The fun of picking on Apothic never gets old, I tell ya. This is Part 4.
Wednesday, June 29, 2016
Chef Gordon Ramsay on Apothic
The fun of picking on Apothic never gets old, I tell ya. This is Part 4.
Sunday, June 26, 2016
Video Beer Review: Cisco Brewers Monomy Kriek 2015
Thursday, June 23, 2016
Wine Review: Château du Moulin-à-Vent 2011 Champ de Cour Moulin-à-Vent
This is the second of two reviews for wines by Château du Moulin-à-Vent. To learn more about the village of Moulin-à-Vent, the region of Beaujolais, and the Gamay grape then please read the review for Château du Moulin-à-Vent 2011 Moulin-à-Vent.
So because I covered all of that in the first review, let's talk a bit about the winery in this one.
The earliest proof of Château du Moulin-à-Vent's existence is from 1732 but it's probably older than that. However, before 1936 it was called Château des Thorins. 1936 was the year that Moulin-à-Vent became one of the first Cru Beaujolais villages to be established, and it was named after the three-hundred year old Moulin-à-Vent style windmill that stands on top of the hill of Les Thorins. So, the Château decided to change from Château des Thorins to Château du Moulin-à-Vent. The X's on the label have got to be an homage to its beloved windmill, right?
Sunday, June 19, 2016
Wine Review: Château du Moulin-à-Vent 2011 Moulin-à-Vent
Let's start off with some clarifications. This wine is from the village of Moulin-à-Vent, which is a cru of Beaujolais, France. This is not anything like the Beaujolais Nouveau that comes out every third week of November. Beaujolais Nouveau is garbage. Yes, it's an exciting traditional thing to celebrate the vintage but the wine is crap.
Beaujolais-Villages is the name of the Beaujolais where the wine starts to get good. One of my favorite simple and affordable wines is Louis Jadot Beaujolais-Villages. Give that sucker a chill and you've got the perfect red wine for spring. It's like drinking Jell-O. When you get into specific villages that qualify as what they call "Cru Beaujolais", well, that's when the wine gets great. Moulin-à-Vent is one of those and, unlike the others, it likes to oak age its wines.
Thursday, June 16, 2016
Wine Review: CVNE 2015 Rioja Rosado
This is the final of three wines by CVNE that I'm revewing. The first one is Viña Real 2015 Rioja Rosado, this one is CVNE Monopole 2015 Rioja Blanco, and the conclusion is Cune 2015 Rioja Rosado. The winery goes by both CVNE and Cune, Cune being a typo that stuck. The acronym is pronounced coo-nay and stands for Compañia Vinicola del Norte de España. It was founded in 1879 in Haro, Rioja and has been a leader in progressive winemaking and modernization since its inception.
Rosés and rosados are made from all sorts of varietals. Mostly Grenache. But there's Pinot Noir, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec... and even being an absolute sucker for pink wine I've found that the ones I love the most are from Tempranillo. Then again, I'm a big fan of Tempranillo anyways.
The Cune Rosado is 100% Tempranillo. Awesome. And I've got some sushi to go with it. Even awesomer. I'm in the mood for some Stones and classic rock so I tune to The Rolling Stones Radio on Pandora. Guess what comes up first? None other than Sympathy For The Devil. Fitting for this demon of wine blogging. It's time to sin.
Tuesday, June 14, 2016
Sunday, June 12, 2016
Wine Review: CVNE Monopole 2015 Rioja Blanco
This is the second of three wines by CVNE that I'm revewing. The first one is Viña Real 2015 Rioja Rosado, this one is CVNE Monopole 2015 Rioja Blanco, and the conclusion is Cune 2015 Rioja Rosado. The winery goes by both CVNE and Cune, Cune being a typo that stuck. The acronym is pronounced coo-nay and stands for Compañia Vinicola del Norte de España. It was founded in 1879 in Haro, Rioja and has been a leader in progressive winemaking and modernization since its inception.
Monopole is 100% Viura and CVNE has been making it under the Monopole label since 1915. Viura is also known as Macabeo and it's one of the grapes used in making Cava, Spain's famous sparkling wine. I've adored the Viura's of Rioja since the first time I ever tried it... so let's hope I don't get my first dud.
Monopole is 100% Viura and CVNE has been making it under the Monopole label since 1915. Viura is also known as Macabeo and it's one of the grapes used in making Cava, Spain's famous sparkling wine. I've adored the Viura's of Rioja since the first time I ever tried it... so let's hope I don't get my first dud.
Thursday, June 9, 2016
Wine Review: CVNE Viña Real 2015 Rioja Rosado
I am really looking forward to these next three reviews because they're all just made for this late spring / early summer weather. Look at that bottle. That condensation isn't even from the bottle coming out of my fridge... it's from my basement. It's hot outside here. Finally.
All three wines are from CVNE, which stands for Compañia Vinicola del Norte de España. Well... at some point somebody hit the wrong key of a typewriter or something and put in a U instead of a V. The mistake stuck. It's mostly known as CUNE and pronounced coo-nay. The winery was founded in 1879 in Haro, Rioja and has been a leader in progressive winemaking and modernization since its inception.
I've got two rosados and a blanco. Viña Real 2015 Rioja Rosado, CVNE Monopole 2015 Rioja Blanco, and Cune 2015 Rioja Rosado. What better way to quench your thirst and celebrate the next few months of not having to wear a stupid jacket than some refreshing Spanish vino?
Sunday, June 5, 2016
Wine Review: Nervi Gattinara 2002
I am here in the presence of The King. Not Elvis Presley, not the king of Nigeria that desperately needs you to wire him money, not the Burger King, and not a king cobra (I hope). Stannis Baratheon may be the one true King of Westeros but Nebbiolo is the king of Italian wine. Highly structured, highly tannic, highly acidic, highly complex, highly ageable, highly praised. Long live the king.
You may know the varietal better when its wine is named by the region where it comes from, most notably Barolo (actually nicknamed "the king") and Barbaresco (nicknamed "the queen") in the northwestern Italian region of Piedmont. Another place in Piedmont that makes famous Nebbiolo is Gattinara. It earned DOC status in 1967 and DOCG in 1990.
Nervi is the oldest winery in Gattinara still standing, founded in 1906. And I have the 2002 vintage of Nervi's Gattinara. After some decanting I'm ready to review it... but first I need to check under the furniture for snakes because I've now freaked myself out.
Wednesday, June 1, 2016
June Wine Pick: Alexander Valley Vineyards "Sin Zin" 2012
This WINE PICK of the month was written for the Luke's of Cape Cod website.
I make it no secret that I'm not very fond of Zinfandel in general. That's the polite version of how I feel about the varietal. However, the rare Zin that I adore actually does exist! My wine pick of the month is not only one of those Zins but one of my favorite wines!
I make it no secret that I'm not very fond of Zinfandel in general. That's the polite version of how I feel about the varietal. However, the rare Zin that I adore actually does exist! My wine pick of the month is not only one of those Zins but one of my favorite wines!
Sin Zin by Alexander Valley Vineyards started with the 1978 vintage. It saw some controversy over its label and was forced to change a few things before it could be released. Since then it's gone through several redesigns, although with the same concept, but with the 35th anniversary of its release they decided to bring back the label it premiered with. The wine inside, as always, remains fantastic.
