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Chicago Sommelier Sara Kay shows off some little-known, delicious, and very affordable wines to see you through to the springtime.
La Levraudiere, Muscadet Sevre & Maine. Loire Valley, France
This wine has a touch of apricots and a hint of honey with fine crisp acidity. It is fuller in front than normal years because 2008 vintage produced only 30% of the normal crop. (That means it is more complex.) It is long in the mouth with minerals on the farewell.
Cost: $13.99
Parrillada Classic, Torrontes. Mendoza, Argentina
It has the richness of a Chardonnay, the vibrancy of a Sauvignon Blanc and the lovely floral expressiveness of a Viognier– all in one sip! The generous aromas and flavors of this gorgeous white make it an extremely food-friendly wine. It’s especially good with grilled seafood.
Cost: $13.99
Alandra, Tinto. Portugal
The color in the glass is a deep ruby red, with aromas of cherries, and other dark red fruit flavors, and a hint of dried red fruit. On the palate the fruit flavors are present, with a good balance, soft and silky tannins, and just the right amount of acidity. For the price this is a very quaffable wine that can be enjoyed on its own. I paired this wine with a Mediterranean stuffed leg of lamb, which was fantastic.
Cost: $13.99
Flano, Nero D’Avola. Sicilia, Italy.
The nose is kissed with ripened fruits, black pepper and spicy green. It is fallowed with a soft velvety texture of ripened plums and black berries, black currents and Indian spices with earth tones of chocolate and peppery finish. Soft and fruity.
Each month Sara Kay chooses a selection of wines for her wine club members at the WineStyles in Chicago’s South Loop. Since everyone has different tastes, she chooses two sweet wines, two dry white wines, and two dry red wines for her wine club members to choose from. In this episode, we’ll taste the monthly wine club picks for January 2010!
Red #1: Casa de la Vega, Tempranillo. (La Mancha, Spain).
This is a fruit driven Tempranillo with minimal oak aging. It is ample and mild, with fresh and ripe fruit notes (of blackberry and cherry) with a bit of vanilla, coconut, mint and laurel. It is much easier access then its Rioja cousin.
Cost: $24.99
White #1: Water Color, Chardonnay. (Languedoc, Franc).
Bright gold‐yellow color with straw yellow tints. A very elegant nose with a quintessence of pineapple, hazelnuts, lime blossoms and quince aromas with vanilla and toasted bread notes. A rich and mellow palate with very good acidity and a long persistent finish with pineapple notes.
Cost: $24.99
Red #2: Twisted Oak: *%#&@. (Paso Robles, California).
This is a charming blend of 50% Mourvedre 28% Syrah 22% Grenache. Bright, deep ruby red color. Wildly aromaticwith scents of tarragon, lavender and allspice accenting the core of ultra-ripe berries. Rich and ripeon the palate with flavors of blueberry and raspberry supported by complimentary notes of earth and brown spice.
Cost: $24.99
White #2: The White Mullet. (Clare Valley, Australia).
An intriguing blend of 60% Riesling, 16% Viognier, 16% Sauvignon Blanc, and 8% Chenin Blanc. Made with no oak, it is an unpretentious and zesty white perfect for everyday drinking.
This sweet bubbly is purplish-red color. It seduces you with the aroma of roses, and cherries; a pleasant sparkle and a tasty, inviting finish. This is best pared with chocolate cake.
Cost: $22.99
Sweet #2: Colli Piacenti, Malvasia. (Italy)
This sweet wine reveals clean, elegant aromas of dried apricot, candied fruit, caramel, peach jam, and a hint of vanilla. The mouth has good correspondence to the nose, a round and sweet attack which is continuously perceivable, intense flavors. The finish is persistent with flavors of caramel, apricot and peach jam.
In this chilly winter episode, we’ll taste some unconventionally crisp and refreshing winter wines, and some more conventional deep warming ones too. Also, look out for sweet wines!
Adega Coop, Ponte Barca (Vinho Verde). Portugal.
This is a crisp refreshing White, with lively notes of lemon lime, and honeydew melon, with a touch of natural effervescence. It is perfect to have before a meal.
Cost: $13.99
Seven Sisters: Yolanda (Chenin Blanc). South Africa.
This Chenin Blanc is full of upfront tropical flavors with underlying green pepper and vegetative notes. Acid is clean and fresh on palate with lingering fruity aftertaste.
Cost: $16.99
Robertson, Gewurztraminer. South Africa.
A sweet full bodied South African white chocked full of intense tropical notes of pineapple, banana leaf and fresh honey. It is a perfect match for spicy food.
Cost: $13.99
Le Mourre De L’isle, Côtes du Rhône. France.
This is a blend of 60% Grenache Noir, 40% Mourvèdre with aromas of blueberry on the nose and smooth tannins in the mouth with sweet little red berry fruits and coffee hints in the finish.
Cost: $18.99
Koyle, Cabernet Sauvignon. Miapo Valley, Chile.
Koyle Cabernet Sauvignon is dark ruby, with a nose showing a great amount of blackberry, dark chocolate, cedar, tobacco, and coffee and spice notes typical of the Maipo Valley. Tannins are well-formed, and come together beautifully, with a silky and balanced finish.
Cost: $22.99
Sweet Baby, Cagnina di Romagna. Italy.
This is a sweet, grapey red, with hints of ripe fruits, and lots of berries, it is smooth, silky and devilishly sweet. It is a great match with dark chocolate cake, and fairs well with a little chill on it.
Cost: $16.99
This week at WineStyles SOLO we have all of these wines open to try by the glass as well, so if you’re in Chicago come in and see us!
In this bubbalicious bubbly tasting, we’ll look at 6 off-the-beaten-path sparkling wines to spice up your New Year festivities!
Finca El Retiro, Extra Brut (Chardonnay & Pinot Noir). Mendoza, Argentina.
Love it!
Cost: $13.99
Castillo Perelada, Brut Cava. Spain.
AWESOME nutty, citrusy, bready heaven
Cost: $15.99
Antonin Tuffer, Blanc de Blanc (Chardonnay). France.
Large Party Worthy… buy for cost, not quality
Cost: $11.99
Luis Pato, Maria Gomes, Portugal
Fun, rare, more for food then celebration
Cost: $19.99
Luis Pato, Baga. Portugal.
Jammy, dry and wonderful
Cost:$19.99
Michel Loriot Cuvee, Brut Champagne Rose. Champagne, France.
A perfectly elegant dry Champagne Rose
Cost: $46.99
Remember that each of these wines, and all of the rest of the wines you see on WineSoaked, are available through my Chicago wine store, WineStyles South Loop.
To order, call (312)431-9999 or email me at SaraKay@winesoaked.com. Note that if you need me to ship, standard shipping and handling will apply!
This week we celebrate the transitory nature of life by sampling the year’s freshest and most fleeting wines! Every November France’s Beaujolais appelation releases a new crop of fresh, young wines out into the wild. Sara Kay explains the Beaujolais Nouveau tradition and reviews three of the newly released 2009 Beaujolais Nouveau offerings:
PSH (Malbec) 2008 $14.99… This Malbec is from Mendoza Argentina. The wine maker is Philip Schell, a native frenchman from Bordeaux, who is trying his luck in Argentina, so needless to say I was excited to try this wine. However, I found it to be shockingly fruit forward with bright notes of blueberry and blackberry notes, and the acidity was shockingly overwhelming. It was a good burger wine, and not much more.
Antis (Malbec) 2008 $15.99… This is also a Malbec from Mendoza. This was significantly more pleasing. It had a lovely nose of plums, tobacco, and leather, and a medium bodied velvety palate, that makes it lovely to drinkable wine on it’s own or with a juicy piece of steak!
Bianchi Famiglia 2007 (Malbec) $24.99… This is the KING of Malbecs. This one has been aged in oak for at least 10 months and it shows. It is significantly more complex and less acidic then the 1st two. It also offers up some richer bakeshop elements such as cocoa, coffee, and cinnamon. I could drink this all night long… and just might. It also seems the only one worth cellaring.
The first Wine Soaked Halloween Episode! Featuring:
Pure Evil Chard… $10.99… an obvious example of over MLF treatment, as well as “wood chips” opposed to quality oak barrels, the fruit and butter is overwhelming and flat. However the 14 + alcohol kicks the party into gear. I will say it’s significantly better with melon pop-rocks. Makes it sooooo much better.
Evil Cab Sav… $10.99…… This is a Cab from S. East Australia… it is a cooler climate, so this Cab is different then what we think of as Cabs, it has bright notes or cranberry, and raspberry, high acidity and low tannin. It is opposite of the Cabs we know from Bordeaux & Napa. It will not blow your socks off, but it will get the job done.
Ghost Pines… $22.99… This Cab is a delectable blend of Napa and Sonoma fruit fermented in new french Oak, and it shows. There are lovely elegant layers of black cherry, tobacco, leather, and a touch of eucalyptus on the nose, and it is followed by a dry smooth toasty pallet. It is hauntingly good!
Sorry for my absence, gang! I have been suffering through flu seasion, and if there is one time I can tell you that you should absolutely NOT drink fine wines, it is when you can not smell. Because 75% of the experience is lost.
This week I focused on wines that keep you warm as the temps drop this fall… and go great with fall time food, such as homemade chicken noodle soup, chili, stews and more.
Divine Light Verhelho by: Vinaceous from South Austrailia $16.99
As usual my work & life schedule has eaten a large chunk out of my reading time.
But what I was able to chip away at makes me love this book even more.
In Chapter 2 we leave ancient Greece and Rome, for a scene and a history which is much more familiar.
“On and Off the Wagon & the American Character” by Jonathan Alsop.
This chapter outlines America’s beginnings in wine, and its hypocritical/puritanical stance toward booze in the times leading up to, during, and after the most ridiculous period in American history: Prohibition. It also talks about how we are still slowly bouncing back from that. The chapter discusses the effect that movies have had on the wine industry in America, good, bad, and ugly. And how NASCAR may be responsible for the rise of the Smoky Mountain wine maker.
For Episode 3 of Wine Soaked, Sommelier Sara Kay brings you Chicago’s only punk rock wine show! Sara Kay punks out with a full meal’s worth of wine sealed entirely with new, non-traditional enclosures–including “Stelvin” screw caps & even pop tops. Continue reading →
Sara Kay is a wine consultant and certified Level 2 Sommelier in Chicago, IL. She currently manages the WineStyles South Loop wine store & bar.
For information about restaurant consultations, staff trainings, and private event services, email her at sarakay@winesoaked.com or call (312) 953-4673.
