Aragon’s August 3rd Tasting

Another hot summer day, and another Thursday. Naturally one of the things we had to do was check out the Thursday wine tasting at the Aragon Wine Market. This was my third tasting at Aragon and already I am starting to recognize the usual crowd that makes this their meeting spot on Thursdays. There is a good mix of young professionals and more seasoned wine enthusiasts. It also happened to be Charlotte’s birthday tasting, with Pepper pouring some stellar wines today. Each bottle ranged between $17 and $22. The wines included the following:

La Tordera "Serrai" Prosecco D.O.C.G., 2020 Matteo Braidot Friuli Pinot Grigio, 2022 Marisco "The Ned" N.Z. Sauvignon Blanc, 2017 Twenty Rows Sonoma Pinot Noir, 2017 D'arenberg "The Stump Jump" Red Blend, and 2020 Hedges "C.M.S." Cabernet Sauvignon.

This selection was widely popular among the different people Alex and I interacted with. Alex and I had joined the 5pm-7pm tasting at different times. Alex was there early for the first half of the tasting while I got to meet others through the second half of the tasting. One thing that was noticed was that the La Tordera "Serrai '' Prosecco D.O.C.G was just subtly the crowd favorite. Alex and I both agreed that it was a lovely prosecco that felt not too light and not too heavy on the tongue. The bubbles covered the tongue just right and this dry prosecco had acid that was balanced nicely to make this a very bright.

The most contentious wine of the evening was 2022 Marisco "The Ned" N.Z. Sauvignon Blanc. The wine, named after the peak in New Zealand called "The Ned," split the tasters. Half got a lot of citrus and a crisp after taste while the other half did not. Everyone agreed that the acidity was well balanced and the citrus taste, big or not, was not bitter. It had a medium weight on the tongue. Overall, I enjoyed this wine even if it does not stand out to me. I noticed among the crowd at the tasting that you either loved it or disliked it.

My favorite of the night was the 2017 Twenty Rows Sonoma Pinot Noir. Before this wine passed my lips I noticed the dark, brownish, red of the wine. It leaned more acidic but was very smooth and not strong in the tannin-like taste that usually leans more towards bitter. I enjoyed the oaky taste and the red stone fruit taste like cherry mingling together. I thought that out of all the wines tonight it was the most well-balanced out of the six.

I also cannot go without mentioning that along with the sampling of wine was the sampling of the most delicious sourdough bread from Local Thyme Bakery. Be sure to follow them on Instagram ( @ltbpensacola) to order from them! I was found frequently walking over to the table with the sourdough because I could not get enough!

Be sure to check out @aragonwinemarket and @gulfcoastwine for future tastings!

Cheers to the new month as we share wine with friends and strangers alike!

-Anna

Summer Wines, Part 1

Well, summer has started on the Gulf Coast. I am going to weather geek-out here: Summer officially starts for me when the wind shifts to be predominantly southern. That means the wind, most of the time, blows from the Gulf of Mexico. Every day is mostly humid and night time temps no longer get below 70F.

It’s okay! That just means it’s time to really pop open those light and refreshing wines. Beach, pool, warm evenings out with friends. Here are two picks to get your wine summer off to a good start.

The first is from New Zealand. Mohua Sauvignon Blanc. If you were lucky enough to go to Seville Quarter’s wine tasting this past Tuesday then you would have been able to speak to the wine maker himself, which is always a rewarding occasion. This wine was bright with a refreshing essence of grapefruit and acid and is right at home poolside.

The next was a Sparking Wine from the Loire Valley of France; Gratien & Meyer Cremant de Loire Brut. This wine was featured during Aragon’s Cru wine tasting on Thursday. Tight and intense bubbles that gave a very nice long finish with hints of orange and honey. Not sweet (it’s a Brut!), this Sparkling would be fantastic as the wine to greet your friends with as you start dinner.

Ready or not summer on the Gulf Coast is here. Serve cold and enjoy!

East Hill Bottle Shop tasting & BBQ

It should be no surprise to most of you; but we go to a wine tasting for the people as much as, sometimes more than, the actual wine. Good wine is always a motivator, so is the yet-to-be-met fellow taster.

This week I had both motivations; going for the wine on Wednesday, then going for the people on Saturday.

Wednesday’s tasting ended up with a Crowd Favorite that surprised most of the tasters with how smooth and easy it was. La Crema Pinot Noir 2019 from the Monterey area of California seemed to hit most tasters just right: light red fruit, no rough tannins, not overly acidic, a great buy for an easy light bodied red wine.

Several friends ended up not being able to join me for the rescheduled Wine & BBQ event as planned. The food was great, yet a chance meeting with an elder retired Marine really made it an experience for me. How often do we have the chance to meet so many amazing and diverse people? Well, wine tastings have proven to increase those chances!

Gosh, I do love the mystery wines!

What is one of the best ways to entertain a wine enthusiast? Have them watch other wine enthusiasts try and guess mystery wines. Some folks claim it is an art, others a type of super power. There is definitely science involved, which can get expensive to learn. Learning to pay attention to what you are actually tasting, and feeling, while you drink wine is the first step. Then remembering all of it is the next.Other than the actual art of frustration that comes with most mystery wine tastings, mystery wines are fun in two ways. The first is the obvious; testing your palate and wine knowledge on the fields of glory. The second is less so; it is in the sharing, which might be the best part. Often the Friday tasting at The Bottle shop involves a mystery wine or two brought by fellow tasters. Want to join in and be invited? Buy a bottle that you like, put it in some kind of covering and share.Tonight featured three mysteries: Two Brunello’s di Montalcino and a Pinot Noir from Niagara New York. The two Brunellos came from vineyards roughly five miles away from each other, both were from 2017, but tasted world’s apart! Crazy. The third wine was from the Niagara Escarpment in upstate New York. The Pinot was soft, pleasantly smooth but different from any Pinot Noir that I have ever had!No one doing a mystery at your wine tasting? Then start the tradition yourself, you will have more fun than you think.

A great evening, and some even had an “Experience!”

“It was an EXPERIENCE!!” That’s what a fellow taster told me when I asked her why she liked tonight’s Cabernet Sauvignon. I had the pleasure to attending tonight’s Special wine tasting with my partner at Gulf Coast Wine, Bob.The Bottle shop featured Etude Winery from Napa, located at the southern end of Napa Valley. Like many Wineries around the world, Etude (French for “Study”) has vineyards not just in Napa Valley but also in Carneros, Santa Rita Hills, and a few other prime California wine areas. Just like the Special tasting earlier in the week at Aragon, all of the wines were very good, some were even great! What we are all after is an experience, but not just an experience, but the “Experience!” The Experience is life changing, can be other-worldly. It is talked about almost elusively. The wine doesn’t need to be expensive or rare. The wines that have given me an “experience” might not give you one. But when you have one of those wines you remember it, remember the feeling, hopefully the taste. I have never heard of a beer drinker having an “experience” from their favorite beer. More power to you if you have.Did you go out to the Special wine tasting? Did you find excuses why you could not attend? Too busy, too expensive? I understand all of that. But what are you after in life? I am after many things, one of them being the never ending search for “an Experience!”

East Hill Bottle Shop 4 January 2023

Everyone is aware how much the price of just about everything has gone up over the last two years. Yet every now and then you come across a pleasant surprise. The 2018 Farmstead Long Meadow Ranch, Anderson Valley Pinot Noir, from California, was a great surprise. The Pinot Noir grape is hard to grow mostly due to its thin skin. It is finicky and can be susceptible to many kinds of grape diseases. Therefore good Pinot Noirs are usually fairly expensive. To get a “cheap” bottle of Pinot Noir, something less than $40, sometimes involves shortcuts, whether in the vineyard or the barrel. But what if that vineyard has just the right terroir, and the vintner had the right level of skill? The result is a varietally correct Wine of Note, at only $13 a bottle! A nose of spice, light pepper and a mouth of strawberry and light raspberry with no off flavors. Truly a pleasant surprise!

Alice’s 12 October Tasting

Still our areas newest tasting, the Wednesday tasting at Alice’s Restaurant continues to bring out some of the big stuff. We had a Crowd Favorite this evening, Long Meadow Ranch Farmstead 2016 Pinot Noir from Mendocino California. Good, even decent, Pinot Noir wines are not cheap because the grape is very hard to grow well. Usually you have to jump up above $40 a bottle to get a decent one, as was the case here, coming in at $48 a bottle. That was still not the most expensive bottle tonight, which came in for $65! The tasting is only $10 a person. I am very interested to see how long they can afford to bring these “big” wines out. Anyway, Long Meadow Ranch’s Pinot Noir was light on the front, flowing over the middle tongue with red cherry and smooth earth, finishing with hints of white pepper.Didn’t get that when you drank it? Or, “he is just making up words.” I heard both at this tasting. I even got; “So you must be a wine snob.” Everyone has a different tongue and taste profile. Or maybe you burned your tongue on your coffee this morning. I actually DO taste those things. And as you go to more and more wine tastings, learn to pay attention to what you can actually taste, you too will start to pick out different flavors. For the one who said that I must be a wine snob I replied; “Not at all, I am a lover of wine, and a bit of a wine geek.” A wine snob tells you what is a good wine, what you SHOULD like. A true wine lover helps you find wine what YOU like, and a wine geek tells you how to best enjoy that wine. I don’t drink with Snobs.

Downtown Bottle Shop 20 May

This evening's tasting was a showcase of the Pinot Noir Grape. Pinot Noir is very hard to grow and just as hard to make into good wine. So when you find a Pinot Noir that you like for a good price you should take note!

Our first wine of note is a Rose Pinot Noir, a great summer drinker. Belle Glos is actually Blanc de Noir (white from black) instead of Pinot Rose, or Rose Noir, from Sonoma County California Oeil de Perdrix Winery. Not sweet but a very well rounded rose with some body, strawberry with some cherry and melon. Easy to enjoy.

The red note worthy wine was a Pinot Noir by La Petite Grace is Diora, from Monterey California. This wine would be a great "light" red wine that could still do well at dinner. Surprisingly fruit forward to start, with some "light" dark cherry, no peppery aftertaste yet mildly complex.