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Put Some Altitude in Your Glass
11: Cha Cha Expands Her Wine Vocabulary
Mar 1, 2018
11: Cha Cha Expands Her Wine Vocabulary
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FULL TRANSCRIPT
0:00
Some dollar bills, now we popping rubber bands. You know what that mean? Tell me while I do my money dance, like ay Ooh, another glass of wine and I'm gonna be doing that Cardi dance.
0:07
[laughs] Get the loose diamonds dancing. Yeah, another glass of wine, I might DM, uh, Cardi B on Instagram. [laughs] Make that money last. Make that money dance. Stop it. Money dance.
0:17
There's a reason why they always ask- We're back... me where my money dance at. Hey, welcome back. It's, uh, Denver Wine Radio.
0:23
Paul Bonaquisty, Cha Cha Chavez, and our special guest, Michelle Cleveland, Creekside Cellars in Evergreen. We're just having fun tasting Cabernet Franc. And, um, right now we're on, uh, we're on our French, uh, Chinon.
0:37
And, uh, that's where Cabernet Franc, uh, is bottled as a varietal in France. So we've been- And we're gonna- we're getting ready to taste the Colorado Cab Francs coming up here, so.
0:47
But, uh, let's get right into it 'cause, uh, we got distracted last- We did... last break. We did. [laughs] Okay, let's see.
0:55
So, but going into, going into French, uh, Chinon, I would, uh, my mind, I'm, uh, uh, because of the ones I've tasted in the past, I already start thinking, uh, earthy smells, you know, that barnyard-y, um- Mm-hmm, mm-hmm...
1:08
stuff like that. This one's good, though. But yeah, I didn't- This one's clean... [laughs] I didn't get it in this one. No. So. Nope, nope. So I'm get- Mm-hmm...
1:16
I'm getting, like, some real dark fruit, uh, kinda maybe a little bit of coffee. Yep. Yep. Um, of course, that might've been because Cha brought in a bag of coffee [laughs] or smell it before that.
1:25
No, the, I, I, as a matter of fact, I, I got the coffee thing, too. Mm-hmm. And, uh, a little bit of the, the, uh, like you were saying, the barn or something. It, it just sounds, it, it, it smells rustic to me.
1:36
Is that a word? Very rustic. Is that a word? Rustic is, that's a perfect word, Cha Cha. See? You got it. See, you're getting good. See, this is the third week and I'm like down- Yeah... with wine. You're down.
1:44
Yep, you're down. You're down. Yeah, that's what it smells like. Absolutely. Like, rustic. Very rustic. And you know what? Wow.
1:49
That's a, it's a great point, because you just, you really just, to, to taste wine, learn wine, drink wine, you're just building a vocabulary, uh, uh, and trying to get that thing out of your brain to, to tell you what you're, what you're tasting.
2:02
Oh, okay. It's all in, it's all in your head. All these flavors are- They're all in your head... they're, yeah, we've be- we've been exposed to them our whole lives. Yeah. And we try to sniff them out in wine.
2:10
And remember, Cha Cha, there's no wrong answer. Ah. Okay? Okay. Yep. We don't want wine to be intimidating. Right. Okay? 'Cause what you smell- Somebody else could smell different. Absolutely. Wow. Okay? That's right.
2:23
Mm-hmm. I might smell baked cherries. You might smell burnt crab shells. Right. Okay. [laughs] Okay. Yeah, stale wine humor, okay? Yeah. [laughs] That's what we're about. So, hey, so anyway- Rustic...
2:36
uh, I mean, what do you think? Yeah, rustic. Rustic. But, um- The flavor is very good. Yeah, black cherries. Yep. Some black- But-... some, uh, blackberry in this... but tons of fruit. Tons of fruit. Yeah.
2:44
Way, way more fruit than I would expect. Way more fruit. Yeah. Yep. So, and I don't know, maybe it was a hot year that year or something. Who knows?
2:49
Or this producer had a- Yeah, but it's still got- But it's still great... it's still got nice acidity. It does. Mm-hmm. 13% alcohol. Yep. We get- We're right, right where we like it. Yep. Mm-hmm. Yep.
2:58
And, uh, that wine comes in at, uh, about 18 bucks. That's a great deal. Yep. That's a great deal. Really good deal, so I'm liking that. Yeah, that is good. Mm-hmm. Very good.
3:10
All right, so now we're gonna move on to, uh, some Colorado wine. And, uh, this one is, uh, Bonaquisty Wine Company. What do you know? What do you know? [laughs] Paul, tell us where this one's from.
3:22
Yeah, this is, uh- Where are the grapes grown? The grapes are grown from Mesa Park Vineyards. And, uh, as I've mentioned before, I don't own a vineyard. I, uh, I buy grapes on the open market.
3:30
And, uh, been buying f- uh, Cab Franc from Mesa Park here for the last few years. And, um, they grow fantastic fruit. Um- Mm-hmm... that winery just changed hands, too. It did, yes. Uh, they have new owners.
3:43
And, uh, man, they're excited, and they're, they're ready to pump it out to the world, so. That's right. But, um- Go see them, folks... yeah. So this is 2016.
3:52
Mine spent, um, you know, I ke- I try to keep mine on the, on the fruity, uh, easier drinking side so I can get, uh, wines ready to drink sooner than later.
4:01
Um, this one, uh, was about, um, seven or eight months, um, in, in f- used French oak. Okay. So... Let's drink it. Let's drink it. Let's smell it. [laughs] What do you think, Cha Cha?
4:14
It smells like the Denver Botanic Gardens. Yes, it does. To me. It, it does. It, it smells very, um, I don't wanna say flowery. Maybe that was a, a- Floral. Yeah. Mm-hmm. It, it smells like- Mm-hmm...
4:29
like really fresh, whatever. Mm-hmm. And- Let me taste. Hang on. Okay. Pretend I'm at church. [laughs] So- Oh, this is good...
4:39
I've got, I've got, yeah, I've got, uh, some nice acidity, but I've also, what else do we have on this? A little more tannin, right? Yeah. Yeah, a little more tannin- Mm-hmm... definitely than, uh- Okay...
4:46
than the previous two. Yep. Yep. So. Mm-hmm. Um, yeah, so- This is a, this would be, uh, I think we, um, would benefit from some food as well. Okay. Okay? This, yeah. What would you pair this with? Like a lamb?
4:58
Uh, yep, absolutely, lamb. Ooh, I'm becoming a chef now. Some, yeah, some red meat. No, some, some red meat. Some red meat. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. With some fat, you know? Mm-hmm. To kind of balance that tannin acidity.
5:06
Right, right, right. Yep. Absolutely. So a couple of weeks ago, uh, we did, it was wine and chocolate weekend, and we, we paired this with a white chocolate truffle that inside had a, um,
5:17
a, uh, an almond and, uh, a Castlevetrano olive- Oh my gosh... which is a green- Oh... Sicilian olive. So, um, and you would think that's just a far- It sounds awesome. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, it sounds amazing.
5:29
It, it- Sounds amazing... and, um, it's that olive that, uh, actually brought this whole thing to- Together... together with this Cab Franc, yeah. Nice job, Paul.
5:37
So, um, and that's why I've got the- Where was my invitation? Well, I guess it got lost in the mail. [laughs] I guess so. So [laughs] anyway, so that's my version, uh, of Cab Franc, and, uh, hope you like that one.
5:50
It's really good. It's good. God, it smells so good. So, um- Ah, I love that smell. All right, so now we're, we're moving on to, um, Creekside Cellars 2015 Cabernet Franc.
6:08
And, uh, really excited about this 'cause, uh, Cha, did you know, uh, Michelle's, uh, Cab Franc scored a 91 on, uh, Wine Enthusiast? Wow, congratulations. Yeah. Thank you, Cha Cha. That's awesome. Yeah. Yeah.
6:19
We- we're pretty excited about it. Yeah. Okay, let's see. And ask her how many, how many other 91s anything in, in Colorado- How many?... rated by Wine Enthusiast. Zero. [laughs] Wow, props girl. Yeah.
6:31
Yep, that's awesome. That's awesome. Let me see. Wow. [laughs] So- [laughs] Just the first smell I get on this, real- really elegant. Wow. Very different. Um, definitely more, uh, more oak aging than- Very...
6:45
than mine and obviously the o- in the- Yeah... in the previous two. You could tell how fruity the first two were. Right. Mm-hmm. This is very oaky. Mm-hmm. Very. Got some oak, so. A lot, a lot.
6:54
Yeah, this is about 24 months. Kind of. In new oak. Smoky kinda? Mm-hmm. Yep. Yep. Is that a word, smoky? Yep. Mm-hmm. Little black cherry, blackberry, little clove. Oh, I can definitely taste the clove. Mm-hmm.
7:13
That's really good. Thank you, Cha. And the whole thing just- Oh man, it does... it coats your mouth... your mouth, and then, then you get this- And it's so lush- Yeah... and velvety and just, uh, long finish. Yeah.
7:24
Juicy. Really good. This is really good. Home run. [laughs] This is d- this is really good. Thanks, Cha. I, I could probably s- you know, have this for a date on a Saturday night. All right. Yeah. Well, it is Saturday.
7:37
You need to come up and see us at Creekside. I will. I totally will. K, have some lunch. Yeah, you're in Evergreen. Absolutely. One of my favorite places. What's not to like about Evergreen?
7:45
I know, what's not to like about Evergreen? I know. Oh, this is so good. This is really good. Pepper. Yeah. A little pepper. Mm-hmm. Little white pepper. Yep, and more things- Mm-hmm...
7:56
will start to come out as it- Yeah... as it opens up here. Yeah. Yeah. 'Cause we, you know, we just opened this bottle and we just poured it in your glass, and- Right...
8:02
uh, the, you know, our glass makes a great decanter. I think I'm gonna pour some more. No matter what, no matter what your glass is, so, um, yeah. That's really good.
8:11
So that's what's fun about wine is to, uh, and especially, uh, I m- Michelle and I know this as winemakers, uh, following wine all along its, its profile f- or, you know, its life cycle from, uh, from start to finish, and you get, and you smell how things change.
8:24
Absolutely. And then once you bottle it and then you kinda, you get the, you c- you, you expect things to happen and, and, uh, once, especially once you open it up and, and see how the, the wine's gonna, gonna progress.
8:36
Mm-hmm. And how long would you leave this in a barrel? Like, how long is this- Th- this was left in a barrel for 24 months. Wow. Yeah. Okay, two years. Wow.
8:44
You know, so, you know, people wanna know why wine's so expensive. Well, we've gotta hold that- Right... for two, you know, two years- Yeah, exactly... before we release it. Yeah, you don't have like a drive-up window.
8:53
No, we don't. Nope. You don't. Nope. [laughs] A drive-thru. [laughs] Nope. You don't. We ran out of that. Right. Uh, this is, this is really, really good. Glad you like it. This is really good. All right.
9:04
A- and you're right, Paul, that like after- Lingering finish... yeah. Yeah. Mm-hmm. That, yeah. Mm-hmm. Tastes really, really good. Really good. All right. All right.
9:12
So tell, and then your, your, this, your Cab Franc is, uh, 40- It's $45... $45, yep. Yep. Uh, you'll find it at Creekside Cellars, and Divino Wine & Spirits should have it on the shelf. Oh, right on. Yeah. Yeah. David.
9:24
Go see David down at Divino. He's amazing. That's a great wine. That's cool. I love that, I love that wine shop. What, how mu- how much of this did you produce? 166 cases to be exact. I, I mean that's nothing- No...
9:33
in the wine world. It's nothing. 166 cases and, um- Nothing... this is fantastic. And, uh, Cabernet Franc is, uh, shining through in Colorado. We love it, and, um- We hope you will love it too. Oh, they'll love it.
9:46
Believe you me, I'm not a wine drinker, and you're gonna love this. All right. This is so good, so good. All right, when we come back, we're gonna... What are we gonna do?
9:55
Uh, we're gonna talk more about- We're gonna talk more... old school music and- Yeah... wine- I think that, I think we should... and, uh- Old school- Mm-hmm... wine, everything You know what I think we should talk about?
10:04
What? What we listen to during harvest. Oh yeah. Yeah. That's a good one. [laughs] All right. Oh, yeah. You guys have special music you listen to- Absolutely... for the grapes? Yeah. Absolutely.
10:13
More of, more of Denver Wine Radio coming back on Mile High Sports. Shoobie do va, shoobie do va. I wanna love you.
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