I’m Back with Crispin

In my first post reviewing Crispin Ciders from early February I shared my thoughts on two of the free samples that were sent to me take for a test drive. For this installment I offer tasting notes on three more.

First up is the Browns Lane Classic English Dry Cider which is produced entirely in England and imported into the US for distribution.

Browns Lane

Made from English bittersweet cider apples and comes in at 5.8 % ABV.
Gold color, with columns of small bubbles from the bottom of the glass.
Unripe apple aromas.
Very fine carbonation, but lots of it.
Super tart and dry.
Savory apple flavors, liked with baked ham.

I really liked this, but dry ciders are more my thing than Margot. This is the style I know from Quebec and the UK imports we can get in US. I would never tire of having this around!

For the second review we return to the Artisanal Reserve line and The Saint, a cider brewed with Belgian Trappist Yeast & organic maple syrup.

The Saint Artisanal Reserve

Pale, almost cream colored & unfiltered.
Smells like sweet cider & spices.
6.9% ABV
Tartness in the finish.
Yeasty, with spicy sweet bread flavors.
The flavor combination reminded me of the warm apple gallete w/ caramel sauce and bourbon cream glaze I had over Christmas.

This is one that I would stock at home and could have a good deal of fun with in different pairing scenarios. Dessert pairings are the first to spring to mind, but I also think a roast pork tenderloin would make for a good match as well.

The last review is of a pear flavored hard cider from the Fox Barrel line, which is the brand of a company Crispin acquired in 2010 located on the west coast.

Fox Barrel Pear Cider

Flavor reminds me of the pear wine we made in 2008.
Subtle aromas, I couldn’t pick out the fruits.
Gold color with moderate carbonation.
It had a good bite of acidity and a clean finish.

I can’t say I either enjoyed or didn’t enjoy this cider, it just was. It would be immensely refreshing on a hot day and since it presents itself quite simply, it should appeal to a wide audience.


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.”

Sam Adams Noble Pils

I saw the Sam Adams Noble Pils show up in the grocery store last month and although curious about it, I wasn’t prepared to sink the cash for a 6 or 12 pack of it. Sam Adams beers have not been bringing me as much joy as they used to. Several of the seasonal /limited release beers, the Cranberry Lambic & Chocolate Bock for two examples, have lost some of their punch as their volume and availability has increased. When I came across a bomber of the Noble Pils for $2 it made me more willing to give it a whirl.

That fact that it is brewed with all 5 of the noble hop varities, Hallertau Mittelfrueh, Tettnang Tettnanger, Spalt Spalter, Saaz, and Hersbrucker, is what caught my attention. I have no idea if I have had all of these types in other beers, but I doubt I have had them all one sip before.

The Noble Pils is a relatively new seasonal Beer for Sam Adams, having won the 2009 Beer Lovers Choice award. It is released in the late winter when New Englanders (thinking Boston is where Sam Adams is based) are more than ready for spring to set in and are turning to drinking lighter and refreshing beers.

Tasting notes

Yellow/gold in color.
Thick white head and light lacing on the glass.
Complex hop aromas of herbs and citrus.
Very light flavors of grains and ripening corn.
The hop flavors are well balanced and they don’t overpower the beer.
The acidity protracts the flavors on the finish; very refreshing.
I am not a big pilsner fan, but this is pretty tasty.

Though not creating a revival of Sam Adams for me, I would recommend this for springtime drinking. It is light, hoppy and refreshing, and when you aren’t looking for an incredibly complex beer this will satisfy your needs
Cheers!

Jason

Rosemary Cheese Straws

A few months ago Margot and I were watching an episode of Drink Up on Cooking Channel and saw a segment where one of the guest chefs made cheese straws to pair with a featured beverage. We remember the cheese straws, but can’t recall what type of beverage the show profiled in that episode. Oh well, we remember the important part!

We both agreed to tuck the idea in the back of the head for our next wine tasting. When the planning for that occasion rolled around we decided that having all the snacks be cheese themed would add a nice spin to our typical tasting food free-for-all. And, that we would make cheese straws for our contribution.

( How can you go wrong with a big pile of shredded cheese? )

“To the cloud” as the commercials go, in search of a recipe. In the first few search results popped up Cheese Straws from Smitten Kitchen. I knew of this blog through other food bloggers I read so I was sure I would use this recipe. Knowing your source to be a reliable origin for well executed recipes with great pictures always helps.

I doubled the recipe, swapped rosemary for chili flakes and used wheat flour for 1/3 of the flour. I did increase the liquid a bit based on how it came out during the work with the food processor. I used Cabot Private Stock Sharp Cheddar for the cheese. This cheese is one step down from the fresh wheel-cut sharp cheddar you can get in the farmstands all over VT where play on the weekends. I wanted a very rich, super sharp cheese to make the straws pop, and with lots of experience with the Cabot cheeses I was pretty sure it was going to work as expected!

Rosemary Cheese Straws

12 ounces grated extra-sharp Cheddar cheese
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
½ cup wheat flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon crushed rosemary (frozen fresh from my garden)
2-4 tablespoons heavy cream

Set the oven to 350°F.

Place everything but the cream in food processor. Pulse until coarse crumbs appear. Add the cream by the tablespoon and process until the dough forms a ball.

Flour a rolling surface and a rolling pin. Separate the dough into two pieces and form each into a ball. Roll the first dough ball into a rectangle that is about 1/8-inch thick. Use a pizza cutter to cut 1/3 in strips along the short edge of the rectangle, making as many as can be. Carefully transfer the strips to an parchment lined cookie sheet, leaving at least 1/4-inch between them. Repeat with the second dough ball.

Bake the straws on the middle oven rack for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the ends are golden brown. Remove them from the oven and allow to cool on a rack.

( Golden brown and with a super cheesy aroma! )

These didn’t last long at the tasting. I paired them with several of the wines and found they were best with the Petit Verdot and Chateau-du-Roi (Rhone blend) from my collection. They also went well with the Rodney Strong Chardonnay brought by our friend Wayne.

( And now for your close-up. )

I would definitely make these again and would vary the herb/seasoning to use them in different ways. You could definitely add more rosemary to this recipe. Flavors are subject to individual preference and the I amount I used definitely suited a range of tastes. I can't wait to try the chili flake version and can also envision using Indian spices, sage, and chipotle for other interesting variations.

Cheers!

Jason

Sights From Provence

During our short trip we went off on some type of adventure each day. We saw a lot and came home with lots of ideas for a next trip to France. Here is a photo log of the sights.

( The Sorgue river flowing from Fontaine du Vaucluse. )

( One of the many waterwheels in L'Ilses-sur-la-Sorgue. )

( Notre Dame Des Anges Cathedral. )

( Convergence of two branches of the Sorgue in L'Isles-sur-la-Sorgue. )

( Dormant apple trees and an old farmhouse on Francoise's street. )

( Le Thor Saturday market. Almonds are a local product. So tasty! )

( I wish this outdoor market was at home in February! )

( Mmmmm, cured meat! )

( Fresh seafood from about an hour away. )

( The wines were ridiculously cheap! )

( Ruins at the fortified monastery Thouzon built in the 11th century. )

( More of the Thouzon ruins. )

( Painted on the inside of the Thouzon monastery. Wow! )

( The view from the Thouzon ruins. We had 360 degrees of mountain & countryside views. )

( An almond blossom in Francoise's backyard. They are the only flower in mid-February and are everywhere. )

( Mount Ventoux. I can't wait to see this again, and maybe during the Tour de France! )

( The 14th century Papal Palace in Avignon. )

( Avignon, west from the palace esplanade. )

( Hello kitty! )

( The famous Avignon bridge. )

( And finally, the customary vacation self portrait. )



Thanks for taking a look at our exciting trip.

Jason

Making New Friends in France

I am going to finish this week with to final posts from our France trip, neither about food. I mentioned in my first post, the trip was so special because of the people. It only makes sense to introduce a few folks who haven’t shown up yet in the previous posts.

The task of bringing the spirit of Margot’s family to France so it could be shared with Eloy and his family was what brought us there, and we didn’t expect a return. But we got one. Margot and I came home from the short trip feeling like we had been destined to take it so we could expand our family circle.

Margot and I don’t have children so our family is very much of the extended variety. We never know who we are going to meet that will end up becoming our family and we have occasionally found that members of our adopted family get on better with our blood relatives than us! But the enjoyment we get from building that family more than makes up for the challenges it might present.

The second day we were there I grabbed this group shot while we were out exploring.

( Eloy, Margot, Genvieve, Francoise, Gonzalo, Siomara, Marc, Antolin, Carla, Annabella, Felix, Jose )

Gonzalo, Siomara and Antolin are Eloy’s siblings. A lively “buenos dias” from each of them was a great joy each morning. They were in France for the first time as well so we shared their awe for many of the sights (in my next and last trip post) we took in on our various adventures.

Genevieve is one of Francoie’s friends (and neighbor) and was kind enough to provide transportation for a group of us several of the days we were there. She is spunky, funny and her generosity didn’t go unrecognized.

Jose-Rueben is Jose’s (Eloy’s brother still living in Cuba) son, Carla is Jose’s girlfriend and their daughter is Anabella. We absolutely loved spending time with the 3 of them. Carla and Margot hit it off very well and Anabella made Margot her “loca muchacha” for the week. I think my stock rose higher with Jose-Rueben when I swooped in and grabbed Anabella just before she went crashing to the concrete floor after struggling with a chair. I think everyone was in shock about how fast I moved right then!

Marc & Felix hail from Montreal and for us being lovers of that city we immediately gravitated towards them. For Margot meeting Marc was also special. Marc was a student of Eloy and her uncle Gerry and also worked with Gerry on youth ministry activities when he was younger. He was able to tell stories that Margot had never heard which helped keep her uncle firmly connected with a trip he sadly couldn’t make.

Did we laugh while we were there? You bet we did. Here’s one of the reasons why.

Eloy speaks Spanish, French and good English. Francoise speaks French, some Spanish and some English. Some of Eloy’s family members only speak Spanish and a little English and the majority of Francoise’s family members speak French, but not a lot of English. And Margot and I speak English and can barely eek out a little French and Spanish.

( Marc, Yvon, Margot, Me )

Yvon is a priest in New Brunswick and a longtime friend of Margot’s uncle Gerry. Margot said he reminded him of her uncle, a comment of which Yvon was openly honored to accept. He also shared stories of Gerry, with Margot and he talking many times of adventures Gerry has been on. He extended a warm invitation to visit New Brunswick.

If it weren’t for several of Eloy’s friends from Canada we would have had a much tougher time than we did. Much thanks go out to Mark, Felix and Yvon for helping us make friends in France. Carla (Eloy’s nephew’s girlfriend) skills with Spanish, French and English were essential in making sure we got to know Eloy’s family well during our time at the house. We have a working knowledge of many French words, but don’t have conversational confidence, an impediment we plan to remedy before our return trip in 2012.

( Sylan, Eloy, Francoise, a friend of Francoie’s that we didn’t meet )

We also had the pleasure to met Sylvan, Eloy’s best man, who also lives in New Brunswick. He and Eloy have been friends for years and while we knew of him, only got to meet him how. He and his family clearly enjoyed meeting us, extending an invitation to visit and stay with them in Moncton where they live. We’ve never been to New Brunswick before and with two invitations now, we will have to plan a trip.

We also met some of Francoise’s siblings, their children and their families. We met so many more friends before, during and after the wedding. Unfortunately my camera didn’t keep up. We have warm memories of Marie-Claude, Marc, Alain, Pierre, Nicole, Danielle, Xavier (and his family) and others whose names aren’t coming back as easily as I had hoped.
Family is something magical no matter how you define it, and this trip was powerful proof of that for us.

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

The Wines We Enjoyed In Provence

There were several areas that we enjoyed wines from during our visit toProvence last week. We had reds from Cotes du Ventoux and Cotes du Rhone, a nearly 20 year old white from Chateauneuf-du-Pape (CDP), box format reds from Gigondas and Cotes du Rhone, a couple of roses from Cotes du Ventoux and Cotes du Provence and Muscat from Beaumes de Venise. All of these regions are within 30 minutes or so of where we were staying and will make for great future stops while we visit in Provence.

We also enjoyed a surprise in a discount Bordeaux that Marc bought on a whim. I wrote about our visit to and tasting in Chateauneuf-du-Pape for The Unreserved last week. The only bottle from that post that I will revisit here is the Barville Vieux Marc because it was just so amazing and unique.

For the first meal we had Francoise brought out two bottles La Ferme Saint Pierre Roi Faineant (Lazy King). One was from 2007 and the other from 2000. I immediately recognized a great experience in the making. The same producer and style from two different years! The younger wine was definitely juicier and fruitier with less earth and wood showing through. The color was more vibrant of purple and ruby red, where the older was shifted a bit to brown as you would expect. This wine is made from a blend of 60% Syrah, 30% Grenache and 10% Carignan and is aged for 1 to 2 years in oak. Both wines had strength in their noses, with slightly different wood and spice characteristics, and smooth tannins. I picked up flavors of blackberry, black pepper, tobacco and herbs. The 2000 bottling traded down the fruit flavors for more smoke and earth and a bit more elegance in the tannins. It was just as pleasing and the contrast with the pork we had it with was exactly what I expected.

Most of our wine consumption occurred during lunch and dinner and of course at the two wedding parties. We did enjoy aperitifs most of the days, which generally consisted of pastis, some Jack Daniels brought along by my Cuban friends and the Muscat and Rose wines we bought the first day.

In one of the gift shops at Fontaine du Vaucluse we picked up the Pomelo 2009 Cotes du Ventoux Rose and the Cristal Or Muscat Beaumes De Venise 2009, which were opened later that day to be enjoyed by all. The Pomelo Rose presented with a beautiful red/pink color and a nose of strawberries and citrus. It is dry and strawberry flavor was very reminiscent of my first attempts at strawberry wine that I found just a tad too dry. There were also hints of exotic fruits, like mango, and the citrus didn’t feel straight up like oranges, but I didn’t spend enough time to classify it. The wine is very light and at first the dryness seemed to keep people away, but it did finally disappear. The Cristal Or Muscat was absolutely delightful and Margot’s favorite of the trip. The wine glimmers of gold and the nose is enough to captivate you, projecting aromas of peach, apricots and grapes. It has a perfect balance of sweetness and acidity and the alcohol is present but restrained. The flavors of peach, apricot and honey are full on and as an aperitif this wine was excellent. Carla tried a sip and it stopped her mid-sentence. Margot assured her that was the intended effect, and then the conversation resumed.

At a later meal Francoise produced a bottle of Chateau Fortia Chateauneuf-Du-Pape Blanc 1993. I had never had a white from the CDP region so I was excited at the prospect. Unfortunately, and Francoise and Eloy were quick to assess this, the wine had past its prime drinking days and was not an exciting drink. It was interesting thought to sift through the deconstruction of the aromas and flavors to try and assess what it might have tasted like years earlier. I have it tucked in the back of my head to find a good CDP white to try so I can experience it as it should be.

As the group at the house increased in size and then for service at the wedding the wines of choice were in box format. I thoroughly enjoyed the first box that came from a producer (that I didn’t get the name of) in the Gigondas region. The wine was bold and full of fruit, spice and showed a good deal of alcohol as well. It was from 2009 and while there was the clear presence of wood, it wasn’t a leading aroma or flavor. The tannins were a little rougher here but with the wine flexing a bit of muscle I didn’t mind at all.

The second round of boxes (10L no less) were all from Camille Cayran and of the Cotes du Rhone Villages style. I was struck with the exceptional performance of this wine. When I say performance I mean the quality of the drinking experience coupled with the knowledge of its bargain price. What a wonderful convention it would be here in the States to be able to go to a winery, taste a few wines and then ask to have large format boxes filled at bulk prices. This wine comes from the village of Cairanne just a bit farther north than the other areas I have reviewed wines from. The wine was moderately aromatic of black cherry, ripe plum and pepper. The flavors didn’t fail, with the black cherry and pepper from the aromas and a bit of spice, herb and maybe even violets. The tannins were moderate and smooth and the finish was long enough to enjoy, but not extended.

During our tour of the Papal Palace in Avignon we came across a small plot of vines (below right) that were there to showcase each of the 13 grapes permitted in Chateauneuf –du-Pape wines. The vines are young as the project is still early in its life, but I did have to wonder whose job it will be to make that batch of wine when the time comes!

On Saturday during our trip to the Le Thor market we stopped into a local grocery/convenience/discount store. I bought a Cahors Malbec and a Cotes du Provence Rose, neither of which were very good. Sometimes cheap means cheap! Marc saved the trip though with two bottles of Comte De Serac 2007 Bordeaux. At just shy of 3 Euro each I was again struck with the performance. The wine was light and fruity with soft tannins and a good deal of vanilla. The fruit flavors of strawberry and ripe cherries were simply stated and washed down with a hint of acidity in the moderate finish. With roast pork this wine did not last long at all. Rather than take it home, Marc opened the second bottle because it was being enjoyed so much. For that I am most grateful.

The most intriguing thing I drank the entire time I was there was the Barville Vieux Marc 2002 that I purchased at the Brotte museum and tasting room. Marc is a French pomace brandy which is made from the spent pomace from wine production. The pomace is re-fermented and the low alcohol wine that is made from it is then distilled into a flavorful and potent spirit. My first glass of this was like being in another place altogether. The nose is huge of dried fruits and vanilla. The flavors of raisins, dried apricots and caramel with a hint of sweet in the middle were positively engrossing. I liken it to a blend of fine bourbon and aged Jamaican rum. At 86 proof it is quite strong, but for the audience I quickly found that was an asset and not an impediment. When enjoyed with a Cuban cigar I really felt like I had found a very specific and unique experience during my trip.

You can’t really argue how serious the business of wine is in France when there are places you go where you can see vines everywhere.

After we got home I found a bottle of the La Vielle Ferme Cotes du Ventoux Rouge that I had enjoyed on the plane ride over to Paris. We paired it with a Provencal style beef stew I made to help keep the memories of France alive now that we were home. With the familiar aromas and flavors of several of the wines we enjoyed while there I felt I was back for just a moment. One thing I did notice is that this particular wine, for an inexpensive one available at home, did actually smell and taste more pleasing that some other Rhone blends we have had recently, including the Chateau Beauchene from the tasting last Saturday. It would seem I need to explore the Rhone blends that are available to me and see if I can’t find a few that I would want to have around all the time.

Cheers!

Jason

Ancient Fire Wine Tastings Are Back!

( Brian has a great eye for a shot. )

It’s been a while since we had wine tasting at our place. There weren’t any particular reasons for that, it just kind of happened. This past Saturday we gathered a crew of new and veteran Ancient Fire tasters together to enjoy some good food, good wine and great conversation.

( Smiles are always a good sign! )

There were two themes with this tasting, snacks with cheese in them and blind tasting. The blind tasting was based around a mix of commercial and homemade wines and would offer everyone the opportunity to see how many wines they could classify correctly. I was interested in how well I would recognize my own wines against similar styles from commercial producers.

( Just waiting for us to dig in! )

The wine lineup consisted of the following:

• Ancient Fire 2010 Strawberry
• Ancient Fire 2008 Riesling/Gewurztraminer Blend
• Ancient Fire 2009 Petit Verdot
• Ancient Fire 2009 Chateau du Roi (Southern Rhone style blend)
• Ancient Fire 2010 Oaked Chardonnay
• Ancient Fire 2010 South African Chenin Blanc
• Isaaks of Salem 2010 Popp Road Raspberry Mead
• Rodney Strong 2008 Chalk Hill Chardonnay
• Chateau Beauchene 2008 Cotes du Rhone
• Columbia Winery 2007 Cellmaster’s Riesling

I was excited to have Brian from A Thought For Food join us for the tasting. His interest in my Jalapeno Dessert and Chocolate Raspberry Port wines resulted in us meeting up for drinks a while back. We both enjoyed the social time and agreed it shouldn’t be the last time. Both he and Eric made the trip up from Southie to party with us, and I am pretty sure a positive impression was mutual! The rest of the tasting crew, Ed, Jim, Amy, Brian, Wayne, Meredith, Richard, Missy, Melanie and Margot have all enjoyed a number of our wines before and always approach our tastings with curiosity and excitement.

We had just enough food (it seems so often we have way too much) and an excellent diversity to enjoy with the wines.

Rosemary Cheddar Straws (I made these, and will share the recipe later in the week)

Spinach Artichoke Dip

Baked Camembert w/ Carmelized Onions & Sage

Mini Cheesecakes w/ Burgundy or Rum Orange glazes

Italian Skewers w/ 3 cheeses, tortellini, tomatoes and vinaigrette dressing

Make your own fruit skewers

The best pairing was the Chenin Blanc with the baked Camembert. That wine was a late addition after Wayne asked me about the Vouvray Margot reccomended he try. We had had it at Christmas and she loved it so much she was passing on a solid find. While not quite the same style, my South African Chenin is nice and soft with lemon flavors and just a hint of residual sugar. Up against the earthy cheese and sage affected onions, all were taken to a new level. The cheesecakes with the Strawberry wine were also a good match, but I felt the cheesecakes were too good on their own. The cheese straws were best for me with the reds, especially the Chateau du Roi. The rosemary and baked cheddar flavor weren't lost in the wine, which added a bit of spice to amp up the cheese flavor.

( Some bottles got hit harder than others. My reds poured well this time too. )

Margot bagged up the wines so that I wouldn’t know what was what. I did however know what was included so it wasn’t truly blind for me. I was able to guess 8 out of 10, with the two I swapped creating a good deal of curiosity as several others mixed up the same commercial and homemade selections. These two ended up being the Rhone blends. I thought for sure the drier, more acidic selection was my own, but it ended up being the Chateau Beauchene. Having spent the last week tasting Cotes du Rhone wines I was heartened to find that my own version was truer to those I had tasted from the source. I’d surely make that wine again because I definitely enjoy the style.

( One empty and one almost. Definitely a message! )

My strawberry wine is an easy giveaway, but my purpose for including it was to get feedback on the newest vintage which again underwent some recipe tweaking from the year before. The consensus is that I have truly nailed it and improved on it once again. Accomplishing this mission for my flagship wine is a very proud moment for me. Otherwise it was pretty much split as to how many folks could classify the wines as mine or from a commercial producer. My Riesling/Gewurztraminer Blend fooled several folks and based on the feedback should be on my “make” list for 2011.

My heavily oaked Chardonnay wasn’t a big hit, too smoky and too buttery, but when I asked how many people had drank that style in the 70’s and 80’s (we are all too young!) and explained that is was in vogue for a time, it helped with a little context. I also added that there will be some excellent summer BBQ parings, like turkey burgers and smoked turkey, most tasters agreed to revisit it and see how it goes. The Rodney Strong Chardonnay was also oaked, just not as much, and a few tasters compared it and felt that the difference was noticeable, but not extreme. I expect, and hope, my version will calm down a little bit in a few months.

( Richard was digging my Chateau du Roi and appears to be studying it. )

We had a second unfortunate experience with mead from Isaak’s of Salem. The bottle of Popp Road Raspberry poured like a champagne and after two hours of breathing it still poured the same way. There were no flavors in the mead, it was immensely dry and had some off aromas, something Margot likened to perfume or rubbing alcohol. Clearly something has gone wrong and the remedy offered in response to the first experience we had with the carbonation in the Sweet Tooth, let it decant for 30 minutes, was not successful here. I tasted this several months ago and was able to enjoy the raspberry flavor and subtle honeyed sweetness that was intended for this product. I was sad that I didn’t end up being able to share that with my friends.

As always the socialization and conversation was the most fun element to the tasting. Margot and I had the chance to share tales from France with the slideshow going on the computer. Being able to say you stood inside a building that is 1,000 years old, is pretty cool any day of the week!

Our next wine tasting on March 26th will be a fundraiser for our Relay For Life event. Margot and I will supply the food and wine as a thank you to our family and friends for supporting us. Guests are being asked to make a $20 donation, either by check or online, as admission to the tasting. I am also hoping to have folks join us on Twitter during the tasting, raising a glass in support of the fight against cancer.

I also have to thank Brian for taking several great photos (#'s 1,3,4 and 8 in this post) and applying a set of stunning effects to make the pictures look vintage. Be sure and check out his portfolio of photography at http://www.briansamuelsphotography.com/.

Cheers!

Jason