Mr. Cups, some friends and I enjoyed a trip to beautiful Barnard, Vermont this past weekend. It was shocking to see the extent of the damage wreaked by Hurricane Irene back in late August, including the washout of some of the area’s covered bridges and roads. During the flooding, the water was *just* short of the restaurant floor shown in this picture. Yikes.
Fortunately, though, the Simon Pearce store and restaurant have reopened in Quechee (though the glass blowing workshop remains closed). In “making lemonade out of lemons” fashion, they’ve taken this opportunity to refresh their restaurant menu, resulting in some delicious new options. One of my favorite things about dining at Simon Pearce is eating and drinking from their beautiful plates and glasses while looking over the falls. And enjoying a glass of their Simon Pearce-branded wines, which are produced by the Rutherford Wine Company in St. Helena. While my friends opted for a California Sauvignon Blanc, I went in to full Autumn mode with a glass of the delicious Cabernet Sauvignon – which is available for $21 a bottle in the store.
Bargain hunters: don’t forget that Simon Pearce in Quechee has a “seconds” shop — still a bit pricey but full of tempting options, particularly with the holidays looming.
My advice? Go support the Vermont economy and have a fantastic time in the process!
Like we ever *needed* an excuse to pop open a bottle of bubbly. But we’re getting one, thanks to the The Champagne Bureau, the US arm of the trade association representing all Champagne houses in France. Get ready to celebrate, because this Friday, October 28 is the second annual National Champagne Day.
Strictly speaking, the “champagne” label can only be applied to those wines hailing from France’s Champagne region. But heck, why not bend the rules a bit (and save some dough in the process) and consider some other great sparklers like Cavas from Spain or a great US sparkler like the ones produced at Schramsberg or Mumm Napa Valley. Once it’s in the glass, who’s to know you’re cheating just a wee bit??
Thanks to Wine Gal – always two steps ahead of the trends – to call National Champagne Day to my attention. She also suggests I wrap things up in the immortal words of Madame Bollinger:
“I drink champagne when I’m happy and when I’m sad. Sometimes I drink it when I’m alone. When I have company I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I’m not hungry and drink it when I am. Otherwise I never touch it – unless I’m thirsty.”
Cheers!
A couple of weeks back, I invited some friends over for a poor man’s re-enactment of the 1976 Paris tasting. We pitted a 2008 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay ($39.99) from the Napa Valley (an old hat in the US/French taste-offs) against a 2009 Olivier Leflaive Chassagne Montrachet ($49.95) from Burgundy in a blind tasting. Among the group were individuals who had *very strong feelings* about Chardonnay, in general, and California Chardonnay, in particular.
Mr. Cups lent a hand to mask the bottles so even yours truly had no idea what she was drinking. Wine A was a dark golden yellow, with a nice oak, buttery finish that didn’t go over the top like so many Chardonnays often do. Wine B was paler in color, but with a similarly rich finish. Hmmm, I was confused. Weren’t French Chardonnays supposed to be less oakey and full? Now, all bets were off about which wine was which.
Some comments from the crowd of enthusiastic tasters:
From Pinot-egrigious on Wine A: “Very mild nose…Slightly sweet, oakey.”
From Wine Gal on Wine A: “Pale straw color…Clean finish.”
From Chardonnista on Wine B: “A beautiful bouquet, stronger nose (than Wine A) but really pleasant…Yummy.”
From Anonymous Wine Drinker Number Four on Wine B: “Soft, transparent yellow…little bit of licorice.”
Then it was time for the unmasking. Wine A turned out to be our US entrant, the Montelena; Wine B was the Montrachet, my personal favorite of the evening. (Bottle) shock and awe descended upon the room, since more than one professed Cali or French fan favored the other wine. But both were delicious. Here’s a bit more detail:
Chateau Montelena: “Brilliantly clear with a beautiful golden-straw color, this Chardonnay invites you in with tempting aromas of pear tart, tropical passion fruit and lychee, along with wet gravel and a subtle oak spiciness. The palate opens round and fleshy with flavors of juicy peach and mouthwatering, big, citrus notes of pink grapefruit and honey tangerine. The mid-palate is layered with green apple and an understated, nutty, oak tone which segues into an interesting long and spicy finish. Big structure and great weight throughout complement the numerous layers of flavors to complete the package on this classic, Montelena Chardonnay.”
Olivier Leflaive Chassagne Montrachet: “Subtly scented and tonic, with a refreshing, citric quality, this classic village Chassagne is the fruit of a number of tiny vineyard parcels, recently brought into Olivier Leflaive stable. A benchmark example of its type, offering simply brilliant value for money.”
I purchased both wines online from the Spirit Shoppe in Western Mass. And yes, they will ship to you.
Hats off to my band of intrepid tasters. I loved the blind tasting format (and hey, other people’s opinions make great fodder for the blog), so look for more recaps from these events in future posts.
As the air starts to feel just a bit cooler (and the reality of a long dark winter ahead without the Sox starts to sink in), thoughts turn to big red wines. This week’s Quaff of the Week honors belong to Gargiulo Vineyards‘ exquisite 2008 Money Road Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon. First, some background on Oakville-based Gargiulo. I first stumbled onto this boutique winery a few years back on a trip through Napa. (Take a right at the Oakville Grocers and head down the road.) At the time, all tastings (which are private and require reservations) were held outside the family’s home on a beautiful patio overlooking the vineyards and Screaming Eagle Winery in the distance. Since then, Gargiulo has built a large tasting room where guests can retreat indoors in the event of bad weather.
Abutting the Screaming Eagle property, but with even more of a challenging growing terrain, Gargiulo is aiming to create wines that fall into that same “cult classic” category. Gargiulo produces their wines in small quantities, which makes this beauty of a Cab even more special (only 982 cases). The winery describes the wine as “characterized by aromas of dark berries, black cherry, slate, mocha and even tobacco. The palate is rich and complex with seamlessly integrated layers of brooding dark fruit and refined tannins. The finish is lengthy and the aging potential is 20+ years.” (Yeah, like that’s ever going to happen in my house!) This is a splurge wine: about $80 a bottle, but absolutely delicious.
I’ve seen Gargiulo wines in the past at Gordon’s in Waltham. Wines can also be purchased online; if you’re willing to pay a bit more, Gargiulo can figure out how to ship to Massachusetts. My absolutely favorite Gargiulo is the Aprile Super Oakville Blend, their interpretation of a classic super Tuscan. If you ever see a bottle of that, grab it. I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Wine Gal and I recently went back to the restaurant wine tasting mother ship, L’Espalier, for its Wine Monday “France Off the Beaten Track” evening. For $65, we feasted on a four-course meal paired with wines from regions of France other than the typical Bordeaux, Burgundy or Champagne.
We started with a 2009 Domaine de L’Orme “Les Grand Vaux” Tressallier from a mid-France region known as Saint Pourcain. Our second-favorite (after Vanessa) sommellier, Erich, described the wine as a sort of colder weather-appropriate Sauvignon Blanc. Served alongside was a delicious smoked Scottish salmon with endive and lemon puree, which set off the wine’s acidic notes perfectly.
Next up was a 2009 Toques et Clochers “Haute Valee” Chardonnay from Limoux in Southern France. The wine couldn’t have been more different from a butterscotchy-type California Chardonnay. But it still had the full body of a Chardonnay and was the perfect complement for the buttery lobster and halibut terrine that was served alongside, with braised fennel and apples. Ummm!
I broke a personal rule and enjoyed what a friend describes as a “fairy tale animal” – veal – for our main course. The veal was braised and so tender it broke apart with a fork, and was served with tagliatelle, mushroom ragout and baby carrots. To drink, L’Espalier offered a 2006 Chateau Haut-Monplaisir “Prestige” from Cahors. The grape was Malbec, which Erich said is increasingly rare these days from outside Argentina. But apparently this small region of France has produced Malbec since the 13th century and continues to do so with aplomb.
Last up for the delicious cheese course that L’Espalier does as well as any restaurant in Boston: a 2009 Domaine Augis “La Rosee” from Loire. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Wine Gal and I love a tasty sparkler. And this Malbec-based one hit the spot.
It was interesting to note that all four wines L’Espalier served were single varietal grapes. To quote Wine Gal, L’Espalier’s Wine Monday tastings continue to be “miles ahead of all the others.”
Pour votre santé, readers!
For those of you paying attention, I last mentioned Santa Barbara-based Groundwork in my early July post about Harvest’s “Think Pink” tasting. That evening, I sampled their delicious rose of Grenache. But the Groundwork winery remained elusive to me. During my research for the post, I was unable to find links to a website or further details about this winery, apart from resellers offering their products.
Mystery solved! Further searching today clued me in to Sans Liege, the winery behind the Groundwork line. You’ve gotta love any wine maker who quotes Dante’s Inferno on his site and Curt Schalchlin does just that. It’s a beauty of a site and the other wines in Schalchlin’s library sound divine. I’m intrigued about his Grenache Blanc, which I may try to find next.
In the meantime, I’ll raise a glass to Mr. Schalchlin and toast his 2009 Groundwork Grenache as this week’s Quaff of the Week. According to the Sans Liege site, the single-grape wine is “leading with aromatics of raspberry cobbler, white pepper, Moroccan dates, tart cherries, cocoa powder, brown sugar and Provencal lamb stew. In the mouth are subtle shadings from blood orange, eucalyptus, fresh ground espresso roast, thyme, forest floor and grilled venison. A pleasant, dusty herbaciousness rounds out the palate, recalling rosemary, sage and tarragon. It is a wine with the complexity of offerings twice its price.”
Yeah, like he said.
I can still smell a strong cherry/cocoa odor in the empty bottle and really enjoyed the wine’s fullness, with a nice, modestly tannic finish. And I definitely agree the wine was a relative bargain. I paid about $20 for the bottle, which can also be purchased here.
As my friends know, I’m a rabid Sox fan. One of my favorite things about going to Fenway is the people watching. Girls on dates, trying to impress their boyfriends that they’re sports fans but being given away by their glam outfits. Parents taking small kids to their first games, introducing them to what I always hope will be a lifelong love of the team. Groups of friends sitting together, enjoying drinks and rooting on the home nine. Which brings me to this post. Beer, obviously, is the drink of choice for 99 percent of Fenway’s imbibers. But what about that other one percent who now have access to an increasingly broad range of beverages as Sox ownership appeals to a more diverse fan base (yes, pink hats, I’m talking to you). I’ve lately seen margaritas, daiquiris and malt beverages for sale…along with wine. I was really startled the first time I saw a woman drinking wine at the game, and burning with curiosity at the same time: where did she get the wine? What was she drinking? Was it any good?
I persuaded Wine Gal to join me at the game last night to uncover the truth about the “Wines of Fenway Park.” I’d already done some reconnaissance work at an earlier game to see where wine could be purchased (turns out, it’s available at just about every beer stand). Did they offer several varieties? Did the spirit of joie de vivre that permeates Fenway make even so-so wines tolerable?
Wine Gal and I decided to first prime our palates with a stop at Island Creek Oyster Bar in Kenmore Square. I can’t recommend the restaurant highly enough. A fantastic, diverse and really affordably-priced wine and beer selection. Tasty bivalves. Lobster rolls to die for. We enjoyed glasses of delicious sparkling Muscadet that, truth be told, spoiled us for just about whatever wine adventures were coming our way next inside the park environs.
So, on to our mission. We stopped at the first beer stand inside to park to order our wines: Woodbridge Chardonnay and Merlot. The server pretty much summed it up when she asked if we “wanted ice with the wine?” We declined, shuffled off to our seats and began our tasting.
I think the last time either Wine Gal or I drank Woodbridge was 37,000 feet up. The Merlot was initially so warm that it literally chilled during the game, becoming moderately more enjoyable. The Chardonnay was big, flabby and pretty unforgettable. But we weren’t alone in drinking the grape: in front of us and to the left, a gentleman in Madras shorts was enjoying a plastic cup of Chardonnay. Fascinating. He apparently thought it was perfectly fine, since he got a second glass a few innings later.
Towards the end of the game, Wine Gal and I headed back to Island Creek for a final (infinitely more delicious) glass of the night. All in all, the Fenway wine tasting just proved the validity of a t-shirt adage I saw a few weeks earlier. A guy wore a shirt that featured the “Official Rules of Fenway Park” on the back. One of the rules was “Drink beer, not Merlot.” Point taken.
The Silverado Trail in California wine country boasts many gorgeous vistas. But one of its most beautiful sights (IMHO) is the Pine Ridge Winery, set back from the Trail at a lovely curve of the road.
I’ve long been a fan of Pine Ridge’s wines. And this week’s “Quaff of the Week” honors go to Pine Ridge’s fantastic blend of Chenin Blanc & Viognier. I enjoy Chenin Blanc but I’ve never really gotten into Viogniers. They always feel, well, just too “round” in my mouth. Not enough of an acid bite to turn me on. But when blended with the Chenin Blanc’s crispness, Viognier’s more succulent qualities lend a fantastic note.
Here’s how Pine Ridge describes its creation:
“This vintage, our unique blend exhibits a bright, aromatic nose filled with crisp nuances of pink grapefruit, mango and sweet melon, interwoven with hints of soft white tea and honeysuckle. Bursting with juicy ripe fruits, the palate echoes the nose and boasts luscious flavors of Anjou pear, fresh pineapple, apricot and white nectarine. A light and slightly off-dry flavor profile lasts through the delightfully refreshing, clean finish.”
And best of all was the price: Pine Ridge sells this wine for $14, which definitely falls into “house white” category for me. I picked up my bottle at Blanchards in West Roxbury – always a go-to store thanks to its fantastic selection of wines (at all price points) and knowledgeable staff.
Salute!
InMyCups 