2008 Toad Hollow Pinot Noir Russian River Valley, Goldies’s Vineyard

When Mother Nature begins to unfurl her fury there are tried and true methods of finding comfort. Some people curl up with a good book, others prefer a nice soak in the tub but I find comfort from the howling icy winds in a nice glass of wine. Last nights sample, 2008 Toad Hollow Pinot Noir from the Russian River Valley, Goldies’s Vineyard was a nice diversion from the dropping temps.

Spicy black cherry aromas, flavors of green pepper, earth and a hint of oak at the front of the palate. More of that wonderful spice hits mid-palate and finish is full of juicy raspberry providing for a long and lovely finish.

Alcohol - 14.5
TA - 0.51
pH - 3.45
RS - 0.03
2,000 cases produced
SRP - $12.99

I’m lukewarm towards Pinot Noir, they’re a difficult grape to grow and craft into a wine worthy of mentioning but Toad Hollow has hit the nail on the head. While winemaking abilities are important, geography is crucial. If you’ve read my previous Toad Hollow reviews (click here) you’ll recall Toad Hollow is the collaboration between Todd Williams and Rodney Strong. Named after Rodney’s mother, Goldie’s Vines Vineyard sits in the Russian River Valley AVA.

Located one hour north of San Francisco the Russian River Valley region is known for it cool climate and ability to successfully grow finicky cool climate varietals like Pinot Noir. The river provides cooling fog in the hot summers and the swelling river bank serves as a natural irrigation system in the spring.

Along with the stellar geographical factors, Goldie’s Vines Vineyards contains six different clones, three root stocks and a southeast slope above the Russian River. Low yield and concentrated flavors make this Pinot Noir purely elegant.

Unfortunately both Todd (Dr. Toad) and Rodney (The Dancing Badger) have gone to that big pond in the sky but their legacy lives on thanks to Todd’s wife, Frankie, who carries on the tradition at Toad Hollow Vineyard.

Maybe it’s time to remember where real comfort can be found, it’s with family and friends. Those are the people we lean on to provide us the most comforting feelings of all. Something to keep in mind this holiday season as our fuses are short, gift lists long and wallets strained. Remember to take time to slow down and enjoy a glass of wine with friends and family, or just by yourself.

Cheers to Toad and Badger!

2010© Kellie Stargaard. All Rights Reserved.
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What will you be popping open this New Year’s Eve?

The things I have to drink for my readers sometimes is just torture. Lucky for me my love of sparkling wine and Champagne made this one review I looked forward too. Plus it gave me the opportunity to open a bottle of Sparkling Wine when ever I wanted in the name of providing the information to you.

In all honesty I probably would have opened the bottles anyway. I don’t know why but the months of October to December find me popping open a bottle of bubbly at least once a week. This time of year just seems ripe for those little bubbles tickling my nose. Sparkling wine and Champagne are just fun and festive and I love to drink it for no reason at all.

Sparkling wine is a wine with high levels of carbon dioxide which make it fizzy when exposed to air. Sparkling wine and Champagne are produced in the same way but in order for a bottle of bubbly to be classified as Champagne, it must be produced within the Champagne region of France. In Portugal you’ll see the word Espumante to describe the effervescent drink, Spain uses Cava and Asti in Italy.

When choosing a bottle of sparkling wine or Champagne, there are a few cues to look for on the label to determine the sweetness of the wine.
Brut Natural or Brut Zéro (less than 3 grams of sugar per liter) will be on the dry side.
Extra Brut (less than 6 grams of sugar per liter) A little less dry but still not overly sweet.
Brut (less than 15 grams of sugar per liter) This one will be sweet and they only get sweeter from this point.
Extra Sec or Extra Dry (12 to 20 grams of sugar per liter)
Sec (17 to 35 grams of sugar per liter)
Demi-sec (33 to 50 grams of sugar per liter)
Doux (more than 50 grams of sugar per liter)

Most of the wines listed here are California sparkling wines made in the Champagne method as my budget does not allow for a bottle of true Champagne.

Totts Brut – This sparkling wine has a cork and cage which I think adds to the sparkling wine experience. You can get that slight little pop when you uncork. Be sure to remove the cork slowly so you don’t have a way ward cork and wine flowing all over the floor. Nice and fruity with a slight sweetness and not too dry. $8.99

Cooks Brut – Lots of bubbles, a tad on the sweet side but light and fruity. $6.99

Beringer Sparkling White Zinfandel – What can I say, it’s White Zinfandel with bubbles. Very sweet and tastes of peaches, did I mention very sweet. $8.99

Korbel Extra Brut – By far my favorite of these tastings. Dry and well balanced, very nice flavor with lots of tiny bubbles. It is on the higher end for my budget but it can be found on sale for $10 or less.

Andre Pink – This is for the frugal sparkling wine drinker when you just need some pink bubbly and you’re not as concerned about the quality. Maybe this is something you buy for New Years when you’ve already consumed the good stuff but just want to keep celebrating. It’s cheap at just $4.99 and little pink and some bubbles go a long way.

Depreville Sparkling Wine Brut – Crisp flavor, good bubbles and only $8.99. It has a good balance of sweetness and dry. This is one I had not tasted before and found it to be very drinkable.

Freixenet Cordon Negro Extra Dry Cava Spain – Wow, tons of tiny bubbles, not too sweet and very refreshing all in an elegant black opaque bottle. Found this one for $8.99.

However you choose to ring in the New Year, I hope it’s a happy and prosperous one.

2009© Kellie Stargaard. All Rights Reserved.

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Tiger Woods may be stuck in a sand trap but Greg Norman’s Australian Reserve Cabernet Merlot 2007 is a hole in one

At a time when everyone seems fixated on Tiger Woods and his alleged extra-curricular affairs, perhaps it’s time to focus on another golfer’s extra-curricular interests, Greg Norman’s Estate Wines.

The wine focus for today is Norman’s Australian Reserve Cabernet Merlot 2007. The wine is a ruby red color with aromas full of spice, red berries and cinnamon. Flavored with plums, spice and oak with nice tannins that create a slightly dry wine but provide for a nice lingering finish. While Merlot seems to be under attack lately, the blend of Cabernet and Merlot made for a smooth and velvety wine.

Upon Greg Norman’s first US trip while playing in the 1976 World Cup, he soaked up as much of the California culture as he could, including the growing wine culture. After years of traveling and tasting wines from various regions of the world Greg was finally able to build off his passion and started the Greg Norman Estates in Victoria, Australia.

While Norman is not the wine maker and does not own the vineyards he knows what he likes in a wine and oversees the bottling of each varietal. The grapes for Norman’s Australian Estates are grown in Limestone Coast, located in the southeastern corner in the state of South Australia. The region is one of the most significant wine zones in the country with producing almost one third of all wines in the state.

Norman also has produces California wines with grapes grown in Napa and Sonoma along with some of the lesser known wine regions, Lake County, Mendocino County and Santa Barbara. It’s the southern counties of California that typically produce grapes that appeal to mainstream America’s tastes for full fruit wines.

While we all know being a celebrity and having your dirty laundry aired to the public is par for the course, no pun intended, here’s to hoping the Tiger Woods news will blow over quickly and we can focus on more important things, like finding great tasting, inexpensive wines.

This wine can be found at your local wine retailer. I was able to find this wine at Total wine for $9.99. Easy drinking and affordable equals a perfect score for me.

2009© Kellie Stargaard. All Rights Reserved.

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Looking for something different to do with your turkey this Thanksgiving, how about Drunken Bird

As so many other families, my family has a traditional way of cooking our Thanksgiving turkey. It’s cooked on the grill and basted in red wine. It amazes me how many people never thought to cook a turkey on the grill. It’s a great way to reduce the amount of heat the oven puts out, especially here in Florida, and if you’re the one tending to the bird, gives you just a little bit of alone time. It’s just you, the bird and a bottle of wine.

We don’t use any particular wine, just something on the dry side and make sure you get enough for the basting of the bird as well as a few glasses for yourself. It’s really an easy process, put the turkey in a roasting pan, get the coals or gas up to temperature, pour enough wine in the pan to cover the bottom plus some additional to use for basting, close the lid and check back in about twenty minutes to baste. I’m not truly convinced the constant basting keeps the turkey any moister than if you didn’t baste that often but it does give you a few moments to clear your head. Let the turkey get to the appropriate cooking temperature and voila! Drunken Bird.

Speaking of Thanksgiving and wine, this is a great time to open a bottle of Beaujolais Nouveau. Since the wine may have experienced a little bottle shock, the additional week allowing the wine to settle may bring out some additional flavors that were not detected on last weeks release date.

When picking a wine for Thanksgiving you want to think about the side dishes you will be serving since these have the more complex flavors, textures and aromas. I prefer something a little on the light side like a Pinot Noir or Zinfandel, a big, bold Cabernet or Merlot may be just a little too heavy for this meal. A Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio is a good choice for white wine lovers. Sparkling wine is also a great choice and can be a phenomenal in food pairing.

How ever you choose to spend your Thanksgiving, take some time to reflect on all the wonderful things, big or small, you have to be thankful for in your life. Have a happy Thanksgiving.

2009© Kellie Stargaard. All Rights Reserved.

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