Prosecco and white wine with the Preakness

I am not much of a horse race fan. Maybe it is because I grew up in Texas where rodeo was big, but for horse racing you had to drive to Louisiana. But the Triple Crown is different. It has more than enough pageantry, funny hats, beautiful horses, beautiful women, and hoopla to keep me interested. To make things even more fun, the WineEnabler.com crew stopped by a local track (we have them in Texas now) and place a bet. It makes the race more interesting, and it also sparks quite a bit of trash talk, particularly if someone wins.

The other race day tradition we have is food and wine. I know that each horse race has its own traditional drink and food, but we prefer bubbles, white wine and seafood. We enjoyed a whole snapper from Austin’s Downtown Farmer’s Market, done in something of a Portuguese style, and shrimp with Spanish chorizo combined with a green salad, also provided by local farmers.

Now to the good part; for starters we had two bottles of bubbles Adami Garbèl Prosecco 13 ($14) and Jean Francois Merieau Bulles ($16), a Loire Valley Sparkler. We followed the European with sparklers with a 2007 Vouvray from Pichot, and a Rose from Cotes de Provence produced by Houchart ($11).

All of the wines we tried were showing well, and here are the notes from the WineEnabler.com crew:

• The Bulles offers a nose of yeast and wet stones with small bubbles, and not a lot of fruit. In the mouth there is plenty of bright green apples in a light bodied wine. This is a great value for the upcoming summer.

• Adami’s Prosecco 13 opens with sweet flowers, yeast, a little apple and lots more bubbles than the Bulles. In the mouth this is very light, ethereal wine with simple fruit and a friendly price.

• Jean-Claude Pichot 2007 Vouvray, Domaine Pichot, Chenin Blanc, is a semi-dry, fresh wine with floral notes, sweet pear, and peach. The Vouvary was excellent with the shrimp dish (that included chipotle, green onion, peach, onion, and avocado). This one needs food for balance.

• Finally, we tasted the 2009 Domaine Houchart Côtes de Provence Rosé ($11). This ’09 is a fleshy rosé with guts. The nose is sugared strawberries, water melon rind, and marzipan. In the mouth, the wine is mildly acidic with wonderful texture. This is an excellent value for a great summer wine.

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