Three wines in today’s tasting notes:
From Jeio
If you struggle with choosing the right wines to pair with your Thanksgiving dinner you are not alone.
If you are afraid a big red will overpower the turkey but a dry white will fail to match the exquisite flavors resulting from your hours spent in the kitchen, you would do yourself and your family a great service by considering sparkling wine.
Bisol’s Jeio Prosecco DOC and Jeio Cuvée Rosé are delicious, high quality, and affordable sparkling wines that have the subtle characteristics to complement your main course, accentuate your sides and carry you through your meal without overpowering your cooking.
Jeio Cuvée Rosé (SRP: $14) is a sparkling wine made from a combination of Merlot and Pinot Noir grapes from vineyards on the steep hills of the Veneto. A brief period of maceration gives the wine its brilliantly delicate pink color, excellent balance, and unique personality. Intense notes of roses accompanied by a delicate bouquet of fresh citrus and lychee compliments the light acidity and dry finish. It is superb with roasted turkey.
Eve’s Notes: Very pale red berry notes on the nose followed by red Maraschino cherry, strawberry and pink grapefruit on the palate. 87 Eve pts.
Jeio Prosecco DOC (SRP: $15) is a Prosecco produced with grapes from the low-lying hills of the Veneto. This beautiful straw-yellow Prosecco has a refined balance between acidity and minerality. The floral bouquet of apple, apricot and fresh meadow flowers compliments the fruity flavors and dry finish. Jeio’s fresh, youthful character pairs well with your sweet potato casserole and elevates the flavor of both the cranberry sauce and savory stuffing.
Eve’s Notes: On the nose I got a great deal of green apple followed by honeydew melon, lemon-lime, yellow peach and a hint of wet gravel. On the palate there was a nice lime hard candy flavor and medium acidity. 89 Eve pts.
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From Arrow&Branch
2015 Sauvignon Blanc
Eve’s Notes: Honey, Meyer lemon, white pepper, white peach on the nose followed by flavors of bruised lemon, grapefruit, lime, medium to high acidity, a lingering finish. 89 Eve pts.
Arrow and Branch was chosen as the name for the couple’s wine as a subtle reference to numismatics. Proprietor Steve Contursi owns one of America’s most respected and renowned coin dealerships, RCW Financial. A professional numismatist since 1975, Contursi has bought and sold more than $2 billion worth of United States rare coins, and helps investors, collectors and other dealers acquire the finest quality, historically significant, museum quality U.S. coins. Found on the reverse of most United States coinage is an eagle holding an olive branch and arrows in its talons. The Arrow&Branch name is both a nod to Contursi’s success in the rare coin business, as well as paying homage to both US coinage and Americana. The olive branch signifies the United States as a peace-loving nation, while the arrow portrays the country’s ability to defend itself.
Contursi made international headlines in March 2004 when he and The American Numismatic Association unveiled new evidence about “Uncle Sam’s first buck.” The Neil/Carter/Contursi specimen, 1794 Flowing Hair dollar, is believed by many experts to be the very first silver dollar struck by the U.S. A truly historic national treasure, this mint coin represented an economic declaration of independence for the young United States. The coin was displayed at The ANA Money Museum in Colorado from 2004 through 2010 as well as in other locations around the country. In May 2010, Contursi sold this coin for $7.85 million, setting the record price for a single coin.
And yes, the winery eliminates the spacing between the letters and the ampersand: Arrow&Branch.
3003 Hagen Road, Napa CA 94558, Phone 707-927-3640, open for vineyard tours by appointment only. www.arrowandbranch.com
Eve Bushman has a Level Two Intermediate Certification from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust, a “certification in first globally-recognized course” as an American Wine Specialist ® from the North American Sommelier Association (NASA), was the subject of a 60-minute Wine Immersion video, authored “Wine Etiquette for Everyone” and has served as a judge for the Long Beach Grand Cru. You can email Eve@EveWine101.com to ask a question about wine or spirits.
