French Wine Tasting Course 2 - Vouvray

Vouvray, Louis Armond, Loire Valley, France A.O.C. 2009 - $15

For the second course of this tasting I've chosen a popular and reasonably priced white wine.  Vouvray is actually the name of a region in France in the Loire Valley.  Below are some facts about Vouvray:

Fact 1 - Loire Valley region of French wine country is well known for it's white wines.  Found in the Northwestern part of France (near Brittany) most of the best grapes are along the banks of the Loire River headed east from the Atlantic Ocean.  Some famous regions in the Loire Valley include: Sancerre (typically mostly Sauvignon Blanc grapes) Muscadet (sweet wine), Pouilly-Fuisse (mostly Chardonnay) and Vouvray.

Fact 2 - As you can see from the label of this bottle, you typically buy French wine based on the region on the bottle.  Although, you can't see here that Vouvray is from the Loire Valley.  You need to really pay attention to how your wine or liquor store is organized if you're looking for this wine.  Typically when you walk into a wine shop and look for the French wine section first.  Then look for the Loire Valley section, then look for wine bottles with Vouvray on the label and find one in your price range.

Fact 3 - This Vouvray is made with 100% Chenin Blanc grapes.  The Chenin Blanc grape is also famous to South African wine.  With a light sweetness that reminds me of a Riesling or dry Riesling.  It has a nice balance of fruity flavor that pairs perfectly with spicy food, slightly salty food or a light salad with a tangy vinaigrette.

PAIRING - Prosciutto and Melon
Thanks to the help of Christina these little summer morsels were the perfect pairing with this crisp and slightly sweet wine.  We took cubes of cantaloupe and honeydew melon and skewered one type of the melon with a small square of prosciutto.  You can always drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil on top with some fresh sea salt and pepper if you'd like to add a little more spice.  The sweetness of the ripe melon heightens the fruitiness of the Vouvray and the saltiness of the prosciutto add incredible balance and finish to the wine.  For those that want a little taste of Provence, try this wine with a beef carpaccio salad too.

As we enter into the cooler months this fall and winter.  If you'd like a little reminder of spring and summer, find some ripe melon & prosciutto and pick up a bottle of a crisp Vouvray.

French Wine Tasting Course 1 - Champagne!

Well it's been a while since my last entry.  I hope everyone had a wonderful summer and you found some new wine favorites!  While we are now a couple days into the fall season but you couldn't tell with the intense heat and humidity we experienced last night.  A great crowd of people with some familiar friends and new faces came to my home for a 6 course wine tasting featuring French wine and some decadant hors d'oeuvres helping us make the transition from summer into fall.  Instead of creating one massive blog entry today, moving forward I'll be highlighting the six courses individually with added tips and fun facts.

Brut Champagne, Moet & Chandon Imperial, Epernay, Champagne, France, AOC - $30
Champagne is not just for important celebrations anymore!  Personally, there's nothing better to start off a several course meal, or even your weekend brunch than a glass of champagne.  Moet & Chandon actually has a really nice crisp taste and isn't overly "carbonated" like some other French champagnes, the bubbles were quite delicate and excited the palatte to get the evening off to a great start.  Here are some fun facts about this first course:

Fact 1 -  In order for a sparkling wine to be called champagne, it needs to be from the actual region of Champagne in France.  This is located a hour or two east of Paris and relatively close to Versailles.  French champagne is made from a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes.  Some bottles of sparkling wine around the world do say "Methode Champagnoise" on the label which just means that they followed the same process as making French Champagne, they just can't call it Champange because it's not from the region in France.  A great example of this in American culture is Bourbon can only be called that if its made in Bourbon County Kentucky.

Fact 2 -  One thing to note about most champagne is that you won't typically see a year or vintage on the bottle.  This is because champagne houses typically blend their champagne from several years so that the flavor tends to be consistent from year to year.  So if you really like this Moet, then you can bet it'll taste the same next year and the year after that.  Very rarely will you find vintage champagne houses that publish a year on the bottle, but if you do they typically are quite expensive ($80+).

Fact 3 -  Moet & Chandon are also the makers of the infamous Dom Perignon champagne.  DP typically runs you about $100+ a bottle at the liquor store and probably triple the price in a restaurant.  Moet is a lot more affordable and a great quality champagne for the price.  If you ever get to experience DP, please let me know what you think and if it's worth all the hype.

Fact 4 - Champagne also has a dryness to sweetness spectrum.  The most dry champagne is called "Brut" followed by "Extra-Dry", "Dry", "Demi-Sec", "Sec" and finally "Doux" being the most sweet.  Personally I'm a fan of Extra-Dry especially with cheap Champagne (i.e. Korbel).  But if you're buying really nice Champagne definitely try Brut it'll be quite crisp on your palette.

Fact 5 - There have also recently been advertised "Natural" Champagnes.  This type of champagne can be even more dry than a Brut only because it is purely the juice from the Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes and does not include the "dosage" (pronounced dough-sahj) which is the concentrated flavoring that is added to champagne to determine it's level of sweetness.  I could go on about the production of Champagne but I'll save it for another time.

PAIRING - Pain au Chocolat - aka "chocolate croissant"
These are a great addition to any brunch buffet or your typical French petit dejeuner (breakfast).  My sous chef and fellow French Canadian relative, Christina, used regular Pilsbury crescent dough and rolled a couple squares of Hershey's Special Dark chocolate into them.  Bake in the oven on 375 for 13-15min on cookie sheets with parchment paper.  The parchment paper is great for cleanup as it saves you from scraping off any baked on chocolate.  Of course if you have the time and energy in the kitchen you can make croissant dough from scratch and use much more upscale French or Belgian dark chocolate.  But who has that kind of time?

Pairing Champagne with any French breakfast bread, especially pain au chocolat, is sure to please your brunch crowd.  Who needs orange juice?

Sante!

Red Velvet Cupcakes?

Good evening Wine Cousins!

It's a Wednesday night and what better way to enjoy the nice warm spring air than with a grilled bacon burger and a brilliant wine to pair with it!

At a recommendation from Cousin Lisa, I investigated and managed to find the Cupcake Vineyards wine called the Red Velvet blend (Zin, Merlot, Cab).  A little creative name and surprisingly it's true!  If you manage to find a bottle it's not that expensive, $9-12, depending on the source.  Here's my advice to enjoy this wine at maximum benefit.

Step 1:  Open the bottle early - at least 1 hour before you want drink it.  Pop the cork and let it breathe...  If you want to know what I'm talking about, get a good nose from it in small sip in your glass right after you open the bottle and then come back an hour later and do the same.  Right?????  Am I right????
Step 2:  Make yourself a big, juicy bacon burger.  Adding the bacon to the burger is key to compliment this wine.  Chocolate and bacon are always a great combination of flavors.  And Cousin Christina - no, you can't have it with a turkey or veggie burger, not even remotely the same effect.  If you decide to put cheese on it, pick something mild and not a pepper-jack or something with strong kick.  Pick something with a nutty note like a provalone or mild cheddar.  You want the wine to do the talking. 
Step 3:  Drink wine with burger.  Really take in the nose before you sip.  You might smell cocoa/chocolate and maybe a little blackberry.  That's where the famous Red Velvet Cupcake comes through.
Step 4:  Once you wind down the evening (if you have some left, maybe pairing it with your chocolate and sea salt dessert of some kind) - DRINK A BIG GLASS OF WATER.

My big warning on needing the water is this, for those of you that have been to the tasting, look at the label.  Not specific = California.  Price point = cheap.  While cheap is good for many reasons, it opens the door to have a vicious hangover.  The purple tongue you have?  Your mouth feel dry?  Early indicators of a brutal hangover.  My advice is to drink a glass of water right after you finish your wine drinking evening of the Cupcake Red Velvet.

You'll thank me for it.

Sante!
Amy

Welcome!

To my Wine Cousins:

Welcome to the Curly Wine blog, where I will share some of my favorite wine and food tasting menus and some other great tips along the way.

For my first post, thanks to a team effort from friends, I will be sharing tonights Patio Pounder Tasting Menu.  Some great wines and pairings were shared tonight and I hope you enjoy my side notes and tasting highlights. 
Brut Sprakling Wine, Argyle, Willamette Valley, Oregon, 2003, $25 - This Oregon sparkling wine is mostly Pinot Noir with a little Chardonnay, a veritable Blanc de Noirs if you will.  :-)  A great crisp Brut that's not too dry.  Paired with a triple creme brie called Saint Andre.  A great way to compliment the bubbly is with a full fat creamy cheese.  Not a triple CREAM cheese, but a triple creme CHEESE.  Big difference.

Sauvignon Blanc, Cloudy Bay, Marlborough, New Zealand, 2010, $27 - Comparing a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc to a Californian Sauvignon Blanc was my objective of the next two courses.  A New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is much fruiter and sweeter and the epitome of NZ Sav Blanc is Cloudy Bay.  A little on the expensive side for my family but a great example of the sweetness that NZ brings to this light white wine!  Paired with a delicious avocado and mascarpone mousse with crab and grapefruit.  Nothing better than some seafood with a great light white like Cloudy Bay.

Sauvignon Blanc, Simi, Sonoma County, California, 2009, $11 - Crisp, cheap, smooth and absolutely delicious.  This will leave you in a situation on the patio.  Trust me.  It will go down faster than you can say patio pounder.  Paired with some fresh Feta cheese.  Muah!  (as my brother Mark says) "Fantastic!"

Rose, Domaine Houchart, Cote de Provence, France, A.O.C., 2010, $11 - In anticipation of my trip to the French Rivieria next weekend, I decided to feature the highlight of Provence - Rose!  The only thing that pairs well with spicy food is riesling and rose.  This was paired with some cream cheese stuffed jalepenos and wrapped in bacon along with some prosciutto and provolone stuffed peppers.  A little on the very spicy side, be sure to cook your jalepenos and remove the seeds to cut down on the hottness.  A delicious pair.  Have a napkin handy for the people who sweat.

Pinot Noir, A to Z, Oregon, 2009, $20 - What pairs better with the grilled food of summer than pinot noir?  A to Z is featured in many bars and restaurants and typically served by the glass.  A traditional BBQ or house marinade is perfect for some turkey tips.  A great pairing for all your upcoming summer BBQs when you don't have any beer handy.  Leave the bottle in the fridge for 30 min, especially if it's on a hot day.

Vidal Icewine, Jackson-Triggs, Reserve, Niagara Peninsula, Canada, 2007, $20 - Icewine.  Need I say more.  Perfect for those non-chocolate desserts especially when you have some fresh rhubarb growing in the backyard.  While there may be only a few recipes to make with rhubarb this was a great wine to pair with strawberry rhubarb crisp from FoodandWine.com.  The perfect finish to a great evening.  FYI - if you're revisiting wines from earlier, the only one that will pair "ok" with this dessert is the sparkling.  Don't bother trying it with the others.

Sante!  To a fabulous summer!!!!
Amy