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North Fork Granny Smith

Tuesday, January 29th, 2008 | Long Island, Meritage, Red Wine, White Wine, Wines Under $20 | 3 Comments

I just tasted a bunch of wines from Macari in Mattituck. Actually, with 3 exceptions, I tasted all of their current wines. I must say, the wines performed fairly well when compared to the other North Fork stuff I’ve tasted. In general I found them significantly lighter in body than what I am used to from California, France, Chile…well, almost everywhere else. For the most part, the flavors were solid, with a  common earthiness among the reds, and a miscellaneous acidic tang to the whites. These, both, being positive traits. I just can’t get away from the watery mouthfeel common among these wines.

There were two standouts worth seeking out. First, their Bergen Road 2004 is a sort of North Fork Meritage. It’s heavy on Merlot with about a quarter each of Cab Sauv and Malbec, and just a touch of Petit Verdot. Full-flavored and woody with some nice spicy notes and light tannins, it was a pleasant take on the classic Bordeaux blend. Again, a little thin and watery in the mouth. The flavors would suggest a lush, velvety finish, but the body isn’t quite there to deliver. The $40-something price tag is no laughing matter, either, but if you want good, solid flavor from the North Fork, this is worth a try.

The real standout for me, however, was a white called Early Wine, the 2007 vintage. It is Chardonnay with a splash of Sauvignon Blanc that is picked, fermented in steel and bottled rather quickly- all in a matter of months I think. (It was only bottle number 2 of 10 or so I tasted so be kind - my memory ain’t what it used to be.) If I didn’t know this was a wackadoo Chard I would have thought it a Babich-ish New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc from the nose. Fairly aggressive aromas of green and unripe fruit. Think kiwi and lime and those little tiny bananas still green on the tree. In the mouth it was all Granny Smith apple. Big, tart, delightfully puckery and totally mouth filling. Somewhere on the finish was a teasing promise of sweetness that was never quite delivered…and for some reason, that made it even better.

Despite its pedigree, this oddball Chardonnay has no business in the Chardonnay section. This is definitely a wine for lovers of crazy-tart Sauvignon Blanc. And at about $15 on the shelf, it’s worth checking out when you’re just in the mood for something different.

No Sangria For You, Virginia!

Monday, January 28th, 2008 | Wine Laws, Wine News | No Comments

The state of Virginia is home to former president and oenophile Thomas Jefferson. However, the state also has a 75-year-old ban on mixing wine with spirits. Perhaps you shrug your shoulders when you think about that. After all, how often do you mix wine and booze? Maybe not all that often, except when you’re making a tasty pitcher of sangria, which is made with wine, brandy, and fruit. That’s right, readers, it is currently illegal to serve sangria in Old Dominion. It is also illegal to serve other wine cocktails such as kir royals and even beer drinks like boilermakers.

A Virginia tapas bar, La Tasca, was fine $2,000 in 2006 when they were “busted” during a routine inspection by the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control. The law was introduced in 1934, just after the repeal of Prohibition. Many restaurateurs and bar owners think it’s time to update the law, and currently the state is reviewing it. From the Houston Chronicle:

“It’s absolutely preposterous,” said Robert Hall, general manager of Jaleo restaurant in Crystal City, which altered its sangria recipe last year after hearing the news about La Tasca. “What harm is this causing?”

The General Assembly, which began a 60-day legislative session this month, is considering whether to tweak the antiquated law to allow restaurants and bars to serve sangria made of more than wine. A House of Delegates subcommittee heard a brief explanation of the legislation Thursday and voted to combine it with a broader alcohol regulation bill.

“It just seems to make common sense that government should worry about big issues like transportation and not get too concerned about what people drink,” said Del. Adam Ebbin, D-Alexandria, who introduced the bill.

The Tapas bar that was fine was forced to dump 40 litres of its sangria down the drain. It currently makes a faux sangria using non-alcoholic orange liqueur, but as you can imagine the taste is not quite the same. Hopefully Virginia lawmakers will come to their senses and repeal this silly law.

Rush Limbaugh: Real Men Don’t Drink White Wine

Saturday, January 26th, 2008 | Celebrities & Wine | 1 Comment

Today Iwas browsing through pages of wine news and suddenly a headline caught my eye. Well, more accurately it was the Web site the story was on, more than the headline itself. Apparently,  yesterday a caller to the Rush Limbaugh radio program threw the talk show host for a loop when he asked about wine instead of politics. From RushLimbaugh.com:

CALLER: Listen, I called to ask about your wine interests. I like politics as much as the next guy, but last year before our birthday a few days, you had a dinner party and you listed all these fabulous first growth Bordeaux you had for the party, and it got me to thinking about you and Marvin Shanken and Cigar Aficionado and Wine Spectator Magazine, and I’m wondering how long you’ve had that kind of interest, that level, and if it had anything to do with your relationship with him or it predated that and maybe some of your everyday type level wines. I assume you don’t drink that kind of stuff all the time.

Mr. Limbaugh waxes poetic for a while about his relationship with vintage Bordeaux wines. As I read the transcript, all I heard in my head was a vague “Blah, blah, blah” much like the teacher sounds in Charlie Brown cartoon specials. However, two things made me stop short. Here is the first:

For one thing, I’m not going to drink a whole bottle of wine myself a night, not even close. So the everyday wine that you would say if I were just going to have some, some half bottles Caymus, Screaming Eagle Cabernet. If I start naming names, I’m going to leave some out. Francis Ford Coppola’s Rubicon I like. There’s so much good stuff.

Whoa, whoa, whoa… let’s back up here for a moment. Mr. Limbaugh considers Caymus and Screaming Eagle to be “everyday wine?” Now we know he’s got to be a wealthy man, but even some of the wealthiest people I know still drink Kendall-Jackson and Ravenswood as their everyday wine. At least the caller seemed to have a bit of wine knowledge because he called out Mr. Limbaugh on this point:

CALLER: Well, there’s some great ones in the world, but I hope you don’t drink Screaming Eagle for your everyday wines. It’s $1,600 bucks a bottle.

RUSH: Not every day, no, no, no, but when I don’t open the Bordeaux, Screaming Eagle, Caymus — Screaming Eagle is hard to get.

Okie-dokie.

The other point Mr. Limbaugh made that irritated me was in reference to white wine. He’s “not big on” white wine. He states that he likes it, but needs to drink it with food. It doesn’t stand on his own. While I don’t really understand that (personally I find white wine is usually much more quaffable than red wine, but to each his or her own), that’s how he feels. Fine. But his next statement was really unnecessary:

I don’t spend a whole lot of time with whites. I have whites, but mainly for guests. It’s the women that like the whites.

“It’s the women that like the whites.” Why do some people still think “white wine is for the girls, red wine is for the boys?” Please! I think Mr. Limbaugh knows about as much about wine as he does ethics;-)

The Perfect Tequila for your Bachelorette Party

Thursday, January 24th, 2008 | Tequila | 4 Comments

Well, you can’t say that the wine & spirits biz is serious all the time. There is certainly a laugh or two to be had. Today, that laugh had a lot to do with unpacking a couple bottles of Asombroso tequila. As you can see, it has a very uniquely shaped bottle. Perhaps I have the sense of humor of a 10 year old boy, but I could barely keep myself from chuckling. The tequila, however, is supposed to be quite good. The Asombroso won a Robb Report Best of the Best award in 2004. It was also awarded double gold in the 2007 San Francisco World Spirits competition.

I do wish that I had been able to bring a sleeve of Asombroso minis to my sister-in-law’s bachelorette party back in September. I think that it would really have been a hit!

2004 Robertson Winery Wolfkloof Shiraz

Saturday, January 19th, 2008 | Red Wine, Shiraz, South Africa, Wines Under $20 | 1 Comment

Last night Drew and I planned for a pretty laid-back, relaxing Friday: pizza (homemade, of course), wine, chocolate mousse, and season two of “Veronica Mars.” The pizza was BBQ chicken and bacon with peppers and onions. I used BBQ sauce instead of tomato sauce and cheddar cheese instead of mozzarella. I was pretty confident that it would be good, but I was struggling with what wine to drink. The BBQ sauce and bacon made it tricky because of the saltiness/sweetness.

I opened the question to my Twitter friends, asking for their ideas. Lenn Thompson (of Lenndevours) suggested a Côtes du Rhône, and initially that sounded good to me. I had a bottle of Chasse du Pape in the wine rack, too. Andrew Barrow (of Spitoon) suggested a Valpolicella which would be easy enough to find. Drew and I went back and forth for a while throwing around ideas. I wanted something that would cut through the sweetness of the BBQ sauce. He didn’t want anything that would be too subtle and overwhelmed by the strong flavors of the sauce and the bacon. Finally we reached what seemed to be a compromise: 2004 Robertson Winery Wolfkloof Shiraz ($19.99) from South Africa.

While we didn’t decant the bottle, we did allow the wine to breath in our glasses for about 15 minutes while getting dinner prepared. Once the pie was in the oven, we set down to business. The nose on this wine is predominantly oaky with some heady aromas of spice. There is very little fruit. In fact, Drew commented that the nose made him think of Côtes du Rhône. This is a fairly high alcohol wine, clocking at at 14.5%, and I thought that was apparent — I wouldn’t say the inside of my nose burned, but the alcohol was certainly present. On the palate, again there was very little fruit (perhaps a hint of blackberry), but plenty of other flavors: cinnamon and leather to name two. A bite of tortilla chips and pineapple-chipotle salsa helped coax out a smokey/ashy flavor as well. It was a very earthy wine, yet not overwhelming. The finish was medium-long and very clean.

We both really enjoyed this wine. It’s well-balanced, full-bodied, and just feels wonderful in your mouth. It’s one I would drink again without hesitation.

WBW #41 | Whites From Friuli Venezia Giulia

Wednesday, January 16th, 2008 | Friuli, Italy, White Wine, Wine Blogging Wednesday | 5 Comments

Let me first admit something: I’m highly suspicious of white wines from Italy. I can’t help it; I just think of cheap Pinot Grigio. Now don’t get me wrong — there’s nothing inherently wrong with cheap Pinot Grigio. Here at Pour More, we’re not wine snobs. Heck, we drink Crane Lake Cabernet Sauvignon on a regular basis and are not ashamed to admit that. But to date I have not been impressed by white wines from Italy (the exception being that delicious, sparkling treat: Prosecco). So when I became aware of this month’s topic I considered skipping it. Jack and Joanne of Fork & Bottle chose Friuli Venezia Giulia white wines. And when I had a difficult time finding anything decent from Italy’s Friuli region, I seriously considered throwing in the towel.

But I thought that I really should plod on, especially because Italian white wines are something I generally ignore. None of the local wine shops had any Friuli wines in stock (well, they had Kris Pinot Grigio, but I really didn’t think that was what the hosts were going for, espcially since Jack and Joanne cautioned us that quality wines from this region are rarely priced under $18), so I tacked two bottles onto an order from one of our distributors. The Tocai was backordered, but my second choice arrived last week.

The 2004 Vidussi Ronchi di Ravez ($24.00) is a white blend. The grapes are not listed on the wine label, and I am assuming the blend changes from vintage to vintage because in my research I found two different descriptions of this wine. One says it is a blend of Sauvignon, Pinot Bianco, Ribolla Gialla, and Picolit. The other says it is a blend of Ribolla Gialla, Malvasia Istrian, Tocai Friulian, and Picolit. Either way, we can guess that that Picolit and Ribolla Gialla both found their way into my bottle. Loosely translated, “Ribolla Gialla” means “yellow” and that certainly makes sense once you see the color of this wine. It truly is yellow, making Drew think of lemons and making me think of a pilsner beer (though ever so slightly lighter). It was an unusual and very pretty shade. The nose reminded us of a California Chardonnay: buttery, with a suggestion of cream. There was an apple componant as well and as I swirled my glass eventually I coaxed out some apricot.

Don’t be fooled, though. This wine tastes nothing like a California Chard. It’s one of the most unusual white wines I’ve had. It has a wonderful, creamy mouthfeel and tastes of dried apricots (there was a concentrated sweetness) and almonds, or perhaps another very mild nut. Almond was what first came to my mind. It has a lingering, nutty finish that coats your tongue after you swallow. The wine is full-bodied and begs you to take your time while drinking it.

I served this with a very simple pasta dish: chicken breast, red peppers, broccoli, and whole wheat fusilli sautéed with herbs and olive oil, and topped with Pecorino Romano cheese. Although it paired well, I think the wine would be better suited to a creamy risotto or with an appetizer of soft cheeses.

The Ronchi di Ravez has inspired me to try other wines from the Friuli Venezia Giulia region. This particular wine was so different from most whites I drink. It was truly, a refreshing change, and I thank Jack and Joanne for challenging us this month.

About Wine Blogging Wednesday: In 2004 Lenn Thompson of LENNDEVOURS was inspired to create a virtual wine tasting. Each month a different bloggers chooses the theme and ”hosts” that month’s tasting. Other bloggers seek out a wine consistant with the theme, taste the wine, and write about it. For more information, visit www.winebloggingwednesday.org 

2005 BEX Riesling

Monday, January 14th, 2008 | Germany, Riesling, White Wine, Wines Under $20 | 2 Comments

I don’t drink a lot of Rieslings, but when I do I tend to prefer those of the drier variety. The BEX Riesling, from Germany’s Mosel region, was a good match for me. It is low-alcohol — only 10.5 %. This wine had a delicious nose of bright, crisp apple. It had a very fresh aroma. On the palate the apple notes carried through to some apple flavor along with a touch of lemon, some minerality, and nice acidity. The wine had a crip, medium-long finish.

We drank this bottle with Chinese take-out (General Tso’s chicken and Crab Rangoon). It paired well with the spiciness of the food. For the price (around $12), this is a decent dry Riesling. It was certainly enjoyable and I would recommend it.

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).

Warning: This Post May Be Hazardous To Your Health

Thursday, January 10th, 2008 | France, General Wine News | No Comments

Although I often dream of packing up our family and moving to the French countryside, right now I’m thankful that here in the United States, you don’t need to add any kind of disclaimer when writing about wine. According to an article in Decanter, a French court ruled that newspapers articles on wines need to carry the same health and safety guidelines as any other form of alcohol advertising. In question was a 2005 editorial about Champagne. The editorial contained information you’d find in any article on wine, in any newspaper or magazine: reccomendations, pricing, and profiles of the wineries. Although I haven’t seen the article in question, I can’t imagine that it was anything over-the-top. However, the French courts viewed it differently:

The court said that the article was ‘intended to promote sales of alcoholic beverages in excersising a psychological effect on the reader that incited him or her to buy alcohol’.

‘Any communication in favour of an alcoholic drink, such as a series of articles in favour of Champagne, constitutes advertising and is therefore subject to the public health code,’ said a spokesperson for the National Association for the Prevention of Alcoholism and Addiction (ANPAA).

Naturally, journalists are quite shocked by this decision and frankly I am too. Although it might seem harmless to add “Alcohol abuse is dangerous to your health” to the end of an article, the fact that the French government is interfering is disturbing because it opens the gate for future lawsuits and future restrictions on journalists. I have to wonder if the ruling will spill over to wine blogs as well. When I write about a specific wine, I suppose it could be considered “free advertising” but I’m certainly not getting paid by the winery. I’m writing about the wine to give my readers information about it. Perhaps it will affect their purchasing habits, but I would not say that I am necessarily promoting the sales of these wines. I suppose others might disagree with that, though.

Should we, as wine bloggers, have a sitewide disclaimer? Is that really necessary? I’ll be curious if the decision will be upheld, and what else will come of this.

2005 Bordeaux d’Estournel

Tuesday, January 8th, 2008 | Bordeaux, France, Red Wine | No Comments

Cos d’Estournel is one of my favorite Bordeaux vineyards (and I think Drew would say the same). The other day he found this at a local wine shop for $10.99 and we thought we’d give it a try. 2005 is considered by many to be a great year for Bordeaux and while this is a little young, we figured we could get an idea.  I looked around for a little information on this wine and found a bit of its history at Wine Library:

In 1970 the Prats brothers, the owners of the famous Chateau Cos d’Estournel, decided to create a reasonably-priced, constant and perfect Bordeaux regional wine. Daily, they used to drink a Bordeaux house wine they did not produce but that was still made from the best terroirs of this appellation. Encouraged by their friends and hosts, who found that this Bordeaux was excellent, they decided not to keep this wine for their own family consumption any longer and accepted to commercialize it. They called it Maitre d’Estournel as a tribute to Louis Gaspard d’Estournel, the founder of Cos d’Estournel, whose example inspired them a lot. Now renamed Bordeaux d’Estournel, it is an harmonious ensemble of grape varieties: the Cabernet Sauvignon gives an intense aroma and the tannins for ageing, the Merlot gives a mellow roundness, the Cabernet Franc the delicacy and peppery nuances. Its roundness and tenderness come from ripe grapes harvested late.

I found it to be a decent table wine — just what you’d expect from a cheap Bordeaux. It was very dry and earthy. The nose had a touch of dark cherry, but not much. It actually made me think of some of the pricier Long Island wines I’ve tasted. There was this “pith” characteristic to the Bordeaux d’Estournel that I’d noticed in the Pindar Pythagoras and the Raphael Merlot. I finally made the connection that is sometimes drawn between Long Island wines and Bordeaux wines. But then, that raises the question… why spend $30 on a wine from Long Island when you can get similar quality in an $11 Bordeaux?

That aside, the wine was decent, but personally there are other bottles in the same price range that I like better, so I probably won’t be seeking this one out again.