Uncork The Knowledge

Practice Makes Perfect

My dear friend Claudia a fellow Master Wine Taster and I have been invited to a Bordeaux/Meritage tasting. I don't have a lot of experience with bordeaux's ,so what better reason to get together and share a few bottles,mind you not all were bordeaux's!!

Our first bottle was a 2006 right bank bordeaux from Chateau Fongaban. It was 90% merlot and 10% cab sauv. The wine was a deep garnet red in colour with thin fast legs.(13%) The nose was meaty with some eartiness and maybe even a little brett. ( I like that in a wine!) The tannins were gentle and there was some acidity. This light to meduim bodied wine had a nice lasting mocha finish.
 We thought it would be interesting to leave this wine and come back to it - so we did about an hour later. The wine had opened up nicely with some dark fruits on the palate.

The next one we tried was a 2008 cab/merlot blend from Ridgepoint,20 mile bench in Vineland. The wine was light ruby in colour with reluctant legs hanging on the glass.(12.5%) The nose had a subtle earthiness to it with black currant and delicate oak. I found the tannins firm with a fruity cherry finish.Not much complexity in this wine,a simple quaffer if you will.

Our final wine for the night was a 2006 cab sauv from Chateau Ste. Michelle in Washington State. I was very excited to try this wine as Washington puts out some great cabs!!  The colour was a rich dark plum, opaque and very concentrated  with crazy legs.(14.4%)The nose had plum and some mellow barnyard. The palate showed jammy with nice acidity and great tannins and a little minerality.The finish was long with lots of plum. We didn't detect a lot of oak in this wine. For such a big wine we thought it was very soft in nose,palate and finish.

It was a nice comfortable evening spent with a great friend and some interesting wines. But then we always have a great time and the wine is always interesting!!

 

Wines of the World

What a great event!!

I had never attended or worked this event, so when asked if I would pour for Colio,I jumped at the chance! When I walked thru the doors and into the  room at the Fogular Furlan I was "wowed"! The large round tables were covered in linens and elegantly set for 10. A large glass hurricane was glowing with candle light in the middle of each casting a warm glo throughout the large room.

I arrived early and walked around the room meeting and talking with the other vendors. There were numerous local restaurants each cooking and sampling their best menu fare! There was something for everyone!

There were 6 local wineries in attendance along with "wines from around the world" all pouring some of their finest vintages!  The wines from around the world were a great contrast to the local wineries,and I for one am glad that I was there to experience the evening.

I hope to see you there next year!!

A Few Bottles of Wine

 I absolutely love it when a friend shows up at my front door with a bottle of wine. It was the middle of the week and the perfect way to spend a rainy night. After checking out the cellar and deciding what else we would enjoy throughout the evening - we sat down and opened the first of a many!! The Montepulciano is a light bodied wine with some cherry and red raspberry notes, the tannins were gentle and the finish was light. We thought a little chill added to this wine made it brighter and brought the fruit forward.

Deciding to bake some brie and topping with some wine jelly with a little jalapeno we opened a 2006 Lake Erie North Shore (LENS) Syrah. It was deep plum in colour with long steady legs. Dark berries and black pepper with a hint of chocolate on the nose. Tannins were firm but not overwhelming with a long steady finish of black pepper and plums.

A glass of 2000 Ferreira Port was poured next and enjoyed with a some dried cranberries and nuts. The nose was full of baked raisin and fig and coffee undertones but we felt the finish was short and left us hanging..

The conversation was in full throttle now and we didn't want the night to end so I opened up a 2008 Gamay Noir again from the LENS region. This is one of my favourite wines produced at Colio Winery and is available at the winery as I write this.

It is a medium bodied wine with a pretty medium garnet colour. The  nose shows plums,cherries and dark raspberries. Firm tannins and a long steady finish with a sneak attack of white pepper and spice. I love this wine!!!!

It was getting late - 3:oo am late but there was one more bottle that was asking to be opened.. a beauty of a bottle.  My favourite varietal cabernet sauvignon. This was a 2004 from California but vinified here in LENS.

I opened and poured 2 glasses - the aroma filled the kitchen!! What a big wine - it made my mouth water! The nose was a cigar box! It had leather ,cedar, chocolate, pipe tobacco and oak - whoa  lots of oak!!!  The finish was long lasting with dark plums and tobacco.  If I had to come up with a descriptor for this wine-- Sex in a glass!!

It was time to wash the glasses and say good night ! A few bottles of wine and great conversation was a great way to spend the night. And to think it all started over a couple of stella glasses!!

Thank you my friend - Let me know when the next few bottles are to be opened!