The last Bunch

Best of a second Bunch

Best of third Bunch

- Silverstone's previous recommendations

CLINE CELLARS Pinot Grigio-Chardonnay Sonoma, California

Caracol Serrano Tinto, Spain

- Silverstone's previous recommendations

Guenoc Sauvignon Blanc Lake County, California

Concha y Toro“Terrunyo” Carmenere, Chile

Best of a first Bunch

which comes to market each year. They experiment with different percentages of Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay until they are happy with the blend. This wine has a powerful fruit flavor with some exotic fruits and citrus fruits being evident in the first sip. I served it as an aperitif but it works equally well with omelets and Sunday brunch dishes. Cline proves that winemaking is anything but boring.

Cheers!

Approx $10.99

Being a winemaker is challenging enough but imagine how dull life would be if the cellar folk simply came to work each day, picked the grapes, crushed them, fermented them and bottled them. Same ole, same ole. But winemakers are much more adventurous than that. They see a grape and then they visualize another grape and then they fantasize over the marriage these two grapes would enjoy in wedded bliss. And the result is often remarkable.

Australians do it with Shiraz and Cabernet blends, the French for centuries have produced their Chateau wines from Cabernet, Merlot and a few lesser grapes. Fred Cline founded Cline Cellars to produce wines which reflect what the French call

‘Terroir”. the fusion of climate, soil and the personality of the region. This Sonoma county winery always keeps ahead of the pack - in my opinion - by taking chances and focusing on preserving the natural qualities of the grapes which go into Cline’s wines. The Pinot Grigio - Chardonnay blend is a perfect example. Pinot Grigio grapes (62%) for this blend come from the Sonoma Coast and Sonoma Carneros vineyards. Both are cool growing locations that yield grapes with strong tropical and peach flavors. The Chardonnay (38%) also comes from these same vineyards. FYI: Pinot Grigio, is a popular grape in north-eastern Italy where it produces crisp, refreshing wines.

The Cline Grapes hang on the vine a long time to achieve full ripeness and maintain crisp acidity. The Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay grapes are de-stemmed and transferred directly to a tank press where the skins and solids are separated from the juice. The juice is then pumped to a temperature controlled, chilled, stainless-steel tank where it settles for twenty-four hours. The juice was fermented at low temperatures to preserve the natural flavors and freshness of the grapes. The Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio were blended together when there was still a small amount of unfermented sugar in the Chardonnay ­ resulting in a wine with excellent sugar-acid balance.

The winery is passionate about the final wine,

Remember the old days when the only guidance system available to a car driver was a map or gut instinct (male drivers) or a friendly gas station attendant (female drivers)? No fancy silver tongued voice emanating from the dash board telling you when to turn right and where to find the closest Starbucks. The same was true of wine information.

I recall a time when you bought a bottle of wine and if you needed any information about it you’d have to go to the nearest library (female) or just quaff it down without knowing a single detail about it (male). The computer age has helped quench our thirst for wine knowledge as we zip through cyberspace into any winery around the world, peeking into their winemaker notes and

learning any detail about the winery’s history you ever need to know.

Being a proud member of the male species, I simplify this process by insisting every wine I sample comes with a complete dossier, which is so much simpler than navigating through the ether. A good word to describe my character is ...lazy! Caracol Serrano Tinto left my brain a bit numb. The liquid in the bottle was beyond stunning, it was a poetical symphony of flavor. But what grapes could possibly produce such stunning nectar? First we have to thank Pedro Jose Martinez of the winery, Bodegas y Vinedos de Murcia (founded in 1997). The winery and vineyards are located in southwest Spain in the region of Jumilla. The trio of grapes are 50%

Monastrell (known in France as Mourvedre) 30% Syrah and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. The Monastrell gives the wine it’s wonderful berry perfume and richly opulent flavor. The Cabernet aged in oak for 3 months adds some complexity and the Syrah lends some exotic spiciness to the blend.

WIth all the winery notes at my disposal and carefully explained production details spilling out of the media kit I received, I realized one important detail. This is a wine which needs absolutely no explanation. The flavor speaks for itself, and trust me, it speaks volumes.

Approx $9.99 Cheers!

Lillie Langtry was an actress born in the Channel Island of Jersey and she became one of the world’s first superstars in the 19th century. She left the Old World for the New and purchased 4,200 acres of Guenoc Valley in 1888, where The Guenoc and Langtry Estate was founded.

The Guenoc property is now a Lake County Historical Monument where the memory of the “Jersey Lillie” lives on. Guenoc winery was built in 1980 by the Magoon family, and boasts 62,058 square feet with a fermentation capacity of approximately 553,000 gallons. Lake County is located in California’s north coast and Guenoc Valley is in it’s southern part. So Guenoc is both a winery and a viticultural area and also an historic

landmark. Sauvignon Blanc has fast become one of the most popular white grapes in the world. It is the white wine of Bordeaux and the Loire and the winning white wine of New Zealand. Guenoc fermented the grape juice at low temperatures which assures the natural flavors stay in tact and the resulting wine fresh and fruity.

Guenoc’s winemaking team used the classic VL3 yeast from Bordeaux which enhances the varietal flavor. They also used a Sauvignon Blanc clone, called the Sauvignon Musque which originated in the Loire Valley. The wine is 85% Sauvignon Blanc blended with 15% Viognier, a rich, musky scented grape. The grapes were picked early for this particular bottling and the fruit was allowed to

ripen in it’s own time to reflect it’s very unique personality. Sauvignon Blanc presents a very grassy, citrus, asparagus flavor and this wine gives us the text book version of the grape. And less than 2000 cases are produced. Try this wine with an asparagus omelet or a mozzarella and tomato sandwich. Marriages made in heaven. The Jersey Lilly would have been proud.

Cheers!

Approx $10.99

The French word “Terroir” is tough to explain, but it’s a combination of natural elements all coming together and creating the appropriate energy to make the perfect wine. So, it’s no surprise that some brilliantly talented Chilean winemakers, have adopted the French word and given it the Spanish name “Terrunyo”. And that most famous of Chilean wineries: Concha y Toro has even gone a step farther and embraced the name for an entire range of wines.

For this label, each grape variety grows and ripens within its own particular Terruño, it’s own specific vineyard and micro climate, where the land and the natural elements harmonize as well as Il Divo. Grapes for the Carmenere were selected from

Block 27 in the Peumo vineyard, in Chile’s Rapel Valley. 12% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Cabernet Franc were added to the rare Carmenere grapes, which were harvested by hand in Spring. The wine was then aged in new and used French oak barriques for 13 months followed by an additional 8 months in the bottle. This gives the wine complexity and depth.

The color is intensely dark, the perfume is full of berries and chocolate and some pepper notes and the flavor is deep, powerful and rich. The wine is treated with tender loving care by the winemaker and each stage of the production is carefully monitored in the same way all the world’s great wines are pampered. And this is a great wine,

make no mistake about that. Cheers!

Approx $24.49

Cheers!