Wine School, White Burgundy, June 24, 2014

Theme:  Premiums!  White Burgundy

Since it was time for one of our premium wine classes, I thought  we would try something we haven't really experienced before.  Rather than focus on a grape varietal, we ventured to France (if only literally) and chose a region. Since French wines are still "foreign" to me, I decided to let the experts at The Wine Merchant in Clayton, MO help me choose a variety of wines. Here we go!

The Wines:

Domaine De Villaine Bouzeron Aligoté

• Color:  Pale, straw yellow
• Aroma:  Fruity on the nose, pear, a hint of peach, think fruit cocktail, and mineral notes
• Mouth:  A balanced wine with hints of lemon zest and a nice mineral notes on the finish. A refreshing light bodied wine.
• Price:  $29.99 (Wine Merchant, Clayton, MO)
• Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Domaine DuBlére Savigny-les Beaune Aux Vergelesses

• Color:  Pale, straw yellow
• Aroma:  Wow! Caramel, butter,nutmeg on the nose!
• Mouth:  This crisp wine had definite mineral notes with a delicious caramel creaminess. Crisp and balanced!
• Price:  $42.99 (Wine Merchant, Clayton, MO)
• Rating:  4.5 out of 5

Lucien Le Moine Bourgogne Blanc

• Color:  Pale, straw yellow
• Aroma:  Butter, mineral and notes of tar
• Mouth:  This wine was the creamiest of the three wines, but a definite crisp finish! Delicious!
• Price:  $52.99 (Wine Merchant, Clayton, MO)
• Rating:  4 out of 5

Overall Conclusion:  Wonderful wines that we all enjoyed. The lovely caramel notes in the Domaine DuBlére were outstanding, but we found it difficult to pick one favorite since all were delicious. If we had to pick - a tie between  Domaine DuBlére and Lucien Le Moine as our favorites!!

Wonderful cheeses!

Pairings:

Bucheron Goat' Milk Cheese:  Very nice cheese, that we loved with all the wines. It really brought out the richness in the Bouzeron. When we tried it with the  Domaine DuBlére, we all said WOW!!!! Also, wonderful with the Lucien Le Moine. This delicious, creamy cheese brought out the creaminess in the wines. 

Camembert Cheese:   Great pairing again. It was wonderful with all three wines!

Mons Lavort Sheep's Milk Cheese:  Another new cheese for us tonight that we really enjoyed. It brought out a wonderful fruitiness in the Bouzeron and was excellent with the  Domaine DuBlére and Lucien.

Salmon with Mango & Brie:  Delicious entree that Lisa made for us! Paired well with our wines-the favorite pairing was with the  Domaine DuBlére.

Mushroom Risotto: Wonderful with all of the wines! 

Guacamole:  Another great pairing. It was especially wonderful with the Bouzeron and very good with  Domaine DuBlére.

Milk Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels!!

Milk Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels:  First off - we loved these caramels. Was a wonderful way to end the evening and they paired well with all the wines. Again, our favorite, the I enjoyed exploring these white wines from the famous Burgundy region of France. .

Conclusion

Beth:  I enjoyed exploring these white wines from the famous Burgundy region of France. All of the wines were enjoyable, but when paired with the goodies, they took the wine to another level demonstrating exactly why wines are meant to be paired with food! This was one of those evenings that I find it difficult to find an overall favorite, but if I must choose I would have to pick the Domaine DuBlére with the Lucien a very close second! An awesome class with wonderful wines, food, and friends. Thank you Lisa!    

Lisa:  What a yummy evening!  We are so used to California Chardonnays that venturing to France was fun.  Wanting to try the Burgundy region, we started with something other than a
the Chardonnay grape -the  Aligorte grape.  This wine was slightly different than the other two (which were Chardonnay grapes) but I was pleasantly surprised how good it was!  It had more of the fruitier side compared to the other two with more creaminess but they all had the minerality notes.  Paired with food, the first two cheeses were my favs with the Bucheron paired with the Domaine DuBlere having the biggest WOW factor.  As for the salmon, risotto, and guacamole the wines really came alive with the food.  Of course, who doesn't like Sea Salt Caramels?! And my night ended on the best note with them paired with the Domaine DuBlere!  Yay!

Mary Jo: This was truly a delightful evening!  I love finding new white wines to love!  In the Bouzeron, I found pear and peach aromas and lemon zest on the mouth.  The Savigny was buttery caramel with a little spice and minerality.  The Bourgogne Blanc had minerality and butter on he nose and was creamy with mineral and an acidic finish on the mouth.  With the cheeses, I loved the Savigny-Les-Beaune was wonderful!!  With the salmon- I found the salmon to being out a bit of fruitiness in the wine and loved it!  Everything went well with the delicious mushroom risotto.  I liked the Savigny with the guacamole and all here wines paired well with the chocolate!  Thanks to Lisa for a wonderful evening!

Italian Culinary and Wine Experience

Last month Beth and I had the privilege to enjoy a fun night at Fezziwig's Tea & Gourmet Market in Lebanon, Illinois.  This cute shop, owned by Tim and Ellen Leaf Moore,  hosts all kinds of events including wine tastings, loose leaf tea tastings and gourmet food tastings along with various  classes on all those mentioned goodies.  That night we participated in an "Italian Bistro Night".

Tim and Ellen's dear friends Mike and Patti Awalt spent 12 years living in Italy learning all they could about the culture and foods of that wonderful country. It was great being the recipients of their delicious culinary delights!

The evening started off with a "Capri Cocktail" of Prosecco.  As with any Italian sparkling wine, that's the best way to begin an evening while mingling with friends.

Once we were seated, we enjoyed the first course of Bruschetta ( that's pronounced broos-kEHt-tuh).  To pair this for the evening I chose the 2013 Chloe Pinot Grigio which is from the Valdadige D.O.C.  It had ripe juicy flavors of fresh white peach, beautiful honeysuckle and subtle Meyer lemon.

Continuing on with the next course of tonno e fagioli, which is a tuna and white bean dish. Oh delish! I continued to enjoy the Chloe Pinot Grigio with this one too and  it was a perfect pairing.

The next course of the evening was the Pasta Bolognese Bianco.  Awesome! I've enjoyed Bolognese before but was always with a red sauce.  This version is a lighter pasta with a white or olive oil sauce.

I paired this dish with a 2012 Vesevo Beneventano Falanghina from Campania, Italy. Again, a perfect choice for it had a full, ripe palate with a hint of honey on the finish.

Our next course was Insalata verde.  It was interesting to learn that in Italy the salad is always served after the pasta to help with digestion.  After having the heavier entrees, I thought I was full and couldn't eat anything more, but the salad was perfect. It was bib lettuce with  very light EVOO and balsamic vinegar.

The dinner was topped off with fresh strawberries drizzled with Fezziwig's very own Summer Peach White Balsamic Vinegar.  Not to stop there, Patti made homemade Limoncello that was the culmination of a fantastic evening.

Now we know why Tim and Ellen wanted the Awalt's to be their first "guest presenters" of their Culinary Experience classroom. I'm so glad we were a part of it!

Cheers!

Lisa

Wine School Sauvignon Blanc-French and California

The wines!

Theme:  With summer approaching, I thought it was the perfect time to explore Sauvignon Blanc from its birthplace. Both Sancerre (sahn sair) and Bordeaux claim to be the birth place of this refreshing white wine, so we tried one from each region and threw in a Sav Blanc from Napa for a comparison. The three wines were a great example on how much influence terrior in wine.


The Wines:
Domain Thomas & Fils 2012 Le Crele Sancerre

• Color:  Pale yellow
• Aroma:  Youthful nose - lemon zest, herbs, and a chalky-mineral notes
• Mouth:  Light body with crisp acidity and notes of lemon/citrus and mineral with a medium finish.
• Price:  $27.99 - Wine Merchant/Clayton, MO
• Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5
• Conclusion:  Well balanced aroma bled through to the taste! Good expression of what mineral tastes like in a wine. Best wine of the evening!

Peter Sichel 2012 Sirius White Bordeaux

• Color:  Pale yellow
• Aroma:  More earthy aroma than the Sancerre with tropical fruit and slight floral notes
• Mouth:  Light body, although slightly more body than the Sancerre, smooth mouth feel with definite mineral notes
• Price:  $12.99 - Wine Merchant/Clayton, MO
• Rating:  3 out of 5
• Conclusion:  Nice wine, makes a great summer sipper.

Laird Big Ranch 2012 Sauvignon Blanc

• Color:  Pale yellow with a hint of green
• Aroma:  Youthful nose definitely different than the French wines - tropical fruit and pear
• Mouth:  More fruit flavors than the French wines with a tart finish - crisp and refreshing
• Price:  $15.99 - Wine Merchant/Clayton, MO
• Rating 3 out of 5
• Conclusion:  We enjoyed this wine best on its own. A nice refreshing wine for our hot St. Louis summers.

Cheeses for the evening.

The Pairings:
Sofia Goat Cheese:  Nice cheese that paired well with all the wines. It really brought the body out in the Bordeaux, our favorite pairing of the three wines.
Couronne de Touraine:  Nice pairing - our favorite was with the Sancerre.
Garlic and Herb Chevré:  Very nice with the Bordeaux!
Crab Salad:  A nice pairing with the Sancerre, the Bordeaux wine was too floral with this pairing.
Goat Cheese Pizza:  Great pairing, as Lisa says, "Woo Hoo!". Did we mention she is from Texas!! Great with all three wines. We love this frozen pizza from Target! Best pairing of the evening!
Godiva Salted Almond Chocolate:  We enjoyed with the Sancerre and Laird from California.
Godiva Salted Caramel Chocolate:  Nice pairing, we enjoyed best with the Sancerre.

Conclusion:
Beth:  I enjoy Sauvignon Blanc so this was a fun class to prepare. Most of the time I find myself drinking these wines from a domestic source or New Zealand. In full disclosure I have enjoyed Sirius, from Bordeaux, already when my husband and I took a class at the  Wine Merchant so I knew what to expect in this wine. New to me was a Sauvignon Blanc from Sancerre. I enjoyed the mixture of mineral and lemon/citrus, and my favorite of the evening. Hands down the best pairing of the evening was the goat cheese pizza (frozen from Target)! The creaminess of the cheese plays nicely with the acidity of the wine.
Lisa:   When it comes to summer, Sauvignon Blanc is definitely my "go to" wine.  I always love the refreshing and crisp flavors they hold. Although I enjoy all three on their own, I wasn't a huge fan of the cheese comparisons.  But my favorite was the Garlic and Herb Chevre, especially with the Sirius.  I loved the crab salad with the LaCrele Sancerre!  And of course the winner of the night was the Goat Cheese pizza.  I think I'll have to stock up on that for easy dinners :).  Then there were the chocolates...My pick of the wines was the Sancerre-yum!  It was fun comparing all three wines and definitely seeing the differences.  Fun class!  And come on summer!
Mary Jo:   MMMM....With summer comes delicious whites that can be enjoyed by the pool, or outdoors on a hot summer night.  What a pleasure it was to enjoy these wines!  Overall, I loved the Sirius the most, with Laird as second and La Crele third.  Each of these wines had their own distinct flavors.  The Sirius had mineral, herb and flower notes and went very well with the goat cheese and goat cheese pizza.  The Laird had juicy pear on the nose and a tart crisp finish.  This wine went very well with the garlic and herb chèvre and the goat cheese pizza.  The La Crele had a citrus/lemon and mineral flavor that paired well with the Couronne de Touraine, the crab salad and the Godiva salted almond chocolate.  The Laird was a very easy drinking Sauvignon Blanc.  What a wonderful class to kick off our midwest summer!  Thanks, Beth!