Synergy. When wine and food are paired together, they have “synergy” or a third flavor beyond what either the food or drink offers alone. This is a wonderful saying I stumbled upon this past week on a website called “Random Facts” that is now saved to my favorites. This also occurs when our Temecula Women’s Wine Council convenes with a cohesive group of like-minded women. As Linda Kissam aptly put it, “Somehow we’ve created a very special blend. Each person in this group brings a special talent with them that enhances all the others present.” Nice.
On October 5, our merry group, including guest writer, Sue Richter, was brought to order and were ready to review Terra d’Oro wines from Amador County. The intro on their website states that years ago folks flocked to California for the gold, but today they come for the wine. Indeed, wine reigns supreme in California as we are one of the largest producers and consumers in the world.
Our afternoon was filled with the usual fascinating fare of exciting combinations and delectable delights waiting anxiously to be paired with its perfect mate during the equivalent of speed dating between food & wine. First up was a 2008 Barbera with an approachable aroma of blackberry and spices. This wine turned out to be the most food versatile of all that were sampled and struck up a relationship with some unlikely mates. It was as pleasing with a homemade pumpkin truffle pound cake as the mushroom and wild rice dish. My favorite was a scrumptious little cheddar/rosemary cracker, but was disappointed that the asparagus wrapped in roast beef with horseradish cream cheese (which I brought to specifically pair with it) did not light up my world. Not to despair, as this little number was a favorite with several other wines amongst us.
The unique 2007 Field Blend Zin was the next contender and delivered musky, earthy tones mixed with deep tobacco flavors. The Field Blend found its true love with the amazingly spicy BBQ ribs (also homemade!). With such a big wine, it is advisable to aerate before serving. Closely following this wine was the 2007 Home Vineyard Zinfandel with smoky raisin and hints of cherry, this Zin was wonderfully versatile and could be enjoyed with cinnamon cranberry goat cheese (oh, my, can we talk about this cheese?! Big Hit!) or my famous asparagus wrapped spears! An aged cheddar was also begging for affection and attention from this Zin as well! This was my Number Two pick of the day.
As we moved through our list, the next up was their Deaver Vineyard Zin, also a 2007 vintage. It started us off with a bit of a funky, inky bouquet that opened nicely into a ripe plum flavor on the palette. This Zin went well with just about everything we tried it with. BBQ ribs? Check. Rice, mushroom, lamb? Check. Cheddar Cheese Crackers? Yep! Spicy cayenne chocolate chip cupcakes? Definitely. To quote Linda, again, this wine had an “open-door policy!”
Our Number Five wine was actually our Number One. A 2007 Forte Super Tuscan with powerful pine and musk flavors tantalizing our taste buds, we loved this as much with the fiery chocolate cupcakes as the aged cheddar cheese. Terra d’Oro’s tasting notes said it best, “Muscle and Finesse.” The finale of our soiree was the Montevina Terra d’Oro Zinfandel Port. A lovely example of a port with grapy flavors, caramel and orange peel. With the traces of orange peel taste, the flavors in a light orange-flavored shortbread cookie were a pleasant pairing, but also two-timed with the bittersweet chocolate. A fun finish to a fun tasting.
How the rest of the wines ranked….My number one choice was the lovely Barbera, even though she didn’t cooperate with my chosen pairing, she was still a darling in my eyes. However, the group chose the Super Tuscan as number one, followed by the Barbera, with the Home Vineyard Zinfandel as number three. The Deaver Zin and Port were duking it out for 4th and 5th while the heavy hitting Field Zin rounded out our list.
Our group has been together now since early last summer and it’s been an incredible journey thus far. Our palettes are ever growing and changing as evidenced by our diehard Chardonnay fan who is slowly being seduced by the Red Side of the force. We are honing our ability to pair incredible combo’s together and still surprising ourselves when two unexpected flavors twirl in our months fancifully proclaiming, “Look at us! We’re dancing together in your cheek-to-cheek!” And, mostly, we are becoming true sisters in wine, spirit, and synergy.
The Terra d’Oro wines are available at BevMo and range between $9.00-$15.00 dollars per bottle. A modest amount for some solid wines. As an owner of two smaller lot wineries, my motto will always be, “Be unique, shop boutique.” For those occasions when you need to grab & go, it’s nice to have a road map of good “Go-To” wines.
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