It Starts With A Grape

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This dry, yet refreshing Rose is a blend of Cinsault, Grenache, and Syrah. Its nose is filled with fresh strawberries, and orange blossoms, with hints of honey, and a delicate flutter of white tea. For being a fairly dry Rose, its rather juicy, displaying great upfront fruit, with slightly tart tendencies. Its light-medium in body, and has pleasant mineralistic undertones, wrapped up in a tangy finish of cranberries and tangerines. It pairs beautifully with grilled (or broiled) salmon in a light bourbon glaze, accompanied by a side of sauteed asparagus, delicately seasoned with black pepper and garlic. If your just looking for cheese, go with a soft, spreadable goat cheese.

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It can be hard for Merlot drinkers to step outside their ‘comfort merlot’ because of the wide range of flavors and styles they come in. When I think of Merlot, this one in particular hits the mark. Its nose is filled with jammy blackberry, ripe plumb, black cherries, smooth oak and caramel. Though its on the lighter side of being heavy bodied, its certainly not lacking in flavor, and it has a fantastic velvety mouth feel. Plenty of cherry and blackberry carries over to the palate, initially accompanied by cracked black pepper. As it opens up dark cocoa emerges leading into a super smokey finish. Its a picture perfect Merlot, big on fruit, but balanced out with all that toasty caramelized oak. It would lend itself very well to char-grilled ribs, with a side of green beans and corn bread.

This refreshing Chilean Chardonnay opens with a nose full of crisp, ripe green apple, pineapple, bananas, and nuances of strawberry jam. Its got wonderfully balanced acidity, with a creamy mouth feel, and subtle oak lingering in the back round. Its clearly geared towards fruit, but manages to have that delicate buttery aspect everyone looks for as well. It displays vibrant tropical fruit flavors, accompanied by an underlying nutty taste, notably almonds, and just enough oak to give it some backbone. This chardonnay has all of the concentrated and structured flavors one would come to expect from Chile. Enjoy it with pecan crusted chicken, and a side of roasted red potatoes.

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The oak on this one is a bit overwhelming when you first open it and its a little rough around the edges, so let it breath for an hour or two befor drinking or serving it. That being said, the noes is full of deep dark aromas like charcoal, super toasty oak and casis. Acompanied by subtle notes of black olives, dried prunes, and fresh raspberries, its reminicent of a wood burning stove. Its a little on the tannic side, but not necessarily in a bad way if you like that sort of thing. I think it works well with the rustic, charred sort of flavors, and theres just a nuance of blueberries, right befor its smokey oak finish. It would be great with a hearty beef stew, just throw a cup in while its cooking to add a whole new layer of flavor.

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Its a deep, dense ruby color, with visibly thick legs; you can tell just by looking at this Zin that its gonna be a big one. Super concentrated dark chocolate clearly dominates the noes, with aromas of rhubarb pie, red tea, and hints of cinnamon encased in a warm oak blanket. Plenty of that dark cocoa carries over to the palate, complimented by black pepper, and understated but juicy ripe cherries. For the price, this is one sophisticated wine. Its got a bone dry finish of oak, cassis and cocoa. Pair it with Chipotle BBQed ribs and grilled earthy veggies for a match made in vino heaven.

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This, off-dry, Washington state Riesling is the best I’ve had in long time. I’ve often said Riesling is the red wine drinkers white wine, due to the complex nature of Rieslings, their many layers, and their diverse flavor profiles. This one is no exception. It opens with a nose of pineapple, fresh peaches, and nuances of clove and cinnamon. It manages to display crisp and tropical fruit flavors, without having an over-bearing lemony, acidic taste. There’s mangoes and apricots to wake up your taste buds , with just hints of honey. It has a slight effervescent quality to it, but still maintains a nice full, rounded off mouth feel. And, as far as sweetness goes, it lays somewhere between being off-dry and semi-sweet.  For a complete drinking experience, pair it with an ultra stinky, super blue, creamy Gorgonzola cheese, trust me it will work wonders in your mouth! If your looking to pair it with a meal, pick scallops, or chicken in a creamy sauce.

Opening with a nose of plum and ripe cherries, accompanied by aromas of black pepper and just enough oak, this is definitely a ‘go-to’ Malbec. The first sip will deliver plenty of those black pepper aromas to your taste buds, complimented by big juicy fruit, and hints of super dark cocoa. Its a fairly heavy red with a wonderfully full mouth feel, and soft tannins. The lengthy finish is primarily made up of pepper and oak, with subtle cherry. If your looking for something east to pair it with, throw some seasoned cubed steak, red and green peppers, and some chopped onions into a foil bag, and let it roast on the grill. Dinner and wine in under 30 minutes!

Do you live in up-state New York? Are you sick of your Saturday date night consisting of the same old dinner and a movie combo? Well, wake up a little earlier and get your but to the johnson Esate Winery! Or, if your from out of state, stay a little longer and make a weekend adventure out of the Chautauqua wine trail. Upon entering the tasting room, I was greeted my the most charming woman named Mary, who I would discover was not only charming but also extremely knowledgeable.  Right from the get go I got the feeling that the people who worked here actually cared about their wines and were very proud of them , as they should be. Before I get into the actual tasting, Id like to share a little backround with you…

It all began when Frecerick Johnson purchased the farm house and land on which it sat in 1908. At the time the land was devoted mainly to the growth of fruit trees and concord grapes. You can feel free to look at him as sort of a rebel, during prohibition (I still cringe when i hear that awful word), he made wine from his home grown grapes, and that was un-official start of the winery, kudos Mr. Johnson, kudos. In 1960 his son, Fredrick Spencer Johnson, returned home after a stint in the military and planted the very first French-American hybrid grapes, marking 1961 as the official start of the winery. Today the winery is still in the family, and is producing phenomenal wines at a very pocket friendly price.

The climate in up-state New York lends itself very well to production of ice wine. Its pretty much a safe bet that no matter which you choose you’ll be satisfied with your purchase, which is why I’m not going to mention them in this article, instead Id like open your eyes to the other varietals of the region.

Mary started me off with the 2006 Seyval, $9.99, it was super crisp and refreshing white, with plenty of tropical fruit to go around, a rather creamy texture, and substantial body. It was a good place to start. Next it was onto the 2007 Traminette at $11.99 a bottle. It was a bright white, with unique floral aromas of roses, and a mild citrus finish. Then it was onto their 2006 Riesling, $11.99, which quickly became my favorite with its honey and peach nose. It was elegant and smooth, with ripe apricot on the palate, beautifully balanced citrus notes, and honey finish. Yum. Then, a perfect segway into the reds with their Rose (row-say), also $11.99 a bottle. It was pleasantly tart with notes of sour strawberry and watermelon, reminiscent of a watermelon jolly rancher, and medium light in body. The make up of this delightful spring time treat is 11% Merlot, and 89% Marechal-Foch. The 2006 Chancellor, $9.99, was my first red, and being deep velvet in color, what a red it was! Displaying a barnyard nose, with notes of clove cigarettes, it was sure to be interesting. There was tart blackberry on the palate, accompanied by plenty of earth, ending with a clean but juicy finish. Next was the 2007 Chambourcin, also $9.99. This super versatile red, with its easy going fruit including plum and bright ripe cherry, would be perfect for any occasion. It was simple and delicious. Then it was clearly time to move onto desert, but like I said, no ice wines, I wanted to see what else they had to offer. Mary poured me something called Grapea Granate, which turns out is a blend of Niagra and pomegranate juice. Being a fan of the pomegranate martini, it was clear i had found a new twist, as Mary was quick to point out, mixed with a splash of vodka, it made a perfect summer-tini. Last was a perfect end to my most enjoyable tasting experience, the Red Ipocras, which was being kept nice and warm behind the bar, since there was still a slight chill in the air. At a mere $8.99, I found a great alternative to making my own spiced wine. It was filled with nutmeg and ginger, with subtle hints of black pepper, and is a delicious cure for those lingering chilly spring nights. Its also available in a white, and if you add ice and some sliced fruit, you’ve got yourself some tasty sangria!

All in all, i had a great time, and I look forward to my next visit! You can find them at 8419 West Main rd (aka rt 20), Westfield NY, call for large groups: 716-326-2191, or visit their web site at www.johnsonwinery.com There are some interesting up coming events at Johnson and some of the other wineries along the Chautauqua wine trail, so if your planning a trip, consider planning it around them:

April 2^nd – Thursday

Winemaker’s Dinners

Please check the website for details on price and venues.

www.chautauquawinetrail.org

May 2nd & 3rd

Wine, Cheese, and Herb Weekend ($25/person)

Visit wineries and sample selections of cheeses and special fare using herbs paired with a complementary wine. Cheeses provided by thier sponsor, Heluva Good Cheese.

(We’ll be there!)

Syrah, Sangiovese, Barbera, Tannat, Granache, and Mourvedre. What more could you ask for? This most impressive California blend, displaying a beautiful deep purple color, definitely packs a punch. It opens with a nose of sweet black cherries and toasty oak, followed by a silky smooth texture and black berries on the palate. There’s quite a bit of oak, so much so that it would be borderline offensive, if not for the ultra bright fruit. This is what i like to call a ‘fun wine’ , its got nice body, plenty of flavor, and is moderately easy drinking. Being medium-heavy bodied, and hugely fruit forward, it would be a fantastic pair for chipotle grilled spare ribs, but it could be paired with something as easy as a BBQ’ed char-grilled burger with crispy fried onions.

Opening with a beautiful display of fruit, including peaches and papaya, this particular Viognier is on the heavier side of being medium bodied, and is a lovely shade of gold. Oh, just in case you were wondering its pronounced vee-on-yay. There are subtle hints of rosemary and honeysuckle on the noes, and it has a most interesting mouth feel. Its creamy and round, but has a certain mineralistic quality to it, slate-y if you will. This, combined with its ample acidity, does a fine job at cutting through the otherwise “sweet” fruit flavors. It would be a sure fire home run with me, except for its lack of spice. None the less, its very tasty, and, due to its lengthy lemon grass finish, would lend itself well to such foods as a pear and walnut salad, topped with super creamy Gorgonzola, in a lite balsamic vinaigrette, or anything that plays with creamy texture and sweet but tart flavors.