The Good Wine Artist
Posted on September 1, 2010
Ok, so it’s not me, but it is my wife. Being the excellent husband that I am, I wanted to promote her new Etsy store offering wine related products such as charms, lamps, paintings (the image above is one she did ), and cork trivets. Hopefully you’ll find something on there that you like, and while the store is small now, it’s going to grow quickly. Check out her Etsy page here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheGoodWineArtist .
» Filed Under Wine Art, Wine Crafts | 1 Comment
Helfrich Pinot Gris Vin d’Alsace 2007
Posted on August 30, 2010
Varietal: Pinot Gris
Region: France
Cost: $16
Light in the glass with aromas and flavors of pear and baked apple. Pairs well with smoked salmon, Peking duck, or mushroom risotto.
Recommendations: Looking to try something new, and having a distinct lack of white wine in the house, my wife and I picked up this bottle after a Friday night tasting at one of our favorite Richmond wine shops. The following day we had the opportunity to open it when we made some shrimp kabobs for dinner. It was a good pairing.
The pear and apple were quite evident on the palate, along with just a hint of sweetness and effervescence on the finish. Normally I would be hit or miss on the sweetness, but the shrimp we grilled was well seasoned and the kabobs also had peppers and onions, so there was a bit of heat to the dish – not to mention some roasted red pepper risotto as a side.
The sweetness of the wine did an excellent job of Read more
» Filed Under French Wine, Light Wines, Pinot Gris, White Wine, White Wine Reviews, Wine Reviews, Wine's Under $20 | 1 Comment
2011 Wine Bloggers Conference
Posted on August 27, 2010
So, raise your hand if you’ve registered for the 2011 Wine Bloggers Conference in Charlottesville, Virginia. Ok, I know you can’t actually see, but my hand is raised. While I wasn’t able to attend this years (Washington state is a bit far for me to travel to be honest), next years WBC will be right in my back yard.
If you’re a wine blogger and haven’t registered you should definitely get on it (here’s a link: WBC Registration), and while it’s still nearly a year out, taking place from July 22 to July 24, I’ll be sure to post updates leading up to, and definitely during the Conference. I’m supremely excited to participate, and I’m really looking forward to meeting more of my fellow wine writers.
» Filed Under The Good Wine Guru News, Virginia Wine, Wine News | 1 Comment
Ruffino Chianti 2008
Posted on August 26, 2010
Varietal: Chianti
Region: Italy
Cost: $9
Ruby red in color with aromas of spice, cherry, and hazelnut. Flavors of fruit and berry in a medium-bodied wine. Pairs well with pasta, pizza, and most traditional Italian dishes.
Recommendations: I picked up this bottle last night after a long day of work. I’d had other Ruffino wines before and enjoyed them and was just in the mood for Chianti and thought this would be a safe bet. I should have grabbed another one. While the color and the aromas of the wine were nice – ruby red and cherry – I felt the wine was lighter than I was expecting in the mouth. The flavors were all there, berry, some cherry, and a noticeable tannic finish, but while Ruffino claims it’s medium-bodied, I felt it leaned more towards the lighter side.
While this bottle hasn’t turned me off of Ruffino wines, I definitely won’t be getting this one again, especially as there are other Chiantis out there for about the same price that have delivered for me in the past. Kinda disappointing.
» Filed Under Chianti, Italian Wine, Light Wines, Red Wine, Red Wine Reviews, Wine Reviews, Wine's Under $10, sangiovese | 3 Comments
Rodney Strong Pinot Noir 2008
Posted on August 24, 2010
Varietal: Pinot Noir
Region: California – Sonoma County – USA
Cost: $21
Lighter red in color with aromas of cherry and flavors of rose petal, pomegranate, and cherry. Time in French Oak barrels adds a hint of toasted spice on the finish. Pairs well with lamb, pork, chicken, steak, mild cheese…pretty much anything.
Recommendations: Ah Pinot Noir…my one true love (of wine – I love my wife very much). I’m always in the market for a good Pinot, and back in July, during a tasting at my local wine shop, I had the opportunity to try, and then buy, this Rodney Strong pinot noir. To be honest, I had almost forgotten it was on my wine rack until the other day when grilling some pork chops and I kicked myself for forgetting about it.
Nice and light in the glass, aromas and flavors of cherry were the most noticeable to me, with just a hint spice on the end. When paired with the grilled pork chops, the wine held up well, adding Read more
» Filed Under American Wine, California Wine, French Oak Whites, Medium Bodied Wines, Pinot Noir, Red Wine, Red Wine Reviews, Sonoma County, Wine Reviews, Wine's Under $30 | Leave a Comment
Simi Chardonnay 2008
Posted on August 23, 2010
Varietal: Chardonnay
Region: California – Sonoma County – USA
Cost: $11
Light in the glass with aromas of tropical fruit. Flavors of pear, apple, and pineapple with a creamy finish that pairs well with cream-sauced chicken, salmon, and mild cheeses.
Recommendations: While at Costco this weekend doing our monthly shopping trip, my wife and I picked up a bottle of the Simi Chardonnay to pair with the salmon we had already grabbed earlier in the shopping trip. The back label of the wine claimed it would pair well with salmon, and I’ve always liked Chardonnay to cut through the fat of a good piece of salmon so it sounded like a good idea.
When we cooked the salmon, we put it under the broiler with a mustard herb crust that was, at least in my opinion, quite tasty. My wife really outdid herself on that one. As for the wine itself – meh. The color was nice – a light golden color, and the flavors weren’t bad, pineapple, pear, and apple with just a hint of the creamy, buttery finish that I expect from Chardonnay, and while it did a good job of cutting through the richness of the salmon, I can’t honestly say that I would buy it again.
It’s a lowest common denominator wine. What I mean by that is that if I was having a wedding, and I had to select a red and a white to offer, this is the kind of white I would choose. It will satisfy the largest number of people, won’t cost a lot, and will go with chicken, fish, or cream pasta. It’s a generic wine. It reminded me a lot of a Yellowtail Chardonnay, which is another lowest common denomination wine.
So while the wine was ok with dinner, in the end, I know I could have done better for the price point, or at least the same for a few dollars less. Not worth picking up.
» Filed Under American Wine, California Wine, Chardonnay, Light Wines, White Wine, White Wine Reviews, Wine Reviews, Wine's Under $20 | Leave a Comment
Concannon Conservancy Petite Sirah 2007
Posted on August 18, 2010
Varietal: Petite Sirah (97% Petite Sirah; 3% Petit Verdot)
Region: California – Livermore Valley – USA
Cost: $15 (SRP)
Deep red in color with aromas of fresh berry fruit and flavors of blackberries, chocolate, mocha, and plums with notes of molasses, cedarwood, and ripe mulberries complementing creak oak tones on the smooth finish. Pairs well with barbecued chicken or lamb.
Recommendations: I don’t have a lot of experience with Petite Sirah by itself, seeing it more blended in with other wines as a small piece instead of the main attraction. I had been sitting on this wine for a while, looking forward to it as I enjoyed the 2008 Concannon Conservancy Chardonnay a couple of months earlier, but regularly putting it off to have this or that wine with this or that meal. Last night I finally stopped putting it off.
I specifically threw some chicken on the grill, basting it in barbecue sauce to pair with this wine, and it was a good pairing. The flavors of plum and molasses were most noticeable to me, though I suspect that the sauce brought those flavors out more on my palate than anything and pairing the wine with something like lamb would pull out more of the other notes.
I did appreciate the smooth finish, which I’m sure the small amount of Petit Verdot had a hand in, but Read more
» Filed Under American Wine, California Wine, French Oak Reds, Full Bodied Wines, Petit Verdot, Petite Sirah, Red Wine, Red Wine Reviews, Wine Reviews, Wine's Under $20, blended red wine | Leave a Comment
Avignonesi Rosso Toscana 2007
Posted on August 17, 2010
Varietal: Blended Red Wine (40% Prugnolo Gentile; 30% Cabernet Sauvignon; 30% Merlot)
Region: Italy
Cost: $21
Deep ruby red color with aromas of spring flowers, red fruits, minerals, and subtle earth tones. Fruit flavors are continued on the palate. Pairs well with lentil soup, minestrone soup, rotisserie chickens, or a bread and cheese platter.
Recommendations: This past weekend I was in Charleston, South Carolina visiting my brother-in-law and his wife and I took this bottle with me to share with family – something about Italian wine has always beckoned me to share it with others. While in the space between preparing dinner (hamburgers on the grill) and actually eating dinner, we opened up the bottle to help us relax after a long day.
I was instantly impressed by the color, being a sucker for dark red wines. Aromas of mineral and earth were very noticeable to me, with hints of fruit on the nose as well. The fruit on the palate was subtle, but I did a nice earthiness at the finish that I found very enjoyable. While we didn’t pair this with any actual food, I could definitely see pairing this with a range of foods, from a nice minestone soup to a more robust meal of either pasta or grilled meats.
When asked my opinion on it by the others drinking the wine, I simply said that it was Italian. It’s hard for me to really put into words what that really means, but the second I sipped the wine, I instantly got the image of sitting in Tuscany, sipping wine and munching on fresh baked pizza from a stone oven. My father-in-laws reaction to the wine was more along the lines of “mmm…I like it!” I like to think he means the same thing I do.
Special thanks to the International Wine of the Month Club for supplying the wine for this review.
» Filed Under Cabernet Sauvignon, Full Bodied Wines, Italian Wine, Merlot, Prugnolo Gentile, Red Wine, Red Wine Reviews, Wine Reviews, Wine's Under $30, blended red wine | Leave a Comment
A Wine Journey from Florence to Sienna
Posted on August 11, 2010
So September is the grape harvest in Chianti, and in time for that I was sent this lovely email detailing a great path to follow from Florence to Sienna to really take advantage of all of the festivals going on in the Tuscan region. While I won’t be able to fly out there and take experience this myself, I thought I would share it with my readers and if any of you do take the trip, I’d love to hear about it.
Here’s the email that was sent to me:
The Chianti area has been one of the most important wine producing regions in Italy for over two centuries. It was the family of the Grand Duke of Tuscany Lopold I that began cultivating grapes during the 18th and 19th centuries in the region that would become modern Chianti.
The Chiantigiana (SR 222) is one of the most scenic and charming motoring routes in Italy, running directly south from Florence to Sienna cutting through the heart of the Chianti Classico wine zone. The road sweeps around rolling Tuscan hills and past thousands of hectares of vineyards, all producing outstanding Chianti Classico DOCG (the highest classification of Chianti).
The best time of year to visit Tuscany (Toscana) is at harvest time in September, or just before harvest to see the vines bowing heavily with ripening Sangiovese grapes. During September most towns in Chianti celebrate the Sangiovese harvest with wine festivals such as the Vino al Vino held on the third week in September (17-19) in the small town of Panzano in Chianti, where many local wines can be sampled by the glass.
For a truly inspiring tour along Chiantigiana road, make time to visit some of the ancient towns of Chianti and surrounding vineyards. Most vineyards are open to the public, but it’s worth checking before you visit. Read more
» Filed Under Chianti, Italian Wine, Wine Articles, Wine Trips | 3 Comments
Luigi Bosca Reserva Malbec 2007
Posted on August 9, 2010
Varietal: Malbec
Region: Argentina
Cost: $20.99 (SRP)
Deep ruby red color with aromas of ripe red berries, spice, and black pepper. Berry on the palate with soft tannins that pairs well with roasted or grilled meats and hard cheeses.
Recommendations: I had been sitting on this wine until I decided to cook a couple of more steaks, having paired the 2007 Luigi Bosca Reserva D.O.C Malbec with some grilled meat as well, and wanting to compare the two. Similar but different is the best way to put it. Both the D.O.C. and the Reserva featured bold flavors of berry, with the Reserva offering pepper where the D.O.C offered mocha and spice.
The seasoning I added to my steak featured some smoke flavors, and the wine did a great job of complimenting both what the seasoning and the grill added, the berry and pepper working with the food instead as a compliment instead of as a counter note. After the meal the wine was nice and easy to drink, with smooth tannins that weren’t overwhelmed by a steak, but weren’t too in-your-face to be enjoyed without food. Read more
» Filed Under Argentinian Wine, Full Bodied Wines, Malbec, Red Wine, Red Wine Reviews, South American Wine, Wine Reviews, Wine's Under $30 | 1 Comment
