A #TGTaste of Villa Maria Estate

This week saw the first #TGTaste twitter tasting of 2013 featuring two wines from New Zealand's Villa Maria Estate: the 2012 Private Bin Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc ($13) and 2011 Private Bin Marlborough Pinot Noir ($16). These were my first wines from the winery, but apparently they are quite popular, having to open a second facility recently in Auckland to satisfy demand. I found it interesting that founder, George Fistonich, is Eastern European as he says, "Being Croatian, wine is part of my blood. It’s always been a part of life and I’m pleased to have spent my career pursuing this life-long passion."  And for those where sustainiblity is a criteria in purchasing wine, Villa Maria is a member of Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand (SWNZ).

Starting with the  Sauvignon Blanc, the fruit was sourced from vineyards throughout Marlborough, including the Wairau and Awatere valleys. You may want to check out Kiwi Daydreaming to find out more out the Marlborough region.  It looks like there was nothing fancy about the fermentation process, and the result is a typical clean and refreshing Sauvignon Blanc - grapefruit and lemon on the initial palette, some grassy flavors in the mid-palette, and a clean refreshing acidic finish. And extremely attractive at the $13 SRP.

The fruit for the Pinot Noir were sourced solely from the Wairau and Awatere valleys in Marlborough. The grapes were cold soaked up to 32˚C, with a majority of the juice fermented in oak and the remaining wine was barreled after fermenting in stainless steel on lees. The total oak treatment lasted 10 months. The resulting wine is all cherry, dark cherry to be precise, with a little plum mixed in. The mid-palette is soft and creamy with the cherry mixed with a few flakes of white pepper. The finish is nice and easy - and as suggested by the screw cap, drink now - and often. Cheers

The Skinny Vine - Not Worth the Calories

This week we were sent three samples of the new Skinny Vine wine brand for the monthly #TGTaste ThirstyGirl twitter tasting: Slim Chardonnay, Thin Zin and Mini Moscato. These wines are marketed as tasty, low calorie, low alcohol, and low cost ($11) wines for the youth wine market and competing against the highly successful FlipFlop wines. Many of my companions in the tasting loved the wines; but from what I sampled - don't waste your calories. Starting with the Chardonnay, it lacked any of the characteristic flavors associated with the grape, had a synthetic taste of vanilla and oak (staves or chips perhaps), and finished with zero acidity. My first impression was a flat wine cooler.

Matters worsened rapidly when moving to the Thin Zin which is basically a rose colored white zinfandel. The wine started with a respectable strawberry nose which quickly evaporated when the sweet, syrupy "Kool-aid" entered the mouth. Our first thoughts, a wine for a 16yr old. Simply terrible. I had to temporarily grab a dark beer to cleanse the palette since my taste buds felt so tainted.

We eventually moved on the Moscato, which actually wasn't that bad - easily the best of the trio. The three muscat grapes (Muscat of Alexandria, Muscat à Petits Grains and Orange Muscat) provide the aromatics you would expect; but the flavor is diminished by a syrupy composition and a lack of acidity at the tail. Other than that, it was drinkable.

Final thought - I find it hard to believe that anyone liked these wines; but that's the beauty of different palettes. If you like these styles, go for it - for me; no way. Cheers

Exploring Columbia Crest H3 with ThirstyGirl & Leslie Sbrocco

We were invited to participate in the monthly #TGTaste with Leslie Sbrocco featuring wines from the Columbia Crest Winery H3 brand - specifically three wines from Washington State's Horse Heaven Hills AVA. This area is located in south-eastern Washington and is surrounded by the Columbia Valley AVA and Yakima Valley AVA to the North and the Columbia River to the South. It is responsible for 25% of grapes harvested in the Evergreen state and 100% of the grapes in the wines we received. Winemaker Juan Munoz Oca explains that this AVA gives whites more minerality and reds more cocoa, earth and dust notes.

The first wine poured was the Columbia Crest 2010 Horse Heaven Hills Chardonnay ($15) made from 100% whole berry whole berry pressed Chardonnay with 75% fermented in various types of oak barrels. The result is a very interesting and unique Chardonnay. Yes, it possesses that characteristic Chardonnay flavors, including green apple and even some pineapple, as well as some silky creamy texture from the oak treatment. What distinguishes this wine is a spicy - almost nutmeg - finish - that really alters the tasting experience. Not really sure how to handle the finish. But after breathing the spiciness became more subtle

The second wine was the Columbia Crest 2010 Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet Sauvignon ($15) , 97% cab of pure enjoyment. It's medium bodied which oozes cherries with a velvety mid-palette, and a  smooth, soft finish - very little tannins. What an easy drinking wine - and this one came with those cocoa notes. But what about the other 3%? According to Oca, the 1% Cabernet Franc provides herbal notes to the nose and adds layers of fruit and depth. Not bad for a 1 percent-er.  And the 2% Merlot provides some backbone & structure.

The final wine was the Columbia Crest 2010 Horse Heaven Hills Les Chevaux Red ($15) - a Merlot dominant blend augmented with Cabernet Sauvignon & Syrah. Named in honor of the AVA, "the Horses" is also a smooth cherry flavored wine with more acidity than the Cabernet Sauvignon as well as a slight tobacco. This seemed to be the #TGTaste favorite - this writer excluded.

Cheers to Columbia Crest and H3.