Tag Archives: Portuguese wine

Summer Sips, Part I

The 2023 Dutcher Crossing Grenache Rosé made for the lazy days of summer.
The 2023 Dutcher Crossing Grenache Rosé made for the lazy days of summer.

2023 Dutcher Crossing Winemakers’ Cellar Grenache Rosé

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.

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Easy Drinking Vinho Verde

Golden with a tinge of green, Vino Verde is made to be enjoyed young.

Golden with a tinge of green, Vino Verde is made to be enjoyed young.

 

I’ve been intrigued by Vinho Verde since taking an illuminating wine class a couple years ago at the International Culinary Center in Campbell.

Among the discussions we got into was the best wine to accompany sushi.

I’d had my share of sake, Sauvignon Blanc and Chablis with my nigiri. But when our instructor, Master Sommelier Jesse Becker, mentioned he loved Vinho Verde with sushi, that was a new one on me.

The Portuguese wine is not a particular varietal per se. Instead, the name refers to “green wine,” meaning a young one, meant to be enjoyed readily, rather than tucked away in a cellar for years.

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