Archive for the ‘Wine Pairing’ Category

I brought a bottle of stepping stone to a party and people couldn't believe the great taste of this wine !! This wine is one of my favorites !! and is definitely a crowd pleaser !!

The 2007 Cabernet Franc Stepping Stone Vineyard exhibits subtle tobacco leaf notes intermixed with blue and red fruits along with medium body, rich fruit, good acidity, and a hint of white chocolate. The wood component is much more restrained than in some of its siblings.

For eighteen vintages Cornerstone Cellars has been crafting classic, collectable Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. We produce two distinctive Cabernets, our signature single vineyard Howell Mountain and our Napa Valley, which is created by intertwining the personalities of four outstanding vineyards. More than two thirds of our cabernet sauvignon vineyards are certified organic. Both of our Cabernets reflect the character of our vineyards and will age beautifully. Our Cornerstone Cabernet is complimented by our Cornerstone Cellars Sauvignon Blanc, from dry-farmed old vines in St. Helena.

Focus on the Vines

It can not be overstated that great wine is made in the vineyard. That’s why you’re just as likely to find our winemaker Jeff Keene, and consulting winemaker Peter Franus, among the vines as among the barrels. In each vineyard we work with master viticulturists, each with decades (even generations) of Napa Valley experience, to produce the finest fruit possible every vintage. It is then our goal to bring the pure character of each vineyard to life in our wines.

Two thirds of the fruit we harvest is from organically certified vineyards, and we are working to increase that percentage. This is not only out of a commitment to the environment, but because we believe it ultimately produces better grapes. Harvesting is done by hand on a block-by-block basis, and our harvest can stretch out over two months as each block ripens at its own pace. Each year our wines reflect the character of the vintage and so every year makes a one-of-a-kind wine, never to be exactly repeated. Our Cabernet Sauvignon is produced exclusively from Napa Valley vineyards.

About This Wine:

I have always loved the high-strung, aromatic Cabernet Franc wines of the Loire Valley like Chinon and felt the cool Carneros climate perfect for echoing some of those traits. Winemaker Jeff Keene has long experience working with Carneros fruit and his light touch shows in the blend of 90% Cabernet Franc and 10% Merlot that he selected for this wine.

We had the privilege to have Luca D'Attoma at the tasting bar of Station Plaza,Luca is a famous Italian enologist with 2 wines that score 100 Points (Perfect Wines). 

We tasted the latest Vintages from his own winery:

-Altrovino 2006.-A blend of Cabernet Franc and Merlot 50/50, only produced 40 barrels an small production wine, very aromatic, rich and powerful with a great balance of tannins and fruit.

-Duemani 2005.-An straight Cabernet Franc with a powerful aromas of licorice, Vanilla and Coffee that makes you feel you are drinking Merlot, very complex and concentrate, just 26 barrels produced.

-Suisassi 2005.- 100% Syrah only 10 barrels produced (3,000 bottles) a tiny production. Full bodied and aromatic wine that really shows a wonderful wine making, you can enjoy it now or for the next 5 years.

Certified 100% Organic and Biodynamic from Demeter

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSMHd0CEXAU

Trailblazing oenologist Luca d’Attoma is probably most well-known to readers for the wines he made at Tua Rita and the wines he continues to make at Le Macchiole, two of Bolgheri’s leading estates. In 2001 D’Attoma and his partner Elena Celli purchased several hectares of land in Riparbella, located in the northern reaches of Maremma. The seven hectares of hillside vineyards, which lie adjacent to Castello del Terriccio on their eastern border, are densely planted and farmed biodynamically. I have been following Duemani for several vintages and these are the first wines where the age of the vines and the winemaking philosophy have begun to yield significant results.

Salute,

Miguel

Swim against the flow.

Lightning glimpsed through water;

Sustain the species!

WOW! An impressive selection of wines that shows dedication, passion and love for the wine making at a great prices. The Headwaters 2005 just tasted by R. Parker few months ago, got a 95 point rating, in a week ‘SOLD OUT’ in New York.

So don’t miss the chance to try one or two:

-Coho Stanly Ranch Pinot Noir 2007

Elegant, with aromas of violet and vanilla while in your mouth develops plum and black cherry. This is a wine that will grow in your glass 90 Pts. SP

-Coho Russian River Valley Pinot Noir 2007

Only 357 cases were produced, this means it will sell out fast! 90 Pts SP

-Coho Summit Vine Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

A mouthful, medium-full dark and rich with well balanced fruit. 90 Pts. SP

-Coho Michael Black Vineyard Napa Valley Merlot 2005

This perhaps the best MERLOT ever, you will need another bottle around. 92 Pts SP

COHO Wines

Coho is the shared aspiration of Brooks Painter and Gary Lipp to produce flavorful, balanced wines. Grown in select cool-climate vineyards, Coho wines emphasize fruit purity and vitality. Our combined experience working for California wineries totals almost fifty years: both of us involved in all aspects of our craft, acquiring the skills to bottle our passion.

Our choice of Coho as the name of our brand might seem curious as it doesn't invoke images of vineyards or wine, but to us the salmon embodies an innate wisdom so essential to understanding ourselves and our environment. As stewards of the land winemakers must strive to sustain our habitat and the species that share it. And like the salmon we need the steadfast will to keep going no matter how difficult the journey.

This is the way to to enjoy a great lunch. Grab a few buddies, a 3 Liter bottle of Ilaria Cabernet

Sauvignon and head next door to the best resturant in Bronxville, Kraft Bistro.

This is an amazing Napa Cab! The bottle alone costs over $100 to be hand etched in gold.

This is what Robert Parker has to say about the wine:

Wine Advocate

The 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon (94% Cabernet Sauvignon and rest Petit Verdot) is a limited production cuvee offering a dense opaque purple color, beautiful black currant, charcoal, and smoky aromas, a gracious, elegant, well-balanced style, medium to full body, beautiful concentration, and an endearing texture and length. There is nothing out of place in this supple, already appealing Cabernet. It should last for 15+ years.

Score: 93. —Robert Parker, December 2009.
 

Where else can you get a 93 point wine for $64 big ones? The 3 Liter is $300 – but may not last. This lunch is becoming legondary, we're getting calls for an encore!!

Cheers,

Gumba Denny

My wine ratings are (OK, Liked it, Really Liked it, Loved it and OMG Amazing)   Lucky you, wine enthusiasts’ we just returned from tasting well over 300 wines in Bordeaux at a Grand Cru tasting. We found some real winners. Below is the schedule of events, I’ll follow it up with a play by play with vineyard and winemaker videos and photos. I’ll do one at a time so not to bombard you. If you want to jump ahead and watch the videos you can check out our Channel on YouTube, but the videos will not have the complete write up just yet. httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7tuLCusMF4

We landed in Paris and hit the town, having dinner at Roland Durand’s Passiflore, restaurantpassiflore.com and enjoyed a Rosé wine.   Roland came out to greet us and we asked for him to choose for us. The dinner rocked. One thing that stood out in Paris was a very small grocery store sort of like a bodega that had 15 Rose wines, that’s more than most wine shops in NY. People were enjoying Rose wine all over Paris. Then we worked our way over to Le Dokhan’s, which has the 1st Champagne bar in Paris. They specialize in small production Champagnes (Like

us ) We tried a small producer, Ynnick Doyard. (Liked it)

Then it was off to Bordeaux, landing Friday in what is now one of our favorite Cities in the World, right next to Firenze, Italy.  We signed up for a tour with the help of Refined Journeys in Bronxville and the first stop was a dinner at Peche where we tasted some great wines to start out the weekend. They opened the dinner w/ Amuse bouche (which are chefs choice appetizers that are not on the menu) And a Cremant de Bordeaux, Paulian (OK) Next was shellfish and Chateau La Brulleau, 2005 Pessac Leognan (Liked it) Then Foie gras… with a Chateau Le Bruilleau 2005 Pessac Leognan (Liked it) Next was filet of Beef at low temperature with veal juice… Served with Chateau Saint Pierre 2001, St. julien 2001 (Loved it) and Chateau Beau Sejour 2004, St. Emilion (Liked it).   Dessert was served with a Chateau Fayau 2005, Cadillac (sweet wine) (Loved it).   Saturday was the Grand Cru Tasting with over 300 wines.  We gave it a good shot and have some “must try” wines that we’ll share with you.

Saturday night was off tohttp://www.pichonlongueville.com/#/en/saisons/ Chateau Pichon Longueville in Paullac for a Chateau Tasting Dinner. They started with a, get this: 2001 Sautern from Sigalas Ribaud (Really Liked it) along with sweet and spicey bread with blue cheese. It was an amazing pairing, something I plan on doing soon. The wine line up was: 2007 Latour Martillac (OK) 2004 Chateau Petit Village (Liked it) 2001 Magnum of Ch Latour Martillac (Liked it) 1998 Troplong Mandot (Loved it) 2000 Ch Pichol Longueville in a Magnum (Loved it) Then they closed with a 1998 Chateau Saduiraut Sautern (Loved it) We got home from Pullac at 1:30 am after the feast. Sunday’s tour started at 9:30. It was off to 3 vineyards and a lunch at one. (Videos, photos and write ups to follow) Chin Chin Kevin

First thing first: roses are not always sweet. Sweet rose wines are more the exception than the rule. White zinfandel is a pink wine, also called blushed wine, but not a rose. Roses can go from pale pink to light red in color and can have more or less fruit on the palate.

There are two main ways to make a rose:

Roses de saignee are obtained by "bleeding the vats". The winemaker decides to open the vats early in the maceration to let the first juice out. This decision is made to produce a more tannic red and/or a rose de saignee.

Roses made by skin contact. The juice is in contact with the skins for few hours only. The method known as "blending" (mix white wine with red wine) is discouraged and not very common (except in Champagne, but even there winemakers don't use this method very often).

Roses containing white grape varietals are very rare!  Roses are easy to pair with all kind of food, being even more versatile than white wine or red wine. Light food (salad, seafood, chicken, etc.) calls for a light and crisp rose (Cotes de Provence, Anjou, Tavel, Chinon, etc.), while heavier food (steak, cheese, etc.) would pair perfectly with a darker, "fruitier" rose ("Il Mimo" for one, Italian rose made from Nebbiolo grape). More generally, roses pair very well with good company, sun, swimming pool, barbecue, etc.   Have fun and drink chilled roses all summer long!

Our Wine Specialist put together the following fantastic list of pairing recommendations just for you! We hope you enjoy it as much as we do. Cheers!

Aperitif
It’s always festive to start out with sparkling wine, especially when it comes to the holidays and special occasions.

Champagne
Nothing sets the tone better than Champagne. Champagne matches well with salty food but remember Champagne goes with almost anything so your dinner can have bubbly through the night and forget any other wines.

1. Heidsieck & Co MonopoleBlue Top Brut
2. Domaine Pierre Moncuit Brut Blanc de Blanc
3. Pierre Peters Champagne Cuvee
4. Gaston ChiquetBrut Tradition

Or ring in the New Year with a special bottle:

1. Moet & Chandon Dom Pérignon 1982
2. Piper HeidsieckRare 1999
3. Louis RoedererCristal Brut 2000

Or if you feel more International…
     1.  Juve y Camps Reserva de la Familia

     2.  Gianni Russo Prosecco

Fish and Shellfish
There are, so many choices talking about seafood (Type of fish, Kind of sauce, and whether it’s grilled, sautéed, broiled, or steamed). Champagne either Brut, Blanc de Blancs, or Rosé, goes well with most fishes. But we have some wines for you to consider.

Þ Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé
These Sauvignon Blanc from the Loire Valley in France generally Light, crisp, herbal, flinty and mineral.
¨

1. Domaine A. Cailbourdin Pouilly Fume Cuvee de Boisfleury 2007
2. Domaine Fernand Girard Sancerre la Garenne 2008

Þ Sauvignon Blanc
New Zealand with there bright and grapefruit flavors are the stars from the other face of Sauvignon Blanc.

1. Gravitas Sauvignon Blanc 2006
2. Cade Sauvignon Blanc 2008

Þ Pinot Noir or Burgundy
Never heard of Red wine with fish? Well Pinot Noir wine from Oregon or California or from France are great matches for several seafood dishes. Remember if there is any red wine involved on the preparation of the food, you’ve got the perfect match.

         1.  Coho Stanly Ranch Pinot Noir 2007

         2.  Maison Champy Bourgogne Pinot Noir 2006

Pork, Game, and Veal
Medium-Bodied red are ideal for any of these foods, or Champagne or White or Rose.

Þ Pinot Noir or Burgundy
Medium-bodied Pinot Noir with good acidity, fruit, and low tannins make a Pinot Noir/Burgundy one of the best choices for most dishes. We at Station Plaza cheer Go PINOT!

1. Belle Glos Meiomi Pinot Noir 2007
2. Maison Champy Chambolle Musigny Les Bussieres 2004

Þ Tempranillo
With Rioja taking the banner for this grape varietals. We would need a medium-bodied Crianza or Reserva with their elegant aroma, rustic flavors and well balanced tannins.

1. Marques de Tomares Crianza 2005

Þ Syrah
Most of the wines with this grape are food friendly. Generally medium-bodied with balanced acid and fruty and rustic flovors.

1. Zaca Mesa Syrah 2005
2. Vasse Felix Margaret River Shiraz 2005

Lamb and Beef
All of the whites and red mention above are good choices and will make the lamb and beef dishes happy. It’s time to match the weight of the meat (and sauce) with the gravity of the wine.

Þ Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux
A big and robust Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa it will be the star. Bordeaux, particularly a first growth, would be unobjectionable and well received, but don’t forget the second label or second growths or actually, any Super Tuscans.

1. Groth Cabernet Sauvignon 2006
2. Fisticuffs Cabernet Sauvignon 2007
3. Chateau Lachesnaye Haut Médoc 2003
4. Château Pontet Canet Pauillac 2003

Þ Malbec
This country is one of the world’s biggest beef producers and produced probably the best Malbec with an inky dark color and robust tannins makes Malbec be consider the Argentine Banner.

1. Catena Zapata Catena Malbec 2007
2. Luca Malbec 2007

Þ Rhone
Medium to Full-bodied Croze-Hermitage with almost 100% Syrah makes this wine a perfect match for is fruity, earthy and mellow tannins.

1. Laurus Gigondas 2006
2. Lemenicier Cornas 2005

Þ Barolo and Barbaresco
Barolo and Barbaresco wines are dark, inky, powerful reds with heavy tannins. Which require aging to soften them. Their grape varietal is Nebiolo.

1. Malgra’ Barolo Marvenga 2003
2. Paolo Scavino Barolo 2001
3.  Cantina del Pino Barbaresco 2004
4. Sottimano Barbaresco Fausoni 2004