Vinum Africa 2008 Chenin Blanc

Caitlin's family has been in town all week. They are fixing up the condo, organizing, and preparing an awesome Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow.  I think they have fed me for the past three nights, so tonight it seemed like time that I cook a little something for them.  I made a simple paella, the recipe for which was on an iPad app called "How to Cook Everything."  The only ingredients were rice, stock, olive oil, chicken/shrimp, onion, saffron, salt, and pepper.  It was super easy--I made double the recipe thinking people would eat a ton, but we had a huge tupperware left over because it was so filling.  On the side I served a tomato salad in a chili-balsamic vinaigrette.  Tomato salad is traditionally more of a summer dish, but I wanted something fresh and simply flavored that would not clash with the paella.  With dinner we had a Chenin Blanc that one of Caitlin's coworkers brought to our last party.

In my head I had equated Chenin Blanc with Sauvignon Blanc.  I expected the chenin blanc to be light, crisp, maybe even a little watery--something that would accompany the shrimp and rice without much noise.  How insensitive of me; chenin blanc is its own distinct varietal, as I later learned, completely unrelated to the other blanc.  In South Africa, chenin blanc is also known as Steen and is the most widely planted varietal in the region.  Chenin blanc is rather malleable, in that depending on the terroir (climate, soil, etc.), the grape can create very different flavors, acidity, and sweetness in the wines it becomes.  South African chenin blancs are usually on the drier side with tropical fruit notes, while those wines from Loire, France, can be sweet or dry, still or sparkling.

This chenin blanc was heavier than I expected.  It reminded me a little of a viognier.  These are white wines that really sit in your mouth; they aren't refreshing or light like a sauvignon blanc, but they have a lot of character.  You can tell from the color--a deeper yellow--that there is more going on in the glass than with other whites.  The Vinum was thick and fruity, a little tart, but not overly sweet.  Caitlin tasted lime and honey--I didn't get that far, but I trust her palate.  This is definitely a white wine for people who like wine, not for the cocktail party white wine drinker.  It is a serious wine for a serious meal, and I think it matched well with the (slightly) greasy paella.  Not guzzleable, so good pair with dinner.

I googled the bottle, and it runs about $20.  I would recommend it, but only if you actually want to taste your white wine before you swallow it.

Marques de Montanana 2009 Garnacha

I just couldn't stay away. It's been almost a year, but I haven't forgotten you. There isn't a wine store window I haven't pressed my face against, a restaurant wine menu I haven't pored over, or a catchy label I haven't ogled and thought of you. It was only a matter of time; true love never dies. The Humble Grape is back up, sipping, swirling, and savoring its way through the economical wines around DC.

Saturday night Cait and I had a birthday party; it wasn't her birthday, it wasn't my birthday, but it was a pretty good party. Among the lovely guest gifts was a bottle of garnacha from Allison and Rob. Of course the real gift was their presence at the party, but I won't blog about dancing barefoot on the kitchen mat or Rob telling me he felt, "It is time to switch to whiskey." Tonight Cait and I were in the mood for a glass of red, and we sliced some meats and cheeses to accompany our selection.

Both Cait and I loved this bottle. It smelled a little like church wine and was immediately fruit-filled and fun on my tongue. But it settled on the sides of my tongue and finished slightly tannic. Medium-bodied and easy to drink, this garnacha was truly a treat. It reminded me a little of a big pinot noir, and the bottle was gone before we knew it.

We liked it so much that we looked it up online to find more--turns out you can find this at Trader Joe's for $4.99! Excellent find. I will pick up another bottle or two next time I'm at the store.

Update: Also great with chocolate cake.

Oyster Season

If you're thinking of diving into some raw oysters in the next month or so, take a peek at this article for wine pairings. It breaks down pairings by regional origin of the oysters and explains why each match works. Pretty neat. Note, the article only offers white wine pairings, the traditional choice for oysters. For speculation on potential red wine pairings, give this NYT article a read.

Happy shucking!

Legon 2007 Roble

"Where did it go?" - Emmett

This bottle had been sitting on my shelf since July. Over the summer, I started going to wine tasting at Zola downtown after work. They'd usually sample 5 or 6 wines and there was always an incredible spread of complimentary cheese and crackers. We're talking smoked gouda, goat cheese, various hard cheeses - it was awesome and often a makeshift dinner. When I tried this red, I was enraptured. It was one of the weirdest tasting experiences I'd ever had. Over the past few months, I'd started to wonder if my tastebuds had imagined the whole thing. Finally, after finishing Fall finals, I decided to open it up and revisit my curiosity.

100% Temparanillo from Ribera del Duero, Spain, it was aged for 6 months in American, French, and Hungarian Oak. As you know by now, different oaks create different qualities in wine. I've never seen something aged in Hungarian oak, so I did a little research. Though regarded as similar, when compared with French oak, Hungarian oak adds "more nutmeg, clove, and sweet oriental spice." Maybe you haven't heard much about Hungarian oak; that's because for about half of the 20th century, the forests and industry were state-run and most of the oak barrels that were made went to European winemakers. It seems like you'll be seeing more of Hungarian oak, though, because the forests are full of trees, so to speak. As the result of massive chopping by the British a few hundred years ago (for shipbuilding during war), Hungary enacted laws requiring sustainable forest management - which, I guess, means they have to plant more than they chop. Coupled with recently increasing privatization of forest ownership, the Hungarian cooperage (barrel-making) industry is redeveloping and expanding to North American markets.

So, the funny thing about this wine is the finish. It just ... disappears. It starts out smelling a little fruity and rich. Medium-bodied and relatively mild tasting, the Roble is a little softer than most Temperanillos I've tasted. But just as the wine settles on your tongue and you start to grasp the flavors, it's gone. So weird. There is just a touch of tannin left, so you know you didn't dream the last 3 seconds, but everything else is gone. So you have to take another sip and try again. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. To me, this was a pretty neat thing, and it made the wine light, fun, and easy to drink. But I'm not sure this lack of finish is technically a good thing in the wine world. I guess it depends what you're looking for, but as a precursor to a night out dancing, I liked that I didn't get bogged down in the details of this red.

Saintsbury 2005 Carneros Pinot Noir

No time for a full post, but I had an awesome Pinot Noir last week that I'll forget about it if I don't write it down. Somehow it was dark and complex while still light and drinkable. I'm sure it had something to do with the age, and I think this winemaker keeps the wine in the barrels for quite a while (judging by the fact that they are just selling the 2007 vintage now). You can buy their wine online! (http://saintsbury.com/index.html)

Parker Station 2009 Pinot Noir

Thursday night I hit up Clyde's happy hour with some of my favorite people from the Mint this summer. It's always trouble when Allison, Danae and I get together; somehow the wine bottles empty at an alarming rate and hilarity follows. This night was no exception, and the pictured bottle was actually our second bottle of Parker Station. We were all unclear as to whether we actually ordered another bottle, but the bartender, who was young and flirting with Danae, came and sat down with us, this bottle in hand. Allison (pictured left) was pleased with the choice, because Parker is her soon-to-be last name come March 25.

Parker Station wines are the economic line from Fess Parker, a family owned and operated estate in Santa Barbara County. Fess Parker is the actor who played Davie Crockett and Daniel Boone - he started the winery with his son, Eli, in 1989. Eli now runs things as President, but the whole family is involved. Parker Station grapes are sourced from something like 5 area vineyards to keep prices down, so the quality is obviously not the same as something under the Fess Parker label, estate grown and bottled.

Clyde's menu listed this as a light-bodied red, but the label tells you that it's medium-to-full bodied. I'm inclined to agree with Clyde's on this one. This was a typical light and fruity Pinot Noir - no surprises, which I guess is good? Recently, I've been a bit bummed out by the Pinots I've tried. They are starting to all taste the same, "the same" being kind of foofy and simple. This one for instance, had a lot of cherry and not much else. These Pinot Noirs are easy to drink, but leave me wanting something with more character and heart.

This bottle costs around $12 retail, $28 at Clyde's, which is a surprisingly modest markup. Sidenote: Clyde's has a pretty extensive bottle menu, with the vast majority in the $22 - $38 range. We had no problem finding 3 different bottles to try without leaving the $20s.

Acrobat 2008 Pinot Noir

Wednesday was Peter's 28th, so I invited him over for cake and an awkward/inspiring rendition of Happy Birthday, complete with candles and video footage. When I was in Austin visiting Meg and Mon this summer, I tried an incredible chocolate cake that Mon's boyfriend's mom made for her. Ever since, I've been looking for an excuse to try making it, and this was the perfect opportunity. I tweaked her recipe a smidge - hers called for a layer of amaretto buttercream, and I used creme de menthe instead. To accompany the cake, I went with a Pinot Noir - a birthday gift from the lovely Gregor just a few weeks ago.

Acrobat is a more approachable line of wines from King Estate in western Oregon. The King Estate is devoted to organic and sustainable farming, not only for its grapes, but also for the produce it uses in the Restaurant on premises. One of the ways King Estate manages pests naturally is with a relatively large raptor (including owls!) population. The estate has actually formed a partnership with a local raptor sanctuary, which releases recently rehabilitated birds on the estate. It's a great place for them to thrive, because all the crops are organic, the landscape is diverse, and there are several birdhouses in place around the grounds. Pretty cool.

King Estate only grows Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, and Chardonnay, so I imagine they are skilled at crafting those particular varietals. The 2008 Pinot Noir was aged for 8 months in French oak - a pretty complicated mix of barrels. 17% were new oak, 19% one-year, 33% two-year, and 31% three-year. Does that even add up to 100? Anyway, the wine spec sheet said something about "cooperage", followed by some funny sounding names. I looked it up, and cooperage just refers to the brand of the barrels used for aging. This is a pretty big deal, considering that the quality of the oak essentially shapes the characteristics of the wine. There are a bunch of factors to think about in selecting wood that goes into barrels, like porousness, grain tightness, etc., so cooperage is a bit of an art, it seems.

The wine was a unanimous hit. It was incredibly light - in the glass and on the tongue. It was fruity like a typical Pinot Noir, but so delicate that it reminded me a little of those flavored waters that supposedly have no sugar, artificial chemicals, or calories but miraculously taste like some fruit. Peter was actually enthusiastic about this red, which means it definitely didn't taste like fish or mayonnaise. It went well with the cake, because it was easy to drink and didn't lay claim to my taste buds as soon as it touched my tongue. Instead, it slipped through my mouth quickly, and I had to spend a few sips just getting it to stay in place long enough to think about. In the end, it left a lovely impression and left everyone wanting a little more. Thanks to Gregor for the wonderful birthday gift; I'm so glad I got to share it with someone else on his birthday!

Chalk Hill 2000 Merlot

It turns out people don't eat as much cheese as you'd expect. In preparation for by birthday party, I bought out the city's supply of cheese - jarlsberg, blue, camembert, chevre, smoked gouda, aged gouda, sharp cheddar, grafton, and of course, Natalie's bohemoth brie. Unfortunately, a large portion of this went untouched - I guess people are afraid of getting fat or something. Last night it was my turn to cook dinner, and considering half the fridge is currently dominated by cheese, it seemed like a good idea to use some. I invited Peter over, and since he's a big smoked gouda fan, I substituted that for parmesan in my usual risotto recipe, plus a little red bell pepper and spinach. I also stuffed some baby portobellos with homemade sun-dried tomato cream cheese, wrapped them in marinated steak, and grilled them on the Foreman.

Peter brought over a Merlot that supposedly had been sitting in his apartment for a while. Before dinner, he quizzed me on the flavors while reading the wine specs online. Miraculously, I got a few right, but it was probably luck and a little bull shit, (as Peter would say ALL wine tasting is). This is a pretty neat wine - estate grown and bottled on just 1200 acres, "Chalk Hill," in Sonoma County. The label even lists the then-proprietors of the estate, Fred and Peggy Furth. Fred is (was?) a pilot and founded the estate in 1972, which includes a farm, equestrian center, restaurant, culinary gardens, swimming and fishing ponds, and a home. The current proprietor, William Foley II, added the Chalk Hill estate to his expanding portfolio in August of this year. For some reason, this makes me sad. I wonder what happened to Fred and Peggy.

I couldn't find anything about the 2000 vintage in particular, but more recent vintages are actually a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Malbec. The winery waits until the grape softens slightly before picking, which results in softer tannins.

This wine was slightly more burnt brown than maroon, with lots of sediment from age in the bottom of the bottle. It was on the thinner side, medium-bodied and drinkable. When I first tried to identify a smell for Peter's quiz, all I could pin down was mulch. This translated into a kind of cedar flavor and almost no fruit. This confused me; I never drink Merlot, but I've always heard it's one of the fruitier reds. Now knowing that it probably had 20% Malbec (also typically fruity), I have no idea what was going on with this wine. Eventually, I picked out a few fruits: plum, black something, and a hint of the acid and tartness of cranberry. But honestly the whole thing was way more earth than fruit - it reminded Caitlin of a Cab, and I agree. Luckily, Cab is my favorite varietal, so it worked out well. It finished "persistently" with firm but not overbearing tannins, and the bottle was gone before we knew it. I think this Merlot would go well with a lot of things and was great on its own; it has definite personality but doesn't hog the spotlight. It made me want to give Merlot another shot.

(photo note: my new moleskin wine journal! this was, appropriately, the first entry.)

26 years, 25 friends, 15 bottles

I turned 26 on Saturday. To celebrate, I hosted a wine tasting party for my friends. We sampled 15 wines - 3 each of Sauv Blanc, Chard, Pinot Noir, Cab, and Syrah. All were from California, and I set out paired cheeses for each varietal. It was a blind tasting in that no one knew the prices; within each varietal, there were a low, middle, and high-end bottle. Natalie blessed the party with a massive baked brie, Caitlin made bacon-wrapped dates and chocolate biscotti, and Brittany contributed some fantastic olives. I whipped up a little sun-dried tomato dip and picked up some foie gras and chocolate macadamias for nibbling.

People were mostly surprised by the whites. I think a lot of people (myself included until recently) have pegged white wine as foofy or super sweet or just not as good as red. And on top of the general stigma against whites, Chardonnay carries an additional shackle of shame. One thing that pleased me about the tasting was that several people discovered a white they never knew existed (like the unoaked chardonnay), or just realized that white doesn't always equate to the Riesling your lush auntie Martha buys by the case.

The reds were all rather good, but people were a little more wrapped up in the conversation than the wine by that point in the evening. Below, I've highlighted the bottles that received the best reviews.

The wine list:

Sauvignon Blanc

HALL 2008 Napa Valley

Vintjs 2009 Napa Valley

Markham 2008 Napa Valley - this bottle was the first to go

Chardonnay

Poet’s Row 2009 Sonoma County (Unoaked)

SIMI 2008 Sonoma County

RAMEY 2008 Sonoma Coast - no surprise at $40 a bottle

Pinot Noir

Blue Fin 2009 - a few people hated it, but the rest were amazed at the $4 price tag

LAETITIA 2008 Arroyo Grande Valley - smooth and enjoyable

MacMurray 2008 Central Coast

Cabernet Sauvignon

LIBERTY SCHOOL 2007 Paso Robles

Alexander & Fitch 2009 Alexander Valley

HIDDEN RIDGE 2005 Sonoma County - I personally enjoyed this one

Syrah

Barrel 27 2005 Syrah Head Honcho - though you couldn't taste the bacon fat

Alexander Valley Vineyards 2007 Alexander Valley

Quail's Creek 2008

Special thanks to Peter for taking me to get all the wine and cheese, Emmett for contributing the Barrel 27 Syrah, Caitlin and Natalie for cooking, and everyone else for their various showings of birthday love.

Name That Wine

http://www.winespectator.com/namethatwine

A "fun" wine knowledge "game."

An Interesting Glossary

WSJ has put together a moderately informative glossary of commonly used the terms, places, and people of wine culture. A few that were news to me:

Botrytis Cinerea. “Noble rot” fungus responsible for making some great dessert wines in Sauternes and elsewhere by shriveling grapes and concentrating juice.

Disgorge. Process in Champagne in which the sediment is popped out of the bottle before the final cork is inserted.

Gewurztraminer. Peppery white wine that’s a specialty of the Alsace region of France. (I totally thought this was a strictly German varietal)

Meritage. Name for red and white blends in the U.S. made from classic Bordeaux varieties. Rhymes with heritage. (I've been pronouncing it incorrectly?)

Sur Lie. Allowing a white wine to sit on its dead yeast for a while, often giving it extra complexity and mouthfeel.

Check out the whole gloss here.

Also, let me apologize for sleeping on the job. I promise more reviews soon.

Egervin 2005 Bull's Blood

Friday Josh and I hit up the Baltimore Aquarium, compliments of one of my besties from my summer internship, Allison. Her fiance works for the aquarium and hooked us up with free tickets. After we'd explored the sea animals (jellyfish twice), we did happy hour with Allison and her fiance, then headed to dinner at a cute little Eastern European restaurant called Ze Mean Bean. Allison's fiance said we HAD to get the Bull's Blood; mostly because of the $16 price tag but also because it was pretty good. The restaurant was super quaint, and there was a singer playing his acoustic guitar on a mini stage. You wouldn't think this could be a recipe for disaster, but it nearly was.

Egri Bikaver is a famous Hungarian wine that got its name from the historical lore of the 1500's, when the Turks invaded Eger. In a classic David vs. Goliath fashion, 2000 soldiers of Eger defeated 150,000 Turk invaders, effectively thwarting the Ottomon empire's conquest of Western Europe. The victory is attributed to the Hungarians drinking plenty of red wine for sustenance, which spilled onto their clothes and armor. A rumor started among the Turk soldiers that the Hungarians were drinking actual bulls' blood for strength, and the Turks were demoralized into defeat. Now, the wine is still made in the tradition of that time, to honor the history. There are eleven different varietals that can be in Bull's Blood (by regulation), so long as there are at least three and none make up more than 50% of the mix. Bull's Blood is classically cheap and a little rough, so the bottle usually includes directions to let the wine breathe for an hour before drinking and serve at 60 degrees.

I honestly can't say much about this wine, other than that it was drinkable. Josh and I made mental notes that were subsequently erased by naty bo. I do remember that it was on the drier side, but not too harsh. It wasn't too interesting or complex, but it also didn't taste obviously cheap. Allison recommended we try perogies for an appetizer, and the Bull's blood paired really well with those.

There might have been something to that legend about Bull's Blood fueling some sort of war winning rage. When Josh and I sat down at the restaurant, we noticed immediately that the singer was using a microphone. Considering the size of the restaurant, it was complete overkill and as we worked out way through the Bull's Blood, Josh got more and more annoyed. He started with comments at normal volume, and by the end of the bottle, he was literally yelling insults at the singer about how loud and awful he was. Thank goodness we managed to finish the bottle before anyone asked us to leave. Blame it on the wine?

Fonterutoli 2004 Chianti Classico

That's Missy in the background. She is one of Natalie's cats, and she generally wants to be part of whatever is going on. Tonight Caitlin pulled this Chianti Classico off the shelf to bring to dinner. Natalie made us gnocchi from scratch, and I cooked up a little red chard for color (chard is my current vegetable of choice, if you hadn't noticed). We cooked, drank, and girl-talked til we realized it was 10 pm and we are old.

I'm not sure this wine falls under the "humble" category at $25, but it is definitely worth a review. It came from the Mazzei estate, which makes six other labels, all either Chianti Classico or Tuscany appellations. I actually never realized this, but Chianti is just the name of a region of Tuscany; Chianti Classico is a 100-square-mile sub-region of Chianti. Even within the Chianti Classico region, however, climates and soil can vary greatly, so one wine might be quite distinct from the next. To be classified as Chianti, a wine must contain at least 80% Sangiovese grapes and Chianti Classico must be aged more than 7 months in oak. Other sub-regions of Chianti have various respective regulations under Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG), the Italian export quality control regulations.

The Fonterutoli is 90% Sangiovese, 5% Malvasia Nera, and 5% Merlot. It is aged for 12 months in French oak barrels, half of which are new (infusing stronger oak into the wine). All of the grapes at the Mazzei wineries are hand-picked, and only 200,000 bottles of this particular vintage were released. The Mazzei estate also produces grappa (grape brandy), olive oil, and lavender-based cosmetics.

I loved this Chianti Classico. It was wonderfully delicate and almost invisible on first impression. It left no traces of fruit, or anything really, on the front of my tongue. At the end of each sip, there was a small kick on the back of my tongue, but not much. This Chianti had no bitter bite or rough tannins. It was easy to drink, but definitely not boring. I felt a little like I was chasing it around my mouth, trying to figure out its story to no avail. Eventually, I stopped trying to define it and and just enjoyed. A little more punch emerged when paired with the food, but the little gnocchi were so yummy, I didn't care to analyze the wine anymore.

Cono Sur Bicycle 2008 Viognier

I spent the past week in Austin, Texas with Meg and Monica. The second night in town, we decided to cook dinner and go out dancing on 6th Street. Meg cooked up some chicken in a wine sauce, Mon made mac and cheese, and I sauteed some rainbow chard. Mon and I picked up this Viognier for $7.99 at the flagship Whole Foods while Meg was at work that day.

I was really excited to find this, because in DC I rarely see Viognier under $15. The Cono Sur wineries are spread throughout Chile and produce just about every varietal you can think of. They are particularly devoted to organic and sustainable agriculture, taking measures like using lightweight bottles to reduce CO2 created by glass production. Hence the environmentally friendly bicycle on the label. This Viognier is grown in Colchuaga Valley and aged between two to ten months in stainless steel.

Viognier is probably my favorite white wine. Although it's been getting more popular recently, generally Viognier is a rarer varietal. This is probably because it's relatively hard to grow; something about the grape attracts the powdery mildew fungus, fruit yield is low, and the wine can be ruined if it's not harvested at just the right time. There are two different kinds of Viognier - old and new world. I'm not sure which is which or what the difference is, though. Virginia actually grows a bit of Viognier, which I would drink more of if it weren't so expensive.

The Cono Sur was pretty good. It tasted fruity up front, like pineapples and sweet green grapes, but a bit acidic on the way down. One of the best things about Viognier is that it has all the thick fruit and roundness of a sweet white wine without the heavy syrup (like you would get from a Riesling or Gewurtztraminer). This one was a little too tart at the finish, but it was still yummy. The girls both gave their stamp of approval, too. Meg used a bit in the chicken dish she made, which turned out really well. I might buy it again, but only because it'd be hard to find another Viognier at that price.

Chateau les Arromans 2007 Bordeaux

Girls night requires fondue. And Fondue requires wine. Natalie came over Sunday night and brought her fondue pot (ah, the fruits of marriage). She brought me a bottle of Bordeaux from her summer travels to Europe - best souvenir EVER - but that's not what we drank. I didn't want to drink such a special gift on just any old Sunday night, so we opened a bottle I got a while back from Paul's wine tasting.

The bottle read "Appellation Bordeaux Controlee," which is a guarantee that the grapes came only from Bordeaux and were processed with traditional style and methods of the region. This is important, because each winegrowing region and vineyard has different terrior, which shapes the character of the wine. Terrior is a broad French term meant to encompass all the influences that might impact the wine, such as soil, climate, geography, human skill, and tradition.

All were in agreement - this wine was delightfully simple and drinkable. It was dry like most Bordeauxs I've tried, but not in the harsh way that some are. There was virtually no back-of-the-throat-smack if you know what I mean. Not much fruit, either. The girls and I decided there was some definite wood happening in this red, perhaps French oak, if we had to hypothesize. Oddly, this wine did not taste better with food. In contrast to most reds, the tang of tannins only came out after digging into the fondue. If I weren't into trying a new wine every time, I'd grab a few bottles of this for food-free enjoyment. Although it wasn't the most dynamic or interesting red, it's hard to find such a pleasant Bordeaux for only $10.

MontGras Reserva 2009 Chardonnay

At the beginning of the summer, all my friends left DC. It was bizarre and I hated every minute they were gone. But finally! Chris and Natalie made it back from their respective foreign study programs, and I had both of them over to my apartment on Saturday afternoon for wine and avocado pie. The gossip flowed and it was glorious. It was like they'd never left at all.

The wine was left over from a dinner party the evening before. One of our guests brought this yummy Chardonnay from wine tasting at Paul's (the local liquor store). It was on sale for $10.99 and was sampled alongside other MontGras wines, almost all of which I also enjoyed.

The MontGras vineyards are in Colchagua, Chile.Colchagua is part of the Rapel Valley between the Andes and the Coastal Mountains, one of the most important agricultural areas in the country. The climate there is similar to the coasts of California and the Mediterranean, the Cape of Good Hope in S. Africa and the SW coast of Australia - basically all awesome places for wine making. The particular vines of MontGras were planted in 1993, the Chardonnay in a soil composed mostly of clay to hold in water allowing a long fruit ripening period. 40% of this wine was aged for 6 months in oak - 30% new oak barrels, 40% 2nd-use, and 30% 3rd use. The idea is that the newer the oak barrel, the stronger the oak flavor in the wine. So by splitting the vintage and only aging a small amount in new oak, and not letting some touch oak at all, the Chardonnay won't be overwhelmed and end up like the bottles of wood some people dread tasting when they hear "Chardonnay."

This wine was a total hit; I think 3 of 7 people who went to wine tasting actually brought this to the dinner party - and we tried 8 different wines at Paul's. The first sip tasted like pineapple or a yummy fruit cocktail, but the sweetness was balanced by just a little oaky warmth. There was no butter or smoke to the oak, so the wine tasted kind of tropical. But despite all the thick syrupy summer feelings this white invoked, it wasn't the least bit sickening, and it paired really well with the avocado pie I served Chris and Natalie. I think this is a perfect summer wine by itself, as an aperitif, or with desert. I'd also love to try the MontGras Carmenère, which they weren't sampling at wine tasting, but must be delicious.

Bodegas Ateca 2009 Garnacha de Fuego

This afternoon I felt a little like I might be getting an ulcer. After finishing a pretty big motion for summary judgment at work (17 pages what!), I took on a small assignment for another attorney, then jetted off to school to meet with my prof and the IT department about the Business Law Program website. By the way, it's "website" now, as opposed to "Web site" like it was when I took Writing for Mass Comm. in undergrad or "Website" like it morphed into soon afterward. So sometime before the meeting, I got this kind of ill burning in my tummy, which lingered until well after I got home. I considered the possibility that the burning was a direct result of me eating cake for dinner, but that seemed like a bummer conclusion. Instead, I decided that it might be an ulcer from all the stress, so I should probably relieve some of it with a little vino. On the rare occasions when I have a glass of wine by myself, I try to select the cheapest bottle on my rack. I don't even know if this makes sense, but it feels like a waste if I open an awesome bottle and no one is here to share in the elation. This grenache was a steal the other night at wine tasting, on sale for $7.99.

The vines used for this wine are 60 to 80 years old and rest at 3000 feet above sea level in the Calatayud Region of Catalonia, Spain. It is 100% Granache and is not aged in oak (though I can't find what is IS aged in). Calatayud consists of 15 vineyards, or bodegas, and the area produces 12.3 million liters of wine every year. The soil is clay and gravel loams, which just means that it retains water well while not completely locking in water as a pure clay would. Thus, the vines need minimal rainfall to get enough water, and aren't drowned by lingering water stuck in the clay.

I had to smile when I swirled the wine in my glass. It was a beautiful fuschia and glowed under the fluorescent kitchen lights. The first taste was full of grapes - maybe this sounds obvious, but if you've ever tasted a cab sauv or malbec, you know there ain't no grapes in there. With a little more attention, I noticed a heavy cherry flavor - but cherry juice, not cherry syrup. I was nibbling on some gouda while I drank it, but oddly, neither was enhanced by the other. Usually, I find that just about any cheese makes just about any wine taste markedly more delish. In this case, the wine could hold its own with the fruit and wasn't in need of accompaniment. That being said, I could go for a burger right now.

Diseño 2008 Malbec

This weekend I had a visitor from Brooklyn. After a day of whiskey tasting at Pauls, running around the Mall, staring at hundreds of portraits in the Portrait Gallery, and going on a failed food mission to the National Museum of the American Indian, we decided to just cook dinner at home and relax for a bit before making any evening plans. I had a couple red peppers in the fridge, so I thought I'd do a tex/mex stuffing and spinach quesadillas on the side. I was craving olives, so we stopped at Whole Foods on the way home to pick up the last few ingredients. Somehow we settled on a stuffing of sardines, rice, kalamata olives, onion, jalapeno, cherry tomatoes, rice, cilantro, black beans, and Monterrey cheese. It was no longer tex/mex. It had become Mexiranean (clever, right?). Since the peppers were a little spicy and a little latin, we went with a Malbec.

I got this bottle the other night at Superfresh for $8.99, on Viv's recommendation. It is made in Mendoza, Argentina, an area known for its incredible Malbecs. When I googled Diseño Malbec, all sorts of positive reviews popped up for the past few vintages, so I guess this is generally a solid choice. (Thanks Viv.) I must say, this one did not disappoint. I will definitely get it again.

The wine was good, but it wasn't all sunshine and giggles. We ran into some pretty serious cork issues within the first minute and a half. Not to toot my own horn, but I can usually uncork a bottle with the best of them. This one, however, put up a fight and threatened to bend the life out of our wine key. Eventually, we got it out in a two step attack, but I was quite concerned for a while. On pouring the first taste, I noticed it had a dark, muted purple color, almost opaque in the glass. The first sip was already good, and the wine didn't need any time to open up or settle down. It was soft, warm, and mellow, with a little bit of chocolate and just a touch of fruitiness. This Malbec was on the drier side, but it wasn't too thin and the tannins were completely undetectable, so it didn't create that sticky suction at the back of my throat. It was so delightful, I'm shocked it lasted all the way through cooking and eating. I think the good conversation might have had something to do with it.

Graff 2007 Riesling Spätlese

After a morning sampling most of the public bathrooms in Greenpoint, we finally made it over the bridge and dropped Meg of with her boyfriend's family for lunch. The three of us remaining (Han, Mon, and I) ended up in a little shop called Village Tart in Little Italy, in an effort to escape the heat of the city. After mulling over the wine list for a few, we hesitantly eyed a humble (relative to others) Riesling, but decided to talk to the server in hopes it was a dryer one. He assured us it was just a tad sweet, and despite his shiny gold t-shirt, we believed him.

He lied. I swallowed at least three sugar cubes in the first two sips. This was a Riesling to end all Rieslings - everything we were hoping it was not. We actually told the waiter when he went through the tasting that it was waaaaay sweet, but he just shrugged and looked uncomfortable for a solid 30 seconds until we told him to go ahead and pour it. Halfway through our first glass, we were reduced to asking for soda water to cut the sweetness, which of course, the restaurant did not have. Though it was hard to tell with my tongue coated in syrup, there was a touch of pear and a light acidity on the finish that helped lift the sugar just a little.

This white is grown in the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer region of Germany, named for the three rivers that frame the region and known for limestone slate soil. The vineyards of the area are basically God-given for Riesling - most are on steep slopes, which are difficult to farm but allow for great rain drainage and sun exposure. Almost 60% of the grapes grown there are Riesling, and 90% are white varietals. You'd think that with the expertise that goes into Riesling from Mosel, this Spatlese would have rocked our world. And to be fair, maybe it would have if we had wanted something super sweet instead of specifically asking for the opposite. Oh, and I almost forgot the worst part of it all - 8% alcohol content. Cheers to really expensive grape juice in NYC.

Round Hill 2008 Chardonnay

Adi has the best roof ever - even better than my roof, which is quite a statement. You can see the entire city from it, including the Monument (far right in the picture) and the Capital (picture too crappy to see). After (a looooong day of) work on Wednesday, I headed to his place for an Indian dinner with a view. He made spicy turkey with potatoes and chapatis. To accompany the meal, he offered a choice of Pinot Grigio or this 2008 Chardonnay. Recently, I've been toying with the idea that all Chardonnay might not suck, so I decided to test the theory.

This white is 96% Chardonnay and just a 4% touch of Muscat Canelli. In 2008, spring frost damaged the vines in California, so many grapes were lost and the remaining stayed relatively small. But apparently, small grapes can make better wines, depending on when in development they are deprived of water. Smaller grapes usually have higher sugar concentrations and intenser flavors. In red wines, the increased skin to pulp ratio makes for a more tannic wine as well. Although I couldn't find anything on its aging process, I assume there is some oak involved. Oddly, Round Hill recently started making an Unoaked Chardonnay that I've wanted to try.

Even with the oak, this was yummy. It was exactly the type of Chardonnay I've been searching for ... bright with a syrupy acidity, but the body and smoothness that a little oak offers. Though supposedly just 4% Muscat, the peachy sweetness was really noticeable (but not too sticky). This bottle was a really good compliment to the spicy Indian food and just a nice summer wine in general. It's listed online for $8, which seems reasonable. I recommend enjoying it on a rooftop.