Wine reviews, pairings, events, and getaways
Good Saturday morning! Here’s your list of the latest wine-related news I’ve been reading this past week. (Including one by yours truly.) There is a lot of good stuff here, so, once again, I hope this proves interesting, if not useful. Let me know your thoughts…
Anyone else ever feel like Nebbiolo is the grape that shouldn’t work. It’s so light in color, it’s practically see-through: a faint rouge hue with its rusty orange-y-brown aura that just hints that this wine isn’t what it appears to be: Firm in structure, full-bodied, and undeniably tannic, but balanced by an—at times—racey acidity. The classic aroma descriptor is “tar and violets,” as the wine typically includes scents and flavors of herbs, dried flowers, and the bitterness of a dark coffee. But one only has to taste the differing expressions coming from the Nebbiolo motherlands of Barolo, Barbaresco, as well as Asti and Alba to know that location and climate means everything to this grape.
Here is what California’s El Dorado County has to provide this dark beauty.
Besides the fact that this is a riff on probably the best Paul Simon song in existence, I wanted to highlight just another way the local wine community is coming together to support each other. The Wine Road is known for putting on awesome events showcasing the diversity that is the Sonoma wine region, now it’s become “the ‘one stop shop’ for links to virtual tastings, curbside delivery, as well as shipping and wine deals with wineries adding more tasting ideas and specials to the website daily.” The full press release with links is below. SIP Sonoma, save small businesses, and enjoy great wine. Cheers.
P.S. Bonus points if you can name all the masked wine marvels before the end credits.
I’m taking a brief detour from my tour of Panther Creek’s estate Pinot Noir vineyards. (If you haven’t followed along thus far, do take a look at these: Maverick, Kalita, and Lazy River. And don’t forget the oh-so-fun Pinot Noir-Chardonnay white wine blend. [know, right?]) No, today I’m featuring their estate Chardonnay—a Chardonnay actually worth drinking. I have a hard time with Chardonnay: it can be bland and boring, or completely unbalanced with all the winemaking things you can do to it. Ah, but here we have subtle simplicity holding hands with a solid structure. Drink it on its own, drink it with food, but either way drink and enjoy.
Good Saturday morning! Here’s your list of the latest wine-related news I’ve been reading this past week. Hope this proves interesting, if not useful. Let me know your thoughts…
