Heart Smart “For Giving” Mount Veeder, Cabernet, 2008.
Wine: Heart Smart “For Giving” Mount Veeder Cabernet, 2008. Grape: Cabernet Place: Mount Veeder, Napa, California. Price: $90 (available from www.HeartSmartwine.com)
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Coffee-Roasted Duck Paired with HeartSmart “For Giving” Mount Veeder Cabernet, 2008.
With December being such a crazy month (my wife works in retail, and I work in a restaurant), eating at home has kind of taken a backseat over the last few weeks. Therefore, I do have to say that these food and wine pairing articles have also been a little sparse. Who wants to get home after working a 12+ hour shift, and cook? Not me! I’m sure we’re not in a minority on this,…
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Vina Robles Cabernet “Huerhuero Vineyard”, Paso Robles, California, 2008.
Grape 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Petit Verdot. Facts It’s quite unusual that such a high % of Petit Verdot (by itself) is added to a Cab, even though it is one of the “Bordeaux grapes”. Petite Verdot is thought to even pre-date Cabernet in Bordeaux. The grape bears juice which is rich in color, high in tannins, spicy, and when young is said to give an aroma of bananas. The 2008 vintage of the…
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Veramonte “Primus” Red Wine Blend from Colchagua, Chile.
Grapes 65% Cabernet, 20% Syrah, 8% Merlot, 7% Carmenere Facts In 1960, a relatively unknown gentleman by the name of Agustin Huneeus burst onto the Chilean wine-scene. He purchased part of the Concha y Toro winery operation, became the winery’s CEO, and is credited with turning it into the largest wine producers in the country. By the 70’s however, things in Chile had gotten kind of crazy! Pinochet had overthrown the Government, and Agustin…
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Caymus Cabernet 2009 for #CabernetDay
Grape(s) 81% Cabernet, 19% Merlot. Facts I was thinking to myself the other day; “I wonder if readers of my website think that I’ve decided to take a stance toward only featuring affordable wines?” Not that this is too far from the truth, but the real reason that I feature a great deal of wines under the $20 retail mark, is that I purchase the wines for review myself. Affordability is therefore key!…
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Raconteur Cabernet, South Australia. A Wine by Vinaceous.
Grape 100% Cabernet Sauvignon Facts Vinaceous is a fairly new Australian brand which has fairly recently started gaining some traction on the US market, so I thought their Raconteur Cab was worth reviewing. Name development and design behind Vinaceous apparently took 2 years of development, and they have a beautiful website, so make sure you check it out. The Cabernet Sauvignon grape was never discovered growing wild in nature. It’s actually a hybrid…
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Orin Swift The Prisoner 2009 Review
Grapes 51% Zinfandel, 19% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Syrah, 7% Petite Sirah, 3% Charbono, 1% Grenache, 1% Malbec, and a Partridge in a Pear Tree. Facts The label for The Prisoner was work of Spanish artist Francisco Goya. For the 2009 vintage, the debut tasting apparently took place at a prison location in San Francisco’s Presidio military base near the Golden Gate Bridge.
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What Are Tannins?
Tannins; the same natural chemical found in tree bark, wood, tea, and used in the tanning process on animal hides therefore turning them into leather, is the same as what’s in your glass of Cabernet. Tannic acid reacts with proteins in your mouth giving you that astringent-type feeling, that almost puckery-type sensation. If you’ve ever watch someone tasting a heavily tannic wine, such as Napa Cabernet or Italian Barolo, note that their facial expressions would…
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Grow your own vineyard!
Do you ever taste a wine and say, “I could make better wine than that!!!” Well here’s your chance! For the aspiring winemaker in you, why not try growing your own vineyard? These Cabernet & Chardonnay vines are planted in terra cotta pots in nutrient-rich soil, and enable you to grow grapes in the comfort of your own home without getting your feet dirty. I can’t promise how well they will do in our Florida…
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Chateau Pipeau, Saint Emilion Grand Cru 2008
Grapes 90% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc – I’m kind taking an educated guess based on previous vintages, since they don’t currently have an updated tech sheet for the ‘08 on the Chateau Pipeau website. They should probably get on that. Facts The family-owned Château Pipeau wine estate was founded in 1929. Château Pipeau is often viewed as a decent-priced entry into good Bordeaux. The wines vary in price and rating…
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Hedges C.M.S, Columbia Valley – Washington State, 2008
Grapes 48% Merlot, 46% Cabernet, 6% Syrah Facts The name C.M.S. comes from the blend of grapes they use i.e. Cabernet, Merlot, Syrah. This makes sense considering they are the leading the grapes in the Columbia Valley region. The Hedges estate also make a white blend of Chardonnay, Marsanne, Sauvignon Blanc. The CMS has been made since 1987, and is recognized as one of the big value-driven wines coming out of Washington State.
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Wine Nerd Alert! What is Pyrazine?
Pyrazine is a heterocyclic aromatic organic compound. Got that? Good! For those of us who don’t have a degree in Chemistry (me included), the relevance of Pyrazine to wine is that it gives it a “green” taste / aroma. It doesn’t take much for you to detect it either, around 2 parts per trillion to be exact. It’s stated that a single grape amongst tonnes of grapes will change the aroma of the entire batch…
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