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More Merlot Please!
2008-06-09 12:48:00
I unabashedly love a good California Merlot . The problem is, it's often hard to find a good one given Merlot's bad rap and tendency towards flabby overoaked plonk. So when I find a good one I feel like shouting from the rooftops. This is one such Merlot.The bottle was a 2003 Raymond Reserve Merlot from Napa. It clocked in at 14.3% alcohol by volume, had a real cork closure, and was a gift from my Dad. My first thought on the wine was that it needed time to air, but after that it opened up into a really beautiful bottle of wine.On the nose I found plum, blackberries, black pepper, chocolate, red cherry, and raspberries. It was a gorgeous combination of red and black fruit topped with chocolate. In the mouth I got more red fruit, cherries, raspberries, and then some plums and blackberries. The cherry was quite tart, like a fresh cherry pie.The wine had plenty of structure and backbone to spare, I could easily see it holding up for many more years if you want to stash it away. ...

Ooh, Raisins!
2008-06-06 13:32:00
That was my first thought on opening tonight's wine. The wine was a Burger Family 2006 Rietvallei Red Muscadel. It hails from South Africa , cost me $16.99 at Tinderbox in Atlanta, and clocked in at a hefty 16% alcohol by volume. It had one of those half cork with a plastic top closures. Sorry no pictures, I'm traveling and don't have my camera.The color was that of a very dark rose. I've never had a Red Muscadel, or a white one for that matter. The nose was sweet, very sweet, like candied raisins. Honey also dominated, which I thought strange for a red wine. The taste and smell were almost port-like. I realize this is a dessert wine, but the high alcohol, raisin scent and flavor all scream port to me. As did the firey way it went down my throat.I really do think someone who enjoys Port would love this wine. It doesn't quite have the nuances of a Port, but I could see if being very good with dessert, particularly a vanilla ice cream with this drizzled over it, or a cho...

Two Contests and a Reminder
2008-06-05 13:38:00
I've been getting some email lately about contests that I think might interest my readers.The first comes from the blog Wine for Newbies. Andre is hosting a quiz on his blog with several prizes, including a food and wine pairing kit, and some cool coasters. All you need to do is pop on over and answer his questions about wine and send him your response before June 8! Here's the link to the quiz. Best of luck!I also heard from Emily of Marx Foods yesterday. She contacted me because of my post about not having any salmon for a wine I was drinking! Her company is holding a summer salmon recipe contest and the prize is 15 pounds of wild caught salmon(shipped to you in 3 5lb shipments throughout the summer)! You can head on over to Marx Foods to submit your recipe by June 20.And finally, a reminder. WBW #46 is next Wednesday! I failed to mention it earlier, but the good Dr. Debs over at Good Wine Under $20 is our host this month and she has chosen White Rhone Varietals as our ...
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I've been a bad blogger
2008-06-05 02:45:00
And I apologize profusely. I just now realized that I have not responded to comments since March 31. I could offer you every excuse in the book, but the truth is simply that I got busy and have of recent found it very hard to find the time to blog, let alone do anything else. I believe things have calmed down (at least I hope, as I sit here in Atlanta for work yet again, staring down the barrel of another potential few weeks here, then two weeks in St. Louis....) though I can't make any promises. With nice weather springing up, we have refocused on house projects at the WannabeWino Casa, not to mention that spring brings weddings, reunions, bbqs, and other events that have seen me traveling frequently and not attending to my duties as a wine blogger. Again, my apologies, and I will attempt to step up both the posting, responding to comments, and commenting on other blogs. Though, as usual, I am always reading, the darn firewall just prevents me from actually using my lunch time...
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Our First Stop in Sonoma
2008-06-04 13:39:00
As you may know by now, we took our annual spring time pilgrimage to Sonoma this March and spent out first day tasting in the Anderson Valley. The main purpose of heading up that way was to stop at Roederer Estates, a vineyard we visited 2 years ago on our first trip to Sonoma. However, we had some time to kill before they opened (I'm a little eager when it comes to visiting wineries, and since I was doing the driving, I had us up and ready to taste well before most places opened) so we popped into Navarro Vineyards. I had previously heard of Navarro from many other bloggers but had never tasted any of their wines myself.Kind of needless to say, but we were the first people to sidle up to the tasting bar that morning, so we had the full attention of the tasting room attendants. Navarro has an enormous selection of wines, Matt and I each tasted 8. Even though I was spitting and intended to all day, I didn't want to taste through the whole line-up that early in the morning. I r...
More About: California , Stop

Cheap and Cheerful Sauvignon Blanc
2008-06-03 12:48:00
The time of year has come where humidity has descended on the District and we have retreated into the air conditioning. When we do venture out, it's rarely without a glass of Sauvignon Blanc . Thus I made one of my trips to Total Wine to scoop up a couple cases of cheap Sauvignon Blanc from Chile, New Zealand, and South Africa.One of those bottles (all of which came in under $9 a bottle) was a 2007 Arakena Sauvignon Blanc from Chile. It clocked in at 13% alcohol by volume and had a plastic closure.On the nose I found lemon grass, grass, citrus, and lychee. I swear I almost thought I found the cat pee that you see in some Sancerre, but it disappeared so quickly that I think perhaps I imagined it. In the mouth I got peach, lemon, and grass. The wine was tart and a little bitter on the back of the palate. The wine was tasty, but not as refreshing as others I've had.
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Herding Sheep
2008-05-30 13:53:00
I previously wrote about our trip to Breggo on our last Sonoma visit. We really liked the wines they had to offer and have actually stashed away one of their more pricey Pinots for another day. We also brought home some Rose which I loved at the winery and will be featured in an upcoming project I'm working on...more on that later!So the wine for the evening was the 2007 Breggo Rose of Syrah . It cost us $20 at the winery, had a real cork closure (with a nifty ram on it), and clocked in at 13.7% alcohol by volume. I think I managed to capture the absolutely nifty melted watermelon jolly rancher color of the wine in this picture (though you can tell me if I'm deluding myself, I know my pictures suck, many folks have pointed that out to me....).On the nose I found strawberry, lime, some orange type citrus, though I don't think I would call it orange, flowers, and white pepper. The nose on this Rose was very aromatic. I again noted the beautiful color in my notes (must have REALL...
More About: California , Sheep

Mixing it up
2008-05-28 14:10:00
*Disclaimer: I received this bottle of wine as part of a blogger trial of Bottlenotes.The bottle was a 2006 Catello Banfi Le Rime Chardonnay -Pinot Grigio . I can't say I have ever seen such a mix before, but I was intrigued and couldn't wait to try it. In fact, delinquent blogger that I am, I tried this wine months ago and simply let the notes get lost among the now well over 500 posts on Wannabe Wino.The wine hails from Tuscany, clocked in at 12% alcohol by volume, and can be purchased from Bottlenotes for $10! I don't think the wine saw oak, though I did see some creamy tendencies in it...maybe it went through a little malo or it's just the influence of the Chardonnay?On the nose I found creamy vanilla, lemon, tropical fruit, and pineapple. The nose was very light, and it took some serious sniffing on my part to tease out some flavors. In the mouth the wine was crisp and light, it showed a little lemon, peach, pineapple, and tropical fruit. I sort of expected it to be oaky...
More About: Italy , White

Thin Zin
2008-05-27 13:50:00
A cool night here and there still calls for a hearty Zinfandel . Though I fear we have truly left those days behind now, as the AC had to come on last night lest we melt into the chairs or couches in our family room.The wine for the evening was a 2005 Alderbrook Old Barn Zinfandel from Dry Creek Valley. The wine arrived in a club shipment, had a real cork closure, and clocked in at 15.3% alcohol by volume.On the nose I found blackberries, currants, spice, vanilla, and a slight hint of red fruit. The nose did not really translate to the mouth at all. I thought this would be a nice fruity Zinfandel based on the nose, but instead I found it to be tannic and thin. It gave way a bit to some blackberry and red fruit, but overally it was far too thin for me. The fruit was not balanced with the alcohol content.
More About: California

Christopher Creek Winery
2008-05-26 16:18:00
Sorry for the silence the last few days! My folks were up visiting from CT for the long weekend and we were busy busy busy renovating a bathroom and having BBQs with the neighbors. Back to your regularly scheduled programming now though. At least for a bit before work ships me off to Atlanta again next week!Our very very last stop on our Sonoma trip (sob!) was at Christopher Creek Winery. I had read a bit about them before we left and thought we would attempt to visit if the stars aligned and what not. To my surprise, we managed to squeak it in right before the end of the third day, since Christopher Creek is actually quite close to Acorn Winery. Christopher Creek is relatively small, producing between 4500-5000 cases a year.These vines line the driveway of the winery, however, they actually belong to the lady next door. I didn't get any pictures of the tasting room for Christopher Creek though, so you'll have to settle for this! The tasting room was tiny inside, with a ver...

Alexander Valley Vineyards
2008-05-21 12:36:00
I realized shortly after heading to Sonoma that I had far too many posts left to make from the DC International Wine and Food Festival and the trip to Sonoma was only going to make me further behind on those. I was entirely right and found it more interesting to talk to you all about our actual experiences in Sonoma, so the posts about the Festival took a backseat. I still have plenty of vineyard visits from Sonoma to tell you about, but I'm going to throw one in now from the Festival.Though to be honest, we actually visited Alexander Valley Vineyards on our very first trip to Sonoma in 2006. I've reviewed some of their wines here before, most recently the delicious Cyrus for Open That Bottle Night. When I saw the vineyard at the Festival I was very interested to taste the new line-up, especially since OTBN had only been a few days before.2006 Estate Chardonnay: 70% Stainless Steel, 30% Neutral barrel with no maloactic. Pineapple, pear, nicely done.2005 Temptation Zin: 92% Zin...
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Perhaps A Bit Pricey
2008-05-20 12:55:00
*Disclaimer: I received this bottle as part of a sample pack.I received this bottle of 2006 Staete Landt Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc from Bottlenotes as part of their blogger sample program. It had a screw cap, clocked in at 14% alcohol by volume, and costs $24 through Bottlenotes. Now, this was an excellent bottle of wine. I loved everything about it and would happily drink it again and again. I'm just a little concerned about the price point given the wide availability of New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs at rock-bottom prices. However, this bottle was more complex, and it wasn't just in your face citrus (though don't get me wrong, I also love those), it was delicate, and blanaced.On the nose of the wine I found gooseberries, passionfruit, green pepper, citrus, and almost a creamy note, though the wine was unoaked. In the mouth, there was a lot of white grapefruit, followed by layers of tropical fruit and other citrus. It was tart and crisp in the mouth, but not in that mouth...
More About: White

Bzzzzzzz
2008-05-19 12:39:00
The wine for the night was a 2004 Esca Syrah that I purchased in one of my Wine Q shipments. It cost me $22.99 (free shipping because I spent over $35 on my order!), had a screw cap closure, and clocked in at 14.5% alcohol by volume. Esca is in Napa, and I've reviewed their Pinot Grigio previously.On the nose I found vanilla, chocolate, anise, plums, blackberries and spice. I should really sit around smelling my spice rack as I'm not so great at picking out exactly what spice I find in a wine. I can usually get cloves, cinnamon, and a few others, but the rest I just describe as "spice." In the mouth the wine was full of plums, with fresh blackberries, very dark cherries, and anise rounding out the flavors. The wine is very smooth and fruity up front with a slightly spice and some tannins in the back of the palate, but it's drinking beautifully now. So serve some up now, before your weather gets dreadfully hot and you run for the white wines!
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Into the deep dark Syrah
2008-05-15 12:52:00
This wine was one of the darkest, if not THE darkest, Syrah I have ever seen. In fact, I think it's intense purple color can only be compared to the teeth staining ability of a a typical Petite Sirah....it was that dark and my tongue and teeth were that blue after drinking my 2 glasses.The wine was a 2004 Teldeschi Syrah that we picked up at the winery on our recent Sonoma trip. I am still slugging through the posts regarding our various vineyard visits, I certainly have more than a few left to put up for you. The Syrah cost us $32, had a real cork closure, and the bottle got pitched before I could record the alcohol content.On the nose I found cherry, minty herbs, dark fruit, smoky meat, and purple fruit. This was a great Syrah nose, and by the time I finished sniffing it, Matt was looking at me wanting to pour me a 2nd glass. In the mouth I got dark fruit, blackberries, leather, herbs, and earth. The wine had big chewy tannins and I fully believe this is capable of staying i...
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Now, if only I'd had some Salmon
2008-05-14 12:44:00
As I discovered last year, I love pairing Pinot Noir with salmon on the grill. I look forward to many such pairings as fresh salmon season starts up again this year. Sadly, on the night in question we were only eating a mish mosh of leftovers with our Pinot Noir. Oh well, nothing wrong with clean out the fridge night!The wine was a 2004 Michel Schlumberger Pinot Noir. I purchased the wine for around $26 at the winery on our latest trip out West, it had a real cork closure, and clocked in at 14.3% alcohol by volume.On the nose I found strawberry, cherry, leather, earth, spice, violets, clove, and pepper. The wine had a smoky note, but I would also describe it as very perfumed. In the mouth, I got flavors of tart cherries and strawberries, raspberry, cherry coke, and earth. Overall the fruit was quite fresh.For $26, this was more than an excellent value, it was a great CA Pinot Noir. I have one more bottle in the basement that I look forward to opening, though I think I'll let it...

The Wine is Safe (for now)
2008-05-12 16:33:00
We have a flooded basement. In the 30 years since this house was built, there has been no water in the basement. We've had days of rain before and never a drop of water in the basement. It's been raining here since Thursday around 9pm, and it first flooded on Saturday morning. Not too much, but two spots. This morning, there is at least an inch across the whole floor and two inches at the low spots. Trying to sweep it down the drain is like herding cats....impossible. Especially because it's still raining.But the wine appears to be on safe ground for the moment. Hopefully it stays that way. Our sump pump is shot, it's not working at all, so I'm trying to figure out if I should get it replaced, or if that's even part of the problem.Sigh, the joy of homeownership. At least the wine's safe.
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An Older Dessert Wine
2008-05-08 12:55:00
I found this bottle of dessert wine lurking in the cellar during one of our reorganization projects. I purchased it in 2005 from the Williamsburg Wine ry in Williamsburg, VA back when I lived down there and was a frequent visitor, particularly to scoop up bottles of the Governor's White! This wine was a 2002 Williamsburg Winery Late Harvest Vidal. I bought it at the winery, it had a real cork closure, clocked in at 11% alcohol by volume, had 13% residual sugar, and I couldn't tell you what I paid, though the current vintage sells for $24.On the nose the wine was sweet, showing honey and apricot. In the mouth, much of the same. It has held up incredibly well over the years, and actually tasted even better than I remember. The color had also intensified, though I can't find the picture of it that I took for you. Given how well it's drinking now, but also taking into consideration that it still had a nice backbone, I'd say this one still has some life for aging in it. I will a...
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WBW #45-Old World Riesling
2008-05-07 14:19:00
It's that time of month again, WBW! The event really crept up on me this month, I was down to the wire, just heading out to pick up my bottle yesterday afternoon. Our host for this month is Tim of WineCast, who is pulling double duty this go around as he was also the host for the 2nd WBC, which also crept up on me and I didn't get around to finishing the book for this time. As always, the host is responsible for picking the theme for WBW, the brainchild of Lenn of Lenndevours, and posting the round-up after the event. Tim has chosen Old World Riesling for this month, asking us to pick up any bottle of Riesling from German y, Austria, Alsace....and a couple of other places.With that in mind, I set out to find my Riesling. If I were writing this post for just a regular post, I'd have titled it "Old World Riesling with a New World Label." I don't normally go in for the eye-catching wine names/labels, and it actually wasn't the reason I purchased this bottle. The owner of my fav...
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Some Bubbly From Dad
2008-05-06 17:03:00
When my folks came to visit a couple weeks ago, they came bearing wine...some that I had shipped to their house, and some my Dad picked up from various tastings he attended since the last time we had visited. One of those bottles from a recent bubbly tasting was a Gloria Ferrer Sonoma Brut. It clocked in at 12.9% alcohol by volume and had a traditional sparkling wine closure.On the nose I found almonds, toast, nuts, apples, and more toast. The nose of the wine was very toasty. In the mouth the wine was very appley, with a little pear, tropical fruit, and some honey on the back of the palate. The wine was full of dry fruit, with nice bubbles.We drank this on its own after dinner, and it was a great after dinner treat. It runs around $13-$17 a bottle, and is definitely a fun sparkler in that price range.
More About: California , Sparkling Wine , Bubbly

More Sauvignon Blanc
2008-05-05 13:46:00
It looks like summer is here to stay. We skipped straight from cold rainy days in the 30s-50s to sunny and 80...which is lovely, but sadly, won't last long and is just a tease before the 90+ full humidity days settle in perhaps 3 weeks from now.The wine for the evening was a 2007 Brutocao Sauvignon Blanc from Feliz Vineyard. We picked it up on our most recent Sonoma trip at the winery. It had a plastic cork closure, clocked in at 13.7% alcohol by volume and cost around $14 (last year's vintage price).On the nose I found lemon, melon, honeydew, pear, and a slightly floral aroma. In the mouth the flavors were citrus, lemon, and pear. I really wish the melon had carried through to the palate. The wine was crisp, tart, and quite acidic. Definitely a refreshing bottle of wine and certainly an easy one to drink on a hot spring/summer night.I served the wine with baked stuffed scrod, rice pilaf, and corn on the cob. It worked really well with the meal since the stuffing in the scr...
More About: California , White

Bye Bye Until the Fall
2008-05-02 13:47:00
::cries:: This was my last bottle of David Coffaro wine until the fall when my futures case arrives. I wish I could have brought home more, but with the futures case and the 2 bottles I did bring home, I already bought 14 bottles which was more than double the number I bought at any other winery on our trip!The wine of the evening was a 2005 David Coffaro Zinfandel . I did bring home two bottles of this, but I had purchased one with the intent of giving it to my neighbors as a thank you gift for taking in our mail while we were gone...so it was the only bottle I had for my personal consumption! I purchased this wine at the winery for $26, it had a screw cap closure like all of David Coffaro's wines, and it clocked in at 15.2% alcohol by volume.On the nose I found vanilla, blackberry, cedar, oak, and espresso. It needed a bit of time to open up, so I was glad I unscrewed it a bit before dinner! In the mouth the wine showed black cherry and blackberry, with a little bit of spice a...
More About: California , Fall

Meeting New Wines
2008-05-01 13:57:00
On our second day in Sonoma, we were lucky enough, as I've mentioned before, to have Patrick of Iridesse Wines showing us around. The second stop of the day was to a group of wineries who share space in the same building complex that I likely would never have found without his guidance. We had intended to go to several of the wineries in the space, but after the first, got a phone call and took a detour for a private tasting over at Michel Schlumberger. Prior to knowing of our detour, Patrick directed Matt, Russ, and I into Camellia Cellars to taste some excellent wines, where we also got to meet the owner!We tasted through their whole line up (and more, including some wine that won't be released until this fall and came away very happy!2007 First Kiss: $22, Proprietor's Blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Muscat, and Viognier, 12.7% alcohol by volume. Melon, lemon, tropical, floral, crisp, the Sauvignon Blanc really shows through in this one.2006 Sangiovese: $25. Tart, tannic, tart fru...
More About: California , Vineyards , Meeting

Great Value Italian Red Wine
2008-04-30 17:14:00
The wine was a 2005 Siema Rosso Vino da Tavola by Lodali Wine ry from Piedmont. Sorry, I seem to have not taken a picture of this one. The wine clocked in at 12% alcohol by volume and cost me $8!!!! at The Winery in Old Town Alexandria. It's a blend of 50% Barbera and 50% Dolcetto. I believe I took more notes on this wine than almost any other red wine I've had in recent memory. I'm still shocked at the layers and depth in this little $8 bottle of wine. What I should have done was go buy the rest that The Winery had because this was simply an amazing value.The nose showed smoke, leather, a little barnyard, red berries, and red currants. It kept opening up as the night progressed and the smell was amazing. In the mouth the wine was red and earthy. I found red berries, red currants, earth, leather, a smoky characteristic, and more red fruit.This was just an absolutely fabulous deep wine with layers of flavors. Everyone loved this one at our dinner party. I served it with hom...
More About: Italy , Great , Italian , Red Wine

We've broken 80 degrees here
2008-04-28 13:31:00
Which to me means we have shifted almost entirely away from the heavy reds I love so much for the winter and into the Sauvignon Blanc s, Roses, Gruner Veltliners, Albarinos, and, oh, who are we kidding, any crisp white wine that will beat the heat and humidity that comes from living in a swamp.With that in mind, the wine for the evening was a 2007 Ken Forrester Sauvignon Blanc. The wine had a screw cap closure, hailed from Stellenbosch, South Africa , clocked in at 13.5% alcohol by volume, and cost me $14.99 at The Winery in Old Town Alexandria.Dominate on the nose of this one was asparagus. There was no mistaking that one!. Other aromas were grass, gooseberries, lime, and a touch of pepper, the vegetable kind! In the mouth I found lime, gooseberries, citrus, grass, and more of the green pepper.This was a very tasty and spicy (because of the pepper) Sauvignon Blanc. Perfect for the weather and great with all the lighter cold pasta salads and white fish we'll be eating all summer...
More About: White , Broken , Degrees

Blue Stones
2008-04-24 13:57:00
*Disclaimer: I received this bottle as a sample from Bottlenotes as part of a blogger club trial.Here's a hint to tell which photos I take and which ones Matt takes: 9 times out of ten I take photos on the table and he takes them on the counter!The wine for the evening was a 2003 Calvulcura Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot Blend. It is composed of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, clocks in at 14.9% alcohol by volume, and can be purchased from Bottlenotes for $49.95. The wine had a real cork closure and hails from Argentina. The word "calvulcura" means "blue stone."On the nose the wine smelled bitter at first, but that blew off...eventually, though it still left a deep dark wine impression with me. I also found vanilla, spice, cream, very dark fruit and berries. I found the nose very tight and unforgiving, it took forever for me to be able to distinguish any particular aromas. The wine was also bitter in the mouth, it was wound so tightly that I just had to set the bottle aside a...
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Am I seeing double?
2008-04-23 14:00:00
No! This is the 2004 vintage of a wine that I previously reviewed for the 2003 version! The wine was a 2004 Ceja Vino de Casa. I picked this bottle up in one of my Wine Q shipments for $19.99, it had a real cork closure, and was a blend of almost equal portions Syrah and Pinot Noir (I think a bit more Pinot Noir (52%) than Syrah (48%)), and clocked in at 13.6% alcohol by volume.On the nose of the wine I found spiced apples, plum, cherry, spice, clove, and cedar. The fruits (other than the spiced apples) on the nose were really bright and jumped out of the glass. In the mouth I found cherries, spice, clove cigarettes, and maybe it's just the power of suggestion but I certainly got the crab apples El Jefe mentioned in his review, and unlike him, I have indeed been around a crab apple tree more recently than 20 years ago! I also got some hints of violets and rose petals.For once I took my own suggestion regarding this wine, though clearly with a different vintage. When I drank the...
More About: California , Double , Seeing Double

Mary had a little Breggo
2008-04-22 14:02:00
Okay, not a precise translation given that I'm not Mary and Breggo means "sheep" not "lamb" but please cut me a little slack, it's early, and I've got a rough week at work this week! Plus, it took me almost a half hour to get my internet working this morning to write this post for you!Our second to last stop in the Anderson Valley on our first day out West was at Breggo Cellars. Now, I had not heard of Breggo Cellars prior to this trip, but our tasting room hosts at Roederer and Toulouse (more on them later) told us we should definitely stop. So in we went. By this point I was tired, given our ticket mishap the day before and a full day of driving and tasting, I simply forgot to take any pictures. The tasting room was on the small size, with a bar that could comfortably fit about 5 people. Breggo is a relatively new winery, and just planted their first wines in the summer of 2007. Currently all their wines are made from grapes sourced from other vineyards at the moment. 200...

Barn Blending Results!
2008-04-21 14:05:00
We drank this bottle of the 2006 Nelson Family Vineyards Barn Blend the other night in honor of the fact that we could not attend the blending party this year, sadly. Last year we did go, as I've talked about before, and this bottle was the product of that party, though sadly we were not the creators of it!The Barn Blend is a mix that's Cabernet heavy with a bit of Merlot and Zinfandel making up the rest. I believe it costs around $18, clocked in at 14.8% alcohol by volume, and had a real cork closure.On the nose I found strawberry, leather, raspberry, currants, earth, and spice. In the mouth, again, the flavors were dominated by the strawberries, with raspberry hiding underneath, some spice and a bit of the earthy note.The wine needs some time to breathe before drinking, I definitely think this one has some time to age left in it! I served it with homemade pepperoni pizza, and it was an okay match, but being so Cab heavy I probably should have served it with the grilled steak...
More About: Results , Blending

Goose on the Loose
2008-04-18 19:25:00
The wine for the night was a 2007 Toulouse Pinot Gris . We picked this bottle up on our recent trip to California at the winery. It cost us $22 (minus a discount, though I can't recall what that was now), had a real cork closure and clocked in at 14.3% alcohol by volume. I owe you a post on our visit to Toulouse (where they have the most adorable little new puppy, though a solid white fluffy dog on a winery seems like it will get really dirty!) so watch out on that soon. Also, since our visit to Toulouse I noticed in the most recent Food & Wine magazine that they chose Toulouse's Pinot Noir as on of the best Pinots!The wine showed peach, pear, tropical fruit, and honey on the nose. Overall I got a very tropical feeling from the nose, though I couldn't pin point the exact kind of fruit. In the mouth I got pear all the way through the mouth, though a touch of honey and some citrus showed on the back of the palate.Overall, the wine was crisp, refreshing, and had great acidi...
More About: White , Goose

Orange Creamsicles
2008-04-17 13:58:00
The wine for the evening was a 2006 De La Montanya Viognier . It had a real cork closure, clocked in at 14.1% alcohol by volume, and cost $20.80 in a club shipment. I love the De La Montanya wines and am much looking forward to my next shipment, which I think should be arriving soon as I haven't gotten anything from them since January.I was struck immediately upon sticking my nose in this glass by the aroma of melted orange creamsicles. I haven't had an orange creamsicle in probably a good 20 years, but that was what dominated the nose for me. Otherwise, I found, oak, honey, cream, pear, apple, and peach on the nose of the wine. It was very aromatic. In the mouth I found pear, peach, oak, and cream. The wine was more tart on the front of the palate, but gave way to a creamy texture and then the heavier slightly oily characteristic I expect from Viognier towards the back of the palate. We drank this on its own last Friday after work, and it made a great sipping wine to start t...
More About: California , White , Orange