I drank what?

Mommy Wine?!?

2011-08-22T11:02:00.000-07:00

A good friend of this Rampant Oenophile made an off handed comment last week that stopped me in my tracks. He was talking about something that included the phrase “mommy wine.” My quizzical look must have amused him, as he told me about how is wife has a secret stash of what he calls her “mommy wine,” the wine that mommies have after the kids are down for the night.

The problem with mommy wine, though, is that an open bottle doesn’t last, so we started on a conversation about how to keep wine fresh. Without a fancy nitrogen system, which is too expensive, or a cheap vacuum pump, which doesn’t really work, opening a bottle means committing to 5 or 6 glasses of wine in short window. I just envisioned a horde of drunken Mommies swerving about the neighborhood pushing strollers to and fro. Not a happy image.

So, with the question of “how does one affordably keep wine fresh,” in mind, I set out on some research. I’ve been thinking about box wines for a while. I’ve always been a fan of the screw top. It’s an economical if slightly industrial option to cap a bottle and eliminate corkage problems completely. Austrailia, South Africa, and New Zealand adopted it long ago, and “upstart” California vintners enjoy it today. The French? Not so much. But, screw tops don’t solve the problem of storage open wine.

What about the Box? The phrase “box wine” projects the image of those nasty bulk wines from the 1970’s that restaurants used in bad sauces or to braise tough cuts of meat. Not for the faint of heart or tender of palate.

But, today, box wines offer terrific values and tremendous flexibility for wine drinkers. For the price of a few bottles of modest wine, I can find three varieties of box wines equivalent to a case of bottles, which store easily and save for up to 4 weeks upon opening. Each box contains a polymer bladder and spigot that protects the wine from air and age. Once open, air cannot flow into the bladder and harm the wine, thus extending the shelf life. Quite ingenious, actually.

So, I tested a few and bought my friend a Bota Box of Shiraz for his favorite “mommy.” For about $17, Bota box packages 3 liters of Shiraz in a convenient cardboard box (with up to 25% recycled materials). The Shiraz is a blend and very drinkable. It offers a good blend of warm fruit and vanilla, has silky textures and leaves a little spice on the finish. Overall, a solid wine that works out to about $4.25 a bottle. Far better than a Yellow Bird or other such wine, at a remarkable value.

Best of all, our favorite Mommy can enjoy a glass or two a night without pressure to finish off the bottle. Bota Box lasts on the counter or in the fridge for up to 4 weeks, more than enough time to keep mommy from terrorizing the neighborhood with sloppy strollering.

Finding Respite from the Heat, a Cool Sauvignon Blanc Delivers...

2011-08-22T10:13:00.000-07:00

For the first time ever, the heat of this summer has evaporated my will. I am moving from my beloved Zins and Petite Sirahs to cooler wines that can be served slightly chilled. I just can’t take the Central Florida heat!!

My wine club, The Tasting Room, sends small 6 bottle samplers to me monthly that let me try before I buy. I get a set of 6 50ml sampler bottles of cool wines from distinct regions or varietals, then I compare, rate, and select two bottles for my club shipment. Last month, I found a wonderful Petite Sirah (that I will be saving for cooler weather and a hot grill), as well as a very nice Sauvignon Blanc that balanced a lighter wine with complex flavors for a very satisfying and cooler wine.

Napa Station 2009 Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc is a crisp, cool, slightly acidic Sauv Blanc with a complex texture and flavor profile. I enjoyed a soft bouquet with some melon and pear on the nose, but was surprised by the crisp mineral tones on my tongue. The slight acidity made my mouth water slightly on the finish, which is exactly what acidity should do. Overall, very nice, and much more complex than I expected. Serve it cool, but not cold, or you will have a glass of alcoholic grape juice.

Napa Station is a winery, not a vineyard. They make wines from grapes grown all over Napa Valley, and offer a Sauvignon Blanc, a chardonnay, a merlot and a cabernet sauvignon. While they do not offer genuine online sales (you can download a .pdf and use snail mail), The Tasting Room offers the 2009 Sauvignon Blanc for $14.99 a bottle, and it is found in some of their samplers, too.

I’m sitting on a few dry Rose wines that may make the heat moderately bearable, so watch for upcoming blogs for new reviews. Enjoy!

WTSO Deal on 2005 Hugo from Oriel Wines

2011-08-22T09:28:00.000-07:00

I recently joined a new service called “Wines Till Sold Out” or WTSO. They offer special discounts on odd lots of wines that they buy directly from the vintner or winery. I’ve seen some great deals on lofty brands like Silver Oak at more than 50% off. Most wines are available at 40% - 65% off the wine shop price, and shipping is usually free if I buy 3-4 bottles.

A few weeks ago, WTSO sent me an email that caught my attention. Friends of this Rampant Oenophile know my love of Zinfandels, so when WTSO offered the 2005 Hugo, a Russian River Valley Zin, from Oriel Wines for just $9.99 a bottle, shipping included for 4 bottle purchases, I jumped.

The Zinfandel grape is America’s grape. Though it came from Croatia and other Eastern European slopes originally, today the Zinfandel grape is grown nearly exclusively in the US, and California vintners use it for some spectacular wines. Zinfandel is always lusty and big, often fruit forward in the parlance of wine writers. I love it for its dark fruit and spices. The spice overtones of the wine make it a perfect pair for steaks and cheeses, as it cuts through the fatty richness of those foods.

The Oriel Hugo, from wine maker Dan Goldfield, offers a big nose full of pepper and clove that anticipates the dark fruit in the wine. You’ll definitely taste cherry and currant on the front. This wine finishes smoothly, especially paired with food. It’s a great grilling wine with very little sugar. The Oak in the Hugo compliments smoked meats. I got some good advice from Vine Talk suggesting that a good pairing is a match of textures in the wine. Smoke on smoke, acidity with acidity; so a Zinfandel aged in oak with layers of rich silky textures should go very well with the Great American Barbeque. The Hugo makes a splash at grill side this summer, for certain.

The 2005 Oriel Hugo is still available on their website for $25 a bottle, or you can watch WTSO for another offer of this excellent Zinfandel. Enjoy.

A Rare Find in a Rosenblum Zinfandel

2011-01-06T11:13:00.000-08:00

A work celebration offered this Rampant Oenophile to enjoy the 2007 Rosenblum Richard Sauret Paso Robles Zinfandel, a terrific Zin blend that sources grapes from a premium Paso Robles vineyard for a string of annual releases. The 2007 was muted compared to the 2006, but still a winner in my book.

It’s like all of the great Zinfandels from Rosenblum, a consistent producer of top quality wines. More than half of their impressive 40+ varietals are Zinfandels, so Rosenblum knows a thing or two about that wine. The Richard Sauret vineyard is special because of the soil, but also for the low yield for these zinfandel grapes, which means we should enjoy these wines whenever we find them because they are in short supply.

The bouquet was a bit one note of plum fruit, and I didn’t notice a lot of spice on my nose. As the wine opened up in the glass and warmed slightly, you will notice smoky oak and some pepper. Tasting this Zin offers up more red fruit in an enjoyably subtle way. This isn’t a brazen Zin that smacks you in the face with fruit or spice. It’s more of a good friend that you can enjoy for hours. Served too cool, the wine was a bit flat, but as it warmed up, so did the complexity on the tongue. I could taste some of that oak, and some mineral overtones. The fruit is ripe and full, but not too sweet or jammy. You’ll find those plumbs, but also currant and licorice for some extra depth.

In a wine bar, expect to pay too much because the wine is in limited circulation. At a wine store, the Rosenblum is available for $20-$22, though I found a few bottles online for $19 plus shipping. I’d absolutely order the Richard Sauret Paso Robles Zinfandel again, especially by the glass served at a proper temperature. With so many bottles of great Zins from Rosenblum available, I might have to compare it with a couple of others before adding this dependable wine to my wine rack.

Bubbling Wines

2010-12-28T13:17:00.000-08:00

Lately, this Rampant Oenophile has been hearing lots about “bubbling wine,” which has become all the rage among both bartenders and casual pourers. Vinturi, the company responsible for all this bubbling madness, launched a product last year intended to stimulate aeration in single glasses of red wine, as opposed to decanting an entire bottle to let a still wine breathe. On its own merits, bubbling wine makes a lot of sense. Most people serve red wine too cool, white wine too warm, and rarely let the wine breathe substantially to open the flavors. Faced with “flat” wine that has not yet opened, I typically would swirl the wine in my glass, or hold the bowl in my palm for a red wine to open the flavors and bouquet.

But, if there’s an accessory that could do that work for me and look cool in the process, well that’s something I want to try. A friend of this Rampant Oenophile gave me a Vinturi for red wine as a gift this holiday season. I’ve been coveting her Vinturi for so long that I’m sure she felt that giving me one of my own was the best insurance against losing hers after a party…

The concept is simple. Based on Bernoulli’s principle, the Vinturi causes the flow of wine to accelerate, thus lowering the pressure within the wine and inviting bubbles of air to mix with the wine for proper aeration. An aerated wine is an open wine, which unlocks extra bouquet on the nose and flavor profiles on the palate. A “bubbled” wine offers more aromatic profiles, a “bigger” nose, and more complete profile for you to smell. The wine should have more complex flavors on the palate, giving you a better chance to notice the nuanced tastes so often written about in wine blogs and reviews. Finally, a fully opened wine finishes more smoothly with less of an after-taste or concentration of flavors that might bog down a flat wine.

That’s the theory, anyway. As ashamed as I am to admit this, I completely blew it with the Vinturi. To borrow a medical expression, apparently I am contra indicated, meaning that I got it all backwards.

To try out my new toy, I did a blind tasting with two respectable burgundy style wines; one glass of each as poured from the bottle, another glass poured through the bubbler. In both cases, this Rampant Oenophile enjoyed better and falsely identified the un-bubbled wine. I waxed poetic about the enhanced bouquet, better finish, and bigger flavors of one glass versus the flatter profile of another, only to learn that the wines on which I heaped so much favor were actually poured directly from the bottle, and the bubbled wines, to me at least, tasted much less enhanced.

Oh, well. I’m still going to test my bubbler and see if I can tell the difference. I’ll give it a whirl on some older reds, which need more aeration anyway, and usually deserve decanting.

Happy Holidays!

Stag's Leap Special Find

2010-12-28T12:01:00.000-08:00

It’s not often that this Rampant Oenophile gets the opportunity to enjoy a Stag’s Leap wine, let alone a special bottle like the 2006 Artemis Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, but dinner with dear friends surprised with two generous pours from this jewel. This deep, dark, lusty red wine shines with great clarity in the glass, offers a full rosy bouquet with hints of a creamy caramel and black cherry. On the tongue, it’s absolutely soft, velvety, and full without any of the mineral tones that might dry a wine. Absolutely a top wine enjoyed with a range of winter flavors. It paired perfectly with a medium Filet Mignon, butternut squash and a cilantro and parsley salad. The wine stood up to the herbs of the salad, and perfectly complimented the creamy texture of the squash without backing down on its fruit and spice balance. One of the best Cabernet’s of the year, and an essential find for a rack of fine Napa Valley wines. A very special wine.

Organic Zinfandel is a Real Find...

2010-10-11T08:55:00.000-07:00

Friends of this rampant oenophile recall a note about Quivira Vineyards and Winery biodynamic philosophy and organic farm, along with mention of their surprising and delicious 2009 Sauvignon Blanc. The real find at this beautiful winery, though, is the 2007 Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel. As any regular reader of this forum knows, I’m a staunch fan of good Zinfandel, and the 2007 offering from Quivira Vineyards boasts two impressive medals for 2010 competition; the Best of Class from the San Francisco Chronicle, as well as the Gold Medal in the 2010 San Francisco International Wine Competition.

I loved everything about this wine. Let your nose lead your palate and breathe deeply of the ripe fruit and spice. You’ll taste plums, pepper, and rosemary in the deep red-purple tones of a very sophisticated young Zinfandel. At just $20 a bottle from the vineyard, you can’t go wrong. Though we are just finishing the summer grilling season, I’m adding two bottles to my wine rack for a BBQ dinner from the grill this fall.

Really hacks me off...

2010-09-21T11:03:00.000-07:00

Call me cheap, but nothing bugs this Rampant Oenophile more than a winery or tasting room that won’t apply your tasting fee towards a wine purchase. During this trip to the Left Coast, My wife and I visited more than 30 wineries. After last year’s 3 case splurge, we wanted to resist buying a lot of wine at the wineries. It’s far easier to take pictures or write good notes, then buy only the really great wines direct from the vintners. Better yet, if I can find the special wines at my local wine shop, I feel like I’ve won.

Nearly every winery or tasting room charges a fee, though many will waive it for regular customers. They are in the business of selling wine, so a small tasting fee is like a corkage fee at a restaurant. It’s there to cover costs if the customer isn’t buying a bottle. I don’t blame anyone for making a buck or two. But, when a winery charges a fee and doesn’t waive it with a wine purchase, I start thinking that maybe they are in the tasting room business, and not so much invested in the wine. Valley of the Moon certainly tests the boundaries of those fees. Their tasting room is almost like a local gift shop, and you have to buy 3 bottles to forgive the $15 tasting fee.

But where Valley of the Moon might be walking up to the line with their fees, Imagery Estate Winery walks past it as if it didn’t exist. Imagery charges $10 for a flight of 5 wine choices in their winery. For a winery with 8 wines, plus several other bottles available “off-list” for the day, it’s tough to pick just 5 selections. And, frankly, $10 is a bit steep when all of the competition within 3 miles charges less and offers more.

And, I didn’t particularly enjoy the wine that I did end up buying. I bought it as a gift for a friend who loves Malbec, and while I’m sure that it’s good, I found it a bit too dry for my palate. What’s worse, that $37 gift turned quickly into a $47 bottle after the tasting fee, which is way too much to pay for mediocre wine.

So, visit Imagery Estate Winery for their wine art collection and pretty location. Sample the wines if you like, though you can get a wider selection of truly exceptional wines at Chateau St. Jean and St. Francis,

My Friend Moose and a New Zinfandel

2010-09-17T06:57:00.000-07:00

On a trek to meet as many Wine Dogs as possible on our recent trip to Sonoma and Napa Valley, this Rampant Oenophile and Mrs. Oenophile revisited BR Cohn Winery to see Moose, who friends will recall from a post in 2008. Moose is a dear friend of this Rampant Oenophile and unofficial greeter at BR Cohn’s beautiful visitor center.

Sadly, not long after my last visit, Moose passed on, though he is terrifically remembered by visitors for his presence in whimsical sculptures by Patrick Amiot near the visitor’s center.

BR Cohn retired Moose’s Red after Moose’s passing, so I will cherish my last bottle in honor of that four-legged friend. On a happier note during our visit, BR Cohn was pouring a new release, the 2008 Sonoma Valley Zinfandel, which celebrates the wonderful fruit crushed that year. It’s a rich, brash, full figured wine with ripe cherries, plums, and winter fruit up front, surprisingly light notes on the tongue, and an easy spicy finish. You’ll linger on peppers and currants at the end for a great balanced wine. The wine steward in the tasting room suggests it will store nicely and continue to develop, but also suggested that it be able to breathe a bit before enjoying with big foods. I’ll test that theory on my next bottle! It’s not available on their website yet, but I’m promised it will be soon. For now, I’m the only person in Florida with the vintage, but I’m not sharing…

Organic Wine? Not bad at all...

2010-09-16T07:44:00.000-07:00

Nestled along West Dry Creek Road outside Healdsburg, Quivira Vineyards and Winery offers a unique tour of their biodynamic farming methods, not just for their grapes, but also for fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers. They offer an expansive (means LOOOOONG) walking tour, so bring rugged shoes that won’t mind some dirt.

Friends of this rampant oenophile know that organic wines don’t often find me a welcome consumer, but Quivira offered a fine selection of wines from their own vineyards, as well as growers that support their mission to support biodynamic and sustainable agriculture in the Valley.

I’m rarely a fan of Sauvignon Blanc, certainly not of supermarket brands because they so typically offer such thin fruit. However, the 2009 Sauvignon Blanc from Quivira’s Fig Tree Vineyard, has great fig and melon flavors. Light, slightly acidic, with mineral tones on the finish, this white wine supports its fruit without being too citric or grainy. Worth sipping on a warm day, but also should pair well with nearly any seafood or poultry.

While their methods must be expensive to support such a terrific vineyard and agriculture laboratory, the 2009 Sauvignon Blanc from Quivira was only $18 at the vineyard. Like many small production wines in Sonoma, you might have to find this one directly from the winery, or join their wine club.

A Sublime VIP Experience in Napa Valley...

2010-09-14T11:19:00.000-07:00

While friends of this Rampant Oenophile will recall a terrific blend, OPC, that I raved about in March of this year. It was a gift, and a gracious one at that, from a good friend and business partner. Well, on this visit West, my wife and I were treated to a real VIP experience with the wine maker. Along with an autographed bottle of OPC, we sampled all of the new wines from this prolific wine making family. Matt, one of BuonCristiani’s four brothers, walked us through their new caves and we enjoyed the entire flight of the brothers’ wines on a crest at Stag’s Leap Heights overlooking the Stag’s Leap region of Napa Valley. I must say, it was a truly sublime wine experience.

While each of the wines in their impressive catalog impressed us, my personal favorite was the 2008 Napa Valley Dolcetto di Nonno, named for their grandfather. Made in the Italian style, but with the brothers’ California flair, this luscious, richly colored, beautifully balanced wine has an aroma of blueberries without the tartness. I could have enjoyed several more glasses if I didn’t have to worry about driving my car down Napa’s twisting roads. It’s a great wine for food, especially substantial Italian meals that go on for days. Keep the Dolcetto flowing.

Keep watching for upcoming reviews of their new Rosato and Chardonnay, two new white wines of surprising sophistication from a winery so far known for their bold reds.

Ready Rhone for Summer Enjoyment

2010-05-14T09:59:00.001-07:00

This rampant oenophile enjoys every opportunity to share good wine with good friends. I enjoyed the fellowship and the spicy lasagna with a new and interesting French red with great friends this week.

E. Guigal produces a stellar blend from the Cotes-du-Rhone region that is perfectly poised for warm summer nights and big foods. It's 50% Syrah, 40% Grenache, and 10% Mourvède, that soaks in the skins for extended periods, giving this big wine a deep purple hue and even balance. It's full of plum and red fruit, offers just a hint of dryness that compliments rich foods perfectly, and a silky texture that makes it easy to drink.

The wine is big enough with enough body to stand up to bold or spicy meals, so I plan to have a few bottles on hand for grilling this summer. Whatever the calamity in Europe is doing to their currency, those of us on this side of the pond benefit from favorable exchange rates. So, while we may find many great values in French wines, look for this tremendous value at just $12 a bottle. Buy some to enjoy with friends.

Crazy Freakshow at Four Vines

2010-03-15T09:18:00.000-07:00

Saving the Best of the Four Vines wines (Biker, Old Vine, and Naked®) for last, this Rampant Oenophile thought that a peek at their Freakshow catalog would intrique friends of this forum.

Freakshow is Four Vines line of blends that offers winemaker Christian Tietje a broader palate to exercise his “In Your Face” passion for big reds. Take “Loco” for example. This Tempranillo, from the risqué “Tres Cojones Vineyard” delivers in spades. It’s big, bold, complex, and rewarding. You find tangy blackberry and rich black plums on the nose and tongue. Loco gets very complex in textures with a long finish. Not a wine for casual sipping, Loco demands attention and goes very well with steaks. Locally, I found Loco for $29-$34, and it’s available for purchase on their site and through their wine club. Loco scored a 92 in 2004, and remains highly recommended by Wine Spectator.

Naked Goes Well with Crisp Chardonnay

2010-03-15T09:15:00.000-07:00

Four Vines has received much attention from this Rampant Oenophile, but so far just for their excellent Zinfandels. To make sure that friends of the Rampant Oenophile don’t think that I just enjoy such a limited selection, I tried the Four Vines 2008 “Naked®” Chardonnay. Now, I’m a fan of the French style Chards, rich and buttery. “Naked®” is anything but…

This Chardonnay is all stainless steel, so it’s crisp and clean to let the citrus fruit and floral nose shine. You’ll also find peach and pear on the tongue, and grapefruit on the nose. Don’t serve it too chilled, just a bit cool, and you’ll lift the nose considerably. All in all, an exceptional New World style Chardonnay that pairs very well with fish or chicken. I’m looking forward to warmer afternoons to enjoy this Chard outside at weekend barbeques.

Old Vine Cuvee Offers Great Value Zinfandel

2010-03-15T09:10:00.001-07:00

Ever on the look out for top wine value, this Rampant Oenophile enjoys checking alternate releases of top rated wines and vineyards. I like to find wineries that apply the same standards that achieve a 90 point wine to the entire balance of their catalog. Four Vines is such a vineyard. Their Biker Zinfandel recently earned 91 points from Wine Spectator, so I took a chance on several other bottles in their catalog, and found several treasures.

In addition to Biker, Four Vines offers 5 other excellent Zinfandels for the full range from Supermarket to Top Shelf. First among the value brands, “Old Vine Cuvee” offers a lot more Zin than the $12 price tag suggests. It’s silk smooth and suitable for sipping. Unlike Biker, who’s a bit brash, Old Vine Cuvee is mellow. Same great black fruit like blackberries and plums, but softened on the tongue with a velvet texture and light spice. I found both the 2006 and 2007 at my local wine shop, so bought both. When you find a good Zin at such a price, my rule is to buy a bunch and enjoy.

Biker Delivers Da Goods

2010-03-15T09:08:00.000-07:00

Friends of the Rampant Oenophile will recall my love of Zinfandels, and California’s Paso Robles region hosts wineries offering tremendous wines and tremendous values. Four Vines proclaims amazing wines, and their Zinfandel offering, The Biker, just earned 91 points from Wine Spectator for their 2007 edition.

Biker epitomizes quality Zinfandel. It’s full of fruit and spice, offers bold fragrance, and explodes on the tongue. You’ll smell and taste big black fruit like plums and berries. I found pepper and licorice, but moderated with vanilla and oak. Biker is brash, zesty, and anything but subtle, but you get what you want from a good Zinfandel. If found it locally for $22, which makes the Biker a solid buy for a rewarding Zin.

A Wonderful Tribute to Chile...

2010-03-04T12:04:00.000-08:00

The local ABC Fine Wines and Spirits hosted a great wine tasting last week, so of course this Rampant Oenophile attended with note pad and tasting glass firmly in hand. We enjoyed nearly 50 wines over the course of nearly 90 minutes with a terrific opportunity to speak directly with the wine makers and distributors for a selection that ranged the globe and the palate.

The 2005 Tres Palacios Merlot Cholqui now occupies a special place among my favorite wines. It comes from Chile, and is 100% Merlot, from within the Maipo Valley. This wine shows well in the glass offering a clear deeply red wine with violet hues. You smell red fruit: berries, currants, and cherry. I noticed subtle spices, but not the coffee or mocha that is listed in the product literature. The Cholqui offers a “Wow” factor because it’s as big as any good cab, but properly balanced and very smooth. This wine leaves no lingering after taste, but has a great soft finish. Velvety smooth, which is what one should expect from a premium category Merlot at this price range. If you can find a bottle under $40, but one because it’s difficult to find online for less than $44.

The Cholqui is as good or better than many more expensive reds, including both the Duckhorn and Decoy from that same winery. I recommend it highly.

Liar's Dice Comes Up Snake Eyes...

2010-03-04T12:03:00.000-08:00

Friends of the Rampant Oenophile know that I’m a sucker for a good Zinfandel, especially a solid bottle at a good value, so I was hopeful about the 2006 Liar’s Dice Zinfandel from Sonoma’s Murphy-Goode. The winery boasts one of the better websites for ordering their wines online, ships quickly and relatively inexpensively, and their range of available vintages impresses even finicky shoppers.

Though they have many solid buys, unfortunately the Liar’s Dice 2006 Zinfandel wasn’t among the better selections. This very dark, nearly inky red/purple wine is a bit too spicy and a bit too sweet for my palate. It’s very jammy, but with a spicy nose and a very spicy finish. Not enough balance for us to enjoy at a recent poker game with typical salty snacks and cheeses. The Zinfandel should have stood valiantly with those foods, but instead, this mixed up wine just lost its personality.

If you are in the mood for a great value Zin, try the Buehler’s instead, and save your palate and a few dollars for a better wine at Murphy Goode.

Buono BuonCristiani

2010-03-04T12:01:00.000-08:00

The 2006 BuonCristiani OPC arrived in the office several weeks ago as a “Thank You” gift from a corporate friend for completing a big job. This Rampant Oenophile was just waiting for a suitable opportunity to share it with good friends, which presented itself at a house warming recently. We enjoyed the OPC, a big, dry, rich, nearly purple Cabernet Sauvignon blend that is well worth the $40 it costs from the winery.

It’s a Napa Valley blend of 42% Cab, 30% Syrah, 20% Merlot, and 8% Malbec, the range of which softens the dry Cabernet grapes without diluting the big bold flavors. This wine rewards good food, and we served it with a selection of “stinky” cheeses, fresh artisan breads, olives and nuts as complements. You’ll find a lot of complexity in this exceptional wine, and though the OPC is tough to find in stores, it’s a worthy treasure should you hunt for it.

Orlando Food and Wine Festival

2009-11-09T07:03:00.000-08:00

If you are in the Orlando area on November 14 and 15 and want an Epicurean adventure, check out http://amyinorlando.blogspot.com/, a sympathetic spirit to this Rampant Oenophile, for an update.

Downtown Orlando and the Lake Eola area have enjoyed an extended cultural and culinary renewal in recent years, and play host to the Orlando Food and Wine Festival. Nearly 40 food and wine vendors descend on Lake Eola for tasting, demonstrations, and culinary displays. The tickets are just $15 for the weekend or $10 per day/$15 at the gate.

Bring your appetite!

Buehler? Buehler? Buehler?

2009-10-21T06:12:00.000-07:00

The inestimable Ocean Grill added a new Zinfandel to their “wines by the glass” list recently, which came highly recommended to this Rampant Oenophile by regulars at the Grill. Friends of the Rampant Oenophile know how much I appreciate and enjoy a good Zin and a good value, and the 2007 Buehler Napa Valley Zinfandel hits high points on both counts.

Available direct from the winery for just $18 a bottle, and locally for $16 in good wine shops, the Buehler Zinfandel rewards a long slow pour. It’s young, but big and rich. Not “In your face” boldness, but rather a well intentioned blend of fruit and spice. It’s a deep dark purple in color with rich plum blossom bouquet. You’ll enjoy the cherry and red berry flavors to soften a nice heat from the pepper. Pairs well with stronger food flavors, but also sips pretty well in the lingering Florida summer, which just won’t go away.

Bottle Shocked...

2009-10-20T05:54:00.000-07:00

So, it was a Chateau Montelena week recently for this Rampant Oenophile. A business friend hosted us for dinner at a local steakhouse last week, where we took full advantage of the ½ price bottle offer on a slow Monday night. We worked our way through the catalog until finding the 2005 Chateau Montelena Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon for $52. Our host immediately ordered two bottles and told us the story of the winery, perfectly capture in the movie Bottle Shock. As the story goes, in 1976, the British owner of L’Academie du Vin in France decides to host a blind tasting of his favorite French wines against the upstart wines of the Napa Valley. He travels to Napa Valley, meets the owner and family of Chateau Montelena, and samples a variety of terrific California wines. At the tasting, a panel of French oenophiles selects Chateau Montelena’s 1973 Chardonnay as the top white wine, and the Stag’s Leap Cabernet Sauvignon won the top red wine category. Much drama and French snobbery ensues.

Unfortunately, the Chardonnay was not on the wine list, but Chateau Montelena has become known for nearly 35 years as a producer of award winning Cabs, and the 2005 is no exception. I was impressed how easily the flavors blend and pair with the great steak and seafood we enjoyed at dinner. It’s full bodied and very well balanced. You’ll taste the entire range of fruit and spice without any single flavor overpowering. It’s a wine to enjoy, but also to store for future special occasions. I highly recommend this wine.

As a footnote to the 1976 story, the owner of L’Academie du Vin, Steven Spurrier, hosted a 30th anniversary blind tasting of French and California wines fully expecting the French wines to regain their winning status. California won both categories, again.

Good, but not Great...

2009-09-15T08:26:00.001-07:00

Friends of the Rampant Oenophile cajole frequently that I review only the successes, never the mistakes. So, in this era of careful spending, here’s a review for a wine that I will not likely buy in stores…

De Loach has been a superior producer of fine Russian River Valley Pinot Noirs forever, and their 2003 and 2005 vintages offered ripe full fruit, great legs, easy pairings with a wide variety of foods, and a constant value in the $20-$30 range for fine California Pinots. I had high hopes for the 2007, and while the wine was good, it didn’t live up to past memories. The tasting notes from Wine.com suggest cola, gingerbread spice, and cardamom in the wine’s flavor and aroma profile. I can’t say that these descriptions match my appetite for wine. Perhaps a fizzy soft-drink, but not a $20-$25 wine (store price).

All in all, the 2007 De Loach Russian River Valley Pinot Noir was not a bad wine. It was smooth, paired fine with dinner, and sipped moderately well. But, it wasn’t full. It seemed a bit light, and didn’t impress me sufficiently to motivate me to bring home a bottle or two. With so many other wines available even at the average grocery, let alone a fine wine shop, I will likely spend elsewhere for now and wait for the next De Loach offering to see how their Pinot Noir vein progresses.

Silverado Vistas...

2009-09-14T08:37:00.000-07:00

This Rampant Oenophile has enjoyed two trips to the Left Coast, first to Napa and Calistoga, then more recently to Sonoma. Napa seems far better for ritzy and interesting wineries, Sonoma for flavorful and quirky tasting rooms. No winery impresses more than Silverado for their locale, and they do a great job with mid-market wines, as well.

Silverado offers a range of reds and whites, but it perhaps best known for their excellent Cabernet Sauvignon. Though those who know me understand I don’t yet have a palate for most Cabernets, this Rampant Oenophile has enjoyed the Silverado vintages for several years. The latest release, the 2005, is as good as any recent vintage, save perhaps the 1999, first bottled in 02.

The 2005 Silverado Cabernet Sauvignon offers deep garnet color, a rich scent of oak and tobacco, and dry textures on the tongue. It’s a lot of wine, but the dryness limits any lingering aftertastes. You’ll experience the whole of the fruit immediately, so serve it with good red meat or flavorful salads and cheeses.

If you want to decant, then decant, but simply letting this wine breath for 10 minutes in an open bottle should be sufficient. It’s young, but very powerful and offers all of the textures and overtones of a more mature Cabernet. It’s a blend, so should taste consistently across several bottles, so buy two or three and cellar at least one for 3-5 years from now. It will still reward you then as it does today.

Ravenswood Zinfandel Surprises…

2009-08-28T05:07:00.000-07:00

This Rampant Oenophile typically thinks of Ravenswood as a supermarket wine. I enjoy tremendously their $12-$15 Cabernet for grilling out with friends, or their excellent $14 Merlot as a great wine for parties because it always pleases guests.

Imagine my surprise, then, tasting a truly exceptional Ravenswood Zinfandel that was anything but value priced. The Ravenswood Dickerson Vineyard Zinfandel 2006 delights the passions of Zinfandel mavens. It’s big and very ripe, but the fruit doesn’t assault the tongue. The red berries and cherry flavors are bright and refreshing and a perfect compliment to the spice and zest of peppercorn mixed with mineral textures. The color is as rich a red as the best Cabernet, and the bouquet offers unique floral tones that are tough to describe precisely.

Ravenswood works with Dickerson Vineyards to source the grapes for this fine Zinfandel, and the story behind their partnership reads like a California western. Dickerson is something of a maverick wine maker who has grown much magic from discarded farms. I am much impressed with this exceptional wine and intend to split a case with friends to savor this excellent Zinfandel for years to come. It’s modestly priced at $35-$40 locally, but offers more flavor at that price than most Zinfandels can ever hope to offer.