Wine Club

                        I am hoping that everyone had a great time at our first tasting!  I thought it was a lot of fun and I know that I actually learned a thing or two about Sparkling wine and Champagne.  Mike compiled everyones notes into one and the results are below.  I think it is pretty interesting to compare how the inexpensive bottles rated against the higher priced ones.  Our best rated was the Rosa Regale Brachetto d*Acqui from Italy.   If you are interested in purchasing a bottle for yourself, Giant Eagle carries it and when I was there a few days ago it was $7 off which makes it only $18 per bottle.
                        Being a busy month for me and a short month, our tasting will actually be on March 3.  We will be tasting Cabernet Sauvignon.  You can email or call me and I can assign you a wine.

WINE #1
WINE #2
WINE #3
WINE #4
WINE #5
BLANC
CAVA-SPAIN
LORIKEET
PIPER
ROSA
 DE NOIR
FREIXENT
SPARKLING SHIRAZ
HEIDSIEK
REGALE-Italy
RESULTS
12% ALC. $ 14.99
11.5 ALC. $10.99
14% ALC. $8.99
12% ALC. $39.99
7%ALC. $24.99
APPEARANCE:
CLARITY
2 1/2
9    
2 1/2
4    
3 1/2
COLOR
3 1/2
6    
4 1/2
4 1/2
5 1/2
AROMA and BOUQUET:
7    
6 1/2
16    
16    
15    
BALANCE:
SWEETNESS
3    
2    
5    
1 1/2
5    
ACIDITY
1 1/2
 1/2
5    
2    
6 1/2
BITTERNESS/ASTRINGENCY
1 1/2
 1/2
4    
2 1/2
5 1/2
BODY/TEXTURE:
3 1/2
2 1/2
5 1/2
5    
7    
TASTE/FLAVOR:
8    
4    
10    
8    
16    
FINISH:
0    
1    
6    
4    
8    
QUALITY/OVERALL:
4    
3    
8    
7    
12    
TOTAL RATING
34 1/2
35    
66 1/2
54 1/2
84    
WINE #6
WINE #7
WINE #8
WINE #9
WINE #10
TOTTS
KORBEL
ST. HILAIRE
MARTINI ROSSI
BERRINGER
BRUTT
SWEET ROSE
BLANC de BLANC
ASTI
RESULTS
10.5% ALC. $11.00
11% ALC. $14.99
12.5% ALC. $13.00
7% ALC. $14.99
10.5% ALC. $12.00
APPEARANCE:
CLARITY
3 1/2
4 1/2
4    
4 1/2
3    
COLOR
2 1/2
3 1/2
3    
3    
3    
AROMA and BOUQUET:
6    
9    
5    
11    
9    
BALANCE:
SWEETNESS
3    
2 1/2
1    
4    
3 1/2
ACIDITY
2 1/2
4    
2    
6    
3 1/2
BITTERNESS/ASTRINGENCY
1 1/2
3    
1    
6    
3 1/2
BODY/TEXTURE:
2    
5 1/2
4    
5 1/2
11    
TASTE/FLAVOR:
5    
11    
5 1/2
12    
11    
FINISH:
2    
5    
2    
7    
7    
QUALITY/OVERALL:
5    
8    
5    
13    
9    
TOTAL RATING
33    
56    
32 1/2
72    
63 1/2
February's Selection:
Cabernet Sauvignon by the Flight

           First of all....let's get hip to the lingo.  Cabernet Sauvignon is a mouthful to say, so it's often just called "Cab" for short. Cabernet Sauvignon grows just about anywhere; nearly every wine-growing country has its Cab.  California is definitely Cabernet country.  Some of California's Napa Valley Cabs have been awarded top honors-even by the french.

              Since we will be tasting Cabs this month it is a perfect time to talk about tannins because Cabs are full of them. When you sip a red wine and are left with a dry feeling in your mouth- sometimes on the roof, sometimes on the sides- that is the tannins at work.  Tannins come from grape seeds, stems and skins and from the oak barrels used to age wine.  In young red wine, the tannins can be very strong and astringent, but as the wine ages, the tannins soften and round out.  Tannins give structure to red wines along with added sensations.  They are an important part of the personality of big reds and make red wines so perfect for pairing with heavier foods like steak and grilled meats.  As you sample the wines this month, notice the tannins.  If your mouth feels like cotton after you sip a big red wine, that means the tannins are very strong; if you just slightly feel that dryness in your cheeks or across the roof of your mouth, then the tannins are soft.  One more thing about tannins: Ever pour out the last sip from the bottle only to see clumps of dark purple or brown sediment? Those are from tannins! As wine ages, tannins clump together, and along with pigments and tartrates in the wine, they form a sediment that settles on the bottom of the bottle.

We learned last month that most Champagnes are nonvintage; that is, they're made of a blend of wines from grapes harvested in different years.  On the other hand, still wines (one without bubbles) are almost always labeled with the year the grapes were harvested.  The year the grapes are harvested is, by definition, the vintage. Does the year matter to what's in the bottle?  It can matter a lot.  The summer of 2003, for example, was so hot in France that the grapes shriveled up like raisins, leaving little juice and more overripe fruit flavors and aromas. On the other hand, too much rain can plump up volume and dilute flavors and body. Grapes drowned by a sudden rainfall can burst, causing them to rot.  Think of weather as a "three bears" deal: It can't be too hot, too wet or too dry.  For a great vintage, it needs to be just right.  Vintage also matters because wines change as they age.  For example, in a young red Cab, sometimes, though not always, alcohol can be the first thing you taste and smell.  With time in the bottle, that harsh heat you experience on the palate from the alcohol mellows out.  This allows all the flavors to meld and creates a more balanced wine.  Also, those in-your-face tannins in young red wines that make your mouth pucker will actually soften over the years.
Cabs have a lot of tannins so it is often suggested they age before drinking.

This month we will be doing "Flights" of wine.  A flight is a sampling of smaller pours of wine tasted side by side. Usually at least three and as many as eight wines are sampled in a flight. There are 2 types of flights:
Vertical Flight: Tasting different vintages from the same producer; for example, you might taste a Hess Select Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon from the years '90, '91, '92, '96, '97, and '98.
Horizontal Flight: Tasting a particular varietal from different producers but all from the same vintage.  For example, you might get California Napa Valley Cabs and Charles Krug, Sterling, Franciscan and Cakebread, all from 2002.
What temperature should a Cab be served at?  If a Cab is too cold, the flavors and aromas will be muted, but if it is too warm, it will feel flabby when you sip it.  Therefore, aim to serve your big red wines at between 63 and 66 degrees.  To do this, (remember the Three Bears) don't put your reds in the fridge before pouring and don't keep them in the trunk of your car on a hot summer's day.  A cool, dry basement is "just right" for storing your wines.  Keep in mind that it is always easier to warm wine up a few degrees than to cool it down.  The bulb-style glasses used to serve red wine allow you to cup the glass with your palm; in doing so, you can bring the temperature up a few degrees.
Should you Decant your wine? When you open a bottle of red wine, you might notice one of two things.  If it's a young wine, the first whiffs by smell of alcohol, hairspray, or nail polish remover.  If it's an old wine, you might find those gross clumps of sediment lurking in the bottom of the bottle.  In either case, decanting the wine will help.  To do this, simply pour the wine from the bottle into the decanter; this lets the wine breathe and allows some of that alcohol scent to blow off.  If you're decanting to remove the sediment, stop pouring when the sediment reaches the bottle's neck-the idea is to leave the sediment in the bottle.  Unless you're feeling fancy, there's truly no need for a crystal decanter- you can use a glass carafe or pour that wine into a big glass bowl!  To help blow off the alcohol scent, swish the wine around in the bowl; you'll achieve the same success as if you were a sommelier in a schmootzy restaurant!

Wine Jargon:
Breathe: You'll often hear people say to open a bottle of red well before it's poured so it can breathe.  This is especially important for high-alcohol wines like Cabs and Zinfandel, and it helps young red wines to open up and show you what the future may hold once they have been aged. By exposing it to air you allow some of the alcohol to blow off and truly show the aromas of the wine.  With swirling and decanting, big reds really breathe, bringing out their best characteristics.
Extracted Fruit: Extract refers to what is left over when you take the liquid away from the wine. A lot of California Cabs are described as having extracted fruits- which is exactly what the American palate loves.

Old World Wine: A general term used for wines produced in Europe.
New World Wine: A general term for wines produced in the America's, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. Basically anywhere except Europe is New World.
BIG: When it comes to a wine, this term is used for those that fill your taste buds with big flavors, your nose with big aromas, and your mouth with full body.  They hold their own when paired with heavy foods and are too big to pair with delicacies of the sea.
Cabs, Zinfandel, and Syrah are the ringleaders in the "Big Wine" arena, and depending of the winemaker, some times Merlot can be a big-boy wine too.

Balance: When a wine is balanced, the sugar, acidity, fruit, tannins, alcohol, and wood are all present without hiding or dominating each other.  If you sip a Cab and taste only tannins, it is far from balanced.  But when you taste a Cab that is balanced, you will note each of the components and see how, when in harmony, the wine feels rich and elegant.

Good Wine, Good Food, Good Friends


Tasting Date:
Saturday, March 3, 7:00 pm
at Steve and Kim's house


















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