Michigan Wines

Jonathan and I took a trip to southwest Michigan for the fourth of July weekend and a visit to several wineries. We didn’t have high expectations, brought wine with us to enjoy in the evenings and decided to stay away from overpriced, average bottles of wine. I did think Riesling wines might be intriguing from the area so I was eager to try a few of those. I also wanted to try more ice wines. I’ve only tasted a few so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity. However, we were pleasantly surprised by several wineries and varietals. We purchased more wine than we thought we would. The prices were fair and the wine was good. Plus, I tasted several new grape varietals for my quest of 100. This trip put me around 80. Here are a few tasting notes from some of the wineries we visited. I’ll have more next week.

The Final Day of Spanish Wines

I wouldn’t call myself an expert, but I definitely have a greater appreciation for Spanish wines and a wealth of knowledge to base my wine purchases around. I always enjoyed Spanish wines, and thought they were excellent value wines. However, after three days of studying and tasting Spanish wines, I have a deeper understanding of what makes these wines so special from the soil to the climate to the native grape varietals.

Spanish Wine Education Day 2

I don’t think I’ve ever tasted so many wines in my life. This morning alone we tasted 25 starting with Cava moving on to Rosé and finishing up with reds from Penedés and Castilla-La Mancha. I know what you’re thinking and it’s not all fun and games. There is real learning and research going on here. The afternoon took us to Levante, The Islands (yes, they make wine there too), Extremadura & Madrid and Rioja. It’s been quite a trip these past two days, and we haven’t even begun talking about Andalucía.

A few tasting highlights from day two include: a phenomenal Cava from Gramona. It was a Grand Reserva 2001 Brut with 70% Xarel-lo and 30% Macabeu. This Cava presented a autolysis, which in winemaking is undesirable, but some of the best sparkling wines use this component to create flavors and mouth feel. It creates a bakery or doughy feel and smell. I also thought this Cava showcased rich flavors of almonds and coffee and showed signs of aging. It was by far the best and most unique Cava I have ever tasted.

We also sampled three wines from the Priorat region. These wines typically show lots of red fruit leading to black fruits and fill up the mouth. I though the three examples were rather bold, powerful wines. They were from 2004 and 2005 and could age a few more years, leading to something spectacular. This is one specific region I will start to look for to age a few wines.

Spanish Wine Education Classes Day 1

I survived day one, and my head hasn’t yet exploded. After being accepted into the Spanish wine education classes, I was very excited and then slightly nervous. I hadn’t had any formal wine training in the past and didn’t really know what to expect. The amount of information included in the packets was slightly overwhelming to an average wine lover. I worried about everything, would I spit correctly? Would I use the correct pronunciation for Spanish wine region? Most of all, would I look like an amateur in a room full of professionals?

A Bottle of Wine and New Year’s Resolutions

Photo Credit: Ontanu Mihai

Yes, you’re reading correctly, New Year’s resolutions. Since we are now halfway thorough the year, I thought I’d post an update on how I’m actually progressing on my resolutions. This should also make clear the things I need to work on in the second half of the year.

1. Taste 100 different varietals of wine: I started the year in the low 40s so I thought this would be an easy one to knock off the list. Currently, I am at 62. I’m hoping this weekend’s trip to Michigan and next weeks class will help me knock a few more off my list. I think I can still get to 100 by the end of the year, and if not I’ll have fun trying.

2. Save and organize wine labels: Jonathan has really taken the lead on this one, and we’ve saved over 95% of the labels we’ve drank. We’re still mastering the technique of getting them off the bottle, but we manage. Currently, they are in a folder in the filing cabinet so it might be a while until we get to the organization part.

3. Develop, organize and promote my blog: My famous last words, “it’s a work in progress.” I haven’t done as much work as I would have liked. Partly due to my lack of web knowledge. I’m trying to pick up little things along the way, but it’s a slow process. My goal for the next six months is to work on re-categorizing and adding tags to my existing posts, making my blog a little more user friendly. This is the one I most need to focus on.

4. Education: I’ve started a wine book club to read more wine books. So far we’ve read four books. I’m following other wine writers and bloggers on twitter. Just reading others writing has been a huge help. I’m taking Spanish wine education classes next week in Chicago. This should be a fabulous learning experience.