Girlfriends Wine Club

What this is all about...

It all started with a "little" book called 1001 Wines You Must Taste Before You Die. I asked a few girlfriends if they would be interested in working through the book with me. I mean, 1001 wines, by myself? Thought that would seem a little selfish. Fortunately, I have some of the greatest friends in the world and they have willingly agreed to take the plunge with me. We have gone a little "off book" but I haven't heard a complaint yet.

As we continue with these tastings, I hope to share not only the wines and what we thought of them, but also the food we paired with the wine and recipes as needed. Food can make or break a wine and our tastings have borne that out. I want to share that information and help break the "mystique" of wine.

We are expanding our wine knowledge and narrowing our choices at the same time. The real time goal is for all of us to find a few varietals (that is what the different grapes are called) that we like and then find the lowest, consistently good price point for those varietals. You do NOT have to spend a lot of money to drink really good wine!!!

13 tastings down, 100s still to go. So grab a glass, pop a cork, and join us!

Monday, March 17, 2014

Malbec - March 2014

Argentina - Malbec

I learned a lot this month. Way more than I expected and that isn't necessarily all bad.

Malbec came from France to Argentina in the mid 19th century. Today, there are only about 13,000 acres of Malbec in France and there are over 75,000 acres of it in Argentina!

The Basics

Malbec is one of the six legally allowed grapes in Bordeaux.

It is called "black wine" in France because the skin is so dark.

It is super sensitive to climate and growing conditions!

It is grown in 3 different, distinct growing regions in Argentina.

April 17 is World Malbec Day

The Growing Regions of Argentina

Lower region - below 1000 feet - these grapes have a thinner skin and the fruit is more soft and supple. These grapes are ideal for roses and mass produced reds. We did not taste any of these!

Further up on the lower slopes of the Andes - 1000 to 1200 feet - thicker skin & deeper flavor concentrations. More aromatic wine with an intense and vibrant color. The most respected of all South American wines come from this region and Mendoza is smack in the middle of this.

Highest - up to 10,000 feet - the Salta Province is among the highest growing regions in the entire world. ONLY Malbec is grown up here. These are not common, yet.

Tasting Notes

Malbec should always be aerated. It is best served at about 59 degrees. One way to get it there is to open the bottle and put it in the fridge (not re-corked) for 15 minutes prior to serving.

This wine is as food friendly as Merlot.

We tried our wines with bleu, manchego, & cheddar cheeses and chili and carne adovada.

First up, Finca Roja from Patagonia. This is a mid-level growing region but not the same conditions as the well-known Mendoza area. This was a pretty good bottle especially at $9.99 at Corridor Wine (Total Wine) in Laurel, MD. There was nothing left of it by the end of the evening, so the group liked it too!

Next, we tried Catena. This is one of the best bodegas in Argentina and people rave about their Malbec year after year. This particular one is rated 91 points. It cost $14.97 at Corridor Wine. It is from the Mendoza region. It was vastly different from the first wine and was yummy, but not the favorite of the night by any stretch! Everyone thought this was amazing with the bleu cheese (except me because I don't eat bleu cheese :-). This is the only bottle that had anything left in it that night and I sent it home with one of the members.

Our third bottle was Chakana, also from Mendoza. This bottle has a 92 point rating and seems to be a constant winner on Robert Parker's list. This bottle set us back $24.99 at Corridor Wine and was quite delicious! Oh yes, it was the first bottle to be emptied, in fact. It has a lovely, artsy jaguar on the label. It went well with everything.

Our final bottle of the evening was a blend. Flichman Tupungato was $13.99 at Corridor Wine and I will buy it again! This was the second bottle emptied. It was lovely and rounded and jammy and just really delicious. This is definitely a recommended buy! I just need to see if Wegmans carries it.

Next month, Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon! Until then,

Cheers,

Kitti

Friday, February 21, 2014

Pinotage - February 2014

South Africa Pinotage

Pinotage is truly native to South Africa. It was developed in 1925 by a professor of viniculture at the University of Stellenbosch. It is a cross of Pinot Noir and Cinsault (aka Hermitage).

Why these two grapes? Pinot Noir is renowned for its aroma & flavor, but is difficult to grow. Cinsault is easy to grow abundantly and is very disease resistant. The hope was that the hybrid would take on the best of both grapes. The reality is that Cinsault won. Pinotage grapes grow like crazy! While this is good if you are just trying to get grapes to market, it is bad for wine because the more grapes on a vine, the more diluted the flavor becomes. Vintners in South Africa work very hard to keep yields down on Pinotage.

Pinotage rarely shows its Pinot Noir roots. Instead, it leans toward a darker fruit, tobacco, chocolate note and flavor wine with high tannins and low acid.

Pinotage wasn't really planted until the 1960s. Unfortunately, it was successful or popular and, with sanctions in place on the country, plantings decreased. After apartheid, everything South African became vogue and the wine started shipping out. Initially, the wine was poorly received in the US due to the contrast in American wine tastes and the high tannin of the Pinotage.

Add money and research and time and you get to present day. Pinotage is still unpredictable but it is widely planted and vintners are playing with blends and new technology for wine making.

One of the top wineries in South Africa, Kanonkop, does their own thing with the wine. They use old fashioned methods to produce their wines, including using open top fermenters. These wines are MASSIVE and can age forever! These are weighty, dark fruit wines with heavy tannins.

Blending is a common practice to fill in the "holes" in the Pinotage. Cape Blend is the latest trend and the hope is that it will become synonymous with good, South Africa wine across the wineries.

We are tasting the following wines tonight:

Fairview Pinotage 2011 - $11.99 - this is the product of Charles Back who brought us "Goats Do Roam" - expect a full bodied, smooth & earthy wine. - Update - WOW! Pinotage is amazing! Who knew? We liked this one and we did end up opening a bottle of "Goats in Villages" that Charles Back made and we enjoyed that as well. This was a nice bottle. Yummy and very drinkable at a great price point!

Groot Constantia Pinotage 2012 - $21.99 - This winery was founded in 1685. Expect this wine to be fruity, full bodied, and well balanced. Update - nice wine. This was not my personal favorite of the evening, but the bottle was dry by the time the night was over. Enjoyed by all.

Kanonkop Pinotage 2011 - $35.99 - Kanonkop wines are good upon release but cellar very well and become even more impressive with age. Expect a big, very full wine with gobs of dark fruit and serious tannins. - Update - the hands down favorite of the night! Oh my, this was yummy. I can only imagine what a few years in bottle would do to this. Since this tasting, I have tried Kanonkop Kadette which is a Pinotage blend. OMG - it is AMAZING! Jammy and drinkable and screams "I will get you in trouble!" which means it is a must buy. If you are ever at Nando Peri Peri - check their wine menu for it (they give 8 oz which is like super huge!). I will be looking for both of these at Wegmans near me very soon!

All wines had to be shipped in from Cali. Seriously, Cali! Pinotage selection in Virginia sucks.

We will be tasting these wines with charcuterie, hard cheeses, chili con carne (how is it chili without the carne????), lasagna, & a heavy meat stromboli.

Pictures and notes to be updated soon.