Clean Up - Aisle 6

Posts have been few and far between over the past few months but things have been a bit crazy in the Good Life world.  In addition to the usually holiday nonsense, we suffered the loss of a parent and a dear friend, within the span of two weeks, which kind of put a damper on things...to say the least. 

My mother-in-law didn't drink...ever...although she did accidentally take a sip one night and promptly spit it back into the glass -  my PIC's glass!  That doesn't mean that we haven't been working our way through the cellar so, in the spirit of my good friend Donna, who was always up for a drink and a good time, let's start clearing out the backlog.

We'll start with Penns Woods 2007 Ameritage.  This deep garnet wine had some oak on the nose but  not in a woody way at all.  The firm tannins mellowed in the glass with some time but there was something on the palate that I found somewhat unpleasant and a hint of latex squeaky toy on the finish.  It was kind of surprising because we have enjoyed several of their wines.  It wasn't cooking wine but we didn't enjoy it as much as we have other Penns Woods wines.  Also from Penns Woods, we tried the Lacrima Dolce dessert wine.  There must have been something about it that we liked when we tasted it at the winery but it is sitting in the pan sauce section of the refrigerator.  This wine is overwhelmingly banana - not something that I look for in my dessert wines - but some may find it pleasant with the right pairing.

Speaking of dessert wine - there's Atwater and Billsboro, from the Finger Lakes, and Pearmund from Virginia.  The Billsboro Apres, a late harvest Vignoles, is one of our very favorites - loads of mango and tropical flavors, honey and a hint of vanilla.  My PIC cannot handle Chardonnay but we both love Atwater 2008 Chardonnay Ice.  It's honey and peach with a beautiful balance of acid and sweetness.  Finally, was the Pearmund 2009 Late Harvest Mt. Juliet Petit Manseng.  White chocolate on the nose, creamy on the palate, and honey on the finish.  Perfectly sweet but not cloying.

And then there's Shalestone Vineyards Beyone Rose.  We first tasted this at the event to celebrate the life of Deb Whiting and we immediately knew that we needed more!  75% Pinot, 25% Syrah, it's a non-rose rose.  It's a gorgeous ruby color with black cherry and subtle spice on the palate - we cannot get enough of this.  It's equally good chilled or at room temperature.....and probably sold out as of this writing!

Some winners, some losers.  I think I'll call it a night.  Stay safe and among friends!!

Little Cheddar Goldfish and the Castle on the Hill

When we were out this Fall visiting a couple of Bucks County wineries, the folks at Crossing Vineyards suggested we make a stop at  Buckingham Valley Vineyards and Winery.   It's a family owned and operated winery and the first self-serve tasting we have ever encountered!  Seriously?  Like a kid in a candy store....like a pig in mud...we were as happy as a clam at high tide! 

We got our glasses and instructions and were set loose in the tasting room.  The bottles were lined up at the edge of the tasting bar, if that's what it would be called in this situation.  We found six reds (Cab Sauvignon, Chambourcin, Chacellor, Dechaunac, Merlot and Diego Red), six whites (Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Vidal Blanc, Seyval Blanc, Riesling, and Niagara), and six fruit wines available for tasting.  Here's what I want to say:  The crackers were REALLY good!!

We made a hasty, but polite exit and headed to Sand Castle Winery.  Thanks to Penny we made it before closing.  The building is impressive but more in a banquet hall/wedding/Bar Mitzvah kind of way.  In jeans, we were feeling a little bit under-dressed but we quickly shook that off and headed for the Tasting Room.

There were 11 wines on the tasting menu, starting with the 2005 Johannisberg Dry Riesling, a middle-of-the-road, Alsatian-style Riesling.  Some mineral on the nose, green apple and little acidity - well-balanced, but not acidic enough for me - definitely a crowd pleasing kind of wine, though.  The 2005 Chardonnay Private Reserve and the 2006 Classic Chardonnay were not my cup of tea.  I found something on the nose unpleasant, but I'm not a huge Chard fan, anyway.

The NV Dry Rose, a blend of the Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay Classic, was light and fruity.  It came across as almost sweet on the palate but I can see it as another middle of the road, crowd pleasing summer sipper.  We next tried the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon which neither one of us remembers much about.  The NV Claret was a little too sweet for our taste and we both passed on the Cuvee Blush when it was described to us as slightly sweet.

The 2005 Johannisberg Riesling had mineral and a hint of petrol on the nose with tropical fruit on the palate.  3% RS and beautifully balanced.  The 2003 Late Harvest Johannisberg Riesling, another beautifully balanced wine.  Loads of honey, peaches, and tropical fruit.  13% RS and enough acidity that it's not cloying.  The tasting ended with the Alpine Spice, a mulled wine...apres ski, but not for me.

All in all, not a total bummer of a day.  We took a couple bottles of the 2005 Dry Rielsing and a couple of the LH Rielsing so stay tuned!

The Long and Winding Road

As strange as it may sound,  planning Thanksgiving dinner makes me think of Chaddsford Winery.  Every November, Chaddsford holds what they call "Turkey Tastings" on Saturdays leading up to Thanksgiving. 

The idea is cool - sample Thanksgiving food items with different wines and see what works for you.  Now, according to my PIC, anyone in their right mind knows that Zinfandel goes with turkey - and Pinot, if you run out of Zin - but one year, we found ourselves with a free weekend and we signed up for one of these sit-down tastings.

Six wines were poured along side of a sampling platter of traditional holiday fare - among them the Proprieter's Reserve White, Dry Riesling, Dry Rose, Pinot Noir, and two other reds that escape me at the moment but I think one of them was the Due Rossi. We began the exercise with anything but an open mind; we knew exactly which wine we would prefer and that would be, perhaps our favorite Chaddsford wine, the 2007 Pinot Noir. 

That was a long story to get here but all of this came back to me, not so much because of Thanksgiving dinner, but because we opened a bottle of the 2007 Due Rossi.  I have to admit that I was a little hesitant as we had a bottle of the 2007 Pinot a few weeks ago and it's currently sitting in the cooking wine section of the refrigerator.  That's not necessarily a knock to Chaddsford but more that we may have held it too long.

Anyway, back to the Due - 80% Barbera, 20% Sangiovese and ten months in French and Hungarian oak.  Somewhat light in color and medium bodied, it was soft and round with cherry, licorice and violets with beautifully refined tannins.  It was wonderful, just as I remembered!

By the way, we chose the Riesling and the Rose to go with our turkey dinner.  Go figure......

Plant a Seed and it Will Grow

Our Saturday trip to Va La was postponed due to, as Thefarmer Va La would say, "stupid poopy weather".  Fortunately for us, Sunday was a beautiful blue sky day, the perfect kind for a drive, and...my PIC can't think of a better place to drive than Va La!

Not that we need one, but the reason for this particular trip was to check out the just released Seed.  We were intrigued after hearing about it on our last visit and there was no way we were going to miss out! 

Sunday's line-up was 2009 LPD; 2008 Silk, paired with Honey'd Goat Cheese; 2008 Siranetta, paired with Focaccia and Goat Cheese; 2008 Seed, paired with Bouchde; and 2007 Mahogany, paired with Pennsylvania Noble.

We did our requisite tasting before settling into the comfy purple leather chairs with a glass of Seed to enjoy the fine Autumn sunshine streaming in through the French doors.  In French oak for 24 months, only two barrels of this experimental cross of Carmine and Cab Franc were produced.  I kept trying to come up with a succinct description of a very complex wine.  My PIC called it a toned-down Carmine - in a good way.  For him, it tamed something in Carmine that he sometimes finds objectionable.

During our lazing in the sun, I jotted down four words - mint, blueberry, nuts, and mocha.  There's a hint of mintiness on the nose with a huge burst of blueberry at the back of the palate that evolved into this lovely nuttiness that moved on to a mocha finish.

Plant a seed and it will grow - into something awesome!  I remain intrigued and I think we may need to try it again this weekend, maybe with some pizza!

The Owl and the One-Eyed Cat

You may think you know where this one is going but unless you're thinking about something that includes a tetanus shot and a week of antibiotics, you're way off base.  We're talking cat bite on the day before our planned trip to the FLX.  Aside from the fact that it makes a really cool title, it did not affect our trip - the bite was on my non-wine glass-holding hand so not a problem!

We started out on Cayuga Lake and on a whim, stopped at a winery that we have not visited for several years.  Our last experience included a pleasant man who rhymed all of his wine descriptions.  He did our tasting and was so enthusiastic that I felt kind of guilty that I didn't really enjoy the wines.  He did everything he could to persuade me, including opening new bottles and making up new rhymes but alas, it was to no avail - they were just not to our liking.

But here we were, at Thirsty Owl Wine Company, bellied up to the bar and about to start a tasting.  Little Rhyming Man was gone but apparently replaced by Younger Singing Man.  More about that later, perhaps.

There were seventeen wines on the tasting menu and we were asked to choose five.  It wasn't that difficult, because of the nine whites, seven were listed as semi-sweet or sweet.  I passed on the Chardonnay and started with the 2010 Dry Rielsing.  A pleasant surprise, it had nice acidity with tropical fruit and a crisp, clean finish. 

The reds started with the 2008 Pinot Noir.  It didn't show a lot of fruit, it had firm tannins and a spicy finish.  The toasted oak of the 2008 Syrah jumped out of the glass.  The caramel nose of this medium bodied wine led to a fairly smooth palate, firm tannins and a black pepper finish.

Ok, at this point I expected that I would be ready to jump off a bridge but not yet.....what's next?  The 2008 Meritage.  Velvety mouth-feel with slight black pepper and fruit with soft oak on the finish - nice!  The 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon was drinking really young.  The fruit was trying to emerge but for the most part, it was over powered by oak and spice.  It needs time, for sure.  Finally in this line-up was the 2009 Cab Sauv, Syrah,  Malbec.  (18, 60, 22% respectively)  We have tried this before and have been less than excited - it should be freakin' awesome!  The 2009 blend showed grapefruit and black pepper but had some spit-sucking tannins.

To finish, we were serenaded through a tasting of the 2007 VINTE, a port-style wine from Cab Franc and Chancellor.  We're not huge Chancellor fans but we tasted with an open mind.  At 8% RS, it was soft and silky and not overly fortified.  It retained its wine characteristics and had that dessert-replacement  sweetness.

All in all, we found the wines a bit more approachable than in the past and the absence of the Little Rhyming Man was a relief.  There was, however the issue of Singing Man.  Nonetheless, we grooved our way through the racks, grabbed a Meritage and a VINTE and boogied for the door before our ears started to bleed.  It's not that his singing was bad, it just got old....fast.

We All Remember Our First Love...

I don't know about you, but I still remember my first love.  I'd say it was a summer love kind of thing but it was more than that.  It was my first FLX Riesling love...it may be the one responsible for sucking me into the whole Rielsing thing.

We read a few things online about the new kids on block so when we found ourselves at the northern end of the east side of Seneca Lake, we couldn't pass up a chance to visit Zugibe.  We had a great tasting with Brendan and we have made it a point to stop in any time we're in the area - but that's fodder for another day.  This one is about the rock star - Zugibe 2008 Dry Rielsing!  It had everything I love - acidity, minerality and lime...lots of lime.

We opened our last bottle the other night and the gripping acidity has mellowed over the past year.  I got a wet slate kind of minerality on the nose with no petrol at all.  It was light and refreshing with citrus and lime; it was beautifully balanced with lovely acidity leading to a crisp finish...and it was awesome with slow roasted shrimp!  I keep telling you I'm fickle!

Easy and Affordable, But NOT a One Night Stand

After years of proclaiming that we are not white wine drinkers, I keep finding more and more empties in the recycling bin.  I guess it should come as no surprise that this lovely, warm Fall day, and some beautiful, incredibly fresh wild caught shrimp, and humongous sea scallops had us reaching for a white. 

The white-of-the-night was Shaw Vineyard 2008 Sauvignon Blanc.  We're not huge fans of Sauv Blanc; in many we find a grassiness that makes it somewhat unpleasant to our taste.  We were very open to tasting this one while visiting the winery but I have to admit that I felt a split second of hesitancy when my PIC brought this one out of the cellar.  We love all of the Shaw reds, so I ask myself, what's not to like?

As it turns out, nothing!  It is light, crisp, and refreshing with a minerally, wet slate nose.  It's beautifuly balanced with green apple, melon and a hint of pineapple on the palate.  It is easy drinking but not just a simple summer sipper.  I can see a lot of this in the Fall lineup!