Monthly Archives: April 2010

Women in Wine: Louisa Sawyer Lindquist, Verdad Wines

Posted on April 30, 2010 | 1 Comment

I recently met Louisa Sawyer Lindquist at a dual wine tasting at AZ Wine Company in Scottsdale Arizona. I say dual because along with her wine company, Verdad Wines, we were also tasting her husband’s wines, Qupe. A husband and wife dynamic wine duo, sounds like the perfect relationship right? Her husband is Bob Lindquist, one of the “Rhone Rangers”. Louisa really knows her stuff, she is not just a salesperson parroting the wine makers comments. At this tasting she was quizzed by some skeptical consumers and someone actually doubted her! She but it bluntly and something to the effect of “I know what I’m talking about, and I know how this wine was made, I MADE IT MYSELF”. I love it when wine snobs get put in their place.

Here is a short video of Louisa, enjoy!

→ 1 Comment

Posted in wine maker interview, Wine Personality, Wines under $20

Tagged , , , , , , ,

Wine Review: Flinders Run, 2006 Shiraz, Southern Flinders Ranges, Australia

Posted on April 29, 2010 | 3 Comments

Where from?  Southern Flinders Ranges, Australia
How much? $25-$35
Aging: 18 months in American and French Oak, 50% new french oak.
Alcohol: 15%
980 cases imported to the United States

I am always up for trying out a new Shiraz, so when I noticed Flinders Run on the shelf at my local wine store, it caught my attention.  I always resist buying wine on the label, so I picked up the bottle looked at the interesting label and put it back down.  Well I kept seeing it sitting there every time I was in the store, just staring at me..the wine bottle with the googly eyes!   I noticed the appellation, Southern Flinders Ranges.  Interesting I thought, I am used to Barossa, Hunter, Claire, McLaren, Coonawarra, Padthaway, but I don’t often come across a wine from the Southern Flinders Ranges.  I whipped out my smartphone, and noticed a 92 point rating from Stephen Tanzer, and 91 points from Wine Spectator.  I also noticed that the Southern Flinders Ranges region is located next to the Claire and Barossa valleys and I have enjoyed a lot of wines from both those regions. One thing I couldn’t find was the winery’s website.  But I picked up a bottle anyway, let’s cut to the taste shall we?

Color: Opaque purple with a ruby-red rim
Nose:  Big, fragrant, raspberry
Palate: creamy in weight, ripe and spicy

This wine is decadent, hedonistic yet well-balanced.  If you like a big juicy and spicy this is the wine for you.  As far as complexity, this wine keeps it fairly simple, sticks to what it’s strengths are.  If you are looking for a complex one minute echo of a finish, this wine doesn’t have that, and you will probably need to spend a minimum of $50 for a Shiraz that does.  I would liken the flavor profile to the wines of the Barossa Valley, yet without the earthy component that they sometimes have.  All in all, a good effort.  I think that 91-92 points would be an accurate rating.

→ 3 Comments

Posted in Shiraz, Wine Review, Wines over $20

Tagged , , , , , , ,

Wine Review: Rodney Strong, 2007 Estate Chalk Hill Chardonnay, Sonoma County

Posted on April 26, 2010 | 1 Comment

Price: About $20, as tested $9.97 at Costco

How was it made? 97% French oak barrels, 97% malolactic, and aged 9 months.

According the company literature, this wine should be enjoyed over the next 1-3 years.  It’s near the end of April, 2010 right now, so I believe we are reaching the end of this window, let’s see what it has left shall we?

On the Nose: Pear Pineapple butter and toast, not necessarily in that order, and it’s not abundantly obvious.  The nose is subtle.

On the Palate: The Palate is a lot nicer than the nose lets on.  The fruit is riper than the nose would suggest.  With 97% malolactic fermentation the fruit is predominantly green apple with a little hint of pineapple sweetness interwoven in the oak.

The finish is not that long, and not  complex, but it was well balanced.  Of the two Chardonnay’s I paired with my French baguette, Brie and roasted garlic appetizer, the Rodney Strong was a better match with that particular dish.  The other wine was Merryvale Starmont, read my review here.

→ 1 Comment

Posted in Chardonnay, Wine Review, Wines under $20

Tagged , , ,

Wine Review: Starmont Merryvale, 2007 Chardonnay, Napa Valley

Posted on April 26, 2010 | 2 Comments

What is it?  100% Chardonnay

Where from?  Napa Valley

How much?  About $20… as tested $9.97 at Costco

Alcohol: 13.5%

Production: 25,517 cases

How was it made? 50% barrel, 50% stainless steel fermentation, 60% malolactic, with 8 months in 15% new French oak

I took a trip down to my local Costco to search for markdowns.  I have enjoyed Starmont Merryvale Cabernet’s so I was interested in trying out the Chardonnay, especially at the reduced price.

On the nose, crushed pineapple in heavy syrup.  I can say this with certainty because I was making a pineapple marinade for pork tenderloin yesterday and the aroma is very fresh in my mind.  Though it is not a very strong aroma, it is definitely present.  There is also a citric aspect to it, a slight lemon.

On the palate, medium bodied, maybe just a little bit on the light side of medium.  The fruit on the palate is Citrus, predominately lemon.   It’s smooth, the acidity is quite subdued.

The finish is nice, and fairly long.  Surprisingly long, tingly, tart and there’s a hint of creamy oak nestled in there as well.

My first impression was that I was not wowed by this wine, but I gave it a bit of time to open up and warm up and it really made a big difference.  It’s a nice, fairly light, crisp simple straight forward Chardonnay.  If you are tired of over oaked over buttery monster California Chardonnay, you will be pleasantly surprised with this effort.

→ 2 Comments

Posted in Chardonnay, Wine Review, Wines under $20

Tagged , , , ,

Great French bread, Brie garlic and grape appetizer

Posted on April 26, 2010 | 1 Comment

I have served this appetizer many times over the years and everyone has loved it!  It pairs well with Chardonnay.

Careful with that Broiler, Eugene

Here’s what you will need:

Whole garlic cloves

Olive oil

French baguette

White seedless grapes

Brie cheese.

Heat the oven to 400F. Slice the bread.

Pair with your favorite Chardonnay

Cut the top off the garlic and drizzle the remainder with olive oil.  Put the garlic in the oven for 20-25 minutes.  You will know when it’s done when the garlic is soft and somewhat sweet.

Put the brie on the bread with a piece of garlic and a grape and put the whole thing in your mouth and sip your Chardonnay.

It’s that easy!

→ 1 Comment

Posted in Food, Recipes

Tagged , , , , ,

Book Review: What to Drink with What you Eat, by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page

Posted on April 21, 2010 | 1 Comment

The authors of this book contacted me via email a while back, having read a post on this blog. They inquired if I would be interested in reviewing their book and I said yes. So that is how this book ended up in my possession.

Price: $35 Hard Cover

Awards:
Entertainment Weekly bestseller
Los Angeles times bestseller
International association of Culinary Professionals Cookbook of the year
George Duboeuf Wine Book of the Year
Gourmand World Cookbook Award Winner

And those are just the awards printed on the back cover!  Wow! I thought to myself, I’m pretty lucky to have received this book!  And it was signed by Karen and Andrew as well!

Let’s just cut right to the main reason you  are reading this; YES THIS BOOK IS WORTH THE PRICE!

I would have bought it myself had I some how come across it and had a few minutes to peruse the preface.  I think this passage from the preface really sums up the substance of this book: “This book represents the better parts of two lifetimes of research.  We’ve been collecting these guidelines and recommendations – and taste testing as many of them as humanly possible for more than two decades.”

There!  If you want 20 years of research;  “The  collective wisdom of dozens of America’s leading experts on the subject of food and beverage pairings”  condensed into 356 pages of organized information..this is it.  This book is organized in more than one way too.  You can look up pairings starting with the food in mind first, OR you can look up pairings starting with the beverage in mind first.  And this book is not just about food and wine.  As they point out, one of the best pairings they’ve found for rich vanilla ice cream is a plain glass of water, a palate cleansing glass of water.

But this book has a lot more to offer than just an extensive spreadsheet of food and beverage pairings with nice photographs.  The book also contains tons of stories and quotes from top sommeliers.  Interesting intriguing stories that are fun to read while sipping wine.

What to Drink with What you Eat is going to be my “Go To” guide for the rest of the year.  I am actually going to attempt as many of the 1,500 pairings as humanly possible, and post my results and experiences here.

→ 1 Comment

Posted in Food, Recipes, Wine Education, Wine Tips

Tagged , , , , , ,

Sam Pillsbury’s new tasting room, Cottonwood Arizona

Posted on April 15, 2010 | 1 Comment

For those of you who Sam Pillsbury is, he’s a movie director who was born in the North East, moved to New Zealand as a teenager and then moved back to the USA in the 1980′s.  He has been growing grapes and producing wine in Arizona for the past 10 years.  For more detailed information click on the link at the bottom.

Here are a couple of short videos of my trip:

→ 1 Comment

Posted in Arizona Wine, Places to buy wine, Places to drink wine, wine maker interview, Wine Personality

Tagged , , , ,

Pillsbury Wine Company tasting room north soft opening, April 9-11 2010

Posted on April 13, 2010 | 1 Comment

I received a special invite to the “soft” opening of Pillsbury Wine Company’s Tasting Room North. A soft opening is different from a Grand Opening in that the event is not

Pillsbury tasting room north

promoted to the general public. The general public is welcome, it’s just not announced. A soft opening is where the restaurant, bar, hotel, it’s where the business opens and works out the kinks in the system by testing it out on their friends!
Pillsbury Wine Company’s North Tasting Room is located at 1012 Main street in Old Town Cottonwood, Arizona. It’s called the north tasting room because the vineyard is actually located far away in the south eastern part of the state. Cottonwood is about an hour and fifteen minute drive north of Phoenix, just a few miles from Jerome where Tool front man Maynard Keenan’s Caduceus cellars and Merkin vineyards tasting room is located.
Pillsbury’s tasting room, features a simple design and layout. It also features art work by members of Sam’s family. There is an espresso bar, and of course wine to taste!

Inside the Tasting Room

On Friday night Sam estimates that there were close to 100 visitors over the course of the night, that is some soft opening! I arrived at about 11am on Saturday to meet Sam and do a little interview for the Weekly Wine Journal’s Youtube Channel, and take some pictures for the Facebook account. Nice way to plug alternate forms of media eh??
I also tasted 2 wines. I tasted the 2008 Roan red, which is a Grenache based Rhone style wine. And I also tried out the 2009 Viognier. The Viognier had just been bottled by 3pm the previous night. We will be giving more in depth reviews of Pillsbury’s wines in the future, but here is a little teaser.

The 2008 Roan Red is stylistically quite similar to the ’07 Roan Red, if you liked that, you won’t be disappointed with the new offering.

Beautiful color on the 2008 Roan Red

The 2009 Viognier is amazing! In just a couple of weeks it will have settled nicely in the bottle, but even at the time of tasting, with less than 24 hours in the bottle this was a very nice smooth, crisp wine. I was amazed. This wine will sell out fast, only 80 cases were produced.
Before I left I had to pick up a bottle of the 2007 Petite Sirah. Only 30 cases were made of this monster 15.4% 28 brix wine. Sam told me that there are now only 3 cases left. I will be opening this one soon!

more of that beautiful color

→ 1 Comment

Posted in Arizona Wine, Places to buy wine, Places to drink wine, Wine Event, wine maker interview, Wine News, Wine Personality

Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Page Springs Vineyards and Cellars at the Tempe Wine Festival

Posted on April 7, 2010 | 1 Comment

I met Justin and John from Page Springs Vineyards and Cellars at the Tempe Festival of the Arts Wine Tasting Event.  The event was sponsored by the Arizona Wine Grower’s Association.  I liked their sense of humor, it was quite sharp for 10:30 a.m. on a Saturday morning!

Check out the photos from this event on The Weekly Wine Journal’s Facebook page

Page Springs Vineyards and Cellars Website

→ 1 Comment

Posted in Arizona Wine, Wine Event, wine maker interview, Wine Personality, Wine Review, Wine Tasting

Tagged , , , , , ,

Lizbeth Congiusti, aka The Sassy Somellier, tastes some Arizona Wine

Posted on April 6, 2010 | Leave a comment

I first met Lizbeth Congiusti over a year ago at a Cameron Hughes Wine tasting event. I found her to be extremely knowledgable and friendly. We arranged to meet at the Arizona Wine Grower’s tasting event. She tasted and talked about the wines, and I held the flipcam. Lizbeth is a level II Sommelier, and has published her own book: Sip Swirl Savor. For more info on Lizbeth click on the link below the video.

In this first video she talks with Rod Keeling of Keeling-Shaefer Vineyards, and tries out “His Best Wine!”

In the second video Lizbeth tastes Kief-Joshua Vineyards Cabernet Franc

Click here for Lizbeth Congiusti’s Website

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Arizona Wine, Ask a Sommelier!, Cabernet Franc, Wine Event, wine maker interview, Wine Personality, Wine Review, Wine Tasting, Wine Tips

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

A video tour of Bomberos Cafe and Wine Bar

Posted on April 6, 2010 | Leave a comment

If you are looking for somewhere to hang out after the Sunny Slope Art Walk this Saturday April 10th, you can always head over to Bomberos Cafe and Wine Bar. It’s located on Central Avenue just south of Dunlap. I paid a visit to Bomberos a few nights ago and met up with owner Oscar Mastrantuono. Oscar is from Paraguay, and Bomberos is the only place in Arizona that has an all South American Wine list. In this video he leads us through the former fire station, and onto the back patio. Then we check out the wines, and he shows me several interesting items. A syrah from Paraguay, a beer from Argentina and a traditional South American tea. For more info on Bomberos click the link below the video

Bomberos Website

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Places to buy wine, Places to drink wine, Wine Personality

Tagged , , , , ,

Interview with Gary Loring, Loring Wine Company. Part 3

Posted on April 2, 2010 | 1 Comment

This is part 3 of a 3 part series of an interview with Gary Loring, partner and winemaker for Loring Wine Company. In this segment Gary talks about how much of an influence Terroir plays, and how much of an influence clones are. He also tells us about some very special projects on the horizon, like a 300 case production Chardonnay and an even smaller production Cabernet Mouvedre blend.

→ 1 Comment

Posted in Wine Education, wine maker interview, Wine Personality

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,