I recently had an opportunity to try some new white wines at Magnavino Cellars. I had tasted their Gewurztraminer at the Ventura County Wine Trail's Local Food & Wine Challenge in January. It scored highly on my wine-food pairing ratings with C-Street's seared diver scallops! And I really liked their 2010 Viognier that was barrel fermented in French oak. It sold out not long ago, so I guess a few others liked it too! I knew Maganvino had a few white wines, in addition to their very good line-up of red wines, but I hadn't had a chance to try their new white blend and Chardonnay wines until now.
The 2011 Beautiful, White Wine Blend, is a blend of six varietals, none of which are listed on the wine. I haven't had much Chablis lately, but this secret blend reminded me of a nice Chablis. It's a light wine that goes well with appetizers, or drinks well by itself.
The 2010 Butterfly, Chardonnay is unique and it had a concentrated fruit flavor with a little bit of butter. I found it to be lighter than some other Chardonnays I usually drink, but well balanced and worth buying a bottle.
According to Robert Wagner, Owner/Winemaker at Magnavino Cellars, both the Beautiful and the Butterfly wines are close to selling out.
I took home a bottle of the 2011 Gewurztraminer and I already know it goes well with scallops, but I'm thinking of trying it with some Thai food, maybe chicken satay with peanut sauce. The floral notes, tropical fruit and spiciness of the Gewurztraminer should pair well with the interesting flavors in Thai food.
My all-time favorite from Magnavino has been their Sangiovese. I'm a fan of the varietal in general and their 2010 Sangiovese is a very good example of a medium-bodied Sangiovese. It has both a nose and flavors of strawberries and cherries with spice and a hint of earth.
The 2010 Trifection was new to me and it figures that any blend of Grenache, Sangiovese and Petite Sirah would be a hit! I enjoyed it thoroughly and bought a bottle.
While I enjoyed sampling these wines, I toured the vendor fair going on in the barrel room that's adjacent to the tasting room. Crafts, clothes, jewelry and wine tasting blend well together!
I enjoyed comparing the 2010 Old Vine Zinfandel and 2010 Zinfandel side-by-side. Both were very good, but my slight preference was for the regular Zin and its jammy black cherry and raspberry flavors.
The 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2010 Syrah, 2010 Magnatude, and 2010 Petite Sirah rounded out the tasting (and I hadn't bought any tables or chairs made out old oak barrels from the vendor fair yet).
My favorites from the last few red wines were the Syrah, with flavors of dark stone fruit and a hint of white pepper, and the Petite Sirah, with blackberry, plum and dark chocolate flavors.
Overall, I enjoyed the visit with Robert and Barbara Wagner at Magnavino, and sampling their new wines was informative and fun. I recommend dropping in for wine tasting the next time you're on the Ventura County Wine Trail. There's always something going on at Magnavino, even weddings.
Cheers!
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I took a liking to wine last two years ago and wanted to know more about it since then. I enjoyed reading your post because it educated me about wines further. And you also shared the best ways to enjoy it by giving insights about the food that would best compliment with each. I especially like white wines, by the way, so I am delighted to know what other food goes well with it. Thank you, Gary!
ReplyDeleteCorey Glenn