Last week I had the privilege to attend Zagat’s first wine tasting for members of their wine club. The tasting was held at Bayard’s in lower Manhattan on November 29th and I couldn’t think of a better way to de-stress on a Monday night after a hectic day at work than to drink lots of wine! Eight tables were set up with a varied selection of 24 wines from several different wine regions. Upon entering the tasting we were all treated with a glass of South Ridge Classic Cuvee 2008 from Sussex, England, the first time it has ever been poured in the US! Acclaimed wine writer Hugh Johnson author of The World Atlas of Wine and The Pocket Wine Book kicked the event off with a short speech and then it was time to hit the tables, glass in hand and ready to be filled. Pouring the wines were Zagat wine buyers and employees, as well as wine makers William Knuttel and the rock star of the wine world Charles Smith. In addition to his superb syrah Charles Smith brought along his outstanding Phil Lane K Syrah 2008 from Walla Walla. Needless to say we hit him up more than once for a glass! Standout wines of the tasting for us were:
Les Anges de Malassan Viognier 2009, Oc Vin de Pays (France)
Perla Del Mar 2009, Alicante DO (Spain)
Roche Lacour Rose 2008, Cremant de Limoux AOC (France)
Charles Smith Syrah 2009, Columbia Valley (Washington State)
K Syrah 2008, Walla Walla (Washington State)
William Knuttel Cabernet Sauvignon 2007, Sonoma County (California)
The Zagat wine club membership was a birthday gift this year from my boyfriend and it has been wonderful so far. We just received our third case and when the box arrives it is like Christmas for me. We can’t wait to open it up and see what fabulous wines are ours to discover. There hasn’t been a bad bottle yet! Most of the wines at this event we have yet to receive in our previous cases so based on how many amazing wines we tried last week I am hoping more of these wines that were featured will be arriving at our door very soon.
