Category Archives: Kosher Semi Sweet Wine
The new vintages of Trader Joe kosher wines
It has been a year since we last posted about the kosher wines at Trader Joe’s. The Banero is now only available on the east coast, but at least it is back in stock. The Sara Bee is also back in stock and doing really well. The prices have risen a bit, but I guess that is par for the course, with Moscato going crazy in the wine world.
Still, the Sara Bee tastes as wonderful as always, but I cannot get the Banero Prosecco here on the west coast 
There are also two new Terrenal wines from Spain that are still not mevushal. I say this because the rest of the wines are mevushal, excepting for these two. The two reds continue the tradition of good kosher wine, for a reasonable price.
I am posting the Sara Bee and Banero notes as a reference, so that you do not need to go back to the older posting:
2010 Terrenal Cabernet Sauvignon (Yecla, Spain) (not-mevushal) – Score: B+
The nose on this dark garnet colored wine is rich and vibrant with black cherry, an almost perfumed nose of blackberry, and raspberry, along with black currant, rich earth, and herb. The mouth on this medium bodied wine is a nice quaffer with enough complexity to grab your attention, with spicy fruit, almost mouth coating tannin, rich earth, and an overall mouth feel that is nothing short of quite nice. The wine’s core acidity really elevates it and the richness and spice of the finish goes a long way to making you rethink entry-level wines. I could care less what this wine costs, this is a fine wine that is tasted blind would make you do a double take, and in the end, it is quite enjoyable.
2010 Terrenal Tempranillo (Yecla, Spain) (not-mevushal) – Score: B+
The nose on this dark garnet colored wine is rich and vibrant with black cherry, strawberry, an almost perfumed nose of blackcurrant, and raspberry, earthy aromas, herb, and spice. The mouth on this medium bodied wine is a nice quaffer with enough complexity to grab your attention, with spicy fruit, nice round tannin, rich earth, and an overall mouth feel that spicy and enjoyable. The wine’s core acidity really elevates it and the round mouthed tannin, along with nice spice add to the cherry focused wine that adds a dollop of herb and vanilla on the long finish. I could care less what this wine costs, this is a fine wine that is tasted blind would make you do a double take, and in the end, it is quite enjoyable.
N.V. Sara Bee Moscato ((Italy, Puglia) – Score: B++
The nose on this effervescent light gold colored wine starts off with a powerful hit of honey and a touch of yeast. After a small bit of time, the wine explodes with summer and tropical fruits, peach, apricot, mango, pear, lychee, and papaya. This wine has a wonderful effervescence and fruity nose. The mouth on this medium plus bodied wine is lovely with nice effervescence, sweet honey, papaya, lychee, and pear. The mid palate is balanced nicely with acid and light toast, and effervescence. The finish is long and tasty with papaya, honey, and caramel, with the honey and caramel lingering long on the palate.
This is a more balanced, fuller, effervescent wine than the usual kosher blue-bottle Bartenura Moscato. Nothing against the Bartenura Moscato, but it does not compare and it is at least double to triple the price of this wonderful wine. Get a bottle or two and try it out. The Sara Bee Moscato is available at Trader Joe. Finally, as usual my score NEVER includes the price. This wine is scored what it is scored solely on its merit – irrelevant to its price, availability, or its kosher status.
N.V. Banero Prosecco – Score B+
The nose on this straw-colored Prosecco is screaming with a lovely bubble fest, along with a nice muscat nose, perfume, orange rind, yeast, toast, and honey. The mouth on this rich medium bodied wine starts off with a hit of bitterness, apple, honey, prolonged small mousse bubbles, and toast. The mid palate is core with acidity, toast, and drop of yeast, and orange peel. The finish is long and mousse-y with honey, slight bitterness, and toast. This is a wine that has a bit of beer bitterness at the start, which fades a bit, but lingers with a nice balance of perceived sweetness from the honey notes. The mouth is rich with small mousse bubbles that lie on your palate for a very long time, long after the wine is gone.
Herzog International Food and Wine Festival 2011 Results
Well 2011 has come and gone and I am finally getting the chance to write up the 2011 International Food and Wine Festival (IFWF) that was held at the Herzog winery in Oxnard. In some ways it was the best ever and in some ways it was not. To start, 2011 was the fourth incarnation of this event and each time it has been well worth the trip. This past year’s event, in many ways, was the best. The food, as usual, was fantastic! The food is catered by Chef Todd Aarons, the head chef of the Tierra Sur, the world-class restaurant that is in the Herzog Winery. As usual, the food that Mr. Aarons and his staff prepare the event is bite size or a bit larger format, food that easily fits on a small plate. Essentially, think of them as normal or slightly large tapas, depending upon the food in question. As usual, the tapas were just divine, and as usual I always get the scarps. I say that because, I want to finish tasting the wines before I eat the awesome food, which would seriously inhibit my ability to write coherent wine notes. Of course, there is never a lack of good wines to taste, so essentially, I always eat whatever is left over as they are winding up the food and wine service. It is a mad rush to get some pictures and eat some food – truly sad, and totally my fault!
This past year’s event was even larger than its predecessors. As usual, the Herzog winery was fully decked out and expanded in the back by adding on a few heated tents. Normally, the French and Israeli wines were poured from the back room and the tent, behind the back room, which itself abuts to the parking lot behind it. This past year, they expanded further by pouring only Israeli wines from the entire back areas, moving Capcanes to the Spanish and Italian section, and moving all the French wines to its own room – the Herzog Situation or Conference room, which is off to the right from the entrance, essentially on the other side of the building. Some may look at that and say they relegated the French wines to the “basement”, but the way I see it, Royal has SO MANY wines to show off from its portfolio, and only so much room in the winery that they chose the best holistic group they could that would not look too small or take up too much room, in the conference room, and that fell to the French wines.
This was the first of the, not so good points, and that was the lack of communication around this change of venue for the French wines! I totally understand the complexity of it, and there was signage. However, given the drastic change that was in affect, a bit more information for some would have been good. I found myself telling many people about the new location for French wines, that they thought were AWOL for 2011. That said, I think this will not be an issue in 2012, as the event will be moving from Oxnard and the Herzog Winery to LA at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Century Plaza!
Of course, with all the room taken up by wines and wonderful food, there still needs to be place for the humans and this was issue number two, which again will be fixed in 2012. That being, there was very little room to move about as the evening moved on. I found myself having to find a corner to just write notes, let alone not to feel claustrophobic, which is a problem I do not normally exhibit. That said, I hope that the new venue will allow the event to stretch its wings and soar to higher heights with more space and more opportunities to showcase its wonderful food and wines.
I truly believe that 2011, was the first year where the wines totally out shone the food, excepting for 2008, when the French wines were truly off the hizzy. This is not in anyway a slight to Aaron’s food, rather it is a compliment to Royal wine portfolio, that has now reached world class, and something I am sure they are extremely proud of. I do not need to repeat the story of Herzog, which can be found in the middle of last year’s post, as that would be just repeating myself. I just hope you read this and it grabs you enough to buy some tickets that are going really fast for the 2012 version of the International Food and Wine Festival which will be happening in LA this year – enjoy the notes. I need to add my personal thank you to the entire Royal and Herzog staff for putting together such a great show, and much luck on your new 2012 event!
The wine notes follow below, in the order they were tasted:
2007 Domaine l’OrDeLine Chateauneuf du Pape – Score: B+ to A-
Would love to know how Herzog pulled this one off, and who is the negotiant for this wine. I found a lovely write-up about the winery and the name, anyway, on to the note.
The nose on this light gold colored wine is hopping with kiwi, grapefruit, lemon, gooseberry, mineral, apple, and white peach. The mouth on this medium bodied wine is rich with white fruit, tropical fruit, and mineral. The mid palate is round and balanced, with nice spice and mineral. The finish is long with clean yet round flavors of of fruit, spice, mineral, and bramble. The wine is so classic in its minerality and clean lines yet ripe and luscious. Read the rest of this entry
Herzog Generation 8, Teal Lake Moscato D’Aussie vs. Sara Bee Moscato, Elvi Wines Brut Cava
This past weekend we were honored to be eating with friends who were celebrating being first time grand parents! Their friends came up from LA, and brought some wonderful wines, cakes, and cookies. We partook from two of their wines, and we added in a bubbly as well.
I must state that the 2002 Herzog Generation 8 was truly the winner of the evening. It is a massive wine with a rich and layered mouthfeel that still has a year of kick left in it. We used to make fun of it, because essentially it was nothing more than the Herzog Special Edition, with more oak on it. Well, I recant all of my previous jokes about it. To be honest, I would never buy one of these bottles, as it is far too expensive for my tastes, but I am more than honest enough to state that the wine is impressive.
The other wine that our friend’s friends brought over was a lovely Moscato from Teal Lake. The name, Moscato D’Aussie, is a humorous take on the Italian blue bottle – Moscato D’Asti. The first thing that hit me when I smelled this wine was gooseberry! Now gooseberry is famous in Australian Sauvignon Blanc, but I did not expect it in Moscato!
As an aside, Royal Wines has declared war on Trader Joe’s Sara Bee Moscato! All over the Internet, you can find this pleasant tasting Moscato for $6.75 or lower. That is right in the wheelhouse of Trader Joe’s Sara Bee, which retails for $5.99. A dollar is a dollar, but it is clear, that Royal went out and looked for a bottle that they could play ball with. This Moscato D’Aussie is undercutting one of their cash cows, the Bartenura Blue Bottle. This has always been an age-old question in marketing and war, how do you fight the little guy that has lower overhead and equal quality product, who can out price you? Answer; undercut yourself, by building the same product in a location that woks for you. The old saying is true, “if you cannot beat them – join them”. I personally like the Sara Bee Moscato more, but Royal has declared open season on Sara Bee, and the winners are all of us! Read the rest of this entry
2010 Dalton Rose, 2010 Golan Moscato, 2009 Bravdo Coupage
This past week was the last week in Israel, and we swung by the Bravdo Winery on Friday. I picked up a bottle of the 2009 Bravdo Coupage, which is a melange of 40% Cabernet Franc, 33% Shiraz, 27% Cabernet Sauvignon. When I was talking about this lovely wine with friends, I compared it to one of my favorite dishes, Puttanesca. There are many non-sequitur ingredients in Puttanesca that if ignored or left out ruin the dish. For example, the anchovies; add to much, and it ruins the dish, put in too little or non at all, and the dish is flat, but in the correct proportions, it is magic. It adds depth and richness to the dish, without overpowering it. Same goes for the 2009 Bravdo Coupage, the Cabernet is nice and somewhat noticeable, but it real purpose is to hold the entire, non-sequitur blend together. Cabernet Franc and Shiraz are not common bed fellows, but with the Cabernet, it all becomes a fantastic harmonious whole!
Also, we did get a chance to re-taste the 2010 Dalton Rose, and it did show better than in the previous tasting. The main difference was the finish, it was still shallow, but the tart acid lingered long. The 2010 Moscato was lovely again, with nice honey, pear, rich mouthfeel from nice residual sweetness, and slight bubbles, all of which caused the bottle to disappear quickly.
This was not the first time we tasted the Bravdo Coupage, we tasted it in April, at the Gotham Wine Event. Some of the times I wonder about wine tasting, my abilities and what we sense in wines. It is really great to taste a wine a second time, and without looking at previous notes, make new ones. I am happy to state that the wines notes once again are pretty good, and this wine is truly a monster and one that should be ready for true drinking in 6 months or a year. Stock up on the four red Bravdo wines Cabernet, Shiraz, Merlot, and Coupage), they are great, and wines that will be here for at least four or more years.
The wine notes follow below, thanks so much to my hosts and dear friends:
2010 Dalton Rose – Score: B+
The nose on this rose colored wine starts off nicely with peach, yellow apple, plum, strawberry, floral notes, lemon, and ripe and sweet kiwi. The mouth on this medium bodied wine starts off nicely but ends with a slightly deficient finish. The mouth starts with more yellow apple, plum, peach, kiwis, flowers, and strawberry. The mid palate is balanced with nice acid and a bit of orange peel. The finish is a bit shallow, but ends fully with a lovely tart, strawberry, and orange peel finish. I am happy we tried another bottle.
2009 Bravdo Coupage – Score: A- to A
The nose on this deep black colored wine is rich with mineral, herbaceous, lovely floral, black cherry, and raspberry from the Cabernet Franc, heavy date, tar, and rich plum from the Shiraz, along with blackberry, alcohol, and rich chocolate. The mouth on this full bodied, rich, and layered wine is concentrated with mint, floral notes, ripe plum, raspberry, dates, and massive rich tannins that coat the mouth and make the wine feel even bigger. The mid palate is rich and follows the mouth with nice balanced acidity, chocolate, mint, raspberry, dates, vanilla, cedar, tobacco, and rich tannin. The finish is super long and rich with cedar, tar, raspberry, plum, heavy tannin, lovely vanilla, tobacco, and rich chocolate.
Over time the nose changes to expose rich cedar, tar, chocolate, crushed herbs, blackberry, and dates. The mouthfeel is still rich with softer tannins, ripe date, blackberry, tar, and crazy inky structure, along with nice plum. The finish is super long and rich with black olives, dates, blackberry, vanilla, cedar, chocolate, all the while taking a long stroll with a fat stogie in its mouth and a rich lather coat. This is a lovely wine – enjoy it for the next 4 or so years, but you can wait another 6 months till you can really start to enjoy it.
Golan 2010 Moscato – No Score – enjoyable
I again did not have the ability to note down the particulars about this wine, but it is a lovely and rich wine with nice honey, pear, rich mouthfeel from nice residual sweetness, and slight bubbles, all of which caused the bottle to disappear quickly.
2010 Tulip Just Cabernet Sauvignon, 2010 Dalton Rose, and 2010 Golan Moscato
We were hanging with friends this weekend and we brought over a few wines and they were so kind to host us for the Shabbos. These are the wines we enjoyed. The wines were all from the 2010 vintage, which was a total accident, but funny. Also, there was a wine that is all new to the kosher world, Tulip Winery. Tulip is a winery that has long been one of Israel’s top wineries. On an aside, the 2010 Dalton Rose had no finish, and was somewhat of a dud. I am not sure if it was the bottle or me, but clearly others like this bottle and I did not have the same wonderful experience. I will try this bottle again soon, so that I can either corroborate or change my tasting notes.
In 2003, the Yitzhaki family fulfilled a special dream of theirs and established a boutique winery that combines top quality wine production, alongside contribution to the community. The family chose to locate the winery on a hillside, in the northern edge of the Carmel Mountain, in a small pastoral village, Kfar Tikva, overlooking the magnificent views of the Jezreel Valley.
Kfar Tikva – “Village of Hope”, is a community settlement for people with special needs, which strives to allow the disabled community to develop and realize their potential. The wonderful combination of the village’s vision and the family’s desire to make wine, resulted in an exciting wine industry model that employs members of the village and provides them with a business platform that integrates them in the labor force, just like any other person.
Tulip Winery produces about 100,000 bottles of wine per year, sold all over Israel, and in several countries around the world.
There was a very long conversation on Rogov’s forum about Tulip going kosher, you can find that here.
Thanks so much to our wonderful friends for hosting us over this past Shabbat, my wines notes follow below:
2010 Tulip Just Cabernet Sauvignon – A-
The nose on the dark garnet colored wine saris off closed but quickly explodes with chocolate, cedar, tobacco, black currant, raspberry, plum, and vanilla. The mouth on this medium to full bodied wine is rich in the mouth with almost mouth coating tannins, nicely integrating tannins, raspberry, black currant, almost tar flavors that remind me of netofa’s blend, and plum. The mid palate flows off the mouth with lovely acid, more tannin, cedar, chocolate, tobacco, and tar. The finish is super long and spicy with lovely acid, chocolate, plum, black currant, and vanilla.
2010 Dalton Rose – Score: B to B+
The nose on this rose colored wine starts off nicely with peach, quince, plum, strawberry, floral notes, and ripe and sweet kiwi. The mouth on this medium bodied wine starts off nicely but ends with a complete dud. The mouth starts with more quince, plum, peach, kiwis, flowers, and strawberry. The mid palate is balanced with nice acid and a bit of orange peel. The finish is a nowhere to be found. There was no real outward sign of impact for this bottle, but I will try another bottle soon.
Golan 2010 Moscato – No Score – Just to say it was nice and pleasant, and a fine Moscato!
Sukkot 2011 – first days…
This past Sukkot we hung out with family and enjoyed a bunch of great wine and food. It was a potluck of sorts, each one of us bringing some food, and it was a grand ball. Sukkot is one of those truly happy times of the year, all the heavy and deep inner inspection is over and now you get a chance to let loose of all of your pent up concern and angst. In its place you find joy and contentment from your efforts over the past 6 weeks, a time truly made to be shared with friends and family.
For our part, we brought the second chunk of meat that we cooked for Rosh Hashanah (and froze immediately after the holiday) and some lovely brisket. We also brought a BUNCH of wine! Hey it is a let loose holiday – right? I was in such a rush to get the wines that I went to my local wine shop and all they had were Galil and Yarden wines – so we brought Galil and Yarden wines. Many turned out really nice, and others were OK, but they were all enjoyable. In case it is not obvious, Yarden and Galil Wines source their grapes from the Galilee. This tasting was a true Israel Galilee tasting. We also went through some 6 bottles of Sara Bee Muscat. Galil is one of the top QPR (Quality to Price Ratio) wineries in the kosher market. Yarden is an OK QPR winery, especially in their basic line, but some of their upper echelon wines are so out of reach that they lose a bit of the QPR luster.
So, here are all my wine notes – enjoy and remember, wine is not just about the flavors, it is also about the happiness and memories you get to keep when you enjoy them with friends and family.
The wine notes follow below:
2005 Galil Mountain Winery Yiron – (Israel, Galilee) – Score: A-
This is a seriously lovely and opulent and redolent wine that is initially hot out of the bottle, but quickly shakes off the alcohol coat and shows super rich and ripe black plum, toasty cedar, black cherry, blackberry, vanilla, tobacco, chocolate, and herbs. The mouth on this rich and concentrated black colored wine is screaming with what initially feels like searing tannins, but then quickly your mind gives way to the true source – toasty cedar, blackberry, black cherry, and super ripe plum, all wrapped up is a velvety package that cuts through almost anything you throw at it. The mid palate is packed with black cherry, cedar, chocolate, tobacco, and nice integrated tannin. The finish is super long and very spicy with rich plum, toasty cedar, blackberry, chocolate, tobacco, black cherry, and a nice dollop of vanilla. The black cherry, vanilla, tobacco, chocolate, blackberry, and herbs linger.
2006 Yarden Syrah – (Israel, Galilee, Golan Heights) – Score: A-
The nose on this purple to black colored wine is not a classic syrah, excepting for the roasted meat, along with blackberry, ripe cassis, chocolate, plum, raspberry, cherry, and oak. This wine starts off super hot and need a good hour to open up and blow off its coat of alcohol. I must admit that I enjoyed this with friends in a house that was being used as a barbeque pit, as the outside was too wet, still, the nose showed well with the black and red fruit, along with the oak and chocolate. The mouth on this rich and muscular black wine was opulent and powerful with more blackberry, inky black, ripe and rich cassis, and plum, and tannins that are still finding their way around the house, but are slowly learning the premises. The sinews rippling on this bad boy easily handled the char broiled meats that were superb! The mid palate was balanced with acid, chocolate, nice oak, still tight tannins, and more inky black. The finish is super long and crazy spicy with a hint of leather, chocolate, blackberry, ripe plum, and more inky black density. Read the rest of this entry
Lemon Rosemary Roasted Chicken, Risotto, Baked Herb Encrusted Fish Loaf, and a myriad of wonderful wines
On the week of August 19th we were so happy to host really good friends of ours who were doing a west coast vacation. They are friends that go back far in my life, and it is always great to see them, because they are really cool people and because they bring back memories of my childhood. So, we tried to make some risotto work, but once again, Risotto as a Friday Night dish, can take the place of Dr. Jeykll and Mr. Hyde in any good 50s black and white movie. Sure enough Hyde showed up Friday Night, it was OK, but the Risotto was mushy instead of perfectly cooked – sad! The already patented Lemon Rosemary Roasted Chicken was killer, and was mostly consumed, while the Risotto was just OK.
Getting back to script, the meal started with a lovely baked herb encrusted fish loaf, we paired it with black and green olives, hummus, and eggplant salad. We opened a pair of lovely white wines with this course. I have tasted these wines a few times now, and each time the wines show off lovely honey and tart fruit characteristics. Though this time the unoaked wines showed off better. Yes, I said unoaked wine – what is that? Really? Are we that jaded? Most of the entry level wines that we do and don’t enjoy are not oak infused or modified. Instead, we have all become so jaded that if a wine is not oak influenced, it is not a nice wine. That cannot be farther from the truth! Some white wines are better without oak or malolactic fermentation (malo), because the fruit can either stand on its own and make the wine cleaner, or because the wine is so bad that adding in oak would cost money that is not warranted. So, it was a real kick to taste two Chardonnays that were separated at birth (or must – fermented grape juice), with one going to a home of rich oak, while the other went to live in a clean but plain steel home. The wines notes will show my precise feelings, but in short, the non oak laden Chardonnay was far more bright, evocative, and attention grabbing.
We then moved to the Mr. Hyde (Risotto) and some lovely Lemon Rosemary Roasted Chicken, along with a nice green salad. The Chardonnays paired nicely with the dishes, but we also enjoyed some Sara Bee, and some nice Hagafen Merlot. The Merlot went well with the cholent and cold cuts on the following day as well.
The wine notes follow below – many thanks to my buddies for swinging by the house – it was a real KICK!
2009 Binyamina Chardonnay Reserve Unoaked Galilee (Israel, Judean Hills) - Score: A-
The nose on this straw to light gold colored wine has stayed fairly consistent between the two times I have tasted this wine, some 6 months apart. The nose explodes with rich ripe and tart summer/tropical fruit, pear, kiwi, lychee, honey, grapefruit, ripe lemon, apple, and floral notes. The mouth on this medium bodied wine is super rich with explosive fruit that follows the nose, peach, lemon, apple, kiwi, lychee, and grapefruit. The mid palate flows off the mouth with super rich and tart lemon, honey, apple, and mineral almost yeasty. The honeyed and spicy finish is super long with crazy tart fruit, lychee, grapefruit, kiwi, lemon, floral notes, and mineral. The wine is super enjoyable with more than enough attention getting fruit, minerality, and floral notes. The lack of oak is a benefit with this fruit and makes one wonder whether oaking this wine is such a good idea!
2009 Binyamina Chardonnay Reserve Galilee (Israel, Judean Hills) - Score: B++
The nose on this light gold colored wine started off muted and not nearly as bright as its unoaked brother. The nose opened to a rich and deep honeyed nose, oak, smoky toast, floral notes, grapefruit, lemon, yellow apple, and mounds of caramel and butterscotch. The mouth on this medium to full bodied wine is rich with honey, oak, pear, kiwi, grapefruit, lemon, and apple, all rounded with a tad of oak which seems to dull the fruit. The mid palate is oaky with toast, cut grass, and butterscotch. The finish is long and richly honeyed with butterscotch, oak, kiwi, lemon, melon, and grapefruit. Honey coated butterscotch candy along with ripe grapefruit, lemon, and melon linger.
2006 Hagafen Merlot (USA, California, Napa Valley) - Score: B++ to A-
The nose on this purple colored wine is filled with rich cedar, black cherry, raspberry, fig, herbs, vanilla, chocolate, cloves, and smoky notes. The mouth on this medium to full bodied wine is classic Hagafen, with a soft plush mouth of rich cedar, plum, raspberry, fig, cherry, and nice mouth coating tannin. The mid palate is balanced with nice acid, chocolate, more cedar, and nice tannin. The finish is long and spicy with cloves, cinnamon, cedar, vanilla, chocolate, raspberry, plum, herbs, and tobacco. Herbs, cinnamon, chocolate, cedar, vanilla, and tobacco linger long after the wine is gone.
2008 Clos de Nouys Vouvray Moelleux (France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray) - Score: B to B+
This was a disappointment. Rogov predicted this one was going to last, but when we opened it, the wine was a shade of its previous self, which we tasted a year ago. The wine had much of the same fruit, but lacked the very grace that a good Chenin Blanc should have and that is ACID! No zip, nor in the middle or the end. Truly sad.
The nose on this straw to gold colored wine is rich and honeyed, with wet grass, floral, green apple, honey, guava, pear, and citrus. The mouth on this medium to full bodied wine is rich with honey, floral notes, green apple, and tropical fruit. The mid palate is semi-sweet with almost no acidity, plain and old with a touch orange peel. The finish is medium with honey, floral notes, tropical fruit, vanilla, and citrus. A nice wine that has lost its ay, the zip is gone and so is the enjoyment in drinking it. DRINK UP!!!
Sausage Stew, Spinach Kugel, and a lovely assortment of kosher wines
Well we finally got back into the saddle and had ourselves a gaggle of friends and family for a lovely Friday night dinner. The menu was fun to create as we needed a recipe that could be eaten by both carnivores and vegans 
After going through our recipes, we fell upon a decent idea, making two of the same dish, one with meat and one with a suitable substitute. The best option for that direction was our Sausage Stew recipe, the carnivore version was made with Neshama’s sausages; Breakfast Delight and Country Apple, and the vegan version with Tofurky’s Italian Sausage. The cool aspect of making the same recipe for both types of diets are that the dish stays the same, as does the recipe and ingredients (other than protein), along with same timing for the vegetables, and same completion time. In other words; cooking made fun and easy.
We started with a course of smoked salmon, green and black olives, hummus, and my wife’s killer whole wheat challah. We followed that with the main course of the two stews, while my wife made some spinach kugel (parve souffle), along with some nice fresh green salad. The wines were paired well, I think. Some were clear winners, while some were not perceived by all as winners during the meal, and then there were the filthy, sick, and wild wines that were winners at the dinner and after. The winners were the 2001 Capcanes Peraj H’Abib, which is in the DRINK up state, enjoy it before you regret it! SUPER kudos go out to the Covenant Winery, who also had an entry in the winner’s circle, their 2003 Covenant Cabernet Sauvignon, which was from their maiden voyage. I am so happy that I held on to it to be enjoying it now. Finally, to be honest I whiffed on two wines; the 2009 Herzog Petite Sirah Second Edition and the 1996 Four Gates unoaked Chardonnay! Talk about messing up! I did not like either when we opened them, but WOW did that change fast. The two of them were drinking lovely a few hours later, while the Petite Sirah was better the next day.
Finally a friend of ours brought a surprise, a Kosher Akhasheni Georgian wine! The grapes used in this wine are called: Saperavi from the Akhasheni vineyards of the Gurdzhaani district in Kakheti, a province of Georgia.
The wine notes follow listed in the order they were drunk:
2006 Galil Mountain Winery Pinot Noir – Score: B (DRINK UP or Cook!!!)
Truly a shadow of its former self. It is dead and dying quickly, all at the same time. Some liked the wine, but not me. The nose on this dark ruby with serious brown halos colored wine has notes of dark cherry, aging raspberry, barn yard notes, vanilla, and stony rocks. The mouth on this medium bodied wine died off quickly with deep minerality, dark cherry, raspberry, and vanilla. The wine tasted old and dying, its structure was spicy and brambly with minerality with dark red fruit and still nice acid.
1996 Four Gates Unoaked Chardonnay – Score: B++ to A-
Wow this wine was clearly not on my radar, and was a really nice surprise from Benyo; I did not know it existed. We have posted in the past about its bigger oaked siblings (sulfur and non-sulfur), but I had no idea this one was lying around in the Four Gates cellar. The nose on this wine did not start nicely out of the bottle, but heck, how do you think you would smell if you were lying around in a dusty cellar for 15 years! Two or three hours later this light gold colored wine was hitting its stride, with clear and lovely notes of pineapple, grapefruit, lemon, citrus, white peach, and lychee. The mouth on this full bodied wine was channeling it inner nose, with pronounced pineapple, grapefruit, citrus, and peach. The mid palate was packed with core acid and lovely fruit. The finish was long and luscious with more summer fruit, pineapple, and a hint of grass and/or minerality.
2009 Herzog Petite Sirah - Score: B++
The nose on this black colored wine starts off closed and very unapproachable. However with time, the nose explodes with black cherry, blackberry, plum, hints of blueberry, black currant, light mocha, tar, tobacco, mounds of black pepper, roasted meats, oak, and floral notes of rose or violet. The mouth on this full bodied wine becomes rich and mouth coating with lovely tannins that are soft but still integrating. Along with pepper, tar, blackcurrant blackberry, and a hint of blueberry. The mid palate is packed with acid, tar, tobacco, oak, and lovely floral notes. The finish starts off stunted and short – DO NOT fret, it will open! The finish is long and sensuous with mocha, floral notes, blackcurrant, tobacco, and black pepper. Floral notes, blackcurrant, tobacco, blackberry, and oak linger long after the wine is gone.
2004 Chateau Labegorce Lede Margaux – Score: B to B+ (DRINK UP!!)
I know Daniel Rogov believes this wine is still alive and active, but the bottle I had was not over its peak, but clearly not as enjoyable as the one he tasted. It was nice but lacked so much body that it felt dead. The tannins and acid on this wine are clearly still kicking but I do not believe this wine is getting any better – drink up and open one hour in advance.
The nose on this dark garnet to mahogany colored wine is filled with tobacco, chocolate, cedar, raspberry, blackberry, herbs, and lovely dirt. The mouth on this medium bodied wine was nice and round with lovely tannin, blackberry, raspberry, and a touch of currant. The mid palate is bracing with acid, tannin, chocolate, herbs, and smoky characteristics. The finish is long, nice, and smoky with oak, blackberry, raspberry, dirt, chocolate, and herbs. Drink UP!!!
2001 Celler de Capçanes Montsant Peraj Ha’abib Flor de Primavera – Score: A- to A (DRINK UP!!)
Drink up – this wine is lovely but is really at its peak or a drop past it!! The score from previous tasting is a bit lower then the first score we gave this wine, and the same as my second tasting, but not because of tannins. Rather the score is a bit lower this time because of the color and age on the bottle. The notes are very much in line with my previous tasting except for color and tannin, but the structure is the same. I recommend opening the bottle 1 hour ahead of time, and NO more than that and enjoying it then. This bottle will not last four hours after opening, so drink now and enjoy.
The nose on this deep black colored wine, with a bit of a brown halo, is popping with blackberry, plum, cassis, sweet cedar, herbs, raspberry, licorice, and tobacco. The mouth on this full bodied and mouth coating wine is now smooth and layered with blackberry, plum, black currant, and cassis. The mid palate is packed with lovely tannins, bright acidity, and concentrated black fruit that comes at you in layers. The finish is super long, spicy, and concentrated with cloves, herbs, blackberry, plum, raspberry, chocolate, tobacco, and sweet cedar. The wine lingers long with cedar, plum, tobacco, vanilla, and chocolate.
2003 Covenant Cabernet Sauvignon – Score: A- closer to A
Are you kidding me! This wine is as close to “filthy” as it gets without being covered in dirt and muck! This puppy is downright crazy, lovely, and insane! This wine was the clear winner of the evening, even against my clear, biased wines that I have a love affair with, the 1996 Four Gates Chardonnay and the 2001 Capcanes. Both were really nice, but in the end, fell a bit short, each for different reasons. This wine was the clear winner, and for bloody good reason! One other crazy thought, when this wine finally calmed down and lost some of its special characteristics, it was VERY close to the Capcanes. To the point where they were almost brothers, excepting for the color, where the Capcanes was clearly going brown and the Covenant being black as day.
The nose on this dark garnet to black colored wine is packed with rich ripe blackberry, tobacco, chocolate/mocha, crushed herbs, black currant, vanilla, raspberry, plum, and sweet oak. The mouth on this blockbuster medium to full bodied wine is concentrated, layered and mouth coating with lovely and almost integrated tannins, blackberry, black currant, raspberry, and ripe plum. The mid palate flows off the mouth with balancing acid, sweet oak, mocha, tobacco, and more nice tannins. The finish is long, spicy, and continuous and, while maybe being the best part of this wine, which is saying a lot, with sweet cedar in the fire box, a long puff from a fat stogie, a warm cup of mocha in your hand, while munching on blackberry, black currant, and vanilla. Tobacco, plum, blackberry, and sweet cedar linger long on the palate.
2004 Yarden Merlot – Score: A-
This is a clear and powerful wine and one that when compared side by side with the other wines we enjoyed in the evening came across as over the top. The nose on this dark garnet colored wine was screaming with extra ripe and sweet plum, blackberry, and cassis, along with spicy oak, crushed herbs, and tobacco. The mouth on this intense and full bodied wine hits you up front with super ripe fruit, spicy and still active tannin, and cassis, blackberry, and plum. The mid palate is balanced with nice acidity, sweet cedar, lovely tannin, and sweet cedar. The finish is super long and extracted with tobacco, oak, black fruit and herbs. A nice wine that is fine for a couple more years but one I always have trouble with given its intensely ripe black fruit and mounds of oak.
2006 Alaverdi Akhasheni – Score: B to B+
The nose on this dark garnet to black colored wine is hopping with dark cherry, candied fruit, perfumed nose, floral notes of violet, lovely chocolate, dates, and spice. The mouth on this full bodied wine is velvety, mouth coating, and enriched by the residual sugar of this semi-sweet wine, along with dark cherry, date, nice tannin, a bit too much residual sweetness, and candied fruit. The mid palate is balanced with acid, lovely tannin, oak, chocolate, and spice. The finish is super long and rich with candied fruit, sweetness, cherry, and oak. The wine linger long with chocolate, date, and spice.
N.V. Sara Bee Moscato, 2010 Terrenal Chardonnay, Sushi and Cholent
This past week I wanted to continue drinking through the Trader Joe kosher wines that we have been talking about these past few posts. I tasted the Sara Bee at home in combination with Sushi and the next day with Cholent. I also had the chance to taste the 2010 Terrenal Chardonnay at the synagogue that was served at a kiddush. I truly enjoyed pairing the Sara Bee Moscato with sushi. Sushi can be very spicy with extra wasabi, and the Moscato cut right through it all, which was quite nice. The Moscato had a fuller feeling in the mouth than the Blue Bottle Bartenura Moscato, which I tasted this past weekend at a synagogue kiddush, and it was a letdown in comparison to the Sara Bee Moscato that I had tasted at home.
The 2010 Terrenal Chardonnay has been increased from $3.99 to $4.99. Also, the wine is not as full and concentrated as the Prosecco or the Moscato that we have tasted so far from the Trader Joe lineup. The Terrenal was light and fruity without much structure. A simple white that is highly fruity.
The other fact I wanted to drive home about the Moscato is what I say at the end of the wine note. It is a wine that is very effervescent, with a nice acid core, and a fuller wine. It reminds me greatly of the Baron Herzog Late Harvest Chenin Blanc, but with far more bubbles, of course, but less complexity/roundness.
N.V. Sara Bee Moscato ((Italy, Puglia) – Score: B++
The nose on this effervescent light gold colored wine starts off with a powerful hit of honey and a touch of yeast. After a small bit of time, the wine explodes with summer and tropical fruits, peach, apricot, mango, pear, lychee, and papaya. This wine has a wonderful effervescence and fruity nose. The mouth on this medium plus bodied wine is lovely with nice effervescence, sweet honey, papaya, lychee, and pear. The mid palate is balanced nicely with acid and light toast, and effervescence. The finish is long and tasty with papaya, honey, and caramel, with the honey and caramel lingering long on the palate.
This is a more balanced, fuller, effervescent wine than the usual kosher blue bottle Bartenura Moscato. Nothing against the Bartenura Moscato, but it does not compare and it is at least double to triple the price of this wonderful wine. Get a bottle or two and try it out. The Sara Bee Moscato is available at Trader Joe. Finally, as usual my score NEVER includes the price. This wine is scored what it is scored solely on its merit – irrelevant to its price, availability, or its kosher status
2010 Terrenal Chardonnay (Chile, Central Valley, Curico Valley) – Score: B
The nose on this dark straw colored wine is hopping with kiwi, apple, lychee, pineapple, lemon, and tropical fruit. The mouth on this medium bodied wine has apple, lychee, pineapple, and lemon. The mid palate just flows off the mouth with little to no complexity or concentration with balanced acid. The finish is medium long with lemon, apple, lychee, and a drop of spice. This is truly a nice plain wine with nothing that grabs you, but an OK qauffer. Just a simple wine with little WOW factor.
