WineTraveler’s Weblog

Wine is a passion but not my occupation (right now). I have a real job in high tech that pays the bills. Recently that job has called for me to do some traveling to some major U.S. cities and even to London. This past week it was a visit to Washington, DC. Most of my trips involve dinners with large groups. Being wine-savvy, I am usually called upon to choose the wine or to provide suggestions. Sometimes that is not as much fun as it may sound. I can’t tell you how many times I have picked up the wine list only to be rather disappointed by 1) the selection (or lack thereof), 2) the prices, 3) the format 4) the accuracy, or all of the above. That is certainly not meant to be an indictment of restaurants as a whole or of the particular cities I’m visiting but it is more just bad luck (or judgment) in picking the restaurants we visit. Throw in the diverse tastes of a large group and picking a wine that everyone will enjoy gets to be a real challenge.

Washington provided me with very enjoyable wine experiences. We hit two restaurants, PS7 and Zola’s, and I was pleased by the wine at both (for different reasons).

PS7 had a limited wine list. What bothered me about it (at first) was, since we were few in number this time and I wasn’t sure everyone would drink wine, I first looked to the “wines by the glass” section. As I had a hankering for steak, my mind went to cabernet sauvignon or syrah. But I found neither available by the glass. The only red I thought might be interesting was a Jovino Pinot Noir but I didn’t think it would go very well with the Sirloin au Poivre I had in mind. Still, I wanted to try it and we were having appetizers (flatbreads), so I ordered a glass. Nice! Wonderful bright light fruit, good acid…almost like fresh raspberry juice. It went very well with the selection of flatbreads we were trying.

On to the main course. Others were going to have steak, too, and they wanted wine so back to the list I went. There were some nice options by the bottle. I settled on the Baileyana Syrah (Firepeak Vineyard). Delicious! Thick, chewy with a wonderful deep spiced fruit core…it went beautifully with my steak. And the chamomile grappa to close was delightful. Happy camper…er, traveler.

Zola’s was at a different point on the wine spectrum but also very enjoyable. The wine list was huge. We had a very large party so I didn’t get to examine the “wines by the glass” section…there were too many full bottle pages to wade through anyway. One thing I found extremely helpful was that they had added some descriptive comments about some of the wines. Two such comments caught my attention. One was for Groom Shiraz and the other for Miguel Torres Cordillera.

When out to dinner with a large group, particular salesmen, I tend to choose Syrah/Shiraz or Ripasso/Amarone. These are my “low risk” wines. I find that those kinds of wines can have the power and richness that many people like in their wine while missing the tannic bite or green flavors you find in some cabs and merlots that some people just don’t like. The descriptions on both the Groom and the Cordillera intrigued me. I had not tried either one before but I was pretty sure the Groom would be enjoyable to all and I remembered reading something about the Cordillera before so I ordered both to try. They were both hits with the group. The Groom was as expected, a powerful, juicy, almost over-the-top Australian Shiraz. It had a touch more restraint and elegance than other Shirazes I’ve had recently but it was still a brute. The Cordillera was a bit lighter in flavor and intensity but it had a similar boldness and bright fruitiness. It also had a touch more “earthiness” to it which I enjoyed. The food was good, the conversation was good, and the wine was good…another successful dinner.

I have a few more trips over the next month or so. I am just hoping these are as enjoyable wine-wise as this last one was.

We opened a bottle of Allan Scott Chardonnay tonight. It took me back to a trip a few years ago to New Zealand. Well it was actually a work-related trip to Australia with a two week prelude we were able to build into it that we spent in New Zealand. I loved New Zealand!  We focused on wine (which we do on most vacations) and were able to visit most of the major wine areas of both islands and good sampling of the wonderful wineries. One of those wonderful wineries was Allan Scott’s in Marlborough.

I had met Allan twice during visits he had made to the Boston area. I was struck by how nice and how genuine he was. (You just need to spend a few minutes with some of the self professed star winemakers to know how refreshing that really is.) It seemed like his roots lay in growing grapes and he showed a great passion for making the best wines possible from those grapes. So it was a treat when our group tour just happened to stop at Allan’s beautiful winery and restaurant for lunch. I went by the hostess desk and asked if Allan was there that day. They responded that he was working in the winery and that they would pass along my message. After the main course and before dessert, Allan appeared. I recognized him right away and he greeted me with a hearty handshake. We spoke of his work in the winery, upcoming visits to the United States, his new property and venture in Central Otago (Mount Michael) and many other things in the short time.

Allan Scott and the WineTraveler at Allan's Winery in Blenheim, NZ

So if you haven’t tried an Allan Scott wine yet or recently, I would encourage you to do so. Some are simple, some are complex, but I have never been disappointed by one. The unoaked Chardonnay we had tonight (2007 unwooded Marlborough) went very well with our salmon pasta with cream sauce and peas. The acidity was a wonderful and welcomed counterpoint to the richness of the cream sauce. I think Allan’s Sauvignon Blanc would have been an interesting match as well, but I was fresh out of that one.

A big part of my fascination with wine comes from the thoughts and the memories that each wine evokes. The wine we had tonight brought back memories of a fabulous trip and thoughts of visiting again some day soon.

We enjoy a bottle of wine every night. It is a civilized respite from the craziness of the day. Tonight was a Gemstone Shiraz…did it match perfectly with the eggplant parm? No, but it didn’t matter either. Both were new for us (Trader Joe’s for the eggplant, a local wine store for the Gemstone), so it was worth trying together. The shiraz was less intense than I had expected and the eggplant parm a bit more so, so they were decent together. Tomato sauce is tough to match but this dish had little.

I’m liking Trader Joe’s. I’m not a Charles Shaw kind of guy but TJ’s has lots of different wines, some at incredibly low prices. I may just buy a mixed case of some of the $6 wines just to try.  I’ll keep you posted.

Short and sweet.

I love wine. I like to talk about wine. I like to write about wine.

The travel part, well there’s the rub. I like to visit wine areas during my travels whenever possible. The last trip I took was to France, starting in Provence and working my way up through the Southern Rhone, Northern Rhone and then Burgundy. Absolutely fabulous.

Most of my wine activity, though, is tasting wine and enjoying wine.

I twitter (http://twitter.com/WineTraveler), but that darned 140 character limit is just too, well, limiting. I hope to use this blog to expound/expand on those thoughts…and others.

\\ A Wine Traveler