Dezzani  2015  Rosso - Passito  Appassimento  Piemonte Italy

When I saw the label on this bottling, I remembered reading an article about the appassimento method of drying grapes on beds of straw in a climate controlled room to concentrate flavors and sugars before pressing them.

This is the same process used in making Amarone wines, which can be sublime to drink, and can age for decades in good to great vintages although different varieties of grapes are used for an Amarone.

The grapes used in the Dezzani are Barbera (51%) and Dolcetto (49%), which make good wines on their own. So I was interested to see them used in this style of wine. After doing some research I found out that wines from the Piemonte area were not allowed to be made by this method until 2014.

Upon opening notes of cherry and red plum in the nose, along with a hint of tobacco leaf. Definite flavors of cherry, plum and perhaps red raspberry/strawberry with a pleasant fruit finish and balanced acidity.

I served this with our Christmas day dinner that included an oven roasted turkey, a ham with a Dijon/brown sugar/aged Balsamic vinegar glaze, and a grilled, herb crusted eye of the round roast, sweet potatoe casserole, squash, baked potatoes, etc... and the wine went well with all of the various dishes and flavors.

After the wine had been decanted for an hour or more, deeper notes in the nose developed reminding me of black plums and darker berries. The palate also reflected the change in the wine as it opened up, and had a nice slightly thick mouthfeel. Everyone who tried the wine liked it, and wanted to know where to find it.

I think you could pair this bottling with a number of different foods, from pizza to prime rib, red sauce pasta and more. Let me know what you tried it with....

In the power buy section of many NH Liquor stores for $12.99, a good quality wine at a good price.

Cheers!

Ed

Primarius  2014  Pinot Noir  Winemakers Cuvée

I had read a review about one of the wines available at Costco a few months back, (Primarius) so when I saw this wine in the power buy section of the local NH Liquor store I knew I had to try it.

The winery is one of many labels in the Precept Wine Co's portfolio, but they have a rock star winemaker in Sarah Cabot. She had been making high end Pinot's in Oregon for 8 years + before being contacted by Precept with the proposition of making a quality Pinot Noir in volume for around $20 per bottle. Usually this can't be done, but she wrapped her head around the challenge, got some advice from people she knew in the business and came up with a winner.

Upon opening notes of red cherries, raspberry, cinnamon or nutmeg, and spice in the nose, matching flavors in the palate, with a nice mouth feel, good acidity, and the fruit fades pleasantly. The wine has a beautiful color, but is translucent. Done in an old world style, like what you see in much of Europe.

After 20 minutes the nose changed, it reminded me more of black cherry, cola, hints of plum, a touch of blackberries, the spice note is more pronounced. The flavors also deepened making this a great food friendly wine at a great price.

Available at most of the NH outlet stores in the power buy section for $11.99 per bottle,  also available at most Total Wine stores for $15.99 per bottle and Costco.

Cheers!

Ed

Zocker  2015  Grüner Veltliner  Paragon Vineyard  Edna Valley CA

I've enjoyed a few Grüner's before when visiting family in Europe, and occasionally you see one on a wine menu in a good restaurant in the upper valley. So it was a pleasant surprise to see this wine in the powerbuy section of the West Lebanon Liquor outlet.

When I first looked at the label I thought it was from Austria, the writing looked like ones from Europe. As it turns out the wine was from California, but it is very much in the style from Austria or Switzerland.

The Niven family has been farming this land since the early 70's, the grapes are sustainably grown and they are SIP certified. This means they have to adhere to strict standards for land management as well as treating their employees well and working with the community. 

Upon opening there are notes of apple, honeydew melon, gooseberries, and a hint of peach in the nose, the palate brings matching flavors, with a bit of a spicy note (in a good way) and the fruit flavors fade away nicely on the finish. There is good acidity, which helps clear the palate when enjoying certain foods such as cheese fondue or a dish with a higher fat content.

This was a perfect match with the Chicken Marbella recipe from the Silver Palate cookbook, which has all kinds of ingredients. This would also pair well with a number of cheeses, aged Gruyere, Gorgonzola, a 3 year old sharp Cheddar. I also think grilled shrimp or scallops would pair well with this wine, as would grilled chicken rubbed with garlic and paprika.

Or you could sip this wine by itself, it's pretty darn good. I'm thinking this would be good on a warm summer evening out on the deck or patio.

 Available at most of the NH Liquor outlets for $10.99, and a few other retail sites for $17.00 to $20.00 per bottle. It's a good value, and there is also a 15% case discount which brings the price down to $9.35 per bottle. At that price buy a case and save a few for this summer....

Cheers!

Ed