The red wine selection of the day was from one of my favorite wine makers Greg Graziano who hales from Mendocino County in northern California.  The Graziano family of wines has been around since 1918 and in my humble opinion, taste better every year.  We opened the 2001 Petite Sirah and never looked back.  This delicious little beauty is actually 95% Petite Sirah and 5% Zinfandel, and originates from old vines scattered throughout the bench lands (places to sit after drinking to much for those of you in Knightstown) and hillsides of Mendocino County. 

On the palate, this wine is smooth, soft and ripe full of ripe berries, plums, cherries and a dash of spice.  It would pair amazingly with roasted lamb or beef and even hearty pasta dishes, preferably with red sauce, should the urge to cook actually overwhelm you and make you forget, even for a second, the wonders of carry-out.

But I digress because I don't cook!!  Yes, it's true....a wine drinker who actually doesn't pair wine and food and actually drank this "Petite Gem' with a chicken quesadilla compliments of Qdoba and found it equally delightful long after the tasting was over the panty hose had hit the floor.  Now that I've delivered that promising imagery to your frontal lobe I will bid you good-bye and tell you to "Never Expect more than this and a mental ramble.  I'm in the market for some present tense",*  Or in my case, some "wine" tense.  See you Thusrday.

The Wine Tellar

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*Quote compliments of Annie Dillard

Enjoy this wine at your favorite upcoming family gathering or just as a nice way to end the day.  After all, finding a great wine at a great price, so close to home is a delightful way to to end any day......especially those days ending in "Y".

As Always,

The Wine Tellar

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May I introduce you to "Shoo Fly, Buzz Cut 2006." This reasonably price white blend is new to the store so in an effort to appear chic and cutting edge, we chilled this little Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling and Viognier blend and popped the "Stelvin Enclosure" (or Screw Top for those of you in Lebanon) Unfortunately, I think we chilled our little "Fly" just a scoosh too much as the initial taste was bland and lacking in any kind of flavor. However, I am happy to report that, by tastings end, the wine had warmed up and the citrus of the Sauvignon Blanc and the flower of the Viognier could definitely be identified on the palate.  

So, for those of you who tasted my little "Shoo" early on and were seemingly disappointed, just remember, "Days in summer are apt to linger"* and when they do, may you have plenty of good summer wine to enjoy with a little food, a few good friends and minutes that linger as you watch the world go by... in "Fly " time, of course.

As always,

The Wine Taster

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*Quoted by Oscar Wilde

Saturdays at the store are quickly becoming the destination spot for both the seasoned wine drinker as well as the newbie.  And, although the weather enticed most of you to stay away (it was downright tropical on Saturday) those of you who did venture over to the wine counter walked away with some pleasant nuances on your palate.  

First on the lips was the Ruffino Pinot Grigio from the Friuli region of Italy.  This was a surprising wine to taste.  I am so used to the light, tastless Pinot Grigio's from California, think Ecco Domani, that when I first tasted the Ruffino I was taken aback. The palate was rich and full of flavors blasting forth with ripe pears and crisp juicy apricots. The finish on this full bodied wine was long and zesty.  The price point, at $12.99 made this wine even easier to swallow.  With spring right around the corner, put this little gem in the "fridge" and pop it out whenever you have company over that you want to impress.

The red selection of the week was from Argentina.  Bodega Trapiche, under the label of Broquel, has bottled one outstanding Cabernet Sauvignon.  This 120 year old winery harvested these grapes from the warm region of Mendoza and that made all the difference.  This was a very seductive wine and had me at Hello!  The bottle opened up with a bang.  The aroma was fruit filled but a little tight at first.  As the day progressed, this Cab opened up and softened into creamy, well-crafted juices full of black cherries and wild berry flavors.  The finish was firm, long and fresh.  And, as luck would have it, local chef and Carnegie's restaurant owner Ian Harrison stopped by long enough to give this wine his nod of approval as well. But, most impressive of all is it's price tag, at $15.49 this jewel will impress even the most ardent wine snob.

Last on the tasting table was the Muscadelle Tokay from the Chambers Rosewood winery of Australia.  This dessert wine was full of molasses, spices and brown sugar with a little rum raisin ice cream finish.  The 18.5% alcohol content along with the high residual sugars creates an amazing concentration of flavors that are meant to be relished after dinner in front of a fire.  This powerful little bottle of wine has a little something for everyone.  Share it with yourself first and if there's any left over, grace someones palate... but only if they are worthy.

Well, that concludes our trip around the world!  Your wine passport has no doubt been enhanced and you are now thirsty for more.  Don't despair, every Saturday is traveling day so join me from 1:00-4:00 pm and we'll hop the wine train together.

Until...

The Wine Tellar

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We began the festivities with an old favorite, the Moseland Riesling from Germany. We had tasted this wine before the Thanksgiving holiday because it pairs so well with turkey.  And magically, it also paired well with some of our patrons.  This wine has the benefit of originating from the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer in Germany, known for its crisp, fresh Rieslings.  On the front end, this wine delivered pineapples, pears,mangos and finished the same with just a hint of bananas.  This is a universal Riesling as it is semi-sweet yet not to much so, and fits any palate and any occasion. This wine is also beautifully packaged.  Each bottle contains a unique picture that flows through the wine and captures the imagination. And, my father always said that a woman's greatest asset was a mans imagination.  I'm just saying.

We then transversed our way back across the 'pond' to rejoin our friends in Napa. Fittingly, the red wine of the day was Blue Jean Wine, a blend of Syrah, Zinfandel, and Cabernet Franc.  This delightful value of a wine was just as fitting to taste as the fit on your favorite pair of blue jeans that you may be wearing right now as your sitting at your computer, wine glass in hand, reading this blog...(you really should get out more).....anyway, its not a pretentious wine, just a simple wine with an almost bistro style personality to it.  The mouth was full of juicy ripe berries and finished with a red, dark cherries.  And, as if its universal appeal isn't enough, it retails for under $9.00.

Our last selection of the tasting was a lovely dessert wine, Nivole Moscato D'Asti from Italy; sorry, we did a little globe trotting last Saturday,but, as usual, the Italians did not disappoint.  This wine is sweet due to the high residual sugar, low in alcohol and full of fun 'tiny bubbles' or "Frizzante" as the Italians like to say.  The nose is rich and pleasant and the palate is full of honey, apples, and pears.  This is a wine to be served before dinner, as a toast for any occasion or simply as a night cap to lull oneself to sleep after a day of international travel.

So, I hope you have been enticed to join me next Saturday.  I welcome the curious, the seasoned veteran, and yes, even the beer drinkers.  After all, March Madness will be upon us soon and, sometimes, we chicks, prefer something other than beer.

The Wine Tellar

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I like this wine for one simple reason: their mission statement. Castle Rock pledges to source the best grapes from vineyards in California and Washington State, hire the best winemakers, outsource the fermentation, the bottling etc., then present to the market, great value wines...all without a lot of overhead or marketing.  We call it a "virtual winery" as there virtually is no tasting room or winery to speak of.

So, on behalf of all virtual wine tasters everywhere, we opened and tasted the Sonoma County Pinot Noir, the Mendocino County Zinfandel and the Central Coast Chardonnay.  In addition to these, the Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and the Napa Valley Merlot are also available at Greenfield Liquors.

All three wines were a big hit!  The Pinot Noir was full of strawberries, and raspberries along with cherries and hints of smoky flavors.  The Zinfandel was complex with flavors of black fruit, raspberry and plums mixed with notes of pepper, and spice. The Chardonnay, although a bit oaky for my taste, was still full of vanilla, pear, citrus and melon flavors.  I also had the pleasure of opening both the Cabernet Sauvignon and the Merlot while loosing at Euchre to my overly opinionated brother and his wife.  And, thanks to the full palate, the long finish and fresh fruit in both of the wines, the loss was a lot easier to swallow.

These wines all retail between $10.39 and $15.99 and are consistent vintage to vintage, which is just another reason why I like them so much.

Stop in this Saturday and introduce yourself while picking up your last minute Super Bowl necessities.  Nothing says football like a great bottle of wine, and virtually nothing says wine quite like Caste Rock!

xoxoxo

The Wine Tellar

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