All posts tagged: Featured Wine

Alto Vineyards Vidal Blanc

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In what seems like a lifetime ago, I lived briefly in Central Illinois. Having come from Los Angeles, CA, I was a a bit out of my comfort zone. Then I found out there was a tasting room for Alto Vineyards, an Illinois winery, two miles from my home. Of course, I went as soon as I could.⁣⁣It may have only been two miles, but it seemed worlds away from the town I lived in (video below). When I arrived, there was one other customer, who didn’t stay long. ⁣⁣Left alone with the tasting room manager, she and I spent the better part of two hours chatting about wine and tasting! I was impressed…well, mostly. I’ll admit, the Concord Grape wine (that I refer to as alcoholic grape juice) was not for me, but the other white wines were delicious! Refreshing and beautifully voluptuous, they easily went down with or without food. ⁣⁣Last night I opened the Vidal Blanc and devoured it with a lemon spatchcock chicken. It was perfect with round, tropical fruit notes …

Cline Cellars – 2011 Live Oak Zinfandel

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I’m finding this time in quarantine to be a wonderful time to drink those wines I’ve been holding on to. This week I finally opened up a 2011 Cline Cellars Live Oak Zinfandel from Contra Costa County. I love Cline wines and I love what they do. They practice their own sustainable farming they have named “The Green String Method.” With minimal human intervention, they use sheep and goats to clear the weeds from the vineyard and cover crops to feed the soil. They reuse all organic waste and compost it, then introduce it into the vineyard through the drip irrigation system. Volcanic rock is crushed to add minerals to the earth and owls are used for pest control. Furthermore, 100% of the energy used on the farm is solar. These sustainable practices are not only good for the environment, but the wines are also absolutely fantastic! I used to belong to the wine club because I love every one of their wines and their winemaking style. Big, bold, delicious! The 2011 Live Oak Zinfandel …

Featured Wine of the Week – Solminer 2018 “Rubellite”

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Happy New Year and welcome to our first Featured Wine of the Week for 2020! Today we’re drinking a wine from Sominer called “Rubellite.” This wine is 72% Syrah, 27% Grenache, and 1% Riesling. It’s from Santa Ynez Valley in California. If you’ve been following me, you know this is my type of wine. I love wines from this region, and especially Syrahs. So, let’s dive in! Solminer is a labor of love between a husband and wife team. They were Certified Organic in 2014 and Demeter Certified Biodynamic in 2018. Their focus is on natural wines. They use chickens, donkeys, sheep, bees, fruit trees, native plants, compost, and herb teas(!) to encourage the health of the vineyard. The most notable varietals they planted were the Austrian Grüner Veltliner and Blaufränkisch, which have flourished. Solminer even makes a skin contact “orange” Grüner! The Rubellite Syrah/Grenache blend we’re drinking today is described as “an experiment gone incredibly well.” It was fermented with natural yeast and spent seven months in neutral French oak. It is unfined and …

Featured Wine of the Week – Left Coast Wines Chardonnay

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It’s Wine Wednesday, and it’s the season to drink white wine!  I had the opportunity to drink and share 2017 Left Coast Estate Truffle Hill Chardonnay last week with two of my closest girlfriends. It was a balmy Southern California evening, and this was the perfect wine for such a night.  We dined poolside, where we caught up and told the type of stories that only close friends relate to each other. We laughed a lot and simply enjoyed the evening. Without further ado, here are the details: Description: Left Coast Estate Truffle Hill Chardonnay 2017 13% Alcohol Rickreall, Oregon, USA Willamette Valley   Tasting Notes:   This Chardonnay welcomes with a deep golden hue and gorgeous aromas of butterscotch, papaya, and elderflower.  Tropical fruit flavors of pineapple, lychee, and papaya are layered with creamy vanilla and poached pear.  There is bright acidity and a luscious, silky mouthfeel.  All in all, this is a delicious wine that is a great complement to any outdoor summer eating.   Estate Information:  Left Coast Wines prides themselves on being environmentally …

Featured Wine of the Week – White Pinot Noir

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One day I was scrolling through my Instagram feed, when I stumbled onto a review of a White Pinot Noir.  I paused and read through it.  A White Pinot Noir?  I pondered it and wondered if it was in the style of White Zinfandel.  If it was, I was not interested.  But if it wasn’t…well, if it wasn’t, this would be a very unique wine! I’ve noticed a trend lately of taking traditionally red varietals and making them into white wines.  To create these wines the winemakers need to ensure minimal contact with the color giving skins of the grapes.  In the case of the White Pinot Noir I tasted from Left Coast Estate, careful attention was taken by fermenting the grapes in stainless steel at a cool temperature.  No oak was used.  This produced a Pinot Noir that is very clean and is, in fact, a white wine. Left Coast Estate’s White Pinot Noir was created when the overcast and chilly “Bummer Summer” of 2011 produced slightly unripe grapes.  On the bottle they say, …

Featured Wine (Glasses) of the Week

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Let’s talk about wine glasses. I have a coworker who loves to drink wine out of a small water glass because it makes her feel like she’s in Europe.  I understand – for me, wine is all about the experience.  A big part of that is how it makes me feel.  However, a water glass is restricting the full experience of the wine.  Don’t believe me?  Try drinking wine from a water glass and then try drinking from a wine glass.  You will notice a difference. Wine glasses are shaped in a way to help deliver the aromas of the wine.  They are also designed so you can swirl the wine to release the fragrance.  It doesn’t matter if the wine glass is stemless or has a stem.  It is the shape of the vessel that is important. I recently got to try some beautiful red wine titanium crystal glasses from ROD Wine Co.  First of all, I will admit, I am completely enamored by the shape of these glasses.  They are curvy and sexy.  …

Featured Wine of the Week

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I had the most extraordinary experience over the weekend by visiting a tasting room I had walked by time and time again. This time, I went in. I’m so glad I did! I discovered a beautiful space with some succulent wines. I’m going to feature a few wines from Urban Press Winery over the next few posts. They were too good to feature just one! 📚Details: 2013 Urban Press Cabernet Sauvignon Moon Mountain District Sonoma, California Red Wine 🍷Tasting Notes: Deep garnet in color, this silky Cabernet Sauvignon has aromas of ripe cherries and red fruits. On the palate it has a smooth, long finish with medium tannins and good acidity. The red fruits are present along with hints of cinnamon and cloves. There is a touch of menthol and pepper.

Featured Wine of the Week

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It’s #WineWednesday again!  I’ve been seeing Australian wines and vines all throughout my social media feeds.  It makes sense – this time of year is the end of their harvest season.  Here in California, we’re experiencing the opposite vine cycle, bud break, where all of the vines beginning to wake up from their winter slumber.  In Australia, grapes are being plucked and are in their beginning phases of wine.  So, it seems appropriate to feature an Australian wine today. Details: Yalumba “The Y Series” Shiraz Viognier 2015 96% Shiraz, 4% Viognier 13.5% Alcohol South Australia Red Wine   Tasting Notes: I couldn’t wait to taste this wine after I found it.  With the addition of the Viognier (a white wine varietal) to the Shiraz, I expected it to have some roundness.  Strangely enough, the place I noticed the Viognier the most was in its aroma.  It smelled earthy with a touch of vanilla and lilac.  The wine was a beautiful deep ruby color in the glass and tasted of berries with a dusting of pepper …

Featured Wine of the Week

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Happy Wine Wednesday! I’ve been tasting a lot of delicious wines lately. Banfi Rosa Regale was a lost favorite. I used to drink this for dessert at one of my favorite Italian restaurants. The restaurant closed a few years ago, and with it went my tradition. I was happy to rediscover this wine at my local BevMo. Details: Banfi Rosa Regale 2018 100% Brachetto Alcohol: 7% Piedmont, Italy Sparkling Red Wine Tasting Notes: This gorgeous wine is ruby colored in the glass with aromas of roses. This sweet, sparkling wine delights the tongue with its effervescence and flavors of raspberries, rose petals and just a hint of earthiness. It would pair well with chocolate and fattier meats like lamb or pork. Trivia: According to legend, both Julius Caesar and Marc Anthony gifted Cleopatra with Brachetto. She had them drink it to “unleash their passions.” Cheers!