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Posts Tagged ‘Torrontes’

Like a lot of other people this past Sunday night, we were glued to the TV set sayin’, “Man, she looks terrible!” or “Wow, she looks really great!”  We were also wondering if James Cameron and Jon Landau’s 10 year project, “Avatar”, would runaway with all of the Oscar trophies.  But just like so many other past Oscar nights, there was that dark horse in the bunch that surprised everyone.  This year, it was a night to remember for the folks involved with the film “The Hurt Locker”, which won six Academy Awards including “Best Picture”.

As we watched “The Hurt Locker” put a hurtin’ on fellow nominees, we were putting a hurtin’ on a couple great bottles of wine!

The first of the evening was the 2009 Finca La Linda Torrontes bottled by Luigi Bosca.  This wine was produced in Argentina and consists of 100% Torrontes grape.  Torrontes is the wonderful and distinctively aromatic signature white grape of Argentina.  If you’ve never tried a Torrontes before, this one will certainly make a great first impression on you!  There’s a lot of interesting layers of flavors swirling around in this wine.  It’s a bombshell of racy, crisp acidity, packed full of tropical flavors, that reminded me of a Pina Colada.  The 2009 Finca La Linda Torrontes was a big winner and left us wanting more.  Costing less than $10, it secures a lofty 4 star WineLife365 taste rating and also earned itself many repeat visits as the weather in our neck of the woods continues to warm up.

Next up was the 2006 La Corte Solyss Negroamaro.  This red wine is from the South of Italy in the Puglia (Apulia) region.  Negroamaro, also known as Negro amaro, is one of the most widely planted native red grapes grown in the Southern regions of Italy.  It’s grown almost exclusively in Puglia (Apulia) and also in Salento, which is located at the “heel” of Italy.  The Negroamaro grape and the winemakers in this region tend to allow these wines to express rustic, earthy, and natural tasting characteristics.  This particular Old World red showcases some really interesting mineral, herbaceous and cherry twists that will undoubtedly make you question whether you’re a fan of it or not.  We were fans of 2006 La Corte Solyss Negroamaro and give it 3 stars out of 4 on our taste scale.  One final note on this wine – I paid $12 for it at a local retailer, but I’ve seen it as high as $25 online.  I’m not sure whether or not I’d be willing to fork over 25 bones for it, but if you can find it for less than $20, it’s certainly worth a shot!

With the 2010 Oscars behind us, I can’t say that there were many moments that will replay in my mind for any length of time.  However, I did find some winners that will have repeat performances in my glass.

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From: Argentina

Price: $8.99

ATTENTION ALL CALIFORINIA CHARDONNAY DRINKERS:  Please place your glass of wine down on the table and step away.

I want to share with you yet another outstanding value white wine from Argentina that you’re probably not paying attention to because it comes from a lesser known place in Argentina called the Calchaqui Valley.  It also contains that unfamiliar native Argentinean white grape known as Torrontes.  However, this Torrontes has a splash of that old familiar favorite in it – Chardonnay! The 2007 Inca white blend consists of 80% Torrontes and 20% Chardonnay.  The splash of Chardonnay is terrific.  It really gives this wine some serious backbone that allows it to hold up to just about any food that you throw at it.  We started drinking this white blend just before dinner.  Our dinner was some Tex-Mex chicken and steak fajitas.  We liked this wine so much that we continued to drink it with dinner, and it held up really well.

The 2007 Inca Torrontes / Chardonnay has an awesome crisp apricot and citrus (think grapefruit) flavor that is light on the “tree bark” (oak in wine geek terms).  This wine is very enjoyable and skillfully blended to near perfection.  And I almost forgot the best part – it can be purchased for less than $10…cha-ching!

This wine is an outstanding value and the Torrontes grape is quickly becoming one of my favorite white wine grapes. 

WineLife365 Rating: 4-Star

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Torrontes is the most popular and widely grown white grape in Argentina. This native Argentinean white grape is grown mainly in the provinces of Catamarca, La Rioja, Mendoza, Salta, San Juan and Rio Negro.  The Torrontes grape produces wine with a very strong floral scent to it – and I’m not joking when I say a strong floral scent!  It hits you like you’ve just walked into a flower shop.  The Torrontes wine shares many similar attributes to a Viognier wine:  Torrontes wines exhibit a floral scent and generally have a powerful punch of peach and citrus flavors, similar to Viogniers.

Torrontes is a great sipping or “stand-alone” wine.  It’s terrific with salads, cheeses and grilled/smoked meats.  It’s really awesome with spicy dishes as well!

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Experiment #2 – 1L Tetra Pak (a.k.a. An oversized juice box)

Wines Tasted: 2008 Yellow + Blue Torrontes (white) and the 2007 Yellow & Blue Malbec (red).

Origin: Argentina

Price Paid: $12.50 for each wine

This is my second experiment with trying wines in alternative packaging.  Let me start off by saying that if there’s a method of packaging wine that is better for our planet, I’m all for it.  I’m sure that all of us would agree that the greenest possible packaging methods should be used.  However, I’m still searching for answers to whether or not the wine industry feels that alternative packaging, such as the “bag-in-box” system and/or the “Tetra Pak” system, makes better sense over glass bottles.  If it does, then why are so few wineries willing to adopt and promote these more eco-friendly packaging options?  If these alternative packaging methods are in fact greener and cheaper for wineries to use over glass bottles, shouldn’t there be more Box Wines and/or Tetra Pak wines on the shelf?  My guess is that there are other factors coming into play – maybe impact on taste and freshness of the product?  Let’s face it, business is business and most wineries aren’t going to make the leap to this type of packaging without knowing that there is a value proposition as well.

I digress and will continue with my experiment:

On the hunt for “Green” Wines

I took a stroll down the aisle of my local wine store and picked up two Tetra Paks from Yellow + Blue.  The white wine was a 2008 Torrontes and the red wine was a 2007 Malbec.   Both of these wines were from Argentina, and both wines noted on the eco-friendly container that they were made with organically grown grapes.

So how did they taste?

Well, they weren’t bad, but they weren’t very good either.  For all that was said about the packaging being so much cheaper so that “better juice” could go inside, I found both of the Yellow + Blue Wines to be ok at best.  The Torrontes white wine was the better of the two wines.  It possessed some of the characteristics that I’ve tasted in comparatively priced bottled Torrontes, but this 2008 Yellow+Blue was definitely outmatched by bottled competitors such as Lo Tengo and Alamos.  It was very light and kind of watered down.  I give the 2008 Yellow + Blue Torrontes a 2 Star rating based on taste alone.

As far as the 2007 Malbec, well let’s just say that it didn’t stack up to some of the bottled Malbecs that I’ve tasted in this same price range this year.  In my opinion, there are a lot more bottled Malbecs worth trying over this juice box Malbec in the same price range.  I give the 2007 Yellow + Blue Malbec a 2 Star rating based on taste alone as well.

Did these wines stay fresher in a juice box than a bottle?

In my experiment, the Malbec was just about undrinkable on day #2 (it was not pretty) and the Torrontes did manage to hold what it had to offer for about three days.  That’s pretty comparable to a leftover bottle of white wine.  

So What’s the Verdict?

At the end of the day and this discussion, isn’t wine meant to be drunk?  If the wine inside the bag or the adult sized juice box doesn’t taste as good as a comparable priced bottled wine, then that’s where I have to draw the line.  I want to be as green as the next guy, but I really want to enjoy what I’m drinking even more!  I respect what the folks at Yellow + Blue Wines stand for – “Wines for a Better Planet”, but the wine has to be better in order for me to buy it again.   Unfortunately, these two particular wines are outmatched by competing bottled wines in the same price range, and the fact that they didn’t stay fresher any longer than a bottled wine didn’t do much to persuade me to change either.

Below is the link to Yellow+ Blue Wines and another site dedicated to promoting eco-friendly products:

http://www.ybwines.com/

http://kevinkahn.com/

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Here’s a spicy delicacy that will have your taste buds asking for more.  I call it Spicy Chick-Chicken and no, I’m not stuttering.  Here are the ingredients that you’ll need:

A tablespoon or two of salted butter

A decent amount of jarred chopped garlic

At least 2 raw chicken breast cutlets

At least 1 cup of peppers (I used frozen red and yellow)

1 can of Chick peas/Garbanzo beans

½ to a 1 can of diced tomatoes

Ground Coriander Seed

Chipotle Chili Pepper*

Cilantro leaves

*A secret spicy seasoning that I used in this dish was RTG “Spicy Cajun Seasoning”.  This spice can be substituted for any “spicy as hell” dry seasoning that you might have.

First, grab a deep frying pan or pot.  Melt the butter, drop in a generous amount of chopped garlic (to your liking).  Cut up the chicken breasts and add to the garlic butter.  As this is cooking, start adding all the spices listed above.  As I mentioned above, I used something called RTG “Spicy Cajun Seasoning”.  The bottle looked pretty old and for the life of me, I have no clue how this seasoning made its way into our spice cabinet.  To be honest, it might have been left by the previous owners, so you might not even be able to find it in your grocery store any longer.  But tonight it was going into this chicken dish.

Next, add the frozen peppers.  Finally, add the can of chick peas/garbanzo beans and diced tomatoes.

This meal will have some “heat” on it.  But it’s sure damn tasty.  I paired this spicy chicken dish with a 2008 Argentinean Torrontes called Crios de Susana Balbo.  This white wine was amazing with this dish.

As usual, don’t knock it until you’ve tried!

Until the next time we run out of food… bon appétit fellow Poor Chefs!  

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