Loire Valley Whites

Last night I hosted my third monthly wine tasting, focusing on Loire Valley white wines. I have to say, this was the best one yet, even though I felt the least prepared. I purchased all the wines for the tasting over 6 weeks ago when I was in Paris with my friend Eve and then only just this week drafted up a few quick handouts of a Loire Valley map and tasting notes for the 5 wines.

We tasted 2 Sauvignon Blancs and 3 Chenin Blancs, listed below:

Sauvignon Blancs

• Domaine Naudet Sancerre, 2005 (£10)
• Marcel Sautejeau Pouilly-Fume Les Ferrees, 2005 (£6)

Chenin Blancs

• Domaine de Belliviere Coteaux du Loire ‘L’Effraie’, 2004 (£11.50)
• Chateau Pierre-Bise Savennieres Roche aux Moines, 2004 (£12)
• Francois Chidaine Vouvray Clos Baudoin, 2005 (£12)

More so that the Rhone Valley Red Tasting in May, I think that this tasting was a perfect example of tasting wines of the same type side-by-side to see how they are both similar and different. The two Sauvignon Blancs were clearly Sauvignon, but the Sancerre was typically minerally and the Pouilly-Fume was more rounded and fuller-bodied. Once we moved onto the Chenin Blancs, the differences in aroma were marked. The Vouvray was the favourite, and in fact, was the reason for the tasting in the first place. The wine shop La Derniere Goutte is where I first tasted it in April, and inspired me to buy 6 bottles from the Loire Valley on the spot.

The menu started with home-brewed ice tea with honey/mint and goats cheese and crackers. I finally made a goats cheese/cream cheese spread with fresh herbs, garlic and shallots that I first tried at a winery in Temecula, California three or four years ago. I got the recipe there and hadn't actually made it until now. It was good, but I am very glad I quadrupled the recipe. It's a lot of chopping to prepare and I think next time I will decrease the amount of cream cheese.

For the mains, we had a scallop pasta dish and courgettes. The scallop pasta came out perfectly (third time's the charm! I made it for the first time in January for a dinner party, and the second time a few weeks ago). The courgettes (aka zucchini) were just steamed and tossed with olives oil and scallions. My friend Jen was kind enough to bring dessert, a practically homemade (just not her home; it was from the local Italian deli that makes everything from scratch) tiramisu served with strawberries and raspberries. I even opened a bottle of Sauternes for everyone to try!

12 friends came in the end, and it was a great group of friends from all over the place. My friend Sean who lives in Australia was able to attend, as was my friend Erik from New York, both arriving that day in London and still making it to the tasting. Collectively, the group represented Australia, New Zealand, America, England, Ireland and Norway. Everyone was really engaged in the tasting, asking questions about wine, and practicing recognizing the aromas and styles of the wines. And the best part? I woke up without a hangover and found that Erik had so kindly washed all the wine glasses for me! I am definitely going to keep these monthly events going.