Torrontes Tasting - 100% Organic Boxed and/or Bubbly Yellow+Blue Torrontes 2009 & Familia Schroeder Deseado Sparkling Torrontes

Spring is finally here!  Even in New England (which is where I am at the moment).  Some wines just scream SPRING to me and one of those is the emblematic Argentine grape; Torrontes.  Just like it's signature black grape cousin; Malbec, I am seeing Torrontes more and more on menus and I am seeing it represented more and more in wine stores.  This is a good thing! It certianly gives us an alternative to Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc and encourages us to be keep our palates open to aromatic varietals like Albarino, Gewurtztraminer and Viognier. 

There are many good examples of Torrontes out there in the market today - most ranging from 10-20 dollars.  I am focusing on two today; The Yellow and Blue Torrontes $13 (1 liter tetrapack ie, boxed wine) and the Sparkling Torrontes Deseado Saurus from Familia Schroeder in Patagonia $35.  Some say that Torrontes is an indigenous varitetal to Argentina, but most sources I could find (including the website) say that it is from Spain and in the Muscat and/or Albarino family. However, Torrontes is fairly exclusive to Argentina and it is a very drinkable and very aromatic grape.

I used to thumb my nose at boxed wines - and still do at Franzia... sorry!  However, there are tons and tons of very good "bag-in-a-box" wine and tetra-packed wine.  Yellow+Blue is a great example of innovative marketing married with good drinkable wine.  Bottles are heavy to ship and the heavier the load; the more expensive the bill.  If the winery can cut back on some of that weight (ie, the bottle weight) then the savings go to the consumer and back to the winery. Oh, and you get a liter of wine instead of the normal 750ml.  I should have mentioned that first.... YOU GET MORE WINE!!!

The name... Yellow and Blue....what does that make?  That's right, children: GREEN!!!  Of all the gimmicks out there - I completely buy into this one.  This is wine made from biodynamic (ie, super-organic) grapes served in biodegradable packaging, and it tastes pretty good, too.  The Yellow+Blue Torrontes is very true to it's varietal.  Very delicate and aromatic.  Beautiful floral notes with tinned peach and mandarin orange aromas.  It's dry on the palate thankfully and still that orange water and apricot carries through. 

From this boxed wine we move onto another suprising representation of this grape; this time a bubbly version.  I encountered the Deseado Saurus  Sparkling Torrontes at a trade show on Cape Cod.  My Massachusetts distributor; Arborway represents it.  I, true to form, was sampling others' wares and fell in love at first sip.  Firstly, I'd not been aware of sparkling Torrontes.  B, it was a little sweet.  In conclusion, I was smitten!

This wine is a boutique family owned winery in the Patagonia area of southern Argentina.  They grow the grapes organically.  They hand harvest all of the grapes.  They are amazing.  What does Deseado mean?  That's the name of the river that flows through the region.  And Saurus... well that's for the dinosaur bones they excavated when they were building the winery.  Uh huh!  Just gives you an idea of the age of that terroir!

The sparkling Torrontes is light, it's done in the traditional Champagne method (charmant) so the bubbles are relativly small.  There is a cleaness and brightness to the wine.  There is a touch of sweetness.  It's not as cloying as a moscato d'asti, but it has that same fragrance of orange blossom and sweet limeade.  I thought it was gorgeous.

 

 

A NASA inspired Vodka? Rangtang Vodka from Three Olives

In my travels through the Northeast I visit hundreds of wine and liquor stores, bars and restaurants and every month, it seems like there is a new flavor of vodka out in the market.  Pear and Acai/Blueberry are old news of course, but what about Bubblegum and Rootbeer? Those two are from Three Olives.  Smirnoff (the #1 vodka internationally in volume) just came out with Espresso and Rootbeer in addition to their line of 15+ flavors of vodka.

Last week I was in a tapas place called Embargo on Cape Cod when I spied the frosty orange Rangtang vodka from Three Olives perched on the bar.  I asked the bartender and he said that he didn't even know about it!  Then he tossed some ice in a shaker, poured the Rangtang and gave me and my compadres a chilly shot.  Very cool of him!

We all were not particularly impressed!

Let me tell you - it smelled and looked exactly like Tang.  That's not a negative comment - It was kind of an alcoholic twist on a childhood favorite.  I haven't had Tang since 1987.   Their press calls it a "mixture of juicy oranges and tangerines". Ahh I get it!  oRANGes and TANGerines!  To me, it tasted like a pre-mixed drink of Tang with vodka.  The vodka was pretty rocket-fuel smelling at that.  Even the juicy orange and tangerine couldn't mask it.

Three Olives, I think is a tragic name for flavored vodka line.  However, it's very popular and they are certianly a major contendor for shelf and bar space.  Three-O(as they like to be referred to) is  from England and their wodka is distilled from wheat (aspirate that 'wh' please)  This Rangtang is the first in the line to be colored and the bottle looks a little more jazzed up their their other bottles.  I've seen Grape, Chocolate, Bubble, Rootbeer, Citrus in the market a lot, but they also have Cherry, Watermelon and Tomato! 

I'm glad I didn't buy a bottle out of curiosity's sake from a wine store.  I won't be drinking it again even though I certianly don't thumb my nose at flavored vodkas.  I'm a HUGE fan of Charbay (Meyer Lemon, Grapefruit, and Green Tea) and Van Gogh (Pineapple, Green Apple, and Espresso) and Grey Goose Poire.   I thought the Rangtang Three Olives tasted syntheic and cheap.  Judging from my drinking companion's O-faces, they agreed. We were not convinced!!

I take it back...I may drink it again, but only as a shot called the Fuzzy Astronaut - a classic cocktail made with Tang, peach schnapps and vodka.  I think the Rangtang could just be mixed directly with the schnapps for the same effect!!

On a different artificial flavoring vodka that is celebrating it's artificial flavors, apparently this is a HOT TREND!! Infusing vodka with Skittles!! Hello summer project!!!   I can't wait to taste that rainbow!

http://mixthatdrink.com/skittles-vodka-tutorial/

Rangtang Vodka, Three Olives
color: creamy orange, frosty tangerine
nose: Tang powdered drink mix
palate: Tang mixed with rubbing alcohol

Maine Root Sodas (WWSKD part II) Mandarin Orange, Blueberry and Lemon Lime

I'm on a huge Maine kick at the moment.  Between reading Stephen King's The Dome (you can also use it as a dumbell - it's over 1,000 pages) and visiting Portland,  the Allagash brewery, and local restaurants,  you could Kathy Batesian say that I'm their number one fan. 

Earlier this year I said goodbye to an old friend... actually a couple of old friends.  You might know them too: Diet Dr. Pepper (known as DDP in this house) Diet Coke, and the occasional Diet Pepsi.  I said goodbye to that whole subspecies at the urging of several real people friends (you know who you are).  I still have an occasional Coca Co' if the mood strikes me, but it's rare.

I really splurged when I saw these sodas from Maine whilst working the Nantucket market earlier this week.  The cool rep I was with (her name is Leslie and she also has an amazing wine store on Nantucket - check it out http://www.thecellarnantucket.com/) took me to the Dancing Pickle http://www.thedancingpickle.com/
where I couldn't resist several things - among them; these three sodas.

These beauties are from Maine.  They are made with organic and fair trade pure cane sugar. I have had Boylan's sodas and they are OK. I've never been completly or overly wowed by them.  I generally find their stuff too sweet... I know - I didn't think it was possible that I would EVER say that.  Anyway, one thing I loved about Maine Root was their subtle and delicate flavors.  My favorite was the Mandarin, followed by the Lemon Lime and then the Blueberry - which was more of a novelty for me.  I'd love to try the Root Beer.  

These are completly artisinal sodas, they happen to be organic and made with fair trade products, but they are still good.  They are not like those faux sugary cereals at Whole Foods like Panda Puffs - that look like Cocoa Puffs but are just lame wannabes,  Now these are really delicious beverages that just happen to be organic.  Just a nice excuse to feel good while you're drinking it!  Not only are you supporting a cool company, but you're greenly responsible to boot!!

Mandarin:  color: tangerine nose: delicate clementine, citrus palate: sweet orange, but not cloying, refreshing and crisp!

Lemon Lime color: lemon yellow nose: fragrant, zesty, lime rind,  palate: zesty and sweet lemons also not cloying - very refreshing

Blueberry  color: purply blue  nose: fresh blueberries and the same scent as Stoli Bluberry w/o alcohol palate: blueberry pie, hint of lime a little sweeter than the above two.

Fee Brother's Rhubarb Bitters -

I had an amazing beverage last weekend.  It wasn't a fancy expensive wine or a cool microbrew beer.  It was home-made seltzer and bitters!!  Our new friends, Emily and Josh saw me eyeing their shelf o' booze during a cut throat game of Pictionary Man.  I spied the Rhubarb bitters and Emily jumped up and said "You have to try this - it tastes just like Dr. Pepper".  Well, I love Dr. Pepper so I was game.  She then went over to their Seltzer Maker... yes you heard me - they have their own soda maker in their house (I ordered mine about 24 hours later) - she carbonated a glass of NYC's finest tap and sprinkled a couple of drops of Fee Brother's Rhubarb bitters and the rest was fruity tart goodness!

I'm not very familiar with the world of bitters so I tried to do a little research.  The Fee Brothers are from Rochester NY and they have a whole huge line in addition to the traditional flavors, or rather the bitters that I was familiar with: Agostura and Orange.  They also have mint, peach, lemon, grapefruit and Aztec chocolate.  The Bitter Truth also has cool flavors like Mole and Celery.  The Fee's website is not particularly helpful with info about their products and/or recipes.  Here's what they awesomely say about the Rhubarb Bitters: 

The delicate flavor of Rhubarb combined with other flavors available in 1800's America.

Don't know anything about bitters?  Here's the quick history.  They were originally used as medicine, curing digestive issues and nausea, and the old mal-de-mer, It's not too different from amari like Fernet-Branca, Averna, and Strega.  People used to just consume the bitters solo,it wasn't until the late 1700's that  people started adding them to cockatils ( so says this cool how-to-make bitters blog http://spiritsandcocktails.wordpress.com/2008/04/22/how-to-make-bitters/)   

Basically bitters are made by macerating herbs, spices, and/or fruit in alcohol.  It doesn't have to be macerated in booze, but it greatly increases the shelflife. You only use a couple of dashes of bitters, so their alcohol content isn't usually noticable, but it can be quite high - around the 40 proof area. 

I ordered all 9 bitters from Fee's from Amazon-- and I can't wait to use them to season my seltzer and my cocktails.  I read once where bitters should be used like salt and pepper to raise a cocktail to another level and to bring out flavor and complexity.  I really like that!  Stay tuned for more bitters revelations.. I might even make my own this summer!!  I saw a recipe for cardamom vanilla bitters... sounds amazing!

color: pinky red

nose: I don't remember!!!

taste: I only tried it in the seltzer - but it was tart, rhubarb, cherry and cranberry yumminess

Allagash Beers - a trip to Portland Maine! WWSKD (what would Stephen King Drink?)

The last time I visited (which was also the first time) Portland, Maine I had a fantasico food and alcoholic beverage combo... Duck Fat fries and Allagash White Beer.  It was a crisp, cool and fragrant orangy beer that cooled down the spicy and perfectly crisp fries... yes that had been fried in duck fat.  It really turned me on to the beer. This time 'round, I drove so I figured I could load up on a few 4-packers of Allagash.  Well, with a few hours to spare, my thirsty mother along for the ride, we just went and visited the brewery!  Why not!  The prices were amazing, we got a tour and tasting, and I left with more than a four pack!

Allagash is not a huge operation.  They started in 1995 and even up to three years ago, they only had 6 employees.  Now there are more than 20.  If you've never had or never heard of Allagash, go out and find some!  I will tell you that they make delicious Belgian inspired beers. They make some Trappist style ales, wheat beers, and some barrel aged beers as well.  They get their bourbon barrels from Jack Daniels because the owner loves him some Jack! These are definitely hand-crafted, lots of love and care, thought and trial and error is going into these beers.  They are also using 100% wind generated electricity, so you can feel ever better about this beer!

We sampled 4 during the tour:

Allagash White - traditional wheat beer this has been brewed with orange peel and coriander. color: cloudy, lemon yellow nose: very frangrant, citrusy/ palate: crisp, honeysuckle, spiced citrus -- subtle. VERY refreshing!  yum!!! This is their best seller - it accounts for 70% of their sales.

Allagash Dubbel - darker in color, made with 5 different toasted malts. Rich and slightly bitter, a distinct toasty espresso finish. color: dark mahogany nose: toasty slightly pleasantly burnt brioche palate: roasted coffee, chocolate, toasted malt

Allagash Tripple - this is one of those celebration ales that those wild and crazy monks would drink.  It's higher in alcohol -- closer to 9% so you can really rock the monastery! I really liked this one too.  color: golden nose: herbal, passionfruit, honey palate: slightly bitter with a counterbalance of crisp fruit.  really tasty!

Allagash Fluxus 2009 - Every year the experimental folks at Allagash come out with a new beer under the Fluxus line.  Even though the ingredients of the brew may change, it is always a saison style (traditionally a lower alcohol beer, consumed during the summer months by farm hands who were entitled to 5 liters of beer a day during the harvest season. They were generally brewed in the previous winter with a lot of hops - which has preservative and antiseptic properties) The 2009 is brewed with sweet potato and black pepper.  I am a HUGE sweet potato fan, but there really isn't a sweet potato taste as much a creaminess to the beer which is so smooth and luscious - that I don't care what it was brewed with.  color: golden/slightly orange a la sweet potato nose: honey and citrus  palate: citrus, papaya.  Also for every bottle sold they donate a BUCK to pediatric nurse scholarship!

In NYC you can buy most of these at Whole Foods. Let me know what you think of them!

http://www.allagash.com/

Weinhof Scheu - Grauer Burgunder 2007 - no Pfaulting this Pflaz wine!

                                            Ja! I love white wine.  I usually stay away from German wines, because I still can't navigate the label correctly.  Last week, I found myself in Winestone http://www.winestone.net/, a fantastic and smart wine store in Chesnut Hill neighborhood near Boston. Patrick, the owner nudged me towards this slim bottle.  I was drawn to the Burgunder part of the name.  I know Weissburgunder is Pinot Blanc and trocken means dry, but that's about all the German I know besides Weingut (winery) and maybe Sacher Torte.  Okay, so I know quite a bit!  At any rate, I thought I had discovered a new varietal.  I was thinking it would be some kind of exotic Traminer or Veltliner variation in the Pinot family.  Patrick patiently endured my jibber jabber and said, "That's Pinot Gris, and it's very good".

Pinot Gris eh, the doppelganger (ooh another German word) of Pinot Grigio.  I'm no huge fan of that bulk lemon water (as a colleague of mine calls it) but this was a $20 bottle, it looked serious and the owner of the store looked seriously trustworthy! 

First of all, let me tell you about this bottle, it's minimalistic and has manageable German words on it.  The winery is Weinhof Scheu, the region is Pfalz.  It's a Kabinett - that means it's of a certian quality and it's Troken (dry).   Pfalz is the second largest wine growing region in Germany and it's really close to the border of France where Alsace is.  It's no wonder then why Riesling is not the overlord here in Pflaz.  There is a lot of Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc, Traminer, Scheurebe, and Muller Thurgau and of course, Pinot Gris.   There are a lot of small growers and sassy wine makers.  This bottle also come with a cool glass enclosure (see photo -- btw - not actual bottle I drank)

I cracked this bottle open this week on St. Patrick's Day (it IS a green bottle) while my mutter is in town visiting.  This Pinot Gris ahem.. Grauer Burgunder was delicious.  Perfect everyday wine, aromatic, weighty enough, a gorgeous copper color, with a palate and nose full of spiced poached pears and yellow apples.  The acidity was balanced and at 12.5% alcohol - it goes down effortlessly! 

If you're in NYC you can get this at Astor.

www.astorwines.com/SearchResultsSingle.aspx?p=1&search=22338&searchtype=Contains


color: copper, bronzy
nose: spicy pears, lychee, and yellow apple
palate: lychee, roasted pear and sweet baking spices

Got Malbec Fatigue? Try Bonarda! Familia Mayol Bonarda 2006

I don't want to bad mouth any grape and I don't want to gossip.  It's just that... everyone is CooCoo for Malbec and I feel like there are a lot of one-dimensional Malbecs out there riding the It-Wine Wave at the moment. Malbec is loveable with it's blueberry raspberry richness.  It certianly is accessible - and I'm not saying that's not appealing... I'm just saying that there are other things that South America has to offer.  There's chocolaty dense Tannat from Uruguay.  There is the raspberry tobacco Carmenere from Chile.  What's that?  You want to stay in Argentina?  Fine!  Try a Bonarda.  It was until recently the most widely planted red grape in Argentina.

There is some dispute about Bonarda's origins.  Some say it's Uva Rara from the Peidmont region of Italy (can be blended with Nebbiolo in Gattinara) and other's say it's from the Savoie regioion of Alpine France under many names (Corbeau or Douce Noir, etc.)  I think it's beautiful that there is dispute as everyone always describes Buenos Aires to me as a mix of Rome and Paris.  Parfait/perfetto! 

I grabbed this Bonarda from Familia Mayol today at a small Massachusetts retailer (who was also selling Girl Scout cookies behind the register) and after looking on-line at the prices - looks like I overpaid - $18.99 where most places are charging $14.99.   Even though I paid too much, I still enjoyed this wine.  That's the true test, isn't it?  The rich black cherry/ berry were a divine match with my tamales.  There were sweet baking spices on the nose, but it didn't over power the palate.   I think this would also be a great pizza and burger wine.  It's a great grape to add to the easy drinkin' arsenal!

Verdict: go against the grain! I root for this underdog, unassuming Bonarda!

color:  dark purple
nose: plummy spice, cinnamon blueberry
palate: rich, vanilla plum blackberry spice