Tasting #5 - Saint Croix Vineyards Marechal Foch

From the Saint Croix Vineyards website (www.scvwines.com) "Our Marechal Foch Reserve is a dry, medium bodied red wine with a black cherry nose and an intense color. It is aged in American oak barrels and is the perfect choice for those who prefer a classic red wine."

The other characteristic of this wine that we picked up right away is that, typical for Marechal Foch, it is somewhat acidic. We drank this with grilled lamb loin chops and herbed vegetables. Our meal didn't bring out the dark fruit we were hoping for, but we drank a little more anyway, and saved the remaining wine. (Thanks again VacuVin).

The next day I made the family chicken and grilled a ribeye liberally seasoned with pepper and coarse salt for myself. I poured the last glass from the bottle and had a completely different experience. My seasoned beef and the somewhat salty rice dish we had changed the character of this wine completely. It was very good, and the two separate pairings were a really interesting experience for a novice like me. In subsequent research I learned that acidic wines pair well with salty food. This is proof. We'll buy some more of this and will look for it blended with other wines as well.

Tasting #4 - Alexis Bailly Seyval Blanc

From the AB website (www.abvwines.com): "The Seyval Blanc is our premium white wine. Named for the French Horticulturist who developed the variety during WWI, the Seyval came to the United States in the 1960's when pioneers, like David Bailly, were looking for wine grapes that could be grown outside of the norms of Califonia. With its balance of clean bright fruit and a dry crisp finish, the Seyval is a wine that is both elegant and appealing."

I couldn't agree more. I would choose this over more traditional dry whites. It's lighter in body than chardonnay and, to me, instantly more pleasant tasting. It's fruity and crisp, period. There is great reward in this simplicity. We drank it with pork tenderloin and it worked beautifully. More research is necessary (dang!), as this is a delicious white wine that I'm anxious to pair with Alexis Bailly's recommendations as well.

Tasting #3 - Wollersheim Winery Port

Wisconsin's Wollersheim Winery, a favorite of my parents, makes a really interesting port. They describe it this way: Our Port is made from Foch grapes and fortified with grape brandy. The brandy is added to stop the fermentation, which leaves the natural sweetness of the grapes. Aged in American oak barrels for thirteen months. This is a smooth sipping wine to be enjoyed with loved ones and friends.

My dad joined us for this tasting as well. We all enjoyed it. It isn't as rich tasting as other ports I've tried. Clearly, more research is needed in this area so a side by side comparison can be made.

Overall this has more of a wine flavor than I expected but still served its role as a very nice after dinner drink. This port was less sweet than I expected. Other ports I recall have almost a raisiny sweetness. That ripeness is present, but not as strong. This is made with 100% Marechal Foch grapes from New York.

We drank this while eating some very decadent fudge brownies and had a very pleasant experience. I have a standing order with my parents to bring home more when they visit Wollersheim again.

Tasting #2 - Saint Croix Vineyards Frontenac

Saint Croix Vineyards describes their Frontenac as a dry, medium-bodied red wine aged in American oak barrels with cherry aromas and pleasant tannins in the finish, and recommends pairing it with beef, steak, flavorful cheeses, or a hearty pasta dish.

My dad joined my wife and me in this tasting. He's a guy who doesn't normally like red wine but found this to be very approachable. The three of us liked it immediately. I should have purchased two bottles! There was a surprising crispness to this, similar to dry whites, that made it stand out. It has just-ripe fruitiness up front balanced with a perfectly dry finish.

We drank this with a BBQ'd pork rib dinner. The fruit in it played well against the pork. Next time we drink this, we'll try it with steak as recommended.

Our bottle was an '07, no longer available on the SCV website. If anyone's tried the '08, let me know. We're definately going to drink more of this one.

Tasting #1 - Alexis Bailly - Voyageur

First in the cold climate wine tasting experiment is Voyageur from Alexis Bailly Vineyard in Hastings. ABV describes it as "...a big, opulent and rich red wine that uses a blend of Alexis Bailly grapes -- old world French grapes and new varieties developed by the University of Minnesota."

The grapes used in Voyageur are Leon Millot and Marechal Foch (part of ABV's original plantings - the vines came from France), and Frontenac, one of the new world grapes developed at the University of Minnesota.

ABV says it is "deeply colored with rich flavor, bold and opulent fruit flavors of black berries, smoky vanilla aromas." True. The color is very pleasant, the flavor is driven by the fruit and finishes dry. I wasn't able to ID the aroma as smoky vanilla with our first tasting, but revisiting a taste after reading the notes, I can see how they arrive at that description.

There was something about this that was completely unfamiliar to me. Not that I'm an expert by any stretch, but certainly have had enough wine in my life to recognize a thing or two. This one was definately different, but it made me curious to try more. Of course there are million things that affect the taste. I've got to get more familiar with what those things are locally.

We drank this with spaghetti in a rich sauce and wild rice meatballs. ABV recommends "hearty pastas, grilled meats, wild game." It worked with our meal, but it made me want to try it with wild game. This one is a good candidate for more research.