Serenata Wines Blog

Great excitement here in the Serenata cellars as the latest shipment from our outstanding Montepulciano estate, Valle Reale, is arriving any day now, bringing with it their award winning and quite exception 2006 San Calisto– this wine knocks spots of many super-Tuscans and Brunellos at a fraction of the price.  

Whilst on the subject of really tasty Italian wines I can report that the 2008 Terlano wines are on spanking good form according to the feedback from a recent customer tasting.  These minerally, crisp white wines continue to win fans and plaudits, the Terlano Classico is great just to sit and sip and their Pinot Bianco is very at home with a whole variety of dishes – do try these wines, you’ll not be disappointed.   

Finally, we brought over a range of wines from a new Piemontese winery, Borgo Isolabella, recently – it’s an exciting project which we expect great things from and if you want a classy, sophisticated red to have with some serious food then do try their 2006 ‘SuperLodo’ Monferrato Rosso – a blend of Barbera, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Nero (Pinot Noir) and Merlot it oozes quality.  These days shelves are dominated by single varietals or perhaps the odd Cab/Shiraz I beg you not to be put off by the apparent complexity of this blend – think of how the great Bordeaux wines are created; perhaps blending is the new black?

A recent article on Robert Parker's Newsletter stated that 'You can't buy enough of the 2007 Southern Rhônes s my report that will be coming out the end of October states, from top to bottom, this is the greatest vintage I have ever tasted in any viticultural area.

Most consumers who have already tried some of the generic 2007 southern Rhônes have already seen what they are in store for given the fact that these wines are well above their humble pedigrees. At the top level are the great wines of the finest appellation of the southern Rhone, Châteauneuf du Pape, but Vacqueyras, Gigondas, and Rasteau are the real value picks as almost every domaine in Châteauneuf du Pape that has a noteworthy reputation is already sold out. The wines are just hitting the distribution channels in the United States and Europe, so move quickly. Despite the worldwide economic woes, these wines are disappearing at a rapid pace'.

Couldn't have put it better myself - Domaine Cassan, Mas de Boislauzon (their cuvee de Quet scored a perfect 100 point score and the CDR Villages is a steal), Escaravailles have made some of the best wines in their respective regions and should not be missed.
 

Thanksgiving is a huge event in the life of the American nation.  We may look upon the peculiarly American custom as a cross between our Harvest Festival and Christmas, a time when stray siblings, young or old, make their way home (if at all possible) to the family table.  To us Brits such an overt show may raise an eyebrow or two but I know that among even my most Anglo-cised American friends Thanksgiving has a draw like no other event.   So, why am I writing about Thanksgiving?  Well, wine of course, and the matching of wine to the feast.

Unlike Christmas, Turkey is strictly the order of the day (no Goose options as far as I know), and good Pinot Noir or Chardonnay, especially from our friends at Evening Land Vineyards would be my first choice although having recently tasted ELVs Celebration Gamay Noir (created for this particular holiday apparently) I would certainly add that to the list as it has lovely bright fruit flavours but also enough spice and depth to match anything on the table.  My first rule of enjoying a meal is to pick wines you like so my ‘food and wine matching’ advice is just that, but Turkey does need a wine that has good acidity and a brightness to it, if you prefer Cabernet then I would pick one that is food friendly such as the ONCE  Sommelier Series 2006 The Table, an outstanding Napa Cabernet blend wine chosen by some of America’s top sommeliers for their restaurants where being able to pair with food is important and big, overly fruit driven wines are definitely not the order of the day – concentration and yumminess, for sure – flabbiness, no.  As for Pumpkin Pie, which I think of as veg but is actually a fruit (botanically speaking...), a good, genuine, sweeter sherry I would imagine would work well but I’ve yet to actually try a Pumpkin Pie and perhaps one actually has to be American to wish to eat such a thing when apples are available!

We also have available a limited series of three bottle gift packs from the team at ONCE.  Three top Sommliers have each created a blend, used in their individual restaurants and each Meritage blend varying slightly to suit the cuisine – the wines are named (imaginatively) Knife, Fork and Spoon and come in an attractive wooden box with an information sheet explaining the concept.  These are serious, and seriously good wines with the fruit coming from some of Napa’s finest vineyards – I think it makes a great gift whether from wife to husband (or vice versa, of course) or as a corporate thank you.

PS  All feats should start with some fizz; our artisanal Prosecco from Frozza is a delightful, lighter, way to start the celebration but our Roger Pouillon Champagne is as good a growers champagne that I’ve tried for many a year, very classy.