Getting serious during the OWE 2018 Best of Show judging round
The results of the 2018 Oregon Wine Experience Competition are in and have recently been announced, and since I was more-or-less directly responsible for said results, I thought that I’d share some of them with you all here.
Before I do, however… a couple of thoughts/insights/dime-store-philosphocal-treatise on the experience of the OW Experience:
- Wildfires suck; we hardly saw a clear, smoke-free day during the competition, and while the ever-present used-fireplace smell is somewhat pleasant, the destruction behind it all certainly isn’t anything short of tragic, and major props are due to the firefighters who shared my flights into and out of Medford for their difficult, tireless work in fighting the recent blazes.
- There’s (much) more to Oregon than Willamette Valley. Duh. Southern Oregon is a lot smaller in volume, less developed in both land and sense of place, warmer in climate, and diverse in potential vinous offerings than its more famous northern wine AVA siblings. What should have wine geeks excited and giddy is that the premium fine wine scene in S. OR is really just getting its groove on, and the results are ridiculously promising already. The fact that the region is probably among the top ten most beautiful wine country settings in the world is just icing on the cake. To wit…
- You’ll see a lot more coverage of some key S. OR producers here over the coming weeks, because I found their stories – and their development in wine quality – quite compelling. More to come.
Anyway, here are some of the wines that wowed our judging panels at the 2018 OWE Competition…
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I taste a bunch-o-wine (technical term for more than most people). So each week, I share some of my wine reviews (mostly from samples) and tasting notes in a “mini-review” format.
They are meant to be quirky, fun, and (mostly) easily-digestible reviews of (mostly) currently available wines (click here for the skinny on how to read them), and are presented links to help you find them, so that you can try them out for yourself. Cheers!
- 2016 Alois Lageder Schiava (Alto Adige): A little too funky for its own dang self, but then that’s actually part of the appeal in this case. $18 B
- 2016 Cantine-Feudi di San Marzano ‘Talo’ Negroamaro (Salento): A smooth enough operator that it’d make even Sade fans a little bit jealous. $19 B+
- 2017 Tasca d’Almerita Grillo di Mozia (Sicilia): Congratulations, you just seriously upgraded your next seafood dinner. $26 B+
- 2017 Bortolin Angelo ‘Rive di Guia’ Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Superiore (Veneto): The world’s favorite party pop wine just donned an evening dress and shiz got very, very serious. $33 A-
- 2012 Scacciadiavoli Sagrantino di Montefalco Passito (Umbria): Just the right “Goldilocks” mix of sweetness and brute force. $43 B+
- 2017 Acquiesce Grenache Rose (Lodi): They’re almost nailing this formula, which is about equal parts tangy red fruit and overall easy accessibility. $25 B+
- 2015 Murrieta’s Well “The Spur” Red (Livermore Valley): Sultry, satisfying, supple, and not at all stingy when it comes to all of those deep red fruits. $33 B+
- 2015 Dutton-Goldfield Fox Den Vineyard Pinot Noir (Green Valley of Russian River Valley): Earthy, herbal, complex, and fantastic; bring your thinking cap. $72 A
- 2014 Cameron Hughes Lot 603 Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley): Silky and sexy bedspread, for sure, but the mattress feels just a bit too soft. $35 B
- 2016 Amici Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley): Still one of the best buys in all of the Valley; yes, even when clocking in at five Hamiltons. $50 A-
image: Amazon.com
As my pile of (admittedly somewhat neglected) wine book review copies is growing ever larger, this month’s wine product review roundup will focus on two soon-to-be-released bits of printed vinous educational resources. Both of these books will start to see shelf space in September, both are priced at $24.95, and both are about wine, and both were written in English by carbon-based lifeforms… and those are about the only things that they have in common stylistically. So if you’re up for a bit of an interesting Yin/Yang of vinous-related reviews, by all means read on and try not to get too dizzy.
First, we have Master Sommelier Catherine Fallis’s Ten Grapes to Know: The Ten & Done Wine Guide (The Countryman Press, 189 pages, $24.95). Ten Grapes is an unabashed attempt at simplifying wine for the uninitiated, the premise being that learning about ten key fine wine grapes (Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Viognier, Pinot Noir, Sangiovese, Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Zinfandel) will provide pretty much all that one needs to know to begin successfully navigating most wine store shelves and wine lists, with the encouragement to branch out from there (provided mainly through recommendations of similar-but-lesser-known grape varieties at the end of each dedicated chapter).
Each of the chapters in Ten Grapes follows a similar pattern: historical/geographical/taste background of wine made from each grape, followed by food pairings and a recommended price-based shopping list, all sprinkled with anecdotes and concluding with a short quiz. While Fallis’s approach might strike the nerdier among you as overly-simplistic, it works primarily because it mirrors how most normal consumers actually start to experience and purchase wine, and if it has a fault it’s in prose that might be too friendly and familiar. Specifically, Ten Grapes has an un-apologetically feminine stylistic bent. To wit: one of the sections of chapter six, on Sangiovese, begins “I had a nearly religious moment outside the Ferragamo shop in Florence.” If you haven’t shopped Ferragamo in Florence (guilty!), you probably won’t be able to relate, but then it’s hard to fault Fallis for losing some of the audience in brief paragraphs, since there are entire wine books whose prose loses most of the potential audience…
Read the rest of this stuff »
I taste a bunch-o-wine (technical term for more than most people). So each week, I share some of my wine reviews (mostly from samples) and tasting notes in a “mini-review” format.
They are meant to be quirky, fun, and (mostly) easily-digestible reviews of (mostly) currently available wines (click here for the skinny on how to read them), and are presented links to help you find them, so that you can try them out for yourself. Cheers!
- 2016 Grgich Hills Estate Grown Fume Blanc (Napa Valley): Still one of the standard-bearers of the style; and that standard is emblazoned with a graphic of grilled pineapples. $31 A-
- 2014 Frank Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley): Because sometimes, you just really, really want to see a gratuitous sex scene in your blockbuster Summer movie. $53 A-
- 2016 ZD Wines Reserve Chardonnay (Napa Valley): Big, bountiful, bold, and perhaps just a touch too boisterous in its fondness for toastiness. $77 A-
- 2015 Rodney Strong ‘Upshot’ Red Blend (Sonoma County): There’s nothing here – including the impressive label – that isn’t well-designed, well-crafted, and fun. $25 B+
- 2014 Bending Branch Winery Tannat (Texas): Exactly how it’s supposed to be done, folks; the Lone Star state just might have found yet another star red grape. $30 A-
- 2016 Duchman Family Winery Vermentino (Texas): Temporarily transporting the Tuscan hillsides to the Texas High Planes. $20 B+
- 2014 Allegrini Palazzo della Torre Veronese (Veneto): Without a doubt, stuff will most definitely be strut, my friends. $23 B+
- 2017 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough): That day when it feels like *all* of your neighbors are simultaneously out cutting the lemon-grass. $18 B
- 2016 Mud House Pinot Noir (Central Otago): No frills, capable perkiness, with a side of affability and a pinch of good humor. $18 B
- 2015 Hickinbotham Clarendon Vineyard ‘Trueman’ Cabernet Sauvignon (McLaren Vale): Sexy, complex, herbal, and like a card deck, sporting just the right mix of the red and the black. $80 A-
