Thirsty Thursday - Gabriele Rausse 2008 Pinot Grigio
May 29, 2009Well, the humidity is back and here to stay in the DC area, so it's time for refrshing light white that will carry us through the summer season. Say hello to the Gabriele Rausse 2008 Pinot Grigio!!
This is a clear pale lemon wine with youthful aromas of citrus, stone fruit, and vanilla. It is a dry wine with light body. The Pinot Grigio is very easy drinking with flavors of green fruit, stone fruit, and a touch of honey. I found the wine to be extremely pleasant and perfect for the deck on a hot day or with light foods such as seafood or salad.
Oddly, Gabriele Rausse does not have a winery that is open to the public. If you want to grab a bottle of their wines you must seek them out in retail shops, most of which are in the Charlottesville area. Your other option is to catch them at a Virginia wine festival. Of the wines I recently sampled, the Pinot Grigio is, without a doubt, the best of the bunch.
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Thirsty Thursday - Keswick Vineyards 2006 Heritage Estate Reserve
May 21, 2009The Keswick Vineyards 2006 Heritage Estate Reserve is a Bordeaux style blend made from Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Keswick uses only the finest grapes in their Heritage Reserve. The berries are hand sorted by the winemaker to ensure a fine, high quality wine.
This wine has a beautiful dark ruby color. It is a full bodied wine smelling of black fruit and cedar. The flavors are similar. It is smooth on the tongue and not overly tannic. Tannins are what often make your mouth feel dried out when you drink red wine. Here, they give the wine structure and balance.
This is a wine that will age well. It is enjoyable on its own, but enhanced by food. My guest taster agrees that the Heritage would be perfect with a nice piece of grilled steak. Once again, Keswick puts forth a winner.
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Thirsty Thursday - 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon from Barboursville Vineyards
May 14, 2009The 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon from Barboursvile Vineyards is a clear, deep, ruby wine. It has aromas of blalck fruit, mint, and sweet spice. It tastes of black fruit, plum, pepper, and oak.
Have you ever known me to be so succinct? That is exactly how this wine is. Simple and succinct. It is bizzare. The flavors are fine but not exciting. It is not overly tannic nor is it lacking in structure. It is just really, really, boring. I cannot find a specific fault with it. But this wine is nothing remarkable. I truly have nothing else to say about it. I cannot imagine a food that would enhance this wine. There are many others out there that have more to offer.
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Gadino Cellars Goes Green
May 11, 2009Save Mother Earth - Drink Local! Ok, that might be overstating it a bit, but by supporting local wine producers you truly do help by reducing the volume of wine that is shipped all over the earth. The drink local movement is gaining national traction which you can check out on www.drinklocalwine.com. To learn what Virginia winery Gadino Cellars is doing to go green, check out this information that they recently sent out in their newsletter:
Gadino Cellars recently became certified as a GREEN FARM WINERY. Virginia Green is the statewide program that works to reduce the environmental impacts of Virginia's tourism industry. It is a partnership between the Virginia Tourism Corporation and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. The program awards Virginia Green Certification to tourism-related business such as hotels, restaurants and attractions taking voluntary actions to reduce harmful impacts on the environment.
So what does "BUY LOCAL" have to do with Virginia Green? 'Recently, an article in National Geographic magazine titled the TOLL OF WINE provided the Carbon footprint of shipping a bottle of wine from various locations. Not surprisingly, the largest carbon footprint stated in pounds of Carbon Dioxide equivalent is for wine shipped by truck from Napa or other locations on the West Coast to the East Coast. Shipping from places like Australia or Chile are also high because of the great distance involved. So how does this relate to YOU? By choosing to BUY LOCAL Virginia wines, you can help to reduce the carbon footprint and thus the negative impact on the environment.
So not only does buying your favorite local wines help to improve the environment but it also supports local small businesses owners. A win-win. Don't forget to tell your friends in families in other regions about www.drinklocalwine.com so they can also do their part.
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Thirsty Thursday - 2007 Villa Appalaccia Primitivo
May 7, 2009In Southern Virginia, not far from the North Carolina border, you can find Villa Appalaccia Winery. They focus on Italian varietals and the 2007 Primitivo is no exception. Primitivo is originally from Southern Italy and is considered the "cousin" to Zinfandel. The grapes are genetically equivalent but after coming over from Europe became known as Zinfandel in the United States. Both are generally medium to full bodied with ripe fruit flavors and pepper notes.
The Primitivo from Villa Appalaccia is medium garnet in color. It smells youthful with bright red cherry notes. The red cherry comes through on the palate accompanied by flavors of raspberry, clove, pepper, oak, and dried fruit. This is a very pleasant wine with nice acidity and decent complexity. It would pair well with tomato based pasta sauces, cured meats, and cheeses.
How does the Primitivo compare to those made in other regions? It is a good local example. It is a bit more light bodied than others I have had and the classic pepper flavors are somewhat muted. But overall this is a nice local wine. It is especially commendable as Villa Appalaccia is making strides to produce these native Italian grapes that are fairly unusual in this area.
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