Cru Artisan Banfi Wines

Cru Artisan, who oversees the luxury selections of the Banfi portfolio, was in Houston last week sharing their wines and knowledge with local wine professionals. The experience started with a walk around tasting and an opportunity to talk with some of the winemakers. The selected wines for the tasting were produced by Castello Banfi, Sartori di Verona, Banfi Piemonte, Cerulli Spinozzi, Fontana Candida and Bolla.

I took my 21 year old daughter to work on this day. She was in on a short break during her summer internship and, although she is more of a cider aficionado, she was delighted to expand her knowledge of Italian wine. Within her own circle of college friends, she is already the leading wine expert.

Having just walked out of the already oppressive Houston heat and due to my own agenda of searching for wine recommendations for upcoming summer stories, we started with some sparkling pink wine, the 2010 Cuvée Aurora Rosé from the Alta Langa DOCG. This classic method 100% Pinot Noir was dry with subtle notes of rose and apricot, a silky mousse, refreshing acidity with a smooth finish. Ideal anytime with anything. Priced at approximately $30.

I was then pleased to meet Enrico Cerulli and learn about his family's history in Abruzzo and hear about his choice to farm organically. We tasted his Cerulli Spinozzi "Cortalto" Pecorino which was "like spa water", per my daughter. It had fresh aromas and flavors of citrus and peach with almond, a medium body, dry and smooth with a light mineral finish. Priced at approximately $14.

2013 Banfi Principessa Gavia Gavi from 100% Cortese grapes was light, fresh and citrusy with a clean finish. This is easy to find in our area and affordable at approximately $14, I have served this with simply grilled fish on many occasions and a previous vintage was a Galveston Monthly top pick back in August 2012, it is consistently good.

Maur Merz, chief winemaker for Fontana Candida, poured us a taste of his 2011 Luna Mater Frascati Superiore, a dry Malvasia-based white blend with aromas and flavors of citrus, melon and almond. Approximately $22, try it with light seafood pasta dishes.

We tasted the Albinea Canali FB Lambrusco Metodo Ancestrale from Emiliana. This was unlike any Lambrusco that I have ever had before, I really enjoyed it as did my daughter. It was dry, fresh and fruity. She proclaimed that she could just stop there until I was done and enjoy that wine with the charcuterie as recommended. We were disappointed to learn that we won't be seeing this in our market.

After our quick snack, I wanted to welcome Rudy Buratti of Castello Banfi and Andrea Sartori back to Houston and taste some red wine. We made the rounds and tasted too many good wines to name here. I was interested to taste the La Lus Albarossa from Monferrato which is a variety that I have not tasted very much- very smooth and easy drinking.

The wine makers stayed in town and conducted classes at Camarata on the following day teaching locals about the different wines and the places from which they come.

Thank you to Cru Artisan and Banfi for bringing both their wine and wisdom to Houston!

Winemaker, Andrés Sánchez of Alcance

I was invited to a media and trade tasting lunch at Backstreet Cafe with Andrés Sánchez, the winemaker for Alcance, a Jackson Family winery. As guests arrived, we were greeted with a glass of lightly chilled Alcance Chardonnay 2016, a perfect start for a hot summer day in Houston. This rich and elegant Chardonnay is grown on granitic soils in a coastal mountain vineyard in the Valle de Itata. Despite my multiple wine classes, this was a growing area with which I was not familiar. This vineyard is located between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean about 12 miles from the coast which as Sánchez pointed out adds a nice sea influence to the wine. The Chardonnay was pleasantly fresh with light citrus notes and a touch of butterscotch with a distinct saline mineralty throughout the slightly creamy finish. A mixed appetizer platter with Gulf Coast Beignets, duck spring rolss, asparagus and zuchini flatbread, and lump crab cakes on red pepper beurre blanc were br...

Darioush Wine Tasting at Pappas Grill

I went to a Darioush wine tasting last Friday. What a delight! I found every bottle we tasted to be exceptional. Darioush is well-known for their Bordeaux styled wines so I was already familiar with both the Darioush "Signature" and the Estate Caravan Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley. They are both highly rated and consistently good. The Caravan is the lower priced of the two and is something that I keep in stock at home. The wines in the line up for the evening were all from Napa Valley and included: 2008 Signature Viognier, 2005 Signature Chardonnay, 2005 Signature Merlot, 2007 Signature Shiraz, 2007 Estate Caravan Cabernet Sauvignon, and both the 2006 & 2007 Signature Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2007 was opened by mistake which was a bonus to all who were present. The Viognier varietal has been hit and miss for me at tastings in the past but this offering was an absolute stand out. It was very fragrant with floral notes of jasmine and or...

"The Zen of Zin" Tasting at Fleming's in River Oaks

On Friday evening, my husband and I attended the Zinfandel wine tasting at Fleming's in River Oaks. My husband gets totally pumped up for any and all things Zinfandel but what I found really intriguing in the line up of wines were the aged offerings. Brent Sloan, managing partner at Houston's premier wine storage facility Nos Caves Vin, had provided Fleming's with four 18 year old bottlings and one 17 year old bottling from his collection of some of his favorites. I found this interesting because 1. I don't believe that I have ever had an 18 year old Zinfandel before this evening and 2. From various wine classes, I had always heard that at best Zinfandel had very limited aging ability. So, I was definitely excited to give these wines a taste. There were also an additional five younger Zinfandel wines that are some of Fleming's best sellers. The entire tasting line up for the evening included: 2009 Orin Swift Saldo - California 2007 Schulz "Lampyridae...

Wine Life - Houston

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