Look in your Wine Cellar

If you have a wine celler like me, don't forget to look in it every once in a while. No matter if it's large or small. You might find wines in there that need to be opened.

Last evening, I was looking for a nice white wine. My husband went to open a Sauvignon Blanc - the one from New Zealand that I really like. I said wait, we need to go in the wine cellar and see what we have. You forget, and white wines don't age as long as reds.

I got in there and discovered some 2003 Chardonnays from Central California. We need to drink these. So I put them at the front of the cellar and that is what we will be drinking the next few times we open a bottle.

So don't forget to check your wine cellar every now and then.

Ham & Wine

I thought I'd continue with some food pairings. Ham is challenging because it's so salty and strong-flavored. Choices are fruity, quenching wines: A Beaujolais, a Zinfandel or a lighter-styled Pinot Noir if you want a red; a Chenin Blanc or Riesling if you're in the mood for a white. Or, if you like the style, think of ham with pineapple and select an oaky New World Chardonnay redolent of tropical fruitkin call for a dry red, perhaps an Italian Chianti.

White Wine & BBQ

Well it is going to be a hot one this weekend. Some good white wines to consider for the BBQ is some nice crisp New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio. These wines are light and are nice to drink while socializing at the BBQ.

Enjoy your weekend and drink responsibly.

Red Wine and BBQ

Are you hosting a BBQ this weekend or attending one. Don't know what type of wine to bring. Here's a suggestion:
Zinfandel is a natural match with traditional American food. This will go well with burgers and steaks. It's a simple fruity wine, some with hints of strawberries. Other good barbecue choices include Petite Sirah and Gamay. If you've never heard of Gamay, it actually grows very well here in the Hudson Valley. I believe Whitecliff Winery in Gardiner produced a Gamay last year or the year before. It was very good. Light and fruity with earthy overtones.

Enjoy

Martin & Weyrich

I just sat down to dinner...pasta with red sauce and a fabulous bottle of Martin & Weyrich 2001 Nebbiolo. We purchased this bottle of wine at their winery in Paso Robles on a recent trip there. This wine was incredible, and went beautifuly with the pasta dish. This wine has a nice mellow cherry up front, leading into an earthy oaky finish. It has aromas of cherry & lilac.

If you can find this wine it's a great addition to your collection. A drink now wine that you will enjoy. Don't forget, if you don't see it on the shelf of your local liquor store, just ask if they can order it for you.

Wine Night

Last night we had our monthly "Wine Night." The ladies in my neighborhood, there are 8 of us, we get together montly and bring a bottle of wine. It's a great way to taste all different types of wine in one evening. Everybody has their own tastes. One likes Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand, one only drinks White and one likes her wine on the sweet side. The other 5 drink both red and white.

I brought over a 2002 Goosecross Syrah. I've had this wine before and it was very good. However, while wine sits in a bottle, it goes through various stages. This wine was at it's alcohol stage. You really couldn't taste any of the fruit, but it did have a hint of pepper on the end. You did taste the alcohol. It wasn't my favorite for the evening.

The Sauvignon Blanc from Babich was wonderfu! You can pick that up at Arlington Liquor. Another Sauvignon Blanc we had was Fauna. On the sweet side we had a Black Swan Riesling from Australia.

On the reds, besides the Goosecross, we had the Greg Normann Shiraz from Australia. That was very good as was the Bogle Merlot from California.

Next time you have some people over, ask them to bring a bottle. Have a wine tasting. Let me know how it taste!

Wines with Fish

Since the Memorial Day Weekend is right around the corner, I thought I would touch on some wine and food pairings.

They always say, white wine with fish. Well...you can stray. Fish is a light food. Typically you would serve a Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc. Guess what, if you like red wine, try a Pinot Noir. Pinot Noir is a light and fruity wine and will pair well with fish like Salmon.

Personally, I would stick with a Sauvignon Blanc with shell fish. Something about the crisp and citrus flavors I feel go well with the shell fish.

Let me know what your thoughts are.

Wine & Cheese Pairings

Have you ever wondered what wine to serve with certain cheese. Here is a list of what wine pairs well with different kinds of cheese.

Wine & Cheese Pairings

Beaujolais Brie, Camembert, Feta, Muenster
Bordeaux Gorgonzola, Havarti
Cabernet Blanc Mild Cheddar
Cabernet Franc Smoked Cheddar
Cabernet Sauvignon Brie, Camembert, Strong Cheddar, Danish Blue, Parmigiano Reggiano
Champagne Brie, Camembert, Chevre, Colby, Gouda
Chardonnay Gruyere, Provolone
Chenin Blanc Brie, Camembert
Dessert wines Moldy blue-veined cheeses
Gewurtztraminer Boursin, Chevre, Gewurtztraminer
Grenache Edam, Chevre, Habanero Jack
Malbec Gorgonzola, Maytag, Mild Cheddar, Fontina
Merlot Gouda, Jarlsberg, Swiss, Brie, Camembert
Pinot Blanc Mild Cheddar
Pinot Grigio (Gris) Brie, Camembert, Feta, Parmigiano Reggiano
Port Gorgonzola, Blue Cheese, Parmigiano Reggiano, Stilton
Riesling Cheshire, Colby, Edam, Gouda, Monterey Jack
Rioja Strong cheddar, Harvarti, Boursin
Sauternes Gorgonzola, Parmigiano Reggiano Roquefort
Sauvignon Blanc Strong cheddar, Chevre, Gruyere
Shiraz (Syrah) Strong cheddar, Parmigiano Reggiano
Sparkling Wines Brie, Camembert, Baby Swiss
Zinfandel Muenster

Wine Region - Piedmont, Italy

Piedmont, in Italian, means at the foot of the mountain. It was originally inhabited by Celtic tribes, which were later absorbed by the Romans. When Hannibal destroyed the Celtic capital, Taurasia, the Romans rebuilt it in the same location giving its streets the grid pattern that that still characterize Turin today.

The three best areas for wine tours in Piedmont (for scenery and quality of wines) are the Langhe, Roero and Monferrato sub regions. The principal city in Piedmont is Turin, a beautiful cosmopolitan city known for two main reasons- its superb chocolate makers, and for the "Shroud of Turin", which attracts Catholic pilgrims regularly.

With 46 different DOC and four DOCG areas, Piedmont is the region that produces the largest number of best known, noble, and world-appreciated prize-winning wines, such as Barbera, Barolo, Barbaresco, Dolcetto, Nebbiolo, Grignolino, Malvasia and Asti Spumante among others.

Another distinguished characteristic of Piedmont is that most of its wines are produced on family estates made up of relatively small parcels of land.

The main grape grown here is the distinguished Nebbiolo, which is the base for the famed Barolo, Barbaresco and Gattinara among others. Its name derives from the word nebbia, or fog, because of a velvety, whitish coating over its berries in addition to the fact that it grows in an area where, at ripening time in September, heavy morning fog is a given and the humidity that it provides gives the grapes an ideal habitat.

Wine order damaged

Yesterday I received my Magnum order from Chappellet Winery via the UPS man. Gotta love the UPS man. I think I injured mine from all the cases of wine he's delivered to me...he's taking early retirement next week...anyway...on to my wine shipment.

When I opened the package, I noticed there was wine all over the styrofoam and the labels. What do you do? You feel kind of embarrassed calling but then again, I paid good money for this wine and you need to speak up. I called Chappellet and they are sending me two new Magnums.

When and if you ever mail order wine and it's damaged when you receive it, please call the place you ordered it from. Thing happen during shipping.

Screw Tops vs Cork

Have you noticed recently, as you try to open the bottle of wine with the cork screw you are hurting yourself. It's because it is a screw top. Why all the change. Many reasons. One rule of thumb...Cork, cellar the wine, screw top, drink within two years.

Different States...Different Wines

I just spent the weekend in Baltimore. We ate at a great Italian restaurant. When I looked at the wine list, there were wines listed, that I've never seen on a wine list in New York. Different distributers represent different wines in different parts of the U.S.

When you find yourself in a different state, make sure you look at the wine list and find a wine that you haven't seen before, order it...by the glass or bottle. You will be pleasantly surprise. If you really enjoyed it, write it down and see it you can order it from your favorite liquor store or online.

Sauvignon Blanc

Sauvignon Blanc..it's a fantastic, crisp, citrusy, white wine. In my opinion, the best Sauvignon Blancs are from New Zealand.

Recently my UPS driver delivered me two wonderful 2005 Sauvignon Blancs. One was from New Zealand and one was from South Africa. (Keep in mind their growing season is ahead of us. Their 2006 is harvested during our winter. ) The winery was Sauvignon Republic. This wine was incredible!! I recently called to purchase more of this wonderful wine from the American Wine Exchange and they told me the wine exchange had been purchased by another company and liquidated. I was heart broken but resourceful.

I looked them up on line Sauvignon Republic and they didn't deliver to NY. So...I proceeded to call my favorite liquor store, Arlington Liquor.Bob was great! He had not heard of this wine, but asked if I know who distributed this wine in NY. Sauvignon Republic's website listed the distributors. Unfortunately the 2005 vintage isn't available anymore, but the 2006 is. As I write this right now, Bob is looking into this for me and hopefully I will be able to purchase the 2006 vintage. I will let you all know if it is as good as the 2005.

What's an AVA

An AVA is an American viticultural area. That means it has been recognized and defined by Federal regulators to include a specific geographical area as a wine-growing region.AVA’s were first established by law in 1973, the regulations governing them were finalized in 1978 by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and the regulations became mandatory in 1983.

What does all that mean to wineries and wine-drinkers?

The idea of the AVA was to establish standards to protect consumers and producers alike. The regulations control what a winery needs to do if it wants to label wine as being from an AVA.

The idea of the AVA was to establish standards to protect consumers and producers alike. The regulations control what a winery needs to do if it wants to label wine as being from an AVA. For example, if a wine is described as “Napa Valley” on the label, 85% of the fruit must be grown in that AVA. Further regulations control the use of the names of states (75% within), and counties (75%), multiples (like Napa-Sonoma) and a host of other conditions. To label a wine as “Estate Bottled”, the winery must own or control vineyards in a common AVA from which the grapes come, and must handle the entire process of making and bottling the wine on their own premises.

To label a wine as “Estate Bottled”, the winery must own or control vineyards in a common AVA from which the grapes come, and must handle the entire process of making and bottling the wine on their own premises.

The AVA is not necessarily an indication of quality. The regulations do not allow for the government to test and grade the quality of wine the way they do eggs or meat. It is an indication of where the grapes came from, and generally indicates areas that have historically grown grapes for wine and have a particular defining characteristic. As long as the interested parties in an area can provide the data to persuade the regulators to approve their petition, almost anything can be a designated. The process is long and expensive – you need work from historians, soil experts, meteorologists, lawyers and others to detail the AVA and shepherd your petition through the system. The costs of that add up quickly, but well over 100 AVAs have been designated since the regulations went into effect.

Wine-drinkers benefit by that protection as well. The AVA regulations allow the consumer to buy with confidence, knowing that wine that says Napa Valley, actually came from the Napa AVA. No need to wonder where the grapes were actually grown.

The AVA will also allow you to make certain broad characterizations. If you like a particular wine from an AVA and know of several similar ones you have tasted, you might place more confidence in purchasing a similar but unknown wine from that same AVA. Nothing can guarantee satisfaction here, but you may be able to form some general rules for what you find appealing.

Long Island Wine Country

Not to far away, if you can handle the LIE, is the Long Island Wine Country. Its maritime climate, geography and soil characteristics provide ideal conditions for producing wines of exceptional quality.

On a recent visit with friends to LI Wine Country we stayed at my favorite B&B...The Harvest Inn our hosts Darolyn and Chris Agusta are wonderful!

We arrived in the North Fork early, before meeting up with our friends, we made a few stops. One was at Lenz and the other at Osprey's Dominion. At both tasting rooms we enjoyed our tastings. Most notable was Ospreys Dominion's Chardonnay. If you like oaky with a butter finish, you will like theirs. Once we met up with our friends, it was off the beaten path we went...

Our first stop was Sherwood House Vineyard. We enjoyed our tasting outside looking at the vineyard. Barbara was a great and so was their Cab Franc. Our next stop was Shinn Estates. This was the most educational tasting and tour I was on. I learned so much from Barbara! Their philosophy with sustainable and organic techniques in vineyard management was very interesting. I learned about downy and powdery mildew, which you don't want in your vineyard. If it does appear it can be taken care of so there is no damage. Barbara's wine were by far the best we tasted and purchased on the Island!

That evening after a quick swim in the ocean we dined at Scrimshaws . We had a wonderful meal. Their cuisine is Modern American with an Asain flare.

The following day after Chris made us a wonderful breakfast ( I can't forget Darolyn's delicious blueberry muffins) we headed out. We stopped at the Village Cheese Shop and picked up some lunch for a picnic that we would have later.

We stopped at Waters Crest Winery which took us a little time to find. They are actually located in a strip mall. Yes...tanks, barrels and all. Jim Waters took his passion and turned it into a dream in 2003. His wines were very good. While were were there the Long Island Wine Press came in to do an article on him.

Next we went to Leib. His wines are very good. We left with a magnum. We ended our day at Vineyard 48. I have to say, I wasn't impressed at all with their wines.

If you would like to see pictures of our trip you can view them by clicking here.