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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January 26, 2010 at 10:13 pm (Cabernet Sauvignon, Comparisions, Cote du Rhone, Earthiness, Food, Fruit, Malbec, Merlot, Napa, Paso Robles, Soil, Tasting, wineries, Zinfandel)
Tags: Anise, Asinthe, Berry, Black Fruit, Cabernet Sauvignon, California Taste Fine Wine, Cassis, chocolate, Clos du Val, Cote du Rhone, Dry Creek Vineyards, Earthiness, Layercake, Licorice, Malbec, Merlot, mocha, Mosby, Rotta Winery, Soil, Tasting, Truffles, Zinfandel
We are constantly lead to believe that chocolate pairs very well with Port. And yes, it does. But what many people do not realize is that chocolate pairs well with many red wines.
But I have to digress for a moment. Many years ago, I had a Vichon Cabernet from Napa in Sedona, Arizona. (Vichon is no longer made in Napa). The restaurant owner said, “Try it with this.” What he had was a chocolate mousse topped off with whipped creme. The whipped creme had vanilla in it. The whole thing with the dry Cabernet was one of those moments that change your perception of food and wine pairings. At that time, I was not that into the whole thing like now, but I enjoyed a good bottle of wine.
So When California Taste Fine Wine had the red wine and chocolate tasting, I wanted to turn a few people around on their thinking.
The first wine was the Don Rodolfo Tannat. Tannat is an earthy wine with chocolate/mocha notes in it’s taste. The chocolate with mocha paired well with that as did the Vidal Fleury Cote du Rhone. Both of these wines had an earthiness and a hint of dark fruit that made the chocolate sing. This would have been stunning chocolate with a Malbec as well. It would have brought out the ground coffee/earth of Malbec
The Clos du Val Merlot and the Dry Creek Heritage Zinfandel matched up nicely with Cassis Truffles. The big fruit bomb of cassis was perfect foil for these wines that had a large amount of berry in them.
A word about the chocolates. The chocolates were custom made for the tasting. There were truffles with coffee/mocha, cassis, and Absinthe. There were also dark chocolate cups. But we will get to that shortly. Our thanks to Lynnsey Ramos for her culinary skills.
The next wine in the tasting was Mosby Obssessione. This was a bottling of Montepulciano from Italy. This wine paired well with truffles coated in coco powder. Those were purchased from Costco. They are not overly sweet and again, the hearty character of the wine and chocolate matched well. At this point, I started to realize that there was a theme happening. And the next wine proved the point.
For many years, Absinthe was an illegal beverage in the United States. It has just been legalized in the last couple of years. The primary taste of Absinthe is Licorice or Anise. There are whole rituals for drinking the liquor. But we will save that for another time. Lynnsey incorporated about a teaspoon into a number of truffles. That made them very hardy and tasty. And it went very well with the very fruit forward Cabenet Sauvignon from Layercake. The bit of the Absinthe cut the fruit of the wine and brought out its acidic side.
The final wine was Rotta Zinfandel Port. We pored that into the little cups. Then we slammed the whole thing into our mouths. Delightful, especially as the tasters were going hands free.
But the trend that developed is this: When you have an earthy wine, it tends to pair very well with dark chocolate and chocolates infused with black fruit flavors. Something to keep in mid when you need an instant dessert and all you have is a bag of Hershey’s Special dark and a bottle of red. Try it and see if you are Uncorking Happiness.
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January 6, 2010 at 6:36 pm (California Taste Fine Wine, Comparisions, Napa, Paso Robles, Soil, Sonoma, Tasting, wine critics, wineries)
Tags: Acid, Cortese, Gavi, Italy, Loire ValleyChenin Blanc, Mosby, Nickel & Nickel, pa, Paso Robles, Soil, Sonoma, Zinfandel
There is never a happier moment when you get to a winery and prepare to sample the wine. You are happy and in a receptive mood for enjoying the experience and learning about the winery.Tasting at a winery is the best way to learn intimate details about the winery and the believes of the winemaker(s).
So let’s start with the wine. typically the tasting is designed to help open your palette. Often, people say they only like red wines and tend to ignore the whites or Roses. That is a huge mistake. Often the whites and Roses highlight a certain grape varietal that might be unique to to the winery. Two cases in point are the Chenin Blanc at Ballantine in Napa Valley. An absolutely incredible wine, value priced. Chenin Blanc, which finds it’s main home in the Loire Valley of France is a very versatile grape. The wine from Ballentine takes the fruit forward nature of California and combines it with the high acidity and finish of a french Chenin. At Mosby winery in Santa Barbara, they specialize in Cal/Ital varietals. One of those is the Cortese grape. Often known as Gavi, this white is the perfect alternative to Chardonnay. Again, here is perfect example of combning the best of California with the best of Italy. So do not skip the whites and Roses.
When at a winery, try to learn about the wine making techniques. The soil and why the winemaker choose to do things a certain way. This were each wine starts to distinguish themselves. A good case n point is Nickel & Nickel. When at the winery, they have tubes that highlight the various soil types of their single vineyard wines. The wines taste so different because of the soil. And of course the angle of the sun on the slopes plays a part as well. Water, that is a long discussion as well.
When at a winery, ask the person behind the bar guide you. And ask questions. There are no dumb questions. But do not fall victim to what I call winery mouth. That is when you have had a few tastes and your taste buds start to go flat, the alcohol is taking effect and everything you taste is really good. So how do fight this effect? Always travel with water and fresh bread in your car. Having a certain thing, for me it is root beer, to help cleanse your palette is also a good thing. And do not forget to eat every so often to help mitigate the effects of the wine. Nothing is more frustrating then coming home and opening a bottle of wine and then saying, “why did I buy this?” Winery Mouth.
If driving in wine country, try and have a designated driver. Nothing would ruin a trip to wine country more than a DUI. And if you are at a winery and cannot drive, ask the person behind the bar to call you a taxi. They are happy to do it.
There is a certain wine buying strategy that should be used when visiting a winery. I will have to assume that you have called and made your appointments for tastings and know a little bit about the wine. So when you are at the winery, buy things on special and winery only bottlings. Often, you can find the flagship wine in a retail location at the same or less price then the winery. Less to carry home, but you the ones you do bring back will be the envy of all of your friends.
The final thing when in wine country to keep in mind is this: when dinning out in wine country, try and order a bottle at dinner that is new. I often try to do this from a winery that we were unable to visit. This is easy as most restaurants feature local wines. This practice makes for a broader tasting experience.
When I am in wine country, I try and go to as many wineries as possible. I do not recommend this for everyone. But I do feel that when in wine country, we want to try and do as much as possible.
Being in Napa, Sonoma, Paso Robles or even wine tasting in Italy, I find that I get to Uncork (my own) Happiness.
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