A word from the Wise about Wine By Madelyn Miller, the TravelLady
In my fantasy life I am organized. So I buy things that are considered organizers. I just bought a beautiful wine rack that reaches up to the ceiling and put all my wines in it. It looks neat. Professional. Organized.
After all that work, I just could not mess up the symmetry of my extensive wine collection (based on the fact that it almost filled the big wine rack). So I asked my first guest to choose a wine. He was a good choice because he knows more about wine than I do (based on the fact that he drinks more than I do).
He looked through my organized wine rack and quickly chose the Gloria Ferrer Casneros Pinot Noir 2002.
I liked the guy. I liked the wine.
So I decided to do a little more research.
Did he know that on their 335-acre estate in Carneros, no less than eleven soil types and a wide variety of clones and terrain combine with the daily fog and wind to produce exceptional Pinot Noir. For nearly twenty years the Gloria Ferrer people have studied Carneros and its relationship to their vines. With this knowledge of the terror as a guide, the estate Pinot Noir gains complexity and consistency with each passing year.
The 2002 Pinot Noir displays a great deal of aromatic and flavor complexity, which is knit together by a firm structural element—a hallmark feature of the vintage.
A mild spring with low rainfall opened to a warm summer, with periodic heat spikes tempering the cooling aspects of the Carneros region. Cluster thinning, leaf puling, judicious irrigation and other attentive vineyard practices during the heat spells were applied. This assured that each block emerged with striking textural and structural elements and without overripe characteristics.
If only my date had been this careful and considerate, it might have been a good year for us, too.
But the wine held up better than the guy did.
I don’t think I will go out with him again. WWW.gloriaferrer.com
I Think It Might Be Easier to Study Wine Than Men OLDMAN’S GUIDE TO OUTSMARTING WINE: 108 Ingenious Shortcuts to Navigate the World of Wine with Confidence and Style By Mark Oldham Penguin Original $18.00 Received the Georges Duboeuf Book Award of Year at the annual Beaujolais Nouveau luncheon in New York RENAISSANCE GUIDE TO WINE AND FOOD PAIRING By Tony Didio and Amy Zavatto Alpha Books How to Pronounce French, German and Italian Wine Names By Dianna Bellucci They also include a bonus of Austrian, Spanish and Portuguese Wine Names Luminosa Publishing www.howtopronounce.com THE LITTLE BOOK OF CHAMPAGNE by Christian Pessey Flammarion Publishing THE LITTLE BOOK OF COGNAC by Christian Pessey Flammarion Publishing Australian Wine Vintages 2005 The Gold Book By Robin Bradley www.gold-book.us The Guide to Colorado Wineries By Alta and Brad Smith Fulcrum Publishing www.fulcrum -books.com DISCOVERING WASHINGTON WINES By Tom Parker An introduction to one of the most exciting Premium wine regions Ranconteurs Press www.reconteurs.com Hidden Wine Country By Marty Olmstead and Ray Riegert Ulysses Press www.ulyssespress.com TOURING TEXAS WINERIES By Thomas M. Giesla and Regina M. Giesla Scenic Drives along Texas Wine Trails Lone Star Books www.texaswinetrails.com ACCESS CALIFORNIA WINE COUNTRY A guide that leads you street by street into the Heart of the Wine Country Updated by Donna Peck Harper Resource www.harpercollins.com GREAT TASTES MADE SIMPLE By Andrea Immer (author of Great Wine Made Simple) www.broadwaybooks.com WINE FOR WOMEN A guide for buying, pairing and sharing wine By Leslie SBrocco William Morrow/HarperCollins Publishers www.lesliebrocco.com www.harpercollins.com Cocktails Low-carb Cocktails All the fun and taste without the carbs By Marlene and Chuck Koch Madelyn Miller is executive editor of www.travellady.com and just founded a new website www.chocolateatals.com about her other passion (besides the guy she mentioned above). She might be drinking a lot of wine alone and eating chocolate bonbons for awhile
