I have no idea what you’re eating this weekend for Passover or Easter – which is part of the problem when determining holiday pairings. The sheer variety of eats, not to mention signature family dishes with obscure ingredients, makes the task nearly impossible.
Yet even with this smorgasbord of foods on deck for this coming weekend to celebrate Passover or Easter, among the best grapes will be Chardonnay if you wish to a.) please differing palates, including that of your grandmother; and b.) keep the costs down. This white wine is a good introduction to spring and the heavy weight can stack up to sweet and savory alike.
Here are six picks, from Monterey on down to the Santa Lucia Highlands.
2008 J Lohr Vineyards & Wines Arroyo Vista Chardonnay (Arroyo Seco, Monterey County, California, $25) is well balanced with a floral backbone and a buttery, lengthy finish. (www.jlohr.com)
2009 Mer Soleil Vineyard Barrel Fermented Chardonnay (Santa Lucia Highlands, California, $35) is full of ripe tropical fruit notes, especially pineapple, with a twist of citrus on the finish, which has viscosity. Aged in stainless steel, its profile is, naturally, less oaky than a typical California Chardonnay. (www.mersoleilvineyard.com)
2010 Talbott Vineyards Kali Hart Chardonnay (Monterey, California, $19) contains white-peach notes with some honey as well as a delightful floral undertone. (www.talbottvineyards.com)
2008 Wild Horse Winery & Vineyards Chardonnay (Central Coast, California, $16) is a unique winery in that the vineyards are “watched” by a llama whose job it is to help protect goats from predators. Thankfully, the wine is just as unique, with a jasmine bouquet and nice mineral notes with a hint of apricot. (www.wildhorsewinery.com)
2009 La Crema Chardonnay (Monterey, California, $18) kicks off with juicy pineapple notes before this full-bodied, buttery Chardonnay unravel into a complex, long finish. (www.lacrema.com)
2008 Liberty School Chardonnay (Central Coast, California, $12) is light and delicate with rose-petal notes that flit around the palate and a dry, butterscotch finish, as well as a nose of faint lime. (www.hopefamilywines.com)
WINE EVENT OF THE WEEK
Did you know that Il Mito (www.ilmito.com), a cozy little Mediterranean restaurant on North Avenue in Wauwatosa, hosts wine tastings? The next one is April 12 at 7 p.m. Pay $59.95 and you get what chef owner Michael Feker promises to be “a culinary journey through Italy,” hosted by Lucia Duran who is the producer of Villa Monteleone (www.villamonteleone.com) wines in Verona, Italy. You might want to skip lunch – each of the three courses in this dream meal is that good, and paired with one of Duran’s wines. You start big with Grilled Spada (swordfish) before easing into penne pasta topped with Feker’s sought-after Tuscan wild-boar meat sauce, then osso bucco slow braised (prepared with hormone-free beef) and with sides of Gorgonzola polenta and honey-carrot puree. This is not a meal for vegetarians. This is the kind of dinner carnivores dream of.
WINE DEAL OF THE WEEK
If you work or live downtown, you’re in luck. Starting at 5:30 p.m. each Wednesday and until 8:30 p.m. at CLEAR Bar & Lounge, the ground-floor bar inside the InterContinental Milwaukee (www.intercontinentalmilwaukee.com), wine-tasting pours are just five bucks. And this is no Yellow Tail kind of deal. On April 11, the two pours are 2009 Siduri (www.siduri.com) Pinot Noir (Santa Lucia Highlands, California) – it received 92 points from Wine Spectator, and the 2010 vintage is already sold out from the winery – and 2009 Siduri Pinot Noir (Santa Rita Hills, California). Siduri is known for producing high-quality single-vineyard Pinot Noirs with grapes sourced from California and Oregon.
WINE OF THE WEEK
Continuing on the Central Coast trend, the 2010 Santa Barbara Collection Pinot Noir (Santa Barbara County, California, $19) contains grapes sourced from land adjacent to the famous Bien Nacido vineyard on the Golden Gate’s Central Coast. You’re paying a fraction of the price you might normally pay for this type of terroir. If you’re on the hunt for springtime reds that are lighter in body, this is a good wine to stock up on. (www.sbwineco.com)
Photo by Flickr user volvidejapon
