Des Moines Wine and Food Connection: 2011 Wine Industry Tastings Pt. II

Dimitri Wine & Spirits tasting: 71 wines tasted

Dimitri Wine & Spirits put on their holiday show last night (Weds.) at the "new" Embassy Club on the 34th floor of the Ruan Building. I didn't think the new location could possibly equal the Club's previous location at the top of the 801 Building. I was wrong. The new location is every bit as spectacular and the space and setup of the club may even exceed the previous one. Very well done.

Dimitri W & S is not one of the "big boys" in the local wine scene but Dimitri Papageorgiou conducts business the old school way. A personal touch, a shake of the hand, looking you in the eye. You know his word is good. His business is local (Davenport) and is family oriented instead of a corporate, multi-state, big business operation. Sometimes there can be confusion but the intent is always good.

Dimitri always puts on a classy holiday show. It may be the one show I look most forward to each autumn. Their portfolio is a little more eclectic, not a bunch of mass produced juice. The people pouring seem a bit more connected to their product and proud of it. The food & service is always top notch. White tablecloth, good spacing, accessible spit buckets & water pitchers. And a easy to use booklet with pricing and space to write (good on ya' David). A beautiful day to look out over Des Moines and the scene was complete. The tasting was a pleasure. What about the wines???

Your wine & food guy found a number of "new" wines and wineries that should grace all of our tables and gatherings this fall;

For whites there's a lush, almond & mineral tasting Pecorino (yes, grape not cheese) from Monti Guido del Carmine in Italy. Somewhere along the line I saw a recipe for an "almond sauce". That sauce needs this wine.

Jackson Estate (N.Z.) showed a nice Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, "The Furst" 07' Pinot Gris from Alsace (Fr.) was drinking beautifully and for the fruitier (but not too sweet) crowd the Valkenberg 2010 Gewurztraminer (Ger.) is showing very nicely as well. These last two will both pair well with turkey, ham & the fixins' thinking ahead towards the holidays.

There's plenty of good reds to go around. A great little Malbec from Argentina, Las Vides comes from the little know appelation of Famatima Valley from the La Rioja district northwest of Mendoza. Nice blue fruit and black licorice shine through.

The 2006 Badia a Coltibuono Chianti Classico Riserva is a blockbuster that's pure Chianti with no fillers (merlot, cabernet, syrah...) This is Chianti for a big, juicy steak and needs to be decanted now (15-20 mins) or can be laid down for future drinking (best 2014-2022).

A super Garnacha (Sp.) for the price, Evohe 09' Garnacha has nice dark fruit and good body without being to bold or over the top. This is a good red to keep red wine drinkers happy when paired with white meats. Anyone hunting fowl this autumn could do worse than pairing this wine with your prize.

My first taste of the highly touted 09' Bordeaux lived up to expectations with the 09' Haut Plantey. 60% merlot/40% cabernet, this wine has a green edge to it with nice richness and structure. It will continue to improve for the next 3-5 years and drink nicely through 2020. Think leg of lamb for pairing.

For the Cab. Sauv. lovers out there, Smith Madrone's 2005 Spring Mountain (Cal.) Cabernet is a brawny lad that's drinking nice now and will show well for the next 10 years. Vineyard manager Stuart Smith said he considers this wine to be "silky". Yeah, like a velvet gloved fist!

Winery Alert!!! New to my palate and very impressive, Left Coast Winery out of Willamette Valley, Oregon poured a beautiful portfolio of wines including a super pinot gris (The Orchards), a nice chardonnay & two lovely pinot noirs. Keep an eye on them. They're going to get press if they're not already.

That's the scoop. Next up are Ruby Fine Wines & Johnson Brothers both on Tuesday, Sept 20. Two tastings in one day. It's difficult, arduous work but your intrepid wine and food guy will risk the peril. All in a days work.

Eat well, drink well, live well,

Howard Bernstein
Wine & Food Guy,
Des Moines Wine and Food Connection