Wine on the Road

Since Saturday I've been travelling - from Potsdam to Schnecksville, PA and then on to Atlantic City.  Along the way I've had a few wines, most of which were excellent!

Upon my arrival at my parents' house, my dad opened up a 2001 Dr. Pauly-Bergweiler Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling Auslese.  We have a thing for Riesling in my family, and, as I've discussed before, 2001 was a special year in the Mosel.  This Auslese was a very good example of the type.  It was fruity but fairly dry (very dry as Ausleses go) with flavors of peaches and apricots.  A nice wine to drink with some cheese as an appetizer. 

We then went out to dinner to the Bake Oven Inn in Germansville, PA.  I had some chilled Potato Leek Soup (I, apparently, don't like chilled soups - it seemed like I would've liked it warm!) and then some crab cakes.  We shared a bottle of a spanish white wine the name of which we can't remember!  I also had some hard Pear Cider with dessert.  Now, Pear Cider is a treat that I've had in Sweden several times (this is one example), but this American Version, Fox Barrel, didn't live up to my memories.  

While in Atlantic City, at the Northeastern Ag. and Resource Economics Conference, there was a wine tasting.  I got to taste 4 $25 bottles of Bordeaux and 1 $100 bottle of Bordeaux, blind.  The idea was to see if we could match the wines we tasted to their descriptions from leading wine publications.  I have to say that I couldn't distinguish the $25 bottles from each other.  However, I am proud that I did pick out the $100 bottle from the rest.  It was 2000 Calon Segur.  It was bursting with different flavors, and stood out for its complexity and depth of flavors.  A wonderful wine. 

Finally, tonight, back at my parents' house, we had a perfectly cooked Flank Steak with a garlic/lemon spice rub.  To pair with it, my dad opened a prized bottle (bought at nearly a 66% discount at the local PA State Store compared to the winery price, my dad is proud to say!).  It was a 1999 Hanna Bismark Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma Valley Proprietor Grown, and it was spectacular.  Heard around the table were blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and tobacco.  It was rich in flavor and complemented the steak perfectly.  We fought over the last drops. 

Now, I have to finish this post so my dad and I can open up a bottle of port.  You'll hear about that later...