Looking for a perfect gift: Wines of Hererdad = Armchair travel

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Wines of Heredad

Tis the season! If you are making a list and checking it twice, then scratching your head and trying to come up with something dazzling, let Santa Liza help out.

Last year at our fund raising gala, one of the most hotly bid items, was what we called an "Armchair trip to Spain".  We put together three bottles from three regions and packaged it as a way to get together with a few friends and learn about Spanish wine together.

Turns out, the Ferrer Family was a few steps ahead of us.  We leveraged a great palate, but they leveraged more than a century of wine making history to create a collection of lovely limited-release, ultra-premium wines that each showcase a Spanish region.  I was lucky enough to try them early in the Fall and made a note: What a perfect gift this would make!  Whether you are shopping for one oenophile who wants to peruse at her leisure or a book club full of gal pals that want to grab some tapas and run through the gamut, the wines of the Heredad Collection will surprise and delight.



Best of all, this handy Locator will light your way better than Rudolf to where you can quickly and easily find what you need for your gift basket.

The stated goal of the Heredad Collection is to present "wines of character with a distinct sense of place"  They carefully curate all the details of this program from an enological perspective to bring the taste of Spain's top regions to the international wine drinking community.  

Wines of

The Heredad Collection

                                       

                              Valdubón Cosecha and Reserva         D.O. Ribera del Duero

                              VAZA Cosecha and Crianza             D.O.C. Rioja

                              Vionta Albariño                            D.O. Rías Baixas

                              Morlanda Criança                         D.O.C. Priorat

                              Mas de Subirà                              D.O.C. Priorat

                              Garbó Red and Rosé                      D.O. Montsant

                              Paramus Verdejo                           D.O. Rueda.

All of the wines were delicious with a distinct taste of place, unique characters and star quality.  And speaking of stars, we were led through the tasting by Freixenet's International Wine Development Direct, WIll Willis, who himself bears a striking resemblance to Hugh Grant, though his real claim to fame is an impressive knowledge and enthusiasm for all things wine!

Vionta,  Albarino, Rias Baixas Think food..Think Spain.This fine wine is made to match salads and fishes.  Our hosts suggested using the Vionta Albariño as mignonette for oysters.  100% Albarino, it had a clear yellow color with a touch of green.  The flavors were tropical that broke to a pleasant peachiness.  Acidity made it crisp and delicious and a wonderful pair for our salad

Paramus, Verdejo White Wine , Rueda 85% Verdejo and 15% Viura, The road to Rueda is the route that brings fish through heart of region, so it's natural the region's wines are tasty with fish. Bright straw yellow, its nose was complex and interesting, shifting in the glass with aromas of white flowers, herbs and pear. It is an everyday food friendly wine great with salads 

Garbo, Rose, Montsant This beautiful rose has a gorgeous watermelon pink color coming from 6 hours of skin contact of the 70% Garnacha/30%Shiraz blend.  Floral aromas,red fruit and the refreshing splash of river rocks make  great wine.  At 14.2 % alcohol, but very balanced.  Garbo means "jig of delight"  

Vaza Cosecha, Rioja Vaza taken from the word "Bazas" which means "new beginnings". This wine hails from the medieval village of Laguardia in Rioja Alavesa and it is made in a modern yet traditional way.  100% Tempranillo it had a dark color and welcoming aromas of red fruit.  Modern techniques make it rich as well as accessible quickly

Mas de Subira, Priorat   50% Garnacha Tinta with 50% Carinena All hand harvested, these low yield ---1.25 tons per acre--produce high payload flavor. Cherry and smoke seasoned by 12 months in French oak.  Looking at the label, you will see 15.7 alcohol, but the wine is so well balanced, it does not taste or smell hot.

Morlanda, Priorat  50% Garnacha Tinta with 50% Carinena Coming from soils that are are steep and terraced, this was my favorite with its dark pretty color.  The aromas were intense and complex, cherry with notes of dark fruit and luscious flavor.  

Valdubon, Crianza, Ribera Del Duero 100% Tempranillo with aromas of red fruit, anise, and exotic elements.  Lovely tannins.  Complex , elegant and that perfect guest at your dinner party that goes with everything. Made in a style that brings it to market quickly but allows ageing potential. I hope you have the patience, because I would find this wine difficult to resist

Valdubon, Reserva, Ribera Del Duero  100% Tempranillo Dark intriguing wine.  Balanced and beautifully made from carefully grown fruit bringing together spice, dark fruit and a nice structure

Spain has 69 denominaciones de origen  but these represent the best areas.  Trying these wines will give you a sense of what makes each region special and what makes Spain so special.  Sharing with friends and food will be a great gift for anyone on your list.  Wine always makes it better, doesn't it?

Many thanks to the wonderful folks at Ferrer who imbue each experience with hospitality and sabor.  Thanks so much for the invitation and opportunity to learn more about your wonderful wines!

Top Five Reasons to start your California Wine Journey in Sacramento #SMF

The International Food Blogger Conference was held this September in Sacramento for a second year.   I was once more delighted by the amazing farm to fork food along with other intentional items like the Original Balsamic Vinegar. Many thanks to the organizers, Foodista and Zephyr, as well as all the attendees and presenters.  You made my IFBC17 experience memorable and productive.  See you next year when I will again enjoy the reduced conference rate for writing about the conference! 
 For my third obligatory post, I wanted to write about Sacramento as a destination.  Many of the sponsors provided food for free.

 First, when planning your wine vacation in Northern California, don't forget to check Airport code SMF - that's Sacramento. .  Many people like the glamour and plethora of long haul direct flights to SFO and others like scrappy, affordable OAK.  For many people SMF or Sacramento will get you to a number of up and coming wine regions as well as get you past a lot of icky traffic if you are going to Napa.  Download their handy wine region card here:
Check out some very tasty wine regions that are an easy drive from an easy airport and you will see why SMF is a great base to explore.  Especially if you are coming from across the country, make your trip easy and spend your first planning night in Sacramento.

It will give you the opportunity to try the best of California produce transformed into delicious meals and snacks. So much of the produce that comes from California makes its freshest appearance in dishes in Sacramento

Two of my favorites were Vegan/vergetarian.  My favorite Vegan Option came from Red Rabbit.  2718 J Street, Sacramento. We we sampled the most delicious Vegan Poke I ever had.  With the mastery of spices and fresh produce the team at Red Rabbit conjured up a meaty yet meatless Poke.  With such nuanced spices and deft preparation, I didn't miss the Ahi! From cocktails through desserts, Red Rabbit focuses on the fresh and the seasonal and how they can help you experience farm to fork.

Another was Thai Basil 2341 J Street, Sacramento.   Connect with them on Facebook to learn more.  They provided IFBC attendees with a bite of authentically Thai spices and fresh California produce.  I was so enamoured of the bite I forgot to take notes, but the star was unmistakable; it's on my list for my next SMF Sojourn.

Downtown and Vine 1200 K Street Suite 8 Sacramento rocked my world with a taste sensation I would never have thought to put together: Edamame and roasted Grape Crostini.  Each bite was savory and crispy and the roasted grape was a revelation.  They do catering, have an event space and also have a tapas room.

Puur Chocolate was a delicious treat for all of us.  Chef Ramon Perez has taken his well earned pastry expertise to create a unique online chocolate boutique.  His skill with confisserie and his facility with relationships culminates in creative and provocative chocolate combinations.  Delicious!
it was amazing to try his combinations.   I hope I end up on Santa's nice list to get some of these under the tree!

I can't leave you without a shout out to my favorite Sacramento hot spot Ella's, 1131 K Street Sacramento - valet parking on 12th street.  This lovely spot where Randall Selland puts out amazing farm to fork cuisine, has a  wine list is a delight (I don't even know what their corkage policy is as I never feel the need to BYOB), and the bar is a spirit filled revelation .  We closed down our IFBC experience there with a series of small plates..including my favorite:Patatas Bravas.

And of course, a recap of last year's favorite things can be found here:
http://www.brixchicks.com/2016/09/deliciousness-in-delta-favorite-things.html

Next year in New Orleans, people!  I will miss Sacramento and the fresh delcious farm to fork cocktail to dessert feasts!

Materra WIne Review - Perfect Thanksgiving WIne and fun place to visit

Photo Credit: Materra/Cunat Family wines

This time of year, a lot of people ask me where to take their out of town relatives in Napa. With so many delicious, luxe fun places, I wanted to highlight a "smart" choice, where you can "drink for the kids"** during this holiday season.  I was hosted here during the summer.

Materra| Cunat Family Vineyards in the Oak Knoll District is a relatively new tasting room open by appointment where you can taste wines of quality.  Here, artistry in oenology is served in art filled setting.  

Brian Cunat and his wife Miki and their extended family invested in fifty acres in the Oak Knoll AVA in 2007. Today, they leverage relationships with mountain fruit growers as well as their own estate fruit to create lovely Napa wines.  

We get excited about Fancy sorter destemmers

Calling their wine club the "Dean's" list is a nod to Dean Cunat,  a Midwestern farmer who inspired a love of the land and farming in his son, Brian.  When Miki and Brian saw the lovely parcel in Oak Knoll with its distinctive soil, then experienced the flavor profile of local finished wines, they knew they had found their spot.  Partnering with Brian's brother, John to purchase the estate, today many members of the family participate.  We met Neena, the oldest daughter who leads the winery's efforts.  Neena walked us through the impressive production facility and did not laugh when we gushed over their pristine operation, which includes a very cool mechanical sorter destemmer.  We also quizzed her about a cool experimental cone shaped stainless vat.  Walking around it was easy to see the family's investment in action.  But what was more fun was to taste through those successful efforts:

2011 Cabernet Sauvignon,  Rutherford($65) Wine from this tough year is frequently sparse but delicious,  Materra is no exception.  Difficult harvest produced a wonderful wine with a long elegant vinous driven finish.  Flavors are a balance of vinous and fruit with a top note of black raspberry and gorgeous dusty notes, the hallmark of Rutherford dust.  They marked the bottles with silver foil to mark the achievement.

2011 Cabernet Sauvignon, Howell Mountain (wine Club only) Blending in a little Petit Verdot, Merlot  and Malbec creates a Bordeaux inspired wine. They only produce fifty cases of this Wine-Club-Only  wine.  A luscious perfectly integrated blend with lively aromas of anise and blueberry and a beautifully vinous finish will tempt  you to join.  

They also make white wines,  Both a lovely Viognier, which is a balanced wine with nice structure and hints of stone fruit as well as a rich, but elegant Chardonnay with "Golidlocks" oak #Just_Right. 

Tactile art in one shelf-drinkable art in the other

Their Merlot varietal is lush and balanced lots of dark fruits and touch of bittersweet chocolate in the aromas and flavors with dark, forest-y berry in the finish.  Until December 31 2016, Materra has a cool holiday special of  a three bottle Merlot vertical that includes one bottle each of 2009, 2010 and 2011 Right Bank Reserve which is a bargain at $100.  Merry Christmas to whomever receives that!

It's a great place to visit.  Care is taken to telegraph the family's artistic focus by their beautiful facility.  Artful touches like the beautiful, tactile art enhance your visit.

**For Christmas they are doing something awesome.  If  you bring a new and unwrapped toy with a value of at least $25, Materra will waive your tasting fee as well as organize toy delivery to Toys 4 Tots.  So you are as smart as a Dean's list member, drinking great wine to benefit the kids.
Even if you miss the holiday festivities, it's a great place to visit to experience artful wines in a friendly place.


For more information about tastings and tours, click here:
Visit Materra

• Materra | Cunat Family Vineyards
• 4326 Big Ranch Road Napa, CA
• 707.224.4900
• Many thanks to Neena for hosting me at this wonderful location!