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The end of winter brings a bit of a quiet month for wine events. Some of the larger events in March include:
For more wine events see our wine event calendar.  A couple of interesting items in the news continue to support the supposition that moderate consumption of wine is good for your health.
Open That Bottle Night for 2010 was last night (February 27). Yes, last night was the night to drag out that “special” bottle of wine that you have been saving for that perfect special occasion that never seems to come. The whole premise it to get those bottles out and drink them before the go past their prime, or worse yet, go bad. My experience last night underscores why this night is such a good idea. The first wine I opened was a 1986 Chateau Mouton Rothschild. The first bad sign was the cork. A lot of mold on the top and it was very soft, actually breaking as I tied to remove it. The wine itself still had an aroma of oak and dried leaves but there was not a lot of fruit. The color was still a robust but there was a hint of brown at the edges. The taste – well it was still drinkable, but it was not that good. The tannins were still pretty strong and most of the fruit was gone. I ended up pouring the wine out. Not to be deterred I went for a second bottle. This one was a 1988 Cuvaison Cabernet Sauvignon. It was a gift from the winemaker and even had a nice brass plate on it with my wife’s name and my name. Same problem at the outset – soft cork. But then one sniff – whew, the wine had gone bad. Another one down the sink. At this point I gave up and went with a wine that I knew would be good. My experience only servers to underscore the need to actually drink those special bottles of wine. I actually intend to have several more such night throughout 2010, hopefully with better results. If you are not familiar with Open That Bottle Night (OTBN) check out our post about it – Open That Bottle Night (OTBN) 2010. I call this pasta Nicoise because it is VERY loosely based on a Salad Nicoise that I once had (which was a variation on the traditional to start out with)… Ingredients:
Preparation:
This is an oil-based sauce so I far prefer an acidic white wine with this. A Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio will do nicely. If you must do Chardonnay try one that is not aged in oak. Constantly learning is one of the many joys of wine. No matter how much you know or taste, there is ALWAYS something else – another surprise lurking around a corner. That is why I am always on the lookout for great new ways to learn about wine (see Wine Education / Wine Training, and Wine Education / Wine Classes). Thus I read with interest this morning an article in New Jersey Magazine – Executive Wine Seminars pours only the best wines, By T.J. Foderaro, February 17, 2010. Sounds like a great way to learn about wine. Cost for their seminars can be expensive, ranging up to $425. But they do have some more value priced seminars as well – $75 or $90. Worth checking them out – Executive Wine Seminars. Their tastings are held in TriBeCa in a place called New York Vintners. Roundup of Major Wine Events for February, 2010 A new feature for our blog. Once a month we will highlight some of the major wine events coming up for that month. Continuing in the month of February is the Boston Wine Festival. Events in the Boston Wine Festival run through April 2. Another lengthy wine festival kicks off on Long Island on February 13, the Long Island Winterfest: Jazz on the Vine. The Nation’s capital plays host to the 11th Annual Washington D.C. International Wine & Food Festival also starting on February 13. Mid-Month (February 19-21) the focus turns to the Southwest for the San Antonio Wine Festival. The Month ends up with the South Beach Wine & Food Festival on February 26 through 28 in South Beach, Florida (like many of us really need an excuse to go to Florida in the Winter), as well as the New York Wine Expo over the same dates. For more wine events and details on the above see our Wine Events Calendar. Open That Bottle Night (OTBN), an annual event started by the WSJ’s Tastings columnists Dottie Gaiter and John Breche, is always the last Saturday in February. In 2010 that works out to be February 27th. The premise is for everyone to pick one of the bottles that they have been saving for a special occasion – which never comes – and open it before it goes bad… Perhaps it best to hear straight from the source in this video for last year’s (2009) Open That Bottle Night: I thought that I would take a minute as we embark on a new decade to review what I think to be some good and bad things going on in wine… Good
Bad
Back in December I wrote about tasting a 2009 Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau Villages. At that time I did not like the wine (as others attested at the time – my favorite being the review that called it tasting like “banana candy mixed in with a little finger nail polish” – See Back to Work!!!). At the time I hypothesized that maybe the bottle just needed a little more time to age. Well back to my local liquor store to pick up another bottle, where the proprietor told me that Beaujolais Nouveau tasting yeasty is a very common complaint. He also pointed out that the “cork” was synthetic – so the wine would probably taste exactly the same. He was right. First sniff and taste – yeast! A lot of it. Hiding the fruitiness of the wine. So theory number 2 – how ’bout decanting? Decant it I did, letting it sit for about an hour. This helped a lot. While there were still traces of yeastiness, the fruit was much more evident. The wine was still only ok, but the decanting definitely helped. I am, however, starting to think that the whole Beaujolais Nouveau concept is misguided. It sounds good on paper – a simple, fruity, young wine meant to be enjoyed young. The execution, for me, never lives up to the billing. I always get a young wine that tastes like it just barely finished fermenting that would have benefited from a little more care and aging. A couple more months of aging before bottling would probably do the wine a world of good… But then it wouldn’t be Nouveau, it would just be Beaujolais… Most comitted wine stores have knowledgable staff. Most alos offer in store wine tastings. But most do not have a staff that the establsihment has paid to become certified wine specialists. Most also do not have tastings complete with lectures, handouts, and food pairings. But one does – The Curious Grape in Arlington, VA. Read more here: The Curious Grape offers wine and an education, Nancy Dunham, The Washington Post, January 15, 2010. |
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