Five New Years Wine Resolutions

It is that time of year again. My morning workout at the Y is going to be jammed with New Years resolution-makers.

But experience tells me that by Valentines Day the normal order of things will be restored as willpower cracks and would-be workout mavens fall by the wayside. There’ll be plenty of elbow space in the locker room.

The following resolutions are not like that. Oh, no, not at all. These are my wine guideposts for the coming year:

1. Dig into more Old World wines. I am much more familiar with the different Finger Lakes than I am with the various appellations in Spain, for example. Although I enjoy wines from Europe, a larger percentage of my wine comes from the New World. Time to rebalance the scales.

2. Explore more California wineries. This one is on my list for next month when I plan to visit Temecula and Santa Barbara wineries. I enjoy the Other 46, but there are plenty of funky, indie wineries in Cali that need checking out.

3. Focus on quality, not quantity. For my own (somewhat small) cellar, I want to purchase fewer bottles of greater quality. I’m a loyal fan of the Quality Price Ratio, but I’m thinking I may want a nice $40 bottle versus two $20.

4. Write better, brighter and brilliantly. Since this is my sideline, my posts will need to continue to be short. But I want to challenge myself to pack more into my posts by writing better and conveying the experience of wine with more creativity and elegance.

5. Learn the inside story of Oregon wine. I’ll be attending the North American Wine Bloggers Conference in Portland this summer and I want to learn the wineries, regions and wines of this fantastic area. I’d like to start beforehand, so the trip there will be more illuminating.

Flickr photo by Mr. T in DC

Technorati Tags: wine,Oregon,Temecula

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2010 Guardian Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon

We were a little skeptical when we received news of a new wine club, Club W – geared toward the contemporary wine drinker who may have “more class than cash.”

The stated aim of the club is to present lesser known but high value boutique wines at affordable prices and bring wine into the 21st century with convenient videos from sommeliers and a hip attitude.

We tried one of of their club offerings, The Guardian, a Sonoma Cabernet. One interesting element of the label is a QR code that will send your smart phone or tablet to a web page about the wine. All the facts are there plus a quirky YouTube video. The host has a sense of style, witness the plaid sport coat, and provides a very engaging overview of the wine. The food pairing suggestions are also clever. For this Cab, for example, a suggested meal was bangers and mash.

The Guardian really delivers in terms of taste. This has a plush flavor of black currant and smoke. The tannins are seamless and the finish is like a watery wave crashing on the beach. This is one fine Cabernet!

What is astounding to me is the price point. When I looked at the web page, it listed it as $21.99 for members and $30 for non-members. That’s a pretty good value – but as I looked more closely, I saw that this is the price for a duo – two bottles of Sonoma goodness!

Members of Club W aren’t required to buy wine at any time. The pricing is mostly between $15 and $25, with some very good deals offered. They also offer “experiences” which are multi-bottle shipments ranging from $40 per month for three bottles or $120 per month for 12.

Although I prefer to patronize our local wine shops, I do buy wine on the internet. Club W is a creative and tasty addition to online options for wine lovers.

Full disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

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St. Joseph Vineyard Noir 12 + 1, 2008 Grand River Valley

This bottle accompanied our Christmas Day meal of duck with orange sauce, rice and lentil pilaf and brussel sprouts.  

St. Joseph is an Ohio winery with a reputation for producing award-wining Pinot Noirs. We picked this wine up a couple years ago at the Vintage Ohio event.

We had been aiming for a reserve Pinot, but as luck would have it, they were sold out. We opted for the 12+1 wine, which is a blend of 12 red wine grapes.

Upon first sip, there was a bit of acidity. As the wine opened up, subsequently the wine had a pleasing full flavor of strawberry, sour cherry and a dash of cola.

This is a proprietary blend of 12 red grapes plus one white (Viognier). This accounts for its unusual moniker. The blend includes Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Sirah, Merlot, Shiraz and Sangiovese.

It paired well with the duck and proved to be a nice Christmas gift.

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Toledo Area Wine Tastings & Events: December 28–31, 2011

Image by mschot via Flickr

Wednesday, December 28
The Andersons, Sylvania, Wine Tasting. 6-8 PM. Nominal fee per sample.

Beer and Wine Cave, 4400 Heatherdowns, (419) 382-6221. 6-9 PM. Sparkling Wine and Champagne . $20 per flight.

Thursday, December 29
The Andersons, Maumee, Wine Tasting. 5-7 PM. Great Holiday Wines: 1. Laurent-Perrier Champagne, 2. Santa Barbara Winery Chardonnay, 3. Stratton Lummis – “the Riddler,” 4. G & M Machmer – Gewurztraminer. $6 per flight or nominal fee per sample.

The Andersons, Talmadge Road. Wine Tasting. 6-8 PM. Bubbly and More: 1. L.Mawby Sparkling Wine, 2. Gruet Sparkling Wine, 3. Schramsberg Blanc de Blanc, 4. L. Mawby Tailimon Sparkling Wine, 5. Mondoro Asti, 6. Conundrum Red Introductory, 7. Frog’s Leap Merlot. Nominal fee per sample.

Beer and Wine Cave, 4400 Heatherdowns, (419) 382-6221. 6-9 PM. Sparkling Wine and Champagne. $20.

Corks Wine and Liquor, Promenade Plaza, 27250 Crossroads Pkwy., Rossford – (419) 872-6800. 6-9 PM. Nominal fee per sample.

TREO Wine Bar, 5703 Main St., Sylvania, (419) 882-2266. Wine & Cheese Thursday. Explore the wonderful world of wine and cheese. Try four different wines with a sample platter of the day’s cheese.

Friday, December 30
Aficionado Wine and Cigars, The Shoppes at RiverPlace, 26567 N. Dixie Highway, Suite 135, Perrysburg, (419-873-4444). 5:00 – 8:30 p.m. New Year Sparklers: 1. Zardetto Prosecco, 2. Roederer Estate, 3. Gruet Blanc de Noir, 4. Henriot Brut Souverain. $15 tasting.

Saturday, December 31 
New Year’s Eve

Walt Churchill’s Market, 3320 Briarfield. Maumee, (419) 794-4000. 6:00 PM. Wine & Dine at the Chef’s Table. Limited seating. Call Chef Kolhoff at above number. $150 pp.

AREA WINE BARS

• Tres Belle Wine and Martini Lounge, (419) 874-4555, 3145 Hollister Lane, Perrysburg (Levis Commons).
  
• Vino 100 Wine Bar & Restaurant, (419) 866-8466, Promenade West, 3355 Briarfield Blvd, Suite C, Maumee.
  
• Zinful Wine Bar & Restaurant, (419) 878-9463, 7541 Dutch Road, Waterville.

Technorati Tags: wine [Information on tastings can be sent to TWAV@ATT.NET.]

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What’s In Our Glass: Malbec, Syrah and Marechal Foch

Occasionally we’ll poll our tasting team to see what old favorites or new discoveries they are sampling.

Here’s what’s in our glass now:

Dr. J: 2006 Qupé Bien Nacido Hillside Estate Syrah, which received 92 or 93 point scores from various sources (non-Robert Parker). Bien Nacido is an "iconic" vineyard in Santa Barbara.

This has raspberry, spice, and light oak on the nose. Dark fruit, spicy meat, and rose petal on the palate. We may have had this a little young. I enjoyed this, but thought it was a little over-hyped.

Green Dragon and Me: 2008 Satek Winery Marechal Foch. We enjoyed this bottle doing Christmas activities leading up to the holiday. Satek is a winery just over the Indiana border and we picked this up a couple years ago.

Marechal Foch is a French-American hybrid named after Ferdinand Foch, a hero of World War I. The grape can be found in southern Ontario as well as Ohio and the Finger Lakes. Depending on the wine making, it can produce a light red wine, or an inky dark wine.

This is a lighter variety with a touch of vanilla and green pepper and a very light body.

Wine Chick and Sax Man: 2009 Catena Malbec. Grown in the foothills of the Andes Mountains in Argentina, this could be a new favorite. Bodega Catena Zapata is a family owned winery credited with putting Argentinean wines and high altitude Malbec on the map.

The winery structure is featured on the label and has a striking design, based on Mayan architecture and meant to evoke the unique New World terroir of Mendoza.

This is a smooth wine rich with dark berry flavors.

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