Saturday Night At Wine Steals

Last night before the rain (and my subsequent congestion) I met my friends Cory and Elbert at Wine Steals in Hillcrest. Truth be told, it's not my favorite place for tasting wines yet almost paradoxically it was the place I chose to meet them. Between the two I have visited I prefer the one in Point Loma, seems less noisy, less congested, fewer "wine posers" and has a much better outdoor dining area. But it was where we met. Before they got there I had sampled the following wines:

2006 Cortijo Rioja. Since I am studying Spanish wines for my certification I wanted to take advantage of their offering it as a special for the night and had the cute server pour a glass. I was a little taken aback by the rather large number of cork particles floating around but since cork can't hurt you I let it pass. After taking it back to the table I took my first sip and was a bit let down. The second sip was no better. While it had some of the expected aromas and flavors (strawberry, spice, hint of tobacco) it was sour, far more than should be expected. The mouthfeel was all off and there was an odd character to the taste. As I looked at I noticed a couple of little white clumps on the inside of the glass... not cork, almost like soap particles. I would have thought I was seeing things but I noticed the guy next to meet was looking at his white wine and rubbing the inside of his glass with a finger trying to remove something. At this point I took the wine back and politely requested something else. I won't review the wine, it wouldn't be fair and I didn't order the same thing for fear of the first bad experience tainting the second glass and that's not fair to the wine.

2004 Tenuta di Arceno Prima Voce. In a fresh glass this little wine didn't disappoint. A Super Tuscan blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Sangiovese (heavy use of the first two), it showed abundant amounts of chocolate, cherries, raspberries, and a hint of earthiness with good acidity and tanin balance with a medium-long finish. The bottle was freshly opened and I could tell that this wine would serve well from being allowed to breath or at least decanted before serving (note to self on this fact) given how it unfolded in the glass over time. I think this wine fits quite well with the "Italian wines are made to go with food" concept I've heard so much about.

Just a note... do you find wine bars often serve their wines too warm? All of the wines on the tasting menu were on a shelf and being served at room temperature. Since we are not in northern Europe, room temperature is not in the 60-ish degree range that I find optimal for red wines.

2006 Paolo Scavino Dolcetto d'Alba

OK, back from my wonderful Hawaii trip (thanks honey, you're wonderful) and after a week of variations on the Mai Tai it's time to get back to wine (by the way, if you are in Honolulu check out the Mai Tai at Hula's... great drink and a fun place). Tonight I opened a bottle of 2006 Paolo Scavino Dolcetto d'Alba. This is a yummy little wine from the Piedmont region of Italy. Normally when people who don't give much thought to Italian wines hear Piedmont they think of Barolo (the regional king) or perhaps Barbaresco (both made from the same grape, Nebbiolo), but Piedmont is home also to Barbera and Dolcetto (both popular reds) as well as Asti and Gavi (popular whites). Of the reds the Dolcetto tends to be the lighter of the lot, very approachable with good juicy fruit, light tannins and solid alcohol delivering dark cherry fruits, almonds and a hint of chocolate. This relatively inexpensive Dolcetto does not fail to deliver in what one would expect. Dark in color, medium-light bodied, mouth watering acidity, I wish I had a good sausage pizza right about now. Definitely worth the $17 per bottle standard price.

Bolla Valpolicella 2006

First day back to work after the Labor Day holiday and since I am still reviewing Italian wines I opened a bottle of Bolla Valpolicella 2006. Not a bad little wine, it comes from the Veneto region of Italy and made from the Molinara, Rondinella, and Corvina grapes (one of the major Veneto grape varietals). The wine is a light cherry red in color telegraphing at least part of the nose and taste quite well. Along with black cherry I detected hints of raisin and maybe a touch of almond. The wine is dry, almost velvety mouth feel, light-to-medium bodied with lip-smacking acidity making for a rather refreshing little red wine. This wine, coming in at around $9 or $10 a bottle, makes for a good end-of-summer sipper.

Diving Into Italians - Gavi

It's nearing the end of summer, my best friend and college roommate has his oldest son starting college, and so it's time to transition my wine education into an area I know almost nothing about, Italian wines. Given the relatively hot temperature I need a white so I pull out a bottle of Stefano Massone Gavi Vigneto Masera 2007 to aid me through a reading of the Piedmont area. And here I thought France was confusing! Burgundy has nothing on Italy when it comes to names and types of wine. So let's start with the basics... Gavi is made from the Cortese grape grown primarily in the Piedmont region (in Northwest Italy... this wine was made in the Capriata d'Orba municipality in the Province of Alessandria). Being a DOCG, this wine was made under some pretty rigorous controls. It is a light crisp white wine, almost lemon yellow in color. Coming in at 12% alcohol you don't get knocked backwards when you bring the nose to the glass to be greeted with citrus, apple and pear aromas. The palate delivers nice light fruit, maybe some green apple (soft at first but gaining a little bite on the finish) and the pear I got from the nose. Light bodied and refreshing with a little minerality and a medium/short finish it makes for a good relaxing summer sipper. I think it would pair nicely with a pesto dish or a light sandwich.