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

26

Frederick Cellars: Maryland’s City Winery

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We went to Frederick this weekend for antique shopping and by day’s end we were drinking wine, including local Maryland wine. We knew we wanted to check out The Wine Kitchen but walking down North East Street from an antique store, I saw huge steel wine tanks inside an old brick warehouse…the home of Frederick Cellars. So we popped in.

Frederick Cellars’ warehouse dates back to 1904 when it was a Crystal Ice House. Now it serves as wine-making facility and tasting room. Peggy invited us up to the long tall tasting bar for a wine flight with the backdrop of steel tanks and oak barrels. Emily and Charlie own the winery and tend to the vineyards sitting about 12 miles west of Frederick. They also source grapes from other vineyards in Maryland (their website says they source from other U.S. regions as well). One of eight wineries on The Frederick Wine Trail, they’ve been open five and half years.

We tasted five of their wines from Dry White (City Lights) to Dry Red (Cabernet Sauvignon 2008, Heritage Red 2009) to Semi-Sweet (Frederick Red and Eye of the Oriole). My favorite out of the five…

City Lights

  • Varietal: Seyval, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, Traminette
  • Aroma: Crisp, fruity
  • Taste: Tart fruit with a nice finish, slight sweet notes
  • Price: $15
  • My thoughts: Great summer wine pairing salads and grilled chicken. 1% residual sugar but sweetness isn’t overpowering.

Unfortunately they were out of the Rosé which I bet is pretty tasty as their Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon have potential. Their labels are gorgeous, all done by local artists depicting local scenes.

Maryland’s wine industry now has 54 wineries producing 400 wines. There are eight Wine Trails across the state to explore. And there’s a new Maryland Wine Passport you can pick up at any participating winery. Keep track of your visits in your passport and online and get rewards like discounted event tickets, access to special receptions, etc…

Cheers to Maryland’s wine scene and the only in town winery, Frederick Cellars!

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Apr

24

Graffiato: DC Spot Pairs Italian + Local Perfectly

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Out last night for my husband’s birthday, we discovered one of our new favorite DC restaurants…Graffiato by Mike Isabella. I’d heard the hype over the last 10 months since they opened and tried to get reservations a few times last minute but no luck. As my husband loves Italian and not too fancy, I thought this would be a great spot for him. While I don’t often write up restaurants unless part of a trip, this one is definitely worth sharing for all locals and those traveling to DC!

Mike Isabella, Season Six Top Chef participant and runner-up on Top Chef All-Stars, is really coming on the DC scene. The 130-seat Italian-inspired spot serves small plates and artisanal pizzas inspired by the food Mike grew up eating in New Jersey prepared by his Italian-American grandmother. Seasonal and local are big here from the produce to locally cured meats to the wine and beer.

As a wine writer, I’ll start there. Fabulous wine list…my perfect combination of Italian + Virginia + Oregon. I loved every wine I tasted…

  • Montelvini Prosecco, Italy: served from their tap in the bar, it’s a fruity sparkling aperitif
  • Shindig Organic Pinot Grigio Rosé, Oregon: what fun!! Tasted just like the name… combination of Pinot Grigio + Rosé. Must find this wine for summer sipping!
  • Graffiato Red 1.0 Nebbiolo, Virginia: This wine is delicious and locally made by Breaux Vineyards, a really great winery in Purcellville! Mike worked with them to create this house wine. It’s a perfect combination of cedar, red fruit and caramel in aroma and taste!
  • Breaux Vineyards 2010 Nebbiolo Ice, Virginia: Rosé scents, nice sweet treat (not overly syrupy sweet) and perfect pairing with our Zeppoles.

We ate GOOD! I love Italian small plates…you can try more things!!

  • Flatbread with pepperoni sauce: WOW! Tastes like ground up pepperoni!
  • Broccolini with spicy pepper relish, walnut and feta: crisp and delish
  • Roasted Cauliflower with pecorino and mint: red onions gave it a perfect zip
  • Asparagus with pancetta and egg: great spin on one of our favorite Dutch dishes
  • Sweet Pea Tortellini with guanciale, pecorino and mint: a taste of spring
  • Hand Cut Spaghetti with olive oil poached cherry tomatoes and basil: loved the cherry tomato prep
  • Crispy Potato Gnocchi with wild mushrooms, favas and stracciatella: favorite pasta, so different
  • Zeppoles with orange zest and strawberry sugar dusting: yummy little fruity pebble popovers
It was a perfect evening… food, drinks, coffee, ambiance… and Kevin, our server, was so nice, knowledgable and attentive. Definitely ask for him!

Graffiatio has a convenient two-story spot downtown next to the Verizon Center in Chinatown. They also have a 15-seat bar you can stop into for drinks and a bite if you can’t get in for dinner but it’s worth the planning ahead!

Cheers to Mike on a fabulous Italian-inspired and locally supportive restaurant! Look forward to checking out his upcoming Mexican spot in Georgetown.

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Apr

20

A Slice of Oregon’s Willamette Valley: Stangeland Vineyards

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Tasting with Larry Miller, owner and winemaker of Stangeland Vineyards & Winery in Oregon, you feel right at home with him and his wines. On a little East Coast tour, Larry was at Planet Wine in Alexandria yesterday giving customers a peak into his four-acres of vineyards in the Eola-Amity Hills AVA. As a fan of Oregon Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris, I was anxious to taste Larry’s offerings.

Larry planted his first grapes in 1978, which by his count makes him the fourth oldest vineyards in the Hills region. At first he sold his grapes to other winemakers then in 1991 produced his first vintage. Today he makes predominately Pinot Noir wines along with Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer and Tempranillo.  In total about 2,500 cases per year.

Yesterday we tasted the 2009 Pinot Gris and 2008 Chardonnay for whites. Both nice and quite different than your typical expressions of these wines in the Northwest U.S. The Pinot Gris has some residual sugar but still a nice acidity and finish. The Chardonnay is a nice cool climate white similarly to a white Burgundy from France.

His Pinot Noir impressed me the most. Again not what I’ve typically tasted in Oregon Pinot Noir. We went from the 2009 Pinot Noir to the 2008 Miller’s Vineyard to the 2008 Estate Reserve to the 2009 Vermeer Vineyard. As we went up the tasting, the complexity and richness increased…more concentrated fruit, smooth, round and caramel. The Vermeer Vineyard was phenomenal! And the 2009 Pinot Noir is a great price for a great wine…

Stangeland Pinot Noir 2009

  • Varietal: 100% Pinot Noir, a blend of grapes from different vineyards but the ’09 is predominately Miller’s Vineyard
  • Aroma: Red fruit
  • Taste: Caramelly blueberry deliciousnes
  • Price: $20
  • My thoughts:  This wine packs lots of fruit with a nice finish. Great stand alone wine that doesn’t need to be paired with food.

Stangeland has won three gold medals and three silver medals at the famous Mondial des Pinots in Switzerland…the only Oregon winery with that accreditation.

Ask your local wine shop about ordering Stangeland or you can also order online.

The Eola-Amity Hills AVA is northwest of Salem, Oregon (here’s great interactive map of the wine region) and sits right in the heart of the state’s well-known Willamette Valley.

Cheers to Stangeland, a great slice of Oregon Pinot!

 

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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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