The Wine Club - Syrah / Shiraz tasting

Last week, a colleague introduced me to a local wine club of a few wine loving guys. These guys get together once every month, taste couple bottles of a pre-decided varietal, document their ratings and notes and above all have fun. This past Sunday, we had the third tasting of the club (my first) and we tasted the following Syrah / Shiraz from various regions of the world.

1. 2007 Juno Wine Company Shiraz - South Africa, Western Cape
2. 2001 Arrowood Syrah Saralee's Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
3. 2003 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie Brune et Blonde - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie
4. 2008 Mollydooker Shiraz The Boxer - Australia, South Australia, McLaren Vale / Padthaway
5. 2008 Pure Love Wines Shiraz Layer Cake - Australia, South Australia
6. 2006 Ramey Syrah Shanel Vineyard Sonoma Coast

Our tasting notes and ratings can be accessed thru this link.

Overall, this was fun. May be too much fun. Come to think of it, I tried nine wines this weekend. But, who's counting?

Effervescent Rosso

At this weekend's tasting at Mustard Seed Market, we tasted the 2009 Villa M Rosso - an extremely refreshing Brachetto by Villa M, La Morra, Italy. Extremely fruity on the nose and deliciously sweet on the palette with a refreshing tingle from start to finish, this is an excellent wine for summer - with or without food. Drink chilled as is or checkout the Villa M website  for some delicious cocktail recipes. If you have it with food, pair it with spicy asian / indian cuisine. We cooked spicy chicken curry and rice to go with it. This was amongst the most satisfying and refreshing meals that I have ever had. I think it will be good as a dessert wine as well. Definitely recommend it.

There is always the first time ...

If you follow this blog, you probably already know that I am mostly into full-bodied dry reds. But, recently I decided to expand my horizons and dabble a bit into whites. What the heck? Its Summer...

Last weekend, I bought my first Sauvignon Blanc - 2009 Rayun Sauvignon Blanc by V.T.S.A Geo Wines, Santiago, Chile. Citrus notes, a little pineapple, on the nose with a dry and mildly acidic palette. On the whole, an average wine.

I guess I will have to find a really good Sauvignon Blanc from Loire Valley to find out what this varietal is all about.

Cotes du Rhone - California Style

Last night, we opened the 2009 Allure de Robles from Rabbit Ridge Vineyards, Paso Robles, CA - a cheap Cotes du Rhone style blend of Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre varietals. Quite good, I must say. Rich red fruit on the nose and smooth on the palette with just a slight bitterness at the very end. At a price of $8.99, its no wonder that this wine became quite popular. The slight bitterness at the very end is the only part I did not like about the wine. I would definitely drink it again. So, I bought another bottle today.

Cheap, and Good???

Mustard Seed Market in Solon, OH offers wine tastings every Saturday. This weekend, we tasted the 2009 Petraio Nero d'Avola - a Sicilian wine. Jammy with fruit notes on the nose and gentle acidity - this turned out to be a good wine. And, the price of $5.99 was irresistible so we loaded up the cart with five bottles of Petraio along with seven other bottles of red and white to complete the case. This evening, I opened the first of the five bottles, patiently decanted it (I know decanting a $6 wine seems over the top but I just wanted to try decanting for the first time) and have been sipping it for the past couple hours. Let me tell you Cheap AND Good does exist in the world of wine.

Pretty Name, Dull Wine

We had company yesterday. Not sure of their drink preferences, I had not given much thought to the wine that we were going to offer. When asked, they told me they preferred white. The only white that I had in the chiller was 2009 Mystique de Robles from Rabbit Ridge Vineyards, Paso Robles, CA - a cheap Rhone style blend of Grenache Blanc and Viognier from California that we had just bought from a local grocery store to try. The wine was dull both on the nose as well as the palette. I am not sure what the guests thought but could guess from the fact that they did not finish the glass. Enough said ...

What a Conundrum?

Warm Summer Evening... What should we have - Chilled, Fruity, Floral White Wine or Full-bodied, Oaky Red? That is the Conundrum.

Well... we chose to solve the Conundrum with a Conundrum - 2008 Conundrum from Conundrum Wines in Rutherford, CA. Its a proprietary blend of white wines - very fruity, very floral and quite dry. We paired it with home made sprout salad - home made sprouts, home grown cucumbers, tomatoes and basil, salt and pepper. We also had warm bread with EVOO.

Spicy Red Eft

Red Eft is an interesting blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Syrah and Noiret from the Red Newt Cellars in Finger Lakes (Seneca Lake), NY. It seems as though it is a kitchen sink blend but it is quite a good wine. Spicy on the nose, fruity and smooth on the palette. The spiciness comes from the Noiret grape, a hybrid grape variety developed and named by Cornell University researchers.
I was going thru my collection from Finger Lakes from the recent trip in June when I found this bottle. I opened it yesterday and can't wait to finish it today. mmm...

The Circular Dining Room @ Hotel Hershey, Hershey, PA

Last week, we took our soon to Hershey Park for his Summer Vacation. After two days of Roller Coaster fun at the Park and Hershey Chocolate World, we sat down for a nice, fancy dinner at the Circular Dining Room in Hotel Hershey. Its an upscale restaurant with great ambiance, courteous and very attentive service and great food. Surprisingly, the prices are quite affordable. The resident sommelier, Raymond, who manages a wine cellar with about 7,000 bottles of wine, recommended that we try Gigondas. The sommelier explained that Gigondas wines are typically a blend of Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre varietals, all grown in Southern Rhone Valley in France. So we tried the 2007 Les Trois Couronnes Gigondas. It was being offered at $62 for the bottle at the restaurant; quite a deal when my "GetMeVino! Lite" app on my Palm Pre is showing a retail price of $30. The wine was rich, full bodied red with great aroma and quite smooth on the palette. Wifey had only half a glass; I drank the rest and rest is history.

I still think that the other Syrah - Grenache blend that I had last year was better. Paul Jaboulet Aine Parallele 45 Cotes du Rhone. That reminds me that I still have one bottle left.

Sparkling...

@ a kiddie vacation in Hershey, PA. Had Sparkling from Glenora in Finger Lakes, NY - Just OK Poor in Aroma, Good Bubbles, Appreciate the dryness.

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

Reunion with Cabernets

Tired of exploring other varietals, I finally returned back to my favorites - Cabernets. On Saturday, August 7th, opened the 2006 Belhurst Cabernet Sauvignon from Finger Lakes, NY region. mmm.... Got my aroma fix - Oak and Green Peppers. Very smooth on the palette as well. I was so starved of Bordeaux varietal that I pretty much drank the whole bottle, all by myself. mmm...

Ahh!!! Friday

Ahh!!! Friday.

Just opened 2009 Porta Sole Sangiovese. Don't care for the aroma but feels good on the palette. I am not a Sangiovese fan but this one is OK.

Home made pizza is in the oven along with some samosas. Now need a good flick.

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

James' Place

Yesterday (Wednesday, August 4, 2010), we went to James' Place, a cozy little wine bar in Aurora, OH and tried the following wines:

1. 2008 Jessie's Grove Zinfandel Earth Zin & Fire
2. 2002 Mercurey Pinot Noir (Bourgogne / Burgundy)

While the Zin came in an interesting bottle, very creative label, the wine was so so. My comment could be attributed to my lack of experience with this varietal. I am not into Zins - do not like the aroma or the taste. At least not yet.

Even though I was done with Pinots for now, how did I end up with another burgundy? I initially ordered an Alsace from the wine list but they did not have it. Then I ordered a Rhone and they did not have it either. Tired of rejections, I asked the bartender to bring me whatever he fancied and he brought me the burgundy even though he had heard the story of my failed experiment with Pinots. I am still wondering why I left him a hefty tip. May be I had a little bit too much fun with wines.

So, what did I think of this burgundy? Still not there with Pinots - did not enjoy the aroma or the taste. This time I am seriously done with Pinots for a while. Even an inattentive bartender will not be able to sell me another bottle of Pinot for a while.

To clear my palette, I finally ordered a glass of some cabernet - can't remember the label. Yes, I was in the zone. Obviously, I have no further comments on the cabernet.

Experiment with Pinot Noirs

As I mentioned earlier, I am a sucker for full-bodied dry reds - mostly Bordeaux style - Cabernets and Merlots. Recently, at the behest of a friend, who by the way is a connoisseur, I started experimenting with Pinot Noirs. He suggested that I try Pinots from Oregon and Burgundy to develop an appreciation for this grape. So far, I have tried a few Oregon Pinots and a couple of Burgundys but I am still not there. I found the one from Eola Hills Winery, Willamette Valley, OR to be the best. My problem with Pinots is related to aroma - I do not find them as aromatic. And, Burgundys did not fix the aroma issue either. May be I am not trying the right one. Any suggestions???

Hello World!!!

Hello!!! I love wine. I am a wine amateur; not a connoisseur yet. I just love the aroma and taste of wines; I have no ability to discern various tasting notes or appreciate other subtelities of wine. At least, not yet.

I am mostly into dry reds (mostly Bordeaux style reds) but will not pass a glass of chilled, aromatic white wine on a warm summer day.

I love wine tastings. If I had my way, all my vacations would be spent in some wine country touring wineries and tasting their offerings. So far, I have been to wineries in Napa Valley, CA, Reims, France (Champagne), Finger Lakes, NY, Traverse City, MI, Niagara-on-the-lake, Canada, and Lake Eire wineries in OH. I collect logo glasses from different wineries and have a decent collection of about 60 logo glasses.

I started this blog to document my journey thru the wonderful world of wines.