Wine, Sun & Fun – Lakeridge Winery, Clermont Florida

( Harvest for 2012 is already done in Florida. )

Florida's nickname is the Sunshine State and its agriculture industry is no doubt successful in part because of the abundant sunshine and moderate climate. Grape growing and winemaking aren’t what most people think of when they think of Florida grown however. This wasn’t exactly obvious when we (Margot and I ) visited Lakeridge Winery in Clermont, Florida though.

Lakeridge Winery was busy with tour groups, with groups both before and after us completely filling the tasting bar following the tour. Everyone, employees and patrons, were smiling, laughing and obviously having fun. With a constant stream of club members and retail buyers (they were running a pre-Thanksgiving wine sale which we took advantage of) I couldn't help but think that the locals might have something special at Lakeridge.

( Impressive! )

Lakeridge Winery is the largest winery in Florida and is owned by the group that also owns and operators San Sebastian Winery in St. Augustine, which is the second largest in the state. Gary Cox founded Lakeridge in 1988, choosing the central Florida ridge are in part due to the area’s rich agricultural heritage, to site the winery.  Lakeridge is a family business and both Gary's wife Carole and son Charles are involved in day to day operations. Production for both wineries is done at the Lakeridge facility, where in 2011 they produced 1.8 million bottles of wine!

( Left over from the recent harvest. I didn't clarify what kind it was. )

Muscadine is the primary grape type grown and vinified by Lakeridge, although their work with hybrid grapes has resulted in success with several varieties including the Stover and Blanc du Bois varieties. A warm, humid climate can create disease and pest pressures, but both the Muscadine and hybrid varieties are at least partially resistant to some forms of disease and surprisingly pest resistant such that they require no pesticides for normal operation. Irrigation is required, but with the use of a drip system in conjunction with the typical rainfall the amount of supplemental water needed is manageable.

Our tour guide, Shep (seen on the left), shared a brief history of the winery and then cued up a short video presentation that explained more about the regional agricultural history and how Lakeridge came to be. 

As we walked through the facility Shep further explained their process and capacity to the group. Consistently injecting humor into the volume of information he commanded, Shep both educated and entertained us. With this I began to understand part of the reason why the Lakeridge Winery is popular. 

Shep also said something that resonated with me after dozens of winery visits in the last few years. “The advantage of the wine business over other types of product businesses is that we get to see and interact with our customers.” That personal connection does indeed make a difference and clearly they get that at Lakeridge. After hearing about the annual festivals they host, and furthermore how well attended the events are, I could see how the blend of wine, sun and fun that Lakeridge offers is so successful.

Our next stop was the tasting bar, a place I had been looking forward to saddling up to since I had planned the vacation to Florida. As for Florida wine, I'd only have had the port wine from San Sebastian Winery before, but that was some time ago and was the extent of my Florida wine experience. As an advocate of wine made in all sorts of places my curiosity drove me to find out if there was a winery near where we were staying when I was planning the trip. As luck would have it Lakeridge was only thirty minutes north of our home base for the week.

Now that I've visited what did I find? A beautiful location, fun people and wines that made me reevaluate my expectations. For the record I didn’t have low expectations, yet my reasonably optimistic ones were actually still too low. That kind of surprise is welcome any day!

We tasted nine wines, including a mix of hybrid and Muscadine-based wines. In general all of these wines do present differently than vinifera-based wines, but that statement should offer no surprise to anyone who understands the difference in the three types of grapes. The hybrid whites were generally citrus driven with a moderate level of acidity. The Cuvee Blanc was well polished and didn’t immediately make me think hybrid grape or an atypical origin. The one hybrid red we tasted posted up tart cherries and had a small amount of fine tannins. The Muscadine-based whites are generally grapey in the nose with flavors reminiscent of fruit salad with citrus finishes. The sparkling rose trended to strawberry and raspberry in the mouth. The Muscadine reds were tart and driven primarily by cherry and cranberry flavors.

Three wines stood out for us. The first was the Sunblush Rose. It has a sweet finish which offers a balance to the tart fruit salad I found on the palate. This wine and a hot, sunny day would be a fantastic combination. I could also see making an exceptional sangria or wine cocktail with it.

The second wine that made a strong impression, and one I had heard good things about, was the Pink Crescendo sparkling Rose. Tasting like berries with a Sweet Tart-like finish I couldn’t help but smile after taking a sip of this wine. The carbonation was fine and mouth filling. The finish was not at all too sweet. For whatever gathering I serve this wine at I suspect there will be intense disappointment amongst the imbibers when it is gone!

The last wine we both rated highly was Southern Red. A Muscadine-based, sweet, red wine it had both an attractive nose and a full-flavored palate for us to enjoy. It is a sweet red, a style some people don’t like, but I felt that in this instance it works very well. Slight cooked, sweet fruits is the best analogy to the way the flavors came together. You could use this wine on the table with food, and even cook with it, just as well as you could give it a little chill and sit in the backyard watching the world go by.

( Lakeridge Winery - Clermont, FL )

Back to the wine sale. As we were looking through the wines available to purchase we heard someone talking about the buy-one-case-get-one-case sale. Huh? Yup, 50% off.  For the month of November, if you bought one case you got another for the price of the 12 most expensive bottles. We purchased all of our favorites and a couple bottles that were not available for tasting due to low production volume; looking forward to sharing Florida wine with our friends back home. The interesting twist was that Lakeridge can only ship us one case of wine per month according to the New Hampshire direct shipping rules. So what did we do with that second case of wine? We gave it to the friends we were staying with!

I was so happy on my ride back to the vacation house. Seeing a winery that busy somewhere in the "Other 46" and then enjoying their wines is a strong reminder that wine is special because it is about the people and a place. In the case of Florida, you add the mild weather and lots of sun and the fun can't help but get in line!

Cheers!

Jason

My Half Full Glass - November 29th, 2012

So, I finally got this new weekly column thing calibrated. It's amazing what a vacation and  a holiday can do to a screw up a schedule! This new column is where I will feature notable beverages that I've enjoyed within the last couple of weeks.

Florida Beers

During a week-long trip to the Orlando, Florida area I sampled a number of Florida beers and found several that I would highly recommend. I sampled in a number of settings, on draft at the Epcot Food & Wine Festival and Big River Grille, then from bottles back at my vacation place and at the Bahama Breeze.  

In general Florida brewers are embracing lighter styles (lager, pilsner, wheat beers) but based on the climate and cuisine, I see this working well. I was able to taste a range of beers, including several IPAs and brown beers in addition to Pilsner, Lager and Wheat beers.

At the Epcot Food & Wine Festival the Florida Beer Company's Key West Southernmost Wheat was my favorite amongst it, the Florida Lager and Devil's Triangle IPA also from the same producer. Light, with a slightly creamy texture, the crisp finish and light body of this beer would make it versatile with a range of local foods. The Devil's Triangle IPA was good, but the bitterness felt a little forced. I'll share more on the Epcot Food & Wine Festival in a separate post.

I stopped at World of Beer in Clermont, Florida and selected six singles to take home to share with a friend. The photo below shows the lineup which included the Florida Brewing Key West Sunset Lager, OBP LLC Orange Blossom Pilsner, Holy Mackerel Special Golden Ale, Florida Brewing Swamp Ape, Cigar City Brewing Jai Alai IPA and Cigar City Brewing Maduro Brown Ale.

All the beers were well made and plenty drinkable. The Sunset Lager is pretty straightforward and didn't garner much comment. The Orange Blossom Pilsner, one of two of the beers brewed under contract in SC, was nice blend of a wit style beer with honey. It smelled and tasted like oranges with some honey notes in the finish. The Holy Mackerel Golden Ale was an exceptional drinker. A Belgian beer all the way, it was a bit yeasty, spicy and fruity. Lively and super drinkable. The Swamp Ape was my favorite. A sweeter IPA, similar to DFH 90 I'd reckon, it was smooth, hoppy and so delicious! Both of the Cigar City beers were very well polished, but the Maduro Brown Ale won the face off. I had this beer before the two other brown beers I enjoyed next, and it was the best non-pale ale so far. Rich, nutty and full on the palate. It isn't a huge beer so you could drink a few to make you real happy!

The Big River Grille & Brewpub on Disney's Boardwalk is a brewpub/restaurant owned by the same group that operates Rock Bottom and Gordon Biersch. Their holiday beers were on tap and we checked out both the Winter Brown Ale and Winter's Nip Holiday Bock after a relaxing walk of the boardwalk and adjacent resorts. The Winter's Nip Bock is a fantastic, moderately malty brown beer with hints of spice and banana in the nose. Definitely a nice warmer for those cool Florida winter days. I could drink way too many of these!

At the Bahama Breeze I paired Orlando Brewing's Organic Blonde Ale with the Mahi tacos for lunch. Definitely a great combination. The beer on its own is flavorful, dry with hints of citrus in the finish. Perfect with lighter fare.

Thanksgiving Wine

What wine to pair with Thanksgiving is always a sporting topic for the wine media to attend to this time each year. I've done it in several recent rotations (2008, 2010, 2011), but opted not to in 2012. There is no "right" or "perfect" answer to "what wines do I pair with Thanksgiving dinner?" and exactly who graces your table and what kind of mood everyone is in is much more of a concern than the wine. But, this year what I did select to have on the table for my family meal was quite successful and as a result worth sharing.

Close de la Roilette, Cuvée Tardive 2011 Fleurie

The review for the Clos de la Roilette, Cuvée Tardive 2011Fleurie from Jancis Robinson made the rounds late in October and I was curious. With so much love showered on this wine, "I'm in love" and "Yum, yum, yum" as just two examples, I figured I had little if anything to lose on a couple bottles. I found them for around $35 with shipping from Flat Iron Wines in New York, and got ahead of the season and had my wine in hand two weeks before the holiday.  Flat Iron is only stocking magnums of the 2011 right now, but after tasting this wine I can't see why that would be a losing proposition either!

Beaujolais for Thanksgiving, how stereotypical for me! Yes, it did work out that way. I felt this wine would make for a pleasant drinking experience for Margot and I in that setting. I don't always expect those I share wine with to say anything at all about a particular bottle so bringing something for me to pay attention to makes plenty of sense. This wine is precisely dry and focused. The ripe fruit aromas and flavors don't feel forced and come off full, yet fresh. There is a particular minerality to this wine, and I also felt a bit of spice or herb in the finish was not standard/everyday Beaujolais. It was easy drinking, smooth and had a gentle tannic bite in the finish.

With the onslaught of holiday table flavors this wine did admirably, pairing best with a squash and mushroom tart that also had melted cheese on top. The flavor combination in that dish matched the fruit/earth combo in the wine better than everything else. Margot loved this wine and I'd recommend it highly to others. Don't buy all the magnums from Flat Iron before I get to order some though!

Wiemer Late Harvest Riesling

For dessert, which was apple or squash pie of course, I paired the Hermann J. Wiemer Select Late Harvest Riesling dessert wine. We've had this wine several times and the massive flavors of sweet fruits and tart citrus go great with dessert. All the glasses were promptly emptied.

Cheers!

Jason

My Half Full Glass - November 22nd, 2012

Fine wines and also an extensive spirits inventory.

Cave B Tempranillo

A friend passed this bottle of Cave B Tempranillo along to me after a trip to see the Dave Matthew's Band in Oregon earlier in the year. I hadn't come across this label on my recent Oregon wine trip or the research that preceded it.

I couldn't come up with anything hugely notable to say about this wine, but it was well made, focused and has decent flavors so I drank it happily. It is lively and straightforward, likely a good match with charcuterie and cheese.

Tasting Room.com  - Wine For Dudes 2

TastingRoom.com sent me the "Wines for Dudes 2 " sampler curated by Gary Vaynerchuk. I'm not a Gary Vee fan, I'm not opposed to him either, I just came a bit late to the wine blogger party and missed his early online exploits. Assuming he had a good deal of play in selecting the wines in the sampler I was excited to see what his tastes might offer my own.

Looking at the lineup (above) I immediately thought that the party is in the first three bottles. A rosé from Syrah, a lightly oaked Cali Chard and a Rhone-style red blend that was described to be light. I can see these three wines being a killer trifecta for a cocktail party, summer BBQ or even a more formal dinner party. So how did they work for me?

The Bugay '10 "Long Stem Rosé" Syrah from Sonoma was surprisingly floral. Wine for a dude? Maybe a dude that was looking to get laid! No seriously, I like wines that are effective at grabbing ones attention and this wine is no slouch in that regard. It is light, fresh, mildly fruity, but the floral aspects are its main act. I could definitely drink this by the bottle. Maybe I will!

Next up was the Francis Coppola '09 "Director's Cut" Chardonnay, also from Sonoma. I've had some Coppola wines before, but I think just the reds so giving the Chard a spin was of keen interest. It's oakier than the tasting notes suggest, but not in a ruinous way. This wine would satisfy the "I only drink white" or "I only drink Chard" folks that wander through my house from time to time, and this wine is better than that magnum of plonky Chardonnay that I would expect them to drink on a regular basis. I'm fifty/fifty on this wine. The hit of baking spices in the finish is nice and drinking it in the early fall where I can relate to the pear and vanilla (aromas AND flavors) coming through also made sense.

The third wine in the first half of the sampler is the Twisted Oak '09 "*%#&@!" Red Blend, a blend of Mourvedre, Syrah and Grenache, and the nose immediately made me think of the Rhone reds I enjoyed in France in 2011. The mélange of fruit, funk and oak is a place of action for me. It signals something interesting ahead, and this wine doesn't disappoint. It's not a big wine, and for that I am grateful. It has just enough body and nuance to make it worth drinking, but not so much that casual drinkers will be turned off by it. Finding interesting dry red party wines is a crap shoot and this happily goes on the list!

The second half of the sampler feels like a different party to me. With two Zins and a Cab I'd have to be selective with the guest list or send the riff raff home (you are sensing the sarcasm and snark, right?) before I broke these out! I have a mix of beverage loving friends and my experience tells me that many of them who are not specifically interested in wine wouldn't dig a good Zin or Cab, and that is OK by me. Pushing them out of their comfort zone is unfair so I'd be more apt to share the next three wines with friends who were more used to exploring the world of wine with open senses and opinions.

The first Zin is the Easton '06 from the Shenandoah Valley in California. I'm pretty confident that this is my first Shenandoah Valley wine, and I even had to look up where in the California it actually was! There is a certain rusticity in the mouth on this wine. A bit woody, peppery with some dry soil in fact. This is a drier more restrained Zin and one I might easily pair with some slow cooked venison on a late Fall day.

OK, so the second Zin is going to be different? How do I know? The deeper color, so much purple, tells me that there is going to be more concentration. Will it be jammy and fruity? I bet it will! This is the Jake-Ryan Cellars '07 Zinfandel from Mt Veeder in California. Lots of plum and chocolate in this little filly! This is the one wine from this group that I could expect to stand up to the actual barbeque, say pulled pork with a moderately spicy sauce. That is something I do for my friends once or twice a year and when I can pull out a wine (homemade beer and BBQ is a staple) that can pair well with it I have a chorus of happy party goers in front of me!

End of the line now. We finish with the Feather '07 Cab from the Columbia Valley in Washington State. The tasting notes say CA, but we all know that ain't right! This is the wine I am savoring after everyone has gone home and the party cleanup is done. Mellow and warm this wine helps the transition from party host to exhausted person on the couch. It's a pretty wine with all the Cab attributes you'd expect, but from a place where Cab doesn't get super huge and obtrusive. This wine would be one that would emerge from your cellar in time and still not disappoint.

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.”

My Half Full Glass - November 15th, 2012

A new weekly column. The first one posted way beyond the initial self-imposed deadline. Who knows that the hell this means!

Italian Wines from Zonin

The folks at Zonin shared several selections of their collection with me and I recently took a white and a red for a test drive. On its own the red paired best with the simple pasta & sauce I was eating, but overall both wines performed acceptably the night I opened them.

The Rocca di MonteMassi Le Focaie Maremma Toscana 2012 is a bright, assertively tart red wine that is would be best when paired with light Italian fare or even a cheese plate. The acidity is cleansing keeping the wine focused and sharp. With cheese the wine expressed savory herbal notes that were quite pleasing.

The Principi di Butera Insolia Sicilia 2011 is a straightforward dry, white wine with a slight salinity to it. This wine was not a match for red sauce, trending better with cheese. The salinity might make this a good match with shellfish, which I did not try.

Peconic Bay Hard Cider

I've haven't met (yet) the people at Peconic Bay Winery and Empire State Cellars, but I do know that they are doing a fantastic job representing and promoting wines made in New York State. During a chat with James Silver, General Manager at Peconic Bay Winery, he asked if I was interested in cider. Those were words I have heard before, and thankfully I have always said yes! As a result I was lucky enough try the two styles of Long Island hard cider Peconic Bay Winery is currently producing.  Cider doesn't resonate with everyone and one of the revelations I have had about what makes a cider more likely to please is that the clarity matters. In this case clarity is both visual and on the palate; a finesse if you will.

Both of the Peconic Bay ciders have that finesse. The True Companion was the first one I tried and it immediately reminded of another cider made in a similar style that  I've really enjoyed, The Saint by Crispin Cider. True Companion is made with a five apple blend and also has orange zest, ginger and molasses added. The cider pours an amber color and comes off spicy and sweet making for a killer drink on its own. Paired with cheese this cider owned the tasting. Like The Saint from Crispin, this cider is fruity, spicy, a bit yeasty with a sweet finish. This complexity when it is well polished makes for exceptional drinking.

True Believer is a drier cider made with the same apple blend as True Companion minus the spice/sugar additions. This cider is lighter in color with a much more apple focused nose. True Believer's asset is how smooth it is. Tart apple is all over the place, there is a stripe of acidity, but the finish is just a hint sweet and round. This cider tastes more like an heirloom or cider-type apple drink more than the dessert apple blend it is made from might suggest. A very nice surprise.

Both ciders would be good on their own, with cheeses & snacks or with white meat-based main dishes.

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.”

A Walk in the Woods - Gnarly Old Wood

Walking out in the forest is something I do on every trip I take to Vermont. The best weather days really are the optimal experience, but in the Fall sometimes I get a gray, cool day shares that its magic with me all the same.

The road we most often walk feels like nowhere.

The area with the best views doesn't really shine on a day like this.

But that view isn't the only reason to walk that road. With your senses peeled you are bound to find plenty of other things to catch your attention. This time it was some of the gnarly old wood I spotted along the road. 

Cheers!

Jason

Veins Full of Riesling

Great prices on fine wine, also see our quality Scotch selection.

( We all had veins full of Riesling after this tasting! )

If one could overdose on Riesling I'd bet I have made a pretty good run at it in the last year. After three trips, samples from several producers and four virtual tastings of Finger Lakes Rieslings I must have tasted at least 150 different bottlings from several dozen producers. Add to that the Rieslings that have shown up in the Empire State Cellars club shipments and I've been drinking Finger Lakes Riesling AT LEAST monthly since this time back in 2011.

All of that experience doesn't make me an expert though. My Finger Lakes Riesling vintage experience only spans 2008 to 2011, with the majority of my tastings from the 2009s and 2010s. While 2009 and 2010 were definitely different growing seasons, the limited perspective a focus on just these two these years offers is very much a place to start. I have learned a few things however.

Structural acidity is a term you might hear bandied about for some types of wines, with well made dry Rieslings being one of those types. I've had a few German Rieslings in my wine drinking life, but never enough to really understand what this term could mean. Try enough dry Rieslings from the Finger Lakes and guarantee you will get it firsthand. A robust thread of acidity is a hallmark for the best Finger Lakes Rieslings, even the sweeter styles that benefit from the balancing affect it has. These wines are great because the acidity defines, structures and holds the fruit and minerality in place as well as giving purpose to the finish. With food the acidity in many of the Finger Lakes Rieslings really allows the wines to shine. Paired with cheeses, savory dips, salads, chicken, pork as well as moderately sweet desserts, these wines can help make the sum total greater than the parts. Just last night I was enjoying the Keuka Lake Vineyards Falling Man 2009 Dry Riesling with Ocean Spray gummy fruit snacks. As silly as this sounds, you'd be surprised at how the acidity provided an excellent counter balance to the sugar, making the fruit flavors pop.

The Riesling grape is a freaking chameleon! This statement comes from tasting experiences where I came in contact with many different flavors and textures but also from listening to growers & producers from the region talk about how Riesling rides the waves of the weather better than other grapes. As I tasted through the region I came in contact with Rieslings that project lemon, orange, pineapple, apple, pear, peach, melon, apricot, plum, tropical fruits, flowers, herbs, petrol and several types of minerality. That pretty much runs the gambit for white wine aromas and flavors, and it really speaks to the diversity that is available in fruit and the different winemaking approaches being applied in the region.

These Rieslings shouldn't take crap from anyone. Riesling has a mixed perception in the wine world. So what of it? Yes, there still are many volume produced sweet Rieslings out there that are often a gateway wine for new drinkers. These wines aren't typically flawed, but aren't overly exciting either. I've had them, and I have good memories from my early consumption days when these wines were the drink of choice. Maybe these wine make up some of the light beers of the wine world. Some people graduate. But marring a whole segment of wine because of a few homely examples is ridiculous, and the Finger Lakes Rieslings prove this. The best of these wines are well made, delicious, offering plenty of nuance for wine lovers AND simple pleasure those who just drink wine casually. So next time somebody mentions Riesling make you sure you listen long enough to find out which ones they are referring too. You might be pleasantly surprised!

The most recent opportunity I had to taste Rieslings from the Finger Lakes was a virtual tasting organized to celebrate Riesling Hour, the official launch of the 2011 vintage.

My wife and I hosted a tasting at home before the Twitter event began, providing both some background education and a tasting opportunity for friends. In addition to the four sample bottles I received I also lined bottles of Riesling from France, Germany and two non-2011 bottles from the Finger Lakes. The way I saw it the style and vintage comparison would add dimension for my friends who for the most part are new to wines from the Finger Lakes region.

The samples included the Wagner Dry, Three Bothers Zero Degrees Dry, Fulkerson Semi-Dry and GlenoraMedium-Sweet Rieslings, all from 2011. The self-selected bottles included the Trimbach Reserve 2008, Dr. Zenzen Kabinett 2008, Ravines Dry 2009 and the Anthony Road MRS 2009.

A big thank you is due the Finger Lakes Wine Alliance for the media packet, samples and for organizing the Riesling Hour tastings again this year.

I started off with a review of some of the materials from the media packet, including bits on the geography, climate, history, styles and the IRF scale, all from the slideshow that I played on the big TV. As my friends got to tasting the wines I could see the neurons firing. Approaching wine tasting educationally and with your senses peeled isn't something that non-wine aficionados really do. Consumption of any foodstuffs with a focus on sensory experience seems like a lost art in America, but like so much else there are plenty of excuses offered why people don't have the time or energy to be that engaged. That makes me sad, but it's not how I live so at the end of the day I'll keep doing my thing and sharing the possibilities with anyone who cares. My friends were getting it though and I was happy to see them taking the time to pick out aromas, flavors, textures and finally sharing what they liked and didn't.

We started with the four 2011 bottles. Comments about the range of fruits present in the wines were first to surface. The racing acidity of the Wagner selection was the next thing to spur conversation. This wine needs food to be complete in my opinion. I don't feel like the acidity was out of balance, but it was pronounced and the wine tasted best with a fruit & nut cheese spread, on crackers, one of our friend brought.

The Fulkerson & Three Brothers wines got the most feedback. Both were surprisingly light in color, with the Fulkerson also being very light in body. Both were fruity and everyone thought the Three Brothers wine had something in the background that was adding nuance, but none of us could quite describe it.

The Glenora Riesling was the sweetest of the bunch and garnered plenty of comment on the breadth of the fruit that was perceived at that level of sweetness. This wine carries along enough acidity to keep things well balanced, although as the wine warmed it trended a bit flabby.

In comparison to the Trimbach the Finger Lakes Rieslings were clustered in a tight zone around it. While there were differences, nothing significant or detracting stood out. The Dr. Zenzen was oxidized from a bad screw cap so we dumped it. When we got to the Ravines 2009 Dry Riesling I prefaced the tasting with an explanation of why I liked this particular wine so much. I feel it is an example of a finesse player from the Finger Lakes region. Everything is focused, in the right place and the wine just exudes polish. The Three Brothers bottle was compared to the Ravines the most, although everyone did agree that the Ravines wine was indeed specific and distinct.

The Anthony Road wine was one I hadn't had yet but did have some qualified recommendations behind my anticipation. This is a another finesse wine. Everything about it is focused and clean. It isn't as sweet as I would have expected from the reported residual sugar (which I can't find in my notes), but that didn't take anything away from its enjoyment. There wasn't really any comparison to be had here, more of a broadening of one's understanding of the range of Rieslings produced in the Finger Lakes region. I finished the night sipping on this little gem!

At the end of the tasting the Fulkerson & Three Brothers wines were the winners amongst the 2011 bottles, with the decision between the two was split. Our friends cheerfully thanked us for the education and the opportunity to taste wines new to them. Those thanks weren't one sided. I feel like I learned a few things from putting on my "teacher" hat in preparation for the tasting. Observing the others digging into the different wines was also instructive, proving to me that I should continue to host these types of tastings.

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.”

The Boston Wine Expo Wants to be Friends

The Boston Wine Expo is going to get more social. With social media that is. This was clear from the presentation at a recent blogger event where some of the changes for the 2013 Boston Wine Expo (BWE2013) were shared.

So what are some aspects of the event that are new or will be changing?

• A new Blogger's Lounge will be available as a dedicated space for interviews and blogging activities.
• An improved mobile app will provide attendees with the capability to rate the wines they taste, manage lists of favorites as well as interact with the expo via survey questions.
• In a new Social Media lounge located in the center of the Grand Tasting all participants will be able to see what wines are trending from feedback via the mobile app as well as see what people are "saying" about BWE2013 on Twitter.
• Wine sales will now be permitted at the event. Attendees will be able to place orders for wines they like before leaving the expo!

As always attendees will be able to taste wines from many wineries (over 200), showcasing products from more than 15 countries, experience dozens of food and lifestyle exhibits and enjoy food from more than two dozen restaurants. Special seminars and celebrity chef demonstrations will also be part of the schedule again next year.

The blogger event was a mini food and wine showcase hosted at Action Kitchen located in the Seaport Hotel. The best food item I sampled was a crab cake (several actually) and I neither got a picture or any information on it. Bad food blogger!

The wine was flowing with bottlings available from France, Italy, California and New York State. The most interesting wine I tasted was the Bressan Verduzzo Friulano. This wine is a contradiction in my wine world. The nose zigs and zags back and forth between typical red and white attributes and then when you get a taste letting the tannins settle in it really feels like you are drinking a red wine. But it is a white! White fleshed fruits do dominate the nose and mouth, and the finish is dry with a subtle nutty quality to it. The tannic structure is unusual for a white, but it really works. It is always nice to come across something new, but when it is also so different it makes a tasting that much more interesting!

Also announced was the Boston Wine Expo Blogger Ambassador program that will partner bloggers with the Boston Wine Expo. Participating bloggers will be media personalities for the expo, will be provided with several tickets to give away on their blog and a discount code for readers to use for ticket purchases. More on this program will be announced as we get closer to the event.

As I was standing in a room of food & beverage bloggers listening to the details on the social media commitment being made for BWE2013 I got to thinking, "what have the folks behind the expo learned about their audience that prompted these changes?" Moving to integrate social media into such an event isn't even remotely radical as an idea in 2012, and some people might suggest the expo planners are arriving late to that party. I tend to be pragmatic by nature and when also giving benefit of the doubt I suspected the efforts to do this now were sincere and reasoned. So I asked.

The following is a transcript of the follow-up questions I used to interview Ed Hurley of Resource Plus, the company that provides the event management for the Boston Wine Expo.

Me: What were the motivations to incorporate the social aspects and the new app into the event?

Hurley: We were motivated to incorporate social media more heavily into the Boston Wine Expo for the following reasons:

• We recognize that social media has become the main method in which to communicate to a wide audience with similar interests.
• We also realize the influence that blogger’s like yourself have on fans in the wine and food community and we are excited about the changes that we have been making to the Expo that we wanted to share them with you in the hopes that you will find them to be positive and share them with your followers.
• Our wineries and sponsors have regularly been asking us what our social media campaign looks like and how they be a part of it. We quickly learned that social media is important to these groups as well.
• We want to be recognized as key portal of information regarding the food, wine and hospitality industry in New England.

Me: What expectations do you have for how more social media awareness and the mobile app will impact the event?

Hurley:  Our motivations for the mobile app came from the realization that in the age of smart phones, our audience prefers to have their information presented in this manner.  Through a mobile app, we are able to present consumers with all the information they need to know about the Expo as well as guide them from wine tasting table to wine tasting table while in the show. We hope to be able to help attendees create a list of favorite wines that they taste at the Expo and offer solutions as to where they can purchase the wines locally.

Me: Were there specific findings about the demographics of the BWE attendees that made this appropriate to do now?

With regard to demographics, our research shows that 51% of our audience is between the ages of 30 – 49, 65% have household incomes above $100,000 and 64% of our audience is female. This helped lead us to the conclusion that our audience is one that utilizes social media on a daily basis and mobile apps are a big part of their daily lives.

Me: Involving the press in BWE is nothing new, but crafting a program specifically for bloggers is new as far as I know. What are the goals of having a closer relationships with local bloggers? What can we do for you now, then and later?

Hurley: Our expectations for social media are this…if we continue to present top wineries, compelling seminars and popular chefs then the food and wine community will get excited about what we have to offer and will spread the word to their friends that the Boston Wine Expo is the place to be on February 16 and 17 of next year.

The goals that we have regarding the development of a closer relationship with you and other bloggers are:

• To keep up to date through your help – You know a lot about what the public likes in regard to food and wine and can help recommend to us certain restaurants, chefs, etc. that we should invite to participate in the show. You have the pulse on the wine and food community.
• To get your opinions – You are a good sounding board for the continuous changes that we are looking to make in the show as it evolved over the years.
• To entice you to help spread the word about the Wine Expo – As a prime influencer over many followers, you can help us spread the word of the exciting things happening with the event. In return, we have a strong platform as well and can offer you free tickets, discount admission codes, etc. to provide to your followers to spread goodwill. We can also support your blogs through our social media efforts. 

Me: Are the vendors and presenters aware of the new social and blogger changes? If not, does it make sense to involve them early on? Would their own outreach efforts compound the work you are already doing? If so, how do you expect they will be involved in additional promotion of the event before and during? Are there any vendors or brands that would like to connect with bloggers ahead of the event?

Hurley: The vendors and presenters are becoming aware of our new emphasis on social media and the blogger community.  We have begun to reach out to them for newsworthy stories regarding their organizations that we can pass along to your community. Also, as I mentioned above, several of our exhibitors and sponsors are already heavily invested in social media and have been asking what we are doing in this arena.  This illustrates that their own outreach efforts compound the work that we are doing as we are both trying to pass along relevant information to the community.  We have already begun engaging our exhibitors in our social media campaign. When an exhibitor signs on, we look for important news about them that we can share with our followers. We also ask them to provide us with news that we can share with our audience.

Another example is the recent Bloggers Event. When we put the word out that we were holding the event, we immediately got the participation of the nine wineries that were present along with our food sponsors. They recognized the importance of the blogger community and wanted to be a part of it. I believe that as we move closer to the event, we will see more vendors want to get involved as well.

The motivations and expectations shared above seem well reasoned and legitimate to me. Having participated in several Second Glass wine events that are heavily social I fully expect a return on these commitments. I am personally excited for the 2013 Boston Wine Expo and can't wait to share more about the event as February creeps closer.

So will you be friends with and like the Boston Wine Expo in 2013? I certainly hope so. I attended last year and enjoyed sampling new-to-me wines from many producers representing quite a few different places. Add more social interaction to that mix and I fully expect that attendees will be able to get more and better hints on wines to try before the show is over. And even better, attendees will be able to order wines that they really enjoy before they go home. Closing that loop ensures that producers who have wines that really shine will know that consumers won't have to spend lots of time searching around for a shop that carries their favorites!

Cheers!

Jason

Sparkling Anniversary

In two previous posts, "Getting to Know Sparkling Wine" and "Leftover Sparkling Wine", about sparkling wine I shared what I have learned this year from a closer inspection of sparkling wine. In the first post, for the WineMaker Magazine blog actually, I teased readers with a list of bottles my wife and I had enjoyed around our wedding anniversary this year. All of those bottles are reasonably accessible to people who live near us and make use of the NH state system, and/or can direct ship to home. None of the wine are really bank breaking purchases for those who want to try them. It's not a snobby or specialty list, and I'm not advertising it as such. It covers a range of styles from both well known to smaller regional producers and gave me a lot of new information to consider about sparkling wine.

With "Getting to Know Sparkling Wine" I also shared my concerns that in my experience sparkling wine enjoyment was too often relegated to special occasions and not everyday drinking. There is no reason for this these days, sparkling wine pairs well with so many foods and there are values out there to suit all budgets. Steve Heimoff touched on this same thought last week in "Sparkling wines for the holidays: why not all year long?" After such a profession some of you might be thinking that ending that very article with my own plan to consume a variety of sparkling wines around my wedding anniversary was a conceit to my assertions. Maybe, and I can only say that we enjoyed these wines during what we called our "Sparkling Anniversary", where most were enjoyed with everyday dinners, or snacks; and even popcorn whilst watching TV. No special occasions there! We did indeed take some bubbly in the limo as we rode to our actual anniversary dinner, and I'll explain the significance and sentiment of those bottles a little bit later.

In "Leftover Sparkling Wine" I share my experiences with a grower Champagne tasting which constituted my first formal experience with Champagnes made by the grape grower. My thoughts and those of the host, Adam Japko of the WineZag, are interesting reading for anyone not familiar with the category.

As I alluded to above we didn't really do anything special with the wines for our Sparkling Anniversary and by the time we were through the best pairings we had experienced were with either buttered popcorn or French Fries. We also made cocktails with several of the bottles, both to experiment with different flavors and textures and put wines that didn't pop for us to good use.

Here's that Sparkling Anniversary list again (and in no particular order):

• Chateau Frank Célèbre Rose
• Chandon Blanc de Noirs
• Cuvée Aurora Rosé Alta Langa
• Mumm Napa Brut Prestige
• Gruet Blanc de Noirs
• Fox Run Blanc de Blancs
• Lafitte Brut
• Banfi Rosa Regale
• Raventós i Blanc Reserve Brut
• Mionetto Moscato Dolce
• Veuve Cliquot Ponsardin Brut
• Segura Viudas Brut Reserva Heredad
• Cuvée y Camps Brut Nature
• Montsarra Cava

Best of the Best

It would be hard not to share which of these wines we liked best and why, but since tastes vary and I don't rate wines, take it for what it's worth.

Cuvée y Camps Brut Nature - For both Margot and I this was the most refined of all the sparklers we tried. The nose is tropical with tart citrus in the mouth and through the finish. This is one of the best dinner party or entertaining-worthy sparkling wines I have ever had.

Chateau Frank Célèbre Rose - This is a medium-dry rose colored sparkler that is just simply easy to drink. It is well balanced, delicious and should appeal to both dry and sweet sparkling wine drinkers. It was summer when we drank these wines and this one really pulled off the role of refreshment.

Mumm Napa Brut Prestige - I really liked the balance of fruity and tart character in this wine. The slight creamy texture brought the whole package together. This is another fantastic wine to use for entertaining and a slam dunk with appetizers, including fried ones!

Honorable Mentions

Gruet Blanc de Noirs - This wine was notable for me because of the pronounced strawberry and citrus that actually came off like berry lemonade. This is a fairly full bodied sparkling wine and was a departure from some of the others in the lineup.

Montsarra Cava - Cava performed well in the tastings, but wasn't entirely new to us as a style, and this wine was the first one we tried. Fruity with hints of almonds a slight creaminess, this wine piqued our interests for more.

Cocktail Experiments

Passion Fruit Cocktail - we used the Fox Run Blanc de Blancs for this drink, combining it with passion fruit puree, Cointreau and bitters. The dry sparkling wine lightens up the puree nicely and the blend of fruits in the puree and wine showed nicely in the nose. It's a sweet cocktail, but if that is your thing this one might give you a smile!

French 75 - I fall on the Cognac side of the French 75 debate and thus I make mine with it. These are a potent cocktail with a nice balance of tart and sweet. The texture is best with a good sparkling wine with lots of small bubbles.

Champagne Cocktail - This simple concoction using a bitters infused sugar cube and sparkling wine is both tasty and fun to drink. Watching the bubbles ribbon off the sugar cube and head to the top of the glass provides the entertainment. We tried these with both domestic sparkling wine and Cava.

Sentimental Bottles

I'll finish with a few of the bottles that have special meaning for us. Two of them are part of our "wine personality" and elicit great memories any time we drink them.

( We dined at Top of the Hub in Boston for our anniversary dinner. The subset was beautiful! )

First, and maybe the most comical to wine aficionados, is Banfi Rosa Regale. We just like this wine. It's sweet, sparkling and super fruity. I bought it for Margot as a gift a few years ago and she absolutely loved it. Margot calls it a panty remover, which from experience isn't a bad way to describe its merits beyond a beverage. We buy a few bottles of this several times a year. When paired with dark chocolate this wine makes an excellent dessert.

Veuve Cliquot Ponsardin Brut - we received this wine as a gift from friends and chose to enjoy it on the night of our anniversary dinner to honor the joy we take in having such great friends. The wine is also very good.

Segura Viudas Brut Reserva Heredad - This is our anniversary wine. I was looking for a delicious bottle of bubbly to celebrate our tenth anniversary in 2007 and came across this one. The bottle is actually a collectible, hand blown and emblazoned with a pewter crest and base. I snapped one up and we enjoyed it the weekend of our anniversary party that year. This is a complex sparkling wine, projecting citrus, peaches, minerality and a touch of graphite or smoke. It has a full bodied feel, but is rather a light, refreshing wine. We opened this bottle in the limo on the way to Boston for dinner this year, and it didn't disappoint once again. I purchased several bottles this time and can't wait to try one with a bit of age at our next milestone anniversary!

Drink More Sparkling Wine!

I hope these three articles on sparkling wine have inspired somebody to crack open a bottle of bubbly and enjoy it with friends (or family or a significant other, all of which are friends to me) just because you can. The diversity in styles, textures and flavors offers a world of possibilities for us to explore.

Cheers!

Jason

Leftover Sparkling Wine

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After writing a recent WineMaker Magazine blog post entitled “Getting to Know Sparkling Wine” I had quite a bit of additional material to share. I’ve tasted more sparkling wine this year than any prior year in my wine-drinking life, and the range of styles and background I’ve come in contact with has been both educational and fun. So here's my leftovers, I hope you enjoy them!

More on Sparkling Wine Styles

Cremant was a term I came in contact with looking through different resources on sparkling wine. The word is used to identify non-Champagne sparkling wine produced using the traditional method in France and other EU countries. Ultimately I would be best to understand that the difference in these wines will be more like any other regional distinction, including the grapes used, soil composition and climate.

Albert Bichot Cremant de Bourgogne Rose

I picked this bottle up from the local state store because I was curious what if anything I might detect about a Cremant differently from other sparkling wines. I didn't discern anything specific, but since I am not that familiar with regional differences in traditional sparkling wine, what do I know?

This wine is made from 80% Pinot Noir with the remaining 20% made of up Gamay and Chardonnay. It pours a deep pink color and has red, and even dark red fruits, like raspberry and currant on the nose. In the mouth the wine is tart, dry with plenty of small bubbles that create a pleasant texture. From a performance perspective this wine does pretty well. The regular retail is $19.99 but it seems to be on sale for $16.99 pretty frequently. At either price I see pretty good value and in my final post (next week) on sparkling wine I will share tastings on a couple more rose sparklers for comparison.

Cava in particular performed well when compared to many of the other sparklers I tasted this year. Spanish wines overall offer plenty of value, lots of $15-20 high quality offerings,  where I saw difficulty in even finding Champagne or worthy domestic bottlings in the same price range.  

Cava showed up three times in a lineup of sparkling wines that I selected for a month long celebration of our 15th wedding anniversary, the subject of my third and next post on sparkling wine.  We finished that celebration with a sentimental one which I will share the story and thoughts on next week. What did I think of the other two?

Raventos i Blanc Reserva Brut Cava 2008

I nabbed this guy from Wine.com for 19.99. I found it dry and slightly minerally with restrained fruit in both the nose and mouth. It is very crisp and clean making it a great social wine or one that would pair with a wide range of foods. This wine has beautiful texture, the prickly carbonation is buffered with just a little creaminess. I was surprised at how simple, yet beautiful this wine was for the price.

Juve Y Camps Brut Nature Reserva de la Familia Cava 2007

Another Wine.com find at 18.99, and one I have had before. This one pours a deep gold color, darker than most sparkling wines I have experienced. The nose projected tropical fruits which were married with tart citrus in the mouth. 

Margot and I both found this Cava to be particularly refined and Margot liked it more than many of the others we ended up trying. There is some complexity here, something that might not make it as universal, non-aficionados might not appreciate it for what it is, which is only a lost opportunity and not the end of the world. I do like to pair wine with people so such scenarios concern me.

Grower Produced Champagne

Earlier this year I attended a tasting hosted by friend and fellow wine-blogger Adam Japko who writes the WineZag. Adam had assembled two flights of Champagnes that had been produced by the grape grower rather than a negociant, famous house or vanity label. Not knowing much about this category of wine it was hard to decide what to expect. In doing some research I came across plenty of vigorous debate about stylistic differences,  variation, performance and value, but nothing that could make sense of it in any concrete way. Read Adam's post "Grower Champagne Makes Sense" for more information on this class of wines, the flight list and his thoughts on some of those we tasted.

What I experienced was most instructive. First, there was plenty of variation amongst the different bottles, something atypical to big name Champagne, but what struck me was how exciting some of the nuances were.  Pear, quince, mushrooms, graphite, yeast, smoke, lemon, peach and guava were some of the specific aromas and flavors that I wrote on my tasting sheet. Some of the wines tasted wild, inferring that the producer wasn't trying to produce a house style, rather was letting the grapes and yeast do what they were inclined to do that year.  I like exciting wines and sometimes just being a little different is all the excitement I need!

On the value front my conclusions were mixed. Many of the bottle prices were in the range that while you get what you get with a big name house at the same price, I wouldn’t say either wins a hands down fan vote of everyday consumers. The favorites trended in the $45-50 range, and taking the nuances as a good thing they all performed well at those prices. Those with developed Champagne palates will definitely find lots to love in those wines, and potentially even more in a few beyond $50 amongst those we tasted.

I can't tell you what my favorite was because I can't find that page of my notes! What I can tell you is that is if, and more so when, I want to spend $40-$50 on a bottle of sparkling wine I would definitely look at grower produced Champagne before deciding what from my available options I will take home. Depending on the people and the setting a wine with more unique character might actually be a better fit!

The Show Goes On

I hope you enjoyed my sparkling wine leftovers. Next week I be posting on the sparkling wines that I enjoyed in June to celebrate my wedding anniversary. I know that I said in my WineMaker Magazine article (linked above) that sparkling wine wasn't just a celebratory drink and I can assure you that while I chose my anniversary as the backdrop to try a bunch of different sparkling wines, the specific tasting scenarios were very pedestrian. The list included those reviewed here, several domestic versions, and sparkling wines made in France, Spain and Italy.

Cheers!

Jason