Sunday, November 27, 2011

Chaine of Love

Despite my blogosphere silence, the rumors of my teetoling are simply NOT TRUE. I have actually enjoyed many wonderful wine moments over the past few months (many involving my "souvenirs" from Oregon) and there is so much to share.  Dinner clubs, Tastings and Thanksgiving, oh my....

A few weeks ago, I officially joined The Chaine des Rotisseurs, a centuries old food and wine club that began as a guild for French meat roasters. As you can imagine, the induction ceremony, which was also the 50th Golden Anniversary dinner of my local chapter, was a foodie and wine lover's paradise. Though the location was Jersey, the food, the wine and the presentation was all French --cand all amazing. 

Over the course of the evening, we were served eight different wines.  Though I tasted all eight, in the interest of keeping this a post and not a novel, I'll tell you about my two favorite wines of the night - a Sauternes, a varietal I love, but one which I do not drink often (enough) and a Burgundy Pinot Noir.

Our first course was a foie gras paired with Guiraud Sauternes 2005.  Sauternes and foie gras is one of the most classic pairings and though I do not care for fatty goose liver, I do love sauternes.  Sauternes are made from the Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Muscadelle grapes in Sauternais, a region in the Graves area of Bordeaux.  The grapes used in Sauternes are generally infected with botrytis or "noble rot."  This rot leaves behind a greater concentration of sugar and fruit acids which gives Sauternes their lovely sweet honeysuckle notes.  The Guiraud was a golden hued sauternes with classic notes of honey and cream and a faint citrus note.  The palate was lush, but not syrupy.  It doesn't have the most wine-o-cratic price (aprox. $40 for a half bottle), but for an excellent six year old Sauternes, it's a good deal.

For our fourth course (out of seven!), we were served a Joseph Roty Gevrey-Chambertin les Champs-Chenys 2004 from Burgundy.  It shouldn't surprise any of you that this was my other favorite since Burgundy = Pinot Noir.  Unlike the pinots I was drinking in Oregon, this one had a little more age and a lot more mushroom and game notes that are common in Bugundy pinot noirs.  My favorite thing about pinot noir, though, is that if it's made well, which this one certainly is, no matter what other notes exist, you can always get bright fruit notes and this one delivered with a palate of cherry, plum and cola.  It paired perfeclty with the duck breast as well as the beef (fifth course).  I barely took a sip of another wine after this one.  Like the Sauternes, this is pretty pricey, but in the context of its age and region, at $50, it's worth it. 

As the holidays gear up and my participation in multiple dinner clubs increases, I expect to have a lot to write about going forward.  I will do my best to make sure to keep you up to date on the latest trends and smart buys in the wine world. 

The key is to keep the writing as high of a priority as the corking!

Until the next sniff, sip or quaff,

Cheers,

Alli M.

12 comments:

elliej said...

And although it's not on subject, Alli brought excellent wines to our Thanksgiving dinner...How lucky for us to hav her in the family!

Midsummer said...

Thanks so much with this fantastic new web site. I’m very fired up to show it to anyone. It makes me so satisfied your vast understanding and wisdom have a new channel for trying into the world. Judi Bola

Indobd.com said...

Thanks for the info, maybe I can use this ended my tufted marketing and I've been use untold anulus media in run a interaction and they someone existing a big amend on me.
www.indobd.com
Indobd
Indobd.com
www.indobd.com

Miguel Long said...

It’s hard to find knowledgeable people on this topic, but you sound like you know what you’re talking about! Thanks

Click Here
Forum.cyberlink.com
Website

khadafipernando said...

Your place is valueble for me. Thanks!…

Foorumi.turunsrk.fi
Information

Ida Castro said...

The next time I read a blog, I hope that it doesnt disappoint me as much as this one. I mean, I know it was my choice to read, but I actually thought you have something interesting to say. All I hear is a bunch of whining about something that you could fix if you werent too busy looking for attention.

Dominoz.hatenablog.com
Information

bobbyrhodes said...

This is the right blog for anyone who wants to find out about this topic. You realize so much its almost hard to argue with you (not that I actually would want…HaHa). You definitely put a new spin on a topic thats been written about for years. Great stuff, just great!

Click Here
Visit Web

Rezalo kacose said...

This web site is really a walk-through for all of the info you wanted about this and didn’t know who to ask. Glimpse here, and you’ll definitely discover it.

Information
Click Here
Visit Web

Zacla Jarok said...

This is the right blog for anyone who wants to find out about this topic. You realize so much its almost hard to argue with you (not that I actually would want…HaHa). You definitely put a new spin on a topic thats been written about for years. Great stuff, just great!

Penpaland.com
Information
Click Here
Visit Web

Alfa Cintalo said...

Nice post. I learn something more challenging on different blogs everyday. It will always be stimulating to read content from other writers and practice a little something from their store. I’d prefer to use some with the content on my blog whether you don’t mind. Natually I’ll give you a link on your web blog. Thanks for sharing.

Higherlife.institute
Information
Click Here
Visit Web

Rifal Kurni said...

Would you be interested in exchanging links?

Jasonzuzga.com
Information
Click Here
Visit Web

VanesaBell said...

Click Here
Visit Web
Bsl24.de

Youre so cool! I dont suppose Ive read anything like this before. So nice to find somebody with some original thoughts on this subject. realy thank you for starting This up. this website is something that is needed on the web, someone with a little originality. useful job for bringing something new to the internet!