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Norm's Tasting Notes - 2010 Mezzacorona Pinot Grigio
So what do you serve with salmon salad? Our choice last night was a bottle of 2010 Mezzacorona Vigneti delle Dolomiti Pinot Grigio, which proved to be an excellent choice for a warm spring evening repast...
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Norm's Tasting Notes: 2009 Big Fire and Erath Oregon Pinot Noir
We had friends over for dinner last weekend for grilled salmon, and my favorite with salmon, Pinot Noir. We selected two bottles of similar wine from Oregon for comparison, but could not decide which was the best, so I have decided to write about both. This week's Tasting Notes is a "Two for One"...
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Norm's Tasting Notes: 2009 Columbia Crest Grand Estates Chardonnay
I don't know how many vintages of the Columbia Crest Grand Estates Chardonnay I have sampled over the years, but I do know that I don't ever remember a bad one.  The 2009 vintage is another excellent example of a good bottle of wine for a good price... 
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Norm's Tasting Notes: 2010 Dry Creek Fume Blanc
It was so good a couple of decades ago, that the Chardonnay Queen and I served it at our wedding. The 2010 Dry Creek Fume Blanc brought back memories of that great taste, the same, only different, We had a bottle last night with grilled steelhead, and it was wonderful. Now I am not sure whether I can tell the difference between steelhead and salmon, but I do know a good Sauvignon Blanc, when I taste one...
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Norm's Tasting Notes: 2010 Kim Crawford Marlborough Un-Oaked Chardonnay
Delightful and refreshing are the first thoughts which come to mind after sampling the 2010 Kim Crawford Un-Oaked Chardonnay from Marlborough, New Zealand. Although New Zealand is best known for Sauvignon Blanc, there are also some very good Chardonnays, especially from the Marlborough area. This is a clean and crisp, fruit forward Chardonnay, with none of the more heavy characteristics of an oak finished Chardonnay...
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Norm's Tasting Notes: 2009 Beringer Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
I love steak. I love steak cooked on the grill. I love steak cooked on the grill and paired with a good bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon! For me, there is no better meal than a two inch thick fillet mignon cooked on the grill medium rare, and served with a good bottle of Cab, like the 2009 Beringer Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. What else can I say? Well I could tell you what a beautiful place the Knights Valley is...
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Norm's Tasting Notes: 2009 Edna Valley Paragon Chardonnay
This is a fragrant wine whose powerful aroma leaps out of the glass and takes control of you senses from the very beginning.  The flavors abound with big layers of pear, apricot, and pineapple being the most dominate...
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Norm's Tasting Notes: 2010 Root One Carmenere
The last time I wrote about the Root One Carmenere we were having spaghetti, and we chose the 2009 Root One Carmenere instead of Chianti. Now a year later, it seemed that the right thing to do was to have a repeat with the 2010 vintage for a good comparison. Of course spaghetti at the Bentley house is a real treat, and so was the 2010 Root One Carmenere...
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Norm's Tasting Notes: 2010 Kenwood Sonoma County Sauvignon Blanc
The Kenwood Sauvignon Blanc grapes hail from several areas within the Sonoma County including Russian River, Dry Creek, and Carneros. The varied growing climates within the valley create a complex wine with an array of flavors, which produce a clean wine with a crisp finish. The predominate taste is melon and citrus with a grassy overlay, followed by hints of tropical fruit...
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Norm's Tasting Notes : 1997 Clos du Val Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon
We don't regularly drink fifteen year old bottles of wine, but the other night, we broke out a bottle of wine given to me by one of my favorite salesmen several years ago. Of course ten to fifteen years old is often the the correct age range for a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon to be at its best. This one was the 1997 Clos du Val Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon, and it was excellent, and just about at its peak...
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Norm's Tasting Notes: 2009 Marques de Casa Concha Cabernet Sauvignon
The 2009 Marques de Casa Concha Cabernet Sauvignon, from Concha y Toro of Chile, gets a 91 score from the "Wine Enthusiast", and a 92 score from Norm...
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Norm's Tasting Notes: 2009 Alexander Valley Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon
My favorite wine has always been Cabernet Sauvignon, and the 2009 Alexander Valley Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon is one that just hits the spot with a little grilled meat on a cold winter night. We enjoyed a bottle the other night with marinated grilled pork loin chops, with baked potato and stir-fried yellow and zucchini squash. It was wonderful...
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Norm's Tasting Notes 2009 Bogel California Chardonnay
The best selling grape variety in America is Chardonnay, so we might as well start out the new year with an article about Chardonnay.  The 2009 Bogel California Chardonnay is a good solid example of a well-structured bottle of wine for a respectful price. The Wine Spectator liked it well enough to give it an 88 with the following comments...
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Norm's Tasting Notes: 2010 Meridian Vineyards Chardonnay
The 2010 Meridian Vineyards Chardonnay is a great choice for a wine typical of California Chardonnay, with lots of fruit and a clean finish...
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Norm's Tasting Notes: Champagne vs. Sparkling Wine
Over the years I have heard many make the comment, "I don't really like champagne, so I don't think that I will get any this year for the 31st." When asked what kind of champagne they have had in the past, the answer is often Andre. Well Andre really is not champagne, it's just inexpensive sparkling wine...
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Norm's Tasting Notes: Christmas Special 2011
First let me say MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY DINING!...To make this happen you will need to make some good choices for your holiday meals. Below is a list of suggestions for which wines go best with which foods, that I put together several years ago. I hope this will help you with your holiday planning...
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Norm's Tasting Notes: 2008 Chateau Ste. Michelle Indian Wells Chardonnay
There is something to be said for consistency, and both Robert Parker's "Wine Advocate" and the "Wine Spectator" scored the 2008 Chateau Ste. Michelle Indian Wells Chardonnay an 88. I am afraid I have to disagree and be inconsistent, and raise the score of this delightful bottle of wine to a 91. Perhaps I sampled this Chardonnay after a little more bottle age than the the two premier wine magazines, but I found this to be one of the best under twenty dollar Chardonnays I have ever tasted...
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Norm's Tasting Notes - 2007 Trimbach Alsace Lorraine Gewurztraminer
Gewurztraminer has always been a difficult taste for me to describe, but it is a wine which I have enjoyed for many years. The Trimbach Gewurztraminer has long been hailed as a prime example of this variety, and I once remarked that you could almost taste the sunshine in the glass! The 2007 vintage opens with a fragrant bouquet which transfers into a spicy flavored wine with a tangy finish. The flavor reminds one of cinnamon and ginger with a slight nuance of grapefruit toward the end...
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Norm's Tasting Notes - 2011 Thanksgiving Special
Thanksgiving is the one day of the year when people who do not normally drink wine have at least one glass with their traditional Thanksgiving Feast. If you are going to have a glass of wine only once per year, make it a good one, since it is a long time between now and the next Thanksgiving Dinner! It is always difficult to select the perfect wine for this occasion, because the table offers such an array of aromas and flavors, but there are a few guidelines which will make this dinner more memorable than ever...
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Norm's Tasting Notes: 2009 La Crema Russian River Pinot Noir
It's always great to get together with old friends, and I had the pleasure to have dinner this week with two of my very best friends at The Palm restaurant in Washington, DC. We have been friends for a very long time, so this was a special occasion which called for a special bottle of wine. One had grilled lamb chops, the other a thick rib steak, and I chose the large cold water lobster tail. The wine we chose was the 2009 La Crema Russian River Pinot Noir, which was perfect with all three of our entrees...
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Norm's Tasting Notes: 2010 Chateau Ste. Michelle Chardonnay
The 2010 Chateau Ste. Michelle is an in-between style, which is somewhat classic French, and a little bit California, and is neither too fruit forward, nor too steely in nature. It has the true Chardonnay flavors of apple and pear which are accented by a hint of oak. This vintage was aged Surlie for about six months in both French and American oak. The finish is clean and crisp, with a little toasty oak and a slight citrus breeze, as it reminds the palate of the need for just one more sip...
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Norm's Tasting Notes: 2010 R. Mondavi Private Selection Cabernet Sauvignon
The 2010 Robert Mondavi Private Selection Cabernet Sauvignon is big, rich and smooth, with a lot of character, and was a great choice for our two inch thick, medium rare, fillet mignon! The Private Selection label is a secondary one for the winery, but with this Cab, it doesn't have to stand in line behind anyone...
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Norm's Tasting Notes - 2009 Sterling Vintner's Collection Chardonnay
Sterling Vineyards was founded in 1964 near Calistoga, California by Englishman Peter Newton. The first plantings were Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Merlot, and these varieties still represent some of the winery's best efforts. At the northern end of the Napa Valley, the view from the winery offers some of the most scenic views in the entire valley...
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Norm's Tasting Notes - 2009 d' Arenberg The Stump Jump Red
Making wine since 1927, the d' Arenberg Winery near McLaren Vale, Australia, has not only grown some pretty good grapes, they have grown themselves a pretty good reputation for making good wines as well. The 2009 The Stump Jump Red is a blend of 42% Grenache, 33% Shiraz and 25% Mourvedre and has the finesse of wines costing two or three times as much...
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Norm's Tasting Notes: 2009 Frescobaldi Remole Toscana
Tuscany, Italy conjures up visions of sun-bathed rolling hills covered with grape vines, and smothered with romance. This area of Italy has been producing wine for more than 2000 years, and the Marchesi de' Frescobaldi has been making wine in Tuscany for more than 700 of those years...
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Norm's Tasting Notes: 2010 Gnarly Head Old Vine Zinfandel
There is nothing like a big plate of spaghetti on a cold winter's night, and if you can't have a bottle of Dago Red alongside, try my American favorite for spaghetti, which is Zinfandel. The 2010 Gnarly Head Old Vine Zinfandel is the best of what have been some pretty good vintages over the last few years, and was made for spaghetti. The vine is made from old Zinfandel vines between 35 and 80 years old from the Lodi area of California...
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Norm's Tasting Notes - 2010 Robert Mondavi Private Selection Pinot Noir
This is a very pleasant Pinot Noir, and a real bargain in the ten dollar price range.  Most Pinot Noirs in this category don't even taste like Pinot Noir, but this one is a definite exception.  The nose offers the aromas of black cherry and other dark fruits, which lead into a pronounced cherry flavor with a hint of black raspberry jam.  The finish is clean with mild oak tones, and a lasting cherry presence at the end...
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Norm's Tasting Notes: 2010 Big House Unchained "Naked" Chardonnay
The weather forecast said hot and humid for the next three days, and the Chardonnay Queen said, "might as well be, that's the way its been for the last three months." The "dog days" are upon us and have been for it seems, forever. Because of the heat, we have been eating a lot of salads for dinner, which are better than hot meals these days...
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Norm's Tasting Notes: 2009 Danzante Pinot Grigio
The 2009 Danzante Pinot Grigio comes from grapes grown in the northeastern region of Italy know as Le Venezie.  The climate is a little cool in the summer and produces some of the best Pinot Grigio in the world.  This Danzante is a light yellow in color with an aroma of flowers and citrus.  The flavors are typical of Pinot Grigio with pronounced swirls of pineapple, mixed with citrus and tropical fruit...
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Norm's Tasting Notes : 2009 Irony Monterey County Pinot Noir
Grilled salmon and Pinot Noir, what a combo!  Now, I will drink white wine with salmon at the drop of a hat, but as far as I am concerned, nothing beats Pinot Noir with salmon.  Last night we opened a bottle of 2009 Irony Monterey County Pinot Noir to accompany our grilled salmon, and it was a great match...
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