Wine Tonite!

Every Saturday afternoon, the Sherlock’s down the street (literally, within walking distance of our house - not a bad deal, huh?) hosts a wine tasting of about 3-4 wines, normally from a specific region or style.  This past weekend they focused on wines from Spain.  They offered the 2006 Martin Codax Albarino, 2005 Bodega Maurodos Prima Toro, 2006 Martin Codax Rioja, and 2003 los 800 Priorat.

Our favorite was the Prima Toro and is made mostly from the Tempranillo varietal, yet is named for the town in northern Spain from where it was made.  The wine lady was telling us that the tannins would get bigger and more prounounced as we went down the list, which was also in order from West to East across northern Spain.  However, I believed the Prima Toro was more tannic than the Rioja.  Of course, my wife disagreed, though we liked both wines.  Unfortunately, the Toro was the most expensive on the list at $18.99, which was most likely due to the recent 90 point rating it received from Wine Spectator.  However, on the web I have seen it discounted as low as $15. 

Color:  Dark and inky

Nose: Immediately attacked by cedar, but in a good way.  There was a graphite rock note from my perspective, though Sherlock’s tasting notes called this “pencil lead”.  Either way, the aromatics were very appealing and not overbearing at all.  It really set my expectations and drew me in for the taste

Taste:  Definitely got some plummyness in there, which was refreshing to get and some blackberries/currant as well.  The tannins completely filled the mouth and finished strong and long with black pepper at the end

I’d recommend any of these wines, but the Prima Toro (~ “Premium Bull”) just edged the others on this day.

Salud!

So, I had a couple of hours to kill in SF after my fun at Crushpad before heading to the airport.  In hindsight, I should’ve stayed and help sort 20 tons of some Cabernet fruit that was coming in that afternoon, but I wussed out cause my back was getting a little stiff (so much for going big).  Instead, I chose to hit the Wharf and hang out at the Wines of California wine bar.  Following the seniment of “when in Rome”, I opted for a flight of “Big Reds.”  It actually had been quite a while since I had tasted a big ol’ California Cab, so I was looking forward to the reunion.  The flight consisted of Il Brigante, Rock Hollow Cabernet and Hidden Creek Cabernet.  I liked all three, but they were not overly fantastic (probably 84-88 points), yet they will still be decent entries into our value category.  At approximately $16, Rock Hollow stood out just a bit more and here’s why:

Nose:  It had some very noticeable fruit on the nose that really differentiated itself to me.  It was very plummy and portrayed notes of other red fruit that actually made its way through the heavily toasted oak.

Taste: As I mentioned, this flight was labeled “big” and this followed suit - as if I was going to catch them in some kind of misleading marketing campaign(?)  :)   It immediately made me react as the jamminess covered my entire mouth with heavy tannins.  I did note some slight bitterness which made me wonder if this was caused by including some stems during the crush or if they just included a very heavy press fraction.  But, it wasn’t enough to make me feel negative toward the wine and actually added some character.  As you can imagine the finish was long and enjoyable and only got better as I snacked on some salami.

Jason and I were “chatting” back and forth last week via email about the concern over wine containing sulfites.  From this discussion both he and I realized we each had some initial misconceptions about sulfites, sulphur dioxide, and its effect on the wine we drink.

Myth #1: Sulfites cause headaches from drinking wine, particularly red wine

Sulfite exposure is not known to cause headaches.  For the small percentage of people that have some sort of sulfite allergy, there could be some kind of reaction, but most likely not headaches.  While no one is exactly sure what causes wine headaches, it is likely that tannins or some other naturally occurring substance that is more prevalent in red wine than in white wine causing your pain.

Myth #2: Wine that contains sulfites is cheap

Sulfites are a naturally occurring byproduct of the fermentation process, so every wine will contain sulfites.  I’ve learned that sulphur dioxide is added by the winemaker at almost every step in the wine making process to prevent oxidation, which can cause browning and cloudiness in the wine, as well as to kill microbes that will contaminate the wine causing off odors and flavors.  Sulfites are the winemaker’s (and your) friend and will be present in all wines.

The “contains sulfites” label on your bottle of wine is the result of the FDA reacting to some who have died due to sulfite allergies and simply means there are at least 10 ppm (parts per million) of sulphur dioxide regardless if the winemaker added any during the process.  Also note here, that a wine can be considered “organic” only if the winemaker did not add any SO2 during the process, however, realize that there still will be sulfites in the wine.

Here is a good explanation of the history and use of SO2:  http://www.morethanorganic.com/sulphur-in-wine

If you’re ever in San Francisco, I have a new place to add to your places to visit while there if you are a wine junkie.  It’s called Crushpad, which is basically a small lot, outsourced wine making facility.  I signed myself up for a barrel of Syrah sourced from the Alder Springs vineyard in Mendocino county this year and was able to visit the facilities yesterday.  While there, I had the opportunity to get a complete tour of the facility, the winemaking process and perform some punch downs as well as set a submerged cap panel.  This was a tremendous experience and I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to further their wine knowledge. 

But, the main reason I was there was to Press my batch of Syrah and then TASTE it!  Yes, I got a taste of the “free run” right from the fermentation bin and then several more as the must (the composition of crushed grapes, seeds, etc.) was pressed as varying levels of pressure.  It was unlike anything I had tasted before.  Of course, there weren’t any noticeable aromas or complexities because it had not yet been aged.  Very cool, I thought, as I tasted and spit the wonderful, inky, cloudy goodness into a nearby drain.  It was pure fruit and tasted like wine AND the tannins were there and in full force, especially from the subsequent press fractions.  I think this is going to grow into a very nice wine.

The process is very easy and you can be as hands on or off as you like and they are technologically savvy as your wine plan and subsequent wine measurements are shared and updated via the web and emails.  You can even watch and hear them work via the 2 webcams.  My wife was able to share in this press tasting experience with me remotely via these web cams.  The “world truly is flat” she commented.

Unfortunately, now that my Syrah has been barreled, I will have to wait 12-16 months before it will be ready for bottling, which makes me sad… but, the wait will most certainly be worth it.

What a tough week… I caught a cold and have not really been able to taste much wine… certainly not smell it.  In the meantime, I’ll share with you the recipe I used for a Duck and Cherry Sauce dish that paired nicely with the some of the Oregon Pinot Noir we brought back from our vacation.  As we get older, we continue to try to find ways to control the waste size.  Yes, we’ve done the Atkins, the wheat pasta, no bread, some yoga and now I do some triathlons and even a half marathon coming up in December (good luck to me).  As a part of that theme we often turn to Cooking Light magazine for some ideas on fairly easy recipes that are quite healthy.

This recipe was pretty easy to follow and the duck was easy to find at the local Whole Foods, already prepackaged at the right serving size (6 oz.)  While I think I overcooked the meat a little and the sauce wasn’t as thick as I wanted it to be, the flavors still paired nicely with pinot noir from Penner-Ash and Willakenzie.

2005 Willakenzie Terres Basses Pinot Noir - This was my favorite and had just showed up in our recent cellar club delivery.  The fruit forwardness really came alive with the sauce and then had a great mouthfeel all to its own.  It really blew me away how I enjoyed this wine through and through yet it never overpowered the meal along the way… the way good Pinot ought to be.  By the way, we did decant these wines around an hour ahead of time.  According to the tasting notes (use the link on the wine name above), we were in the wheelhouse of 2-3 years from release date, but it also has enough structure to cellar for 10.

2006 Penner-Ash Willamette Valley Pinot Noir- Jack, however, felt this wine was the best of the 2.  It also was very fruitful, but maybe he liked the bigger tannins that appeared in this wine that finished with some spice and toffy or whip cream.

Drinking wine on its own is fun for sure, but give it a shot with a meal and friends or family to round out the experience.