THANKSGIVING WINES…

November 3rd, 2010

With so many different flavors converging at the table, it’s difficult to choose just one wine for Thanksgiving.  Below are some of our staff’s recommendations:

2009 THUNDERBOLT – $12
100% Sauvignon Blanc.  Light-bodied with racy acidity & enticing aromas of citrus & tropical fruit with subtle herbaceous undertones.
Excellent, Wine Press NW (FALL 2010)
Recommended By: Vickie (Prosser Tasting Room)

2009 GEWURZTRAMINER – $14
This wine exhibits aromas of candied pear, lychee, and floral notes. Gracefully refreshing with crisp flavors of Asian pear and a detectable sliver of residual sugar.
Recommended, Wine Press NW (Fall 2010)
Recommended By: Jim (Woodinville Tasting Room Manager)

2008 LIGHTNING – $18
50% Viognier, 25% Roussanne, 20% Chardonnay, & 5% Marsanne.  Full-bodied with a rich creamy mouthfeel & luscious flavors of pineapple, peach, vanilla, & honeyed oak.
Silver Medal, 2009 Tri-Cities Wine Festival
Silver Medal, 2010 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition
90 Points, Wine Advocate
Recommended By:  Aaron (Vineyard & Cellar Crew), Mike (Owner)

2009 RUBY ROSE – $14
Fresh strawberry fields breeze past the nose as rhubarb & kiwi flavors frolic across the palate.  Crisp, dry, & refreshing, this rosé beckons you to kick your feet up & enjoy a relaxing afternoon.
Recommended By:  Cricket (Prosser Tasting Room), Ann (Bookkeeper), Brian (Woodinville Tasting Room Lead)

2008 MUSTANG – $25
53% Grenache, 35% Syrah, 8% Cinsault, 2% Counoise, & 2% Mourvèdre.  This medium-bodied Rhone style blend has flavors of raspberry, cranberry, & underlying nuances of white pepper.
Silver Medal, 2010 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition
Recommended By:  Lori (Marketing Director), Nate (Prosser Tasting Room)

2009 BOMBSHELL – $16
45% Merlot, 41% Syrah, 8% Malbec, 4% Sangiovese, & 2% Petit Verdot.  Approachable red blend with dark, overlapping aromas of plum, blackberry, and a hint of cocoa, leaving lingering flavors of dark fruit and toasted oak on the palate. With firm tannins and a round, full-bodied mouthfeel, this blend pairs well with a wide range of foods.
Recommended By:  Linda (Hospitality Coordinator)

2008 MERLOT – $22
This complex, concentrated Merlot captivates the senses with intense flavors of dark berry & plum. Low yielding vines & extended barrel aging have brought forth supple tannins & a full-bodied mouthfeel.
90 Points, Wine Advocate
Recommended By:  Marcus (Winemaker)

2008 COUNOISE (Wine Club Only) – $28
100% Counoise.  Typically a blending component, this varietal often goes unnoticed. However, this vintage produced a wine of such high quality that it warranted being bottled as a stand-alone variety. This medium-bodied wine is multi-dimensional with layers of spice, toasted oak, dark cherry, and plum. It has soft tannins, an elegant structure, and exceptional balance.
Silver Medal, 2010 Tri-Cities Wine Festival
Recommended By:  Amy (Assistant General Manager)

Tags: Bombshell, Counoise, Gewurztraminer, Lightning, merlot, mustang, Ruby Rose, thanksgiving, Thunderbolt
Posted in Airfield Staff, Holidays, Wine Tasting

Thanksgiving Dress Rehearsal

November 5th, 2009

Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and now is the time to start planning your menu and selecting wines to complement your feast.  The big question – which wine or wines pair best with Thanksgiving Dinner.

To help answer to this question, Airfield Estates conducted a Thanksgiving Day Dress Rehearsal with our winemaker, owner, and cellar crew — pairing a wide range of our wines with turkey & all the trimmings (see video clip for footage).   There are so many different tastes, textures and aromas that uniquely present themselves on Thanksgiving day, and we concluded that there was no one single wine that paired best.

The Lightning (a Rhone style white blend) paired wonderfully with the turkey, while the Mustang (a Rhone style red blend) was excellent with the wild mushroom stuffing, the Foot-Stomped Syrah Rosé paired great with the spinach, pear, & pecan salad, and the crispness of the Unoaked Chardonnay cut through the buttery sweet potato biscuits quite nicely.  Overall, the cellar crew selected the Lightning as their top choice.

For your Thanksgiving dinner, we recommend that you do the same.  Try selecting a handful of different wines to complement the various components of your meal.  By doing this, it also helps cater to the various palates of your dinner guests.

Bon Appétit!  Happy Thanksgiving!

Tags: food, Lightning, mustang, pairing, thanksgiving, Unoaked Chardonnay, wine
Posted in Chef's Corner, Holidays