Summer Sippers

It is hard to believe, but kids are headed back to school this week! Where has the summer gone? With plenty of warm days still left, I thought I would share some of my favorite warm weather sippers that I have enjoyed this summer.

Let's begin with Sauvignon Blancs from around the world! These summer sippers are wonderful alone on a hot summer or evening or paired with summer salads, asparagus, lobster, and crab cakes.

Gary Farrell 2013 Russian River Valley Sauvignon Blanc
A wonderfully crisp and zesty wine with citrus flavors of lemon and grapefruit with tropical notes as well. Gary Farrell is known for his Pinot Noirs, but this Sav Blanc is delicious. You can find online at www.garyfarrellwinery.com.  

Kim Crawford 2013 Sauvignon Blanc
The nose on this wine has the citrus and grassy notes Marlborough wines are known for. A fresh and zesty wine with a juicy acidity. Year in and year out a wonderful Sav Blanc at a great price and easy to find at your area wine and liquor stores as well as many grocery stores.

Sirius 2012 Maison Sichel Bordeaux Blanc
A nicely balanced wine with a more earthy aroma than the new world Sauvignon Blancs. This wine is 50% Sauvignon and 50% Sémillon with tropical fruits and floral aromas. Classic French mineral finish and well balanced, this wine is wonderful alone or with food.












Now a couple of white wines from Spain and Italy!

Fazi Battaglia 2011 "Titulus" Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi
The grape this Italian wine is made from is the Verdicchio grape from the Marche region. My husband and I first enjoyed this wine with a Margherita pizza at a café in Rome. It is also delicious with Bruschetta! The light bodied wine has citrus and herbal aromas - a bright and refreshing wine. I ordered mine at www.empirewine.com for $9.95 a bottle.

Martin Códax 2011 Albariño
Another favorite wine of mine year after year. This Spanish wine has citrus and fresh herb notes on the nose with a fresh palate of citrus and grapefruit. A favorite pairing of mine with this gem is guacamole! It also pairs well with seafood, shellfish, poultry, and mild cheeses.

Back in the US here are a couple from Oregon and the Finger Lakes of New York!

Elk Cove 2013 Pinot Gris Willamette Valley

Peach and pear with a full, almost creamy mouth feel that coats the mouth. This is an Editor's Choice from Wine Enthusiast receiving 91 points in the upcoming October issue. I will enjoy this delightful wine into the fall.

Barnstormer 2013 Chardonnay

This unoaked Chard has floral notes with pear and citrus on the finish. We discovered this wine from the Finger Lakes earlier this summer (See blog entry July 8, 2014). $17.99 a bottle at www.barnstormerwinery.com .

Last, but not least, a couple of Rosé wines to enjoy as well!

Herman J. Wiemer Dry Rosé Cuvée NV

Another delicious gem from the Finger Lakes. This wine is a blend of Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, and Chardonnay with notes of strawberries and raspberries. Fresh and crisp with a nice body it is easy drinking alone or with light fare. It is $13.50 at www.wiemer.com .

Isabel Mondavi 2013 Deep Rosé

This unusual Rosé is Cabernet based which gives it a bit more body than some Rosé wines. The wine is full of strawberry, cranberry and red apple. Wonderful alone or pair with spicy Thai, salmon, or this Labor Day with burgers and brats.

And if you are worried about taking your wine glasses outdoors, I have the perfect glasses for you! Govino shatterproof wine glasses. They are shaped like true wine glasses and are so thin you are able to taste the wine instead of the plastic. They even have an indentation for your finger to make it easier to hold on to your glass! You can find these glasses at The Wine Merchant in Clayton, MO or online at www.govino.com and www.amazon.com. Look for Champagne flutes, beer glasses, and decanters as well.

Cheers,

Beth

Wine School-Summer Roses, August 19, 2013

Wines of the Evening

Theme: Summer Rose

Our St. Louis summer will be coming to an end before we know it, so I thought it would be a perfect time to sample Rose wines! I chose wines from three different regions: Charles & Charles from Washington State, Domaine De La Janasse from France, and Isabel Mondavi IM Deep Rose from Napa. As you have probably noticed, we are gals that love our red wine, so sampling these roses would be a new experience for us. What better time to try a rose than  a hot, summer evening. If you plan to sample rose wines at home, make sure you put a good chill on your wines.
Beth

The Wines
Charles & Charles 2012 Rose

• Color:  Pink with a hint of orange, think red grapefruit.
• Nose:  Peach with a hint of butter and roses
• Mouth:  Very crisp with acidity definitely present on the finish. Tart cherries with a bit of strawberry  and citrus.
• Price:  $12.99
• Conclusion:  A bit too much acidity for our tastes unless paired with the proper food. When paired with the salmon the wine really rounded out and balanced the acidity. Amazing how well it paired with the olives-if you like olives!

Domaine De La Janasse 2012 Cotes du Rhone Rose

• Color:  Blush pink.
• Nose:  Earthy terroir, we couldn’t pick up any fruit.
• Mouth:  Bone dry with a definite mineral-chalky finish.
• Mouth:  $13.99
• Conclusion:  We all agreed the mineral notes were too overpowering for our tastes. A few of the foods did help the fruit in the wine come through, but was definitely our least favorite of the evening. Not a rose for sipping by the pool on a hot, St. Louis summer day.

Isabel Mondavi IM 2012 Deep Rose

• Color:  Cranberry
• Nose:  Fruitiest of the wines on the evening. Very pleasant with strawberry and cranberry aromas.
• Mouth:  Richest of the three wines with red fruit and a bit of tarty cranberry.
• Price:  $18.99
• Conclusion:  We have all had this wine in the past and love it for a summer sipper. It was definitely our favorite wine of the evening. Overall it was the most versatile with the food pairings. The richness of the Cabernet grape came through in a light, refreshing version.

The Pairings
Note:  For the pairings tonight we sampled a number of lighter fare/small plate dishes.
Cheese

• Dill Havarti Cheese:  As much as we love this cheese it was a definite no go with all the wines. Mary Jo pointed out that it really affected the finish of the wines in negative light.
• Manchego Cheese:  Another of our favorite cheeses that didn’t work with the wines this evening. It was ok with the IM rose but a miss match with the others.
• Sun-dried Tomato Cheddar Cheese:  The winning cheese of the evening when it came to pairing. We really enjoyed it with the Charles & Charles and it also paired nicely with the Cotes Du Rhone wine, taming some of the overwhelming mineral aftertaste. Mary Jo enjoyed it with IM as well, although that was not a favorite for Beth and Lisa.

Olives

• Olives Stuffed with Sun-dried Tomato:  As it turns out olives, if you like them, go well with rose wine! It really toned down the tartness of Charles & Charles. And even though we weren’t a big fan of these olives to begin with, they improved with the wine. Unfortunately nothing can get Mary Jo to enjoy olives!
• Marinated Olives:  Again, olives and rose works! 

Small Plates

• Melon with Prosciutto:  The fresh melon and prosciutto are a great pairing for rose wine we all agree!! With the Charles and Charles there was the perfect balance between the tartness of the wine and the sweet and salty treat. It also tamed the overpowering minerals in the Cotes du Rhone, and the wonderful fruit in the IM deepened.
• Tomato Bruschetta:  This pairing was a mixed bag. We enjoyed it with the Cotes and IM. The fruit that we found lacking in the Cotes du Rhone was enhanced and it just really richened the IM. The only downfall was with Charles & Charles, too much tartness in the wine to pair with the acidic tomatoes.
• Smoked Salmon with Cream Cheese:  This was a simple and delicious appetizer to prepare. Just spread some softened cream cheese on a cracker and top with smoked salmon-delish!! It was also wonderful with the Charles & Charles the tartness in wine balanced out well with the smoky fish. It was a definite mismatch with the French wine and seemed to flatten that wonderful, rich fruit of the IM.
• Lobster Bisque:  We enjoyed this match with the Charles & Charles; it balanced out that tartness. It was too creamy for IM; toned down the fruit. We all just did not enjoy at all with the French rose.

Pizza

• Roasted Vegetable Flat Bread:  We thought the roasted vegetables, thinking of summer foods, would pair well with these wines, but it was nothing to write home about. It probably paired best with IM and was passable with the Charles& Charles, but nothing special. Mary Jo did not like at all with the French wine.
• BBQ Chicken Flat Bread:  This pairing demonstrated how everyone has their own likes and dislikes. Mary Jo enjoyed this best with the IM, while Beth and Lisa thought it went well with the Cotes du Rhone-balancing the mineral finish of the wine.

Dessert

• Peaches:  The fresh peaches from Eckert’s were delicious, but not a hit with the wines. They stood up best to the Charles & Charles-tartness playing off the sweetness of the peaches. The remaining wines fell flat with the peaches.
• Ghiradelli Sea Slat Soiree Dark Chocolate:  We were not at all sure we could pull of chocolate with roses, but we can’t have wine school without our chocolate! The Charles & Charles was the only wine to even hint at working with this chocolate.
• Lindt Chili Dark Chocolate:  With the spiciness of this chocolate, the pairings were a better, especially with the Charles & Charles. It bombed with IM.

Conclusion
Beth:  An interesting evening of tasting! I must say my hands down favorite wine of the evening was The IM Rose! I have enjoyed this wine in the past and still love it! A perfect wine to sip around the pool. My favorite pairing of the evening has to be the melon wrapped prosciutto with any of the wines. It was a very refreshing treat for hot weather. The most interesting match I thought was how well olives and rose wines pair together. In preparing for the evening I found this pairing mentioned a number of times, but I wasn’t sure how it would work out. It was wonderful. I loved how the tartness played with the saltiness of the olives. If I planned this night again I would definitely try these wines with some BBQ too.
Lisa:  Unfortunately I have a disclaimer for the evening.  I was fighting a cold and thought that only my nose might be affected.  However, my taste buds didn't want to cooperate either.  As for the food alone, everything was delicious.  When it came to the wine, all I could find on the tongue was a metallic taste (darn cold meds).  Listening to Beth and Mary Jo describe the flavors I know I missed out!  I did however enjoy the time with my wine buddies!
Mary Jo:  I was skeptical at first that I would be able to enjoy rose wine glass after glass, as is typical of wine school.  Wow, was I wrong!  In fact, I dare say, I may have enjoyed them TOO much!  I would definitely agree with Beth that the IM Rose was my favorite.  This was not the first night I had tried this wine, so I knew I liked it.  But, while the others were enjoyable, the IM truly stood first in most pairings.  It was amazing with the prosciutto wrapped cantaloupe.  The Charles and Charles went well with the salmon.  All in all, a very enjoyable evening.  Unfortunately, Lisa wasn't feeling well, I must have picked up her slack.  ;)