Archive for the Tasting Notes from the Underground Category

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I first noticed Tandem Ciders on someone’s Facebook posting, and with just a little bit of investigation, realized that this would have to be must-visit for Kim and this taster. We’ve found that we have an affinity for artisanal ciders, and the scuttlebutt about this Suttons Bay producer was all positive, so it made our short list of places to stop in.

Owners Dan and Nikki Young met in 2000 over opposite sides of the bar of The People’s Pint pub in Greenfield, Massachusetts.  They got real chummy, toured England by tandem bike during the summer of ’03, and thus came the name for their future establishment. It was during that tour that they discovered hard ciders and just how good they can be. After returning to the US, they married, moved to Michigan and worked towards their goal of establishing their own operation in the heart of Leelanau fruit country. Superior apples from area growers are turned into juice with a traditional rack and cloth press, then fermented using traditional styles.

We arrived a few minutes before noon at the Tandem tasting room/cider making facility with the bicycle-built-for-two hung above the front door. We had hoped to get a few minutes with Dan for an interview, but the tasting room filled up so quickly, he was pressed (pun intended) into duty trying to keep up with tasters’ thirsty demands. The ciders are very good, however, and they speak for themselves quite well. Visitors can sit and leisurely sip pints and half pints of draft cider for $4 and $2 respectively, along with snacks such as a Leelanau raclette cheese plate, pickled eggs and peanuts. Regular ciders range between 5-7% alcohol by volume. Dan told me that about 4,000 gallons (1,600 cases) were produced in 2011, and that they hope to double that this year.

We wasted no time in bellying up to the bar and tasting through everything being poured that day.

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We don’t need much in the way of coaxing, convincing or cajoling to get us back up to northern Michigan wine country. It seems like every time we visit Traverse City and the nearby Leelanau and Old Mission Peninsulas (we’ve been going since the late ‘80s), we find at least a couple more good reasons to want to go back. And so it was that when the Leelanau Peninsula Vintners Association invited us to attend their annual Media Weekend in late April, we started to plan our trip right away. We were especially interested in checking out two new operations that did not exist when last we were up that way, Verterra Winery and Tandem Ciders. We always stop in to see our friends at Left Foot Charley when we’re in Traverse City, and, of course, there was the Saturday night media event, so we had plenty to keep us occupied during our day and a half by the bays. We started at Verterra on Friday afternoon.

L-R: Shawn Walters, Skip Telgard, Paul Hamelin - click to enlarge

We first caught wind of what would eventually become Verterra Winery back in the spring of 2007. While we were enjoying a fine dinner at the Bluebird Restaurant and Bar in Leland, proprietor Skip Telgard told us excitedly that he was involved in a vineyard planting project. That project turned into Verterra Winery, owned and operated by Telgard and Paul Hamelin. The first planting comprised of 18 acres, which has been expanded to 33 acres currently being farmed. Harvested grapes are delivered into the capable hands of French Road Cellars‘ Doug Matthies and Shawn Walters. The wines have been winning medals and awards in various competitions from the get-go, so this operation was at the top of our short list that we wanted to investigate during our return to the Leelanau Peninsula. We tasted with Telgard, Hamelin and Walters on a fine, bright Friday afternoon at the Verterra tasting room in Leland. Find Michigan wines

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We’ve been fans of wines from South Africa for a couple of decades, but it’s been more than a year since we’ve tried anything new. Happily, our friends at Vineyard Brands took care of that again by sending us several samples for our consideration not long ago, and as is usually the case, we found a lot more to like than otherwise.

We enjoyed the last two wines we tried from Neil Ellis a year ago last December, so we were interested in seeing what five more from them and their second label, Sincerely, had to offer. Click images to enlarge.

2010 Sincerely Sauvignon Blanc, 13% alc., $13.99 SRP: Clean, medium color; varietally correct gooseberry, grapefruit and mineral flavors and aromas shaded with just a hint of lime. Good intensity, medium-to-medium full body, good acids and length. Good value for the money. Fruit sourced from vines in Groenekloof, Stellenbosch and Elgin, varying from 5 years to 22 years (average 12 years). Fermented at low temperatures, and left on the lees for 3 months before blending. Find this wine
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I got a message recently from our good friend Christina Donley, Midwest Regional Sales Representative for Ridge Vineyards, telling me that she was in the neighborhood, wanted to check out Gomez at St. Andrews Hall in Detroit, and asking if I’d like to join her. I’ve been aware of this Brit band for some years, now, and while I would hardly claim to be a fan, I’ve always enjoyed everything I heard by them. Heck, they even played Rothbury in 2008, so between hearing some good music and hanging out with Christina, this was a win-win kind o’ deal! How could I say no?

You can often tell the quality of a band by how loudly the audience sings along with their songs, and the full house was in full throat on this occasion. Gomez was in fine form and a great time was had by all, and I’d go hear these guys anytime they come back in the area. Because she was flying back to the West Coast the following morning, Christina gave me two sample bottles that she’d been pouring for various accounts earlier in the day. I dutifully drove home and poured a glass of each in order to record the following impressions. Like I need an excuse to drink Mr. Ridge…
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Our friends at Signature Selections Wine Company in Auburn Hills, Michigan, took notice of our review of two wines from the Spanish producer Verasol a few weeks ago, and contacted us to inquire as to if we’d like to try some other things imported by José Pastor Selections, which they distribute in this area. We’ve never been known to turn down samples for review, especially from an operation such as Pastor’s, who’s mission (small batch wines made naturally, from sustainable, if not organic, vineyards and minimal use of oak) we very much admire, so we gratefully accepted their kind offer, and here’s what we discovered in those four bottles. Click images to enlarge.

German Gilabert Cava Brut Reserva NV, 11.5% alc., $14.99: This medium colored sparkler is a blend of 50% Macabeo, 30% Xarello and 20% Parellada farmed from organically grown vineyards in sand and limestone soils, with an average vine age of 30-35 years old located in Alto Penedez. Fine active bead, with more than ample mousse, it offers pungent green apple and mineral flavors and aromas; it’s fresh, expressive, bone dry and delightfully so. Medium-to-medium full bodied, with excellent acids and good length, this is a fine Cava, with very good QPR. This is a special project custom made for Jose Pastor, with no dosage. Find this wine

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The occasion was a dinner date with our good friends Anne Keller and Brian Klumpp, here at Gang Central. The menu consisted of grilled lamb chops, fingerling potatoes and broccolini. Entertainment was provided by yours truly, in the form of three new original songs that will receive greater exposure in the near future. Champagne is always a good vehicle with which to begin such festivities, and indeed, that’s where we started.

Champagne Barnaut Brut Rosé Authentique Grand Cru NV, 12.5% alc.: Raspberry pink color; the initial fine, active bead and ample mousse peters out some in the glass. The pungent, yeasty nose leads into bone dry raspberry, strawberry and mineral flavors. Medium-full-to-full bodied, with good acids and length. While it’s a good Champagne, we all felt it’s a little tired and probably a bit past its prime. Find this wine

Imported by Vintage ’59 Imports LLC, Washington, DC

From there, we moved on to three pedigreed reds.

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I first tried the 2008 versions of these two Spanish reds from Verasol about a year ago. I liked those then, but when I tried to find out more about the producer, there was precious little information available on the Interweb. Not much has changed during the ensuing months, as this is still the only brief blurb I can find:

“Verasol searches up-and-coming regions around Spain to find old vines with native grapes. The wines are vinified by the well-known and highly respected winemaker Pedro Sarrion. All the wines are raised and aged in tank so the native varietals and the soil from the region can speak loudly. They represent great values.”

The wines are imported by the excellent José Pastor Selections, whose mission is an admirable one:

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In the spirit of the early days of Gang of Pour, we offer this report on yet another episode of wretched excess with our longtime partner-in-crime, Alan Kerr, aka Canadian Zinfan. Do we really go back to 1997 with this renegade Brit?! We do, and we have the reports to prove it! The occasion was the renewal of our seasonal Holiday Hijinx, and we were not without ample ammunition to enliven the festivities. Dinner consisted of lamb chops, fava beans and rapini, and the wines included two Rhone Rangers, a pair from Chateauneuf du Pape, and, in the finest Gang tradition, two Ridge Geezers. We got things started with an Ontario sparkler that Alan had gifted to us the previous year. Click images to enlarge.

2006 Hillebrand Estates Showcase Sparkling Riesling Niagara Peninsula VQA, 12% alc., $35.00 Can.: Clean, medium color, with a fine, very active bead and ample mousse; bone dry, showing excellent varietal typicity, all Granny Smith green apple, with chalky mineral undertones. Medium body plus, with good acidity and good length. A fine little sparkler from Niagara wine country. Find this wine
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From the Quick-but-by-no-means-Dirty Dept.:

2009 Cuvee des 3 Messes Basses Ventoux, 60% Grenache, 20% Cinsault, 20% Syrah, 14.5% alc., 1.5 L, $16.99: This hearty southern Rhône red from our good friends at J et R Selections/Wines of Distinction in Bloomfield Hills, MI is an out-and-out QPR All Star, delivering more pleasure than it seems one has the right to expect these days for so few dollars. Clean garnet in color, with modest aromatics that only hint at the rich dark plum and berry flavors shaded with some leather and underscored with a solid anchor or earth; subtle hints of violet and licorice add to the appeal. Full bodied, with structure to take it two years or so down the road, but I doubt that 10 cases would make it into 2013 at our house. This deserves serious consideration, nay, this will BE our house red for the coming several months. Find this wine

Reporting from Day-twah,

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The more wines we taste from our friends at Cornerstone Cellars in the Napa and Willamette Valleys, the more we admire the great work they continue to do. Consider, if you will, the six samples from the 2009 vintage that we tried recently. Each exhibits the consistent high quality that we’ve come to expect from this producer, and does so with what is for us, an engaging and appealing style. We began our survey by pouring glasses of the 2nd vintage of Cornerstone’s Pinot Noir, which proved to be a worthy successor to the 2008 model that we reviewed in September of 2010. (click images to enlarge)

2009 Cornerstone Oregon Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, 13.9% alc., $50.00: Clean ruby garnet color; black cherry aromatics shaded with earth and mushroom follow through nicely on the palate, with oak influence well in the background. Medium-to-medium full bodied, with good intensity of flavor, smooth texture and deceptive structure that should take it several years down the road. A wine of class, substance and appeal, this is some very nice Pinot Noir indeed. Sourced from five Willamette Valley AVAs; Eola Hills (37%), Yamhill-Carlton (21%), Chehalem Mountain (21%), Ribbon Ridge (13%) and Dundee Hills (8%). 14 months in French oak barrels, 60% of which were new. Find this wine

As previously reported, the Stepping Stone line strives to offer high quality at lower prices than wines with the Cornerstone label, and the following two selections succeed completely in that regard.

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