Category: Wine & Food

Wilson Creek Winery Vineyard Update

Cab Sauv Block 1 Influresence – The Calyptra has popped off exposing the pistil and stamen, grapes are self-pollinating, which means we are right at the beginning of flowering season.  We have injected 1000 gallons of crab meal, fish meal, etc as fertilizers to prepare for the growing season.  We will need some supplemental watering as we didn’t get as much precipitation as needed and the cover crop didn’t quite take off, which usually preserves our moisture in the ground.  From a temperature standpoint, it’s been pretty cool, which has been a good start so far.  The USDA, NRCS & Metropolitan Water District is asking to partner with us because we are seeing a lot of success with low irrigation and high heat in our vineyards.

Wilson Creek Winery – Sparkling Rose

This is a classic french style rose.  In France, most roses are from Provence, which is similar to Temecula and is primarily Chardonnay and Grenache, which is almost identical to how we have blended this wine.  We added a touch of French Columbarde to the wine and overall we have created a very nice dry sparkling rose.  Some wines are great for drinking in an environment, like a sunset and some are great for food.  This wine is one of those great ones that is perfect for both.

Right off the nose the aromatics of this wine really bounce out of the glass with a floral bouquet and the hints of strawberry from the Grenache, which is indicative of the way we make this wine.  We use a base Chardonnay that is pressed, which is a beautiful grape for Temecula.  We then infuse Grenache grapes that we have left the skin on and press that in, which is what gives us the wonderful taste and color.  This is very similar to our Brut in that it is a traditional dry French-style wine.  The subtle hint of fruit and aromatics on this makes it a great wine to introduce people who normally don’t like dry wines and they will love it.  This will pair well with a fruit salad: honeydew melons, strawberries, cantaloupe, etc.

Wilson Creek Winery – 2019 Viognier

A Rhone Varietal that is grown in the north of rhone.  In Temecula, it truly matures, very floral with a hint of white flowers and fruit-driven with subtle tastes of apricot, pitted fruit, peach, honeydew melon with a great balance.  This would pair well with seafood and food with spice to it, it neutralizes and works well with Capsaicin. As a varietal, it doesn’t have high tannins because we harvest it sooner.  

Viognier is tough to get to maturity, but when it’s ripe it’s beautiful.  The Viognier is the last of our whites that we harvest because it does take so much to get it to maturity.  This year’s Viognier is really a perfect balance of the past few years in terms of dry and sweet.  It pairs really well with sweet peppers, paprika, and mustard flavoring. This is not good to pair with spicy food, because it does have a higher alcohol content.

Wine Fun Fact: In the Rhone Valley, there is an area called the Condrieu, which is the only appellation in France where you are able to produce 100% Viognier or Viognier blends.

How long would you store this: The reason to store a wine typically is to allow the tannins to break down and drive additional characteristics to the wine.  With grapes the longer it stays on the vine the more the skin (tannin) of the grape develops.  Since it does not develop particularly thick skins this is not a wine that we would suggest typically holding.  Max is 2 years.  It will develop a more “round” characteristic to it with a bit of storage.  Heat, Light, and Movement are the biggest factors that will age your wines faster and to the detriment of the wine.  Don’t put your wine above the Fridge!!!!  Underneath a staircase in a long deep dark closet is perfect.

Q – This wine tastes sweet, but you have described it as dry – why is that?  

A – The Residual Sugar on this is less than .05% – however, it does have a lot of fruit characteristics which make it appear sweet.

Wilson Creek Winery – 2019 Roussanne

A meaty and beefy, white wine. More dense ripe fruit, rich, melons, mandarin oranges, and even a hint of spice – cumin and coriander. If you like Chardonnay then this might make a nice transition into a different wine. Thials – Thick mouth feels – makes for interesting aging.  

It’s problematic and needs lots of attention.  We are typically ½ done with reds and then come back and get the Roussanne.  We actually spray down the Roussanne with catlinite clay in the vineyard to ensure that it can stand the 105-degree temperatures later in the growing season. 

Really wants to be paired with Food:  White Pepper or Indian Food – Not heat spicy, but more of an aromatic food.  Really treads the line of Palate Cleanser and Complimentary Wine to go well with a dish like an herbed chicken, black pepper in a white sauce.  

Wilson Creek Winery – Non-Vintage Ecclesia-Cabernet Sauvignon Blend

Named after a group of greek politicians – that would get together and share knowledge and have a good time together.

• Cab Sav – 51%
• Petite Syrah- 19%
• Malbec – 14% 
• Tannat – 6%

It’s a beautiful mix of young and new fruit  It’s incredibly thoughtful, so we would recommend opening it up earlier than you plan on drinking it to allow it to breathe.

Blends are like groups of friends and cultures, the more the better and this wine is no different.  The non-vintage blend allows us to really have a wonderful mix of young and old fruit, which creates this very interesting variation of a wine that smells different than it tastes.  It’s incredibly thoughtful, so we would recommend opening it up earlier than you plan on drinking it to allow it to breathe.  Chocked full of dark fruit and earthy flavors: cooked strawberries, cherry, jam, tar, pencil shavings, with a bit of petrichor the smell after the rain. 

This is a wine that will need to open up a bit, decanting may even be a good idea for this.  At the very least try and open the bottle about 10-15 minutes before drinking.

Food Pairings: Beef Bourguignon, Mushroom Burgers, 

This is very comparable to Double Dog and at a lower price point. – Like Greg’s Perineese that he is training to bring sheep in the vineyard.

More about Tannat: Tannat is the last grape we harvest every summer and is historically grown in South West France in the Madiran AOC, which is very close to Bordeaux.  There are two very different types of Tannat grapes: Clones 1-4 are the old school blenders very bitter, very tannic, very colorful.  We have a few blocks of these currently.  Clones 5-8 is the new world style that is more likely to deliver a full varietal.  We just planted 5 blocks of this and in 5 years we will have something very special to look forward to.

Wine Club BBQ is in August – 3 day event!!

S’MORES SHOOTERS

Ingredients: 
• Marshmallow
• Graham crackers
• Dark chocolate bars
• 1 bottle of Decadencia

Directions: 
Toast a marshmallow and allow it to cool. Scoop out the center of the marshmallow, pour in your Decadencia, sprinkle on crushed graham crackers and add a mini chocolate bar!

Yea abs are great… but have you tried our donut and wine pairings?? These pairings will definitely Sprinkle your Donut, because National Doughnut Day is this Friday, June 7, 2019! Pick your favorite pairing and celebrate with us!

Make sure to snap a pic enjoying your favorite donut pairing with Wilson Creek Wine, tag us @wilson_creek_winery, and #wilsoncreekwinery #NationalDoughnutDay so we can share your posts on our Instagram Story!

EVERYTHING IS BETTER WITH DONUTS & WINE!

OLD FASHIONED & ALMOND SPARKLING WINE

The old-fashioned donut is less sweet than most, allowing you to pair this with a sweeter wine. Our Almond Sparkling has just a hint of pure almond added to bring out those nutty flavors that you never knew a plain glazed donut had. The bubbles cleansing your palate keeps you ready for that next bite! Ah, the circle of life.

CHOCOLATE FROSTED & 2014 CELLAR SELECT BARBERA – MOURVÈDRE

Barbera-Mourvèdre has flavors of plum, cherry, and spice with modest levels of tannin complimenting the light and airy donut with the right amount of chocolatey sweetness in the frosting. Talk about a well-balanced treat that leaves you wanting more!

JELLY FILLED & 2015 FAMILY RESERVE ZINFANDEL

The Zinfandel being the perfect balance of jam & pepper pairs great with a Jelly donut! The sweetness of the blackberry flavors complimenting the raspberry jelly and the pepper from the wine really cuts through the sweetness of the donut. It’s Zin-fully good!

DEVIL’S FOOD & 2017 CELLAR SELECT ZSM (Zinfandel, Sangiovese, Malbec)

The double deliciousness of the chocolate cake donut plus the chocolate frosting pairs well with the dark jammy fruit-forward flavors of the ZSM. Chocolate dipped berries rolled in alcohol… sign us up!

STRAWBERRY FROSTED & ROSÉ SPARKLING

These two are just so pretty together! I think we can just leave it at that, but we just have so much more to say about this delicious pairing  … Rosé Sparkling being the perfect balance of sweet & dry pairs great with a Strawberry Frosted Donut! The sweetness of the strawberry & melon flavors of the Rosé complimenting the strawberry frosting and the acid from the Rosé really cuts through the sugar of the frosting and sprinkles. We’re obsessed!

APPLE FRITTER & 2017 WINEMAKER’S SELECT MOSCATO

Moscato & Apple Fritters were made for each other! The dynamic flavors of honeydew melon, mandarin orange, and a touch of mint from the Moscato and the tart acidic apples with the caramelized buttery goodness from the fritter will have your taste buds singing Hakuna Moscato!!!

CRUMB GLAZE & 2016 WINEMAKER’S SELECT SYRAH (only a few cases left in the tasting room); also try it with the 2017 WINEMAKER’S SELECT SYRAH or 2015 FAMILY RESERVE SYRAH

The cinnamon glazed donut- flavors of cinnamon, vanilla, and hints of toffee, go perfectly with those same flavors in the Syrah. The wine manages to enhance these warm flavors in the donut, rather than mask them. And despite the sweetness of the donut, the Syrah remains smooth and packs that delicious punch of cherry and sour plums on the palate, leaving you completely satisfied as is if you just finished an amazing pie on Thanksgiving!

MAPLE BAR & 2017 FAMILY RESERVE “YES DEAR” CHARDONNAY

The maple bar, with its underlying hints of vanilla, toffee, and butter, go perfectly with flavors of Vanilla & Sweet French Oak Spice, in the Chardonnay. The soft acids giving you those fruity flavors in the wine are the perfect balance to keep this flavor training going! A Chug- a Chug- a Chew- Chew!

HAPPY PAIRING!!!

Halloween is here and it doesn’t have to be just for the kiddos! This year, while the little ones are out trick-or-treating, take out that favorite bottle of Wilson Creek Wine and pair it with some sweet treats! I don’t know about you… but this is definitely a party we would want to be at and a great way to use up all that extra candy, so we have come up with a guide to pairing Halloween Candy with our Wines for All To Enjoy!

Decadencia is our most classic pairing for chocolate so dig into those Tootsie Rolls or some Dark Chocolate Pieces!

Pouring a glass of red wine such as Merlot with handfuls of M&M’s, Family Reserve Zinfandel with some pint-sized Milkyways, or the Cabernet Franc with crispy crunchy Kit Kats or any other chocolate Halloween Treats will be oh so delicious.

Snickers, Butterfingers, or Baby Ruth’s? If your going with the Angelica Cream Sherry complement with rich and nutty candy bars! Even our Almond Sparkling Wine would taste delicious with a Mounds candy bar. Yum! 

If you like the balance of sweet-fruity candies, pop open a bottle of Brut Sparkling Wine to go with a box of Nerds or Red Vines/Twizzlers, grab a handful of Skittles with a glass of Riesling, Gummy Bears with VS White Cab, or some juicy Starburst with a bottle of Viognier to really wake those taste buds!

If you love Caramel Apples and you want to compliment the caramel, definitely pair it with our Roussanne. But if you are going for more focus on the apple flavor, the “Yes Dear” Chardonnay will really bring that warm toastiness and pull the crisp sour flavors of the apple.

Remember… No matter what your favorite Treats are, you can’t be Tricked when pairing with your favorite Boo’s! Happy Hallo-Wine!