The package has arrived!

My smiling Mr. FedEx just paid me a visit and left me a box I've been eagerly awaiting all week long. It's merely inauspicious brown cardboard, but it's just the right size and shape to hold two bottles of wine. It's my shipment of Muscat from the Purple Cow Vineyards in Forest Grove, Oregon!

It all started when my sister told me about a Spanish Muscat she tried that was very similar to those she has enjoyed in Alsace. I was surprised by this, because I know she's even less interested in sweet wine than I am, and I thought it must be similar to the Moscato d'Asti that I didn't especially care for. When I asked her about this, here's how she described the kind of Muscat that she likes: "The ones I have had have been very dry. It has a very fruity flavor, with a distinct note of citrus. So the wine has a very light, fresh taste."

Though I tend to like reds much better than whites, this description sounded great to me. So when I researched Muscat online and found that those of the Purple Cow Vineyards are favorably compared to what is made in Alsace, I was pretty excited to try it. I was even more excited to hear that the 2008 vintage is considered "dry"--in fact, the Purple Cow website called it a "cult classic for its supreme dryness"--and the 2009 is "off dry"--it was chilled with 1% residual sugar--which sounded like a perfect combination for one of my fun little taste tests. If there is anything I enjoy more than tasting a new wine, it is comparing two or three so I can try to decide which one I like best.

My only complaint about this whole procedure is that, in ordering these bottles from the Purple Cow website, I basically ended up buying two bottles for the price of . . . three. But I am in hopes that it will have been worth it. I've got the bottles chilling right now. I'm not sure I'll be up long enough for a taste test tonight, since I have to get up at the butt crack of dawn for work in the morning, but I promise one is forthcoming as soon as is humanly possible.

Oh, yeah, and speaking of "as soon as possible"--I do realize it has been more than two months since my last post. Rest assured that this is not because I haven't been enjoying a glass of wine on occasion. If you were pitying my lack of posting, understand that this did not mean a lack of quaffing. There was just nothing to write home about . . . until now.

Are you wondering at the picture? No, that's not what my FedEx guy looks like (thank goodness). That's not even what I look like right now, even though I am pretty happy. It's because for some reason, no matter how I rearranged my Google search terms for a Purple Cow Muscat image, Austin Powers kept popping up. I took it as a sign.

Malbec vs. Malbec

Tonight, for the first time, it's a fair fight. (I think.) Not only am I comparing one Malbec to another, but they are both freshly opened.

First we have Don Rodolfo's 2007 Malbec, which happens to have an annoyingly hard-to-read sideways label, but I have gone through the great effort of reading it for you to find that this wine is described as "big, rich, and deeply flavored, with notes of red berries, cassis, and plums." Sounds great, but of course I know that's the whole point of putting a description on the label--to make the wine sound good. I had to look up "cassis"--it's a synonym for "black currants," which I have heard of before. I hope you are relieved.

Next we have High Note 2008 Malbec, with a "deep violet hue, smooth velvety texture and vibrant fruit aromas." A slightly more generic description, but still sounds like something I might like.

So here is what I think of the two wines. The Rodolfo is a very deep brownish red, and the High Note looks almost identical except it is slightly more purple. I really can smell red berries, maybe strawberries, in the Rodolfo, and it makes me want to eat cheese with it which isn't such a good thing at this time of night. The High Note smells more bright and green. The Rodolfo is smooth and dry and spicy, and has a slight coffee-like aftertaste; the High Note really does feel velvety (just how suggestible am I?), and is even more dry, but is a little bit bland.

I think I prefer the Rodolfo, but I may need to do a blind test next time because I have a feeling I was swayed by the yummier label description. I also wonder how much difference the vintage makes between these two wines. Would the High Note be more complex and more enjoyable next year? Too bad I'll never know.

Here's something interesting about Malbec: Argentina (where both of these wines originated) is very well-suited to growing the Malbec grape, due to its high altitude, intense sunlight, cool temperatures and dry atmosphere.

St. James Winery Strawberry Wine from Missouri

Finally a new post. It's been a while, hasn't it! Well, here's my excuse. After cutting back to just a couple of glasses of wine each week to avoid the fatness, it took me a while to finish off several open bottles I had on hand. I downed the rest of the final bottle last night in conjunction with a re-stocking trip to the Party Factory. In keeping with my new resolution to compare apples to apples, I bought two different bottles of Malbec, which you will be hearing about in a future post. (I would have purchased three or four, but the store only had 4 kinds of Malbec available, and I've already tried two of them. Obviously I bought the other two).

Now for Something Different. Just out of curiosity, I bought me a bottle of Strawberry Wine. It's in a screwcap bottle and there's no year on it, if that tells you anything. If not, the photo ought to say it all. It looks just like a bottle of strawberry soda pop. It's a pretty, clear, pinkish red color, and doesn't have much of a smell to it at all. I'm not getting the "hint of almonds and the essence of violets." Not surprisingly (especially since right there on the bottle it's called "sweet wine") it is very, very sweet. The only thing that keeps it from being a wine cooler is the lack of bubbles. That doesn't mean I don't like it, though. It's just that, for me, it really doesn't belong in the "wine" category. It fits with Cherry Limeade Frosties and Fufu Berry Jones Soda (both of which I really enjoy, but neither of which I turn to when in search of wine).

Bottom line: fun stuff, but even with 11.5% alcohol it doesn't deserve to be called wine.

It's time . . .

I worked all weekend and my house looks like an elephant took a dump in it. In other words, it's Sunday night. This calls for another of my own personal private wine tastings. Maybe then I can focus on the fact that my kids are in bed and there's all kinds of peace and quiet to be appreciating until 7 a.m.

Tonight it's the Jacob's Creek Reserve Shiraz, Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, Rex-Goliath Pinot Noir, Layer Cake Primitivo, and a boxed Cab. (It's Franzia, in case you wanted to know, but does it really matter?) Since you probably don't feel like going back and reading those posts (heck, I don't even want to), I'll give you the short version of what I thought of each previously.

The Jacob's Creek was smoky, spicy and nice. The Alexander Valley was a little dry, and mild but complex. (I'm expecting this one to be the winner tonight, by the way.) The Rex-Goliath was fruity but unremarkable (and my favorite in the last tasting flight). The Layer Cake was acidic, green, and smoky--good but not great. The boxed Cab was green and tart.

Ok, so first I'm giving them each the sniff test. They each have a distinct smell. The Jacob's Creek, well, it just smells like wine to me. The Alexander Valley still has that flowery smell. The Rex Goliath smells beer-y (though back when I opened it, it smelled fruity. Maybe it's gone bad . . . after all, it's been more than two months since I opened it). The Layer Cake smells sweet. The boxed Cab smells kind of bad. Like cheese. Or feet. I wonder if I would have had a more favorable opinion if this had been a blind test.

I think I actually like the Jacob's Creek Shiraz the best, although the Alexander Valley (definitely the unique one of the bunch) is nearly as good; it's just different, and I find the Shiraz more pleasant. I'm afraid the Rex-Goliath just isn't right anymore. It is definitely my least favorite of the five, but it would be nice to be able to compare a freshly-opened bottle of it to the others. The Layer Cake is a little bit too sweet, and I'm sure it has changed since I first opened it a month ago, because my previous call (acidic, green, smoky) does not match up at all anymore. The boxed Cab was the most boring one, but it is a decent backup, and it actually tasted the best with the crackers and cheese I tried with each wine.

I know what I need to start doing: I should do my taste tests on freshly-opened bottles. Guess that means I need to get me some more unopened bottles.

Alexander Valley Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 Healdsburg, California

I suppose I have been saving this bottle for a semi-special occasion, and what better occasion than Friday night, herald of the weekend? My reason for waiting to try this wine is because my expectations are so high and I have been postponing the inevitable disappointment. The wine guy at the Party Factory assured me that any Alexander Valley wine has excellent flavor, no matter the varietal. (Apparently they have more than one wine guy; I don't think I've seen the same one twice, but I wish I could find the one who sold me the Mark West Pinot Noir, because so far he's the only one who has convinced me he knows what he's talking about) Funny that this is the second bottle in a row I've had that could have been cellared; the label claims it will "continue to develop in the bottle for a decade or more." Suffice it to say that won't be happening with this bottle.

The label isn't very descriptive. It's one of those that is more about the history of the vintner. That's OK, though, (if not as fun), because most times it seems like the creative label descriptions I often come across are just completely made up. It's like they just throw together an interesting combination of fruits, spices, and other odoriferous compounds to see if you'll fall for it and buy the bottle. Anyway, the most this label says about the wine is that it is "rich in color with concentrated fruit and moderate tannins." It also mentions that the blend was achieved with small amounts of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot. (And yeah, I know I'm a wine dummy, but I thought Cabernet Sauvignon was a varietal all to itself. I would have thought if it was mixed with other kinds, they would have called it something else. But what do I know. I'm good at drinking it, and that's about it.)

I boogered up the cork when I was opening this bottle. It's not like I haven't done this a time or two. But rather than complain, I will just appreciate the fact that it didn't have a screw-cap.

The label was certainly correct about the rich color. It's very opaque, and a deep reddish purple. The wine smells excellent--an almost flowery smell; also maybe a little bit nutty . . . not almond . . . not cashew . . . not peanut . . . I don't know, maybe it's not a nut at all. Maybe it's a sunflower seed. Seriously, I'm thinking sunflower seeds and roses. It makes me think of my garden. Even though I don't grow roses. I would like to, but they intimidate me.

The wine is somewhat dry, and has a mild but distinct flavor. There is a faint pineapple-like tartness and a comforting sense of white rice, but the main flavor is a warm and cozy caramel. It took me a long time to figure that out. A long, enjoyable time. I think this might be what they call a complex wine.

Gosh, they should hire me to make stuff up for their label. Roses, sunflower seeds, pineapple, rice, and caramel. Who wouldn't buy that?

Jacob's Creek Reserve Shiraz 2006 South Australia

It's been a while since I've opened a new bottle of wine, even though I've had two waiting on me for weeks. This is mainly because one of the other things I learned from Mark Phillips' book is that drinking wine makes you fat. So while I still don't think there's anything necessarily wrong with drinking one glass of wine each evening, I have cut back to one glass once or twice a week.

Well, it's Friday night, the kids are in bed, one of my stupid dogs ate one of my stupider chickens this afternoon, and I have a whole mess of laundry to fold, so I'd say the situation calls not only for a glass of wine, but for something new instead of my old standby out of the box. I'm going with the Shiraz I picked up two trips-to-the-Party-Factory ago, which was the first time I was looking for a bottle of Layer Cake and chickened out because it was too expensive. (Don't laugh. Remember, I'm cheap. I mean thrifty.)

The description on the back of the bottle, as always, sounds great: "This premium, full-bodied wine . . . displays intense ripe plum flavors with pepper spice, balanced by soft tannins and leading to a lingering smooth finish." Of course it also adds that this is "a wine that will develop further with cellaring," but I just don't do cellaring since I lack the resources and the patience.

So. The wine is nice. I liked it a lot. Didn't really notice any plumminess. (Is that a word? Even if it's not, I'm sure you get the idea.) A little smoky (or is this from the Chick-fil-a sandwich my son set on fire in the microwave earlier this evening?), nicely spicy, but in need of a comparison for me to decide if I like it more or less than other wines I've tried. After I open the last bottle I have waiting on me I'll have to do another tasting flight. Wait, did I say "have to"? I meant "get to"!

Layer Cake Primitivo a.k.a. Zinfandel 2007 IGT Puglia, Italy

I got the Layer Cake. I bit the bullet and sprung for the $17+ bottle of wine. This may be my most expensive one yet!

I was headed for the Layer Cake Shiraz, but the Party Factory was out of that, so I ended up with the Primitivo instead. That's just fine with me, because I like to try new things. And apparently Primitivo is not just one new thing for me, but two: the Primitivo variety of grape is genetically equivalent to the Zinfandel variety, and although I've certainly had white Zin before, this is my first red.

I love the way Layer Cake's web site describes this wine (except for maybe that bit about tar):

"A balance of elegance and power; inky black fruit, spice and white pepper, jammy black cherries, plums, blackberry fruit, truffles, tar, and espresso. Warm and rich in the mouth with a creamy texture; the ripe fruit is well supported by the deep structure of the wine."

Even better is the description on the bottle label:

"Wine, if properly made, is like a great layer cake: fruit, mocha and chocolate, hints of spice and rich, always rich. 'Never pass up a layer cake.'"

Words to live by!

But mostly what I got from it was an acidic and green but smoky flavor. Good stuff! But I'm not sure it's worth twice as much as some other decent wines I've tried.