Not Your Mother's Wine Tasting

Friday was clearly a success. A group of people got together to taste wine, and fun ensued. As you see below, I already mentioned the wines we were planning to taste. The two Chardonnays were both decent, and it seemed that people were split on the two. Both had gone through some Malolactic Fermentation, and the BV was smoother and less crisp in comparison to the Columbia Crest. The Pinots seemed to already be ranked for us, from worst to first. The MacMurray was flat and seemed watery. The Sebastiani was a step up. Much more fruit driven and pretty tasty. But the wine of the night appeared to be the Argyle. Asking around, most people chose it as their favorite. It was full flavored but nor overbearing, and hopefully a "gateway" wine into other Oregon Pinot for our guests. The crowd was much younger than before, which resulted in a more informal setting. I believe I described something that night as "F'ing Phenomenal," except I didn't abbreveiate the first word. After the five wines we plowed through some more bottles as a fire was lit outside in the fire pit. These included the Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand, and the Willamette Valley Vineyards 2000 Signature Cuvee, which was simply divine. What began as innocent wine tasting turned into quite the late night party. And hopefully the neighbors didn't mind. We plan on having another tasting in the fall, but keep your eyes peeled for a mid to late summer get together just for kicks. We are off to Martha's Vineyard for the week tomorrow, but I'll be back posting about dinner at Ruth's Chris in Providence and any food and wine we consume on the vacation. Till next time..."You could dip your lobster in the wine."--comment on overly buttery Chardonnay

Tonight, Tonight

No, I am not going through a Smashing Pumpkins phase. Here is a quick rundown of wines for tonight's tasting. (although I am in the mood for a little 1979):

1. Columbia Crest Two Vines Columbia Valley Chardonnay

2. BV Coastal California Chardonnay

3. Sebastiani Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir

4. MacMurray Ranch Central Coast Pinot Noir

5. Argyle Willamette Valley Pinot Noir

A to Zin: Round Two

The second Wine from A to Zin night is less than two weeks away. The date has been set for June 15th. And while it will be an eventful evening no matter what, I still haven't settled on a theme. I am currently leaning towards the Pacific Northwest, but Australia and New Zealand have intriguing as well. Katie mentioned a California vs. Pac-NW comparison tasting, but I think that would be too heavy on Reds. Same as last time, we'll provide the wine if guests are kind enough to provide some appetizers. We are looking forward to another fun and informative night with friends. If you haven't received the "evite" for the night, please leave a comment with your e-mail address here, and I will gladly forward it to you. And if you have a preference on what type of wine you would like (dry, sweet, white, red, even rosé) I'd be more than happy to try and accommodate. As soon as I have finalized a plan, you'll see it here first. Till next time... "[in French] I love the sea, so beautiful, so mysterious... so full of fish."--Luc, French Kiss