Wine Tasting @ Kappy's!

Sunday Kappy's had the grand holiday tasting. Here were my standouts:

Tangley Oaks Chardonnay: A hint of sweetness, SO refreshing compared to the buttered popcorn Chardonnays I'd been having. Food friendly, versatile, some fruity apple notes. YUM YUM YUM YUM.

Oriel "Etereo" Barolo: Structured, some tannins but not unctuous. Red fruit, spice. At $70 a bottle, not something I could drink every day.

Stangeland Pinot Gris: Clean, good drinking. Light fruit, a great "house white"...and I love the story of the retired chemist deciding to make wine!

Gancia Prosecco Extra Dry: I still like the Mionetto Prosecco Brut better, but this was a party in my mouth. Crisp, easy drinking sparkler.

Oriel "Palatina" Riesling : Fruity but not sweet, steely mineral notes. Food friendly and a fuck of a good wine.

Renwood Zinfandel: What a pleasant surprise! Fruity, jammy easy drinking wine. I guess I like my fruit bombs!

Banfi Pinot Grigio: Light citrus, apples, pears. Great with seafood. MMMMMMMM.

relaxing with a floral friend

I am such, such a fan of interesting whites...be they steely, fruit bombs, or a mouthful of flowers. I am not so much a fan of the stereotypical California oaked-to-hell Chardonnay. (Although I do enjoy a nice UNoaked Chard!).

On the "interesting white" front...Clay Station 2005 Viognier. Another Trader Joe bottle ($8.99) and a mouthful of flowers. But in a good way.

Here's the tasting notes from the bottle:
An elegant aromatic wine that pairs well with many including scallops, pasta with pesto and Szechwan green beans. Our Viognier displays notes of honeysuckle, jasmine and orange blossom layered with juicy guava and peach character for a refreshing finish that lingers.

Here's my tasting notes:
Like walking into a flower store, but very pleasant. Tropical undertones...maybe some passionfruit? This is a hell of wine, great for sitting on the back patio in the spring with your feet up and the sun on your face.
We had this wine with Coho salmon initally...cooked with soy sauce and a little sugar. It was delicious. A few days later we also had this with a tomato and basil salad. Also a winner.

First Post, some Oregon flava

I thought my first post here (thanks for setting this blog up for me Mike!) should be something significant. So my first review/wine I'll talk about on http://www.agirlandhervino.com/ is the first bottle we drank in our new apartment: a 2005 King Estate Oregon Pinot Gris. I had asked Mike to bring me back something from Oregon (he went to the Nike headquarters for work) and that was his choice. Slightly validating for him, since Food and Wine listed it as one of the "50 Wines You Can Always Trust" in the April 2007 issue a few weeks later. Go Mike!

Also of note: the wine is produced from sustainably-farmed vineyards. I approve.

Tasting notes from Food and Wine: a crisp white full of stone-fruit flavors that is a consistently great value.

My tasting notes: There's tropical fruit hues in the bouquet. Fragrant but not sickly. It's light and food-friendly. Bit of sweetness, bit of mineral, slightly herbaceous finish. I could see myself serving this at a summer backyard barbeque. It has the sort of easy way about it that doesn't scream "pretentious" or "serious wine"--which is sometimes exactly what you want.