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.

Vintage Taste, April 5th 2007

John and I are getting better and better at putting together a dynamic selection to present in the Thursday Night Flight Nights. This week's wines are no exception to our success. This week we featured wines from the Vintage Wine Distributors. Not only were these wines very well accepted, but I have found a few new personal favorites in this tasting. As usual, Chef Tim King and Pete Evanovich put out an impressive spread of chocolate dipped strawberries, bananas, and marshmallows, ginger chicken fried won tons, and fresh sage mushroom and roasted zucchini lasagna with ricotta and grand provolone cheese, as well as the standard assorted cheese tray.

We started the taste this week with the Four Vines "Naked" 2005 Chardonnay retailing for $14. This Santa Barbera County wine is from a newer winery and husband/wife wine maker team in the West Coast wine game. They produce nothing but Zinfandel and Chardonnay. Their "Naked" Chardonnay is their expression for Chardonnay containing no oak and undergoing 100% stainless steel fermentation. These California stainless steel Chablis knock-offs have gained a good momentum in the wine industry over the last couple of years. This fantastic Chardonnay exhibits a nose full of pear, grapefruit, and white pepper. Mellow fruit upfront with a floral mid-palate leads to a sharp lush citric finish in this affordable must-have summer wine. Try drinking this with roasted chicken, zucchini, and ricotta cheese sandwiches on grilled focaccia bread.

From Chardonnay, the next natural progression in flavor is Viognier (pronounced Vee-Oh-Nyay). We chose to present the Castle Rock 2005 Viognier (retail $12)for our taste. Viognier is a Rhone grape varietal that had gained popularity in the late nineties. Many Chardonnay drinkers made the shift to this floral varietal that typically carries nice citric fruit flavors and long creamy finishes. Castle Rock (which I continue to call California's best kept secret) has several state of the art wine making facilities across the West Coast and pulls its fruit from several vineyards as well. The Viognier comes from the Lake County AVA in Napa Valley. John and I have yet to find a bad wine coming from Napa's smallest and least understood AVA. Lake County is perfect for Viognier featuring similar red volcanic rock & growing conditions that are comparable to that of France's Rhone Valley. This deep gold slightly greenish hue wine has heavy bubblegum and apricot scents that overpower a more ashy and lilac tone. Nice light citrus fruit tones lead to a soft & gentle spicy finish in this great value wine. Try this wine with roasted sea bass with tomato coulis and fennel salsa. For more information on Castle Rock Winery and the wines they produce check out www.castlerockwinery.com

Our first red was John's choice from Bordeaux. Château Mazeris 2003 (retail $20) comes from the desired Canon Fronsac appelation in Bordeaux. With heavy limestone and sandstone deposits in the vineyards this appellation grows primarily Merlot and Bouchet (Cabernet Franc) varietals. Château Mazeris is a blend of 75% Merlot and 25% Bouchet in this very small (5000 cases) production wine. The winery has been in the Cornouaud family since 1769 and imported by the J.P.Mouix whose name is associated with high quality wines in the appellation. This deep, ruby colored wine has tones of cherry, blackberry, cocoa, and tar. Only 30% of the wine is put in barrels and blended with the unoaked wine to create bold, dry, and rich fruit leading to a long subtle finish. As a note, the 2003 was a bit tight when we first opened it and I would strongly suggest decanting the wine for at least a half an hour before drinking. Try this wine with veal saute with merlot pan sauce and saffron couscous with fresh peas and chives. For more info on this wine check out the importers website at: Château Mazeris

Next we featured my pick of the taste, Four Vines Old Vine Cuvee 2004 Zinfindel (retail $16). As I mentioned earlier, this wine is made by a husband/wife wine making team. However, John and I had the opportunity to meet the winery's money-man, main promotional force, and zin pimp (as his card stated) Bill Grant last November. This fun winery had an array of fantastic Zinfandel's that they drew from vineyards in Paso Robles, Sonoma, Napa and Amador. The Old Vine Cuvee was no exception to the beautifully produced Zinfandel's in their lineup. Aged in small French and American oak barrels this Cuvee offers mocha, cinnamon, black cherry, chocolate, and cigar smoke in the nose. Peppy and bold balanced dark fruit flavors lead to a long silky raspberry finish. Try pairing this Zinfandel with a spicy lamb and chorizo sausage chili. For more information on Four Vines, including a list of restaurant and retailers that sell their wine, (they must not know about us) go to: www.fourvines.com

We ended the taste at the other end of the world with Meerlust 2001 Rubicon retailing for $20. Its rare that I ever rave about a wine from South Africa but this wine is definitely noteworthy. Meerlust Estate is situated 40 km from Cape Town, South Africa, on the banks of the Eerste River in the district of Stellenbosch. Meerlust has been in the Myburgh family since 1757. Hannes Myburgh honed his wine making skills working for the famed wineries Chateau Lafite in France and Von Oetinger in Germany. The Rubicon is a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, and 10% Cabernet Franc and offers a nose full of coffee, chocolate, and cherry. Huge bold fruit leads to a dry tannic velvety finish. This wine would do very well in the cellar or feel free to enjoy right now. Try this wine with pan-seared rib-eyed steak with goat cheese, caper, and tomato butter and a side of broccoli florette.Visit the Meerlust website at: www.meerlust.co.za

Thanks again for your continued support of both this blog and the Thursday Night Flight Night. After a recent trip to the Niles public library I decided to start featuring food from cookbooks I pick up. All of todays food selections were from The Flavors of Bon Appétit 2001 from the editors of Bon Appétit. If you are interested in any of the recipes, check your local library or book store for this cookbook. I look forward to seeing you all next week and remember to keep an open mind and an open eye.