Brrrr–Ice Wine

It is another bitterly cold day in what is becoming one of the coldest winters in many years. A perfect day to write about Ice Wine! This past Christmas we enjoyed a bottle my in-laws brought back from a trip to Canada!

Jost Vineyard

What is Ice Wine or Eiswein as it is called in Germany? Ice Wine is sweet dessert wine made from grapes that are harvested when frozen.When made in the traditional method, these grapes are hand harvested, often at night. The grapes are then crushed and pressed while still frozen, producing a extremely concentrated flavor. Harvesting these these tiny, frozen jewels is plagued with pitfalls; from the difficulty of harvesting in extreme weather, to fighting the birds and other wildlife that can strip the vines of fruit as they search for food in frigid winter weather. Canada, Germany, and Austria are major producers of this wine.

After our Christmas dinner (beef tenderloin paired with a delicious MacPhail Pinot Noir) we enjoyed the Ice Wine that my husband’s parents brought back from a recent trip to Nova Scotia-Vidal Ice Wine from Jost Vineyards. It was a nice sweet treat after a rich dinner. The Jost family has been in the wine business for over 400 years, going back to Germany. Today at their Canada vineyards, they make red, white, and specialty wines with grapes grown on their estate as well as sourced from other regions. The grapes for our wine were grown in the Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia. They were harvested in December with temperatures between –8 to -10° C. The wine was a golden color, almost shimmering by candle light. Definitely a full bodied wine with a balanced acidy. A perfect way to cap off a wonderful time with family!

Christmas dinner

I love trying new wines and learning about wine regions from around the world. It was a real treat to be able to sample this Ice Wine with the entire family as we celebrated a special Christmas with our first grandson! Thank you to my in-laws, Dick and Carol for bringing back a bit of their adventure to share with us!
Cheers,
Beth

How Long Is Too Long?

Some evenings, we really need more than one glass of wine.

But how long will your wine last if you do not drink the entire bottle in an evening?

Several factors come into play when answering this question.  First, is the wine a red or white?  How old is the wine?  Are you storing it in proper conditions (temperature, preservation gas and humidity)?  Finally, how much do you care if the wine is a little (or a lot) past its prime.  Ultimately, the rule of thumb is - if it tastes okay, go for it!  However, for the purposes of this blog, we will examine some "rules".  (Interestingly, I found a lot of disparity between web sites on this issue.)

1.  Is the wine a red or white, still or sparkling?
     ~According to Corkbuzz.com, acidity, sugar, tannins and alcohol call all act as preservatives in
     wine.
     ~According to supplewine.com, sparkling wine lasts 24 hours at the most.  Some won't last more
     than four hours.
     ~According to supplewine.com, white wines can last 1 to 3 days.  Heavier wines, such as an oaked
     Chardonnay, can last longer than lighter, fruitier wines.
     ~According to supplewine.com, Rose wine can last 1 to 3 days.  This also can depend on how full-
     bodied the wine is.
     ~According to supplewine.com, light-bodied red wines can last 1 to 3 days.
     ~According to supplewine.com, full bodied red wines can last 1 to 5 days.  Sometimes, heavier reds
     such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, can actually improve after being open a day or two.
     ~According to supplewine.com, fortified dessert wines can last 7 to 14 days.  The high sugar and
     alcohol content acts as a preservative.  Madeira can last for weeks in the refrigerator after being
     open.

2.  How old is the wine?

     ~According to Corkbuzz.com, generally, younger wines will stay fresher longer than old wines.
     However, according to luxist.com, the opposite is true.  That site claims that the longer the wine was
     aged, the longer it will retain its flavor, whereas younger wine is more susceptible to the effects of
     oxidation.
 
3.  Are you storing the wine under proper conditions?

     ~According to Corkbuzz.com, since oxygen is what ultimately will deteriorate a wine, closing the
     bottle after you are finished will keep more oxygen from entering.  This fact is disputed by supple
     wine.com, which states that once the wine is exposed to oxygen, the deterioration process begins
     and closing the bottle will not stop it.  Corking the bottle will, however, limit continued exposure
     and slow the process.
     ~Utilizing a vacuum seal can help keep the wine fresher longer.

     ~Cooler temperatures can slow down the deterioration of wine, so, unless you have a dedicated
     wine cabinet, store your wine in the refrigerator.  (Yes, even reds.)
     ~Utilizing an inert gas such as nitrogen or argon can replace the oxygen in the bottle and increase
     the wine's lifespan.

4.   What is your taste preference?
      ~Ultimately, the only true "rule" on this issue is whether the wine is pleasing to your palate.

5.   Miscellanous
      ~Luxist.com states that the fuller the bottle, the longer a wine will stay fresh due to less room in the
      bottle for oxygen.  The site suggests transferring what is left into a smaller bottle.
      ~Do you have a wine aerator?  A common brand of aerator is the Vinturi.  This device allows you
      to pour the wine through it and into your glass, aerating the wine.  This process can help wines that
      are otherwise past their prime, to taste a little better.

      ~According to winefolly.com, avoid storing open wine on its side, avoid storing it by a window,
      and don't store the wine above 70 degrees F.

Bottom Line

The general consensus throughout my research is, on average, three days.  Red wine typically can last a few days longer than white.  However, it really depends on your own personal taste.  Wine will not make you sick, but it may simply taste like vinegar.

Just remember, wine should be enjoyed, not just finished!

Cheers!

Mary Jo

Wine School-Mystery Wines, January 7, 2014

Theme: Mystery Wines

I thought we would start 2014 with a little mystery!  These wines were all one varietal, but a little different.  Interestingly, they really stumped everyone!  Had I not known what they were, I would have been stumped too!

The Wines:

Santa Margherita 2009 Chianti Classico Riserva (Wine A)

• Color:  Ruby red with a hint of purple-the inkiest of the three wines
  
• Nose:  Floral notes on the back end. Not a lot of fruit with a hint of oak and slight earthiness
  
• Mouth:  Light tannins, fairly acidic with a hint of metallic
  
• Price:  $13

Banfi Chianti 2009 Classico  Reserva (Wine B)

• Color:  Brick red with a touch of ruby red
  
• Nose:  Earthier than the first wine with a hint of tar. Lisa said the wine smelled like the powder her grandma always used!
  
• Mouth:  Earthy and rustic wine with firmer tannins than the first wine
  
• Price:  $17

Gabbiano Bellezza 2009 Chianti Classico (Wine C)

• Color:  Ruby/brick red
  
• Nose:  Most floral on the nose of the three wines. We all agreed that there wasn’t much fruit on the nose of any of the wines.
  
• Mouth:  Medium tannins, not much fruit – none of these wines are “jumping” out to us!
  
• Price:  $25

Overall Conclusion:  Lisa was correct identifying the wines as Chianti-congratulations to her! We loved the wines with the lasagna-a perfect match! All agreed that these are wines best enjoyed with food. Our favorite cheese of the evening was the Havarti Dill and we very much enjoyed the Sea Salt chocolate paired with the Chianti.

 The Pairings

• Gouda Cheese:  The cheese brought out a bit of fruit in these wines, it made the third wine more interesting. Overall, the cheese was a bit too creamy for the wines.
  
• Havarti Dill Cheese:  Very nice with the Banfi Chianti. Mary Jo found that it added minerality when paired with the Gabbiano Chianti.
  
• Smoked Cheddar Cheese:  Our least favorite cheese pairing of the evening. The smokiness of the cheese clashed with the wines. 
  
• Lasagna:  Wow, the lasagna was delicious and a great pairing with the wine. The lasagna and wine together was the biggest hit of the night!
  
• Sea Salt Chocolate:  Definitely our favorite chocolate of the evening. It was perfect with Santa Margherita.
  
• Dark Chocolate:  We enjoyed with the Gabbiano the most, although the Sea Salt chocolate was definitely a better pairing.

Conclusion:

Beth:  It is always fun putting our knowledge and experience to the test. Congratulations to Lisa for correctly identifying the correct varietal of the evening – Chianti. And a big thanks to Mary Jo for putting the class together. As we have found in the past, we really enjoy Italian wines much more with a meal. If you are looking for a wine to sip by the fire on a cold winter night, I would not recommend the wines we shared this evening. But to share a hearty meal with good friends, Chianti is perfecto! If asked to pick my favorite wine of the evening, I would have a hard time choosing between the Santa Margherita and Banfi Classico Reservas. Both were fantastic with the lasagna and the Sea Salt chocolate.

Lisa:  I always love blind tasting and I think Mary Jo gave us a little hint with the lasagna (Italian wines pair great with Italian food).  Thanks Mary Jo!  And the lasagna WAS delicious with all the wines!  My second best favorite pairing of the night was the Sea Salt chocolate. Oh my!  Cheeses were good too and I agree that the Havarti Dill was the winner of the three. Now I am more motivated than ever to take a trip to Italy.  But just to pick a favorite for the night, I would have to go with Banfi.  However, the Santa Margherita was a very close second.  Maybe I should try them again :)! Fun night!!

Mary Jo:  I was excited about this tasting!  We had not tasted Chiantis in a while and, frankly, I don't think we have had enough Chiantis to really be able to distinguish them as well as the other varietals.  Personally, I wasn't blown away, initially, by any of the wines.  However, I had hoped that they would improve with food.  I was right!  With the cheeses, I found Wine B (Banfi) to be the best with the Gouda and the havarti dill.  I really didn't like any of the three cheese with Wine C(Gabbiano).  Wine A(Santa Margherita) was the wine I most enjoyed with the lasagna.  As far as the chocolates, Wine A was best with the sea salt chocolate and I found Wine C to be best with the dark chocolate.  Ultimately, I liked the Banfi best.  However, the Gabbiano was definitely a close second.  A great class!  We definitely need to get more experience with Chianti!

Christopher's World Grill

This past weekend I was able to fly down to Texas to visit my daughter at college for a special sorority Holiday Tea. Of course, while we were there, my husband and I also took her out to a nice dinner- one that she would call "fancy".  She was so excited when we told her we were going to Christopher's World Grill because that's the "best place in town", according to our 19 year old.

Well, she had good reason to be so excited because we enjoyed a wonderful evening!

We started the evening with a couple of delicious appetizers.  The first one was the Texas Spoon Drop Crab Cake with grilled shrimp, cayenne tomato butter sauce and lime sour cream.  It was huge so there was plenty to be shared between the three of us.  We also enjoyed pan seared scallops that were so tender!

 

The wine we chose for the night was Mauritson's Rockpile Zinfandel from the Cemetery Vineyard.  I have to admit I have had this wine before so I knew we were in for a treat! It was delicious with the crabs cakes!  The nose had dark fruits and a hint of mocha.  On the palate were velvety tannins with a taste of roasted coffee yet had hints of blueberry.  Of course it was a hit with the en tree's we enjoyed also.  I selected the seafood special of the night which was a Seabass over mashed potatoes and steamed asparagus.  My husband had the stuffed pork chop with blue cheese and our daughter had the veal chop that was sauteed with bone in and she ooohh and aawwhh over it!

As we ordered the main course we opted out of salads so we could save room for desserts!  Our daughter enjoyed the Creme Brulee and we split the Almond Polente. It was a wonderful night for the three of us! 

I would definitely recommend this restaurant in Bryan, Texas!  It may be her graduation dinner in a couple of years :)!

Cheers!
Lisa

Robust Wine Bar

My husband and I have been wanting to try out Robust Wine Bar at its new location in Edwardsville, IL since it opened earlier this year. We finally had our chance for a late bite on Saturday night and were not disappointed.

We were seated in the back of the restaurant in a cozy booth and greeted by our waitress, Mimi(hope I’m spelling that correctly). Her first task was to familiarize us with the extensive menus. Wines on the menu are categorized by their “robust factor” which is based on the body style of the wine. With such an extensive wine list, the robust factor helps you narrow down a wine that is just your style. Wines are separated into eight categories:

• RF1:  Bubbles
• RF 2: Crisp White
• RF 3:  Mellow White
• RF4:  Luscious White
• RF5:  Soft Hearted Red
• RF 6:  Generous Red
• RF 7:  Robust Red
• RF8:  Sweet & Stickies

And when it comes to the food you have choices that range from cheese and charcuterie plates, soups and salads, flatbreads and small plates, all the way to full size entrees. Each food item on the menu is also given a RF rating to help the diner in pairing their wine and food. After an excellent overview of the menu by our server, my husband settled on the salmon special and I chose the mushroom flatbread. We were thrilled to see a MacPhail 2009 Pinot Noir on the menu and selected that as our wine. What an excellent example of a California Pinot! We both loved it. And the food – fantastic. Mike let me try a bit of his salmon. It was perfectly prepared-just melting in my mouth. My flatbread was a hit too. Both dishes were a match made in heaven with our wine.

   

On my next visit I definitely want to try out one their many wine flights offered, like, Run with the Bulls Spanish flight or Platinum Blondes Chardonnay flight. They also offer special pricing on wine flights on Wednesday evenings and other specials through out the month. Check them out on Facebook or at www.robustwinebar.com. 

Cheers,

Beth

The Teachers Become The Students!

Wine, like many other things in life, is an area where you cannot possibly ever know it all.  The Stay At Home Winos never profess to be experts, but simply enjoy learning about wine.  This past Friday evening, a group of us were treated to a wine tasting conducted by Scott Cullman and his lovely wife, Sherri Cullman, at our home.  This event was purchased by the Guinns at a silent auction last year.

Scott Cullman is with Garco Wine (garcowine.com) in St. Louis, Missouri.  Garco Wine is a family and locally owned and operated wine wholesaler, and has been in business for seventy years.  

Needless to say, it was exciting for the Winos and their guests to be on the receiving end of the wine tasting on this evening!  Scott and his wife brought 8 wines for our group to taste, including a Straw Wine and a Port.  The following are the wines we tasted:

Gundlach Bundschu Chardonnay
Nautilus Sauvignon Blanc
Sonoma Oaks Pinot Noir Russian River
Gladium Tempranillo
Gundlach Bundschu Mountain Cuvee Red
Michel Schlumberger Cabernet Sauvignon
Marietta Petite Sirah
Ministry of the Vinterior Zinfandel
DeTrafford Straw Wine (Straw wine, or raisin wine, is a wine made from grapes that have been dried to concentrate their juice. )
Pacchia Port

Many guests really enjoyed the Nautilus Sauvignon Blanc, so I would have to say that was everyone's favorite.  The straw wine was very interesting, and the Port was an enjoyable way to end the tasting.  Our group didn't stop there, however, as we enjoyed a couple spirited games of "Left, Right, Center"

It was a wonderful treat to meet Scott and Sherri and we are already planning our next tasting!

Cheers!
Mary Jo

Wine School-Cabernet Franc vs. Cabernet Sauvignon, November 4, 2013

 

 

Theme:  Cabernet Francs

Recently I was reading an article about the "other" Cabernet.  We are all familiar with Cabernet Sauvignon and even Merlot-the two more known grapes of Bordeaux.  Cabernet Francs are mostly used as a blending grape but I'd thought I would see how it stood alone and compared to the Cabernet Sauvignon.  So here we go!

The Wines:

Domaine Aimé 2011 Cabernet Franc

• Color:  Deep, inky purple
• Nose:  Blackberry jam with a vegetative aroma
• Mouth:  Definitely a young wine with more fruit than you would notice on a typical Cabernet. The wine has significant tannins with a long, warm finish.
• Price:  $14.99
• Conclusion:  The fruit in this French wine really popped as the wine opened up. As expected of a French wine, it paired well with the food.

Steele 2010 Cabernet Franc 

• Color:  Lighter shade of purple.
• Nose:  Wet forest floor with a bit of spice, notes of bell pepper, and caramel-especially as the wine opened up.
• Mouth: Can really taste the tannins and definitely oaky on the pallet. 
• Price:  $15.99
• Conclusion:  This was our favorite Cab Franc of the evening. It paired nicely with the main course and overall with the cheeses and chocolates too.

B Side 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon

• Color:  Bright garnet
• Nose:  Tobacco and cardamom. Mary Jo also noted some bell pepper.
• Mouth:  This wine has light tannins with blueberry notes - more fruit forward than we expected for a Cab.
• Price:  $16.99/regular price $24.99
• Conclusion:  We all enjoyed this wine very much, although we were not expecting it to be the most fruit forward of the bunch. The tannins were balanced, making it the best wine of the evening for a sipper, although we enjoyed it with the dinner too.

The Pairings:

• Wyngaard Chevre Affineurs Goat Gouda:  Wow-we loved this cheese and it paired well with the wines. We liked it the best overall with the Cabernet, and preferred it with the Steele Cab Franc over the French wine.
• Cypress Grove Midnight Moon Goat Cheese:  Another cheese that we all enjoyed with all three wines. It paired best with the Domaine  Aimé.
• Drunken Goat: This pairing fizzled, it left an unpleasant aftertaste with all of the wines.
• Beef Roast w/vegetables:  First off, the beef roast was delicious! Mary Jo and Beth thought it paired well with all three wines, though Lisa was not a fan of pairing it with the French Cab Franc. A great match with the Steele Cab Franc, bringing out the best in both the dish and the wine.
• Ghirardelli Twilight Intense Dark Chocolate:  A very nice pairing, the favorite of the chocolates for the evening! The finish was fantastic with both Cab Francs.
• Lindt A touch of Sea Salt Dark Chocolate:  This was our least favorite chocolate with the wines. Would definitely not pair it with B Side Cabernet, but it was decent with the two Cab Francs.
• Lindt Chili Infused Dark Chocolate:  We do love this chocolate! Lucky for us it pairs well with many red wines. This evening it paired best with the French wine, Domaine Aimé.

Conclusion:

Beth:  We have had many red wine classes, but this was a first to focus on Cab Franc! The company, food and wine were wonderful as usual. My favorite Cab Franc of the evening was the Steele from California. It was wonderful with the pot roast, standing up well to the hearty dish. And it was definitely a “wow” with the Wyngaard Chevre. It was interesting to compare the two Cab Francs with a Bordeaux style Cab, although this Cab surprised me a bit, being more fruit forward than I expected. The two wine varietals definitely have differing aromas on the nose, with much more vegetation with the Cab Francs. Cheers to Lisa for a wonderful class and an education on how Cab Franc isn’t just a blending grape!
Lisa:  These Cab Francs were definitely a surprise to me!  After reading several articles on line and in books, I was expecting the Cab Francs to be less tannic and more fruity than the Cab Sauv. However, the particular wines we enjoyed tonight seemed to me to be just the opposite. My favorite pairing of the night was the Goat Gouda with the B Side Cab-yum!  I did, however, enjoy the roast beef with the two California wines.  It's always fun to try something different and share it with friends :).  As they say "nothing ventured, nothing gained"!
Mary Jo:  I think I may have found a new favorite every day wine during this class!  My favorite Cab Franc was the Steele from Lake County.  It was simply delicious.  For me, this wine was the best with the beef roast w/vegetables and the Wyngaard Chèvre.  Having said all of that, the B Side is truly another favorite wine of mine.  It was incredibly fruity and, with the beef roast, I found it to be too fruity.  None of the wines went well with the sea salt chocolate (very unfortunate, since that chocolate is amazing).  As far as the Drunken Goat cheese, the cheese's finish killed all three wines.  I am not sure I realized how delicious Cab Francs were!  Ultimately, this was a great class full of surprises.  Thanks, Lisa!