Class at Cooks raised a glass to all Mommas!

Saturday, May 8th – celebrated Mother’s Day early with a room full of wonderful folks raising a glass of vino to their moms.  I taught a class at Cooks of Crocus Hill on Grand Avenue in St Paul that celebrated one of the best groups of people – our moms.
With almost 50 peeps in attendance, the room swelled with conversation, laughter and an overwhelming desire to drink more wine!  Lots of great comments regarding smells, tastes and pairings – I loved it.  To me, this is just the class that makes my world of wine go round. 
While the class was only a two hour session, we did a great job of knocking down some good instruction including new world/old world wine discussion, aromatic and sensory evaluation and interesting varietal picks for summertime entertainment. 
With all that said, I wanted to highlight two wines that really made the cut for Saturday’s class.
One- Helfrich Gewurztraminer.  Gewurztraminer, remember that grape?  Why is it that when you see it on the shelf that it’s one that you don’t always pick up.  Are you scared?  Did you forget what it tasted like?  Or, are you afraid that it’s going to be too sweet?  -All by the way, questions at Sat’s class.
This Gewurztraminer from Alsace, France – a region which lies on the eastern border just before you cross into Germany – is one of my favorites for the summer.  It’s light with a fresh citric aromatic that has a touch of white flower that floats gently across the surface of the wine.  One woman in class said that she smelled freesia flowers in the bouquet – ‘absolutely’ was my answer – again, always fun to see folks using their senses with imagination.  The palate of this wine, however, lightly floral with a hint of honeysuckle sweetness but off-dry with a nice refreshing, spring time after thought.  Clementine oranges and hints of fresh meyer lemon graced the palate with its lingering finish.  On the shelf, this wine could be found for just under $20.  2007 Helfrich Gewurztraminer – Alsace, France
The second winner of the class – Root 1 Carmenere from the Colchagua Valley, Chile.  While Root 1 as a producer is not new to the streets, their new U.S. arrival of their Carmenere is.  Root 1 has been widely known for their Cabernet/Syrah blend, rich with huckleberries and deep aromatic chocolate.  Now, with their new Minnesota release of their Carmenere, they are turning folks on to a fun dark headed grape that has everyone turning their heads.  For many years the Chileans vinified Carmenere as Merlot thinking it was a strain of the queen of grapes.  But after much evaluation and some time under microscope, the country found that their once named Merlot cousin was actually a grape called: Carmenere.  Root 1’s Carmenere is an a-typical example of the grape.  Rich and jammy like its friend Merlot, the wine carries lots of heavy, marionberry and blackberry notes – yet from a tasting perspective throws a heavy dose of smoke and alluring European cocoa powder at you.  Good to the last drop – voluptuous and slinky, just how I like my Carmenere.  Everyone loved it and the last sip was paired with a hand made truffle filled with a raspberry ganache, delish!  The 2007 Root 1 Carmenere, Chile  can be found on the shelf for no more than $15 a bottle, a steal. 
In closing, the class a smash and the wines even better – not a momma went home thristy.  Thank you to everyone in attendance. 
So here’s to you, Moms, Happy Mother’s Day and may you treat yourselves to a great glass of wine everyday!