Back in the Saddle

Last night I went out wine tasting with Katie, Amy, and Amanda. Amazingly, there was little giggling. Not enough wine I guess. We met up at Thames River Wine & Spirits for their weekly pouring. With my allergies held slightly in check, I was able to actually smell and taste what turned out to be some good and some blah wine.

First up was a 2006 Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc by Fournier. Coming in at $11, it is a flat out steal. It's hard enough to find Loire Sauv Blanc around here, let alone at $11! A nice light wine, the nose wasn't overly impressive. And the first sip was a blast of lemon. But once everything settled down, it morphed into a beautiful little number. Nice crisp flavor and a tasty mineral finish.

Second was a Rose (there's supposed to be an accented e there, but I can't make it work today). Many Americans still believe that Rose is White Zinfandel. So you get quite a few jackasses who think they know something about wine, avoiding any and all Roses because "they're not real good wine." Well here's a tip, a well made, properly dry, European styled Rose is the perfect porch wine. They are nothing like the Sutter Home or Beringer White Zins, White Cabs, White Merlots, or whatever else they're making white these days. Rarely sweet, thanks to a low residual sugar, the best combine the light body of a white wine, with splashes of fruit like a red. But don't be mistaken, Rose is rarely made by mixing a white and red wine. Instead, red grapes are crushed but only allowed to sit on the skins for a few days. Then the skins are removed for the rest of fermentation. This creates a range of colors from light hues to deep vivid pinks. Last night's Rose was fabulous. Domaine Houchart Cotes de Provence Rose from 2007 retails for $11 and is worth every damn penny. This wine is a blend of Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault, Cabernet, and Mourvedre. Essentially a Rhone blend with some Cab tossed in. The nose was very light with a int of red berries, I thought strawberries but can't be sure. The palate was delicous, light, and fruity. And most importantly dry. California wineries are getting into the dry Rose craze too. If you taste out Wwest, many wineries will have a Rose for sale only at the winery. When Mike and I tasted in Sonoma and Napa, we tasted numerous Roses, and the hands down winner was Rosenblum. Plus, the day we were there they dropped the price from $10 to $5, then we got Mike's industry discount. I think I paid $3.75 for it, and it was probably the best Rose I've had. So next time you feel adventurous try a nice European style Rose, and when all your wannabe wine loving friends start bashing you, shove it in there face by lecturing them on real Rose.

The third and fourth wines really aren't worth going into detail. One, Wynns Coonawarra Estate Cabernet/Shiraz/Merlot from 2004 was, well it was, well, boring. It had a decent Cabernet nose with some cedar, then the palate was fine, some dark fruit but nothing blockbuster. But then the son of a bitch just vanished. Absolutely zero finish. I'm not sure Detectives Stabler and Benson could find it. The last wine was an Italian Red Table Wine, made of mostly Sangiovese. From the Montevertine estate, this wine was not a winner. I didn't like the smell or the taste. I've had much better Chinati's for far less than this one's $46 price tag.

Well, I also snagged a bottle of Oregon Pinot Noir, but that's another story for another day. Till next time..."The question is, and this is the only question, who thinks that they can do what you do better than you?"--???