Viognier

One of the advantages of “Back to School” time is that, I, your dear editor, regains access to my television (if not my sanity). This means that I get to watch my favorite part of the Today Show, the 4th Hour with Kathy Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb. One of the reasons that it is my favorite is because there is usually liquor involved and often wine. Yesterday Today had Alpana Singh on to pour Regional American wines. Go Alpena and thanks for your support for local American wines from up and coming areas!

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Congrats to the wineries and wines featured:

Blue Sky Vineyards 2010 Vignoles (we’ve been there!)
Red Newt Cellars 2010 Riesling
Keswick Vineyards 2009 Estate Reserve Viognier (coming soon!)
Saint Croix Vineyards 2009 La Crescent Dessert Wine
Prairie State Winery 2009 Cabernet Franc (we’ve been there but I can’t find my own link!)
Bedell Cellars 2007 Musée (we’ve been there!)
Hinterland Vineyard 2009 Marquette Reserve
Barboursville Vineyards 2008 Petit Verdot Reserve (we’ve had their wine!)

Gretchen Neuman, VinoVerve Editor, September 1, 2011

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Now that I have gotten the teens back and school, I can finally concentrate on stuff that matters – WINE.

When last I checked in, I was heading off to Charlottesville, Virginia for the annual Wine Bloggers’ Conference.

This was exciting to me as I had always wanted to see Monticello.  Instead, when I was 10, my family visited Mount Vernon.  George Washington may have been the founder of our country, but he had nothing on Thomas Jefferson.  He wrote the Declaration of Independence as well as being an architect, inventor, diplomat, President and of course, Gentleman Farmer.  Probably less known was that Jefferson was something of we now call a foodie.

Our third president was a lover of wine and tried to grow vinifera grapes at Monticello without much luck.  Why? a little critter called Phylloxera which killed off a huge number of vines throughout the world (once it got out of the US, that is).  While trying to grow wine grapes himself, he also worked with, Filipo Mazzei (founder of what is now know as Jefferson Vineyard) , John Adlum and John James Dufour all of whom were influential in American viticulture.

Oh, and in the food department he popularized macaroni and cheese (though he referred to all pasta as macaroni).

Naturally, I was raring to go!  But better yet, we bloggers discovered that we would have a dinner and wine tasting reception at Monticello!  The only part of the event that was disappointing was the weather.  While the sun was shining the temperature was about 105°.  And not the Arizona dry heat kind that everyone says is better (it isn’t).  Despite that we were served fantastic wine, a really nice buffet that included fried green tomatoes and shrimp and grits and PLENTY of water.  Oh.  and fans.  As the evening progressed there was a certain antebellum flair to the proceedings as we all fanned ourselves.

And for those of us who wanted to really cool off?  Well, house was open to us. and it was air conditioned.  YEAH! The interior of the house was amazing, unfortunately, I was not allowed to take pictures (flash or otherwise).  Naturally wino’s wanted to see the dumbwaiter that brought wine bottles up from that cellar.  And we got to see if from two perspectives.  One from the dining room and the other from the wine cellar that has just been renovated.  If you are looking at slideshow?  Yes, that is Jancis Robinson. She gave the keynote at the WBC.  Wow.

As for the wine tasting?  Viognier is the white wine of choice in Virginia.  I tried several that ranged in their fruitiness and minerality.  All were very pleasant and I wish it had been cooler so that I felt like tasting more.  Additionally, the standout wine of the evening was a Virginia Pinot Noir from Chateau Morrisette.

The highlight of evening was the presence of TJ himself (or a reasonable facsimile thereof). Now this was the guy to feel sorry for in the heat.  We could all wear light clothing but he was stuck in full period regalia  and in BLACK to boot!  But he spoke eloquently and then wandered around taking pictures of everyone.  What a trooper!

Gretchen Neuman, VinoVerve Editor August 25, 2011

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Marguerite Barrett

2009 Virginia Vioginier Reserve

An Italian winery that has moved into Virginia.

Nose is lightly fruity with notes of melon.

Palate has more citrus with notes of pineapple and a touch of grapefruit.  Crisp and refreshing, the wine is very well balanced with a clean mouth feel, and a slight creaminess.

Price point is $20 – $22.

Currently distributed in mid-Atlantic and starting to distribute more widely.

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Gretchen Neuman
VinoVerve Editor

Continuing my Michigan winery planning I move on to Lake Michigan Shore. Why? Well it contains the Fennville AVA and is the appellation listed on the bottles for the only winery in the Fennville AVA. And frankly, it is the Michigan appellation that is closest to home for me as it takes about 90 minutes (not counting traffic snarls) to enter into Michigan.

Why is this area significant? Well, unlike most northern wine regions, Michigan Shores produces a good number of vitis vinifera grapes, including Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, Lemberger, Malbec, Marsanne, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Riesling, Roussanne, Syrah, and Viognier. The reason? Something we Midwesterners* call “Lake Effect”. The water in the Great Lakes (essentially small fresh water inland seas) moderate the temperatures and the precipitation on lands west of each lake. Temperatures never become as frigid as they would on the east coast of a lake as they do on the west coast. Anyone who has lived in Chicago and Buffalo or Detroit can tell you how they differ (and this blog has a couple of gals who have experienced the difference. Chicago is much colder). This gives the grapes a longer growing season than is experienced in say, Iowa and a couple of weeks makes a big difference. The soils are a relatively uniform throughout the region, consisting of glacial moraines.

In addition to being relative close to home, there are a good number of wineries in the AVA. How many? Well that depends on who you ask and what you count. Why who you ask? Well, the folks at the Lake Michigan Shore Wine Trail list count twelve wineries as members. Me? I count about seventeen. More is better right? Well, that leads to the what you count part, as several of the wineries have multiple tasting rooms. Tasting rooms are great in a pinch, but frankly I prefer going to the winery directly, at least if it is possible. Given the number of beachfront cottages, condos and other casual getaway places in the area, I would have been surprised if there weren’t tasting rooms trying to take advantage of the numbers of summer people.

I am planning to head out on Sunday (barring teen disasters) to visit a couple these wineries. If you have a favorite? Let me know… contact me at gretchen at vinoverve.com

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Marguerite Barrett
Contributing Writer

I took my time over the tasting menu, and it was hard to settle on just six.  Some of the choices I passed up this trip included Celladoor’s Pinot Gris and Syrah, and some interesting red blends.  But I decided to go for wines that I, perhaps, don’t encounter quite as frequently, starting with the

Viognier Pale yellow in color, with a lovely, rich honeysuckle nose.  In the mouth the wine is dry and crisp with a really nice bite of acid on the finish.  Initially the wine is very smooth on the tongue, with light notes of peach in the front.  The wine is lightly oaked, providing a slight smokiness that gives it just a bit of bitterness with subsequent sips.  The smokiness should mellow slightly when paired with food, and this should be a very versatile wine for pairing.

Cellardoor’s website features a wine & food pairing section, providing some very specific suggestions and featuring recipes for some of those suggestions.  For the Viognier, they suggest pairing it with “wild mushroom risotto, mussels in white wine sauce, spicy Thai peanut chicken, or camembert cheese topped with apricot morstada.”  An interesting range…

Vino DiVine I only chose 2 whites that afternoon, and for my second selected Cellardoor’s Vidal Blanc, Vino DiVine.  The color is also a very pale yellow, although it is slightly darker than the Viognier.  The nose surprised me a bit – very light, very subtle with the barest hints of citrus.   Unoaked, the wine, while dry, was a bit sweeter than than the Viognier, which is what one would expect from a Vidal Blanc.  Citrus notes predominate across the palate with light sweet/tart notes of grapefruit and the rich, but slightly bitter, notes of orange zest/orange pith.  There’s a higher level of acid in this wine, and I found it hit the tongue in the middle rather than in the back, where I’m more used to finding it.  As a result it gives the wine a bit of tanginess that worked well with the citrus notes.  There also were subtle notes of earthiness from some light mineral content that balanced the wine, toning down slightly the brightness of the citrus.  A very interesting wine, and of the two whites, my favorite.

Cellardoor’s recommended food pairings include “fresh chilled shrimp dipped in a spicy pepper sauce, lobster salad with a mango dressing, soft goat cheese with tarragon, or fish and chips.”

Prince Valiant My first selection from among the reds was a blend of Zinfandel (46%), Mouvedre (23%), Tempranillo (23%) and Malbec (8%).  I was as intrigued by the grape combination as I was caught by the name.  The color is a medium purple, and the nose is fruity and lightly peppery.  In the mouth, the wine is definitely fruit forward with notes of black raspberry hitting right on the front.  There are strong notes of pepper and spice on the finish, and over time the pepper’s heat starts to dominate.  I found this to be an interesting wine, and I don’t think a 1 oz tasting does it justice – although one could say that about any wine.  But in this case, I think the wine is more complex than I was able to appreciate from just a tasting.  Unfortunately, it didn’t occur to me to bring a cooler and ice packs with me on this trip.  I think the fact that I was staying overnight threw me, and I didn’t pack as I would for a normal day on the wine trails.  As the day was pretty warm, I didn’t want to ruin the wine by buying a bottle only to have to leave it in the car on a hot afternoon, so I’ll just have to make the sacrifice of making another trip to Maine in the future.

Cellardoor’s suggested pairings: bbq pork ribs, aged cheeses, and hard salami.

Artist Series Grenache Each year, Cellardoor crafts one limited edition wine and pairs with a local artist who produces the painting featured on the label for their “Artist Series.”  20% of the proceeds of the sale of this wine is donated to the Bay Chamber Concerts, a music festival and school in nearby Camden, Maine.  This year, the Artist Series wine is a double-gold award winning Grenache.

The color is a lovely rich ruby color.  The nose is fruity with rich notes of plum and black raspberry.  In the mouth, the wine is medium-bodied, smooth on the front and strong tannins on the finish.  More lush than the Prince Valiant, the wine opens up in the mouth.  There are light berry notes and some earthiness on the front, and smoky pepper on the finish.  The heat of the pepper starts at the back of the mouth and actually extends into the chest, and one of the things I noted is that the finish hits the back of the nose as well as the throat.  It might not be to everyone’s liking, but I found the wine to be a more fully sensory experience than I often experience.  I really liked this wine, and will definitely be going back for seconds, or perhaps ordering a bottle or two from Cellardoor’s website.

Recommended pairings: “rich cheeses, duck, wild game, and salmon.”

Monti al Mare “Mountains & Sea,” my final wine of the day was a Chianti-style blend of Sangiovese (70%), Malbec (24%) and Syrah (6%).  The color is a dark, bright ruby, and those is fruity, rich, and lush with notes of black currant.  Medium-bodied, the wine has the smoothest finish of the three reds I tasted that afternoon, and lovely notes of dark berries, black cherry and plum.  The finish has light notes of pepper which provide a bite of heat, but note enough to overpower the wine or the smoothness of the finish.   I liked this wine, and if I had brought a cooler, would definitely have picked up a bottle for more leisurely sampling later.  But I still found that Grenache calling to me; I don’t know if I would say it was my favorite of the afternoon, but it was definitely the one I was most intrigued by.

Cellardoor’s suggested food pairings for the Monti al Mare include “baked pasta, herb-encrusted rack of lamb, and aged cheeses.”

With only one selection remaining, I left the reds and moved on to the dessert wines.  I’m a sucker for dessert wines, loving their lush, silky sweetness – and if there’s a dessert wine on the menu, it will usually find it’s way onto my tasting menu.

Serendipity Of Cellardoor’s several “Maine-inspired” wines, I opted for a dry Riesling infused with 20% pure Maine maple syrup.  To date, or at least as well as I can remember, I have only tried one other maple wine, the Sapling Vermont Maple Liqueur which I found at last year’s Vermont Wine Festival.  While, obviously not as rich or concentrated as a liqueur, Cellardoor’s Serendipity is a lovely dessert wine.  Pale gold in color, the nose is almost vidal-like with a rich, sweetly fruity nose similar to an ice wine.  In the mouth, the wine is rich and smooth with a touch of apricot from the riesling balancing the dominant, but not overpowering, note of the maple syrup.  The result is very interesting – in my notes, I likened it to fruit pancakes in a glass.  Definitely worth inclusion among anyone’s tasting selections.

With my tasting finished, I made a mental note to stop again on a future Maine trip, although perhaps next time at the vineyards themselves.

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Gretchen Neuman
VinoVerve Editor

Located completely within the Columbia Valley AVA and within Benton and Yakima Counties, Rattlesnake Hills is a 16 mile long stretch of territory of basalt mountains. The AVA was created in 2006 but has been under cultivation since 1968 when the Morrison Vineyard was planted with Cabernet Sauvignon and Riesling for Chateau St. Michelle. Currently there are nearly 30 vineyards in the area some of which can be found here

Grape varietals grown in the hills include Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Gewürtztraminer, Malbec, Merlot, Muscat Canelli, Petite Sirah, Riesling, Semillion and Viognier.

The AVA is centered around Zillah, Washington. I am hoping given that I will be in Walla Walla which is relatively close by, that I will get to experience the hills for myself. I was especially relieved to learn that the name “rattlesnake” comes from the shape of the hills… and not for any reptilian invaders in the area. I am like Indiana Jones that way. I hate snakes.

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Marguerite Barrett
Contributing Writer

Continued from Thursday, October 1, 2009

Christy and I normally head out on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, so being able to go during the week was a bit of a treat.  Normally we head out on the Win(e)ding Roads once a month; we’d love to do more, but what can I say, life intervenes.  And even though Connecticut is a small state, we often are looking at an hour’s drive just to get over to the wine trails – so we generally plan a route that allows us to hit several wineries and get the most of the trip.

But we were on vacation, and this was somewhat spur of the moment.  It was a freebie, if you will, and while we had the address of a second winery plugged into the GPS, as we pulled into Sharpe Hill, it was with a sense of leisure – it didn’t really matter if we decided to stay all day.

The other nice thing about heading out on a weekday is that you encounter far fewer people.  It’s definitely a more pleasant experience when you aren’t trying to jockey for position at the tasting bar or getting elbowed by the guy next to you who has definitely had one (or two or three) too many.

We picked up our glasses and headed out to find seats on the grassy terrace.  There were a few other small groups, but the seats are arranged in small intimate groupings that seat up to 4 people, and we were able to relax and settle into our chosen seats and to some extent feel like we had the place to ourselves.  It was a really nice change from the normal lining-up-at-the bar experience.

We had opted for the full tasting menu – 12 wines including six whites, four reds, and two dessert wines.  First up was a tasting of Connecticut’s best-selling and best-known wine

Ballet of Angels This was not my first encounter with Ballet of Angels.  I had picked up a bottle at a local package store not long after I moved here from Chicago, and had given it as gifts to out-of-state friends.  I even got my cousin Bobbie hooked on it, and brought her a half-case of the wine at Thanksgiving last year.  It is a good wine, but there were several others in the Sharpe Hill line-up that I found myself liking better.   Ballet of Angels is a blend of 10 different grapes, with Viognier the primary grape.  A pale yellow, not quite straw color, the wine has a pleasant, slightly sweet nose with notes of grapefruit.  In the mouth, the wine is crisp, clean and light-bodied with lovely notes of citrus and very clean finish.   While a dry wine, the wine has a brightness that will appeal to even those who prefer sweet wines.

American Chardonnay 2007 Hands-down this was my favorite of the Sharpe Hill whites.  aged in American oak for six-eight months, this is a drier wine than the Ballet of Angels.  Also pale yellow in color, the nose is grassy with a pleasant mustiness from the oak.  The wine has an earthiness that I haven’t found too often in Connecticut wines, they tend more towards the fruity rather than the earthy, but this wine has lovely notes of green pepper which are balanced by a slightly acidic finish.  All in all a very nice wine.

Cuvee Ammi Phillips 2007 This is a limited edition wine, although our host for the afternoon wasn’t sure exactly how many cases they produce each year.  The Ammi Phillips is 100% Chardonnay aged 18 months in brand new French oak barrels.  The result is a richer, deeper and more buttery wine than the American Chardonnay.  The color, while also a pale yellow is a bit deeper than the previous two wines and has some jewel-tone qualities, catching the light nicely.  The nose has lovely notes of butter and smoke, and the wine has a soft, smooth mouth-feel.  The finish has a touch of both sweetness and acid which balance the smoke, producing a very satisfying wine.  That being said, I still preferred the earthiness of the American Chardonnay over the buttery smoothness of the Cuvee.

Vineyard Reserve Chardonnay 2007 This was described as a French-style Chardonnay, aged six-eight months in French oak barrels.  Like the American Chardonnay, this wine is more earthy than fruity, with lovely floral and slight grassy notes on the nose and in the mouth.  It’s not as smokey as the Cuvee; a result of being aged in older barrels.  While not a sweet wine, it’s definitely sweeter than either of the other Chardonnays, but finishes with a slight tartness.  This was my least favorite of the Sharpe Hill Chardonnays; I didn’t find it balanced as nicely as either of the other two.

Vineyard Dry Riesling 2008 While generally not a fan of Rieslings, often finding them sweeter than I generally like, there are Rieslings which I have really liked and will stock in my cellar.  Unfortunately this is not one of them.   Described in the tasting notes as having “complex citrus flavors,” I found the flavors to be more overpowering than complex.  Very strong notes of grapefruit are present in both the nose and the mouth, so much so that they overwhelm the wine.   Christy concurred, and we both passed quickly over the Riesling and on to the lone Rosé.

Dry Summer Rosé Made from St. Croix grapes, the Rosé is a lovely soft pale rose color, with a floral, slightly earthy nose.  In the mouth, there are subtle notes of strawberry which give the wine an interesting sweetness before finishing on a slightly tart note.  This, too, wasn’t one of our favorites, although we did like it better than the Riesling.  Christy observed that it seemed watered-down; I don’t know that I felt that, but I did find the wine didn’t have a lot of depth or complexity.

Despite the somewhat disappointing finish with the last two wines in this category, we had really enjoyed the Chardonnays and now cleaned our glasses, sat back and prepared to tackle the reds…

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Gretchen Neuman
VinoVerve Editor

I know what you are thinking, “The building is lovely, but how is the wine?”

And just so you know? I am getting there. Just in my own good time. I like savoring the sites and sounds as well as the tastes of a new adventure in wine.

As Kevin and I got ourselves settled for a tasting it was recommended that we start with the white wines.

The first wine that we tasted was the 2007 Gewurztraminer. I loved the smell in this glass. Flowers and tropical fruit, which continued into the drinking of it! I thought that the smell was like bananas with a touch of green apple and the taste was more like mango. The wine was overall dry but had a bit of sweetness that mellowed.

More sophisticated palates than mine might say lychee (nuts?) fruit. I think I have to eat more of them to pull that from my memory.

I love to drink wines like this with Asian or spicy food, or even better, spicy Asian food. (just writing that is making me miss the Tipsuda that used to exist in Hyde Park, a million oh, about 20 years ago.. of course back then I wouldn’t have had the sense to have a good Gewurztraminer with me, but rather a bottle of Canei…. Yes, you can). The tasting notes also suggest curries, pork, sauerkraut (choucroute garnie anyone? I make my own sauerkraut!) baked potatoes, Muenster cheese, turkey, salmon and fruit desserts. I concur.

Unfortunately, (or fortunately for me) you have to be a member of the wine club in order to purchase this wine. I am a member, so this is great! It is easy to join. Sign up here. It is easy peasy!

Next we had the 2006 Viognier, which to me tasted of honey and fruit which I thought orignially was peach. The tasting notes indicated apricot which I thought was pretty close.

I prefer to think that I blocked out the sense of it being apricot. See, I once suffered an apricot disaster when my cat, Clyde, sat himself in a cooling apricot tart (to show me who was boss). The subsequent weeks of pushing Valium down the cat’s throat has quite put me off of apricots… but clearly I vaguely remember their flavor.

The Viognier had a nice balanced taste of fruit and acid and a wonderful rich finish. The winery recommends serving it with seafood, such as prawns, salmon and swordfish as well as salads and antipasto.

The last white wine that we tasted was the 2007 Late Harvest Riesling. It had a beautiful golden color and the aroma of honey and pear. It was a heavier wine in terms of its viscosity, enhancing the mellifluous sense of the wine and felt velvety in my mouth.

Late harvest wines are often served with dessert and I can imagine this wine standing up to the acidity of lemony flavors and angel food cake. I can also imagine it being ideal with tangy goat cheeses.

Oh by the way? Lynfred has a wonderful bakery on premises and makes bread to use during tastings. BUY THIS BREAD. Particularly if you get a chance to try the Goat Cheese Mushroom Swiss. You won’t be sorry.

Up next: Red Wines

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