Wine Unwrapped Blog
 Recently, I came across an article in the New York Times by wine writer Eric Asimov. He regularly lists his favorite 20 wines under $20. I always like to see if I can get my hands on some but not every wine available in NY is available in CT. A friend of mine sent me an offering from Flat Iron Wines in NYC. They tracked down many of the wines with a description of them and all were priced below $20. I made up an order of 6 different wines with an eye out for wines from grapes I have not had or that were from old vines. With the mild winter we are having here in CT I felt OK with having them shipped during February.  The 2019 Luyt Pipeno Famila Ernesto Soto Carrizal is made with 100% Pais from 250 year old vines. The grape, also known as Mission and others was brought to Mexico, California and South America by the Spanish in the 1500s. It was once the mostly widely planted variety in Argentina. I have been on a kick lately and have been seeking out wines from very old vines. See previous blog posting about this topic here. Many of the old vines are ungrafted, meaning they are on their own original roots and not grafted onto different root stock. Most of the world's vines are on grafted roots due to phylloxera. Phylloxera is the organism that was inadvertently brought to Europe from North America and eventually wiped out many of the vineyards in Europe and the rest of the world. The only cure was to graft on North American grape roots that were resistant to phylloxera.  The Pais vines have a tendency to produce an abundance of grapes but older vines generally have smaller yields which lead to more concentrated flavors. In the hands of Famila Ernesto Soto, who produce this wine and others from some even older vines, we get a lighter colored, fruity wine with a tannic backbone.   Photo courtesy VinePair
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 I have had the pleasure of knowing and working with Mark and Tess since the early days of their wine and beer supply shop. Maltose Express is now in its 30th year of operation. Together we got the idea to do a staff party/wine tasting. On January 29, 2020 we assembled in the tap room of their Veracious Brewing Company, which is right next door to Maltose.  Catering was done by Chef Deane Moss, the Executive Chef of Brownson Country Club. He did an amazing job of pairing his dishes with the wines I chose. Every course was delicious.    We started with a Greek wine, an Assyrtiko from Santorini. What a nice wine, I visited Domaine Sigalas last year and was able to find the 2014. It was drinking very well. Next up was a Tannat from Uruguay, a juicy version from Garzon the went well with the foraged mushrooms.
12/30/2019 0 Comments Tasting a 1963 Dow's Vintage PortEvery so often I have a bottle in the cellar that I hold off on opening, waiting for that extra special occasion worthy of such a prized wine. I don’t want to open it just for myself and time marches on. One such bottle was a 1963 Dow’s Vintage Port. My sister had given me the bottle as a reminder of a trip to Portugal in 2016 that we had taken.  This Christmas we were all getting together for a family dinner, I decided this was the moment to try it. I made a point of not looking up ratings and tastings of the wine so that I could taste it with an open mind. I stood the bottle upright for 5 days before carefully packing it up and bringing it dinner. I brought along my funnel and strainer along with a carafe to decant into.
 We live in a golden age of wine. There are wines available in the U.S. from just about anywhere in the world. Sadly, the wine lists in many restaurants feature very few wines that are not in the mainstream. It takes a bit of courage to stock wines not many have heard of. So I was surprised and happy to see The Wine Cellar in Ogunquit Maine, open up just a few doors down from where we stay each August. I took a quick look at their list and after seeing a Txakolina from Spain and a dry Furmint from Hungary I planned to stop in and taste.  I wish more places would adopt the concept of offering 2 ounce pours as well as a lager pour. That way you can experiment with something you haven't had before without springing for the full glass price. For the price of a 5 ounce pour you can try 2 or 3 different wines.  Nice to see Channing Daughters, a Long Island winery on the list  Amber, pouring a bubbly from Italy 5/31/2019 0 Comments Scala Vinoteca in Athens, Greece We had the chance to try a restaurant my wife found on the internet that was known for innovative food and had a good wine list. Scala Vinoteca was a short cab ride from our hotel. Being Americans with dinner times earlier than most of Europe we got there just as they were opening. As soon as we were seated Amanda came over and poured a sparkling Assyrtiko from Santo Wines. I introduced myself and told her that I was there to learn more about Greek wines. She was more than willing to guide us through the wines.   The amuse-bouche  Amanda, decanting the Hatzidakis Mavrotragagno With Amanda's help we picked out some appetizers and started to figure out our main course so we could order the wine. There were non Greek wines on the list but I ignored them. It was my first time in Greece and I only wanted Greek wines. Amanda suggested a few reds but then I saw there was a wine from Hatzidakis. I had been reading the extremely informative book, The Wines of Greece by Konstantinos Lazarakis MW to get ready for our trip. I learned that the winemaker had decided to leave this world all too early. Haridimos Hatzidakis challenged many of the accepted practices in Greek wine making and made unique wines. Amanda said she only had two bottles so I knew I had to taste it.  5/17/2019 0 Comments wine tasting in athens, greece  I recently had the pleasure of participating in a wine tasting class at the Hotel Grand Bertagne in Athens, Greece. The Grand Bertagne is rated as a five star hotel and it deserves every one of those stars. It also has a fantastic view of the Acropolis.  Usually i'm the one presenting the wine so it was a treat to taste and learn about the wines of Greece. Demetrius (hope I have spelling correct) lead us on a wine tour of various wine producing regions. He was extremely knowledgeable about about wine and introduced us to the grapes and different terroirs in his country.   We started with this white made with the Moschofilero grape. The Semeli Estate was founded in 1979 in the region of Nemea. The vineyards of Mantinia, just south of Nemea, sit at about 2,00 feet above sea level. The cooler temperatures allow for longer ripening times. A very nice wine.
1/15/2019 0 Comments Domaine Huët  This past year I spent some time in France’s Loire Valley and in Bordeaux. To tour the Loire I contacted Vincent Delaby of Vino Loire. His Trip Advisor reviews were outstanding. During the planning stages Vincent asked if I would like to visit Domaine Huët. The Domaine is a world renowned producer in Vouvray. They make probably the best Chenin Blanc in the world. A chance like this was too good to miss. I was all in for that visit.  When we arrived at the Domaine I wasn’t sure what to expect, laid back or pretentious? When we walked in we were welcomed right away, no speech about how great they were or how lucky we were to be received. They were glad we had come and happy to show us around.  Temperature controlled barrel aging  The Domaine began in 1928 with Victor Huët purchasing a small plot in Vouvray known as Le Haut-Lieu. His son, Gaston, was attending college while the first vintages of Domaine Huët were made by Victor. The plan was for Gaston to take over running the Domaine in 1938. Before that could happen Gaston was drafted into the French army. Ahead of going to fight the Germans Gaston did what many other vignerons did, hid as much of their finished wines as they could. With France becoming occupied by the Nazis much of what had been produced was being confiscated by the Germans. Later, Gaston was captured by the Germans and spent years in a POW camp. In their fascinating book Wine and War, Don and Petie Kladstrup document Gaston’s struggles to survive his brutal confinement.
12/2/2018 0 Comments Château de la Roche en Loire  On a recent trip to the Loire Valley in France I had the opportunity to visit Château de la Roche en Loire. Our guide par excellence, Vincent Delaby, of Vinoloire had chosen this estate for our first visit. The owner, Loius-Jean Sylvos, uses Biodynamic methods to grow his grapes the wine is made with indigenous yeast and without additives.  The beautiful Château has a lot of history with the region having links to Joan of Arc.   Bio-dynamically grown The Loire Valley has developed a reputation for the number of vignerons having success making wine with little or no intervention. Anyone can attempt it but not everyone can pull it off. It requires a lot of dedication and being able to grow and handle the grapes with the utmost of care.   Chambourd  Earlier this year I had the pleasure of spending a few days in France's Loire Valley. It had been on my bucket list for sometime. There is such a diversity in the wines produced there that a visit there is like travelling through four or five different wine regions. My wife and travel guru searched the internet and found the perfect guide for our trip in Vincent Delaby. Vincent's company, VinoLoire, was very highly rated on Trip Advisor. The high ratings are well desreved. We enjoyed everything about our trip with him. Although his web site is in French we had no trouble corresponding with him via email.  Vincent Delaby of VinoLoire Vincent is very knowledgeable and has excellent contacts. He took care of everything and made us feel right at home travelling through the Loire for our three days. If you are looking to spend time in the Loire Vincent can customize a tour for you. The following pics are an overview of our tour. I will post more specific blogs soon. I was travelling through France during the final rounds of the World Cup. While in Tours we saw the reactions of the townspeople to the win over Belgium. Talk about euphoria! A few nights later we were staying in Bordeaux and watched the final game in our hotel room and then went out to watch the celebration of France's victory. The joy and happiness we witnessed was amazing. I haven't seen anything like it. It was hard not to get caught up in the excitement. Everyone that came by us wanted to share their passion. I will always remember that night and the feelings that overtook me.         |
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