2009 Viansa Reserve Red Wine

Happy Tuesday!  We had an immense amount of rain yesterday (anywhere from 7 to 10 inches!) and tonight I want to celebrate since I can grill again.  So I've decided to open a bottle I recently received from Wines Till Sold Out, the 2009 Viansa Reserve Red Wine from Sonoma County.  This wine is a blend of Merlot (47%), Sangiovese (29%), Cabernet Franc (14%), Dolcetto (8%), Tinta Cao (1%) and Tempranillo (1%), so let's see how this blend stacks up!

The wine is a somewhat lighter, ruby color in the glass with great clarity, reflecting the impact of the Sangiovese and Dolcetto.  The nose presents aromas of leather, blackberry, fig and earthy minerals with just a hint of red floral notes over the top.  The taste is quite nice, with a rush of cherry and plum up front that transitions nicely to some notes of anise, leather and dusty limestone midpalate.  Although my first impression was that this is a remarkably Tuscan style blend, I was surprised that each of the varietals add their own imprint to the complexity of the wine, pepper spice from the Sangiovese, ripe red fruit from the Merlot, wonderful minerality from the Cabernet Franc and a bit of sweet black fruit from the Dolcetto.  The tannins are nicely integrated, forming the backbone of the long, smooth dry finish.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8, as it's a pleasant drinking wine and a terrific value at just $14!  Despite the complexity, it's also a food friendly wine that would pair well with anything from pizza and pasta to roasts and steaks.  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with a rare grilled prime ribcap along with roasted fingerling potatoes and grilled Brussels sprouts.  Cheers!

Cogdal Vineyards Cabernet Franc

So yesterday I took a little drive to South Haven, Michigan and on the advice of my boss, I decided to do a little wine tasting at Cogdal Vineyards.  He mentioned they had some reasonable red wines that were actually dry (usually Michigan "dry" red wines are a cross between blackberry jam and Welch's concord grape juice), so I decided to give them a try.  He also mentioned that their Cabernet Franc was pretty good, hence this post! I was particularly interested in this wine as the owner, Jack, who was guiding me through the tasting, informed me that they grow the Cabernet Franc at the vineyard, so this wine is truly a product of the vineyard I visited (which was very picturesque, see the photos below!).  The wine is actually a blend of the Cabernet Franc along with some local hybrids, but unfortunately there wasn't a technical sheet available with the details, so it will remain a mystery for now.  So let's see what this wine has to offer!

The wine is somewhat lighter in color and body than some other Cabernet Francs that I've tried.  The nose presents a pleasant combination of blackberry, warm spice, green grass and smoke.  The taste is a rush of fruit up front, blackberry and tart cherry that transition to some lovely pepper spice notes and smoke midpalate.  The tannins are somewhat subdued, but still provide some nice backbone for what actually is a pleasant, smooth dry finish!

The tasting room at Cogdal Vineyards, a very nice place to try some wines!

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8, as it's one of the first Michigan red wines that I've enjoyed!  It was also a good value at just $19, and one that would be pleasant to sip on the patio of the tasting room (if only it wasn't so hot yesterday!).  This would be a good wine for some lighter fare, particularly some of those tough to pair pork or barbecue dishes.  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with a teriyaki glazed grilled pork tenderloin along with some farm fresh corn on the cob and steamed green beans, a perfect Midwest summer Sunday dinner!  Cheers!

A view of the vineyard at Cogdal Vineyards in South Haven, Mich.

Some of the grapes as we approach harvest time!

2010 Liquid Sky Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon

Happy Saturday!  Today I had a wonderful adventure to South Haven, Michigan where I stopped at the Dutch Farm Market to get a very berry pie, then I was able to do some wine tasting (more on that in a future post) and restock my olive oil and balsamic supply from my favorite oil retailer, the Olive Cart and I got a quart of ice cream from Captain Nemo's (I clearly didn't think that one through with an hour and a half drive home!  And to make matters worse for the poor ice cream I stopped at Costco on the way home and they happened to have something spectacular for dinner tonight (more on that in a bit).  So to match the fantastic dinner, I've decided to open a bottle of 2010 Liquid Sky Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon from the Moon Mountain AVA in Sonoma, so let's see how it is!

The wine is an inky black color at the center, with bright ruby along the edges, just what you'd expect from a nice Cabernet.  The nose presents aromas of blackberry, blueberry, kirsch and smoke that really gets you prepared for something good.  The taste is a rush of jammy black fruit up front that transitions nicely to some warm spice notes, leather and smoke midpalate.  The tannins are firm and well integrated into the long, smooth and exceptionally dry finish.  This is a big Cabernet for folks who really enjoy the big wines from California.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 9, it really is a delicious Cabernet and it was a good value at just $25 from Wines Till Sold Out.  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with a rare grilled prime ribeye cap steak (yes, Costco had ribcaps!!!) along with a baked potato and some grilled Brussels sprouts, and of course a nice piece of very berry pie for dessert.  This is a perfect wine for a big, rich steak like a ribcap.  Cheers!