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2005 Twisted Oak Verdelho

Monday, June 23rd, 2008 | California, Lodi, Verdelho, White Wine, Wines Under $20 | 2 Comments

Back in December I bought Drew a couple bottles of wine as last-minute Christmas gifts. I was really eager to try a couple of the offerings from Twisted Oak, as well as give WineQ a try. One of the bottles I chose was the 2005 Twisted Oak Verdelho ($15.99) and this weekend we finally got around to opening it. The APV is 13.1% and it was aged in stainless steel for two months. Twisted Oak produced 800 cases of this wine.

When my order arrived, I noticed some chunky white sediment floating around. Now, as someone who drinks plenty of wine I figured that this was nothing of importance, but I have to admit it was a little unsightly and you wouldn’t want to get a mouthful of it. (It’s happened to me before with other wines and though the flavor certainly isn’t affected, it’s just not pleasant to feel the crystals in your mouth). I decided to e-mail the fine folks at WineQ just to be sure. They forwarded my question to Jeff Stai, owner of the winery. His official response made perfect sense, and was pretty much what I figured:

It’s actually not sediment, it is sodium tartrate crystals. If the wine gets cold tartaric acid will start to fall out of solution, forming these crystals. This could have happened through shipping or storage. These are the same crystals you will sometimes find on the bottom of a cork.

Since these crystals are made of stuff you would be drinking they are totally harmless. Just let the shoulder on the bottle catch them while you are pouring.

That was good enough for us, and I have to say that I really appreciated the quick response not only from Marshall Sontag at WineQ, but from Jeff Stai as well. There’s nothing better than good customer service.

To save ourselves a little aggravation and to keep the tartrate crystals from floating around too much, we opted to decant the wine, which worked out perfectly. The wine was a very pretty shade of light yellow and the nose was unbelievable. It smelled of honeydew melon, apricot, and unscented candlewax all wrapped around flinty slate. There was something that evoked honeysuckle, too. I kept sticking my nose in the glass over and over again to breathe it in.

The wine itself had a nice acidity to it and was very balanced. Again we picked up a bit of a rocky flavor along with citrus and kiwi. Drew noted that the wine gave him the sense of chewing on a piece of kiwi skin –the skin strips out the sweetness, but you still taste the fruit. I think that people who enjoy Sauvignon Blanc would certainly enjoy this wine.

We didn’t drink this with a meal, but did have a few snacks along with it. Walnuts seemed to tone down the acidity and paired really well. The cocktail sauce we had with our shrimp, however, was too spicy for this wine and stripped down all the fruit. If we have this again, I’d probably serve it with soft, mild cheeses, fruit, and bread or crackers. It’s delicious on its own.

The 2005 Twisted Oak Verdelho has won several awards including Four Star Gold Award, White Varietals, Orange County Fair; Best of Show, White Varietals, Orange County Fair; and Best of Class, Lodi, California State Fair. The 2005 vintage is still available at WineQ and probably some other fine wine sellers, though  the 2006 is available now as well.

WBW #43: Comfort Wines

Wednesday, March 5th, 2008 | California, Lodi, Red Wine, Wine Blogging Wednesday, Wines Under $20, Zinfandel | 5 Comments

Joel Vincent, of Wine Life Today, is responsible for choosing this month’s topic for Wine Blogging Wednesday: Comfort Wines:

Choose a wine, any wine, that you love to unwind to and tell us about not only the wine but what makes the experience special and relaxing for you!

At first this seemed easy enough, but when it came down to actually picking one wine to write about, the task became rather daunting. There were several bottles in the running. I had to really think about what “comfort wine” means to me. I considered some of my favorite comfort foods (steak-frites; tuna salad in a pita, dunked into some chicken noodle soup; penne topped with my husband’s marinara sauce) and realized that they’re all pretty accessible foods. They’re all easy to prepare, the ingredients are readily available, and they’re not terribly expensive. Since there are just so many wines that I could pick to write about for this topic, I thought I’d apply the same criteria to wine.

The bottle I would write about had to be readily available (because there’s nothing worse than really wanting a glass of a specific wine and not being able to find it) and not terribly expensive (I decided to cap it at $15). I also wanted to pick a wine that was “quaffable” — that is, a wine that stands on its own and doesn’t really require food to be enjoyable. With that in mind I picked Ravenswood Lodi Zinfandel. It retails for around $12.99 and you can find it pretty much anywhere. I’m a big fan of Ravenswood wines, so really I’d be pleased as punch with anything from the winery, but I happen to be especially fond of the Lodi Zinfandel.

The wine is a blend of 84% Zinfandel, 14% Petite Sirah, and 2% “mixed blacks.” It is a full-bodied wine that is jammy and spicy with flavors of raspberry, plum, and vanilla. It is soft and lush as it rolls around in your mouth. The oaky finish is nice and warm and consistently puts a smile on my face. At 14.5% alcohol, it’s a big wine but I find the alcohol to be well-integrated.

No, it’s not a terribly complex wine, but when I’m thinking about “comfort” I want something that’s easy. I want to kick around in my bunny slippers and to curl up in my favorite chair. I don’t want to teeter on heels and be aware of my posture all night. I don’t want a wine that makes me work. I don’t want to decant or swirl the heck out of the glass, trying to open it up and coax out all the little nuances that make it a fantastic wine. Sometimes I just want to crack open a bottle that I know I can trust, pour it in a glass, and enjoy. I think that Ravenswood has consistently proven it can make quality “no brainer” wines. When I pick up a bottle of Ravenswood anything, I’m confident that I’m purchasing a decent product.

It’s been interesting to see what other wine bloggers consider comfort wines. I’ve noted that Sonadora of Wannabe Wino and Erika of StrumErika.com also picked Zinfandels. Once Joel has had a chance to compose his wrap-up, I’ll be sure to let you know so you can check out what everyone else chooses to help them relax.

2004 Mettler Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon

Saturday, February 2nd, 2008 | Cabernet Sauvignon, California, Lodi, Red Wine | 1 Comment

Yesterday was a long, tiring day. School was cancelled on account of bad weather, sleet and freezing rain made our deck and driveway a dangerous mess, and on top of it all, the night before I had dropped my camera and though it works, it’s acting quite fussy. Plus, I still hadn’t packed for our vacation. After we put the boys to bed, Drew asked me if I wanted to try a really great wine. “Seriously,” he said, “this is just… it’s just so good.” Of course, I wanted to try it! But with that kind of build-up, would it deliver? Would my expectations be too high? There was only one way to find out. He handed me the bottle and a corkscrew and I got down to business.

The 2004 Mettler Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon (Lodi, California) retails for around $25. In the glass, the wine is a gorgeous, deep garnet color. Drew commented that it was a true “blood red” and while that might sound a little macabre, it is accurate. Before I even stuck my nose in the glass, I could tell that this wine has a lot going on. As soon as I had opened the bottle, aromas of spice began to waft out. Upon close inspection we detected notes of cedar in addition to the spice. There was an earthiness, too, that made me think of walking through a forest. A few swirls coaxed out even some clove and vanilla soft-serv. I realize the latter scent might sound like a stretch, but it wasn’t a real oaky vanilla — it was a lot softer and that really seems to be the best way to describe it.

I could have smelled the wine all night, but I was eager to taste it, as well. If I had to sum up this wine in one word: mocha. It tastes primarily of coffee and chocolate, with just a hint of clove and the tiniest bit of raspberry. That raspberry flavor might come forward a bit in coming years; I’ll be interested to come back to this bottle some time in the future. The wine had a smooth, lingering finish. It made me think of coffee ice cream (again, there was this creaminess), and it made Drew think of iced coffee. For a wine that clocks in at 14.6% alcohol, the gentleness was impressive. You can detect the alcohol on the nose, but it is really well integrated.

The wine is a fantastic quaffing wine, and I think it would really stand out when served with dessert. (Perfect for Valentine’s Day!) I indulged in a coffee truffle alongside this wine and it was delicious. I think it would pair really well with any kind of berry dessert as well as dark chocolate. I had a hard time coming up with a food pairing, but Drew suggested roast pork and I can see that. If you’ve had this wine, I’d be interested to know what you ate with it.

Overall, we both were very impressed with this wine. I think that the Mettler ‘04 Cabernet  might be the best $25 bottle we have ever purchased. The wine isn’t a “fruit bomb” by any means — it’s subtle and understated. I would consider it a bottle for wine lovers. Because of the interesting (and very different) mocha characteristics, I wouldn’t necessarily serve this to someone who is looking for a typical Cab because it won’t be what they expect. But if you seek out new and different wines, or you’re in the mood for something luxurious, I think this wine will suit you quite well.