Pacific Northwest White Wines

We reconvened on July 31st at Tony and Timm's house for another gathering of our quarterly wine club. We began our night enjoying our "welcome wine," a Chateau St. Michelle Harvest Select Riesling, on the boys' new patio.

This was a 2009 riesling from the Columbia Valley of Washington. A bit on the sweet side, it was fruity and refreshing and medium bodied. Amy said she "sees it on alot of menus." Timm and Corinne both gave it a 'thumbs up' but also suggested that they may not want to drink alot of it because it was so sweet. We enjoyed it with Amy's appetizer of delicious ricotta cheese from Claudio's in South Philly, sliced fresh figs and Savannah honey (from a pump--very impressive). With 11% alcohol, this wine scored a 24 of possible 35. (Laura, our beloved vocabulary/adjective expert was feeling poorly and didnt' join us.)

Next up was a 2009 Willamette Valley Pinot Gris from Elk Cove Vineyards. This wine was very light, both in color and in mouth feel. Corinne liked how light it was, but was disappointed that it didn't have much 'fruity flavor.' Tony commented that he may enjoy it more "if it was colder" but with each subsequent sip, he admitted he "liked it more and more." Yash remarked that it was "alcohol-like" and at 13.5%, was higher than our first offering. The wine scored only a 16.5, again out of 35.

As we settled in for bottle #3 of the night, Amy noted that we had actually tried this wine in a 2010 Wine Club event, but since our recall was almost non-existent, we continued. A 2008 Chateau St. Michelle & Dr. Loosen Eroica Riesling from Columbia Valley (alcohol 11.5%) was our repeat wine and it was a winner. Scoring the highest points of the night at 26, everyone felt that "this wine was a good wine that alot of people would like." Light on the nose, pretty colored, and not too sweet. John made what was perhaps the best critique of the evening as he said, "Eroica was a dramatic piece of music, but not a dramatic wine."

Though following right behind the night's winner, the next wine turned out to also be a 'fan favorite' of the evening. A 2007 white wine from Washington States's Columbia Crest Two Vines Vineyard #10. This wine, a bit more golden in color, did not have much aroma, but was described as "smooth and refreshing." Yash thought it tasted, "nutty." This was a blend of three varietals: chardonnay, sauvignon blanc and semillon. Tony thought that this tasted much better with food. It scored a 23.5 which was the second highest score of the evening.

Pause and gratitude should be given at this point to the meal which Tony lovingly prepared (and grew in his own garden). Starting with a delicious salad of garden greens featuring Tony's tomatoes, dill and cucumbers, we continued on to a lipsmacking dinner of grilled jumbo shrimp, rice, and spinach. At some point, we reviewed oxymorons like 'jumbo shrimp' and given the strong healthcare presence in the room, got to talking about 'for profit hospice' and living wills. Don't ask how that happened, but we did make sure everyone promised to address their healthcare power of attorney forms and advance directive forms before year's end. See? And you all thought we were just drinking!!



Returning to our last two wines, we quickly dispersed of them to get to Amy's homemade desserts! The 2008 Columbia Valley Semillon, L'Ecole No 41, scored a mere 9 points from us. Clearly not many of us are semillon fans as this wine was 89% semillon and 11% sauvignon blanc. The other last wine, a 2008 Columbia Valley Waterbrook Melange wine scored 19. Corinne affectionately called it "the kitchen sink" wine as it was made of seven different grapes. From the top down, 30% riesling, 20% gevurtraminer, 15% viognier, 10% sauvignon blanc, 10% chardonnay, 10% pinot gris, and 5% muscat. A real "melange" of grapes! But not a repeat wine.

The evening ended on a sweet note as Amy brought out her home-made triple ginger ice cream and Vietnamese cinnamon ice cream. Two flavors to accompany her home-made, organic, gluten-free peach and blueberry crumb/cobbler. Let me just say, there was not much talking at the table once dessert was served. Oh, and did I mention the Termini's cheesecake? Yes, we had that too.

All in all, another wonderful Wine Club event. Thank you to our gracious hosts, Tony and Timm. Until our next meeting, get out there and have some grape adventures!!

French Wine Club, March 12th, 2011

Truth be told, I fell in love in with red wine when I made a trip to Paris. That was 1993 and I've been enjoying red wine ever since. Just not French wine. And judging from the results of last week's Wine Club gathering, I'm not missing much.

So, the theme was French wine and each guest was encouraged to bring a bottle (or two) of a French wine from Burgundy, I think. Amy made a French menu complete with fondue (OK, there was cheese involved), delicious savory crepes (ooh la la!) and for dessert, home made creme brulee with fresh blueberries and whipped cream.

And let me introduce our wines...

1. Louis Jadot 2009 Pouilly Fuisse'
A white burgundy with alcohol content of 13%. Fermented in stainless steel. Comments included: "smells like cake." Not acidic, not heavy, "tastes like a sauvignon blanc" even though it is 100% chardonnay grape. Laura offered "it lacks substance" and "I wouldn't go out of my way." SCORE: 22 points (out of 40 possible points)

2. Chateau L'Hospitalet La Reserve 2008
Truth be told, I bought this because I liked the name and I was interested in buying a white wine from Burgundy. This wine was made of three grapes, grenache, fermentino, and bourboulenc and was aged in French oak for 8 months. Yasheene liked this offering as did Laura. Timm was a definite "no." SCORE: 20 points

3. Chablis Domaine des Malandes 2008
Obviously a white wine, really light colored, somewhat acidic and "green apple sour." Not much depth to this wine, very thin. Alcohol 12.5%. SCORE: 16 points

4. Sancerre La Reine Blanche 2009
$27 at the state store. Yash liked this wine, but Laura dumped it. Someone offered "mushroomy" as a description. Alcohol content 13.5%. SCORE 18 (Laura did not vote).

5. Laforet Pinot Noir
Our first red of the evening. Color is "pretty, but thin." Had a rich smell, with some "tobacco-like smells." Very dry on the palate. Tony really didn't like this wine, neither did Laura. SCORE: 12 points

6. Louis Latour Volnay 2007 Grand Vin De BourgogneThis was "better than the first red." Tony commented "this is much different." Corinne said "I like this." Reminded folks of a "traditional" pinot noir. Alcohol 13.5%. SCORE: 20 points.

7. Chateau D'Or et de Gueules 2007From its label, this looks like a Rhone wine. "Vignobles de la Vallee Du Rhone" Comments included: "a little rough," "very Old World," "it's like drinking sweatsocks, not smelling them." And, "this is what we expect a French wine to be." Hands down winner for the evening's Wine Club with a whopping 27 points! Tony's last comment, "I am not dumping this."

Age Wins Every Time

The Grape Adventures Wine Club kicked off its 2010 season with our first meeting on Saturday, March 6th at Betty and Amy's home. The theme? Italian Trebbiano and Barbera wines.

Starting off, we enjoyed a Santa Margherita Prosecco which, we all agreed, was a "perfect welcome wine." Purchased in New York city, and so not readily available in the Philadelphia/NJ area, this prosecco was described by our guests as "delightful," "good, full, rounded flavor" and even the non-champagne drinker (Yash) liked it.

Our second wine was a Citra Trebbiano, brought by Tony and Timm. The "first 1.5 liter" bottle we've seen at wine club, this white was a "thin, floral smelling, light tasting white." Tony suggested it might be a good sangria.

With our Winter Fruit Salad with lemon poppy seed dressing, we enjoyed our next white, Pio Cesare, Cortese di Gavi, 2007. Wine club members described this "lemony, crisp, light, and yummy." We all found it more favorable than the Citra Trebbiano.

Heading into dinner, we started with a Bruno Porro Piemonte Barbera 2007. As we passed the spicy chicken cacciatore over pasta, and the crispy garlic bread, we tasted this first Barbera. Comments included ""musty," "old world smell," and "a little rough at the end." This had a beautiful garnet color and was good with our food. It had 14.5% alcohol and was purchased at our beloved state store for $17.99. (total score of 18.5)

The second barbera was a 2006 Ca' DiPian Barbera D'Asti. This wine, at 14% alcohol, got a total score of 30. We found this a wine with "an earthy smell" with a "full, rich soft flavor" (Yash). Corinne described this wine as "smoky."

The third wine, a 2006 Socre' Langhe Nebbiolo that was purchased at the state store for $22. This was more like an old world wine, thinner, lighter and very tannic. (alcohol at 13%) We scored this wine as a 24.5.

Continuing into the dinner, we started in on the Montepulciano Cantina Zaccagnani, which got a 90 from Wine Spectator. This affordable wine ($12) became affectionately known as "the wine with the stick." (the bottle had a cute straw stick wrapped around it). Laura described this as "spicy and cinnamon." John found it "earthy" but "not in a bad way."

Amy prepared a scrumptious apple pie that her mom sent for inclusion in the dinner. But, the Hostess with the Mostess made some to-die-for home-made cinnamon ice cream (yes, with real cream, eggs, vanilla bean and sugar!) Dessert was wonderful!

Our final wine was a 1997 Corvione Amarone della Valpolicella Classico. Betty brought this wine, but can't remember when or where she bought it because it was so long ago (and she's drank so many bottles since then!). Laura described this as having a "wonderful, raisin-y quality," and Tony said it was "delicious." John said it "tasted like anisette." Others commented that the wine was "mellow and well balanced." (At 13 years old, who's well balanced?) This wine scored a 35.5 for the night, the highest score, proving once again that Age Wins Every Time.

Stay tuned for next wine club!

Dream Vacation in Zin Country!

WOW! What a wonderful vacation we had in Paso Robles, CA last month. As members of the Tobin James "James Gang" wine club, we hiked out to Paso Robles for the Tobin James end of summer BBQ on September 12th. And, oh yeah, by the way, while we were there, we visited a few (ahem) other wineries and had a blast!

Thanks to traveling with our friends, Nancy and Michelle, the laughs started Thursday night when we arrived in LA and lasted 'til Sunday night when they left us in Pismo Beach as they returned home. The four of us made our mark on Paso Robles for sure!

Here's a few of the wineries we visited:
1. Laetitia: Nancy's favorite. This was our first stop on Friday as we headed north on 101. Good wine. Cool hats.
2. Calcareous: unbelieveable view from the top of the mountain! Thank goodness we went to this winery bright and early on Saturday morning. Friendly counter folks and delicious wine. There were even friendly dogs.
3. Robert Hall: impressive cellar with massive barrels! Good tasting room, very nice and friendly.
4. J. Lohr: probably the largest winery we visited. Lots of choices and really good whites.
5. Eos: All of us liked this winery if only for the port! Oh, and they gave us nice big glasses to take home with us. And we did.
6. Turley: Despite a rocky start in the tasting room, Chris Lasarte saved the day! She offered us a bottle of White Coat as we enjoyed lunch outside at a picnic table and it was amazing white wine!
7. Thacher: Amidst the blur of grapes, we visited Thacher. Can't remember much else.
8. Tobin James: of course! The BBQ was alot of fun and we clearly should have won the "traveled farthest" prize if they had given one out. Good food, lots and lots of wine. Who knew there were so many cowboys in central California!

Our lessons?
1. Have a good breakfast before you head out to wine tasting.
2. Drink water at each winery.
3. Make sure you eat lunch. Really.
4. Ask questions of the folks at the tasting counter---they love it!

This was a fabulous vacation thanks not only to our friends, but also because of the gorgeous weather, the fun people we met along the way, and the delicious wine we enjoyed. Stay tuned for more updates! And more vacations!!! On to France! On to Italy!

This Wine is a Doozy

Let me set the stage....this spring, Amy visited Chicago and really enjoyed a J. Dusi zinfandel at a wine bar. Like a good investigator, she went on-line and found Ms. Jonelle Dusi's winery in Paso Robles, CA. Turned out, Ms. Dusi had just started making her own wine even though for years prior, the grapes from her dad's vineyard were sold to create delicious zins. Wineries like Tobin James, Turley and Four Vines all have produced and marketed a Dusi Zin. And they were all yummy. Yes, we had all of them.

During our recent trip to Paso Robles, we were blessed by the wine gods to come upon two bottles of J.Dusi Zin at a lovely wine shop, 15 Degrees C Wine Shop and Bar in Templeton, CA. Tonight, we opened one of those bottles and it was a doozy!!!

Fruit forward, jammy, and smooth, this zin was delicious. Judging from the 3/4 bottle that the two of us sucked down with our lasagna and turkey meatloaf dinners, it was a winner.

With one more bottle to go, we will be reaching out to Jonelle Dusi and seeing how we can buy more of her new wines!

Wine Club: Sparkling Wines

Last night, our wine club targeted sparkling wines from around the world. We enjoyed seven bottles, only one from the 'authentic' champagne region in France. Being that we all live in Pennsylvania and usually purchase our wines from the state-owned and operated Wine and Spirits Shoppes, our choices are typically somewhat limited, but last night, we enjoyed some interesting diversity.

The clear winner, scoring 29 out of a possible 35, was an 2007 Italian brut prosecco called Hi! Priced reasonably at $16, the wine elicited comments like, "smooth and silky," "good for a toast" and "light and crisp." The wine comes in at 11% alcohol.

Coming in a close second was a Southeast Australian pink moscato, Emeri, with 28 points. This wine was served with dessert and was a great choice with our peach pie and plum upside down cake. "This is a great party wine," said one of our members. Another commented, "This is like having Barbie in a bottle." (OK, it WAS our seventh bottle!) We especially liked the back label where it said, "Don't wait for the celebration, BE the celebration." At 8% alcohol, it was easy to drink.

The bronze medal winner for the evening was a California sparkling wine, Viansa Brut Classico, a Carneros sparkler with pinot noir and chardonnay grapes made by the Viansa Winery in Hopland, California. Scoring 27 points, a particularly eloquent fan of this wine said that the wine provided "a mouthful of air and light." Most of us just who liked it said that "it was good." One of our members invited those who wanted to dump their glass to dump it directly into his! On sale at the Wine and Spirits Shoppe!

The other wines and their scores included:

• Sofia Rose (the "welcome wine")---California, 24.5 points, "beautiful color," "great bottle"
• Voga Pino Grigio, Italian sparkling---24.5 points, "the best bottle" "refreshing"
• Taittinger, French champagne---25 points, "smoky"
• Toso Brut, Argentinian Chardonnay----19 points, "party in your mouth" "light"

Next up for our wine club, Saturday, October 31st. Theme? Wines with ghosts, goblins, witches, black cats, and any other Halloween-centric labels.