Wine Tips, Italian Chianti and California Sparkling

Chianti – Il Piaggione Chianti Classico Reserva - from Il Piaggione Estate in the Tuscany region of Italy near Florence. This moderate-bodied red wine is made from 100% Sangiovese grapes. Its flavor has hints of ripe cherries and plum with a light fruity aroma. It has a long and lingering finish. The tannins are light with balanced acidity.

Ready to drink now, it pairs exceptionally well with pasta dishes with red sauce. Try it also with lamb or with calf’s liver.

The Il Paggione Estate winery was founded in 1743 by Giuseppe Uzielli and has been family owned and operated for nearly three centuries.

PLCB product code is 24790 and is available at many PA Wine and Spirits stores for $13.99.

Korbel Sparkling- Brut Champagne - From the Russian River Valley, CA.   Korbel Brut Champagne is made in the traditional methode champenoise.  It is made from a blend of chardonnay, chenin blanc, French columbard and pinot noir.  Korbel Brut Champagne is “bright and crisp, with spicy fruit flavors ending with a medium-dry finish.”  It has a slightly yeasty aroma that does come across in the crisp flavor.  Dosage level is 1%.  It has 12.5% alcohol by volume.

The PLCB product code for the 750 ml bottle of this sparkling is 5943 and it is priced at $14.99  The 1.5 liter bottle of this sparkling is product code 6448 and is $26.99.

Several Korbel sparkling wines, with different levels of dryness, and made with different varieties of grapes, are widely available at PA Wine and Spirits stores, many at the $14.99 price.

Champagne is great any time, but try the Korbel Brut with chicken or fish or as a great accompaniment with light cheeses and fruit.  

Although true “Champagne” is only made in Champagne, France, Korbel was given special permission to continue calling their sparkling wines “Champagne” when other sparkling wines had to be referred to as “Sparkling”. 

Up-coming Events

Wines of the World

Thursday, April 29

A one night wine seminar at Montgomery County Community College's West Campus in Pottstown.

6:30 - 9:30 PM
$52 per person

Register ASAP by calling Lisa Miller at MCCC at 610-718-1861 by Wed 4 PM. 

Cinco de Mayo

Wednesday, May 5

Wines from Spain, Chile, and Argentina at the Gallery School of Pottstown.  Begins promptly at 6:30 PM. 

$45 per person

Register for Cinco De Mayo by going to the Gallery School's website.

American Wine Society Educational Foundation Benefit Tasting
Saturday September 18  

Wine and Appetizer Pairing, Perkiomen Valley Library, Schwenksville
Time and cost TBD
See more about the Perkiomen Chapter of AWS.

Mom's House
Benefit Wine Dinner

Saturday, October 23

Five course dinner, each course paired with a different wine.  Kimberton Arts Center  6:30 PM, $75 per person or $525 for a table of 8.  For more information about Mom's House, click HERE

This week’s Fun Fact

From “The Amazing Book of Useless Information”
The pressure in a bottle of Champagne is about 90 pounds per square inch.  That’s about  three times the pressure in car tires.

Israeli Cabernet and Wild Yeast Chardonnay

Greetings from Vintage Connections!

This week,we feature an Israeli Cabernet Sauvignon and a Wild Yeast Chardonnay.  Also, see our 
Fun Fact at the bottom of the page.

Golan Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 from Golan Heights Winery near Katzrin in Israel.  Founded in 1983, Golan Heights Winery began changing the face of wine making in Israel.

The 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon is deep red in color with full-bodied flavor and texture.  Very drinkable now, it should be able to be cellared for up to 10 years.  It has aromas and flavors of dark red fruits with hints of tobacco, chocolate and spice.  It was aged for six months in mostly American oak barrels.

It is a Kosher wine, following all the criteria necessary to make it Kosher without harming the final product with pasteurization.

We were introduced to this wine by our friend John Nase and liked it so much that we are planning to use it for our “Wines of the World” class being offered at Montgomery County Community College.

Alcohol is 13.9% by volume.  PLCB product code is 26931 and sells for $15.99 a bottle.  It is available at many PA wine and Spirit stores especially during Jewish holidays.

Errazuriz Chardonnay 2007 from the Escultura Estate in Casablanca Valley in Chile, this Chardonnay was made from wild yeasts that are naturally present on the grape skins and in the air.  Grapes are hand-picked, the juice fermented at low temperatures and then allowed to sit for 10 months in French oak barrels.  It has tropical fruit aromas with toasty, nutty flavors and a long finish.

La Escultura Estate is located just twenty miles from the Pacific Ocean, so it benefits from the moderate temperatures of the Pacific breezes during the ripening period.  In 2007 when the grapes were ripening the weather was unusually cool allowing the grapes to mature slowly which benefited the final product by allowing the grapes to “maintain their natural fruit flavor and acidity“.

Allowing the juice to ferment with wild, native yeasts “produces different concentrations and proportions of by products, adding distinctive flavors - and therefore more complexity - to the wine”.  Seventy percent of the wine also went through malolactic fermentation.

Errazuriz Chardonnay is light  yellow straw colored and is medium bodied.

We were a little concerned with what this wine was going to taste like having been made using the wild, native yeasts rather than the tamer yeast additives usually used.  But we wanted to try it anyway.  “Nothing ventured….”  We were very happily surprised and thoroughly enjoyed the wine.  So much so that we have decided to use it paired with plantain chips at the upcoming Cinco de Mayo celebration at the Gallery School in Pottstown.

Alcohol is 13.5% by volume.  PLCB product code is 22502 and is sold for $14.99 a bottle at many PA Wine and Spirit stores.
  
Up-coming Events

Wines of the USA 

Thursday, April 22

A one night wine seminar at Montgomery County Community College's West Campus in Pottstown. 

Register ASAP by calling Lisa Miller at MCCC at 610-718-1861 by Wed 4 PM.

6:30 - 9:30 PM
$52 per person

Wines of the World

Thursday, April 29

A one night wine seminar at Montgomery County Community College's West Campus in Pottstown.

6:30 - 9:30 PM
$52 per person

Additional information about theses courses is available on page 30 of this brochure. 

Register for these classes.

Cinco de Mayo

Wednesday, May 5

Wines from Spain, Chile, and Argentina at the Gallery School of Pottstown.  Begins promptly at 6:30 PM. 

$45 per person

Register for Cinco De Mayo by going to the Gallery School's website.

American Wine Society Educational Foundation Benefit Tasting
Saturday September 18  

Wine and Appetizer Pairing, Perkiomen Valley Library, Schwenksville
Time and cost TBD
See more about the Perkiomen Chapter of AWS.

Mom's House
Benefit Wine Dinner

Saturday, October 23

Five course dinner, each course paired with a different wine.  Kimberton Arts Center  6:30 PM, $75 per person or $525 for a table of 8.  For more information about Mom's House, click HERE

This week’s Fun Fact

From “The Amazing Book of Useless Information”

It takes an average of 600 grapes to make one bottle of wine.

Wine Tips of the Week April 13, 2010

Greetings from Vintage Connections!

This week, learn about a special weekend on the Berks County Wine Trail, the Cinco de Mayo Wine Tasting on May 5, and a reliable and inexpensive Sauvignon Blanc.


The Berks County Wine Trail is having a special weekend, April 17 and 18.  No cost, no reservations, no tickets, but plenty of wine and food pairings.  See their website for more information.



Cinco de Mayo – A Celebration! 
Come join us as we observe this Mexican holiday celebrating Mexican heritage and pride, with Spanish style wines and food pairings. The Celebration will be held at the Gallery School on High in Pottstown, PA, of course, on May 5.

Though normally we think of tequila and cerveza when celebrating Cinco de Mayo, we have decided to celebrate with wine. Mexican wine is unavailable in this area (it's not available almost anywhere!) so we will be tasting wines from several Spanish speaking countries and pairing them with some traditional foods.

We have been trying wines from Chile, Argentina and Spain to bring you samplings of some truly delicious wines like Tempranillo from Spain, Sauvignon Blanc from Chile, and perhaps a Malbec from Argentina.
Foods will include tasty treats like plaintain chips and guacamole.  The fun of pairing these treats with wines will make for an entertaining celebration.

Cinco de Mayo celebrations in the US usually take place in areas of high concentration of Mexican people.  Many major cities in the US participate in the Cinco de Mayo celebration, and even some smaller towns have parades and parties to celebrate their “Mexican” heritage.  Cinco de Mayo is one of those special times when everyone feels a little bit Mexican in their souls, so a celebration in Pottstown just makes sense.

Register on the Gallery School of Pottstown's website.

 
Cocha y Toro Casillero del Diablo Sauvignon Blanc 2008

We're really partial to Sauvignon Blancs from New Zealand, so this Sauvignon Blanc has to be special. It's a tasty, 100% Sauvignon Blanc at a very reasonable price.

This wine comes from the Concha y Toro Winery in Pirque, Chile.  Light yellow with green overtones in color, it has fresh aromas of herbs and grass with flavors of fresh tropical fruits.  Best when served chilled.  Great with seafood and guacamole.  Alcohol is 13% by volume.   PLCB product code is 9983 and is available at most PA Wine and Spirit stores for $10.99

Concha y Toro Winery owns thousands of acres all over Chile and into Argentina, consisting of many different terroirs and growing conditions allowing for a vast selection of grapes to make some excellent wines.
When owner Don Melchor de Concha y Toro decided to save the best of his reserve wines for himself, he created a myth that the devil lived in the cellar to keep people away from his wines, hence the name Casillero del Diablo, or in English, Cellar of the Devil.

Up-coming Events

View information about the Berk County Wine Trail Weekend event, April 17-18.
 

Wines of the USA 

Thursday, April 22

A one night wine seminar at Montgomery County Community College's West Campus in Pottstown. 

6:30 - 9:30 PM
$52 per person

Wines of the World

Thursday, April 29

A one night wine seminar at Montgomery County Community College's West Campus in Pottstown.

6:30 - 9:30 PM
$52 per person

Additional information about theses courses is available on page 30 of this brochure. 

Register for these classes.

Cinco de Mayo

Wednesday, May 5

Wines from Spain, Chile, and Argentina at the Gallery School of Pottstown.  Begins promptly at 6:30 PM. 

$45 per person

Register for Cinco De Mayo by going to the Gallery School's website.

American Wine Society Educational Foundation Benefit Tasting
Saturday September 18  

Wine and Appetizer Pairing, Perkiomen Valley Library, Schwenksville
Time and cost TBD
See more about the Perkiomen Chapter of AWS.

Mom's House
Benefit Wine Dinner

Saturday, October 23

Five course dinner, each course paired with a different wine.  Kimberton Arts Center  6:30 PM, $75 per person or $525 for a table of 8.  For more information about Mom's House, click.  HERE

Wines of the World and Campo Viejo Reserva 2004

Greetings from Vintage Connections!


Wines of the World “102” (or Part 2)

Come journey with us as we travel to some new and interesting places to experience Wines of the World, figuratively speaking, of course.  When we last offered this course we traveled to the more well-known wine regions of the world like France, Italy and Australia.  This time we would like to take you to some lesser known regions and some that just might surprise you like New Zealand, South Africa and Israel. 

Yes, you read that right.  At a recent AWS wine tasting our friend, John Nase, introduced us to some wines from Israel and we were very pleasantly surprised.  We’re hoping to try one in our Wines of the World class. 

More and more countries are diving into the world of winemaking and some are coming up with some surprising and delicious wines.  Argentina is becoming known for its Malbecs and of course New Zealand’s Marlborough region is famous for its wonderful Sauvignon Blancs.

We’ve been diligently experimenting with some wines from these places and others to bring you something new and different.  Tasting, tasting, and tasting is hard work, but someone has to do it.  We’re glad it’s us!  Join us sometime.

Campo Viejo Reserva 2004

 From the Rioja region of Spain, this red wine is a blend of 75 % Tempranillo, 15% Graciano, and 10% Mazuelo.  Aged for 18 months in oak casks and 18 months in the bottle, winemaker Elena Adell says of her wine,   “Good structure with a velvety texture, combining flavors of ripe fruit and vanilla”.  Alcohol is 13.5% by volume.  PLCB product code is 9327 and is currently available at most PA Wine and Spirits Stores on sale for $8.99, regularly $12.99.

Founded in 2001, Campo Viejo Winery is located on a high plateau outside of Logrono in the Rioja region of Spain.  The area in which the winery resides was once vineyards that were given to the Roman Empire soldiers as a reward for service.

Winemaker Elena Adell has endeavored to create wines typical of the Rioja region with all the characteristics expected of an excellent Rioja.  She blends the Tempranillo with Graciano to create a more complex wine and then adds the Mazuelo to balance the acidity.

Up-coming Events

Wines of the USA Thursday, April 22
A one night wine seminar at Montgomery County Community College's West Campus in Pottstown. 

6:30 - 9:30 PM
$52 per person

Wines of the World

Thursday, April 29

A one night wine seminar at Montgomery County Community College's West Campus in Pottstown.

6:30 - 9:30 PM
$52 per person

Additional information about theses courses is available on page 30 of this brochure.

Register for these classes.

Cinco de Mayo, Wednesday, May 5

Wines from Spain, Chile, and Argentina at the Gallery School of Pottstown.  Begins promptly at 6:30 PM. 

$45 per person

Register for Cinco De Mayo by going to the Gallery School's website.

NEW: American Wine Society Educational Foundation Benefit Tasting
Saturday
September 18 Wine and Appetizer Pairing, Perkiomen Valley Library, Schwenksville
Time and cost TBD
See more about the Perkiomen Chapter of AWS.

Mom's House
Benefit Wine Dinner

Saturday, October 23

Five course dinner, each course paired with a different wine.  Kimberton Arts Center  6:30 PM, $75 per person or $525 for a table of 8.  For more information about Mom's House, click.  HERE