Roussanne or Chardonnay -Taste Challenge at Dinner
We held a taste challenge as to which wine pair best with scallops, asparagus with mushrooms and assorted long grain rice. We served two wines which already made my “Best of 2020 Wine List”. The first was the 2018 Tenbrink Vineyards Chardonnay from Suisun Valley. The pale straw coloring provided an array of honeysuckle, pear and apple on nose and later on the palate with a medium and enjoyable finish. The retail is $28. To read more about Tenbrink Wines click a previous article: https://californiawinesandwineries.com/2020/01/09/tenbrink-vineyards-and-tolenas-winery-a-family-story/
The second wine was a Roussanne from Lavender Ridge Vineyards in Murphys, in the Sierra foothills. It was powerful with floral aromatics, with hints of peaches, pears and with a rich and silky smooth mouthful texture almost creamy. Roussanne most times is blended with the Marsanne varietal but in this case it was 100% Roussanne. This retails also for $28. Marsanne adds the fat, richness, oily textures and sweetness to the wines, while Roussanne brings more acidity, elegance and aromatic complexities to the wine. To read more about Lavender Ridge click on a previous article: https://californiawinesandwineries.com/2019/06/01/lavender-ridge-vineyard-you-get-to-pick-the-title-of-this-article/
As we partook of the food, lots of discussion about the flavor profiles of each wine and how it brought out different characteristics in the mouth with the seafood. Since both wines were held in high esteem, the banter went on for a while. In the end it was a standoff as the table was deadlocked. So both wines were declared winners! The only thing to do is to rate it yourself! Kudo’s to both wineries for making excellent wine varietals and providing for an exquisite pairing with scallops.
Slainte,
Michael
California Wines & Wineries 