Stay At Home Winos

Three Pinots - Three AVAs

2015-06-10T05:16:00.004-07:00

Theme:

I love Pinot! On every wine trip my husband and I take we enjoy searching out and trying Pinots that we haven't had an opportunity to try in the past.With the Pinot grape being known for taking on the terroir of its vineyard, I thought it would be great to taste three 2012 Pinots from three distinct AVAs in California - Sonoma Coast, Green Valley, and Anderson Valley. And why not drink one of my favorite California Pinot producers!! Let's just say it was a delicious evening! And if you love Pinot, I highly recommend trying a MacPhail Pinot! You can check them out on line or visit them at their new Tasting Room in Sebastopol if you are visiting California wine country. www.macphailwines.com

The Wines:

MacPhail 2012 Wildcat Pinot Noir

Color: Pale brick red with great clarity
Nose: An aromatic wine with youthful, bright red fruit with a layer of earthiness and touch of white pepper.
Mouth: A light to medium bodied wine with fresh acidity and a finish that goes on and on. Cherry flavors "pop" in the mouth with mineral notes on the finish.
Price: $49
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

MacPhail 2012 Toulouse Pinot Noir

Color: Clear brick red wine
Nose: Cherry, earthiness, a touch of mint, this is another aromatic wine
Mouth: Very different flavor profile than the first wine. A wonderful silky mouth feel that is balanced and fresh with raspberry and a hint of butterscotch. This wine has a lovely, long finish.
Price: $49
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

MacPhail 2012 Sundawg Pinot Noir

Color: Medium, ruby red
Nose: Another wonderfully aromatic wine with darker red fruit, spice, and earthiness-the fruitiest nose of the evening.
Mouth: Spicy red fruit, this smooth wine has a medium body that is wonderfully smooth. Another fantastic finish!!
Price: $49
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

The Pairings:

Lamb Chopper Goat Cheese: Wow!!!! We love this cheese and it is a fantastic match with all three wines. We didn't think the finish could get any better on these wines but when paired with these wines the finish went on and on, especially with the Toulouse. The fruit was definitely accentuated with this cheese.

Rembrandt Aged Gouda: We love this cheese but it was too big for these wines.

Brie Torte Cheese: Another nice pairing that we liked best with the Sundawg Pinot but is definitely a nice match with the Wildcat Pinot-really brought the fruit forward in a pleasant way.

Mushroom Soup: This wonderful soup from Fezziwig's Marketplace was another wonderful pairing with all three wines! Hard to pick a favorite pairing but we especially enjoyed it with the Toulouse. A perfect example on how food and wine can make each other even better. A bonus-this delicious soup is not only tasty but quick and easy to prepare!

Smoked BBQ Salmon: A very nice pairing with the Sundawg bringing out the succulent fruit of the wine. We also enjoyed it with the Toulouse. When paired together we found the wine became a little smoky and there was an added spiciness to the wine. The salmon was a bit too smoky for the Wildcat.

Chuao Dark Chocolate: Very nice with the Wildcat and Toulouse-definitely noticed some caramel notes in the Toulouse when paired with this chocolate.

Ghirardelli Intense Dark Raspberry Chocolate: Yum! Raspberry flavors of the chocolate really brought out raspberry flavors in the wine!

Conclusion:

Beth: Looking over my notes from the evening I see things like wow, delish, yum. That pretty much sums up the evening for me! First the wines were out of this world. As expected the characteristics of each of the wines was distinctive. The Sundawg from Green valley had wonderful spicy notes and had the deepest red fruit. I loved this one alone, but it also paired well with the Lamb Chopper cheese, mushroom soup, and the BBQ salmon. The Toulouse from Anderson Valley was silky smooth with fruit on the nose more restrained. This wine's flavor exploded when paired with food. The mushroom soup gave this wine's wonderful finish and extra kick! In fact the flavors of all the foods really enhanced this wine. Loved the nose on the Wildcat! All the wines were fantastic with the Lamb Chopper cheese, but this one was my favorite. All of the wines had wonderful, long finishes and all paired perfectly with the wonderful mushroom soup. I loved them all and can't pick a favorite.

Lisa: Wow- what a difference location makes! With the Wildcat from Sonoma Coast I could really pick out the cherry notes up front with mineral on the end and even had a late warm feeling that lingered. When I tasted the Toulouse from the Anderson Valley, I felt like I was in Oregon with an herbaceous mouth, maybe since the valley is cooler. As for the Sundawg, it was definitely the fruitiest and yet to me tasted least like a Pinot. Even though they were all unique I LOVED them all! When pairing food, we started with the Lamb Chopper Goat cheese and was blown away by how they made the already delicious wines really pop! Of course the mushroom soup was a perfect match with them all too. The Toulouse was my favorite with the smoked salmon. Finishing with the Dark Raspberry chocolate, again a hit with all! Overall, I can't really pick a favorite since they were all very different. It sure was nice to be enjoying them with great company :)! Thanks for a wonderful class Beth!! I'll miss you both! Come visit me for class in Texas!

Mary Jo: Oh, MacPhail! We love drinking wines from places we have actually had the pleasure of visiting! These three were all amazing Pinots! The wines were very different, with the Wildcat having mineral and cherry flavors and earthy on the finish; the Toulouse having minty freshness and, eventually, butterscotch and caramel on the nose, with a silky, strawberry flavor on the mouth; and the Sundawg having a sulfuric, dark red fruit and earthy nose and spicy flavors. All of the pairings were so enjoyable, as well! As we know though, not every good goes with every food. Unfortunately, the Rembrandt Gouda was not a good pairing. The Lamb Chopper and Brie, on the other hand, were amazing!!!!! The Toulouse Anderson went very well with the mushroom soup, and the Sundawg Green and the soup really enhanced the flavors of the other. The Ghirardelli dark chocolate was a total WOW! The dinner, wine, and especially the company, were top notch. I am blessed to have enjoyed so many similar evenings with two great ladies!!!! Thanks, Beth!

Wine School, Classic California Cabernet, March 19, 2015,

2015-03-24T17:47:00.001-07:00

Theme: Over the years, the Winos have enjoyed, and studied, many different varietals of wine. Now, we could try forever and never be able to try every type, but we have worked our way through a bunch. I decided that for this premium class, we would return to our basics. We three love red wine, and Cabernet Sauvignon is a varietal that we can ALL agree on and Napa Valley has some great ones.

The Wines:

Croze 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford

Color: Deep ruby with a touch of purple
Nose: An aromatic wine with aromas of eucalyptus, cassis, oak, and vanilla
Mouth: A medium bodied dry wine with smooth acidity and round medium tannins. The wine is nicely balanced and flavorful with spice mid-palate to finish and tarty fruit up front. A long, delicious finish!
Price: $35.99
Rating: 4.5/5

Stags' Leap 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

Color: Deep purple
Nose: The nose has a dusty, earthy aromas with a hint of bell peper
Mouth: A higher tannin, bone dry wine, medium bodied wine that is flavorful and nicely balanced. It has earthy flavors with a touch of tartness and pepper on the finish and medium finish.
Price: $49.99
Rating: 4/5

St. Clement 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

Color: Deep purple
Nose: An aromatic wine that definitely has the fruitiest aroma with notes of berries cocoa, and vanilla.
Mouth: The wine has medium tannins that is flavorful with pepper on the finish, blueberry fruit and a touch of spice with a long finish.
Price: $39.99
Rating: 3.5/5

The Pairings:

Herb Brie Cheese: This was a difficult pairing. It killed the lovely finish on the Croze and St. Clement. A bit better with the Stags' Leap, but Lisa didn't enjoy the pairing with any of the wines.

Manchego Cheese: This delicious cheese paired well with the Croze.

Amish Cheddar Cheese: This paired a bit better. We enjoyed it the most with the Stags' Leap.

Tomato Stroganoff: The pairing of the night! The dish was yummy and we enjoyed it with all three wines. Hard to decide which wine we thought paired the best with this dish. Mary Jo and Lisa really enjoyed it with the St. Clement while Beth enjoyed it best with the Croze.

Dark Chocolate: Very nice with all three wines.

Smokin' Chipotle Chocolate: We weren't a fan of this but pairing but found it interesting how the wines brought out more of the spiciness in the chocolate.

Conclusion:

Beth: Such a fun and delicious class! I enjoyed putting our senses to the test trying to distinguish these Cabernets. I believe the "Rutherford dust" was definitely on display in the Croze Cab. Very difficult for me to pick a favorite for this class-they were all wonderful-but if I must, I enjoyed the Croze the most. The finish on this wine was just outstanding! All of the wines were a perfect match for the Tomato Stroganoff and they also paired nicely with the dark chocolate. It was another wonderful night with the winos! Thank you for hosting Mary Jo!

Lisa: Seams you can never go wrong with a Napa Cab! And yet they were all so very different. Starting with the Croze, I was amazed by the eucalyptus on the nose yet spice and tart fruit on the palette. Then the Stag's Leap had such a dusty nose with an earthy mouth with high tannins. Venturing to the St. Clement, this one popped dark berries on the nose-most fruity of all, with blueberry and spice on the palette. As for cheese pairings, nothing really said Wow to me. Of course the hit of the night was the Tomato Stroganoff! Starting with the Croze, I immediately thought "Now THAT'S a pairing"! I enjoyed it with the Stag's Leap and it really brought out the fruit in the St. Clement. No I always love chocolate but my favorite pairing was the Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt with Stag's Leap. What a wonderful night.

Mary Jo: I enjoyed getting "back to basics" with cabernet. They were very different and changed as the night went on, as is typical. All three had vanilla on the nose, with the Stags Leap being a little more earthy than the other two wines. The St. Clement was the fruitiest of the three wines and the Stags Leap had nice notes of bell pepper on the nose and pepper on the finish. The Croze had tarty fruit and spice on the mouth. All three had very nice finishes. The St. Clement was most enjoyable with the tomato stroganoff. I enjoyed the Croze most with the Manchego, the Stag's Leap most with the Amish Cheddar and the chocolates paired best with the Stag's Leap. It was interesting to detect the "Rutherford dust" with the Croze! A great class with great friends!

Wine School-Syrah, February 19, 2015

2015-02-23T16:04:00.002-08:00

Theme: Last class we covered wines of the Rhone Valley in France which is the birth place of Syrah. We studied the region so the wines were of various grapes or blends. So for this class I wanted to cover 100% Syrah's from various regions including France, South Africa and California just to compare and contrast the differences. Let's see how it turned out!

The Wines:

Domaine Jean-Louis Chave 2011 Offenus

Color: Deep purple
Nose: An aromatic wine with aromas of pepper, red fruit, bacon
Mouth: This dry wine is medium bodied with crisp acidity and flavors of tart cherry and mineral notes.
Price: $29.99
Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5

Keermont Stellenbosch 2011 Syrah

Color: Very deep purple
Nose: Less pepper on the nose than the first wine, this aromatic wine has notes of cocoa, meat, and dust
Mouth: A medium to full bodied, flavorful wine with medium to high tannins with a wonderfully long finish. Definitely not a fruit bomb Syrah, the notes of cocoa on the nose carry over to the mouth.
Price: $38
Rating: 4 out of 5

Ojai Vineyard White Hawk 2010 Syrah

Color: Very deep purple
Nose: Another aromatic wine with nice herbaceous notes, dark berry, bing cherry and a hint of floral notes.
Mouth: Definite spicy notes on this Syrah with blue berry notes, a bit of tartness and a nice finish. Tannins were medium to high.
Price: $43
Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5

The Pairings

Emmentaler Cheese

Emmentaler Cheese: We absolutely loved this cheese, however it was a difficult pairing with the wines. We enjoyed it best with the Keermont Syrah. It brought out the lovely pepper notes but did take away from the lovely finish of this wine. Just too strong of a cheese for these wines.

Monte Enebro Cheese

Monte Enebro Cheese: A wonderful cheese-a little nutty and a little sweet! Paired nicely with the the Keermont and definitely enhanced an already wonderful finish. It also paired nicely with the Offenus Syrah from France. Brought out the fruit notes of the wine.

Baby Back Ribs: Was a great pairing with the Ojai Syrah and also delightful with the Keermont from South Africa.

Beef Brisket: The brisket was the overall best pairing with the wines.

Pulled Pork: A nice pairing. We we enjoyed it best with the Keermont from South Africa, but was also yummy with the Ojai.

Ghiradelli Sea Salt Soiree Dark Chocolate: This pairing was a moderate success. We enjoyed with the Keermont and Ojai, but nothing to write home about.

Lindt Dark Chocolate Caramel: An interesting and enjoyable pairing with the Keermont and Ojai.

Salame di Cioccolato: Hands down the best dessert pairing of the evening! Especially nice with the Ojai.

Conclusion

Beth: What a fun class, exploring three distinct wines made with the Syrah grape. The class really emphasized how important terroir is to the wine. My favorite wine of the evening was the lovey Syrah from South Africa! The finish on this wine was amazing. Definitely not a fruit bomb like a Shiraz from Australia can be. This wine was refined with lovely dusty, cocoa notes. A close second was the Ojai Syrah from California. The herbaceous aromas on the nose were quite distinctive. I enjoyed the spicy finish as well. The Rhone wine was also nice and I would love to revisit that it in 2-3 years. I think a bit of age would really benefit this wine. Overall it was a great class. Always fun to explore the world of wine with good friends!

Lisa: As Karen MacNeil in the Wine Bible stated "Syrah reminds me of the kind of guy who wears cowboy boots with a tuxedo. Rustic, manly, and yet elegant--that's Syrah". Now that's a wine right up my alley! I think we were all in agreement on the ranking of the three as favorite to least favorite Keermont (South Africa), Ojai Vineyard (Santa Barbara, CA) and then Offenus (France). Coincidentally, the higher the alcohol (15.5%, 14%, 13.5% respectively) the more we enjoyed it?? Drinking them alone, they were all wonderful and had different aspects I liked in each. As for the cheeses, the Emmentaler seamed to overpower the wines even though I loved the cheese itself. The Monte Enebro which tasted a bit like Swiss did bring out the fruit in the Keermont which I loved the best. As for the meats, of course the brisket was the best! a manly meat with a manly wine :). The chocolates were a wonderful pairing for all. As always, it was fun enjoying different wines. Best excuse for girl time!! Thanks girls!!

Mary Jo: Syrahs are such delicious wines and, as most wines, can differ so completely! I couldn't wait for this class!! I truly enjoyed all three wines. Overall, of the three, my favorite was the Keermont from South Africa. On the nose, it had some notes of pepper, a meaty or gamey aroma, hints of fruit and a dusty component. On the mouth, I found delicious chocolate and a chewiness that was quite pleasant. The lengthy finish created a warmth that I felt all the way down my throat. My second favorite was the Ojai Vineyard, Whitehawk Vineyard. On the nose it was herbaceous with notes of bing cherries. On the mouth it was fruity and spicy with some pleasant tartness, blueberry notes and a nice medium finish with pepper. My third favorite was the Offenus. The nose was very peppery, with some fruit and earthiness. On the mouth there was pleasant tartness with a chalky minerality and notes of cherry. It had a nice medium finish. With the food, first I have to say that the Emmentaler cheese was an absolutely delicious soft cheese. Unfortunately, the cheese was a bit overpowering with the wines. It did bring out some vanilla with the Keermont and fruit with the Ojai Vineyard. The Monte Enebro brought out delicious fruit with the Keermont and melded well with the wine. For me, the Ojai Vineyard was number one with all three meats. With the chocolates, the wines were just okay with the Sea Salt Soiree. I liked the Keermont the most with the dark chocolate caramel and the Ojai Vineyard best with the Salame di Cioccolato. Overall, it was a wonderful class with delicious wines. The food, as always, was amazing and red wines with two great friends....priceless!

Sweet Treat for Valentine's Day

2015-02-12T19:08:00.000-08:00

2011 Tenuta Polvaro Dulcis

Looking for a sweet treat to enjoy with your sweetie this Valentine's Day? I recently enjoyed a delightful Italian white wine that is perfect for your Valentine's Day dessert. I paired mine with biscotti and it was delicious!

Povaro Tenuta Dulcis is a sweet wine made mainly from the native Italian grape Verduzzo Friulano and blended with other indigenous white grapes from the Veneto region. The sweetness of the wine is a result of the harvesting process. In September the vines that carry the grapes are partially cut causing the plant and grapes to wither. The sugar is concentrated in the grape resulting in a sweet wine with a fresh acidity!

Once you pour this delightful wine in the glass you will find aromas of vanilla, butterscotch, and caramel with a bit of nuttiness. This fruity wine has tastes of honey and apricot. Pair it this Valentine's Day with pastries, sweets, almonds, and of course my favorite, biscotti!

Cheers,
Beth

Happy Valentine’s Day

From the Stay at Home Winos

From The Seed to The Glass Part II

2015-02-02T19:08:00.001-08:00

We learned a while back about all that goes into cultivating the grapes that will eventually become the delicious wine that graces your glass. In this segment, we will learn how the grapes are harvested! This process is an incredibly delicate balance!

365thingsaustin.com

It is said that harvesting grapes is the most crucial time of the winemaking process, as well as the busiest!!! Grapes have to be harvested at exactly the right time, depending on the varietal (think sugar, acid and tannin levels) and the weather during that particular growing season (think too much rain, frost, to little rain) Another consideration when harvesting is whether to hand pick grapes or utilize mechanical harvesting. The usual picking of the grapes is between August and November above the equator and between February and April below the equator.

The precursor to this most important time in the winemaking process is veraison. Veraison [vay-ray-ZON] according to Ken's Wine Guide, is defined as the point in the growing season when ripening grapes begin to soften and change color from green to either red or yellow, depending on the variety. In the northern hemisphere, veraison typically occurs anywhere from late June to mid August, depending on the climate. (http://www.kenswineguide.com/wine.php?word=86) This process does not necessarily happen at the same time throughout a vineyard, or, for that matter, even for all grapes on a vine or within an individual bunch. Grapes exposed to more sun and warmth can begin to change before the grapes in shadier, cooler areas.

Wikipedia.org

Interestingly, and contrary to what common sense might indicate, if during veraison, the crop appears too large, the decision may be made to thin the yield. The reason for this reduction of grapes is to speed the ripening process by removing unripened grapes, so as to allow the vine to devote its resources to the remaining grapes. A vineyard may also decide to thin the leaves, so as to increase sun exposure, as well as aiding air flow.

As we said, the varietal is an important point to consider when deciding the proper time to harvest. For example, sparkling wines are typically highly acidic and, thus, the grapes are harvested early while late harvest ice wines are at the other end of this spectrum. According to Wine.About.Com, sparkling wine grapes are harvested first, then Chardonnay and Pinot Noir (to allow for decreased sugar levels or brix), then white wine grapes, red wines come next, then ice wines that have highly concentrate sugar for dessert wines.

So, how will the grapes be removed from the vines? There are two traditional methods, by hand or by machine, or a combination of the two. Obviously, harvesting by hands allows for the most precise selection of the very best grapes. However, for larger vineyards with an enormous crop, it may just not be possible. Also obvious, is the fact that mechanical harvesting is a more cost effective and efficient method of harvesting. Ultimately, the winemaker's style will likely be the deciding factor. High quality, smaller production boutique wines are typically hand harvested. With harvesting comes sorting the grapes, which is an important task that removes lower quality grapes from the bunches. This has typically been done by hand, however, WineSpectator Magazine reports, that some of the top Bordeaux Estates have optical laser sorters! As the grapes come down a conveyor, if they are not of the exact specifications desired, a puff of air from a cannon blows them off the conveyor. (http://www.winespectator.com/webfeature/show/id/45607) Amazing!

Shutterstock.com

Finally, the grapes are crushed and destemmed. The grapes are not smashed during this processed, but opened gently so as to allow the juice to flow as quickly as possible. Typically, wineries utilize an automated crusher/destemmer which opens the grapes, but does not crush the stems and seeds. The stems and seeds contain the tannins. Destemmers can remove the stems before or after the grapes are crushed, it just depends on the winemaker's preference and the wine being made. Tannins, add to structure and texture, but also contribute to the sense of astringency or bitterness in wines. If the winemaker prefers a less tannic wine, the stems are removed sooner in the process. For white grapes, they may go first to a press which separates the juice from the skins to avoid a contribution of color or tannins, or they may go through a crusher/destemmer.

Thevintnervault.com

This is an exciting and exhausting time for wineries. A lot of work and manpower goes into this process and it is extremely important that things go well. Harvest season typically ends with a large party to celebrate this most wonderful culmination of hard work!

Stay tuned for Part III when we discuss the next step in winemaking, fermentation!

Cheers!
Mary Jo

Wine School-The Rhone Valley-January 20, 2015

2015-01-26T11:45:00.000-08:00

Theme

We all enjoy Syrah and Shiraz, but we hadn't experienced these wines from the birthplace of Syrah so we traveled to the Rhône Valley (if only in our glass) to learn about these wonderful wines from France!

The Wines

Faury Saint Joseph 2012 Red Wine

Color: Clear, medium ruby red
Nose: Moderate intensity with cracked peppered that pops from the glass
Mouth: A bone dry, medium body wine with crisp acidity, medium tannins. Tart fruit with blackberry coming out as it opens up.
Price: $29.99
Rating: 3 out of 5 (Mary Jo 3 1/5 out of 5)

J.L. Chave Mon Coeur Côtes Du Rhône 2012

Color: Clear, deep ruby red
Nose: An aromatic, youthful wine with dark fruit, and forest floor - the fruitiest of the three wines.
Mouth: A dry, medium body wine with fresh acidity, round medium-low tannins. This flavorful wine has good balance with jammy red berry fruit and a nice finish.
Price: $19.99
Rating: 4 out of 5

Usseglio & Fils Girard Châteauneuf Du Pape 2012

Color: Clear, medium ruby red
Nose: A youthful nose with moderate intensity with aromas of red fruit and dust.
Mouth: Medium body dry wine with moderate tannins and fresh acidity. This wine has a powerful finish with tart, berry flavors and wonderful spice on the long finish.
Price: $39.99
Rating: 4 out of 5

The Pairings

Bucheron Goat's Milk Cheese - We really enjoyed this cheese with the Côtes Du Rhône. It brought out fruit and spice of the wine. It also brought out the fruit in the Châteauneuf Du Pape and rounded out the Saint Joseph.

Drunken Goat Cheese - Wonderful pairing with the Châteauneuf Du Pape - very smooth!

Clisson Tomme d'Auqitaine - This cheese is delicious - layers of flavor! It elevated the Saint Joseph and was enjoyable with the other wines as well.

Goat Cheese Flatbread - Wonderful with all three!

Beef Braised with Red Wine and Mushrooms - Very nice pairing with all of the wines. It very much elevated the Saint Joseph bringing out more fruit in the wine and rounding out some of the tartness. Really brought the spice out in the Côtes Du Rhône, an elegant pairing. Was also a hit with the Châteauneuf Du Pape. Not only was the wine better with the beef, but the beef had more flavor with the wine as well.

Lindt 70% Chocolate - Was best with the Châteauneuf Du Pape, but no wow factor.

French Madagascar 72% Dark Chocolate - Not a match for us.

Lindt Chili Infused Dark Chocolate - Wonderful pairing with these wines! Vanilla bomb and spicy finish with the Saint Joseph and the Châteauneuf Du Pape.

Conclusion

Beth: It was wonderful to start the new year with wine school! I enjoyed all three wines. They really were a good example of how terroir has an impact on wine. It is difficult for me to pick my favorite, but the finish on the Châteauneuf Du Pape was so amazing I think that would have to be my favorite, with the Côtes Du Rhône a close second. The Côtes Du Rhône was definitely the best value of the evening at just $19.99 a bottle at The Wine Merchant in Clayton, MO. As for pairings, I very much enjoyed the wines with the Bucheron Goat's Milk Cheese,the braised beef, and the chili infused chocolate. Surprisingly, the inexpensive goat cheese flatbread that I threw in the oven at the last minute was a great pairing. Always a fun evening to get together with the Winos!

Lisa: Well the holidays are over and it's back to "work". Wine tasting- it's a hard job but somebody's gotta do it! And with my wino buddies it's always fun :). Thanks, Beth for letting us try something new, at least for us. All three wines were very good and very different! I couldn't get over how the Saint Joseph had so much cracked pepper on the nose! But the mouth was crisp with tart fruit and food opened it up. As for the Cotes Du Rhone, I think this one was the most versatile, alone and with food, possibly making it my favorite of the evening. However, the Chateauneuf Du Pape which was quite flavorful with some spice on the long finish made it a VERY close second. It was interesting how the cheeses worked so differently with each of the wines. And of course the Goat Cheese Flatbread was a winner with all! Who could go wrong with the braised beef-delicious!! Finishing off with the chocolate - all I can say is that the chili infused dark chocolate was a yes, yes, yes for me!! Great class, Beth :)
Mary Jo: It was absolutely wonderful to get back to wine school after the holidays! I had missed learning about new wines and, mostly had missed my Winos! All three wines were amazing, let me just say that! Each, as usual, had its own assets. My favorite, I would have to say though, was the Chave Mon Coeur Cotes Du Rhone 2012. It was deliciously earthy, with hints of jammy red berry fruit, spice and a wonderful medium finish. It was my favorite with the Clisson cheese, Bucheron Goat Cheese, goat cheese flatbread and the dark chocolate. Ultimately, it tasted like it was meant to be paired with the braised beef. I wasn't wowed by any of the wines with the French Madagascar dark chocolate. While the Chave Mon Coeur was my favorite, I did truly enjoy both other wines. Interestingly, the Faury Saint Joseph had an incredible amount of cracked pepper on the nose! We kept going back after pouring all three wines and the cracked pepper aromas kept increasing! It was wonderful! The Girard Chateauneuf Du Pape was earthy on the nose, with a dusty, tart berry mouth and a spicy, powerful finish. Overall, a completely enjoyable class and it was great to spend the evening with my Co-Winos! Thanks, Beth!

Wine School Washington Reds, November 11, 2014

2014-12-15T09:34:00.003-08:00

Theme: I decided since we had not had Washington wines for a while, to do a blind Washington Cabernet Sauvignon tasting with a blend thrown in for comparison. Washington wines are so delicious, we really enjoyed all three!

The Wines

J. Bookwalter Foreshadow 2009

Color: Deep purple
Nose: Aromatic with fruit, mocha, and allspice
Mouth: Dry, medium-bodied wine with smooth, round tannins. A nicely balanced wine with raspberry and spice on the finish. Mouth not as fruity as the nose would indicate.
Price: $28
Rating: 4 out of 5

Chateau Ste. Michelle, Canoe Ridge Estate 2010 Cabernet

Color: Deep purple
Nose: Youthful aromatic with definite aromas of vegetable and green pepper and a bit of mustiness. Very inviting aromas that we couldn't wait to taste!
Mouth: Medium bodied with tannins a bit softer than the first wine. Fruitier on the mouth than expected with mineral notes on the finish. A nicely complex wine with a long finish.

Price: $28
Rating: 4 out of 5

Efeste Final Columbia Valley 2009 Cabernet

Color: Deep purple
Nose: Youthful nose with pepper, vegetative notes and oak
Mouth: Medium-bodied wine with good balance. We liked the mouth better than the nose. Nice fruit, cassis with a medium finish.
Price: $28
Rating: 4 out of 5

The Pairings

Irish Cheddar: Very nice pairing. The wine definitely enhanced the cheese. Our favorite cheese pairing of the night!

Cheddar: Nice pairing-especially with Chateau Ste. Michelle.

Gorgonzola: The cheese and wine really fought with the first wine, but we enjoyed better with Chateau Ste. Michelle.

Roast with Carrots: Great pairing! Was especially delish with Chateau Ste. Michelle and Efeste.

Dark Chocolate: Wonderful with Chateau Ste. Michelle! We also enjoyed with the J. Bookwalter.

Conclusions

Beth: Mary Jo thanks for a great class. Let's just say the roast was delicious and the wines were a treat as well. Very difficult to come up with a favorite for the evening - they were all enjoyable. If I have to choose a favorite I will go with the Chateau Ste. Michelle, but as I said, I enjoyed all of the wines. It was fun to challenge ourselves and pick out the wine that was closer to a red blend than a traditional Cabernet. As always-the company was my favorite!

Lisa: I always love it when we do a little blind tasting! And getting right was fun too :). I kept going back and forth on which was my favorite overall because they each paired best with different foods. It seems lately I have really been enjoying blends, so I think I'll have to go with the Foreshadow (loved it with the Irish cheddar too!). My very close second was the Chateau Ste Michelle which was "OMG" with the dark chocolate. All they were ALL delicious with the roast! Yummy night-thanks Mary Jo!

Mary Jo: I thought it was interesting that we were able to pick the blend. It is always good to compare different types of wine, because it challenges you to be able to pick out the different aromas and tastes that make each wine their own. My favorite was the Chateau Ste. Michelle, but each wine had their own wonderful attributes. I will agree with Lisa in that the Foreshadow was amazing with the Irish cheddar. The Gorgonzola cheese really overpowered the Foreshadow, but was a bit better with the Chateau Ste. Michelle. Overall, a wonderful evening with my Winos!!!

Monday Night Wine Tasting!

2014-11-06T13:47:00.000-08:00

What a fun way to start the week by enjoying a wine tasting! Beth and her husband Mike and I headed over to The Wine & Cheese Place in Clayton, MO to enjoy some wines from Elk Cove Vineyards. You may remember us mentioning Elk Cove from our trip to Willamette Valley in Oregon back in 2012. At least this time we didn't have to travel so far. This was Todd Stewart's first trip to St Louis and we are glad he was able to bring these wonderful wines.

We started with the 2013 Elk Cove Pinot Gris- with some pineapple on the nose and peach and pear on the palette, it had a wonderful lingering finish.

Next was the 2011 Elk Cove Riesling- nice and dry with aromas of honeysuckle and anise with stone fruit and citrus on the palette and a clean finish.

Moving on to 2012 Elk Cove Willamette Valley Pinot Noir- deep cherry red with raspberry and red cherry on the nose and on the palette was dark cherries, raspberries, plums and baking spices. Elements of pepper, coffee, and chocolate balance the intense fruit flavors while soft tannins lend structure and a lengthy finish.

Next, we enjoyed the 2012 Elk Cove 5 Mountains Pinot Noir- with more earthiness on the nose, this deep red wine opens with wild blackberry and a savory spice with black fruit tannins on the finish.

One more Pinot- 2012 Elk Cove Roosevelt Vineyard Pinot Noir- Elk Cove's top rated Pinot Noir made from their best vineyard block--Roosevelt. Dark blackberry pie and cocoa on the nose, with huge fruit on the palette (dark plum, black raspberry) and hints of tobacco and chocolate.

Finally.... The 2010 Elk Cove Ultima Riesling- Elk Cove's definition of dessert; opulence in a bottle! The Ultima is comprised of each vintage of a selection of aromatic varietals consisting of a proprietary blend. While Riesling supplies the weight of this wine with fresh pair, apricot and honey notes, the supplemental varietals add beautiful delicate aromatics. A wonderful end to a delicious wine tasting!

After loading up our purchases, we headed down the road to dinner at Sasha's Wine Bar on Demun, also in Clayton. There we chose a 2010 Roija from Sierra Catabria Crianza. It paired deliciously with the classic Margharita Pizza and the Pesto Pizza.

What a way to start the week!

Cheers,
Lisa

What Is In a Box?

2014-10-14T17:32:00.001-07:00

Have you ever been at a large gathering and all they have to serve is box wine? Do you think to yourself, "Will I like the taste of wine from a box?" I'll admit to having that thought myself so I decided to have a "non-scientific" blind tasting of box wines. I found the results to be quite interesting.

The Experiment

Question: With the increase in the number of boxed wines available, has the quality improved?

To begin my experiment I purchased three boxes of Chardonnay: Wine Cube (Target), Black Box, and Bota Box. In addition I bought a bottle of Wheelhouse 2011 Chardonnay. Next, I needed some test subjects. It was easy to find volunteers at a recent neighborhood Bunco evening. Each participant was given a tasting sheet to record their thoughts and opinions as they sampled each wine. My tasters knew they were sampling boxed wines and were asked to comment on the nose, flavor intensity, and asked to answer the question, "Would you purchase this wine for yourself or a party?" They also rated the wine on a five point scale.

The Results

The favorite wine according to my tasters was Wine Cube Chardonnay from Target. The 3 Liter box(Equivalent to 4 - 750 ml bottles) retails for under $20. Everyone agreed this wine was approachable with a nice nose. Would they purchase this wine for a party? All agreed it would be a nice party wine - even those tasters that aren't typically Chardonnay drinkers.

Second place goes to Black Box Chardonnay. This 3 Liter box is readily available for just under $25 a box. All agreed this wine would be a good party wine, but felt it fell a little flat compared to the Wine Cube.

Third place - not a box at all -Wheelhouse Chardonnay purchased at World Market for $14.99 a bottle (that would be $59.96 for 3 L). Oak flavors were definitely present in this wine. The ladies were split on their opinions of this wine. This may have had been affected by the fact that a couple of the ladies are not normally Chardonnay drinkers and are not fans of the oak that was present.

And finally Bota Box was the least favorite wine of the evening.although a handful of tasters agreed they enjoyed it enough to purchase this wine for themselves and a party. A 3 Liter box of this wine is available for under $25.

As I said in the beginning, this was just a sampling of tasters for a unscientific taste test. The lesson I learned: as more choices appear in the stores, the quality is also growing. The packaging is so efficient for large groups and the shelf life of an opened box, up to four weeks, can't be beat. There is a time and place for these wines.......and in the future, who knows.

Cheers,
Beth

An Airport Wine Bar? Who Knew?! Guest Blog Post by Wino-In-Training - Kim S.

2014-09-29T07:15:00.002-07:00

First, let me say that I am not a professional wino, more of a wino-in-training. I feel confident enough to offer assistance to those I find standing in the midst of a wine section, looking around with a slightly panicked expression. I have even been called a wine snob after being told that a restaurant's wine selection consisted of "red" and "white." Uh, ok, I'll have a beer.

During a recent trip, I found myself at the Columbus, Ohio airport. It was about 6:50pm, and I was looking for somewhere to grab a drink and maybe some sustenance before my flight. If they had plugs to charge my iPhone and iPad, even better. I like to do a lap before committing to a location, just in case there are better offerings than Chili's To Go or a bag of chips at the newsstand. As I was dragging my luggage down the concourse, I saw a sign with the familiar shape of a wine bottle. As I got closer, I was wine barrels topped with bottles of what appeared to be decent wines. It was a beacon to this weary traveler, beckoning me to sample the wares. But was this just a mirage in the airport desert? Were they playing a cruel game, pulling me in with a siren song of delicious offerings, only to dash my hopes on the rocky cliffs of cheap house wine?

A glance at the menu gave me hope that this was indeed a place that knew what it was doing. I found a spot at the bar, plugged in my electronics, and gave the menu a more thorough perusal. They offered wines by the glass, bottle, or flight - a sample of three wines. I decided to give the "Shades of White" flight a try, but only after asking the server about the Chardonnay. I'm not a fan of an oaked Chardonnay, and I've had some in the past that tasted like I was chewing a piece of lumber. My server said she liked oaked wines, but the other server did not, so we got her opinion - slightly oaked but with a more nutty taste. Intrigued, I decided to go for it.

I also ordered a charcuterie plate that probably could have fed a family of four. Salami, prosciutto and capicola paired with sharp cheddar, manchego and Humboldt Fog Grande chevre cheese (http://www.cypressgrovechevre.com/our-cheese/soft-ripened-cheeses/humboldt-fog-grande.html#.VCiyzxZPPsM). I also got dried cranberries, apricots, nuts, gherkins, ground mustard, and crackers. Woman cannot like on wine alone - she must have cheese as well.

My flight consisted of Makara Sauvignon Blanc, New Zealand Marlborough 2011; Green Eyes, Gruner Veitliner, Weingut Hermann, Austria, Niederosterreich 2012; and Seabiscuit Chardonnay, Mendocino California 2012.

By the time my food and wine arrived, it was pushing 7pm, and my flight was boarding at 7:25pm. So I got busy. NOTE: This was not due to slow service, just due to my indecision and questioning the wine. The service was fast!

I started with the Chardonnay just in case I didn't like it so I could get it out of the way. I was pleasantly surprised by how good it was! This definitely had more nutty flavor than oak, maybe a cashew? Just a slight hit of oak on the palate, more so on the nose but not so much to turn me off. I also got hints of pineapple under the lumberyard smell. The sharp cheddar turned it more oakey as did manchego. The humboldt cheese smoothed over the oak and let the fruit shine through. I was so impressed with it I drank it before I had a chance to try it with the meats.

Next up was the Gruner. I've never had one of these boys but wow! It was smooth from nose to palate to finish, but not in a boring way. It tasted like it smelled- slight pear with a hint of caramel and maybe nutmeg or cloves? Pairing it with the dried cranberries made them sweeter and almost candied. A bite of dried apricot turned it sharper but still very clean on the finish. It brought out the smoke in the manchego cheese, but I didn't like it so much with the humboldt. The cheddar didn't seem to affect it one way or the other. Again, I drank it before I tried it with the meats.

I saved the Makara for last. I'm a diehard sauvignon blanc fan and this was amazing. There wasn't a distinct grassy note on the nose like some of the New Zealand SBs tend to have, but a great grapefruit/honey palate with a slight mineral hit. I liked it with the prosciutto, the mineral tang definitely highlighting the salt. It went well with the capicola, again highlighting the salt of the meat. It didn't pair well with the humboldt cheese - very chalky. It went very well with the manchego, bringing forward the smoke in the cheese. A gherkin with ground mustard changed the palate to a sharper grassy tang.

By now I was running short of time, so I asked for a to-go box for my food, and jokingly asked for a to-go glass of the Makara. The server told me that if I bought bottles of all three wines, they were 20% off. For someone like me who loves a bargain as much as I like to drink wine, it was a winner! Luckily I was already through security and had enough room in my carry-on tote for the wine. I'm looking forward to drinking them at home at a more leisurely pace to really discover them. However, in just under 30 minutes, I found three new wines I'm hoping to add to my collection on a regular basis.

Vino Volo (www.vinovolo.com) has locations in airports across the United States. They also have a loyalty program that rewards you one point for every dollar spent. I downloaded their free app for my iPhone and once I scanned my receipt, I had my points. I'll be heading back to Columbus in November, and plan to try another flight, hopefully allowing enough time to really try the wines with the food. But if I don't, I can take them home with me!

This is definitely a place for winos of all skill levels! If you see one on your next trip, give it a try!

Kim

Wino-In-Training

From the Seed to the Glass - Part I

2014-09-22T11:46:00.001-07:00

It is a special night! You are celebrating a monumental life event - maybe an anniversary? A birthday? Or, it's just Tuesday and you feel like enjoying a nice glass of wine! You may have a few bottles on hand, or you may have picked a bottle up that day. But where did it come from? I don't mean where in your house or what store or even what winery! I mean, how does wine get from a seed to a grape to a bottle to a store and, finally, to your glass? This blog entry will be Part I in a two part series to provide an overview of where your wine REALLY comes from.

So, as to use the proper lingo, another word for grapevine is Vitis. As Wikipedia states, "Vitis is about 60 species of vining plants in the flowering plant family Vitaceae." Interestingly, Winpros.org tells us that wine seeds do not necessarily grow into the desired type of varietal. The modern wine vine, is a result of a cutting (also known as slip or scion) of the plant that one actually plans to grow. This statement very much simplifies the process, as much more goes into preparing the cutting to actually be planted to bear fruit. Proper soil, drainage and weather conditions are imperative for young vines to grow.

wikipedia.org

After a vine has developed, it is important that the vine be manicured and pruned. Interesting, Winepros.org tells us that one vine, if left to its own devices, could cover an acre of ground! Pruning is the cutting and shaping of the cordon or "arms" of the grapevine. This will determined the number of buds that will become grape clusters. France's AOC regulations actually outline the exact number of buds allowed! Modern vines are pruned in different ways, depending on the area, the varietal and other factors. It must be done in such a way that there is not too much or too little. Pruning actually trains the vine to grow in certain ways.

Along with pruning comes trellising. The trellis refers to the actual stakes, posts, wires or other structures to which the grapevine is attached. Trellises are not required, but often used to train the vine. Typically, the vine training system used will often take the name of the trellis utilized. Trellises can differ by geography, harvesting methods, variety, as well as other factors. The different configurations affect sun and wind exposure, as well as accessibility of fruit clusters to facilitate hand or machine harvesting.

Photo by Mary Jo Guinn

Not only is keeping the vine manicured important, but also there are a hosts of enemies that could destroy vines if left untreated. A few examples are insects, fungi, moles and gophers, as well as other animals and birds, with birds causing the most crop loss and fruit damage. Phylloxera is an insect that many have heard about as an enemy to wine vines and grapes. In the late 19th century, Phylloxera epidemic destroyed most of the wine grape vineyards in Europe, most notably in France. In modern times, hybridization has created a barrier to Phylloxera. Interesting, most native American grapes are naturally resistant to Phylloxera.

The first step in the growth of the actual grapes is bud break. Buds appear on the vines in the spring. In the Northern Hemisphere, this begins around March and in September in the Southern Hemisphere. The buds are located between the vine's stem and the petiole, or leaf stem. Some early budding varietals can be at risk for premature bud break. This is hazardous situation because the young shoots would then be vulnerable to frost damage. Heaters or wind circulators are actually set up to prevent cold air from settling on vines.

Kenbrownwines.com

Next is vine flowering. The shoots where the grapes will eventually grow from, burst forth and flowers then form on them. This occurs approximately 40 to 80 days after bud break. Small flower clusters appear on the tips of the shoots. A few weeks later, the flowers start to grow in size and individual flowers can be seen. This is the time when pollination and fertilization of the vine takes place with the result being a grape berry. Each grape berry contains one to four seeds.

extension.org

Third, is the fruit set. The fertilized flower produces a seed and forms a green grape berry around the seed to protect it. This stage occurs almost immediately after flowering. This stage is critical, as it determines potential crop yield. The average percentage of fertilized flowers ranges from 30 to 60.

crawfordbeck.com

The next step is veraison. This is when the grape changes color from green to either yellow or purple as it ripens in the sunlight. This stage takes place around 40-50 days after fruit set. The colors of the grapes change due to the chlorophyll in the berries skin being replaced by anthocyanins in red wine grapes and carotenoids in white wine grapes. Berries grow dramatically in the first six days of veraison as they accumulate glucose and fructose. This process is not uniform with the berries.

twomountainwinery.com

Veraison then moves into ripening. The grape ripens on the vine, in the sun, developing sugars. As the grapes ripen, sugars and pH increase as acids (i.e. Malic Acid) decrease. Tannins and other phenolics are developed that affect the flavors and aromas of the wine.

Finally, the last step in the preparation of the grape is harvest. This is a wonderful time, where the grape is picked at its peak time. The grapes are either hand or machine picked and transported to the winery to begin the winemaking process. The time the grapes are harvested depends on ripeness. Following the harvest, the vines continue photosynthesis, creating carbohydrate reserves to store in the vine's roots and trunks. It will do this until an appropriate level of reserves have been stored. Some wines are referred to as "late harvest" wines, which allows the sugar to build up even more. These are typically dessert wines, such as a late harvest Riesling.

swide.com

Stay tuned for Part II of this blog when we discuss how the grapes move from harvest to your glass!

Cheers!
Mary Jo

Wine School, Merlot and Meatloaf, September 9, 2014

2014-09-17T13:36:00.000-07:00

Theme:

With Summer coming to an end. I wanted to get back to REDS! We haven't really tasted Merlot's in a while, so I thought about getting back to basics. I chose Merlot's from California, Chile, and a French Bordeaux from the right bank that would consist of mostly the Merlot grape. So here we go!

The Wines:

Kendall Jackson 2011 Vintner's Reserve (Sonoma County) Merlot

Color: Deep, ruby red
Nose: Initially mocha, spice, and dustiness came through. As it opened up more cherry and blackberry emerged.
Mouth: A dry medium-full bodied wine with a cherry tartness. Medium tannins are round with flavors of mocha and cherry and a nice finish.
Price: $16.99
Rating: 3/5 (Beth), 3.5/5 (Lisa), 3.5/5 (Mary Jo)

Santa Ema 2009 Reserve (Maipe Vally) Merlot

Color: Deep, ruby red with a lighter outer ring
Nose: An aromatic wine with definite notes of asparagus, chocolate, spice, and vanilla.
Mouth: Another medium-full bodied wine with smooth acidity, medium plus tannins. Flavors of chocolate and red fruit with spice on the finish.
Price: $14.99
Rating: 3.5/5 (Beth), 4/5 (Lisa), 4/5 (Mary Jo)

Chateau Jardin 2000 De Petit Village Pomerol

Color: A hint of brick in the deep red
Nose: An aromatic nose that definitely shows some age with aromas of tobacco, dust, and leather.
Mouth: A bone dry wine with medium, dry tannins. Fruit came forward with dinner.
Price: $23.99
Rating: 3/5(Beth), 3/5 (Lisa), 3/5 (Mary Jo)

Overall Conclusion:

These three wines each had distinctive characteristics that you might expect coming from three different regions. We enjoyed the finish on the Kendall Jackson, and the nose on the Santa Ema was very distinctive with the asparagus notes! Definitely a wine from Chili. The French wine benefited from spending some time in the decanter and we enjoyed it much more with food. (Ratings are on a 1-5 scale with 5 being best.)

Pairings:

Merlot BellaVitano Cheese: Delicious cheese that paired well with all the wines. It paired the best with the Santa Ema, and it really popped the French wine. Lovely with the Kendall Jackson as well, cherry and blackberry of the wine came forward.

Manchego Cheese: Enjoyed this cheese best with Santa Ema Merlot. Pairing was fine, but not as enjoyable and the first cheese.

Candian Cheddar Cheese: Enjoyed the cheese, but was a difficult pairing with the wines. It was the best match with the French wine.

Meatloaf: Meatloaf made a nice pairing with the wines. It was difficult to pick a favorite between the Kendall Jackson and Santa Ema.

Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate w/Caramel: Wonderful pairing, brought out fruit in the wines. Would definitely recommend this pairing.

Bissinger's Chocolate Covered Wine Grapes: Not a wow like the dark chocolate with caramel, but a nice pairing overall. Better with the Kendall Jackson and Santa Ema than with the French wine.

Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate w/Sea Salt & Almonds: Another nice pairing. It was interesting how it brought a nuttiness in the Kendall Jackson wine.

Conclusion:

Beth: With the weather beginning to change it was nice to have a comfort wine/food night! Merlot sometimes gets a bad wrap as being to overly fruity, but that was not the case with these wines. My favorite of the evening was Santa Ema with the Kendall Jackson coming in as a second. Overall I felt it paired best with our meal. It also had such a distinctive nose with the aromas of asparagus. Thanks Lisa for a wonderful evening!
Lisa: Wow! Have Merlot's changed? They were not what I was expecting. Since Merlot's were what I first ventured into with dry reds many years ago, I thought they would be a little more fruity. However, the Kendall Jackson was the most fruit forward of the three on it's own but with food the other two did popped some fruit flavors too. As a sipper on it's own, I think my favorite was the Santa Ema but with food I may lean a little bit toward the Kendall-Jackson. Although the French wine was definitely the most interesting!

Mary Jo: I was thrilled to revisit an old favorite, and happily surprised that the quality just keeps improving! My overall favorite was the Santa Ema. What a great wine for a great price!!! It really had a wonderful complexity on the nose with aromas like canned corn and asparagus, smoke, chocolate and vanilla! Definite notes of red fruit, vanilla and spice on the palate. To me, the Santa Ema paired the best with the food, with the exception of the chocolates. The Kendall-Jackson was also very interesting on the nose with dusty, blackberry scents with hints of tart cherry, mocha and spice. This wine had a wonderful, medium finish! The Le Jardin was earthy on the nose, with little to no fruit, and hints of leather and tobacco. This wine paired well with the Merlot BellaVitano cheese and the cheese made the wine's fruit pop on the finish. Each of these wines was distinct and were wonderful for comparison! It definitely feels like fall! Thanks, Lisa, for a great class!!

The Dog Days of Summer!

2014-09-01T16:26:00.000-07:00

With summer coming to an end and the kids back in school it's time to get ready for fall. But you wouldn't know it with the heat index at 111 degrees! So much for sitting outside to enjoy a refreshing glass of Sauvignon Blanc.

As you know, every two to three weeks we three winos get together for "wine school". And as we are preparing for our classes we seam to have a little extra excitement under foot-literally! You've heard of winery dogs, well we each have our own versions of 'wine dogs' too. You know how it is when you get the suitcase out, dogs can get all sad because they know you are leaving them? Well, our wine dogs get all excited when they see the wine glasses being set up because they know their fellow humans are coming over. They will lay at our feet and wait patiently for a little pat on the head just knowing they can be in our company (they don't get spoiled- haha). Beth's little girl is Zoe. She probably gets the most excited when wine school rolls around. Now that Beth's "granddog" Khannon is staying with them, he gets in on the action too.

Zoe

Khannon

When it's Mary Jo's turn to host school, I think we are more entertained by Bumble and Murphy (Bumble's minnie me) playing with each other than anything else and of course we get a little distracted by their cuteness! Here, they are worn out from all that playing.

Bumble & Murphy

As for my boy Tex, he likes to greet everyone at the front door (did you bring any wine?). He also follows me to the basement when I am cataloging new wines. At least I have company.

Tex

Yes, we love our wine dogs just like all winery owners do too. As a matter of fact we have met a few during our travels. Just last year when we were in California visiting Jordan Vineyard & Winery, we were greeted by a very happy "greeter" of theirs who actually jumped in the car with Mary Jo!

There are several fun coffee table books about winery dogs that have been published, such as Winery Dogs of Napa Valley published by Winery Dogs Publishing. They also have other versions of Sonoma, Oregon, New York and Central California. Just doing a little internet research, I also found a website called winedogs.com.

So if the saying "Dog is man's best friend", then I guess they can be a "Wino's best friend" too!

Cheers!
Lisa

Wine School, New York Finger Lakes Rieslings, August 19, 2014

2014-08-25T17:52:00.000-07:00

Theme: On my recent trip to the Finger Lakes, New York (see post July 8, 2014) with my husband, I made sure to bring back some Rieslings from this region to share with Lisa and Mary Jo. These three wines were great for a summertime class!

The Wines:

Heart and Hands Patrician Verona Vineyard 2011 Riesling

Color: Clear, pale gold
Nose: An aromatic wine with vegetative, pear, apple crisp/cooked apples-the aromas continued to change as the wine opened up
Mouth: A dry, light bodied wine with tart acidity, apple flavors and good balance.
Price: $29.99
Rating: 4

Silver Thread 2012 Dry Riesling

Color: Clear, pale yellow with greenish hues
Nose: First whiff of this wine reminded us of an unoaked Chardonnay. Floral, grass and peach aromas present. It has a clean, fresh nose that is quite pleasant.
Mouth: This light bodied wine is bone dry with fresh acidity. It is well balanced with hints of lemon and floral. Fresh, just like the nose indicates.
Price: $18
Rating: 4

Herman J. Wiemer 2013 Dry Riesling

Color: Clear, pale gold with an almost effervescent appearance
Nose: Another aromatic wine with aromas of juicy peaches and floral.
Mouth: Fresh acidity is present in this dry, light bodied wine. It has nice balance with flavors of creamy peaches. Quite smooth mouth feel.
Price: $18.50
Rating: 4

Overall conclusion: Amazing how the characteristics and nuances of these wines differ from the same region. The individual terroir definitely has an affect on the wine. We enjoyed all three of these wines and they were a wonderful accompaniment to dinner.

Pairings:

Brie Cheese: The Brie cheese was a nice pairing with all three of the wines. It really brought out the fruit in the Heart and Hands and Wiemer wines. Though it is paired best with the Silver Thread wine.
Goat Gouda Cheese: Yum! Loved the cheese and it was a match with the wines. The fruit in the wines came out when paired with these cheeses. Very balanced pairing. Enjoyed the most with the Wiemer, but was a close second with the other two wines.
Edam Cheese: Our least favorite cheese pairing of the evening. Paired best with the Wiemer.

Goat Gouda and Havarti Dill

Havarti Dill Cheese: This is one of our favorite cheeses and it paired well with the wines. The tartness of the wines was a nice contrast to the dill in the cheese. Again, it paired best with the Wiemer, but was a great pairing with all three wines!

Tomato Bruschetta

Tomato Bruschetta: Fresh garden tomatoes was quite yummy with the Heart & Hands Riesling. Also was a nice match with the Wiemer.
Peach Salsa with Chips: Peach paired nicely with these Rieslings. Enjoyed best with Heart & Hands with Silver Thread a close second!
Crab Salad: Great pairing with all!
Vanilla Poached Peaches: We all enjoyed this dessert, but was a bit sweet for these dry Rieslings. It was nice with the Heart & Hands and Wiemer.
Bissinger's Chardonnay Salt Caramels: A nice pairing overall, and a great way to finish the tasting!

Conclusion:

Beth: There are so many wine regions around the world! It was fun to explore the Rieslings from the Finger Lakes with Lisa and Mary Jo. I enjoyed all three of these distinct wines. I found my personal favorite overall was the Silver Thread, it was quite fresh and refreshing on its own and paired well with most of the foods. A close second was the Herman Wiemer which I actually found paired best with the foods. My favorite pairing of the evening was the Goat Gouda with all three wines! I'm so glad I was able to share these wines from my trip with Lisa and Mary Jo. I definitely recommend trying a Finger Lake Riesling if you get the chance.
Lisa: I do love a good dry Riesling! I was looking forward to trying something new and from a different part of the US, so I'm glad Beth shared them with us. First of all, I was totally surprised how unique they each were! That being said, it was truly hard to pick a favorite. As for the food pairings, my favorite cheese was the havarti dill. It kept getting better with each wine. The fresh tomato bruschetta delicious with all, but my favorite was Heart & Hands. The crab salad was definitely my favorite food pairing of the night! The Heart & Hands may have been the winner for me. And ending the night with vanilla poached peaches and chardonnay salt caramels--YUM! What a treat! Thanks Beth!
Mary Jo: This was a delightful departure from the wines we typically taste. We were very fortunate to be able to try wines from this area! It is definitely a location that has interested me! I felt each wine had its own shining moments! With the Brie, I found the Silver Thread to pair the best, Herman Wiemer with the goat Gouda, Havarti Dill and the Edam. I enjoyed the Heart and Hands very much with the bruschetta , crab salad and desert! Ultimately, I enjoyed the heart and Hands the most with food. It was very reminiscent of apples. It was slightly, but pleasantly, tart, and had a great finish!! The Silver Thread was delicious as a sipper! It was very different from the Heart and Hands. This wine is very clean and fresh, but has a shorter finish than H and H. This was fruitier on the nose than the mouth, but had nice minerality on the mouth. Thanks, Beth!

Summer Sippers

2014-08-11T15:39:00.000-07:00

It is hard to believe, but kids are headed back to school this week! Where has the summer gone? With plenty of warm days still left, I thought I would share some of my favorite warm weather sippers that I have enjoyed this summer.

Let's begin with Sauvignon Blancs from around the world! These summer sippers are wonderful alone on a hot summer or evening or paired with summer salads, asparagus, lobster, and crab cakes.

Gary Farrell 2013 Russian River Valley Sauvignon Blanc
A wonderfully crisp and zesty wine with citrus flavors of lemon and grapefruit with tropical notes as well. Gary Farrell is known for his Pinot Noirs, but this Sav Blanc is delicious. You can find online at www.garyfarrellwinery.com.

Kim Crawford 2013 Sauvignon Blanc
The nose on this wine has the citrus and grassy notes Marlborough wines are known for. A fresh and zesty wine with a juicy acidity. Year in and year out a wonderful Sav Blanc at a great price and easy to find at your area wine and liquor stores as well as many grocery stores.

Sirius 2012 Maison Sichel Bordeaux Blanc
A nicely balanced wine with a more earthy aroma than the new world Sauvignon Blancs. This wine is 50% Sauvignon and 50% Sémillon with tropical fruits and floral aromas. Classic French mineral finish and well balanced, this wine is wonderful alone or with food.

Now a couple of white wines from Spain and Italy!

Fazi Battaglia 2011 "Titulus" Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi
The grape this Italian wine is made from is the Verdicchio grape from the Marche region. My husband and I first enjoyed this wine with a Margherita pizza at a café in Rome. It is also delicious with Bruschetta! The light bodied wine has citrus and herbal aromas - a bright and refreshing wine. I ordered mine at www.empirewine.com for $9.95 a bottle.

Martin Códax 2011 Albariño
Another favorite wine of mine year after year. This Spanish wine has citrus and fresh herb notes on the nose with a fresh palate of citrus and grapefruit. A favorite pairing of mine with this gem is guacamole! It also pairs well with seafood, shellfish, poultry, and mild cheeses.

Back in the US here are a couple from Oregon and the Finger Lakes of New York!

Elk Cove 2013 Pinot Gris Willamette Valley

Peach and pear with a full, almost creamy mouth feel that coats the mouth. This is an Editor's Choice from Wine Enthusiast receiving 91 points in the upcoming October issue. I will enjoy this delightful wine into the fall.

Barnstormer 2013 Chardonnay

This unoaked Chard has floral notes with pear and citrus on the finish. We discovered this wine from the Finger Lakes earlier this summer (See blog entry July 8, 2014). $17.99 a bottle at www.barnstormerwinery.com .

Last, but not least, a couple of Rosé wines to enjoy as well!

Herman J. Wiemer Dry Rosé Cuvée NV

Another delicious gem from the Finger Lakes. This wine is a blend of Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, and Chardonnay with notes of strawberries and raspberries. Fresh and crisp with a nice body it is easy drinking alone or with light fare. It is $13.50 at www.wiemer.com .

Isabel Mondavi 2013 Deep Rosé

This unusual Rosé is Cabernet based which gives it a bit more body than some Rosé wines. The wine is full of strawberry, cranberry and red apple. Wonderful alone or pair with spicy Thai, salmon, or this Labor Day with burgers and brats.

And if you are worried about taking your wine glasses outdoors, I have the perfect glasses for you! Govino shatterproof wine glasses. They are shaped like true wine glasses and are so thin you are able to taste the wine instead of the plastic. They even have an indentation for your finger to make it easier to hold on to your glass! You can find these glasses at The Wine Merchant in Clayton, MO or online at www.govino.com and www.amazon.com. Look for Champagne flutes, beer glasses, and decanters as well.

Cheers,

Beth

Wine School, French Gamay Noir, July 29, 2014

2014-08-06T15:11:00.000-07:00

Theme: In preparing for this class, I wanted a varietal that was unique, or at least fairly uncommon. I decided on Gamay, a French grape, with one Pinot Noir (the region's noble grape) as a comparison. Gamay grapes are traditionally grown in Beaujolais, but can also be found in the Niagara Peninsula, Canada, Willamette Valley, Oregon, and a small amount is found in Australia. This grape is more fruity, as opposed to a Pinot Noir, that can be more earthy.

The Wines:

Trenel Fleurie 2010 Gamay

Color: Medium ruby
Aroma: Youthful nose with raspberry,cherry pie, a bit of earth, and cinnamon
Mouth: This light bodied wine has tart acidity with cherries and classic French mineral notes on the finish
Price: $17.99
Rating: 3.5 alone : 4 with food!

Domaine Cheveau Saint-Amour "En Rontey" 2011 Gamay

Color: Deep ruby with a hint of purple
Aroma: Raspberry and pepper dominate this nose
Mouth: Cherry and raspberry up front with tart acidity on this light bodied wine
Price: $20.00
Rating: 3.5 alone: 4 with food!

Regis Bouvier Bourgogne 2011 Pinot Noir

Color: Light brick red
Aroma: Earthy, smokiness hits the nose initially and then the undertone of blackberry, blueberry and bit of pepper with a light, fresh touch of floral
Mouth: Definitely an earthy wine with low tannins and some tart cherry on the finish
Price: $24.99
Rating: 3.5 alone: 4 with food!

Overall Conclusion: Initially, on the nose, we found the wines to be very interesting. During tasting, we were taken aback slightly with the tart finishes on the Gamay wines. They were distinctly different from the Pinot. Over time, and with food, we found the wines to be enjoyable. We favored the Pinot Noir, but really loved all the wines with the French cheeses! These wines were definitely meant to be enjoyed with food and friends!

The Pairings:

Camembert Cheese: This cheese was a fantastic pairing with the wines! Really enhanced the fruit flavors in both the Trenel Fleurie and the Cheveau! Also wonderful with the Pinot. French wine with French cheese - can't go wrong!
Brie Cheese: Again difficult to pick a favorite pairing with this cheese between the Trenel and Cheveau. The balanced out the tart flavors in the Trenel. Was also spot on with the Cheaveau.

Cheddar Cheese: We enjoyed this best with the Pinot, but we would pick the French cheeses over the cheddar when pairing with these wines.

Meatloaf Muffins: Very nice with the two Gamays.

Sweet Potato Hash: A nice side pairing with the Gamays, but we didn't enjoy as much with the Pinot.

Chocolate with Raspberry Filling: This chocolate really brought out the mocha notes in the Trenel Fleurie.

Strawberry Shortcake: Not our favorite pairing of the evening, but this dessert was fantastic!

Conclusion:

Beth: Another fun wine class as we ventured into the area of French wines! As always, French wine goes hand in hand with food. I absolutely loved all three wines with the Camembert and Brie cheese! It was also delicious with the Meatloaf muffins. Difficult for me to pick a favorite wine for the evening. I enjoyed the Pinot best alone, but would have to call it a tie between the two Gamays when paired with our delicious dinner. Thanks to Mary Jo for a fun and educational evening. I loved the company.

Lisa: Coming into the class, I really didn't know what to expect. Would the Gamay's be similar to the Pinot Noir or totally different. Well, we had fun finding out!! Starting with the cheeses, the Camembert was the winner for me! It seemed to improve all the wines. The Brie balanced the two Gamay's but not so much the Pinot Noir. Cheddar was the opposite-liked best with Pinot. The Meatloaf muffins made the Gamay's pop- great pairing. Also loved the sweet potato hash mainly with the Gamay's again. Then to the sweets- loved the chocolate with all wines but as for the strawberry shortcake, it was best eaten alone (without wine but with wino friends:)). Overall, food made the Gamay's standout and the Pinot was great on it's own. Fun night!!

Mary Jo: It is always exciting, and nerve-wracking, to host a class that includes a varietal we have not yet investigated. I found this class interesting because it compared the noble grape of a region (Pinot Noir) with another grape indigenous to the region. What a difference! The Gamay wines were definitely more red-fruit on the nose, where the Pinot had more earthy, dark fruit aromas. The wines all went very well with the Brie and Camembert. With most of the food, I felt that the Cheveau Saint-Amour Gamay paired the best. Ultimately, I enjoyed he Gamays most with the food, versus drinking them alone. It was a wonderful and informative class with my great friends!

Love is Blind!

2014-08-02T15:18:00.001-07:00

This past Thursday, the Stay At Home Winos were, again, fortunate to host a wine tasting through the O'Fallon Parks and Recreation Department. In the past, we have joined forces with a chef from a local conference center for the "Grilling in The Garden" however, for this event, the Winos hosted alone.

For this tasting, we wanted to try something a little different, so we decided to hold a "blind" tasting with three red wines. We decided on a Garnacha, a Cabernet Sauvignon and a Zinfandel. The wines we chose were Borsao Tres Picos (Garnacha), B Side (Caberrnet Sauvignon) and Klinker Brick (Zinfandel).

We also had another surprise in store for our guests! Utilizing a basic red wine combined with several different fruits, vegetables, and spices, we created "standards" to train our guest's noses to pick out different aromas often found in wine.

The standards we used were: vanilla, pepper, red pepper, cherry, raspberry/blackberry, anise, asparagus and cloves. We numbered each "standard" glass, and the participants took turns smelling and trying to guess the aroma of each. It is not as easy as it sounds, as our guests learned! The most correct answers were 6/8 and the prize went to Elizabeth C.!

Next, we embarked on our tasting. Three wine bottles, wrapped in black paper and labeled A, B and C were poured. The participants were taught to properly assess the color of the wine and write down their thoughts. Next, we demonstrated swirling and encouraged everyone to swirl, then smell, the wine to elicit the aromas. We had many great answers from the crowd, with regard to the aromas of each wine. As we know, it is not always easy to identify those aromas!

Finally, (the fun part) everyone was allowed to taste their wines. Each guest had pairings including Stilton, Manchego, Parrano and aged Cheddar cheeses, as well as bread and crackers. It was interesting to see the participant's reactions to how time and food changed the wines. Certainly, this phenomenon is well known, but it really takes experiencing it for yourself to realize how true it is!!

At the end of the evening, we had a question and answer session and a lot of laughs. This class was very enjoyable and, we think, quite informative for our guests! We cannot wait for our next wine tasting in the Fall. Stay tuned for details!

Cheers!

Mary Jo

An Evening on the Mediterranean Coast

2014-07-16T17:13:00.000-07:00

Last week the Stay at Home Winos had the pleasure of doing what we love--sharing our love of wine by teaching a wine class. Ellen and Tim Moore, owners of Fezziwig's Tea & Gourmet Market in Lebanon, Illinois invited us to teach "An Evening on the Mediterranean Coast" Wine Education Event. The wines served were from various countries along the Mediterranean Sea which included France, Spain, Italy and topped off with a surprise tasting from Greece.

Photo by Jackie Wind Clinton

The evening began by greeting our students with Sangria made with Rosatella Rosé using the Gourmet duVillage Wine Country Sangria mix and complemented with guacamole dip from Fischer & Wieser guacamole starter.

The table is set!
Photo by Jackie Wind Clinton

Once everyone was seated in the Culinary Experience Room, class began with a welcome and introduction. We began with a 2012 Sauvion Vouvray Chenin Blanc from France's Loire Valley. Walking everyone through the steps of tasting, we began with looking at the color--was it clear? Light? Yellow or gold or did it have a green tint? Everyone had enjoyed coming up with fun descriptions of the wines. Next, we moved on to the "nose" of the wine, teaching them how to swirl their glasses to release the aromas and to let them really sink their nose into the glass to savor all the wine's flavor. Was it fruity, citric, floral, grassy? All kinds of ideas popped in their heads and it was fun hearing the results! Swirl again and take another sniff. Did you pick up something different? Swirling takes practice but you get the hang of it fast.

Of course what we have all been waiting for, now to taste! Was the taste similar to the nose? Was is citric, acidic, floral, buttery? Did it linger on the palette? We walked them through many possibilities and let them come up with flavors they tasted. There are no wrong answers because everyone has their own unique "bank" of flavors. And this wine was a hit!

Once we completed the first wine, we continued on with the same format of color, aroma, and taste venturing next to Italy. The 2012 Chloe Pinot Grigio named after the ancient word meaning "blooming" has it's grapes sourced from Italy but produced in Northern California.

Off to Spain! Our final white wine of the evening was Campo Lindo Blanco from Bodegas Ramon Roqueta Winery located in the Catalunya DOC made with the Macabeo and Chardonnay grapes.

Back in France, we changed over to a Rosé

of mainly Grenache, with Cinsault and Syrah and is located on old fluvioglacial terraces on the right bank of the Rhône Valley.

Our first red of the evening was a 2012 Bon Marche Red Blend. This wine, although made in the French style, is actually from Bueller Vineyards located east of St Helena, California in Napa Valley. This blend consists of Zinfandel, Syrah, Merlot and Malbec and was aged in French and American oak barrels. Very much a favorite of the evening.

And finally back to Spain to enjoy one of Orin Swift's Location wines "E". Again, a delicious blend of
Grenache/Garnacha, Tempranillo, Monastrell, and Carignan/Cariñena. It is super concentrated fruit from old vines with low yields that are accented with a judicious oak program for a balanced and distinctive wine.

Along with the wines, some nibbles paired with them were the Fischer & Wieser Peach Salsa and a simple humus with Fezziwig's own Lemon Infused EVOO served with tortilla and pita chips.

Rounding out the evening was a tasting of two Greek wines. Fezziwig's doesn't usually carry Greek wines so one of their distributors brought these in especially for the evening. The white wine was a 2012 Moschofilero Boutari from the Mantinia grape which was citric and similar to Sauvignon Blanc. The red wine was Kretikos Boutari which was a blend of two grapes: 60% Kotsifali and 40% Mandilaria. This one was earthy and had soft tannins. They were both a treat to enjoy!

With all the laughter and fun conversation, we feel the night was a huge success! Many students walked away with new knowledge of wine tasting and are ready to sign up for the next class.

Cheers!
Lisa

P.S. Thank you Jackie Clinton for providing photos from the evening. Check out this talented lady's blog at www.wind-inspired.com .

The Finger Lakes, New York

2014-07-08T13:29:00.002-07:00

Lake Seneca, New York

Recently my husband and I helped our son and daughter-in-law with their move to Boston. It was a bitter sweet event. We are very proud of Ben's new opportunity, but we will miss them-especially our grandson. My husband realized I might need some cheering up, so he planned a visit to New York's Finger Lakes region for some wine tasting as we made our way back to St. Louis. It was the perfect way to cheer me up!

Our home base was the Harbor Hotel in Watkins Glen. A beautiful hotel at the tip of Lake Seneca. A quaint, small town, Watkins Glen has restaurants and shops all an easy walk from our hotel as well as a nice restaurant and bar on the property with a large patio for outdoor dining. The Tasting Room and Wine Merchant by Atwater also recently opened in town. They offer tastings of select wines from a variety of wine regions in New York and some wonderful cheeses from the Empire state as well. It was the perfect spot to have a glass of wine and cheese plate before dinner on the day of our arrival. I enjoyed a glass of the Atwater Chardonnay! The wine was bright and crisp and paired well with our cheeses.

Over our two day stay we visited wineries on both sides of Lake Seneca. Views were beautiful, everyone was friendly and the weather perfect! Here are a few of our favorites.

Herman J. Wiemer Vineyard
From the outside the tasting room looks like a large barn. Inside it is a modern and elegant spot to sample their wonderful wines. Herman Wiemer (www.wiemer.com) is considered a pioneer in the wine industry here. The tasting room and staff, as well as his wines, are elegant and classy. Our favorite was the 2013 Dry Riesling that recently received 91 points from Wine and Spirits and 90 points from Wine Enthusiast. I also loved their Rosé that we brought home and have enjoyed by the pool. They also have vines to purchase from their nursery. This is a must if you are visiting the Finger Lakes!

View from Silver Thread Vineyard

Love the label from Silver Thread

Silver Thread Vineyard
This beauty is on the east side of the lake, down a dusty road with gorgeous views of the lake (www.silverthreadwine.com). They are primarily known for Riesling, a grape well suited for this terroir, but also produce Gewurztraminer, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay. We loved the 2012 Dry Riesling. Brought a few of these home and will be sharing with Lisa and Mary Jo soon!

Barnstormer Winery
This tasting room is in....... a barn! The barn itself is over 100 years old. Inside the tasting room is large and bright. The staff here was excellent. My favorite wine from Barnstormer (www.barnstormer.com) was their unoaked Chardonnay. A bit leaner than a California Chardonnay, it was bright and crisp. Also loved the Rosé that they offered. They also have a large deck to enjoy a glass a wine and cheese plate that we took advantage of.

Shalestone Vineyards
I am a sucker for a wine dog, so when I saw this sign outside the Shalestone (www.shalestonevineyards.com) tasting room I knew I was in the right place. This unique winery only offers red wines! The Finger Lakes region is not known for having much luck with dry red wines, but Shalestone had some wonderful offerings. Our favorite was Harmony, a blend of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot. Just to show you what a small world it is, our hostess in the tasting room, Martha, was from our hometown in Northern Illinois!

Watkins Glen State Park

If you get a chance to travel to upstate New York, find time to visit the Finger Lakes. The scenery is breathtaking and the wines are delightful. And don't forget to take a walk through Watkins Glen State Park to see enjoy the waterfalls!

Cheers,
Beth

Wine School, White Burgundy, June 24, 2014

2014-06-30T15:06:00.003-07:00

Theme: Premiums! White Burgundy

Since it was time for one of our premium wine classes, I thought we would try something we haven't really experienced before. Rather than focus on a grape varietal, we ventured to France (if only literally) and chose a region. Since French wines are still "foreign" to me, I decided to let the experts at The Wine Merchant in Clayton, MO help me choose a variety of wines. Here we go!

The Wines:

Domaine De Villaine Bouzeron Aligoté

Color: Pale, straw yellow
Aroma: Fruity on the nose, pear, a hint of peach, think fruit cocktail, and mineral notes
Mouth: A balanced wine with hints of lemon zest and a nice mineral notes on the finish. A refreshing light bodied wine.
Price: $29.99 (Wine Merchant, Clayton, MO)
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Domaine DuBlére Savigny-les Beaune Aux Vergelesses

Color: Pale, straw yellow
Aroma: Wow! Caramel, butter,nutmeg on the nose!
Mouth: This crisp wine had definite mineral notes with a delicious caramel creaminess. Crisp and balanced!
Price: $42.99 (Wine Merchant, Clayton, MO)
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Lucien Le Moine Bourgogne Blanc

Color: Pale, straw yellow
Aroma: Butter, mineral and notes of tar
Mouth: This wine was the creamiest of the three wines, but a definite crisp finish! Delicious!
Price: $52.99 (Wine Merchant, Clayton, MO)
Rating: 4 out of 5

Overall Conclusion: Wonderful wines that we all enjoyed. The lovely caramel notes in the Domaine DuBlére were outstanding, but we found it difficult to pick one favorite since all were delicious. If we had to pick - a tie between Domaine DuBlére and Lucien Le Moine as our favorites!!

Wonderful cheeses!

Pairings:

Bucheron Goat' Milk Cheese: Very nice cheese, that we loved with all the wines. It really brought out the richness in the Bouzeron. When we tried it with the Domaine DuBlére, we all said WOW!!!! Also, wonderful with the Lucien Le Moine. This delicious, creamy cheese brought out the creaminess in the wines.

Camembert Cheese: Great pairing again. It was wonderful with all three wines!

Mons Lavort Sheep's Milk Cheese: Another new cheese for us tonight that we really enjoyed. It brought out a wonderful fruitiness in the Bouzeron and was excellent with the Domaine DuBlére and Lucien.

Salmon with Mango & Brie: Delicious entree that Lisa made for us! Paired well with our wines-the favorite pairing was with the Domaine DuBlére.

Mushroom Risotto: Wonderful with all of the wines!

Guacamole: Another great pairing. It was especially wonderful with the Bouzeron and very good with Domaine DuBlére.

Milk Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels!!

Milk Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels: First off - we loved these caramels. Was a wonderful way to end the evening and they paired well with all the wines. Again, our favorite, the I enjoyed exploring these white wines from the famous Burgundy region of France. .

Conclusion

Beth: I enjoyed exploring these white wines from the famous Burgundy region of France. All of the wines were enjoyable, but when paired with the goodies, they took the wine to another level demonstrating exactly why wines are meant to be paired with food! This was one of those evenings that I find it difficult to find an overall favorite, but if I must choose I would have to pick the Domaine DuBlére with the Lucien a very close second! An awesome class with wonderful wines, food, and friends. Thank you Lisa!

Lisa: What a yummy evening! We are so used to California Chardonnays that venturing to France was fun. Wanting to try the Burgundy region, we started with something other than a
the Chardonnay grape -the Aligorte grape. This wine was slightly different than the other two (which were Chardonnay grapes) but I was pleasantly surprised how good it was! It had more of the fruitier side compared to the other two with more creaminess but they all had the minerality notes. Paired with food, the first two cheeses were my favs with the Bucheron paired with the Domaine DuBlere having the biggest WOW factor. As for the salmon, risotto, and guacamole the wines really came alive with the food. Of course, who doesn't like Sea Salt Caramels?! And my night ended on the best note with them paired with the Domaine DuBlere! Yay!

Mary Jo: This was truly a delightful evening! I love finding new white wines to love! In the Bouzeron, I found pear and peach aromas and lemon zest on the mouth. The Savigny was buttery caramel with a little spice and minerality. The Bourgogne Blanc had minerality and butter on he nose and was creamy with mineral and an acidic finish on the mouth. With the cheeses, I loved the Savigny-Les-Beaune was wonderful!! With the salmon- I found the salmon to being out a bit of fruitiness in the wine and loved it! Everything went well with the delicious mushroom risotto. I liked the Savigny with the guacamole and all here wines paired well with the chocolate! Thanks to Lisa for a wonderful evening!

Italian Culinary and Wine Experience

2014-06-17T14:33:00.000-07:00

Last month Beth and I had the privilege to enjoy a fun night at Fezziwig's Tea & Gourmet Market in Lebanon, Illinois. This cute shop, owned by Tim and Ellen Leaf Moore, hosts all kinds of events including wine tastings, loose leaf tea tastings and gourmet food tastings along with various classes on all those mentioned goodies. That night we participated in an "Italian Bistro Night".

Tim and Ellen's dear friends Mike and Patti Awalt spent 12 years living in Italy learning all they could about the culture and foods of that wonderful country. It was great being the recipients of their delicious culinary delights!

The evening started off with a "Capri Cocktail" of Prosecco. As with any Italian sparkling wine, that's the best way to begin an evening while mingling with friends.

Once we were seated, we enjoyed the first course of Bruschetta ( that's pronounced broos-kEHt-tuh). To pair this for the evening I chose the 2013 Chloe Pinot Grigio which is from the Valdadige D.O.C. It had ripe juicy flavors of fresh white peach, beautiful honeysuckle and subtle Meyer lemon.

Continuing on with the next course of tonno e fagioli, which is a tuna and white bean dish. Oh delish! I continued to enjoy the Chloe Pinot Grigio with this one too and it was a perfect pairing.

The next course of the evening was the Pasta Bolognese Bianco. Awesome! I've enjoyed Bolognese before but was always with a red sauce. This version is a lighter pasta with a white or olive oil sauce.

I paired this dish with a 2012 Vesevo Beneventano Falanghina from Campania, Italy. Again, a perfect choice for it had a full, ripe palate with a hint of honey on the finish.

Our next course was Insalata verde. It was interesting to learn that in Italy the salad is always served after the pasta to help with digestion. After having the heavier entrees, I thought I was full and couldn't eat anything more, but the salad was perfect. It was bib lettuce with very light EVOO and balsamic vinegar.

The dinner was topped off with fresh strawberries drizzled with Fezziwig's very own Summer Peach White Balsamic Vinegar. Not to stop there, Patti made homemade Limoncello that was the culmination of a fantastic evening.

Now we know why Tim and Ellen wanted the Awalt's to be their first "guest presenters" of their Culinary Experience classroom. I'm so glad we were a part of it!

Cheers!

Lisa

Wine School Sauvignon Blanc-French and California

2014-06-02T18:45:00.000-07:00

The wines!

Theme: With summer approaching, I thought it was the perfect time to explore Sauvignon Blanc from its birthplace. Both Sancerre (sahn sair) and Bordeaux claim to be the birth place of this refreshing white wine, so we tried one from each region and threw in a Sav Blanc from Napa for a comparison. The three wines were a great example on how much influence terrior in wine.

The Wines:
Domain Thomas & Fils 2012 Le Crele Sancerre

Color: Pale yellow
Aroma: Youthful nose - lemon zest, herbs, and a chalky-mineral notes
Mouth: Light body with crisp acidity and notes of lemon/citrus and mineral with a medium finish.
Price: $27.99 - Wine Merchant/Clayton, MO
Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5
Conclusion: Well balanced aroma bled through to the taste! Good expression of what mineral tastes like in a wine. Best wine of the evening!

Peter Sichel 2012 Sirius White Bordeaux

Color: Pale yellow
Aroma: More earthy aroma than the Sancerre with tropical fruit and slight floral notes
Mouth: Light body, although slightly more body than the Sancerre, smooth mouth feel with definite mineral notes
Price: $12.99 - Wine Merchant/Clayton, MO
Rating: 3 out of 5
Conclusion: Nice wine, makes a great summer sipper.

Laird Big Ranch 2012 Sauvignon Blanc

Color: Pale yellow with a hint of green
Aroma: Youthful nose definitely different than the French wines - tropical fruit and pear
Mouth: More fruit flavors than the French wines with a tart finish - crisp and refreshing
Price: $15.99 - Wine Merchant/Clayton, MO
Rating 3 out of 5
Conclusion: We enjoyed this wine best on its own. A nice refreshing wine for our hot St. Louis summers.

Cheeses for the evening.

The Pairings:
Sofia Goat Cheese: Nice cheese that paired well with all the wines. It really brought the body out in the Bordeaux, our favorite pairing of the three wines.
Couronne de Touraine: Nice pairing - our favorite was with the Sancerre.
Garlic and Herb Chevré: Very nice with the Bordeaux!
Crab Salad: A nice pairing with the Sancerre, the Bordeaux wine was too floral with this pairing.
Goat Cheese Pizza: Great pairing, as Lisa says, "Woo Hoo!". Did we mention she is from Texas!! Great with all three wines. We love this frozen pizza from Target! Best pairing of the evening!
Godiva Salted Almond Chocolate: We enjoyed with the Sancerre and Laird from California.
Godiva Salted Caramel Chocolate: Nice pairing, we enjoyed best with the Sancerre.

Conclusion:
Beth: I enjoy Sauvignon Blanc so this was a fun class to prepare. Most of the time I find myself drinking these wines from a domestic source or New Zealand. In full disclosure I have enjoyed Sirius, from Bordeaux, already when my husband and I took a class at the Wine Merchant so I knew what to expect in this wine. New to me was a Sauvignon Blanc from Sancerre. I enjoyed the mixture of mineral and lemon/citrus, and my favorite of the evening. Hands down the best pairing of the evening was the goat cheese pizza (frozen from Target)! The creaminess of the cheese plays nicely with the acidity of the wine.
Lisa: When it comes to summer, Sauvignon Blanc is definitely my "go to" wine. I always love the refreshing and crisp flavors they hold. Although I enjoy all three on their own, I wasn't a huge fan of the cheese comparisons. But my favorite was the Garlic and Herb Chevre, especially with the Sirius. I loved the crab salad with the LaCrele Sancerre! And of course the winner of the night was the Goat Cheese pizza. I think I'll have to stock up on that for easy dinners :). Then there were the chocolates...My pick of the wines was the Sancerre-yum! It was fun comparing all three wines and definitely seeing the differences. Fun class! And come on summer!
Mary Jo: MMMM....With summer comes delicious whites that can be enjoyed by the pool, or outdoors on a hot summer night. What a pleasure it was to enjoy these wines! Overall, I loved the Sirius the most, with Laird as second and La Crele third. Each of these wines had their own distinct flavors. The Sirius had mineral, herb and flower notes and went very well with the goat cheese and goat cheese pizza. The Laird had juicy pear on the nose and a tart crisp finish. This wine went very well with the garlic and herb chèvre and the goat cheese pizza. The La Crele had a citrus/lemon and mineral flavor that paired well with the Couronne de Touraine, the crab salad and the Godiva salted almond chocolate. The Laird was a very easy drinking Sauvignon Blanc. What a wonderful class to kick off our midwest summer! Thanks, Beth!

Happy Memorial Day!

2014-05-26T15:28:00.000-07:00

Happy Memorial Day – the unofficial kick-off to summer! What better way to enjoy the beginning of summer than a bike ride and lunch with my hubby?

Echo Bay (left) and Joel Gott Sauvignon Banc

It began as a beautiful day for a bike ride. We pedaled our way to Edwardsville looking forward to lunch at our favorite pizza spot, Peel. Unfortunately they were closed for the holiday, but not to worry, we found a shady spot on the patio at Mike Shannon’s Grill – just next door. Mike and I were both in the mood for a crisp Sauvignon Blanc. I ordered Joel Gott from California and he ordered Echo Bay from Marlborough, New Zealand. A perfect opportunity to share our glasses and compare this grape from two different growing regions. This is what we discovered:
Joel Gott Sauvignon Blanc – California

Color: Pale yellow
Nose: Lemon and citrus hit me with my first sniff
Mouth: Love the bright acidity of this wine with refreshing citrus notes and clean finish. This wine had a slightly fuller body than the Echo Bay.
Pairing: Was an excellent pairing with a Greek Island salad and half a Health wrap that we split.

Greek Island Salad and Health Wrap

Echo Bay Sauvignon Blanc – Marlborough, New Zealand

Color: Pale yellow
Nose: Classic New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc with herbaceous notes and zesty citrus
Mouth: Bright, crisp and refreshing. Mike described it as thirst quenching.
Pairing: Another great match with our light lunch, although Mike mostly enjoyed his wine before the lunch arrived.

Steakhouse Salad

Overall results/thoughts: I would recommend both of these wines. They are perfect for the upcoming summer filled with salads and other lighter fare. Our favorite of the afternoon was definitely the Echo Bay!
Our relaxing lunch was over and it was time to get back on the bikes. All was going great until we noticed more and more dark clouds to the west. We pedaled as fast as we could and were about a half of a mile from our car when the skies opened up! I think I prefer the refreshing Sauvignon Blanc over the “refreshing rain”!!
I would be remiss if I did not thank all those who have given so much for us on this Memorial Day. God bless you all and Happy Memorial Day!

Cheers,
Beth

The Coravin 1000 Wine Preservation System

2014-05-20T09:43:00.000-07:00

How often have you wanted to enjoy a glass of wine in the evening, but knew you wouldn't finish the bottle and did not want to waste it. Or, have you desired a white wine prior to dinner and a glass of red with your steak? Wines start to oxidize the second the cork is pulled and, unless you either finish the bottle or share it with others, your wine will likely not be as good the next day. There are different preservation systems on the market, but none are completely foolproof.

Greg Lambrecht, the Founder of Coravin, Inc., found that when his wife became pregnant and he was the only one drinking wine, he didn't want to commit to drinking an entire bottle. Greg wanted to be able to enjoy his wine, without having to pull the cork. Is that possible, you ask? Greg Lambrecht made it possible.

Greg explains the technology behind the Coravin on his website coravin.com. There is no need to remove the cork or the foil. When the Coravin is put into place, a thin, hollow needle is placed through the cork to extract the wine from the bottle. The bottle is then pressurized with Argon, a gas plentiful in nature and is regularly utilized in other methods of wine preservation. Once the bottle is pressurized, the wine flows through the needle into your waiting glass. The last step is simply to remove the needle and the cork reseals itself. The wine in the bottle never comes into contact with oxygen, thus the degradation process never begins.

Not only does the Coravin allow a wine drinker to preserve wine, but it also allows one to go from one type of wine to another as the Coravin needn't be dedicated to one bottle. The benefits of this device are even more appreciated by wine store and wine bar owners who are now able to keep their wines-by-the-glass fresh, even if they aren't finished in one day. The financial and taste benefits are worth the price of this gadget!

For only $299, you will receive the Coravin 1000, a storage base and two pressurized argon capsules (FREE SHIPPING - ground). If you prefer, you can get a flight-ready Coravin without the pressurized capsules (FREE SHIPPING - air). Each pressurized capsule allows for approximately 15 pours.

Don't waste your wine, it is like pouring money down the drain! Enjoy your wines over weeks or months, instead of feeling pressured to drink or dump.

Cheers!
Mary Jo

Duchman Family Winery

2014-05-09T07:29:00.001-07:00

As you probably recall, last Valentine's Day weekend Beth and I, along with our husbands ventured to the Texas Hill Country to check out the wines and enjoy the weekend away from our harsh Illinois winter. As we searched many books and websites to determine which wineries we wanted to try, due to limited amount of time, we had to narrow our choices to only a few a day (yes, we were trying to be responsible too).

One of the very first wineries I jotted down on my "must see" list was the Duchman Family Winery. Several things caught my attention about this winery, starting with the ambiance of the drive up to the tasting room. It looked like a slice of Tuscany in the little Texas town of Driftwood!

More importantly, the owners Lisa and Stan Duchman's goal was "to craft wine in Central Texas using exclusively Texas-grown fruit"(Spectacular Wines of Texas). Their philosophy is "100 % Texas Grapes 100% Texas Wines". Fortunately, the Texas warm summers mimic the Mediterranean climate of Italy, meaning that grapes that fare well in warm and often arid climates thrive. Native Italian grape varieties like sangiovese, agliancio, and vermintino grow in the vineyards. In addition to experimenting with Italian grapes, the winery sources the majority of its fruit from the Texas High Plains appellation, where cooler temperatures and a more moderate climate prevail.

They offered a variety of white wines which include Trebbiano, Pinot Grigio, Viognier, Vermentino, and Bianco (a blend of Trebbiano, Vermentino, and Pinot Grigio). Thanks to my most convenient WineCheck, I was able to bring home my top three choices: a 2011 Trebbiano, a 2011 Pinot Grigio and a 2012 Vermentino. Yes, they are all winners in my book-perfect by the pool!

Next, we tasted the reds chosen from Sangiovese, Dolcetto, Rosso (a blend of Sangiovese and Dolcetto), Montepulciano, Tempranillo, Aglianico, and Canto Felice. Again, I limited myself to only a couple of tastings but thoroughly enjoyed the Sangiovese, the Montepulciano and the Tempranillo. As you can see, we even enjoyed a bottle of the 2011 Tempranillo while sitting outside soaking up the lovely warm weather as the sun was starting to set. They even had a Bocce Ball court! (Aw, I remember last year's California trip.) For more detailed information about their wines, check out their website at duchmanwinery.com.

All in all, the Texas Hill Country was quite a success and I'm looking forward to visiting again- hopefully soon!

Cheers!

Lisa