Jane's Weekly Wines from the Atlanta Wine School PRINT AND GO VERSION February 2nd, 2006 Wine & Chocolate *************************************************************************************** RETAILERS WHO SUPPORT THIS COLUMN AND HAVE HAD THIS LIST OF WINES IN ADVANCE. Pearson's Wines of Atlanta, 3072 Early St Nw Atlanta, GA 30305 -- 404-231-8752 Corner Wine & Art, 1402 N. Highland Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30306 -- 404-875-8810 Home Town Wine & Spirits, 4856 Hog Mountain Rd, Flowery Branch, GA --770-965-6058 The Colors of Wine, 2355 Cumberland Pkwy, Atlanta, GA 30339 -- 770-432-2828 Sigman Bottle Shop, 425 Sigman Road - Conyers, GA 30012 -- 770-929-8797 Shiraz, 675 Pulaski Street, Suite 400, Athens, GA 30601 -- 706-208-0010 Is your wine shop not on this list? Tell them to call 770-668-0435! *************************************************************************************** Giacomo Bologna Braida Bracchetto d'Acqui D.O.C.G. 2005 Acqui, Piemonte, Italy Score: 88 Points Tasting Notes: Light-bodied moderately sweet red wine; bright medium-deep dark purple red. Aromas of fresh black fruits, rather like a sweet berry drink, soft alcohol, not at all tannic. Fresh, clean, bright berry flavors. Not a keeper. Do not cellar! Slightly fizzy; very low alcohol (5.5%). Must be enjoyed young, slightly chilled, about 50 degrees, in small tulip-shaped flutes. Grape: Brachetto. Pronounced brah-KET-toh DAH-kwi. Food Pairings: Dark chocolate-dipped strawberries, cherries; chocolate-enrobed raspberries; dark or white chocolate and dried cherries; chocolate fondue with milk chocolate, fruits and pound cake. Other stuff: fruit crostata; cut up fruit with Brachetto poured over it and mascerated overnight. Price: $15/375 ml.; $25/750 ml. Wholesaler: Vinifera Distributing ************************************************************************************ Yalumba Museum Muscat NV Victoria, Australia Score: 93 Tasting Notes: Full-bodied sweet dessert wine; medium deep gold-edged amber. Heady, complex aromas of toffee, spices, toasted nuts, and dried yellow fruits (apricot especially); flavors of rich, intense dried stone fruits, with spice, ginger, orange peel all factored in. Touch of coffee in the finish. Sweet but not cloying. Serve at cool room temperature, about 60 degrees in short tulip-shaped glasses. 18% alcohol. Grape: Muscat. Awesome work! Food Pairings: Milk chocolate with almonds or pistachios or almonds; turtle bars (a mix of chocolate and nuts on short bread); Other stuff: Spanish fig and almond cake; nut-and-apricot stuffed baked brie; macadamia nut bars; plain cookie; banana crème brúlée, toffee, milk-chocolate dipped dried apricots or orange peel. Other stuff: turrón. I'd bet on crystalized ginger or chocolate-dipped crystalized ginger, too. . . Price: $17/375 ml. Wholesaler: Empire Distributing ************************************************************************************** Dow's Trademark Finest Reserve Porto (NV) Oporto, Portugal Score: 90 Tasting Notes: Full-bodied drier-style fortified red wine with a deep inky purple red color. Aromas of sweet brown spices and intense dark berry fruits lead to easy-to-savor dark fruit/spice flavors, reminiscent of a good dark fruitcake. Very clean, not cloying sweetness, long finish, with a hint of dried dark fruits in the close. Alcohol is 17.5%, but there's absolutely no heat. Gorgeous balance. Excellent value. Serve at cool room temperature in small tulip-shaped glasses. Does not need decanting. Food Pairings: Really dark bitter chocolate, such as the Hershey's Extra Dark; dark chocolate desserts such as Whole Foods' Marquise au Chocolate. Other stuff: Spanish fig cake; fruit cake; dried figs and walnuts; Stilton and walnuts; aged firm cheeses (Gouda, Cheddar, Parano) Price: $17 Wholesaler: Georgia Crown *************************************************************************************** Habersham Vineyard "Creekstone" Dessert Chambourcin 2003 Georgia Score: 88 Tasting Notes: Full-bodied sweet dessert wine; medium dark ruby red. Clean sweet dark fruit aromas, sweet slightly brambly dark fruit flavors, reminiscent of dark fruitcake. Smooth, concentrated, not overpowering, amazing. Made for chocolate. High (17%) alcohol, but not fortified; alcohol is boosted by feeding the wine lots of yeast to work on lots of sugar to convert it to alcohol. Chambourcin is a French-American hybrid grape, widely grown in the southern U.S. and in Australia. Serve at cool room temperature in small tulip-shaped glasses. Does not need decanting. Food Pairings: Lexington's dark chocolate espresso bar (wicked!); slightly melted dark chocolate with a few grains of French gray salt on top; dark chocolate and almonds. Other stuff: walnuts and creamy soft bleu cheeses Price: $23 Wholesaler: Prestige Wine Wholesale ************************************************************************************ Inniskillin Cabernet Franc Ice Wine 2004 Ontario, Canada Score: 94 Tasting Notes: Light- to medium-bodied sweet dessert wine, with a medium light cherry red color with orange glints. Intense aromas of strawberry and other fresh red fruits, followed by equally intense focused red fruit-centered flavors, mostly orange-tinged strawberry. Supremely delicious with a palate-caressing texture and slight initial spritzy. Grapes picked frozen at nearly 40 degrees brix. Extravagant, but worth it for Valentine's. Moderate alcohol: 10.5% Serve moderately chilled, just at cool room temperature in small fluted glasses. Food Pairings: Dark chocolate with cranberry, raspberry or strawberry centers; dark chocolate over orange (singularly good), milk chocolate with dried cherries (Lexington Chocolatier). Other stuff: plain fresh strawberries; raspberries; pound cake; fresh red fruit tarts Price: $85/375 ml. bottle Wholesaler: Atlanta Wholesale Wine/NDC ************************************************************************************** Monteviña Zinfandel Port NV Amador County, CA Score: 85 Tasting Notes: Big, full-bodied bold sweet dessert wine; inky dark purple color. Aromas of cocoa, prune, raising; flavors focus on spice, raisin, dried dark fruits, vanilla. High alcohol (19%), but sweet lingering finish not hot. Old Vines. Vinified in French and American oak (the latter contributing the vanilla),. Cool room temperature, in small tulip-shaped glasses. Food Pairings: Dark chocolate; turtle bars; Hershey's Pure Dark Chocolate (60% cocoa); or Lexington's 73% dark chocolate; cranberry-filled dark chocolate (awesome Price: $17 Wholesaler: United Distributing