Let me tell you, it's not easy to pull off a "serious" wine tasting when you're busy enjoying great weather, great friends, and great barbecue! Do not ask me how we did it, but the second annual Divine Wine Co. barbecue meeting went off without a hitch. Our theme was, of course, a wine and barbecue pairing, and we set out to decide which of our chosen wines went best with barbecue. Not an easy feat: the barbecue was smokin' to say the least, and we brought no fewer than 10 wines to evaluate. Plus, you could not beat the setting -- Deirdre and Gary's lovely home in Pt. Pleasant, NJ. A good time was had by all, and of course I need to thank our gracious hosts for opening their home to us; our great chefs, especially Laura and Tris for the tasty shish-ke-bobs and Robin and Mom for the amazing ribs and pork chops, plus Robin's skills on the grill. Everyone's food and wine were delicious; thanks for coming through.
But we're here to talk wine, so here goes! Ten wines were tasted, and while we did manage to get through them all, somehow we neglected to choose a favorite before ending the meeting. We took a vote by email and I have results for you here. I'm especially proud that we tried out not just one but two new grapes, along with revisiting some old favorites.
THE WINNER
Chono Reserva Carmenere
http://www.snooth.com/wine/chono-reserva-carmenere-2006/ -- A new grape ranks number one! In fact, our two new grapes this month made the numbers one and two spot in the final tally, showing that the club is not afraid to expand our palates. And, get this, the carmenere is from...Chile. (Somebody talk Arthur down off the ledge.) Learned about this grape from WinelibraryTV, and honestly, if you are serious about trying new things, please check out this podcast. I have learned so much from it and it is fun. In any case, the carmenere, Chile's signature grape, was earthy and vegetal on the nose, but the taste was rich, dark, plummy, lots of dark fruits, and very smooth. No harsh tannins, either. We liked it very much, and I plan to head over to Astor Place Wines as soon as I can and pick up some more; they have it for $10.99/btl.
SECOND PLACE
Joh. Bapt. Schafer 2006 Scheurebe
http://www.snooth.com/wine/joh-bapt-schafer-scheurebe-kabinett-2006/ -- Another new grape wows the club, this one a white. The Scheurebe hails from Germany and is a cousin to riesling; no surprise, then, right? But this wine was a bit more acidic, with a nice aroma of pineapple, and though it was a tad sweet, it was not overly so; we found it slightly drier than the kabinetts we are used to. There was a nice hint of grapefruit on the back end and even a little melon. It reminded us of sour candy, like Lemonheads. It paired very nicely with the kabobs.
THIRD PLACE (A four-way tie)
Leitz Dragonstone Riesling 2008 http://www.englewoodwinemerchants.com/product_details_wine.asp?ProductID=350
As with many of the wines, we had a hard time picking up smells with this wine and we realized it was a drawback of being outside and near the grill. But on their website Englewood Wine Merchants describes the nose as "Smells of cherry cider laced with orange peel and mulling spices." Uh, yeah. In any case, on the palate we picked up lime for days, and green apple. As with the Scheurebe, we loved this with fruit, especially off the grill.
Agua de Piedra Malbec 2007
http://www.hillsideliquors.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1748
Featured tobacco on the nose and the palate, along with dark berries. Went very well with the barbecue.
Snake Charmer Australian Shiraz 2006
http://grapeandcheese.com/wine/red/vinaceous-snake-charmer-2006-shiraz
This was inky dark, and a little inky on the palate, too, but with berries and a little leather. We liked it, as we do most shiraz, but some of us found it a bit thin, with too much alcohol on the back end and not much else.
Fairview Pinotage
http://www.wine.com/V6/Fairview-Pinotage-2006/wine/89802/detail.aspx
Last wine we tasted, so I have no real notes on this one except that we really liked it, and that along with the typical smoky, coppery pinotage taste that bowls me over every time, I actually picked up chocolate, which did me in completely. I had a hard time picking my favorite between this and the carmenere and while the Chilean won out, I would recommend that us big red wine lovers pick up the Fairview as well.
THE RUNNER-UP
Rosso Supremo Antica Tenuta Il Torchio 2007
http://www.snooth.com/wine/il-torchio-rosso-supremo-2007/
The surprise here was that the nose on this wine was very similar to that of the malbec: like a freshly opened pack of cigarettes. That, plus the dark berries made this a wine the group found quite pleasant. But the best thing about the wine was the packaging. The bottle was resealable, with one of those rubber-rimmed flip tops that hangs by a metal ring from the lip of the bottle. Very practical!
THE REST
Diva Veneto Pinot Grigio 2006 -- We found this amber-colored pinot grigio very intriguing right off the bat. It turned out to be a little sweeter that we anticipated, with a hint of peach on the nose. We thought it too light for barbecue.
Isabel's Cuvee Donkey and Goat Rose 2008
http://www.adonkeyandgoat.com/
A failed experiment! I specifically chose this rose for the meeting, knowing that the club tends not to like roses in general (see the notes from the August 2008 meeting for the one rose we did like). I'd tried it before, and aside from the nice floral nose and the taste of fresh berries on the palate, this wine has real mouthfeel and weight to it. It doesn't disappear the way most roses do. I'd even had some of our members sample the wine prior to the meeting, and they found it enjoyable. So I thought this would go over well with the club. NOT! Not only was the wine judged to be not good for barbecue, most of the club did not like it at all. Oh, well, can't blame me for trying!
Chateau Cotes de Chambeau Montague Saint Emilion 2007 http://www.wineaccess.com/wine/product/10981201/2005-Chateau-Cotes-de-Chambeau-Montagne-Saint-Emilion
Ishmael picked up jam on the nose in this Bordeaux red, but the rest of us found it tight, heavy on the tannins, and not very fruity. It was pronounced not good for barbecue. NOTE: take a look at the reviews for the 2005 vintage in the link I've included here; they mirror our comments on the 2007. Makes sense; if the '05 isn't ready to drink, the '07 is way too young.
Now, some may say we bit off a bit more than we could chew with so many wines to try, but we did manage to get through it and expanded our palates in the process. Good job, people! Try something new every chance you get; that's what this is all about.
Speaking of trying something new, you may know that Mom is working on a listing of our favorite wine shops, and I'm putting together a list of wine bars. We hope to collect these in a booklet that we'll give out to the club members, so please, let us know your favorite shops and bars. You can email them to us, or post them in the blog, whichever is easier. I think people will enjoy checking out each other's shops and hangouts.
So, on to August! Our host for the next meeting is Donna, and she is preparing an intriguing theme for us. Stay tuned!
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