2019 Acquiesce Clairette Blanche – A Rare and Delicious Wine
Photo ©Michael Kelly
The Winery
Acquiesce Winery continues to impress with their white wine portfolio on French wines. There is so much to state about Susan Tipton, owner and winemaker of Acquiesce Winery. The key takeaway is that she established her winery in Acampo (just north of Lodi) with the expressed purpose of bringing French white wine varieties to market. Lodi had been primarily known for red wines, but she turned heads with some of her unique wines such as Picpoul, Clairette Blanche, Ingénue (blend of Grenache Blanc, Clairette Blanche, Bourboulenc & Picpoul), Roussanne and more. Here are some reviews of her wines and her impact:
https://californiawinesandwineries.com/2020/09/20/2018-acquiesce-vineyards-picpoul-blanc/
The Wine “Wine is bottled poetry” – Robert Louis Stevenson
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Clairette Blanche is a widely planted white grape in the south of France. “Clairette” which means light one in French is due to its grape skin color. Only 2% of worldwide production is done in the USA. Acquiesce Clairette Blanche holds a tremendous complexity of floral aromas of honeysuckle and jasmine. The flavor profile is one of both sweet and lightly roasted almonds. Residing in the background is pineapple, lime and lemongrass. A perfect wine targeted for fish and shell fish. The wine won a Double Gold Medal at the 2020 American Wine Society Wine Competition, Gold Medal at the 2021 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition and a Gold Medal at the 2021 Orange County Wine Society Competition. The current release is the 2022 and shows on the website selling for $34/bottle.
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
This wine was chosen to go with this evening’s meal of Petrale Sole Dore at Verona18. The Friday Night Wine & Dine group attended and heard a great band called Gravity Zero perform while enjoying dinner. The meal consisted of the fish in a lemon caper sauce with fresh garlic slices on a bed of leek-mushroom risotto and fresh sautéed vegetables. The wine provided just enjoy flavoring to go with this light fish meal. The lemon and garlic flavors on the fish were counterbalanced by the honeysuckle and jasmine aromas of the wine. The lemongrass flavor in the wine was perfectly matched with the lemon and caper sauce.
Always a favorite wine and food pairing!
Sláinte,
Michael
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