Wines featured in todays show:

• Big House Red

Recommended food pairings and show synopsis from The Som:

With just a few ingredients you can make one of the classic Spanish bistro beverages, Sangria.  You can pair this with almost anything you want to eat.

BTW…did you know the word Sangria means “bloodletting”? Now you know, and knowings half the battle.

Sangria Recipe:

• 1 bottle of dry red wine
• 2 cups ginger-ale or Sprite or Fresca…you get the gist
• 1 Lemon thinly sliced
• 1 Lime thinly sliced
• 1 Orange thinly sliced
• spalsh of brandy or rum or vodka…you get the gist
• Up to a cup of sugar.  Start slow, stir and season to taste

Feel free to add: grapes, strawberries, kiwi, tangerine, pomelo, tangelo, pitted plum, blueberry, raspberry…the world is your oyster. Combine the whole thing, stir, cover and let sit at least two hours up to overnight.  Add the soda and ice when you are ready to serve.

Check out these other styles of Sangria:

• Cava Sangria
• White Sangria

Price: ~$37

Region:

Ribera Del Duero, Spain

Nose:

Deep, complex and intense.  Roasted beets, cherries, spice and vanilla.  This has spent at least 18 months in American oak.

Palate:

Let the fun begin.  When we put this in our mouths we all looked at one another and our eyes lit up like deer on the highway.  Round and full it expands with licorice, plum and cherry.  Tannins are present but round and savory.  The finish is juicy and memorable.

Synopsis:

If you’re not drinking Vega Sicilia from Ribera Del Duero (and honestly who can at that price?) then you should be drinking Pesquera.  Alejandro Fernandez was the first in the region to use 100% tempranillo and before him there was only Vega and cheap Garnacha rosé to call Ribera Del Duero home.

The Som Rating: 9/10 Scarlett Johansson Heads

Wines featured in today’s show:

• Château de Manissy Tavel (~$17)
• Quinta de Alorna Touriga Nacional Rosé (~$10)
• Wooden Valley White Gamay (~$12)

Show synopsis and recommended food pairing from The Som:

I know why Bovee used the song “C’mon Get Happy”, but it happens that it fits the world of Rosé perfectly.  There are few wines that bring more joy on a hot summer day while grilling brats or burgers on the grill than a nice juicy Rosé.  We’ve done several shows that highlight different foods that pair with them well (there are so many), so check out some of the other options for pairings on some of the other shows that have featured Rosé:

• Summer Sippers 2010
• Pizza Pairings
• Spring Rosés

Wines featured in today’s show:

• Hahn Meritage Central Coast 2007  (~$16)
• Château de Panigon Medoc 2006  (~$20)

Show synopsis and recommended food pairings from The Som:

Here’s a fun fact: did you know that at one time there was a sixth grape of Bordeaux?  Carmenere was once a part of the Bordeaux blend.  After the phylloxera epidemic of the late 1800-early 1900′s that wiped out many of Frances vineyards, it was decided that Carmenere’s characteristics were very similar to Merlot and that it was an unreliable ripener in Bordeaux’s sketchy climate.  Fast forward to modern day Chile and it’s become their signature red grape.  As I always say to young Master Bovee, “Never give up on a grape.”

I swear that over the last year the popularity of lamb has increased by quite a bit.  At least once a week I’m asked for a wine recommendation to go with some crazy lamb concoction.  Being a lamb fan myself I say, “Awesome.”

Looking at this recipe, an obvious choice might be a Greek Nemea (a wine region in Greece), and that would be quite delightful.  But here we have a Merlot based blend which is slightly earthy, nice acidity, fairly smooth with an easy going black fruit note.  Some people don’t fancy lamb much because of the gaminess.  But paired with something a little less rich that matches those earthy notes, it should work out very well.

The Hahn Meritage is a different animal.  Sleek, fruity, and very eager to please.  But be warned:  it can becomes a monster and steals the show.  All the hard work you put into your fabulous meal could be for not if you let this $16.00 show-off jump up on the table and take all the credit.  As if!  Save this for something fun and easy like when your mom stops over with friends to show them your new curtains or plastic head collection. Hopefully she remembered the blue cheese burger from Bakers Square you requested.

Now you can come up from the basement, Mr. Hahn.

Wines featured in today’s show:

• Francis Blanchet Pouilly Fumé 2008  (~$23)
• Drylands Sauvignon Blanc 2008  (~$19)

Show synopsis and recommended food pairings from The Som:

I have some friends that recently did a pretty extensive sauvignon blanc tasting.  They used the sauv blanc section of  Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl’s book Drink This as their guide.  It took them through about seven different sauvignon blancs in different price ranges, styles, and countries.  I believe the consensus was that Marlborough New Zealand’s Kim Crawford was the winner.   That doesn’t really surprise me because there is something about NZ sauv that screams “Love Me.”  Wine writer Oz Clarke says he loves using them in wine classes because the flavors you claim are there are so obviously there.    Grapefruit?  Obvious.  Lime?  Duh.  Cat pee on a gooseberry bush?   Well, yeah.  It’s all there and very noticeable.

On the food pairing side, wrap up some lightly peppered scallops in prosciutto, stab them with a skewer and put them on the grill, prosciutto side down, for about 2 minutes a side and set them on a bed of baby greens. Drizzle with your favorite citrus based vinaigrette.  Pop the Drylands and thank me later.

And now for the Blanchet Pouilly Fumé.   Do you remember your mom’s best tuna casserole?  I know I do.  When I was a kid I hated canned peas.   But in the casserole?  Awesome.   Here’s what I want you to do: grill 2 trouts and substitute the tuna for the grilled trout.  Rich and creamy but the great acid and citrus notes help temper it and keep it all so fresh.

Price:  ~$17

Region:

Willamette Valley, Oregon

Nose:

Slight tropical notes combined with ripe apple and apricot.  There is lots of smokey flint underneath it all.

Palate:

Medium bodied, and better than average acidity.  Lots of pear juice, apple skin and lime up front combined with subtle mineral notes that become more pronounced in the mid-palate.  The apricot notes from the nose pop back in on the long, shale laden finish.

Synopsis:

I believe Jeff and I discussed this wine on the one of the shows, but I find myself enjoying it so often I figured I’d better write a review of it.  Why is it called Benton Lane?  Because the vineyard is split in two by Benton and Lane Counties.  Cute, huh?  However when it comes to classic Oregon Pinot Gris, this is right up there.  Personally, I would look for a bit more intensity, but that just may be me.   This unoaked, clean, crisp beauty could be enjoyed with so much summer fun that I don’t know where to begin.

Tell us your favorite Pinot Gris food pairing and we will send you a limited edition WineGeekTV ceramic bottle stopper!

The Som Rating: 8/10 Scarlett Johansson Heads

Wines featured in today’s show:

• Ranga Ranga Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2009  (~$10)
• Monte Volpe Primo Bianco 2009  (~$10)
• Alexander Valley Vineyards Sangiovese Rosé 2009  (~$13)

Show synopsis and recommended food pairings from The Som:

It’s always fun doing the “Summer Sippers” show because our first public show was an SS episode.   They’re always about freshness and fun, so this episode rejuvenated us and for another year of WineGeekTV excellence .  Be prepared for the best year of WGTV yet!

As I mentioned in the show, look for freshness in your back patio sippers.  Try to find the most current vintage available.

Geez…that Ranga Ranga Sauvignon Blanc sure has developed quite the following at Zipp’s, and with good reason.  Enjoy the bright, lime zest and grapefruit note and slight herbaciousness reminiscent of freshly mowed grass. Mix up a marinade of fresh lime juice, garlic, salt, pepper and chopped cilantro, mix in some E.V.O.O. and drop in the shrimp.  Refrigerate for 1/2 hour, line them up on scewers and grill them up.

The Monte Volpe Primo Bianco is quite different; a burly blend of several grapes that is fuller bodied, but the acidity is still spot on.  It’s something that can be enjoyed with heavier dishes like pan pizza, grilled pork chops or meatier fish.

Look at that Alexander Valley Vineyards Rosé!  I do love the color.  This wine is from grapes grown specifically to produce Rosé.  Believe it or not, that’s more rare than you think.  More often than not the winemaker just bleeds the juice from their regular bottling further concentrating that wine.  When you think of summer fare, a good Rosé will work really well with almost any of it.  Why?  It’s just light enough to pair with delicate fish but has that fuller red fruit flavor that it’s able stand up to fuller bodied dishes like BBQ and/or grilled veggies.  And as Bovee pointed out…it’s stellar with pizza!

Episode Synopsis:

We return to the “Wine Thief Studios” to test an aeration tool for ourselves.   We grab the Vinturi Wine Aerator and each did a blind taste test.  Despite a memory lapse by our Sommelier, we both ended up with the same result.  Watch and see!

Also, watch our Wine Aerators Part 1 where we brought in 3 blind taste testers to get the “Average Joes” (or in this case Janes) could pick up a difference.  Were the results as conclusive?  You decide.

Wine Featured in Today’s Show:

• Chappellet Mountain Cuvee 2007  (~$25)

Wine Tool Series –  Wine Aerators

Jeff and I thought we’d conduct an experiment.   We’ve seen those wine aerators advertised all over, so we decided to take a couple of the leading sellers for a test run.  We brought in a bunch of taste testers, set up a blind sample scenario and conducted our own market research to see if people could really tell the difference.

Here are the three tools we tested:

• Wine Whisk
• Final Touch Wine Scent & Flavor Enhancer
• Vinturi Wine Aerator (Tower)

The results were a bit inconclusive.  We thought we’d be sly and slip a swirled glass and a “no aeration” sample into the mix, but it just confused the results.  There could have been an impact to the samples based on the order our testers picked up the glasses.  We had them cleanse their palates between samples, but after multiple samples their taste buds could have adjusted.  The bottom line:  they couldn’t really taste a difference.  See the results below:

Scorecard Summary:

There were 3 taste testers.   The first set of numbered columns identifies how many of the 3 recorded a noticeable difference between the two samples.  The second set of numbers represents how many testers had a preference between the two.  In cases where one or more testers were indifferent, no preference was recorded, and hence the vote totals did not equal 3.

What Does This All Mean?

In means that Jeff & I will be conducting our OWN test.

So STAY TUNED for our next episode!

Wines feature in today’s show:

• 2008 Some Young Punks The Squid’s Fist  (~$22)
• 2009 Some Young Punks Passion Has Red Lips  (~$22)

Synopsis & recommended food pairings from The Som:

There were two things about this episode I want to discuss in more detail but didn’t fit it in on time.  Sorry Bovee, but it bugged me when you said, “Not the greatest wines ever but good enough.”  I am not a huge Australian wine fan, and many of them bore me to tears.   But in my opinion, and for the price, you will not find much better that these two.  If they cost much more, they would sit on the shelf and rot…cool label or not.  In other words:  there is great value here, and that is how I choose to look at it.

Bovee said something else that reminded me of something Robert Marx (my MT Global distributor guy) said.  Robert said, “I have found that most people purchase them for their own personal use.  Maybe some save it for a party, but many have drank them and come back for more.”

That is my experience as well.

Let’s talk food now -

The Squids Fist has brighter fruit and more intense acidity, but still fairly full bodied.  Put that all together and let the dogs run wild.  Honestly, you need to make the food to fit the wine.  I did this roasted lamb recipe the other day and used a Crozes-Hermitage.  It worked well, but I could see the Squid’s Fist blowing it all away.  The Passion Has Red Lips is completely different, and there is little subtlety involved.  Big, fat, and greasy, you should enjoy it with steak, pot roast, or even stuffed pork chops.  Then you can eat hearty and discuss the killer labels.