Category: Cabernet Sauvignon Wine

Wine Tours in the Napa Valley

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Napa Valley, located in western California has a robust heritage of producing some of the world’s finest wine grapes since the 19th century – and as you might expect, this tradition remains true to this very day. While the area began to suffer in the prohibition era 1920’s, the end of World War II brought a new life to Napa Valley, but it wasn’t until 1976 when a Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon rated better than numerous fine French wines in a blind taste. Dubbed “The Judgment of Paris”, it was this wine competition that really put Napa Valley on the map – and the region has seen enormous success ever since.

On average, nearly 5 million tourists visit on an annual basis – this makes it one of the most popular attractions in the entire state; second only to Disneyland. And if you’ve ever been to the area you already know that there are plenty of great reasons to visit the area, no matter the season.

Winter is primarily the off-season, but in the spring the first sprouting of mustard flowers along with pink and white blossoms can be seen amongst the grapevines throughout the valley; and this is quite a sight for any visitor to the region. In summer the grapevines begin to develop their leaves, tiny grape clusters may even begin to develop on some types. The grape clusters are harvested in the fall, and as you might expect, this is the most popular time to plan a vacation to the area.

There are a number of wineries for you to visit while on your vacation. One of the earliest, the Robert Modavi Winery remains one of the largest and most popular wineries to date – but some of the smaller ones have a lot to offer in the way of great tasting wine, as well. This includes Bryant Family Vineyards, Diamond Creek Vineyards, Dominus Estate, Screaming Eagle Winery and Vineyards, just to name but a few.

But of course no vacation to the region would be complete with a wine tasting tour or two; and Napa Valley has plenty of them to offer that cater to all tastes and lifestyles. One of the area’s most popular tours is the Wine Train, a three-hour roundtrip train ride in and around some of the regions most prolific vineyards. Onboard you can sample anywhere from 30-40 local wines, including Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, and much more.

For the tourist who would rather get outdoors and take on an exciting adventure while vacationing in the region, Adventure Tours may be just right for you. Here you’ll have guided tours of some of the area’s vineyards while hiking, rock climbing, while riding a mountain bike or even in a kayak. If you are feeling a little bit more adventurous, you can even have one of their experts put together a safe yet exciting self guided tour for you to relax and explore the trails of Napa Valley on your own. If you love the outdoors and outdoor activities, this may just end up being the vacation experience of a lifetime.

If you are looking to relax in a limousine with your own private chauffeur, there are plenty of wine tours in the area that offer the comfort of limo tours of the region, as well. Many have a variety of vehicles and options, allowing you to accommodate any size group and any level of luxury. If you desire the high class service that only a professional limousine service can offer, you’ll have more than enough choices here in Napa Valley.

As you can see, Napa Valley really makes every attempt possible to make sure all of our guests are entertained. And in your downtime, the hotels and resorts here will make sure you stay comfortable all night long.

A Wine Lover’s Weekly Guide to $10 Wines – An Australian Sauvignon Blanc

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This is our second Australian wine, and our first Sauvignon Blanc. Australia is a major wine producer partly because Australians drink well over twice as much wine per capita as do Americans. The wine reviewed below comes from Victoria, Australia’s smallest mainland state, which is second in the country’s wine production.

Deakin Estate has been growing grapes since the late 1960s but started producing wine only in 1980. The company is named for Australia’s second Prime Minister, Alfred Deakin. A University, a suburb of Australia’s capital, and an earthquake fault are also named for this guy. Let’s see if this wine also has a fault.

OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All wines that we taste and review are purchased at the full retail price.

Wine Reviewed
Deakin Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2008 12.5 % alcohol about $ 10

Let’s start with the marketing materials. Tasting Note: Pale straw yellow; grassy, citrus, grapefruit and gooseberry nose; dry, light bodied, zesty on the palate with grapefruit nuances; clean finish. Serving Suggestion: Oysters; chevre; herbed chicken; salads; vegetable soup. And now for my review.

I started by sipping this wine alone. I remarked its lovely acidity and more than moderate length. The first meal started with sweet and sour barbecued turkey wings, and then an overcooked, dry barbecued chicken breast, accompanied by potatoes roasted in chicken fat, and a lime and garlic spicy tomato salsa served as a vegetable. With the turkey wings the gooseberry came forward with more than a touch of sweetness. In conjunction with the chicken the Sauvignon Blanc had a very pleasant lime taste but it was light. As expected, it was quite palate cleansing when dealing with the greasy potatoes. When paired with the salsa, the wine took on a bit of an ethereal quality and wasn’t at all overwhelmed by the medium level of spiciness.

The second meal was a Middle-Eastern specialty ground beef in crushed bulgur jackets cooked in a somewhat acidic sauce containing Swiss chard. This dish is known as Kube or Kibbe. The Sauvignon Blanc was finely acidic with a note of sugar and some citrus. Later I had some high-quality French style lemon pie with a very buttery crust. The wine picked up acidity but unfortunately didn’t display any citrus.

The final meal consisted of a simple omelet. The wine displayed refreshing acidity and tasted of grapefruit that could have been somewhat riper. Don’t get me wrong; it wasn’t harsh. It picked up strength and a note of sweetness with canned palm hearts and even more so with guacamole. The wine became somewhat unctuous with a note of lime. I finished the meal with cookies covered in dark chocolate (not the real stuff, but a good imitation) and the wine weakened.

I finished the tasting with two cheeses. When paired with a Provolone the wine displayed good acidity and a bit of lime. It was refreshing. Marbled Cheddar increased the Sauvignon Blanc’s acidity and I tasted grapefruit. I was sorry not to have any goat cheese (chevre) the classic pairing for Sauvignon Blanc. I cannot remember when I was sorry not to have a cheese pairing.

Final verdict. I would definitely buy this wine again. It is a bargain. I recently reviewed a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc at twice the price that wasn’t nearly as good. I intend to review here other wines from this producer.

Tasting Time: Ten Rare Wine

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If you had the brain of a random thought, you can pop out 20 to 30 different grape varieties of the name, then you can start Wine Depth found in the world. If you even CabernetSauvignon and Chardonnay are not familiar with, the whole grapes Wine The door to the world you are only open a crack for it. When we are ready to more deeply into the wine world, the following 10 names properly we need to remember that they have a great potential for high-quality brewed wine, this potential has not been fully or just been found in the Enjoy these species, we tend to their high quality (of course, there are often relatively low price) with excitement.

White grape variety: Albarino: pronunciation of ” ” Spain RiasBaixas region’s most important grape variety, high acidity and aroma of it is full of fantasy color gradually changed people’s underestimation of the Spanish white wine.

Furmint: pronunciation of “Darfur special people”

This is the famous Hungarian wine Tokaji for brewing the most important species, in TokajiAszu in, Furmint is the backbone, with the full aroma, but also has a high sugar content and acidity it is not only brewed rum good variety, also brewed a good dry white wine to.

Sylvaner: pronunciation of “I Fall All-Na”

Alsace and Germany, although most of this is just a light dry white wine varieties of wine, but in Germany, Franken area, it can lead to strong, with the flavor of dry soil Spirit Or sweet white wine, worthy of its quality compared with Riesling. Unfortunately, the current character of grapes grown rather have less and less.

Verdelho: pronunciation of “Weierdeluo”

Original is enhanced wine brewing? Madeira wine varieties, but in Australia, it was found out with its brewing lovely floral white wine with bright acidity and hearty for summer thirst-quenching, although now the varieties were not to see more international, but attempts should be bought.

Malvasia: pronunciation of “Malvasia”

This is a widely cultivated, but has gradually been forgotten in the Mediterranean white grape varieties. It is in Spain, Italy, Greece has a very extensive wine growing little independence. This variety has a sweet scent and mild low acid taste, if not its existence, many Spanish and Italian dry white wine will be eclipsed.

Red grape varieties: St.Laurent: pronunciation of “St. Lawrence”

This species is known PinotNoir (Pinot Noir grapes) and distant relatives, grown in Austria, is also cultivated in Germany. It is similar to Pinot Noir with a rich fruity and elegant texture, can spawn a par in the world of high-quality Pinot Noir Red wine . If you choose to Burgundy alternative to, rather then a high-quality alternative Austria St.Laurent, not to choose a New Zealand Pinot.

Primitivo: pronunciation of ” “

This species but an ancient species in the Mediterranean region, is mainly planted in southern Italy’s Puglia region (at the large boots of the heel area). Seems more than a dozen years ago, this species is not known, but as the genetic analysis showed that the original species in California Zinfandel is the Italian Primitivo, the popularity of this variety also growing.

Cabernet From Experts Dispute The Case, “cabernet” Trademark Or Confiscated

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After 8 years of struggle, ” Cabernet “The case made new progress: The Beijing Intermediate People’s Court judge for a national trademark on the mark re-evaluation committee to determine. Industry experts believe that intellectual property rights in such cases are not isolated cases of the case, such as the honored person prior to the Hainan Lan Tea Case.

Generic name or brand Determine “Cabernet,” whether one of the criteria for registration as a trademark is: “Cabernet” whether it is the common name, whether public resources industry? According to the provisions of trademark law, common name can not be registered as trade marks.

Great Wall prosecution that Cabernet is the French term “Cabernet” translated from a Wine Of a species. Changyu Related to the company stating that, “Cabernet” is the Changyu Company concocted vocabulary, pronunciation similarity can not be “Cabernet” is translated from the basis. Zhang Yugong customs official told reporters, “Cabernet” is a 1931 Renzhang Yu Wang Xu, general manager of the Company’s “Chinese and Western fusion,” “carrying, contains all” concept to get inspiration.

Registered trademark of why “is common”

Although Changyu said, “Cabernet,” the property of their special, but the market labeled “Cabernet” grapes Wine Everywhere. Changyu, said general manager Zhou Hongjiang, according to “Trademark Law” 52,53,54 provides some production now labeled “Cabernet” on the product is infringing. “We all know, has now entered the judicial process, how can we do?”

8 years why the fight game

Fighting for “Cabernet,” the name behind the huge interest of the industry. Insiders said, “Cabernet” on Sell 3 billion, the manufacturer has put its promotional costs, once registered by Changyu successful, then re-train the new brand will be no small cost.

Zhangyu general manager Zhou Hongjiang that, once the “Cabernet” not as a trademark of Changyu, the impact on the Changyu is enormous. “Because there are well-known among consumers, now have foreign grapes Wine Cabernet business use, this is sad. “

“Cabernet” trademark or revoked

Hainan University School of Law Associate Professor Zhang Lina that the law is to safeguard the public interest as the starting point, to protect private rights, it is necessary to protect the public interest as the premise, which is the core of the intellectual property system. If Changyu successful “Cabernet” trademark, other companies are only two ways: First, stop using the “Cabernet” name, which means that these companies early on, “Cabernet” propaganda put all in vain; 2 other companies pay to the Changyu, which will increase certain expenditures of these enterprises. In addition, if Changyu monopoly “Cabernet” or will cause the price high.

Therefore, Zhang Lina that the outcome of the case may be, “Cabernet” trademark has been canceled, and degradation for the common name. Zhang Lina said, intellectual property rights in such cases are not isolated cases of the case. If the case before the Hainan Lan and elegant tea, “Lan honored person” is an enterprise registered trademark of Hainan, was also used to name the other companies to court. Lastly, the Court held “blue and elegant” is the common name, trademark has been canceled.

Food and Wine Pairing

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Food and wine pairing, as a conscious act, is something relatively new in society. Food and wine pairing refers to the effort, and in fact the refined skill, in matching foods and wines and wine brands in a way that results in a pleasurable dining experience.

The whole idea of food and wine pairing is somewhat amusing if you

remember that wine was at one time was not considered something special like it is today. In older, classic societies wine was just what people drank. Nobody knows how it would compare to today’s wines. Certainly some of it was better than others.

But still……. It’s what people drank before there were such commercial beverages as Coke, iced-tea, energy drinks and homogenized milk.

The pairing of wine with food probably is something new because people in these older cultures didn’t have the variety of diet that many people have today. They didn’t have the luxury or option of choosing one wine or one food over another.

But we do so………. Here we are.

Today’s idea of wine and food pairing focuses on one particular aspect of foods and wines….. The ‘weight’. This ‘weight’ factor is further divided into ‘texture’ and ‘flavor’. Certain foods and certain wines are considered to be either light or heavy in weight. There’s a ‘medium’ in there somewhere too.

‘Matching’ prescribes that light wines go with light foods and heavy wines go with heavy foods. Pretty simple really. However the reality of the matter is that there’s a substantial degree of subjectivity involved in one’s preference for one wine brand over other wine brands.

What might be considered ‘a perfect match’ by one taster might not be considered so by another. But at least it makes jobs for some people in very fancy restaurants.

Here are some examples of these food and wine characteristics as commonly accepted:

Cabernet Sauvignon is generally considered to be a heavy or robust wine. As such, one would generally not take it with something like quiche which is generally considered a ‘light’ food. Similarly a food dish as heavy and robust as stew could not be properly served with a light bodied wine like Pinot Grigio.

Connoisseurs of this subject also like to discuss such things as the acid, alcohol, tannin and sugar concentrations in wine and how they relate enhance, or not, certain types of foods.

One of the most common occasions when people get together to practice their wine pairing and wine tasting skills is in cheese and wine tastings. And sometimes they’ll just forget the cheese and go for the wine tasting. Cheese is for mice anyway, right? 🙂

It’s an interesting subject if you’ve got the time and money. But the bottom line as always is personal preference. There are actually wine paring clubs where people get together for wine tastings and to discuss the finer points of their preferences and opinions.