Wine Tastings and such

August wines

2006-08-10T15:49:00.001-07:00

I guess I know what fashion designers feel like when they are talking about their fall fashions in spring or vice versa. It is the middle of a heat wave and I have wine salesman bringing me red wines to taste which would be much better served with cold weather as a backdrop, but we do what we have to do.

Tasted wines from Palm Bay Imports this morning.
Vavasour Sauvignon Blanc 2005 Marlborough A screw cap minerally Sauvignon from New Zealand, go figure. Actually it was a little more minerally than I expected. A touch of glycerin on the glass .

Cavit Lunetta Prosecco Non vintage A touch of melon on the front. I am not a big fan of Prosecco because it can have a bit of a burnt asprin aftertaste. This one did not have that. actually a pleasant finish.

Il Ducale Red Label Sangiovese 2003 Leathery nose, typical for Sangiovese but very quick dried fruit on the tongue. A little flabby on the tongue because of the heat wave maybe. Not a great bottle. I will pass on this one.

August wines

2006-08-10T15:49:00.000-07:00

Ozeki Sake

2006-08-02T16:33:00.000-07:00

Its always fun to try things that usually aren't available. In this instance it was Sake. Ozeki does both domestic and import. The obvious thing that people know is Sake is made from rice. The quality of rice is important as is the amount of grinding that is done to the rice.

Junmai is a rice that has been ground down at least 25%. The rice is then soaked in water, which becomes absorbed by the rice which is then brewed. In many ways Sake is more like a beer than wine. It also suffers from the same problem that Chianti had(has) in that we come to the table with pre conceived ideas. We think of warm cups of Sake that have a bitter taste. When we heat up Sake it actually covers up any unpleasant aromas. Since earlier Sake we made from inferior rice there was a lot to cover up. Todays Sake is best served chilled and will surprise most tasters by its delicacy and beauty.

Ozeki Sake was the first tried. Bitter and harsh it still had a pleasant aftertaste. Made in Calfornia from short grain rice.

Ozeki Dry was the next sampled. A little more citrus on the tongue but still rough for my enjoyment.

Yamadanishiki was interesting in its named for the special rice used. Polished to the Ginjo level or 40% reduced. Sublte sweet flavors and a nice smooth long finish. It wil be in the store.

Karatamba given it's name from the Brewmasters. Sake that has been done in Honjozo style. 40% of grain is taken off and grain alcohol added at fermentation. Interesting, a touch heavier in style. Almost like a porter style beer.

Osakaya Chobei Over 50% reduction. I was called to the front when I was tasting this so I didnt write any notes. I thought I liked it though. Its also interesting that the alcohol was present on the tongue, the heat, but they didnt seem to get my tongue thick.

Ozeki Nigori Nigori is a style that is interesting. Instead of taking the rice polishings away they are added back to the must. This produces a milky almost gritty texture and a bit more sweetness to the end product. My sales person assures me its the big IN thing with women who drink Sake.

Which reminds me, we do know have a sparkling Sake. It is also supposed to be the rage on the coasts. I will probably be bringing in a few of these Sake's to add to my ever growing Sake selection. As always whenever you give up more of the crop before you actually use it the cost will be higher. So the higher the quality level , the more polishing, the more polishing the less product, the less product the higher the cost. Simple economics 101. Dr Dolecki would be proud of me.

tastebud

2006-07-29T16:11:00.000-07:00

Ok so now I can pat my own back. Coming out next week will be a new collection of articles. I do not want to call it a magazine but I guess thats as close as I can think. "Tastebud" is the name of the publication. It will be a monthly endevour. I have been asked to be the wine writer for it. I hope to do a better job with that than this little post. very boring post...especially as happy as I am for the opportunity to write. The first issue is called Take It Outside so I wrote about the different places wine can go outside, bbq and such. Anyway look for it in the places you find other publications like THE PITCH, etc.

Cute wine titles

2006-07-28T16:09:00.000-07:00

I know that it is because there is a glut of wine today. I know that American's are drinking more wine than ever and need to have some help in selecting their choices. The problem is I feel like I am being talked down to. I guess one can never underestimate their audience but when I heard the wine called "Mommys Time Out" I was a little bit appalled. The wine itself is not bad. An Italian affair that is mostly Gargenega which is the wine of Soave. Light bodied and crisp with some nice citrus lingering on the palate it makes for a nice porch pounder, book club or bunco party wine. I guess I will not see it at a Chiefs game or boys night out. Maybe thats next, Daddys Bonding Cabernet.

Houghton from Garco

2006-07-25T16:54:00.000-07:00

My Garco rep brought some wines to try from Houghton which is the oldest winery in Western Australia having been established in the 1830s. Most of our knowledge of wines come from Southeastern Australia but actually Western Australia has some prime growing regions also.

Chardonnay 2005 Lightly oaked. Almost Sauv Blanc in nature. Crisp with a little herbacious nature. Obviously no malolactic fermentation.

Chardonnay/Verdelho 2005 Verdelho is most often found in Spain and Portugal . It was brought to Australia to help make Maderia style wines. Interestingly this wine had more Chardonnay nose with a bit of Vinho Verde thrown in. Good shellfish wine. Will be in the store around $14

Cabernet Syrah Merlot 2004 Dark color not see through at all. Pretty Cab nose, almost smells like steak sauce, which is a good thing. A bit disjointed or ensure of its self. Not a great wine.

WIne from William Deutch mike ryan

2006-07-25T16:44:00.000-07:00

Deutch hit it big a few years back with Yellow tail, which sells amazingly well. I guess you could say they started the critter wine craze with their kangaroos on the label. They do have other products in their portfolio though. DeBoeuf being one of the bigger and Artesa, which I tasted today. De Boeuf is like the Gallo of France. Lots of land where they make inexpensive wine.

DeBoeuf Pinot Noir 04 light color, light red thats all, not much flavor a little tart but a nice intro Pinot Noir.

Artesa Chardonnay 05 Pretty Malo nose that follows through on the palate. Bright acidity, flinty nose, very unctious.

Artesa Merlot Napa 2002 Opaque in depth of color. Cedar and cola on the nose.

Artesa Cabernet Napa/Sonoma 2002 Smooth tannins, not a bigh wine, soft. Not a big wine. Both smelled as if I was in a lodge with a huge fireplace.'

Elements 2001 An interesting wine, Bordeaux meets Rhone. I really lilked this wine. Iodine on the nose with a touch of the savauge at the back of the throat. Very nice.

Artesa was originally Cordonieu's American property. I definitely recommend visiting this winery if you get a chance. Its very pretty.

Wente wines

2006-07-25T16:21:00.000-07:00

Last week I had a chance to taste some wine from an older established winery, Wente. It was known as Wente Brothers when I first started in the business, god i am starting to sound like an old man. Anyway, they had a good basic product and that seems to be the case still even with the name change. It is run by a Wente woman so the brothers title seemed outdated I guess.

One of the maj0r clones for Chardonnay in California is even named the Wente Clone, so there is a pedigree to the winery.That said the wines were showing okay but not great.

Sauv Blanc 2004 If ever there was a wine that fit the descriptor lemon grass this is the one. Nice follow through on the finish but a bit hot too.

Chardonnay 2004 Sweet nose and fruit. True of the region which would be San Francisco bay.

Reva Ranch from Arroyo Seco. Toasty nose with bright fruit on the palate and not overly oaked. Very nice.

Crain Ridge Merlot Light color, tannins are smooth. Cedar and chocolate seem prominent.

Misc. Wines from Pinnacle

2006-07-17T13:38:00.000-07:00

Today was a hot day that would be perfect for crisp light white wine or pilsner beer. I had two reps today who brought wines to try today.
One was Pinnacle who had an interesting array.

Chateau D'Orschwihr Cremant d' Alsace NV Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris that is made in a style that is not quite sparkling but definitely not still. Soft and creamy.

Leon Beyer Riesling 2003 Alsace. Totally dry, lots of mineral and sulphur that would turn into a petrol finish as it gets older. Not my style at all but I do know a lot of people prefer that to a little sweeter style.

Sierra Cantabria Organza 2004 White wine made with indigenous Spanish grapes. Soft texture with some nice mineralithy. Unctious in flavor with a pretty caramel finish. In the store.

Garretson Celiedh Rose 2005 A rhone style rose that is very interesting. 2 days on the press instead of only hours this wine has a burnt orange purple color. Very thick and not a light style rose at all. very interesting.

Onix Priorat 2004 Most Priorat wines are big and expansive which made this one just a little surprising. But for the money it was still a good bottle of wine. Pretty dark garnet color light flavors but good acidity.

Skouras Wines from Greece

2006-07-15T15:50:00.000-07:00

Well here is another example of trying to break down stereotypes. When you enter a discussion of greek wines the first thought is either of Retsina, a strange type of wine made from resin, or else really sweet wines like Mavrodaphne, which puts Missouri wines to shame when it comes to cloying.

With that thought in mind I was tasting the following wines with Bernie Lee of Premier Cru. They had just picked up this line of wines and were discovering them also. To my surprise they had some interesting wines, and even better they were good. Good quality and price point.

Moscofilio 2005. This grape type is a muscat clone that is said to be the parent of all muscat clones. Lots of perfume and sweetness on the nose. A light finish that doesnt last as long as I thought it would .

Viognier 2005 Interesting that they presenting a wine that is not usually thought of in Greece. Viognier is the wine of the Rhone Valley of France. Here the wine comes off a little weak. Viscous in the glass with a light yellow color. Definitely on the dry side without a lot of aromas on the front. It may be truly like a rhone style which needs some years to really show off.

Zoe 2005 A rose. Pretty Strawberry color. A dry rose made with the St George wine. An earthyt nose, with good acidity and a nice long finish. Perfect for this time of year.

St George 2004. St George is said to be the first real Sangiovese because in Italian Sangiovese means St George. I always wondered what Giovani meant. Now I know. Anyway. Lots of juicy character, dark cherry on the palate . Very fruit forward with not a big finish, but good non the less.

Megas-Oenos 2003 Interesting Licorice color. Sandalwood or spicy nose. Soft on the tongue and beautiful finish. This would surprise a lot of people if they tasted it blind. Greece would probably not come up as a place of origin.

Vin Santo. 2002 Burnt amber color. Very viscous with a scotch nose. I was taken back by the sweetness because it did not come through the nose. Caramel and peach were my first impressions. Very light alcohol so you can enjoy it at the end of a meal and not get overheated.

Greece is blessed by volcanic soil lightly covered by an alluvian fan that allows for just enough nourishment. They do suffer from shorter growing season because of the heat but it seems this company at least has learned how to turn the grapes they get into a good quality product.

Hello and welcome to my second blog

2006-07-15T14:09:00.000-07:00

This is my second blog. The first as you will remember was part of the company website. Since we have decided to let that enterprise go away for a bit I thought I should start my own. I like this better because I can break down the posts a little easier. For instance the first post will be about a new Greek winery for our market . If your not interested in that type of wine you will know to skip that post all together and go to the next one. Here is hoping for many good posts in the future. Alan