After our trip to the Central Coast, my friend RuBen asked if we wanted to do a wine & cheese party with him at his house. Well of course! RuBen is the hostess with the mostest and has a beautiful backyard. He also knows wonderful people, who are always a joy to talk to. So….RuBen planned the decor, the people and the over-all menu and I planned the wines and pairings. I spent several days going through and picking wines from our cellar and then finding interesting facts about each and pairing ideas. Here’s what I settled on…
Laetitia Brut Cuvee
We needed to start with something bubbly, so we pulled out a bottle of Laetitia Vineyard & Winery Brut Cuvee. The winery is in the Arroyo Grande AVA which is just south of San Luis Obispo. We had recently done an Interview on their beautiful property with Heather Muran of the SLO Wine Association. Starting with bubbles is always a great celebratory way to start any event and it’s a great palate cleanser. This wine is made in the Champenoise method and the winemaker says his favorite pairing with this is potato chips! So…that’s what we paired it with. It was fun to talk to people about this wine and have people share with me their knowledge of sparkling wines.
Tablas Creek 2014 Vermentino
Next we moved onto a white wine, but I didn’t want to do a typical Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc. Instead we did a Vermentino from Tablas Creek Vineyards in Paso Robles. This winery is known for their Rhone Varieties, and while Vermentino is a little out of the Rhone (although it is grown there under the name Rolle) it is a variety of grape that thrives in the soils and climates you find at Tablas Creek. It is bright and minerally and we put a jar of wet stones next to it for people to smell. It was amazing to see people dip their nose into the glass then into the jar and watch the look of realization and surprise come across their faces. People always think that tasting notes sound so snooty with the wild things sommeliers say they can smell in a wine. Having it right there and smelling it opened their noses to trying to smell other things in the wines! Vermentino pairs great with many things, but unlike so many other wines, it is great with green vegetables, so we paired this with a pesto.
Margerum 2014 Riviera Rosé
Onward now to a Rosé. Rosés are coming back into vogue and you find them popping up everywhere. While you can find rosés made from Pinot, Zinfandel, and even Merlot…I love a Rhone or Grenache Rosé best, with a little watermelon and strawberry on the nose, but dry. That is what we got with the Margerum Wine Company 2014 Riviera Rosé. This Rosé is Grenache with a little Counoise and Cinsault. The Grenache for the most part is done in the saignee method, then a bit of Counoise and Cinsault are added as well as a little barrel aged Grenache. As Rosés notoriously go well with anything pink, we paired it with a prosciutto.
Carhartt 2012 Pinot Noir
It was time now to go a little darker. We pulled out a 2012 Pinot Noir from Carhartt in Santa Barbara. The Carhartt’s are the same Carhartt’s you think of with work clothes. The family owned a ranch in Santa Barbara where they raised cattle for years. Mike Carhartt and his wife Brooke planted grapes on the land and now it is a family affair with son Chase studying wine making and assisting in the process. This particular wine is not grown on their estate but comes from Riverbench Vineyard up in the Santa Maria Valley where they grow some amazing Pinot Noir. We paired this with cheeses; goat cheese, gouda and baked brie!
Carhartt 2012 Sangiovese
We continued with a little more robust red with a Carhartt Sangiovese. This wine was estate grown and smells of cherry, fig, cola, all spice, sweet oak and rose petal. I had a fresh burrata from the Downtown Summerlin Farmers Market that paired perfectly with this!
Tobin James 2009 Fat Boy Zin
I must admit that we don’t drink alot of big reds these days. Most are just a bit too big to pair with a meal. At one time we were members of the Tobin James wine club and we have a bunch of great big fat Zins from them, that I have not yet opened. So…here was an opportunity to open one and see how it was. Did it mellow with age or would it have gone flat and passed it’s peak? We opened a 2009 Tobin James Fat Boy Zin. It is an over the top Zin that Tobin says is “like the best friend you had as a kid; big brash and maybe slightly obnoxious, but always loved!”. This is definitely big with the alcohol level sitting at 15.8%. But indeed, this big boy was loved by many at the party. We paired this with Smoked Gouda, but truly this big Jammy Zin would go best with bold bold BBQ.
Carol Shelton 2008 Black Magic
We ended the eveningstepping a little further north, with a late harvest Zin by Carol Shelton her 2008 Black Magic from Sonoma County. Late harvest wines are those that are left on the vine to let their sugars develop and often they will leave them to raisin on the vine concentrating the sugars even further. This dessert wine screams for chocolate and indeed we paired it with that, but also with a lovely Stilton. The sweet wine and the savory cheese are a perfect combination for finishing an evening.
This was an amazing evening with around 20 people just mingling talking about the wines and whatever else came up and meandering around RuBen’s beautiful backyard with little seating areas tucked here and there. We enjoyed the wine, the company and conversation as the sun set and the stars came out. Yep, wine with friends…what could be better?
Wine Party with Friends
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