Part I of a Summer Pair

Posted on August 27, 2013 by Sonadora

*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample for review.

Many times I head down to my basement and stare at the wines.  Then I reach my hand into a rack and play what I like to call “wine roulette.” Sometimes you wine, sometimes you lose. Tonight, I won the lottery twice with this wine and it’s partner. My winner for the evening is the 2010 Domaine du Tariquet Classic which has a screw cap, clocks in at 11% alcohol by volume, and retails for about $10-$11. The wine is a 70/30 blend of Ugni Blanc and Colombard.

Four takeaways from this wine:

1.) Generally, Ugni Blanc (aka Trebbiano) and Colombard aren’t the most, shall we say, distinctive wines on their own.

2.) Apparently, if you grow them well and blend them together, you actually get a light, fresh wine with great acidity.

3.) I shared this with our neighbors over some deep friend shrimp and they loved it.

4.) $10 is cheap and cheerful for an easy-drinking summer sipper.

On the nose I got floral notes, lemon, spice, and lime zest. The wine smells fresh and I can almost taste the acid.  In the mouth I found lime, tart apple, lots of citrus, and tropical notes on the finish.  Overall, the wine is bright and crisp with good acidity and paired well with an end of the summer BBQ.

 

 

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WBW #80 – Dry Rosé

Posted on August 14, 2013 by Sonadora

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

As I mentioned last week, Wine Blogging Wednesday is back! Founded by Lenn almost a decade ago (ha! does that make some of the old-time wine bloggers feel even older?), WBW is a monthly wine event hosted by a different wine blogger every month. I’ve hosted a couple times in the past with great success, and we welcome WBW back after a nearly 2 year hiatus thanks to Tim of WineCast. For WBW #80, which I also think is technically the 9th anniversary of WBW, Tim chose Dry Rosé as the theme and simply asked us to review a dry rosé to review.

Easy peasy as far as I am concerned. Who doesn’t like rosé in the summer?  Here in DC, while we’ve been having an unexpectedly mild August (what’s up with that??), it’s still been plenty warm enough to bust out some rosé to beat the humidity, which is generally killer when you live in a swamp. In the summer.

For this milestone WBW, I chose the 2011 Michel Torino Malbec Rose.  It’s a wine from Wildman Selections, clocks in at 13.5% alcohol by volume, has a Nomacorc closure (which I just learned about when I attended Drink Local Wine this spring), and retails for about $15.

Four takeaways from this wine:

1.) While it has some tannins on the finish, the acidity is there and it is well-balanced.

2.) I enjoyed the dried cherries and herbal notes on this wine.

3.) While we enjoyed this rocking in our Adirondack chairs on the front porch (did I not mention that I turned 70 lately?? 😉 ) I thought it would be great with my signature BBQ ribs.

4.) I’m not sure I’ve ever had a Malbec Rosé before, but I’m intrigued and would definitely try another.

On the nose I got juicy raspberries, dried cherries, and herbal notes. In the mouth I found cherry, raspberry, blackberry, and herbs. Overall, the wine struck me as light, bright, dry, and refreshing with good acidity that made it perfect for a hot day.

Many thanks to Tim for hosting, and, as always, a tip of the hat to our founder Lenn!

 

 

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Rock This Way

Posted on August 8, 2013 by Sonadora

Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from Cornerstone Winery.

While our weather has turned unseasonably cool in DC for August, I’m still digging white wines. The summer screams white wine and bubbles to me and we’ve been drinking plenty of both lately. I played roulette in the basement and hit upon the 2012 Stepping Stone White Rocks from Cornerstone Cellars to taste.  The wine has a screw cap closure, clocks in at 14.1% alcohol by volume, and retails for $18 a bottle.

Four takeaways from this wine:

1.) Drink with heat. Which we generally have plenty of in the DC area.

2.) I love the Stepping Stone line from Cornerstone for the price points and the experimentation.

3.) My favorite is the Cabernet Franc.

4.) If I weren’t sipping the White Rocks on my front porch, I’d pair it with my cheese course or a light grilled white fish.

2012 Stepping Stone White Rocks from Cornerstone

On the nose I found floral and lime notes, other citrus, wet stones, orange blossoms, and white pepper.  In the mouth I got citrus, lemon, lime, more citrus, and lots of citrus.  Overall I’d call the wine zippy, bright, fruity and fun.  (Somewhere I have misplaced my camera card and the photos of this bottle with it…)

 

 

Filed under: California, Cornerstone Cellars, White, Wine | Comments Off on Rock This Way