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Drink Local: Texas, Georgia, Walmart
Whenever I travel, whether for work or leisure, I always love to try local wines – adding an occasional winery visit is a cherry on top, for sure.
Drinking local had been a habit for a long time (here are some posts if you are interested in my past discoveries), and I have to say that more often than not, the curiosity is rewarded handsomely, with tasty, unique and different wine discoveries.
At the end of June, I was in Texas, and of course, I wanted to taste the local wines. I didn’t have time to visit a supermarket, so to my delight, I found a full line of Texas wines at the happy hour at the Residence Inn hotel where I was staying. All the wines where from the winery called Messina Hof, which, according to the website, is a very prolific producer, offering 70 different wines – well, everything is bigger in Texas, right? Here is what I had an opportunity to try:
2017 Messina Hof GSM Texas (14%ABV, 52% Syrah, 35% Mourvedre, 13% Grenache) – earthy aromas, cherries, good acidity, tart blackberries, good structure, excellent overall. 8-
2016 Messina Hof Reflections of Love Private Reserve Texas (13.5% ABV, Merlot based blend?)
Touch of eucalyptus and dark fruit on the nose
Perfectly clean, varietals correct Bordeaux with cassis, well integrated tannins, crisp structure, excellent overall. 8
2016 Messina Hof Pinot Noir Private Reserve Texas (13.5% ABV) cherries on the nose, good cherries and and plums on the palate, well integrated, well balanced, medium plus weight, round, smooth. Not necessarily a traditional Pinot Noir rendition, but well enjoyable. 7+.
The only supermarket I managed to find the time to visit while in Texas was the one at Walmart. There was no Texas wine there (sad, but rather expected), but I couldn’t leave empty-handed, couldn’t I? I settled on two wines, both of which I picked solely on the basis of a cool label (yes, sorry, you can make as much fun of me as you want – I did like that critter label with the duck) and the price. I have to tell you that I actually got lucky, and ended up with two very decent wines:
NV Lucky Duck Shiraz South Eastern Australia (13% ABV, $3.99) – yes, simple, but very clean and nicely balanced. Good but not overbearing amount of red and black fruit, good acidity, warm spices. Medium body. Pleasant and easy to drink, outstanding QPR. 7+
2016 Prophecy Sauvignon Blanc Marlboro (12.5% ABV, $8.99) – unquestionably a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, while surprisingly restrained. Fresh, Crisp, cassis undertones, touch of tropical fruit and fresh cut grass, Meyer lemon notes, clean acidity. Excellent QPR. 8-
At the end of July, I had an opportunity to spend a weekend in Atlanta. I didn’t have much time, but still managed to squeeze in a quick visit to the local Total Wines, which, to my delight, carried the selection of the local wines:
Many of the wines were either fruit wines or pointedly sweet wines, however, I managed to find the Château Élan wines, which promised to be dry, and were priced in the category I consider “reasonable” (at $19.99). Here are the notes for the wines I got:
2015 Château Élan American Sauvignon Blanc Reserve Georgia (13% ABV, $19.99)
Light golden
Touch of gunflint on the nose, herbal profile
Very unique and different on the palate compare to most of the Sauvignon Blanc wines. Green apple, tart lemon acidity, clean, fresh.
8-, more reminiscent of Chardonnay than Sauvignon Blanc – well drinkable and delicious overall.
2016 Château Élan American Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Georgia (14.5% ABV, $19.99)
Dark garnet, almost black
Classic Cabernet all around – nose is open and inviting, with a touch of casis and mint
same on the palate – dark fruit, cassis, fresh cherries, medium+ body, soft tannins, good acidity and overall good balance.
8-, very quaffable
I wish I had an extra few hours to visit the winery, which I understand is located about an hour away from Atlanta, but this will have to wait until the next visit. In any case, I get to update my “wines of 50 United States” page with one more check-mark :).
That’s all I have for you, my friends. Any local discoveries you want to share? Cheers!
Exploring Wines Of New Zealand – With Villa Maria on Snooth
Wines of New Zealand need no introduction – for sure to the oenophiles. Winemaking started in New Zealand in the 1850s, but it really flourished in the second half of the 20th century, when jet travel allowed much easier access to the future winemakers to get educated and experienced in Europe. Since the 1990s, New Zealand greatly embraced sustainability and … screw tops. I’m definitely very happy about the first – sustainable farming always leads to the better wines and happier environment. The screw tops – they are fine, I’m not convinced though that they are the best for aging the wines properly. However, I don’t want to convert this post neither into a rant, nor into a debate, so let’s just move on.
The story of Villa Maria winery is easily an exemplary story of realizing the “American Dream” – only in this case, it is, of course, have to be called a “New Zealand dream” (I hope such a concept exists).
George Fistonich started in 1961, at the age of 21, with one acre of vines in Auckland. In 1962, he harvested the grapes and produced the wines under the name of Villa Maria. That was the beginning of the journey of one man, who had the passion, vision, perseverance and enough obsession to make it. Villa Maria was a one man operation through the 60s, hiring its first staff in the early 70s, and now employing 250 people and exporting their wines to the 50 countries. As a perfect proof of making it, George Fistonich became Sir George Fistonich, receiving the first knighthood in the country for the services to New Zealand’s wine industry.
Villa Maria today has vineyards located in Auckland, Gisborne, Hawkes Bay and Marlborough regions. The grapes range from the New Zealand’s staples such as Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir to such an obscure varietals as Arneis and Verdelho. Villa Maria became a cork-free zone in 2001. And I can tell you, they really treat sustainability seriously – the Villa Maria bottles were some of the lightest wine bottles I ever came across, which I’m sure greatly affects the carbon footprint.
A week or so ago, I was a part of the big group of winelovers tasting Villa Maria wines together in the virtual tasting organized by Snooth (no worries, the wines were real). Here are my notes from tasting and also, re-tasting of the wines.
First, two of the Sauvignon Blanc wines. First one was called “bubbly” as it was lightly carbonated – and it was definitely a fun wine, perfect for a summer picnic, fresh and delightful. And the Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc was simply a classic New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, done with a perfect restraint:
2016 Villa Maria Bubbly Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough (12.5% ABV, $15)
C: literally non-existent
N: touch of grass and currant, a classic SB, restrained.
P: nice, touch of bubbles, touch of sweetness, black currant, nice and round, refreshing.
V: 8-/8, definitely nice
2016 Villa Maria Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough (12.5% ABV, $13)
C: straw pale
N: pure cassis, beautiful, freshly cut grass, classic
P: excellent balance, acidity, currant and a touch of grass. Nice and pleasant.
V: 8, I can drink this at any time, excellent wine
Now, the Rosé and then Chardonnay. The Villa Maria Rosé is predominantly Merlot. It is light and simple, but it has enough finesse to pass one of my personal tests – I particularly like the white and Rosé wines which are well drinkable when they are a bit warm – it is annoying to maintain the wines at the ice cold level (at home, for sure). The Rosé was delicious and drinkable even at the room temperature, so it definitely passed that test. And as for the Chardonnay – I know that I will be in the tiny minority from our tasting group, but I found it to be just okay. It had all the classic Chardonnay traits, but, somehow, didn’t hit the home run for me…
2016 Villa Maria Private Bin Rosé Hawkes Bay (12.5% ABV, $14)
C: Pink
N: strawberries and strawberry leaves, round and pleasant
P: strawberries, touch of sweetness, could use a touch more acidity, but still, nice and delicate
V: 8-, definitely improved the next day, more delicate, better balance
2015 Villa Maria Single Vineyard Taylors Pass Chardonnay Marlborough (13.5% ABV, $45)
C: straw pale
N: creamy, vanilla, freshly baked brioche buns with a touch of butter on them
P: Granny Smith apples smothered in butter, good acidity, excellent midpalate weight, nicely plump, but clean. Nice cleansing acidity on the finish.
V: 7+, needs food.
Now, the reds. Pinot Noir was unusual compared to what I typically expect from the Marlboro Pinot Noir. It was heavier than I expected, and on the day 3, it became a lot closer to the powerful Oregonian Pinot (which is a good deal at $26, right? ). The Merlot blend was an enigma. It opened up beautifully as I just opened the bottle, but then it went back into its shell and never came out of it, even on the day 3 …
2014 Villa Maria Cellar Selection Pinot Noir Marlborough (13.5% ABV, $26)
C: bright ruby
N: touch of sweet cherries, violet
P: tart cherries, tart acidity, touch of tobacco
V: 7, 7+ on the day 3 – showed a lot more fruit on the palate, Oregonian notes of dark power, espresso, mocha, with sweet core of cherries and plums.
2013 Villa Maria Cellar Selection Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon Hawkes Bay (13.5% ABV, $20, 70% Merlot, 23% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Malbec)
C: dark garnet, almost black
N: medium intensity, baking powder, vanilla, sweet mocha
P: black currant, ripe and sweet, touch of espresso, tar, dark fruit, dry, tannic finish
V: 7, unusual experience …
Have you had any of these wines? What are your thoughts? Cheers!
One on One With Winemaker: Jeff Fyfe from The Crossings Winery, New Zealand
Few days ago I was offered an opportunity to meet Jeff Fyfe, senior winemaker at The Crossings Winery from New Zealand – only I couldn’t. What about the title of this post, you ask? No, I’m not trying to purposefully mislead you with some dark intent. What I did was very simple and logical 🙂 – I came up with a bunch of questions, and asked Jeff to answer them on his own. We can call it a “virtual interview”. I also had an opportunity to taste two of the latest wines from The Crossings – including the 2015 Sauvignon Blanc. I was quite excited about it, as my first wine of the current vintage typically is Beaujolais Nouveau, so this was a welcome deviation.
Let’s start with the interview. Imagine yourself out in the vineyard, on a sunny day, with the glass of cold and refreshing white wine, talking to Jeff Fyfe:
What was your favorite vintage(s) for both Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc and why?
We have been extremely lucky in Marlborough in recent years with a number of great vintages in a row. In 2014 we had harvested all of the Pinot Noir prior to commencing any Sauvignon Blanc which is fairly unusual. This gave us the opportunity to focus on the varieties individually a little more than usual which was nice. There are some great Sauvignon Blancs from 2015 and we are excited about releasing them.
What was your most difficult vintage for both Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc and why?
Both 2008 and 2009 were reasonably difficult vintages in the fact that the crops were slightly heavier than normal and we had some unseasonal rain during harvest making things difficult.
Many winemakers in NZ experiment with oak and Sauvignon Blanc. What do you think of that? Is this an up and coming trend? Do you make any oaked Sauvignon Blanc wines?
I don’t know if I would call it a trend, I think it is now a style in its own right in Marlborough. Many producers are making them, and have been for some time. Dog Point Section 94 is a great example of barrel fermented Sauvignon Blanc. They wines obviously age well, in my opinion the better examples show great balance and integration of the oak and the fruit. Some producers are also creating wines with small amounts of barrel fermented Sauvignon Blanc to add texture and weight to their tank fermented Sauvignon Blancs.
Today, there are many new grapes been planted in NZ – Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Riesling, Gruner Veltliner, Syrah. I see that you are already making Riesling and Pinot Gris wines – do you have plans for any other new grapes?
Yes, we already make very small quantities of Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, and Riesling and we planted some Gruner Veltliner at our Willowflat vineyard 2 years ago, which is looking promising. I think Marlborough already produces world class aromatics, particularly from the cooler sites which enables longer ripening and extended hang time for the fruit which creates wines with texture, weight and acidity.
Outside of your own wines, what are your other favorite wines from New Zealand?
There are some great aromatics coming out of the Nelson region, Waimea, and Seifreid are favourites. Also Hawkes Bay Syrah, in my opinion the best examples can rival the great Syrahs of the world. Bilancia, Crossroads, Trinity Hill are all great examples.
What are your favorite Sauvignon Blanc wine outside of New Zealand – regions and/or producers?
White Bordeaux! If only I could drink them more often. Generally I like to drink Austrian or German Rieslings, there are so many amazing producers, Brundlmayer, Ansgar Clusserath, Donnhoff, Wittman to name a few.
Same question for Pinot Noir – favorite regions/wines/producers outside of New Zealand?
I tend to drink the wines coming from cooler climate regions as I like the elegance and finesse they can have, cooler parts of Australia such as Tasmania, and the Mornington Peninsula are great. There are obviously some pretty special wines coming out of Burgundy, I just can’t afford to drink them that often! Although when I do I enjoy wines from the appellation of Volnay.
If you would have a “do-over” opportunity – go back in time and start the winery again – would you still start it at the exact same place, or would you chose a different location, region or even country?
I wouldn’t change the location of the vineyards that’s for sure. We have 3 amazing vineyard locations in the Awatere Valley, each very unique which provides us with quality fruit to make the wines that we do.
Today, a lot of wineries around the world add sparkling and Rosé wines to their portfolios, but this trend doesn’t seem to catch up in New Zealand. Do you think this will change? Do you have any plans to start producing sparkling or Rosé wines?
There are already a number of producers in Marlborough making some great rosés. The demand for Marlborough Pinot Noir is strong, so I guess that has an impact on the ability of some producers to make Rose, hence why you don’t see them often on a global scale. At The Crossings we are hoping to make a rose in vintage 2016. It’s the same with sparkling wines in Marlborough, some world class wines being produced but on a reasonably small scale.
What is the oldest vintage of your own wines you ever tried? Do you think the wines held up well?
We recently had a vertical tasting of The Crossings Sauvignon Blanc from 2005 to 2015. We were pleasantly surprised at how well the wines were holding up. The majority of the older vintages still looked fresh, showing varietal character and maintained the mineral acidity that is signature of the Awatere Valley. All of the wines were under screw cap
* * *
I think Jeff provided great answers. Hearing that 10 years old Sauvignon Blanc is still fresh makes me very happy – I love wines with an age on them, and I love it when the wines are aging gracefully, so I would love to try it by myself. Well, yes, I didn’t try the 2005 – instead, I tried the wine from the vintage Jeff was so happy about it – the 2015. I tasted latest releases of both Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir, which I got as samples, courtesy of the importer, Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits. For you to understand how new the 2015 was, the bottle even didn’t have an official label on it yet.
Here are my tasting notes:
2015 The Crossings Sauvignon Blanc Awatare Valley Marlboro, New Zealand (13% ABV, SRP $14)
C: straw pale
N: beautiful fresh cut grass, just a hint of grapefruit, lemon zest
P: clean acidity, fresh, lemon undertones, herbal notes, perfectly balanced
V: 8, one of the very best NZ sauvignon Blanc wines I ever tasted. Summer day in the glass.
2014 The Crossings Pinot Noir Awatare Valley Marlboro, New Zealand (14% ABV, SRP $18)
C: dark ruby
N: smoke and raspberries, lavender, touch of mint, baking spices
P: sweet cherries, plums, hint of vanilla, touch of spices, good balance, medium body, medium-long finish.
V: 7+/8-, classic Marlboro Pinot Noir
There you have it, my friends – virtual interview and very real, delicious wines. Now, let me ask you a question – if you would have an opportunity to talk to the winemaker, what would be your questions? What do you think of our Q&A session? Happy Friday and Cheers!
Wednesday’s Meritage – #MWWC16 Vote, #SauvBlanc Day, WTSO Marathon, Chianti in New York
Meritage Time!
Don’t have a lot today – but a few things are worth mentioning.
First – Monthly Wine Writing Challenge #MWWC16, “Finish” concluded with a very modest 7 entrees. All of you, who were busy (or lazy) – and you know who you are – think about it, this is not cool. I really hope you will eagerly fix that behavior for the next time around, or the whole MWWC will be finished. Nevertheless, it is time to vote note – you can do it here.
Last time I reminded you about whole bunch of coming and going wine and grape holidays, so here I will focus only on one – Sauvignon Blanc Day (known in the social media as #SauvBlanc Day), which will be celebrated this coming Friday, April 24th, [hopefully] right in your glass. Sauvignon Blanc is one of the most delicious wines, showing a great range of expression from Sancerre in France to Marlboro in New Zealand to Chile and on to California – it is somewhat similar and ohh so different. One thing in common, no matter where the wine would come from – Sauvignon Blanc always means fun! Festivities will take place all over the world, both on April 24th and onward. On April 30th, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc will be celebrated in New York – information about this event can be found on the New Zealand Wine web site. If you will scroll down, on the same page to the right you will see information about various events taking place on April 24th in New Zealand, Australia, UK and Canada. You should check Twitter and Facebook (look for #SauvBlanc tag) – I’m sure there will be celebrations all over the world, no matter where you are. Most importantly – pour yourself a glass of delicious Sauvignon Blanc – this is all you need to join the festivities.
Wine Til Sold Out (WTSO), one of the finest purveyors on the great wines at the value prices, is doing “it” again. What “it”? Of course the Marathon! This time it is Magnum Marathon, which will take place on Tuesday, April 28th. WTSO went extra step and created a great information page about all of their Marathons, so now it is easy to learn about what, when and how (and I don’t need to repeat the rules every time) – here is the link.
The last one for today – Chianti anyone? If you like Chianti, and live in a close proximity to New York, you are in luck, as Consorzio Vino Chianti will be hosting Taste of Italy Chianti tasting event in New York on Monday, April 27th at the High Line Hotel. The event will be open to the public – you can find all the information here.
And we are done here. The glass is empty, but the refill is on the way. Cheers!
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