March Info - Wine & Beer of the Month
One of the benefits to our WOM & BOM subscribers is background and food pairing suggestions with every wine. .
Quality March 2010
FORTRESS
2008 SAUVIGNON BLANC
Gary and Barbara Snider's passion for grape growing began early in their relationship while both were pursuing degrees at UC Davis. They purchased their first vineyard in 1988 and continued to manage full time careers while developing this hillside vineyard in Knights Valley. Their son Tim also learned the business "from the ground up" while working in the vineyard during the summers through high school and college.
After 10 years of growing and selling grapes from the Knights Valley vineyard to various Napa Valley wineries, the Sniders began looking for new possibilities in Lake County in the area that is now known as the Red Hills Lake County AVA. They purchased several contiguous parcels of land on a ridge on Mt. Konocti overlooking Clear Lake and in 1998 began development of the high-altitude mountain vineyard. Fortress Vineyard takes its name from the many rocks that were cleared and pushed along the side of the mountain, forming medieval-like walls throughout the property.
Fortress Sauvignon Blanc is crisp, clean and luscious with fresh ripe fruit, complex aromas and flavors of vibrant citrus, key lime, kiwi, and melon and a refined creamy texture leading to a rich, long-lingering finish. It is a single vineyard wine made 100% from the Musque Clone grown at 2,000-2,400 feet. The combination of the high altitude and red volcanic soil lead to smaller bunches and grapes which capture more intense flavor. There is also a hint of minerality from the volcanic soils and cooling Lake influence. The Musque Clone is from Pont de la Maye in the center of the Bordeaux region and the Fortress Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc is made similar in taste and character to a fine white wine from Graves.
Food: aperitif, shellfish, or food that is slightly spicy.
Price: 14.99
Quality
March 2010
SANTA VINCENZA
2008 MORELLINO DI SCANSANO
The region of Tuscany makes many outstanding and well known wines, such as Chianti, Vino Nobile de Montepulciano and Brunello di Montalcino. One wine which does not get as much publicity is called Morellino di Scansano (more-eh-LEEN-oh dee scahn-SAH-no). This red wine is made in the Maremma region around the coastal areas in southern Tuscany.
Morellino is the local name for the variety of Sangiovese that grows there. Legend has it that the varietal earned its name because the brown hue of the grape is similar in color to the Marmmano horses of the area. Scansano is the name of a village in the region.
The wines must be at least 85% Sangiovese with the remaining 15% coming from local red varieties. Producers may also use 100% Sangiovese. (Sangiovese, you may recall, is the grape that is the basis for Chianti and many other Super Tuscan wines.) Santa Vincenza's wine is 85% Sangiovese, 10% Ciliegiolo, and 5% Alicante (the local version of Grenache).
Some producers make big, bold styled Morellino wines that can use a year or two of aging; however, Santa Vincenza's wine is not especially tannic, and drinks well young. Like many Italian wines, this one is best with food. Try it with pasta or almost any Tuscan fare that uses a tomato sauce. Also great with grilled meats.
Price: 14.99
Premium
March 2010
GAINEY
2006 "VINEYARD SELECT" CHARDONNAY
In 1962, Dan C. and his son Dan J. Gainey purchased an 1800 acre ranch on the eastern end of the Santa Ynez Valley. With over 1000 acres of rangeland devoted to cattle, 600 acres of farmland, 100 acres of Arabian horses facilities and 100 acres of vineyards, the Gainey Ranch was and still is the largest diversified farming operation in the valley.
The Gaineys have gone to great lengths to explore the diverse micro-climates available to them in the Santa Ynez Valley. In the 1990s, the family purchased and planted a 120-acre parcel along Santa Rosa Road in what would later become the Santa Rita Hills AVA. The Gainey Vineyard thus became the first winery to own properties in both the warm, eastern end of the valley, where the family concentrates on Bordeaux varieties, and the cool, western end of the valley, where they have planted Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Syrah. This unique advantage allows the Gaineys to completely control all phases of their winegrowing: from planting of vines ideally suited to each of their vineyard sites, to viticultural techniques that emphasize low yields, to winemaking that stresses minimal processing.
The Limited Selection Chardonnay comes entirely from grapes grown in the cool Santa Rita Hills appellation of western Santa Ynez Valley. Ripe apple and toasted pineapple scents emerge on the nose. On the palate, this unfiltered Chardonnay offers a wonderfully supple, creamy texture and luscious, remarkably concentrated yellow apple and mango flavors. Underlying acidity provides structure and vibrancy to the wine's opulent fruit, while the Santa Rita Hills' distinctive minerality adds a refreshing note to the long, crisp finish. Although this Chardonnay is drinkable now, it will develop even further complexity with another two to three years of bottle age.
Food pairings: creamy pastas, mild cheeses, buttery lobster.
Price: 39.99
High-End Red
March 2010
CLERICO
2004 BAROLO (PAJANA VINEYARD)
In 1977 Domenico Clerico decided to leave his job as a salesman in order to work full time in his family's estate. Domenico is a self-taught man and started his activity as a vigneron following the advice of his producer friends and experimenting in his cellar. Importer, Marc de Grazia, started marketing his wine in the US in 1983. In the meantime Domenico purchased vineyards in some of the most interesting crus of Monforte and is today a recognized star among Barolo producers.
There are six areas in the Monforte township worthy of a "grand cru" appellation, and significantly, these coincide with those traditionally hailed as the best by winemakers of the area. The Clerico estate has vineyards in four of these crus: Bussia, Ginestra, Pajana and starting with the 1995 vintage, Mosconi. As in the case with most Barolo estates, the Clerico holdings are very small (1.8 hectares in Pajana). Furthermore, Domenico Clerico, owner of the estate, is a tremendously gifted winemaker, and has a very finely equipped cellar. Having vineyards in crus of such stature enables him to produce exceptional wines even in "off" vintages.
Of the Barolo wines, Clerico's is perhaps the least archetypal--or rather, the one in which the style of the producer is most noticeable. It has a concentration of color most outstanding and unusual in Barolo: even after three years of aging, most of which is spent in wood, it still retains a deep, vivid ruby with a mulberry ripeness that is reminiscent of a Grand Echezeaux. Similarly, the concentration and vinosity do not resemble those usually found in Nebbiolo wines. The bouquet is intense, ample and spicy, with herbaceous hints, and in the mouth it is meaty and rich--almost grapey when young--and gifted with a long lingering finish, it will grow with austerity and age. It is a wine of extraordinary equilibrium, its richness in alcohol and extract undercutting the tannic edge all too common in Barolo wines, making it round even when young.
Every year the Clerico estate garners high recognition the world over in virtually every serious wine journal, and is today a recognized star among Barolo producers.
Food pairings: hearty meats, such as game or generous cuts of beef.
Price: 89.99
Beer March 2010
FOUNDERS BREWING: BACKWOODS BASTARD
In 1990 Mike Stevens and Dave Engbers were trying to figure out what to do upon graduation and leaving the security of college life. They had the brilliant idea of opening a brewery. A pipe dream at the time. After graduating, both found themselves in the workforce, Mike for his father's video production company and Dave as an elementary school teacher. Both still had a passion for great beer and had begun home brewing as a hobby. They decided to live their lives with no regrets and chase their dream. They set off to start their brewery in the North Monroe district of Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Following the path of nearly all brewery start-ups, the beer portfolio was limited. The beers were well balanced but unremarkable, and sales struggled. After a few years they were on the brink of bankruptcy and they had a tough decision to make: plow forward or pull the plug on their dream. Following their instincts, Mike and Dave decided to break from the norm of conventional craft breweries and make the kinds of beer that had begun their passion in the first place. They knew that Founders needed to become distinctively different from all other beers on the market. That meant more flavor, bigger body, huge aromatics and increased complexity. They began experimenting with non-traditional ingredients; coffees, chocolates, fruits, vegetables, honey and a variety of spices and any other ingredients that were not common in conventional mainstream beer.
As beer enthusiast began to take notice sales started to flourish. Soon demand for Founders overtook capacity. In 2007 they began construction of a new facility less than a mile from their original location. Today their fan base keeps growing.
In this month's selection expect the unusual: lovely, warm smells of single malt scotch, oaky bourbon barrels, smoke, sweet caramel and roasted malts, a bit of earthy spice and a scintilla of dark cherries. It's a kick-back sipper made to excite the palate.
Price: 14.99/4-pack
WINE NEWS: Cincinnati International Wine Festival tickets for the Grand Tastings (March 13 and 14) are available at The Wine Store: 9840in Friday, March 13 afternoon: $55; evening: $65. Saturday, March 14 evening: $65.
