Food, Wine, Culture TV- Episode 2: WineBloggingWednesday 48 - Back to my wine “roots” in Detroit!

Today is WineBloggingWednesday (which I talk about in the video) and the theme is taking it back to you roots. My wine “roots” began in Detroit with some cheap “wine” and slowly progressed to high end California Cabernet. Join me (and special guest Carlos L) for a tasting, beginning where I began and ending where I was 5 years ago- Drinking big Cali Cabernet and Bordeaux Blends. (Links pertaining to this episode and truncated tasting notes are below the video)
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WineBloggingWednesday #46: White Rhone Wines with Dr. Debs of Good Wine Under $20

Each month wine bloggers around the world unite for a virtual wine tasting labeled “Wine Blogging Wednesday.” A particular blog is chosen as the host for the event who then picks a theme and a Wednesday on which the wine blogging community gets together to post their wine and a few tasting notes.

This month our host is Dr. Deb’s of Good Wine Under $20. Her theme which I greatly appreciate is white wines from the Rhone. We’ve been tasting and drinking a good amount of Rhone wines lately, but only 10 or so white wines in the last few months from the Rhone. This was a good reason to open a bottle of Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc I’ve been waiting anxiously to try. (For more on Chateauneuf, click here!)

The wine I chose is the 2003 Tardieu-Laurent Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes (vines pictured below). This wine comes from an established producer who makes good to great wines throughout the Rhone Valley. Recently, Michel Tardieu put out a 2005 Chateauneuf-du-Pape (CdP) red wine that has received outstanding ratings and praise, including a score of 96 pts from the Wine Spectator’s James Molesworth (of whom I have great respect as a wine critic). This was my first Tardieu-Laurent white wine, though I’ve had many of his reds across a variety of vintages. I enjoy his style of wine very much finding them consistently hold true to the characteristics of both the fruit and terroir. I do recommend them highly if you enjoy Rhone wines or are looking to expand your palate to Southern France. Read more

Wine Blogging Wednesday: Old World Riesling (FYI: I love German Riesling!)

Wine Blogging Wednesday is in it’s 45th edition. For those of you unfamiliar with this event, Lenn Thompson (LennDevours) started it a few years back hoping to have a “community wide” wine tasting. Anyone (not only bloggers can participate. For more info, ehck out winebloggingwednesday.org.

This month’s host is Tim at Winecast.net (a blog/podcast that is well organized, written and very highly recommended). The mission: Old World Riesling, which generally would mean:

• French (Alscace)
• Germany
• Austria

I am very appreciative of this theme, as I absolutely love German Riesling but don’t drink nearly enough of it. This in mind, I had a big task ahead of me: choose one Riesling that I knew I’d enjoy and would like to share with you all!

My wine of choice for this outstanding theme was a 2005 Zilliken (Forstmeister Geltz) Saarburger Rausch Riesling Kabinett. This wine is produced a little over an hour away from my family’s house in Herborn and is one I have had (previous vintage) while in Germany. Overall, it’s a great, Old-World style Riesling. It’s got a nice touch of sweetness that isn’t overpowering. Highly recommended, especially if you can find it (around $20).

2005 Zilliken (Forstmeister Geltz) Saarburger Rausch Riesling Kabinett: Light straw color with a nose of apple, minerals, a light tangerine/citrusy component that is really nice. On the palate I wouldn’t have guessed a Kabinett, although it’s not overly sweet, there is a nice, honey undertone with flavors of pear, apple, citrus and crushed minerals. Very crisp acidity and a long, refreshing finish really bring this wine together. My rating: 90 pts, Very Good Value (VGV)

Image of bottle from the world’s best cellar-tracking program: www.cellartracker.com

Wine Blogging Wednesday #44: Gary Vay-ner-chuk and Ca-ber-net Franc!

Hello everybody and welcome to foodandwineblog.com - I am your host - Michael Mo-hamm-a-di and this is….OK OK, I can’t pull it off using text. Maybe I’ll switch it up to a video blog sometime in the future. Until then, you’ll have to relay on Gary V at WineLibrary TV (tv.winelibrary.com) for over the top, enthusiastic introductions!

This month’s Wine Blogging Wednesday host is Gary Vaynerchuk of WineLibrary TV. Gary’s challenge was to try an old world Cabernet Franc. He had recently returned from France and was pleasantly surprised with how well the grape is doing in Southern France, especially the Loire Valley. I think it’s a great theme as I bet most of you haven’t had a single varietal, old world Cab Franc. Often used as a blending grape, most notably in Bordeaux, Cab Franc contributes vibrant color, flavors of green vegetables (especially bell peppers) and ripe red fruits. This was a fun theme for me especially since I’m a big fan of Cabernet Franc. I decided to combine this tasting with my own challenge of pairing a Cabernet Franc with a few food items that red wine isn’t supposed to go with.
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WBW #43 - Comfort Wines

Today is another Wine Blogging Wednesday! This month our host is Joel at WineLifeToday. The theme is something dear to all of us wine lovers, comfort wines. Our mission:

“choose a wine, any wine, that you love to unwind to and tell us about not only the wine but what makes the experience special and relaxing for you!
“

This one’s a no-brainer for me: Sparkling Wine - more specifically, Avinyo Brut Reserva Cava.
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WBW #42 - Italian Wine in Just Seven Words

This months Wine Blogging Wednesday theme was “Italian Wines in Just Seven Words” and is hosted by Spittoon (they spit so we can swallow!). This creative theme asks us wine bloggers to choose an Italian wine and sum it up in seven words. Although it sounds easy, for a bunch of people who love wine and really love writing (often so much that we just go on and on and on…) this task was a good challenge. I found it particularly challenging due to my love of Italian wine. Eventually I chose a wine and threw out some words that I feel best represent my experience. Be sure to check out Spittoon in the next few days to read a recap of what everyone tasted!

The wine I chose is the 2004 Marchesi de Frescobaldi Chianti Rufina Riserva Nipozzano. This Chianti Riserva consists of the following grape varietals: Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, Colorino, Malvasia Nera, Merlot and costs around $18 USD.  I gave the wine a very respectable 89 pts.

2004 Marchesi de Frescobaldi Chianti Rufina Riserva Nipozzano:

“Closed for business - opens in three hours.”

You can see my full tasting note here. 

WBW #42 - Just Seven Words

This month’s Wine Blogging Wednesday is hosted by Spittoon. The theme is Italian wine in just seven words. Pick an Italian wine and describe it in seven words or less. The deadline is Wednesday, February 13, 2008. For more information, check out their site.

WBW #41: White Friuli Wines

Today is the forty-first installment of Wine Blogging Wednesday (WBW) (www.winebloggingwednesday.org). This month’s host’s are Jack and Joanne at Fork & Bottle and the theme is Friuli Wines. As you may know, I love Italian wines and was especially excited to have a good excuse to seek out a good bottle of Friuli.

Friuli-Venezia Giulia wine is made in the north-eastern Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia (seen in the image above linked from wikipedia.org). The region produces some of the best wines in Italy which are made from Tocai Friulano, Pinot Bianco, Sauvignon Blanc, Malvasia Istriana, Chardonnay, Riesling, and Pinot Grigio as well as a few others. I’ve chosen a Pinot Grigio for this month’s WBW.

So last night our friend Donna stopped by to say hello and Kim and I successfully talked her into staying for a glass or two of wine and dinner (thanks for coming over Donna!). While I prepared lamb burgers, grilled parsnips and plantain fritters (recipes to follow in the next day or so), we popped the cork on the 2005 Pighin Pinot Grigio Grave del Friuli. I found the wine for $12 at the Wine Source in Baltimore, but it can be found online from anywhere between $11 and $18. This wine turned out to be quite a value.

Pighin has two vineyards (as well as two wineries) totaling 180 hectares (roughly 400 acres) in the area: a Risano vineyard in Grave del Fruili (which is the home of the wine I chose) and one at the Caprivo vineyard in the Collio area. This 2005 Pinot Grigio from the Risano vineyard had a deep pale gold color. The nose was filled with peach, pinapple, jasmine, and floral notes. The wine had very good acidity from the get-go which subsided a touch through the mid-palate and kept going nicely through a crisp finish. I found some mineral/wet stone taste in the wine as well that was quite nice. Overally, it was a great wine- the acidity would be a great match for a mussels in garlic/butter sauce tossed with linguine and drizzeled with some lemon. My rating: 88 pts, VGV (Very good value)

Kim and Donna both enjoyed the wine as well both noting good fruits and acidity.

Thanks again to Joanne at Fork & Bottle for the excellent choice. Make sure to check out her page which will have a review of all the bloggers who participated in this round of WBW!

WBW #40: “Que Sirah, Sirah”

Hi everyone, welcome to the 40th edition of “Wine Blogging Wednesday” (WBW) and my first time participating. Wine Blogging Wednesday began in the Summer of 2004 as a way to bring together the wine blogging community. The idea is simple, one day each month bloggers are given a wine region or type of wine as a theme of which they must choose a bottle of wine, taste it, review it, and post in on their site. The person who nominated the theme for a particular month is then in charge of linking together all of the posts on their own blog. Over 3 years later, the event is still going strong with participation from more than 30 bloggers from around the world. For more information, see the Wine Blogging Wednesday website at: http://www.winebloggingwednesday.org/

This month’s theme, hosted by Sonadora at WannaBeWino , is Petit Sirah.

Petit Sirah is an interesting variety as far as grapes go. It wasn’t until 2003 that with the use of clonal analysis, it was confirmed to be the same grape as the Durif grape of France. In fact, it wasn’t until around 2002 that I realized that Syrah and Petit Sirah were not the same thing (everyone has to start somewhere!). I have grown to love this once orphan grape. Wines made with Petit Sirah tend to have good structure from the big tannins as well as great color and a range of dark fruits and spice. Although Petit Sirah isn’t widely planted (60 or so vineyards in California according to winespros.org), you can find it on the shelves of most any wine shop. There is quite a following for this wonderful variety, including a very cleverly named organization and website “PS, I Love You” (www.psiloveyou.com).

This month I chose to review the 2005 Vinum Cellars “PETS” Petit Sirah which comes in around $12. The name, PETS, is a common knickname for the Petit Sirah grape. This wine was dedicated to the winemakers (Ken Wilson) dog Tanker. Having 3 dogs myself, I appreciate the sentiment and wonder what I would call a wine that I made to dedicate it to all three dogs…perhaps “muddy yard” would work.

The 2005 Vinum Cellars “PETS” Petit Sirah ended up being an amazing find. Great deep plum color with an inviting nose of dark berry, fig, and a touch of black pepper. The palate is surprisingly complex with flavors of dark fruits, blueberry, buttered toast, and miscellaneous herbs and spices. The finish is long, tannins are quite refined, and just before the wine leaves, it brings a few spice notes that make you wonder “all this for $12?” (which includes a small donation to local animal shelters). Drinking great now (let it open a bit in the glass), buy a case and enjoy it for the next two (or more) years. My rating: 91 pts, OV (outstanding value).

Make sure to check out the fellow bloggers websites which can be found linked at Sonador’s page at WannaBeWino!