Alpha Mare White Blend Napa Valley 2017

Winemaker and co-owner Anne Vawter founded Red Mare Wines with Jim Striegel in 2007. She began her career at UC Davis, receiving a degree in Viticulture and Enology before taking on apprenticeships under Heidi Barrett at Paradigm Winery and Richard Sowalsky at Robert Mondavi. She went on to make wine for Oakville Ranch, Varozza, Ziata, Hoopes and Teaderman. An impressive C.V. indeed!

The 2017 aromas are reflective of the warmer vintage, with spicy honeysuckle and jasmine floral notes, complemented with beeswax, ripe nectarines and a kiss of freshly-mown grass. Once tasted, these characters are accentuated with cantaloupe, Tahitian vanilla and warm, toasty, peach cobbler. The mid-palate is decidedly fleshy and round, with a bright tension and acidity elegantly framed by aromas of toasty oak. THIS just tastes expensive and luxurious...no one has to know you paid less than the rest of the world!

Sourced from the heart of the Coombsiville AVA, Hestia Vineyard is named for the Greek goddess of the sacrificial fire. The vineyard sits on a gentle south-facing slope and is planted to both St. Peter’s Church and Musqué clones of sauvignon blanc. The vines, located in the lowest part of the swale, hold fog in the morning from the San Pablo Bay and are protected by a copse of trees on one side and wild chaparral on the other. The grapes grow in gravelly, fast-draining soils, much like the fields of Bordeaux blanc that the wine pays homage to. A bit of stone-laden Graves meets California sunshine and modern winemaking. The low-yielding crop is harvested at night before undergoing gentle pressing, with the juice transferred into a combination of new and used French oak barrels for fermentation and aged sur-lie for 22 months. With a total production of 152 cases, we got all that we could. For drinking now and savoring later, this white wine is a conversation in a bottle, and sure to delight and please over hours in the glass and with years to spare!

PAIRING IDEAS: With Oktoberfest approaching, fine tune your schnitzel game with this Pork Schnitzel with Peach Mostarda and Cucumber Relish – the textures, acids and bright fruit flavors should make for a perfect pairing.

MUSIC SUGGESTIONS: Psychedelic Alt Rock mainstay Spoon has quietly put together 30 years of music. “Small Stakes” sets the tone here.