Supporting your local brewery

I think that one of the best things about drinking micro brewed beer is that you can support local commerce. Instead of giving money to some huge global conglomerate who could care less whether they have you as a customer or not, you can choose to give your money to business with direct ties to your community. These businesses usually support local causes, so why not support them back. The best example I have is the great St. Arnold's brewery here in Houston. Every year they support a huge biking team for the MS150 a bike ride between here and Austin that raises money for MS. Its a great cause and St. Arnold's does a lot to promote it. So in the effort to give some love to our local Breweries I have started a list of links on the right side of the page of Texas Breweries, from St. Arnolds to Shiner and Real Ale. If anyone knows of others let me know, and whether your from Texas, California, Colorado, or New York, take some time out to support your local brewer, because you KNOW they appreciate your business.

Beer Quote of the day

" Whoever makes a poor beer shall be tossed into the town dung heep" - 13th Century German Beer law.
Anyone else think that A-B, Miller, and Coors, are happy they make beer today and not back then?

The Health of Beer

Much has been made regarding the good health impacts of wine, some of it made here on this blog. However this article touts the good influence that beer can have on your health. According to a UC David professor ( and A-B adjunct professor) beer contains valuable nutrients such as B vitamins, such as B12, folic acid and niacin, as well as antioxidants, such as polyphenols and ferulic acid. Beer of course also contains fiber, something wine does not. A short but good article that gives one more reason to lift up a pint to good beer.

2004 Foffani Tocai Friulano

From my recent visit to Italy I have learned to love Italian white wines...not the typical Pinot Grigio that is so familiar here in the states from Eco Domani to Santa Margarita, but others that are more unique to Italy. One of those whites is Tocai Friulano.
The Grape: Tocai Fruilano comes from a vine that was imported from Hungary in the 1800's. This is not the same grape that creates the incredible Hugarian desert wine. It is also believe to come from Sauvignon Vert, but the name is derived from the local Italian wine for the smal juice-style glass that is used to serve wine in Friulian taverns and restaurants. Most wines made from this unique grape are made to drink young and COLD....(in fact that was an instruction on the bottle).
The Winery: Owned and operated by Giovanni and Elisabetta Foffani, the winery produces a total of 100,000 bottles a year of red and white varietals. They create quality wines using traditional methods. Giovanii started out in international finance but his heart has always been in wine making. For 20 years he has devoted time to his farm. He follows the technical side of the business. Elisabetta is the front person, creating and devloping the relationships between with the customers. Their two sons are now in the business helping create better wine with their parents.
The Wine: The wine poured a nice yellow, with almost a hint of green. The nose is incredibly aromatic, with hints of peaches and limestones, pinenuts or almonds. On the mouth there is a nice level of acidity and crispness. Apples with lots of grapefruit fill the mouth. Its a balanced wine between the acidity and the alcohol at 13.0%. A VERY nice wine that I'd grade a strong B.

Great Divide Old Ruffian

What better way to post my first review of a Beer than for that beer to be a Barley Wine. I am a HUGE fan of Colorado micro brew's (and not just becuase my girlfriend is from there), but they have such a wide range of brewers there all doing something seemingly different.
The Beer: Ahh yes Barley Wine, that beer that is so unlike other beers, but at its heart is nothing else, but a wonderful combinatino of barley, malts, hops, and water. This typically high alcohol beer is different from any other beer in my mind, a cross between a port and an ale. Heck, aren't served in pints, they are usually served in snifter shaped glasses that allow the aromas to pen up. The first barley wine in the states was brewed commercially by Sierra Nevada in California. It should be obvious why I like Barley wines as they are the closes beer to wine, both in alcohol levels and in complexity. Its a powershouse for sure.
The Brewer: The Great Divide brewing company is located in Downtown Denver. A typical story for a micro brew, Great Divide started about 12 years ago by Brian Dunn, a home brewer that took a HUGE chance and started up a brewery near the birth of the Denver beer scene. They are known for their unique six pack beers, but the awards come in for their line of "Really Big Beers" which include the Titan IPA, Hibernation Ale, Hercules Double IPA, YETI imperial Stout and of course the Old Ruffian Barley Wine.
The Taste: Using a snifter like glass I poured the beer in, and it was a nice caramel color, deep and rich smelling of caramel, sweet and hoppy. In the mouth there was an explosion of hops and fruit. As it sat in the glass the beer opened up even more as I sipped it and a creamy mouthfeel came out with specific hints of citrus on the palate. A truly wonderful beer and at 10.2% alchol you only need one, but it is amazing.

Great....Watery liquor

Just what we need, bad liquor. US Beer giant Anheuser-Busch is suggesting that they may get into the liquor industry. Meaning distilling. Whiskey, among other things. So we get to look forward to them putting the same effort in liquor as they do their bee (that's not a good thing). An interesting note from this article is the fact that the "beer industry has lost five points of U.S. market share since 1995 to wine and spirits." Now overall this may be true, but what this article doesn't point out is that total sales of micro brewed beer are at an all time rise, in fact beating out the increase in wine consumption. When will Bud realize its not shrinking beer consumption its the fact that their beer sucks. If they strived to create great beer, I'd just about guarantee that their market share wouldn't be shrinking. If you have the choice between a great glass of wine or Bud, what are you going to choose? If you had the choice between a Pyramid Curveball or a Bud, what are you going to choose? Its the beer stupid......not the marketplace.

Times are a changing

Yes things have changed for the better I think. I love wine, always will, but I also appreciate a great beer. Now not those water clear non tasting beers of the so called "big three" but the amazing complexity of a micro brew such as Left Hand, St. Arnold's, Sierra Nevada, Dogfish Ale, etc, or the greatness that is German Beer from Kolsch to Munchen beers and everything in between. The uniqueness of a Belgium Beer that can rival some wines for the alcoholic potency and are just as complex. There is a world of beer out there that many wine drinkers have turned their nose up at. Likewise there is a world of Wine that beer drinkers have avoided thinking it too "hoity-toity." I hope this blog, can bring the two worlds together to show how much they have in common. As always more to come.

Evolution

Change is in the air. As we grow and as we experience new things we change, our tastes change and the way we want to do things change. So, this website will be changing....for the better I hope. There will still be entries on the news of wine and as many tasting notes as I can handle, but there will be another dimension added, combining two of the things I love into one place. Enough of my cryptic ramblings....all I can say is stay tuned.

2002 Spelletich Cellars Zinfandel

Its been a couple of days since the WBW roundup and I decide to go in the complete opposite direction. For WBW we experienced wines of an alcholo percentage lower than 12.5%...this wine? Weighs in at a hefty 15.5%. Its a BIG difference.
The Winery: Spelletich Cellars is a small Bonded winery in Napa Valley, with only 2 employees. The winemaker Tim Spelletich and his daughter Kristen. Tim gained experienced in fine wine while working in a small inn and restaurant outside the Asti region of Italy. After working at fine restaurants in New York and Philladelphia he made it to Napa in 1994 where he was the manager and wine buyer for Tra Vigne. His wife Barabara also has a long history in the wine business and in 1994 Spelletich Vineyards had its first harvest. They are a winery that tries a minimalist approach letting the grape speak for the wine.
The Wine: The grapes for this Zinfandel (Spelletich makes two different versions of their Zin) are harvested from Tim and Edies Vineyard in Shenandoah Valley. It spends 12 months in equal parts French and American oak. It pours a nice dark inky Rubish red in the glass. Scents of chocolate and rasberries, leather and a hint of tannins. In the mouth there is a toasty dryness from the tannins and oak. Rasberry and black berry jam are opulent once the wine has opened up. This is a very nice Zin, one I would grade a B+.

WBW 22 Roundup

Tim over at Winecast has posted his roundup of WBW 22, Lite Red's. You can see my entry below, but for quite a few more good low octane Red's go check out the roundup. Suprisingly there were quite a few below 12.5% not just at the limit. There were even some New World Cab's and Australian Shiraz's!!!!
Surpising, but it was a fun Challenge.

WBW 22 Entry

My second time to participate in Wine Blogging Wednesday, I used to taste one of the wines I brought back from my recent trip to Italy. A 2001 Pojer i Sandri Pinot Nero, and yes at 12.5% it meets the requirements set forth by the folks over at Winecast.net. I actually picked this wine up at a local wine shop in Trentino after I explained to the proprietor in a mix of my broken Italian, his broken English, and my girlfriend's broken French, that I wanted to try an Italian Pinot Nero, he pointed me to this wine.
The Grape: Pinot Nero an unusual name for a grape that most people haven't heard of. Never fear, as different as the name sounds the grape is familiar. Pinot Nero is nothing other than the Italian version of Pinot Noir the great grape of Burgundy, France.
The Winery: The winery Pojere i Sandri is located in the alpine hills above Trentino. It was started by two men, Fiorentino Sandri who inherited some vineyard land, and Fiorentino Sandri who had just obtained a degree in enology at a nearby school. Most of the grapes for the winery grow in the hills of Faedo between Adige and the Cembra valley. The winery makes an amazing award winning Mueller Thurgau, and Chardonnay along with this red wine.
The Wine: The vineyard where these grapes are obtained are between 300 and 500 meters above sea level. The soil consists of sandstone, silstone, loam rocks, limestone, and dolomite. This wine is an IGT wine, which basically means its not as specific as a DOC or DOCG (similar to France's AOC) but covers a larger area in this case the Dolomiti region. It pours a light Garnett in the glass. Strawberries and Cherries with hints of earthy mustiness on the nose. In the mouth there is a nice acidity with the same strawberry and cherry flavors with a hint of more sour cherry at the finish. A very nice wine to go with foods, especially lighter fare. I'd grade it a B+.
Remember to check back on June 14th for a complete round up of the latest Wine Blogging Wednesday.

Alternative Fuels

No this is not an entry about how we need to turn away from gas and oil and that everyone needs to start driving hybrids and biodiesels (although its not a bad idea). There have been numerous stories from Australia to Europe of countries over producing grapes, creating a glut of the produce and leaving no idea of what to do with it. Well the EU has come up with a solution. Turn that wine into fuel. The EU will take about 510 million litres of surplus wine from Italy and France and turn into bioethanol that can only be used as biofuel or industrial alcohol. A unique solution that kills two birds with one stone. It helps however minutely to decrease the dependence on traditional gas and it helps do something with the surplus of grapes that would otherwise be dumped into the market place or simply tossed away. The EU will pay these wineries somewhere in the neighborhood of 130m Euros. Last year when they started this program EU paid around 150m Euros. Its definetely and interesting solution to the larger problem of why the wineries are continually ovreproducing grapes.

2004 Lange Pinot Blanc

This was the second wine I had, one red, and now a white.
The Winery: Owned by Don and Wendy Lange two Californians who moved to Williamette Valley Oregon in 1987. The winery specializes in Pinot Noir, which should suprise you as Williamette valley is known for producing near Burgundian quality Pinot's. The winemaker is Don Lange who is a former song writer, and actually created 3 albums. They have had the winery long enough that there children are now getting involved and Don's son Jesse is involved in the winemaking process. While known for its Pinot Noirs, it is raising the bar for Pinot Blanc and Chardonnay.
The Grape: Pinot Blanc is an interesting variety as it is a genetic mutation of Pinot Grigio which is actually a clone of Pinot Noir. And last but not least the leaf structure is so similar to Chardonnay that there are some vinearyds where the plantins are interminguled at one time there was mis-labeling of grapes as "pinot chardonnay" Overal Pinot Blanc is known for its high acidity and low armoacy. It grows extensively in Italy (maybe why I liked it), Germany and Austria. This is a cold weather white grape.
The Wine: As I mentioned grown in Williamtte valley it weighs in at 13.9% alcohol, opened with an aritificial cork no chance of getting a 'corked' wine here. The color of light straw in the glass. Very Subtle hints of apricots, almonds, and apples in the nose. In the mouth the apples were the most pronounced flavors filled out by a little bit of toastiness, and very crips acidity that balanced the alcohol very well. This to me is a very food friendly wine and one I'd grade a B.

2004 Novy Syrah

This was my first wine from the states after I got back. I'm glad that I decided to drink this one, because for me at least it emphasised the big difference between some of the Italian wines I tasted and the wines from California.
I won't go into miniscule detail on Novy as I have in the past when I tried their Grenache, but needless to say this is the same couple that owns the great Pinot Noir winery Siduri.
The Wine: Formally called 2004 Novy Syrah Susan's Vineyard Santa Lucia Highlands, it weighs in at a powerful 15.2%. Much higher than anything I had in Italy, as probably the highest alcohol content was around 13.5. It pours a nice dark purple/red in the glass. Very little feel of the alcholo on the nose, hints of blueberry and whitepepper. I love hints of blueberry in a Syrah. With the bready nose I also got, it almost reminded me of a warm blueberry tart. In the mouth there was nice long fruit tons of blueberries and that bready yeasty flavor. However it was on the finish that I could feel an alcohol burn in my throat. It was stilla very nice wine, that maybe with a little aging would lose a bit of that burn. I'd grade it a B+.

WBW 22

Well the latest Wine Blogging Wednesday has been announced. This week the folks over at winecast are hosting the event. The theme this month is lite red's. What this means is any red wine with an alcohol level under 12.5%. Now in this day and age of wines that are pushing well over 15.0% on a regular basis this won't be easy. Some suggestions are wines from the Loire Valley, Northern Italian wines, German Red's, etc. I.e. Not your typical red's. Of note winecast gives special kudos for finding a typical high alcohol wine like Shiraz, Zinfandel or California Cab that meets the above requirements. Come back on June 14th to see the results. It will be interesting I promise.

WHEW what a trip

Well it was certainly a world wind vacation. Amongst spending some time with my girlfriend I also got to experience some really interesting wines from Italy. To give you some background we left Frankfurt, Germany on May 20th, drove down through Switzerland and into Italy. We stayed in Cinque Terre, a group of five towns built on cliffs in the middle of the Italian Riviera. They produce a lot of wines here, most white, but there are some reds. We hiked through the region in the midst of vineyards and Olive Tree and Lemon Tree Orchards (this is after all the home of Lemoncelo). While I wasn't able to visit any wineries while in Cinque Terre, I did of course go out and experience as much of the food and wine as I could. One of the best whites I had was an exotic Vermintino from the region with some grilled squid salad and pasta. We also had a few glasses of red Frizzante. Frizzante wine is partially sparkling i.e. frizzy instead of the bubbles we are used to seeing in most Sparkling wines and many times Frizzante is Red and not white.
After 4 days in Cinque Terre we drove up to the Parma region where we stopped for some Parma Ham and of course Parmersian cheese. To go along with this picnic we grabbed a bottle of 2004 Vignette Cal Zetti, Colli Di Parma Rosso. To me this was a great example of what a Frizzante can be. Very fruity, but not sugary sweet. Well structured and really complimented the bite of the cheese. I would grade it a nice B.
After Parma we drove up to Trentino which is in the middle of the Alto-Adige wine region of Italy. Miles and miles of Vineyards and we were lucky enough to visit the Rotari MezzaCorona winery. According to our tour guide this is the largest Wine Co-op in all of Europe. And it was HUGE, they get grapes from all over Italy and have smaller wineries in Sicily and Chianti where they do local wines. We were able to tour their sparkling wine facility which was extremely interesting as I have never seen the process that sparkling wines take. Here we were able to taste a wonderful sparkling Wine made in the Champenois Method (or Classical Method), known in Italy as Spumante (very different from Proseco). Rotari Arte Italiano Cuvee 28 Trento DOC 90% Chardonnay, 10% Pinot Noir. It poured a honey golden color with tiny microscopic bubbles. Toasty with hints of Apple, dry with hints of sweetness. Chardonnay is the overpowering presence. I'd give it a B+. One of the last things while in Italy was visit an absolutely fabulous wine shop in Trento called 12 Grado. This shop had everything, from obscure California wines to big French Chatau's. I was able to pick up a really nice bottle of Vin Santo and a Pino Nero (local name for Pinot Noir). In my travels I picked up quite a few wines that I can't wait to pop the cork on and taste and post here, so if you are interested in some unique Italian wines stay tuned as I will be tasting and posting my experiences here in the next few weeks.

Over the Pond I go

Well after a couple of weeks of tasting Italian wines here in the states and a couple of months of being without my Girlfriend I figured I would resolve both issues. So, tomorrow I will be heading over seas to meet my girlfriend in Germany where she is living and after a day's drive through Germany and the wine country there I will be heading to the Piedmont region of Italy for some spectacular Nebbiolo based wines (I hope!).
Stay tuned as I will try to update this blog while I am over there and give everyone reviews of wines and even some restaurants.

2003 Bogle Phantom

Since I discovered wines outside the cheap box wines and white zin of my college years I have been a fan of Bogle vineyards, specifically their Petite Sirah which I think is one of the best wines in the world for the value. So when I was in Napa last year and I saw this Phantom Wine I was intrigued. I didn't pick it up then and have regretted it ever since. However the other day I was visiting my local Spec's on Bay Area and saw this wine calling me, so of course I picked it up.
The Winery: The first vineyards were planted by the father and son team of Warren and Chris Bogle in Clarksburg, Ca in 1968. The family had been into all sorts of farming since the mid 1800's, but it took those two to create the Bogle Vineyards that we know today. They have over 1200 acre's of vines along the Sacramento River. Bogle vineyards is known for creating one of the best values of California wine. From the afore mentioned Petite Sirah to their Syrah and Zinfandel, the wines are always a great 'bang for the buck'.
The Wine: While not as cheap as other Bogle wines (about 17.00) this was still a pretty decent value. The wine weighs in at 14.6% alcohol and is a blend of 59% Petite Sirah, 34% Old Vine Zinfandel, and 2% Old Vine Mouvedre. It pours a nice dark ruby red in the glass. There is smoke cherry, and chocolate with hints of spice in the nose. In the mouth there are tastes of blackberries, black cherries, cocoa, and black pepper. This is a very good wine for a pretty good price. I'd grade it an A.

2002 Caparzo Rosso di Montalcino

In my latest installment of Italian wines I went to the classic region of Montalcino. This wine is the little sister of the great Brunello di Montalcino made with 100% Sangiovesse grape. Montalcino is a region in central Italy in Tuscany. While the Brunello version is aged 4 years in oak the rossi version is only aged a minimum of 1 year. A great wine to experience young.
The Winery: The Caparzo is named after Ca' Pazzo or Madman's house. The estate was founded only in the late 70's by a group of businesseman, not one single vintner. Caparzo is known throughout the world as one of the best Brunello's and well Montalcino's values in the world.
The Wine: This wine weighs in at about 13.5%. In the glass it pours a beautiful red color in the glass. A subtle nose ofcherry, wood and oak. In the mouth there is a light cherry oak flavor. Not an outgoing flavor profile. A nice wine that I'd grade a B.

2005 Dr. Loosen Bernkasteler Lay Reisling

This is a special wine. My girlfriend who is living in Germany right now shipped this over to me. When I opened the box I was worried that the wine may have gotten to warm (some chocolate she also sent was semi melted). However I let the wine rest for a week or so and opened it up with some good Asian food this weekend. What a WINE!
The Winery: Dr. Loosen, world famous for their great German Riesling wines. Originally started 200 years ago, the winery has stayed in the same family and is now run by Ernst Loosen since 1988. The Loosen estate extends to the States where they have a joint winery in Oregon named Eroica with Chateau Ste. Michelle. The Bernkasteler Lay is a vineyard that is situated between a town of the same name and the Dr. Loosen estate. Lay, pronounced LIE is an old dialect term for Slate, which of course is what the soil mostly consists of.
The Wine: The wine weighs in at a very nice 12.5%, and pours a golden honey almost effervescence nectar in the glass. On the nose there are hints of peaches, melon, honeysuckle and slate from the soil. In the mouth you can taste the over the top acidity eased by the peaches, honey dew melon and the hints of slate that permeate through. This is what makes Riesling the white wine for food pairing. This wine would go with most anything, and it is such an example of why Riesling is one of my all time favorite wines. I'd grade it a very strong A.