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PART THREE – “6 for $60 Challenge, the Quest for Goodness”

It’s noticeable that I am getting tired of this challenge. My wine tasting notes are short-straight to the point. I’m so not in the mood for a mediocre wine. But, I must push forward and complete this experiment.

If you are new to my blog and have not read parts one and two of the challenge, I invite you to read the previous blogs for the background on the “6 for $60 Challenge, the Quest for Goodness.”

Following is a brief overview of the rules:

  • The cost is $10.00 or less,
  • The wine cannot be from the same vineyard,
  • It had to be a wine that I’ve never tasted and
  • No two wines could be of the same variety and same winery.

The wines that were chosen for the challenge are, as follows and was consumed in no particular order:

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  • Rex-Goliath -Shiraz
  • HandCraft -Petit Syrah
  • Redwood Creek -Malbec
  • Dark Horse -Cabernet Sauvignon
  • Naked Grape -Pinot Noir
  • Jacob Creek -Shiraz & Cabernet Sauvignon

We are not at the fifth wine in the Quest for Goodness Challenge, which is a Redwood Creek, Malbec. I don’t know if I’m becoming numb from editing our next book project in “BookSmart”, Redwood Creek, Malbec is pleasurable and paired with a piece of sharp cheddar cheese is delightful.

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Folks, a historical moment has occurred; I’m pretty sure this is the shortest wine review I’ve written. HOORAY! (If I’m getting tired of this quest, I can imagine how you’re feeling reading about mediocre wines (rolling eyes)).

LASTLY, wine number six, THE LAST WINE IN THE CHALLENGE! YAY!! I present you “Rex the Rooster”. No, the wine is not called “Rex the Rooster”, but it’s close: “Rex Goliath – The Giant 47 pound Rooster”. Okay, that is definitely a much grandeur name. ☺

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Before, I discuss the tasting, time to research the origin of Rex Goliath-The Giant 47 pound Rooster.  

Per the rexgoliath.com website, Rex who is referred to “His Royal Majesty”, weighed 47 pounds hence the name Rex Goliath and was a popular circus attraction in Texas. The Rex Goliath wines are a tribute to the 47 pound rooster’s “larger-than-life personality”.

Rex Goliath Shiraz aromas are the most fragrant out of all the wines we’ve tasted in the challenge: BIG bouquet of dark cherries and plums. Fruit-forward flavors with a slight mineral on the finish and the tannins are absent, which is in proportion to the wine. Rex Goliath is a light-medium bodied red wine.

We are now on the fourth sip and we are enjoying and appreciating Rex. Rex has developed into a delicious wine with hint of spice and the tannins are evolving. Overall, Rex Goliath is Good.

Can you believe it? We saved the best for last! Rex is not bad. If I recall correctly, Rex was the cheapest wine. HA, GO FIGURE!

I would love to know if you conducted a similar quest and found GOODNESS. If so, please share. “That’s All Folks!”

Salute! Sante’!

Part Two: 6 for $60 Challenge, the Quest for Goodness”

If you have not read Part One of “Harris Teeter Six for Sixty (6 for $60) Challenge, the Quest for Goodness”. Here’s a recap:

While grocery shopping online at Harris Teeter, they had a BIG WINE SALE and many of the wines were under $10.00. Curiosity got the best of me and I wondered if the wines were any good. So, I developed the challenge.

Rules:

* The wine must be $10 or less before taxes;
* It must be a wine that I’ve never tasted. By the way, there are certain  wines that I   refuse to place upon my lips. For instance, Yellow Tail, Menage Trios, Cupcake and Barefoot, to name a few;
* Must be different varieties and
* Two wines can not be from the same vineyard.

The wines chosen for the challenge are:

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* Rex-Goliath Shiraz
* HandCraft Petit Syrah
* Redwood Creek Malbec
* Dark Horse Cabernet Sauvignon
* Naked Grape Pinot Noir
* Jacob Creek Shiraz & Cabernet Sauvignon

To prevent the blog from becoming a short story, I’m posting my results into three parts. In Part One, we tasted 2013 HANDCRAFT Petit Syrah and
2013 Jacob Creek Shiraz & Cabernet Sauvignon blend, both were TASTY.

PART TWO

Following are the third and fourth wines in the “Six for Sixty, the Quest for Goodness”:

Wine #3 – 2014 Dark Horse, Cabernet Sauvignon

 

We are having a Valentine’s day sip and cigar. We are pairing the Dark Horse with a Perdomo Factory Tour Blend cigar. First the wine,

Sniff – Shoot! No distinguished aromas; not surprise when you are
subjected to sipping out of a cup. Yes, you read correctly (don’t ask). I dig in deeper, inhaling, eyes are closed, concentrating; there are slight hint of prunes and plums aromas. This tasting is going to be a struggle.

Taste – medium-full bodied with a slight spicy finish and firm tannins. It’s OK. Even though, my current drinking vessel (Yes, I surprised myself referring to the cup as a vessel; reading too much of Amoxes short stories. Another project on the way :)) is not prime and based upon past experience of consuming wine in a cup, which did not hinder aromas or flavors, I have to give Dark Horse an overall rating of BORING.

CIGAR PARING:

We have the pleasure of seeing how well Dark Horse pairs with a cigar. This evening we have selected a Perdomo Factory Tour Blend cigar.

The wrapper has chocolate aromas. The beginning taste: medium-bodied with lingering walnut flavors. Half-way through my husband picks up grassy flavors and three-quarters into my cigar the nutty flavors continues. Paired with the Dark Horse, the Perdomo Factory Tour Blend cigar has a slight sweet aroma and taste.

 

 

Next in the “6 for $60 Challenge is Naked Grape (fingers crossed) I’m getting tired of drinking mediocre wine.

Wine #4 – The Naked Grape, Pinot Noir

12767245_10206339275977122_2079598310_nBefore I begin the tasting, I want to give a quick lesson on foil cutting. Please do not butcher the foil. The knife on the corkscrew is not there to pick the foil into little pieces until the cork is exposed. It’s really simple. Run the knife around the top of the bottle (mouth/opening) in a circular motion and WA-LA! The foil cap is evenly removed, exposing the cork. If your corkscrew does not have a knife, use the tip of the screw and run it around the top of bottle neck. In addition, there is not a need to remove ALL the foil from the bottle. 🙂

 

 

Naked Grape‘s texture is thin, bold spicy aromas and fruity flavors that taste like “grapey water” (not sure “grapey” is a word but it describes the wine perfectly). I actually taste water. Long tannins rest on the back of my palate.

Second sip, I’m not able to appreciate this wine, watery. No fruit flavors but posses a long tannic finish.

Third sip, twenty minutes later…. no change. Naked Grape is a light-bodied red wine. I’m not going to say it is good for a novice red wine drinker. I do not want Naked Grape, Pinot Noir representing red wine for beginners.

AMATEURISH. It makes me wonder about the winemaker’s experience. I imagined if I produced wine (having no experience) this is what my wine would taste like as a beginner.

The winning question:
Me: “How does it pair with pizza?”
Husband: “It does not make much difference; it literally doesn’t change”.

Overall: Naked Grape has the perfect name, “Naked from possessing any flavors or complexity”. NEXT!

 

DISCLAIMER: Please remember the reviews on my blog/website are my personal opinion. I encourage you challenge yourself and taste wines outside of your comfort zone. Any dislikes are no reflection of the winery/vineyard. Merely, I’m may not able to appreciate a wine at the time of the tasting. SEE Main DISCLAIMER NOTICE on HOME and TREEVINO pages.

Salute! Sante’!

 

“Six for Sixty Challenge, the Quest for Goodness”

One of my favorite domestic chores is grocery shopping online at Harris Teeter with curbside pick-up (perfect for this freezing weather). I have reached the wine section and BAM! Harris Teeter is having a BIG WINE SALE! There are so many delicious wines on sale. What really surprises me is the number of wines sold for under $10.00.

 

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I wonder, vineyards who sell their wines for under $10 are they advertising to the pubic that the wines are not worth more or are they dedicated to producing affordable wines; wanting everyone from the novice to the Master to enjoy their wines. Goodness, I hope it’s the latter.

One vineyard, Rex-Goliath wines are cheap; the regular price is under $10.00.

OMG! Manischewitz Concord Grape wine is still on the market. I remember this wine when I was a school girl. My mother drank Manishewitz calling it her medicine.

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Curiosity was becoming the best of meand I had to see if any of these wines were good. So, I developed the “Harris Teeter Six for Sixty (6 for $60) Challenge, the Quest for Goodness”.

Rules:

• The wine must be $10 or less before taxes;
• It must be a wine I have never tasted. By the way, there are certain wines I refuse to place upon my lips. For instance, Yellow Tail, Menage Trios, Cupcake and Barefoot to name a few;
• Different varieties and
• Two wines can not be from the same vineyard.

The selection process was very difficult. Following are the wines chosen for the challenge:

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1. Rex-Goliath Shiraz
2. HandCraft Petit Syrah
3. Redwood Creek Malbec
4. Dark Horse Cabernet Sauvignon
5. Naked Grape Pinot Noir
6. Jacob Creek Shiraz & Cabernet Sauvignon

To prevent this blog from turning into a short story, I will break up this experiment into three parts.

PART ONE

The first and second wines in the 6 for $60 challenge are:

Wine #1 – 2013 Jacob Creek – Shiraz & Cabernet Sauvignon blend

 

Aromas – prunes, black fruit and earthy aromas; there is a slight mineral on the nose. I’m getting excited. Swirling, mouth is watering, time to taste.

Taste – juicy medium-bodied, smoky with firm tannins; this South Australian wine has potential.

For the third time, the husband has said,“this is good.” I sip and nod in agreement.

Now that my palate is coated with Ghirardelli dark chocolate and wine, I have created a delicious rich chocolate cake. Yummm.

This is a good everyday drinking wine. We will definitely purchase Jacob Creek in the future. GOOD JOB Jacob Creek!

 

Wine #2 – HANDCRAFT – Happy Pre-Valentine’s Day

I’ve been baking Valentine’s Day treats and, of course, licking the spoon (trust me, they taste better than they look :)) and drinking water was not enough to cleanse my palate. All I taste are cocoa powder and blackberries.

 

There is a noticeable difference from a wine directly from the vineyard and a store bought wine. I wish there was a way to know how long a bottle of wine has been sitting on the shelf.

This wine needs additional breathing time and it’s time to change the glass. My husband filled the glass a tab bit to high and the aerator was not utilized, which in my opinion has a significant impact on the taste. Okay, lets start this tasting over.

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Sniff – Black pepper, smoky and black fruit aromas.

Taste – Before and after aerating, the husband picked up flavors of black licorice and plums. I too taste a multiple of flavors: prunes, plums, black fruit, black pepper with a hint of black licorice. The second and third sips are producing smoky flavors.

Yes, much better! Smoky, deep dark chocolate and black fruit; not bad or maybe its those delicious Valentine’s Day treats. Either way, HANDCRAFT you are TASTY!

We are on a roll. I can not wait to see what wine number three has to offer.

 

Salute! Sante’

Orange Wine?

1 Comment

 

UPDATED on 5/30/16 to reflect accurate information – the term “orange wine” was created by UK Wine Merchant David Harvey in 2004, which was purposefully created and others saw fit to use the term since that time.  Mr. Harvey thank you for bringing this to my attention. 

 

Yup, we have officially ran out of everyday drinking wines. There was one point in time that I had 300 plus bottles of wine in the cellar. Smiling, I recall the wonderful memories that has diminished my wine collection such as, girls day out relaxing by the pool, surprising a friend, private wine tasting parties or welcoming a new family to the neighborhood. Great Wine = Great Times!

Eenie, meanie, miney, moe…

I say this to explain asking my husband to select a bottle of wine is like digging for gold in a mine. “They’re too damn good, man!” he yells from downstairs. LOL (he becomes so frustrated when selecting a bottle a wine). Trying to contain my laughter, from upstairs, I return the howl, “Babe, just select a 2002 or 2003 Chrysalis Lockley Reserve (a Norton), we have to drink the wine someday.” Guess what he selected, not the Norton; a 2012 Chateau O’Brien Tannat. Alarming I said, “Oh no, I’m laying this beauty down.” he responds, “This is why I do not like going down there” :). On a mission, I am determined to find a bottle of wine that will not cause us distress. (I find myself chuckling because subconsciously, I thought, “Goodness, when are you going to get to the topic of this blog.) It is bad when your subconscious feels you are talking too much. Okay, let’s speed this up. I choose a 2014 Chrysalis Vineyards Tximeleta (pronounced, chee-may-LAY-tah).

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For those of you who know my husband, he prefers red wine and will drink a Guinness before having a glass of white wine. Tximeleta is a rose, so it is a good middle ground. I hand him a shimmering rose with orange highlights. What a classy wine! Intrigued, we sniff: fruity aromas; sip: mmm… a quick butter flavor graces my lips with sweet tarts skating along my palate; yes, skate. The wine is soft, smooth and glides across my palate. We both give Tximeleta a nod of approval.

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I dissect the Tximeleta further; the color is more orange than rose. I wonder what is Tximeleta? Is Norton giving the wine its orange highlights, but it’s not in Norton’s characteristic to produce orange hues. I then wonder is this “Orange Wine?” What is Orange Wine? Time to hit the World Wide Web.

Orange Wine
Hunting for facts to conduct my own research and not utilize information from another blog, I stumbled upon orangefestival.eu.
Apparently, Slovenia (I like that they enhanced the “love” in the country’s name) is holding an “Orange Wine” festival. Now, I’m really fascinated about “orange wine”.

 

Slovenia

Slovenia is nestled between Austria, Croatia, Italy, and Hungary.

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Slovenia has 3 main wine-growing regions, where over 40,000 wineries reside:

  1. PODRAVSKA produces Slovania’s most prestigious wines. Wines in this area date back to pre-historic times.
  2. POSASKA, the smallest out of the regions and
  3. PRIMORSKA, the most developed out of the regions.

 

Slovenia wines date back to the era of the Celts and Illyrian tribes. Seventy-five percent of Slovenia wines are white wine. There are approximately 6,000 recorded varieties and the majority of wines are consumed domestically.

I’m laughing at myself because I refuse to accept the research I found on orange wine. I was determined to discover an ancient wine-making process that only European wine-makers were aware of; NOPE! And orange wine does not contain orange peel. It’s simply a lengthen maceration with grape skins, which is the same process to produce red wine AND THAT’S ALL FOLKS!

In a nutshell:

  • The term “orange wine”, which is also referred to as “amber wine” was created by UK Wine Merchant David Harvey in 2004.
  • Orange wine is made by fermenting the juice of ripe white grapes with their skins for a long period of time.
  • Depending upon the maceration period, which could be a week to a year, the wine will posses an amber-gold-pink-orange color.
  • The tannins levels in orange wine are typically higher than in white wine.
  • Due to the color, there are Italian winemakers who feel there should be a wine category for “orange (amber) wine.” When customers order a white wine and the color is orange they become apprehensive.
  • Many wines produced in the country of Georgia (make sure you don’t think I’m talking about the state :)) are macerated.

So the question remains, is Chrysalis Vineyards Tximeleta an orange wine? Based on my research “YES, INDEED!” However, Chrysalis states otherwise:

“Tximeleta (the Basque word for butterfly) is a rosé wine, made exclusively from Fer Servadou grapes. We bled clear juice from the freshly crushed fruit before it had chance to extract any character from the skins. The purpose of this was to increase the ratio of skins to juice for the Fer Servadou red wine – a component of the Rubiana blend. The bled juice was fermented on its own and was originally allocated to the Mariposa blend. However, after evaluating this wine, we were so impressed with it that we decided to bottle it on its own. This wine is decidedly Old World in style – blush in color, focused fruit, with crisp acidity.” – Chrysalis Vineyards February 2015 VIP Newsletter

So folks, there you go, Chrysalis refers to Tximeleta as a “rose”. But based on the wine’s color, I’m calling Tximeleta an orange wine ;).

 

Salute! Sante’!

 

Resources:
sloveniaforyou.com
thinkslovenia.com
The Oxford Companion to Wine by Jancis Robinson

 

“No Water, Please!”

Annual Reminder

Anyone who has been wine tasting with me or casually enjoying a glass, okay, a BOTTLE of wine, knows my pet peeve is pouring water in between wines. Folks, this is a BIG NO-NO!

An experience tasting room clerk will know better and rinse your glass with a white wine, usually it is Chardonnay. If you are lucky your glass will be rinsed with Viognier :). If the tasting room clerk has not learned this taboo practice, KINDLY, place your hand over the glass and say, “I prefer a white wine rinse or a new glass.” If she gives you that “How dare you stare” or a bizarre look, further explain WITH A SMILE, “when you rinse with water, it always leaves remnants of water in the glass and I am left with diluted wine”. Depending on the vineyard’s wine inventory, the tasting room clerk may simply change your glass; make sure you say THANK YOU; even if she gives you the evil eye.

Taylor funny eyes
I’ve been preaching “No Water Please” for years and I continue to observe tasting room clerks committing this blasphemy. Ok, not a blasphemy act, but close to it. Who wants to sip diluted wine? NOT MUAH! Unless… you are a wine novice, eagerly wanting to appreciate red wine. I observe this ritual at a party.

The host had a bowl of ice near the red and white wine. The white wine was being chilled in an ice bucket. For a quick moment, I became puzzled than discounted the thought. She had a nice selection of wines; the wines that caught my attention were Bogle Merlot, Yalumba Viognier, which I love, specifically their Organic Viognier, DELICIOUS! I, of course, poured a glass of the Yalumba Viognier.

Later, I witnessed a young woman placing ice cubes in her glass and pouring herself a glass of red wine. My lips were silent but my facial expression must have spoken a thousand words of distressed because I was asked by a gentleman, who was smiling, “You don’t like ice cubes?” I quickly replied, “Not at all!” This exchange caught the young woman’s attention, who proceeded to explain that she puts ice in ALL her drinks, not just wine. Based on her swift response, this was not the first time someone has questioned her practice. She just likes ice. I suggested frozen grapes for wine and ventured on my way.

Now, I know there are many wine drinkers who prefer ice in their wine, especially during the hot weather. To this day, I still do not understand this preference. How can you truly express you appreciate wine when it has been diluted? So to my diluted wine drinkers, instead of using ice cubes, may I offer a suggestion to replace your ice with frozen grapes: red wine = red grapes and white wine = white grapes. Grapes are in season the entire year, so they isn’t any reason try it.

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cigar: Alec Bradley American (medium bodied). cigar-holder: Tobaccology cigar shop & lounge located at Haymarket & Manasssas, VA

 

I hope you enjoyed this annual reminder of “NO WATER PLEASE!” Check out my original post on treevinos.com and search “water”.

Salute! Sante’!

Chrysalis Vineyards & The Norton Story

I’M BACK!

What better time to return to wine blogging then on the first day of launching our website, TAPassions.com. Amoxes and I created TAPassions to share our passion for art, wine and cigars. Our purpose is to unite, promote and share with the public the love and passion we hold for these topics.

The last time I posted a wine blog on treevinos.com was February 2015. I shared that I was working on several projects. The projects were the private publishing of my Love Letters book (158 pages), which was a surprise wedding gift to my husband Amoxes, at the same time planning a destination wedding in Montreal, Canada. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS TO ANYONE! Thank goodness, I had a fiancé who was very involved in all the wedding planning. The second, third and fourth projects were getting married, creating a wedding book-story (114 pages) for our parents and self and developing the website.

Even though, I was not wine blogging, if you followed me, “Treevinos” on Instagram and/or Twitter, I still found time to sip, puff and write (once I got rid of the writer’s block that was an result of exhaustion). Therefore, many of the upcoming wine and cigar blogs will be a mix from the past and present.

In celebrating the launching of TAPassions.com, we are having a bottle of Chrysalis Vineyards 2011 Norton Estate. Oooh, this 2011 Norton Estate has aged deliciously; ink-like color with hues of garnet, a thick texture, aromas of molasses and spice, and rich fruit and earthy flavors-YUM. The 2011 Norton Estate reminds me of Chrysalis’s Schitz & Giggles; another FANTASTIC fall/winter wine. I LOVE NORTON! A BOLD MASCULINE wine, rich in flavor!

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In my past life, as an employee of Chrysalis Vineyards, I enjoyed sharing the Norton story. If you heard the story before, skip to the end and if you have not heard the story, enjoy:

The Norton grape was named after Dr. Daniel Norton who was from Richmond, Virginia (VA). The Norton grape was very popular and won many awards. However, due to Civil War and Prohibition times, the grapes vines were pulled and burn and the wine was used for sacramental purposes only.

In the 1990’s, Dennis Horton, owner of Horton Vineyards, VA brought the Norton grape to VA and introduced Norton to Jenni McCloud, proprietor of Chrysalis Vineyards. Jenni who is passionate about Norton, reintroduced the Norton grape to the wine industry to acquire its due prestige title again.

You can find the Norton grape in Missouri, but under the name of Cynthiana. The Norton grape is similar to the Concord grape; it has a thick skin and jammy and fruity flavors. The unique thing about the Norton grape is the color of juice. The juice of the Norton grape (a Vitis aestivalis) is red versus clear from your typical grapes (Vitis vinifera) that produces red wines, such as Bordeaux’s.

Chrysalis Vineyards Norton Estate and Locksley Reserve, which is my ultimate favorite, has won many awards. Chrysalis Vineyard has the largest plantings of Norton in the world.

If you get an opportunity, you have to taste Chrysalis Vineyards Sarah’s Patio Red (another story I enjoyed sharing with customers. I will save that story for another time):). Sarah’s Patio Red is 100% percent Norton; a red wine made like a white wine with cherry and jammy flavors. Sarah’s Patio Red makes a tasty Sangria and moist chewy brownies (instead of water, use Sarah Patio Red ;). I refer to Sarah’s Patio Red as the red wine for beginners and beer lovers.

Chrysalis Norton Estate pairs well with a steak, hearty stew, chili or just because:).

If you enjoy a bold, earthy, spicy and/or jammy wine, try Chrysalis’s Norton wines. Also, you have to try the Norton jelly, c’est tres bon!

Chrysalis Vineyards
The Ag District Center
39025 John Mosby Highway (U.S. Highway 50)
Middleburg, Virginia 20117

Aaah, it feels good to be back! Stay tuned to TAPassions.com.

Salute!