What's in your glass tonight?

[jswordy]

My back got out of place and man, that is a very sharp and repetitive pain. All frickin' day, too. Standing up straight hurts! I did grill the ribeyes, oh yes, but it HURT to do it. Then one 7.5 / 325 mg. oxycodone/acetaminophen tablet and starting on this bottle has helped it considerably! I'm fascinated by the Barossa region of Australia. Not feeling that super-sharp pain whenever I move anymore. Bless its pointed little head, by the time I get to the bottom of this, all will be perfect. C'mere bros.... You guys know I love you, right? Besties for life, man... GROUP HUG!

 

[Shurt1073]

Guessing this is a good place to start on my quest to acquire a taste for dryer wines?

 

[cmason1957]

Sounds like an excellent starting point.

The awards that Member's Mark Russian River Pinot Noir have won include: 2020 Vintage received a 94 pts from Martin Sheehan-Stross, Advanced Certified Sommelier/Cellar Tracker. He said “Classic Russian River character here with ripe red and black cherry tones accented by notes of cola nut and berry leaf. Medium-bodied, the structure balances the fruit-forward nature of the wine perfectly, with fine tannin and refreshing acidity persisting on the long finish.”

It uses juice sourced from Laguna Ridge region of the Russian River Valley in Sonoma County, CA and is aged 16 months in French and American Oak barrels. Pinot Noir is more delicate, acidic, and lower tannin than most other red wines, it is best showcased slightly chilled at 55-60°F. The Member’s Mark Russian River Valley Pinot Noir is an easy drinking high-quality wine that can be paired with a wide range of foods like fish, rack of lamb, roasted chicken, red meats, pasta, and moderately flavored cheeses.

 

[crushday]

Tacos tonight for dinner - trying this wine, first bottle. The blend is technically a Super Tuscan - it’s 50/50 Sang/Cab Franc. Barreled for 12 months and bottled now for two.

 

[Shurt1073]

Opened a 2021 Black Cherry and this Blackberry tonight. YUM!

 

[Boatboy24]

Tacos tonight for dinner - trying this wine, first bottle. The blend is technically a Super Tuscan - it’s 50/50 Sang/Cab Franc. Barreled for 12 months and bottled now for two.

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And...?

 

[crushday]

And...?

I would say this wine is a solid weekday drinker - I’m not going to reach for a bottle of this to bring balance to a massive weekend meal but a quiet evening with a light dinner and a fire makes this wine perfect. Great nose. Easy on the palate, decent body, and full of flavor.

 

[crushday]

View attachment 98175

Opened a 2021 Black Cherry and this Blackberry tonight. YUM!

Are you wintering on South Padre Island?

 

[jswordy]

Back is just starting to feel good enough now to tip a little vodka into my Fresca tonight. Had the back go out and a sore throat all at once. Whattatime! But the wine I posted above did put it back into place after I went to sleep that night. Since then I have been walking on eggshells while the pain and inflammation subside.

 

[ibglowin]

 

[Darrell Hawley]

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Nice looking wine, maybe you may need to rewrite the 2005 hit "Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off"

 

[Hazelemere]

This is Pinnacle of the Pacific 2020 i.e. a 60/40 blend of Dineen Washington Vineyard Cabernet Franc and 40% Amador Cabernet Sauvignon with 10 medium toast American oak cubes per Imperial gallon of wine for 120 day soak during malolactic fermentation. All of the grapes were fresh and in perfect condition (no mold, rot or raisins, with no vineyard spray residue apparent), hand destemmed and fermented uncrushed with RC 212 yeast. The Amador and Dineen grapes were pressed after 18 and 22 day un-sulphited ferments respectively. Wines were then sulphited after 120 day natural malolactic fermentation to 50 ppm sulphite as potassium metabisulphite (i.e. 1/8 tsp per Imperial gallon) and bottled at ~80 ppm total sulphite which seems to give 1/3 as free sulphite ~26-27 ppm.

Here are my comments:

Colour - dark inky purple red

Smell - intense nose of figs, pomegranates, plums, violets, Asian spice, trace of vanilla, chocolate

Acid - perfect for aging - slightly high now but that is ok because it will improve the smell.

Tannin - perfect for aging

Flavour - rich, complex with a long aftertaste. It tastes young which is a good sign. I would absolutely make this again and will let the last 22 bottles that I have age over the next 7-8 years (i.e. 1 every 4 months or so with family and best friends).

This is a beautiful wine. If you have access to to high end Washington or Amador County red wine grapes absolutely buy them.

RC 212 yeast makes delicious spicy reds as long as it has enough nutrient through malolactic fermentation which these 2 ferments did.

 

[ibglowin]

Went extraordinary well with the chicken piccata tonight! Could almost qualify as a white wine in color but its all Rose' on the bouquet and pallet.

 

[David Violante]

Since you suggested…



and…

 

[ibglowin]

Well this DNS. 2014 Bookwalter Chapter 7. Right in the sweet spot last night. 94pts WS. Quintessential left bank Bordeaux blend. Definitely WOTN. Some Central Coast Pinot may have also been drunk.

 

[ibglowin]

Pizza wine for a Sunday night!

 

[Hazelemere]

Chenin Blanc Cyser Pyment 2021-2022

This is 80% high acid frozen Brehm California Chenin Blanc juice mixed with 20% Russet apple juice Cyser containing unpasteurized blueberry blossom honey. SG is 0.995.

Comments:

Acidity: this is better than Chenin Blanc on its own. SG is 0.995 instead of 0.992 which also helps make it less tangy.

Tannin: russet tannin raises the tannin on this so it should age really well in a cooler due to its acidity.

Smell: the Chenin Blanc smell is good on its own honey dew and straw. The russet and honey smells make it even more complex.

Flavour: good Loire style, rich with a long finish. I may make more. Right now I have 2 cases of this and will re-sorbate it into a carboy so it doesn't referment. This is a pleasant surprise that should age. I'll probably bottle it at Easter.

I bottlew 8 and racked 15. The acid is high but not outrageous. This should age really well. I won't rush bottling the rest. The best part of this is the aftertaste from the honey and russet apples. I'll use part of this as a cooking wine with prawn or scallop linguine or chow mein

 

[Hazelemere]

Pizza wine for a Sunday night!

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We've made stunning Grenache usually blended with a bit of Washington Mourvedre and Syrah or Malbec. I've had 100% Grenache which was excellent. How do you like this one?

 

[winemaker81]

Last night I opened a bottle from the Costco Wine Advent calendar -- about half the whites are mediocre, but there are gems, and this is one of them. [Note: none of the wines in the calendar are duds, but about half are merely ok, nothing I'd rush out to buy.]

It's a blend: 70% Fernão Pires, which is commonly grown in Portugal and is known for a spicy aroma, and 30% Branco Arinto, which is a high acid grape used to improve hot weather whites.

 

[cmason1957]

Oh, I wish I had bought that calendar this year. We have a member of our wine club who has tasted (and has records of tasting) something like 280 different varietals of wines made from grapes. Always on the lookout for new ones to offer her to taste. Last year, the calendar didn't have anything unusual enough, so we didn't look really hard at this years.