Tasting Notes – Sunday, 29 February 2007 – California Reds

The Control Wine

For our first tasting, I thought it might be nice to provide a control wine or a wine with a recognizable label and easily available. That way we would have something to compare and contrast the other wines to. Since the theme for the tasting was “California Reds.” My intention was to find some sort of Gallo Burgundy. All I could find at the local Albertson’s was a Gallo Twin Valleys Cabernet Sauvignon. There was no vintage date listed on the label.

Surprisingly enough, this was a decent wine. I guess I was looking for something that might be of inferior quality that we would all moan and groan about. And then we could taste something good. I think we were all pleased with this wine and would recommend it as a decent, everyday table wine. So check it out. I think it was only about $6.99.

The Wines

Region: Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
Maker: Au Bon Climat Winery (www.aubonclimat.com)
Name: Isabella Morgan Pinot Noir
Type: Pinot Noir
Vintage: 2003

This wine was really smooth and had a bit of a nice fruit taste to it with a tiny bit of a black pepper taste in it as well. It was by no means too sweet to my palette. I liked this wine and would maybe pair it with roasted pork tenderloin or roasted butternut squash. Check out the webpage and the information about the winemaker, Jim Clendenen. He has to have the best looking mullet in the wine business.

Region: Central Coast
Maker: Robert Mondovi (Woodbridge – http://www.woodbridgewines.com/)
Name: Private Select
Type: Merlot
Vintage: 2001

I will admit to steering away from Merlots in the last few years. They used to be my red of choice (as I sure they were with a lot folks). But then I started to move away from Merlots in favor of trying other reds. This one was really good. It definitely had more of an earthy taste than the above Pinot Noir. However, it was still really smooth and did not have that over dry taste. I think this one might be good with a nice grilled portabella mushrooms sandwich.

Region: Mendocino County (Ukiah)
Maker: Mendocino Wine Company
Name: Tusk ‘N Red (www.tusknred.com)
Type: Red Table Wine
Vintage: 2003

The Tusk ‘N Red was my contribution to the wine tasting. This one really did remind me of an Italian red. I really cannot qualify what I mean by that, but it was interesting. It had a very, almost carbonated taste to it. It tingled in the mouth a bit and left a bubbly taste on the tongue. Odd, I know, but it was good. To me, this one would be good with pasta and red sauce. The Tusk ‘N Red is a blend of:

45.4% Syrah
20.5% Zinfandel
19.9% Carignane
11.7% Petite Sirah
2% Sangiovese
.5% Mixed Red

All four of these wines (four, counting the control wine) were distinctly different, but all tasty to me. I was not disappointed in any of the above. So give them a taste and let me know what you think.

Ciao for now!

"A Wine Club - What Great Idea"

I had been talking about starting a wine club for some time now. My idea was to get a group of people together to try wines. Similar in nature to a book club, everyone would provide a little bit of information about the wine they provided and we could discuss the taste or whatever else came to mind. Every time, I would mention it to someone, they would say, "A wine club, what a great idea. Make sure to let me know when you meet." Secretly, I think I wanted someone else to start it and invite me. Or maybe that someone else was already in one and would invite me along. But, alas, I it never happened.

I consider myself a bit of a novice when it comes to wines, so I thought starting something like this would force me to learn a bit more about wine. Also, it would give me the opportunity to do what I like to do best, host gatherings for my friends once a month.

With the new year and new year's resolutions and such, it was time for me to get busy and get something going.

So I proposed the following to a group of friends:

We meet once a month at my place for the first few months and then branch out to other people's homes later down the line. Each couple brings one bottle of wine. If you are flying solo, you may split the cost of a bottle with someone else.

You should learn something about the wine you are bringing. For example:

Who is the winemaker?

Where is the wine from?

What grape is used?

What make this wine unique?

Etc.

What you spend on a bottle of wine is up to you. Nobody should feel obligated to spend a lot of money. One of the best glasses of wine I ever had was served out of an unmarked jug into a juice glass in Sienna, Italy and probably cost me about $2.

I have a list of themes for these wine tastings. Everyone is welcome to add themes to the list. We can draw at the end of each gathering to decide what we are going to taste the next month. Here are some of the themes I have in mind:

Dessert Wines

South American Wines

European Wines

Texas Wines

Rosé (don't moan too loud, Rosés are hot in some circles)

Sparkling wines (not necessarily Champagnes)

Italian wines (something other than Tuscan)

Eastern European

Portuguese Wines

Wine from some random place you have been (I actually have a bottle of wine from a winery in Michigan)

Wines from Down Under

Wines that go great with Mexican food

A grape you have never heard of

I am thinking about trying this function on a Sunday night. That gives you something to look forward to on Sundays other than work on Monday. Remember, this is all about learning about wine, not about drinking so much that you feel bad the next day. If after the meeting, we decide a different night is better, then we will move it.

In addition to providing space for the gathering, I will provide bread and various dipping sauces. That way you can tell what the wine would taste like with a variety of accompaniments. If we get hungry, we can always order a pizza or go out to dinner after the tasting.

So, let's start with something really easy. Please join me on Sunday, 28 January at 7 p.m. for our first gathering. This month's theme is: California reds. See, I told you it would be easy. Pick out whatever you want to try; it can be from Napa, Sonoma County, Monterrey County, Santa Ynez Valley, etc, It can be a Cabernet, a Merlot, a Pinot Noir, Shiraz, whatever. It is just a tasting.

Sounded like a good idea to me. Unfortunately, not many people were able to come for the first gathering. However, that was ok with me. It still gave me an excuse to clean up my home, prepare some food, and actually make an effort to learn something about a bottle of wine.

For food, we had a green salad, some really good soft French cheese (Delice De Bourgogne), toasted walnuts, roasted peppers, bread, water crackers, and a yummy artichoke dip one of my friends provided. I also served various dipping sauces so we could try to see if the taste of the wine would change on the palette with different flavors. And I would be remiss if I did not mention that I also served some chocolate.

To be continued.

Next posting... The wine tasting notes from the first meeting of my new wine club.