Six Weekend Wines

Hey, it's the weekend! Check out these six weekend wines we sampled at a tasting last week. All pair well with lighter spring cuisine for not a lot of dough. We found them around town or as noted, in the $10-20 range at LA Wine Company and Dan's Wine Shop in Palm Desert.

2008 Botani Dry Moscatel: A dry, light and totally captivating Moscatel from southern Spain. A lightly floral sipper with flavors of melon and pear, crisp minerality and a clean, limey finish. Great alone or with lightly spiced foods for a refreshing change of pace.

2008 tangent Viognier: Small t but big taste. This unoaked Edna Valley cooler-climate Viognier is medium-bodied and fresh with aromas of lychee, honeysuckle and apricot on the palate. Nice with seafood, Asian foods and creamy dishes.

2009 Elk Cove Pinot Noir Rosé: A dry, cherry- and strawberry-scented Oregon rosé with a juicy finish. Enjoy with appetizers, roast chicken or even burgers and 'cue. Perfect for poolside sipping.

2006 Cantele Primitivo: Ah, terroir! This Zinfandel clone comes from Puglia and shows more earth and minerality than Cali Zin. Dark cherry and plum fruit with soft tannins, nice acidity and smoked spice on the finish. Big enough for BBQ and great for lamb, pasta and pizza too.

2006 Trinitas Cellars Old Vine Petite Sirah: A full-bodied lovely from Lodi with huckleberry fruit, cocoa, black peppery spice and toasty oak. Tannins call out for steak, burgers and other meaty dishes.

2007 Cape Rock Special Late Harvest Gewürtztraminer: A lightly sweet perfumed Gewürz from Robertson we first discovered at WinewomenPSP's South African wine tasting at Miramonte last fall. Rose petals and tropical fruit aromas with a hint of spice that goes well with ginger and caramel desserts – or as dessert by itself.

Give them a try for an extra-special treat this weekend. Salute!

South African Wine Safari

Salud, salute, jabula! Jabula? Winewomen chorused the Zulu word for rejoice at our South African wine tasting safari this week as Jeremy Wilkinson of 4WinesPlusMore gave us a tour of his native land's wine country.


We were blessed by another splendid desert evening, this time at Miramonte's outdoor piazza with roaring fireplace to keep us warm. Chef Robert Nyerick prepared five separate appetizers paired to each wine, all hits.

Jeremy started us off with Cape Rock 2007 Sauvignon Blanc from the inland Robertson appellation. Refreshing and racy, we enjoyed its lime and grassy flavors with herbed goat cheese crostini.

Next came Chef's shrimp and salmon mousse brochette with a Western Cape 2008 Chardonnay from Heron's Nest. With only a gentle touch of oak, the food-friendly white showed fresh fruit flavors and medium body. Some of us caught a whiff of Riesling-like petrol, for even more interest.

Chef called the next pairing a no-brainer – we suppose so, if you're a chef. To us it was perfection: duck breast with raspberry and fig reduction served with Clos Malverne 2007 Reserve Pinotage. A cross between the Pinot Noir grape and Cinsaut, Pinotage is a South African original with flavors and aromas all its own. We enjoyed this Stellenbosch gold-medalist's lovely color, earthy fruit and soft tannins.

Also from the Stellenbosch appellation, Wolverine Creek 2006 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon proved a treat. Flavors of blackberry fruit gave way to a long, minerally finish. Each bottle is numbered – how special is that?

For a finale, bites of pumpkin-spiced cheesecake arrived with Cape Rock 2007 Special Late Harvest Gewürztraminer. Ladies deep-sniffed its rosy perfume and savored its honeyed spice flavors. We spotted dessert wine converts among men and women alike.

By evening's end, Jeremy's sign-up sheet was filling up with wine orders and contacts of those interested in joining him on a South African wine tour. Thanks to 4WinesPlusMore for a guided wine tasting of this exotic quintet. Who knew a geography lesson could be this much fun? And thanks to all of you who will remember those served by Martha's Village and Kitchen this season. Jabula!