WineBoard - Wine Events & Festivals

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Tue, 29 Nov 2016 13:52:18 +0000

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2015 Events

Wed, 19 Nov 2014 17:50:43 +0000

2015 Events
Event: Great Grapes! Wine and Food Festival
Date: April 18th, 2015
City/State: Cary North Carolina
Venue: Koka Booth Amphitheatre
Website: http://www.uncorkthefun.com/cary-north-carolina/site-info Enjoy
Description: NC's premiere casual wine festival featuring over 200 NC wines. Round out the day with crafts, live music and great food.

Event:Great Grapes! Wine and Food Festival
Date:April 25th & 26th, 2015
City/State: Tysons VA
Venue: Lerner Town Square at Tysons II
Website: http://www.uncorkthefun.com/tyson/show-info
Description: Enjoy VA's premiere casual wine festival featuring over 200 VA wines. Round out the day with crafts, live music and great food.

Event: Great Grapes! Wine and Food Festival
Date: October 3rd 2015
City/State: Charlotte NC
Venue: Symphony Park at SouthPark
Website: http://www.uncorkthefun.com/charlotte-no.../site-info
Description: Enjoy NC's premiere casual wine festival featuring over 200 NC wines. Round out the day with crafts, live music and great food.

Event: Great Grapes! Wine and Food Festival
Date: June 6th & 7th 2015
City/State: Hunt Valley, MD
Venue: Oregon Ridge Park
Website: http://www.uncorkthefun.com/hunt-valley-.../site-info
Description: Enjoy MD's premiere casual wine festival featuring over 200 MD wines. Round out the day with crafts, live music and great food.

Event: Great Tastes of Tysons
Date: September 12th, 2015
City/State: Tysons VA
Venue: Lerner Town Square at Tysons II
Website: http://www.tastetysons.com/
Description: A World Class Culinary Event Celebrating The Flavors of Fall and Outdoor Grilling. Join DC's foodies and chefs for over 100 wines, beers, and spirits with educational seminars, workshops and demonstrations.

Event: Great Grapes! Wine and Food Festival
Date: October 3rd 2015
City/State: Charlotte NC
Venue: Symphony Park at SouthPark
Website: http://www.uncorkthefun.com/charlotte-no.../site-info
Description: Enjoy NC's premiere casual wine festival featuring over 200 NC wines. Round out the day with crafts, live music and great food.

Tomato (and wine) dinner at Zely and Ritz, Raleigh, July 20th

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 02:50:34 +0000

This was either the fifth or sixth year for the tomato dinners. I started going the second year. This was also the third dinner of this season.
We were greeted with German Gilavert Cava Reseva, Penedes, Spain, N.V. which had a good steady mousse and with crisp with a slightly yeasty or brioche note. Organically grown fruit in Santa Fe de Penedes. Juice sits on the yeast for a time. Served with tiny heirloom tomatoes.

With gazpacho made with heirloom tomatoes we had 2010 LAS LILAS VINHO VERDE ROSE, DOURO VALLEY, PORTUGAL. I didn't realize that vinho verde is really from a red grape--I had always assumed it was a white grape. For the rose' the juice is left on the skins for a short time unlike with the regular vinho verde. A rosy pink to pale red color with transparency. Sprightly taste with watermelon or pomegranate? Hard to pin down flavors but attractive and a good pairing with the gazpacho. A little sweetness on the finish.

Next a 2008 MARKUS MOLITOR HANS KLOSTERBERG RIESLING, KABINETT, MOSEL, GERMANY with a Caprese-type salad.
Heirloom tomatoes, Chapel Hill Creamery Fresh Mozzarella Cheese, extra virgin olive oil, fresh basil, and sweet balsamic vinegar glaze. Tomatoes included Cherokee Purple, Hazel Mae, Azoycka (Russia) and Soldaki or Caspian Pink. The wine was a pale straw color with transparency and a strong, slightly pungent nose. Quite acidic with a sweet edge. Nancy Agasi mentioned the slaty soil giving the wine a slaty taste. One of the tomatoes was yellow with red swirls. The heirloom vegetable guy said it had two color genes.

Next a 2009 J. L. CHAVE MON COEUR COTES DU RHONE, FRANCE (about 80% Grenache and 20% Syrah.) This accompanied roasted heirloom tomatoes stuffed with Coon Rock Farm ground bratwurst, gypsy peppers and onions, with sweet corn and tomato risotto. The wine was a dark scarlet color with semi-transparency. Rich aroma or fruity dark raspberry or blackberry and a peppery finish. Some depth and savory elements. I thought it hearty for a Cotes du Rhone.

Next was a 2008 INSOGLIA, CAMPO DI SASSO BILBONA, Super Tuscan blend of Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot from Maremma, Tuscany, Italy served with slow-cooked Harris Robinette beef brisket with onion and tomato guts, grilled eggplant and grilled squash, and finished with grilled Amish paste (?) and orange banana roma tomatoes. The wine was leggy, dark and opaque. It tasted balanced with some spiciness and a long finish. I had crystals in the bottom of the glass.

Dessert was the ever luscious Sungold tomato panna cotta.
We had a chance to order the wines to pick up in a week or two. I ordered two bottles of the Portuguese rose' and one bottle of the Cotes du Rhone. Another great tomato dinner.

Rombauer Vineyards Wine Dinner in Raleigh

Fri, 10 Jun 2011 04:40:20 +0000

Bloomsbury Bistro was the setting for this wine dinner. The original date was June 7th but it sold out quickly and the restaurant and wine marketer added a second dinner on June 8th. The founder of the Napa Valley vineyard, Koerner Rombauer, is the great-nephew of Irma Rombauer, author of "Joy of Cooking." (This was a standard cookbook in my mother's kitchen and was one of the first two cookbooks I ever owned--the other being Peg Bracken's humrous "I Hate to Cook Book".) We had two passed-around "bites" with non-vintage J VINEYARDS AND WINERY CUVEE 20 SPARKLING WINE. This is from Sonoma, CA and the blend is 55% Chardonnay, 43% Pinot Noir, and 2% Pinot Meunier from cool-climate vineyard sites in the Russian River Valley. Acidic, refreshing, diffused lemon flavor, nicely crisp. I liked this and the chef said it was a great price point. I later ordered a bottle at $21 to be picked up in a week or two.

We then had Tandoori spiced Pamlico shrimp over a saffron rice cake with shellfish broth. This was one of my favorite dishes of the evening. It was paired with 2009 ROMBAUER CHARDONNAY. 14.1% alcohol by volume. I have heard about Rombauer Chardonnay but have never had it before. Apparently it has quite a following among women and is on many, many restaurant wine lists. The nose was very buttery. On the palate the butteriness is balanced with tropical fruit nuances and some acidity. Quite viscous in the glass. The wine spends ten months in French and American oak. My end of the table found it too buttery but I can see where it would be attractive for those who prefer this style of Chardonnay. It did have some acidity to prevent flabbiness.

The second course was Merlot-braised rabbit with wild mushrooms, stone-ground grits, and an herbal jus. It was paired with 2006 ROMBAUER MERLOT at 14.4% abv. Deep purple-red color, opaque. Fruity, mellow, almost tasted sweet with blackberry notes. Sees new oak. Most at my table preferred the Cabernet Sauvignon to the Merlot.

The 2007 ROMBAUER CABERNET SAUVIGNON NAPA VALLEY was labeled 14.1% abv. It was deeply colored and nearly opaque with viscosity. The grapes are from Spice Land (one word?) Vineyard which is also the source of BV Tapestry. Now this was liked by everyone at my end of the table. I was expected a harsh, tannic wine which would need another six years or more to integrate, but this was very mellow. I had the impression of red currants or cherries rather than cassis. Medium body. Paired beautifully with the grilled American Kobe beef chuck tender over ratatouille and a tapenade of Nicoise olive and roasted red peppers. I ordered two bottles of the Cabernet Sauvignon which was available for $42 a bottle. The marketer said the Cabernet Sauvignon could age for ten years but is ready to drink now. Koerner Rombauer's goal is to make wines that people can drink on release and not have to lay down for a decade before they are ready.

We had still another meat course with slow-roasted wild boar shoulder from Texas, an Australia bleu cheese and walnut topping, and black truffle-spiked sweet potatoes with green beans and wild blackberry jus. This was paired with 2009 ROMBAUER ZINFANDEL. The Zin came in at 15.9% abv and while the presenter described it as "jammy," others at the dinner described it as "sweet" and I suspected overripe grapes. Rombauer does a basket press on the grapes for extraction with whole clusters delivered to the winery by refrigerated trucks. Some pepper and spice in the nose and on the palate. Not my type of Zin. Three others at the table asked for another pour of the Cabernet Sauvignon to have with the boar meat. This was perhaps my favorite meat course of the three but I was getting full and didn't eat all of the boar meat on my plate.

I found a renewed appetite for the dessert--strawberry shortcake with vanilla bean Chantilly, lemon curd, and a scoop of mint ice cream with Creme de Menthe poured over it. The dessert wine was 2009 EBERLE MUSCAT CANELLI from Paso Robles area. A couple at my table found this too sweet (one is primarily a red wine drinker although he likes some Rieslings.) I liked it and as the chef said, it pairs quite well with strawberries.

Fun evening.

CARE Clinic Wine Tasting Charity Event

Thu, 12 May 2011 23:37:53 +0000

April 28 I attended this event at the Holiday Inn Bordeaux (don't get excited--it's in reference to Bordeaux Shopping Center in Fayetteville, NC.) I paid an extra $10 for the ticket to include the Chateau Room with the more expensive wines. Several area restaurants provided food stations and distributors had booths with some of their wines. In the Chateau Room I liked the 2007 Duckhorn Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2007 Parsons Flat Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon (I ended up ordering one bottle of this Australian wine which I had purchased in some earlier vintages), the 2009 Achaval Ferrer Malbec, Argentina, the 2007 Inniskillen Vidal Icewine, Canada, and the Moet Chandon Nectar Imperial (Champagne region, lightly sweet and too expensive to entice me to purchase.) The Inniskillen Vidal Icewine had a Botrytis nose, deep straw or pale gold color, sugared peaches or nectarines on the palate. I liked it but again found it too expensive to purchase.
In the larger room there were a lot of so-so wines but one bargain (I ordered two bottles which I picked up this Tuesday) was the 2009 Villa Pozzi Nero d'Avola, Sicily, Italy at $9.99 per bottle. I think this could be a crowd pleaser.
I also donated four bottles of wine for the silent auction--two USA wines and two from France, two were white wines and two were red. I threw in a canvas tote that holds six bottles and put a value of $150 on it. The silent auction bids went over $100 the last I checked and about four people were actively bidding on the lot. I'm already thinking about what I will offer for next year's event. I bid on a gift certificate for an Italian restaurant downtown and some beautifully painted Polish Easter eggs but was outbid. Saw several people I knew at the event including the realtor who showed me some rental homes when I first moved to Fayetteville.

Thursday 4/28 Tastings (Austin & Dallas

Tue, 26 Apr 2011 21:40:43 +0000

AUSTIN Thursday 4/28:

"Wines of Tuscany" lead by Jeremy Parzen, Ph.D., wine writer, journalist, food historian, and author of one of the most popular wine blogs in the U.S. today, DoBianchi.com, will be held on Thursday 28th from 5:30pm-7:00pm. Come expand your palate and explore some standout Tuscan selections with Jeremy as your tour guide.

Order tickets:

DALLAS Thursday 4/28:

Freddy Constant leads a tasting of his 1998, 2004 and current vintages of Constant Winery
Cabernet and Cabernet Franc. Come expand your palate with these fantastic cult wines

Order tickets:

MONDAY: Constant Vineyards Wine Tasting w/ Freddy Constant

Fri, 22 Apr 2011 05:50:33 +0000
Freddy Constant leads a tasting of his 1998, 2004 and current vintages of Constant Winery Cabernet and Cabernet Franc.

Monday, April 25, 2011 from 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM (CT)

PersonalWine (The Red Room)

306 E. 3rd St. (Suite A)

Austin, TX 78701

Merlot tasting at Fayetteville (NC) Wine Society

Thu, 21 Apr 2011 00:26:23 +0000
We met in the party room of Luigi's on April 18 (limited to 30 people) to explore Merlot and prove that Miles in "Sideways" had it wrong. We were supposed to have an example from France (a 2000 St. Emilion) but the wine was not exactly what was ordered and tasted pretty bad so was left off the agenda. Luigi's provided bread with olive oil for dipping, penne with tomato sauce, portabella mushroom risotto, chicken florentine, and miniature cheesecakes with chocolate (petit four size), dark grapes and blackberries.

2007 FALESCO MERLOT, UMBRIA, ITALY I have had and liked this entry-level wine before in earlier vintages. Was not too impressed with it this evening but the FWS price of $13.50 might entice some buyers. It was mild-tasting and fruity and is aged in stainless steel.

2005 FALESCO MONTIANO, LAZIO, ITALY This wine has been on the Luigi's wine list for some time. 100% Merlot, old world style, shows some structure and tannin. Aged in small barriques.

2007 CASA LAPOSTOLLE CUVEE ALEXANDRE MERLOT, COLCHAGUA VALLEY, CHILE From estate-grown grapes. Showed viscosity. "Wine Spectator" rating of 91 points and "Wine Enthusiast" rating of 93 points.

Next we had three Merlots from Washington state:

2008 COLUMBIA CREST H3 (HORSE HEAVEN HILLS) MERLOT, COLUMBIA VALLEY, WASHINGTON This Merlot is a favorite of Teresa, owner of Grapes and Hops, and one of the co-founders of the Fayetteville Wine Society. It is very fruity (red fruits) with a long finish. I equate it to red plums and cherries. Great value at $13.50 for FWS members. Composed of 90% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Syrah. I ordered two bottles and think it would be liked at a church function by friends not really into wine. Easy drinking.

2007 NORTHSTAR MERLOT, COLUMBIA VALLEY, WASHINGTON 75% Merlot and some Petit Verdot. Denser and darker than the Columbia Crest H3. More cassis, less red fruit than the Columbia Crest. The grapes are from several different growers.

2007 L'ECOLE SEVEN HILLS VINEYARD MERLOT, WALLA WALLA, WASHINGTON Semi-opaque in the glass. Single-vineyard Merlot. The man to my left was saying "a watered down version of the previous wine" and I thought he was referring to the next wine so took issue with him but we were discussing two different wines. This did seem "light-bodied" compared to the Northstar and did not have much appeal to me.
Now on to three from California:

2007 SHAFER MERLOT, NAPA VALLEY, CA My favorite wine of the evening and I ordered two bottles (available for under $40 a bottle.) We were informed that Shafer plantings are 75% Merlot although they are also justly noted for the Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select and also make a Syrah called Relentless. More penetrating on the nose than the L'Ecole. More complexity and depth than the wines up to this point. Viscosity on the glass. I found this to be quite special!

2008 PALOMA MERLOT, NAPA VALLEY, CA Paloma basically makes only Merlot, 2400 cases a year. The grapes are grown on the highest elevation of Spring Mountain vineyards. The vineyard grapes were originally sold to other wineries but then the winemaker worked in Bob Foley's cellars making a wine of his own. The viscosity of this Merlot formed "waves" on the glass rather than vertical "legs." Bright cherry notes on nose and palate. I preferred this slightly over the Pahlmeyer but liked the Shafer better than both. Price for FWS members is over $50 a bottle.

2007 PAHLMEYER MERLOT, NAPA VALLEY, CA This may be too young to be showing well. (All wines were opened a few hours before serving and may have been decanted and then poured back into the bottles.) Seemed over-priced at more than $80 a bottle. Others around me preferred the less expensive Shafer over this or the Paloma Merlot. I suppose I would need to try again in 2 or 3 years to see what it can become but the Shafer, also a 2007 vintage, is drinking well now.

Nice evening and the presenters did prove Miles wrong--there are some nice Merlots out there if you hunt hard enough. The presenters said they had to work hard to round up the wines that we tried.

Free wine tastings at Triangle Wine Experience

Tue, 08 Feb 2011 22:27:00 +0000
I didn't take notes at the free wine tastings last Saturday (part of Triangle Wine Experience) but did purchase some wines and will post notes as I open them.
On Friday I visited Taylor's Wine Shop (north Raleigh) which I had heard plenty about at wine dinners in Raleigh but had never seen in person. It's at a gas station and sells live bait and fine wines! (what a combo!) I purchased a Roessler La Encantada Pinot Noir, (had liked Richard Sanford's Alma Rosa La Encantada at Pinot on the River, from Santa Rita Hills), an A.P. Vin Rosella's Vineyard Pinot Noir, and a Kono Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough (produced by the Maori people)--I'm drinking it at home this evening).

Saturday morning I picked up some wines at The Wine Merchant, Raleigh, including two from southern France for the WLDG wine focus--a Provencal rose' and a Pic Poul. After lunch I went first to the wine tasting at Barley and Vine (another new wine shop for me) where I chatted with Andy Peay and tried the 2009 Chardonnay, the 2009 Pomarium Pinot Noir and a 2007 La Bruma Syrah. I purchased a bottle of both the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The Syrah has structure but needs time to come together. Andy says he is now pouring the 2003 Syrah for dinners at home. The Chardonnay sees limited new French oak and has a lightly buttery creaminess. The Pomarium Pinot Noir was very attractive and Andy Peay said it was their best vintage yet. The fall rains in Sonoma County in 2010 cause the winery some serious grief. Hunnicutt and D.R. Stephens wineries (family-related enterprises) were also represented. I tasted Cabernet Sauvignon and a red blend and purchased a bottle of the Hunnicutt Fearless Red (Petit Sirah, Zinfandel and Syrah in about even portions). I also picked up a Taurasi Aglianico there.

Then I headed off to Seaboard Wines Warehouse for a tasting with Adelsheim, Patz and Hall (James Hall) and Lambert Bridge. Adelsheim was pouring a Pinot Gris but the Pinot Noir was what I sought--I purchased two bottles and had one signed by Dave Paige of Adelshiem. From Lambert Bridge (Andy Wilcox present) I purchased a Zinfandel and had the bottle signed. I had spent enough money on wines for the weekend so didn't look too closely at the other bottles in the shop but saw online today that they have a good cross section of 2009 Beaujolais Cru so may order some soon. I'm pretty certain that it was at Barley and Vine that they had some F.X. Pichler Gruner Veltliner on the shelf, also one by a Pichler daughter, and Seaboard also carries a number of Austrian wines.

Wine dinner with Kermit Lynch wines at Vin Rouge, Durham

Sat, 05 Feb 2011 01:21:00 +0000
About 30 wine dinners were held in the Triangle area last night as part of Triangle Wine Experience to benefit Frankie Lemmon School for children with exceptional needs. It's always hard to choose which restaurant and winemaker or importer so I start out with about eight choices and narrow it down. This year was my second year in a row at Vin Rouge (last year with Merry Edwards.) Kermit Lynch was represented by the representative for the Southeast whose territory extends as far west as Louisiana.

Two others from Fayetteville were at my table, an emergency room nurse and pharmacist. They work with my neighbor who is an emergency room doctor at Cape Fear Valley Hospital. Others at my table included the Kermit Lynch representative, charming parents of a former Frankie Lemmon student (both work from home for IBM) and an Italian from Rome who is completing an MBA at UNC-Chapel Hill and has a home in Madrid. The others were too far away at the long table for me to get to know. The first course got the evening off to a spectacular start--a extremely flavorful broth with smoked trout, diced potato, creme fraiche, chives and a touch of chorizo. This was paired with a very attractive white wine, the 2009 ANDRE ET MICHEL GUENARD CHIGNIN, VIN DE SAVOIE, from the Jacquere grape (a first for me.) Chignin is the village as I understand it. Delicate, crisp, with apple and floral scents and flavors. Quite smooth. A good food wine that tastes like a cool climate wine (Savoie is the French Alps region.) It is unoaked.

The Kermit Lynch rep explained that most of the wines Mr. Lynch imports are artisan, handmade, small-production lots. The second white was from a producer who makes three whites--only about 600 cases of the one we had, 2008 lA SOUER CADETTE, BOURGOGNE BLANC. It was served with a risotto of escargots, watercress, Parmigiano-Reggiano, garlic and parsley, made green by the watercress. Rather garlicky taste but good and creamy. The Bourgogne Blanc was more acidic than the previous wine, and although I like wines with acid, it was maybe a touch too edgy for me. I don't know if another year would soften it. The proprietors of the winery are friends of Raveneau (spelling?) and this is supposedly made in the model of a Raveneau Chablis. It was unoaked and said to age beautifully.

Perhaps my favorite wine of the evening was the next one, 2008 DOMAINE DIOCHON MOULIN-A-VENT VIELLES VIGNES. The grapes are from 50-90 year old vines. We were informed that Moulin-a-Vent has the highest percentage of granite in the soil of any of the Beaujolais Crus and this adds to the minerality expressed by the wine. Beaujolais Cru are usually in the 11.5% to 12.5% range of alcohol by volume. I found a certain note of raspberry liqueur in this wine which was almost opaque in the glass. Nice to savor. Did seem to have some depth and seriousness as well as viscosity due to glycerol. I ordered two bottles to be picked up later. We had the Moulin-a-Vent with a crispy fried egg with frisee, duck crackling, pearl onions, Champignos de Paris and Cantal cheese sitting on a red wine jus.

Kermit Lynch lives part of the year in Bandol, Provence and out next wine was a Bandol, 2008 DOMAINE DE GROS NORE BANDOL. It was paired with braised lamb cheek Provencal with potato puree, roasted garlic, and rosemary-orange gremolata. You could taste the orange zest. We were informed that Bandol wines from Mourvedre, Grenache and Syrah sometimes have a "farmy" (barnyard) odor. This example was not the roughest or most barnyardy of the type. The wine was dark and opaque and viscous. It didn't impress me following the Moulin-a-Vent.

Dessert was chocolate mousse--most of us recovered our appetites for the chocolate. It came out with pours of non-vintage DOMAINE LA TOUR VIELLE BANYULS, RESERVA. This is from a region described as the French Catalonia, near the Spanish border and is a fortified wine coming in at about 15-16% alcohol. It is slightly sweet like a Port and did match very well with the chocolate mousse. I orderd a bottle and may save it for a future church wine tasting fundraiser to finish off the evening with Banyuls, chocolate-covered strawberries and other chocolate truffles (I had an amaretto and a Irish cream truffle from The Chocolate Lady, Fayetteville last week and especially liked the Irish cream one.) Domaine La Tour Vielle boasts a husband-and-wife winemaker team. They have Roman terraces on the property which they must constantly repair.

Matt Kelly, chef at Vin Rouge got a hearty round of applause at the conclusion of the dinner.

Today I had lunch at St. Jacques French Cuisine Restaurant in Raleigh and had a glass of Saumur (Chenin Blanc) and a cup of hot tea with lemon to go with blue cheese delicacy (cheese mousse with pastry and side salad) and the quiche of the day which was quiche Lorraine. A group of men were having a wine lunch/wine-tasting in the adjoining room and I felt they should have invited me to join them for a female perspective on the wines, but alas, they didn't.

Tonight I dine at a German restaurant in Durham and tomorrow I hope to visit two Raleigh wineshops to meet winemakers for free tastings. (The tastings are from 1:00 to 3:00 so I hope to be at one at 1:00 and the other by 2:15 or 2:30.)

Triangle Uncorked in Cary, NC

Mon, 27 Sep 2010 22:28:00 +0000
This outdoor event was on a warm day at Regency Park but there was a breeze part of the time and some of the distributors managed to keep their wines reasonably chilled. I tried too many wines to be a good note-taker but here are some I liked or brief impressions:

2006 Sonoma Cutrer The Cutrer Chardonnay. Lemon or apple but a little honeyed. Glycerine. Not flabby.

2007 Lange Estate Three Hills Cuvee Pinot Noir, Dundee Hills, Oregon. Red cherries on the nose and tastebuds. I ordered one bottle of this among my 9-bottle order.

2007 Lange Freedom Hill Pinot Noir, Oregon. Perhaps a bit more depth than the previous but not worth the price increase so I passed on ordering. Ken Wright makes a nice P.N. from Freedom Hill also.

I was disappointed in a Masi "Costasera" Amarone which was mild, seemed to lack body or impression.

At the Nomacorc booth I tried the Schug Carneros Estate Rose' and the Eberle Winery Vineyard Select Cabernet Sauvignon, CA (Paso Robles) and the Tyrus Evan Winery Claret, Oregon (from Ken Wright.) I have liked other Eberle reds and some people were commenting favorably on the Cabernet but I didn't buy any.

Grapevine distributor had a nice 2007 Chehalem Ridgecrest Vineyard Pinot Noir, Ribbon Ridge, Oregon.

I also tried the 2007 Champoux Vineyard blended red from Andrew Will and the 2008 Andrew Will Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley, WA. They didn't have the Sorella on hand (which I have prefered to the Champoux in the past) but said I could order it. When I heard that it was well over $60 I declined.

A Beaulieu Vineyard (BV) Tapestry tasted sweet (I didn't write down the vintage.) The salesperson said it had more Merlot in the blend. I also tried the BV Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford, Napa Valley.

My wine of the tasting was a Sokol Blosser Pinot Noir (Oregon) and I ordered two bottles for later pickup. I also ordered one bottle of the Sanctuary Mariah Zinfandel, Mendocino Ridge (under 14% alcohol) and a bottle of the Lioco Charles Heintz Chardonnay.

Some of the wines were available at VIP tables (more expensive entry ticket) and some at the other booths. By the time I got around to the non-VIP booths they had run out of some I wanted to try (may do it in reverse next year and work up to the better wines.) I went ahead and ordered a bottle of the 2009/2010 Mulderbosch Rose' from South Africa without tasting it as I have had previous vintages (from Cabernet Sauvignon I believe) and one bottle each of the Fritz Zimmer Kabinett Riesling and the Spatlese Riesling. All the wines are for later pickup. I ordered two more bottles but don't recall which ones so it will be a surprise when my order comes in at The Wine Merchant, Raleigh. I may have them written down in the event booklet which is still in my car.

Forgot to say I tried a Failla Syrah which didn't do a lot for me and a Hirsch Pinot Noir (both Sonoma Coast wineries) which I did like except I don't like the prices of the better Hirsch Pinots ($60-$70+)

Two musical groups played while I was there. I liked the female singer (Jo Gore?) who was with the first group. The event benefits Frankie Lemmon School for children with exceptional needs and the North Raleigh Rotary Club charities. Wines were available for ordering at 5% off normal retail price (10% for case orders).

[This message has been edited by wondersofwine (edited 09-27-2010).]

[This message has been edited by wondersofwine (edited 09-27-2010).]

Tasting Pinot in its variations

Tue, 14 Sep 2010 20:00:00 +0000
After a summer break, the Fayetteville Wine Society met at Luigi's party room to sample Pinot Meunier, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Auxerrois, and Pinot Noir. We had plates of cheeses and Italian meats, a Caesar salad, and later went through a hot food buffet for veal scallopini with mushrooms, broccoli, and pasta verde. All this for $35.

PIERRE JOUET GRAND BRUT NV CHAMPAGNE, FRANCE
Company founded in 1811 in Epernay and exported to America as early as mid 19th century. Historically this houses uses more Pinot Meunier in its blend than other houses--up to 40%. I sensed pear, yeast, a bit of toast and almost a ginger spice. Very dry tasting. Bubbles dissipated quickly.

2009 PONZI PINOT GRIS, WILLAMETTE VALLEY, OREGON
Pioneers in the Willamette Valley wine industry using mostly biodynamic grapes. Hand-farmed. (I met Dick and Nancy Ponzi at a wine dinner in Durham. There three daughters now run operations with Louisa as winemaker.) I really liked this Pinot Gris, much more than than I did an earlier vintage at that wine dinner in Durham. Leggy on glass. Very aromatic with high notes and delicacy. Good mouthfeel. Hint of juniper and something between unripe pear and lemon juice.

2009 LAWSON'S DRY HILL PINOT GRIS, MARLBOROUGH, NEW ZEALAND
Along with the Ponzi, my favorite of four Pinot Gris/Pinot Grigio. Pure tasting but a touch simple. We were served in flights of two but I wanted to compare the Ponzi to the later Pinot Gris wines so asked for an extra glass. Going back to the Ponzi after this one waa not good. Not that the New Zealand wine was better, but the sequence didn't work well--like having a white wine after a big red.

2009 LIVIO FELLUGA PINOT GRIGIO COLLIO, FRIULI, ITALY
Some of Italy's best Pinot Grigios come from Alto Adige and Friuli. The presenter said this was bone dry but to me both the Ponzi and Lawson's seemed drier. He suggested pairing this with steamed mussels.

2009 LUCIEN ALBRECHT PINOT GRIS CUVEE ROMANUS, ALSACE, FRANCE
The family has a background in wine since the 16th century. This was pleasant but not as distinctive as the next wine. It was quite food friendly with both the broccoli and the pasta verde.

2009 ZIND HUMBRECHT PINOT D'ALSACE, FRANCE
A blend of Pinot Blanc and Pinot Auxerrois. Family involved with grapes since 1600's but formed the present company in 1959. Considered one of the world's great wine producers. This wine had lots of minerality and shocked me on the first sip. At least a couple people at my table definitely disliked it. Another did like it. I was a bit undecided but thought it was easier to swallow after the first few sips.

(I will continue with four Pinot Noirs later. We are getting new office furniture and they will be disconnecting the computers today, so I may not be able to post until Thursday or even next week.)

Louis/Dressner Wine Dinner at Poole's Diner, Raleigh

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 01:08:00 +0000
I engaged in conversation and didn't do justice to the wine notes but will offer what I did write down. Ashley Christensen is the owner/chef of Poole's Diner. She opened the restaurant three years ago in a former diner in downtown Raleigh after making a name for herself as chef at Enoteca Vin. She was featured in "Bon Appetit" in an article about "Women Chefs: The Next Generation." The food was wonderful and incorporated lots of local ingredients--corn, tomatoes, okra, etc. I sat next to three people connected with Louis/Dressner--the local distributor, Damon Haynes, of Centerba Selections based in Durham, Shawn Mead, the former sommelier at Campagne Restaurant in Seattle, and her friend Nathan who has experience harvesting grapes in Italy. Apparently the "tour" goes on to Charlotte because I saw a link for a tasting at the Wine Shop at Foxcroft (or at least the Louis/Dressner wines arrive Sept. 3rd. Not sure if Shawn and Damon are also in attendance.)

We were greeted with a FRANCOIS PINON VOUVRAY BRUT Non Dose' (no dosage of sugar added.) I asked if it was non-vintage and Shawn said yes but actually the grapes were from one vintage but then she and her cohorts weren't sure if they were harvested in 2006 or 2008. Pale coloring. Tiny mousse mostly along the side of the flutes, not in the middle. Steady stream of mousse. Focused acidic bite--slightly citric (grapefruit). From Chenin Blanc grapes.

Shawn told us a little background on the wines Louis/Dressner imports--originally only France but now some from Italy as well. "Real" wines with minimal intervention. Hand-harvested and use ambient or native yeasts.

With a tomato and Vidalia onion emulsion over pink-eyed peas, diced cucumber, sweet corn, more diced Vidalia onion, etc. we enjoyed a 1999 PIERRE LUNEAU-PAPIN MUSCADET Sevre et Maine sur Lie. Listed as 13% alcohol. Surprisingly young and vibrant tasting for a 11-year old Muscadet and convinced me why some people like Muscadet with a bit of age to it. It tasted very fresh but also had a minor note that probably came from maturity. Surprisingly long finish. Slightly chewy. One bottle was slightly off so they poured from another. The wine was available for purchase at $39. At the end of the evening we got a taste of the Pierre Luneau-Papin "Clos des Allees" Muscadet (2007 vintage?)

The next dish was crispy fried chicken thigh which had been brined and buttermilk-soaked over tomato/okra and a mild rooster sauce. People were commenting that they don't know how Ashley fries chicken but they would like to have the knack. No grease but a crunchy crispness and great flavor. Tender meat. Our accompanying wine was FRANCK PEILLOT ALTESSE ROUSETTE de BUGEY MONTAGNIEU 2008. Maybe my first Altesse and I hope not the last. Shawn said the planting area is very limited as growers turn to Chardonnay and other better known grape varieties. This white wine had a lifted note and a delicate floral touch of white flowers (Alpine flowers Shawn suggested.)

I got behind in my notes describing the next dish but it involved a complicated method in which the Berkshire pork shoulder was allowed to dry out as it cooked (not braised or brined) and then liquid was reintroduced as a glaze and caramelized with the meat soaking up the liquid because of its dry state. Ihe pork was served over corn, sweet peppers, lima beans, etc. The meal was fall-apart tender.The wine was 2008 ARIANNA OCCHIPINI SP68 NERO d'AVILA and FRAPPATO from Sicily. Arianna is a young winemaker and SP68 is the road the vineyards abut. I loved the nose on this red wine which is said to be best when consumed in its youth. Deep garnet or ruby color with some transparency. Ripe berry fragrances and flavors. I thought this would be a hit at a church fundraiser and bought some at $27.

Our final official wine of the evening was the 2005 CLOS ROUGEARD SAUMUR CHAMPAGNY. It was served with Piedmontese beef tenderloin over fisotto with porcini mushrooms and wine jus. I am used to Saumur as a white wine from Chenin Blanc but this was the red wine from Cabernet Franc and is reputed to be a benchmark example of a Cabernet Franc--world class. i could see the quality of it, but it just isn't one of the grape varieties that really resonates with me. Very dark color and powerful aromatics and flavor. 100% Cabernet Franc. In France considered a cult wine and limited export to the USA. The gentleman sitting across from me is a huge fan of this wine. I got hints of raspberries and blackberries--more a berry liqueur on the nose. When they offered the "Clos des Allees" Muscadet I needed a glass to taste it in and poured the small bit of Clos Rougeard still in my glass into the remains of the Occhipinti wine to the consternation of Nathan. As I told him, I hadn't intended to finish the glass anyway as I had to drive back to Fayetteville. This wine was on sale that evening at $69 a bottle.

Dessert was a choclate-flavored flan or custard.

Poole's Diner is normally closed on Mondays so the wine dinner had the place to ourselves around one long table. One young lady participating has some musical theater background and was persuaded to sing a number for us. She had a powerhouse of a voice and starred as Maria in a community production of "Westside Story."

Will be attending a wine dinner in Raleigh tonight

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 16:59:00 +0000
Chef Ashley Christensen is putting on a wine dinner tonight with Louis/Dressner wines at Poole's Diner (she was chef at Enoteca Vin before it closed and opened her own restaurant in a former diner in downtown Raleigh. She was invited to prepare a dinner at the James Beard House in Greenwich Village, and has received write-ups in the "New York Times," "Gourmet," and "Bon Appetit.") Four French wines plus one from Sicily. I will report back tomorrow or the next day.

[This message has been edited by wondersofwine (edited 08-30-2010).]

Annual Tomato Dinner at Zely & Ritz (with wine pairings)

Fri, 13 Aug 2010 19:51:00 +0000
I attended the sixth and final tomato dinner of the season at Zely & Ritz in Raleigh last night. Check out the writeup on Zely & Ritz and photo of co-owners Sarig and Nancy Agasi (with Richard Holcomb, not in the photo) in the latest issue of "Wine Spectator."

It was delicious. The heirloom tomatoes were from Richard Holcomb's Coon Rock Farm. All Oregon wines this time. Nancy attended a Pinot Camp in Oregon and found some new favorites. We started with a 2009 FORIS VINEYARDS EARLY MUSCAT FRISSANTE, Rogue Valley, OR. The winemaker is Brian Wilson and Nancy says he wears Hawaiian shirts like the Beach Boy did. He produces mostly white wines. The Foris Muscat was a pleasant, sweet, slightly fizzy summer drink. It was quite aromatic with white peach and white flowers. Peach plays a big part in the flavor as well. I ordered a bottle for $15 for later pickup.

The first course was a delicious gazpacho (the women at my table all took home copies of the recipe.) It was paired with the 2009 MONTINORE BOREALIS, North Willamette Valley, OR. It is a blend of Muller Thurgau, Gewurz-traminer, Pinot Gris and Riesling. This is a biodynamic winery. The acidic grapes in this blend matched well with the acidic tomatoes in the gazpacho but I was not impressed enough to make notes on the wine.

The second course was a salad of various heirloom tomatoes (Kellogg Breakfast, Green Zebra, Purple Cherokee, etc.) with Chapel Hill Creamery Mozzarella and fresh basel and sweet balsamic vinegar glaze. This was paired with 2009 SOLENA PINOT GRIS, a blend of grapes from sites in the Chehalem Mountains, Yamhill-Carlton District and Rogue Valley, OR. I met the French owner/winemaker, Laurent Montelieu, at the Charlotte Wine and Food Weekend in April.
Again, I didn't really take any notes on the Pinot Gris which is usually not one of my favorite varieties.

Third course was a roasted tomato stuffed with chicken and techina (a sesame paste with lemon flavoring). It was paired with
2007 STOLLER JV ESTATE DUNDEE HILLS PINOT NOIR. The color was pretty but the lighting wasn't sufficient to really describe the hue. The wine was pretty transparent. Leggy on the glass. Nancy said the grapes are grown on volcanic soil and are from young vines. They are destemmed. 2007 was a cool and rainy season. This resulted in firm and acidic grapes reflected in a slight tartness and spiciness to the wine. The nose attracted me from first whiff--dark cherries mainly (some have said strawberry but I thought plum more than strawberry.) The flavor matched the nose with cherries and fruit that was not overripe or extracted. This was my wine of the night and I purchased two bottles at $24 each (sligthly less than normal retail price.)

Fourth course was overnight slow-cooked beef brisket (very tender) with roasted new potatoes, grilled and slow roasted roma tomatoes, eggplant chunks and crispy stips of okra. I'm not a fan of okra usually but liked it in this guise. The wine was
2008 BERGSTROM CUMBERLAND RESERVE PINOT NOIR, Willamette Valley. Nancy said it was about 75% Bergstrom Vineyard grapes and 25% Shea Vineyard, grown on marine sediment soil. Unlike the destemmed Stoller wine, these were pressed whole cluster. The wine appeared darker and denser than the Stoller and was also leggy on the glass but perhaps less viscous than the Stoller. A penetrating nose and slightly chewy texture. I sensed something earthy or herbal along with the fruit. Nancy later remarked on a certain earthiness to the wine. Some tannins showed on the palate. This might benefit from a year or two in the cellar. It was being sold for $30 a bottle last night. Nancy said the diners had been about 50-50 in their preferences for the Stoller or the Bergstrom Pinot Noir.

Dessert--for the third (?) year in a row, Sarig went with the best tomato dessert he has devised--a sungold (heirloom tomato) panna cotta. It was a very fitting conclusion to the meal. One man at my table eschewed red meat for health reasons, so while we had beef brisket and vegetables in a kind of stew, he had a tomato tarte tatin.
A young UNC grad at the table is headed to France soon to teach English to young children.

[This message has been edited by wondersofwine (edited 08-13-2010).]