Facing and conquering my wine fears….Chardonnay

If it’s not an Ice Wine or Sparkling I just can’t seem to drink and enjoy white wines. The mere thought of drinking a white wine leaves my taste buds screaming in terror, my palms sweating and a knot in the pit of my stomach. This comes after years of wine tastings, where a tiny sip of wine does not truly reveal itself, buying said bottle, opening at home only to discover the wine is not to my liking.Tonight I face the bane of all my wine drinking experiences, the Chardonnay.

I chose Oak Grove Chardonnay, knowing how well balanced their line of reds taste. As I hesitantly bring the glass to my lips, I’m not sure if I can go through with my wine experiment but I’m determined to press on. The aromas are filled with tropical fruit flavors and sweet apples. The flavors are surprisingly smooth and not a hint of that buttery Chardonnay flavor that typically leaves me running for the nearest bottle of red. The balance between the sweetness and the taste of apple reminds me of an adult version of apple juice.

Appellation - 100% California
Alcohol - 13.8%
pH - 3.53
T.A. - 0.66
R.S. - 0.6%
Case production - 30,000 cases

Since most people prefer whites in the heat of the summer, I think I’m a little off since this is the first of November. While I only managed to drink two small glasses before switching to a red, I will continue to face my fears and hope to bring you a variety of white wine reviews in the future.

I picked up my bottle of Oak Grove Chardonnay at Total Wine for $7.99.

2009© Kellie Stargaard. All Rights Reserved.

http://winechicksguidetoeverydaywines.blogspot.com/

Looking for a wine that won’t fly off with your hard earned cash; Grab a bottle of 2008 Crow Canyon Cabernet Sauvignon.

Looking for a wine that won’t fly off with your hard earned cash; Grab a bottle of 2008 Crow Canyon Cabernet Sauvignon.

In following my Halloween themed wines, Crow Canyon sounds a little scary but I was pleasantly surprised to find it quite lovely. Strong black currants, ripe cherries and plums make for a great nose. These carry over to the flavors and combined smooth tannins, this medium bodied wine has a fine finish.

Who’s Crow Canyon? Well, that’s what I would like to know but as far as I can tell it’s just a label. I found some info stating there was no winery and no winemaker dinners but someone still had to make the wine. Many times wineries create labels to provide an inexpensive offer in the marketplace. I did find where the 2005 Cabernet one the Silver for the up to $14.99 category in the 2009 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.

Sadly I’m unable to find any additional info but for the price, the flavors of this wine will not leave you caw-cawing foul (couldn’t resist).

Interesting wine fact:
Bones are more dense in both men and women with moderate wine consumption. After menopause, osteoporosis becomes a very serious problem in women. Hip fractures are notorious. Dense bones are resistant to fractures. (I should have bones of steel - ks) - David Bruce, M.D.

I found this wine at Total Wine for $5.99.

2009© Kellie Stargaard. All Rights Reserved.

http://winechicksguidetoeverydaywines.blogspot.com/

You can contact Kellie at winechicksguide@yahoo.com

2006 Ashwood Grove Merlot

Today seemed to just slip away from me as I spent the day joining more blog sites, sending out interview questions to a wine maker and working at the job that actually pays me. Glad this day is over and now I’m looking forward to a nice glass of wine. Seems there are only 2 new to me bottles in the wine fridge both of which are from Australia, looks the choice is a 2006 Ashwood Grove Merlot.

The aromas consist of black currants and plums. Flavors of rich berries and smooth tannins provide for a well balanced and lingering finish. The wine is slightly on the sweet side but pairs will with our spicy Indian curry dinner.

Ashwood is owned by Alliance Brands and is located in Victoria, Australia where the grapes are primarily grown. Ashwood Grove strives for intense, rich flavors that are designed to enjoyed upon opening and pair well with food.

Interesting wine stats:
As of September 2009, Australian wine export volumes increased by 8% to 758 million
litres valued at A$2.4 billion. All figures are in Australian currency.
Growth was achieved in the value of Australian wine shipped to:
• China (up A$50 million to A$115 million),
• Germany (A$10 million to A$56 million),
• Hong Kong (A$9 million to A$44 million),
• the US (A$7 million to A$727 million),
• Japan (A$4 million to A$51 million), and
• Sweden (A$2 million to A$40 million).
- Australian Government – Austrailain Wine and Brandy Corporation.

I found this wine at ABC Fine Wine & Spirits for $6.00.


2009© Kellie Stargaard. All Rights Reserved.

Camelot wines and wine season

The word Camelot brings to mind beauty and goodness and with the arrival of some much needed Fall air to Florida it makes me think of all goodness that comes from this time of year. The start of fire pit season, the midst of football season (go Bulls) and an all time favorite, wine season. Wine season falls between Labor Day and New Years Day; many winemakers use these months to determine a winery’s success for the year. During this crucial time for a winery’s success go out and support some of the smaller U.S. wineries.

Crafted from superior grapes in California, Camelot’s 2006 Merlot, seems like a good choice of wines to support. The nose is oaky and spicy with lots of plum and cherry flavors. The taste is slightly dry, medium bodied with a nice finish. The wine is blended using grapes from three regions with a combination of cool and warm climates. By doing so, the wine has ripe flavors and smooth tannins providing for a well balanced wine.

Appellation – California
Region – North Coast, Central Coast and Lodi
Fermentation – Stainless Steel
Barrel Aging – 3 months in French and American oak
Alcohol – 13.5%
TA. – 0.57g/100ml
pH – 3.63

Camelot winery was established in 1993 and since 1996 Camelot has been awarded over 425 medals in wine competitions. The winery believes in providing good tasting wines at an affordable price to enhance their customer’s lifestyles.
This wine season, be sure to do your part and enjoy those great tasting and inexpensive wines.

2009© Kellie Stargaard. All Rights Reserved.

Pack me up and send me to Hayes Ranch

I’m in a quandary and I don’t know what to do, seems like a perfect time to open a bottle of wine and mull over my options. I’m finally happy with the number of hours I’m working and am able to spend the extra time working on the Wine Chick gig, a co-worker wants me to take additional duties off their plate but I’m afraid it will just put the stress back on my plate. I’m not sure there’s a solution to this one that will make everyone happy.

I found this 2006 Hayes Ranch ‘In the Saddle’ Cabernet Sauvignon to be great tasting and affordable. The aromas are delicious, with notes of cherry, dark berry and oak. The wine is fruit forward with a lingering finish and very well balanced. I’m unable to find any info on the winery other than it’s a California wine with a western spirit. I’ll definitely buy this one again.

This wine can be found at ABC Fine Wine & Spirits for $7.99.

Interesting fact:
Did you know the discount chain Costco is the largest wine retailer in the U.S.? In 2008 alcohol sales topped $2.3 billion with 50% coming from wine. The average Costco store carries 180 alcohol SKUs, wine averages around 145 SKUs per store.

Copyright ©2009 by Kellie Stargaard. All Rights Reserved.

2007 Levata Montepulciano d’Abruzzo more than a lot of words

Wine hubby is at a B.E.E.R.S. meeting so I ponder over my wine choices for the evening and hope I pick a winner. I chose a bottle of 2007 Levata Montepulciano d’Abruzzo. The name isn’t all that intimidating once you break it down:
Levata – winemakers name
Montepulciano – type of grape
D’Abruzzo – region in east central Italy

The wine smells delicious with spicy notes, fruit and oak. The aromas carry over to the taste with dryness and light tannins. Typically the wine is consumed young after 2 years of aging the wine is labeled “Risvera” and must spend at least 6 of those months in oak barrels. Abruzzo is just east of Rome and the culture is centered more around hard workers and was designated as a DOC in 1968. The wines are at least 85% Montepulciano with some blending of Sangiovese. As I spend another evening relaxing at home, it feels great not dreading going to work tomorrow. Once again, life is good…..

Chickadees word of the day:
DOC – The abbreviation for the Appellation system of Italy (Denominazione di Origine Controllata) and Portugal (Denominacao de Origem Contralada). I think we should cover these in depth at a later date. Be on the lookout.

Copyright ©2009 by Kellie Stargaard. All Rights Reserved.

Stonehaven and my field trip to SoHo

It was the end to a great week, having worked only half a day on Friday, lunch in SoHo, an hour walking around Hyde Park (even if most shops have packed up and left) then finding an unknown value wine, 2006 Stonehaven Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon, at the Publix Greenwise Market.

Stonehaven Vineyard is located in Australia's Limestone Coast. The winery uses computer technology providing the winemaker with total control over the winemaking process. I’m not sure how I feel about using computers to make wine, it makes it impersonal. I mean why bother even having a winemaker if all you have to do is key some information into a computer. The website speaks a little to the vineyards and the barrel hall but I couldn’t find any information from the vineyard regarding their wines.

The aroma is soft but fruity. The soft fruit flavors carry over with spice and peppers from the Shiraz. The wine was well balanced and definitely not bad for $7.99.

Here’s to hoping this week is as wonderful as last week!

Chickadee word of the day:
Barrel Hall - After crushing and fermentation wines requiring barrel maturation are pumped to a hall and decanted into oak barrels. The maturation in oak allows the wine to develop structure and further.

2009© Kellie Stargaard. All Rights Reserved.

Fetzer Cabernet and my avoidance wines

There are a few wines that for whatever reason during my wine drinking years I have avoided. Some are for obvious reasons, Sutter Home, Gallo and Paul Masson fit under this category as they’re starter wines in my book. These are the wines the non-drinking American house frau picks up for a dinner party. She has no idea these wines are terrible, she just knows she’s heard of them. Then there’s the other category where I would list tonight’s wine, the “I don’t know why I avoid this wine” category.

Maybe it’s the name, Fetzer sounds too much like fester but to my surprise it wasn’t all that bad. The aromas smell like other wines with ripe berries, plums, spice and oak. Flavors consist of oak more berries and vanilla. The tannins are firm but balanced making this a medium bodied wine.

Fetzer Winery started in 1968 in Mendocino County and began growing their own grapes in 1984. Fetzer has a commitment to the environment and sustainability through green packaging, solar energy and waste reduction. Through these efforts the winery has won many Environmental accolades.

This is the second “avoidance” wine I’ve tried, first being Barefoot wine and it is something I will try again. Stepping outside of your comfort zone whether it be in the wine you drink or the life you live, isn’t always a bad thing….who knows something good just my come of it.

Alcohol – 13.49%
T.A. - .63gms
pH - 3.47
R.S. - .06gms

Phrase of the day:
“Wine makes daily living easier, less hurried, with fewer tensions and more tolerance” – Benjamin Franklin

Copyright ©2009 by Kellie Stargaard. All Rights Reserved.

2007 Oak Grove Petite Sirah

After three months of being dragged through the mud, strung along, benefits stripped earlier this month, I’m still on the same account 100%, full time…..this has to stop. I sent an email to my boss and advised her as of Monday, my new hours will be 8-2:30 and I will no longer be the point person on said account, she said, “ok”. After suggesting she draft an email to sales advising them of the change, I’m finally feeling in control of my life again. I decided to celebrate with one of my new “go to” wines, Oak Grove and in honor of new beginnings, I chose to try something new, the 2007 Reserve Petite Sirah.

In staying with trying something new, I decide to experiment with using a wine aerator.
Prior to aeration, the aromas are earthy and lots of oak but I detect only a hint of fruit. Flavors are floral and oaky with soft almost delicate tannins. After aeration, the aromas come alive, I still pick up on the oak but I swear I detect orange blossoms. Flavors have increased with cherries, raspberries and spicy, tannins are more pronounced and the wine has much more body. The wine in the glass shows thick viscosity, deep crimson red with hues of purple.

Oak Grove was founded in 1999 by proprietor Jeffrey Dye and the grapes are grown in the cool California appellations of Monterey County, Arroyo Seco and Paso Robles. The wine make up is 13.6% alcohol, 3.72 pH, .65 T.A., .3 R.S.

While the cabernet is still my #1 “go to” wine, I need to branch out and try new things. Accept what life throws at me and be prepared to throw some inexpensive empty wine bottles back. I must tell you this weekend I had one of the most relaxing weekends since my honeymoon in May. Sunday evening I sipped on a bottle of Sparkling Wine and felt all was right again.

Wine Chikadees words of the day (bonus word)
Residual Sugar (R.S.) – also called reducing sugar natural grape sugar fermented at the end of the fermentation process or added back into the wine.
Titratable Acidity (T.A.) – also called total acidity is the sum of the fixed and volatile acids which is determined by a chemical process called titrable (very scientific words!)

Copyright ©2009 by Kellie Stargaard. All Rights Reserved.

2005 R.H. Phillips Night Harvest Merlot

As Fall officially begins at 5:18 p.m. EST, it seems only fitting to talk about R.H. Phillips Night Harvest Merlot. The wine in the glass has a deep Ruby color and shows medium viscosity, indicating high alcohol content (somewhere around 13%). The wine was aged in oak barrels for 14 months making it silky and full-bodied with layers of strawberries, oak and a hint of coffee. The grapes actually were harvested under the stars at night between the hours of 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. allowing the cool California air to chill the fruit and preserve the acidity.

The label is eye catching with its black back ground, a man standing on a ladder picking a large grape bunch, a brilliant moon on one side, a star on the other. It truly does make me think of fall and cooler nights, the perfect wine drinking weather.

R.H. Phillips opened in 1983 and started selling wine in 1984. The company’s founders originally set their sights on sheep herding but quickly changed direction and began planting grapes. The company was founded by John and Lane Giguiere, and John Giguiere’s brother, Karl. The brothers then named the winery after their grandfather, R.H. Phillips. The winery was sold in 2000 and the Giguiere’s now have a new winery called Crew Wine Company LLC.

Sadly on 09/01 of this year, the winery’s parent company, Constellation Brands, closed the winery. Production of the winery’s Toasted Head label and other R.H. Phillips wines will continue in Acampo at Robert Mondavi’s Woodbridge winery. Two of the R.H. Phillips winemakers are also moving to Woodbridge. In recent years R.H. Phillips has become my “go to” wine. Let’s hope this doesn’t turn into another Blackstone. Woodbridge winery hopes to maintain the same quality and passion that has made this wine so enjoyable....we’ll see………

You can find this wine and other R.H. Phillips wines at Total Wine and ABC Fine Wine & Spirits.

Chickadee word of the day:
Silky – Wine that is incredibly smooth, lush and finely textured.

Copyright ©2009 by Kellie Stargaard. All Rights Reserved.

Blackstone Cabernet – 2007, has Blackstone lost that loving feeling?

After my recent discovery of Mark West wines and former Blackstone owner, Derek Benham, I thought maybe it was time to revisit my old friend Blackstone. Blackstone really was the wine that started my love affair with wine. I think previous to Blackstone my only wine experience had been with Boone’s Farm and some Rose…don’t judge me, I was young. It all started when I was invited to a friend’s home for a wine tasting. The night before I was at a bar and somehow started talking to a local wine distributor. I asked him to recommend some wines to take to the tasting. He told me hands down, purchase Blackstone and I did.

The night of the tasting, Blackstone not only hooked me but also several other people became followers and would buy cases to stock their wine cellar. Blackstone became one of those great comforting friends who would never let you down and you knew the taste would always be fabulous. The wine had a way of wrapping its arms around you like a velvet blanket. Then something changed, Blackstone had lost that loving’ feeling’ and I couldn’t figure out what had changed between the two of us. I finally learned, it wasn’t me, it was Blackstone. It seems once the brand changed hands, the love was gone.

So I muster up my courage and agree to face my old friend once again. Before I even open the bottle I can tell Blackstone is different, the cork is no longer a natural cork but synthetic. There’s nothing wrong with a synthetic cork, but the wine will never soften due to natural bottle aging. I take in the aromas of plums, oak and a slight pepper. When I taste the wine, I’m immediately disappointed, the wine feels flat and thin as it hits my palate making the wine very one dimensional. What happened to the fruit forward, complex wine that had so many followers in the early part of the decade? I think I actually had tears, I was really hoping we could mend our differences and pick up right where we left off.

I can’t help notice Cabernet profiled on the Blackstone website is a 2004. Well if I remember correctly, the 2004 vintage was still delightful. Derek Benham sold Blackstone in 2001; did the winemaker leave shortly after? The current Blackstone winemaker has been making wine for 10 years, but there’s no mention whether he got his start at Blackstone of if he came on board later. Does anyone know??? I’m actually thinking of calling the winery and asking them this very question.

Before I completely break up with Blackstone, I think I need to give the Merlot another chance. This is after all the wine that put Blackstone on the map. In listening to a podcast with Gary Sitton, Blackstone winemaker, he has piqued my interest enough to give the Merlot a chance. He talks the Blackstone concept of providing quality and wine drinker friendly wines at affordable prices. Maybe there’s hope for reconciliation after all. Stay tuned for the Merlot report.

I found Blackstone on sale at Publix for $8.99. It normally retails for $10.99-$12.99

Chickadee word of the day:
Winemaker – An expert at making wine, who’s usually in charge of all steps of the wine production at the winery.