Dallas Wine Chick

A Bubbly Review: Domaine Carneros Brut Rosé and Poema Brut Cava

If you consistently read this blog or have ever met me, you know that I am a fan of all things champagne, sparkling or bubbly.  You also may know that last year I lost several people who were dear to me and I vowed that I would try to make every day a champagne occasion.  That was why when I received two bottles of bubbly from my friends at Kobrand, I was very happy.

What Happens When Moms Don’t Attend Y Guides

My husband and daughter were camping at a Y Guides (formerly Indian Princesses before we got all politically correct) retreat, so I had several of the gals in my girl’s wine over and pulled out the bubbles.

Our first bottle was the Domaine Carneros Brut Rosé 06. It was a fabulous fruit and floral blend with rose petals, peach and hints of raspberry, strawberry and great balance. A blend of 55% Pinot Noir, 45% Chardonnay, the Brut Rose retails for $36 and is worth every penny.  
 

The other sparkling provided was a Poema Brut Cava from the Penedès region in northeastern Spain.  This was nice, crisp with lots of pear, spice and almost a baked bread finish.  Quite a bargain at under $11 and a great summer sparkler.

Kid In A Candy Store: Serendipity Portfolio Tasting

Occasionally I get the opportunity to truly be a big kid in a “candy store.”  In the wine world, these opportunities are known as portfolio tastings, where a distributor displays all of its wines for sale to a particular market.  For me, it’s like receiving the Barbie Townhouse that I got when I was seven.  That was one fabulous Christmas.  Spoiler alert: Incidentally this was the same year I learned about the reality of Santa.  While putting together the aforementioned Barbie Townhouse, my father let out a stream of words that I never heard from him before, and still have not heard since.  This caused me to leave my bed to investigate.  I have to say that since I have become a parent and dealt with “some assembly required.” I totally understand the reason for his outburst.

Last week, I arrived at the Palomar Hotel for Serendipity Wine Imports Texas Tour of 2011.  There before me were approximately 250 wines that I could taste.  Yes, 250 wines.  Absolutely overwhelming.  When I go to these I always try to peruse all the information in advance so I can make informed decisions.  My checklist usually starts out simple – am I familiar with the wines, are they new to Texas, what is the buzz from the other folks attending and what just looks interesting?  I try to hit those first.  Then, I start the reconnaissance portion of the mission by asking the folks who are pouring – if I was to try one or two of your wines, which ones do you recommend?  You avoid kissing a lot of frogs this way.  But, you also miss out on the opportunity at times to try new vintages – but did I mention there were 250 wines?

Sometimes you run into some old friends. I was thrilled to finally meet Mitch Bakich from Donati Vineyards and taste his new vintage of Claret, which was a delightful big red blend.  I hosted some of his former co-workers a few years ago when they came to Dallas and set up some events for them to gain Dallas exposure.  We ended the day with a party at my house.  At one point we figured they were lost as there was a long delay in them getting from the wine bar to my casa.  I later found out they had “committed a random act of wine” by stopping a neighbor and gifting him with a leftover bottle of vino.  My kind of people.

I also was thrilled to run into Ginger Dollins from Domaine Serene, one of my favorite Pinot producers from Oregon.   The full line up of Pinots (06 Evenstad Reserve, 07 Yamhill Cuvee) and one Syrah (07 Rockblock SoNo) were delightful and topped my favorite list.  The Domaine Serene Pinot Noir Grace Reserve was elegant, silky and filled with rich stone fruit.  This wine rocked.

Some of my other favorites included:

• Blue Rock 06 Cabernet Alexander Valley.  Big fruit, cherry, licorice – this wine continued to evolve in the glass.  The name Blue Rock comes from the soils where the vineyards are planted on top of rock.
• Blue Rock 05 Syrah.  Full of vanilla, currant and blackberry.  Sadly, this is the last vintage since I heard several times over the course of this event that syrah doesn’t sell.  That’s a damn shame as this is a great wine.
• Monmartre Brut Sparkling, which just debuted in Texas last month, is a fresh light sparking that is perfect for an aperitif from Montmartre, the heart of Paris.
• Bonny Doon 06 Le Cigare Volant.  This earthy Rhone blend is full of ripe fruit, but with almost a rosemary herbal nose to it.  A nice and well balanced wine.  And, one of my favorites folks on Twitter @megmaker works here, so I was very excited to try the wine.
• Bonny Doon 09 Ca’ del Solo Muscat. This one is delightful but hard to describe as it is a dry Muscat, with the floral nose you would expect, but with a crispness you don’t.

On my way out, I was given a secret handshake from my friend, Eddie Eaken from Veritas, and led to another table.  Behold was a decanter and I had the chance to taste the 06 Poderi Aldo Conterno Colonnello Bussia, Barolo DOCG, Italy.  It was a symphony of flavors in a glass – cherry, earth, herbs, licorice — and it kept me smiling the whole way home.  While I probably only sampled less than 20 percent of the wines featured, I can tell you I am looking forward to continuing my Serendipity research.

My Life as a Spy: Decoder Ring and Sherry?

I received a very cryptic email from the Sherry Society a few months ago asking me to be a guest blogger.  The Society was formed by a group of individuals whose primary concern was the artful dissemination of their favorite beverage, sherry.  As a newly ordained member of the Secret Sherry Society, I’d tell you about all my membership perks, but I’d have to change my name back from Vicky (click link below for context).

The stipulation was that I had to write a blog about … you guessed it – sherry.  I happened to have an old bottle of sherry that I procured on a trip to Spain several years ago.  Here’s my experience with a sherry that is a few years younger than I am.

She’s leaving on Midnight Train to Saint-Emilion

I know you’ve heard the old saying, “Be careful what you wish for….”  About a month ago, I was lamenting the fact that review wines were stacking up in my kitchen and I posted on Facebook that I needed some tasting assistance.  Naturally, several people immediately jumped to help and the next thing I knew, Lea Cromer had arranged for our tasting to be held at Saint-Emilion Restaurant.com in Ft. Worth, TX for a nominal fee. 

First, I had to figure out how to get a bunch of folks from Dallas to Fort Worth without having to drive.  We were planning to drink 16 review wines and we were ready for some fun.  Sure, we could have paid for a driver, but since it was the midst of the holidays we didn’t want to spend the funds.  In most metropolitan cities, this would not be that big of a deal, but in Texas, public transportation is not an easy feat.

We found out the Trinity Railway Express would get us from point A to point B in less than an hour.  Seemed easy.  Notsomuch.  My friend, Julie, and I took a taxi from my house to the station and found it difficult to navigate with someone else driving.  Actually, that’s an understatement.  Do you remember the scene from National Lampoon’s European Vacation?  We had our Look kids.  There’s Big Ben.  There’s Parliament moments.  The real irony occurred when several of my friends tried to (gasp) drive their cars to the station and park.  That’s when we found out that the ample lot located next to the station is closed and they wanted three women driving separately to park 15 minutes away and walk… because that is safe and makes sense? 

I must admit.  Once we got on the train we planned to clandestinely pour some wines into coffee cups to toast the journey.  The train was so packed that was not a reality, but I know some of the conversations that we had definitely were not what the daily commuters were used to overhearing.  Once we hit Fort Worth, we piled (and I mean piled) into the taxi where we were finally en route to Saint-Emilion Restaurant, one of Fort Worth’s treasures.

In the past, I haven’t spent a great deal of time in Fort Worth outside of client business or the arts community, but I can’t put into words how lovely and hospitable the owner, Bernard Tronche, was to us. He truly rolled out the red carpet.

Bernard had arranged for the tasting wines to be properly chilled and stemware was waiting when we arrived.  Our aperitif was the Biltmore Estate Blanc de Blancs Methode Champenoise.  Made of chardonnay grapes, it was floral, had a touch of honey and some citrus notes.  A very nice sparkling for $24.99.

Once we had finished our sparkling, Bernard began to bring out lovely plates of cheeses, frog legs, escargots and freshly baked warm bread to complement the food.   There were arsenal meats, goat cheese rolled in spices, almonds, olives and an amazing bruschetta appetizer that I couldn’t stop eating. 

My favorites of the 16 wines that we reviewed:

Favorite Wines

• Cupcake Sauvignon Blanc 09.  At $13.99, we were pleasantly surprised with this wine.  Lots of citrus, but with a touch of pineapple that made it balanced. It was named by one of the attendees as her 2011 “lakehouse wine.”
• Blackstone Sonoma Reserve Rubric 07.  I had a bit of a bias against the Blackstone wines, but really enjoyed the Rubic.  Big notes of blackberry and a caramel smoothness made this a nice drinking experience. Priced at $22.  The Blackstone Sonoma Reserve Cabernet 07 also received some good table reviews.
• Caviste Carneros Pinot Noir 07.  Lea, who reps several wines with retailers, brought this one made by Acacia.  It had notes of licorice and a lavender note that I really liked.  Priced at $17.99.
• Albino Armani Corvara Pinot Grigio Valdadige 09. This was an interesting wine.  I tasted pears, peaches, honeydew and a touch of bubble gum.  Definitely one to be served as an aperitif.  Priced at $19.99
• Bodegas Osborne Tempra Tantrum Tempranillo/Cabernet 09.  Very fruity with blackberry notes.  We deemed this a great picnic wine at $11.99.
• Robert Mondavi Merlot Napa Valley 07.  Raspberries, blueberries and black tea made this a well balanced wine.  Priced  at $23.
• Dona Paula Estate Malbec 09.  Hands down – our favorite of the wines to be reviewed.  Velvety smooth and notes of cherry, herb and licorice.  Very nice.  The quote of the night occurred here – “I want to sleep with this.  I want to bathe with this.”

Right as the Dona Paula Malbec was poured, Bernard and crew came with the grand finale – a fantastic steak, pommes frites and grilled asparagus.  The meal was absolutely heavenly and I don’t think I left a bite.  Saint-Emilion opened in 1985 when Bernard, a transplant from France, decided that he wanted to open his own restaurant after working at restaurants in New York, New Orleans and Dallas.  Mark Hitri serves as the Chef de Cuisine and joined last September. 

Bernard and I enjoying the evening

We wrapped up the night with a few wines from our own collections.  The Summers Adrianna’s Cuvee Cabernet Sauvignon Napa 07, the 00 Chateau Margaux Pavillon Rouge and the 05 Marquis Phillips S2.  This time we planned ahead and filled out “to go” cups before arriving at the station for the long ride ahead.

I can tell you one thing – the food at Saint-Emilion is worth the trip.  I will be back – and might even take the train again to do so …

Dallas’ Most Interesting Wine List is at a National Hotel?

Last month I attended the Texas/New York Gridiron wine challenge had the opportunity to sit at a table with Hunter Hammett, sommelier for the Dallas Fairmont Hotel.  Surprisingly enough, our conversation shifted to wine and he told me about the Fairmont’s wine list which he had totally overhauled including a large number of Texas wines.  I was intrigued, so I asked Hunter if I could spend some time with him learning more about the list.

He’s an agreeable guy and very passionate about wine, so I found myself in the totally revamped Pyramid Restaurant & Bar at the Fairmont – with a tasteful local focus on Texas products and a rooftop garden.  I was handed the list, which received a Wine Spectator 2010 Award of Excellence, and like a kid in the candy store, I started perusing.  As Hunter hand-selected the 250 wines that are on the list, it was important find a variety of on and off “the beaten path” wines at any price that patrons would love.  I especially enjoyed the Underrated Reds and Underrated Whites sections that had a number of wines I have enjoyed in small little wine bars or across the country.  I never expected to see them at a restaurant in a national hotel.  You’ll also find grapes you’ve probably never heard of nor had the opportunity to try like Aligoté, at least in Texas, until now. 

Gruet was one of the selections on the Underrated Reds list and I mentioned that I had never tried its still wines.  In short notice, I had a glass of the 06 Gruet Pinot Noir Cuvee Gilbert in hand.  Hunter also had a large selection of wines that are positioned by varietal vs. region to encourage experimentation of all different types of grapes from around the world.

Of course, because this is Texas, you will find the usual big suspect Cabernets -we all know that restaurants have to carry these to please certain patrons.  Also, I believe that having some of the big steakhouse wines gives people the trust factor to try other wines that may not have considered otherwise.  

Wines that are sustainable, organic and environmentally farmed are given special consideration.  You’ll probably see a future focus on building out the French section of the list in 2011.  Hunter’s credo, like The Wine Century Club, is to broaden the wine drinking scope at every opportunity.  I, for one, look forward to my trip around the world with his wine list as my guide.

Wine, Love and Auburn Football

Last weekend I took my first trip back to Auburn University since I graduated in 1992 (in case you are wondering I graduated when I was 10 years old).  I had a very close-knit group of six friends that became my running buddies.  After all reconnecting on Facebook (go social media), we planned to reunite in Auburn for the opening game of the season with our families in tow.  Since my last Auburn football drinking experience was comprised of bourbon and coke or Gallo blush wine in a Big Gulp cup with ice, I decided I would bring a few bottles of wine (or nine) to show that “Weezie had moved on up” and so I didn’t need to navigate finding “off the beaten path” wine at a shop in Auburn, Alabama.

As I looked around that first Friday night at this group of women that I loved with all of my heart and because I liken many situations back to wine for the purpose of Dallas Wine Chick, I realized that I had inadvertently chosen wines that reminded me of my friends and how we evolved from crazy college kids to the women we are today.  In the spirit of full disclosure, I have one friend who has turned into a beer aficionado and other than champagne in mimosas, has no use for the grape.  Because of our friendship, we have agreed to disagree. 

The Pinot Gris Phase (the age of the 20’s):

Capalanca Pinot Gris Sueno Profondo – this reminded me of when we all first met.  Our outlook on life was fresh and crisp – we had the whole world ahead of us and the world was literally our oyster (coincidentally this wine would go well with oysters).  Fresh and crisp also translated into young and stupid at times, not with this wine, but with this group back in the day.  I may or may not have dropped a class once because a test coincided with Kappa Alpha’s Old South three-day party.   I do believe that my friends are a bit incredulous that I eventually found career success in my chosen industry of public relations due to my college choices.  

The Cabernet Phase (the age of the 30’s):

David Arthur, Sojourn and Del Dotto St Helena Cabernets — This is when we became much more nuanced as we matured.  We realized that we were no longer the center of the world (at least most of us did).  We were knee deep in kids, families, careers and the realities of life.  Like these wines, we were working on balance – trying to be a good wife, mother, employee, friend, relative, etc. – and often because of our Type A standards, failing miserably in our own eyes.

The “Off the Beaten Path” Phase (now – you read between the lines, okay?)

Quinta de la Quietud Toro, Turley Duarte Zinfandel, Mi Sueno, Fefinanes Albarino “1583” – We’ve reached the stage of being comfortable in our own skins – working to find balance from realizing that family and friends are the most important things in the world.   For me, this is the most fun stage.  As I say, “it is what it is” and you realize that you no longer care about appearances the way that you used to in your youth.  As I reconnected with my friends and got to know their families, I realized that we all did well on the most important thing in life – raising well mannered, ethical, smart and fun kids. 

While times have definitely changed and we have a few more wrinkles than we used to as well as 17 kids (holy crap – 17 kids) between us, it felt like time had stood still when we got together.  So much had changed – a successful battle with breast cancer, deaths/illness of parents, one of us now lives in Saudi Arabia – but so much remained the same including the fact that we were all still married to our college or right after college sweethearts. 

While I don’t like to admit that I have hit my 40s, I’m looking forward to what the next wine phase will bring.

Tapena Grab A Fork Tour Does Dallas

Tapena Wines asked me to be involved with a two-day “Grab a Fork Tour” on July 27 and 28 in Dallas, which just happened to coincide with the six-month anniversary of the launch of Dallas Wine Chick.  The word Tapeña is a combination of tapas (Spanish small plates) and peña (a group of close friends).  The wines are meant to be paired with food and are all made from Spanish varietals.  We tried a tempranillo, garnacha, verdejo and a rose that were paired with different small plates.  My favs were the tempranillo and verdejo and at a suggested retail price of $10, these were enjoyable, food-friendly wines that were a good bargain.

I first met, Simone Perez, the Tapeña ambassador over the weekend, and her enthusiasm for the wines and culture of Spain was contagious.  Our first event took place at Cafe Madrid and coincided with the Texas sky opening into a torrential downpour.  But Dallasites were ready to “represent” and more than 110 people came out to taste. 

Our next event was at WineTastic the following day and approximately 80 people showed. I had the opportunity to finally meet a number of Dallas Wine Chick fans, which was absolutely a blast.   You can click here to experience both events for yourself.