October 28, 2010 at 9:46 pm (Age, Barbaresco, Barbera, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Cabernet Sauvignon, California Taste Fine Wine, Campagne, Cellaring, Chablis, Collecting, Diamond Mountain, Laguna Niguel, Napa, Nebbiolo, Reverie Winery, Rose, Rousanne, Storage, Tasting, Vinspelunking, White Wines, wineries)
Tags: Barbaresco, Barolo, Bordeaux, Burgundies, California Taste Fine Wine, Cellaring, Diamond Mountain, Laguna Niguel, Nebbiolo, Retail Wine Stores, Reverie Winery, Rousanne, Vinspelunking
I know that you may never have heard of the term Vinspelunking. It is the idea that you are exploring your or others wine caves, looking for hidden treasure. In this case, hidden bottles. Forgotten treasures. It is a great way to relive some magical wine moments.
The tools needed to Vinspelunk are these: Corkscrew, wine glass(es) and maybe a candle. There are always a few cups and a cork screw or two in our wine cellar.
As someone who is in the business of selling wines, (California Taste Fine Wine, Laguna Niguel), I am often asked when is it time to drink a certain bottle. I too am asking myself this very question. I was recently rearranging things in the home cellar and came across a few bottles that I totally did not remember owning.
One of those was a bottle of Roussane from Reverie Winery on Diamond Mountain in Napa Valley. It is the 2005 vintage and now I am going to open it in the next few days and hope that it is okay. It seems a bit aged. It is a little dark, with hints of oxidation. Too bad it was not a screw top bottle. Screw top bottles can be stored or cellared in any position. I call that fool proof cellaring. The only concern is light, heat and vibration. The Rousanne was cellared, but not properly. It was standing up in a box. My bad.
It seems the concern is more about White Wine, Champagne and Rose. Finding an older red wine such as a Nebbiolo (Barolo, Barbaresco etc), Cabernet or Bordeaux is not so troublesome. Many of the reds have mellowed out and are drinking so well. Interestingly enough, a few of the white wines taste better with a little age on them. Especially the white Burgundies and Chablis from the 2002 vintage.
This experience has taught me that if you have a wine collection, you need to make at least two trips into the depths of the cellar a week. Vinspelunking can be a fun activity. It will be shocking what you might find. Uncork some of your own happiness.
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February 9, 2010 at 6:51 pm (Age, Aglianico, Arneis, Barbera, Barolo, Bordeaux, Brunello, Cabernet Sauvignon, California Taste Fine Wine, Chardonnay, Cheese, Cooking, Cortese, Earthiness, Food, Gavi, Italy, Marche, Merlot, Nebbiolo, Piedmont, Pignolo, Soil, Syrah, Tasting, Valpolicella, Veneto, wineries)
Tags: Acid, Aglianico, Arborio Rice, Arneis, Barolo, Black Fruit, Brunello, Cabernet Sauvignon, California Taste Fine Wine, Cortese, Dolcetto, Duck, Gavi, Italy, Marche, Merlot, Mosby, Nebbiolo, Pignolo, Pinot Grigio, Retail Wine Stores, Sangiovese, Trebbiano, Valpolicella, Verdicchio, Vernaccia
For me, I get excited about Italian wines. Barolo, Brunello, a nice Gavi. These wines get me excited. Italy is special for me. I spent the majority of my honeymoon there. I have always loved the wine.
In college, I drank copious amounts of Valpolicella from the Veneto. It was about $3 a bottle and tasted great. It got you happier faster than beer. But the real reason I like Italian wine is the at there are so many grapes and varieties that you can go your whole life and try them all.
For those of you who like Chardonnay, the best alternative I have found is Gavi. Made from the Cortese grape in Piedmont, Italy, this is a serious white wine with lush flavors of melon, citrus and minerality/stone. It goes great with so many dishes it is crazy. So if you are planning on a light pasta, this might be the wine for you. Mosby winery in Santa Barbara is making an exceptional Cortese. Other white also might include Vernaccia from Tuscany or Verdicchio from the Marche. These whites are all great examples of Italian white wines. The country does flow in a sea of Pinot Grigio, Trebbiano and other whites, but try these and see if they do not make for a great dinner wine.
But it is the red wines that really shine. I mentioned the big boys, but there are other great reds such as Pignolo, Aglianico and Dolcetto. These are all big, jammy, juicy reds that have a big mouthfeel and a pleasing flavor.
I have had a number of super Tuscans. Those are the wines that are blended from French Bordeaux varietals and Sangiovese. I think that some of those wines are some of the best examples of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah and other blends I have had. There is a certain earthiness to a Ornellia and Sassicia that scream old world. But the fruit is very ripe and loaded with flavor. These are the wines that are best paired with slow roasted chunk of wild boar, bathed in Tomato sauce and topped with olives. Very traditional. Very good.
But I have to confess, I like the reds of Piedmont with extreme prejudice. Barbera, Dolcetto, And all versions of Nebbiolo. These are wines of high acidity, decent fruit and a very long finish. Back to the acidity thing again.
So here is the thought. Go to your local market and get some Arborio rice ad make some Risotto. Roast a duck. Make a cherry sauce. Make an Arugula salad. Open a Barolo and let it gentle breathe in a decanter for a few hours. Make sure there is good Parmesan cheese on hand. Light a candle. This is the type of meal that will lead to a night of romance.
This is just the tip of the Italian thoughts. As the year progresses, I will dive deep into the wines of Italy and share some tastes and thoughts. In the meantime, if you need any help with this, email me or stop in at California Taste Fine Wine and ask me a question or two.
Be sure to get something to share on Sunday. Uncork Happiness.
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February 1, 2010 at 10:10 pm (Age, Cellaring, Collecting, Fruit, Italy, Nebbiolo, Soil, wineries)
Tags: Acid, Barbaresco, Barolo, Bellagio, Gattinara, Ghemme, Italian, Italy, Nebbiolo, orange, orange wine, Piedmont, Taste, wine
It is no secret that wines from Piedmont, Italy find their way to me quite often. I just celebrated a birthday and decided to raid the cellar for a few gems. Some will get discussed later, but for now, we are going to concentrate on the Nebbiolos that I had this week.
When most people think of red wines from Piedmont, they think of Barolo. Known by many as the King of Italian wines (Brunello would be the queen), this is a very acidic, tannic and longed lived red. Or so I thought. We had pulled a 1979 Barolo out of the cellar and tried it Tuesday. It was drinkable, but it had lost it’s fruit and much of everything else. It was basically over the hill and I suspect poor storage was to blame. It was a part of a lot of wines that I purchased in Bellagio, Italy a few years back and had shipped state side. It was lacking just about everything. Conversely, I had a bottle of 1999 Pira Vigna Rionda Barolo last night that was just stunning. It was perhaps the favorite of the group I was with at dinner, eating some veal tortellini.
What is amazing about the Nebbiolo grape is that each little village or commune has its own special reputation. Also known as Spanna in the region, we an also thank the grape is being Barbaresco, Ghemme and a few other small wines with geographic distinction. And remember, this grape produces wines with a decidedly orange hue.
One of those areas with distinction is Gattinara. And as part of the shipment, I had a 1958 and a 1961 shipped back. About three years ago, we attempted to drink the ’58. It was gone. It had a secondary fermentation going on and was lacking any fruit or anything actually associated with wine. On the other hand, we just opened the 1961. The wine was a deep pink/tawny and had incredible fruit and acid structure. The tannins were fading, but hey were still in evidence. This was a very rare treat to have a wine with this much distinction and character after 40 years. The manufacturer was Castello di Lozzolo. I am not sure this winery still exists, but what an amazing wine.It still has the actual dust on it from the Italian cellar. Totally cool.
We also knocked back a 1999 Ghemme. It to is a Nebbiolo based wine and it too was spectacular. The real surprise was that the 1997 Brunello, which was very good, was not as exciting as the Nebbiolos. Know wonder there is animosity between Piedmont and Tuscany. Tuscany is home to Brunello).
I will say this a few times. Work now on collecting wines that can age from your birth year. The sooner you start, the less expensive it will be. And think of the kids and their birth years as well. I do recommend discussing it with a wine retailer such as myself at California Taste Fine Wine have yet to discuss the rest of the birthday wines. But the goal is to have friends over, share and Uncork Happiness.
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