Wine & Cheese Tasting
November 23rd & 26th
Thursday 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM, Saturday 12 PM – 5:00 PM
Newton Chardonnay 2009
Origin:Napa and Sonoma California.
Varietal:100% Chardonnay from Napa (42%) and Sonoma (58%).
Tasting Notes: Enticing and delicate aromas of white nectarine and vanilla spice are intertwined with baked apple and caramel notes. The aromas carry through to the palate where they are accented by ripe melon and fresh pineapple flavors. The velvety mouthfeel of this well-balanced Chardonnay persists throughout the lingering and refreshing citrus finish.
Food Pairing:The lush and approachable flavors of this balanced wine make it a versatile, food-friendly choice. Winemaker Chris Millard suggests pairing with baked halibut, roasted poultry or a savory pecan tart. International Wine Cellar - "Yellow-gold. Spiced apple and pear on the nose, lifted by lemon zest and flowers. Supple, sweet and easygoing, with moderately concentrated flavors of apricot, pear and vanillin oak. Nicely fresh and intense, with ripe acidity and a slight warmth on the back end."
Victor Hugo Les Mis Rose 2010
Origin: Paso Robles, California
Varietal: 70% Syrah and 30% Malbec
Tasting Notes: The wine was aged on its lees passively for 5 months in seasoned French oak prior to bottling. This process produced a richer mouthfeel and allowed the wine to be bottled with minimal filtration. Only 175 cases produced. Fresh, very pure and really elegant, the nose brings out clean, delicate and engaging fragrances of freshly picked red fruits (wild strawberries, raspberries and blackberries). A full, tasty and smooth impact; the mouth reflects great continuity with the fruits unveiled by the nose, developing towards smooth and warm flavors (red fruit coulis, raspberry jelly).
Food Pairing: This rosé that is sure to delight many a palate.
Perfect for the summer and fall cookout season; it pairs well with chicken,
turkey, tuna, swordfish, lobster and most other seafood and
salads.
Manu Pinot Noir 2009 (Saturday Only)
Manu is the Maori word for both bird and kite, and the Manu logo is an interpretation of a ‘Te Manu Tukutuku’, a beautifully crafted Maori kite. This kite represents the hallmarks of Manu wines: craftsmanship, elegance, and the pure nature of New Zealand.
Origin: Marlborough, New Zealand
Varietal: 100% Pinot Noir
Tasting Notes: A soft approachable wine with moderate structure supporting bright red fruit characters of cherries and plums. The palate exudes warmth and ripeness with hints of smoky oak and chocolate. This wine has beautiful balance and excellent persistence of flavor. 92 points Gary Vaynerchuck; Best Buy/Top Tip/Consumer Choice “Enjoyed by judges and consumers alike.” - TiZWine.com, June 2010
Food Pairing: The bright fruit characters and hints of smoky oak make this wine an ideal match with almost anything from the barbecue. The wine is moderately structured so will be perfect with lunch as well as at dinner. Winemaker’s best match to date: slow roasted whole chicken in the Weber.
Moillard Les Violettes Cotes du Rhone 2009
Origin: Southern Rhone, Cotes du Rhone, France.
Varietal: 48 percent Syrah and48 percent Grenache, with 2 percent each of Mourvèdre and Cinsault
Tasting Notes: Clear, dark ruby with reddish-violet glints of plums and berries. Fresh and ripe, tart black-raspberry fruit with zippy acidity to make it a winner at the dinner table. Not overly complex, but it's a nicely balanced food wine, with solid alcohol at 13.5%.
Food Pairing: It pairs well with grilled beef, pork or poultry.
Chateau Lajarre Eleonore Bordeaux Superieur 2009
This is one of the Bordeaux’s from our recent Beef & Bordeaux Tasting.
Origin: Bordeaux, France
Varietal: 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon
Tasting Notes: The 2009 vintage is the third great vintage in Bordeaux of this decade. It is being compared to the 2000 and 2005 vintages. This beautiful wine—a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc is full bodied and supple with delicious fruit, light tannins and a smooth finish.
Food Pairing: Bordeaux and Lamb a classic pairing. This will also pair well with all red meats, game, rich pasta dishes, and hard cheeses.
Chateau Majoureau Hyppos Bordeaux Superieur 2009
This is one of the Bordeaux’s from our recent Beef & Bordeaux Tasting.
Origin: Bordeaux, France
Varietal: 55% Merlot and 45% Cabernet Franc from 40 to 50 year old vines.
Tasting Notes: This magnificently darkwinehas a strong, complex nose of blackfruit and vanilla with toasted notes accompanied by spice. This is a wine which is ample and rounded on the palate,rich, supple and fruity. It is well balanced with a long finish.
Food Pairing: Grilled meat, truffle or mushroom-based dishes, game, cold cuts, meat with gravy, red meat, white meat, grilled fish or seafood, goat cheese, strong cheeses, and poultry.
Manifesto Lodi Zinfandel 2009 (Thursday Night only)
Origin: Lodi, California. The Lodi AVA, part of the larger Central Valley wine region of California, is located directly east of San Francisco Bay, between the cities of Sacramento and Stockton.
Varietal: 100% Zinfandel
Tasting Notes: Ruby red in color. Nose full of red raspberry, bright cherry, blackberry, and plum with secondary aromas of orange peel, rose petal and Asian spice. Mouth full of ripe cherry, raspberry, blackberry, and stone fruit. Long finish with secondary flavors of blackberry pie and a hint of baker’s chocolate. “I spent seven vintages at Turley Wine Cellars working with thousands of tons of Zinfandel and ever since leaving, I’ve wanted to find a way to get one in the bottle under the Manifesto! label. I found some awesome, sustainably-farmed fruit in Lodi in 2009 and we are super stoked with our first release!” – Jamey Whetsone, winemaker. 14.7% Alcohol
Food Pairing: Foods to pair with Zinfandel include sausage, beef,
lamb, pork, spiced turkey and venison, either braised, grilled or roasted. The
lower tannin in this wine can accommodate some heat from chiles, so ribs with a
spicy barbecue sauce are considered almost a classic match. Zinfandel-friendly
cheese choices include aged Parmesan, Dry Monterey Jack and Manchego. Other
ingredients that enhance Zinfandel are tomatoes, eggplant, mushrooms and
olives.
Sans Liege “The Offering” 2009
This is a limited edition wine that will be gone before year end!!! The 2008 vintage made Wine Spectators Top 100 Wines of 2011. We believe this vintage is better than the 2008.
Origin: Santa Barbara, California
Varietal: 42% Grenache, 31% Syrah, 25% Mouvedre and 2% Viognier
Tasting Notes: Always complex and skewed towards the dark and earthen, this vintage of The Offering shows aromas of spicy charred sausage, blackberries, caramel bar, espresso roast, toasted hazelnuts and saddle leather. Additional flavors of raspberry coulis, warmed bay leaf, black licorice, chili powder and pink peppercorns join to make a complex wine, spanning the diversity of flavors from both the Northern and Southern Rhone Valley. Aged 22 months in barrels - 14% new oak, 23% second fill oak, 63% neutral oak; all French. Only 67 barrels made. Drink now through 2013.
Food Pairing: This is a great wine for the holiday. It should appeal to wine drinkers and novices alike . Try this as an accompaniment to grilled salmon, Turkey with gravy, pork roast or duck.