Washington Wine and Cheese

Washington Wine and Cheese Seminar - March 18, 2008
Presented by - John F Croston III

Wine Shelf Price

1. 2006 – White Hall Vineyards - (UnWined) - (VA)- $15.99
2. 2004 – Ballast Stone - (Bell’s Wine) - (AUS) - $15.99
3. 2005 – Petite Petit – Michael David - (Bell’s Wine) - (CA) - $22.99
4. 2006 – Yard Dog – Red Heads Studio - (UnWined) - (AUS) - $10.99
5. 2005 – Deen De Bortoli – Vat 4 - (UnWined) - (AUS) - $10.99

Cheese (Calvert Woodley) Shelf Price

1. Tomme de Savore - $16.98/lb
2. Bella Colina Provolone Picante - $10.99/lb

Lynne Cool will be guest presenter for the class tomorrow night. This is one you will not want to miss. In addition to exploring the contributions of Italian winemakers to the wine culture of California, Lynne will discuss the much-disputed origins of the Zinfandel grape and it’s relationship to the Primitivo grape of Italy.

Wines will be from both sides of the ocean. From California, there will be two of my favorite Zinfandels from Sonoma County, Seghesio and Trentadue, as well a a wonderful Barbera from Boeger in El Dorado County. From Italy, there will be a Primitivo from Puglia in southern Italy and an outstanding red wine from Friuli in Northern
Italy. This last wine is from a winemaker who was educated in the United States but returned to his winemaking family in Italy taking new world techniques.

There will of course be two cheeses (one creamy and one hard sharp cheese) which were selected to pair well with the wines, as well as plenty of crusty bread.

Please join us for this educational and delicious event!

1. 2006 Seghesio Sonoma County Zinfandel - $20
2. 2006 A-Mano Puglia, Sicily Primitivo - $13
3. 2005 Trentadue Sonoma County Zinfandel - $20
4. 2006 Boeger El Dorado, Ca Barbera - $16.50
5. 2006 Just Me Friuli, Italy Merlot - $31

Wines from Bell Wine Shop

Cheeses:

1. Edel L’Cleron - $18.99
2. Cabot XSharp Cheddar - $8.99

Bread and Cheeses from Calvert-Woodley

A representative from Alexander Valley Winery will be coming in to lead a Cabernet Sauvignon component tasting for us. Alexander Valley is prestigious family-owned winery in northern Sonoma County, California. Most of their production is reds. In addition to their great Cabernet, they produce several Zins (with labels you will love) and a great dry Gewurztraminer (called “New Gewurz”).

The tasting will be broken into two parts. First, we will have a guided tasting of the components of their 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon. Five wines go into the blend–Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec (i.e. all of the Bordeaux varietals). You will have the opportunity to taste each of them, then compare them to the finished Cabernet Sauvignon. We will then have a “palate cleansing” break with the “New Gewurz” (bottles shared between tables) and move on to the 3 Zinfandels. There will be 3 different appellations (California, Alexander Valley, and Dry Creek Valley), so you will have a chance to compare the flavor nuances of the different styles and appellations.

I selected two special cheeses to go with the wines, both of which should pair very well with the red wines. One of them is new to us–Garrotxa from the Catalonian part of Spain. It is an aged goat milk cheese. The other is an old favorite, Gorgonzola Picante from Italy. And Carlos has promised me a very good one!

1. 2005 Estate Cabernet (Alexander Valley) - $25

2. 2006 New Gerwurz - $12

3. 2005 Temptation Zinfandel (California) - $15

4. 2005 Sin Zin (Alexander Valley) -

5. 2005 Zin (Dry Creek Valley) -

Cheeses:

Garrotxa (aged goat from Catalonia)

Gorgonzola Picante (cow’s milk blue cheese from Italy)

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.