Wine Club 54: Pretty Cocktails

Date: September 22nd, 2013
Host: Christine
Served: carrot soup, apple cider chicken & potatoes, pineapple upside-down cake
Bonus bottle (from the host's personal inventory): plum wine cocktails

Ménage à Trois Pinot Grigio 2011 (CA, USA) 13.5% alcohol, $7.50 at Woodman's-Appleton

Christine says (14.5): Very, very pale with a hint of lemon color. A strong and good aroma! Lemons, pears and green apple. Big body, strong streak of acidity. Tart green apple finish that was on the short side. We all liked this one better than the White Blend we tried last spring.

Andrea says (17.5): Clear golden color. Wonderful aroma! Floral, peach, honey, pear, and a little lemon. The taste was sweet, like pear and honey. Nice level of acid. Crisp and tangy. Very good, almost a love for me. Great with the meal.

Kim says (17.5): I think the name of this wine is meant to shock and seems a bit gimmick-y but I've had their Folie à Deux; and we've also scored their White Blend (Chardonnay + Moscato + Chenin Blanc) and I enjoyed them both. But it's this Pinot Grigio that impressed me the most... Andrea and I both scored this 17.5... a very serious score! The aroma was outstanding... strong and pleasant but I couldn't quite put a finger on anything except honey, and possibly very faint... green apple. Very pleased that this wine tasted just like it smelled!

Pine Ridge 2012 (CA, USA) 80% Chenin Blanc + 20% Viognier, 12% alcohol, $10 at Woodman's-Appleton

Christine says (18.5): Pale gold. First whiff was of cat urine and pine trunks, but not in a horrible way. Also apricots, flowers and minerals. Yum taste! Tart mid-palate, nice body, taste of apricot, honey, minerals. Sweetness, but with a delightful zing. And after tasting, I didn't smell anything unpleasant in the bouquet. Tart finish. Good with the soup. I liked it!

Andrea says (18.5): Almost exactly the same color as the first wine, clear and golden. A delicious fruity and floral scent... at first. After letting it breathe, it had an earthy, dried-leaf smell. not great, but brought out the mineral smells. When swirled the fruity floral smell came back. Christine mentioned apricot, definitely could smell and taste that. The wine was smooth and sweet, nice thick body, tasted like peach and apricot. Fantastic pairing with the carrot soup!

Kim says (17): Andrea knows us so well... she picked this wine because it's a blend of Chenin Blanc (one of Christine's favorites) and Viognier (one of my favorites)! Both of these wines had such a strong aroma that we could actually smell them immediately upon pouring... from five feet away! I think it was the Pine Ridge that smelled the strongest and the best... of peaches and fruit cocktail. But interestingly enough, in the (less than ten) minutes it took to score the first wine, something happened to this one. The smell turned somehow. Gone was the light, fruity aroma, replaced with the smell of pine sap and wet bark. And while I like those smells, this was not pleasant. Extremely vigorous swirling brought a little bit of the peaches back, but barely. And this wine was full of surprises... it looked frizzante but wasn't; it smelled fruity but was nice and tart; and amazingly enough... was an extremely good match with Christine's delicious carrot soup (which contained leeks, onions and hot sauce)!

Christine says: My goal with this meal was to use up as many vegetables on hand as I could. Check!--though I'm still eating the soup leftovers, which used a staggering 3 pounds of carrots. I doctored this soup to where it would be impossible to provide a recipe. I did document the chicken and spuds, though: It was a winner and one I'd make again. Here goes:

Apple Cider Chicken & Potatoes
1 c. apple cider
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1-1/2 Tbsp. wine peppercorn mustard with seeds (I used Mrs. McGarrigle's)
1-1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. poultry seasoning

Combine all; save 1/4 cup for the potatoes. Pour the rest into a large resealable plastic bag and add:

4 bone-in chicken breasts

Marinate overnight, turning occasionally. Drain and roast (on a foil-lined pan! for the love goodness, an absolute MUST for next time! makes one hell of a mess!) at 375 degrees until done. Meanwhile, cut up:

1-1/2 pounds red potatoes

Toss on a baking sheet with salt, pepper and a little olive oil. Add the reserved cider mixture; toss to coat. Bake until done, stirring occasionally. Note: I added the potatoes after 25-30 minutes of roasting the chicken. These were enormous chicken breasts, nearly a pound each, and roasted for 50-55 minutes total.

For each plum wine cocktail, I mixed 1-2/3 shots of plum wine with 1-1/3 shots of Pellegrino and 1 shot apple cider. Yummy with the cheater's dessert I bought at Whole Foods.

Wine Club 52: A Fancy Late Lunch...Very European!

Date: August 24th, 2013
Host: Kim
Served: Cheese tray (several of them, actually), mandarin orange salad, chocolate creme pie
Bonus bottle (from the host's personal inventory): Moselland Arsvitis Riesling Qualitätswein 2010, Domaine Cheveau Saint-Amour 2010

La Forcine Vouvray 2009 (France) 12% alcohol, $15 at Waterford

Kim says (17): Ahh, finally! My scores have been wildly out of synch with Christine and Andrea's, so I am pleased to see that we are pretty much aligned on this really great wine! It smelled pleasantly of yeast; fruity and floral but not sweet. Smelled so good! I could have spent the rest of the day with my nose in the glass. The missed opportunities were acid (high), balance, finish and overall opinion. While I really enjoyed this wine and highly recommend it, I think the score is fair. Just a hair shy of ♥ love love love.

Christine says (19): Light pale lemon yellow. Smelled of yeast, creaminess and stone fruits. Bright taste: peaches, honey, apricots and lemon. Yum! Medium-long finish that tasted of minerals. Oh, yeah.

Andrea says (19): A very pale yellow. Smelled of yeast, pear, green apple, minerals and a little floral. The taste was smooth yet tart!Very nice on the palette. Nice body, nice sweetness. Tasted a little like grapefruit, which is a plus in my book. I only marked it down half a point for bouquet and half a point in the overall column. I really enjoyed this Vouvray!

Yves Cuilleron Syrah Rosé "Sybel" 2012 (France) 12% alcohol, $13 on sale at Waterford

Kim says (8.5): And there we go again... I can't believe Christine and Andrea gave the exact same score on all three of these wines and I am somewhere off in left field on this one! Anyway, I thought this was a very pretty color with a hint of blue (although as you can see in the picture, that might have been an effect of my glass). Aroma of strawberries and sweaty gym shoes. No body, no taste- like drinking water that happens to have alcohol in it. A long finish that was just acid. On the bright side, I learned something new this day... Christine says that rosé wines get their hint of color because they're only left in contact with the grape skins for a short time. Makes sense!

Christine says (14): Pale rose petal and watermelon color. Wow! Complex bouquet: strawberry, watermelon, blackberry and floral. Medium body, with typical strawberry taste and just a hint of skunk. A big, full "low note" that was different to me from other rosés. I had trouble identifying what it was, but docked the wine on tannin.

Andrea says (14): Another pretty watermelon colored wine. Kind of a salmon-coral color. It made me think of fruit punch. Smelled like minerals, roses, strawberry, and a little bit stinky like sweaty feet. The body was a bit thin. It taste like strawberry, but not as strongly flavored as I expected from the smell.


Domaine Cheveau Saint-Amour 2010 (Beaujolais, France) 13% alcohol, $20 at Waterford

Kim says (15.5): Very slight brown color on the pour (oh no!), smelled of nutmeg and brown sugar, and tasted just fine! Thinking about this later, I realized I hadn't detected any vinegar at all- taste or smell, which we have in every other Beaujolais we've tried so far.

Christine says (16): Very deep burgundy color. At first, a distinct peppery spice aroma that Kim identified as nutmeg, which I think was spot-on. Also smelled of dried strawberries, prunes and violets. Medium-full body; could definitely taste the alcohol; less fruit than indicated in the bouquet. Good picnic wine! Would be especially good with cold beef and hard, salty cheese. It was nice with the chocolate pie. Such an intense Beaujolais!

Andrea says (16): I think this was the first time that Christine and I gave each wine the exact same score! 3 for 3! This wine was a brownish, brick red color. I could smell berries, chocolate, nutmeg, jam, but mostly I smelled the alcohol. The first thing I could taste was also the alcohol! Eventually it became more fruity. Great with the chocolate pie! Really brought out the berry flavors.

 Hidden Springs Creamery Driftless, Uplands Cheese Company's Pleasant Ridge Reserve (aged one year and two year), Sartori's Black Pepper BellaVitano; Cracker Barrel Mediterranean Herb. Served with roasted garlic on the side, balsamic vinegar (raspberry, lemongrass mint) and olive oils (tuscan herb, white truffle).

Uh... we also had a really yummy salad but I forgot to take a picture of it. Here's the recipe if you'd like to see it for yourself!

Spring Greens Salad
2 qts. mixed greens (I used a head of Boston and a head of Romaine)
2 C orange sections, cut in halves (or use canned mandarin oranges)
1/2 C raw, unsalted sunflower seeds
Wash & dry greens. Place in plastic bags & crisp in refrigerator 1 hr or longer.
Before serving, toss w/oranges, seeds and about 1 C dressing (or less, to taste).

Dressing:
1 C salad oil
1/2 C sugar
1 med onion, chopped
1/3 C catsup
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1/4 C white wine vinegar
Blend all ingredients.  Cover & refrigerate for 24 hours to blend flavors.  Makes about 2 ½ C
dressing. Extra can be stored in refrigerator.  (I usually make ½ recipe).

Wine Club 9: Ménage à Trois White, Schmitt Söhne Riesling Auslese

Date: April 18th, 2012
Host: Christine
Served: Brie cheese, white pizza, eclairs and cookies

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Ménage à Trois White Blend 2010 (CA, USA) Chardonnay + Moscato + Chenin Blanc, 13.5% alcohol, $9

Christine says (14): Pale, with grayish edges. Thin appearance. Sweet floral overtones, grassy. Smelled like summer! And a little cat urine, too. The taste was complex, more tart than expected, and with oak. I liked the wine and thought it would be versatile with food.

Andrea says (14): This was a good wine, but not spectacular. I think I was expecting more because I had so enjoyed the Menage a Trois Red Blend. This was sweet and tart. Good aroma and bouquet, I gave it medium point value for each. I also marked it down in body, balance, and finish. I gave this wine a "middle of the road" score in most categories. But I would drink it again, it would be good with certain meals.

Kim says (12): I've had the red and very much enjoyed it (although maybe that had to do with the fact that I suddenly found myself in Denver, at elevation 5280 and very happy with my 2nd glass of Ménage à Trois)... anyway, I did enjoy this and think that 12 is an unfair score, since I would be pleased to both drink and serve this wine again.

Schmitt Söhne Riesling Auslese 2010  

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(Mosel, Germany) 8% alcohol, $13

 Christine says (16): Rich appearance, pale golden straw color. Slight floral and watermelon aroma: very subtle smell. The taste was yummy. Sweet, but with brightness, honey and nice shots of tartness. Tasted grapey, like ripe green grapes. And a long finish to boot. Nice wine.

Andrea says (17): I really enjoyed this wine! German Auslese Rieslings are known for their sweetness. The grapes are pick later in the harvest to let them sweeten on the vine. So they are sweeter than a Riesling but not as sweet as an Eis Wine. I liked the smell, sweet and floral. The taste was sweet, bright and a little tart. Even though I didn't make this note, I bet it was good with the pizza.

Kim says (18): Oh! Cute little Grandpa in the lederhosen! Anyway, I wasn't able to discern anything specific in the bouquet but this wine was rich and creamy; and tasted of watermelon and butter. Yum!