This week was a week of catching up with friends and catching up with friends can mean exercise, as I did with my friend Dan, pictured above.
Or it can mean great food and wine with great friends, as I did with my friend Judy. Along the way I tried some new wines and thought I would share them with you.
I do love an Italian Rosso, having first tried a Rosso wine at Francis Ford Coppola’s vineyard in the Napa Valley. This one from Bolla, comes from the Verona region, which features lots of clay in the soil. I always find that clay type soil makes for a rich and well-balanced wines. This particular wine would pair well with a wide variety of foods including pasta, pizza, cold cuts, charcuterie boards, and would be just great sipping all by itself.
Speaking of Rosso, this was a new wine I tried this past week. As I mentioned previously my first Rosso came from Francis Ford Coppola’s Vineyard. I was in the Napa Valley in 2001 and went to his vineyard and tried it there. This is a bit of a different blend and it was my first time trying this particular one. The Coppola Rosso & Bianca Cabernet Sauvignon also contains Zinfandel and Syrah, and was designed as an everyday table wine. Plum, cherry, mocha and vanilla flavors blend together nicely and what the winemaker had in mind was to create a wine that would go well with just about any meal. Mission accomplished!
It’s Rose season and the more Rose wines I drink, the more I absolutely fall in love with them. They are perfect summer wines, perfect patio wines and perfect wines for pairing with appetizers. This delightful rose wine from a local Nova Scotia Vineyard is deserving of some special attention. It is made with Pinot Muenier, Pinot Noir and Geisenheim, which is a grape that originated in Germany’s Rheingau region but also grows well here locally. The heavenly mouthfeel on this wine is followed by crisp flavors of wild strawberries and notes of peach, and a spectacular off-dry finish which I really enjoy in a rose wine.
And my wine of the week…
We go back to the vineyards of Francis Ford Coppola, the 2012 Directors Cut Zinfandel from the Dry Creek Valley region in California. This was definitely my treat of the week. It is a very unique Zinfandel because it is blended with Petite Sirah, which adds structure and weight, but also a complexity to the wine. Rich fruit jam, decadent chocolate and voluptuous black pepper flavors make for a new favorite of mine in the Zinfandel family. Comes in around the $45 price range here, but worth it!
Till next week, Cheers to all my friends, who would never ask if it’s too early for a glass of wine.
Darlene
Wine-It’s Just My Opinion 