Argiolas Costera Cannonau di Sardegna 2013

One of the most amusing and annoying parts of working at Whole Foods was dealing with the Dr. Oz groupies. These people would show up in droves looking for whatever "miracle" cure for... whatever... that "amazing" man was currently being paid to sell them on his show at the time. I usually got to watch this from a safe distance since I worked strictly in the beer, cheese and wine department. Then came the day that, for some unfathomable reason, Dr. Oz decided to try his hand at selling wine, specifically Sardinian Cannonau. From what I could gather he'd claimed that the the people of Sardinia, who apparently drink nothing but wine all day, were more likely to live to 100 (why anyone wants to live to 100 is truly beyond my understanding). What his viewers heard was that if they imbibed enough of this wine they could live FOR-EV-ER and they descended upon us like vultures. These were people who only drank wine when it was sweet or mixed with orange juice, so I wound up feeling rather bad for selling them an almost $30 bottle of wine I knew they would hate. Unfortunately there was no convincing them to ignore this latest "prescription" from this daytime television doctor they believed in wholeheartedly.

I have no idea if the bottles of Argiolas Costera Cannonau di Sardegna (the only Cannonau we had on the shelf) were ever actually imbibed. To be honest, they'd been gracing our shelf for quite some time and while it was nice to finally sell them, I rather doubt those buyers took more than one sip before pouring the bottle down the drain.  Absolutely none of those customers ever came back to buy another bottle so I suppose their desire for immortality wasn't that great. Quitters.

I hadn't really thought about those days until one of my sales reps gave me a bottle of 2013 Argiolas Cannonau and it brought the memory of that amusement and chagrin flooding back.

 

The Italian island of Sardinia is the second largest in the Mediterranean Sea, located just south of Corsica. The dominate red varietal grown there is Cannonau (aka Grenache) most believe it came there during the nearly 400 years the island was ruled by the Spanish Kingdom of Aragon. There is also the theory that the grape actually originated in Sardinia. No matter which is correct it's a grape that does very well in the warm Sardinian climate. 

The 2013 Argiolas Costera Cannonau is 90% Cannonau, 5% Bovale Sardo and 5% Carignano, it spends 8-10 months in French Oak barrels and 5 months in cement vats. The wine is full-bodied and spicy with notes of dark cherry and baked strawberry on the nose. The fruit carries over to the palate and is joined by hints of anise, black pepper and cloves. It finishes dry with firm tannins and bright acidity. It would really shine with pairings of roasted meats or pastas with red sauce. I really enjoyed this bottle and the walk down memory lane that came with it. 

Heitz Cellars Ink Grade Vineyard Zinfandel 2013

When I passed the Society of Wine Educators Certified Specialist of Wine exam, my parents promised me they'd take me out to celebrate to wherever I wanted to go. This was my second time taking the exam (I'd failed by two damn points the first time, which was super annoying) and earlier in the day I'd seen that 20nine, a wine bar in town, was hosting an event featuring Heitz Cellars Wines. I'm constantly paranoid about jinxing myself so I hadn't mentioned it before I went in for the exam, but I thought it was an amazing coincidence that one of my favorite Napa Valley producer's wines were being featured the day I was determined to pass the CSW.

Immediately after I got my results back that day telling me I'd passed the exam I called my parents and told them we were going to this event. The wines being poured were Heitz's Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Zinfandel, Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and the Trailside Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon and they were all just as delicious as I remembered their wines being.

It was a nice surprise to go back there this past week and find the Zinfandel still on their list, since it's usually by far my favorite and the most reasonably priced (for my purposes) of their reds (retails for usually under $30).

It's not a typical California Zinfandel, which tend to be very full-bodied and bursting with jammy fruit notes. The Heitz "Ink Grade Vineyard" Zinfandel displays a bit more finesse and elegance. It's medium-bodied with dark fruit notes of black cherry, raspberry and a bit of plum. It spends two years in French Oak barrels and you definitely pick up a bit of the vanilla and baking spices usually accompanied by that particular oak aging on the palate as well. It's a very well-balanced wine with smooth tannins and a medium acidity that give it a lingering finish. I absolutely love this wine and was happy to finally get a chance to write about it!

Endless Crush Rosé 2013

Finally got my act back together (meaning I stopped being lazy and procrastinating) and am ready to introduce you to the wonders of rosé!

Earlier this year I had the good fortune to meet Kathleen Inman, the owner and winemaker of Inman Family Wines in Russian River Valley, while she was in San Antonio. Getting to meet and chat with friendly, passionate winemakers is one of the things I love most about my job. So combining those invariably interesting conversations with really great wines makes me a very happy little girl. I had heard that Inman’s natural and environmentally responsible winemaking style produced well-balanced, terroir-driven wines so it was awesome getting to taste that for myself. We sampled the Russian River Valley Chardonnay, Endless Crush Rosé, Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, Olivet Lane Vineyard Pinot Noir and Thorn Ridge Vineyard Pinot Noir. They were excellent: the Chardonnay was crisp and bright, the Pinot Noirs were simply elegant with subtle, unique differences in each, but it was the Endless Crush Rosé that I fell head over heels for.

This exceptional wine is made predominately from organically grown Pinot Noir from their Olivet Grange Vineyard in Russian River Valley. An “intentional” rosé (rather than one made with the run-off juices from red wines, the saignée method), first made in ‘04 to celebrate her and her husband’s 20^th anniversary.  It is a delicious dry wine with red cherry, strawberry and floral notes on the nose, followed by refreshing strawberry, orange zest and watermelon flavors balanced by crisp acidity, hints of honeysuckle and spice that linger pleasantly on the finish.

Endless Crush is one of the most elegant and unique rosés I’ve ever tasted, I am thrilled that we finally have it in our wine set. It’s especially perfect for these ridiculously hot days we’ve had in Texas lately. Plus it has a pretty label! That way if you wind up not liking the wine (which is highly unlikely), you’ll have a pretty empty bottle… so no matter what you win! That is, assuming I’m not the only weirdo who keeps empty wine bottles to use as home decorations. Anyways! You should start walking at a very brisk pace to find this wine at Whole Foods Quarry in San Antonio.