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Table of Contents
Okay, I really haven't been gone, but it was
my birthday on 7/31 and I have been churning out some
freelance projects as well. I am trying to plan on doing a
nice wine festival, but also working on a ton of other stuff
as well (waiting to hear back from a couple of people in the
industry for some future stuff).
Lately, I got exposed to some Jersey wines
and actually have some good things to say about them. At
the same time, I discovered some grape varietals that I
never heard of before and was happy to meet them (my
Charbono experience several months ago was not a good one).
I'd love to hear what everyone is doing, and
what new things that they have tasted lately. Also, if
anyone wins tomorrow's Powerball, just think of me.
Have a good one.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
This weekend, I attended the 2009 Jersey Fresh Wine and
Food Festival which was one week after the Atlantic City
Food and Wine Festival which I also attended part of. There
were some twenty five New Jersey wineries there, but what
was most interesting was that they all seemed to feature
fruit wines; well, at least seventeen of them. Fruit
wine is an interesting class of wine, because it can be
easily made with readily available fruits, and in some
cases, flowers. New Jersey is ripe with blueberry,
strawberry, peaches, nectarines, apples and a number of
other delicious fruits. Truth be told, I have loved Alba
Vineyard's Blueberry wine for several years now. However,
fruit wine never evokes thoughts of wine sophistry like
classic varietals such as Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and
Cabernet Sauvignon. And I never really considered New
Jersey wineries as serious wine producers, having sampled
the fruit from places like Chaddsford and Penns Woods out of
Pennsylvania. But wine is wine, and like all things,
you might find something by a producer that you'll fall in
love with. While at the festival, I was introduced to
several varietals that I never heard of before (Traminette,
Ives, Lemberger, Fredonia, Metis, Villard, Madison), saw a
couple of varietals that I have just started seeing as of
late (Viognier, Filomena, Chambourcin, Vignoles) and even
found some new wonderful fruit wines (Nectarine by Cedarvale
Winery and Chestnut Run Farm's offerings made from Asian
Pear). And there was a nice bevy of dessert wines
there: Sauterne and American Port from Renault Winert; Porto
Bianco and Porto Rosse by Hopewell Valley Vineyard; and
Heritage by Heritage Vineyards. While I did not find
many wines that made me want to prefer these releases versus
similar releases from producers on the west coast or in
foreign countries with more years and expertise in
winemaking, I was adequately surprised by the offerings of
Amalthea Cellars in Atco. They have a line of wines called
Europa in which each year's release is given a Roman
numeral. Of all of the wines there, I would say that it is
my favorite. The only sore point that I saw with many
of the offerings was price, and that is something that is on
the minds of the average wine consumer, but is not the fault
of the winery. It's the old concept of supply and demand,
the lowering of costs over a larger production volume, and
the difference in exchange rates and cost of living between
first world countries and third world countries. Sure, you
can always get great [and better] wines from other
countries, as well as from other parts of the country, but
by supporting local wines, you are supporting local people.
And these people feed back into the economy; your economy.
Everyone has to start somewhere, and when you get mad
because you call customer support and get some person in
India claiming that their name is Steve, simply because some
‘suit' wanted to save money one year… well, there's a prime
example. The more that we support these folks, the more
that they can turn out quality product, and when more of us
support them, the overall costs will go down. But that's
another rant. As I had more work to do, I only stayed
for about two hours, but I made lots of contacts with many
of the winery owners, and intend to visit them along with
chef buddies of mine. You'll hear more in detail about some
of these wineries over the next year, and I can't wait to
get out there and sit and chat with the winemakers and their
staffs pretty soon.
A wonderful bright and tropical Chardonnay
| Brand Name | Red Bicyclette |
| Wine Name | 2007 Chardonnay |
| AVA | Languedoc |
| Country | France |
| Wine Class | White |
| Wine Type | Chardonnay |
| Alcohol Percentage | 13% |
| Price | $10 and Unders |
| Site Rating | 8 (on a scale of 1-10) |
At first taste, I found a nice bright flavor filled with
guava and pineapple, and maybe something else tropical. I
have had this brand's well known rose wine, and so I made
the move to try their Chardonnay. It was a good choice.
The body is medium, with the weight not being too heavy, and
the flavor a balance that makes this a superb wine for many
dishes, including red meats.
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The classic French rose wine
| Brand Name | Paul Jaboulet Aine |
| Wine Name | Parallele 45 |
| AVA | Cotes du Rhone |
| Country | France |
| Wine Class | Red, Rose |
| Wine Type | Cinsault, Grenache, Rose, Syrah/Shiraz |
| Alcohol Percentage | 13% |
| Price | $10 and Unders |
| Site Rating | 7 (on a scale of 1-10) |
It's summer time, which is the appropriate time for blush
wines, and on my last outing, I thought that I would pick up
a classic French release and see if I found any affinity for it.
Well, at best it's middle of the road in flavor, or
really simply sublime. I am tasting the sweetest hint of
strawberries along with just a dab of cherry. It's not too
strong, not too light, but perfect for fruits and cheese.
It's the classic summer sampler.
The mix is 50% Grenache, 40% Cinsault and 10% Syrah. Not
bad, although I am loving blush wines made from some headier
grapes.
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More smooth than powerful, but lacking against their Marlborough Pinot Gris
| Brand Name | Kim Crawford |
| Wine Name | 2008 Pinot Grigio |
| AVA | East Coast |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Wine Class | White |
| Wine Type | Pinot Gris/Grigio |
| Alcohol Percentage | 13% |
| Price | $10 - $20s |
| Site Rating | 8 (on a scale of 1-10) |
I have been fiending for the 2007 Marlborough Pinot Gris
since earlier this year (I should've copped a couple of
cases when I had the chance to get it at $10 a bottle), and
I picked up this bottle, hoping that it was the same, but
knowing that the other one was labeled Pinot Gris and not
Pinot Grigio.
Actually, this wine isn't bad, as Kim Crawford produces
some very nice releases. The taste has some nice lemon mixed
with sublime hints of pineapple (they say pear and apple,
but I think that the tastes are similar). The body is
medium, so you get a lasting taste that takes at least
fifteen seconds to totally drop off to nothing. However, I
will agree with them that this would go perfect with fish
dishes, preferably those with light sauces.
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An interesting Cava from Freixenet, believe it or not
| Brand Name | Freixenet |
| Wine Name | Carta Nevada Semi Dry |
| AVA | Sant Sadurni D'Anoia |
| Country | Spain |
| Wine Class | White |
| Wine Type | Gruner Veltliner, Gruner Veltliner, Gruner Veltliner |
| Alcohol Percentage | 12% |
| Price | $10 and Unders |
| Site Rating | 8 (on a scale of 1-10) |
Lemon and peach is what I taste, and the wine itself is a
demi-sec, which is a way of saying that it's half sweet.
For those of you that are unfamiliar with the levels of
dosage of champagne, it's almost the top level of sweetness;
most of the time you are drinking the dryest and lest sweet
grades.
I usually stay away from Freixenet wines, because the
ones that I normally see in the store are horrible, but I
know that the company also makes some quality stuff, and
that this was a Cava, which I had never noticed of their
offerings before.
Back to the wine, it's actually not a bad thing, rather
quite good, and it would be perfect with fish or chicken
seasoned with lemon. Try it, you might like it.
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An ejoyable dessert wine devoid of too much sugar or alcohol
| Brand Name | Chaddsford |
| Wine Name | 2006 Swet Late Harvest Style Riesling |
| AVA | Finger Lakes |
| Country | United States |
| Wine Class | White |
| Wine Type | Riesling |
| Alcohol Percentage | 10.5% |
| Price | $10 - $20s |
| Site Rating | 9 (on a scale of 1-10) |
For those that know me, I am a big fan of dessert wines,
both big in alcohol and up to moderate in sugar [with some
exceptions]. I had been dying to try this wine as soon as I
saw it on Chaddsdford's website, but it's not carried in the
state stores. Well, when I finally went out to the winery
to taste and review some of these wines, Eric [Miller]
bequeathed me with a bottle.
I was expecting a high sugar content, but actually didn't
get that, and it was actually great with that aspect. The
residual sugar level is 9.7% and it gives you a taste that
is sweet but serene and demure, never hitting you with a
sweet tooth sized sugar rush, but transporting the gentlest
flavors of fruit (apricot, peach, nectarine) within a liquid
with a mild level of weight that goes above that of any
typical white wine; it's not as heavy as most dessert wines,
and this is also a pleasant thing to behold.
While I might have first expected a headier wine in both
alcohol and body, this actually comes off as something
rather dignified that you can enjoy by itself, or along with
a nice light dessert, or assortment thereof.
Keep keeping it classy Chaddsford!
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