Napa Cellars

Posted on May 3, 2015 by melsmosaic

Was working another wine tasting recently and was introduced to a new wine(ry) in CA — Napa Cellars. That’s the great thing about doing the tastings — finding all sorts of new wines (and getting paid to do it)! The name sort of explains it all, location-wise. The varietals were their Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. Both were great wines.

The Sauv had a crisp fruit taste – lemon, grapefruit. The vintner describes it as “aromas of vibrant gooseberry, pineapple and fresh pink grapefruit followed by flavors of pear, guava, passion fruit, lime, sweet clover and melon.” The price was $18 (on sale from low $20s)

The Pinot was amazing (I love Pinot!) and had some subtle leather and cherries, and unique spices. It had a good, medium body to it. When you read their comments you get “aromas of ripe cherry, sweet tobacco, raspberry, cedar and subtle spice followed by deep red cherry flavors and fantastic acidity.” The price was $16 (also on sale from low $20). These prices are in DC, so love to find out how much they vary from state-to-state, sale-to-sale.

Check them out if you’re looking for something new.

Oh, Chateau

Posted on February 23, 2015 by melsmosaic

A couple years ago I visited Sonoma and one of the wineries my friend and I checked out was Chateau St. Jean. After the initial tasting, they of course give you the rundown of their Wine Club. My friend told me to treat myself and sign up. Their wine is amazing and I deserved it.

So last weekend there was just bad weather going on and I decided to open up a nice bottle of wine, just because. There was nothing happening, there was really nowhere to go/there was no way I was going to go do anything. I pulled a bottle of Chateau St. Jean (2009) Syrah out of my wine rack. I opened it. It had a nose of berries and bark — yes, bark, ok, maybe some would say wood, but I got bark. The taste just made me stand still. I can barely explain how good it was. Raspberries, blackberries, that bark, and tiny bit chocolate. Some darn, darn good wine. The best part is that I know exactly why I have the bottle and enjoyed it all the more because of it. Cheers!

Do you have a favorite bottle for some reason? Do you remember a bottle you bought for a specific reason?

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Multiple Continents of Tastings

Posted on August 26, 2014 by melsmosaic

I figure since you can’t easily travel the world (time, money, etc), why not just grab a bottle of wine to check it out. So, the past few weeks I’ve explored most of the world. Between the Georgian wine I posted about recently (have some new bottles to be opened soon…) I have also checked out the following great vinos…

1) Chateau St. Jean, Pinot Noir, CA — (though this is Sonoma, think of Napa and support the locals by buying a bottle of Napa wine. They’ve had aftershocks after the big quake on Sunday.) Amazing, amazing CA Pinot — cherry and some leather. Was enjoyed with salmon.

2) Phebus, Malbec (Reserve), Mendoza, Argentina. Very nice. Berries, some chocolate. Can find it for about $10.

3) Klein Steenberg Sauvignon Blanc, South Africa. Light, pineapple, peach and grass notes. Great for enjoying on a sunny afternoon or with fish or salad. And, screwtop for easy access. About $12.

4) Pfeffingen Weilberg Riesling, Germany. (Note: that site doesn’t stay in English the whole time) Nice and dry! Some stone fruit, various other amazing mineral flavors. Paired it with a pea and garlic gazpacho with grilled chicken. Perfect! It’s been in my wine rack for awhile so not sure the cost, but online I’m finding about $30.

Wild Horses

Posted on August 17, 2014 by melsmosaic

Over the past several months I have started a part-time job as a wine taster/pourer. So, 1-2 times a week I get to go to a variety of locations and be that person who pours different wines for the customers to sample, while of course sampling them myself to be educated about them to properly inform the shoppers. It’s a win-win situation — learn more about the wine and talk to people about it! It occurred to me the other day — why don’t I write a blog about all my tastings? It has to start sometime, right?

Ok, so Friday night I was doing a tasting for Wild Horse Winery, which is located in the Central Coast of CA. Very nice, affordable wines. I had 3 varietals.

1) Wild Horse Chardonnay. Oaked, but not overkill on it. Very smooth, green apple, pear and vanilla notes. Perfect with fish. Price is around $15-$18.

2) Wild Horse Pinot Noir. Light Pinot, smooth, had both fruit and earth notes, with some mushroom in there. Pretty nice. Would pair well with salmon, grilled vegetables, chicken. Price is around $16-$20. (for some reason they don’t have this one on their site).

3) Wild Horse Chardonnay. Hello happiness, where have you been? The body, the flavor…cherry, berry, cocao. WOW! Wow. Go find one, buy it, open it, drink it. Would be great served with a pizza made on the grill or some steak.

If you go pick any of these up or have had them in the past, let me know what you think. Cheers!

Some nights…

Posted on July 16, 2014 by melsmosaic

Some nights call for a good wine to numb a long day. I always try to keep my (wine) glass at least half full, but had to shake my head when I was having problems getting it open to even fill it to that point! Really? I am just glad this made me laugh. While opting for a white on this beautiful evening, I (attempted) to open a bottle of Cakebread Chardonnay and the cork split. AHH! Give me my wine! No, it didn’t take long to fix the error, but still. At least good things come to those who wait. Now I am enjoying some yeasty, citrus-y, toasty, oaked California Chard (with a few cork sprinkles). I am not normally a big fan of oaked Chard, but there are some that hold a place in my heart.

Bring me my wine!

Posted on June 20, 2014 by melsmosaic

Over the past couple weeks, I have tasted some amazing new wines that I’m finally writing about. They were great and I just want somebody to bring me more! Or, I suppose I could just go to the store and buy some.

#1 Duetorri Pinot Noir. Italy. Nice and fruity — cherries! Mild tannins, light. Affordable, too — about $10-$12/bottle.

#2 Sarah’s Vineyard Pinot Noir. Central Coast, CA. Just amazing, amazing tastes. That’s all that needs to be said. About $30/bottle.

#3 Antiche Tradizione Lambrusco Rosso IGP Sparkling Red. Italy. Love finding sparkling reds. Just a good bubbly to have, could also pair it with a salad with grilled meat. Can’t find the actual site with the info on it or more price info, but it was $10/glass.

#4 Franciscan Estate Merlot. Napa Valley, CA. This DID NOT take like a Merlot in the least. I don’t particularly enjoy Merlot and I would never have said that’s what this is. I would have claimed it as a Pinot. Dang! This one is about $25/bottle.

Have a great weekend of wine and please share any new ones you find and love!

From Cake to Castle

Posted on May 7, 2013 by melsmosaic

Weekend=great wine. I met once again with my great friends who last time hosted the epitome of wine tasting. This time it was at my place so I had to work my wine rack magic to attempt to match what they offered.

Though none of us seek out whites, sometimes you just have to go off the beaten path. To attempt to match reds, I opted for the well-known name of Cakebread and the nice varietal of Sauvignon Blanc. A refreshing way to start the evening.

After the white, we moved onto the more important stuff (RED!) with Chateau St. Jean. The most important thing to remember is not to get fancy with the name. Yes, the first one is french for castle. But, for the last word, think of denim, don’t go french, make it simple! The red we enjoyed first was the 2010 Pinot Noir…nice and smooth!

I was initially going to serve another Pinot Noir but opted instead to stick with Chateau St. Jean and one of their blends. It’s Cinq Cepages. It brings together five of their varietals for an amazing taste. Can’t do it justice in writing!

And to pair with the wine, cheese it always nice. The other day at Trader Joe’s I found a lactose intolerant’s dream — a package of 3 cheeses that we can eat — the Tapas Sampler! Non-cow milk delights. One of them did have a part of cow milk (with two others — so it had to be minimal), and at least for me, I didn’t have a problem.