Wine Tastings - Reviews and Observations on Everyday Wines

Posting...

2006-08-02T21:12:00.000-05:00

It’s been forever, ok, just since February since I posted on the blog. Can’t believe it. Been a busy year in a lot of ways. The little software company I work for was acquired and things started to go to hell in a handbasket in February. Isn’t it interesting how my posts sort of stopped happening about then… I’d love to say we all made bunch of money as part of the acquisition. Not so, unfortunately. More power to the folks that are able to arrange that.

Meanwhile I’ve enjoyed a bunch of really great wines in the interim. I may jot a few notes as time allows, but note are sketchy for some of them. Ah well, my loss.

Some juicy reds... a Vino 100 Tasting

2006-02-20T08:56:00.000-06:00

Just a few more quick notes today… A couple weeks ago I posted about Vino 100 out at Lakeway for WBW 18, but never got around to following up on some of the wines I tasted there at an evening tasting of Zins and Petite Sirah.

Tasting a collection of similar wines like this is a lot of fun. You really get some interesting distinctions between the wines, and comparing them is the best part of it. All of these were good wines. I mean, it’s a “class” after all and Nat – the wine guy there – has gone out of his way to find some interesting things. My glass “ratings” below, therefore, are largely an indication of which of them I found to be the most appealing to me on that evening. In fact, they were all appealing in some way. For example, I liked “The Monster” as well, but just not as much as the others. I did have some favorites though. Read on…

Marr Cellars “Cuvee Patrick” Petite Sirah 2001: Light ruby red with an aroma of cigar box and a taste of candied fruit – plums/prunes – and spice. Their web site says retails for $13, but Nat had indicated it was around $20.
August Briggs Petite Sirah 2002: A very dark red wine that was much softer and juicier than the first. Round blackberry fruit. Around $45 according to Nat. I like this wine, but behind the tasting of the previous wine, this one seemed perhaps just a little flacid.
Amici “Panek Vineyard” Zinfandel 2002: This wine showed as lighter in color than the previous and yet had deep blackberry and boysenberry flavors. More structure and tannins than either of the first two. Web site says $30 retail. Nat told us $54. I’m beginning to think Nat’s charging too much. :-)
Segesio Family Vineyard Zinfandel 2003: Notes of cherry, violets and rose water. Soft and not too structured. Just a very slight rubbery scent on the nose as well. Around $36.
Norman Vineyards “The Monster” Zinfandel 2003: Some tart cherries, violets and spice with more structure than the previously tasted wine, but still, a light Pinot Noir. Around $50.

The price of the tasting was $35.

"Gather" for wine...

2006-02-16T12:30:00.000-06:00

The wine tagged postings over at gather.com could have some interesting potential. Gather.com's only been around for a month. Have to watch it and see how it develops, but I'm not sure I see a significant advantage over existing ways to build similar content.

Posting again...

2006-02-15T22:08:00.000-06:00

My posts have been few and far between lately. Lots of factors I suppose. Not the least of which is just a certain introspection as to whether I continue to enjoy taking the time to jot notes and thoughts. Yes, though, I do actually like doing this and reconfirmed that again in a discussion with a friend today at lunch. Trouble is, it can be hard finding time at the end of an otherwise busy day. I won’t get into it here… ask me some time though what I do for a living.

WBW 19 announced

2006-02-15T22:00:00.000-06:00

I see that Wine Blogging Wednesday number 19 has been announced. “When in Rhone”. Hosted by WineExpression. Looks to be a good one. The last WBW was interesting, but I much prefer the ones where we pick (and taste) a wine. Stay tuned for March 8th and something tasty.

WBW 18 - wine shops that "feel the love"

2006-01-31T22:25:00.000-06:00

Hard to believe another month has gone by already. This month's WBW theme (#18) is a bit different. It's about your wine shop rather than about a particular wine. There are actually quite a few interesting places to shop for wine in the Austin area. But in the sprirt of getting the point across quickly with this post, my recent favorite and one that best suits the theme is the Vino 100 store in the Lakeway area.

A fair number of Austinites aren't going to manage to trek out to Lakeway. But what I've come to like about this place is not only its unique selections, but the way in which it's presented. Their claim to fame is the 100 wines for under $25, and they display each with a little card about the wine that includes their "wine barometer". There's always a tasting of something at the bar there and best of all they've got interesting weekly events going on.

Best of all, of course, is just personal attention. Their "wine guy" is Nat Davis and he does the classes there. The guy can literally talk for hours about wine. He recently moved to this area from NYC and is a graduate of the American Sommelier Association’s Sommelier certification program. The thing I like about him is he doesn't tell you what to like. He instructs and highlights but doesn't attempt to bias you toward the things he likes.

Last night was another class there in Zins and Petite Syrah. No time to post about the tasting now, but will get to that in due course.

Meanwhile, since we're talking wine shops, I have to give runner-up honors to the Austin Wine Merchant. These folks are always helpful and they have the best Saturday tasting going. Always something interesting from noon to 3 on Saturdays.

Trentadue Old Patch Red 2003 Sonoma County Red wine

2006-01-22T19:47:00.000-06:00

Tonight I wanted a red wine to go along with a steak - a filet, hand-rubbed with some stuff I got from the Perini Ranch Steakhouse. The Trentadue “Old Patch Red” turned out to be more than a match.

Wish my photography was as much a match. The colors are a little off. Sorry. But then, the unnatural lighting in this room at this time of the evening isn’t perfect.

This wine is a blend of mostly Zinfandel (68%) along with Carignane, Sangiovese and Petite Sirah. The color is an opaque deep ruby red. It has a jammy dark berry taste and a long finish. It has some tongue dragging, mouth gripping tannins that paired up really well with the steak. After opening up a bit, there was a definite note of cherry.

Price: $20, Vino 100, Lakeway
Overall: turned out to be an excellent choice along with beef. I’m liking it a lot! Nicely structured, rich dark berry tasted with a long finish. Drinkable now, but could stand to age a couple years.

Technorati tag: Wine tasting

Wine Blog pointers...

2006-01-22T11:50:00.000-06:00

I ran across this article on wine blogs written last October, so probably considered old news – especially by internet time standards - but still, an interesting read.

A Burgundy Tasting

2006-01-21T20:32:00.000-06:00

I had the pleasure of going to a tasting/class of Burgundy wines the other night at Vino 100. Naturally I took a few notes to capture here. I was surprised though that there were so few people (about 10) at this, but I'm not sure whether they advertise these events other than on their web site. The place isn't big though, so I guess that's about what they can handle. This is the first of what I hope will be many visits for their tastings.

The great thing about this kind of tasting is you get to try several wines (in this case 6) that you wouldn't otherwise be all that likely to try, simply based on price. Or, at least I wouldn’t ordinarily shell out the kind of dough that some of these wines go for. Actually, it turned out that we tasted 7 wines because Nat, the Vino 100 guy that was leading us, brought out another wine at the end. Can’t believe I didn’t make a note of what it was though, other than “Meursault ‘02”.

While my notes are somewhat sparse, here's the list and notes on what I liked, in tasting order. (By the way, prices were revealed after the tasting.) I’ve included links below to the http://www.burgundywinecompany.com web site along with these. It’s an excellent web site with a wealth of interesting information.

Domaine Coste-Caumartin Bourgogne Blanc 2002: This wine had a definite nose of honey, vanilla, apples and pears. Lightly oaked. An approachable wine and at $18 this was one of the better buys of the night.
Michel Colin-Deleger & Fils Chassagne-Montrachet 2001: This is a crisply mineral wine that had a slightly yeasty nose. Liked it, but clearly I enjoyed the first one a bit better. Around $55.
Domain J.M. Boillot Puligny-Montrachet Primier Cru Les Combettes 2001: This was an awesome wine – dwarfing the first two in my opinion. A pleasing nose of pears and oak with round and complex tastes and mouth feel that lingered long on the tongue. At $75 a little out of the “everyday” range. Save this one for a special occasion.
Hubert Lamy Chassagne-Montrachet Rouge 2003: Notes of cherry, violets and rose water. Soft and not too structured. Just a very slight rubbery scent on the nose as well. Around $36.
Domaine Michel Lafarge Volnay 2002: Some tart cherries, violets and spice with more structure than the previously tasted wine, but still, a light Pinot Noir. Around $50.
Olivier Laflaive Pommard 1999: By comparison to the previous wine, much fuller, structured and heartier wine. Cherry sucker fruit taste along with cocoa and wonderful long finish. Around $58.

The price of the tasting was $40. Considering the price of wines, not a bad deal. A nice evening out and interesting people to chat with.

foodhawk.com

2006-01-10T14:57:00.000-06:00

I found a very good web site for local (Austin) area restaurants called foodhawk.com. For being entirely Austin and central Texas oriented, it's pretty nicely done. I gotta believe that if they went to this much trouble that they would expand its reach but who knows. Anyway, looked interesting.

On a mission... WBW 17 - 1998 NZ Mission Estate Cab Merlot

2006-01-07T21:29:00.000-06:00

This month’s Wine Blogging Wednesday came from the Corkdork, and he asks us to come up with a Kiwi Red. Perfect. I’ve got a couple of those. Too bad today is Saturday rather than Wednesday. I’m behind the curve. Ah well, I’ve been busy. Lenn, WBW was a great idea, but Wednesday is a ‘school’ night! :-) (Actually, it was the night that Texas was playing in the Rose Bowl and all attention in Austin was on football!)

If I’d had to look around a bit for a red from NZ in the Austin area, what I’d been able to come up with would have been pretty limited. Sigh. Don’t even think of going to your average grocery. I pulled in to Grapevine market today – and oh what an awesome weather day it was here in Austin today. Top down weather - and I mean the car! Oh, sorry, back to Grapevine and the point. Funny, they were in the midst of an inventory and their stock was as depleted as I’ve ever seen it. They had a few Sauv Blancs from NZ, but otherwise nothing.

I had intended on heading down to Central Market anyway for the stuff I can’t usually get elsewhere and I looked around there a bit too. Mind you, I had this Mission Estate already sitting out but I was out and about anyway and figured why not look at what the offerings were. Better, but not much. They did have, however, one Hawkes Bay Cab/Merlot blend. I didn’t buy it.

So the Mission Estate Cab Merlot I had set aside was going to be it. Click the image to follow the link to the winery site. I really liked this wine. You don’t see the Cab/Merlot blend done much in this neck of the woods, but it seems to be a popular choice in NZ, and Australia for that matter.

Ah, ok, the wine. It’s 77% Cabernet Sauvignon and 23% Merlot and was on French oak for 22 months. The opaque purplish red wine had a sharp note of cedar on the nose. Tannins were firm but balanced along with a fruity, dark berry taste with a full body and long finish.

In some ways, the wine in this case is almost secondary for me. What? Yes, beyond the wine, drinking this wine evoke memories of a place I really enjoyed visiting. Napier, in the Hawkes Bay area, is just a pleasant little town. It sits on the east coast of the north island of New Zealand and I found it to be a wonderfully livable place to be. I was there for only a short time, but I’d go back. And I’d stay longer and just hang out. There aren’t really a lot of tourist attractions – unless you like wine and small town life –but this is the sort of place I could get used to. I stayed at the Seaview Lodge, which is essentially a home stay B&B. The host was very helpful. In fact, he pointed me to Mission Estate winery. If you get there too, I’d love to hear about your experience.

Bonus pic: click the wine bottle shot above to link over to Mission Estate. Click here for a shot I took January 2005. Compare the two and you’ll get some perspective. Oh, and as you can see, it was raining the day I was there.

Price: I don’t remember what I paid. Bought at the winery and it was just one of the favorites I tasted that day.
Overall: typifies the sort of thing I like so well I can’t do anyting other than give it 3 glasses. I’d buy or have one of these every day.

Technorati tag: Wine tasting

wine? no coffee! a Short please

2006-01-07T10:46:00.000-06:00

No surprise, I drink a lot more coffee than I drink wine. So I couldn’t help link over to the Slate article on the ‘elusive short cappuccino’. There was actually a story on NPR early in December on this same subject, so Slate’s a little late to the game, but personally I was jazzed about finding out I could get a smaller cup and started ordering ‘shorts’ the same day I heard the radio story. I’m sure I’m not the only one. If I’m buying a morning coffee – which I avoid unless I’m running late and can’t make my own – I gotta get something larger. But after lunch or dinner, the short suits me fine.

'waiterrant' on ordering wine

2006-01-07T10:15:00.000-06:00

I ran across this list of do’s and don’ts when it comes to ordering wine in a restaurant earlier this week on waiterrant. It was linked off reddit’s ‘hot’ page, so obviously I wasn’t the only one that thought it was interesting reading. And it means people are truly interested in the subject. Lot’s of people are intimidated by ordering wine in restaurants. ‘Course, it doesn’t hurt to have a catchy title like “How To Order Wine Without Looking Like an Asshole” to grab some attention too. If you’re the sort that would come by this ‘blog, you’re not likely to find a whole lot of insights in the post, but waiterrant is usually kind of fun reading regardless. I especially like #26 in his list.

2000 Argyle Brut - Ringin' in the new year

2006-01-05T23:20:00.000-06:00

The busy holiday season has made it kind of tough to keep up a regular 'blog routine. Which is a shame, of course, because this blog is about wines I try and here we've been in one of the busiest times of the year when it comes to imbibing. No doubt there have been a few interesting wines along the way and in between during the past couple weeks, so I thought I would start the new year off with a reasonably appropriate (timely) wine.

I personally chose the 2000 Argyle Brut sparkling wine to ring in the new year. I don't generally go out of my way for sparkling wines - or for that matter, New Years Eve parties. But the Christmas & New Years holiday time is one of the few occasions when I make a point to look for something sparkling. This time, I wanted to find something from Oregon, and this one didn't disappoint. Why Oregon? Hmm, good question. I can't really lay a finger on it, but on top of just having a soft spot for Oregon, I thought maybe I could find an interesting sparkling wine from the US at this time of year.

As it turned out, among the many sparkling wines at the Austin Wine Merchant late last week, this was the only Oregon sparkling wine they had. (Apparently they had one other, but they were out of it at the point I got there.) At $17.50, there wasn't a whole lot of downside to giving it a try.

This wine is 55% Chardonnay and 45% Pinot Noir. I found a very pleasant taste of apple tartness along with the bubbly and a hint of yeasty bread dough. Much fuller body and longer finish than the 'party champagne' I'd had earlier in the evening. It got thumbs up from the 3 others that tried it as well.

Price: About $17, Austin Wine Merchant, Austin ($20 at the Whole Foods up the street)
Overall: some excellent bubbly. Would definitely get it again.

Technorati tag: wine

Just a poll - red or white?

2006-01-05T22:45:00.000-06:00

I ran across this cool polling gizmo done by dPolls. I think they do it better than most. I couldn't help but drop one into a post to just see how well it works. Anyway, what's your favorite? Come to think of it, I could imagine using this sort of thing often.

Ramblings...

2005-12-29T16:12:00.000-06:00

Enjoying the holidays? Hope so. I'm way up north on the frozen tundra - ok, not exactly the frozen tundra, but a lot colder than home in sunny Austin. No interesting wines to write about today, but thought I'd just ramble on for a bit.

I get some interesting comments to my posts on occasion. Thanks, I like comments. I originally set up the blog to allow anonymous comments. Though somewhere along the way I started to get just plain old spam - perhaps even automated in response to blogger pings. Who knows. Anyway, so a while back I set up the blog so that any comments posted are moderated - that means I see them before they're posted. Seems appropriate to jot a few notes about how that works for me 'cause I've come to some conclusions and will add a side-bar link to this at some point.

Ok, so any comments about a particular wine that I've posted - why you love it, why you hate it or whatever - great, those kind of comments in all likelihood will just get passed along and posted. Though I'd prefer that such posts are not anonymous - or reasonably so. I mean, some email addr would be nice. But, no big deal if they're missing.

I invite you to email me directly, though, if your comments are really better directed to me personally. Just scroll to the bottom of the page and click 'about'. You'll find contact info there. I don't care what you want to chat about, but just note that trolling - comments or email - is not likely to get much, if any, response. If you don't know what I mean by that, then the following wikipedia posting might help: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_troll

Happy holidays!

2003 Qupe' Syrah

2005-12-19T22:12:00.000-06:00

This Syrah from California has been one of my recent favorites. Actually, it's not just Syrah, it's 84% Syrah, 6% Grenache, 4% Counoise, 3% Mourvedre and a bit of Mondeuse, Cinsault, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Tempranillo. Now that's a mouthful - literally.

If you like big fruity wines, this one will suit you. A bit of spice and a floral aroma but otherwise a pretty soft and easy drinker. Their web site claims Food & Wine named it a Best Syrah Under $20 in a recent issue.

Price: About $17, Grapevine Market, Austin
Overall: full bodied, soft ripe fruit. Too bad Grapevine was out of it the last time I was by.

Technorati tag: wine

Those Lakeway shops..

2005-12-13T22:15:00.000-06:00

I had a chance to tool out to Lakeway this past weekend – which is just a short drive – and check out both Vino100 and the Wine Trader. Both opened earlier this fall. Turns out the Vino 100 place is a franchise opportunity. There are a couple here in the Austin area and the chain appears to be growing pretty rapidly. The number of wines (100 under $25 and then a few over $25) is somewhat limited relative to the likes of Grapevine Market, but I do like the concept and the layout is great. Each of the wines in the store has this little ‘wine barometer’ that includes a Flavor and Body scale. Plus it includes a little ‘talker’ about the wine. They also have a tasting bar. Even better, they skipped the typically big names and offered some new and interesting choices.

The Wine Trader was laid out more traditionally and seemed to have a larger overall selection. They had a great bar atmosphere as well – with little plates of food and even had the ball game going on the wide screen TV. Unfortunately there was no one else there even though it was late in the afternoon on a Saturday.

In both cases, definitely worth a repeat visit though.

What's up with Lakeway? | Vino100

2005-12-08T22:45:00.000-06:00

I just posted about the ‘Wine Trader’ place out at Lakeway and then I happen upon yet another place out in Lakeway called Vino100. I’d have to say there’s definitely an up-tick in the interest in wine in this area.

Lake Travis Wine Trader

2005-12-08T22:30:00.000-06:00

I was just doing some browsing online and discovered a new place that’s fairly close to home here. Called the Lake Travis Wine Trader. Looks like that have some great events and classes, not to mention a reasonably decent web site. Will have to drive over there this weekend and check it out.

http://www.mywinetrader.com/

Wine Blogging Wednesday #16 - eye catching

2005-12-06T22:15:00.000-06:00

This month’s Wine Blogging Wednesday was an easy one in the sense that it really didn’t matter what the wine was like or where it hailed from, what you were really after was just a wine label that caught your eye.

I could have searched high and low but what I actually did was pull in to the nearby HEB grocery (Four Points) and just walk the aisles while keeping a distance such that I couldn’t actually read what was on the label. I just looked for something attractive.

Initially, I thought, I won’t even bother to go to the store, I’ll just pull something from the rack. I have a bottle of “Big Ass Cabernet” that has a label that I think is really eye catching. In fact, I posted back in April about it. Check it out, it’s a pretty good label.

A runner up to the Big Ass Cab label for eye catching and brightly colored women are those done by the folks at Perfect 10.

Instead though, as I walked thru the aisle, the one that really caught my eye the most was the IL CUORE Rosso Classico from California. (To the right.) The folks at IL CUORE Wines use a cubist painting by Dan Rizzie as their label. The art and colors were something that suited me. Bright colors, but with some warm earth tones in there too.

Meanwhile, the wine turned out to be pretty interesting too. A blend of 35% Carignane, 28% Zinfandel, 20% Grenache, 12% Sangiovese and 5% Charbono. The mix was a medium to light bodied wine bursting with cherry fruit flavors.

Price: $10.99 HEB grocery
Overall: medium to light bodied wine bursting with cherry fruit flavors. I’d get a 2nd.

Technorati tag: wine

Macari 2003 Cabernet Franc

2005-12-05T22:09:00.000-06:00

I don’t run across much Long Island wine in this neck of the woods. These days though, and based on Macari’s web site, I guess I wouldn’t need to. I could just order it online from their web site. But first, of course, I would have had to know it existed. In this case, it was Beau at Basic Juice that introduced me to this wine. In fact, he mailed me a bottle! How’s that for an endorsement.

I’ve been meaning to try it for the last month and this past weekend I finally did. Actually, I enjoyed it over the last two nights.

This wine is an unfiltered wine, but it was a very attractive translucent red. It had an earthy and spiced aroma along with its note of oak. Taste and mouth feel were light bodied and lightly fruity. To my taste, the wine really demanded some food along with it – and some fatty food went perfectly. In fact, I grilled some steak along with this and the pairing worked really well.

I used the VacuVin on what remained and had the rest tonight. The wine had evolved a bit more in the mean time. In fact, the aromas had mellowed a bit and the berry taste was more prevalent so it was great just sipping on its own.

Price: About $24.
Overall: light bodied, med-long finish, earthy and oak aroma. Liked it.

Technorati tag: wine

WBW 16 is this week

2005-12-04T21:41:00.000-06:00

Was caught up in other activities and missed #15, but hope to catch Wine Blogging Wednesday #16 this week.

Moillard 2005 Beaujolais-Villages Nouveau

2005-12-04T21:01:00.000-06:00

To answer Amy’s recent comment/question, yes, in fact I have had something nice to drink lately. This posting is one good example.

At this time of year, Beaujolais Nouveau arrives in stacks in local stores. I love the little clock at this web site about this type of wine. It’s also just a good read. As of this writing, we’re T-minus 18 days since arrival. I picked up several of these and one other at Grapevine Market the weekend before Thanksgiving and have been enjoying them since. This one’s my favorite.

To start, this wine has an awesome ruby red color. If nothing else, it’s just nice to look at. But, of course, you want to drink it. My first reaction was simply “juicy fruit”. And in some ways I do mean like the gum by the same name. Not sticky sweet, of course, but this is definitely light and fruity.

I’ve had one other Beaujolais Nouveau in the last week too, but this one is so far my favorite.

Price: About $11–12. Grapevine Market.
Overall: light and juicy fruit. Great holiday quaffing.

Technorati tag: wine

Images restored

2005-12-03T08:07:00.000-06:00

My trusty server for images is back online and serving up my little snapshots here. Slowly but surely the chaos of my recent move is getting closer to being back to just the normal amount of chaos. Kind of a pain though. I had to fiddle with the cable modem and its odd configuration. Ordinarily, you just get a cable modem from the provider and it does its one simple thing and is done. In this case, at the end of the day, the installer only had a modem/router combo that turned out to mess up my former configuration. Anyway, if you’re at all interested in the details of combining an Ambit cable modem & wireless router with a Microsoft wireless router, feel free to jot me a note. (It turned out to actually be very easy.)

Argh! what happened to the images?

2005-11-30T22:18:00.000-06:00

I'm finally getting over my nasty cold and I took the opportunity to move a server - the server with my images on it. Well, suffice it to say, I now have networking issues. I won't bore you with the details, but let's just say that my cable modem at this location isn't handling port forwarding the way I need it to. Grrr... Maybe time to try plan B.

New Blog

2005-11-20T15:02:00.000-06:00

I see several recent comment postings by Bob at The Texas TasteMaster. Looks like an interesting new wine blog. One of these days - maybe over the Thankgsiving holiday - I'll look around to see what other new wine blogs have popped up.

Wish I'd been able to post more recently, but I've been under the weather for the last couple weeks. Picked up whatever's been 'going around'. Hope to be back soon...

Hook & Ladder "The Tillerman" 2003

2005-11-09T22:59:00.000-06:00

I thought it appropriate that in contrast to what I found to be a distasteful aroma and taste of leather in the recently profiled Louis Bernard wine, I would happen on this wine from Hook & Ladder that also has some leather in the nose but in this case it was quite appealing.

This wine came from the ‘Interesting Reds’ section at Grapevine and is a blend of Cabernet Sauv, Cab Franc and Sangiovese. It had a very attractive reddish purple color to it. The bit of leather in the aroma was more akin to a new leather bag rather than the ‘old leather shoe’ I’d concluded about the other wine. Also in contrast to that other wine, this one was a big mouth full of juicy red fruit tastes.

Price: About $14. Grapevine Market.
Overall: ripe, juicy red fruits and a hint of new leather. Definite repeat buy.

Technorati tag: wine

Blasphemy In A Bottle

2005-11-09T22:32:00.000-06:00

Can’t quite figure why someone thinks this will be a better selling wine than a more conventionally named one, but thought it interesting enough to jot a note about.

Blasphemy In A Bottle - November 7, 2005

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/1107051jesusjuice1.html

Louis Bernard 2003 Cotes-du-Rhone-Villages

2005-11-06T14:06:00.000-06:00

This wine has distinction of being the one I've disliked the most in recent memory. Lately it seems like many if not most of the wines I’ve posted about I give a 2–glass rating. This one really didn’t make the grade for me though and I dumped it.

The other distinction it has is the lamest shelf-talker. This wine was essentially only described as “pretty”. It was a useless posting and yet despite that, the buyer at this particular HEB grocery decided it was somehow worthy of highlighting. At $9, I thought I’d give it a try to see what was “pretty” about this wine.

With that kind of write-up, I was expecting at least the color to be attractive. But it was kind of a dull purple. The bottle was not corked. At least it didn’t seem to have that damp & musty smell, but it just had a flat taste to it. At best it had what I would characterize as the aroma and taste or an old box or old leather. Some leather on the nose is often a good thing, but in this case, it just didn’t work for me.

Price: About $9. HEB grocery.
Overall: old leather.

Technorati tag: wine

Becker Vineyards 2004 Viognier

2005-11-05T17:55:00.000-06:00

After the recent posting on the Ca' del Solo Big House White I thought I would post about a local white that I much preferred. It’s a couple bucks more, but for some reason that’s typical of Texas wines. (Because of that, I think you honestly have to go out of your way to buy one.)

Becker is among my favorite of the Texas wineries. This Viognier has a very nice floral aroma to it and a nicely rounded mouth feel. Has tastes of peaches and apricots and yet had just enough crisp acidity. I’ve had this one several times and again recently.

Price: About $14. HEB grocery.
Overall: Like it. Repeat buy. Flowers & peaches.

Technorati tag: wine

Re: WBW #15

2005-11-05T17:40:00.000-06:00

As it turned out, I didn’t get around to participating in this month’s WBW. Between the new job, the new house and coming down with a cold in the last week, just not enough time and inclination to join in.

WBW 15...

2005-10-26T22:05:00.000-05:00

I just got around to seeing that WBW #15 has been announced for Nov 2nd. That’s just next week. It has a requirement to find something with less that 250 cases produced… hmm, that could involve more investigation than the average WBW. Not a bad idea though. Chances are good that it should lead to a pretty wide variety. But then, it also means it might be hard to find anything mentioned in the wrap-up.

Ca' del Solo Big House White - 2003 California White Wine

2005-10-26T21:55:00.000-05:00

You’ll have to pardon the lack of posting lately. I’m in the midst of two transitions right now. First, I’ve been ending one job and now, starting another. If this weren’t enough change, I’m also moving to a new house and in the midst of packing. Oh, and did I mention the recent hard drive crash? What a pain that has been to resolve. This machine is only partially back to normal. Consequently, the opportunity to sit back and enjoy a nice glass of wine hasn’t been at the top of my ‘to-do’ list. And yet, what’s a decent meal without something from the vine to accompany it. So I’ve found time to try a few new things, just not that much time to capture my notes.

Until the last week, summer around here has simply refused to die. So I’ve been in the mood up until recently, in an echo of some summer tastings, to try out some more white wine. This one from Bonny Doon caught my eye. I’ve had occasion to try the Big House Red a couple times in the past. I’ll admit I haven’t been completely thrilled with it, but it had its moments so thought I would check out this white.

This wine is a blend of whites, with Sauv Blanc, French Colombard, Pinot Blanc, Chenin Blanc and Viognier listed on the label. The above web site will suggest there may yet be other grapes blended in there. Regardless, I found it to stand out mostly as a tart and herbal Sauvignon Blanc. It’s crisp and refreshing but my notes also took me as far as saying it had the aroma of fresh mown hay. Hmm, not sure I really like that. In fact, it was just a little more tart and citrusy acidic than I found suited me at the time. On another day and time, perhaps that would have been just the ticket.

Giving it only one ‘glass’ rating, but chances are, given the price point, I might grab a bottle again at some point to give it another whirl.

Price: About $10. HEB grocery.
Overall: tart citrus & herbal aromas. Crisp & refreshing on a hot day, but otherwise a little more tart than I found pleasing.

Technorati tag: wine

Jorge Ordonez "Urban Oak" 2002

2005-10-17T23:09:00.000-05:00

This wine had a shelf-talker that caught my eye a couple weeks ago as I wandered thru Central Market. Good thing, ‘cause honestly, the label isn’t much to look at and the name “Urban Oak” sounds computer generated.

I enjoyed this though and also shared it with some other friends last week. The Dennings also both gave it thumbs up. The wine hails from Argentina and is a blend of 45% Tempranillo, 30% Malbec, 15% Merlot and 10% Syrah. The taste for me was a jammy almalgam of blackberry and a bit of blueberry. 3 months on oak gives it something of a toasty aroma.

Price: About $12. Central Mkt, Austin.
Overall: hint of oak in the nose and jammy dark berry taste. Long finish. Reasonably priced. Repeat buy if I run across it again.

Technorati tag: wine

Other Austin Blogs...

2005-10-17T22:48:00.000-05:00

Thanks to recent commenter Anna, I’ve discovered a couple of other interesting Austin area blogs related to food and wine. Anna’s is called Cookie Madness! and some of the pictures of the cookies she’s making look fantastic.

There’s also a relatively new wine blog by ‘taj’ called the Cork and Demon. I like her irreverent writing style.

Time out...

2005-10-16T21:12:00.000-05:00

Had to add another note. Doesn’t have anything to do with wine, but it’s just something I find interesting. This time of year it finally starts to get really nice around here. I mean the weather gets really nice. So this morning, as I often do, I was up and out cycling. Ideal conditions today though. About 70 degrees, sunny skies, no wind. I did a looping route that took me out to Volente by the lake and then back.

So, the interesting thing is that at this time of year, Monarch butterflies arrive in central Texas as they migrate south. Based on that web site I have linked to, sounds like today may have been catching the tail end of them in this area, but they were definitely out in force and heading south. Not a bad way to spend the morning – biking along with the butterflies.

La Dolce Vita - Oct 20

2005-10-16T18:35:00.000-05:00

If you’ve got a spare $75 to shell out, you can drop in on La Dolce Vita this Thursday at the Laguna Gloria art museum. Lots of food and Texas wines.

Cuvaison 2003 Napa Pinot Noir

2005-10-16T18:16:00.000-05:00

About a month ago I posted a profile of the Cuvaison Chardonnay. Nice stuff. I also got a 2003 Pinot Noir.

Sometimes it’s surprises me how my own notes match up with the wine maker’s (click image). I guess that’s a good thing, but in my case I’m transcribing my notes from the back of a Fidelity statement envelope – it was handy. But then I don’t suppose you care how I write them down. Eventually I put them here. Perhaps some day I should scan an image of the envelopes and other scraps of paper as proof that I actually wrote down some notes, but then I guess it’s not that big a deal.

In this case I really enjoyed this wine. I have no idea if it can be found in the stores here in Austin as this one was shipped to me, but hope I can find it again. At retail mid $20’s it’s on the pricey end but a good, cheap Pinot Noir from Napa is probably hard to come by, so pony up people.

I noted a smoky aroma and a taste of black cherries. I also found it to be nicely balanced, med body with a med to long finish. It stacks up pretty good in comparison to my recent WBW #14 posting. While the wines are similar, there’s definitely a bit of earthiness to that Central Otago wine that I think sets it apart. I’m not sure it’s necessarily better, but there’s definitely a unique character to that NZ wine.

The Cuvaison web site will add a note that says this wine has a flavor of “damson plum”. If you know what a damson plum is, please call me.

Cuvaison apparently does an “Estate Selection” pinot noir as well at twice the price. Haven’t seen it nor tasted it, but if it’s twice as good as this one, well, it must be pretty nice.

Price: Retails for around $24
Overall: very nice. Smoky black cherry, med to long finish.

Technorati tag: wine

WBW#14 - Pinot Noir: Olssens 2003 Jackson Barry from NZ

2005-10-05T18:05:00.000-05:00

When I saw the theme for this month’s Wine Blogging Wednesday (#14) I immediately thought I’d try to find a Pinot Noir from the Cromwell/Bannockburn area in the Central Otago of New Zealand. In fact, one of my early posts to this blog was of that area and its wines. If you click the above link and check out the pictures, you’ll get a sense of the beauty of the area.

There’s not a lot of NZ Pinot Noir that you can find here in the Austin area. And what you can find, is kind of expensive in my opinion. But, I sucked it up for the greater WBW community. In this case I found 3 wines but selected this one partly because of its Felton Road heritage, but also because it’s the first time I’ve seen this particular wine in the store.

This is a beautiful translucent red wine. Medium bodied, with a reasonably long finish. A bit of oak in the nose and a big taste of ripe cherries.

The Olssens web site has lots of other good info on their wines. The 2003 wine I had apparently has been recently released because the site has notes on the ‘02.

Price: Central Market grocery for around $28
Overall: very good representative of the Central Otago of New Zealand. Flavors of ripe cherries.

Technorati tag: wine

Flat Creek again

2005-10-03T19:50:00.000-05:00

Time to get out into the Hill Country for a bit this past weekend. Took the long way to Fredericksburg and the annual Oktoberfest. Along the way stopped in again at Flat Creek. For WBW#12 I'd picked a wine from Flat Creek Estate because it was the closest to me. It turned out they were having an open house this past weekend to celebrate the completion of their events center. Wasn't sure what to expect, but it turned out nice. They had 3 excellent hor'devours along with tastings of 4 of their wines. My favorite of the food was the venison from Selene's. Anyway, Flat Creek's 2003 Shiraz was the new one of the bunch being tasted. I liked it, but it was a bit more of a fruit bomb than the earlier profiled Super Texan sangiovese, which remains as one of my local favorites.

The other two being tasted went from sweet to sweeter. The first being the PrimRosé made from Primitivo grapes. The other being the Muscato Blanco. You can read more about them here. Of the two, I preferred the dessert-like Muscato Blanco.

More Chardonnay: Kendall-Jackson 2003 Grand Reserve

2005-10-03T19:31:00.000-05:00

I finished up the Chardonnay theme a week ago but never quite got around to posting about the follow-on Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay I’d tried.

In my last profile I’d mentioned I’d tried the 2004 Kendall-Jackson California Chardonnay Vintner’s Reserve “Jackson Estates Grown”. I wasn’t all that impressed with it. The ‘Grand Reserve’, on the other hand is a much more interesting wine. It had a big, bright citrus and apple taste. My own notes are pretty consistent with those at the link above. Nice lingering finish and has that buttery mouth feel you might expect of a CA chardonnay. French and American oak for 9 months, but the taste is not overly oaky.

Price: HEB grocery for around $17
Overall: crisp citrus taste with a lingering and buttery finish. Tasty. I’d get another.

Technorati tag: wine

Texas stuff

2005-09-27T21:52:00.000-05:00

The little town of Gruene Texas south of Austin is having a Music and Wine fest the weekend of Oct 7, 8 and 9. Might be interesting. I like Joe Ely too and Guene Hall is a one of a kind place.

And this weekend is Oktoberfest down in Fredericksburg. Click here if you wanna see the details, but just a warning, you’ll be treated to some goofy oompah music by their web site.

Technorati tag: wine

Chardonnay... hmmmm

2005-09-23T20:43:00.000-05:00

The theme of the last week for me has been Chardonnay. And despite the fact it’s Autumn now, we’re still having 100 degree record temps so why not continue with some tasty, refreshing white wines. Geez, when is this heat gonna end!

I posted about the Cuvaison Chardonnay last weekend and felt like I’d like to be doing some comparisons so here are a couple more that got tagged as part of the query. (Tough duty.) In this case I purposely decided to spend a little less and kinda see ‘how low can you go’.

First, I tried the “Red Diamond” from Washington. A 2002 Chardonnay. Yes, let’s be honest, the price was right on this wine. This wine was somewhere in the $10 range. Likewise, was the sale priced 2004 Kendall-Jackson California Chardonnay Vintner’s Reserve “Jackson Estates Grown” that I picked up on sale at HEB grocery.

Despite their widely diverse geography, these wines were surprisingly similar so I simply lumped them together in this post. But let’s be clear, neither of these wines were quite as enjoyable as the previously profiled wines this week from Domaine Manciat-Poncet or the Napa Cuvaison. Both were refreshing and crisp, but simply not as well rounded or full of fuit. The finish wasn’t as long and the taste was just less interesting. Both had a similar quality of having something of a citrus note, but in addition to crisp tartness was also a note of sourness that just wasn’t quite what I was really looking for in the wake of those other wines. The body and buttery note one might expect was also sparingly there.

Both of these come from huge wineries with other offerings. So, perhaps I should give those others a shot. For example, for another $7 I could try a Kendall-Jackson ‘Grand Reserve’. Presumably I’d find a significant difference. If I find one handy, I’ll check that out.

Price: Both retailed for around $10
Overall: crisp, refreshing, though light bodied, rather tart and short-lived finish. Next.

Technorati tag: wine

"Best in the Last 30"

2005-09-22T20:29:00.000-05:00

Beau over at Basic Juice has started a ‘Best in the last 30 days’ meme. And Jathan over at Wine Expression got tagged and has now passed the baton on to me. Uh oh! Now I’m on the spot. What have I had in the last 30 days that I’d consider worthy of the ‘best’ of anything?

Hmmm. Well, although I must admit my notes are extremely spotty on it since all I had was mouthful, the first thing that came to mind as the best thing I’ve tasted recently was from my trip to the Okanagan and the La Frenz 2003 Montage that I had. I bought one based on that tasting but have yet to open the bottle yet. But, despite that, I still think it’s the best I’ve had in the last month. The Montage name is sort of a take off on Meritage. In this case the blend is of Pinot Noir, Merlot and Cab Sauvignon with a ripe fruit taste of plums and cherries. Good luck finding it though since it is small winery with limited production. I’ll post again with more detail about it when I actually open the bottle I got.

I'm passing on the baton to Swirl & Sniff. Hasn't been an update in awhile over there so maybe this will get him writing again.

"alawine.com"

2005-09-21T19:59:00.000-05:00

An interesting web site in its own right, alawine.com has a link off its main page that tracks wine blogs.

Domaine Manciat-Poncet Macon Charnay 2003 Chardonnay

2005-09-20T22:48:00.000-05:00

After that last post on Cuvaison Chardonnay, I’ve decided to go on a bit of a Chardonnay kick. Earlier this year I was down at a Saturday tasting at the Austin Wine Merchant. They had several Chardonnays from Domaine Manciat-Poncet they were trying. I had gotten one and pulled it out a couple nights ago after the Cuvaison as a bit of a comparison.

The one I had was the “Vieilles Vignes” or old vines wine. It was slightly less buttery than the Cuvaison although it had a nice softness. It was also equally refreshing with a light citrus crispness. Balanced and long finish. So how’d it stack up? Very well I think, though perhaps not quite as flavorful.

I only got this one because of the tasting that the Wine Merchant was doing. I otherwise seem to find myself passing the ‘France’ aisle. I know, I know, I should expand my choices more often, but let’s just say it’s a phase I’m in. The Austin Wine Merchant regularly tastes French wine, so I should try to get down there more often. In fact, they’ve got one this weekend.

Price: Retails for around $16–18
Overall: would definitely get another. Balanced finish, mineral crispness.

Technorati tag: wine

Cuvaison 2003 Napa Chardonnay

2005-09-18T17:44:00.000-05:00

Someone offered to send me a couple Napa wines. Now let’s say you enjoy a nice glass of wine on a regular basis and have started to keep your notes online. If someone offered to send you some wine at no cost to you, would you turn them down? I don’t think so!

Such is how I snagged a couple bottles of Cuvaison wine. The first of them that I’ve tried has been the 2003 Napa Chardonnay. To be right up front, I enjoyed the wine quite a bit. With a lot of California Chardonnay I’m not surprised when I get a big dose of wood taste right out of the gate. With this wine, there’s definitely a nice toasty oak on the nose and taste, but it doesn’t hit you over the head with the flavor of a new 2x4. Along with a note of peaches there’s a buttery texture as well, but not too fat. In fact, there’s a crisp citrus acidity that made the wine refreshing. Generally, the wine was just a little more subtle than some other CA chards I’ve had, and very well rounded.

So what’s not to like. Not much really. Depends on how price conscience you are. This one has a $24 retail price. There are two full aisles of CA Chardonnay at Grapevine Market here. Can this wine really stand out among them all? Hard to say. But another one I’ve had recently that I liked pretty well suggests it’s got to be pretty tough competition out there. The Cambria Katherine's Vineyard 2003 Chardonnay 2003 from the Santa Maria Valley may not have the same pedigree as the Cuvaison, but it was still pretty good and $10 cheaper.

Price: Retails for around $24
Overall: enjoyed it a lot. Long finish, subtle nose and taste of oak and hints of butter in the mouth feel.

Technorati tag: wine

Flat Creek open house Oct 1

2005-09-14T22:18:00.000-05:00

My closest winery – and thus the one I picked for WBW#12 – is having an open house on Oct 1st. I haven’t been out there in awhile but in the interim it appears they have expanded and added a new events center. Hopefully I’ll have an opportunity to get out there and sample some of the new stuff that weekend.

And as long as I’m mentioning local wine events, if you like getting out to the TX Hill Country, the Fredericksburg Food & Wine Fest is usually fun and is Oct 22nd. Strictly Texas wines at this one.

The Undiscovered Country

2005-09-14T00:51:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I posted that I was heading to the Okanagan Valley to take in some wineries there and then I promptly went quiet for awhile. Well sorry about that, but between the travel and getting back to a busy project, I’m only now starting to get back to things wine related.

In some ways, I took in so much that it’s just been a daunting thought to sit down at the keyboard and try to relate it. So rather than do that, there’s a fair chance I might just make notes about it in a more piecemeal fashion. I’ll start with this.

I was in the Okanagan Valley for parts of 4 days. On each, I took in a few different wineries. The rest of the time was a bit of biking and hiking. Would have liked to do more of both of those other activities, but I’ll have to save that for another visit. I made Kelowna a base, but on another go-round, I’d probably look a bit south first to Penticton, though Kelowna was a nice place and the B&B I stayed in was one of the best I’ve stayed in for some time. (Abbott on the Lake)

In general, I’ll have to start by saying that the area is truly a very beautiful place. Judging by the traffic I encountered in the area, a lot of other people are thinking the same thing. In some subsequent posts, perhaps I’ll make a few more pictures available. At the bottom of this post is an example of both the rugged country and how big the vineyards are in the area. The picture below was taken off the deck of the Burrowing Owl winery near Oliver.

When I first arrived, I came the faster way, via Vancouver and the major tollway. These lead me directly into Kelowna. Most of the wineries are actually south of there, but there are a few of them were around Kelowna.

There’s plenty I could recount about each, but for now, I’ll simply comment briefly on those in the picture above. There wasn’t much I found I disliked, so it would have been nice to bring home a lot more, but in the end, I took only what I figured I could get into my carry on baggage. And at 6 bottles, that was a bit of a stretch.

Hard to pick a favorite, but I consistently enjoyed the wines I had at La Frenz. The price/performance ratio for their wines was good as well. I picked their “2003 Montage”, a blend of Pinot Noir, Merlot and Cab Sauv as one I would take home from them. (The dark green label in the picture.)

La Frenz is on the “Narramata Bench”, perched next to the Okanagan Lake. The link to the left has some good pictures of the area as well.

Of the other wines in the picture above from the Narramata area, I also snagged the 2003 White Meritage from Township 7 winery. They weren’t actually tasting it because of popularity and limited quantity, but the woman doing the tasting raved about it so this was the one wine of the group that I bought based on recommendation alone. So, we’ll see.

Also from the Narramata area (and with the funky label on the far right) I liked the Blasted Church Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 and the Therapy 2003 Merlot. Therapy was a very new winery. In fact, the paint on the place was barely dry and still smelled fresh. The name is largely a marketing gimmick – as in “Eveyone could use a little Therapy once in awhile.”

Two other wines from the picture above are from the Stag’s Hollow winery in the Okanagan Falls area and the Silver Sage winery in Oliver. The 2003 Renaissance Merlot was the one I opt’ed for from Stag’s Hollow. They have two lines of wines, the “Simply” line and the “Renaissance” wines – that are ‘truly special’. Well, I enjoyed it anyway.

The one from Silver Sage that I picked up is primarily just a novelty wine. It’s called the “The Flame” and while you can’t see it from the above picture, the wine comes with a red pepper inside the bottle. It’s HOT! as in spicy hot. The wine has a bit of sweetness as well, but mostly it’s very hot. Here in the southwest, this wine will go over pretty well. I’m surprised I have seen this sort of thing before. Definitely have this one at the end of any tasting. It’ll kill whatever’s in your mouth.

There were so many others I visited, and I’m sure I’ll revisit these again as I pop them open one of these days, so stay tuned.

Technorati tag: wine

WBW #13 - wine & chocolate

2005-09-07T22:34:00.000-05:00

Well, I must admit I really didn’t have time to arrange for a cake for this month’s WBW. The request was to pair up wine with some chocolate cake. Hmm, well, and I’m not much of a chocolate cake eater in general, so I’ve bent the rules and simply enjoyed the kind of chocolate I like.

My chocolate of choice, and one I usually have a ready supply of, is some Belgian chocolate by NewTree called Vigor. It’s chocolate made with coffee – what could be better!? Today in honor of WBW#13, I paired it up with some Taylor’s Tawny Port. Considering I’d never tried these together before, I must say they paired excellently. After the fact while linking to the Taylor’s web site, I see they recommend this port with ‘dishes made with coffee’. Coffee-infused chocolate – even better!

Technorati tag: wine

Woodinville

2005-08-31T00:15:00.000-05:00

A bit east of Seattle and south of where I stayed over the weekend in Bellingham, is the Woodinville Wine Country area. Our time was somewhat short, but we were able to take in a few of the wineries in this area. We didn't have a lot of insight into the wineries of the area in advance, so just picked a few that happened to be fairly close together. I know, not the best of planning, but we still had a fun afternoon.

We started with a few wines from Silverlake Winery. A couple of these I liked. Of the whites, the 2000 Grand Reserve Blanc (@ $13.99) was 70% Sauvignon Blanc and 30% Semillion. Very light with just a hint of oak on it. I tried several others, but of them, the favorite of the group they were tasting that day was the 2002 Reserve Zinfandel. A big, juicy red with a bit of toastiness to it. Balanced tannins. You can read their own tasting notes for it here.

They were also tasting 3 Syrah wines from their sister winery Glen Fiona. Unfortunately, none of these really met expectations. Beth pronounced 'cough syrup' for one and another had a distinct sulfur note in the nose. Perhaps better luck next time.

Very close by was what turned out to be our favorite tasting of the day. Those were the Kennedy Shah wines from Woodhouse Family Cellars. The tasting room was in what looked like an office park so it's easy to miss. But I was glad we stopped in. For $5, they were tasting all four of the wines described on their web site here. Of these, my favorite of the group was the 2000 Merlot. It's actually a blend of 78% Merlot, 17% Cab Franc and 5% Syrah. A bit toasty with ripe dark fruits and a hint of cocoa. We snagged a bottle for dinner later. The other three we tried there were also excellent.

Down the road a bit further it was hard to avoid checking out both Columbia Winery and Chateau Ste Michelle. By comparision to the solitary tasting we experienced of the Kennedy Shah wines, these places were just packed with people. People were two-deep at the ample tasting bars. Chateau Ste Michelle had a free tasting, but for $5 you could taste some of their better offerings. The cost for tastings at Columbia were $5.

Of the Columbia wines, my two favorites of the group were the 2002 Otis Vineyard Block 6 Chardonnay ($25) and the 1999 Sagemoor Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. ($28) These are part of what they call their Signature Series. Click the links for reasonably accurate write-ups on these.

The single vineyard wines from Ch. Ste Michelle that I like best were the 2003 Canoe Ridge Chardonnay ($22) and the 2002 Canoe Ridge Syrah. ($22) If I had to pick between the two Chardonnays, I'd have to give the nod to the Columbia though. But, a close call. It had a wonderful creamy mouth feel to it that I think I just liked a little better. The Canoe Ridge Syrah had a burst of tart cherries in it that I liked.

From here, I'm heading north...

Mount Baker Vineyards

2005-08-30T00:48:00.000-05:00

I've been up in the Pacific Northwest for the last couple of days. Bellingham, WA to be exact. Not surprisingly, we took time out to check out a few of the local wineries. One of the cloest to Bellingham is Mt Baker Vineyards. I'd point to the web site, but it appears to be down. It still looks pretty much like this though.

Mount Baker had some very interesting wines, but only one I liked enough to buy. Several of the wines were made from grapes that I'm not sure I can say I've ever heard of. Certainly ones I don't recall tasting. The first of these was their 2003 Madeline Angevine. This was a light white wine with a significant honey taste to it. In some ways it was a refreshing wine, but the honey taste was otherwise just a little too much for me.

Another than was particularly well suited to the cooler NW climate was the 2003 Siegerrebe. This one had a very floral nose and reminded me of some of the Viognier I've been trying recently - at least upon first whiff. But it was lighter in both body and flavor.

Yet another light white by Mount Baker was its 2004 Chasselas Dore. This type of grape is apparently well known and widely produced in Switzerland. Very light in color and taste. In fact, I got almost no nose off it at all.

All of these were in the $11.50 range.

While the whites were interesting, my favorite of the group was actually a wine that was done by Mount Baker, but whose grapes were produced further south in the Yakima Valley. That was their 2001 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. It also turned out to be a double gold award winner at the 2005 SF Wine Competition. This one was still a bit tight and could have sat on the rack for awhile, but still, it was very good. Big and bold with a lingering finish and a hint of cocoa in the taste. This one was a bit pricier at $24.99.

Next... a short trip to the south...

The Okanagan Valley

2005-08-21T13:36:00.000-05:00

Next Saturday I’m heading to the northwest for a brief respite from the Texas summer. I’ll be starting in the Seattle & Bellingham Washington area but then heading up to the Okanagan Valley to take in several days in that area. Should be interesting. If you’ve been to the area and have recommendations on any of the many wineries I shouldn’t miss while I’m in that area, drop me a note.

Treana White 2001

2005-08-21T13:19:00.000-05:00

I’ve fallen behind once again with keeping up my blog. The last couple weeks have been increasingly busy with a project I’ve been working. This week will be more of the same. Some long hours. But, I have gotten time to try a few interesting wines along the way so thought I would jot a few notes.

I happened to be in for a Saturday afternoon tasting at Grapevine Mkt a few weeks ago. They were doing some Liberty School and Treana wines. The Treana labeled blends are a much better bet than the Liberty School wines in my humble opinion. Both the 2001 white and the 2001 red are excellent. They were tasting both the red and the white that afternoon. Unfortunately, they’re none too cheap. The 2001 red goes for around $45 now. (Price increase this year.) The white comes in at $27. At those prices, they generally fall out of the ‘everyday’ category, but the white fit so well with my recent summer white exploration that I went ahead and got a bottle.

If you check recent posts here, you’ll find several Viogniers. This wine is 61% Viognier with the rest being Marsanne. The wine is the color of golden straw. It has a buttery mouth feel and big floral aroma. It’s got a crisp acidity to it as well with some complex lingering flavors to it, leading with some pear and honeydew melon.

Price: Around $27 (found at GrapeVine Mkt)
Overall: excellent. I think I may have liked the recently tried Conundrum just a tad better, but for the most part it’s too close to call. Maybe I should try another of both just to be sure … :-)

Technorati tag: wine

So glad...

2005-08-09T23:27:00.000-05:00

So glad to see new posts over on Swirl & Sniff again - one of the more stylish wine blogs around.

WBW #12 'Drink Local' - Flat Creek Super Texan 2003

2005-08-09T22:42:00.000-05:00

It’s time once again for another Wine Blogging Wednesday. This month’s theme comes from the host of LENNDEVOURS, and he asks us to ‘drink local’. So of course that means I would need to search out a Texas wine.

There are a lot of Texas wines, but if I want to follow this month’s rules, I believe the one that’s closest to me is Flat Creek. And specifically because of that, I chose Flat Creek’s 2003 “Super Texan” Sangiovese.

The “Super Texan” comes from the Helen’s Block vineyard at Flat Creek Estate. Follow the link to read more about Helen’s Block – planted as recently as 2000.

By my calculations, as the crow flies, Flat Creek Winery is less than 15 miles away. Though despite that, with Lake Travis between here and there, the drive there is actually quite a bit longer. This relative short distance makes it all the more bizarre how difficult it was to actually find & buy a bottle of this wine. If I’d had the time, it would have been a lot more fun to drive out there over the weekend, but that didn’t work out so I just assumed I could pick up a bottle down the street. Not so. HEB didn’t have Flat Creek, nor did Twin Liquors. Same for the nearby Randals. World Market had an empty spot for it and they were all out! Finally, Grapevine Market – yes, I got the last one off the shelf of this one!

And the wine? Excellent. The wine is a Sangiovese, light in color, medium bodied with a wonderful aroma and taste of blackberry and cherry fruit. “Double Gold” winner at the 2005 SF wine competition.

Flat Creek is a great place to visit as well. Haven’t been out there this year, but it’s a great drive out on the curvy 1431 past Lago Vista to the winery. If you can’t visit, or can’t find it locally (likely), then try ordering it for delivery.

Price: Around $16 (found at GrapeVine Mkt)
Overall: very good. Light body, blackberry & cherry fruit. Excellent along with the tenerloin filet I grilled.

Technorati tag: wine

Wisconsin? Wine?

2005-08-05T22:31:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I was in northern Wisconsin recently. Door County to be exact. That's the little peninsula north of Green Bay that juts into Lake Michigan. At this time of year, the area is crawling with vacationers so what better place to locate a few wineries, right?

This was not my first time in the area and I have sampled a few wines there before. So on this occasion, I took time out to only stop at one and that was Simon Creek. From my recollection, it was the best of the bunch I'd visited before.

As you head north on hwy 42 toward the quaint little towns closer to the tip of the peninsula, you'll pass through Carlsville. Not much to it, but there are huge signs leading up to it for a place called the Door Peninsula winery. It's right along the highway and is likely to lure you in, but skip it (trust me) and instead turn right and drive off the main road about 3 miles to Simon Creek.

What's a bit odd about this place though is that it's easy to believe that the wines are produced from local grapes. Even some of the back-of-the-bottle verbage hints that it's a great place to grow grapes. In fact, though, all the wines I tasted were made there, but the juice hailed from California, Oregon and New York. The guy pouring the tastings indicated the juice for the wine I liked the best, the "Untouchable Red" made with Ruby Cabernet, apparently came from Napa. And yet, it's labeled "American Ruby Cabernet".

Regardless, the place in general is very well done and all the wines I tried I thought were pretty good. If you're up there, take the side trip off the main road.

Conundrum 2003

2005-08-05T21:55:00.000-05:00

Yes, it’s back to the summer white theme, and this one would have to come in as one of the favorite whites I’ve tried this summer.

Conundrum is a “proprietary blend” of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Viognier and Muscat. This has a full-bodied mouth feel and yet has a crisp refreshing taste of apricot and peach. Wonderful aroma and lingering finish. Click the image at right for a more elaborate description.

Price: Around $24 (although I got this one at Costco for a couple bucks less)
Overall: loved it. Apricot and peach. Crisp but lingering fruit finish.

Technorati tag: wine

Another good review of Spicewood Vineyards Rosé of Merlot

2005-08-01T09:38:00.000-05:00

The most recent Austin Chronicle "Liquid Assets" column has an interesting article on Rosé wines, along with a few reviews. Among them is the Spicewood Vineyards Rosé of Merlot from right here in the Texas Hill Country. This is the same one I profiled back in May for WBW#9. Nice to see this wine get yet another mention.

It's the dog days of summer in Austin so a cool glass of this sounds pretty good.

Although, at the moment, I'm beating the heat in northern Wisconsin. It's by no means that cool here right now though either, so this still sounds pretty good.

Clayton 2001 Zinfandel

2005-07-31T09:36:00.000-05:00

Back in May I had tried the 2000 Clayton Zinfandel. It was interesting at best. I ended up dumping most of it though, so not a favorite. I also happened to have a 2001 of the Clayton Zin on the rack and gave it a try earlier this week. The results, unfortunately, were again mixed.

Immediately upon opening, I didn't think this one was drinkable. Tasted like wine filtered through saw dust, with some tight tannins. But based on that previous experience, I set it aside for awhile just to see what might become of it. In fact, I set it aside until the next day. On the 2nd day, this one had evened out to the point I actually kind of liked it.There was still a significant oak accent, but it was muted. Likewise it was just smoother.

(To those of you looking closely, the picture to the right is of the 2000 because I'm actually on the road right now and didn't happen to take a picture of the 2001 earlier in the week.)

Price: About $21 (Austin – Grapevine Market)
Overall: Big jammy Zin, once it opened up for a day. Not sure I'll be trying it again if I see it, but it always seems to offer and interesing experience.

Technorati tag: wine

Gianni Gagliardo Dolcetto d'Alba 2003

2005-07-26T21:16:00.000-05:00

There’s more white wine to come based on my recent theme, but in the mean time, I’ve tried a few reds. Here’s one…

There’s a light white that I like with a bit of fizz called the Gianni Gagliardo Fallegro. I noticed this red one by the same winery last week. I haven’t noticed others that brand there wines with a label quite like these wines, so they’re very easy to spot.

Click the image to the right to get the winery’s take, but this wine seemed to be best fresh from the bottle… The bright raspberry fruit was at its best. This was not a wine that improved with a 2nd try the next day.

Price: About $15
Overall: a bowl of raspberries. Thought it was a little over priced.

Technorati tag: wine

Freda's

2005-07-23T08:55:00.000-05:00

I was at Freda's the other day and they happened to mention they were doing a "wine dinner" on August 18th. Nothing on their web site, but the little flyer at the restaurant says $45/person, call 512-506-8700 for reservation. The flyer was from the earlier July event so I don't know what wines they plan for the August event.

Peirano Estate Viognier 2001, Lodi

2005-07-23T08:47:00.000-05:00

Continuing with the white theme and specifically the recent Viognier theme, I enjoyed a nice one the other day from Peirano Estate. It was just coincidence that I happened to have another of their wines just a week ago. “The Other” was a red blend from the same winery.

This wine had a classic Viognier floral note with a bit of peach and vanilla. Right out of the fridge, this needs to sit in the glass a bit to warm to the point its flavors emerge. Did well paired with some young gouda cheese.

Price: About $15
Overall: floral, peach and a hint of vanilla.

Technorati tag: wine

Hogue Genesis Viognier 2002

2005-07-23T07:57:00.000-05:00

Bradley over at Wine & Vine BC was kind enough to email me not too long ago and recommend I try some Washington state Viognier. This was after my recent post on the Jean Michel Gerin I’d had not long ago and that he had apparently also had. And so, I made a mental note to look for some other Viognier – and from Washington if I could find it.

The fact is though, I haven’t really run across much. In general, Viognier doesn’t really get much shelf space around here. At Grapevine market I ran across two from the west coast of the US. This one and one from California that I will post about on another day.

So while I was able to find only two Viognier, there is at least two full aisles of Calif Chardonnay at Grapevine market. Hmm, what do you think is more popular?

I ran across the following article online and it seemed like “Roland” had a good grasp on this varietal. (That web site doesn’t otherwise seem to be kept all that up-to-date.)

I enjoyed this wine, but it did not have quite the same depth and intense taste & aroma as the Jean Michel Gerin. This one was light, with a crisp mineral finish. It definitely had an outdoorsy, almost meadow-like aroma. Not quite earthy though. The winery’s tasting notes for the ‘03 are online here. They seem to have experienced something a lot more interesting than I did with my 2002. So, I will give the Hogue another chance when I see it again.

Price: About $15
Overall: fresh meadow, light crisp mineral finish.

Technorati tag: wine

Peirano Estate Vineyards "The Other" 2003

2005-07-14T21:33:00.000-05:00

I’m just not keeping up with the wines lately. Here it’s been days and I haven’t posted about the various wines I’ve had this week. The weekend is shaping up to be pretty busy too so who knows when, not to mention what, I’ll be able to post about.

Anyway, regardless, this wine is called “The Other” and was a really interesting wine. I was wandering through the mountains of wine they have at Central Market here in Austin (off Lamar) and this one caught my eye. It’s an eye catching kind of label just in general, but it was also on the big wall of featured wines. The other thing I noted was the interesting blend of grapes and the the Lodi, California winery location. If you’ve read these notes before, that area is a particular interest of late.

The blend is of 70% Syrah (“This”), 20% Petite Sirah (“That”) and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon (“The Other”). So now you know where the name comes from.

I drank this over two nights and I’ll have to say I enjoyed much better the 2nd night. It was smoother and had a deeper black cherry flavor on the 2nd day. In my initial notes, it was all over the map. There was raspberry, cherry and even strawberry flavors, with a significant note of cedar box. In fact, initially, the taste was maybe just a little odd for me. Made me think that’s how they came up with the name. Otherworldly. In the end, I kind of liked it though.

Price: About $16 (Austin – Central Market HEB, if memory serves, although it’s $18 on the Peirano web site).
Overall: give it a chance, and it might yield some black cherry and interesting cedar notes.

Technorati tag: wine

Winery web sites

2005-07-09T17:34:00.000-05:00

Although I linked to it, one thing I forgot to mention in the last post on Cambria wine was how much I thought their web site rocked. Seriously, I think I'm going to start adding a rating for the associated winery's web site. If you've read anything I've written here before, you'll recognize that I always attempt to seek out and include a link to the web site of the wine I happen to be profiling. It's simply part of the research I do given I'm doing a blog entry that readily provides for such a link if it exists. Some of the sites are excellent. Some are pretty weak, and some are non-existent. In this case, I thought the layout and available information on the Cambria site was first rate. In fact, more than that, their site is text book for what most wineries should be attempting to host. You can find out all about their wines, the history of the people & place, the maps of the estate, you can order online... really, what's not to like? Three (out of three) stars!

Cambria Katherine's Vineyard Chardonnay 2003 - Santa Maria Valley

2005-07-09T17:32:00.000-05:00

Here it is Saturday already! Time flies. I’m having a tough time lately keeping my writing up-to-date with the wine I’m having. Oh, well. No reason to stress about it I guess. I mean, if writing this was stressful, what would be the point? A blog should be a labor of love, right?

I think I mentioned recently that I’m enjoying more white wines recently. With as hot as it is here in central TX, it’s nice to be sipping something cooler. How anyone lived here before the invention of air conditioning, I’ll never know. They were hearty souls indeed.

I’m really enjoying the Chardonnay from Cambria I got. In fact, I got a couple of them – lured by the store’s apparent sale price. The Katherine’s Vineyard Chardonnay from Cambria is one of three Chardonnays they produce. Both of the other two, at least based on higher list price, are deemed more exclusive offerings. Judging by the fact that I didn’t find either of those other two in the store, their $25 price point (rather than the list price of $16 for this wine) either makes them unattractive for the big grocer I bought this from to stock it, or production is simply limited. The web site does not give those numbers.

The tasting notes at the winery’s web site give lots of interesting information. Personally, I did not really pick up on the “floral” nose mentioned by those notes, although perhaps my recent experience with Viognior doesn’t allow my nose to pick up on the floral notes of this Chardonnay. I did, however, note the pineapple in the taste – especially once the wine got to an appropriate temperature. Lots of toasty, buttery oak in this one as well. All in all, I’m likin’ it and likely to get another if it’s still on sale.

Price: About $13 (Austin – HEB).
Overall: buttery, toasty California Chardonnay with hints of pineapple fruit.

Technorati tag: wine

Wine Blogging Wednesday #11 - "Off Dry"

2005-07-06T09:17:00.000-05:00

Time for Wine Blogging Wednesday #11. This month’s theme is “off dry”. When I first read about the theme, my initial thought was a Riesling from New Zealand. In fact, I’d already posted about one back in April. That was the Villa Maria Marlborough Riesling. Its residual sugar is 8 g/l. But then I thought, why not try something slightly different. And so I looked north of New Zealand to Australia and selected the Wirra Wirra Vineyards 2002 ‘Hand Picked’ Riesling.

This Australian Riesling is a very light and refreshing wine – perfect for some summer time sipping. The nose has bit of kerosene on it and the taste is a crisp and light lime citrus. Residual sugar for this wine is 9.7 g/l, so in fact just a little bit sweeter than the New Zealand Riesling mentioned above but overall, not too sweet.

Price: About $17 (from fading memory, Austin – Central Market).
Overall: bit of kerosene on the nose, crisp and light lime citrus taste.

Technorati tag: wine

Wine Blogging Wednesday...

2005-07-05T14:38:00.000-05:00

Can't believe it's time for another Wine Blogging Wednesday tomorrow already. Time flies. Hopefully I'll have time tonight to have some of the wine I got and take a few notes. Look for a post tomorrow.

Not so 'everyday'... Jean Michel Gerin 2002 La Loye, Condrieu

2005-07-05T09:51:00.000-05:00

The catchphrase for this blog suggests my observations are about ‘everyday’ wines. True enough. Though occasionally, I do have something a little more interesting & special. This is one such wine, shared with someone special.

Condrieu is an area of Rhone in France known for producing excellent Viognier wines. The aroma of this wine was floral. This is a rich and full bodied white wine with a musky and complex apricot and peach taste. A hint of tea-like spice. You just wanted to linger awhile with this wine. Soft buttery mouth feel.

At $50, it’s a little steep for everyday drinking, but not much more than most people pay at restaurants for bottles of far less interesting wine.

Price: About $50 (Austin – Grapevine Market).
Overall: complex apricot & peach tastes. Full bodied, buttery mouth feel.

Technorati tag: wine

Slacker...

2005-07-05T08:30:00.000-05:00

In the last week I've really started to get behind in my note taking and my postings here. In fact, I've got three empty bottles lined up here waiting for me to say something about them. They're getting very impatient. I think it must be this heat. We're topping out at 100 about every day recently, and not a drop of rain for over a month. It would be so nice to get a cloudburst some afternoon.

Consequently, I've sought refuge in mostly white wines recently. Look for postings shortly...

The Wine Warrior

2005-07-05T08:25:00.000-05:00

As long as I'm posting pointers to other blogs, I should also make a note of the new Wine Warrior site. Looks to have just gotten started last week. Anyway, I like the posts so far.

'the OenoFile' blog

2005-07-05T08:21:00.000-05:00

Got a nice email from Greg, so now have a sidebar link over to 'The OenoFile'. Check it out.

Rex Goliath 2004 California Pinot Grigio

2005-06-28T11:57:00.000-05:00

This one was on sale at Whole Foods the other day along with some advertising hype on the stack of cases. So I gave it a try. Not likely to become a favorite.

The Wimbledon Wine Company gushes over this one, saying “lovely aromatics of pear and honeydew. Bright, juicy flavors of citrus and apples that lead to a sweet mineral core.” Personally, I can’t say I came away with all that. I did note some pear and apple but nothing very distinct and it otherwise had an earthy taste & aroma that didn’t appeal to me too much.

Price: About $8 (Austin – Whole Foods).
Overall: a little apple & pear. Somewhat earthy taste/aroma.

Technorati tag: wine

Hot Time In The City - A Cool Tasting of ‘Hot Weather’ Varietals

2005-06-27T19:38:00.000-05:00

The Wine & Food Foundation of Texas is having a tasting event this Thursday at the Four Seasons in downtown Austin. $50 gets you lots of wine & food. There'll be a bunch of Texas wines and the wines of R. H. Phillips.

Gianni Gagliardo Fallegro 2004

2005-06-25T16:49:00.000-05:00

This week’s been mostly old familiar favorites so not much new to post about. Last night though, I had a white that makes a great apertif. I’ve bought it many times before and had a hankering for it again the other day.

Fallegro is from an Italian wine maker named Gianni Gagliardo and is made from Favorita grapes. Other than it being a nice light white wine to start things off, the main thing I really like about this wine is that it’s slightly effervescent. Not really a sparkling wine, but just a bit of fizz that dances on the tongue.

Price: About $13 (Austin – Whole Foods).
Overall: Slightly tart and fizzy. Unmistakable bottle.

Technorati tag: wine

MIT Weblog survey

2005-06-25T16:05:00.000-05:00

I ran across the following survey about weblogs over on Blogdex. If you write a weblog, you might want to take the survey. It's 5 pages of questions, but doesn't take all that long to complete. I'll be curious to see what they turn up with the survey. Click the "I am a statistic" image below to take the survey yourself.

Langhorne Crossing 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Malbec

2005-06-20T22:01:00.000-05:00

Here’s the second of two value priced reds from Australia that I had this weekend. This one is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Shiraz and 10% Malbec.

The first impression was bright fruit. It’s a light bodied, soft wine though. Almost has a bit of a floral aroma to it.

This one was stacked in the “Top Ten” section at the NW Austin Whole Foods. It seems to be the place they put their best value priced wines. I’ll definitely grab another if there’s any left on my next trip to WF.

Price: About $10 (Austin – Whole Foods).
Overall: Light bodied, bright fruit tastes. Soft tannins.

Technorati tag: wine

Woop Woop 2004 Shiraz

2005-06-20T21:38:00.000-05:00

This weekend presented the opportunity to try a variety of different wines. Some were old favorites I’ve posted about before. Two of them were fun, value priced reds from Australia – one of which I’ll give a bit more info on in this post. The other I’ll post about later.

But first… We’re into our third straight week of 90+ temps and it’s shaping up to be a pretty hot summer. So a nice cool, crisp white is always nice. I had the 2004 Brancott Sauvignon Blanc on Saturday night. Not quite as complex and fruity as the Kim Crawford, but very refreshing nonetheless. It’s a few bucks cheaper too at around $11.

Ok, back to Australia. Woop Woop is a big jammy red wine with blackberry notes. It’s 100% Shiraz and aged in French and American oak. It’s got a smooth mouth feel with soft tannins. At $12 a pretty good buy.

Price: About $12 (Austin – HEB).
Overall: Big jammy red wine with blackberry notes.

Technorati tag: wine

Top 25 "Table Wine" Trendsetters

2005-06-16T22:41:00.000-05:00

Just a pointer to a short but interesting article about the top 25 'table wine' trend setters (as determined by Information Resources, Inc., a provider of consumer behavior insights for packaged alcohol sales, among other things). #1? Yellow Tail. Were you surprised? I consistently run into the ubiquitous Yellow Tail at parties. Clearly I'm going to the wrong parties.

Wine Blogging Wednesday #11 announced

2005-06-16T22:19:00.000-05:00

The next Wine Blogging Wednesday has been announced. This time it's "off dry" wines. Hmm. That could be an interesting one. But I think I've got something in mind already. Now to find it. Stay tuned for that on the 6th of July.

Seghesio 2003 Sonoma Zinfandel

2005-06-15T08:03:00.000-05:00

Been a bit busier lately and haven’t had as much of a chance to post here recently. But I did have a couple of interesting wines through the weekend. Both Zinfandels.

The first was this one from Seghesio. The wine maker’s notes are artful, as I guess most are, but I’ll have to agree with the “intriguing spicy, briery, dark fruit qualities” that are mentioned. This one got smoother/softer the longer I had it open. In fact, I thought it was actually better the 2nd day.

The other Zin I had while at Reed’s in NW Austin. I have few details about it but I found it very good. That was the Jessie’s Grove Earth, Zin & Fire, a Lodi area wine.

Price: About $17 (Austin – Costco).
Overall: Soft, lush, briery dark fruit.

Technorati tag: wine

WBW #10 - Domaine Paul Blanck Pinot Blanc D'Alsace

2005-06-09T22:20:00.000-05:00

I really wish I could remember where I got this wine from the Alsace region. I’d like to go back for another… gotta be one of the usual local suspects, but just haven’t noticed it recently. But I’m glad to have had an opportunity to dig this one out, enjoy it and research it a bit.

Anyway, better late than never for WBW #10. I appreciate the mention by Alice in the WBW #10 round-up despite the late arrival. This month’s theme was white pinots, and I can’t think of a better representative than this one.

The first time I really remember taking note of anything called a “Pinot Blanc” was in Brugge Belgium several years ago. We found a restaurant just off the main square there and a Pinto Blanc from Alsace was recommended with our meal by the waiter. Not surprisingly, given the geographic proximity, Alsatian wines seemed to be very popular in Belgium. Whatever wine we were served, (didn’t make a note of it then) since that time I’ve made a point of looking for Pinot Blancs from Alsace and that’s how I happened to pick up this one.

The Blanck family, starting with Hans Blanck, acquired their first vines in the Alsace region as far back as 1610(!) Based on what I read at their web site, the family has been involved in one way or the other with producing wines ever since. This Pinot Blanc comes from a line of wines they call their “mineral wines”. Those “which express the plenitude of limestone, the sweetness and firmness of clay, the harmony of manganese an the racy bouquet and power coming from silica”. This wine does indeed have a mineral note to it.

The CNN Money online edition also has a pretty good article about Alsatian wines and mentions Paul Blanck as a label to look for.

Interesting to note also that this wine uses a Stelvin cap rather than cork.

Price: Less than $20 – I otherwise can’t recall exactly. No paper trail.
Overall: Very good. Crisp, very light green apple fruit with mineral finish. Went well paired up with seafood (some baked Talapia in this case). I’ll look for it again.

Technorati tag: wine

WBW #10 - Pinot Blanc

2005-06-08T17:02:00.000-05:00

Well, I've got the wine all ready, but no time today to actually get to it. Watch this space for a posting tomorrow for Wine Blogging Wednesday #10...

Good article about Lodi

2005-06-06T21:22:00.000-05:00

As a fan of this area's wines, just a quick pointer to a good article on Lodi.

St Supery at Zin Bistro

2005-06-06T21:10:00.000-05:00

Zin Bistro in central Austin is doing a night of St Supery (Napa) wines this next Tuesday the 14th. Looks like it would be great, but I'm not sure I really wanna shell out $75 on a Tuesday night.

I was at the St Supery winery a year ago last spring and tasted some great wines. So I'm sure they'll have some good ones there come next Tuesday.

Mapema 2003 Argentina Tempranillo

2005-06-06T18:08:00.000-05:00

I once again found myself spending part of my evening hanging out at Tuscany Market. It’s kind of on the way home and too convenient. The place is only a bit over a year or so old, but seems to be undergoing a kind of reorganization. They’ve reduced the number of prepared foods in refrigerated cases and have eliminated the big ‘fridge with all the white wines and beers & cheeses completely. They seem to otherwise be doing a bang-up business, so I’m guessing this has more to do with reducing the ‘market’ part of their business to rearrange and focus on the stuff that seems to be their best offerings – wine and beer sales along with pizzas and sandwiches.

Anyway, under recommendation of a friend, I had some of this Mapema Tempranillo last night along with one of their great cheese pizzas. I usually expect to find more good value priced stuff (i.e. around $10 or less) from Argentina wines but this came in at $17 and was beginning to creep out of the ‘value’ range in my humble opinion. Nevertheless, I really liked this wine. Very dark and hearty fruit with lots of black cherry and berry fruit. Balanced and not very tannic. It worked well on its own and with the pizza.

Price: About $17 (Austin – Tuscany Market)
Overall: Dark and fruity. Evenly balanced and great sipping on it’s own.

Technorati tag: wine

Columbia Winery 2001 Columbia Valley Syrah

2005-06-05T14:51:00.000-05:00

I was in the mood for a fruity wine and I figured the Syrah from Washington that I got the other day at Costco would fit the bill. Sure enough, it was made to order.

This is also the second Washington wine in about the last week I’ve had. I liked the Tamarack Cellars from Washington too.

The winery’s tasting notes for this one can be found online. So if you want the details, check it out. While their notes don’t mention it, I picked up some very nice scents of chocolate on this.

This particular wine comes from what the winery calls their “Mainline” series. I’m now intrigued to try the “Signature” series Syrah from the Red Willow vineyard. Although at a list of $39.99, it’s kinda pricey. We’ll see if I can even find it locally. Chances are, probably not.

Price: $11.99 (Austin – Costco)
Overall: Smooth tannins and very fruity. Hint of oak.

Technorati tag: wine

Weird post of the week

2005-06-04T20:07:00.000-05:00

Here's a theme restaurant I hope to not find popping up locally.

Costco wines - skip the membership

2005-06-04T17:48:00.000-05:00

Some time ago, someone mentioned to me that you didn't need to be a member of Costco to shop its liquor store. The explanation was that because of some obscure Texas liquor law related to clubs, the liquor store portion of the Costco store had to be open for anyone regardless of membership. I honestly don't know the details, and at this point nor do I care since this week I confirmed the accuracy of that offhand comment.

The selection of wines is not very large, but the good news is you can expect to find some wines discounted in comparison to other shops. For example, last I saw, Darioush 2001 Napa Cabernet Sauvignon went for over $60 at Grapevine Market. At Costco it was about $46. Cheaper wines were not as significantly discounted or were not discounted at all relative to other local places.

Anyway, I'll certainly be back to look for bargains.

Wine Week in the Woodlands

2005-06-04T10:21:00.000-05:00

Wine Week in the Woodslands is a Houston area event, but looks like it’d be fun. Probably not going to be able to get down to it though.

Orogeny - redo

2005-06-03T17:20:00.000-05:00

In April, I had what I thought was a really outstanding Pinot Noir from Orogeny in California. Last night I had another bottle of the same wine, same vintage. But this time, the experience was completely different. Still very fruity, yes, but gone was my previously experienced layers of complexity that I had made a mental note of. Now I wish I’d made a note of what I had to eat with that other bottle. Clearly it was a good pairing. Last night though, I had some pizza along with the wine. Just cheese, sauce, garlic and basil. And in fact, I had a bit of the wine before the pizza, so even on its own it wasn’t as impressive. Could it be that there’s that big a difference from one barrel to the next? No doubt, I still like this wine, but it certainly doesn’t have the wow factor the other one had.

Pruno?

2005-06-02T22:01:00.000-05:00

How can they call this wine?

Bizarre replication of my blog postings!?

2005-06-02T14:06:00.000-05:00

Update: My email to the contact person for the winegift site that was replicating my whole posts got a very quick and suitable response. The posts seems to have been removed and in fact the contents of that typepad site are now empty.

This is truly weird. I track what’s linking to me via Technorati. Today I noticed a bunch of links from something at winegift.typepad.com. It is just really odd to find this out there and all it’s doing is just embedding my posts. Looks to be anonymous, but guess I’ll try to track it down. Whatever it is, it’s pretty lame.

Anyone else seen anything like this?

Tamarack Cellars Firehouse Red - 2003 Columbia Valley

2005-06-02T11:56:00.000-05:00

Switching gears quite a bit from the Spanish wine of the last posting, comes this big fruity wine blend from the Columbia Valley. And judging by the Tamarack Cellars web site, this blend is sourced from all over the Columbia valley.

It’s got it all in there: 49% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Syrah, 15% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc, 2% Carmenere, 2% Sangiovese. It’s big and juicy and I really liked it. To quote the Tamarack web site’s tasting notes for the wine: “Tastes like really, really good red wine.” So there you have it.

Price: From distant memory, about $18.00 (Austin)
Overall: Juicy fruit wine with lingering black cherry tastes. Hint of oak. Definite repeat buy.

Technorati tag: wine

Viña Borgia Campo De Borja 2003 Grenache

2005-06-01T10:23:00.000-05:00

Somewhere along the way, I picked up something that I stored in the back of my mind that told me there were some good values to be had in Spanish wines. In this case, the price was right and the hype high, but I’m not sure I’d buy this one again. In fact, doubtful.

It was actually a bit of raving by a little shelf-talker at Whole Foods that got me interested in picking up this wine. There’s not much I can point to out there on the web about this particular wine. There’s a bit of a blurb about the 2001 at wineloverspage.com. But this is the 2003 so of course your mileage may vary.

This wine is 100% Garnacha, or rather, Grenache. It has a nice hearty, smokey nose, but personally, other than a nice light raspberry fruit taste, I found it to have very little complexity. True to the linked article above, it does make a nice “spaghetti wine” (in this case capellini with a red mushroom & green pepper sauce) but little more.

I’ve noticed in the past that the little write-ups that Whole Foods does for their stacks of wine generally rave more than they probably should. Consequently, I generally discount them more than those from other stores.

Price: About $7.99 (Austin) – and I think that is probably on the high end for this.
Overall: Simple, light fruit. 14% alcohol. In this case, I’ll keep looking for good values from Spain.

Technorati tag: wine

Montes Alpha 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon - another Chilean wine from the Colchagua Valley

2005-05-29T20:32:00.000-05:00

More or less by coincidence, the Chilean wine I had this evening was from the same area as the one I had earlier in the month – that is, the Colchagua Valley. This one was great and I’ll be looking for it again.

A bit of internet searching reveals a very good web site that goes into some detail on the Colchagua Valley, among others in Chili. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Carmenère are apparently the grapes that are predominantly grown in this valley.

This wine had a pretty good shelf-talker at the nearby World Market store. It was specifically raving about the 2001 but the rack was filled with both 2001 and 2002. Given that all the chatter was about the 2001, I got that one.

There’s a great write-up online already at the ‘wine lovers page’ web site, so check it out. It’s rings very true to my experience with the wine this evening.

Price: About $16.99 (Austin)
Overall: I like this one a lot. “Fruit forward” with big ripe black currant fruit tastes, long finish. 14% alcohol.

Technorati tag: wine

Grapevine blowout

2005-05-28T15:20:00.000-05:00

I haven’t had a chance to get down to Grapevine Market in the last week or so (link is in the side bar) but it turns out this was some kind of birthday week for them. There were apparently events all week. Today they had live music, various food tastings and of course, some wine tastings.

Grapevine Market’s web site is generally pretty poor. Ok, it sucks. If you’re going to have events all week, don’t you think you’d make a note of it on your web site? As far as I can tell, nothing. Even their online newsletter is from last August. Pretty lame. But, it’s otherwise a pretty good store. In fact, a great store. Just wish in this modern age they’d do a better job of connecting with their clientele.

Ordinarily, they’ll have maybe 2 or 3 wines to try on a Saturday afternoon. Today, they were tasting 12. As usual, most were pretty reasonably priced. The priciest at $21.49 was Chateau Souverain 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon. It was very good, but I was in the mood to find a better value.

There were two others that I thought were very good too. The Carmenet Sauvignon Blanc for $6.99 was a great buy. Easy drinking, great summer quaffing. The other white that was good was the Chateau St. Jean Fume Blanc at $12.29. Sorry, didn’t make a note of the vintage for either of these.

There were several hot things to try as well. One of which was something called “Lava” sauce. Check out the web site. Not exactly a wine-friendly sauce, but put in the right dip, it worked out pretty well. Made from habañero, even the “mild” version of the sauce was pretty hot. The “hot” version wasn’t really that much hotter than the “mild”. So if you want spice, just go with the “hot” and be done with it.

NY Times op ed page weighs in

2005-05-28T07:39:00.000-05:00

Perhaps New York will soon be changing its laws. The New York Times has a good op ed piece on it. I like their suggestion for legislators:

"Here is a suggestion for legislators in New York and elsewhere: Break open a bottle from a good local winery and work it out."