verona18
Saturday, A Fun Day at Copper Valley Clubhouse and Verona18
Started out with a late lunch at Verona18 restaurant as they were hosting a Spring Wine Party at 4:30 pm. Wanted to have some food in the stomach before the Spring Wine Party. Ordered a seafood ceviche with scallops, white fish, shrimp in a lime vinaigrette, slices of avocado and tortilla chips. Avocado slices removed except one for the picture as I don’t eat them. The dish was exceptional delicious.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
This was just the right amount of food before sampling some of the 84 wines being poured by a combination of 13 distributors and wineries.
Too many wines to enumerate but some of the best in my opinion were J. Lohr Vineyards and Wines Cuvee POM (80% Cab Franc/20% Cab Sauvignon), DAOU RSV Cabernet Sauvignon, Belle Glos Clark & Telephone, Jayson Cab Sauvignon, Vineyard 29 and Alexana Pinot Noir.
Our Friday night Wine and Dine Group agreed to meet on Saturday after this event to enjoy a meal and some additional wine (as if we needed more!). I was stuffed from the late lunch and the appetizers served at the Spring Wine event and had a simple Caprese appetizer for my meal. Delicious with freshness and hit the spot with sliced tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil and all drizzled with balsamic glaze.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Some of the other wines brought to dinner and we enjoyed this evening were from Sonoma Valley, Paso Robles, Dundee Hills in Oregon and Napa Valley.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
One of the announcements at the Wine Party was for the Volunteer of the Year for the community. The award went to the ever energetic and lovely Pat Hansen. While winning the award, they should have also named her for sainthood. A wonderful and deserving award for Pat.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Sláinte,
Michael Kelly
https://californiawinesandwineries.com
https://www.coppervalleygolf.com
7th Annual Cabernet Franc and Many Other Wine Varieties, Wine Stroll on March 28th
Wineries from Paso Robles, Livermore Valley, Napa Valley, Santa Cruz Mtns and Oregon are slated to attend. All these wineries have previous won Grand Sweepstakes, Best of Class, Gold or Double Gold at previous Cabernet Franc Competitions or SF Chronicle Wine Competition.
Hope to see you there!!
Slainte,
Michael Kelly
2024 Starfield Vineyards Marsanne – Light and Refreshing
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Background on Marsanne
In the final 2024 Grape Crush Report for California by the USDA, it shows over one third of the total white wine grapes crushed being Chardonnay. Marsanne coming in at .00088% of the white wine grapes crushed by tonnage at 1,234 tons. 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.
The Wine – “Wine is bottled poetry” – Robert Louis Stevenson
Photo ©Michael Kelly
This wine as seen in the picture is a very light and clear color wine with a medium viscosity. 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.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
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:
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 a special swordfish at Verona18 Restaurant with swordfish being in season. It was marinated overnight in a Mediterranean rub of fresh oregano, thyme, rosemary, basil and olive oil.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
The dessert was a fabulous cheesecake with a black and blue berry compote!
Note: this wine was so light and delicate the food pairing must be very well thought out in advance. While the swordfish was a good choice and another at the table had a chicken entrée that was good, it was limited to those two dishes this evening.
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
https://californiawinesandwineries.com
Rombauer Wine Dinner at Verona18 – With a Few Nice Surprises!
Photo ©Michael Kelly
It had been almost twenty years since I had a full tasting experience of Rombauer wines, so when and our local clubhouse restaurant, Verona18 and Rombauer held this event thought it was about time. Rachael Akerley from Rombauer in Plymouth conducted the wine portion of the event for about fifty attendees.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Chef Jaime Alderete prepared the exquisite dinner for the evening. The evening started off with a Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho with herb oil as a shooter. This was the first surprise being paired with a 2024 Rombauer Sauvignon Blanc. Conventional thinking is that “tomato-based foods” usually trend toward high acid lighter red wines. The shooter was heavenly sent and the pairing with the wine was strikingly delightful. It generally got the best reviews for the evening for a wine and wine/food pairing from the crowd!
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Next up a Sicilian-style Tuna Carpaccio with a garlicky herb dressing. Again the food was top notch and Rombauer 2023 Chardonnay, perhaps not to my likely, is still the number one selling Chardonnay in the USA and the number one Chardonnay for restaurants in the USA. The food and wine pairing was good but I kept thinking the Sauvignon Blanc would have tasted even better with the food.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Next up, and another surprise, was the Squash Ravioli of sage brown butter sauce, diced squash and tomato. The surprise was the taste of this light and tasty ravioli with a little sweetness. This was paired with their 2023 Pinot Noir from Santa Lucia Highlands from the Central Coast of California. The pairing with the Pinot Noir again for me did not seem to have enough weight to pair with the Pinot Noir. By the way for all the pairings, whether good or great, there wasn’t any wine left in the glasses!
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Before the main entrée was served, an intermezzo refreshment with Prosecco and lime/orange sherbert as both a palate cleaner as well as to stimulate the appetite.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
The main entrée was served up and a unique Surf & Turf of filet mignon, sauteed shrimp & lobster, with browned white wine and shallot cream sauce. The sauce was tasty and perfectly suited for both seafood and beef. This was another surprise of the sauce being well suited for both on the same plate. The beef was served medium rare and very tender.
The wine being paired was the Rombauer 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon with pronounced cherry, oak and medium tannins. This was a solid pairing with the filet, but the lobster and shrimp were left out in the cold with the Cabernet Sauvignon not making it a good pairing. Not to sound like a broken record but believe having two glasses to taste with the entrée would have been spot on with the Cabernet Sauvignon caressing the filet and Sauvignon Blanc with its citrus and passion fruit notes complementing the lobster and shrimp. Accompanied by fresh string beans and potatoes.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Last up was another surprise of Poached Pear with Gorgonzola dolci, tuile, chocolate mousse. This was paired with two Rombauer wines: 2022 Zinfandel and 2022 Zinfandel, Twin Rivers from El Dorado. Both wines were good with dessert and lots of discussion on which of the two wines went best with the desserts.
Video ©Michael Kelly
The crowd was very appreciative of Rombauer and Verona18 hosting the event and Jaime preparing such a wonderful meal to be enjoyed.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Picture of Rachael Akerley of Rombauer who conducted the tasting.
and
And Executive Chef Jaime Aderete who prepared each wonderful and delicious dishes for the evening.
A couple of us the following afternoon drove to Plymouth to a tasting with Rachael. We were treated to several reserve, older vintages and special wines which were all scrumptous. Here are just a few:
Photo ©Michael Kelly
and
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Would encourage everyone who has only tasted their regular lineup and have an opinion on Rombauer to try their “higher end” lineup for a comparison. You will be surprised!
Sláinte,
Michael Kelly
A Weekend Smorgasbord of Foods and Wines -Napa Valley, Lodi, Sonoma, Paso Robles, France and Calaveras foothills
A few of the Friday Night Wine & Dine Group was able to get together, not once but twice over the weekend. First at the local restaurant and then at one of the houses. The first included two nice specials at Verona18, Mahi Mahi with Mango Chutney and a Pasta Beef Ragu and of course their normal menu.
The second was for an impromptu crab feed including bibs! Two great dishes of fresh crab with clarified butter & lemon and a Fijian crab style dish (coconut milk, prawns, jalapeño peppers, etc.). Everyone brought various side dishes including salads, French bread, garlic French bread, chicken ramen with vegetables and a few other dishes.
Some excellent wine from Napa Valley, Lodi, Sonoma, Paso Robles, France and Calaveras foothills.
Some pictures were taken by me and a few from others.
Looking forward to a few days to recover!
Slainte,
Michael
https://californiawinesandwineries.com
https://www.shadybrookestate.com/wines/rapp-ranch