Wine, Travel & Food News From Vino-Sphere: May 31, 2018

Cabo Resort to Feature Chocolate Clams

Luxury AAA Five Diamond resort Grand Velas Los Cabos in Mexico has been rolling out innovative culinary creations since opening in late 2016. The latest is a fresh take on Baja California’s “Candy of the Sea” courtesy of a new chocolate clam tasting menu.

Each of the signature five restaurants at the resort have prepared one version of the dish paired with a wine, including a few from Mexico’s wine region in the north of the peninsula. Highlights of the menu include a chocolate clam with white bean, lardo and piccalilli from Cocina de Autor’s two Michelin starred chef Sidney Schutte and, from its Velas 10 steak and seafood restaurant, Clam Au Gratin made with chocolate clams, creamy baby spinach, bacon and grated Grana Padano cheese.

Buy Dad Some Grapevines for Father’s Day

We just showered mom with love and it’s time to do the same for dad. This year, there is a new gift for wine-loving fathers: planting his very own grapevine! Through Wine on the Vine you can gift dad with his very own vine to be planted in a top Israeli winery. After the grapevine is planted, the majority of the donation goes to charities doing important work in Israel. Wine on the Vine works with elite wineries some of which include Carmel, Psagot, Tabor, Tulip, Yatir, Jezreel, and Gush Etzion as well as other Israeli non-profit organizations. The goal is to create a way for people to support and help build Israel’s wine industry in both a meaningful and enjoyable way.  

Costs range from $18 for one vine to $1,800 for 100 vines. For $90 and above you get one or more bottles of wine from the vines you planted – after a four-year wait for the grapes to grow.

Grand Ole Opry Comes to The Big Apple

New York City’s newest entertainment destination is a piece of Nashville in the heart of Times Square: Opry City Stage – the iconic Grand Ole Opry’s first and only satellite location outside of Tennessee. The four-floor venue features daily live country music and serves finger lickin’ Southern food.

This past weekend, in honor of Fleet Week New York 2018, Opry City Stage hosted the sailors, coastguardsmen and more for night after night of entertainment, food & drinks. They feature Two Step Tuesdays, Dueling Pianos Country Style, among other promotions and activities.

Hotel Package Features Vintage Baseball

The Hotel Saugatuck, an 18-room luxury bed and breakfast in Michigan with stunning views of Lake Kalamazoo, is offering a vintage baseball package. In June, this nostalgic getaway features an old-fashioned vintage baseball game at Beery Field with the Douglas Dutchers.  The Douglas Dutchers were fashioned after a local club, the Douglas Athletic League, which first played in 1905. After, return to the nearby Hotel Saugatuck, where a dimly lit room, split of champagne, and flutes will complement the complimentary in-room dessert.

Packages start at $848 and vary by room selection and length of stay. Built in 1865, The Hotel Saugatuck, formerly the Twin Gables Inn, is the only original mill in the area still standing from the busy lumbering era.

Would You Like Avocado Mayonnaise On That?

June is Avocado Month and, believe it or not, you can now celebrate with Avocado Mayonnaise a new product from Better Body Foods.  Flavors include regular, lime or chipotle lime!

Searching for An Italian Villa with a Basilica? Look No Further

Looking for an villa in Italian wine country? Concierge Auctions is to sell Villa Badia, a former Benedictine convent featuring its own basilica, incorporating monuments granted national heritage status, in Piedmont, Italy. Dating back to the 11^th century, the villa and its adjacent historic abbey have been recently restored but retains unique period features including 14^th century frescoes.
Originally listed at €10million, the estate will sell without reserve to the highest bidder on 29 June. Bidding will open on 26 June. Piedmont is known as a culinary destination, attracting visitors keen to sample the gastronomy and Barolo wine for which the region is famous.

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Dry Creek Vineyard 2016 Vintage Yields Winning Pair

Looking for surefire wine selections for your next soirée? Here are a couple of California wines certain to please the crowd and not break the bank.

DCV Estate Block 10 Chardonnay

Our two wines come from Dry Creek Vineyards, a favorite winery in Sonoma’s Dry Creek Valley. They are located in the Dry Creek Valley appellation, where they are celebrating their 45th anniversary as a private family owned winery. For this first wine, they source the grapes from 30 rows of their Russian River Valley property. RRV is known for producing some of the best Chardonnay in California.

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The cool climate allows the vineyard to ripen slowly, resulting in deliciously balanced grapes. The grapes are gently cluster pressed resulting in complex aromas and flavors. The wine is aged in 100% French oak, 22% new. Just over 1,200 cases of the DCV Estate Block 10 Chardonnay was produced.

Balance is the key with this Chardonnay. The judicious use of oak blends with apple, citrus and honeysuckle flavors. There is a nice riff of pineapple as well, and looking at my photo, I notice that the pineapple on our counter actually shows through the bottle. Purely accidental, but a great visual reminder of the taste.

This is a classy Chardonnay ready to uncork at your next party. SRP is $32.

Heritage Vines Zinfandel

Are you ready to graduate from cartoon labels with jammy juice inside? Then step up to a winning Zinfandel that delivers on both flavor and value – the 2016 Heritage Vines Zinfandel.

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Dry Creek Vineyards is known for their dedication to the Zinfandel variety. We love Heritage Vines Zin because it melds the old and new. Cuttings from a pre-Prohibition era vineyard were grafted onto young, disease-resistant rootstock, creating an heirloom or heritage vine.

The Heritage Vines Zin is a blend of 79% Zinfandel, 20% Petite Sirah and 1% Primitivo from Sonoma County. Aging is done in French, American and Hungarian oak. It offers a swirl of dark chocolate and fruit berries with a rich, round texture. There is no edge to the tannins, just a refreshing fruit forward glass.

Do you really want a bottle with a great pun on the label – or one with great wine inside? I think you know the answer. Heritage Vines Zinfandel is widely available at $24.

Full disclosure: We received this wine as a marketing sample.

Technorati Tags: Zinfandel,Sonoma,wine tasting,wine,Chardonnay,Dry Creek Valley

Rosé To Rock Your Summer: Five Top Picks

When the summer heats up, the Vino-Sphere tasting team swings into action. Our quest? To identify for you some of the best crisp, refreshing rosé available. Here are five of our top picks.

Spanning The Globe For Heat-Busting Rosé

Okay, to be honest we’re not venturing very far from our barbecue grill and back patio. It’s just too hot! But we still do have a thirst for outstanding rosé and our latest tasting adventures covered three different countries and five great wines.

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Interestingly, none of the five wines share the same grape blend. They all do have one thing in common. Each is immensely satisfying and also light on the wallet.

Here are our capsule reviews:

Amelia Bordeaux Rosé, NV – France. Surprise! They have great rosé in France in places other than Provence. Made with Merlot, it has strawberry notes and crisp acidity. Pair with barbecue or seafood dishes. $15.99

Arrogant Frog Lily Pad Pink Rosé, 2016 – Languedoc, France. The Arrogant Frog wines from Paul Mas set the standard for French value wines. This is 100% Syrah and delivers citrus and candied cherry refreshment. You can afford to buy several bottles! $9.00.

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Jezreel Valley Rosé, 2017 – Galilee, Israel. Our new favorite winery in Israel blends 45% Carignan, 40% Syrah, and 15% Sauvignon Blanc for this delicious blend. Strawberry and wild cherry predominate in this racy rosé. I don’t recall having a rosé with a white grape in the blend, but the unique mix sets this Kosher wine apart. $22.99.

Tabor “Adama” Barbera Rosé, 2017 – Galilee, Israel. Barbera isn’t the most common grape for rosé, but after this bottle, we’d like to see more. Brilliant pink in the glass, it’s very dry with a touch of minerality. Red fruit flavors abound in this fresh, limited production Kosher wine. $21.99.

Vivanco Tempranillo Garnacha, 2016 – Rioja, Spain.  Red licorice and roses highlight the flavors of this Spanish beauty. Primarily Tempranillo, this is a playful wine that was the centerpiece of a great dinner on the patio. Spanish has a bit more muscle than its French counterpart, perfect to enjoy on its own or with a variety of summer dishes. $14.99.

Full disclosure: These wines were received as marketing samples.

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Vidrio Dishes Up Style Along With Tapas And On-Tap Wine

Looking for the “wow factor” in Raleigh dining? Look no further than Vidrio, a Mediterranean restaurant that delights the eye and the palate.

The Art of The Meal

Deciding to avoid conventional choices, we recently opted to try out Vidrio on Glenwood Avenue in Raleigh. It was a memorable evening for all the right reasons.

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Vidrio means “glass” in Spanish and you won’t wait long to discover why it is an appropriate name. The feature attraction in the expansive main dining room is a soaring wall of more than 350 glass discs created by an Ohio artist.

In every direction it is a visual treat with unique lighting fixtures, a hanging rope sculpture, intriguing textures and a setting that exudes style. Even if we didn’t eat a bite, a visit to the restaurant would be satisfying.

Of course, we were there to eat (and drink). So we did.

Tip Top Tapas

We are tapas aficionados. The main reason being that you end up with what amounts to a tasting menu. In some restaurants if you don’t like your entree, you’re out of luck. You can come back in a month or two and try something else. With tapas, if you don’t care for one small plate you can sample one of the other four or five dishes.

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The Vidrio mantra is “earth, flavor and wine” and we were ready to experience it all. Although it took a while to get service and wade through the many options, our ticket was soon on the way to the kitchen. Our picks included green chickpea humus, Moroccan beef skewers, charred octopus and a fig flatbread.

I told my wife that I wanted to treat her to dinner at a very special restaurant – and Vidrio met that expectation. Of course, the fact that Vidrio also has more than 50 wines on tap was certainly at top of mind!

There are a couple of problems with wine by the glass in restaurants. First, you are usually much better off buying a bottle because if you each have two glasses, you’ll pay more and get less ordering by the glass. The second disappointing problem is that in many restaurants partially consumed bottles sit around in less than ideal conditions, sometimes for days.

Enter wine by the keg! Wine by the keg dispels those issues. The kegs are pressurized so each glass should be good to the last drop. I also like the sustainability angle. There’s much less packaging involved with a reusable keg versus a glass bottle, label and cork for every 750 ML of wine.

Tapping The Wine

For the hummus and octopus, we went white. With the flexibility of the wine on tap program, and very reasonable costs ($8 for a 6 oz. pour of many great wines and half that for a 3 oz. pour), we went by the glass.

The charred octopus was stellar! When in Spain, the octopus I tried was cut into medallions, usually served with olive oil and potatoes. At Vidrio, the tentacles were charred whole and we sliced them to enjoy with our chorizo vinaigrette and beans. We started with a glass of Greek Asyrtiko and French Muscadet. My wife assumed that the Muscadet would be sweet, but this great wine made from Melon de Bourgogne was fresh, delicious and off-dry.

For our later plates, we enjoyed a glass of Truth or Consequences Wahluke Slope (Washington) Merlot and a glass of Spanish Garnacha. Each of the glasses we enjoyed was fresh, fresh, fresh! Like a new bottle was just opened.

The tap system serves not only the bar on the first floor, but also runs up to the bar on the second floor. No matter what unique space you enjoy at Vidrio, you’ll have the freshest wine. There is also a wealth of craft cocktails and craft beer available.

Vidrio is a destination restaurant. You can hang in the downstairs bar, which opens to the night air, soak in the aesthetics in the main dining room or explore the upper regions. Meals are artfully prepared and the vibe combined with the great food and drink means we’ll be returning to Vidrio in the very near future.

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Rías Baixas Albariño Impresses With White Wine Artistry

Albariño is Spain’s greatest white wine. It’s home is in Rías Baixas in the northwestern region of Galicia. We uncorked 11 bottles to learn the secrets of this refreshing grape.

Albariño Extravaganza

When we were invited to participate in an online tasting of Albariño from Rías Baixas, we were all in. Albariño is one of our favorite white wines and my visit to Rías Baixas a couple years ago etched memories of lush landscapes, stormy seas and friendly people. We had just one problem.

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The virtual tasting, courtesy of Rías Baixas Wines and Snooth, the popular online home for wine lovers, featured 11 bottles. That’s a daunting task, even for us. So the invitations went out for an evening of Albariño. Our dinner party totaled 11 persons, forming a neat symmetry with our 11 bottles. (No, we didn’t sit there and each drink a bottle!)

Culinary treats were provided by our guests and the Green Dragon. The Green Dragon prepared broiled octopus (pulpo) and a seafood paella. Our top-chef guests brought a multitude of treats including crab cakes, bacon-wrapped figs, Spanish olives, Manchego cheese, salad and Galician almond cakes. I was focused on my critical tasks: chilling down the wine and uncorking and unscrewing the bottles.

Sipping The Best Of Spain

Some people go ga-ga over an oaky bottle of Chardonnay. That’s not our palate profile. Oak can cover a multitude of sins and tends to blot out the fresh and delicate fruit of a white wine. So, we love white wines with crisp flavors, minerality and a minimum of oak aging.

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I had six bottle stashed in the refrigerator and the rest in a cooler of ice. Rob provided a random number and that was the bottle I poured. That worked fine until about wine number six, when I realized we’d be tasting wine until a week from Tuesday. From that point on I offered a choice of two bottles at a time, and the guests could circle back to try the second one.

There were a number of take-aways from our wine dinner. First, Albariño is a versatile wine that pairs magically with seafood. I had a steady diet of octopus while in Spain, and the charred octopus was a brilliant pairing. Many of our guests hadn’t tasted Albariño before and so there were several who discovered a new favorite wine. The third insight is that winemaking techniques, different growing areas and (in some cases) blending can create surprising differences in the wine.

Most of what we tasted were 100% Albariño, but a pair from the O Rosal growing area featured a blend of Albariño, Loureiro and Caiño. Most have a lower alcohol percentage than typical wine at about 12.5%, which helps it be more food friendly.

Tale Of The Taste

Here are our tasting notes from our Rías Baixas event (with growing region and SRP):

1. Condes dei Albarai (Val do Salnés) - $15 Given a “we like” thumbs up from our group, the Albarai uses vines older than 20 years and has tropical fruit notes.
2. Bodegas As Laxas (Condado do Tea) - $18 Offers nice fruit on the back of the palate. Fresh flavors of apple and apricot.
3. Don Pedro de Soutomaior (O Rosal) - $18.99 Named for a noble Galician warrior and knight whose victories were attributed to rising early. Lipsmacking good with smooth flavors of green apple. Great packaging!
4. Pazo Señorans  (Val do Salnés) - $25 This was my favorite.Aged five months on the lees, this has a complexity and herbacious, grassy notes that elevate it.
5. Valmiñor (O Rosal) - $18.99 A 100% Albariño from O Rosal. Melon and grapefruit flavors.
6. Señorío de Rubiós Robaliño. (Condado do Tea) - $18 This was an early favorite with our group. Great acidity and vivid flavors of citrus and peach. A top pick.
7. Altos de Torona (O Rosal) - $20 This was the number two top choice. It’s bottle is most distinctive and has flowing flavors of green apple. Good acidity (a bit too much for some guests).
8. Nai e Señora (Val do Salnés) - $15.57 Nai is a tribute to contemporary women. That and its stylish label made it a favorite with all the women who started singing “Nah na na na, hey hey hey, good bye! Tropical and aromatic.
9. Fillaboa (Condado do Tea) - $20 Good acidity with elegant flavors of pineapple and citrus.
10. Paco & Lola (Val do Salnés) - $21.99 A distinctive polka dot label and irresistible flavor palate of citrus and intense tropical fruit make this a favorite.
11. Terras Gauda (O Rosal) - $23.99 Here is the O Rosal blending at its best. There is fruitiness from Albariño, intense aromatics from Loureiro and structure and exotic fruit notes from the Caiño.

Albariño from Rías Baixas is a perfect wine for warm weather sipping or pairing with your casual meals, particularly seafood. The cost is wallet-friendly. Our bottles started at $15 and topped out at $25 – not bad for one of the world’s best white wines. Snooth is offering a special deal on Albariño and you can find it here. It is also widely available in wine shops. Don’t forget the octopus!

Technorati Tags: Albarino,Spainish wine,white wine,wine tasting

Lambert Bridge: A Dry Creek Valley Winery Visit

Nestled into the redwood forested hills just west of Dry Creek we discovered a haven for wine lovers and an epicenter for magnificent Bordeaux-style red wines.

Number 1 Tip For Locating Great Wineries

When we are exploring wine regions we spend a lot of time in advance studying maps, researching online and trying to figure out which wineries to visit. In some regions, like California’s wine country of Napa and Sonoma, there are more than 100 wineries and we may only have time to visit a handful (or two).

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We’ve found that the most dependable tip for a great winery visit doesn’t come from a glossy brochure or a blinking computer screen. It comes from the recommendations of others during your travels. We often ask the winemaker, tasting room staff or new friends we meet on the wine trail for their recommendations on which wineries to visit next. Hyperbole from websites and magazines is one thing – but the word of mouth recommendation from someone who has been there trumps it all.

Such was the case during our recent visit to Sonoma where we discovered a truly great winery in Dry Creek Valley, Lambert Bridge. The recommendation for Lambert Bridge came from the marketing director at Dry Creek Vineyard. When we finished our visit there we loaded into the van following a her hot tip.

Lambert Bridge Experience

The Lambert Bridge winery grounds are scenic and tranquil. Sitting in front of the stone and wood winery building is a perfectly restored vintage Ford panel van.
When we walked into the tasting room, it was like entering a wine sanctuary. The décor features rustic wood finishes, soaring ceilings and a beautiful stone fireplace. We were greeted by J.P Lonergan, the estate sommelier.

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The winery is named for the nearby trestle bridge which spans Dry Creek. Dry Creek Valley has long been a favorite of ours and is home to some amazing California wine minus the hype of Napa Valley. The C.L. Lambert family settled the area a century ago. Six decades later, Jerry Lambert (no relation) was drawn to the land with winemaking in mind. In 1993 Ray and Patti Chambers purchased the winery with the goal of crafting Sonoma’s best small lot wines.

During the wine country wild fires in October 2017, Lambert Bridge avoided major fire or smoke damage. Thankfully, 90% of the harvest was in, although a full block was lost in the Moon Mountain AVA. Some staff members had to evacuate and the entire region was impacted in one way or another. JP displayed a blob of metal melted by the intense heat of the fires that damaged property and took lives, but couldn’t overcome the spirt of the wine community.

Spot-On, Sophisticated Wines

As we soaked in the great surroundings of what some people call “the wine church” we were ready to soak in some great wine. We led off with a pair of whites, the 2015 Bevill Vineyard Viognier and the 2014 Sonoma Chardonnay, which had luscious apple and pear flavors.

Lambert Bridge is known for their meticulous focus on quality, with a berry-by-berry sorter, small-lot fermenters and premium French oak barrels. The quality shows brightly in their lineup of reds.

We tasted a trio of Zinfandel:

• 2014 Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel – Cherry and spice with dark fruit. Has 2% Petite Sirah. SRP – $50
• 2015 Meyers Vineyard Zinfandel – Nice pepper and brambly fruit. Well balanced.
• 2013 Forchini Zinfandel – From a benchland vineyard with gravelly soil. Wild raspberry and bright acidity. SRP – $60.
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The wines made with the traditional Bordeaux grapes were elegant and flavorful, with not a bad drop between them. We sampled the 2012 Merlot, 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2014 Cabernet Franc.

Three powerhouse reds closed our tasting:

• 2013 Winery Ranch Vineyard Petite Sirah – This inky dark wine has deep blackberry flavors and is a perfect pairing for roasted meats. A wonderful bargain at $55.
• 2012 Limited Selection Cabernet Sauvignon – Baked cherries and spice swirl in this limited production wine. SRP $110.
• 2013 Crane Creek Cuvée – This signature wine is 85% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Malbec. A delicious, ripe blend with sophisticated flavors. SRP $110.
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Lambert Bridge is a small-production winery with craftsmanship that dazzles. Consider this your insider tip: Make it a “must see” stop on your next trip to Sonoma wine country.

Technorati Tags: wine,Sonoma,wine country,winery visit,Dry Creek Valley,Zinfandel,Cabernet Sauvignon,winelover

Bookcliff Vineyards 2015 Malbec, Grand Valley, Colorado

Malbec has shot from relative obscurity to international fame. If you drink Malbec only from Argentina, you’re missing out on a lot – like this great bottle.

High Mountain Malbec

A few years ago we combined a visit to Telluride, Colorado, with a side trip to the state’s wine country. We headed for Palisade – not too far from Grand Junction and the western border of the state.

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What we saw was eye opening. In the valleys surrounded by spectacular mesas, grape vines were flourishing. Stressed by the scarcity of water and the tough growing conditions, the grapes were full of concentrated flavors producing outstanding wine graced by the high altitude desert terroir.

When I stepped away from my role as executive director of a scientific society, a role I held for 12 years, I got a surprise going away gift. Each president with whom I worked presented a bottle of wine – in most cases from the region where they lived (the president from Florida opted for Spain!). One of the past presidents is from Colorado and he gifted me this excellent bottle of Bookcliff Vineyards Malbec.

Colorado Wine, Are You Crazy?

I’ll go out on a limb here. Colorado is one of the best wine producing states in the US. They are not among the top producers. California, Oregon, Washington and New York have a stranglehold on the top four slots. Although much smaller in output, the quality of Colorado wine is really remarkable.

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The Grand Valley, where Bookcliff Vineyards is located, stretches from Fruita to Palisade, just west of Grand Junction. Originally a peach orchard, the winery’s high-altitude, dry terrain is ideal for grape growing. All Bookcliff wines are made with 100% Colorado grapes.

The Bookcliff Malbec has a robust flavor. It is a big wine with an alcohol level of 13.8%. There are bold flavors of jammy blackberry and flowing vanilla. On the night we uncorked, I enjoyed this more than many Malbec wines from Argentina and California. It wasn’t sloppy fruity and had a nice complexity. The tannins are relaxed (and so were we!).

At about $18, this is a tasty value. Malbec is a crowd pleasing wine and Bookcliff’s small production version is worth seeking out. Thanks, Kurt and Lisa!

Technorati Tags: Colorado wine,wine,Malbec,wine tasting

Shadow Springs Vineyard: North Carolina Winery Visit

Can a wine lover find true happiness in North Carolina? You need look no further than Hamptonville and the estate of Shadow Springs Vineyard.

From Tobacco To Wine Trellises

Shadow Springs Vineyard began more than a decade ago when Chuck and Jamey Johnson planted two acres of Merlot in an old tobacco field. Since then the family owned vineyard has grown to the point where it now boasts eight varieties of estate grown grapes and sells 18 different wines.

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During our recent visit to North Carolina’s wine country we visited the Swan Creek AVA. The wineries in Swan Creek are the closest in proximity within the state. We were able to visit five wineries, each no more than five miles apart. We came away from Shadow Springs very impressed.
The 5,000 square-foot tasting room was built in 2007. It is light and airy with beautiful wood finishes and accents of Ambrosia Maple. It’s location overlooks the entire 10.5 acre vineyard and features a downstairs bar, a second floor terrace and a patio near a scenic pond.

Sipping In The Shadows

Jamey was in the tasting room and led us through a line up of their wines. We started with a pair of white wines:

2015 Stainless Steel Chardonnay – Green Dragon prefers her Chard unoaked, so this was a good pick. Green apple and pear.

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2015 Barrel Fermented Viognier – Fermented in stainless steel and then aged in neutral oak, it is soft and creamy and not as fruity as most Viognier.

Moving into the reds, we had our eye on a couple of our favorite grapes:

2014 Cabernet Franc – Cab Franc is one of our favorites. The Shadow Springs version has bright cherry with a dash of black pepper. A great buy at only $20.

2013 Chambourcin – Chambourcin is one of our favorite French-American hybrids and, luckily for us, it thrives in NC. This was one of the best wines we tasted on our trip! It is dark and fruity with flavor notes of raspberry and raisin. Excellent finish.

And The Best Wine Is…

We next tasted the 2014 Merlot and the 2011 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. Merlot is a strongpoint for wineries in Yadkin Valley (Shadow Springs is in both Yadkin Valley and Swan Creek AVAs) and this version is soft and pleasant. The Reserve Cab is 75% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Petit Verdot and is aged in a combination of French, American and Hungarian oak. It is smoky with smooth tannins.

2014 Meritage – We are Meritage lovers! This is a Bordeaux-style blend of Cab Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. It gets two years of aging in oak barrels. This robust red was a standout. It is priced at $28.

2014 Petit Verdot – This 100% Petit Verdot is a really good bottle of wine. It is aged two years in new French and America oak. Bright purple in color, it has a medium to full body, with ripe blueberry and herbal flavor threads. This is Shadow Springs’ best wine and runs $35. We bought a bottle and opened it the other night – sensational.

Shadow Springs has what we look for in a winery experience: an excellent tasting room with friendly and knowledgeable staff as well as a variety of really good wines. Make Shadow Springs a destination on your next North Carolina wine excursion.

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Santa Ema 2013 Amplus Old Vine Carignan, Maule, Chile

What do you pair with the funky city of Asheville, NC, and the music from our favorite jam band? How about a bottle of red goodness from Chile?

Destination Asheville

Asheville is one of our favorite places in of our new home state of North Carolina. Nestled in the western part of the state in the scenic Blue Ridge Mountains. it offers a kaleidoscope of mouth-watering cuisine, quirky shops, great craft beer and a vibrant music scene.

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It was the later that drew us to Asheville for our recent trip. Our favorite band, String Cheese Incident, was playing at US Cellular Center. During our brief two-day stay, we tried to pack in as much as possible.

Our visits included the small town of Black Mountain, meals at tapas restaurant and wine bar Zambra and another at farm-to-table restaurant The Marketplace.

We intended to visit the gardens at The Biltmore, but when we learned the tour was $75 per person and would take at least four hours, we balked. Instead we headed to the North Carolina Arboretum for an afternoon of hiking. 

String Cheese And A Hot Tub Soak

After enjoying our tapas and vino dinner at Zambra with String Cheese guitarist Bill Nershi, we headed to the show. The streets of Asheville were alive on this spring evening. Street musicians played to the strolling pedestrians and diners enjoyed the sunshine from the outside dining vantage points. Friendly chatter and laughter was in the gentle breeze.

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There was a crowd of about 7,000 people for the show. Green Dragon and I opted for the arena seating as opposed to the rippling mass of String Cheese fans on the arena floor.
The lights, the music and the scene were rocking!

We arrived back at our hotel about 2 AM, so morning came early. We walked downtown for a bite at the Green Sage Café Downtown. After embarking on a day of hiking, a visit to the New Belgium Brewery and dinner at The Marketplace we were ready to settle in to our VRBO rental for the evening.

One of the main appeals of the place we stayed was its hot tub. (One of the not-main appeals was the narrow, steep driveway that looked like the top of a black diamond ski run!) We grabbed our bottle of Santa Ema Amplus Old Vine Carignan and slipped into the gurgling water of the hot tub.

Carignan From Chile

Outstanding wine values and flavors come from South America, especially Chile. Santa Ema is a leading Chilean wine producer and exports to the Americas, Asia and Europe. In our experience, you can be assured that you'll be getting a quality bottle if it is from Santa Ema.

I picked up the Amplus on sale from Great Grapes in Cary. They have a room set aside for discount and clearance wines and I've always found great deals there. Carignan mostly has a supporting role in red blends, but it is ready to step into a starring role, like with Amplus.

The Amplus Carignan has an aroma of crushed berries. On the palate there are flavors of cranberry and strawberry. It is lively and fruit forward with just the right touch of acidity. The wine undergoes malolactic fermentation, which gives the body a full, almost creamy texture. The wine is aged in French and American oak for 15 months.

The finish is long and elegant. The wine was so good that even though showers of rain were coming down on us in the hot tub, we just kept pouring the Amplus and enjoying the night.

The Amplus Carignan retails for about $32. I was able to score a primo buy at only $18.56 from Great Grapes. If I had known then what I know now, I'd buy a half case. Highly recommended.

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Domaine De La Tour Blanche 2013 Riesling, Alsace

Love Riesling? Don't overlook France. Yes, that's right. The Alsace region in the northeast corner of France is a leader in producing dry, crisp Riesling.

Alsace: A Wine Region Apart

Alsace is French, but with deep German cultural roots. Located on the German border, its control has switched back and forth between the two countries over the years. The Vosage Mountains provide protection from harsh weather from the west. Although the region is northerly, it enjoys long hours of sunshine that allow the grapes to ripen nicely.

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The use of the name of the grape variety can be used on the label in Alsace. This practice is consumer-friendly, particularly for Americans who are used to shopping for their wine by the grape.

Riesling To The Rescue

Riesl ing is my favorite white wine. I'm particularly drawn to dry Riesling, although semi-dry often allows a fuller expression of flavors. German Riesling tends to be sweeter than Alsace, although dry wines in German are on the rise.

Alsace produces some of the best Riesling in the world. Quality bottlings can age for a decade or more.

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I recently tried to "rebalance" our wine collection by purchasing a half case of whites. The Domaine De La Tour Blanche was in the shipment. Winemaker Daniel Klack and father Jean are part of a family tradition that dates back to 1628. Vines for this wine are 45 to 50 years old.

This wine has nice threads of minerality with precise flavors of white blossoms. The wine has medium acidity and finishes dry with a dash of pepper. The alcohol level is 12.5%, meaning it will be a nice wine for food pairing or to sip solo.

For about $15, this was a great bargain. Alsace wines are distinctive and their whites are superb. Explore Alsace on your next visit to the wine shop.

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