Wine School, Torrontes, April 1, 2014

Theme:   

With spring here and summer right around the corner, I thought it would be nice to check out some harder to find Torrontes wines.  I had forgotten how distinctive these wines can be!  I had it in my head that they were closer to a Sauvignon Blanc, when, in fact, I felt they were closer to a Chardonnay.  While these wines are not plentiful in stores, they are worth looking for and you will likely get a great wine for not a lot of money!   

The Wines:

Trivento Reserve 2011 Reserve Torrontes

• Color:  Pale, yellow green
• Nose:  Aromas of citrus with mineral notes and a hint of floral-the mineral aromas really stand out to us.
• Mouth:  A creamy mouth feel with a bright acidity at the end.
• Price:  $10.99

Crios 2012 Torrontes

• Color:  Pale, yellow green-lightest color of the wines
• Nose:  Gardenia and white floral aromas hit you in the nose at first sniff.
• Mouth:  Creamy with a bit more bright acidity in this wine.
• Price:  $17.99

Aylla 2012 Torrontes

• Color:  Light yellow gold with a green tint
• Nose:  Peach, grapefruit and strong rose notes
• Mouth:  Driest of the three wines, the acidity is up front with creaminess coming through on the finish.
• Price:  $9.99

Overall Conclusion:  We enjoyed all three of these wines. So interesting how the same grape can make such different styles in wine. The Crios is our favorite, but we would recommend all three of these wines. If you prefer your whites bone dry-go for the Aylla! Definitely these wines would be perfect for a summer party, by the pool, or the next time you order Thai food.

The Pairings:

Goat Cheddar:  Excellent cheese that paired well with all three wines.
Goat with Lemon Poppy Seed: Great cheese, and it paired well with the wines-a winner! 
Goat - Four Pepper:  Paired well with the Aylla, with the Trivento coming in second.




Chicken Satay:  A wonderful dish that paired well with all three of the wines. Our favorite pairing was with the Trivento.
Reese's Peanut Butter Cups:  Very interesting pairing. If you are a fan of Reese's-you should give it a try. We recommend pairing it with the Trivento or Aylla.
Sea Salt Chocolate:  Another nice pairing. We liked it best with the Trivento and Crios.
Dark Chocolate:  Dark chocolate was a bit too bitter for these luscious wines. Save the dark chocolate for a lovely red!

Conclusion:

Beth:  Another great class that has me ready for some warmer weather after sampling these Torrontes wines! The creaminess of these wines is a real treat. The characteristic that stands out the most to me is the aromas. It is amazing the floral undertones-you almost feel like you've just walked into a florist shop when you get a big whiff! I would have to say my favorite wine of the evening was the Crios. The bright acidity and yet still creamy palate makes this wine stand out from the others. All of the wines paired well with the dishes. This is a perfect wine the next time you are having Thai or some other spicy dish. 
Lisa:  It's definitely time for warm weather whites!  Come on Spring!  I have to agree that this grape comes in many flavors.  I've always enjoyed the Crios and will continue. I've had other Torrontes and again thought they were more toward the crispness of the Sauvignon Blanc, but tonight they gave me a big surprise. I definitly found the floral and mineral qualities on the nose, especially the rose petal and gardenia in the Aylla.  As for the mouth, they tended to be more buttery like a Chardonnay.  A little more chill on the wine may have brought out some more citric flavors.  As for the cheese pairings, the goat cheddar and goat with the lemon poppyseed only got better with each wine. The chicken satay was the best with the Trivento!  As for the chocolates, the sea salt won hands down for me.  All in all they were all different and very good but may lean toward the Crios.
Mary Jo:  While I have had Torrontes in the past, I guess I had forgotten the true style of this wine.  The colors of all three were pale yellow green, with the Crios being the lightest of the three.  All three wines were delicious with aromas of citrus, peach, minerals and grass.  However, on the mouth, they had a heavier mouth feel than I expected with a creaminess that I found wonderful!  It was interesting how the Crios was creamy initially with the moderate acidity found in the finish, while the Aylla had its acidity up front, finishing up with delightful creaminess. The Crios with the goat cheddar was delicious, while the Aylla was the best with the four pepper goat cheese and the lemon poppyseed goat cheese.  The Trivento paired very well with the chicken sate.  Finally, the sea salt was best with the Trivento and the Reese's peanut butter cups.  I'm not sure I had a "wow" moment with any of the wines and the dark chocolate.  Ultimately, three really great wines that were all very moderately priced.  These wines need to be chillier than a Chardonnay, but not as cold as a Sauvignon Blanc.  I will definitely stock up for summer!  

Inaugural Dinner Club!

On a beautiful spring evening this past weekend, five neighborhood couples came together for our inaugural "Dinner Club" meal.  In our neighborhood, we are never short of ideas on how to spend time together.   I have to say the neighborhood where the Stay At Home Winos reside is filled with amazingly wonderful people who love to get together for any occasion or none at all!  This evening proved this point to be true.

Our new Dinner Club, while still in its infancy, generally will work this way:  each couple will take their turn, that couple will prepare and serve the entire meal for their guests, and the guests are responsible for bringing two to three bottles of wine to share.  We hope to enjoy this evening every other month.  Our first hosts were Kim and Craig, and they did not disappoint.  In fact, they set the bar so high, I am not sure how the rest of it will compare!

Kim sent the menu out in advance so the rest of the couples had the opportunity to choose the wines that would go best with that meal.  The menu was to be salad, chicken marsala, orzo with asparagus and strawberry shortcake for dessert.  It was unanimous that Pinot Noir would be everyone's wine of choice to enjoy with the chicken marsala.

Upon entering Kim and Craig's beautiful home, delicious aromas wafted through the air.  I knew at that point, we were in for a treat!  The following wines were waiting to be opened:

Shea Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2009

                                                      Boneshaker Lodi Zinfandel 2011

Sequana Pinot Noir

                                               Alexana Revanan Vineyard Pinot Noir 2010

Trisaetum Trisae Pinot Noir

                                                                      Crios Torrontes

Castle Rock Pinot Noir

We started the evening with delicious appetizers, including prosciutto and salami wrapped cheese and pesto garlic bread.  The appetizers were amazing and the conversation was lively as always!  We then moved to the salad and, finally, the main course-chicken marsala and orzo with asparagus.  The dinner was delicious and Pinot Noir was definitely the right choice.  It was the perfect combination of great friends, great food and great wine.  There was a lot of laughter, as there always is when we get together.

What a blessing to have such wonderful and fun people living in the same neighborhood, and they love wine!  The entire evening was fabulous and I know everyone is looking forward to our next "Dinner Club" in June!

Cheers!
Mary Jo

Wine Word of the Week

Vouvray - A white wine made with the Chenin Blanc grape in the Loire Valley of France. This wine can be dry, semi-sweet, or sweet.



Wine School, February 19, 2013-Wine Pairing

Note:

We decided to mix things up a bit for this wine school. Two of our three husbands were out of town on business this week, so we decided to make a meal of it! Each wino was in charge of picking a dish and a wine to pair with it. Lisa also provided cheeses and chocolate to try with all. The wine and food was definitely varied, but we had great fun with this concept and the food was delicious!

Wines

Crios Torrontes 2012 - Mary Jo's Pairing

Color:  Light straw
Nose:  Perfumy, aromatic wine with hints of peach
Mouth:  Wonderful peach up front with a crisp acidic finish
Price:  $14.99
Conclusion:  Wonderful wine perfect to enjoy on a warm summer evening with friends or with a light salad with friends for lunch. We all loved it!

Pairings

Camembert with Gourmet Wafers - Deepened the flavors of the wine and added to its complexity-a winner!!
English Cheddar Cheese - This cheese was a bit too sharp for the delicacy of the wine. We all thought Manchego would work well with this wine.
Rembrandt Extra Aged Gouda - Nice pairing with this cheese, but we all liked the Camembert even better with the Torrontes.
Thai Chicken Spinach Salad - Definitely this salad and wine complimented each other-a perfect balance.
Lindt-Touch of Sea Salt Dark Chocolate - We weren't expecting to like this match, but it was surprisingly good.
Lindt-70% Cocoa Smooth Dark -This one was not so great :(

Trimbach Reserve Pinot Gris 2007 Lisa's Pairing

Color:  Golden
Nose:  Fresh and refined
Mouth:  Nice minerality with a wonderful minerality that will pair well with food. Nice finish with a hint of cool, mint down the back of the throat.
Price:  $25.99 Randall's Wine and Spirits
Conclusion:  A wonderful, well balanced, medium bodied wine. We all adored this wine.

Pairings

Camembert with Gourmet Wafers - Love the wine, but not with this cheese.
English Cheddar Cheese - The sharpness of this cheddar was able to keep up with the fuller bodied Pinot Gris from France.
Rembrandt Extra Aged Gouda - This was a nice pairing, but we preferred it with the Torrontes.
Salmon - A great pairing! The wine has a much "richer" feel on the mouth.
Lindt-Touch of Sea Salt Dark Chocolate - No, the wine and chocolate fought against each other.
Lindt-70% Cocoa Smooth Dark

Silvano Bolmida Dolcetto d'Alba Manescott 2008 - Beth's Pairing

Color:  Deep, dark red
Nose:  Earthy, peppery, with decaying leaves
Mouth:  More tannins than we expected for a Dolcetto, with red fruit and typical acidity of an Italian wine
Price:  $17.99 Plaza Wine and Liquour/O'Fallon
Conclusion:  Not our favorite wine from Italy.





Rigatoni with Tomato, Pancetta, and Chevre

Pairings

Camembert with Gourmet Wafers - As expected, this cheese was too rich and creamy for this wine.
English Cheddar Cheese - Not a match.
Rembrandt Extra Aged Gouda - It was an ok match, we thought the wine would go better with a variety of Italian meats for appetizers.
Rigatoni with Tomato, Pancetta, and Chévre - This was a good match with the wine. As usual an Italian dish and Italian wine bring out the best in each other.
Lindt-Touch of Sea Salt Dark Chocolate - This match was ok, but we were expecting something better.
Lindt-70% Cocoa Smooth Dark - Yum!  Great match with this wine.

Final Thoughts

Beth - What a lovely evening we had with great friends, food, and wine. The Thai salad and salmon was delicious. They paired wonderfully with the wines selected by Mary Jo and Lisa. I enjoyed the Rigatoni too. It was a nice match with the Dolcetto, but I think a Chianit Classico would have been even better. The Torrontes was also great with the pasta. I don't think I can pick a favorite wine this time, I loved the Torrrontes and the Pinot Gris. They both had me looking forward to summer!

Lisa -  This class was fun because we made it different!  With each of us bringing a wide range of pairings, we were able to really compare and see the vast differences in what worked and what didn't. For the most part, the cheeses were not the best and the chocolates were sometimes a hit and sometimes a miss.  As for the main dish pairings, they were ALL perfect pairings.  As for my favorite wine of the night, I think I leaned toward the Crios Torrontes, but the Pinot Gris was a close second. I agree with Beth, with this gloomy winter that just won't go away, I'm SO in the mood for crisp white wines.  Come on spring!

Mary Jo - This class was a departure from what we normally do and it was a really great time!  It gave us all a chance to focus on one part of the meal and pair a wine with it, and also see if our wine paired well with the other two dishes.  The Crios Torrontes was my favorite of the three wines.  It went very well with the Thai chicken salad and the Camembert.  I felt the English cheddar was too harsh for this wine.  Finally, the sea salt was my favorite chocolate with the Crios.  The Trimbach Pinot Gris and the Crios were both great with the pasta.  The Trimbach was also nice with the salad, but I was not a fan of this wine with the cheeses.  The Trimbach definitely increased the richness of the salmon from Sam's and enhanced the fruit of the salmon that was seasoned.  Finally, the Dolcetto was only okay with the gouda, but I was not a fan of this wine with the other two cheeses.  This wine was an excellent pairing with the pasta!  This was a really fun class and, since we all loved the Crios so much, we headed to Wine Merchant and split a case!