Wine Life - Houston

The Northern Rhone lies 20 miles south of the city of Lyon. The vineyards lie along the Rhone River which helps moderate the climate which is also affected by the cold Mistral winds. There are three white grape varieties grown: Viognier, Marsanne and Rousanne and one red variety, Syrah. There are eight Crus in Northern Rhone starting with the Cote-Rotie AOC. It is considered the North's most elegant and approachable wine. The vineyards are located on steep granite terraces which are difficult to work which contributes to the price of the wine. They produce only red wine but can legally add up to 20% Viognier if they choose though that is unusual today. 2008 Saint Cosme Cote-Rotie    $60 Clear, deep ruby in the glass with medium intense developing aromas of bacon, pepper, black fruit and tobacco. Dry, medium+ body, tannins, alcohol, acidity and length. Very good, drink now or hold. Next is Condrieu AOC where they make small quantities o...

Savennieres is located on the north bank of the Loire River, southwest from the city of Angers. It is best known for its small production of Chenin Blanc-based dry white wines. The cool climate helps to preserve Chenin Blanc's naturally high acidity while the slate/sandstone soils add to the mineral character of the wine. The wines are typically very long-lived and can be austere in youth because of the high acidity. 2002 Clos des Perrieres Savennieres      $25  Appearance: Clear, medium gold color with a watery rim. Nose: Clean, medium intense, fully-developed aromas of nuts, honey, apricot and a bit of canned mushroom. Palate: Dry, high acid, medium body and alcohol with flavors of apricot and cashew with a dash of minerality in a long finish. Very Good/ Drink now, may be at its most charming. Related posts: Loire Valley Review Tasting Notes on some Loire Valley Wines

When thinking about the wines of Southwest France, you are considering all the non-contiguous tiny sub-regions throughout the southwestern part of the country in Gascogne.   There is not a regional AOC that covers the area, there are only  specific communal appellations. Starting in the Dordogne/Bergerac sub-region, you find that many of the wines are very similar to Bordeaux which it borders. For this review, I am looking at Monbazillac which produces liquoreux white wines. A liquoreux wine is a sweet wine that is produced from late-harvest botrytized grapes. Monbazillac uses Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle, the same grapes used in Bordeaux's sweet wines. 1996 Chateau Belingard Monbazillac     $40 Clear medium gold color in the glass with pronounced developed aromas of marmalade, honey, peach, citrus flowers and a bit of sulfur. Sweet with medium+ body, acidity and alcohol with sweet peach and almond flavors and a med...

I was grocery shopping at HEB in Sugar Land this morning when this sign caught my eye. I believe that this is deceptive as this is American-made sparkling wine and was definitely not made in Champagne, France. I find this annoying because it just isn't truthful. It makes me wonder if I should believe that this particular lettuce is organic or that the beef that says grass-fed on it is really grass-fed. Can I count on HEB's honesty with other products when they are clearly misleading their customers with this price sign? The reality is that HEB is probably not trying to be dishonest. A stocker with no wine knowledge probably set this up (I hope it wasn't their actual wine guy). Why would that person just add the false information "Champagne" to the price label? In the stocker's defense, probably because "Methode Champenoise" is the main thing that you see on the display boxes from the producer. They could say sparkling wine, they could say made in...

The Loire Valley wine region is situated south of Normandy and north of Cognac.  It has one of the coldest and wettest growing seasons in France. It's name comes from France's longest river which starts in central France and then ends at the Atlantic. The river affects the climate by warming the flanking vineyards. Starting downstream in the Lower Loire or Pays Nantais, the Gulf Stream is also an important warming factor in the most maritime of the sub-regions. This area contains four ACs producing dry white wines from the Muscadet grape also known as Melon de Bourgogne. The wines can be fairly neutral so to add some flavor complexity and to create a creamier texture, many wines are aged with the yeast, or Sur Lie. The legal requirements are that the Muscadet wine must be aged on its lees from vinification through March of the following year. It cannot spend more than one winter on the lees. The wines are easy-drinking and affordable ...

This was new to me.  It was found on the clearance rack by someone who was not only familiar with it, but also very enthusiastic about it at its usual $25 price. He was super-geeked at finding it for $3.99 a bottle. Chinato is an aged wine made from Nebbiolo grapes infused with China Tree bark, rhubarb root and aromatic herbs and spices. It has a long tradition in the Piemonte region where it is produced and where it was believed to be a disease remedy. In the glass, it appeared a pale garnet color with a brick-orange rim. It had clean, medium intense developed, primarily herbal aromas of sage and fennel with licorice, vanilla and earth. Medium sweet, medium+ tannins and acid with high alcohol (16% abv) and a medium+ length bittersweet finish. It was oddly intriguing with a somewhat Jagermeister-esque quality; I swirled, sniffed and tasted a few times. The website suggests serving it as a meditation wine, an aperitif ...