Wine Moments

Have you had a wine moment? You know, a memory of wine shared at a time; or, a point when you understood something about wine; an experience that changed your views, even slightly.

At one of our AGN Lite events a woman had a wine moment. She knew that her palate liked certain characteristics and she had certain wines she really liked; but, she didn’t know how to identify it or discuss it. By the end of the evening through discussion and the results of a blind tasting, she could pin it down – she liked a strong oak influence in her red wine. Now, when shopping, she can ask and seek out new wines but still find appeal.

For me, I’ve had a couple wine moments I remember well. One, when our fellow AGN’ers Sartan and the Ms. returned from France with a prized bottle from the Châteauneuf-du-Pape region. We had a yummy French-cuisine dinner; but the wine… oh boy, the finish just kept going and going. It literally made me sit back in my chair, demanding to be honored and appreciated. It was restrained power unleashed (how’s that for adjectives?).

The second was after a visit to the Yakima, WA wine area. We went and visited Two Mountain Winery and enjoyed some nice, somewhat elegant (yet at the same time rugged) wines from this young winery. Later, after being home for a while, we opened a bottle of their Syrah. As I drank it took me right back to Washington, to the site of their winery. I fully understood the idea of wine having a “sense of place” and I loved experiencing the authenticity of the wine.

Who knows when my next moving wine moment will be… I anxiously await it, though, as I continue exploring the wine world and the wine life. Care to share your latest wine moment??? Email me at agn@truenorthcellars.com or leave a comment.

Until next time… Drink and Discover.

Wine Styles Part Duex

Just a quick update on my thoughts on wine clubs and particularly the local Wine Styles one here in Anchorage.

When I first joined I thought I’d keep it for a few month, get to know the store and the wines, and then move on. Not because I didn’t like the wines or didn’t think it was a fair price – it is. But, I tend to like reading about wines and trying to find wines on my own, when I have the time and capital.

But, I’ve really enjoyed the wine club. I get 2 reds each month and so far Wine Styles has done a great job and providing interesting diversity both in region and variety. We’ve had Grenache, Italian and Spanish wines, and this month is two from the Rhone, which I’m excited to try side by side.

So, if you’re looking to have a little diversity injected into your wine life, and don’t want to take on the task yourself, I’d suggest enrolling in a wine club for a few months and see how you like it. 

AGN Lite: Red and White

This evening was a combo event – German Riesling and American Cabernet Sauvignon. We invited many of our friends from the kids school and had a house full of kids and adults.

The German Rieslings proved hard to find for many (or they weren’t interested in them) and so we ended up only having one true German white. True to Alaska wine selection, there are only a few shops that carry them. So, a couple Rieslings from Washington appeared. It was interesting to compare the stylistic differences – the German was light, crisp and refreshing. The Washington ones had more of a syrupy mouth feel, definitely more sweet, and people generally didn’t want more than a glass of it.

The American Cabs faired much better – we had a wide variety from a very raisin-y Marietta to the cheapest (and crowd favorite) Columbia Crest Two Vines ($8). Some of the wines had a longer finish, some were more tannic, some were more fruit-forward… a good diversity was represented.

There were about 4 or so wines that appeared at the top of most peoples lists, but in different order. These wines definitely were all good, but stylistically had some distinct differences. It was fun to talk to everyone about why they rated some at the top versus others and what they liked about it or didn’t like about it. Talking about wine and comparing notes helps you learn about your palate – what you like, what you don’t, and why.

The other benefit of this evening is that several people went to Wine Styles for the first time to get their wine. I think they found a store that encourages them to try more wine and explore a bit. Others went to local wine shops and just asked, opening up a new experience for them, also.

Drink and discover.

Stay tuned for more… I’m catching up.

Ciao! Bella!

HELLO BEAUTIFUL! The AGN Valentines Day Delight! is what our Italian night turned out to be. As a group of Grape Nuts I must say we hit a Grand Slam at our Valentines dinner with our wine/food pairings.
Since our plan was to have an Italian night we decided to do "CHIANTI". However, Randy called a couple hours before dinner with a good point, "Should we do chianti with every course?" He decided to pick up a Italian White to go with the salad course. He got me thinking so I decided to throw a curve ball as well, Pinot Noir.
Our four course valentines dinner started off Fantastic. Amanda made a fabulous Italian soup called "Ribollita". This Tuscan style soup is supposed to pair nicely with Chianti, but I must say (I think the whole AGN group would agree) the 2006 Canaletto Pinot Noir was made for Ribollita. This 2006 Pinot Noir comes from way up North in the Lombardy region of Italy. Its Cherryish (is that a word) bouquet hits your palate with bursting ripe summer berries and is light bodied. It was outstanding as a first course accompaniement.
Randy and Sandy's second course was amazing. It started with Sandy's incredible real Cesar Salad and was paired with the White that Randy called about. The wine was a 2006 Argiolas, Costamolino (Vermentino Di Sardegna). This pairing was amazing, the wine color was a yellowish color (Not your typical Chardonnay buttery color), and the bouquet very subtle. It was a fresh, dry, well-defined with pleasant delicacy and crispness. It was fabulous with the Cesar. GRAND SLAM! An interesting note about this wine is the varietal, Vermentino. Described by Wikipedia, Vermentino is a late-ripening white grape originating in Spain or Madiera, or perhaps Portugal, and now widely planted in Corsica, Sardinia, and the coastal arc running from Tuscany through Liguria and into southern France, around Nice (where it is known as Rolle). It is thought to be related to the Malvasia variety and to have been brought to Italy in the fifteenth century during the period of Spanish domination. The leaves are dark green and pentagonal. The grapes are amber-yellow and hang in pyramidal bunches. The vines are often grown on slopes facing the sea where they can benefit from the additional reflected light. Sounds like a place I would like to be.

Our dinner moved onto the main course. This was a Grilled Cornish Game Hen with Sun-Dried-Tomato Pesto and grilled veggies. The main course was paired with (are you sittng down) FIVE different Chianti's!
They were all great in their own ways but I think the hits of the night were the 2006 Peppoli Chianti Classico that the Emsleys brought. Everyone thought this was a hit with the dinner and alone. Another hit was the 2005 Montegrossoli Podere Ciona "SUPERTUSCAN". The other 3 Chianti's, all very good were as follows: 2004 DaVinci Riserva, 2006 Felsina Chianti Classico and a 2006 Tenuta Mormoaia Chianti Colli Senesi. While all of these were great wines I have to say the first two really stood out to everyone based on the discussions.
I know I am running on and on but there is one more course that was an absolute perfect end to the evening. It was a beautiful raspberry tart that was too pretty to eat. But we did! It was incredible. We paired that up with (Ok it wasn't Italian but it has been in our cellar for 3 years and looked good) a Mission Hills 2004 Ice Wine Riesling.
What a night! All I can say is, CIAO! BELLA!

A Recap of all of the wines above:
Canaletto 2006 Pinot Noir Pavia
Argiolas 2006 Costamolino Vermentino Di Sardegna
Peppoli 2006 Chianti Classico
Montegrossoli 2005 Podere Ciona Super Tuscan
Mormoraia 2006 Chianti Colli Senesi
Felsina 2006 Chianti Classico
DaVinci 2004 Chianti Riserva
Mission Hills Family Estate 2004 Ice Wine Riesling

Next Stop: South America! with our new AGN'ers Eric & Nelly.

AGN Lite: Merlot

Whew! A month late and finally getting to the Merlot night. This was a fun evening with a mixed crowd. We did blind tastings of Merlot for under $20. A lot of casual wine drinkers really enjoyed the format and opportunity to disect and analyze what they like about the wine they were tasting.
We had one Shiraz show up in the group. And, we had 2 of the same bottle show up. Interestingly enough, some people rated those two bottles differently in their tasting notes.
Hence, my assertion that for novice tasters (like we all are) there are many many factors that go into our impression of a wine - where we're at, who we're with, our expectations, the music we're listening to, the food we're eating, etc., etc. Obviously good wine is enjoyable in its own right; but, the fruits of a wine life are family, friends, and fun.

Confession!

As Brian mentioned in his earlier post New Years eve was AWESOME! Great friends, excellent wine and really good food. As Brian mentioned we all shared a thought about 2009. I have to share that I made a new years resolution to lose 30 pounds this year and I publicly made a pact (with myself) to not drink wine until I lose 10 pounds. Well, I have to say I started Weight Watchers 5 days ago and had my last drink of Alcohol on that same day. To date I have lost 5 pounds (a pound a day). Tonight, I must admit I fell off the wagon and embided in a great glass of wine. It was even a white wine (Not my favorite).
So I figured since I have broken my pact and did not complete my promise (to myself, however I am still moving forward with the weight watchers thing to lose my 30 pounds) I figured I would write a review of this pretty decent Chardonnay.

Tonights wine was a Chardonnay from Argentina. Produced in the "Maipu" region the Mendoza Valley. It was a St. Lucas 2006. Very nice with our dinner which was pork chops seasoned with sage and black pepper with sauted apples with Cinnamon and brown sugar (a 6 point dinner). It went very well with this. The veggies were a little too seasoned so they made the wine very bitter.
By itself though this wine had nice butter overtones with a hint of melon and a really fruity finish. Not a bad wine that we got with our Vinesse wine club shipment sometime ago.

After tonight, NO MORE WINE UNTIL I LOSE 5 MORE POUNDS!

Salud!

Welcome 2009

The AGN crew rang in 2009 with a somewhat muted but very enjoyable evening of great food, high end wine, and lots of laughter. Our traditional crab meal was on deck but to supplement the fare we also had Filet Mignon done in a new recipe discovered by one of the leading Grape chef's of the group. They were absolutely superb! The evening’s wine selections included some solid, well known selections as well as a few individualized picks.

2006 Brown Zinfandel magnum - a seriously smooth, fruit-driven zin that actually tasted best at the end of the meal, in my opinion. A couple of the Nuts are on the Brown mailing list and are huge fans of this Napa-based winery.

2004 Cyrus - this is a blend and actually came off as the transition between the cabs and the Brown... it has nice fruit presence but a bit more structure and weight than the zin. This is available in Anchorage.

2002 Silver Oak Alexander Valley and 2003 Silver Oak Napa Valley - a pre-dinner visit to Oaken Keg scored 2 bottles of Silver Oak at 40% savings. This wine is a high end recognizable wine and as one Nut put it, "they've perfected their Cabernet." The wines are smooth and very well balanced. Approachable and drinkable now, they went well before dinner and with dinner. The Napa Valley was definitely the stand out with stronger tannins and a bit more presence; but, the AV was no slouch, either.

2005 Woodward Canyon Cabernet Artist Series - this was a dark horse I pulled out of the cellar for the occasion. It was good, but I think another 5-10 years in the cellar is needed on the rest of my bottles. By itself it was a little too strong, maybe too young. At dinner though it really stood out and complemented the steak beautifully. The tannins in this wine rip through the palate and present a long enjoyable finish. This is a wine that definitely needs meat. I’m not sure this is available in Alaska – it was a mail order selection.

The dinner represented what I love about the wine life... each bite was savored while we sat around the table together, enjoying the wine, the flavors, and each other’s company.

We finished out the night with a little touch of port and some Frank Family sparkling wine. We had a visitor and she held up well for her inaugural AGN event; the true test will be if she ever comes back to an AGN adventure, though! To conclude the evening we were each able to go around and share a thought, hope, or goal for 2009.

Our collective AGN goal for 2009 is to go around the world... next stop, Italy and Chianti. Care to join us?