WBW #48: Back to Our Roots

Aug 13, 2008 |  WineBratSF (7) |  Wine Tasting |  0 comments

It’s hard to believe, but it’s been 4 years since Lenn Thompson of LennDevours conceived of Wine Blogging Wednesday with some of his cohorts in wine.

For this, the 48th Wine Blogging Wednesday, Lenn asked us to get back to our roots. Our wine roots that is. Since I didn’t want to encourage the consumption of any more Bartles & Jaymes wine coolers or Sutter Home White Zinfandel than necessary, I encouraged my wine blogging posse to think about which wine inspired them to get into wine. What do you drink that strikes a chord? Which wine do you go back to time and time again?

While we all chose different wines to offer as our inspiration, one thing is clear: we know what we love, and we love what we know. Most of the wines tasted were from California, and were full bodied and fruity. The notable exception was brought by our Canadian friends, and was a delicious example of a Chianti Classico.

Still being a student of Old World wines myself, my question is this: are we a product of our environment, or is the environment a product of us? Specifically, do we shape the wines that are offered to our palates, or are our palates shaped to the wine we are offered? This is the question that has been asked throughout the ages: is it nature or nurture? Are we prone to liking something because it's fresh & accessible (nature), or have we been conditioned into liking a style because it's being produced (nurture)? Has the "Sideways effect" colored our palates? You decide!

The top 4 wines that we tasted were:

2005 Felsina Chianti Classico Castelnuova Berardenga

Avg Rating 90
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A nice medium bodied Chianti, with good spicy, followed by notes of smoke & leather. Great for everyday drinking.

2005 David Bruce Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir

Avg Rating 90
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This beautiful example of a California Pinot Noir was full bodies & fruity. Clear notes of cherry were followed by lots of spice. This was a crowd pleaser and quickly disappeared off the table!

2005 Martin Family Old Vine Zinfandel, Rattler Rock Russian River Valley

Avg Rating 89
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A wine-school classic example of Dry Creek Valley. This wine was jammy and full of blackberries, but not sweet. A ton of spice shone through the massive fruit, with lots of cinnamon and black fruit.

2003 Amista Dry Creek Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Avg Rating 87
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The Amista Dry Creek Cabernet did not start of tasting like a Cab. The dense & meaty wine shows like a syrah, but finishes with the spice & cocoa of a cab.

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