2021 Wood Family Vineyards Malbec and Winter Comfort Food!
The Winery
Photo from Wood Family Vineyards
Wood Family Vineyards, located in eastern Livermore Valley, with Rhonda Wood owner & winemaker, has been producing award winning wines for over two decades. You can read more on her background from airline pilot to award winning winemaker at:
https://californiawinesandwineries.com/2016/02/10/wood-family-vineyards-2/
and
Her awards are extensive and too numerous to list here in this article. Check out their website at the bottom of this article.
The Wine “Wine is bottled poetry” – Robert Louis Stevenson
Photo ©Michael Kelly
This wine on the eyes is medium viscosity with a deep royal purple coloration, yet around the rim it is almost translucent. On the nose blackberries and dark red plums are the leaders rushing in to claim dominance in the olfactory senses. Also present were violets and roses. On the palate almost overpowering black and dark red fruits (blackberries and plums) come to the forefront with tobacco, French oak, chocolate, black licorice and fresh leather. The finish is velvety smooth with medium acidity and rounded embracing tannins with no sharpness. Also on the finish the presence of ground stone minerality provide a juicy and mouth filling finish. Alcohol was 14.2 % and listed at the winery at $36/bottle with only 93 cases were produced from their estate vineyard. This Malbec has been on my list of Best Wines Tasted yearly for the last three years and continues to be in 2023. That list comes out mid-December annually.
The Food and Wine Pairing “Food without wine is a corpse; wine without food is a ghost. United and well matched, they are as body and soul: living partners” – Andre Simon
Photo ©Michael Kelly
With the first “rain” (actually more like sprinkles), winter is just beginning in California. So nothing better than comfort food. This evening was a new recipe called Jalapeño meatloaf. Ingredients included ground beef, panko breadcrumbs, egg, minced jalapeño peppers, minced garlic, shredded sharp cheddar cheese and tomato sauce. The topping was a combination of tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, honey and chill powder. Accompanied by a half of a Yukon Gold potato and fresh garden salad, this hit the spot! The Wood Family Vineyards Malbec with its fruit surrounded this spicy but not hot meatloaf to perfection. An excellent food and wine pairing.
Sláinte,
Michael