Results of April 25th Wine Tasting

Hello everyone. On Saturday, April 25, a wine-tasting and dinner to salute 5 of the many distinct wine-producing regions of Italy was hosted by Dawson Bloom. Five randomly selected wines (one from each region) were compared by Dawson Bloom, Vin Trupia, Joseph Fernicola, Anthony LaVista, and Jon-Paul Lenczuk.

Regions represented in the tasting were Calabria/Basilicata, Veneto, Piedmonte, Umbria and Abruzzo, and Sicily. Accompanying these reds for dinner were a spread of sliced meats, sausage and pasta, various hard and semi-soft cheeses, grapes, and Torellini Alfredo (I'm drawing a blank on if we had dessert or not).

In order of least favorite to most (on the traditional 1-5 rating scale), the results are as follows:

1. Lamuri Nero D'Avola (2005 Sicilia)--a peppermint and chocolate flavor came across with this, creating some initial interest. However, with mild tanins and a rapid fire finish, it was leaving us generally not overly impressed, particularly at a $23 price point--average score 2.85

(Tie for 2nd to last)--

2. Barbera D'Asti (2005 Piedmonte)--Slight black cherry aromas came from this tight-nosed red, with a high degree of heat on the palate. Though smooth, it was only an average find, but servicable for $12.00--Average score 3.1

3. Carpineto Chianti (2002) Vanilla was immediately detected on the nose, along with some minerality. A smooth, caramel, non-fruity flavor profile vanished rather quickly. It, however, was also serviceable at approximately $22.00--Average score 3.1

4. Re Manfredi (2002 Basilicata) Black licorice burst forth on the nose, with hints of smoke to complement the distinct aroma. Cranberries could be identified on the mid-palate, along with some smokiness. This was a smooth effort with moderate tanins. A quality find around $23.00 !--Average score--3.3

5. Ripassa Superiore Valpolicella (2006 Veneto) Getting the nod as the 'best of class' this evening was this gem from Northern Italy. Bearing a delightful scent of dark fruits, this tasteful vino was full bodied with intense fruity tones to it. The length was exceptional and smooth. Very good! Average score--3.5

For a 2nd tasting in a row, there was a rather narrow range of scoring. With warmer weather quickly approaching, white wines and PotLuck tastings will likely steer wine tastings into the summer of 2009. Stay tuned!

Wine Tasting "Italian Reds" Coming up April 15

The next wine tasting is quickly approaching. Most of the old crew is back together, As Vin Trupia has returned after almost a year's hiatus, although Mike DiChiaria remains missing. We have added a new member, Drew Thomas, who first joined us for our last tasting of Spain's reds.

This tasting will be very interesting, as we will be tasting wines from many of Italys regions, not just the most popular ones of Piedmonte and Tuscany. Other regions include Umbria, Abruzzo, Calabria, etc. It has been quite some time since we focused on Italy and Im excited to be taking a look back, especially with most of the focus these days on South America.

Dinner with Friends and oh, a Birthday!

Hey folks. While unfortunately this post is a bit late, I thought it was high time to recap dinner in Hackettstown, NJ. in celebration of Anthony's birthday.

A nice time was had on Saturday, March 7 in West Jersey, as the normal cast of characters met up at 'The Prickly Pear' for dinner, catching up on everyone's lives, and enjoying each other's company.

A number of wines were brought to this dinner, and I wanted to take a moment to highlight a few of the ones that really stood out:

1. 2001 Silvio Nardi Brunello Montepulciano--this was a very old world style wine, to the nose and taste. Great length, great balance. (ABV 14.0%)
2. 2006 Ravenswood Vintners Blend Petite Syrah--this had an enjoyable profile to it, fruity, but not overbearing at all. (ABV 13.5%)
3. 2008 Kimberly Crawford Sauvignon Blanc--an amazing white, very grapefruit and apricot components to this well made effort (ABV 13.0%)
4. 2007 Ridge California Sonoma County Three Valleys--this was a solid find, the hottest to the pallate, and had a nice length to it. (ABV 14.3%)

Given each of the pricepoints of the wines above (highest was around $27), the PQR (per GV) certainly warrants repeat purchases of each up the road!!

Winemaking Part II

Although this took place back at the end of October. I'd thought I'd bring you up to speed on the second part of the wine making process. The first part consisted of crushing, putting in the enzymes and super food and punching it down. Then we came back two weeks later for the pressing. Below are some pictures. Wow what a messy process. When that hydrolic press goes to work, grape juice goes everywhere, including the ceililng. The next step will be tasting the wine after is has been in oak for 5 months. Really looking forward to that tasting.

Results of the February 28 Wine Tasting

Hey folks. After a lengthy holiday layover, we finally managed to put together another successful wine-tasting and dinner, had at Anthony LaVista's home. This tasting's theme was wines from Spain.

In an effort to keep things interesting for our tastings moving forward, Anthony did some recruiting to incorporate new tasters into the mix. From two prospects emerged one new attendee, Drew. In attendance otherwise were Joe Fernicola, Dawson Bloom, and me.

Available to start off the dinner were various Spanish Cheeses with a quince spread (the only type of cheese I precisely recall was Manchego, but there were about 4-5 varieties in total). They went over VERY well, with everyone devouring all but the rinds. Also available for dinner was a delicious London Broil and a huge tray of Paella Valenciana. Not faring as well on the popularity scale was blood sausage and chorizo, which had been inadvertently burned during cooking. For dessert was apple pie.

While I ordinarily post the results with ranking, score, and pricetag, I just realized that I don't have the scores, just the ranks--we can append this post with these scores (which I know we have). Also, since the pricetags of each of the wines all hovered between 11 and 20 dollars (with the exception of the Tabernero, which was $7.99), no dollar amounts are mentioned below--

In order of rank, from worst to first, here are the results:

7. Tabernero Borgona 2006 Demi-Sec (Peru)--Each tasting of ours is always known for having a curve ball in the mix. This one, brought by me, was no curve ball--it was more of a wild pitch. Aside from the extreme sweetness which would make it a better fit for a dessert wine tasting, it did not go over well with the tasters, expect for Dawson who professed some level of tolerance for it, as did I.

6. Menguante Seleccion 2004 Garnache--Having an oak and toffee aroma, this was somewhat awkward and hot. It wasn't bad, but beating out only the demi-sec isn't saying much.

5. Mas Donis Barrica Celler de Capcanes Montsant 2005--this was a rather sweet-smelling, floral effort. The dark fruit taste came though and had a decent length--more preferred by Dawson and me than the others.

4. Marquis de Olivara Tinto Crianzo 2004--the nose was a pronounced medley of red berries. Tasting presented some firm tanins, a lot of heat, but balanced in a solid manner.

3. Montecillo Rioja 2005 Grianza--This had a very sweet nose, and it's taste had components of once frozen, now thawed black/dark fruit--very smooth and had a medium length.

2. Ramirez de la Piscina Reserva 2001--this nose was an intesting mix of earth and hints of fruit. It was incredibly smooth to the taste and had a nice length to it.

1. Marquez de Riscal Reserva 2004--by a wide margin, this effort bore an oaky and very grape jolly rancher nose. The firm tanins in this heavier, jammy effort were complimented by a nice length with only a hint of heat--nice job!

I am hopeful that since my notes are a bit more abbreviated than normal, any attendees to this dinner could perhaps fill in any gaps or augment this post as appropriate.

As always, we look forward to the next tasting event!

Santa Cristina versus Rutherford Hill

Hi folks. I used a family gathering as a backdrop for a comparison of two reds, the first of it's kind for me this year.

In one corner was a Santa Cristina 2005 Toscana (Sangiovese, Italy), ABV 12.1%. In the opposite corner was a Rutherford Hill 2004 Merlot (Merlot, California), ABV 14.2%.

The Santa Cristina had a rather tight nose to me, with only earthy, woody, almost asphalt-like tones. After some swirling I began to catch a floral aroma. The taste was moderate tanins with some presence of dark fruit. To my disappointment, the finish was abrupt and left my mid-pallate feeling unsatisfied. The sudden finish had me wondering if the product was slightly watered down, not sure. For $12.00, I've had better--Score: 2.0

The Rutherford Hill's aroma was very, very fruity. There were sweet, creamy hints to it (suggesting oak played a part in it's development), with an obvious dark berry component to it. The high alcohol upon taste was very quickly masked by the balance of the fruits, vanilla/caramel hints, and very firm tanins. This lit up my entire mouth, and stayed around for a long time--I was floored by the terrific taste of this--I am sure this will be a tough one to surpass this year for me, particularly for the reasonable $17.99 price. Score: 4.5

Terrorism in the Wine Industry: The CRAV are No Sons of Liberty.

As an American who believes in personal liberty, I can’t help but look back with pride at many of the events of the American Revolution. One such event strikes a cord: the Boston Tea party, where the Sons of Liberty, dressed as American Indians, boarded a British ship and dumped tons of English tea in Boston harbor in protest of British taxes. But just for a moment imagine that tea being wine, that harbor being in a Mediterranean port, and those Indians being black ski masked shadows. However, replace the noble cause of liberty, with the goal of bringing about more socialist government regulation of free trade. This, in a nutshell, is the story of CRAV, France’s Wine Terrorist organization. But as you will see, the CRAV is anything but a modern day Sons of Liberty.

I was fascinated to recently learn that there was an outlaw organization in existence that used acts of terror in an effort to allegedly “protect” the wine industry of France. I for one would think that after hundreds of years of leading the wine world, that French wine would not require any type of extreme violent action to protect its future. Well, certain wine producers in the Languedoc-Roussillion region seem to disagree.

Little is know about the Comité régional d'action viticole(CRAV) or, the Regional Committee for Viticultural Action, other than what it claims to stand for. The CRAV first emerged sometime in 2001 and 2002. They claim to be a group of nameless but small wine producers in the south of France who have been driven to violence by a combination of declining prices, droping demand in France, less expensive imports from Spain and Italy and global competition from new world wine areas like Australia and South America. The Comité Régional d'Action Viticole is a shadowy organization which has publicly claimed to have an estimated 1,000 members and an unknown number of sympathizers who believe the French government is not doing enough to protect small wine producers from globalization.

It has claimed responsibility for bombing a grocery stores, a winery, agriculture ministry offices, hyjacking a tanker and destroying large quantities of non-French wine. On March 6 , 2006, more than 120 ski masked men armed with crowbars attacked the Mediterranean port city of Sète in France's Languedoc region. They broke into two wine merchants' warehouses and dumped thousands of gallons of wine onto the ground. Then in May of 2007, the group even went so far as to release a video which threatened that “Blood would flow” unless action was taken to raise the price of wine. But the CRAV is no joke, they are said to be influenced by Corsican and Basque separatists. Both of these known terrorist organizations, have taken many lives and at times caused wide spread econmomic distruption.

In my humble opinion, the CRAV have done nothing but hurt the wine industry of southern France. In this day and age, where terrorism has caused so much harm to so many people throughout the would, I would expect that their actions have turned wine consumers interest away from the Languedoc region. This is quite a shame since I have nothing but good experiences with wines from that region.

Instead of resorting to violence in an effort to bring about more government control, perhaps these producers should switch gears and work for less regulation and freedom. With less regulation and government control, these producers could adopt a more cost effective business model that will produce quality wine which could compete with external competitors. In the end, how ironic is that this organization was created to fight the free market when a freer market is what will ultimately solve their problems.