Thirsty Thursday - Jefferson Vineyards 2006 Cabernet Franc
January 29, 2009Cabernet Franc, a red Bordeaux grape, is believed to be one of the parents of the better known grape, Cabernet Sauvignon. Franc is a bit lighter in color and the wines are often lighter in body than Cabernet Sauvignon. However Cabernet Franc generally provides excellent flavor and makes for a wine that will pair with many foods. The 2006 Jefferson Vineyards Cabernet Franc is 13% alcohol by volume.
The Cabernet Franc has a nice clear, dark ruby color. It has wonderful aromas of raspberry, cherry, and pepper with hints of vanilla indicating that it has been aged in oak and is developing. It is a dry wine with medium acid. The red fruit flavors dominate over the other complex flavors noted on the nose, but the alcohol comes across on the tongue as being a bit "hot" and unfortunately beats down the fruit flavor some. The taste is more one dimensional than the nose but is still pleasant.
The label on the bottle describes the wine as having a lengthy finish. I disagree. I think it is medium at best. This is an average wine - easy to drink but nothing remarkable. While Jefferson Vineyards suggests pairing it with lighter, well flavored game and meats, I think it is almost more of a pizza wine. But at $18.95 the price is a bit steep for a weekday knock back wine. Interestingly, Jefferson Vineyards has their 2007 Cabernet Franc priced at $14.95. This is probably a more reasonable price range for this bottle.
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Proof Wine Bar, Washington, DC
January 25, 2009Tucked away on the corner of 8th and F NW in the energizing Penn Quarter neighborhood is Proof Wine Bar. It is easily accessed by the Gallery Place/Chinatown Metro station. Dark and cozy the bar has a small area with lounge seating, a bar with seating along it as well as two person high top tables. Past the initial bar area is a dining section with traditional four top tables and booths. Unlike other wine bars that put wine first and food second, Proof's slogan is "Food is the Focus, Wine is the Passion."
The menu focuses on modern american cuisine that uses local, organic, and sustainable ingredients. There is a wide range of menu items starting with cheese and charcuterie, then small first course and larger second course dining options. Additionaly, there is a six course tasting menu for $85 per person with an option for wine parings for $135 per person.
But on to the wine! Proof has a short by the glass list that has a nice variety of both white, red, and sparkling wines. The white and red selections are available in 2, 6, and 8.5 ounce pours. This is a great opportunity to try new wines without buying a whole glass or bottle. The full wine list with bottle selections is extensive. It starts with Champagne and other sparkling wine and then is organized by regions first running through whites of the world then onto reds of the world. Finally, the menu finishes with the dessert wines. The wines range from affordable and moderate to bottles that are thousands of dollars.
Proof is perfect for your favorite foodie or the true wine aficionado. However there is just something a bit stuffy about it. I have no complaints about the wine or food, but it is almost as if the estabishment takes itself too seriously. It is a feeling that is difficut to articulate, but after visiting there a few times now, I have never felt particularly welcome or comfortable. It is as if the staff is content to wait on you, but has no incentive to make sure that you visit again because they know if it is not you it will be someone else. Proof does not motivate you to make it a frequent stop. My experience was not at all unpleasant and I would go there again, but there are other watering holes in DC that are more inviting and welcoming with great wine lists and food menus.
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Thirsty Thursday - Rappahannock Cellars 2007 Viognier
January 21, 2009Rappahannock Cellars in Hume, Virginia, produces a variety of wines including Viognier. Pronounced vee-ohn-yay, this grape is a French grape that is grown in the Rhone Valley and in the Loire Valley in France. However over the years its plantings have expanded and the grape is prevalent in California, Australia, and is very successful in Virginia. Rappahannock's 2007 Viognier is 14.5% alcohol by volume and was purchased at Zola Wine & Kitchen for $21.75.
The wine has a clear golden appearance. It has a wonderful nose of citrus - specifically lemon, flowers, and honeysuckle. Unfortunately many of these aromas do not translate to the palate. It is a dry, medium acid wine. The first thing you taste is oak. Unfortunately, the taste never moves much past the oak. The citrus is there but muted. The floral aromas are completely gone. The oak overpowers the fruit and is not as well integrated as it should be. Rappahannock ferments this wine in stainless steel vats, but ages it in oak barrels. My opinion is that it spent too much time on oak which resulted in a woody flavor that overpowers the remaining flavors.
Unfortunately, this wine is almost, but not quite there. It leaves a sour fruit taste in the mouth. This is particularly disappointing given that most of Rappahannock's wines are enjoyable.
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Veritas Wine Bar, Washington DC
January 19, 2009Just off the corner of Connecticut Avenue and Florida Avenue, a short walk from the Dupont Circle Metro station, you will find the small wine bar, Veritas. The interior is dark but cozy with low lighting and candlelight illuminating the mostly black interior. I was immediately greeted by bar staff that continued to be friendly and knowledgeable throughout the evening.
The wine list may appear somewhat daunting at first, but with calm and patience it quickly makes sense. First, the wines are listed by the glass, whites and then reds. The wines by the glass list is extensive and continually being updated and expanded. After the wines by the glass bottles are listed by region and then again by varietal. That way the menu accommodates your preference for selecting wine. After the wines the menu includes some beer choices, cheese, and charcuterie.
I sampled a taste of a Jacquere from Apremont, France which is in the Loire region. I had never previously heard of the grape or the town. Turns out it is a white grape that has a light scent that makes a fairly neutral white wine. This one tasted lightly of fruit but also of mushrooms and earthiness. It was described by the bartender as a white wine that you can still enjoy when it is cold outside. He hit the nail on the head. It was not so acidic or crisp as to leave you too cold in the winter, but had a nice medium-full body for a white wine.
Veritas also has red and white wine flights and will let you create a flight of your own. I was able to try a number of different varitals that way without having to order a full glass of any one type of wine. This is a great way to try something new without spending a fortune or having a full glass of something you do not like.
Veritas opens at 5 pm daily. By 5:30 on a Friday evening the place was fairly full with people getting off work or looking for a place to start the evening. But the bar had sufficient staff for the number of people and the staff is well versed with the wine list. They were able to make good suggestions and help pair wines with cheeses. If the look and feel of the menu feels somewhat similar to Enology on Wisconsin Avenue it should. The two are sister bars. While Enology limits their menu to American made products, Veritas is its worldly sibling. Structured very similarly, Veritas has wines and food items from all over the world. As for local choices, I only noticed two Virginia wines on the menu. If local wines is what you seek, then you are probably better off at Enology. But for a well rounded global selection, Veritas has it all.
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Thirsty Thursday - St. Michael's Winery Vidal
January 14, 2009The 2007 Vidal from St. Michael's Winery in Saint Michael's, Maryland was purchased from Frederick Wine House. It is a white wine made from the Vidal Blanc grape which St. Michael's grows in Maryland. Vidal Blanc is primarily grown in the northeastern United States and in Canada. This is because it is a grape that does well in cooler climates where other grapes do not. It is often used as a late harvest grape for making luscious dessert wines. The St. Michael's Vidal is a white table wine and is 12.6% alcohol by volume.
The Vidal has a beautiful clear pale lemon appearance. It smells very clean and crisp of lemon, grapefruit, and asparagus. This wine is as refreshing to taste as it is to smell. It is an off-dry wine, which means there is a bit of residual sugar left in the wine after fermentation. However the sugar is very nicely balanced with the acidity so that it is not syrupy at all, but crisp and clean on the tongue. It tastes of citrus fruit, asparagus and a bit of nuttiness. The citrus is not as dominant in the flavor as in the nose, but is balanced well with the other developing flavors.
This wine had nice body and was pleasant and refreshing. It would pair beautifully with spicy or asian foods. It would be perfect with steamed shrimp or crabs smothered in Old Bay while sitting at the end of a dock on a hot summer day on the Chesapeake Bay. Make sure to grab a bottle of the St. Michael's Vidal for the summer.
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Horton Vineyards in Gordonsville, Virginia
January 13, 2009Horton Vineyards in Gordonsville, Virginia makes a good first impression as you travel up the driveway. The main building is stately and invites you in for the wine. But once inside you must travel by abandoned offices to find the tasting room. Once inside I was greeted by a tasting room employee who asked me what I wanted to try. I told him that I was largely unfamiliar with their wines and was looking for some guidance. He responded with, "we have a lot of wines so where do you want to start?" I again repeated that I wasn't sure where to begin with their wines and he basically shrugged and told me just to let him know when I had figured out what I wanted. Gee, thanks.
Eventually, I narrowed it down to a few whites and a few reds. Horton claims to be well known for their Viognier. I thought that the fruit was good but it had a bitter finish that ruined it. They describe their Black Cat Chardonnay as buttery, but I thought it was thin and lacking in fruit. The Vidal Blanc is an off dry white and had more flavor that the other whites but didn't wow me.
Their Stonecastle Red showed berry aromas and dark berry flavors and was pleasant and easy drinking. The 2006 Cabernet Franc had an enjoyable flavor, but was thin. In fact, thin bodied wines was the theme of the day. The 2007 Malbec had notes of tobacco and was smooth and fruity, but had a disappointing body. The Syrah had hardly any flavor, and the Nebbiolo (an Italian grape) tasted of cherry and herb, but was watery. There were two dessert wines that I tried as well. Their "Courage" which is a sweet port wine as well as their Vintage Port could both be described as "just ok."
Again and again the problem with local wines, particularly reds, is a thin watery wine due to overcropping and focusing on quantity over quality. Horton boasts 40 wines on their tasting sheet. Perhaps if they focused on a few instead of providing every possible wine imaginable they would have a few great wines instead of a lot of mediocre wine.
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Thirsty Thursday - Linganore Winecellars Black Raven
January 8, 2009After a small hiatus, Thirsty Thursdays are back and the return takes us to Frederick County Maryland and Linganore Winecellars. I sampled Black Raven which is a "dry red dinner wine." It is 12.5% alcohol by volume. The bottle does not indicate what types of grapes are used in this wine, however the Linganore website describes it as a "Pinot Noir style red." I'm not sure if that means it is made from Pinot Noir or if it is just someone's idea of a Pinot Noir style. This maybe should have been my first clue that I was in for an experience.
This wine has a garnet color and smells like juice instead of wine. The aroma is of cherry cough drop. The taste is similar. It has a sour cherry cough medicine flavor that is bitter. The acidity is high enough that coupled with the bitter taste your face will pucker. Unfortunately, this wine was extremely disappointing. The smell was not good and the taste was bad. It is not simply that this wine is not my preference, but it is a poor quality wine. There is nothing complex or interesting about the beverage. It tastes of bad juice - you would never know that there is alcohol in the bottle. This is one of the few bottles of wine that I would actually pour out after tasting. Amazingly, this winery does incredible festival business and sells tons of wine every year. I think there is a market for juice like beverages that call themselves wine so people will feel sophisticated drinking them. This wine, unfortunately, is the perfect example of why so many do not think that quality wine can be found in Maryland.
NEXT WEEK: Vidal from St. Michael's Winery in Saint Michaels, Maryland. Here's hoping it's palatable.
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Free the Grapes! Improving wine legislation in Maryland
January 6, 2009So many local wine enthusiasts I know are frustrated with the current state of affairs in Maryland when it comes to wine and direct shipping. Once again it is almost time for the Maryland legislature to meet and begin working on bills that they will pass into law. So speak up and loud and make sure that your representatives hear how frustrated you are with current shipping and purchasing availability. Two great resources for this are:
Let's make it clear that Maryland residents want free access to all the wine world has to offer!
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Happy New Year from Grape Leaves Online
January 2, 2009Happy 2009 to all of Grape Leaves Online's readers!! I hope that the New Year brings you heath, happiness, and, of course, great wine! I look forward to sharing exciting updates in local wine throughout the year. Cheers!
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