Wannabe Wino

Lots going on in the Northern Virginia area this weekend! You'll probably find us out apple picking as it's that time of year, but be sure to check out some of these great tastings too!

At Out of Site Wines in Vienna, tonight, from 5-8pm you will be able to sample 2 Australian wines, a Chardonnay and Shiraz/Grenache Mourvedre blend that sounds very interesting.

On Saturday from 1-4pm at Out of Site you will find "Autumn Weight Wines" poured by the County Vintner, including a Shiraz-Viognier, something I've been dying to try!

Head on over to Arrowine in Arlington tonight from 5:30-7:30 to find a tasting that is great for WBW! Value wines of Portugal poured by Dionysos Imports.

Find yourself at Arrowine tomorrow from 1-4 and Michael Downey selections will be pouring Italian wines.

At the Curious Grape in Shirlington tonight from 6-8pm you will be tasting "Earth and Vine American Wines" including a CA Sauvignon Blanc and a WA Cabernet Sauvignon.

You can stop by on Saturday for a tasting of fine chocolates as well!

Enjoy!

First of note, is a wine dinner coming up on June 4th being hosted by Church Street Cellars in Vienna. The dinner will take place at Bazin's on Church and feature a Robert Mondavi Reserve Wine Dinner. The festivities begin at 6:30 with appetizers and the cost is $100 per person. Entrees include Pekin Duck, Double Thick Lamb-Chops.....reservations will be taken by the restaurant at 703-255-7212.

Church Street will be tasting on Saturday from 12-3 with Grappoli Imports. Wines include: Barbi Orvietto, Graofoli Sparkling, James Judd Cabernet Sauvingon and James Judd Petite Verdot.

On Sunday from 12-5 and Monday from 12-3 Church Street will feature 16 wines from an Enomatic Wine Dispenser! It looks like they may be getting ready to introduce this feature in shop in the future!

Today from 6-8 at the Curious Grape in Shirlington you will find Artisanal American Wines and Chocolates on the tasting bars. Wines will be featured from California, Oregon and Washington.

On Saturday the Curious Grape has All New-Zealand Favorites looks like a great line-up, including one of my favorite summer styles, a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.

If you are in town on Monday, head to the Curious Grape from 10-2 and receive a 20% case discount mix or match. Nothing is excluded, so take this opportunity to pick up some of those wine's you've been eyeing or perhaps to do your own at home mixed case learning as Eric Asimov of The Pour has been encouraging us to do!

Arrowine in Arlington offers wines from Dionysos on the tasting bar tonight from 5:30-7:30, indcluding a French Rose and a red Portugese wien they claim is perfect for grilling.

On Saturday from 1-4 Arrowine will be featuring a dozen wines in a SuperTasting of Tuscan Burgundy and Other Wines of Terrior from Rosenthal Wine Merchant.

Out of Site Wines in Vienna is also featuring a Memorial Day Weekend special, though be careful as you will have to carry your wines due to the street being closed for the ViVa Vienna Festival. On Saturday and Sunday they are offering $20 off any purchase of $250 or more if you mention the ViVa Vino Vienna Email Special. Try saying that 5 times fast.

Tonight Out of Site Wines will be tasting the 2005 Obvio Torrentes (a wine I have previously reviewed) and a 2001 Bodegas Valsacro "Valsacro Red."

Saturday from 12-2:30 Out of Site will feature Portugal, France and Spain with a Verdelho, a Sancerre and a Grenache/Tempranillo blend. From 2:30-5 they will feature a selection from Grappoli Imports including a Prosecco, a Verdicchio and a Sangiovese.

On Sunday at Out of Site you will find, from 12-2:30 Sauvignon Blacn from Chile, Chardonnay from France, and Malbec from Argentina. From 2:30-5 look from a Veltliner, a Garnacha and aPaso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon.

Not to mention, if you are feeling adventureous and want to leave the hectic tourism of DC behind you, the West Virginia Wine and Arts Festival is going on from Saturday-Sunday. It's located at 601 South Queen Street in Martinsburg, WV. The cost is $15 per person and looks like a great way to spend a Memorial Day weekend.

Be safe this weekend and I hope that everyone has a festive and relaxing Memorial Day Weekend!

The Curious Grape in Shirlington will be hosting an Easter Wine Pairing on Saturday from 1-4. At least 4 wines will be poured.

On Monday at the Curious Grape the winemaker from Langmeil in Australia will be pouring 3 of his Shiraz offerings and the Curious Grape will also have 2 Australian whites available from 6-8pm.

At Out of Site Wines in Vienna tonight you will find Springtime selections on the tasting bar from 5-8pm.

On Saturday from 1-4pm Out of Site Wines will be having a double sized tasting bar with one featuring appetizer and ham wines for Easter and the second table featuring lamb and dessert wines.

Tonight at Arrowine in Arlington you will find wines from around the world being poured from the Country Vintner from 5:30-7:30pm.

On Saturday from 1-4pm at Arrowine you will find a Taste of Oregon on the tasting bar.

Lots of great tastings in the area for you to check out this weekend!

On Saturday Out of Site Wines in Vienna, VA will have "Superstars from France and Spain" on the tasting bar from 1-4pm.

Unwined in Alexandria is having a great event on Sunday at 5pm, West Coast Wine Tasting. You need to RSVP though as space is limited: Please RSVP to 703.820.8600 or vanessa@unwinedva.com

Tonight at Arrowine in Arlington you will find a tasting off Italian wines from 5:30-7:30pm.

Saturday at Arrowine there will be more than 10 wines being poured at the Super Tasting of values.

At the Curious Grape in Shirlington from 6-8pm tonight is a tasting of Springtime in Italy.

Tomorrow at the Curious Grape from 12-4pm is the Art of the Blend featuring "interesting" blends.

On Wednesday, April 4, at the Curious Grape (I know, not the weekend, but you'll deal) are New Arrivals from Austria from 6-8pm.

Spring Selections from France and California will grace the tasting bar at the Curious Grape on Thursday April 5 from 6-8pm.

Tonight at Church Street Cellars in Vienna, VA wines from Australia will be poured.

So, being the wino I am, I am signed up for a ton of local wine shoppes' email lists and I get updates (really, a ton of them) about local tastings and what's happening on the weekends. I thought I'd try doing a quick summary of the events you can attend in the DC Metro Area.

At Arrowine in Arlington tonight there is a free tasting of Spanish wines being poured by a rep from Elite Wines. It runs from 5:30 to 7:30 and you get a discount (typically 10-20% on any wines purchased that were tasted).

Tomorrow at Arrowine from 1-4 there's another tasting of wines from Michael Downey Selections.

At Out of Site Wines in Vienna tonight from 5-8 there is a pouring of wines from Schild Estate wines from Australia.

Tomorrow at Out of Site you will find 5 wines from JAO Imports being poured, including a 2005 Fontaine-Gagnard Bourgogne blanc and a 2001 Christia Beaumes de Venise.

At the Curious Grape in Shirlington tonight you will find Not to be Missed French Values and Irish Cheeses from 6-8.

Tomorrow at the Curious Grape there is an Italian Winemaker tasting from 1-3. As always, you'll get a tasting bar discount and more if you buy a case, even a mixed one.

That's it for now, thought I'm still missing a few emails.

Sunday night we drank this bottle of 2005 Milton Park Chardonnay from South Australia. We actually went to a Superbowl party but peaced out at half-time mainly cause I was having an allergic reaction to the place we were. By the time we got home I was all better and we decided to watch the rest of the game and drink a bottle of wine. I picked this bottle up for $8.99 at the Curious Grape. It had a screw cap and is 13.5% alcohol by volume.

On the nose of this botttle I found an herbal scent with wafts of vanilla coming out of the glass plus oak and just teensy bit of butter.

In the mouth, there were spices, a little lemon and a bit of peach. It had a fairly long finish. Overall, a very drinkable everyday wine, especially for the price!

Well, no not really. Jose and I are not friends, so I don't actually drink margaritas. However, the flavors and aromas I got from this bottle of wine inspired me to start singing (which trust me, no one actually wants to hear, it's bad enough my poor husband has to put up with it!).

The bottle was a 2005 Chateau de Chasseloir Muscadet Sevre Et Maine Sur Lie. I picked this on up at the Curious Grape yesterday while browsing the shelves. The wine cost $10.99, had a cork closure and was 12% alcohol by volume. I didn't pair it with anything, just used it as a sipping wine.

The juice in my glass was really aromatic. I also picked up some grapefruit on the nose. In the mouth, this wine displayed layers of minerals, then limes. And finally, oddly enough, and the key to my singing was that it was salty in the finish. I can honestly say I've never tasted salt in a glass of wine before.

So margaritas in a wine glass, it worked for me! I'd get the bottle again, good price and really an interesting wine.

After falling off my quest for everyday wine, yesterday found me back at the Curious Grape, mainly to get a present for a friend, but also to pick up a few bottles for us (really, can any of you walk in the wine store to get one thing for a friend and not get at least a bottle for yourself??).

Last night we had this bottle of 2005 Pinot Bianco from Alois Lageder. It hails from the Alto Adige area of Italy, is 12.5% alcohol by volume, cost $10.99 and had a real cork closure. I paired it with the last of the Zuppa Toscana, not the best pair, but eh, I really wanted a white one last night.

On the nose I found minerals and just a hint of apple, with prehaps the tiniest bit of grass showing through. In the mouth there were sweet apples and white grapes. The finish just keeps going, easily for a minute or more, the taste just lasts and lasts. The wine was smooth and full in the mouth and very easy to drink. I think this one was an excellent value for money.

We had a bottle of 2005 Weingut Hillinger Pinot Grigio last night. I'm really not a pinot grigio person. They usually don't do much for me, but that's probably because after being subjected to so many bad ones by the glass in bars, at weddings and at people's houses I'm not sure I'm willing to part with my wine money for any more. I find them flabby and lacking character and that leaves me hesitant to buy them.

Matt wanted to try buy this one when were at the Curious Grape. It was inexpensive, around $8, had a plastic cork and is 12% alcohol by volume. I'll say it's better than other pinot grigios I've had, but it still didn't do much for me.

It had an indistinct nose, which generally isn't a good sign. A little sweet and floral in the mouth. I also got some sort of sweet fruits, but I really couldn't pick them out, they just seemed indistinguishable. There was a slight rubbing alcohol aftertaste on this one. It's not for me.

Anyone have any suggestions for a good pinot grigio to give me some faith in this wine?

A bottle of Adega de Pegoes 2005 Vihno Blanco, purchased at the Curious Grape for $6.99 while seraching for everyday wines. 12% alcohol by volume and had a real cork closure.

The nose of this bottle had a lot of promise. It was very floral and had a huge aroma. It was also very fruity on the nose, with pears, peaches and melons showing through. I also thought I got a whiff of the muscat grape.

What a disappointment in the mouth. There was no delivery on the flavors in the nose. It was simply flat, lacking any real flavor. It tasted like sweet water. Surprising, it got a little better when I ate some chocolate with it, but not enough to make me run out and get another bottle. I will keep looking for my everyday wine, this one was all show and no action.

Now, I would hazard a guess that many an avid wine drinker finds themselves, at one time or another with a bag of corks. Or a box, or perhaps, as was the case in my last apartment, an entire drawer. For whatever the reason, I think many of us just don't want to throw the corks away. This is a picture of our bag of corks. It currently resides on top of our wine fridge. At the moment, it is not as alarmingly full as it once was, since over the summer I did this to our corks in order to make placecards for our wedding. At the time, I wasn't sure I would have enough. The joke was on me. After making over one hundred of these placecards for our wedding, I still had a bag of corks. And that bag has not gotten any smaller in size over the course of the fall. So today I went and bought this corkboard kit at the Curious Grape. I first saw one back in the day at the Williamsburg Winery and thought it was pretty darn nifty which is why I had all the corks in the first place. Then I thought it would be much more fun to use them at the wedding since they were all bottles we had consumed at one point or another over the previous 3 years. (I'm really not sure that says great things about our consumption habits, but hey, I was a law student at the time, does that give me a good enough excuse?) Personal touch and whatnot. Plus we put half bottles of wine in all the welcome bags at the hotel, so it was kind of going on a theme or something.

Which brings us to today's purchase. The kit says you need around 200 corks. Which will probably leave me with around 200 extras. So what to do with the rest? I did see a creative idea this year. My mom sent me a reindeer ornament made of corks. It was quite cute, and clearly thought up by someone who has a creative gene I am missing. Oh well. Anyone need a cork trivet? Or twelve? And please, tell me I'm not the only nut that saves wine corks. And if I am, lie to me, I promise, I won't hold it against you! I'll take a picture of the finished product, hopefully I won't hotglue a cork to myself.

Tu necesitas beber esto vino si quieres vino blanco y barato. Sorry, got a little carried away with my Spanish there. Our second bottle of the evening last night was this little gem, Obvio, Vino Torrontes 2005 from Argentina. Synthetic cork, 13.5% alcohol by volume and cost me $9.99 at the Curious Grape. For those who don't speak Spanish, Obvio means obvious, so my title today is "It's obvious!" and the first sentence says "You need to drink this wine wine if you want white and inexpensive wine.

I almost titled this post "Deja vu" because I swear I've had this wine, or something quite like it in the past, yet I can't place when or where. Whatever the case may be, it's yummy. This is a light and simple wine, very floral on the nose. My notes say: topical fruits in the mouth, good acid holding it together. Easy to drink and I lurve it(apologies for the spelling, just a small joke among friends). Great value for the price and an interesting grape.

For the second time this week, I was sent scurrying off to learn about this grape in my Oxford Companion to Wine, and since I'm trying to increase my knowledge, I'll bore you with what I learned too. As usual, Jancis Robinson is both helpful and informative as I find that the Torrentes grape is parented from the Muscat of Alexandria grape. And I think that's where the deja vu came in, it is slightly muscat-like, but has just enough different characteristics that it didn't come to mind immediately.

Last night we drank this bottle of Paringa 2004 Chardonnay/Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc. It ran me $9.99 at the Curious Grape, is 13% alcohol by volume, had a real cork closure and comes to us from South Australia. This is another bottle bought in my pursuit of the everyday wine.

In my opinion this wine doesn't know which of these grapes it wants to be and the blend didn't work for me. It's composed of 47% Chardonnay, 38% Semillon and 15% Sauvignon. The nose is oaky and a little buttery, but the Sauvignon Blanc gives it subdued citrus in the mouth with a bit of grass and mineral. The combination just seemed odd and contrived.

In the mouth, it felt oily and had a long, not altogether pleasant finish. Maybe if it had been a little colder, but our wine fridge seems to have decided it wants to stay at one temp and no amount of fiddling on my part is changing its mind. I wouldn't buy this bottle again, it's NMS.

I picked this bottle up for $6.99 at the Curious Grape on my excursion for everyday wines on Thursday. The full title includes Vin de Pays des Cotes de Gascogne. Closed with a synthetic cork, it weighs in at 12% alcohol by volume and is composed of 75% Colombard, 15% Ugni Blanc and 10% Gros Manseng.

For the price, the wine makes a pretty tasty white table wine. It reminded me of a slightly odd cross between a sauvignon blanc and a riesling. Light and floral on the nose, but with the citrus and acidity of a sauvignon blanc in the mouth. I thought the structure was well done and would definetly recommend this at the $6.99 price tag.

No, just kidding. I have no idea how long I've been searching for something I can drink inexpensively as an everyday table wine. At times, I find something I really enjoy, but then eventually get bored with, or simply want to try something new. I find it's great to have some fall backs for a Tuesday night that you know will be decent, are well priced and will work with your food, but at the same time, I'm always itching to try something new.

Which brings me to tonight's wine. I picked it up today at the Curious Grape for $10.99. It had a real cork closure, is from Sicily and is 12% alcohol by volume. The bottle is an Alcesti 2005 Grecanico. I had to bust out my Oxford Companion to Wine to get some info about this grape as I have never had it nor heard of it before today. Jancis Robinson writes "Sicilian white grape variety whose total vineyard area increased from less than 3,000 ha in 1980 to 5,172 ha/13,100 acres in 2000. The name suggests Greek origins and the wines currently made may not be maximizing its full aromatic, rather sauvignon blanc-like potential." Okay, that helps, but doesn't give me any idea of what I should really expect from this wine.

So here are my opinions. Have you ever been to an orchard when the apples are just past their peak in the sun? Or where they are crushing apples to make cider? That's what the nose of this wine reminded me of. Also, with an odd little hint of pine. In the mouth, it's tart apple with a little citrus zing on the end. Crisp, and it matched well with the Asian Basa filet I sauteed lightly in butter, salt and pepper and our purple mashed potatoes (thought of you Brent when I made these tonight!). I think I will have to buy another bottle of this varietal from another producer so I will have something to compare it to, as I had absolutely no expectations going into this wine.

I spent a good part of the afternoon nosing around the Curious Grape today. Although it's winter and the more likely choice for wine is a nice heart-warming red, we still like to drink the occassional white, especially on nights where I serve light seafood dishes. And, sadly, we have almost run the course of white wines purchased on our Sonoma trip. I ended up purchasing seven bottles for around $78, not a bad deal. They range from $6.99 to $21.99 and all but one were purchased in my pursuit of everyday wine.

Additionally, I was searching for my entry for WBW #29. Keeping in mind my indecisiveness over which bottle of sparkling wine to review for the previous WBW, I didn't want to get caught in the same trap this time. So I figured I would poke around the wine shop and see if I could find anything on my own before asking the salespeople for a recommendation. Sadly, it appears that vineyards don't seem to proclaim on their bottles that they are biodynamically produced, at least none of the bottles I looked at did. I found myself cursing the fact that I hadn't thought to print out the list of producers over at Fork and Bottle. If you have yet to purchase your bottle and you are unfamiliar with biodynamic wine like me, I definetly suggest bringing a list!

When I asked the clerk for help, she couldn't immediately point me to one. She showed me a few she thought were biodynamic wines, but couldn't confirm for sure. Even though she was incredibly busy (they were setting up for a champagne tasting in light of the impending arrival of New Year's Eve) she took the time to look at their inventory log on the computer and point me to some that most definetly were biodynamic wines. And so I am now the owner of what I think is my first ever bottle of biodynamic wine.

I must admit I am still a little skeptical. Plus, it was a little pricier than I am normally willing to spend on something I haven't tested. But, I'll try anything once. So come January 17th, we shall see!

So it must be my entry for WBW #28!

This is my first time participating in WBW and I have tried for several weeks now to come up with a suitable entry.

What I finally came up with was a bottle of Clairette De Die Carod Freres from France, specific appellation: Clairette de die controlee.
You can find out more about the producer and the appellation here. One of the more interesting tidbits is the suggestion that this could be served at daytime meetings...I want to work at a place where it's acceptable to drink at daytime meetings, or meetings of any sort for that matter!

Vital stats of the wine: I purchased it for $12.99 at the Curious Grape in Shirlington, it is 7.5% alcohol by volume and had a traditional champagne type closure.

On the nose, I get lots of flowers. It smells like a spring-time garden. This is a sweet wine, made from 75% Muscat Petits Grains grapes and 25% Clairette grapes. In the mouth I could easily taste the flavors of a sweet muscat grape, apricots, some honeydew melon and a bit of orange.

Lots of small little bubbles, but not too fizzy. I would suggest serving this very chilled and keeping it cold as I found the sweetness to be a bit overwhelming as we worked our way through the bottle. It was light and crisp and perhaps could have used just a bit more acidity to keep the structure. But overall, for $12.99 it was a great deal and something that would be easy and different to serve at a party.

I rate this in the Party Sparkler category! Many thanks to the Culinary Fool for hosting this WBW!

I was trying again to find a wine to review for WBW #28. Tonight we turned to a bottle of 2005 Voulet (with an oomlat on the "u") Antichi Giochi Piemontesi, Casorzo.

And yet again, I don't want this one to be my entry for WBW. I really wanted something different, and I thought this one might fit the bill. And I will admit, it was different, but not quite what I was looking for.

The bottle had a cork closure, was 5% alcohol by volume and cost me $11.99 at the Curious Grape. The wine is produced in Italy.

It was awful with our dinner. The dinner was a very thick steak rubbed with fresh rosemary, broccoli and purple mashed potatoes. The wine was way too sweet for dinner and tasted terrible. I stopped drinking and stuck it back in the fridge.

Took it back out after dinner (nice and chilled) and had it with some dark chocolate. And that made it taste pretty good to me, though Matt preferred it on its on.

As far as being an entry for WBW, it was really not sparkling. It fizzed the teensiest little bit upon pouring and that was it. So I did not find it worthy, but still wanted to write about it in another post.

The title of the post results from the fact that I thought the wine tasted like candied plums, and it's almost Christmas, so visions of sugar plums dancing in my head seemed appropriate.

Tasty for a non-syrupy red dessert wine. Serve it with chocolate, or it probably would have done really well with my chocolate mousse with raspberry sauce that I served for dessert to our company last weekend. Also, make sure it's cold, unless you really enjoy sweet wines. It was just too sweet for me when it warmed up a bit.

I am still in search of a wine to review for WBW. As such, I've been perusing the local wine shops trying to find something interesting. I thought I had found it at the Curious Grape, which may be my new favorite wine store by the way, but again, my hopes are dashed. I came home proudly bearing a bottle of Peter Rumball Sparkling Shiraz, only to find that the Culinary Fool had already displayed the same bottle in her Preparing for WBW series. And alas, I really wanted to find something different so it's on to something else.

Well, I did come across a bottle of sparkling eiswein (yes, really, it exists) but at $70 for a small bottle, Matt was very happy that I did not bring that beauty home.

But the Rumball Sparkling Shiraz still deserves a review! What a fun wine to drink. Matt and I enjoyed it last night over the last (finally!) of the turkey soup and it actually made a fantastic pairing. My soup was more of a stew with potatoes and carrots and such, so it was a hearty meal. I really liked how this sweet, but surprisingly crisp bottle of wine paired with the turkey. I would seriously consider serving this at Thanksgiving next year (or perhaps bringing a bottle to OK for Christmas?). Lots of berry flavors, a bit of plum. Nice tiny bubbles, crisp and refreshing.

If I don't get some of this for Christmas, I think it will for sure make its presence known again in our house over New Year's. For $25 a bottle, it was a really fun sparkler and I think it'll make a nice change for the midnight toast on New Year's. At least it will be different!