A few years back we were in Napa Valley wine tasting with fellow wine bloggers and friends Steve and Vashti Roebuck. Steve and I had both made winery appointments and Honig Vineyard and Winery was one of his. We’d enjoyed Honig wines before but had never visited and had none of their bottles in our cellar. We achieved both at this time (the visit and purchasing some bottles) and I recently pulled one of my Honig wines from our cellar to have with dinner. It was a 2015 Napa Valley Cabernet.
Information on the front wine label included that that wine is from the Campbell Vineyard in Rutherford appellation. The back label also shares that this single-vineyard wine has “rich flavors, firm tannins and remarkable structure.”
I opened the bottle an hour before dinner gave it a taste, decided it did not need to decant but left the bottle open without the cork. These are my notes:
Color: Very dark purple.
Aroma: Greeted by a wide medley of dark fruit including black plum and black cherry, then came forest floor, toasted oak, wet leaves, and a hint of dark chocolate.
Palate: A lovely sweet char was the first note I got, that was followed by the same dark fruit I noted in the aroma, as well as spice, tannin, and a very balanced yet big mouthfeel.
Pairing: I made an error in serving the wine with a pepperoni pizza I had already planned to make. My husband thought the pepperoni too spicy for the wine. We set our glasses aside and enjoyed the wine after the meal instead.
Conclusion: This is the first time I can think of where I made a mistake with a wine and food pairing. It wasn’t the fault of the wine, or the food, it was all on me. I needed a backup meal. Or do what we did: save the wine to enjoy on its own later. It was perfect without any food at all.
Excerpt From the Website
We purchased our Rutherford Vineyard in 1964, and began producing wine in 1980. In 1984, at the age of 22, Michael Honig took over management of the vineyard and winery. With the help of a handful of family members and a staff of dedicated employees, what began as a small “garage” winery has today become a successful family enterprise, with everyone working collaboratively to run an inspiring and socially responsible business.
Eve Bushman has a Level Two Intermediate Certification from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET), a “certification in the first globally-recognized course” as an American Wine Specialist ® from the North American Sommelier Association (NASA), Level 1 Sake Award from WSET, was the subject of a 60-minute Wine Immersion video (over 16k views), authored “Wine Etiquette for Everyone” and has served as a judge for the Proof Awards, Cellarmasters, LA Wine Competition, Long Beach Grand Cru and the Global Wine Awards. You can email Eve@EveWine101.com to ask a question about wine or spirits.
