Thursday night wine tastings at Fine Wines
We recently tasted a collection of French sparkling wines, but none were Champagne. What’s the difference you ask? Well, it boils down to location, production methods and allowed varieties.
A recent tasting of Cabernet Franc from around the world got me thinking about the variety. I love the flavors and aromas Cabernet Franc produces, that combination of dark fruit, berries and vegetal notes. But what I didn’t know is that Merlot the parent of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Carmenère. Pretty impressive offspring, I’d say.
I think of wine grapes in much the same way I do of an artist’s set of paints. Both can be used to create a potential masterpiece. An artist’s set of paints can create anything from a modern abstract to something more evocative of the Old Masters. Will it become a Jackson Pollock or a Johannes Vermeer?
When Pinot Noir is good, it can just defy words. Silky, earthy, complex, fruity, delicate, weightless…all at the same time. And then there is the color, transparent garnet, almost the color of iodine at times. Pinot Noir will always be my favorite varietal wine.
At a recent Thursday night tasting at Fine Wines of Stockton, Pete presented the wines for the tasting. Gail asked him for suggestions as to topics for the tasting and they eventually settled on wines that are not the “usual suspects”. It gave us a chance to learn about some smaller wine regions and taste the wines. It was a fun evening that took us on a tour of European wines.
We have spent the month of October immersed in Bordeaux, figuratively of course. We concluded our month-long series of tastings last Thursday night at Fine Wines of Stockton with a collection of Bordeaux from through out the appellation.
Our continuing 2010 vintage Bordeaux tasting at Fine Wines of Stockton brings us to Pauillac. Located just north of Saint-Julien along the left bank of the Gironde estuary, it is home to an amazing three of the five châteaux classified as 1st Growth (Lafite Rothschild, Latour and Mouton Rothschild). An additional 15 otherwise classified estates are located within Pauillac as well.
We have found much to like about the 2010 Bordeaux vintage. Lots of fruit flavors, a variable amount of complexity, plenty of tannins and modest wood influence, to name just a few of our favorite qualities. We continued our tasting at Fine Wines of Stockton with Bordeaux from Saint-Julien.
Our exploration of the 2010 Bordeaux vintage continues with a tasting from the Margaux AOC at a recent Thursday night wine tasting at Fine Wines of Stockton. We will continue to taste our way through the 2010 Bordeaux vintage all during the month of October.
October has been declared Bordeaux month at Fine Wines of Stockton. Every Thursday night during the month, we will be tasting a group of six Bordeaux from the 2010 vintage. Yipee. This is my favorite series of tastings every year.
We enjoy wine, food and travel. Pull That Cork is a chronicle of our wine adventures, the food and wine pairings we create and our travels which are increasingly organized around wine.