by CH Wine. As the holiday season approaches, it’s time to prepare for festive gatherings filled with laughter, good company, and, of course, excellent wine. Elevate your holiday party experience with these 10 tips that seamlessly blend the art of serving and pairing wines, ensuring your guests have…
10 Tips for Serving and Pairing Wines at Your Holiday Party
Katy and Chris Taste and Discuss Lot 893 2020 Calistoga Semillon
Our first white wine branded with the coveted Black Label Series labels, we introduce to you Lot 893 Calistoga Semillon. Take a sunny walk through this orchard and you will not be disappointed.
Lot 893 leaps from the glass with lifted aromatics of citrus blossoms, white peach, and apricot preserve. On the palate, that aromatic quality carries through beautifully, backed by hints of toasty oak and wood spice ending in a long, crisp vivacious finish. As one of our tasting panelists exclaimed when they tried it, “This tastes like a sunny walk through an orange orchard.” 893 is still a bit young, so grab a few cases, one for now and one to throw down for a few years as it has the componentry to cellar for another 10+ easily.
Watch as Chris Lafleur, Sommeliers Creed for Cameron Hughes, and Katy Long, Director of International Wines for VWE, walk us through a tasting and discuss this exciting Calistoga Semillon release.
Video Highlights:
00:00 Intro
00:42 Lot 893 Semillon
01:18 Pouring
01:55 The Nose
04:25 The Palate
It’s International Grenache Day!
Happy International Grenache Day! Grenache Day is celebrated on the 3rd Friday of September each year. It still surprises us how many folks will tell us they’ve never had a Grenache before. True story, happens all the time. But when we inquire if they’ve ever had Provençal Rosé,…
Tasting Panel Somms Taste Lot 884 Atlas Peak Petit Verdot
Taste Lot 884, an award-winning wine from Atlas Peak. We were thrilled when a sample of this powerhouse Petit Verdot arrived at our office late last year and after just one sip (there was no spitting this one back out), we quickly scooped up all 180 cases this very well-known producer had available. When you take your first sip, you’ll see why.
Watch as Chris Lafleur, Sommeliers Creed for Cameron Hughes, and Katy Long, Director of International Wines for VWE, walk us through a tasting of Lot 884 and discuss this exciting release.
Video Highlights:
00:00 Intro
00:25 About Petit Verdot
01:00 Color and Legs
01:27 The Nose
02:08 The Taste
03:04 Age
04:44 Pairing
05:25 Decant or Wait?
LOT 884 ATLAS PEAK PETIT VERDOT
Small production crowd-pleaser from one of Atlas Peak’s best vintages
Deep ruby-purple color. Knockout aromas of inky dark fruit, savory wild herbs and flourishes of toasted cedar. Voluptuous on entry, overflowing with rich blackberry and red berry fruit compote, warm baking spices, dark chocolate, and dried sage and thyme. Firm tannins build with power as compelling acidity brings everything into focus. A lengthy finish is punctuated by white pepper, chocolate laced with cinnamon, and a touch of toasty oak.
5 Questions for Chris Lafleur About Pairing Wine and Food
From salt, acid, fat, and sweets in your favorite cuisines, to the wines that pair best with dishes that include those ingredients, Certified Sommelier and CHW Tasting Panel guru Chris Lafleur offers sound advice on pairing wine and food. By CHW Team By now, if you haven’t seen…
On the Hunt: Lagrein
Another grape on the “one’s who got away” list from our last trip through Italy is a staff favorite, Lagrein. Those who have been with us the last few years may remember Lot 634, St. Helena Lagrein. It was a cult favorite, and as soon as it was…
On the Hunt: Teroldego
Teroldego is an ancient Italian grape. As many of you know, we’ve been poking around quite a bit in Europe over the last few years in search of gems, can’t pass deals, rarities, and oddities. Many of you know we’ve spent quite a bit of time in Italy…
On the Hunt: Lemberger
Well, we’ve scored another oddity from the wine world that we’re very excited to share with you. We recently trekked through Washington looking for our usual run of Cabs, Syrahs, Blends, heck, maybe a Merlot or some interesting white wines, but we were fully surprised to see ourselves…
On the Hunt: Rebo
The gifts of Italy continue. We cannot stress how much scouring the globe (and our own backyards) for the finest examples of varieties and terroir expressions, to bring to your door, drives us everyday to keep our eyes, ears, and mouths open to all sorts of opportunities in…
