Don't Fear the Grape

Last Friday I had the pleasure of having my first glass of the 2009 Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau with a small group of friends. While I did anticipate tasting it for the first time, I was still skeptical due to my past experiences with the Duboeuf, because in past years it hasn’t been what I would call ‘drinkable’ due to flaws like bitterness and even mustiness. But all 2009 Beaujolais are supposed to be the best in fifty years. Yes, 50 years! This is due to excellent growing conditions such as weather and overall climate. On our Beaujolais Nouveau podcast, we tasted a Beaujolais Villages Nouveau, which was very good, and I looked forward to comparing it to the Duboeuf.

Read more…

I picked this bottle of Edmeades Zinfandel up a couple of years ago at a wine sale. It had been sitting in my wine cooler until on a whim I decided to open it up. Boy, was I ever surprised.

Read more…

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.

Read more…

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).

Read more…