It seems like we're always trying new things here on LENNDEVOURS, and here is yet another (I hope) weekly feature that should be a lot of fun — What I Drank.
In a nutshell, I've asked each of the site's contributors to send me a quick note on Sunday night/Monday morning telling me about a wine (or other beverage) that they tasted over the weekend that stood out. It won't necessarily be the best wine they tasted though. It could be the most interesting, the most unique, a new wine that either impressed or disappointed. Oh, and the wine needn't be local, another diversion from the norm here on LENNDEVOURS.
This week, I'm actually going to take a step back and not highlight a wine (you'll be reading about the wines I tasted in other posts) because Bryan and Evan sent along some great stuff.
From Bryan Calandrelli: Thirty Bench 2006 Triangle Vineyard Riesling
On Sunday, my wife and I were invited to a fellow wine geek’s house on the Niagara River for a Memorial Day BBQ. He opened a few bottles of local stuff as well as a Pouilly Fumé, but I was most interested in the Thirty Bench 2006 Triangle Vineyard Riesling.
This “Beamsville Bench” appellation wine from Niagara, Ontario was brought over by a Sommelier Certification classmate of the host. I was expecting concentrated stone-fruit flavors but it turned out to be quite lean with a slight hint of petrol and an unmistakable minerality. Thirty Bench has won quite a few accolades for this wine and rightfully so. It’s not easy to find the best Ontario wines on this side of the border, so any chance to try them here is appreciated.
From Evan Dawson: Movia 2000 Puro
This wine is nearly as fun to open as it is to drink. That's because winemaker Aleš Kristančičof Movia does not disgorge the wine before release. Kristancic's
vineyards, which straddle the border of Italy and Slovenia, are farmed
in pure biodynamic fashion (he has become a kind of charismatic
spokesman for biodynamic winemaking). Per his suggestion, we stored the
bottle upside down and disgorged it underwater, allowing the yeast plug
to shoot out before turning the bottle rightside up. My wife handled
that process, and the wine came out gorgeously clear. I was almost
disappointed that there wasn't a trace of yeast in the glass.
most sparklers; it lacks some of the minerality of its French cousins
but I admired its personality. It smells like a butternut squash puree
dotted with creme fraiche and varied nuts, with perhaps a slight zest
of lime. It tastes even creamier, like someone converted a bag of
assorted nuts into a coffee creamer, then added chunks of peach,
apricot, and squash. There is a distinct character in both of the
bottles of Movia that I have now enjoyed (we opened a bottle of 2004
Ribolla last fall), and coupled with the story of a man who buries the
cow horn, worships the moon, and believes in sustainability to its
core, it's easy to love these wines.