Word on the winners of the Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Competition is spreading like wild fire! A preview tasting for the media last week in Beverly Hills has generated a lot of buzz that we are really excited about! Take a look at some more posts:

http://gastronomy-101.blogspot.com/2009/06/event-la-wine-competition-preview-and.html

http://thirstyinla.com/2009/06/19/2009-la-wine-spirits-competition/

http://lablips.dailyradar.com/story/los_angeles_international_wine_and_spirits_2009/

http://www.womenwine.com/posts/journals/18487-winners-of-the-2009-la-international-wine-competition

Last Saturday I was lucky to be able to attend the Zinfandel Festival at Fort Mason in San Francisco. ZAP, The Association of Zinfandel Advocates & Producers celebrates Zinfandel America’s Heritage Grape and is dedicated to preserving the history of Zinfandel through the Heritage Vineyard at UC Davis. It is the largest single varietal tasting in the World with more than 300 Zinfandel producers featuring barrel samples, new releases and premier Zinfandels.

For me it’s a great opportunity to taste many of the wines that enter the Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Competition, meet the winemakers and thank them for entering the competition and meet new producers as well. It was such a fun experience to compare and taste so many different styles and characters of Zinfandel.

Michael David Vineyards which has consistently won Gold Medals with “7 Deadly Zins,” “Earthquake Zin” and “Lust” released a new Zin called “Gluttony.” This wine was produced from their two best vineyards of 2006. It was rich and juicy with an abundance of blackberries and raspberries on the palate with soft vanilla spices on the finish.

Carol Shelton Wines, Maple Vineyards, Dry Creek Valley, 2005 had deep blackberries, black pepper with a touch of chocolate on the finish. 

Maple Vineyards, located in the Dry Creek Valley have consistently produced great Zinfandel for several wineries for many years, including last year’s Best of Show Armida Winery, Zinfandel, Maple Vineyards, 2006. They have launched their own label using their style of winemaking. The wine is really delicious with floral aromas and intense fruit of dark plums, rich blackberries with nice spice on an elegant finish.

Davis Family Vineyards, Russian River Valley, Old Vine, 2006 has lots of red raspberry and dark plums, very rich and luscious.

Peachy Canyon Winery, is located in Paso Robles. They had three different Zinfandels, all excellent. My favorite was the 2006 estate vineyards, which had rich raspberries with a spicy peppery finish. 

C.G. Di Arie Vineyard & Winery had a barrel sample of their 2007 Di Arie Sierra Foothills. It was full of rich juicy raspberries and blackberries with a fresh lively finish.

I could go on and on. There were so many delicious Zins, it definitely was the ultimate “zinful experience.”

FINAL NOTE: The Cellar Master will be pouring Gold Medal Wines from the Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Competition at Tutti Mangia, Tuesday, February 10 from 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. The cost is $10.

Come to McKinley’s Grille at the Sheraton Fairplex hotel Thursday, January 22, from 6 – 8 p.m. to find out. The Sheraton’s monthly wine tastings include a variety of wine, food and spirits pairings, a gustatory delight for foodies who enjoy the pleasures of the palate.

Thursday’s culinary adventure will feature tequila tastings, award-winning wines from the Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Competition, naturally, and a variety of wonderful McKinley’s Grille food samplings. (Note: It’s enough food to count as dinner).

The whole shindig is just $24 per person, including tax and gratuity. Try it. You’ll have fun.

Where: 601 W. McKinley Avenue, Pomona, CA
When: 6 p.m.
Cost: $24

Call 909-868-5915 for rezzies.

Just a few weeks into 2009 and all of those resolutions are looking harder and harder to keep, especially the one about cutting back on the wine budget. In these hard times we need wine more than ever! Many of us will be trading evenings out with friends where wines by the glass or bottle can be pricey for quiet evenings at home with a more affordable bottle. Here are a few suggestions from the 2008 Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Competition that will be kind to your new budget without having to sacrifice good flavor.

The Little Penguin, Pinot Grigio, South Australia, 2007…$8.00 – Gold Medal

This wine has a fragrance of lime, lemon and honeysuckle, is sweet on the tip of the tongue, soft body with light citrus flavors on the palate and a zesty finish.  Perfect with shellfish or fresh salads.

Alice White, Chardonnay, South East Australia, 2007…$8.00 – Gold Medal

This is really a simple pleasant wine that is guaranteed to bring a smile. It has a pleasant nose reminiscent of white flowers and pineapple with citrus on the tongue and a bright fresh finish.

Redwood Creek, Merlot, California, 2006…$7.99 – Gold Medal

Flavors of black cherry, black berries, plums, baking spices, vanilla with a soft smooth finish and would go well with grilled meats. Pairs well with roasted red meats and meaty pasta dishes.

Fetzer Vineyards, Cabernet Sauvignon, Valley Oaks California, 2006…$8.99 – Gold Medal, Best of Class Award

Layers of  rich explosive flavors, with black cherries, plums with a hint of chocolate and aromas of vanilla and spice. Pairs well with beef, lamb and pork.

Rosemount Estate, Shiraz, Diamond Label, South East Australia, 2005…$10.00 – Gold Medal

Full bodied, plenty of depth, ripe blackberries, bold spices with a long rich finish. Pairs well with pasta and grilled meats.

I recently heard someone say, “I wouldn’t dare give a wine that came in a screw top bottle.” Well that is sooooo wrong. There are many wonderful wines that you would miss out on.

Natural corks are made from the bark of cork trees grown in Spain and Portugal and sometimes contain a chemical compound called TCA (trichloranisole). TCA can interact with wine and cause taint. If this happens, we say the wine is “corked.” The aroma is similar to smelly cardboard, which is not a good smell coming from a wine bottle. It is estimated that 7 percent of natural corks have developed taint, which his why many winemakers are turning to alternative closure methods.

New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs are now made exclusively with screw tops and many of their Pinot Noirs are screw tops as well. New Zealand is making some of the best Sauvignon Blanc in the world right now. We had several gold medal winners during the 2008 Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Competition.

All of Australia’s white wines and many of its red wines are made with screw tops as well. Here in California there are many wonderful wineries that are using the screw top and alternative closures, such as the Zork, and plastic corks. Bonny Doon Winery promoted the death of the cork with a whole series of new bottle designs. Now many winemakers have developed new bottle designs that include the closures.

Among the Gold Medal Wines in the 2008 wine competition about 20 percent were alternative closures. I love the romance of opening a bottle of wine and saving the cork. During the gold medal tasting at the Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Marketplace, if a person loved the wine we would give them the cork as a souvenir. It often contains the winery website or fun info and it’s a way to remember the wine.

So put aside your prejudices. If someone gives you a bottle of wine with a screw top give them a nice hug and drink up.

The 2008 L.A. County Fair Gold Medal Tasting Bar offered more 300 gold medal winning wines. All types of varietals, from bone dry to very sweet and from very affordable to very expensive joined the line-up. These wines were selected from 3,523 wine entries judged by 75 international wine judges during the Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Competition.

It’s a wonderful opportunity to work the Gold Medal Tasting Bars during the Fair because we offer several wines that people usually do not have the opportunity to taste such as international wines or varietals that are new to them. We also serve a wide variety of guests from novice to very experienced wine drinkers (note: only 12% of wine drinkers

consider themselves knowledgeable, according to one source). It’s fun to discover new wines and share your passion and love of wine and wine experiences with other people. We also learn from our Fairguests and there is a “buzz” about which wine is the best. This year we served more than 50,000 tastes. Listed below are Fairguests’ favorites – we couldn’t keep these wines in stock.

1. Borgo Maragliano, Sparkling Wines, Moscato D’Asti, La Caliera DOCG 2007
Gentle effervescence, fragrant and lightly sweet, almost like candy, long finish, nicely balanced. Everyone loved this wine from Piedmont, Italy. unpopazzo.com

2. Cantina St. Paul’s, Pinot Bianco, Exclusiv Plotzner, Alto Adige DOC, 2007
Exhibits characteristics of apples and honey with strong minerality. It’s a lovely wine with lingering flavors, a nice surprise from the very beautiful Alto Adige in North Italy.
tesoriwines.com

3. San Simeon, Chardonnay, Monterey, 2005
Nicely balanced with hints of citrus, green apple, pear,  and vanilla and oak on the finish.
sanantoniowinery.com

4. Frank Family Vineyards, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, 2004
Very elegant, juicy blackberries, dried black cherries, toasted caramel and choclate on the finish. frankfamilyvineyards.com

5. Summerland Winery, Pinot Noir, Monterey County, 2006
Lighter style Pinot Noir, silky texture with fresh Bing cherries and vanilla and spice on the finish.
summerlandwine.com

6. Clos du Bois, Merlot, Reserve, Alexander Valley, 2005
Aromas of violets with flavors of black cherries and plums and a lingering chocolate finish.
closdubois.com