2020 Peterson Vineyard V3 White Wine Blend – Simple Name but a Complex Wine
The Winery
Photo from Peterson website
The winery was founded by Fred Peterson and has been producing wine in the Dry Creek Valley for 30 years. Fred’s approach to winemaking was and is still a philosophy called Zero Manipulation. The goal is simply to use “low tech” and a “high touch” to produce wines with a “sense of place and soul”. In so enacting this approach it allows them to capture the essence of the vineyard, the character of the grapes and bring forth the soul of the vineyard. Having the estate winery at 1,000 feet elevation Fred states it “adds aromatics and texture to the wine… and provides a peppery quality”. At the higher elevation, means more sunlight hours and darker richer fruit.
Here is a link with much more details from a recent story:
The Wine – “Wine is bottled poetry” – Robert Louis Stevenson
Photo ©Michael Kelly
This wine is from Bradford Mountain Vineyard and in the title I mentioned it being a complex white wine blend. The blend is of almost equal parts of Vermentino, Vernaccia and Verdelho. Not a common wine blend, but very aromatic and delicious wine. The complexity comes from combining some very unique grapes. A quick recap of Vermentino notably from Sardinia and Tuscany, Vermentino has tastes of citrus fruit such as lemons and oranges. There can be other notes similar to grapefruit skin, apricots or almonds. Vermentino is a rare wine that pairs with artichokes, which can be problematic due to a compound call cynarin (hydroxycinnamic acid derivative) that makes dry wines sweet. Vermentino doesn’t succumb and stands up to the artichokes and garlic oils.
Vernaccia is not often found outside of Tuscany, specifically the village of San Gimignano. It is in this walled community that Vernaccia di San Gimignano can be found and if you get a chance to experience it, by all means do so! It is the only DOCG white and is restricted to the village. I can remember staring at its slightly “green coloring” in amazement while sipping in the village. It is a very crisp and sharp wine, yet having a beautiful texture on the palate. It welcomes hard cheese, vegetable, poultry and fish.
Lastly, Verdelho characteristics are again aromatic and crispness and spciy accents. Lemon, pear and phenolic texture makes it a great choice for various “light dishes”. Often apricot and stonefruit aromas occur.
I am puzzled by what possessed the Peterson’s to pick these three grapes, but very happy they did. They co-fermented the juice in the tank and barrel early on to provide a coherent and smooth wine with complex and appealing aromas which transcend to the palate and finish.
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
This wine is meant to be enjoyed with a variety of foods which is why I waited until the Super Bowl with a variety of appetizers. Several folks brought over these delicious appetizers and more were prepared. With three entirely unique and different wines, we did have many appetizers that paired well with this wine. The first being fresh smoked salmon with cream cheese, capers and slivers of purple onion. Two different green olives were also offered with pimentos and garlic.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
The second dish was charcuterie board with salty meats, hard cheeses, dried fruit and nuts.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
The third food pairing was homemade flatbread pizzas being prepared to be put into the oven. Chicken, Pesto, garlic and artichokes were perfectly aligned for the wine.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
One last appetizer was a fresh vegetables plate with hummus.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
While some ten or twelve other appetizers were prepared these stood out as a wonderful food partner for this unique wine.
Sláinte,
Michael