Summer Series: A Tale Of Two Whites

I've been doing some spring cleaning this summer, going through my whites and drinking the ones that have a few years under their belt. Most white wines lack the same aging potential as reds.

This week I came across two gems from my wine travels. For me to ship or stash a bottle in my suitcase, it has to be something special, something that would be extremely difficult for me to get in Florida, or impossible if not at the winery.

Mendel was a great stop on a recent trip to Mendoza, Argentina and one of only a small handful of wineries that produces a 100% semillon wine. This grape is typically used for blending, often with sauvignon blanc. On its own at this winery, I thought it was something special, special enough to pack and pass through customs.

I found the 2012 in my stash, chilled it, put in a wine bag and brought it with me for a lunch with my travel companion, wondering how it had aged. Much to my disappointment it had lost its luster, but I could still taste a bit of what it once was. I put the cork back in and took it home to use in some dressings and other dishes. I just couldn't let it go.

Another type of grape that is not typical to find at my house is gewürztraminer, and definitely not one from Oregon. But this is another gem that caught my attention on a trip to Willamette Valley a few years ago. When I noticed this was a 2011 my heart sank a little, not again.

The tasting room at Sarver was a bit frazzled when I visited, a wedding was taking place on the property that evening and all focus seemed to be on the event. I remember feeling rushed and wanting to stay and enjoy these wines more. I managed to leave with one bottle, now hoping against hope that it had survived the years.

Wow, it was still brilliant, tropical and fresh. I wanted more and got online to see what the winery was offering. Gewürztraminer, is not currently available for purchase, it could be a winery only selection and why I picked it up.

As for Mendel's Semillon, it is an award winning wine, imported by Vine Connections, so there is a good chance you can find the current release.

Let me know if you do!

Glass Adds Class

I love a good surprise and that's what I got when I took the foil off of a bottle of Autograph Pinot Noir by R. Stuart ($40). The surprise? There wasn't a cork, but a glass wine stopper instead.

Glass stoppers or Vino-lok closures are another clever alternative to the sometimes unreliable and expensive cork, and much more classy looking than a screw cap.

This wine smells really herbal. It tastes a little "green" too, with  smokey tannins on the finish. The more time it spends in the glass, the more it rounds out with delicious flavors including black cherry.

The Pinot Noir grapes in this wine come from several different areas in Oregon; Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills, Eola HIlls and McMinnville. It is one of the bottles I've featured in
 "New Wine For the New Year" currently published in all four TOTI Media magazines.

50 Shades of "Gris"

50 Shades of Grey; even if you haven't read the book, in all probability you've at least heard of it.

"50 Shades of Gris" is a clever play on words for an enticing, pre-Halloween party at Blu Sushi in Fort Myers (FL).

Betting on the willingness to dress up and possibly dress up naughty, the restaurant is teaming up with Van Duzer Vineyards to give away a stay in the winery's fabulous guest house, to whoever wears the best "shade of grey" in the costume contest.

Guests will enjoy $5 glasses of Gris, Pinot Gris from Van Duzer, among other specials. When I was in Oregon a couple of months ago I drank my body weight in both Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris, and Van Duzer was among my favorite. The winery sits far off of 99 West in Dallas, up on a hill. It is beautiful and the staff, so much fun!

Beside the Pinot Gris, the Rose is phenomenal and the single block Pinot Noirs are a must, especially the Flagpole ($50). It's smoky, full of cherry and dark fruit. A visit to Van Duzer is not to be missed if you find yourself wondering through the valley.

And the 50 Shades of Pinot Gris party is not an event to be missed either. The hype is hot. More party info here.

Reading and Drinking

The state of Oregon has lots of personalities and I wanted to experience as many as possible during my recent trip to wine country. An excursion to the coast was a must. My travel companion and I decided to let the winds guide us to a winery stop along the way. Driving through a small town by the name of Amity, a sign reading "Coelho Winery" immediately caught my attention. Could it be that one of my favorite writers, Paulo Coelho, has a winery in Oregon?

It wasn't the first time the people at the winery had been asked that question. Both are Portuguese but apparently there are no other ties. Coelho was one of my favorite finds in OR. It didn't hurt that we were the only ones in the tasting room on that Sunday morning; we got lots of attention and the wine was superb.

One of the most interesting was the Pureza Pinot Noir Blanc ($30). It smelled like roses and tasted like peach and citrus. The 2010 Paciencia Estate Pinot Noir ($45) was silky and spicy with that typical mushroomy, earthy nose of a Pinot. Another favorite for me was the Antecipacao Petite Sirah ($40). The color was rich and I was anticipating it to knock me over. It was bursting with flavors of dark berries and do I dare say, bacon? YUM. Needs a little more time in the bottle, so I bought some to store.

I love Coelho's book, "The Alchemist", about dreams and following your own "Personal Legend". I've been looking for a new, good book to sink my teeth into. But while writing this blog, I decided to pull my old friend off of the shelf. Lets see what new nuggets of inspiration I'll discover. Sweat pants (check), glass of wine (check), "The Alchemist" in hand (check). Part One: "The boy's name was Santiago....."

Getting Past The Packaging

I drank so many fabulous Pinot Noirs last week while exploring the Williamette Valley in Oregon. It's one of the most common grapes used to make Champagne and sparkling wines; so I was expecting to taste more bubbles than I did.

I asked one winemaker why more was not produced. Besides the fact that making a sparkling wine takes an entirely different effort, he confessed, in general, it is not as profitable. Bubbly takes longer to make and takes up valuable storage space.

When someone in the Eugene area suggested trying the sparkling at Domaine Meriwether, my travel partner and I were all about it. The tasting room was spacious, open and ruled by the Captain; the vineyard dog, who greeted us with a tennis ball in his mouth.

It was our last stop of the day, two sparkling wines were open along with some still wines. The NV Discovery Cuvee (blue label, $20) was acidic with flavors of pear; the Captain Clark Vintage Cuvee (green label $25) had some pleasant citrus notes and reminded me of sweet tarts. Both were enjoyable as well as affordable.

Too bad the thing we focused on while pulling away was the labeling. Yes you should buy wine based on what is inside of the bottle, but lets face it, packaging is important. Especially with the amount of good juice on store shelves. The font and text is classy, what one would expect from nice bubbly. The colored border is what my companion could not get past; wondering about the challenge of convincing someone to buy, when lined up next to other sparklers.

The point may seem petty to some, but not to those in the media, marketing, advertising, food and wine business. Looking back, if this was the only complaint of the day.....I'll take another please!

If you can get past the packaging, give Domaine Meriwether Cuvee's a try. I think you will like.