Wine School, French Gamay Noir, July 29, 2014

Theme:  In preparing for this class, I wanted a varietal that was unique, or at least fairly uncommon.  I decided on Gamay, a French grape, with one Pinot Noir (the region's noble grape) as a comparison.    Gamay grapes are traditionally grown in Beaujolais, but can also be found in the Niagara Peninsula, Canada, Willamette Valley, Oregon, and a small amount is found in Australia.  This grape is more fruity, as opposed to a Pinot Noir, that can be more earthy.  

The Wines:

Trenel Fleurie 2010 Gamay

• Color:  Medium ruby
• Aroma:  Youthful nose with raspberry,cherry pie, a bit of earth, and cinnamon
• Mouth:  This light bodied wine has tart acidity with cherries and classic French mineral notes on the finish
• Price:  $17.99
• Rating: 3.5 alone : 4 with food!

Domaine Cheveau Saint-Amour "En Rontey" 2011 Gamay

• Color:  Deep ruby with a hint of purple
• Aroma:  Raspberry and pepper dominate this nose
• Mouth:  Cherry and raspberry up front with tart acidity on this light bodied wine
• Price:  $20.00
• Rating: 3.5 alone: 4 with food!

Regis Bouvier Bourgogne 2011 Pinot Noir

• Color:  Light brick red
• Aroma:  Earthy, smokiness hits the nose initially and then the undertone of blackberry, blueberry and bit of pepper with a light, fresh touch of floral
• Mouth:  Definitely an earthy wine with low tannins and some tart cherry on the finish
• Price:  $24.99
• Rating: 3.5 alone: 4 with food!

Overall Conclusion:  Initially, on the nose, we found the wines to be very interesting.  During tasting, we were taken aback slightly with the tart finishes on the Gamay wines.  They were distinctly different from the Pinot.  Over time, and with food, we found the wines to be enjoyable. We favored the Pinot Noir, but really loved all the wines with the French cheeses! These wines were definitely meant to be enjoyed with food and friends!

The Pairings:

Camembert Cheese:  This cheese was a fantastic pairing with the wines! Really enhanced the fruit flavors in both the Trenel Fleurie and the Cheveau! Also wonderful with the Pinot. French wine with French cheese - can't go wrong!
Brie Cheese:  Again difficult to pick a favorite pairing with this cheese between the Trenel and Cheveau. The balanced out  the tart flavors in the Trenel. Was also spot on with the Cheaveau.

Cheddar Cheese:  We enjoyed this best with the Pinot, but we would pick the French cheeses over the cheddar when pairing with these wines.

Meatloaf Muffins:  Very nice with the two Gamays.

Sweet Potato Hash:  A nice side pairing with the Gamays, but we didn't enjoy as much with the Pinot.

Chocolate with Raspberry Filling:  This chocolate really brought out the mocha notes in the Trenel Fleurie.

Strawberry Shortcake:  Not our favorite pairing of the evening, but this dessert was fantastic!

Conclusion: 

Beth:  Another fun wine class as we ventured into the area of French wines! As always, French wine goes hand in hand with food. I absolutely loved all three wines with the Camembert and Brie cheese! It was also delicious with the Meatloaf muffins. Difficult for me to pick a favorite wine for the evening. I enjoyed the Pinot best alone, but would have to call it a tie between the two Gamays when paired with our delicious dinner. Thanks to Mary Jo for a fun and educational evening. I loved the company.

Lisa:  Coming into the class, I really didn't know what to expect. Would the Gamay's be similar to the Pinot Noir or totally different.  Well, we had fun finding out!!  Starting with the cheeses, the Camembert was the winner for me! It seemed to improve all the wines.  The Brie balanced the two Gamay's but not so much the Pinot Noir. Cheddar was the opposite-liked best with Pinot. The Meatloaf muffins made the Gamay's pop- great pairing. Also loved the sweet potato hash mainly with the Gamay's again.  Then to the sweets- loved the chocolate with all wines but as for the strawberry shortcake, it was best eaten alone (without wine but with wino friends:)).  Overall, food made the Gamay's standout and the Pinot was great on it's own.  Fun night!!

Mary Jo:  It is always exciting, and nerve-wracking, to host a class that includes a varietal we have not yet investigated.  I found this class interesting because it compared the noble grape of a region (Pinot Noir) with another grape indigenous to the region.  What a difference!  The Gamay wines were definitely more red-fruit on the nose, where the Pinot had more earthy, dark fruit aromas.  The wines all went very well with the Brie and Camembert.  With most of the food, I felt that the Cheveau Saint-Amour Gamay paired the best.  Ultimately, I enjoyed he Gamays most with the food, versus drinking them alone.  It was a wonderful and informative class with my great friends!

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.



A Toast to Champagne!

"Tiny bubbles in the wine...."  As you read those words does the tune pop into your head from the familiar song?  I'm not a regular drinker of Champagne but when celebrations, events or holidays roll around, I do like to enjoy a glass or two.  My husband and I toasted our wedding day with Champagne and we've enjoyed a few New Year's Eves with a sip, as well.  With the holidays coming up and many parties to attend, Champagne may be offered - so I thought I would read up and learn a little bit more.

First of all, what IS Champagne? We all know it's that bubbly, sparkling drink that we enjoy on New Year's Eve, but Champagne is actually a region in France-the country's northernmost winemaking region-and it's an hour and a half northeast of Paris. The grapes in this region are picked with higher acidity than in most other French regions, which is one of the reasons for it's distinct taste.

The Champagne region is divided into four main areas:  Valley of the Marne; Mountain of Reims; Cote Des Blancs; and Cote Des Bar.

Three grapes can be used to produce Champagne: 
               Pinot Noir: accounts for 38% of all grapes planted
               Pinot Meunier: accounts for 35% of all grapes planted
               Chardonnay: accounts for 27% of all grapes planted

In France, only sparkling wines that come from the region of Champagne my be called "Champagne".  Some American producers have borrowed the name Champagne to put on the label of their sparking wines, however, these cannot and should not be compared with Champagne from France.

Three major types of Champagne:
               Non-vintage/multiple vintage: a blend of two or more harvests, 60 to 80 percent base wine
               from current harvest and 20 to 40 percent wine from previous vintages. (These will most
               likely not have a vintage date since they are blends of various years).
               Vintage: from a single vintage
               "Prestige" cuvee: from a single vintage with longer aging requirements

There is definitely a price difference between the non-vintage and "prestige" cuvee. Why, do you ask? "Prestige" Champagnes usually meet the following requirements to be designated as such:
            * Made from the best grapes of the highest-rated villages
            * Made from the first pressing of the grapes
            * Spent more time aging in the bottle than non-vintage
            * Made only in vintage years
            * Made in small quantity, and the demand is high. (Price is dictated largely by supply and
              demand)

Another reason the price of French Champagne is so high is the production process, called the Methode Champenoise (Shahm-pen-WAHZ). Following are the steps:

            Harvest: usually late September or early October

            Pressing the Grapes: Only two pressings of the grapes are permitted.  Prestige cuvee 
            Champagnes are usually made exclusively from the first pressing. The second pressing, call the
            taille, is generally blended with the cuvee to make vintage and non-vintage Champagnes.

            Fermentation: All Champagnes undergo a first fermentation when the grape juice is converted 
            into wine (which takes two to three weeks and produces still wines).

            Blending: The most important step in Champagne production is the blending of the still wines.
            Each of these still wines is made form a single grape variety from a single village of origin.  The
            winemaker has to make many decisions here.  Three of the most important one are:

            1. Which grapes to blend--how much Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier?
            2. From which vineyards should the grapes come?
            3. Which years or vintages should be blended?

            Liqueur de Tirage: After the blending process, the winemaker adds Liqueur de Tirage (a 
            blend of sugar and yeast), which will begin the wine's second fermentation.  At this point, the
            wine is placed in its permanent bottle with a temporary bottle cap (similar to a beer bottle cap.)

            Second Fermentation: During this step carbon dioxide stays in the bottle (thus the bubbles) 
            and leaves natural sediments. (So how do you get rid of the sediment without losing carbon 
            dioxide? See next steps).

            Aging: The amount of time the wine spends aging on its sediments is one of the most important 
            factors in determining the quality of the wine.

            Riddling: The wine bottles are now placed in A-frame racks, necks down.  The remueur, or 
            riddler, goes through the racks of Champagne bottles and gives each bottle a slight turn while 
            gradually tipping the bottle farther downward.  After 6-8 weeks, the bottle stands almost 
            completely upside down, with the sediments resting in the neck of the bottle.

            Degorgement: The top of the bottle is dipped into a brine solution to freeze it, and then the 
            temporary bottle cap is removed and out fly the frozen sediments, propelled by the carbon 
            dioxide.

            Dosage: A combination of wine and cane sugar is added to the bottle after degorgement.  At 
            this point, the winemaker can determine whether he wants a sweeter or drier Champagne.

             *Brut: dry
             *Extra Dry: Semi dry
             *Sec: Semisweet
             *Demi-sec: Sweet
             Recorking: The wine is recorked with a real cork instead of a bottle cap

WOW!  With a process like that, no wonder it's so good.  Now when I raise a glass of Champagne for a toast, I will really appreciate all the effort that went into the making of it.

Cheers!
Lisa

         Wine Word of the Week

Remueur:  (winemaking) (in the making of sparkling wine, especially champagne) a person engaging in remuage, or the turning of bottles to remove sediment.  

Porktastic Dinner!

The Stay At Home Winos were fortunate to participate in the "Devine Swine Grilling Event" last Friday evening, sponsored by the O'Fallon Parks and Recreation Department!  It was a beautiful cool evening in the park where Chef Brian Taborski and his Sous Chef Brady grilled a fantastic menu and the Winos paired the dishes with three great wines for about 30 guests.  The food was generously donated by various vendors, as was the Chefs' and Stay At Home Winos' time.  The Regency and Hilton Garden Inn offered a wonderful wait staff as well as the serving items.

There are few people who don't enjoy pork in some form or fashion.  Until Friday evening, I had no idea how many different ways pork can be served, not to mention prepared on a grill!  Further, I was pleasantly surprised at how so many diverse wines crossed traditional lines to pair with each dish!

Chefs Brian and Brady demonstrated grilling techniques to the guests and fielded questions about such things as proper grilling temperatures and the reasons wet wood chips are used when grilling. Participants were able to put the information to the test when they grilled their own maple glazed, pecan wood wrapped pork tenderloin medallions.  While the Chefs imparted their knowledge, a suckling pig "Norman" was being prepared in another area.

The following was the delicious menu:
   
     Butternut squash soup with cinnamon creme fraiche
     Maple glazed pecan wood wrapped pork tenderloin medallion
     Pecan wood smoked apple and cherry stuffed pork loin
     Roasted honey glazed root vegetables (red and gold beets, turnips, parsnips, carrots)
     Sweet potato and chorizo hash (very spicy!)
     Cherry Clafouti (Almost like a soufflé)

The Stay At Home Winos were able to taste the meal in advance and picked three delicious wines to pair with the menu.  The following are the three wines:

     Chateau St. Michelle Gewürztraminer - ($14.99) - A fan favorite, the Gewurztraminer is an 
     enjoyable wine with an exuberant fruit and clove spice.  This is a lush style of Gewurztraminer with 
     a lot of floral character, yet it still maintains the grape’s natural crisp character.  Try this with Thai 
     food or any cuisine with a little “bite” to it.  Serving temperature: 45 to 50 degrees. 
   
     Cloudline Pinot Noir ($14.48) - On the nose, there is an immediate burst of bright, fresh red fruits, 
     including strawberry and raspberry, followed by an earthy quality. On the palate, the wine has fine
     texture, soft tannins, good acidity and a strong core of fruit. It is a wine that offers immediate 
     pleasure, on its own, or better yet,in the company of a delicious meal.  Serving temperature: 58 to 63 
     degrees.    
 
     Cline Ancient Vine Zinfandel ($14.99) - To taste the depth and complexity of flavor of an ancient 
     vine grape just before it is harvested is to understand why the wine made from them is so special. 
     Ancient Vines Zinfandel has flavors of dark berries, coffee and chocolate with great vanilla oak 
     character and a long lingering finish. This wine has it roots in the Cline family’s 80 to 100-year old 
     vines in Oakley. From these historic holdings the wine has grown to include grapes sourced from
     California’s finest zinfandel regions.  Serving temperature: 60 to 67 degrees.

The Gewürztraminer definitely stole the show, as guests truly saw how this wine with the "hard to pronounce name" really paired well with the pork and spicy food.  Having said that, the Pinot Noir and Zinfandel were thoroughly enjoyed by everyone, as well.

We are so excited when we are able to help people who enjoy wine break out of their shells and try wines they would not normally try.  We Winos have made it our own mission to try wines that fall outside of our norm.  We find there are so many preconceived notions about types of wines and people don't realize how much is out there!  For example, most guests were used to "white zinfandel" and were pleasantly surprised to try the Ancient Vine Zinfandel by Cline Cellars.  

Overall, it was a glorious evening of fine food, fine wine, and fine folks!  This was the second such event the O'Fallon Parks and Recreation Department has offered and I can speak for the Stay At Home Winos when I say how much we are looking forward to the next event!  

Cheers!
Mary Jo

Wine Word of the Week

 

Yield:  a measurement of a vineyard's production. In general lower yields are associated with a higher quality wine. Ancient Vine Zinfandel wines generally have a lower yield than a newer Zinfandel vineyard.

  

Does the wine make the glass or does the glass make the wine?

     In our cabinet sit a set of beautiful crystal glasses. There are white and red wine glasses and champagne flutes. They are trimmed in gold and are cut with beautiful designs that reflect light like a prism. And they are never used. While these glasses are unique and pretty to look at, they are not functional for anyone who truly wants to have a proper wine experience.

      Conventional wisdom suggests that one does not get the most out of individual wines unless the wine is drunk from a specific glass. The first problem with the crystal glasses we own is their size. While the red wine glasses are the largest, they are not large enough to swirl the wine. Further, they do not accommodate one's nose to fully take in the wonderful aromas wine offers. A red wine glass is round and full with an opening that allows one to dip their nose into the glass to get a sufficient whiff. A red wine needs a large glass with enough surface area so the wine comes in contact with more air.

       Basic-wine-knowledge.com suggests having a Bordeaux and a Burgundy glass. The Bordeaux glass is taller with a smaller bowl. The tallness of the glass allows heavier, full-bodies reds like Cabernet and Merlot, to proceed to the back of the mouth, allowing maximum flavor. A Bugundy glass, on the other hand, is not as tall but has a larger bowl. This design allows the wine to cross the tip of the tongue, letting the individual enjoy the more delicate favors.

     There is also a glass known as a Pinot Noir glass, and, a more specific version known as an Oregon Pinot Noir glass. This glass has a large bowl and a flared top.

     For white wines, the glasses are more upright and U-shaped, allowing aromas to be released while maintaining a cooler temperature. Two white wine glasses are suggested, one for younger, crisp whites which has a larger opening allowing the wine to hit the sides and tip of tongue, so the individual enjoys the sweetness of the wine. The other type of glass is for more mature, fuller wines. This glass is straighter and taller, directing the wine to the sides and back of the tongue, thereby allowing the enjoyment of the bolder favors.

      There are also sparkling and dessert wine glasses. The sparkling wine glass, like a champagne flute, is upright and narrow to retain carbonation and allow the flavors of the wine to emerge. The dessert wine glass, on the other hand, should be smaller, directing the wine to the back of the throat so as not to overwhelm the individual with sweetness. Since a dessert wine has a higher alcohol content, a smaller glass is the perfect portion.

     A few things to remember with your wine glass:

• hold your glass by the stem, so as not to increase the temperature of the wine through the heat in your hands.
• if you are a novice, swirl the glass while it sits on the table, rather than while holding it in the air. (This will allow you to drink your wine, rather than wear it.)
• when smelling your wine, stick your nose into the glass, don't be shy!
• when viewing the wine, tip the glass away from you with a white napkin as the background.
• most of all, enjoy!

"Wine is music, the glass is the speaker." Georg Riedel

Cheers!
Mary Jo

Wine Word of the Week:

Lees:  left over yeast cells from fermentation that settle to the bottom of the container. Wine that is left in contact with the lees (sur lie) can have added complexity, flavor, and viscosity.