Wine For Novices

From Wine To Arts

WFN happily announces a new wine tasting and learning experience. A way to turn the joy of wine into empowering young and gifted artists.

Wine tastings that feature regional wine, cuisine and art, and best of all, fun!  The WFN team will travel to the country or region (tough job but somebody has to do it) and bring back the best in wine, cuisine and art. The tasting will feature a relaxed experience from which you will walk away with memorable pleasures and a wider range of knowledge about our fascinating world.

Hosted quarterly in Franklin, TN and limited opportunities for availability in your area.

Dec. 7 - Wines, Cuisine and Watercolors of Italy (Sold Out)

Jan. 25 - Wines, Cuisine & Photography of Napa Valley
(In cooperation with the non-profit organizations Red Road and Creative Community) Only 25 places. Reserve Now.

March 21 - Wines, Cuisine & Art of Spain

May 16  -Wines, Cuisine & Art of Australia

Remainder of Year TBA

For more information or bookings go HERE

Are You Really Drinking Champagne?

by Dan Perkins

New Year’s Eve is arguably the biggest event of the year when you’ll hear a familiar pop and then the fizz sound of bubbles being released in small glasses, which will clink together before a collective, “Cheers!” is chanted. Yes, champagne is the drink of choice for celebration... but is it?

To understand where I’m going with this you need to know French wines, Italian wines or American wines are not described or understood in the same way (this is true basically from country to country but I’ll use these three as the best example). You see here in America a wine is known by its variety. In other words we drink chardonnays and pinot noirs. But in France they drink those two wines as burgundies. Yep! You read that correctly; a white wine in France is called a burgundy but not all white wine is Burgundy.  They also have white Bordeaux. Why is this? Well in France a wine is determined by its region. Same is true for Italy but also is determined by its grape such as a Brunello di Montalcino (I promise not to get into explaining Italian wines just now... there’s not enough or time or space to do it justice).  So, check this out... Cognac is not a better made brandy or distilled liquor in its own right; cognac is a brandy made in the region of Cognac. This is why champagne is a sparkling wine made in the region of... Champagne, France.

Years ago, the French government actually sued the US wine industry for labeling and advertising some of their wines as champagne. This is why today you’ll see American made bubblies as, “sparkling wine.” So now that you know this snotty information you can act like a true Frenchmen this New Year’s Eve and say, “No, no, no you silly person! You are not drinking champagne (use a silly french accent), you are drinking premium sparkling wine made right here in the good ol’ US of A (I know, you just can’t use that silly accent and say ‘good ol’ US of A’ at the same time).”

So, what to drink since the “good ol’ US of A dollar” isn’t doing so well abroad? Well, here are a few of my favorites. And before I go completely California on ya... here’s a surprise.

NV (non-vintage) Veuve Ambal "Blanc de Blancs  Yes, it’s French but not from Champagne and it’s a steal at around 12 bucks! If you can find it; it will be a crowd pleaser!

NV Roederer Estate (from the Champagne producer States side) Brut Rose. Usually around $20 and always consistent! Lots of strawberry fruit and clean palate at the finish.

Domain Chandon Etoile (Moet’s American counterpart) Rich, yeasty and tastes more expensive than it is... around $30 will begin to compete for that complex champagne for twice the cost.

J Shram 2000 Brut (no French connection!) Schramsberg, known as America’s first house of sparkling wine, produces this as their premier bottling and it’s only the best of best vintages. Yeasty, with layers of caramel, vanilla and butter; yet not syrupy at the finish which these types can tend to be. My all around favorite sparkler - period! Forget Dom P. and get the J. Schram.

So, perhaps that can help you as you select a celebration wine (yes, champagne for all you Euro-snobs is still a wine) to ring in the New Year. And in case you get into battle with some wanna-be sophisticates; let them know you enjoy quality and value and raise your American, sparkling wine in an Austrian, crystal glass!

Cheers!

Biltmore Christmas Wine Review

Okay, I told you about our Christmas wine choice HERE. We actually had two bottles of Biltmore Christmas White Wine given to us by our daughter and also by friends Tonda and Keith.

We LOVED it. Hints of Muscat (whats not to love) and delicious citrus. A great smooth white wine that paired well with our dinner.

The WFN family highly recommends it!

$10.99 and you can get it online HERE.

Christmas Meals

Ours...

Creme de Tomate Soup
Roasted Cornish Hens stuffed with wild rice and mandarin oranges glazed with orange marmalade
Cranberry orange baby steamed carrots sauteed in a Marsala wine reduction
Creamed Peas
Biltmore Estates Christmas White wine

Dans...

For me Christmas is the day I yank out my finest bottles and choose. This year I’ll choose from a 2000 Whitehall Lane Leonardini Cabernet, a 1998 Shafer Hillside Select or an 2001 Turley Petite Sirah. The food will determine the final choice... I cook... so, I already have a inkling I’ll go with the Whitehall Lane (monster wine!!!) paired with a roast tenderloin with a pan reduction of cognac, shallots and demiglace, along with crème fraish potatoes and something really chocolaty like a molten chocolate cake to finish. Starters will be my signature cream of carrot soup paired with  Lazy Creek Gewrtz. I still have more planning to do but this is a beginning.

Hey, from Joy and Dan;  Chris and I and the girls, Have a wonderful Christmas!!

Dan Perkins

Dan Perkins learned the fine art of food and wine as he waited tables at an upscale dining establishment in Los Angeles. However, it took the owner of the restaurant to sit him down one night and give him a quick lesson on the value of food and beverage because he was a Bible college student at the time.

A native of northern California, Dan has spent many years traveling to various wineries, furthering his knowledge of the wine industry first hand. He has led several private tours along the off-beaten path through the wine country and networked with several wine makers in furthering his own education.

Several years ago, Dan received an invitation to compete in the California Wine Tasting Championships and received top honors in the professional category as an amateur. Along with his passion for food and wine, Dan is an accomplished triathlete, fitness instructor, award winning playwright and, by profession, the Lead Pastor of Twin Oaks Church in San Jose, California.

Curbing the Curse

by Dan Perkins WFN Guest Blogger

If you’re reading this blog hoping to gain more wine knowledge and how you might enhance your wine drinking experience let me share this little secret with you: It’s not always about the wine. Much of what you’ll learn and what you’ll gain is in what I refer to as the accessories. These are bits of knowledge and shortcuts to making wine a passion and also making wine accessible to everyday living. Unfortunately, this leads to the “curse.”

What is the curse? Well, remember back when you enjoyed that first glass of Sutter Home White Zinfandel? You really liked it. But later you begin to notice that sugary taste and residual headache and before long you were pining for something a bit drier... then sometime after finding Kendall Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay you started to find the wine was a bit flabby with an all too familiar sweetness that caused you to look for a shade of pink in the glass...

So, then you decided a couple of dollars more for a bottle of “nice” chardonnay really wouldn’t make much of an impact on the wallet so you began to regularly purchase Mondavi, Markham or Franciscan... but then white wine just wasn’t cutting it anymore so you decided to make that leap over to the “red” side and before you knew it you were buying wines by the case for four and six hundred dollars a pop! 

Yes, my friends... that is the curse.

Your taste in wine will evolve and as it evolves you’ll notice the differences in why some wines...

Our Christmas Eve Wine

A gift from my daughter and friends Keith and Tonda (Two identical bottles!- double the fun!) I will let you know what we think. Here are the tasting notes from their website.

Hints of tropical fruits and the aroma of peach, banana, and lemon characterize this semi-sweet blend of Muscat Canelli, Gewurztraminer, Riesling, and Chenin Blanc. A delightful choice with desserts or for sipping at holiday gatherings.

$10.99

A Great Wine...

One of my favorite red blends.  2004 Victor Hugo Estate Opulence, $25

Complex and elusive aromas emanate from this beautiful blend.

Spicy oak and assertive tannins. What more can you ask?

Ha!

What to Bring and What’s the Deal?

by Dan Perkins
(regular guest blogger and gold-medal wine tasting champion)

Every year it’s the same. People come to the house during the holidays and as they pass the threshold of the house I’m told, “We wanted to bring a wine but didn’t want to embarrass ourselves, you know... you being a wine connoisseur and all.” What they’re really trying to say is, “We wanted to bring our cheap wine because we think it’s just fine but we think you won’t like it being a wine snob and all!”

True... but bring a wine anyway.

All kidding aside (but those who know me know wine is not a laughing matter), bringing wine to a host can be an intimidating experience! So, here are a couple things to keep in mind.

First, don’t expect your wine to opened that night! This sometimes bothers guests who shell out a small fortune for a bottle they couldn’t afford to enjoy themselves during the year or when you pull out a bottle of wine you’ve saved for a special occasion. It is proper etiquette to bring a bottle but the purpose is to replace one (or several) the host is opening for your pleasure. Remember the host has planned the menu and hopefully paired the wine accordingly. So for you to demand that amazing Zinfandel you brought over be enjoyed with that delicate halibut with ginger glaze and tropical compote might be a bit too pushy and an invitation to never get another invitation. Finally on this point and I would think this goes without saying but I better not assume, when you say your goodnights... leave that bottle there. Just because your host didn’t open your favorite doesn’t mean you get to take it home.

Second, don’t feel the need to impress the host....

A Hat Trick with Igor Larionov

Long a wine lover, former Detroit Red Wings great Igor Larionov has gone from make sweet passes to teammates to passing along great wines to fellow wine aficionados.

Larionov showcased some of the imports from his Triple Overtime Fine Wines this past week at Frugal McDoogal in Nashville.

The former Russian Olympic multi-gold medalist found a home and loyal fan base in Detroit, where he won three Stanley Cups and led the famed Russian Five.

After his retirement, the player known as "the Professor" turned his hobby of loving wine into a business, naming his import company after his game-winning goal in the third overtime of Game 3 of the 2002 Stanley Cup Finals.

Of course, hockey is not far from Larionov's business, as names of his wines include, "Hat Trick," "Slapshot," or Triple Overtime Chardonnay, Cabernet and Enela -- which is the name of his wife spelled backwards, according to a release by his company.