We’d buy it if it were $15 or less

We had dinner at some friends’ house last night (fabulous, as always) and they brought out a bottle of 1999 Forest Glen Sangiovese. None of us could recall the winery so we really don't know when or how this wine came to be in their closet. Nevertheless, this mysterious Sonoma County wine was pretty tasty.

The Sangiovese grape is the basis for Chianti. So, this wine tasted a lot like a Chianti but a bit thicker and more pronounced. It had a nice fruity flavor and went down smoothly both as a sipping wine as well as with our Italian Chicken Soup. It didn’t go so well with the lemon cake, but then again, it wasn’t supposed to.

Web research has not been as fruitful as the wine, unfortunately. The winery’s website is currently under construction. An article by a wine writer in 1999 praises Forest Glen for its award winning wines and amazing value, as none of Forest Glen's wines at that time sold for more than $10. It does appear that the winery is now owned by a company in California’s Central Valley, and the winemaker is supposedly John Franzia. If he is the namesake of those ubiquitous boxed wines, our guess is this wine is still reasonably priced and not too hard to find. If you find it, drop us a note and tell us about it. We will do the same.

Our own wine!

So this probably won't be as well written, since it's written by the winemaker. Here's an update on our 2006 vintage aging away in the barn:

The cold snap this past week was a wonderful tool for the wine, as it went through "cold stabilization". Cold temperatures (in the 20s) take out excess acid from the wine and causes it to crystallize at the bottom of the container.

This year's Riesling is very nice. It was originally too acidic, but the cold stabilization worked wonders on it. Instead of being grapefruit-juice-sharp, it's now more apple/pear juice sharp. A lot more gentle to sip, though still not sweet (sorry to those sweet wine lovers - I'll make one of those here in a couple weeks). The wine's perfectly clear, and I'm almost tempted to bottle it now, but I expect another couple of months won't hurt it at all. Besides, it's more of a summer wine, anyway.

This year's Pinot Noir is actually two different wines. I bought grapes from a source who had two different soil types in his vineyard - very rocky like where we've planted our vines, and more typical soil. So this year's Pinot Noir is a comparison of what to expect from our plants vs. similar plants in more, um, plant-friendly soils. The two Pinots have completed Malolactic Fermentation (perhaps another post...) and cold stabilization, and at this point they're still a little young to make a firm comment as to where they'll end up. But the rockier wine is more dark, not so open with its flavors, and still obviously needs time. It's not heavy, just not ready to show itself. The less rocky wine shows a lot more light fruit already, although it shares some of the heaviness of its brother. It's only been aging 3 months at this point, so this isn't too surprising - check back over the summer.

More updates to come as the winemaking process goes along.

Snow Bound!

Thanks to 4” of snow and a lack of snow-drive-ability, we were stranded inside all day today. Not to worry, though, for we had plenty of wine! OK, so truth be told, we only opened one bottle and it was at dinner. It was a bottle one of us bought at a local Wine & Jazz Festival last summer. It cost a whopping 5 bucks and at the time, it was thought to be an amazing bargain. Tonight, we’d still say it was a pretty good deal, but we’re not about to go out and buy a case of Forest Ville Chardonnay, unless we have a big BBQ party in the works.

This wine from “California” (so unspecific about their grape heritage that the best they can do is name the state) is best described as industrial, inoffensive, and safe. It’s an un-oaky Chardonnay, which is why it made the cut in the first place. It still has a fair amount of butter, but there is also a hint of fruit lurking behind it. At first sip, it is interesting, but then it disappears into a forgettable wine. We wouldn’t keep this in stock, nor would we seek it out for a meal. However, the next time we have a large gathering and want to serve a non-homemade wine that is sippable and universally inoffensive, this will be our choice. Indicative of its caliber, Forest Ville is found in our state-run liquor stores (NEVER a good sign). It has also been spotted in most major grocery stores in our area. And $5-$9 is about right.

A Great Everyday Red!

Thanks to our local Italian restaurant, we recently discovered a great new "pizza wine". Pizza wine is what we call an easy, sippable, inexpensive, fun wine that can be enjoyed just about any time. Our latest favorite is Li Veli's Passamante. It's an Italian wine that is made from a grape we've never heard of (Negroamaro) and is grown in the heel of the boot. "Yeah, yeah, that's nice. But what does it taste like??" It's tastes like a really good Chianti. Light, fruity, a tiny bit of spice. Not as heavy or spicy as a Zinfandel but more interesting than your standard Italian Restaurant Chianti By the Glass. With a bit of research, we found the Passamante at World Market (aka Cost Plus to those who go way back) for a whopping $9.99 per bottle! Our local store is now out but expects another shipment soon. Oh, and for future reference, World Market does not give case discounts. :-(