Working at the Wine Bar

I had a meeting with an attorney downtown and decided to stop by the wine bar and work a little more before I went home. I'm at Downtown Uncorked, looking out the front window.

I've been sipping on a Chardonnay...
Castillo de Molina 2008
Casablanca Valley, Chile

It's a nice drinking chardonnay. Not much on the nose, but a smooth, buttery taste. I like a buttery tasting chardonnay. It's not for everyone, especially if you like a non-oaked, fruity chardonnay. I've had this before and am glad I started with this wine. Although I'm enjoying it inside on a cool, crisp November day, it would be fantastic on a summer day on the porch.

7 Heavenly Chards

Last night we had a yummy Chardonnay! We found it at our local Wine Styles tasting several months ago. It's one of the few wines we really liked. This is a very rich, buttery Chardonnay that is extra smooth. Also has slight pear/peach flavor. If you're looking for a rich wine, this one's for you. We really enjoyed it with our chicken & artichoke dish.

7 Heavenly Chards
2006
Michael & David
Lodi, California

from the winemaker:

Heavenly Chards of an angelic line,
Each with a task, simply divine.

Chardonnays Justice, balanced and true,
Resurgence of light, life brought anew.

Chardonnays Temperance, patient and mild,
Riding the storms and taming the wilds.

Chardonnays Prudence, cautious and wise,
Embracing the earth, arms to the skies.

Chardonnays Faith, the intangible shield,
Solid as stone, refusing to yield.

Chardonnays Endurance, the river within,
Rising to flow, again and again.

Chardonnays Hope, a spark to ignite,
An unquenchable flame, a beacon of light.

Chardonnays Love, reigning supreme,
Uniting them all in this heavenly dream.

-Kevin Phillips

Recent Wines

I've been saving these bottles for awhile & haven't had time to enter them here.

Red Knot

2007 Cabernet Sauvignon 

South Australia

Decent wine from our wine club...not any better than a normal wine from the grocery store.

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Marques de la Concordia

Crianza 2005

Rioja

After having a fantastic Rioja in Austin, I asked the guy at Specs to recommend a Rioja.  This one is much less expensive, but still worth drinking.  I really enjoyed this one and will get some more bottles for the future

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MA

Reserve Chardonnay

2008

Maipo Valley

Another one from our local wine club.  It was a decent Chardonnay, but I'd prefer a less expensive one that has as much flavor as this one...like Barefoot or Yellow Tail Chard.

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Lucky Star

2007 Zinfandel

Lodi

Neither Steve or I liked this one much.

Borghese Chardonnay

Yummy & rich!!!

That's Borghese's Chardonnay.  We tasted this wine after a private tour of the vineyard.  This wine is often used at wine dinners and paired with a steak.  It holds up well because it is so rich...not too buttery nor too oakey.  Just right!

Last night, I cooked a rib-eye soaked in Cognac - very tasty - with potato balls & sauteed mushrooms.  We had shrimp salad set in a half avocado.  To end the meal, I made Chocolate Mousse.  When I first started making the mousse, it wasn't turning out right.  After I whipped the chocolate smooth, I folded in more egg whites.  It set well and had a deep chocolate flavor.

Borghese

2005 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay

North Fork of Long Island

Nestled in the North Fork of Long Island's Bordelaise microclimate, Castello di Borghese Vineyard has crafted classically proportioned wines since 1973.  Blessed with a 210 day growing season and sandy soils, Long Island's first estate vineyard ferments vintage after vintage of critically acclaimed wines.

Thursday Wine Tasting

Last night we visited Wine Styles, our local wine shop that offers weekly wine tasting. We decided to go even though we didn't see any wines particularly interesting to us on the email.

Were we surprised!!!

Two of the wines were actually ones we would enjoy again.

Peirana Estate, The Other Red
Lodi, California
This wine is listed as mellow, but neither of us thought it was completely mellow. It is between mellow & bold with a great berry taste. Even has a little spice or smoke flavor. A really good value at 15.99. Here's the description we received:
Aromas of black cherries are complemented by spice, toasty oak, and cedar. Waves of crabapple, plum and candied fruit with a hint of smoky, dark oak and a long seductive finish.
This was a fun wine to taste.

Our favorite of the night was a Chardonnay, surprisingly. When the server poured our glasses, she said it was one of her favorites and it has a banana & caramel taste. I thought, "I'm not so sure about a banana taste". As we walked back to our seats, I sniffed and there was a definite banana aroma. I told Steve that he needed to smell this wine before he tasted it.

Michael David Vineyards
7 Heavenly Chards
Lodi, California
This Chardonnay has a great flavor & mixture of banana, caramel and cream. It was great to drink and we even bought a bottle to enjoy later.
Aromas of vanilla, peach & banana entice a sip. (That's for sure) The mouth fills with peach, apple & lime while flavors of cream and caramel round out the wine and leave a long finish. A little more pricey, but well worth it at 20.99

Channing Daughters Chardonnay

We bought this wine at the end of our trip to Long Island last summer. We thought we'd stop at one last vineyard and boy am I glad we did. It was one of our favorites...and the prices were better, too.

Enjoyed in Feb 09. I love this wine because it is rich and delicious. Although I enjoy a fruity Chardonnay in the summer. This Chardonnay is nice & bold, full of butter & oak flavors.

Channing Daughters
2006 L'Enfant Sauvage Chardonnay
The Hamptons, Long Island

L'Enfant Sauvage is made from grapes harvested from our sculpture garden and Black Kiln Vineyards. This wine was fermented in new French & Slovenian oak barrels with naturally-occurring wild yeast & took over one year to complete primary fermentation. All the fruit was handpicked, whole cluster-pressed, handled minimally & bottled by gravity. Cheers!

Christmas Party

With a few friends over, we enjoyed Lava Cap Chardonnay and Dunham Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon, both from our wine clubs. As usual, I loved the Lava Cap. Well, I like almost every wine we get from Lava Cap. The Chardonnay is less fruity with some full body I can enjoy.

The Cabernet was a bit piney. Although it is much better than some of the cheap wines we enjoy, I haven't been as impressed with Dunham's wine since our wine tasting last February. We have one more bottle of their wine that we'll try. If it isn't outstanding, we'll probably cancel Dunham's wine club. The wines are good, but not worth $40ish a bottle.