Attributes:

Dog Tail

California, United States

Cabernet Sauvignon

750 ML

2005: WineEnthusiast Rating: 83

rustic

Food Matches:

(cab er nay saw vee nyon)—This highly adaptable grape grows almost anywhere it is relatively warm, but the best wines come from the Burgundy region of France (where it is a noble variety), California, and Australia. It became famous through the red wines of the Médoc district of Bordeaux and is now grown in Washington, southern France, Italy, Australia, South Africa, Chile, and Argentina. Cabernet Sauvignon grapes make wines that are high in tannin and medium- to full-bodied. Usually identified as having black currant or cassis flavors, the grape can also possess vegetal tones when the grapes are less than ideally ripe. The best wines are rich and firm with great depth, and are often aged for fifteen years or more. Because it is highly tannic, Cabernet Sauvignon is often blended with other less-tannic grapes such as Merlot.

California produces the majority of wine made in the United States. Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, Zinfandel and Pinot Noir dominate the wine production in California, but many other varietials thrive in the California climate. Many fine wines are produced in California using Mediterranean grapes.

Attributes:

Clos Paradis

Sancerre, France

Sauvignon Blanc

750 ML

2005: WineAdvocate Rating: 89

bright, fresh

classic

chalk, citrus, honey, honeydew, lemon, lime, melon

Food Matches:

(sahn sehr)—This ancient town in the Loire Valley has been growing Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir grapes for centuries. The whites are fragrant and dry, very much like Pouilly-Fumé. The reds are light with berry flavors and the rosé is soft and dry.

Comes mostly from California, France, New Zealand, and South Africa. Its highly acidic wines are often suggestive of herbs or grass. Light to medium bodied and usually dry, European versions are generally not oaky while California Sauvignon Blanc can take on many of the qualities of Chardonnay. France has two classic wine regions for the Sauvignon Blanc gape: Bordeaux and the Loire Valley The Bordeaux wine is called Bordeaux Blanc and the two best known of the Loire wines are called Sancerre or Pouilly-Fumé. In Bordeaux, Sauvignon Blanc is sometimes blended with Sémillon.

Attributes:

Handley

Anderson Valley, United States

Gewurztraminer

750 ML

2006: Tastings Rating: 89

crisp

full-bodied

grapefruit, lychee, spicy

2006: WineAndSpirits Rating: 93

clean, crisp, firm acidity, fresh

floral

delicious

intensely flavored

2006: Tastings Rating: 86

tangy, tart

medium body

ginger, litchi, meat, rose

2005: WineAndSpirits Rating: 93

fresh

litchi

2004: WineAndSpirits Rating: 88

clean, firm acidity

floral

2002: WineEnthusiast Rating: 85

clean

fragrant

grapefruit, lychee, peach, spices

2001: WineEnthusiast Rating: 88

clean

2000: WineEnthusiast Rating: 85

clean, zesty

floral

complex, rich

Food Matches:

(geh VAIRTZ trah mee ner)—This grape makes a deep-colored, full-bodied, soft white wine with aromas and flavors of roses and lychee fruit. Classically a dry wine from France’s Alsace region, there are other excellent wines available from Germany, Austria, California, Oregon and New York.

Anderson Valley is an AVA inside Mendocino County. Scouts for Louis Roederer of Champagne were searching California to find a place with weather as dismal as Roeder's home in north eastern France. The valley consists of a brushy area carved by the Navarro River that gains steady elevation as it moves inland. Sheep and apples were the prime agricultural focus in the area before vines were introduced to the area in the 1970's. A few promising Gewurztraminers have come from the valley, otherwise the main grapes of the hilly area are chardonnay and pinot noir. Besides single variety wines, the traditional method sparkling wines have been hailed as some of America's best to date.