We started this taste with a bubbly from Domaine Chandon.
This California sparkler is one among a few of the entry level sparkling wines offered by the sister company to Moët & Chandon. Domain Chandon boasts not only being the first French owned attempt to sparkling wine in the U.S. but has gone though great strides to promote sparkling white as an everyday table wine instead of a dessert or special occasion option. Their restaurant offers wine pairings for all their menu items. The Chandon Rose NV (retail $20) is composed of Pinot Noir from their Carneros vineyard. This light pink bubbly contains strong strawberry tones with a hint of citrus and honey. The light and refreshing sparkler offers suggestions of ripe cranberry & apricot. Try pairing this wine with a grilled chicken cobb salad with warm goat cheese, beets, and candied walnuts drizzled with a lemon peppercorn vinaigrette. For more information on Domaine Chandon or their restaurant check out their website at: www.chandon.com.
We followed our sparkling selection with a wine from the upper Northwest. Snoqualmi "Naked" Reisling 2005 (retail $18) is produced in Columbia Valley, Washington. This 100% organic "au naturel" wine is a classic example of what the ripe riesling grape is like straight off the vine exhibiting a deep gold complexion with heavy straw scents in the nose. The naked riesling is semi-sweet and surprisingly fruity with indications of navel and apricot leading to a long dry finish. Try pairing this wine with a buffalo mozzarella and tomato salad served with a lentil and spicy eggplant relish and fresh basil with a balsamic dressing. For more information on Snoqualmie Winery check out their website at: www.snoqualmie.com.The next two wines we presented are a new project for the Francis Ford Coppola Winery.
The Coppola Winery has purchased a new unnamed wine making facility near Alexander Valley formerly occupied by Chateau Sovrain. Much like the Coppola Diamond Collection wines, the Directors Cut Series of wine offers quality wine at an affordable price. The Coppola Directors Cut Chardonnay 2005 (retail $18) draws its fruit from the Russian River Valley renowned for its cool-climate grape varietals like Chardonnay. This wine exhibits pineapple and peach with a hint of honey in the nose. Lush grapefruit and citrus upfront flavors are followed by a long finish of oak, hay, and a hint of white pepper. Try pairing this wine with seared sea scallops with prawn ravioli, salmon roe & cauliflower puree.Coppola makes an attempt in this new line of wines to connect his interests of film making and wine making by playing with the idea of the directors cut.
As I'm sure many of you know a directors cut of a movie is the film makers most ideal presentation of his creation indicating that this wine is the most ideal presentation of his wine. Coppola also created dynamic labels that mimic zoetropes (a visual illusion that creates motion in a series of pictures). The Coppola Directors Cut Zinfindel 2005 (retail $18) pulls its fruit from Dry Creek Valley producing a sensational red Zinfindel with lots of character and poise. Almost purple in color, the nose explodes with berry and cassis offering a hint of tobbaco and tar. Deep berry tones lead to a long rounded oaky finish with a hint of black pepper on the outro. It was a pleasure to drink from start to finish. Try pairing this wine with beef tenderloin served atop creamed potatoes and covered with a caramelized shallot sauce or a hazelnut & chocolate torte with honey ice cream & a honeycomb.Although the website didn't have any information on this new aquisition check out Coppola's winery at: www.ffcwinery.com.For our last wine I revisited the Penfolds Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz 2003 on account of my recent facination with Shiraz and Syrah. For those of you who don't know, Penfolds is one of Australia's oldest wineries in the South Australia (along with Lindeman's).
It was founded by Dr. Christopher Rawson Penfold in 1845. He had originally started his winery for a supply of wine that he prescribed to his patients. Over the years Penfold's has been a name that is associated with quality wine. His infamous Grange wine has recieved awards and sells for around the $160 range. However, the wine I was drinking is in the Bin portfolio. This is their middle-of-the-road series of wines (the big seller being the Cab/Shiraz blend Bin 389) retailing around $20. Bin 28 is named after the famous Barossa Valley Kalimna vineyard purchased by Penfolds in 1945 and from which the wine was originally sourced. Today, Bin 28 is a multi-region, multi-vineyard blend, with the Barossa Valley always well represented, providing over 45% of the fruit for this vintage. Bin 28 is 100% shiraz exhibiting a big earthy nose with berry & cassis. With a robust full-bodied mouth it's fruity and sweet in the mid-palate with a long rounded semi-dry finish. Try this wine with shrimp kebobs and long grained wild rice or an Italian antipasto salad. For more information on this winery and their products click this link: www.penfolds.com.au.John and I have been busy coming up with new promotions at the Wine Down and would like to thank all of you who have been supportive of our efforts. Keep checking this blog for new and upcoming events and promotions. The next post will be a review of our first Winemaker Wednesdays Series featuring the winemaker Benoit Laville from Chateau Laville in Bordeaux, France. I'll see you next week and remember to keep an open eye and an open mind.
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