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Poderi Morini "Morose" Spumante Brut Rose NV, A Delicious Rose From Italy For Under $15

6/9/2018

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by Patrick Ogle

Poderi Morini "Morose" Spumante Brut Rose  from Emilia-Romagna, is a find. When you spend around $12 on a sparkler you do not expect something with this textured and creamy. You also might not expect all the fruit and herbal elements. I get red berries--from raspberry to cherry and even something perfumey here. There is something like a fennel or tarragon herbalness here. The sugar is in the middle to high range for a brut sparkler. Twelve grams per liter is the upper limit and this has about 9. It is still dry but it isn't as low as brut goes (I refer to sugar ranges in Champagne here). Drink it on its own or make cocktails with it. It works well for both.

This is a lovely little wine that also has a neat story. The grape is Centesimino a grape that just as easily could have vanished into history. A gentleman named Pietro Pianori found the grape growing and championed it. When it was included in the Italian national catalog of vines it was named Centesimino in Pianori's honor (Centesimino was his nickname). Read more at the Fringe Wine blog.
 
The grape is also used to make still red wines. This is a non-vintage wine but apparently all the grapes come from 2015. This wine is made using the Charmat (Tank) Method. This means the wine gets its sparkle outside the bottle in a pressurized tank.

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Furlani's "Macerato," A Frizzante, Gloriously Colored (And Delicious) Wine From Trentino, Italy

6/6/2018

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by Patrick Ogle

Furlani "Macerato" is a frizzante, gloriously colored, delicious wine from Trentino, Italy. Before you even open this wine you notice the beautiful color--pink.  The color is what you see under the furry skin of pinot grigio (or some versions of the grape). This wine has extended skin contact which creates the beautiful color. They do not list the grapes used on their website.

It has a bit of sparkle with a tart chewy strawberry taste. I was told it tasted a bit like a strawberry Starburst. I doubted but it sort of does. Think of a strawberry starburst without the sweetness.  It is tart and refreshing and is a wonderful summer time wine. It is just delicious and incredibly unique. Do not be put off by all the junk floating in it either. It is unfiltered and full of flavor. Turn the bottle up and down a few times before opening. Do this gently because it is sparkling and if you do it roughly it will blow up all over when you open it.

This Furlani has citrus buried in it-- but not the sort of citrus you might expect. There were these small tangerine-like sour fruits I recall as a kid in Florida. I thought of those. I write this all the time but it is again, applicable; you don’t need to think too much about this wine. Just drink it (if you can find it). It is well outside the norm but even with this it is an easily accessible wine. No one is going to spit this out. On the contrary, if you open this for guests they may finish it fast so they can get a second glass.

Furlani wines are low intervention. I prefer "low intervention" to "natural." It is more cumbersome but more accurate. These wines are made with using Biodynamic practices.


Furlani also have a Teroldego wine similar to this one. Their website is a collection of what look like must buy wines.

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Le Canon Rose (2015), A Natural Rose From The Rhone Valley, Made From Muscat Of Hamburg

3/18/2017

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by Patrick Ogle

Le Canon is a rose wine from the Rhone Valley. Unusually it is made from muscat of Hamburg. The gentleman at the wine shop said "It is a wine made by, Hirotake Ooka , a Japanese winemaker in the Northern Rhone." The gentleman then extrapolated on a number of details. I could have responded with "You had me with that first sentence." He also would have had me by saying "muscat of Hamburg."

It almost seems to bubble when you pour it and it smells like a ripe red grapefruit. It tastes like that too (although the grapefruit is more subdued in the taste). There is also a good deal of grapefruit pith here, especially on the finish.

I had a hard time chasing other aspects of this wine. There is something tropical in the background that isn't citrus. The wine has strong acidity too. The CO2 and the acidity make this a lively wine. If you want to pair this with something thing salads and mild cheeses. It almost calls to mind a French farmhouse ale in some ways.

When you look at this wine, and when you know the story and what it is you might expect it to be weirder, to be funkier. It is unusual to be sure but it is also quite accessible-different but accessible. If you expect a mild mannered Provence rose? You are going to be surprised. Yet, if you are expecting to taste dirt and grungy nastiness because it is cloudy? You would be dead wrong as well.

This wine sort of tastes like summer.

It also shows that totally natural wines--no sulfur is added, it is neither fined nor filtered--are not necessarily unapproachable for casual wine drinkers. This wine doesn't even use additions in the vineyard allowed in biodynamic wines. It is pretty close to zero intervention from the winemaker, beyond even biodynamic requirements. This wine is fascinating for those into esoteric wines but people who like wine in a broader sense will not be turned off by it (provided they have an open mind). There is something primal here. It makes you think of the sort of fermented beverage the first people fermenting beverages might have tasted.

With the emphasis on non-intervention it is somewhat ironic that the grape used, muscat of Hamburg, is possibly the result of human intervention.

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"Feints" Mendocino County Cuvee Zero 2015 By Ruth Lewandowski, Is It A Red? Is It A Rose? Who cares! It Is Delicious And From Utah

11/9/2016

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by Patrick Ogle

Feints Mendocino County Cuvee Zero 2015 by Ruth Lewandowski Wines seems a little too light to be a red and a little too dark to be a rose. It is a light garnet color. But none of that matters? It is delicious.

I smelled strawberries and raspberries, took a second whiff and thought "cherries." There are tannins through this from first sip to finish as it comes right out of the bottle. The air brings these down fast. I don't know if this is a matter of the wine's basic 'lightness'. Does that mean tannins get subsumed faster by air?? I am not a chemist. Have a glass right out of the bottle, then another after 10-15 minutes and then give it a little more time. It evolves and it gives you different looks at the wine. It changes with little increments of time. It is just clever and complex but all that is just bullshit next it being a fun drinking experience. There are by the way still tannins on the finish even after tons of air.

It is a zippy, acidic, fun drinking wine. Had a glass with no food and it was all good. I paired it with some pasta with light red sauce (white wine in very light tomato w veggies). Where I was there was no can opener so NO red sauce but wine, asparagus tomatoes, soy sauce basil pasta and it worked. It is such a versatile, drinkable food friendly wine I want a case. This is fun wine. This is interesting wine. And if they break the "rules"? Who cares. It is a complicated but crowd pleasing wine.

I didn't want to think about this and there is no reason for you TO think about it. Just drink it. These are wines crafted for the regular but still discerning wine drinker.. They are not meant for fancy lovers of Bordeaux or 200 dollar bottles of northern Cali cabernets. This bottle costs between 20 and 25 bucks and is worth every penny.

Another interesting thing here is the grapes used. This wine is made from dolcetto, barbera and arneis. It sounds like it should be from Northern Italy but it is, in fact, from two places; the grapes are from Mendocino County, California and the wine is made in Utah. Two red grapes and a white, used together with carbonic maceration (at least that is how I read it) is unusual. You can read more HERE.

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Beurer Wurttemberg Rose Trocken 2015, German Blend Of Trollinger, Portugieser, Zweigelt and Spatburgunder

8/13/2016

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By Patrick Ogle

Beurer Wurttemberg Rose Trocken 2015 is a rosé that should find its place onto your summer table (if you can find a bottle). It is a blend of trollinger, portugieser, zweigelt and spatburgunder (aka pinot noir).

Trollinger (also called schiava grosso) makes a red wine that is so light in color that it almost looks like a rose. This rose is almost as dark in color as many trollinger reds. None of the other grapes are known for making particularly heavy wines.

The smell is like a grape jolly rancher--quite grapey. It is bright, has refreshing acidity and it is way up on the list of what you want to be drinking on a hot day. It is a rose that flirts with and acknowledges its inner redness but since the  wine is mostly  trollinger? This "redness" isn't too...well...too red.

There is a lot of dissolved CO2 here but it isn't sparkling but, even so, that gas leaves you with a wine that is quite lively. There is a slight vinegar taste here--acetic acid lurking well beneath the surface which adds a wee little bit of what you might, MIGHT call complexity to the wine. But it is hard to call this complex. It is an ultimately drinkable summertime wine that is interesting without being off-putting.

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La Boutanche Rose 2015, From The Loire, Uses The Little Used And Oft Reviled Grape, Grolleau, To Good Effect

4/14/2016

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by Patrick Ogle

La Boutanche Rose 2015, made from the oft reviled grolleau grape, is tart, crisp and has what  seems  a hint of effervescence when you first open it; this vanishes quickly. The finish has subtle hints of tannin and a little bitterness. It is an rose with a little more to it than the ones you down with two fists in the summertime. Part of me couldn't help thinking of a non-bubbly lambrusco. There is something floral and the fruit is bright, tart and summery (watermelon? strawberry?). But do not mistake this rose for a Provencal rose; as noted it is tart, mildly tannic and has a hint of bitterness.


This is a grape that at least four well-known wine writers have said should be torn up and replaced with cab franc. There are some great cab francs in the Loire Valley; why suggest getting rid of a lesser known, lesser grown grape? The only reason I can think of is that some experts think there should only be a handful of grapes grown and that grapes/wines that do not fit into some quite specific taste parameters have no value.

I do not concur (despite not being a renowned expert).

Not everything outside of Napa Cabs, Bordeaux-style blends or other classic French styles has no value. In the hands of interesting winemakers (or in certain areas) discounted grapes can thrive. I do not know what a red made from grolleau would taste like and there may be some truly foul roses from the grape out there but this wine is not one of them. It is a wonderful light to medium bodied rose that will please lovers of the standard rose fare but offers a little something different to wine lovers looking for new horizons can also enjoy.

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    WINE!

    There are thousands of wine grapes and many places that grow great wines. Why not find out about some surprising wines from surprising places?

    NOTE-Until recently I did not capitalize the names of varietal grapes (as a matter of style) but for a variety of reasons as of February, 2018 we will capitalize but I am not going back and altering the previous style!!!


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