The other day we were sent some wine as tasting samples from Wente Vineyards for an online tasting. Wente Vineyards and Charles Communications Associates do this every so often. It is a lot of fun plus we get to taste some nice wine. A group of bloggers are sent samples and we all get online at the same time to taste and share notes.
This time we received two wines and a bottle of olive oil. Karl Wente, fifth generation winemaker, was online in a live UStream video to talk to us about sustainability and how Wente Vineyards practices it. Karl is always interesting and was quite informative. It is always nice to learn more about the wineries and what they do in addition to learning about how the wine was made.
Wente Vineyards has quite an extensive program, organic fertilizer delivered through the water system to reduce tractor usage, natural oils for pest control and the growth of native vegetation for predator insects to live in. They also recycle into biofuels the oils from their restaurant and catering business.
All of their vineyards are sustainability managed and even the open land they own is cared for with cows to keep the grasses trimmed and the soil fertilized. Their restaurant source their supplies from farms that are managed in a sustainable way and the olive oil is harvested from 100 year old organically certified trees.
The wines we would be tasting were a Pinot Noir and a Late Harvest Riesling. Then we also had the olive oil to work in. We decided to have some food that would pair well with each item so Nancy made a mushroom risotto to go with the Pinot Noir. We paired Danish blue cheese and crackers with the Riesling and French bread to dip in the olive oil.
This worked out very well and we snacked and tasted as Karl talked to us. We also asked questions and made comments via Twitter. Karl would watch and answer our questions as we went along. It is almost as if you are sitting right there with the winemaker.
The first wine we tried was the 2009 Wente Vineyards Reliz Creek Pinot Noir from Arroyo Seco/Monterey – like most Pinot Noir the color was a nice light ruby. The nose was smokey with fruit and the flavors were light red fruit , cherries, brambles and some smoke or earthiness. The Reliz Creek was aged in 50% new oak and is 100% Pinot Noir. I thought this wine was excellent, especially at $25. The Pinot went great with the risotto.
We switched to the Wente Vineyards Oro Fino Extra Virgin Olive Oil next. The olive oil was a brilliant green color. As someone else participating said, the color made you want to do shots! It was slightly peppery with just a little green flavor. Great acidity, a nice clean feel in your mouth and excellent with the French bread. Karl was enjoying it so much he sometimes wasn’t able to answer questions right away.
For dessert? We switched to the 2010 Wente Vineyards Small Lot Late Harvest Riesling. This was also from the Arroyo Seco area and they aren’t able to make it every year, it depends on the weather. The nose had a little petrol like most Riesling along with apricots and botrytis. The same in the flavor along with a clean finish for a wine picked at 30 brix and having 12.5% residual sugar. The Riesling went well with the Danish blue cheese but may have paired better with Brie.
Overall some very nice wine and olive oil and great conversation with Karl and our online friends.
Disclaimer: The wines and olive oil were provided as tasting samples.
