White Bordeaux Wine Not In Key West

I am having such a good time on my trip to Ohio. Not having hugh wine stores in Key West, I am like a kid in a candy store up here. I am seeing a lot of the bottles that Dr. Deb and Sonadora have tasted and posted information. What I am really thrilled about are some of the wines I tasted when I first began keeping notes back in 1994. I have talked about one of my old tasting books I found a few weeks ago. Totally cool that I am discovering some of the wines that I tasted back then are still available now. ( I did a post about Dry Creek Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc a few weeks ago if you tuned in on my blog and Wine Sediments).

Strolling down the French aisle of the store looking for a wine to taste and post about on WBW, I came across an old familiar White Bordeaux Wine that I just had to purchase and taste again. Ever since Marcus at Doktor Weingolb decided to choose a French wine for WBW, I have gotten back on my "band wagon" of French wine. Recently I have been stuck on Rose', Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc and have ignored other grapes. So in my attempt to expand the ol' palate, I am hooked back on the French wines. I have a few on the rack now so today I am back on memory lane with Andre' Lurton's Chateau Bonnet Entre-Duex-Mers White Bordeaux 2005. My tasting notes back in 1994 showed that the color was a greeny-gold and the flavors were of young, crisp citrus. It was $8.99 and I rated it a 9 out of a possible 10. Well, the 2005 is not too far off from the 1994. I unscrewed the bottle, instead of popping the cork, and lots of citrus aroma jumped out of the bottle into my nose, which I always have close on hand as I love to catch that first aroma (I hate using the word smell) as it leaves the bottle. The color on the 2005 is quite white, as you can see. On the first sip the powerful flavor of grapefruit hit my mouth and also a bit of "green" was present. It had a good kick of acidity which plays nicely on the back of your tongue and in turn gives it a nice long lively finish. A combination of grapes, Sauvignon 50%, Semillon 40%, and Muscadelle 10% are what make up this wine. It has an alcohol volume of 12%. Price now is $9.99! I only paid a dollar more now than back in 1994! What a deal!

I find it is fun going back and pulling these "oldies" back out of the closet and comparing notes.

Cheers!

French Wine Not In Key West

Ah, French Wines. I was very lucky to actually travel to France twice back in the early 1990's. Mike had business over there and, well twist my arm, ask if I would like to go. OF COURSE! These were my prime "getting into" wine years. I actually started keeping notes back then. But what was really cool was that one of his business contacts was a Frenchman who grew up in a town in the Loire Valley called Saumur. Still had family and friends there, so off we went to stay for a few days. Maybe someday I will put my whole experience into a book. To make a long story short, we visited his friends caves where we drank the wine directly from the barrels and also sat at kitchen tables and shared the wines with family. They did not speak English and we did not speak French. But we felt the warmth and hospitality flowing not matter what we all were saying. Oh I can still smell the dank, damp, moldy air down in those caves. OK Deb, back to reality.

The reason for all this nostalgia is the wine I found at a shop here that we enjoyed last evening. It is not from the Loire region, but from France. The wine I am speaking of is a 2005 Pierre Boniface, Apremont, Vin de Savoie, which is from the Savoie Department located near the lower slopes of the Alps. It was a wonderful straw colored white wine, with 11.5% alcohol. Popping the cork and taking that first sniff is what brought back memories. It had fresh touches of honey, maybe a little spice, but lots of fruit, especially crisp, ripe, green apples. The finish also had a hint of melon with a little tang on the tongue, which I remember several French wines have. I am not sure of the grape content, but in that region they use about 70% of the Jacquere grape. This low sugar grape makes a delicate almost ethereal white wine. I do wish the French would start putting more info on the labels, but then I guess the mystery and intrigue of the wine would be gone. Gotta love the French. But for only $12.99, I took a wonderful trip down memory lane!

Cheers!

Emus Running Wild In Key West

One evening last week, before my trek to Ohio, we let the Emus run wild in our back yard! Four Emus 2005 Sauvignon Blanc that is. What a fun, full flavored wine this was. It had to be fun with a label like they have! I am loving these fun, colorful, artsy labels for a change. And even some of them have some darn good wine behind those labels!

Anyhow, let's get back to this lovely wine. It was a 2005 Four Emus Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon blend with it split between the grapes 50-50. The alcohol level was 12.4%. This is a wine produced on Dale Road, Middle Swan, Western Australia. It has a nice looking straw color with just a hint of green. With this bright appearance, after unscrewing the cap, you get a nice whiff of tropical fruit aromas. On the palate I found bunches of tropical fruit flavors with a hint of, let's say, green peas and a tiny taste of cut hay in the background. It had a nice texture in the mouth with lots of bright acidity teasing your tongue.

I suggest you gather a herd of Emus for yourself because at $7.99, you cannot beat this wine for a spring evening!

Cheers!

New Camera Not In Key West

Hey Gang! I am excited as I have a new camera. I have been researching and pondering this for a long time, but made the big jump this week. Now...how to use it. Sooooo... this blog is being used as an experiment on transferring my photos. So be patient with me. I am a newbie again. You can exit now, but please join me tomorrow for a new week!

Thanks!

Cheers!

Oxford Farmers Market Not In Key West

Lucy & Eugene - Boulder Belt Eco Farm

It is Saturday in Oxford, Ohio and time for the first Oxford Farmers Market of the season. Oh my gosh, I am in heaven with the fresh organic, chard, lettuces, radishes, strawberries, kale, eggs, chicken - I could go on and on. I filled up 3 big bags of fresh from the farm goodies. What also was so fun was meeting Lucy and Eugene from Boulder Belt Eco Farm. I visit her blog and website frequently and now was able to purchase lovely fresh items from their farm. Too fun! I feel very strongly on supporting our local farmers. They work so hard to bring us the best mother earth can provide. Now that I have a frig full of fresh ingredients, got to hit the kitchen and put these wonderful food items to good use!

Sorry I have no wines to report on today, not that I did not indulge last evening, but just enjoyed wines that I have already posted. More on the wine scene tomorrow!

Cheers!

Turner Road Wine In Key West

Hi Gang. I have made it safely to Oxford, Ohio which is just north of Cincinnati. For me it feels like winter as the temps are only in the 50's right now. But Spring is lovely up here, everything is so green! After Mike picked me up at the airport, our first stop in Northern Kentucky was The Party Source. Best place to pick up a case of wine on the way home. I was like a kid in a candy store with all the selections. I could spend hours in there, which I probably will this coming week. But we were kind of in a hurry so I made some selections and we were on our way. More to come on my selections and I could not resist more Rose'!

My best garden friend, Jake the Gnome, wished me good luck on my trip to Ohio with a bottle of Turner Road Pinot Grigio from Lodi, California. What a nice tasting, under $10, wine this turned out to be. It is 100% Pinot Grigio, no blending of other grapes with 12.5% alcohol. I was able to pull out nice, very lively, flavors and aromas of apple, nectarine and citrus. Another great wine chilled for those warm spring evenings and the flavors even bloomed a bit more as the wine got a little warmer. Nice finish that did not linger too long but enough to make you ready for your next sip. In researching this wine, I found that the grapes are harvested at night to preserve those fresh crisp flavors. The grapes, after picking, are brought to the winery and pressed directly into steel tanks for fermentation at cool temperatures.

Another plus for this winery is their enviornmental practices. They recycle 90% of the winery waste and operate a natural water treatment facility for revitalizing waste water for landscaping and maintaining wetland habitats for wildlife. Nice to give back to mother nature, as she gives so much to us!

Cheers!

No Wine Tomorrow In Key West

"I'm leavin' on a jet plane" Wasn't that a song by Peter, Paul & Mary back in the 60's? Well, it's time for Deb to travel and I am excited. I fly out tomorrow and will be in Ohio for awhile. Cannot wait to visit all the wine shops in the area, farmer's markets, little local wineries and, oh yes, family and friends. Enjoy the full moon ! So until Thursday....

Cheers!