Phelps Family Christmas Eve Wine Tasting

The Phelps family decided to have a wine tasting on Christmas Eve as a gift between the 6 of us. We have all taken to the wine and food pairing challenge so this seemed like a lot of fun and a great gift at the same time. Here is what we assembled:

• Ayler Kupp altenhofchen Riesling Kabinett 2007 with marinated Strawberries & Gold Rush Bars
• Coppola Sophia Blancs de Blancs Sparkling with Brie
• EOS Moscato Dessert Wine with Goat Cheese
• Voga Italiano Pinot Grigio with Prosciutto wrapped Cantaloupe
• Connecticut Valley Winery Raspberry Dessert Wine with Blue Cheese
• 2009 Ancient Fire Amarone #2 with Parmigianino/Reggiano Cheese
• 2006 Beringer Knights Valley Alluvium Blanc with Goat Cheese & Smoked Salmon Pate
The Riesling and strawberries were left for the dessert course, so back to that in a bit.

Each of us introduced our wines and foods, talked about what we were aiming for and suggested any tasting procedures specific to the selection.

Dessert wines and cheeses of strong character are generally matches made in heaven. With two wine options and several goat and blue cheeses to try, we all spent some on those from the start. The EOS Moscato was incredible with both the goat and blue cheeses, and was the standout for me.

The Sophia Blancs de Blancs was stellar but not surprising as many small batch sparklers from the US don't get nearly enough attention. This one is even more unusual in that it is made from all white grapes where most are made from a blend or red grapes. The real kick with this selection was the cocktails we made with the marinated strawberries and syrup the next day.
The Connecticut Valley Raspberry dessert was very flavorful although not as sweet as I expected. It paired well with the pungent blue cheese as was expected and it also paired very well with the goat cheese. While we weren’t disappointed we aren’t sure the wine was as true to its style as it could be.

We discovered the Voga Pinot Grigio on a trip to Montreal. We had bought it at SAQ and took it to a wonderful BYO restaurant, L'Acadamie, for dinner along with an Amarone. The melon wrapped with salty meat was an initial question mark for me not being a melon lover. In the end the melon flavor was in good balance and the freshness of the whole package succeeded. I went back for more which I would have bet against when it was introduced.

The salmon pate, though not tried by all, was a hit with those that paired it with the Beringer Alluvium Blanc. The smoky flavor of the pate really set the stage for the smooth and oak influenced flavors of the wine. Even Margot, who was skeptical of the pairing, commented that the two went together well. Donna expressed some surprise that I brought smoked salmon anything as I have not historically been a fan. She of course loved it being more familiar with smoked salmon.

The Amore went well with the hard cheese purchased for the pairing but many preferred having it with the blue cheese originally meant for the dessert wine.

For dessert we indulged in the Ayler Kupp altenhofchen Riesling with strawberries marinated in the wine, and gold rush bars which are like a brownies with dried fruit and spices instead of chocolate. This was a perfect way to end the parade of different flavors and textures. With manageable sweetness the strawberries and bars allowed the medium dry wine to dance with them and enhance their characteristics. It was at this time we found the marinated strawberries and the sparkling wine made a great cocktail to cleanse the palate.

With this experience in hand it is clear that for those looking for something fun to do challenging themselves to a food and wine pairing should provide immense enjoyment.

Cheers!
--Jason

Holiday Wine Dinner

So Julie, Margot, John and I sat down to a nice holiday dinner on the 18th. This month was our turn to host. The menu and pairings are below. Not everything turned out as planned but we sure had some laughs over it.

Black Currant Dessert Wine
Mixed Apple Salad with Maple Caramel Drizzle paired with 2007 Hard Cider
Cider & Pepper Marinated Steak Tips Wrapped in Lettuce paired with 2007 Hard Cider
Cranberry & Cola Slow Cooked Lavender Pork Chops
and
Baked Stuffed Apples with Apple Cornbread Stuffing served with 2009 Pinot Noir
Apple Crisp served with 2007 Vidal Ice Wine

We also tried a Cabernet/Foch from an up and coming NH winemaker. We found it to be a bit fuzzy, but with great flavor. The wild Foch presentation was easily found.

The maple caramel drizzle was candy by the time it got to the table so I'll have to go back to the drawing board on that one. This bottle of hard cider was not my best, but it proved to pair well to open the meal. Everything got good reviews and can certainly say I enjoyed it all. I hadn't cooked with lavender before so I wasn't sure what to expect. It was amazing.

What a way to celebrate the holiday season!

--Jason

Rum Redux and RumBa

Rum has been on my mind since our trip to Jamaica last month. I made a rum cream after finding nothing at the state liquor stores and not wanting to buy and ship. Strong, but flavorful in all the right ways. Two new drinks go with it as well as those described in my last post on rum.

http://ancientfirewineblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/if-youre-not-drinking-appleton-youre.html

Coconut Creme

3 oz homemade rum cream
1 oz Malibu rum

Appleton Morning

3 oz homemade rum cream
1 oz Appleton Special

Meet me at RumBa! If you are into rum and from Boston you'll get this. You should get this. RumBa, the rum bar at the Intercontinental in Boston has 100+ rums ready to drink with curiosity accessible prices for the size of the drink. I tried the Cruzan Black Strap and lusted after the Appleton 21 and a host of others that will be tried before I'm gone! The Cruzan was slightly sweet and had a nice long and clean finish.

After the stop at RumBa I ordered a book on rum history which informs us of the Boston roots of the early rum business. "Rum: The Epic Story of the Drink That Conquered the World", July 2005, Charles Coulombe. This hopes to be a great read. We are already planning a trip to St. Croix to visit Cruzan!

Cheers!

--Jason

Dessert Wines

Any avid drinker can tell you the tale of when they first drank a good dessert wine. Vidal Ice Wine, Montreal QC in 2005. The honey, dried fruit, peaches and apricots left me stunned. Iced ciders, more ice wines and some Canadian whiskies were most excellent on that trip.

I had been making country and kit wines for a year or so by then, but nothing that fit with "good" dessert wine. The first dessert kit was a WinExpert Vidal wine base with a Vidal flavoring pack that added at the right time and with a little age creates a beautiful, rich delight. This wine has been tasted alongside many dessert wines and while the differences are perceptible, they are not game changing but in the most exceptional cases. My mother loved this as a birthday gift.

Since then I have made both fruit and kit dessert wines with much enjoyment. While I write this I am drinking the 2008 fresh fruit plum dessert wine which is aging surprisingly well. My notes on this wine indicate several previously unused techniques were used, acid balancing and manual degassing. Some experiences are so enjoyable learned hands on. Sweet plums with a nice tart hit are dripping with sweet juice. You want some too!

We just bottled the WinExpert Riesling Ice Wine which has a distinctive wild and profound character like many dessert, late harvest and ice wines. It needs some age before a more thorough review can be had. The glass of left over tasted great. AS/FA/VC look out!

I have a bottle of the 2009 "Super S" Strawberry Dessert wine in the freezer. The berries were picked in Londonderry at Sunnycrest in June. This wine was well cared for and has high expectations to meet. More next time.

Cheers!

Jason

Seasons Eatings & Drinkings

Last year I wrote a blog entry with some tips on Turkey Day food and wine pairing. You can find that entry here http://ancientfirewineblog.blogspot.com/2008/11/jason-talks-food-wine-pairing-november.html.

I won't repeat that advice and instead I will suggest you try some new and random combinations and see what happens. Earlier this year we had a serendipitous pairing with our Strawberry wine and Cyndi's Shrimp & Feta Zucchini, which turned out to be a lot of fun. I say try something new and you will be rewarded!

We will be making the lime/cilantro brined smoked turkey again and it will be interesting what will pair well with that. I'll let you know.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

--Jason

If You're Not Drinking Appleton, You're Just Not In Jamaica

Just back from Runaway Bay Jamaica and of course the rum was flowing as much as ever!

Appleton Rum is the signature rum brand from Jamaica and if you go, you must try it in several forms to get a feel for the versatility of the rums from this 260 year old distillery on an island know for its place in the rum trade of old.

Imbibing Suggestions

1. Rum punch with a V/X float - traditional Jamaican punch with a float of Appleton V/X aged rum.
2. Street Pharmacist (an original) - rum cream, Appleton Special (gold rum) and Amaretto.
3. Appleton Reserve 12 Year - on the rocks like a bourbon or scotch. You will find this to be a complex spirit well worth savoring. And you have to go to get some as far as I know.

In Jamaica rum is a reflection of the spirit I love as much as reggae music and jerk chicken. All three go together very well and sure make for fun times on vacation.

Cheers!

--Jason

Amenti del Vino Amateur Classic

Ancient Fire is celebrating another surprising competition result. We took 6 medals in the Amenti del Vino Amateur Classic hosted by M&M Wine Grape in Hartford, CT.

Bronze Medals

2009 Viognier
2008 Amarone
2008 Cabernet Blend
2008 Riesling/Gewurtztraminer Blend
2009 Strawberry #2

Silver Medals

2009 Strawberry #1

In a field dominated by red wines these results are pretty significant seeing that there were only 289 entries overall. We also entered the 2009 Pinot Noir, 2008 Vioginer and 2008 Gewurtztraminer/Riesling Blend which did not place.

With 17 medals to date Ancient Fire is creating quite a name for itself and receiving valuable feedback about the fruits of our labors in the process.

Cheers!

--Jason

Fighting Breast Cancer with Wine

No this isn't a science journal, and no I don't have some crackpot cure for cancer using homemade wine!

What I can tell you is that with great thanks going out to my parents, Tom & Marilyn Baziak and all of their friends we raised $867 for Making Strides Against Breast Cancer last Saturday.

We have had a annual wine tasting to raise money for the American Cancer Society since 2007 and we always have a great time. Cabot Cheese graciously sponsored us with 3 kinds of cheese, a new wine & cheese pairing guide and some give-aways. We had some drawings, Margot won the pig Snuggy, and a lot of talk about what we were up to with our wines.

We served the following tasty selections:

2008 Chilean Chardonnay
2008 White Blend #1 & #2
2009 Strawberry #2
2008 Cabernet Blend
2009 VT Dandelion
2009 Black Currant
2008 Cabernet Franc Ice Wine

The Dandelion wine was the unique wine of the day. Most people hadn't had it before so were surprised at the pleasant taste that does remind you of flowers after some consideration. It has a lot of lemon as well, which isn't bad either. The Strawberry and the Cab Blend were the big hits and we went home with only one bottle of the eight we brought between them. The Chardonnay has matured well and ended up being a nice addition as our hosts have traveled the world tasting many varieties along the way.

So in the end we are fighting cancer with wine and we can clearly say it is making a real difference!

Cheers

--Jason

Local Beer Update

I have had a few new local beers recently and wanted to share.

Some of our recent tastes were at the Wicked Wine & Beer Fest held at Mel's Funway in Litchfield. Several of the well known regional or national brewers were there, and Long Trail and Shipyard both had tasty seasonal brews. The Long Trail Imperial Porter was new for me and was one of the best all day! There were lots of Obtoberfest selections, including one from Bud that was nothing interesting at all.

Kona Brewing from HI was an interesting surprise and their Drifter will a special hops grown just for them was the most unique pale style I tried.

Local brewers Manchester Brewing, Martha's Exchange, and Pennichuck Brewing were also present. Manchester Brewing had their Naught Nancy and an Oatmeal Stout that were both top notch. Since the fest I have also had their Imperial Blonde. I liked it, but found that in the imperial styles I like the whites best, and then the real dark ones.

I also had a chance to pick up the Tripel White from White Birch Brewing in Hooksett. This beer is amazing. It had plenty of citrus, a pronounced flavor and a nice creamy texture. The bottles were hand labeled with numbered labels which should give you some idea of the time spent crafting these brews.

Cheers!

--Jason

Local Fruit Wines

Strawberries, peaches, pears and plums.

We have made or are in the process of making wine from all of those fruits grown by farms in town. Much love and thanks go out to Sunncrest, Elwood and Macks for the wonderful products we have acquired so far this year. The wines are better than ever! If you haven't visit any of their farm stands or U-Pick locations you should and often.

I wrote an earlier blog on the strawberry wine and will only follow that up with feedback that it is the best in 4 tries.

The peach wine has a beautiful orange/gold color and a subtle nose of peaches. We have some blending plans for this wine which I will write more about in time.

The pear wine is still fermenting and so far is looking good, but more time and clearing is required before its future self starts to shine through.

The local plum crop this was beaten by weather and as such the quantity we got will be blended with Riesling juice to make a full batch. More on that one later as well.

We also have hard cider on deck, but have not yet decided on who to source it from.

Cheers!

--Jason

Strawberry Wine

I have become known for my Strawberry wine, one could be known for worse things I imagine, which has become a driver for me to improve future batches.

Early this year we made a batch from frozen berries as we have in past years. The color was similar, although a bit more red, still a light shade and very transparent. The aroma and flavor were also similar, howevera slight bitter aftertaste has been noticed in this batch. While not much of an improvement, no loss either.

During strawberry season here in Southern NH we picked 38 lbs of berries and used about 34 for a batch of wine. About 4 lbs were used in a syrup for flavoring after the wine was stabilized. For this batch the color is much deeper, darker and reminds you of what you see when you look at a ripe berry. The aroma and flavor are much enhanced and the bitterness is not present as far as I can tell. The wine is smooth and medium-dry so it should appeal to a broad audience, unlike our past berry batches that tended to be on the sweet side.

I'll be popping bottles of this at upcoming parties so nobody should be fearful they will lose out. I also added some sulphite at bottling to help with preservation and longevity so if you don't see us soon you also should have no fear.

Having been docked in competition for aroma and color with my strawberry wines, I expect this batch will fair much better.

Cheers!

--Jason

No Reservations, No Complaints

Margot and I have been watching the marathon of Anthony Bourdain's show No Reservations today. While I have seen the show before I never sat down to really watch the show. While the marathon offers visits to a long list of destinations one in particular caught our attention due to a curious drink that was mentioned.

Red wine and cola?

I did a quick web search and found that it is called Calimixo in several countries, including Spain.

On the show it was demonstrated at 7 parts red wine and 3 parts cola. We found a bit more cola enhanced the drinkability, but having traveled to other countries to find their Coke products to be a bit sweeter we aren't surprised.

When I first saw it I wasn't sure what to think, but knowing I had at least one bottle of red wine to spare I was sure it was worth a try.

With a near 50/50 blend the drink is smooth and flavorful almost like a low sugar root beer. Make no mistake, it goes down easy and it has plenty of alcohol so it stacks up quick!

The Rust Belt (Baltimore, etc) episode is on now so I need to go and turn my attention back to the TV.

Cheer!

--Jason

Cellar Update

The second half of 2009 is well underway, although I didn't take a noticeable summer break this year as I have in the past. The fresh fruit from the local farms is rating very highly from the tastes so far. Strawberry and Peach with Plum and Hard Cider on the way. We have so much to celebrate this fall!

A new Viognier, Bordeaux Blend and Exotic Fruit Zinfandel from kits are also underway. We have some blending plans for the fall and will let you all know about those in time.

We have tasting this week with friends over at Salon Outlooks. Check us out Tuesday night from 6-9 at the Londonderry location on Sheffield Rd.

We are also gearing up for out annual cancer fighting wine tasting in September. We have so many resveritrol particles and so little time to cure cancer!

Cheers!
--Jason

CT Wine Trail

Last weekend Margot, Tim, Abby and I checked out 4 wineries and a wine bar in western CT. What fun! The weather was great and the travel wasn't bad, but on to the reviews.

Overall each winery had some unique offerings, differing styles and lots of traffic. The wine quality was good, but uneven; something we know well and can understand the challenge of. One major point I have made so far offline is that while Chardonnay was prominent, I couldn't appreciate any of it. Too acidic and too dry. I am not starting or continuing a stylistic debate, but I wonder if making it is worth it? Even the dry blends with other wines took those other wines down a notch.

Other whites offered some very drinkable wines, several fruity and dry, and several indeed semi-sweet or dessert style. I know semi-sweet is a technical definition with a range of residual sugar possible, but for tastings with normal folks it can be a bit misleading. Several wines had deep flavors and clean finishes and gave us much inspiration and enjoyment. We picked up semi-sweet Seyval, Peach, and a dessert wine.

For red wines there were lots to choose from and from a wide range of varietals. Foch was prominent and was of similar quality to those we have had from NH, a couple were served too cold or too warm which did not help a brief evaluation. We had cheese with several flights and several cheeses were dead on matches with the wines. Picnic Red and the Beemster X-O at Haight-Brown was phenomenal. I had Chambourcin for the first time at CT Valley and was quite surprised at the complex flavors. Our hosts and I had a lively conversation about potential food pairings after hearing they have tried without success. I suggested lavender chicken which I plan to make in the fall. We bought a whole bunch of reds including a port, the Chambourcin, and Picnic Red.

We also sampled several dessert wines, but more on those after we drink the ones we brought home…

The Bosc wine bar was a lot of fun. There was live music and as the weather was in our favor, we sat outside! Wines by the glass aren't cheap and bottle prices for the regular wines offer no bargain until you get into the higher prices. Unique wines from around the world are pretty deep, but only for those with deep pockets. The apps were good and the company was top notch so no worries here.

Cheers!

--Jason

Weekend Update

Wine stories from the weekend.

The 2008 Strawberry, 2008 Amarone #2 and the 2009 Pinot Grigio paired well with the pig roast crowd. The Strawberry lasted longer than 3 minutes, but not by much. The rich Amarone was excellent with BBQ food.

The 2009 Strawberry and 2008 Viognier well very well received at Phil and Meredith's Pampered Chef party. The dessert synched up well with the Strawberry wine, which didn't last two hours. The 2008 Viognier has matured so well from an underwhelming wine early on. Good thing I haven't been swilling it.

The 2009 Pinot Noir went into the bottle today. It is a bit hot, but will mellow with some age. It is rich and not overly assertive and should age well.

A new batch of Bordeaux blend was started today. Anurag and I talked winemaking as we bottled one and kicked off another. If these are as good as the 2007's are now in 2011, we will all be very happy!

Cellar Update

We just racked up about 80 bottles of 2008 and 2009 wines from recent bottlings. Check the slideshows for pictures of the cellar in various states. Good stuff, too.

The Cabs are drinking well, but certainly need more time.

Amarone #2 is better than the first one, but time will help here as well.

Anurag and I are going to start a batch of a nice Southern French red blend this weekend.

I've been watching the Tour de France this month and thinking about making a white Bordeaux style blend. I have had only a few, and most were well worth it.

The new kitchen has wine storage and will be used during the parties and holidays to keep the fridge full. We are so looking forward to sharing these creations with everyone as we host in the coming months. Wait until you see what we are going to have fermenting and aging when you come...

Cheers!

--Jason

Amarone Update

I returned to Amarone again in 2008 with the award winning 2007 version on my mind. We ended up doing two. I had originally thought two barrels of 50/50 blend, but we held off. The first is a Mosti Mondiale All Juice version with some oak and long aging, almost 1 year. The second version is a Mosti Fresco Fresh Juice product, also with some oak but with two less months of aging.

The 2007 winner had a deep purple color, powerful nose and pronounced banana flavors. It was recognizable from the aroma alone, and did not last long!

The first 2008 batch was tight and focused, but lacked the aromatic punch and flavors of the earlier. It was strong and pleasant to drink so we figure some aging will help. This was bottled in early 2009.

The second 2008 batch is better, with more aromas and the desired banana flavors, albeit not as strong still. The wine is very rich and with some aging will mellow a bit. The high alcohol is there and the wine is very dark. I bottled this on July 19th.

Both wines are going to make for good competition fodder next year and should be drinking well at that time.

Cheers!

-- Jason

Triple Threat

Yesterday we ended up opening 3 bottles from the Ancient Fire line, a 2009 Strawberry, 2009 White Blend RG and a 2007 Columbia Valley Riesling. What an amazing flight they ended up making!

The Strawberry was gone in under 3 minutes! This wine is a our flagship wine. This wine is our fan favorite. The smell of the Strawberry wine permeated an area around the folks with cups full. The flavor is subtle, but you sure know what you are drinking.

The White Blend RG, Riseling/Gewurztraminer, was a huge hit as well. We contrasted it with the 2007 CV Riesling which was much drier in its older age. All three went very well with backyard BBQ food on a hot day.

Thank you to Missy and Steve for the great time.

Cheers!

--Jason

The Error Of My Ways

Sometimes we all have to admit that we don't have our eye on the ball.

Not only has it been almost 3 weeks since I last posted, sorry the kitchen re-model is still going on, but I recently brought what I thought were homemade beers to a friend's place only to offer cranberry hard lemonade and root beer. How did this happen?

In 2004 I started this adventure making beer. I quickly moved on to wine and have been consumed by that almost exclusively since. I do make some beer and other fermented beverages each year, but not much anymore. The exception is hard cider, but the way I make it it turns out like a lower alcohol apple wine so the similarities make it work.

The last two years of beer and other products got jumbled up in the basement, mislabeled or not labeled and thus I thought something was one thing only to find out it wasn't. While not the end of the world it certainly made me think I ought to tighten up my game.

I am in the process of sampling each box and determining what the remaining bottles are filled with. For those of you I will be visiting soon, rest assured you will get what I say it is!!

Cheers!

--Jason

On Newsstands Tomorrow!!

I’ve never been interested much in getting in the local news, but with our recent competition successes and overall fun making wine at home maybe I should. Margot facilitated contacting several local media outlets and the Derry News will have an article on the front page of the lifestyles section in tomorrow’s edition.

My early release copy brought me great joy as the pictures and the article were larger and displayed more prominently than I expected. It is a great article and should be a great way to spread the word about the fun we are having and how it represents locally made and grown, a wonderful NH tradition. I will post an online link when it becomes available.

Cheers!

--Jason