Whining for August Wines!

Bonjour!

I do believe that every month I state that we are pouring "stellar" wines for the month...and August 2010 is no exception! A couple of this month's wines even have stories with them - one a happy story and one not so happy...
To begin

Kynsi Vineyards 2008 Pinot Blanc -
"Honeysuckle, melon, golden delicious apple combined with pears, vanilla, white peaches and Meyer lemon meringue with a delicate, clean finish" If that doesn't describe summer in a bottle, what does? I could not have described this wine any better than the wine maker - except maybe, delicious!

Tierra de Luna 2009 Torrontes- Chardonnay blend
This wonderful unique blend of Torrentes grapes and Chardonnay grapes hails from the Uco Valley in Argentina. When I tasted this wine I was quite amazed at what a lovely wine this was, and I am not a chardonnay person!

2008 Grooner Gruner Vetliner
If you know me, you know that I am crazy for Gruner Vetliner. We had it when were visiting Andrew in Salzburg and I fell in love with this perfect little light, dry white wine. The package for the Grooner is quite a hoot (ask to see the bottle) and at first I hesitated that the wine might be Not good - but I love it. The low alcohol, crisp wine will be perfect on our warm August evenings on the back patio.

2009 Chateau d'Aqueria Tavel, Rhone
I think a lush Tavel Rose is one of the most perfect Summer wiines. This one is a case in point - plus it received "Hot bottles" from the August issue of Bon Appetit.... nice!

2007 Labyrinth Vineyards Haka Tempranillo
That's a mouthful of strange words - so to explain....Labyrinth Vineyards, in Santa Barbara County, has a delightful Kiwi winemaker (Kiwi = from New Zealand) who names his wines "Haka" after the Mouri Haka dance. The dance is one of joy and celebration and tradition. Finally, the Tempranillo is a grape, traditionally from Spain, but the grapes for this wine are grown on Paso. The wine is big, with licorice and leather and plum flavors and nuances.

2006 Curtis Winery The Crossrioad
One of the two "story" wines! The scoop is I used to sell Curtis wines - way back in the day and Chuck Carlson, the winemaker, took me around his land and his winery and shared with me all sorts of really interesting wine and vineyard facts. This was maybe, um, thirteen years ago. Flash forward..... we hire a most delightful young lady from Cal Poly and it turns out that Chuck is her dad! This vibrant nineteen year old knows more about food and wine than most adults I know. SO, this Grenache, Syrah blend called "The Crossroad" is absolutely STUNNING! We were really lucky to grab a couple of cases of this wine......and introduce yourselves to Emily!!

2007 Bell Cellars Big Guy Red Wine
John and I aPetit re particular fans of all Bell wines - we have done tastings with the winemaker and he is just a really super nice guy. Last time he was in SLo he came by we had this Big Guy Red again and loved it. Big Guy is the winery's Wheaton Terrier, the greeter, and the love dog of the family. Sadly, we just found out that Ty, Big guy, just passed away OUCH! Everyone at Bell Cellars is quite broken, sad and missing their pup. We want to dedicate August to Ty and to "his" wine Big Guy Red.

I think those are out wines for August - No doubt in my mind that they will all be enjoyed.

I am scaling down a bit on this blog and scaling up on my new blog "Tasting, Temptations and Travels with Toulouse and friends" so that I can post pictures and recipes and happenings around SLO county. It is fun and upbeat read with lots of great tips!!! Please follow me!

http://tttwithtoulouse.blogspot.com/

A sante,
Dianne