As a teaser for more Tuesday/Friday Wine posts coming soon, here's a little something to wake up your palate. (Click the headline.)
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Clayhouse is a very, very, very fine house
Wine: Clayhouse Vineyards Adobe Red 2007, San Miguel, CA
Comments: We picked out this wine with the hopes it could be good -- and the understanding it could be a hot mess. Check out the guest list at this party: Zinfandel, Petit Syrah, Syrah, Malbec, Grenache and Mourvedre. They're all grapes that play nicely with others, but with six combined into one wine, chances are that you're going to lose what you like about each one.
Happily, hopes granted. The winemaker's notes promised a rustic wine "created for that rebellious hedonistic red wine lover inside of you." I don't understand what's so rebellious and hedonistic about loving red wine, but someone is apparently feeling a little guilty. Not us!
Tasting Notes: This is definitely a wine that needed some time to breathe. Patience not being our (OK, my) strongest trait, I dug right in. Initially, lots of tannins with flavors of leather and tobacco. Those are perfectly OK with me in a red wine, but first impressions can be misleading. After a few minutes, those strident flavors morphed into a much fruitier blend with lots of blueberry and cherry flavors.
Color: garnet
Price: approximately $13
Verdict: Friday, thanks to the wine's ever-changing flavors. Every few minutes we found something new to like about it, and that (to us) puts it in the Friday column.
Comments: We picked out this wine with the hopes it could be good -- and the understanding it could be a hot mess. Check out the guest list at this party: Zinfandel, Petit Syrah, Syrah, Malbec, Grenache and Mourvedre. They're all grapes that play nicely with others, but with six combined into one wine, chances are that you're going to lose what you like about each one.
Happily, hopes granted. The winemaker's notes promised a rustic wine "created for that rebellious hedonistic red wine lover inside of you." I don't understand what's so rebellious and hedonistic about loving red wine, but someone is apparently feeling a little guilty. Not us!
Tasting Notes: This is definitely a wine that needed some time to breathe. Patience not being our (OK, my) strongest trait, I dug right in. Initially, lots of tannins with flavors of leather and tobacco. Those are perfectly OK with me in a red wine, but first impressions can be misleading. After a few minutes, those strident flavors morphed into a much fruitier blend with lots of blueberry and cherry flavors.
Color: garnet
Price: approximately $13
Verdict: Friday, thanks to the wine's ever-changing flavors. Every few minutes we found something new to like about it, and that (to us) puts it in the Friday column.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Old Vines = Good Vines
Wine: Atteca Old Vines 2007, Calatayud, Spain
Paired with: a little of this & a little of that (leftover night!)
Comments: I feel like we don't see a huge selection of Spanish wines in our travels through the LWS circuit. I'm sure they're around, but somehow, they don't have a huge presence (I suspect the Spanish are keeping the best for themselves). Anyway, I'm very glad that this particular Spanish wine caught our attention. The phrase "old vines" will do that every time.
So, how old are "old vines?" Well, there's no legal definition of the term, so some newer producers use it on vines that are 20 years old; other growers wait until the vines are in the 40+ range. Some of it depends on the type of grape, some of it depends on the region. (You'll see it a lot on California Zinfandels, especially.) In this case, these Spanish garnacha (grenache) vines are supposedly 120 years old, so I'm perfectly OK with that designation.
So, why get excited about old vines? Grapevines, as they age, produce less and less fruit. And what they do produce develops extremely concentrated flavors. If there's a varietal you like, and old vines version of the wine should be all the things you like about the wine, squared.
Tasting Notes: Lots of plum/prune/raisiny flavors. Good balance between tannin and flavor. Initial nose had lots of leather & spice. Wine definitely benefits from being opened prior to drinking; give it at least 20 minutes for the wine to open up. Initial pruney/raisiny flavors mellowed into more berry-like notes.
Color: movie-prop-blood red
Price: around $15
Verdict: Friday, with the right food. We didn't do the wine justice with random leftovers, but I think roast meats would match very nicely with the big flavors here.
Paired with: a little of this & a little of that (leftover night!)
Comments: I feel like we don't see a huge selection of Spanish wines in our travels through the LWS circuit. I'm sure they're around, but somehow, they don't have a huge presence (I suspect the Spanish are keeping the best for themselves). Anyway, I'm very glad that this particular Spanish wine caught our attention. The phrase "old vines" will do that every time.
So, how old are "old vines?" Well, there's no legal definition of the term, so some newer producers use it on vines that are 20 years old; other growers wait until the vines are in the 40+ range. Some of it depends on the type of grape, some of it depends on the region. (You'll see it a lot on California Zinfandels, especially.) In this case, these Spanish garnacha (grenache) vines are supposedly 120 years old, so I'm perfectly OK with that designation.
So, why get excited about old vines? Grapevines, as they age, produce less and less fruit. And what they do produce develops extremely concentrated flavors. If there's a varietal you like, and old vines version of the wine should be all the things you like about the wine, squared.
Tasting Notes: Lots of plum/prune/raisiny flavors. Good balance between tannin and flavor. Initial nose had lots of leather & spice. Wine definitely benefits from being opened prior to drinking; give it at least 20 minutes for the wine to open up. Initial pruney/raisiny flavors mellowed into more berry-like notes.
Color: movie-prop-blood red
Price: around $15
Verdict: Friday, with the right food. We didn't do the wine justice with random leftovers, but I think roast meats would match very nicely with the big flavors here.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
And the medal goes to...
Wine: Jackson Triggs Esprit, Vidal Icewine, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada
Paired with: No pairing. We consider icewine dessert on its own.
Comments: You have to appreciate a country that has an official wine supplier for their Olympics. Yes, that's what the packaging (and the complimentary corkscrew that came with it) claim. So was the $1.25 donation from our purchase of this one bottle of wine what pushed Canada to the gold medal in hockey? Alas, we'll never know.
Tasting Notes: Icewine is always a multi-sensory experience, and this wine is no exception. Lots of honey & carmelized peaches on the nose. Beautiful, viscous honey colors. Big flavors of orange-blossom honey, but with a slight tartness on the finish -- similar to the tartness left on your tongue after eating kiwi.
But as much as we love JT, and love icewine, this particular bottle lacked... something. Icewine should make you feel like you're bathing in a glorious late-summer, sleepy afternoon haze. And while this was very good, it didn't have the depth that we've come to associate with icewine. Had we bought this as a late harvest wine, it would be very impressive. But stick that i-word on it, and our expectations skyrocket to a level that this doesn't quite meet.
Color: liquid honey
Price: $25, approximately (we bought this two trips ago, and I'm estimating based on what we'll typically spend on a JT icewine)
Verdict: Tuesday. Yes, even though it's an icewine, it's a merely acceptable icewine, not a roll-your-eyes-back-in-your-head-good icewine.
Paired with: No pairing. We consider icewine dessert on its own.
Comments: You have to appreciate a country that has an official wine supplier for their Olympics. Yes, that's what the packaging (and the complimentary corkscrew that came with it) claim. So was the $1.25 donation from our purchase of this one bottle of wine what pushed Canada to the gold medal in hockey? Alas, we'll never know.
Tasting Notes: Icewine is always a multi-sensory experience, and this wine is no exception. Lots of honey & carmelized peaches on the nose. Beautiful, viscous honey colors. Big flavors of orange-blossom honey, but with a slight tartness on the finish -- similar to the tartness left on your tongue after eating kiwi.
But as much as we love JT, and love icewine, this particular bottle lacked... something. Icewine should make you feel like you're bathing in a glorious late-summer, sleepy afternoon haze. And while this was very good, it didn't have the depth that we've come to associate with icewine. Had we bought this as a late harvest wine, it would be very impressive. But stick that i-word on it, and our expectations skyrocket to a level that this doesn't quite meet.
Color: liquid honey
Price: $25, approximately (we bought this two trips ago, and I'm estimating based on what we'll typically spend on a JT icewine)
Verdict: Tuesday. Yes, even though it's an icewine, it's a merely acceptable icewine, not a roll-your-eyes-back-in-your-head-good icewine.
We're back!
Apologies for taking a leave of absence so soon after starting the blog. A new job (despite it being a fabulous job) took precedence even over wine-drinking. But we're back, having figured out how to balance wine and a grown-up job. Sante! Salud! Slainte!
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Worst. Wine. Ever.
Wine: Pigmentum Malbec 2006, Cahors, France
Paired with: Bacon-wrapped chicken breast & herbed potatoes.
Comments: Just in case you thought we liked everything, let me now prove you wrong. I'm pretty sure I'm exaggerating in calling it the worst wine ever, but holy cow, was this wine terrible. It was a spur of the moment purchase with a thought process that went something like this: "Hey, it's malbec from France. We like malbec. And it's on sale for $9 - let's get it!"
So, we had a clunker. The first sip was vaguely "eww," but the insane amount of fat in the bacon sort of worked with the flavors, and we got through a glass or so with dinner. And by then we were used to it, so we poured another glass. By the end of the second glass, we decided we just couldn't take it any more. We didn't even finish the bottle.
Now, there is an off chance that we just had a bad bottle. But the chances are pretty low - the producer uses synthetic corks, which have a pretty low failure rate, and the wine didn't have the vinegary bite that we've typically encountered with corked wine.
So before you run for the hills if you see a French malbec, this is not to say that spur-of-the-moment purchases should be avoided, or even that all malbecs from France are awful. But take my word for it, this is one wine you can pass by.
Tasting Notes - pre-food: Sour with vaguely plummy notes. Absolutely no tannic structure, very thin.
Tasting Notes - with food: Surprisingly, thick-cut smoky bacon made this potable. I think the smoke from the bacon stomped on the sourness and managed to yank a few palatable notes out. Supposedly, malbecs from Cahors should taste like damsons (a type of plum), tobacco and raisins. Supposedly.
Color: Dark violet.
Price: around $9
Verdict: Never. Really. Skip it.
Paired with: Bacon-wrapped chicken breast & herbed potatoes.
Comments: Just in case you thought we liked everything, let me now prove you wrong. I'm pretty sure I'm exaggerating in calling it the worst wine ever, but holy cow, was this wine terrible. It was a spur of the moment purchase with a thought process that went something like this: "Hey, it's malbec from France. We like malbec. And it's on sale for $9 - let's get it!"
So, we had a clunker. The first sip was vaguely "eww," but the insane amount of fat in the bacon sort of worked with the flavors, and we got through a glass or so with dinner. And by then we were used to it, so we poured another glass. By the end of the second glass, we decided we just couldn't take it any more. We didn't even finish the bottle.
Now, there is an off chance that we just had a bad bottle. But the chances are pretty low - the producer uses synthetic corks, which have a pretty low failure rate, and the wine didn't have the vinegary bite that we've typically encountered with corked wine.
So before you run for the hills if you see a French malbec, this is not to say that spur-of-the-moment purchases should be avoided, or even that all malbecs from France are awful. But take my word for it, this is one wine you can pass by.
Tasting Notes - pre-food: Sour with vaguely plummy notes. Absolutely no tannic structure, very thin.
Tasting Notes - with food: Surprisingly, thick-cut smoky bacon made this potable. I think the smoke from the bacon stomped on the sourness and managed to yank a few palatable notes out. Supposedly, malbecs from Cahors should taste like damsons (a type of plum), tobacco and raisins. Supposedly.
Color: Dark violet.
Price: around $9
Verdict: Never. Really. Skip it.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Voulez vous Vouvray?
Wine: Domaine de Vaugondy Vouvray
Paired with: Success, baby!
Comments: I'm not sure exactly how sparkling wine evolved into THE thing to have for a celebration. I guess technically it's rare compared to non-sparkling wines, and if you are looking for actual champagne it can get pretty expensive. Oh, and bubbles are kinda fun.
But there's no need to spend oodles of cash on champagne when there are so many other great sparkling wines on the market. Take this Vouvray, for example. For about $20, you get a sparkling wine that actually tastes like something you want to drink. (I am not a huge fan of most champagnes, in case you couldn't tell.)
So anyway, Vouvray (named for the region of France in which it's produced) is typically chenin blanc because that's pretty much the only grape grown there. Vouvray is also produced as a still wine, if you decide you like the flavors, but not the bubbles.
Tasting Notes - pre-food: This is a very pleasant sparkling wine, very light with a mostly appley flavor. Not a lot of aromas - not sure if we had it too cold or if it's just not a very aromatic wine.
Tasting Notes - with food: Oops. Were we supposed to have this with food?
Color: Pale yellow-white.
Price: $19.75 at The Greene Grape in Manhattan
Verdict: Friday, or Monday, or whatever day you have something to celebrate.
Paired with: Success, baby!
Comments: I'm not sure exactly how sparkling wine evolved into THE thing to have for a celebration. I guess technically it's rare compared to non-sparkling wines, and if you are looking for actual champagne it can get pretty expensive. Oh, and bubbles are kinda fun.
But there's no need to spend oodles of cash on champagne when there are so many other great sparkling wines on the market. Take this Vouvray, for example. For about $20, you get a sparkling wine that actually tastes like something you want to drink. (I am not a huge fan of most champagnes, in case you couldn't tell.)
So anyway, Vouvray (named for the region of France in which it's produced) is typically chenin blanc because that's pretty much the only grape grown there. Vouvray is also produced as a still wine, if you decide you like the flavors, but not the bubbles.
Tasting Notes - pre-food: This is a very pleasant sparkling wine, very light with a mostly appley flavor. Not a lot of aromas - not sure if we had it too cold or if it's just not a very aromatic wine.
Tasting Notes - with food: Oops. Were we supposed to have this with food?
Color: Pale yellow-white.
Price: $19.75 at The Greene Grape in Manhattan
Verdict: Friday, or Monday, or whatever day you have something to celebrate.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
A treat from Argentina
Wine: Torrontes 2007 Giminez Riili Perpetuum
Paired with: Panko-crusted chicken tenders.
Comments: Torrontes is Argentina's most famous white wine. The grapes love the dry climate that characterizes much of Argentina's wine country. We had never heard of the wine before our first trip to Argentina, mostly because we really knew nothing about Argentine wines. They're still a well-kept secret and an amazing value, so really, we're not doing ourselves any favors by blabbing about them here, are we?
Anyway, Torrontes is a very light, fragrant white wine, well suited to drinking in the hot weather where it grows. Stick your nose in your glass, and you'll smell flowers and/or tart fruits like green apple. Take a sip (well, two sips, since it takes two to really be able to taste a wine), and you'll find a refreshing wine that's similar in body and taste to a dry riesling.
Tasting Notes - pre-food: Very refreshing with crisp green apple as the predominant flavor. The wine had a respectably long finish for a white.
Tasting Notes - with food: This wine didn't change too much with food, which was unusual. A mistake on our part was the honey-mustard dipping sauce we made to go with the chicken. The mustard turned the pleasant tartness of the wine into an astringent, unpleasant quality. Lesson learned!
Color: white gold
Price: approximately $15 (it's part of a wine club, so I don't have an exact price)
Verdict: Tuesday for this particular torrontes. We've had some with a little more personality that qualify as Friday, but this one didn't stand out too much, so just a pleasant accompaniment to a weeknight meal.
Paired with: Panko-crusted chicken tenders.
Comments: Torrontes is Argentina's most famous white wine. The grapes love the dry climate that characterizes much of Argentina's wine country. We had never heard of the wine before our first trip to Argentina, mostly because we really knew nothing about Argentine wines. They're still a well-kept secret and an amazing value, so really, we're not doing ourselves any favors by blabbing about them here, are we?
Anyway, Torrontes is a very light, fragrant white wine, well suited to drinking in the hot weather where it grows. Stick your nose in your glass, and you'll smell flowers and/or tart fruits like green apple. Take a sip (well, two sips, since it takes two to really be able to taste a wine), and you'll find a refreshing wine that's similar in body and taste to a dry riesling.
Tasting Notes - pre-food: Very refreshing with crisp green apple as the predominant flavor. The wine had a respectably long finish for a white.
Tasting Notes - with food: This wine didn't change too much with food, which was unusual. A mistake on our part was the honey-mustard dipping sauce we made to go with the chicken. The mustard turned the pleasant tartness of the wine into an astringent, unpleasant quality. Lesson learned!
Color: white gold
Price: approximately $15 (it's part of a wine club, so I don't have an exact price)
Verdict: Tuesday for this particular torrontes. We've had some with a little more personality that qualify as Friday, but this one didn't stand out too much, so just a pleasant accompaniment to a weeknight meal.
Friday, January 22, 2010
How about cab franc, eh?
Wine: Stoney Ridge 2006 Twenty Mile Bench Reserve Wismer Vineyard Cabernet Franc
Paired with: DVR'd episode of "Three Sheets"
Comments: You know how certain things influence you to want something? You go to the movies, and the smell of popcorn makes you crave it, even though you know there's not really anything resembling popcorn or butter in that salty, goopy mess. Well, we were watching "Three Sheets," which is a show where a vaguely obnoxious guy travels around the world and drinks whatever that country's famous for producing. He was in Italy. He was drinking a Super Tuscan. (We simultaneously hate this guy & covet his job.) So we had to have wine.
Not having any Super Tuscans in our collection -- although, we wouldn't turn one down -- we went trolling for an alternate big red wine and settled on the Stoney Ridge Cab Franc. Normally, I'm not a huge fan of Cab Franc - I find the green bell pepper flavors overpowering in too many of them. But this one's an exception, not being equipped with a green pepper that smacks you in the face, crawls up your nose and takes over your brain. Instead, it's equipped with great fruity balanced flavors and, for me, just enough tannins to give it good body. I know we tasted it when we bought it, but I was still surprised by how much I liked it once we opened it.
With this wine being a 2006, there were still plenty of tannins left in the wine, so if you like having those to chew on (yes, it can really feel like like you have something to chew, even though wine is liquid), it's absolutely a wine to drink now. The winery recommends cellaring it for up to 8 years, so I wish we had another couple of bottles to put down and try later on in another few years. Sadly, we didn't make Stoney Ridge on our recent Niagara trip, so we'll have to hope they still have some when we go back.
Tasting Notes - pre-food: The most prominent aromas are cherries and tobacco. As befits a Cab Franc, this is a big wine with lots of red fruit flavors - think cherries, strawberries, plums, blackberries.
Tasting Notes - with food: No food. We decided, after dinner, that we really wanted a glass of wine.
Color: Deep ruby red
Price: About $17 (Canadian)
Verdict: Friday, but requires food to be truly enjoyed thanks to the tannins remaining in the wine.
Paired with: DVR'd episode of "Three Sheets"
Comments: You know how certain things influence you to want something? You go to the movies, and the smell of popcorn makes you crave it, even though you know there's not really anything resembling popcorn or butter in that salty, goopy mess. Well, we were watching "Three Sheets," which is a show where a vaguely obnoxious guy travels around the world and drinks whatever that country's famous for producing. He was in Italy. He was drinking a Super Tuscan. (We simultaneously hate this guy & covet his job.) So we had to have wine.
Not having any Super Tuscans in our collection -- although, we wouldn't turn one down -- we went trolling for an alternate big red wine and settled on the Stoney Ridge Cab Franc. Normally, I'm not a huge fan of Cab Franc - I find the green bell pepper flavors overpowering in too many of them. But this one's an exception, not being equipped with a green pepper that smacks you in the face, crawls up your nose and takes over your brain. Instead, it's equipped with great fruity balanced flavors and, for me, just enough tannins to give it good body. I know we tasted it when we bought it, but I was still surprised by how much I liked it once we opened it.
With this wine being a 2006, there were still plenty of tannins left in the wine, so if you like having those to chew on (yes, it can really feel like like you have something to chew, even though wine is liquid), it's absolutely a wine to drink now. The winery recommends cellaring it for up to 8 years, so I wish we had another couple of bottles to put down and try later on in another few years. Sadly, we didn't make Stoney Ridge on our recent Niagara trip, so we'll have to hope they still have some when we go back.
Tasting Notes - pre-food: The most prominent aromas are cherries and tobacco. As befits a Cab Franc, this is a big wine with lots of red fruit flavors - think cherries, strawberries, plums, blackberries.
Tasting Notes - with food: No food. We decided, after dinner, that we really wanted a glass of wine.
Color: Deep ruby red
Price: About $17 (Canadian)
Verdict: Friday, but requires food to be truly enjoyed thanks to the tannins remaining in the wine.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
What it's all about
So, anyone who is following at this point may have noticed a distinct lack of Friday and Tuesday postings these last few days. Well, January is that golden time of year when Amy and I make our annual trek to the frozen fields of Canada's Niagara Peninsula.
We've restocked our selection of Canadian vino and have been once again reminded why we started this wine thing to begin with. For us, the essence of wine is the friendship. Wine is a social drink, something to be shared and appreciated with others. The solo practitioner of the sipping arts is just, well, pathetic. So while we went for a tasting adventure, it was mostly about the friends. That's what it's always about.
Anyway, expect a return to form this Friday and look for our take on some of the Canadian wineries over the next month or so. We may even slip a few of the Niagara bottles into our weekly selections. Keep an eye out.
We've restocked our selection of Canadian vino and have been once again reminded why we started this wine thing to begin with. For us, the essence of wine is the friendship. Wine is a social drink, something to be shared and appreciated with others. The solo practitioner of the sipping arts is just, well, pathetic. So while we went for a tasting adventure, it was mostly about the friends. That's what it's always about.
Anyway, expect a return to form this Friday and look for our take on some of the Canadian wineries over the next month or so. We may even slip a few of the Niagara bottles into our weekly selections. Keep an eye out.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
The Doctor is In
Wine: Loosen Bros. "Dr. L" 2008 Riesling / Mosel Valley, Germany
Paired with: Shrimp & Arugula Pasta (from Jamie's Italy by Jamie Oliver) aka Chris' "Get out of jail pasta" and Great Big Sea mix
Comments: Dr. L was the first riesling we liked -- I mean really liked in that "Where can we get more right now?" way. We first tasted it about four years ago, at the beginning of our real wine journey. At that point, the 2003 vintage was the one on the market. It. Was. Amazing. Up to that point, we thought rieslings were sickly-sweet and avoided them like the plague called Arbor Mist. Bleah. Ugh. Yuck. So I was a little leery when the clerk at a local wine shop (LWS) near my office recommended it. But I decided to trust him, and I'm so glad I did.
We've tried numerous vintages of Dr. L, and while the 2003 is undoubtedly the best, the 2008 (available now) is quite good. I'd probably rank it second-best of the various ones we've tried. And for around $10, you're getting a really good value from a well-regarded German winery.
Now, keep in mind that "dry" where a riesling is concerned is not quite the same as "dry" when you're thinking about, say, a cab sauv. You won't have overwhelming tannins or feel like your whole mouth has dried out. Here, "dry" translates to a tartness that creates an almost-effervescent quality. I would even serve it as an apertif in place of something like prosecco. There are no bubbles, but it is so refreshing and so much fun to drink, that you won't give the lack of bubbles a second thought.
Tasting Notes - pre-food: seriously tart, almost effervescent quality; hard to pick out specific flavors over the dryness
Tasting Notes - with food: the tartness evolves into a citrusy quality (but by no means goes away), and a mellow green apple flavor
Color: white gold
Price: estimated $10-$12, depending on the store (this one was a gift)
Verdict: Tuesday night because it's a pleasant wine that doesn't scream for attention, but is still worth savoring. Our first Dr. L was, without doubt, a Friday night wine because it was just THAT good. But newer vintages, definitely Tuesday night.
Paired with: Shrimp & Arugula Pasta (from Jamie's Italy by Jamie Oliver) aka Chris' "Get out of jail pasta" and Great Big Sea mix
Comments: Dr. L was the first riesling we liked -- I mean really liked in that "Where can we get more right now?" way. We first tasted it about four years ago, at the beginning of our real wine journey. At that point, the 2003 vintage was the one on the market. It. Was. Amazing. Up to that point, we thought rieslings were sickly-sweet and avoided them like the plague called Arbor Mist. Bleah. Ugh. Yuck. So I was a little leery when the clerk at a local wine shop (LWS) near my office recommended it. But I decided to trust him, and I'm so glad I did.
We've tried numerous vintages of Dr. L, and while the 2003 is undoubtedly the best, the 2008 (available now) is quite good. I'd probably rank it second-best of the various ones we've tried. And for around $10, you're getting a really good value from a well-regarded German winery.
Now, keep in mind that "dry" where a riesling is concerned is not quite the same as "dry" when you're thinking about, say, a cab sauv. You won't have overwhelming tannins or feel like your whole mouth has dried out. Here, "dry" translates to a tartness that creates an almost-effervescent quality. I would even serve it as an apertif in place of something like prosecco. There are no bubbles, but it is so refreshing and so much fun to drink, that you won't give the lack of bubbles a second thought.
Tasting Notes - pre-food: seriously tart, almost effervescent quality; hard to pick out specific flavors over the dryness
Tasting Notes - with food: the tartness evolves into a citrusy quality (but by no means goes away), and a mellow green apple flavor
Color: white gold
Price: estimated $10-$12, depending on the store (this one was a gift)
Verdict: Tuesday night because it's a pleasant wine that doesn't scream for attention, but is still worth savoring. Our first Dr. L was, without doubt, a Friday night wine because it was just THAT good. But newer vintages, definitely Tuesday night.
Friday, January 8, 2010
A great find in Chablis
Wine: "La Chabliesienne" 2001 Chablis Grand Cru (Chardonnay) / Chablis, France
Paired with: Serrano ham, Manchego cheese marinated in tomato & rosemary, fresh bread and MP3 flamenco mix
Comments: I'm going to get this story out of the way now because it's possibly the wine-snobbiest story we'll ever tell you.
Paired with: Serrano ham, Manchego cheese marinated in tomato & rosemary, fresh bread and MP3 flamenco mix
Comments: I'm going to get this story out of the way now because it's possibly the wine-snobbiest story we'll ever tell you.
We won a fabulous trip to France in 2006 (no, that's not the snobby part). As part of our trip, we decided to drive through the Rhone Valley on our way up to Paris. Our last stop of the day was a winery/tasting room we would normally avoid like the plague - huge, slick and with about 4 tour buses in the lot. But it was France! And Chablis! So we stopped.
I have to say, even with 4 tour buses and my embarrassing French, the staff was very nice to 2 Americans who wandered in 15 minutes before closing. We tasted several wines (chardonnay is the primary grape in that area - like most European countries, the French name their wines after the region in which they're produced), and decided our favorite was the Grand Cru. That means the grapes came from a vineyard which has a reputation for producing great grapes, and it's basically top-shelf as far as wines are concerned. The wine was about 30 euros (about $40 at the time), but it was France! And Chablis! So we bought it.
When we came home, we decided to check the availability of La Chablisienne here in the states, just in case we wanted to buy more. Good news? We could get it. Bad news? It would cost us about $1,000. We seriously debated selling the bottle to finance our next vacation, but decided to keep it for a special occasion. After 3 years of trying to figure out what was special enough, we finally said "to hell with it" and decided New Year's Eve 2009/2010 would qualify. Wine does have a shelf life, after all.
So there's our snobby story about our $1,000 bottle of wine. Done, and out of the way -- and back to our regularly scheduled $15 wines from now on!
Tasting Notes - pre-food: Lots of green apple at first - very crisp and very dry. After about 5 minutes of the bottle being open, some of the crispness mellowed into creaminess. After about 15 minutes, a floral scent & taste appeared. (In hindsight, we should have decanted this, even though we usually don't decant whites.) Not a huge amount of oak, which was fine with me, as heavily-oaked chardnonnays just aren't my taste, but it was there.
Tasting Notes - with food: This worked surprisingly well with the Manchego. The dish was pretty salty, between the cheese itself and the salt in the marinade, and that brought back some of the initial crispness of the wine.
Color: Extremely pale yellow-gold
Price: 30 euros (about $40 at the time of purchase)
Verdict: Friday night. Not just because it was our last bottle from a fantastic trip, not just because it was apparently such a rare thing in the US. This wine kept us talking about it right up until the last sip.
Tasting Notes - pre-food: Lots of green apple at first - very crisp and very dry. After about 5 minutes of the bottle being open, some of the crispness mellowed into creaminess. After about 15 minutes, a floral scent & taste appeared. (In hindsight, we should have decanted this, even though we usually don't decant whites.) Not a huge amount of oak, which was fine with me, as heavily-oaked chardnonnays just aren't my taste, but it was there.
Tasting Notes - with food: This worked surprisingly well with the Manchego. The dish was pretty salty, between the cheese itself and the salt in the marinade, and that brought back some of the initial crispness of the wine.
Unfortunately, not a great pairing with the Serrano ham. Something in the ham eliminated everything but the oak -- which was not a predominant flavor to begin with -- and left the sensation of chewing on the barrel. My guess is that the sweetness of the ham cancelled out the sweetness of the wine, leaving just the tannins. But, again, just a guess.
Color: Extremely pale yellow-gold
Price: 30 euros (about $40 at the time of purchase)
Verdict: Friday night. Not just because it was our last bottle from a fantastic trip, not just because it was apparently such a rare thing in the US. This wine kept us talking about it right up until the last sip.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Ringing in the New Year...
Wine: Lailey Vineyard Zweigelt, 2006 / Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada
Paired with: broiled skirt steak & garlic-thyme roasted potatoes and a DVR'd episode of "Glee"
Comments: Okay, so this one is kind of a ringer, but sometimes you want something safe. We first encountered Zweigelt (and have only found it to date) at Lailey Vineyards. It's an Austrian grape developed in the 1920s, and is apparently the most commonly grown grape in Austria, and making huge inroads in Niagara -- who knew?
This is the type of wine where we always buy a couple of bottles when we visit the winery because it's food-friendly and accessible. A great wine to have on hand and serve it to those people who want the great stuff but haven't yet learned the difference. Of course, it's good enough for your wineaux friends to enjoy also, so great for mixed crowds.
Like we said, a little bit of a ringer. In the past we've paired it successfully with all sorts of meals. We especially love it with those dinners that don't really call for a great wine, but you still want a wine with them: pizza, burgers, etc. It's similar to a zinfandel in its versatility, but not as full-bodied.
It's basically just a good, simple wine. Perfect background note to a relaxing meal.
Tasting Notes - pre-food: Slightly sour cherries & other red fruits, very jammy, even some licorice on the finish. Light tannin.
Tasting Notes - with food: The tannins were nicely balanced by the steak, and the cherries got a little sweeter with the meat.
Color: Garnet/pinkish.
Price: approximately $15/bottle
Verdict: Tuesday night. Not the most complex red wine, but a very pleasant accompaniment to everything we've paired with it.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Welcome to Tuesday/Friday wine!
The Italians believe that there are two types of wine – drinking wines and thinking wines. Drinking wines go with food; thinking wines are the ones that are to be enjoyed with good conversation and great company.
We agree that there are two categories of wine, but we classify them a little differently. For us, there are Tuesday night wines and Friday night wines.
Tuesday night wines are wines that are good, but not special. They’re a background complement to something simple for dinner -- burgers, takeout Chinese food, pizza, leftovers, etc. – and something entertaining on the DVR.
Friday night wines, well, they’re a whole other thing. Friday night wines deserve a meal that had some thought put into it. The kind that’s eaten at a table and requires silverware. No TV, just good music and thoughtful conversation. These wines can take center stage on their own or make the food even better.
It doesn’t have anything to do with the price, the varietal, where the wine came from, or a certain name on the label. It’s about whether we’d drink it on a Tuesday night or a Friday night.
We’re not wine experts and we’re not wine snobs. Actually, we think we’re wine geeks. The difference is that while wine snobs try to make everyone else feel bad that they don’t know as much, wine geeks are so excited about vino that they want to tell everyone else about it and get them, well, geeked up about it, too.
So, join us as we share what we’re tasting and decide whether it belongs early in the week or is the perfect way to start the weekend. We’re also planning to talk about some of the wineries we visit and other things we’ve learned along the way.
Cheers, sante, salud and chin-chin.
We agree that there are two categories of wine, but we classify them a little differently. For us, there are Tuesday night wines and Friday night wines.
Tuesday night wines are wines that are good, but not special. They’re a background complement to something simple for dinner -- burgers, takeout Chinese food, pizza, leftovers, etc. – and something entertaining on the DVR.
Friday night wines, well, they’re a whole other thing. Friday night wines deserve a meal that had some thought put into it. The kind that’s eaten at a table and requires silverware. No TV, just good music and thoughtful conversation. These wines can take center stage on their own or make the food even better.
It doesn’t have anything to do with the price, the varietal, where the wine came from, or a certain name on the label. It’s about whether we’d drink it on a Tuesday night or a Friday night.
We’re not wine experts and we’re not wine snobs. Actually, we think we’re wine geeks. The difference is that while wine snobs try to make everyone else feel bad that they don’t know as much, wine geeks are so excited about vino that they want to tell everyone else about it and get them, well, geeked up about it, too.
So, join us as we share what we’re tasting and decide whether it belongs early in the week or is the perfect way to start the weekend. We’re also planning to talk about some of the wineries we visit and other things we’ve learned along the way.
Cheers, sante, salud and chin-chin.
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