Bourbon Barrel Aged Wine with Barrel Road Red Blend

Bourbon barrel aging is standard practice in the craft beer world and this practice is slowly making its way into wine. Maryland's The Urban Winery Bourbon Aged Merlot was the first I tasted during the 2017 Winter Wine Showcase with satisfying results. Then recently I received a bottle of the Barrel Road 2015 Bourbon Barrel Red Blend ($16.99) from Wine Trees USA. This is a proprietary blend of grapes sourced from California's Central Coast and after fermentation aged three months in the once used bourbon barrels. The barrels are courtesy of Indiana's Backbone Bourbon who source their whiskey from MGP of Indiana. The short length of aging allows the wine to acquire subtle notes of vanilla and baking spices without hindering the fruit character of the wine. This is a quality wine at a great value - a hit for Thanksgiving. Thumbs up and cheers.

A Tale of Two Zins for National Zinfandel Day

Wednesday November 15th was National Zinfandel Day and we received two Zinfandel wines for the occasion. They are from two different geographic locations in California, Mendocino in the coastal north and Lodi in the Central Valley. Both share a Mediterranean climate with warm days and cool nights associated with breezes that provide both regions with a "reliable, natural air conditioning throughout the growing season". They both also share a large preponderance of small family vineyards, in many cases multi-generational.

In Lodi, the 2013 D'Art Lodi Zinfandel ($26, 14% abv) is sourced from grapes grown in the Mokelumne River sub-AVA on an 86 year old vineyard that was planted in sandy loam soils. This soil type helps provide a boldness to the wine that accompanies the jammy berry and fig flavors. The nose seems a tad hot, but the peppery finish is very smooth with enough tannins to lift the palate off the fruit characters.

On the other hand, the 2016 Artezin Mendocino Zinfandel ($18, 14.5% abv) is a blend of 85% Zinfandel, 10% Petite Sirah, & 5% Carignan, This is a Hess Collection brand intended to "honor the art of making Zinfandel from old vine plantings and work with family owned farms throughout Mendocino and Sonoma Counties". Many of these family farms are featured in the website's Meet the Farmers section which includes Paul Dolan and his bio-dynamic The Dark Horse Ranch. And the blend composition is reminiscent of the early Italian immigrants who grew grapes for home wine-making and blended these varietal wines to achieve robustness. The Artezin is robust as well with a dried cherry aroma, a pleasant peppery and fig palate, and a subtle peppery but smooth finish. Plenty of acids too. Nicely done for both of these wines and cheers to National Zinfandel Day.

#FirstSipNZ with a Trio from Villa Maria Estate Winery

We have found over the years that Villa Maria Estate Winery is a reliable option for affordable New Zealand wine and a recent #FirstSipNZ tasting showcased three of these popular wines. The Villa Maria 2017 Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough ($14) is made from grapes sourced from the Awatere Valley and Wairau Valley. The former provides the powerful lemongrass aroma whereas the later citrus and tropical notes. Combine these with a creamy smooth body and fresh acids and this wine doesn't last long. The Villa Maria 2016 Private Bin Chardonnay, East Coast ($15) derives from the east coast of the north island such as Hawkes Bay and Gisborne. Although the grapes were fermented in stainless steel there is considerable depth and creaminess (not butter) due to partial malolactic and maturation with regular yeast stirring. The result is a pleasant lemon aroma, creamy citrus palate, and refreshing tail. Like the Sauvignon Blanc, the Villa Maria 2016 Private Bin Pinot Noir, Marlborough ($18) is also sourced from the Awatere and Wairau Valleys. This is a very interesting Pinot, the aroma includes a slightly spicy vege mushroom sensation, whereas the light body contains smoked cherries, and the finish a smooth juicy dried cherry flavor. A house favorite. Cheers.