Our Wine Advent-ure: Days 13, 14 and 15

Friday marked the end of the second week of Advent and Day 13 of our Wine Advent-ure. 

Our wine for the evening (OK, ok, first wine...) was Sheep Station, a Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand's Marlborough region.

We've been drinking Marlborough Sauv Blancs for years and I've often quipped that I haven't found one I didn't like. Certainly, some are better than others but a Marlborough Sauv Blanc is generally a very safe bet.

Among the traits that we enjoy are the notes of fruit and citrus that are almost always present in Marlborough Sauvs. Sheep Station gives off notes of tropical fruit, setting it apart from others that offer up more stone fruit. Specifically, I got pineapple notes on the nose and the palate. It was also a bit sweeter than some, though certainly not all, of the Marlborough Sauvs we regularly enjoy.

Our first course was homemade corn chowder, which paired very well with the wine's slight sweetness.

Then, on to our main course(s).

While my wife was enjoying her salmon with sides of creamed spinach and sweet potato fries, I opted for a NY Strip steak.  Forget to old adage, "Red wine with meat, white with fish." Today, it's whatever you enjoy, and this Sauv Blanc was full enough to be quite enjoyable with my hearty dinner.

Saturday, Day 14 of the Advent-ture, brought an Argentine Malbec from the Mendoza region called Mendoza Nights. 

While other areas of the world produce Malbecs, the best and most consistent come from Argentina. Specifically, the Mendoza wine region has an ideal climate for grape cultivation: sunny days, cool nights and minimal rainfall. 

Wines from this region offer up deep, rich flavors of blackberry, plum and dark chocolate. Velvety tannins give the wine a long, satisfying finish. Deep fruit flavors complement grilled meat, empanadas and dark chocolate, though the wine has a medium body that makes it quite drinkable on its own.

On Day 15, our Wine Advent-ure brought us back to our home state of Washington and a wine from the Columbia Valley called The Perfect Match.

The area in the eastern part of the state is a large American Viticultural Area (AVA) of more than 11 million acres -- more than a quarter of the state!  The area east of the Cascade Mountain Range benefits from warm, sunny days and cool nights which are ideal for grape cultivation. Tasting notes say the wine is full, with its (pretentious verbiage alert) "bold character balanced with subtle elegance," according to the winemaker.

I can attest to those characterizations.  I picked up a lot of black cherry on the nose and the palate. The Perfect Match is a bit more fruit-forward than many Syrahs or Shirazs, bringing a bit of additional sweetness to the party.

Like most fuller reds, The Perfect Match could pair will grilled meat and mushrooms, barbecue ribs, and dark chocolate. 

Salute!

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Photos by Carl Dombek
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