Dessert wines and cat pee

That's right, I said cat pee.

I drank a delightful dessert wine recently. "Dessert wines" tend to be higher in alcohol content than regular wines, with a thicker, almost-but-not-quite syrupy thickness, and a sweet taste.

This one also looked pretty: See? That golden color is just lovely. The wine tasted as rich as it looked. It was sweet but not too sweet. It was a really lovely, refreshing sipping wine. I also had no idea what sauternes was (is), so I looked it up. This particular wine is (rather aptly) described as: Early apricots, honeycomb, orange butter combine across an intricate palate woven with zippy minerality and lemon curd.

Yum, right? Right.

This wine is also made primarily from sauvignon blanc grapes. I found a web page that described sauv blanc like this:

Sauvignon Blanc

Few varietals have spawned as bizarre a list of descriptors as Sauvignon Blanc. Believe it or not, “cat pee” is in fact a complimentary tasting note, associated with some of the best bottlings. (It’s a somewhat odd way of pointing out herbaceousness in the wine.) Cat pee aside, Sauvignon Blanc (sometimes called "Fumé Blanc" in California) is a bit of a chameleon in terms of style, and quite...

 I'm sorry, what was that now? Olives I can handle. Olives I can maybe even appreciate. But CAT PEE?

And you see the part of that quote that says, "cat pee aside..."? I'm sorry, but there is no "aside." There is nothing after "cat pee." NOTHING.

Pinotage

I bought a bottle of pinotage not too long ago. I had never heard of this type of wine and figured I would give it a try.

South Africa is known for its pinotage wines, which are a cross between pinot noir and cinsaut (Cinsaut was known as "hermitage" in South Africa at one time, so the word pinotage is a cross between the pinot in pinot noir and hermitage).

Don't ask me what cinsaut is.

Other than a type of grape. Obviously.

According to the interwebs, pinotage "typically produces deep red varietal wines with smoky bramble and earthy flavors, sometimes with notes of bananas and tropical fruit, but has been criticized for sometimes smelling of acetone."

Yeah, I would criticize a wine, too, if it smelled like nail polish remover.

I opened this wine: 

And was nearly knocked over by the taste. At first I thought the wine might have gone bad, it was so ... weird. But then I realized that it wasn't bad, it just had this very unusual finish. I couldn't put my finger on what I was tasting.

I looked it up. Here is the description of this wine:

Good bright, dark red. Musky, soil-driven aromas and flavors of strawberry, black olive tapenade and chocolate. Supple and intense if a bit funky, with harmonious acidity framing and intensifying the mid-palate fruit. Very suave in texture but distinctly idiosyncratic in its flavors, although there's plenty of lurking red fruit here. Finishes with sweet tannins and a strong lingering olive element. You've been warned.

That's right, it said olives. OLIVES. Who expects a wine to taste like freaking olives?!?

So I took another sip. And another. And darn if that isn't exactly what I was tasting. I still think it's weird, but I'm glad I tried it.

Party Wines

One of the best things about parties with my wine-drinking friends is sampling the wine they bust out to share. I'm such a wine wussie because I hate blowing good money on bad wine. I tend to drink what I know and love at the expense of being predictable, boring and missing out on other good stuff. I don't usually trust the recommendations of wine shop staff because I can't accurately describe to them what I like and want. It's not their fault. They're perfectly qualified. It's my fault that I can't better verbalize beyond "something that won't trigger a gag reflex." I don't give them much to go on.

Occasionally, the wine fare at parties is quite poor and I find myself suspecting that my friends also sort their wines by "Not Likely to Share Because It's So Very Good" and "Put It Out Because Someone Got it For Me as a Gift and It's Bloody Awful." I had one of the bloody awfuls this summer that I swear smelled just like body odor, and tasted very nearly the same. Seriously, absolutely. I'm not a wine snob by any stretch, but I at least want to drink a wine that revs me up with a fragrant bouquet first. A good smelling wine is like the  crest of the hill on a rollercoaster---EEEEEEE, you're nearly there! But, to have the crest smell like a junior high boy who hasn't showered in a week, well, it can set the whole party off poorly. There are limits, people. Yes, I occasionally chuck the crappy wine out at a party, but there are limits. Body odor bouquet is that limit.

But, thankfully, not all summer parties have soured in such a way, as evidenced by my friend A.T's perfect wine she served a few weeks ago. Knowing little about wine except whether I like it or whether it sucks, I had never heard of a Monastrell. A.T. presented one made by Honoro Vera, and I'm certainly game for anything red, so I poured a cautious glass of it. After the first sip, I snatched up the bottle to make sure I got a hefty dose of it before the other party guests arrived! It was wonderful!! It's a varietal wine made of Spanish black-skinned grapes. When I researched this grape, I found that it also goes by the name, "Mourvedra," which I have actually heard of before, but not drank. It was smooth going down, with no snips and grimaces along the way. I'm not normally fond of peppery wines, but this was so subtle and balanced that I liked it quite well. It was lovely all on its own, and perfect with the grilled fare that A.T. was serving. It clashed with nothing! It was gone in an instant, and I was texting her the next day begging for the name of it again. Adding pleasure to pleasure: it sells for around $10!

https://thewinefeed.com/shop/honoro-vera-monastrell/#.UiU0oxzP9fM

Get a wine stopper. Go on. Go.

I used to rarely drink wine, mainly because I would only ever want a glass or two at a sitting, and since I had no one with whom to share the bottle, most of the wine would go to waste. I hate throwing away good wine.

I talked to wine shop staff, who recommended a vacuum wine stopper, like this one here. I was skeptical. I know that once oxygen gets to the wine, it starts to change the chemistry, and within a day or two, you have skunky wine that tastes suspiciously like vinegar. Ew.

But, I have found that by using the vacuum stopper AND by putting my vacuum stopped wine in the fridge overnight, I can get about a week out of a bottle. Perfect.

I'll be honest - by the end of the week the wine is definitely not as smooth and delicate, as nuanced, as it was when first opened. Also, I would recommend letting red wine come closer to room temp rather than drinking it straight out of the fridge (the optimal temperature for enjoying red wine is around 60 degrees, so you do want it a little cooler than room temp), but still, the last glass of a bottle can still be enjoyable after a few days in the fridge. Really. I swear.

I have noticed that the finer the wine, the better it keeps. The cheap $6-8 bottle doesn't hold up as well on day three as it did on day one. But, I have an easier time pouring half a $6 bottle of wine down the drain than I do a $20-30 bottle.

This past week, I opened this lovely pinot noir. It was smooth, slightly chocolatey, and had a delicate mouth feel. And it lasted the whole darn week.

Keeping it classy

I'm finishing off the Chenin blanc I opened earlier in the week, accompanied by a bowl of cheez-its and an episode of Breaking Bad, while I work on a new cross stitch project. 

Because that's how I roll, people.

Wet wool? Lead pencil shavings? Really?

I'm not sure which is more odd - that descriptions of wines can include such flavors as wet wool or lead pencil shavings, or that those flavors actually work? I really would like to try a wine with notes of lead pencil shavings, just for the curiosity factor, except that description was for a very expensive wine ($100+) that I won't be trying any time soon. 

The wet wool is in a description of a wine that I have been enjoying over the last few days. It's one of the wines that I picked up on a whim not too long ago, based on the fact that a) it's South African, and I have yet to try a South African wine I didn't like, and b) the description included a note that there is an undercurrent of lychees, which I find intriguing,

The wine is lovely. I used to shy away from white wines but have lately been expanding my palate. I definitely taste a light citrus note as well as the promised lychees, though the wine is not overly sweet. It's crisp and refreshing. I do not, however, notice the taste of wet wool that is noticed in a review I found of this wine: http://www.klwines.com/detail.asp?sku=1125940

What's really interesting is that the same source that notes the wet wool taste also mentions a taste of lanolin, which 

is a substance naturally produced by sheep, who of course also produce the aforementioned

 wool. I wonder if the reviewer realizes this and also how he could possibly know what lanolin tastes like!

Birthday wine

This past week, a dear friend invited me to join in her birthday celebration. She chose a fabulous restaraunt: vin 909 in annapolis, md. I was the first in our party to arrive. The place is a former residence that has been converted to a restaraunt. Because it is on a street lined with homes and trees, and because the floor plan is still reminiscent if the site's previous incarnation, the setting is intimate. They have benches set up in a garden out front, and the weather was glorious, so I ordered a glass of rose and adjourned to the out of doors. One by one, the rest of our party arrived, and soon we were all holding, and sipping, generous pours of various wines. I don't recall the name of the wine I chose, but I remember vividly its deep pink color and the notes of strawberry in the finish. As the sun began set, we moved indoors, where we ate amazingly delicious things, such as a brick oven pizza with foie gras, shaved black truffles, peaches, and two kinds of cheese, accompanied by a skirt steak in Moroccan seasonings. 

Yeah, I know. It tasted as good as it looked. 

As the evening went on, another friend ordered a bottle of a montilpuciano that I had wanted to try, and he generously poured me a glass. 

By the end of the evening, everyone was smiling, I enjoyed a delicious butterscotch pudding, and we said goodnight, but not until after the birthday girl blew out the candle on her pot de creme.

Gnarley

I live in Maryland. Growing up, whenever my parents wanted to buy beer or wine, they had to go to a liquor store. Alcohol could not be sold in grocery stores in my state. 

It still baffled me when I travel to a state that does sell alcohol in grocery stores. I don't quite know what to make of the awesome ability to purchase beer or wine along with your dinner groceries, without having to go to a different store.

Recently, I learned that not only can alcohol be sold in grocery stores in certain counties of Maryland, but it is available in a drugstore here in my county. I'm still baffled by this and need to investigate the actual Maryland beer and wine laws. In the meantime, a good friend gave me a bottle of one of her favorite wines from the local Rite Aid. That sounds cheesy, except a) I'm so taken with the fact that wine is available in a local drug store, and b) it's a really good wine! 

Gnarly Head merlot is quite good. It has a rich, almost chocolatey flavor without being sweet, and it's a full bodied wine that holds up well to foods with strong flavors. I enjoyed a glass alongside pizza with onions, mushrooms, and jalapeño peppers and this wine did just fine. 

Not to be shared

My family recently hosted a graduation party for me, and one of my gifts was a bottle of Sauvignon blanc from my sister's mother-in-law. When i opened the gift, she said that it is the wine that she doesn't open to share, but rather keeps all to herself. She also gave me a set of wine accessories, including a vacuum pump, vacuum seals, and these neat wine pourers. 

See the little attachment that is in the top of the wine bottle? Using that I can pour a glass of wine (or, ahem, three) without spilling or having some dripping down the side of the bottle. It's genius. 

I really enjoyed the wine. The predominant flavor to me was citrus. I just do not have the wine vocabulary yet to come up with anything other than "citrus." I looked the wine up online and found descriptions using words like "lavender," "fruity," "thyme," "dry-yet-fruity," and a "terse, stone fruit and mineral finish." Yes, to all of that. I will be very happy when I can come up with such descriptions on my own, without looking anything up. 

Cupcake Malbec

The first thing I notice about Cupcake Vineyards' Malbec is the amazing color. It is THE Wine Red. When I go hunting around CVS for a deep red nailpolish to make my toenails look colorful but professional, THIS is the color I'm searching for. And, looking at a full glass of this stuff, I understand why Revlon calls my favorite nail color, "Forbidden." It looks taboo, a bit evil, a bit like a chalice of blood. It's the darkest wine I've seen in awhile. It could also be that it looks so especially dark sitting on the lacquered white play-table chair that belongs to my son. (Seriously, can we get a coffee table now?)

When I take in a long sniff from the top of the glass, I swear I smell chocolate. The dark color certainly makes me think of a rich 80% dark chocolate, so maybe there's some weird brain interference, but I really smell something chocolately. The taste is full, with a nice zing as I swallow. It's more powerful than that Robert Mondavi Pinot Noir from earlier in the week, but I don't feel like I need food to temper it. It's perfectly nice all on its own. Which, honestly, is my favorite way to drink wine. I certainly won't turn down wine with dinner, but it's become my grownup dessert these days, even preferable to actual dessert-dessert. The zing at the swallow is not overpowering. It's not like some reds I have tried that literally make me involuntarily cringe. It's just a zippy tail, after a smooth entrance. I can see how this would mix well with other grapes to make a nice blend.

This would go well in good company, in the twilight evening. Why doesn't anyone bring Malbec to parties? This is a nice after-party wine, after food wine, kicking back after the kids are asleep wine. I paid $16 for it, but wonder if I could get it cheaper elsewhere. After comparing prices on several of the Safeway wines, I'm starting to think they jacked prices up in preparation for the 10-cent sale. I wonder if this one is normally $8 elsewhere? (Though, honestly, it seems worth the $16.)

Meatball Sauce

I caved. I grabbed my flipflops, ran out to Safeway and snatched up two bottles of the Robert Mondavi Pinot Noir, for 3-bucks-off each bottle! My earlier blog post just induced such visceral memories of its splendour. Turns out the whole wine section was littered with sale tags of all different deals, including several wines that were still on that Buy One Get One for 10-cents special. I contemplated these two listed below, but didn't buy either. (The sale runs through August 20th, so I figured I'd do some Googling when I got home to aid in my discount selection.)

Cupcake Vineyards Malbec (I have no idea what a Malbec is.)
Barefoot Wines Pinot Noir

I looked up the Barefoot first. I have never tried their wines, but they seem to show up at parties often. The cheap price and cheesy label keep me from ever trying them. If I had any doubt, though, this page settled it. If the wine can be used to make a Meatball Sauce, it's probably not the wine I'm looking for.

Off to read up about the Malbec. I'm not throwing away my ten cents on just anything.

Feeding Someone Else's Baby

The wine I need this evening, but don't have, is Robert Mondavi's Private Selection Pinot Noir.
Click here to see the pretty bottle.

I know nothing about the "alluvial soil" you'll read about in the maker's review, or whether it being from California means anything at all. Here is what I know about it:

I got one bottle for 10 cents during the most amazing grocery store alcohol sale ever. I paid $18.99 for the full-price bottle I was obligated to buy in order to get the 10-cent bottle.

It's light in color, which makes it look a little wimpy. That deceptive color, combined with the very smooth drinkable quality, might trick you into thinking it's a lightweight and you can handle the whole bottle on your own. But, halfway through, you'll start to feel the late tipsy kick-in. Just when you thought you were still fully functional, things start weaving slowly, your motions echoing a moment after their conclusion. That winds down slowly to a heavy settling later, perfect for crashing into bed and waking for very little.

It causes little in the way of the annoying stuffy nose problem I frequently experience with red wine, which has something to do with histamines. Red wine causes me all sorts of unpleasant allergic side effects such as stuffy nose, a flushed-red face, nausea and ripping headaches, but I still really enjoy it. I find that cutting myself off at two reasonable-sized glasses can help limit these problems, but I'm not immune to finishing off a whole bottle with a group of friends. (My level of maturity in the presence of joviality can be quite low.)

Despite my love of good company, I should note that I also classify this bottle as "Not Likely To Share."If you come over, there's almost a guaranteed chance I'll be stashing it behind my son's lunchbox on top of our fridge, and serving up something else to you.

During solitary drinking, and possibly doing some kind of chore, I find that that this wine goes quite well with Black Keys, Brothers.

I'm wishing I had a bottle of this with me tonight, and peeved that I actually have no wine at all, because I just found a home for my breast pump, and could use a little alcoholic comfort. I used my pump years ago during the 18 months that I nursed my son. I didn't actually need it since I brought my son to the office with me for 14 of those months. I used the pump anyway because I was always so worried that my body couldn't possibly be sufficient for my baby's needs. Of course, it surely was, but pumping that extra milk that I froze and then donated to mothers who couldn't breastfeed allayed my fears, and nourished other babies besides. I have kept the pump, though my son is now nearly five years old, because breastfeeding was the closest thing to real magic in my life: the body that I thought I knew, and spent plenty of years loathing, changed literally overnight into the perfect thing my baby needed. I was enough, sufficient, capable, magical. That pump is one of my few solid links to that time, but I know it's selfish to keep it collecting dust when another family could make good functional use of it. I found a woman online in Indiana today who is expecting her fourth child and will rely on the pump to help her nourish her baby after she returns to work. I'm packing it up for her tonight, sending it away, and trying to remember that, instead of a machine, that bounding, healthy little boy of mine is really my best souvenir.

Chardonnay

Okay, I admit it: I don't like Chardonnay. I am just not a fan. I do not like my wine buttery or oaky. 

I hate to be one of those people who swears off an entire variety of grape, and I freely admit that sometimes, very occasionally, I find a Chardonnay that I don't think tastes like a combination of sawdust and melted butter. But for the most part, that's the grape that I avoid. 

I do try to keep an open mind, though. And I do enjoy other white wines, so when I had the opportunity to try a bottle that is a blend of Chardonnay, semillon (never heard of that one), Riesling, and Gewürztraminer I figured what the hey. This could be a good way to actually enjoy some Chardonnay: disguise it by blending it with other grapes! 

The result: eh. I still taste Chardonnay and I do not love it. It's fine, I'll finish the bottle, but I do wish I had a Riesling on hand instead. 

The description on the label: "Chardonnay and Semillon provide the body and silky mouthfeel, while Riesling and Gewürztraminer lend delicate fruit, floral, and spice notes. Mingle's slightly off dry finish makes it an excellent partner for a wide variety of hors d'oeuvres, spicy cuisine, and most Asian dishes."

Relaxing

After a massive heat wave in which I worked outside in 110 degree heat every day, today is an absolute gift. The high of the day was 80, the humidity is low, the sky is clear, there is a light breeze. 

I got home from work and thought I would go outside and DO something: go for a run, perhaps, or a bike ride. The I walked in the front door and realized how incredibly tired I am. I am doing what my old swim coach used to say and am listening to my body. I'm pooped. So I stead of running around like a crazy person and depleting my energy even more, I have parked my butt in my recliner in my living room, my windows are open, I can feel that wonderful breeze and smell the fresh air. I have my iPad in my lap, a magazine and my kindle nearby, and I poured the last of the monastrell that I opened earlier this week. 

This is a beautiful evening. 

Tarima Hill

I took my car in for an oil change on Monday. My mechanic is up the road from Annapolis Wine Cellars and while I was sitting in the waiting room, I received an email blast from them advertising a wine they just got in. It's the Tarima Hill monastrell. 

Monastrell is a Spanish grape and I don't know much about it other than I liked the one other Monastrell I have tried. But the wine was described as being an incredible bargain, costing only $15 a bottle at Wine Cellars, despite reviewers saying it tastes more like a $30-50 bottle. I immediately called and reserved two bottles. 

I opened one last night, and it is lovely. My immediate thought was that it has a nice smoky flavor, with subtle chocolate notes. It's very nice on its own, if you like a medium bodied red wine, which I do, but does not pair well at all with lemon gelato. I would say its more of a steak and potatoes wine than a dessert wine. 

I just enjoyed a glass while cooking a new recipe (chili rellanos), and it is fantastic.

Sadly, I can't say that about the rellanos.

Introductory

My first sip of wine, or alcohol-anything, came on my 21st birthday (because I'm just that kind of girl.) I was out for a birthday dinner with my boyfriend and favorite girlfriend, celebrating my transition to adulthood at a diner near my university. I had no idea what to order to toast the big day. The drinks list was short, but even then, it made little sense. I knew that beer smelled pretty bad, so I wanted nothing to do with it, but wine---well, at least it was pretty. I asked the disinterested waitress which wine should would recommend. She looked at me like I couldn't possibly be more awkward, more naive, more unprepared for adulthood. I could see her thinking, "Here? You want to party up your 21st birthday HERE? With a club sandwich?" (I tried out a real-true-actual Bar a few months later, and found it terrifying.) She looked over the drinks list with dismay, and after a very long pause she said, "Well...you could try the blush. It's mild, and pink, and sweet." Well, that certainly didn't sound like the Devil's Invitation to A Life of Depravity, so I agreed to it. It was all she promised, and bubbly, too.

It was awful.

Bargains in the barrel room

Years ago, I did some freelance writing for a local magazine. One month, my assignment was for a feature about local wine shops. I distinctly remember two things that I learned from a local wine expert:

1. Women tend to choose wines based on the label; and 

2. Don't hold into a special wine for a special occasion.  You ARE the special occasion. 

I am definitely guilty of number 1, mainly because most local shops are liquor stores, not wine shops, meaning they offer shelves full of bottles, usually arranged by region, and staff who know absolutely nothing about them. The only way to make a selection is to pick and choose at random, usually based on whatever I've had in the past that has been okay. This method has resulted in me wasting a lot of money on bad wine, or rather, on perfectly good wine that I just don't like. I couldn't even choose wines based on magazine or online reviews because inevitably, the local stores wouldn't have whatever it is I was looking for and I'd either have to drive around chasing it down at some inconvenient store three towns over, or give up and buy something else at random. I don't really care for either of those options. 

 Annapolis Wine Cellars has taken the guesswork out of choosing a wine. They have what they call their "barrel room," where there are always a dozen or so wines open for tasting. For free. With no obligation to buy. It's the coolest thing ever if you're like me and like to try new wines but don't feel like using the eeny-meeny-miney-mo method. They also have lots of wines available at bargain prices, and each one is accompanied by a really good description of the wine. They haven't steered me wrong yet. 

The barrel room. This is just a small portion of what they have to offer. 

My selections today, based on their recommendations. More on each individual wine as I taste them. I will say that all four of these wines only cost about $60 total, which is much better than what other boutique wine shops charge. 

My favorite wine

I can't believe that this is my favorite wine (right now): 

The reason I can't believe it is because its two things I don't often go for: sparkling and sweet. Yet holy cow is it good. I thought about stocking up and buying a case of it, except I like trying new wines more than I like drinking this particular wine, and I know if I buy a lot if this, I won't like it as much. It's just how I am. I'll get bored, want to try something new, but will feel obligated to drink my supply of this ONE thing. So instead, I buy it occasionally, and enjoy trying new things. 

But this wine is seriously good. 

Birthday wine

While wine typically is discussed in terms of pairing different varietals with different foods, I often pair a particular wine with a memory or a situation. 

Sometime last year (I think), a friend mentioned that for her 50th birthday she would like a great bottle of chianti. Just as her birthday was approaching, I received an email from a wine shop I frequent, advertising a chianti which had just arrived. I went right to the shop and asked for two bottles (one for my friend and one for me). The wine guy was excited that I was choosing that wine, saying how much he liked it. The email had gone out that morning, and by the time I got there several hours later, they had sold close to half of their supply. 

I opened my bottle that night and it really was good. I haven't had too many Italian wines so far, and the ones I have tried I haven't loved, so I was skeptical about this one. But it was a very nice, unassuming, not overly obnoxious wine. It was just the right balance of dry and fruity and was lovely all on its own.

I felt good about giving this wine as a gift. Today, that friend came to my house (about an hour and a half drive for her, each way), and made ME lunch ("pasta rustico" which was whole wheat linguini tossed with sautéed spinach, basil, garlic, and butter, and topped with parmesan cheese). We enjoyed the chianti, some crusty bread, and later on, two flavors of Haagen-daas gelato (lemon and salted caramel). The food was outstanding, but more than that, I now have a new memory pairing a lovely wine with a terrific afternoon and a great friend. 

This wine is a bargain at $12.99 a bottle!

The finishing touches for our lunch.