Jiggledy Snork's Grape Mash Stash All Wine Review

2004 Cantina del Pino Barbaresco

2009-12-19T15:41:00.000-08:00

This Sunday is my last day working at the yarn shop. It was a great run and only very part time but frankly I’m ready to NOT work. I wanted to celebrate my re-entry into being a kept woman with a nice bottle of wine. But hmm…the Stash is full of nice bottles so the decision was tough. For some reason, I was leaning toward Italian. That surprised me because I don’t often lean that way and as a consequence I don’t have too many Italians lurking down in the Stash. But I did have the 2004 Cantina del Pino Barbaresco (Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco).

Made from the Nebbilio grape, like Barolo, and produced in the Piedmont region of Italy, Barbarescos are often described as the Burgundies of Italy. The grape is as difficult to work with as Pinot Noir but done well the wines are supposed to be great. “Powerful” is an adjective I’ve seen time and time again.

The Cantina del Pino has the honor of being my very first Barbaresco and I have to say that I’m dutifully impressed. It had flowery aromas of cherries with a smidge of oak and black licorice. Tart cherries, tar, and leather round out the flavors. It has stiff tannins but I found the wine nicely balanced and it finished wonderfully. Make no mistake about it, this wine is dry…dry…dry…as Barbarescos are supposed to be, but I like dry so it was a great celebratory quaff.

Priced at $26.99 from my favorite wine store, Bottle Barn, I know I got an excellent deal on this style of wine. I don’t know that I’d be willing to spend much more than that but I certainly wouldn’t hesitate to try another if the price was right.

Tamarack Cellars 2007 Cabernet Franc

2009-11-14T16:38:00.000-08:00

Cab Franc when it’s done well is still one of my favorite varietals. It is a “cozy-in-the-nest” kind of a wine that is perfect for cold, dark, autumn and winter nights and delicious stews. It stirs my imagination conjuring images of a toasty fire in a stone hearth in simpler times. (Yeah, I know... I’m kind of whacked, but what can I say?) Anyway, even though really good Cab Francs are relatively elusive, I will jump at the chance to try one forgoing just about anything else that’s offered.

Since it had been quite a long time since my last Cab Franc, I was very excited when our friends, Dan & Jane, served Tamarack Cellars 2007 Cabernet Franc (Columbia Valley) at a dinner party early in November. Made up of 100% Cab Franc from both Wahluke Slope and Rattlesnake Hills AVA vineyards, it exudes everything I love about the varietal. Rich and elegantly balanced with superbly structured tannins, this wine flaunts rich black cherry and blackberry flavors with understated hints of herby brambles, spice, tobacco, and chocolate with a sublime velvet finish. It was so good that I ignored the Chardonnay that was offered with Jane’s delicious Cliff House Whisky Crab Soup (quelle horreur!) and had a second glass of the Cab Franc.

The Right Tool for the Job

2009-10-12T11:53:00.000-07:00

A year or so ago, I made the leap and purchased several different shapes of wine glasses designed to go with specific styles of wine. “Leap” is probably a gross understatement because the glasses I chose, after a lot of research, were Schott Zwiesel’s Tritan Top Ten Series — a line of titanium crystal (no lead), “dishwasher safe,” and “break-resistant” (more on those two little semi-misnomers later) created by seven of Europe's greatest Sommeliers to optimize the aroma and flavor of each varietal. I loved the look of the glasses, and their dishwasher safety and break-resistance sold me on them. I shelled out big bucks for these glasses and I haven’t regretted it.

Ira was, however, a little more skeptical and rather nonplussed. I think his commentary upon the arrival of my first glasses was something along the lines of: “What’s the matter with the wine glasses you have? Can the shape of wine glass really make that much of a difference?” And the kicker, “They cost how much?!?” All of this included varying degrees of arm flapping, eye rolling, and clutching of his chest when I told him how much each stem cost (anywhere from $12-18 per stem depending on the source). Imagine this happening all over again, when one of the glasses cracked while he was hand washing it (again, more on that in a bit). As much as I tried to convince Ira that the shape of the glass actually affects the bouquet, taste, balance and finish of wines, he wasn’t buying it, certain that I was just caught up in a bit of wine aficionado hoo-ha. I even reminded him of his mantra: Always use the right tools for the job! No dice. He remained skeptical, convinced I had purchased the emperor’s clothes.

Then my friend, Lisa, and I put the theory to an actual test. One evening we sat down with a standard wine glass, one of the Schott Zweisel glasses, and nice bottle of wine. The difference between the aroma, taste, and feel of the wine was quite stunningly pronounced with the Schott Zweisel glass giving off much more aroma and opening so much flavor that convinced as I was that the glass indeed made a difference, I was quite surprised as to how much that difference was. As for Ira, it was Lisa’s corroboration that persuaded him I wasn’t completely out of my mind. In all fairness to Ira, I have to admit that my enthusiasm for any one thing has, on occasion, overridden my honest assessment of said thing.

Now for the much ballyhooed “more later.” Schott Zweisel’s Top Ten series are beautiful glasses. They are a delight to hold and drink from so that, in and of itself, was worth the price. That they actually make the wine taste better (which is why I bought them in the first place) simply adds to the pleasure. However, I think that advertising these glasses as safe for the dishwasher and break resistant is stretching things a bit. First of all, the stems are too tall to fit in the upper rack of our dishwasher. I’m not sure if all dishwashers have a similar upper rack to ceiling ratio but I’d bet it’s close. Secondly, these glasses do break…and quite easily. In fact, one broke about 10 minutes after I opened the box when Ira washed it by hand. Ira didn’t do anything wrong. The man is quite meticulous. The glass simply cracked as he rinsed it. I purchased these first few glasses from Bestwineglass.com. I haven’t provided a link to Bestwineglass.com because when I e-mailed them to let them know that a glass broke basically right out of the box, they sent me a curt, tough-luck sort of response that indicated to me that their customer’s satisfaction with a product was the least of their concerns. While I really didn’t expect them to send me another glass, I did at least expect an apology. And frankly, had they sent me another glass, which would have cost them whatever wholesale price they get the glass for plus a little shipping, I’d have been a customer for life. Instead, I found the glasses cheaper and the service better at Replacements.com (notice the link?) and have since ordered several more from them. The only other problem is that the white wine glasses have a such a narrow, tall chimney that they are difficult to clean without a bottle brush and if you plan on draining your glass, be prepared for some head and neck gymnastics as the chimney slams against your upper lip and nose before you’re able to get that last drop. But nothing is perfect so we treat these glasses like the expensive stemware that they are. I wouldn’t put my Waterford Crystal goblets in the dishwasher and I wouldn’t give them to a two-year old thinking they couldn’t break. As far as the white wine glasses go, Yoga classes have helped.

I now have a wine glass for full-bodied reds like Syrah, Zinfandel, Cabernet, Merlot, Rioja, Chianti, Duero; one for light reds like Pinots; one for mature reds like Burgundies and Cotes du Rhone; one for full-bodied whites like Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, White Bordeaux; and the aforementioned glass for light white wines like Sauvignon Blanc, Sancerre, Gruner Veltliner, Riesling and Pinot Grigio. And of course, I have glasses for Champagne and sparkling wines. I absolutely love these “right tools for the job.” They have made my wine-drinking experience that much more enjoyable.

The Italian Challenge

2009-10-01T09:13:00.000-07:00

I’ve been slowly navigating the vast array of Italian and Italian-styled wines even though I have been dubious of them in the past. It’s not that I haven’t found any that I enjoy because I have, but I’ve also had some huge disappointments. Not as much as I’ve had with wines from say, Chile (which I am disappointed with more often than not) but enough that I think I’ve earned at least some of my skepticism. But putting my doubting attitude aside, I’ve taken Italian wines on as a challenge. Here is a sinossi (which, if my bilingual dictionary is correct means “summary” in Italian) of three Italian wines and one Italian-American wine that I’ve had recently.

2004 Conte di Bregonzo Amarone della Valpolicella Classico $17 (Veneto, Italy) — Before the Amarone drinkers out there immediately begin to gnash their teeth and start screaming that this doesn’t really represent an Amarone, let me assure you that I know that. But I was cruising through Trader Joe’s wine section a while back and I thought I’d take a chance. (Normally, I avoid buying wine at Trader Joe’s because I find their wines inexpensively unsatisfying.) This wine had the raisiny, dark fruit, and licorice flavors reminiscent of a Ripasso (which is made from the solids left over from pressing the Amarone), but it didn’t do anything special for me. (Sorry, Trader Joe… but if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!) While it was certainly tasty, it wasn’t as good as the Zenato Ripasso that I dearly love. Perhaps one day, I’ll get to try an Amarone worthy of the name.

A really good Amarone is going to cost $50 and up. The reason why they are so expensive is because of the process. Briefly, Amarone wine is made from grapes (Corvina, Rondinella, and Molinara) that are harvested perfectly ripe in the first two weeks of October. The grapes are then allowed to dry which concentrates the sugars and flavors.

2005 Vino Noceto Sangiovese (Sierra Foothills, Shenandoah Valley, CA) $13 — Sangiovese, the primary grape in Chianti, has been grown in California since 1991 and the best wines are coming out of Napa, San Luis Obispo, and the Sierra Foothills. This is a wonderfully aromatic wine with aromas of cranberries, earth, leather, flowers and pepper. Earthy cranberries, cherries, leather and a slight hint of vanilla comprise the flavors with good structure, and a longish peppery finish—delicious with pizza and spaghetti.

2006 Càntele Primitivo Salento (Puglia, Italy) $8-10 — I had this recently at an Italian Restaurant and thoroughly enjoyed it. Then I came home and checked my notes and realized that I’d had a similar experience with an earlier vintage. This is a particularly lovely wine for the price. Aromas of dark cherries and flowers float out of the glass and flavors of rich fruit and spice comprise this full-bodied wine. It’s a cozy wine and great to drink on a cool, crisp autumn day.

Stella Montepulciano d'Abruzzo (Abruzzi, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, Italy) $9 — I’m not sure if this was the 2006 or 2007 vintage as I had it “by the glass” at the same restaurant as the Cantele Primitivo (different days, however). First of all, I have to admit that up to this point I have never had a Montepulciano d’Abruzzo that I’ve liked, finding them acidic, hollow, and completely uninspiring. But this was the only red wine the restaurant offered by the glass on this particular evening so I thought, “why not?” Besides, I keep reading that these wines coming from the rugged Abruzzi hills above the Adriatic coast of central Italy, are being taken more seriously by some producers and the quality keeps improving. (Abruzzi is a region that in the past has been noted for the mass production of just “adequate” wines.) Much to my surprise, I actually enjoyed this one. It was nicely balanced with earthy fruit flavors, vanilla, and spice surround by decent tannins and good but not overbearing acidity. The finish was a little short but overall it was a tasty wine. It didn’t knock my socks off but I’ve decided to keep an open mind on Montepulciano d’Abruzzos.

This may seem a like a total no-brainer but as I drink more Italian wines, I find myself more comfortable with them. Being more at ease with them means I’m enjoying them more as well. Now to work on Chile…

2005 Laurel Glen Counterpoint Cabernet Sauvignon

2009-09-24T08:39:00.000-07:00

So I walked into Bottle Barn a couple of weeks ago and asked for a wine that would go with a Heritage Turkey. I had never had a Heritage Turkey before but knew it would be a bit “gamier” than the kind of turkeys most of us are used to. (If you don’t know what a Heritage Turkey is, it’s sort of the turkey version of an heirloom tomato.) I knew I’d probably want something with a bit more oomph than an affordable Pinot and I really did not want to go the Gewürztraminer route, which is why I asked my question. The guy looked at me for a moment and then pretended to bang his head against a non-existent wall. It seems I broke the record for the earliest Thanksgiving/wine pairing question, even though Thanksgiving wasn’t even on my radar. I guess it was the Autumn-turkey thing. And, with this particular person, food/wine-pairing questions weren’t his favorite anyway. Who knew? But I get it. I work in a yarn shop and around Octoberish crazed knitters come in and start asking about Christmas Red yarn. The thing is, Christmas Red means something different to almost every knitter. It’s a no-win situation! So I generally just start pulling every ball or skein of red yarn I can find off the shelf and hope that one will be the Christmas Red to match the one in their head. (You won’t believe how many people walk away without buying their Christmas Red yarn because they didn’t find the exact shade.)

The guy at Bottle Barn recovered nicely though and he didn’t pull out every “red” on the shelves. He managed, with some finesse, to steer me towards a Cabernet Sauvignon. I had been thinking along the lines Syrah or Bordeaux Blend so I was both surprised and intrigued. He recommended two Cabs: a 2005 Laurel Glen Counterpoint (Sonoma Mountain, CA) — $24 and a 2006 Mill Creek Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Kreck Family Vineyard (Sonoma County) —$18. He said the Counterpoint could age another 20 years but with a couple of hours of decanting it would be terrific and the Mill Creek was also a fabulous wine that would cellar for several years. So I got them both: The Counterpoint for the turkey and the Mill Creek to ship home for the Stash.

Counterpoint went into the decanter precisely two hours before dinner. I tasted a bit of it right from the bottle and OH BOY! I hoped two hours would be enough. But I could already tell that it was going to be a great wine. After the two hours plus some sitting in a glass time, wonderful aromas of dark berry fruit, floral, and what I like to describe as Santa Rosa herbs (there is a very unique and pungent herbal smell this time of year in Sonoma County…tarweed maybe?) greeted my nose. Rich blackberry, cassis, floral, mineral, and licorice flavors were held within a very structured body and the finish was long with some sweetness. This young, it was a HUGE wine but it paired surprisingly well with the Heritage Turkey…and the stuffing…and the squash…and…

Ira's Choice: Season 1

2009-09-18T07:41:00.001-07:00

Two years ago on one of my many pilgrimages to wine nirvana, more commonly known as Bottle Barn in Santa Rosa, Ira purchased a case of wine for me. Being the bargain-master that he is all the bottles had to be $10 or less but they also had to get a thumbs up from the gurus at Bottle Barn. (For those who are new to my blog, I’m a big Bottle Barn fan. They offer very good wines at discounted prices. I belong to their wine of the month club in addition to making regular trips when I’m in town. I’ve yet to be disappointed with anything I have purchased there.)

What makes this so much fun and interesting is that, as many of you know, Ira isn’t into wine. In fact, he doesn’t like the stuff. His nightly glass of Carlo Rossi Sangria is, as he likes to say, for “medicinal purposes only.” But he does pay attention to what I like (poor guy can’t help but pay attention as I can be quite enthusiastic about my wine) and he makes his choices by reading price tags, tasting notes, and ratings.

If you’ve been following this blog since September 2007 (and if you have an amazing memory), you’ll recall that I promised to blog about these wines once I had tasted them all. I’m just a bit behind on the blogging part but better late than never.

2006 Woop Woop Shiraz (Australia) $9 — a very tasty Shiraz loaded with blackberry/blueberry jam, licorice and a hint of spice.

2005 Napa Creek Petite Sirah Stags Leap District (Napa Valley, Stags Leap District, CA) $8 — regularly a significantly more expensive wine but available at closeout prices. This was a big, juicy wine with classic dark berry/peppery flavors, firm tannins and a nice finish.

2005 Chono Cabernet Sauvignon (Chile, Central Valley) $8 — my personal favorite of all the “Ira” wines. An awesome wine for the price. Rich Dark fruit, leather and tar on the nose with juicy dark fruit and leather on the palate. The tannins were firm, the acidity good. The finish could have been longer but at this price I can’t complain.

2004 Laurier Cabernet Sauvignon (Alexander Valley, CA) $6 — a good “everyday” uncomplicated wine.

2003 Langmeil Three Gardens (Barossa Valley, Australia) $9 — Shiraz, Grenach, and Mouvedre, this Rhone-blend was full of dark berries with a bit of tobacco and chocolate.

2005 Clos LaChance Chardonnay Glittering-Throated Emerald (Monterey County, CA) $9 — a nice fruity Chardonnay with hints of citrus, pear, and pineapple of the nose and pear and apple with a twist of lemon on the palate. Medium finish, crisp and tart. Loved it with a quinoa and calamari salad with Dijon vinaigrette.

2005 Bulletin Place Shiraz (Australia) $6 — a decent introduction to Shiraz. Dark berry and a little smoke on the nose. Dark fruit, smoke, and spice on the palate. Not as rich and deep as more expensive Shiraz's but not a bad everyday sort of wine. I particularly enjoyed this with Chicken Korma.

2006 Bogle Chardonnay (California) $8 — a little more oaky and buttery than I personally care for in a Chardonnay but a good value wine.

2001 Silver Peak Zinfandel (Napa) $8 — Nothing special but a decent “everyday” sort of wine.

Ira did a great job at picking out these bargain wines. I really enjoyed going through them and have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised. Bulletin Place Shiraz and the Silver Peak Zin lacked the polish and finesse of their more expensive counterparts but they were certainly well suited for the everyday table. Others like the Woop Woop Shiraz, Chono Cab and Clos LaChance Chardonnay were absolutely delightful in every way.

Stay tuned for Season 2 (and I promise to be more timely with this one.) On our most recent trip to Bottle Barn in mid-September, Ira picked out another 12 bargain wines for me to try. I can hardly wait!

First Wine of Autumn

2009-09-05T13:49:00.000-07:00

Summer blasted through so fast this year up here in the northwest corner of the country that some of my summer favorites—New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs and Roses—didn’t even make it to my table this year. But with the cool kiss of autumn definitely in the air now, there’s no time for past regrets. Rich, luscious red wines are dominating my thoughts. So recently when invited to bring a wine to a garden party, I dug a 2006 Domaine de la Terre Rouge Syrah Les Cotes de l'Ouest (California, Sierra Foothills) —$15— out of the stash. The Terre Rouge seemed like a great wine to ring in the first days of the change of season and I was eager to try it.

The hostess put my bottle on a table with a case of a rather generic, local Merlot-blend and I thought for sure that it would get lost in the morass. Wine etiquette dictates that if you ask a guest to bring a bottle of wine, that’s the wine you should serve. If a guest brings a bottle as a gift, then it’s up to you whether you serve it or put it in your stash. Being a total wine geek, I understand that not everyone has boned up on the proprieties of serving wine so I always steel myself to say goodbye to a keenly anticipated bottle without ever getting a taste. It’s just the way of things. But I needn’t have worried. Our hostess was fabulous and served wines that guests brought first. The others were just for backup.

Terre Rouge Syrah is a wine done in the old world style. It had aromas of dark berries, smoke, cinnamon and a wonderful undertone of gaminess that I always find so pleasing in a wine. Black raspberry flavors were tinged with tobacco, herbs, and pepper. It was rich, silky, and well balanced with a long peppery finish. A memorable wine and one I’d purchase again.

Wine, Socks, and a Little Cheese

2009-08-19T07:59:00.000-07:00

August 6, 2009 was the kick off day for the first ever Sock Summit. Billed as “taking sock knitting almost too far,” it was absolute paradise for anyone who ever took the time to knit a pair of socks. Having knit hundreds of socks myself, Sock Summit was the culmination of everything good about socks, knitting, and knitters. Sock knitters from all over the country and beyond (I met one woman who flew in from London), converged for four glorious days in Portland, OR filled with classes, yarn buying, and geeking around with other sock knitters. Yowza!

Okay so what does this all have to do with wine? Well one of the local Portland knit shops, Knit Purl, hosted a wine and cheese tasting at Square Deal Wine & Steve’s Cheese. Both Square Deal & Steve’s Cheese occupy the same building and it’s a perfect pairing. The tasting featured local wines and cheeses with the exception of a sparkling wine from France. To be honest, I didn’t pay much attention to the cheese because the wines were so delicious they blew my socks off. (Okay, you knew I had to throw that in here somewhere.) But I can say this… what little cheese I had was absolutely delicious.

But the wines! Oh man! Each one was better than the next! We started off with the bubbly from France that was delightful and festive. Then we had a white from Square Deal’s own REAL label, REAL Wine Company "IV" 2007—a blend of Riesling, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, and Chardonnay. This juicy, refreshing white sipper sold for $18. Next came the REAL "B-Side" Pinot Noir 2007. When I tasted it, I almost passed out from ecstasy on the spot. It was a delicious blend of red fruits and berries with some floral and earthy notes that were reminiscent of red wines from Burgundy. Silky in texture, it finished long and elegantly. Because it was every bit as good as some Pinots I’ve had at $50 and $60, I just knew it was going to be well out of my price range. But I composed myself checked the price. At $24 a bottle, the ecstasy thing almost happened for the second time.

The night just couldn’t get better. But when I tasted 2006 Zerba Cellars Wild Z Red Wine (Walla Walla Valley, OR), I thought this is almost ridiculous as euphoria threatened to reduce me to a drooling idiot. A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot and Petit Verdot, this wine exploded with flavors of cassis, plums, cherries and strawberries with earth and spice. Wonderfully balanced acidity, easy tannins, and a lingering spicy finish made me want to dive into the glass and drink my way out. At $18 a bottle I began to understand why the name of the shop included the words “square deal.” When I spoke to the folks at Square Deal Wines and asked them about their excellent quality price ratio, they told me that great wines at good prices was what they were all about. In a world where the price of wine doesn’t mean much in the way of quality, I say three cheers for that!

I returned from Portland with a little sock yarn, a little wine, and lots of great memories. I don’t know when or if Sock Summit will ever happen again but I do know this: Portland is just a 4-5 hour drive away and I’m pretty sure I could find Square Deal Wines with my eyes closed.

Speaking of Cabs...

2009-07-18T13:34:00.001-07:00

A friend of mine just posted a comment on my blog, telling me she misses my posts. Thank you, Sara, for giving me a little kick in the tuchus. The crazy thing is I’ve had some really wonderful wines in the past three months. So I should catch up.

In my last post, if I can remember back that far, I was complaining about affordable Cabs and the fact that I don’t spend money on them unless I taste them first. Frances Coppola’s Diamond Collection Ivory Label Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 is now on my list of “Cabs I Wouldn’t Hesitate to Spend Money On.” My friends, Barbara and Jim, introduced me to this wine back in April and it was delicious! It was possibly the smoothest, most easily drinkable Cab I’ve had at any price. Lush beautiful plum and vanilla wafted out of the glass and the flavors of dark berries, currants, and vanilla greeted my mouth with firm but smooth tannins and a scrumptious raisin finish. I don’t often find Cabs an “easy” sip, preferring to temper them with food but this one was a great sipper as well. At around $20 a bottle it is both affordable and better than many others I’ve had at twice the price.

2009-03-07T10:16:00.000-08:00

I’ve virtually given up buying Cabs that I can actually afford, finding most of them to be thin, acidic, and not much on flavor or finish. Because I do like Cabs though, I will splurge on rare occasion and buy one like the Silver Oak Cab, Alexander Valley, California. ($54!) I have just such a bottle residing in the stash. It’s waiting to help me celebrate my 50th birthday. (Not imminent, thank you.) But I’ve tasted that one and convinced myself that the indulgence is justified.

So, I’m very grateful to my friend, Janice, who, without really knowing what I liked, took the time at her somewhat local wine store, Compass Wines in Anacortes, Washington, asked a lot of questions, and picked out Three Thieves "The Show" 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, California yellow label ($11-$13) and gave it (and two other bottles of wine) to me for my birthday last year. The wine, made from grapes sourced from Monterey County, is mostly Cabernet Sauvignon, with smaller percentages of Merlot, Cab Franc, Petite Sirah and Petit Verdot blended in as well.

This is a very nice, affordable Cab! It has earthy, blackberry, bramble, and cedar aromas with blackberry, spice, and coffee flavors. A little tight at first, it opens nicely. Medium bodied with a nice finish, this is delightfully drinkable.

As for Ira, his thoughts were that this wine certainly wasn’t any nastier than the wine we had last week (the absolutely delicious 2005 Zenato Valpolicella Superiore Ripassa). His one other comment was that he thought he’d like the wine better if it were cold like his Sangria. Yikes! That rubber tree plant just got a lot heavier.

Grapefruit Juice and Chocolate

2009-02-16T11:30:00.001-08:00

I’ve decided to drop the 20 lbs that have been plaguing me for the last 8 years or so and for that effort I’m willing to temporarily limit my standard glass of wine with dinner to two nights each week. Of course, this puts forth a terrible dilemma. Since I’m the only one currently drinking any wine worth drinking in this house, it means that I either have to try and keep a bottle of wine over two weeks—not happening. Or I have to dump the remaining 3 glasses of each bottle down the drain—also not happening. Because, my husband, Ira, is one terrific guy, he offered to help by drinking my wine with me and finish the bottle.

Now for those of you who know Ira, you are well aware of his lack of appreciation for wine. He drinks his one glass of Carlo Rossi Sangria each night for dinner for “medicinal purposes” only. So not only is this offer beyond HUGE, it also opens the door for opportunity. I’ve always said that if Ira liked any wine worth drinking, he’d probably develop a terrific palate. The man is amazing at detecting aromas and flavors…mostly the ones he dislikes, but nevertheless… if I could just get him over the hump that all non-jug wine is nasty (and let’s face it, he doesn’t have much good to say about the jug wine either), then maybe, just maybe, he might actually find some real wines that he likes or at the very least tolerates enough to appreciate. And if “appreciate” is a little far-fetched then perhaps he would learn just enough to be able to talk wine with me on occasion.

So, we started tonight with the Magnificent Wine Company’s House Wine, 2006, Columbia Valley. This is one of Wine Spectators favorite value wines and for good reason. For $9 this is a gem! I had Ira swirl and sniff. After some coaxing (me) and complaining (him), he was able to pick up a roasted coffee bean aroma and he got that the wine was dry (a taste he despises). Further prompting got nothing more than an acerbic comment that the wine tasted like alum, but hey… it was a start. (And no, the wine doesn’t taste like alum…more like peppery blueberries with some tobacco.) Later that evening, striking a thoughtful pose, Ira said, “I can sum up what most red wines taste like to me—grapefruit juice and chocolate. And that’s not a great combination.”

Yes, I realize that in this effort I maybe the ant who tried to move the rubber tree plant, but hey… in the end that ant did move the rubber tree plant—and I’m the eternal optimist.

2005 Desert Wind RUAH

2008-12-24T09:33:00.000-08:00

At the time of this writing, it’s 12 degrees outside with 9 inches of snow on the ground and another storm predicted for tonight and tomorrow that could dump up to another 9 inches. We sure could use a desert wind right now. But I’ll settle for Desert Wind Vineyard’s 2005 RUAH, (Columbia Valley, Wahluke Slope) $18 — a perfect, cozy, delicious wine for a cold winter’s day…or any day.

This is the kind of Bordeaux-style wine I just love and that Washington State does so well. The 2005 scored 90 points with Wine Spectator and past vintages have consistently scored in the 90s. Made up of 15% Cab Franc, 40% Cab Sauvignon, and 45% Merlot, it has old-world aromas of blackberries, cedar, leather, and earth. Well-balanced flavors of blackberry, earth, and toasty oak with a hint of licorice and nutmeg on the velvety finish transported me to the French countryside and gave me a tiny holiday from all the snow. (Yes, wine sometimes transports me to different locales, which is great because I hate to travel.) This is a dry, elegant wine that pairs well with grilled or roasted meat or tomato-based sauces, and I bet it would kill with goat or sheep cheeses.

I have my very good friends, Yvonne and Doug, to thank for this gem. They always amaze me with their ability to pick out wines they know I’ll fall head over heels for. Thanks you two!

2007 Clean Slate Riesling

2008-12-18T16:54:00.000-08:00

I haven’t had much practice navigating the labels of German Rieslings. I tend to look at the labels stating Trocken (bone-dry), Halbtrocken (half-dry), Kabinett (wine made from grapes that are harvested at normal harvest times and are usually light and low in alcohol), Spatlese (grapes harvested later than those in a Kabinett, having a fuller, riper taste–read, sweet), Auslese (sweeter), and Beerenauslese (sweetest), and my eyes cross. I tell myself I’ll delve into German Rieslings later but “not today.” Maybe it was the lack of the confusing jargon that made me snap up a bottle of Clean Slate Riesling (Germany, Mosel Saar Ruwer). For $8.99 it was certainly worth the gamble.

Well, the gamble paid off! Put this in the column of favorite Rieslings. Beautiful floral aromas with stone fruits, apple and mineral delicately float out of the glass while lush nectarine, pear, slate, and citrus flavors hit your palate. This wine is off dry (I’d guess halbtrocken—although it doesn’t say that on the label) with a beautiful silky texture, balanced acidity, and clean, mineral finish. Pairs wonderfully with food, easy to drink. Delightful.

Of course, now that I’ve taken the time to look all this terminology up and bring it to you, I’ll probably be able to work my way through the labels.

2008-12-13T12:33:00.000-08:00

I think I’ve mentioned this before but it’s gooood to have wine-loving friends who like to share their favorite wines with me. Our friend Kit, who lives down in Richland, WA in the heart of our State’s wine country, brought a bottle of Cowan Vineyards Cabernet Franc Estate 2004 (Yakima Valley, WA) when he and his wife, Janet came up for Thanksgiving this year. Kit is a huge fan of Washington state wines and rightly so.

Nose the wine just a bit and it screams Cab Franc with strawberry, cherries, briar, and a hint of barnyard earthiness on the nose. It has juicy strawberry and cherry flavors with a bit bramble, oak and earth. This is a nice introduction to Cab Franc And while it lacks the depth and body of some the heavier hitters, at $18 a bottle (Sorry Kit and Janet. It’s impossible to blog about wine without mentioning the price), it’s also half the price.

The Climber

2008-11-20T07:51:00.000-08:00

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted. Between mourning the death of my father, John, and celebrating the birth of my granddaughter, Misha, blogging about wine took a back seat to just about everything. I was simply too preoccupied and overwhelmed to put words on paper. (Or on the computer screen.) But I’m back and the wine that launched me into the driver’s seat again was a fairly random selection during a visit to Bottle Barn in late August. I say “fairly” random because Dan, Misha’s dad, pulled Clif Family Winery’s “The Climber” 2004 North Coast Red Wine from the shelf and said he’d heard good things about it. And yes, these are the same folks behind CLIF BAR® and LUNA®, which in some macabre way, only made the selection more intriguing. I mean who’d have thought that the makers of power bars could do a decent wine?

I can honestly say right here and now that this is the best $12 bottle of wine I’ve ever had. It even rivals wines I’ve had at twice the cost. A blend of 59% Zinfandel, 20% Syrah, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot, and 6% Petite Sirah, this wine is deep red/purple in color with aromas of cherries, vanilla, nutmeg and oak. The flavors are well-balanced cherry/raspberry, spice and just a hint of oak. This deliciously easy-to-drink wine has good body and jammy finish. And, even though its main grape is Zinfandel, it isn’t over the top in its alcohol content.

So while I’ve toasted the passing of my Dad and the arrival of Misha many times before. I’d like to hold up a glass of The Climber in honor of two people that have impacted my life in incalculable ways:

Dad…Misha…here’s to you! I love you both more than words can say.

It's French So How Bad Can It Be? Pretty Bad!

2008-07-26T17:23:00.000-07:00

About a month ago, my friends, Lisa and Jason, joined me for what was supposed to be a Red Burgundy wine tasting. I had a difficult time finding any Red Burgundy (let alone an affordable one) at my regular wine haunts, so I went to a little specialty shop that carries a small but interesting selection of European and Middle Eastern wines. The only Burgundy I could see on the shelf was a low-ender—LaForet. I’ve had it before and it was only mildly okay so I sure didn’t want to bring it to a tasting.

Although the shop owner wasn’t there, the wine distributor was there taking inventory. So I asked her if there were any other red burgundies lurking about. She pulled a Louis Latour Valmoissine Pinot Noir 2006 ($12) off the shelf. The label didn’t say Burgundy and the appellation wasn’t familiar. I told her that I was bringing the wine to a tasting and that it had to be a Burgundy. She was emphatic in her assurance that the Latour was, in fact, a Burgundy. Although skeptical, I bought it in an act of desperation. But, I should have listened to my inner wine geek because when I got home and looked up the appellation, I discovered it was from Provence, which is no where near Burgundy. I was ready to bring the bottle back and complain profusely. Lisa, however, decided that it might be fun to compare a Burgundy with another French Pinot so I decided to listen to my inner Buddha (who resides near the inner geek) and live with it. As it turned out, Lisa and Jason didn’t have an easy time finding an affordable Burgundy either, but they had scored a 2005 Domaine Mongeard Bourgogne for $24 and the tasting was on.

The night of the tasting was one of the first truly warm and beautiful evenings of the season here in Bellingham so we held the tasting out on my patio among the roses, trees, and hostas. We each had two glasses, one for each wine. We poured. We swirled. We nosed. We tasted. We chatted about their Tai Chi weekend. Swirled. Nosed. Tasted. We chatted about politics. Poured. Swirled. Nosed. Tasted. We ate very nice cheese. As the swirling and nosing increased and tasting decreased, we realized we had been avoiding discussing the wine at all. It took us forever to talk about it and when we did, we were as unenthusiastic about this wine as we had been about a previous tasting when we did Barbera.

We thought that perhaps the Mongeard needed to open more but once it opened it completely fell apart. It did have recognizable Burgundy aromas and flavors, a little silkiness, and some finish but that was about it. It was, however, a much better wine than the Latour which was thin, slightly acidic, and tasted of strawberries that needed a healthy dose of sugar to make them palatable. I’ve had had $5 wines that were better than this. (Stay tuned for my upcoming blog on that one.)

While the wine itself was a huge disappointment, the company was great, the weather was beautiful and the cheese was wonderful. We haven’t given up on Burgundies either. We just have to learn to be more selective. Perhaps the most important thing I learned from this tasting is to trust my inner wine geek and not let someone talk me into something that feels wrong.

Ira Does It Again

2008-06-30T15:16:00.000-07:00

I’ve got one terrific husband. Ira doesn’t like wine much. As I’ve mentioned before in this blog, he drinks Carlo Rossi Sangria for “medicinal purposes” only. So night after night, he has to hear me proclaim things like, “big juicy berries with a hint of anise” or “mmm…barnyard.” He doesn’t really get it but he does appreciate that I just love it. Every once in awhile, he likes to both treat and surprise me with wines that he personally chooses. And, while he may not “get it,” he does pay attention. He reads the shelf talkers and picks out wines he thinks I’d like. Of course, they are always “bargain” wines. Ira’s big into bargains but honestly, he does a better job at bargain wine shopping than I do.

I was absolutely delighted with one of the more recent wines he brought home—Domaine de Pajot Vin de Pays des Côtes de Gascogne Les Quatre Cépages 2007 (Southwest France, Gascony, Vin de Pays des Côtes de Gascogne), under $8. This marvelous country wine is a wonderful, lazy summer evening sip. Crisp and refreshing, it has aromas of pear, citrus, pineapple, and flowers. The brisk citrus flavor has candied pear and pineapple nuances as well as a bold mineral streak. The texture is firm but silky and the finish is long enough to enjoy and savor.

Baby, if you’re reading this (and I know you are). You did good! How about a couple more bottles?

Murphy-Goode Liar’s Dice Zinfandel 2004

2008-06-16T05:58:00.000-07:00

I very seldom meet a Zin I dislike so I openly admit to a little bias, but this gem from Alexander and Dry Creek Valleys of Sonoma County exceeded all my lofty expectations and launched itself to the top of my favorite Zin list…or would if I kept such a thing.

Classic Zin aromas of raspberry jam, pepper, a bit of bramble, herb, and earth all coalesce into this deliciously juicy wine with the added plus that for Zins, the alcohol percentage is fairly moderate, hovering at 14.5. This is a full-bodied wine, with a lovely texture that was slightly silky and slightly rustic. Its lengthy finish was also a tiny bit peppery. But what I loved most about this wine was its aura of the old world with that touch of earthy aroma and a dash of herbs.

I liked this with everything from grilled pork tenderloin to pizza.

Celebrating a Sunny Day

2008-06-04T07:57:00.001-07:00

It’s been a long, and I mean looong, gray, wet winter and spring here in the Pacific Northwest so when friends were due for dinner on a recent and rare warm sunny day, I decided to celebrate and opened a bottle of Livio Pavese Prosecco N.V. Extra Dry—$10. It was the perfect sip out on the patio amidst the blooming Rhododendrons, Clematis, and Azaleas.

Light, dry, festive, and refreshing, this straw colored wine was effusive in its bubbles. A zesty but light lemon flavor was predominant but there were nutty overtones and a touch of honey.

My experience with Champagne-style wines is rather limited but I know what I like and I loved this Prosecco. Not only was it delightful out in the garden, it went surprisingly well with the mildly spiced Jamaican Chicken and Rice dish I served for dinner.

A Little Vacation

2008-06-03T16:25:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I've posted. I guess you could say I was on a little blogging hiatus but I'm back. I'm currently working on two posts: A delicious Prosecco and Zinfandel. Stay tuned.

How Not To Drink Wine Before or After Its Time

2008-01-17T11:03:00.001-08:00

About a month ago, I discovered CellarTracker. CellarTracker is this great site where you can participate in a large, active wine community, browse a very comprehensive wine database, read an incredibly large selection of wine reviews from real users, manage your wine stash inventory, rate your wines and keep personal/public tasting notes, track the value of your collection (if you’re of a mind to do that), learn more about wine, and download your file to Excel. This is a fabulous site and the good part is it’s free (although donations are greatly appreciated).

I signed up, entered my stash, and learned more about what’s in my stash in a relatively short period of time than I have over months of web searching. One of the most useful tools on the site that I’ve found is the “drinkability report’’ which is based on the judgments of CellarTracker members or other reliable wine resources. Not every wine has a drinking window listed but in my stash more had one than not. Anyway, after running the report, I discovered that there are about 7-8 bottles of wine that I need to drink now. I consider these wines to be in my “red zone” and I can feel the pressure. I have this image of the robot from Lost In Space waving his tube arms and saying “Danger Jiggledy! Danger Jiggledy! Drink right away!”

So for the past few weeks, I’ve been steadily drinking up the wines in my “red zone” not just to quiet the robot, but to get any enjoyment from them I can. Unfortunately, nothing spectacular has stood out so far. I had one Lang & Reed Cab Franc 2003 that was okay, but I had opened it about a year too late and I can’t help wonder if this would have been better had I opened it sooner. A couple of the bottles in the red zone were ones I bought a few years ago before I started enjoying wines that cost a bit more. And one or two had simply been forgotten.

I have about 14 bottles in the stash now that should be opened sometime this year and one or two that shouldn’t even be opened for another 10 years. It’s important to be able to track this methodically. I want to get the best out of every bottle in the stash. Thanks, CellarTracker!

The Marlborough Trifecta

2007-12-19T15:26:00.001-08:00

This has been my year for delving into Sauvignon Blancs from Marlborough, New Zealand. Marlborough is practically synonymous with Sauvignon Blanc and it’s easy to see why. Nothing else matches the steely, clean, “gooseberry-ness” that goes so perfectly with a warm summer’s day. These are to my mind bracing; ball-busting wines and I dearly love them.

Recently, I hit the Marlborough Trifecta with a bottle of Whitehaven 2006. After tasting St. Clair and Kim Crawford earlier this year, my husband’s son who lives in the heart of Sonoma wine country said I had to give Whitehaven a try. And, he was right. Although, St. Clair is still my favorite (I seriously liked the cat pee-esqueness of it), Kim Crawford and Whitehaven are more readily available and tie for second only by a nose.

Full of herby grass and citrus aromas, Whitehaven is a full-flavored medium bodied wine loaded with gooseberry and grapefruit flavors. I even detected a hint of guava, pineapple, and mineral. A clean, crisp, and lingering finish follows.

While sipping this would be perfection on that warm summer’s day, I would gladly drink this in the heart of winter when everything is gray and rainy here in the Pacific Northwest and any hint of summer is greatly appreciated.

A Wine Even My Husband Likes

2007-12-09T08:50:00.000-08:00

You know you have to blog about a wine when your “I-don’t-like-wine-it-all-tastes-like-pischacts (that’s “pish-achkts,” Yiddish for “pee”) husband tells you it’s “not so bad.” Even though Ira doesn’t care for the taste of wine, he always likes to sample a new bottle. So when I opened up a bottle of the Jade Mountain Mourvedre 2004 Evangelho Vineyard, from Contra Costa Country in California, I was blown away when my husband took a sip and declared, “Hey! This isn’t so bad.” In fact, he was concerned I wouldn’t like because he “almost” did.

I wasn’t sure what to expect. I’d never had a straight Mourvedre before. Any previous experience with it had been in wines from the Rhone, where it is a blending grape, adding deep color, acidity, and tannins. But I’ve learned that it is also a primary grape in the wines of Jumilla in Spain where it is known as Monestrell. Here in the states it was first planted in Contra Costa County so it seemed fitting that my first taste of the straight varietal was from that appellation.

And what a first taste it was. To my husband’s surprise, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It had a deep, rich, red-purple color and its aromas were of dark berries, clove, and sweet wood. It was rustic and warm with blackberry, toast, smoke, and spice flavors. A little edgy in the mouth (something I really love about a wine), the finish was bright, clean and had a burst of acidity.

After all that, I was rather surprised that other half almost liked it. But then again, I’ve always thought that if he could get to the point where he actually enjoyed wine, he’d have an excellent palate. I’m not holding my breath, however. He’s got a long way to go from pischachts.

“Love In a Bottle”

2007-12-03T12:33:00.000-08:00

At a lovely holiday dinner at a local Italian Restaurant called Giuseppe’s I had an Italian wine that rocked my world. This is saying something since I’m rather skeptical about Italian wines in general, finding that the lower-priced are more often than not disappointing. Sure, I’ve had (and even blogged about) a few that I’ve enjoyed, but overall, I still shy away from them.

The dinner was sponsored by my boss, (although I hesitate to call her that because she is much more of a friend than a boss), Andrea, who owns Apple Yarns where I work a couple of days a week. Andrea had originally pre-ordered the wine earlier in the week asking for Zenato Valpolicella, but the restaurant was out and “upgraded” us to the Zenato Ripassa Valpolicella 2005 ($24). As the waiter explained the upgrade, he assured us that we would not be disappointed, calling the Ripassa, “Love in a Bottle.” Having the so–so relationship with Italian wine that I do, I internally winced at his description. Nevertheless, I decided to be as open-minded about it as possible.
I swirled the deep purple-red wine for a bit and then stuck my nose in the glass. Rich, dark berry jam, coffee, and licorice aromas wafted up from the glass. The first sip filled my mouth with velvety flavors of blackberries, licorice, and chocolate. The wine was silky smooth, round, and firm with perfect acidity. The finish was long and luxurious.

Zenato Ripassa Valpolicella 2005 from the Veneto region in northern Italy is a blend of 80% Corvina, 10% Rondinella, and 10% Sangiovese. These grapes are dried to make Amarone. As soon as the dried grapes for the Amarone are fermented, selected batches of Valpolicella wine are “re-passed” over the Amarone’s settling sediment (also called “lees”) during fermentation. This starts a second fermentation that increases the alcohol content a bit and gives the wine deeper color, increased extract, and more complex aromas. After being refined in a tank for six months, Ripassa is then aged in small oak barrels for 18-24 months.

Everyone at the table, including those who aren’t into wine at all, loved the Ripassa and we all had more than a glass or two. The waiter was absolutely right. The Ripassa was, indeed, “Love In a Bottle.”

Pinot Noir and Gefilte Fish—Mmmmm….Good Pairing

2007-11-26T17:50:00.000-08:00

I had a bit of a dilemma recently when trying to come up with a wine to serve with an early Chanukah dinner. The dinner consisted of basic Jewish fare: homemade gefilte fish (served with a healthy dose of hot horseradish), a potato latke casserole, and beets—nothing fancy, just good old-fashioned comfort food. Okay. So what wine to serve? Sure, I could have gone white—a clean Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, even a Gewürztraminer would have been just fine. But I didn’t want “just fine.” I wanted something that might be a bit more interesting and frankly a bit more red. Of course, it would have to be a lighter-bodied red and since the words “Pinot Noir” kept skittering through my brain, I went for it.

Down in the stash was a bottle of Lutea 2006 Pinot Noir from Sonoma County—a biodynamically produced wine from California’s North Coast. I’d been looking forward to trying this bottle for a while and decided this was the time. Just in case this was the biggest fiasco in wine/food pairing history, I had a glass before dinner was served. The wine needed to open a bit so I poured a glass and worked on dinner for about 10-15 minutes. Then my wine and I went into the living room to watch the sunset together. It was a beautiful sunset and a gorgeous glass of wine. Aromas of cherries and earth wafted up out of the glass and lovely flavors of ripe cherries and a hint of clove danced on my tongue. Both tannins and acid were almost perfectly in sync and the finish was long and silky.

Sunset over and dinner ready, it was time to see if this lovely wine would complement the meal as well as it did the sunset. As it turned it out, it was a wonderful pairing. It even held its own against the horseradish. I don’t know. Maybe a Pinot Noir isn’t as an absurd pairing with Gefilte Fish as I made it out to be but I enjoy pushing the envelope a bit even if that envelope is in my own head.