Tonight's wine is a German riesling. It's a real find as my local wine shop just got in a peck of different wine offerings from Dr. Loosen vineyards and these are premier German wines.
Dr Loosen Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett 2006; $23.00: This is a “Qualitätswein mit Prädikat” wine, which, if you read my blog entry on German wines, you’ll recall come in six types: Kabinett, Spätlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese, Eiswein and Trockenbeerenauslese. These are the finest of German wines. No chaptalization (addition of extra sugar) is allowed. This one is bottled under a screw cap, which for me, means I don’t have to carry around a cork screw when I’m traveling.
The wines of Ernst Loosen, whether it’s this affordable Kabinett or an expensive Auslese, in my opinion, are some of the best examples of wines from the Mosel. As I just said, the Kabinett is quite affordable considering his stature in the German wine industry.
This is a wonderful wine, with a fabulous nose of pears, apples, and a touch of spice. The wonderful bouquet adds to the honeyed, yet not overly sweet palate. The taste has a hint of melon in the finish. It’s a well balanced wine with a creamy richness that continues until the very clean, crisp finish. This is a very good wine indeed. If you find it, buy it! You’ll enjoy it. In fact, I have a second bottle so I think I’ll do just that.
Ciao!
The Death Whisperer Series
The Death Whisperer Series available at https://www.amazon.com/author/dmichaelolive
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Monday, November 17, 2008
Winter red wines
Got a bit of catching up to do after all my traveling and my daughter’s wedding so I’ve got a couple of new wines for you tonight.
Rosemont Shiraz from Australia; $8.50: Dark red in color. Berries and spices on the nose. Viscous texture in the mouth. Blackberry and peppery spice notes. Fruity but no trace of cloying sweetness. Would stand up well to spicy foods, even pizza. I rarely find wines this nice for the price.
2006 Dolcetto “Remari”, Witness Tree Vineyards, Oregon; $25.00: I got this on sale which brought the price into my $25.00 range. I think you’ll normally find it for about $29-$30.00. According to the manufacturer, it’s a very limited bottling taken from a small half-acre block of vines. The Dolcetto grape is native to Northern Italy and results in a big, juicy wine. It’s great as a cocktail wine, yet its natural acidity lets it pair well with all kinds of foods. Dark red in color. Cherry and strawberry aromas on the nose. Big cherry and strawberry flavors in the mouth with a nice lingering finish. Really nice wine. We drank it to celebrate our daughter’s marriage.
Both of these are excellent “cold weather” wines. By that I mean on a cold winter night, light a fire in the fireplace, snuggle into your favorite chair with a good thriller (preferably one of mine) and enjoy a glass or two…or three, etc.
Ciao!
Rosemont Shiraz from Australia; $8.50: Dark red in color. Berries and spices on the nose. Viscous texture in the mouth. Blackberry and peppery spice notes. Fruity but no trace of cloying sweetness. Would stand up well to spicy foods, even pizza. I rarely find wines this nice for the price.
2006 Dolcetto “Remari”, Witness Tree Vineyards, Oregon; $25.00: I got this on sale which brought the price into my $25.00 range. I think you’ll normally find it for about $29-$30.00. According to the manufacturer, it’s a very limited bottling taken from a small half-acre block of vines. The Dolcetto grape is native to Northern Italy and results in a big, juicy wine. It’s great as a cocktail wine, yet its natural acidity lets it pair well with all kinds of foods. Dark red in color. Cherry and strawberry aromas on the nose. Big cherry and strawberry flavors in the mouth with a nice lingering finish. Really nice wine. We drank it to celebrate our daughter’s marriage.
Both of these are excellent “cold weather” wines. By that I mean on a cold winter night, light a fire in the fireplace, snuggle into your favorite chair with a good thriller (preferably one of mine) and enjoy a glass or two…or three, etc.
Ciao!
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Port Wines
Well, I haven’t blogged in three weeks for two reasons. First, I was traveling. Second, my only daughter got married yesterday and the wedding occupied all of my time. But, as promised previously, tonight I want to talk about Ports.
Well, first off, what in the world is Port? Like champagne, officially Port is a fortified wine produced in a specific region of Douro, Portugal. True Port comes only from Portugal. However, again, similar to champagne, there are varieties of fortified wine from other countries that are called by their style such as a tawny.
Ports are fortified, that is, the fermentation process is stopped an extra alcohol added. Port-type wines have an alcohol content between 19% and 22% by volume in contrast to non-fortified wines which generally run around 14%. The traditional methods call for the addition of grape brandy. The wine is aged in wood barrels where it develops a bouquet that is described as being reminiscent of dried fruit and spices. The aging process also gives it its smoothness. The longer the aging, the smoother the wine, and the more complex the bouquet. There are several types of Port and Port-like wines (Non-Portuguese equivalents) but there are essentially two aging styles: oxidative aging and reductive aging. Ports aged by the oxidative process are matured in wooden barrels with a slight bit of exposure to oxygen. They tend to be more intense and a bit more viscous. Wines aged by a reductive process are sealed in their container and never see oxygen. They tend to be smoother with less tannic character. The following are some of the types of Port:
Ruby
Ruby Ports are younger wines and, as the name would suggest, have a deep ruby red color. They tend to be fruity in character and are usually aged for 3-5 years in sealed stainless steel containers. Thus, they are aged by the reductive process. They are usually the cheapest of the Ports.
Tawny
Tawny’s are aged using an oxidative process and as a result vary considerably in character. Tawny Reserve port is aged a minimum of 7 years in wooden barrels. They have a nutty flavor underlying their fruit.
Age Denotations for Ports
For true Ports, the age indicators are 10, 20, 30, and more than 40 years. These are usually Tawny’s blended from different years but with similar characteristics. A 20-year old Tawny Port has the character of a wine that has aged for 20 years.
More Port Craziness
Wines from a single year that have aged for at least seven years. These uniform types are labeled "dated port."
Late Bottled Port (LBV): These are made from a single vineyard, but typically is not good enough to make a true vintage port. The wine is aged in wood for 4 to 6 years before being filtered and bottled. LBVs can be drunk sooner than full vintages. Traditionally, it's gentler and more full-bodied than vintage port wine (of the same year). A very nice LBV is Graham's Late-Bottled Vintage, about $15 a bottle. It’s a purplish colored, full-bodied wine with a taste of dried fruit and raisins, and a sweet, lingering finish.
Vintage Port: Vintage Ports are the kings of Port. They are also the most expensive. They are made from a single harvest of exceptional quality. Vintage port is kept in wooden barrels for two to three years of oxidative aging before it is bottled. Once in the bottle, they are aged for 10 to 50 years.
Aged Tawnys: These are the Ports your most likely to encounter. The older the Port, the smoother and more luscious the wine—and the higher the cost. Here are a couple that I’ve tasted to give you an idea of the price range:
Delaforce “His Eminence’s Choice” 10 year old Tawny: Bouquet of fruit and honey, accented with berries and spices. Smooth, with walnut-like overtones with a heavier taste of alcohol. About $20 a bottle.
Taylor Fladgate 20 year old Tawny: Interesting bouquet with fruit overlayered with scents of cinnamon, anise, and coffee. Very smooth with a long, lingering aftertaste of chocolate and spices. About $50 a bottle.
Graham’s 30 year old Tawny Port: Incredible spicy fruit aroma. It has a slightly drier taste with a rich, viscous texture and a long aftertaste of raisins and caramel. It’s a truly incredible wine. About $90 a bottle.
One of the most famous non-Portugese Port-like wines is Australia’s famous House of Seppelt’s Para vintage Tawny. Each year for the past 30 years, House of Seppelt has released a 100 year old vintage Tawny. Technically it’s not a Port because it’s not from the specially demarcated region in Portugal. But is an exquisite wine with a bouquet of wood, earth, and chocolate and a taste of dark chocolate, toffee, and plum pudding—and it costs over $1,000 Euros a bottle.Now, if you want to taste some of the more expensive Ports, look for a wine bar or restaurant that serves them as flights—one ounce samples of 3 to 4 types. I recently had a flight of the Delaforce, Taylor, and Graham at Legal Seafood in Boston for $14.00. Not bad when you consider how much these run per bottle.
Now it’s time for me to kick back and relax. When it’s your only daughter getting married, you want it to be perfect (it was!) and the amount of work that goes into pulling it off left my wife and I exhausted. But both bride and groom are a happy couple so it was worth it! Time to sit back and enjoy a new wine!
Ciao!
Well, first off, what in the world is Port? Like champagne, officially Port is a fortified wine produced in a specific region of Douro, Portugal. True Port comes only from Portugal. However, again, similar to champagne, there are varieties of fortified wine from other countries that are called by their style such as a tawny.
Ports are fortified, that is, the fermentation process is stopped an extra alcohol added. Port-type wines have an alcohol content between 19% and 22% by volume in contrast to non-fortified wines which generally run around 14%. The traditional methods call for the addition of grape brandy. The wine is aged in wood barrels where it develops a bouquet that is described as being reminiscent of dried fruit and spices. The aging process also gives it its smoothness. The longer the aging, the smoother the wine, and the more complex the bouquet. There are several types of Port and Port-like wines (Non-Portuguese equivalents) but there are essentially two aging styles: oxidative aging and reductive aging. Ports aged by the oxidative process are matured in wooden barrels with a slight bit of exposure to oxygen. They tend to be more intense and a bit more viscous. Wines aged by a reductive process are sealed in their container and never see oxygen. They tend to be smoother with less tannic character. The following are some of the types of Port:
Ruby
Ruby Ports are younger wines and, as the name would suggest, have a deep ruby red color. They tend to be fruity in character and are usually aged for 3-5 years in sealed stainless steel containers. Thus, they are aged by the reductive process. They are usually the cheapest of the Ports.
Tawny
Tawny’s are aged using an oxidative process and as a result vary considerably in character. Tawny Reserve port is aged a minimum of 7 years in wooden barrels. They have a nutty flavor underlying their fruit.
Age Denotations for Ports
For true Ports, the age indicators are 10, 20, 30, and more than 40 years. These are usually Tawny’s blended from different years but with similar characteristics. A 20-year old Tawny Port has the character of a wine that has aged for 20 years.
More Port Craziness
Wines from a single year that have aged for at least seven years. These uniform types are labeled "dated port."
Late Bottled Port (LBV): These are made from a single vineyard, but typically is not good enough to make a true vintage port. The wine is aged in wood for 4 to 6 years before being filtered and bottled. LBVs can be drunk sooner than full vintages. Traditionally, it's gentler and more full-bodied than vintage port wine (of the same year). A very nice LBV is Graham's Late-Bottled Vintage, about $15 a bottle. It’s a purplish colored, full-bodied wine with a taste of dried fruit and raisins, and a sweet, lingering finish.
Vintage Port: Vintage Ports are the kings of Port. They are also the most expensive. They are made from a single harvest of exceptional quality. Vintage port is kept in wooden barrels for two to three years of oxidative aging before it is bottled. Once in the bottle, they are aged for 10 to 50 years.
Aged Tawnys: These are the Ports your most likely to encounter. The older the Port, the smoother and more luscious the wine—and the higher the cost. Here are a couple that I’ve tasted to give you an idea of the price range:
Delaforce “His Eminence’s Choice” 10 year old Tawny: Bouquet of fruit and honey, accented with berries and spices. Smooth, with walnut-like overtones with a heavier taste of alcohol. About $20 a bottle.
Taylor Fladgate 20 year old Tawny: Interesting bouquet with fruit overlayered with scents of cinnamon, anise, and coffee. Very smooth with a long, lingering aftertaste of chocolate and spices. About $50 a bottle.
Graham’s 30 year old Tawny Port: Incredible spicy fruit aroma. It has a slightly drier taste with a rich, viscous texture and a long aftertaste of raisins and caramel. It’s a truly incredible wine. About $90 a bottle.
One of the most famous non-Portugese Port-like wines is Australia’s famous House of Seppelt’s Para vintage Tawny. Each year for the past 30 years, House of Seppelt has released a 100 year old vintage Tawny. Technically it’s not a Port because it’s not from the specially demarcated region in Portugal. But is an exquisite wine with a bouquet of wood, earth, and chocolate and a taste of dark chocolate, toffee, and plum pudding—and it costs over $1,000 Euros a bottle.Now, if you want to taste some of the more expensive Ports, look for a wine bar or restaurant that serves them as flights—one ounce samples of 3 to 4 types. I recently had a flight of the Delaforce, Taylor, and Graham at Legal Seafood in Boston for $14.00. Not bad when you consider how much these run per bottle.
Now it’s time for me to kick back and relax. When it’s your only daughter getting married, you want it to be perfect (it was!) and the amount of work that goes into pulling it off left my wife and I exhausted. But both bride and groom are a happy couple so it was worth it! Time to sit back and enjoy a new wine!
Ciao!
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