100 Wine Blogs, 100 Days Blog 43: What do you like to drink?

Blog 43 What do you like to drink?

Let’s hear from you. Do you like white, rose, red, sparkling, or desert wines? What is your favorite varietal? What is your favorite winery to visit and what do you get to do there? What is your favorite wine?

I like reds the most with Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel being my favorite varietals.

My favorite wineries to visit would have to be Far Niente for food and wine pairing as well as their cars and the grounds that they have surrounding their property, St. Supery for the barrel tastings and their tours and tastings, Hall Rutherford for their crystal chandelier as well as their cave tasting, Laird for their wines and hospitality, Schramsberg for their wine cave tour, Opus One for their unique building and design and great tasting experience, Peju for their gift shop and wine tasting experience, Robert Mondavi Winery for the Mustard Festival Event and wine tasting tour and I am sure there are many more that I just can’t think of at this moment. These are the ones that come to me first. Tell me about your experiences and which places you like to visit most.

My favorite wines are Far Niente Cabernet Sauvignon, Hall Kathryn Hall Cabernet Sauvignon and Jack’s Masterpiece, Opus One Overture, and any Laird wine. These are only a few of the wines that I love. We don’t want to list them all, we may not have room. What is your absolute favorite? My absolute favorite is the Monte Rosso, Louis Martini, Gnarly, Old Vine Zinfandel. Tell me about yours!

Tell me what you think! I want to hear from you! Give me your thoughts!
Bon Vin!
Veronica

100 Wine Blogs, 100 Days Blog 13 What should you drink your wine in?

13. I guess for some people, it doesn’t matter what they drink their wine in, as long as they get to have some. Well, after several wine blogs, I think you have gotten to know that I have a big pet peeve about my wine glass.

What should a wine glass look like?

Stem: A wine glass needs to have a stem. Not too long but just enough to be able to hold the glass without touching the bowl. If you touch the bowl of the glass, you will change the temperature of your wine through the heat of the palm of your hand, warming the wine unnaturally. There are some companies that are opting to leave off the stem. Although it may be a new trend, I tend to like a stem on my glass, just how I like my roses!

Bowl: The bowl needs to be able to hold my wine and should not be too small. Wine needs to have room to develop flavor.

Lip: The lip needs to be thin and tulip-shaped. For white wine, it should be a little narrow at the top. For red wine, it should be tulip-shaped but not as narrow as the white.

Champagne or Sparkling Wines

My Champagne or sparkling wine needs to be in a champagne glass. If it’s got bubbles, I want a thin tapered flute to hold the flavor and keep the sparkle.

Reds and Whites

Container: Yes, it has to be served in a wine glass. No plastic please. A wine glass needs to be clear. No etching, color or design on the glass. You need to be able to visualize the color of your wine while it is in the glass. There is one exception for me as far as design goes. I do not mind seeing a winery logo in a small area on the glass. These types of glasses are fun to collect and I find myself having favorites that I use at home. I use a Laird Family Estate glass in a Chardonnay style or a Robert Mondavi Winery glass in a Reisling style for my whites. I use a Kunde or Silver Oak glass which both happen to be in a Bordeaux style for my reds.

You not do always have to buy the best wine glasses either. Get that out of your head. What if you break one of those $80 crystal glasses? Riedel is one of the glass companies that many people are familiar with or have heard of but there are many glass companies that make a wine experience more delectable. In the end, you have to drink your wine in a glass that makes the wine taste good to you.

Tell me your thoughts, make them funny, keep them nice and educate me.
Bon Vin!
Veronica

100 Wine Blogs, 100 Days Blog 7 Laird Family Estate

7. Laird Family Estate, it’s all in the name. Planting grapes since 1970. This single family owned vineyard is one of the largest vineyards in the Napa Valley area with over 2000 acres of grapes grown.

Early clients were grand, pioneer wineries such as Mondavi, Inglenook and Beringer. As the years and reputation of Napa Valley vintners grew, smaller, ultra premium wineries such as Cakebread, Merryvale, Chappellet, Far Niente, Joseph Phelps and Duckhorn asked for Laird grapes. Sonoma wineries such as Kendall Jackson purchased Laird grapes as well as Ravenswood, and Chateau St. Jean who also became clients.

Laird uses about 1% of their grapes to produce about 12,000 cases of Laird Family Estate wine with Paul Hobbs as consulting winemaker. A quick stop out of your journey leads you to a breathtaking view and spectacular wine you will remember.

In the past 7 years that I have been going to Napa, I have never missed a visit to Laird. Robert has been in the tasting room for 10 years and I wonder if he ever goes home. Their whites include Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc. They have a vast array of reds including Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah.

You may want to become a club member to get some of their special wines. The 2005 Napa Valley Laird Red Wine called Jillian’s Blend made with 55% Cabernet Sauvignon and 45% Syrah. Deep garnet color followed by aromas of tobacco, violets and blackberry. Bright fruit flavors of Satsuma plums and black cherry. Medium bodied, with a nice integration of oak and berry fruit. The fruit finishes with little black pepper, cocoa and chewy tannins. I had to buy extras of this choice. Although they have since sold out of the 2005 Jillian’s Blend, they are soon to release the 2007. You can’t go wrong if you are looking for true Californian whites or reds with grapes grown from all across the valley. After tasting Laird wine, it is no wonder why premium wineries purchase their grapes.

Bon Vin!
Veronica