Drink Wine, Donate To Charity
For the past month, we had been seeing signs posted all over town advertising Sparrow’s 12th Annual Wine Tasting event, so we decided to check it out. The event was held this past Thursday night from 6:30 to 10:00pm at the Hyatt in Jersey City. Tickets were $65 each and all proceeds went to support HIV/AIDS programs at the Hoboken University Medical Center, so we could drink as much as we wanted without feeling guilty about it.
I’ve been to many tastings for wine, beer, and scotch, but I must say this event was one of the best I’ve attended. The Hyatt ballroom was jam-packed with over 60 tables, each one featuring anywhere from 5 to 15 wines to taste. With over 400 wines total, it was impossible to try more than a fraction of what was offered, but it was an incredibly educational and fun experience. There were wines from every imaginable region of the world–not only the usual suspects such as France, Italy, USA, Australi
a, Spain, Chili, and Germany, but also some areas less frequently associated with wine, such as South Africa, Brazil, Portugal, and Greece.
My taste for wine was acquired in college, when I spent five months living in Melbourne, Australia. As a result, I’ve developed a particular affinity for the heavy, full red wines, such as Shiraz, which is popular “down under”. I also enjoy a full-bodied Cabernet and a medium to full Merlot.
Of course, I kept notes in the little program booklet on each wine I tasted. My favorite red wines at the event included: J. Lohr Seven Oaks Cabernet Paso Robles 2005, Blackstone Cabernet and Syrah, Lindemans Shiraz, Columbia Crest Grand Estates Merlot, Laura Hartwig Cabernet Sauvignon 2004, Kilikanoon Shiraz “Killerman’s Run” 2005, Penfolds Bin 28 Shiraz 2004, GV Cellars Merlot and Cabernet (both 2004), and Marion Cab Sauvignon 2001. All can be purchased on Sparrow Wine and Liquor’s website…and they even deliver!
As for white wines, I like them dry with a bit of tanginess, such as the Sauvignon Blanc’s found in Australia and New Zealand. I’m not a fan of Chardonnay’s in general, they are usually too “buttery” and not dry enough for me, but once in a while I come across one that fits my tastes.
My favorite white wines at the event were limited because I focused mostly on reds, but I particularly liked Mulderbosch Sauvignon Blanc 2006, Ferrari Carano Fume Blanc 2006, and J. Lohr Riverstone Chardonnay 2006.
The event wasn’t only about wine, though. There were also over 15 local restaurants, mostly from Hoboken and Jersey City, each serving up samples of their food. And the food was all included–just grab a plate and eat as much as you want.
Sushi Lounge continuously put out tray after tray of fresh sushi, and it was no wonder their table was constantly crowded–I went back twice myself. Margheritas served up some delicious lobster ravioli in a tomato cream sauce. We also enjoyed the mushroom ravioli in cream sauce served by Porto Leggero.
I never knew there were so many ways to serve plantains–several restaurants such as La Isla, Creative Food, and Cucharamama all incorporated plantains in their dishes, and all were pretty good.
We stayed away from the Charrito’s table, only because we had eaten there the night before.
The spinach dip served by Mikie Squared was unimpressive–it looked like green slime and, much like the other food I’ve had from there, it lacked flavor. Their corn and crab chowder was pretty good though.
The longest food line was for the mini burgers being served by Edward’s Steak House. Though tempted, I wasn’t about to wait in such a long line when there was plenty of other great food and wine waiting to be tasted.
There were also tables featuring scotch, vodka, gin, cognac, beer, and tequila. Samuel Adams had a table, as did Brooklyn Brewery, and a host of other microbreweries and craft beers. There was even a sake table–we tasted five different types of sake, and we were surprised at how different the five flavors were.
And in case you were wondering, Lindemans had a table there, so Ashley was able to get some of her favorite, Framboise Lambic. Only this time the guy working the table suggested that we mix it with some chocolate stout from an adjacent table. The blending of the dark stout with the sweet raspberry lambic made for quite a dessert-type treat.
We didn’t get to bring home wine glasses from the event, but after drinking that much wine in one night, we probably won’t want to even look at a wine glass for quite some time.
Hoboken411 posted some good photos from the event if you want to check them out.
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