Marsanne
A Simple Meal While Watching the 49’er Game with a Refreshing White Wine
Background
While wanting to watch the first football game of year, with our “home team” the San Francisco 49’ers, we had an early and simple dinner with a lovely and refreshing wine, 2023 Lavender Ridge Vineyard Côtes du Calaveras Blanc
The Wine – “Wine is bottled Poetry” – Robert Louis Stevenson
Photo ©Michael Kelly
First on the eyes, this wine is a light and enticing soft golden color with a medium-heavy viscosity. On the nose aromas of honeydew, strong floral notes and cantaloup waft gently in the senses. On the palate a symphony of each of the four varieties used in the wine are noted. First Lavender Ridge’s excellent Marsanne with its creaminess and brioche, Grenache Blanc providing minerality, wet stone and crispness, Roussanne bringing more rounded acidity, elegance and aromatic complexities to the blend with a mouth feel of fullness and 12% Viognier with oily, round and lovely fruit expression. These four are weaved together seamlessly. The finish is mouth filling, round and with so many nuances of flavor. An excellent wine representing Southern Rhone blend.
The wine currently sells for $26/bottle. It comes in at a high alcohol level of 14.3% yet seemingly tasted more like 12%. Made in 100% stainless steel tanks. The next release will feature a French oak version which will only add more body to the wine. Rumor has it that it will be out for holiday season.
A fine wine that will make my 2026 annual list of Best Wines tasted during the year. This list comes out each December.
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
A quick pan fried pounded seasoned chicken breast served with roasted Yukon Gold potato slices. Accompanied by a warm spinach salad with purple onion, sliced hard boiled eggs, bacon and a scrumptious dressing of red wine vinegar, bacon drippings, mustard and sugar.
The wine was perfect with chicken and potato slices. As with any “vinegar based” dressings, we had to wash out the taste of the great salad dressing before finishing the wine. We did enjoy the balance of the wine while watching the 49’ers trounce the Rams!
The Winery
Picture from Lavender Ridge Vineyard Facebook
Lavender Ridge Vineyard tasting room is in the town of Murphys in the lower Sierra Nevada foothills. Lavender Ridge specializes in Rhone varietal wines. They include Cotes du Calaveras Blanc, Viognier, Roussanne, Rolle, Grenache Blanc, Grenache Rose, Grenache, Cotes du Calaveras, Mourvedre, Syrah, Petite Sirah, Alicante Bouschet, Vin Doux and Anniversaire Blanc. They also feature an artisan cheese selection that is unique and has something for just about everyone.
To read more about Lavender Ridge, see three previous articles:
Sláinte,
Michael Kelly
https://californiawinesandwineries.com
2024 Starfield Vineyards Marsanne – With Scallops a Perfect Food/Wine Pairing
Photo ©Michael Kelly
The Wine – “Wine is bottled poetry” – Robert Louis Stevenson
Photo ©Michael Kelly
This wine as seen in the picture is a very light golden color with a medium viscosity. But don’t be deceived as this a huge MOUTHFULL and MOUTH FEELING wine. On the nose faint hints of stone fruits and floral notes of honeysuckle. On the palate a delicate vanilla and almond flavors bounced side to side in the mouth. The finish was a bit abbreviated with a slight sweet and savory note mixed with minerality.
The wine is made with 95% Marsanne and 5% Roussane coming in at 12.9% alcohol. Only 72 cases were produced.
The other note on the finish was the “Sierra Spice” which Starfield Vineyards describes as being its sense of place amongst the trees on the property of “Ponderosa Pine, Cedar, Douglas Fir and combined with the mountain air of resin, bark and needles” from the trees.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
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
Paired this evening with seared scallops with a mango salsa. The mango salsa included chopped mangoes, chopped bell peppers, chopped jalapeno pepper, chopped red onion, lime juice, chili powder and minced cilantro. Served with fresh asparagus and risotto. Add the mango salsa to the rice and that enhanced the rice tremendously.
Marsanne with seared scallop is a classic and luxurious pairing. The rich texturally full body and stone fruit flavors paired nicely with natural sweetness and buttery weight of scallops. The wine with its waxy mouthfeel mirrored the dense and tender bites of the seared scallops. Additionally, the acidity cut through the scallop preparations.
The Winery
Photo ©Michael Kelly
The winery was founded in 2012 by Tom and Rob Sinton with plantings of 31 acres on the hillsides east of Placerville, California in El Dorado County. They are located at 2759 Jacquier Road.
Map courtesy of https://uscountymaps.com/el-dorado-county-map-california/
The names of the wines, especially their new labels starting with the 2023 vintages, highlight the history of the region from the Gold Rush with wine names as Miner’s Inch and Rising Hope. These two are for a nearby mine.
The winery produces 17 varieties of wines comprising of mostly Rhone varieties (66%) and Italian (30%) and a few Spanish varieties. The vineyards have been farmed using sustainable and fish-friendly farming since their inception.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
The winery’s name Starfield refers to “Star Fields”, sites where in their words “fruit develops the optimal balance of aroma, flavor and texture”. They also consider what they refer to as Sierra Spice, the aroma and taste characteristics that come from the western facing forests surrounding the vineyards. The local trees are Ponderosa Pines, Cedars and Douglas Firs and their oils provide earthy and woodsy forest aromatics from their oils.
Sláinte,
Michael Kelly
2024 Starfield Vineyards “Hope Rising” a White Wine Blend Alternative to Chardonnay
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Background on Marsanne & Roussanne Grapes
This has long been one of my favorite white wine blends. When given a chance to review this wine, I was excited to taste it. Marsanne originated in the northern Rhône Valley of France, likely named after the village of Marsanne. Thomas Jefferson called it “the first wine in the world” when blended with Roussanne.
Roussanne came also from the Rhône Valley of France, likely between Lyon and Valence, and was first documented in 1781. Roussanne besides being blended with Marsanne, is one of the six white grapes allowed to be used in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Roussanne was reintroduced to California in the 1980’s after many early plantings were lost to phylloxera and Prohibition period.
In the final 2025 Grape Crush Report for California by the USDA, it shows 37% of the white wine grapes crushed being Chardonnay. Roussanne represented only .0004% of the total tonnage crushed and Marsanne being at .0002%. The actual tonnage for Roussanne and Marsanne were 587 and 315 tons respectively. This was a dramatic shift for Marsanne being reduced from 2024 to 1234 tons down to 315 or 75% decrease. Whereas Roussanne decreased about 6% on par with overall white wine grapes being reduced by 5% year to year by tonnage.
One other note while sharing this wine with two others (daughter & a good friend from Colorado), was that neither recognized Marsanne and Roussanne as grape varietals which prompted a story on alternative white wines for summer. They both enjoyed this wine and its distinct aromatics and taste.
The Wine – “Wine is bottled poetry” – Robert Louis Stevenson
Photo ©Michael Kelly
The wine being a blend highlighted the key characteristics of both wines. The classic blend has a complex flavor with stone fruit (peach & apricot), floral hints and a spicy nutty quality. They are generally dry and have a full-bodied texture, often referred to as having a waxy trait. The blend is 45% Marsanne, 45% Roussanne and with 10% being Viognier. Viognier in small doses is added to enhance the aromatics (floral characteristics) and provides a richer, silkier texture and full body to the blend.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
This wine presented on the eyes a light straw coloring which was just one of two surprises this evening for this wine. Visually seeing this pale coloring and then being “blow away” with the perfume or aromatics of honeysuckle was a nice surprise. The second surprise was on the viscosity of the wine being medium whereas many wines of similar blends were more on the medium-heavy side. Once on the palate the stone fruits specifically peach, tangerine and honeydew provided a large mouth filling and heavier weighted sipping experience. The finish was bright, soft and embracing with smoothness and gentle with a faint hint of the “waxy characteristic”. The other note on the finish was the “Sierra Spice” which Starfield Vineyards describes as being its sense of place amongst the trees on the property of “Ponderosa Pine, Cedar, Douglas Fir and combined with the mountain air of resin, bark and needles” from the trees. They had sent me a test tube to inhale the aromatics which are remarkable.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Hope Rising is named after a gold mine near the Starfield Vineyards. This is their new label capturing the Sierra Spice with the trees and the beauty of the night sky from the vineyard. The wine is $36/bottle and comes in at 13.4% alcohol with only 181 cases being produced.
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
Paired this evening with chicken & spinach skillet pasta with lemon and Parmesan. A nice summer meal consisting of whole wheat pasta, olive oil, salt, ground pepper, minced garlic, white wine, lemon zest, lemon juice, unsalted butter, grated Parmesan cheese and chopped fresh spinach.
The wine worked wonderfully with its bright and savory flavors and the light meal. The meal only enhanced the flavory nuances of the wine.
A very good food and wine pairing.
The Winery
Photo from Starfield Vineyards
The winery was founded in 2012 by Tom and Rob Sinton with plantings of 31 acres on the hillsides east of Placerville, California in El Dorado County. They are located at 2759 Jacquier Road.
Map courtesy of https://uscountymaps.com/el-dorado-county-map-california/
The names of the wines, especially their new labels starting with the 2023 vintages, highlight the history of the region from the Gold Rush with wine names as Miner’s Inch and Rising Hope. These two are for a nearby mine.
The winery produces 17 varieties of wines comprising of mostly Rhone varieties (66%) and Italian (30%) and a few Spanish varieties. The vineyards have been farmed using sustainable and fish-friendly farming since their inception.
Photo from Starfield Vineyards
The wineries name Starfield refers to “Star Fields”, sites where in their words “fruit develops the optimal balance of aroma, flavor and texture”. They also consider what they refer to as Sierra Spice, the aroma and taste characteristics that come from the western facing forests surrounding the vineyards. The local trees are Ponderosa Pines, Cedars and Douglas Firs and their oils provide earthy and woodsy forest aromatics from their oils.
Sláinte,
Michael Kelly
2023 Starfield Vineyards “Hope Rising” a White Wine Blend of Marsanne and Roussanne
Note it should state 2024 vintage!
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Background on Marsanne & Roussanne Grapes
This has long been one of my favorite white wine blends. When given a chance to review this wine, I was excited to taste it. Marsanne originated in the northern Rhône Valley of France, likely named after the village of Marsanne. Thomas Jefferson called it “the first wine in the world” when blended with Roussanne.
Roussanne came also from the Rhône Valley of France, likely between Lyon and Valence, and was first documented in 1781. Roussanne besides being blended with Marsanne, is one of the six white grapes allowed to be used in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Roussanne was reintroduced to California in the 1980’s after many early plantings were lost to phylloxera and Prohibition period.
In the final 2024 Grape Crush Report for California by the USDA, it shows over one third of the white wine grapes crushed being Chardonnay. Roussanne represented only .00045% of the total tonnage crushed and Marsanne being slightly higher at .00088%. The actual tonnage for Roussanne and Marsanne were 637 and 1,234 tons respectively. The largest harvest for Roussanne came from San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties with over 33%. The largest harvest for Marsanne, with almost 70%, came from Madera, Fresno and surrounding central valley counties. These grapes from the Sierra foothill counties were very small. This also got my attention to try this wine!
The Wine – “Wine is bottled poetry” – Robert Louis Stevenson
Photo ©Michael Kelly
The wine being a blend highlighted the key characteristics of both wines. The classic blend has a complex flavor with stone fruit (peach & apricot), floral hints and a spicy nutty quality. They are generally dry and have a full-bodied texture, often referred to as having a waxy trait. The blend is 45% Marsanne, 45% Roussanne and with 10% being Viognier. Viognier in small doses is added to enhance the aromatics (floral characteristics) and provides a richer, silkier texture and full body to the blend.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
This wine provided on the eyes a light straw coloring which was just one of two surprises this evening for this wine. Visually seeing this pale coloring and then being “blow away” with the perfume or aromatics of honeysuckle was a nice surprise. The second surprise was on the viscosity of the wine being medium whereas many wines of similar blends were more on the medium-heavy side. Once on the palate the stone fruits specifically peach, tangerine and honeydew provided a large mouth filling and heavy weighted sipping experience. The finish was soft and embracing with smoothness and gentle with a faint hint of the “waxy characteristic”. The other note on the finish was the “Sierra Spice” which Starfield Vineyards describes as being its sense of place amongst the trees on the property of “Ponderosa Pine, Cedar, Douglas Fir and combined with the mountain air of resin, bark and needles” from the trees. They sent me a test tube to inhale the aromatics:
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Hope Rising is named after a gold mine near the Starfield Vineyards. This is their new label capturing the Sierra Spice with the trees and the beauty of the night sky from the vineyard. When the wine is released, it is expected to be $36/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
Paired this evening with one of our favorite meals, Swiss Cheese Chicken.
Our usual pairing is a nice Chardonnay and was extremely pleased with the Marsanne/Roussane blend as an alternative. The blend worked wonderfully with savory flavors of the meal and the creaminess of the melted cheese. The nuttiness of the Swiss cheese was only enhanced and complemented the wine. The smoothness of the wine harmonized with the butter and cheese used in the preparation of the dish.
The Swiss cheese chicken recipe includes pieces of chicken breasts cut in half, layered with Swiss cheese, cream of chicken soup, white wine, crumbled croutons, and topped with melted unsalted butter then baked for an hour. Accompanied by rice and steamed broccoli. The buttery aspect of the meal was wonderfully aligned with this wine. A very good food and wine pairing.
The Winery
Photo from Starfield Vineyards
The winery was founded in 2012 by Tom and Rob Sinton with plantings of 31 acres on the hillsides east of Placerville, California in El Dorado County. They are located at 2759 Jacquier Road.
Map courtesy of https://uscountymaps.com/el-dorado-county-map-california/
The names of the wines, especially their new labels starting with the 2023 vintages, highlight the history of region from the Gold Rush with wine names as Miner’s Inch and Rising Hope. These two are for a nearby mine.
The winery produces 17 varieties of wines comprising of mostly Rhone varieties (66%) and Italian (30%) and a few Spanish varieties. The vineyards have been farmed using sustainable and fish-friendly farming since their inception.
Photo from Starfield Vineyards
The wineries name Starfield refers to “Star Fields”, sites where in their words “fruit develops the optimal balance of aroma, flavor and texture”. They also consider what they refer to as Sierra Spice, the aroma and taste characteristics that come from the western facing forests surrounding the vineyards. The local trees are Ponderosa Pines, Cedars and Douglas Firs and their oils provide earthy and woodsy forest aromatics from their oils.
Sláinte,
Michael