Last week I sprinted home 20 blocks on an unseasonably warm evening and wearing rather uncomfortable heels in order to host a wine and cheese party for some of my friends. I asked each friend to bring a wine. It could be red or white but had to be $10 or less. Upon arriving, my friends handed over their bottles and I put them into paper bags numbered 1 through 5. We conducted our tasting which was interspersed with lots of talking and eating.
I came to several realizations during the evening. First, I realized that I have managed to accumulate more wine knowledge than I thought I had. Being constantly surrounded by people who know a whole lot more about wine than I do has caused me to consistently feel behind the ball...rather than on it. Yet, when I actually think about it, I've actually picked up a lot information in the past year about wine making, grape varietals, wine growing regions and of course wine consumption. What I hadn't realized until this night, was that reading, writing, watching and blogging about wine has given me a whole new vocabulary for which to describe the things that I already actually knew about wine. So instead of saying, I like this wine; it tastes good. I can now say, I like this wine because it has ripe fruit flavors, soft tannins, a silky smooth mouth feel and long finish. I'm not actually tasting anything different in the wine, I just have the language that enables me to more accurately report my experience.
The wine community's use of language (barnyard? cat pee? foxy?) has been widely debated. And, as I have said previously, I do think that descriptors can be taken too far. I also firmly believe that while having the shared language to talk about wine enables you to communicate your opinions in a vivid and specific way, it does not necessarily allow you to enjoy the wine to a greater extent. I saw this to be true as my friends sipped their way through the five wines.
We used a form that I made to write down our notes and scores for each wine. Then at the end of the tasting we ripped off the paper bags and found out the identity of each wine. At first I thought it rather remarkable that no one chose the same grape variety and no one chose a wine from the same country. But when you think about the diversity of wines (even the affordable under $10 variety) it actually is quite plausible. Moreover, if you factor the distinct personalities of the wine buyers into the equation the wide range does make perfect sense.
Tasting Notes
2006 Fairvalley Chenin Blanc, South Africa - Crisp, dry white wine that has the grassy quality of a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc quality. Citrus notes, with a relatively short finish. 8.99
2005 Costentino Winery, "The Novelist" Meritage (Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon), California. Think of words that convey richness: Creamy, buttery, vanilla (balanced with good fruit and acidity) - this wine fooled me into thinking California oaky Chardonnay. If paired with a triple cream, this would make a milkshake in your mouth. Yum! 9.99
2006 Colonia Las Liebres Bonarda, Mendoza, Argentina. Bonarda (also known as Charbona) is a grape that most likely originated from Italy and is doing very well in South America. It had good fresh juicy red fruits, with soft tannins and medium finish. This wine was unassuming but very drinkable and could go with many different kinds of food. - Dr. Vino liked this wine too! 5.99-9.99
2005 Monte Degli Angeli Monferrato Pinot Noir. This had the most open nose (are you imagining wide nostrils because I am) of the bunch - classic young Pinot smell, which quite honestly, I may not be able describe very well, but I think of a sweet jammy bouquet with a touch of earth. A rather light, astringent wine, but still lively and fruity. It had more depth than most other inexpensive Pinots that I have tried. I liked it a lot on the first day and not quite as much on the second. 7.99
2006 Oxford Landing Cabernet Sauvignon (70%), Shiraz (30%), South Australia. This was the most tannic wine of the bunch. Bitter, vegetal and rubbery tires. I want to try this wine again because I think it may not be a good bottle. $8.49
Showing posts with label event. Show all posts
Showing posts with label event. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Sonoma in New York: the Chick and the Hen, the Zin and the Zen
I would never have guessed at the time that I created this blog and conceived the idea of writing from the perspective of a both California native and a New York resident, that months later, I would be sitting in the heart of Manhattan, eating a winegrape that was freshly picked off a vine from the Dry Creek Valley. Thanks to Dr. Vino and Larry Levine (of the Sonoma County Winegrape Commission), I got to experience a bit of Sonoma right here in New York City.
Jim Murphy (of Murphy-Goode) guided us through a tasting of the recently Fed-exed grapes starting with Pinot Noir, which has the "chicks and hens" characteristic (smaller and larger grapes in the same cluster). We moved on to Chardonnay, Syrah, Zinfandel, and finally four different samples of Cabernet from four different Sonoma County regions. We learned that the we can expect very good things out of the the 2007 vintage from California. Apparently, beginning of the summer was quite warm, which caused some concern among the wine community. However, a cool period came later in the summer that allowed for phenolic ripening. This fancy term basically means that the cooler weather allowed the grapes to get to their full flavor maturity, before the grapes ripened fully and the sugar content became too high. When grapes can achieve their full flavor potential, the wine that they produce is better and more complex.
There was at least one person in the group who didn't get the message, and she did the classic asking of the question that had just been answered - an enduring phenomenon that I have experienced both as a teacher and a student. So let me be very clear. 2007=GOOD YEAR, especially for Zinfandel, as Joel Peterson, the man behind one the of the three reliable R's (Ravenswood, Rosenblum and Ridge) reported. Joel should know, after all, he has been making wine for 31 years and has passed on his great grape gene to his son, Morgan, who has recently started his own winery (Bedrock Wine Co.)
What did the grapes taste like?
Wine grapes in general are smaller and have larger seeds and thicker skins than the table grapes that we get from the grocery store. These grapes were deliciously ripe and sweet (25+ Brix which means they were well past their wine making prime). Each variety had its distinct flavor, with Zin being the overwhelming favorite of the group.
Then came Chef Bruce Rie-Zen-Man. He brought along all things Sonoma: Mt. Tam Cowgirl cheese, Liberty Duck, duck confit, melon, prosciutto, salumni, and mushroom duxelle. He gave us a lesson on the weight of wine and food as well as the six elements of food tastes and four elements of wine tastes.
Food: Sweet, Sour, Salty, Bitter, Hot and Umami
Wine: Sweet, Acid, Bitter, Alcohol
We were given permission to play with our food as we mixed and sprinkled our way through various food pairings. Each element that we added, whether it was salt, coffee grounds or lemon, changed both the flavor profile of the food and the interaction of that food with the wine. My friend and I thought that the duck with salt and Cabernet pairing was very metallic and unpleasant (I'm pretty sure I made that face a baby makes when they're fed something "icky"), but mysteriously no one else in the crowd had that experience.
The night finished with a reception that gave us a chance to try even more food and wine pairings and gave me the chance to talk to the Sonoma county natives about the valley, Walling Road and the ever changing face of Healdsburg.
Tasting Notes:
Murphy-Goode Sauvignon Blanc (vintage?)
A floral herbacious (and yes... there was some cat pee) nose. Concentrated flavors of blossoms and citrus, but with a slight vegetal flavor at the end.
2006 Alexander Valley Winery New Gewürztraminer
Very aromatic nose of honesuckle, honeydew and sweet, ripe pears. A spritzy wine with slight fruit and a quick bitter almond finish.
2004 DeLoach Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley
Classic Cabernet - intense and rich, good fruit, licorice and also some leather and smoky qualities. Not good with salty duck breast!
Jim Murphy (of Murphy-Goode) guided us through a tasting of the recently Fed-exed grapes starting with Pinot Noir, which has the "chicks and hens" characteristic (smaller and larger grapes in the same cluster). We moved on to Chardonnay, Syrah, Zinfandel, and finally four different samples of Cabernet from four different Sonoma County regions. We learned that the we can expect very good things out of the the 2007 vintage from California. Apparently, beginning of the summer was quite warm, which caused some concern among the wine community. However, a cool period came later in the summer that allowed for phenolic ripening. This fancy term basically means that the cooler weather allowed the grapes to get to their full flavor maturity, before the grapes ripened fully and the sugar content became too high. When grapes can achieve their full flavor potential, the wine that they produce is better and more complex.
There was at least one person in the group who didn't get the message, and she did the classic asking of the question that had just been answered - an enduring phenomenon that I have experienced both as a teacher and a student. So let me be very clear. 2007=GOOD YEAR, especially for Zinfandel, as Joel Peterson, the man behind one the of the three reliable R's (Ravenswood, Rosenblum and Ridge) reported. Joel should know, after all, he has been making wine for 31 years and has passed on his great grape gene to his son, Morgan, who has recently started his own winery (Bedrock Wine Co.)
What did the grapes taste like?
Wine grapes in general are smaller and have larger seeds and thicker skins than the table grapes that we get from the grocery store. These grapes were deliciously ripe and sweet (25+ Brix which means they were well past their wine making prime). Each variety had its distinct flavor, with Zin being the overwhelming favorite of the group.
Then came Chef Bruce Rie-Zen-Man. He brought along all things Sonoma: Mt. Tam Cowgirl cheese, Liberty Duck, duck confit, melon, prosciutto, salumni, and mushroom duxelle. He gave us a lesson on the weight of wine and food as well as the six elements of food tastes and four elements of wine tastes.
Food: Sweet, Sour, Salty, Bitter, Hot and Umami
Wine: Sweet, Acid, Bitter, Alcohol
We were given permission to play with our food as we mixed and sprinkled our way through various food pairings. Each element that we added, whether it was salt, coffee grounds or lemon, changed both the flavor profile of the food and the interaction of that food with the wine. My friend and I thought that the duck with salt and Cabernet pairing was very metallic and unpleasant (I'm pretty sure I made that face a baby makes when they're fed something "icky"), but mysteriously no one else in the crowd had that experience.
The night finished with a reception that gave us a chance to try even more food and wine pairings and gave me the chance to talk to the Sonoma county natives about the valley, Walling Road and the ever changing face of Healdsburg.
If you want to experience a little of Sonoma and you can't get in your car and drive there, click on the picture and look through the lens of the Sonoma County Winegrape Commission's live web-camera. Just make sure you don't visit after dark if you want to get a glimpse of the vines.
Tasting Notes:
Murphy-Goode Sauvignon Blanc (vintage?)
A floral herbacious (and yes... there was some cat pee) nose. Concentrated flavors of blossoms and citrus, but with a slight vegetal flavor at the end.
2006 Alexander Valley Winery New Gewürztraminer
Very aromatic nose of honesuckle, honeydew and sweet, ripe pears. A spritzy wine with slight fruit and a quick bitter almond finish.
2004 DeLoach Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley
Classic Cabernet - intense and rich, good fruit, licorice and also some leather and smoky qualities. Not good with salty duck breast!
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