Since I need a break from sermon writing and worship planning and generally fretting and fussing...why not drink some wine and write about it! In this entry, we've got a red from southern France, a red from northern Italy,
Marius by Michel Chapoutier, Grenache-Syrah blend, Pays d'Oc (France), 2014
Where: Southern France. "Pays d'Oc" on the label tells us two things....1. It's from the Languedoc-Rousillon region, and 2. It's not from a specific named village or vineyard in the region. France has really strict rules about labeling wine; rather than get into all of it, suffice it to say that the wider the geographic net that's cast on the label, the farther away from fancy, prestigious reputation the wine gets. The lowest level, table wine, just says "Product of France." A country wine ("pays" is "country" in French) is the next step up - we get a region of France, but that's as specific as we go. This wine is from here...
It's next door to Provence and the Rhone Valley, which also are big wine producers of reputation. There's a lot in common between them when it comes to climate, other flora, etc.
Aroma: Once this breathed a bit, I got lots of dark red fruit...black cherries, black raspberry, etc. It was smoky, too - from oak aging, maybe?
Taste: I really had to let this one breathe for a while; my first sip was really one note with some fruity overtones, but otherwise flat. After half an hour, though, you could clearly taste black cherry and raspberry, black licorice, laurel (bay) leaf, and some minerality. Not particularly complex or lingering. Medium body, medium acidity, moderately tannic.
Food: This one would play well with lamb, fatty roasted poultry, and beef. I had it with some braised beef short rib and it totally worked.
Next up is a really special bottle that we busted out for Maundy Thursday communion, since style-wise it resembles wine as it may have been enjoyed in the 1st century Middle East...and thus the Last Supper.
Antiche Terre Venete, Amarone della Valpolicella 2012
Where: Say THAT name ten times fast. Let's break that down into something less intimidating, shall we? The name of the winemaker, Antiche Terre Venete, has a nice, fancy-sounding Italian name (ahn-TEE-kay TEHR-ray vehn-EH-tay) that, roughly translated, means "Ancient Venetian Lands." Anyone care to venture a guess as to where-ish this wine comes from? You get three guesses; the first two don't count.
Yep, this one's from the region around Venice in northeastern Italy. Very specifically, it's from a town called Valpolicella (vahl-pohl-ee-CHEH-lah...that stressed syllable in caps is like cello, as in the instrument). Italian wines have this great tendency to be named "Grape or Style della (from) A Place;" this one is true to form. It's an amarone (more on that to come, but say it ahm-ar-OH-nay) from Valpolicella, which produces some of the richest, heartiest, yummiest red wines in Italy.
Aroma: Richness galore - ripe chocolate covered cherry, black plums, vanilla, spice. It's like the best dessert ever.
Taste: All of those things in glorious, sophisticated harmony...and all without being sweet. It's kind of amazing, really - there's enough acidity and brightness to keep this dry, even with all of those super sweet flavors coursing through it. So...how do they do it?
Amarone is made from dried grapes...not quite raisins out of a Sunmaid box levels of dry, but the ripe grapes are sat out on mats and allowed to do some air drying. The less water in the grape, the more concentrated the sugar and the flavors. The more sugar and concentrated flavor, the richer the wine.
Food: Other than just drinking this on its own because it's heavenly, this would go well with something sturdy enough to hold up to the richness. I might pair it with a really heavy, meaty beef preparation - maybe braised short rib. The fruit notes in this might be fun with a heavy duty pork preparation, too...just make sure the meat's well seasoned and probably either roasted or braised.
Then, Easter came and the wine flowed. Like, a lot. A lot a lot.
Vignalta Fior d'Arancio, Colli Euganei 2013
Where: The Venetian region again! This time, the wine is from the Euganean Hills (Colli Euganei in Italian, pronounced COH-lee eh-oo-GAH-nay).
Aroma: Another Italian lesson..."Fior d'arancio" (fyor dah-RAHNCH-yo) means "orange blossom" or "orange flower," and that pretty much sums it up. This one is a sparkling wine, and it smells like orange blossom and honey.
Flavor: Truth in advertising wins again - this is like a fizzy, wonderful Dreamsicle in all the right ways. It's sweet-ish, but not dessert-y levels of sweet. Fresh, refreshing, beautifully orange-y.
Food: This might be a better before-or-after dinner kind of wine to open up or cleanse your palate (or, hell, just to drink because it's delicious...seriously, try this instead of a bland "champagne" that's not an actual champagne the next time you want to pop a cork and celebrate). That said, the brightness and orange flavor would probably have some fun interaction with shellfish with a lemony gremolata, or ambrosia salad (why not?).
I didn't take good notes on the Dunham Cellars Three Legged Red I had with dinner, but suffice it to say it was tasty and I'd drink it again.
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