Wine For Novices

And The Winning Wine Is...

"A Toast To 2009" was a magnificent evening and great fundraiser for Kalein. Special thanks to O'More College of Design for the use of Abbey Leix mansion and to Mark McGill and his company ProForma for donating our beautiful Kalein wine glasses.

Rhonda & David Kemp took home a room full of wine after winning the evening's blind tasting of almost 40 wines by a landslide with a 2004 Aries Pinot Noir from Robert Sinskey Vineyards. Retail price around $23. This is a GREAT wine and a GREAT value.

Top 10 Wines from "A Toast To 2009"
1. 2004 Aries Pinot Noir-Robert Sinskey Vineyards $23.
Dr. David & Rhonda Kemp
Total Votes-106
Wine Spectator Score-87
2. 2002 Hentley Farm Shiraz $28.
Dr. Mark & Rosemary Hilliard
Total Votes-82
Wine Spectator Score-86
3.2005 Elements Red Wine Artesa Vineyards $17.99
Robert D. Smith
Total Votes-78
WS-N/A
4. 2005 Testarossa Pinot Noir- $40.
Hans Ott
Total Votes-77
Wine Spectator Score-89
5. 2005 Allterra Cabernet Sauvignon $20.
Jeff & Gina Kremkau
Total Votes-71
Wine Spectator Score-N/A
6.2005 Bohemian Cabernet Sauvignon $8. BEST BUY!
Kerrie Hardwick
Total Votes-70
Wine Spectator Score-N/A
7. 2007 Beringer White Zinfandel $5. BEST BUY!
Josh & Rebecca Trombley
Total Votes-68
Wine Spectator Score-N/A
8.2005 Hecula Monastrell $14.
Randy & Chris Elrod
Total Votes-64
Wine Spectator Score-N/A
9.2005 Esser Cabernet $12.
Toby Sturgill
Total Votes-59
Wine Spectator Score-82
10.2006 Rosenblum Zinfandel Rockpile Rockpile Road Vineyard $40.
Spence Smith
Total Votes-59
Wine Spectator Score-91

A Toast To 2009 - A New Years Eve Wine Tasting

Click HERE to obtain more info

Fine & Rare Wine Tasting-May 9-Franklin, TN...

A Fine & Rare Wine Tasting
Friday, May 9
7pm

We will be tasting:

1992 Opus One
1980 Whitehall Lane Cabernet (Alexander Valley)
1990 Whitehall Lane Reserve Cabernet Napa
1990 Silver Oak Alexander Valley
1986 Cain "Five" Napa Red Table Wine
1988 Anselmi Amarone Re Cioto Della Valpolicella
1989 Joseph Phelps Insignia Napa Red Wine
1987 McDowell Syrah Mendocino
1991 Girard Napa Cabernet
1987 Carmenet Sonoma Red Wine

Also featuring gourmet tapas appetizers and a complimentary wine glass.

All proceeds benefit Creative Community, Inc. A 501c3 non-profit Artist Development Center.

$100. per person (RSVP & payment in advance)
Only  25 5 spaces left.

The evening will also feature original watercolors and a wine auction sponsored by Frugal McDoogal
For more Info E-mail me HERE.

For more great posts today on culture and the arts check out Watercooler Wednesday.

Napa Valley Wine Tasting ...

Wines, Cuisine, Photography & Watercolors of Napa Valley

Friday Jan. 25 - Franklin, Tennessee, USA

$50. per person donation (tax-deductible)

(Benefiting the non-profit organizations Red Road and Creative Community) Only 25 11 places remaining.

Taste wines from stellar vineyards such as: Honig, Miner Family, Failla, ZD, Chateau Montelena, and Ehlers Estates.

Reserve Now.

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.

The Sacred & the Succulent

by Angela Hart

Usually, when I have a swig of wine in church, I’m on my knees, acquiescing to the mystery of transubstantiation—the transformation of bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ. It is the rare and happy occasion to be at church sipping luscious Pinots and eating locally baked bread and fare, juxtaposing the sacred with the succulent!

The event was Edgefield Uncorked!, the fifth annual wine-tasting fund-raiser at St. Ann’s Episcopal Church in East Nashville. With flickering expectations, my friend and I donned Saturday-night versions of our Sunday best and headed out. Being West Side girls, it’s always a treat to cross the Cumberland, and this perfectly mild September night, crowned with a full, dazzling moon, was no exception. We were met by the thud of African drums, beating in a tent outside the church; East Nashville’s version of a red carpet, we presumed. African dancing at a wine tasting? We were all in—after a few rounds of vino, of course! Inside the church there was live entertainment throughout the night, with performances by local musicians Brooke Waggoner, The Love Drums, and Ariana Terrell.

We did our once around, taking in the food, wine varietals, and music from each corridor and sanctuary of this neighborhood church. We felt like we were flirting with apples in Eden, all curious, smiley-faced and big-eyed, swooned by the aesthetic of good wines and wholesome foods in such a hallowed setting. I felt sympathetic to poor Eve’s plight; I too have such little discipline when it comes to objects of my affection. Thankfully, the troubles of the human condition were not weighing heavy on me this specific night. Au contraire, I was ready to throw my particular troubles to the sky, allowing God and wine to alternately work their miracles.

Napa Valley Day One

Day One featured Bistro Jeanty signature Tomato Soup and Beef Stew. The word is Wow!

HERE are pics. Lots more to come including tastings and private tours at six wineries so far.

Tasting Wine At A Restaurant- Part 2

I have asked my California friend Dan Perkins to write a regular guest blog here. He is a champion wine taster and wine connoisseur. He is also a triathelete, mountain climber--you get the picture--a true renaissance man.

Here are his astute comments to my blog of November 24.

"Cork taint or what the big boys call TCA or what the even bigger boys call trichloroanisole is a bacteria that inhabits the wine through varied means; most of which occur through affected corks but can also come from the wineries themselves or the equipment used to bottle the wine. TCA is not harmful and at low levels can be mostly unnoticed. The key is what you pointed out; the "smell."

Cork taint can be detected by a musty, "wet coat" kind of odor. Although the wine is drinkable the taste experience first goes through the nose before the tongue and a tainted wine will taste different.

Because cork taint seems to affect about 5% of all wine distributed this has proven to be a significant loss to wine makers over the years. Lately, new methods such as synthetic corks, Stevin screw caps and (my favorite) the new glass closures have been greatly embraced by the industry but with some reticence from the public.

Another thing for your readers to consider is bottle temperature. I have been to some restaurants where keeping their wines exposed in the dining room, to be used as a decoration, often spoils the taste of the wine. Especially, when they are kept near the kitchen. For optimal flavors, wine should be served between 55 and 65 degrees (lower preferably) for reds and 42-55 for whites, depending on varietal. Bottles kept out and near a kitchen can reach temps over 80 degrees. If this happens the taste will be greatly affected and ruin the purpose of pairing that nice $85 bottle of Petite Sirah with a $42 cut of lamb...

So, even if the wine isn't returnable due to winning the bad-wine lottery it is because the people storing the wine for your enjoyment simply weren't prepared for your impeccable standards! Cheers."

An Italian Wine Tasting

Chris and I hosted an "Intimate Evening" of Wines and Watercolors of Italy to benefit O'More School of fashion and design last evening at our home La Maison du Reves.

We tasted our favorite wines gathered during a recent trip to Italy. The evening featured wines from the  Tuscany, Veneto and Peidmont regions.

We did a blind tasting with 28 in attendance. Most were admitted wine novices. I gave a brief history of Italian wines, discussed the classification system and the specific grape varietals of the night. Here are the results:

#7 La Toppa Vino da Tavola 2007 $9.
#6 Capanna Brunello Montalcino Riserva 1998  $35.
#5 Martinega Nebbiolo Langhe 2005 $12.
#4 La Poderina Brunello Montalcino  2001 $28.
#3 Cantalici Chianti Classico 2003 $18.
#2 Ca' La Bionda Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2003 $60.
WINNER:  Rietene Tiziano Super Tuscan 2000 $25. 

The highlight of the evening, however, was decidedly French. Our neighbors, Ken & Linda Moore, provided a rare opportunity to taste one of the finest wines in the world. Two splits of 1975 Chateau d' Yquem Sauternes.  It was absolutley the finest wine tasting experience of my life. A multi-sensory explosion. Both bottles were perfectly preserved with a nose that created heavenly thoughts, the taste was velvety and multi-textured with aromatic citrus, hint of nuts and honey. The most pleasing, sensory wine experience I can conjure in my wildest fantasies. "Liquid Gold".

Pictured with Chris and myself is Dr. Mark Hilliard, President of O'More and the visionary that dreamed up this delightful evening. The proceeds will provide a scholarship for a student to study abroad.

More photographs of the evening HERE.

Easy Guide To Tasting Wine

Take a sip of the wine after enjoying the aroma...

...make sure you cover the entire surface of your tongue

...if

you taste the wine on the front of your tongue-
-it is a sweet, fruity wine.

you taste the wine on the sides of your tongue-
-it is a sour, acidic wine.

you taste the wine on the back of your tongue-
-it is a bitter, tannic* wine.

*Tannins are astringent, bitter-tasting plant polyphenols that bind and precipitate proteins.

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