Dr. Wagner Riesling and Joel Gott Zinfandel

On Saturday, my fiance and I went out to dinner with his daughter and son-in-law (I was already tired of those after Thanksgiving Day, turkey leftovers. We went to an EXCELLENT restaurant in Moosic, PA. The name of the restaurant is AV, which stands for Altra Volta and means “Another Time” in Italian. This is a charming family-owned and operated restaurant that would probably be more at home in New York City than in Moosic, PA. However, I’m very glad it’s in Moosic, otherwise we’d have to drive three hours to get there instead of ninety minutes.

As usual, the food and service were outstanding. I had one of the specials; broiled yellow tail sole on a bed of sauted fennel with an herbed buerre blanc sauce. It had a wonderful, delicate flavor and was beautifully presented. My fiance and his daughter, Cinda, had blue nose fish with cashew butter and they both raved about their choice. Mark, Cinda’s husband, had another of the evening’s specials; braised beef short ribs. He said they were fork-tender and delicious. In addition to great food, AV has a very impressive wine list, thanks to Francis, the sommelier and co-owner.

Mark, who also has sommelier credentials, chose the wine for the evening and he could not have done a better job. The first bottle was the Dr. Wagner Riesling. With the first sip, “surperb” is the adjective that comes to mind. It had a fruity, floral nose and a crisp, fruity taste with a complimentary, subtle sweetness. Everyone enjoyed it so much, that had this not been the last bottle, I’m sure we would have ordered another. But as it turned out, that happened to be a stroke of good luck because the next bottle of wine was perhaps even better. Joel Gott, 2002, Zinfandel. This ranks among the best “zins” I’ve ever had. It was like a mouthful of fruit with very subtle tannins and had a complex finish. Had this not been an evening out, I would have taken the time to do a serious tasting and lengthy review. My goal is to enjoy more of these two wines so that I have the opportunity to do just that.

That Saturday was an enjoyable, memorable evening. So I’d like to say thanks to Cinda and Mark and to Chef Michaelyn and the Ghilardi family (owners of AV) for making it possible.

Wine Reviews

Susquehanna Valley Wine Tasting Club Halloween Tasting

Several of my closest friends are members of a local chapter of the American Wine Society and have suggested that my fiance and I join the club. Since a couple whom we are very close to, Laurie and Bob Resele, were hosting the event this month and it happened to be a Halloween costume party, I figured it was a great time to “test the waters”. I can’t remember the last time I get dressed up for Halloween and thought it would be a blast. Since we were away for the weekend, we only had 20 minutes to get ready and this was the result (not great, but not bad either when considering the timing)

All dressed up and looking better than ever!

Below are the host and hostess of the event.

We had a great time at this wine tasting. As I have come to expect from Laurie and Bob, it was especially well-organized and informative. The theme was “Shiraz” and it was done as a blind tasting. There were six wines that were sampled: Two French, two Australian and two American. Prices ranged from $13.00 to $35.00 per bottle. Had I kept better notes, I would be able to give reviews of each of these wines, but since it was done as a blind tasting, I somehow failed to get the names and prices of the wines as they were unveiled. This ended up being more of a social event for me rather than a serious tasting. However, these are the wines that were tasted: 1998 Cote Rotie “La Chavaroche,” B Levit, #30.99; Marquis Philips Shiraz 9 2003 $34.99 (the overall winner); Joseph Phelps Syrah, $17.99; Marquis Philips Shiraz 9, $34.99; Mount Langi Ghiran Shiraz Cliff Edge, $14.99; Miner Family Syrah Napa Valley, $17.99.

Although I always enjoy the sense of adventure in tasting new wines, the best part of the evening was the meal that was served afterward. Laurie is a fabulous cook and the food was an excellent culmination to a great evening.

Below is a photo of some of the guests being served at the tasting.

Although we enjoyed this wine tasting and found it very informative, we are still “on the fence” as far as deciding to join and make the commitment to attend monthly tastings.

Wine-Reviewer.com

On the Road and Buying Wine

I didn’t have the opportunity to write yesterday, because my fiance and I were traveling to Tampa on a business trip. We stopped in Savannah, GA overnight. I was only in Savannah once before and I happened to LOVE it. What a beautiful city, with so much to do! Of course, it has a reputation to uphold with Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and Forrest Gump.

After eating dinner at Maurice’s Barbeque, which is a unique experience in and of itself, we headed to Piggly Wiggly to buy a bottle of wine. Now, I didn’t expect any great vintages, but we had to experience the novelty of being able to buy wine in a grocery store. After browsing the isle for about 10 minutes, we decided on a French Beaujolais. When we got back to the motel room I got out the wine opener. It was the aah-so type; the kind with the two prongs that you slip into either side of the cork and then twist while pulling up. After using a rabbit opener for some time, you loose your ability to open a bottle with anything that requires a little skill. I slipped the prongs into the bottle and noticed that the corked receeded instead of protruded. I immediately thought, “Uh-oh, I better let Bob finish this!” Well, I made the right decision, because I didn’t want to be the one responsible for having the cork floating in the wine. That’s exactly where the cork ended up, so we really had a “corked” bottle of wine. But it tasted fine anyway! I’m waiting until we get home to do the actual review of the Beaujolais.

Today, we stopped at Lakeridge Winery in Clermont, FL. for a tour and tasting. I talked with Kyle Johnson, Marketing Manager, and learn some intersting information about Lakeridge. Look for them to be featured on Wine Reviewer very soon.