Travel by Wine

One Glass, Thousands of Destinations

[travelbywine]

Schola Sarmenti Critèra Salento Primitivo 2012

Wow! Has it been almost a month since my last post? I promised myself that I wouldn't let this blog die so soon. My work in the CoolVines wine shop must be pulling away more time than I expected. Today at work one of my co-workers, the wonderous Jeffrey, asked me if I knew about this "Primitivo" grape. I mentioned that it is the same as Zinfandel in California not only in flavor but also in DNA. Its literally the same grape. It was brought to California by Italian immigrants.  I then went on to say that true red Zinfandel (not that sweet swill labeled as White Zinfandel) is one of my favorite red wines! He recommended this Schola Sarmenti Critèra Salento Primitivo 2012 and mentioned how wonderfully mind blowing it was. Why not try it then?

​​This wine comes from Schola Sarmenti winery, a group of people who pride themselves on the strict adhearance to using native grape varetials. They are located in Nardo, right on the Ionian Sea within the region of Puglia. This estate, ​along with myself, believes that each drop of wine they produce is living matter. I agree with them and believe that wine is grown not made. It develops just as the grapes develop on the vine!

While pouring the wine, you can see how dark in color it is. Just the same as Californian Zinfandel, it is a deep, ruby - almost purple color. The smell is a wonderful blend of cranberry, violets, black pepper, green herbs, blackberry, and soft baking spice which is interesting due to the fact that the wine is aged in stainless steel tanks.  The flavor is even more incredible. Nuances of the same ripe blackberries, pepper, and pomegranate, with a silky grip of chewy tannin. Smooth as butter, this wine is an incredibly easy drink. I'm currently drinking this wine alone...without food that is.  The acid and tannin would make this wine sing if paired with veal/chicken/eggplant parmigiana or a rustic Buccatini con Amatriciana!

I have to give it to Jeffrey. I love wines, especially red wines, that can be drank on its own as well as with food. Delicious, versatile, well rounded, this is an exceptional wine and I am glad to have tasted it! I might have to stock up on this one too!

Another interesting note about the Schola Sarmenti Critèra Salento Primitivo 2012 is that it was classified as an IGT/IGP wines. That means that it is technically a second tier wine that only needs to be made in a specific geographic area. Many top quality wines fall here to avoid the stringent restrictions in the top tier. The top would be DOC or DOCG. This just goes to show that the classification of a wine is not everything. IGT or even Vino de Tavola classified wines can be just as good as their (more expensive) counterparts.

If you would like more information on the Schola Sarmenti Critèra Salento Primitivo 2012 click here.

To buy a bottle, click here.

[travelbywine]

Exams and Life (plus some wine)

From the moment I knew I belonged in the wine world, I told myself to never stop learning and never stop training. The time has finally come for me to sit the WSET Advanced Certificate Exam. I embarked on this journey about 6 months ago when I was offered the opportunity to become a teaching assistant at the International Wine Center in NYC. 15 long weeks later, plus a few holiday weeks off, and I am here. Nervous with that sinking pit in my stomach, hoping I can remember all that there is to remember to pass.

Before I leave to catch my train to the grand city of New York and to the lair of the exam, I thought I would fill that sinking pit with some delicious left over chinese food and wine!

While chinese food may be the ultimate topic of conversation for sommeliers and wine experts, I choose to eat and drink and enjoy while they debate. Last night my boyfriend and I, as we always do on Sunday nights, picked up our take out and crashed on the couch for the weekly installment of "Who is gonna die next?" and by that I mean we watched Game of Thrones on HBO. He and his Chicken Lo Mein and me with my Ma Po Tofu, a spicy combination of sichuan peppercorns and bean curd. I happened to have a wonderful bottle of 2013 Erste+Neue Alto Adige Gewürztraminer in my chiller ready to enjoy. What a perfect night to bring it out.

The Gewürztraminer was spicy, floral, fruity, and just hinting at a touch of sweetness. It paired perfectly with my spicy tofu and equally as well with the simple chicken lo mein. The acid cut through the fatty brown sauce of the noodles and the slight sweetness softened the heat of my spices. Above all else, the flavors of the italian wine danced with, and did not dissapear, into the realm of the chinese food.

This particular bottle is a part of the Classic Line of wines coming out of the Erste+Neue Winery. They are located in Alto Adige, Italy in the Südtirol region. The wines have distinct influence from the German and Sustrian borders that have previously cut through the land.

I love to experience such wonderful pairings that just happen all on their own. No research, no intense chemical analysis of the meal at hand. Just sheer luck and enjoying whats on hand. What I love more than that, is when there are leftovers of that wonderful pairing ready to enjoy.

To find yourself a bottle of the 2013 Erste+Neue Alto Adige Gewürztraminer, click here.

To find yourself some delicious chinese food, I recommend walking down the block.

[travelbywine]

Rosenblum Cellars ‘Heritage Clones’ Petite Sirah 2011

It's not often that I enjoy a glass of red wine the minute I wake up, but today seems to be an exception. I am enjoying a wonderful expression of Petite Sirah from Rosenblum Cellars in California. Petite Sirah, not to be mixed up with its similarly named sibling Syrah, is a complex little grape. Exuding flavors of game, ripe black fruits, eucalyptus, warm spices and cocoa, enrobed in a grippy tannin, this wine is flavor packed. It starts out as a friendly juicy and jammy fruit wine and then it takes a straight dive to the deep end with the herbal and meaty flavors which are common with Petite Sirah. The tannin also hits you right in the gums and on the back of the palate. Rosenblum Cellars went a step further and added the nuance of spice and vanilla while also softening the tannins with 13 months in a mix of French, American and European oak barrels.  The power of this Petite Sirah is not unmatched with its alcohol, which sits at 14.5%.

This wine in particular is named after the aged vines that make the fruits. The vines are split between the Contra Costa and Clarksburg areas of California and they are over 100 years old. This adds to the concentration of the wine as older vines produce less quantities of fruit, but more flavorful and strengthened clusters.

Being that this wine is from the 2011 vintage, it does have 4 years of age on it. Given the strong tannin, and powerful fruit and game flavors, I would probably age this wine even further. I do happen to have another bottle on my shelf and I think I might just wait until 2018 to open that one. The wine should soften a bit more, and all the flavors should meld together that much more!

As for food, this wine needs it. It is not for sitting on the couch and watching a movie. This is a dinner wine. Enjoy with big meals like roasted meats and game, steaks, homemade rustic pastas, braised short ribs, meaty stew. Those big meaty flavors in the food will get along well with this Petite Sirah and the wine won't over power the creations your culinary labors.

To find this wine, you can check out the Rosenblum Cellars website. Bottles sell for $25.

[travelbywine]

2014 Underwood Pinot Gris in a Can??

I am extremely excited that I have finally stumbled upon the increasingly popular, Underwood Canned Pinot Gris. Now I can't say that I was searching too hard for it but I did see a review of it from another wine blogger and I needed to try it out for myself.

First lets talk about the concept of canning a wine. You start with a fresh, young, fruity, and ready-to-drink, wine. Then you put it in a can, where no oxygen or light can get to it. Its that simple. The benefits vastly outweigh the non-existent drawbacks. The can chills fast, travels well, costs less, and it helps to break the stereotype that wine has to be high class and fussy. That is why Union Wine Co. has a mission to have everyone drink their wine with #pinkiesdown. The best part of its canned wine program is that the wine that they put in the cans, is the very same wine that they bottle with the same label. The 2014 Underwood Pinot Gris in a can is the same 2014 Underwood Pinot Gris in the bottles!

As for the company themselves, Union Wine Co. hails from Oregon where Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris reign supreme. The philosophy of Union is to make good wine. Period. They are not interested in the best wine scores (and neither am I for that matter), the best oak barrels, or even the most popular trends in the industry. They just want to focus on the fruit, the friends, and the wine that is a result of their labors. They have several different labels but the one that stands out most to me is Underwood.

I have had this wine before while walking around downtown Princeton. I picked it up from a local shop and thought it looked like a coke can so no one would question my day drinking enjoyment. But then I took another one home and decided to evaluate it. My first impression was how simple and delicious it was. I didn't perform my traditional evaluation of swirling and nosing the wine because, DUH! the wine is in a can. It's not meant to be fussy. But I did pay attention to the flavors it was presenting. Beautifully juicy grapefruits, fresh pears, lime zest, a florally taste like something close to orange blossoms. A clean crisp acidity. A nice well rounded wine with the alcohol to match. It is not inredibly high at 13% but you need to remind yourself, one can is a half bottle. If you plan to drink it like soda, a can at a time, you can polish off a full 750ml of this stuff really quick.

My overall impression of Underwood Canned Pinot Gris? I like it. It is something I would have in my fridge all the time. Ready and chilled to go to the beach, a baseball game, enjoying a nice day at the street festival. Anytime really. It also pairs incredibly well with my favorite cheese, Cypress Grove Midnight Moon. Its a firm aged goat milk cheese that just has an incredibly tangy flavor.

You can check out the Union Wine Co. website to see all their labels and look further into the Underwood Pinot Gris in a Can. Or you can go pick up a hunk of Cypress Grove Midnight Moon and enjoy them together!

[travelbywine]

Patricius Tokaj Furmint 2012

I was walking past a favorite wine shop of mine here in NJ and I decided to pop in to see what they had to offer. Half of my mind was trying to find something fun for a new review while the other half was looking for something different and odd for my own satisfaction.

As I browsed and browsed, the reds and the whites, the Patricius Tokaj Furmint popped out at me, as it is a region I have not explored yet, a grape I have not yet tasted, and a producer I have no experience with. Sounds like a great wine to try. Plus how awesome is a grape named Furmint.

From what I have studied so far, Furmint is a white grape that is well known for Hungarian Tokaji wines which come from the region of Tokaj. It is a generally high acid grape with bold flavors of smoke, lime, pear and grapefruit. Hungary itself is best known for its sweet dessert wine called Tokaji Aszu, made with 'rotten' or botrytised grape berries.

The Patricius Tokaj Furmint itself is a dry wine with a gorgeous pale lemon color. From the moment I poured the wine into my glass, I was hit with perfumed aromas. Quite strong aromas to say the least. When I dove a bit further, I smelt lemon zest, grapefruit, green apples, underripe pineapple, and d'Anjou Pear. There is also a bit of oak aging on the wine, but not enough to over power the natural varietal characteristics.

Then I hoped the palate matched the nose and it totally did. Not juicy fruity flavors, but tart slightly underripe flavors. The acid is nice but not overwhelming and the alcohol is there but not burning. I was also in love with the mouthfeel. For such a wine, I was expecting a thin austere wine knowing the high acidity but this Furmint had some body, not a ton, but it wasnt water.

If I was enjoying this bottle with food, I would have super fresh seafood, chinese food, or even sushi.  While not expensive, this wine is mid-priced at $20 for a 750ml bottle at CoolVines in Westfield, NJ.

This simple wine is perfect for a day filled with nothing but sunbathing and relaxing as the seasons begin to warm up. You might just find me at the beach with a brown paper bag and a bottle or two of Tokaj Furmint. The clean crispness really leads me to the beach.

Check it out and tell me what you think. What is the oddest grape you have ever encountered?

[travelbywine]

Bonjour, Ciao, Hola, Hello!

A vision. As I start this journey, as I often do, I feel that is extremely important to have a clear vision, a purpose for this project.  I never liked writing these mission statements as they tend to make me feel restricted. All that I really know is that I want to keep this blog simple and enjoyable. The world of fermented grape juice is quite large and its tough to go at it alone.  I hope to be a guide to show what great wines are really within reach. Each bottle tells a story and transports us to the land of its creation. I believe it is my job to tell that story.