The Gourmet Food & Wine Expo – Cali Cabs and a Couple of New Countries

Beringer Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon $34.95. Beringer makes a lot of different Cab Sauv’s at different price points. This is the ‘fourth level’ (from the bottom) on their offer. There were strong scents of floral mixed with wood; plum and cherry notes on the palate. While drinking this, I could sense that it was well made, however it didn’t taste as good as I had hoped given the price level. JC86

Liberty School Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 $18.95 at the LCBO and US$14.00 on the Liberty School website. This wine had a nice oaky scent. It was a fruitful wine with a smooth finish. Enjoyable! JC92

Gnarly Head Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 $14.95. This Californian cab has a tomato sauce smell. There are strong tannins and it is not a smooth tasting wine. JC85

The same winemaker also makes a Zinfandel that is sold at the LCBO for $16.95. Unfortunately by the time I got to this booth, the zin was sold out.

The following two wines are from a relatively small Argentinean winery. Neither of these wines are available at the LCBO and the price quoted for the Melbec is the price the distributor told me. Ontario residents are able to purchase this through the distributor in half cases at minimum.

Vina Amalia Gran Reserve Malbec 2006 $28.95. There were notes of coffee and plenty of fruit taste, however it was a dry wine. JC89

Vina Amalia Gran Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2007. Tastes of black cherry and a nice smooth finish. An enjoyable Cab. JC90

At the expo there was a large display of wines from Georgia. I’m pretty sure I never had a wine from this country before, so I thought I’d give it a try. The wines tend to use grapes local to the country that were new to me. I tried the Besini Mukuzani 2006, which used the Saperavi grape. It had nice oak and floral scents with a rich smooth taste that reminded me of a nice cab sauv. Overall I was impressed. JC89

Another country that I had not previously tried a wine from was Austria. I had heard positive things about the gruner veltiner grape. There are some very highly rated expensive Austrian gruner wines. I tried an entry level wine: Grooner Gruner Veltiner $13.30. From the subtle floral notes, it reminded me of a sauvignon blanc. It was a nice white, although I didn’t love it. I’m curious to try a more pricy gruner to see how it compares. JC86

Ideally, when you taste wine I think it’s good to go into it with no expectations. However this can be difficult if you know details of the wine beforehand, such as where it’s from, the type of grape(s) used, the vintage and the price point of the wine. Because of this, sometimes I will try a wine that I have high expectations for, such as the Beringer Knights Valley, and be disappointed that it didn’t meet them in the end. Other times I will try a wine like the Besini Mukuzani from Georgia and be pleasantly surprised as my somewhat low expectations were blown out of the water.

Other times I will go in with high expectations and will still be blown away. That’s what happened with the final sample from the Expo that I want to share on my blog. Stay Tuned!