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Madonia Restaurant: Good Food, Great Wine
I like to write about restaurant experiences. In general, I do it only when I’m really wowed. And for just plain restaurant reviews I typically use Yelp. However, recently I discovered Urbanspoon – well, I knew about Urbanspoon for a while already, but I didn’t know that, unlike Yelp and TripAdvisor, Urbanspoon actually allows you to link your blog post to the particular restaurant’s page, which to me is somewhat of a game-changer. Taking this into account, you should expect to see more restaurant “reviews” in this blog. Well, let’s make it straight – I’m not going to convert into a restaurant critic. My reviews will [continue to] comprise of a bunch of pictures and a few words about food and wine. But I will make an effort to write more posts about our restaurant experiences.
And here we go…
The restaurant I want to talk about today is called Madonia and it is located in Stamford, CT. The restaurant defines its food as Modern Mediterranean – however, looking at the menu, I would simply classify it as Italian, considering the prevalence of the traditional Italian dishes. The restaurant is also offering a “tasting menu” featuring seasonal ingredients.
Talking about food, nothing was really stunning or even simply standing out – with the exception of the white bean spread served with the bread, which was outstanding and gone in two seconds. We ordered a number of dishes (some pictures are below), and all of them shared the same trait [unfortunately] – they were good but plain. All the food was perfectly cooked – but real seasoning, the “umph”, was missing, while it was greatly desired.
Mushroom Ravioli
Capellini with Shrimp and Scallops
Branzino
Chicken Milanese
The wines, luckily, represented a different story. First of all, the wine list was well priced (there is enough selection of decent wines in the proximity of $30, which is not often in restaurants). Chef (and owner) Enzo is quite passionate about the wines, and he likes to please his guests. We started talking about wine, and Enzo mentioned that he has a number of wines that are not on the list, and which he will be glad to offer to us. One of those wines was called Shatter, a Grenache wine out of France.
I heard of Shatter before, I believe I read a rave review in one of the blogs (sorry, it’s been a while). Shatter is a joint project of Dave Phinney, the winemaker at Orin Swift Cellars, and Joel Gott, the winemaker at the eponymous winery. My initial thought was “no, thank you, I don’t want this wine”. First, I don’t like the style of Orin Swift wines – one of their most famous wines is called Prisoner, a Zinfandel blend, which I find over-extracted. Second, I lost my love of French Grenache – I definitely prefer the Spanish Grenache style, in general, more velvety and round than the French and less biting. But then, considering our other options, the fact that I heard about the wine before and the great price ($45) – oh well, we decided to give this wine a try – and we happened to hit the home run.
Shatter
2011 Shatter Grenache Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes, France (15.9% ABV, 100% Grenache, 10 months in French oak, 30% new) – dark garnet color in the glass, nose of dark fruit with a hint of espresso beans. On the palate, velvety texture with blueberries and cherries prevalent, a touch of spice, few peppery notes, dark chocolate, firm structure, supple tannins, perfect acidity, and overall very balanced. I have to say, surprisingly balanced (again) for 15.9% ABV. Drinkability: 8
Then there was dessert, and so here are more food pictures for you:
Overall, it was a good meal, definitely anchored on the great wine experience. And we plan to come back, as Enzo showed us his secret wine room – the room is used both as a cellar and the place for the special wine dinners. You can eat surrounded by wine – don’t think I know of any other restaurant in Stamford where you can do the same. Yes, we will be back…
Ready for wine dinner
That’s all I have for you for today, my friends. Cheers!
Madonia
1297 Long Ridge Rd
Stamford, CT 06903
(203) 322-8870
https://www.madoniarestaurant.com/
Wines, Wines, Wines – Part 2
As promised, here is the second part of the Wines, Wines, Wines post. In the first part, we talked about great Riesling and Gewurzrtraminer wines, with some extra value wines and Prosecco. Let’s continue our “memorable wine extravaganza” with a couple of Chardonnays.
Chardonnay
It is so interesting how things work in life. You might walk past say, a picture, every day, and never notice it. And then all of a sudden you say “what is it? Was it always here, or is it something new??”, and people around you look at you like you have two heads or something. Where am I going with this? Give me a minute, I will make my point.
Couple of month ago I got a bottle of Chardonnay, accompanied by the words “try it, it is pretty good”. I’m a sucker for good Chardonnay (yeah, true, you can substitute “Chardonnay” with any other varietal – I’m just a sucker for any good wine, but this can be a subject for a different post). But this Chardonnay was from New Zealand. And New Zealand in by book is the land of Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir – but not really a Chardonnay. So I finally got the bottle opened and … wow.
Seresin Chardonnay
2008 Seresin Chardonnay Reserve Marlboro New Zealand (13.5% ABV, 11 month in oak). The symbol of the hand on the label has a deep meaning. Quoting few words from Seresin Estate web site, “The hand is a symbol of strength, gateway to the heart, tiller of the soil, the mark of the artisan, and embodies the philosophy of Seresin Estate”. Here are my tasting notes for this wine: Outstanding, classic. Perfect nose of vanilla and white apples, just right. Very balanced fruit on the palate – hint of butter, vanilla, oak, good acidity – one of the most balanced Chardonnays ever. Drinkability: 8+
Oh yes, you are still waiting for me to connect to the opening sentence about passing by and not seeing things around for the long time, right? As of very recently, as I walked in the New Zealand isle in the store, I noticed all of a sudden that almost every producer now features Chardonnay in addition to Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. When did it happen, how long this was the case with New Zealand Chardonnays – I don’t have any idea, but based on this experience, I definitely want to try more.
Frédéric Gueguen Chablis
2005 Frédéric Gueguen Chablis Les Grandes Vignes (13% ABV) – I don’t have a lot of experience with Chablis overall. I had a few bottles of Chablis here and there, but never was really impressed with it (I never had Chablis of a Grand Cru or even Premier Cru level). I don’t know what possessed me to get this wine from the Benchmark Wine Company, I guess it was in the right price range ( under $20), and somehow caught my attention. Then I read somewhere, that Chablis requires on average about 10 years of age in the bottle to really start transforming and going past the initial “steely acidity” flavor profile to get to the next level. And then I tried this Frédéric Gueguen wine – wow. Here are my tasting notes: some darker yellow color, but not quite golden yet. Amazing nose, reminiscent of Côte-Rôtie – almost a touch of sulfur (think freshly burnt matches), or even more of a smell of a hot piece of granite on a summer day, a “roasted rock”. Side note: pardon my naive definition here – I recently learned that professionals call it a “gunflint” – but I will not use this term as it doesn’t lead to any associations for me. Perfect complexity on the palate – white fruit, vanilla. Lots and lots of minerality. Full bodied and very balanced, excellent wine overall. Drinkability: 8+
Pinot Noir
And we are moving along to the Pinot Noir wines – both of the wines below were excellent:
Siduri Pinot Noir
2011 Siduri Pinot Noir Sonoma County (13.1% ABV) – perfectly clean California Pinot – good smokey nose, with a touch of red fruit aromas. Light cherries on the palate, hint of earthiness, medium body, perfect acidity, very clean and balanced. Drinkability: 8-
Carmel Road Pinot Noir
2008 Carmel Road Pinot Noir Monterey (14.0% ABV) – outstanding. Bright ruby color in the glass, raspberries and hint of smokiness on the nose. Raspberries, cranberries and cherries on the palate. Medium to full body. Excellent acidity, overall perfectly balanced. Drinkability: 8+
Cabernet Franc
I have only one wine for you here, but it was mind blowing.
Field Recordings Cabernet Franc
2010 Field Recordings Three Creek Vineyard Cabernet Franc Santa Barbara (15.9% ABV, 90% Cabernet Franc, 10% Malbec, 18 month in French oak) – spectacular. If you read this blog on the regular basis, you know that I’m very impartial to the wines of Field Recordings – but this is not my fault, it is Andrew Jones’ fault ( Andrew Jones is the winemaker behind Field Recordings). This wine had beautiful garnet color in the glass. The nose was clean and open, withhint of black currant and other red fruit. The palate is stunning with black currant, cherries, touch of black pepper, dark chocolate, perfect acidity, soft and supple tannins, all in the format of full-bodied wine. Perfect balance of fruit, acidity, tannins and alcohol – which is pretty amazing at 15.9% ABV. Drinkability: 9
Last, but not least – Syrah
Villa Pillo Syrah
Appearance of the large amount of Italian Syrah wines is also somewhat of a revelation, similar to the one I mentioned at the beginning of this post. All of a sudden I start noticing that there are more Italian Syrah wines showing in the wine stores, and people are just talking more about them, in the blogs and otherwise.
2010 Villa Pillo Syrah Toscana IGT (14.5% ABV) – we got this wine when we visited Millbrook Winery in New York (this will be a subject of a separate post), as they are importing this and a number of other wines from Italy. Tasting notes: Dark garnet color in the glass. Nose of dark fruit and dark chocolate. Outstanding on the palate – hint of pepper, cherries, plums and raspberries, more dark chocolate. Full bodied, with the velvety texture weaved over firm structure. Drinkability: 8
Whew, we are done here! Enjoy the rest of your weekend and cheers!
Weekly Wine Quiz #70: Grape Trivia – Gewurztraminer
Gewurztraminer grapes, as shown in Wikipedia
Welcome to the weekend and your new wine quiz!
We are continuing our grape trivia series, still focusing on the white grapes, and today’s subject is Gewurztraminer.
Gewurztraminer, which often spelled with umlaut, Gewürztraminer, is a very interesting white grape for variety of reasons. Even starting with the appearance – take a look at the picture – does it look white to you? Nevertheless, similar to Pinot Gris, it is considered to be the white grape, as its skin color ranges from pinkish to the reddish. Gewurztraminer has about 1000 years of history, and it is growing pretty much all over the world in literally each and every wine producing country – yet it is very seldom that any of the oenophiles would rave about their Gewurztraminer experiences.
It is difficult to grow, as it tends to have high sugar content and low acidity, which doesn’t bode well for the well balanced wines – and for that reason, it also performs better in the cooler climates. Its characteristic trait is extreme aromatics – on the nose, Gewurztraminer wine usually exhumes with aromas of white flowers, lychees, peaches and tropical fruits. Gewurztraminer wines can be made in the range of styles, from very dry to the full power dessert wine. For the well made Gewurztraminer wines, the combination of extreme aromatics and balanced body, whether dry or sweet, creates very memorable experience – yes, this would hold true from absolute majority of the wines, of course – but I would say that Gewurztraminer wines very seldom have middle ground in their showing – they are either great, or they are really bad, with the very few which you will place into “well, it’s okay” category.
Most of the best in the world Gewurztraminers come from Alsace in France, but you can also find very good wines in Germany, Austria, Italy, California and probably some other places (in a lot of cases the wines will be made only for the local consumption and you would never hear about them). One more curious fact I want to point to before we get to the quiz is that Gewurztraminer is probably one of the most promiscuous grapes, having been used more often than most of other grapes in creation of different crosses – Flora, Traminette, Ortega, Irsai Oliver and many others are not clones, but actual purposeful crosses of Gewurztraminer with the other grapes.
Now, to the quiz!
Q1: Where Gewurztraminer was supposedly originated? Name the grape which was a precursor of Gewurztraminer
Q2: Explain the meaning of the name Gewurztraminer
Q3: Unlike many other grapes, if the French wine is made out of Gewurztraminer, you can easily know that just by looking at the bottle. Why is that?
Q4: Which area in California produces best Gewurztraminer wines:
a. Monterey County
b. Alexander Valley
c. Russian River Valley
d. Anderson Valley
Q5: Wine Spectator calls wines rated in 95-100 range Classic (the highest and the most prestigious category). True or False: there are no Gewurztraminer wines with Classic rating
Good luck, enjoy the quiz and your weekend! Cheers!
Wines, Wines, Wines
A couple of weeks ago, an interesting (concerning, rather?) thought came in – this is the wine blog. I’m doing my best to keep you entertained and informed, with all the weekly quizzes and potpourri wine news (a.k.a. Wednesday’s Meritage), but I don’t do enough of the core wine blogging stuff – namely, the wine reviews. No, I don’t have a plan to address this radically – say, but introducing a new weekly topic or so. But during the past month, I had quite a few wines worth talking about, so this is exactly what I’m going to do – write a post to review those wines. Well, yeah, I guess you are already reading this very post… The usual warning – there will be pictures,… many pictures…
It is still summer, so let’s start with super-quaffable Prosecco. It is not even Prosecco, it is pretty much a complete cocktail in the bottle. The wine is made by Mionetto, a well known Prosecco producer in Valdobbiadene region in Italy.
Mionetto Il Ugo
Mionetto Il Ugo, a blend of Prosecco with elderflower blossoms and wildflowers – bright and uplifting on the nose, touch of sweetness with a charismatic bitterness and enough acidity – it is so refreshing, you don’t want to put the glass down. Yes, I know, the purists will disagree – but this is an outstanding wine in my book. Drinkability: 8
Now, a couple of value wines for your consideration. These wines come from Chile under the brand name of the Beach Kite. While you can’t find this information on the wine label, Beach Kite is presumable affiliated with 90+ Cellars. 90+ Cellars has a similar model of operation to Hughes Wines and Oriel (at least the two that I’m familiar with), which is: find good wines which well-known wineries have a hard time selling, bottle under your own private label, and sell for the reasonable price at around $20. Beach Kite seems to be more of a “second label” to the 90+ Cellars wines, considering the price of $7.99 per bottle. But – don’t judge the wine by its price.
2012 Beach Kite Sauvignon Blanc Central Valley Chile (13% ABV) had herbaceous nose, and zesty grapefruit on the palate, a bit more restrained compare to the typical New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, but still fruit forward next to Sancerre. Refreshing, with good acidity. Drinkability: 7
2012 Beach Kite Pinot Noir Central Valley Chile (13% ABV) – simple, round, good red fruit on the nose and the palate, touch of plums, good acidity – perfect sipping wine for a hot summer day. Drinkability: 7
Next I want to talk about few wines, sorted by the grape.
Riesling
While this is not how I rate the wines, but I would say that I had two Rieslings which were outstanding, and one which was … just spectacular.
Paritua Riesling Central Otago
2008 Paritua Riesling Central Otago New Zealand (11.5% ABV). I got this wine for $6/bottle at Last Bottle Wines. I was questioning myself a bit when placing an order for this wine, as I never heard of Riesling from Central Otago – a region in New Zealand known for their world-class Pinot Noir, but not Riesling. I’m glad I took my chances and got this wine, as it was outstanding. Perfect ripe peach flavors on the nose with the hint of petrol (yes, I know some people are not very happy about this flavor, but I personally love it). Very delicate on the palate, with some honey and apricot notes, perfect acidity and very restrained sweetness. This New Zealand Riesling would rival many of the German Rieslings at Kabinett level. One night we had it with Thai food, and [as expected] it paired perfectly. Drinkability: 8
2005 Eitelsbacher Karthauserhofberg Riesling Spatlese Mosel-Saar–Ruwer (9% ABV) – what I value the most in Riesling (any Riesling) is balance. My sweet tooth is not any smaller than the one any sweets lover would have out there. But I can’t take bottomless sweetness in the wine – I need acidity to come and play it supportive and refreshing role right next to the sweetness. This Riesling is perfectly balanced, with excellent acidity – and showing no signs of age. Just had an interesting revelation – may be I should replace my “drinkability” ratings with “quaffability”, as this wine was not just drinkable, it was perfectly quaffable. Anyway, I digress. This is not the first Riesling I had from Eitelsbacher Karthauserhofberg – and it seems to be a very interesting winery – but I need to refer you to the Riesling expert Oliver TheWinegetter if you want to learn more. Here is a link to the comment Oliver left on one of my previous posts where he is talking about this winery. Drinkability: 8+
Kurt Rasmussen Late Harvest Riesling
1999 Kurt Rasmussen Late Harvest Riesling Dry Creek Valley (13%ABV) – I’m not sure I can do justice to this wine trying to describe it. In a word – spectacular. Liquid viscous dark gold in the glass, honey, honeydew, caramelized pecan, apricot notes all over, both on the nose and the palate – and perfectly balanced (I’m know I’m abusing this one), with still bright supporting acidity. Drinkability: 9
Next up – Gewurztraminer
To be honest, I don’t drink Gewurztraminer all that often. I find a lot of Gewurztraminer wines to be all over the place in terms of taste – many of them have wonderful nose, but then on the palate the wine often doesn’t appear to be “together”, it shows up quite disjointed. But – not this wine.
Zind-Humbrecht Gewurztraminer
Domain Zind-Humbrecht is one of the best producers in Alsace, probably best known for its Pinot Gris wines. Just to put things in perspective, 36 wines of Domain Zind-Humbrecht have classic ratings from Wine Spectator (95-100), including perfect score 100 point 2001 Pinot Gris. Well, this is not the wine I’m talking about here.
2002 Domaine Zind-Humbrecht Herrenweg de Turckheim Gewurztraminer Alsace (15.5% ABV) – I got two bottles of this wine at Bottle King in New Jersey on a big sale for about $20 each – this wine typically retails for $60 or so. I had a bottle few years back, and was not impressed. So when I pulled this bottle out, I was not expecting much ( it was more like “yeah, let’s free some space in the wine fridge”). My, was I wrong! In one word, I have to use again my abused wine definition of the day – spectacular. Dark golden color, beautiful nose of candied apricot, perfect honey tones on the palate, fresh acidity, more candied apricot, perfectly balanced. Drinkability: 9
Food break
Tired of wine? Let’s make a short break for some food pictures. First, I promised to Food and Wine Hedonist that when I will make Elotes according to his recipe, I will share my impressions. Elotes is Mexican street food which is essentially a grilled corn with spicy mayo and Cotija cheese – this is precisely what I did and it was tasty! For the recipe, use the link above, and here are the pictures:
Yes, I continue admiring my “mangal”, a special charcoal grill – here are few pictures for your drooling pleasure:
You know what – I think this is enough for one post. Let’s stop here. In the next post – Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir and may be something else.
To be continued…
Wednesday’s Meritage – Wine Quiz Answer, #WBW80, #MWWC2, GMO Wines???, Harvest Marathon and more
Meritage time!
Let’s start with the answer for the wine quiz #69, grape trivia – Viognier. In the quiz, you were supposed to answer 5 questions about the white grape called Viognier.
Here are the questions, now with the answers:
Q1: Viognier stands pretty unique among all white grapes as it is often added or can be added as blending component during the production of the red wines around the world. Do you know the name of the red grape it typically accompanies?
A1: Syrah. Viognier is allowed to be added to the red Syrah wines of Côte-Rôtie (up to 20%), and Shiraz Viognier wines are quite popular in Australia.
Q2: Name the source of essentially the best and most long-living Viognier wines in the world
A2: Château-Grillet. Château-Grillet is so called Monopole, as it is both an AOC and the single winery. Château-Grillet is known to produce some of the best, long living Viognier wines ever. Château-Grillet is surrounded by another Viognier-only appellation, Condrieu, which also makes great Viognier wines, but the answer I was looking for here is Château-Grillet.
Q3: Viognier became so popular in the United States, that one of the states even called it “an official grape of the state”. Do you know which state it is?
a. California, b. New York, c. Texas, d. Virginia
A3: Virginia! In 2011, Viognier was named an “official grape” of the state of Virginia.
Q4: Wine Spectator calls wines rated in 95-100 range Classic (the highest and the most prestigious category). True or False: there are no Viognier wines with Classic rating
A4: False. There is a number of Condrieu wines rated in the range of 95 – 98 (98 so far was the highest rating for Viognier wines)
Q5: Based on DNA research, Viognier has an unlikely cousin in Italy, which is not even the white grape, but red. Can you name that “cousin”?
A5: There is almost always a slight element of controversy with all this DNA research data. According to DNA research information in Wikipedia, Viognier is shown “to be closely related to the Piedmont grape Freisa and to be a genetic cousin of Nebbiolo” – thus both Freisa and Nebbiolo are correct answers here.
We had lots of great answers for this quiz, and we have winners! Considering the absolute precision on the answer for the second question (Château-Grillet), Jeff a.k.a. TheDrunkenCyclist is our Grand Winner today, but both Julian at VinoInLove and Kirsten at TheArmchairSommelier are also the winners of this wine quiz #69. Winners get their due share of unlimited bragging rights, but I definitely want to thank all participants – great job!
And now, to the interesting stuff around the vine and web!
I have few of mostly the reminders for you today.
Today, August 14th – Wine Blogging Wednesday event, #WBW80 – Dry Rosé. There is still some times left to drink Rosé and submit your post! For all the details please click here.
This coming Friday, August 16th – deadline for submission for the Monthly Wine Writing Challenge #2, with the theme called Trouble. You can find all the rules here. There is still time, get your trouble under control and write! Use #MWWC2 hash tag your submission.
Tomorrow, Thursday, August 15th – Last Bottle 2013 Harvest Madness Marathon is taking place! If you like get great wines at unbelievable prices, this event is for you! Starting at 9 AM Pacific time, new wines will be sold at LastBottle web site at neck-breaking speed. Last Bottle model is similar to WTSO – no e-mail announcements, and they don’t even use twitter, so you have to refresh your browser all the time. There is one difference though – there are no minimum quantities to buy to get free shipping. The event will continue for 2 days, and all the wines will be shipped during few weeks after the event. If you are not buying wine at Last Bottle – you really missing lots of great deals. It is free to subscribe to their web site – but if you are not a subscriber and want to become one, send me an e-mail so I will subscribe you – you will get $5 credit (yes, true, and I will get $20, but then of course you can subscribe someone else…).
Last but not least for today is an interesting article by W. Blake Gray which caused my quick and short reaction – WTF?! Seriously? Here is a post in The Gray Report, where W. Blake Gray is talking about an article in Wine Spectator advocating the idea of … noting else but GMO wines! I might be over-reacting, but after reading this article I was split-hair close to canceling my subscription. Well, read it for yourself and let me know what do you think.
That’s all I have for you for today, folks. The glass is empty – but the refill is coming. Until the next time – cheers!
Weekly Wine Quiz #69: Grape Trivia – Viognier
California Viognier grapes, as shown in Wikipedia
Welcome to the weekend and your new wine quiz!
We are continuing our grape trivia series, still focusing on the white grapes, and today’s subject is Viognier.
Talking about turbulent history here. Viognier is one of the oldest known white grapes in the world, with the first mentions attributed to the 280 AD. It is considered that Romans brought it to France from Croatia (of course the region was called differently in those times, but it is still geographically correct). Historically, Viognier wines were mostly made in the Northern Rhone region in France, and they were quite popular in the 1800. However, by the 1965, there were only 8 acres (!) planted in the world, producing minuscule amount of wine.
Viognier‘s renaissance started in 1980s, when the grape was brought into the United States and Australia. From that time on, the interest to the grape increased and even skyrocketed in the 21st century worldwide, with the plantings in France alone increasing 100-fold. Now Viognier is growing in pretty much every major winemaking country in the world, including Spain with some experimental plantings in Rioja area. In the United States alone, the grape is becoming more and more popular, and not only in California, but also in the states such as Texas and Virginia, producing very interesting wines (take a look at my notes from Viognier tasting in Texas).
Viognier at its best produces wines with very perfumy, floral nose, which are firm, structured and full bodied on the palate, with peach and apricot flavors often being most noticeable. The challenge of Viognier lies in the fact that the grape is naturally low in acidity, so if it is not ripen properly, it will produce sweet and not very drinkable plonk. One of the reason for Viognier to do much better nowadays is greatly improved winegrowing and winemaking techniques, which allow to produce great tasting wines more consistently.
And now, to the quiz!
Q1: Viognier stands pretty unique among all white grapes as it is often added or can be added as blending component during the production of the red wines around the world. Do you know the name of the red grape it typically accompanies?
Q2: Name the source of essentially the best and most long-living Viognier wines in the world
Q3: Viognier became so popular in the United States, that one of the states even called it “an official grape of the state”. Do you know which state it is?
a. California
b. New York
c. Texas
d. Virginia
Q4: Wine Spectator calls wines rated in 95-100 range Classic (the highest and the most prestigious category). True or False: there are no Viognier wines with Classic rating
Q5: Based on DNA research, Viognier has an unlikely cousin in Italy, which is not even the white grape, but red. Can you name that “cousin”?
Good luck, enjoy the quiz and your weekend! Cheers!
Wednesday’s Meritage – Wine Quiz Answer, New Life at Mayacamas, Few Reminders and more
Field Recordings Chenin Blanc Jurassic Park Vineyard
Meritage Time!
Let’s start with the answer to the wine quiz #68, grape trivia – Chenin Blanc. In the quiz, you were supposed to answer 5 questions about Chenin Blanc grape.
Here are the questions, now with the answers:
Q1: True or false: South Africa grows (area-wise) twice as much Chenin Blanc as France
A1: True. Chenin Blanc plantings in South Africa take a bit less than 25% of all grape plantings in the country, and it exceeds plantings in France by at least two times.
Q2: Do you know how Chenin Blanc is typically called in South Africa?
A2: Steen. Chenin Blanc is South Africa was traditionally called Steen, but as many wineries are improving quality of their Chenin Blanc wines, they also use the traditional “Chenin Blanc” name on the labels more and more.
Q3: Based on DNA research, Chenin Blanc might be a parent of:
a. Pinot Blanc, b. Sauvignon Blanc, c. Marsanne, d. Ugni Blanc (Trebbiano)
A3: Sauvignon Blanc.
Q4: Wine Spectator calls wines rated in 95-100 range Classic (the highest and the most prestigious category). True or False: there are no Chenin Blanc wines with Classic rating.
A4: False. While there are only 14 Classic Chenin Blanc wines to the date (all from Vouvray region in France), Domaine Huët Vouvray Cuvée Constance 1997 scored even perfect 100 points.
Q5: One of my all time favorite Chenin Blanc wines is made by the company called Field Recordings in California. It is a single-vineyard wine, coming from the vineyard which has the same name as one of the blockbuster movies of the 90s. Do you know how this vineyard is called?
A5: Jurassic Park! I’m really curious what would give such a name to the vineyard, but hey, this is how it is called. And Jurassic Park Chenin Blanc I had was spectacular.
I’m glad to report that we have lots of winners this time! Emil, SheWinesSometimes, VinoinLove and TheDrunkenCyclist answered all 5 questions correctly, and they get the coveted prize of unlimited bragging rights!
Now, to the interesting stuff around vine and web!
I have a few interesting things for you to read. First, an article by New York Times‘ Eric Asimov, talking about new life of Mayacamas Vineyards in Napa. Mayacamas is one of the historical vineyards in the region, originally built in 1889, and owned by Bob Travers and his wife since 1968. I experienced Mayacamas Cabernet Sauvignon only once, and it was a spectacular wine, done in very restrained and elegant style. Now the winery is acquired by Charles Banks, who owned Screaming Eagle in the past, and he brought in Andy Erickson, a past Screaming Eagle’s winemaker, to make wine at the Mayacamas. How Mayacamas will change is a big question for all of its fans, so you should read the article to learn more.
Here is an interesting read for you from W. Blake Gray, on the subject of [yeah, here we go again] wine tasting notes. Before you read the article, test yourself – do you know what gunflint is? You do? Great, do you know how does it taste like? My personal answer is “no” for both questions, but you go read the article to learn something new and get entertained.
The last article for today on the subject of Georgian wines, talking about new and interesting wines coming from the “cradle of winemaking”, as Georgia often is referred to. Go find the bottle of Georgian wine to enjoy while you will be reading the article.
We are getting closer to the few important dates (deadlines, rather) so here are your reminders:
August 14th – Wine Blogging Wednesday event, #WBW80 – Dry Rosé. All you need to do is to write a blog post pertinent to the subject, and submit it to the host. For all the details please click here. Let’s make it a success!
August 16th – deadline for submission for the Monthly Wine Writing Challenge #2, with the theme called Trouble. You can find all the rules here. I finally made my submission, so I sleep much better now. There is still time, get your trouble under control and write! Side note – if you are using twitter, I recommend using #MWWC hash tag for all submissions and discussions.
August 29th – Annual Cabernet Day 2013. Grab the bottle of your favorite Cab and join the festivities – here is the link to the invitation I received for this Cabernet Day, in case you want to state your participation officially.
That is all I have for you, folks. The glass is empty -but the refill is coming. Until the next time – cheers!
Weekly Wine Quiz #68: Grape Trivia – Chenin Blanc
Chenin Blanc grapes, as pictured in Wikipedia
Welcome to the weekend and your new wine quiz!
Today we are continuing our grape trivia with the next white grape – Chenin Blanc. Chenin Blanc is one of the oldest known grapes in the world, with the first mentions tracing back to 9th century in Loire in France. In about 17th century it made it to South Africa, where it became one of the most popular grapes, and it continued spreading around the world. In France, it is mostly growing in the Loire valley, with probably the best wines coming from Anjou and Vouvray regions.
According to wine expert Jancis Robinson, Chenin Blanc is probably one of the most versatile white grapes in the world. It has very high level of natural acidity, and also capable of accumulating very high level of sugars, making it equally suitable for production Sparkling wines and luscious dessert wines. At the time, Chenin Blanc requires a lot of attention in the vineyard, as it has a tendency to overgrow. If harvested too early, its high level of acidity makes the resulting wines simply insipid, and if it overgrows, the resulting wine tends to lose it character making dull and uninteresting wines.
Traditionally, the best Chenin Blanc wines were made in France, with off-dry Vouvray being probably some of the very best examples (if you ever experienced a “wow” Vouvray wine, raise you hand – I personally have, and at about $15/bottle, it doesn’t require you to break the bank). Overall, as winemaking techniques improve all over the world, there are more and more interesting Chenin Blanc wines coming from South Africa, California, Washington, Texas and many other places.
And now, to the quiz!
Q1: True or false: South Africa grows (area -wise) twice as much Chenin Blanc as France
Q2: Do you know how Chenin Blanc is typically called in South Africa?
Q3: Based on DNA research, Chenin Blanc might be a parent of:
a. Pinot Blanc
b. Sauvignon Blanc
c. Marsanne
d. Ugni Blanc (Trebbiano)
Q4: Wine Spectator calls wines rated in 95-100 range Classic (the highest and the most prestigious category). True or False: there are no Chenin Blanc wines with Classic rating.
Q5: One of my all time favorite Chenin Blanc wines is made by the company called Field Recordings in California. It is a single-vineyard wine, coming from the vineyard which has the same name as one of the blockbuster movies of the 90s. Do you know how this vineyard is called?
Side note: Google is your friend. It is impossible to know everything, and when you research, you learn…
Good luck, have fun and cheers!
Wednesday’s Meritage – Wine Quiz Answer, How To Make Wine Into a Cult, Interesting Videos, Few Reminders and more
Meritage Time!
First and foremost, the answer to the weekly wine quiz #67, grape trivia – Pinot Gris, a.k.a. Pinot Grigio.
In the quiz, you were supposed to answer 5 questions about Pinot Gris grape – here are the questions, now with the answers.
Q1: Name Italian Pinot Grigio wine which is considered a golden standard of Pinot Grigio in the United States (people really ask for it by name).
A1: Santa Margherita. In the 1979, a few cases of Santa Margherita were shipped to US by Billy Terlato, the wine importer. The marketing campaign in the 1980s happened to be pure genius ( I guess, I didn’t witness the campaign, but I can see the results) – the rest was history. In 2006 Santa Margherita alone sold 8.5M (that’s millions to you) bottles of Pinot Grigio worldwide, 65% in US. Mind-boggling, if you ask me… You can find some additoinal interesting information in this Imbibe.com article.
Q2: Name two famous regions in France which used to make wines out of Pinot Gris, but not anymore
A2: Both Burgundy and Champagne used to make Pinot Gris wines in the 18th century. Nowadays, both regions still grow Pinot Gris, but practically never use it for the mainstream winemaking.
Q3: When do you think Pinot Gris was first planted in Oregon?
a. 1947, b. 1966, c. 1978, d. 1990
A3: 1966. David Lett of Eyrie Vineyards planted first Pinot Gris vines in Oregon in 1966.
Q4: Wine Spectator calls wines rated in 95-100 range Classic. True or False: there are more classically rated Pinot Gris wines than Sauvignon Blanc?
A4: True. There are quite a few Pinot Gris (no Pinot Grigio, of course) with very high ratings, including 2001 Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Gris Alsace Clos Windsbuhl Sélection des Grains Nobles, which got 100 points. The highest of Sauvignon Blanc ratings belongs to 2005 Didier Dagueneau Pouilly-Fumé Pur Sang (97 points), and overall there are very few Sauvignon Blanc wines in the Classic ratings range.
Q5: During early 2000s, producers in Alsace had to change the way the Pinot Gris wines were typically labeled (you can still find the old name on the bottles from 1990s and before). Do you know what was changed and why? As an added bonus, please explain the origin of the old name.
A5: As with many grapes, the story is quite interesting. Pinot Gris originated in Burgundy, some time in 12th century. From there, it made it to Hungary, and then in 16th century it made it to Alsace, now under the name of Tokay d’Alsace. At the same time, Tokay ( Tokaj to be precise) is the name used for one of the best Hungarian wines, so in 1993 the agreement was reached in EU to phase out the use of “Tokay” in Alsace, which was completed in 2007.
I’m glad to tell you that we have the winner this time! Jeff, a.k.a. The Drunken Cyclist, nailed all 5 questions – he also did it Google-free, which deserved a special commendation – however I can only offer a double amount of the typical prize – unlimited bragging rights. Double unlimited? Not sure how that should work… but great job Jeff!
Now, to the interesting stuff around the vine and web!
First, here is an interesting story for you on how to make the wine into a cult wine. The story was published in the Drinks Business online magazine, so it is written more a trade article, but it makes an interesting reading nevertheless.
Now, I have two important reminders for you:
August 14th – Wine Blogging Wednesday event, #WBW80 – Dry Rosé. All you need to do is to write a blog post pertinent to the subject, and submit it to the host. For all the details please click here. Let’s make it a success!
August 16th – deadline for submission for the Monthly Wine Writing Challenge #2, with the theme called Trouble. You can find all the rules here. I personally have big trouble with this trouble, so I’m not sure if you will see an article from me… Oh well – I’ve seen a few submissions already, and they were worth the trouble!
Thanks to the tweet from the fellow oenophile Peter L. Zachar (@PeterZachar ), I came across an interesting series of videos about Bordeaux. Recorded by James Cluer, Master of Wine, the series is presenting some of the greatest estates in Bordeaux. Below is the first video of the series, and you can follow it from there.
And this is all I have for you for today. The glass is empty – but the refill is coming. Open something great tonight, and until the next time – cheers!
Divine Experience, or Happy 15th Anniversary Brasitas!
A few days ago I got an invitation to attend the wine dinner at Brasitas restaurant in Stamford, in honor of Brasitas 15 years anniversary. The invitation came through by ways of the Connecticut Bloggers group, run by Wendy and Greg Limauge (if you live and blog in Connecticut, you definitely want to be a part of this group). Now, take your wild guess – do you think I accepted the invitation? Okay, that was a dumb question, so let’s move on – closer to the great food and wine.
I had been to Brasitas a number of times before, and it is safe to say that this is one of my favorite spots in Stamford. Brasitas identifies its cuisine as “Latin Fusion”, and considering the food which is served there, this is a pretty good designation. Now our dinner this time was a special event. The menu consisted of 5 dishes, paired with the special wine program (courtesy of Brescome Barton, one of Connecticut wine distributors) – so let me share that with you (but please keep in mind that this can make you hungry…).
We started our evening in style, with the Cave based version of Kir Royale:
This Codorniu Brut Cava, Penedes had a tiny drop of raspberry liquor, which didn’t change its very dry, austere character of the Cava. It is interesting to note that Codorniu family makes wines for 5 centuries (starting in 1551), and it was one of the first Cava producers in the region in 1872.
The very first dish of the day was Ensalada Catalana (Baby Spinach, Manchego Cheese, Golden Raisins, Pinenuts, Caramelized Quince, Blue Cheese and Sherry Vinaigrette):
Ensalada Catalana
The caramelized quince provided perfect support for both blue cheese and Manchego, overall creating very nice and refreshing appetizer.
Our next wine was 2012 Mar de Frades Albariño, Val do Salnés, Rias Baixas DO:
Mar de Frades Albariño
Mar de Frades means “A sea that is also a wine” in Galician. Bodegas Mar de Frades started producing wine in Val do Salnés region of Rias Baixas in 1987. The winery is located in the area where river Umia meets the sea, so you can see this sea relationship perfectly incorporated in the bottle itself. The label on this wine is also pretty unique, showing the blue ship on the label when the wine is at ideal drinking temperature (46F – 50F).
This 2012 Mar de Frades Albariño, Val do Salnés, Rias Baixas DO (100% Albariño, 12.5% ABV) had muted fruit on the nose, with nutty undertones, then it showed some white stone fruit. On the palate the wine was a little flat and acidic. I don’t know if this was really the right drinking temperature for the wine, as it showed more fruit as it warmed up. It was definitely not the Albariño I know, but I would think that it was specifically produced in this less fruity style. Drinkability: 7
Paired with Albariño was the dish called Pulpo a la Portuguesa (Roasted Portuguese Octopus, Bacalhau & Potato Cream, Charred Scallions, Chorizo, Mojo Verde):
Pulpo a la Portuguesa
The octopus was perfectly cooked it was definitely the star of the dish ( as expected). I have to honestly tell you that Bacalhau was lost for me in that potato cream, and I would probably appreciate a bit more assertive presence from the chorizo, but overall that didn’t take much out of this excellent dish. An interesting side note – this was a first encounter with an octopus for a number of people at our table – but I think they all happened to like it!
Next up was 2010 Ramon Bilbao Crianza Rioja, Spain:
This 2010 Ramon Bilbao Crianza Rioja, Spain (100% Tempranillo, aged for 14 month in oak, 8 month in the bottle, 13.5% ABV) is produced by Bodegas Ramón Bilbao, founded in 1924 in Rioja Alta region. The winery had somewhat of the turbulent past, going through the number of owners but really turning around in 1999. The wine was outstanding (note to all – 2010 was a great vintage in Rioja, make sure to stock up on those wines). Nose was amazing – luscious dark fruit, some hints of eucalyptus. The nose sensation continued on the palate – dark red fruit, soft and luscious, perfect acidity, perfect balance overall, medium long finish. Drinkability: 8
This excellent Rioja was paired with… nothing else, but fish! The dish was called Pajespo con Romesco (Monkfish, Jamón Serrano, Saummer Pea Casserole, Ramesco Sauce, Pisto and Clam Broth):
Pajespo con Romesco
How do you think the pairing was? In a word – spectacular! Earthy flavors of the sauce and nice saltiness of the fish wrapped in Jamón Serrano perfectly married the wine! I’m the first to ignore “fish with white…” rule, but in my experience this was the first truly spectacular pairing of such sort which I experienced. Bravo!
This was definitely the hard-to-top-off experience, but the next dish was … well, it was not better, but it was definitely on par.
First, the wine. 2008 Cruz de Alba Crianza Ribera del Duero, Spain:
Crus de Alba Ribera del Duero
This 2008 Cruz de Alba Crianza Ribera del Duero, Spain (100% Tempranillo, 15 month in barrel, 10 month in the bottle, 14.5% ABV) produced by Bodegas Cruz de Alba in Ribero del Duero region. This is relatively young winery, which came into existence only 10 years ago, in 2003. The winery web site is available only in Spanish, so just on my understanding it seems that this is a new venture of Bodegas Ramón Bilbao.
In general, the wines in Ribera del Duero are made from the same Tempranillo grapes as the wines of Rioja – but typically Ribera del Duero wines are more massive and concentrated than those of Rioja. This wine was no exception – dark fruit, structure, power, cherries, espresso and dark chocolate on the palate, perfect cut-through acidity, perfect balance. Definitely an outstanding example of Ribera del Duero wine. Drinkability: 8.
This wine was paired with probably a culmination dish of the evening – Chicharrón (Pork Belly Brined in Smoked Paprika, Cauliflower-Manchego Foam, Crispy Cauliflower, Chanterelle Mushrooms, Solera Vinegar, Pickled Cherries):
Chicharrón
This dish was a symphony of flavor and texture – succulent meat, the sauce with enough sweetness and acidity, crispy skin – all worked together perfectly. Cruz de Alba Crianza, with its sour cherries profile, was creating a delicious combination.
And then there was dessert – Torta de Aceite (Olive Oil and Rosemary Cake, Grapefruit Sorbet, Cosecha Miel Marinated Grapes):
Torta de Aceite
The dessert was paired with Licor 43, a citrus essence with the touch of vanilla, which naturally complemented the dessert perfectly. This was a great finish to the fantastic meal.
Last, but not least – Jaime Guerrero, chef and owner of Brasitas, came to talk to us, which was a great ending for the evening:
Jaime Guerrero, Chef and Owner of Brasitas, talking to CT Bloggers
There you have it, my friends – great dinner, great food, great wine, great company – life at its best. I really enjoyed meeting all the Connecticut Bloggers who came to this dinner – Denise (and Jay) from DeeCuisine, Alicia from Local Food Rocks, Bonnie from Home Place, Greg and Wendy from Connecticut Bloggers – and I hope to seem them again soon.
And we are done here. Until the next time – cheers!
Brasitas Restaurant
954 E Main St
Stamford, CT 06902
(203) 323-3176
http://www.brasitas.com/
Disclaimer: I was invited to this dinner as a guest of management. All opinions are my own.
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