Wine for Thanksgiving

       There we were... having an early Thanksgiving with friends.  Why not?  Isn't there a saying about "the early bird catches the worm?" 

       We had a delightful day with all the basic fixin's-- glorious golden turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffed zucchini and onions from my family cookbook, bread sausage stuffing, and pumpkin pie with whipped cream--preceded by a prayer of thanks for all the blessings in our lives and accompanied by a special Carmel Valley wine.  What could be better.

        Our wine?  A Chesebro Roussanne. It was a rather spontaneous choice.  I walked into the Chesebro Wine Tasting Room to pick up my wine club wine and asked what they would serve with a Thanksgiving turkey.  Roussanne was the first answer; since I knew I liked the wine, that's what I bought.  A nice medium bodied Rhone blend--Roussanne (85%), Vermentino (10%), and Sauvignon Blanc Musque (5%), all from grapes grown in Carmel Valley mountains-- it was perfect...as would have been many of Chesebro's other unique, very affordable wines.

        I also wandered over to the Bernardus tasting room and bought another one of my current favorite wines, a 2011 Saignée de Pinot Noir, a true rosé from grapes from the Santa Lucia Highlands, which we thought would be a wonderful light crisp wine with the turkey.  We were so prudent, however, that we never even got to it.  Thank goodness there are more holidays ahead.

        After our event, I got curious as to what Carmel Valley wineries might suggest for the traditional Thanksgiving turkey extravaganza.  Here are some responses: 

Bernardus: 2009 or 2010 Pinot Noirs (Santa Lucia Highlands); Chateau Julien: 2011 Pinot Grigio Reserve or the 2013 Gewurtztraminer...to be bottled on the 19th, and released soon after, just in time for Thanksgiving; Dawn's Dream: 2011 Arroyo Seco Chardonnay, 2011 Alyssa Pinot Noir; Georis: 2012 Sauvignon Blanc, 2012 Les Abeilles Rose, 2011 Cabernet Franc; Parsonage: 2012 Sauvignon Blanc, 2011 Red Wine (their biggest seller), 2009 Bordelaise; Talbott: 2012 Kali Hart Pinot Noir ("for easy pre-dinner drinking"), 2012 Sleepy Hollow Pinot Noir.  And, as you know, there are many more Carmel Valley wineries to check with for their suggestions.

And this is just a beginning...

        No matter what wine you have for Thanksgiving, may the holiday bring you tasty fare, good companionship and many blessings.

50 Shades of Rosé

        We think you all know the expression, "The Devil made me do it."  Well, this time, it was the rosé that finally made LC do it, join Chesebro wine club, that is.  The rosé was devilishly wonderful.

        With a touch of Granache, Syrah, Viognier and Albariño, the Chesebro 2012 Rosé is a  "true rosé," made by adding a little red wine to the white wine. The wine is bright, refreshing, of medium body, and a magnificent light pink blush color.   At only $15, it is a remarkable deal.  (And if you're a club member, which we both are now, it's only $12!)

        The two "Carmel Valley by the Glass" adventurers continued their exploration of valley rosés by moseying down the East End Wine Row to the Holman Ranch Winery tasting room. There we talked with Nick Elliott, one of the winery's owners, about their rosé, the 2011 Rosé of Pinot Noir.  Theirs is bolder, more acidic than the Chesebro rosé, yet good, light and crisp as well.  In fact, it won the 2013 First Blush Competition in San Francisco for Rosés from California.  Holman Ranch Winery also has their own dynamite peppery olive oil...for members only--yet another motivation to become a wine club member.

        We then continued our rosé exploration by visiting the Georis wine tasting garden, always one of our favorites on a beautiful sunny valley day.  There, we had the Georis Les Abeilles Rosé.  Another shade of pink, a light dry taste, a unique bottle shape, and just a great summer wine, at $24.00 a bottle (less for wine club members), $9.00 a glass, $5.00 during Happy Hour.  (If you haven't tried their Happy Hour, do.  Great appetizers, including their tasty pizza slices, and good wines at good prices in a delightful setting. Quintessential Carmel Valley.)

        Our final rosé of the day was at Will's Fargo restaurant.  It was a Bernardus Santa Lucia Highlands 2012 Saignee Rosé, made from Pinot Noir.  It was full, a ruby shade of rose, and very refreshing.  According to the Bernardus website, here's how it's made: "As the grapes are being crushed we bleed off a small percentage of the juice before it has a chance to absorb much color from the grape skins. For the juice that is left in the fermenter, this means a better juice to skin ratio resulting in a Pinot with more intense color and structure. The barely colored juice we obtain is then fermented to dryness providing us with a delicious, light and fruity rosé."

        We think "refreshing and beautiful" are the operative words when describing rosés. Try them.  They are just as pretty to look at as they are delicious to drink.  You can have some sent to you from the above wineries or explore what is available in your area.  Either way, they are the perfect accompaniment for light meals on these long warm summer days.

Way to go Monterey County!

        We knew it all along...the wines of Monterey County are winners.  The Wine Enthusiast magazine just named the Monterey County one of the ten best wine travel destinations in the world.  We're right up there with Rioja, Spain; Duoro Valley, Portugal; Puglia, Italy; the Danube, Austria and five other locations. Sounds like some great field trips to us.

        But first, let's stay local and try some of the wines mentioned in the magazine article.  We're going to start by tasting, as the Wine Enthusiast calls them, the "elegant, earthy Cabernets of Bernardus..." most of which, we discovered, are Cabernet blends.

        The first Cabernet we tasted was their affordable ($25) 2004 Parrot Ranch, a very drinkable rich plummy 100% Cabernet.           Then we went on to the 2009 Marinus, a delightful blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec.  Their label says "Taste a Dream" and we agree.  It was full, rich, smooth, and $40-- we bought it.

        And on the way to the Cabernet blends, we stopped off at some personal favorites: the 2011 Griva Sauvignon Blanc (one of MK's favorites) and the 2011 Monterey County Sauvignon Blanc (one of LC's favorites).  Then came some wonderful Pinot Noirs, including the superb 2009 Pinot Noir from the Pisoni Vineyard (in the Santa Lucia Highlands)--a real standout.  Priced at $70, it is a beautiful, rich, deep, fruity wine that we will definitely purchase for a special occasion. (Robert Parker gave it 93 points.)

        Plus, we bought, ate, shared, paired and loved the chocolate.  We tried the bars created by Ben Spungin, the pastry chef of Marinus, the up-scale restaurant at Bernardus Lodge.

        First there was the Parrot Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon bar with its dark chocolate, anise and vanilla.  Next came the Pinot Noir dark chocolate bar, with red tea and dried cherries followed by the Marinus spiced dark chocolate and cacao bar which was perfect with the Marinus Cabernet blends.  Another chocolate treat was Chocolate Dirt--a blend of cacao powder, almond meal, hazelnut, fleur de sel, and brown butter that would be great over almost anything. 

        Can you tell we're recommending the Bernardus wine (and chocolate) tasting experience?  We think that the Wine Enthusiast magazine hit the mark when including Bernardus in their list of wineries to enjoy on the Monterey Peninsula.

        Open everyday from 11-5, and located at 5 West Carmel Valley Road, the Bernardus Wine Tasting Room has two tastings: the Bernardus Tasting ($7.50) and the Mr. Pon's (the Bernardus owner) Reserve Tasting ($l5.00).  It also has very friendly and knowledgeable servers and some unique products. We think it would be a great stop pre-Valentine's for a great wine-chocolate pairing gift for someone you love or at any other time of year when a good tasting experience beckons.