Why wine?

Photograph by Melody Flammger

Wine is the reason I decided to completely change my career path and veer off in another unknown direction.  Often, others will ask me or just assume what the reasons are that I might have made such a risky maneuver- particularly when I had a perfectly reasonable career path lined up for myself.  The reasons are many and varied but they essentially boil down to a few really big and amazing things about wine.

Wine as a Science

As a part of my first class in the subject taught at RIT by Lorraine Hems, I decided to make a wine for my project.  I realized the relevancy of my scientific training in Biomedical Sciences (my program of study at the time) during the wine making process.  I loved both as a scientist and somewhat of a nerd, the fact that something so wonderful could come of the process and was able to more fully appreciate the fruits of my efforts in a tangible way that could be shared with others.  My printouts of gel electrophoresis or successful production of monoclonal antibodies paled in comparison to the joy I felt opening my first bottle of self-made wine.

Wine as an Art

Wine is so much more than any one action you do with it.  Wine is about tasting, smelling, seeing, swirling, making, sharing, scoring, buying... Wine finds so many ways of expressing itself.  It transcends all of the senses and comes in limitless forms.  Wine is made from different types of grapes, barrels, yeasts, procedures.  The possibilities with wine are literally endless.

This is where the wine making process becomes more than just a laboratory procedure to be carried out.  There is more than one way to get the desired result and deviation is encouraged.  Deviation from the standard procedures finds beautiful anomalies.  Somewhere in this process, a grape becomes more than just wine but a unique collection of smells and tastes.  As many wine makers have said, there is a bit of alchemy involved in wine making.

Wine with Food

If I thought wine was amazing by itself- the right food makes it even better.  Food and wine pairing is a wonderful tasting adventure to embark on and really brought many of my wine experiences to life for me.  Instead of sitting down to a single glass of wine, the act of planning a dinner around a wine or vice versa became an experience unto itself.  My husband, Chris Flammger even enjoys planning these pairings with me.  We've recently expanded to doing food and beer pairings to incorporate his tastes as well.

Mass wine tasting

Wine tasting table
Photograph by Melody Flammger

I attended a tasting held at my local Lilac Festival.  For some reason, when I attended this tasting I thought of previous wine tasting events where there was plenty of room to move about and politely converse about the wines we were trying.  At previous events, ticket prices were higher, venues were indoors and a different crowd was present.

First of all, this event was a smaller part of a larger outdoor festival held in one of the larger city parks.  The tastings themselves occurred in a large tent and tables lined the edges of the tent with one larger one in the center.  The center winery was Casa Larga Vineyards (this made sense because they largely sponsored the event).  Upon entering the tent, my original assumptions were shattered.

For $5 at this event, you got a tasting glass and basically unlimited tastings- IF you could get to the tastings.  The problem was that many people would stand around the tables for long after they'd tried their samples instead of moving along.  This led to overcrowding and people were reaching over others just to try to get a sample.  In many areas of the tent, it was impossible to pass easily on to the next table.  The area became so crowded with people that no one could easily move.  I hadn't anticipated having so much trouble even moving around.

Wine tasting table
Photograph by Melody Flammger

Instead of taking tasting notes, my friend Kat and I focused on collecting winery brochures so we would know which wineries had attended and could refer back to their websites if we liked anything we had tried.  We tried the wines that sounded interesting or that we hadn't had before rather than doing a complete tasting at any one winery.  If we had tried to get a whole lineup in, someone would have pushed us out of the way.

This really opened my eyes to what can happen if there isn't a good crowd management system in place.  There was one security guard stationed at an exit to the tent, but no ropes for lines and no apparent organization.  We noted quickly to each other the difference between an event like this and an event for serious wine drinkers.  Unfortunately, what could have been a very nice event for serious wine appreciators it had become the ultimate drunk fest.  After all, if you can get unlimited samples with your $5 entry fee, you wanted to get your monies worth and that was done by trying as many wines as possible- sometimes even multiple times.


We managed to have a good time despite the event not being what we expected.  We ultimately decided that if we're going to go to an even where there is a massive tasting such as this one that we'd have to keep a notebook to have an idea of what we tried, or to abandon trying to gather tasting notes for each wine.  We made a mental note of some of the wines we liked but a list may even have been better.

Have you had a mass tasting experience?  What was it like?

Catfish blanc

Explorador Sauvignon Blanc
Photograph by Melody Flammger

2010 Explorador Sauvignon Blanc

See/Swirl: This wine, like most Sauvignon blancs is very light color.  This is probably due to the young age of the wine.  Swirling reveals that the wine has definite legs and these are indicative of the 13.5% alcohol content listed on the bottle.

Sniff: I get definite lemon zest, apple skins and another bitter, sour smell I can't put my finger on.  I think it's gooseberry (a classic descriptor of Sauvignon blanc).

Sip: The flavor is lemony and acidic with light fruit on the back end.  I've previously referred to this wine as being a lemonade replacement and this one lives up to the name due to its tartness and lemon notes.

Citrus Dill Catfish

Citrus Dill Catfish with Steamed Vegetables and Garlic Flatbread
Photograph by Melody Flammger

The first word out of my mouth after tasting this was "Meh."  The flavors canceled each other out. The dill was too subtle a flavor to stand against the bright flavors in the sauvignon blanc and there wasn't enough fat in the fish to balance out the acidity in the wine.  The whole thing fell flat for me.  This is a learning experience though. Pairing flavors that seem similar to each other can cause problems is pairings.  Sometimes they work out spectacularly and others they don't.  This is a learning experience.

Garlic Flatbread


I knew that the two would go together, so the whole meal was not a miss.  The acidity in the wine enhanced the garlic flavor and the fat in the cheese was enough to buffer the acidity in the wine.  Because of that acidity being brought into balance, the fruit flavors in the wine came forward and the pairing transformed.

Barbecue and beer

This is the first time the blog has really delved outside of the topic of wine, but with the Summer upon us I decided to address the food of the season: Barbecue, and it is typically best with a beer.

Saranac Blueberry Blonde Ale

See:
About a "2" on the color scale (1 being the lightest and 8 being black).  There's a little bit of a head on the beer and visible bubbles.  The beer is apparently unfiltered, as it's a bit cloudy towards the end of the bottle.


Smell:
Blueberries, honey and bread are the main aromas


Sip:
I tasted just a little sweetness on the front end, being inundated with hops and bitter skins of blueberries on the middle of the sip.  My husband (who is a self-proclaimed hop head) got a lot more of the fruit from the blueberries on the front end of this beer.  Your tasting experience will depend on your preferences and your sensitivity to certain flavors.

Barbecue Chicken


Once paired with the chicken, I was able to pick up on the fruity flavors my husband had described to me in the initial tasting so the food certainly brought out some flavor in the beer.  Additionally, the hoppiness in the beer brought out the spice in the barbecue making the pairing mutually beneficial to the food and the beer.

Brown Sugar Baked Beans


The beans paired with the beer similarly to the way the chicken did.  The spiciness was picked up by the hops flavor in the beer and the sweetness in the beer was picked up by balancing the hops out against the food.  Overall, I felt both items went well with the beer.

What is your favorite Barbecue pairing?

Summer wine

Patio Wine
Photograph by Melody Flammger

I love how nice the weather has been lately and realized that as we head into Summer, there's a whole different feel to the kind of wine we want to drink.

Here are some wines I recommend for while you're chilling on your patio or just hanging out with friends:

Photograph by Christopher Flammger

Red Newt Cellars Blue Newt White:


I recommend this wine because it's a nice, lightweight wine that is sweet enough to stand on its own.  It's still zippy, acidic and fun- as any good patio wine should be.  The balance between the high acidity and high sweetness is something I love about many of the Finger Lakes wines.

Photograph by Christopher Flammger

Hazlitt Vineyards Red Cat:


If you haven't had Hazzlitt's Red Cat already, it's a must.  Just about every winery's success has been compared directly to Red Cat's.  The idea behind Red Cat is the same as any patio wine- easy drinking.  I find the occasional bottle enjoyable.  The "Red Cat" name comes from the fact that it is made from a grape called "Catawba", which is a red grape native to New York.

Photograph by Christopher Flammger

Xplorador Sauvignon Blanc:


This was the most recent Sauvignon Blanc purchase I've made.  I generally prefer Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand but will be giving this one a try.  Sauvignon Blanc is a great patio wine in general- no matter which style you like because it tends to be juicy, mouth watering and acidic just like lemonade.  Perfect for the patio if you ask me!

Thirsty Owl and cranberry pepper glazed salmon

Cranberry Pepper Glazed Salmon and Pan Seared Corn
Photograph by Melody Flammger

I came home to a surprise food and wine pairing prepared by my husband on Wednesday after a long night at work.  He's a much better cook than myself and I usually enjoy what he brings to the table.  Without further ado, here's the food and wine pairing:

Thirsty Owl Wine Company's Blushing Moon Wine
Photograph by Melody Flammger

Thirsty Owl Wine Company Blushing Moon:

• See/swirl: I see a pale rose color, almost peachy.  There are no legs and no sediment.
• Sniff: I smell fresh strawberry, peach and kiwi.
• Sip: I find that the kiwi scent carries through to the taste, which is pleasantly zippy with a hint of strawberry.  The wine is very acidic and sour, which is typical of the Finger Lakes Wine Region. 

Cranberry Pepper Glazed Salmon
Photograph by Melody Flammger

Cranberry Pepper Glazed Salmon:

Pan Seared Corn

The acidity of the wine is balanced out by the fattiness of the fish.  The peppers in the glaze get a bit of kick off from the wine, increasing the heat on the spice.  The sweetness from the cranberries is welcome and evens out the whole thing.  I really enjoyed the way the wine and food played off of each other because they both transformed beautifully.  Of course, both the food and the wine were delicious on their own as well.

  

Corn Seared in Salt and Butter:

The sweetness in the corn offsets the blatant acidity of the wine and the two coexist quite peacefully.  There was no miraculous transformation as with the salmon but still a nice pairing.