Last week, I lunched at Craftbar and tasted the new wines of Francis Ford Coppola. The restaurant itself is rich with warm wood and modernly rustic aesthetics. To one end, a large bar takes up most of the wall. But if you slip past it, you’ll discover a wonderfully private room, with a table that could seat 10, but we had a lot of elbow room with our eight. I started with the Sofia Riesling 2008, a crisp, slightly off-dry wine smacking of pears and apricots. Next, I tried the Diamond Collection Yellow Label Sauvignon Blanc 2008, which I found refreshing and very well balanced—there’s plenty of juiciness, but a lively zest rounds it out. I took a sip of the bright golden Diamond Collection Gold Label Chardonnay, and smiled immediately. Though I’m a red-wine lover at heart, I’m so drawn to creamy Chardonnays. “We use whole-cluster press and split fermentation techniques for this Chardonnay,” explained Corey Beck, the director of winemaking at Francis Ford Coppola Presents. “Half the fruit is fermented in stainless steel, while the other half is fermented in French oak. This lot then goes through malolactic fermentation, which gives the wine a lightly creamy texture. The wine then ages 10 months in one- to two-year-old French oak. The two lots—oak and unoaked—are blended together prior to bottling, giving the wine freshness, balance and complexity.”
PRETTY IN PINK
To transition to red, I moved on to pink, as in rosé. The Sofia Rosé, which comes from syrah and Grenache grapes in Monterey County, is my choice for summer barbecues, pool parties and bridal showers alike. I leaned my nose into the glass and inhaled red berries and roses. I could taste them, too, when I sipped, and then I found a candied orange peel taste at the end. It’s a bright and fun wine. Beck said that 2008 was “a cool year in Monterey,” which “reduced yield.” He added, “The smaller crop resulted in an intensely concentrated wine with aromatic fruit flavors and a zesty personality.”
SEEING RED
UB40’s “Red, red wine” was playing in my head as I reached for my first glass of red: the Diamond Collection Plum Label Petite Syrah 2007. It wasn’t my kind of wine. It was inky at first, like a thick, juicy grape burst on my tongue, but it quickly changed to a chalky flavor. This is the beauty of the human palate—everyone’s is different. And this is why I love wine tastings: easy sipping on light pours of flights (three ounces) of wine. I poured it out, rinsed and moved on to my new favorite wine. What a lovely discovery I had with the Diamond Collection Magenta Alicante Bouschet 2007. To be honest, I’d never noticed an Alicante Bouschet in wine markets before, so I was very curious to learn the back story. The name seemed Italian, like Coppola, but there was a definite French sound, as well. The reason is because it’s a little of both. Bouschet is the surname of the man who bred this varietal in the early 1800s. But it also used to grow in Calabria in Southern Italy. Coppola’s version is grown in the Central Valley in California. I found the Alicante Bouschet to be the perfect drinking wine—it’s richly textured, smooth and has a terrific long finish. The explosion of aromas includes a blend of raspberry, blueberry, cinnamon, dark chocolate and violets, followed by flavors of red plums, cassis, cranberry and spice. And the best part? Francis Ford Coppola Diamond Collection Magenta Label Alicante Bouschet 2007 retails for just $16.
PAIRINGS
Our first course was shrimp (heads intact) with spiced creme fraiche, oven-dried tomato and candied lemon. The spiciness of the dish was soothed by the oaky Director’s Cut Chardonnay. Next, we moved on to salmon accompanied by a spring vegetable salad with black truffle vinaigrette. I always love pinot with salmon and was pleased to have the medium-bodied Director’s Cut Pinot Noir served with the fresh fish. Our third course was the beef short rib, a favorite dish of mine at Craft. It included braised fingerlings, morels and spring onion, and was paired with the spicy Director’s Cut Cabernet Sauvignon 2007.
Kirsten Ott is the Life, Food & Style Editor of The Sunday Paper. Get in touch at kirstenott@sundaypaper.com or follow her quick news bytes at www.twitter.com/kirstenott.
Photo/Courtesy of Francis Ford Coppola Presents/Francis Ford Coppola Diamond Collection Magenta Label Alicante Bouschet 2007
