August is Pinot Grigio Month!

Courtesy of About.com

Definition: Italy's most popular white wine is produced from the * Pinot Grigio or Pinot Gris grape varietal. This wine hails from the northeast region of Veneto and Friuli. A light, crisp white wine that is intended to be consumed early on.

Flavor Profile Pinot Grigio flavors can range from melon to pear and some even offer a subtle tropical or citrus fruit, often there is a honey or smoky flavor component as well. As for color, Pinot Grigio is typically a pale, straw-like yellow with some golden hues thrown in. The texture of a Pinot Grigio is worth noting, as it has very smooth, almost silk-like overtones that leave an impression on the palate.

Food Pairing
Pinot Grigio pairs nicely with seafood, light pastas and cheese cracker combinations. Since this wine is fairly acidic itself, avoid pairing with foods that have high acid contents, like citrus fruits or tomato-based recipes.

Key Producers to Try
Stella
Hogue
Stone Wolf
St. Michael-Eppan
Chehalem
Bethel Heights
Eyrie Vineyards

Happy Pinot Grigio Drinking!

Wine of the Week from the Wine Whisperer

Heavyweight Cabernet Sauvignon

When you’ve got a big, rare rib eye or a killer cheeseburger on your plate, do you really want a nice little fruity white wine or a delicate pink number in your glass? We didn’t think so. Sometimes the situation just calls for BIG, rich, mouthful of flavor, and that’s when you need a Champion in your glass!

Now don’t worry, this Cabernet Sauvignon isn’t just another big bruiser. The blackberry and currant aromas are swift and lingering. The rich fruit flavors don’t feint or dodge-they’re straight ahead and swarming. And like the best heavyweights, the flavors come at you in combinations and by the time you figure one out, you get hit with another. So just take a couple of sips and then go your corner and catch your breath....

Premium, oak aged Cabernet Sauvignon blended with Syrah and Zinfandel. Three Collector’s Labels are available for each vintage.

Heavyweight is one of my favorite Cabernet’s due to its richness, but smooth enough to be enjoyed with almost anything. This regal wine is a tremendous value with its underpriced cost, and it over delivers in pleasure. Heavyweight is sold in top steakhouse’s in the Southeast like Flemings Steakhouse and Ruth’s Chris.

Heavyweight is also available in Chardonnay and Petite Sirah.

For more on the Wine Whisperer go to www.staceywines.com

No Cork, No Stopper…No Wine?

Tessa A. asked Heard It Through the Grapevine:

"How do you store an open bottle of wine without a cork or bottle stopper?"

I’m sure most of us wine lovers have come across this problem a time or two. Either the cork has crumbled from trying to remove the cork or you just can’t get the cork back into the bottle. However, you don’t have a bottle stopper to stop the bottle. So what do you do?

The simplest thing to do would be to pour the wine into a decanter with a seal-fit stopper.This may allow you to store smaller amounts of wine without as much exposure to oxygen. The wine must fill up to the bottom of the stopper to prevent the wine from aging. Also, serving "leftover" wine from a decanter makes for a more attractive presentation when serving it. Prices for decanters can range from as low as $3.95 to $300. So the amount you spend would be based on how you’d like to present your wine.

Other methods would be to use pumps or nitrogen sprays to displace the oxygen in the bottle. It's primarily oxygen that interacts with the wine and microscopic elements in the wine that cause it it to spoil. However, these methods have shown to not extend the life of wines much and are a bit expensive.

For a more inexpensive method of preserving your wine, here’s a tip from e.how.com at click here.

Wine of the Week from The Wine Whisperer

Sua Sparkling Strawberry

 

What do you get when you blend sparkling wine with "REAL" strawberry pulp? I call it Berry Paradise, but you can call it Sua. Pronounced "Swah", this burst of natural fruit pulp is an original and quite extraordinary. Sua is reminiscent of the popular strawberry fruit cake dessert, which is a favorite amongst birthday parties or a rich strawberry cheesecake found at your neighborhood bakery. But don’t let the youthful, innocent strawberry thoughts fool you. Sua packs a punch at 11.5% alcohol and will leave you salivating for more. Sua sparkling strawberry has a perfect balance being not overly sweet, somewhat full-bodied and yet far from dry wine.

Sip slowly and enjoy pure bliss!

For more information on The Wine Whisper (Stacey Diltz) go to http://www.staceywines.com/ 

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

 

 

Western's Annual Food & Wine Event

WESTERN'S ANNUAL FOOD & WINE EVENT

Friday, September 23rd

Birmingham Zoo

6pm-9pm

Don't miss the best wine and food event in the state! 

There will be over 650 wines to taste along with the best local, Alabama food items prepared by chefs from the Jeff State Culinary Institute. Wine experts will be on hand to provide education as well as food and wine pairings and recipe suggestions. Wild animals will be on display, carousel rides, a giant prize raffle, and one-night-only wine deals to take advantage of and stock up for the holiday season. 

 Tickets are $45 in advance,  $55 at the door

All proceeds benefitting the Emmet Oneal Library

Is Wine The New Fountain Of Youth?

(BlackDoctor.org)  – Wine gets better with age, but can age get better with wine?  The latest anti aging weapon is not an injection or a wonder cream, and it doesn't involve the old nip/tuck either. Quite simply, for glowing skin it’s all about consuming a glass of red wine a day for women and two for men. Following is more information about the wine/beauty connection: the new elixir of life.


What is it about wine that can help us age and look better?
The mechanism is the antioxidants in red wine. Antioxidants sop up damaging free radicals that play a role in aging and age-related diseases. There is a much higher concentration of antioxidants, including resveratrol in wine compared to grape juice. In wine, the skin and seeds are part of the fermenting process, but both are removed when making grape juice.


Stress may have something to do with it, too. It is difficult to sort out how much of the benefits are from the chemical properties of wine vs. the types of behaviors that wine drinkers tend to have such as less stress in their lives. Wine is part of the Mediterranean diet, which is also rich in fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds, legumes, seafood, yogurt, and olive oil. This diet is more of a lifestyle that includes drinking wine with dinner. Studies show that the Mediterranean diet is associated with longer, healthier lives.


(Read more here)

A Taste of Fashion

A Benefit for the Montgomery AIDS Outreach

All portions of proceeds will be donated to MAO

All donations are tax-deductible

Free Admission

Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc 2010

Yes I'm still on the hunt for Sauternes but I will have it hands this weekend. I promise, but since I haven't hunted it down yet, I decided to open a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc by Nobilo, which I almost drunk the entire bottle alone.(smile)

I first taste this wine at a wine tasting and instantly feel in love with it! I was told by a friend who accompanied me to the tasting that, "There's a wine at that table that taste like grapefruit!" (eyebrows raise) So, of course I had to make my way over to find out about this wine. Now, I tell you I was shocked when I found out it was a Sauvignon Blanc because before I was not a fan. With one taste of Nobilo's I was sold! It definitely had a nice hint of grapefruit in it and not only was I sold but so was the bottle. Here's more about Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc 2010 from Marlborough, New Zealand:

Pale yellow with brilliant clarity. Very evident aromas of pineapple, passion fruit and melon. Fresh, crisp and clean with zesty flavors of ripe tropical fruits and zingy acidity. A beautifully balanced wine with great presence and mouthfeel.

FOOD MATCH. Enjoyable on its own as an aperitif, or pairs well with any lighter seafood dish, lemon herb chicken, or summer salads.

critical acclaim:
"Vibrant and mouthwatering, with a laser beam of lemon, lime, grapefruit and apricot flavors. Hints of fresh herbs and flowers add to the complexity."

89 Points
Wine Spectator

I would also like to add that the bottle was only $9.99. Great price for a great tasting wine. This is a great summer wine and it gets two wine glasses (or 3, LOL) from me!

Happy Wine Drinking!

Sweet Sauternes

Lately (via Twitter) I've seen a lot of talk about Sauternes pronounced {soh-tern}. Now I've never taste this wine before nor had I even heard of it. Since it seems to be so popular I had to look it up and find out what all the rave is about. Here's what I found out...


Sauternes an elegant sweet wine from the Sauternes region of western France. It's made from SAUVIGNON BLANC or SEMILLON grapes that have been infected by a beneficial mold called BOTRYTIS CINEREA, which causes the grapes to shrivel, leaving a sugary fruit with concentrated flavors. The best Sauternes come from vines that have been hand-picked (as many as 12 separate times) to ensure that the grapes are not removed from the vines before reaching the perfect degree of ripeness required for these wines. Sauternes are most notable as DESSERT WINES but, because of their high acidity, they also make excellent partners for rich dishes like PÂTÉ, CAVIAR and FOIE GRAS. "Sauterne" without the ending "s" usually refers to an inexpensive semisweet California wine.

Flavors in Sauternes range from apricot, peach, pineapple, and vanilla.The wines are smooth and creamy (Mmmmm...that sounds so good! I love the color of the wine as well)

Desserts pair well with Sauternes but because of it's complexity it goes well with a variety of food.Here are some ideas for pairings with Sauternes
http://www.hellovino.com/food/wine/pairing/sauternes


So it is safe to say that will be on the hunt for this wine this week. I will definitely tell you all if it's all the rave, which I'm sure that it is. (smile)

To find out more on Sauternes go to: http://www.epicurious.com/tools/fooddictionary/entry/?id=4430