EAST COAST PALATE

I am a fan of sparkling wine, regardless of the climate or what hors d'oeuvres are being served.  Sparkling wine doesn't need an occasion...it is  an occasion.  This bottle that I just bought at Adega Wine Cellars down in Silver Spring has got me pretty excited.  I'm a glass in, and the aromas and flavors are still evolving.
The wine:  Conde de Subirats, Cava Brut (NV) weighs in at a light 11.5%.  There are green apple and lemon zest scents mingled with a sweaty, baking bread aroma that all together transported me back to when I was 19 in Strasbourg, France during the marché de noel eating madeleines and drinking hot wine composed of white wine and orange juice mixed with mulling spices.
Anyway, minus the spices, this wine is very sugar cookie like, and that first sip starts out creamy.  Then pear and lemon flavors emerge.  Suddenly you pucker and the tartness of a Granny Smith apple takes over your tongue.  And then the smooth, sweet, yellow Skittle finish comes on and doesn't seem to go away.
I like this wine a lot; it gets an A from my palate without a doubt, especially at $15.

A good "halloween wine" would maybe  be a good way to describe this wine.  Or maybe just good Tuesday night wine with a bowl of stew or a grilled chicken salad. 
The lightness of the 2006 La Bruja malbec makes it very versitile for pairing with different dishes, but on its own this wine is lacking the body and balance to make it a great wine.  The color is a dark vibrant purple, and it delivers those delicious classic malbec aromas like prunes, plums, sweat-soaked strawberries, and Pixistix/Fun Dip sweetness.  I also picked up some sawdust and black olive.  The smell of this wine adds more to the whole than the taste and structure.  In your mouth this wine is a gushing fruit bomb that vanishes within a half-second.  The void stays there a few seconds before the tannins catch back up and dry out your gums.  Maybe the disappearing act is a part of the wine's witchcraft, hence the name.  Anyway, I love the way it smells, but don't like the way it behaves.  For me it's a B- kind of wine, but worth try at $15.

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The Lagunitas Brown Shugga is a  brew to fit the season.  I love the hoppiness of it, and the citrus and molasses components give it a freshness that puts it in perfect balance.  Thank you Lauren  for introducing me to this great beer.

 The Brigaldara Valpolicella, a corvina blend definitely worth the $13 price.

With a couple of friends and my sister, I opened one of the bottles that I keep in a brown bag so I never know what I'm picking out.  The four of us popped the cork out of a 2007 Valpolicella made by Brigaldara.  Seeing how lightly colored it was and getting some slate and strawberry smells on the nose, my guess was that it was maybe a Pinot noir.  I was way off, but happy as we unveiled the wine and saw what it was: a bottle that cost me $13 and drinks so smooth with a crisp, acidic finish.  It was a beautiful wine that set the tone for an evening of darts, bonfire singing, and a few drunk dials after a lot of Yuengling.  I plan on buying some more Valpolicellas in the near future, it really is a wine that I haven't taken the time to explore yet.

Black Ankle Vineyard... an outstanding effort already.  I look forward to very big things from this young winery.

I have to admit that I'm still a skeptic when it comes to fine wine grown and produced here in Maryland.  Yesterday, though, those little nay-saying voices were shut up by the delicious vinos at Black Ankle Vineyards and Elk Run winery.
At Black Ankle the white blend called Bedlam has a great balance of fruitiness and acidity.  I'm very excited to see them growing Gruner Veltliner, but their varietal version of this smelled a bit green (it actually has cannibus aromas...the first time I've ever smelled that in wine).  The reds have a great structure and I am a big fan of their 07 Syrah.  It's a jammy, fruit forward wine, but then has tannins to back it up.  I want to taste it blind with some other Syrahs from around the world and see how MD ranks.  Overall, the 2007 vintage is so far beyond the 06 in flavors and aromas, but that's normal cosidering the vines' first yield was in 06.  Tasting these wines gives me great hope in the Maryland terroir and really makes me want to get my hands on some land and start planting.
At Elk Run there is an enormous selection of wines.  They really do have something for every palate.  I enjoyed hearing about their beginning down in Silver Spring almost 30 years ago, clearing out their yard right by 16th street and planting some good old vitis vinifera on the outskirts of the nation's capital.  For my tastes, the best reds are the Merlot, the Cabernet Franc, and the Syrah.  I also bought a bottle of their stainless-fermented Chardonnay.
With the fall foliage bursting with color, it is a beautiful time of year to drive up to route 26 and pay a visit to both of these wineries and taste what Maryland wine has to offer.

When someone calls into your room where you're busy writing and sipping on a Sam Adams.  "Come try this wine," they say, and the night gets a bit better.  This is a 2007 Rioja from Dominius del Marquesado.  With a deep, inviting color, and aromas of strawberries, cherries and leather, I'm into this wine even before I try it.  There is a slight chemical aspect to the smell, like laquer or modeling glue, but it's not enough to ruin the aroma; it just makes the strawberry smell more sythetic, like flavored pancake syrup or a Jolly Rancher rather than fresh fuit.  The wine is medium bodied, not-too-tannic, leathery and very well balanced.  I'd like to see more body, maybe more oak even.  This is an elegant wine that is smooth and ready to drink. 

Samuel Adams Ocoberfest smells like leaves, has a bit of a hoppy bite balance with a smooth maltiness, and a hint of nutmeg sweetness.  Delicious.

A crisp bright white wine is perfect for hot summer days, or for quenching your thirst between points in an intense game of ping-pong.  Ideal wine: the 2008 Picpoul de Pinet from the Coteaux du Languedoc, made at La Cave Les Costières de Pomerols.  This grape reminds me of Albariño a bit, zesty citrus notes, some tropical fruit aromas, too.  This grape is not seen often on the shelves, but at $9 it's a steal.  I want to buy a case just to have around as a solid fallback white.  I give it 88 points.

This wine had me very excited when I smelled it.  Sticky sweet molasses, mulling spices, resin, flowers, fresh mushrooms... a symphony of aromas eminates from this wine.  The enchantment dissappears, though, after the taste.  It is smooth with a lush mid-palate followed by a tart bite and then a too-quick finish.  Buying this wine for $20 doesn't bother me, but the fact that its original listed price was $47 sort of seems ridiculous.  The magic in this wine is purely olfactory... but I would pay $20 again to smell the complexly woven quilt of aromatics in this wine.  With the acidity that this wine has, I'd like buy a few bottles and try them a few years from now.  Aromas get a 95, overall the wine gets 87 points from me.

In Baltimore there is a basement full of brick walls, raucous voices, and a selection of delicious hand crafted house beers.  Between my two friends and myself we tried 5 or 6 of the 8, and  enjoyed the light or dark, the smooth or hoppy or spicy.  The din of voices rose up to meet the music of the Talking Heads.  Of the beers I tried, Le Canard was the best.  I will definitely be back to this spot.