Guest post by Bill Eyer, Cuvee Corner Wine Blog on a Costco find

The Tormaresca 2007 NePriCa Red Blend is what I would call a QPR winner, hands down! The Italians call this their, “way down south wine” because of where the wine comes from is on the heel of the boot. Hey two-buck chuck fans time to give chuck the boot and pickup this 100% better wine for just a little more money. I picked this little Italian gem up the other day from Costco for about eight bucks, quite a steal for a wine with this much complexity.

Even with the dollar continuing to tank against the Euro, it’s still (relatively) easy to find tasty wine under the $10 bench-mark. Wines from places like Italy, Spain, Argentina and less from places like my home state of California. The selection of wine which makes its way here from these wonderful locales is much more reliable in terms of being high quality, low price than the inventory from virtually any other locale, especially at lower price points which is what the QPR (quality, price, ratio) scale is all about and of course it doesn’t hurt to have wines with mellifluous names attached to them. Gives a sense of credibility compared to a label that says “gnarly-head”, but that’s just my opinion.

Reviewed Wine: Tormaresca 2007 Neprica Red Blend

First Swirl: I pour about two ounces into my glass and give a few good swirls on the counter top, (having not completely mastered that in hand swirl) pondering the core against the white copy (recycled of course) paper it appears to be like a carmine colored velvet drape covering half the four footed tub at the Ritz Carlton, it has a deep ruby core and lightly fleeting to a garnet colored rim. Okay I’m impressed so far.

First Sniff: Into the glass my fat (half) Irish nose goes and what unfolds elements of black cherry, currant and a hint of licorice form lovely inviting aromas. I decanted (highly recommended) for at least an hour to promote the unfolding of its many layers.

First Sip: After an hour of decanting the wine showed its generosity in a delicate spiciness with gobs of black cherry fruit and notes of licorice and just a touch of earthiness mid-palate. The mouth feel is savory with good to wonderful dark fruit flavors. The acidity adds balance and degree of tannic structure in support of its heft, leading to the long finish.

Where it’s from: The region of Puglia is in southern Italy and located in what’s called the “heel of the Italian boot.” Tormaresca means “tower by the sea” and is named for the many towers that line the coast of the Adriatic sea in this region, paints quite a pretty picture don’t you think?

Price and ABV: Alcohol: 13% not the twelve many wine snobs believe this is the magic number, they contend that any wine over this percentage is unbalanced only produced in that style to receive high scores from a certain Mr. RP. Did I mention this wine is only $7.99 and widely distributed. I picked mine up at Costco here in San Diego and it can also be found at Trader Joe’s in near the same price range.

Composition: Okay so you want to know what’s in it? Here ya go, it’s a red blend of two local (Italian) grape varieties, Negroamaro (40%) and Primitivo [similar to Zinfandel] (30%) and one more well known grapes, Cabernet Sauvignon (35%) This slightly nontraditional blend of Negroamaro, Primitivo and Cabernet Sauvignon which makes me wonder why more Southern Italian winemakers are not convinced of Cabernet’s place among more native varietals. But maybe now they are starting to catch on to the idea.

Other wines of note: Tormaresca Negroamaro Masseria Maime Salento Igt 2003 and the Tormaresca Castel del Monte Bocca di Lupo 2004 which I have not reviewed but I look forward to making some room in my cellar to accommodate these other gems. Just click on the links above to get the Snooth Ranking.

With/With Out Food: This is a remarkably pair-able wine, that will go with a majority of grilled meats and many other Italian style dishes. It’s also a nice wine just open and quaff at your leisure.

Other voices: In case you needed to hear another opinion well here you go, the wonderful folks over at Wine Enthusiast Magazine gave this wine 90 points and this is what their reviewer said, “Well made and crafted with food pairing in mind or to drink as a stand alone.”

Cuvée Corner Wine Blog Score: Hey point seekers here’s my score if your interested, I gave this wine a solid 91 points. The price point really brought the score up for this wine, other wise a solid 88 points if it would have had a higher price point. I always consider price as part of the overall score of any wine.

My Recommendation: Buy yourself a case, this is your everyday drinker. A wonderful wine for the money and with this price point it is my QPR winner in every way! Not sure how a wine this good can be made for so little, but why question it, just accept this wonderful bounty while it last. Oh did I mention that you should DECANT this wine before imbibing? I think so but I wasn’t sure (and yes I’m a bit of wise-guy). Until next time cheers everyone!

Boutique Wineries Offer a Premium wine Experience

Sharing a CLASSIC, time-proven list of sage suggestions from two of our favorite wine writers. This list is  sure to make all your future wine tastings visits a huge success!

We recommend you review before, or take this list with you on each wine outing until you have it committed to your wine appreciation routine.

Fifteen Steps to a Successful Winery Visit ‐‐‐ Go Early, Ask Questions, Don’t Get Carried Away;  The Empty Box Rule

June 29 2007, The Wall Street Journal. by Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher (Copyright (c) 2007, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)

There has never been a better time than now ‐‐ right now, this week ‐‐ to go visit a winery near you. All over the U.S., more wineries than ever are open and eager for you to drop by. Many of them plan special events during the summer and entire regions now are heavily promoting their wine trails. (If you missed Weekend Journal’s recent cover story about the spread of American wineries and wine tourism, drop us a note at wine@wsj.com and we’ll send it along.)

Winemakers and winery owners are among the world’s most charming and interesting people, and they often give away samples of their art for free. Why wouldn’t you go? If you do, here are some tips on how to visit wineries, with some suggestions for winery etiquette. We’ve focused here on visiting wineries in newer wine regions, where tourism might not be as well advanced as places like Napa and Sonoma.

‐‐ Get an empty box for wine. Grab one at your local wine store, or think about buying a Styrofoam wine carrier from the shipping store. Trust us on this. You are going to start buying bottles of wine that will rattle around in your car unless you’ve brought a box. You’ll thank us for this advice when your box is full (and this might have an added benefit; see below).

‐‐ Hire a car or have a designated driver. Chances are you will taste more wine than you expected to ‐‐ those little tastes add up. Not only that, but if you’re not used to drinking wine early in the day, it could catch up with you fast. In many of the newer wine regions, the wineries might be spread out, so you have some driving ahead of you. Various tour companies are popping up in wine regions all over the country that are happy to chart your visits to wineries and take you to them.

‐‐ Take the kids, but, if you do, find something for them to do. Wine regions are very pretty around now, so green and lush, and winery people are nice, so it’s a shame for children to miss the experience. But tasting rooms can be boring for children, so ask right away if there are cookies or crackers, animals to play with or anything else for kids to do. Some, though not nearly enough, have basketball nets, bocce courts, coloring books or Play‐Doh. Take along a Rubik’s Cube, which did the trick for our kids for a while.

‐‐ Go early, especially on weekends. The thing that’s the most fun about a winery visit is chatting with the people behind the bar, who are often the owners or winemakers, especially at smaller wineries. They won’t have time to talk with you if it’s busy.

‐‐ Focus on the smaller places. There is something comforting and unintimidating about the larger places with big parking lots, T‐shirts for sale and lots of hired help. But to feel the passion of wine and winemaking, it’s important to seek out the smaller places where you can really spend some quality time with the people behind the bar.

‐‐ Be polite. Yes, this seems obvious, but we’ve visited hundreds of tasting rooms over more than 30 years and we’re always amazed how rude people can be. In a smaller winery, you are likely to be in part of someone’s home and possibly talking to the owner. And you’re probably getting wine free, or for a small charge. Be nice, and show them the respect they deserve.

‐ Try new, unfamiliar things. In many parts of the country, the grapes that grow best are native American grapes or hybrids. Perhaps the winery makes a Chardonnay, but it’s not as good as its Vignoles. If you stick to grapes you know, you could miss out on the regional specialties.

‐‐ Have an answer to the question, “What kind of wine do you like?” Tasting‐room personnel tend to ask this reflexively as an ice‐breaker, but many people who aren’t totally comfortable with wine find it hard to answer on the spot. In any event, we’d be hesitant to answer it directly because we don’t want to try only the kinds of wines we already know we like. Even if you think you only like dry wines, you should try some that are sweet, and vice versa. Think about saying something like, “I enjoy all kinds of wines. Which would you start with?”

‐‐ Ask where the grapes were grown. Many wineries these days all over the country make wine from grapes grown in California or someplace else far away. There’s certainly nothing wrong with that, but when we visit a winery in, say, Connecticut, part of the fun of the visit is tasting wines made from grapes grown in Connecticut, near where we’re standing. If you don’t want to ask, just peek at the label. If it says “estate bottled,” that’s a sign that the grapes were probably grown right around the corner.

‐‐ Ask questions. Don’t be shy. If you ask simple questions like “Does this look like it will be a good year?” or “What food goes best with this wine?” the person behind the counter will appreciate your interest. Don’t try to show off with questions like, “Did this get any ML?” unless you really, really care about malolactic fermentation. There are no stupid questions ‐‐ and, in any event, you can’t do worse than the visitor who once asked a tasting‐room pourer whom we’ve known for years, “How long does the wine stay in caskets?”

‐‐ Remember that it’s a tasting room, not a bar. If you want to drink a big glass of wine, buy a bottle and have a picnic. And even if you are not driving, be very careful about how much you’re drinking. People who have had too much to drink ruin the tasting experience for everybody.

‐‐ Be careful how much you buy. It’s a nice gesture to buy a bottle or two, but you shouldn’t feel pressured to. Still, we tend to get carried away at wineries and buy more bottles than we intended. You’ll be amazed how quickly those bottles add up. Many wineries now can ship across state lines, so you can probably call and get those wines after you get home if you have non‐buyer’s remorse later.

‐‐ Keep wines out of the hot car. A car that’s sitting in the sun will cook your wines in no time flat. Find a way
to avoid that.

‐‐ Ask wineries how to ship your wine back. If you have bought a case or so at various wineries, you might find it easier to ship it back, so ask if there is a local shipping place that specializes in this. This might not be possible, depending on various state laws, so this is where your Styrofoam carrier comes in: Just pack it and check it on the plane with you. There are obviously some risks involved, but we have done this for decades without incident. (Check with your airline to make sure it has no rules against this.)

‐‐ Finally, keep this in mind: The wines you bought at the winery will not taste as good at home as they did at the winery. We’re sorry to end this list with a downer, but it’s true. When you’re there, surrounded by the wondrous sights and smells of a winery, with the winemaker across the bar, pouring wine in pristine condition that has never traveled, the wine tastes special. You simply can’t replicate those conditions at home. But this is exactly why you should go taste wine at a winery this week.

Fair Use Statement: This site contains both original and copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, health, wine and wine industry issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. If you are the copyright holder and feel that this use does not fit under the clause mentioned above, then please let us know and we will remove this from our site. Please consider that your material is cited or hyperlinked to you URL improving your site’s search engine rankings and your Internet presence. We appreciate link backs for this same reason. Thank you.

Appetizers & Wine .. A NESTed Surprise..

Once again, we will be using those wonderful wonton wrappers to create an amazing appetizer!

This is a wonderful, easy appetizer dish your guests will LOVE!

Enjoy! Look forward to hearing your comments!

Ingredients

Makes 18 appetizers

• Frozen Pastry Puff – I purchase Pastry Puffs cut to 5″ squares.  Makes it easy!
• 9 ounce Goat Cheese with Black Pepper
• 1 orange – remove 2 teaspoons orange zest & 2 teaspoons juice
• 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten.
• 18 Spinach leaves
• 1 cup Eagles Nest Winery Merlot- for drinking while cooking!

This is a wonderful, easy appetizer dish your guests will LOVE!

Enjoy! Look forward to hearing your comments!

Ingredients

Makes 12 appetizers

• 12 small wonton wrappers
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 4 teaspoons fresh lime juice
• 2 teaspoons mango chutney
• 3/4 teaspoon Thai green curry paste
• 12 ounces peeled cooked medium shrimp, coarsely chopped
• Fresh cilantro leaves
• 1 cup Eagles Nest Winery Cabernet Sauvignon- for drinking while cooking!

Appetizers & Wine .. A Nested Affair..

Ever wanted to spend a quality evening with your spouse, but have no time to cook?

Here at Eagles Nest Winery & Cottage, we enjoy entertaining our friends & family.  It’s a special way for us to say THANKs for all their hard work.

We also have a number of friends from out of town that are driving through and want to visit the winery.

We used to keep pre-made appetizers on hand in the freezer from CostCo.  It only takes a couple of minutes to make and you have something quick and easy provide friends to eat.  The only problem, the appetizers are good but not that great!

Instead of panicking, we now stroll over to your freezer and choose from several home-made appetizers made weeks ahead of time. You can still be the hostess with mostess but relax and enjoy the social event without slaving in the kitchen. No need to thaw, just place the home made appetizers in the oven add a bottle of Eagles Nest Wine and you have the perfected NESTed affair with family and friends.

You spare so much time, that we are able to light the candles on the deck, get out dishes and napkins for the appetizers and open a bottle of Eagles Nest Wine.

How do we create this NESTed Affair?

1. Make Appetizers according to instructions
2. Reduce baking time by 50%
3. When Appetizers cool, place in Refrigerator to cool down quickly and individually
4. Once completely cool, place in freezer bags. Note, the appetizers will not stick to each other.
5. We freeze each different appetizer in separate bags.
6. When friends and family arrive, pull out appetizers and bake until done.

We have had total success with every frozen appetizer made.  When the recipe calls for tomatoes, add.  When you bake after frozen, they taste FRESH.

Eagles Nest Wiery & Cottage offers a wonderful venue to honor and encourage Community Service organizations.  We donate to selected local groups as our service to the community.

Once again, Lynn Murdock and I were busy making  appetizers during a fund raiser event we had for the Ramona Boys and Girls Club here in San Diego County.

This is a wonderful, easy appetizer dish your guests will LOVE!

Enjoy! Look forward to hearing your comments!

Ingredients

Makes 36 appetizers

• 36 small wonton wrappers
• 1 small can (8 1/2 ounces artichoke hearts, drained and chopped.
• 1/2 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
• 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup Eagles Nest Winery Award Winning Syrah – for drinking while cooking!

Lynn went out to the vineyard and picked grapes to add to the dish.  I highly recommend that you stop by a vineyard after harvest and ask the owners if you may pick some of the left over wine grapes.  Once picked, freeze the wine grapes for later use.

If you do not have wine grapes, please use red seedless grapes.  Wine Grapes do have seeds, so if using you will have to strain the Port reduction sauce to remove the seeds.

Enjoy! Look forward to hearing your comments!

Ingredients

Serves 10 to 12

• 7 ounces fresh goat cheese
• 2 ounces mild blue cheese, such as Gorgonzola dolce
• 1 4 or 5-inch wheel Brie, chilled
• 1 cup walnut halves, toasted and chopped, plus more for garnish
• 1 cup Eagles Nest Winery Cabernet Sauvignon ruby port
• 1/4 cup honey
• Fresh thyme
• 4 cups of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes OR 4 cups red seedless grapes, sliced into 1/4-inch pieces

Eagles Nest Winery (Twitter: @eaglesnestwine, FaceBook http://facebook.com/eaglesnestwine) wins two Gold medals in Temecula Wine Society Competition at July 29^th 2009 Awards Dinner benefiting their Oenology Scholarship program. The dinner was hosted at Wiens Family Cellers event center. Other San Diego County award winners are posted at end of this posting, below.

Wiens Family Cellars Event Pavillion

Eagles Nest Winery won Gold Medals for its 2007 Estate Syrah and 2007 Reserve Syrah. The classic wines featured the deep color and flavor extraction so characteristic of hand-made boutique wines.

Food Pairing: Syrah can handle robust, hearty foods, including grilled or braised meats. Lamb is a classic pairing. Full-flavored dishes, thick stews and herby grilled vegetables are other ideal matches.

Pictured below is a portion of our estate Syrah vineyards that produced the award winning wine.

Listed further below are the San Diego County wineries medalists in the Temecula competition.

View of Eagles Nest Syrah Vineyards

Congratulations to the following San Diego County wineries:

(Listed alphabetically by Winery, Vintage, Varietal, AVA)

Gold Medals

• Eagles Nest Winery – 2007 Syrah Estate Ramona Valley
• Eagles Nest Winery – 2007 Syrah South Coast
• Ramona Winery – Schwaesdall — Non Vintage Cabernet Sauvignon South Coast

Silver Medals

• Cactus Star Vineyard – Scaredy Cat Ranch Tempranillo Ramona Valley
• Hawk Watch — 2006 Synthesis South Coast
• Orrin Vineyards – 2006 Zinfandel South Coast
• Ramona Winery – Schwaesdall – Non Vintage  Merlot South Coast

Bronze Medals

• Hawk Watch — 2005 Meritage South Coast
• Hawk Watch — 2006 Syrah South Coast
• La Serenissima 2006 Cabernet Franc South Coast
• Mahogany Mountain – 2007 Zinfandel Ramona Valley
• Orfila Vineyards & Winery 2006 Merlot South Coast
• Orfila Vineyards & Winery 2006 Sangiovese South Coast
• Orfila Vineyards & Winery 2005 Syrah South Coast
• Orfila Vineyards & Winery Non Vintage Viognier South Coast
• Pamo Valley Winery – 2006 Syrah Ramona Valley
• Shadow Mountain Vineyards 2008 Muscat South Coast
• Shadow Mountain Vineyards 2007 Casignone South Coast
• Shadow Mountain Vineyards 2005 Variation-3 South Coast
• Woof’ n Rose Winery 2007 Cabernet Franc Ramona Valley
• Woof’ n Rose Winery 2007 Cabernet Franc Ramona Valley
• Woof’ n Rose Winery 2007 Merlot Ramona Valley

Link to Temecula Wine Society’s award page here

Wiens Family Cellars, Temecula CA

About all you can say is the weather here is conducive to growing fine wine grapes (and fine grapes can make fine wines), the farming regulations, taxes, and water supply problems are maddening. At least wine grapes need little water relative to other high value crops. But again I digress.

Back to the simple issue of wine and food — Lisa Magnuson’s article resonated with me and I felt was worth of sharing with our blog readership. She is the Wine Examiner for the Rhode Island Examiner, a loosely affiliated on-line newspaper with reporters throughout the country and world.

Please enjoy her June 28th  ruminations on Red with chicken and seafood, and white with beef…She advocates the common-sense pairing of foods and wine – Surprise! – such that the wine compliments or contrasts the dish, the bottom-line is not to outshine either the food or the wine.

I submit that gentler Red wines such as Merlot, Syrah/Shiraz, and Petite Syrah (not related to Syrah BTW) are an excellent option for non-beef dishes.

Please visit us at Eagles Nest Winery, near San Diego, CA We offer award winning wines and white and ruby Ports (the TTB insists we call them “dessert wines”) and luxury agritourismo wine themed lodging.

White wine with beef and red wine with chicken?

The old culinary claim that red wine is best for beef and white wine is favored for fish and poultry has disappeared. Today, most people believe that wine and food combinations should be what one likes the best. As a general guideline, try to match the weight of the food with the weight of the wine. Or, in other words, the alcohol content of wine to the protein or fat in food. For example, a delicate flaky fish is light and would be overpowered by the rich flavors and high alcohol content found in a tannic red wine like Cabernet Sauvignon. However, chicken is denser in protein and fat than a light white fish and can go with many red wines. Weight also accounts for why Pinot Noir becomes a classic pair with the fleshiness of salmon.

In addition to matching the weight of food and wine, it is important to balance the flavors. Using herbs like thyme or rosemary on chicken will accentuate the right red wine. Younger Cabernet’s have ripe blackberry, bell pepper, and sometimes eucalyptus flavors that will complement an herbed roasted chicken.

Although not impossible, it is more of a challenge to pair the crisp acidity or tropical fruits of many white wines with the brawniness of steak. However, if you are creating a stir-fry, making a stew, or perhaps a casserole, a medium to full-bodied white, can sometimes measure up. For instance, the creamy sauce and egg noodles in beef stroganoff can partner with a rich buttery oaked Chardonnay. Of course lighter reds like Grenache balance with both the beef and the sauce.

Overall, it really is just a matter of taste. Great chef’s experiment with ingredients, especially those they love. You can too. Be adventurous and try something new. Decide on the dish and think about the ingredients. If it is an earthy dish with lots of mushrooms, garlic and shallots look for earthy wines like Pinot Noir. If it is a spicy Asian dish, consider wines with spicy notes such as a dry Alsatian-style Gewurztraminer. Or, if you want to cool hot spices down, the sweetness found in a semi-dry German Riesling will do the trick.

Whether the wine compliments or contrasts the dish, the bottom-line is not to outshine either the food or the wine—weight and balance are the two main ingredients to a perfect pairing.

____________________________________________________________________

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains both original and copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, health, wine and wine industry issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. If you are the copyright holder and feel that this use does not fit under the clause mentioned above, then please let us know and we will remove this from our site. Please consider that your material is cited or hyperlinked to you URL improving your site’s search engine rankings and your Internet presence. We appreciate link backs for this same reason. Thank you.

We back up that claim with awards – 100% of our 2007-2008 vintage wines and Ports have won thirty (30) medals in highly credible International, National, and Regional wine competitions within in the 2009-2010 competition season.

The near-daily marine (fog) layer offers a dynamic (and enchanting)  real-life scene for Eagles Nest Villa/Cottage guests each morning, and insight into the excellent climate and winegrape growing conditions of the Ramona Valley.

Located 20 miles from the Pacific coast to the west, and 20 miles from the Sonora Desert to the east – the AVA’s weather pattern gives us a desirable cooling effect for the vines in the evenings and at night,  readying them for the following long warm growing day temperatures.

If you wanted to farm excellent table grapes, California’s Central Valley is a great place with its long hot days, warm evenings and nights that produce large, high sugar, low acid grapes.

This, however is not the climate you need for growing quality wine grapes - which need cool evenings and nights to maintain a balance between sugars and acids. No one likes a flat/flabby low acid wine – thus grapes grown in hot regions would not make a good choice for wine making.

Please visit us at http://eaglesnestwinery.com Click here! see our vineyards and experience the enchanting fog/marine layer for yourself by visiting us at Eagles Nest Vacation Villa/Cottage.  Read our actual guest comments- Click here!

Below are some sequential photos taken in May, before we started positioning the vertical shoot growth in the vineyards. You can see the marine layer dissipate as the morning sun warms it.

5: 55 AM Pre-sunrise

6:30 AM The sun begins to warm the marine/fog layer and it rises

6:51 AM The fog begins to dissipate

7:04 AM The fog further dissipates

7:30 AM Further dissipation…

Here’s a photo the next day showing ground fog only, no marine layer