More of What We've Been Drinking, Wine Blending Bordeaux-Style and Wines of the Finger Lakes

Cheers!
from Vintage Connections

Last Chance to Register for  
Wine Blending Bordeaux-Style

Thursday, March 24, 6:30-9 PM in Pottstown.  Email us at Vintageconnections@comcast.net, call us at 610.469.6164, or follow this link for more information or to register.

Wines of the Finger Lakes 

Thursday, March 31, 6:30-9 PM in Pottstown.   On-line registration will open on Monday, March 21.  To register by phone, call us at 610.469.6164.

New!! Wine Classes at Pinnacle Ridge Winery

Red and White: Wine Appreciation Basics

Thursday May 12, 6:30-9 PM or Friday, May 13, 1:30-4 PM 

What's In a Name? Wine Appreciation Basics

Thursday May 26, 6:30-9 PM or Friday, May 27, 1:30-4 PM
All classes are $35 per person.

Email or call us at 610.469.6164 for more information or to register by phone.

What We've Been Drinking  
(this week - OK, over the past 8 days)

We didn't expect to taste much wine this past week, but were we wrong about that!  

It all started innocently enough when we went to visit two of our favorite wineries, Pinnacle Ridge and Manatawny, last Friday.  It was a beautiful afternoon and we wanted to go for a drive, enjoy the ambiance of their tasting rooms, their good company, and maybe, just maybe, taste a wine or two or three.

At Pinnacle Ridge we spent most of our time talking with Brad and Christy, the owners.  Brad is one of the best wine-makers in the world - don't take our word for it, see Opus Vino,  who cited Pinnacle Ridge as one of the world's 1000 greatest wineries and Brad as one of the 100 rising star winemakers in the WORLD!  Not just in PA, not just in the USA, but in the WORLD!  

Anyway, after talking for a while we had to taste a couple of wines.  We know Brad's wines well and have cases in our wine closet, including his massive award winner, the 2007 Veritas. But, we wanted to refresh our memories of his Syrah and Merlot and wanted to try his new, dry rose, Oasis, featured to celebrate Mediterranean Month at the winery.  

Then we stopped by Manatawny.  We featured their Chardonnay in our e-newsletter and Grapevine blog this week, so if you want more detail about it, go the the Grapevine.  We also sampled and bought a few bottles of their sparkling, Merlot, and Syrah.  Of course, we tasted a few more as well.

After tasting at Manatawny, we were in a "Manatawny mood" and so pulled Joanne's 2007 Pinot Noir and 2006 Cabernet Franc from our wine closet and enjoyed those with dinner (storing the leftovers in the refrig and finishing them Saturday night).  


Early in the week we returned to whites and had our last bottles of Giesen Sauvignon Blanc (detail available in the Grapevine last week) and Errazuriz Wild Fermented Chardonnay (detailed a few weeks ago in the Grapevine).  

Thursday night we attended the Indian Valley American Wine Society tasting where the hosts organized a blind tasting of six Sauvignon Blancs, each from a different country.  Each was distinctively different from the others, some with a more earthy aroma and flavor, others with a more fruity aroma and flavor.  The Chaulk Hill from California was easy to identify because of the high alcohol content, characteristic of most California wines. It was not well-balanced (and over $25).  Skip it.  The Cloudy Bay from New Zealand was the overwhelming favorite and, like most NZ Sauvignon Blancs, showed equal measures of earthiness and fruit.  You just can't beat NZ Sauvignon Blancs, even the reasonably priced ones.  Cloudy Bay is overpriced, we think, at $20.  There are many more reasonably priced and excellent NZ Sauvignon Blancs available even in PA.

Sauvignon Blanc is about the only wine with high enough acid to pair with salads (especially with vinaigrette dressing) and other high acid foods.  Los Vascos from Chile was ranked third but was priced under $10, an amazing value.  Sauvion Sancerre (French) was the biggest disappointment and was the highest priced (about $30).  The South African Muldersbosch was also (we think) overpriced at $24.  Another bargain and good value was Four Sisters from Australia at $12 (and 12.5% alcohol, low for an Australian wine but just about right for a Sauvignon Blanc).


Friday night we attended the Positively Pottstown mixer at the Tri-PAC theater, where we found Cupcake Sauvignon Blanc, a wine we reviewed about a year ago.  If you are looking for a very inexpensive Sauvignon Blanc, you can give it a try.  Taste it against the least expensive NZ Sauvignon Blanc you can find and tell us what you think!  We also sampled Castle Rock Cabernet Sauvignon and Il Bastardo, a Sangiovese from Italy.  Both (very inexpensive wines) were too tannic and a bit bitter for us. It is very difficult to find a well-balanced red for under $10.  We don't recommend either and switched back to the Cupcake after sampling both of them.


Saturday we attended a members' event at the Gallery School of Pottstown, taking a bottle of the Manatawny Syrah and a Traminette from Aracadian Estate, one of the wineries we visited in the Finger Lakes in October (now closed for the winter season).  It's a light, slightly sweet white, probably one step sweeter than most Gewurztraminers.  


Enough already.  More next time.
Dean and Lisa
Vintage Connections: Wine Educators and Consultants