Wine List: Toledo Wines and Vines Tasting at At Corks August 12 -13 -- Don't Miss This One!

Here it is. We've put our heads together with wine manager Mike Gregg and have a great lineup for our first public wine tasting, to be held 6:00 to 9:00 PM Thursday and Friday, August 12 and 13, at Corks Wine & Liquor,Promenade Plaza, 27250 Crossroads Pkwy., Rossford – (419) 872-6800. There may be a couple changes for Friday to make it a lucky Friday the 13th.

Anne Amie ‘09 Muller-Thurgau (Oregon) - Crisp, fresh, and dry.  From chicken to shellfish, this wine is a versatile match for mildly spicy foods like Thai, Creole, or Mexican. Thomas Houseman, the winemaker for Anne Amie, visited the Toledo Museum of Art for a winetasting. We were excited to try their Pinot Noirs (for which they are well known), but Thomas said his favorite was the the white Muller-Thurgau. We were knocked out by it.


Hugel Gentil ‘07 (Germany) — This wine revives an ancient Alsace tradition that wines assembled from noble grape varieties were called "Gentil". Gentil "Hugel" allies the suave, spicy flavour of Gewurztraminer, the body of Pinot Gris, the finesse of Riesling, the grapiness of Muscat and the refreshing character of Sylvaner. This is an outstanding blend of Alsacian whites we sampled a few months ago.

Cascade Cliffs Goat Head Red NV (Washington) — A blend of Merlot, Pinot Noir, Cabernet, Nebbiolo, Zinfandel and Barbera. Named after a goat that used to wonder the cliffs above the vineyard this easy drinking red wine is designed to enjoy without deliberation. Light and fruity with a clean finish. It's a pizza, pasta, burger wine! OK, we love Washington wines. This is a very tasty red we tried at a previous Corks tasting.

Las Rocas Vinas Viejas ‘07 (Spain) — 100% Old Vine Garnacha (minimum of 45-year-old). Polished, elegant and layered with lush fruit. Aged in American and French oak. We were rocked by the Las Rocas Garnacha -- now Mike is breaking out the special reserve Garnacha. The older the vines the more we like.

Ampelos Syrache ‘06 (California) — Syrah, Grenache blend full of bright fruit flavors, especially cherried. Perfectly balanced with acidity and tannins and notes of earthiness and pepper. Two of our tasting team members sampled Ampelos wines at a special VIP tasting and then shared some samples with the rest of the crew. We love Ampelos and this is a cool blend.

Seghesio Barolo Viigneto La Villa ‘05 (Italy) — What a beautiful nose, with flowers, licorice, ripe fruit and fresh leather. Full-bodied, with velvety tannins and a wonderful ripeness of fruit, yet this is balanced and structured. Very polished. We were introduced to Barolo at a Corks tasting and fell in love with the king of Italian wines. This is liquid elegance.

See you at Corks!

Photo by Robert Donovan