The EIF&WF is the longest food and wine fest in the world, running for six weeks. One of its features is kiosks offering national food and wine samples.
Our adventure yesterday with Argentina, particularly El Portillo Cabernet Sauvignon 2002. The alcohol content seemed to be high, but it had a nice dark garnet color, light and fruity flavors with mild tannins. We also had the Bodegas Salentein Chardonnay 2004. This was a light and crisp Chard with plenty of fruit that has likely seen no oak at all. For my money, the Chard was the better wine.
The next stop was Mexico, where we tried another Chardonnay, L.A. Cetto Chardonnay Valle de Guadalupe, Baja California 2005. This was very fruity on the nose, with no exposure to oak. I think it was a bit nicer or more complex than the Argentinian Chard. We also tried the L.A. Cetto Petite Sirah, from the 2004 vintage (same location). It was soft with big flavors. Catherine said she experienced a “black pepper explosion” on the finish. I didn’t quite get that, but it was quite nice.
This was my first experience with Mexican wines, and they were quite nice. Who’d have thought that a country so close to the equator could produce good wines? Actually, it shouldn’t surprise me–Mexico is not a flat desert. There are different climates as in any other country. Mexican wines will definitely be on my future explorations.
From Mexico we went to China, where we tried the Hua Xia Cabernet Sauvignon. I couldn’t find a vintage on the bottle. I would have mistaken this for an Aussie Shiraz, meaning it’s not a great example of a Cab, but it was still a great wine. The color was almost like a ruby port.
The next wine was the Beyond Sauvignon Blanc 2005, which comes from the coastal region of South Africa. I’ve had South African wines before, but this was a great SB. Lots of fruit, but not in the wild New Zealand style. It nicely cleanses the palate.
Next up, Moët & Chandon Champagne Nectar Impérial, a nice dry Champagne with plenty of floral aromas and surprisingly low on the acid. I think it was a brut, or dry, style.
By this point, we’d had enough food and wine for the afternoon, so we waited for dinner at the California Grill. Catherine had a Roederer Estate (from California) sparkling wine, which was quite dry. I tried the Chateau Montelena Chardonnay Napa Valley 1999. Chateau Montelena is the Chard that won the “Judgment of Paris” back in 1976. It was creamy, a bit oaky, but not overly so. It had a medium depth gold color. I enjoyed it, even though it’s not my style of Chard. With the main course, Catherine had the Clautiere Viognier from the Paso Robles region, 2004 vintage. Perhaps we detected orange blossoms on the nose. I thought it was close to Froot Loops, but not quite–I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. A very nice Viognier. I had the Ehlers Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley 2002. A big wine, hefty drying tannins, but everthing was balanced. Chocolate notes, perhaps? It had a nice long finish, more than 10 seconds.
Finally, we shared a dessert wine, the Adelsheim Deglacé Pinot Noir from Oregon’s 2005 vintage. This was a pretty wine, a salmon color that was beautiful to look at. The aromas of roses dominated the nose, and it was a nice dessert wine.
That’s the report for day one. Future reports as wines warrant. 
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Bill if you get a chance visit the wine shop in the festival center. Look for a wine from south africa called De Toren Z. This is it’s maiden vintage and I found it to be excellent. It is a bordeaux style blend but just a touch more fruit forward. I was able to purchase some from the first case sold anywhere in the world and had the winery owner Emil sign it
Paul –
I definitely visited the wine shop a few times. I don’t recall if this wine was there, but I’ll definitely check the list I have. Thanks for the recommendation–and cool that you were able to get the wine signed!
Bill Wilson