Washington Wine and Cheese

Sorry, this has taken so long to get the wine and cheese information out from Tuesday’s class. I never got home until after 11:00 pm and have been out the last two nights after work until late.

Here is the list of great wines presented by our dear friend and all around nice guy Jeff Bryant.

1. Gazela Vinho Verde - $5.99 - It’s light, fruity, refreshing, great for a graden party and you can’t argue with the price.
2. 2004 - Montebuena Rioja - $8.99 - Medium red finishes silky and very easy to drink, with no rough edges. A great bargain in Rioja.
3. 1998 - Montecillo Rioja Gran Reserva - $19.99 - Mature fruit aromas, complex and elegant, with notes of dark fruit, and full-bodied.
4. 2004 - Quinta Do Vae Meao Meandro - $24.99 - This wine is big and young still needs sometime to age.  Someone at the table even said it reminded them of beef jerky.
5. 1997 - Osborne vintagePort - $29.99 - Great port for the money and I’m not sure if you could lay this down until your really old, but a good number of years would be great. 

The two cheese that we had were:

1. English Stilton Blue Cheese - $12.99
2. Manchego - $12.99 -  sheep’s milk cheese made in the La Mancha region of Spain.

 All the wine came from our good friend Mike Fraiser at Total Wine and More. The cheese and bread both came from Calvert Woodley’s.

The year is off to a great start, and I have put together a tasting that will continue the trend. Join us this Tuesday, Sept. 25th, for a selection of wines from Portugal and Spain. We will be having 3 wines from Portugal, one of which will be a white (our first of the year!). We will also enjoy 2 wines from Spain that are excellent examples of
their style. And to finish the evening, we will end with a 97 vintage port!

The reds will start big and continue to get bigger as the evening progresses. The white will be a crisp and refreshing way to begin our tasting.

Don’t miss the great opportunity to enjoy these spectacular wines! As always, we will have a couple of different cheeses and bread to round out the evening.

Tuesday, September 18! The return of Two Blondes, A Brunette and Five Reds presented by Lori Draheim, Carol Rentz and Jill LaPanna. Our theme for this tasting is Big Bodacious Blends! These are some tasty juice!

The wines we will feature are red blends made up of three or more grape varietals. We will start the tasting with a gold medal winning Bordeaux style red from Dry Creek Valley, next will be a gorgeous Australian MSG with a 90 point rating, then on to an easy-sipping Cal-Italian blend from Sonoma, from there we will have a Bordeaux blend with classic Napa flavors and texture at a great price, and finally, a big nicely proportioned red said to be spicy with a long finish from THE hot brand from Australia right now. You won’t want to miss this variety of red blends that are additionally great values!

1. 2004 Forchini - Beauseirra (Sonoma) - $12.99 - Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Carigane
2. 2005 Rutherglen Estate - The Reunion (Australia) - $14.99 - Mourvedre, Shiraz, Grenache
3. 2004 Ferrari-Carao-Siena (Sonoma) - $21.99 - Sangiovese, Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon
4. 2003 Paoleti - Piccolo Cru (Napa) - $17.99 - Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc
5. 2006 Molly Dooker - The Two Left Feet (Australia) - $19.99 - Shiraz, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon

The two cheese that we had were:

1. Provolone Picante - $11.99 - Provolone originally comes from the south of Italy but is nowadays produced in several regions of North Italy.
2. Fromage d’ Affinois- $12.99 - a creamy French cheese that is silky and smooth.

The wines came from multiple locations listed below:

1. Bell’s Wine and Spirit (DC)
2. Total wine and More (multiple locaions)
3. Total wine and More (multiple locaions)
4. Out of Site (VA)
5. Pearsons (DC)

The cheese and bread both came from Calvert Woodley’s.

FINALLY!!!! The time has come when we can all gather and taste wonderful wines. I hope our little intermission has allowed you to relax, travel,spend time with family and friends, and taste some fabulous Vino. In August I traveled to Sonoma and Napa Valley to taste some amazing wine. I was able to venture to places such as Ferrari-Currano, Duck Horn, Chimney Rock and Caymus, as well as some other big name wineries. What I found was that I liked the smaller wineries just as well. After tasting 210 wines in 5 days, I have narrowed the field to five outstanding wines that are sure to please! We will indulge in wines that epresent the Napa and Sonoma region and its popular appellations. We will start the evening with a Pinot Noir from the Carneros region. The second wine will be an enormous merlot from Oakville, followed by a Zinfandel from the Stag’s Leap district. The next wine will be a limited release Cabernet Franc, and we will finish the evening with a Bordeaux blend from Pritchard Hill. I can’t wait to share these “Little Gems from California”.

1. Artesa Pinot Noir 2005 - $22.99 The essence of strawberry that bobbed and weaved and hit you like a jab of a featherweight. Improved dramatically to the welterweight division on the nose and the second and third rounds. Finish fell short without a TKO with the fighters ready for the next round.
2. Alterra Merlot 2005 - $19.99 Soft and perky on the nose and palate. Give me more give me more.
3. Courntey Benham Zinfandel 2002 - $16.99 Corked.
4. Edgewood Cabernet Franc, 2000 - $16.99 Amazing for a 2000 - why did I leave my British girlfriend that year. Great concentration with leather and tobacco notes - just a little possessive. Kind of like a hookah.
5. Chapellet Cuvee, 2004 - $ 24.99 Best in show but not a bull terrier, nicely integrated with a lushness in th mouth. Overall, a nine out of ten.

The two cheese that we had were:

1. Belletoile - Triple Cream (cow’s milk) Brie - $11.99 -
2. Defen Wa (spelling please)- did not write down price since cheese changed from that on list.

All the wine came from our good friend Mike Fraiser at Total Wine and More. The cheese and bread both came from Calvert Woodley’s.

Welcome to the “Washington Wine and Cheese” group website.

What we plan to do and use this website for is to list the wines that we tasted, their names, years, prices, and where they came from, along with the different cheeses.

We hope people will comment on what they thought of the wines and cheeses. That is either good , bad, or indifferent, without bein rude, since you might be the next one putting on a class.

thanks,

jfc iii