Steve Morey of Vin Sauvage presented “What’s New in Vin’s Bin for 2008,” a wine tasting event that was held at Louis’s Osteen’s new restaurant, Fish Camp, in Town Square. Approximately 30 different vineyards from various countries (e.g. Germany, Italy, France, Chile, Argentina, and the US) were represented. The atmosphere was great, and most of the city’s sommeliers were present at the tasting.
Gator Meat in a Wine Tasting; No Kidding!
One of Vin Sauvage’s sales representatives asked me if there was anything I found really intriguing in the tasting. Well, I had to be honest. The wines were really great – no surprise there – but it was the alligator meat that truly stood out.
As soon as I arrived for the wine tasting, I was served alligator meat. They did warn me that it was gator meat, but I did not take the warning seriously. I thought it was just a joke, you know? As I munched on, however, I realized that it was no chicken I was eating.
I don’t think I have ever had gator meat before this event. In truth, gator meat was not so different from chicken meat, but it was fattier and seemed almost like a hybrid of chicken and fish.
Now back to the really important stuff – wines.
Wine Reviews and Wine Tasting Notes
There were a lot of fine wines featured at this tasting, so I couldn’t possibly write wine reviews on all of them. As I usually do, I will discuss only a few of the wines I really liked. This time, moreover, I’ve decided to organize my favorite wines’ list by country of origin.
Wines from Italy
Italy was represented by no less than 16 different properties.
Fortediga Sodamagri
Wine tasting notes: Carlo Lavuri came all the way from Tuscany to present Fortediga wines, made by no other than Carlo Antonini’s son, Alberto. Fortediga Sodamagri, a 2005 Syrah from Maremma, Tuscany was the highlight of the Fortediga selection. Even though this wine is still young, it shows great structure, hence, great potential.
Selvapiana Vin Santo
Wine tasting notes: This dessert wine was a true delight. This wine, a 1999 blend of Trebbiano/Malvasia of Chianti Rufina, Tuscany, has golden amber tones and the aromas of dried apricot, roasted almonds, honey, and caramel. The Vin Santo is incredibly rich and complex but well-balanced with a lingering finish. It is very well-priced, too, considering the amount of work that goes into making this wine.
Wine from France
France was represented by an American. Yes, that’s right! His name is Bob, and his wine is called Vin de Bob, which obviously means Bob’s wine. Bob is a banker-turned-winemaker. This just proves that anything is truly possible these days. Bob makes a solid wine from Bergerac (Cabernet Franc), but only time will tell how Bob’s conversion to winemaker works out.
Wine from the US
2006 Cote de Crows
Wine tasting notes: Among the wines from the US, Morgan’s 2006 Cote de Crows caught my interest. This Syrah has a beautiful nose and is well-balanced. In the quality-to-price category, 2006 Cote de Crows is a great deal for all.
That’s all for this wine tasting. Cheers!<!–:zh– >
来自Vin Sauvage的Steve Morey先生主办了这场“What’s New in Vin’s Bin for 2008”品酒会，地点选在Town Square，Louis’s Osteen的新餐厅Fish Camp。来自不同国家（即，德国、意大利、法国、智力、阿根廷和美国）大约30多个不同的葡萄园参与了本次活动。气氛非常不错，这个城市的好多侍酒师也都出席了。
品酒会中有鳄鱼肉；没开玩笑！
一名Vin Sauvage的销售代表问我本次品酒会有什么特别吸引我的地方？老实说，葡萄酒真的很不错，——不过品酒会中还有鳄鱼肉，那还真的吓了我一跳。
当我到达品酒会现场的时候，就奉上了鳄鱼肉；他们意在警示这是短吻鳄的肉，而我并没有把这警示当回事；认为他们在开玩笑。当我用力咀嚼下咽的时候，意识到那绝对是鳄鱼肉。
在此之前，我还没吃过鳄鱼肉。说实话，鳄鱼肉与鸡肉并没有太大的区别，但脂肪更多些，有点像鸡肉和鱼肉的混合肉类。
现在回到最重要的部分——葡萄酒。
葡萄酒评论及品鉴评注
本次品酒会中有许多特色佳酿，我不太可能把所有的葡萄酒评注都记录下来。和往常一样，我只记录我个人非常喜爱的几款。这次，我打算按照原产地，对这些葡萄酒进行分类。
产自意大利的葡萄酒
意大利有不少于16种品牌参展。
Fortediga Sodamagri
葡萄酒品鉴评注：Carlo Lavuri不辞万里从托斯卡纳（Tuscany）到此展示Fortediga葡萄酒，这些正是由Carlo Antonini的儿子Alberto酿制。Fortediga Sodamagri这款2005年采用产自托斯卡纳近海岸沼泽地的西拉（Syrah）葡萄酿造而成，其为Fortediga葡萄酒的精选。尽管这款葡萄酒年岁比较轻，它的质地还不错，非常有潜力。
Selvapiana Vin Santo
葡萄酒品鉴评注：这款佐餐酒非常雅致。它产自托斯卡纳（Tuscany）安狄鲁芬娜（Chianti Rufina）
葡萄产区，采用特莱比亚诺（Trebbiano）/马尔伐西亚（Malvasia）葡萄于1999年混合酿制而成；具有金黄琥珀的色彩，散发着干杏、烤杏仁、蜂蜜、太妃糖的芳香。这款酒非常丰富、复杂，但平衡地很好、回味悠长。考虑到酿造过程中投入的工作量，其价格还算比较合理。
产自法国的葡萄酒
法国展区由一名美国人负责。是的，没错！他叫Bob，他妻子叫Vin de Bob。Bob以前是个银行家，后又转行做葡萄酒。这说明，现在什么事情都有可能发生。Bob酿造了一款产自贝杰拉克（Bergerac）的品丽珠（Cabernet Franc），只有让时间去证明Bob转行葡萄酒行业是否行得通吧。
产自美国的葡萄酒
2006 Cote de Crows
葡萄酒品鉴评注：在产自美国的葡萄酒中，摩根（Morgan）的2006 Cote de Crows 这款葡萄酒非常另我着迷。这款西拉（Syrah）佳酿气味非常美妙，质地平衡的也不错；如果按照性价比来讲，2006 Cote de Crows是一款非常不错的选择。
这便是本次品酒会的全部内容。
