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Archive for category California

Wine of the Day – 7 Deadly Zins

Feb 14

Posted by greatWineSource in California, Reds, Wine of the Day | Comments off

I admit it

Ok, I have to admit that as a wine consultant working with a Napa Valley winery, I have primarily focused on drinking our wines, only occasionally expanding my palette into the ever increasing world of luscious wines. That’s about to change. As a wine consultant, I feel it is my responsibility to know about many different wines, so I can truly compare and contrast and know what the right wine is for the right occasion and food and be able to recommend the right wine to my clients.

I’ve posted in other blogs about a few wines I’ve sampled and enjoyed. I have been receiving Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast magazine for quite some time and so it is my duty now to focus on finding and sampling the reasonably priced wines listed in the magazine and help educate you about those wines; whether they meet the mark for my unsophisticated palette and based on my experience what I think my readers and tasting guests would enjoy.

I often receive recommendations from my tasting guests and because all my tasting guests are so much fun and great people, I want to learn from them as well. One of my guests the other night recommended 7 Deadly Zins, and since I had not yet tried it, I went out and purchased a bottle.

7 Deadly Zins, Lodi Appellation Old Vine Zinfandel 2007

Zinfandel is one of my favorite wines; I love the complexity along with the spicy finish. Last night I opened a bottle of 7 Deadly Zins. I found it rated on wine.com as a 90, but in searching through my Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast mags, can’t find it listed.

The first thing I noticed with this wine when I opened and poured it is the abundance of smoky aromas (almost like bacon). According to the winemaker, it is aged completely in American oak, loaded with berry fruit, pepper, spice, and earth characteristics.

When a wine is aged in oak, it pulls in many of the oak characteristics of the barrel, and this wine is no exception. It was highly aromatic, very interesting, and although the nose was strong and smoky, the flavors were somewhat more balanced, although a smoky flavor was still very apparent. I did find it lacking in the strong spiciness that is so wonderful about Zinfandels. It was a smooth wine, not overly tannic, and very drinkable.

Rating

Overall, the wine was very good, and on my rating scale, I’d rate it an 87.

Cheers to full glasses all around!

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Wine of the Day – Mourvedre

Feb 1

Posted by greatWineSource in California, France, Reds, Spain, Wine of the Day | Comments off

Wine of the Day for February 1, 2010

Mourvedre

Can you believe it’s February already?! A month down, 11 to go. :) Hope I can find 334 more topics to write about. Please send me ideas. I’m open to hearing from you about what you’d like to see.

Origin

Mourvedre actually originated in Spain, where it is known as Monastrell, and had been a component of Châteauneuf-du-Pape until Grenache overtook it, and is only surpassed in acreage in Spain by Grenache. It is also cultivated in France, Australia and California.

Mourvedre grape

Style

This black grape can be found as a single varietal, but is widely blended with Syrah, Carigñan and Tempranillo to produce wines that have aging potential as well as to improved tannin and color.

Characteristics

Wines made from Mourvedre have beautiful intense garnet color, deep red fruit flavors, with aromas of game and leather. This grape makes it challenging to select any distinct characteristics, but when young in highly tannic and alcoholic, so decant, decant, decant your young Mourvedre.

Pairing

Mourvèdre-based wines pair well with grilled and roasted meats, root vegetables, mushrooms and dark fowl such as duck. It is a great wine for a winter meal of chicken and dumplings.

Stop by

If you are out and about this week, stop by Associated Bank on Richmond Street in Appleton, and check out my display (it’s a small display). Let me know what you think.

Cheers to full glasses all around!

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Wine of the Day – Sauvignon Blanc

Jan 15

Posted by greatWineSource in California, France, Whites, Wine of the Day | Comments off

Wine of the Day for January 15, 2010

Sauvignon Blanc

White Chicken Chili — that’s what I made for lunch today. At my full-time job at Alternative Solutions in Sheboygan, we had “soup week” where each day someone brought in a different soup. Today, a co-worker and I brought in Chili: she brought in red chili and I brought in White Chicken Chili. So, as I was making it and putting the ingredients together, I was thinking of what wines would pair well with it (I happen to have a few bottles in my overhead bin at work).

Sauvignon Blanc grapesWell, Chenin Blanc will actually pair nicely with White Chicken Chili, and so will a nice light Sauvignon Blanc. Read on for more info on this elegant and adaptable grape and follow through to the end to see what wine will pair well with your red Chilis.

Sauvignon Blanc is an earthy wine, commonly generating aromas of grass, and as mentioned in previous blogs, is used as a blending wine with Sémillon to create a Meritage or Sauterne wine.

Sauvignon Blanc originated in Bordeaux and its name refers to “savage white”, so when you drink a Sauvignon Blanc, you can picture yourself as enjoying a wild white wine, which is one of the reasons I’m going to enjoy it with the White Chicken Chili. Researchers have recently discovered, and this is amazing to me, that Sauvignon Blanc – a white grape – is a parent grape along with Cabernet Franc to Cabernet Sauvignon.

Wines from this widely-planted grape should be fresh and crisp, with grassy aromas and citrus flavors. Other foods you can pair with this bright wine are shellfish, summer salads, Havarti cheese and I like it with green olives.

Alternative Solutions is a fantastic company, developing software solutions for small to medium property and casualty insurance companies. They are so supportive of my wine business and have often had wine tastings in the office. When we have food weeks or festive lunches, we crack open a bottle of wine or beer (wine for me, thank you, even with a last name of ‘Brewer’). I will be enjoying a Sauvignon Blanc with the White Chicken Chili and those who will enjoy the red Chili could pair it with Zinfandel or Sagrantino de Montefalco. What is Sagrantino di Montefalco you ask? You’ll just have to check back on another day.

Cheers to full glasses all around!

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Wine of the Day – Chardonnay

Jan 12

Posted by greatWineSource in California, France, Whites, Wine of the Day | 1 Comment

Wine of the Day for January 12, 2010

Chardonnay

The weather promises to warm up here this week, so I’ll wrap up today with a chilled white wine again and tomorrow perhaps I’ll move on to a luscious red. The great thing about this blog is I don’t know from day-to-day which wines I’m going to focus on, so it’s a new experience for me each day, and I hope an enjoyable one for you too.

Chardonnnay grape  

Chardonnay is grown all over the world, although it originated in Burgundy (and is the varietal found in the wine White Burgundy). It is also an important grape in Champagne (as I mentioned in an earlier post).

Chardonnay grapes are very hardy; a primary reason for its popularity and versatility. Chardonnay wines are always dry, so if you lean toward drier wines, this grape is a good choice. When aged in oak, it will give the wine complexity, depth, full body with a buttery finish, but should also involve a balance of oak. If you are drinking a wine and the oak and toast is all that you notice, it has likely been left in the barrel too long.

Select a wine aged in oak if you are a fan of buttery aromas and flavors. However, if you prefer your Chardonnays light crisp and unoaked (or if you are not a Chardonnnay fan right now, but want to grow into enjoying it) you will lean toward Chardonnnays that were partially aged in oak. Winemakers today are blending Chardonnay with other sweeter varietals such as Riesling or Muscat to add lighter fruit dimension and to satisfy the masses. The Chardonnays that we’ve had in our tastings that are blended with Riesling or Muscat are much more popular than the fully oaked Chardonnays. My feeling is if we are expanding one’s palette and helping them grow in appreciation of wines, fantastic!

Common aromas and flavors with Chardonnay are apple, butter, pineapple, vanilla, tropical fruit. (Mmmm, just writing those sounds delicious … I might have to open up a bottle of Chardonnnay later.) Pair this wine with fruits, grilled freshwater fish, buttery mashed potatoes, and I’ve had it with a fantastic recipe that I’ve added to my Recipes section for your culinary pleasure.

Cheers to full glasses all around!

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Wine of the Day – Merlot

Jan 3

Posted by greatWineSource in California, Reds, Wine of the Day | 1 Comment

Wine of the Day for January 3, 2010

Merlot

Before I became a wine consultant, I tried Merlot. I thought “reds are good for you and I’ve heard that reds are so much more complex”. I realized though when I tried Merlot (or reds ) that it must be an acquired taste (like beer?), and I was right. After months of “research”, I found that I really did prefer reds and enjoyed them with and without food.

Merlot Some of the smoothest wines available come from Merlot grapes. The Merlot grape is a thinner skinned grape which accounts for some of the smoothness. The fermentation process of leaving on the skins, seeds and stems intact create the tannins, the bitter taste. With thinner skinned grapes, less skin can mean less bitterness and more fruit.

Merlot has earthy and oak aromas which come from aging in oak barrels, and common fruit aromas and flavors for Merlot are blackberry, plum and cinnamon. I love the color of most reds, and Merlot is no exception with a beautiful red with purple hue color.

Merlot is often blended with other wines to add smoothness to otherwise highly tannic wines, and is a blending grape in Bordeaux wines.

You can enjoy Merlot with your spicier or red-sauce foods, as well as aged romano cheese and dark chocolate.

You will of course aerate your Merlot via decanting, swirling, etc. Speaking of swirling, my husband and I enjoy coffee in the morning, but we have to have it with creamer, and I’m talking the “candy” creamer … International Delights Dulce le Leche or English Toffee Caramel. Well, you have to shake up the bottle to mix the contents, and my husband presented another option to me this morning. Instead of shaking the bottle because that gets the creamer on the bottle top and can get messy, he placed it on the counter and swirled it around. Sounds great to me! I love swirling … swirling my wines and now I get to swirl my coffee creamer!

Cheers to full glasses all around!

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