At the most recent meeting of the Pacific Pointe Wine Tasting Club it was Syrah night. However, for the first time, we encountered a situation where one of the wines to be tasted was not the selected varietal. That’s because it didn’t meet the at least 75% threshold for a wine to be labeled a…
Tag: postaweek2011
T.G.I.F. Champagne and the like – NV Domaine Ste Michelle Brut
For this week’s “T.G.I.F. Champagne and the like” tasting, it’s my first sparkler from the state of Washington. Domaine Ste. Michelle (“DSM”) is one of the largest sparkling wine houses in the U.S. producing more than 300,000 cases of value sparkling wines annually. In addition to the Brut tasted here, they also produce Blanc de Noirs, Blanc…
Dessert Wine Primer – Part 2; Late Harvest Dessert Wines
Late harvest is a term applied to wines that are made from grapes left on the vine longer than usual. Allowing the grapes to “hang” longer (to the point where the grapes may be similar to raisins) increases their sugar levels, making a sweeter wine. How long the grapes are left on the vine determines…
Dessert Wine Primer; Part I – Fortified Dessert Wines
Dessert wines are sweet wines served with, or instead of dessert. Dessert wines are also known as “stickies” because picking the grapes makes the workers hands sticky. The term originated in Australia, but has become ubiquitously synonymous with dessert wines around the world. There are essentially two types of dessert wines, fortified and late harvest. In…
T.G.I.F. Champagne and the like – 2008 Korbel Natural
For this week’s “T.G.I.F. Champagne and the like” tasting, “I’m going back to Cali”. Korbel, was founded in 1882. They are one of the few US producers that include “Champagne” in the name of their products, rather than sparkling wine. That’s because of a loophole in US laws that allows “semi-generic” products such as sparkling…
What A #CabernetDay!! Library Tasting of Monte Bello and SCM Estate at Ridge Vineyards
Ridge Monte Bello Cabernet Day Library Tasting What better way to kick off California Wine Month, than Cabernet Day?! I’d been looking forward to this superb opportunity to taste the iconic Ridge Monte Bello that, along with the Santa Cruz Mountains Estate, is a Bordeaux blend. It was also a chance to taste a…
September Is California Wine Month
Governor Jerry Brown has proclaimed September 2011 as California Wine Month. There are some interesting stats in the proclamation. “Our state’s wineries create jobs for 330,000 Californians and revenue from retail sales of $18.4 billion, including $1.14 billion in exports sales to 122 countries…and bring an estimated 20.7 million tourist…each year” This post from NorCal Wine…
T.G.I.F. Champagne and the like – 2008 Antech “Cuvée Eugénie” Crémant de Limoux
This week’s virtual trip around the world of sparklers takes me back to France, specifically the Languedoc-Roussillon region that is renowned for great quality-price ration (“QPR”) wines. I must confess that, so far, I’ve only enjoyed Crémants (as sparkling wines produced in France, but outside of Champagne are known) from the region. The Crémant de…
How To Choose Dessert Wines To Pair With Treats
Now that you’ve been introduced to Fortified stickies (Part 1 ), and Late Harvest stickies (Part 2) via my Dessert Wine Primer series, here’s a short video from Howcast on how pair dessert wines. Go forth and indulge thy self! If you have a favorite dessert wine, or a favorite dessert and dessert wine pairing, leave a…
Calling All Cabernet Lovers – #Cabernet Day Is Almost Here!
Calling all Cabernet Lovers – Cabernet Virtual Tasting is next week!