Dallas Wine Chick

Tara Winery: A Southern Respite in East Texas

We had an opportunity to spend a weekend with our dear friends, Doug and Alyce, at their Lake house in East Texas last month.  While there I had the chance to spend some time with Patrick and Susan Pierce, the winemakers and owners of  Tara Vineyard & Winery the oldest winery in Henderson County.

As you drive up to the grounds, a stately 1880’s antebellum house once owned by former Dallas Cowboy Owner Clint Murchison, looks over the vines and made me think of Scarlett O’Hara’s house in Gone with the Wind.  The house was relocated from downtown Athens and serves as a respite as the Tara Inn.  The winery is also adjacent to the Cellar Door restaurant, which I did not try, but heard great reviews.  

Susan Holding “The Hill of Tara“

I loved the story about how Tara came to be.  It was the name of Patrick and Susan’s sailboat.  The name comes from Irish folklore and stands for “a view from afar”.  The name originally came from a book discovered in a used book store in Berkeley, The Hill of Tara. 

While Tara makes 14 wines, we only tried a few produced in East Texas on the 7-acre estate while my six-year old and her friends played the drums, danced and sang “California Girls”.  It was quite the musical revue.   My favorite Tara wine was one that I had tried before from my friend, James.  It is a white blend of Texas grapes, the Texas Blanc de Bois.  It’s a fruity wine with tropical notes and vanilla on the end and is priced under $18.  The Stagecoach Red, priced at $18.50, was termed “barbeque wine” and I see how it would be a good match.

If you are visiting East Texas, Tara is definitely worth a trip – for the food, the wines, the conversation and the live music events.  I think this is a good winery to watch with lots of future potential.

Wine Quest: Decent Wine at a Chain Search Continues at Olive Garden

I fully admit that I had some trepidation going back into an Olive Garden Restaurant, especially to taste wine.  But, I had willingly committed to doing a series about the possibility of finding a decent wine by the glass at a chain.  So, I grabbed my friend, Jennifer, and off we went.

Danny and Jeff

We were met by General Manager, Danny Gabaldon, and Certified Wine Trainer and a guy you want to work for you, Jeff Kidd, and seated in the bar area.  The restaurant had recently been remodeled with a Tuscan influence and was not the dark wood, dark place that I remembered from about 15 years ago.  We were presented with the wine list, which had 38 wines total with 35 offered by the glass at all price ranges.  The wines ranged from the house Cabit to the more interesting Italian wines.  Master Sommelier Andrea Immer Robinson helped create the wine training program for the Olive Garden and you can definitely see her influence.   So I’m sure you wondering which three bottles aren’t available by the glass – Zonin Prosecco , Bertani Amarone Della Valpolicella ($100) and Col d’Orcia Brunello di Montacino ($65).

Danny pointed out the featured wines list, which changes every six weeks, is matched with seasonal food items.  The wines are 6 oz pours or for another $2.50, they will pour 9 ozs.  The restaurant puts a sticker on each bottle that indicates the day the bottle was opened and when it is no longer consumable.  In addition, air is pumped from each open bottle nightly.  They brought us some bruschetta, Italian cheese and some individual sized desserts and we began to taste. 

We tried the following wines:

• Rocca delle Macie Sasyr 07, a blend of Sangiovese and Syrah.  This is a very fruity, tangy and easy to drink wine that pairs well with Italian flood.  This was our favorite red wine.
• Feudo Arancio Nero d’Avola Sicilia IGT 09, cranberry, berry and lots of fruit.
• Mandra Rossa Fiano 09, nice nose with lots of pear notes with tropical fruit and citrus.  This would be a great pool wine.
• Pinot Grigio Delle Venezie Sartori di Verona 10, a very typical Pinot Grigio that would pair well with Italian food.

We also sampled the Moscato and the Roscotto, a sweet red made only for Olive Garden, with the desserts.  I think I’m going to stick with my dessert wines favs, but it’s nice to know that these are around when Great Aunt Stella is ready to have some vino.

I must say that I’m impressed with the effort that Danny, Jeff and Darden Restaurants are putting effort into making sure diners have the option for a good glass of wine with their meal.  At least at Olive Garden, you can get a decent glass of wine at a chain.  Bravo!

A Preview of Virginia Wines: Surprises Abound (the Good Kind)!

It’s just about lights, camera, and action time for the Wine Bloggers Conference in Charlottesville, VA. To whet our palates and educate many bloggers who aren’t familiar with wine from Virginia, the Virginia Wine Council and my Twitter friend, Frank Morgan, put together several Twitter Taste Live opportunities to get a group of us familiar with what the state has to offer. Last week, it was all about Virginia Viognier.

I am a big fan of viognier, but shared some trepidation with the group of seven girls who I gathered for the tasting. Boy, were we wrong. Virginia makes some great Viogniers in a variety of styles from sparking to fruity to mineral in nature.

We started with the NV sparkling viognier, a 100 percent viognier wine. I got green apple, pear, mango and apricot in this wine. Winemaker Mike Heny told us that he wanted to do something unique that had not been done before. Well, he succeeded and beautifully. At $25, this was my favorite of the tasting.

Our next wine was the 2010 Blenheim Vineyards Viognier. This wine was full of honey, tropical fruits and had a minerality that made it a perfect match for the spicy shrimp we were eating. At $19, this was a great food friendly white.

We then tried the King Family Vineyards 2010 Viognier. This was elegant and well balanced with melon, honey and peach flavors. At $24.95, this wine was a delightful pairing with sushi.

We followed up with the 2009 Barboursville Vineyards Reserve. This was a very floral wine with peach, apricot and some minerality. It was interesting to see the change in flavor as the wine spent more time in the bottle. This wine was $22.

While there were six wines in the tasting, my sixth wine from Delaplane Cellars didn’t arrive until after the tasting, so our last wine was technically the fifth wine – the 2010 Cooper Vineyards Viognier. I tasted of peach, apricots, tropical and floral notes. While the wines shared many of the same qualities, they were all very different.

My friends, who usually are tougher than most wine critics, universally said that they enjoyed all of them. It was a reminder to me that there are some great wines out there and it often pays to go off the beaten path and experiment. I look forward to sharing my adventures with you during my time in Charlottesville beginning today through July 25. The Wine Blogger’s Conference is always good for new discoveries and good friends.  I look forward to sharing my adventures.

COOPER: A Red Mountain Winery Comes to the Heart of Texas

Those of you who remember last year when I had the wonderful opportunity to participate in my first Wine Bloggers Conference in Walla Walla, WA, I mentioned meeting Neil Cooper. Neil was working on opening his winery when I made my visit to Red Mountain with Margot. Fast forward almost 11 months and COOPER: A Red Mountain Winery is not only up and running, but has taken home a slew of awards and medals for its Bordeaux-style reds. Having taken on several states successfully, Neil set his sights on Texas and I was more than happy to host the Dallas stop on his Texas tour.

Neil originally followed in the footsteps of his father, a farmer, and began growing grass seed. But he always had a strong appreciation for wine due to his family’s close relationship with Bill Preston, wine maker for Fidelitas. While I was drinking Gallo blush in a big jug, he and fellow members of the St. Luis Obispo water skiing team, would pool their money and buy wine. When they didn’t have tournaments, they went tasting in different cities in California. Grass seed farming was lucrative, but Neil found himself getting stuck in corporate politics and began to think about the wine business.

Around the same time Neil and his partners – all who were not in the industry — were looking for a place on Red Mountain to make wine. After three years of negotiating, the winery that they desired was for sale and, Neil decided to make the plunge into running a winery including the operations, sales and building a brand from scratch. Long story short – with the wine being made today by Charlie Hoppes from Fidelitas – COOPER has some fantastic wines that provide a great value as compared to the Napa blends. He brought the full line up with him to Dallas, which gave me the chance to throw a party that coincidentally fell during the kick-off of my husband’s birthday week.

About 50 folks rolled up to find the Urban Crust pizza mobile kitchen in front of our casa and were treated to Neil’s fantastic wines. I loved that the top wines differed among so many of our guests, but what didn’t change was the universal agreement that we need these wines in Texas. Here’s the line-up:

2008 Pinot Gris (Columbia Valley). This wine was crisp, bright and refreshing. I tasted tropical fruit and some floral hints. This is the first wine that I have ever heard my mom ask to have shipped to her and I totally understand why. Neil was sweet enough to let her have a bottle.

2009 COOPER Estate Chardonnay (Red Mountain). This is not your typical buttered toast bomb. It’s definitely an Old World style with butterscotch, pine nuts and a bit of lemon. There is lots of depth to this first estate wine. 2007 and 2008 Cooper L’inizio (Columbia Valley) L’inizio is a Bordeaux-style blend that showed spice, berry, tobacco, licorice and oak. While both were great wines, the 07 was my favorite as it was much more elegant with the gift of time. L’inizio means the beginning and is the cornerstone of the line-up and shows big notes of coffee, vanilla and cherry.

2008 COOPER Merlot (Columbia Valley) This is a very full bodied merlot with lots of berry. This one was the favorite of a good friend who is also a distributor in Dallas. I’d recommend some decanting time if you open it young. 2007 Cooper Cabernet Sauvignon (Columbia Valley) Dark fruit, cherry, spice and coffee made up this great tasting, full-bodied cabernet.

2007 COOPER Cabernet Sauvignon * Walla Walla Valley This is a big, complex, earthy cabernet. Lots of dark fruit and herbal essences like rosemary and even a little cardamom. Definitely one of my favs.

2008 COOPER Cabernet Sauvignon Hightower * Red Mountain This is the model for what Red Mountain Cabernet should be. Lots of tannins, minerality, cherry and a dry finish.

Cheers to l’inizio for COOPER wines in Texas and Neil Cooper, one heck of a great guy who followed his dream.

Ted Allen, Robert Mondavi and the Great Pepper Mill: A Wine Experience

When I got the invitation to meet TV Personality and Foodie Ted Allen at the 2011 Robert Mondavi Discover_Wine_Tour in conjunction with Taste Addison, I was curious.  Ted and local chef extraordinaire, Richard Chamberlain of Chamberlain’s Steak and Chop House were hosting a cooking exhibition to teach “residents about wine and entertainment.” I don’t cook…ever, so my experience with Ted wasn’t going to be through his cooking show.  It was through his “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” TV show that he did in the 90’s.

I loved the  Mondavi Discover Wine premise.  It’s an interactive, educational and fun event that travels to food and wine festivals nationwide (click here to see if it’s coming to your city).  The wines are good and meant to be enjoyed by everyone.  As you know this is a mantra that is music to my ears, especially having sat through enough festivals with wine so substandard that I abstained.

We were served two wines – the 2010 Robert Mondavi Coastal Riesling and the 2009 Meritage Private Selection and were given several plates of food to complement the wine.  The first was a bruschetta with prosciutto, ricotta and olive oil that my friend and birthday boy, David, said matched the Riesling well. The next bite was in Chamberlain’s territory – a flank steak with chimichurri sauce that was great with the meritage. The Ted and Richard show was funny including several remarks about an oversized pepper mill, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy references (the show that started Ted’s TV career) a few sausage references and a great comedic timing and banter between the two.

As a part of my effort to determine if you can get a decent glass of wine at a chain restaurant, I commend Robert Mondavi for making that an option at a non-traditional venue.  After all, making something accessible that isn’t a quality product to the masses is simple.  It takes guts to spend money to educate people there is a better option.

WSWA Annual Convention: Trends Abound Til the Cows Go Home

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Wines & Spirits.  Peanut butter & chocolate.  Paying gig & wine blog research.  I fully admit that I am still on an adrenaline high from attending the 68^th annual Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America Convention & Exposition, a feat completed with almost zero sleep and approximately 3,562 steps between my hotel room and the press room.  In between my work requirements (really … I did have to work and it was hard work as I am very proud of our results, I had the chance to walk the show floor with thousands of others and made some great discoveries.  Today, I’m going to kick off the top five trends that I saw coming out of the convention.  The top two trends will each be a separate column, so stay tuned:

NUMBER FIVE: CHOCOLATE WINE AND TEQUILA. I discovered chocolate paired with red wine as well as chocolate paired with tequila.  Instructions given were to serve either warm or cold.  Interesting and better than anticipated, but I’m still of the mindset that I like separate pairings.  

NUMBER FOUR: JUICY FRUITS. Pairing natural fruit juices like strawberry, kiwi, banana and pomegranate, which are 100 percent natural, with vodka.  Really tasty.  I also saw sorbet cocktails – the dessert that drinks like a cocktail complete with a spoon.  And, you’ll never have that pre-mixed sugar headache again.

NUMBER THREE: HEALTHY SPIRITS.  From green tea to lemongrass to cucumber, spirits are becoming infused with healthy ingredients as consumers demand fresher, cleaner spirits to sip.  I really enjoyed the Green Tea Vodka from St. Claire.

I also had the opportunity to get to know a long-time Twitter friend, Matthew Horbund from A Good Time With Wine.  I know I’ve said this before, but I really have some amazing virtual friends who quickly become my friends in real life.  Matthew, I had a blast tasting Romanian wine, drinking sake and enjoying some pretty innovative agave tequila from Alacran.

The WSWA convention – it had it all from the greatest Maxim party featuring drop-dead gorgeous women (I did not take pictures of them, but Matthew was happy to do so to the hairy cows along with a glimpse to what consumers will be drinking in the not so near future.

Brown Bagging: A Wine Twits and Barone Fini Pinot Grigio Tasting

I had the opportunity to attend the Wine Twits Barone Fini Pinot Grigio Blind Taste Challenge last week.  I loved the premise of the brown bag challenge, happily removed my wrapped bottles from the wine tasting kit and eagerly anticipated putting my taste buds to the test.  Count Giovanni Bonmartini-Fini, the winemaker, graciously hosted a large group of bloggers and wine enthusiasts.

The Barone Fini family has been making wines since 1497 with a focus on producing quality wines with a family focus.  I fully expected that the tasting would focus on the Barone Fini Valdadige and the Barone Fini Alto Adige, the winery’s two Pinot Grigio wines that are made in different styles.

However, the organizers had different plans for us.  I gathered several folks at my house and we opened the first wine at the appointed time.  I was not a big fan.  It had a creaminess to it, but was somewhat flat with some apple and tropical notes.  I couldn’t quite reconcile the flavor on my palate.  I think if I had the right pairing, I would have liked this wine more, but I didn’t want to just sip it.

The second wine had notes of green apple, citrus, floral and almond that appealed more to my palate.  The wines were so different that I made the remark at some point that evening that this appeared to be an old world vs new world tasting.

At this point the tasting was still blind and it was entertaining to watch the live simulcast from New York.  Finally, the unveil.  The first wine was Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio, an overproduced and overpriced wine that is not on my favorite list.  As a blogger, I was so glad that my pre-conceived notions stayed true or this would be a column about eating crow.  I was surprised that how many bloggers that I respect preferred the Santa Margherita.   

The second wine was Barone Fini Valdadige.   Of the two wines, this was my personal preference as well as my entire group of wine tasters in Dallas.

Cheers to Wine Twits and Barone Fini for putting together an interesting and informative tasting that challenges wine styles as well as pre-conceived notions (see if you also can find the surprise visitor who did not taste wine that evening).

Public Transportation That I Can Get Behind: A Conversation with Red Car Wines

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Paul from Red Car; me, my husband, John

I recently sat down with Paul Sequeira, director of viticulture and sales for Red Car Wine.  He was at Lakewood Country Club for a wine dinner planned by Tony Zaranti, clubhouse manager, who always does a great job in finding “off the beaten path” wineries. 

Red Car wine traces its roots to show business.  The winery founders, Carroll Kemp and Mark Estrin, worked in Hollywood and shared a love for wine.  You’ll see that influence reflected in some of the naming of their wines.  The winery was founded in 2000 with the name meant as a tribute to the red electric trolley cars that operated in Los Angeles until the 1960’s. 

We started with the 08 Red Car “Trolley Car” Pinot Noir from Sonoma.  The wine had big stone fruit, floral notes, licorice and an earthiness to it.  It was made in the Burgundian style and was blended beautifully. 

Paul talked about the approach of the winery and that “great wine is made in the vineyard” and how their wines are reflective of the “essence of place and time.”  I was surprised how Old World this wine tasted in comparison of some of the others.  But, then again, the Sonoma Coast produces some diverse flavors.

Our meal began with a Jerusalem Artichoke, Celery Root Bisque, Veal Shank with Croutons paired with the Red Car “Box Car” Chardonnay from Santa Maria.  I usually do not gravitate toward Chardonnay, but this was a perfect match with the bisque.  This wine had tropical fruits, apple, almond, hints of vanilla and a buttery flavor.

Our next course was the 07 Red Car “Aphorist” Reserve Pinot Noir from Sonoma Coast paired with Seared Sea Scallop, Braised Veggies, and Grana Cheese with Chicken Jus.  This was a full flavored Pinot, but it wasn’t heavy.  Lots of fruit and a little earthy.  Very nice and elegant.

We then moved to a few big boy Syrahs to go with a substantial meat dish.  The third course paired 07 Red Car “Tomorrowland” Syrah from Sonoma County with a Dry Aged Prime New York Strip with Bacon, Shallot, Thyme, Potato, Arugula, Roasted Beets and Coco Bean Syrah.  It was a powerful syrah, but wasn’t what I consider a “berry bomb.”  In fact, it was pretty light bodied with spice, pepper and earthiness.

The grand finale on dinner was the Goat Cheese Pana Cotta, Mini Coffee Cake and Orange Ice.  It was my intention to take one bite and push away the plate.  But, Chef William Koval had worked his magic and I was halfway through the dessert before I realized what I had done.  This was paired with a 06 Red Car “Speakeasy” Syrah.  This was a totally different style from the other syrah with notes of dark chocolate, tobacco and plum.

The goal of Red Car Wine is to transport folks back to another time and place and evoke nostalgia.  I must say that I was happy to remain in the present with this great food and wine experience.

Deep in the Heart of Texas’ Wine Country

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I recently was invited to attend an event in Fort Worth for the Texas Hill Country Wineries at the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame.  The session began with a panelist seminar of winemakers that included John Rivenbaugh from Bending Branch Winery, Gill Bledsoe from Pillar Bluff Vineyard and David Kuhlken from Pedernales Cellars who discussed a variety of subjects as related to producing wine in Texas.

I learned a few things:

• The Texas wine and grape industry is fifth in the U.S. for wine production with over 2 million gallons produced annually.  The 2,700 acres of vineyard and 200 plus wineries contribute $1.35 billion to Texas’ economy.  Wow.
• And, the proposed budget cuts at a state and federal level will absolutely level the gains made in Texas wine production.

I wanted to know more about where the winemakers thought the ‘sweet spot’ was for Texas wine.  Not surprisingly, they talked about the potential for growth in Texas as only six percent of Texas wines are consumed by Texans.  When I was on the efactor panel in February, I heard the same from Dan Gatlin from Inwood Estates.  I was glad to hear that they all acknowledged planting the right kind of varietals for the crazy Texas weather is the key to success.  As someone who has palate skid marks from trying Texas wines in the 1990’s, I was heartened to hear this.  Bledsoe had my favorite quote of the night, “I want to show that we can dance – I’ll throw our wines up against anyone.”  The fact that 15 of 21 Texas wines that were awarded medals in the San Francisco International Wine Competition were from the Texas Hill Country shows he may have a point.

Naturally I asked about the challenges they face.  Texas weather and funding seemed to top the list.  If you’ve spent any time in Texas or watched the Big Game this year, you know temperatures can drop 50 degrees overnight.  There is also some research that is making gains in improving Texas wine – collaborations between Texas A&M and the program at Grayson County College – that could be severely impacted by budget cuts.

If you’ve been reading Dallas Wine Chick for the past year, you know that I’ve had some past struggles with Texas wine.  I’m sure your big question is what I thought about the wines.  I tasted 29 wines.  Some took me back to my experience in the 1990’s.  However, I had four that made me take notice.

• Duchman Family Winery, 09 Montepulciano, ($15) this was a red wine full of stone fruit, slight oak and a bit of spice at the finish.  It was a Texas wine that is actually possible to drink in August Texas weather.
• Duchman Family 09 Vermentino ($10), a Texas patio wine that is floral with hints of pear, but balanced with some minerality.  Lively and light for patio weather.
• Perdernales Tempranillo ($29.99), a little high priced for my threshold for a Texas wine, but with soft tannins, an earthiness and cherry notes that make it well matched for Texas game.  The highlight of my tasting note was simple – “Nice” with an exclamation point.
• Singing Water Vineyards Reserve Merlot/Cabernet Blend ($24.95), also priced on the high range, this was a deep red wine full of stone fruit, raspberry and vanilla.

Coincidentally, a group of Texas sommeliers blind tasted more than 100 Texas wines and both Duchman and Perdernales wines were on the winners list.  The Singing Water Vineyards has also won a number of awards for their reserve blend.

My takeaways from this event – I found wines that I liked that give me hope for the future of Texas wines.  I would keep an eye on Perdenales Cellars, Singing Water Vineyards and Duchman Family.  I expect good things.

Beating a Path Toward Wines Off the Beaten Path

Several months ago I had the opportunity to meet Hunter Hammett, sommelier for the Pyramid Restaurant & Bar at the Fairmont Hotel when we were seated at the same table during the NY/Texas Gridiron challenge.  Hunter impressed me with his passion for wine, his knowledge of wine, and his commitment to giving lesser known grapes their due. A few months passed and my intrigue about putting together a tasting for “wines off the beaten path” did not wane, so last week I grabbed a group of wine loving friends and we ventured to the Fairmont.  It’s always exciting when you look over a list of wines and have to research the grapes, the vineyards and the geography just so you can have some baseline knowledge.  It’s what makes wine geeks tick and I was anticipating this tasting like a kid waiting for Christmas. 

We started with the white wine line-up.  Our first pour was the 08 Txomin Etxaniz, Hondarribi Zuri, Getariako Txakolina.  It was bright in the glass with citrus and pear flavors.  There was almost a fizz to it making it a great patio wine on a hot Texas day.  This was one of my favorites of the tasting.  The second wine was the 09 Tollo, Pecorino, Terre di Chieti from Italy, which was described as one of the group as “the non-Chardonnay Chardonnay lover’s wine.”  It coated your mouth and had almost a honeysuckle taste to it with lots of nutmeg and pear flavors, but with minerality that made it really interesting versus being overwhelmed with oak.

The third wine was the 07 Ottella di Lodovico Montresor, Trebbiano di Lugana, which had some chalkiness due to its terrior with citrus, lemon and floral notes.  I could see this wine pairing well with fish, but it wasn’t something that I would drink on its own if I were looking for a crisp glass of white on a hot summer day. I did, however, enjoy the drama associated with this wine.  Apparently the experts and wine books cannot agree on what grape this truly is as recent studies have debated if it is actually Verdicchio Bianco vs. Trebbianco.

We then moved into the line-up of reds.  Our first wine was also from the same region as the aperitif that began the tasting.  The 08 Gorrondona, Hondarribi Beltz, Aldape Vineyard, Bizkaiko Txakolina was earthy with almost a silt taste. It was a tart fizzy wine.  You could taste the red fruits and it paired well with the goat cheese on the lovely cheese tray provided by Chef Andre Natera.   I am a big fan of Heitz reds, so I was eagerly anticipating trying the 07 Heitz, Grignolino, Napa Valley.  What a change from the big, bold flavors that I was used to in Heitz wines.  This was much more subtle with orange notes, rose petals and berries. 

The final wine was a Texas wine.  The 09 Sandstone, VII, Touriga Nacional, Mason County, Texas, was my least favorite. Granted, it was better than many of the Texas wines that I have tasted, but Hunter mentioned that he decanted this wine three hours before we got there.  It was still tannic and needed more time.  I tasted port, berries and jam and an almost tarlike essence.  I want to support these wines based on my geography and advocate the “Go Local” movement through my position on the steering committee of Chefs for Farmers, but our Texas wine producers must raise the bar to make wines that invite an even competition.  This week I’m going to a Texas Hill Country Wineries Road Show tasting and I hope to find a few “diamonds in the rough” when these wines are previewed for the press.

When we were wrapping up, Hunter told me about an Albarino that he just secured that is produced from vines that are over 200 years old. It’s on my “must try” list and I know that I’m going to be back to continue my “off the beaten path” education.  It’s much more fun doing it this way than reading a wine book to research a region.

Photos courtesy of James Freeman