Blind Taste Test

This month we did a "Blind Taste Test" where we all brought wine and Lindsay organized them, put them in paper bags, and assigned each wine a letter, A-G.  We each tried a few sips then rated them on appearance and taste, then tried to guess what the major flavor notes and aromas were.  Ultimately, we attempted to guess the wine.  This was much easier earlier in the night when our palates were fresh, but still, it was a great exercise.

Our scoring sheet, created by Lindsay

The Whites:

Most of the girls guessed the Sauvignon Blancs (Chateau Ste. Michelle & Harbor Town), and I'd like to believe it's because of our "Sexy Sauv's"-themed wine club meeting back in March.

The Riesling and Chardonnay were slightly trickier, but a couple girls were able to pick them out as well.

The Reds:

The reds were much more difficult for people to pick out, but I was pleasantly surprised that at least 3 girls guess the 2005 Campo Viejo Tempranillo correctly. Hilariously, I brought the Concannon Petite Sirah, which I've drank many many times before (see here), yet, I got this one wrong!  Too funny.

The Food:

Lindsay, Master of Ceremonies

Once the coals were nice and hot Lindsay cooked up some delicious veggie kabobs with goodies from her own garden, along with some jerk-marinated chicken.  We also had some delicious bread and dipping oil, a variety of cheeses (Gouda, Gorgonzola, Chevre, and Brie), and some tasty deviled eggs.  To finish things off, Katie made an awesome vegan chocolate pie. I had a great time this month and I think we all learned a lot!  I'd like to try and do more focused blind tastes tests throughout the year, as I'm sure they will improve our palates and force us to really think about the flavors and aromas that we sometimes take for granted. Good job Girls!  Next month.... Rose' tasting maybe?

Great Article on Wine Accessories

Ten @ 10: Wine stuff you don't need. Really.

Posted by Bill Daley

"A jug of wine, a loaf of bread – and thou," that old Persian poet Omar Khayyam had the right idea. You don't need a lot of fussing and fidgeting to throw a memorable party, whether for 200 or 2.
Wine drinkers out there could be forgiven for not knowing this considering the wide assortment of the oenological paraphernalia on the market. All promise to make you a better host, a more savvy connoisseur. Some of these devices and gadgets are handy and can make entertaining easier. But you can get along without them – even a corkscrew.

The Stew staff joined me in thinking up all the wine "thingies" aspiring hosts can live without. Really, you can.

1. Wine bucket. You can chill bottles in a large pitcher or vase, even a wok piled high with ice (the wok works particularly well with those fat bottles of sparkling wine).

.....Click to Continue Reading at The Stew!!!!

Wine Name Win

Just a little something to make you guys laugh.

Domaine St Peyre Syrah Rose

I keep hearing more and more about the return of the Rose'.  I hear it is the best summertime wine, and I should not compare it to other "pink" wines.  So, at my last trip to the Wine Press, I decided to pick up a bottle.

Saint-Peyre Syrah Rose (France) - good price, tart, not sweet at all, slight nose of strawberry jam and a great finish.  For my first Rose in as long as I can remember, this one was a fantastic starter.  It was a great beat-the-heat wine and with every sip I enjoyed it more and more.  Had this with dinner the other night and it was a great complement to my Gingered Risotto and Scallops.

I might be a convert....

Showdown: California vs Argentina

This month we kinda borrowed an idea from The Second Glass and did our own "Wine Showdown" pitting California versus Argentina in a Battle Royale.  We came, we drank, we judged, we drank, we drank some more, and more, and.....

....and it was awesome!

THE WHITES:

Round 1: Crios Torrantes (Arg) v. Dancing Bull Savignon Blanc (Cali)

Winner: Not a terribly close race, Argentina won 4-2

Round 2: Murphy-Goode Savignon Blanc (Cali) v Byron Chardonnay (Cali)
Unfortunately this is the only place where we didn't have an Argentinian wine to compete with the Californian... so we just compared the two anyway.

Winner: Not surprisingly, but California won :)  Specifically, the Byron Chardonnay!  See, Chard doesn't have to be feared.


THE REDS

Round 3: Llama Malbec (Arg) v Five Rivers Merlot (Cali)
Winner:  Argentina won with a score of 5-3.  Everyone just loves a Malbec.

Round 4: Domaine Jean Bousquet Cabernet Savignon (Arg) v 90+ Merlot (Cali)
Winner: In a similar battle, Argentina pulled through here with a score of 5-3

Hmm... This is a tough call to make, I'll have to think on it.  Should I include the food pairings in the decision?

THE FOOD

California-inspired salad of arugula, beets, walnuts, avocado & goat cheese in frico (Parmesan cheese cups), for recipe click here:

Hummus and chips
Antipasti (peppers, marinated artichokes, olives, etc)
Broccoli & Cheese bites
Asian Veggie Dumplings
Fruit (pineapple, strawberries, melon, etc)
Bread
Cheese (Queso Fresco, Manchego, and 2 others that I can't remember the names of....)

And for dessert, adorable little cupcakes:

All in all, it was a great night and I can say that after some deliberation, I'm ready to declare a winner:

ARGENTINA

Happy drinking!

I'm feeling so Fuso...

Last night for dinner I made some angel hair pasta with puttenesca sauce.... straight up whore pasta!  Yeah baby!  With it, Boyfriend and I drank a 2008 FUSO Barbera from Colli Tortonesi Vineyard.  I picked this one because I like that Barbera's aren't "big reds" but hold up well to the acid in tomato sauces.   

Daily drinking wine in Italy is called sfuso, which is usually reserved for the locals (or, sadly, sold off to co-ops and mixed with all kinds of inferior wine; sort of like the Italian version of $2-chuck).

The back label does a good job explaining the sfuso / fuso pun :

"Fuso: play on words for an authentic daily drinker: from the Italian sfuso, which is the everyday drinking wine, and the Italian word fuso, which is used to describe a person feeling “out of it,” or, “out of sorts.”"

This wine was vinified in steel and had a classic fruity-ness (cranberry / raspberry). It was pretty delicious and I thought it paired nicely with dinner.  Interestingly, once dinner was over.... my next glass seemed less tasty.  Ahhhh, maybe I'm finally discovering the secret to good pairings!

May: Earth-Friendly Wines

This month's theme was "Earth-Friendly" so we tested wines that were from organic or sustainable vineyards, or had earth-friendly packaging. 

The Whites:
We started with the Candoni Pinot Grigio (Italy) - certified organic and no added sulfites.  We all liked this wine, it was citrus-y and crisp - a great summer choice.

Next we tried the 2009 Jelu Torrontes (Argentina) - We were divided on this wine (I liked it though).  It has a thicker mouthfeel than the Pinot Grigio and was very aromatic.  I got apples on the nose, but the reviews say white peach, orange and lemon.  Eh, everybody's different, right?

The Reds:
We started the reds with a 2008 Green Truck Organic Petite Sirah, which I'm pretty sure we liked (but that I failed to take notes on, duh).

Next was the Frey Natural Red Table Wine (Cali) - Organic, no sulfites detected.... horrible.  This either needed to be decanted for hours or needed a steak along with it.  It seemed young, harsh, and alcoholic.... like any good teenager :)  We didn't like this at all, in fact, most of us dumped it out.  Weird seeing as it has won quite a few medals and accolades... maybe we got a bad bottle?  It sat in the hot sun for days before we got it?  Who knows, it was worth a try, but I won't be buying it that's for sure.

The 2007 La Fortuna Malbec (Chile) was next up - This organic wine was a very typical Malbec. Plummy, and smelled of tobacco and leather.  It was the strip-club of wines.  And I loved it. 

Our final red was the 2007 Shannon Ridge Wrangler Red (Cali) - Fruity and leathery.  Maybe that leather was leftover from the Malbec, but I swear I got leather on this one too... perhaps psychosomatic since "Wrangler" was in the name?  But then wouldn't I also smell bad denim and Walmart? Hmmmm.....

We didn't make it to my personal favorite daily wine, the Old Vine Zinfandel Bota Box.  4 bottles worth of wine that takes weeks to go bad (not that we ever have a box around that long).

The Food:
We started with an appetizer of Caprese Salad (tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, and balsamic vinaigrette).

We had a baguette and multigrain crackers to go with our various cheeses - Parmesan, La Fur (?) a super creamy goat and cow's milk cheese that I MUST find again, Maine Salsa Jack (local, hormone & antibiotic free), and a Vermont Cheddar.  The local fruit scene is still dormant up here, but we enjoyed some Vermont apples with our wines (especially good with the whites).

For dessert I made "Dirt Cake", which is basically crushed up mint Newman-O's layered with vanilla pudding to look like dirt.  I put them in flower pots with mint and cilantro to make them look like real plants.  So cute!  I had a lot of fun making these :)

All in all, a wonderful night.  We saved the earth, one bottle of wine at a time.