Varietals: C-E

Napa Valley Cabernet—the wine that proved to the world it was possible to make world-class wine someplace other than France. When Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars’ 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon beat famous French Bordeaux such as Château Mouton Rothschild and Château Haut-Brion, among others, in a blind tasting conducted by French wine experts at the now famous 1976 Paris Tasting, the world took notice. Now Napa Valley Cabernets are served everywhere, and producers like Heitz Cellars and Ridge Vineyards are familiar names on restaurant wine lists.

I keep my wine cabinet at home generously stocked with Cabernet Sauvignon.  And not always, but probably more than 50% of the time, when a special occasion calls for a special bottle of wine, it’s cabernet that I’m reaching for.  Now, lovers of other varietals, please don’t be offended.  I too, love my pinots and barbaras, my chardonarys and sauvignon blancs, zins and merlots, malbecs and granach…but there is just something so decadent, so elegant, and frankly so delicious about a cabernet.

Perhaps it’s the association that cabernet has with another of my favorite consumables…a finely cooked steak.  Together, the two can perform miracles.  Now, I have to admit that I initially paired the two out a sense of conformity…after all the old saying goes Red Wine with Red Meat.  Growth in both food & wine experience has gotten me more than comfortable throwing that rule out the window, but perhaps at the extremes, there is some merit there.  While there are many red/white combos what work splendidly, I have to admit that I’m not often pulling out a pinot grigio to drink with my ribeye, gratin potatoes, and creamed spinach.  There are very legitimate reasons cabernet sauvignon and steak go so well together, for me, two are key:

I hate chardonnay. Its reign as the #1 wine varietal among US consumers has always befuddled me given how many people -wine geeks and novices alike- deliberately avoid it. California chardonnay in particular - with its excess oak and buttery texture- was so off putting to me that I had virtually given up even trying chardonnay, so convinced I was that I hated it. Then I had an epiphany in the form of Greg La Follette, or I should say, his chardonnay. 

World renowned as an in-demand consulting winemaker, Greg La Follette recently took the plunge and launched his own eponymous label, focusing on pinot noir and chardonnay, his specialties. A long time fan of his pinot noir, I had the wonderful opportunity a few months back to attend a winemaker's dinner at a local restaurant where La Follette wines were poured liberally (and, trust me, I was not shy about partaking).

That night, for the first time, I found a chardonnay that was not just drinkable - my previous threshold for chardonnay "success"- but which I absolutely loved and craved. I joined La Follette's Vigneron Club that night ensuring a quarterly supply of my new discovery (and don't think for a second that my shipment doesn't include his pinot noir, as good as any available and an absolute bargain at the current price).