Weekend Trip to Champagne in April?

One of the social groups I'm a member of is the London Wine Lovers Meetup Group. A few of the members are currently researching and planning a long weekend trip for April (Thursday night - Sunday night either 3-6 April or 10-13 April) to the Champagne region. Estimated total cost is around £300 (includes Eurostar, other trains, rental car, hotels, meals, etc) but more details to come in early February. If anyone is interested, please let me know and I will keep you updated. I'm planning on going!

January's Tasting: Pinot Noir

Last night, four of us tasted five different Pinot Noirs. The ostensible objective was to compare New World and Old World style Pinot Noirs. My not-so-secret underlying agenda was to convert a few more people to appreciating American wines, whilst recognising that the styles between New World and Old World will vary.

To start the evening, we enjoyed a light-bodied Alsace Pinot Noir that paired well with the starter of water crackers with goats cheese wrapped in basil and sun-dried tomatoes. Our next taste was a comparison between an Oregon Pinot Noir and a Cote de Nuits Gevrey-Chambertin Burgundy, both from 2004 and around the £20-£30 price point depending on exchange rates and where you buy them. Even though the Gevrey-Chambertin didn't possess as much funkiness or barnyard smell as you might hope from a solid Burgundy, it was appropriately complex and very nice. The Oregonian Belles Souers Pinot fared exceptionally well against the Gevrey-Chambertin; the fruit was bright but not over ripe.

We put the first two wines aside to try a Californian Chalone Pinot Noir against a Vosne-Romanee Burgundy with the main course. I served lamb with a pomegranate relish alongside mashed potatoes and sauteed spinach, both with adequate but restrained amounts of garlic and pepper. This second set of wines didn't match each other exactly for price or vintage, but were still worthy contenders against each other. They were both quite good, and nearly as excellent as the first pair...but maybe that was our taste buds slacking off after a few glasses.

I feel like I cheated a bit with dessert, serving store bought chocolate souffles by Gu, but to be honest, I don't think I could top this brand even if I had made them from scratch. They are excellent. The hot gooey chocolate souffles served with vanilla ice cream continued to go well with the Pinots into the wee hours of the morning...

A summary of the wines tasted is below:

• 2004 Cave de Turckheim Pinot Noir
  (France, Alsace, Turckheim)
• 2004 Beaux-Freres Pinot Noir Belles Soeurs
  (USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley)
• 2004 Domaine Heresztyn Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes
  (France, Burgunday, Cote du Nuits)
• 2005 Chalone Estate Pinot Noir
  (USA, California, Central Coast)
• 2001 Domaine Robert Arnoux Vosne-Romanee
  (France, Burgundy, Cote de Nuits, Vosne-Romanee)

London Pub Review: The Spotted Horse, Putney

Last night I went out in Putney and attempted to rely on the Internet to choose a suitable casual bar, with food options and a decent wine list. I was quite happy in finding the Web site for Lou Hannah, only to discover once I was on the High Street that it's turned into a different bar with a new name, now focusing on cocktails and very little on wine or beer. Hmf.

We walked down the street searching for an alternate venue and decided to give the Spotted Horse a try. It looked cozy and was crowded enough for a Tuesday night to be promising. Still in the mood for wine, I searched the wines by the glass list and was satisfied by the options, but not overly impressed. The Spotted Horse is a pub in the Young's chain, but it still seemed to retain a certain amount of individuality in the mixed furniture, varied seating options and raised central fireplace. The wine list had the predictable crowd-pleasers such as Pinot Grigio and Crianza Rioja by the glass, but I would say that it was overall better-than-average for a pub wine selection.

I opted to try a glass of Roussanne, a Rhone Valley white varietal because I was a. in the mood for white, and b. pleasantly surprised to see something like Roussanne on the menu even in it's Vin de Pays d'Oc (table wine) version. Unfortunately I was served the dregs of an already open (but suctioned close) bottle with a dash of a newly opened bottle to top up the glass. The scent was surprising, almost funky, maybe herbaceous. I couldn't really tell but I was already worried. It tasted pleasant though, and it was expectedly medium-bodied and dry, so I was happy.

I would definitely go back to the Spotted Horse, even for wine, as they do have a number of interesting wines by the bottle on the medium-sized drinks menu. My only complaint is that the tea lights adorning each table kept burning out and after four attempts to secure candles from other tables (that each snuffed out fairly quickly), I gave up.

California Viognier Recommendations

By special request, this post is about California Viognier (pronounced VEE-un-yay). A friend of mine in San Francisco is interested in trying more California Viogniers, but in choosing from restaurant wine lists and off the shelf at stores, she has experienced poor expressions of the varietal more often than the intriguing and solid attempts that many California winemakers do have to offer.

For those who don’t know, Viognier is a white varietal most commonly grown in the northern Rhone Valley of France. One Rhone appellation, Condrieu, is exclusively Viognier. Several New World regions are now experimenting with the varietal, California being one of the leaders. But because it’s not a tried and true varietal with known New World geographies producing exceptional output year-on-year (i.e what Cabernet Sauvignon is to Napa), there are plenty of hit and misses on the shelves of your local wine shops and supermarkets.

Viognier can be extremely floral (think honeysuckle or gardenia) and can include tropical fruit scents such as mango or pineapple. To oversimplify, I think of it as ‘Sauternes-lite’ but with enough acidity to pair well with most foods. I personally really enjoy Viognier and take most opportunities to try it. It’s my substitute Chardonnay for when I want a medium-bodied white that is less acidic than Sauvignon Blanc but without the oak and butter that California Chardonnay can’t seem to escape.

So now that you are intrigued, which ones to try? I’ve listed some recommendations below based on a combination of my own tasting experience as well as reputation of the wine producers for the varietal. These suggestions exclude the vintage, so of course each year will taste a bit different. Also, these Viogniers are mostly priced between $22-$30 USD with the exception of Cline, which is ‘good’ but not ‘great’.

California Viognier recommendations:
Alban (San Luis Obispo) ~$23
Arrowood (Sonoma) ~$30
Calera (Central Coast) ~$28
Cline (Sonoma) $12-$15
Fess Parker (Santa Barbara) $22/$30
Joseph Phelps (Napa) $?
Pipestone Vineyards (Paso Robles) ~ $25

Please post if you’ve tried any of these or have any other California Viognier recommendations to share!

Winter 2008 Wine Tastings

Now that we are firmly in 2008 and everyone claims to be detoxing, it's the perfect time to announce the Winter 2008 Wine Tasting schedule.

We took a break in December, but as we head into the depths of winter, the next few tastings will focus on red varietals, perfect for pairing with hearty roasts and other comfort food. The cost per person will stay at £15 which includes a tasting of at least 6 wines and dinner.

Upcoming Tastings:
Saturday 19th January: Pinot Noir (Old World vs. New World)
Saturday 23rd February: California Reds

Please RSVP via commenting on this post or responding to the email invite.