A Night at the Vineyard

Meet my two new friends, Drachenstein and Klosterberg. They've come all the way from the Rheingau to visit with us for the evening. Both are 100% pure-bred German Reisling, and hail from the same vineyard in the same year (2003). One's a little sweeter than the other (he's a Trockenbeerenauslese, after all) but let's be honest, they don't come much more wholesome than this. After a night of sheer Pinocity, a little chocolate caramel covered popcorn with these little sweeties really hit the spot. But I'm getting ahead of myself!

We were gifted with a small window of sunshine, so we thought it the perfect time to spend at the Archery Summit vineyard house. Talk about living like kings! Not only did we have a deck overlooking the stunning Renegade Ridge Vineyard and beyond, but each of the five rooms had beds so large they were square! Naturally, as one does in such a situation, we pulled the cork on numerous bottles to celebrate our brief getaway (so much Pinot Noir).

Then we played a lot of pingpong and woke up to gorgeous foggy vines out the window...

And the day continued with an awesome walkabout and taste through Sokol Blosser's lineup. Do you think we over-did it with all that Pinot? Wait, too much Pinot?! I think not!

Thursday Tasting with Josh

Once again, it's Thursday, which means wine tasting at Thirst! I sat down with my esteemed friend Josh to sample 3 wines by Erin Glenn.

Wine no.1 - A blend of Viognier, Gewerztraminer, and Riesling, the 2008 Isa ($unavailable) is nicely crisp and acidic. My palate loves the mild dirt and unwashed melon rind of this white wine. I got a twinge of bitter almond and watered down tropical flavors; imagine a rustic island vacation sans the mob of tourists and tacky leis.

Wine no.2 - The 2008 Tantrum Red ($19) is quite a different blend of Pinot Noir, Merlot, and Barbera. POW! I smell chemicals, I taste a frosted red velvet cupcake. "It feels like I'm cleaning the bathroom," Josh surmises. We get chewy rubber fruits from the Pinot, chocolate, spice, and all things nice from the Merlot, and a big guy punch from the Barbera.

Wine no.3 - A drink for dessert! The 2006 Gemini ($14), a late harvest Gewerztraminer, reminds one of a sweet Riesling with a dash of fennel and poppy seed before fading into butterscotch. Josh's inference was that this dessert wine is like "an alcohol soaked poppyseed cake; so by that standard its... lemony?!" We paired the wine with a hunk of Beechers white cheddar, which, as if using brown sugar as glue, patched all the wines disjointedness together.

Good show by Erin Glenn Winery-- nothing spectacular, but tasty all the same.