Happy New Year and a bit of Spanish

Happy New Year everyone!

Realizing I’ve been absent from this blog for quite some time, I decided to at least pop in and tell you I enjoyed a sip of the Bohorquez Reserva 2006  from  Ribera del Duero tonight.. Quite a modern tasting wine, but still enjoyable as I’m always a fan of wines from Spain.  With family from Spain and having spent countless summers there growing up, I feel closely connected to the country and thus always find myself in a bit of a sentimental mood when drinking wine from this region.

Produced at a state-of-the-art winery founded in 1999, designed for minimal impact on the environment,  the grapes for this wine are hand picked -and sorted and spends a minimum of 13 months in a combination of American and French oak and aged again in bottle to complete 36 months.  A blend of 85%Tempranillo, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Merlot, this wine is vibrant and elegant with a velvety mouth feel.

Tasting Note:

Deep ruby color, vanilla and oak on the nose, with ripe blackberries, black plums and cherries, which mimic on the full bodied palate.  I get an additional big taste of blackcurrant in the mouth, paired with moderate acidity and tannins.  The blackcurrant follows through on the finish, along with noticeable spicy oak. All in all, however –  a pleasant, satisfying wine I would happily drink again. Drink now or keep 3-5 years.

Rating: 3.5/5

Cremant de Loire: Bubbles on a budget

With the heat wave continuing in New York, I’ve been seeking out light, refreshing, low alcohol wines to enjoy while I’m “suffering” through the summer.  Of course, most people would say to avoid alcohol in its entirety during the most oppressing days of heat – but then again, what fun is that?  Drinking wines from cool climate regions is typically my favorite past time anyway, and the Loire is no exception.  I’ve been on a roll lately where I’ve been able to find some incredibly interesting and delicious tasting wines at my new workplace, and the other day my colleague recommended I try the Chateau de L’aulee Cremant de Loire Brut NV.  This wine is made by Marielle Henrion (I have a soft spot for female wine makers) who was the winemaker at Bollinger for 15 years and also has experience working at Pommery.  Chateau de L’aulee was built in 1856 by the Cordier family, and in 1973 Champagne Deutz bought the domain, rebuilt it and replanted it with the Chenin grape. Today, with 37 ha of vineyard, sparkling wine represents 80%  of the production at the chateau.

Made from 100% hand harvested Chenin Blanc (traditional method is applied), the grapes are gently pressed and the wine stays on its lees for 24 months. It is then blended with older, barrel aged vintages to bring a round, complex flavor profile. The result is a beautiful sparkling wine that is both easy to drink but has multiple layers of flavors and brings this wine into a league close to Champagne, in my opinion.

Chenin Blanc, along with Riesling, is probably one of the world’s most under appreciated grapes, and like Riesling, can produce a whole variety of different styles of wines from sparkling to dry, semi sweet and dessert wines.  Characteristic flavors of Chenin include apples, peach, honey, acacia, greengage and quince with great minerality and relatively low alcohol. While often referred to as Pineau de la Loire in its native region of Loire; in South Africa,  it has taken off with great success (and often called “Steen”), and has nearly double the amount of vines planted than France. While I don’t think South African wines have quite the same complexity of Chenins from the Loire, they retain the same amount of great acidity which make them very pleasurable to drink.

If you are typically reaching for Prosecco or Cava when not able to afford Champagne, I highly recommend trying out a Cremant de Loire. There are also Cremant de Bourgogne, Cremant de Limoux, Cremant de Die, Cremant du Jura and Cremant d’Alsace from the other respective regions of France which are interesting and worth seeking out too.

The label “cremant” was originally applied because their lower carbon dioxide pressure made them more creamy in texture than other sparkling wines with a more fizzy mouth feel. They are thought to be the finest sparkling wines outside of the Champagne region because they apply the traditional (Champagne) method and must also be hand harvested. Cremants must be aged for a minimum of one year and there are strict laws dictating which grapes and how much of each, can be added into the wines.

Cremant de Loire was created in 1975, and the grapes that can be used are Chenin Blanc (the most common grape), Chardonnay, Grolleau (no more than 30%), Pineau d’Anis, Pinot Noir, Arbois and Cabernet Franc. There are nearly 200 producers of Cremant de Loire, the majority located around the town of Saumur, and there are some really high level wine making going on here.

This bottle is truly a great steal and high quality wine for the price – below are my tasting notes but make sure you pick up a bottle of this (or a case!) and make up your own opinion of this!

TASTING NOTES:  Chateau de L’aulee Cremant de Loire Brut NV

Clear golden core with intense, medium sized bubbles. Toast, yeast, citrus and wood on the nose – definitely more going on than the average sparkling wine at this price point.  Deliciously creamy on the palate, I get ripe pear, apple, peach, some pineapple and acacia flavors.  The bubbles feel somewhat aggressive.  Crisp refreshing acidity.  Bordering on medium bodied, the alcohol is medium as well but has enough fruit to retain balance. Good length.

Conclusion: A rich, crisp and supple cremant with layers of fruit flavors and a lovely mouth feel. As the temperature of the wine lowered a bit in the glass, the flavors became more developed and almost went to a slightly oxidized state (in a good way). The wine kept changing in the glass which made this a truly fascinating and rewarding wine.

Rating: 3.5/5

Food Pairing: All types of cheeses, green salads, seafood/shellfish dishes, particularly langostines with citrus dressings.

Retail Price: $15

P.X. I love you

Since I started my new job, I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to try some really different and exciting wines at a very reasonable price.  One of them is Martino Old Vine Pedro Ximenez 2011 from Mendoza, Argentina.  Ok, while I didn’t fully love the wine as my headline implies, I am always intrigued by wines made from grape varieties and methods that are unusual.

Pedro Ximenez, or “PX”,  is a white grape from southern Spain, typically made into sweet, rich, fortified wines and also used as a blending ingredient in sherry (but has now been pretty much replaced by Palomino).  While this grape has the ability to produce incredibly seductive, concentrated dessert wines with a silky, syrupy texture, as a table grape it has been less successful.  Table wines made from Pedro Ximenez are often dull, lacking in acidity and character.  In Don Martino’s wine, this was definitely not the case!

Although the bottle reads “Pedro Ximenez” (the Spanish spelling), I was curious if this grape actually was the Pedro Gimenez or Pedro Jimenez,  a declining but still important white grape in Argentina used to make every day wines for domestic consumption. Apparently it has no connection with the Pedro Ximenez variety from Spain.  Chile also grows Pedro Gimenez, which they use in pisco, the local brandy. From what I could find out, this is indeed the Spanish variety of PX.   Fincas Don Martino is a project that started in 2002  between famous agronomist Mauricio Parodi and Buenos Aires businessman Hugo Martino. The vineyard is located 3,850 feet above sea level, with vines planted in 1926. In addition to dry PX, they produce two Malbec wines as well as a small quantity of old vine Semillon.  All are produced organically and are bottled unfined and unfiltered.  The Old Vine PX is fermented and aged in stainless steel with 30% of the wine undergoing extensive lees stirring.

This is a wine that I found pleasurable and interesting to drink and that gave me something to think about. That is, after all – what I am looking for in wine!

Tasting Notes:  

Light golden core with a slightly rubbery nose (somewhat excess sulfur?), but after a while in the glass I detected good citrus and floral aromas. Full bodied on the palate, it is floral and a bit spicy, notes of apricot, honey and bitter almonds.  The wine disappears a bit quickly on the finish but still has a good, round mouth feel and has me going for another sip rather quickly.

Conclusion:  While I didn’t love the nose on this, the palate was a lot more pleasurable with an interesting texture and layers of flavors that come alive with food.

Food Pairing:  Zesty and spicy, this wine would go well with cheeses high in acid salads and fish dishes with citrus.

Rating: 3/5

Retail Price: $15

Great find for under $10!

I must admit it has been a while since I’ve been blown away by a wine at this price range, but it happened the other night.   “Les Rials” from Domaine de la Chanade proved to be both easy to drink and complex.  Happily this originated from the Gaillac region in south-western France, as it so happened I have been wanting to try more wines from this area.  This wine is made from the thousand year old varietal “Loin de L’Oeil”, which is dialect for Len de L’elh, meaning “far from sight” – referring to the vine’s long stems. This grape, a source of pride for the region, has the capability of producing powerful, full bodied wines of great character.  It is often seen as minor ingredient in the white wines of Gaillac along with the region’s other white grape variety Mauzac, and while sometimes lacking in acid, I saw none of that in this example.

Gaillac has a long wine producing history, even longer than Bordeaux and is considered one of France’s oldest viticultural areas. Producing all types of wine, from deep colored reds from Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Fer and Syrah, rosès and fruity whites (Mauzac, Sauvignon Blanc, Muscadelle, Ondenc and Len de L’el), lovely dessert wines and even sparkling wines, this is a dynamic region with plenty of versatility.  Outside investments are on the rise, as land is still relatively inexpensive. Expect to see more exciting wines coming out of this region!

Established in 1997, Domaine de la Chanade harvests all their grapes by hand and practices sustainable wine making . “Les Rials” is barrel fermented and aged on its lees which gives the wine great length and a wonderful texture.

I don’t often say this but this is a wine I would buy by the case loads – it is just that good (and affordable)!  Perfectly fine to sip on its own, I can see this paired with a variety of summer dishes as well as cheeses and desserts.

TASTING NOTES:

“Les Rials” Domaine de la Chanade 2012

Golden color, the wine is very clean while extremely floral and honeyed on the nose. Stone fruit and white flowers come in as well.  Medium bodied on the palate,  flavors of rose water, apricot, peach, honey and white flowers come through with a slightly spicy finish. Pleasant, firm acidity beautifully intermingled with all the ripe fruit flavors, the wine has a great texture with a toasty nuttiness and creaminess coming from the aging on the lees, and finishes long.

Conclusion:  This is one of the most interesting wines I’ve tasted in a long time. Incredibly aromatic with intense flavors.  Reminds me almost of a super dry Gewurztraminer.  Delicious with multiple layers and depth of flavor – an incredible steal and must buy for the summer!

Rating: 4.5/5  (related to price point)

Food Pairing: Grilled chicken dishes,  swordfish, shellfish salads, spicy prawns, apricot desserts, apple pie, semi hard cheeses.

Retail Price: $9.99

Giving Bordeaux a chance

Unlike many other wine “geeks” out there, I never really got obsessed with the wines from Bordeaux.  One of the major reasons is probably because I have actually never been to the region (and am somewhat ashamed to admit this, as this is probably among the first wine trips one should make) and thus never got a personal feel for them.  Secondly, I haven’t tasted enough older vintages to fully appreciate what these wines can do, but for some reason I don’t have the urge to that often. Thirdly, I tend to favor the wines from Burgundy where I can feel and taste the passion of the vignerons, they seem to be more personally involved with not just their wines, but every single vine, leaf and berry on their plot.  In Bordeaux it seems to be all about the commerce,  and winemakers doing anything to make wines that will achieve that perfect (and silly)100 number score. That said, I know I am grossly generalizing and it always irritates me when I don’t “get” a certain region or wine, so I am always eager to explore.

I found a wine in my cellar the other day I purchased a while back, and figured I would give it a go.   The Chateau Moulin Saint-Georges Saint-Emilion Grand Crus 2005 is made by the Vauthier Family of the Chateau Ausone fame. Chateau Ausone is one of only four wines (along with Chateau Angelus, Chateau Cheval Blanc and Chateau Pavie) with the Premier Grand Cru Classe ranking in the Classification of Saint-Emilion wine.  Located close to the town of St. Emilion,  there are about 7 ha of planted vineyards with about 66% Merlot and the remaining 34% is a combination of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon.

When looking at Bordeaux wine, one must distinguish between the wines of the Left Bank, where Cabernet Sauvignon rules, and includes wines of Graves and Pessac-Leognan, and those of the Right Bank, where Merlot is king, followed by Cabernet Franc.  The terroir and the styles of the wines are different.  Largely speaking, the wines of the Left Bank tend to be authoritative, capable of great elegance and longevity, while the Right Bank wines tends to be juicier, more approachable in their youth and a bit spicier. While the aforementioned general descriptions are about red wines, Bordeaux also produces white wines, both dry and sweet. The best come from south and southeast of Bordeaux (Sauternes and Barsac both make world class sweet wines from botrytized grapes), varying in intensity and seriousness.

The 2005 vintage was superb across the board, where the wines are delicious  young and will also age really well.  My pick, the Chateau Moulin St-Georges 2005, was made from 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, and has the same soil as Chateau Ausone, clay over limestone. The vines are on average 25 years old, and planted at a density of 5,500 vines per hectare. After harvest (all grapes are harvested by hand), the fermentation is conducted in temperature-controlled, stainless steel tanks with a month-long cuvaison. After malolactic fermentation, the wine is aged for up to 18 months in 100% new French oak. The wine is produced by the same team as Chateau Ausone and with the same care.  Production is very limited here, only 3000 cases made.

Tasting Notes:

Dark inky color, I get intense black fruit on the nose of black cherries and blackberries, as well as some developing, meaty aromas along with a Port-like scent.  Black pepper, earthy tones, violet and licorice follows. In the mouth, the wine is medium bodied, with a good tannic grip, but while obvious and present, they blend in well with the dark fruit. Some spiciness on the palate with the same black fruit that I detected on the nose, in addition to some red cherries, cassis, plums and star anise.  Great structure with long length.

Conclusion: Very elegant and pretty wine that I feel, while fine to drink right now, still needs a few years to develop a bit more complexity and come into its full capacity.  While I wasn’t overwhelmed by the wine, I see great potential and it spiked my curiosity enough to continue my search for a Bordeaux wine that will change my prejudice mind, for sure! Drink from 2015.

Price: Average $60

Rating: 3.5/5

Food Pairing:  Beef Wellington, steak, braised short ribs, roast duck, cassoulet, rack of lamb, grilled sausage w/peppers.

The Shawangunk Trail 2013

This past weekend I decided to join the yearly Shawangunk Trail here in the Hudson Valley. It is a popular event that spans over two days, where people travel freely on their own between the dozen or so participating wineries in the region. People get to taste a selected number of wines from each winery, matched with food from around the world. An economical way to taste a large variety of local wines, it is also offers a good opportunity to become more familiar with each vineyard, meet the winemakers (sometimes) and learn what they specialize in, as well as being able to purchase their wine at a special discount.

Living in the Hudson Valley with wineries practically around the corner, I feel both a curiosity and a sense of obligation to check them out. For all intents and purposes, when reviewing NY wines I am not comparing them to any other wines.  Not the wines from California or Oregon, nor France or Germany. Hell, I’m not really even comparing Hudson Valley wines to the ones from Finger Lakes or Long Island.  It seems unfair, in a way, because their history, climate, culture and level of expertise.vary tremendously.   Rather, each year I visit the vineyards, I hope to see progress in the wines and I was both pleased and disappointed on my recent trip.

Instead of trying to rush through all the wineries , I decided to make it a leisurely day and focus on five wineries this time: Benmarl Winery and Glorie Farm Winery, both located in Marlboro, Adair Vineyards and Robibero Family Vineyards in New Paltz, and finally Whitecliff Vineyards and Winery in Gardiner.

My first stop, Benmarl Winery, is conveniently located only about 30 minutes from my house, on the other side of the Hudson River. I’ve always been of the opinion that this is Hudson Valley’s most underrated winery, as I find their wines to be delicious and possess their own unique character.  This is a small, charming winery in a gorgeous setting, and all their employees are incredibly warm and welcoming.

The first wine I tasted was the Slate Hill White, half Riesling and half Chardonnay, majority steel fermented with a small portion being oak fermented. This is a refreshing, straight forward wine with good fruit balanced with crisp acidity. I got flavors of lemon, grapefruit, pears, green apples and some pineapple.  The wine had a bit of a hollow mid palate and disappeared a bit too quickly on the finish but overall a wine I would be happy to drink on the porch this summer.  The next one, their Dry Rose, was a blend of 45% Merlot, 45% Cabernet Franc, 5% Traminette and 5% Chardonnay.  Here I got that foxy note I sometimes get in wines where the grapes are sourced from Long Island and although there were some nice cherry and raspberry flavors in the wine, this aroma and flavor really takes over for me, and this was not my favorite.

Moving on to their Traminette was much more pleasant. The wine had a nice honeysuckle nose with floral aromas and tropical and lychee flavors as well as some nuttiness to it.  I can see why many wineries in the region choose to make wine from this grape, as it seems to really thrive here. The fourth and last wine of the Shawangunk wine selection was the Slate Hill Red, a combination of Malbec (40%), Merlot (40%) and Cabernet Franc (20%).  This too, had elements of the foxy aromas and flavors I dislike but less so than the rose. The common denominator here is the Cabernet Franc in the blend, and I suspect it is this grape variety causing this undesirable (to me) effect. The wine was nice and light in the mouth with soft tannins, and would be an appropriate summer wine if you want to stick with red.

I was fortunate enough to meet the proprietor of Benmarl, Victor Spaccarelli, who introduced me to his son and winemaker, Matthew. Matthew was gracious enough to bring me down to the cellar to taste a couple of their barrel samples. They are currently experimenting with their first ever sparkling wine made from 100% Chardonnay, which will be bottled in July.  I was pleasantly surprised with the juice – refreshing, piercing acid (right now has a PH value of about 2.92, ,Matthew said), with a creamy texture and nice nuttiness adding layers of complexity.  I look forward to picking up a bottle of this later this summer!

The second barrel sample I was offered was of their Reserve Chardonnay, which is ready to be bottled now.  Made from two different Chardonnay clones, it is barrel fermented for about 2-3 months in 40-50% new oak (where they typically only use 20%), they use a mixture of Hungarian and neutral white oak barrels.  The wine was full bodied with tropical fruit flavors of pineapple and mango, as well as vanilla, honey and oak, but I didn’t find the oak intrusive. A pleasant, balanced and well made wine –  I can see it pair well with salmon, chicken and duck.  Great way to end my first tasting and thanks to the entire staff at Benmarl for being such wonderful hosts.

Benmarl Winery, 156 Highland Avenue, Marlboro, NY 12542. Tel 845.236.4265. http://benmarl.com

What a fabulous beginning of the trail! Next stop was Glorie Farm Winery, about five minutes from Benmarl, where they offered tasters a choice of their dry or their semi-sweet/sweet flights. I selected the prior, hoping to find some new gems.  I am not familiar with this winery, in fact it was my first time here although I have seen their wines around. Small but quaint property, I walked in with big hopes.  The first wine poured was a Seyval Blanc 2010.  Bright citrus with crisp acidity and a medium body, it showed some minerality and had a nice length.  Not bad.

Moving on to the second wine, their Riesling 2011, this was semi-dry with a bit of a funky nose but provided good acidity, with flavors of ripe apples, pear and melon as well as some honeysuckle. Did it blow my mind? No, but I had no expectations going in here. The third wine, Dechaunac Oak 2010, this wine was aged for 12 months in oak barrels, but simply did not have the structure or body to take the oak treatment. I found the nose to be extremely buttery and with lots of vanilla aromas, while on the palate it was light bodied with red currants, some spiciness, earthy and herbal. Some foxiness as well. This wine needs some major adjustment or may be beyond help.

The flight was finalized with their Red Monkey,  a blend of their estate reds and Cabernet Sauvignon (whatever that means, the person pouring seemed disinterested in chatting and was definitely not educated about the wines), it was aged for 4 months in both old French barrels and new American oak.  Again, I found this wine to be very light bodied, and flavors that came through were red cherries and plum with some earthy undertones. Overall I am not impressed with this winery, I think they have ways to go before they are able to measure up to other New York producers.

Glorie Farm Winery, 40 Mountain Road, Marlboro, NY 12542. Tel 845.236.3265. http://gloriewine.com

With one positive and one not that great experience, I continued my journey to Adair Vineyards in New Paltz.  Located in an old red barn, it is one of the more charming settings for a winery I think, and really makes you feel like you are “in the country”.

I  had the pleasure of getting to know the proprietor and winemaker, Mark, a couple of years ago when we were both vendors at various farmers markets around the valley.  Having studied at UC Davis and with experience from working at vineyards in Napa, Sonoma and Paso Robles among other places, he found his calling in New York, where he says there are “real” vintage variations and true challenges when making wine.  I find Mark to be quite the authentic and passionate winemaker, always experimenting with his wines and taking chances. Here he is below (and the reason for his dreads/wig is that Adair was assigned Jamaica as a food region for the trail, it’s not how he normally dresses!)

Mark’s specialty is definitely in sweet wines, often blended with other fruits and berries such as peach and blackcurrant.  The grapes are always sourced from his own estate and the berries and fruit from the surrounding  farms in the Hudson Valley.  He believes the fruit should originate 100% from the Hudson Valley in order to be called Hudson Valley wines.  With only 1500-2500 cases produces per year, it is truly a treat to taste his wines.

The first wine in Adair’s line up was their Landmarc White 2011, a blend of 60% Seyval Blanc, 30% Cayuga White and 10% Vidal Blanc.  Aged in a combination of 4 year old French, American and Hungarian oak barrels for 8 months, I found this to be a very fresh, lively wine with citrus, apple and pineapple flavors with the type of acidity and minerality often found in wines from northern Italy or Alsace. This would be a wine I would happily purchase in the store to mix it up from my other, more traditional French and Italian choices.

The second wine was their 2012 Kir Peche – this is a semi-dry style wine containing 90% Cayuga White and 10% peche (peach juice).  This is perhaps for someone who like their wines sweeter or a novice needing something more approachable.  Not my style of wine, but it’s well made and not to cloyingly sweet, and I would definitely add this in my sangria!

Moving on to wine #3, this was their Landmark Red, which was quite interesting, made from 50% Frontenac and 50% Leon Millot. I had never heard of or tasted the latter grape, Mark told me its parent is Pinot Noir, and is a French-American hybrid created in France.  With a high resistance to fungal diseases, it thrives well in cool climates, produces a highly colored wine and is often blended with Pinot Noir.  It is often grown in Burgundy outside the AC areas. The general flavor profile of Leon Millot include red and black fruits, as well as both chocolate and earthy notes.

The Landmark red had a nice garnet core with red cherries, plum and earthy flavors. A bit peppery with some herbal notes (thyme mostly), it was light to maybe medium in body. A lovely wine overall.  I asked Mark what his formula was to get the wines balanced, and he said he picks his grapes twice; once at the lower end of ripeness, and the other half at slightly the higher end of ripeness. His beliefs are that if you pick them in the middle, the grapes develop a sort of funky (or what I refer to as foxy) aroma and flavor, that I often come across in other Hudson Valley wines, but none of this is present in Mark’s wines.

The fourth and final wine is Mark’s best seller, The Blackcurrant Kir Rouge 2012.  A blend of 95% Dechaunac and 5% Blackcurrant wine, it has intense blackcurrant aromas, mixed with ripe plums and a nice thyme scent, which repeats on the palate.

I envision this pairing really well with cheese, as well as perhaps sneaking in a few drops into your sparkling wine for a refreshing brunch cocktail.   This visit was definitely interesting, and it’s always infectious to chat with an enthusiastic winemaker such as Mark. Make sure you go visit him if you are in the Hudson Valley!

Adair Winery, 52 Allhusen Road, New Paltz, New York 1251. Tel 845.255.1377.  http://adairvineyards.com

By this time, I was definitely in the groove, and ready for my fourth stop, the lovely vineyard belonging to the Robibero Family. This is a gorgeous winery, located not too far from my fifth and last stop, and perhaps more well known winery of Whitecliff.  Harry Robibero and his wife come from Westchester, and purchased this winery in 2003, when there was an existing winery on the property. In 2007, that winery announced they were vacating the location and Harry and his family took over.  I was lucky enough to meet them shortly thereafter, when my husband and I ran a catering company, Fork and Glass, and we catered a lovely wine dinner there in 2010 which was a lot of fun.  Today, the winemaker is Kristop Brown, who learned to make wine under Eric Miller at Benmarl Winery, followed by a period in Walla Walla, Washington before returning to his roots in the Hudson Valley.   Ryan Selby is Harry’s son-in-law, and he is the assistant winemaker, and his wife, Harry’s daughter Tiffany, manages the winery.  This is truly a family affair, and every time I visit they are always so warm and welcoming, it makes me want to spend all day there!   Since their vines are still young, most of the grapes used in their wines are sourced from other areas in New York, but I was happy to learn from Ryan that their very first vines will bear fruit this vintage, which will be a selection of Vidal Blanc, Lacrosse and Cabernet Franc.  Excited to taste how these grapes will perform!

On to the wines… Wine # 1 was their 87 North, a blend of Vidal Blanc and Cayuga. The grapes were sourced from the Finger Lakes, and is a refreshing and delicate wine with flavors of pear, apple and melon.  Crisp acidity with a fairly long finish, this is very well made and definitely worth trying out.

The second wine I tasted was their Dry Riesling 2011 (Double Gold Medal Winner at the Finger Lakes International Wine Competition). This was slightly off dry but with firm acidity, pineapple and honeysuckle on the palate. Overall a good wine, and suitable for an every day drinking wine.   Wine #3 was their Arctic Riesling 2011, which I was excited about trying because of the somewhat silly reason that I also am the author of a food blog called Arctic Grub.

Arctic Riesling is known to survive in quite harsh and cold climates and produce wines with a distinct pear flavor.  I found the aromas and flavor somewhat similar to a Sauvignon Blanc although with more layers of ripe fruit. It had some developing notes on the nose, intensely honeyed with pineapple, mango and peach flavors, finished on a leaner citrusy note. The length was a bit short, but this wine definitely has potential. Aged for 8 months in old 60 gallon Burgundy chardonnay barrels.

Moving on to red wines, the fourth wine was a treat, as I got to taste a barrel sample of their Cabernet Franc , made with 100% Cabernet Franc sourced from Cayuga Lake. Deep ruby core, with vanilla and ripe black fruit aromas,  entering the palate, I sensed that familiar slight foxy flavor I get in Cabernet Franc from NY but it seemed to dissipate towards the end. Ripe red cherries, blackberries and blackcurrant,  tannins and acidity were subtle but present, well integrated. I imagine this to be a pleasant wine when bottled, provided the foxy notes stay subdued.

Finally, the fifth wine I will mention was their 2010 Syrah, 100% Syrah from West Seneca.  (I also had a few other samples but will reserve these for another post). This was a lovely and restrained wine, peppery with tart, red cherries, plums, sage and thyme flavors with a good tannic grip and firm acidity.  Aged for 18 months in French oak barrels, this was a pretty, elegant wine with good structure that showed finesse.  Perhaps my favorite red wine of all the wines I have tasted yet in the Hudson Valley

It is no secret that Robibero is one of my favorite wineries, if not my absolute favorite in the Hudson Valley. The quality of the wines are just superior, they do a great job despite their young age and short experience and although there can definitely be improvements, I see enormous potential for these guys in the future. Do yourself a favor and go visit them this weekend if you don’t have plans, and if you do, make sure you put it in your calendar this summer!

Robibero Family Vineyards, 714 Albany Post Rd, New Paltz, NY 12561. Tel 845.255.9463. http://rnewyorkwine.com

As I drove off to my fifth and final winery for the day, Whitecliff Vineyard & Winery, I felt happy I had only decided to visit five places that day. After all, impressions and senses are reduced and your taste buds completely desensitized after a certain amount of hours have passed.  This was perhaps my fourth or fifth visit to Whitecliff, but I think at least a year has passed since the last time I had stopped in.  The winery was perhaps the most crowded of the day but it was also later in the afternoon when the bigger groups move in.  A bachelorette party was gathered outside and other guests were sitting around on the lovely lawn enjoying their lunch, as I headed in to the tasting room.

The first wine in the flight was their Rose, made from a blend of Cayuga and Dechaunac. Very fruit, verging on off dry, this medium bodied wine had flavors of strawberries, raspberries and some powdered sugar.  Not as structured as I like my roses but a decent ‘sipper’.   The second wine, Awosting White, a blend of Seyval Blanc and Vignoles,  I remembered as being quite good when I tasted it a year or two ago. Sadly, the sample I received last weekend was incredibly sulfurous on the nose, and even worse on the palate. Rubbery and unclean, not a fresh note to be traced (although there may have been some apricot in there if you really turned up your imagination), this honestly tasted like wine gone bad. Hello, is anybody alive out here tasting this wine and thinking this is ok to release? Maybe I’m the crazy one.

Quickly on to wine number three, the Traminette 2012,  this was off-dry with an extremely perfumed and floral on the nose with peach, apricot and roses on the palate.  Decent, but didn’t really do it for me.  To complete the tasting was the Red Trail – Raspberry w/Spice. This name made me laugh, also because it tended to confuse the not so savvy staff that were pouring the wines. A young girl who looked like she may have been a year shy of 12, was pouring the wine for some customers next to me, who were concerned about tasting it because one of the ladies was allergic to raspberries. The Whitecliff employee actually had to double check and make sure there was no raspberries in the wine before pouring. While this is a perfectly normal question for someone who is not familiar with wine and just eager to learn and taste, I would have expected more from someone who worked at the winery. Overall, I get more of a factory feel at Whitecliff, with random people who are not in the least knowledgeable about the wines they are pouring (training is perhaps overlooked?) and more importantly,  I never quite understood the hooplah about their wines. This is my fourth of fifth time here, and I am underwhelmed by their wines, confused about what they are trying to achieve. I am happy people like their wines and that they are selling well in the area, but still trying to search for that wine that will make me jump on the bandwagon.  Not one to give up, I will most likely visit again next year!

Whitecliff Vineyards & Winery, 331 McKinstry Road, Gardiner, NY 12525. Tel 845.255.4613 http://whitecliffwine.com

Wines from Tokaj; not just sweet

I love when I pick a random bottle at my wine shop and end up not just being pleasantly surprised, but genuinely happy with a feeling that I’ve come across a new gem!  I have a tendency to pick wines from relatively unknown regions made from obscure varieties. I somehow feel like there is more to learn from a wine that is not as popular; the research is more interesting and it’s always fun to ‘discover’ a new product.  Most of the times, this is also where you can find extraordinary bargains, and that always makes me feel good!

Hungarian wine is not exactly new to the scene, largely due to the world renown, and delicious sweet dessert wine,Tokaji Aszu, from the Tokaj region.  But what may not be general knowledge, is that this region produces some fantastic dry wines as well. As a country, it makes some remarkably good white wines, outstanding sweet wines and their red wines are slowly improving.  Outside investment from both western European and Australian companies have helped put Hungary back on the map, and there is renewed interest in native grapes such as Furmint, Harslevelu and Irsai Oliver for whites, Kefrankos (Blaufrankisch) and Kadarka for reds.  Big money is spent to renew equipment, upgrade the vineyards and identifying the best plots for their native grapes. I am happy to see this  happening, as Hungary for centuries had a very sophisticated food and wine culture with the most developed indigenous grape varieties and cultivated wine laws in eastern Europe, so a comeback is definitely overdue!

Tokaji wines comprise of four groups: 1) still table wine, 2) Szamorodni which may be dry or sweet and is a mix of ordinary and aszu grapes, 3) wines made using aszu grapes called Esszencia and Aszu (of various degrees of sweetness) as well as two derivative wines, Forditas and Maslas and 4) late-harvest and noble late-harvest wines, similar to those made elsewhere in the world. (The Wines of Hungary by Alex Liddell). The greatest amount of wine made in the region is however still, dry table wine – and is what I will focus on in this post.

Many dry white wines are made from the Furmint grape, which  is a very high quality grape that probably originated in Hungary.  The grape forms the major part of plantings in Tokaj (about 70%) and is known for its complexity of flavor, its finesse, longevity, high acidity and sometimes high alcohol.  Young wines, such as the AFFINITAS Tokaj bottle I bought earlier this week, can have flavors of lime peel, pears and some steeliness if made in the correct way. Sometimes picking at the wrong times can affect the ability of the flavors to come out, where perhaps the acidity is piercing high but the flavor is subdued.  When made into sweet wines, Furmint can achieve flavors of apricot, marzipan and blood orange, and with age they develop smoky and spicy flavors with tea, chocolate, cinnamon and tobacco notes.

Furmint is also found in Austria, where it’s called Mosler, in Slovenia as Sipon, in Croatia where DNA profiling has shown that it is identical to Moslavac, as well as in Romania and Albania, just to name a few. Furmint is probably an offspring to the Gouais Blanc grape, planted in central and north-eastern France.  Furmint is also the principal ingredient in the world famous Tokaji dessert wine.  Furmint has had a historical stronghold in Austria’s Burgenland where it is experiencing somewhat of a revival as well.

The Tokaji region is located on the foothills of the Carpathian mountains in northeastern Hungary, and consists of about 28 villages. The soil in the region are volcanic clay, poor on the steeper slopes, with more loess and sand around Tokaji. The soil has volcanic origins, which gives wines a high content of minerality . Warm summers with humidity coming form the area’s streams and rivers, create a perfect environment for Botrytis Cinera (referred to by Hungarians as Aszu).

The AFFINITAS Furmint wine is made from 85% Furmint and 15% Muscat Blanc.  Muscat adds richness and some floral, perfumed fragrances as well as honeysuckle flavors to the mix, in addition to peach and sometimes orange blossom.   The grapes are hand harvested, de-stemmed and fermented in stainless steel without further ageing.  My tasting notes will follow below.

If looking to expand your repertoire and tasting experiences beyond the classic grapes such as Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio for summer whites – I highly recommend you try out Furmint wines from Hungary.  Hopefully you will be as delighted as I was!

Tasting Notes:

The wine has a pale, light lemon, almost greenish core. On the nose, I get a lot of grass and citrus on the nose (the classic lime peel is evident). Very clean with an herbaceous freshness.  While the nose is lean and citrusy, the palate is somewhat fat, soft with flavors of ripe pears, apples, peach, and apricots.  A medium bodied wine, it has some spice as well (white pepper mostly).   I get the honeysuckle and apricots mid palate from the Muscat.  The acidity is more medium leveled here – perhaps again because of the blending with the lower acid Muscat grape. While fruity and soft on the attack and through mid palate, verging on being slightly off dry,  it finishes more on a grassy note.

Conclusion: Really nice example of a dry Furmint wine that I found refreshing and well made. Could perhaps do with a bit more acidity to bring it all into balance, so half a point was deducted for this.

One general note that will be true for all wines but especially for this, I found : I think the serving temperature is especially important here; if you serve it straight out of the fridge (too cold) the aromas and flavors do not come out, but having it sit in room temp too long and the wine’s structure tends to fall apart and become limp.

Rating: 3.5/5

Food Pairing:

Retail:  $17

I purchased the wine at Artisan Wines in Beacon, NY. Tel (845) 440-6923.

An Austrian white to make your summer happier

The biggest misconception most people in general have, is that Riesling is always sweet. I remember growing up when my first encounter with wine was the awful Liebfraumilch which were sold in the big cartons.  Of course back then, our main purpose for drinking was to get drunk, and as long as it was “sweet” it went down pretty easy.  Unfortunately, a lot of people still associate this grape variety with boxed, low quality wine, when nothing could be further from the truth. Riesling is probably one of the noblest grapes in existence, able to produce world quality wines of all different styles; dry, semi sweet, sweet/dessert wines, late harvest and sparkling.  Riesling is known to be the wine experts’ darling while still having a long way to go to gain that notoriety among the general public.

Riesling, an offspring of the Weisser Heunisch wine,  is native to the Rhine region of Germany, and was always regarded as a high quality grape, but because of its relatively low yield, was expensive to cultivate and thus was not widely grown.  German immigrants would take it to the New World and by the mid to late 19th century it was growing in both Australia, California and Washington.  Today there is Riesling grown all over the world, as it is a very flexible grape variety but at the same time a very terroir specific grape. Some people believe that Riesling was born  in an Austrian city called Rizling in the Wachau, first mentioned in the thirteenth century, and hence may be the oldest recorded place of cultivation.

German Rieslings are known to be flowery and aromatic with acidity and body varying from crisp and light to softer, riper and fuller, while Rieslings from Austria  are most often dry, fuller and with a pure, minerally core more like Gruner Veltliner.  Sometimes the alcohol can be quite high, around 13% or so, which sometimes can jeopardize its aroma and flavor. When grown on the best sites, however, the grape produces some amazing examples and may be closer in style to the Rieslings of Alsace rather than Germany. I must admit, I really love Austrian wines in general, and while Gruner Veltliner may be the most well known and popular grape variety from this country, their Rieslings may perhaps be my favorite white wine.  Known predominantly for their refreshing whites (although they produce some delicious reds too, well worth checking out) Austrian wines also make for a perfect choice for the upcoming summer season!

A wine I was pleasantly surprised with was the ARTNER Riesling Buhlweingarten 2012, which I picked up at one of my local wine shops the other day.  Having noticed their selection of Austrian wines had increased the past few months, I was curious about this bottle in particular, which also came highly recommended by the staff.

The Artner estate encompasses about 30 ha and is located in Carnuntum in Niederosterreich in eastern Austria, close to Vienna. Hannes Artner is an ambitious grower considered one of the top growers in the region.  See map of area below:

Niederosterreich is Austria’s largest quality wine growing region, and Carnuntum lies to the east here along the southern banks of the Danube river covering an area from Vienna to the Slovakian border.

The estate specializes in Austrian grape varieties such as Zweigelt and Blaufrankisch, as well as a range of white grape varieties which epitomizes the characteristics of the terroir and region.  In addition to Riesling, they produce Sauvignon Blanc, Gruner Veltliner, Gelber Muskateller, Chardonnay and Welschriesling. As for reds, they produce Blauer Zweigelt, Blaufrankisch, Merlot, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon.  The family ARTNER also runs two successful restaurants in Vienna, in addition to a wine tavern in Carnuntum.

Tasting Notes:

The wine has a pale yellow core with green tints – very aromatic on the nose; citrus, lime, apples, peach and herbal as well as some grassy notes.

On the palate it is medium bodied, dry with crisp acidity. Bright fresh apples, pears, lemon, lime and peach repeats again here, and the minerality shines throughout. Grassy flavors are well integrated and the wine finishes long.

Conclusion:  An absolutely delicious refreshing Riesling, balanced with explosive fruit and fresh acidity. Very harmonious wine that gets better and better with each sip – a perfect summer wine!

Rating: 4/5

Food Pairing: Everything! Riesling is a very food friendly wine, but if I have to pick a few choices I would go with a nice grilled chicken or roasted duck,  roast pork,  poached salmon, seared scallops and shellfish, light Asian food, triple creme cheeses, summer fruits and any apple desserts.

Retail: $15

Oochie Walla Walla, Oochie bang bang

Before I entered into the wine industry, I worked as a record label marketing professional for about a decade where I traveled with many of the world’s most famous pop artists, many of them rappers who probably wondered what a Norwegian girl was doing in their world.  Making the transition from music to wine was not that different, I’m still surrounded by a big group of nut jobs. No, don’t worry, I’m not about to review the song by rapper Nas and the Bravehearts named in the title of this post, but I always think of this song when I am drinking wines from Walla Walla Valley in Washington.

I picked up a bottle of the Motor City Kitty 100% Syrah 2010 by Charles Smith of K Vintners, one of Washington State leaders with Syrah. I found it appropriate to quote a song here and mention my music industry background, because Charles Smith is known for his rock n’ roll roots, with his big, crazy hair and his funky black and white labels.  He in fact lived in Denmark for nine years where he managed rock bands and toured Europe, much like I did for many years (although I didn’t live in Denmark, but I’m Norwegian and hence the close relation:).  I guess it was meant to be that I stumbled upon his wines!

A self taught winemaker with a big love for Syrah, Mr. Smith became friends with Christophe Baron of Cayuse after returning to the U.S., and who encouraged Mr. Smith to start making wine.  Mr. Smith has since won many accolades, among others “Winemaker of the Year” by Food & Wine Magazine in 2009 and K Vintner was named one of the “Best New Wineries of the last Ten Years” by Wine & Spirits Magazine.

Image below is from Charles Smith & K Vintner’s Facebook page where he is pitcured in Scandinavia:

Walla Walla is perhaps the region that best embodies the spirit and the style of Washington state’s industry. The number of wineries have exploded in this beautiful part of the country in the last two decades with the tourism booming.  Walla Walla specializes in Syrah, making more than two hundred different designated Syrahs in any given vintage.  In addition to Syrah, they grow fruity merlots and cabernets as well as the country’s best sangiovese, in addition to carmenere, cabernet franc, malbec and tempranillo (Washington Wines & Wineries, Paul Gregutt).

Image from magmire.net

Syrah is one of my favorite grapes, as it always demands attention and with its aromatic, exotically perfumed qualities, has a very recognizable scent and flavor to me.  Many people might be familiar with the big, fruity wines of the Barossa Valley in Australia where they are referred to as Shiraz, but I actually prefer the more savory, gamy, tough and smoky wines of the northern Rhone such as Cote Rotie and Hermitage.  There simply aren’t any wines in the world that taste like the wines grown here.  That aside, I’ve found some really nice examples in Washington State, where I think they do a great job of mixing the fruity characters of the grape with earthy elements. Here you find wines with distinct blackberry, cassis, mulberry and bacon fat flavors.

K Vintners opened in 2001, and is located at the base of the Blue Mountains in Walla Walla. Here they produce small lots of single vineyard syrahs and field blends that are hand picked foot-stomped, fermented with natural yeast and basket pressed. The MCK Syrah goes through malolactic fermentation, no fining is performed and it is aged in French Burgundy Barrels for 24 months. 380 cases is produced.

Tasting Notes:

Deep ruby core, the wine is quite herbal on the nose with black and red fruits on the nose; blackcurrants, black cherries, plum and some mint/herbal notes, spice and licorice.

On the palate it’s full bodied, with flavors of black cherries, black raspberries, licorice, tobacco and some tar.  Low, soft tannins with acidity and alcohol being quite high – fairly long finish.  The alcohol here somehow dominated, and at 14.5% I am not surprised, as that is one of Syrah’s benchmarks.  After I let the wine breathe and sit out for about an hour, it was more pleasant to drink, which leads me to think this may do well with another year or so in bottle before reaching its prime.

Conclusion:   Good, concentrated Syrah with many interesting layers of flavors, and where I can see the potential, the alcohol here did overwhelm me somewhat as I found the wine a bit “hot”. That said, it definitely tasted like the varietal and all in all a very good quality Syrah.

Rating:  3.5/5

Retail price:  Around $30

Food Pairings:  Beef stew, lamb chops, game and sausages.  Any herbal dishes and dishes with fennel, pepper and black olives would go well here too.

Ca’Lojera Lugana; a reason to give Trebbiano a second chance

Trebbiano… I must admit when I hear the mention of this grape, I still feel some negativity brewing inside of me. Perhaps this is because of its inappropriate use as a blending partner in the often thin, astringent Chianti wines in the past decades. Fortunately, Trebbiano is no longer allowed in Chianti Classico.  New winemakers have since taken interest in Trebbiano as a stand alone grape and some interesting wines have developed as a result.   Talented producers will turn Trebbiano into wines with with bright fruit, crisp acidity with notes of almonds.  Better known as Ugni Blanc in France, it is responsible for producing the famous distilled products of Cognac and Armagnac.

Lugana is a beautiful, white wine specific region located on the southern shore of Lake Garda, an area straddling the border between Lombardy in the west and Veneto to the east.  There are over 100 producers in this area, but Ca’Lojera are known for their distinct, highly aromatic and great quality wines. This estate represents the appellation andwhat it stands for, along with Ca’ dei Frati, the latter estate I hope to cover in a future post.  Ca’ Lojera is dialect for “house of the wolves” and is based on a legend in Lake Garda that the area was protected from pirates by wolves.

Trebbiano produces 1/3 of Italy’s white wine, permitted in 80 DOCs and although indigenous to central Italy, can be found planted everywhere in the country. Its characteristics are high acidity with a neutral flavor, and has traditionally been known for producing a lot of generic table wines. Whereas a lot of the wine produced by Trebbiano is forgettable, there are luckily some standouts of which the  Ca’Lojera Lugana DOC 2011 is a great example.

Trebbiano di Lugana (also known as Trebbiano di Soave or Trebbiano Veronese) is the least planted, but best sub-variety of this grape, and considered vastly superior in quality and lower in productivity than the Trebbiano Toscano.  It is the only grape used in Lugana, where the wine is typically fuller bodied with more of a personality.  Trebbiano has in fact said to be a variety of Verdicchio, a high quality grape from Italy’s Marche region, which could be why it has achieved  increased interest in the wine world.

The Ca’Lojera Lugana DOC 2011 is made by a husband-wife team who, from their 14 ha vineyard, do it all themselves. Franco Tiraboschi makes the wine, while his wife Ambra hosts visiting guests and their daughter Alessandra takes care of sales.

The wine is 100% Trebbiano di Lugana from 40 year old vines, and fermented in temperature controlled steel tanks.  I highly recommend this as a fun alternative to the ever popular Pinot Grigio most people resort to when thinking of white wines from Italy. While I have nothing against Pinot Grigio, there are so many other wonderful white varieties from this country, it would be a pity not to experiment and try out something new. Start out with the Ca’Lojera Lugana 2011 and you’ll see what I mean!

Tasting Notes:

Light, golden core, with intense, ripe fruit aromas. Full bodied and honeyed when entering the palate with flavors of tropical fruit, ripe melons and apples and somewhat waxy on the finish.  Tremendous fruit but nicely matched with good acidity. Balanced with a long finish.

Conclusion: A delightful, balanced wine that is both refreshing and soft, with plenty fresh fruit throughout. A wine guaranteed to please most palates, and can also easily be enjoyed on its own. A wine I will enjoy more of this summer!

Food Pairing:  Pasta arrabiata, fish dishes in lemon cream sauce, salami and other charcuterie.

Average Retail Price: $15

Rating: 4.5/5