LIWINEDAD

  Wölffer Estate does it again with a rich, vibrant 2020 Gewürztraminer Cellar Series (Figure 1) that paired wonderfully with a Salmon dinner (Figure 2).   The wine was first tasted alone as an accompaniment while cooking dinner, then paired with the Salmon for dinner.   The 2020 Gew ü rztraminer showed a shimmering yellow gold color in the glass with some nice legs.   The nose had distinctive Lychee, Rose, Honey, and Ruby Red Grapefruit notes.   The mouthfeel was a medium body.   The acid is slight and just a bit off-dry.   The fruit flavors burst across the palate with Lychee and a hint of Pineapple.   The finish was pleasantly long and the Gew ü rztraminer paired with the dinner perfectly.   Attached below (Figure 3) are all the technical details and tasting notes of the 2020 Gew ü rztraminer from the Wölffer Estate website.   The Salmon dinner was a quick pan-seared piece of Salmon finished in a lemon butter sauce with many capers (I love capers).   Once again, a fine wine t

  The next wine from our winter pick-ups to enjoy is a Wölffer Estates 2020 Antonov Sauvignon Blanc .   Sauvignon Blanc is one favorite and a clear winner over a Chardonnay in the white wine family.   One thing that makes Sauvignon Blanc so enjoyable is the diversity available from the wine regions worldwide and its modest price.   The flavor profile ranges from a simple, clean, crisp, unoaked high acid from New Zealand to a rich complex Sancerre that is well oaked from France.   The Wölffer is east of the center, being closer in complexity to a Sancerre.   The color is shimmering light gold, entirely transparent with just some thin legs (Figure 1).   The nose fills the glass with clear herbaceous notes, orchard fruits (pears), grass, and a slight hint of honeysuckle.   As the wine has touched oak, it was served a bit warmer at 52 ⁰ F than a New Zealand version that is better at about 48 ⁰ F.   The mouthfeel is rich and creamy, delicious fruit such as lime and green apple.   Also

We were serving up a boneless roast leg of Lamb with pan juice gravy and skillet seared asparagus in an Italian herb and lemon sauce for dinner.  This hearty meal needed a glass of wine to pair with it, so we scoured the wine cellar and selected a Roanoke Vineyards 2019 Cabernet Franc Site-Specific wine that we have picked up as part of our fall wine club selection.  When opened, there were clear Herbal, Green Peppercorn notes, but the wine was allowed to breathe a bit, and it faded.  The nose was intense dark fruit such as cherries with a hint of leather.  The color was bright red, especially at the fringes, and completely transparent (Figure 1).  On the palate, cherry fruit came roaring forward but notably absent were any Pyrazines (Green Bell Pepper) or other herbaceous tones familiar to the typicity of the Long Island terroir.  The wine had a good acid structure balanced with some tannins allowing it to stand up well to the roast Lamb.  While this is called a Cabernet Franc, a

  As pointed out in the last posting, the old folks were settling in for a quiet night paring some sparkling wine and small plates for the evening when the plans changed.   We switched the Wölffer 2018 Noblesse Oblige from paring with food to an aperitif and pre-gaming drink before an outstanding dinner at Molto Bene .   Having returned very stuffed from that dinner, we opened a Sparkling Pointe Vineyards 2017 Brut (Figure 1) as a nightcap.   As expected, Gilles Martin and the Sparkling Pointe team did not disappoint.   The Brut was served well chilled (46⁰F) in daily use flute glasses.   The color is a shimmering light golden color with virtually no opacity.   When poured, a fine ebullient white froth formed for a bit that then settled to a few streams of the tiniest bubbles.    The nose is much like the Wölffer 2018 Noblesse Oblige leading with Orchard fruits (Pears and very ripe Apples), but what set it apart was the notes of lemon and toast.   The palate was greeted with a full

  This New Year Eve, the old folks were settling in for a quiet night of wine and small bites starting with the Wölffer Estate 2018 Noblesse Oblige (Figure 1).   Of course, as is often the case plans change, our son called, and we were off to dinner with him and Noelle at Molto Bene .  There is a separate note on that dinner on liwinedad .  The change of events switched, the sparkling wine, from a pairing with small plates to an aperitif before dinner (OK, we were just pre-gaming).  The 2018 Noblesse Oblige (Figure 2) turned out to be a fine aperitif.  The color is a pale light salmon, and in the glass with just the right light, a slight orange tinge.  The nose burst forth with notes of toast, Orchard fruit (Pears, Apples), and a very slight hint of rose water.  In the mouth, the feel was full lush creamy with notable fruit.  The wine is a Brut, very dry, with vibrant acid and mild tannins.  The 2018 Noblesse Oblige is a beautiful palate opener before a heavy meal or mixed small pla

  Sometimes the best dinner is the unexpected one.  For New Year’s Eve, the two of us were settling in for a quiet evening sharing some small plates and Long Island sparkling wine.  Unexpectedly our son called and invited us to dinner with his fiancée, so off we went to Molto Bene .   We have been to Molto Bene some time ago and remember it as being quite good, so we expected an exciting revisit, and it did not disappoint.   The restaurant offered both indoor and enclosed outdoor seating, with us opting for indoor seating.   The seating and environment were bright, comfortable, inviting, and lively.   Opening drinks included Woodfords on the rocks, a generous pour, and fine cosmopolitans.   Awaiting us on the table was warm, crispy bread with butter and Rosemary infused EVOO.   We each had a starter, including Grilled Seafood Salad, Burrata, and Insalata Cesare.   The Grilled Seafood Salad (Figure 1) was a home run with perfectly grilled Calamari and Shrimp drizzled with a Balsamic g

  One of the best places to enjoy a fine glass of wine is with good friends by a fireplace.  We have a 6-foot gas fireplace at the end of the den, and about two months ago, it suddenly would only light up the first foot or so.  It had not had routine service since it was installed (3 years ago), so it needed a good cleaning, and I suspected that a spider had spun its web in the burner tube.  Enter Unmatched Fireplace Service to the rescue.  The technician Pat arrived as scheduled and proceeded over the next 3+ hours to completely disassemble the unit with the parts very neatly spread across the den floor.  He then evicted the spider that had taken residence in the gas supply tube, causing the problem.  After that, every part was cleaned, polished, and reinstalled.  The net result is a better than new working fireplace (Figures 1 & 2) to enjoy our wine in front of with friends and family.  Special thanks to Pat and the team at Unmatched for restoring the fireplace to its original p

  Christmas day dinner was a hectic affair with about fifteen people in attendance.  There was a diverse selection of appetizers and small plates to start the day, followed by a fillet mignon dinner, including string bean casserole, baked potatoes, and broccoli baked with cheese.  Wine number 2 for the day would need to pair well with the rich Fillet Mignon complemented with an intense horseradish sauce and hardy sides of a creamed string bean casserole and broccoli baked with cheddar cheese.  The meal called for a robust red, rich in tannins with a good presence of acid to balance all the richness of the food.  We selected a few bottles of Wölffer Estate 2019 Malbec (Figure 1), which was a fine match for the food.  As suggested by the winemaker, we served it at a cool cellar temperature of 62 ⁰ F and breathed for about 30 minutes.  The color was very dark red, almost opaque with a red fringe.  The nose filled the glass with ripe dark fruit such as figs but with just a slight hit of r

  Christmas day dinner was a hectic affair with about fifteen people in attendance.   There was a diverse selection of appetizers and small plates to start the day, followed by a fillet mignon dinner, including string bean casserole, baked potatoes, and broccoli baked with cheese.   Given the wide selection of starters, selecting a wine to pair with this was a challenge, so we went with the traditional sparkling wine, which tends to pair well with many things.   Some folks prefer mimosas; others have the sparkling wine as an aperitif, so we needed to balance the orange juice with a sparkling wine that could stand up well on its own.   As a club member, we had a Sparkling Pointe Vineyards 2014 Blanc de Blancs (Figure 1), a beautiful sparkling wine.   The wine is served well chilled (48 ⁰ F) and still presents a rich floral nose with clean apple notes and a hint of melon.   There was also a note of toast.   Dough and lemon zest came to the front on the palate , followed by some well-bal