Spanish Wines I

For this post I decided to address the recent Spanish interest from wine enthusiasts. Spain as an "old world" wine making country offers some of the best quality wines for the cheapest prices on the market. Even some of their hard to get "Cult" wines hover at price points close to or slightly above the $50 mark. With that being said, Spanish wine is definitely something every wine lover should experience while the prices stay low.

As usual I'm starting off the taste with a sparkling white wine. The Marques de Gelida 2002 Brut Exclusive Reserva Cava retails around $15 and is noteworthy to anyone that is enthusiastic about bubbles in their wine. Cava is the D.O. (Denominación de Origen) for sparkling white wine in Spain, however, the restrictions on Cava aren't as strict as Champagne. While there are examples of Cava from five different D.O.'s around the country around 90% of the Cava produced comes from a small region near Barcelona called Catalonia. You can find most Cava under the $20 mark making it more affordable than it's American counterparts and more dry than Italian sparkling. Marques de Gelida uses a blend of traditional Cava varietals (35% Maccabeo, 30% Xarel-lo, 20% Parellada, and 15% Chardonnay) in this heavily yeasty yet lightly buttery scented wine. This Cava offers crisp and clean fruit leading to a refreshing and gentle finish. I suggest trying this wine with a venison stew with garlic butter brushed baguette crisps. For more info on this winery please check out:Marques de Gelida.

While Spain does make some fantastic white wines I thought I'd concentrate on some of the outstanding red offerings first. The Barahonda Tinto 2004 Monastrell is a good example of great quality for a small price (retail $15). Barahonda is an impressive winery that offers a variety of different styles of wine from several different labels. This winery grows almost all Monastrell with a small production of Cabernet Sauvignon. Monastrell is known as Mataro in California, Mouvedre in France and is known as Spain's second most important grape varietal. Hot days and cold nights allow for ripe fruit that is clearly evident in this wine. This deeply colored beauty from Yecla (D.O.) offers earthy scents accompanied by plum, strawberry, spice and black cherry. Deep and spicy red fruit flavors lead to a finish riddled with black pepper. I would pair this wine with roasted rosemary stuffed quail over wild mushroom risotto. For more information on the fantastic wines offered by this winery please visit: www.barahonda.com

This time I'm ending the blog with the best of the bunch. The Can Blau 2005 (retail $22) from Montsant, Spain was truely a treat to drink. This was the second time I visited this tasty wine. I'm not sure if I've talked about buying wine in this blog yet, but here it goes. When purchasing wine you don't know much about I suggest buying in at least twos. That way when you taste the wine and come to the conclusion that it needs more bottle time (as was the case in the first tasting of this wine) you still have at least one that you can lay down for a while. If on the other hand its good... drink away! But I've wandered from the original subject... Can Blau. The blend for this wine is 35% Cariñena (Carignan), 35% Syrah, and 30% Garnacha (Grenache). While these grapes are widely grown in both Southern France and Northern Spain the relatively newly created Montsant D.O. (in the historic region of Priorato for you Spanish oenophiles) offers unique vineyards dating back to the 12th century chosen for their particular soil and microclimate. In this old vine wine the Cariñena was planted in sandy clay, the Syrah in chalky soils and the Granacha on slate, known as llicorella. Robert Parker refers to Monsant as "the Spanish appellation that could be called the poor person's Priorato." On the second tasting this wine exhibited essences of blackberry, plum, tobacco, and slight caramel tones. Deep dark red fruit flavors lead to a full rounded silky yet complex finish. I would suggest drinking this fantastic wine with a char grilled bone-in Filet Mignon encrusted in black pepper corns and topped with a red wine compound butter served with blanched broccoli florets.

Thanks again for your continued interest in my blog and I appreciate everyone who has commented on or asked questions about wine and spirits. Please keep the inquires coming and until next time keep an open mind and an open eye.

Three Great Summer Sparklers

As I mentioned in the last post, I've switched my format a bit. I'm now concentrating on a few wines at a time that I have tasted over several days as opposed to tasting all five wines at once. As my first post since I've abandoned the Thursday Night Flight Night theme, I've decided to concentrate three great summer patio sippers. Since exceptional value is a concentration of this blog I chose these wines specifically as selections that will not hurt the pocketbook and more importantly not hurt your culinary pride.

For the first wine I decided to keep things somewhat the same and start out with a sparkling wine. I tasted the Mumm Napa Cuvée "M" Sparkling Wine (retail $22). While Mumm Napa is the American venture of the French Champagne house it is by no means an old world style wine. Sourcing most of their fruit from Carneros, Mumm Napa allows their fruit to ripen on the vine well past the French limitations. This allows for more luscious fruit flavors in this award winning wine. As a side note, the term Cuvée in a sparkling wine refers to the first and best juice from the press. That quality definitely shows in this great California wine offering cream, pineapple, apricot and a hint of citrus on the nose. This wine exhibited mellow upfront fruit with a long smooth peachy finish on the palate. I'd try pairing this wine with grilled jumbo prawns topped with mango-pineapple cilantro salsa and drizzled with a champagne sabynon creme. For More information on Mumm Napa please visit www.mummnapa.com.

The next summer wine selection comes from the Iberian Peninsula. The Broadbent Vinho Verde (retail $12) is simply a must-have patio wine for the summer. As Portugal's most popular white varietal this refreshing wine is what I like to refer to as a lawnmower wine or a wine to drink after a long day of yard work in 90 degree sunny weather. It's mild 9% ABV won't go straight to your head on a warm day. "Verde" meaning "Green" refers to the youth at which the wine is designed to be drank, however, in the case of Broadbent it doubles as a hint toward the subtle lime color of this lightly sparkly wine. For those of you who may have recognized the name Broadbent (Michael Broadbent) this is indeed a wine selection created by him and his son, Bartholomew. I don't suggest picking a wine by its label, but this one is sure to catch your eye. Bartholomew Broadbent's niece Alice painted the label, when she was four. The wine itself is a blend of three Portugese varietals that (50% Loureiro, 40% Trajadura and 10% Pedernã) are indigenous to the Vinho Verde region. This fantastic lightly sparkling wine offers fragrances of citrus, hay and pineapple on the nose. Clean and fresh spicy fruit lead to a tangy and effervescent crisp finish with subtle hints of mineralty in the outro in this Portuguese beauty. It is suggested that you drink Vinho Verde within a year of purchase to preserve its freshness and character. Vinho Verde makes a brilliant pairing with any fish, shellfish, or poultry. I suggest pairing it up with some pan seared sea bass in a creamy citrus sauce with poached broccoli and grilled summer squash. If you're interested in more information on Broadbent and the wines they produce please check out: www.broadbent-wines.com.

I'll end the tasting notes today with a off-dry sparkler reining in the Piedmont region of Italy. Elio Perrone 2006 "Sourgal" Moscato d' Asti DOCG (retail $16) is one of the most pleasant sparkling dessert wines I've had the pleasure of putting to my lips. While most regions of Italy produce some variety of the Moscato grape (known as Muscat in the rest of the world), none is more sought after than the the offerings from around the small town of Asti. The nose offers wonderful essences of peach, apricot, and floral notes. Full off-dry fruit leads to a subtle fresh finish with the slightest tinge of acidity to balance out this beautifully crafted Moscato. This light 5% ABV wine would pair beautifully with fresh strawberry shortcake and hand made whipped cream.

Keep an eye out for new posts as I have recently been tasting some phenomenal wines. If there are any wines that you have tasted and would like to bring to the attention of our readers please feel free to comment on any of my posts. Until next time remember to keep an open mind and an open eye.

New postings...

Hello all! It's been quite a while since I logged in. I hope some of you are still checking my blog for updates. Over the past couple of months I started to get really busy and haven't had the time to keep up with my blog writing. However, I haven't stopped tasting new and interesting wines and more importantly I haven't stopped writing notes on the wine I've tasted. While spending a weekend cleaning my office I noticed a very thick pile of tasting notes and empty bottles and decided it was time to begin writing again.

Now that I don't have venue like Thursday Night Flight Night to write about anymore, I will focus on about three different wines that I think are of exceptional value and quality. I will more than likely try and incorporate more spirits and beer into the mix as well. Thanks for sticking with this blog despite the recent infrequent posts and remember to keep an open eye and an open mind.

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.

John and Dan's Picks III, April 19th 2007

Well I'm back! Don't let the post date fool you it's well into mid-October. Since my new job here in Buffalo doesn't have as many duties attached to it I have more free time to catch up on the blog and review new products. It will take me a little time to catch up on all I've missed so please stick with me through these reviews.

As usual John and I had some trouble finding a rep this week to host the flight night, so we picked some wines off of the shelf to feature for this Flight Night. Chef Tim and Pete Evanovich put out an assorted cheese tray, handmade garlic parmesan breadsticks, fried brownie bites with chocolate sauce, and smoked shredded pork quesadillas with peppers, onions, and cheddar cheese to compliment the wine selection.

We started the Flight Night with a selection from Spain. John and I are huge enthusiasts when it comes to Spanish wine. While the labels are somewhat easier to read than your average French or Italian wine bottles, (afterall 1 in 10 U.S. citizens speak fluent Spanish) people are still a bit confused by the grape varietals and geography of most of what Spain has to offer. As a general rule, Spanish wines offer high quality for a very small price. Sure you could drop over $100 on a Spanish wine but why would you when there are great wines at around the $20 to $30 range? The Nora 2005 Albariño is no exception to this statement at the $18 mark. Albariño is a light Viognier like grape that is indigenous to the Rias Baixas region of north eastern Spain. The Albariño grape accounts for 90% of the plantings in this wine region. Nora is light gold in color and has elements of peach, cream, and lemon peel on the nose. Full-bodied and refreshing fruit lead to a very long smooth and textured finish. As John noted: "this is a great replacement for cookie-cutter Chardonnays". This is a fantastic summer wine for dining out on the patio. Try pairing this great white with a pan-fried flounder with poblano-corn relish.

Following up that great Spanish white was no easy feat, so John and I decided use a wine from a classic winery and a legendary California AVA (American Viticultural Area). The Ferrari-Carano 2006 Pinot Grigio (retail $18) from the much coveted Russian River Valley in Sonoma County was our second selection for the night. Ferrari-Carano has four different vineyards across Napa & Sonoma from which they source their grapes. Their Russian River Vineyards consist mostly of Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. The yields of Pinot Gris from this region are somewhat small and I can only assume this is a newer venture for the winery or originally a private table wine that was made public. I'm pretty sure the marketing think tank at Ferrari-Carano chose to label this varietal as Pinot Grigio (instead of the more common Pinot Gris) to avoid consumer confusion. While the wine was Italian in style it has an obvious Californian attitude. This pale and lightly golden wine exhibits a nose full of citrus with slight floral & fruit tones. Slightly tart mellow fruit leads to muted acidic citric flavors with a long lingering finish on the palate. Try drinking this wine with salt cod fritters with garlicky Skordalia. Find out more about Ferrari-Carano at:www.ferrari-carano.com

During my time in Ohio, I've sampled a variety of different wines from several of the local wineries in or around the Geneva area. The Ferrante 2005 "Signature Series" Cabernet Franc (retail $18) surprised both myself and many of the Wine Down patrons who tried it. Nick Ferrante has won a numerous amount of awards with his Golden Bunches Riesling, however, I would personally put this Cabernet Franc at the top of his wine portfolio. I was thrown back at how opaquely purple this wine was considering it was grown in Ohio which typically produces lighter colored reds. The nose had huge dark red fruit scents like plum and blackberry with light cocoa tones. This medium-bodied dry red fruit flavored wine lead to a slightly tannic sharp finish with lingering elements of confectioners chocolate. I was so impressed that a wine of this caliber came from Ohio that I retasted this wine the following day. It had mellowed out immensly and took on a pleasing deep woody almost vanilla flavor where the tannins were the day before. Pair this fantastic red with orecchiette Bolognese with chestnuts. Ferrante is one of the nicest commercial wineries in the Northern Ohio Wine Trail. I'd strongly suggest taking a tour of the modern facilities if you ever happen to be in the area. For directions or more information on Ferrane Winery go to: www.ferrantewinery.com

The next selection is a newer wine from an up and coming wine region in the foothills of the Andes Mountains called Valle de Colchagua, Chile. At an affordable $14, Calcu 2005 (A magician in the Mapuche language) is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cabernet Franc, and 20% Carménère. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Carménère grape, it has a very interesting story behind it. After the phylloxera epidemic in Europe, the Carménère grape (Bordeaux varietal) was thought to be a lost. However, South America was not affected by the epidemic. The grapes were brought over by the missionaries and often labeled Merlot. In the mid 90's after extensive DNA testing they were in fact found to be the lost grape of Bordeaux, Carménère. While many other wine growing regions have successfully replanted the finicky varietal, none date back to the 150 year offering of Chile. This Deep red blend has meaty, tobacco, leather, and butter essences on the nose. Full-bodied rich red fruit flavors with traces of spice and pepper lead to a subtle rounded finish in this fantastic Chilean wine. Try pairing this wine with pork and leeks in avgolemono sauce. Several patrons have commented on the label of the wine. It is in fact a watercolor of a bull painted by Salvador Amenabar and in my opinion gives the wine some added elegance when presented at a table. For more information on Calcu go to: www.globalvineyard.com.

We finished off the taste with another well established name in California. Cosentino 2004 "The Cab" Cabernet Sauvignon retails for $15 but drinks like a wine twice that price. Mitch Cosentino sources the friut for this series of wine from his Lodi vineyards which also offers "The Chard", "The Zin", and the more popular "CigarZin". Typically fruit sourced from Lodi tends to be deep and intense. "The Cab" was no exception to this. Exhibiting vanilla, pommegranite, plum, strawberry, and dried leaf tones on the nose, this deep and lightly spicy red lead to a long rounded finish with elements of buttery oak. This wine is really tightly wound and I would suggest allowing the wine to decant for quite some time before getting to it. In fact in my exploration with this wine I found that it really came around a couple days after I had opened it. This clearly suggests that this wine may not be quite ready for consumption and I would suggest that you give it some addionional bottle age before opening it. Try pairing this wine with hanger steak with shallots and mushrooms. For more information on Cosentino check out: www.cosentinowinery.com.

Thanks again for showing interest in this blog and wine education. If you are interested in any of the recipes used in this post please check out the October 2006 issue of Food & Wine magazine. Until next time remember to keep an open eye 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.