Cabernet Franc: Like a horde of Norman invaders down the gullet

Corks, Lasagna, and Dorks

Wow. Cork Dorks United might have finally outgrown itself. The Washington Cabernet tasting of two weeks ago had five people. Well, the Italian tasting last night had 500% more than that. Because we knew ahead of time that the event was going to be overwhelmingly popular we split the wine into two groups. Seven wines were blind tasted at the beginning and the rest were simply opened and consumed with dinner.

Ranking about 20 wines would have been a difficult task anyways, and with the chaos that occurred about 16 hours ago I already am having a hard time remembering the seven wines which are ranked. Here’s our best attempt at the feat.

1st Place – 2006 Reverdito Langhe Nebbiolo

This was the third wine tasted, and while tannic it has a nice fruit forward attack of the killer plums. It’s also a great value at about $18.

2nd Place – 2003 Del Fari Colli Orientali Schioppettino

I can’t guarantee that I copied down that name correctly. This is a very obscure variety from Northern Italy (Friuli) and was a very interesting drinking experience. Mike wrote “fig wrapped in prosciutto”, which is curious considering he doesn’t eat pork.

3rd Place – 2005 Cantina del Pino Barberesco

The tasting’s other Nebbiolo also scored high. The difference is this one costs at least twice as much as the winning wine. Barberesco is a great but small region, and therefore can demand some high prices. Mushrooms

4th Place – 2007 Villa de Greggiano Bandinello Toscana IGT

This supertuscan was actually not supposed to be allowed in the tasting. Thankfully it didn’t win, otherwise some heads were gonna roll. Tisk.

5th Place – 2008 La Quercia Montepulciano d’Abruzzo

My favorite value region in Italy had a decent showing with this simple but pleasing wine. Nice Cherry Garcia flavors supported by a Chunky Monkey structure.

6th Place – 2007 Aquila d’Oro Chianti

This wine is somewhat stinky both literally and figuratively.

7th Place – 2007 Campagnia di Ermes Cesanese di Olevani Romano

The most disappointing wine of the night by far. Massive amounts of volatile acidity pretty much ruined it. Bummer.

Apologies for the short notes this time around. The next Cork Dorks is on February 21 and will feature a host of wines with dissolved carbon dioxide. We’re saving the planet from global warming.

Alu Wine Bar: Heaven in Oregon?

I have a new form of depression. While I love living in Walla Walla, I know that Alu is a good four hour commute, and this is deeply saddening.

There we were, the Terroirists core crew, in Portland for one night. The night was good until our final stop at Alu, and then the night became epic (and that’s a good thing). Tucked away in a cozy aluminum house on MLK Blvd., it’s a place that could be overlooked, but it’s also the wine nerd’s fantasy.

The wine list is largely made up of earth-friendly wines; some are organically grown, others are biodynamic. There’s a nifty key in the menu to display which qualities each wine holds.

Alu's Bar

The drinking started with Jeff, the amazingly knowledgeable and charismatic owner, providing us with a sample of a Sicilian red wine made from the grape, Frappato. Never heard of this grape? Neither had we. Light in color – like a cross between Pinot Noir and Nebbiolo – the nose on this wine completely caught me off guard. I had visions of frolicking through wildflower and lavender fields in the floating mountains of a far away planet. Simply put: the nose was out of this world, and it probably still is.

Still visibly shaken from this experience, I decided to order a glass of Marzemino – yet another obscure Italian variety, and I was not disappointed. After departing the lavender fields this wine took me to a world of gigantic beasts rumbling through mountains of titanium in search of fresh meat to roast over a bonfire on the shores of a vast purple sea. Oh yeah. I wish this glass of wine could never end – this is my paradise. I learned the meaning of life, and Alu is the keeper.

Back to reality; both of these wines had a very distinctive finish with subtle saline qualities. I can count the other wines I’ve had with equally moving “minerality” on one hand. The best thing about the Marzemino is the $25 bottle price – and that’s after the bar markup, which in general seemed quite reasonable.

Atmospherically the bar is very warm and inviting. There’s a downstairs area (the cellar) full of comfy seats and couches. We spent the entire night upstairs at the small, peaceful bar, but downstairs seemed as though it would be a more social environment and a lot of fun. Something to try on the next trip to PDX. There’s also an outdoor area which isn’t exactly ideal this time of year.

From the warmth of the LED bar to the exotic wine list, Alu is an absolute must if you are at least partly interested in wine. They do offer cocktails as well, but this is a wine blog. I could have spent the entire night there trying one killer wine after another, but all good things must come to an end. Luckily, next time we venture into Portland Alu will still be there in all of its glory. One day in the near future I will return to Alu, and until that day I can only dream about it – and cry.

Visit their website here: http://www.aluwinebar.com/