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. 

Southold Farm + Cellar Love Habit 2015

A few of weeks ago Kye came home absolutely raving about a wine one of his reps had brought by the restaurant. Not to imply he hasn’t gotten excited about other wines before, but there was something different in his excitement about this one. It was a sparkling Lagrein from Southold Farm and Cellar, their 2016 Horseshoes and Hand grenades to be exact. I think the part of what had him so excited was that this producer had recently moved from Long Island to Texas and their tasting room was located less than two hours away outside of Fredericksburg. Since I hadn’t seen Kye that excited about a producer in a while I was intrigued and we made plans (that inevitably got postponed) to go up there as soon as we both had a day off together. We finally made it up there this previous Sunday and though we’d thought about hitting other wineries nearby we wound up just spending most of our time there. Their tasting room sat at the top of a hill that gives you an amazing 360 view and as soon as I tasted the first wine (their 2015 Chashing Moonlight Sparkling Lagrein) I could understand why Kye had been so excited about their wines.

Everything they let us taste was just really cool and unique (yes, I know those are terrible descriptors, but it’s the best I could come up with right now and it’s true). Regan Meador obviously has his own way of doing things and that way works very well for the wines he produces. His dad, Rusty, was manning the bar of the tasting room and he was incredibly nice and informative. The Southold winery was originally established in North Fork Long Island and most of the wines they’re pouring right now are from that area. Kye had apparently heard about them before they moved their operation to Texas because their wines had such a good reputation. We don’t get many New York wines down here so I was thrilled to get to try so many from a part of the country I was mostly unfamiliar with.

That being said, I’m also really excited to see what Regan does with Texas wines. I think my favorite part about talking with him was his down-to-earth approach he was planning to take with the wines he produced down here. He didn’t wax on about how he was going to produce the greatest wines ever here, it seems more like he just wants to produce wines that really highlight the best out of Texas grapes. I really liked how practical he was about that, especially coming from someone who already had a reputation for producing some incredible wines up north.  

We bought several wines from them after the tasting and tonight we opened their 2015 Love Habit Cabernet Franc:

This wine is just lovely, that’s really the best way to put it. It’s on the lighter end of medium-bodied and a bright and refreshing example of this varietal. It’s practically bursting with notes of red cherry, raspberry and strawberry with hints of vanilla, allspice and a slight smokiness. The finish is clean with nicely balanced acidity and smooth tannins. It’s definitely a wine that can be enjoyed with or without food (though to be fair I don’t honestly believe there’s a wine that can’t be enjoyed without food).

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!

Empire Estate Dry Riesling 2016

Since getting into wine I've had several different jobs in the industry, some were definitely better than others, but even the terrible ones had their bright moments. Working for Whole Foods definitely falls under the category of terrible, honestly it might have been one of the worst companies I ever worked for, but those three years did have some good moments. Like how much freedom they gave their wine buyers to bring in pretty much whatever the hell we wanted. For a while the locations that Kye and I worked in San Antonio had a pretty amazing selection of both typical and eclectic wines and we were actually pretty damn decent at selling them. These days they definitely don't give the buyers as much freedom or support, but I'm still able to find some random gems on the shelves.

Empire Estate Dry Riesling 2016 is definitely one of those gems. I'm a girl who likes her Rieslings and this one I was most impressed with. It comes from the Finger Lakes region in New York and has a light gold color with notes of ginger, lemon zest and green apple on the nose. The citrus flavors carried over to the palate, joined by white peach, honeysuckle, limestone and powerful (but enjoyable) acidity. While this was a dry wine, the fruit notes balanced it out nicely making it one that even sweet wine lovers might enjoy.

US Pinot Noir 2015

Thanksgiving, a holiday that really means nothing to me, is when I sell the most Pinot Noir. It’s a grape that has always been lauded as the best pairing with Thanksgiving meals. It’s also one of my favorite varietals due to the different expressions you can find of it throughout the world. One of my favorite quotes in the film ‘Sideways’ is when Miles is trying to explain to Maya his fascination with this grape:

“It’s a hard grape to grow, as you know. Right? It’s uh, it’s thin-skinned, temperamental, ripens early. It’s, you know, not a survivor like Cabernet, which can just grow anywhere and thrive even when it’s neglected. No, Pinot needs constant care and attention. And in fact it can only grow in these really specific, little, tucked away corners of the world. And only the most patient and nurturing of growers can do it, really. Only somebody who really takes the time to understand Pinot’s potential can then coax it into its fullest expression. Then, I mean, oh its flavors, they’re just the most haunting and brilliant and thrilling and subtle and… ancient on the planet.”

Basically, this is a grape that can’t just be grown anywhere in any climate by just anyone. It’s hard to grow and usually only flourishes in cooler areas. That’s why when my parents gave me a bottle of Old Soul Pinot Noir from Lodi, a California AVA known for being on the warmer side climate-wise I was a bit horrified.

They gave the bottle to me in a brown sack and made me promise not to reveal what it was before I tried it. I even went so far as to open the bottle with my eyes closed so as not to see the cork. When I tried it I was convinced it was Zinfandel or possibly Petite Sirah. When I finally pulled it out of the sack I was shocked that it was Pinot Noir, I hadn’t even considered it as a potential varietal for what was in my glass. That being said, it actually wasn’t a bad wine. Full-bodied, bursting with dark fruit notes and only medium tannins. It just wasn’t Pinot Noir and I found it harder to enjoy after knowing what it supposedly was.

Luckily I’d had a good Pinot earlier that week: Trisaetum Willamette Valley 2015. This is one of my favorite Oregon Pinots, partially because it’s so affordable and just so damn delicious. I hadn’t been able to find it in a while, but Kye brought it home after a shopping spree at Total Wine, and I was thrilled. It’s light to medium-bodied with ripe red fruit notes of strawberry, cherry and raspberry. It finishes with hints of black pepper and nutmeg, a hint of acidity and silky tannins. It’s a truly beautiful example of the best kind of wine this grape can produce and I was more than happy to drink it again.

Brutocao Cabernet Sauvignon 2014

I am not a huge fan of California Cabernet Sauvignon, I tend to think that they have a tendency to be a bit unbalanced and a bit overpriced at times (*cough* Caymus *cough*). At the same time I can't fault California, especially Napa Valley, for making Cabernet their own and every now and then I come across a bottle that I really enjoy and adore, like Heitz (one of the best producers out there as far as quality and price are concerned) or, more recently, Brutocao Cabernet Sauvignon from Mendocino County.

Cabernet Sauvignon came into being due to a crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc. It is one of the most widely planted grape varieties in the world and though California has embraced it, it was originally well known for being one of the six red grapes allowed in France's Bordeaux wines. It's also fascinating how differently this varietal can taste depending on where it was grown and produced. In France (usually blended with other varietals, like Merlot and Cabernet Franc) it exhibits more earth and tobacco notes, Australia and Chile tend to highlight it's herbal (especially eucalyptus) flavors and California focuses on the jammy fruit notes (and high alcohol) it can display.

Brutocao Cabernet was different from what I'd come to expect from Cali Cabernet. While it still accentuated the fruitiness, it didn't overdo it, like other wines of its ilk. It was medium-plus bodied with notes jammy fruit on the nose accompanied by a hint of clove. Black cherry, cranberry and raspberry came through first on the palate but were quickly followed by dusty, herbal earthiness. This single vineyard Cabernet finished with pleasantly smooth tannins and a touch of acidity.

This wine went a long way in changing my mind about buying California Cabernet and it definitely helped that it was under $20.