Golubtsy in my Glass!

What is golubtsy, or galumpkis you ask? Oh...don't ask me. Basically, they are cabbage rolls but, why there are dozens of names for this basic stuffed veg dish, I could not tell you. But, why is it in my glass? It's not! Not really...It's this crazy Cab Franc Carménère blend I'm drinking.

I was jonsing for a Greek red, or a Tempranillo or anything with some nice figgy flavors to go with our Med spread the other night. I didn't have any of that so decided to open this bottle of Oops (as in Gal-oopsie) instead. This is a pretty fun wine. The label is pretty good entertainment in itself. I recommend it for light (yet informative) reading next time you're in the Chile aisle at the wine shop.

Anyway, I was very pleased to find a touch of that fig I was looking for on the nose. But, as it opened up, it's true Cab Franc characteristics took charge of the situation. This is where the golubsty comes in. Taster A kept saying "cabbage" and I was like "that's nice dear." Then it hit me: Stuffed pepper? No. Cabbage rolls! Don't let that scare you; it's just to say it's got this meat, tomato, veg, spicy thing going on. There's also some leather, geranium, and there's the fig and some soft berry in the background.

On the palate, more tomato, a touch of dry fig, olive and citrus, and a lot of spice. This wine is just great with food which is what we used it for. If you like sipping fruit-forward wines, I'm going to warn you not to try doing that with this one--you'll be like "whaa??" Oh, and whatever you do, don't pair it with dark chocolate unless you want to see how to make a wine taste like a bitter espresso shot. The wine is a little thin on the back of the palate, but a lingering peppery/smoky finish round it out. Needless to say, it went well with dolmas.

Oops

Vintage: 2007
Growing Region: Valle Central, Chile
Blend: Cab Franc (84%), Carménère (16%)
Alcohol: 13.9%
Price: ~$12

Aromas: Fig, pepper, tomato, veggies, leather, geranium, almond, wild strawberry
Flavors: Tomato, fig, olive, citrus, dust, allspice, pepper, juniper berry, tobacco

$10 Tuesday: White Côtes du Rhône

We've had this label before in a Rosé and been quite pleased with it so we thought what the heck, let's try the white.

Le Pas de la Beaume
White Côtes du Rhône

Vintage: 2008
Alcohol: 13.5%
Grapes: Grenache Blanc (65%), Clairette (20%), Marsanne (15%)
Price: ~$10

Aromas: Green apple, honeydew, tropical fruit
Flavors: Green apple, lemon, mineral, butter
Acidity: moderate
Sweetness: ultra-dry
Mouthfeel: round

On the nose is crisp green apple, honeydew, and something tropical--like starfruit. But, it could be that I just have starfruit on the brain because dhonig said it...(have I ever even had starfruit?) The flavor is quite starkly mineral, with a rather incongruous buttery finish and, as one observer put it, it is "dryer than a cork." This is a food wine, and does have adequate acidity to serve that purpose.

I don't know, I wasn't all that inspired by this one. It's a decent good table wine that goes well with food, but I don't have much to say about it. I know people who like this wine. I think I prefer the Rosé. I couldn't remember having a Grenache Blanc before but, checking back, I see indeed we have, and it seems we enjoyed that one a bit more.

$10 Tuesday: Perrin Côtes du Rhône

Perrin Reserve
Red Côtes du Rhône

Vintage: 2006
Alcohol: 13%
Grapes: Grenache (60%), Syrah (20%), Mourvedre & Cinsault (10%)
Price: ~$9

Aromas: Bramble, wet stone, garrigue, violet, pepper, raspberry
Flavors: Cherry, orange, coffee, pepper
Acidity: moderate
Mouthfeel: suede


Summary: This is great everyday table wine with plenty of CdR character. The great thing about a cheap Côtes du Rhône is it has so much more interest than a similarly priced mass produced new world wine. It is not as plush and may take some getting used to if you are accustomed to something more homogenized but, I really recommend getting out of your comfort zone and trying something like this with a meal. Personally, I find a lot of the mass produced wines give me heartburn, whereas, a wine like this has the opposite effect. Overall, this is a pleasant, not overly complex or bold wine with a velvety peppery finish.
You can read more about the 2006 harvest over at Beaucastel Blog.

Wine and 'za

After a long (reeeally long) week, what could be better than coming home and flopping on the couch with some homemade pizza and a big glass of red wine? I ask you. Pizza doesn't require anything fancy but, tonight we went a little uptown with this bottle of Isole e Olena 2005 Chianti Classico. As a side note, our friend and fellow blogger Richard, from A Passionate Foodie is a big fan of this wine, and also met the wine maker, Paolo De Marchi earlier this year.

Isole e Olena
Chianti Classico DOCG

Alcohol: 13.5%
Grape: Sangiovese (blended with less than 20% Syrah depending on the vintage)
Price: $19.99

Aromas: Sandalwood, cherry, tomato, violet
Flavors: Anise, allspice, pomegranate, cherry, tomato, sandalwood
Acidity: Tangy
Mouthfeel: Clean


This is an unusually light-bodied Sangiovese but, flush with floral aromas with deep woody bottom-notes. If I were a man, I'd splash this stuff on as aftershave. On the palate, bright red-fruit flavors are subdued by mouth-filling savory notes giving the wine a mellow tang--it definitely has the umami goin' on. It did fine with the pizza, but I think with the delicacy of flavors we have in this wine, it actually was better to drink it on it's own after the pizza had been devoured.

$10 Tuesday, Zorvino Winery

Those of you that follow this blog will remember that I just had a jones this spring. I just had to go back to my roots and get to a maple sugar house and stick my head into the steam. I found a sugar house up in Chester, New Hampshire one Sunday that was sugaring and I just had to go. B was doing homework and I was on a mission to find an arc, feel the heat on my jeans, smell the sap boiling and after 30 years, just find someone else that just understands what it means to sugar.

Driving up the back road in Sandown, New Hampshire, just five miles from my target I saw a sign by the road that said, “Wine Tasting”. I almost sprained my ankle jumping on the breaks. What is this, I’m in the middle of Southern New Hampshire? Well, let me fill you in about Zorvino Vineyards.

I walked into the tasting room and got a cheery, hello and welcome from Rue (right) and Sally who were operating the tasting room. We sat down and started to chat about the wines and the vineyard, and what I learned rocked my universe about business models for making wine.

This part of New Hampshire is not buffered by the ocean like Jewell Towne is, so the weather is, well New England weather. Thus it is difficult to find a grape to produce quality wines. But you are Jim Zanello, and you have a heritage of wine making. What do you do? You source your grapes. You source your grapes from Tuscany, Northern California and South America. Check this out, it’s like having two harvest seasons! Right off the bat, I have affinity for this winery. But can they make wine? Yes.

Zorvino Vineyards makes small batches in stainless steel. They are using modern techniques, to make wines in a style that are very flavorful, full bodied, beautifully extracted and just great values.

They are very open about where the grapes are sourced. On the tasting sheet, they list the growing region. They do not barrel age, but they do use chips. The result is a very mildly wooded wine that is similar to the styles of Chile, Argentina and Italy.

I brought two bottles home, the 2007 Chardonnay made with grapes sourced from the Curico Valley of Chile and the 2008 Carmenere, grapes also sourced from the Curico Valley of Chile.

Chardonnay 2007
Zorvino Vuneyards

Alcohol: 12.3%
Price: $10.00

Color: Straw Yellow
Intensity: Pale
Aromas: Vanilla, melon, honey, butterscotch, malt, oak
Flavors: Lemon, mango, butterscotch, oak, mineral, stone, lime zest
Acidity: Moderate
Sweetness: Dry
Finish: Long

Summary: This is a rather refreshing experience. Here in central, southern New Hampshire, I have found a chardonnay that I actually like. I’m not a big Chardonnay fan, I prefer Sauvignon Blanc. Here is a Chardonnay that is moderately buttery, mildly oaked, ever so slightly toasted that was very enjoyable. Nothing in this wine is overpowering. It is not trying to be the world’s best Chardonnay. Like a good friend that stopped over to shoot the breeze, it’s just a pleasurable experience.

We are having this tonight with baked potatoes. This will go good with anything you’d serve Chardonnay with, and you’ll like it.

Back at the Vineyard, I tasted the Dry Mascato, Pinot Grigio, the Chardonnay (above), Cabernet Sauvignon, and the Merlot. Chatting with Rue, I told him about my Italian heritage and how I have Sangiovese in my blood. At that point, he took me back to the tank for a special barrel tasting of the Sangiovese that Zorvino is making. It’s going to be real gooood and I’ll have to make a trip up when it is released.


Carmenere
Zorvino Vineyards

Vintage: 2008
Alcohol: 12.5
Price: $15.00

Color: Garnett
Intensity: Dark
Aromas: Cherry, blueberry, smoked meat, black pepper, hay, American oak, rose
Flavors: Cherry, chocolate, licorice, tobacco, allspice, cinnamon, blueberry,
Body: Full
Sweetness: Dry
Tannins: Soft
Finish: Moderately long

Summary: This is a big surprise. Who would have thought that a good carmernere could be made in New Hampshire. We opened this wine with a tomato based vegetable pasta dish. It complemented the spicy dish very well. The flavors are bold even though the aromas are a little tight. Once it opened up, it became floral. The wood notes are complimentary, not dominant, meaning that it is not overpowered oak and smoke. This leaves the flavors and aromas unfettered by over oaking.

This is a good valued table wine made by an emerging winery, right here in New England.


I would have this with Mediterranean lamb dishes, Italian tomato or roasted meat dishes, pizza or Mexican. It is an easy wine to have with heavier foods.

C. Donatiello Rosé

Last fall I had the opportunity to visit C. Donatiello Winery at the site formerly occupied by Belvedere, with fellow wine bloggers Lenn, Sonadora, Spoon, Joe, Thea, Nick, and Patrick. Chris presented us with an awesome flight of his estate Chardonnays and Pinot Noir. The Rosé which I had not tasted before last night, was a parting gift which I brought home and tucked away to save for warmer weather. Last night, I decided to follow Sonadora's advice and open it with bbq chicken wings, cornbread and cole slaw.


C. Donatiello
Rosé

Vintage: 2007
AVA: Russian River Valley
Alcohol: 14.5 %

Color: rose
Intensity: medium
Aromas: pine nut, orange blossom, strawberry
Flavors: raspberry, strawberry, mandarin, vanilla
Body: light
Acidity: moderate
Sweetness: dry
Finish: moderate

Summary: C. Donatiello specialized in Chardonnay and Pinot Noir so, this Rosé is likely made from Pinot Noir grapes. Upon opening the bottle, I instantly recognized the aroma of Sonoma. It has very enticing notes of cream which sink back into citrus and pine nut. The flavor is somewhat citrus forward finishing with sparkling raspberry and strawberry notes. The alcohol content is surprisingly high--tasting it, I would not guess that it was above 13.5%. This wine pairs nicely with food with plenty of palate-cleansing acidity. Unfortunately, the winery does not sell their Rosé but if you stop by in person, you might be able to sample it.

Tish's New Project

Don't miss the new collaborative "wine-style" site Dregs Report organized by W.R. Tish which launched today.

...okay, that's all--git over there! With forty odd contributors, there's lots to read!