That Darn Layer Cake!

So I blame Donna for this! She first introduced us to the Layer Cake shiraz back at our very first meeting, going on and on about how good it was and how hard it was to find. She piqued our interests so much that we were thrilled when she was able to get a bottle for our April meeting. We tried it, and I was completely hooked! I immediately went looking for some online to order, figuring I'd just get frustrated trying to find it in stock at a store. I managed to order myself 4 bottles, decided that wasn't enough (what if I wanted to bring some to anyone as a gift? Then I'd only have three!!) and I just tried to order more. Well, spiritus.com, where I found it initially, would only let me order 2 bottles. Crush Wines is SOLD OUT! No one else online seems to have it, not winechateau.com, or wine.com, or Amazing Grape.com. It's happened -- now that I'm hooked, my supply has dried up!

So if anyone is able to locate this elusive shiraz, please, give a holler! Perhaps as a group we'll have more luck!

--Navorn

This wine club thing is getting really great. I'm actually beginning to get the "reds." But I'm not giving up my Rieslings just yet. Thanks Tracy you really make it real for all of us.

Lorettaj

JUNE CLUB NEWS -- WELCOME TO DIVINE COMPANY!

Well, another meeting has come to a close, and this time I wanted to update everyone while it was fresh in my mind, since we got a lot accomplished this month. We had an extremely successful meeting and of course added some new favorites to our list...our tastes are really becoming more refined and educated. We're using more terms to describe the bouquets of the wines we tried: one wine was "oaky," another "smoky." And we paid a bit more attention to the finish of some of the wines. Our selection this month included wines that left us with a distinct impression even after we swallowed (and for the most part the finishes were quite pleasant).

We added a new member: Ishmael Joseph, my uncle, who heard me going on and on about our little club last week while on a trip to Boston to visit my cousin and said, "You have a wine club? I gotta check that out!" Well, check us out he did, and he brought us a nice surprise: a Spanish red that we actually tried back at our very first meeting, but that we were happy to revisit. More on that later.

We also finally chose a name, as displayed above. Going forward, we are the DiVine Company Wine Club of Queens, NY. So when you go into your local shops to choose each month's wine, be sure to refer to us by name to the shopkeeper! Thanks to Arthur for the great name and logo.

On to the wines! Once again, the reds won out over the whites, and once again, we ruled out a particular grape as definitely NOT a fave.

THE WINNER: Hess Select Cabernet Sauvignon California 2003. This was a very close race. We actually chose 5 favorites this month and had to go through a run-off and 2 retastings to choose one winner. But this wine won for its bold, smoky, fruity bouquet and the oh, so smooth finish. Very flavorful and not too dry.

2ND RUNNER UP: Juan Gill Spanish red. This was a surprise, because Ishmael brought it not realizing that we'd tried this red at our first meeting (see Feb-March Wine News). But since our tastes had come a long way since that first gathering just 4 months ago, we were happy to give it another go. We were very pleased with this one. It was light for a red, but very smooth and fruity. A perfect dinner red, for the not-so heavy meats like lamb, or for pasta.

3RD PLACE: Broquel Malbec 2004. My personal favorite. I was so glad to find another Malbec I loved; this one did not disappoint. It was a beautiful dark, almost black color, and bursting with fruity aromas. Smooth, rich, very flavorful. One need never drink another merlot as long as there's a good Malbec around, I say!

HONORABLE MENTION: Pindar 2005 Riesling Ice Wine. This was our first ice wine, though not our first dessert wine and we saved it for last, of course. Tracy said it best: she doesn't like ice wine, but she liked this one. Though it was sweet as to be expected, it was not heavy or syrupy at all. There was a honey-like finish that was palate-pleasing. We paired it well with our fruit platter, and found that the cheeses actually cut down on the sweetness of the wine a bit in a nice way.

WE ALSO LIKED:
--Ruffalo Reserva Ducale Chianti Classico. This was one of our 5 favorites and just missed making it into our top 3. Tasting the similarities and differences between the chianti, the cab, the Gill, and the malbec was very educational and I recommend that everyone do so. Just line them up and try each one.

WE DID NOT LIKE:
--Adagio Pinot Grigio 2004. Nothing special at all about this one; it just got lost on the tongue. And this was early in the meeting, when our palates were still quite fresh.
--Domaine Ott 2005 Chateau Romassan Bandol Rose. Once again, do not be taken in by a pretty bottle or a long, impressive-sounding name. We struck out again with a rose, even though it was slightly more expensive than the wines we usually drink. The wine had nothing to say. We spilled out the leftover wine and gave the bottle to Dorean to take home and use to decorate her bedroom. I think she's going to fill it with colored sand, or something.

So we did very well this month. I found a new malbec, Robin actually found three wines he liked other than rieslings, Loretta fell in love with ice wine; Tracy took home the pinot grigio to cook with; and Ishmael may no longer be able to say, "Hey, I'm just a zinfandel guy." Not too shabby.

So it's summer, and I wish everyone well with their vacation plans. Let's keep blogging until we meet again on August 4 (no meeting in July). Drink lots of wine over the next month; I want reports! Oh, and check out the following websites:

inwinecountry.com
winefoodandfriends.com
amazinggrapeswinestore.com

--Navorn

In abstentia.................

Just a note of encouragement ------- your club rocks.

Wine News, cont'd

By the way, a special shout-out to Peninsula Wines on Franklin Place in Woodmere. I discovered this little shop because it's right across the street from my gym, and their store is a gem. Told them all about our club and invited them to view the blog. These people know their wines, and their shop has a surprisingly huge inventory when you walk in. If you get a chance, give them a visit, and tell them you're a member of our club!

--Navorn

May Wine Club News

So sorry for the delay in posting last month's news; things have been hectic! But here at last is the wrapup of last month's meeting.

We met on Memorial Day weekend, so because of the holiday attendance was a bit sparse, but even though we were small in number, we sampled some very good wines. We were finally joined by two of our New Jersey members, Deirdre and Gary Smerillo, who made the drive all the way from Point Pleasant ("down at the shore") to a meeting. They were loads of fun, and were the main reason why, for the first time, we had nearly no wine left after the meeting was over! We had to have coffee, for goodness sakes! So needless to say, we had some fun that day! Welcome Smerillos, please come again!

So on to the wines. Our three favorites were:

THE WINNER: Parallele 45 French Cote du Rhone 2005 -- note this is the second time we've chosen a cote du Rhone as a favorite. Like last time, this was a very full-bodied red, loaded with flavor. It was really a bit heavy for the 90-degree weather we were having, but no matter, we had the AC running that day!

2ND RUNNER UP: Rancho Zabaco Sonoma County Zinfandel 2003: Unfortunately, I don't remember anything about this wine, good or bad! That's the problem when you wait two weeks to post, I guess. Guys, if anyone remembers our impressions of this wine, could you post and enlighten us?

3RD PLACE: Camelot Californis Pinot Noir 2004: This was my personal favorite (especially considering I'd brought it!). This was a fruity red with real berry flavor. Not nearly as heavy as the Cote; a nice drinking wine.

THE RUNNERS UP:

--Coppola California Chardonnay Gold Label 2005: We'd been looking forward to trying this wine from Francis Ford's very successful vinyard and found it quite pleasant. We haven't yet found a Chardonnay we love yet, so we're still looking. Keep that in mind as you shop!

--Graff German Spatlese Riesling 2004: The riesling lovers were pleased by this one, though they didn't love it more than the Schmidtt Sohn blue bottle we tried at the first meeting. Of course, those of us who prefer their wine on the drier side found this a bit sweet, but again, not unpleasant.

In other news:

--We still haven't chosen a name! This is getting a bit crazy, so I'm asking everyone to review the names listed in previous blogs, and either post or send an email with your choice. We'll just choose online. Hopefully by next meeting, we'll know what the heck to call ourselves!

--As the summer heats up, we may want to begin trying lighter wines. The merlots and Cotes may be a bit heavy for the higher temperatures, so feel free to shop for more Sauvignons, chardonnays, rieslings, roses, etc. But as usual, follow your curiosities.

--Notice how our tastes so far seem to lean toward the imports rather than the domestics? We tent to favor wines from Germany, France, Italy, and Spain so far, eschewing California and New York wines. We may be more sophisticated that we think!

--Remember to bring materials to write down your faves in the meetings; it'll help you as you shop.

So our next meeting is set for Saturday June 23, 3pm as usual. I'll send the evite out as usual. Hope you can make it!