Red Alert

It's fall and I couldn't be more excited! The sun is still shining, but the air has a chill that begs for red wine. So, I tasted blends from Italy and Australia to kick off my red wine drinking season.

Vigna Flaminio
Brindisi Do Rosso Riserva 2004
Grapes: Negroamaro, Montepulciano, Malvasia Nera
Medium-bodied with flavors of red cherry, tobacco and herbs. Also got a little meaty-ness on the palate. A little lighter bodied than I was expecting but found a nice roundness to it that will compliment loads of foods.


Razor's Edge
McLaren Vale 2008
Grapes: Shiraz, Grenache
Listed as #22 for Wine Enthusiast Mag's Top 100 Best Buys for 2010. This wine has rich flavors or dark fruit and plum, probably coming from the Shiraz, with minerality and hints of spice on the finish from the Grenache in the blend. The 2 grapes come together to form a very well balanced wine with ripe cherry, good tannins and acidity. Luckily for me I have never had bad luck with these 2 grapes in a blend.

Rain Rain Go AWAY!

It's a beautiful warm day, the sun is shining, I'm wearing a bright (cute) summer dress and I'm skipping up 18th St NW at the Adams Morgan Day festival heading towards the funnel cake stand....

In my head.

On planet Earth, it's cloudy, drizzling, gloomy, and I'm at home on the couch wearing jogging pants. Hopefully the rain will clear up so I can at least get my funnel cake, summer is fleeting quickly so there won't be too many more chances for that fried powdery goodness. No worries though, I'm just going to finish off this bottle of Hope Estate Wollemi Shiraz. It's dark color and spicy berry flavors are perfect for watching the raindrops fall.

UPDATE: The rain stopped! I'm out of the house and sitting at the bar at Slaviya Lounge in Adams Morgan, DC looking out at the festival. A crisp, strawberry colored glass of Bodegas Chivite Gran Fuedo Rosado is in my hand.


This rosado was made from the saignée method with red grapes: after a maceration of approximately 24 hours, the juice is separated by gravity with no mechanical pressing, thus being a free run juice wine. It's flavors make me reminiscent of summer but looking forward to fall. A great transition wine, the bright fruity strawberry and raspberry notes on the palate, but a nice acidity and minerality on the finish. Great complexity with many aromas and flavors from this rosado made from Garnacha Tinta, one of my fave varietals. And I did get my funnel cake!

Zestfully Delicious

OK, so Capitol Hill is my new fave neighborhood in DC. Great restaurant, cool bars/lounges, and diverse crowds. What's not to love! So when I heard about a new restaurant opening, clearly I had to try it ASAP.

Zest only opened in December '09, but they already have their thing down. My date and I sat down at 6pm on a Saturday (slightly before the dinner crowd) and our waiter came straight to the table and didn't just ask what we wanted to drink, but offered wine suggestions from the start! He asked my date, "Would you like to try a malbec this evening? Or perhaps a cabernet?" Impressed? Definitely! It also helped that his fav wine is malbec. The waiter turned to me and said I looked like I could use a zinfandel or a syrah. You know what, I could use a syrah...so I ordered one!!

We ordered the BBQ shrimp for an appetizer. I had lamb shank with polenta and roasted tomatoes for my meal which was PERFECT with the syrah. The grill of the tomatoes and the gamey-ness of the lamb were a great match with my rich, spicy shiraz. And that lamb was so tender! I put my fork in it so that I could cut it, the meat came right off the bone! I didn't want my meal to end...I saved a bit of it for a doggie bag to enjoy later :-)

After the dinner plates were cleared, the dessert menus arrived. My eyes went straight to the bread pudding. And what the heck, it's date night...2 glasses of 10-year tawny port! Sweet dessert, sweet drink, sweet goodness! The port with the caramel in my bread pudding, while sweet it was more creamy making the port a divine pairing. Besides, I totally believe it drinking and eating whatever I like.

I so cannot wait to return to Zest so I can eat up the rest of the menu. There was a tempting plate of grilled calamari walking by me on my way out.

Walk Around Wine Tasting

This past week Rick's Wine & Gourmet hosted a walk around wine tasting with Tri-Cities Distribution. With 6 different tables and over 20 wines to try, I definitely had to pace myself. I started at Table 6, it was closest to the door and empty at the time. They had 2 French wines, a red and a white, and 2 sherries. The French white (2007 Sacha Lichine La Poule Blanche) was a crisp slightly earthy blend of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Viognier. The blend of Chardonnay and Viognier really toned down the herbal, grassy quality of the Sauvignon Blanc so the wine had bright citrus notes with crisp acidity and a very floral aroma. The French red (2007 Sacha Lichine Le Coq Rouge) had a very complex red fruit flavor with a hint of earthiness from the French soils. This blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Grenache also exhibited hints of spice and pepper on the finish. Sherries are typically after dinner drinks and would definitely ruin my palate for the rest of the wines, I came back to these at the end. What table will I visit next?

The least amount of people were at Table 2, so that's where I went! Out of the 4 wines at this table, there were 2 with grapes I've never tasted before. So excited that I will be able to check off a few more grapes on my application for the Wine Century Club. Both wines were from Quinta do Alqueve in Portugal, the first, a 2008 that used the Fernao Pires grape and was aged in stainless steel. Citrus and tropical fruit aromas on the nose were followed by a zesty mineral character and pineapples. One of the best wines I had never heard of. Next up was there Tradicional a blend of Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Periquita and Trincadeiro. The flavors on this were somewhere between a Burgundy and a Bordeaux. Very rich aromas of plum and blackberries appear on first swirl and blend with a subtle oak and earthiness on the palate. Very heavy mouthfeel like a a cab or merlot but the rich, ripe fruit flavors of a pinot. The best thing about them outside of the taste of course, they're both under $12!

Table 1 had an interesting red blend, 2006 Yard Dog Red. The blend of Petit Verdot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot is I'm guessing Australia's answer to Bordeaux. Very dark, almost black in my glass, I didn't expect a lot at first glance. Intense aromas of black fruit and sweet spice. Ripe plum and blueberry flavors carry over to the palate and are balanced by a soft acidity and a good bit of alcohol. I would love to try this one with barbecue, and at $12 a bottle I will definitely try this again.

I'm now 10 wines into the tasting...luckily there were cheese and crackers or pate at every table. My tastebuds were definitely getting tired! But a true wine taster must forge ahead :-) My favorites from Table 3 were the 2007 Domaine Terlato & Chapoutier Shiraz/Viognier. I love this blend. The Viognier always lends a floral, perfumey aroma to the spicy, smoky Shiraz. This Australian style shines with flavors of blackberry and raspberry. Barbecue with sauce or a smoked brisket would be a great pairing for this blend. Still in Australia, I tasted the 2008 Two Hands Angel's Share Shiraz. On first sniff, this shows aromas of coffee and licorice. Not the greatest smells together, good thing the taste is different! The flavors of Coke, pepper, black cherry, and raspberry redeemed this wine from interesting aromas. I love the spicyness of this wine and it lingered on into the finish. You could actually store this wine and drink it in a few years.

The wine of note from Table 4 was the Zolo Torrontes, 2008. I may be a little biased though because I love Torrontes but the peach, honeysuckle and floral aromas get me every time. The tropical fruit flavors and slight acidity only make me want to buy the bottle. At under $10, this wine came home with me.

I'm officially pooped now and have also remembered that I still need to drive home after the tasting, on to the sweet wines! I know I will only have a sip or 2 of each of these.

NV Quinta de Honor Ruby Port - A great after dinner drink for sipping, this ruby colored port is medium bodied, smooth and smells and tastes of black cherries.

2008 Two Hands Brilliant Disguise Moscato - Smelling this wine was like walking through a peach orchard. Fresh, ripe peach flavors with a bubbly, sugar finish. This was a sparkling moscato. Not too bad, would definitely need a fruit tart or a creamy dessert to eat with this.
NV Manzanilla Romate Sherry - Made from the Palomino grape, manzanilla sherries are pretty typically very high in alcohol. This one is no exception. I've been told that I need to be at a sidewalk cafe in Spain in order to appreciate this style.
NV Amontillado Romate Sherry - I always pick this one correctly in a blind tasting because it has a strong almond finish. Hints of honey were also present.

A fantastic display of several different styles of wine, from different grapes and different regions. Rick's always does a fantastic job of offering good affordable wines and allowing customers to taste before they buy. Recommendations from your favorite wine merchant or magazine are great but at the end of the day, only you know what you like. Get out there and taste more wine!