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Category Archives: Thursday Wine Tastings
Summer Sippers
The theme for Thursday night’s wine tasting at Fine Wines of Stockton was “Summer Sippers”. George and Gail put together a group of six wines that meet their definition of Summer Sippers, that is white wines with lots of flavor, good acidity and not much perceivable sugar. Continue reading
Côtes du Rhône – Everyday Blends
Thursday night at Fine Wines of Stockton we tasted wines from the Rhône River Valley. The valley is long, stretching from just south of Lyon, along the river to the Mediterranean, some 150 or so miles (3). Over twenty grape varieties may be used to produce wines in this region, with specific requirements for individual AOCs (appellation d’origine contrôlée). Continue reading
Posted in Thursday Wine Tastings
Tagged Cinsault, Côtes du Rhône, Grenache, Mourvedre, Syrah, Viognier
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Zinfandel – Interesting History, Interesting Wine
The Thursday night tasting at Fine Wines of Stockton featured Zinfandel. We live in the heart of Zinfandel country. Lodi, just 15 minutes north of Stockton, has significant plantings of Zinfandel as do the Sierra Foothills. The tasting included five wines from the Sierra Foothills and one from Lodi. It was our mission to identify the Lodi wine in the group. Continue reading
Rosé – Not Just to Make Fun of Anymore
As the weather begins to warm, we naturally start to think about what to drink during the summer months. During the warmest months, I prefer lighter wine in general. Rosé always comes to mind. The Thursday night tasting at Fine Wines of Stockton was, of course, Rosé. Continue reading
Syrah – That Affordable and Approachable Wine Varietal
The Thursday night tasting at Fine Wines of Stockton was all about Syrah. We tasted five Syrahs, four of which were from California, one from southern Oregon. George and Gail were unavailable to do the tasting, so Alan presented these wines. Let’s see what we can learn about Syrah.
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Posted in Thursday Wine Tastings
Tagged Alta Colina, Cline, Dureza, GSM, Mondeuse Blanche, Oregon, Rhone Valley, Rockblock, Rosenblum, Shiraz, Sobon Estate, Syrah, The Rhone Rangers
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Wines That Begin With “V”
“V” wines were the topic of our Thursday night tasting at Fine Wines of Stockton (1). Does this mean grape varieties that begin with “V”? Or, maybe it’s the winery or region that begins with “V”. Let’s see. Continue reading
Posted in Thursday Wine Tastings
Tagged Grüner Veltliner, Valpolicella, Vermentino, Vernaccia, Vouvray
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Barbera — Italy vs California
The focus of the tasting Thursday night at Fine Wines of Stockton was Barbera. We tasted four Italian and two California offerings. Will the California wines have a style of their own, or will they taste similar to the Italian wines? We shall see. Continue reading
Chile — Carménère and Cabernet Sauvignon
The tasting at Fine Wines of Stockton last Thursday night was all about Chile. We tasted six wines, two of which George told us were Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Carmenere. Our assignment for the evening was to identify the two Cabernets. As an aside, George wanted us to think about whether Carmenere could be a substitute for Cabernet Sauvignon. Continue reading
Right Bank Bordeaux Vintages 2005 to 2009
The Thursday night tasting at Fine Wines of Stockton had us tasting Right Bank Bordeaux vintages 2005 to 2009. All wines originated from Pomerol. Kind of. Except for one. George, the wine shop owner, was short one Right Bank wine for this vintage range, so he chose a Left Bank wine with the highest percentage of Merlot he had in his cellar. He knows how to improvise. Continue reading
Left Bank Bordeaux Vintages 2005 – 2009
The Thursday night wine tasting at Fine Wines of Stockton was a study of five recent Bordeaux vintages. Two of these vintages, 2005 and 2009, are considered great. The growing seasons were warm and produced lush fruit and opulent, complex wines. The others, 2006, 2007 and 2008, just average. Continue reading
Cabernet Franc – That Other Cabernet
Cabernet Franc is most often used as a blending grape because it has such a distinctive bouquet. But, it also makes a lovely wine all on its own. Our tasting this week was six Cabernet Franc wines from the USA, France and Argentina. Continue reading
Pinot Noir – Burgundy, California and Oregon
Just to prove to all of the regular wine tasters at the Thursday night tastings at Fine Wines of Stockton (1) that he really does not dislike Pinot Noir, George did a Pinot tasting himself. Generally, we taste Pinot noir on a Thursday night that George or Gail are unable to present the wine tasting. Continue reading
Southern Oregon Wines
Dave, one of the other regular tasters on Thursday nights at Fine Wines of Stockton, presented this wine tasting. Dave frequently visits friends in Oregon and on a recent trip collected wines from three wineries in the Southern Oregon AVA (American Viticultural Area). Continue reading
Tuscan Taste Off
We recently completed a series of three wine tastings at Fine Wines of Stockton entitled Red Wines of Tuscany. We tasted six Rosso di Montalcino, six Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and six Chianti. We chose our top two wines from each tasting and those six wines were our focus for the Tuscan Taste-Off. We will choose our two favorites from this group of six wines. Continue reading
Posted in Tasting Notes, Thursday Wine Tastings
Tagged Chianti, Italy, Rosso di Montalcino, Tuscany, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano
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Name That Grape
Our Thursday night tasting at Fine Wines of Stockton was a polite version of “Stump the Chump”. Alan organized the tasting this week and gave us a list of six wines at the beginning of the tasting, each a different varietal. He opened five of them and did not tell us which one he did not open. Our job for the evening was to identify the varietals.
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Posted in Tasting Notes, Thursday Wine Tastings
Tagged Cabernet Sauvignon, Chianti, Pinot Noir, Tempranillo, Zinfandel
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Red Wines of Tuscany Part Three – Chianti
Thursday night at Fine Wines of Stockton, we completed the third in a series of four Red Wines of Tuscany tastings. Continue reading
Red Wines of Tuscany Part Two – Vino Nobile di Montepulciano
Red Wines of Tuscany Part Two – Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Continue reading
2009 Bordeaux – The Final Tasting of the Year
Thursday night at Fine Wines of Stockton we tasted the final group of 2009 Bordeaux. Continue reading
Christmas and New Year Wines
Our mission for the Thursday night tasting at Fine Wines of Stockton was to choose a favorite wine to have with hors d’oeuvres and one for a holiday dinner. Continue reading
Posted in Thursday Wine Tastings
Tagged Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenere, Chardonnay, Dolcetto, Fine Wines of Stockton, Italy, Merlot, Prosecco
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Red Wines of Tuscany – Rosso di Montalcino
George and Gail of Fine Wines of Stockton have devised a rather clever way to teach us about the wines of Tuscany. Continue reading
Posted in Tasting Notes, Thursday Wine Tastings
Tagged Rosso di Montalcino, Sangiovese, Tuscany
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