Tag: food and wine pairing

Panther Creek 2016 Lazy River Vineyard Pinot Noir

Another Panther Creek Pinot Noir? Yes please. Because each vineyard is remarkably different. Here’s what the Lazy River Vineyard has to say. (Hint: It’s not lazy with flavor or texture…)

About the Wine: The Panther Creek 2016 Lazy River Vineyard Pinot Noir is made from 100% Pinot Noir grapes harvested from Lazy River Vineyards, located in the Eloa-Amity Hills AVA, located in the greater Willamette AVA in Oregon.

14.2% ABV

Flavor Profile: Open the bottle of the Panther Creek 2016 Lazy River Vineyard Pinot Noir, and breathe in fresh damp soil, herbs like basil, a bit of damp oak wood bark, hints of chocolate, and boysenberries — fully plump, ripe, with their vegetation attached, fallen to the ground, mushed into that fertile earth.

This Pinot Noir is very royal in its maroon-shade. Like velvet — the velvet cape that belongs on a queen. In the glass: Yes, deep, rich maroon, fading out to a light rouge color, but the wine is penetrable from core to perimeter.

Initial aromas are of rich bush berries: raspberries, blackberries, boysenberries, wild strawberries, and you can already sense the acidity that means these berries are fresh and fully alive. Swirl and release some of that herbaceousness — perhaps a bit of eucalyptus or spearmint (not so much basil as before). If you dive deep you can find some of those more decadent, richer notes, like cacao, maybe some vanilla, and just a dash of cinnamon. But the brightness of the fruits are definitely the dominant trait.

The palate is soft, yet textural, with a touch of tannins just gently tickling the tongue and an acidity that truly drives the force of this wine. Dominant flavors are certainly of those fresh bush berries: blackberries, boysenberries, even those wild strawberries. I would add here a bit of just under-ripe red plum as well — that tartness, sourness that comes with the vibrancy of the young fruit. Let the wine linger and you can taste a kiss of oak and, again, those kind of eucalyptus-like sensations come through. The finish is a long one, as the tongue continues to tingle, yet those tannins add a solidity, a finality as they, too, coat the tongue, yet do so with a grace and an elegance that is neither cloying nor drying. It is, instead, intriguing and invites another sip.

Food Pairing: I paired the Panther Creek 2016 Lazy River Vineyard Pinot Noir with, well, a pizza. As we know, my theory is that you can’t go wrong with a pizza and Pinot pairing. One of the reasons I like to do this is also because it levels the playing field, especially when comparing multiple vineyards from the same producer, to have a common comparison. Also, pizza has a bit of every food group attached to it, encompassing a well-rounded variety of flavors and textures.

So what I learned from this pairing is that the Pinot Noir from Lazy River Vineyard, with its dual vibrant acidity and confident tannins structure is that it is best paired with something that is creamy (maybe cheesy) with some earthiness attached to it. Were I to cater a meal specific to this wine, I would go with a mushroom and truffle risotto, seasoned with fresh thyme and rosemary. Yes, indeed.

More Info: I received the Panther Creek 2016 Lazy River Vineyard Pinot Noir. (Cheers Madelaine!) Price: $45. For more information about Panther Creek, their wines, and to purchase wine directly, please visit the Panther Creek Cellars website.


BriscoeBites officially accepts samples as well as conducts on-site and online interviews. Want to have your wine, winery or tasting room featured? Please visit the Sample Policy page where you can contact me directly. Cheers!

**Please note: all reviews and opinions are my own and are not associated with any of my places of business. I will always state when a wine has been sent as a sample for review. Sending samples for review on my personal website in no way guarantees coverage in any other media outlet I may be currently associated with.**

Passaggio Wines 2018 Unoaked Chardonnay

I think I mentioned before I’m becoming super picky with my Chardonnays. I can’t take them over-worked (over-oaked, too much ML, etc.) — let’s taste the fruit! One way to do that is to ferment and age the wine in stainless steel. Fresh, crisp, yet still a good balance of body…Cindy, girl, you did it again…

About the Wine: The Passaggio Wines 2018 Unoaked Chardonnay is made from 100% Chardonnay grapes harvested from the Namesake Vineyards located in Sonoma County’s Los Carneros AVA. The wine was, as mentioned, aged in 100% stainless steel tanks.

Flavor Profile: Warm, round comforting scents immediately as the wine is poured from bottle to glass. The Chardonnay emits a solid golden yellow in the glass, reminiscent of a classic Chardonnay — which this absolutely is not. Initial aromas are of yellow apples, apple blossoms, a hint of pollen and an almost pastry like decadence. But the palate could not be more different. Zing! with lemon-lime zest hit the tongue straight-away; a confident acidity rides evenly from start to finish; that “pastry” sensed on the nose becomes a mere background element, revealing itself in a more toasty than buttery flavor. Dominant flavors are of green apple and pear, white peach, perhaps a hint of apricot, and an over-riding floral perfume that both complements the fruit and elevates the delicacy of this uniquely refreshing Chardonnay.

Food Pairing: I loved that I was able to enjoy this Chardonnay over the course of a few days, pairing it with a ricotta cheese ravioli tossed with veggies and cream sauce as well as an Indian-style wrap and salad. Better yet, I enjoyed this wine during the work week. Unpretentious, unassuming, it’s peppy with flavors that act like the light at the end of a work-day tunnel, but light enough that you don’t feel weighed down or guilty for sipping it knowing you have to get up the next morning.

I also have to point out here that I love that Cindy’s white wines all come with screwcaps. It makes them a) much more inviting to open on a “I just feel like it” kind of basis and 2) [I think] makes the wine easier to preserve and thus enjoy over the course of a few days, as I’ve done with all of her recent white (and rosé) releases.

More Info: I received this bottle as a gift. (Cheers, Cindy!) Price: $36. For more information about Cindy, her wines, and to purchase wine directly (and stalk for the latest releases) please visit the Passaggio Wines website.


BriscoeBites officially accepts samples as well as conducts on-site and online interviews. Want to have your wine, winery or tasting room featured? Please visit the Sample Policy page where you can contact me directly. Cheers!

**Please note: all reviews and opinions are my own and are not associated with any of my places of business. I will always state when a wine has been sent as a sample for review. Sending samples for review on my personal website in no way guarantees coverage in any other media outlet I may be currently associated with.**