Wine Club 61: Pork, Bacon & Bonuses!

Date: January 25th, 2014
Host: Kim
Served: Honey-Soy-Roasted Pork, Quinoa and Bacon Salad, green beans with toasted almonds
Bonus bottles: a trio of Italian reds from Waterford Wine Company

La Granja 360 Cava Brut NV (Spain) 70% Xarello + 30% Parellada, 11.5% alcohol, $6 at Trader Joe's

Kim says (17): What hit me right away was the strong aroma of pear and honey, as well as something else that was familiar to me... something I'd come across in another varietal but can't quite put a finger on. I'll figure it out eventually! Anyway, really enjoyed this... light and fun. Definitely stopping by Trader Joe's to pick up a bottle (or two)!

Christine says (16.5): Very pale lemon color. Smelled like lemon and pear. Kim also picked up honey and Andrea, green apples, and I agreed. Nice palate-cleansing bubbles, medium finish with minerals. It was good with the meal and stood up well to the flavorful, slightly sweet pork. This wine had a good quality-to-price ratio (QPR).

Andrea says (14.5): A nice frizzante Cava with a very light, clear color. It smelled crisp and clean, green apple, apricot, and honey. Nice mouth feel. Light, tart, slight mineral taste. Bubbles all the way across the tongue. I could really taste the green apple and honey. Good with pairing with the honey in the pork.

Contadino Pinot Grigio 2012 (Italy) 12% alcohol, $5 at Trader Joe's

Kim says (11): At first I picked up English toffee. Upon my next smell, musty basement. Next smell, I detected apple peels. Next time... well, you get the idea. Each time, the smell had morphed into something drastically different. What I found interesting was that these aromas were not layered... I did not smell them all at once, like English toffee and a hint of musty basement underneath. The smells were singular and separate... and I am glad I missed the paint thinner that Christine smelled!

Christine says (8.5): Lots of small bubbles in this wine--looked like fun! Very, very pale, like water. Smelled like paint thinner: ick! In the crazy glass, I also smelled white grapes. The taste was nice, had a light body, tasted like green apples and the oil from lemon peel. The meal overwhelmed it. And the smell was unforgivable.

Andrea says (16.5): I really liked this wine! Also a very clear wine, pale lemon in color. Very fragrant - vanilla, floral, grape. Yes, I could also smell the chemical-paint thinner smell, but I didn't find it overwhelming. Mostly I smelled cream soda and powdered sugar. Light flavor, but again, I liked it - honey, white grape, lemon and pineapple with a little bit of mineral flavor. 

I had never done a roast before but my friend Robert does pork roasts regularly so he kindly came over and we did a practice run. The finished product was very dry, which we both agreed was the fault of the specific piece of meat I had selected. As a result, I wanted to make sure there was plenty of gravy or sauce to accompany the pork roast when I hosted Wine Club, and I came across this recipe from Food & Wine magazine. Since there were several variables between the recipe and what I would actually be serving, I partially incorporated Robert's instructions and the finished product was (I believe) fabulous!
     • Used loin roast rather than shoulder roast
     • Skipped the braised veggies
     • I placed the roasting pan on the 2nd rack from the bottom, and did use the rack that it came with
     • Roasted at 350°F for 20 minutes per pound until thermometer read 160°F
     • In my paranoia, I made double the basting glaze
     • Whole Foods does carry veal demiglace but they happened to be out of stock. Both Sendik's and The Fresh Market also carry it (although it is made from veal+beef stock)

Christine says: I scored some fun, highly drinkable Italian reds at a recent Waterford staff training, and they came along to Wine Club. The highlight was the Sagrantino, an inky-black red that leans pricey because the very small grapes are difficult to harvest. So yum. I was doing a financial fast at the time, and the Trader Joe's wines were ones I already had at home. I felt good being able to up my game by bringing along these wines!

Wine Club 49: ¡España!

Date: July 11th, 2013
Host: Kim
Served: Chilled cucumber soup, fish tacos
Bonus bottles (from the host's personal inventory): Los Dos, New Age Rosé

Juvé y Camps Reserva de la Familia Brut Nature Gran Reserva Cava 2008 (Spain) 12% alcohol, $17 at Waterford

Kim says (12.5): Grin... Christine brought a bubbly! Funny, because Andrea mentioned that she was hoping one of the pairings might be a sparkling wine! The aroma was intoxicating and delicious- peaches and grapes. A bit of a disappointment since it tasted nothing like it smelled... very tart, not smooth, no fruit. I originally penalized it for high acid and low sugar but as Christine said, it's a brut and expected to be dry. Paired with the fish tacos, it seemed to soften a bit.

Andrea says (14): A pale champagne color. The smell was delicious! The taste was not. Smelled of pear, honey, white grape and mineral. For the taste, I got a little bit of honey and green apple. I think it was too dry for my taste. But good with the fish tacos.

Christine says (16): Light pale gold. Smelled like lemon, white grape juice, buttery toast and minerals. Great mouthfeel with a nice mousse. Dry and refreshing, with a mineral taste and tart lemon note. It did not cool the hot pepper heat in the soup, but was good with the tacos. Overall, it didn't live up to the hype in my mind. But it was still good.


Condes de Albarei Albariño 2011 (Rias Baixas, Spain) 12% alcohol, $13 at Waterford

Kim says (15): Very faint aroma... flower petals and stems, like crushed rose petals. Nice, full body and a tart finish. Well balanced as it seemed to hit every part of the palate but distinctly stronger on tart/bitter. A good match with the food!

Andrea says (15.5): Light, pale, lemon color. I liked the smell. A honey, floral, banana smell. Very sweet smelling. After swirling I even got a vanilla, even a cake smell? Surprising taste. Tart! More acidic than I expected. Lime and green apple flavors. Unfortunately it did not TASTE like cake....

Christine says (18): Light lemony yellow. Oooh! Did it smell good. Sweet and floral, perfumey, peaches and white cake. It also smelled like beer as it opened up more. Nice medium body, soft and round, with tartness and a short finish. I tasted some oak or brown stems, too. It was kind of lacking mid-palate. Overall, I thought it was complex and good! Great with the soup; awesome with the tacos. I'd definitely buy it again.

Wine Club 30: Wisconsin Wines & Christmas Brunch

Date: December 15th, 2012
Host: Christine
Served: Cranberry salad, blueberry muffins, sweet potato-andouille hash, lemon meringue pie
Bonus bottle: Poinsettias!

Wollersheim River Gold NV (Prairie Du Sac, WI, USA), Seyval Blanc grape, 10% alcohol, $8 at Wollersheim

Christine says (16): Very pale; cool, silvery color. Smelled of must, pear and floral. Sweet, with a tart bite. Short finish. Bright taste. Pleasant, likeable wine.

Kim says (16): A pale silver color which I found odd but attractive. Musty (but not too bad) and honeysuckle on the bouquet that made me think of a hot, summer day. Flavor was sweet (high sugar), buttery and rich (nice body). Rather unique for a wine... I could literally just drink this like juice!

Andrea says (17): This wine was very pale, looked like water. Bouquet that smelled like pear, banana and flowers. The taste was sweet and smooth. Pear and green apple flavors. This wine complimented the spices in the hash. I really like both (the hash and the wine).

Wollersheim Prairie Sunburst Red 2011 (Prairie Du Sac, WI, USA), Foch grape, 13% alcohol, $9 at Wollersheim

Christine says (11): Plum/garnet color. Thin appearance, but pretty. Cherries and vanilla in the bouquet. Tasted thin. Burned in the nose when tasted. Some spice, and slightly acidic. It reminded me of Barbera d'Asti with its light body and streak of acid.

Kim says (9): Hmm. Well, I apparently didn't have much to say about this wine because I didn't actually write anything down! Tannins were correct, and I felt this wine had good balance, good appeal and overall was a good wine. Looks like the low score was a result of being slightly off in all the other technical categories (color, body, acid, sugar, etc).

Andrea says (13): Ruby color like cranberries. I also smelled cherry and vanilla and something a little smokey. Tasted cranberry, raspberry and cherry. But I agree with Christine, thin taste. It seemed very different from when I had tasted it at the winery.... Unlike the River Gold, I thought it really clashed with the hash, made it extra spicy and burned my tongue.

I mixed Jaume Serra Cristalino Brut Cava NV (Spain; $7 on sale at Whole Foods) with cranberry juice to make poinsettias. The humble hash doesn't look like much, but it tastes like heaven. What a delicious way to use up sweet potatoes! Top with a fried egg or two.

The salad is great for the holidays. I used 5 T. red wine vinegar instead of 3 T. balsamic. I subbed chopped green onions for the chives and shallots called for, and also tossed some green onions into the salad. Hold back some dressing to dress it to your tastes.