Drink Wine With Me

If you are looking for a white wine with lots of zest for an extremely reasonable price Stephendale Sauvignon Blanc 2009 is the wine choice for you.  Produced in the Marlborough region of New Zealand, the Kiwi’s are turning out aromatic and flavorful sauvignon blancs that delight the palate and are light on the wallet, due to strong back to back growing seasons in 2008 and 2009.  Stephendale’s version is dry and medium bodied with an extremely light straw color.  There is a very pronounced sweet lemon aroma upon opening.  I found this wine to have a mixture of citrus, green apple, and lemongrass flavors with a great zing from the crisp acidity.  I wasn’t getting very much grapefruit on the palate like most of the other sauvignon blancs I have tried from this region.  I liked that it wasn’t predictable and set itself apart from my other favorites such as Kono.  Nothing is lacking in this wine and it has a refreshing, long finish on the palate.  It is available for under $15 and would be the perfect wine to pair with seafood on a warm summer day.

I recently visited Eataly in NYC, the closest you can get to all things Italian without hopping on an airplane.  A combination of Italian market and food hall, Eataly is located at 200 5th Avenue between 23rd and 24th Street.  The  creation of celebrity chefs Mario Batali, Lidia Matticchio Bastianich, and her son Joe Bastianich is a first for the US but their concept already exists in Italy as well as Japan.  There is so much to feast your eyes on and feast you will-literally!  There is 50,000 square feet to explore  for produce, meat, fish, pasta, or cheese to take home or you can dine in at one of the many seating areas all separated according to what type of Italian delites you are craving.  You can choose among Il Pesce (fish), Le Verdure (all vegetarian), La Pizza & Pasta, or Manzo which is the closest to a full on restaurant and reservations are recommended.  We chose to eat in the La Piazza section which is on a first come first serve basis.  You stand at countertop tables but have full waitress service for wines by the bottle or glass, as well as cheeses, meats, and small plates.  Our wine was a delicious bottle of Arnaldo Caprai Montefalco Rosso 2007 from Umbria.  This medium bodied red is a blend of 70% sangiovese, 15% sagrantino, and 15% merlot grapes.  Dark ruby in color with full plum and spice flavors which then give way to light vanilla notes.  Soft tannins are present and this wine has a pleasant, long finish.  To accompany our Montefalco Rosso we ordered 3 cheeses: grana padano (my favorite of the three), castelmagno, and bra tenero, prosciutto san daniele with figs, and mixed olives.  For after dinner treats there is a coffee bar and gelato counter.  The hazelnut gelato was the best I have ever had!  On your way out pop in next door to the separate wine shop where they have a decent selection of Italian wines at a wide variety of price points.  I may not be able to get to Italy as soon as I would like but now it has been brought to me!  I was so impressed by Eataly and I cannot wait to go back and try it all!!

On my latest trip to replenish the wine fridge I purchased both a pinot noir and a chardonnay from Rodney Strong Vineyards.  For dinner we were serving a roast pork tenderloin and a red onion quinoa salad.  Instead of selecting a white to pair with the pork I decided to reach for the pinot.  It turned out to be the perfect pairing.  Rodney Strong Pinot Noir 2008 from the Russian River Valley in California  is a pretty ruby red color that gets progressively lighter towards the outer edges until it’s almost clear.  It is produced from pinot noir grapes but there is 2% syrah mixed in.  It is aged in 100% french oak barrels giving a more flavorful taste profile to this wine.  It has a sweet, strawberry and vanilla aroma and intense cherry and strawberry flavors with a hint of cinnamon.  This red wine is very well balanced and medium bodied.  There are subtle tannins present and a good acidity.  Rodney Strong Pinot Noir is almost 14.5% alcohol and is an excellent value at under $20 per bottle.  I will definitely be purchasing this wine on a regular basis!

I recently received a bottle of Cantina Zaccagnini Montepulciano d’ Abruzzo Riserva 2005.  My colleague Shannon was unable to join us at a wine tasting event so she decided to bring the wine tasting  to me at our last meeting.  This dry Italian red is a favorite of both her and her husband.  My drinking of Italian wines has been on the decline in the last few years as I am experimenting more with other regions, but Montepulciano d’ Abruzzo used to be my go to red when I was dining in Italian restaurants.   This wine is medium bodied and quite dry. It is made by the Zaccagnini winery in Abruzzo, Italy of sangiovese grapes.  The wine is fermented in stainless steel tanks and then oak aged for 6 months.   It was very dark red in color and almost purple toward the center of the glass.  The wine  had a nice aroma that was very earthy.  Most people when describing the aroma of wines will come up with all kinds of fruits and spice notes but this is one of the first wines that I got  grapes as the primary fruit on the nose.  On the palate I tasted dark cherries and currants, some spice, and undertones of vanilla with a slight woodsy finish.  There were also quite a bit of tannins present.  Cantina Zaccagnini Montepulciano d’ Abruzzo is a great red to pair with the obvious-pasta and pizza.  It is 13% alcohol and retails for under $18.

Last night I took my boyfriend to STK  in the Meatpacking District to celebrate his birthday with a melt in your mouth steak and some fabulous red wine.  Being that his all time favorite wine is rioja,  I was very pleased to see a selection on the wine list that wouldn’t break the bank.  The question was would it be good and would it stand up to his current favorite Marques de Riscal?  The chosen wine was La Rioja Alta Vina Alberdi Reserva 2003 from Rioja, Spain.  It is composed of 10o% tempranillo grapes which are native to Northern Spain.  It was a dark,  vibrant red in the glass and had a delicious, earthy aroma with hints of red fruits and spices.  From the aroma in the glass I knew we had made the right choice.  There was a strong cherry taste that was slightly sour in the first pour but that wasn’t a detractor in the flavor.  For us it just gave it more of a complexity and a different flavor profile than what we normally drink.  There were undertones of vanilla, spice, and a hint of woodsmoke  present as well.  As the wine opened up the sourness lessened and the wine became more smooth and balanced on the palate.  This rioja had a nice acidity to it as well as slight tannins which made for a great presence in the mouth and gave way to a lingering and tasty finish.  It was a perfect  accompaniment to our filet mignon with parmesan truffle fries and made the entire meal all the more special.  This medium bodied red is 13% alcohol and the average retail in stores is $20.  This wine has been rated 90 points from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate.

Once again I continue to be impressed by both the red and white wines coming out of Washington State.  I recently purchased three bottles of Gorman Sinner’s Punch 2006 at a wine tasting featuring wines from both Washington State and Oregon.  I can’t tell you how many of the wines on offer were above average and very reasonably priced.  Sinner’s Punch is produced in Washington’s largest AVA the Columbia Valley.  This red wine is a collaboration between two area wine makers Chris Gorman and Mark Ryan McNeilly who also makes my favorite viognier from his Mark Ryan Winery.  It is a deep, dark purple color in the glass and is a blend of 90% syrah and 10% cabernet sauvignon.  On the nose I got a pleasant jammy aroma.  The flavors of dark cherries, spices, and subtle vanilla gave way to some nice tannins. There is just enough acidity present to give it a smooth balance and finish.  I would recommend decanting this wine before drinking as it just keeps getting better and better the longer it’s opened.  I have one bottle left and I know it won’t be around for long.  Sinner’s Punch 2006 is another great wine from Washington State and retails for under $17.

This summer I had the opportunity to attend two wine and cheese pairing classes at City Winery in NYC.  Located at 155 Varick Street, City Winery is the first fully functioning winery in Manhattan and was founded by Michael Dorf.  His vision was to create a  space in the city where you can go and enjoy amazing wines paired with great food and live music.  Along with the many concerts they have scheduled they also offer special event dinners with winemakers, a private dining room, as well as a barrel making program for individuals or corporations.   One of the coolest things I love about City Winery is that when you order one of their wines by the glass it comes straight from a barrel in the cellar through the tap and into your glass, skipping the bottle altogether.  You simply can’t get any fresher than that!

The wine classes that I attended were in partnership with Murray’s Cheese, Manhattan’s oldest and most renowned cheese shop.  My favorite was in honor of the World Cup and the teams competing were France vs Italy.  It featured 2 Italian wines and 3 cheeses against 2 French wines and 3  cheeses.  While I loved all the cheeses we tried no matter what country they were from, in the end France won out for me.  No  surprise there.  I absolutely loved the French red Chateau d’Or et de Geulules Costieres-de-Nimes Les Cimels 2007.  This wine was dark ruby in color, had aromas of cherry and blackberry, and had tons of spice and dark fruit flavor.  I do have to give Italy an honorable mention for the white wine we sampled- Fruilano Bastianich 2007.  This wine was pale gold in color with a sweet honey aroma, and was drier with lemon and pear flavors.  It paired beautifully with the Petit Billy goat cheese from France.  Other cheeses that were standouts were the Pyranees Brebis, a sheeps milk cheese from France and the Taleggio from Italy.  This Taleggio from Murray’s wasn’t as ripe and soft as the ones I have bought but the flavor was still excellent especially when paired with the French red wine.

I loved this concept of having 2 wine regions face off and having everyone pick their favorite.  It would make for a great do it yourself wine tasting party and the options would be endless:  Australia vs New Zealand,  Washington vs California, Chile vs Spain, I could go on and on.  Thanks to City Winery for offering these educational and fun classes.  I can’t wait to see what the next classes are on the schedule!

This past Fourth of July weekend I wanted to be a little more festive with my beverage choices but what do you pack for a boating trip in a heat wave?  My answer just happened to be chilling in my fridge at home.  A few weeks prior I found my favorite sparkling red wine Banfi Rosa Regale in a friend’s local wine shop.  I first tried this wine in Chelsea Market and it made a big impression on me then and it continues to do so now.  Rosa Regale 2009 is a Brachetto d’Acqui produced in Strevi, Italy from the Brachetto grape.  The color of this wine in the glass is a brilliant dark pink hue and it tastes just as good as it looks.  There are raspberry and strawberry flavors accompanied by those lovely sparkling bubbles on your tongue.  There is just enough acid to make the perfect blend of sweetness without being overly dry.  I love my red wine but in temperatures over 90 degrees I need something more refreshing,  making a sparkling red a wiser choice.  At 7% alcohol it is on the lighter side and as a plus it can be paired with almost anything from spicy food, poultry, and cheese, as well as desserts-especially those of the chocolate variety.  We enjoyed a few glasses on it’s own before dinner and then paired it with grilled chicken and asparagus.  I recommend this wine not only on hot summer nights but also when entertaining as a lower priced alternative to champagne.  Rosa Regale is reasonably priced at under $20 per bottle.

I may have been on a temporary break from writing about wine but I was certainly drinking my share since my last post!  For my birthday my boyfriend purchased me a membership to the Zagat Wine Club.  My first case has arrived and I am already diving in and tasting the offerings.  Le Petit Pauvre Chardonnay 2007 is one of their white wine picks.  Produced in Monteray County, CA this dry and full bodied white is created from 100% chardonnay grapes sourced from several wineries in the state.  In the glass it was a very pale straw color.  It had a minerality to the aroma as well as hints of lemon and pear.  The flavors in this Chardonnay were very different from the Chardonnays I have been drinking lately.  I don’t think this wine has undergone malolactic fermentation since there wasn’t a strong buttery flavor that I have come to love.  It was however refreshing and crisp with very tropical fruit flavor and great acid.  This wine is aged in French oak and is on the stronger side with the alcohol at 13.9%.  I enjoyed Le Petit Pauvre Chardonnay with citrus halibut and an orange and red pepper couscous.  Paired with poultry, fish, or cheese it is a great choice and is very reasonably priced at under $20 per bottle.

Lately I have been trying to learn more about French wines and the regions that produce them.  When most people think of Bordeaux wines they have a tendency to assume that they are very expensive.  While these wines do sell at auctions for big bucks there are great quality Bordeaux that sell for extremely reasonable prices.  After perusing the aisles of my favorite local wine store I came across Chateau Pailhas Bordeaux 2005 from France.  My first impression of this wine was that it hits you with a big and bold flavor.  It is very dark brick red in the glass and has a spicy aroma.  Upon tasting,  this red wine has very pronounced blackberry and dark cherry flavors and has a nice long dry finish with the spiciness on the back end and lingers nicely on the tongue.  This Bordeaux is 13.5% alcohol and is a blend of 70% merlot, 15% cabernet sauvignon, and 15% cabernet franc.  Chateaux Pailhas is an excellent value at under $12 and was the perfect companion to our steak with gorgonzola sauce, sweet potato fries, and rocket salad with parmesan.