Wine, From the Beginning

Vermont Winery

2008-07-06T21:08:00.000-07:00

At one point during the school year, Halley and I went to the local co-op, on a kick to try local wines. The closest we were able to find were a few scant ones from Upstate New York that didn't exactly look promising. However, a small Vermont vineyard was just granted permission (and funds) by the USDA to start selling their own wine. Thus, never again shall Halley and I be at a loss for local Vermont wines.

Read more HERE.

How full is your glass?

2008-06-30T20:39:00.000-07:00

Apparently, it's OK to be a "glass is 1/3 full" kind of person--as long as you're a wine drinker. Good thing I knew that when I enjoyed this South American selection over the weekend.

"Bodega Enrique Foster Ique Malbec" (Argentina)
2007
Average Price: $12.00

Review:

I'll admit, I've been a bit out of practice with my wine reviewing this summer, not so much because I'm not drinking wine (the whites have been plentiful at the dinner table), but because I have no one to openly discuss the wines with and learn the lingo. I haven't been able to bring myself to openly admit my wine fascination to my family yet - I'll wait until Italy.

In the meantime, back to the Malbec. This was quite good. And, it made me realize that the Carmenere blend Halley and I tried back in May was much more Malbec than Carmenere (which is probably why we preferred it to the straight Carmenere). Anyway, before food, there was a very peculiar after taste to this that was faintly reminiscent of plastic. I'm sure there is a chemical reason for why this occurred (it could very well have been the mixture of plum and pepper and pre-dinner cashews that created this), but the point is that the flavor was off before dinner.

Dinner, however, consisted of lightly grilled salmon and a spicy peanut dipping suace which the Malbec partnered with beautifully. I was very excited, and I almosted said so at the dinner table. In general, I am finding that I prefer the why red wine pairs with food (though white was perhaps the best option for our light dinner pasta salad tonight.)

Anyway, I hope to keep blogging more on wine now that the summer is in full swing and I need something to do.

Buona sera tutti-

Emily

Everything you wanted to know about grapes?

2008-04-28T20:06:00.000-07:00

Don't have a refined pallet? Have no idea what people are talking about when they say, "This wine is a dark violet. Smoke-tinged blackberry and blackcurrant on the nose, with complicating notes of cured meat and sweet vanilla. Suave and round, with supple tannins framing sweet raspberry and blackberry flavors. Finishes fleshy, sweet and persistent, with subtle lingering notes of smoke and spice."

WTF, Mate?

Well, I have a trick for you. Go HERE and just memorize what's supposed to be in each wine. Among 90% of the people you'll ever drink wine with, this will be good enough.

For Halley and I on the other hand, this is just the beginning. We must develop our pallets to the point that they improve upon these definitions. Oh god, I'm sounding pompous and sassy and I haven't even had a class of wine.

Anyway, the most intriguing one to me seems to be the Carmenere, in which one can find " flavors of coffee, various fruits, spices, such as cinnamon, green pepper and chocolate."

Scandalous!

2008-04-20T07:46:00.000-07:00

topix is claiming today, "There are no rules for pairing food and wine," and asking us to discuss.

Could this be true? Is all the struggle to find the perfect Reisling to go with my medium rare Tenderloin all for nothing?

My personal opinion is that yes, there must be rules. I feel like if the wine causes a reaction with the food in your mouth, either exacerbating, enhancing or dulling the flavor of the food, then there must be rules as to what goes with what, even if it's as simple as pairing with like textures. I'll give you an example. One of the times we had the Black Sheep (reviewed below), we made a spicy Thai Peanut Chicken flatbread pizza. The pizza: fantastic. The wine: fantastic. The two together = mouth on fire and perhaps a little too much flavor to be enjoyable. Thus, it's because of instances like that that I feel a newbie such as myself needs to be told that great wine + great food does not always equal great meal. There, I just gave you a real.

There are no comments yet, but my prediction is that this one's going to be epic.

Wine Night!

2008-04-17T16:48:00.001-07:00

It's 70+ degrees out still and perfect. The kind of weather that makes you want to take a half an hour or more to get to class, nice and light and comfortable. Thus, we kept our wine selection tonight just that: airy and fruity. (Or, at least, we tried.)

Selection:

"Protocolo 750 mL" Vino De La Tierra De Castilla (Spain)
2005 (No varietal listed)
13% Alcohol
Price Paid: $7.99

Thoughts:

Well, according to my roommate, this wine was not light and fruity, but that's just because she only likes grape juice. Halley and I, well, we're a little stumped, slightly impeded by our lack of vocabulary. I think I'm actually going to have to agree with my roommate on this one and say that it isn't light and fruity, however it's not rich and heavy (and amazing) like the Black Sheep. There's a definite difference. Though, there's also less taste of berry as there was in the Argentinian wine from last week. Halley says, "It doesn't have a smooth finish...you definitely need something to chase it with. It just like stays on your tongue." I totally agree. It's not a bad wine, and I don't know if it's just a table wine either (though, thechnically, it's supposed to be, according to Google). We paired it with Ranch dip and Kettle Lightly Salted Chips and maple roasted organic cashews and it seemed to work with those. I think overall, we're going to have to go with "mediocre" on this one. Not good. Not bad. Just a decent, tolerable red wine for under ten bucks.

I think the greater significance of this wine night however is that we've learned two things tonight. 1) We need to take wine classes 2) As amazing as the co-op is, we are definitely still limited out here in middle-of-nowhere Vermont by our wine selection (and our budget as college students).

Final Recommendation:

A good wine to have on hand (for cheap) to have for when you're stressed and just really need a glass of wine to help you relax. (The website does say, after all, "Gulpable." - Editors' note: This is not an accurate claim.)

The 2007 Vintage

2008-04-12T12:49:00.000-07:00

Apparently, the 2007 Bordeaux wines are the best since the 2003 selection, which consisted of the grapes exposed to France's deadly heat wave.

Significance: This year, French whites are as en vogue as portraits of Carla Bruni.

Wine of the Week - All-week edition

2008-04-12T12:36:00.000-07:00

*Our selection for Wine Night this week ended up being more the selection of the week since we didn't really have much time for more than a quick glass periodically.

Finca El Portillo Pinot Noir 2006 Valle De uco Mendoza, Bodega (Argentina)
13.5% alcohol
Price paid: Under $20

Honestly, this one does not get our most favorable review to date (because we've reviewed so many). It is definitely what I would call a table wine. The presence of the darker berries gives it an after taste that is just a little too tart to enjoy without food. It's been a couple days now since we finished the bottle and I don't remember how it tastes. This compared to the Black Sheep which I haven't had in almost two weeks and I can still tell you what it tasted like. (Thick and spicy. Mmm.) In other words, if mouths have memories, this is not a wine they remember. Which again, would make it a good Pinot to have when there is something else to feature, such as a citrus pasta or caper chicken dish. Oh god, now I'm hungry.

Recommendation: Next time you're at a food tasting, bring this wine along.

Friday Night Wine

2008-04-05T06:27:00.000-07:00

OK, so last night we broke the rules a little. Actually I don't think there are any rules (other than the whole age and alcohol thing) except maybe to enjoy wine. In that case, we successfully obeyed all the rules last night. We had a nice/average selection of red wine and watched Sideways. Cliched, perhaps, but entertaining, especially when the buzz hits in the middle of the movie. And, I don't know about Halley, but I definitely just needed the complete release afforded by the small bottle of wine: a little relaxation mixed with a lot of laughter chased down by a night out at the Bunker dancing our hearts out.

Anyway, last night's selection:

Mano a Mano La Mancha 2006 (Spanish Red)
13.5% Alcohol
Price Paid: Under $20

Review:

Again, I still don't really know much of what I'm talking about but this wine seemed fairly average to me. It had a strong smell at first that quickly died after poured. It sort of lies flat in your mouth, providing more tartness then flavor while making your teeth furry (I believe that means it has a lot of tannins). It was, however, completely drinkable and we enjoyed it very much, especially by the time we were almost finished. The more negative reviews of it just might be stemming from the fact that all Miles talks about in Sideways is Pinot.

Recommendation: I have no idea how this tastes with food, since we weren't eating, but the movie helped because then the drinking was what you did while doing something else. This should not be a focus wine.

Wine Night!

2008-04-03T21:26:00.000-07:00

So tonight is Thursday. And that means Wine Night! Woo hoo! (Well, actually, it's Friday now. So I suppose that's an indication of a successful evening.)

Selection for this evening: "The Black Sheep: Because Every Family Has One"

Hugh Hamilton/McLaren Vale "The Villian 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Blanc" (Australia)
15.0% Alcohol
Price paid: $19.99
Awards: Top 100 2007, Sydney International Win Competition Blue-Gold Award 2007 (Judged with food)
Food: Vermont hard Cheddar Cheese (1 year aged), Picante Chorizo Sausage link, Frozen Raspberries

Review:

OK, I'm by no means a connoisseur (yet) of wines, so there's no way I can judge this wine appropriately. The bottom line is, however: we like it. This is the only bottle that we have bought a second time (though the other time was for a pizza night). In my opinion it's actually quite spicy, or rather, it somehow manages to draw out the spices in the other foods. It's a bizarre feeling but it definitely reacts with the food in your mouth rather than just compliment or contrast it. It also doesn't seem to me to be a very heavy wine (b/c I know so much), especially for being 15% alcohol. In otherwords, after a couple of glasses, it didn't go to my head. Of all the wines we've had so far in our short series, this one holds a position as a favorite.

Recommendation: Don't eat with overly spicy foot; it does not cool the pallet.

Wine Fact

2008-04-03T17:03:00.000-07:00

All of the vineyards in the Hamptons (yes, there are vineyards in the Hamptons) could fit into a medium sized vineyard in Napa.

Crazy. (And mad expensive.)

Some Hamptons Wines/Vineyards:
- Bedell Cellars
- Pellegrini Vineyards

(source: "Uncorked with Billy Meritt" on MOJO.

The Beginning of Wine Night

2008-04-03T16:37:00.000-07:00

Here's the deal: this blog is about wine. The catch? We know nothing about wine...yet.

After a week in the Caribbean before Spring semester started, my friend Halley and I decided that we needed to deliberately set aside time each week to take a break from the never ending stacks of homework. Stress is bad, but it can be managed. Thus, we came up with "Thursday Wine Night". Every Thursday night, the two of us (none of our other friends actually like wine) take some time to just sit and have a glass of wine, usually red. Sometimes we have food, sometimes we just sit an chat. Basically, it's our own spin on the notorious "Thirsty Thursday". Think this is a bad idea? Talk to the striking writers who took away The Office, Grey's Anatomy, and Gossip Girl.

As we started buying the wine (or, rather, as Halley started buying the wine), we realized it would be beneficial to actually know what we were drinking and how to evaluate the wines. We are after all, Middlebury students, sophisticated business meetings and dinners are in our future. None of what we learn will be invaluable (at least that's what we keep telling ourselves). Thus, we are making a foray into the world of wine, from tasting to festivals, from Napa to Tuscany, one Thursday at a time.

The purpose of this blog is to help us document what we discover and learn so we don't forget it. What good is knowledge if it does not last? Our hope, or at least my hope, is that this will eventually become a larger research compendium and chronicle about wine. (For example, I will be actually living in Tuscany next fall.) Most of what we drink on Wine Nights is red, mostly because it's what we both prefer and partly because my parents mostly drink white at home. However, this blog and what we learn will cover wine in general.

We hope you enjoy the fun as much as we do!

Buona sera tutti,

Em