NV Freixenet, Cordon Negro, Brut, Spain

Terry post:

Sparkling wine and Champagne are associated with special occasions. I once read that over 70% of the sparkling wine and Champagne consumed in America was reserved for parties, celebrations and other non-ordinary days. Only around 30% of those wines being consumed during non-special times such as ordinary dining.

Sparklers can be reliable friends for pairing with foods when nothing else seems to fit. Having characteristics which are both bold and subtle I am fearless in pairing sparklers with virtually any food. They go with anything!

It was Winston Churchill who famously consumed vast quantities of French Champagne with oysters during with colleagues during late night political ramblings at his country home, "Chartwell". While I have not had a Churchill Champagne/Oysters night myself: it remains one of my bucket list.

My impressions:

Light-gold in the glass.

Fragrant with flowers and green apple most prominent when first poured. As the wine warms in the glass I noted a more pronounced citrus fragrance.

Wonderful acidity but not to the point of overwhelming. Very food friendly. I have paired this sparkler with omelets, curry dishes and Alfredo topped pasta all to great success.

Long-lasting citrus finish.

I continue to be impressed with this wine. I have enjoyed it for several years now and found it to be a reliable friend. It is a very good wine at a very reasonable price making it a spectacular value in the sparkling wine category.

You don't need a special occasion to drink this sparkler. At the price and quality this is an every day wine which should not be passed by.

Highly recommended.

$9.00ish at the Fort Belvior PX.

~ Terry

2009 Penfolds, Koonuga Hill, Shiraz Cabernet

Terry post:

When ever I think of Australian wines I have two memories which come immediately to mind.

The first memory is that of being Officer of the Deck on the USS ENGLAND (CG-22) during a mid-watch in the South Pacific Ocean as we steamed South. It was a calm, cloudless and moonless evening as we sliced quietly through the dark waters en route to Australia. I recall standing alone on the starboard bridge wing and looking up into the universe above me. The ocean was pitch with only the slightest phosphorescence as the bow pierced the occasional wave. The sky was the clearest I have ever seen and the millions of stars which shone upon the sky seemed close enough to touch. My place as a human being on a ship in the ocean seemed so utterly small and meaningless that I laughed out loud. It was humbling and an experience that I hold close in my heart twenty-six years after the event.

My second memory was tasting red wines from South Australia. They were not very good.

Thankfully, in the nearly thirty years since my one, and only trip, to Australia things have improved in the Australian red wine scene.

My impressions:

Big nose on this one. Eucalyptus, dark fruit and cherries dominate.

A middle-weight on the palate with dark fruit quickly displaced by thin tannins and a brief finish. There isn't really anything wrong with the wine, but it isn't the sort of shiraz-blend powerhouse which I have recently come to expect from Australia.

That said: I like it. I paired it with a dinner of leftover Beef Bourguignon, pecans, dates and cheese. It stood up very well with the hearty beef offering.

All-in-all a great value providing a full, dry red wine experience at a bargain basement price. It is not full-bodied monster like some of the Yalumba shiraz blends, but at $8 to $10 at retail you'd be hard pressed to find a better value.

Recommended

$7.99 at the Fort Belvior PX.

~ Terry

What the Dresden Codex has to Tell us About Wine Rating

Terry post:

How about a little experiment?

I'd like you to begin counting. Speak the numbers to yourself or out loud: it doesn't matter. Count out five or six numbers which are consecutive. Now ask yourself, "why did I begin where I began"?

If you are like the overwhelming majority of people you'll have begun counting with the number one and proceeded through two, three, four, five and six. You'll have started at the beginning and worked outward from there. But did you really begin at the beginning? What about zero? Why did you begin at one and not at zero?

One of the great mathematical breakthroughs was developing the concept of zero as a value. In the earliest times the value of zero was represented by the absence of a value in a chain of values. It took time, a lot of time, for the concept of a zero value to have taken hold.

The Aztec's and Greeks appear to have both come upon the concept of zero as a numerical value sometime between 32 B.C. and 150 A.D. with the New World and Old World both laying claim to the honor.

Reading through Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast and other wine rating publications I am reminded of the value of zero.

When reading these magazines I see page after page of 80s and 90s with a scant few 70s. What happened to the 10s, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s? Are these wine-rating values the equivalent of zero in the pre-Columbian ages?

If Wine Spectator and others rate limit their ratings to a 30 point band between 70 and 100, then why don't they just do so? What is the point of having a 100 point scale where no one scores below 70?

When I was in high school in Greenville, Michigan I had a math teacher who one day explained how the grading system worked. Simply by showing up and taking the test you'd score 50 points. The remaining 50 points were earned by working the problem. So the test was really a 50 point test and not a 100 point test. Never really understood why that was.

So, maybe wine ratings are more akin to taking a high school math test were everyone is given 50 points just for showing up.

~ Terry

2009 Morgan Sauvignon Blanc, Monterey California

Terry Post:

Summer Wine Series

Okay. Okay. Technically I shouldn't be including this Morgan Sauvignon Blanc in the summer wine series as it is no longer summer. But, I bought this wine a few weeks back with the intention of writing about it when it was summers. So, I'll include it under that technicality.

I have a slight bias here as one of my all time favorite wines is the 2005 Morgan "Double L Vineyards" Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands, California: it is nearly a perfect pinot noir. But, I digress...

My impressions: Light straw color in the glass. Typical Sauvignon Blanc impressions on the nose including citrus, pears, grass and more than a little minerality - most noticeable on the finish. Minerals, acidity and grass on the finish. Very nice.

I paired this with a filet of salmon, which I poached in the wine with sliced oranges. It was wonderful.

Second thoughts: Like a lot of people I have grown weary of pedestrian Chardonnay's and am sampling other white wines to find something else to take it's place. Sauvignon Blanc's, such as this offering from Morgan, provides a more interesting interpretation of the dinnertime wine. With a strong acidic backbone, a stony minerality and a pleasant nose this Morgan is pretty much dead-on as the sort of dining partner with which I could become accustomed. Highly recommended.

$14.99 at The Wine Seller, Herndon Virginia

~ Terry

2006 Willowcroft Farm Vineyards, Cabernet Franc, Virginia

Terry post:

There are nine grades of cork exported from Portugal for the purpose of stopping wine in bottles. Those grades are:

• Flor


• Extra


• Superior


• 1st


• 2nd


• 3rd


• 4th


• Agglomerated


• Colmated

I bring the grades of cork up for discussion because corks are so very important when it comes to the health of a bottle of wine. A good cork retains the labor of the winemaker while a bad cork provides a route for oxygen to invade and destroy.

The truth of the matter that bad corks are rare. Really rare. I have not pulled a bad cork in ages, until this evening. When I pushed my corkscrew into the 2006 Willowcroft Cabernet Franc, the cork moved down the neck of the bottle - I was able to retrieve the cork, but I had my concerns about the poor seal.

My impressions: Light ruby in the glass. Almost nothing on the nose, with repeated sloshings being necessary to release a hint of cherries. Moderately tannic. Short dry, herbal finish.

Second thoughts. It is my belief that a 2006 Cabernet Franc is is an old wine - likely past its prime. So, I should not be too disappointed with the results - cork problem or not.

My first bottle from Willowcroft was a surprisingly approachable Riesling with food friendly characteristics.

I has hoping that this Cab Franc would be equally pleasant. It brings me no pleasure to observe that is was not.

~ Terry

2008 Willowcroft Farm Vineyard, Riesling, Virginia

Terry post:

Summer Wine Series

According to the maps app on my Droid phone, Willowcroft Farm Winery lay at the end of a three-mile dirt road. As my wife and I bounced down the narrow dirt road I seriously questioned whether my navigation unit had lost its digital marbles.

Fortunately for me Willowcroft is three miles down a dirt road and after the trip I can report that the wines are very much worth the bumpy ride.

We arrived around 2:00 p.m. this past Sunday afternoon and were struck by the beauty of the site. A lot of wineries are beautiful to view but a scant few have a gorgeous view across an adjoining valley and the Blue Ridge Mountains from its hillside location. Willowcroft does.

Working behind the counter, Chuck (very helpful) provided us samples of eight wines: five whites and three reds. We tasted an un-oaked Chardonnay, Seyval, Albarino, Riesling, Vidal Blanc, Red blend, Merlot and Cab Franc for only $5 per person. The Riesling and the Cab Franc were far and away the most interesting. I would note for my friends in Iowa that Willowcroft is offering a Traminette this year for the first time - while I wasn't able to taste it, Chuck thinks that it is a good wine. Maybe next time...

My impressions: Pale in the glass. Green apples and citrus profoundly on the nose. Medium bodied with sufficient acidity acidity to stand up to more than the typical Riesling pairings. Best when cold. Flattens out a little when it warms up. Ever so slight hint of tannic astringency at the end - grape seeds maybe? Moderately long citrus finish. Recommended.

Second thoughts: The typical pairing for Riesling is with spicy curry dishes, Chinese take out and other entrees which don't seem to fit any other wine. At 1% RS this is not a typical Riesling and combined with an almost Sauvignon Blanc like-backbone it is deserving of more upscale dining considerations than "take out". I think this wine would stand up very well with pasta dishes with butter or cream based sauces - particularly were seafood in the mix. Don't get me wrong: this is not a razor sharp Chardonnay. But it is balanced so nicely it would be a shame were not its full potential realized.

$15.99 at the winery.

~ Terry

Pinot Gris - Tasting Notes

Brad Post:

Pinot Gris/Grigio Tasting Notes:  If this is wine boot camp then last week must have been “hell-week” where our drill sergeant, Paul, pushed us to our sensory limits.  The last thing I remember, with my face in the mud, was his comment about me holding my wine glass incorrectly, he said something like “grasp by the stem not the bowl, maggot!”…everything after that was a blur.  Doing an about-face, this week we turn our taste buds to the innocuous Pinot Gris/Grigio.  Here are my notes, in the order we tasted:

1.  Torresella (2008) Pinot Grigio, Veneto – Italy.  (12% alc., Source: Hy-Vee, Cost: $12)

The first wine was a simple and easily slurpable white wine without much depth or personality. Light aromas of peach, strawberry and kiwi were barely noticeable in the pale light straw colored wine. In the mouth this summertime white was easy, if not a little boring, and exhibited a round, rich and tart (lemony zing) sensations.  A quickly fading wine leaving behind a slight sense of astringency mid-palate. Easy to drink. Not very memorable.

2. Francis Ford Coppola (2007) Presents - Bianco: Pinot Grigio (CA). (13.4% alc. Source: ? Cost: $11)

Subtle straw hues and flavors reminiscent of honeydew melon are the hallmark of this innocent white wine. Indistinguishably modest flavors from the citrus family were underwhelming with maybe a suggestion of light spice on the finish.  Quaffable. Warm to Hot and some bitterness in the finish. 

3.King Estate (2008) Acrobat Pinot Gris (OR). (12.5%. Source? Cost: $12).

Incredibly light straw to almost clear this Oregon Pinot Gris surprised my taste buds. Expecting another mass-produced, factory-made, and board-room conceived Pinot Gris, I was astounded by the aromatic and flavor profile of this seductively delicious Gris.  A blast of tropical fruit pleasantly captured my olfactory attention. Pleasing layers of apple, pear, and lemon zest accompanied by just a tease of residual sugar. Jam-packed with glorious, mouth-filling Pinot Gris that lasts and lasts.  Amazing!  Extraordinarily Yummy!  A bottle to fight over!

Post Tasting Comment:  Pinot Gris is the second fastest growing segment in the white wine production world totaling more than $709 million in the past 52 weeks (according to Wine Business Monthly and Nielson – 2/2010). With almost more than twice the number of dollar sales than White Zinfandel, Pinot Gris is expanding at a rate of more than 4% per year (contrast that to Chardonnay with sales of $1.95 Billion and increases of 2.7%).  A neutral wine, mostly, and continues to build as a crowd-pleaser.  All the wines in this tasting were fine.  The Torresella and Francis Ford Coppola were both good wines and it is easy to understand why large numbers of consumers would enjoy this wine style.  Thankfully, there are variations on a theme and the King Estate – Acrobat: Pinot Gris was an extraordinary and sensational example of how this wine should be made. The winemaker notes for the Acrobat indicates cold fermentation and sur lee treatment.  All I can say is…I want more!

Naked Wine Show: Revealing the Truth

Terry Post:

So. I was in Los Angeles a couple weeks ago and the hotel channel featured something called the, "Naked Wine Show". Intrigued, I watched a quick 60 second review of some sparking wine.

Like all good advertising there is some truth, but not all truth in the "Naked Wine Show". The host, Susan Sterling, does appear to be sans-clothing and due to the positioning of the camera, her wine glass and the wine bottle her nakedness is not shared outside of the studio wherein her quick summaries are taped. The appropriate name of the reviews might more appropriately be called the, "Naked Shoulders Wine Show".

Now to her reviews. After watching the first review it seems obvious that she is reading prepared notes and that the seeming spontaneity is just that: seeming. From personal experience when I taste a wine I slurp, swoosh, spit several times before I begin to get a sense of the wine: it takes time. Semi-naked Susan just pops open the wine, pour it into a glass and the comments flow like, well, like wine from a bottle.

She is easier on the eyes than I am. Her comments are rehearsed. Her shoulders are naked. All-in-all she is an interesting diversion from the dime-a-dozen wine reviewers such as - ahem - me.

~ Terry