Pre-Thanksgiving Dinner with Turkey and Wine

Initially, the plan was to hold a tasting with Eric. But he never responded to the e-mail chains on where we would host it, and oddly no one else wanted to nudge him for answers. Finally, we decided to just have L+M over for wine and a simple home-cooked meal. On the spur of the moment, we asked the Rs over too, when we saw them over scotch on Thursday evening. Moments after, Eric finally responded, apologizing for the radio silence and asking if we could go over to his place instead, because he didn’t want to find a baby sitter. But since we had already invited the Rs, we had to take a raincheck with Eric. Then, at literally the last minute, L+M had to bow out.

But given all the scheduling confusion, the evening turned out beautifully. We decided on impulse to roast some turkey breast and stuffing to go with the wines, and the Rs made a lovely butternut squash soup to complement the Thanksgiving-like meal. For dessert, I baked apple crumble, and Aaron had picked out a generous selection of stinky cheeses and sausages. We spent the evening comfortably sprawled in front of the dining table, drinking a 2009 Capiaux Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, 2008 B.R. Cohn North Coast Silver Label Cabernet Sauvignon, 2003 Bussolla Amaraone Della Valpolicella Classico (which was sweet and smooth but seemed lacking in backbone), and 2009 Dusted Valley Tall Tales Syrah.

Wine Tasting in Woodinville, Washington

We were so excited at the prospect of wine tasting in Washington… but the question was, where would we go? There are 11 different appellations in Washington, and 10 are located east of the Cascades mountain ranges, as far as 3-5 hours of driving from Seattle. Yakima is the closest appellation east of the mountains, but we weren’t familiar with the wines from there, and Walla Walla and Columbia Valley were too far given our schedule.

Thank goodness for Woodinville. The Woodinville wine clusters began with the establishment of Chateau Ste. Michelle in 1976, whose production now dwarves that of all other wineries in Washington. There are over 80 wineries in Woodinville. Some of them are cellar doors with vineyards in the eastern appellations (Puget Sound is the appellation west of the Cascades, and none of the winemakers we spoke with think much of it – for now). Many are small production wineries (~1000 cases) whose owners may hold other full time jobs. Consequently, most of the wineries are only open for tasting on Saturdays, or open by appointment on Sundays (thankfully, that fit neatly into our schedule).

Woodinville is a veritable oasis of excellent wines. There were too many wineries to choose from, so I used the reviews over at Cellar Tracker to help with my research. I came up with a list of 15 wineries to visit; we only managed to hit half on the list, but visited others on the enthusiastic urging of the winemakers we met.

Wineries/Cellar Doors we visited:
1. Tempest Sol
Winemaker Gus White poured for us. We tried all his currently available vintages: 2008 Eos, 2007 Helios, 2010 Viognier, and the 2008 Aglianico (intriguing choice of an Italian varietal), as well as a 2009 Cabernet Franc and 2009 Syrah that were still sitting in the tanks, waiting to be barreled. We enjoyed chatting with Gus, who works full time at Microsoft developing the Kinect, and part time on this “hobby”. He told us he’s been making wine for the past 8 years, and started Tempest Sol a few years ago. His wines are mostly sourced from the Yakima AVA.

Bought – 1x 2008 Eos, 1x 2010 Viognier

2. Cuillin Hills
Winemaker Derek DesVoigne poured for us. He focuses on making Rhone and Bordeaux varietals, and we tried all 6 of his current offerings. His wines are sourced primarily from Stillwater Creek (Columbia Valley), Sagemoor Weinbau (Columbia Valley), and Meek Family Vineyard (Yakima). Of all we tasted, we really liked the 2008 Shackled Syrah and the 2009 Instigator Syrah. The latter had lots of tannins on the mouth, dry but smooth, with a smoky and meaty mouth feel.

Bought – 1x 2008 Shackled, Columbia Valley

3. William Church
We went to William Church on the recommendation of Gus, and what a solid recommendation that was! They make about 3500 cases there, so it’s about 3 times the size of Cuillin Hills and Tempest Sol. Unlike the other two wineries, we were served by volunteers here. We tasted the 2010 Viognier (wonderful bouquet! LOVED IT!), 2008 Bishops Blend (delicious), 2007 Sur La Meh (Beautiful! Totally in love with this one!), 2007 Cabernet Savuignon from Columbia Valley, 2008 Malbec, 2008 Two Spires (nice sweetish finish), and the 2007 Syrah.

It’s a pity, but we didn’t end up buying any from the winery. We were headed to Canada the next day, so we were mindful of not going over our legal limit as to the number of bottles we could bring in or come back across the border with. We thought we would have enough time on the return trip to buy more. Guess there’s always online shipping!

4. Sparkman Cellars
To be honest, my recollection of this winery is somewhat hazy. We were served by a couple girls, one of whom had just started her first day on her job and was thus almost as clueless as we were about the wines. But they were friendly, and we enjoyed their 2008 Wilderness Red Blend, which is a blend of Cab, Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot. And we learnt that the Red Mountain AVA, whilst the smallest and newest appellation, makes some of the best wines in the state.

Bought – 1x 2008 Wilderness Red Blend

5. Patterson Cellars
There was a party helping to bottle the wines when we visited, which was fun to watch. We tried a bunch of wines, my favorite being the 2007 Woodslake Cabernet Franc. We’d tried a couple prior to Patterson’s and found theirs the most outstanding of the lot: Great representation of Cab Franc with its tobacco and raspberry notes and peppery finish.

One great thing about Patterson – theirs is the best shipping policy we’ve seen to date. $10 shipping charges for any number of bottles you buy!

Bought – 2x 2010 Chardonnay, 1x 2008/2009 Due Ann, 2x 2007 Woodslake Cabernet Franc, 1x 2008 Syrah Sirah

6. Baer Winery
Lisa, one of the owners, poured their tastings of the 2008 Arctos and the 2010 Shard for us. I’d heard of Baer from the Wine Discount Center when they sent out a newsletter featuring Baer’s 2008 Ursa. Funnily enough, she had just returned from Chicago, where she sold the last of her 2008 Ursa to the Wine Discount Center.

Leroy Redford of Flying Dreams makes their wines for them.

7. Flying Dreams
We were pointed to Flying Dreams by Gus of Tempest Sol, who told us that Leroy Redford, the winemaker, used to be a professional ballet dancer before he turned to wine. Leroy poured for us, even though we came knocking minutes before he closed. He sources his wines from a bunch of different vineyards, including Stillwater Creek (Columbia Valley) and Sagemoor Weinbau (Columbia Valley), like Cuillin Hills.

We especially loved his 2009 Syrah, which was especially smooth with explosions of berries and spice in the mouth. We got two bottles which Leroy autographed with a thick golden-tipped felt pen.

Bought – 2x 2009 Syrah

8. Pomum
Because Jeff was so excited about Leroy’s Tempranillo, Leroy pointed us to Pomum, the other winery in the area that focuses on Spanish-styled wines. The owner of Pomum is a Spanish architect. They’re not usually open for tastings on Sundays, but Jeff sent them an email and the sister of the winemaker, Ana, opened the doors for us and treated us to generous pours. It was fun chatting with her, about wine and everything else under the sun. We were there for close to an hour before we realized we had to hurry if we wanted to taste anything else.

Jeff liked their take on Tempranillo with the 2008 Tinto, though I found it to be a little harsh on the tannins. I preferred the 2007 Shya Red Bordeaux blend, which was smooth and lush on the tongue, with a long and sweet finish.

9. Janiuk
The Januik compound is sprawling, compared to the prior wineries we’d visited. The tasting room was elegantly designed, with high ceilings and glass doors that framed the one side while the other side opened to a gallery where visitors could look down into the expansive wine making facility that joined the building. It was packed with people too – not quite as bad as in Napa, but we had to wait for a bit to get a tasting.

While we prefer going to the smaller wineries so we would have a chance to chat with the winemakers themselves and understand more about their unique wine making process, we couldn’t fault the wines at Janiuk’s. The Januik branded wines are sold alongside the Novelty Hill brands, since winemaker Mike Januik makes those wines as well. For $7, we could choose 4 of the Novelty Hill/Januik wines to taste, or for $10, we could taste 4 of their reserve wines. We chose the latter, and were blown away by the 2008 Champoux Cabernet Sauvginon, as well as the 2008 Reserve Red. But the price tags seemed a little too steep, particularly when we factored in the shipping taxes. In the end, I bought 3 bottles on behalf of my boss, but passed for ourselves.

10. Dusted Valley
What a find! We lucked out in the tasting – they’d just had a Stained Tooth Society (the wine club) Syrah tasting the evening before, and had some leftover reserve and library wines to taste. We had such a blast going down the range of Syrah, from the different appellations. It was most interesting to see how the wines from the same year differed from the various appellations. Perhaps it was because we’d just sampled 5 different Syrahs in a row, but the 2008 Wahluke BFM Merlot jumped right out at us. It was such a luscious mouthful of goodness!

Gotta love Dusted Valley’s wine club. Winemaker and co-owner Corey explained that when he’d been looking for wine clubs to join back in the day, he’d been frustrated by the lack of choices offered. Most wine clubs choose your selections for their members, giving them not much of a choice in what wines they want. When Corey and his brother-in-law Chad formed their own wine club, they decided to let members choose what they wanted (which makes it more difficult for the winery to manage inventory). Thus, twice a year, members get a full say in what they want to drink. Which worked out perfectly for us in this case. We picked out a mixed case of primarily Syrah, and 3 bottles of that tasty BFM Merlot, to split with my boss. And, as an initiation gift to the Stained Tooth Society, we were presented with toothbrushes. Hah!

Bought – 1x – 2009 CV STS, 2x 2008 CV Rachis Syr, 3x 2008 Wahluke BFM, 2x 2005 Smasne Syrah, 2x 2006 WW Birch Cre, 2x 2006 CV Reserve Syrah

11. Chateau Ste Michelle
Jeff dubbed it “The Mothership”. It’s a sprawling estate.

12. Goose Ridge
Medium-sized winery… make wines using a small amount of their grapes; the bulk of them they sell to other wineries. Really delicious wines for the price – something must be said for economies of scale!

Bought – 1x Chardonnay, 1x Pinot Gris

2007 Halter Cabernet Uncorked

M brought over a bottle of the 2007 Halter Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon last night. The last time we opened it at Bonsoiree, I gave it the thumbs down right out of the bottle, though it eventually opened up and softened considerably.

Same situation this time around. When first poured, the nose was something awful. Hot and simply impenetrable, like its inky body. In contrast, we’d just finished the bottle of the 2007 Kiara Merlot from the Winemaker’s Porch B&B, which was a light, easy sipper. I warily took a sip and grimaced. The tannins were so tight and dry that my mouth immediately puckered.

We let the wines sit in our glasses for a good half hour before we cautiously approached it again. To our relief, the wine was much more approachable now. It was now smooth and actually quite a delight to drink. We’ve still a half bottle leftover, which would be a nice treat this evening. And I think we’ll hold on to the last bottle we have for a few good years before we break it out.

Wine Tasting in Paso Robles

Our singular most memorable vineyard experience took place in Paso Robles, although funnily enough, no actual wine tasting was involved.

We were finishing up our wonderful meal at Artisans on Friday evening, when I looked over at the dinner plates of the couple next to us and started salivating to see the enormous and juicy looking scallops that the gentleman was enjoying. So I started up a conversation, and before long, we learnt that they were the neighbors of the B&B we were staying at, and that their 20 acre plot of land included 10 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon, 6 aces of Syrah, and 4 of Merlot. We chatted easily through the rest of their meal, and before we left, were invited for a tour of their vineyard the next morning.

The lovely couple were the Rasmussens, and their vineyard is the Rasmussen Vineyards, currently still a private family owned production. They’re still waiting for a final permit before they can start making and selling wine on the property. In the meantime however, they are bottling the bulk of their wines over at Midnight Cellars, while keeping a few barrels as garage wines.

We were excited at the opportunity for a private tour, and so early next morning, popped over for a visit. While the cellar and future tasting room is located at the bottom of the hill on their property, Larry and Elaine, when they make their weekend trek up to Paso Robles (Larry is still a partner at his architectural firm in Ventura), stay at the top of the hill in a beautiful contemporary glass studio that Larry designed. Next to the studio is a standalone building built into the slopes of the hill. We wound our way down the stairs into the main room, where we entered into an airy room with full length glass windows that open up to the view of the valley below. There was a murphy bed disguised as a cabinet, and a walk-in wine cellar. Larry drew out a bottle of his 2007 Kissed Syrah, a garage blend that his son Niles had made, and gave it to us.

They also brought us down to the cellar and tasting room at the foot of the hill, where they wanted to give us a sampling of the wines still sitting in the barrels. Alas, they couldn’t locate the wine thief. But, they did find a bottle of their 2002 Syrah, their first ever labelled wine, as well as a half bottle of their 2006 late-harvest Syrah garage wine that they had made as sort of an afterthought, from the super ripe grapes left on the vine at the end of the harvesting season. These, they pressed too into our hands.

We’ll have to find a way to thank the Rasmussens for their welcome and generosity when we get back, but it seems that in Paso Robles, such friendly behavior is more the norm than anywhere else. Perhaps it’s because the region is not as developed and commercialized as Napa Valley further up north, but most places we went, the people working the tasting room were delightfully warm, and took the time to chat with us. Back in March, when our friends visited, they had also surrendiptiously bumped into the owner of Denner at a restaurant, and were also invited to stop by the winery for a visit the next day.

Wines Galore

Just had the Decoy Zinfandel this week while watching the Met’s streaming of Don Pasquale at AMC.

We’ve a total of 50 bottles in our wine fridges and barrel now, with some doubles, like Bella’s Garden.

Home

After an exhausting week almost entirely dedicated to moving, furniture building and unpacking, it was with a sweet sense of satisfaction that we were able to step back, sit down, and enjoy the place. And how better to do it with a small group of friends? Our table sits 8, so that’s how many of us there were last evening, laughing the night away with home cooked meals and fantastic wines.

I made my own version of bacon wrapped chicken drizzled in orange bourbon sauce with roasted vegetables, and also threw in a spinach quiche into the oven; Y and A brought us a home made pot filled with basil and oregano, as well as delicious puff pastry and a bottle of Floxglove Cab that was so fruit forward; R brought a healthy (no butter!!!) chocolate and peanut butter cake that was gone in seconds as soon as it was served and a bottle of Shiraz from Cellar No. on 8; Chuck brought a Rose Moet and Chandon that R was super taken with (pink foam!). This being a group that enjoys its drinks, of course, we brought out plenty more bottles to share: a lovely Chenin Blanc from L’Ecole 41 that went really well with the spicy puff pastry; a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile’s Santa Rita; the half bottles of Tabor Hill Cabernet Franc Port and Lemon Winery Ice Wine (both from Michigan) that Wendy had given me and I had been saving for such an occasion.

Chi Fun: Delightful evening at Ember

Totally lifting this off Ruoxi’s page over at Chi Fun – her review of our evening at Ember when Jeff was in town. Totally delicious meal; and still memorable, even though it was my third trip there.

PS has been raving about ember for a while, so on her third trip to this restaurant, I made it a point to tag along, with Dawn as a late substitute for WW.

It is just as well that Dawn’s there because I’ve been meaning to treat her to foie gras for her birthday, and Ember has not one, or two, but 4 different versions on their menu, all pan seared as per my preferences too. The two versions we ended up ordering were devoured in no time, the high quality liver, creamy without any grainy-ness of mediocre foie melting soft, the organ’s unctuousness tempered by the stewed apples and chutnied and spiced pears.

oyster poppers

Of course, one shouldn’t, even if one could, make a meal solely out of foie gras, so we also ordered oyster poppers for an aquatic source of cholesterol, fat oysters lighted battered and tempura-ed, their juices squirting outwards as we bit into them. A series of sauces accompany the oysters but I prefer them naked, with a hint of lemon. The standout appetizer turned out not to be the foie gras, but a spicy pasta dish littered with sakura ebi shrimp, its taste an uncanny proxy for hae bee hiam, many times more refined.

Chilean Seabass

PS is a consummate saleswoman, convincing both PR and Dawn to order her favorite main course, the chilean sea bass. Environmentalists would probably throw a fit on the inclusion of this endangered by overfishing species on Ember’s menu. But we are weak, and choose not to confront the moral dilemma but instead just fully enjoy the fish, its pristine white flesh that simply melts in the mouth (a rather unusual sensation when talking about fish), the creamy bacon infused mushroom ragout providing an added savory dimension to the dish. Bacon appears again tucked amongst a bed of lentils on which my slab of duck confit laid. The duck was cooked a point, a crisped but grease-less exterior that gives with the slightest pressure of the knife to reveal flavorful, juicy meat. A little salty, but very correct, very french.

Rack of lamb

As yummy as my dish was, it suffered after a while from monotony, after which I turned my attentions to P’s lamb chops. P almost always orders lamb when he has the opportunity to, thus it is with good authority that he declares it to be very delicious, particularly when that view was validated by our entire dinner party. What makes it special was the south east asian spices that encrusted the generous portion of pink lamb, imparting a thai inspired flavor and would be what I consider fusion done well. And I just kept swiping the sides off his plate whenever P was not looking, enamored with the caramelized eggplant (only my favorite vegetable) and the more traditional potato gratin, a delicious and sinful side even though it did not necessarily add anything to the dish on a whole.

Compared to the fireworks encountered for the mains, dessert was comparably tame though uniformly executed. The apple tartin and banana tart both possessed buttery and crisp shells, and the lavender ice cream that accompanied the banana tart successfully imparted a restrained note of lavender without tasting like potpourri. It’s possibly the only version of lavender flavored food that I’ve ever tried and actually liked. Last dessert of the night was the ubiquitous molten chocolate cake with a candle for dawn to blow out for her day.

All that, along with a bottle of Cab Sauvignon named “No Regrets” (and not memorable) set us each about $75 poorer, our dinner partially subsidised by a Citibank discount. Not a bad price for a solid meal, and like PS– shall be returning to Ember soon.

Wine Out

It’s no wonder I had a raging headache by the end of the evening, and couldn’t read beyond a few pages of my book before I gave up and turned off the lights. I was quite knackered, having been drinking for the past 8 hours.

Good times though, I’m really glad Violet invited me to one of her life-coaching socials. Everyone was friendly, and I had fun mingling around and talking. Amy came too, which was great, since I’ve not seen her since I left Chicago last year. Great wines too – Absolute Wines put together a lovely selection of Chilean wines, and I really appreciated that they took the time to give us a quick rundown on the history of the Chilean wine industry as well as how to taste wine. Had a good chat with the proprietor, Vivian, and I’m looking forward to possibility some DGS tasting with them, especially since they have such a varied and adventurous selections of wine – Slovakian, Israeli, etc. She said that the slowest moving wines in her store was actually the Australian wines; very heartening that there are people out there who aren’t interested in just the safe and famed French and blockbuster Australian wines.

We tasted:
1. Santa Carolina Sauvignon Blanc 2007, Central Valley, Chile
Very light wine, in terms of aroma and body, but with discernible notes of pear and citrus fruits.

2. Emiliana Adobe Chardonnay 2004, Casablanca Valley, Chile
This was a bigger wine, with tropical fruit aromas.

3. Armador Merlot 2005, Maipo Valley, Chile
The nose was very disarming – big, with scents of plums and jam. Very fun wine to drink. I would taste it again in a hurry

4. Emiliana Carmenere-Cabernet Sauvignon 2005, Rapel Valley, Chile
Compared to the softer Armador, this one was more structured; you could almost taste the backbone in the wine. Some licorice and chocolate in the body.

5. Santa Carolina Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon 2007, Colchagua Valley
Notes of cherry and black currant, with some bell pepper aromas.

Although the event was only from 2-5pm, time passed by so quickly that by the time Charmain and Janice called me up to find out where I was, it was already nearly 6. I bade Amy and Vivian a hurried farewell and rushed to Fort Canning Park, for our evening out at Ballet Under the Stars.

Wow, the park was packed. Thank goodness Janice had arrived earlier to reserve a spot for us. I had just enough space to spread out my shower-curtain (complete with cute little fishes) aka picnic mat. Janice greeted me with a cup of homemade sangria (mmmmm), while Charmaine and Weiqing whipped out the fried chicken and tuna & cheese spread on bagel bits.

Truth be told though, I barely watched the performance on stage. There were way too many heads bobbing up and down in front of me, not to mention annoying little kids who darted in and out between the mats (although for the most part, they were quite polite about it). I could only make out a few of the dancers at any one time, and after a while, I became quite caught up in a wine conversation with two of Janice’s friends who joined us.

Apart from the sangria, we also had a bottle of Rose from Robert Mondavi Woodbridge that Charmain bought, as well as a bottle of Dry Creek Meritage 2006, which was very well received, for its spiciness and chocolately notes. Very, very smooth, and delicious with the chorizo that Janice had lugged back from London.

At Home with Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars

From Chicago Spring 2009

Back in Singapore, and missing Chicago already (picture above of my old neighborhood in the spring sunshine).

On my last day in Chicago, I had wanted to surprise Jeff with a bottle of the Henriot Rose Champagne we had so enjoyed in Austria. Coincidentally, we found out that he was planning to do the same thing, so rather than getting two bottles of the same wine, we decided to make the walk to Sam’s Wine (Roosevelt) together. Once there though, we changed our minds on the Rose and excitedly picked out a bottle of Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon SLV 2004.

From Chicago Spring 2009

Since the price was much more than we had expected to pay, we decided to make the evening around the wine, instead of the juicy steak at Tango Sur, one of my favorite Chicago haunts, as we had originally planned. So off we trekked to his go-to comfort food place, Cozy’s, which is just a block away from his apartment. Haha, he’s been so often that he got the celebrity treatment even before he walked into the door. It was sort of surreal: one of the waiters was tending to the sidewalk garden as we were walking into the place, and the guy was like, hey Jeff, good to see you! And when we walked in, three others immediately came up to him smiling and saying, hey Jeff, how’s it going? Your food’s almost ready!

We got banmee nam noodles and curry fried rice, very pan-Asian, but simple, hearty, and quite delicious. It paired beautifully with the wine too (we were too lazy to use a decanter, but simply let the wine sit in the glasses for a bit).

Jeff’s review of the 2004 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon SLV:

The wine is very smooth at first contact, almost like a very old wine that has lost it’s tannins, but the flavors slowly evolve as you slosh the wine around your mouth. It has an elegant and balanced body and a smooth finish.

Totally agree. I loved how dark and concentrated it felt in my mouth, but without the bite of the tannins – quite unlike the Chloe Jeremy Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, 2006 we just had recently in that last regard. So it was a simple, quiet evening in, with good food, some opera, incredible wine, and excellent company.

*FYI, Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars is different from Stags’ Leap Winery (note the difference in the apostrophes) as we found out at Sam’s; we were inquiring about the different price points – the latter wine’s was less than half the price of the cheapest Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars wines we saw. Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars is the winery that helped catapult Napa Valley wines to fame in the Judgment of Paris in 1976.

American Winolympics

I’ve really missed American wines, as well as my all-time favorite Sam’s Wines. Consequently, I was like a kid in a candy shop when Jeff and I went back to Sam’s last Friday to shop for a case of wines for our American Winolympics Tasting.

And it’s super gratifying too, when the wine store clerk is even more enthusiastic than you in recommending wines for your tasting. I love this guy – I always go look for him whenever I go into the store because I know he’ll have some fun stuff lined up. It’s not to say that every one of the wines he recommends is a winner – because we’ve had some where we were like, hmmmm – but his excitement is quite contagious.

From Chicago Spring 2009

Me with Rob H., who was super helpful in picking out wines for our tasting

Early bird special: Chloe Jeremy Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, 2006 - found this to be super concentrated and dark, with seemingly many layers that has yet to be revealed; would probably be good for a few more years yet. Velvety and spicy on the tongue.

From Chicago Spring 2009

Whites

#1 Gruet Blanc de Noirs Brut, New Mexico, NV

This was Aaron’s favorite white; who knew New Mexico makes such excellent sparkling wines???

#2 Pacific Rim Chenin Blanc, Columbia Valley, 2007

Bonny Doon of Santa Cruz makes some decent cheap Chenin Blanc!

#3 Hickory Creek Chardonnay Unoaked, Michigan, 2007 

This was an excellent example of an unoaked Chardonnay. Most people correctly guessed that it was an unoaked Chardonnay, but everyone was surprised that it was from Michigan!

#4 Barboursville Vineyards Viognier, Virginia, 2007

I couldn’t for the life of me guess that this was a Viognier; I thought it was either a chardonnay (at first, for the heaviness) or a sauvignon blanc (for the grassy notes). Another wonderful surprise, from Virginia!

#5 River’s Edge Pinot Gris, Umpqua Valley, 2007

Reds

#1 Donata Family Sorelle Per Sempre, Central Coast, 2005

#2 Chateau Montalena Zinfandel, Napa Valley, 2005

Montalena is famous for its Cabernets (thanks to 1976), but this Zin showed quite well too

#3 Benessere “Costa del Sol”, Napa Valley, 2005

Napa gone wrong; this was acidic, tannic, and closed. Everyone guessed that it was either a Michigan or Illinois wine

#4 Lieb Family Cabernet Franc Bridge Lane, Long Island, NV

#5 Owl Creek Owl’s Leap, Illinois, NV 

This was from Southern Illinois, and honestly quite tasty!

From Chicago Spring 2009

Wendy came over and helped with the food preparation (sweet potato chips! Mmmm)

From Chicago Spring 2009

Two of my fav RJ folks

From Chicago Spring 2009

Talk about a small world! My primary school classmate who’s working in Wisconsin

From Chicago Spring 2009

From Chicago Spring 2009