Weekend Wine Post: Prepping for Holiday Wining
On a rainy November evening, we attended the wine club dinner in preparation for the holiday season. Let’s dive right in —
Alma Negra Brut Nature Malbec Rosé, Mendoza, Argentina
We always start a wine club evening with something sparkling, and this rosé Malbec started us off right. A lot of berries on the nose — strawberry-lemon-raspberry combo — with a dry, citrus flavor and strong zing coupled with an overall luscious, warm quality. We have been searching for rosés this fall (before we get too deep into our usual dark red winter phase) to further our limited appreciation of rosé by next summer when a happy little list of yummy rosés will delight. Some of our fellow wine clubbers recommended the following names for rosé exploration: Viña Undurraga and Turkey Flat Vineyards.
Rudi Pichler Grüner Veltliner Federspiel, Wachau Valley, Austria |2014 *
With a clear, pale color, the Grüner Veltliner was a perfect mild white paired with our salad. With a lightly floral nose and hint of lemon, the surprise in this wine comes from the slippery quality, like glycerin. We chose this white as part of our many Thanksgiving celebrations, particularly for a family member who is branching out from chardonnays. Another wine club member mentioned Scaia Garganega Chardonnay Blend as a good option for someone moving away from Chardonnay.
First red of the evening with vanilla on the nose. A great full-bodied, oaky red for a closed-up wintry evening in the mountains; it is lying in wait in our wine fridge at this very moment. By this point, our food had arrived and we compared the food pairings: pork ribeye, filet mignon, and eggplant pasta. We determined it paired best with Ms. K’s pasta; more mild with the meat, the cab spiced up with the marinara. Drinking this cab on a snowy night at home with a pot of spaghetti would be divine.
By this point we were well into dinner, and the Zinfandel held up amidst the other reds: a beautiful garnet color, strong berry and soft vanilla on the nose with a smooth fiery flavor. More austere, you would guess it was an Old World wine. If you’re a fan of zin like we are, this wine is ready to be paired with a bold dinner complete with Nina Simone bluesing in the background.
The grand finale of the evening came in the form of the 62 Anniversario from Italy. With a blackberry color, this deep, fruity red had us happily sloshed with its hint of brown sugar and fig finish. Once again an Old World-New World switch with this one, tasting more New World despite its Italian origin. For those of you who love to learn, primitivo is a synonym for zinfandel — not a different varietal. Now, you can imagine how odd it was that we found the California Zinfandel tasting Old World and the Italian Primitivo tasting New World! Made for an interesting end to our wining and dining. We ended up purchasing the 62 to share with the other budding oenophiles of our family at Thanksgiving. Needs to open up quite a bit — best to decant an hour before enjoying.
