Informal wine tasting and church fundraiser

Saturday evening I hosted a church social and winetasting at the Episcopal church I attend. The small group of attendees included some who are into wines in a mild way and some who are mainly beer drinkers. Some at my request brought a variety of cheeses, and one lady brought pecan tarts for tasting with our dessert wines. I provided smoked turkey breast, honey-baked ham, savory herb stuffing, apple-cranberry chutney for Thanksgiving wine pairings and a ripe olive and cheddar cheese spread on English muffins canape and mini quiche, also pound cake and amaretto snaps (cookies.)
The wine list:
Wines for pairing with Thanksgiving meal:
1. 2005 Trimbach Gewurztraminer, Alsace
2. 2007 Louis Jadot Beaujolais-Villages
3. 2005 Gary Farrell Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
4. 2006 Joel Gott Zinfandel, California
(also possibly #7 from Wines Around the World)

Wines Around the World:
5. 2006 Bedford Road Estate Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand
6. 2006 Catena Alta Chardonnay, Catena Zapata, Mendoza, Argentina from Adrianna Vineyard
7. 2005 Maison Champy Bourgogne Rouge Pinot Noir Signature, France
8. Rosso da Morazzano, Montescudaio, Tuscany (no vintage on the label) blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sangiovese
9. 2001 Rincon de Baroja Crianza, Rioja, Spain from Bodegas Heredad de Baroja

Dessert Wines:
10. 2002 Zilliken Saarburger Rausch Riesling Auslese, Saar, Germany
11. 2000 M. Chapoutier Banyuls, Rousillon, France (I forgot to bring the chocolates to taste with this)
12. Jonesy Old Tawny Port (from Trevor Jones Wines), Australia
13. Cockburn 10-Year Tawny Port, Portugal
14. Inniskillen Cabernet Franc Icewine, Canada

I gave the participants ballots to list their favorite wine and second-favorite wine. The red wine with the most votes and overall favorite was the Gary Farrell Russian River Valley Pinot Noir with seven votes (from eleven ballots--not everyone voted.) The white wine with the most votes and second overall was the Trimbach Gewurztraminer with four votes. The second-favorite red with three votes was the Louis Jadot Beaujolais-Villages. And the dessert wine with the most votes was the Jonesy Old Tawny Port with three votes. I too preferred the Gary Farrell Pinot and the Louis Jadot Beaujolais Villages and the Gewurztraminer. I differed on the dessert wines preferirng the Cockburn Tawny Port and second to that the Banyuls. The only wine of the evening I did not like was the Baroja Crianza which came across as oaky. I have liked the basic Rioja and the Reservas and Gran Reservas from this producer. The Zilliken Saarburger Rausch Auslese was a bit disappointing but I only had a sip of it as I was cutting down on portions of the dessert wines so maybe I didn't give it a fair chance. It was the favorite wine of one participant. The general consensus was that the Pinot Noir, Gamay and Gewurztraminer all paired quite well with the turkey, ham and side dishes. The bleu cheese and goat cheese were hits although one commented that goat cheese is an acquired taste. The amaretto snaps were also popular. One came up with her own dish by pouring some Jonesy Old Tawny Port over the pound cake. The apple-cranberry chutney and amaretto snaps came from Kitchen Essence in Pinehurst, NC. Stonewall Kitchen is the brand of the chutney.

JC - we had an event like this at our Episcopal church but it had nowhere near the class that yours had. We focused on local Maryland wines and had some snacks and a local trio provided music. I think we had, maybe 15 to 20 people; a very poor showing. (I blame a lack of advertising.) I'm sure it ended up costing the church money but at least we have wine left over for communion. I think I’ll keep your list handy, at least the categories, if you don't mind.

Jon, I don't mind at all. We had some leftover Jonesy Old Tawny Port and Cockburn Tawny Port so I put those in the refrigerator in the sacristy. If they don't get used as communion wine in the meantime I will haul them out for after dinner at our communal Thanksgiving dinner. We were going to listen to CD's on Christina's portable CD player but she ended up at Cursillo that weekend so we didn't have music. One CD I planned to bring was recorded by the brother of one of the church members. He is a professional composer and flautist in Philadelphia.

We had some leftover Jonesy Old Tawny Port and Cockburn Tawny Port so I put those in the refrigerator in the sacristy.

JC - Lord knows a priest need a sip of port now and then.

Yes, especially since Father John just lost his mother.

[Robin Garr]

we had an event like this at our Episcopal church

I'm taking wine to a Thanksgiving lunch at ours ...

10. 2002 Zilliken Saarburger Rausch Riesling Auslese, Saar, Germany

The Zilliken Saarburger Rausch Auslese was a bit disappointing but I only had a sip of it as I was cutting down on portions of the dessert wines so maybe I didn't give it a fair chance. It was the favorite wine of one participant..

Disappointing in what way?

I was thinking of buying some of this although I can imagine it might be a bit closed right now.

We have many Episcopalians on the board which shows a lot of class.
My Grandmother who's maiden name was Plebani (Firenze) told me that an Episcopalian was a Catholic who had flunked Latin. Is that true?

[Robin Garr]

an Episcopalian was a Catholic who had flunked Latin. Is that true?

Some truth in that ... there are a few other important theological differences, but the denominations are probably closer together than they are far apart. Google "Via Media" for further information.

Lou,
A friend of mine describes the Episcopal Church as Catholic Lite. I prefer to think of it as a bridge church between Catholicism and other Protestant denominations. We now have a concordance by which ministers from the Lutheran and one other denomination (Old Catholic maybe?) can administer communion and other rites in an Episcopal church and vice versa. We had a Lutheran minister last Sunday as our priest was on his way to Tennessee for his mother's funeral and we had a Lutheran minister for Christmas services when we were without a full-time priest. I would love to see more ecumenical movement among Christians.

Rahsaan,
Maybe the Zilliken was in a closed phase. I wish now that I had sipped a bit more by which to judge it. It failed to make much of an impression and I remember really liking the first bottle which I had a couple years ago. One participant said it was like fruit juiice. The alcohol is only listed as 7.5% and maybe it just seemed a weakling in company with some of the other wines, but usually I appreciate the low alcohol of German Rieslings as I can have several glasses with little impairment. I went back and looked at my earlier tasting note from 2005 and there was a world of difference. Here it is:

Regular price was $39.99 for a bottle; sale price was $33.99. 7.5% alcohol A.P. # 3 551 083-5-03 Weingut Forstmeister Geltz Zilliken
Clear pale gold or deep straw color. I would have to stretch to find a slight pale green tint.

White blossoms delight on the nose. Sweet grapefruit with powdered sugar on the palate. Looked for strawberries or raspberries without any "aha" moment. Sweet but balanced. Goes down the throat so easily that it makes it nearly impossible to sip haltingly and studiously. Medium to long finish. Delicious! Probably best on its own as a dessert but one might try pairing it with puff pastry with Creme Anglais or vanilla custard. I think I will order two or three more bottles. I think this is my first Saarburger Rausch and it's a hit! Fortunately I have enough left in the bottle for two more glasses this evening!
It's a Mosel-Saar-Ruwer wine with Saarburg being a town along the Saar River.

[Robin Garr]

A friend of mine describes the Episcopal Church as Catholic Lite.

Catholic with women and gay priests and a tendency toward inclusion and tolerance?

White blossoms delight on the nose. Sweet grapefruit with powdered sugar on the palate. Looked for strawberries or raspberries without any "aha" moment. Sweet but balanced. Goes down the throat so easily that it makes it nearly impossible to sip haltingly and studiously. Medium to long finish. Delicious! Probably best on its own as a dessert but one might try pairing it with puff pastry with Creme Anglais or vanilla custard. I think I will order two or three more bottles.

Sounds tasty enough, I will probably also buy some if I ever get around to it.

We have many Episcopalians on the board which shows a lot of class.
My Grandmother who's maiden name was Plebani (Firenze) told me that an Episcopalian was a Catholic who had flunked Latin. Is that true?

There are many, and very significant, differences between Roman Catholics and Episcopalians, for one thing we can pray directly to God without going through an intermediary. I'm pretty sure that answers come back the same way for both, however.

[Robin Garr]

There are many, and very significant, differences between Roman Catholics and Episcopalians, for one thing we can pray directly to God without going through an intermediary.

Jon, this is probably straying far enough from wine that we ought to move it to Friends & Fun, but with respect, as a childhood Roman Catholic and adult Episcopalian, I'm pretty familiar with the theological differences between the denominations, and that's not one of them.

Episcopalians, however, do definitely seem to correlate well with wine enthusiasts, and that's a very good thing ...

Episcopalians, however, do definitely seem to correlate well with wine enthusiasts, and that's a very good thing ...

Here, Here, Robin! Now, back to wine.

I was only trying to inject a little levity on the board, I didn't intend for anything resembling a serious discussion. Back to wine.

There's no levity for the laity . . .

There's no levity for the laity . . .

OOH! That hurt.

11. 2000 M. Chapoutier Banyuls, Rousillon, France (I forgot to bring the chocolates to taste with this)

We recently did a tasting of Banyuls with several different producers and "strengths" of dark chocolates. Oh.My. I'm hooked.

It is a nice combo isn't it Cynthia?

It is a nice combo isn't it Cynthia?

Enchanting! (And it was in the Land of Enchantment, too!)