Fox Run Vineyards - 2012 merlot (New York)

Today's wine is another first for me - a New York red. I must acknowledge friend and former colleague Jenna, who hails from the Empire State, got this for me. I recall having a glass of New York white wine years ago, but don't remember too much of it, so I'm happy to be able to try some now.

This particular wine is made by Fox Run Vineyards, based right on the north end of Seneca Lake in Penn Yan, NY - part of the Finger Lakes region, which is named for a series of long, narrow lakes in New York's western parts between Rochester and Cortland.

The Finger Lakes region is actually an AVA, first recognized in 1982, and featuring a "Continental" climate. It encompasses 11,000 acres over 11 lakes, and is compared often to German vineyards in terms of climate and production. According to my research, the first commercial wines to come out of the Finger Lakes were released around 1862. After a few fits and starts, including that nasty Prohibition business, the region has seen a renaissance and become quite an attraction, with wine tours, hotels, and B&Bs contributing to the tourism of that region. Today, there are over 100 vineyards based in the region.

A balmy summer's day in New York's Finger Lakes region. 

Today's wine is a blend of 92% Merlot and 8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2012 vintage. The color is ruby red, with a little fading along the meniscus of the wine. It's still young, so I don't anticipate any bricking to occur. Still, what a nice color.

The nose is a strong mixture of dark fruit skins - I'm thinking black cherry here - and alcohol. The second element surprises me, since the wine is only 12% ABV - a hair less than most other wines.

The wine started off mellow, with some dry strawberry and plum flavors. After a few minutes, though, it opened up nicely with round, warming, and generally "plummy" flavors throughout, and on the finish. In addition, there a dryness here that I like. It's evident enough to give the wine some character, but not enough to distract from the other jammier flavors like strawberries and plums.

I feel the Cabernet portion of it gives some of that "roundness" I detected; merlot can be a soft and boring grape at times but it held up its end of the bargain in this bottle as well. There's not a lot of acidity here, which I like. All in all, a good bottle that was very drinkable, and am looking forward to trying more Finger Lakes offerings in the future.

Champagne Vollereaux - 2012 reserve brut champagne (France)

I've never been super enthralled with sparkling white wines in the past, perhaps discouraged by free "rail" champagnes at various events or weddings. But that's not to say the whole wine genre is bad - I have encountered a couple of nice examples, such as a 2012 Moet Chandon blanc et noirs that I had a few years back. I'm always open to trying new things, and so when Charles Bissell offered this wine for sale, I just had to check it out.

It's Champagne Vollereaux's reserve brut Champagne, produced in the town of Pierry in the Marne department of the Champagne-Ardennes region of France. And, of course, it is authentic Champagne, having been produced wholly in the eponymous region. Like other specific kinds of wine, true Champagne must be produced under a certain set of stringent guidelines, like location, specific vineyard practices, and the secondary fermentation in the bottle to create natural carbonation. This wine is also a "non-vintage" bottle, which means it's a blend of various years and grapes. There are many kinds of champagne, with "brut" being one of the most common. "Brut" means there's a dryness to the champagne, with no sweetness. Others, like demi-sec or doux, are much sweeter.

I always like hearing the "pop" of the muselet. Since I am staying with my family while I'm attending a conference for work, I get access to the various antique glassware I have collected. You'll notice I am using an authentic coupe, also known as a "Champagne saucer." I don't own any flutes and prefer to have my champers in this fashion.

Lots of little bubbles in there, of course. Initially, there's a slight mineral taste, but otherwise clean, effervescent, and dry. Slight grape flavors develop with an interesting undertone of oxidized sherry flavors that I found rather intriguing. The wine is tart and super crisp on the finish, and warms up nicely over time with more of those white grape flavors coming out.

One downside here is the price - it's on the more expensive end of the spectrum, with a today's bottle (a 375mL "split") costing around $21, and a full-size 750mL costing over $40. Like any bottle of wine at this price, one should have deeper introspection when it comes to buying. I bought a split because I didn't want to spend over $40 on a full-size bottle just to find out I didn't like it. Cost aside, however, I am pleased with this selection. It was perfect for the weather this past weekend - slightly warm, sunny, and breezy. This wine was refreshing and tasty, and will look forward to trying Champagne by this vineyard in the future.

Field Trip: Wine Tasting in Carlisle, Pennsylvania

Last weekend, I was visiting my alma mater, Dickinson College, and had the chance to participate in a blind wine tasting as part of my Alumni Council meeting. The tasting was hosted by Professor Steve Erfle, a professor of economics at the college and an experienced wine scholar. Steve's encyclopedic knowledge of wine and the winemaking process is worthy of a master sommelier, and he even teaches a course at Dickinson revolving around the role of wine in culture. So we were in good hands!

The tasting was set up blind, with eight wines in total: four chardonnays and four pinot noirs, all either 2012 or 2013. In most wine tastings, various wines are intentionally arranged to be enjoyed in succession, and the wine tasting leader will go through each wine with participants, discussing tasting notes and talking about the different qualities or faults of the wine. We also had some soft bread and various cheeses to complement the wines.

Some wine tastings have all the wine information present, but as I mentioned, today's is blind. We knew what we were drinking, just not which particular ones were in which order. Our lineup included the following, not in order:

• Domaine Drouhin pinot noir (Oregon)
• Joel Gott pinot noir (California)
• Merryvale "Starmont" chardonnay (California)
• Hob Nob chardonnay (California)
• Oyster Bay pinot noir (New Zealand)
• Tisdale pinot noir (California)
• Louis Jadot Pouilly-Fuisse chardonnay (France)
• "A" by Acacia chardonnay (California)

To start, Professor Erfle instructed the group to sample the first wine, labelled 1 on the placemat. The placemat also has a tasting wheel, developed by famous oenologist and UC Davis professor Ann Noble, which participants can use to help narrow down tasting notes they detect during the tasting. In the center of the wheel, there are basic tasting terms, and as you move outward, the terms branch out into more specific tastes and aromas. This way, a wine taster can work his or her way out from a basic flavor to something more specific. The group used this wheel to discuss each wine we tried.

The tasting followed an interesting process: we first tried Wine #1, had about half the glass in small sips, and discussed what we liked about it and what we were tasting. Water and a few bites of bread later, we moved on to Wine #2. Again, we used the wine tasting wheel to discuss the flavor notes, but now we had the benefit of being able to compare and contrast with the previous wines. And since we left some wine in each glass, we could go back to previous wines in the set and remark on them. I won't go into tasting notes for each wine, but I will highlight a few of the general trends: the group noticed the chardonnays stuck generally to the full and fruity end of the spectrum, with moderate oak on some offerings, but no sharp flavors in any. Some, like #3 (we later found out was the Louis Jadot) were more minerally than others, but overall I enjoyed each of the chardonnays, my favorite being the Merryvale Starmont, which had a big and buttery flavor to it and was remarkably smooth and refreshing. That one retails for around $20. 

And the pinots had a lot of smoky / leather flavors to them, especially the Tisdale, which (as was later revealed) is very cheap - #7 per bottle. I personally found the Oyster Bay to be a little too aggressive (I think the words I used were "uppercut of flavor") but I found the last one we tried, #8, to be the best. It was the 2013 Domaine Drouhin from Oregon - a warm, assertive pinot noir with a velvety smokiness that I enjoyed thoroughly. It's made in the Dundee Hills AVA of Oregon, located southwest of Portland. The climate there is "maritime" - which is a winemaking term to describe a climate of moderate temperature, cool breezes, and above-average rainfall. 

Unfortunately it's $40 per bottle, so a bit beyond by usual price range. But it's a delicious glass of wine which I wouldn't mind having again, and would be pleased to have it with a charcuterie of gouda, liver pate, and French bread.

In conclusion, the tasting went smoothly and was very interesting. It wasn't my first tasting, but it was my first large group tasting with so many wines (of different vintages, as well.) Being able to compare and contrast each offering, and do so blindly, was an interesting exercise. And of course big kudos to Steve Erfle, whose knowledge and guidance made the tasting very in-depth and engaging.

Steve lecturing to the Alumni Council on the finer points of a certain vintage.

Bronco Wine Company - 2013 "Charles Shaw" shiraz (California)

Many of you may recognize this wine from your visits to Trader Joe's. Yes, it's none other than TJ's "extreme value" wine, Charles Shaw...also known as "Two Buck Chuck." I figured after a couple of you requested this, I should give it a spin.

This wine is vinted under contract by Bronco Wine Company, perhaps partially (or fully) owned by Trader Joe's. As is the case with all TJ's wines, I couldn't find too much information about the manufacturing processes (Trader Joe's likes to keep that quiet.) I do know, however, it's a Shiraz from California.

"Two Buck Chuck" was so-named back when the wine was released in 2005. The price tag - $1.99 - proved to be immensely popular, not just with college students and budget-minded young people but the public at large. I mean, who doesn't like cheap wine? Now, however, it's "Three-Buck Chuck" since the price has increased 50% since first release - a whole dollar more. And I figured owing to the cultural cache of this wine, I should try it for the blog. I've tried lots of expensive wine, like Chateau Ste Michelle's $50-a-bottle Im'press'ive, and plenty of cheap wine, but never one under $3. Let's find out what the hype is about.

Poured it into the glass and took a whiff -aroma of sour fruit, a little bit of alcohol. The aroma was actually not bad. Let it sit, per usual.

The taste is remarkably sour, initially with some dark fruit flavors, but mostly sour with a sort of undercurrent of varnish. The finish was sharp, with an alcohol sweetness I didn't like. The aftertaste isn't bad, actually, with some more of those dark fruit flavors lingering on the tongue.

I mean, I get it - it's only $2.99, which is the attraction - but I feel the wine is too "unfinished" for my tastes. It feels like it needs to soften up, mellow out and exchange some of those alcohol and varnish flavors for a smoother, jammier glass. But that's the rub, isn't it? Older wines have had a chance to mellow out, and certain production methods and attention to detail (and locale) can make a difference. And sometimes, super-cheap wine like this can be used as filler for more expensive, smoother blends. Perhaps this particular grape may be used to mix with other, finer grapes to create, say, a $9.99 bottle. And so this "proto-wine" as I am now calling it doesn't really reflect a truly appreciable wine on its own.

But another knock against it is the price comparison to other wines. This bottle is $2.99, at Trader Joe's, but not ten feet down the wine aisle there are plenty of other, much better offerings for only a dollar or two more. For example, the La Finca brand or Le Ferme Julien are both delicious. I loved their Pontificis Cotes-du-Rhone for $6. And the VINTJS label is triple the price, at $9, of which their Barbera is exemplary. So with a cost comparison like that, and frankly a ton of better options for really not that much more, I don't find too many compelling reasons to drink this wine, and frankly nor is it something you should bring to your friend's place (as the label is so popular, they'll know you went with the cheapest possible offering.)

Beer Flash: Chris' "Off The Topper" IPA

Today's beer is another homebrew creation, this time from my colleague Chris. It's essentially a clone of the "Heady Topper" beer. You may recall a few years back, I reviewed the "Heady Topper," a double IPA from Vermont-based Alchemist Brewing Co. It's highly sought-after, much like Founder's "Kentucky Breakfast Stout" or Bell's "Hopslam." I was pleased that I was able to try both.

Here's what Chris had to say about the beer: it's a Northern Brewer kit beer (which means all the materials come in a kit) called "Off the Topper," in which he used 13 ounces of dry hops and 10 mL of liquid hops, and then uses a method called "hop stand," where the wort is chilled, hops are added, then re-chilled. From start to finish, Chris spent 9 weeks on this creation. His disclaimer to this beer is that he'd replace it if it wasn't carbonated enough. Luckily, it was fine! It's got the thickest foam I've ever seen - it's practically like an ice-cream float.

I like the fresh hop aroma to the beer. Taste-wise, it's got a noticeable hop profile, however danker than I remember the Heady Topper being. That being said, this is still refreshing and delicious, with a good balance to the malt and hops. Great work, Chris!