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CMS? Complete Meaning Surfaced

Published on March 25, 2009, by in Just For Fun, Washington Wine.

As we come to the end of the Ultimate Blog Party 2009 I have to say how impressed I am with the success of it.  Up until March 20th I had had NO comments on this General Wine Thoughts site.  Since then I’ve had over ten comments and they’re still coming in and they’re all SO positive!  Thank you to everyone who stopped by and for your wonderful comments and I have myself visited some great blogs from other people.

 

Today I am going to write about a couple of other wines from one winery that are reasonably priced (no, not under $3.00!) and worth a try.  You may have already tried them.  I’m talking about the CMS wines of Hedges Family Estate. 

 

With the popularity of wine on the steep climb upwards, the competition can become very fierce for the consumer dollar.  Winery’s try to come up with clever ways of marketing their wine so that it catches the eye of the consumer:  Animals on the labels, play on words—all sorts of things.  They also come up with catchy names and that is what Hedges Family Estates has done with their CMS. 

 

The white CMS is 35% Chardonnay, 3% Marsanne and 62% Sauvignon Blanc and it’s pretty good.  Smooth and creamy, this white wine is about 13 bucks in the store.  It’s an interesting combination of grape varietals that seem to work, though I remember this wine tasting better the first go around than it did this go around, which is the 2007 version.  There is some mango on the mid tongue that is nice but an awkward finish.  The down side is that there is virtually no nose on this wine, which I miss because I REALLY like a wine with a great nose.  All in all, however, it’s a wine to try, to be sure.

 

Then I opened their red CMS and, well, this is a GREAT deal!  While watching American Idol I enjoyed the 2007 CMS which is 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, 51% Merlot and 7% Syrah and it really is a great value at about ten bucks a bottle.  The nose has a hint of smoky-ness to it but you get some alcohol as well.  The taste is the result of a really nice combination of the grape varietals Hedges has chosen with some blueberry, bing and black cherry.  I actually tasted the Cabernet Sauvignon more than the other varietals.  Friends of mine, Lin and Marci Cooper, served this at their Christmas party about three years ago and I was very impressed then and it hasn’t depreciated now.

 

If you had to choose between the two I would go with the red CMS because it’s less money and, in my opinion, better tasting.  But both are worthy.

 

On the last post I promised to tell you about the toast Shelley and I do on EACH and EVERY bottle of wine we open.  You’ve read about the Tastings column found in the Wall Street Journal that I read on Friday’s from Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher and how they have come up with Open That Bottle Night which is designed to get people to open that one bottle of wine that never seems to get opened because the situation doesn’t seem to be big enough (See my post about Open That Bottle Night).  We first learned of these two from their book, “Love By The Glass:  Tasting Notes From A Marriage”.  If you asked me to recommend just one book I would say READ THIS ONE!  This book is absolutely awesome!  Romance and wine rolled into one!

 

Anyway, John and Dottie toast every bottle that they open with the same toast.  Read the book to find out what THAT is but OUR toast is our own.  I look into Shelley’s eyes and say, “To your giggles” and she looks right at me, and says, “To your kisses.  (Hey, I can’t help it that I kiss well.)  THAT is the toast we make with each and every bottle of wine we open whether we’ve had it before or not.  We even have it etched in the base of our glasses.  Hers says TYK and mine says TYG.  Dumb?  Maybe, but it works for us because we are in love and we enjoy each other and our wine.  And we know that what ever we go through in life we will always have each other and our wine.  And everyone should know that feeling. 

 

Until next time, bottoms up.

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Ultimate Blog Party 2009 and Affordable (Decent) Wine

Published on March 20, 2009, by in Festivals or Events, Just For Fun.

OK, well, I’ve been thrown for a loop…TWICE!  Pull up a chair and get comfortable–this is a long one.

Loop Throwing #1:

I was just making the finishing touches on this post when it was brought to my attention a HUGE one week BASH of a party!  From two twin sisters who started the site Five Minutes For Mom, comes the Ultimate Blog Party 2009 which is about building online friendships and relationships and it starts TODAY and runs until the 27th.

It’s very simple to join the fun (if I could do it ANYbody can!) and there are lots of ways you can get involved–from simply reading their post, to publishing your own party post on your blog (which is what I’m doing right NOW and you’re a part of it!) and signing one of the Mr. Linky link lists near the end of their post.  There are even prizes!  I LOVE prizes!  There are so many cool prizes to be won at this years Ultimate Blog Party 2009 but my top three are:

#70  One case of Cinnamon Churros (yum) provided by Rudolph Foods; #89  $100 Gift Card to HomeGoods provided by HG Openhouse; #119  2 Life Journals (one for me and one for a friend) to guide Bible reading and study provided by Mom’s Toolbox.

And if these top three picks are already chosen, I’d love any of the following:  19, 21, 22, 26 and 91 or anything related to young women as my daughters are 16 and 19.

There will be so many new relationships built after this week of blogging frenzy.  I’ve put a cute little Ultimate Blog Party 2009 button on the left just above my blog roll.

Now I know this site and this party is basically for Mom’s but they make it very clear that Dad’s, and anybody else, for that matter, can join.  So, for my party post, I’m sticking with what this site is dedicated to doing and that is teaching people about wine from the ground up.  As I’ve stated before, I, Phil Anderson, am certainly no wine expert but I do love wine and am enjoying learning as much as possible about it.  As the subject of wine can seem very intimidating to people, my goal is to teach about wine in very simple terms.

I know Mom’s (as well as Dad’s) around the globe work very hard in raising children so that they’ll become an integral part of society.  I myself am a father and I’m very proud of my daughters.  I know at the end of the day a little peace and solitude (sometimes VERY little) is sought and when that time comes it can really help to have it include a nice glass of wine.

So today’s post is about a wine that I feel can be a great everyday wine.  As we read and hear about seemingly every hour of every day, household budgets have taken a hit so people have had to find ways of trimming their  costs.  So how do you trim your wine cost without effecting quality?

That brings me to my–

Loop Throwing #2:

You know when you buy a very inexpensive bottle of wine just so that you can enjoy something at some point of the evening?  You don’t need to break the bank and you can’t just coninue to drop 10-20 bucks for a bottle of wine every night.  It’s not financially prudent.  So you go for something under ten bucks…ok, sometimes even under FIVE bucks.

Everyone (well, most people who drink wine, anyway) has heard of Two Buck Chuck, Charles Shaw Winery’s low end, “everyday” wine.  We tried that and weren’ t very impressed.  The Chardonnay was flat and the Merlot sweet.

So, while shopping at Walmart (I know, I know, but don’t get politically correct on me, now), Shelley saw an Oak Leaf Vineyards Chardonnay and Merlot for, get this, $2.97 each.  Suffice it to say, we weren’t expecting ANYTHING, let alone, nothing much.

We opened the bottle of Chardonnay, poured, toasted (stay tuned for what our tratitional daily toast is and how it came to be in the next General Wine Thoughts post) and tasted.  What came next was, well surprising, to say the least.  It tasted pretty good!

The Chardonnay had very little, if any, oak and it was crisp and clean.  Most inexpensive Chardonnay’s have an off smell followed by an off taste which leads to an off opinion.  This had a hint of on off smell, just at the finish, but was rather pleasant.

The Merlot was not quite as good, but still, not bad at all.  Not much of anything on the nose.  You expect some rich berries when you smell a Merlot.  The taste was also pleasant.

The label didn’t give much information about Oak Leaf Vineyards except that they’re located in Ripon and Livermore (two cities?), California.  I did find out that they brought home the Gold at the 2008 Florida State Fair.  Both of these wines were non-vintage so they can use grapes from many vintages.  That also means the wine will likely be very consistent.

To end this post, I would like to encourage you to pick up a botttle of one of these Oak Leaf Vineyards wines at your local Walmart and give it a go.  I think you’ll be surprised.  And if nothing else, it will give you a little “me” time after giving so much of “your” time, although deserving, to your kids.

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Have You Heard of Madeleine Angevine?

Published on March 13, 2009, by in Just For Fun, Washington Wine.

Last year, on Fathers Day, we volunteered to help with Taste Washington.  There are two events, one in Seattle, which is very large, and one in Spokane, which is about half the size.  Over 100 Washington wineries were present and many, many restaurants (I don’t remember exactly because, well, I’m getting old and can’t remember!).  We worked the previous year, 2007, which was the first time for us, and helped bring cases of wine upstairs to the appropriate places.  That was fun, but….

…LAST year we were allowed to work right next to the seafood bar pouring 20 different white wines that were specifically paired for the seafood.  The beautiful thing about this is that we “have” to “work” for two hours and then get the rest of the time to sample the wines and food of the event.  So hard, ya know?

So while we were studying the different whites we were to pour one completely jumped out at us:  Madeleine Angevine.  Let me write this again, Madeleine Angevine.  This is a variety we’ve never heard of  (have you??) and when we were done with our shift of pouring (it’s against Washington law to taste when you are a designated pourer) it was our first taste. 

What a TREAT!  Floral, effervescent, fruity but not sweet at all.  Just very refreshing and crisp.  How have we not have heard of this wine?  The winery that made this luscious treat was San Juan Vineyards, 2007 vintage.  San Juan Vineyards is located in Friday Harbor, Washington and this Madeleine Angevine was Estate Grown.

One interesting thing we noticed was the bottle didn’t hold 750 ML of wine but more like 710 ML.  The label never stated there was 750 ML of wine in the bottle but the bottle itself had  750 ML imbedded right in the glass.  We didn’t necessarily think it was a big deal, just somewhat odd, and I wanted to make a note of that here.

We paid $18.00 for this bottle which is also is not too bad a price.  We would recommend you give this a go as soon as possible.  The only bad news is that was the only bottle we have and now, sadly, we have no more Madeleine Angevine.  We’ll need to fix this problem quickly, I know.  And now as we are already 3 months into the new year our third year of volunteering at Taste Washington is only a few months away. 

What new gem will we find THIS year?

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Two frigid Gewurztraminer’s

Published on March 10, 2009, by in California Wine, Just For Fun.

Well, we made it back from California in one piece.  And tonight, we also realized we’re no longer in California as it was 14 degrees outside.  Oh, I’m sorry, MINUS 14 degrees!  YIKES! 

SOOOoooooo, tonight, we will be reporting on two CALIFORNIA wines, just to bring us back into some semblance of warm, two wines we tasted over the past couple of nights, both from Firestone Vineyard, in Santa Barbara, California.  I understand at -14 degrees these will be considerably frigid Gewurztraminer’s.  As I noted before Gewurztraminer is a grape varietal that I have avoided writing about, but only because of the name.  It is a tricky one to say AND to write. 

 

Firestone Vineyard is the source of our favorite Sauvignon Blanc.  We visited the winery a few years back when we visited the Santa Barbara Wine region in the Santa Ynez Valley.  It was a wonderful trip and the memories from that trip surface all the time.

 

We started out this tasting by opening up a 2005 Gewurztraminer.  It was somewhat effervescent and Shelley was surprised by how dry it was.  I thought it was very smooth and mellow with a hint of flowers on the nose and mandarin orange in the taste.  It had a tart finish. 

 

When we opened the 2007 Gewurztraminer from Firestone, Shelley thought it was much closer to what a classic Gewurztraminer should taste like.  She said it was sweeter than the 2005.  It caused her to think out loud that maybe the 2005 was over the hill, or at the very least heading that way.  Certainly the 2007 was crisper than the 2005 but I thought both were good. 

 

We have never had a bad bottle of wine from Firestone.  I don’t know why you don’t read more about Firestone Vineyards and the quality wine they produce.  They consistently make good wine at very reasonable prices.  The longer they make them, the longer we will drink them.

 

Until the next post, happy tasting!

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A Different Sauvignon Blanc

Published on March 5, 2009, by in Just For Fun, Wine Outside The US.

Comparing wines is one of the fun things about drinking wine.  We just drank a Sancerre, which is the Sauvignon Blanc grape, and last night we enjoyed a completely different Sauvignon Blanc, one from Chile.  This 2007 Reserva from Veramonte Winery from the Casablanca Valley in Chile was VERY light and tart.  The nose was grassy, much like what we’re used to with this grape. 

Shelley tasted apples and said it was acidic and dry.  It was very different from the Sancerre.  We enjoyed it very much.

My next post will be a comparison between two Gewurztraminers (I waited as long as I could so I didn’t have to write that name!) from Firestone Vineyard, a 2005 and a 2007.  Stay tuned.

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Open That 2007 Sancerre Night

Published on March 1, 2009, by in Festivals or Events, Wine Outside The US.

When we woke up yesterday morning it was five degrees.  Now as I write this it’s a balmy fifty something degrees and it’s 11:07 PM in Orange, California.  But last night we found ourselves in Ogden, Utah.  Thank goodness we had brought wine, on ice no less, so we didn’t have to concern ourselves with having to figure out how to buy wine in Utah.  Such a beautiful place–mountains in our backyard, but serious, what would we have done if we weren’t prepared??

We had driven over ten hours.  We were tired.  And it was Open That Bottle Night 10.  Unbeknownst to Shelley I brought a special bottle of wine to welcome us into our hotel room.  I knew we wouldn’t be able to handle an entire bottle of red so I went with a white.  I also know that Sauvignon Blanc is probably our favorite white wine right now.  So refreshing.

I chose a 2007 Sancerre from France.  Not much of a surprise, I know, since I basically told you in the title of this blog.  This Pascal Jolivet Sancerre scored 90 points from the Wine Spectator and it didn’t disappoint.  Although I will admit almost anything would have hit the spot, this went up and over. 

What I found interesting was that the nose on this wine reminded me of Chardonnay and Shelley of a Chablis.  It was very smooth.  However, about two thirds through the bottle it started to hint at what we’re used to in a Sauvignon Blanc, the grassy, floral nose.  I tasted a tart, sour taste.  I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was.  At first I thought it was apricot but then realized it was not. 

Because we were on the road we weren’t able to have our annual Open That Bottle Night party but this was the next best thing.  It’s not often we spend thirty bucks on a bottle of wine but this certainly was worth it and we were happy to be able to share another OTBN night together.  To be sure, this cork will go in our cork catcher when we get home.  I don’t know who gets to toss it in but it will make it’s way in, without a doubt.

I hope you were able to find a special bottle of wine to open for this once a year occasion.  My next post may not be until next week as we are visiting California relatives before bringing Shelley’s father back home with us.  Until then, bottoms up!

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‘Twas The Night Before OTBN…

Published on February 27, 2009, by in Festivals or Events, Just For Fun.

‘Twas the night before OTBN Ten and all through the house…

That’s right, tomorrow is Open That Bottle Night TEN (see previous blog post).  We’ll be on the road so we couldn’t have our annual event, which would have been our third year, but that doesn’t mean we won’t have something fun to open tomorrow night.  I have a little surprise for Shelley, but, where WILL we be?  Twin Falls?  Idaho Falls?  Logan or Provo, Utah?  I’m guessing it will be somewhere in between these points as we make our way down to Southern California.  Wouldn’t it be great if we were going down to wine country?  Ah, but alas, we are going down to pick up her father and visit our kids.  My guess is we’ll probably be in Salt Lake City.  Hmmm, they probably won’t appreciate us having a special bottle of vino, will they?

Oh well.  So here’s the deal, you will have to wait to find out what we’re going to open tomorrow night.  I went into our wine cellar looking for just the right wine but all we have are reds down there and I didn’t think we’d finish a whole bottle by ourselves (I’m not about to let a special bottle of red go to waste by not drinking all of it!) so I’ve opted for a white.  And that’s all I’m telling you–for now anyway.  The next post you’ll real ALLLLL about it!

Last night we had a marvelous pork tenderloin and we opened a bottle of 2005 Sagelands Merlot.  Sagelands is from the Columbia Valley in Washington, located in Walla Walla.  This was a delight.  I got raspberries on the nose and even some terrior.  The taste was very mellow and Shelley commented on the tannins.  It went very well with the pork.  Shelley made this wonderful raspberry sauce and it all paired very well with the wine.

Well, tomorrow will be a long day but we’ll have our special bottle of wine to look forward to when we reach our destination, wherever that might be.  I hope you have pulled a special bottle for you to open yourself and share it with somebody or somebody’s special.

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What a Great Surprise!

Published on February 21, 2009, by in California Wine, Just For Fun, Washington Wine.

Some things you can never predict.  Have you ever had one of those nights when the stars all aligne perfectly and you never expected it?  That’s what happened tonight. 

As you may or may not know we are living in North Idaho and it’s beautiful.  Today got up to a balmy 45 degrees and the sun was out and it glistened on the snow.  Just beautiful.  Then the Huskies beat USC and kept an arms length to those pesky Bruins of UCLA and the “other” UC school there at Berkley. 

Then the magic started shaping up.  OK, so it was 45 and sunny today but when it’s clear like this the temperature drops fast at night.  So there I was, walking outside with two steaks on a plate and it’s 17 degrees.  And there I am barbequeing.  Chilly yes, but I’m looking forward to a great dinner with a Cabernet Sauvignon. 

We opened a 2005 Cab from Arbor Crest Wine Cellars in Spokane, Washington.  We’ve visited this winery one summer a couple of years ago when we went to listen to some jazz and drink some wine.  At the time I was not very enamored with the wine but the property that the winery sits on is unbelievable.  A Florentine house built in 1n 1924 sits on a bluff overlooking a river valley below.  Arbor Crest Wine Cellars purchased the National Historic Landmark in 1985.

The wine was young but very good, indeed.  I think Cabernet Sauvignon is my very favorite red wine if I had to pick one.  I love the full body and berry nose.  I think if this wine were to be layed down for a bit it would be really very good.

So, now for our surprise.  Remember, the last post I made I told you I was going to explain about Open That Bottle Night.  Here it is, in a nutshell.  Dorothy (Dottie) Gaitor and John Brecher write the Tastings column for the Wall Street Journal.  I recommend everyone read their column any time you have the chance.  It used to run on Fridays but now it is every Saturday.  They write in the most down to earth way that shouldn’t intimidate anyone wanting to know more about wine. 

We stumbled across these two after reading their book, “Love by the Glass” which you can find, and should buy, at Amazon.com.  It is probably the best romantic wine book written.  I strongly encourage you to pick up a copy of it.  After we read the book we began to read their column every week.  February 28th will mark their 10th year of Open That Bottle Night, or OTBN.  The idea was born from many letters and e-mails they recieved asking when they should open “that special bottle of wine”?

You know that wine, yes?  Everybody has one.  It’s that special, SPECIAL bottle of wine that the occasion or event never quite seems to match.  So there the bottle sits.  And sits.  And after it’s done sitting it sits a little longer.  Until…it goes bad. 

Open That Bottle Night is for just that sort of bottle.  We sort of jumped the gun by one week.  Shelley pulled out a bottle of Sterling Vineyards Light Zinfandel Port  NV from the pantry.  It’s been kicking around there for awhile and it had not been stored very well.  It even had a slight wine stain running straight through the middle of the label.  So she opened it up and to her and my surprise it was fabulous!  She had bought this in March of 1982 and it was made in 1978  even though it is a non vintage wine. 

I talked with Mike at the winery and he says they don’t even call this Port anymore because to be called Port means it has to be from Portugal and Sterling Vineyards is from Napa, California.  When they make this particular wine now they call it Light Zinfandel Port Styled Dessert Wine.

So we encourage you to take that bottle of wine that you’ve been waiting for “the” special occasion and drink it next Saturday.  Make THAT day the special occasion.

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Better Late Than Never

Published on February 14, 2009, by in Just For Fun.

Ok, so I probably would have written right after the Super Bowl had my prediction turned out correct.  Shelley nearly predicted the exact score at one point late in the game and then Ben Roethlisberger did his thing by taking the Steelers all the way down field, throwing the winning touchdown pass that destroyed Arizona’s dream of winning it all.  But we were close!

So, now nearly two weeks later, I am writing about a 2006 Shiraz that we had last night with meatloaf.  First of all, let me tell you, Shelley knows what she’s doing in the kitchen.  This was likely the best meatloaf I’ve ever had.  And this Shiraz from Burley Fox went quite well with it. 

Our Cork Catcher and riddling rack.

I don’t know much about Burley Fox other than they’re located in South Eastern Australia.

It was a young Shiraz and it lacked complexity and character.  I was thinking we would get a much stronger wine but it worked well with the meatloaf.  When we were finished we did what we do with all our corks after we finish a bottle of wine and pitched it in our cork catcher. 

Yes, you read correctly, cork catcher.  About a year and a half ago we went to a little wine bar  in Sandpoint, Idaho, to enjoy a little wine and a little food.  It was a lovely place down a long stairway.  As we entered there was this large framed glass with a bunch of corks in it. 

Shelley loved the concept and asked if I would make one for us.  I did and you are looking at the outcome.  We had a few corks saved up but since then we just pitch the cork in the top (the top is open) after we finish a bottle of wine.  We usually don’t put anything in unless it’s actually a cork MADE of cork.  On special bottles or wine drank on special occasions or events we’ll even write on the cork including the date and what the occasion was.  It’s been a lot of fun and quite a conversation piece. 

Next to the cork catcher is our antique riddling rack.  A riddling rack is for sparkling wines.  They are to be turned, if I remember correctly, about a quarter turn every other week, which is called riddling.  I will get my facts straight in a later post but this is the rack that is used to do this.  Now most riddling is done by a machine.  Notice this rack is also used for drying out lavender.  A rack for many uses!

We unveilded our cork catcher at our Open That Bottle Night last year which is the last Saturday of the month of February.  I’ll explain all about Open That Bottlel Night on my next post.  Until then, bottoms up and keep enjoying that wine.

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Four Wines in Three Nights

Published on January 31, 2009, by in Just For Fun.
2004 Pieropan Soave Classico

2004 Pieropan Soave Classico

Happy Saturday! Welcome to another posting of my “General Wine Thoughts”. Fun stuff, huh?
We’ve had some interesting wine the past couple of nights. Last night we had a wonderful roast for dinner and opened a 2005 Winemaker’s Blend from Maryhill Winery. Maryhill is located in the, as they state, “world renowned”, scenic Columbia River Gorge in South Central Washington State. We’ve enjoyed this particular wine quite a bit because we had the honor of being able to take home a couple of bottles after we helped with Taste Washington last June in Spokane, Washington. We’ve come to understand the benefits of helping to break down the event afterwards.

This red wine is comprised of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah and Cabernet Franc and went quite well with the roast beef. This particular blend always seems to have quite a few tannins but it has a rich, full nose and a lovely taste.

We opened the evening with a 2004 Pieropan Soave Classico from Italy (pictured). I couldn’t find out what was used in this particular vintage white table wine but the 2005 had 90% Garganega and 10% Trebbiano. I understand that this winery uses Garganega for their Soave Classico. It reminded me of Chardonnay in its look and taste. It was quite smooth and had a subtle flowery nose.

The night before that we had broiled steaks, a staple in our house. We had a 2006 Stephen’s Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon. I thought this wine was rather weak, to tell you the truth. I was really needing a big Cab to go with this steak and it really didn’t live up to that expectation. Hey, you win some and you lose some, yes? Anyway, Stephens Ridge is located in Santa Rosa, California and this is the first time we tried this winery.

Tonight we just finished a 2007 Chardonnay from Snoqualmie Vineyards, also, from the Columbia Valley in Washington. Actually we didn’t expect a lot from this wine as it was quite inexpensive but it was rather surprising. Usually the nose on a cheap white wine is of a dirty laundry hamper but this had nothing of the like. Light, fresh and surprisingly, not too much oak, which I’ve found is another consistent trait of cheap wine.

Since the next posting will likely be after the Super Bowl here is my prediction that you all have likely been on the edge of your seat waiting to hear. It will be a close game and I think the Arizona Cardinals will put a bow on their Cinderella story by upsetting the Steelers 23-17.

There you have it. Another post in the books and THIS one with an actual picture! Keep a lookout for the next one as I’m going to show you the Cork Catcher I made to catch all the corks from the wine we drink. It’s very unique and an eye catcher.

Till then, bottoms up!

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