OTBN: Open That Bottle Night Scheduled Feb. 27

Image via Wikipedia

Mark your calendar for Saturday, February 27. That's the date for Open That Bottle Night.

Are you saving a certain bottle of wine for a special occasion that never seems to arrive? Created by Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher, wine writers for the Wall Street Journal, Open That Bottle Night makes the last Saturday in February just that occasion. Use OTBN as a reason to enjoy that special wine — while it’s still at its prime!

The topic of OTBN came up while we were returning from wine tastings at Corks and Aficianado. Our neighbors (Sax Man and Wine Chick) hadn't heard of OTBN, but quickly grasped the concept. It's like having fine china and crystal that never gets used because no occasion seems to be special enough.

We hope you use this opportunity to pop a special bottle. Let us know about your OTBN bottle (click on comment below).

Cheers!

Ferrante Winery Pinot Gris Takes American Fine Wine Award

More than 500 American-produced winers were swirled and sipped during last month's annual American Fine Wine Competition in Florida. the results are now in and the winners are two wines from California and Ohio.

Selected as Best Red Wine was the 2007 Cabernet Franc from Turnbull in Napa Valley, California. While the Best White Wine honors went to the 2008 Pinot Gris from Ferrante Winery in Grand River Valley.

The judges awarded more than 40 Double Gold medal winners. Double Gold medals were awarded only when all judges on the panel of four thought the wine was worthy of a gold medal, thereby moving it into the “best of show” category, where all 20 judges decided the final winner.

During our swing through Geneva area wineries back in December, we found Ferrante to be perhaps the best all-round winery visited. You can read about our trip here.

Pairing Perfection: Wine and Chocolate

Some call it a match made in heaven, others say it can’t be done:  pairing wine with chocolate. To enjoy this delicious duo, here are some pairing tips to keep in mind:

• The wine must be at least as sweet, maybe a bit sweeter, than the chocolate your are serving it with.
• Although there are exceptions, red wine is your best bet. The "go to" wines are Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel.
• The stronger the chocolate, the more full-bodied the wine should be. Lighter, more elegant wines pair well with lighter bodied wines.
• The darker the chocolate, the more likely it is to pair well with red wine.
•  White chocolate is a tricky pairing. Spanish Sherry or Moscato are your best bets, picking up the creaminess of the chocolate.
• For milk chocolate you can try champagne, Riesling, a Pinot Noir or light bodied Merlot.
• Dark or bittersweet chocolates need a wine with a more robust flavor, perhaps with chocolate flavor notes of its own. Cabs and Zinfandels are close to the perfect dark chocolate match. If you are considering something special for Valentine's Day, this is the way to go. A Pinot Noir or a Merlot can handle dark chocolate around the 55% cocoa mark. A Tawny or Vintage Port is a balanced approach to a dark chocolate dessert or truffle.
• Try a D.I.Y. wine and chocolate pairing. Buy a few bottles of wine and several quality chocolate bars or truffles and experiment.

 

West Coast Wine Dinner Set for Pasta Fina on February 15

A special West Coast wine dinner is scheduled 7:00 PM Monday, February 15, at Pasta Fina, 5931 Heatherdowns Blvd., Toledo, (419) 866-0670. The meal will feature six wines paired with courses. Cost is $40 per person and reservations are suggested.

The menu is as follows:

• Welcome: Gloria Ferrer Sonoma Brut Reserve
• Pairing 1: Blue Pirate Pinot Gris, Oregon with sautéed jumbo shrimp tossed with slivers of jalapeño and lightly seasoned, splashed with tequila, and fresh lime. Served over a bed of cilantro rice.
• Pairing 2: Genesis Syrah, Washington with Lamb Porterhouse over a mélange of root vegetables roasted and stewed in a red wine demi-glace.
• Pairing 3: Three Rivers –Rivers Red, Washington with Moscovy duck sausage stuffed baby portobello mushroom caps.
•  Pairing 4: Hayman and Hill Napa Cabernet Sauvignon with beef ribeye tips with wilted spinach and bacon in a molasses thyme brown sauce.
•  Dessert: Robert Mondavi Moscato d’oro with cheesecake topped with a touch of Stilton and candied nuts and drizzled with caramel.

 

Wine and Toledo.com: A Winning Combination

Today marks the official start of our partnership with Toledo.com. Toledo.com is the premiere online portal for people who live, work and play in the greater Toledo area. It's a superb source, especially if you are looking to keep up with the many events happening in Northwest Ohio. You can feel the digital pulse of greater Toledo through blogs, photos, features and links.

Starting today, readers of Toledo.com can access Toledo Wines and Vines content through a special landing page with links to some of our popular posts. At Toledo Wines and Vines we have an interest in promoting area wine events (many of which benefit charitable causes), raising awareness of regional wineries and drumming up support for local wine shops. We also promote the enjoyment of wine and throw in a dash of education as well. With well over 100,000 visitors per month, Toledo.com is a great way to get the word out.

They're a local business and good people -- pour a glass of wine and check them out.

Riesling Drinkers Rejoice: Taste Profile Pinpoints Sweetness

Image of Pacific Rim via Snooth

The Riesling grape is one of the most versatile. It can create a wine of dry minerality or a sweet late harvest wine suitable for dessert. This merits applause, however it can cause consumers to double-clutch when they are preparing to buy a bottle. Until now there hasn't been a way to gauge the sweetness in advance.

“We have long felt buying unfamiliar Riesling was like playing sugar roulette," explains Chris Stamp, winemaker at Lakewood Vineyards in the Finger Lakes region of New York. Now more than a million cases of Riesling wines marketed in the United States this year will include a “Riesling Taste Profile” designed to make it easier for consumers to predict the taste they can expect from a particular bottle of Riesling.

The Riesling Taste Profile was created by the International Riesling Foundation (IRF), a global nonprofit organization formed to promote Riesling as the world’s most noble white wine variety. Research reaffirmed that many consumers still think of Riesling only as “a sweet white wine” despite the wide range of tastes it can represent.

Major producers in the largest Riesling producing states—Washington, California, Oregon, Michigan and New York—will be using the Taste Profile, along with some wineries from other states and countries including Germany, Australia and New Zealand. (In some countries such as Canada, Germany, and South Africa there are regulatory restrictions preventing its use on labels of wines sold within the country, but wines exported to the United States may include it.)

“We use the IRF Taste Profile on the back label so the customer can easily choose the style of Riesling. This variety varies dramatically from growing conditions and winemaking approaches, making it the most versatile food -- and mood -- companion,” said Jim Bernau, founder and president of Willamette Valley Vineyards in Oregon.

A key step in the project was to identify appropriate terms for describing the relative dryness or sweetness of the wine. Four categories were selected: Dry, Medium Dry, Medium Sweet, and Sweet. (Some producers continue to use Semi-Dry or Semi-Sweet on their front labels, but the Taste Profile uses “Medium” in both cases.)

I think this is a great advance. The term "semi-dry" has always seemed inappropriate since it often labeled what I considered sweet wines. It is a common practice in Finger Lakes tasting rooms to list the residual sugar of the various wines, which lets you determine sweetness, and I've always been grateful for that.

The following lists some of the many Riesling producers who are using the IRF Riesling Taste Profile on wines from the 2009 vintage:

Washington State: Chateau Ste. Michelle, Pacific Rim, and Sageland Vineyards.


Oregon: Bridgeview Vineyards, Brooks Winery, Chehalem and Willamette Valley Vineyards.


California: Hagafen Cellars, Jekel, Scott Harvey Wines and Trefethen.


New York: Anthony Road Winery, Atwater Estate Vineyards, Hunt Country Vineyards, Keuka Lake Vineyards, Lakewood Vineyards, Lamoreaux Landing Wine Company, Sheldrake Point Vineyards and Wagner Vineyards.


Michigan: Black Star Farms, Bowers Harbor Vineyards, Chateau Grand and St. Julian Winery.


The taste profile will also be used by several wineries in Australia, Germany and New Zealand.

Wine Tastings & Events: Week of February 8, 2010

Image of Bonny Doon Vineyard via Snooth

Wednesday, February 10
Anderson's Market, Sylvania, Wine Tasting. 6-8 PM. Close Out Wines. Nominal fee.

Beer and Wine Cave, 4400 Heatherdowns, (419) 382-6221. It’s Mardi Gras Time, Festive Wines. 6-8 PM, $15.

Manhattan’s Restaurant, 1516 Adams Street, Toledo. Wine Tasting with Uptown Vineyard. 6:30 PM. $15. Five wines and appetizers. In Union Square room. All new wines, including a Torrentes, Muller-Thurgau and a Carmenere. Reservations required. E-mail info@uptownvineyard.com or call (866) 276-1984.

Thursday, February 11
* Special Event * History Chef Book Signing, Food and Wine Pairing Vino 100 Shop and Wine Bar, Promenade West, 3355 Briarfield Blvd, Suite D, Maumee -- (419) 866-8466. 6-10 PM Andrew Caldwell, known as the History Chef, will be signing his new book, "Their Last Suppers: Legends of History and Their Final Meals". Andrew will pair a wine with a dish based on a last meal of a famous person. The tasting includes  3 ounce pours of four wines and a sample of each dish for only $25. Wines by the glass for the pairing will be $7. No reservations required.

The Andersons, Maumee, Wine Tasting.  5-7 PM. Sweetheart Wines. 1. Methve - Willamette Valley, Oregon - Pinot Noir, 2. Louis Chavy Mercurey - Burgundy, France - Pinot Noir, 3. Yangarra - McLaren Vale, Austrailia - Old Vine Grenache, 4. Grant Burge - Barbossa, Austrailia - Shiraz. Pay by the sample or $6.50 for the flight. 

The Andersons, Talmadge Road. Wine Tasting, 6-8 PM. Wine Education Series: "What Is Merlot?” 1. Mollydooker “The Violinist” Verdello, Australia. 2. The Velvet Devil Merlot, Washington. 3. Casa Lapostolle Cuvee Alexandra Merlot, Chile. 4.Chatrau Graves du Burt Saint-Emilion Bordeaux.  5.Sineann Merlot, Washington. 6. Grgich Merlot, Napa.  7. Feist LBV Port, Portugal. Nominal fee per sample.

Beer and Wine Cave, 4400 Heatherdowns, (419) 382-6221. It’s Mardi Gras Time, Festive Wines. 6-8 PM, $15.

Corks Wine and Liquor, Promenade Plaza, 27250 Crossroads Pkwy., Rossford – (419) 872-6800. 6-9 PM.  Gimme Some Sugar. Of course it was completely inevitable. Lineup consists of wines that are rich and decadent, and can be enjoyed by themselves or with something sweet. Also, we’ll hold an experiment in chocolate and dessert wine pairing. Cost $1 to $3 per sample.

Friday, February 12 
* Special Event * Wine by the Glass Pavilion Winemakers Series, Toledo Museum of Art Glass Pavilion, 2445 Monroe St., 7:00 to 9:30 p.m. Second Annual Bubbles Tasting. Cost is $15 for museum members and $20 for non-members.

Aficionado Wine and Cigars, The Shoppes at RiverPlace, 26567 N. Dixie Highway, Suite 135, Perrysburg, (419-873-4444). 5:00 – 8:30 p.m. Valentine’s Tasting: 1. Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Champagne, 2. Peirano “The Other” White Blend, 3. Crescendo Hills “Bangin’ Red,” 4. O’Brien “Seduction. $10 tasting.

Corks Wine and Liquor, Promenade Plaza, 27250 Crossroads Pkwy., Rossford – (419) 872-6800. 6-9 PM. Gimme Some Sugar. Of course it was completely inevitable. Lineup consists of wines that are rich and decadent, and can be enjoyed by themselves or with something sweet. Also, we’ll hold an experiment in chocolate and dessert wine pairing. Cost $1 to $3 per sample. 

Saturday, February 13
* Special Event * Celebrity Wines Vineyard Adventure at the Toledo Zoo, 7:00 – 9:00 PM. Enjoy an exotic evening in the African Lodge surrounded by genuine Africa artifacts while sampling wine and enjoying entertainment and hors d'oeuvres
Members $35, non-members $40. Tickets must be purchased in advance. For information call (419) 385-5721, ext 3092.

Aficionado Wine and Cigars, The Shoppes at RiverPlace, 26567 N. Dixie Highway, Suite 135, Perrysburg, (419-873-4444). 5:00 – 8:30 p.m. Valentine’s Tasting: 1. Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Champagne, 2. Peirano “The Other” White Blend, 3. Crescendo Hills “Bangin’ Red,” 4. O’Brien “Seduction. $10 tasting.

The Andersons, Woodville, Wine Tasting. 1-3 PM. 1. Montes, 2008, Cherub, Rose of Syrah, Chile. 2. Van Ruiten, 2007, Old Vine Zinfandel, Lodi . 3. Stephano Farina, Moscato D’ Asti, Italy. 4. Versailles, Schokoladenkirschwein Ohio. Nominal fee.

Walt Churchill’s Market, 3320 Briarfield. Maumee, (419) 794-4000. Noon to 5:00 p.m. The “New” Bonny Doon Winery. By the sample or by the flight.


[Information on tastings can be sent to TWAV@ATT.NET.]

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