Sunday, April 08, 2007

Brown Bag Tasting


Brown Bag Tasting
Originally uploaded by monkeycat!.
A couple of us got together at Billo's behest to have an impromptu blind wine tasting. We were charged with the task of picking a wine that was representative of the region or varietal of the wine and to mask its identity.
A few people brought some food, all of us brought at least one bottle of wine, and we had a great time.

Pre Dinner

2005 Pinot gris, Elk Cove, Willamette Valley, OR - Wynne
2003 Seyval blanc, Falconer Vineyards, Minnesota - Jesse
2005 White Bordeaux, Chateau Guiraud, Bordeaux, FR - Jen
2004 Pinot noir "Jermome Reserve", Lemelson Vineyards, Willamette Valley, OR - Wynne
1997 Yves Cuilleron "Les Serines" St Joseph, Rhone, FR - Billo
2005 Syrah/Viognier D'Arenberg "The Laughing Magpie", McLaren Vale, AU - Billo
2005 Pinotage, Jacobsdal, Stellenbosch, ZA- Greg
2004 Cabernet Sauvignon, Provenance, Rutherford, CA - Billo
1990 Chateau La Tour de Pin Figeuc "Moueix", St. Emillon Grand Cru, FR - Billo

Dinner
Beet, Arugula and Goat Cheese Salad - Jen
Breadless Bruschetta - Laura
2 Color Beets with Blood Orange - Stephanie
Grilled Tamari Beef with Daikon and Shitake Mushrooms -Billo

Dessert Wines

2003 Banyuls (Grenache noir), Les Clos de Paulilles, FR - Kristy
2000 Royal Tokaji "5 Puttonyos Red Label", Hungary - Stephanie
2004 Riesling, Dr. H. Thanisch "Classic Qualitswein", Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, GR - Laura
1983 Vintage Port, Fonseca, Oporto, PT

Dessert
(Note: I hope I remember everything - I didn't write dessert down, so this is from compromised memory -GH)
Grandma's Sunshine Cake - Laura
Chocolate Cake and Chocolate-Dipped Stawberries - Kristy
Tart Tatin - Stephanie

This was definitely an amazing tasting - thanks to Billo for hosting us all. Hopefully this will not be the last of our "Brown Bag" tastings; this should be the beginning of a great tradition. I had a wonderful time and I'm sure everyone else did, as well.

See you at the next "Brown Bag".

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Kudos to brown bag wine tastings! I'm part of the local SWILL (Several Wine Imbibers Liking Libations) social wine tasting club and we always brown bag it. Since 2003, we've met every other month and taste 5 wines, 3 reds and 2 whites. Hosting rotates and the host serves appetizers and whatever inspires them. The foodies have gotten really creative and I always look forward to tasting both the wine and the food. But, the best part of our wine club is the people. From the tone of your blog, you are all friends and have fun together. Our club has grown from 12 to 160+ since and I've met some fantastic people I wouldn't have met any other way. Out of this love of people and wine, my friend and I have started a business selling the SWILL wine tasting and club starter kit and www.swillparty.com. Feel free to check it out to see if it would work for you. We use tasting cards and pen names to write our comments, and let me tell you people get really creative in their writing after tasting all that wine! I hope you continue your tradition and invite new people to join you. Cheers!

Anonymous said...

I participate in quite a few blind tastings and have found a better way to cover the bottle wasting brown paper bags. It is a kit of number reusable fabric bags. They work great and are environmentally friendly as we can use them over and over. They are put out by Bagged Wine, www.baggedwine.com.

Judith