The Blue Collar Sommelier

Cab, Cab, Cabs.....

2010-12-04T23:45:00.001-05:00

Winter has arrived and it sure is cold out. Up here in Buffalo we already received a few feet of snow in certain areas of the county. While some people dream of hazy days on the hammock, I look forward to settling down by the fire with a nice teeth staining red wine. In the winter there is nothing better than Cabernet Sauvignon.

The first Cabernet Sauvignon I decided to try is from Mendoza, Argentina. Trapiche 2006 "Broquel" Cabernet Sauvignon (Retail $18) is a classic example of what some of the high altitude vineyards have to offer from South America. Broquel, meaning shield, uses hand picked grapes from select vineyards with average vines producing grapes for at least 25 years. A brand new facility with top of the line equipment was recently finished allowing this winery to create high quality new world wines. Aged in oak for 15 months this ruby red wine exhibits notes of black cherry, cocoa, leather, huge raspberry and a hint of graphite. Typically Cabernet Sauvignon from South America tends to be a little herbal and have heavy vegetative flavors like green pepper, however, in the Broquel they are more subtle with offerings of ripe medium-bodied red fruit flavors leading to a long plummy and tannic finish. This wine would pair perfectly with Prosciutto wrapped asparagus with Neufchatel cheese.

Next I jumped back to the continental United Sates and opened a phenomenal Cabernet Sauvignon from Washington State. The Chateau Ste Michelle 2006 "Cold Creek Vineyard" Cabernet Sauvignon retails for around $32 and is worth every penny. The Washington state wine region is principally in Columbia Valley east of the Cascade Mountains. The valley provides the perfect growing climate for some of the finest Cabernet Sauvignon in the world (just last year a Washington State wine was awarded the wine of the year by the Wine Spectator). Chateau Ste. Michelle is one of the largest wineries in Columbia Valley and has vineyards in all the AVA's located in Washington state. Cold Creek Vineyard was planted in 1973 offering old vines and silty soils allowing for more concentrated fruit at harvest. 2006 had a later harvest due to a wet spring but still produced a very nice vintage. In the nose this wine offers black cherry, chocolate, rose petal, a hint of petrol and leather. On the palate the wine has soft and lush plum and fig flavors leading to a full and round silky finish. This wine is certainly worthy of its Bordeaux heritage. Pair this wine with a roasted beet and goat cheese tower with pistachio's.

Finally I finished strong with a historic winery from Napa Valley. The Freemark Abbey 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon (Make sure to check out the link attached to the wine to hear the winemaker talking about the 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon) is sourced from two world class vineyards in Rutherford and retails for around $35. 2005 was a good year in Napa and this wine definitely shows both the quality of the terrior and the vintage. This wine quaffs cocoa, huge black cherry, leather, raspberry, hints of tobacco and prune in the nose. Deep and intense in the mouth with a tannic dark-red-fruit flavors offering a complex yet elegant finish. Freemark Abbey Cabernet Sauvignon is simply a reminder of how great and easy drinking a good Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon could be. Try pairing this wine with beef fajitas with fresh tomatillo salsa and Pico de Gallo.

Once again thanks for taking the time to read this review. I do welcome any comments to this site and would love to hear from you. Until next time remember to keep an open mind and an open eye.

Heavy Hitter Whites: Mumm de Cremant & Feudi di San Gregorio Fiano di Avellino

2010-09-05T15:30:00.000-04:00

Let's face it... sometimes you have to just treat yourself. With my new job I get the opportunity to travel with some nice wines. Keeping true to this blog I think it's only fair that I write about wines that I feel are not only great tasting but of great value. I understand the economy has changed the spending habits of some people, however, sometimes the old adage "You get what you pay for" definitely does apply. So with that said the selections below fall into that category where the quality of the wine far exceeds the price.

I've worked with wine in a public capacity for several years now and I often find that as I am describing wines I have some go-to catch phrases that just seem to flow out of me unconsciously. One of these pitches always comes up when I get my hands on a good sparkler (usually Champagne). Without hesitation after the champagne flute has left my mouth I seem to proclaim "I could easily drink a bottle of this every day for the rest of my life." I can't express how true that is for my first selection: G.H. Mumm de Cramant NV Grand Cru. Of course at $70 retail I hope somebody else is footing the bill. Is $70 undervalued you ask? Well, this golden Champagne shows tons of toast, hay, and straw with slight pineapple nuances. It is crisp, light and refreshing with nice medium-bodied Granny Smith flavors in the mid-palate and a long mouth watering citric and tangy finish that goes on forever. I think the wine is very reminiscent of the high quality Champagne produced by Krug (the Krug Cuvee Brut is one of my all time favorite wines), and at less than half the price of Krug I would certainly categorize this as an "undervalued" wine. G.H. Mumm is one of the largest Champagne houses and shares a rich history with the AOC. This great Champagne is 100% Chardonnay and despite the name is indeed from the Champagne AOC (named for the small town Cramant in France) and should not be confused for other sparkling wines from France labeled Cremant. Pair this wine with Calamares alla Plancha con Salsa Aglio y Olio.

This next little gem is quite the mouthful to say: Feudi di San Gregorio 2008 Fiano di Avellino. Don't let the long name fool you, this wine is very approachable. In the past whenever I drank Fiano (mostly IGT) I was only mildly impressed with the varietal, however, this DOCG (retail $20) wine from Campania, Italy certainly struck a chord with me. While a very young operation (Established 1986), Feudi di San Gregorio is one of the largest producers of wine from grapes that are indigenous to Campania and holds ownership to some of the oldest vineyards in the region. The authenticity of the varietal in this wine is certainly a very endearing quality. This wine shows notes of tropical fruit, nutmeg, apple, honeydew on the nose. Light on the palate this wine is crisp and clean upfront leading to a nicely balanced and layered appley and lemony finish. The quality of this white wine is clear as soon as it hits your tongue. Try pairing this wine with a lemon pepper monkfish over Capelli d'angelo.

As always thanks for checking out my reviews and I am always open to comments and suggestions. I've already received some good criticism and suggestions that have led to some minor changes in the way I deliver information. Please feel free to comment on any article and I will make sure to try my best to respond to your request or question. With that said please check out on of my newest affiliates at www.petitchef.com where all the recipes for this entry are hosted. Until next time remember to keep an open eye and an open mind.

New York State Wines: Knapp Winery

2009-09-20T02:46:00.015-04:00

Last spring I attended a trade show at Babeville in Buffalo. For those of you who have never had the pleasure of attending one of the big wine shows it can get pretty overwhelming for any serious wine buyer. The secret to successfully making the most of your time when confronted with anywhere between 300-500 wines is to know what you are looking for or more importantly looking at what you've already found. As I walked around the room looking for the newest wines to catch my eye I noticed a cool looking Lemoncello that I've never seen before. The table was sponsored by Knapp Vineyards, but, more importantly the Lemoncello was truly unique.

That meeting at Babeville left a great impression on me and naturally the soonest chance I had to get away for a weekend in the Finger Lakes I took it. Obviously Knapp was one of my destination points.

Knapp was founded by Doug and Suzie Knapp in 1977 and was the first winery in the Finger Lakes Appellation to plant Cabernet Franc. It's no wonder after tasting through their wine portfolio at the winery my favorite was their 2007 White Cabernet Franc($10 retail). Cabernet Franc grows very nicely in cooler climate regions. This traditionally Bordeaux blending varietal tends to be one of my favorite wines that I have sampled from the North-East wine making regions. Light pink in color this gem of a wine should have been labeled as a Cabernet Franc Rose, offering huge strawberry and cream essences with a hint of honey and lilac tones on the nose. This Cabernet Franc is light-bodied and slightly off-dry upfront leading to a berry tinged and slightly tannic yet mellow finish. I would safely pair this wine with a mushroom and braised pear stuffed pork chop with a arugula and candied walnut salad.

As I mentioned earlier one of my original draws to Knapp Winery was their Lemoncello. The other main draw (other than being a winery) is the fact that they have an Alambique still. Basically this designates the winery as a a small batch distillery as well as a winery. In the vineyards one of the many varietals they grow is Sangiovese. While they bottle a good amount of their Sangiovese they do reserve a good amount for Grappa. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Grappa it's typically an Italian spirit that is created from the distillation of excess grapes and byproducts of the wine making process. Many Italian makers will make their Grappa from sub par grapes, skins and stems leftover from the their first press. While Grappa is enjoyable by itself, it is often flavored by infusing or macerating citrus peels and sugar to make it more palatable. The result of this process is Lemoncello, Orangecello, or the less popular Limoncello. What originally drew me to the Lemoncello at the tasting was the pulp in the bottle. Knapp actually adds fresh squeezed juice to their Grappa to make their Lemoncello and Limecello. This makes their offering less sweet than some of the other mainstream Lemoncello's on the market. I felt that due to it's difficulty to find I was more drawn to the Limoncello ($22.99 for a 750ml bottle). This spirit has obvious citrus tones in the nose but is not overwhelming on the palate. Chilled and served neat it drinks alot like an alcoholic version of limeade. This great spirit can be drank as an aperitif or if you're like me makes a great flavor accent for a cocktail. I took 2 ounces of citrus vodka (choose your favorite), 1 ounce of Limoncello, and half an ounce of habanero infused simple syrup shaken over ice and served up in sugar rimmed martini glass. Garnish with a chili pepper and you have a Southwest Chili-lime martini.

The most intriguing aspect of the winery for me is the simple fact that they create their own small batch brandy. Brandy is a grape based spirit produced pretty much everywhere in the world with some of the most famous coming from Cognac and created mostly from the Ugni Blanc grape. What makes the the Knapp Brandy truly a craft brandy is the way the small batch is created. As mentioned earlier, brandy can be made from any grape varietal. Knapp uses it's excess grapes or grapes to make their brandy. Ultimately one years blend can be entirely different from the next. This lends to subtle inconsistencies from year to year. Ultimately, Knapp creates vintage specific brandy, which is something reminiscent to the French Armagnac's. Their brandy ages for one year in French oak casks and comes in 187mL bottles ($22.99 retail). This well crafted brandy is light gold in color (no coloring is added) and has an essence of vanilla, nutmeg and almond. The palate offers a subtle nutty veneer with a smooth, balanced and long oaky finish that doesn't offer as much heat on the outro as you'd expect. I suggest enjoying this small batch 80 proof spirit neat in a snifter.

I thoroughly did enjoy my time at Knapp and will definitely stop by the winery again next time I'm in the area. If you are planning a trip to the Finger Lakes or live in the area Knapp is definitely worth a stop. For more information on the winery or details on upcoming events please check out: www.knappwine.com. Thanks again for following this blog and would to hear some feedback from some of your drinking adventures. Until next time remember to keep an open mind and an open eye.

Special Edition Beers .... Allagash Musette & Ithaca Beer Company "Ten"

2009-08-26T15:43:00.014-04:00

I thought that since it's summer and more importantly beer drinking weather I'd keep the momentum going by reviewing a few more beers. The following beers are edition beers of which their production is limited and closely monitored. Each bottle is numbered by someone at the brewery indicating it is indeed a special edition beer. Most beers that go through this process are experimental beers created by the brew master with extra care. In the beer world this is the equivalent to a private reserve.

Maine can be an unforgiving place. The weather and the terrain are arduous at times, which makes perfect sense why Allagash Brewing Company concentrates on complex Belgian style beers. Allagash Musette (retail $16 for a 750mL bottle) is surely a unique beer. The beer is supposed to resemble a scotch ale but none that I have ever tasted. The flavor profile is contributed to the fact that Allagash barrel ages this brew. Half of the final batch is fermented in stainless steel while the other half is fermented and aged in used oak bourbon barrels. Each of the batches are dated and numbered. As you can see in the photo attached my bottle was bottled in August 2006 and was one of 419 cases (Musette is packed in 6 packs). The website suggests drinking this beer at about 55 degrees and I would agree with that suggestion. I originally made the mistake of drinking this beer at about 45 degrees and there was a distinct flavor difference from when I made it to the bottom of the bottle. Allagash Mussette is muddy and light brown offering aromas of nut, brown sugar, coffee, and caramel. This full-bodied ale is smooth upfront with a long mocha tinged slightly off dry finish. I wouldn't suggest throwing back a six pack of this stuff. At 10% ABV this Belgian brew will surely sneak up on you. I suggest pairing this beer with quiche Lorraine and broccoli florettes in Bearnaise. Allagash offers alot of great beers and I'm sure I'll revisit this brewery again, but, until then if you're looking for some information on their beers or are planning a visit to their Portland brewery check out this link:www.allagash.com/.

Every now and then I go someplace and when I return home I wish I had seen one last thing. Recently I was checking out some wineries near Ithaca, New York, (that review will be posted soon) and at the time never thought to check out the Ithaca Brewing Company while I was in the area. Trust me my wife would have been ecstatic considering one of her favorite beers is the Ithaca Apricot Wheat. The good news is that Ithaca is only about a three hour drive from Buffalo. The bad news is that for those out of state readers it is only available in New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Ohio, New Jersey and Connecticut. "Ten" is a Double Red Ale from the Exclusior series of beers from the Ithaca Beer Company. This small batch beer celebrates the ten years of operation for the brewery. Much like the Musette, 50 degrees is an optimal serving temp for this opaque brick hued beer. The nose on this gem offered walnuts, hops, cocoa, and fig. On the palate this beer was full-bodied and slightly off-dry with complex flavors on the mid-palate leading to a malty and creamy tinged finish with a nice lingering burst of hoppiness on the outro. This beer will creep up on you as well with a whopping ABV of 10.1%. In my wife's words, "This beer is strong". Ithaca Brewing Company uses only small batches on this unfiltered hand-packaged bottle fermented beer. It truly is a special beer because each bottle is unique. Unlike their mass produced brother en there may be some slight inconsistency from bottle to bottle. I would pair this beer with barbecue ribs and butter poached brussel sprouts. For more information on this up and coming brewery please visit:www.ithacabeer.com.

As always, I would love to hear what you've been drinking and some of your thoughts on new and inter sting products. Thanks again for taking the time to read this blog and remember to keep an open mind and an open eye.

Beer... Pietra Amber & Saison Dupont

2009-08-07T22:03:00.013-04:00

I love wine. There is just something about the inconsistencies from vintage to vintage that really intrigues me. The whole idea that sun exposure, weather patterns, soil contents and rain indexes can all make or break a specific vintage and leave alot to the anticipation of the first taste of the vintage.

While I have a great passion for wine (and if you are a regular reader of this blog so do you) it's become clear that its more basic cousin, Beer, is growing more popular with the wine community. Let's face it; beer is usually cheaper than wine, is as all natural and organic as wine and with the increasing popularity of craft and imported beer is has become as accessible to the consumer who just can't make up their mind on styles.

As craft beer lists and food and beer pairings have begun popping up in many fine dining establishments across the country I've decided to begin reviewing some craft beers that I haven't tried before.

The first beer that caught my eye while scanning the beer shelves at Wegmans was the Vielle Provision Saison Dupont by Brasserie Dupont. This light summer ale has been brewed in Tourpes Belgium uninterrupted since 1844 and within the last 20 years has begun making artisan cheeses and bread. Initially the beer brewed in this family owned farmhouse brewery was intended for consumption throughout the winter months by the field workers. Brasserie Dupont uniquely and subtly (on the cork) vintage dates their bottle conditioned ales. Saison Dupont retailing at around $12 for a 750mL bottle would cellar nicely for a moderate amount of time. Tons of yeasty sediment, or "mud" as I like to refer to it, is evident in the bottle so it's important to pour slowly as not to disturb the precious starter yeast on the bottom of the bottle. This beer had a great head especially when poured into an appropriate Belgian goblet. Saison Dupont was light amber in color and exhibited a floral nose reminiscent of a Belgian white ale with a light citrus and hoppy undertone. While light and semi-crisp in upfront it finishes nicely with a long creamy and lightly spiced chai essence. I would pair this great summery ale with a turkey and brei pannini and blue Idaho potato chips.

This next beer I tried is a bit of a gem. I picked this 750mL bottle up in a small store in Austintown, Ohio not too long ago for about $8. What caught my eye about it wasn't the label or the price. Simply put this is a Chestnut beer from Corsica, France. For those of you who are geographically challenged, Corsica is an island south of France and West of Italy in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is most famously known as the birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte. More interestingly in 1584 one of the governors of the island ordered all farmers and landowners to plant four trees yearly of which included a Chestnut tree. These creative islanders use their surplus chestnuts to flavor their beer. While Corsica also has a relatively large wine production (for the size of the island) their beer is very interesting indeed. Pietra is not your everyday amber ale. This amber is unfiltered with tons of sediment and what I like to refer to as "floaters" throughout the body of the beer. Amber in color, the nose on this great beer offers mocha, chocolate and nutmeg. Pietra is light, smooth and refreshing with nutty tones (I'd imagine with the Chestnuts and all) but not as overwhelming as a nut brown. The finish offers a lightly hopped yet mellow veneer. Truly a unique beer. A slow pour is definitely recommended to keep the sediment to a minimum. Pair this beer with a grilled lamb kebob and long grain rice. While this is available in the U.S. I have yet to find a store that carries it in New York.

Thanks again for reading my ongoing online tasting notes. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to post them or if there is something you feel I should be reviewing I'd appreciate the direction. Until next time remember to keep an open mind and an open eye.

It been a long time... NYS Wines Intro

2009-08-02T02:00:00.009-04:00

Recently I've come to the realization that I have let some good things go to the wayside. One of which is my online tasting notes. In an attempt to regain some creativity in an increasingly mundane job I've decided to resume my online notes. So I've poured myself a glass of Trimbach Gewurztraminer and without further ado, I'd like to begin this week's tasting notes.

Rather recently I helped my wife write a wine article for the Buffalo News. While it was alot of fun and I received a decent amount of good responses from my participation one minor criticism remained with me. I had given the people of Buffalo a list of about 15 wines from regions outside of New York State. So as a bit of redemption, and while I collect and taste through local wines from both the Niagara Escarpment and Finger Lake wineries I decided to start with a little gem from Long Island that I found a few years ago. Pindar Pythagoras NV is a classic Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec that retails for around $14. Traditionally New York State wines are known for their white wine, specifically Riesling and Vidal Blanc, however, the red varietals on Long Island benefit from the same coastal weather conditions that is evident in cool weather Washington State wines. Pindar is a one of the wineries that is responsible for the uprising of the wine industry in Long Island. Long Island wines are bunched among a region called the Benchlands. This is a sandy and rocky sandstone wine region that was left by drifting glaciers thousands of years ago. While this vintage of Pythagoras celebrates the 20th anniversary of the winery, Pindar does not put a vintage date on the bottle. This light ruby wine exhibits essences of strawberry, black cherry, cocoa, cream, eucalyptus and raspberry. Pythagoras is a medium bodied red berry flavored wine with a sharp acidic light cranberryesque finish and a long oaky outro. Try pairing this wine with a barbecued duck confit sandwich with cilantro cole slaw and five year cheddar biscuits. For more information on Pindar or to order some wine from their fantastic portfolio please visit www.pindar.net

Thanks again for your time and remember to keep an open eye and an open mind. See you real soon.

Spanish Wines I

2008-08-04T15:42:00.014-04:00

For this post I decided to address the recent Spanish interest from wine enthusiasts. Spain as an "old world" wine making country offers some of the best quality wines for the cheapest prices on the market. Even some of their hard to get "Cult" wines hover at price points close to or slightly above the $50 mark. With that being said, Spanish wine is definitely something every wine lover should experience while the prices stay low.

As usual I'm starting off the taste with a sparkling white wine. The Marques de Gelida 2002 Brut Exclusive Reserva Cava retails around $15 and is noteworthy to anyone that is enthusiastic about bubbles in their wine. Cava is the D.O. (Denominación de Origen) for sparkling white wine in Spain, however, the restrictions on Cava aren't as strict as Champagne. While there are examples of Cava from five different D.O.'s around the country around 90% of the Cava produced comes from a small region near Barcelona called Catalonia. You can find most Cava under the $20 mark making it more affordable than it's American counterparts and more dry than Italian sparkling. Marques de Gelida uses a blend of traditional Cava varietals (35% Maccabeo, 30% Xarel-lo, 20% Parellada, and 15% Chardonnay) in this heavily yeasty yet lightly buttery scented wine. This Cava offers crisp and clean fruit leading to a refreshing and gentle finish. I suggest trying this wine with a venison stew with garlic butter brushed baguette crisps. For more info on this winery please check out:Marques de Gelida.

While Spain does make some fantastic white wines I thought I'd concentrate on some of the outstanding red offerings first. The Barahonda Tinto 2004 Monastrell is a good example of great quality for a small price (retail $15). Barahonda is an impressive winery that offers a variety of different styles of wine from several different labels. This winery grows almost all Monastrell with a small production of Cabernet Sauvignon. Monastrell is known as Mataro in California, Mouvedre in France and is known as Spain's second most important grape varietal. Hot days and cold nights allow for ripe fruit that is clearly evident in this wine. This deeply colored beauty from Yecla (D.O.) offers earthy scents accompanied by plum, strawberry, spice and black cherry. Deep and spicy red fruit flavors lead to a finish riddled with black pepper. I would pair this wine with roasted rosemary stuffed quail over wild mushroom risotto. For more information on the fantastic wines offered by this winery please visit: www.barahonda.com

This time I'm ending the blog with the best of the bunch. The Can Blau 2005 (retail $22) from Montsant, Spain was truely a treat to drink. This was the second time I visited this tasty wine. I'm not sure if I've talked about buying wine in this blog yet, but here it goes. When purchasing wine you don't know much about I suggest buying in at least twos. That way when you taste the wine and come to the conclusion that it needs more bottle time (as was the case in the first tasting of this wine) you still have at least one that you can lay down for a while. If on the other hand its good... drink away! But I've wandered from the original subject... Can Blau. The blend for this wine is 35% Cariñena (Carignan), 35% Syrah, and 30% Garnacha (Grenache). While these grapes are widely grown in both Southern France and Northern Spain the relatively newly created Montsant D.O. (in the historic region of Priorato for you Spanish oenophiles) offers unique vineyards dating back to the 12th century chosen for their particular soil and microclimate. In this old vine wine the Cariñena was planted in sandy clay, the Syrah in chalky soils and the Granacha on slate, known as llicorella. Robert Parker refers to Monsant as "the Spanish appellation that could be called the poor person's Priorato." On the second tasting this wine exhibited essences of blackberry, plum, tobacco, and slight caramel tones. Deep dark red fruit flavors lead to a full rounded silky yet complex finish. I would suggest drinking this fantastic wine with a char grilled bone-in Filet Mignon encrusted in black pepper corns and topped with a red wine compound butter served with blanched broccoli florets.

Thanks again for your continued interest in my blog and I appreciate everyone who has commented on or asked questions about wine and spirits. Please keep the inquires coming and until next time keep an open mind and an open eye.

Three Great Summer Sparklers

2008-06-01T01:43:00.022-04:00

As I mentioned in the last post, I've switched my format a bit. I'm now concentrating on a few wines at a time that I have tasted over several days as opposed to tasting all five wines at once. As my first post since I've abandoned the Thursday Night Flight Night theme, I've decided to concentrate three great summer patio sippers. Since exceptional value is a concentration of this blog I chose these wines specifically as selections that will not hurt the pocketbook and more importantly not hurt your culinary pride.

For the first wine I decided to keep things somewhat the same and start out with a sparkling wine. I tasted the Mumm Napa Cuvée "M" Sparkling Wine (retail $22). While Mumm Napa is the American venture of the French Champagne house it is by no means an old world style wine. Sourcing most of their fruit from Carneros, Mumm Napa allows their fruit to ripen on the vine well past the French limitations. This allows for more luscious fruit flavors in this award winning wine. As a side note, the term Cuvée in a sparkling wine refers to the first and best juice from the press. That quality definitely shows in this great California wine offering cream, pineapple, apricot and a hint of citrus on the nose. This wine exhibited mellow upfront fruit with a long smooth peachy finish on the palate. I'd try pairing this wine with grilled jumbo prawns topped with mango-pineapple cilantro salsa and drizzled with a champagne sabynon creme. For More information on Mumm Napa please visit www.mummnapa.com.

The next summer wine selection comes from the Iberian Peninsula. The Broadbent Vinho Verde (retail $12) is simply a must-have patio wine for the summer. As Portugal's most popular white varietal this refreshing wine is what I like to refer to as a lawnmower wine or a wine to drink after a long day of yard work in 90 degree sunny weather. It's mild 9% ABV won't go straight to your head on a warm day. "Verde" meaning "Green" refers to the youth at which the wine is designed to be drank, however, in the case of Broadbent it doubles as a hint toward the subtle lime color of this lightly sparkly wine. For those of you who may have recognized the name Broadbent (Michael Broadbent) this is indeed a wine selection created by him and his son, Bartholomew. I don't suggest picking a wine by its label, but this one is sure to catch your eye. Bartholomew Broadbent's niece Alice painted the label, when she was four. The wine itself is a blend of three Portugese varietals that (50% Loureiro, 40% Trajadura and 10% Pedernã) are indigenous to the Vinho Verde region. This fantastic lightly sparkling wine offers fragrances of citrus, hay and pineapple on the nose. Clean and fresh spicy fruit lead to a tangy and effervescent crisp finish with subtle hints of mineralty in the outro in this Portuguese beauty. It is suggested that you drink Vinho Verde within a year of purchase to preserve its freshness and character. Vinho Verde makes a brilliant pairing with any fish, shellfish, or poultry. I suggest pairing it up with some pan seared sea bass in a creamy citrus sauce with poached broccoli and grilled summer squash. If you're interested in more information on Broadbent and the wines they produce please check out: www.broadbent-wines.com.

I'll end the tasting notes today with a off-dry sparkler reining in the Piedmont region of Italy. Elio Perrone 2006 "Sourgal" Moscato d' Asti DOCG (retail $16) is one of the most pleasant sparkling dessert wines I've had the pleasure of putting to my lips. While most regions of Italy produce some variety of the Moscato grape (known as Muscat in the rest of the world), none is more sought after than the the offerings from around the small town of Asti. The nose offers wonderful essences of peach, apricot, and floral notes. Full off-dry fruit leads to a subtle fresh finish with the slightest tinge of acidity to balance out this beautifully crafted Moscato. This light 5% ABV wine would pair beautifully with fresh strawberry shortcake and hand made whipped cream.

Keep an eye out for new posts as I have recently been tasting some phenomenal wines. If there are any wines that you have tasted and would like to bring to the attention of our readers please feel free to comment on any of my posts. Until next time remember to keep an open mind and an open eye.

New postings...

2008-05-18T23:31:00.004-04:00

Hello all! It's been quite a while since I logged in. I hope some of you are still checking my blog for updates. Over the past couple of months I started to get really busy and haven't had the time to keep up with my blog writing. However, I haven't stopped tasting new and interesting wines and more importantly I haven't stopped writing notes on the wine I've tasted. While spending a weekend cleaning my office I noticed a very thick pile of tasting notes and empty bottles and decided it was time to begin writing again.

Now that I don't have venue like Thursday Night Flight Night to write about anymore, I will focus on about three different wines that I think are of exceptional value and quality. I will more than likely try and incorporate more spirits and beer into the mix as well. Thanks for sticking with this blog despite the recent infrequent posts and remember to keep an open eye and an open mind.

Harpersfield Winery Taste

2007-05-05T22:57:00.007-04:00

On the second installation of our Winemaker Wednesday series we featured the wine of Harpersfield Winery presented by the owner Patty Ribic. Chef Tim King and Pete Evanovich put out a spread of cold dishes that accompanied the wine perfectly with the Burgundy and Alsatian style wines the winery produces.

The two cold dishes offered was a lovely traditional Peruvian seafood Ceviche with scallops, shark, and whitefish; followed by a roasted vegetable gazpacho. Of course both of these were offered with handmade bread sticks, a cheese platter, and marscapone and chocolate sauce drizzled over crustini.

Before we get to the tasting notes, I'd like to mention a precursor. There was a bit of confusion on the supply of the wine we offered that day and only ended up featuring five of the six wines I promised. For those of you that showed up for this event, I am truly sorry for the confusion. I did however try to make up for it by opening a few bottles of unrelated Riesling to sample out to those who were willing to try. But enough about my downfalls and lets get on to the wine.

Harpersfield Winery is a unique winery located just outside of Geneva, Ohio. While Harpersfield has been around for decades, it only recently was bought and transformed the winemaking into into a French-based wine concept. The winery concentrates most of its 18 acre vineyard on the Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Gris, Riesling, Cabernet Franc and Pinot Noir varietals giving it that extra Burgundian/Alsatian flair. The wine itself isn't excluded from the old world style offered by the wineries French farmhouse decor. For more about Harpersfield please visit: www.harpersfield.com

Our first offering from this great winery was a Alsatian favorite Gewürztraminer. Gewürztraminer is slowly gaining popularity among American Riesling drinkers. The often mispronounced (ga-VERTZ-trah-mee-ner) and greatly misunderstood varietal offers a fantastic floral nose that other white varietals can't live up to. The Harpersfield 2005 Gewürztraminer "St. Fiacre" (retail $18) is deep gold in color with heavy honeysuckle and floral perfume reminiscent of the great Gewürztraminers coming from the Alsace. This great summer varietal is lightly effervescent upfront with a long fruity semi-dry finish. The strong floral tones and lightly semi-dry finish in this wine allow it to compliment any spicy dish. I suggest pairing this with pan seared scallops and Thai fried bananas.

The next wine we featured in the taste is a must have for any Chablis drinkers. While the Harperfield 2005 Chardonnay "Fut de Chene" (retailing at $24) tends to be on the pricier side for an Ohio Chardonnay, it still exhibits great value for its quality. "Fut de Chene" loosely translates to aged in oak barrels in French. John is responsible for introducing me to the elegance of French Chardonnay. Harpersfield does a fantastic job at retaining the minerality and elegance of Chablis Chardonnay but still shows the depth that Chardonnay offers in parts of Napa Valley. This Burgundian beauty offers an earthy nose with slight suggestions of tropical fruit. Full crisp fruit leads to a nice mellow lightly buttery finish. Try pairing this beauty with lobster in a Champagne butter sauce, spinach parpadelle noodles and salmon roe caviar.

For our next selection we offered a varietal that does well in the Great Lakes climate. The Harpersfield 2004 Vin Gris de Chambourcin retails for $18 and is another great summer wine offered by the winery. Chambourcin is a French hybrid varietal that was widely popular in the 1970's. While most wineries offer this full aromatic varietal as a red selection, Harpersfield offers their Chambourcin as a rosé. This light pink wine offers strawberry, watermelon, and pear on the nose. Luscious fruit flavors lead to a long balanced finish. This was my favorite wine of the night and perfect for the patio on warm summer nights. John suggested serving this wine lightly chilled and after tasting I agree with the suggestion. Try pairing this wine with grilled tuna salad sandwiches with lemon-habanero mayonnaise and watercress.

Our first red selection for the evening was the Harpersfield 2005 Pinot Noir "Clos Mes Amis" (retail $25). Harpersfield does a fantastic job crafting cool climate Pinot Noir into an elegant wine that would stand up to many of its Burgundian counterparts. The 2001 vintage of this wine won a bronze medal in a state wine competition. Much like the "Fut de Chene" this wine exhibited a nice balance between old world and new world styles. "Clos mes Amis" offers nice cherry, cocoa, and dark fruit essences on the nose. The palate offers full fruit flavors leading to a long smooth rounded finish. Try pairing this fantastic red with crepes fruits de mer.

We ended the evening with an Ohio offering of a Bordeaux varietal. Cabernet Franc is a tough little black grape that tends to do well in the Northern cooler climates. Thanks to DNA fingerprinting it has been established that this varietal is one of the parent varietals to Cabernet Sauvignon. The Harpersfield 2005 Cabernet Franc (retail $25) is deep ruby in color and has elements of black cherry, strawberry, and spice on the nose. Full and fruity upfront leading to a nice subtle plumy finish this wine is a very elegant example of this varietal. Try pairing this wine with grilled pork burgers indochine and potato frittes.

Thanks again for your ongoing support of events like this and I look forward to seeing you at another one in the near future. All the recipes on this weeks blog were sourced from www.foodnetwork.com. Until next time remember to to keep an open mind and an open mind.

John and Dan's Picks III, April 19th 2007

2007-05-04T13:05:00.000-04:00

Well I'm back! Don't let the post date fool you it's well into mid-October. Since my new job here in Buffalo doesn't have as many duties attached to it I have more free time to catch up on the blog and review new products. It will take me a little time to catch up on all I've missed so please stick with me through these reviews.

As usual John and I had some trouble finding a rep this week to host the flight night, so we picked some wines off of the shelf to feature for this Flight Night. Chef Tim and Pete Evanovich put out an assorted cheese tray, handmade garlic parmesan breadsticks, fried brownie bites with chocolate sauce, and smoked shredded pork quesadillas with peppers, onions, and cheddar cheese to compliment the wine selection.

We started the Flight Night with a selection from Spain. John and I are huge enthusiasts when it comes to Spanish wine. While the labels are somewhat easier to read than your average French or Italian wine bottles, (afterall 1 in 10 U.S. citizens speak fluent Spanish) people are still a bit confused by the grape varietals and geography of most of what Spain has to offer. As a general rule, Spanish wines offer high quality for a very small price. Sure you could drop over $100 on a Spanish wine but why would you when there are great wines at around the $20 to $30 range? The Nora 2005 Albariño is no exception to this statement at the $18 mark. Albariño is a light Viognier like grape that is indigenous to the Rias Baixas region of north eastern Spain. The Albariño grape accounts for 90% of the plantings in this wine region. Nora is light gold in color and has elements of peach, cream, and lemon peel on the nose. Full-bodied and refreshing fruit lead to a very long smooth and textured finish. As John noted: "this is a great replacement for cookie-cutter Chardonnays". This is a fantastic summer wine for dining out on the patio. Try pairing this great white with a pan-fried flounder with poblano-corn relish.

Following up that great Spanish white was no easy feat, so John and I decided use a wine from a classic winery and a legendary California AVA (American Viticultural Area). The Ferrari-Carano 2006 Pinot Grigio (retail $18) from the much coveted Russian River Valley in Sonoma County was our second selection for the night. Ferrari-Carano has four different vineyards across Napa & Sonoma from which they source their grapes. Their Russian River Vineyards consist mostly of Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. The yields of Pinot Gris from this region are somewhat small and I can only assume this is a newer venture for the winery or originally a private table wine that was made public. I'm pretty sure the marketing think tank at Ferrari-Carano chose to label this varietal as Pinot Grigio (instead of the more common Pinot Gris) to avoid consumer confusion. While the wine was Italian in style it has an obvious Californian attitude. This pale and lightly golden wine exhibits a nose full of citrus with slight floral & fruit tones. Slightly tart mellow fruit leads to muted acidic citric flavors with a long lingering finish on the palate. Try drinking this wine with salt cod fritters with garlicky Skordalia. Find out more about Ferrari-Carano at:www.ferrari-carano.com

During my time in Ohio, I've sampled a variety of different wines from several of the local wineries in or around the Geneva area. The Ferrante 2005 "Signature Series" Cabernet Franc (retail $18) surprised both myself and many of the Wine Down patrons who tried it. Nick Ferrante has won a numerous amount of awards with his Golden Bunches Riesling, however, I would personally put this Cabernet Franc at the top of his wine portfolio. I was thrown back at how opaquely purple this wine was considering it was grown in Ohio which typically produces lighter colored reds. The nose had huge dark red fruit scents like plum and blackberry with light cocoa tones. This medium-bodied dry red fruit flavored wine lead to a slightly tannic sharp finish with lingering elements of confectioners chocolate. I was so impressed that a wine of this caliber came from Ohio that I retasted this wine the following day. It had mellowed out immensly and took on a pleasing deep woody almost vanilla flavor where the tannins were the day before. Pair this fantastic red with orecchiette Bolognese with chestnuts. Ferrante is one of the nicest commercial wineries in the Northern Ohio Wine Trail. I'd strongly suggest taking a tour of the modern facilities if you ever happen to be in the area. For directions or more information on Ferrane Winery go to: www.ferrantewinery.com

The next selection is a newer wine from an up and coming wine region in the foothills of the Andes Mountains called Valle de Colchagua, Chile. At an affordable $14, Calcu 2005 (A magician in the Mapuche language) is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cabernet Franc, and 20% Carménère. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Carménère grape, it has a very interesting story behind it. After the phylloxera epidemic in Europe, the Carménère grape (Bordeaux varietal) was thought to be a lost. However, South America was not affected by the epidemic. The grapes were brought over by the missionaries and often labeled Merlot. In the mid 90's after extensive DNA testing they were in fact found to be the lost grape of Bordeaux, Carménère. While many other wine growing regions have successfully replanted the finicky varietal, none date back to the 150 year offering of Chile. This Deep red blend has meaty, tobacco, leather, and butter essences on the nose. Full-bodied rich red fruit flavors with traces of spice and pepper lead to a subtle rounded finish in this fantastic Chilean wine. Try pairing this wine with pork and leeks in avgolemono sauce. Several patrons have commented on the label of the wine. It is in fact a watercolor of a bull painted by Salvador Amenabar and in my opinion gives the wine some added elegance when presented at a table. For more information on Calcu go to: www.globalvineyard.com.

We finished off the taste with another well established name in California. Cosentino 2004 "The Cab" Cabernet Sauvignon retails for $15 but drinks like a wine twice that price. Mitch Cosentino sources the friut for this series of wine from his Lodi vineyards which also offers "The Chard", "The Zin", and the more popular "CigarZin". Typically fruit sourced from Lodi tends to be deep and intense. "The Cab" was no exception to this. Exhibiting vanilla, pommegranite, plum, strawberry, and dried leaf tones on the nose, this deep and lightly spicy red lead to a long rounded finish with elements of buttery oak. This wine is really tightly wound and I would suggest allowing the wine to decant for quite some time before getting to it. In fact in my exploration with this wine I found that it really came around a couple days after I had opened it. This clearly suggests that this wine may not be quite ready for consumption and I would suggest that you give it some addionional bottle age before opening it. Try pairing this wine with hanger steak with shallots and mushrooms. For more information on Cosentino check out: www.cosentinowinery.com.

Thanks again for showing interest in this blog and wine education. If you are interested in any of the recipes used in this post please check out the October 2006 issue of Food & Wine magazine. Until next time remember to keep an open eye and an open mind.

Superior Taste, April 12th 2007

2007-05-03T11:14:00.000-04:00

As usual for this weeks Thursday Night Flight Night John and I chose a dynamic group of fine wine for everyone to try. However, unlike any other week we chose all of our wines not only from one distributor but from one portfolio. The wines this week were from Superior Distributors and more specifically from the The Australian Premium Wine Collection. For more information on this wine collection that's imported by USA Wine West, Sausalito, California go to: www.tapwc.com.au

Chef Tim King and Pete Evanovich put out a beautiful spread including an assorted cheese tray, Shiraz and garlic marinated lamb kebobs with peppers and pineapple, homemade potato and onion chips with a chive horseradish dipping sauce, and for dessert chocolate dipped strawberries, bananas, and marshmallows.

We started the taste with the Elderton 2006 "Unwooded" Chardonnay from Barossa Valley, Australia (retail $15). Elderton's South Australian vineyards date back to 1890 and have been family owned since 1979 and prides itself on taking extra measures to keep the wine making process as bio-dynamic as possible. Occupying an old Penfold's fermentation facility this award winning winery uses state-of-the-art machinery to achieve consistancy and quality in their wines. With a slightly floral nose this wine exhibits huge fruit flavors leading to a slightly spicy yet refreshing finish. It is suggested that this wine will be best appreciated within a couple of years from release. This wine is perfect for hot summer days. Try drinking this wine with pan seared scallops with a cauliflower puree, raisins, and capers with a balsamic reduction drizzle. Check out more about Elderton at:www.eldertonwines.com.au

I've never had a huge success marketing white blends at Wine Down. However everytime I can convince somebody to try one, they love them. The Rutherglen Estates 2005 "The Alliance" is no exception to this statement. This $15 blend of 70% Marsanne and 30% Viognier is quite simply an impressive white. Rutherglen (located in the north-east corner of Victoria) is another old vineyard dating back to the 1850's. It saw a huge expansion in 1997 when vineyards were added to the total acreage. Rutherglen concentrates mostly on Rhone varietals in its 360 hectares of vines with "The Alliance" being their only white offering. This pale wine has a nose of melon, citrus, cream, and slight hint of honey and mint. "The Alliance" has smooth, slightly off-dry, delicate & creamy fruit upfront with a long tart acidic finish. Try drinking this wine with romaine lettuce tossed with sauteed shrimp and topped with avacado, bacon, and a lemon vinaigrette. Find out more about the winery at:www.rutherglenestates.com.au

Gearing up for the summer we sampled a Pinot Noir for our first red of the evening. The Hill of Content 2004 Pinot Noir is from the Mornington Peninsula Victoria (retail $19) however, with a blindfold I would have guessed it to be an Oregon or Burgundian Pinot Noir. This crowd pleasing wine is an excellent example of how elegant the Pinot Noir grape can be. I think the back of the bottle explains it best, "Pinot Noir is undoubtedly one of the sexiest grape varieties on the planet earth, and this wine captures much of its magic." Exhibiting a big earthy nose with heavy floral and cherry accents this translucent bright bold fruit leads to a slightly tart yet soft finish. While this wine pairs excellently with a variety of different food I suggest dry-rubbed salmon tacos with a tomatillo-avacado slaw and a side of creamy risotto with edamame.

As much as I like Shiraz, I feel its sometimes unbalanced acidic finish ruins the essence of the grape. Thankfully some wine makers have taken to adding small amounts of Viognier (yes, the French white grape) to their Shiraz to give it a rounded and more subtle finish. Rocky Gully 2004 Shiraz/Viognier is a great example of this blend. At an affordable $15 Rocky Gully is a blend of 95% Shiraz 5% Viognier. This Aussie blend emulates a French Cotes-Rotie style that is undeniably delicious. Deep ruby in color the nose offers a peaty earthy bouquet. This bold Western Australian wine is fruit forward with slight pepper and a long mellow finish. Try pairing this wine with Asian baby back ribs with panko-crusted mushrooms.

We finished the taste with another Rhone blend. Hewiston "Miss Harry" 2004 GSM (retail $23) offered the depth and complexity we needed to finish off the night. Some of these vines in this South Australian, Barrosa Valley vineyard date back to 1853. In fact the winery boasts having the oldest Mourvedre vineyard in the world. "Miss Harry" is a blend of 44% Grenache, 43% Shiraz, and 13% Mourvedre. Winemaker Dean Hewiston recieved his Masters degree from UC Davis, California giving this classic Rhone blend a new world feel. Deep purple in color this wine has elements of black cherry, date, dark chocolate, and tar. Deep red fruit flavors lead to a long slightly tart and subtle finish. Once again the decription on the bottle is worth noting: "She's showy seductive and gorgeous. She's got style. She's from 50 and 80 year-old vines. She's All-Australian. She's Miss Harry." Pair this with herb crusted leg of lamb with a cannellini-and-green bean salad. For more information on this winery please visit: www.hewitson.com.au

I know I have fell really behind on these posts but with the summer ending (and the wedding out of the way) I have had more time to work on these posts. Please continue to check this blog for updates and I hopefully will be up to date very soon. All the recipes from this entry were taken from the April 2007 edition of Food & Wine magazine. Until then I hope to see you at Thursday Night Flight Night and remember to keep an open mind and an open eye.

Vintage Taste, April 5th 2007

2007-05-02T13:21:00.000-04:00

John and I are getting better and better at putting together a dynamic selection to present in the Thursday Night Flight Nights. This week's wines are no exception to our success. This week we featured wines from the Vintage Wine Distributors. Not only were these wines very well accepted, but I have found a few new personal favorites in this tasting. As usual, Chef Tim King and Pete Evanovich put out an impressive spread of chocolate dipped strawberries, bananas, and marshmallows, ginger chicken fried won tons, and fresh sage mushroom and roasted zucchini lasagna with ricotta and grand provolone cheese, as well as the standard assorted cheese tray.

We started the taste this week with the Four Vines "Naked" 2005 Chardonnay retailing for $14. This Santa Barbera County wine is from a newer winery and husband/wife wine maker team in the West Coast wine game. They produce nothing but Zinfandel and Chardonnay. Their "Naked" Chardonnay is their expression for Chardonnay containing no oak and undergoing 100% stainless steel fermentation. These California stainless steel Chablis knock-offs have gained a good momentum in the wine industry over the last couple of years. This fantastic Chardonnay exhibits a nose full of pear, grapefruit, and white pepper. Mellow fruit upfront with a floral mid-palate leads to a sharp lush citric finish in this affordable must-have summer wine. Try drinking this with roasted chicken, zucchini, and ricotta cheese sandwiches on grilled focaccia bread.

From Chardonnay, the next natural progression in flavor is Viognier (pronounced Vee-Oh-Nyay). We chose to present the Castle Rock 2005 Viognier (retail $12)for our taste. Viognier is a Rhone grape varietal that had gained popularity in the late nineties. Many Chardonnay drinkers made the shift to this floral varietal that typically carries nice citric fruit flavors and long creamy finishes. Castle Rock (which I continue to call California's best kept secret) has several state of the art wine making facilities across the West Coast and pulls its fruit from several vineyards as well. The Viognier comes from the Lake County AVA in Napa Valley. John and I have yet to find a bad wine coming from Napa's smallest and least understood AVA. Lake County is perfect for Viognier featuring similar red volcanic rock & growing conditions that are comparable to that of France's Rhone Valley. This deep gold slightly greenish hue wine has heavy bubblegum and apricot scents that overpower a more ashy and lilac tone. Nice light citrus fruit tones lead to a soft & gentle spicy finish in this great value wine. Try this wine with roasted sea bass with tomato coulis and fennel salsa. For more information on Castle Rock Winery and the wines they produce check out www.castlerockwinery.com

Our first red was John's choice from Bordeaux. Château Mazeris 2003 (retail $20) comes from the desired Canon Fronsac appelation in Bordeaux. With heavy limestone and sandstone deposits in the vineyards this appellation grows primarily Merlot and Bouchet (Cabernet Franc) varietals. Château Mazeris is a blend of 75% Merlot and 25% Bouchet in this very small (5000 cases) production wine. The winery has been in the Cornouaud family since 1769 and imported by the J.P.Mouix whose name is associated with high quality wines in the appellation. This deep, ruby colored wine has tones of cherry, blackberry, cocoa, and tar. Only 30% of the wine is put in barrels and blended with the unoaked wine to create bold, dry, and rich fruit leading to a long subtle finish. As a note, the 2003 was a bit tight when we first opened it and I would strongly suggest decanting the wine for at least a half an hour before drinking. Try this wine with veal saute with merlot pan sauce and saffron couscous with fresh peas and chives. For more info on this wine check out the importers website at: Château Mazeris

Next we featured my pick of the taste, Four Vines Old Vine Cuvee 2004 Zinfindel (retail $16). As I mentioned earlier, this wine is made by a husband/wife wine making team. However, John and I had the opportunity to meet the winery's money-man, main promotional force, and zin pimp (as his card stated) Bill Grant last November. This fun winery had an array of fantastic Zinfandel's that they drew from vineyards in Paso Robles, Sonoma, Napa and Amador. The Old Vine Cuvee was no exception to the beautifully produced Zinfandel's in their lineup. Aged in small French and American oak barrels this Cuvee offers mocha, cinnamon, black cherry, chocolate, and cigar smoke in the nose. Peppy and bold balanced dark fruit flavors lead to a long silky raspberry finish. Try pairing this Zinfandel with a spicy lamb and chorizo sausage chili. For more information on Four Vines, including a list of restaurant and retailers that sell their wine, (they must not know about us) go to: www.fourvines.com

We ended the taste at the other end of the world with Meerlust 2001 Rubicon retailing for $20. Its rare that I ever rave about a wine from South Africa but this wine is definitely noteworthy. Meerlust Estate is situated 40 km from Cape Town, South Africa, on the banks of the Eerste River in the district of Stellenbosch. Meerlust has been in the Myburgh family since 1757. Hannes Myburgh honed his wine making skills working for the famed wineries Chateau Lafite in France and Von Oetinger in Germany. The Rubicon is a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, and 10% Cabernet Franc and offers a nose full of coffee, chocolate, and cherry. Huge bold fruit leads to a dry tannic velvety finish. This wine would do very well in the cellar or feel free to enjoy right now. Try this wine with pan-seared rib-eyed steak with goat cheese, caper, and tomato butter and a side of broccoli florette.Visit the Meerlust website at: www.meerlust.co.za

Thanks again for your continued support of both this blog and the Thursday Night Flight Night. After a recent trip to the Niles public library I decided to start featuring food from cookbooks I pick up. All of todays food selections were from The Flavors of Bon Appétit 2001 from the editors of Bon Appétit. If you are interested in any of the recipes, check your local library or book store for this cookbook. I look forward to seeing you all next week and remember to keep an open mind and an open eye.

John and Dan's Picks, March 29th 2007

2007-04-01T15:00:00.000-04:00

Every couple of weeks John and I can't find a distributor to sponsor our Flight Night, so we feature wines that we think are notable. For this weeks Flight Night we decided to feature wines from European Wine Imports, Heidelberg Distributors, and Vintner Select Distributors. As always, Chef Tim King and the kitchen downstairs put out an impressive spread of food that included a mixed cheese tray, pipette pasta with calamari tossed in a spicy arrabiatta sauce, chicken satay with peanut sauce, white vanilla bean cake, chocolate brownie cake, and chocolate covered lady fingers, marshmallows, and strawberries.

Its not uncommon for John and I to start our taste with a sparkling wine, however, lately I have found a obsessive fascination with crémant (for a definition on crémant see my Feb. 22nd 2007 entry). The Cave de Cleebourg "Clerostein" Crémant 'd Alsace Rose (retail $18) was not by any means exempt from my enthusiasm for this style of wine. This wine is actually made from a wine co-op out of Cleebourg in Alsace of which 5 villages and 190 different growers are associated. Made from 100% Pinot Noir this fruit is sourced from the Huettgasse de Steinseltz locality. With a nose full of strawberry and cream this fruity and crisp sparkler exhibits a nice yeasty or bisquity body and a smooth creamy finish. For a great summer treat try pairing this fantastic crémant with a dozen steamed littleneck clams with drawn butter and hot sauce. If you want to find out more about the co-op or view other wines they produce please check out www.cave-cleebourg.com

Next we moved to a wine that I hope to feature on the patio this summer. Kitfox Vineyards "Foxy" White Table Wine 2005 retails for $12 and is a blend of 63% Chenin Blanc, 12% Sauvignon Blanc, 7% Verdelho, 5% Orange Muscat, 5% Riesling, 5% Viognier, 5% Gewurztraminer. Light gold in color this wine exhibits a floral nose with watermelon, honey, apricot, tangerine, and light lime zest. This nice white table wine is fruity and off-dry in the mid palate leading to a complex finish of lemon zest and honeydew. As I mentioned earlier this is a refreshing option for hot summer day. Try this wine with apple and nut stuffed pork tenderloin with fingerling potatoes and steamed dandelion with fresh ground sea salt. For more information on Kitfox check out:www.kitfoxvineyards.com

Jumping from California we ended up with a Barbera d' Alba the Northwest region of Italy. Barbera is often referred to as the "people's wine" and accounts for over 40 percent of the grapes grown in Peidmont. While I know reading and understanding Italian wine bottles can be confusing at times, Barbera d' Alba simply indicates one of the three major terriors from which this Barbera is grown (just outside the town of Alba). Corino is a major player in the Peidmont reigion and is often sought after for their Barolo. However, the two brother winemakers, Renato and Giuliano, split the family vineyards with Guiliano keeping the original namesake. This is Renato's label and this dark crimson Barbera is a nicely priced (retailing for $20) introduction to the quality wine their family traditionally produces. The Renato Corino Barbera 'd Alba D.O.C. 2005 offers a nose of cherry, barn-fire smoke, and light chocolate. Spicy and full fruit upfront lead to an acidic peppery finish. This wine took quite a while to open up and is a bit young in the bottle. I would suggest cellaring this for another couple years or if you insist on drinking it right now decanting for at least one hour. Try this wine with a prosciutto wrapped chicken topped with a wedge of semi-hard ricotta and served atop fetuccine con spinachi tossed with sliced cherry tomatoes, virgin olive oil, and freshly grated Romano cheese.

Whenever I can I try to plug my favorite varietal in the Flight Nights. The Silver Peak Vineyard Zinfandel 2001 (retail $14) comes from the Zinfandel rich Lodi, California. One of the general wine rules to Zinfandel is that it should be drank very young, however, the 6 year bottle age clearly helped this wine rather than hindered it. Lodi fruit (especially Zinfandel) tends to be bold and deep and full-bodied to begin with and definitely needs a bit of bottle time to really pop. Cheap or not, try cellaring some Zinfandel to see what I mean. This wine exhibits cherry, vanilla, strawberry, and oddly a bit of petrol in the nose even though the alcohol content is relatively low for Lodi (13.5% ABV). Silver Peak Zinfandel offers deep full-bodied bold fruit with a slightly tangy yet smooth finish. Try drinking this wine with a chopped beef tenderloin sandwich with sauteed onions and mushrooms on toasted ciabbatta with melted provolone.

We finished the taste with what seemed to be the crowd favorite. Marquis Phillips 2005 Shiraz retails for $16 but drinks at twice that value. The label features a mythical creature called a Roogle half bald eagle and half Kangaroo to represent the partnership between its American importer and Australian winemaker. This dense and opaquely deep red is almost black in color indicating the huge blackberry and plum tones accompanied by, tar, leather, oak. Heavy full-bodied dark fruit flavors lead to a slightly spicy long rounded finish in this high octane (15.9% ABV)wine. Try this wine with chocolate zucchini cake sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Thanks again for staying with me through this blog and supporting the Thursday Night Flight Night. As always I would appreciate some feedback on what you thought about the wine or if there is something you want to see in one of my flight nights. I'll see you all next week and remember to keep an open eye and an open mind.

Ohio Wine Taste, March 22nd 2007

2007-03-25T23:52:00.000-04:00

This week for the Thursday Night Flight Night, John and I decided to feature wines from the Ohio Wine Distributor. Our selections jumped around the world offering selections in California, Italy, and Australia. As usual Chef Tim King put out a few small finger foods and the standard assorted cheese plate.

We began the taste with a wine I often refer to as a gateway wine. The Sartori di Verona Pinot Grigio 2005 (retail $12) is a great example of why this wine is so easy to drink and understand as a begginer wine enthusiast. Pinot Grigio is no different from the Pinot Gris grape from France and has gained its success as an easy drinker due to its low aromas and highly acidic citric flavors. While it is the same grape as Pinot Gris, Pinot Grigio achives its indistinguishable flavors by not allowing the grape to fully ripen before harvesting. This Northern Italian wine (the vineyards are around Venice) is pale yellow with a floral, apricot, and lightly lemony nose. The sharp citrus fruit flavors lead to a subtle mineral driven finish creating an overall clean fresh feel in this patio wine. I would pair this wine with a broiled whitefish topped with lemon butter and caramelized almond slivers and served with cauliflower florettes. For additional information on Sartori please visit: www.sartorinet.com

The next wine we presented was quite a treat. Ridge Coastal Chardonnay 2001 (retail $21) was one of the most elegant Chardonnays at the $20 mark I've had in quite a while. As I've written before I'm a huge Ridge fan and was extremely exited to get my hands on this hard-to-get Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay. Our Ohio Wine rep, Brian Fry, was a bit concerned pouring this wine fearing it may not have bottle aged to his expectations. This wine proved to be a great testament to how finely crafted Chardonnays can bottle age for many years, breaking the "drink a cheap white young" mantra. Ridge used whole cluster pressing and barrel fermentation to create depth in this deep gold Chardonnay that exhibits heavy floral and creamy vanilla with light tones of mushroom and damp straw on the nose. Its full flavored bold fruit flavors lead to a long creamy subtle finish. Pair this fantastic wine with open-faced pork and shrimp dumplings with steamed rice and drizzled with a honey soy reduction. As I mentioned earlier, this wine is hard to find. In fact the winery stopped making Chardonnay from this vineyard, so I strongly suggest if you find some of this Chardonnay (especially under $20) buy as much as you can. For news on the winery or to visit other wines produced by this fantastic winery please check out:www.ridgewine.com

Next we tried Raymond Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 (retail $28). This is a classic example of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon from a reputable wine maker. Like many other wine makers in California Roy Raymond Sr. honed his wine making skills from working for the much larger Beringer Winery until 1971. This family run winery has become one of the most trusted and consistent wineries in Napa Valley offering a wide variety of different teired wines in their collection. The Raymond Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is one of their middle range wines that offers great quality for a moderate price. This wine was deep purple in color with bright cherry, tobacco, and cocoa with a hint of smoke and cinnamon on the nose. Ripe flavors offered bold and full fruit in the mid-palate leading to a long deep spicy finish. Try drinking this wine with pan seared tri-tip sirlion steaks with chive butter and glazed carrots. For more information on Raymond or to sign up for their wine club check out:www.raymondvineyards.com

The next wine we offered at the taste is new to the Northeast Ohio market. When I was approached with this line initally the one that stood out above the rest was the Marquee Signature Series Shiraz 2004 (I reviewed the Chardonnay in an earlier flight night). While $20 can be a bit pricy for a Shiraz in a Shiraz saturated market this bold McLaren Vale wine certainly does deserve the price its asking for. This Earthy Shiraz offers bold scents of prunes and chocolate with slight elements of black licorice and coconut. Heavy and spicy fruit flavors lead to a little bit of heat in the finish of this beauty. Try this wine with braised chicken with corriander sauce over white rice with fresh vegetables. For more on Marquee please check out: www.marquee.com

John and I have neglected to offer a dessert wine in our taste for quite some time and felt we needed to address the issue. We proudly presented Wyndham Estates Old Tawny Port NV (non-vintage) from the famous Hunter Valley Southeastern Australia as a sweet finale to the flight. I think port is often overlooked because people don't fully understand what it is. Port (short for Portugal) is a wine whose fermentation is interrupted by infusing brandy into it. Some of the wine is bottled right away (ruby port) while the rest is transferred to oak barrels for ageing (tawny port). As the port ages more color and flavor is tranfered from the oak to the wine. Like non-vintage Champagne several differently aged ports are blended into a bottle hiding any inconsistencies that occur in a single vintage. The Wyndham Estates Old Tawny Port was aged in small oak casks for up to five years. Wyndham Estates has been crowned the oldest surviving winery in Australia dating back 170 years. Cloudy and copper in color this tawny port offers a nose of caramel, banana, and cashew. Balenced and sweet with a nice woody finish this port would pair perfectly with chocolate brownies or chocolate covered pretzels.

I'd like to end this review with a note on a new promotion at the Wine Down. As I mentioned earlier John and I feel as though Port has missed out in our promotions. With that in mind we now offer a port board that will allow anyone to try three ports, two artisan cheeses, chocolate, and nuts for $25. This is available all the time at the Wine Down. See you soon and remember to keep an open mind and an open mind.

Chateau Laville with Benoit Laville

2007-03-24T16:06:00.000-04:00

The Wednesday Winemaker Series is one of the new wine education programs we have started at the Wine Down. The idea is to bring a winemaker, or someone very close to the process at the winery, and have them present their wines for the evening. Along with a modest spread of food, the whole event costs $20 per person. The Wednesday Winemaker Series is going to be an occasional event so keep reading this blog for information on future tastes.

For the first ever Wednesday Winemaker Series we were lucky enough to get Benoit Laville of Chateau Laville in Bordeaux to present his wines. Benoit (standing to the right of Joe Saady followed by me and John) was very nice and tried his hardest to explain his wine the best he could in English, which is not his first language. The Laville family has been making wine since 1510. We tasted six variations of his Bordeaux blends beginning with his blanc and finishing with his second tier rouge. Chef Tim King put out spicy sausage stuffed mushrooms, cranberry goat cheese and hot pepper quiche, grilled chicken and Hungarian pepper flat bread pizza, sesame crusted chicken satay with plum sauce, and chocolate chip chocolate brownies.

We started the taste with Chateau des Tuquets 2005 Blanc (retail $12) being the only white currently offered in this area by Laville. Chateau des Tuquets is classic white Bordeaux blend of 40% Sauvignon Blanc and 60% Semillion grown on clayed limestone soil. There is a bit of authenticity with every bottle that is exhibited by the bottle number on the labels (both red and white have them). This pale gold wine has tones of tropical fruit like banana, and papaya with a slight lemon peel essence. Nice upfront citric flavors lead to a long creamy finish that has perfectly balanced finesse and mineral content. Try drinking this wine with a salmon tartare served with mixed greens and a basil-lemon-Dijon dressing.

Next we moved to the red blend from this same vineyard and same clayed limestone soil. After reading some literature Benoit had handed to me I was shocked to see that this vineyard dates back to the age of the Roman Empire (Roman villa ruins were unearthed on the site of this vineyard) Chateau des Tuquets 2005 Rouge (retail $14) is a blend of 40% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 20% Cabernet Franc. This fantastic wine and completely undervalued wine (it could easily get twice its sticker price) is aged in oak for an average of 12 months before being bottled. It exhibits black pepper, deep berry, and black cherry with light oak tones. Light and balanced fruit leads to a smooth subtle and delicate finish. This was one of my favorite wines of the taste and I would highly recommend this easy drinking wine to anyone just getting into red wine. Try matching this wine with a grilled swordfish topped with salsa verde and served atop roasted red pepper risotto.

The next red we tried was from the Chateau La Gaborie Vineyards. Chateau La Gaborie 2004 (retail $15) is a blend of 50% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Cabernet Franc. This heavy Merlot-based wine was the crowd favorite for Laville's entry level Bordeaux blends. The nose in this wine exhibits chocolate, plum, and cracked pepper. Chateau La Gaborie has deep and full-bodied berry flavors leading to a long rounded lightly tannic semi-dry finish. I would suggest trying this wine with braised quail and parsley pasta squares with lightly salted grilled zucchini.

Chateau Davril 2005 is the third wine we offered from the excellent 2005 growing year and also retails at a modest $15. This 40% Cabernet Sauvignon 40% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc blend exhibits heavy plum, cherry, and slightly smokey scents with a hint of rose petal. Bold deep fruit upfront lead to a long dry spicy finish making this wine a great choice with char-grilled pork chops with seasoned roasted fingerling potatoes and blanched green beans and baby carrots. This wine also spends an average of 12 months in oak barrels before being bottled.

The next in the sequence of Bordeaux blends was Chateau Gonin 2004 retailing at $14. This 50% Cabernet Sauvignon 50% Merlot blend is one of the boldest entry level style wine of the blends Laville offers. This wine undergoes a 30 day extended stainless steel maceration (check the link for definition) followed by 12 to 16 months in oak. I'd also like to point out that this vineyard is wholly owned by Benoit as the label displays. Chateau Gonin is ruby in color having a huge leather, smoke, light cherry, and a hint of petrol on the nose. A deep, balanced and gentle fruity start lead to a long, rounded finish. This is a classic representation of the bold end of a Bordeaux style. The acidity levels and bold fruit in this wine make it a great candidate to cellar for an increasingly soft result. Try this wine with a dry rubbed filet mignon served with goat cheese twice baked baby red potatoes and grilled asparagus.

Six months ago when I tasted Chateau Lacombe 2000 Haut Benauge I could not believe the complexity and depth this $22 wine offered for such a low price. 2000 is a much coveted year in Bordeaux and usually get a bit more money per bottle for this vintage. As I mentioned earlier Chateau Lacombe is considered to the the second tier wine for the winery. This beautifully crafted Bordeaux offers strawberry, plum, and oak with a hint of cocoa and butter in the nose. Its subtle, complex, and balanced fruit lead to a mellow long silky finish that lasts forever. Feel free to cellar this wine for another 5 years or drink it now. As John mentioned this wine paired wonderfully with the rich chocolate chip chocolate brownies Chef Tim King offered with the taste. Keep an eye out in our racks for a new release of the Chateau Lacombe 2005 Blanc. Benoit promised the same intensity and depth in this second tier white that is offered in the red.

Frank Savelli (my European Wine Imports rep) was nice enough to open a bottle of Chateau Laville 1998 and Chateau Laville 2000. The Chateau Laville blend is the top of the line the winery has to offer. Currently they offer the 1998, 2000, and 2001 vintages with the 2005 and 2006 vintages still being aged at the winery. I asked what happened to the fruit that was produced in the missing years from the vintage and Benoit assured me that the "not-so-good" growing years were crushed fermented and blended in with the wines from Chateau La Gaborie, Chateau Davril, and Chateau des Tuquets. While it was expected that the Chateau Laville 1998 drank softer than the 2000 I was surprised that the wine was slightly more spicy in the finish. All of the low yield hand selected grapes for this Cru Exceptionnel wine were aged in new oak for 24 months before being bottled. The vineyard from which these grapes originate from was established in 1855. The Chateau Laville 2000 had a strong strawberry and nutty essence with light chocolate tones and offered a structured and balanced palate with a long smooth rounded finish and a touch of pepper and spice in the outro. This $60 Bordeaux drank just as nice as a Bordeaux twice its' price making it a value wine that would enhance anbody's wine cellar collection. Try pairing this wine with pepper crusted rack of lamb in a spicy demi-glace served with roasted shallot mashed potatoes and broccoli florettes.

I'd like to thank Benoit (and Frank) for taking the time out of his busy schedule to come visit us at the Wine Down and talk to (the best he could) the customers that love to drink his wine. Many of you that bought wine that evening had the option to have your bottle signed by Benoit making the event that much more special. I'd also like to thank those of you that took the time out your busy schedules to support a new promotion at the Wine Down. For technical notes on Laville or for winery info check out: Chateau Laville. I'll see you all soon and remember to keep an open mind and an open eye.

Hammer Taste, March 15th 2007

2007-03-22T14:02:00.000-04:00

This week at Thursday Night Flight Night we featured the wines of the Hammer Company. Hammer is one of the larger distribution companies in the country and represents a very nice selection of different high quality wines. We had a phenomonal turnout for this taste and Chef Tim King put out a cheese platter and deep fried calamari tossed in chorizo sausage, hot peppers, and a spicy sauce.

We started this taste with a bubbly from Domaine Chandon. This California sparkler is one among a few of the entry level sparkling wines offered by the sister company to Moët & Chandon. Domain Chandon boasts not only being the first French owned attempt to sparkling wine in the U.S. but has gone though great strides to promote sparkling white as an everyday table wine instead of a dessert or special occasion option. Their restaurant offers wine pairings for all their menu items. The Chandon Rose NV (retail $20) is composed of Pinot Noir from their Carneros vineyard. This light pink bubbly contains strong strawberry tones with a hint of citrus and honey. The light and refreshing sparkler offers suggestions of ripe cranberry & apricot. Try pairing this wine with a grilled chicken cobb salad with warm goat cheese, beets, and candied walnuts drizzled with a lemon peppercorn vinaigrette. For more information on Domaine Chandon or their restaurant check out their website at: www.chandon.com.

We followed our sparkling selection with a wine from the upper Northwest. Snoqualmi "Naked" Reisling 2005 (retail $18) is produced in Columbia Valley, Washington. This 100% organic "au naturel" wine is a classic example of what the ripe riesling grape is like straight off the vine exhibiting a deep gold complexion with heavy straw scents in the nose. The naked riesling is semi-sweet and surprisingly fruity with indications of navel and apricot leading to a long dry finish. Try pairing this wine with a buffalo mozzarella and tomato salad served with a lentil and spicy eggplant relish and fresh basil with a balsamic dressing. For more information on Snoqualmie Winery check out their website at: www.snoqualmie.com.

The next two wines we presented are a new project for the Francis Ford Coppola Winery. The Coppola Winery has purchased a new unnamed wine making facility near Alexander Valley formerly occupied by Chateau Sovrain. Much like the Coppola Diamond Collection wines, the Directors Cut Series of wine offers quality wine at an affordable price. The Coppola Directors Cut Chardonnay 2005 (retail $18) draws its fruit from the Russian River Valley renowned for its cool-climate grape varietals like Chardonnay. This wine exhibits pineapple and peach with a hint of honey in the nose. Lush grapefruit and citrus upfront flavors are followed by a long finish of oak, hay, and a hint of white pepper. Try pairing this wine with seared sea scallops with prawn ravioli, salmon roe & cauliflower puree.

Coppola makes an attempt in this new line of wines to connect his interests of film making and wine making by playing with the idea of the directors cut. As I'm sure many of you know a directors cut of a movie is the film makers most ideal presentation of his creation indicating that this wine is the most ideal presentation of his wine. Coppola also created dynamic labels that mimic zoetropes (a visual illusion that creates motion in a series of pictures). The Coppola Directors Cut Zinfindel 2005 (retail $18) pulls its fruit from Dry Creek Valley producing a sensational red Zinfindel with lots of character and poise. Almost purple in color, the nose explodes with berry and cassis offering a hint of tobbaco and tar. Deep berry tones lead to a long rounded oaky finish with a hint of black pepper on the outro. It was a pleasure to drink from start to finish. Try pairing this wine with beef tenderloin served atop creamed potatoes and covered with a caramelized shallot sauce or a hazelnut & chocolate torte with honey ice cream & a honeycomb.Although the website didn't have any information on this new aquisition check out Coppola's winery at: www.ffcwinery.com.

For our last wine I revisited the Penfolds Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz 2003 on account of my recent facination with Shiraz and Syrah. For those of you who don't know, Penfolds is one of Australia's oldest wineries in the South Australia (along with Lindeman's). It was founded by Dr. Christopher Rawson Penfold in 1845. He had originally started his winery for a supply of wine that he prescribed to his patients. Over the years Penfold's has been a name that is associated with quality wine. His infamous Grange wine has recieved awards and sells for around the $160 range. However, the wine I was drinking is in the Bin portfolio. This is their middle-of-the-road series of wines (the big seller being the Cab/Shiraz blend Bin 389) retailing around $20. Bin 28 is named after the famous Barossa Valley Kalimna vineyard purchased by Penfolds in 1945 and from which the wine was originally sourced. Today, Bin 28 is a multi-region, multi-vineyard blend, with the Barossa Valley always well represented, providing over 45% of the fruit for this vintage. Bin 28 is 100% shiraz exhibiting a big earthy nose with berry & cassis. With a robust full-bodied mouth it's fruity and sweet in the mid-palate with a long rounded semi-dry finish. Try this wine with shrimp kebobs and long grained wild rice or an Italian antipasto salad. For more information on this winery and their products click this link: www.penfolds.com.au.

John and I have been busy coming up with new promotions at the Wine Down and would like to thank all of you who have been supportive of our efforts. Keep checking this blog for new and upcoming events and promotions. The next post will be a review of our first Winemaker Wednesdays Series featuring the winemaker Benoit Laville from Chateau Laville in Bordeaux, France. I'll see you next week and remember to keep an open eye and an open mind.

Tri-County Taste, March 8th, 2007

2007-03-13T01:05:00.000-04:00

This week we got back to featuring a specific distributor in our Flight Night. Tonight we poured wines represented by Tri-County Distributors hosted by Micheal Scannell. Mike has a long history with the Upstairs Lounge and brought in a nice crowd for this taste. Chef Tim King put out mini mild sausage and ricotta calzones with marinara and a Seasoned rice as a side dish.

First we started with a sparkling wine from California, Piper Sonoma Brut Select Cuvée NV (retail $18). Piper Sonoma is a sister company to the Piper-Heidsieck winery based out of Reims, France. Piper Sonoma prides itself in making quality California sparkling wine in a traditional méthode champenoise style. This sparkler is a blend of Pinot Noir, Pinot Menuier, and Chardonnay. Light, almost clear in color with predominantly grapefruit, bready, and lightly creamy accents in the nose. Sharp and slightly acidic leading to a dry clean finish. Try pairing this wine with roast pheasants served with saurkraut and potato pancakes. For more information on Piper-Heidsieck check out their website at: www.piper-heidsieck.com

The second wine in the taste was Beringer Alluvium Blanc 2004 (retail $18). This wine originating from Beringers Knights Valley Vineyard is a classic example of a Napa Valley rendition of a Bordeaux blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon. Deeply floral with light oak and apple tones in the nose compliment a fruity and creamy mid-palate leading to a smooth finish of mown hay and lemon peel with a touch of white pepper. Drink this wine with a swiss chard and arugala salad drizzled with balsamic vinnaigrette and a fresh goat cheese, sundried tomato, and olive oil focaccia bread. Please check out more about Beringer at: www.beringer.com

For our third wine we tried Trinchero Vista Montone Chardonnay 2005 (retail $15).This unfiltered wine was not a crowd favorite at the Flight Night, however, I disagree with the masses on this one. I felt this light gold bold wine had the right balance of fruit and acid making it a easy match for food pairing. The nose had a nice bouquet of bright apricot, carnation, and tangerine with a hint of deisel in this 14.5% ABV beauty. This wine was light and friuty upfront with heavy citrus flavors in the mid-palate leading to a long creamy finish. Try pairing this big Chardonnay with poached salmon topped with hollendaise sauce and served with snap peas and garlic mashed potatoes. So far I have yet to be dissapointed by any of the wines produced by Trinchero which leads me to my next wine:

As I had mentioned in one of my earlier posts (Childrens Hospital Fundraiser Post) Trinchero Main Street Cabernet Sauvignon 2002 (retail $25) and Trinchero Chicken Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 are sister wines. In fact so sisterly they practically come from the same vineyard. Their differences are so subtle they are unmentionable. Main Street is a classic fruit-forward full-bodied Cabenet Sauvignon with a heavy palate that proves to be spicy and complex, balenced with a long spicy oaked finish. As I mentioned before, the Main Street Cabernet (and the Chicken Ranch) is one of the most elegant Cabernet Sauvignon's I've drank recently and certainly can hold up against any other wine in that price point. Drink this wine with a T-bone steak topped with onion fritters and served with a spicy cole slaw and rosemary roasted baby red potatoes. Check out their website at: www.trincherowinery.com

The final wine we tasted Thursday night was Montevina Amador Zinfindel 2002 (retail $18). Amador County is riddled with old goldmines, ghostowns, and of course, wineries that were sprung up by the Italians that took part in the great American gold rush. This fun Zinfindel is deep ruby in color with black cherry, cocoa, currant, and a hint of pommegranite in the nose. A subtle yet fruity body leads to a deep structured mid-palate finishing sharp and slightly tangy. Try this wine with a Chorizo and lamb stew served with vegetable corn bread. For more information on this winery please check out their cool flash based website at: www.montevina.com

Thanks again for sticking with this blog through the lack of recent updates. While I try to make time for this every week, sometimes I just fall short. I'd love to hear some comments or suggestions on how to make this blog better for everyone so please comment if you can. I'll see you next week and remember to keep an open mind and an open eye.

John & Dan's Picks, March 1st 2007

2007-03-02T12:47:00.000-05:00

Feburary was a busy month for wine tastes. Numerous other restaurants held their Fat Tuesday tastes and mid-winter tastes to boost their wine sales. Due to so much activity, we were unable to book a distributor this week. So, John and I decided this would be a perfect time to feature some of our favorite wines that we were unable to present before.

As always our wines were accompanied by some food. This week Chef Tim King put out a mixed cheese board, miniature shell pasta tossed in a meat sauce, mini tube pasta with mussels and alfredo sauce, and home made bread sticks to accompany the wine this week.

First we started with a wine represented by the Vintage Company, Nederberg Stein 2005 (retail $15). This white blend comes from the Western Cape, South Africa. While I am always a little reluctant in fully accepting South African wine this little beauty which is a blend of Chenin Blanc, Riesling, and Gewürtztraminer really caught my attention when I first tasted it. While many wine enthusiasts consider the South African Coast to be one of the up-and-coming wine regions of the world, I feel as a whole their wines and wine makers are in their adolescence and have yet to impress me with anything they have released. This does not however mean that I think South Africa will never produce good wine, I just think the program needs a bit more time to develop. However, Nederberg makes a pretty damn good wine indicating maybe South Africa is worth a revisit from time to time. While Nederberg was producing wine since 1937 the winery style and wine making really came around when they hired Gunter Brozel as their winemaker. He led them to their and South Africas first award in winemaking. Deep gold in color this wine exhibits tones of fresh pear and pineapple in the nose. Its light, fruity, and slightly sweet leading to a crisp acidic slightly tangy finish. Try this wine with a pan-seared tilapia with collard greens and dirty rice. For more information on this winery go to: www.nederburg.co.za

Next John and I decided to feature a wine new to the market. Marquee Chardonnay 2004 retails for around $12. Marquee's Classic series produces artisan style wines that are meant to be approachable and affordable small-batch wines. This wine from Victoria, Australia was bright hay in color featuring dried pineapple and hazelnut with a hint of oak in the nose. A nice bold fruit and slightly creamy start lead to a long citric finish. Try this wine with a creamed crawfish bisque or a roast chicken with cornbread and oyster stuffing and seasoned potatoes. To find out more about Marquee go to: www.marquee.com

Moving on to red we featured this new selection from Superior Beverage, Carneros Creek Reserve Pinot Noir 2004 (retail $24). This Pinot Noir is deep ruby, almost opaque in color which is a good indication of the intensity of this wine that shows cocoa, walnut, and heavy strawberry tones in the nose. This 2004 Pinot Noir has bold berry flavors upfront with a long rounded slightly spicy finish. John Webster described this wine as, "Without a doubt the finest Pinot Noir we have been offered in a long time." While I agree with him on the price point, I would be interested to see how well this intense (undervalued) wine would present itself with a little bottle age. I suggest getting some to cellar for a later date. Try drinking this wine with berry glazed roasted quail with carmelized onions and polenta. For more information on Carneros Creek wines check out this link: Carneros Creek Winery

For the fourth wine of the taste we tried Qupé Los Olivos Cuvée 2001 (retail $24). This Rhone blend of 53% Syrah, 27% Mourvèdre, and 20% Grenache is also a blend of the Ibarra-Young vineyard (67%) and the Purisima Mountain Vineyard (33%). Qupe is the brain child of Bob Linquist who is considered among the wine world as an innovative winemaker and along with the other few "Rhone Rangers" of Santa Ynez responsible for the popularity of Syrah in the American palate. This wine exhibits nice black cherry and plum with a hint of cocoa and tar on the nose. It is big and full upfront leading to a long rounded finish that seems to go on forever. This 2001 cuvée is hands down one of my favorite undervalued wines and has yet to dissapoint me every time I revisit it. Try this wine with grilled lamb kebobs served with lentils and wild rice. Find out more about Qupé at: www.qupe.com

We finished the taste with a unique varietal that thrives in South America, Tannat. Tannat is a rare French vareital that is assumed to have got its name from the heavy tannins in the wine. Our representaion of this strange grape is from Don Rodolfo Viña Cornejo Tannat 2004 and retails at $12. Its amazing that these young vines (six years old) produce such a full-bodied rich wine. At 6000 feet above sea level Don Rodolfo boasts being one of the highest altitude wineries in the world. This deep purple wine has heavy bright cherry and plum tones with a slight hint of honey and oak. The wine is dry and heavy with bright fruit that leads to a long acidic smokey finish. Try pairing this wine with beef curry and long grained rice. For some more information on this winery plase check out this link: Don Rodolfo

Sorry it took me so long to post this taste. I know I kind of fell behind, but within the next couple of days I will catch up with the other tastes and be right back on schedule. Until next time remember to keep an open mind and an open eye.

French Taste, Feb. 22nd 2007

2007-02-23T15:51:00.000-05:00

This week at the Thursday Night Flight Night, John and I tried something different. We focused strictly on French wine for our selections. John's real passion is French wine and over the past couple months he has given me a nice spectrum of knowlege on French wine and wine making processes. The wine we presented was all from European Wine Imports. The company is owned by a French man Franck Kakou whose old world connections allow him to import some very interesting wines (I've supplied the catalog on the link). For this taste Chef Tim King put out a mixed cheese platter and shrimp hush puppies.

We started this taste with a sparkler from the Loire, Guy Allion Cremant 2003 (retail $18). Cremant is a term used to describe quality spakling wine made outside of the Champagne appellation. Cremant is produced in the Alsace, Die, Burgundy, Loire, Limoux, and Bordeaux appellations. Because each appellation has different grape varietals and terrior Cremant takes on many different characteristics depending on where it comes from. In the Loire Chenin Blanc is the main grape used in Cremant. Guy Allion uses a blend of Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc to create a stable sense of finesse in his wine. Pale hay in color, this Cremant has heavy nutty and creamy tones in the nose with a hint of tropical fruit like banana. Creamy upfront with nice full fruit in the mid palate leading to a long crisp finish. Try pairing this wine with jumbo sea scallops and shrimp topped with a Gruyere sherry cream sauce and served with a potato pancake, sautéed spinach and sundried tomatoes.

Next we tried a wine from Burgundy, Domaine Hervé AZO 2005 Chablis (retail $18). Chablis is made from 100% Chardonnay grape. In the late 1970's, Hervé Azo took some time off from his job in the Parisian advertising business to pick grapes in Chablis during the vendanges. He never returned. In his vineyards he only grows Chardonnay near the village of Milly. The wines here are aged exclusively in stainless steel vats to retain the classic mineral qualities that the chardonnay grape attains in Chablis. This Chablis is light gold in color with a light creamy nose and floral tones. A fruit-forward full bodied wine lightly oaked with a sharp, crisp, slightly lemony finish. There is a nice amount of mineral and acidity in the unfiltered wine, which was evident in crystals on the cork. These crystals are actually tartrates deposited by wine's naturally high level of tartaric acid. As a note, we drank this wine extremely early. I wanted to represent a Chablis in the taste but couldn't find anything old enough that fit into my budget. Most people at the taste turned their noses at this wine and I feel as though it was my fault. Chablis traditionally won't even be released out of the vineyard without being three years bottle aged. This wine could sit down for another ten years before it is fully blossomed. Try pairing this wine with sliced, spiced pork tenderloin with a sweet mashed potato, caramelized onions, and an apple-raisin chutney.

Going back to the Alsace, our third wine was Domaine Georges Brunet Vouvray 2005 Demi-Sec (around $14). In essence Vouvray is Chenin Blanc and Chenin Blanc is Vouvray with George Brunet producing both a still and sparkling version of the appellation. Vouvray owes it sweetness to noble rot or botrytis which is a tricky white grape fungus that wine makers embrace to achieve fine sweet wines. For the most part, the high end Vouvray's are high in acidity and ultimately need to be bottle aged for anywhere up to thirty years before they are ready to drink. George Brunet however takes a more commercial approach with less bottle aging required for the wine. This wine is pale gold in color with light vanilla and floral tones in the nose. Light upfront and slightly off dry in the mid palate leading to a creamy finish with a hint of acidic citrus tang making this wine a nice, balanced, easy-drinker. As John mentioned in his notes, this wine is a great replacement for the cookie-cutter Chardonnays from California. Try matching this wine with a jumbo crab cake served with field greens, tomatoes, fried blue corn tortillas and finished with a Cajun corn aioli. Check out George Brunet's website at: www.vouvray-brunet.com

Moving on to red we started with Chateau Les Quatre Filles Cotes-du-Rhone Villages Cairanne 2005 (retail $15). This blend of Grenache and Syrah (the two main red grapes of this region) are from a vineyard near the village of Cairanne in the Southern Rhone. This small old (est. 1715) family-run winery which translates to Castle of the Four Girls prides itself in taking an organic approach to their vineyard management. The winery does not weed the vineyard or use pesticides, and only uses organic maures to promote growth in their vines. This wine is deep red, almost plum, in color with blackberry and cranberry tones leading to a light hint of strawberry and oak in the nose. Strong fruit-forward deep plum in the mid palate leading to a crisp long dry tannic tobacco finish. Try this wine with sautéed wild mushrooms, leeks, and spinach served over pasta and topped with a gorgonzola cream sauce. For those of you who speak French, or if you'd just like to check out photos of the winery check out:www.chateau-4filles.com/

We finished the taste off with Chateau Gonin 2004 Bordeaux (retail $14). If there is one French region every wine drinker has heard of it is Bordeaux. Bordeaux houses the much coveted wines of Chateau Lafite-Rothschild, Chateau Cheval Blanc, Chateau Margaux, and Chateau Latour to name a few. This 50% Cabernet Sauvignon 50% Merlot blend is one among many of the baby brothers to Chateau Laville. Chateau Gonin is ruby in color having a huge leather, smoke, light cherry, and a hint of petrol on the nose. A deep, balanced and gentle fruity start lead to a long, rounded finish. This is a classic representation of the Bordeaux style. Sit this wine down for ten years and marvel as it opens, becoming increasingly soft. Try this wine with a dry rubbed filet mignon served with goat cheese mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus.

I know that reading French labels and understanding their wine is overwhelming, but I hope this taste broke any misconceptions people have about French wine, and I hope this blog helped you understand French wine a bit more. I would be happy to respond to any questions or comments you post about French wine or wine in general. Thanks again for reading and until next time remember to keep an open eye and an open mind.

Mastropietro Wine Taste, Feb 15th

2007-02-18T16:31:00.000-05:00

This week's Thursday Night Flight Night was a unique experience. John and I decided that as local wine represenatives we should promote local wineries and wine makers. The first in our series of Ohio Wine Makers is our good friend Dan Mastropietro. Dan, being a long time hobbiest, recently realized his dreams and created an new cutting edge wine making facility in Berlin Center, Ohio. While still young in his wine making Dan has proven to create some very elegant representations of California classics. Because Dan currently buys all his fruit (he expects his first yeild on his newly planted vines next year) all of his bottles are labeled without vintage. As he begins to create more wine from his own grapes that should change. But anyway, with good wine comes good food. Chef Tim King put out a roasted red pepper bruchetta and a cheese platter to accompany the wine for the evening.

We started the taste with the sweetest and most popular white the winery has to offer. Dolce Bianco (retailing at $12) is 100% Niagara grape with a 12% ABV & a pale yellow gold complexion. The nose has fresh pineapple, grapefruit, and carnation with a hint of mushroom in the finish. Dolce Bianco is off-dry upfront but not cloying, leading to a subtle acidic tang in the mid-palate and finishing balanced with a slight citrus tone of navel and cranberry. This was definitely a crowd pleaser on Thursday, and as one patron mentioned led to a sense of nostalgia of early wine of the North East States (his grandmother grew Niagara grapes). Try this wine with a grilled chicken breast topped with a pineapple chutney or a deep fried calamari tossed in a Thai vinaigrette and topped with roasted corn and tomato relish.

Next we moved to the Chardonnay (retailing at $14). At 14% ABV this golden hay colored wine had a creamy & floral essence with a slight nutty tone. Mellow and light fruit lead to a smooth effortless buttery finish. The overall simplicity to this wine was refreshing proving that this nicely balenced and quite easy drinking wine could hold up to many of the American Chardonnays in the same price point. Pair this wine with a warm goat cheese and artichoke salad with asparagus and fresh greens tossed with a lemon vinaigrette or an apricot glazed barbeque half chicken with rice.

The people's choice for the taste was the Chambourcin (retailing for $12) at 12% ABV. Chamboucin is a fungus resistant hybrid varietal that was popular in the seventies as a table wine in Bordeaux and the Loire Valley. The late ripening quality of the grape makes it a great candidate for growth in the cooler Ohio climate. This light ruby wine has elements of cherry, black raspberry, and a hint of brussel spout on the nose. Light and fruity in style with a slightly tart semi-dry finish this wine proves to be an excellent representation of the Chambourcin grape. Try this wine with a ricotta and asiago stuffed hungarian pepper in a tomato and red pepper pommodoro sauce.

The fourth wine of the evening was Dan's Merlot (retail $16) with a 13% ABV. His cloudy pale red wine had a unique take on the Merlot grape. The nose led to nutty tones with ripe berry and a slight kick of petrol in the back end. This medium-bodied Merlot is fruity in the mid-palate with a long dry semi-oaked & slightly spicy finish. I could only assume that Dan Mastropeitro takes French approach at this varietal which may be the reasoning in the subtleness of this wine. This Merlot specifically would make a great addition to any blend. Try drinking this wine with orange glazed pork tenderloin served with roasted potato wedges & steamed garlic broccoli.

We ended the taste with my favorite wine (of course). Mastropietro's Zinfindel (retailing at $16) is a modest 12.5% ABV and deep ruby in color, although not opaque. The nose offers light cherry & raspberry with slightly creamy tones. A Fruit-forward Zinfindel with off-dry plum flavors in the mid-palate and a bitter-sweet chocolate oaked finish that leads to a short burst of black pepper in its' grand finale. This is a very elegant example of a light, balanced Zinfindel without overpowering fruit. This wine would go great with a pan seared duck breast finished with a Zinfindel port wine cranberry reduction.

Thanks again, for reading this blog and I hope it's helping you keep your wines organized. This Thursday we will be featuring an all French taste with the wines from European Imports. I hope to see you all there and remember to keep an open eye and an open mind.

Please check out the Mastropeitro website at: www.mastropietrowinery.com
or check out the Ohio Wine Producers Association at: www.ohiowines.org

Children's Hospital Fund Raiser @ the Avalon Inn

2007-02-13T19:37:00.000-05:00

On Saturday Feburary 10th I was a guest pourer for the Childrens Hospital Fund Raiser at the Avalon Inn in Howland, Ohio. The event was very nice and had a great turnout. This year the event was arranged by Micheal Scannell from Tri-County Distributors. In total, seven wholesale companies donated wine for the event. One of the highlights of the evening was a toast given to the recently deceased Richard Alberini, who through his personal drive and hard work built a wine community in the Mahoning Valley.

Before I begin i'd like to make a note on the schematics of wine tastes. While there was no rhyme or reason to the order in which I tasted these wines, I've decided to arrange them as if I would in a flight night. There were alot of nice wines at the event, however, being the novice writer that I am, I only chose a few to write about. Besides, with these larger tastes my palate gets pretty stressed after the first 8-10 wines. So I don't feel it would be a fair to anyone if I reviewed all thirty or so (I don't think anyone would want to read that anyway). I did, however, narrow the list down to six fantastic wines.

The first wine I'd like to review is the La Palma Sauvignon Blanc 2004 from the Viña La Rosa Winery.Viña La Rosa is one of Chile’s oldest wineries set in the beautiful Cachapoal valley (La Palma is named for the scattered natural palm trees that spot the vineyard), South of the capital city Santiago. This wine truely was unique. The deep hay color is the first indication of the bold fruit flavors of this wine. Its' light, crisp granny smith apple and light grapefruit tones led to a subtle refreshing effervescence in the finish. La Palma Sauvignon Blanc proved to be elegant and refined for a wine under $10. Try this wine with oysters Rockafeller or a roasted butternut squash soup drizzled with roasted red pepper puree. For more information on Viña La Rosa Winery and the rest of their products check out: www.larosa.cl

Next I tasted another Chilean wine, Montes Reserve Chardonnay 2005. Montes is a brand formed in 1988 by four Chilean wine veterans with vineyards in the Colchagua and the Curico valleys South of Santiago. The winery is known for some of its high end Bordeaux blends (Montes Alpha M). This Chardonnay is pale yellow in color with buttery hints of vanilla, tropical fruits (banana & pineapple), & slight floral tones. A fruity palate, with a good body leads to a semi-smooth creamy elegant finish (45% malolactic fermentation). The 75% oak cask (six months in American oak barrels) & 25% stainless steel fementation lend this wine an added balence and elegance that most cheap chardonnays lack (this retails at about $10). Try this wine with a Pecorino cheese bruchetta bread or a date, goat cheese, and mesculin salad. While they do have an interesting website I couldn't find anything in their product list that indicated this wine was theirs. This may be an oversight on their part or perhaps they discontinued this line. In any event feel free to check out their website at: www.monteswines.com

Next on the list of notable wines was Belle Vallee Cellars Whole Cluster Pinot Noir 2005. This Pinot Noir resides from the Willamette Valley in Oregon. The winemaker, Joe Wright (formerly of Willamette Valley Vineyards), uses 100% whole cluster fermentation to create a deep ruby (nearly opaque) appearance in this Beaujolais mimic. I felt that Belle Vallee was the most unique wine of the taste. The nose is light and earthy with fruity tones of strawberry and prune. Semi-full on the palate this 100% stainless steel fermented wine has floral tones mid-palate and leaves the tongue slightly tingling with a long black pepper finish. Retailing at around $14, Belle Vallee is a very easy drinker ringing in at a modest 12.5% ABV. Try this wine with a blackened chicken cobb salad with a lightly drizzled balsamic viniagrette dressing or a goat cheese, pesto, and sundried tomato flatbread pizza. For more information on the wines from Belle Vallee check out: www.bellevallee.com

While I know Penfolds is a common name as far as Australian wines is concerned, I decided I would review the Penfolds Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz 2003 on account of my recent facination with Shiraz and Syrah. For those of you who don't know, Penfolds is one of Australia's oldest wineries in the South Australia (along with Lindeman's). It was founded by Dr. Christopher Rawson Penfold in 1845. He had originally started his winery for a supply of wine that he prescribed to his patients. Over the years Penfold's has been a name that is associated with quality wine. His infamous Grange wine has recieved awards and sells for around the $160 range. However, the wine I was drinking is in the Bin portfolio. This is their middle-of-the-road series of wines (the big seller being the Cab/Shiraz blend Bin 389) retailing around $20. Bin 28 is named after the famous Barossa Valley Kalimna vineyard purchased by Penfolds in 1945 and from which the wine was originally sourced. Today, Bin 28 is a multi-region, multi-vineyard blend, with the Barossa Valley always well represented, providing over 45% of the fruit for this vintage. Bin 28 is 100% shiraz exhibiting a big earthy nose with berry & cassis. With a robust full-bodied mouth it's fruity and sweet in the mid-palate with a long rounded semi-dry finish. Try this wine with shrimp kebobs and long grained wild rice or an Italian antipasto salad. For more information on this winery and their products click this link: www.penfolds.com.au

The fifth wine I'd like to review is Ridge York Creek Zinfindel 2003. First off I'd like to state that I love Zinfindel (It was my gateway wine). Not only do I love Zinfindel, but I love Ridge Zinfindel. The reason is simple: blends. Ridge understands that every year is different in the world of wine. Growing conditions change and with it so does the flavor and intensity of the wine. I suppose that's why they beat the French in a great 1971 upset that launched the US wine program into a world market (Click this link for details:1971) Ridge blends are among the best in the world at a moderate price (this one retails around $25). The 2003 York Creek Zinfindel is 84% Zinfindel 16% Petite Sirah. Deep red in color the nose lends offerings of black cherry & currant with just the smallest hint of petrol. The tongue is full-bodied & nicely balenced with chocolate tones and a nice clean cherry finish. I have yet to find a Ridge product that doen't spark my interest. try pairing this Zinfindel with steak tartare or a chocolate-raspberry torte. Not only does Ridge make great wines but they give back to the environment. Cumulatively since system operation began, Lytton Springs' renewable energy production helped avoid the release of 88 tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere or 25 acres of forest saved or not driving 219,702 miles. Check out their website at: www.ridgewine.com

I decided to finish this post with a Cabernet Sauvignon. Coming from a "Cab drinking town" the Trinchero Chicken Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 (sorry, no picture) proves to be a great representation of a elegant single vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon for a low cost (retailing around $25). The Chicken Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon is the sister wine to the Main Street Cabernet Sauvignon. Their differences are so subtle they are unmentionable. Chicken Ranch is a classic fruit-forward full-bodied Cabenet Sauvignon with a heavy palate that proves to be spicy and complex, balenced with a lightly oaked finish. The Chicken Ranch (and the Main Street) is one of the most elegant Cabernet Sauvignon's I've drank recently and certainly can hold up against the Charles Krug Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest in that price point. Drink this wine with a 22oz Porterhouse steak covered in sauteed mushrooms and onions or try it with a Cowboy burger and fries. Check out their website at: www.trincherowinery.com

Thanks again for reading this blog. If there are any questions or comments on any of the beverages I review please post them. I will try my best to get back to everyone in a timely manner. Just a reminder that this Thursday we will be featuring the wines if Masteropietro Winery. Dan is a local guy trying to make it in this crazy business. So come out and try his wines & he'll be there to answer any questions. See you on Thursday and remember to keep an open mind and an open eye.

Beer Taste Feb. 8th 2007

2007-02-09T10:32:00.000-05:00

Hello everybody. The beer taste for this weeks Thursday Night Flight Nite went pretty well however there were a few contributing factors that were working against us. Because of the limited parking due to the Taste of the Valley promotion (Not to mention the 35 person union meeting in the banquet hall) and the lack of advertisement on my part, I feel that the turnout was moderate at best. I did see a few new faces and I hope everybody enjoyed themselves. Chef Tim King put together some handmade soft pretzels, potato chips, tortilla chips, and a Blackout Stout cheese dipping sauce. But, enough about the schematics of the taste, let's get to the beer!

First we started with Victory Whirlwind Wit Ale. This Belgian Wit is a seasonal selection from the Pennsylvania brewery. While they are better known for their hoppier beers (one of my favorites being the Hopdevil), the Whirlwind proved to be elegantly full flavored yet very easy drinking with only 5% ABV. This is the type of beer I would definitely grab on a hot Summer day. I suppose that is why Victory releases this beer in the the Spring to gear up for Summertime. Light and cloudy in color, both spicy and subtle on the palate, with just the slightest hint of citrus on the finish. This softly fermented ale has a gentle nose and a rounded refreshing tongue. It's a great interpretation of the classic, Belgian 'white beer' style. Try pairing this beer with a quiche lorraine or a blackened whitefish with saffron rice. For more information about Victory and their beers go to: www.victorybeer.com

We followed the witbier with a Bavarian interpretation of a wheat-based beer. For this selection we poured Ayinger (Dunkle) Ur-Weisse from the Brauerei Aying (pronounced eye-ing). Athough residing in Bavaria (the land of beer and mega-breweries), Aying takes a microbrew approach at their beermaking crafting award winning beers from locally-grown barley and wheat. Amber in color, semi-dry in palate, very fruity, and a long clean finish. This is a complex beer with suggestions of pear, apple, and clove with a hint of smoke in the finish. Light and refreshing with a full complexity of flavors this beer could be drank year round in any occasion. The 17-ounce bottle provides ample beer for those who only care for one serving. This is a great food beer adding extra sustinance to any meal. I suggest pairing this beer with Polish sausage and saurkraut or barbecued salmon with herb roasted baby red potatoes.

The third beer covered at the taste is a widely known Belgian golden ale called Duvel. Duvel is one of the larger mainsteam producers of beer in Belgium yet its quality never shifts. While Duvel is a newer brewery in the
grand scheme of European breweries (Founded in 1923) it's precision brewing methods hold up to many of the elder European staples including the Trappist style beers. Duvel gets it's gentle flavor and golden color from the pale barley and light kilning used in the malting process. Yeast sediment is not uncommon in this bottle of this beer. To ensure everybody drinks their beers in the most ideal way Duvel has included pouring and serving suggestions on the back of the bottle (imagine Budweiser or Miller trying to pull off something like that). If the directions are followed it's quite easy to pull off a picture perfect Duvel pour and still leave some much coveted starter for those of us who are homebrewers. This beer is a slightly hazy golden color with a spicy and aromatic smell. A very complex and tasty brew with tones of apple and almond, with a slight hint of hoppy notes and a distinct spiciness in the finish. Even at 8.5% ABV this goes down very easily. Try pairing up this beer with a citrus glazed roasted French hen and blanched asparagus or a beer battered cod fish fry with potato salad. Duvel aslo offers a pretty cool flash based website at: www.duvelusa.com

Keeping with the Belgian theme the next beer presented was Westmalle Triple. Brewed by the Trappist Monks in the monestary Westmalle (one of six monestaries that still brew beer and thus can label their beer Trappist) just outside of Antwerp, this tripel is hazy gold color with a slightly greenish hue.The aromas are of sweet, toasty malt, citrusy, earthy yeast. A smooth, well-carbonated entry leads to a sweet, tart, medium-to-full bodied beer with tangy malt and full flavored clean finish. Both the nose and palte are not overbearing peaking out at a 9% ABV. Compared to the dubble the triple is more elegant and refined not to mention easier to drink and pair with food. This beer is crisp, highly drinkable, and a classic representation of the abbey trippel style. Try pairing this Trappist ale with a crown rib roast with potatoes and carrots or a roasted shallot pate with seasoned crustini.

Next was the most unique beer of the taste from Rogue Brewery. Imperial Pilsner, part of the Morimoto Signature Series, was selected by internationally acclaimed Chef Masaharu Morimoto from Iron Chef. The Iron Chef chose only all natural ingredients for his signature pilsner. Imperial Pilsner is golden in color with a dry hop floral aroma, upfront mellow soft fruit flavors, and intense hop bitterness supported by a big malty backbone peaking out at a huge 8.8% ABV. Unlike the common pilsner the Morimoto finishes with less of a bitey finish that Czech pilsner drinkers look for. This was a great representation of a Japanese interpretation of the timeless easy drinking classic style. Morimoto series (Soba and Black Obi Soba also available) all come in painted swing-top ceramic 750ml bottles that would be a excellent addition to any beer bottle collection. Try this with an Chiashi bowl and some miso soup or a diced green apple, walnut, and avacado salad drizzled lightly with ranch dressing. For more information on Rogue and their products refer to: www.rogue.com

Next, and perhaps my favorite this week, was Anderson Valley Hop Ottin' IPA. Anderson Valley IPA is as hoppy as they come and not for the light hearted. This ale has a delicious citrus aroma, and an intense hoppy bite. Amber in color and deeply structured herbal flavors make this IPA is a hop lover's dream. Did I mention it was hoppy at all? Immense flavors and a nose you could smell across the room make this beer a sipper. The brewery itself has somewhat of a interesting draw, hosting an 18-hole disc golf course and horse drawn delivery carts. The fun loving attitude of the brewmaster Ken Allen is clearly evident in this beer right down to the little unique messages under each bottle cap. Try matching this beer up with a blue cheese rubbed filet or a hearty beef stew. Check out the fun website that even includes a dictionary of Boontling, an old english slang language: www.avbc.com

Heading in the darker direction, we tasted Samuel Smiths Russian Imperial Stout. Russian imperial stout was originally brewed in Great Britain to satisfy the Czarist courts, who were great connoisseurs of Champagne, caviar and the art of the table. Because it was transported across the freezing Baltic, Russian imperial stout was brewed with a high level of alcohol (a hefty 7% ABV). All Samuel Smith beers are vegan products, registered with The Vegan Society. Rich, flavorful, deep chocolate color, scented and roasted barley nose. The deep mocha color suggests a nice complexity of malt, hops, alcohol and yeast. The palate has notes of smoke, licorice, chocolate and a wonderful balance and harmony. Pair this beer with a peppercorn crusted ribeye or NY sytle cheesecake topped with cherries. A stout similar to this was used in the cheese sauce prepared for the taste.

To finish we poured Lindeman's Framboise (Raspberry). Lindeman's makes several fruit based beers; Pomme (apple), Cassis (black currant), Kriek (cherry), and peche (peach) with the raspberry being the most common. These beers experience wild fermentation which is a process that uses natural yeast found in the air. Framboise is ruby red in color with a light effervescence. The nose hints at tones of raspberry, cherry, and cranberry. This is a fruit forward beer, with intense red fruit flavors and a hint of chocolate in the slightly tart finish. A beer with this kind of fruit intensity and deep complexity make it easy for a wine drinker to switch to beer. Easily matched with any chocolate dessert I would almost venture into making salad dressings and sauces from the reduction of this product. This beer goes great with rosemary rubbed lamb chops and green beans or save it for dessert with a triple layer chocolate mousse cake.

Thanks for staying with me through this review and I hope you found it interesting and helpful. Most of the future posts won't be this long because I usually only present five wines in a taste. If there is anything I can do to make this blog more enjoyable or you simply want to comment on things that I have written please post your thoughts. See you all on Thursday and remember to keep an open mind and an open eye.

Just a reminder that this Saturday at the Avalon Inn in Howland the Children's Hospital Fundraising Wine Taste is going on. Both John Webster and I have volunteered to be guest pourers for the event. Tickets are $50 but I can assure the food and wine are worth way more than that, not to mention it's for a good cause. So come on out and enjoy some quality wine and food.

Welcome

2007-02-07T10:07:00.000-05:00

Hi everybody. I would like to start my first post as an introduction to myself and my idea. It's been recently pointed out to me that I've matured as a wine drinker. I currently run a wine bar in Austintown, Ohio. Last Spring I started a public wine course called Thursday Night Flight Nite. In it, I feature five new wines for $10.00 from 7-9 P.M. I focus on moderately priced bottles that are remarkable and undervalued. This has evolved into quite the phenomenon in the area. The Thursday turnout usually ends up being around fifty people. However, I have noticed that they aren't always familiar faces. So, to help myself and whoever is interested in keeping tract of what was covered at the taste, I've started this blog. I will post a new review of the flight night by Saturday evening. Because this blog is also working as personal tasting notes I may occasionally post products and events not related to the flight night. Thanks for taking the time to read this and remember to keep an open mind and an open eye.