Wine Peeps

The March edition of Wine Blogging Wednesday is being hosted by Joel of Wine Life Today who selected Comfort Wines as our theme. He simply called for us to unwind and relax with a favorite bottle of wine.

“Wine makes daily living easier, less hurried, with fewer tensions and more tolerance.” –Benjamin Franklin

Since we all have different ways of relaxing and different wines that we enjoy relaxing with, all four of us Wine Peeps participated in this WBW independently. Each of us has written about our comfort wine and relaxing experience in our own words…

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Kori

Sydney, my 13 month old daughter, is asleep right now and I finally have a moment to sit down on the couch, relax, start reading a book that’s been on my nightstand for over a year, and sip one of my all-time favorite wines, the 2002 Peter Lehmann Shiraz. Too many times when Sydney is sleeping, I am frantically trying to get as much done as I can (paying bills, washing dishes, working on these blog posts, etc.) that I rarely take time for myself. This comfort wine theme was perfect in that it forced me to slow down and relax a little.

From the first sniff, this wine makes me completely relax. The aromas of black fruits, spice, and pepper permeate through my nose and go all the way to my toes, relaxing each part of my body along the way. In addition, it takes me back to wonderful memories of our time in the Barossa Valley of Australia. Blackberry, black currant, and pepper flavors dominate on the palate. This is an extremely well-balanced wine with bold yet smooth tannins, just the right amount of acidity, and a long, lingering finish.

Man, this is good stuff! I’m going to have to make time to enjoy this comfort wine ritual on a more regular basis.

2002 Peter Lehmann Shiraz
Quality: 5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: MadWine (Washington), $13.99 [2005 is the currently available vintage]; probably can also be found at your local wine outlet

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John

When I’m not studying wine, I’m in the investment management business studying these crazy markets. I unwind at home in my sweats by sipping a good glass of wine while watching the sailboat races on Lake Union from my deck, reading a good book [currently I’m reading New Classic Winemakers of California], or going online where I browse sports, travel [fantasizing about my next trip Down Under], and wine.

My comfort wine is the 2004 Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet. It’s a bright, fresh-looking sipper with nice aromas of fresh, ripe, dark fruit. It gets my attention early with its tannins, yet it morphs into a balanced wine with a long finish. When I’m drinking Koonunga Hill, I forget all of the problems in the world, the economy, and the stock market, and dream of my next evening in the Barossa.

Best of all, it’s a $7.99 bottle of wine that you can find almost anywhere. And where else can you find a wine at this price that will last 15 or 20 years? Let’s do the Koonunga!

2004 Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Wine Exchange (California), $7.99 [2006 is the currently available vintage]; probably can also be found at your local wine outlet

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Colby

My comfort wine is the Columbia Crest Two Vines Merlot Cabernet. The price is right, averaging between $6 and $8 a bottle, and it is a great all around wine. The wine has a fragrant nose of red cherry and hints of minerality. On first sip it is fruit-forward and balanced with just enough tannins for a good body and a pleasant finish. After it has had a chance to breathe, you can expect the tannins to open up so you can experience its true complexity. It’s not overpowering but definitely not a wimpy wine either.

I typically enjoy this wine while watching TV, reading or working on our blogs (remember I’m the geek; computers are fun). This wine is one that I’ve enjoyed over the years, first while studying during grad school and now as an easy drinker that won’t break the bank. Give it a shot and tell us what you think.

2005 Columbia Crest Two Vines Merlot Cabernet
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: WinoWorld (Idaho), $7.38 [2004 is the currently available vintage]; probably can also be found at your local wine outlet

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LaGayle

Most evenings I unwind and relax with a book; my reading of choice is fiction. While I read I enjoy sipping a glass of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, most often Nobilo. While many people might question a Sauvignon Blanc as a sipping comfort wine, it is those characteristics that it provides that I specifically like: the fresh, tart, grapefruity taste with the soft golden color. I do not like sweet or oaky flavors, but I love a crisp, cold white wine…even in winter!

2007 Nobilo Marlborough Regional Collection Sauvignon Blanc
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: MadWine (Washington), $9.99; probably can also be found at your local wine outlet

This year’s Open That Bottle Night was last Saturday, February 23. Open That Bottle Night, created by Wall Street Journal wine columnists Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher, is the one night a year that we are all encouraged to get out that bottle of wine that is so special that no special occasion seems special enough to actually open it. Just open it already…and enjoy!

That’s exactly what the Wine Peeps did when we got together for dinner and opened a bottle of 1992 Henschke Hill of Grace that Dad (John) had been saving. The four of us fell in love with Australia and Australian wines when we visited in the spring of 2005. One of our favorite stops in our wine touring of the Barossa Valley was Henschke. The people were extremely friendly and welcoming. The cellar door (tasting room) had a warm, rustic feel. And the wines (all 15 or so that they insisted we taste) were excellent. A picture of their tasting bar with the lineup of wines was included in my Australia really wants your business post last week. We were there during harvest so we were able to see the winery in full action. Henschke’s Hill of Grace wine is 100 percent Shiraz from their Hill of Grace vineyard and is one of the two most famous wines in all of Australia, the other being Penfolds Grange. From Henschke’s website:

“Hill of Grace: this surely is one of the most evocative phrases in the world of wine. It is a translation from the German ‘Gnadenberg’, a region in Silesia, and the name given to the lovely Lutheran Church across the road. For Henschke it is the name of both the vineyard and the wine that has so captured the heart of the red wine lover.”

Since our family is Lutheran, seeing the lovely church and its connection to the vineyard gave the wine even more significance for us.

While the wonderful folks at Henschke gave us tastes from $70+ bottles, obviously their top-of-the-line Hill of Grace was not open for tasting. Upon returning home, Dad set out to buy a bottle to see if it was all it’s hyped to be. Since it has great aging potential, he wanted to buy a bottle that already had some age on it so that we could enjoy it sooner. He decided on the 1992 vintage which is considered to be one of their better (although probably not their best) vintages. Once he had it in the cellar, all he needed was an occasion to drink it. Enter Open That Bottle Night.

So Saturday night we sat down to a wonderful dinner of beef tenderloin with sautéed mushrooms, baked sweet potatoes, and steamed broccoli prepared by Mom (LaGayle) and opened that special bottle of Hill of Grace. It did not disappoint! It received two thumbs up from all four Peeps and was definitely worth the wait.

1992 Henschke Hill of Grace: 100% Shiraz. Brilliant with very little dilution in color on the rim despite the fact that it is 16 years old. Very perfumy and peppery with floral hints on the nose. Chewy and full-bodied. Lots of black pepper and black fruits on the palate. Not as overtly tannic or as alcoholic as most big wines. Very smooth and extremely well-balanced with a long finish.
Quality: 5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 1 bang for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Vintage Wines (California), $299.99

While our goal at Wine Peeps is to find excellent wines that are also excellent values, it sure can be fun to splurge every once in a while.

If you missed this year’s OTBN, go ahead and open your special bottle anyway. Or you can join us for next year’s OTBN on Saturday, February 28, 2009 (always the last Saturday in February).