Archive for September, 2008
Wine Bottle Shapes
Saturday, September 27th, 2008 | Wine | No Comments
I really like these articles about wine bottle shapes.
It is comforting for me to see the right kind of wine in the right shape bottle. I love wine labels, I mean who hasn’t bought a wine based on a cool label? I love wine bottle glass colors and the shape of the bottles. I imagine how they used to all be individually blown to service a family for years.
http://www.thewinedoctor.com/advisory/buystorebottleshapes.shtml
Vin D’Alsace Pinot Noir
Saturday, September 27th, 2008 | Wine | 2 Comments
Cuvée Anne-Laure
Vin D’Alsace Pinot Noir 2007
Color- The color of this wine reminds me of church stained glass as it filters through the red glass. The red has slight orangish additions to the color.
Smell- This wine has a light sweet scent. It is clean and fresh. You can smell slight violet and herbal underscents (like sassafrass, and caraway).
Taste- The wine had a slight cherry like flavor which was only enhanced by the rich oak taste that followed the cherry. The cherry and oak offered additional complexities and richness to this like and refreshing wine. The wine is followed by a slight bitter and dry aftertaste, which I enjoyed. The wine is so light and fresh that the bitterness only led to an authentic taste for me.
Feeling- This wine will have fans in all types of crowds. It would be an excellent wine to bring to a dinner party or picnic.
Color- 3
Smell- 3
Taste-4
Feeling- 4
Récolte Grand Palais Côte Du Rhone 2007
Wednesday, September 24th, 2008 | Wine | No Comments
Récolte Grand Palais Côte Du Rhone 2007
Color- The color is bright and light, resembling cranberry red, with the slightest hint of orange around the edges.
Smell- The wine has a slight plum and raspberry scent. If you smell quickly and further back you can detect distinct strawberry and orange notes.
Taste- The taste of this wine is light and pleasant, only a hint of tannins present, with a slight vanilla aftertaste. This wine was a delight to drink, I really was presently suprised and pleased.
Feel- This wine has an excellent feel on the tongue and in the atmosphere, from it’s color to it’s beautiful smell.
Color- 4
Smell- 5
Taste- 4
Feel- 4
Torres- Sangre de Torro
Monday, September 22nd, 2008 | Wine | No Comments
Torro- Sangre de Torro
The winery that crafts this wine was voted the Best European Winery in 2006, by Wine Enthusiast Magazine.
Color- The color is a deep elegant ruby color, with the slightest flecks of amber.
Smell- This wine has a great smell. You can almost smell the Spanish costal countryside and blackberries in the sun. It reminds me of swimming off the coast of Tabarco. I can almost pick up the slightest hints of herbaceous rosemary and warm sand.
Taste- This wine is an exceptional tasting wine. It is full bodied, elegant and so velvety on the palate. You can taste the distinct flavor of the Cariñena and Garnacha Tinta grapes. The taste is held together with mild tannins and a low level of acidity. You can taste a slight hint of licorice, blackberries and herbs. This wine is sinfully simple and pleasant. This wine would taste great with a really good homemade macaroni and cheese.
Feeling- This wine has a great feeling. It is rich and simple all at the time.
Color
Smell- 4
Taste- 4
Feeling- 5
Enjoy this wine with family and friends. It even comes with a toy bull toggle.
Chianti
Friday, September 19th, 2008 | Chianti, Wine | No Comments
Chianti de Barone Ricasoli
This vine has a rich and beautiful ruby red color with warm plum colored undertones. It reminds me of the reddest of roses in the garden.
I could smell a light berry in the sunlight scent, soil and the grapes. It had a pleasant smell and didn’t overwhelm one with alcohol or sweetness.
The taste is warm and juicy. I detected a hint of blackberry and the slightest trace of cremant chocolate. I could taste and smell the richness of the Sangiovese and Canaiolo grapes and the deep rich Italian soil.
I really likes the subtle dryness of this wine and enjoyed it immensely.
It reminded me of good pizzeria wine in Rome. This is great with pizza quatro formaggi and capresi.
Scent- 3
Color- 4
Taster-4
Feeling- 3
Pinot Noir
Wednesday, September 17th, 2008 | Wine | No Comments
All I can say is that this will not be a repeat wine for us to try.
We tried a Pinot Noir from Wasenweiler 2005.
The first thing I noticed was the color, it seemed brash and artificial. Overall the color lacked depth and character.
The first thing my nose noticed was an overwhelming cheap alcoholic scent. I was instantly taken to the image of an alcohol prep pad. Upon breathing in and out the scent does not lessen. After about 45 minutes the alcohol scent does somewhat dissipate and a strong tannic scent is left behind.
The taste was like that of green oak leaves, overall bitter and tannic. This leaves an overall bitter aftertaste and was not a pleasure to drink. I am a huge fan of Pinot Noir and decided to try a regional one last night and I must say I was not impressed.
Smell- 1
Taste- 2
Color- 1
Feel- 1
I will though continue to try regional wines, because the next gem is right around the corner. This summer I had a Pinot Noir on a hot day in the French country side and it was an amazing bottle of wine that saw us coming home with a few bottles.
Tanqueray No. Ten
Monday, September 15th, 2008 | Gin | No Comments
Tanqueray No. Ten was introduced in 2000. It was made to target the martini market, but not being a huge martini drinker myself I use it for a lot of other great drinks.
The gin goes through a quadruple-distillation process and is still small batch processed.
I love this gin. It is the base for some of my favorite cocktails, but it is also tastiest.
I love the smell of juniper, and the wafts of citrus (grapefruit, orange and lime) and the slight bitter undertone of chamomile flower. This is a smooth gin, full of lively flavors and a silk texture. You can tell that this gin is made from fresh fruits instead of dried fruit. Some people feel that the fruit overwhelms the juniper, but that is what I like about this gin. Being an herbalist and aromatherapist I love smelling and experiencing the different levels this gin offers.
Some of my favorite drinks that include Tanqueray No. Ten include a Gin Fizz, the G and T and a few citrus cocktails of our own making that cut the heat on a summer day.
Tanqueray No. Ten
Smell- 4
Taste- 4.5
Color- 4
Feel- 5
I love this gin and it so wonderful to enjoy and share with others.
A few years ago AC was tending bar at a family/friends party in MA and we had the honor of converting at least 10 people to the joys of Tanqueray No. Ten and gin based cocktails. People still ask us about those cocktails and want to know what type of gin we used that day.
Le Masserie Torcuddia
Monday, September 15th, 2008 | Wine | Comments Off
Salice Salentino, what a taste. A dry vibrant experience, that first moved me our last trip to Rome.
We had this wine in a wonderful resturant with pasta, pizza and salad. It was wonderful with all three parings and it was a fabulous meal and wine.
The wine reviewed is a
La Masserie Torcuddia Salice Salentino Riserva 2005
Color
The color is a beautiful rich garnet color flecked with plum highlights.
Smell
The smell is fresh and upon breathing in with your mouth and nose in glass you will encounter a cool breath in. It is wonderful. You will be faced with a slightly woodsy and vernal scent. After a half an hour a cherry note appears in the scent.
Taste
This wine is so wonderful because it really tingles the palate. The wine has a slightly bitter taste that adds to the depth and intensity to the flavor. The wine is a nice dry wine, but it is not too dry. You notice it being a dry wine but you do not feel parched after drinking.
Paring
We as I mentioned before pared this with pasta, pizza. Suggested pasta parings would be Pesto or Gnocchi. The cheeses it would work well with this wine are Parmesan, Gorgonzola, Ricotta and Romano.
Overall I give this wine a 16.
When we look at wines we take into account the color, smell, taste and feel. The top score is 20.
Color-4
Smell-4
Taste-4
Feel-4