First we started with a sparkling wine from California, Piper Sonoma Brut Select Cuvée NV (retail $18).
Piper Sonoma is a sister company to the Piper-Heidsieck winery based out of Reims, France. Piper Sonoma prides itself in making quality California sparkling wine in a traditional méthode champenoise style. This sparkler is a blend of Pinot Noir, Pinot Menuier, and Chardonnay. Light, almost clear in color with predominantly grapefruit, bready, and lightly creamy accents in the nose. Sharp and slightly acidic leading to a dry clean finish. Try pairing this wine with roast pheasants served with saurkraut and potato pancakes. For more information on Piper-Heidsieck check out their website at: www.piper-heidsieck.comThe second wine in the taste was Beringer Alluvium Blanc 2004 (retail $18).
This wine originating from Beringers Knights Valley Vineyard is a classic example of a Napa Valley rendition of a Bordeaux blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon. Deeply floral with light oak and apple tones in the nose compliment a fruity and creamy mid-palate leading to a smooth finish of mown hay and lemon peel with a touch of white pepper. Drink this wine with a swiss chard and arugala salad drizzled with balsamic vinnaigrette and a fresh goat cheese, sundried tomato, and olive oil focaccia bread. Please check out more about Beringer at: www.beringer.comFor our third wine we tried Trinchero Vista Montone Chardonnay 2005 (retail $15).
This unfiltered wine was not a crowd favorite at the Flight Night, however, I disagree with the masses on this one. I felt this light gold bold wine had the right balance of fruit and acid making it a easy match for food pairing. The nose had a nice bouquet of bright apricot, carnation, and tangerine with a hint of deisel in this 14.5% ABV beauty. This wine was light and friuty upfront with heavy citrus flavors in the mid-palate leading to a long creamy finish. Try pairing this big Chardonnay with poached salmon topped with hollendaise sauce and served with snap peas and garlic mashed potatoes. So far I have yet to be dissapointed by any of the wines produced by Trinchero which leads me to my next wine: As I had mentioned in one of my earlier posts (Childrens Hospital Fundraiser Post) Trinchero Main Street Cabernet Sauvignon 2002 (retail $25) and Trinchero Chicken Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 are sister wines. In fact so sisterly they practically come from the same vineyard.
Their differences are so subtle they are unmentionable. Main Street is a classic fruit-forward full-bodied Cabenet Sauvignon with a heavy palate that proves to be spicy and complex, balenced with a long spicy oaked finish. As I mentioned before, the Main Street Cabernet (and the Chicken Ranch) is one of the most elegant Cabernet Sauvignon's I've drank recently and certainly can hold up against any other wine in that price point. Drink this wine with a T-bone steak topped with onion fritters and served with a spicy cole slaw and rosemary roasted baby red potatoes. Check out their website at: www.trincherowinery.com
The final wine we tasted Thursday night was Montevina Amador Zinfindel 2002 (retail $18). Amador County is riddled with old goldmines, ghostowns, and of course, wineries that were sprung up by the Italians that took part in the great American gold rush. This fun Zinfindel is deep ruby in color with black cherry, cocoa, currant, and a hint of pommegranite in the nose. A subtle yet fruity body leads to a deep structured mid-palate finishing sharp and slightly tangy. Try this wine with a Chorizo and lamb stew served with vegetable corn bread. For more information on this winery please check out their cool flash based website at: www.montevina.comThanks again for sticking with this blog through the lack of recent updates. While I try to make time for this every week, sometimes I just fall short. I'd love to hear some comments or suggestions on how to make this blog better for everyone so please comment if you can. I'll see you next week and remember to keep an open mind and an open eye.
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