What’s better than wine for breakfast?

Posted on April 24, 2013 by Sonadora

Cute bit of marketing from Wines of Brasil.

*Disclaimer: Snooth provided transportation and boarding so I could attend this event.

Not much, really. Except perhaps Brazilian wine for breakfast which was a new wine experience for me. Not the wine for breakfast part, the Brazilian part. I suppose I vaguely knew that wine is made in Brazil, similar to how I know wine is made in Kansas, but I’ve never seen any in the market. It appears that Brazil’s largest market is in Russia, with the US coming in 3rd, but a very distant third.  Overall, Merlot is the dominant red grape with about 60% of the red wine produced being Merlot.

I’m always excited to explore a new to me wine region, and Brazil is no exception. The folks from Wines of Brasil brought a wide range of styles for us to try, from sparkling to dessert wine. Following are my notes, exactly as I typed them into my iPad, with only my spelling cleaned up.

The line up.

2010 Cave Geisse Nature sparkling- made in the Champagne Method, bright pear, acid, bread, slight cream, green apple, lots of acid, tart, definitely will wake up your taste buds, which was an excellent start to my day since I didn’t sleep well in the hotel the night before.

NV Casa Valduga 130: peppery, smokey,  yellow apple, Asian pear, seems like a little residual sugar, pear, apple, acidity, tight tart bubbles

2011 Salton Virtude Chardonnay: butter oak, coconut, pear, apple, light on the palate, slight butter, pear, apple.

2012 Lidio Carraro Dadivas Chardonnay: melon, tropical, pear, light, spice, herbs, very light, apple, pear. The winery uses no wood of any kind.

2009 Villagio Grando Chardonnay: herbs, dank, wet, stone, cement, green, earth, cedar, very herbal, pear, not a lot of fruit.

2007 Salton Desejo Merlot: bright red plum, raspberry, spice, herbs, chocolate, earth, dirt, very restrained, good fruit, earth, plum, the fruit is not the star of the flavors/aromas. No one would ever call them jammy.

2009 Pizzato Reserva Merlot: light, very reserved nose, earth, dirt, olives, herbal notes, salt, very earth drive, hardly any fruit.

2009 Miolo Merlot Terroir: more fruit than the previous wine, some raspberry, plum, wood, black cherry, tons of acidity, plum, earth, dirt, salt, dark fruit, more familiar as a Merlot, floral.

2009 Pizzato Fausto Verve: funky, black fruit, dark, plum, cherry blackberry, barnyard, herbs, dark, tannic, needs time.

2006 Lidio Carraro Grande Vindima Quorum: strawberry, floral, spice, herbs, cherry, spice, herbs, anise, woody, tannins, lovely nose,

2009 Perini Quatro: vanilla cream chocolate wood, oak lots of it, green under that, but the oak influence is really predominate, smooth, round, fruity, vanilla, cream, would easily appeal to the general North American palate. New world.

2007 Casa Valduga Villa Lobos: funk, earth, mint, eucalyptus, wood, spice herb, some black fruit, very dark, very tannic, needs age.

2008 Miolo Lote 43: chocolate dust, vanilla cream, lovely and floral, cherries, cream, cherry, raspberry, red fruit on the palate, nice mouthfeel, might be my favorite, really restrained austere fruit, mineral, a saltiness, the pieces are all there.

Pretty color on the Moscato.

NV Aurora Carnaval Moscato Rose: very sweet nose, definitely muscat, honey, sweet melon, overripe peach, less sweet in mouth, slightly frizzante, still a ton of peach of melon, could drink a tiny tiny glass, even though nice acidity. My mom would like this.

The standouts from this tasting for me were the NV Casa Valduga 130, the 2007 Salton Desejo Merlot, and the 2008 Miolo Lote 43. Overall I think the 2009 Perini Quatro would likely be the most successful wine in the typical US market.  I’d be very interested to check out more of the sparkling wines from Brazil as I thought they had quite a bit of potential.

Filed under: Chardonnay, Merlot, Red, Sparkling wine, White, Wine | 3 Comments »

Scarpa via NYC

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Sonadora

*Disclaimer: Snooth provided transportation and lodging so I could attend this conference.

Where is Scarpa Winery, you might ask? On this particular night, it was found at Peking Duck in Manhattan, but in reality, Scarpa is in Piedmont, Italy. When I traveled to NYC a couple weeks ago to attend the Snooth People’s Voice Awards blogger conference, we were able to try quite the line up from this winery, which is not currently imported to the US, but is looking to come to the market ASAP. The Scarpa tasting kicked the conference off with a bang, with almost a dozen more tastings to follow. Lucky for Scarpa, being first, our palates were fresh and ready to taste.

Our first flight.

Our first flight.

We tasted through the following line up, in this order:

  • Scarpa Barbera d’Asti, La Bogliona, 2007, $72
  • Scarpa Barbera d’Asti, La Bogliona, 2006, $52
  • Scarpa Barbera d’Asti, La Bogliona, 2005, $68
  • Scarpa Barbera d’Asti, La Bogliona, 1998, $58
  • Scarpa Barbera d’Asti, La Bogliona, 1997, $95
  • Scarpa Barolo, Tettimora, 2005, $74
  • Scarpa Barolo, Tettimora, 2004, $88
  • Scarpa Barolo, Tettimora, 2003, $98
  • Scarpa Barolo, Tettimora, 2001, $130
  • Scarpa Barolo, Tettimora, 1999, $105
  • Scarpa Barolo, Tettimora, 1987, $250
  • Scarpa Barolo, Le Coste di Monforte, 1978, $500

As you can see, we were able to taste through a couple different verticals, as well as even older vintages of both verticals. And yes, the last bottle really does retail for $500, which may be the most expensive wine I’ve ever tasted. I’d have to go back through the last 6+ years of notes to check, but I’m pretty positive that tops my list.

One interesting thing I learned about the winery involved the use of large oak tanks to age the wines, rather than the smaller barrels most wineries in the US favor.  Their idea of the life-span of a tank is also quite different than the American notion that barrels need to be replaced every 2-3 years. The Scarpa tanks are on average currently 12-13 years old and they will use them for at least 30 years. They also use no temperature control in the winery, just open the doors when the weather is nice!

My two favorites of the tasting were the 2005 Scarpa Barbera d’Asti, La Bogliona, and the 1978 Scarpa Barolo, Le Coste di Monforte.  When I’m looking for Italian wine, I often go for a Barbera d’Asti, just because I find it to be a delicious and more affordable alternative alternative to Barolo.

2005 Scarpa Barbera d’Asti, La Bogliona: Spice, herbs, orange zest, chocolate covered orange, crushed violets, black cherry, raspberry, fresh and vibrant, lots of acidity.

1978 Scarpa Barolo, Le Coste di Monforte: Mint chocolate, min, espresso, eucalyptus, coffee bean grounds, anise notes, fresh vanilla, red fruits, cranberry, bright fresh red fruit with excellent acidity. I was really surprised by how much life this wine has in it and can imagine  it could age for years to come given the acidity.

Overall, the strong line up of wines impressed me. In general, I could easily recommend all but the 1998 Barbera because I thought that particular glass had oxidized and so I didn’t get a fair impression of the wine. Here’s hoping Scarpa Winery will find its way to a wine shop near me soon.

Filed under: Barbera, Barolo, Italy, Red, Wine | 1 Comment »

In the Willamette

Posted on February 18, 2013 by Sonadora

*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from the winery.

Harkening back to our trip to Oregon this summer, Mr. Wannabe Wino and I popped the cork on the 2010 Cornerstone Oregon Willamette Valley Pinot Noir.  If you haven’t yet had a chance to get to Cornerstone and connect with Craig Camp you are totally missing out. Especially if you haven’t stopped by their tasting room to do a tasting paired with local cheeses. The 2010 Pinot Noir has a real cork closure, clocks in at 13.5% alcohol by volume, and retails for $50 a bottle.

Four takeaways from this wine:

1.) I would pay $50 for this wine, no questions asked.

2.) Expanding their OR offerings would make me love Cornerstone even more.

3.) My notes for this wine say “Excellent.” I couldn’t describe it better.

4.) If you like dusty earth, dried violets and cherries, and baking cocoa in your Pinot, this one is for you.

On the nose I got spice, pepper, herbs, cedar, smoke, berries, dried cherries, dried violets, dusty earth, and dried raspberries on the nose. As the wine opened in my glass I kept diving back in and finding more good things to smell. The palate echoed the nose with cocoa notes, raspberries, cherries, strawberries, and herbs. All the fruits tasted a bit dried to me and very concentrated.  Overall the wine had excellent acidity and long finish. A very complex and well done wine for the price point, that over-delivered.

 

 

 

Filed under: Cornerstone Cellars, Oregon, Pinot Noir, Red, Wine | Comments Off

Barolo for a Cold Winter Night

Posted on February 13, 2013 by Sonadora

*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from Wine Chateau.

I don’t drink a lot of Barolo.  Mainly because I oddly don’t drink a ton of Italian wines in general, which is a shame.  There was a time there where I was in love with Negromara. I should probably revisit Italy through wine as I’ve had some fun ones lately, including a new grape to add to my list of grape varieties tried.  In any event, we plucked the 2007 Michele Chiarlo Barolo Tortoniano from the cellar to enjoy by a roaring fire one cold night.  The Chiarlo clocks in at 13.5 percent alcohol by volume, has a real cork closure, and retails for $37.09 from Wine Chateau.

Four takeaways from this wine:

1.) I generally don’t drink much Barolo because I find it expensive. But I do love it, and this one is wonderful in the price point.

2.) I always want to put on a smoking jacket and play some refined card game when I drink Barolo. The roaring fire fit nicely with how I imagine Barolo should be consumed.

3.) While it was lovely on its own, I could easily see if with a duck ragu or a mushroom risotto.

4.) The wine felt a little young, it definitely got better and better as it aired in my glass.

On the nose I got cherry, raspberry, wood, anise, flowers, some earthy notes, spice, and other red fruits.  In the mouth I found tarter red fruit, with raspberry, wood, black cherry, spices, dried roses, dried cherries, and more black cherry. It felt expensive on the palate.

Filed under: Barolo, Italy, Red, Wine | 2 Comments »

Syrah Kind of Day

Posted on February 1, 2013 by Sonadora

*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from the winery.

We had a cold cold week in the DC area last week and I was digging red wines. I wrestled the 2008 Bonny Doon Bien Nacido Syrah from it’s comfortable resting place in the cellar and dragged it upstairs to pair with some good old fashioned meatloaf.  Seems like comfort food and red wine make it just a little cold out. Especially when your heating system decided to give out for the second time in the winter and you needed to seek alternate sources of warmth. The Bonny Doon Syrah sports a screw cap closure, clocks in at 13.9% alcohol by volume, and retails for $42.

Four takeaways from this wine:

1.) The Bien Nacido has  a nose you can get lost in.

2.) I’d recommend decanting the Bien Nacido and letting it get some serious air. It kept getting better and better with time in the glass.

3.) I think, given how the wine developed in the glass, combined with the acidity and tannins, the Bien Nacido could easily age for quite some time.

4.) Meatloaf was good, but next time I’d go with my rosemary/mint/mustard/breadcrumb crusted rack of lamb.

 

On the nose I found spice, cedar chest, cinnamon, baking spice, the aroma of Christmas, (pine tree, spices, cookies), espresso, pepper, cherry, and raspberry.  I would have kept sniffing at the wine, but I was afraid to lose my second glass to Matt if I didn’t move on to the palate.  In the mouth I found meat, black cherry, leather, spice, raspberry, plum, pepper, earth, and more black fruit.  Overall, the wine had great structure and acidity and seemed alive in the glass to me.

 

Filed under: California, Red, Syrah, Wine | 2 Comments »

You Need This Wine

Posted on January 14, 2013 by Sonadora

You haven’t tried wines from Bill Wertzberger? What are you waiting for, a personal invite? Don’t wait. Bill makes small lot wines from small lots of grapes that he buys from his million and one contacts in the Northern CA wine world. He’s also an accomplished artist (all his wine labels are his own artwork), a musician, and he works at Teldeschi as well. Look him up and tell him I sent you his way. In addition to all of the above, he’s a generally all around good guy and someone who is awesome to spend an afternoon with.  I suggest you do so, immediately.  The wine. We tried the 2010 Wertzberger Pedroni Vineyards Cabernet Franc with our roast the other night.  It has a real cork closure, clocks in at 14.5% alcohol by volume, and retails for $30 with 72 cases produced.

1.) I’m always impressed with the depth of the wines in Bill’s portfolio.

2.) Cab Franc is my (not so secret) wine love.

3.) Get lost in the nose of this wine.

4.) I buy a lot of wine from Bill, at least 4 cases a year. His Cab Franc is perennially one of my favorite wines.

On the nose I got spice, herbs, green pepper, chocolate, strawberry, raspberry, more herbs, red cherry, and flowers. In the mouth I found raspberry, black cherry, strawberry, spice, herbs, pepper, and chocolate. The fruit was more prominent on the palate than on the nose for me. The wine had excellent acidity and good tannins on the finish.

 

 

Filed under: Cabernet Franc, California, Red, Wine | 2 Comments »

Starting off the New Year

Posted on January 2, 2013 by Sonadora

*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from the winery.

What should you drink in the New Year? Wine from Bonny Doon, clearly. I’ve been quite impressed with many of the Bonny Doon wines I’ve tasted over the last year or so and can easily recommend many of them.  In fact, I pulled out this one to start off 2013, the 2008 Le Cigare Volant.  The 2008 has a screw cap closure, clocks in at 14.2% alcohol by volume, and retails for about $38.  The 2008 is a blend of 45% Grenache, 30% Syrah, 13% Mourvèdre, 7% Cinsault, and 5% Carignane.

Four takeaways from this wine:

1.) I went to a college where the tradition for freshmen is to run the number of their class year in laps around a giant bonfire on the green. My first thought on tasting/smelling this wine was that it evoked the memory of the smell of that fire for me.

2.) I thought the Syrah really sung in this blend, but the Mourvedre gave it a nice heft and color.

3.) Drink with bacon.

4.) Randall Graham is even cooler in person than online. :) I had the pleasure of listening to him speak at the Wine Blogger Conference in Oregon this year!

On the nose I found black cherry, black plum, campfire, crushed violets, blue fruit, spice, and forest floor.  In the mouth I got black cherry, campfire, blueberry, spice, and forest floor.  Overall I found the fruit to be juicy and tart.

 

Filed under: California, Red, Wine | 1 Comment »

Wine and NASCAR??

Posted on December 13, 2012 by Sonadora

*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from the winery to participate in a live tasting event.

I’ve never seen a NASCAR race.  I really don’t know much about it at all. It’s certainly never something I expected to come across in the context of writing a wine blog. Then a direct message arrived on Twitter asking me if I’d like to participate in a live tasting with Jeff Gordon and his new wine, the 2008 Jeff Gordon Joie De Vivre.  Color me intrigued and a bit skeptical.  The wine has a real cork closure and retails for $61.

Four takeaways from this wine:

1.) Wine and NASCAR: not nearly the strange combo I imagined.

2.) The Joie De Vivre has one of those noses you can get lost in.

3.) In the glass the wine had so much going on that I had to keep coming back to my notes to add new descriptors.

4.) I am no longer a skeptic and this is definitely not just another celebrity wine.

On the nose I got flowers, chocolate, caramel, herbs, spice, blackberry, plum, and black cherry.  The nose on this wine is amazing.  Intriguing, multi-layered, and keeps getting better with air.  In the mouth I found black cherry, smoke, spice, herbs, mint, tobacco, more black cherries, toffee, toast, currants, and coffee notes.  The wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah, a different choice for a blend.  Seeing the wine evolve over the time in the glass leads me to believe it could easily age in the bottle for many years to come.

 

 

Filed under: California, Red, Wine | 2 Comments »

Jordan Wins Again

Posted on November 27, 2012 by Sonadora

*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from Jordan Winery.
Jordan knows how to make a good thing, so they stick to it. They make Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon and that’s pretty much it. (Sorry, I appear to have misplaced my photos of this bottle. For some reason I lost a week’s worth of photos somewhere in the ether.)  Tonight we tried out the 2008 Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon which clocks in at 13.5% alcohol by volume, has a real cork closure, and retails for $52. Jordan also makes estate olive oil, which is very yummy. Technical term.

Four takeaways from this wine:

1.) Serving something juicy, red, and cow-based for Christmas? Serve this.

2.) You can get lost in the nose of this wine.

3.) If you can unbury your nose from your glass, the palate of the wine has a ton to offer as well.

4.) Jordan’s Cabernet is great right out of the bottle but they age wonderfully as well, as evidenced by a tasting I did at Jordan last spring.

On the nose I got black currants, berries, cigar, herbs, spice, cardamom, chocolate, roasted coffee beans, and bay leaf. The wine has one hell of a nose. In the mouth I found black cherry, black currants, spice, chocolate, herbs, and berries. Overall I found the wine to be juicy with lots of a depth and a long finish.

 

 

Filed under: Cabernet Sauvignon, California, Red, Wine | Comments Off

Catching up with Nebbiolo

Posted on October 24, 2012 by Sonadora

*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from the winery.

Red red winnnnnnnnnneeeeeeeee.  I’ve been rooting around in the cellar lately for some off the beaten path grapes.  The box from Bonny Doon called my name (what, your wines don’t speak to you? I know Thea’s do.) and I came up with the 2007 Bonny Doon Ca’ Del Solo Nebbiolo.  The Nebbiolo retails for $40, has a screw cap closure, and clocks in at 13.7% alcohol by volume.


Four takeways from this wine:

1.) Bonny Doon is doing some interesting things with lots of grapes that other CA wineries don’t even touch. I appreciate unique.

2.) Randall Graham (Owner, Winemaker, Chief Bottlewasher, etc., at Bonny Doon) is a pretty fabulous speaker. I got to see him at the Blogger Conference in OR this summer.

3.) I thought the wine stood up really well on its own. If I were going to drink it with food I’d probably go with beef stroganoff.

4.) This wine has a lot of time left to age on it.

On the nose I got spice, pepper, cherry, currant, plum, baking spice, cinnamon, and flowers.  In the mouth I found black cherry, plum, very dark fruit, and spice.  It had great acidity, a long finish, and good structure. The wine really needed time to open up, so I’d give it some more time in the bottle or definitely decant it for a couple of hours before serving.

Filed under: California, Red, Wine | Comments Off

Next Page »
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 6,500 other followers