Wine Reviews"Wine Reviews" is a new section on my site. The tasters are my husband Kim and my son David. My husband is a lover of the Good Life and David is a waiter while in college at the University of Maryland. David, at age 23 is a true wine connoisseur.
I personally don't drink wine that often but when I do, I enjoy a Spanish Rioja, called Marques de Caceres.
Objective/Introduction
Kim: I like reds that are drinkable now and don't break the bank. I'm certainly not going to spend $300 on Opus One - unless someone else pays for it :) I like a glass of wine every night with dinner.David: I like to find an incredibly drinkable wine that is around $20 or less per bottle. With all the mass marketing - and in some instances with high county taxes - it's really easy to overpay for a not too great wine. We are not into storing wine or looking for a wine that really "opens up" in 5 years - I am looking for a wine that is imminently drinkable now.
Kim: I usually drink reds over whites but that doesn't mean I only drink red wine. I am not going to drink even a light red with lobster. Steamed lobster just needs a good white.
David: Our goal is find good wines that we like to drink now - not just to pair with certain foods because the food critics say you should only have whites with seafood and reds with meat. I must say I love it when we open up a bottle of a reasonably priced red, decant it and then by the end of dinner the sugars come out and it's really smooth. Then at the end of the bottle you wish you'd opened up two bottles that night.
Kim: That's truly the mark of a great bottle. It's the "I want more" feeling when it's all gone.
David: I just thought of something about food pairing...we live in Maryland which is famous for Crabs. If I'm eating steamed crabs I only want cold beer - wine just doesn't go with steamed crabs. It's crabs and beer.
Kim: I agree. But with a crab cake - or other dishes laden with crab - you can choose between a white, a light red such as a Rioja from Spain and of course, a cold beer. Speaking of crabs, there is no crab anywhere as tasty as the blue crabs from the Chesapeake Bay. You won't find better crab meat than jumbo lump crab meat from bay crabs. There are many imitators - from North Carolina to Florida to Louisiana and even all the way to Taiwan - but none compare to the Blue Crabs from the Chesapeake bay - with Old Bay Seasoning.
About the Prices Listed:
You will see that we list a range of prices. That is because we live in Maryland in an area that is close to Washington DC and to Northern Virginia. Prices tend to be more expensive in Montgomery County Maryland since it's a county controlled (read communist) liquor operation. Virginia and some DC purveyors tend to be at the lower end of the price spectrum.
Ratings: Ratings are based on quality and price. What you're getting for what you paid. We use a 5 bottle system with 5 being the highest.
Storage: We store our wines in a Wine Refrigerator. We bring reds up to room temperature. When drinking whites we make sure they are not too cold - this suppresses the fruity flavors of a good white.
Decanting: It's important to decant red wines. We use a standard restaurant decanter with a wide base.
Wine Tasting Reviews
Wine: Abundance Vineyard's 2001 "Abundantly Rich Red"Rating:
4 Bottles
Region: Lodi California - the Mencarini Family Winery - Grapes from this vineyard are grown in various California Regions...Alexander Valley, Russian River Valley, Santa Maria Valley, Sonoma Coast, Ukiah Valley, Paso Robles, Lodi etc.
Winery's Website: www.abundancevineyards.com
Price: $14-$18
What we ate: Chicken Parmiagiana with Caesar Salad and Garlic Bread
About the Wine: This is a meritage blend of several varietals. The Abundance Website describes the wine: "The Abundantly Rich Red is made entirely from our Mencarini Family grapes in Lodi. This vintage of our famous Rich Red is another stellar addition to our reputation for producing outstanding, value oriented wines.The rich blend of old California varietals Zinfandel and Carignane leaves nothing to the imagination. This wine is loaded with intense fruity aromas of Bing cherries, plums and blackberries in contrast with chocolate and toasty aromas contributed by the judicious use of oak barrels. The mouth feel is full with soft, ripe tannins, and the finish is long and almost sweet without being sugary."
Comments
David: Deep, ripe, dark fruits are noticed almost immediatey after opening the bottle. There is a slight toasty oak smell that rounds out and balances the wine. Needs a couple minutes to breathe as the wine has a strong mouth feel.
Kim: This is an awesome, very drinkable red wine. It opened up after only 15-30 minutes of decanting. It's noticably intense flavors make it a bargain for the price. Even though it doesn't have 13 varieties it's flavors are reminiscent of a French Chateaneuf-du-pape.
David: After the 30 minutes or so the wine became noticeably smoother. I agree about your likeness of this wine to a complex Chateaneuf-du-pape. Flavors came out of the wine that make it very pleasing to drink yet strong to acompany very flavorfull foods.
Kim: This is the 6th or 7th bottle I've drank. I've had it with BBQ'd Steak, BBQ'd Pork and Italian Food. It always brings out the best in the food and makes me want more when the bottle is empty. The price is reasonable (hats off the the winery for holding the line on prices - I'm so tired of overpriced California Reds). I highly recommend this wine.
Wine: Castle Rock 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon
Rating:3 Bottles
Region: California - Columbia Valley - shares same latitude as Bordeaux region of France
Winery's Website: www.castlerock.com
Price: $10.99 - $14.99
What we ate: BBQ'd Angus Ribeyes/ Broccoli /
Salad w/ Crumbled Bleu Cheese w/ Balsamic Vinegar-OilComments:
David: It took about an hour to open up but was very drinkable. It had good forward fruit and a balanced mouth feel. I didn't feel any acid at the back of my throat when I sipped it.
Kim: For the price this was a very good wine. The flavor emerged after decanting for awhile. Quite drinkable. I enjoyed it to the last sip.
David: It went well with our BBQ'd steak. It kept flavor with the food and wasn't overpowered by the steak.
Kim: The real issue is that we've bought it again. That's the test of a good wine. Will you buy it again and will you recommend it to your friends? We have bought it again and we do recommend it to our friends.
