Showing posts with label nutty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nutty. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

De Valier Soave 2008

I found a description of Soave that I just love. Pardon me while I borrow this from sfgate:
"Soave, a picturesque village complete with storybook castle and crenellated walls, lies just north of Verona in Italy's Veneto region. Its Classico zone encompasses about 4,200 acres over a series of volcanic hills, about 25 percent of the total area. The indigenous Garganega grape forms Soave's core. Sometimes it's blended with Trebbiano di Soave; locals are quick to point out that grape is different from popular Trebbiano Toscano, which they believe makes vapid wine, and which has been banned from the Soave region."
Read more of this article here. That's the way to run your wine region. Hate a grape? Ban it! Normally I would be opposed to such extreme measures, but there is something about the way wine from Soave tastes that makes me think they know what they're talking about.

The Bottle
: There's not much in the way of information on the label, but the wine clocks in at 11.5% abv and is imported by Casa Torelli. Grapewise, it's 80% Garganega Del Veneto / 20% Trebbiano Del Veneto. If memory serves - I really need to start writing prices down - this wine cost me about $12 with a bit of a discount from the wine tasting where I bought it.


The Nose
: Once the bottle is open and the wine is poured, things start to get interesting. I picked up white peaches, pears and apples on the nose, along with a substantial sense of minerals. It pours up a lovely golden color in the glass, by the way.


The Taste
: Quite crisp and full of a sense of that volcanic soil that actually overrides the fruit, this wine features a wonderful nutty flavor which really hangs around a while. I figured this would be a good match with food, and I have been proven correct twice. At the tasting event, risotto was served - a Venetian recipe, with heavy cream, butter and parmesan cheese - and it paired very well. The Soave also tasted wonderful later with my wife's Angolan rice, chicken and delicata squash dish. She used grains of paradise in the broth, and the wine really set that flavor off nicely. If you're interested, you can find that recipe - and a world of others - at
I Cook The World.

Friday, September 25, 2009

Lincourt Pinot Blanc 2008

The Bottle: A beautiful clear bottle shows off the pale color nicely. On the front we learn that the grapes come from the Santa Rita Hills, Courtney's Vineyard, specifically. On the back we learn how wonderful the growing conditions are in Santa Barbara County for Pinot Blanc. They say it has something to do with the long, dry growing season. The wine shows an abv of 13.6%.

The Nose: I drank the wine quite chilled (it was a hot day) and as a result, many aromas were not within my reach. I thought there was some melon there, and the minerals made a nice play in the bouquet.

The Taste: Very refined, this wine. A clean and crisp feel in the mouth, along with just enough acidity, produces a tendency to gulp. But try to slow down and savor. Good minerals are here, with lots of wet rocks in the first part of the mouthful. Then a wave of pears and apples comes in, very crisp, not baked. Some lightly nutty flavors come in at the end. Very refined, indeed. This is a delicate wine that gives a wonderful drinking experience and a nice finish, too.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Tasting Notes: Cascinetta Vietti Moscato d'Asti 2007

The Bottle: There's a lot of Italian on the label, but even with my limited multi-lingual abilities there's enough English to give me a pretty good idea what's going on. Moscato d'Asti wines come from Italy's Piedmont region, in the northwest near the town of Asti. They are low alcohol wines by law - 5.5% abv. I bought this little gem for $16 in a Glendale wine store my wife and I like to frequent, although far too infrequently. Rosso Wine Shop, 3459 1/2 N. Verdugo Road, has a great selection of Italian wines. Jeff Zimmitti has Spanish, French and Californian in there, too, but we always seem to linger in the Italian aisle. Jeff puts on a nice tasting, too, every weekend. Oh yeah, the wine was Cascinetta Vietti 2007.

The Nose: The aromas were a little hard for me to get, as the wine was cold. It seemed to be rather floral and peachy.

The Taste: The taste certainly didn't hide, though. It was sweet and fizzy - not a full-fledged sparkling wine, but with enough bubbles to make it worthy of a special occasion, or a special person. The feel is quite full in the mouth, and the fizziness seems to give it a bit of an edge. Honeyed apples and pears were in the forefront, and a rather nutty note made itself known in the pleasant finish. It was a lush delight, and a wonderful change-of-pace wine if you go in for such a thing. And why shouldn't you?