French Wine: Articles

Apr

27

Eat, Drink, Simply at The Wine Kitchen

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After antique shopping in Frederick, Maryland this weekend and a stop in Frederick Cellars, we ended up the sunny day turned rainy at The Wine Kitchen. Open since October, this is the second location for Mike Mercer and Jason Miller who own the three-year-old restaurant / wine bar by the same name in Leesburg. The Wine Kitchen’s motto…Eat, Drink, Simply.

Sitting in a lovely spot on Carroll Creek Way, a creek turned canal and park, they have a great patio location for guests to enjoy the scenery (Bryan Voltaggio’s Lunchbox is just next door) and inside is a Sonoma / French feel wine café. We sat at the bar for a wine flight and some bites.

The Italian Renaissance flight we chose consisted of the 2010 Borgo M Fruilano from Friuli, 2010 Vigneti Massa Sentieri Barbera from Piedmonte and 2008 Marabino Noto Nero d’Avola from Sicily. Each flight and glass of wine comes with a very thoughtful and colorful tasting card.

All the wines in our flight were very flavorful but our favorite was…

2010 Vigneti Massa Sentieri Barbera

  • Varietal: Barbera
  • Aroma: Cherry, tobacco
  • Taste: Tart cherry, caraway seeds, pipe tobacco
  • Price: $4 taste, $10 glass, $33 bottle
  • My thoughts: The tasting card was right on with this one…caraway seeds?!? It sure had hints of them. This Barbera was lighter than I expected but with its multi-layers, a perfect stand alone or food pairing wine.

I also tried a taste of their 2009 Domanie des Nuges Gamay from Beaujolais, France. Cranberry on the nose and palate with a hint of orange. The tasting card read ‘the red ruby slippers of wine’ which was right on… it sparkled in the glass and on the tongue.

The warm curry cashews and artisinal cheese plate were perfect as were the staff! The menu looked delicious and definitely worth a try on our next stop in Frederick.

Cheers to Eat, Drink, Simply!

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Apr

13

Sweet Easter Wine

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Out biking Saturday, we popped into two of our local wine shops, both doing Easter Wine Pairing tastings.

Second stop was Planet Wine Shop…they were tasting a French Vouvray, Argentinian Sparkling Malbec Rose, Rioja Rose, Oregon Pinot Noir, Cotes-du-Rhone and French Muscat.

Our favorite and we picked up a bottle for dessert…

Château De Caladroy Muscat De Rivesaltes 2010

  • Varietal: Muscat d’Alexandrie : 70%, Muscat petit grain : 30%
  • Aroma: Fragrant gardenias
  • Taste: Gardenia and tropical fruit
  • Price: $12
  • My Thoughts: Gardenia and tropical fruiI’m usually not a Muscat or sweet wine fan but boy is this delicious! Not too syrupy sweet, it was an easy to drink perfect aperitif/dessert wine after Easter dinner.  This wine is made in the Pyrenean foothills near Spain and named after the French Mediterranean town Rivesaltes, where fortified wine has been made since the 13th century using the same technique that created Port 400 years later.

Cheers to my kind of Easter candy!

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Feb

17

Arrogant Frog: This Cute French Frog Makes a Great Wine

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Arrogant Frog is an estate-bottled wine from the Languedoc region of Southern France. I discovered it when living in Amsterdam and was so pleased to find it available in the U.S. last summer.

The label grabbed me in our Amsterdam wine shop. The playful art and fun names, like Ribet White (Chardonnay-Viognier), Lily Pad Pink (a Sparkling Rose), Lily Pad Noir (Pinot Noir) and Sticky white (Muscat), said this is a French wine that doesn’t take itself too seriously. And the price was great! I tried it and was hooked. They have fun AND produce a great value French wine…eighteen of them in fact available in thirty countries.

Jean-Claude Mas, the Humble Winemaker, started Arrogant Frog in 1999 at his family’s estate after working at other large south of France wineries. Generations of his family have tended to vineyards and made wine in the Languedoc region. Arrogant Frog is “old world vines with new world attitude” and their goal is to have original, creative and enjoyable wines that are a good value.

My two favorites from the U.S. line up as I’ve tried them over the last several months…

Savvy Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc

  • Grape Variety: 100% Sauvignon Blanc
  • Aroma: Grapefruit, gooseberry, herbal notes
  • Taste: Fruity with hints of herb
  • Price: $9 range
  • My thoughts: If you like Sauvignon Blanc, you’ll like this wine! Also a great wine to take to parties…name & label make people smile!

Croak Rotie, Syrah-Viognier

  • Grape Variety: 85% Syrah, 15% Viognier
  • Aroma: Violet flower, blueberry, spice
  • Taste: Mellow, velvety black currants
  • Price: $9 range
  • My thoughts: A great combination of grapes make this a unique easy drinking red wine.

There are five varieties available in the U.S….in addition to the two above, Lily Pad White (Chardonnay), Lily Pad Noir (Pinot Noir) and Lily Pad Red (Cabernet-Merlot). To find them near you in the U.S., check out Palm Bay International’s wine locator or check with your local wine shop.

Cheers to the cute arrogant frog! :)

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Jan

20

Around the World with Pinot Noir

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The great thing about wine tastings at a wine shop or wine bar is the opportunity it gives you to taste several wines side by side. Most people don’t usually open up three to five bottles at home to try at one sitting. Wednesday night’s wine tasting with Timothy at neighborhood wine shop, Planet Wine, gave customers the opportunity to travel around the world with the Pinot Noir grape tasting what this varietal can be like coming from France (Loire Valley and Burgundy), New Zealand and the United States (Oregon and California).

The similarities and difference you discover through these kinds of tastings are always fun! Pinot Noir is a light grape overall but coming from each region you get different aromas and tastes from it. As we moved around the world, the wines got more body and spice but each is lovely in its own way showing you the beauty of each wine region around the world.

Domaine Naudet Jean & Michel 2008 Sancerre Rouge

  • Grape Variety: Pinot Noir from the Loire Valley, France
  • Aroma: Bright berry
  • Taste: Tart cranberry and cherry with mineral and herbal tones
  • Price: $22.00
  • Thoughts: The first in the line up was the brightest in color of the wines, almost rosé looking, and brightest in taste. France does not allow vine irrigation in any wine region and this definitely impacts the grape depending on the year’s weather. Here you have a lighter Pinot Noir. I love Sancerre in a white wine so neat to try a rouge.

Domaine Maillard Pére et Fils 2009 Bourgogne

  • Grape Variety: Pinot Noir from Burgundy, France
  • Aroma: Round cherry
  • Taste: Cherry with hints of chocolate, vanilla and earthy
  • Price: $22.99
  • Thoughts: Second in the line up and also in France, this wine has more body, slightly more red color in the wine and more complexity of flavors with cherry, chocolate and vanilla.

Saint Clair Family Estate 2010 Vicar’s Choice

  • Grape Variety: Pinot Noir from Marlborough, New Zealand
  • Aroma: Slight sweet berry aroma with hints of oak
  • Taste: Bright sweet strawberry with cinnamon spice undertones
  • Price: $17.99
  • Thoughts: Third in the line up, we moved to New Zealand. The heat of the Southern Hemisphere for this grape makes it a more concentrated fruit taste. You really get a bang when you taste it coming off the French wines. This is now Pinot Noir with some oak aging giving it more toast and spice flavor.

Anne Amie Cuvée A 2009 Pinot Noir

  • Grape Variety: Pinot Noir from Willamette Valley, Oregon, U.S.
  • Aroma: Ripe cherry and strawberry
  • Taste: Cherry, strawberry with spice and earthiness
  • Price: $26.99
  • Thoughts: Fourth in the line up, we moved to the U.S. Willamette Valley in Oregon known for Pinot Noir and Burgundian in style (like the Domaine Maillard Pére above although this wine has more body and is more round). I love Willamette Valley Pinot Noirs!

Ampelos Cellars 2007 Pinot Noir-Lamda

  • Grape Variety: Pinot Noir from Sta. Rita Hills, Santa Barbara, California, U.S.
  • Aroma: Deep cherry
  • Taste: Cherry, herbal, licorice
  • Price: $26.99
  • Thoughts: Last in the line up, we moved south in the U.S. to California. The Sta. Rita Hills are known for Pinot Noir. This wine was the fullest in body and darkest in color but still great clarity. Really nice wine and neat winery worth checking out (they also have a bed and breakfast in Greece…thus the Greek influence on their wine names).

Cheers to Pinot Noir!

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Jan

15

Tonight’s Golden Globes = 10,000+ glasses of Champagne & Wine

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The 69th Annual Golden Globe® Awards airs tonight and kicks off the big awards season. Always my favorite awards show as it combines film, tv, awards, food, wine and champagne!

To celebrate there will be lots of bubbles from Moët & Chandon, the official champagne of the Golden Globes for the 21st year. More than 1,000 mini bottles and 500 magnums of Grand Vintage 2002 Moët & Chandon champagne, specially created for the show, will be served on the red carpet and inside the Beverly Hilton Hotel’s International Ballroom at tonight’s event. That’s over 9,000 glasses of champagne at $84.95 a bottle ($84,950 worth of champagne)! And don’t forget the over 400 bottles of wine, 2,500 glasses, that will also be served.

Executive chefs Suki Sugiura and pastry chef Thomas Henzi have created an elegant and mouth-watering menu reflecting the global nature of the Golden Globes and it will take a team of 40 chefs and 110 kitchen staff members to prepare it on show day. It will include an appetiser of pistachio crusted pistou ravioli with wild arugula, smoked tomato, kabocha compote and burrata; a combination entree of miso and sake lees marinated pacific sea bass with grilled king oyster musroom and braised prime short rib of beef with porcini pine nut herb ragout in a light cream of sherry wine ginger tamari sauce with roasted fingerling potatoes, candy striped beets, baby bok choy and yellow baby carrots.

For dessert Chef Henzi will be serving a trio of chocolate delice almond crunch terrine and acacia honey, caramel and fresh berries, which will pair ideally with the Moët & Chandon Grand Vintage 2002 and the 23K edible gold Italian chocolates.

For your party open one of Moët & Chandon‘s many options… White Star Impérial (their flagship), Rosé Impérial (the Glamoruous Champagne), Nectar Impérial (the Daring Champagne) and Nectar Impérial Rosé (the Extravagant Champagne).

Cheers to the 69th Annual Golden Globes Party!

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