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!

Love is Blind!

This past Thursday, the Stay At Home Winos were, again, fortunate to host a wine tasting through the O'Fallon Parks and Recreation Department.  In the past, we have joined forces with a chef from a local conference center for the "Grilling in The Garden" however, for this event, the Winos hosted alone.  

For this tasting, we wanted to try something a little different, so we decided to hold a "blind" tasting with three red wines.  We decided on a Garnacha, a Cabernet Sauvignon and a Zinfandel.  The wines we chose were Borsao Tres Picos (Garnacha), B Side (Caberrnet Sauvignon) and Klinker Brick (Zinfandel).

We also had another surprise in store for our guests!  Utilizing a basic red wine combined with several different fruits, vegetables, and spices, we created "standards" to train our guest's noses to pick out different aromas often found in wine.  

The standards we used were: vanilla, pepper, red pepper, cherry, raspberry/blackberry, anise, asparagus and cloves.  We numbered each "standard" glass, and the participants took turns smelling and trying to guess the aroma of each.  It is not as easy as it sounds, as our guests learned!  The most correct answers were 6/8 and the prize went to Elizabeth C.!

Next, we embarked on our tasting.  Three wine bottles, wrapped in black paper and labeled A, B and C were poured.  The participants were taught to properly assess the color of the wine and write down their thoughts.  Next, we demonstrated swirling and encouraged everyone to swirl, then smell, the wine to elicit the aromas.  We had many great answers from the crowd, with regard to the aromas of each wine.  As we know, it is not always easy to identify those aromas!

Finally, (the fun part) everyone was allowed to taste their wines.  Each guest had pairings including Stilton, Manchego, Parrano and aged Cheddar cheeses, as well as bread and crackers.  It was interesting to see the participant's reactions to how time and food changed the wines.  Certainly, this phenomenon is well known, but it really takes experiencing it for yourself to realize how true it is!!

At the end of the evening, we had a question and answer session and a lot of laughs.  This class was very enjoyable and, we think, quite informative for our guests!  We cannot wait for our next wine tasting in the Fall.  Stay tuned for details!

Cheers!

Mary Jo

An Evening on the Mediterranean Coast

Last week the Stay at Home Winos had the pleasure of doing what we love--sharing our love of wine by teaching a wine class.  Ellen and Tim Moore, owners of Fezziwig's Tea & Gourmet Market in Lebanon, Illinois invited us to teach "An Evening on the Mediterranean Coast" Wine Education Event.  The wines served were from various countries along the Mediterranean Sea which included France, Spain, Italy and topped off with a surprise tasting from Greece.

Photo by Jackie Wind Clinton

 

The evening began by greeting our students with Sangria made with  Rosatella Rosé using the Gourmet duVillage Wine Country Sangria mix and complemented with guacamole dip from Fischer & Wieser guacamole starter.

The table is set!
 Photo by Jackie Wind Clinton

Once everyone was seated in the Culinary Experience Room, class began with a welcome and introduction. We began with a 2012 Sauvion Vouvray Chenin Blanc from France's Loire Valley.  Walking everyone through the steps of tasting, we began with looking at the color--was it clear?  Light? Yellow or gold or did it have a green tint?  Everyone had enjoyed coming up with fun descriptions of the wines.  Next, we moved on to the "nose" of the wine, teaching them how to swirl their glasses to release the aromas and to let them really sink their nose into the glass to savor all the wine's flavor.  Was it fruity, citric, floral, grassy?  All kinds of ideas popped in their heads and it was fun hearing the results! Swirl again and take another sniff.  Did you pick up something different?  Swirling takes practice but you get the hang of it fast.

Of course what we have all been waiting for, now to taste!  Was the taste similar to the nose?  Was is citric, acidic, floral, buttery?  Did it linger on the palette?  We walked them through many possibilities and let them come up with flavors they tasted.  There are no wrong answers because everyone has their own unique "bank" of flavors. And this wine was a hit!








Once we completed the first wine, we continued on with the same format of color, aroma, and taste venturing next to Italy. The 2012 Chloe Pinot Grigio named after the ancient word meaning "blooming" has it's grapes sourced from Italy but produced in Northern California.

Off to Spain!  Our final white wine of the evening was Campo Lindo Blanco from Bodegas Ramon Roqueta Winery located in the Catalunya DOC made with the Macabeo and Chardonnay grapes.







Back in France, we changed over to a Rosé

of mainly Grenache, with Cinsault and Syrah and is located on old fluvioglacial terraces on the right bank of the Rhône Valley.

Our first red of the evening was a 2012 Bon Marche Red Blend.  This wine, although made in the French style, is actually from Bueller Vineyards located east of St Helena, California in Napa Valley.  This blend consists of Zinfandel, Syrah, Merlot and Malbec and was aged in French and American oak barrels.  Very much a favorite of the evening.







And finally back to Spain to enjoy one of Orin Swift's Location wines "E".  Again, a delicious blend of
Grenache/Garnacha, Tempranillo, Monastrell, and Carignan/Cariñena. It is super concentrated fruit from old vines with low yields that are accented with a judicious oak program for a balanced and distinctive wine.

Along with the wines, some nibbles paired with them were the Fischer & Wieser Peach Salsa and a simple humus with Fezziwig's own Lemon Infused EVOO served with tortilla and pita chips.

Rounding out the evening was a tasting of two Greek wines.  Fezziwig's doesn't usually carry Greek wines so one of their distributors brought these in especially for the evening.  The white wine was a 2012 Moschofilero Boutari from the Mantinia grape which was citric and similar to Sauvignon Blanc. The red wine was Kretikos Boutari  which was a blend of two grapes: 60% Kotsifali and 40% Mandilaria.  This one was earthy and had soft tannins.  They were both a treat to enjoy!

With all the laughter and fun conversation, we feel the night was a huge success!  Many students walked away with new knowledge of wine tasting and are ready to sign up for the next class.

Cheers!
Lisa

P.S. Thank you Jackie Clinton for providing photos from the evening. Check out this talented lady's blog at www.wind-inspired.com .

The Finger Lakes, New York

     

Lake Seneca, New York

     Recently my husband and I helped our son and daughter-in-law with their move to Boston. It was a bitter sweet event. We are very proud of Ben's new opportunity, but we will miss them-especially our grandson. My husband realized I might need some cheering up, so he planned a visit to New York's Finger Lakes region for some wine tasting as we made our way back to St. Louis. It was the perfect way to cheer me up!

     Our home base was the Harbor Hotel in Watkins Glen. A beautiful hotel at the tip of Lake Seneca. A quaint, small town, Watkins Glen has restaurants and shops all an easy walk from our hotel as well as a nice restaurant and bar on the property with a large patio for outdoor dining. The Tasting Room and Wine Merchant by Atwater also recently opened in town. They offer tastings of select wines from a variety of wine regions in New York and some wonderful cheeses from the Empire state as well. It was the perfect spot to have a glass of wine and cheese plate before dinner on the day of our arrival. I enjoyed a glass of the Atwater Chardonnay! The wine was bright and crisp and paired well with our cheeses.

     Over our two day stay we visited wineries on both sides of Lake Seneca. Views were beautiful, everyone was friendly and the weather perfect! Here are a few of our favorites.

Herman J. Wiemer Vineyard
From the outside the tasting room looks like a large barn. Inside it is a modern and elegant spot to sample their wonderful wines. Herman Wiemer (www.wiemer.com) is considered a pioneer in the wine industry here. The tasting room and staff, as well as his wines, are elegant and classy. Our favorite was the 2013 Dry Riesling that recently received 91 points from Wine and Spirits and 90 points from Wine Enthusiast. I also loved their Rosé that we brought home and have enjoyed by the pool. They also have vines to purchase from their nursery. This is a must if you are visiting the Finger Lakes!

View from Silver Thread Vineyard

Love the label from Silver Thread

Silver Thread Vineyard
This beauty is on the east side of the lake, down a dusty road with gorgeous views of the lake (www.silverthreadwine.com). They are primarily known for Riesling, a grape well suited for this terroir, but also produce Gewurztraminer, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay. We loved the 2012 Dry Riesling. Brought a few of these home and will be sharing with Lisa and Mary Jo soon!

Barnstormer Winery
This tasting room is in....... a barn! The barn itself is over 100 years old. Inside the tasting room is large and bright. The staff here was excellent. My favorite wine from Barnstormer (www.barnstormer.com) was their unoaked Chardonnay. A bit leaner than a California Chardonnay, it was bright and crisp. Also loved the Rosé that they offered. They also have a large deck to enjoy a glass a wine and cheese plate that we took advantage of.

Shalestone Vineyards 
I am a sucker for a wine dog, so when I saw this sign outside the Shalestone (www.shalestonevineyards.com) tasting room I knew I was in the right place. This unique winery only offers red wines! The Finger Lakes region is not known for having much luck with dry red wines, but Shalestone had some wonderful offerings. Our favorite was Harmony, a blend of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot. Just to show you what a small world it is, our hostess in the tasting room, Martha, was from our hometown in Northern Illinois!

Watkins Glen State Park

     If you get a chance to travel to upstate New York, find time to visit the Finger Lakes. The scenery is breathtaking and the wines are delightful. And don't forget to take a walk through Watkins Glen State Park to see enjoy the waterfalls!

Cheers,
Beth

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!