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Daily Glass: Of Wonderwall and Unwooded Pinot
How can you tell when blogging is becoming an addiction? When you drink great wine, you think about it in the terms of the blog post. And when you are not producing that blog post for whatever reason, you become upset and feel incomplete…
I don’t want to feel incomplete – who does? And to avoid that feeling, let me tell you about few great wines I experienced recently.
Last week, when it was hot and not crazy rainy as today (did someone up there forgot to turn off the faucet?), I walked into the wine store and told Zak that I’m in the mood for a nice bottle of Rosé. “Here”, he said handing me a bottle, “you have to try this”. Okay, I’m ready to try whatever Zak hands me with such a conviction. 2011 Haute Cabrière Unwooded Pinot Noir Franschhoek South Africa (12% ABV, $15.99) didn’t look like a Rosé, but hey, the proof is in the glass.
And what a proof it was! Light ruby color, the nose of strawberries, cranberries and onion peel (classic Rosé, huh?) – same on the palate – perfect substance, perfectly refreshing body – nothing wimpy, nothing sweet, only refreshing, light and exciting wine. This wine is produced by Achim von Arnim, whose blog is called Sun Soil Vine Man – which is also a motto of his winery. Tasting this unwooded Pinot Noir, I can say that his simple model works quite well. Drinkability: 8-
And then there was Wonderwall. First I tried 2012 Wonderwall Chardonnay Central Coast (14.9% ABV, $22/$17.60 for catalog members). These Wonderwall wines are produced by Andrew Jones, the winemaker behind Field Recordings wines, which I discussed many times in the blog – and of which I’m a big fun.
What is amazing about many Field Recordings wines is aromatics. Once you pour the wine into the glass, you simply can’t put it down – but not drinking, only smelling, and smelling and smelling. Some wines transform with their taste, and some just with their aromatics. Bright and beautiful fruit on the nose – together with fresh flowers. I experienced similar aromatics with some of the best Albarino wines – but not with California Chardonnay. Good amount of fruit on the palate, but tame, more controlled, balanced and perfectly weaved around acidity. When the bottle was finished (much faster than I would want to, unfortunately – this was my only bottle) – I smelled the bottle and it showed vanilla and touch of butter – but it was too late. I wish I had another bottle to try it at least in 3-4 years – oh well, may be someone will. Drinkability: 8
Then I had 2012 Wonderwall Pinot Noir Central Coast (13.9% ABV, $22/$17.60 for catalog members). To describe it in a few words, I would put it like this: from nose to palate – classic California Pinot Noir. Violet, cherries and hint of smokiness on the nose, cherries, cranberries and tart blackberries on the palate, all moving and evolving. On the palate, this wine is somewhat elusive, and it gives you a different perception with every sip. On the second day it showed bright, clean and assertive fruit, with mouthwatering acidity – you really want to give this wine some time (I will not, as again this was my only bottle). Drinkability: 7+
Before we part, I have to cite for you the words written on the back label of the Wonderwall wines:
“I’m unsure if it has been me, the grapes or the vineyards. There
has always been a barrier between me and the wine I wanted.
Finally, I have broken through the wall.”
That’s all I have for you, folks. And I feel better already. Cheers!
Wednesday Meritage – Wine Quiz Answer, Bordeaux 2012, Bottle Variations, Dishcrawl and more
Meritage time!
Let’s start with the answer for Wine Quiz #55, Grape Trivia: Pinot Noir. In the quiz you were supposed to answer five questions about Pinot Noir grape – here are the questions with the answers:
Q1: Can you explain the source and meaning of the grape’s name “Pinot Noir”?
A: Pinot Noir literally translates as “black pine”, due to the grape cluster’s resemblance of the pine cone.
Q2: True or False: Burgundy has the biggest plantings of Pinot Noir in France?
A: False – Champagne has much bigger area planted with Pinot Noir
Q3: Match the wine/producer with its country/region:
| A. Mt. Difficulty | 1. Burgundy |
| B. Evening Land | 2. New Zealand |
| C. Fleury | 3. Champagne |
| D. Hamilton Russell | 4. Oregon |
| E. Clos de Tart | 5. South Africa |
A: A2, B4, C3, D5, E1
Q4: Which major wine-producing country is literally unknown as a Pinot Noir producer?
A: Spain. There are literally no Pinot Noir wines coming out of Spain
Q5: From 1990 to 2010, annual Pinot Noir harvest in California increased approximately:
a. 2 times, b. 3 times, c. 5 times, d. 7 times, e. 9 times
A: According to the information you can find here, production of Pinot Noir went from 32,000 tons in 1990 to 147,732 in 2010 – thus correct answer is C, about 5 times.
Looking at the answers, it seems that everybody had no issues answering first 3 questions, but the last two proved to be more difficult. Nevertheless, we have 2 winners – armchairsommelier and vinoinlove both answered all questions correctly, so they get unlimited bragging rights. Jeff at thedrunkencyclist gets honorable mention with 4 correct Google free answers, as well as RedWineDiva also with 4 correct answers. Well done!
By the way, what do you think the theme of the next quiz will be? I’m going along the lines of major grapes, so what do you think is next?
Now, to the interesting stuff around the grapevine. Let’s start from Bordeaux 2012, or En Primeur 2012 event which recently took place in Bordeaux. This event takes place in the Spring of each year in Bordeaux, and this is the time when Bordeaux wines of previous year are offered for the future sales, and prices for those future sales are set. En Primeur 2012 was different from most of the prior years’ events – first, because Chateau Latour, one of the five famous First Growth producers, stopped participating in this events (from now on, they will only sell their wines when they are actually ready to drink, not the futures). Second interesting element – China’s appetite for Bordeaux is getting smaller, and now prices need to be corrected. Anyway, here is a summary by Jancis Robinson, offering her insight after attending the En Primeur 2012.
Now, I want to bring to your attention an interesting article about… bottle variations. No, I’m not talking about imperfections of the glass – I’m talking about the actual content, the wine, being different from bottle to the bottle. Here is the link – I think it is a very interesting reading.
Do you like beer? Yes, of course it is okay to like beer even if you are a wine lover. So if you like beer, here is an interesting site for you – BrewGene. It is both a web site and an app, which will allow you to find information on the beer, see what the others think about it, get recommendations for similar beers and more – I think this is pretty cool, so check it out.
Last but not least, a couple of food events – sorry, they are really only local events, but I want to mention them in any case. Dishcrawl, which I mentioned in my previous Meritage post, just announced a new event on June 11th, which will be taking place in Old Greenwich, Connecticut. As of the time of this writing, there were still 17 tickets available – if you are local in the area, or plan to visit around June 11th date – don’t miss out. Here is the link to the web site for you.
Another food related event is Taste of Westport, which will take place on May 2nd from 6 pm to 9 pm. Here is the link with lots of information about the event, all coming from OmNomCT blog which is a priceless source of information about all things food and drink in CT – if you live in Connecticut or in a close proximity, and you are not following this blog, you have to correct this mistake immediately.
And that’s about all I have for you, folks. The glass is empty. Until the next time – cheers!
Weekly Wine Quiz #55 – Grape Trivia: Pinot Noir
Image source: Wikipedia
And the time has come for the new wine quiz. Continuing with our Grape Trivia theme, the new quiz is about Pinot Noir.
Pinot Noir. The grape behind some of the most expensive and thought after wines in the world. Almost never blended with other grapes. A major weapon in the hands of ABC oenophiles (Anything But Cabernet). At the same time, one of the most finicky, difficult to deal with grapes. To produce great wines, Pinot Noir requires ideal growing conditions. It is genetically unstable, and can easily mutate in the vineyard, producing grapes which look nothing like their parents. It can also “throw a fit” during fermentation and take the process out of control. But – all of it worth the “goodness in the bottle”, so today there is no shortage of great Pinot Noir wines coming in from all over the world.
Pinot Noir is one of the oldest known Vitis Vinifera grapes, specifically grown to be used in winemaking, with historical references going all the way back to the 4th century in Burgundy, France. Today Pinot Noir is growing literally in every winemaking country in the world, with the wines taking on wide range of expressions depending on the location’s climate and soil. Taste profile of Pinot Noir often includes lighter red fruits and berries – cranberries, strawberries, tart cherries, with hint of smokiness and mushrooms (earthiness).
Now, to the quiz!
Q1: Can you explain the source and meaning of the grape’s name “Pinot Noir”?
Q2: True or False: Burgundy has the biggest plantings of Pinot Noir in France?
Q3: Match the wine/producer with its country/region:
| A. Mt. Difficulty | 1. Burgundy |
| B. Evening Land | 2. New Zealand |
| C. Fleury | 3. Champagne |
| D. Hamilton Russell | 4. Oregon |
| E. Clos de Tart | 5. South Africa |
Q4: Which major wine-producing country is literally unknown as a Pinot Noir producer?
Q5: From 1990 to 2010, annual Pinot Noir harvest in California increased approximately:
a. 2 times
b. 3 times
c. 5 times
d. 7 times
e. 9 times
Have fun, good luck and enjoy your weekend. Cheers!
Special Tasting Report: Trione Winery
A few month ago I got an email from Trione winery offering me a gift. Not just any gift – wine. Free wine. Words “free” and “wine” put together sound almost magical for the anyone who drinks wine daily (I refuse to take the calculator out – don’t ask). But the word “free” in the email usually means danger. After careful consideration, and actually looking at the winery web site, I decided that it was not a scam or phishing attempt, so I answered that I would be happy to get a free wine. The only caveat in the follow up response was that they can only ship wine to the limited number of states. Connecticut not included (of course). But New York was. And so my friend Emil became a recipient for the wine.
When Emil called me that he got the wine, he mentioned that the box looks very small. Well, okay – it is what it is – free wine, whatever the package is. And then some time later, the package made it to my house. A small black box, probably half of the shoebox in size. But there was actually wine inside. And this is how it looked like:
Trione Winery, which I never heard of before, is a new venture of Trione family who was growing grapes in Sonoma for 35 years. Here is what you can read on the front page of their web site:
“For over three decades, the Trione family has raised premium grapes that have been the foundation of many award-winning wines. Now we bring our grapes to you in wines bottled under our own label, Trione Vineyards & Winery. It is the culmination of our family’s long commitment to Sonoma County.”
Here are few more views for you (just trying to build up the anticipation here):
Another interesting detail – it appears that this tasting set consisting of the tiny bottles is actually a concept called Tasting Room. While web site provide literally no information, the card enclosed with the package explained the concept:
The wines are bottled in the small bottles using special technology which preserves all specifics of the wine, so it is exact same wine which will go into the regular bottles. The only exception – the wine in small bottles is not intended for aging (as you can imagine), so as the card says – drink up!
And with this, let me share my tasting notes. Well, not only mine – in majority of the cases we drink wine together with my wife, especially when we are looking at the interesting and unusual experience – so I’m including her tasting notes too.
2010 Trione Russian River Valley Sauvignon Blanc (14% ABV) – “Pear Grove” my wife said. Some fresh grass on the nose with a bit of grapefruit, but mostly earthy and herbaceous, Earthy and herbaceous on the palate as well, lots of residual acidity, but not “in-your-face”. Food friendly. Interesting. Drinkability: 7+
2010 Trione Russian River Valley Chardonnay(14.3% ABV) – nice butter on the nose, vanilla. Nose is very promising, but palate is not good, very acidic, no fruit, kind of flat. I’m sure it needs time or at least different serving temperature, therefore it is not rated.
2008 Trione Russian River Valley Pinot Noir (14.2% ABV) – Nice nose of dark fruit, tobacco, touch of roasted meat flavor. Nice palate of dark fruit, raspberries, plums, tobacco, pencil and sage undertones. Good palate, good balance. Very good overall. Drinkability: 8-
2008 Trione Russian River Valley Syrah (14.8% ABV) – Wow color – very dark, intense, almost black. My wife’s notes were “oh, this is good” , “great potential”, “very promising” (disclaimer – my wife loves Syrah, probably her favorite wines). Dark roasted fruit, silky smooth, perfect balance, perfect acidity, cherries, earthy notes. Definitely very promising. Very good overall. Drinkability: 8-
2007 Trione Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (14.5% ABV) – absolutely beautiful nose – perfectly classic, with mint and blackcurrant – textbook flavors. Coffee showed up later on the nose. Wife’s notes: “overpowering , but very yummy”. Big, powerful, silky smooth, noticeable tannins – but excellent balance. Touch over-extracted on the palate, but only in terms of power, not sweetness. Needs time. Drinkability: 8
2007 Trione Alexander Valley Red Wine (14.5% ABV) – Dark chocolate, coffee, blackberries on the palate, nice complexity. Beautiful, round and open fruit. Needs time. Drinkability: 8-
As you can see, it was a very enjoyable experience (it’s too bad that the bottles were that small) – next time you see Trione wine in the store, don’t just stand there, grab a bottle…
That concludes my special tasting report, folks. Until the next time (hopefully someone will send me good and free wine soon) – cheers!
Disclaimer: the wine was provided by Trione Vineyards and Winery free of charge. All opinions are my own.
Re-post: Best Hidden Secrets of The Wine World: Wines of South Africa
During 2011 I wrote a number of posts for the project called The Art Of Life Magazine – of course talking about my favorite subject, wine. The project closed, but I still like the posts I wrote, so I decided to re-post them in this blog. Also, in that project, posts were grouped into mini-series, such as “Best Hidden Secrets” you see here – I will continue re-posting them from time to time.
Also note that the series was written for a slightly different audience – I hope none of my readers will take offense in the fact that sometimes I’m stating the obvious…
Continuing the subject of “secrets” of the wine world (you might remember our past conversations about Rioja, Second Labels, Georgian Wines and more), let’s talk about wines of South Africa. If you are asking why South African wines should be considered a “hidden secrets”, please read below.
As one would rightfully expect, history of South African wines is tightly intertwined with history of South Africa as a country. Winemaking in South Africa started in 17th century, and for the long time, South Africa was making dessert wines, some of them still famous, like Constantia. Most of the wines were exported into United Kingdom. Similar to the most of the winemaking world, South Africa experienced Phylloxera epidemic in the 19th century, and lots of vines had to be replanted. The 20th century was marked by the political issues – as apartheid was a bad problem for the South Africa, the institute of wine regulations by KWV also became a limitation for the wine industry. Combination of the KWV restrictions with boycott of the South African goods, including wines, as a means to fight apartheid regime, lead to South African wines staying largely non-existent for the wine lovers around the world. With collapse of apartheid the situation changed, and then KWV monopoly was also broken, which lead to the great advances in the South African wine making. If you want to read more about the history of
A number of different grapes are used in winemaking in South Africa. First we need to mention Chenin Blanc, which is still one the major white grapes used in wine production (it is also known locally under the name of Steen). Similar to the Loire valley, where Chenin Blanc is shining, it makes whole range of wines in South Africa, starting from very dry and acidic, and going all the way up to the dessert wines. Next we need to mentioned Pinotage, which is unique grape, produced and cultivated only in South Africa. Pinotage is a cross between Cinsault and Pinot Noir grapes, and has a number of strange characteristics, such as being reminiscent of liquefied rusty nails in the glass. Then whole bunch of international varietals are also planted (amount of those plantings is increasing), and it includes Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and many others.
So why are we placing South African wines into the “secrets” category? Once you will try [good] wines from South Africa, chances are you will be blown away. It is important to note that South African wines are new world wines masquerading as an old world – which makes blind tasting with South African wines very challenging.
As our tradition goes, let’s open a bottle or two, and let’s talk about the wines. First, 2008 Hamilton Russell Pinot Noir. This wine is simply amazing – very restrained and polished, with beautiful restrained fruit, lots of smokiness and earthiness on the palate. This wine shows off as a classic Burgundy, and only when you look at the label you experience almost a shock – this wine is from South Africa, last place one would expect to produce classy Burgundy (you can read about our blind tasting experience here).
Then comes 2007 Thelema Chardonnay, again, very reminiscent of beloved White Burgundy – restrained, with balanced fruit, hint of butter and vanilla on the palate and good tannins – very elegant.
Last I would like to mention 2003 Cirrus wine – a predominantly Shiraz ( 96%) with addition of small amount of Viognier (4%). On the palate, this wine mostly represents liquid smoke, but it really comes alive in a glass, with excellent tannins, toned down fruit and perfect acidity, well balanced.
I don’t know if I manage to convince you in the “secrets” status of South African wines. But if you will think about it, either way you have to find a bottle of South African wine – to either agree or disagree with me. Look for the one we talked about here – and judge it for yourself. Cheers!
My Case For Bringing The End Of The World Back
And why would anyone want to bring that “end of the world” craziness back, you ask? I’m sure many of the “preparedness kit” sellers would love that, as they would make ton of money [again]. My case is exactly opposite – I’m talking about saving money. On the critical “end of the world” necessity. Yep, wine.
As you could’ve notice in this blog, I’ve been a long time aficionado of Wine Til Sold Out (WTSO), which offers amazing savings on the wines. About half a year back, thedrunkencyclist introduced me to another value wine source – Last Bottle Wines. Last Bottle Wines operates very similarly to WTSO – one wine at a time, usually at a great price, and minimum number of bottles to buy in order to get free shipping. There are few differences compare to WTSO – for one, the wines are not shipped during hot months, unless you will make special arrangements (everything you buy is accumulated and shipped once weather allows). Another distinction is the fact that less than $10 wines are offered quite often.
Getting back to the “end of the world” connection. Couple of days before the end of the world was supposed to take place (December 21st, 2012 for those who happily dropped that date from the memory), Last Bottle Wines declared “end of the world” marathon. They were offering tremendous number of wines at a great prices, with no minimum quantity in order to get free shipping. Caveat? If the world ends, you are not getting your wines. Fair? I think so. Also, all the wines you buy are accumulated into one order which shipped after the new year. Fair again.
The only way to learn about new offerings was by clicking “refresh” in your browser all the time. But this inconvenience was a small price to pay for the gems which were offered. Well, forget the gems – great value wines we are talking about.
Need an example of a great value wine? Easy. 2007 Vine Hill Gatos Locos Pinot Noir Santa Cruz Mountains. Beautiful smoky nose. Dark dense fruit on the palate, ripe plums but precisely ripe and not over-extracted, coffee notes. Supple tannins, good acidity. Structure. Finesse. Balance. All for $9 (no, I’m not missing at least 1 in front or 0 at the end). And the person of a limited intelligence, who is writing this right now (yep, me), bought only two bottles (!). Well my only excuse – I had no idea…
All in all I got 5 different wines, for the total of one case (12 bottles), for which I paid a whooping $78…
I also tried 2006 Clos Chanteduc Cotes du Rhone, which was very good, but not as amazing as the Gatos Locos Pinot.
So this is my case for asking to bring the “end of the world” back – may be, may be the Last Bottle Wines would do another sale, and I will be able to find more great wines at a great prices. On another hand, there is always hope that they would just have another sale without waiting for the next “end of the world” to be declared. We can even drink to that. Cheers!
Top Twelve of ’12
Here we are. 2012 is almost over. There were bad things, there were good things. And the world didn’t end on December 21st. Unexpected, huh? But we are talking about wine here, so let’s get to it. The time has come to finish summing up the year worth of wines, and come up with the dozen most memorable wines (my second dozen+ can be found here).
12. 2004 Retro Petite Sirah Howell Mountain ($35) – Power. More power. And more power. One of the biggest wines I tasted in 2012. Not in Barolo sense, not with the tannins which just close up your taste buds, but in the sheer amount of dense, chewy, dark fruit. It will be interesting to see how this wine will evolve…
11. 2008 Chateau Ste. Michelle Ethos Reserve Syrah Columbia Valley ($36) – I love roasted, meaty notes of Syrah (I can even go as far as proclaiming Syrah being the favorite wine, but it wouldn’t be entirely true – still, Syrah is definitely one of my favorite wines). This Syrah had that roasted, smokey and peppery notes, multiplied by juicy fruit. Very delicious – you should try it with your next BBQ and tell me what you think.
10. 2007 Villa Mt Eden Pinot Noir Reserve, Russian River Valley ($25) – I would typically describe California Pinot Noirs from the position of power – a lot of them are big wines, boasting of jammy fruit. And I would typically reserve the descriptor such as “finesse” for the Burgundy. When you taste this wine, actually the first word which comes to mind is finesse. It is absolutely elegant, with beautiful layered fruit, silky smooth tannins, and – very, very balanced.
9. 2010 Turley The Label Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley ($40) – in the old style bottle came beautifully styled Cabernet Sauvignon (you can read my escapades around the subject of the bottle if you will click on the name of this wine). This wine had everything you want from your Cabernet Sauvignon – black currant, mint, eucalyptus, touch of dark chocolate, supple tannins, perfect acidity – and it was not in-your-face, perfectly restrained and elegant. This was the very first vintage of this wine, produced by the venerable Zinfandel maker Turley, and I believe this wine has long life ahead of it.
8. 2009 Beaulieu Vineyards Georges de Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon ($125) – And then there was Rutherford dust. Absolutely perfect Cabernet Sauvignon, with all the classic traits and flavors, impeccably balanced, with an added bonus – a sensation of tiny particles coating your mouth, a very unusual and very memorable texture, associated only with wines produced in the area of Rutherford in Napa Valley. Before I tried this wine, I heard the “Rutherford dust” expression, but never experienced it – this was my first encounter, and boy, was that delicious!
7. 2010 Domaine Saint Prefert Cuvee Speciale Vieilles Clairettes Chateauneuf du Pape ($125 for magnum) – let me give you a very short description for this wine – a symphony in a glass. Do I need to clarify it any further? You know, all the memorable wines provoke certain association. Power, balance, finesse, roasted meat, sunshine, fresh meadows – and then there is this wine which you want to associate with music. Perfect clarity of this wine only makes you think of precisely taken high notes and how beautiful the music is. The wine has very little availability and only produced in Magnums, if I’m not mistaken – but, if you can experience it, you will not regret.
6. 1995 Gloria Ferrer Late Disgorged Carneros Sparkling Wine ($35) – who likes vintage sparklers – raise your hand! One of the best vintage sparkling wines I ever tried – perfectly mature fruit, yeast, brioche, toasted bread – everything in cohesive package, with enough acidity to support this massive sensation and keep the wine refreshing and enjoyable. I made a huge mistake with this wine – I bought only one bottle to try, and by the time I went back to the store, it was all gone… But – I’m glad I had a chance to experience it.
5. 2010 Poggio alle Gazze dell’Ornellaia, Toscana IGT ($45) – let me ask you a question – do you associate Sauvignon Blanc with Italy? Sancerre, Pouilly-Fume, New Zealand, California, Chile – but Italy? It turns out that Sauvignon Blanc does very well in Italy, definitely when it comes from such a coveted winery as Tenuta dell’Ornelaia. Medium to full bodies wine, with beautiful white fruit, perfect balance and craving to drink it until anything left in that bottle. You have to taste it to believe it.
4. 2007 Beaulieu Vineyards Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Clone 6 ($140) – what a beauty! You know, I once read review by Joe Roberts, where he compared one of Cathy Corison Cabernet wines with black panther. I tasted that same wine, and the panther didn’t come to me. With this BV Clone 6 wine, I think I found my black panther. Slick, muscled, dangerous and stunning, this wine brings all together in one grand package – dark fruit, earthiness, coffee and dark chocolate. Hello, gorgeous!
3. 2000 Carlisle Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel ($35) – luscious deliciousness. Sounds overly enthusiastic? May be. But I will not accept any criticism here, until you will have a taste of this wine. It is possible that you will still not be able to share my enthusiasm – but for me, this was one beautiful wine. Layers upon layers of the fruit, dark fruit, blue fruit – blueberries, plums, blackberries, dark chocolate, all with perfect acidity and in perfect harmony. You would never tell that this wine has ABV of 16.5% – this is how delicious this wine was.
2. 1947 Imperial Gran Reserva Rioja ($400) – 65 years old wine – still bright and youthful. This was one amazing experience – tasting the wine of such an age, and finding that you can really like it without looking for any age discounts. Fruit was still bright, all wrapped into cedar box and eucalyptus notes, with soft tannins and fresh acidity.
And now ( drum roll, please)
2012 Wine of the Year
1. 2010 Phantasi Oregon White Wine ($100, Magnum price in the restaurant) – wine geeks, rejoice! This is your wine! If you read this blog for a while, you already know that I’m self-admitted wine snob. But – you probably also know that compare to the wine snob, I’m somewhat of a 100-fold wine geek. I would try absolutely any wine and I purposefully seek odd and unusual bottles.
When this wine was offered to us in the restaurant $100 for a magnum, this was an offer I couldn’t pass by. And what the wine it was! This is 100% Roussanne wine from Oregon, made by Antica Terra – unfortunately, you can’t even find any information about this wine on the winery web site.
The wine was served at the room temperature. Deep, pungent, concentrated – in the blind tasting (actually blind, so you would not be able to see the color in your glass) I’m sure this wine would be easily identified as red. Good acidity, good balance, very food friendly – and very unique.
That concludes my Top Twelve of ’12. I would love to see your comments and also to learn about your most memorable wines of the 2012.
Wishing you all wonderful wine, food and life experiences, each and every day. Cheers!
Yes! (a short and happy post)
If anyone of you read my profile on twitter, you probably saw a mention of the martial arts. I’m practicing Taekwondo, and today I had my so called “tip test”. Yes, I passed the test, and got a green tip:
Now I “only” need to get five more tips (purple, blue, brown, red and black), and then I will be able to attempt the next big test. I guess if I would be 20 or 25, that probably would be “okay, great, whatever” kind of feeling (or not), but as I’m a bit older, and this stuff doesn’t come easy (I have a problem, people – my knees seriously hate me), so it feels great. Anyway, that’s done, and I’m happy.
While it is technically very early Saturday on the East coats, it is still Friday in may places in US – and this Friday, October 26th was 3rd annual Champagne Day (#ChampagneDay in Twitter terms). The way to celebrate #ChampagneDay is to open a bottle of Champagne and talk about it. Problem is, I generally don’t stock up on Champagne, so I didn’t have a bottle to open (and was publicly ostracized by thedrunkedcyclist, who really is in love with Champagne). As I wanted to honor the noble wine at least in some way, I decided to go for deconstructed Champagne:
Yes, this is the bottle of Burgundy and not Champagne, but this means that the wine is made from the grape which is a part of many Champagne wines – Pinot Noir, hence it is qualified for the “deconstructed Champagne” play.
This 2004 Domaine Dennis Carre Savigny-les-Beaune was exactly the type of Pinot Noir I love – light, smokey and earthy, with the light cherries profile, perfectly balanced with fruit , tannins and acidity, the wine with finesse and elegance. Drinkability: 8+
That’s all I wanted to share with you. Happy Friday (or may be already Saturday) to you. Cheers!
Thank You, The Capital Grille!
Huge wine selection, also see the discounts on spirits.
This is not the first time I’m writing a happy post about one of my favorite restaurants, The Capital Grille – here are the links to the previous two posts, from 2010 and from 2011. This post will not be an exception – we had a great time [again].
Everybody in the family like steaks (okay, the oldest used to love steak – now she is trying to become a vegetarian) – but most of the time we make it at home. However, in August, we have a happy occasion, our wedding anniversary, which gives us a good reason to go to a restaurant – but this is not the only reason to visit Capital Grille. Two more reasons: Generous Pour program and Stamford Restaurant Week. I guess we are simply lucky, as The Capital Grille runs their special wine program, called Generous Pour, from July until the beginning of September – for $25, you can taste 9 different wines, specially selected by the Master Sommelier George Milotes. And The Capital Grille usually participates in Stamford Restaurant week, which typically runs for two weeks before the Labor Day- at participating restaurants, you can have a full dinner for about $30 per person! Do I need to give you any more reasons? I thought so.
As I usually do with the restaurant posts, I will give you mostly pictures and then of course all of my notes on the wines, which were quite good overall.
We had calamari as our shared appetizer (one of the kids’ favorite foods) – I don’t have a picture for you, but they were delicious. Then for the main course, we had 3 different kinds of steak. Kids opted for Fillet Mignon:
I had Kona-rubbed sirloin strip:
And my wife went for Tornedos – a cut of beef I can never remember, so here is the link for you if you need to know exactly what it is:
All the steaks were masterfully prepared and came also with the tasty sides, like creamy spinach, garlicky mashed potatoes and wild mushrooms – as empty plates look extremely unappetizing in the pictures, I will spare you that sight, but believe me the plates were clean.
Let’s talk about the wines now, and we will finish your [drooling?] session with the dessert.
The wine program was presented exactly in the order below, and wine was always available throughout the entire course – I should mention that we had great service.
Here are my notes on the nine wines we had:
NV Lunetta Sparkling Rose, Trentino, Italy – very nice, crisp, tiny fizz, strawberries, hint of cranberries, good acidity. Refreshing. Drinkability: 7+
2009 Gary Ferrel Chardonnay, Carneros – Beautiful, touch of sweetness, butter and vanilla on the nose, same on the palate with additional hint of peach. Very balanced. Perfectly complemented spicy calamari. Drinkability: 8+
2008/09 Simčič Rebula, Roriska Brda, Slovenia – Earth and lemon on the nose, literally not a touch of fruit. Beautiful and hard to describe on the palate, very pronounced “just ripe” strawberries (more of a wild strawberries). Perfect acidity, touch of salt and savory undertones. Drinkability: 8-
2009 Chateau du Pin, Bordeaux, France – Limited fruit expression on the nose. Nice cherries, soft, good acidity on the palate, tannins unnoticeable (should have more). This wine didn’t exhibit a sense of place – not the Bordeaux wine I would expect. Interestingly enough, it didn’t work with steak – probably due to lack of tannins. This wine was drinkable, but not memorable at all. My least favorite in the entire lineup. Drinkability: 7
2007 Villa Mt Eden Pinot Noir Reserve, Russian River Valley – Amazing. Pinot Noir at the next level. Nose of a Pinot, with earthiness, smokiness, spices, cedar box. More of the same on the palate with the addition of ripe dark plums. In a blind tasting, I could possibly confuse this wine with the Rioja. Worked perfectly with the steak. Best of tasting. Drinkability: 9-
2007 Conn Creek Anthology Napa Valley – Beautiful classic Cabernet Sauvignon – cassis, eucalyptus, touch of blueberries, soft tannins. Perfectly drinkable now, but will improve with time. Drinkability: 8
2008 Ferrari-Carano Mountain Reserve, Alexander Valley – Nice progression from the previous wine. If Anthology was a delicate Cab, this wine was in-your-face California Cabernet. Blueberry jam on the nose (but no alcohol burn!), very fruit forward – in a good sense. Beautifully balanced, dark fruit on the palate, dark chocolate and herbs. Drinkability: 8+
2009 Falesco Assini Rosso, Umbria – Beautiful toned down read wine, black cherries, perfect acidity, noticeable profile of herbs and spices, very complex. Drinkability: 8
2006 Kanu Kia Ora Chenin Blanc, Stellenbosch, South Africa – Light and effervescent, without overpowering sweetness. Apricot pit and apricot notes, very good acidity. Paired very well with cheesecake. Drinkability: 7+
And now – the dessert! In general, I’m somewhat indifferent to the cheesecake – yes, it is nice, but it would be one of my last choices in the restaurant. Except the Cheesecake in The Capital Grille – if you never had one, go to The Capital Grille near you, skip the steak and just order the cheesecake – it will be a divine experience. Okay, fine, don’t skip the steak, because it is really good – but whatever you do, leave some room for cheesecake. As they usually say, picture worth a thousand words:
That’s all I have for you, folks – sorry you had to live vicariously through this post, but you really shouldn’t – here is a link to The Capital Grille web site, find one near you. Cheers!
Weekly Wine Quiz #6 – No Pinot?
I guess it is Saturday, therefore, it is a time for our weekly wine quiz. Before we get to the new quiz, let me give you an answer for the past week’s quiz “Do you know Kosher wines” – correct answer is Massaya. While the name might be suggestive that it would be a kosher wine, this [very tasty, full bodied] wine is produced in Lebanon, and it is not Kosher. The rest of the wines on the list are Kosher, including Goose Bay, which I saw was a popular choice as a “non-kosher” wine.
Now, the theme for today’s poll is Pinot Noir. Pinot Noir is one of the most popular grapes in the world, and literally there are very few regions where wines are not made out of Pinot Noir. Below is a list of regions where great wines are made out of Pinot Noir – all except one. Which one do you think it is? Answer is coming next week.
Enjoy your weekend, everyone! Cheers!
