Episode 162: Blind Sparkling Wines in the $20’s for New Year 2013
December 30, 2012
We wanted to do a sparkling wine show for the New Year episode this year. Chas suggested that we do a 3 bottle blind show with a bottle each from Champagne, Oregon, and California. Dan loved the idea, so here it is. All of the wines were selected by Chas, and bagged before the start of the show. We don’t do too well at guessing the origin, but they all make a good showing as simple sparklers. We taste the Nicolas Feuillatte Brut Champagne, the 2009 Argyle Brut, and the Roederer Estate Brut.
What is your favorite sparkling wine?
Our friends Kevin and Rick spent ten years living in California’s Central Coast wine country. Since we don’t have a lot of experience with California wine, and since we focus heavily on wines from the Northwest, they offered to open some favorites from their cellar for a show. They’ve always shared good wine at other events, so we were both excited to give it a try. The results far exceeded our expectations, and set new standards for our palates in regard to Pinot Noir and Syrah from California. They were so good, that we even became self conscious of our enthusiasm. But, sip after sip confirmed that these wines hit our palates very well. We tasted the 2007 Rosemary’s Vineyard Pinot Noir from Talley Vineyards, the 2008 The Hedge Syrah from Terry Hoage Vineyards, the 2009 Parea from Transcendence, and the 2006 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon from Chateau Margene.
Did you know about Central Coast wine before this show?
For this show, we looked into some sample bottles we had been sent that fall into the same price category, under $10. Tapeña is a project delivering a few different types of Spanish wine focused on casual consumption with friends and food. From Tapeña, we taste the 2010 Verdejo, Rose, and Tempranillo. Smooking Loon is a budget brand from California negociant Don Sebastiani & Sons. From Smooking Loon, we taste the 2009 Old Vine Zinfandel. We tasted through a number of bottles from both producers, and selected four for this episode.
Have you discovered any decent budget wines recently?
Episode 70: California Sparkling Wine For New Year’s Eve 2010
December 31, 2010
This year we are doing a more traditional line up for a year end show. Chas came across some sparklers from California, and we thought it would be a good chance to check them out for ourselves, and to drink something that a lot of people would have opinions about. We taste the Non Vintage bottles of Roeder Estate Brut, the Piper Sonoma Select Cuvee Brut, and the Mumm Napa Brut Prestige.
What were your top wines of 2010?
Episode 19: Blind California Cabernet Sauvignon
December 17, 2009
The blind Riesling show was received quite well, so Chas picked up 3 bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon to do blind for this week’s show. All three are around the $20 price point, which can typically be challenging for California Cab. All three happened to show well though, making for a fun show.
Part 1:
Part 2:
Where is your favorite place in California?