So, the wonderful foodie bride took us wine tasting all day after we got back from the camping trip. It was a lot of fun and I got to know the bride's sister who is wonderful and wacky and has really good taste in music and books and movies (meaning, of course, my taste). The groom came along which was nice because we hadn't seen him in a while. Everything went great, although I began to suspect the bride was killing herself over all this entertaining and planning and maybe she should be relaxing more? I really hope we expressed how much we appreciated her and her sister and the groom being designated drivers and hauling all of us all over wine country.
We went to:
Jacob's Creek - this was a nice place to get started. The tasting room was in a big, glassy, modern building with a very nice-looking restaurant in the back. Here was where I tasted my first sparkling shiraz - which is a wonderful phenomenon. Imagine a sparkling wine that is dry and tannic. Nearly every vineyard makes a version. Also common down here that I tasted first at Jacob's Creek: dry rose! I'm a fan. The one I tasted was the Reserve Shiraz Rose.
Charles Melton - a very cozy farmhouse with a crackling fire, a long wood table and two sleeping cats. It felt like we'd come into someone's home. This was my favorite tasting room. The wines for pour where written on a chalk board. Stand outs? Father In Law was very good (and a perfect gift for your father-in-law. But best was the Rose of Virginia. I have to say it was the best rose I've ever had.
Langmeil Winery - not super fancy, but this had the absolute best wines. We bought (and therefore recommend) the 2006 Valley Floor for good value and 2006 Freedom for just plain good wine. We bought two bottles and the woman pouring tastes recommended waiting 20 years to open it. 20 years? So we'll probably open one on our 10 year anniversary (2016) and one sometime in 2028 (if we can wait that long).
Turkey Flat was really cozy inside and the guy there (Craig) was friendly and informative. These were good (* means extra special):
'06 Butchers Block Red
*'06 Shiraz (needs 5 years, 7-10 years would be best)
'06 Mourvedre (if you like 'em mean, dry, tannin-y, and earthy)
*Pedro Ximenez (dessert wine)
*'07 Butchers Block White
Penfolds - this is one of the most widely distributed Australian wine (after Yellowtail of course) and they charged for tasting their premium wines. Since this was our last place, we just tasted a forgettable shiraz and hung out in the room stocked with shelves of wine for sale.
For foodstuffs, check out Maggie Beers. I'm sure it can be found in the US at specialty stores, although I haven't looked. The pheasant pate is phenomenal. I also got some apple & rosemary paste. And I want to get some verjuice (pre-ripe grape juice, acidic like lemon juice) and learn how to cook with it.
Sadly, I can't remember where we ate... wish I could because it was extremely good and the restaurant was beautiful - all glass looking out onto vineyards. I'll find out and update this.
All for now,
Captain Apricot
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