Tag Archives: merlot

When #TasteMyTweet turns into #TweetMyDebautchery- a Twittelating tale…

Cost: Average price $12

Where buy now: Costco – $10

Grapes: Shiraz, Cabernet, Merlot

Region: Australia

Vintage: 2009

A delayed post once again, but perhaps indicative of the recovery required from last week’s episode of #TasteMyTweet. So, what is this? “#TasteMyTweet” was originated by a few Twitter folks (“Tweeps” in Twitter world speech): Amanda: @sweetnsnazzy, Zipp’s Liquors’ Jeff: @zippswine & Wine Geek TV, and a second Jeff: @WineGeekTV. A wine theme is chosen, everyone brings bottles and tastes each wine then tweets our on-the-spot reviews.

Seems fairly simple, right? Well, with a mixed bag of leg wrestling, bees, several more bottles of wine, more bees, electrocution and dumpsters, it may devolve into #TweetMyDebautchery.

Let me explain.

The White One
Clancy’s Shiraz Cabernet Merlot
Wine Geek TV Jeff #2
Yalumba Grenache
Zipps Jeff & SweetnSnazzy
Heartland Stickleback Red’
Taint Misbehavin’

Last week, the plan for “#TMT” was to taste wines from Australia. There were no rules about price point, nor red/white preferences, just the wonderful instruction to “bring something you want to try and/or something you’re excited about”. Sounds wonderful- innocent, even.

We began with an Aussie white wine called, “The White One” it was 84% Arneis and 16% Chardonnay. This $12 gem was purchased from Pairings in Eden Prairie, and was quite pleasant to drink alone. We also agreed that it tasted great with the Montamore cheese made by Sartori. It was medium bodied, yet crisp. Thought it would compliment roasted or grilled chicken with herbs such as rosemary & thyme.

The second wine wasn’t even from Australia so I’ll skip over it. [Fail.]

The third wine was Clancy’s, a Shiraz/Cabernet/Merlot blend I found for $9.99 at Costco. This wine was a juicy, jammy number that we rather liked. It had that dark purplish hue and medium body to it. It was dry, yet fruit forward with tastes of plum, dark cherry and smoky wood. With the $10 price tag on this buy now/drink now Aussie, I’ll buy this again in a heartbeat, and was a highlight for Jeff #2 (sorry for the unfortunate nickname, Jeff).

This was the part of the evening when things began to go awry. I say this because, well, if I hadn’t taken pictures of the wines, this blog entry would have to end here with a series of “Scene Missing” signs. What I do recall is that this was about when bees first entered the picture. You see, we were outside of Zipp’s, somewhat near the dumpsters. We were in a basically odorless patio but the bees found their way to our nectar. Thank goodness Jeff #1 [from Zipp’s], had this tennis racket thingy that electrocutes bees. This is how we started swatting.

Next on the list was Yalumba Grenache from Barossa Valley. Urrrr, ummm, it was… good. Yep, that’s all I got.

Before long, the leg wrestling began. Jeff #1 and Amanda [aka “@SweetnSnazzy”] were on the ground, battling.

If that wasn’t enough, somehow when they returned to the table, Jeff #1 managed to knick the tennis racket and electrocute himself. It appeared almost as painful, as it did hilarious for the rest of us. Unlike Jeff #2, Jeff #1 likes stanky-ass cheese so we opened the one that he brought. Amanda likened the taste to “a woman who’s been constantly tanning/smoking Virginia Slims for 50+ years”. Ringing endorsement. Following this interestingly detailed and bizarre description, sheer curiosity consumed me. I went in. Oh, I shouldn’t have. Ewww. Even after copious wine slurping, this was even too stank funky for a James Brown groove.

Okay (*breath*, refers to yourself in the third person), Savvy hits the next bottle. This one was the Heartland Stickleback Red, or so says the photo. Honestly, I… I got nothing. Like Mr. Reagan once testified, I don’t recall. I’m going to say I liked it because I don’t remember thinking that I didn’t like it. How’s that for reason and logic?

Near the end of the Tweet session, a Zipp’s employee came out to the patio, and more leg wrestling ensued.

All in all, the night was fun as hell. Again, this is my rendition of the evening, based on tweets and photos I re-assembled the next day. Perhaps Zipp’s Jeff #1, Amanda or WineGeekTV Jeff #2 would put a different spin on the evening, but, we all agreed we can’t wait for the next one. Hope I’m not involved in the electrocution.

When #TasteMyTweet turns into #TweetMyDebautchery- a Twittelating tale…

Cost: Average price $12

Where buy now: Costco

Grapes: Shiraz, Cabernet, Merlot

Region: Australia

Vintage: 2009

A delayed post once again, but perhaps indicative of the recovery required from last week’s episode of #TasteMyTweet. So, what is this? “#TasteMyTweet” was originated by a few Twitter folks (“Tweeps” in Twitter world speech): Amanda: @sweetnsundefinednazzy, Zipp’s Liquors’ Jeff: @zippswine & Wine Geek TV, and a second Jeff: @WineGeekTV. A wine theme is chosen, everyone brings bottles and tastes each wine then tweets our on-the-spot reviews.

Seems fairly simple, right? Well, with a mixed bag of leg wrestling, bees, several more bottles of wine, more bees, electrocution and dumpsters, it may devolve into #TweetMyDebautchery.

Let me explain.

Last week, the plan for “#TMT” was to taste wines from Australia. There were no rules about price point, nor red/white preferences, just the wonderful instruction to “bring something you want to try and/or something you’re excited about”. Sounds wonderful- innocent, even.

We began with an Aussie white wine called, “The White One” it was 84% Arneis and 16% Chardonnay.

The White One

This $12 gem was purchased from Pairings in Eden Prairie, and was quite pleasant to drink alone. We also agreed that it tasted great with the Montamore cheese made by Sartori. It was medium bodied, yet crisp. Thought it would compliment roasted or grilled chicken with herbs such as rosemary & thyme.

The second wine wasn’t even from Australia so I’ll skip over it. [Fail.]

The third wine was Clancy’s, a Shiraz/Cabernet/Merlot blend I found for $9.99 at Costco.

Clancy’s Shiraz Cabernet Merlot

This wine was a juicy, jammy number that we rather liked. It had that dark purplish hue and medium body to it. It was dry, yet fruit forward with tastes of plum, dark cherry and smoky wood. With the $10 price tag on this buy now/drink now Aussie, I’ll buy this again in a heartbeat, and was a highlight for Jeff #2 (sorry for the unfortunate nickname, Jeff).

This was the part of the evening when things began to go awry.  I say this because, well, if I hadn’t taken pictures of the wines, this blog entry would have to end here with a series of “Scene Missing” signs. What I do recall is that this was about when bees first entered the picture. You see, we were outside of Zipp’s, somewhat near the dumpsters. We were in a basically odorless patio but the bees found their way to our nectar. Thank goodness Jeff #1 [from Zipp’s], had this tennis racket thingy that electrocutes bees. This is how we started swatting.

Wine Geek TV Jeff #2

Next on the list was Yalumba Grenache from Barossa Valley. Urrrr, ummm, it was… good. Yep, that’s all I got.

Yalumba Grenache

Before long, the leg wrestling began. Jeff #1 and Amanda [aka “@SweetnSnazzy”] were on the ground, battling.

Zipps Jeff & SweetnSnazzy

If that wasn’t enough, somehow when they returned to the table, Jeff #1 managed to knick the tennis racket and electrocute himself. It appeared almost as painful, as it did hilarious for the rest of us. Unlike Jeff #2, Jeff #1 likes stanky-ass cheese so we opened the one that he brought. Amanda likened the taste to “a woman who’s been constantly tanning/smoking Virginia Slims for 50+ years”. Ringing endorsement. Following this interestingly detailed and bizarre description, sheer curiosity consumed me. I went in. Oh, I shouldn’t have. Ewww. Even after copious wine slurping, this was even too stank funky for a James Brown groove.

Okay (*breath*, refers to yourself in the third person), Savvy hits the next bottle. This one was the Heartland Stickleback Red, or so says the photo. Honestly, I… I got nothing. Like Mr. Reagan once testified, I don’t recall. I’m going to say I liked it because I don’t remember thinking that I didn’t like it. How’s that for reason and logic?

Heartland Stickleback Red’

Near the end of the Tweet session, a Zipp’s employee came out to the patio, and more leg wrestling ensued.

Taint Misbehavin’

All in all, the night was fun as hell. Again, this is my rendition of the evening, based on tweets and photos I re-assembled the next day. Perhaps Zipp’s Jeff #1, Amanda or WineGeekTV Jeff #2 would put a different spin on the evening, but, we all agreed we can’t wait for the next one. Hope I’m not involved in the electrocution.

Merlot Tasting – 2012

Cost: Average price $13 to $50+

Where buy now: North Loop Wines & Spirits, Solo Vino, France 44 and basement cellar

Grapes: Merlot with some interpretations

Region: Italy, France, California, Washington

Vintage: 2010 and older

Recently, I quasi-invited myself & a wine-friend to a #Geeks’nGrapes (as they’re known in the Twitter world) Merlot tasting. This group’s moniker couldn’t be more apropos, as it is comprised of two Sommeliers [as deemed by their level 2 certification] along with a fellow I’ve deemed “Mr. Wine Encyclopedia”.

Okay, blah blah blah Merlot, blah-blibbity-blah. “Sideways” was years ago, people, and NOT a documentary! Are we still solely enamored with Pinot Noir, frivolously casting away Merlot like a redheaded stepchild? Well, kids, if you haven’t welcomed Merlot into your household, for shame! Mind you, Paul Giamatti was handed that script. Much like Lowell’s (the “other” guy in the movie- remember the TV show “Wings”?) chubby chasing character, you always have a choice.

So, not knowing what beast’s belly I was heading into, I drove up to North Loop Wines & Spirits as they were having a buy one, get one ½ price sale. I talked to the wine dude there, his name is Kyle. I trust this guy implicitly, I don’t know why. I don’t know him very well but I do know that he’s a straight shooter who: a.) enjoys biking, b.) is a huge fan of The Band (RIP Levon), and c.) is a fellow Nordeaster. Oh, and for you gals (and non breeder males) reading along, he’s easy on the eyes, too.

I told him I needed a good recommendation for a Merlot tasting, but wanted to stay under my $15 price point. He introduced me to the Grayson Merlot from Napa Valley. Since I was going into this whole “Geeks” thing blind, I told him I’d blame him if this wine was deemed useless swill. Spineless? Perhaps, but I wanted to test his fortitude. (I mean, he’s _kind of_ playing the role of my physician, right?) To the #GeeksnGrapes event I go!

We started the evening with a 2005 Merlot from Tuscany, Italy called “Lamaione” from Marchesi de Frescobaldi.

Lamaione

I learned that Merlot is the third most planted grape varietal in Italy. This wine was garnet/ruby colored, with an orangish hue due to it’s age. The wine was aged for 24-48 months in oak. An earthy, musty, oaky wine with a medium to full body without much berry flavor, but with a long finish. After being uncorked a couple hours, it opened up to have a strong cedar scent and taste.  This wine was in someone’s cellar for a few years, and sported a price tag greater than $50, so we speculated it could possibly be found at i Nonni.

We followed that with a 2009 Bordeaux from France called “Chateau Vauzelle, Lalande de Pomerol”.

Chateau Vauzelle LaLande de Pomerol

This wine hails from Northern France. This wine differed in that it wasn’t a straight Merlot [bi-curious, perhaps?], but included Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Garnet in color, this had more cherry to it compared to the Tuscan Merlot, and was tannic and dry. I found it to be one of my favorites. This wine can be found at France 44 & North Loop, around $35-$40.

After that we went on to try the 2010 Grayson.

Grayson Cellars

Oh wow, what a switch from Old World (Europe) to New World (Americas, Australia, New Zealand) wine! Like the British Office to the American version, or Jefferson Airplane to Starship [only way less crappy than either Grace Slick vehicle]. This wine was a brighter garnet color, and was more fruit forward than it’s European cousins- less tannic, softer, but tasted of sour cherry and stewed fruit. This wine is around $13 at North Loop and Solo Vino.

Then we moved up the Coast to “The Velvet Devil”, a 2010 Merlot from Washington State brought by my friend.

The Velvet Devil

This was slightly deeper in garnet color compared to the Grayson, but still lighter than the others. This Merlot was oaky, smoky and slighted spiced. This wine is also around $13 at Solo Vino, North Loop and Pairings.

Number five on the docket was another Washington wine called, “Pedestal”, a 2007 Merlot from Columbia Valley in Walla Walla.

Pedestal

This wine is deeper Garnet in color and is big bodied [not unlike the Starship-era Slick]. It was robust and bolder than the other New World Merlot’s. We deemed this to be a Cabernet Sauvignon lover’s Merlot. This wine can be found at France 44, around $55.

Lastly, we travelled back down to Napa Valley and tried a favorite of “Mr. Wine Encyclopedia”, Chappellet’s 2009 Merlot.

Chappellet

This wine had the highest alcohol content, yet was smokier, spicier, thicker and heavier than the others, still. A great finisher, indeed.

As we sat around and waxed poetic about what first got us interested in wine, we revisited each one to notice more changes and evolutions to the scents and tastes. It’s one of those entities that you cannot judge at first site. There are nuances that continue to evolve. Our jobs are to find that balance of nature, skill, age, knowledge and enjoyment. This is when we understand what the winemaker desired and what we desire in a wine, we appreciate the efforts put forth to enable you to drink said wine and we enjoy the fruits of someone’s labor [no pun intended] while enjoying life’s riches. We truly are a lucky people.

Oh, and Kyle’s recommendation lived up to it’s promise: a truely smokin’ Merlot for under $15.