Breaking news: Sunday, July 20, 2008 - Foodandwineblog wine tasting- Sushi and Loire Valley Wines!
Title says it all. We’re capping the event at 12 people! For more details and to RSVP: http://foodandwineblog.com/forums/index.php?topic=158.0
April Wine Club Roundup: “Darker Than Blue Cafe” - and some good Zinfandel
On April 29, 2008 the foodandwineblog.com wine club met up to enjoy upscale yet traditional American cuisine and try our luck with some Zinfandel. We had a great turnout (including many newcomers) and ended up trying three sparkling wines (one Cava, two Prosecco), 8 Zinfandels, and one Petit Sirah (no notes taken!). The food was great as it always is at Darker Than Blue Cafe (read my review here). Huge thanks to Chef/co-owner Casey Jenkins and our server (Hassan) for keeping the food and waters coming! I highly recommend Darker Than Blue Cafe for a comfortable, laid back dinner of traditional American Cuisine. The serving sizes are more than generous (just ask anyone who ordered a roasted chicken or slow-cooked beef ribs!) and the restaurant is BYOB - it is it one of the best BYOB restaurants in the Baltimore area. If the blackened tilapia is on the menu…it’s a must try.
Great job by Krista and Eric (pictured here) in bringing the only Primitivo of the bunch and providing two of the top three wines (actually, great work Krista!). By popular vote, the top three Zins were:
- 2005 Rosa del Golfo Primitivo: smokey nose, dark fruits, but I thought it fell apart on the finish. We adhere to the rules of democracy though, so this was the overall winner! My rating: 84 pts, PV
- 2005 Ridge Three Rivers Zinfandel: A solid bottle from one of the best producers of Zinfandel in the world. Notes of dark fruit, chocolate and a touch of spice. My rating: 89 pts
- 2006 Rabbit Ridge Zinfandel Central Coast: Good concentrated fruit flavors but not jammy with nice acidity and a long finish. My rating: 88 pts
Wine Club Meet-up Tonight! Blues, Jazz, Great Food and Zinfandel
Just a reminder that tonight is the wine club meetup. We’re at full capacity for the event. I recommend car pooling if you can and as always, a cab is a great way to go- especially when we’re tasting 15 or so wines!
I look forward to seeing some of you tonight at 7:00 PM and the Darker Than Blue Cafe! If you need directions or have any questions, give me a call!
For those of you who aren’t joining us, there is a great Loire Valley tasting at the Chesapeake Wine Company tonight. The tasting begins at 7:00 PM and costs $25. The lineup for tonight:
- de Grenelle Chenin Blanc Brut NV - Saumur
- Yves Lambert Cabernet Franc/Sauvignon Cremant Brut Rose - Loire
- Dorices Muscadet ‘06 - Muscadet de Sevre et Maine
- Boulay Sauvignon Blanc ‘06 Clos de Beaujeu - Sancerre
- Boulay Sauvignon Blanc ‘06 Reserve de Comtesse - Sancerre
- Pinon Chenin Blanc ‘06 - Vouvray
- Pascal Lambert Cabernet Franc ‘05 Tradition Graves - Chinon
- Joguet Cabernet Franc ‘05 Les Varennes du Grand Clos - Chinon
Wine Club March ‘08 Meetup: The Recap!
This past weekend the F&WB Wine Club met up for an Easter-eve wine tasting. We had a good turnout this month with 13 attendees including 5 (two of which I am pictured with below near our bar) new people who haven’t been to any previous tastings. There were more than 10 cheeses, multiple salmon-based finger foods, grilled chicken and a bunch of other treats on hand. The theme was to bring a bottle of wine under $20 that was something you have had before and enjoyed. The hope was to find a handful of great value wines that would be outstanding for every-day consumption. About half of the wines fell into this category while the other half were randomly picked. The wines were all brown bagged and tasted blind and rated. We voted on our favorites at the end of the night before removing the bags. Below is a list of the wines on hand in descending order of how they were rated (I present the sparkling wines first which were tasted non-blind). The unanimous winner was the 2006 Fat Catz Cat Amongst Pigeons Syrah/Cabernet blend which I scored blind 91 pts and is an outstanding value.
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Wine Club Meetup - Saturday, March 22, 2008
March 15, 2008 by michael · 2 Comments
Theme: Your favorite wine under $20. Location: Mike’s House - Directions will be provided with RSVP. What to bring: Your favorite wine, under $20! Also, cheese and H’orderve contributions are appreciated!
Click here to find out more or RSVP!
Wine Club Meetup Recap: Italian Wines at Iggies on 01/30/2008
February 1, 2008 by michael · 2 Comments
On January 30, 2008 our wine club took over the back half of Iggie’s Pizza in Mt. Vernon
to try our luck with Italian wines under $20 paired with the best pizza in Baltimore. Being a “BYOB” establishment, and having outstanding food, Iggie’s was the perfect place for this month’s gathering. A huge thanks to Lisa and Peter, as well as the staff at Iggie’s for everything!
The group of 20 people begin arriving at 7:00 PM and by 7:30 Heather and I had all the wines organized and brown-bagged (Heather (on the right in this image with Mary) did most of the work so I could welcome guests and remain blind to what bottles were under which bag). In total we had 11 wines from all over Italy - a focus in Piemonte and Tuscano as one might expect.
The night began with a small group of us that arrived early tasting a Prosecco by Martini
& Rossi. The bottle had a unique closure for a wine - an actual bottle cap, reminiscent of a large glass bottle of soda or some other everyday beverage. The new design hopes to give the Prosecco more of an every-day feel and although I was first put off by it, I found it to be pretty cool and a great way to make drinking a sparkling wine with dinner more informal and fun. The Prosecco itself was a great appertif with a touch of fizz, grapefruit and pear flavors, and some sweet fruits on the finish. It rolls in at $12 and was a fun way to start off the night.
As we took our seats, food was ordered, names were yelled out from behind the kitchen, and soups, salads and pizza began finding their way to their rightful owners. The tasting began. We had two bottles of each wine (except for 3, which we had
plenty of to go around) and two tables of people - each table having their own bottle. Everyone had their tasting sheets and pens ready, and when they weren’t enjoying the pizza or taking in sniffs of wine, everyone (except for Erik who is pictured here fighting off Miranda’s attempt to steal his wine!) was scribbling notes and discussing the components of each wine. Two hours after it began, the tasting ended with the group in agreement: a pretty lousy showing of wines (including one selection brought by a very famous food and wine blogger who will remain nameless for reputations sake).
In the end, there were three voted winners, and on
e, almost unanimous loser (sorry Carlos…maybe most American’s just aren’t ready for Lambrusco, we look happy tasting it in this picture though!). I’ve posted notes on the three wines of the night below, as well as a few that were in the lineup that you’ll definitely want to avoid! (Picture here is of Aubrey and Kim, trying to figure out the funk coming from one of the wines!)
After the tasting a few of us were discussing next months theme - before I give any details, I’m going to suggest two dates: Wednesday, February 20, 2008 or Tuesday, February 26, 2008. Whichever I get more feedback for, will be the date we meet on!
Thanks to everyone who came out, especially the new people! It was really a pleasure meeting you all and I look forward to seeing you all at future events.
Wines of the night by popular vote, as well as my personal tasting notes):
1st place (tie) - Brought by Scott:
Castello Banfi - Rosso di Montalcino (2003) - $25: Wet forest and raspberry nose, dusty, dark fruits, cherry - well structured, big tannins with balance and finesse. Long finish, this is drinking very well right now. My rating: 91 pts, VGV (very good value)
Castello Banfi - Rosso di Montalcino (2004) - $25: Deeper color than the ‘04, smoke, dark fruits on the nose. Sour cherry and spice notes, but lacks balance. Medieet licorice aroma. Medium bodied with ripe fruits and tannins that match the acidity well and carry through a 20 second finish. enjoyable. My rating: 89 pts, GV (Good value)
2nd place - Brought by Ahleah/Mary:
Marenco Piemonte Barbera Pirona - (2005): Deep purple color, cherry, blackberry cedar, sweet licorice, good acidity and medium tannins - 20 second finish. Nice wine for the price. My rating: 87 pts, VGV.
3rd Place: Erik Banti I Pianetti Vino da Tavola (2005) -Brought by Colleen et al.: Deep plum color. Cassi, dark fruits, peppermint, plum and mushroom flavors. Sour cherry on the mid palate with the right amount of tannins and acidity. My rating: 88 pts, GV
Our wine club meetup is tomorrow!
January 29, 2008 by michael · Leave a Comment
I’ve received responses from basically everyone attending as to what wines they are bringing. Again, we will meet up at Iggies (map below) at 7:00 PM. We’ll order or food and began the tasting promptly at 7:30 PM. We’ll spend an hour working through the wines, then after we eat, we’ll vote on our favorites, and unmask the winner!
If you want to bring a notebook or wine journal, I encourage it. I’ll bring pens, paper, and a few other things. Also, you may bring your own glassware if you prefer, as their selection is not that great (although it will suffice).
I look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow night!
First Wine Club Meeting of 2008 - Italian wines at Iggies! Limited seating, RSVP soon!
Hi everyone and happy 2008. The first wine club meeting of 2008 will be held on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 at 7:00 PM. The theme is Italian and we’ll enjoy our wines with THE BEST PIZZA IN BALTIMORE! That’s right, with the help of Lisa and Peter at Iggies on Calvert St. (directions below) we’re going to spend the night tasting a wide variety of Italian wines and see what goes best with pizza, pasta and more.
Please RSVP as soon as possible if you plan on attending. Seating is very limited due to our arrangement with Iggies, so it’s very important to get back to us ASAP with number of people, as well as wines you’ll be bringing. Send RSVP to: michael@foodandwineblog.com
Wine criteria: Please bring a bottle of wine that is $20 or less from Toscana (Tuscany) or Piemonte (Piedmont). Great wines can be found for $10 with a little research and asking around, so let’s see what you come up with!
Info: In this first tasting of 2008, we’re going to take a more formal approach. Wines will be brown-bagged and tasted “blind”. We’ll score each wine on our own criteria, see what goes best with the pizza, then vote at the end of the night on the best wines. This way it will be fun and a great learning experience!
October Wine Club Meeting: 14 bottles of wine, 14 people and one large order of Mexican food…
October 28, 2007 by michael · 5 Comments
We had another very fun and successful wine tasting this past week (Oct 25, 2007). The theme was Mexican food and wines that accompany which resulted in some interesting wines that were new to me! A big thank you to Donna for setting everything up! She made the night happen! Below are my notes on most of the wines…I “misplaced” the other notes at some point during the evening! And don’t worry, next month’s tasting is currently being worked out and will be something incredible!
Helfrich Gewürztraminer (Steinklotz) Alsace Grand Cru (2001) - $20: Nose: honey, melon, apricot, mineral, a
lot of grapefruit. The wine had a very delicate texture, concentrated fruits and a touch of acidity. Sweet but not overly sweet with spice notes on the finish. Very good. My rating: 90 pts
J&HA Strub Niersteiner Bruckchen Riesling Kabinett (2005): Light, white peach color with peach and vanilla nose as well as a bit of rubber which was off. Very sweet, lacking balance. My rating: 83 pts.
Elk Run 2005 Gewürztraminer: Was quite impressed with this Maryland made Gewürztraminer. Elegant layers of fruit and spice with a very warm texture. Was great with a Chile Rellano. My rating: 88 pts
MollyDooker - The Violinist (Verdalho) - 2006: This Verdalho (a Portuguese grape) showed a great nose of wet stone, citrus and apple. On the palette the wine was an explosion of tropical fruits and pineapple, with a very smooth texture and a great finish. This was my first time having this but definitely will not be the last! Was a great wine for the food, especially with a chimichanga. My rating: 91 pts
Penfolds Kenunga Hills Shiraz (2005): Great nose of smoke, toasted marshmallow’s, vanilla and a touch of coffee. Big dark fruits, sour cherry, lots of spice. This wine was bought for $10 but could easily stand up to some of the $50 or more Shiraz’s I’ve had recently. Very well done by Penfolds. My rating: 92 pts
Saumur Les Pouches - Loire Valley (2006): Consistent with the last time I had this wine (see notes here). Opened the night before, maybe 88 pts this time around but still very good. My rating: 88 pts
MollyDooker - The Boxer Shiraz (2006): Decanted 1 hour. Giant nose of blackberry, plum, toasted oak, and a good amount of spice. I have to say it again…huge nose! The wine had good balance overall and I look for the tannins to balance out in another few years. Ripe fruits on the palette with chocolate notes and spice, with a big finish lasting quite a while. My rating: 90 pts
Montes Alpha 2005 Syrah Colchagua Valley Apalta Vineyard: This was one of the better values of the night. Great fruits with exciting spice and good tannins. Very good overall. My rating: 90 pts
Barbara d’ Alba (Massolino) 2006 (Two bottles of this): First bottle was corked, so we opened another. This wine showed ripe fruits but was a bit tight. Should have decanted it longer. In any case, good wine. My rating: 88 pts.
Razon 2005 Pythagorean Theorom - Spain: Quite interesting nose of Chile peppers, plum, cassis with a touch of orange rind (yes, weird). A lot of great flavors going on throughout the palette and surprisingly smooth tannins. Would have wanted more out of the finish, but again another good value wine. My rating: 86 pts
Marietta - Old Vine Red Lot#44 Geyserville (2005): Another wine filled with dark berries, plum and toasted oak. Great spice throughout, again with pretty forward fruits. Good acidity carries the wine through the finish. Overall good balance. My rating: 89 pts.
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