Gallo Family of Wine

The Gallo Family had a nice display area at the Wine Fest. I knew they owned quite a number of wineries, but didn't realize the extent. A few selections from small boutique wineries that I were familiar with I had no idea were Gallo. Wineries like Mirassou and Bridlewood.

When we were in Central CA two years ago, we visited Bridlewood Winery. It was a beautiful place located in Santa Barbara. Years ago we had a wonderful Sauvignon Blanc they had produced and they never produced that again. At the Sun Wine Fest we tasted two of their Syrah's. The Santa Ynez Estate Syrah and the 2003 Reserve Syrah. The Estate was retailing at $36 and the Reserve at $18. I will give you a description of both and then tell you which one I like the best.

Bridlewood Estate Winery Santa Ynez Syrah – This had vanilla and whice chocolate aromas and had notes of licorice and mocha. It had firm tannins and was smooth and clean on the finish.

Bridlewood 2003 Reserve Syrah – Aromas of blackberry and spice. This wine is very soft with rich flavors of plum and dark cherry fruit.

The winner…………The Reserve priced at $18. See..it doesn't have to be expensive to be good.

I will review the Mirassou wines tomorrow.

J. Lohr Reds

We started this tasting with the Wildflower Valdiguie. This grape varietal was thought to be Gamay, and they found out through DNA (yes…grapes have DNA) testing the variety was Valdiguie. This grape was aged in stainless steel. It's very light. Thought to be "red wine with training wheels" as Pam so put it.

Carol's Vineyard Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon – This is their vineyard select wine. Intense and seductive luscious black currant with cherry flavors intertwined. This was aged in new French oak. This was a wonderful wine.

Los Osos Merlot – This plum red Merlot had aromas of dried cherries and currants. It's soft jammy berry flavors end with warm spice from toasted oak. This is a nice drink today wine.

Seven Oaks Cabernet – This Cab had aromas of rich cherry, cassis and vanilla. Has excellent balance of fruit. Tannins were soft and it was a lovely wine to drink.

J. Lohr Vineyards Whites

At Sun Winefest we had the opportunity to do an extensive tasting with Pam at J. Lohr. We seem to run into Pam frequently, so we are all on a first name basis. A few years ago, while in Paso Robles she arranged a wonderful tasting for us at J. Lohr.

Back to the wine. I will review the whites that we tasted first.

Carol's Vineyard Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc – This Sauvignon Blanc is in par with my view of most Sauvignon Blanc's from California. It was nice, but not crisp and grapefruity like I like. It did have hints of minerals and was grassy. I was a good California Sauvignon Blanc, but I tend to like the New Zealand's better.

Arroyo Vista Vineyard Arroyo Seco Chardonnay – This Chardonnay went through the malolactic fermentation. This wine had delicate peach aromas with vanilla and toasty oak on the finish. It was a very nice Chardonnay.

Riverstone Chardonnay – I really liked this one. The finish was a strong lingering butterscotch flavor. It was pretty incredible. It also ad nectarine and peach on the aromas, balanced by a vanilla and toasty oak bouquet. This wine was aged for 6 months in new French and American oak.

Bay Mist Riesling – This Riesling was sweet – about 4% residual sugar. It was a nice Riesling and would go very well with a spicy dish. It had aromas of apricot, lychee and coconut. It has a natural spritz which is produced from a long, cool fermentation.

Mohegan Sun – Sun Winefest 2008

On Sunday I attended the Mohegan Sun Winefest. I attended this wine festival two years ago; however my husband and the other couple we went with attended last year as well. This is a good wine festival to taste wines between the price ranges of $8.99 - $13.99. Price for this festival was $70 per person.

We tasted some very good wines and some wines we didn't like. I took very good notes and will recap during the week. One wine that stood out was a J. Lohr Chardonnay that had a butterscotch finish, like eating a Werther's Original.

New this year to the wine fest was a Spirits and Ale area upstairs. We did check that out at the end of the day. They had some micro breweries there like Magic Hat, and Long Trail. They had some interesting spirit vendors. There was a Vermont Vodka which the women told me was made from maple syrup. It did smell like maple syrup, but I couldn't bring myself to taste it.

Wine and Astrology

Wine & Astrology!

Check out your star sign and discover what wines you like!

Aries
Very definitely red – with a peppery kick that says: “Notice me!” and a hue that glows in the light suggesting the heat and warmth of a smouldering fire.

Taurus
White or red as long as it’s good quality, smooth and slips down like satin. White has more calories though, and as Taureans are prone to weight gain, better to have reds more often.

Gemini
White, light and sometimes sparkling. Not too dry, and delightful chilled but still good when you forget to put it in the fridge and can’t wait for it cool!

Cancer
Dolce, dolce, molto dolce! This sign loves and even adores sweet white wines and also those that are medium sparkling. If it's received as a present – so much the better, so much the sweeter!

Leo
White wines with a golden hue, full of the sun and warmth of Italy, from Lake Garda to the island of Sicily. If it has a good lineage and fine family name this sign will be irresistibly hooked!

Virgo
White or red but white is preferred. Is it organic? Are the vines lovingly tended in a happy environment? It’s got to be good, then! I’ll take some oil, too!

Libra
Soft, gentle whites and rich fruity reds that bring people together and make for truly convivial, and also romantic, evenings.

Scorpio
Rich, dark, strong passionate reds, with irresistible smoothness and seductive fragrances, from well-established cantinas that are known for their exclusivity and discretion.

Sagittarius
Wine tasting is an adventure. This sign will try them all – including the rose –to discover the excitement and satisfaction of finding a real gem – especially if the price is right, too!

Capricorn
Pedigree is the keyword, here. White or red, if it has noble ancestry and an established history, it’s a must have. If it is difficult to acquire and rare to find, you’ll find it in Capricorn’s cellar.

Aquarius
The newest and/or most novel wines in any year will attract. White wines may be preferred but red will be accepted. Is it different? Is it unusual? Does it drink well un-aged? Is it reasonably priced? I’ll have it, then!

Pisces
Crystal clear whites with a light fruity quality and a gentle subtle perfume are a delight to this sign. Dry or medium, either will suit. Can be sparkling for a special occasion!

Sausage and Wine

This post was published to Wine Goddess at 9:24:12 PM 1/16/2008

Sausage and Wine

I came home from work tonight and had not taken anything out for dinner. I went to the freezer and found some gourmet sausages as well as frying peppers I had sliced from the garden during harvest. My husband and I created a sausage casserole and we paired it with a 2005 Hunt Cellars Afternoon Delight Syrah Rose.

First things you should know

· Sausage with peppers, garlic and onions sautéed in a bit of oil
· Add garlic and frying peppers and 1 Tbs Dijon Mustard
· Add a 15 oz can of diced tomatoes
· Add about 2 Tbs salsa
· Spices of your choice

Meanwhile microwave 2 cups green beans. Drain. Add above to green beans and top with sliced onions. Bake at 350 for ½ hour.

The above was our creation and we looked in the fridge and there was a bottle of Hunt Cellars 2005 Afternoon Delight Syrah Rose. WHAT A MATCH! INCREDIBLE!! This Rose (and I am not a Rose fan) was a fantastic match to this dish. The dish had a spice to it and the Rose is sweet in the beginning and dry on the finish. I was amazed at how much I enjoyed this wine!!!!

January 2006 I had visited the Paso Robles Region and Hunt Cellars was one of the first wineries I pulled in to. It was a wonderful experience. We walked in and there was the aroma of Italian cooking. We quickly made friends with our tasting room staff and the rest is history. (Just ask my UPS driver)

They make some outstanding wine! Many of the bottles I have cellared, but this Rose if you can find it is a drink now!

Anybody that favors sweet or dry wine will like this Rose.

Winemaker Dinners at the New York Wine & Culinary Center

If you haven't had a chance to visit the New York Wine & Culinary Center in Canandaigua, NY, it's a must. They just announced their Winemaker Dinner Series.

Two of my favorite New York Winemakers are participating....John MccGregor of McGregor Vineyards located on Keuka Lake and Eric Fry of Lenz Winery on the North Fork of Long Island. The dinners are limited to 16 participants so if you are interested, I'd sign up soon.

The Wine Scout has done an interview with John McGregor. To listen to it click here. It will give you great insight to their history as well as the Finger Lakes Wine Country.

TrumpeTer Malbec

This weekend my neighbor came over with a bottle of TrumbeTer 2006 Malbec from Mendoza. An inexpensive wine…$8.99 to be exact and it was very good. You don't need to spend a lot of money to purchase a decent bottle of wine.

This wine had aromas of cinnamon and berries. On the palate it had flavors of cherry, blackberry and plum. It was very smooth. This is a drink now wine…don't purchase to save and cellar.

Casa Barranca Craftsman Red

I had a very good wine last night. I served it with turkey chili stuffed peppers. It was a Casa Barranca 2004 Reserve Craftsman Red. This wine was 75% Cab and 25% Merlot from Paso Robles. It was bursting with Cherry with very light tannins. Maraschino cherry to be exact. It reminded me of my childhood when my mom would buy the jars of maraschino cherries. I would take a fork and eat them out of the jar. This is a drink now wine, no cellaring required.

Weekly Vocabulary

Dry 
The puckering sensation that wine imparts.It is the opposite of sweet. It's often caused by tannins in the wine.

Domaine 
A wine estate in France.

Olive Garden & Wine

Last evening we at Olive Garden. I haven't been there in years, but my husband received a gift card there for Christmas and we were down that way, so we stopped in.

We arrived at prime time – 7pm and had to wait for ½ hour. No big deal we headed for the bar. Very interesting on the bar drink menu…they don't list the vintage year of the wines. I started with a Sterling Vintners Collection, Napa Valley Cab and my husband started with a 2005 (he saw the bottle) XY Zin Zinfandel. My Cab was okay, nothing to write about. My husband's Zin wasn't that good. It had a fizz to it and had a week strawberry flavors. I couldn't tell you of any aromas due to the wine glass. They were small and filled so it didn't allow for the swirling and smelling.

The next wine my husband ordered was a glass of Rocca delle Macie Rubizzo Sangiovese. The bartender needed to open a new bottle for him. This was a good sign. So we watch as he tried to open the bottle and broke the cork. He did get the rest of the cork out and poured Paul his glass. (If the bartender only knew he was serving the "Wine Goddess" it would have made him more nervous than he already seemed.) This wine needed to open, was light on the fruit and had lots of tannins. Almost too much tannins.

We sat down for dinner and now I was ready for another glass of wine. I ordered a bottle of the 2003 Villa Antinori Super Tuscan. This wine had nice cherry flavors. It was a blend of Cab, Merlot and Syrah from Tuscany's most prestigious vineyards. This was by far the best wine on their menu as well as the most expensive.

Wine & Chocolate

If you'd like to get away for a weekend in February, a nice cozy B&B in the Finger Lakes combined with the Seneca Lake Wine Trail's Chocolate & Wine Weekend, it's happening February 9-10, 2008.

This is a self guided event which 35 member wineries participate in. You will pick up your gift item at your assigned starting winery, then start sampling chocolates or foods prepared with chocolate, matched with appropriate wines.

The event runs from 10am - 5pm February 9th and noon to 5pm on February 10th. Tickets are $25 per person and $18 for the designated driver.

If you are thinking of attending, more info can be found at Seneca Lake Wine Trail

Rosenblum Cellars Zin

Last night I had a wonderful Zinfandel from Rosenblum Cellars. It went very well with the beef dish I served.

This was a 2001 Napa Valley RustRidge Vineyard Zinfandel. The RustRidge Vineyard is located in the upper part of eastern Napa, 750 feet above Lake Hennessey. The vineyard is planted with two different clones of Zin both of which are used in this wine.

The wine showed flavors of blackberry with hints of spice on the end. This wine still had tannins on the finish. It probably could have been cellared another year or so to reach its full potential. In any event, it was still wonderful!

Value Wines Under $10

Now that the holidays are over the trip to the liquor store won't have those lines, and you will be in and out in no time. You don't necessarily have to spend a lot of money on a bottle of wine. Here are a few value wines priced under $10. All of these wines are drink now wines. They will not improve with age, no cellaring required. (Compliments of Wine Spectator)

Cline 2005 Syrah -$10 Has intense beefy with exotic spice, dried berry, sage and herbal notes. This ends with a firm dry tannins.

Ken Forrester 2007 Chenin Blanc Stellenbosh Petit- $9 - (Stellenbosh is one of my favorite producers of Saugivnon blanc's from New Zealand and South Africa.) This Chenin Blanc is a has a crisp lime, chamomile and lemon flavors.

Vinicola De Castilla - 2006 Tempranillo La Mancha Finca Viega- $9 - Fruity and chewy, bright cherry with hints of cocoa.