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California Wine

Overview

• Buying Guide

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California Wine

Regional Guides

• Napa Valley Wine
• Monterey Wine
• Carneros Wine
• Mendocino Wine

• California Chardonnay
• California Merlot

• California Dessert Wines
• Carneros Pinot Noir
• Napa Chardonnay
• Napa Cabernet
• Rutherford Cabernet

Buying Guide: California Fortified and Dessert Wines

California makes wonderful dessert wines from Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. One common production method is all natural, employing botrytis cinerea "noble rot” that forms on grape clusters under certain autumn weather conditions. As the rot spreads, the berries shrink and their juice evaporates. When harvested, the berries are very gently squeezed, and the resulting juice is intensely sweet, rich and honeyed. The next step usually involves a barrel fermentation, which must be warm, and lasts for several weeks. Often these dessert wines carry the words "selected late harvest," which indicates the grapes were picked especially late, making a wine that' s even sweeter than a "late harvest." These terms can apply to white or red wines, as in late harvest Zinfandel.

California Port is a sweet, fortified, usually red wine that is made with modest success in several styles, most often with Zinfandel and Petite Sirah. The wine's fermentation is stopped at about 6 percent alcohol, at which time brandy is added. The Port is then aged in barrels for two to three years, and released with an alcohol level of about 16 to 20 percent.

A handful of worthwhile examples of this style can be found, most notablyfrom Ficklin Vineyards, who make an estate bottled wine with the traditional port grapes native to the Douro Valley in Portugal. They release both vintage and nonvintage wines, and both at a relatively affordable price. Another California Port definitely worth trying is Woodbridge's Portacinco.

$10 and Under

Maddalena Muscat Canelli Paso Robles $10

Grapes: 100% Muscat Canelli
Description: Smells of orange peel and honeysuckle, with a sweet crispness in the mouth that unfolds into ripe apricot and lychee flavors.
Comment: Muscat Canelli seems to do really well in Paso Robles, and this wine is a good example to start with. The sweetness of the wine is achieved by stopping fermentation, but the flavor of the Muscat is preserved as no grape juice is added to the vats.
Food pairing: dessert | rich cheeses | fruit
When to drink: Drink up to a year and a half after release
Service temperature: 5°C | 40°F

Gallo Family Vineyards Nonvintage Twin Valley Moscato $5

Grapes: 100% Muscat
Description: Peach, honey and citrus aromas and flavors. The wine is light, and makes great easy drinking when served well chilled.
Comment: Only a mildly sweet dessert wine, making it appropriate for entrees as well as dessert.
Food pairing: rich cheeses | creamy pasta sauces | spicy asian | dessert
When to drink: Drink within 9 months
Service temperature: 5°C | 40°F

Grapes: 100% Symphony
Description: Aromatic and floral, crisp and refreshingly fruity with a subtle mineral note.
Comment: The Symphony grape is a hybrid of Grenache Gris and Muscat developed at UC Davis in 1948. For this wine it is sourced from Lodi and the Sierra Foothills regions, which have been historically well suited to the variety.
Food pairing: spicy curry | spicy thai | dessert | grilled fruit
When to drink: Drink within a year from release
Service temperature: 5°C | 40°F

	Takara Plum Wine $6
	Quady Elysium Black Muscat $10
	Castoro Cellars Muscat Canelli Paso Robles $9
	Chaucers Mead Wine $10

$11 to $25

Grapes: 100% Muscat Canelli
Description: Lilac and lily aromas with apricot, wild honey and vanilla flavors on the palate. This wine is sweet, with 21% residual sugar, but beautifully balanced in acids. Rich, clean, and crisp.
Comment: Fermented for a full 10 months prior to release.
Food pairing: aperitif | dessert | rich cheeses | fruit | sweet glazed meats | crepes
When to drink: Drink young, or keep for up to 10 years
Service temperature: 6°C | 42°F

Grapes: 60-80% Tinta Madeira, 2-10% Tinta Cao, 10-25% Touriga and Souzao
Description: Dark brick red in color, with chocolate and raisin, peppery spice. Caramelized apple flavors and poached pear, finishing with toasted pecan.
Comment: This wine is a prime example of how Portuguese grapes can be translated into a unique, distinctly Californian port style. It is fortified with a 190 proof neutral grape spirit, and several different vintages are blended for each release.
Food pairing: aperitif | dessert | rich cheeses | fruit | sweet glazed meats | crepes
When todrink: Between 2-10 years
Service temperature: 10°C | 50°F

Grapes: 60-80% Tinta Madeira, 2-10% Tinta Cao, 10-25% Touriga and Souzao
Description: Fruity and spicy with ripe plum fruit and a satisfying sweetness.
Comment: This is a nonvintage wine made with the solera system, which is actually a method of winemakeing used for Spanish Sherry. It is a process in which batches of old wine are mixed with new, thus creating a blend that has the characteristics of both. Also made from 50 year old vines and aged for several years in oak casks.
Food pairing: aperitif | dessert | rich cheeses | fruit | sweet glazed meats | crepes
When to drink: Drink young, keep for up to 4 years
Service temperature: 10°C | 50°F

	Woodbridge Portacinco $11		Aquinas Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley $15
	Domaine de la Terre Rouge Muscat-a-Petits Grains Vin Doux Naturel Shenandoah Valley $15		Cedar Mountain Vintage Port $24
	Chouinard Joan's Vineyard Orange Muscat Ice Wine Paso Robles $16		McIlroy Aquarius Ranch Late Harvest Gewürztraminer Russian River Valley $13
	Babcock Cuvee Sublime Gewürztraminer Santa Barbara County $20		Montevina Terra D'oro Moscato $13
	Bonny Doon NV Angelica Red Blend California $18		Montevina Zinfandel Port $16

$25 and Up

Grapes: 100% White Riesling
Description: Richly golden in color, explosive and intense in aromas of flowers, butterscotch, and marmalade. It coats the palate with luscious layers of honey and apricot, and thesupporting acidity makes the wine lively and balanced.
Comment: Inspired and modeled after Germany's famed Trockenbeerenauslesen, which is about as rich and rare as dessert wine comes. The fogs of Alexander Valley are integral to the creation of this wine, as it depends upon the development of botrytis on the grapes. All things considered, this wine is a steal for what it delivers.
Food pairing: aperitif | dessert | rich cheeses | fruit | ice cream
When to drink: Drink young, or keep for up to 15 years
Service temperature: 9°C | 47°F

Grgich Hills Violetta Late Harvest White Blend Napa Valley $83

Grapes: Gewürztraminer, Riesling, Sémillon, and Sauvignon Blanc, in varying amounts vintage to vintage
Description: Clover honey with ripe white peach and toasty almonds. The wine is rich and coats the mouth with overlapping layers of flavor from start to finish.
Comment: Now estate grown and bottled, this botrytis affected wine is aged for 18 months in 75% new French oak.
Food pairing: aperitif | dessert | rich cheeses | toasted nuts | fruit tarts
When to drink: Drink young, or keep for up to 10 years
Service temperature: 7°C | 44°F

Robert Hall Vintage Port Paso Robles $28

Grapes: 36% Touriga, 30% Alvarelhao, 20% Souzao, and14% Tinta Cao
Description: A deep ruby red with wild berry aromas accentuated by spice and licorice. Velvety smooth with notes of tobacco and ripe red fruit.
Comment: Fortified with Brandy after a 4 day fermentation, resulting in a wine of 20% alcohol. Barrel aged for 21 months prior to release.
Food pairing: aperitif | dessert | rich cheeses | toasted nuts
When to drink: Drink young, or keep for up to 15 years
Service temperature: 10°C | 50°F

Grapes: 90% Semillon, 10% Sauvignon Blanc
Description: Pear, orange zest, and peach aromas rest on layers of a honeyed, flinty, mineral backbone.
Over time the wine will become more perfumed and concentrated.
Comment: Fermented between 3 to 20 weeks and then aged for 31 months in 100% new French oak prior to bottling. The damp morning fog at the base of the Vaca Mountains makes this botrytis wine possible. The grapes are picked by hand in multiple passes, berry by berry, as the noble rot develops.
Food pairing: aperitif | dessert | rich cheeses | toasted nuts | fruit tarts
When to drink: Drink young, or keep for up to 10 years
Service temperature: 7°C | 44°F

		Daniel Gehrs Fireside Port Amador County $31
		Williams Selyem Mistral Vineyard Port Central Coast $35
		R.A. Harrison Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc $35
		Beringer Nightingale $30
		Cana J. Jaden Dessert Wine Syrah Contra Costa County $40