Cheers To You

Brynn writes:

Here’s an affordable chardonnay for all you oak haters out there. This chard is crisp, clean, has hints of citrus fruits and best of all — it’s cheap!

I saw this wine recently at Costco and the label caught my eye. It looked like a Hedges Family Estate wine, but as I inspected the label all I could find was “Independent Producers” as the maker. The label also told me the grapes came from the famed Dionysus Vineyard and that the producers were against the 100-point wine-rating system (hence the 100 in the middle of a red circle with a line through it).

A quick search on the Internet though confirms my original suspicions — Hedges Family Estates is behind this wine. I have come to love some of their affordable wines like their CMS red and white, so I was happy to try this one too.

It’s a good chardonnay, and as I said, a great one for those who truly despise the over-oaked chardonnays that have plagued the industry. Mineral notes take the stage with this wine, lending it a brightness that would pair well with a lemon chicken or white fish in a light citrus sauce. It reminds me somewhat of a white Burgundy from France.

Through my search to learn more about this “La Bourgeoisie” label and its anti-100-point system motto, I came across its website, www.scorevolution.com. Here’s the producers’ opinions about rating wine, as posted to the website:

“The 100 point rating system is a clumsy and useless tool for examining wine. If wine is, as we believe, a subjective, subtle, and experiential thing, then by nature it is unquantifiable. Wine scores are merely a static symbol, an absolute definition based on a singular contact with a wine, and thus completely ineffective when applied to a dynamic, evolving, and multifaceted produce.”

For someone who often describes a wine she likes because, well it “just tastes good”, I can appreciate this rebellion against the 100-point system. Bottom line, if you like a wine it shouldn’t matter what rating it got, you’re the one buying and drinking it afterall.

The 2010 La Bourgeoisie Chardonnay is available for under $15.

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Brynn writes:

I like this term, only because I find it a bit comical to call an inanimate object “dumb”. But rest assured, I’d be careful to never call a wine dumb to the winemaker’s face — as you can imagine, this is not a term winemakers want to hear.

So what does dumb mean when it comes to wine? It means the wine hasn’t opened, it’s not reaching its full potential and there’s a good chance it never will.

Something happened during the winemaking process that stunted the wine, or made it closed and unable to open to where the wine drinker thinks it should be.

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Poutine, a common dish found in Canada, has started to make itself known in the states.

What would probably be considered comfort food by our friendly neighbors to the north, is popping up as trendy food over the border in states like our own.

With its savory flavors, hand-cut French fries and endless topping possibilities, it’s a dish that can single-handedly take out will power and lure even the healthiest eater into temptation.

As Ann Vogel notes in her recipe, poutine originated in Quebec. There’s some disagreement over exactly where in Quebec the dish was first crafted, or who gave it its name, but as one story goes a well-known restaurateur exclaimed in the way most French love to do, that a customer’s request to add cheese curds to a bag filled with fresh fries would make a mess, or “poutine.”

Cheese curds are a specialty to the area, and popular among local eaters. Gravy was later added to the concoction to keep the fries warm longer.

For this original French “hybrid” dish we would like to recommend another original French wine made from a hybrid grape called Baco noir.

Starting around the 1880s it was common for vineyard growers to cross European grape varietals with American grapes. On the scene at the time was Francois Baco, who managed to make a tasty, lush red wine that was unusually resistant to cold weather.

The grape was a cross between a white grape known as folle blanche, grown chiefly for cognac, and an unknown American red grape.

Baco noir is planted where cold winters are a problem — the Midwest, East Coast and of course, Canada.

One of the best baco noirs from the Northwest region comes from Oregon’s Girardet Wine Cellar. We think it’s a perfect match for the poutine.

On a side note, if you’re thinking of trying the poutine but don’t want to spend the time making it, here’s something to consider: Seattle-based Jones Soda will be launching a poutine-flavored drink for consumers to try. The catch? You have to travel to Canada to give it a try.

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Mary writes:

I confess. When it comes to where to plant wine grapes, I’m not the visionary that David Lake, MW was. I scoffed at the idea of planting Syrah back in 1989 when Lake produced Washington’s first Syrah. After all, Washington was the land of Cab and Merlot.

At this year’s Taste Washington I found out while sipping Proper Wines’ 2010 Syrah that Syrah has grown from 800 tons in 1999 — the first year it made the stat sheet — to 11,800 tons harvested last year.

After visiting the famed La Chapelle Vineyard in France’s Rhone Valley, Lake had this vision. By 2009, when Lake went to the great vineyard in the sky, Syrah was the third most widely planted red wine varietal.

Syrah is one of the world’s most diverse grape varieties, displaying a myriad of flavors. It can be floral, peppery, barnyardy, leathery, plummy, smoky and/or herbaceous depending on how old it is and terrior.

It grows best in hot, rocky climates such as the Rhone Valley, Sunny Spain, and the desert regions of California, Australia and Eastern Washington.

And that brings me to the wine of the day from Sunny Spain’s Castilla La Mancha wine region located in the southern half of a hot, dry plateau. Famous for Manchego cheese, Don Quixote and very fine wine.

Finca Sandoval Manchuela 2004, a blend of mostly Syrah and a dab of Monastrell and Bobal. It had been relaxing in my cellar, when a special occasion arose suddenly.

We popped it open and immediately the room was filled with aromas of violets, pepper, licorice, and cassis, which was surprising in itself because of the age. This wine has all the marks of a far more expensive Northern Rhone wine. It had intensity, velvety mouthfeel, wonderful balance and a finish of licorice, cassis and Asian spices.

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Brynn writes:
To keep my airline miles from expiring I recently had hundreds of magazines to choose from. The problem is I find I have no time to read magazines (just ask my husband, my growing stack of unread People’s is driving him nuts).

But while perusing the list there was one name that caught my eye: Wine Spectator. I thought “hey this is something I’d like to read for personal and professional reasons, and if I’m lucky the hubs will also want to read it and not get mad when the magazines start to accumulate around the house.”

So subscribe I did and a short number of days later our mailbox was filled with the oversized publication. The cover told us what we were in for: “Bordeaux at Its Best, 2010: A classic vintage; 450 at 90+”.

Washington winemakers produce some great Bordeaux blends and we’re starting to familiarize ourselves with those, but we decided we’d take the Wine Spectator opinion about the 2009 and 2010 vintages coming out of France (they’re calling them two of the best in recent history) and look for wines from the top-producing wine regions at our local grocer. The nice thing about France is you can often good wine from a region that is producing some of the world’s top wines, at an affordable price.

With a list of wine regions in his hand, my husband set out to try and find something in the $11 to $12 price range for us to compare. He came home with a 2010 Chateau Blouin from Bordeaux’s Right Bank and a 2010 Mouton Cadet, also from the Right Bank.

We decided to pour the two and try them against each other, and with our steak dinner, to decide which we preferred.

The Chateau Blouin is a blend of 8o percent merlot and 20 percent cabernet franc; the Cadet had a few more grapes, breaking down with 65 percent merlot, 20 percent cabernet sauvignon and 15 percent cab franc.

Both wines had good structure and were indicative of what you can expect of a Bordeaux — dark fruit flavors and berries with strong tannins, which made the wines a tight at first, but after some time in the glass they softened.

Our preference of the two with dinner was the Cadet. This wine had a beautiful ruby red robe, a great nose (I’m pretty sure that was thanks to the merlot) and a softer finish on the palate. I noted the finish was slightly lacking, which I think was a result of a minerality in the wine that kept it from opening across my palate.

The Chateau Blouin failed to impress me. It had the same beautiful robe with a stronger purple tint. The nose was musty, (although that might have been from my glass) and the finish was “tangy”. This wine had more earth flavors and was slightly vegetal.

After trying the wines with our steak dinner we decided we should probably see how they stood up to chocolate. So we paired them with dessert. The chocolate really seemed to bring out the flavors of the Cadet, while the Chateau Blouin remained closed. My husband felt that both wines did better with the chocolate than the steak, but part of that could also be that by the time we had them with chocolate they had time to breath and open up.

I’m not sure I’d buy them again, but then again for $11 and with enough time to open up in a decanter, I could probably be swayed to try the Cadet one more time.

If you’re interested in trying a similar comparison, look for some of these more affordable wines as recommended by James Molesworth of Wine Spectator (the name in parenthesis is the region where the grapes were grown):

• Chateau Montlabert, (St-Emilion) $20
• Chateau Bel Air, (Haut-Medoc) $23
• Chateau Belle-vue, (Haut-Medoc) $25
• Chateau de Carlmagnus, (Fronsac) $18
• Chateau Retout, (Haut-Medoc) $18
• Terra Burdigala, (Castillon Cotes de Bordeaux Chateau Manoir du Gravoux la Violette 2010) $20
• Chateau Paloumey, (Haut-Medoc) $17

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Brynn writes:

I’m sure by now you’re all well aware that this weekend is supposed to be awesome, filled with warmth and blue, sunny skies.

What better way to enjoy our sneak peek at summer than with a glass (or two, or three) of a good wine.

Rolling Bay Winery on Bainbridge Island is open this weekend, Saturday and Sunday, from noon to 5:30 p.m. Their winery is a beautiful location just off Rolling Bay with outdoor tables, picturesque gardens and views of Seattle. See their website for more details.

Mosquito Fleet Winery in Belfair is opening its barrel room Saturday for people to taste its latest wines. This weekend marks the start of wine tasting season for the winery, which will open its doors every Saturday from now until September from noon to 5 p.m.

A recent email from the winery lists a calendar of events happening over the summer. If you’re super organized like me, you might want to write these dates down for future planning:

Spring has come fast and furious for us at MFW. We’ve been tasting and blending our 2011 wines and are excited to share them with you! We’ve also been busy creating a calendar of events to enjoy with you and your family and friends this summer. Check out some of  the upcoming events:

• May 4: Barrell Room opens every Saturday for wine tastings Noon – 5pm (May-Sept)
• May 17: Bainbridge Island: wine tasting and book signing. Author Richard Blumenthal will be at The Chapel on Echo Bay to discuss his book “Maritime Place Names”.  Come and learn all the interesting reasons why Washington waters and places are named the way they are. Time:  7- 10 p.m.
• May 17: Gig Harbor: Wine Tasting at The Wine Studio from 5-9 p.m.
• May 18: Winemakers dinner at Alderbrook Resort the breathtaking Hood Canal. Social hour begins at 6:30 / Dinner at 7 p.m.; $129 per person.
• May 26: Barrel tasting 2-5 p.m. with winemaker, Brian Petersen.  Sample a variety of wines in various barrels. Learn about the importance of barrel selection and how it affects the flavors.  $25 per person.
• June 27: Winemaker’s dinner at the Winery in the barrel room with one of our favorite chefs, Dustin Joseph of the Art House Café in Tacoma. $100 per person menu BTA. Enjoy a gourmet five course meal and wine with the owners of Mosquito Fleet Winery. Seating is limited.
• July 5: Winery open for tastings 4-8 p.m. Bring your family and visiting guests down for a taste!
• Aug 8: Salsa dancing lesson in the Barrel Room.  This is gonna be one HOT August night!! Bring your partner and a little attitude and we’ll bring the wine and appies! Tickets will be available soon.
• Sept 10: Bottling day. We’ll be bottling our 2011wines for your future enjoyment.

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Brynn writes:

Every six months or so I try to get together with my girlfriend who I’ve known for 28 years. In that time her family moved to Orcas Island, we attended different schools, went off to college, graduated, lived in separate states, married and had children — her second child is just 5 weeks younger than our son, Ryland. What I love about our friendship is, it doesn’t matter how much time passes between our meetings, when we see each other it’s like nothing has changed.

She lives in Bellingham and so we make a practice of meeting at my mom’s house in the north end of King County because it’s our midway location. Typically we have dinner, uncork a bottle of wine and try to catch up, all the while chasing after our kiddos who don’t seem to understand that sometimes Mommies just need to unwind.

Our last catch up weekend was at the start of April. To keep it simple we did Thai takeout and she swung by Trader Joe’s on her way down and picked up a bottle of wine. She went for economical, I think the wine retails for $6 or less, but don’t let the price trick you into thinking you’re about to drink plonk.

This California red blend was a treat on my tongue. It was warm, full-bodied and exuded cedar and spice notes that hinted at time spent on oak. That oak aging also softened the blackberry and currant notes. The blend breakdown is 58 percent Merlot, 15 percent Petite Syrah, 16 percent Zinfandel and 11 percent Syrah.

If you happen to be at TJ’s looking for a decent red to have with dinner, I’d recommend this wine. I’m not sure how long it will be carried, my friend thought it might be on closeout, so if you see it, grab it.

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Mary writes:

Originally from the eastern Mediterranean, this thin skinned seedless white grape is used for dried or table grapes.

It needs a hot climate to thrive as is susceptible to fungal diseases, which is why it never made it big in cool foggy Europe. Wine produced from Sultana is distilled and used to fortify wine. It’s the most widely planted grape in California, where it’s known as Thompson Seedless.

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Mary writes:

One of the most festive wine tastings to attend is a tapas party. Tapas are little bites that started out as a cover to keep the flies out of a glass of sherry. Tapas bars are very popular in Spain and have quickly picked up favor in the U.S.

My friend Alan loves sherry. He recently hosted a sherry tasting for a bunch of friends with 30 bottles of eight different types of sherry. And everyone brought tapas to enjoy with the little sips.

Many think sweet when the word sherry is mentioned. But there are so many more styles! The drier Manzanilla and Fino are definitely not sweet. Amontillado and Oloroso can be dry or sweet; Cream is always sweet but even sweeter is the Pedro Ximénez, or PX, which is the color and weight of motor oil and tastes of liquid brown sugar, nuts and dried fruits.

My favorite sherry of the day paired wonderfully with Paella, Spain’s most famous saffron, rice and seafood extravaganza. Paella is usually prepared in a wide, shallow pan and cooked over an outdoor fire. The sherry was Barbadillo Obispo Gason Palo Cortado, a fabulous and a perfect match with the Paella.

Bodegas Barbadillo was founded almost 200 years ago. Palo Cortado is a rare sherry. Like most sherries, it’s made from the Palomino grape. Palo Cortado begins life as a Manzanilla, developing the flor and set aside for its quality.

Then something happens on its way to becoming an Amontillado: it loses its flor in the American oak barrels. Flor is the protective bacteria that forms a film on top of the wine and protects it from oxidizing. Once the flor disappears, the wine is fortified.

After 30 years in barrel, the wines develop a dark amber color along with the rich, nutty aromas and flavors that are the hallmarks of Palo Cortado. Coffee bean, burnt matchstick, toffee caramel and toasted walnut are other flavors you can find in this sherry. It’s very dry, with lots of richness and great balance.

Here’s a couple tapas dishes that pair perfect with sherry:

Seasoned Carrots — Best served with a Fino like the Hartley & Gibson Dry Fino

2 pounds carrots
4 cloves garlic
1 1/2 tsp. Oregano
¾ tsp Cumin seeds
1 tsp. Cilantro
¼  tsp Red pepper flakes
¼ tsp. Pepper
1 tsp. Salt
1 ½ tbsp Sherry vinegar
½ cup Olive oil
2 tsp chopped Parsley

Peel and slice carrots into 1-inch rounds. Boil 8 to 10 minutes in salted water until tender. Meanwhile, throw the rest of the herbs into a food processorfor a minte and add vinegar to make a paste. Add oil in a thin stream to emulsify. Mix with the carrots. Sprinkle with parsley. Chill for a couple of hours and serve at room temperature.

Stuffed mushrooms — Best served with Lustau Los Arcos Dry Amontillado

18 large mushrooms
½ cup almonds
¼ cup bread crumbs
½ pound ground pork
1 tsp orange zest
6 tbsp dry amontillado
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper 1 or 2 tbsp olive oil

Clean mushrooms and remove stems. Toast almonds for about 12 minutes. In a processor, chop the almonds, then the stems; add the bread crumbs, pork, orange zest, and sherry. Salt and pepper to taste. Stuff the caps.
Preheat oven to 400 F.  In a large skillet, heat olive oil and add caps filling side down. Sauté over medium low until golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes. Place on an oiled baking sheet filling side up. Bake minutes and serve.
*Recipes are from the Spanish Table by Marimar Torres.

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Mary writes:

Looking for a good bargain wine? You’ve come to the right place.

Being a seeker of great wine for under $10, I highly recommend wines from the northeast quarter of Spain known as Campo de Borja. This region is a Denominación de Origen (DO) with a mild climate, located in the shadow of the mountains of the Sistema Ibérico.

One wine from this area I’d recommend trying is Don Ramon Tinto Barrica 2010. Its color is ruby and has aromas of pepper and raspberries with a jammy raspberry flavor. It’s an easy drinking a blend of 75 percent grenache and 25 percent Tempranillo. It retails for $8.

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