nlm (04/06/83)
This is a tasting report of restaurant house wines conducted by
the International Wine Center in New York. This center also has
a wine bar and restaurant at 144 West 55 Street.
I apologize for any typos; "spell" doesn't work very well on wine lists.
Nancy Mintz
mhb5b!nlm
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TASTING REPORT
OF
RESTAURANT "HOUSE" WINES
As a service to the clients and students of the International Wine Center,
a tasting was conducted of over 200 wines currently promoted as restaurant
"house" wines (113 white and 107 red). With a few notable exceptions,
wholesale prices are below $25.00 per case of 1.5 liter or larger bottles.
Tasters included Rory Callahan, Edmund Osterland and Stephen Fox.
OBJECTIVE: To find a number of red and white wines suitable in terms of
price, quality and style, for use as restaurant "house" wines.
CRITERIA: It is felt that a glass of "house" wine should be dry enough to
complement food, yet sufficiently fruity or flavorful, to stand on its own,
say, at the bar or as an aperitif. Thus, in order to earn an "Acceptable"
rating a wine must exhibit sufficient fruit flavor and crispness. In
addition, it must not display an excessive degree of: oxidation or volatile
acidity, "grapeyness" or sweetness, bitterness or astringency, acidity or
other unpleasant traits.
METHOD: The evaluation was done in two phases. Phase one involved dividing
the wines into three groups according to price. Group A (least expensive)
was tasted the afternoon of October 8, 1982; Group B, the same time a week
later; and Group C (most expensive), the same time the following week. The
purpose of this phase was to screen out wines of unacceptable quality or
inappropriate style. All wines were tasted blind, whites before reds. As
each wine was sampled it was discussed, and then given a rating of either
"Good", "Acceptable" or "having faults", eliminating it from further
consideration.
Those wines that received a "Good" rating (36 white and 26 red) were retasted
to identify those felt to be superior. Again the tasting was done blind.
This time each judge made his evaluations on his own, marking those he
felt exhibited exceptional overall quality -- better flavor, balance,
aftertaste. As a result 17 whites and 15 reds were given a "Superior" rating.
WHITE (SUPERIOR)
Parducci Vintage White 1980
Sebastiani Mountain Chablis
Concha Y Toro Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon 1981
Almaden Mountain Chablis
L'Epayrie Blanc de Blanc
Petternella Soave
Klosterkeller Siegendorf Gruner Veltliner 1980
Cuvee Saint Pierre Blanc
Los Hermanos Chablis
Paul Masson chablis
Gallo Sauvignon Blanc
Boucheron Blanc de Blanc
Villa Carasol Bianco Fino
Della Scala Soave
Gallo Chablis Blanc
Sommeliere Blanc de Blanc
Alexis Lichine White Table Wine of France
RED (SUPERIOR)
L'Epayrie Rouge
Monterey Vineyard Classic Red 1979
Robert Mondavi Red 1980
Jean Boulaine Cuvee Rouge
Partager Vin Roug
Concannon Burgundy 1979
Beaudet Rouge
Sebastiani Mountain Burgundy
Villa Banfi Roman Red
Louis Martini Burgundy
Parducci Vintage Red 1978
Moreau Rouge
Sebastiani Country Cabernet
San Martin Burgundy 1977
WHITE (GOOD)
Monterey Vineyard Classic White
Torres Vina Sol 1981
Kremser Gruner Veltliner
Capri Chablis
Folonari Soave
Villa Banfi Roman White
Villa Banfi Prima Vera
Cribari Pinot Chardonnay
Moreau Blanc
Concannon Chablis
Christian brothers Mountain Chablis
Barbella Soave
Garibaldi Soave
Robert Mondavi White 1980
Partager Vin Blanc
Franz Joseph Liebfraumilch 1977
Cresta Blanca Chablis 1981
Principato Bianco
Folonari Verona White
Colli Albani Trebbiano
Taylor California Cellars Chablis
RED (GOOD)
Colony Classic Cabernet Sauvignon
Cribari Zinfandel
Rive del Garda Valpolicella
Almaden Monterey Burgundy
Almaden Mountain Burgundy
Gallo Hearty Burgundy
Le Sable Cabernet Sauvignon 1979
Frescobaldi Chianti 1980
Paul Masson Burgundy
Christian Brothers Mountain Burgundy
Cribari Cabernet Sauvignon
WHITE (ACCEPTABLE)
Maufoux Blanc de Blanc
Visan Cotes du Rhone 1981
Sebastiani Country Chardonnay
Draceno Bianco 1981
Le Pappillon Blanc de Blanc
Folonari Verdicchio
Dirks White
Castellini Soave 1980
Soldani Bianco
Gino Monte Chablis
Rive del Garda Soave 1981
Taylor California Cellars Dry White
Biscardo Pinot Grigio
Claude Mercier Blanc de Blanc
RED (ACCEPTABLE)
Botticelli Valpolicella
Tre Castella Red
Folonari Verona Red
Musette Rouge
Carboj Rosso 1979
Boucheron Rouge
Taylor California Cellars Dry Red
La Rovere Chianti 1981
Folonari Bardolino
Folonari Valpolicella
CK Mondavi Zinfandel
Toso Mendoza Red 1980
Rainoldi Valtellina 1978
Le Pappillon Rouge
Pedroncelli Sonoma Red
Belle Fleur Red
Maufoux Red
Belval Red
Beavignot Red
Fetzer Premium Red
Visan Cotes du Rhone 1980
Concha Y Toro Cabernet/Merlot
Pere Patriarch Rouge
Castellino Valpolicella