Winey Tasting Notes: It's National Chardonnay Day! La Merika Chardonnay

So, today is May 23rd. Just another Thursday? Oh no. To us winey folks, today is also known as National Chardonnay Day. And why shouldn't we celebrate this grape? It's the number one wine in these United States and Chardonnay grapes are the most planted grapes in California. So with that pedigree, yes of course, the wine gets its own day.

Chardonnay comes from the Burgundy region of France, but today it is literally everywhere. So for my Chardonnay Day 2013 sip, I decided to go with an All-American bottle. Seriously, it's named in honor of one of the earliest explorers who first sailed to these shores. You can't get much more American than that (even if they didn't know what it would be called back then). Hence, I poured some La Merika Chardonnay (2011, 13.5%, California's Central Coast) into my glass.

The nose on this is green pear and green apple - those green fruits always add a little kick, don't they? I loved the way it tasted! The pear and apple flavors blended nicely and then a little toasty oak was added in for good measure. It finished of oak and apple, which left a tart citrus flavor in my mouth.

This is not a big, buttery Chardonnay. It is a more tart, fruitier Chardonnay. Sure it's got that oak going on - but hey, if it didn't, it would be a Sauvignon Blanc, right? A very lively wine for anyone who doesn't like an in-your- face Chardonnay. I'd buy it again and again (did I mention that it was $7.99? I should have).

And since National Chardonnay Day falls the day before the start of the Memorial Day weekend this year, I thought it was quite fitting to sip on a Chard that honored our country's earliest explorers. Because this weekend, we should all pause to remember those who have fought for and those who still serve to preserve the freedoms of this nation that those explorers risked life and limb to discover.

So cheers to Chardonnay, cheers to explorers and a heartfelt cheers and thank you to all who have, do or will serve. (And yes, by those who do serve I include the Winey Son, aka The Winey West Point Cadet.)

Have a great, safe weekend!

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Winey Tasting Notes: Just In Time For Bathing Suit Weather: The Light Grape Collection

I received these wines for review purposes. The opinions are all my own.

I will fully admit it. When I received the review samples from The Light Grape I approached them with a very big dose of skepticism. I do not have fond memories of other "light" wines I have sipped.  (Skinny Girl California Red (or: I'll Take The Extra Calories, Please) So I opened them up not  expecting  much. They did have that waistline friendly thing going for them though, a plus given the fact that shorts/swimsuit season is upon us here in Winey land.

These wines have 80 calories for every 5 ounces you drink. (So I immediately planned on 160 calories, but that's they way I roll.) Since alcohol is the calorie culprit in wines usually, The Light Grape folks found a way to lower the alcohol by volume to 8.5%, but still keeping the wine flavor. Did they do a good job?

Let's start with the White Blend (2012, 8.5%, California) is a blend of mostly Pinot Grigio and Viognier. The nose gives off aromas of roses, lemongrass and a hint of melon. Fruity with a kick. The taste follows right along. It was citrusy tart and crisp. It left me with a juicy taste of citrus rind. Oh wow! It reminded me of a Sauvignon Blanc - all summery temperatures and cooling citrus breezes. I was ready to call this the best of the bunch (I know, it was  my first bottle, but remember how low my expectations were).

And then I tried the Rosé (2011, 8.5%, California). It's a pretty pink salmon color and smells of strawberry with a touch of ginger. The taste was, to put it mildly, amazing. Strawberry, some melon and some minerals. It had an overtone of some sweet honeysuckle (it was too light to be pure honey) and then it finished off tart and lively.  I don't know how they did it with a Rosé, because some of them, even with their full measure of alcohol, can fall flat in the flavor column. But this was fruity and tart all at the same time. Full of flavor and crisply refreshing. Even if it wasn't "light", I'd be buying it.

So, happily optimistic, my next bottle was the Chardonnay (2012, 8.5%, California). The aromas of this Chardonnay were peach and basil. It tasted of white peach, some cantaloupe, and had some faint lemon around the edges. It had a lively feel - round at the center, thinner at the edges and finished juicy - just slightly fruity - with some oakiness to it. It was just an "o.k." taste and I have a feeling that light or not, it wouldn't be one of my favorite Chardonnays. This was the first of The Light Grape wines where I actually felt like I was drinking a light wine - I think I missed the flavor the extra alcohol would have added. But that's how I like my Chardonnays - you may feel differently.

My last taste was the Red Blend (2011, 8.5%, California). This is a blend of primarily Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Sirah. I'll start out by saying right away that the more "light" reds I drink, the more I think that reds really need the extra alcohol and thus the extra calories. It smelled fine - cherries and some berry syrup. But right after you tasted that fruit and the oak it all fell apart. Where you'd expect the fruit and oak to lead to some warmish tannins and a smooth finish the whole thing just stopped. All I got was a dryness in my mouth and no taste at all. I'd have to go for the calories if it meant getting some flavor and depth. In the meantime, I'll be skipping this one.

BUT...for heaven's sake, do NOT forget the White Blend and the Rosé (or the Chardonnay if you like that type of Chardonnay). I mean, c'mon, it's summer and you can live on two whites and a Rosé until Labor Day, can't you? And keep in  mind that as nice as they taste in your mouth, they will be nice on your hips and thighs as well!

Cheers!

I received these wines for review purposes. The opinions are all my own.

             

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Winey Tasting Notes: An Italian Spring Sipping Collection

I was sent these wines for review purposes. The opinions are all my own.

There comes a time in every winter when you just cannot wait to put on a short sleeved shirt and not cover it up with long underwear, a turtleneck and a sweater. (For me, the proper word is "and" and not "or". I am not known for my warm blood in the Winey household.) You have spring fashion fever and you just can't wait for the spring fashions to hit the stores.

The folks at Banfi Wines understand this spring fever thing, at least as far as spring wine goes. They very kindly sent me a set of their spring release wines to review. So I put on a short sleeved shirt and started sipping.

First up was Principessa Gavia's Gavi (2012, 12%, Italy). I probably would have liked it simply for the fairy tale story on its back label. A beautiful Princess (Gavia) falls in love with a guy her mean old father King doesn't like. So they elope to a little village in northwest Italy, and love the village's white wine so much that come clean about who they are. (I've seen a bottle of wine affect people in many ways...but this is a new one.) The King sees how happy they are and names the wine and the town after his daughter. Awwww..... The only problem here would be if the cute little fairy tale was actually based on a horrible wine. Fortunately, this is not the case. Gavi, made from 100% Cortese grapes, is a gorgeous Italian white. On the nose, it gives off green apple and mineral aromas. The taste is full of green apples and tart starfruit. It's got a perfect acidity to it that tames the fruit and gives the overall taste a little kick. One of my favorite Italian whites of all time. Run out and find this NOW. No wait - read the rest of this and then go.



You thought of this
immediately when you
heard Chianti, right?

Moving along, I popped open a bottle of Chianti Classico (2010, 13%, Chianti Classico region of Italy). No, it did not come in a round bottle in straw basket, like Chiantis of old. (The bottle, by the way, is called a fiasco, which means flask and not a big old disaster.) Most Chiantis today are bottled in your more typical shaped wine bottle. A Chianti must contain at least 80% Sangiovese grapes. I couldn't find the exact amounts, but Banfi describes this wine as having an absolute predominance of Sangiovese. The first thing you notice about it is the bouquet. It's strong! I could smell cherry from far away. As the glass got a little closer to my nose, there was also a tang of smoke and some oak. The taste was sour cherry with some smokey oak around it. There was a real earthiness to it as well. It feels lean and supple in your mouth, with the fruit flavor on the top of your tongue, and the woodsy warmth on the sides. The tannins were strong here and the oaky aftertaste was long. There is no doubt that you'd have to acquire a taste for this Chianti - don't give up after a few sips. I think it would go very nicely with grilled steaks, and now that grilling season is here, this is one to keep in mind.

Centine (2011, 14%, Tuscany, Italy) is a red blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. It's a pretty garnet color and has a nose of blackberry and cardamon spice. The taste is of sun warmed black cherries with a hint of cherry cordial in it. It felt soft in my mouth, but the high alcohol contest made the finish a bit too warm and unbalanced. In my opinion, a little more Merlot would have opened up all the fruit flavors and still not have overwhelmed the oaks. Almost there..but in the end, just an "OK" wine.

Last on my Italian journey was Castello Banfi's Rosso di Montalcino (2011, 14%, Italy). It is 100% Sangiovese and oh boy, did I have a hard time wrapping my taste buds around this one. The nose was of heavy smoke, dark herbs and a very tiny hint of cherry at the end. It tasted of smoke and cedar wood and black licorice. (I avoid black licorice at all costs. It is one of my least favorite flavors. Just ask the Winey Hubby, who for nearly 30 years now has had to eat all the black rope licorice, Jujyfruits and jelly beans that enter our lives.) The wine just felt flat in my mouth, with a finish that was dry and almost leathery. This is a big earthy, woodsy wine - way too much so for me.

But I got over my disappointment when I remembered how much I loved the Gavi. It really was the shining star in this spring collection and will be a wine I reach for many more times. The Chianti Classico is a wine I'd like to explore a bit more too. The other two, well, not so much. But you sip and learn, sip and learn, don't you?

Salute! (That's Italian for "Cheers!")

I was sent these wines for review purposes. The opinions are all my own.







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Winey Tasting Notes: The Lure of the Sale: Concannon Conservancy Cabernet Sauvignon

Just like a really cute/funny/inappropriate wine label, a big discount on a bottle of wine can lure me in cork, foil cutter and corkscrew. (You thought I was going to say "hook, line and sinker", didn't you? Well, this is not a fishing blog.) So when I saw that Concannon Vineyard's Cabernet Sauvignon (2010, 13.5%, Livermore Valley, CA) was on special from $18 a bottle to $9.99, I jumped at it. Actually I didn't jump, I just quietly placed a bottle in my shopping basket and thriftily walked on.

This Cab happens to be part of their Conservancy line of wines, which works to keep land in California as vineyards...forever.  They explain in on their website as: "Conservancy winegrowers have placed their land into a legal trust that protects against development forever. The Conservancy wines preserve not only the land but a simpler way of life for future generations".  Nice to think about a patch of land that will forever give us wine, isn't it?

And let's hope that this Cabernet Sauvignon keeps on coming. On the nose, it's a bright combination of strawberry and raspberry. The taste echos this a bit, but this time with darker flavors of cherry along with the strawberry. There is also a teeny bit of nutmeg and oak. It finishes a bit warm and the tannins are smooth and sort of spicy (a nice combination in my mouth). Way after the warmth goes away, you can taste the cherry again too. It would pair very nicely with one of my favorite meat dishes: lamb (which I have to sneak into the Winey family menu, since the Winey Daughter does not care for lamb). I happened to have some Gouda and Brie cheese on hand the night I tried this (trying to eat up all the perishables before we left on vacation) and it was wonderful with them, especially the Brie.

I'd say this is a big red wine, but for all it's "bigness", it's a very well behaved one. The tannins aren't cloying or drying, the warmth is offset by the deep flavors. I would buy it again, even if it weren't on sale (whoa, did I really just say that?). If you are newer to red wine, I'd say that it's a wine to work up to. But for the rest of us, don't work at it. Just dive right in.

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Winey Tasting Notes: Two Cabs and a Chateauneuf-du-Pape

I received these wines for review purposes. The opinions are all my own.

Once again, I have brought outside my winey comfort zone, courtesy of my pals at the Wine Chateau. Because while I love my Cabernet Sauvignon, I would never, ever have chosen a bottle of Domaine De La Charbonniere Cuvee Mourre Des Perdrix Chateauneuf-Du-Pape 2007 for myself. I mean seriously - look at that name. I'd need review of my high school and college French classes simply to not die pronouncing it, much less pick it up off a shelf and bring it home.

But the Wine Chateau powers that be decided to send me a bottle (phew!), along with two Cabernet Sauvignons for my sipping and reviewing pleasure. I'll tell you about them in the order that I sipped them.

I had to open the Estancia Estates Cabernet Sauvignon (2010, 13.5%, CA) right away because I had tried this before...but under somewhat odd circumstances. I had hosted part of a neighborhood progressive dinner and a different vintage of this cab was left over afterwards. I did have some, and I was curious to know if I'd like it more (or less) when it wasn't leftover and I wasn't exhausted after hosting dessert and wine for 35 people. The nose on this is cherry with a tinge of oak. Both of the aromas are very deep, too, so you get a real snoutfull as you sniff. It tastes of of dark cherries wit some pepper on the edges and mocha in the middle. While I wouldn't dump a bunch of chocolate and pepper on a bowlful of cherries, I have to say that they do very well in a Cabernet Sauvignon. This is a great wine if you like bigger reds. It finished very balanced, with just a tiny touch of drying oak at the end of it all. There was fruit, but that certainly wasn't the dominant taste. Ditto the oak. So, if you like your reds oaked, but not obnoxiously so, this is one for you. (And it's on sale for about $13 at the Wine Chateau..down from $22.)

Next up was the Benziger Family Winery's Cabernet Sauvignon (2009, 14.5%, Sonoma County, CA). A new winery for me, so I was excited about that. This wine opens with a nose of roses, mocha and tart currants. It tastes of sour cherry and oak with a hint of dusty chocolate. (No, I don't let my chocolate get dusty - like it would last that long - but if I did, it would taste like this.) The cherry hits you first and then the oak makes itself known. It finishes of oak and chalky tannins (and by chalky I mean not sharp, not juicy - they were chalky). My first thought was that the tannins might be a teeny bit too far onto the drying side for me to buy it again. Then I decided that what this wine needed was some food to go with it. Maybe a nice juicy steak to soften those tannins! I really think that paired with the right food, this would be a great dinner wine. So while I wouldn't sip it by itself again, I would totally consider it as a wine to serve with a special dinner.

And then I had to face up to my fears: it was time to try the Chateauneuf-Du-Pape (2007, 14%, France). Chateauneuf-Du-Pape is a region (appellation) in France's Rhone Valley, and they allow 13 different varietals to be used in their wine. (It's mostly a red wine, but you can find a white here and there.) The Domaine De La Charbonniere winery used Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre in this cuvee. It opens with a nose of smoke and fresh cut oak, with just a whiff of ripe cherry. I was surprised at how it felt in my mouth. It was thinner than the nose indicated and it was almost tingly. Not quite all the way to tingly, so I'm going to go with spicy. It tasted of fruity oak with a smoky tinge around the edges and the top of my mouth.

I was fine up until the finish...coffee. Yup, my old nemesis. The Winey Hubby and I are not big coffee fans. And by not big fans I mean that we don't drink it. Our mugs are firmly planted in the tea drinkers side of the aisle, and there they shall remain, despite the attempts by BOTH of our mothers (and countless other family and friends) to bring us over to the coffee side. If it had just stopped short of the coffee thing, I would have said I really enjoyed my first sip of a Chateauneuf-Du-Pape. But it didn't. Bummer.

Now, for you coffee lovers out there, please taste this on your own. Don't let my lack of a coffee-loving tastebud or two scare you away from this wine. It had such a unique feel to it that I really want to try some other Chateauneuf-Du-Papes to get a feel for the entire appellation. So now I have a mission. Vive la France!

And cheers!

I received these wines in order to review them. The opinions expressed are mine and mine alone. Except for the coffee thing: the Winey Hubby has the same opinion of coffee as I do.


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Winey Tasting Notes: A Special Occasion with Banfi Rosa Regale and Spencer Tracy

I was sent this wine for review purposes. The opinions are all my own.

We all fall into the winey trap at some point in our lives. You get sent a beautiful bottle of sparkling wine to review and you think, "Ooooh, I'm going to save this for a special occasion." And then life gets in the way and three months later, it's sitting in the back of the fridge and you are still running around to school meetings and basketball games and doing laundry and cooking and, OK, you get my drift here right?

And then it's a rainy spring Saturday night and lo and behold, the entire family is sitting in one room. At the same time. Even the doggies. Plus, you have a copy of the Academy Award nominated 1937 movie "Captains Courageous" starring Spencer Tracy and BAM! You've got a special occasion. (I would even go so far as to say a priceless occasion, since they Winey son is already off at college and the Winey daughter has only one year left before she leaves us as well. Family times like this are getting rarer and rarer around here!)

So out came the bottle of Banfi's Rosa Regale (2011, 7%, Italy), which as I said, had been sent to me to review about three months previously. This is such a pretty wine, from color to taste. The pink color gives way to a nose of strawberries and roses. Not thick and overpowering, more like the scent of a summer garden. It pours out of the bottle full of teeny tiny bubbles and tastes of roses and sweet raspberries. The smallness of the bubbles give it a very elegant feel in your mouth, as opposed to the bolder bubbles of drier wine. This was such a wonderful wine to sip on while we watched the movie. I can't imagine anyone not liking it. Even if sweet wines aren't to your taste, this is such a subtle, flavorful sweeter wine that you really can't go wrong with.



Spencer Tracy as Manuel Fidello
 (with co-star Freddie Bartholomew)
 in Captains Courageous

And about that movie. If you've never seen it, I highly recommend that you do. It's based on a Rudyard Kipling novel of the same name. Spencer Tracy won an Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Manuel Fidello, a Portuguese-American fisherman on a schooner in the Grand Banks off Newfoundland. There is a scene where Manuel speaks of his dead father being welcomed into heaven by Jesus, the head fisherman. The Lord tells him that his work is done and it is time to lay his tired head down and rest and that He will take care of the rest of the work that. I don't think I'll ever forget the comforting images that Tracy brought to mind in this scene, or the joy on his face as he spoke the words. Amazing.

I guess I'm really trying to say here that there are a lot of "special" occasions in life...sometimes you just have to stop and realize that they are staring you in the face. So sit down with your loved ones, put the movie in and uncork that sparkly bottle of wine!

Cheers!



I was sent this wine for review purposes. The opinions are all my own.


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Winey Earth Day Tasting Notes: Lodi Rules with the Lodi Rules Program

Thank you to the folks at the Lodi Winegrape Commission for sending me some Lodi Rules certified wine samples and for educating me about the Lodi Rules certification program!

Isn't it nice when one of your favorite topics of conversation is also committed to sustainable growing and eco-friendly practices? OK, I guess if your favorite topic of conversation is the major league baseball, that might not especially ring true for you. But, since I am a Winey Mom, the idea of a responsible wine industry just warms my heart and makes me feel, oh just a little bit smarmy when I open a bottle of Lodi, California wine.

Lodi Rules logo

I knew that Lodi, California has been considered one of the best kept secrets in wine for some time now. They've been growing grapes up there for 150 years, but it's only in the past 15 or so that the area has blossomed into a treasure trove of wineries. Right now, there are about 80 wineries in Lodi, and 50 of them offer tastings. What I didn't know was that there is a program in place there called Lodi Rules, which sets down some pretty tough environmentally friendly standards for wineries to bear its logo. There are 7 areas of sustainable wine growing that the winery has to meet (some of which, like air quality management and water management get way too technical and science-y for me to try and discuss with any knowledge). In 2012, over 20,000 acres in Lodi were certified as such, as well as another 6,000 out side of the area. Committed to the environment? I'd say so.

But let's face it, when it comes right down to it, you can be a wonderful environmentalist but it doesn't help you much if the grapes you farm make icky wine. (Icky being a Winey Mom technical term.) The Lodi Winegrape Commission set out to prove that they are rocking the environment as well as the winemaking when they sent me some samples from four of their Lodi Rules Certified Wineries. They also hosted one of the most fun Internet chats I've participated in recently....doesn't hurt to "lol" while you are sipping at the computer. Or anywhere else for that matter, but let's get back on track here. Not only did I get to learn about Lodi and its wines, I got to try some brand spanking new to me varietals.

The first wine I want to tell you about is from Bokisch Vineyards. It's an Albarino (2012, 12.5%, Lodi, CA) which is a Spanish grape. And not just any Spanish grape - it's the most popular white wine in Spain. And after sipping some, I can say that all those wine drinking Spaniards know their stuff! It starts out with a nose that just full of flavors: some lemon, peach and a bit of strawberry as well as some minerals. The flavor follows right along with that - crisp and alive in your mouth. The minerals make it so vibrant and it finishes off with some of that lemon again. Loved this wine so much! Nothing heavy here - just lots of dancing flavors that reminded me somewhat of a Pinot Grigio, but with a bit more spice to it. Long live Spain! If you can get your hands on an Albarino, give it a sip. Or a hundred.

The next wine was an Ancient Vine Cinsault (2011, 13.5%, Lodi, CA) from Michael David Winery. And for my first sip of Cinsault, I learned I was sipping on Cinsault royalty. The vines of these grapes were planted in 1885 - one of the world's oldest Cinsault plantings (hence the "Ancient Vine" designation, huh? Michael David is also Lodi's oldest producing vineyard. Lotta big history going on here.). An original rootstock? OK, I was dutifully impressed. And then I tried the wine. And was spectacularly impressed. This is a very pretty garnet colored wine with a nose of cherry. My first reaction was "Yum!" (seriously, I wrote it right in my tasting notes: "Yum!".) I have heard wines described as having a taste of violets, but this was the first time that I've actually tasted it myself. Violet, with some herbs and tart cherries around it. It was silky smooth in the mouth and it had a nice zippy finish to it - full of white pepper and warm on the front of my tongue. It's definitely a lighter bodied red, but with such a vivid taste to it. A great red to bring out for for grilled vegetables.

I have more wines to tell you about that were grown under the Lodi Rules program, but I can only drink so much at one sitting before I, well, let's just say begin to lose my focus. So I will report back to you on them very soon. In the meantime, I was so excited to be introduced to two new varietals that are absolutely wonderful. Light white and light red drinkers take note: find these wines and swirl, sniff, sip as  soon as you can!

I was sent these wines as samples. The opinions expressed  here are all my own.



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