I don't know a lot about Spanish wines, especially not Spanish sparkling wines (known as Cava, but its something I would love to know more about.

If you feel the same you may want to check out Taberna Del Alabardero on September 8th. They are having a wine dinner featuring Cava wines.

I got an email from the head Sommelier, with a heads up about this event and the menu looks very impressive. If you don't have any plans it looks like it will be a lot of fun and a chance to try something new.

I am a big fan of Dr. Vino, like many other wine bloggers his was the first wine blog I read, and I still enjoy reading it. That being said, I have to disagree with his Op-Ed column in the Times.

I have no issue with the idea of wineries and wine consumers becoming more ecologically aware, and I am not enough of a snob to think that wine only has to come in a bottle. In fact, I have plugged the French Rabbit wines several times.

There are two issues I have with the column:

1. I'd like to see some evidence to back up his claims about the carbon footprint, in particular if the 3 liter boxes generate half the carbon footprint during shipping, then why wouldn't 3 liter bottle do the same?

2. 97% of wines are meant to be consumed within a year? Most winemakers I know claim that their reds can age 5-10 years or more and even their whites can age 2-3 years.

But, ultimately, I think his piece ignores a fundamental truism about wine: Wine is about the experience, the excitement of opening the bottle and trying something new. Boxed wine is the opposite of that, boxed wine is about sameness about making every box the same. It is assembly line wine making.

His claim is that switching to more boxed wine will help increase wine sales, but if there is no excitment, no anticipation, if it is the same as buying a 6-pack of Pabst, then how will that encourage more people to drink?

Instead of looking at new packaging, if you want to help reduce the carboon footprint of your wine consumption, buy more wine from local wineries. If your local wineries suck, encourage them to make better wine. Sound ridiculous? It is no more ridiculous then asking boxed wine makers to make better wine.

I saw the Icewine from Denali Winery while we were in Skagway and the presentation is aweseome! It even includes a little jar with gold flecks in it.

It looks like most of the grapes Denali uses are sources from Washington State, but the wines are made on site.

Much more wine stuff to come...I'll be back on Tuesday.

Wine: Fabbioli Cellars 2005 Tre Sorelle



Review: In 2006, when I reviewed the 2004 vintage of this wine, Doug was just getting started with his own winery. Two and half years later Fabbioli Cellars is a must-visit on the Loudoun wine trail.

A friend of mine was having a bad day at work on Friday. I keep a small wine rack on my desk usually stocked with 3 or 4 bottles, so I called her down to split a bottle of the Tre Sorrelle and vent.

The 2005 Tre Sorrele is a blend of 65% Merlot, 20% Tannat and 15% Petit Verdot. This is a spicy wine with a strong oaky taste and black currant flavors. It has aged well and has a soft finish with light tannins.

A good wine to enjoy on a bad Friday or any other time.

Price: $24

Grade: 85

I'm leaving for an Alaskan cruise this Thursday. The cruise leaves from Seattle, so we are going to hang out there for a few days. While we are out there we are going to check out some of the wineries in Seattle.

Which got me thinking: how many wineries are in Alaska? It turns out there are four of them. Unfortunately, none of them are in places where we are going to stop. But, it looks like many of the wines are available at Wines International in Ketchikan, which is part of our trip :).

Wine: 2007 8 Chains North Lo.Co. Vino



Review: A chain is a agricultural unit of measurement equal to 66 feet. 8 Chains North gets its name from the fact that it is 8 chains north of Colonel White's river fields (according to the bottle -- I can't tell you why that is significant) ;)).

This is a good summer wine and an excellent wine to enjoy with light cheeses. It is a blend of 50% Traminette and 50% Vidal Blanc. It is a light wine, very crispy with a very light aftertaste. It has hints of pears and honeysuckle. If you don't have any cheese around, it is a good sipping wine all by itself. You can pick up a bottle at Fabbioli.

Price: $18

Grade: 95

Hiddencroft Vineyards sits in a secluded spot near Short Hills Mountain. The trip to winery requires a long drive down a dirt road with only their signs to guide visitors, but it is worth the visit.

Hiddencroft opened its doors on May 3rd and you can tell from the sparse tasting room that they are a young winery. The owners are friendly and enjoy talking about their wines, so you can find out everything you want to know. And, while the tasting room may be sparse, the Gazeebo is beautiful and takes advantage of the cooler temperatures in the valley to provide a great place to hang out and drink wine.

The highlight of the visit is the Sweet Cherry wine. A great summer wine, its a full-flavored wine that is made from 100% sour cherries with 5% residual sugar. Its a great wine to pair with chocolate or drink by itself.

The 2007 Cabernet Franc is also excellent, it is a blend of 2007 with some leftover 2005. The more bland 2005 takes some of the edge off this young wine making it less tannic but still with pepperiness of a good Virginia Cabernet Franc.

Wine: 2004 La Crema 9 Barrel Chardonnay



Review: La Crema has quickly become my favorite California Winery. They make a wide range of high quality wines at reasonable prices. And, while the wines are readily available they are not so ubiquitous that they are available on every street corner, so they still make for a unique presentation.

To make the 9 Barrel Chardonnay the La Crema winemaker chooses the best 9 Barrels from their run of Chardonnay, ages them longer, individually numbers them and bottles them. The math geek was excited because I was able to get number 1609.

I like this wine becuase it does not taste a like a Chardonnay. it is a crisp wine with strong citrus flavors and a hint of mint. The barrel aging add a toasty finish, but not too oaky, the way many oak-aged Chardonnays are. Overall, an excellent wine.


Price: $40.00

Grade: 90