EAST COAST PALATE

Recently, Dawn - the publisher of City Living magazine - recommended that I stop in and visit a brand new store down in the Adams Morgan area.  A.M. Wine Shoppe has a beautiful display of wine lining an entire wall.  When I walked in there were a few bottle open, waiting to be tried.  They had cheese and salami samples as well.  There wasn't a huge amount of different wine (while there, I heard someone come in and ask for Virginia wine, and there is none there), but what they lack in extensive selection, they make up for with their service.
Okay, the wine: 
2008 Mader Pinot Blanc... The nose on this Alsatian white wine is fresh, loaded with citrus and a sweet honeydew aroma.  I picked up a slight nasal burn from the alcohol, and there's a floral component layered into the fruity aromas.
If you like sorbet, or Starburst, or just good crisp wine that wakes up your tongue, this is a wine for you.  It is light, but full of flavor, with the lemonpeel leading the way.  The tartness stretches out the finish so that if you take a sip and walk away from your glass, you will honestly carry the flavor in your mouth for a few minutes.
This is a B+ wine for $14 (I've seen it at Rodman's, as well).  It would balance out a strong cheese or cream sauce, or work as a perfect compliment to a fruit salad.
2007 JK Estates Cabernet Sauvignon... Krishna, thank you for this wine.  No, I'm not converting to any religion, Krishna is the guy who gave me this California Cab to try out.  It is a $15 bottle, hailing from an Estate winery in Lodi.  The aromas are what made this wine stand out so much for me, while the body is rather light weight.
This bouquet is full of the beautiful weirdness that gets me excited about wine: pickled okra?  check.  capers?  check.  Imagine you have a dish of blackberry preserves, and then somebody reaching over drops a bit of green pepper, cippolini onions, and pickle juice into the mix.  Sound delicious?  The greenness of this overall aromatic blend may be a turnoff for some, but the onion and green pepper are known to make cameos when it comes to Cabernet.
Despite the olfactary circus going on, the wine is light in tannin, feels fresh and smooth in the mouth, and for me gets a solid 85. 

This is a very good bottle of wine for $10.50.  I picked it up in Cleveland Park last weekend and now as I try it I want to go back and pick up some more. 
The blackberry aroma is the main factor in the olfactory department.  There is also a cool, stoney smell and a spicy, perfumy scent that reminds me pot pourri.  I might even call the nose on this wine "mushroomy."
Anyhow, it drinks very smooth.  The tannins are soft (especially after it's aerated a bit).  The minerality and acidity give it a very fresh quality that makes this wine stand up very well to food or aging.  I would love to taste this paired with pork... maybe with a side of cous cous filled with cranberries, raisins and apples.  This bottle is a fantasic value, a B+ for not a lot of money... you need to try this wine.
Has January really almost come and gone?  I'm very excited about this year.  There are many ideas swirling around in my head about the first East Coast Palate hosted events...maybe some wine pairing dinners or scavenger wine hunts.  How does that sound?  If I don't hear from anyone, then these amazing celebrations of life and wine can't take place.  Give me feedback!

The first snow of the season fell on Saturday and I was in D.C. pouring wine at a YES Organic Market, where the wine and dairy sections share an aisle.  Needless to say, I was cold on that frigid day, and when my sampling duties were done, I went down a block to Busboys & Poets.  This was my first time here, but I'm planning on heading back this weekend.  The ambiance and noise and warmth were just what I needed.  It seems like a good place for a first date, but I could tell a lot of people were there for the food and drinks.  I, however, sat at the bar, opened a book, and thawed out.   A glass of Côtes du Rhone turned out to be the perfect wine for my brief visit.

The 2006 Côtes du Rhône by Jean-Luc Colombo is a blend of Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre that has some dark cherry aromas mixed with a spicy, woodsy smell.  The alcohol adds its own spiciness to the nose, but the wine's structure is solid.  There is a good deal of acidity to balance out the tannins.  The dark berry flavors come through, but at the same time this wine isn't overly fruity.  The finish is lengthy and on the tart side, which I like.  This wine would be able to stand up to some duck confit or a hearty steak, but it's made well enough that it does fine on it's own.  A glass at Busboys & Poets costs $8, so I'd guess this wine runs about $13-$15 retail.  I'll be looking for it for my own wine cellar.