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Wine tasting with Chateau Tanunda

November 14, 2012 in Tasting Room Series, wine by traveleatlove | 1 comment

Chateau Tanunda wine

Happy Wine Wednesday! I am behind on blogging in general but especially on recaps of all of the wine tastings I have been participating in over the past month. The UPS man must have raised an eyebrow once or twice as he delivered box after box of wine to our house! All in the name of blog research!

I recently joined TasteLive for a tasting with Chateau Tanunda Estate, wines from the Barossa Valley. One of the most fun things about this virtual tasting was that winemaker Stuart Bourne joined us live from Chateau Tanunda, answering questions, sharing our tasting notes, talking about food pairings, and being really fun and funny with a great Australian accent.

Château Tanunda was introduced into the United States in 2010 and has since become one of the most acclaimed Australian wineries in the market, ranking at #4 in Wine Spectator’s top 100 outstanding value wines for 2011 and listed in Wine Advocate as one of Australia’s top 20 producers.

  • These wines are a GREAT value. Price points on the wines we tasted are all under $20
  • Chateau Tanunda makes wines that are elegant but also big and a lot of fun. I haven’t been to Australia (dying to go!), but when I drink Australian wine I think of it going with all sorts of different types of great food, sunshine, and fun people. This tasting was just a preview of that spirit.

We tasted the following Chateau Tanunda wines:

Grand Barossa Riesling 2010 ~ $16 – This Riesling is definitely one of my new favorite white wines. It is a luscious, lime-laden wine with some nice body and a long, juicy finish. I can definitely see it going perfectly with my tropical Island Time Shrimp Salad.

Grand Barossa Shiraz 2010 ~ $18 – While I love the Syrah grape, I tend to associate Shiraz with lower end Australian brands and usually pass it by. I am glad I got to taste this Shiraz, however. High-quality, hand-selected grapes make for a wine bursting with flavor but also nicely balanced. Notes of pepper, spice, earth, and dark berries make it a perfect match for espresso steak tips.

Grand Barossa Cabernet 2010 ~ $18 – Talk about great value; a Cab with this many layers for $18 is a complete steal. This wine is rich and velvety with flavors of cocoa and spice, ripe black cherries, with a hint of herb and spice. I would park a bottle next to the grill and a plate of Summer Steak Stacks or cozy up with a bottle of this, some family and friends, and a slow cooked roast. It’s a fantastic winter wine made for pairing and sharing!

 

Tags: Australian wine, Cabernet Sauvignon, riesling, Shiraz, TasteLive, wine, wine tasting

Hooray for Vouvray

October 24, 2012 in Tasting Room Series, wine by traveleatlove | 3 comments

Happy Wine Wednesday! Today we travel to the Loire Valley for a little Vouvray tasting, courtesy of last week’s TasteLive wine event, Hooray for Vouvray.

The tasting lineup:

Didier Champalou Vouvray Sec, 2010
Domaine Bourillon Dorleans Vouvray Sec ‘’Coulée d’Argent’’ 2011
Domaine des Aubuisieres Vouvray Sec ‘’Cuvée Silex’’ 2011
François Chidaine Vouvray Sec ‘’Argiles’’ 2010
Marc Bredif Vouvray Sec 2010

Marc Bredif Vouvray

{Marc Bredif Vouvray Sec 2010 – the first thing we noticed was a little “funk” on the nose, not a bad thing at all. Flavorful, crisp, lemony with a little of that funkiness on the palate as well}

Champalou Vouvray

{Didier Champalou Vouvray Sec, 2010 – Very aromatic, slightly floral nose, fresh and citrusy with nice acidity, reminded me of candied lemon peel}

Les Angiles Vouvray

{François Chidaine Vouvray Sec ‘’Argiles’’ 2010 – notes of pear and nectarine, white pepper, with a nice minerality}

Bourillon Dorleans

{Domaine Bourillon Dorleans Vouvray Sec ‘’Coulée d’Argent’’ 2011 – another very aromatic wine with floral notes, tart lemon, as well as sweet almond}

I really didn’t know much about Vouvray going into the tasting, but by tasting these five side-by-side, we learned how diverse these wines, made with Chenin Blanc really are. They range from dry to sweet and include just about everything in between. From the TasteLive blog:

On average, 60% of each vintage is made into still wine and 40% is made sparkling. Sweet Vouvray is usually made from grapes that have been allowed to remain on the vine until overripe and shriveled by the sun and wind, so the percentage of dry to sweet wine depends on each year’s growing conditions.  In a cool year, only dryer wines are made but in years where warm weather continues into fall, harvest for sweet wines is delayed until well into November (the latest harvest in France) and there may be several pickings in order to harvest the grapes at their moment of optimum ripeness.

What do you eat with Vouvray? Well, as we learned, since the wines did vary, there are a bunch of options, and that Chenin Blanc goes really well with all sorts of cheeses. We went with goat cheese and crackers because I was under-the-weather and didn’t feel like prepping much more, but I could see the sweeter wines pairing nicely with a blue cheese and any of them pairing well with a stinky, delicious Le Tur.

But we found ourselves wishing we had oysters, knowing that the briny bivalves would be perfect with the crispness and minerality of the Vouvray.

A dry Vouvray would also liven up a turkey dinner very nicely and would be a fun choice for Thanksgiving.

If you have the time and interest, I definitely recommend picking up a bottle (or 5) of Vouvray for your very own tasting at home. I can’t think of anything better, especially as the weather declines and going out seems less appealing.

Tonight I am participating in another TasteLive event, this time with Chateau Tanunda Estate from the Barossa Valley in Australia. If you feel like following along on Twitter, the hashtag is #Tanunda.

Are you loving any new-to-you wines lately?

Tags: TasteLive, Vouvray, white wine, wine, wine and food pairing, wine tasting

Rodney Strong + TasteLive!

April 13, 2011 in wine by traveleatlove | 11 comments

Last night, we had some friends over to participate in another TasteLive! wine tasting with wine bloggers from all over the US. I knew the last TasteLive! event would be hard to top; we actually tasted in the home of the TasteLive! folks in California, and it was a lot of fun.

Rodney Strong Sauvignon Blanc Rodney Strong Chalk Hill Chardonnay Rodney Strong Reserve RRV Pinot Noir Rodney Strong Symmetry

The theme for last night’s tasting was “A Bright Idea” with Rodney Strong Vineyards. In addition to the follow four bottles of wine, I also received an energy-saving light bulb in the mail, the goal behind the tasting to talk about the wines but also the winery’s Green Light Pledge to switch out incandescent bulbs for more energy-saving bulbs. We happened to need a new light bulb for our hallway, so it worked out well!

TasteLive event

The tasting lineup was spectacular. I love Rodney Strong wines and visiting their winery, and last night just made me want to return!

2009 Charlotte’s Home Estate Sauvignon Blanc

We started off with the Sauvignon Blanc, and everyone went back for a second pour. This is a perfect summer wine, light, crisp, with some mineral notes and citrus flavors. It retails at $13.50 which, I think, is a steal for such a beautiful wine.

2009 Chalk Hill Estate Chardonnay

I am not always a Chardonnay fan, but there is definitely something about the Chalk Hill Chard that I love. While Chardonnay can be too buttery and oaky, this had some very nice vanilla flavors.

2008 Reserve Pinot Noir

I tend to not gravitate toward Pinot Noir, but this really packed a flavorful, well structured punch. It had multiple layers of flavors, from the raspberry and cherry fruit side to the slight white pepper on the finish.

2007 Symmetry

Stunning. The 2007 Symmetry Red Meritage, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot, Cab Franc, and Petit Verdot, has so much going on. It is velvety and smooth, luscious, with dark fruit and chocolate flavors. This is a special occasion wine, at $55 retail, and if you ever have the chance to taste it, go for it!

I loved tasting Rodney Strong wines and chatting with some people from the winery. Below are a couple of photos from the tour we took on our last visit.

And speaking of Sonoma County, I am excited to announce another giveaway, this one related to the Wine Road. One of the great Wine Road events I have had the ability to attend was the Food and Wine Affair. This event has its own cookbook, Tasting Along the Wine Road, which is a comprehensive collection of food and wine pairings, and since there were two of us, we got two books. Since I love it so much, I thought I would give away a copy to one of you. It’s a really beautiful book with some info on wine and the Sonoma County AVA’s (American Viticultural Areas) where wine is grown.

Tasting Along the Wine Road

To enter, simply leave a comment and let me know your favorite food and wine pairing, your favorite place to enjoy a glass of wine, or any other wine-related tidbit I should know about you. Dislike or can’t drink wine? Tell me! The recipes are still great, so you should still enter!

And the winner of the chocolate giveaway is. . . Gina! Gina please email with me your address so I can get you your chocolate! Thanks for entering, everyone. And stay tuned for another giveaway later in the week, this one to a Boston store.

Tags: California, chardonnay, Meritage, Pinot Noir, Rodney Strong, sauvignon blanc, Sonoma, TasteLive, wine, wine tasting

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