Pop the Cork: A Dinner's best friend

Hey folks. You know the old saying that no meal is complete without wine? Ok well maybe it's not an old saying...it's my saying. Well with that in mind, we are going to write about it.

Welcome to a new column I'll be writing...uh, well whenever I have wine with dinner. That should be quite often. This is a blog about wine, as evidenced by our world wine tour (which we have put on hold for a few weeks due to schedule constraints), so why not just start posting ratings on the stuff we drink at we drink it. I figure it's a great way for us to share our thoughts on a HUGE variety of wines, as well as what how we thought they complimented the meal of the night.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this new column, as both Grape Nut and I will be posting them quite frequently. Now, on with the show, but first let me set the stage for you. The meal was stir fry, teriyaki shrimp with peppers and onions. The wine, given to me by a good friend who really loves white wine, was a Sauvignon Blanc.

The Wine: Astica 2005 Sauvignon Blanc

Country: Argentina

Region: Mendoza

Vintage: 2005

Category: Sauvignon Blanc

Price: $7.99

Tasting Notes:

The Color: Very, very light straw color.

The Nose: Beautiful and fragrant. Very nice full fruit: apples (as my wife said and I quote "smells like the granny smiths I bake with"), citrus and a little honeydew melon. Wonderful floral/lavender hints.

The Taste: A wonderful explosion of light fruits and citrus right off the bat. Apple and pear flavors are really pronounced up front. Citrus lemon and orange flavors shine through in the middle, with a slight tartness. The finish is very smooth, and flavors of pear, melon and vanilla seem to linger on the tongue.

Overall, I found this wine very enjoyable. For those of you who've drank with me before, perhaps the best comparison I can give you is a Casal Garcia, without the effervescence. The fruit is very nice, but not the type of wine that tastes like coolaid. That's likely because the tartness of the citrus counteracts the sweetness of the apple and pear.

Thanks to my friend Sean for sending me this bottle. I found it to be a very nice companion to my shrimp.

The Verdict: 8 corks

Taste of Argentina: #5 of 5

Well folks, this review concludes our tour of Argentina. I hope you enjoyed reading about these 5 wines as much as we enjoyed drinking them. As a reminder, there is still time to vote for which country you'd like to see us visit next. The poll closes today at 6 pm...and at the moment Spain has a significant lead over the other options. If you have suggestions on how we can make this world tour more fun or interesting, please let us know. We'd really love to hear from you.

The Wine: Carlos Pulenta Vistalba Corte B 2003

Country: Argentina

Region: Mendoza

Category: Red Meritage

Vintage: 2003

Price: $19.99

Decanted or Not: Yes, 90 minutes



Tasting Notes:

The Color: Ruby Red

The Nose: Very Powerful. Ripe berries, plum, wood and spice

The Taste: Very lush and juicy from the start. Intense dark fruit, with very nice spice. Middle is a little bitter and earthy with wood and leather/coffee flavors. Finish is very smooth - coats your tongue gently with tannins, powerful and again spicy and fruity at the end. Alcohol lingers in the back of your throat.



Overall nice bottle. A little bit of a fruit bomb, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

The Verdict: 8 corks

That's all for now. Remember to swirl, sniff, and swig. Cheers!

Taste of Argentina: #4 of 5

The Wine: Morichetti Malbec 2002 (from Lujan de Cuyo)

Country: Argentina
Region: Mendoza
Category: Malbec
Vintage: 2002
Price: $15
Decanted: No

Tasting Notes
Color: Dark red, with almost earthy color

Nose: Not overpowering, lacked a bit, some floral and red fruit smells

Taste: Yes, I know, I'm reviewing another Malbec. I've been on a mission lately to find one that is worthy of being my house red.

This wine was very smooth, almost too smooth. I found it to be lacking the punch and the earthiness I generally find in a Malbec. There were slight hints of dried cherries and other red fruit but overall I found the wine underwhelming. Legs were not prominent, so I would assume it was pretty low in alcohol. I'm not sure I would want to pair this wine with anything stronger than a mild cheese or chicken. I allowed the wine to breath for quite awhile, in an attempt to let it open up to no avail. I would not recommend this wine, I guess what I am finding most on my mission is inconsistency.

The Verdict: 6 Corks

Has anyone out there tried this bottle? If so, let me hear how off base I am (maybe I had an off bottle). Lets hear it!

A Taste of Argentina: #1 of 5

The Wine: Nieto Cadus Cabernet Sauvignon 2002

Country: Argentina
Region: Mendoza
Category: Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage: 2002
Price: $31.99 (I know, I know, a bit pricey)
Decanted or Not: No

Tasting Notes:

• The Color: Ruby red


• The Nose: Deep, dark, very ripe plum and berries. Smokey and earthy.

• The Taste: Very plump and very juicy. Intense spice. Smokey and earthy, with a little creaminess. Very smooth and sexy finish, with a burst of sweetness at the end.

This wine is so sexy your clothes just might fall off and sounds of Barry White will fill the room. Delightful, and even better after an hour of breathing. Best Cabernet I’ve had from Argentina. Worth every penny.

The Verdict: 9 corks

We're Going on a World Wine Tour, and You’re Invited.

So Grape Nut and I were sitting around thinking about an editorial calendar for Drink the Vine. In the world of wine there is sooooo much to talk about, that we didn't quite know where to start. We knew one thing for sure...in addition to doing some news and opinion pieces, we wanted to be more active with wine reviews and ratings. Well, we're about to do just that. Starting Monday, January 22, we are going on a world tour, and you're coming with us. First stop is Argentina!

Each week we will pick (with your votes) a different wine producing country. We will provide you with a general description of that country's wine region(s), and then we will taste and review a wine each day (both red and white). We will track our progress along the way, and will most definitely be looking for your feedback/suggestions on where to go next.

We will start in Argentina next week, but where we go after that is entirely up to you. In the top righthand corner of this page is a poll with several countries to choose from...whichever location receives the most reader votes is where we'll go next. So let us hear from you.

Have you ever stood in a wine shop thinking "I would really like to try this bottle from South Africa, but don't want to spend the money if it sucks."? Well now's your chance to let us two suckers (Grape Nut and me) go out and buy wines from around the world and taste them for you. We're sort of like the royal tasters who would eat food before the king to make sure it wasn't poisoned, but instead of poison we're looking for liquid delight.

So prepare yourselves for a head spinning tour of the world of wine. First stop, Argentina. Where we go after that is up to you...so don't be shy, step right up and let us hear from you. You never know, we might just find your next favorite wine.

That's all for now. Remember to swirl, sniff and swig. Cheers!

Drink the Vine Rating #2: Malbec; Hype or More Hype

UPDATE:
After opening a second bottle of this Malbec I realize I may have underrated this fine wine. With a little more air, I found this wine to be very good. I will be purchasing this wine again and maybe even a half case of it. It opened up with much more fruit (plum, dried cherries) and had a beautiful, long finish. I would now give this wine an eight on our ten cork scale and give it a strong recommendation for the value. Just try to be a little more patient than I was the first time. Grape Nut (impatient wine drinker)


The Wine: Bodegas Senetiner Nieto Reserva Malbec
Country: Argentina
Region: Mendoza
Category: Red, 100% Malbec, 12 months in French Oak
Vintage: 2004
Price: $8.00
Decanted or Not: No

I decided to review a malbec, because I generally like the bang for the buck you get from this wine. If you stick to certain Bodegas (wineries) you will generally do pretty well. You will most likely get a big, bold red showing a little terrior and don't usually have to pay too much to get it. Other times you end up with complete crap. This wine, I feel, falls somewhere in between.

I had heard good things about the Bodegas Senetiner. I saw it, saw the price, I bought it. I wish I could claim more research or a more esoteric reason, but not much more went into the purchase.

Tasting Notes:

Color: Dark ruby red

Legs: Good legs, bottles states it has an alcohol level of 13.5% by volume

Nose: Strong scent of dried cranberries and cherries on the nose. Almost a hint of flowers.

Taste: Wine showed nice dried fruit up front, with cherries being the most prominent (in my opinion). Strong tannins with an almost chalky, earthy finish. Mouth feel was good, with a nice velvet finish, but lacks a bit.

Not a bottle I would serve with the first course, more like the last the last course when company has been properly over served. I won't be purchasing it again, but I am not kicking my self for buying it.

THE UPDATED The Verdict: 8 Corks