Summer looms

Despite the wet spring we've had in the Willamette there have been a handful of absolutely gorgeous, warm, sunny days. We erected a fantastic backyard canopy on our deck that provides a beautiful space for us to enjoy dinner on those warm evenings. We've even fired up the grill and enjoyed some delicious smoky fare. Lynnette has a knack for making perfect grill marks on both her chicken and the tofu Amy and I enjoy. Vegetables have made a large appearance as well: spring potatoes, red and yellow bell pepper, asparagus, and an assortment of summer squashes.

Summer is looming, and it's just a matter of weeks before this becomes our daily routine. With this all in mind I start thinking about quintessential summer beverages. For my purposes one thing comes to mind: gin and tonics.

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Quick Sip: 2007 Vouvray, floral but searing

Château Gaudrelle Vouvray, Sec (2007)
Château Gaudrelle
Chenin Blanc
Vouvray, Loire Valley, France

Chenin blanc

Another wine from our Loire Valley tasting. Vouvray is produced from the chenin blanc grape and can be dry to sweet. Always though you'll find a floral, "sweet" smelling nose. Like riesling, this grape can produces some truly deceiving wines.

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Quick Sip: 2008 Sancerre, just so you know "cat pee" is appropriate here!

Domaine André Neveu Sancerre, Silex (2008)
Domaine André Neveu
Sauvignon Blanc
Sancerre, Loire Valley, France

Borrowed from 2007 vintage.

Now for the classic Sancerre—herbal, grassy, zingy, cat pee... Yes. This is totally acceptable as a wine aroma term. Though I'll tell you, people will give you funny looks. If you ever hear anyone say "elderberry" or "boxwood" what they really mean is "Wow - where's the Tidy Cats?!" Sauvignon blanc from this region can be pungent, but is completely delightful and refreshing. Classic pairing with chèvre.

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Quick Sip: 2008 Muscadet, every oyster's best friend

St. Vincent Cuvée, Sur Lie (2008)
Michel Delhommeau
Melon de Bourgogne
Muscadet-Sèvre et Maine, Loire Valley, France

The second wine from my Loire Valley tasting. These wines are excellent with oysters - and no wonder, Muscadet is right on the Atlantic!

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Quick Sip: NV Crémant de la Loire - herbal yeasty goodness

Carte Turquoise Crémant de la Loire (NV)
Domaine des Baumard
Chenin Blanc & Cabernet Franc
Loire Valley, France

This is the first of a series of tasting notes from a Loire Valley focused tasting I took part in with some other industry folks recently. Enjoy!

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Patz & Hall Twitter Taste Live: Pinot, Chard and Tofu!

Patz & Hall
Chardonnay & Pinot Noir
Sonoma Coast, California

Last night was the launch of the Patz & Hall Winery page on Twitter Taste Live. They divided the country in two and had bloggers on both coasts do a tasting of two of their soon to be released wines. I was really pleased to see how seamlessly the upgraded TTL is working, and we had an enjoyable time tasting the wines.

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Spanish Wine Dinner at West Cafe

Tuesday night I headed out with some friends to Portland's West Cafe. There we enjoyed a six course dinner paired with different Spanish wines. Our group had two vegetarians (me included) and one vegan. So we really got the full gamut of offerings at our table. Overall the pairings were very well done, and so I'd like to share the menu with you and some of my comments.

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Seven of Hearts - Part 1: White Wines

We joined owner and wine maker Byron Dooley for a flight at the Seven of Hearts tasting room in Carlton, OR. With a proclivity for old-world style French wines, Byron and his wife Dana moved to the Willamette Valley after leaving their tech careers in Silicon Valley and establishing their passions in Napa. Dana is the owner of locally based Honest Chocolates with two locations and a candymaking kitchen in the same space as the tasting room.

Inspired by classical French wine labels, the wines at Seven of Hearts depict an old playing card embellished with a crest-like image of one of the couple's cats, Seven.

I'll be sharing my tasting notes for these wines in thee parts this week - our first tasting notes will cover the two whites that Byron shared with us.

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Welcome 2010 - and all new wines!

Hope everyone has a fantastic New Year. Though we've focused mostly on Pinot Noir this week, but never fear - I've got a bottle of Banear Prosecco chilling in the fridge for midnight (or 9pm PST if you're on the East coast!).

Here's to drinking lots of great wines in the coming year.

Cheers!

Quick-Sip: 2008 Soléna Pinot Gris - sharp with loads of fruit

Soléna Pinot Gris (2008)
Soléna Estate
Pinot Gris
Oregon (Willamette and Rogue Valley AVAs)

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Visiting the Willamette Valley Vineyards Wine Center

So, "oe•no•phile HQ" has moved from the Midwest to the Pacific Northwest, and I'm excitedly getting to know my new home in McMinnville, OR (Mac for short). Arriving this past Thursday I was giddy to drive past many wineries and tasting rooms that I've been enjoying back in Ohio. Now living here I'll get to visit all of them and many others all the while tasting and writing about many new wines. I'm very excited for this adventure that will definitely help oe•no•phile to grow and help me in learning more about wines, new regions, and being a better taster/writer.

One of my first stops this weekend was to visit the newly opened Wine Center right here in downtown Mac, run by the folks at Willamette Valley Vineyards. The center is a tasting room of sorts for WVV but also so much more. In addition to their own wines, visitors can taste samples from other area wineries which change weekly. There is a small tasting fee, and the staff there is very knowledgeable and eager to help.

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Elk Creek Vineyards Offers Creepy Cuvées for Halloween

Ghostly White (2007)
Chardonnay
Bone Dry Red (2007)
Cabernet Sauvignon
Elk Creek Vineyards
Kentucky
*Wines received as samples

I recently received some wines from Elk Creek Vineyards in Kentucky. With the upcoming holiday these wines have been crafted to be welcome additions to a costume party. I'd like to share my notes on two of the wines released - a Chardonnay and a Cabernet Sauvignon.

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Quick-Sip: Traminer makes a fruitier Silvaner

Trautberg Silvaner und Traminer trocken (2008)
Castell Winery
Silvaner 80% | Traminer 20%
Franken, Germany

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Quick-Sip: Aged German Silvaner

Kugelspiel Silvaner QbA trocken (2006)
Castell Winery
Silvaner
Franken, Germany

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Quick-Sip: Germany makes more than Riesling

Castell Silvaner trocken QbA (2008)
Castell Winery
Silvaner
Franken, Germany

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Wines of Mendoza - Twitter Taste ... not so Live?

So the folks over at Twitter Taste Live and Wines of Argentina are hosting an entire month of tasty wines. Getting "together" in small groups of oeno-freaks and producers, the aim is to have a small round table discussion online while tasting and promoting the wines via Twitter.

Last night was the Mendoza tasting and I got to take part - the (free) wines arrived on time, I acquired the appropriate cheeses, polished up my glasses, and logged in. Much to the group's chagrin Twitter was having a massive failure, and it was nearly impossible to have any sort of dialog. However, having popped all the corks in anticipation for the group tasting, I soldiered on and tasted all six on my own!

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Quick-Sip: Lake Erie Gewurztraminer

Estate Bottled Gewürztraminer (2007)
Hermes Vineards
Gewürztraminer
Lake Erie

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Quick-Sip: Value California SB

Rootstock Sauvignon Blanc (2007)
DnA Vineyards
Sauvignon Blanc
Lake County, California

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A modern romance of the white grape variety

Con Class Rueda (2007)
Sitios de Bodega
60% Verdejo | 15% SB | 25% Viura
Rueda, Spain

Verdejo - a bold, acidic grape reared on the arid plateaus of Spain. Sauvignon Blanc - a flirtatious, aromatic white French variety cultivated in the classiest neighborhoods of Bordeaux. Two star-crossed lovers separated by the Pyrenees and kept apart speaking two different languages of love... that was until "Rueda." Imagine that in big, bright, flashing, neon lights. It would definitely sell. Despite the lack of singing, choreography, and melodrama I'd say we've got the vinous version of West Side Story on our hands here.

While I wait for Broadway and Hollywood to flock to my door to get the exclusive rights, I'll focus more on a yummy new Spanish wine I had the other day - Con Class Rueda produced by Sitios de Bodega.

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un petit séjour à la cote d'azur

Sunday was another epically gorgeous summer day here in Cleveland. I really don't know what we've done to deserve such a great summer this year. Regardless, it was the perfect setting for a poolside wine tasting with a good number of the folks from Bonjour Cleveland!, the French language Meet-up group I run.

Exploring the wine regions of France since February, our glasses have traveled nearly everywhere - Burgundy, Bordeaux, Alsace, Champagne, and the Loire. This month the group chose to sample the wines of southern France including Provence, Languedoc, and Roussilon (often considered together with the Languedoc). Hosted by George at his lovely home in the village of Chagrin Falls (quel drôle nom, eh?) we were anything but chagrined by the gorgeous garden, the sunny skies, and the lovely wines of the Côte d'Azur. (Note- technically the Côte d'Azur runs from Italy just into the Provence region... but hey, it sounds nice!)

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