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Archive for category Tastings

On The Road with the Barbera Boys (& Gal)

Mar 8

Posted by whitney in Italy, Tastings | 2 Comments



Day 1. After 60 plus barbera wines under our belt, we hit the road for a mini tour of Asti wine country.

wheels on the bus

The guys doing what they do best. Jeremy- talking, Fredric- being a stone cold motha, Thor- smirking and Jon- looking like a Tom Ford model. First stop- a tasting of barbera senza solfiti (without sulfites) at Azienda Paolo Marcarino.

glasses

saignee

vino

We tried a barbera that was blended with 20% dried grapes…a bit reductive and amarone like, otherwise known as bit “too much wine” via Cory. Also tasted was an extremely gulpable cortese (aka “grandpa wine” as says Jeremy) straight from the tank. Lovely little amaretti cookies were served with our final wine, a moscato d’asti, the region’s golden child.

amaretti

the sauce

Thor and the barbera soaked mouth of Mr. Stuart George.

dilap

barrel

As our little bus worked its way up the hills, blankets of snow crept onto the vineyard slopes. We reached the cellar  at Il Falchetto for more barbera. And more moscato. A surprise hit was their “Lurei” 2007 Barbera D’Asti which that morning wasn’t as well received in the blind tasting for whatever reason. The mysteries of the palate and the bottle…

snow vines

cork

barbera

snow

As evening approached, it was time to hit the road again. We had another 37 producers to work through- before dinner.

open

menu

Bread was broken and wine was shared with the winemakers spread throughout the dining room and around our tables. After dinner, the boys hit the town for an ice cold beer- a welcome change of pace for their wine drenched palates. This gal decided to call it a day and hit the hay. Today- another full day of barbera. Giddy up!

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Live From Asti…It’s Barbera Meeting!

Mar 8

Posted by whitney in Italy, Tastings | 2 Comments



We’ve arrived! And I am blogging as I sit here in a room at Palazzo Zoia on my 49th Barbera D’Asti. Are my teeth red? Definitely. Are they being exposed due to the rather large grin on my face? Most certainly.

badge

line up

We’re tasting everything blind, hence the aluminum foil. The lineup is all barbera from Asti today. 2008, 2007 and 2006. So far, what sticks out to me is the use of french oak and whether or not it completely masks the barbera fruit or not. Which it does (when used with a heavy hand.) Barbera is at its best when it can stand alone. And when it can taste like barbera! The stylistic differences of Italian wines, especially in this area of the country, could be an entire other discussion.  A large one. Maybe I’ll get into that another time…

the first pour

In situations like this, it can be difficult to say whether or not a wine would be enjoyed outside of the confines of this room. If we tasted all of these wines again at dinner tonight, while eating, I’m sure a lot of my notes would be completely different. All I can do is make observations and I am lucky enough to have at my disposal almost all of the barberas made in the country for my personal comparative study on the varietal. Which is what I am calling it.  Gotta get back to the wine. On to no. 59.

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The Return to Piemonte

Mar 5

Posted by whitney in Italy, Tastings | 1 Comment



Piemonte, Piedmont for us Americanos, is a region of Italy that holds a special place in my wine-soaked heart. Among the hills of Barolo and Barbaresco, Monforte D’Alba and La Morra is where my love and fascination with Italian wine really took flight. Or rather, a wild vespa ride.

bancodivino

The picture above is one I took at the Banca del Vino in Pollenzo a few months ago. It is the home to an incredible collection of Italian wines within the University of Gastronomic Sciences in the heart of Piemonte wine country.

I fly back to that lovely place tomorrow evening and couldn’t be more excited. Not only because I am going to Italy (duh) but because I get to spend 4 days with one of my favorite grapes- barbera. To me, barbera wines are like old friends. The ones that you can be around 24 hours a day and never tire of. The ones, whom after 2 years of not seeing each other, conversations can flow forth effortlessly as if no time had passed at all. Without getting into acidity and tannins, fruit and body…I hope my simile makes some kind of sense. Barbera makes fun wine, drinkable wine, food friendly wine. Although by this time next week, I am sure I will have a whole lot more to say about it than that.

To give you a glimpse as to what is in store beyond the ridiculous amounts of barbera during Barbera Meeting 2010: barbera sans soufre, a tasting at Gaja with Angelo Gaja himself, tastings at Brovia and Produttori del Barbaresco, dinners and lunches galore (grignolino and oysters anyone?) and so many other crazy amazing things I am beginning to feel a little “we’re not worthy.”  I will be writing and posting and photographing like a mad woman so you’ll be able to experience it all with me. Catch you on the flip side…a presto.

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At the Corner of Delicious & Faulty

Mar 1

Posted by whitney in California, Tastings | 2 Comments



I am feeling the need for brevity. Or perhaps, I am lazy. Instead of waxing on and on about the rest of my time at The Symposium for Professional Wine Writers – which I was just about to do – I will wrap it up in a pretty little bow. A bow made of pictures. And not so many words. Which is seriously ridiculous considering I am covering a wine WRITERS symposium. But let us move right along, lest we muck up the brevity.

hall of famers

Lunch in the Vintners Hall of Fame at CIA Greystone. So many barrels, so little time. I must say the meals (and wine, of course) at this conference probably beat most any other gathering of professionals in the country. Except for possibly a James Beard function. Or a dinner party at Thomas Keller’s house. Or the holiday party for any Batali-Bastianich outpost.

class

Wine Faults 101 with UC Davis’ Mark Krasnow. Luckily the plastic lids were firmly in place for most of this master class. Once removed, the aromas of a winemaker’s worst nightmares ran free. Brett and cork taint, oh my. Fault City, USA. If your next wine smells distinctly like either Band-Aid or horse stall, it has been “contaminated” with a yeast called brettanomyces. I say “contaminated” because some people like having that aroma present in the wine. And those some people are not just of the Burgundian persuasion, but me. Yes. I surprisingly found myself nose deep into the glass of “barnyard” brett not wanting to pull away. And yet- sort of disgusted. But intrigued. Like a car wreck. A car wreck of yeasts.

line up soldiers

graphs

With faults still hanging in the air, Napa winemaker Michael Howell (Cain Vineyard), rushed into the room to our rescue (I had been hypnotized by the brett) and promptly blasted on the AC to a cellar temperature of 55 degrees. He said he needed to get the room back to neutral and since he was more comfortable in those arctic temperatures (I am officially a Californian now) and because we had non-faulted wines to focus on, by all means. This master class was a crash course in Bordeaux varietals. Michael brought along samples of each varietal Cain grows from its 2005 vintage. Those would be cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, merlot, malbec and petit verdot. We then tasted the wine those varietals were blended to create, the Cain 5. Really good wine. And I have to confess I had a special goosebump moment while tasting and smelling the malbec. Man. I’ve never ever considered myself a malbec fan, but jeeze. I could have remained there in that frigid room all day with that glass in my hand.

light box

Just so you know, the Rudd Center for Professional Wine Studies is a thing of beauty. It is every wine geek’s fantasy building full of laboratory styled tasting rooms and classrooms. Every station had a spitting/rinsing sink, completely white counter surfaces (to better see the color of the wine) and my personal favorite gadget- the light box. The photo above is of the merlot on the left and the malbec on the right. The color and clarity difference is very easy to see.

chard

The symposium ended with an invitation to a fun event: the kick-off tasting for Premier Napa by Napa Valley Vintners. There were two rooms. One full of Napa chardonnay  and the other cabernet sauvignon. Not my two most favorite varietals in the world, but an interesting opportunity. The mission: vertical blind taste dozens of producers. Meaning, us tasters knew only the vintage (’06-’08 for chardonnay and ‘05-’07 for cabernet) and the varietal, not the winemakers. With pen and paper in hand I went down the line, one by one. Needless to say I got bored after the 10th chard. And even more restless after the 5th cabernet. Until, stomach rumbling for a Taylor’s Refresher burger, I just gave up and asked for the cheat sheet of producers. I have to admit that one of the chardonnays I actually liked was…the 2007 Cakebread chardonnay. Cakebread! Chardonnay! Malbec! What has become of me…

premier crowd

Well, if I have become anything after those 4 days in Napa, I hope it is more knowledgeable. I know I definitely left with more friends as well as admiration and respect for my fellow wine writers. It’s not the best paying gig around or the most stable, but it sure is fun.

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Barbera Bonanza!

Feb 19

Posted by whitney in Italy, Tastings | 2 Comments



Me? I am a lucky son of a gun. In 2 weeks time, my nose will be deeply planted into a glass of Barbera. Not in my living room. Not in my kitchen. Not at a wine bar in LA. Not even in my bed (which may or may not have happened one or more times.) My nose and that glass of Barbera will be…in Italy. That’s right! And it won’t be just one glass of Barbera but hundreds. Jeremy Parzen, my official fairy godfather of Italian wine blogging, aka Do Bianchi enlisted me along with 7 other bloggers to cover the 2010 Barbera Meeting in Asti. I must confess writing that sentence is seriously surreal. I am almost sure someone named Reality is going to ring tomorrow and inform me of a misunderstanding. Until that call, I will continue on blissfully floating through my days and getting my bags packed.
i_heart_barbera

This is how it goes down. All of us bloggers will be boarding flights from cities all over the country. On March 7 we will descend upon Malpensa airport in Milan with our laptops, empty bellies yearning for Piedmont’s finest grub and mouths ready for massive amounts of Barbera in them. We will spend 4 days tasting Asti, Alba and Monferrato’s finest and blogging like crazy. In the words of Mr. Parzen, it is sure to be a “blogilicious” event. Check out the Barbera Meeting’s official blog where we’ll be posting our thoughts and observations from the tasting and all the other rad dinners and winemaker visits we will be enjoying (the enjoyment factor of this trip is kind of getting out of control.)

<< !!! >>

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The Blind Leading the Blind

Feb 8

Posted by whitney in California, Court of Master Sommeliers, Tastings | 5 Comments



Fail. A big fat F. That is the grade I would have received on my blind tasting exam. If that exam took place in my friend Rachel’s living room this afternoon. Luckily for me, it does not actually occur until March. In Vegas. Where, if I screw up, I can drown my sorrows in whisky and blackjack.

paper bagging it

But, let us remain positive, shall we? OK- down to the nitty. The blind tasting: one of the more daunting tasks in the Court of Master Sommelier certified sommelier exam. 15 minutes will be given to taste a red wine and a white wine and correctly identify the grape varietal, the country of origin and the vintage. Yeah…not hard at all.  When will I ever need to be able to do that in “real life” situations? Probably never. But, by training the olfactory senses in this intense way, it better enables us wine folk to inevitably understand value in a wine, regional and varietal identity, styles of winemaking, etc.

fill in the blank

The Court is comprised of some nice people who have had to take this very same exam at some point in the early stages of their careers. Therefore, they kindly email us test-takers the exact format of the tasting exam ahead of time. They have also devised a Deductive Tasting method to help us out and break down each element of a wine into a clue to its grape and origin. There are 3 main categories:  sight, nose and palate. Thoroughly examine each element of those categories one by one to then deduce what the wine could be (and what it definitely can’t be). Here is a simple breakdown of the deductive method and how what you see, smell and taste translate to a clue about what the wine in the glass could be.

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Meet My New Friend: Mr. Roaster

Feb 3

Posted by whitney in California, Tastings | 2 Comments



randy roaster

I had a palate-awakening experience today. It involved thousands of single origin coffee beans and their smooth-talking boyfriend the San Franciscan Roaster. Let us begin at the quasi beginning- I’ve never been much of a coffee drinker. I’m not one that needs caffeine or desires it, really. My 10 thousand mile a minute brain tends to agree more with chamomile and chai. Soooothing things. But, as a “beverage professional” (yes, I just said that), coffee is something I need to know more about. I leaped at the opportunity to attend a “cupping” (again, yes, I just said that) with some dear friends that are opening a fantastic coffee shop. Nestled among a nondescript stretch of Culver City warehouse landscape, there is a nondescript building secretly housing rooms filled with fresh roasted steam and some of the best beans around.

really steamy

steamy

mister roasty

goody bags

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A Master in the Making

Jan 14

Posted by whitney in California, Court of Master Sommeliers, Tastings | 3 Comments



Every year, The Court of Master Sommeliers holds exams throughout the US and the UK. There are 4 levels of exams: the Introductory course, the Certified exam, Advanced exam and finally the Master Sommelier exam (by invitation only). I started my journey with the Court last year in April when I attended the Intro course in San Diego and took the 1st exam. It was a wonderful couple of days meeting other wine professionals, tasting a lot of wines blind and learning from 3 Master Sommeliers. That exam was multiple choice and covered theory, wine service and spirits. A 60% pass rate is all that is needed to go on to the next level so it’s hard to fail if you have done any kind of studying at all. Or paid attention to any of the lectures the day prior.  Even still, my heart pounded as they were reading the names of the list of people who had passed and received a Court pin (I so wanted that pin). There was no way I could fail, right? That would be embarrassing.

lapel

I passed. That’s my pin, right up there. In March, I will take the Certified Sommelier exam and it doesn’t hurt that I will be taking said exam at the Bellagio in Vegas. Not bad. Not bad at all. After I pass, I can then officially call myself a sommelier. But, to be honest, you don’t need a certificate or pin that says you are a sommelier to work in this business or be a sommelier. You just need to know your stuff. But I view it as a rite of passage and a great challenge. The worst thing that could come out of it is me learning more.

The one-day exam is in 3 parts; written theory, a blind tasting of 2 wines and practical service. Over the next few months, I will take you with me on my studying adventure.  I’ll be blind tasting as much as possible, doing a lot of reading and perfecting my champagne-opening  and wine-decanting skills. In addition to learning how to count cards. Viva Las Vegas!

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Year in Review: A Glass-by-Glass Play-by-Play

Jan 2

Posted by whitney in California, Italy, Tastings | 3 Comments



I had a great year. There is no denying that. Mostly due to a spectacular summer in Los Angeles followed by an even more spectacular solo journey through Italy. Also known as “the trip of my dreams.” In keeping with the obligatory New Year’s blog post of something along the lines of Best Wines of the Year, My Top Ten Bottles of 2009, etc. I thought I would take a look back at some of my favorite drinking experiences as seen through the lens of my Blackberry’s handy little camera. It is, dare I say, a Brunello Behind the Scenes.  Perhaps, True Hollywood Story: Brunellos Having Too Much Fun. Maybe even True Life: I’m ubriaca. I shall end there, lest I get carried away.

But, to further clarify, I say favorite experiences and not favorite drink or wine or bottle because sometimes the best glass of wine has not so much to do with what is in the glass but everything outside of it.  It is the company, the laughs, the stories told, the favorite neighborhood bar, old friends reuniting, new friends being made, impromptu guitar solos and heavenly pasta dinners. The level of enjoyment of the wine and of the moment fuse together, simultaneously enhancing the other. So, without further ado…

bazaar

The magical mojito from the Bazaar in Los Angeles. Followed by one of the more interesting dining experiences I've ever had. Proof of artistic expression and innovation on a plate and in a glass.

summer staple

The staple of my summer at my favorite bar seat in town, Pizzeria Mozza. This was a Bastianich refosco rose from Friuli.

fizz & friendship

Plastic cups and lambrusco. I know how to make it classy. In the first days of my trip in Italy with one of my best friends. We were starving and had our aperitivo hour furnished by a campsite grocery. It was cheap, delicious and entirely satisfying.

remains of the day

A not at all unusual lunchtime spread while working the harvest at De Conciliis. That day was the pinot noir battle in which we raided Bruno's cellar for 3 different pinots: one from Italy (1998 La Palazzola), one from France (2005 Domaine d l'Arlot) and one from Oregon (2006 Drouhin). Italy won! And we were not at all biased, of course.

winner declared

A Saturday night lamb bbq at my boss Bruno's home where we proceeded to open up 8 different fantastic Italian wines (and way too much grappa). At the end of it all, he stuck his knife in the neck of the winner (we liked having competitions, if you couldn't tell.) A 2005 Langhe Nebbiolo from Bartolo Mascarello.

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The Pride of the Bluegrass

Dec 23

Posted by whitney in Tastings | No Comments



road

A little known fact: Kentucky was home to the country’s first ever commercial vineyard. I know! I was just as surprised to learn this as you. It was planted in Nicholasville in 1798 by Jean Jacques Dufour, the winemaker for the Marquis de Lafayette. Fancy. Over the next 100 years Kentucky became one of the largest wine producers in the country. But, unfortunately, Prohibition put the kibosh on all that. In the past few decades, however, more and more farmers began to realize that their land was prime for grape growing. Thus, the resurgence of Kentucky wine.

medal winner

I am back home here in Kentucky for the holidays and couldn’t miss the opportunity to taste some KY vino! I was excited to try some American grapes like norton, chambourcin, niagara and seyval blanc. American winemaking grapes come from the Vitis Labrusca family as opposed to Vitis Vinifera (chardonnay, merlot, etc). And being truly girly and southern, I was even more excited to taste some fruit wines. I drove out to Versailles through horse farms and barns and….vines. Of course, grape vines! It’s funny what you notice when you’re looking for it. I lived here for 17 years and never did I once see a single vine.

I arrived at a small barn-like building surrounded by bare vines and blackberry bushes. This was Wildside Winery. It is a small operation producing only 1,500 cases a year. They make wines from the grapes I mentioned above and also quite a few fruit wines. The standout for me was the blackberry wine. Exactly like biting into a ripe, juicy blackberry. There was very little added sugar so the tartness of the fruit was still very present. I had a childhood flashback moment as I imagined I was in Anne of Green Gables drinking out of a cordial glass and getting tipsy.  I also liked a red wine made from the cynthiana grape, but overall my tasting experience was less than stellar. Perhaps I just don’t fancy many of these American varietals I tried. I guess it is yet to be known, as I still have many more producers to try from this area. But, I do have hope for our Kentucky winemakers for they are improving year by year and developing their technique.

label workshop

If anything, Wildside was incredibly charming. The tasting room is also the cellar and where the fermenting tanks are held. Oh, and also the bottling and labeling area. And a gift shop. So, a small operation indeed. As I left with a bottle of blackberry wine in hand I was wished  ”Merry Christmas.” And I’m very sure this Christmas will be merry. And jolly. Just me, my family, a bright and shining Christmas tree and a glass full of blackberry wine. It’s the simple things in life… And for you, Santa and I wish you much happiness and a glass always full!

seasons greetings

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