August 9, 2004
We Minnesotans lament that our summers fly by so quickly, trying to pack so much into so few months of pleasant weather. Then again, we appreciate this yearly opportunity more than, perhaps, residents of southern California. During San Diego’s recent “Battle at the Bridges” golf tournament, a commentators mention the perfect weather: “Yes, another boring day in paradise.”
Something to think about. On the local wine scene, we roll back the calendar to July 20th and The Kitchen Sessions, hosted by The Kitchen Window at Calhoun Square, and sponsored by The Rake. It was my first experience of this venue, and the state of the art cooking classroom was quite beautiful. Muffeletta’s executive chef, JD Fratzke, dazzled with the depth of his culinary knowledge and the wizardly display of his craft.
Unfortunately, I only partook in the third of three courses – grilled grass-fed tenderloin over asparagus spears with a beurre blanc sauce with lemon and thyme. It was quite divine, and pleasantly accompanied by an Argentine Tempranillo, which was well introduced by Muffeletta’s sommelier. The next Kitchen Sessions event is scheduled for August 18, and you can find the details on here on The Rake’s website.
A second event, also sponsored by The Rake, was TC-Uncorked’s inaugural event on July 27. Held at Louis XIII at Southdale, this wine tasting featured quite a variety of bottles supplied by The Cellars, who were kicking off their summer “Progressive Sale.” TC-Uncorked is the rebirth of the now-defunct Wine Brats. Liz Andert and her associates Mark and Chris have restructured the company which organizes events geared toward those learning about wine (and beer-check out their event August 23 at Great Waters Brewery in St. Paul). For more information, go to their website at http://tc-uncorked.org/index.html.
The wines at the Louis XIII event included three whites, one rose, and four reds. Of the lighter wines, I enjoyed the white Bordeaux (Graves) the best. For $10, this was a delightful summer sipper. Toad Hollow’s Chardonnay was disappointing, as I have enjoyed many of their wines in the past. I found the rose, a Spanish Grenache called Mirasol, very pleasant. Again, at $10 retail, this is a great summer picnic wine, or one to take out on the boat. The world of rose and blush wine is transforming itself overnight with many dry wines that possess great varietal character. Watch for more on this subject in future segments.
The red wines included a Spanish rioja which was rather sharp (acidic), but would make a decent food wine (as is their intent). Next up in this international potpourri was an Italian Primativo, which, again, for $10 was a decent food wine. The Australian cabernet from Leasingham was another story, very vibrant and complex. And it retails for $20, so you would expect more. Sadly, to my taste, the French Bordeaux was “skunky” (herbaceous), as I find many young Bordeaux to be. Surely not worth the $30 price tag.
On to a third event! This time a fundraiser wine tasting for the IFDA, an association of artist and designers, held Friday July 30. Liz Andert, of aforementioned TC-Uncorked, was kind enough to assist me in this Napa Valley wine event. Almost twenty wines were sampled – eight whites, nine reds and two dessert wines.
Here are the abbreviated tasting notes: (Wines available locally came from Excelsior Vintage in Excelsior; the wines with an asterisk are wines direct from Napa Valley- information about ordering wine directly from Napa can be found at my website www.louiethewineguy.com.)
– Sebastiani Chardonnay ($12): surprisingly complex and bright two and a half stars
– Napa Wine Co. Pinto Blanc ($15): a smooth sipper two stars
– Honig Sauvignon Blanc ($15): nothing special one and a half stars
– Sterling Chardonnay ($18): the name without the quality two stars
– Conundrum ($24): this is always a favorite; wonderful picnic wine three stars
– *Chateau Montelena Johannisberg Riesling ($30 at the vineyard; not available elsewhere): ask Liz about this wine; she flipped; spectacular four stars
For the reds:
– Napa Ridge Merlot & Cabernet ($10): mellow; not noteworthy, one and a half stars
– Rex Goliath 47 LB Rooster Cabernet ($8): wow! Great wine for the price two stars
– *Lorca Petite Syrah ($20 at Trader Joes): only 200 cases produced; great spice and backbone; a great barbecue wine two and a half stars
– *Bennet Lane “Maximus” ($24): by the same winemaker, David Phinney, of “The Prisoner” fame; a great meritage wine; jammy and powerful! three and a half stars
– *Elizabeth Spencer Cabernet ($25): a truly delightful Napa cab; the essence of valley floor cabernet; as good as Silver Oak at less than ½ the price three and a half stars
– Duckhorn Decoy ($28): some guests loved this wine, perhaps influenced by the name; I found it pale compared to the Maximus; still a nice wine two and a half stars
– *Elyse Zinfandel ($29): many were begging for a second sip of this ambrosia; truly stunning was all I could write four stars
– *Amethyst Cabernet ($34): the epitome of Napa mountain grapes; huge extract; why I believe Napa to the simply the premiere wine region in the world; this wine had those savvy guests drooling! four stars
And for dessert:
– *Prager Port Works Tawny Port ($35): a lighter style port than I prefer; very nutty; a sweet sipper; many loved this wine three stars
– *Joseph Phelps ’98 Late Harvest Riesling ($30, at the vineyard): wow, wow, wow!! Everyone who tasted this nectar could not believe how good it was; I expected as much, with Phelps long the standard bearer for great late harvest Riesling; a perfect bottle five stars
With two more Napa Block Parties wine cruises on Lake Minnetonka yet to come this month, August promises to finish well. And it’s not too early to start thinking about Napa Valley and 3 “insider” tours that I will be guiding this October. Check it all out at www.louiethewineguy.com.