Tag: bauer wine

Filipa Pato’s 3B Sparkling Rosé is Our August Sparkler

We're saying "Happy New Month" to August with a bottle of 3B Sparkling Rosé created by winemaker Filipa Pato and imported and distributed by Andrew Bishop, owner of Oz Wine Company in Haverhill, MA. We begin each month by popping the cork on a sparkling wine and will be very happy to have you join our sparkling resolution!

It's our first sparkler from Portugal, but it won't be the last. We intend to enjoy more vinho from this famous family of winemakers. (Thanks to Howie Rubin from Bauer Wine & Spirits for recommending another winner!)

Andrew told us a bit about this wine and how it fits into his collection of Oz wines.

"Filipa Pato comes from a very long line of winemakers in her family, and her father Luis Pato is probably the most famous sparkling producer in Portugal. So, she has grown up making sparkling wine with her father on a grand scale. But, what makes her "Oz" material is that she isn't making huge quantities, and she is using all natural yeasts and farming 100% organically from smaller vineyard plots."

He went on to explain, "This is not necessary to make it into our portfolio, but we tend to taste the difference in smaller production wines that you simply cannot in more industrialized. The result is 100% baga sparkling that has personality."

Like most rosés, this in NOT a sweet wine.

"There is no residual sugar (or very little) in Filipa's sparkling Baga, so what you taste is fresh, clean, pure fruit with racy acidity," Andrew said. "This is what makes her wine compatible with everything from shellfish to pork."

Winemaker's Tasting Notes

Filipa Pato describes this wine as, "Raspberries and strawberries on the nose, the palate has the freshness and body of the Baga grape and the creaminess of Bical." She says, "I believe that Baga and Bical in Bairrada are like the Chardonnay and the Pinot in Champagne. They need each other to make a balance…"

What makes this Portuguese wine special?

Andrew detailed what distinguishes these wines from this Portuguese winemaker. "It's pretty rare when you find someone like Filipa who does everything from watching her buds break to putting the labels on her finished bottles. I think this wine shows the "New Portugal," or at least, a new wine movement that is going more 'old school traditional (meaning less technology and more hands off methods)' in that she is using grapes that she tends to rather than purchasing, and the winemaking is letting the fruit from the vineyards come through more than masking."

Here's a look at the Wines We’ve Been Tasting

And, more about Our Sparkling Resolution

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 Penny Cherubino

August 1, 2012
Plan Pégau 2009 “Baby Chateauneuf du Pape”

A couple of bottles of Plan Pégau 2009 were sitting in our wine rack. This wine had been introduced to us as a "baby Chateauneuf du Pape" by Howie Rubin at Bauer Wines.

A few nights later, Gretchen Jones (@moralbeast) mentioned a great Cote du Rhone that she was enjoying. That sent me to the rack to pull the Plan Pégau and plan a meal around it.

As students of wine, we learn by researching the wines that come our way. We had already been told that this was from one of the great Chateauneuf du Pape winemakers, Laurence Féraud from Domaine du Pégau. Her wines can run four to five times the $14.99 price tag on this one.

The importer, Hand Picked Selections (HPS) says the 2009 Plan Pégau, "offers a true and loud echo of the flavor and style of Domaine du Pegau Châteauneuf-du-Pape. A perfect illustration of the HPS mantra of quality, character and value, it always seems to have a bit of that magic Châteauneuf funk!"

We paired it with a rib eye after reading a comment from Wine & Spirits Magazine that this wine was, "…a red to sink your teeth into…mouthfilling and delicious, the vinous equivalent of a good aged steak."

From the moment we opened the screwtop, Plan Pégau made an impression. Photographing it was torture. It has a big presence and was sending out enticing aromas that made us want to get straight to tasting.

From this one we learned about rapé.

Blogger Edmonton Wine Host ran a post on Plan Pégau and reported that it might contain some rapé from Pégau. He explained, "Rape means left over juice, skins or crush from a previous harvest. Also can be a winery way of 'disposing' of extra juice from an excellent harvest."

We knew about second labels, like Oregon superstar producer Owen Roe Winery's O'Reilly's line. Now we know about another way to hunt for unexpected quality at a great price. Find out if it is the baby sister in a great family.

We plan to buy more!

If you see this wine at a good price, grab it. We loved it and expect it will be just as good over the next couple of years.

What's on your wine shopping list? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino

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March 6, 2012
Benvenuto March with Prosecco from Bisson & Rosenthal

We’re welcoming March with a bottle of prosecco– always a safe bet, but with Rosenthal on the label it’s nearly a sure thing! We once advised a friend, who was uneasy about the thought of ordering wine at an upcoming business dinner, to just ask the restaurant for a Neal Rosenthal wine. She got a Standing O!

The terms, “artisan, traditional, and natural” are more than words on a label, they’re part of this wine merchant’s philosophy. When Rosenthal talks about Enoteca Bisson and Pierluigi Lugano’s care and passion as a grower and producer of distinctive wines, you can begin to appreciate the vision and effort that goes into his prosecco.

Vino Frizzante Prosecco (Glera in Italy) 2010 Bisson is produced in a “bone-dry style.” That would normally be enough for me to take a pass on a sparkler, but one sip and I was intrigued.

Bisson Prosecco uses a Crown Cap (also called a “Spark Cap”)

Yes, it was dry but not in an overwhelming way. We both could taste the fruit– concentrated pear? Penny compared the wine’s body to that of a Bollinger Champagne!

When we returned to buy another bottle from Howie Rubin at Bauer Wine & Spirits, he wasn’t surprised, “I find it’s got a little more chalkiness, more like real Champagne.” Rubin pointed to, “…the yeast in the nose. It could be the limestone in the soil, it could be more Champagne-like soil.”

Whatever it is, we’ve added our applause and another bottle to our wine rack. There’s a lot of prosecco out there. “Leave it to Neal Rosenthal to give us something that’s a little drier, a little more complex, a little deeper in flavor,” said Rubin. “It sets it apart from all the rest.”

Links:

Vino Frizzante Prosecco 2010 Bisson, Rosenthal Wine Merchant, NY at Bauer Wine & Spirits

Here's More About: Our Sparkling Resolution

Check Out: Our Sparkling Resolution Winner’s List

Want to learn more about wine? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site! Here's, The Food Lover's Guide to Wine the latest addition to our wine reference wish list. We heard a great interview and review of this book over on Taste of the Past.

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Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
Photography: © 2012 Penny & Ed Cherubino

Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often those add a great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you.

March 1, 2012