In this episode, Jeff reviews two rosé samples from Cornerstone Cellars…
Wines Tasted:
Cornerstone Cellars 2014 Rocks! California Rosé and Cornerstone Cellars 2014 Corallina Napa Valley Rosé
These wines are available for purchase online at CornerstoneCellars.com.
Stay Rad,
Jeff
What’s the most awesomely different rosé you’ve had? Leave a comment, and let us know.
In this episode, Jeff explores the effects of running on how we taste wine…
Wine Tasted:
Clos la Chance 2014 Reserve Chardonnay Pure
Clos la Chance 2014 Reserve Viognier
Clos la Chance 2012 Reserve Merlot
Clos la Chance 2011 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
And here are some pictures from the race…
Jeff and Kara Before
The View from the Starting Line
The Prize Table
Your 3rd and 1st Place Divisional Champs
Stay Rad,
Jeff
Alright athletes, tell us what your favorite wine and sports pairing is. Leave a comment, and let us know.
In this episode, Jeff has Pinot Noir on his mind…
Wine Tasted:
Hartley Ostini Hitching Post 2013 Hometown Pinot Noir
Food Pairing:
Sausage and Asparagus Pizza with Cherry Tomatoes, Mozzarella, and Goat Cheese on a Whole Wheat Crust
After the Fact:
Hey… I forgot to give you a score! This Pinot Noir is an easy 91. Easy.
Stay Rad,
Jeff
Sometimes…
I drink White Zinfandel.
Yeah…
I said it.
Considering that 10% of all wine sold in the United States is White Zinfandel, it’s hard for me to imagine that anybody reading this post right now has never had a taste of that sweet, pink, fermented grape juice.
Considering that you are the type of wine drinker that reads blogs, it would be hard for me to imagine that your personal wine cellar has anywhere close to a 10% composition of White Zinfandel. In fact, I doubt that your collection has any White Zin at all.
Why would you?
It’s pink. It’s sweet. It’s one-dimensional.
Dare I say…
In my neck of the woods, you’d get your ass kicked for drinking that stuff.
So…
What the hell was I thinking when I brought home this?
Sutter Home 2012 California White Zinfandel: The Original
Now…
I know that most of us say that we would not be caught dead with this sweet stuff in our houses, but you’ve gotta know that there is a time and a place for White Zin.
A while back, I went to a wedding in Phoenix, Arizona (and wrote about it here). It was 95 degrees out, and I was wearing a warm-ass suit.
They were serving some White Zin at the bar, and I decided to go for it.
And…
It was exactly what I needed.
Cool.
Slightly sweet.
Versatile.
It was exactly what I needed at the time.
From that moment forward, I swore that I would never overlook any type of wine just because it’s not en vogue.
There is a time and a place for everything.
Now…
It’s been quite some time since my last White Zin experience, so I thought I’d try my hand at a food pairing with the original pink stuff… Sutter Home 2012 California White Zinfandel.
First, let’s give it a taste, and see what we’re working with…
Color: Pink. I mean… seriously. This is what you would expect White Zin to be.
Nose: The fruit is definitely present on the nose. Big, juicy strawberries, with a bit of lemon/lime soda poured over the top. There’s a surprisingly nice minerality here.
Taste: More of the same. Sweet strawberry juice with lime citrus and some nice mineral notes.
Score: There’s nothing that exciting about a wine like this. It’s neither an in-your-face mind-blower, nor is it a nuanced thought-provoker. It just is what it is… A delicious, and refreshing, adult beverage. Crack one open right after finishing some yard work, and you’ll be stoked. It’s an easy 82 for me. That’s right. I said it.
Now…
On to the food!
Cabbage and Carrot Slaw with a Spicy Peanut Dressing. The acid of the wine, elevates the peppery notes from the slaw.
Hot and Sour Soba Noodle Soup with Peas and Gyoza. The wine provides a refreshingly fruity note to the sour and earthy edges of the soup.
Seriously, guys…
If it’s been a long time since your last White Zinfandel, you may want to give it another shot.
What’s the worst that could happen?
Stay Rad,
Jeff
Okay, guys… Here’s your homework assignment. Head on down to the grocery store with five bucks, pick up a White Zinfandel, and leave your tasting notes below. We want to know your take on the pink stuff.
In this episode, Jeff tries a $5 wine with no detectable sulfites…
Wine Tasted:
WELL REaD 2012 California Red Wine
Stay Rad,
Jeff
Have you tried this wine? Leave a comment and tell us about it.
So…
Tonight, my wife went out to dinner with a few of her sorority friends from San Jose State. I was invited, but it just seems more like a “girls night” type of thing. I decided to skip it.
Tomorrow, she’s going to Napa with some other friends. Again… it’s a girl thing, so I’m out. Don’t trip, though. Come Sunday, Kara and I will be heading up to Healdsburg for a few days in celebration of our first wedding anniversary. Believe me… I will have my wine time. I will have my food time. I will have my Kara time.
There are three things I must do when Kara is away.
1) I must eat greasy food.
2) I must watch tv that she rather would not.
3) I must open up her wine and have a taste.
So, earlier I made myself a greasy plate of red, white, and blue potato hash (She took the camera with her, so you’ll have to trust that it looked delicious). Right now, I’m watching the Giants beating the Padres 2 to 0. And here’s the wine…
Redtree 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon. When the wife takes the camera, I steal pictures from the interweb.
Kara decided to pick up the Redtree 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon at the BevMo 5 Cent Sale. Cecchetti Wine Company, the producer of this California red wine, gives a suggested retail price of $8 a bottle. BevMo is selling it for $10 during the 5 Cent Sale. My guess is that you would normally be able to get the wine for 6 or 7 bucks (Let’s all check BevMo.com after the sale is over).
Wilfred Wong (the resident wine taster for BevMo) gave the 08 vintage of this wine 88 points. The Wine Enthusiast gives the current vintage an 85, calling it “A great wine to buy by the case for a house red.” The wine maker pitches this screw-top cab as being both fruit-forward and food-friendly (They are also, apparently, fans of alliteration).
On the real, though… We both know you’re reading this to know how I feel about it…
Color: Rose bush red. It is light in color. I can see my fingers through the wine.
Nose: Chalk dust (I do love chalk!), orange peel, cocoa, and a little bit of tomato. Not bad at all.
Taste: There is some fruit at the beginning, but not what you’d expect. It tastes a little like a cranberry, orange, and lime zest cocktail. There is some nice acidity that would go nice with pasta, pizza, and pistachios (I can do it too, Redtree). The only drawback with this wine is that it is extremely thin. There is not much of a backbone at all. I would drink it now if I were to buy it again… I mean… If Kara buys it again.
Score: 83. Pitched as a value red table wine, I can’t see the value in spending any more that $6 a bottle for it. I’ve paid less for better (L’Authentique anyone?). Again… It’s not bad. It just ain’t that great either.
Well, look what happened…
I start writing, and the Giants extend their lead to 4 – 1. I should do this more often.
Did I mention that the wife will be away tomorrow?
Stay Rad,
Jeff
Yesterday, Kara and I did a little tasting at Guglielmo Winery. I originally went there with the intention of tasting and scoring EVERY wine we tasted. Things did not go as planned. The problem was that a tasting room is not an ideal space to score wines. Too many people. Too many wines. Too many distractions. That, and it’s embarrassing to write down a score in front of people working for the winery you are scoring.
I will say that I had a great time there. None of their wines felt like must-haves, but Guglielmo is a fun place to be. All of their wines fall in that 83 – 89 point range for me. All of the people that work there are more like 92’s. Great, great folks and a neat place to visit if you are ever visiting the Santa Clara Valley.
The wine that stuck out the most to me was the 2010 Estate Grown Rosatello. It was an interesting rosé wine made from the grignolino grape (a super nerdy varietal from Italy). Guglielmo claims to be one of only two wineries in California to grow the grape in any significant quantities. The wine seemed food-friendly enough, so I purchased a bottle for $16.
I’m not a HUGE rosé drinker, so it is a tough category for me to score (It’s tough to type too. Alt + 0233 = é). Part of this blog experience is to try new things. So how do I transition from a novice into an expert on pink wines?
THE THREE BOTTLE THROWDOWN!
This morning, I picked up two more bottles of Rosé from Trader Joe’s to compare against the Rosatello. One from the Rioja of Spain ($6.99) and one from the Rhone of France ($4.99). I know what wines I have purchased, but I will not know which of the three I am drinking until after I take my notes. I had Kara pour the wines into three different glasses…
The three Rosés were labeled with wine charms: "Red", "White", and "Blue". In the battle between Spain, France, and the USA, I think we all know who should win... or do we?
After I taste the wines, I’ll see which one is which. Wish me luck…
Wine #1:
"Red": You know what time it is!
Color: This is the darkest wine of the bunch. It haa a cool blood-orange type of color.
Nose: There is a really pretty nose to this one. Peach skin, oranges, and licorice dominate the nose. There is a strong minerality that is rounded out with a hint of strawberry.
Taste: This is what I would expect a Rosé to taste like. Very dry. There’s a nice orange and peach fruit to this, but the wine is much more driven by its minerality and acidity. There is a long rubbery finish that I really like. My guess is that this is the French Rose.
Wine #2:
"White": More like orange! Heyohhhhhh!!!!!!
Color: The color is a very dull, very light, orange tint.
Nose: The nose is very tight. There are hints of sugar and salt. There’s a subtle touch of peach.
Taste: The first second of the taste was salty minerality. This flavor gave way in an instant to a beautiful mouth full of cream and licorice. It has some oak notes that remind me of a California red wine. I really like this! I’m thinking that this is the Spanish Rose.
Wine #3:
"Blue": The candle is for Evan.
Color: The color on this wine is almost identical to that of the second (“White”) wine. Light, dull, and orange.
Nose: The nose is giving subtle hints of peach and minerals.
Taste: All I can think of when tasting this wine is the viscosity. This wine is the thickest of them all. There’s a light acidity and minerality. This wine would go well with food, but mostly because it would not get in the way of the food. I doubt, however, that it would do anything to enhance the food experience. This wine confused me. It’s not bad. It’s pleasant. It just doesn’t bring much to the table.
Now…
The scores have been tallied, and the I’ve seen what’s what. Here are the results from worst to first.
In last place…
Marques de Caceres 2009 Dry Rose Wine. Rioja, Spain. This wine made me "Blue".
I originally gave the Marques de Caceres an 85+, but the more I thought about it, the more I disliked it. Again, it is not bad. The problem is that for 7 bucks, I can find at least two wines that are significantly better in a similar price range. Give it an 82 with shrugged shoulders.
In second…
Cellier du Rhone 2009 Cotes du Rhone Rose. "Red" and Rad!
The Cellier du Rhone is a steal at 5 bucks a bottle! Give it an 86. This is what I want from a summer time rosé.
And in First Place…
Guglielmo Private Reserve 2010 Estate Grown Rosatello. Santa Clara Valley, California. In spite of the look, this is NOT a crappy "White" zin.
The Guglielmo Rosatello is not your typical rose. I am, however, in love with the creaminess of this wine. Give it an 88 and save it for a hot summer afternoon.
So, there you have it. I don’t know if I’m an expert yet, but I think I learned a lot today.
Take it away, Ethel.
Stay Rad,
Jeff
Stay Rad 