Pour More

Brotherhood Winery Blanc de Blanc

Monday, July 6th, 2009 | Chardonnay, Food & Wine Pairing, Hudson Valley, New York, Sparkling Wine, White Wine, Wines Under $20 | 1 Comment

I don’t know about you, but I love all things bubbly… seltzer, tonic, soda, and of course sparkling wine. Last summer at Bounty of the Hudson we purchased two bottles of this Blanc de Blanc from Brotherhood Winery, located right here in New York’s Hudson Valley.

Blanc de Blanc sparkling wines are made from 100% Chardonnay grapes. The grapes in this bottle are all from the Hudson Valley. We thought it was a great accompaniment to our steamed lobster tails. It’s dry and crisp, but certainly not bone dry. I have to admit that I was wracking my brain for the best way to describe this wine for you. Obviously I’m out of practice and, truthfully, while reading wine blogs as a non-drinker during the last several months, I became painfully aware of how snooty some of the descriptions sound. I suppose there’s really no way around that, but I really will try not to sound too obnoxious.

The nose had a hint of white fruit on it. Drew first mentioned peaches, but then decided it was more like apricots. The wine itself had a vague citrus taste to it, making me think of grapefruit pith (but in a good way. It was very easy drinking and a good choice for a warm summer evening on the deck. (At least we thought so!)

At $10.99, it’s a very affordable option when you want to drink something like champagne, but don’t want to shell out the bucks for the French stuff.

WBW #49: A Toast To End The Bush Era

Wednesday, September 17th, 2008 | Sparkling Wine, Wine Blogging Wednesday | No Comments

Political blogger/cartoonist/wine blogger/wearer of many hats D. Honig of 2 Days Per Bottle has come up with a rather challenging topic for this month’s edition of Wine Blogging Wednesday: A toast to the end of the Bush Era. I’ve been thinking about this for weeks and honestly, I’m still not sure of an answer. I think what I choose to drink will largely depend on who takes over the White House next. If it’s my candidate, I will obviously feel quite hopeful and celebratory. If it’s not… well, I might just want to drink myself into oblivion and stay there for the next four year. OK, I wouldn’t go quite that far but I certainly won’t be dancing around.

But for the sake of this post, let’s assume my candidate wins and I’m feeling not only relieved that the last eight years are behind us, but for the first time in those eight years I’m feeling that our country will start moving in the right direction. The natural choice for me is a Champagne. But let’s remember that the U.S. economy is not in the best of shape. I am trying to drink from our cellar and not purchase anything new. With that in mind, I think my choice shall be this bottle of Pol Roger Brut Reserve. Even if you’re purchasing this at a wine shop, it won’t totally empty your pocketbook. It retails for around $30.

I’ve actually not tasted this wine before, and since we have only the one bottle, I wasn’t going to open it just for this. I chose it for a couple reasons, though. First of all, it’s French. Thinking back on the absurd “boycott” on all things French that the Bush administration encouraged, I figured at the very least I can stick some bubbles in their eye. But another reason I chose it is in honor of one of our favorite customers at our former wine shop — Buzz. Buzz shared our political views and would drop by with a copy of an article that he’d insist we read right then and there so we could rant and rave about the sorry state of our country and how we would hope that people will be intelligent enough this time around to vote for change. Buzz also lovedthis particular Champagne. I’m pretty sure he and his wife bought the better part of its inventory. So I feel it only makes sense to pull this bottle out of the fridge on January 19th.

Hopefully we’ll be ushering in a new era of government, and not just bidding adieu to the old one.

Wine Questions Answered: Part I

Wednesday, June 11th, 2008 | Prosecco, Sauvignon Blanc, Sparkling Wine, White Wine | 2 Comments

You might have noticed that things have been quiet around these parts. It’s not that I haven’t been drinking wine, it’s just that real life has interrupted my blogging mojo. So I decided to seek out help in curing my blogging malaise. I turned to the readers of my personal blog. I invited them to toss out some wine questions and promised to answer them here. The first three questions come from my friend Lisanne.

What is the prettiest bottle of wine that you’ve ever seen/tried/bought? I know that there are lots of cool-looking wine bottles out there.
I admit that I’m a sucker for a good wine label, and it seems that wineries are constantly trying to create a label that will get their bottle noticed on the shelves. Personally, I like classic, understated labels best. The Joseph Carr label is still one of my favorites because of its simplicity:

I also really like the labels for the Dry Creek Vineyard The Mariner and for B.R. Cohn wines:

I’m a white-wine lover. What’s the best white wine out there, in your opinion?
Well, I guess that all depends! I don’t think I could pick one white wine in particular as “the best” because styles are so different and while one white might be perfect for quaffing, that wine might not be great with your dinner. But here are a couple of my favorites:

Hayman & Hill Interchange 2006 ($14) - The 2006 is a blend of 47% Chardonnay, 34% Sauvignon Blanc, 7% Muscat Canelli, 5% Malvasia Bianca, 4% Semillon, and 3% Gewürtztraminer. It’s semi-dry and very similar in style to Conundrum. In fact, I’ve converted a few Condundrum drinkers to Interchange because of its great QPR. I like to enjoy it by the glass on lovely, warm afternoons, but it probably would pair well with some fish dishes.

Baron Rothschild Réserve Spéciale Bordeaux Blanc 2006 ($13) - This is a crisp wine made from Sauvignon, Semillon, and Muscadelle grapes. The citrusy flavors and nice, clean finish make it a great choice for many chicken and fish dishes.

What are some of your favorite summery wines?
Prosecco! I love this sparkling Italian wine, particularly Filipetti if you can find it. It’s dry and refreshing and delicious. I also enjoy Sauvignon Blancs in the summer. It’s a food-friendly wine that goes well will salads, chicken, fish… many of the lighter dishes people tend to eat in warm weather. A few of my favorites are Te Awa (New Zealand), Goose Bay (New Zealand, Kosher), and Groth (California). If you want something slightly less expensive, I think that Dancing Bull ($10) is a good value, and if you can find it, Stone’s Throw was surprisingly good for around $7.

Thanks for your questions, Lisanne!

Thirsty Thursday: Champagne Royal

Thursday, May 8th, 2008 | Cocktails, Cordials, Sparkling Wine, Spirits | No Comments

In case you didn’t realize, this Sunday is Mother’s Day. As a mom myself, there’s no chance I’ll be forgetting about it If you are lucky enough to be able to treat your mom to something extra-special, you might want to forgo the Mimosa at brunch and try something just a little bit different: Champagne Royal. The simple addition of raspberry liqueur adds a very subtle flavor and tints the champgane a lovely shade of pink. This is a light cocktail that is also very pretty on the table and making it could not be simpler!

Champagne Royal
1/2-1 oz. Chambord Rasberry Liqueur
4 oz. Champagne (domestic sparkling wine can be substituted)

Pour Chambord into the bottom of a champagne flute and top with champagne. Float a few raspberries in the drink for a pretty presentation.

[image source: DawnAllyn]

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Thursday, February 14th, 2008 | Brachetto, Italy, Piedmont, Sparkling Wine | 3 Comments

If Valentine’s Day isn’t a perfect occasion to drink something sparkling, or pink, or both, I don’t know what is. Sure, some people grumble about it being a “Hallmark holiday” but personally I think it can be a fun day. There’s no reason to take it so seriously, is there? An excuse to enjoy a nice meal and pop open a bottle of wine with my sweetie sounds good to me!

We’re delaying our dinner out until the weekend, but instead we’ll be having a little wine and chocolate tonight. My pick? No surprise I guess, if you’ve read me for any length of time: Banfi Rosa Regale. This delicious, semi-dry Italian sparkling wine pairs with chocolate like nobody’s business. The delicious flavors of raspberry and rose petals will make you swoon. It is made from Brachetto grapes grown near Piedmont, Italy, and clocks in at a mere 7% alcohol, so this is a great choice for people who want to enjoy bubbly, but without high alcohol content.

One of my favorite wine industry professionals, Andrea Immer, tasted it on an episode of her Fine Living show, “Simply Wine.” You can view the video here.

I’ve seen the price of Rosa Regale range quite a bit, from as low as $17, to as much as $27 per bottle, so it really will depend on your location. Half-bottles of this wine are readily available, as well. I think that Banfi Rosa Regale is a sweet ending to a romantic meal. I know it’s one of my favorites.

Paris’s Prosecco Infuriates Italians

Saturday, January 12th, 2008 | Celebrities & Wine, Italy, Prosecco, Sparkling Wine, Veneto | 4 Comments

Last month I wrote about Paris Hilton’s sassy new nude, golden, parched ad for her canned Prosecco. I thought it was tasteless (the ad that is, I haven’t actually tasted the bubbly yet, though I imagine I’ll feel much the same), and according to the National Ledger, so do Italian wine growers. They feel that the image poorly portrays what Prosecco stands for, and I think I’d agree with that. What I don’t agree with, however, is this statement from Rich Prosecco’s CEO, Gunther Aloys:

Aloys says he is helping build the wine’s world renown and does not understand the fuss.  “It’s as if someone from Champagne would oppose us selling champagne cans with Kate Moss for example. It’s just marketing and Paris Hilton is the most famous girl in the world.”

First of all, I’m not sure many reputable Champagne growers would agree to their sparkling beverage being sold in cans. And even if they did, I’m not sure I can really see Kate Moss going to such extremes to advertise the beverage. But it’s not even the fact that Paris Hilton is the Prosecco’s cover girl. Reuters states that “what’s worse, in the eyes of Prosecco producers, [is that] Rich Prosecco also comes in cans and in two fruit varieties.”

Seriously. Is flavored Prosecco something we really need? I thought that wine coolers and flavored malt beverages already had that market demographic covered. At least the flavored varieties are following Italian wine laws and are not labelled “Prosecco.” The strawberry and passion fruit varieties are called Rich Passion and Rich Royal.

Next week there will be two meetings of the wine growers association of Treviso “to decide on ways to protect the Prosecco name and insure that any company selling Prosecco is actually using wine made from the Treviso area.” Rich Prosecco says it sources its wine from this area and says there is no reason to be concerned.

The canned bubbly is sold in 27 countries (though I haven’t found evidence that it’s served at Hilton hotels).