2010 Forks & Corks

Last week was the 3^rd annual Sarasota-Manatee Originals Forks & Corks wine festival.  This event continues to get better each year.  The event encompassed a good number of wine dinners held at member restaurants as well as including several wine seminars including a blending class lead by Anthony Bell of Bell Wine Cellars.  On Sunday we were fortunate to once again attend the Grand Tastings which was once again held at the Ringling Museum.  Initially the weather was supposed to be cooler and overcast, and while it started out as such in just short order the clouds parted giving way to sunshine and warmer temperatures, which made for a great afternoon of tasting good food and wine.

A large number of the member restaurants once again were on-hand and provided a wide range of delightful samples.  We managed to taste at a good number of their tables.  Without meaning to slight anyone, because everything I tasted was great, there were a couple of items that really stood out for me – the crab cakes from Siesta Key Oyster Bar, the lobster bisque from The Lobster Pot and Ceviche de la Casa from Ceviche (a wonderful cold ceviche of shrimp, scallops, squid and fish marinated in lime juice and tossed with tomatoes, scallions, peppers and cilantro).

The liquid side of the tasting included both beer and wine from around the globe.  I would have loved to taste everything but there were simply too many choices, not enough time and a drive home to think about.  As is my custom at these events, I tried to focus on a couple of things – wines from smaller producers and/or regions that I am less familiar with as well as wines that I have had in previous vintages but maybe have not tasted recently.  While I try and focus on these, I also will find myself tasting other wines as well, particularly those that I know and love.  I also try my best to sip and spit but as the crowd grows it can be difficult to get to the dump bucket (plus the fact that some of the wines I want to enjoy completely!).  I also try and get the pourer to give me just “a splash” so that I am not tempted as much.  Sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn’t.

Unfortunately, it was very difficult to juggle everything I had in my hands – tasting sheet, gift bag, wine glass, plate, pen, etc. – to get really good notes and it was also tough to stand there and try to jot a lot down as people want to get to the table and get their own taste, and unlike a lot of people (hint, hint!) I will generally try to move out of the way so that others can move up.  (I’m off my soapbox now about that).

Here are some the highlights that I did manage to get some notes about:

·         NV Star Tree Nouveau Blanc (South Africa, $9.95) – I do not remember the grape that she said was used to make this but it was very light and refreshing.  Very similar to a Moscato d’Asti but without the effervescence.

·         2006 Baileyana Chardonnay (California, $23.95) – a very nice, balanced chardonnay.

·         2005 & 2006 Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon (California, 2006 $107.95) – Wow!  Big, full throttle cabernet that had solid, dark fruit and well integrated tannin structure.  Both of these need some time to really come into their own, even though they are pretty fantastic now.

·         2005 Keenan Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve (California, $94.95) – I asked the owner, who was pouring, the difference between this and his regular cabernet that he was also pouring.  His answer was the he puts the juice in a different bottle and charges double!  Of course he was not being serious with this answer… the real answer is that it is very select grapes from limited parcels.  Both showed very well, with dark fruit and balanced structure.

·         2006 St. Clement Oroppas (California, $41.95) – a blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot this was a very nice Bordeaux style blend with lots of cherry fruit, herbs and a hint of chocolate on the finish.

·         2008 The Four Graces Pinot Gris (Oregon, $13.95) – A refreshing white with floral notes and a flinty mineral finish.

The best part of the wine tasting had to be the Bordeaux section.  There were several Chateaus present, each pouring a current (generally 2006) bottle as well as an older bottle (generally 2000) which gave tasters an opportunity to see how aging a wine can change it completely.  Of course you tasted the younger wine first and then the older to get this perspective.  Everybody that I talked to thought that this was a fantastic idea and absolutely loved it.  I was not able to taste all of them but here are the ones that I managed to get to:

·         Chateau Beychevelle (St. Julien) – 2007 and 2006 (although the wine list showed 2000, he said he did not bring any because that was for collecting)

·         Chateau Camensac (Haut-Medoc) – 2006 ($32.95) and 2000 ($54.95) – both very, very good with dark fruit in a bit of a lighter style.  The 2006 seemed at times to be a bit disjointed but probably will meld together nicely with a couple of more years on it.  The 2000 was drinking very well.

·         Chateau Ferriere (Margaux) – 2006 ($44.95) and 2000 ($76.98) – Margaux is my favorite Bordeaux region so I was really excited to taste these.  At this point in the day my note taking was beginning to suffer but here is what I jotted down (and this is verbatim): 2000 “wow!”, 2006 “wow! Young but lots of potential”.  I think that sums these up rather nicely.

Looking back through the tasting sheet I see that there were a lot of wines that I either missed getting some notes on as well as a good number that I just did not get to taste and wish that I had.  What I did taste I generally liked although, as is to be expected, there were some that I just did not care for.

I am already looking forward to next year’s event.

Cheers!