Sign on at 7 p.m. tonight and taste wine online with me and with Bill Huddleston of Southwest Distributing, who will be our expert tonight. We’re tasting a 2006 Negroamara from San Marzano, which was recommended by Arthur Kahn of Arthur’s Wine and Liquors.
We’re going to do these online tastings for a while and see how you like it. All you have to do is read my Wednesday column to find out the wine we’re trying, then go get a bottle and join us on the blog at 7 p.m. on Thursday. We’ll all post our comments and I’ll also have my email up, in case any new bloggers want to participate–I’ll be able to approve them right away. Hope to see you tonight! (By the way, I’m not sure if it’s necessary, but to be safe, refresh your browser periodically so you can see new posts.)
Here’s a guide to the “Five S” method for tasting:
See the wine, which is as simple as holding the glass up to the light to evaluate the color. A red might be a deep purple, or it could be a clear burgundy, or a rusty red. Rosés can range from coral to salmon to rose pink. Whites can be almost clear, just barely tinged, or a buttery yellow.
Swirl the wine before you taste it to release the aroma.
Sniff the wine and open your mind when you open your nostrils. Chocolate, vanilla, all kinds of fruit and floral notes are common. But think of where the grape was grown, what elements the oak barrel lends to the wine, and all of the scents and flavors that could be in that tiny glass.
Sip by taking a little taste and rolling it around to hit all your taste buds. Open your mouth and lightly breathe in to release the aroma. Is the wine light on the tongue or heavy? Is the red chewy or astringent? A white buttery or crisp? Does the taste match the smell? Often a floral aroma doesn’t mean a perfume-y flavor.
Swallow and pay attention to the finish. Does it linger pleasantly?
Wine
Responses to “2006 Negroamaro tasting”
January 3rd, 2008 at 7:34 pm
I love the Combination Rice Noodle soup & the Lotus Chicken w/Fried Rice.
January 3rd, 2008 at 8:50 pm
Hey everyone. I’m going to get settled and be back at the computer at 7, but I just want you to know that I’ve talked to our computer guys and yes, you will have to refresh your browser to see new comments as they’re posted. Back in a few…
January 3rd, 2008 at 8:57 pm
I’ll go first…haven’t had this particular bottle in a long time. Good nose and dark color. Almost black/red in color and jammy fruit in the nose…needs some time to breathe.
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:02 pm
Bill, I think we’ll have folks joining us. I picked up my bottle at Arthur’s this afternoon and was told it was selling like hotcakes today.
This wine tastes different than it did just 20 minutes ago, when I opened the bottle. It’s fuller, not as puckery as the first sip was. My first whiff hit me at the back of my throat, but it’s mellowing.
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:07 pm
Same here..a shot of alcohol on the first taste and sniff, then after 20 mins it has softened up and is smoother and more congenial.
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:09 pm
I think it definitely tastes Italian. Larry says it’s much softer than he expected. I agree. It was bitter at first, but is softening and the fruit is coming more forward.
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:10 pm
I am excited that people actually went out and bought the wine that was suggested. It reminded me of the days of Fredric’s best buy column. I think people miss the comments and suggestions of good affordable wines.
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:12 pm
OK, Bill,let me throw some wine terms at you and tell me which you think fit this wine. Let’s start with cherry (and welcome to the blog, Maria), then: darkfruits, fig, spicy, fruity, sharp. These are a few I see on a list that speak to me, but we know one of the reasons I’m doing this, and that’s to learn more.
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:14 pm
I agree wholeheartdely on the best buys and Fredric’s column. I know he’ll join us when he returns from his well deserved vacation. I was worried that no one would sign on, but at least we know people are reading and are tasting along with us, so that’s a start.
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:15 pm
Reminds me of green pecan hulls. Larry says it has good mouth-weight and tannins are pretty much up front.
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:15 pm
I am very new to wine tasting so I am interested in learning more about the terminology your both using.
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:17 pm
We opened ours and poured into our red wine goblets about 1/2 hour before tasting — it is a heavy wine — definitely cherry in taste.
Carol likes it; Roger not so much (feels it is not a $15.00 bottle of wine — more in the $11-12 range. We also bought ours at Arthurs).
Carol feels the “see” part of the tasting is great — beautiful color.
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:18 pm
Welcome, Larry and Mimmye! These guys know about wine, too, so Marie, the two of us can learn something tonight.
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:20 pm
A response to Jennifer’s descriptors — darkfruits, yes, like plums — there is a sharp acidity. I don’t find anything that I think of as exotic as figs (L).
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:20 pm
hello jennifer & bill.interesting format.just opened the wine.it was bitter & puckery.ran it through the vinturi aerator & what an improvment!will it imrove with time alone? we will all see.
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:21 pm
Good idea, Cherry: I think Marie hit it with cherry fruit on the first sip. It also has Dk fruits( black cherry, maybe black berry flavors too. Sharp - good acid, thats the tingle on the side of your tongue that make a little pucker in your mouth. I don’t taste fig, but that may be me. We all taste different things…depending on where we come from and what we ate as kids. But thats for another night. How about the finish. Thats the flavors in the back of your mouth and in your throat. What do you get back there?
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:23 pm
The pecan hull description is interesting and the first thing that came to mind when you said that was black walnuts. But honestly, this wine is still getting softer. I’m liking it more by the minute (and it has nothing to do with the amount–the bottle is three-quarters full!).
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:24 pm
Hey Larry and Mimmie and Carol and Roger, glad you guys are here. I already like Carol, she likes this wine!
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:26 pm
Larry just poured a fresh glass — he says he’s getting blackberries and black fruit now.
Mimmye thinks $15 is too much for this wine — not that I don’t like it — just not $15 worth.
Larry - I think the wine finishes pretty quickly with a little lingering tannin. (That raspyness on the roof or my mouth and the sides of my tongue.)
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:28 pm
All our comments are without food. We’re going to toss a pizza at the bottle in a few minutes and see where that lands. (L)
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:28 pm
Bill, what’s lingering for me is is something lush but sharp–I know this isn’t a wine term, but it’s something similar to a hard goat or sheep cheese. Can you think of the term? It’s earthy–that’s as close as I can come.
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:29 pm
I just wanted to say I’m enjoying watching your conversation. I live in NC and was unable to find the wine you are tasting. I hope the bottle next week is something I can find around here.
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:29 pm
I may disagree with you guys somewhat…I think its pretty good and $15 isn’t that bad for this wine. The problem is that with a lot of Italian wines as well as other European wines, the Euro has pushed these things up beyond their normal costs. That’s the price we pay here in America for foreign wines.
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:32 pm
Tammy, Bill has already suggested a wine for next week and I don’t have the name handy, but I bet he does. Bill?
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:33 pm
Roger feels vindicated that another taste (Mimmye) also does not believe it is a $15 bottle of wine.
However, we both agree we would buy this wine again.
Feel it would be fantastic served with a nice cheese platter, or a grilled steak topped with blue cheese
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:33 pm
Earthy is a good term…it does leave a little tannin on the finish. It dries out on the back of the tongue. Like dry hard cheese that’s a little salty, it leaves that impression. Larry is right, food would help this out. A pizza or sosmething like that would help mell the flavors together and would take the rough edge off this wine.
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:36 pm
Tres Barcos, a Spanish granache from the Toro region and what time does Carol and Roger want us all to come over for steak and blue cheese?
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:37 pm
I’d definitely eat this with cheese. In fact, I have a nice Camembert and an unpasteurized sharp cheddar in the fridge that I should’ve let come to temperature. I’m going to take them out now. I’d planned that we’d chat for 30 minutes, but we can continue as long as anyone would like to go.
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:38 pm
I think Spanish wines are still a good value as are South American wines.
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:38 pm
My bottle has been open for 30 min. now and is much better than it was in the beginning. It’s tasting great with blue cheese on a salad.
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:40 pm
As Larry and Mimmye know, I love Spanish wines. I just read an article with a Spanish winemaker that made me love them even more. The gist of his sentiment is that you have to grow what you can, make the best of it. Honest wine. He’s a farmer first, he said.
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:40 pm
I am having the wine with a little dark chocolate. I think it makes the wine taste sharper?
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:41 pm
I can go longer if anybody wants….I think Tammy is a voyeur, she’s watching. Hopefully next week she can find our spanish wine and join in the fun.
Hope to see you all next week.
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:43 pm
Sorry, Bill, too cold to grill outside tonight!
But we sure hope this tasting keeps going, as Jennifer said in her column.
Who knows, maybe we can all end up doing this at a local Memphis spot and enjoy wine, cheese and bread all together.
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:44 pm
Bill, sorry to be late approving your comment–it got stuck between some others and I didn’t see it. I used an aerator this weekend on a bottle of wine that was excellent without it (it was a 1997 Silver Oak cab, am I right, L&M?) and I was amazed at how much the structure of the wine changed. The unaerated pour was dense and fruity–it completely filled my mouth. The aerated one was weak and vinegary, in comparison. So I learned something: leave a good wine alone! But we were just experimenting.
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:44 pm
Hello everyone! I am joining the tasting late, and without the wine of the week, although I am familiar with it in a previous vintage…This is a great idea! I look forward to future tastings! I had to suffice with a $10.99 bottle of nero d’avola from Sicily, by the producer Colosi. Really yummy! Marzipan & toasted almonds on the nose, loads of spicy fruit…There are sooo many great values from Italy. With a keen eye and not much money one could, if not like a king (or queen!), drink like an upper level peasant!
Hey Larry, Mimmye & Bill!
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:45 pm
Well, the pizza is up and I think the wine matches fairly well with it. (L)
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:47 pm
Good point Marie, chocolate does coat the tongue, but it also opens the receptors and makes flavors explode in the mouth. Like Mexican Mole sauce, it has cocoa in it and it accentuates the rest of the flavors in the dish. It brings the acid in the wine (tannic acid) out where you taste it first.
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:48 pm
Correct on the vintage and vineyard. We actually had two, a Napa and an Alexander Valley. I didn’t use the aerator but as these wines opened they seemed to loose fruit.
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:50 pm
Hi Angela, glad you are on board. Hey guys, this girl knows her stuff. I can’t lie any more.
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:52 pm
Larry, were they both 97’s? They should be super by now. Smooth and velvety.
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:53 pm
jennifer, i have used aerator a lot. it makes many poor wines good & good wines better.i agree with you’ it hurt great wines i tried it on.
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:57 pm
Just tasted the wine with the cheddar, still a bit too cool but OK. With it, the wine almost disappear! The flavor of the cheese is extraordinarily sharp and the wine gets so soft it’s like I can feel it but not taste it.
btw–with 26% of the vote in, the Dems are all tied at 33 percent and Huckabee leads the Republicans.
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:57 pm
Jennifer, I have to go now too…Tiger Basketball is on soon. Look forward to next week. Hope you all will come back for more.
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:58 pm
I will be here next week with my Tres Barcos. I LIVE in the Spain section here at the store. Now that’s where you can find fantastic wines under $15, and most under $12. See ya’ll next week!
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:58 pm
The Silver Oaks were great. I only used the aerator on a tiny pour, just to see how it changed the wine.
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:58 pm
So I think we’re all agreed we like the wine and want to do this again. Next week it is! I’m off to CNN…
January 3rd, 2008 at 10:13 pm
Hi! Sorry I was late - detained at work- Enjoyed the comments and liked having names for the tastes and feelings. I like wine but not very educated about what I am drinking, tasting, smelling etc. Thanks Jennifer- great idea! I got the wine this morning at Arthurs too and have looked forward to this moment all day. I can taste the cherry and agree about the mellowing after opening. I’ve got a lot of cheeee that we picked up inNew Orleans this weekend so ready to try some out with this wine. Thanks! Go Tigers!
January 4th, 2008 at 12:38 am
What a great idea, Jennifer! This was fun reading & I didn’t have any wine. I would be even more fun while drinking & nibbling on food at the same time. I think you got more & quicker responses to this post than anything you’ve done so far, & a little political commentary thrown in to boot! I’m not much of a red wine drinker but I’ll keep watching until you get to whites. I had some Phelps ice wine on Christmas Eve & it was incredibly sweet, even to me, the Rhine & Riesling fan! But I had been curious about ice wine & intrigued by the concept, so that was my chance to try it. Someone I know commented just a couple of days ago that they miss Fredric’s wine column. So you still have an audience if you should feel inclined to start it back up, Fredric.
January 4th, 2008 at 1:13 am
I got the wine at Arthur’s after work. They said lots of people came in today for this wine. Young staff and did not know much about the wine but very friendly. Sipped during the Tigers game. Enjoyed very much. I would like to know more about the wine. I’m always looking for wines in this price range,but when I find a good one so does everyone else and the price goes up.
January 4th, 2008 at 11:54 am
Hey Carole, we will taste some whites down the road. The 2005 german wines are Great! Super vintage, so when it warms up a little we will get into them. Probably stick with reds for a few more weeks now that winter is here and it’s time for a big roaring fire, a fur blanket (fake fur)and a big glass of wine. Maybe we’ll do a port soon.
January 4th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
whoa, Jennifer, this was really a success! Congratulations to you, and thanks to Bill Huddleston for his participation…
January 4th, 2008 at 6:39 pm
Thanks, Bill - I’ll check into the 2005 German whites. I sent the posting & comments to a friend of mine who is a big fan of cabernet. I hope I can get her interested the next time you do a blog wine tasting.
March 25th, 2008 at 5:22 pm
Just spotted your blog-page…FYI I will pick my 1st vintage of Negro Amaro this fall…have no idea what I’ll end up with, but stay tuned. We have a nice Fiano listed on our webpage @ $9.95 It is due to be released on 4-20-08. Both above varieties are “estate grown” in the Clarksburg AVA area. Plan to graft a nero d’avola next year.check us out!! Thanks, Mark
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