A New Year of Wine!

I would like to take this moment to wish all my readers a very happy and healthy new year.   I love the beginning of a new year because it’s full of opportunity and fun new experiences.  It reminds me of a blank slate, and you get to fill in the picture.  It also means another year of trying and enjoying new wines.  I thought I would start this new year off with some new wines I tried recently.

You might recognize this one from my list of favorites of 2015.  I went home to Newfoundland for the holidays and regular readers know how much I love Zinfandel.  Well, I had the opportunity to try several new ones.  Sliding in, just in the nick of time, what a treat this was.  The Dry Creek Vineyard Heritage Vines Zinfandel.  A fantastic Zinfandel with great tannic structure and a gorgeous palate.

 

Here are 2 more Zinfandel wines I had the opportunity to try.   The Zinfandel on the left is from Seghesio in the Napa Valley.  I had the 2013 vintage, and this was a great wine.  This wine has to breathe though.  When I first opened it, I tasted it, and was a little disappointed because it tasted boozy.  But then I got busy and let it sit for a while, and wow, spectacular.   Luscious fruit and spicy notes makes for a great wine in my mind.  I’ve seen reviews on this ranging from 90 Points all the way to 94 points.  Worth a try.

The next one, the Sebasiani Zinfandel, also from California, is a great value.  Coming in at around $20, this Zinfandel also contains small amounts of Petite Sirah, Syrah and Malbec.   Easy to drink, food friendly and I loved the white pepper notes on this wine.  Keep this one in mind for the barbecue.

I also got to try a couple of new Merlot wines.  Both from California, the Merlot on the left is from Rodney Strong, one of the pioneers of the wine scene in the Napa Valley.  This is a warm climate Merlot, so it would taste different from those grown in a cooler climate, like Canada.  This wine was rich and dark and had notes of chocolate, plum and dark cherries.  A fantastic wine that came in under $30.   The next one is the Callaway Merlot, coming in under $20, and making for great value.  Very food compatible and easy to drink, I loved the smoky notes and flavors of black pepper on this wine.  It was a nice unique Merlot at a great price.

My favorite wine I discovered over the holidays….(hint, it wasn’t in Newfoundland)

 

I have to thank my friend Rayell for introducing me to this local beauty.  The Lightfood & Wolfville Rose from right here in Nova Scotia.   This is a new vineyard that specialize in handcrafted small lot wines, with individual vineyard block bottlings.   I got to experience the 2014 Rose, which is Pinot driven – both Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, and L’Acadie, with small amounts of Geisenheim and Frontenac Rouge.  Now there are 2 grapes I don’t write about often.  Geisenheim originates out of the Geisenheim Breeding Institute in Germany, and is a cross of Riesling and Chancellor, and is said to be like biting into a crisp green apple.  Frontenac is another hybrid grape.    Light and refreshing with strawberry, peach and citrus flavors, makes for one very interesting wine.

Part of my Christmas holiday was spent here, at my sister’s cabin.  And she and her husband gave themselves a new hot tub, so that was fun too.  Thank you to all the readers of my blog from 2015 and here’s to another great year of wine in 2016

Cheers

Darlene