Category Archives: Wines I Like

Wine Tasting 101~ An Italian Stallion

A new favorite

A new favorite.

Tonight, I had a romp with a great Italian Sangiovese (Brunello di Montalcino): an 06 Casanova di Neri.  Since my husband brought the bottle back with him from a recent trip to Italy, I asked for his input.  His take: a mix of black currant on the first nose, that melted into a sweet toffee as the sips went on. I thought it had more of a strawberry preserve  vibe on the nose with a slightly astringent feel. At the end, it morphed into an almost cherry pie, dessert-like finish.  So sinful and gorgeous, it almost made my eyes roll back…but not quite.

What I know of old-world wine is that the first sip will generally be just like the end: good to the last drop. And that’s what many like and depend on in a wine. That’s what draws them to old world wine vs. new world wine time and time again: they always know what to expect when it’s rolling in around in their glass.

It was my first foray into the world of Italian wine and I can honestly say that I wasn’t disappointed. A few more glasses and I might even need a cigarette.

Cheers!

Wine Tasting ~ Original Zin and a little PromisQuity.

Zin-ful

Zin-ful

 I’ll admit it: I drink around. As a student of wine, I believe that I have to try a variety of wines to find out what I like and, more important, why I like it. I can’t buy a case of one type of wine. I have to experiment and the one I choose to spend the night with might not last until the next weekend.  For this recent wine night with the girls, we compared and contrasted two Zinfandels. In the past, I haven’t necessarily favored the beloved Zinfandel; I’m not exactly sure why. I guess until now, I thought they weren’t full- bodied enough for my liking. That’s what making assumptions does: it makes an ass of, well, just me in this case.

 We chose to go with 09 Macchia ‘Prestigious’ Zinfandel and an 09 Pezzi King Zin from Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma. The Macchia had a lovely, deep red color, was gentle on the nose and possessed a rich, bold berry on first taste. The next sips brought out more of the richness and lusty flavor. It made me think of a Cabernet in its style; I was pleasantly surprised.  We were unanimous in our appreciation of this wine and it seemed to pair very well with the assortment of mild cheeses I had set out.

The Pezzi King Zin was also a pleasant drinking wine but the consensus was that it tasted very young, as though it could be cellared a little longer. While we did pour both through aerators, it might have enhanced the Pezzi to have been decanted for a time.

PromisQous

PromisQous

With the night still being young, we moved on to PromisQous, a red wine blend from California. It boasted a “delightful dalliance” of Zin, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Syrah. We found that it was indeed a playful little minx and paired very well with the sharp cheddar left on our plates from the earlier tasting.

It was a great night of tasting, trying some new wines I’d never experienced before and getting to know some new friends. I’m not sure what the next wine night theme will be but with so many great wines out there, I’m sure it’ll be just as fun.

Just don’t expect me to call you in the morning.

Cheers!

Night School

09 Red Rock Winery Reserve Pinot Noir

09 Red Rock Winery Reserve Pinot Noir

A benefit to online learning is that I can enjoy a glass of wine while in class. I couldn’t do that as an undergrad, so this is a nice perk. While I was waiting for our chat to begin, I thought a lovely red might get the creative juices flowing, so I closed my eyes…and chose another Pinot (we have a few in our cellar right now). It was one I hadn’t heard of before: an 09 Red Rock Reserve from California.

At first, I found it had a musty, black cherry quality on the nose, and a vinyl and berry taste with a slight metallic finish. None of these qualities were bad, per se, it’s just what I experienced. A few more sips revealed a nice peppery heat that I began to really enjoy (it’s still drizzly here in the Cleve).

There were some technical problems with my class chat session that never did get resolved, so I was able to enjoy more than one glass.
I didn’t learn much about grammar tonight, but I did learn that Red Rock Winery makes a very nice, unique Pinot. I also learned that 09 is shaping up to be a very good year.

Cheers!

Candlelight, some wine and me

Taking the chill away

Taking the chill away

I’ve been out in the cold and dreary Cleveland weather today. So when I got home, I wanted something to take the chill away. I chose an 09 Santa Cristina Sangiovese. It had a nose of berry and the taste of mineral and pepper. I won’t even rate it tonight; that’s not the point. Tonight, it’s about enjoying the wine with my blanket, my candles and a good book.

Cheers!

A little chill

The past few weeks have been incredibly busy. I’m very grateful for the wonderful friends and family who have ventured down to see me. We’ve shared some wine, a lot of laughs and it’s been nice to feel that home isn’t really so far away.

2007 Daniel Lenko Viognier

2007 Daniel Lenko Viognier

So tonight, I’m toasting the lovely new memories with an 07 Daniel Lenko Viognier from Niagara. It’s proving to be a delicious end to a wonderful few weeks.

Cheers!

Face-off! 2007 Mike Weir vs. 2007 Wayne Gretzky Pinot Noir

2007 Wayne Gretzky Estate/ Mike Weir Wine Pinot Noir

2007 Wayne Gretzky Estate/ Mike Weir Wine Pinot Noir

Last night, I had a little tasting with my friends Judy and Terri and I wanted it to be as unbiased as possible. Since I’m an ex-pat from the Niagara region, I’m partial to many wines from that area, not just the Icewine that it’s noted for. Maybe I’m feeling a little homesick especially since it’s Grape and Wine Festival time. Sigh. I know it’s called ‘The Niagara Wine Festival‘ now, but it’ll always be ‘Grape and Wine’ to me.

For years, I’ve enjoyed the whites and particularly liked what had been coming off the vine from Mike Weir Wine. Having never sampled anything from Wayne Gretzky Estates, I wanted to try something different and compare the two. To keep things on equal footing, I chose the same type and vintage, otherwise it could be like comparing apples to oranges, and not really a fair fight. We poured both through an aerator since we didn’t have time to decant.

Armed with both the Wine Aroma Wheel and Mouth-feel Wheel, we started with the 2007 Mike Weir Wine Pinot Noir. The color ranged from a burgundy (Terri) to light claret (me) to garnet (Judy). We all agreed that, sadly, there didn’t seem to be much on the nose. As for mouth-feel, it seemed to be a bit thin and watery; as if it could’ve been cellared longer. We found the taste to be more tart berry; Judy thought it had a grippy, alcohol feel. Terri thought it had more of a chemical, bitter feel. She described it as ‘gird-y’: for her, it produced more of a burn-like sensation going down. Overall, it wasn’t bad, it just tasted quite young. I wondered if pairing it with something like Brie and fruit might have brought out more of its depth.

On to the 2007 Wayne Gretzky Estates (Estate Series) Pinot Noir. By comparison, the Gretzky was richer in color; a deep garnet with nice floral notes on the nose.  The mouth-feel was warm, satin-y and supple with a viscous, mouth coat texture (yes, ‘mouth coat’ is listed in the wheel). Terri found it had a smoother, softer, fuller texture compared to the Weir. It tasted of rich cherry, sulfur with a light smoky, butter finish, and would probably pair well with a nice filet or roasted chicken. We thought it was a nice wine to drink all on its own, from start to finish.

Looks like, for now, No.99 is still the Great One.

Cheers!

2008 Santa Rita Carmenere ~ the calm after the storm

The past few days, I’ve been down for the count with a migraine. Anyone who suffers from them knows that you can barely open your eyes, much less write. As for drinking wine, well, let’s just say, my studying was stymied. But all is well now and for my first glass back I chose something dark, red and full-bodied.

2008 Santa Rita Carmenere Reserva

2008 Santa Rita Carmenere Reserva (Chile)

The  2008 Santa Rita Carmenere (Chile) was a nice, easy going wine to start back with. At first sip, it tasted young and bouncy and then settled in to a soft yet robust finish. The main essence was a rich grape with a nice hint of spice and mineral. A slight mineral taste in wine doesn’t mean it’s bad! It proved to be a good wine to sip, even better when paired with my steak dinner. The spicy undertones of the wine were brought to full effect by the juicy flavor and texture of the meat.

Out of 5, the 2008 Santa Rita Carmenere Reserva got 3 grapes.

I considered it a nice fist-shake to the headache gods.

What a Bitch!

2010 Royal Bitch Reserve Pinot Noir

2010 Royal Bitch Reserve Pinto Noir

Tonight I went out to dinner with friends to our local but favorite Japanese restaurant. Not really sure what to have, since I’m just starting my journey into the world of wine, I thought I’d try one that might complement my dinner choice of Teriyaki Chicken, so I had a glass of the 2008 Voga Pinot Grigio. I thought the light fruit of the white pinot might counterbalance the flavorful yet buttery consistency of the meal. While it was a nice wine to sip before the main course arrived, it did very little to enhance it. It was a little too light; more of a watered down grape with little acid to offset the richness of the meal.  It wasn’t a bad wine on it’s own, and might work with a lightly seasoned white fish, but with this particular meal, it wasn’t great. And it left me wanting something else a quarter of the way through my dinner. I’m not the type to send anything back, so I quietly slid my glass over to my friend who was going to order another glass anyway.

I asked my server for another suggestion and he brought me a glass of the 2010 Royal Bitch Reserve Pinot Noir. I don’t think he was making a comment about me with the suggestion but who knows?! The difference was amazing. The first taste provided a bouncy yet deep blend of cherry and rich raspberry jam. It had a light finish without being too sweet. And it seemed to get better and richer with each sip. It complemented the savory nature of the dinner beautifully, bringing out the seasonings of the chicken and vegetables and making the dinner a much more enjoyable experience.

It was so good, in fact, I didn’t need dessert.

My rating of Royal Bitch: 4 out of 5 grapes

Voga Pinot Grigio: 2 out of 5 grapes

NB* the graphics I had for the grapes wouldn’t load properly so I’m hoping to have that worked out by the next post!