How Sweet It Is

The GrapeVine Tasting Club was back on Sunday! And what a beautiful day it was...the weather was around 70 and the sun was shining bright. Perfect for the deliciously sweet wines we would be tasting. People often ask me about sweet wines, or dessert style wines so I figured the only way to learn about them is to taste them. How Sweet It Is - a tasting of dessert, fortified, and just plain sweet wines - is recapped below.

I started the afternoon off with a cocktail. Dow's White Port with tonic and a twist of lime. Refreshingly perfect for the warm weather. A couple of ladies sat on the porch out front to sip this cocktail. Once we got the dessert bar all set up, it was time to really get into the tasting.

Up first, Jackson-Triggs Vidal Icewine.
Icewine is produced from grapes that have been frozen while still on the vine. The sugars and other dissolved solids do not freeze, but the water does, allowing a more concentrated grape 'juice' which lends to a more concentrated, very sweet wine. Unfortunately due to the process of making this wine and the amount produced, icewine comes in 375 mL bottles.

Royal Tokaji 5 Puttonyos
Hand picked Aszu berries are macerated with top quality base wines. The resultant Aszu wines mature at different sweetness levels, generally 4, 5 or 6 puttonyos.
A medium golden amber colour, on the nose showing orange peel, mint, figs and cinnamon. The palate is sweet and rich with cinnamon, apple, coupled to grapefruit aftertaste.

Keo St. John Commandaria
Harvested grapes are spread out in the sun to dry until they achieve a higher sugar density. Once achieved, the grapes are crushed and fermented until the process stops naturally due to the high sugar content. The must is then aged in oak barrels for a minimum of two years.
Reddish-amber in color, this sweet wine has a powerful bouquet filled with dried fruits, spices and oak. It is luscious and full-bodied. We tasted this one by itself in the glass, then I had a special treat for the guests. We poured this over ice cream...and the crowd went wild :-)! OK, maybe not wild, but it was delicious and they did love it.

Bodegas Gutierrez
Pedro Ximenez Sherry
PX as it's called for short is made by drying the grapes under the hot Spanish sun, concentrating the sweetness, which are then used to create a thick, black liquid with a strong taste of raisins and molasses thast is fortified and aged in a solera. This one we served over angel food cake, berries and ice cream. Another hit!

On the dessert bar we had angel food cake, lemon pound cake with and w/o glaze, chocolate chip cookies, 3 creamy cheeses, baguettes, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and apple tarts. The desserts, cheeses, and fruits offered the guests the opportunity to taste the differences in the sweetness levels of the wine when paired with different items and showed them that you don't just have to think of sweet wines as a drink for dessert. They can be used used in a cocktail, an aperitif, or mixed in with the dessert.

So glad I had some of the PX left, I can't wait to make an adult sundae later...

See No Vino

The best way to learn about wine is by tasting it. The best way to truly assess wine for its true flavor is by tasting it blind. For the African American Interest Group with Accenture, I hosted a blind wine tasting of 6 wines from African American winemakers. Chardonnay - Sugarleaf Vineyards, Cabernet Sauvignon & Riesling - Vision Cellars, Zinfandel - Brown Estate, Barolo - Carafe WineMakers, Sauvignon Blanc - Fair Valley. Each guest got a card with 3 white wine descriptions and 3 red wine descriptions. They were to walk around and taste each wine, which were designated by colored ribbons on the neck of the bottle, and match the wines they tasted to the wine description. Sound easy enough? Let's see how well you do!

Whites
1. Concentrated apricots give way to crisp refreshing peaches and nectarine flavors which mingle in your mouth. The honeysuckle and lavender merge on the finish as you sit back and enjoy each mouthwatering sip
2. A nose of citrus and apple leading to a fruit forward rich palate of oak, spice, and toasted vanilla lingering through a crisp round finish
3. Pale straw color with a greenish tinge. Fresh lime and mineral aromas with a zesty mouthfeel. Hints of capsicum on the nose with pear fruit flavors and good acidity


Reds
1. Dense crimson color with a clue scarlet rim leads to a fragrant nose of exotic Asian apple mouthful of soft, silky texture that gives way to ripe, forward fruit balanced with layers of complexity. Cascading flavors of blackberries, black cherries, cappuccino, and tobacco lead to herbaceous earthiness with undertones of big game, fresh sage, and rosemary
2. Full flavored, medium bodied with hints of warm black fruits, plums and toasted oak
3. Aromas of blackberry and deep ripe plum. In the mouth its focus is on cherry and currant, while finishing with layers of wild cherry and Jamaican spice

Oh, you thought I was going to tell you what is what?! HAHA! You'll have to email me or leave a comment with your guesses first. Good luck!

Return of the Purple Teeth

We've all probably tasted a few red wines that turned our teeth colors...but there is nothing like a black wine to give you that sexy purple hue to your teeth. Tuesday was the Cahors tasting at the Hotel Palomar. Cahors is an AOC in France which is actually the original home of Malbec.

The grapevines were brought to this region by the Roman Empire about 2,000 years ago. the wines of this region grew in popularity, much to the detriment to Italian wine consumption. A royal marriage in 1152 encouraged the production of winegrowing in Cahors and it began to flourish throughout Europe. The dark color of the wine allowed it to remain intact during maritime voyages and was found to withstand the long journeys and the test of time. But as time passed, and palates changed, the strong as liqueur flavor of Cahors wine began to be less and less favorable, being replaced by lighter, fruitier red wines.

But as we all know, what's in style at one time will come back in style again! Cahors wines are rich, full of flavor, and back in style!

Cahors wines are broken up into 3 distinct styles: tender & fruity, feisty & powerful, and intense & complex. Some typical fragrances are violets, black currant, cherry, licorice, vanilla, and menthol. And while most wines from the region are 100% Malbec, Merlot and Tannat may be used as well to smooth out the finished flavor of the wine.

Next time you're in your local wine shop, ask about Cahors. You'll be glad you did!

The GrapeVine Is In The House

Don't know if you know it or not but, it's a felony to ship wine to the state of Maryland. You read that correctly, a FELONY. And shipping your wine to VA, then bringing it over the bridge to your house in Maryland without paying any taxes on it....FELONY!! Some of you all should be locked up, LOL! I think this law is crazy so on Friday, I gave oral testimony before the House Economic Matters Committee in support of HB 716 - Direct Wine Shipper's License.

There was a great showing in support of HB 716, but then a few that opposed it. Their reasons were: 1) the direct shipping of wine to consumers in MD would devastate the smaller wine retailers in the state, 2) minors would use the direct shipping to obtain wine illegally, and 3) the state government does not believe that they would get their share of the taxes from direct to consumer wine sales.

For my first experience in any type of bill hearing or anything of that nature, this wasn’t too bad. Quite long, but since I am very passionate about wine and about being able to have what I want legally shipped to me, I didn’t mind that so much. I sat in the hearing for about 4 hrs listening to the arguments for the pros and cons of this bill. People were arguing to the death that minors would be buying wine online….but I don’t know any underage drinker that is going to wait a few days to have some wine shipped to them when they can just get an adult to buy it for them in about 10 mins! But I won’t even bring that whole thing up again.

My main issue with the blocking of this bill is, what about Maryland wineries? Everyone was so concerned with the retailers losing business, but how much business has been lost to MD wineries because they can’t ship wine to people that live in their own state??!!! Black Ankle Vineyards and St. Michaels Winery were there to represent for the hometown wineries. They both mentioned that new jobs and new revenue streams would be created for the state if the shipping bill were to pass.

I know this is an uphill battle with many whom oppose this bill but by speaking to my Delegate and providing written and oral testimony…I’m doing what I can to try and make a difference.