Wine Rack Store Delves into Port Wines

Posted on February 24, 2010 by Trish P.

I keep thinking I need a bottle of Port on my wine rack. It sounds so established and serious, a strong bold dry wine 4377120362_4a03b5a8c5_m with a deep cherry taste. Well, I think I’m totally wrong there. I’ve never had Port but thought to do a little research before I buy. So, I share with you my Port education.

Don’t you feel lucky?

Well, Port is a fortified red wine made in Portugal. Well originating in Portugal, imitators do exist. The specific place in Portugal is the Douro Valley and two main types of Port are produced: vintage and wood.

Okay, so vintage Port is aged in casks for up to three years and then bottled and put on the shelf. Wood Port is aged in the bottle from the beginning and covers every kind of Port that isn’t called vintage Port. The vintage Port ideally sits on the shelf for several decades before being served. This gives it strength of body and flavor not found in the wood Ports. Wood Ports are available for drinking as soon as they appear on the wine store shelf.

It’s not like most Port is made from a single grape variety. The valley produces a number of varietals and its all about the blending. There is one type of Port (Quinta de Novel) which is produced from the grapes of a single vineyard and it is a very unique taste and quite different from most varieties of Port.

So what does Port taste like?

Well it depends on whether it’s a white Port, a tawny Port or a ruby Port. Phew! There’s a lot more to this Port thing that I had imagined.

Well, a white Port can be sweet or dry in taste with the dry flavor being a newer variation. Whites are young and usually served before dinner.

A tawny Port is light, dry and aged in comparison to a white or a ruby Port. The older a tawny is, the lighter the color and the more refined the flavor. There are two main types of tawny: ones with age statements and ones without. These break down further into 10, 20, 30 and 40 year old tawny Ports as well as blends of white and ruby, vintage tawny and original tawny Ports. Considered a dessert wine, the tawny is a sweet dry wine.

The ruby is the baby of the Port family. They are light sweet and fruity and often served with fruit or alone as a cocktail. When people speak of drinking a Port and lemon, it’s the ruby Port they are referring to.

So which type of Port to put on the wine rack? Who the heck knows now. I didn’t realize there would be so much to the Port thing. I think I’ll start by seeing what the wine shop has and go from there.

Keep you posted.

New York Wine Events

Posted on February 23, 2010 by Candice L.

There are a lot of events happening in New York for wine lovers, students, and those in the wine trade. I guess New York is a big place, so one would expect there to be more happening there than, say, the little town of Salmon Arm. Still, I’m impressed.
The first event which caught my eye is the New York Wine Expo, February 26th and 27th. While there is a full day devoted to those in the wine trade, there is still a lot for the regular gentleman or lady off of the street to take in. Leslie Sbrocco hosts the seminar ‘Wine 101′ from 6-7 pm on the 26th and 1-2 pm on the 27th. Leslie writes and presents on the topic of wine and food, so partaking in a seminar hosted by her sounds as though it could be worth $30. Maybe twice. There is also ‘Old World, New Wines-Do La Mancha Spain’, $30. I am curious about Spain and Spanish wines. When I lived in the UK, Spain was merely the setting for a short-lived soap called ‘Eldorado’ and the destination for many a pasty holiday-maker from the UK who cluttered the beaches and said little about the culture on their return. The Expo costs $85 each day, but there are 600 wines from over 150 international winemakers to taste, and the chance to meet a few winemakers if you’re a fan. The Expo takes place at Javits Centre, 655 West 34th Street.
At the Chelsea Wine Vault, 75 Ninth Ave, Inside Chelsea Market, there will be a session about fortified wines on March 4th from 6:30-8 pm. Cost is $35. Taste and learn about port, sherry, Madeira, Marsala, and vermouth. I did not know that vermouth is a fortified wine, so I’ve learned something already. I used to drink sherry and port back in Blighty, something of a Christmas tradition. I must have looked odd, in my early twenties, holding a sherry glass as it has the reputation of being a night-time tipple for older ladies, but it tasted so good! Call 212-462-4244 for more information, and make room on your wine rack.

Learning About Non-Alcoholic Wine

Posted on February 23, 2010 by AdminSidney

Non-alcoholic wine sounds like an oxymoron, doesn’t it? I mean, isn’t that just juice? With beer it might be different, seeing as how I’ve never heard of anyone drinking hop-juice before, but wine is made from grapes. I’m confused (a common state for me).
Interestingly, one of the processes for making liquor is the same one used for making non-alcoholic wine, only in reverse. This is ‘distillation’. When liquor is made, all of the liquid is heated and the alcohol which burns off is kept and then restored to liquid state. Whatever happens to the rest of the liquid doesn’t matter, it can be boiled to tastelessness. In the case of non-alcoholic wine, though, the taste of the remaining liquid is critical. Hence, a ‘vacuum’ process is one method of separating alcohol from grape juice. The vacuum allows the liquid to boil at a lower temperature or without being heated, so that the flavors are not boiled away to nothing. Another process is ‘reverse osmosis’ in which the liquid is filtered through holes so small that ‘only alcohol and water (and a few volatile acids) can pass through’ writes Jason Horn. Then, distillation takes place.
One difference in taste between the finished product and the real thing is that regular wine is sweeter. There is more residual sugar resulting from the alcohol, and the ‘mouth feel’ is different. Non-alcoholic wine cannot compete with the latter, but more sugar is added to non-alcoholic wine to make up for its loss during distillation. Otherwise, Horn believes that the two are hard to tell apart. At the supermarket I noted that it can still be expensive to purchase the .5% variety of a Cabernet Sauvignon compared with the cost of, say, grape juice: roughly $10.00. Not horrifying by liquor-store standards, although one can purchase the real thing for around that cost. I guess choosing between them comes down to health concerns or being a designated driver. When bringing such a bottle to a friend’s house as a gift, just remember that there is still some alcohol: kids will likely feel that (perhaps a good thing if it’s bedtime), and they probably won’t like the taste too much.
Look out for an upcoming article in which I will give my own opinion of the stuff. I’m working-up to it, since I drink at home and have no health concerns. I wonder if my wine cellar will give a creak of objection?

Reviewer Contemplates Lent

Posted on February 22, 2010 by Candice L.

mustard

How many of you are giving something up for Lent? That few, hey? Okay, maybe there are lots of you, who knows. I only started observing Lent a few years ago after my cousin set the example. We didn’t grow up with the idea of sacrifice very strongly entrenched in our home: my parents smoked, drank, fed us junk food and pop (along with good food too, it was a balanced diet) and let us watch lots of tv. I didn’t start to ‘give things up’ until I was 162 pounds, but that was for aesthetic reasons. Now the reasons, and the sacrifices, are different.

I noted gleefully that nothing on my list requires me to give up wine. In fact, I had decided that I couldn’t really give up wine for employment purposes, but the joy is that wine is chocolate free, caffeine free, has no added sugar, no gluten: I can drink it without feeling guilty. My wine rack does not go against my observance at all.

It also helps that I don’t have any drinking issues (never spill a drop). Actually, although I like wine, I don’t crave it, so it’s not really a sacrifice. If it was, all I’d have to do is look at my older daughter Faye who has bravely decided to give up one of her favorite things for Lent: mustard. We were shopping the other day and as I reached for the large jar of mustard she told me very seriously ‘not the large jar, mom, I’m giving it up for Lent, remember?’ My nephew has a cute idea: he’s giving up all of the things he doesn’t like.

Kids. They’re such a gift.

New Releases Noted

Posted on February 22, 2010 by Candice L.

So many wines, so little time…who gets the job of reviewing wines? Clearly not this newbie, who would think it was a dream job. Obviously, sommeliers would be the first choice. FYI, if all of you sommeliers simply run out of time to review wine, let me know.
This past couple of months have seen some lovely-looking wines come out on the market, as reviewed at winecurrent.com. Included in these are the following three vintages (with many more noted on the website).
‘Tamar Ridge Estates ‘Devil’s Corner’ Riesling, 2008′, from Tasmania, Australia. This is a 12% wine (the lowest percentage on my list) and runs to under $20 Cdn. The aroma intrigues me: key lime. Yum. Then come flavors which would make me swoon: spice, lemon sorbet, nectarine, grapefruit. I love lemon sorbet. When I had my second child and didn’t feel like eating much, that was all I wanted. My husband brought it to the hospital in a thermos while I pushed the tray of ‘food’ away. The reviewer recommends pairing this with greek lamb souvlaki or drinking it by itself.
Next is ‘Kaiken ‘Reserva’ Malbec, 2008,’ Mendoza, Argentina, $14.95. This is a variety I really enjoy, being somewhat fruitier than a merlot. In fact, this ‘dark purple’ wine smells of red cherry, then continues the berry theme with pie cherry, mulberry, bramble berry and spice. Sounds like it should come bottled in pie crust. I like it, though at 14.5% I might need someone to carry me home after a tasting.
‘Oyster Bay Chardonnay 2008′ is the final wine I’ll be looking at here. This comes from Marlborough, New Zealand. A 13.5% wine costing $18.95, the reviewer raved about this one. He called it ‘smoky, toasty’ and noted tree fruits on the nose. In the mouth he caught ‘spiced green apple, nectarine, and musk melon’ which lingered pleasantly.
If I were to choose one of these for my wine rack, I would probably say the riesling, simple because the malbec is too strong and chardonnay has not been a successful variety for me so far. That’s not to say I won’t find a chardonnay I like, but that would be easier if I got the chance to do a bit more tasting.
Did I mention I’ll work weekends? I’ll even bring my own glass.

Beef Stew with Zinfadel

Posted on February 21, 2010 by Candice L.

red wine stew

Slow cookers are wonderful, allowing one to ‘cook’ while doing other things. Actually, the slow cooker is doing all of the work, albeit slowly, hence the name. But really, we’re always in such a hurry, I think food is often more flavorful when we take our time with it. Just like wine.
Beef stew is one of those foods which tastes better for a long, well, stewing. In particular, the ‘Beef Stew, Peasant Style’ from The Frugal Gourmet Cooks with Wine is a simple, warming dish, comfort food on a cold night. I adapted according to what I had in my kitchen, but here is what Jeff Smith recommends you use.
2 pounds beef chuck roast
2 carrots, unpeeled, sliced
3 celery stalks, sliced
1 large yellow onion, peeled and sliced
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/2 tsp whole thyme
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp whole rosemary
3 cups Zinfadel (also recommended to accompany)
3 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp tomato paste
Combine all but olive oil and tomato paste in your casserole dish overnight. Next day remove the meat from this mixture but save the marinade. Brown the beef in the olive oil. Return this to the casserole with the marinade and add tomato paste. Bring to boil, then bake at 350C, covered, for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Or, as in my case, start this recipe in the morning and you should have stew ready to set on ‘keep warm’ by around 3 pm. The Zinfadel was perfect with this dish; well worth keeping in the spot on my wine rack reserved for ‘cooking’, tagged with the heading ‘great for beef stew’.

Barefoot Zinfadel

Posted on February 20, 2010 by Candice L.

I haven’t learned too many inspiring caveats about wine yet, but here’s one I would share with my friends: don’t confuse red zinfadel with white zinfadel. You will get a shock. I really enjoy a white zinfadel, but today I was looking for the red variety, having never placed one on my wine rack before. Red usually isn’t my style. I’m not a big red meat-eater either, perhaps that’s significant.
When I opened the Barefoot Zinfadel from Lodi California, I let it air for about fifteen minutes. I’ve learned my lesson with other red wine grapes, that is, I don’t drink right away. When I finally poured myself an ounce of this wine and took a whiff, wow. Cherries. I love cherries of all descriptions (there are a lot more varieties than I ever thought before I move to orchard country, including the light-coloured sweet type which grow on our own tree). This wine, when I took a sip, reminded me of rich red bing cherries, as did the deep ruby red color. Although labelled as ’00′ for dryiness, the Barefoot Zinfadel goes down smoothly. The cherries stayed in my mouth right to the end. I also smelled sweet spice and honey, though vanilla is mentioned. I have to confess that I burned my mouth earlier today, so there is a chance my taste buds aren’t up to speed, but if this is the case I’m not complaining.
Look for this very affordable wine (under $10) and you will also note that it was a Gold Medal Winner at the Tasters Guild International Awards in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Here I am, with a wine I really like, but I’m still cooking beef stew with it. Watch out for my next article which will definitely be about food. This will have to be a proxy review: I’ll eat the stew, but I can’t say much of value about red meat, though maybe with the right wine it will grow on me.

Offering from Rex Goliath Winery

Posted on February 20, 2010 by Trish P.

The first thing I thought when I heard the words “Pinot Noir” was white, the color white. As in a white wine. You can imagine my surprise when I took the bottle off the wine rack and poured the no vintage Rex Goliath Pinot Noir a minute ago and it was red. A very pretty deep red but a red nevertheless. Turns out the term “Pinot Noir” means “red wine grape.”

Well duh.

I studied French for five years in school. Well there’s the failure of the education system for you. But anyway back to the wine. A few weeks ago I tried the 2008 Rex Goliath HRM. It’s wasn’t bad, it wasn’t good. It was kind of just okay. Let’s hope the Pinot Noir turns out to be a little more exciting. 3769786809_7b17789d22_m

It smells tart. Is that possible? Personally, I’m not sure but it definitely smells strong and sharp. There is the scent of bananas and black cherry. The more I sniff the more pleasing the bouquet becomes. A vigorous swishing and the smoother and deeper the smell of ripe fruit, lemon and freshness becomes.

Looks like this could be good. Right?

It is a tart taste with a light but intense density. There is a definite citrus aftertaste; it’s a little buttery, if that’s a term I can use here. A second sip confirms it; this is a nice crisp wine with a smooth creamy finish. Nice. Would serve with a meal. But what meal?

After passing the roaring rooster on the winery’s website I find a pairing suggestion for the Pinot: duck or salmon. I’m not a big fan of duck but a nice piece of salmon, asparagus and a little potato? Yes, that would work well with this wine.

The site explains that the Pinot Noir has low acidity so that’s why the finish is so smooth and creamy. As one of those who enjoys a lot of tannin, it does feel like something is missing but not in a bad way.

Yes, this one may return to the wine rack in the future. It wasn’t half bad.

Trends of 2010

Posted on February 19, 2010 by AdminSidney

Each year, pundits consider social and consumer behaviour of the previous year to come up with what they suspect will be the trends for the coming twelve months. This year, the people at ‘Fine Wines’ have singled out ten of the many trends, some of which can be easily associated with the habits of consumers out to fill their wine cellars.
If your choice is between several bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon and they all look good, experts suggest that you will likely pick the bottle which was either made with some recycled glass, comes in an eco-friendly container, is associated with a charity, or a combination of these. Many businesses may not see the value of limiting choices when it comes to environmentally friendly packaging, but shoppers have the right to ‘vote with their feet’ as my husband always says. What this means is that if you don’t like the practises of one winery, don’t buy their wine. Put your money where your mouth is. This year, consumers will be doing this more than ever.
They also want to see that the purchase of their perks will be helpful to someone else, be it a penguin or a child in need. Right now, Tinhorn Creek is donating part proceeds from their wines to Boys and Girls Clubs from Victoria to Calgary. They also use up to 50% recycled glass, prevent rodents from damaging their vines with non-toxic measures, and are heavily into composting. The Little Penguin supports the Penguin Foundation of Australia, and donate some proceeds of sales to this organization.
All of this means that doing something which you enjoy – ie. drinking wine – will feel better than ever.

Butterfield Station Shiraz

Posted on February 16, 2010 by Trish P.

3901860385_17e8807f90_m I was searching the wine store for something cheap and native. The price point was right and the name of the wine interesting enough. The fact that it was a Shiraz from California sealed the deal. My wine rack has never been graced by an American Shiraz before and it seemed about time.

The bottle and label seemed very attractive to me in hues of orange and black, outlines of horses and a thick necked green bottle. The $6.67 on the side, as well as a vintage of 2005 made me say yes; this will be my first Californian with a little history. The name Butterfield station stems from the fact that the winery is located in Middletown California home to the final stop of the 1851 Overland Express. Why with all that build up I hope it tastes good.

There is a caramel brown tinge to the redness of this poured shiraz. It smells a little spicy and a little oakey with overtones of crushed privet hedge and ripe peaches. It makes for a strange combination. A thorough swirl around the bowl of the glass and the smell of other fruits are released. There is plum and blackberry with a hint of cherry. I even detect a hint of wet tree bark.

The 2005 Shiraz has a bit of bite to it but is not overly sharp, crisp or tannin filled. There is still a hint of pepper and a very woody finish. Perfect for strong meats such as elk or venison. I would even have this with wheat cracks and stilton, which is what I’m doing now. Pretty good if I do say so myself.

The Californian Shiraz is not for the faint of heart or the scared of red wine drinker. It’s weighty and moorish with a dry smooth edge. It probably has a little less robust flavor than the South African Shiraz I had in the past but I would certainly put it on the wine rack in the future. A nice price and a good sip.