Seasonal Selections

Terri’s philosophy is simple: Obtain as much knowledge as possible about food, wine and spirits from tastings, traveling, reading, and meeting hospitality professionals, in order to pass this information along to our staff and customers.

These are Terri’s newest and most exciting discoveries this season:

Fabulous Holiday  RED dessert wine:
Toucan Wines “Estate Toucanet”, Arroyo Grande Valley
 

This wine is made from a blend of grapes from the 2007 vintage and grapes from 2008 late harvest vintage. These grapes have been fortified with brandy spirits distilled from the 2006 Zinfandel Vintage. Consequently, this is a blend of three different barrels from 3 different vintages from the estate vineyard of Toucan, made in the style of Port using Zinfandel and Petite Sirah. This was aged in oak for up to 22 months.
 
That’s the technical side of it, now the beauty of this unique sweet dessert wine is the  flavor and texture.  When I tasted this wine, I was extremely pleased with all that it offered. Dark sweet fruits, raspberry, wild cherry, vanilla, mocha.  Great for gift giving with its uniqueness, this wine will be sure to satisfy the sweet tooth after dinner or as a holiday toast. Not cloyingly sweet, the texture is elegant and smooth that will have you thirsting for more. This wine will also age incredibly well for 15+ years.  The packaging of this wine is also elegant in a 500 ML bottle (16 oz) and boasts 5 Toucan birds on the label.

Toucan Wines “Estate Toucanet”, Arroyo Grande ValleyWente “Riva Ranch” Chardonnay 2006
This is the oldest family run winery in CA founded 125 years ago, and is now run by 5th, and soon to be 6th generations. The Wente family owns 3000 acres and uses only estate grown fruit. Wente vineyards was the first California winery to produce a wine labeled as Chardonnay in 1936. Today, many of the great Chardonnay vineyards in CA are planted with the Wente clone.
Tasting Notes: Rich, golden color and aromas of ripe apple, vanilla butter and pear. Luscious flavors of vanilla guava, butterscotch and long smooth finish.
Price: $9.75 Glass, $39.00 Bottle

Willamette, OR 2005
The Black Family Vineyards, Four Graces Vineyards
The Black Family owns 110 acres called the Black Family Vineyards that are located in the premier growing area of the Dundee Hills in Willamette, Oregon. The combination of soil, climate, and terrior (terrain) give the wines their unique style and character. The winemaking practice keeps all processes as natural as possible. Biodynamic and organic farming techniques are practiced. Special soil preparation included deep ripping to 6 feet to allow for root penetration. The Doe Ridge Vineyard site is 90 acres (40 planted), which was carefully planned and developed making it the most innovative new vineyard in the Willamette Valley.
Tasting Notes: Achieves intense flavors from the top of the vineyard bowl. The mouth feel is an elegant blend of banana, stone fruit and vanilla, with aromas of orange blossom and melon, apples, Creamy texture. Nice wine to drink alone or with lighter style food. Will not overpower food. Great to pair with fruit chutneys or dishes that have melon or fruit accompaniments.

Price: $8.75 Glass, $35.00 Bottle