What to Pair With Flight Delay?

Flying in and out of a smaller airport on a near weekly basis, flight delays become part of the rhythm of life.  I am convinced the airlines are in collusion and have me atop a  ’Make Sure This Guys Flight Is Delayed’ list. No doubt about it. I have more flights delayed, for one reason or another, than flights on time.  Ok, this may be a slight exaggeration, but perfectly logical considering that as I type this, I’m just ten minutes in to a two-hour delay.

Today’s delayed flight happens to be at Dulles airport, and as any self-respecting traveling wine enthusiast knows – Dulles is home to two VinoVolo Wine Bars.  The presence of a VinoVolo makes a delay more palatable, figuratively and literally.

Unlike most other delayed flights, I was not made to suffer during this delay.  The airline practiced the oft forgotten art of mercy today and provided advance notice, even before I boarded my originating flight in ORF (normally, I learn of delays as I’m sitting on the plane with no where to go but the lav).  Though I still despise the delay and hold the opinion that this is all part of some airline conspiracy to test my ability to maintain sanity, I do appreciate the advance notice because this means I can enjoy a relaxing dinner and wine without pacing back-and-forth at the gate waiting for the gate agent to tear him/herself away from airline gossip or US Weekly to make the next proclamation (i.e. – delay announcement).

Serenity Now – In the spirit of embracing today’s delay and celebrating Virginia Wine Month, I go with the Gadino Cellars 2009 Viognier - one of the three Virginia wines on the list:

Gadino Cellar 2009 Viognier (~ $19 at winery):  Holy peach and pear batman – this is a very expressive example of Viognier that I would highly recommend if you find yourself passing through the Dulles airport – especially this month. I’ve had Gadino’s Viognier many times at VinoVolo and I applaud the Dulles location for supporting the Virginia wine industry by having a Virginia wine flight on the menu.

Having a wine on the list at a place like VinoVolo that has such a high volume of wine ‘drinkers’ passing through seems like a great way to consistently introduce wines to a new audience.  I wonder if this ‘potential new audience’ directly translates in to new customers for wineries featured on the VinoVolo list? Perhaps Derek at Gadino will weigh on this one.

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Ribera Del Duero at Dulles

As part of my weekly ritual, I had a layover at Dulles airport last night, which meant a quick stop by Vino Volo Wine Bar for cheese and a glass of wine.

I continued working my way through Vino Volo’s Spanish flight this week, and went with a glass of Ribera Del Duero.  I can’t remember the last time I had a Ribera Del Duero, but man this one was really good (aside from the two huge clumps of sediment in my glass).

How do you say Vino Volo is getting a little sloppy in Spanish?  (I visit a Vino Volo about once a week and man they are all over the place in terms of quality these days.)

Bodegas Bohórquez 2005 Estate Tempranillo/Cabernet Sauvignon  Purple in the glass, this wine had a nose of baked blackberries, mocha, and plum/vanilla crème.  Firm tannins in the mouth with abundant flavors of more baked dark fruit and a tad too much oak.  I picked up secondary flavors of strawberries and raspberries on the finish (weird, I know, but the red fruits were there).  Overall, I really liked this wine – makes me want to drink more drink more Ribera Del Duero. 

On the downside, this wine was $18/glass, which I feel is a bit on the high end.  Paying 18 bucks a glass, I was worried that I was an unsuspecting participant in Punk’d Wine Bar edition.

I’m curious what Ribera’s others are drinking?

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Txakoli Hondarrabi Zuri

Now that the long, and much needed, Labor Day weekend is over, it’s back to the travel grind for me.  On my way to Orlando for a few days, this evening’s flight included my routine 90-minute layover at Dulles before continuing on to MCO.  Of course, 90-minutes at Dulles means a quick stop at the Vino Volo wine bar near gate C4 for a glass of wine, cheese plate and a small order of pork tacos.

My normal protocol at Vino Volo is to start with olives or cheese then an order of the pork tacos paired with a Pinot.  However, this trip would be different since I recently made the decision to begin the journey of joining the Wine Century Club.  The Wine Century Club is comprised of a group of individuals who have tasted (and verified) at least 100 different grape varieties.  

In the spirit of beginning the journey to 100 varietals, I decided that my wine selection this evening would be based on the most obscure varietal on the wine list.   A nanosecond after opening the wine menu, the name Txakoli immediately jumped out at me.

Txakoli (pronounced kinda like cha-cole-e) is a slightly sparkling wine that hails from Spain’s Basque Country.  Txakoli is predominately made with the Hondarrabi Zuri grape, but can also be made from Bordeleza Zuria (Folle Blanche), Izkiriota Ttipia (Petit Manseng), Izkiriota (Gros Manseng) and Courbu.

Txomin Etxaniz 2008 Txakoli This wine was $11/glass and $27 bottle and was made with the Hondarrabi Zuri grape.  A very simple wine.   Bright golden yellow in the glass with a nose of lime spritz, green apple and some mineral notes.  Ok acidity with a slight fizz.  In the mouth, I found sour (tart) grapefruit that lingered for quite a while on the finish.  If you like long grapefruit finishes, this may be your wine.

This could be one of the least enjoyable wines I’ve ever had at Vino Volo in terms of QPR.  This wine immediately reminded me of a very simple $5 vino verde, but gussied up with an unpronounceable name coupled with a $27 per bottle price tag.  I don’t mind such a wine on a warm, humid Virginia evening sitting on the deck on a Tuesday night, as long as it’s around 5 bucks a bottle.  But this one at $27 bucks a bottle is in the QPR cellar!  Perhaps this would have been better with a white fish, oysters or shrimp.

On a more positive note, this wine allowed me to expand my palate, and moved me one varietal closer to joining the ranks of the Wine Century Club. 

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Vino Volo SEA

My travels brought me to Seattle for a few days this week, which of course includes a stop at the Vino Volo at Sea-Tac airport.  For those who aren’t familiar with Vino Volo (you need to get out more), they are a chain of wine bars located in various airports throughout the US.  

While waiting for my red eye to IAD, I stopped in for dinner and a couple of glasses of wine. 

I started out with a glass of the Bunnell Family Cellars 2006 Vif – a blend of 49.5% Syrah, 27.1% Mourvedre, 15.4% Petit Sirah, 4.3% Cinsault and 3.8% Grenache.  Bunnell Family Cellars, located in the Columbia Valley, sources grapes from several growers throughout the area.  $15/glass, or $39/bottle.  Intense, bold fruit.  A full nose of blackberry jam, blueberry, prune and old spice (like the old cologne) with hints of earth that lead to flavors of cinnamon, blackberries and coffee.   This is an excellent wine.   Just 307 cases produced.

The Bunnell is definitely a crowd pleaser – a group of three Brits that who came in during my visit ordered the Washington Tasting Flight that included the Bunnell Vif.  Two of them ordered a glass of the Bunnell after they finished the flight.

Next, I moved on to the Beran Vineyards 2005 Pinot Noir (Pommard Clone) from the Willamette Valley.  Beran located in a converted dairy barn situated just 20 miles southwest from Portland, focuses exclusively on Pinot Noir.    $13/glass, $33 bottle.  Only 450 cases produced.  On the nose I found cherry, cinnamon and raspberry.  Light mouth feel with flavors of sour cherry.   This wine was ok, but didn’t throw my hair back.

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