I had the unique opportunity and pleasure to volunteer at Wine in the Woods and represent Terrapin Station Winery this past Saturday. I had an absolute blast. If you ever get the chance to be on the pouring side of a wine festival DO IT. You get to learn a ton about the winery, their wines and the passion of the people behind those wines. Not to mention you get into the festival for free and there is typically an opportunity for discounted/free wine for volunteers.

Being able to experience the reactions and thoughts of hundreds of people trying wines you already know and love for the first time is so much fun. Even more fun are those that are already fans of the wines you are pouring and really get into comparing different years of wines with you. The big debates were over the 2010 Shiraz vs. the 2011 Shiraz and the 2010 Reserve Traminette vs. the 2012 Reserve Traminette. 2010 won me over on both wines, but I’d love to hear your opinions!

I’m not going to go crazy in depth at the moment, but I did want to give you a summary of the wines that were available to sample during the Wine in the Woods Festival.

Chardonnay  – A dry, unoaked lighter style Chardonnay.  (Meh.  I like my chardonnays oaked.)

2012 Reserve Chardonnay – A dry, lightly oaked Chardonnay that emphasizes the fruit. (Fantastic!  Perfectly oaked.)

2012 Reserve Traminette – A slightly off dry version of the Traminette, the wine has aromas of spice and roses.  (I’m’ still partial to the 2010 Reserve Traminette.  The 2012 is still pretty good though.)

2010 Reserve Cayuga – A drier version of our popular Cayuga.  (Of the regular vs. reserve wines offered by this winery this is one of the few I prefer the regular over the reserve.)

2010 Tartaruga Bianco – Bold, aromatic semi-sweet wine with hints of apricot and honey.  (This right here is my new favorite.  This was my go to for those that sampled some of the much sweeter or much dryer wines available.  This was right smack in the middle and was light, crisp and smooth. Every person I recommended this to instantly fell in love with it.)

Traminette – A spicy wine with a floral nose and a pleasantly sweet taste.

Cayuga – The popular summer wine with tropical fruits and a pleasant acidity.  (Sweeter than I typically prefer but this wine can definitely disappear quickly on a hot summer day hanging out in the backyard.)

2010 Cabernet Franc – Bold dry wine with notes of raspberry, pepper and cassis.  (Solid choice.  I love a good peppery cabernet.)

2010 Shiraz – A heavier-bodied red crafted in a European style with dark fruit flavors and a tannic bite.  (This is much more mellow than the 2011 Shiraz.  This has a great blend of subdued, perfectly blended flavors.)

2011 Shiraz – An aromatic red with earthly, meaty tones and dark fruit flavors.

This is just about half of what Terrapin Station Winery has to offer.  These were some solid choices to bring to a wine festival.  TSW is known for having boxed wines.  The most popular varieties come in 1.5 liter cubes.  Adorable, economical and easy to store, these mini boxes equal two standard bottles of wine.  At this particular festival only 3 of the 10 varieties available to sample were in boxes.  All of their reserve wines come bottled and a selection of their reds come bottled as well.

If you get a chance definitely visit the winery.  They are super laid back and fun.  They have different on-site events just about every weekend.  And as long as they’re not at a festival you can see owners Janet and Morris Zwick hanging out and readily available to answer questions.  Fine more info at www.terrapinstationwinery.com.

How did I discover them?  Well, Terrapin Station is my favorite Grateful Dead song (ok, it’s half the album, or Side A for those of us who discovered it on vinyl.)  I love turtles and I live in Maryland, home of the Maryland Terrapins, where I did my first round of grad school.  If you haven’t already gathered, I love wine.  So the combination of all of those factors just made it easy to fall in love with a local winery (about an hour from my home) that produces some damn good boxed wines (I keep it classy) and some even better bottled wines.

I will be reviewing their wines individually.  Expect a strong showing of review of Terrapin Station wines during June, which I have decided to dedicate to boxed wines.

Until then, Prost!

So I had an emergency where I ran out of almond milk and decided to walk the block and a half to the local grocery store instead of getting in the car and heading to the giant chain grocery store that I always end up buying too much crap at because I feel the need to make the trip worth it since I had to get in the car and all… Anyway…while visiting my locally owned and operated local market I successfully located my beloved almond milk, which is conveniently located next to the beer at this particular market. What? Two of my favorite things in the same aisle?! *Note – wine and cheese are also in this aisle. So four of my favorite things in the same aisle.

As I was looking over the beer selection and talking myself out of buying a 6-pack I spotted something I had never seen before: Blue Moon Agave Nectar Ale. Wait what? Beer? Made with agave nectar? Well when you put it that way…

The description on the bottle also made it sound beyond enticing:
Inspired by our brewmaster’s travels through Mexico, our Agave Nectar Ale is crafted with agave nectar and white wheat for a subtle sweetness and a smooth, crisp finish. It’s like a little shade in a bottle. 5.6% ABV

I mean, how do you say no to that? So I when I got home from my grueling trek to obtain almond milk, all 15 minutes round trip, I cracked open a perfectly chilled Agave Nectar Ale. I love wheat beers. I really love wheat beers. I’m a Hefeweizen kind of girl. Take one of my favorite beer styles and add a splash of natural agave sweetness and you have the sweet nectar of the gods. I’m typically not big on beer with anything sweet going on. I like my beer beer flavored. This though, this had the perfect hint of sweetness. I would describe this as drinking a chilly desert or beach night after a sweltering hot day. This would be ideal to drink while sitting in my backyard with a fire going and a couple of good friends.

Now that I have come up with my beer rating scale, on a scale of “I wouldn’t even serve this at a frat party” to “I would take this over a 25 year old scotch,” I would rate this as a “I could use this beer as a pick up line and never have to utter a single word. It’s just that smooth.”

Final Grade: A+

Bottle notes: Naked Angels gave me the money and support to make this wine. It’s awesome being able to spend more time in the vines, and I’m focused on making the best wine possible instead of being stuck in an office figuring out who I’m going to sell the wine to. Thanks, Angels. I couldn’t have made this wine so delicious without you. – Ray Hester

My Notes:
This wine scored a 9.2 on http://www.topcheapwine.com website. That has to count for something right?!

This wine is another selection from http://www.nakedwines.com, which is a great site to get super cheap wine from not yet well-known wine makers. It’s an interesting little wine club that can be pretty hit or miss, but it has some hidden gems. I’d consider this one of them.

I poured a glass of this very light in color Sauvignon Blanc and was greeted by a shy, but pleasant aroma of citrus and floral undertones. That first sip surprised me a bit. Much more acidic that I was expecting, but not necessarily in a bad way. I really enjoyed the floral taste of this wine, which is odd for me because typically I am not a fan of wine that tastes like I’m drinking flowers. I think the acidity plus the apricot undertone helped to balance this wine out. I also enjoyed that it is not overpowering in any particular flavor. This would be a great hot summer afternoon in the garden sipping wine.

I happened to crack this bottle open when i got home from a soccer game. We won our first playoff round match 4-0, so a celebration was in order. I’d say this wine pairs well with shin splints and frozen pizza. I was in a world of hurt after an intense Sunday morning workout and playing hard in the evening. This wine made me forget that I was icing my shins and soaking my feat in Epson salts.

On a scale of “this tastes like piss” to “oops, I just drank the whole bottle” I would give this a “I opened this initially earlier in the week. Good thing I had a 2nd bottle on hand to finish this review! So easy to drink that you blink and suddenly the bottle is empty!” Would I buy it again? Light, crisp, clean, smooth and 13.9%? This is now my go to wine for when I order from Naked Wines and I need another bottle or two in order to meet the 12 bottle shipping requirement.

Final Grade: B+

Wine Club Notes:

Long a supporting player, Merlot is ripe for a starring role in the world of wine.

Bodega Mariposa Cellars is helping achieve that dream by making a Merlot that can be enjoyed every day and with a wide variety of dishes.  But before we get to the specifics about Bodega Mariposa, a little history…

Merlot gained popularity as a varietal wine in the early 1970s, but until then it was used primarily as a blending partner of Cabernet Sauvignon. Even though Merlot contributed significantly to the finished product, Cabernet took all the bows.  Eventually, however, consumers found that because Merlot’s tannins are softer than those found in Cabernet, the wines are drinkable at an earlier age than most Cabs.

Bodega Mariposa makes a wonderful Merlot, and its 2011 bottling could serve as a benchmark bottling for the variety in California.  It’s everything a Merlot should be: soft, immediately approachable and downright delicious – a real star.

Tasting notes:

Grape Composition: Merlot & Other Red Varieties

Grape Sources: Select Vineyards in various California Growing Regions

Aromas and Flavors: Cassis, Black Olive, Assorted Berries and a Hint of Oak

Aging Vessels: Assorted Oak Barrels

When to Drink: Now through 2015

This easy-drinking wine offers notes of cassis, black olive, assorted berries and oak.

Food pairing suggestions: homemade meatloaf, or a beef pot pie

My Thoughts:

I hate black olives, or any olives for that matter, unless they’ve been soaking in the bottom of my martini(s), and I have no idea what a cassis is, but this right here, is a mighty fine Merlot.  I would add this Merlot to the list of red wines that have brought me over to the dark side (aka – the red wine side).  I love white wines, especially Rieslings and a well-oaked Chardonnay.  I think this is the point that bridges the gap.  A nice oaky Merlot is a lovely bridge from my love of a well-oaked Chardonnay.

This Merlot surprisingly had weak legs compared to most Merlots I’ve grown accustomed to.  This did not affect this Merlot in the least.  The nose was relatively light as well.  I was unable to discern any particular scents or aromas.  This was all in all, a very nice, light tasting, well-rounded Merlot.  Again, I couldn’t pick out any specific taste traits, but I am super fond of this Merlot.  My apologies for not being more thorough, but for one, I am super tired, and two, the only thing that jumps out to me about this wine is that it is super easy to drink, mellow in flavor, and would pair well with damn near anything.

On a scale of “this tastes like piss” to “oops, I just drank the whole bottle” I would give this a “I probably would have had a more thorough review but this bottle went way too fast.”  Would I buy it again?  Absolutely!  I have a feeling this will make it into regular rotation into my wine rack.

Final Grade: A