essex wine report

well this is a reprint of a previous post. its about aeration which to me transforms a wine. i would never willingly drink a red without aerating it. if i can decant it for 4 hrs good or use an aeration funnel and drink right away.

it transformed the Mastrnardi Merlot and makes D’Angelo’s Baco-Foch drink far better than the price they give it away for. i think its so important that i am reprinting this one.

 

tootles, here we go again:::

 

well i tried to use ms word for the post but i gave up as it was making me capitalize things and i couldn’t get rid of that damn paperclip. i just wish wp could be used here.

so here we go.

anyone who knows me knows i love my toys. when it comes to enjoying wine, why not?? well i’ll give you my favourite, but first a little rant.

glasses: why do i need a separate glass for each wine??? i fully understand that it would be bad to drink dom out of a dixie cup, but i find it hard to believe that a glassware company can design a glass specifically for each wine. i love the marketing but come on. we lived for years with red, white and champaign glasses. i guess i’m missing something. i manage to break so many that my table would look like an orphanage. i like the stemless glasses but i really like the knockoff brands who are 2 bucks a glass.

now for my fav. it the airation funnels. seen one of these??? tso found them when we went to niagara last year. i scoffed at the idea until i tried the difference. i bought one on the spot.

the basic concept is to airate the wine just like you would if you decanted it for several hours but you do it instantaneously. for a wine pig like me this is great. i’m kinda impatient. 

there are several styles so i will try to discuss the ones i’ve used.

welfare mother: take a freezer bag and use it like a pastry bag. pick a corner and poke several holes around the corner, pour wine in it and watch the sprinkler. this works remarkably well but you need a pitcher to cath the spray. this is a great way to test the theory and/or shame the boyfriend into buying you one.

i have a wmf stainless steel one. it resenbles a funnel with the base blanked off and holes put around the perimiter above the blanked off end. mine has a short tube, but this is great for my decanter. mine is a modern type and as such it doesn’t have much of a neck so i wanted the wine to be spayed to the side of the decanter asap. it works great

if you have a captain’s type decanter a longer stemmed funnel can be used. i ended up buying tso a french one with a real small diameter tube and it works really well– better tham mine and half the price.

there are avariety of style, from pewter to glass to stainless and the price is all over. i would avaoid expensive ones as i’m cheap and i just don’t see the added utility. try to find one with multiple holes rather than a slot — holes create more surface area therefore more airation therefore more smoothing out.

there is another variety which i own and one which i would definitely have if i ran a restaurant or winery. its called final touch and its a glass device which goes into the bottle like a pourer and airates as you pour. its real handy but does about 80% of a funnel/carafe combo.

for red wine the results are amazing. it improves the enjoyment of the wine about 75%. you can drink cheaper wines and better wines are just so much better, i just won’t drink a red without airating it first. if you doubt me go buy a bottle of inexpensive red(or anything you have on hand) and make a welfare mother funnel. pour off a glass then decant the rest thru the freezer bag and taste the difference. you can thank me later, enjoy the wine and all your potential savings. do this on a tuscan and life is very good.

i’ve shared a secret of mine, enjoy. 

 

As the Ruthven Apple Fest is quickly approaching I felt it was time to try a wine made basically across the street from the festival grounds. This would be from Mastronardi Estate Winery.

 

I am really getting into the full sensory thing so let me set the table. I had a glass or 2 with dinner and then now after. Dinner was artisinal prociutto(local, from a wonderful butcher), goat cheese and French bread. Music was Lee Morgan, Candy, a veritable classic. After dinner music is Bill Evans, The Unknown Sessions on a Japanese pressing so I can’t say much about it other than its great because the writing is in Japanese. All vinyl cos I want the wine to taste good.

 

I went to the winery just after it opened and let this bottle settle for a while as I thought it had promise when I tasted it. It’s the 2002 Merlot. Now merlot isn’t my favorite grape but I try not to prejudge a wine, just enjoy it.

 

Prior to aerating, this wine tasted very Essex County, good but I felt not worth the price. After I put it thru my aeration funnel it was transformed. Now, you all know how I feel about aeration and these devices, but I can’t stress how much a difference they make. Like another wine I had last week(review to come), the texture totally changed. It went from ok to nice and round. Probably not the right term but that is how it felt on my tongue. It is amazing how the texture changed. It became fluffy and that’s good.

 

For the people who worry about legs, this one has it  and yes my glass was/is clean. A deep claret color and it has a wonderful aroma. It’s really clean and fresh so I assume they took care at harvesting. I find none of the telltale odor of twigs that I feel kill a wine.

 

Now for the taste. It is very good. It tastes of the fruit it was made of. I really don’t get into the usual terms as I like Riesling and the thought of looking for a petrol taste rather bothers me. Let me tell you what it isn’t. it isn’t harsh, no nasty aftertaste. I find the taste rather subdued. Now that is nice. I am really enjoying this wine. and isn’t that the point. I am having trouble describing the taste other than I really like it and its mellow, like the music. I wouldn’t like this wine if I was listening to Kid Rock but then again I find no redeeming value in Kid Rock and I feel that his fans drink Bud rather than wine anyway.

 

The wine went so well with the goat cheese, but it too was mellow. Partner this with a nice roast, but not too spiced, maybe turned on a spit. It would be wonderful. I would avoid game meat but roast fowl would be really nice with this.

 

I really like this wine. the only fault is that it doesn’t pass my own personal test. This matters to nobody else except me. My perfect grade to a wine is if I can (in my minds eye) see a twentyish Sophia Loren stomping the grapes after I have a glass. This doesn’t do that for me but it is very close.

 

Try this winery as they are making excellent wine and there is Pinot coming from here next year???????? I hope so cos that’s what they alluded to.