January 29, 2015 Reserve Wine Tasting at Winter Wine Festival in Taos

January 29, 2015 Reserve Wine Tasting at Winter Wine Festival in Taos

Before we left at noon for Taos, we made burritos with some PPI potatoes and the pork, onions and apples from last night’s dinner with eggs and flour tortillas.

We arrived at the Old Taos Guesthouse at a bit after 3:00 and found that the old owners, Tim and his wife, had sold to Bob and his wife in May 2015.  We spoke to Bob briefly and were shown to our favorite room; No. 7.

After unloading the car we drove to Monte Sagrado for the wine event.  This year we were allowed to enter a few minutes before 4:00 after we checked in and put on our wrist bands.  The event is held in two large conference rooms and the hallway lining them. We first went hang Sue’s coat and then to the back room and to the table where Martini and Rossi was serving Prosecco.  Then we ate a salmon mousse topped with whipped egg white and egg yolk and a garnish of caper tapenade made by Mosaic, which was one of the most interesting food items.  Then we started a flurry of eating and drinking for two hours solid.

 

My recollection is still somewhat blurred about four hours after the event, but I have my favorites.  This year there was a large number of salmon dishes and pinot noirs from Oregon’s Willamette Valley, both of which I love.  My favorite pinot noirs were from the Razor Ridge of Oregon between the Dundee Hills and the Yalmuth Hills.  There were four or five of these wines produced by the Beaux Freres folks from around Neuberg, like Beaux Freres, Goldilocks, Fire and Blood, and Adelsheim’s Elizabeth’s Reserve. My favorite was Coattails.  My favorite Cabernet Sauvignon was Dyer’s, a small production winery.  My favorite blend was the Big Easy.

The gentleman who makes my favorite gravad lax was at the tasting, cutting his salmon this year.  He told me he uses a 60% salt and 40% sugar mixture and cures for 3 or 4 days.  The result is a very tender, thoroughly cured salmon.  Lambert’s had a lovely blue cheese cracker/biscuit that went well with the reds.  We tried a new restaurant that will be opening in the Old Blinking Light location named Medley whose menu looks great.

The Reserve Tasting at the Winter Wine Festival is our favorite wine event of the year in New Mexico.   There are always surprises, such as new wineries and new wines. This year Concha y Toro from Argentina was pouring a reserve blend of Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot that was very zippy.  My favorite new white was a 100% Viognier produced by Pagodevillagarcia from near Toledo in the Castille Region of Spain; clean and fruity with a slight hint of tannin. By completely fermenting the grapes, Villagarcia obtains a slightly higher alcohol content in the wine, which is also pleasing.

I took more pictures this year so I will let them speak for me.

a nice California pinot gregio owned by Drew Barrrymore

My favorite Champagne, a premier cru

Our neighbors, Crystal and Doug came this year and it was fun having some buddies at the wine tasting.  We were going to join them after the tasting, but Suzette became ill and we had to go back to the Guesthouse at 7:30. 

Bon Appétit