WineLife365

Archive for September, 2010

That’s the expression that runs through my head each time I come face-to-face with an unfamiliar bottle of wine.  Although I love trying new wines, there’s always that tucked away thought or prayer just before venturing into the great unknown: “Please Lord, let this wine be great and have it scatter my taste buds into a million tiny pieces!”

A new white and a new red:  “Please don’t let me down tonight” were my final words before diving into these two unknowns.

First on deck was the 2008 Tierra de Luna Torrontes from Mendoza, Argentina ($9.99).  This wine comes from a very large and widely known producer – François Lurton.  I selected this Torrontes for three main reasons:

1.)     I love Argentine Torrontes so much; I’d pretty much swim in them if I could.

2.)     François Lurton is a widely known and usually reliable wine producer with operations all over the globe.

3.)     Back to reason #1, but add that it’s “Game on!” for any Argentine Torrontes under $20 US.

Unfortunately, it just didn’t rock my world.  The 2008 Tierra de Luna Torrontes lacked the big muscular and floral notes that let the drinker know that this is Argentine Torrontes.  Instead, the signature floral notes were abandoned and substituted with an overpowering oaky component.  The big, fresh acidity customary for this wine was discarded in favor of an earthy-metallic and muted tropical profile.  The finish?  Well, there’s little to talk about.  I gave the 2008 Tierra de Luna Torrontes three days in my fridge in hopes that it would come out of its shell and deliver my taste buds a strong message.  Between the burning wood and subtle pina-colada flavors stirring around in my glass, there was a big disconnect.        

2 Stars out of 4. 

“All hands on Deck,”  I yelled.  I need a red wine to come to my rescue immediately!  In walks the 2005 Old Patch Red ($12) from Sonoma’s Trentadue Winery. This red wine sounded quite yummy and interesting based on its back label.

“For over 30 years our Old Patch Red blend has been consistently one [of] the finest California bargains, highly praised by wine media and consumers.  In 2005 the blend is 70% Zin, 20% Petite Sirah, 5.5% Carignane and 4.5% Syrah… This is a delicious “bistro” style blend with abundant jammy berry flavors, black cherry and plums.  Peppery and spicy.  Moderate use of oak completes its juicy and pure mouth feel.”

Now, doesn’t that sound terrific?

Things started out just fine:  the 2005 Old Patch Red smelled quite nice, and I thought that maybe it would truly be a delicious “bistro” style blend, as the back label suggested!  Sadly, I can’t say that it was.  I tried this wine in my own “home bistro” with a plate of heaping pasta, sautéed mushrooms, and Italian hot sausage and alas, no pleasant imagery of dining al fresco or good cheers could be mustered up.

The 2005 Old Patch Red starts and finishes the same way:  somewhat sweet with an odd effervescent mouth-feel.  I was wondering whether it was a soft drink or a wine.  Like the 2008 Tierra de Luna Torrontes, I was stumped by this wine’s strange qualities.

2 Stars out of 4.  I like Coca-Cola, Cherry Coke, and Dr. Pepper – just not all mixed together.

If you are a Labor Day traditionalist, you were probably getting a few extra miles out of your flip-flops and slathering on the SPF for one last long summer weekend at the shore.  I, on the other hand, opted to avoid the beach traffic and just hunkered down at the old homestead with some cold brews, wine, barbecue and “left-behind” friends, while wearing all of my white clothing for the last time…well, maybe not the last part. 

We started our long weekend with a traditional Fancy Dinner Friday.  It kicked off with a big bang just like so many others.  However, this time, we were paid a “special” visit by one very unusual looking mascot.

This mascot looked like a cross between one William “I’m not wearing a wig” Katt and the Man of Steel himself – Superman. 

You may remember William Katt for his role as the mild-mannered high school teacher, Ralph Hinkley, in the hit 80’s ABC show, The Greatest American Hero.    

But lovers of horror movies and Stephen King might also remember Katt’s beautiful golden mane in the 1976 movie, Carrie.

Either way, this mascot set ablaze our dining room floor with his golden locks and also brought back a few adolescent memories for me – but I digress…

After the departure of our Fancy Dinner Friday Mascot, my wife and I decided to open a very special Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon that I received as a sample ($28 MSRP).

It’s not often that I have the opportunity to cut my teeth into a $28 bottle of red wine, but when I do – I expect fireworks to go off in my mouth and smoke to come out of my ears.  The 2007 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon was everything that a red wine lover should expect when paying a decent amount of tender for a bottle of Napa Gold.  It was big on the palate, yet restrained upfront.  It was regal and majestic with its bold tannins, black fruit, generous spices, and properly adjusted oak.  Everything about this wine was intertwined and calibrated in perfect unison:  it’s the complete package in a classic Napa Valley Cab.  On my handwritten notes I wrote down, “The way it oughta be when asked to ante up $28.”

4 Stars out of 4 for the 2007 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon.  28 bucks isn’t chump change in my world, but you get 100% of your money’s worth with this honest and very serious California Cab.

Wine clubs are a fun and easy way to experience different wines from around the world.  Many offer its members an opportunity to try award-winning boutique wines that in most cases are not available for purchase through traditional retail channels.  One particular wine club that recently caught my attention is the Worthwhile Wine Club.  The Worthwhile Wine Company is an importer of only South African wines that are “made sustainably.”

Founded by Mr. Tom Lynch in May 2009, the Worthwhile Wine Company was formed as a result of an inspirational trip that he took with his daughter to South Africa in the summer of 2008.  Mr. Lynch and his daughter spent part of their trip volunteering in a small, poor remote Zulu village.  When they returned home, Mr. Lynch soon started a nonprofit to help South African villages learn how to sustainably grow more of their own food, and provide the materials they needed to get started.

In the book, The Triple Bottom Line, Mr. Andrew Savitz describes a sustainable corporation as “one that creates profit while protecting the environment and improving the lives of those with whom it interacts.” Or, said another way, sustainability is “the art of doing business in an interdependent world.”

The vision of Tom Lynch and Worthwhile Wines is to only import “wines that go about the business of making great wines with an eye toward taking better care of the earth and those with whom they interact”, taking place in a number of different ways.

Worthwhile Wine Company operates as a Fair Trade Certified Importer that buys carbon offsets for every shipment of wine that they import and uses alternative energy whenever possible (down to the servers that run its website), and the company donates a portion of its net proceeds to charities in both the US and South Africa.

Among the company’s extensive portfolio, I was offered the opportunity to sample the 2008 Rooiberg Winery Reserve Chardonnay (MSRP: $13 US).  I didn’t really know what to expect when opening this environmentally–conscious South African Chardonnay, but I was definitely hoping that the smokiness that I detect and detest in many South African reds like Pinotage was not floating around in my glass of Chardonnay.  To my surprise, I found this wine jam-packed with gobs of butterscotch, citrus, and vanilla-oak flavors.  This Chardonnay reminded me more of a big, “in your face” California-styled Chardonnay – it was a far detour from South Africa’s usual light and lively flagship Chenin Blanc, also know as Steen, wine.

The biggest surprise, however, was that this Chardonnay sustained life in my refrigerator for over 5 days!  I had nearly forgotten about it, but while poking my head around in the fridge looking for the tuna-fish salad that my wife had made the day before, I stumbled across this half empty bottle of wine and decided to give it a go with lunch.  To my amazement, the 2008 Rooiberg Winery Reserve Chardonnay was still very much alive and kicking and was absolutely perfect with my tuna-fish sandwich topped with lettuce and tomatoes on whole wheat bread.

3 Stars out of 4.  Worthwhile Wines is definitely not your ordinary wine club, and from a quality/price standpoint, lovers of the big oaky style Chardonnay can feel good that their dollars are paying it forward to help others and the planet.