I remember when I was a young lad, okay I was more like 25 or 26 and the first thing I did when buying a bottle of wine was look for a cool label. Well this month’s choice of wine for Caps & Corks brings me back to the good ol’ days. With a label sporting a bicycle and a beautiful lady … now if that label doesn’t catch your eyes on the shelf, nothing will. Meet Cycles Gladiator wine.

So what is Cycles Gladiator and what is up with the label? Cycles Gladiator is a celebration of the freedom and happiness that pervaded the late 19th century following the invention of the bicycle. The golden age of cycling reached its pinnacle in 1895. That same year French painter G. Massias created one of the great Parisian art posters advertising a fashionable new bicycle or ‘le bicycle velocipede’. His famed artwork that once beautifully showcased the stylish ‘Cycles Gladiator’ now graces the bottles of several California Central Coast wines. His mythological image of the ‘winged bicycle’ captures the grace, beauty, and uniqueness of our hillside vineyards.

Now the Cycles Gladiator “family” consists of several wines, but for June we are concerned with the Chardonnay and the Pinot Grigio, two whites that could come in handy during our hot and humid mid-west days. Later in the year we will cover their reds.

Chardonnay
To start off with the Central Coast Chardonnay, the light straw colored, medium bodied white is presently light for a Chardonnay, which makes it an outstanding summer time wine. With fragrances of apple, melon rind, banana, some wildflowers and jasmine this wine provides enough depth to compliment its crisp, fresh “mouth-feel” and smooth, light finish.

In the past I have always finished a Chardonnay with a pucker on my face and my teeth feeling a little sugary, not the case here. The crisp, fresh, light finish is always welcome. This wine was a very pleasant surprise. If you are into sweeter wines then this might not be the right choice, perhaps the Pinot.

Vintage: 2006
Varietal: Chardonnay
Appellation: Central Coast
Acid: 0.56 g/100 mL
PH: 3.82
Alcohol %: 13.5

Wine Makers Notes (Chardonnay):
Harvested at night, this coastal climate Chardonnay is pressed from cool, firm grapes, which allow our winemakers to highlight the natural, fruit sweetness of the juice without incorporating bitter components that can come from softer-skinned fruit. Keeping the temperature controlled during fermentation allows extended development, which results in a brighter wine with richer fruit flavors. An accessible and dynamic wine, it will pair well with lighter fare such as a butter lettuce salad with grilled zucchini, asparagus and squash covered with crushed Brazil nuts, dried cranberries and crumbled feta or with a simple, satisfying entrée such as pasta primavera in an olive oil, butter or cream sauce.

Cycles Gladiator Pinot Grigio 2008
The 2008 Cycles Gladiator Pinot Grigio reminds me a lot of the Chardonnay in the way in which it appears in your glass and the way it feels on your pallet, just a little sweeter.

Like the Chardonnay it is a light straw colored wine and appealing to the senses, but with a lighter body. The nose of the wine gives off fruit and floral characteristics reminding me that summer is here. Once the glass is raised to the mouth it is all green apple … even the feeling that it leaves in your mouth. It paired great with several fruits – especially blue berries!

What the folks at Cyles Gladiator have to say (Pinot Grigio)
Complimented by an appealing light-straw color, the 2008 Cycles Gladiator Pinot Grigio releases lovely floral and tree-fruit aromas as poured. The nose leads to flavors reminiscent of pummelo fruit, combined with distinct notes of pear and green apple. The bouquet is extremely pleasant, tantalizing and complex. Hints of lychee fruit, along with bursts of mild sweetness, are apparent with the first sip. This smooth, silky and enjoyable wine provides a luxurious mouthfeel that leads to a consistent thread of balanced acidity.

Bright and clean, the Cycles Gladiator Pinot Grigio pairs expertly with angel hair pasta tossed with fresh basil, cherry tomatoes and chunks of parmesan. For a heartier meal, serve with grilled swordfish, brown rice and asparagus tips.

Vintage:2008
Wine Type:White Wine
Varietal:Pinot Grigio
Appellation:Central Coast
Acid:.56
PH:3.65
Alcohol %: 13.5

Overall
If you are having a party, both of these would be a great white to chill, and the label and name will be a conversation piece, since most of us reading this are athletes. With a price under $10.00 they would be easy to stock up on and you don’t feel bad cracking a bottle on a Tuesday night.

Cycles Gladiator also makes some very cool cycling jerseys with the same logos, so be sure to check those out on their site.

Avery Reverend Quadruple Belgium

In this month is another Belgium from our friends at Avery. The Reverend, was created in tribute to the life of Sales Mgr. Tom Boogaard's grandfather, an ordained Episcopal Reverend. Tom was inspired by the life of his grandfather and wanted to create a tribute beer that contained his sterling traits.

True to both our "small brewery, BIG BEERS" philosophy and to the spirit and character of the departed Reverend, this beer is strong willed, assertive, and pure of heart, a heart of candy sugar. It contains as many authentic imported Belgian specialty malts as the brewers could cram into our mash tun, and lots of Belgian dark candy sugar stirred into the brew kettle.

This very approachable quad is a great intro into Belgium Quads and other “big” beers. The “bomber” style bottle resembles a picture you might see on Sunday morning, not one on the front of a rather large bottle of beer.

Very fine head that dissipated almost a quickly as I could pour the beer with no lacing left behind. Once poured, the Avery had a very pronounced aroma of maybe dark cherries, molasses/ caramel, spices, maybe a hint of vanilla and some “booze”. In the glass, the Reverend is a deep copper, high clarity that contrast the light cream-colored head.

I found it very pleasant to the palate and the nose and very enjoyable. Very lightly carbonated giving the beer an almost velvety texture that despite the slight pronounced alcohol smell and taste was incredibly smooth. The mouth feel was pretty thin, and did not leave an after taste or anything in your mouth and the “boozy” taste did not stick around. Almost a refreshing “Cola” finish.

I read one review that said “Just enough astringency from the alcohol to keep the sweet malt from coating my tongue.”

The Medium body of this beer is what really made it for me. Some Belgium’s can be yeasty, funky or have a lot of hops and malt. That is not the case here, the malty flavor in the beer is mild and not over whelming and we did not really experience and major yeast, funk and such.

Overall a pretty good beer, if you are new to the world of “bigger” Belgium beers such as triples or quads, or ones with slightly higher alcohol content this is a great beer to start with, the lighter mouth feel makes it easy to drink for beginners, but has enough to the “seasoned” veteran.

Would I buy this beer again … definitely! It would be a great beer to keep around for guest or be greedy or to sit down and drink yourself :)

Notes from Avery Brewery
Beer Style: Belgian Quadrupel Ale
Hop Variety: Styrian Goldings
Malt Variety: Two-row barley, cara 8, cara 20, caramel 15L, caramel 40L, Belgian special B
OG: 1.093 ABV: 10.0% IBUs: 10
Color: Tawny (According to Wikipedia - Tawny is a pale orange-brown colour)
Availability: Year round in 22oz. bombers, 1/6BBL and 1/2BBL kegs.