Wine Review: Red and white and sweet all over

This week I am featuring two sweets for your sipping pleasure!

The Red Wine

I recommend Clos LaChance 2009 Central Coast Meritage.  ($18 from the winery -- and I'd say that's a fair price.  $12 at PA wine stores - - now that's a bargain.)   There is lots to like and know about the wine.   Clos LaChance is one of the few family run wineries remaining in Northern California.  I don't mean that the daily operations are run by a family but that the family has not sold out its namesake to the big wine conglomerates for distribution and marketing. 

 Insider's Tip:    If you visit the winery:  Mention Yelp for a free tasting!

The winery is located on the central coast of California.  I found it interesting to compare the taste of this wine compared to one from more inland.  The tannins were in good balance.   The tasting notes were full bodied.  Very jammy.  As stated on the label, the wine would pair well with barbecued chicken.  I'm envisioning this with corn on the cob and a mango salsa on the side.

The Central Coast Meritage for 2009 is 14.5% alc by vol.   It is a blend of 75% Merlot and 25% Cab Franc.  This is my first review of a Meritage, so I'll tell you a little about the wine profile.  Meritage is the name for American-blended wines in the style of wines from Bordeaux, France.  Since the term "bordeaux" is restricted to wines with domain in France, the wine industry in the U.S. created it own term for knockoffs grown outside France, called the Meritage Alliance.  Meritage blends differ widely in composition so do read the label to understand the specific blend you are buying.  In my opinion, the meritage is a "finer" version of table wine, being done in the French style.  The meritage can be sipped alone but it works best with food as a companion, in my opinion.   It blends well with the typical suspects: cheese, chocolate, nuts.  The alliance describes the meritage blend as Flexible.  I would say that it is flexible because it is not too specific.  The oenophile friend of yours may enjoy a specific pairing while the bourgeousie friend of yours may have a hard time understanding why anyone would pay more than $9.99 for a bottle of wine.  The meritage blend makes a good compromise.  That is what I like best about it.  A fine test without being too picky or too shallow.  Salud!

The White Wine

My white wine selection for the week is a dessert wine to follow the main course above.  If you can't tell by now, I favor my wines on the wetter and sweeter side for the most part.  However this selection is specifically intended for dessert:  For eating with a heavily frosted cupcake, to be precise!  (A platter of soft cheeses and grapes would also do fine, though!)

I recommend the 2010 Sweet Riesling Columbia Valley from Pacific Rim.  The people at Pacific Rim are serious Riesling enthusiasts.  You can tell just by looking at the name of their website:  www.rieslingrules.com! They love Riesling so much that they are offering you a FREE e-book! 


Insider's Tip:  Download a free e-Book about Riesling Wine from Pacific Rim Winemakers.

Oh yeah - - And they are crazy about sustainability, too!   (Bleaa-aa.)

The Sweet Riesling could be more aptly named Very Sweet Riesling.  At first I couldn't quite place the taste, except to think "Tooti Frooti", until I read the label and then it made sense:   A combination of pineapple, mint, and peaches.  I can definitely taste both of those fruit juices in the wine.  It is not a combination one normally finds in nature, but it is pleasant.  You can probably imagine, now, why I described the wine as "Very Sweet" instead of just "Sweet". 

I like Pacific Rim for a dessert wine because of the sweetness and second for the reduced alcohol content.  With a % per vol of 8.5%, Pacific Rim Sweet Riesling is an appropriate finish to dinner that permits indulgence without pushing blood levels over the legal driving limit.  


Do you know what else is a casual indulgence?  The price!  With a review of 89 points from Wine Spectator in 2010, the 2010 Sweet Riesling is only $10 from the winemaker and under $20 at PA Spirits stores (if memory serves me, under $15, but to be safe I listed at $20.)


Cheers!

Postscript

Next time I drink Pacific Rim, I want to try the Framboise (Raspberry) Dessert Wine.  With New York cheesecake, and nothing else! (The Cheesecake Factory is calling my name!!)  The Framboise is $15 at PA stores.