Vegas Tastings, Baby!

Just in case you were wondering what happened to me this week (or even if you weren’t. whatever.), I’m a much happier woman today! My daughter brought the kids up, and we’ve spent a great family week together, with four generations (my mother, me, my daughter, and my grandchildren) doing the Vegas thing. I’m exhausted! But very, very happy and still grinnin’ from ear to ear!

Meanwhile, one of my long-promised Vegas Wineaux features is finally up and running. Vegas Tastings is now a large, beautiful slideshow that showcases some fun moments in tastings at some of our favorite wine shops and retailers. They are in no particular order, not in location, retailer, date, or season! I even have a couple of pics from Jimmy’s Cafe, now gone lo these many months.

So enjoy the photos from Khoury’s, Steak, Marche Bacchus, Valley Cheese and Wine, Vino 100 and more, as we reminisce over the fun tasting moments that we’ve all shared over the years.

The Home Tastings and the Travels (was Paso) pages are being worked on now and will be available shortly. You can be sure that I’ll let you know when they are!

http://vegaswineaux.com/galleries/vegas-tastings/

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Cruising the Wineries of Mexico - History and Schedule

The upcoming wine cruises in October and December are creating a lot of buzz among Wineauz in Vegas! Before we talk about the details, let me tell you a little about the history of the wineries in Mexico. There are many skeptics who are still stunned that such wineries exist. I had a great time doing the research, and found quite a bit of surprising information. What I’m relating here is just a microcosm of the information and history of these wineries and wine region.

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Wine Down Wednesday

Okay, so I’m a little late in reporting this, but that’s okay. Sunny 106.5 had its spring season of Wine Down Wednesday events at the Casino MonteLago in Lake Las Vegas, and I made the long trek there in spite of living at the other end of the world. That would be Northwest Las Vegas for those of you unfamiliar with the area.

Sunny 106.5 FM is Las Vegas’ “Adult Contemporary” radio station with probably the best on-air personalities in town. Two of my favorites were there last Wednesday, Tom Chase - late morning and the station GM - and Michael Neal, the early morning guy who is a great foil to Melanie. I *really* like Melanie because I share her single-woman angst. But you’d have to listen to understand!

Enjoy the Slideshow!  Wine Down Wednesday Returns!

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Long Winded! An Oopsie, Strip Event, a Tasting and the Power of Tasters!

I hope that this entry isn’t too long, but I have a lot to report. These items aren’t in chronological order, but here ya go:

For those of you who receive the Vegas Wineaux newsletter, you noticed that I did a little blurb on a car repair facility that I felt was absolutely miraculous (honest *and* reasonably priced). The newsletter said it was “$ & M Auto Service Systems.” Oops. Money on the mind, I guess. Well, it’s supposed to be “R & M Auto Service Systems.” Sheesh. Keyboard issues.

Wednesday night found me at Onda, the Wine Bar at the Mirage. I knew that they would be pouring wines from a new winery, but I had no idea. I ended up taking notes on an old envelope and scraps of paper, so you have to bear with me.

Daou Vineyards is owned by brothers Georges and Daniel Daou. Their vineyard is located on the West side of Paso Robles (yay). They have several lines of wines, and their La Capilla line was poured at Onda. They also have Lodi fruit as well.

At this time, they are making reds only, with a Viognier being planned for limited release later this year. Daniel spent some time at our table, talking about wine as a passion and how one day he decided that making wine was his life’s destiny.

Six wines were poured and I’m offering my tasting notes. YMMV.

2005 La Capilla Saveur (Lodi) – medium bodied Petit Sirah that offers smoke, berries, plums, chocolate and dust on the nose, with the same on the palate. It has an interesting fleshy component, soft, well-integrated tannins, nicely viscous without being “thick,” and a long, minerally finish. Not like the fruit bombs I’m used to, but has subtlety and class.

2005 La Capilla Melange (Paso Robles) – This is a Cabernet/Syrah blend (61%/39%) with plum, cassis, earth, espresso and a touch of cedar on the nose. On the palate, the taste reflects the nose, along with integrated tannins and a bit of pepper on the medium finish.

2006 La Capilla Old Vines Zinfandel (Lodi) – Jammy nose, lots of dark fruit, spice (can’t tell which), and a very clean, crisp palate. Surprisingly austere for Central Coast wnes, it has lots of earthy Zin flavor.

2006 La Capilla Old Vines Zinfandel Reserve (Lodi) – Very similar to the previous Zin, but earthier, with a rich dark fruit component, which adds to its complexity. Smoky for a Zin, and with an interesting herbal component (this is a good thing), and a long finish.

2006 La Capilla Syrah (Paso Robles) – Okay, this one was my favorite, hands down. Rich dark fruit, berries, ash, smoke, spice, and a rich, glass-coating viscosity. Varied berry flavors on the tongue, with a long, minerally finish. Rich tooth-stainer! Yum!

2006 La Capilla Cabernet Sauvignon (Paso Robles) – Bright fruit, cigar box, cocoa, cassis, plums, with firm, balanced tannins, good acid, and a long, fruity finish.

Daou Winery website is located at http://www.daouvineyards.com, and I encourage you to go take a look at their site.

By the way, Daniel indicated that they plan to return to Onda on March 12.

I hosted the Fritz & Tex’s Wine Club Thing at my home last Saturday night, and had a wonderful time doing so. The theme (which I picked) was all about single varietal wines. The wines were Zinfandel, Cabernet, Merlot, Syrah, Garnacha, and an Argentinean Tempranillo. All fabulous, all tasty.

When putting together the tasting notes, I realized that there were several wines that had apparently never been submitted to any of the Mega-Winemags for evaluation. In case you didn’t know, the tasters for these magazines don’t go running out to find the wines … the winemakers submit their wines for tasting analysis. Such a gamble can make or break a winemaker. If the wine is universally loved, the prices can skyrocket and the wine may achieve “cult” status. If the wine is universally panned, you may see it on the clearance shelf of the local Walgreen’s Pharmacy along with the bargain bottles of white zin.

Of course, those of us who love particular wines experience a special evil glee when a famed wine taster dislikes a wine. More for us!!! Especially since so many people slavishly follow the tasters’ recommendations and often do their shopping based on scores alone.

Another thing that people tend to forget is that just like the rest of us, tasters have their preferences. I would go so far to say that there is no absolutely neutral taster out there.

One of the most well-known and high profile wine tasters is Robert Parker. He has the ability to make or break winemakers based on his evaluations of wines. And people will take his word as gospel.

I’ve found that my palate does not usually agree with Mr. Parker’s. If he raves over a wine, you can be pretty sure that I will find it overdone, high-alcohol, and a little too much over the top. If he *likes* a wine and gives it a score in the mid to upper 80s, it’s almost a guarantee that I will love it. Mr. Parker’s palate apparently tends to prefer the more fruit-forward, very New World types, while I prefer true varietal character. To be sure, I like many of the wines that he likes, but I also know that we have our preferences and differences.

Last year Mr. Parker panned Kosta Browne’s releases. Woo hoo!! That meant that the prices didn’t skyrocket, and I was able to acquire more bottles. I’m a happy woman! I can only hope that Kosta Browne continues in its quest for true varietal character and doesn’t stoop to making wine for the critics instead of good, solid wine for the rest of us.

But I digress.

I ranted about all of that just to say that I found several tasters online who do a wonderful job of evaluating and critiquing wines, often in language that everyday folks like us can relate to. Just because they aren’t hired by a mega-wine magazine or are wine celebrities, doesn’t mean that there’s anything wrong with their assessments.

So I found a couple of wonderful, real-world wine reviews that I used in the notes for the blind tasting. One of these is the Ambassador of Wine (http://ambassadorofwine.blogspot.com) which is run by a Seattle-area steakhouse waiter. His insight and envy-provoking descriptions are fun to read.

The other is Nick On Wine, who, besides being one of my Friends on MySpace, also has a fabulous blog (http://nickonwine.blogspot.com). Not quite a “regular” person, Nick Anthony is Akronewsnow’s resident wine educator and columnist. Nevertheless, his reviews are unpretentious and easy to understand.

So there you have it. Get out there and drink some wine!

If you receive two notices of the Blog update, it’s only because I ‘m transitioning from one mail service to another. Thanks for your patience.

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Wine Down Wednesday. Thanks KSNE! That’s Sunny 106.5 FM!

Sitting at the top of the world in Romance at the Stratosphere where Wine Down Wednesday is currently held, I was fortunate enough to find a table that overlooked what I call the Strip “Money Shot.” All of the big houses were in their glory – from the Mandalay Bay in the distance to the Hilton at my feet – and it was like being a tourist again. Sorry folks, but if you are a local and deny yourself the pleasure of the views that this city has to offer, then you are forgetting why this is one of the most famous cities with one of the most famous skylines in the world. In other words, you might as well be in Dubuque if you can’t appreciate and enjoy the sights and excitement of (fabulous) Las Vegas. No offense meant to anyone who’s in Dubuque, but Dubuque is not Las Vegas! Read more

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