My Half Full Glass – December 6th, 2012

NASCAR Jokes and Wine

A few weeks ago I was invited to a Twitter chat with NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon and the team from Jeff Gordon Cellars to sample their newest (2008) Joie de Vivre red blend.  Straight off, this wine is delicious. It is big and full with a pleasing sweetness that was more pronounced in my experience for a dry, red, blend; but it works incredibly well. The breadth of dark, juicy fruits really shines in this wine. To me this is very much a drinking wine more so than a food pairing wine, but that is really just a statement on how well it drank on its own. The finish is gently sweet and the tannins are soft, chewy and well integrated.

Leading up to the tasting a number of us on Twitter were cracking NASCAR and car racing jokes to get everyone laughing. When Jeff Gordon arrived on the Twitter chat he was cracking some of his own, including a few about being a dad and having to steal away to chat about wine. That's real life!

The fruit for the wine is sourced from 3-5 different vineyards and the 2008 blend is made from Cabernet, Merlot and Syrah and aged in barrels (mostly 2-3 yr used) for 20 months. The online price for this wine directly from Jeff Gordon Cellars is $61, but you can get it for $55 if you order a case. Send me the other 11 bottles if you don't have room! Jeff Gordon Cellars also produce varietal Cabernet, Merlot, Pinot Noir and Chardonny, a Rosé of Syrah and the Joie de Vivre blend.

(The painted black bottle didn't have enough contrast with the gold lettering for me to get a good camera shot. )

Glimpses of Alsace

I’ve never been to the Alsace region of France, but I do hope to get there someday. As a Riesling fan I have tried a few of the most well-known Alsatian producers' Rieslings with across the boards enjoyment. I've also found the Alsatian Gewurztraminers to be notable and that the Pinot Blanc made in the region is a great cocktail wine or an entre to a meal of wine pairings. So when I was invited to a Wines of Alsace dinner I immediately checked my calendar and was quite happy to find I was free.

( The magnum of "Cuvee Frederich Emile" Trimbach 2006 Riesling. )

The dinner was held at Cragie on Main, a well known and highly regarded restaurant located in Central Square in Cambridge, MA. Not having been there before I had no context for the food. Ultimately the menu prepared for the dinner was a made-for-us edition of their rotating sampler menu, so my ignorance did me no harm or good on this night. After realizing there were eight courses and ten wines however, I fully expected something exciting was afoot!

Dinner lasted over three hours and had several highlights making both a follow-up visit to Cragie on Main and an Alsatian wine acquisition sure things for me.

A Crémant, the Schoenhetiz Brut NV, was served with the first two amuse courses and after a few sips several of us also noticed the price, $14. This wine is a huge value at only $14!!! This is a beautiful bubbly made from a blend of Pinot Auxerrois and Pinot Blanc that comes off crisp, minerally with hints of sweet, baked breads and treats. Serve this wine as you would any Champagne or Sparkling Wine.

( A celery/apple sorbet with a fresh pulled, local cheese. I would have

enjoyed this with the Crémant as well!)

I may have only had Alsatian Pinot Gris once or twice before and after thinking about when and where I didn't recall any lingering conclusions or wines of note. Not after this tasting! We were only served two Pinot Gris, but they both made an impact. First up was the Rolly Gassman 2004 Pinot Gris. The nose is overflowing with fruit, flowers, spices and a fullness to make it all sing. The wine is slightly sweet and made a fitting appearance with the pasta course that had a rich creamy sauce.

( The pasta is a fantastic meal all on its own! )

The second Pinot Gris was the Charles Koehly 2001 'Altenberg Grand Cru' Vendages Tardives. This wine was served with a dessert of Whole Wheat Crepes, apples and a butternut ice cream. Slam dunk. Sadly we were told the story that the winemaker who was the sole heir to his family business had died two years prior to this wine's vintage. Very sad for the family and most certainly a loss for the wine world. This wine is concentrated and bit reductive, drinking like a Madeira for me, making for a great match with the dessert. The butternut ice cream has been put on a short list for a home project!

( This dessert was really fantastic, and would be just so without wine. But why? )

The "Hengst Grand Cru" Zind-Humbrecht 2010 Gewurztraminer was outstanding for me because of the nose. The perfumed aromas of Muscat came to mind, but there was something a bit less wild connecting the fruit & flowers in the nose of this wine. Served with slow-roasted pheasant,the sweetness of this wine was well matched with the concentrated flavors of the confit on the pheasant.

( Pheasant. A terrible picture, I know. )

And of course we enjoyed several Rieslings, including one served from a magnum, which ended up being my favorite of three we tasted. The 2006 Trimbach "Cuvee Frederich Emile" from a magnum is drinking beautifully right now. This  medium-bodied Riesling is a bit creamy with lots of orange and citrus fruits in both the nose and mouth. The nose also has a spectrum of minerally and petrol aromas that are not so over the top to not feel at home at the beginning AND end of each sip. 

The wine isn't sweet, but is also not dry enough to take away the sweetening effect when paired with something spicy, like Kampachi sashimi & pears with a miso dressing and pickled mustard seeds.

( A Mi-Cuit Sea Trout which was paired with two Rieslings. )

One other notable wine was the Engelgarten Marcel Deiss 2007 white blend. A field blend of five grapes (Muscat, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir and Pinot Blanc) the wine has a beautiful orange laced nose with moderate sweetness through the whole taste. There is an exotic quality to the flavors in this wine, something magical which I believe is a perk of both the grapes used AND field blending, making this wine easily notable amongst peers made from single varieties.

( Quite a lineup! )

The whole dinner was a nicely woven mix of aromas, flavors and textures. Adding the conversation which ranged from Asian gangs and demons to the wines themselves, there were plenty of good times and smiles had by everyone who attended. Thank you's go out to Stephanie Teuwen and Louise Jordan with Wines of Alsace for hosting, Chris Lyons for inviting me to dinner and the staff at Cragie on Main for taking such good care of us. Tips of the hat go also go out to Richard Auffrey and Jacqueline Church for the great conversation and laughs!

With the exception of the Crémant the average suggested price on these wines is around $50. I believe the Frederich Emile Riesling and the Rolly Gassman Pinot Gris are both very much worthy of prices in this range. And don't forget the Schoenhetiz Brut NV Crémant for around $14 a bottle!

Cheers!

Jason



Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Oregon Wine On My Mind

With about one week to go before I head to Portland, OR for the Wine Bloggers Conference (#WBC12), I’m doing a little reading and research on Oregon wine. I expect I'll be slightly more prepared than without it. Some fluency with the wine-growing regions, climates, producer names, typical grape varieties and styles will go a long way to best contextualize the onslaught of information and experiences that the conference will bring.

We don’t see a lot of wine from Oregon in the New Hampshire State Liquor stores. As of this writing only thirteen selections pop-up in the online inventory listing when you search for “Oregon”. Searching for “Willamette” brings up about twice as many with some overlap, and searching for “Dundee” brings up two more. Familiar names like King Estate, Willamette Valley, Adelsheim, Domaine Serene, Lange and Sokol Blosser are all there. If memory serves I was first exposed to each of those producers from distribution in my home state. Local specialty stores might stock other labels and with more time I could have headed to Massachusetts and try my luck there too. What experience the NH state list does provide me will be enough to enhance my limited knowledge of Oregon wine; whetting my appetite for the much broader range I expect I will be able to sample from next week.

I’ve written about the Evenstad Reserve Pinot from Domaine Serene recently so I didn’t wander back over that ground. That wine was run up side by side with Pinots from a number of other regions and it definitely expressed its virtues and polish clearly. I think I might even have another bottle hiding in my cellar!

One of my local wine blogging friends, Adam Japko, took a look at the Evenstad Reserve Chardonnay from Domaine Serene earlier this year. I didn’t search for that bottling locally, but did easily find the Côte Sud 2007 which is actually the first Chardonnay from Oregon I’ve ever purchased. I know I have tasted Oregonian Chard at the annual Winter Wine Spectacular (Manchester, NH) in the past, but only one or two producers so my experience is truly limited.

Domaine Serene 2007 Côte Sud Chardonnay

This wine pours with a beautiful yellow/gold color with a noticeable minerality in the nose. The mouth is influenced by citrus, white fleshed fruits and nuts. The oak is present, offering a bit of spice, but is restrained and in balance. This is a very elegant wine. The acidity that comes in late and runs with you through the finish brings along hints of citrus.

Pinot Noir is the story most people immediately association with Oregon wine. This certainly makes sense based on the fact that in 2010 Pinot Noir by acre came in at nearly five times higher than the next grape, Pinot Gris. I’ve had a small range of Oregon Pinot both at home and while on a short Pacific Northwest trip in 2010.

I figured I should bone up a bit more using the recent 2009 vintage as a guide. From my local state shop I picked up the following bottles to taste:

R. Stuart Wine & Company Big Fire 2009 Pinot Noir

The nose on this wine is earthy but not overdone. The wet earth wraps strawberries and cranberries that also follow through on the palate. A spicy character in the mouth feels like it comes from both fruit and oak. The body of the wine of soft and round, presenting very fine tannins. The balance between the unique character and ease of drinking of this wine is what makes it shine. R. Stuart produces other bottlings that likely channel more finesse (I’ll confirm this ASAP), but as an opener this wine set a high enough bar that I definitely want to experience more.

Firesteed 2009 Pinot Noir

I’m not very enthusiastic about this bottle of wine. I can’t say there were any noticeable flaws, but the wine just didn’t seem right. A green nose, very tart and dry in the mouth and noticeable, rough tannins. It just doesn’t seem like Oregon Pinot to me.

Penner Ash 2009 Pinot Noir

I ended my tastings and reviews with this wine. What a strong finish! The nose is vibrant with fruit and whiffs of wet earth. Dark red fruits abound in the mouth. The wine finishes dry with moderate acidity and very fine tannins. This bottle isn't going to last long! This wine is also an easy drinker like the R. Stuart Big Fire, but with nuance and polish all its own.

What else do I have on my radar?

I have some familiarity with Pinot Gris from Oregon. I enjoy the King Estate Signature Pinot Gris quite a bit and know that I have tasted other bottlings at trade shows and tasting events in the past. I hope to get a much better picture of the range of styles exercised with this grape while on the ground in Oregon.

Warm climate grapes. From my reading of “Essential Wines and Wineries of the Pacific Northwest” I was introduced to the Southern wine-growing regions in Oregon and how the warmer climate there is more conducive to different grape varieties. Tempranillo and Viognier were the first two to jump out at me. I’ve never had either from Oregon before. Cabernet Franc and Syrah are two more that I hope to find well-made versions of.

And of course I hope there are some surprises that I have yet to read about and will add that ever-necessary character to the larger story. Something in this category might be my favorite from the trip and something I find I have to have in my cellar!

Cheers!

Jason

Kicking it with the #RWTastingCrew

I finally made it to my first Red White Tasting Crew wine tasting last night. With the good weather starting to filter in I hope to get to them on a regular basis.

Last night’s event was at Whole Foods on River Street in Cambridge. We don’t have Whole Foods in NH (yet) and I can’t recall if I have ever been in one before. I bet I have, but just don’t remember it. This particular location has a community room that is open to book events in. David from Whole Food explained that the room was open for booking by the public and for legitimate events there was no booking fee. Pretty cool!

( Dan & Cathy talking wine. )

Cathy from Red White Boston was particularly excited about this month’s event for a couple of reasons. First, Panther Distributing is a new wine distributor to the state of MA was on hand to showcase wines from Oregon and Australia that are just becoming available in the state. Secondly, she was hoping to continue to the conversation and research into using a badging system for identifying wines of note shared by Red White Boston through their smartphone app and other communications. I was definitely interested in seeing what came of this as well. I had been pretty vocal about not really seeing where badges fit during a vibrant Twitter conversation on the topic.

The first person I met was Melanie who tweets with the handle @kissmyglasswine. We have interacted a bit on Twitter before and of course recognized each other by our handles. We tasted the first couple of wines seated next to each other and I definitely enjoyed swapping tasting notes as we went. Her freewheeling, fun filled approach to wine tasting is a refreshing. I am definitely going to be looking for another chance to talk with Melanie.

We started off with the Brookman Wines Chenin Blanc 2008. This wine comes from the McLaren Vale Region in South Australia. The Mediterranean climate, thin soils and limited water during the growing season typically translates in considerable ripeness in the wines. Chenin Blanc is a minor grape, in acreage planted, for Australia and is typically used in blending. The nose isn’t huge on this wine, but it did present some pear and floral notes. I picked up flavors of melon, citrus and experienced the classic oily texture found in Chenin Blanc based wines.

Next up was the Vista Hills Oregon Pinot Gris 2009. I first had Pinot Gris from Oregon last May and my benchmark is the bottle of King Estate Signature Pinot Gris 2008 we enjoyed in a simple wine & cheese tasting in our hotel room in Seattle. I haven’t found anything yet that lives up to it. I found the Vista Hills to have subtle aromas and very light flavors. It was enjoyable, but not a stunner. It would work well with food, but only because it wouldn’t offer much to conflict for the food. This isn’t the type of pairings I am typically after.

From there we moved on to the Conte Estate Primrose Lane Chardonnay from Australia. This was the least exciting of the wines for me. When Cathy asked the crew for thoughts, I responded that I thought “it was hiding in the corner.” There was almost no aroma and while there were flavors of toast, smoke and a little peach the wine exited so fast you could easily miss them. I was surprised at this because Chardonnay from Australia has generally been much more lively in my experience.

I ran into Maureen the Boston Marketing Manager for Second Glass who sponsor the Wine Riots. I thanked her group for reprinting our two posts on their web site from the Boston Wine Riot last Fall. I understand things are going gangbusters for Second Glass as they expand the Wine Riots into more cities. This year’s in Boston is in April and I was sad to realize I would likely be missing it. Oh, always next time!

The next wine was the Linda Domas Shotbull Shiraz Rosé 2008 also from Australia. I have only had a few Shiraz Rosés in my life and each time has been a pleasure just because Rosé made from this grape is distinct. Bold with spicy notes true to the grape were right there for you to experience. I ended up finding that when paired with blue cheese the sweetness in the wine bumped up just a little, and I felt I enjoyed it more. Dan from Panther offered up some lore about this wine with the rumor that Linda (the winemaker) has been known to skinny dip in vats of the wine during its early life. Interesting, weird and a great way to sell wine!

While I filtered around and networked with other tasters I met Meesh from the Just Add Cheese blog. Another first meeting via Twitter handle recognition! We caught up a bit later as Cathy and I were talking about the Rosé. I mentioned my interest in thinking about where the berry flavors in the wine came from and what it might have tasted like prior to and during fermentation. As a winemaker I think of these things. Meesh was obviously curious about such a specific consideration and mentioned she was working to get better at recognizing flavors in wine. No small challenge and noble pursuit for sure. I recommended using foods that express those flavors to help create an imprint. My specific example was to get fresh berries, cut them up and simply sit with them for while. Take in the aromas, let them sit on your tongue for a time. Mush some up in your fingers and really get into it!

Our first red was the La Bete Selection du Cave Pinot Noir from Oregon. This wine is definitely in the Burgundian style which is not typical for American Pinots outside the Willamette Valley. I have enjoyed a few from this area before but have big plans on taking quite a few more down on our upcoming trip out there in September. This had a lighter aroma that I expected, but the earthiness and restraint in the flavors and body were there. I picked up red berries, mushrooms and a little bitter chocolate. I would drink this again, but I suspect in its very best years it would be better still.

The second red was the Brookman Wines “Cool Sands” Cab/Merlot 2009 from Australia. The aromas coming from this glass of wine stopped me dead. So potent and complex. Berries, plums, leafy greens, tobacco. All harmoniously jumping in and out of the glass. When you’ve got it, you’ve got it! The wine was balanced superbly with acid, alcohol and tannins all finely tuned to enjoy. I went back to this one later to enjoy it for just a little longer. This was my absolute favorite of the night and will be something I will be sourcing to have at home.

( The business of wine tasting looks hard! )

I didn’t catch the results from the badge voting, but Cathy promised to have it up in a blog post soon. I did share my additional considerations on badges with her and I can see where some of her target audience should embrace it in their wine pursuits. For me, and I suspect others as well, I may already be too specific in what I looking after for a badge to matter. Not really a problem, clearly an opportunity.

In the middle of tasting the reds I was introduced to Ray & Rachel from French Oak TV. We have been Twitter buddies for a while, but hadn’t had a chance to meet yet. Rachel is new to the team (she was impressed that I had read the blog from 2 days prior announcing her a new team member) and excitedly talked about the whiskey tasting she went to on Sunday at Julio’s Liquors in Westborough, MA. I am pretty jealous of that. I would have loved to take a shot at 200 whiskeys. There might have been consequences though! Her story prompted me to share my experience with the Vieux Marc from Barville the week before when in Provence. I capped that off, as I did in the post, with a reflection on sitting outside in Provence smoking a Cuban cigar drinking a tall glass of it. Man that was good!

The last wine of the evening was the Conte Estate The Gondola Grenache/Shiraz 2006. This wine was definitely richer than the “Cool Sands” but with just a little less aroma. I picked up blackberry in the nose and again in the flavors. Additional flavors of black pepper and licorice were finished with smooth, soft tannins. I definitely enjoyed this, and so did the group based on the voting, but I still gave me nod to the “Cool Sands”. Something about first impressions.

I made a quick exit from the event primarily because I had a train trip and a ride to get home and I was getting tired. Hopefully next time I can stick around for some more networking or an after party! I can’t wait to hang with this crew again!


Cheers!

Jason

Oregon Wine Reviews

Last week while out in Oregon and Washington Margot and I picked up, or were served, a number of different wines from the area. We have written up reviews of three notable wines that would be worth looking for and adding to your entertaining menu.

Phelps Creek Vineyards – Celilo Rose 2007
Hood River, Oregon
http://www.phelpscreekvineyards.com/

The Phelps Creek Rose is made from Merlot and has a deep red color. Slightly sweet and with nice aromas of berries this wine was a lively talking point over lunch at the WineMaker conference. At first when I offered some wines to share there was some reluctance, maybe courtesy amongst strangers, but once this bottle started around the table there was no stopping it. I did get a second glass and smiled at the empty bottle when it was time to go back to class. I enjoyed it with some tossed salad, tossed marinated artichokes, tomatoes, Italian meats/cheeses and some bread. With a smooth finish it complimented all of that very well. We didn’t make it out to Phelps Creek but we ran into several folks who did and said it was worth the trip.

King Estate – Signature Pinot Gris 2008
Eugene, Oregon
http://www.kingestate.com/

Working from a recommendation from Pam at the Sticks Forks Fingers blog (http://sticksforksfingers.blogspot.com/) we quested for some King Estate Pinot Gris from the moment we started wine shopping after landing. We didn’t end up finding it until five days later at the Pike & Western wine shop at Pike’s Place market in Seattle. It was the last bottle. Surely a sign from the wine gods that I was to have it after all. The wine has wonderful aromas of pear, peach and flowers. It reminded me of a Vigonier, which is probably why PG is my new favorite white wine. The flavors were more citrus and tropical with a backbone of mineral and steely flavors. The finish was long and smooth. We enjoyed this wine with some Willapa White Sheep’s Milk cheese. The cheese has a soft texture and mild flavors, like a very light goat cheese. The wine wasn’t as dry as I had expected, though this is good for me, and the cheese made the wine taste a bit sweeter. We also tried it with some smoked salmon, which turned out to be a neutral pairing; something I could offer in the future and be sure it wouldn’t come off wrong.

Walnut City Wineworks – 2004 Reserve Pinot Noir
Mcminnville, Oregon
http://www.walnutcitywineworks.com/

While surfing the food shops at Pike’s Place Market we were looking for items to include in our farewell wine and cheese tasting back at the hotel. We had some open wine already, and the King Estate bottle from above, so I was hoping for a half bottle of a good red wine to round out the party. I was in luck. This wine has a nice earthy nose with flavors of tobacco, leather and mushrooms. The wine was very drinkable with a smooth finish. At more than five years old the color had a slight brown tinge to it, something I was not surprised about at all. I enjoyed this wine with smoked salmon, Kalamata olives and the Willapa White cheese described above. All of those pairings were fantastic and I savored every bit. This was by far the best Pinot Noir I had on the trip.

All three wineries have online storefronts and wineries in Washington state do have direct shipping access to New Hampshire where I live so I am sure if I am jonesing for some anytime soon I can click away and wait a few days.

Cheers!

--Jason