A Wine Trip to Remember

With the autumn chill in the air, the other night my husband and I decided to grill some steaks for dinner before it becomes too chilly outside. With that in mind, we obviously needed a good Cabernet Sauvignon to enjoy with them. So heading down to our "wine cellar", i.e. the basement, I searched through our inventory and found the perfect wine-a 2007 Lancaster Estate Cabernet Sauvignon.  What an excellent choice! This wine is intense with dark fruit, blackberry, and white pepper with hints of chocolate. The red plum and rose aromas compliment finely textured tannins while the earthy finish round out the toast and complexity.

Founded in 1995, Lancaster Estate is a family owned winery, dedicated to crafting wines that are estate grown, bottled and produced.  Situated on 53 hillside acres at the southern tip of the Alexander Valley (CA), near the confluence of the Knights Valley and Chalk Hill appellations, this location enjoys the warm climate, depleted soils, and rugged hillsides uniquely suited to Bordeaux varieties. This particular vintage consists of: 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Malbec, 9% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc, and  1% Petit Verdot.

Enjoying this wine brought back memories of the time we spent at the winery in June 2011.  Beth and her husband, along with me and my husband stayed in the Creekside Home just across the street from the Lancaster Estate Vineyard. This two bedroom-two bath home with a full kitchen was the perfect place for us to stay.  Since my husband enjoys cooking, we found a nearby grocery store to shop and stock up on supplies so that we could enjoy the local wineries during the day and  bring "home" a nice bottle of wine to enjoy with the home cooked evening meal. The guys even enjoyed the putting green in the back yard!

Along with the wonderful location, Lancaster Estates had a wonderful wine tour and tasting.  We experienced a thoughtfully paired wine and cheese tasting in the wine cave that sits deep inside No Name Hill.  Following a tour of the vineyards and production facility we enjoyed artisan cheeses selected by the winemaker to highlight four of the wines during our seated tasting in the wine cave. The atmosphere was fantastic with the wine bottles lining the walls of the "cave room" where we sat.

Staying in this location was the perfect choice since it was located between Napa and Sonoma Valleys. If you are ever in the area, don't forget to stop by Lancaster Estates! If you can't stay, at least enjoy their wines :).

Cheers!
Lisa

Wine Word of the Week

Acescence:  Wine with a sharp, sweet-and-sour tang can be described as having acescence.  The acescence characteristics frequently recalls a vinegary smell.