We can guarantee you this is going to be the Best Wine Tasting in Asheville this week! We know it’s Halloween, but we refuse to compromise our standards in order to offer up some goofy “monster label” wines that aren’t worth a dollar. Instead, we offer you the chance to sample through a super high quality selection of “Top Shelf West Coast Wines.” In other words, you’re invited to stop by (costumes not required) to taste the good stuff, including a white Rhone Ranger from California’s Central Coast that will make you forget about Chardonnay, a Santa Barbara Pinot Noir that will make your head spin, and a Washington State Cabernet Sauvignon blend that will have you dreaming of serving it with beef or lamb. Prices range from $25 to $30 and all tasting wines are 10% off by the bottle, 15% off if you mix up six of them, and 20% off if you mix up a case or more.
The tasting is open to the public, and you can stop by any time between 4 and 7 p.m.. The cost is just $5/person, or it’s free if you are a Grape Nut. Not sure what a Grape Nut is? Click here to learn more.
The Wines
1. 2012 Stolpman Vineyards Roussanne (Ballard Canyon, California): The Stolpmans are one of the best grape growing families in the greater Santa Barbara region, and the wines they make aren’t shabby either. Specializing in Rhone varietals, they have crafted an exquisite white wine in the 2012 vintage that is composed of 91% Roussanne and 9% Chardonnay. It sees a little bit of oak aging, but the real charm here is the ripe, exotic, floral and spice infused fruit — think carmelized pineapple, white peach, apricot, clove, allspice, and mountain wild flowers. Full bodied and silken in texture, this is a WOW wine all the way.
2. 2012 JL Bonaccorsi Pinot Noir (Santa Barbara County, California): Named after Jenne Lee Bonaccorsi, the Bonaccorsi Wine Company was founded in 1999. The winery is definitely known for their Pinot Noir and was named one of the Top 30 Pinot Noir Producers by Wine Spectator. The current release is one of the best we’ve tasted from this operation — smooth, delicate, complex and complete, it offers up classic Pinot notes of ripe red berries along with complex nuances of exotic spices, forest floor and savory/umami mushroom notes.
3. 2011 Soos Creek Sundance Proprietary Red Wine (Columbia Valley, Washington): Soos Creek Winery was established in 1989 by David and Cecile Larsen. Their intent then was the same as it is now — produce small volumes (about 1,700 cases total) of high quality red wines using grapes from top vineyards sites throughout Eastern Washington. Their Sundance Proprietary Red Wine uses fruit from the famed Charbonneau and Ciel du Cheval Vineyards and the blend on the 2011 is 38% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, 15% Syrah and 13% Cabernet Franc. Medium bodied, elegant and flowing with juicy cherry, raspberry, herb, spice box and cedar notes, this Bordeaux-styled red is custom-made to be served with grilled meats.