Tasting Malbec with the Houston Chapter of the American Wine Society

I thoroughly enjoyed hosting the Houston Chapter of the American Wine Society at my home in September for a Malbec Tasting. This event was organized by my sister and her husband, a long time member of the organization. We opted to set up tasting stations throughout the house to allow guests to move through with greater ease.

My sister was recovering from a recent foot surgery so she primarily manned the kitchen while I was on hand throughout the event to discuss fun facts about the wines. Attendees are given any information about the wines in which they are interested such as scores, pricing, etc, before the "people's choice" style voting.

I shared my stories of meeting Bertrand Vigoroux here in Houston, he was the producer of two of the evening's wines, and my more recent introduction to Aurelio Montes of Kaiken at a wine event in New York. My brother in law, who has traveled extensively throughout South America, shared his stories about the Argentine wine tours at Balboa and Catena.

The tasting began upon each guest's arrival in the foyer with some chilled rosé.

2014 Georges Vigouroux “Pigmentum" Rosé Cotes du Lot ($11)- Dry, refreshing, raspberry/apricot aromas, minerality, long finish.
2013 La Flor Malbec Rosé Mendoza ($15)- Dry, smooth, red berry/plum, dried herbs and spice.

Next stop, the coffee table, where there were some anytime, affordable reds ready to try.

2013 Urban UCO Malbec Valle de Uco ($10)- From high altitude vineyards, fresh sweet berries, lightly spiced finish.
2012 Kaiken Malbec Reserva - Mendoza ($10)- More floral, plum flavor, smooth finish

In the dining room, members found Malbec from more specific areas in the $20+ price range.

2012 Susana Balboa Signature Malbec-Valle de Uco ($25)- A blend of 92% Malbec with 8% Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from high elevation desert vineyards. Floral, ripe berries, elegant, smooth finish.
2012 Luigi Bosca Single Vineyard Malbec- Lujan de Cuyo ($21)- From a 70 year old high altitude vineyard. Fuller bodied, more intense, rich, ripe blackberry, white pepper, spicy finish.
2009 Chateau De Mercues Malbec- Cahors ($22)- From the vineyards surrounding the home that housed the Bishop of Cahors for centuries. Full bodied, also intense with berries, spice, dried herbs and a savory note, more structured, long finish.

The final wine:

2011 Catena Alta “Historic Rows” Malbec- Mendoza $(48)- Sourced from select rows from four Zapata family Andean vineyards to create a best of blend to reflect the four generations of the family that have worked there. Savory with blueberry jam, eucalyptus; structured, tighter.

Guests could then move throughout the house to retry the wines or head into the kitchen. Snacks for the event included warm smoked sliced sausage with barbecue sauce on the side with sweet potato chips, fresh bread and crackers served with a cheese array and a platter of fresh berries with an assortment of roasted nuts and dark chocolates.

The cocktail party atmosphere was interrupted briefly for a short meeting. Members and guests then placed their votes for their favorite wine of the evening and the winners were announced. Opinions varied in this close competition with the fourth place winner ending with 11 votes.

The Winners:

First place- 2012 Luigi Bosca with 18 votes

2nd place- 2011 Catena Alta & 2014 Georges Vigouroux "Pigmentum" Rosé- tied with 13 votes each

3rd place- 2009 Chateau De Mercues with 12 votes

It was a great time with a great group of people!

Lust Zinfandel 2007

My husband loves this wine so he purchased quite a few bottles at a recent Michael~David dinner that we had attended. Last night, I decided to open a bottle to serve with dinner. I was making a roasted southwestern pork tenderloin, sweet potato fries (w/ chipolte ketchup) and a salad consisting of baby lettuce (fresh from my garden) with strawberries, red bell peppers, red onions and walnuts tossed with a white balsamic-raspberry vinaigrette. This turned out to be a great pairing. It is a bold wine that really stood up to the strong chipolte seasoning while complementing the fruit flavors. I opened the bottle a 1/2 hour before I served it as I have found this wine to be more enjoyable when I do so. The Lust Zinfandel by Michael~David 2007 was a dark purple color with a ruby rim. It has intense aromas of very ripe mixed berries and baking spices-both allspice and ginger with hints of cedar. It has flavors of creme de cassis, milk chocolate and also more of the baking

Nocera - A Native Grape from Sicily

Nocera is a native grape from Sicily. It comes from the Messina province which is located in the northeast. Nocera is a quality red wine grape that is most known as a blender in the red wines of the Faro DOC. I had the opportunity to taste some pure versions (which according to Wine Searcher are rare) this week at a trade tasting held at Roma Restaurant in Houston. Wine production in the region dates back to the 14th Century BC, however, phylloxera decimated the vineyard area in 1881 leaving it at a fraction of its original size. The area boasts a Mediterranean climate with sunny days and coastal breezes, moderate rainfall, and mild winters, all ideal for grape growing. The Nocera grape is a bluish/black color and has a thick skin which allows for the production of structured wines with prominent tannins which are balanced by good acidity. High alcohol is common. Red wines produced from the grapes are an intense ruby color with purple highlights and aromas and flavors of dark fruits a

The Salta Tour 2012

Vine Connections and Pioneer Wine Company hosted a seminar and tasting event for Houston's wine trade and media at Backstreet Cafe yesterday. All but two of the wines were from the Salta Province of Argentina. Salta is the most northern wine region in Argentina lying close to the Bolivian border. The climate is very extreme due to the high altitude. Plantings start at 5,000 feet above sea level and climb to 9,000 feet, making these vineyards the highest in the world. The intense sunlight the area receives helps to create grapes with more anthocyanins, these are the color pigments which result in softer tannins, lower astringency and more intense flavor. The wines produced are extremely pure, concentrated and terroir specific. Torrontes Riojano which is considered the best of the three Torrontes clones is the most widely planted grape with plantings of Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Tannat increasing. The seminar started with a tasting of four Torrontes wines, three from diff

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