Wine Unwrapped Blog
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3/14/2018 0 Comments Zachys' Festa D'Italia 2018  I had the opportunity to attend Zachy's Festa D'Italia 2018 on March 3, 2018. It featured 18 of Italy's top producers. Most were in the area for the Gambero Rosso TRE BICCHIERI tasting in NYC on March 2 and the Great Wines of Italy tasting later in the week. many were pouring their latest releases, some for the first time in the USA.  Virginia Mazzei Napoleone pouring one of my favorites that night  The Siepi is 50% Sangiovese and 50% Merlot. Powerful but refined.  My first visit to Zachys' was just after Bordeaux released their 1982 vintage. My wine buddies and I would "Take the ride " to the Sacarsdale store. Their selection was superior to most of the stores in my area. My last visit was for a Burgundy tasting some years ago. A storm the previous day had taken down many trees and utility poles making the GPS necessary. Several roads were still blocked. We had to detour several times and became unsure of which way to go. We got there just in time for the second session. 
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1/4/2018 0 Comments byob extravaganga The first wine of the night. One of the best Champagnes I have ever tasted. On January 3, 2018 a group of fellow wine enthusiasts gathered to share a bottle of wine from their cellars. The event was organized by Vin Marattoli of Wine Lovers Tours. Vin has put together many other tastings such as this. In 2015 I posted a blog about a previous BYOB tasting. This one was different, all the others had been limited to one group of 12 tasters. This one had two groups, so more wines to share.  Bubbly number two. Mature but still crackling with acidity.  My favorite of the reds The event was held in the wine room of the Park Central Tavern in Hamden. A fitting venue for an event like this.  10/24/2017 0 Comments Arizona wine The Barnstormer, from the Jerome Winery, made the trip home safely On a recent tour of America's canyon lands my wife and I had a very short visit to Sedona, Arizona. The stop was to be a lunch break before heading to the Grand Canyon. With just an hour and a half so we were glad that we had spent time there years earlier. My wife found a great way to spend the time by visiting The Art of Wine for a tasting of wines made in Arizona.  The Art of Wine in Sedona   Chateau Tumbleweed is located in Clarkdale, just outside of Sedona. They source their grapes from several Arizona vineyards as you can see on the informative back label. Started by a group of friends, they now have their own facility. Interesting blend don't you think? Very tasty.
On June 7, 2017 the Wine Australia team presented a seminar and a walk around tasting in New York City. The theme of the seminar was Ungrafted: old vines and why they matter. The seminar featured an all star panel (see pic below) that was justifiably proud of their wines. There was no doubt that they had a deep respect for the old vines that were in their care.
The wines were from some of the oldest ungrafted vines in the world. Because of Phylloxera, many of the vines in Europe and many other parts of the world were infected and had to be ripped out. The only solution was to tear out the damaged roots and replace them with American resistant root stock. Click here for Wine Folly article on Phylloxera.
 On May 24, 2017 Veracious Brewing Company held its first dinner. The theme- Beer vs Wine. I have always wanted to do an event like this so when Tess and Mark Szamatulski asked me to present the wine portion I was more than happy to sign on.  I first met Tess and Mark many years ago when I started buying wine grapes and supplies from them at their first business, Maltose Express. We started doing wine tastings together and in 2010 I worked there on Wednesdays. During that time I was offered a job as an adjunct professor at the University of New Haven teaching Wine Appreciation. Reluctantly, I had to give up the Maltose job in order to be at UNH.  Chef Mike Jackson of It's A Party Catering created a fantastic menu with each course to be paired with a wine and a beer. Attendees would vote on which paired best for each course.  The watermelon salad So who won?
3/30/2017 0 Comments Sandrone Barolo Tasting History  I had the pleasure of attending a tasting that featured 11 wines from 10 different vintages of Luciano Sandrone Barolos. The wines ranged from the 1982 to to the 2000. It was very much like tasting history.  Luciano Sandrone is an icon in Barolo. He purchased his first grapes in 1977 and in 1978 decided to dedicate his life to making wine. Over the years he was able to purchase a few parcels in the Cannubi Boschis vineyard. Each parcel has a different exposure which means that there must be several different picking times. So you have a wine from a single vineyard but each plot will contribute a different dimension. 1985 was the first bottling of Cannubi Boschis and the birth of the label with the cobalt blue background and gold letters. As of 2013, the label has been changed to ALESTE, rather than the vineyard name. ALESTE is a combination of ALEssia and STEfano, the names of two of his grandchildren.  2/22/2017 0 Comments liberty rock tavern whiskey dinner I love fried chicken. That's what brought me to Liberty Rock Tavern. They made a couple of appearances in CT Magazine's Best Of edition and one was for their fried chicken. My wife and I went with some friends of ours to give it a try. This was not your average bar food. The fried chicken lived up to its billing and the crab / avocado dish was a winner as well. I even have to say the Brussels sprouts were so good I ate more that night than I have in my whole life. When I saw they were doing a dinner I reserved a spot right away. Liberty Rock Tavern opened up late last year in Milford's Devon section. The site was once the King's Court and way before that a restaurant I liked called Brickers. Liberty Rock Tavern is a collaborative effort of Chef Dan Kardos, who has run the kitchens of some impressive CT restaurants, along with Brian Kearney, Dan Rizzo and Chris Hey.  We started the dinner with the Coppersea Raw Rye and charcuterie. The rye was unaged so it was colorless. I was surprised how aromatic it was. Spices, pepper, and floral notes on the nose and palate made it a good match with the first course. 2/2/2017 0 Comments Slow wine 2017  Slow Wine held their 2017 tour on February 1, 2017 in the downtown Eataly located in the World Trade Center. Slow Wine is a part of the Slow Food group that began in Italy at the site of a proposed McDonalds near Rome's Spanish Steps and close to the Trevi Fountain. A 1986 demonstration there began a movement that now includes among others, Slow Fish, Slow Cheese and Slow Meat.   What follows is according to their web site- Slow Wine describes their beliefs:
Slow Wine believes that wine, just as with food, must be good, clean, and fair — not just good. Wine is an agricultural product, just like any of the foods we eat, and has an impact on the lives of the people who produce it, as well as on the environment – through pesticides, herbicides and excessive water consumption which are all commonplace in conventional wine production. Through our guide, online magazine and international tour, we support and promote small-scale Italian winemakers who are using traditional techniques, working with respect for the environment and terroir, and safeguarding the incredible biodiversity of grape varieties that are part of Italy’s heritage. I like that belief. Not just good but clean and fair. The world can use a bit more of that right now. 1/17/2017 0 Comments Dönnhoff dinner at Kawa ni   I recently received an email from Ancona’s Wines & Liquors about a dinner featuring the wines of Weingut Dönnhoff at the restaurant Kawa Ni in Westport. The event was sponsored by Ancona’s and Skurnik Wines. Dönnhoff is one the top producers in Germany and own some of the greatest vineyards in Germany. Being a Riesling lover I reserved a spot right away. Kawa Ni is a Japanese Izakaya, essentially a Japanese tavern where you can have a drink and small meals. Opened just this past year by Bill Taibe who started Le Farm and The Whelk I knew this would sell out quickly but not as fast as it actually did.  Trocken, a dry style that is finally catching on in America  Fried Oyster Bo Ssam The opportunity to have some of the world’s best Rieslings paired with the food from a top chef drew an enthusiastic group. When Ancona’s announced the dinner they wisely did 2 sittings. 10/4/2016 0 Comments An Evening with Jean Trimbach I had the opportunity to attend a dinner with Jean Trimbach of the great Maison Trimbach in Alsace. Organized by William Miller of Harry's Wine and Liquor Market the dinner took place at Artisan in Southport on September 13, 2016.  Photo courtesy of Maison Trimbach This was the second time Harry's had an event featuring Jean Trimbach, I was unable to attend that one so I was more than happy to get a second chance. Sometime in the mid 1990's I was at a distributor's trade show and had my first experience with the Trimbach 1990 Frédéric Emile Riesling. I went back to that table several times to see if my first reaction was correct. This was one of the greatest wines I had ever tasted. I had tried many Alsatian Rieslings before but this was my first taste of Grand Cru Riesling. I bought quite a few bottles of that wine and enjoyed them over the next decade. The wine just kept getting better. I put visiting Trimbach on my bucket list.  |
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