#96- Egiodola

On the 4th day of Wine-mas my true self gave to me- a bottle of Egiodola. From France you know.

I'm kind of embarrassed right now!

Have you ever tried to eat all the leftovers in your house before cracking open your new groceries? Well I'm trying to do just that- and well- it's not quite working as planned. My pairing this evening with the Egiodola wine from the Domaine de Brau in France is a little embarrassing.

Okay a lot. I'm sure you've heard of meat on a stick. Well I"m eating meat on a fork.

I'm trying to finish the Bavarian sausages I have left from last week. I thought there were three left so I cut up three sausages and smothered them in cheddar cheese. Way too much for me to eat but I'd be done with the sausages at least. Until I found another one in the bag that I'd missed. There was no way I'd be able to eat four so I now have an orphaned sausage in my fridge waiting. Damn.

Anyway, the sausage is great and the melted cheese is wonderful but hardly a balanced diet. I'll munch on some salad later but for now it's a sausage fest in here with my bottle of red.

I've just finished watching the Swedish version  of the "Girl with a Dragon Tattoo" by Stieg Larsson on Video on Demand and I've cued up "Girl who Played with Fire" but I have to write the fourth day of Wine-mas first. If you haven't read the books, I highly suggest you do. The English version of the trilogy is coming out soon if not already in some places and it's going to be a blockbuster.

The Swedish version is excellent so far.

And so I pause from the English subtitled movie to take in some protein and a glass of Egiodola.

I've had it sitting in the glass for about an hour already to let it breathe. It's a bright ruby red colour. The name Egiodola means pure blood. It's red enough to be blood.

The aromas however are not pleasant at all. Very barn yard like. Other blogs say you get fruit on the nose and the bottle says it is plum scented and well structured. I don't get fruit at all so I'm wondering if this is a faulted wine- or slightly corked. I'm not getting a fault smelling the cork (though it looks like it started to mold perhaps) so it's quite possible that this is what the wine is supposed to be like.

It's quite tannic, almost sucking any moisture right out of my mouth. You do get the fruit on the tongue when you drink it however. It's very plum like, almost raisiny. You get a bit of candied cherries as well. It's got a bit of sweetness to it as well.

Without knowing for sure if this wine is corked or not, I'm pretty neutral on the wine. I'll have to get another bottle and compare to be sure. But it's a neat sounding grape don't ya think?

#69- Fer

My apologies to my brother first and foremost because my mother and I didn't bother to save him any of this wine. In case you're wondering if we liked this wine or not, the answer is a resounding yes!

I brought three wines with me on a 4 day camping trip with my parents before we parted ways and they left to continue their vacation down into the States and more specifically, Yellowstone National Park. They are on nearly home as I just got the call from mom-  and my poor mother has missed so much of my online life (Facebook updates, all the photos- hundreds of them that I've uploaded from my recent trip) and of course a few wine posts!

The wine was a surprise- I didn't think I'd like it. The wine is similar in acidity and weight to the Concord grape which I hated and very similar to the Cabernet Franc (which I liked but not in its sparkling form). It could have been the great outdoors and the fresh air but all I know is my mother and I didn't leave a drop of this wine for Craig. Good thing he works at a liquor store and can order his own wine now...

In any case, the wine I tried is from Domaine de Brau in France. The grape of course is the Fer grape and hence why the wine is called Fer (Servadou) Pure. They have another wine that is made of a grape I've never heard of- Egiodola that I'd like try and I'll see if I can track down.

The bottle hints the wine tastes to you on its very simple label- floral, smooth and complex. And it was indeed. I could have drank this wine all night. It was a sweet red but not enough to categorize it in the dessert wines but those of you who don't like a dry red and prefer a much more fruitier and lighter taste such as the Cabernet Franc, this wine is for you.

It is crisp and light on the tongue yet has a disctinct earth taste to it (very appropriate for camping). Perhaps a little green pepper as well? But the berry taste was quite strong and I felt it was a great compliment to the open fire steaks we'd made with side salad (the dressing of the salad was homemade and mostly consisted of oil and vinegar) and believe it or not, balanced the wine out quite nicely.

As I said before, I do apologize to Craig we didn't leave him any of it to try but knowing his wine palette, he'd give this one a two thumbs up!