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Episode 2: How to Taste Wine

Topic: Discussion on the basics of how to properly taste wine.

Tasting: 2007 Lo Duca Bros. Mamertino

Price: $12.99
Varietal: Biancale and Trebbiano
Region: Italy > Emilia-Romagna

Tad’s Rating: 4 Stars Like It
Patrick’s Rating: 5 Stars Love It

Tip: In order to properly appreciate a wine’s color and nose, never fill you glass more than 1/3 full.

2001 Stephen Ross Petite Sirah

Several years ago I had the privilege of meeting Stephen Ross Dooley at I wine tasting I was attending. Stephen, a winemaker from California, also happened to be from my hometown in Minnesota. At the time, I was just getting in to wines, and was fascinated by listening to Stephen talk about his career in the wine industry and about establishing his own wine label in 1994, Stephen Ross.

Stephen presented a few of his wines that night, and I fell in love with his Pinot Noir, which seems to be something Stephen Ross specializes in. That night I bought a bottle of his Pinot Noir and, just for the heck of it, a bottle of his Petite Sirah. I quickly drank the Pinot Noir, while the Petite Sirah languished in the back of my wine cooler, that is until last night.

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French Wines: An Eye-Opener

Last week (October 1st) I attended a wine tasting I discovered on meetup.com. It was held at the Black Dog Café in downtown St. Paul and was the first in their Meetings with the Wine Trade series. Jane Greenheck from Paustis Wine Company shared her passion for French wines.

It was a rainy night that seemed to keep people home and resulted in a very small turnout (6 people). That made for a very intimate experience and discussion. Jane presented six wines, three whites and three reds.

I must admit, I haven’t drunk many French wines before. I think I’ve subconsciously avoided them in favor of lesser known wine regions. I realize now I’ve been doing myself a disservice; all of these wines were extremely drinkable (yes, even the whites).

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Episode 1: Pilot

Welcome to the pilot episode of Don’t Fear the Grape. In the episode we will discuss how Patrick and I were introduced to wine and how you can get started exploring wine yourself.

Topic: Discussion on how and where to get started drinking wine.

Tasting: 2006 Fontana Candida Orviéto Classico

Price: $8.99
Varietal: 45% Trebbiano Toscano, 20% Verdello, 15% Grechetto, 10% Malvasia Toscana, 10% Drupeggio
Region: Italy > Umbria > Orviéto > Orviéto Classico
Website: www.banfivintners.com

Tad’s Rating: 3 Stars Drinkable
Patrick’s Rating: 3 Stars Drinkable

Tip: Never judge a wine by its first sip. Always take 2-3 sips before judging a wine.