Behind the Cork™ - Silvia Cellars Old Vine Zinfandel

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2013 Dry Creek Old Vine Zinfandel Reserve ($35)

The inspiration for Silvia Cellars began in 1885 on a family owned vineyard in Sicily. Striving to create quality wine for his dinner table, Nonno Silvia shared a passion for vendemmia (harvesting) of his vines with the members of his family. Over a century later, Antonio Silvia carried on his Grandfather’s legacy by starting his own winery with the same values. Silvia Cellars, a family owned winery, was born from the desire to capture the best of California appellations from seeking growing sites that fit their Sicilian winemaking style.

This Silvia Cellars Old Vine Zinfandel is produced from vines that are more than 50 years in age and in some cases, more than 90 years old. It is comprised of 90% Old Vine Zinfandel 5% Petit Syrah 5% Carignane. The Zinfandel in this wine comes from a blend of 87% Dry Creek valley grapes, 6% from Alexander Valley and 7% from Mendocino County. It was aged 14 months in American and Hungarian oak, 15% of which was new oak.

This Zinfandel is medium purple in color with aromas of dark red fruit and soft floral perfume. On the palate it’s very smooth with low tannin and peppery hints. It’s finish is most notable being long and complex with notes from the oak aging.

You can find Silvia Cellars wines on https://silviacellars.com

Disclosure of Wine Sample Submission: I received this sample at no cost for review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Sample Provided by Antonio Silvia, Managing Director of Silvia Cellars LLC


Ever Wonder Why Most Champagne is Not Vintage Dated?

Last time we learned that the word ‘Cuvée’ means a blend. And, with Champagne it’s not only made from a blend of grapes but most often it is also a blend of wines made in different years. Therefore, these are non-vintage (NV) dated Champagnes.

By blending wines from different years, the winemaker is given the flexibility to make a more consistent wine from year to year. This significantly helps to smooth out any issues that are caused by the weather during any one particular growing season.

Non-vintage wines aren’t lesser wines at all, and it’s a common practice to do multi-year blends. The blended vintages ensure that your favorite bottle of Champagne will usually taste the same from year to year.

Champagnes that are vintage dated are rarer and generally finer bottles. So, if you’re a really big fan of Champagne, splurge sometime on a vintage dated bottle. Otherwise, you can rest assured that your next bottle of your favorite non-vintage Champagne will be just as good as the last one. Cheers!

Behind the Cork™ - Rockpile Winery Zinfandel

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2016 Rockpile Winery Zinfandel ($47)

This Rockpile Zinfandel is produced by Mauritson wines in Heldsburg CA.

The Rockpile Ridge Vineyard is located at nearly 1,200 feet in elevation in the Rockpile appellation. This vineyard has sweeping sun exposures from southeast to northwest and consists of nine distinctly different blocks of Zinfandel. The blocks are harvested at different times and fermented separately to ensure the integrity and uniqueness of the individual blocks. The winery’s notes state “Working with the different sun exposures, soil compositions, slopes and drainages is a winemaking dream come true.”

This Rockpile Ridge Vineyard Zinfandel gets a bit of a boost from the addition of 5% Petite Sirah.

It’s pale ruby in color with aromas of blue berry, blackberry and boysenberry jam. It’s easy on the palate with soft tannin and a light, peppery finish. This is truly an outstanding wine that deserves to be included in the Behind the Cork™ “Exceptional Wines” feature.

Checkout all the Mauriton Family wines on www.mauritsonwines.com or visit the Mauritson Family Winery at 2859 Dry Creek Road in Healdsburg California. Cheers!

Ever Wonder What 'Cuvée' Means on a Wine Label?

Have you ever come across the word ‘Cuvée’ (kü-vā) in the wine world and wondered what it really means? Well, you’re not alone. It gets tossed around on wine and Champagne labels a lot. And, it seems quite impressive when you see it. But, what exactly does ‘Cuvée’ mean?

Simply put, it refers to a blend.

When it comes to Champagne, the term ‘Cuvée’ can make a bottle of bubbly seem even more impressive. But, Champagnes are both a blend of grapes (Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay) and, most often, a blend of vintages (more on this later). So, the term ‘Cuvée’ on a Champagne label is just a French term (a.k.a fancy term) for a blend.

In addition to seeing the term on a bottle of bubbly, the other place you’ll see the word ‘Cuvée’ is on a standard wine label. And, once again, this simply tells you that that it’s a blend of wines. It may be a red blend or it may be a white blend. Either can have the word ‘Cuvée’ on the label.

Like so many other wine terms “Cuvée” is used to imply some additional prestige or enhanced quality. But, unfortunately, it is not officially regulated, and therefore can appear on the labels of some very ordinary wines.

So, there you have it. Cuvée. A blend. Cheers!

Behind the Cork™ - Art of Earth Montepulciano d'Abruzzo

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2019 Art of Earth Montepulciano d’Abruzzo ($12)

This Art of Earth Montepulciano d’Abruzzo is a certified Organic wine. And it’s a 2019. Those two factors make this a very unusual wine. In a good way!

First, this Art of Earth is a wine made from organic grapes. This is a small but growing category of wine. This means there were no synthetic pesticides or herbicides used in the vineyard. Yeast and any other agricultural ingredients used in winemaking aren’t required to be organic, but have to be produced without excluded methods (like genetic engineering). Finally, sulfites may be added to these wines.

Secondly, this is a 2019 vintage. Yes, it’s a less than one year old red wine. Unusual.

On the nose this Art of Earth Montepulciano d’Abruzzo has aromas of bright red fruits. Namely cherry and raspberry. Not surprising for a very young wine. On the palate it’s got very firm tannins. Again, not surprising for a very young wine. But then it’s got this big berry flavor, good acidity and a seemingly strong oak influence. But I had to question myself - a wine that’s less than one year old with strong oak influence? It wasn’t until well after tasting this wine that I reviewed common characteristics of the Montepulciano grape. It was then that I discovered that it is well known for having a ‘smoky sweet finish.’ Exactly! That’s what I was experiencing!

So, if you can’t tell by now, this was a surprisingly good wine. And at a price of $12, a perfect fit for a Behind the Cork™ wine of the week feature. If you can find this one pick up a bottle or two. I think you too will be favorably surprised. Cheers!

Disclosure of Wine Sample Submission: I received this sample at no cost for review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Sample Provided by Donna White, Donna White Communications