Results from a winetasting fundraiser

Saturday I hosted a fundraiser at my church (Episcopal) with wines and picnic fare. The menu included crackers and cheeses (Bleu cheese, chevre with herbs, smoked gouda, and Grana Podano) cucumber salad, cole slaw, German-style and more traditional-style potato salads, baked beans, corn on-the-cob, fried chicken, apple and cherry cobblers and a cake with cherries, coconut and nuts. We didn't have grilled hamburgers but I included a couple red wines that I thought would pair well with grilled beef (hamburgers or steaks) or with barbeque for summer meals. Out of fifteen people, 3-5 are probably more experienced and knowledgeable about wine than the others. Not a wine geeky crowd.

The wines are listed in the order we tasted them. I had extra glasses so guests could taste oaked and unoaked Chardonnay side-by-side or the two rose' wines side-by-side etc.

1. 2011 The Crossings Sauvignon Blanc, Awatere Valley, Marlborough, New Zealand.
2. 2010 Lioco Sonoma County Chardonnay, CA. (unoaked)
3. 2009 Bridlewood Estate Winery Chardonnay, Monterey County, CA (Central Coast). (partly stainless steel tanks and partly oak barrels)
4. 2007 Alex Gambal Chassagne-Montrachet, Burgundy, France. (new and old French oak barrels)
5. 2011 Adega de Moncao Vinho Verde Muralhas de Moncao, Rose', Portugal. Effervescent.
6. 2011 Les Vignes des Precheurs Tavel Rose', Southern Rhone, France. Bottled by Ravoire and Sons. Blend of Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah and Mourvedre)
7. 2009 Mas de Guiot Vin de Pays du Gard, Rhone, France. Languedoc subregion. Red wine of 60% Syrah, 40% Grenache.
8. 2005 Robert Biale Vineyards Black Chicken Zinfandel, Napa Valley, CA.
9. 2009 Dr. Loosen Erdener Treppchen Riesling Kabinett, Mosel, Germany.
10. 2011 Saracco Moscato d'Asti, Piedmont Region, Italy. Frizzante.

It was suggested that attendees try the Sauvignon Blanc wine with the Bleu cheese, cucumber salad and cole slaw and try the other cheeses with Chardonnays, rose' or red wines. The corn on-the-cob could be paired with the Bridlewood Chardonnay and the white Burgundy. I suggested having the rose' wines with potato salad, baked beans and fried chicken. The red wines could be sipped on their own or tried with cheese but were intended as examples for grilling and barbecuing pairings. The Riesling and Moscato were dessert wines to try with the cobbler or cake.
Attendees were encouraged to give letter grades (A - F) to the wines as they tasted and their pick their three favorites.

Voting was pretty diversified but the two that garnered four first place votes were the Lioco Sonoma County Chardonnay (unoaked) and the Robert Biale Vineyards Black Chicken Zinfandel (the highest alcohol at over 15%.) The Lioco also got one person's low grade of F because she said it was too oaky! The Moscato did pretty well with three first-place and three third-place votes but was my least favorite (I like some Moscato wines quite a bit but found this too sweet.) The Sauvignon Blanc did well with three first-place and four second-place votes. It paired nicely with the cucumber/dill salad. Also doing pretty well overall was the Portuguese rose' with two first-place votes, two second-place votes and four third-place votes.

My top two were the Alex Gambal Chassagne-Montrachet (clean and fresh tasting with just the right amount of creamy lemon) and the The Crossings Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. I had a three-way tie for third place but chose the Portugese rose' to take the honors. I did not think the Dr. Loosen Riesling showed well on the night--it probably needs more time. I have another bottle which I will hold for a few years. It was quite acidic but probably had a Brix level that could have been classifed as Spatlese rather than Kabinett.

The Portuguese rose' has cheery strawberry flavor, some effervescence, and seems like a winner as a patio sipper for summer heat. IMO the Tavel rose' had more depth than the Portuguese rose' and got four third-place votes. I had liked the 2010 vintage of this Tavel wine better than the 2011 vintage. The Chassagne-Montrachet had some body from light oak treatment and I thought the creaminess was a nice match to the corn and would also be nice with haddock or sole in a cream sauce.

Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. We had three newcomers who had not been to any of the previous winetastings. (It was not widely advertised because I wanted to control the numbers to less than 25.)

[David M. Bueker]

I would guess that the Loosen is shut down right now. Lost of '09s closing up shop for the time being.

Interesting set of wines - really covering the field.

JC,

I'm not surprised that a group of people who are not wine enthusiasts would like the Moscato. At a local charity tasting a fizzy raspberry flavored wine, sort of a framboise spritzer, was voted best of show. I am surprised that they liked the Zin so well. I must have played nicely with the meat dishes.

I'm not surprised that a group of people who are not wine enthusiasts would like the Moscato.

Either am I. Out of 8,500 wine in the shop where I work, the #1 asked for wine is white zin and the #2 is Moscato.

On another note, JC, was the fund raiser a success? This is something we've talked about at our church, also Episcopal, but have yet to act upon. We'd most likely have about the same number of attendees if not slightly fewer, with very few knowledgeable about wine to any extent.

It raised several hundred dollars. The food was donated by church members and I donated the wine (plus a German potato salad and the cheese and crackers) so the payment was all given to the church general fund. We had over 30 people at the last one and raised about $400 but came close to running out of food and I was worried that the wine wouldn't stretch far enough so wanted to avoid that this time. Our next fundraiser in August will be a ice cream sundae event where people select their own combination of ice cream and toppings. (We have a small congregation and have had to pay for repairs to air conditioning, water heater and septic system this year so we will be doing lots of fundraisers.)

On the Moscato, a local wineshop owner says she sells a lot of this. I asked if the buyers were mostly the young crowd and she said that the Moscato was particularly popular with her African-American customers.

On the Moscato, a local wineshop owner says she sells a lot of this. I asked if the buyers were mostly the young crowd and she said that the Moscato was particularly popular with her African-American customers.

I've heard Moscato mentioned in several contemporary R&B/hip-hop songs over the past few years. There was an R&B song several years ago where the singer mentioned in the lyrics that she specifically preferred Saracco.