact Dr. Debs blog pack on Domaine547 features a South African Chenin Blanc. Winehiker has been saying great things on Twitter about it.

When I tried the Carvalho Chenin Blanc I expected it to be like a sweet Sauvignon blanc but although it smelled of pinapple like a Sauvignon blanc and had some grassy flavors, it was different from the SBs I've had before. I was definitely a light wine, but the flavors were distinct and enjoyable. This was a nice dry wine and possibly because of the 10% Viognier, it had a nice mouthfeel. It had a light finish with an pleasant, almost sour aftertaste. I only bought one bottle (only $9.00) but I may be going back soon for more.

I look forward to trying more Chenin Blanc and other wines from Clarksburg wineries. In fact, on April 20th, Scribner Bend Vineyards is having a "release party" in Clarksburg. They don't have a Chenin Blanc but they make another white wine from the Fiano grape! I'm looking forward to it.

Tasting Notes:

2004 Chenin Blanc, Clarksburg ($9.00, 12.5% alcohol)

Color: Very faint yellow

Aroma: Faint nose, like a Gavi

Taste: Very grassy, faint fruit and intense flavor, dry and very good.

Finish: Faint tannins and light aftertaste

The Century Mark

2008-03-27T06:48:00.001-07:00

One of my goals in life is to live to be 100 years old. My odds of making it don't look good, as only 1 American in 10,000 has lived to be a century old. I don't think I could ride my bike in a century ride as it takes me almost half an hour to ride 6 miles to work each day. That would translate to about 10 hours of bike riding! There is one century mark that I do have hopes of completing: The Wine Century Club.

Members of this club have tried at least 100 different grape varieties. The group tries to "promote the awareness of uncommon grape varieties" defined as any grape not in the "classic grapes" (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling.) The clickable picture to the left shows the top half of their application, which you can get in either PDF or Excel spreadsheet form. There are about 185 grapes listed on the form, with spaces to add any grapes they may have missed. I'm currently at grape #52, half way towards the century mark.

Seeking to become a member of this group appeals to me for several reasons:

1 - It's a fun way to learn about wine! After all, what is wine but grape juice. Part of the fun of wine for me is learning what goes into making a wine, where it came from and what grapes it's made from. A wine doesn't have to be a single varietal to count. A Portuguese blend of Touriga, Tinto Cao and Alvarlhao would count as three grapes. (Someone please correct me if I'm wrong on this point!) Having a list and a goal helps give some direction to the general goal of learning about wine.

2 - It appeals to my desire to collect things. I enjoy learning the history, facts and stories associated with the hobbies I get interested in. I like to have a tangible item that I can look at that reminds me of a particular facet of the hobby. Coin collecting is an obvious example of this, where I tried to find an example of each coin design for a series. In amateur astronomy, I couldn't collect stars, but I would catalog the different celestial objects as I observed them, writing down the date I saw them, a description and sometimes drawing a picture of what I saw. I don't intend to collect bottles of wine, but having the Century Wine Club's list of grapes helps me "collect" the different grapes I've tried.

3 - It is a challenge! I probably make my life much more complicated than it needs to be. Instead of just riding my bike to work I'll see if I can beat my fastest time. Instead of just taking notes about the wines I drink, I've committed to writing a wine blog. I think one of the reasons I do this though is it makes it more fun. The pursuit of a goal and accomplishing it is a great feeling. I'm going to be trying different wines from different grapes anyway, so why not have something to show for it when I'm done?

I don't want the certificate from the Century Wine Club to my end goal in this pursuit. I want this to merely be a marker on the way to a lifetime of learning about wine and constantly trying new wines. There are almost 200 different grapes on the list. It would be cool to reach my own century mark and have tried 300 different grapes! Gary Vaynerchuk was saying the other day on Wine Library TV that you can't get to know a type of wine until you've had 20 to 40 examples of it. Now that's a goal: 20 different types of each of the 100 grapes! This could get fun.

The Wine Century Club

Here's a list of some of the 391 members current members of the Wine Century Club who have wine blogs:

Supporting Local Wineries

2008-03-26T11:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday in her wine blog, Dr. Debs posted a great article titled "Living Not So Big Wine Life." In the post she listed five ways of making our wine purchases and drinking habits less about chasing numbers and pursuing the "best" wine and more about seeking wines that inspire us, that fit our life styles and are "sustainable in all the ways there are," such as the environment, your pocket book and local wineries. (If you haven't seen the post, check it out at Good Wine Under $20.)

I really liked what she had to say but the part about supporting sustainability made me a little nervous. As I understood the point, this meant supporting local wineries especially those that treat the environment respectfully. My fear was that my choices in wines would be limited. I recently went to a Portuguese wine tasting and really enjoyed the red wines made from the same grapes they use to make port. I love the earthy, dried cherry and spice flavors of a Tempranillo from the Rioja in Spain. And I've really been enjoying discovering white wines from Italy with their light but distinct flavors. Would I have to give all this up to support local wineries? It almost seemed a contridiction with another point made about being adventurous.

After calming down...and thinking...I realized that Dr. Debs article was not advocating drinking only what I could find locally. It meant making local more a part of my wine life. It meant not seeking those big, famous wineries that get all the scores to the exclusion of small, local wineries. Besides, there is a lot of variety, and the kinds of wines I've come to like, in my own backyard!

I did a quick search on Google maps to find out how many wineries are local to me. I searched in a 40 mile radius from my house. (If I had expanded the radius to 80 I would have included the Napa Valley wineries, but that would have defeated the purpose of this exercise.) The map to the left shows the partial results of the search, almost 40 wineries. Several of the wineries I have already visited didn't show up in the search and there may be at least a hundred wineries local to me. (Click on the map to see a bigger picture.) I know the message of the article was not to only drink from local wineries, but if I had to, I would still have a lot to choose from!

What's more important than the number of wineries is that these wine makers are growing some of the grapes I've come to love. The Sierra foothills is a great place to grow grapes for Rhone varietals. (Vinography recently said that the Granache from one of my local wineries, Cedarville Wineries, was one the best he tasted at the recent 2008 Rhone Rangers tasting.) Many growers in Lodi, Clarksburg and the Sierra foothills are growing traditionally Italian grapes like Sangiovese and Barbera or even lesser know ones like Primitivo and Vermentino.

You may not be as lucky as I am to live in an area so densly populated by wineries. But seek out local wineries. I was surprised when reading "Wine Across America" how many wineries there are all across the US. I used to envy the French and Italians because it seemed like every community had a winery associated with it. I know that that's not the case, but I'm not very far from having that situation myself! It isn't going to be very hard to support sustainability after all.

Here's an example of how I don't have to do without when drinking locally:

Tasting Notes:

2005 Bray Vinho Tinto: A blend of Portuguese grapes Touriga, Tinto Cao, Souzao and Alvarlhao grown in the Lodi area.

Color: Deep ruby

Aroma: Earthy, reminds me of a Rhone

Taste: Just like a Portuguese red, but with less earthiness. Not a lot of fruit (just a hint of plum), but with a distinct, good flavor. Medium mouthfeel and tannins.

Finish: Medium finish, tart with nice tannins

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A Negroamora Blend

2008-03-25T08:30:00.000-07:00

Last week I had my first Negroamora wine that was made from 100% Negroamora. I enjoyed that bottle and wanted to try another. Last night I tried a wine that was a blend with two other grapes and found that bottle just as good.

Both wines came from the Apulia region of Southern Italy. (For a description of the region, see my post or for a better description, see the WineCountry.IT site.) My second Negroamora was a blend of:

40% Negroamora
30% Primitivo
30% Cabernet Sauvignon

Primitivo is a close relative of Zinfandel and shares some of its characteristics: sweet, soft tannins, almost syrupy fruit and high alcohol. These features blend well with the bitterness and concentation of Negroamaro. When combined with the flavors of Cabernet Sauvignon, the blend gets even better. This wine from Tormaresca Vineyards, owned by the Antinori family’s, was made of grapes that were sourced from two areas of Apulia, Bocca di Lupo and Masseria Maime (see the map, from UST Inc. site.)

This blend was good by itself and with food. When I first smelled the wine the Cabernet really showed up. I smelled cherries and a distinct Cab aroma. When I tasted the wine, I picked up plum and slight cherry. This wine was a little more bitter than the 100% Negroamora I had, but the bitterness didn't overwhelm the wine. The tannins and fruit left a pleasant aftertaste. The wine went well with steak and garlic fries we had for dinner. At $8.99 this was a very affordable and enjoyable red wine that I could enjoy with many meals.

Tasting Notes:

2006 Tomaresca Neprica ($8.99 at BevMo)

Color: Dark cranberry, with rose on the edges

Aroma: Cherry, very cab like

Taste: Plum, slight cherry, slightly bitter, little bit of an alcohol bite

Finish: Good finish, leaving a plum and tannic taste

Torrontés: A White to Discover

2008-03-24T11:20:00.000-07:00

I was looking for an inexpensive white wine that I had never tried before. I wandered over to the South American isle at my local BevMo and spotted a bottle with a grape I'd never heard of: Torrontés. The bottle was only $9.99, so I had my selection. Little did I know what a surprise was in store for me! (Picture courtesy of "All About Argentina.)

Without knowing it, I had picked up the "White Wine of Argentina." Some claim that the grape originated in Spain, but it seems everyone agrees that Torrontés has flourished in Argentina. The high altitude, alternating hot days and cold nights, and soils combine to produce a grape whose wines are described as having floral aromas, rich, lush flavors and wonderful acidity.

I found it interesting that Argentina is the 5th largest producer of wine in the world and that most of it is consumed in the country itself. In the US, the average person drinks 2 gallons of wine a year, whereas in Argentina, they drink 7.5 gallons a year. It's also interesting to think that right now, Argentina is just starting to prepare for the harvest of grapes that will become the vintage of 2008 whereas we in the northern hemisphere are just starting the growing season! One more "fun fact," the dreaded phylloxera plague never found its way to Argentina. As a result, this is one of the few areas of the world where grape vines grow on their own root stock. Back to the grape.

Torrontés grows mainly in the Mendoza region, highlighted on the map to the left (courtesy Wikipedia.) The Mednoza area is better know for its wines made from the red grapes Malbec or Tempranillo. But you'd be missing a lot if you pass over their signature white.

The first night I had this wine I didn't have it with food. I just sipped it after it had been chilled lightly. The aroma was slightly like champagne to me, though many others describe it as floral. Some have compared it to the scents of Gewurtztraminer. I enjoyed the flavors that also reminded me of champagne (without the bubbles) or a dry Sauvignon blanc. I couldn't really pick out a specific fruit flavor, but the wine was very good as a sipper. The following night I had it with Chinese food. It was a great match, especially with the ginger in the paper wrapped chicken. The two flavors played off each other in an intriguing way.

I found several other bloggers who reviewed the wine (see the list below) and I'll definitely have to try more Torrontés in the future. At such an affordable price, this could become my white wine for this summer. Check out these reviews for a more informed take on this cool grape:

Gary Vaynerchuk, Wine Library TV episode 382

Kate Seiner at Wine Sediments

Robin Garr at Wine Lover's Page

(This grape is # 55 on my way to 100 grapes.)

2007 Pascual Toso Torrontés

Color: Light golden yellow

Aroma: Slight beer aroma, almost like champagne

Taste: Similar to a light, dry Sauvignon blanc, nice acidity, almost like Champagne without the bubbles

Finish: Slightly bitter, but in a good way

1WineDude :: Serious wine talk for the not-so-serious drinker!: How To Navigate Wine on the Web (3 ways to Keep Up With Wine Online & Still Stay Sane)

2008-03-21T13:32:00.000-07:00

1WineDude :: Serious wine talk for the not-so-serious drinker!: How To Navigate Wine on the Web (3 ways to Keep Up With Wine Online & Still Stay Sane)

I don't know how this works, so please bear with me. This is such a cool post that I wanted to make it available to more people.

Shenandoah Winery: Bray Vineyards

2008-03-21T08:17:00.000-07:00

Last Friday I wrote about my recent trip to the Shenandoah AVA in the Sierra foothills of Amador County. Another winery I visited that day was Bray Vineyards. Bray Vineyards was started in 1996 when the land was purchased from an estate. The property sits on 50 acres of rolling hills ranging in elevation from 1100 feet to 1300 feet. The soil is heavy with decomposed granite and is very rocky in places. Bray Vineyards is one of the first wineries in the area if you are arriving from the south. It definitely was my favorite.

I got to meet wine maker John Hoddy. He poured for me and spent time talking about the wines and grapes. John started out making wine at home for fun. After a while he took winemaking classes from UC Davis extension. He got more experience working with local winemakers during harvest and finally started working with Bray in 2004.

What really impressed me about John were his friendliness and his attitude towards wine. If I asked a question about a flavor of a wine I tasted, he’d sample the wine and make comments. He took the time to explain about the grapes they were growing and gave me some history behind their chooses at the winery.

Bray Vineyards grows several grapes that the Shenandoah appellation is know for, like Zinfandel and Petite Sirah. They produce several nice wines from these grapes. But what really impressed me was the variety of grapes, especially Portuguese varietals. They grow Touriga, Tinto Cao, Souzao and Alvarelhao to make their own Vinho Tinto (a great earthy example with medium mouth feel and nice tart tannins.) They even have a white from Verdelho. Other grapes they grow are Sangiovese, Barbera, Black Muscat and Primitivo. Another of the favorites I tasted that day was their Tempranillo (it had faint fruit, light tannins and the flavor was very good.)

For this wine geek, their array of grapes was awesome. I don’t know if John Hoddy is pouring every day for visitors, but if you get a chance to talk with him it will be the highlight of your visit to the Shenandoah Valley.

I definitely want to make a trip back soon to buy some of the other wines I tried that day. According to the web site, many of their wines can be found in stores local to Sacramento (see their list.) However, their more obscure varietals like the ones from Portuguese grapes are available only on site. I bought one of them on my visit, the Verdelho.

Verdelho is both a grape and a style of Madeira, a wine from the Madeira Island off the coast of Portugal. The heavy wines of Madeira go through a process where the wines are fortified and then oxidized slowly over time. Verdelho Madeira is between off-dry and sweet, depending upon the age of the wine.

Still wines made from the Verdelho in Portugal in the Duoro Valley can be off dry and bland. But when grown in hotter regions like Australia or the Shenandoah Valley they are light and citrus like the one I had. I couldn’t decide if it was more citrus or peachy. The wine was a lot like a Gavi in both aroma and taste. It has a light mouth feel and light tannins. The first flavor was peach as the wine hit my tongue, but then it changed. This wine is a good sipper all by itself but it would probably be good with seafood or Asian dishes. (This grape is # 53 on my way to 100 grapes.)

Tasting Notes:

2007 Bray Verdelho (13.9% alcohol, $16.00)

Color: Light yellow

Aroma: Peach or citrus

Taste: Like Gavi, peach at first taste then it changes. Light mouth feel

Finish: Faint tannins with pleasant aftertaste

Back to Italy: Negroamora

2008-03-20T06:28:00.000-07:00

I took a detour last week and spent some time posting about Portugal. I'm ready to return to Italy! The particular region is in the south, the heal of the boot known as Apulia (Puglia in Italian.) The map to the right (used by permission from WineCountryIT) shows this region, which to me looks like a sea horse laying on its side. This region is a fertile, flat plain with iron rich soil. According to Vino Italiano, this region "is the principal source of the three Italian staples: bread, olive oil, and wine." Apulia is in a tie with Sicily and the Veneto in the claim of biggest producer of wine in Italy.

The red wines of Apulia are mainly Negroamaro, which means "black and bitter", and Primitivo a close genetic cousin to Zinfandel. I've had Primitivo before and liked it, so I thought it was time to try a Negroamaro, which is the most widely planted red in the Apulia region. This grape has a thick skin, is dark colored and produces a wine with strong tannins. The wine is often blended with other grapes, such as Malvasia Nera, to mitigate the tough tannins. Many descriptions I read about the wine use the words "bitter" when describing this wine (see Wannabe Wino for one.) I was surprised when the bottle of wine I bought was not so bitter or tannic.

The Negroamora I had was the 2006 Feudi di San Marzano. This wine was 100% Negroamora grapes from districts in the area of Taranto. Apparently, it is the other parts of Apulia where they blend other grapes to make the wine. My main impression of the wine was cherries. It had a faint aroma and soft tannins. The finish was like sour cherries. We had the wine with spicy spaghetti and meatballs. The wine went well with the acidity of the tomato sauce. (Dr Debs had her Negroamora with another tomato sauce based dish: pizza!) I would definitely drink this particular wine again, but I was disappointed that it wasn't more tannic. I've bought another bottle already and I'll have it the next time we have spaghetti. (This grape is # 52 on my way to 100 grapes.)

Tasting Notes

Feudi di San Marzano Puglia IGT Negroamaro 2006

Color: Dark purple

Aroma: Cherry

Taste: Cherry and light tannins

Finish: Sour cherries

An Austrailian Shiraz

2008-03-18T14:00:00.000-07:00

I've had several Australian Shiraz wines from the poplualr Yellow Tail to my favorite, Layer Cake. My favorite is a fruit-bomb that might be properly discribed as a "nuclear" fruit-bomb, it is SO big, fruit-forward and high alcohol. I wanted to try some more Australian Shiraz so I picked up a bottle from Aramis Vineyard.

Aramis Vineyard is in Southeast Australia. This particular region is called the McLaren Vale and is located on the Fleurieu Peninsula. The climate is described as Mediterranean, which means there are four distinct seasons with warm dry summers and mild autumns. Grapes tend to have more time to ripen than in the classic vineyards of Italy and France. As with most good wine growing areas, there is a source for cool breezes that cool down the vines at night to promote an even balance between sugars and acidity. That source is the surrounding ocean and 'Gully Winds' from the hills.

Wheat was originally the crop grown in the McLaren Vale, but in the 1850's grape vines were planted. Since that time the area has had various periods of success with wine, but the present wineries didn't really take hold until around 1965. Today there are about sixty-five wineries growing shiraz, cabernet and grenache.

The Aramis Vineyards Shiraz was less of a fruit-bomb than the Layer Cake I had already had. The Layer Cake is made from Shiraz grapes from a different Southeast Australian region, the Barossa. The Aramis Vineyards wine was a little more complex, though. It was fruit-forward, but it had more tannins and some spiciness to it. I drank a glass of the wine by itself the first night and with home-made pepperoni pizza the second. It didn't go as well with food as I remember the Layer Cake. Maybe a different dish, like a steak or other hearty meat dish would have been better. I liked the difference between the two and I'll have to explore some more Australian Shiraz. When I picked up the bottle of Aramis, someone recommended the Elderton Shiraz (another Barossa for $24.99) The Aramis was more affordable at $19.99 and I'd gladly pick it up again.

Tasting Notes:

2005 Aramis Black Label Shiraz

Color: Dark cranberry

Aroma: Cherry, bread

Taste: Spicy, almost jammy like a Zinfandel, nice tannins

Finish: Sour cherries and lingering tannins (pleasant!)

Story Winery: The Mission Grape

2008-03-14T05:36:00.000-07:00

I had a great trip last Friday visiting several wineries in California's Shenandoah Valley. Virginia has the more famous Shenandoah Valley, but Zinfandel has helped put California's on the map. According to Appelations America, it was a group from Virginia that first started making wine here during the Gold Rush. Though the valley produced wine in the late 1800s, it wasn't until the 1980s that a wine boom came to the area. The AVA, which covers parts of Amador and El Dorado counties, spreads over 10,000 acres, with over 2,000 acres under vine. There are now 16 local wineries, while many of the large California producers continue to access Shenandoah Valley grapes on contract.

Driving through the area was beautiful. It was a spring like day with trees budding, especially cherry trees and Bradford pear trees both with their white blossoms contrasting the dark fields of sleeping grapevines. Dafodils had sprung up lining the winery roads, their white and yellow heads craning to catch the warming sunlight. I didn't see any buds on the grapevines, but I'm sure they are almost ready to wake up!

Though Zinfandel is what the Shenandoah Valley is known for the Mission grape has been here just as long. This grape may have been the first grape grown for wine production in California. Spanish missionaries grew the grape as part of their attempt to be self sufficient. Wine was an important part of the mass and the Mission grape supplied it. The source of the Mission grape is unclear. Dr. Harold Olmo of the UCD Viticulture and Enology Department has a theory that the Mission grape is "a hybrid of Spanish Vinifera and the wild grapes of California (Olmo and Koyama, 31-41).

Whatever its history, it is still grown in some fields in the Shenandoah Valley. Deaver Winery in Plymouth had five acres of grapes dating from about 1855 were removed in 1997 due to old age. Around World War I, they gave some of the Mission stock to Story Winery who grafted it onto Zinfandel. Story still has 300 acres of Mission that it uses to produce a dry wine and a port style wine. This field is visible when you walk up to their tasting room. Off to the right, you see a slope containing some large, gnarly vines. They are planted on a south facing slope that cascades down a hill. If you could see their roots, they would probably fill the hill. Story Winery practices "dry farming" where they water new vines for only the first two years of their life. After that, they vines have to depend on rainfall and the water table.

The Story Winery Mission was my first sample of this wine. In color, it was light like a Pinot Noir. In flavor, it was earthy with lots of fruit, though not sweet. It almost tasted like a Zinfandel without the pepperiness. From what I had heard about Mission wine, I was surprised that I liked the Story Mission so much. I was expecting a weak, sour wine, but this was an interesting wine that would probably match with the same foods that Zinfandel does. If you ever have a chance to visit Story Winery you'll be greeted by very friendly tasting room staff. Though the winery is small and at the end of a long road, it seems to be a popular place. Their wine and their history make it that way.

Portugal Wine Tasting: Alentejo Region

2008-03-13T12:42:00.000-07:00

This is my final entry on the Portugal wine tasting I did with the Midtown Winers last week. This final region is the Alentejo is in south-central Portugal. Its name's origin, "além do Tejo", literally translates to "beyond the Tagus". The region is separated from the rest of Portugal by the Tagus river, and extends to the south where it borders the Algarve. The land varies considerably, from the open rolling plains of the south of the Alentejo to the granite hills that border Spain in the north-east.

The Alentejo is a large region and its flat plains cover almost a third of the country. Much of this area is used to grow cereal grain. It is hot like the Douro region and irrigation is used. In contrast to the northern regions, most of the production is done by large, professional companies.

The Alentejo region has done very well in the past ten years, producing old and new style wines. The traditional Alentejo style is described as “leathery, herby, with a sweet-spice complexity.” The new style is fruit-forward, almost new-world style. This second style has been a huge commercial success. This was the Alentejo wine I enjoyed the most.

The maker is Esporao, who has been producing wine in Portugal since 1975. This particular wine is a blend of:

40% Aragonês (aka Tempranillo )

30% Cabernet Sauvignon

30% Trincadeira (aka Castelão which makes grape # 51 on my Century list.)

This wine was not at all a fruit-bomb, but it was fruit-forward. The main fruit seemed to be cherry which mixed well with the tannins. The alcohol was a little strong (14.5%) but it wasn’t excessive as to take away from the wine. This wine was a nice combination of the old style and new style. For more information about the maker, see Catavino’s blog entry.

The theme for the April Midtown winers group is "Obscure Varietals." We are defining obscure as the less famous red grapes of the Bordeaux: Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot. These wines don't have to come from Bordeaux, they just have to be made predominately from the individual grape. Please leave a comment if you have a suggestion of a good example of any of these grapes.

Portugal Wine Tasting: Douro Region

2008-03-12T16:02:00.001-07:00

Last week I attended a Portugal Wine tasting hosted by the Midtown Winers. The best represented region at the tasting was the Douro region in Northeastern Portugal. We had two ports (which I’ll post about later) and five bottles of red wine. Most of these wines were a blend of the same grapes used to make port. Some of them were even single varietals of a port grape.

I wrote about this region earlier when I reviewed a Portuguese wine. According Karen McNeil's "Wine Bible" many of the vineyards in this region were carved out of the steep cliffs of the region, built ellaborate terraces, and transported dirt up the steep cliffs to augment the shist soil. A grapevine growing in this hot climate and poor soil must struggle to grow. This seems to be the formula for producing great grapes the world over.

The main grapes of the Douro for making red wine are the same ones that go into Port: Tinta Barroca, Tinta Cão, Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo), Touriga Francesa, and Touriga Nacional. The common flavor I got in the Douro wines at our tasting was plum. These wines were a nice balance of fruit and tannins. All seemed like they would go well with food.

The favorite of the night was the 2005 Quinta dos Quatro Ventos. This dark purple wine was made from Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo), Touriga Francesca. On the nose I detected plum and alcohol. There was light fruit, almost like a Rhone wine. The strong but balanced tannins left a nice finish. This wine was a nice value at $16.99.

Other reds we enjoyed were:
2004 Praxo de Roriz (it might have been flawed, though)
2004 Redoma Tinto
2003 Callabriga
2002 Evel Vihno Tinto

Portugal Wine Tasting: Estremadura Region

2008-03-06T22:23:00.000-08:00

This week I attended a Portugal Wine tasting hosted by the Midtown Winers, a wine tasting group I belong to in Sacramento, California. Yesterday, I talked about the white wines we sampled. I'll begin the red wines by talking about the only wine we sampled from the Estremadura region. (Map used by permission of Wikipedia.)

It was hard to find much about this region. It isn't even mentioned in Karen McNeil's "Wine Bible." The Spanish and Portuguese wine blog CataVino describes this region as being northwest of Lisbon occupying an area of approximately 24 miles. It's made up of limestone soils or sand. Many grapes are grown here, but the Tinta Miuda is the one we sampled at the tasting. It was even harder to find information on this grape!

The 100% Tinta Miuda was made by Aveleda: Quinta da Aveleda Estremadura 2001. I don't think Aveleda makes this wine any more because I couldn't find it on their web site. The wine had flavors of plum and was earthy. There was light fruit along with a light black pepper taste, similar to what you might taste in a Zinfandel. The finish was not very lasting as the wine had light tannins. This wine was not very memorable, but it was a pleasant wine. It's too bad we only had one wine from the Estremadura region. Monday I'll cover the Duoro region which was very well represented at out tasting. Click here to read an interesting account of CataVino's recent trip in Estremadura.

Portugal Wine Tasting

2008-03-06T06:17:00.000-08:00

I belong to a monthly wine tasting group in Sacramento, California called "The Midtown Winers." I wasn't able to attend the February Cabernet Sauvignon tasting unfortunately, but I participated in the Portugal wine tasting this week. I feel like I've got to do my homework after taking the test after attending the tasting. I don't know much about Portugal wine regions and I've only had a few Portuguese wines (two from the Douro region that I posted on: 2005 Valtorto Douro and Charamba.) I’m going to be visiting the wine blog
Catavino in the next few weeks to take advantage of the great work they’ve done.

We had a fair sampling of Portuguese wine regions at the tasting with six out of the nine regions. I was glad that there were three whites from the Minho or Vinhos Verdes region. This region is at the Northeastern top edge of the country and borders Spain. The white grapes of this region are Alvarinho, Loureiro, Pederna and Trajadura. They go into making the light, slightly fizzy wine Vinho Verde. We had three different Vinho Verdes (“green wine”) one of which I brought. The wine is called green not because of its color but because it’s a young wine meant to be drunk soon after its made (sort of the white counter part to Beaujolais Neuveau?) Most Vinho Verdes are meant to be basic wines, but some are really good and we had one at the tasting.

I brought one (not the best of the night) made by Casal Garcia. It was bottled in 2007, contained only 10.5% alcohol and cost $6.99 at BevMo. I’ve had this wine before and enjoyed it. It’s light and the carbon dioxide they inject into the bottle before corking adds an enjoyable, refreshing fizz. I like it as a sipper or with fried chicken. The high acidity and fizz combine well with the fat in fried chicken.

The Vinho Verde I enjoyed the most was made by
Broadbent. It was also bottled in 2007 and similar to the Casal Garcia. But it had a better flavor and acidity. The flavors in the Casal Garcia were muted, but in the Broadbent I got a sense of apple and a light, pleasant veggie flavor. There were no tannins to speak of in either wine, but there was a slightly tart finish to the Broadbent. I’m definitely going to look for a bottle for myself. Vinho Verde is a great summer time wine to have as an alternative to Sauvignon blanc. It may become my favorite picnic wine to enjoy with fried chicken!

Tasting Notes:

2007 Broadbent Vinho Verde

Color: Light yellow

Aroma: Yeast, Sauvignon blanc like smell

Taste: Apple, light veggie, very light mouth feel with spritz and acidity

Finish: Slightly tart

Comfort Wine

2008-03-05T10:07:00.000-08:00

I had to think for a while to consider which wine to drink for this month’s Wine Blogging Wednesday. Joel Vincent at Web Life Today asked us to pick out a wine that we drink when we want to relax. My first thought was a big buttery, slightly oaky Chardonnay. But that would be like sitting down to relax with a bag of popcorn. What I really want to relax with is something sweet, big and bold. A wine that explodes in my mouth negating the need for analyzing. I knew what I wanted: a Zinfandel fruit-bomb.

I love the flavor of Zinfandel and I can enjoy it in either a fruit-bomb or a more balanced old fashioned style. To my palate, the spiciness of Zinfandel is immediately recognizable and pleasant. Most Zinfandels have the spice of black pepper to add to the mix. The ones I love the best have a “jammy” quality to them that for me means a mixture of strawberry flavor and a full mouth feel.
When I want to relax with a wine I want something familiar and very fruit-forward. I enjoy almost any wine varietal and style. Thanks to the great input I’ve received from wine blogs about trying something new every day (Gary Vaynerchuk’s urging to drink 365 different wines a year) to cross-training your palate (great post by Dr Debs on Good Wine Under $20) I try to drink new wine as often as I can. It’s a lot of fun and I’ve tasted some great wine.

But it’s nice to come back to something familiar, like a Zinfandel. I know I’m going to like it. I know what I’m going to taste. I don’t have to think, I can just enjoy. When I want to relax with a wine, I’ll pick a Zinfandel. I may not blog about my choice, hiding my guilty pleasure from my fellow wine lovers. But I’ll keep drinking what makes me happy. As Forest Gump says, life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get. But if you go to See’s and pick out the box yourself, then you can relax.

The Zinfanel I had was from Latcham, a winery in the Fair Play AVA of the Sierra foothills. I visited this area last summer, but was not able to make it to Latcham. Several bottles of Latcham (and Granite Springs, their co-winery) are on local shelves, so finding the wine for me is easy. Fair Play is a great place to grow Zinfandel and I’ve enjoyed most of the Zinfandels I’ve tried from the area. The styles vary from fruit-bombs to more balanced wines. The Latcham is definetly a fruit-bomb!

The wine is so fruit-forward that the first taste of the wine all I got was a sense of sweetness. The successive tastes weren’t as sweet, as the flavors of Zinfandel and the tannins overcame the sweetness. Still, this wine bordered on being too sweet. It had all the jamminess and pepper I like in a Zinfandel. The finish was better than the first taste as the sweetness disappeared to leave the mild fruit flavor mixed with tannins.

I’ll have to try a different Latcham or Granite Springs Zinfandel to see if their other attempts at this varietal are less sweet. I could definitely relax with this bottle of wine, though!

Tasting Notes

2005 Latcham Special Reserve Zinfandel (15.5% alcohol)
Color: Dark red

Aroma: Strawberry

Taste: Jammy sweetness, light tannins; light mouth feel

Finish Light but lingering tannins and spiciness

Comments: VERY fruit-forward

A Vermentino Closer to Home

2008-03-04T12:36:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I posted about a Vermentino wine from Sardinia. I bought this bottle on the weekend. The next Wednesday, an article came out in my local paper about a local Vermentino (Dunne on Wine, 2/27/2008.) According to the article, there was a bottle of the local wine at the same store I bought the Sardinian, Corti Brothers. This was a rare opportunity for me, so I went back to Corti Brothers yesterday and bought the local sample to have a side-by-side comparison.

First, a little about the local wine maker Jim Moore. Jim was a specialist in Italian varietals at Robert Mondavi. He went on his own in 1998 and created L'Uvaggio di Giacomo (now just Uvaggio.) Jim makes afforably priced Italian varietal wines made from grapes grown from all over California. The grapes for his Vermentino come from the Lodi area. (For another recent article about Jim Moore, follow this link: SF Gate.)

The Uvaggio Vermentino was lighter in color than the Sardinia sample I had. The Uvaggio had more of an appearance of a Sauvignon Blanc, but with a little cloudiness, similar to the Sardinian. I found from the article that the cloudiness is actually a “gentle kick of carbon-dioxide for a touch more vibrancy without turning it into a sparkling wine.”

The Uvaggio was more like a Sauvignon Blanc than the Sardinia wine was. I missed the nutty flavor that made it stand out from an SB for me. However, when I tasted the two wines side by side, I could detect the nuttiness in the Uvaggio. Clearly, this palate needs more training!

What made this wine more special for me was that I cooked a meal myself using the wine. I’m a bachelor this week as my wife is off on a trip. I read a simple recipe last week on the blog Smells Like a Grape for chicken and white wine. This recipe seemed perfect for my skill level. I used the Sardinia Vermentino instead of Pinot Grigio that the recipe called for. I really liked the nuttiness that the wine imparted. The Uvaggio Vermentino went excellently with the dish.

I really like the Vermentino grape. Both wines I had were good, but I like the Sardinian wine a little better because it is distinctly different. As my palate grows, I may like the subtlety of the Uvaggio better. It would definitely be a nice sipper in place of a Sauvignon Blanc.

Tasting Notes:

2006 Uvaggio Vermentino Lodi ($9.99)

Color: Light golden yellow with tiny bubbles

Aroma: Sauvignon Blanc like, lemon

Taste: Mellower then the Argiolas Vermentino, less nutty

Finish: No tannins, flavor lingered a little

A Sardinian White

2008-03-03T09:59:00.000-08:00

Last week I tried a Sardinian red wine. In an effort to comply with the “equal time” theme of this election year, I tried a Sardinian white over the weekend. Though I drank the red wine first, I picked out today’s bottle first. The description of the wine on the bottle caught my interest and my decision was made when I found out the wine was made out of a grape I haven’t tried yet: Vermentino.

Vermentino is described as an “aromatic varietal combining notes of citrus, fresh grass, herbs, and almonds with a crisp and acidic framework.” The grapes vines are very good growers and the plant needs a poor soil to keep it in check. Sardinia is ideal for the grape as it is dry and hot, two other requirements for Vermentino.

Similar to the wines made from the Monica grape, there are
two regions for Vermentino on Sardinia. On the whole island, there is the Vermentino di Sardegna DOC. Wines with this designation mean that the grapes can come from anywhere on the island. Wines with the Vermentino di Gallura DOCG come from grapes grown in the northeast end of the island (highlighted in yellow on the map to the left. Map used courtesy
WineCountryIT.)

The Vermentino I bought was made by the same winery that made the Monica wine I had last week, Argiolas. Their version is a Sardegna di Vermentino which reminded me of a Soave I had recently. The aroma of the Vermentino didn’t remind me of beer like the Soave did, but there is a certain flavor that the two share. Maybe it’s the description of almond that I’ve read both wines are supposed to have. When I first sniffed my glass of Vermentino it smelled more like a Sauvignon blanc than any thing else with a hint of pineapple. The wine had nice acidity but hardly any tannins. I liked the wine but didn’t have it with any food. It would have gone well with Chinese food.

This grape makes # 49 in my quest for 100 different grape varietals and become a member of the Wine Century Club.

Tasting Notes:

2006 Argiolas Costamolino (13.5% alcohol)

Color: Medium golden yellow, slightly cloudy

Aroma: Pinapple, lemon

Taste: Like a Gavi or Soave, "nutty" flavor, nice acidity with light body

Finish: No tannins, but the flavor lingered just approaching but never reaching a bitterness

Sardinia Red: Monica di Sardegna

2008-02-28T09:43:00.000-08:00

Today my quest to learn more about Italian wine has brought me to the island of Sardinia. I'm haphazardly skipping around Italy as I find new wines or grapes. I chose Sardinia because I was at Corti Brothers this weekend looking for a local wine when a found a red and white wine from Sardinia.

To learn about Sardinia, I pulled out my favorite reference on Italian wine: Vino Italiano. Sardinia appears to be a scary place to visit because it is so remote from the Italian mainland. It requires an eight hour ferry ride to reach the island and many fugitives and kidnappers take advantage of this isolation. The authors felt the food and wine was worth the trip.

The Monica grape is grown primarily in Sardinia, and more specifically in the southern half of the island around the city of Cagliari. Wines from Monica are supposed to be light wines with the flavor of cherry. The designation Monica di Cagliari means that the wine is 100% Monica and comes from the southern DOC. The designation Monica di Sardegna, however, means that the grapes could come from anywhere on the island and only 85% of the wine needs to be Monica. The remainder can be a blend of Carignano (aka Carignan) and Bovale (a red grape of Spanish origin.)

The Monica I had was a "di Sardegna" using 90% Monica. It wasn't a "light" wine and the presence of the Carignano may be the reason. This grape is high in tannins, acidity and bitterness. Even at less than 10% it brought up the tannins and complexity of the wine. I'll have to try a wine made from 100% Monica to get a comparison. The taste of the wine reminded me of a cross between Merlot and Nero d'Avola, which I recently reviewed. I got a hint of cherry as I drank the wine and the tannin level made it go well with the Tri-tip steak I drank it with.

I think I would enjoy this wine with a spicy spaghetti dish, or anywhere I'd drink a Merlot or Chianti. The wine is different enough to be a nice change of pace. At $13 it's an affordable option too. I'll have to find an unblended example of Monica to get an educated opinion on the Monica grape. I'd also like to taste the wine side-by-side with a Merlot and a Chianti. I recently tried a side-by-side tasting with a wine that reminded me of Syrah. It was cool to be able to contrast the two wines, to help me see why I thought the first wine was like a Syrah and to see how the two differed. Either from an educational stand point or just for drinking enjoyment, I'd like to get another Monica soon. (If anyone has tried both styles, please leave a comment to tell me what you thought of the difference. Thanks! )

Tasting Notes:

2005 Argiolas Perdera Monica de Serdegna (13.5% alcohol)

Color: Dark red

Nose: Cherry

Taste: Cherry with medium tannins

Finish: The tannins lingered slightly with a sour cherry taste, sometimes I got a hint of raisin, but this was very faint.

( Click on the bottle to see the winemakers notes. )

A Change of Pace: Côtes de Provence Rosé

2008-02-27T11:47:00.000-08:00

I've been drinking quite a few Italian wines in February as I've been reading through the first selection of the Wine Book Club, Vino Italiano, so I thought I'd drink something different last night. We were having "Swiss-Cheese chicken" (breaded chicken baked with swiss cheese on top), rice and zucchini so we chose something light: 2006 Domaine Fontanyl Côtes de Provence Rosé.

According to Terroir-France.com, half of the rosé wine made in France comes from Provence and 80% of the wine made in Provence is rosé. This area of France is on the French Riviera coverings an area from the cities of Marseille to Nice (Click on the map to the left for a bigger map of the region. Used by permission from Wikipedia, created by Marmelad.)

This area of France has a Mediterranean climate, characterized by hot, dry summers, mild winters, little snow, and lots of sun. The soils vary across the region. The main grapes grown in the Côtes de Provence are Carignan, Cinsaut, Grenache and Mourvedre; typical Rhone varietals. Rosé wines made out of grapes grown here are dry and full of fruit flavors.

The Domaine Fontanyl was a nice rosé to me. I was a little leary when I first sniffed the wine because it smell just like a white Zinfandel. I don't like sweet wines at all, so I was pleased that this rosé was very dry (it reminded me of a rosé I had last year that was made out of Malbec that had no hint of sweetness.) I couldn't really detect much fruit other than cherry on the nose or when I the tasted the wine (I'm beginning to wonder if cherry is the only fruit I can detect!) The tannins were very light in my mouth, but lingered with a sour cherry flavor after I swallowed. I didn't feel any heat ftom the 13% alcohol level. The wine went well with chicken.

At $11 I'll have to look for this wine to enjoy as a sipper for warm summer evenings. I can't wait to get back to exploring Italy, but this rosé was a pleasant break.

Tasting Notes:

2006 Domaine Fontanyl Côtes de Provence Rosé

Color: Light rose

Aroma: Almost like white Zinfandel, cherry

Taste: Dry! Cherry and light, light tannins

Finish: Light but lingering tannins with sour cherry

Wine Book Club #1: Vino Italiano

2008-02-26T15:03:00.000-08:00

When I was growing up in the 1960's, one of my favorite shows was "The Wild Wild West"! James West and his trusty side-kick Artemus Gordon would fight old West criminals for an hour my TV screen. My favorite part of the show was right before a commercial break when the scene would get smaller and smaller and become one of the pictures that made up the show's graphic, similar to the one on the left. It was fun to remember what scene each picture was from.

Vino Italiano by Joseph Batianich & David Lynch uses a similar technique at the beginning of each chapter (though I may be the only one who sees it.) The authors relate a story about a trip to the particular Italian region. For example, eating a meal with an Italian class that is learning English and sharing all the curse words they've learned with the authors, or shooting cannons into clouds over a Piedmont vineyard to ward off hail stones, or finding the best gelato shop in Sicily. Each of these little vignettes gives me a mental picture to hang the region on; a mnemonic devices to aid this highly graphic oriented reader.

This book has been invaluable to me as I am learning about Italian wine. I could find out most of the information in the book on the web, but I wouldn't know how to put it all together. The authors cover each region in a way that appeals to me. They cover the soil, the grapes, the wines and even the foods of each area. Each region is broken up into Sparkling Wines, White Wines, Red Wines, and Sweet Wines. This format not only helps to compare and contrast each region, but it makes it easy to skim through the book if you're looking to find information on, say, the red wines of Sardonia.

The end of each chapter is both education and delicious. There are chapter summaries that show the regions production, grapes and wines. There is then a list of top producers of the wines. What I like best about these lists is that I have actually been able to find the wines listed as good examples of the wines. In other references, the wines are either not in any local store or Internet source or they are WAY too expensive for me. The final entry in each chapter is a recipe for a dish from each region and a wine to pair it with. I may be coming back to these sections if I ever learn how to cook.

I've only made it through half the book, but even after I finish reading each chapter I'm sure I won't be finished with this excellent reference. I don't feel like I have to read the book from first chapter to the next, as each section stands on it's own. As I have bought a new wine from a different Italian region, I've read that chapter in the book. This has been a great read. Thanks, Wine Book Club, for suggesting such a great book for our first selection. I can't wait to find out what picture develops for the Tuscany region!

( It's uncanny how much the maps in the book look like WineCountry IT's maps. Does anyone know if there is a relationship between the authors and the website? )

Open That Bottle Night: # 9

2008-02-25T13:05:00.000-08:00

Apparently this has been going on for a few years and I'm just learning about it. It makes sense: I've only been into wine for 15 months now. When I found out about Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher's Open That Bottle Night from reading Farley's post in her Behind the Vines blog, I knew which bottle I would be opening. The two writers, who share a wine column in the Wall Street Journal, have designated the last Saturday in February as a day to open and drink a wine that you've been holding on to because it's too special to drink.
My bottle has been on hold for 6 months. I bought it on the last day I worked at a local BevMo store. I had read about this wine in The Wine Bible by Karen MacNeil. She was writting about Rhone wine and described this one as a wine that made her understand how great wine can be. I had also been to a Rhone wine tasting the previous winter but none of us had brought a Northern Rhone. I really wanted to know what the Syrah grape would be like in a French wine. The wine cost almost $70 and that was the main reason I couldn't bring myself to drinking it.
So, after a little debate in my head, I decided to open the bottle and see if Gaiter and Brecher had a good idea or not: they do. Their event helped show that now is the time to enjoy wine. I'm not sure what kind of occasion would have come along to cause me to open that bottle, but it wasn't going to happen any time soon. The mystique of that bottle would have grown with each month I didn't open it. As it was, I was disappointed when I first tried the wine. My first reaction was, "I paid THAT much for this wine!?! Why isn't it making my tongue dance?"
I did enjoy the wine after I got over the first disappointment. I let the wine decant for an hour while supper was being cooked. When we drank the wine with our meal, it had opened up a little and reminded me of why I like the Syrah so much and gave me a deeper appreciation for Rhone wines. It was a sublte wine. It had the fruit flavors of cherry and what I can only call a Syrah. It had nice tannins that stayed on my tastes buds after I had swallowed. There was a sour cherry flavor that mixed with the tannins and it paired well with our meal. I definitely want to get more Syrahs like this, but I don't want to have to pay so much next time.
I think the best thing to learn from this little exercise is that wine is only grape juice. Really good tasting grape juice, but still, only fluid squeezed from Vitis vinifera. I don't know if I'll have a wine that qualifies for OTBN next year. Almost every bottle I purchase is gone before thirty days go by. Maybe someone will give me a great bottle as a birthday present. Otherwise, I'll just have to read everyone else's posts. If you have a bottle that's waiting for some special moment that never seems to get here, why not open it tonight? I'm sure you'll enjoy it and you'll make this evening a little more special.

The writer of the Avenue Vine wine blog did a great review for of this wine for Wine Blogging Wednesday #19. If you're interested in finding out more technical information about this wine, click here.

Tasting Notes:

2002 Côte-Rôtie Brune et Blonde de Guigal

Color: Medium red with pink edges

Nose: Cherry and band aids (there is often a rubber aroma when I smell Rhone wines!)

Taste: Sour cherries and gentle syrah flavors, not like a fruit-bomb, but just as enjoyable

Finish: Sour cherry and light tannins that go well with food.

Another Italian White: Soave

2008-02-22T10:05:00.000-08:00

I finally got to try another Italian white wine: Soave. I bought a bottle of this last year, but traded it before I drank it for a Hungarian wine at a wine tasting. I've read several things about Soave that made me think this was going to be a hit or miss wine (it's developed a reputaion for being a mass produced table wine.) Reading through "Vino Italiano" gave me the impetus to get another bottle.

Soave is made in the Veneto region of North-Eastern Italy. (Click the map for a link to a much more detailed description of the Veneto. Map used by permission from Loris Scaglarini of WineCountry.IT. Thanks!) The famous city of Venice is located in the region, too, but the Soave zone is on the opposite side located close to Verona. This is a narrow band of hills that once were volcanos. The soil is mineral rich, but basically poor well drained soil that causes grape vine roots to have to tunnel deep to find nutrients.

Despite the great potiential for producing grapes full of flavor and balance, this region has the reputation for growing bland, mass produced wines. This is a result of growers maximizing harvests for production. The makers of the Soave I tried used to contribute their grapes to the bunches that went into the regions wines. The brothers who own Tamellini vineyards decided to produce a better wine from their own grapes. They hired a renown Italian wine maker and by 1998 started producing their own Soave. From reviews I read after I tried the wine, theirs is one of the better Soaves.

Soave's main grape is the Garganega grape (picture courtesy Hillary Stecbauer via Wikipedia.) When given the proper treatment Garganega can produce light wines with hints of wild flowers, lemon curd and nuts. Often the ratio in Soave is 70% Gargenega and 30% Trebbiano (aka, Ugni Blanc.) The Tamellini's wanted to make a Soave that showed off the Gargenega grape, so theirs is 100% Gargenega.

I have had no other Soaves to compare with, but the brothers did a great job. I couldn't detect any specific aromas, just the smell of a Chardonnay or even a beer! The flavors were more like a Chardonnay mixed with a Viognier, but I couldn't detect individual fruit flavors. There is a definite hop flavor, which is probably why I thought this wine smelled like a beer. This discription doesn't do the wine justice, because the flavor is nice: distinct from a Chardonnay, not like a beer at all. Maybe it's the minerality that makes it stand out from a Chardonnay. There was no oak (the tech sheet from the winery states that the wine is "100% stainless steel fermented and aged.) I'm not sure what food this wine would go with, but it's interesting that the tech sheet says it is the best wine to have with asparagus. Come to think of it, this wine would go great with a lot of Chiniese food dishes, especially asparagus beef.

Like I said earlier, this is my first Soave. I'm glad I got to try one that was 100% Gargenega and such a pleasant wine. It reminds me a lot of the Gavi wines I had several weeks ago. Next time we have Chinese food take out at my house, I'm going to try this wine. Let me know if you've had any Soave and what foods you like to drink it with. (Gargenega makes grape #47 in quest to join the Century Club!)

Tasting Notes:

Color: Golden yellow

Aroma: Chardonnay, beer

Taste: Chardonnay / Viognier cross, hops, a suggestion of nuts. Medium mouthfeel.

Finish: Slight tannins with almond like flavors and bitterness, but in a good way.

The Empty Bottle

2008-02-21T15:11:00.001-08:00

I think I've discovered a way to tell whether a bottle of wine is good or not. I'm going to call it "the Empty Bottle" test (wood cut used by permission from Bergen's Sculpture Studio.) This isn't a scientific or even objective test of a wine's characteristics, just a highly subjective test that seems to work at my house.

This test involves the two wine drinkers in my household: my wife and me. My wife is not a wine geek by any measure. To her, wine smells like wine and she's not interested in discerning any other aroma. In fact, wine is for drinking not sniffing! For me, wine smells like wine, but I'm trying to learn to discern the components that make up that aroma. I'm getting to where I can pick out different wines by smelling but picking up distinct aromas is a stretch still.

My wife has a much more discerning palate than I do. She is a great cook and has been able to duplicate other people's recipes by tasting them once. To me, she is a culinary chemist, able to know how to season a meal by experience and taste. She is especially sensitive to bitter flavors. I am her culinary opposite. I can grill a steak and cook pancakes, and that's about it. My favorite thing to do with a meal is to mix it all together so that I get all the flavors of the meat, vegetables and potatoes/rice in one bite! I wonder if I've ruined my taste buds by the amount of pepper I've used.

My wife is not influenced by either the technical or historical aspects of a wine. Wine is for drinking, not a source of learning. I, however, could be influenced to like a wine because the grape can only be found in some far off corner of the world or because of a story about how the wine played a part in an obscure battle fought hundreds of years ago.

I relate all this because the two of us approach wine in a totally different way. Yet we both enjoy wine and if a bottle is really good, then it will be empty in one meal. I'll have a glass before supper is ready: sniffing, swirling, tasting and taking notes. We'll both have a glass or two with the meal. And if it's a really good wine, we'll finish it up after our meal as we sit and watch TV or read or whatever our evening activity is. A bottle that is empty on the same night it is open is how I know that a wine is great.

There have been a couple of these bottles at my house. Some have been Chardonnays, several have been Syrahs. I like when we find a bottle that passes the "Empty Bottle" test. It means we've shared a wine we both think is great, even if she just wants to drink it and I want to write about it!

What's the Difference?

2008-02-20T13:54:00.000-08:00

Last Friday over at West Coast Wine Country Adventures, Amy wrote a cool post on peppery Syrahs and cool weather climates. (Click the link above for her great post.)

I wondered if growing a Syrah in the same conditions you grow a Zinfandel would also produce a peppery Syrah. After all, Zinfandels are known for peppery flavors. A few weeks back I reported on the Klinker Brick Lodi Zinfandel. I wondered if their Farrah Syrah would be peppery so I picked up a bottle. This bottle of wine was peppery like the Zinfandel, in fact it was almost just like the Zinfandel in every way; it didn't seem like a Syrah at all.

Usually I can detect the Syrah part of a Northern Rhone blend or a meritage of Syrah and another red. The Farrah didn't have any of the Syrah flavor. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the fruit-bomb and would have loved it with a grilled rib-eye steak! It's just that it would have been nice if the wine had been different from the Zinfandel. Maybe if I tasted the two wines side by side I could have seen the difference.

I'll have to try some of the Syrahs that Amy and her readers talked about in the comments portion of her post. If you have a suggestion for a peppery Syrah, please let me know. Meanwhile, I'm going to have to pick up a rib-eye on the way home from work tonight to enjoy with my Zinfandel, I mean Syrah.

Tasting Notes:

2004 Klinker Brick "Farrah" Syrah

Color: Dark purple

Aroma: Zinfandel and green pepper

Taste: Pepper, Zinfandel fruit

Finish: Medium tannins that lingered with the fruit flavors. The alcohol level (15%) left a bite.

Can I Change My Answer?

2008-02-19T10:35:00.000-08:00

In my blog post for Wine Blogging Wednesday I reviewed the 2005 Cusumano Nero d'Avola. I must have gotten a bad bottle, because all I could taste from that bottle was raisins. Over the weekend, I picked up a new bottle from a different store and tried it again.

The second bottle was much better. The overwhelming raisin flavor was gone! The wine did approach a raisin flavor the longer it sat in my glass and warmed, but it never got as strong as the first bottle and it never had a burnt flavor, either. The second bottle was a 2006 as opposed to a 2005. The original bottle had a plastic cork which was not tainted. The new bottle had a cool glass cork which I had read about last year, but never seen before. This new stopper works great and I'm tempted to save the bottle and cork to use it again.

I drank the Cusumano Nero d'Avola with home made spaghetti and meatballs. My wife makes a sauce from scratch using cloves, bay leaves and garlic. We usually drink a Merlot to compliment the tomatoe sauce. The Nero d'Avola was more bitter than a Merlot, but I liked the pairing. I'm glad I tried a second bottle to give both the grape and Cusumano a fair chance. If I ever encounter that "cooked raisin" flavor in a wine again, I'll know it's not the intended flavor and return the bottle. Another lesson learned!

I bought the bottle at a brand new store that opened recently in the Sacramento area: Total Wine. This store is even bigger than the BevMo stores I mostly frequent for my wine purchases. I really liked the layout of the store and the even larger selection of wines. The Italy and French sections are much bigger than the BevMo sections. I was able to find wines at the Total Wine store that I had read about but not been able to find before.

The staff seems more informed about wine, too. I saw many more workers on the floor and even though there were varying levels of expertise, they all seemed knowledgable about wine. I was able to talk for ten minutes about Scilian wines with the staff member who helped me pick up my second bottle of Cusuamano. I look forward to many visits to this new store. I hope they continue to keep their prices as low as their grand opening week.

Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc

2008-02-18T14:03:00.000-08:00

It's cool when something lives up to great hype! I've heard New Zealand Sauvignon blancs praised by Gary Vanerchuk and others for a while as a great style. I finally tried one over the weekend and was very happy to find this style so agreeable.

Appropriately, my first New Zealand wine came from the countries largest wine producing region: the Marlborough (the little green lamma-head on the map of New Zealand shown to the left.) Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc has played a big roll in establishing New Zeland as a great wine producting area.

The particular wine I tried was from Kim Crawford. When Kim Crawford was established in 1996, they didn't have their own vineyards yet. They sourced grapes from other growers and even made their wine at other people's facilities. They now have their own facilities where they grow grapes and press wine. This family business makes Sauvignon Blancs, Chardonnays, Rieslings and many other wines that are favored by the climate of the region.

When I first sniffed the Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc, I was struck by the sharpness of the wine. It also reminded me of a Riesling more than a Sauvignon Blanc. It may be its acidity or its flavors, but the aroma was very pleasant. Sipping the wine, I found more of the crispness mixed with pineapple, grapefruit and a great minerality. This wine made me want to keep sipping it to taste the great mix of flavors and acidity. It went well with the home-made breaded chicken strips my wife had prepared for our evening meal.

The tropical flavors combined with the minerality or acidity (I can't figure out which) makes this wine a great sipper. I want to try the Kim Crawfor un-oaked Chardonnay to see how that grape is influenced by the Southern Hemishere climate. If you've tried and enjoyed a different New Zealand SB, please let me know!

Tasting Notes:

Color: Light, pale yellow

Aroma: Pineapple and minerals

Taste: Pineapple, grapefruit, minerals

Finish: Very light finish, mostly fruit

Wine Blogging Wednesday: 7 Words

2008-02-13T14:09:00.000-08:00

This special Wine Blogging Wednesday has given us the difficutlt task of discribing a Italian red wine in seven words or less. For this exercise in linguisitc minimalism, I chose the 2005
Cusumano Nero d'Avola. I wanted to try this wine because of Dr Deb's recent challenge to try a
taste of Sicily in February. Plus, this wine adds a new grape to my count: #46.

Nero d'Alvola is considered a native of Sicily by some. People have tried planting Nero in other parts of Italy, but with little success. The grape is "thin-skinned and susceptible to rot, as well as a late-ripener." The long, hot, dry growing season of Sicily is ideal for this black skinned grape that requires twenty days longer to mature than other red grapes.

Many wineries in Sicily are blending the grape with Syrah, Merlot or Cabinet Sauvignon to produce some interesting wines, but the grape has been used on it's own to produce a wine that Sicily is known for. Some people compare the taste of Nero to Syrah because it's "rich with black fruits with firm tannins." Unfortunately, I didn't get that impression.

I don't know if the bottle I got was bad, or if it is just the normal flavor of a Nero, but here is my seven word description:

Two scoops of raisins in every swallow.

Montevina Terra d'Oro Zinfandel

2008-02-12T09:25:00.000-08:00

Two weeks ago I had a Montevina Barbara that made me want to try their Zinfandel. I picked up a bottle of their Terra d'Oro ("Land of Gold") Zinfandel from a local grocery store over the weekend.

Terra d'Oro is Montevina's reserve line of wines, produced in smaller quantities in only certain years. The winery website says these wines "come form older, low-yielding vines, and spend longer time in barrel and bottle.” There was an interesting article in the Sacramento Bee last week about the use of the term "old vine." The author, Mike Dunne, reported that the term "old vine" may be losing its meaning. A survey of over 200 Zinfandel producers found that "a quarter of them said they use 'old vine' or some variation on their bottles of zinfandel because they are convinced the wines possess a distinctive flavor that can come only from older vines.
However, the term is showing up even on bottles of Merlot! Some argue that there is no difference in flavor from grapes produced by old vines as opposed to younger.

Montevina's Terra d'Oro may be doing its part to restore the meaning of "old vine." The wine had intense flavors without being a fruit bomb. When I wrote about the Klinker Brick Zinfandel, I warned that some wouldn't like it because of how fruit-forward it was. The Montevina delivers all the spiciness and pepper without excessive jamminess. I like both wine styles, but can appreciate the Montevina for a more subtle delivery of my favorite grape.

Tasting Notes:

Color: Dark red

Aroma: Spicy zinfandel nose, green pepper?

Taste: Intense zinfandel spiciness without any sweetness

Finish: Light

Chardonnay Monday: Meursault (Yum!)

2008-02-11T14:48:00.000-08:00

Today's Chardonnay comes from Meursault ("Murr-so") in the Côte-de-Beaune in France's Burgundy region. One source I read said that some of the finest white wines in France come from Meursault. This Burgundian village produces almost enirely white wine, which means Chardonnay. These wines are described as both "full-bodied and acidic" resulting in a wine that is a real pleasure to taste and feel in your mouth.

I found my bottle a local Sacramento store more known for its Italian wine selection, Corti Brothers. I was looking for a Friuli wine for last month's Wine Blogging Wednesday, but was not able to find one. Instead, I brought home this French wine that I had been wanting to try. It cost me $30 which is almost twice what I paid for the other Chardonnays I've featured on Chardonnay Monday, but it was worth it.

The maker is Charton et Trebuchet, a négociant who produces wine from grapes he buys from vineyards not his/her own. This bottle had aged for ten years, and I wonder how much that added to the flavors.

When I poured the wine and looked at it in the glass, it was like I had some liquid gold. The wine looked thick due to the attractive dark gold color. The nose was pleasant (but thanks to a cold I have) I wasn't able to smell too much. The flavors were very nice, but the mouth feel was almost like cream. I've had a Rombauer Chardonnay that cost about the same price and had a similar heavy mouth feel, but the Meursault was somehow more attractive. I don't know if it was the age or the style, but the flavors and mouthfeel combined very nicely. This is my favorite style of Chardonnay that I've tried so far.

I don't know how many more Mondays I continue featuring Chardonnays, but it's been enjoyable and educational to focus on one grape to see how many ways it can be made into wine. I'll have to try some other countries before I call it quits!

Tasting Notes:

Color: Deep gold

Aroma: Peach, light yeast

Taste: Cream, Medium to heavy mouth feel

Finish: Light tannins, maybe some oak

Majority Rules: Merlot

2008-02-06T15:14:00.000-08:00

Red blends are some of my favorite types of wine. The combination of grapes yields a flavor that is different than any of the grapes on their own is capable of producing. I really like it, though, when a blend produces a different flavor, but the attributes of one of the grapes is strong enough to recognize. This was the case with the 2001 Comtes de Tastes I drank last night.

This wine was produced by the Bordeaux winery Chateau Beaulieu. In the same way that an off-Broadway play can be easier to get into but just as enjoyable to watch, this "off-Bordeaux" producer makes a great Bordeaux that is just as good as a Bordeaux on either side of the bank, but easy to get into thanks to the lower price. Chateau Beaulie lies 10 miles North of St. Emillion.

I couldn't find the exact ratio, but this wine is made from Merlot, Cab Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. The flavor of the Merlot is the dominant flavor, but it is transformeed by the presence of the other two grapes into an better wine. This wine goes very well with food. When I tried the wine before eating my dinner last night, it was dry, I could taste the fruit and the tannins were great. Drinking with the wine with food made the wine seem almost sweet. I had the wine with meatballs made out of hamburger, thyme and onion soup mix served over rice and green beans. There may be a better paring for this wine, but they went together well for me.

One more surpirse I got was blueberries. I don't know if blueberries is a normal component people normally detect in a Merlot or a Bordeaux, but I got the definite flavor of blueberries at times. That's a first for my palate! I can't wait to let the wine decant for an hour tonight before drinking it tonight. I hope it changes the flavors even more.

Tasting Notes:

Color: Deep cranberry red

Aroma: Cherry, yeast (is this possibly oak)

Taste: Cherry, blueberry, nice strong tannins

Finish: The tannins linger and seem to build, leaving a sour cherry flavor

A New Grape: Oak?

2008-02-05T15:32:00.000-08:00

By mistake I picked up a bottle of wine that I thought was a was a Sauvignon blanc from the Loire Valley in France. I had my first Loire wine last month, a Sancerre that I liked a lot. This bottle didn't say Sancerre, but it did say Loire Valley so I thought I'd be learning more about French SBs. I should have read the label better!

If I had, I would have seen that this was a Muscadet wine. Muscadet is made from the grape Melon de Bourgogne, a wine that used to grow in Burgundy but was kicked out in the 1600's! Currently grown in the mouth of the Loire Valley, the grape is resistant to cold and frost and has flourished in this maritime climate.

If I'd read the bottle better, I would have also noticed the words "sur lie" printed under the winery's name. Apparently, Muscadet, that has been produced and aged in accordance with strict guidelines, may be designated "Muscadet Sur Lie." This involves keeping the wine in the barrel (on the lees or sur lie) all winter, which "allows the wine's aromas to develop, and carbonic gas produced by this process imparts a liveliness on the palate." I did not experience this effect with my bottle of Muscadet!

The only flavor I got was oak. There was oak on the nose, while the wine was in my mouth and in the finish. I thought the wine would go well with some home made Chinese food that my wife and sister made for our Super Bowl meal, but the oak was just too much. I thought I was drinking an over oaked Chardonnay, but I couldn't tell because there wasn't really any fruit flavor. Only after the wine had warmed up over an hour in the glass did I detect some fruit. I hope I can find a better example of a Muscadet. The comparison will be interesting. (Anyone have a good recommendation?)

The bottle wasn't a total loss. I got to add a new grape to my count towards 100 different grapes (this was # 45 for me!) I got to learn the hard way that the Loire Valley is a big place and makes lots of different kinds of white wine. And I learned that if I'm not sure of what words are on the label, I can't just assume a location is only one grape. And finally, thanks to the oak flavor that is etched on my palate's memory, I'll know that Melon de Bourgogne is used to make a Muscadet.

Tasting Notes:

Color: Light golden yellow

Aroma: Oak

Taste: Oak (some slight citrus after an hour in the glass)

Finish: Oak

Klinker Brick Zinfandel from Lodi

2008-02-01T14:12:00.000-08:00

Imagine you are a grape vine growing in a valley in Northern California. Your roots have been tunneling deep in the sandy loam for almost a century. Though you are no where near as tall as those wimpy Coastal redwoods who have it so easy when it comes to getting water, you are able to get all the water you need during the long, hot, dry summers. You love the heat! As the sun beats mercilessly on your green canopy, you carry the moisture and nutrients from the soil and parse them out to the small clusters of little berries that hide below. Your small fruit grows sweeter each day with an intesity born of toiling by surviving 100 plus degree days.

Yet there is a reprieve when the Delta breeze comes though as the sun begins to set. The cool fingers of this gentle wind slip through your branches and leaves. Your fruit rests. Soft tannins and balancing acidity are nutured in each berry. As the silver moon light dances off your leaves, it's as if the night is trying to impart its own character, not leting the sun alone have its influence on your fruit.

Lodi is not the only part of the world to have this play of hot days and pleasant evenings; it's a classic Mediterranean climate. But this area has become famous for its Zinfandels. One of my favorites is from the Klinker Brick Winery. Like other Lodi wineries, the folks at Klinker Brick have been growing grapes since the early 1900's. Even during prohibition, the vineyards of Lodi still produced grapes for making wine, though most were shipped to Canada or the East Coast for home made wine making, allowed by under the Volstead Act. In fact, demand for winegrapes actually increased during Prohibition in the Lodi area. Thousands of railcars left Lodi each harvest full of Zinfandels, Tokays, Alicante's, and many other winegrapes.

The Klinker Brick Zinfandel may be too much of a fruit-bomb for some wine lovers, but for my inexperienced palate it's a joy. I enjoy the subtler flavors of a drier wine like a Rhone or Bordeaux, but it's a real pleasure to taste the full bodied explosion of flavor when I drink this Zinfandel. There is a jammy, almost strawberry flavor, spicy pepper and something I can only describe as Zinfandel. Maybe when I've tasted more wine, I'll be able to disect the flavors I sense when I experince a Zinfadel, but right now it is a singular flavor.

I look forward to trying the "Old Ghost", or Old Vine, Klinker Brick, as well as their Syrah. I you're looking for a fruit-bomb of a Zinfandel, then a bottle Klinker Brick may be for you. You'll find out what the right amount of blazing sunlight and cooling breeze can accomplish from the soils of Lodi!

Tasting Notes:

Color: Dark ruby red

Aroma: Pepper, yeast, Zinfandel

Taste: Jammy strawberry, pepper, lots of fruit

Finish: Tannnis and spice

Monthly Recap

2008-01-31T11:08:00.000-08:00

This month has been a good month for wine. I didn't get to any wineries for tasting like I had planned, but maybe next month! ZAP's Zinfandel festival came and went. I'll have to do some research and read about this year's event. Hopefully I can attend next year!

Here are some possible wineries I'd like to visit in February:

Bogle Winery, just South of Sacramento, is having their annual Port Weekend on February 9th and 10th.

On the same day I could meet more winemakers by attending the Amador Vintners Association Behind the Cellar Door event. Thirty different Amador County wineries will be on hand "for a winter wine extravaganza of barrel-tasting, great food, live music and entertaining seminars and demonstrations."

The Midtown Winers, a monthly wine tasting I attend, will be having a Cabernet Sauvignon tasting next week. We are trying to bring wines made outside of California to give us an idea of how the wine is made outside of Napa Valley. I'm going to bring a Bordeaux blend from 2005.

I contributed to my first Wine Blogging Wednesday this month and hope to contribute to my second one in February. The wine won't be a challenge, an Italian red, but the format is going to be rough: describe the wine in seven words! The description written by the host, Spittoon, says: "The finished tasting note must make sense, be grammatically correct(ish), punctuation will help of course. The wine name, type, producer, vintage do not have to be included in the 7. But a reference to aroma, flavour, length, food matching etc etc should be considered. Inventiveness is the key. I'm going to try my first Aglianico but this may be a difficult exercise!

I'll be writing a review for the first Wine Book Club book, "Vito Italiano." I'm enjoying reading this book and hope I can do it justice. I found out something else about Italy, but not in the book. My grandfather came over from Italy when he was 16. That I already knew. But I learned that he used to live in a town called Lucca in Tuscany. One of my memories of my grandfather was sitting a the dinner table and him drinking some Chianti from a regular drinking glass. I wonder if he ever worked at a vineyard. I'm going to have to learn more!

February looks to be another promising wine month. I've enjoyed my first month of blogging and it has really helped me learn more about wine. I've discovered a lot of cool wine blogs and corresponded with several new bloggers and wine lovers. I'm definitely getting more out of blogging than I'm putting in. Thanks if you've posted a comment; it's really cool to read them. Hope your January has been a good one!

A Nice Barbera

2008-01-30T15:57:00.000-08:00

Last night I got a pleasant surprise when I had a Montevina Barbera along with my steak dinner. The surprise was that a inexpensive (under $10) wine was so good. I picked up the wine because it was a local wine (grown and bottled just 40 miles from my house) from the Amador County appellation in the Sierra foothills and second it was a Barbera; a wine I've only had a few times.

The gold rush in 1849 brought many fortune seekers into the Amador hills. Some found a different kind of treasure in the hills: land that favored grape growing. So many wineries were started that by the Civil War, this region of California had more wineries than any other in the state. When the gold ran out and finally prohibition hit, most of the wineries were shut down. They would remain dormant until the 1960’s when a new kind of explorer rediscovered the potential for the Amador hills to grow great wine, especially Zinfandel.

Montevina Winery has 400 acres of vineyard in Amador County, 80 percent of which is Zinfandel. Their grapes grow around 1,500-feet elevation in very thin, rocky soils (sandy clay loam and decomposed granite) with a heavy iron content. Montevina uses drip irrigation and controls the crop yield, which is low, at around four tons an acre. These conditions cause their wines to have concentrated flavors and dark color.

This is what I found with their Barbera. It had good flavor without being sweet. There was some nice spiciness, maybe it could even be considered peppery. The tannins contrasted with the cherry fruit flavor to make the wine interesting. The pepperiness went really well with the steak. At times the wine reminded me of a Zinfandel, but there was a different flavor from the jammy, peppery flavors I expect in a Zin.

This was a good wine for their entry level wine. Montevina makes higher end wines in a series called "Terra d'Oro". Their Barbera in that series is currently sold out at their online store, so I'll have to keep my eye out for it in stores. They also sell a Syrah, Sangiovese and Zinfandel I'd like to try.

Tasting Notes:

2005 Montevina Barbera

Color: Dark ruby red

Aroma: Cherries and yeast

Taste: Cherry and pepper, nice tannins

Finish: Cherry

Good Gravy, Good Gavi!

2008-01-29T13:57:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I tried a Gavi wine made from the Cortese grape grown in Piedmont, Italy. Over the weekend I had another Gavi made by a different wine maker to try a different take on Gavi.

My second bottle of Gavi was the 2003 Broglia Gavi La Meirana. The biggest difference between these two bottles of Gavi was that the first was had a fizzy, "frizzante" bubbliness to it and the second did not. Another difference was that the second wine's flavor made it more of a distinct wine for me. Usually all whites seem like Sauvignon blanc or Chardonnay to me, but this wine made me feel like there is a definite different kind of white wine. I like trying new wines and it's really cool when I find one that tastes different, adding to the variety of wines I can enjoy.

As I said in my other post, the Gavi region of the Piedmont is in the Southern portion near the Mediterranean Sea. The earliest recorded history of wine in Gavi has to do with a bishop selling church land to farmers for vineyards in the Meirana area. In the early 1970's, Bruno Broglia bought some of the same property and founded Broglia, now one of Gavi's leading wineries. (For a great article on the Gavi wine area see this article on Dolce Tours.)

I had the wine with some fried chicken, mashed potatoes and homemade gravy. We were celebrating my oldest son's birthday in a family get together over the weekend. Most of my family is not much into wine but I was able to share the Gavi with my sister. We both liked the flavor of the wine and felt it went well with the fried chicken. This is probably not the way Mr. Broglia meant for his wine to be served, but it works for me!

Tasting Notes

2003 Broglia Gavi La Meirana ($18.99 at BevMo)

Color: Golden yellow, almost like a light beer

Aroma: Honey, grapefruit

Taste: Light mouth feel with a slight mineral flavor, a little heat, and a flavor I can't place (some reviews I read reported tasting almond)

Finish: Slight grapefruit

(Gary Vaynerchuk reviewed this wine on his epic outdoor summer tasting episode # 265)

Cardonnay Monday: Another Pouilly-Fuissé

2008-01-28T11:13:00.000-08:00

For a while on Mondays I'll be posting on Chardonnay wines as I learn more about different styles of wines made with this grape. My first entry was on a Pouilly-Fuissé. Today I'm reviewing the Pierre Dupond.

I was not able to find out much about this French wine maker other than the fact that the family has been growing grapes and making wines since around 1860. Wines that were sold to local towns to satisfy the desire of the working folk for a light, thirst quenching wine. I think today's Dupond Pouilly-Fuissé still meets those requirements.

The first Pouilly-Fuissé I tried (the Louis Jadot) was heavyily oaked, and though the wine was good, it wasn't as enjoyable on it's own as it was with food. However, the Dupond is pleasant all on it's own. It has some oak to it too, but it isn't the main characteristic of the wine. There were more flavors, like melon and honey to be savored. The wine was slightly sweet and had a little bite from either the acidity or alcohol (though it was only 13%.)

I enjoyed this Pouilly-Fuissé more than the Louis Jadot and much more than the under $15.00 Chardonnays I am used to drinking. This bottle cost me $17.99 at BevMo. Again, I'd like to ask if anyone knows of an American wine maker who makes this variety of Chardonnay: I'd love to support them with my wine dollar!

Tasting Notes:

2003 Pierre Duond Pouilly-Fuissé

Color: Golden yellow

Aroma: Melon, honey and yeast (almost like a Viognier)

Taste: Light, light oak, tiny amount of sweetness with a little bite

Finish: An oak finish

It's Not Fair!

2008-01-25T15:04:00.000-08:00

Whenever I hear someone utter this "childish" phrase I want to cringe. But now I'm the guilty party, so please bear with me. The source of my protest is similar to the idea, "so much wine, so little time." There are some many different wines from around the world that I haven't tried yet. I don't want to just read about Valpolicellas from Italy or wonderful white Burgandy from France or the grizzly sounding "Ox Blood" (aka Egri Bikavér) from Hungary, I want my taste buds to become experience them.

There are so many different grapes to get to know. I could become a Wine Century Club memeber three times over and still have many new grapes to learn about. As I read "Vino Italiano" it seems that Italy has a plethora of cool, unusual grapes. But right here in the US we have many grapes that I have not tried yet (like Scuppernong or Norton.)

It's a shame that in America, drinking wine is a special thing and not just an ordinary part of a meal. It would be so helpful and enjoyable to be able to drink wine with lunch as well as dinner. Most companies understandably have a no drinking policy, but what a limitation. Sometimes when I'm eating leftovers of chicken or having a pasta plate at a restaurant for with colleagues, the flavors in my mouth cry out for a tasty Chardonnay or spicy Zinfandel. I could see if Schioppettino or Nero d' Avola were just as good as Chianiti with a spicy red sauce.

But I have to wait for the evening meal to enjoy a glass of wine. Maybe the anticipation is what helps make the pairing of wine and food more special. I seldom drink enough wine to feel the effects of the alcohol, so that wouldn't be a problem at work. (Maybe I could bring a spit bucket with me and prove that I tasted but did not swallow. No, that would just be gross!)

I'll just have to be patient. Perhaps just reading wine blogs as I eat my lunch will be enough to satisfy my desire to learn more about wine.

A Cabernet from Bordeaux

2008-01-24T13:24:00.000-08:00

I began my search for a Cabernet Sauvignon from outside the US sooner than expected. (I mentioned yesterday that the theme of the next meeting wine tasting group I attend is Cabs from any where but here.) Last night when searching the wine isle at Safeway grocery store I spotted a Cab blend that could be a good candidate, the 2002 Larose-Trintaudon 2000 Cru Bourgeois Haut-Médoc. What a mouth full!

Wines from Bordeaux (located in the South-west of France) are so famous that it's very expensive to buy a top named example. Fortunately, there are many "budget Bordeauxs" to be found that help a wine newbie get in on the fun. The wine I found comes from the left bank of the Bordeaux in the Haut-Médoc appellation. Cabernet-Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet-Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot and Carmenère are the only grapes authorized in the Médoc.

The blend I chose is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 5% Cab Franc, so it meets the criteria for our Cab tasting. The grapes are grown and made into wine at the beautiful estate of Chateau Larose-Trintaudon. This winery has been around since the 1800's.

When I tried this wine, I followed Dr Debs' decanting instructions recently posted on Good Wine Under $20. (It's a funny that when I visited the winery website, they recommended decanting the wine for an hour!) I'm glad I did because the wine changed and got more interesting after an hour (is a five-year-old Bordeaux considered young?)

I took a small amount of the wine to try before the hour decanting to compare the difference. On the first sniff I took I could smell cherry and something I couldn't place. I decided to really take my time and determine what I was smelling and finally came up with menthol or something like I had smelled in medicine before. After and hour it was more like cherries and rubber bands! When I first tasted the wine, it reminded me more of a Rhone wine with the major grape being Granache, not Syrah. I couldn't really taste the cherry I smelled, but the medium tannins were very pronounced. After decanting, there was more fruit and the tannins blended for a cool mix. I also detected something that reminded me of raw broccli, though not so much the flavor when you are eating it but the after-taste. Speaking of after-taste, the cherry and tannins lingered for a while after each sip.

This wine would be much better with food than by itself. I kept imagining that a medium-rare steak with mild seasoning would go really well. If you've had a Bordeaux blend like this, what foods have you enjoyed it with? This bottle cost $18.99 and I would buy it again if looking for a red blend. It definitely didn't have the fruit forward characteristic I've come to associate with Cabs, but I think I might enjoy a Cab blend like this more with a meal. It's going to be fun searching for Cabs from somewhere else!

Tasting Notes:

Color: Dark cranberry with dark pink edges

Aroma: Cherry and menthol, rubber bands after an hour of decanting

Taste: Slight cherry, with medium tannins, possibly broccli

Body: Medium mouth feel, some heat before decanting

Finish: Cherry and tannins

Anywhere But Here!

2008-01-23T16:33:00.000-08:00

Do you recognize these grapes? These beauties are a clump of Cabernet sauvignon grapes. Aside from Zinfandel, a big, full-bodied Cab is my favorite red. Unless its a Syrah fruit-bomb, but that's not the purpose of this post.

The "Midtown Winers" is going to have a Cabernet sauvignon wine tasting in February. Only it can't be a Cab from the US. I don't think I've tried a Cab from outside the US so I hope you can recommend some good ones to try. I've read that some good candiates would be:

Bordeaux, the home of Cabernet Sauvignon. It would be cool to try a great wines of the Medoc or Graves. These wines are primarily Cabernet although most are blends with Merlot or Cabernet Franc. Blends are permitted, but Cabernet is supposed to be the significant part of the wine (75% or more) for this tasting
The Priorat region of Spain is supposed to have some good examples. I didn't even know Spain grew Cab. Has anyone had a good one?
Of course there are the supertuscans of Tuscany, Italy would be great to try.
Other lesser know (to me) areas are
- Australia (Coonawarra)
- eastern Europe
- South America
- South Africa

If you've had a great Cabernet Saubignon from outside the US, please mention it in the comments section. Include a link if you can find it. Thanks in advance!

My First Sancerre!

2008-01-23T14:42:00.000-08:00

This is the third month into my second year of learning about wine and I've had my first Sancerre. I've had Sauvignon blanc wines before, but I was excited to try my first from France. I hoped that the French version would be more pleasing to me than the sweet, really fruity versions I'd already tried.

Geographically, Sancerre is a town almost directly in the center of France. It is located at the tail end of the Loire Valley. "Enologically", Sancerre is Sauvignon blanc. Wines from other grapes are made in Sancerre, but the name has come to be associated with white wines. The soil of this area is desibed as "Marl Limestone" or "white soil". I was pleased to read that grapefruit is a common flavor componant of a Sancerre.

The Sancerre I tried was the 2006 Henri Bourgeois Grande Réserve Sancerre. The Henri Bourgeois web site made these notes about the wine:
"The hills and ridges separating the village of Chavignol from Sancerre are composed of clay and limestone chalk (65% clay and 35% chalk). 'Grande Réserve' comes from this terroir so long planted with vines.
Fermentation in thermoregulated stainless steel tanks at 15 - 18°c then oak-aging for 5 months on its fine lees preserves the aromatic potential of this fine wine."

The process of fermenting "on lees" refers to leaving wine with the deposits of dead yeast or residual yeast and other particles that precipitate after the yeast is done converting the sugar to alcohol. This lends a yeasty flavor to the wine. (It's interesting to note that when my wife smelled this wine she thought it smelled like beer.) The oak-aging is supposed to add more "depth" to the wine, but I don't think this is the typical way that a Sancerre is made.

I liked the result of the process! When I sniffed the wine, I detected the distinctive cat pee smell that I've come to associate with Sauvignon blancs. On the first day, I could smell yeast and some citrus but had a hard time placing it. I had to settle on lemon. But when I tasted and swallowed the wine, I knew what it was: grapefruit! The wine was dry, with just a hint of sweetness, a quality that differentiated from most Sauvignon blancs I've had. There oak in this wine is very pronounced, almost making me think it was an oaked Chardonnay. After swallowing the wine, I could really detect grapefruit. It was like I was tasting the rind of the grapefruit; a pleasant finish to me.

I enjoyed my first Sancerre with some Chinese food. I liked the dryness and grapefruit finish, but was a little disappoined by the amount of oak. I want to try another Sancerre that hasn't been aged in oak. It would be interesting to try one that has been fermented on the lees with no oak and one that has not touched either lees or oaks. Any suggestions?

Tasting Notes:

Color: Light golden and clear

Aroma: Slight cat pee, citrus, yeast

Taste: Oak, dry grapefruit peel. The wine has a slight mouth feel, heavier than a typical Sauvignon blanc

Finish: The grapefruit rind finish lingered for a while after sipping the wine.

Next Post: Tuesday, 1/22/2008

2008-01-18T08:10:00.000-08:00

I'm going to a snow camp with the youth group at my church this weekend. There will be no drinking this weekend and if I can't have any I'm not going to write about it. Just kidding! Enjoy the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and see you on Tuesday.

On to Piemonte

2008-01-17T10:51:00.000-08:00

Yesterday's Wine Blogging Wednesday theme of white wines from the
Friuli-Venezia Giulia wine region reminded me of another Italian white wine I've been meaning to try: Gavi. Gavi is made from Cortese, a white grape grown almost exclusively in the Gavi DOCG
(for a good definition on Italian applellations see Dr. Deb's Italian wine post) in the Piemonte region, located across the top of the country from Friuli (see map.)

Piemonte is famous for its bold, strong reds like Barolo and Barbaresco. Most of the climate of Piemonte is continental, which means it lacks marine influence and is characterized by more extreme temperatures. However, the white wine area of Gavi located so close to the Mediterranean Liguria region which makes it more temperate. This area produces white wines that are acidic or minerally in contrast to the tannic and high alcohol level of the reds.

The Gavi I picked up was the 2005 Banfi Principessa Perlante for $12.99 at my local BevMo. The "perlante" refers to the fizzy nature of this version of Gavi, also know as frizzante. I could not find out how the bubbles are produced in this wine, but the Banfi site says the wine has a "natural effervescence." The bubbles remind me of Vinho Verde, where they are caused as a secondary malolactic fermentation. The bubbles in a frizzante wine are created by a different process than a sparkling wine, thus the different classification.

The wine also reminds me of a Vinho Verde in flavor. The aroma and flavor of yeast is very similar to dry sparkling wines I've had. There is more mouth feel than a distinct flavor for me. I was surprised that the Banfi site described the wine as "fruit-forward" because I couldn't detect any, even though I drank my glass over an hour period. There was a light after taste that lingered pleasantly. I drank the Gavi by itself last night, but I think it would have gone well with fried chicken; a favorite way of mine to drink Vinho Verde. The Banfi Gavi cost twice what I've paid for most Vinho Verdes I've tried,
so it wasn't a deal at all.

Banfi makes another Gavi that is not fizzy called the "Principessa Gavia" which I'd like to try. According to Vino Italiano, one of the good producers of Gavi is Broglia whose wine is supposed to have "more apple and peach flavors." Another version I'd like to try is one made by Villa Sparina whose Gavis are supposed to be more "rich and extracted." Fortunately, there is a bottle of each at my local store, so I'll be trying these out and sharing my take in a future post.

I enjoyed the Banfi Gavi and look forward to trying some other examples. However, if they don't turn out much better, I'll stick with the Portugese Vinho Verde as it's a better deal! If you've tried a Gavi, especially one of the wine mentioned today, please leave your comments. How would you compare Gavi and Vinho Verde?

Tasting Notes:

Color: Golden yellow, lots of bubbles!

Aroma: Yeast, straw (reminds me of Champagne or Vinho verde)

Taste: Yeast and minerals, more of a mouth feel than a flavor
Finish: Light, dry aftertaste that lingers

Wine Tasting Wednesday: Friuli-Venezia Giulia

2008-01-16T08:55:00.000-08:00

This is the first time I am participating in Wine Blogging Wednesday. (Gosh, they’ll let anyone participate!) This virtual wine tasting event picks a theme each month which bloggers post an entry on all on the same day. This months topic is white wines form the Italian wine region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, the North-eastern most wine region in Itay.

According to “Vino Italiano” in Friuli there is a distinction between white wines similar to the distinction we make between red and white wine. There are the fresh wines, wines that are fermented in stainless steel resulting in clean wines with high acidity. Then there are the barrique wines, wines fermented and aged in oak resulting in heavier wines with lots of “character.” While the fresh wines (like Tocai Friulano and Pinot Grigio) would go well with lighter fare like a shrimp dish, the barrique wines can stand up to richer foods like an herb-filled ravioli. The barrique wines have also been called the “super whites.”

I tried one of the fresh wines, the 2005 Sirch Tocai Friulano. This grape is thought to be related to the Sauvignon blanc grape, which is what the Sirch reminded me of. It was a little light in flavor, but it had nice acidity. I also read in “Vino Italiano” that some of the cold fermentation went too far and “stripped the wines of any real character.” I wonder if this is what happened to the Sirch. It may just be my inexperienced palate, so I’m going to have to try some more Friulanos to compare.

The Sirch was $13 from WineLibrary (episode 254, I couldn’t find one in any wine stores in the Sacramento area.) I would prefer a Vino Verde from Portugal for a similar light wine that is less expensive. I’m not writing off the Friulano, just wishing it was easier to find some to try.

There are so many different wines from Italy I like to try, but finding them locally is difficult. Even a local wine store that specializes in Italian wines didn’t have any Friuli-Venezia Giulia wines. How do others of you find wines made from less popular grapes? I would really like to try one of the “super-whites.” If you know of a great Italian wine store in or around the Sacramento / San Francisco bay area, please let me know!

Tasting Notes:

Color: Light yellow

Aroma: Slight citurs smell, almost like a Sauvignon blanc

Taste: Light flavors, almost like a Sauvignon blanc with nice acidity

Finish: No real finish

What Would You Do Differently?

2008-01-15T10:09:00.000-08:00

People who write wine blogs are great group of people. They are friendly, informative and very helpful when it comes to learning about wine. I’m impressed by the knowledge and willingness to share that I’ve experienced as I visit various wine blogs around the web.

Last year I posted a question to several wine bloggers and wine forums that I thought would help me learn more about wine. I asked,

“If you were able to go back in time to when you were first getting into wine, what would you do differently?”

I thought I could pick up some wisdom if I got a long time wine lover to think about the “mistakes” they made in the beginning or opportunities they missed because they were newbies.

I got a lot of cool advice like:

Don’t pay attention to ratings

Develop a relationship with a wine merchant in your area

Don’t get stuck in a rut, try everything

Don’t read too much at first, experience the wines first hand and then learn.

I expected a few emails (which I got) but I was blown away when one blogger included my question in their blog post. It was Tim Elliot of Winecast. Tim does a podcast on various wine topics. On episode 72, he interviewed Bill Wilson who does the blog Wine for Newbies. Tim asked Bill several questions and then they discussed mine. It was cool to hear these two bloggers answer my question! They gave some great answers and I still visit their blogs from time to time to learn more.

Another cool piece of advice I got was about Bordeaux futures. One member of a wine forum (I can’t remember which one) said he wished he had bought Bordeaux futures the year he first got into wine because it was a great year. By the time he became familiar with Bordeaux wines, that vintage was too expensive to buy from wine shops. He recommended buying 2005 futures even if I didn’t know if I liked Bordeaux wines. I took his advice and I have two bottles which I'll receive in June of this year. It isn’t much, but I thought it would be a great way to get my feet wet even though I’m only getting two bottles. I have tried some Bordeaux wines of a different vintage and enjoyed them, so I’m looking forward to getting my own 2005 Bordeaux wines.

I may still be able to take advantage of the wonderful 2005 Bordeaux vintage. There was an article in the Wall Street Journal last Friday on the 2005 Bordeaux, “Looking for Value in a Prized Vintage” by Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher. Their focus is on affordable 2005 Bordeaux that can be found on market shelves today. It seems the supply is hit or miss and goes pretty quick. If you find a bottle, better pick it up. Good values can be found for between $9 and $15: what a deal!

I’d still like to get answers on my question, so please post a response: If you could go back to when you were first learning about wine what would you do differently?

Pouilly-Fuisse

2008-01-14T09:54:00.000-08:00

CONTENT NOTE: Chardonnay Monday:
On Mondays, I'll be posting about wines made from Chardonnay. For awhile these will be wines from the various regions in France (ex. Chablis, Pouilly-Fuisse, Beaune, etc.) that produce different types of Chardonnay wines. I'm curious about the different ways the Chardonnay grape is made into wine, especially in France.

When I stared learning about wine a little over a year ago, I was disappointed with Chardonnay. They all seemed too sweet or had too much citrus flavor for me. I thought maybe I just didn't like the Chardonnay grape. So it was with a little reluctantance that I focused on the Chardonnay wines of France. Gary Vaynerchuk at Wine Library TV has been expounding the virtures of French Chardonnay for a while and so I thought I finally learn more about them. I'm glad I did!

The first French Chardonnays I tried were from the Pouilly-Fuisse (Poo-yee Fwee-say) appellation from the Macon region of Burgundy, France. The growing villages of Pouilly-Fuisse are clustered in a roughtly cointiuous area of about 1,400 acreas located 20 miles west of Mâcon.

One of the more well known vinyard owners / negociants in the area is Louis Jadot. I've seen bottles of Louis Jadot wine in all the wine shops I frequent and in most of the grocery stores in my area. Louis Jadot started making wine in 1859. In 1985, the US wine and spirit corporation Kobrand bought Louis Jadot, becoming the first American company to buy a Burgundy producer.

The important part of all this to me is how the wine tastes. When I took my first sip it reminded me of the flavor I assosciated Chardonnay: oak. I know that its popular now to prefer a more natural untouched expression of the grape, but I grew up with oaky Chardonnays and that's the flavor I anticipate when I think of the grape. It may not be the best pairing, but Thanksgiving turkey and an oaky Chardonnay go hand in hand for me! The Louis Jadot was dry, too. I did detect apples on the nose, but there was no sweetness or citrus flavors that had turned me off to Chardonnay before. The Louis Jadot was $26 at my local BevMo, so if you know of a local wine that has the same dry, oaky flavors of this wine and costs less, please let me know. But even at this price, I'm happy to drink Chardonnay again!

Tasting Notes:

Color: Light bonde, almost champagne colored

Aroma: Yeast, apple and OAK

Taste: Nice dryness; medium mouthfeel; oak

Finish: Slight acidity and the flavor lingers

My Favorite Organic Red

2008-01-12T06:51:00.000-08:00

My favorite red wine I tried at the Midtown Winer's organic wine tasting was a Rhone style wine. Before I comment on the wine I thought I'd share about my notes taken during the wine tasting. Looking back at the notes, I noticed that as the evening progressed, my notes were less and less helpful. This was not the result of alcohol effecting me as I was spitting every sip I took the whole night. (It its interesting to note that I sipped and split an amount of wine worth half a 750ml bottle that night.) There were so many wines (21) that our pace was fairly quick. Plus, it was more fun to talk about the wines with my table partners than to write. I think I'll change the format of my tasting notes sheet and practice with them whenever I drink a new wine to get in better practice.

I really liked the 2005 Beckman Cuvee. This wine is a Cote du Rhone-like blend of 53% Grenache, 34% Syrah, 8% Mourvèdre and 5% Counoise. Syrah is my favorite grape of the bunch, but the blending made for a much more interesting wine. When I first sniffed it, it smelled like cabbage or spoiled green vegetables! When I sipped it, the flavor of vegetables was still there, but it combined with the fruit in a good way. This wine would be really good with food.

Beckman Vinyards is in the Santa Ynez Valley AVA in Santa Barbar, California. The Beckmans chose a hillside location to plant their vineyard, which they called Purisima Mountain Vineyard. The soils of the area include clay and clay loam soils and even a rarely seen type in California: limestone. The combination of elevation, moisture and soil allow Beckman Vineyards to grow great Rhone varietals such as Syrah (the predominant grape,) Marsanne, Rousanne, Grenache, Counoise and Mourvedre. The entire property is farmed biodynamically.

Another nice thing about the Beckman wines is their affordable price. The Beckman Cuvee costs around $16 making it an affordable as well as enjoyable Rhone style wine.

Tasing Notes:

Color: Dark red

Aroma: Cabbage and some red fruit

Taste: Vegital (in a good way), cherry, nice tannins.

Finish: The finish was nice and the taste lingered for a while

My Favorite Organic White

2008-01-11T08:05:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday I attended an organic wine tasting. Of the 21 wines sampled, eight were white wines, 1 Pinot Blanc, 1 Riesling, 2 Chardonnays and the rest were Sauvignon blancs. My favorite of the whites was a Sauvignon blanc, but a different SB than the group as a whole voted favorite.

I don't know if it was a result of the organic nature of the wines, but most of these whites were a pale yellow, much ligther than the colors I'm used to seeing. The flavors ranged from mild to good to one dimensional to bad. The most expensive wine of the group ($30 Grgich Chardonnay) was the most disappointing. All I tasted was oak!

My favorite was made by organic wine maker Bonterra. Bonterra practices organic and biodynamic farming. They produce affordable wines that I like to drink. I tried their Chardonnay before the wine tasting and enjoyed it. (I decided to bring the Grgich Chardonnay to the tasting because I thought someone else in the group might bring the Bonterra as they are well known as being an organic wine maker.)

The Bonterra Sauvignon Blanc is in a style I like: more minerally than sweet with not much citrus. I have heard that the New Zealand SBs are great and that the French Sancerres are the classic, but I have not tried either of them yet. One thing I like in a SB is what has been described as "cat pee." I don't like the SBs because of the cat pee ordor, its just that they tend to taste the way I prefer. I wonder that I can't pick up the pleasant odors people describe in wines like flowers or blue berries, but I can definitely detect the unpleasant ones!

If you're looking for an affordable organic wine, Bonterra is the way to go.

Tasting Notes:

Color: Very pale yellow, almost clear

Aroma: Earthly, cat pee

Taste: Minerally, nice acidity and not sweet like some SBs

Finish: Not much of a finish

This Sauvignon blanc is definitely a nice wine to sip but it's flavors are stong enough to enjoy with food.

Organic Wine Tasting

2008-01-09T15:36:00.000-08:00

I attended a wine tasting last night hosted by the Midtown Winers, a group of friendly wine loving people in the Sacramento area. Our theme last night was Organic Wines. 18 people attended last night's tasting. We were exposed to 21 different wines from all over the world (only 8 were white.) Our theme wasn't defined narrowly, but we were to do research and explain what made our wines "organic." Aside from a very tired and purple tongue, I also got grapes # 40 (Carignan) and 41 (Black Muscat) in towards my century club membership!

In my research about organic wines I came across several arguments that organic wines don't taste good because they are low in sulfites. Sulfites are a natural occuring by-product of fermentaion, so they are present in all wines. However, most wine makers add additional sulfites to help preserve wines. Almost all the wines sampled last night had extra sulfites added, but the one that didn't was really bad tasting.

I also came across an article that argued that biodynamic farming might be the best way of producing "wines of terroir" or wines that express the true expression of the area they are grown in. I'll have to leave that argument to those who have a lot more experience and a much better palate than I do!

There were several great wines, some okay wines, and some defenite stinkers. My favorites were the Rhone blends and the Sauvignon blancs we had. I'll give my tasting notes and impressions in future postings. My over all impression of last nights tasting is that there are a lot more organic growers than I thought there were and that an organic wine doesn't guarentee that the wine will be bad or good. You just have to taste and see what you like!

News and Another Douro

2008-01-08T06:17:00.000-08:00

Today's post includes some news about a busy January for wine events and another Douro wine. I periodically attend a monthly wine tasting group in my area. This group of people meets every 1st Tuesday of the month (except for holidays.) This month's theme is organic and biodynamic wines. I hope to go to more meetings this year as the tastings always expose me to more wines than I would find on my own and the people in the group are very friendly. Plus its nice to actually meet face to face with people who share a passion for wine! If you live in the Sacramento area, feel free to join the Midtown Winers (email me if you'd like more information.)

In an effort to immerse myself in the wine blogging world, I'm taking part in Wine Blogging Wednesday #41, a virtual wine tasting where wine bloggers all over the world pick a wine based on the theme and share their tasting notes. This month's theme is wines from the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia in Northern Italy. I've had a Tocai Friulano before, but I want to try something new, so I've lined up a red wine made from the Refosco grape. Even if you don't have a blog, you can participate by posting your tasting notes at the Wine Blogging Site before Wednesday, January 16th.

Dr. Debs from Good Wine Under $20 has formed a new blog group for reading and reviewing wine books. Similar to Wine Blogging Wednesday only with books, we'll all be reading the same wine book and sharing our opinions. Only the "meetings" are every other month to give you more time to read the book. This is a good thing because the first book is "Vino Italiano: The Regional Wines of Italy", a 544 page book on the vast and varied wine regions of the second largest producer of wine in the world! Reviews are due February 26th. You can read all the details over on Good Wine Under $20 or on the host for the first event at McDuff's Food and Wine Trail. I've ordered my copy of the book (surprisingly affordable at $18 including shipping for a used copy) and it will arrive soon. (This means I've got to finish the book I started while on vacation, "Enemy at the Gate" about the battle at Stalingrad in World War II. I'm half way through the book and the Russians have just launched a counter offensive against the German invaiders. It's the beggining of winter on the Russian Steppe and I can't leave those poor soldiers waiting while I read a wine book!)

I hope to attend my first barrel tasting at the end of the month at a couple Fair Play wineries in the El Dorado foothills. I'll have a lot of material for wine blogging, but let me talk about another Douro wine first.

Yesterday I posted my pleasant experience with a 2005 Valtorto Douro. I had previously had another Douro and wanted to try it again to see if it too would resemble the taste of Port if left to breathe for awhile. Unfortunately, I did't get the same results. I don't know if this is because the wine has one more varietal than the Valtorto had (Tinta Barroca) or because of the different vintages. The wine was a nice wine, especially given it's $7.00 price, but it didn't have the same spicyness I enjoyed in yesterday's wine.

Charamba Tinto 2004

Tasting Notes:

Color: Ruby red

Aroma: Cherry (smelled like similar to a tempranillo)

Taste: Mild fruit with light tannins

Finish: Slight

Douro: Great wine from "Port" grapes

2008-01-06T17:54:00.000-08:00

I'm Back!

Sorry for the prolonged absence and silence. I was on vacation for two weeks. I also changed internet providers at home and was not able to access the internet from home.

Thanks, Dr. Debs, for mentioning this blog in your Good Wine Under $20 blog. I hope you weren't disappointed when I didn't post for so long. I promise to keep up with my posting now that I'm off break. You have been a great encouragement, both in learning about wine and in blogging.

I don't drink much Port, but I do like the wines made from the grapes that go into Port. I'm a big fan of Portuguese wines because of the price and the taste. I had a real treat over my vacation when I had the 2005 Valtorto Douro. It took a little while to fully appreciate this wine, but I learned a cool lesson.

Douro is the region of Portugal where Port is produced. The land and climate seem barely capable of supporting grape vines. Several other wine growing areas have steep hills, but they started out with ample soil. In many Portuguese vineyards, soil had to be carried in to augment the schist and granite. Terraces were built after workers chipped away at rocks and added organic matter. (See the "Vineyard of the day" for an example of a terraced Douro vineyard.)

This area is known for Port, but the grapes that are used to make Port can make a great table wine, too. One of these is made by the Port shipper Wiese & Krohn. They have blended Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz (aka Tempranillo) and Touriga franca into a nice table wine that has some of the distinct flavor of Port without the strong sweetness or alcohol.

When I first tasted the wine it reminded me of a Tempranillo. But when I let the wine sit in my glass for about half an hour it transformed into something different! After it had a chance to breathe, I noticed a plum aroma that I hadn't earlier. When I tasted the wine, I was surprised and pleased by the port like flavor! The next day I drank the wine, I decanted it for about half an hour got the same result. I'll have to see if decanting helps produce the same flavors in other Douro wines I've tried in the past

Tasting Notes:

Color: Ruby red

Aroma: Plum and raisins

Taste: Tastes like Port, but not as sweet. Much less alcohol than a Port, too. The wine has a flavor that resembles the spiciness of Zinfandel and goes with foods like Pizza and spaghetti with spicy sauces.

Blind Tasting

2007-12-04T14:04:00.000-08:00

Blind tasting refers to trying a wine when you don’t know what is in the glass. This practice is often done to prevent bias that knowing something about the wine could introduce. Sometimes “blind tasting” comes about when you don’t know enough about a wine to have any bias! Such is the case with the wine I drank last night.

Two things contributed to my blindness. The back label had come off the wine. When I looked the wine up on the Internet, I could not find out much. My notes in Cellar Tracker had mistakenly labeled this wine as a Pinot Noir, but this wine comes from the Languedoc region of France. I know almost nothing about, so I couldn’t know that the wine was from the Grenache grape. My blindness led me to a pleasant discovery.

The wine in question was a 2002 Château de Beauregard Coteaux du Languedoc. The wine was pleasant to smell and drink, but nothing outstanding. The aromas reminded me of the Beaujolais Nouveau I had last month. The initial taste of the wine was very interesting. It’s as if the flavor bloomed on my tongue. At first I had the generic sense of red wine. Then I began to taste sweetness, but just as soon as the sweetness registered, it changed into a lightly tannic wine flavor. After swallowing, there was a flavor similar to the taste left from Concord grape juice, only not as sweet.

I don’t know if this is a common attribute of Grenache, but it was an enjoyable wine. It was light enough to drink on it’s own, but it went well with the Teriyaki chicken I tried it with (it probably would have gone better with a milder chicken dish.) Without knowing what grape the wine was made from, I was guessing Grenache. What really surprised me when I looked at my Cellar Tracker notes is that this wine only cost me $6 at BevMo. This was a very nice wine, which I’d like to try again!

TASTING NOTES:

Color:
An attractive cranberry red

Aroma:
Cherries, smells similar to a Beaujolais Nouveau

Taste:
Dry, but almost sweet. Lightly tannic with a pleasant finish

Savings the Best for Leftovers

2007-11-30T10:01:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite parts of Thanksgiving is the leftovers. Seriously. I can never get enough of my wife’s turkey, gravy and stuffing. Turkey sandwiches with stuffing make spectacular lunches. The day after Thanksgiving we all fix our own plate of leftovers for the evening meal.

This year, I tried some different wines with the Thanksgiving dinner, so I was ready for something more traditional with the leftovers: a Riesling. The wine was called Saint M, imported by Chateau Ste. Michelle from Germany. The attractive aqua bottle caught my eye and the $10 price tag sold me. I’m so glad I bought this wine.

I found the inexpensive ($9.99) wine at Cost Plus World Market when I was shopping for Beaujolais Nouveau several weeks ago. The wine is a made by the German winery estate Dr Loosen (pronounced loh-zen), a maker of fine German Rieslings for over 200 years. Ch. Ste. Michelle has been making Rieslings themselves from Washington grapes (anyone had one?) and has added to their line by importing the Dr. Loosen. I’m glad they did.

The 2005 Saint M Riesling comes entirely from the warm and sunny Pfalz region of Germany, directly North of Alsace. Summers in the Pfalz region are long and warm while rainfall is light, contributing to the region's "ripe fruit character."

The Saint M is a heavenly Riesling with just a touch of sweetness. I don’t like the styles of Riesling that have a lot of sweetness. Rieslings are more enjoyable when the minerality of the Riesling and the crispness of the acidity win out over a slight presence of sweetness. The bottle of Saint M is labeled on the back as “Qualitätswein,” a general term to describe wines made from late-harvest or overripe grapes. I’m not sure if the term is attributed to the level of sweetness in the wine.

The quality and price of this wine make it a winner.

Tasting Notes:

Color:
Pale straw yellow

Aroma:
My challenged nose could only detect something like melon.

Taste:
As mentioned already, there is a slight sweetness. I don’t know how to describe the other flavors, unless it is the minerality, but they are the flavor I find in Rieslings that makes Riesling a favorite white wine for me.

Finish:
The “minerality” lasts for a while after you’ve swallowed, a pleasant reminder of this enjoyable wine.

Send in the Clones

2007-11-29T11:38:00.000-08:00

In the movie Multiplicity, Michael Keaton’s character is cloned to help him become more productive. To be even more productive, he clones his clone to add another hand. Finally, the cloned clone is cloned with diminished results! The final clone resembles the original, but is a poor substitute.

I sort of felt this way about the second wine I had at Thanksgiving, the Stone Hill Chardonel . That’s not Chardonnay, but Chardonel, a cross between Chardonnay and Seyval blanc.

Seyval blanc is a hybrid grape made from a cross of two strains of something called Seibel , a grape variety developed in France in the 1950’s.

The wine from this blend resembled Chardonnay slightly. But it left a lot to be desired in aroma and flavor. Sometimes the real thing can’t be made better!

2006 Stone Hill Chardonel Tasting Notes:

Color:
A faint yellow

Aroma:
Could be the Seyval blanc, but it smelled more like Viognier than Chardonnay. No pear or apple, but maybe some citrus could be detected.

Taste:
The wine tasted slightly like a Viognier, without the pleasant mouth feel. There was a good amount of oak. Definitely not the oaky Chardonnay I like to have with my white turkey meat.

Seyval Blanc from Missouri

2007-11-27T11:08:00.000-08:00

I had two wines from Missouri on Thanksgiving. Both were white and both were made with the grape hybrid Seyval Blanc. Seyval Blanc is an ideal grape for Missouri as it withstands the cold much better than classic grapes like Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. This grape also buds early and early ripens early, making it even more suited to the region.

The two wines I had were from one of the oldest wineries in Missouri (almost the oldest in the US,) Stone Hill Winery. This winery began in 1847. By 1866 it was the second largest winery in the whole US and had won national and international recognition for its wines. During Prohibition, grapes still grew on the property, but they were used for jelly. The underground cellars were used to grow mushrooms! The winery began to come back to wine making prominence in 1965 and is today one of the successful wineries of Missouri.

The first wine I had containing Seyval Blanc was the 2006 Steinberg White .
This wine is a blend of Vidal Blanc, Seyval and Vignoles. The winery describes the wine as a “German-style white” and it did remind me of a Riesling. But the wine also strongly reminded me of Viognier. The wine didn’t have quite the viscous mouth feel of a Viognier, but the distinct flavor was there.

Tasting Notes:

Color:
Pale yellow

Aroma:
Viognier like, not floral but still like a viognier

Taste:
Slightly sweet, light citrus but definitely reminded me of Viognier.

This wine was enjoyable with the Thanksgiving turkey, similar to the way a Riesling is. I could sip this wine by itself and enjoy it.

Different Wines for Thanksgiving

2007-11-22T07:17:00.000-08:00

Salubrious Missouri:

Guess which US state the following wine descriptions belong to:

The second largest producer of wine in the United States
Produced wines that earned medals in national and international competitions
Its wines “stunned critics” in Paris and Vienna
Was granted the first American Viticultural Area (AVA)

Would you believe Missouri? This area of the country had a thriving wine industry back in 1866, when it was ranked #2 in US wine production. Disease (like Phylloxera ), overproduction, local prohibition laws and finally national Prohibition did Missouri wineries in by 1888.

The state has made a come back starting in the ‘70s and ‘80s. Today, there are more than fifty wineries, some producing wines of outstanding quality. The harsh climates of Missouri have forced the growers to use non-classic grapes. Many unusual sounding hybrids like Seyval blanc, Vidal blanc and Vignoles thrive here. Wines made from these grapes aren’t rustic tasting off varietals, but interesting wines worthy of a taste.

I’ll be trying two of these wines today, Thanksgiving Day, at my sister's house. She went to a family reunion with her husband in Missouri this summer and brought back these wines. I’m looking forward to trying a blend of the previously mention three grapes that’s supposed to resemble a Riesling. There will also be a Chardonnay / Seyval cross called Chardonel. My tasting notes will follow in the next couple posts.

Have a great Thanksgiving Day! I hope you have some great wine.

An Early Young 2002 Wine

2007-11-20T20:05:00.000-08:00

Temprano: Spanish for early
Crianza: The youngest; Spanish for something that is raised or nursed

My favorite Spanish region is Rioja because of the Tempranillo grape. Wines made from this grape are somewhat light, unlike a Zinfandel which is usually grown in hot climates like Spain. The alcohol levels are low to medium. Cherries are the common flavor associated with a young, or Crianza, Tempranillo wine. Such is the case with the 2002 Montecillo Crianza I had last night.

Bodegas Montecillo was founded by Celestino Navajas in 1874 in the town of Fuenmayor. Thanks to the expertise that his son Alejandro acquired in France, the bodega was one of the first to adapt Bordeaux winemaking techniques (like aging in oak) to Spanish grapes.

Tasting Notes: 2002 Montecillo Crianza ($9.99)

Color: Ruby red

Aroma: Syrah like smell

Taste: Slight cherry flavor, not sweet or sour, just a hint of the fruit. The tannins are light. No oak detected despite the wine being aged a year in oak barrels. The medium alcohol level of 13% is well balanced.

Finish: Light tannins and a finish that lingers. The wine went well with dinner, but when sipped afterwards, the taste stayed for several minutes after swallowing. A pleasant after taste that made me want to take another sip.

I liked this wine, but then I'm partial to Tempranillos. I had the wine with a sausage soup made from mild sausage, chicken broth and tomatoes. Though a mild Zinfandel may have gone better with the soup, the pairing was alright.

If you're looking to try a nice Tempranillo from Rioja, the Montecillo wouldn't be a bad start. However, my favorite is from one of the best producers of Rioja: Cune.

My Wine Resource Directory

2007-11-20T10:47:00.000-08:00

Below is the set of links I use as I learn about wine. I've compiled the most useful and interesting wine sites into these groups:

Wine Web Sites
Wine Glossaries
Wine Maps
Wine Blogs
Wine Library
Wine Dealers

Wine Web Sites: This collection is anything that doesn't quite fit the other areas. There is a vast amount of information about wine and these are the ones I found most helpful last year as I was just learning about wine. I've included wine education sites, tools for tracking wine, etc.

Wine Glossaries: Several of the sites listed in the first section have great resources on grapes and types of wines made from them. I've compiled the ones I go back to often when I'm learning about a new grape or I want to refresh my knowledge of a certain wine.

Wine Maps: Part of the fun of learning about wine is all the geography involved! Looking at maps of countries of never been to is aided by these links. These are great resources when I need to find out what grows on the right bank as opposed to the left bank of the Bordeaux region, for example. I also added links to maps of local wine regions I'm more apt to visit (like Sonoma County or Zinfandel growing regions in California.

Wine Blogs: This is my favorite and most used tab. This is my first stop of the day when I start reading about wine. There are several blogs I like to read and comment on daily, others I only visit weekly. They are all here!

Wine Library: This is overkill, but I like to have all of the Wine Library Network's links in one place.

Wine Dealers: This is where I list all the online wine stores I like. Not only do I list ones I actually buy from, but also ones I like to look at to compare prices at. I also have Wine Searcher list here to find wines anywhere.

I could just use the bookmarks feature of the browser I'm using, but it's more fun to practice my HTML skills and make my own. Besides, I get to add a label of the wine I want to get next. I'll try to include my directory below.

Do you have your own set of favorite wine links?

Wine Web Sites:

Wine Glossaries:

Wine Maps:

Wine Blogs:

Wine Library:

Wine Dealers:

Is There Still Gold in Australia?

2007-11-19T15:00:00.000-08:00

That’s what the wine makers at Aussie Vineyards would have you believe with their line of Au wines. The attractive bottles have been catching my eye as I shop at a Sacramento area grocery store chain, Raley’s, which has an exclusive arrangement to carry the wines.

I wanted a Chardonnay to go with the roasted chicken and garlic potatoes my family was having for dinner last night. After picking selecting a bird and a tub of ready to heat mashed potatoes, I decided to try the Au. From the description on the bottle the wine seemed to be the way I like Chardonnays, with oak. At $10 I didn’t have too much to lose.

Aussie Vineyards is located in Queensland, South Australia, in the newly coined Limestone Coast. The grapes for my particular wine came from the Henty Estate vineyard in the Granite Belt region, one of the better known wine regions in Queensland. As its name implies, the soils in this area are granite laden. Its elevation makes it the coolest part of Queensland and there is relatively low rainfall. Grapevines tend to do well here and it seems an ideal place for Chardonnay.
Tasting Notes:

Color:
Light golden yellow

Aroma:
Oak was the predominate smell. I couldn’t detect any citrus, but just the almost vanilla aroma of a Chardonnay.

Taste:
Oak again was the main flavor I could detect. There was also a lot of heat from the alcohol, even though it was only 13.8%. The bottle described this wine as buttery, but I didn’t detect it, though it did have a slightly thicker mouth feel.

Finish:
The finish was awkward, a combination of the heat from the alcohol and residue of oak.

This was an unimpressive Chardonnay. However, I did enjoy it more than an unoaked version that tastes more like a Sauvignon Blanc. It went well with the roasted chicken and garlic potatoes.

Fessy Beaujolais-Villages Nouveau

2007-11-16T09:07:00.000-08:00

Here are my tasting notes:

Color:
Deep cranberry red, slightly translucent

Aroma:
Maybe the color influenced me, but I thought I detected cranberry. There was a Hi-C / Kool Aid type smell.

Taste:
Almost no fruit. The wine seemed closed straight from the bottle. I couldn't detect flavor until I had swallowed. I could begin to taste the wine after it was in my glass about 45 minutes. My best description is "gamay."

Finish:
Slight tanic feel. The flavor of the wine seem more present in the finish than when it was in my mouth.

Overall, I was disappointed with this wine. The wine may have done better if I had decanted it for half and hour before drinking, as it seemed to open up a little after a while. The 13.5% alcohol level seemed right, but the lack of much flavor was the biggest impression the wine gave.

I tasted the Bouchard Aine Beaujolais Nouveau yesterday along with the Fessy. The Bouchard was sweeter and the Fessy in the store seemed more flavorful than the one I drank last night. Maybe it was that I had tried the sweeter wine first or that they had had their wines open longer, but the Fessy seemed better at the store yesterday!

I'm going to have to taste the Fessy over several nights and see if my impression changes. Now I want to get the Bouchard and see if it is what made the difference in the tasting.

The Beaujolais Nouveau is such a young wine, it's hard to expect much from it. If I had it with a meal, though, I think I'd be disappointed because there is hardly any flavor. One interesting thing: I've never seen such a pristine cork in a bottle of wine. I wonder how many days (as opposed to months or years) the cork had been in the bottle before I popped it!

Beaujolais Nouveau Time!

2007-11-15T15:13:00.000-08:00

Look at the cool card I got from http://www.beaujolais.com/!

I did send this card to myself, bit it was still fun to get. I have received several emails this week announcing the arrival of this year’s version of the Gamay Noir grapes most hyped wine.

Gamay Noir is the official name for this main grape of France’s Beaujolais region. These grapevines bud early, flower early and ripen from early to mid-season (they lend themselves to making the first wine of the harvest.) The clusters and berries of Gamay Noir are large and it is a relatively easy variety to pick, with relatively thin but tough skins.

The wines made from Gamay Noir are light in color. Don’t miss out on sniffing these wines, as they can be very fragrant, full of fruit and flowers. You often get a taste of sour cherries, especially in the finish. These wines have more tanginess then tannins.

I picked up two wines made from Gamay Noir during my lunchtime and I’ll be sampling them tonight (look for my first tasting notes tomorrow!) The first bottle is the 2007 Beaujolais Nouveau from Henry Fessy ($14.99 at BevMo.) To get an older impression of what this grape has to offer, I picked up a 2005 Chateau De La Chaize Brouilly ($13.99.) In episode 241 of WineLibrary TV, Gary Vaynerchuk reviewed several Beaujolais wines and challenged us to try them out. I couldn’t find any of the wines he sampled, but I hope the de la Chaize is a good substitute. I’ll let you know tomorrow.

I learned an interesting fact while researching today’s post. The Gamay Beaujolais wine has disappeared from the United States this year! Actually, the grape Valdiguié grown in the USA was mistakenly called Gamay Noir. Wines made from it were labeled Gamay Beaujolais. But that all ended in April (see full story at Professional Friends of Wine.)

If you have a favorite wine made from Gamay Noir leave a comment. Have you tried the 2007 Beaujolais Nouveau? Give us your impression in the comment section!

First Post: My Second Beaujolais Nouveau!

2007-11-14T14:01:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is the release date of the 2007 Beaujolais Nouveau! This event inspires excitement and anticipation in some, boredom and shunning in others. For me, it’s a sort of anniversary.

It was this time last year I was contemplating what wine to get for Thanksgiving. As I was working out in my company fitness room, a segment on wines came on the noon news. They talked about what wines to pair with the turkey and cranberries and I made some mental notes. Then, they ended with a discussion about something I had never heard about: Beaujolais Day! Apparently November was known for another wine event: the annual release of the first wine of the harvest.

My mental notepad was full, so I decided to look up Beaujolais Nouveau on the Internet when I got a chance. This act of investigating a wine I knew nothing about began what I hope is a life long pursuit of wine knowledge. I soon found wine blogs and education sites of a caliber I had not known in coin collecting, astronomy or guitar (some of my other interests.) When I stumbled on WineLibrary TV and watched a couple of episodes featuring Gary Vay-ner-chuk, I was hooked.

I hope to share my pursuit of the purple liquid (and white.) I don’t know what value I can add to a wine world that has so many great contributors. But maybe as I stumble along, you can share your knowledge and passions about wine and we’ll both learn together.

Can’t wait to try the 2007 Beaujolais Nouveau! Can’t wait for another year of wine drinking!!!