Recent Wine Blog Entries

Grills Seafood Deck & Tiki Bar

A Tiki Bar with good wine????  I know that it sounds unlikely, but I’ve discovered one and it will knock your socks off!

Located in Cape Canaveral, FL, Grills Seafood Deck & Tiki Bar is the real deal.  They have plenty of indoor seating, along with a great outside deck and bar where one can eat good food, drink some great wine, listen to fun live music, all while enjoying the water front view.

I’ve visited Grills a few times over the years, and I remembered that they have some darned good wines on their list, served in nice glassware (not the typical Tiki Bar plastic cups).  My most recent visit was this past weekend, and I was surprised that I hadn’t remembered another important thing about their wine list:  the prices!  I was with a good-sized group, so we got to try a few different bottles.

First up was a 2012 Cakebread Chardonnay.  This is light and crisp, unlike the oak bombs that one often comes to expect from Napa Chardonnay.  With citrus, pear and ripe green apple, this wine was a great way to start the day of tasting.  Its lively acidity makes it a great pairing with many of the items on the Grill’s menu!  Oh, and did I mention that the list price is $55?

The second wine of the day was a 2010 Swanson Merlot from Oakville in Napa for $36.  This wine is composed of 83% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Petite Verdot.  On the nose are plum and coffee.  The palate has blackberry,  black cherry, the plum and soft tannins.  It has a very pleasant mouth feel and a good finish.  It’s definitely a winner, especially at this price point!

Next up was the 2005 Opus One.  We couldn’t believe that they have the ’05 Opus on the menu for the very consumer friendly price of $150 per bottle.  We ordered two!  This Bordeaux blend has 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 
1% Malbec.  There is licorice on the nose, along with some mint, blackberry, plum and violet.  The palate sang!   It is beautifully balanced with chocolate, black fruit, black olive and an Old World earthiness.  Interestingly, I tasted the ’05 Opus at the winery in February and it was going for $225 a bottle!  Can you see why I love Grills???

Last but not least was the 2005 Cakebread Cabernet Sauvignon, made of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc.   On the nose are dark cherry and vanilla.  There is still a lot of fruit on the palate, especially blackberries, sweet currant, ripe plum and even cassis.  This wine was a lovely way to end the tasting.  All of this for $85.  In a restaurant!!!!!

The evening itself ended out back with a gorgeous sunset.  What more could we ask for???

I’m almost afraid to post these prices because I don’t want them to jack up the costs on the wine list.  I have heard, however, that the owner of Grills is a huge wine lover (obviously) and that he loves to offer these lovely wines at a price people can afford.

So … if you live in Florida, or plan on visiting anytime soon, be sure to stop by Grills for a casual bite and a nice bottle at a very fair price!  Now remember, it’s a Tiki Bar!  Grills is laid back and a bit rustic.  Don’t expect anything hoity toity here!  I do, however, think that they could almost be renamed “Grills Seafood & Tiki “Wine” Bar”!!!

My July Wine of the Month

Gloria Ferrer
2005 Brut Royal Cuvée
Carneros
66% Pinot Noir
34% Chardonnay

José and Gloria Ferrer, owners of the successful Spanish Cava producer Freixenet, established Gloria Ferrer Caves & Vineyards in 1986.  This was the first sparkling wine house to open in California’s famous Carneros region.  The Carneros AVA is actually located in both Napa and Sonoma counties, with Gloria Ferrer sitting solely in Sonoma County.  The winery uses their Spanish traditions and centuries-old winemaking practices to create some wonderful sparkling and still wines.

The inaugural vintage of “Royal Cuvée” was first served to King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia of Spain during their visit to California in 1987.  It has since been poured at the White House, and consistently receives very good ratings with the many wine publications.  Not to dwell on ratings, because I believe YOUR nose and palate are what counts, this ’05 vintage received 91 points from Wine Spectator and 90 points from Wine Enthusiast.   This is impressive for a $30 to $35 bottle of sparkling wine.

The Wine – Gloria Ferrer’s Brut Royal Cuvée has long been one of my favorites, and the 2005 is absolutely lovely.  On the nose are apple, raspberry, brioche and a touch of ginger.  The palate begins with a pleasant eruption of bubbles and acidity, followed by lemon curd, apple and pear.  It is well balanced and has a nice foamy mousse and creamy mouth feel.  It paired beautifully with some Brie cheese I was enjoying, and definitely shows characteristics of both the Pinot Noir and the Chardonnay grapes used in this well made bubbly!

Visiting the Winery – Gloria Ferrer Caves & Vineyards is always our first stop when visiting Napa and Sonoma.  This is not the typical California tasting room.  Here you actually purchase a glass (or bottle!) of sparkling or still wine at the bar when you walk in.  You then head outside to sit at a table and a friendly tasting room attendant brings the wine out to you. They serve you these really yummy, spiced almonds and you sit on their patio and look at the UNBELIEVABLY gorgeous view of the vineyards and the valley.  It’s always a great way to start the Wine Country experience.

The Journey – Gloria Ferrer Caves & Vineyards is located 40 miles north of San Francisco at the southern tip of Sonoma County.  It’s the perfect first stop from the San Fran airport heading into either Napa or Sonoma.  They are located right on Carneros Highway 121.  This is also called Arnold Drive, which is the street name you should plug into your GPS.  Once you pull onto their driveway you will have a lovely drive through the vineyards, with their expansive winery awaiting you above.  In my opinion, this is a must visit spot on any Napa/Sonoma adventure!

Check them out at:  www.gloriaferrer.com

If you see this wine in your favorite wine store, be sure to grab some!

Franciacorta!!!

June 2nd was one fun night!  Our tasting group got together for an educational tasting of Franciacorta.  We normally do daytime tastings, but agreed upon an evening gathering for this tasting.  Who in their right mind wants to spit high quality bubbly????

In case you’re not familiar with Franciacorta, this is a wine area in the Lombardy region of Northern Italy.  The Terre di Franciacorta DOC represents the area’s fine still wines, while the Franciacorta DOCG represents the sparkling wines made in this region via the méthode traditionelle, which is the “traditional method” of the Champagne region of France.  In Italy this method is called Metodo Classico or Matedo Tradizional.

As you probably know there are many other famous sparkling wines made in Italy.  Prosecco, Brachetto d’Acqui, Lambrusco and Moscato D’Asti are just a few of the bubblies that are becoming huge sellers in the US.  These wines are usually made using the tank method, also known as Charmat, which is when the second fermentation takes place in a large tank rather than in the bottle.  This isn’t necessarily bad.  In fact, many winemakers believe that this is the preferred method for sparkling wines that are produced from aromatic grape varieties (such as Riesling and Moscato) because the yeast characteristic often found in Champagne can upstage these specific grapes.

Franciacorta sparkling wines, however, are produced byway of the second fermentation occurring in the bottle, as is done in the Champagne region in France.  In fact, Franciacorta is the only region in Italy that REQUIRES sparkling wine be made via the traditional method of the Champagne region, and they are widely regarded as Italy’s finest sparkling wine. The grapes used for Franciacorta are Chardonnay and Pinot Noir (also called Pinot Nero), with Pinot Bianco (Pinot Blanc) also allowed.  By law, the Non-Vintage wines of this region must be aged for at least 25 months after harvest, with at least 18 months in contact with the yeast in the bottle.  For Vintage Franciacorta these requirements change to 37 months for each.

We sampled four lovely wines that night.

The first was the Il Mosnel Brut N/V, composed of 60% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Blanc and 10% Pinot Noir.  This delicate Franciacorta is crisp and refreshing and was a great way to begin the night.  It has green apple and unripe pair on the nose and palate.  The mouth feel is very foaming and fun and it displays firm, small beads.  It spent 18 months sur lie and is aged another 24 months in bottle before being released.

Our second wine was a light and youthful bubbly.  The Franciacorta Brut 25 Azienda Agricola Fratelli Berlucchi is 100% Chardonnay with wonderful yeast and bread crust aromas spilling from the glass.  The color is straw yellow and has bright, fresh bubbles that tickle the palate.  The green apple and unripe pineapple kept me wanting to drink more!  Azienda Agricola Fratelli Berluchhi is owned by five brothers who are keeping their father Antonio’s wine dreams alive.  By the way, the “25” is named after the number of months it takes to get from the grape to the bottle, as mentioned above.

Next up was the 2008 Contadi Castaldi Rosè.  In Franciacorta, rosè wines must contain at least 15% Pinot Nero.  This 2008 actually has 80%, along with 20% Chardonnay.  The color is of bright copper due to the large amount of Pinot Noir.  The complex nose has strawberries and a nice floral note.  On the palate are the strawberries and some clove and the mousse is nice and creamy.  This was my favorite Franciacorta of the evening.

The final sparkling wine of the evening was the Riserva Pas Dosè Origines 2007 Lantieri de Paratico.   “Pas Dosè“ stands for “zero-dosage”.  I’ll explain!  Right before bottling a sparkling wine that is being made in the méthode traditionelle, a small amount of “dosage” is added.  Dosage is basically just a sweet wine.  How much dosage is added determines how sweet the final bubbly will be.  The initial wine (before the dosage is added) is extremely dry because all of the sugar has been converted to alcohol.  Even bubbly that ends up dry usually has dosage added to balance out the high acidity of that initial wine, and gives the final wine more body and complexity.  When no dosage whatsoever is added the sparkling wine will then be called “zero-dosage”.  Other terms are “brut nature” and “sauvage”. 

This Riserva Pas Dosè Origines 2007 Lantieri de Paratico is almost golden in color with fine and continuous bubbles streaming up the glass.  On the nose are ripe golden apple, some orange peel and a bit of spiciness.  The palate is dry, but with such a nice fruitiness and warmth that it does not have the bitter dryness of many zero-dosage sparkling wines I’ve tasted in the past.  It has a long spicy finish.

After tasting four fabulous sparkling wine from Italy’s Franciacorta region, what do you think that a group of eight sommeliers did?  We opened more wine, of course!  A fun night indeed!

The next time you’re looking for a nice bottle of sparking wine, keep Franciacorta in mind.  You won’t be disappointed!

www.franciacorta.net

Calcareous Vineyard

If you read my blog on a regular basis you’ll know that I’m a sucker for the Rhone varietals.  The Rhone Valley in France is my wine heaven, but Paso Robles is an area that is doing fabulous things with Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre and the rest of the Rhone grapes.

Lloyd Messer and his daughter Dana Brown, both experienced wine distributors in Iowa, founded Calcareous Vineyard in 2000.  They shared the dream of owning and operating a winery of their own and after researching many renowned wine regions around the world decided that California’s Central Coast was where they wanted their dream to come true.  They named their winery “Calcareous” after the Latin word describing the white colored lime deposit soil.  Their goal and motto has been to “Let the Soil Speak”, and you can taste it in their wines.

Sadly Lloyd Messer passed in 2006, so today Dana and her sister Ericka are keeping the dream alive!

I opened the 2010 Calcareous Vineyard Grenache-Mourvedre tonight, which is 57% Grenache and 43% Mourvedre.  After first pouring a glass the oak was overwhelming, so I decided to decant it for a bit.  Ahhhhh … what a difference an hour can make.

On the nose are plum, cherry, black pepper and cinnamon.  The palate confirms the aromas with the cinnamon even more pronounced, but in a good way.  I love it!  There is also some licorice there that adds to the overall taste and finish.  After giving it the time to decant, it is a well-balanced wine with some really fun things going on and a medium-plus finish.  I’m definitely going to be checking out more wines from Calcareous Vineyard!

If you’d like to do the same, here is Calcareous’ website:  http://www.calcareous.com

I had a really fun wine the other night that probably isn’t well known to a lot of wine lovers.  The winery that produces it, however, probably is!

Carter Cellars’ first vintage was in 1998, but Mark Carter’s wine journey began much earlier than that.  Carter House, a small bed and breakfast when it was built in the mid 1980’s in Eureka, CA, became so popular that he and his wife needed to expand the lodging and open a restaurant.    Their now well-loved Restaurant 301 was created, and Mr. Carter began compiling a wine list that today is absolutely amazing and is consistently a Wine Spectator Grand Award winner.    Along the way he met many successful winemakers and became especially friendly with legendary winemaker Nils Venge.   Now known as the “King of Cab”, Venge was Groth’s winemaker whose 1985 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve was awarded the first perfect score of 100 points by Robert Parker for a California wine!

Together the two men formed a partnership, sourcing fruit from some of the best vineyards in Napa and beginning Carter Cellars.  It didn’t take long for Carter Cellars to get rave reviews of their own, including a 100 point score from Parker for their 2002 Beckstoffer To Kalon Cab! 

Knowing that not all wine lovers can afford some of their wines, Carter wanted to offer a wine that is sourced from outstanding fruit and great vineyards, but can also be affordable to more wine lovers.  Named after Carter’s “good luck table” at Restaurant 301, Table 5 was born!  Years earlier it was at Carter House’s table 5 that he met Fred Schrader (of Schrader Cellars), who agreed to source the aspiring winery owner grapes from Schrader’s premier vineyard in Napa, which enabled Carter Cellars to make their first wine.

The 2010 Table 5 Napa Red is a Right Bank Bordeaux blend of Merlot (Carter’s favorite varietal) and Cabernet Sauvignon.  Smooth and easy drinking, this wine has lush dark fruits including blackberry and black current.  It’s not the most complex wine in their portfolio, but it is well balanced with some vanilla, baking spices and very smooth tannins.  It is a food friendly wine and went very well with the pizza I had that night.

I also love the label.  Mark Carter’s son Joseph designed the playfully appealing front and back labels, which are very eye-catching and would be difficult to not grab off of the shelf at your local wine retailer!

In the $40 range, I would buy this wine again and I definitely want to check out some more of Carter Cellar’s offerings.

 

 

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