Results of June 13 Wine Tasting

Hey folks. Sorry for the delay in getting these results out there for review.

Prior to the Dinner and Tasting, Anthony, Dawson, and Jon-Paul did take another trip to the Alba Vineyard for more tasting of wines as well as picking up some. Despite a torrential downpour on the way back to Anthony's house, the visit was a nice one.



Given the 'Chardonnay' theme for this wine tasting, lighter foods such as chicken and shrimp scampi were selected for dinner, along with typical staples such as bread and cheese, and some terrific bruschetta prepared by Anthony. Participating in this tasting were Anthony, Drew, Dawson, Joe, and Jon-Paul.



In order from worst to first (average scores of all scores using our standard 1-5 scale):

1. Byron 2006 Santa Maria Valley (California, $17.99)--This tight nosed effort showed some sweetness but with little length, was not a fave of the group--average score: 2.3

2. Guenoc Lake County 2007 Chardonnay (California, $9.99)--This effort had a medium body with sour apple on the nose. The flavor was typical of an oak storage (vanilla and cream), but was noticeably hot--may need more time to relax--average score: 2.6

3. Kim Crawford Chardonnay Unoaked 2008 (New Zealand, $17.99)--the nose was incredibly vegetal and lemony, and bore some great length, but for the majority of the group was not an appealing selection--average score: 2.6

4. La Crema 2007 Chardonnay (California, $15.99)--Having practically no aroma, the textbook flavor profile of this left no remarkable impression--average score: 2.6

5. Chateau St. Michelle Indian Wells 2006 Chardonnay (Washington, $13.99)--with a vegetal nose, this effort bore kiwi and creamy components to the flavor profile, which were very intriguing, but ended way too quick--average score: 2.9

6. Montrachet Pierre Chassagne 2006 (France, $65.00)--this refreshing light wine had the smell of yard and flora, with a light, acidic taste--average score: 3.0

7. Grgish Hills Chardonnay 2006 (California, $37.00)--Another tight-nosed effort, this did have some intriguing tart, sour apple, and pear flavorsaverage score--average score: 3.3

8. Mer SoLeil 2006 Chardonnay (California, $30.00)--by far, the class of the bunch, this lemony smelling, medium bodied wine had terrific balance and complexity, and incredible length. average score: 3.8

Wine Making Part III

It was a warm Friday evening in May when New Jersey's premier wine makers converged on "A Little Taste of Purple" at 68 Clinton Road in Fairfield to bottle the American Bordeaux and Old Vine Zin that have been aging in Oak for seven months. Mike, Anthony, Hany, Pete, Al and Steve were all in attendance for the festivities. The process was simple but labor intensive. First we washed the bottles. Then the wine was placed in steel drums which was linked to the bottling machine. One man filled the bottles (6 at a time) , then passed it on to the next who was at the manual corker. Next the bottle was passed to have the foil melted over the cork. Finally our own custom labels were placed on each bottle. There was only one hitch, a small one with the Old Vine Zin which will lead to Wine Making Part IV in two weeks. More to come so stay tuned.
Bottle Washing

Filling Machine

Corking


Melting the Foil

The Gang at Work

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!