That’s right folks … we are adding another wine blogger to Vinously Speaking!
We are multiplying like rabbits over here! Well, maybe more like humans, but whatever :P
Source: www.davidhenderson.com
So who is this mystery wine blogger? Well in order to meet this newbie, you are going to have to either:
A. Guess (You get 3 hints at the end of this post)
B. Visit a psychic
C. Pick the fortune cookie that will tell you
D. Come to our “Social Wine Education #2″ @ Max’s Wine Dive in San Antonio, TX this Thursday (Aug 11th)
E. Wait til you read the upcoming post in which I will reveal the persona of said new wine blogger
** FYI – “E” is only an option if you are absolutely unable to make it to “D”
So just to make sure we are clear on option “D”, here are all the details you need for “Social Wine Education #2″
Date/Time – Thursday, August 11th @ 7:30pm
Location – Max’s Wine Dive
340 East Basse Rd., Suite 101,
San Antonio, Texas, 78209
Phone: 210-444-9547
Cost – $15 (includes wines and fingerfoods)
Extra Info – We will be introducing our brand new Vinously Speaking Wine Blogger, so come on out and give ‘em a BIG VINOUSLY SPEAKING WELCOME!! Also we will be selling our Vinously Speaking Wine Blog Men’s & Women’s Shirts for y’all to purchase! So bring some extra cash or your checkbook. The shirts will run anywhere from $12-25 depending on the shirt/design.
Hope you will join us for some fabulous social wine education – a time to mingle, learn about and enjoy different wines and food pairings, enjoy live music, and discover a vinous spot in San Antonio! Be sure to RSVP on our Facebook event page here and please invite any and all wine drinkers you know!
Ok …. so if you can’t wait until the “Social Wine Education” Event this Thursday and are dying to guess who the new blogger is OR you can’t wait to read the post in which I disclose said new VS wine blogger then here are three hints for you:
1. The new VS wine blogger comes from a place where seafood is the main fare.
2. The new VS wine blogger has exposed me to some of the weirdest foods I have ever tasted.
3. And finally, I can beat the crap out the new VS wine blogger at Bocce/Petanque!
Joe Saglimbeni’s wine shop has lots of rare and hard-to-find wines, but he also has wines that many of use recognize. Take for example the wine brand “Ferrari-Carano” – Raise your hand if you have ever heard of and/or drank Ferrari-Carano wines?
If you need a little visual aid, maybe this will help …
That’s it. You know you’ve seen this label and probably 8 out of 10 of you have drank a wine (or wines) from the Ferrari-Carano portfolio before. This is one of those wines that ranks high in brand recognition here in the US, and rightfully so. Their wines are made in an appealing style from their reserve wines down to their entry level wines, they are all made in a style that is attractive to the most wine drinkers, both seasoned and new, most of the wines they make are not the kind of wines that are going burn a whole in your wallet, and they are an easy option to buy when hosting guests as you know they are wines that will please. Being that most of you are very familiar with these wines and know more or less what to expect, let’s look at what makes this wine brand more than just a good, easy-pleasing wine.
Last Tuesday I walked into Joe Saglimbeni’s wine shop for their weekly Tuesday evening wine tasting, said hello to the familiar face and met all the new ones.
I looked at the tasting bar to see what sort of wines we were going to taste that evening.
Ah! We were tasting several wines from the Ferrari-Carano line.
” DAMN IT, CRAP, MERDE !!!! ” I thought to myself.
How the heck was I going to do a blog about a wine that is so well known? How was I going to put a unique spin on something so popular?
Immediately the idea popped into my head to have my co-blogger Melissa Unsell who writes the Vinously Chic posts to conjure up some fashion pairings for these wines! Below you will find a fashion or accessory pairing for each of the wines we tasted! So chic!
But I didn’t want to stop there, so I decided to do a little research on Ferrari-Carano to see what I could come up with. I figured, let’s see what such a well known winery has to offer on their wines. Do they engage their wine consumers? Or do they just rest on their name? What sort of story did they have to share?- I was very surprised by what I found and happy to now that such a name-brand winery cares so much about the each wine and the stories that are put out there. They certainly get two-thumbs up from me for all the useful information they provide for the people who drink their wines.
So let’s begin with an intro … you know, gettin’ you in the mood …
If you are a giant nerd like me, and want even more information here another Intro video for Ferrari-Carano. It is a bit longer than the first video, but there is a lot to learn in it.
Aren’t those videos informative and nice to watch? If you are unable to make a visit out to the vineyards and winery, those videos certainly make you feel like you did. It’s as if I was able to go wine tasting there, take a vineyard and cellar tour, and sample some of their pleasant wine while walking the gorgeous villa grounds.
But the discovery doesn’t stop there. On the Ferrari-Carano YouTube Channel they have videos for many of their wines where the owners, the winemakers, and the vineyard operations manager describe the wines, the vineyards they come from, and the winemaking techniques they used for each wine. This is a ‘wine’derful way for us to feel like a part of the story behind these wine and it certainly makes me want to pop a cork on one too!
And being part of the wine’s story is exactly what Ferrari-Carano does with all of its online offerings for those who share in their wines, or as they refer to you, their ‘Circle of Wine Friends’. Not only do they provide you with videos on each wine, which you will see below, but each wine below will also be linked to their site which offers vintage notes, winemaking notes, tasting notes, and even a recipe and pairing notes from ‘Lady of the Vineyard’, Rhonda Carano.
So talk about being a part of the story of the wine … you get a video, a link to great tasting notes and recipe pairings, AND a fashion/accessory pairing … holy smokes :) This wine label maybe be well-known, but boy are they unique.
First up in our tasting was the 2010 Ferrari-Carano Fume Blanc (remember to click on this link for great tasting notes and recipe pairing ideas!)
Now watch the video to learn even more about the story behind this wine.
And to pair with the tropical fruit aromas and zesty and vibrant characters on this Fume … Melissa chose a beautiful Sass and Bide outfit.
There wasn’t a video for this wine, but it was a sultry and flirtatious blend of Chardonnay, Muscat Canelli, Semillon, Muscat Giallo, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Blanc just like these Philip Simon wedge espadrilles Melissa paired with this wine! I feel like the shoe monster …. “Me want these shoes! Myum, Myum, Myum!”
Melissa was feeling the vivacious vibe for this Cabernet Sauvignon, so she thought, “What could be more vivacious then this orange number by Phillip Lim?”
Now this wine without a doubt, commanded the attention of everyone who tasted it. So much so that it was sold out before I even had the option to take one home!! So with a commanding wine … why not pair a commanding accessory. Melissa knew that the most commanding accessory are glasses (specifically these People Glasses) You know, I have to agree … people who wear glasses command the attention of those around them, and they are just better than those who don’t wear them :P
So Ferrari-Carano? More than just a wine huh?
Thank you Ferari-Carano for making my ‘job’ as a wine blogger so easy. You had all the information and then some, that anyone who wants to enjoy your wine needs. Now if only more vineyards/wineries could do the same :)
(BTW, I am sooo going to host a Ferari-Carano wine party and make all those delicious recipe pairings you provided!)
I am so excited for 6:30pm to roll around (Central US time that is :P)
It has been two weeks since the last Max’s Wine Dive’s “Le Tour Du Vin” wine tasting. Today is their third of six in this wine tasting series and the theme of this evening is going to be … France!! But before we get ahead of ourselves, I know you want a recap of the second Le Tour Du Vin wine tasting (in case you missed it, the recap of the first one can be found here). The country theme of that second wine tasting was Spain and boy was it sabroso!!
The word really got out about this wine tasting series because the crowd at this second event was triple in size compared to their first one. They even had to stop selling tickets to enter the tasting area because the event was beyond full. We were squeezed in like Spanish olives in a jar :)
But you know, if you have to be stuck in the middle of a crowd, it might as well be a wine tasting crowd!
In addition to the wine tasting, Max’s cooks up some delicious appetizers according to the country. You can guess that for the Spanish theme, the appetizers were an array of Spanish tapas!
We had Spanish tortilla, pork stuffed peppers, Spanish chorizo, Spanish cheese try, croquetas, marinates olives, and salmon tartare. YUMM! And on a funny side note, you see this lovely little tray of tapas I am holding in the photo? Well I spent the better part of the wine tasting prancing around with my little tray of tapas without eating a bite. And why would I do that? Well because this Sipper learned her lesson at the first tasting. At the first tasting I went around tasting all the wines first (I wanted to keep my palate clean for wine tasting and not have it changed by the food) but by the time I finished wine tasting … all of the food was gone :( Well not this time. I decided to take a break in wine tasting, gather a sample of all the tapas, and keep them on my plate until I was done wine tasting. I felt so proud of myself for resisting until the end. I can’t tell you how many times I wanted to dive right into my pork stuffed red pepper, but I needed to maintain as clean a palate as I could for the wine tasting. Towards the end when all the appetizers were running out, I began receiving stares from people who wanted to steal the tapas off my plate, but I gave them the evil Spanish eye and told them to back off or I would have to curse them with ojos! And if you don’t know what ojos are … you’re better off not knowing, just know you don’t want them :P
So on the part of the evening I kept my palate clean for, the vino! I enjoyed this tasting a lot for three main reasons. First reason – because Spanish wine is the bomb-diggity. Second reason – because the wine tasting was set up to where we were able to taste wines from the same bodega, but one would be the more affordable wine ($15-30) and the other would be the ‘spensive one ($45-80). And don’t be giving me any grief that the ‘spensive wine is not THAT ‘spensive … I am still in my twenties, so those six figure pay checks haven’t started rolling in yet … so those wines are ‘spensive).
First on the affordable/’spensive wine list are the cavas (aka Spanish sparkling wines) from Canals & Munne in Penedes, near Barcelona in Catalunya, Spain.
The first cava we tasted was the Canals & Munne Insuperable Brut Cava ($24) made from a blend of the following grapes: 40% Macabeo, 30% Xarel-lo, and 30% Parellada. It had rich and complex flavors and aromas of light honey, baking bread, citrus, and almond, which are all due to the fact that this wine was aged on its lees (residual yeast sediment) for 25 months. This had to have been one of the best affordable cavas I have had to date.
Photo Source: www.canalsimunne.com
They did have to tease me though and offer their ‘spensive cava for tasting, the Canals & Munne Reserve Semi Rose ($45) made from an blend of 75% Monastrell (aka Mourvedre) and 25% Garnacha (aka Garnache). This pink cava was AMAZING. It is one of those wines that you bust out when you want to get your way :) Need a wine to seduce your loved one with … this one is it, lol. This wine was wonderfully complex and had a lot more richness to it that most other rose sparkling wines I have tried. It had very fine bubbles, which carried with them aromas of a bowl full strawberries, cherries, and plums, even a hint of licorice and some sort of spice and slight woody notes. As this wine is aged for almost 3 years before being released, it has the time to form these complex and delightful aromas.
Photo Source: www.canalsimunne.com
Second of the affordable/’spensive tasting was the Bodegas Resalte de Penafielin the Ribera del Duero region in Northern Central Spain.
First up was the Balsion Roble ($28.99) made from 100% Tempranillo grapes. It has notes of ripe black fruits, minerals, liquorice, vanilla, cocoa and spices with a medium length finish. One of those wines that tastes like it should be more expensive, gotta love those kind of wines!
Photo Source: www.patawine.com
And moving on up to their ‘spensive wine … the Balsion Reserva. Again, made from 100% Tempranillo grapes. It had a delightful complex nose of intense ripe black fruit preserves, liquorice, maple, toffee, coffee, cedar and hints of minerals. It had a beautiful balance of its fruit, acidity, and tannins and had an amazingly long finish. I felt like royalty sipping on it :)
Source: www.klwines.com
Last in this affordable/’spensive line up from the same bodegas were two wines from theBodegas Federico Paternina located in Rioja, Spain.
The first wine we tried was the Federico Paternina Banda Azul Crianza ($28) made from the 75% Tempranillo and 25% from Garnacha and Mazuelo. It is is rich in aromas of dark cherries, vanilla, wood, and spices. The tannins are smooth and it has a wonderful lengthy finish :) If you happen to speak spanish, check out this YouTube Video of the enologist doting on his wine.
A little FYI, the word Crianza in the title of this wine above refers to the time that wine is regulated by Spanish wine law to be aged. The four most common aging designations for Spanish wines are:
Vino Joven (“young wine”) or sin crianza, the wines will have undergone very little, if any, wood ageing.
Crianza red wines are aged for 2 years with at least 6 months in oak. Crianza whites and rosés must be aged for at least 1 year with at least 6 months in oak.
Reserva red wines are aged for at least 3 years with at least 1 year in oak. Reserva whites and rosés must be aged for at least 2 years with at least 6 months in oak.
Gran Reserva wines typically appear in above average vintages with the red wines requiring at least 5 years ageing, 18 months of which in oak and a minimum of 36 months in the bottle. Gran Reserva whites and rosés must be aged for at least 4 years with at least 6 months in oak.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_wine
And speaking of Gran Reservas that have been deliciously aging for so long … the ‘spensive label from Federico Paternina that we tasted was at this event was the gorgeous Conde de los Andes Tinto Gran Reserva ($50)… simply HEAVENLY! Made from Tempranillo and Mazuelo grapes, you could smell the age on this wine, subtle but unforgettable aromas of old wood, leather, vanilla and a bit of maple. I made this wine sample last as long I could … I might have used my finger to scoop out any stray drops left on the side of the glass :P
Source: www.paternina.com
To really get you in the mood, here is a YouTube video in English showing you the history, location, and wine making areas of Bodegas Federico Paternina.
I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I enjoyed the tasting … well almost as much :P There were about 10 other wines we tasted that evening, but I can’t keep you reading this post for tooo long :P
I am so excited for the French theme at Max’s Wine Dive’s “Le Tour Du Vin” tonight. It will be a nice way to remember the time I just spent in France.
Last week I had the ‘wine’derful opportunity to attend a Greek wine tasting at Joe Saglimbeni’s wine shop. I have had the opportunity to taste Greek wines before, but I am by no means an expert. So, when Joe Saglimbeni said he was hosting a Greek wine tasting last Tuesday, you better believe I got my little spanakopita over there to discover and ultimately enjoy these hard-to-find wines. So if you are one of the 99.7% people out there who don’t know your Xynomavro from your Agiorgitiko, then this post is for you!
Before I start spouting off greek grape varietals that are harder than a national spelling bee word to pronounce, let’s go over a little Greek Wine 101.
A Bit of Greek Vinous History:
Greece is one of the oldest wine-producing regions in the world, dating back about 6,500 years ago! Evidence also suggests that Greece is home to the second oldest known grape wine remnants in the world, number one being Iran with the discovery of a residue-covered wine jug dating back a bit earlier than the crushed grape skins and grape seeds found in Greece.
The ancient Greeks are responsible for introducing many of the grape varietals and early winemaking techniques to Italy, Southern France,and Spain.
A Bit about Greek Wine Classifications:
Like most wine producing regions in the world, there exists a wine classification system in Greece to assure wine consumers the origins of their wine purchases. The most widely known of these is the French wine classification system which is broken down into AOC, VDQS, Vin de Pays, and Vin de Table (listed from the most restrictive to the least). In Greece they are broken down into the following(again from most restrictive to the least):
Greece is home to more than 300 indigenous grape varieties, some of which have been cultivated since ancient times. Greek wines carry with them distinct flavors that come from these native grape varieties. This is going to prove to be a strong marketing advantage for the Greek wine industry in years to come. In addition to these indigenous varieties, many wineries also opt to use well-known international grape varieties in blends or on their own. Below are the indigenous Greek grape varietals you are most likely to come across:
White Varietals
Assyrtiko
Athiri
Aidani
Lagorthi
Malagousia
Robola
Moschofilero
Tsaoussi
Roditis
Savatiano
Red Varietals
Agiorghitiko
Mandelaria
Xinomavro
Mavrodaphne
To learn more about the above varietals and how to pronounce them check out this page from the All About Greek Wine website. This website seems to do a great job at explaining the basics of Greek wine. You should check it out and then at the next wine tasting function you are at you can wow all your vinous friends by busting out some Greek wine knowledge. “Hey Joe, don’t you think this Spanish wine is reminiscent of the Assyrtiko wine from Santorini?”
You can’t say I don’t teach you how to be vinously obnoxious here on Vinously Speaking :P
And there you have it, a lil Greek Wine 101. If you are wanting to know more and perhaps even add a little visual flare to your new Greek wine knowledge, check out this neat YouTube video that introduces their series on New Wines of Greece. Their YouTube channel had loads of Greek wine videos to take you on a virtual Greek wine trip :) Take some time and check it out.
Now on to the Greek wines I tasted at Joe’s last week.
Wine #1 was the 2009 “14-18h” made from the Agiorghitiko grape from Nemea in the Peloponnese region of Greece. This was a delightful and dry rose with fresh, crisp acidity and aromas of red fruits, hints of spice and some other aroma I couldn’t quite put my nose on … maybe a Greek fruit or spice I have never had the opportunity to try? This wine came home with us that evening, still must figure out that smell I don’t know :)
Wine #2 was the 2010 Atlantis made from the Assyrtiko, Aidani, and Athiri grapes from the island of Santorini. This white wine was delicious! It had aromas of almonds, flowers, lime-ish hints, a kiss of sweetness at the end, and a flirtatious acidity. This wine came home with us that evening :)
Wine #3 was the 2009 Thema White made from the Assyrtiko and Sauvignon Blanc grapes from Drama, Greece. This was quite the drama-tic wine, haha. It had heavy yet entrancing herbaceous aromas, probably some sort of Greek herbs/grass I have never heard of or smelled? It also had hints of licorice and white pepper. Very intriguing little white wine here :) Again, these aromas I am not sure of. Oh Greece, you so mysterious :)
Wine # 4 was the 2009 Domaine Spiropoulos made from the Moschofilero grape from the Mantinia area. This white wine was light and had a crisp acidity with citrus and lemon blossom aromas. The back label said it smelled like bergamot … had no idea what this was, so I looked it up, here is the link to what it is … crazy huh? Did you know what a bergamot is? Learn something new every day huh? Now you can go to your next wine tasting and use that as an aroma you smell … be vinously obnoxious … you know you want to, lol.
Wine # 5 was the 2007 Red Stag Spiropoulos made from the Agiorghitiko grape from the Nemea region. This wine had aromas of ripe red fruits, spices, wood and something like tea leaves. Again, certain aromas that I couldn’t quite put my nose on … must travel to Greece and learn what all these foreign smells are!
Wine #6 was the 2005 Thema Red made from the Syrah and Agiorghitiko grapes from the Drama region. (I am loving this name, lol. Must remember to pair this wine with a good Drama movie! lol) This wine had notes of chocolate covered red fruits,my dad even picked up on some grilled pepper aromas too, pretty cool huh? :) This was a delicious wine, I loved it!
The last wine was the 2008 Uranos made from the Xynomavro grape from the Naoussa region in Macedonia. The name of the wine was pretty hilarious to my wine tasting group … so what if that means we are immature … how can you not laugh when the name Uranos is sooooo close to … Uranus, hahaha :) In any case, funny name, seriously delicious wine! The aromas were of cherries, plums, spice cake, and even hints of green peppercorn. Yumm!
I hope you enjoyed this neat discovery of Greek wines :) If you are wanting to taste these for yourself, do head over to Joe Saglimbeni’s wine shop or your local watering hole and ask if they have any of these or other Greek wines to try. I think you will be awesomely surprised!
BTW, if you want to check out a fabulous wine blog devoted only to Greek wines and learn soooo much more about Greek wines and the wine industry there, please visit my fellow wine blogger Markus Stolz on his Greek wine blog www.elloinos.com – you will love it! He even appeared on an episode of Gary Vaynerchuk’s Wine Library TV!! Check it out here.
Don’t worry, I am not THAT mean to write a post in french … although I know a few readers out there who would enjoy that. One day french speaking readers, one day – but not today. But offend not my french readership … I did you proud! Vinously Speaking marked a momentous moment by having its debut “Social Wine Education” event on Bastille Day! :) And it was a HUGE success!
* It is never a true French fete without a french mustache :P
As you may have read, we held this event at a restaurant here in San Antonio called Firewater Grille last Thursday July 14th aka Bastille Day, the french national holiday. We had 25 ‘wine’derful guests come out, sip on some fabulous vinos, nosh on some delightful food pairings, learn a bit about wine, and listen to the artistic melodies of an acoustic guitar player. And to make sure we recapped this evening just right, we even made a little welcome video for your viewing pleasure.
Well aren’t we just the cutest lil’ wine drinkers ever? :P
As guests arrived they were greeted with a welcoming wine, the 2009 Alamo Torrontes from Mendoza, Argentina. In case you didn’t watch the video above or missed the ending, most of our wines that evening weren’t exactly French, but to keep to the theme, we figured out a way for them to have a ‘French connection’. So with the Torrontes, its French connection is that it has similar varietal characteristics to the french grape Viognier of being one of the more aromatic and perfumed white grape varietals.
Once our guests were ‘wine’d up , we handed them their educational portion of the evening, a fun little information packet on Bastille Day, a bit about French wine, and information on the wines being tasted that evening. If you weren’t able to attend our debut “Social Wine Education” event, never to worry, here is a copy of the information packet for your reading/learning enjoyment.
Hope you enjoy this little document we created and if you are feeling jealous, go out and by yourself those bottles of wine and see how you enjoy them. Can you pick up the aromas and flavors we listed on there?
Now that the educational aspect of evening was taken care of, then came the social part. All of our attendees were mingling and enjoying the sauna-like heat we call “summer” here in San Antonio, sipping on the rest of the wines and noshing on the delicious food pairings …
… but to really kick the ‘social’ part into overdrive I decided pictures with the french mustache were a must! It was way too much fun, lol.
I know you French readers out there are thinking … “Zhat is not troo, we do not have ze mustaches like zhis?” … but to that I say … “Just humor us, s’il vous plait :)”
French stereotypes and mustaches aside, the evening was an enormous success! A big thank you to Firewater Grille for hosting us and providing a great venue, wine, food, and service for the evening. We hope to see you for Social Wine Education #2 on Thursday August 11th at Max’s Wine Dive in The Quarry here in San Antonio. And if you are too far away to make it, we will of course post a recap here :)
