Ever since I was wee little person, wine was an everyday part of evening meals in my family. I credit this to both my parents’ inherent “European-ness” ~ my mother emigrated to the USA in her mid-twenties from Britain. My dad grew up in a tight-knit Italian community in the city of Pittsburgh. His grandfather made his own wine, gardened his own vegetables ~ he even grafted a tree that had a branch for peaches, and a branch for apples. (Or pears … for some reason I’m drawing a blank!)
At the dinner table, wine was always present. The Italians believe it aids in digestion. Having studied and lived in Italy for over six months, I can attest to the fact that most native Italians don’t gratuitously drink alcohol. It’s part of their meal, part of the tradition of it all. Food is more than sustenance in Italy, and everything seems to have its place and its reason. It’s a really beautiful and fascinating thing.
John and I are big fans of wine, and we get a total kick out of spending serious time in our liquor store, wandering up and down the aisles of “Chairman’s Select” bottles, reading labels, checking point scores and picking which ones we want to try, and which ones just don’t quite meet the needs of our palate that day.
Additionally, because I work in the restaurant industry, we are lucky enough to get some really great bottles of vino that would normally be unavailable to the general public. Pennsylvania (for any non-local readers) is pretty persnickety about how it sells its wine. Having lived here the majority of my life, I’m used to it, but I can imagine it would be a HUGE adjustment for anyone new to the area (unless they were from the only state with more archaic liquor laws … the beautiful state of Mass).
We toyed with the idea of keeping a wine journal for awhile before actually starting it ~ but the following are the bottles we were drinking in February & March 2010, when the wine journal began!
February 2010
Selections from a liquor rep:
i. The Red One; First Drop Wines
2009 South Australia
13.5 %
Blend: Cabernet Sauvignon 56 %, Shiraz 31%, Barbera 5%
Notes/Comments: Drinkable red ‘food’ wine. In Philadelphia, Vine Street Imports.
Grade: B
ii. Sauvignon Blanc, Walnut Block Wines
2008 Marlborough, New Zealand
13%
Notes/Comments: Herbaceous and citrus aromas with ripe gooseberry and hint of tropical fruit on the palate. In Philadelphia, Vine Street Imports.
Grade: B
iii. Boxhead Shiraz
2008 South Australia
14%
Grade: B
A wintery wine date:
i. Cabernet Sauvignon, Reserve
2006 Wildhurst Vineyards
California
13.5 %
Notes/Comments: Intense fruit flavors reminiscent of of black cherries, currents and blackberries … toasty oak notes.
Grade: B+
ii. Cabernet Sauvignon, Reserva de Familia
2007 Santa Carolina, Chile
14%
Notes/Comments: Complex aromas such as chocolate and pepper … eminently drinkable.
Grade: A
March 2010
“Lost” dinner night with J & J
i. Zinfandel, Quackenbush Mt. Vineyards
2007 Lake County, California
14.6%
Grade: B
ii. Syrah Fusion; Borra Vineyards
2006 Lodi, California
15%
Blend: 60% Syrah, 30% Petit Sirah, 5% Zinfandel, 3% Mouvedre, 2% Grenache
Grade: B
iii. Old Vine Zinfandel, Bogle Vineyards
2007 California
14.5%
Notes/Comments: Intense blackberry, black cherry, and raspberry flavors … vanilla & oak.
Grade: B+
iv. The Wolftrap ~ Syrah, Mourevedre, Viognier
Boekenhoutskloof, Franschoek
Cape of Good Hope, South Africa
14.5%
Blend: Syrah 68%, Mourevedre 30%, Viognier 2%
Notes/Comments: Spicy, aromatic red blend … french oak matured.
Grade: B +
Miscellaneous Vino
i. Chateau Haut Lavigne
2007 Cotes de Duras, France
12.5%
Grade: B –
Date Night
i. Misterio, Cabernet Sauvignon
2007 Mendoza, Argentina
13.5%
Notes/Comments: Friendly wine, easy but sophisticated … scented nose of cassis and black pepper… full bodied and long after-taste.
Grade: C
ii. Pinot Noir, Jargon
2008 Napa, California
13.5%
Notes/Comments: Just good wine!
Grade: B+
Scrabble Night with J & J (Palm Sunday)
i. Goats du Roam, Red Blend
2008 South Africa
14%
Blend ~
61% Syrah “for structure”
14% Cinsault “for softness”
13% Mourvedre ” for spice”
8% Grenache “for fruit”
4% Carginan “for freshness”
Notes/Comments: Bold, flavorful, big.
Grade: B+
ii. Petit Sirah, Ravenswood Vintners Blend
2007 California
13.5%
Notes/Comments: Deep, concentrated black fruit flavors. Smoky & delish. Never lets us down.
Grade: B+
iii. Zinfandel, Dynamite
2007 Sonoma, California
14.8%
Notes/Comments: Spicy black raspberries, cherries & plums, hints of dark chocolate, licorice and crushed black pepper. Very flavorful, bursts with fruity spiciness in first taste (I loved it).
Grade: B
iv. Chardonnay, Two Oceans
2008 South Africa
13.5%
Notes/Comments: Fruity, citrus-y, vanilla. A favorite of John.
Grade: B
** for something different and quirky, B+
Sidenote: This post was named after watching a documentary about one of John & my favorite actors, Johnny Depp, who has a doctored tattoo that now reads “wino forever.” We loved it, and since we are winos forever, I thought it was the perfect title for my first wine post.
D5 Creation