WEINGARTEN
WEINGARTEN MARCH 2013
1. WINE NEWS & TRENDS
2. WINE & FINANCE
3. WINE CALENDAR
4. WINE TASTINGS & EVENTS
5. THIS AND THAT
6 WINE QUIZ
7. LETTERS
1. No
Need
to Uncork: Draft Wines Are Gaining Favor
The Best In Boxed Wines: Thinking Inside The Box
Product Pick: Classic Trio wine box
2.
Long-term wine investment is the key says 'Crystal Ball'
adviser
Investing in wine
3. March
1-3 6th
Annual New York Wine Expo
March
11-15 The Fifty-second
National
Wine Week
March
27
Something
to Wine About:
Wine Tasting & Comedy
4. Carignano
[Carignan]
del Sulcis [Sardina] at Eataly
What Argentina did for Malbec, Sardina
may do for
Carignano (Carignan).
Eataly is
New
York’s Italian food & wine lovers mecca. At La Scuola Grande over an
all
too short 2 hour lunch, we literally feasted on delicious assorted dishes
and
made a wine discovery: 100% Carignan wines can be especially
delightful.
Not in the style of the French or Spanish blending varietal, but wines
from
Sardinia: Ancient, bush-trained pre-Phylloxera vines (Latin vines)
preserving
their original rootstock thanks to the sandy soil. All tasted AUTHENTIC-
one
could easily felt/tasted Sardinian Terroir. Unfortunately, this is
increasingly
a rare experience due to the proliferation of international wine styles.
Sulcis
wines
sport a wonderful nose and naturally, like almost all Italian wines, were
deliciously food matched.
Carignano
is
outstanding with lamb chops and grilled meats and also goes with
well-seasoned
cheeses. Like Chianti it matches well with tomato sauces. Our
tasting
selection prices ranged from $20 to $60. My favorites were obviously the
higher
quality, older vine (80 year average age of vineyards) wines:
Sardus
Pater IS Arenas, Carignano Del Sulcis Doc Riserve 2008 $30 100%
Carignano
Santadi
Terre Brune Carignano Del Sulcis Doc Superiore 2008 $60
Carignano
95%, Bovaleddu 5%
The
parting
words that I strongly recall were: “If you drink Carignano, you live to
100
years old”.
IF TRUE,
Step
aside French Paradox and buy and drink all can of these wines BEFORE this
news
gets out! :)
KOSHER
WINE
TASTING EXPERIENCE
This year
while I missed the presence of some of top offerings previously tasted, as
usual this was overall a fun experience. I recommend this special wine
tasting
whether you are Jewish and keep kosher or are not even a member of the
tribe!
This year I especially enjoyed the unique Bokobsa Boukha Fig Brandy as
well as
the offerings of the Psagot winery.
Irene’s
Tasting Notes:
Shiloh
Mosaic (Israel, 2006) was among my favorites. The wine is a blend of 60%
Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Petite Verdot and 6%
Petite Syrah. It's full bodied and spicy, with notes of black fruit,
vanilla,
and coffee.
Psagot
Edom (Israel, 2010) is a Bordeaux style blend of 75% Cabernet
Sauvignon,
25% Merlot - full bodied, rich and spicy.
Herzog
To Kalon Generation VIII Cabernet Sauvignon (California, 2006) has a
bouquet of
dark berries followed by rich flavors of fruit and oak. Retailing for over
$150
a bottle, on par with other Napa Valley Cabernets, this wine is definitely
not
a bargain, but will definitely impress any Kosher wine connoisseur.
Clos
Mesorah (Spain, 2010) - a blend of Carinena, Garnacha and Syrah, a
very
elegant wine, with complex structure of spice and red fruit on the palate
and a
wonderfully perfumed nose.
What was
most
memorable was Irene and I tasting two identical high quality 2009
Cave
wines (Binyamina Winery). They were identical except one was Mevushal [An
extra
step can be taken to make wine kosher] and the other was not. Mevushal
wine is
heated to 194 degrees Fahrenheit. It remains kosher even if non-Jews
handle the wine and is the kosher wine usually served in American
restaurants. What
was the
difference in taste? To again quote Irene:
The
Cave
(Israel, 2009) comes both Mevushal and non Mevushal. Even though modern
flash
pasteurization technology doesn't require "cooking" the wine, the
difference in both the nose and palate is hard not to notice. Mevushal
wine is
strongly dominated by cooked red fruit on the palate and the complex
nose and
structured tannins that non Mevushal. The Cave is boasting disappear in
the
Mevushal one. So don't cook your wine unless you absolutely have to!
NYC
Winter
Wine Fest
Here we
tasted 200+ everyday wines at the Best Buy Theatre, a very
convenient
location but a bit crowded. This year there were many generous food
stations with plenty of cheeses, pasta and the like. My value
discovery
was Calina Carmenere from Chile $11. Also memorable was Erasmo
Reserva Di
Caliboro Erasmos 2006 $33 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 10%
Cabernet Franc.
To be
researched:
A claim
by
The Most Romantic Wine (TMRW) Caroline Cellars Ice Wines. When I
mistakenly remarked to my plus one they were from the Finger Lakes, I was
corrected and informed no from Canada. I flippantly remarked: “Same
thing”. I was instantly chided and was lectured that only Canada and
Germany do not use short cuts. “They are made from grapes that have
been
intentionally left on the vine passed normal harvest to freeze. After a
few
frosts of temperatures in the range of 14°F to 9°F or lower, the grapes
are
handpicked and immediately pressed while they are still frozen.” I
have
to check with NY State wineries if they do not use the same procedure, but
rather “they pick earlier and freeze them”.
While I
enjoyed tasting these somewhat sweet wines and find them appropriate for
Valentine’s Day - I would strongly argue against their slogan as being
gospel: The
World’s Most Romantic Wine
™. They did not make Gayot’s top10romantic-wines list but
then, neither did the most
obvious choice—Pink champagne!
5. Green tea,
red wine stop
Alzheimer's in its tracks
Red
Wine – More Good News For Those Who Like To Imbibe
WINE: The urge to consume
6. Which
wine
does NOT match well with asparagus?
a) Grüner Veltliner b) Sauvignon Blanc c)
Chardonnay d) Riesling
What is
the
best way to learn about wine?
a) Read
books
b) Take
wine
classes
c) Buy a
corkscrew and use it
d) All of
the
above
7.
READER:
Very interesting newsletter! José Manuel Ortega Chairman O. Fournier
Group www.ofournier.com
HW:
Thank
you. I look forward to reviewing more of your wines in the future as well
as the progress of your Argentina project.
JMO:
We have
sold and reserved more than 22 properties in 8 months. Let me know if you
need
further info.
READER: I enjoy reading these...thanks for sending!
BTW
my
full length wine tasting comedy is coming to NYC on 3/27...would love to
have you and any help spreading the word is appreciated. Link: http://gothamcomedyclub.com/show.cfm?id=230970&cart
HW:
Thank
you we have mentioned it above- it is wine fun and I can strongly
recommend this a wine talk/tasting that will interest and amuse both
newbies
and wine geeks!
READER:
Once
again Thanks for your comments and insights. You note that men age like
wine,
it has been noted that while that is true, women on the other hand age
like
milk. While writing this I am savoring a brilliant Pinot, from of all
areas,
New York. It is a Brotherhood, America's oldest Winery. Apparently the US
State
Dept. serves this at official dinners.
READER: I
wholeheartedly agree with you on the Chateau Bastor-Lamontagne. It
was
excellent and, if I recall correctly, an outstanding value. Cheers.
HW:
GMTA. Cheers.