Wine Down Wednesday Networking Mixer Recap



Wine tasting and networking at Wine Down Wednesday

 

Our first Wine Down Wednesday would not have been a success without the great atmosphere of The Olive Room, great people to network with and of course great wine!  Nothing beats winding down on Hump Day tasting new wines and meeting new people. Check out the wines that were featured for our attendees tasting pleasures.

 

 

 

 

New Age 2009 (Wine Down Wednesday Favorite)

Light yellow/green colored wine, with fruity and floral aromas of great intensity. Balanced acidity leads to soft, semi-sweet and slighty effervescent flavors and mouth feel. This Argentina wine should be served well-chilled as an aperitif or dessert. Also, taste great with spicy, Thai, Indian, Chinese or Japanese cuisine.




Orsino 2010 Pinot Grigio

Flavors of peaches, pears, lemon, and slight hints of floral. Light to medium body with a brilliant straw color. Short and crisp finish, with a zesty lemon-citrus note. Alabama's own International Wines, Inc is the proud owner of this wine.

                                                        
Clos Du Bois 2009 Chardonnay

 Brilliant straw in color, full-bodied and offers up layered aromas of red and green apple, pear, vanilla bean, blossoms and lemon meringue. The palate delivers balanced structure and palate-cleansing acidity alongside bright fruit flavors backed by intense notes of caramel, toffee, spice and toasty oak. The smooth, rich finish is lingering and wraps up with hints of butter and toast. This ripe, full-bodied Chardonnay will complement dishes like fish prepared in lemon butter, pasta in cream sauce, and similar luscious fare.






Flirt 2009 Red Blend (Wine Down Wednesday Favorite)

 Flirt is a blend of Syrah, Zinfandel and Tempranillo red wines from California. The Tempranillo varietal adds a hint of brown spice and black pepper that accents the black pepper in the Zinfandel.



Hob Nob 2012 Pinot Noir

Hob Nob Pinot Noir is a deep garnet-red color with a dense, deep red core going out into a light crimson rim definition with fairly high viscosity. superconcentrated style of this delicate grape variety with pungent violet pastilles, cran-grape juice, Bing cherry compote and sweet licorice notes underlying with just a hint of minerals. It also has a good and slightly sweetish berry jam finish, which again helps the overall impression. Pairs well with soy sauce, prime rib, sausage and dried cranberries.




Gnarly Head Authentic Red 2009  Red Blend

Gnarly Head Authentic Red is a big, bold Zinfandel-led red blend. The old vines produce scant clusters of small-berried fruit, resulting in intensely flavored, authentic wines with concentrated dark fruit flavors. Blended densely flavorful Zinfandel with Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Sirah to deliver a massively juicy core of ripe blackberry and spice. Pair it with steak,  or grilled chops of BBQ.

 
Last but not least...all six of these delicious wines are between $8.99 to $10.00! 
 
So, if you missed the first Wine Down Wednesday and these wines, you should definitely go out and get them from your local shop. But don't miss our next event, "Wine Down Wednesday *Speed Dating Edition*".
 
 
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Just Jura

With so many wines to write about, who knows where to start? With their region, that’s where. If you know about where a wine is from, the climate, what grapes are grown there…you can make a better decision about drinking the wine. You might even try something new.

 Jura

A lesser known region in France and the smallest, the 1600 hectare region known as the Jura, is situated between Burgundy and Switzerland. And therefore produces wine similar in style to those regions. There are four regional appellations: Arbois, Côtes du Jura and the smaller Etoile and Château-Chalon, plus two wine style appellations that cover the whole area, Crémant du Jura and Macvin (a Vin de Liqueur). The continental climate of Jura can get quite cold in the winter, so to lessen the threats of frost, vines are trained in order to receive a productive harvest.  

Due to the cool climate, chaptalization (adding sugar to unfermented grape must be in order to increase the alcohol content after fermentation) is permitted , sometimes even as a necessity to assist under-ripe vintages by boosting the levels of sugar.  Another difference between the wines of Jura and the wines of the rest of France is that most of Jura white wines are aged in oak for extended periods of time, while their red wines are aged in stainless steel bottled young.

While the Jura does harvest Chardonnay, locally known as Melon d’Arbois, and Pinot Noir, the local grapes Savagnin, Poulsard, and Trosseau are also grown. Poulsard is the primary grape for the sweet vin de paille and is also used to make a rosé. Savagnin is permitted for Jura’s most famous wine, vin jaune. 

Vin Jaune is made by picking the grapes as ripe as possible, oftentimes making this a last harvest wine. After fermentation, it’s stored in Burgundian barrels for over 6 years. In a style similar to sherry, the barrels are filled and allowed to evaporate, therefore reducing the amount of wine remaining in the barrel and a creating space for air at the top of the barrel. Due to this method of aging, over time the wine oxidizes and a film of yeast  develops on the top of the wine. The classic Vin Jaune flavours are of mild eastern spices, walnuts and sometimes honey.

When shopping for the wines of Jura, the following are producers of note:

·         Domaine André et Mireille Tissot

·         Role,

·         A & M Tissot

·         Domaine de la Tournelle

·         Jacques Gaspard Feuillet

·         Domaine Berthet-Bondet

·         Henri Maire

Submitted by Tanisha Townsend