Category: Wine

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food & wine pairing industry reviews

Your Beaujolais Bandwagon, let me jump on it

Dr. Vino is so right. Beaujolais Nouveau is an ecological nightmare: this marketing ploy invented by Georges DuBoeuf in which all points of the planet receive “new,” raw wine from Beaujolais on the third Thursday of November, the globalizing of a tradition that dates back to the seventies, just POURS carbon into the atmosphere through shipping millions of bottles of wine by plane rather than by boat.

There is no redeeming aspect to the tradition of Beaujolais Nouveau, except that of sentimentality and the gateway aspect of the wine. It’s simple and accessible wine, and yearly the “nouveau” hubble-bubble causes many new people to try wine that wouldn’t normally. I will always be a fan of any wine or wine event that helps wine-shy folk able to try a wine they’ll like. But at what cost to the Earth?

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basics food & wine pairing

Giving Thanks, Not Advice

Traditional ThanksgivingOK, so I love love love love love Thanksgiving. It’s a secular holiday that is not corrupted by snarly patriotism, and it’s the only US holiday that has an integral relationship with the seasons. Sold, and sold. And then, it’s all about food and cooking, which is really how I relate to any holiday anyway: Easter is eggs, 4th of July is barbecue, Halloween is candy, etc.

Feasts are my favorite, and I love cooking for guests; so I’ve been hosting Thanksgiving for my entire adult life, ever since I had my own place — even making tofu turkey back in my Greenpeace days. I revel in the recruiting & inviting of guests, the planning of the menu, the shopping, the preparation, the cooking and staging of the meal.

Color me surprised that I am so cheerfully looking forward to being hosted this year: my darling and I are going to a friends’ house for Thanksgiving. They’re some of our best friends, and the cook in their marriage is my closest foodie friend. He’s a vegetarian who expertly cooks meat for his wife and loved ones, and his parents are going to be visiting for the holiday… so I’m anticipating a grand meal and lots of fun, fun times. (And no clean up at my house, which I admit is a decadently fine prospect.)

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food & wine pairing regions reviews Wine Blogging Wednesday

Wine Blogging Wednesday #39: Silver Burgundy

Domaine Michel Cheveau Mâcon-Solutré PouillyI got a big jump on WBW #39 this time, tasting my wine nearly immediately after the theme was announced. Except it was that fantastic Domaine Michel Cheveau Macon Solutre-Pouilly 2006 that Brooklynguy wrote up this last Friday.

Hey, that was MY wine! Why he gotta be like that?

Well, Brooklynguy is right — this wine is sick. Sick, we say in thronging chorus! And all for about $24 per bottle, in Texas at least.

Pale straw gold in color. Lush, vibrant aromas of quince, lemon, cream and a brisk steeliness. On the palate, there are hard corners of minerality, with intense flint character, as well as pear, smoke, lemon and golden delicious apples. Usually a wine inspires me to either sniff or sip repeatedly; this wine demanded both, exhaustively. The finish just didn’t stop; this is exactly what I want from a white Burgundy, but more so. Run, don’t walk, to buy it. I got mine at Vino 100 Lakeway.

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events food & wine pairing reviews

Blind Pinot Noir Tasting with the Winebats

Another fine time at the Winebat Blind Pinot Noir Tasting last Thursday: at Green Pastures again, as they will be for the next 4-6 weeks, with a turnout of about 20-25 people.

The evening began at 6:30 with very tasty apps of bacon-wrapped scallops and a mushroom duxelle on puff pastry, and generous pourings of a rather atrociously over-oaked Canyon Road Sauvignon Blanc.

At 7:00 we were seated. Host Damon spoke briefly about Pinot Noir, and we were all given a one-page handout on the iconic grape. In the first round of bites from Chef Charles Bloemsma, served with the first flight of three wines, were a fairly austere Sesame Tuna on Cucumber with Soy and a stunningly well-paired Brie Tart with Raspberry and Hazelnuts. With the second flight of three wines (still blind of course) we got a delightful Crispy Chantarelle with Almond Pesto and a very elegant, well-balanced Pork Tenderloin with Goat Cheese and Cranberry Chutney.

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events reviews

Blind as a Bat

Night WingGo to a Winebat blind tasting. No one’s running events like this in Austin, and you should jump at the chance to experience a blind tasting, if you haven’t yet. And if you’ve already attended some kind of blind tasting, you should go to a Winebat tasting because they are so well-run.

What I like about blind tastings is that all preconceived notions, all expectations of what a wine will taste like based on the region, the winery, the label, the price point… all of those prejudices are stripped away, and all you focus on is the wine. There’s something really pure about it; like running is described in Sharon Olds’ poem Sex Without Love: “the single body alone in the universe/ against its own best time.” Also, I guessed right about region a couple of times that night, so I’m very pleased with myself.

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basics news

Science and Your Red Wine Headache

“I can’t drink red wine,” the person says. “I’m allergic to sulfites, and I get terrible headaches.” Heard it? Ever been told that European wines are safe to drink because they have no sulfites in them? Ever meet someone who would only drink organic wine because of their migraines?

This is a barely-restrained pet peeve of mine. I want everyone to be able to enjoy red wine, heaven knows, but come on now — as less than 1% of humanity is allergic to sulfites, and as an allergic reaction to sulfites results in anaphylactic shock, and as sweet white wine is just as sulfite-ridden as dry red wines….. I have a hard time scraping up any sincere faith in your alleged sulfite allergy, dear one.

A few other debunkings, as I brought up the issues:

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reviews

Tasting Chaucer’s Mead

I bought this on a whim to drink on Halloween night, waiting for trick-or-treaters… who never arrived. Seriously, not one. What the hell?

It cost me about $12. I mulled it and I must say, I rather enjoyed it. It was pretty darn sweet, and I probably steeped it too long, but I enjoyed the combination of the floral and honey notes mixed with the spicy cinnamon and clove. It was nothing special; I’m sure that there are better meads out there. Unmulled and slightly chilled, the floral honeyed aromas are very pleasent; the palate has a powerful apple note with lingering honey on the palate. What a great wine for Rosh Hashanah! Granted, that’s not until next September, but put it on your Google calendar and I’m sure you’ll remember to pick some up.

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reviews wineries

Tasting Bogle Phantom 2004

Bogle PhantomI kept this one Halloween wine back from my series at Eternal Vigilance (sorry Gaby!) and saved it for my own Halloween posting. I just love those Bogle wines so darned much! No matter what Bogle bottle I’ve turned someone onto, I’ve never had a bad reaction – not even lukewarm. It’s value, it’s well-made, it’s family owned, it’s tasty goodness fashure, youbetcha.

Red-black in color. Aromas of vanilla and toasty oak, with plum and blackberry jam. Palate hurls bing cherry, dark chocolate, pepper, tar and some slight graphite at your tongue, in a good way. Medium-to-long finish of dark savory flavors. This wine is one of the pricier offerings from Bogle, running around $18.

The Bogles have been a farming family since the 1800s. In 1968, Chris Bogle and his father Warren planted wine grapes in Clarksburg, California. Ten years later they started making wine from it. After Chris passed away, his widow Patty Bogle, who had been working the vineyard since the 70s, took over operations at the winery in 1989. Their son Warren manages the vineyards and his sister Judy manages customer affairs at the winery. Glad I don’t have to work that closely with my family, and really glad it works so well for them!

The flagship wine from Bogle has always been their Petite Sirah, though they also make a very popular Old Vine Zinfandel. Also their Chenin Blanc is to die for. And the Phantom. And they make a hell of a porch wine Chardonnay. Don’t stop till you get enough…

Patty is really a pioneer and official stump speaker for Petite Sirah in California, and has been pushing PS since back when people thought the “petite” meant it was a light little wine. Ha! She was given a Phenomenal Service Award by the organization PS I Love You for her work as Chair for the Petite Sirah Heritage Clone Vineyard (HCV) at UC Davis, and because she kicks ass in general, I figure.

Have a Happy Hallowe’en!

Categories
industry reviews

Tasting Mitolo “GAM” McLaren Vale Shiraz 2005

GAM Shiraz, from Mitolo’s websiteI’m sure there’s a car that epitomizes power and finesse. I don’t know what it is, because I’m not a car-brand-knowing-type-person. But whatever car that is, this wine is the bottled version of it. Tasted as part of a “Robert Parker’s High Raters” at Lake Travis Wine Trader’s Saturday Premium Tasting. Parker gave this wine a 95, if you’re interested.

Opaque purpley red in color. Enormous, multi-faceted nose of menthol, fir sap, aged cheese, peppered salami and blackberry jam. The palate, well. When I sipped this wine, it felt like someone had let loose the Fists of Fury on my teeth. Full-bodied, with great balanced acidity and a firm tannic grip. Well-integrated, firecracker explosions of red currant, black pepper and blueberry skin. Finish goes for miles. Sells for about $48.

Mitolo is a joint venture between two very powerful men: Frank Mitolo and winemaker Ben Glaetzer. Well, strictly speaking, Mitolo started the winery in 1999 and Glaetzer became a partner in 2001. The name of the wine, GAM, refers to Frank’s children Gemma, Alexander and Marco. Frank Mitolo is the general manager of his family’s agricultural business, Comit Farm. His family’s business is one of the largest potato and onion packing companies in Australia. Mitolo’s winery was founded in 1999, with grapes sourced from the Lopresti family. Here’s an interview of Frank from Jancis Robinson’s site, and a concise review of Mitolo’s recent releases at Vinosense.

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reviews

Sinful

Yet another review of a wine I have deemed Halloween-appropriate is awaiting your pleasure at Eternal Vigilance. Did you know that (according to an infallible source) the seven holy virtues are chastity, abstinence, temperance, diligence, patience, kindness, and humility? Which is your strong suit?