Jan

31

While at drinks last night with a couple of friends at a swanky San Francisco bar, I drank a glass of wine that was utterly horrible.  Although it certainly didn’t ruin my evening — I had a great time catching up with my buddies — the purchase of this glass at $9 represented to me a waste of more than half the money I needed to buy another bottle of the fabulous Cab referenced above.  It’s wines like these, a steal at $17, that could make me swear off rolling the dice on 9 dollar mystery-glasses-of-wine for good.

On the nose, it’s marked by dark red fruits like dark cherry, blackberry and currant, and once in the mouth, these flavors are accompanied by charred wood and a hint of chocolate from the oak aging.  Also, the tannins in this wine are firm without being overbearing — you’ll recognize them from the drying sensation you’ll feel around your gums and in the back of your throat — which ought to result in this wine’s pairing well with cheese or other foods rich in fat and proteins.

This is the first bottle of wine we’ve reviewed from Chile, but for the money, it had us thinking “yo quiero mas!”

Jan

30

Here are events happening in wine country this weekend that we think are worth checking out:

Jan

29

As many of you know, the Italian version of the Pinot Gris grape is Pinot Grigio, and this unoaked version hails from the Isonzo appellation of Italy’s Friuli region, which is located in the extreme northeast of the country.   

On sipping, I found tart pear, green apple and lemon citrus flavors that lingered on, and even resurged momentarily, through a long finish.  True to the varietal, it’s light in body and has the typical color of straw with green tinge.  With acidity and  levels that balance each other beautifully, the end result is a mouthwatering and refreshing white that would be ideal for drinking after an evening workout or as a pre-dinner cocktail.

If you’re looking for a contrast, we recommend grabbing a bottle of unoaked Chardonnay, which is vastly different in body (it’s heavier) and acidity (it has less).          

Just note that this bottle may be a little harder to find than some of the other wines we reviewed in the past.  For that reason, we’ve taken the liberty of finding a Web site where you can definitely obtain a bottle: www.Bevmax.com.

Jan

29

You might drive past the front entrance to Lazy Creek three or four times before you see it, but even when you turn into the driveway, you’re likely going to wonder whether you’re in the right spot.  That’s because when you arrive at the Lazy Creek property, you still have to drive another five minutes down a dusty, one-lane dirt road before reaching the winery itself.  It’s only when you see the generic “Winery” sign that you can be sure you’ve made it to your destination.

img_1689-1024.jpgLazy Creek is located in the Anderson Valley in California’s Mendocino County – it’s about a three hour drive north of San Francisco, but it’s well worth the trip.  A visit to this region will be rewarded with tiny crowds, picture perfect little towns and phenomenally breathtaking scenery.  Also, the Anderson Valley happens to be newly “hot” on the Northern California winemaking scene, which is largely due to the fantastic Pinot Noirs, Gewürtztraminers and sparkling wines being produced there.

img_1693-1024.jpgShortly after leaving our car and following a flowery stone path towards the winery, we encountered a stray rooster, a few wine barrels in a stack and an all-terrain vehicle — the starkest contrast possible to a touristy Napa winery.  Adjacent to this rustic scene was the tasting room, a wooden, barn-like structure with a couple of tables and some chairs in front, which were perfect for picnicking.  For our visit, we had brought sandwiches and some cheese to munch on prior to sampling wine.  We made good use of the picnic area, but while we ate, one of the owners came by with glasses and a bottle of chardonnay that he poured out for us.  Much like the winery itself, it was an unexpected treat.    

If you do visit Lazy Creek, don’t miss the Gewürtztraminer and the Riesling.  See The New York Times’s article about these two wines at nyt.com, which is where we first learned of Lazy Creek. 

www.LazyCreekVineyards.com
P.O. Box 176
Highway 128
Philo, California 95466
(707) 895-3623
*Tastings by appointment; no tasting fee.

Jan

24

We opened this bottle last night, and I can’t wait to fill up another glass this evening.  One of my favorite things about wine in general is that the same variety of grape grown in two different regions can produce wines with entirely different characteristics due to the influence of factors like soil composition and sun exposure.  If you’d like to experience this for yourself, compare (1) the Whitehaven Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand that I reviewed last week with (2) the Sancerre for which this post is named, which is a Sauvignon Blanc from the Sancerre appellation of France’s Loire Valley.

On comparison, you’d find that both of these wines have citrus flavor, but the citrus manifests itself as tart grapefruit and lime in the Whitehaven, as opposed to chalky lemon with a slight tinge of Granny Smith apple in the Sancerre.  Most dramatic of all is the difference in texture: while the Whitehaven’s is sharp and crisp, the Sancerre’s is silky and smooth. 

If you do get a chance to try the two bottles discussed above, keep your reactions fresh in mind, because eventually we’ll add a California Sauvignon Blanc to the mix.

Jan

22

This past year I came up with the project of bringing a list of some of the best bargain bottles of 2007 - about 80 bottles long - to wine merchants to ask if they had anything in stock. 

It was through this effort that I managed to find the wine for which this posting is named: 2005 Turley Zinfandel Juvenile.  Going through my list with the manager of a local wine shop, it seemed that we were headed for a lost cause until he came to this bottle, which he remembered he’d had in his store-room for six months but never had the chance to put out on the shelf.  Success!  

While I can assure you that it is still available for purchase, you may no longer be able to buy it for the $22 that it sold for back in November due to declining availability.  In fact, on one site I saw it retailing at $40.

Still, if you do end up tracking down this wine, you’ll be tasting one of our favorite Zinfandels from last year.  Even beginning with the nose, you know you’re in for something good: I picked up scents of liquorice, dark red fruit and pepper.   On the taste, I found a lighter-than-usual body relative to the normally heavy Zinfandel from Central California, which - due to ripening by the hot climate - can be a meal in and of itself.  My favorite quality of all: the abundance of pepperiness and spice, which shines through especially on the finish, that is so typical of this varietal. 

High marks for this one, even at $40. 

Jan

19

This evening I attended a wine tasting that was hosted by Johannes Leitz, who runs the Josef Leitz winery in the Rheingau region of Germany.  It was a unique opportunity to sample German Rieslings that fully cross the spectrum of sweetness.  As you may already know, German Rieslings can be super sweet or completely dry (i.e., non-sweet due to the fact that all of the sugar is fermented into alcohol), and there’s even a classification system in place to help guide consumers: “Kabinett” is the driest, “Spätlese” sweeter, and “Auslese” the sweetest.  Just note that not all German Rieslings fit into these categories - take the first bottle of the night, which was far drier than the Kabinett. 

In white wines, I tend to prefer lightness of body over heavy alcohol, a touch of minerality, a high level of acidity, and little or no sugar.  A fruity or floral bouquet is icing on the cake.  These are the reasons why Riesling is one of my favorite white grapes: done well, it can be everything I’m looking for in a white wine.  Gewurztraminer is another example of a grape that fits the above description, although it’s typically fuller bodied, less acidic and spicier than Riesling.  I’ll be reviewing a bottle of that varietal at some point soon.

What surprised me most about the Leitz wines this evening is how broad the spectrum of sweetness really is.  We began with the the driest of the five wines we would sample, in which not a grain of sugar was detectable, and from there the amount sweetness from sampling to sampling increased consistently and distinctively each time, four times over.

Among the wines that were poured, the 2006 Josef Leitz Rudesheimer Klosterlay Kabinett ($17) seemed to be the crowd favorite.  For example, while it was a bit off-dry, the woman next to me - a seasoned veteran with 30 years of experience tasting wines with her wine group - shared with me how impressed she was with the way ”the initial sweetness trails off through the finish.”   At $17 per bottle, it’s a good value and certainly a great place to start if you’re interested in trying wines from a cooler region like Germany.

By the way, if you’re looking to get a sense of what I’m talking about regarding sweetness gradations, serving Leitz’s Kabinett, Spätlese and Auslese to a small group of friends would make for a fun, enlightening and easy do-it-yourself wine tasting.  Their names are listed below:

+ 2006 Josef Leitz Rudesheimer Klosterlay Kabinett ($17)

+ 2005 Josef Leitz Rüdesheimer Berg Roseneck Spätlese ($34)

+ 2004 Josef Leitz Rüdesheimer Bischofsberg Auslese ($17)

Jan

18

Try this wine and you are guaranteed at least a “hmmmm.”  Think dark berries, must, tobacco, even a little bit of old leather; picture an old library, close your eyes and take a deep breath.  There are no tropical fruits or florals here. 

I was drawn to seek out a Rhône for today because I recently heard a bit about 2005’s having been a killer year for the region, and I certainly wasn’t disappointed when the time came to taste. 

For the price, it’s a great value – if anything, I’m tempted to buy yet another bottle, stick it into a cellar for a few years and then give it another whirl.  For now, though, this firmly structured, full-bodied wine is definitely a good bottle for cozying up to on a cool winter’s evening.   

keep looking »

Blogroll

WP Themes