Food & Wine Pairing

Made from Tinta del Pais, this offers a lovely combination of huckleberry, green tea, blueberry, plum, light vanilla and charred wood notes. It was aged for a year in both French and some American oak. There is a lovely integration with the oak (vanilla) and the black fruit compote. The tannins support the structure of the wine and the acidity, though mild, reinforces the overall harmony. This is a very lovely wine, nothing dominates, but is seamlessly balanced. ORIGIN: Ribera del Duero, Spain. ALCOHOL: 14.5%

Earthy tannins leads to blackberry, blueberry, plum, and violets. Made from mainly Carménère and Cabernet Sauvignon, there are small amounts of Syrah, Petite Verdot and Cabernet Franc in the mix. This has always been a solid wine for a very reasonable price. It deviates from much oak treatment and instead promotes the raw, earthy flavors of its organic vineyards. The aging consisted of 66% of the wine placed in French oak for 18 months, therefore the oak is supporting and not dominate. Nicely balanced this is a great go-to everyday drinking wine. ORIGIN: Apalta, Chile. ALCOHOL: 13.5%

Offering a lighter style of Cabernet, this 2019 Dough is definitely a solid value. Black cherry, blueberry, blackberry, light plum, pomegranate, rhubarb, green tea leaf and black cherry, announce themselves and it offers moderate acidity and decent tannins. The wine was aged 16 months in both American and French oak barrels.

Malbec has become Argentina’s signature grape, and this South American country does very well with it. This value wine shows off how good Malbec can be at various price points, proof you don’t need to break the bank for a good bottle of wine. It offers huckleberry and blackberry, and there’s an earthiness to this wine, with solid acidity and oak aging that supports the fruit. The finish is a little thin, but when paired with food, as all good wines should be, that becomes less of an issue. ORIGIN: Mendoza, Argentina. ALCOHOL: 14.5%

This estate Pinot is a lively compilation of black cherry, strawberry, plum, blackberry compote, with back notes of rhubarb, huckleberry and black tea. The acidity drives the fruit. This is not a shy Pinot, but an overt celebration of expressive fruit. The wine spent 10 months aging in French oak, 33% of which was new, therefore the fruit is more dominant. Using a variety of Pinot Noir clones, winemaker Steve Rogstad, has decades of experience working with his vineyards, and knowing how best to use the excellent fruit that grows on their property. ORIGIN: Napa Valley, Los Carneros.

MacRostie has long preferred high elevation vineyards where the vines are totally exposed. In this case, Nightwing vineyard sits at 1,200 feet, open to long sunny days and cool ocean breezes. This Chardonnay is in the vein of classic California Chardonnays - a wine that straddles all the elements of excellent fruit, malo-lactic, oak aging, stainless steel fermentation, and proper acidity. All these things come together seamlessly, which allows this to be an ideal expression of how good Chardonnay can be.

This 2014 Blanc de Blanc is a sparkling wine with a brisk acidity and a hint of chalky minerality. Hand harvested and whole cluster pressed, there’s a lovely creaminess to this wine with very mild carbonation, allowing more of the fruit to come through. It offers lemon-lime notes, guava, red delicious apple and grannie smith green apple, light unsweetened honeysuckle, Asian pear, a hint of baked brioche. The balance of the flavors makes this easy to pair with a diversity of foods. 178 cases. ORIGIN: Alexander Valley, Sonoma. ALCOHOL: 12.5%

You may not know it, but La Crema has been producing wine for over 40 years. This 2022 Sauvignon Blanc is part of that proud heritage. This offers light lemon-lime, quince, honeysuckle, resin, apricot and guava notes. It’s a lighter style wine that makes it inherently better with a diversity of food. The acidity is in check due mainly to the use, predominately, of stainless steel, and just 27% went into neutral oak allowing for a flinty, tactile expression. ORIGIN: Sonoma County.  ALCHOL: 13.5%