The Bacchus Babes

Ashlee was in LA at a trendy Japanese spot last fall where she and group of friends perused the wine menu and decided to try something different… Albariño. A dry white wine that was served at a cool temperature, crip with a refreshing finish.  It was a hit with the sushi and the other Japanese treats shared amoungest the table. In fact she liked it so much that she took a picture so she would not forget what she enjoyed so much… too bad the picture it out of focus and hard to read (typical). This particular wine was made by Don Olegario, a well known producer in Spain.

Albariño (Galican) or Alvarinho (Portuguese) is popular in Spain and Monaco and Portugual. Sometimes compared to Gewurztraminer or Viognier, this beautiful little grape originates from the Rías Baixas. Usually medium to full bodied, the aromas often evoke stone or tree fruit, and when done well, the balanced acidity and long finish make for a really elegant experience. They should be enjoyed young, and chilled.

We already notes sushi as a lovely pairing, and any seafood would do very well because the wine will cut through the buttery richness of the fish. This is also a great wine for appetizers, such as bread and cheese. Other excellent producers include: Martín Códax and Salneval.

Vampires and wines have something in common. Neither should be left out in the sun.

Ok. Comic relief over.

Rather than be cliché and do a tasting of Vampire Vineyards for Halloween, we thought we would reach out to the avid readers in the group and celebrate the underworld of wine in conjunction with the release of the movie Twilight: New Moon (don’t act like you don’t know what we’re talking about).

Edward is obviously torn over whether he wants red or...red

Vampire Vineyards is an interesting wine making group with a cult following and an occult-ish website. Currently located in Paso Robles, CA, they produce and bottle several varietals (including White Zin…we guess that is supposed to be “blood light”).

The wine we tried was the 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon. The marketing team at VV is very serious about their theme, as the cork is a bright red.  The wine had a nice purple color with that characteristic red rim. The alcohol was 13.8%, so not too high. It had a pleasant aroma that evoked red fruits with a subtle smoky essence. Now for the dirty details.

This wine seems to be a good “starter cab” for those who prefer more delicate reds. Not too heavy, but with enough body to stand up to rich food pairings. The fruit is obviously young, and needs some time to mature. If you tend to hiss at the idea of oak in your wine, this cab will be tolerable. The balance leans a little towards the acidic side, but we both agreed it would make a good sangria. At around $10, it is a middle of the road Cab. We did come into the experience with high expectations due to the exceptional PR.

The final thought? They are better at storytelling than they are at making Cabernet…but we’ll keep our minds open for the other varietals.

This just goes to show…drink wine because you enjoy it, not because you got wrapped up in the hype. There is no one right way to experience the fruit of the vine!

Famous people like to diversify. They have clothing lines, workout tapes, custom perfumes and reality TV shows. A few of them even like to dabble in wine. Whether they are merely financial backers or vineyard owners, big names like Greg Norman, Bob Dylan, Olivia Newton John, Joe Montana, Gerard Depardieu and “The Godfather of Wine” Francis Ford Coppola are all over the shelves.

Does their fame and fortune make them capable of producing fantastic vintages? Who knows. Does it give them the resources to hire people who can? Definitely.

We are naturally skeptical of “wine as a hobby” production, but were pleasantly surprised when we tried FFC’s 2005 Claret. It runs for around $20 in the grocery store and has a very elegant look on the shelf. It was an offer we couldn’t refuse.

The real indicator of technique is taste, not flash, so we’ll get into the nitty gritty details. The blend is made up of Cabernet, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec, which creates a lush, rich wine that is neither too light nor too heavy. There are pleasant berry notes and a hint of anise on the finish. It went well with the lamb shoulder we ate that night that was seasoned with thyme. Conclusion: not necessarily a home run, but it scored a RBI for the win.

As for the other celebrities? Consider them on our sip list.

In general, those pinkish looking wines are not the ones we gravitate towards when perusing the shelves. Rosés are the middle children of wine. Not quite red, not quite white and often the last picked for the baseball team in gym class. We believe it is time for our blushing friends to stand up and BE NOTICED!  Before we begin, let’s be clear. We’re not talking about “white zinfandel”. You will never find that in our repertoire. We’re talking about the traditionally made pink wine that has no added sugars.

In effect, a rosé is the best of both worlds. It is light, yet has a depth of flavor. It can be paired with salad, but also with barbecue. In essence, it is the perfect stepping stone for those white wine devotees that just can’t seem to make the jump to the dark side of reds.

The production method is similar to that of red wine, but the skins are separated from the juices earlier in the process. Winemakers use the same grapes you would see in your typical red wines, such as Cabernet, Grenache, Pinot Noir and Merlot, so the end product is not the sickly sweet syrup that marketing campaigns would lead you to believe. In Elise’s words, “Rosé is red wine on a diet”.

Now, skeptics of the world; GET OUT THERE AND EXPERIENCE THE MAGIC YOURSELF!  We tried the Grand Theatre 2007 Bordeaux Rosé, which sells for around $8. It had bright fruity notes with an elegant dryness. Perfect for any warm weather occasion. We took advantage of the wine’s versatility and made green beans with truffle oil, creamy potato salad and spare ribs on the grill. We suggest serving the wine cold, that way it is refreshing as well as flavorful!

August heat can get pretty unbearable no matter where you live. If you’re looking for a wine that is refreshing, served cold and tastes great…you should step outside the traditional varietal box and look for a Vinho Verde!

Literally it means “Green Wine”…as in “young”, not a Doctor Seuss book. Your palate will interpret it as “bright, citrusy effervescence”.

Vinho Verde comes from the Minho region of Portugal, and many of the producers are very small scale, family operations. It has a natural acidity and slight sparkling quality. It is best enjoyed REALLY cold, and within a year or so of production.

While you could definitely drink it solo…we believe in teamwork. By teamwork we mean food and wine pairing.  Try some mild cheeses and bread. We made “quick crostinis’ out of a 5-grain baguette, and topped them with some goat cheese and plum tomato slivers. For the bread: cut into thin slices, place on baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle on some lemon pepper, and bake for a couple of minutes at 350˚F. The subtle lemon in the spice will compliment the citrus in the wine, and the crunchy/creamy texture of the crostini is really satisfying.

In terms of pricing, you can find a great Vinho Verde for around $10 or less! So you can drink some green, and save some too!  We tried the 2008 Aveleda Fonte. It was delicate, flavorful, and had just the right balance of fruit and acidity.

We like wine. We like food. We want to experiment with putting them together and then share our success stories with you! (that is why we have a blog…right?)

So, there is a book called Perfect Pairings, written by Evan and Joyce Goldstein, that has some great recipes in it. Staying true to the title, it groups the recipes according to wine choices, and even suggests specific wines with several price points. 

The recipe we tried was the “Pasta with Greens, Chickpeas, Toasted Breadcrumbs & Pecorino”. The suggested pairing is a “Grassy, Herbal” Sauvignon Blanc. 

The audience was a group of people of mixed ages and taste preferences. One of the ingredients that may scare people is anchovies.  We bought anchovy filets that were packaged in olive oil, so they’re not the salty mess that you get on your pizza.  To prove the success of the recipe, there were people in the group that do not each fish, and they LOVED the meal.

The book does suggest several wines, but the neighborhood grocery store did not stock any of them. (oh no! what did we do?!) Well, we didn’t panic, and went for something that we recognized. The wine we chose was a 2007 Frogs Leap Sauvignon Blanc, and it paired spectacularly. It was also affordable! ($15-25 range at the grocery store)

Tips: Make the breadcrumbs yourself. Everyone has “day old” bread around, or at least some sliced bread. We used sliced wheat bread, put it in the blender, mixed those in a bowl with sea salt (you could also use kosher), fresh ground black pepper and olive oil, and baked them in the oven. Voila. Also try whole wheat pasta. We used Barilla whole wheat penne. (yummy and healthy! who knew?!)

Now that you’ve read about our success in the kitchen, we want to hear about yours!!! Please post a comment below, or email us at thebacchusbabes@gmail.com! It doesn’t have to be formal, it just has to be tasty .

*this post series is merely about suggestion. we are not officially endorsing any of these food/wine pairings. please use caution when preparing any foods at home!

Today we were given the opportunity to try 2 wines from Defiance, Missouri. The winery is called Sugar Creek Vineyards (hence the sweet) and feature poems on their labels (hence poetic…duh) These wines were brought to our attention specifically because of their innovative label design. 

Oh, isn't that creative!

The first wine we tried was a semi-sweet white American table wine called Boone Country White. The wine itself is a great palate progression wine for someone who is just getting into tasting. A great wine to share with friends on a light and breezy day. It is best served chilled (in our opinion, anyway).  Truly, we were impressed by the label. We like the use of color, which compliments the blue bottle, and were consistently surprised by small elements that alluded to home. First, there is a small icon of the state of Missouri as well as a regional logo of a gazebo. Both sparked intrigue about origin, and made us want to get to know the winemakers.  

That brings us to the poem.

White magic

sweet nectar moonshine

truth serum

to a one day

magic carpet ride

snow cone buzz

liquid arrow

at the heart of an all night

festival

unchained animals

dancing like fire gods

as all good spirits ride the hours away

by the grape drawn chariot

We don’t know about you, but we are moved by that sequence of words. It gives you a window into the soul of the wine, and what the maker was thinking when they pulled it out of the fermenter.

The second wine we tried is their 2007 Chambourcin Missouri Table Wine. This wine can be easily enjoyed by itself, or with a meal. We are thinking a hearty stew with several types of vegetables, and maybe a starch like barley. The nose was fantastic. There was a pleasantly pungent essence of coffee, which was also evident in the finish. The wine was a nice, medium bodied red with the right amount of oak and minimal tannin. 

The label for this wine carried on the brand concept for Sugar Creek. All of the elements were there, but in a different orientation, keeping visually interesting. It was almost as if we were playing a game of “find Missouri” on the label. We believe this display of firm identity while maintaining spontaneity communicates the story of the winery, and encourages visitation. (aka: we want to board a plane pronto)

Enjoy the poem!

getting hit

in the

face

with a

purple

flower

soft velvet violet and

vicious

spice infused waves

mediterranean

undertows

a casual

high

note with a

well-mannered

finish

We purposefully did not read the poem before trying the wine because we did not want the words to have an affect on our tasting experience. We firmly believe that reading the poem afterwards enhanced our enjoyment of the wine by challenging or supporting our initial thoughts.

If given the opportunity again, we may try it the opposite way, since that is how the scenario would play out in a wine store or (potentially) at the winery.

CALL TO ACTION!

As our readers, we want to know: what would you do first???

This past weekend The Bacchus Babes decided to explore an out-of-state wine festival to broaden our tasting horizons. We were so affected by our experience that we thought we would share some notes:

ON WINE FESTIVALS IN GENERAL:

Festivals are becoming increasingly popular, and are sprouting up everywhere. It seems as though everyone is trying to jump on the wine bandwagon to expose their product to the consumer population. While we’re excited that wine is catching on, sometimes things get lost in translation, diluting the message.

Wine is an experience, and part of that is environment. During our adventure across state lines, we were corralled like livestock, hustled through the ticket gate, and eventually packed into a small convention room filled with vendors and attendees (see photo for proof).

Though the festival was initially enjoyable, the more crowded it became, the less interested we were in staying. Unfortunately, the consequence of that, is we may not associate the wines we tried with a positive experience. We sincerely believe that wineries should be given more of a fair chance to shine and interact with customers, rather than constantly pouring and moving around their display. Thankfully we arrived early enough to enjoy ourselves and taste some good wines/talk to various vendors before the masses descended upon the festival.

We have been on both sides of the festival experience, as coordinators and consumers. Therefore, we understand the amount of work that goes into running a successful event, but also have the perspective of what a consumer wants to see when they walk through the doors.

5 things that can set a wine festival apart from the rest:

1. Wine education (you’re not opening a bar. wine is meant to be enjoyed, not chugged)

2. Availability of food (keep “food & wine pairing” in mind!! stale crackers/processed cheese are not the height of cuisine!)

3. Exceptional entertainment (if you’re planning a black tie event, don’t hire a hip hop DJ)

4. Adequate seating (people are drinking/eating! they want to relax!)

5. Crowd control (if you’re packing them in like sardines, no one is going to enjoy themselves…the wineries included!)

* When planning a wine festival, setting an achievable goal/mission will help you to develop your concepts in a consistent manner, increasing your chances for success.

We recently participated in a blind (aka: the bottles were bagged so we can’t see the label…we weren’t blindfolded) vertical wine tasting that included 3 “old vine” Zinfandels.

Hold it. There is some jargon in that sentence that should probably be explained.

First, a vertical tasting is when you taste multiple vintages of the same type of wine. The selections do not have to be from the same winery.

Second, if a wine says “old vine Zinfandel”, that means…it’s old. There is no legal classification for the term “old vine”, but the general consensus states that they are 50 years or older, and yield less than 3 tons of grapes per acre. 

Back to our story.

The experience was set up as a blind tasting so that we would not know the vintage years or individual wineries. We were given a 1 oz. pour of each and were asked to evaluate the wines based on color, clarity, aroma, taste and finish.

While all of the wines were clearly indicative of the Zinfandel varietal, when the bottles were eventually revealed, we were faced with some surprises. We had attempted to order them based on vintage year by using techniques such as color maturity and taste development. Though our methods were correct, what we had assumed was the oldest wine based on our evaluation, indeed was not! 

There is a lesson here.

Vintage year plays a leading role in the development of wine characteristics. The 3 selections were from the same region of California, but evoked completely different reactions from the tasters. 

Lesson learned: New appreciation for vintage years. A wine evolves over the ages (or over the 6 months it spends in your basement/closet/makeshift cellar).

For more information about the Zinfandel varietal, we encourage you to check out the ZAP (Zinfandel Advocates & Producers) website and Resource Guide.