Italian Wine Course, Class #1

My favorite wine shop, Gordon's Liquors in Waltham, MA, recently offered a new series of wine tasting classes with the focus on Italian wines. I readily admit that my knowledge of Italian wines is a little lacking, so I decided to sign up for the entire schedule of 6 classes. Italian wines are a daunting subject since there are >2000 indigenous grape varietals. Historically, the majority of Italian wines have been produced for local consumption, so production & quality standards have not been extremely rigorous. The formation of the Italian appellation system in 1963 served to simply codify existing winemaking practices that may or may not have been the best. Fortunately, globalization has begun to change this fault as winemaking practices are changed to compete on the global market.


The first class was held on Tuesday, March 23 at the Culinary Center in the back of the store. Bob Kaplan had selected the wine and held forth on regional information & wine details. This first class focused on wines from the southern regions of Sicily, Sardinia, Calabria, Basilicata, & Campania (regions #2, 3, 4, 14 & 19 in the map). These areas are less well developed than the northern regions of Italy and the wines are not as prestigious or well-regarded. Consequently, they are less expensive if you find a wine that you enjoy. The wines were paired with a Sottocenere with Truffles & a Pecorino Ginepro cheeses from Whole Foods.

White Wines

La Segreta Bianco ($15)
Region: Sicily IGT
Details: 50% Chardonnay, 10% Viognier, 40% Falanghina
Review: Peaches & citrus in the nose. Tastes of apricot with a honeyed finish. Light bodied (good summer sipper)

Cantina Gallura Vermentino 2007 ($20)
Region: Sardinia DOCG
Review: Golden color, aromas & flavors of apricots, honey, raisins, & caramel. Extremely flat sherry-like finish. Tastes like this wine has oxidized. Not good

Feudi di San Gregorio Falanghina ($19)
Region: Campania, near Avelino
Review: Aromas of pineapple, peaches, apricots, & honeysuckle. Dried apricot finish.

Feudi di San Gregorio Greco di Tufo ($24)
Region: Campania, near Avelino
Review: Light citrus & honeysuckle. Short finish. Tastes similar to a viognier

Red Wines:

Planeta La Segreta Rosso ($15)
Region: Sicily IGT
Review: Dark cherries, rosemary, vanilla. Medium body with a Concord-like grapey finish.

Templum Cannonau ($20) same grape as Granache
Region: Sardinia DOC
Review: Fairly bricked in color. Black cherry, cinnamon, little chalky on the finish. Mild tannins

Planeta Cerasuolo di Vittoria ($23)
Region: Sicily IGT
Review: Cherries, cassis, vanilla in the nose. Big fruity flavors with dancing raspberries, mild tannins, good mouthfeel. Went REALLY good with the Pecorino cheese!

Feudi di San Gregorio Rubrato ($19)
Region: Campania
Review: Very dark lightly bricked color. Blackberries, blueberries, & chocolate with a little tobacco. Big, bold tannins & good mouthfeel.

Librandi Gravello ($35) blend of Cabernet Sauvignon & Delamonto
Region: Calabria, near the town of Churo
Review: Black cherry, raspberries, & currants. Balanced tannins. Chocolate, slightly tart finish.

Cantine dei Notario La Firma 2005 ($50)
Region: Basilicata
Review: Dark cherries, raspberries, light tobacco with soft tannins. Good, just not sure it's $50 good.

Cheers,
a Wine Student

NE Coastal Wine Trail Weekend Day Two

Sunday, March 21, 2010...

The day dawned on the second day of my Coastal Wine Trail tasting adventure. After a leisurely breakfast at the Hampton Inn Fairhaven and a good work-out in the fitness facility, I checked out of the hotel , made a pit stop at the local Panera Bread for lunch, and then headed to more wineries.

Stop #1: Running Brook Vineyards
Address: 335 Old Fall River Road, North Dartmouth, MA

I didn't know what I would be getting into at this visit. I will admit that I was greatly confused when I pulled in. The OPEN flag was flying at the gate, but no one was in the parking lot in front of the barn-like structure and what appeared to be the front door was locked. I headed back to my truck and started input the address of the next winery into my GPS unit when a truck pulled up. Out hopped a man who turned out to be one of the winery's owners who quickly invited me inside for a tasting. Running Brook is a work in progress. Unlike the other wineries on the trail, this 4-yr old winery is still building it's site of operation and the tasting room is merely a counter top inside the main winemaking area. Not as polished as the other wineries, but very enjoyable since you can see every aspect of the winery--the fermentation tanks, the barrel racks, and the bottling line. The charge for tasting was $7. I think there was a suggested number of wines to taste, but after Pedro discovered that I make wine as well and had an interest in starting a winery, he started pulling out everything he had to taste, including barrel/tank samples!

2007 Chardonnay ($13): Simple dry white wine with light flavor, but a smooth sipping wine
2005 Reserve Chardonnay ($17): Unfiltered & aged for 2 years in old French oak. 100% MLF gave it a nice rich butteriness.
2005 Reserve Chardonnay Unoaked: Nice pineapple nose & crisp finish
2007 Pinot Gris ($14): Bold citrus (pineapple, grapefruit) with a nice crisp finish
2008 Pinot Gris: Unlike the 2007, this wine has not undergone malolactic fermentation, so the flavors are driven by big, green apple aromas.
2007 Cabernet Franc ($18): Finally, a good red wine on the Trial. Lighter color, but big strawberry & black pepper flavors.
2007 Merlot ($18): Very nice. Black cherry & pepper aromas with subtle tobacco. 1.5 years in French oak.
2007 Vidal blanc ($13): Apricot & honey explosion. Semi-sweet finish with a nice balance of sugar & acid (high Brix at harvest).
2008 Vidal blanc: Tank sample. Crisp, Pineapple & Grapefruit predominate.
2009 Vidal blanc: Tank Sample. Still a little cloudy, but gorgeous big honey flavors.
2007 Auslesen ($20): Late harvest vidal blanc made by the traditional German auslesen method of selecting individual high sugar grape bunches. Sweet dessert wine.
2005 Late Harvest Vidal Blanc ($20): Sherry-like with bold apricot aromas and peach & pineapple flavors. Very unique wine.

Needless to say I thoroughly enjoyed my 2.5 hrs with Pedro! Learned an awful lot about his winery operations and I volunteered to come back down to help with any winemaking task that he might have. I'm looking forward to a long relationship with Running Brook Vineyard! I ended up purchasing 5 bottles to sample later. Will have to go check to see which ones I bought.

Stop #2: Travessia Winery
Address: 760 Purchase Street, New Bedford, MA

After stumbling out of Running Brook, I had just enough time to visit one more winery before heading for the wedding. I had the choice of Westport Rivers Vineyards or Travessia Winery that were close enough nearby. Since I have been to Westport before (and am a member of their wine club), I chose to visit Travessia, which is a rather unique urban winery in downtown New Bedford. I have to admit that I was very intrigued to visit Travessia since an urban winery is an option that I would consider if I were to open a winery myself. My visit was a little complicated by the fact that the New Bedford half marathon had taken place the same morning and downtown New Bedford was a still a busy place at 3:00 in the afternoon. The winery is located in a small storefront that houses both the sales room, tasting bar, and winemaking space. They have some more space downstairs for added room to make & store the wine. Without vineyards of their own (kind of hard to grow grapes in asphalt), Travessia purchases all of their grapes from Running Brook Vineyards. Marco, the owner & winemaker, was tending the tasting room that day and was pouring 5 wines for tastings ($6). The tasting bar was a little crowded, so I didn't take any notes due to lack of writing space so I'm relying on my general impressions & memory.

2008 Unoaked Chardonnay ($14): Decent, fruity chardonnay with crisp finish.
2007 Chardonnay ($16): Partial MLF & barrel aging gave this a nice mix of crisp & softness, butteriness & fruit flavors.
2007 Vidal Blanc ($13): Essentially the same semi-sweet Vidal that I tasted at Running Brook. Liked it there and I liked it here, too!
2007 Trapeze Zinfandel: Nice, fruit forward with soft tannins. A good everyday drinking zin.

Many of you are probably scratching your heads that someone is growing zinfandel in MA. Well, they are not. Marco is starting a second line of wines made from grapes grown in CA and shipped to the winery for vinification. I didn't purchase any wines while I was there due to time constraints, but I did sign up for their wine club. First shipment should be in the coming week after they release a couple of new 2008 wines.

At this point, I bid a sad farewell to the Coastal Wine Trail and headed to Sandwich for the wedding. I would have to say that Day 2 was my favorite thanks to the wonderful hospitality & generosity of Pedro at Running Brook Vineyards. I will have to repay him with some physical labor when I go back to help bottle or pick grapes. I hope that my faithful readers take advantage of the proximity of several very nice wineries & make their own trip along the NE Coastal Wine Trail.

Cheers,
a Wine Student

A weekend along the New England Coastal Wine Trail

I decided to get out of town last weekend and take advantage of the fact that I had a wedding to attend in Cape Cod on Sunday, so I decided to head down on Saturday and do some tasting along the Coastal Wine Trail. For those that don't know, the Coastal Wine Trail is made up of 8 wineries along the southeast New England coastline, stretching for east of Providence, RI to the very tip of Cape Cod.

This is still a little early in the season, so a couple of wineries were closed, but I wanted to get to as many as I could on Saturday afternoon and then hit a couple more on Sunday before heading for the wedding in Sandwich. This is the story of my tasting:

Saturday, March 20, 2010
Stop #1: Newport Vineyards
Address: 909 East Main Road, Middletown, RI

Saturday was such a gorgeous early spring day that I was not the only one to decide to go wine tasting. After pulling into the crowded parking lot off the very busy highway, I was a little dismayed to see so many people at the winery. I had to stand in line to buy a tasting glass ($9 for 5 tastes) and then stand in line again to find room at the tasting bar which was simply too small and too understaffed for the amount of foot traffic that day. Trying to savor aromas & flavors is a little hard when you've got people standing behind you waiting for their turn. Overall, the wines were pretty good. Whites were much better than the reds which were generally very vegetative & full of harsh green pepper flavors. I chose to try the following wines from their extensive tasting menu:

Sauvignon Blanc ($19): Good stuff, lot of pineapple & floral notes with a crisp acidic finish.
Newport Chardonnay ($15): Crisp, barrel-fermented Burgundy style with strong mango & pear flavors.
Pinot Noir ($19): Light color & body. Strong cherry with grass & green pepper.
Cabernet Franc ($19): Light color. Blackberries with grass & green pepper
Newport Merlot ($19): Medium garnet color, bigger black fruit flavors with good tannin structure but still pretty green tasting. Fruit came forward the more I swirled.
Port ($30): Rich mouthfeel with lot of alcohol, but that green flavor is still there.

Yeah, you counted right, I got to sneak in a 6th taste thanks to being friendly & wine knowledgeable! I did buy a bottle of the Sauvignon Blanc for more in-depth analysis later.

Stop #2: Greenvale Vineyards
Address: 582 Wapping Road, Portsmouth, RI

After the madhouse at Newport, Greenvale was a breath of fresh air! Located down some country roads and a winding narrow gravel lane, the winery is housed in a restored historic barn. Beautiful, rural setting with views of the bay and very friendly staff. The tasting bar is small, but the winery was not crowded when I arrived. Just me and a newly engaged couple with both sets of parents on their get-to-know-the-inlaws trip! Greenvale appreciates that the NE climate is not well suited for red vinifera varietals so they focus mostly on white wines with a token red blend from estate-grown grapes. I paid $9 to taste the full line-up of 6 wines.

2007 Pinot Gris: Very nice, light & fruity with a pleasingly crisp finish.
2007 Chardonnay: A 50/50 barrel/stainless steel fermentation blend with apricot & pineapple flavors. An OK wine, the blend of barrel/SS fermented wines just seemed like a jarring mismatch to me.
2007 Select Chardonnay: 100% Barrel fermented. A smoother and more balanced wine with the same apricot & pineapple flavors.
2007 Vidal: Lightly sweet tasting finish on a dry wine. A fruity sipper. Very nice version of a dry Vidal.
Stepping Stone White: 90% Cayuga/10% vidal. Good patio wine with a sweet finish, but not overpowering. Fruity & floral.
2007 Hermitage: Blend of merlot, cabernet franc, and malbec. Light red & green.

I ended up purchasing the pinot gris & Select Chardonnay for further evaluation.

Stop #3: Sakonnet Vineyards
Address: 162 West Main Road, Little Compton, RI

My final stop of the day was at Sakonnet Vineyards. Very far off the main highway, I loved the rural, secluded setting. The driveway was like going through the woods to grandmother's house for a wine tasting! The parking lot was full when I arrived and there was evidence that they see a lot of foot traffic in warmer months. They do have a good 4-sided tasting bar set-up for serving a lot of people, but they need a sign or something to tell people to pay for the tasting first before proceeding to the tasting bar. Standing in 2 lines is frustrating. Cost was $8 for 6 tastes.

2008 Vidal Blanc ($13): Initial strong fruity burst with an incredibly tart finish
2007 Gewurztraminer ($19): Dry, nice spicy midsection, but weak fruit & floral notes with a short bland finish. Left me wanting more.
2007 Fume Vidal Reserve ($16): Smooth, well integrated oak with honey, apricot, & lychee flavors. A very nice wine.
2007 Chardonnay ($14): Stainless steel fermented with good apple & melon flavors. Soft finish, but still crisp. Good wine.
2007 Reserve Chardonnay ($19): Crisp finish, only lightly buttery (no intential MLF) with very slight oak shading. Nice.
Rose ($10): A dry, crisp Cabernet franc rose. Notes of cedar, strawberries, & plums. Would be a good summer sipper.
2007 Winterwine ($25 for 375 ml): Rich & powerful. Intense apricot, honey, & peaches aromas with a nice spicy finish. A very nice late harvest vidal made in the ice-wine style.

Ended up buying the Rose, Fume Vidal, Chardonnay, & Winterwines for later further evaluation.

It was past closing time at this point, so I took the back roads to New Bedford & my hotel. After finding a local seafood take-out joint for some fried clams. I popped open the Greenvale Pinot Gris to enjoy during the evening. A wonderful way to end the day!

Cheers,
a Wine Student