I was able to make a stop today at The Wine Shop of Reading for their 5th Annual Wine Fest. They had 22 wines available for the tasting. They also had various cheeses, spreads, breads and even a chocolate fountain with fresh strawberries.
So, what were the highlights of the tasting?
2005 La Vis Muller-Thurgau ($11.99): This wine comes from the Trentino region of Italy. The varietal, Muller-Thurgau, is a cross between Riesling and Sylvaner. This was an excellent white wine. Crisp, with nice fruit flavors including apricot and lemon. Flavorful and would go very well with seafood. A great value wine at this price.
2005 Oregeny Pinot Noir ($39.99): This winery, in the Green Valley AVA of Sonoma County, makes only Pinot Noir. It has a spicy nose and that spice comes out on the palate as well. There are good berry flavors on the palate as well. It is a very silky wine, with mild tannins. It is more Burgundian in style. A very interesting wine that is sure to please. If you want to splurge, buy this wine.
2004 Lan Crianza Rioja ($12.99): A Spanish tempranillo that is fruity and easy drinking. A good pizza wine or casual drinking wine.
2005 Chateau Peynaud Bordeaux ($9.99): The 2005 vintage in Bordeaux was superb and prices on many Bordeaux has skyrocketed. This wine was a significant surprise, an exceptional wine at a very inexpensive price. It is typical Bordeaux, very subtle fruits, smooth-drinking and with a long finish. You almost never get such a long finish on a $10 wine. This was the top value wine of the tasting and I expect it will be a big seller. Get some now before it is gone.
2004 Finca El Retiro Malbec Reserva ($17.99): This is their higher end Malbec from Argentina and is worth the price. It is a powerful wine, with good dark berry and spice flavors. Pair this with a juicy steak and savor the taste.
2000 Villa Erbice Amarone ($52.99): This Italian wine is from a boutique winery and it only produces around 400 cases of this wine. This is an intriguing wine, with a strong mocha taste. It is complex and has a lingering finish. It is not overly tannic and makes for a smooth wine. Another wine worth the splurge.
2005 Victor Hugo Zinfandel ($21.99): At a couple recent tastings, I tried some other Victor Hugo wines and they all impressed me. Their Zinfandel did not fail me. It is a full bodied wine with a lot of jammy fruit and strong spice. A powerful wine that calls for a juicy steak. Another winner from Victor Hugo.
Wine Shop of Reading
676 Main St.
Reading, MA
Phone: 781-944-4521
4 comments:
Hi!
Great to hear that their Wine Fest went well. I didn't have the opportunity to pop in; I live very close by to that shop actually -- however, I own a fine wine shop in Beacon Hill. If you're ever in town, check us out! www.beaconhillwine.com
Even better - we deliver, and most of our clients trust us with "blind pairings" - e.g. you tell us how much you want to spend, an idea of your palate, and we select wonderful wines for you.
So nice to meet another wine and foodie! I'm logging in under my personal blog account, although, I do have a wine tasting blog: http://beaconhillwine.blogspot.com -- it doesn't get much traffic unfortunately.
Take care!
Hello Rebecca and welcome to my blog. Thanks for the info on your wine shop. I actually have been there before though I am trying to determine which wine shop on Charles that it is. I walked down Charles St. this past summer and stopped at 3 or 4 wine stores there. As well as Savenor's, which I love. Is the store having any special tastings this fall?
We are actually! Well, we have tastings weekly on a regular basis, but we're doing one inconjunction with a local author which should be lots of fun. Once we've got the wine list together I can let you know what we're tasting out that night. We've got one of the best - if not the best - French section in town, so if you're a fan of French wine, you should definitely come by. We are on the corner of Charles & Mt. Vernon, right across from Cafe Vanille. :)
Yes, please keep me informed about any special tastings you have. Feel free to email me with any such info.
Thanks
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