Hello My Fellow Gulpers!
If you read my previous blog you know this tasting was all about flavor. Coreen and Lebeau prepared a feast of scent and taste. Walking into the event one might have thought it was going to be take out since Andy's table was covered in little sealed containers. One would have been wrong.
Each container held a an ingredient that either its scent or taste could be found in any given wine. Coreen and Lebeau did some amazing research and planning for this event. There were at least 50 items laid out in neat and labeled rows across the counter. Gooseberries, strawberries and cherries were there and probably somewhat expected. Then there were the spicy items like cinnamon, clove, cardamom, and white pepper. The earth and mineral flavors were represented in cut grass, hay, and soil. Citrus showed up in grapefruit, orange and lemon. Butter, musk,passion fruit and lemon grass made up more of the unusual in the collection. I know I have not mentioned every item but this should give you a good sampling of what we got to work with.
The tastings were all blind. It wasn't until we had all smelled, tasted and discussed what we were experiencing did Lebeau reveal the actual varietal we were trying. Coreen and LeBeau provided small hor'dourves of small quiches, philo turnovers, pigs in a blanket and kettle corn. Deb brought some tasty spreads with crusty bread.
Before going any further Deb Knepp gets the award for most amazing palate!!! She was right more than anybody deciding what wine was what. She must be tasting a lot on the side!
Anyway, the first wine had us all guessing. Gooseberries,peach, grapefruit, mango and yes, even a little cat urine were scented. No Coreen did not provide cat urine in the samples. She assumed, correctly, we all had experience with the scent of cat urine. I guessed a Savignon Blanc, someone else guessed a Semillon but the answer was:
Gruner Veltliner - (from
winepros.org)
This Northern European wine, (Germany, Austria), can be astonishingly complex, full of exotic tropical fruits, white pepper and lentils. They can also show aromas of green beans or asparagus, an engaging "vegetable" smell that is seldom "vegetal", especially when grown in mineral soil.
The next wine was once again white. This one had a perfumy aroma and made me think of Spring.
Our intrepid band of tasters found honey, strawberries, hay, and pear. The guesses ranged from Chardonnay to Vouvray and we were all wrong, except for Deb! She put it all together for the correct answer:
Chenin Blanc - This particular one is a Petit Chenin Blanc from Ken Forrester. parkling and clean looking. The initial nose is floral but sharp; the wine is stainless steel fermented, and you can smell the natural mineral and acidity of the grape as a result. Tasting the wine, you’ll find the same blend of soft fruit (melon, pear, apple) and a crisp acidic finish, long and solid. The producer even suggests finding “honeysuckle”.
The next wine up had us sniffing hay, grass, lemongrass, grapefruit peels, orange peels, gooseberries, and I even think Jeff smelled some tobacco in this one. The wine? Why Sauvignon Blanc! Yep this was a Whitehaven Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand.
At this point we tried a wine Deb brought. I believe it was a Chardonnay but not positive. Oh Debbie!? Could you please post a comment to this blog and remind us what we tasted? Thanks!
Now I left before really getting to try the whole component tasting round on this final wine but I did get to have a taste before I had to leave. In a word? Delish! Without the components to guide I knew this was a dark berry, fruit forward, jammy, yummy wine. It was a shiraz that goes by a very interesting and straightforward name:
The Black Shiraz from Berton Vineyards of Australia.
The next Gulp Gathering is March 20th @ Andy's house and since it has taken me so long to get this blog written and posted it's today!!! Have a great gathering and I will see you at the next one!
