What makes a great wine? Often they arise out of events a 100,000 years ago. Unbelievable? Perhaps, but we need to learn how the fertile Awatere Valley in New Zealand became such a great place to make wine we need to go back to the Ice Age.
You see it was this big ass glacier and some awesome tectonic movements that cut this valley and left a place for some amazing soil structures of grey clay and limestone called "Grey Marl" to form. Mother Nature at her finest.
"What" you say "does that have to do with great wine?" Terroir, my friend, terroir. The special land and air and winds and sun and climate and all of nature that allows skilled wine makers to turn good grapes into great wine like this gently abundant, silky and sumptuous Pinot Noir from The Crossings.
I unfortunately I over chilled the bottle and it took some time for the full flavor to emerge, but this is one beautiful wine.
The ultimate paring I would say, beyond all the obvious, is Asian cuisine. Really, even Sushi, and absolutely Chinese, Korean, Thai, oh yea Vietnamese. Would be really great with Vietnamese.
You could confidently pour for Thanksgiving too.
The story behind this wine, after the glaciers that is, started like this. The Crossings is "where early European settlers first crossed the fast flowing waters of the Awatere River in Marlborough, New Zealand."
Many decades late The Crossings winery was founded by a group of wine lovers who dreamed of crafting outstanding wines from grapes grown in the picturesque Awatere Valley. Their first vintage was realized in 2001.
Ten years later, the 2009 Pinot is drinking very well.
The people that make this wine Matt Mitchell - Winemaker and John van der Linden - Viticulturist deserve much praise. Thanks guys.
Things to do, places to see, with food and booze
You see it was this big ass glacier and some wonderful tectonic actions that cut this area.
Posted by: orange county vegetarian restaurants | 11/28/2011 at 02:42