Tag: red wine

Telaya Wines 2016 Mourvedre

I was introduced to Telaya when I was at an Idaho wine tasting at the El Dorado Kitchen in Sonoma, California. Yes, you heard me right. Idaho. I wasn’t as skeptical as you’d think. In fact, I was mostly just intrigued to taste from a region I’d never tasted from before.

You can learned more about what I learned at that event in this article. But, on a more personal than professional note, I have to say that my favorite wine of that day was the Telaya Wines 2016 Turas. The representatives of Visit Idaho who were also present at the tasting, were kind enough to send us away with a small bag packed with “a taste of Idaho,” if you will. And I was pleased to see that it included Telaya Wines varietal Mourvedre. This is that wine…

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Panther Creek Cellars 2016 De Ponte Vineyard Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir from Willamette is old news now. I know. And yet when you’re craving that stylearoma, flavor, texture—there really is nothing else like it. I’m not saying it’s better than RRV or Mendo, just different. And when you can get the distinction across several different single-vineyards, so much the better to explore the terroir of the Willamette via wine. Over the next few weeks I’ll be featuring various single-vineyard offerings from Panther Creek. (Please check out the previously reviewed 2015 Kalita Vineyard Pinot Noir). Today, we visit De Ponte Vineyard in Willamette Valley’s Dundee Hills…

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Alta Colina 2009 Mourvedre

As you can tell by the look of the label, this wine has been a long-time member of my personal stash — a souvenir, if you will, from a somewhat impromptu pass through Paso Robles. When I ran into Maggie Tillman, the awesome chica who co-owns the winery with her father Bob, at a recent conference, she was so sweet to still remember me. I told her I still had the wine, that it was so special to me. She advised drinking it soon — her and Bob had recently opened one and it was just at the peak of its awesomeness. “Ah, well, I kind of want to save it for a special occasion,” I said. “Yeah, or a Tuesday,” replied Maggie. “When you’ve just had a day and need a goooood glass of wine.”

Yeah, life has been a roller-coaster lately. And Maggie was right. It wasn’t the day, the time, or the place that was of import. It was that I was able to chill-ax with my partner in wine (and life) crime and enjoy a solid Mourvedre, a delicious meal and, at least for a moment, forget about the twist and turns to come.

Thanks, Maggie. You be a wiiiiiise woman.

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