Cameron Hughes Lot 90 2006 Tannat Lodi, California

This is the first 100% Tannat wine we’ve sampled. Tannat is a red grape grown primarily in Southwest France and Uruguay (and to a lesser extent in Argentina, Italy and a handful of other locations including, apparently, California). Cameron Hughes is a negociant, buying wines from some top wineries and selling at discount prices. The wines are available at discount stores such as Costco, Sam’s Club and also World Market.

We picked up our bottle at Walt Churchill’s Market in Maumee for only $6, which is an amazing bargain.

The Lot 90 is big on blueberry flavor and is a big wine with a full texture and robust body. In some countries Tannat is used as a blending grape with Cabernet Sauvignon or other grape varieties. It’s easy to see why. This grape is heavy on the tannins and high in acidity.

This is a nice bargain that is worth checking out, if only so that you can casually drop the phrase, “I had a really interesting bottle of Tannat recently,” at your next party.

Technorati Tags: wine

Related articles

• Quick Sip: Tempering Tannat (vinespot.blogspot.com)
• South West France Gets Back to Its Roots (eon.businesswire.com)
• A Week In San Francisco (seattlewineblogger.blogspot.com)
• A Sunny Sunday Afternoon at Bending Branch Vineyards (vintagetexas.com)

Plan Your Affordable Finger Lakes Holiday Escape

The holiday season in Finger Lakes Wine Country just got more affordable. Escape to the cozy comfort of sitting fireside with someone

special as you warm up with the tastes of the Finger Lakes. Take advantage of affordable packaging when you book a Winter Wine Weekends package between November 26, 2010 and March 20, 2011.

Participating accommodations are offering a third night free or at a discounted rate, plus you'll receive the Palate Passport at check-in which is full of great discounts, deals, and experiences.

More information is available,

Technorati Tags: wine

Bodega Tarima 2009 Monastrell, Jumilla, Spain

Following the Beaujolas Nouveau dinner at Walt Churchill’s Market (Maumee), we were wandering through the wine department while Glorious T picked up a couple bottles of Beaujolais. I grabbed this bottle for a casual quaffer. The cost was only $8, so there was little to lose. The Jumilla region of Spain produces some great wines and some great values. Monastrell is also the grape for Wrongo Dongo, another Jumilla wine that is a value favorite for one of our tasting team members.

This wine was surprisingly good. It is smooth but has a full body. This is a big wine for the price. It is 100% Monastrell and produced from 25 to 30-year old vines. It has complex dark flavors with hints of licorice and chocolate.

Oh, yes. Green Dragon thinks that the label art illustration of a passion flower bloom is rather cool.

Technorati Tags: wine

Related articles

• Tierra : Earth (seriousaboutwine.co.za)
• *** $ Olivares Altos de la Hoya Monastrell, Jumilla, Spain, 2007 - Wine Tasting & Review (BEST VALUE) (spiritofwine.blogspot.com)

Wine Tastings & Events: November 24-27,2010

Image via Wikipedia

Wednesday, November 24 

The Andersons, Sylvania, Wine Tasting. 6-8 PM. Great Wines for The Feast, Part II: 1. Ortman Pinot Noir, 2. Gregory Graham Zinfandel, 3. Weingut Eugen Wehrheim Niersteiner Paterberg Gewurztraminer Spatlese, 4. De Bortoli 8 Year Old Tawny Port. Nominal fee per sample or $8.50 flight.Thanksgiving style accompaniments will be provided by Honeybaked Ham and Saundra.

 
Beer and Wine Cave, 4400 Heatherdowns, (419) 382-6221. 6-9 PM. New Arrival Holiday Wines. $15.

Thursday, November 25

Happy Thanksgiving.

Friday, November 26
Aficionado Wine and Cigars, The Shoppes at RiverPlace, 26567 N. Dixie Highway, Suite 135, Perrysburg, (419-873-4444). 5:00 – 8:30 p.m. California Pinot Noir: 1. Steel Creek Monterey Pinot Noir, 2. Mackenzie RR "Boschetti" Pinot Noir, 3. La Crema Sonoma Pinot Noir, 4. Artesa Carneros Pinot Noir. $10 tasting.

Corks Wine and Liquor, Promenade Plaza, 27250 Crossroads Pkwy., Rossford – (419) 872-6800. 6-9 PM. Black Friday Fuel: Are you one of the millions of deranged consumers hellbent on lining up at 5 AM to buy toasters and doormats for just $1? Well, come on in! We'll start the tasting around 3, so you can stop in and freshen up between shopping excursions. Since you'll already be in a saving-frenzy, the focus will be on value and closeout wines. Don't worry, we won't let you get trampled.

Nominal fee per sample.

Saturday, November 27
Aficionado Wine and Cigars, The Shoppes at RiverPlace, 26567 N. Dixie Highway, Suite 135, Perrysburg, (419-873-4444). 5:00 – 8:30 p.m. California Pinot Noir: 1. Steel Creek Monterey Pinot Noir, 2. Mackenzie RR "Boschetti" Pinot Noir, 3. La Crema Sonoma Pinot Noir, 4. Artesa Carneros Pinot Noir. $10 tasting.

The Andersons, Woodville Mall. 1-3 PM. Please help us feed the hungry by purchasing a Beringer Founders Estate Wine in November and December. Beringer is donating $ .50 to the NW Food Bank for every bottle purchased. 1. Beringer Founders Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, 2. Beringer Founders Estate Pinot Noir, 3. Beringer Founders Estate Pinot Grigio, 4. Beringer Founders Estate Riesling. Nominal fee per sample or $2.00 for flight.

Technorati Tags: wine

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

Related articles

• Holiday Gifts = Gene Stein's Recommendations - Oregon (seattlewineblogger.blogspot.com)
• I really wanted to like this wine...Padrillos, pinot noir from Mendoza (winesleuth.wordpress.com)
• Red Tree Pinot Noir 2009 review by (PB) (winecask.blogspot.com)
• Pinot Noir for Thanksgiving (winevoice.blogspot.com)

Thanksgiving Wine Happenings Stuff Area Calendar

Image via Wikipedia

Looking for an escape from relatives and leftover turkey? Here is a sampling of activities in the area and at regional wineries.

Get warmed up with a tasting Wednesday, November 24, at the Andersons in Sylvania from 6:00 to 8:00 PM. Four “great wines for the feast” will be featured in a flight for $8.50. Thanksgiving style accompaniments will be provided including Honeybaked ham...

To recover post-Turkey Day, try some “Black Friday Fuel” on Friday, November 26, at Corks Wine and Liquor, Promenade Plaza, 27250 Crossroads Pkwy., Rossford – (419) 872-6800. Says wine manager Mike Gregg: “Are you one of the millions of deranged consumers hellbent on lining up at 5 AM to buy toasters and doormats for just $1? Well, come on in! We'll start the tasting around 3, so you can stop in and freshen up between shopping excursions. Since you'll already be in a saving-frenzy, the focus will be on value and closeout wines. Don't worry, I won't let you get trampled...

Lone Oak Vineyard Estate, 8400 Ann Arbor Rd., Grass Lake, Michigan (517) 522-8167 is hosting a holiday open house and food drive Saturday,  November 27, 11:00 AM to 5:30 PM and Sunday, November 28, 12:00 noon to 5:30 PM. Bring a non-perishable food item to the open house and receive a free logo wine glass. (Limit of  one glass per person.) Complimentary hors d'oeuvres and live music throughout the day. All donations will benefit the Jackson Interfaith Shelter…

Chateau Aeronautique in Jackson, Michigan, offers suggestions for pairing its wines with your Thanksgiving Dinner. As an aperitif, Aviatrix Blush wets any appetite. Our Chardonnay, Chardonnel, and Seyval Blanc are winners with turkey; the wines complement the food, and the turkey opens up the wines. For smoked ham, DeChaunac; for maple or honey ham, Aviatrix Blush. For beef, of course the Cabernet Franc. For desserts, Late Harvest Riesling pairs well with most cakes; Pinot Gris with apple pie, Riesling with peach cobbler, and Aviatrix Blush with pumpkin and pecan pies…

Satek Winery, 6208 N. Van Guilder Road, Fremont, Indiana, is offering a trio of new releases: Blueberry Wine, a fall favorite returns with aromatic semi-sweet fruit wine with hints of nutmeg and cloves, made from Indiana blueberries; Larry's Luscious Dry Red Wine, 2009,  a Meritage style dry red blend of three Indiana-grown grapes; Pinot Noir, 2008, dry red wine boasting cherry cola and roasted strawberry flavor array…

Sandhill Crane Vineyards, 4724 Walz Road, Jackson, Michigan (517) 764-0679 has scheduled a holiday open house on Saturday, November 27  and Sunday, November 28 featuring live music, holiday treats, a free ornament for all visitors, and a 5% discount on all wine-related gifts. Free admission.

Related articles

• Black Star Farms 2008 Arcturos Pinot Gris (theother46.com)
• Thanksgiving Wine Find with Blue Ridge Wine Excursions (vinespot.blogspot.com)
• John Grover Talks about New York Pinot Gris (eastcoastwineries.blogspot.com)
• Holiday wines to be thankful for (knoxnews.com)
• Here's a selection of holiday wine for entertaining (seattletimes.nwsource.com)

2010 Wine Harvest Celebrated With Arrival of Beaujolais Nouveau

  For wine lovers, the third Thursday of November holds a special place in their hearts. On that day the Beaujolais Nouveau is released and it is greeted with fanfare and celebration. A band of 30 vino fans gathered at Walt Churchill’s Market (Maumee) to celebrate the occasion with several different bottlings of BN and a hearty traditional French dish.

The wine, produced from Gamay grapes located in the southern part of France’s Burgundy region, is a special category. The wines are only seven to nine weeks old, quite a contrast to your typical red wines which are aged for months and then released the following year or in some cases even longer. This wines typically sell in the neighborhood of $10 to $15.

This is a celebration of the harvest that has endured as long as humans have cultivated grapes – and wine manager Austin Beeman was front and center during the event at Walt Churchill’s Market pouring wine and explaining the traditions. The Beaujolais is fresh and fruity and made to be consumed young. To accompany the wine we were treated to cassoluet – a white bean and meat stew with over a thousand years of history.

This wasn’t a wine tasting per se. Really, how do you compare wines that are only weeks old. It was more of a wine party with friends new and old. The cassoluet, as Austin related’ is a traditional French dish said to be served to Crusaders headed to the Holy Land. The dish is “maximum calories in minimum bites.” The exact recipe wasn’t shared, but there was plentiful meat (lamb? pork?) plus white beans.

We sampled BN wines from Georges Dubeouf, Bouchard Aine & Fils, Domaine Rochette and Joseph Drouhin. Glorious T and Green Dragon gave the nod to Maison Drouhin as having the best of the Beaujolais.

This is a very light and obviously young wine. There are no tannin flavors at all. It shouldn’t be stored and should be avoided if you see it on the shelves after the first of the year. This is a wine that could accompany your Thanksgiving turkey, although a nice Pinot Noir works great as well.

Technorati Tags: wine

Related articles

• The Third Thursday in November Means Beaujolais Nouveau (corksavvy.com)
• Beaujolais Nouveau and old: a tale of two wines and two worlds (gadling.com)