summer wine tasting

We've barely eaten today. Last night was a good night of much cheese - oh so delicious, but oh so rich. That pretty much killed our appetite today. Happily, much hydration through the night and before bed means we're not feeling the after effects of our wine tasting last night.

Fun fun wine tasting. It's a treat to have friends over and do something like this. I thought it was a good time, and so did Conrad, and while I wasn't blown away by any of the wines in the end, I certainly made sure to enjoy trying them!

Photos follow, of course, but here's the write up I did for everyone to refer to last night....

Weeks of angst and deliberation went into deciding how to do this. Red or white (we've gone with both)? Geographically diverse or all from the same region (we've dispersed it some)? One grape, one varietal (nope, two grapes in this case)? What to do….

Conrad did a lot of research and came up with some ideas, and one recent night he and Peter finally bounced enough things about that one fell into place: start with a cheese. Goat cheese. Summery, light, creamy, tangy. Who doesn't love it? Pretend you do, in case you don't. Based on that we went with two grapes, four wines. On the white side of things, we have a couple of Sauvignon Blancs. On the red, we have Pinot Noir. Let's see how these fare alone and with the cheeses.

In truth, we wanted to grab Sancerre, but it's not as inexpensive as we might wish, and we sort of wanted this to be a way to try modest bottles that may become regular favourites in your home. Instead we picked up a white Vins de Pays Côtes de Gascogne, the Grassa Family Vineyards 2007 Sauvignon Blanc ($11.99 Available at Kafka Wine, 3325 N. Halsted). We know nothing about this region or this wine, but the little sign on the bottle at Kafka said it is perfect with goat cheese, so….

Set against this (though this isn't a competition, and it's not even a blind tasting) is a New Zealand "Savvy". Marlborough is justifiably famed for its Sauvignon Blanc, and we've enjoyed a number of wines from there. We’ve not visited this winery, though, nor tried its wines. Here’s what the winery says: "fragrant mix of pineapple and passionfruit tropical aromas with underlying ripe citrus characters adding complexity to the nose. On the palate, again a flavoursome array of pineapples and passionfruit, with a zesty citrus essence of orange and lime." Great! If you like it, it's at Binny's (3000 N. Clark St.) for $12.99 a bottle.

On to reds. Pinot Noir is the great grape of Burgundy, and the prices sometimes reflect it. From what we read, when going with modestly priced Burgundies, the bigger names are safer choices. So we settled on the Joseph Drouhin 2006 Laforêt Bourgogne Pinot Noir. It is a Bourgogne, though a regional appellation. Here's what the Drouhin Web site tells us: "A wine full of charm: bright ruby colour and a nose rich with aromas of red fruit (raspberry, red currants, wild strawberry). On the palate, the wine is pleasant, fruity and refreshing, with light tannins and great elegance." Sounds promising! Available at Binny's for $13.99 a bottle.

The fourth wine is a California red, mostly sourced from Sonoma county grapes. We have tasted this one, briefly, a sample at the gorgeous new Whole Foods. A little plastic cup can't tell us exactly how good it is, so we’re offering up bottles for your opinions. 87 points from the Wine Spectator and the Wine Enthusiast, if that means something. According to the winery, then: "This Pinot Noir is aged in French oak barrels for 12 months and has a brilliant ruby color with aromas & flavors of strawberry, raspberry and overtones of smoked tea and spice." Also from Binny's (sorry Whole Foods) for $13.99 a bottle.

So then, a show of the food: cheeses, fruit, breads, pickled things, a walnut cake.







And then all the folks enjoying the evening.























Culminating with this handsome man, doing dishes. Isn't he a dream?