Archive for the ‘Review Chardonnay wine’ Category

I told you the other day that a bunch of us got together to taste Oregon Chardonnay. I wanted to pair the wine with a food that would bring out its best, but I hem’ed and haw’ed  because I knew these would be un-oaked or very lightly oaked Chardonnays. I couldn’t fall back on my usual appetizers: things with caramelized onions, creamy cheeses, sauteed sweet peppers and the like. Those foods match the richer, oakier Chardonnays I often serve.

So what’s a girl to do?

Why, make something up, of course.

I started with Seared Scallops. They don’t have a heck of a lot of flavor by themselves, but if you sear them nicely in butter the caramelizing adds a nice punch. Then I chose some avocado slices for the contrasting color and flavor — but not just “naked.” After I sliced them I splashed them with fresh-squeezed lime juice and some coarse sea salt. I let them sit for a while, too, so the lime and salt could work their magic. The citrus juice keeps them from oxidizing, or turning brown. It also cuts that overly-rich flavor that plain avocado has.

When I plated it (TV chefs put a lot of emphasis on “plating” things), I placed some greens under the whole thing, just for presentation points. And if my garden chives hadn’t succumbed to the frost, I’d have stuck a few sprigs in there somewhere.

So here’s what I had: the delicate flavor of the scallops with a hint of smoke and caramel, contrasted with the richness of the avocado cut by a hint of citrus. And it worked! It complemented the Oregon Chardonnays (A to Z 2008 and Rex Hill Willamette 2007) without overpowering the wines.

I had a lot of fun creating this pairing, and I’ll be offering more food and wine suggestions soon. In the meantime, be sure to fill me in on any great ideas you have on this subject.

Cheers!

There are several regions in California that get lots of attention as “wine country destinations.”  The Livermore Valley isn’t usually one of them, although it’s just an easy 50 minute drive from San Francisco. Located east of the city, on the far side of the East Bay Hills, it’s the home of a few nationally-known wineries (ever heard of Concannon?) and many small operations.

We have family in the East Bay area who had told us good things about the area, so we set out to find it. We drove east, over the sun-baked hills, and dropped down into the beautiful valley that houses Wente Vineyards. Before we reached the winery buildings, we saw … manicured greens and fairways! Yes, Wente Vineyards is also home to a championship golf course, designed by none other than golfing wino Greg Norman. (My golfer’s heart leapt, but I had no clubs in my trunk and had to wait to fight another day).

There’s a whole lot of history here. German immigrant C.H. Wente came to the valley 125 years ago and learned to make wine from none other than the original Charles Krug. The 48 acres C.H. bought then has grown to almost 3,000 acres in the Livermore Valley, San Francisco Bay appellation and Arroyo Seco, Monterey. And the fifth generation of Wentes is now in the winemaking business. This looks like a wine force to be reckoned with… Read the rest of this entry »

In Northern California there are a lucky few who sit on top of the world,  gazing down on the valley-dwellers below and quietly going about their business.

Which is a very wonderful business. The select few winemakers who live way up on Napa Valley’s Spring Mountain make red wines that for decades have stunned wine drinkers and critics alike. They face challenges from cultivating the steep slopes, but they reap the rewards in the extraordinary fruit they’re able to produce.

Just getting to Spring Mountain separates the average Saturday winery-hopper from the true acolyte. The narrow, twisting road up the mountain is not for the faint-hearted (or those prone to car sickness). But the experience is rewarding. Breaking out on top, and seeing the Napa Valley spread out below, is breathtaking. We experienced it recently when we went in search of Barnett Vineyards, where we found much more than we bargained for.

First, we found Hal and Fiona Barnett, who discovered Spring Mountain in 1983 and dreamed of planting vineyards there. More than one vineyard management company told them they couldn’t do it – the grades were just too steep. But they persevered and in 1989 released 100 cases of their first vintage of Barnett Spring Mountain District Cabernet Sauvignon.

Their  property included one rocky hilltop that looked particularly intriguing to Hal and Fiona, so they cleared it to grow fruit for a single vineyard Cab. Clearing the land for grape vines scared up lots of the local flora and fauna, and earned the hilltop its name – Rattlesnake Hill. But the grapes the hill grew were worth the effort — the first vintage of Rattlesnake Hill Cabernet Sauvignon, the 1991, earned a whopping 96 points from Robert Parker, Jr’s The Wine Advocate. And unless you’ve been living in a cave (and not the kind of cave the Barnetts store their wine in), you know that a 96 rating will catapult a winery to the top of the “Must Have” list. Read the rest of this entry »

OK, we’ve just done four days and 2300 miles. We traversed eight states, experienced temperatures ranging from 37 to 102 degrees, and climbed from 1,200 feet above see level, to 10000, and back down 1800 feet. Did I say, in just four days?

I’ve gotta tell you, there are lots of amazing sights to see in this country. And lots of amazing stuff that’ll pop up and delight you if you keep your eyes and your mind open as you travel.

The welcome surprise we tripped over was the Colorado wine industry. Now I’m not a total, “American wines begin and end with Napa Valley” snob. I’ve written lots of good things about Washington State, New Mexico, and even Arizona. But I admit to being oblivious about Colorado wines until we started chatting with a very informative and helpful wine guy at a shop called Little Raven Vineyards in Denver. When we asked about the Colorado-made wines on his shelves, he recommended his favorites and pointed us towards the Grand Valley region in the southwest corner of the state. The next day we pulled off the interstate to investigate (always a good thing to do) and came across Plum Creek Cellars in Palisades, Colorado. And we were knocked out. Read the rest of this entry »

We love California’s Central Coast wine region, especially the area around Paso Robles. If I’m reading their website correctly, Harmony Cellars is just off the main road connecting Paso with the rocky coast of the Pacific Ocean. This comes pretty close to being God’s Country.

So I was excited to taste this Chardonnay and write a review. It was a glass pour at a favorite restaurant and came highly recommended. The nose offered a lot of toasty oak and light tropical fruit. So far, so good. The palate started out nice and crisp, again with just a hint of tropical fruit. Then it hit me — a heavy dose of wood right in the middle of the palate. The oak lingered, and I had trouble picking out anything besides that. On the back end, though, I got a nice hit of acid, which helped to balance out the heaviness.

This really is a wine that I’d like to revisit, because it’s unfair to base a review on a restaurant glass pour. There are way too many places that mis-manage their glass pour program, leaving bottles open too long and then pouring stuff that’s nowhere near at its best. I have a feeling that I’d enjoy Harmony Cellars Chardonnay a whole lot more if I had a freshly-opened, current vintage bottle. I’ll let you know when that happens. Cheers!