Not all Prosecco is bubbly. This one is a still wine.
Voga Italia Prosecco Still
A Prosecco that has no bubbles. And it’s intended to be that way.
Wait. What?
Nope, this isn’t Prosecco that lost its fizz after being opened for a couple of days. Instead, Voga Italia Prosecco Still is just that — a still wine.
It’s made by Voga Italia, part of Enovation Brands. CEO Giovanni Pecora explains that Prosecco can be made in three styles: Spumante (fully sparkling), Frizzante (semi-sparkling), and Tranquillo (still).
I had a chance to try a sample, which comes in a trendy contemporary bottle that looks very much like the a Voss water bottle. Unscrew the plastic cap and there’s a cork underneath.
This wine is made from the Glera grape from the Veneto region of Italy. With plenty of acid and minerality, this refreshing wine tastes of green apple, lemon, lime, and a touch of kiwi.
Wisconsin-born and a teacher by profession, Debra Mathy shared a passion for wine with her father. So much so, that the two of them spent years looking at wineries around the world in hopes of one day buying one.
Sadly, just three months before she would buy Dutcher Crossing Winery in Geyserville in 2007, her father was diagnosed with melanoma cancer and passed away.
She pressed on, though, intent on fulfilling their dream. Indeed, she became the first single woman to own a winery in Sonoma. When she purchased Dutcher Crossing, it made five wines and consisted of 35 acres. Today, it produces more than 30 wines across 75 acres.
I had a chance to sample a bottle of the 2023 Dutcher Crossing Winemakers’ Grenache Rosé ($40) from the Dry Creek Valley. The pale salmon-hued wine is full of the lively flavors of strawberries and raspberries. Tangy and refreshing, it spent four months in neutral French oak barrels, giving it a tad more body.
A Wagyu slider with black truffles on house-baked brioche — part of the “Garden & Glass” tasting at Theorem Vineyards.
It’s not by accident that the names of both Theorem Vineyards and its signature Voir Dire Cabernet Sauvignon allude to science and truth.
After all, the 60-acre Calistoga property was originally purchased in the late 1800s by Dr. Richard Beverly Cole, who not only was San Francisco’s first practitioner of obstetrics and California’s first surgeon general, but also built what is believed to be the first school house in the Napa Valley on that land. The Cole Valley neighborhood in San Francisco is named after him, too.
In 2012, the property was purchased by husband-and-wife, Jason Itkin and Kisha Itkin, who were merely looking for a second home. He is a Houston-based top trial lawyer who famously won an $8 billion record-setting verdict against Johnson & Johnson, and she is a former reservoir engineer who worked in the oil and energy industry.
Six years later, though, they opened their winery there. They now produce eight wines with their winemaker Andy Jones, former assistant wine maker for Thomas Brown; and consulting winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown, one of the valley’s most distinguished winemakers.
You can taste those wines, if you’re fortunate enough to be one of only 17 guests the winery is permitted to host each day, Wednesday through Sunday, by appointment-only. But it will cost a pretty penny. Lavish and over-the-top, the standard wine tasting with cheese is $200 per person. If you’re feeling flush, tack on additional $95 per person for the “Garden & Glass” option that includes substantial gourmet noshes featuring beef from cows with Wagyu genetics raised on the Itkins’ 20,000-acre Theorem Ranch in Montana, as well as veggies and herbs harvested from the winery’s own culinary garden.
One of several tasting areas at the winery.And another tasting area.
Last month, I had a chance to do just that when I was invited as a guest to tour the winery and experience its “Garden & Glass” that began with a welcoming glass of its 2022 Sauvignon Blanc, a zippy white with nice minerality plus more body than expected, thanks to time spent fermenting in neutral French oak.
Chef-Owner Cindy Pawlcyn opened her restaurant in 1983, naming it for the brilliant yellow wild mustard flowers that bloom all over the Napa Valley in spring. It didn’t take long for it to turn into one of the valley’s first destination restaurants.
So, when I found out my husband had never dined there, I was flabbergasted. That omission was remedied last week when we were headed to Napa, armed with a reservation at Mustards.
The ever-popular mountain of onion rings.
We dined on a Tuesday night. But you would have sworn it was a Saturday evening, as the dining room was packed, with even a couple parties waiting outside in hopes that a table would open up soon.
First off, you have to love the playful name of this winery.
Second, it boasts an impressive pedigree: It’s owned by a Master Sommelier, who worked at the French Laundry.
Third, it’s a Napa Cabernet Sauvignon that sells for a relatively bargain price — $39.
That’s what you get with the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon from Band of Vintners, owned by Desmond Echavarrie. He is the founder of St. Helena’s Scale Wine Group, a portfolio of 26 boutique wine brands, including Band of Vintners.
This rich and robust Napa Valley wine, of which I received a sample, is 78 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 16 percent Cabernet Franc, 3 percent Petit Verdot, 2 percent Merlot, and 1 percent Malbec.
It tastes deeply of raspberries and blackberries, with a backbone of leather, cedar, and even a touch of black tea.
