Harpersfield Winery Taste

On the second installation of our Winemaker Wednesday series we featured the wine of Harpersfield Winery presented by the owner Patty Ribic. Chef Tim King and Pete Evanovich put out a spread of cold dishes that accompanied the wine perfectly with the Burgundy and Alsatian style wines the winery produces.

The two cold dishes offered was a lovely traditional Peruvian seafood Ceviche with scallops, shark, and whitefish; followed by a roasted vegetable gazpacho. Of course both of these were offered with handmade bread sticks, a cheese platter, and marscapone and chocolate sauce drizzled over crustini.

Before we get to the tasting notes, I'd like to mention a precursor. There was a bit of confusion on the supply of the wine we offered that day and only ended up featuring five of the six wines I promised. For those of you that showed up for this event, I am truly sorry for the confusion. I did however try to make up for it by opening a few bottles of unrelated Riesling to sample out to those who were willing to try. But enough about my downfalls and lets get on to the wine.

Harpersfield Winery is a unique winery located just outside of Geneva, Ohio. While Harpersfield has been around for decades, it only recently was bought and transformed the winemaking into into a French-based wine concept. The winery concentrates most of its 18 acre vineyard on the Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Gris, Riesling, Cabernet Franc and Pinot Noir varietals giving it that extra Burgundian/Alsatian flair. The wine itself isn't excluded from the old world style offered by the wineries French farmhouse decor. For more about Harpersfield please visit: www.harpersfield.com

Our first offering from this great winery was a Alsatian favorite Gewürztraminer. Gewürztraminer is slowly gaining popularity among American Riesling drinkers. The often mispronounced (ga-VERTZ-trah-mee-ner) and greatly misunderstood varietal offers a fantastic floral nose that other white varietals can't live up to. The Harpersfield 2005 Gewürztraminer "St. Fiacre" (retail $18) is deep gold in color with heavy honeysuckle and floral perfume reminiscent of the great Gewürztraminers coming from the Alsace. This great summer varietal is lightly effervescent upfront with a long fruity semi-dry finish. The strong floral tones and lightly semi-dry finish in this wine allow it to compliment any spicy dish. I suggest pairing this with pan seared scallops and Thai fried bananas.

The next wine we featured in the taste is a must have for any Chablis drinkers. While the Harperfield 2005 Chardonnay "Fut de Chene" (retailing at $24) tends to be on the pricier side for an Ohio Chardonnay, it still exhibits great value for its quality. "Fut de Chene" loosely translates to aged in oak barrels in French. John is responsible for introducing me to the elegance of French Chardonnay. Harpersfield does a fantastic job at retaining the minerality and elegance of Chablis Chardonnay but still shows the depth that Chardonnay offers in parts of Napa Valley. This Burgundian beauty offers an earthy nose with slight suggestions of tropical fruit. Full crisp fruit leads to a nice mellow lightly buttery finish. Try pairing this beauty with lobster in a Champagne butter sauce, spinach parpadelle noodles and salmon roe caviar.

For our next selection we offered a varietal that does well in the Great Lakes climate. The Harpersfield 2004 Vin Gris de Chambourcin retails for $18 and is another great summer wine offered by the winery. Chambourcin is a French hybrid varietal that was widely popular in the 1970's. While most wineries offer this full aromatic varietal as a red selection, Harpersfield offers their Chambourcin as a rosé. This light pink wine offers strawberry, watermelon, and pear on the nose. Luscious fruit flavors lead to a long balanced finish. This was my favorite wine of the night and perfect for the patio on warm summer nights. John suggested serving this wine lightly chilled and after tasting I agree with the suggestion. Try pairing this wine with grilled tuna salad sandwiches with lemon-habanero mayonnaise and watercress.

Our first red selection for the evening was the Harpersfield 2005 Pinot Noir "Clos Mes Amis" (retail $25). Harpersfield does a fantastic job crafting cool climate Pinot Noir into an elegant wine that would stand up to many of its Burgundian counterparts. The 2001 vintage of this wine won a bronze medal in a state wine competition. Much like the "Fut de Chene" this wine exhibited a nice balance between old world and new world styles. "Clos mes Amis" offers nice cherry, cocoa, and dark fruit essences on the nose. The palate offers full fruit flavors leading to a long smooth rounded finish. Try pairing this fantastic red with crepes fruits de mer.

We ended the evening with an Ohio offering of a Bordeaux varietal. Cabernet Franc is a tough little black grape that tends to do well in the Northern cooler climates. Thanks to DNA fingerprinting it has been established that this varietal is one of the parent varietals to Cabernet Sauvignon. The Harpersfield 2005 Cabernet Franc (retail $25) is deep ruby in color and has elements of black cherry, strawberry, and spice on the nose. Full and fruity upfront leading to a nice subtle plumy finish this wine is a very elegant example of this varietal. Try pairing this wine with grilled pork burgers indochine and potato frittes.

Thanks again for your ongoing support of events like this and I look forward to seeing you at another one in the near future. All the recipes on this weeks blog were sourced from www.foodnetwork.com. Until next time remember to to keep an open mind and an open mind.

Superior Taste, April 12th 2007

As usual for this weeks Thursday Night Flight Night John and I chose a dynamic group of fine wine for everyone to try. However, unlike any other week we chose all of our wines not only from one distributor but from one portfolio. The wines this week were from Superior Distributors and more specifically from the The Australian Premium Wine Collection. For more information on this wine collection that's imported by USA Wine West, Sausalito, California go to: www.tapwc.com.au

Chef Tim King and Pete Evanovich put out a beautiful spread including an assorted cheese tray, Shiraz and garlic marinated lamb kebobs with peppers and pineapple, homemade potato and onion chips with a chive horseradish dipping sauce, and for dessert chocolate dipped strawberries, bananas, and marshmallows.

We started the taste with the Elderton 2006 "Unwooded" Chardonnay from Barossa Valley, Australia (retail $15). Elderton's South Australian vineyards date back to 1890 and have been family owned since 1979 and prides itself on taking extra measures to keep the wine making process as bio-dynamic as possible. Occupying an old Penfold's fermentation facility this award winning winery uses state-of-the-art machinery to achieve consistancy and quality in their wines. With a slightly floral nose this wine exhibits huge fruit flavors leading to a slightly spicy yet refreshing finish. It is suggested that this wine will be best appreciated within a couple of years from release. This wine is perfect for hot summer days. Try drinking this wine with pan seared scallops with a cauliflower puree, raisins, and capers with a balsamic reduction drizzle. Check out more about Elderton at:www.eldertonwines.com.au

I've never had a huge success marketing white blends at Wine Down. However everytime I can convince somebody to try one, they love them. The Rutherglen Estates 2005 "The Alliance" is no exception to this statement. This $15 blend of 70% Marsanne and 30% Viognier is quite simply an impressive white. Rutherglen (located in the north-east corner of Victoria) is another old vineyard dating back to the 1850's. It saw a huge expansion in 1997 when vineyards were added to the total acreage. Rutherglen concentrates mostly on Rhone varietals in its 360 hectares of vines with "The Alliance" being their only white offering. This pale wine has a nose of melon, citrus, cream, and slight hint of honey and mint. "The Alliance" has smooth, slightly off-dry, delicate & creamy fruit upfront with a long tart acidic finish. Try drinking this wine with romaine lettuce tossed with sauteed shrimp and topped with avacado, bacon, and a lemon vinaigrette. Find out more about the winery at:www.rutherglenestates.com.au

Gearing up for the summer we sampled a Pinot Noir for our first red of the evening. The Hill of Content 2004 Pinot Noir is from the Mornington Peninsula Victoria (retail $19) however, with a blindfold I would have guessed it to be an Oregon or Burgundian Pinot Noir. This crowd pleasing wine is an excellent example of how elegant the Pinot Noir grape can be. I think the back of the bottle explains it best, "Pinot Noir is undoubtedly one of the sexiest grape varieties on the planet earth, and this wine captures much of its magic." Exhibiting a big earthy nose with heavy floral and cherry accents this translucent bright bold fruit leads to a slightly tart yet soft finish. While this wine pairs excellently with a variety of different food I suggest dry-rubbed salmon tacos with a tomatillo-avacado slaw and a side of creamy risotto with edamame.

As much as I like Shiraz, I feel its sometimes unbalanced acidic finish ruins the essence of the grape. Thankfully some wine makers have taken to adding small amounts of Viognier (yes, the French white grape) to their Shiraz to give it a rounded and more subtle finish. Rocky Gully 2004 Shiraz/Viognier is a great example of this blend. At an affordable $15 Rocky Gully is a blend of 95% Shiraz 5% Viognier. This Aussie blend emulates a French Cotes-Rotie style that is undeniably delicious. Deep ruby in color the nose offers a peaty earthy bouquet. This bold Western Australian wine is fruit forward with slight pepper and a long mellow finish. Try pairing this wine with Asian baby back ribs with panko-crusted mushrooms.

We finished the taste with another Rhone blend. Hewiston "Miss Harry" 2004 GSM (retail $23) offered the depth and complexity we needed to finish off the night. Some of these vines in this South Australian, Barrosa Valley vineyard date back to 1853. In fact the winery boasts having the oldest Mourvedre vineyard in the world. "Miss Harry" is a blend of 44% Grenache, 43% Shiraz, and 13% Mourvedre. Winemaker Dean Hewiston recieved his Masters degree from UC Davis, California giving this classic Rhone blend a new world feel. Deep purple in color this wine has elements of black cherry, date, dark chocolate, and tar. Deep red fruit flavors lead to a long slightly tart and subtle finish. Once again the decription on the bottle is worth noting: "She's showy seductive and gorgeous. She's got style. She's from 50 and 80 year-old vines. She's All-Australian. She's Miss Harry." Pair this with herb crusted leg of lamb with a cannellini-and-green bean salad. For more information on this winery please visit: www.hewitson.com.au

I know I have fell really behind on these posts but with the summer ending (and the wedding out of the way) I have had more time to work on these posts. Please continue to check this blog for updates and I hopefully will be up to date very soon. All the recipes from this entry were taken from the April 2007 edition of Food & Wine magazine. Until then I hope to see you at Thursday Night Flight Night and remember to keep an open mind and an open eye.

John & Dan's Picks, March 1st 2007

Feburary was a busy month for wine tastes. Numerous other restaurants held their Fat Tuesday tastes and mid-winter tastes to boost their wine sales. Due to so much activity, we were unable to book a distributor this week. So, John and I decided this would be a perfect time to feature some of our favorite wines that we were unable to present before.

As always our wines were accompanied by some food. This week Chef Tim King put out a mixed cheese board, miniature shell pasta tossed in a meat sauce, mini tube pasta with mussels and alfredo sauce, and home made bread sticks to accompany the wine this week.

First we started with a wine represented by the Vintage Company, Nederberg Stein 2005 (retail $15). This white blend comes from the Western Cape, South Africa. While I am always a little reluctant in fully accepting South African wine this little beauty which is a blend of Chenin Blanc, Riesling, and Gewürtztraminer really caught my attention when I first tasted it. While many wine enthusiasts consider the South African Coast to be one of the up-and-coming wine regions of the world, I feel as a whole their wines and wine makers are in their adolescence and have yet to impress me with anything they have released. This does not however mean that I think South Africa will never produce good wine, I just think the program needs a bit more time to develop. However, Nederberg makes a pretty damn good wine indicating maybe South Africa is worth a revisit from time to time. While Nederberg was producing wine since 1937 the winery style and wine making really came around when they hired Gunter Brozel as their winemaker. He led them to their and South Africas first award in winemaking. Deep gold in color this wine exhibits tones of fresh pear and pineapple in the nose. Its light, fruity, and slightly sweet leading to a crisp acidic slightly tangy finish. Try this wine with a pan-seared tilapia with collard greens and dirty rice. For more information on this winery go to: www.nederburg.co.za

Next John and I decided to feature a wine new to the market. Marquee Chardonnay 2004 retails for around $12. Marquee's Classic series produces artisan style wines that are meant to be approachable and affordable small-batch wines. This wine from Victoria, Australia was bright hay in color featuring dried pineapple and hazelnut with a hint of oak in the nose. A nice bold fruit and slightly creamy start lead to a long citric finish. Try this wine with a creamed crawfish bisque or a roast chicken with cornbread and oyster stuffing and seasoned potatoes. To find out more about Marquee go to: www.marquee.com

Moving on to red we featured this new selection from Superior Beverage, Carneros Creek Reserve Pinot Noir 2004 (retail $24). This Pinot Noir is deep ruby, almost opaque in color which is a good indication of the intensity of this wine that shows cocoa, walnut, and heavy strawberry tones in the nose. This 2004 Pinot Noir has bold berry flavors upfront with a long rounded slightly spicy finish. John Webster described this wine as, "Without a doubt the finest Pinot Noir we have been offered in a long time." While I agree with him on the price point, I would be interested to see how well this intense (undervalued) wine would present itself with a little bottle age. I suggest getting some to cellar for a later date. Try drinking this wine with berry glazed roasted quail with carmelized onions and polenta. For more information on Carneros Creek wines check out this link: Carneros Creek Winery

For the fourth wine of the taste we tried Qupé Los Olivos Cuvée 2001 (retail $24). This Rhone blend of 53% Syrah, 27% Mourvèdre, and 20% Grenache is also a blend of the Ibarra-Young vineyard (67%) and the Purisima Mountain Vineyard (33%). Qupe is the brain child of Bob Linquist who is considered among the wine world as an innovative winemaker and along with the other few "Rhone Rangers" of Santa Ynez responsible for the popularity of Syrah in the American palate. This wine exhibits nice black cherry and plum with a hint of cocoa and tar on the nose. It is big and full upfront leading to a long rounded finish that seems to go on forever. This 2001 cuvée is hands down one of my favorite undervalued wines and has yet to dissapoint me every time I revisit it. Try this wine with grilled lamb kebobs served with lentils and wild rice. Find out more about Qupé at: www.qupe.com

We finished the taste with a unique varietal that thrives in South America, Tannat. Tannat is a rare French vareital that is assumed to have got its name from the heavy tannins in the wine. Our representaion of this strange grape is from Don Rodolfo Viña Cornejo Tannat 2004 and retails at $12. Its amazing that these young vines (six years old) produce such a full-bodied rich wine. At 6000 feet above sea level Don Rodolfo boasts being one of the highest altitude wineries in the world. This deep purple wine has heavy bright cherry and plum tones with a slight hint of honey and oak. The wine is dry and heavy with bright fruit that leads to a long acidic smokey finish. Try pairing this wine with beef curry and long grained rice. For some more information on this winery plase check out this link: Don Rodolfo

Sorry it took me so long to post this taste. I know I kind of fell behind, but within the next couple of days I will catch up with the other tastes and be right back on schedule. Until next time remember to keep an open mind and an open eye.

Children's Hospital Fund Raiser @ the Avalon Inn

On Saturday Feburary 10th I was a guest pourer for the Childrens Hospital Fund Raiser at the Avalon Inn in Howland, Ohio. The event was very nice and had a great turnout. This year the event was arranged by Micheal Scannell from Tri-County Distributors. In total, seven wholesale companies donated wine for the event. One of the highlights of the evening was a toast given to the recently deceased Richard Alberini, who through his personal drive and hard work built a wine community in the Mahoning Valley.

Before I begin i'd like to make a note on the schematics of wine tastes. While there was no rhyme or reason to the order in which I tasted these wines, I've decided to arrange them as if I would in a flight night. There were alot of nice wines at the event, however, being the novice writer that I am, I only chose a few to write about. Besides, with these larger tastes my palate gets pretty stressed after the first 8-10 wines. So I don't feel it would be a fair to anyone if I reviewed all thirty or so (I don't think anyone would want to read that anyway). I did, however, narrow the list down to six fantastic wines.

The first wine I'd like to review is the La Palma Sauvignon Blanc 2004 from the Viña La Rosa Winery.Viña La Rosa is one of Chile’s oldest wineries set in the beautiful Cachapoal valley (La Palma is named for the scattered natural palm trees that spot the vineyard), South of the capital city Santiago. This wine truely was unique. The deep hay color is the first indication of the bold fruit flavors of this wine. Its' light, crisp granny smith apple and light grapefruit tones led to a subtle refreshing effervescence in the finish. La Palma Sauvignon Blanc proved to be elegant and refined for a wine under $10. Try this wine with oysters Rockafeller or a roasted butternut squash soup drizzled with roasted red pepper puree. For more information on Viña La Rosa Winery and the rest of their products check out: www.larosa.cl

Next I tasted another Chilean wine, Montes Reserve Chardonnay 2005. Montes is a brand formed in 1988 by four Chilean wine veterans with vineyards in the Colchagua and the Curico valleys South of Santiago. The winery is known for some of its high end Bordeaux blends (Montes Alpha M). This Chardonnay is pale yellow in color with buttery hints of vanilla, tropical fruits (banana & pineapple), & slight floral tones. A fruity palate, with a good body leads to a semi-smooth creamy elegant finish (45% malolactic fermentation). The 75% oak cask (six months in American oak barrels) & 25% stainless steel fementation lend this wine an added balence and elegance that most cheap chardonnays lack (this retails at about $10). Try this wine with a Pecorino cheese bruchetta bread or a date, goat cheese, and mesculin salad. While they do have an interesting website I couldn't find anything in their product list that indicated this wine was theirs. This may be an oversight on their part or perhaps they discontinued this line. In any event feel free to check out their website at: www.monteswines.com

Next on the list of notable wines was Belle Vallee Cellars Whole Cluster Pinot Noir 2005. This Pinot Noir resides from the Willamette Valley in Oregon. The winemaker, Joe Wright (formerly of Willamette Valley Vineyards), uses 100% whole cluster fermentation to create a deep ruby (nearly opaque) appearance in this Beaujolais mimic. I felt that Belle Vallee was the most unique wine of the taste. The nose is light and earthy with fruity tones of strawberry and prune. Semi-full on the palate this 100% stainless steel fermented wine has floral tones mid-palate and leaves the tongue slightly tingling with a long black pepper finish. Retailing at around $14, Belle Vallee is a very easy drinker ringing in at a modest 12.5% ABV. Try this wine with a blackened chicken cobb salad with a lightly drizzled balsamic viniagrette dressing or a goat cheese, pesto, and sundried tomato flatbread pizza. For more information on the wines from Belle Vallee check out: www.bellevallee.com

While I know Penfolds is a common name as far as Australian wines is concerned, I decided I would review the Penfolds Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz 2003 on account of my recent facination with Shiraz and Syrah. For those of you who don't know, Penfolds is one of Australia's oldest wineries in the South Australia (along with Lindeman's). It was founded by Dr. Christopher Rawson Penfold in 1845. He had originally started his winery for a supply of wine that he prescribed to his patients. Over the years Penfold's has been a name that is associated with quality wine. His infamous Grange wine has recieved awards and sells for around the $160 range. However, the wine I was drinking is in the Bin portfolio. This is their middle-of-the-road series of wines (the big seller being the Cab/Shiraz blend Bin 389) retailing around $20. Bin 28 is named after the famous Barossa Valley Kalimna vineyard purchased by Penfolds in 1945 and from which the wine was originally sourced. Today, Bin 28 is a multi-region, multi-vineyard blend, with the Barossa Valley always well represented, providing over 45% of the fruit for this vintage. Bin 28 is 100% shiraz exhibiting a big earthy nose with berry & cassis. With a robust full-bodied mouth it's fruity and sweet in the mid-palate with a long rounded semi-dry finish. Try this wine with shrimp kebobs and long grained wild rice or an Italian antipasto salad. For more information on this winery and their products click this link: www.penfolds.com.au

The fifth wine I'd like to review is Ridge York Creek Zinfindel 2003. First off I'd like to state that I love Zinfindel (It was my gateway wine). Not only do I love Zinfindel, but I love Ridge Zinfindel. The reason is simple: blends. Ridge understands that every year is different in the world of wine. Growing conditions change and with it so does the flavor and intensity of the wine. I suppose that's why they beat the French in a great 1971 upset that launched the US wine program into a world market (Click this link for details:1971) Ridge blends are among the best in the world at a moderate price (this one retails around $25). The 2003 York Creek Zinfindel is 84% Zinfindel 16% Petite Sirah. Deep red in color the nose lends offerings of black cherry & currant with just the smallest hint of petrol. The tongue is full-bodied & nicely balenced with chocolate tones and a nice clean cherry finish. I have yet to find a Ridge product that doen't spark my interest. try pairing this Zinfindel with steak tartare or a chocolate-raspberry torte. Not only does Ridge make great wines but they give back to the environment. Cumulatively since system operation began, Lytton Springs' renewable energy production helped avoid the release of 88 tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere or 25 acres of forest saved or not driving 219,702 miles. Check out their website at: www.ridgewine.com

I decided to finish this post with a Cabernet Sauvignon. Coming from a "Cab drinking town" the Trinchero Chicken Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 (sorry, no picture) proves to be a great representation of a elegant single vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon for a low cost (retailing around $25). The Chicken Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon is the sister wine to the Main Street Cabernet Sauvignon. Their differences are so subtle they are unmentionable. Chicken Ranch is a classic fruit-forward full-bodied Cabenet Sauvignon with a heavy palate that proves to be spicy and complex, balenced with a lightly oaked finish. The Chicken Ranch (and the Main Street) is one of the most elegant Cabernet Sauvignon's I've drank recently and certainly can hold up against the Charles Krug Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest in that price point. Drink this wine with a 22oz Porterhouse steak covered in sauteed mushrooms and onions or try it with a Cowboy burger and fries. Check out their website at: www.trincherowinery.com

Thanks again for reading this blog. If there are any questions or comments on any of the beverages I review please post them. I will try my best to get back to everyone in a timely manner. Just a reminder that this Thursday we will be featuring the wines if Masteropietro Winery. Dan is a local guy trying to make it in this crazy business. So come out and try his wines & he'll be there to answer any questions. See you on Thursday and remember to keep an open mind and an open eye.