Eve's Wine 101

Carter Creek Winery Racks Up 12 Awards at TXIWC

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JOHNSON CITY, Texas – Carter Creek Winery, located in the heart of Texas Hill Country and owned by the Carter Family, accepted 12 awards at one of the largest wine competitions in Texas – the 5th Annual Texas International Wine Competition (TXIWC). The mission of this yearly competition is to highlight Texas as a prominent viticulture and wine-making region while also raising funds for charitable donations for local community organizations.

Entries from six countries and over 11 U.S. states were blind tasted and judged by panels of three or more industry qualified judges – master sommeliers, masters of wine, certified wine educators, enologists, wine writers, professors, beverage directors, buyers and other influencers – all chosen for their vast experience and well-trained palates.

“We are most pleased that 12 of our Texas High Plains wines from Carter Creek Family Winery won distinguished recognition at TXIWC and especially proud our Plateau Red was awarded Best of Class Texas Red,” said Jeff Carter, president of Carter Hospitality, operating company of Carter Creek Winery Resort & Spa. “We too, like the organizers of this competition, are passionate about bringing recognition to Texas viticulture and supporting local community causes,” Carter added.

Veteran master winemaker Jon McPherson, who oversees production of Carter Creek’s award-winning wines, points out the winery’s vineyards in Texas Hill Country produce varietals that are especially unique because of the combination of an extremely warm growing season and an early harvest delivering softer, earth driven wines. McPherson likes to talk about the qualities of Best of Class Texas Red winner, Plateau Red, which is a blend of tempranillo, grenache, touriga nacional and tinta cao, showing a very exotic fruit aroma of spiced black cherries and raspberries. He says that Plateau Red is a rich, full-bodied wine due to 18 months of barrel aging and pleases the palate with bold lingering fruit flavors.

The 12 Carter Creek Winery, Texas High Plains award winners include the Best of Class Texas Red, one double gold, two gold and eight silver medals. Award winning wines include:

  • Best of Class Texas Red Wine Blend: Plateau Red, 2016
  • Double Gold Red Wine Blend: Maverick, 2018
  • Gold Medal White Wine Blend: Gloriosa, 2017
  • Gold Medal Red Wine Blend: Maverick, 2017
  • Silver Medal Sparkling White: Brut, NV
  • Silver Medal Dessert, Port: Dominum Tinto, NV
  • Silver Medal Other Flavored Grape Wine: Sangria, NV
  • Silver Medal Sparkling Fruit: Sparkling Peach, NV
  • Silver Medal Red: Tempranillo, 2016
  • Silver Medal White Blend: Plateau White, 2017
  • Silver Medal White Blend: Viognier Roussanne, 2017
  • Silver Medal White Blend: Viognier Roussanne, 2018

Producing award-winning wines since 2016, Carter Creek Winery’s production facilities are in Johnson City along Old Hwy 290 in Texas Hill Country, complementing Carter Creek Winery Resort & Spa. Carter Creek Winery Resort & Spa features 78 luxury villas, tasting rooms, a restaurant, its own onsite microbrewery creating small batch craft beers and an outdoor event center. It is a counterpart to Temecula, California’s award-winning South Coast Winery Resort & Spa and Carter Estate Winery and Resort.

 About Carter Hospitality Group

Established in 2011, Carter Hospitality Group, LLC. is a family-owned hospitality company with four hotels and resorts as well as three wineries across the United States. Based in Orange County, California, the company manages and owns a portfolio of luxury properties including South Coast Winery Resort & Spa, Temecula, California; Carter Estate Winery and Resort, Temecula California; and Carter Creek Winery Resort & Spa, Texas Hill Country. Carter Hospitality Group additionally serves as the owner-franchisee for Red Lion Hotel Orlando Lake Buena Vista South, Orlando Florida. For more information, visit www.carterhospitality.com.

Tasting Sustainable Wines From Herdade do Esporão

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It’s been a while since I’ve had the opportunity to taste and study wines from Portugal so I was very interested in sampling four that I‘d never had before – two whites and two reds from Herdade do Esporão – and learning all about them. Here is an excerpt from the invitation:

Esporão Group Chairman João Roquette, one of the most influential people in the Portuguese wine industry today, will brief us on Esporao Group, his vision for the future and his take on the Portuguese wine industry. Herdade do Esporão lead winemaker, Sandra Alves, will talk about the estate and taste through the wines.

What I Learned

Both Roquette and Alves shared the efforts that the winery has made in creating holistic, sustainable and organic vineyards via composting, natural pest control, no chemicals in the farming, beneficial insects, animal grazing and soil maintenance. They spent twelve years educating themselves and visiting other wineries as they worked on their own sustainable program, and are now 100% organic.

Alves has 20 years of experience with Esporão. And Roquette’s family has owned the winery for two generations. Their workers are all part of the team, sharing in the work and benefits.

Their products, including olive oil and a craft brewery, express their agricultural place. Eighty percent of their products were originally sold in Portugal, now that percentage has gone down to thirty-five with the balance being sold internationally.

They do purchase some grapes beyond their estate for entry-level wine.And they produce 16 billion bottles per year, though their country is not large like Spain or France, more the size of Holland.

The Wines (Abbreviated technical sheet information, and finding some of the same tasting notes, are all in italics)

Esporão Colheita White 2020 / SRP $18

Concept: Wine produced solely from grapes grown at Herdade do Esporão, applying organic farming methods. Expresses the typical features of this vintage, diversity of the soil where the vines are planted, as well as the character and identity of the selected varieties.

Grape Varieties: Antão Vaz, Viosinho, Alvarinho and others. 13.5% alcohol

EB Notes: Golden Delicious yellow apple, white flower, lemon zest and green tea on the nose with flavors that were fresh and zesty, lemon, grapefruit and minerals with a long finish.

Esporão Reserva White 2020 / SRP $20

Concept: A classic wine obtained exclusively from our organic grapes. The diversity of Herdade do Esporão, together with the different characteristics of the grape varieties, the soils, the maturity of the vines and the character of those who make this wine consistently over the years, results in a rich, intense but always harmonious wine.

Grape Varieties: Antão Vaz, Arinto, Roupeiro and others. 13.5% alcohol.

Awards from Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast. 

EB Notes: Aromas of bruised fruit, incense and a surprise of mint followed by a mouth that reminded me of an older wine though it was young, balanced fruit, flint, smoke, muted but interesting.

Esporão Colheita Red 2018 / SRP $18

Concept: Wine with sense of place, intense, direct, and vibrant. Expresses the typical features of the vintage year, diversity of the soil where the vines are planted, as well as the character and identity of the selected varieties.

Grape Varieties: Touriga Nacional, Aragonez, Touriga Franca, Cabernet Sauvignon and Alicante Bouschet. 14% alcohol.

Awards from Wine Spectator.

EB Notes: Hello LEATHER on the nose, like a well-worn saddle! That blew off somewhat but still lingered with the addition of sweat, tree bark and dark fruit. On the palate I noted dry fruit, that same smoke, oak, Espresso and tannins.

Esporão Reserva Red 2018 / SRP $25

Concept: The first wine made by Esporão in 1985. Obtained from grapes grown at Herdade do Esporão, it shows the consistency and rich character typical of the best Alentejo wines.

Label illustrated by Anne Geene.

Grape Varieties: Aragonez, Trincadeira, Syrah, Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Cabernet Sauvignon, Alicante Bouschet. 14.5% alcohol.

High scores from Robert Parker and Wine Enthusiast.

EB Notes: Earthy, dark fruit, velvety, fennel, green peppercorn, spice rack – very aromatic aromas. The taste had the same spicy qualities as well as a sweetness that counterbalanced all of the dark berry flavors, very long finish.

Eve Bushman has a Level Two Intermediate Certification from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET), a “certification in first globally-recognized course” as an American Wine Specialist ® from the North American Sommelier Association (NASA), Level 1 Sake Award from WSET, was the subject of a 60-minute Wine Immersion video (over 16k views), authored “Wine Etiquette for Everyone” and has served as a judge for the Long Beach Grand Cru and the Global Wine Awards. You can email Eve@EveWine101.com to ask a question about wine or spirits.

Vintage Eve Circa 6/2018: The “Bliss Wine Club” Review

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Hi Eve, … I wanted to see if you would be interested in some free wine. My friends and I partnered recently to start a direct to consumer wine club focused on natural dry-farmed wines. Many of our wines have been featured in fancy restaurants seen in chef’s table but now we are branching out from wholesale to also doing a direct to consumer channel. I would love to send 4 bottles and see what you think about our wine. Our company is called Bliss Wine Club. blisswineclub.com. Thanks!

From Bliss Wine Club on Facebook.

These are a list of the wines I received for review, and the notes from Bliss Wine Club. If you follow each underlined hyperlink you will find the technical sheets and short videos that give you a little back-story on the wineries – I thought that the inclusion of video was a pretty cool idea to help consumers understand more about the wine and winery. So many of us have so many choices, knowing and learning a bit more behind the wine is a win win.

Sanbiagio Rosso 2016

Winery: Cantina Cenci
Region: Umbria, Italy

Merlot Sangiovese blend.

Colheita 2010

Winery: Quinta da Zaralhoa
Region: Douro, Portugal

Red blend.

Rufia Branco 2016

Winery: Quinta da Boavista
Region: Dão, Portugal

Natural white wine with skin contact.

Terras de Tavares 2006

Winery: Quinta da Boavista
Region: Dão, Portugal

Jaen/Touriga de Nacional

My Tasting Notes

Sanbiagio, Rosso 2016

13.5% alcohol

Dark ruby in color, with a nose of dried cherry, blackberry, mushroom, tobacco and dried earth. Flavors of bright red to black fruit, stems, tannins, slightly tart but balanced with a long finish. This one, like most if not all Italian wines, could age a bit.

Colheita 2010

Quinta Da Zaralhoa

13.5% alcohol

My favorite of the tasting. The color of black cherries with aromas from sweet port, Luxardo cherry and crushed plums to milk chocolate with hints of sage, cedar and cigar. On the mouth I enjoyed rich, dark dry fruit, figs, cigarette and firm tannins in a very long and satisfying finish.

Rufia Branco 2016

Vinho Branco, White Wine, 12% alcohol

Cloudy and deep gold in color, with aromas of Meyer lemon, overripe peach, cantaloupe, lemon hard candy, stones and chalk. On the mouth there were notes of bright citrus, lemon, lemon zest, pear and chalky earth.

Terras de Tavares 2006

Vinho Tinto, Red Wine, 13% alcohol

My second favorite in the tasting. Very blackberry color, with whiffs of blackberry, black cherry, stewed fruit, black plums, earth, black licorice, mint, espresso and char. The taste was nicely balanced yet light, earthy with good dark fruit and tannins. This one aged gracefully.

Bliss Wine Club Info

By subscribing, you agreed that we’ll send you a new wine shipment every 2 months based on the preferences you’ve indicated.
• You can modify or skip any scheduled order online at www.blisswineclub.com 
• Your satisfaction is 100% guaranteed. If you don’t love the wine we picked out for you, we’ll give you a full refund.
• Your membership is active and shipments will continue until you cancel. You can cancel at anytime online or by emailing support@blisswineclub.com

Eve Bushman has a Level Two Intermediate Certification from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET), a “certification in first globally-recognized course” as an American Wine Specialist ® from the North American Sommelier Association (NASA), Level 1 Sake Award from WSET, was the subject of a 60-minute Wine Immersion video, authored “Wine Etiquette for Everyone” and has served as a judge for the Long Beach Grand Cru. You can email Eve@EveWine101.com to ask a question about wine or spirits.

Vintage Eve 3/2018: Appellation Alentejo in Portugal, A Tasting and Masterclass

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One rare not-so-sunny day I traveled to the Mondrian Los Angeles in West Hollywood for a wine class and tasting on the Alentejo region of Portugal. My education on Portugal had been, up to this point, mostly spent on the obvious: Ports. However, as a wine writer, it’s always special to not only taste new wines but also have the additional benefit of learning. Here goes…

Image from CellarTours.com

The Masterclass

The session will be presented by Evan Goldstein, MS, one of our industry’s most engaging and informed wine educators, in addition to being a leading expert on Portuguese wines. At the masterclass, Evan will offer a snapshot of the grapes, zones, sub-zones and characteristics that define Alentejo’s wines and collectively establish it as one of the most promising wine regions in southern Europe today.

Takeaways for Wine 101ers

  • Three sides of Portugal is bordered by Spain.
  • It takes less than 90 minutes to travel by train from Lisbon to Alentejo.
  • Alentejo covers one third of Portugal.
  • Alentejo is the size of Belgium.
  • They’ve been making wine for over 4,000 years; the Roman settlers were the first to plant vineyards.
  • They are 9th in the world in vineyard acreage.
  • They are 11th in total worldwide production (USA is 4th)
  • Portuguese have the largest wine consumption in the world, 54 liters per person per year.
  • Nearly 80% of the wines are reds.
  • Blending is allowed and they “embrace everybody’s grapes” in Alentejo.

Tasting

We had 12 wines to taste, starting with a sparkling Rose, two whites and the remainder were all reds. Evan wanted us to taste blind – this was lost on me as no one seemed that familiar with the grapes to begin with, we were there for a lesson, so not sure why the blind format – but it didn’t slow us down. In fact, by “halftime” we had been given less time to evaluate each wine.

Surrounded by fellow media and some members of the trade, we began our task. Number, year, producer and then the name of the wines are below. The many wine grape varietals are in parenthesis.

 

Rose: 2014 Herdade do Rocim, Espumante Brut Rose (Touriga Nacional)

Color: fresh peach.

Aroma: strawberry, cherry blossom, French toast, yeast.

Flavor: cherry, strawberry, tart, medium acid.

 

One: 2015 Rui Reguinga, Terrenus Reserva Branco (field blend of mixed whites)

Color: 24 carat gold.

Aroma: honey, kiwi, stone fruit.

Flavor: green apple, grapefruit, orange zest, medium acid.

 

Two: 2016 Luis Duarte, Rubrica Branco (Antao Val, Verdelho and Viognier)

Color: pale gold.

Aroma: green hay, barnyard, yeast and cheddar cheese.

Flavor: sweetened grapefruit, tinny, good mouth-coating viscosity, short finish.

 

Three: 2013 Susana Esteban, Procura Tinto (Field blend, Alicante Bouschet)

Color: purple.

Aroma: blue to black fruit, Cabernet-like, chocolate.

Flavor: dry, tannic, dried dark fruit.

 

Four: 2013 Joao Portugal Ramos, Vila Santa Reserva Tinto (Aragonez – aka Tempranillo – as well as Touriga Nacional, Alicante Bouschet)

Color: dark garnet.

Aroma: red fruit, stems, cigar, wet bark, medicinal.

Flavor: red fruit and stems again.

 

Five: 2011 Mouchao, Tinto (Alicante Bouschet, Trincadeira – commonly used in port wine reduction but I didn’t know that until I looked up the grape!)

Color: dark purple.

Aroma: sweet, port-like, blueberry, blackberry jam.

Flavor: drier in mouth than expected, same port-like qualities and cigar.

 

Six: 2014 Esporao, Reserva Tinto (Aragonez – aka Tempranillo –as well as Trincadeira, Cabernet Sauvignon and Alicante Bouschet.)

Color: dark purple.

Aroma: cigar, dark chocolate, espresso, mint.

Flavor: mature fruit, balanced with spice, good dark fruit.

This was the first of my favorites in the tasting.

 

Seven: 2014 Cartuxa, Tinto (Aragonez – aka Tempranillo – as well as Alicante Bouschet and Trincadeira.)

Color: purple.

Aroma: pungent red to blue fruit – a lot, and a nice amount of spice.

Flavor: black fruit, balanced, spice milder.

This was the second of my favorites.

 

Eight: 2012 Dona Maria, Grande Reserva Tinto (Alicante Bouschet, Petit Verdot, Syrah, Touriga Nacional)

Color: dark purple.

Aroma: tart nose of blueberry, dark cherry and white pepper.

Flavor: red fruit, some spice, tannic.

 

Nine: 2015 Cooperativa Granja Amaraleja, Moreto Pe-Franco Tinto (100% Moreto – in amphora!)

Color: dark garnet.

Aroma: sweet, stewed fruits, plump raisings, milk chocolate, dark cherry.

Flavor: Nice big, bold and dark fruit, good spice.

My third favorite in the tasting. Been a long time since I had a clay pot, aka amphora, wine.

 

Ten: 2015 Herdade da Malhadinha Nova, Malhadinha Tinto (Alicante Bouschet, Syrah, Tinta Miuda and Touriga Nacional.)

Color: dark garnet.

Aroma: fresh bowl of cut red fruit, juicy darker fruits, mint, earth.

Flavor: deep, layered, balanced fruit, spice and tannins.

Also a favorite for me.

 

Eleven: 2013 Cortes de Cima, Tinto (Aragonez – aka Tempranillo – as well as Syrah, Touriga Nacional, Petit Verdot.

Color: dark red.

Aroma: red to blue fruit, nicely balanced.

Flavor: heavy red fruit, deep, flavors well integrated.

 

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Eve Bushman has a Level Two Intermediate Certification from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET), a “certification in first globally-recognized course” as an American Wine Specialist ® from the North American Sommelier Association (NASA), Level 1 Sake Award from WSET, was the subject of a 60-minute Wine Immersion video, authored “Wine Etiquette for Everyone” and has served as a judge for the Long Beach Grand Cru. You can email Eve@EveWine101.com to ask a question about wine or spirits.