A great blend of wine and wisdom
You must try this Cab! It is complex with some fruit undertones but in a subtle way. It’s slight everything but enough of everything to be a really good complement to many foods. Hints of cherry, wood and slight chocolate. Yeah I just typed all of those words. In reading them now, they just spell out S N O B. ?
I enjoyed it at Al Biernat’s North Dallas, but you can find it in some Total Wines for $50 per bottle.
USA versus Canada!!
Actually, that’s not really the case. I was in Toronto this week for work and had the opportunity to drink some wine. Well let’s just say I make the opportunity to drink wine. We ate at an excellent Italian restaurant and the server recommended a solid Cabernet as opposed to the Barolo I’d asked about. Nonetheless, I didn’t write down the names of the wines so I failed. However, I did drink some wine at the hotel bar. We stayed at the Marriott Courtyard. I think their wines weren’t so bad, but I don’t know that they know how to store them. I tried their Apothic Red and didn’t enjoy it at all, although have in the past. The server recommended the Jackson-Triggs Merlot. It was good, but it wasn’t great or what I’d think “Canada’s Most Awarded Winery” wine would be. I honestly think it wasn’t stored correctly. Compare all of that to my Saturday night back in Dallas, Texas. We were celebrating my friend’s birthday at Town Hearth restaurant. Excellent food and service. Their prime rib is shareable for three – even if I’m one of the three. Crazy crowded restaurant though. We enjoyed a bottle (or two) of the 2016 Bergstrom Cumberland Reserve Pinot Noir from Willamette Valley, Oregon. This was a slightly peppery, slight black cherry Pinot and right up my alley. Some Pinot’s from Oregon are milder, but this had a slight bite to it although a really good balance. Letting it breathe was key. 10 minutes of breathing is about the max it’s going to get at this table of six experienced wine-drinking ladies. I won’t compare the Canadian Merlot to the US – Oregon Pinot as just doesn’t make sense. Here’s my recommendation though….restaurants, hotels, bars, whatever….please make sure you store your wine right. It doesn’t have to be 55F/12.7778C (see how I went global friendly there??) but does have to be less than whatever your storage shed out back is.
Also, to correctly pronounce Willamette, my friend Heather said one thing that will keep it straight for you as she learned herself in making her way through Oregon wine country… It’s Willamette Dammit!
U S A, U S A (yeah this is why the rest of the world despises us – this blog might be evidence of that)
You can find the 2016 Bergstrom Cumberland Reserve Pinot Noir at Total Wines for $46 per bottle. You can find the Jackson-Triggs Merlot at some specialty wine stores, but can only find their Ice Wine (I’ve heard it is great) at Total Wines.
