Zinfandel
A deep red color, heady, full-bodied red with ripe raspberry, or dark cherry fruit accented by pepper & spice.
Should be served around 65F
Pairs well with: Beef, Lamb, Veal, Pasta, Poultry, Pork, Pizza, Burgers & Blue-veined cheese
Use in recipes calling for a dry red wine
Malbec
A med to full-bodied, with ripe flavors of plum & blackberries, a rustic wine with tight & earthy tannins, but can have a velvety texture.
Should be served around 58F
Pairs well with: Beef, Mexican, Cajun, Indian & Italian foods
Syrah/Shiraz
Can be quite fruit-driven, exhibiting blackberries, mulberries, loganberries. Upper-end Syrah/Shiraz will have layers of flavor and express its fruit in conjunction with spice, herb and musky wood smoke. The grape tends to have two major modes of expression: fruit and spice. Warmer climates bring out the mellower flavor of the plum, while cooler climates spice up the wine.
Should be served around 64F
Petite Sirah
Are anything but petite, tends to be a rich red wine with flavors of plum, raspberry, blackberries & black pepper.
Should be served around 59F
Both wines pair well with: Beef, Pasta, Lamb, Indian, Mexican & Spicy foods Use in recipes calling for a dry red wine
Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon is all angles, acid, and tannin. Sometimes it is fruit-driven, sometimes not, but it is always firmly structured. New World/warm climate Cabernet tends to be more supple and approachable in its youth. Old World/cool climate Cabernet tends to be much more reserved and astringent when young, but incredibly complex after ten +/- years of bottle age. Cabernet is a powerful wine. It is one of the four most tannic wines in commercial production today. Cabernet can over time produce flavors of coffee-toffee, caramel and fragrant cigar box emerge, often coupled with a little sweet herb. These tertiary aromas are not for everyone. Many prefer the fresh black cherry/black currant fruit that Cabernet demonstrates in its youth.
Should be served around 63F
Pairs well with Beef, Lamb, Goose, Chocolate & Pasta
Good with Goat cheese, Cheddar & Brie
Merlot
Often best described by what it is not. It is not as soft as Pinot Noir, nor as big as Cabernet Sauvignon. Its flavors are not as defined as Syrah/Shiraz or Gamay. Merlot can be light, easy drinking, and fruit-driven or more complex, with big, bold tannins, dark fruits and dark spices. This grape can deliver juicy quaffing wine or powerful, age-able bottling. At a glance is soft fruit that range from red cherries to purple plums, with gentle tannins, often with an oak flavor.
Should be served around 64F
Pairs well with: Beef, Lamb, Pasta, Chocolate, Veal, Poultry & Pork
Good cheese is goat cheese
Pinot Noir
There are often broad differences in color, flavor, and aroma between the wines of one producer and another. Yet, regardless of where or how it is grown, Pinot Noir always expresses itself in terms of texture and perfume. The variety’s low to moderate tannin content and crisp acidity allows aroma and mouth feel to dominate the sensory experience. In fact, most Pinot Noirs are described in terms of fabric: silk, satin, taffeta, brushed cotton. The wine is a study in subtlety and nuance. At a glance is a light colored; earthy; truffle-scented, light-to-dark cherry fruit lifted by vibrant acidity & supported on silky yet firm tannins and rarely any noticeable oak.
Should be served around 61F
Pairs well with Beef, Lamb, Veal, Pasta, Poultry, Pork & Seafood
