April WIne Club News

SENT 4/22/07

Greetings, sippers!

We celebrated having survived the April 2007 nor'easter and the first true day of spring by holding our second wine club meeting. Though it was more sparsely attended than our first meeting, it went extremely well, and we did some serious damage to a very interesting group of wines.

We welcomed two new members: Lorraine Hudson and Michelle Polite. Welcome again, ladies; looking forward to seeing you at future meetings.

We also added an "honorary member": Dorean Rose Pugh, who, though she is not yet of drinking age, was able to participate by rating her own "special" (read: nonalcoholic) wines; and who turned out to be a pretty darn good sommalier! Welcome, Dorean!

And our world traveler, Tracy, brought us some yummy cheeses from Holland -- a hearty swiss, an herb-infused edam, and a shockingly bright-green pesto, all of which served as fine complements to the wines. Thanks again, Tracy!

In other news:

--We decided to table (ha, ha) the discussion of a club name until more of our members are present, so we will revisit at the next meeting.

--We agreed to meet every month instead of every other. No matter how many members are present, we'll still meet, so don't worry if you can't make every meeting. The club will still be around for those who are available and who feel like hanging out, trying some wine, and enjoying some great company and lively discussion.

--Donna has volunteered to host a future meeting, so we will let you know which month we'll convene at her house. If anyone else wishes to host, just let us know.

Okay, on to the important news! Though we had fewer members present, we still managed to sample 11 wines! (Yep, we had some fun!) Here they are, in order of favorites:

The Winner: Calem Late-Bottled Vintage port, 1997. It was sweet, meant for after-dinner sipping, so we saved it for last and were so glad we did. It was hearty, robust and strong, but not at all "winey," and had a deep, bloodred color and full-bodied, leathery aroma. Everyone loved it.

2nd Place: Bartenura Italian Moscato, 2006. A fizzy white, also slightly sweet but not at all cloying, and the taste didn't disappear like some of the lighter whites.

3rd Place: Layer Cake Australian Shiraz, 2005. A big hit with the group. A strong red, chockfull of flavor. We had a really hard time choosing between this one and the other two for first place. We recommend that everyone try it, though it's apparently pretty difficult to find.

Runner-Ups:

Pindar Sweet Scarlett Long Island table red
Estancia California Merlot 2003
Fiano Di Avellino Italian white 2005
Criatalino Spanish Cava (a sparkling white, very dry and "champagney")

We weren't crazy about:

Isonzo del Friuli Pinot Grigio 2004
Kendall-Jackson California Syrah 2004
Toasted Head California Merlot 2002 (though we loved the name!)

We did not like:

Georges Duboeuf French Red Beujolais 2006 (It had a pretty label. Do not be fooled!)

Date for next meeting: Saturday May 26, Memorial Day Weekend (YAY!!!!), 3pm. Evite will go out in the next week.

See you then!

--Navorn






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