This pairing is in honor of my late hero Anthony Bourdain and of the (last ever?) G7 summit being held in Quebec City. I'm pairing this Cali Pinot noir (with rising tariffs in many foreign markets, buy it before prices escalate) with a little light reading for Trump's team on trade (Douglas Irwin is a star trade economist; this is his newly published 800-page history of US trade policy)
But enough pedantry - on, on to the wine: moderately extracted, purple in color, slightly cloudy. Raspberry and hedge notes in nose. Red berry, tutti frutti flavors with a hint of mint, later raspberry, cherry and blueberry, some seed tannins and barrel smoke in mouth. Moderate astringency and seed bitterness in finish. Light citric-lactic tartness in aftertaste. Give it time to open, complex in its crafting but tasty. — 7 years ago
I love Black Star Farms, it’s one of my favorite wineries. Brought this home with me after my trip to Traverse City this Fall. — 6 years ago
Funk city — 10 years ago
Really good. Not as dry as the label would have you think. But fruity and it went well with a Spanish tapas menu. — 5 years ago
Got this at the winery in Traverse City — 5 years ago
Great winery! — 10 years ago
Sweet and drinkable white wine that packs 13+% of alcohol, so it is not joke. — 11 years ago
Charlie C
Per Bianca of PBB: The City Glou red is made of 100% Chambourcin from an organic vineyard in the the Outer Coastal Plain of New Jersey with sassafras sandy loam soils. Chambourcin is a tenturier grape, meaning both the skins and the flesh inside are red/dark, as opposed to regular red wine grapes have that have red/dark skins, but clear flesh. The grapes were hand harvested and spontaneously fermented in stainless steel, with 50% going through carbonic maceration. The wine was then aged in stainless steel for 10 months before being bottled unfined and unfiltered with minimal SO2.
Tasting Notes:
I tasted this wine for the first time back in January during the ABV wine summit, and I remember how taken I was with it, especially because it was 100% Chambourcin. Chambourcin typically has notes of black fruit flavors like blackberry and kirsch, with low tannins and juicy acidity. I've had some Chambourcin sparkling wines that are super fun and make for a great Lambrusco substitute. There's a vibrancy with this wine that makes it super approachable and drinkable, and very versatile in terms of pairings. Notes of fig, raspberry, plum, fig, spices, and herbs are framed by bright acidity and soft tannins. Chill it down before drinking and pair it with mushroom dishes, red pasta sauces, and game dishes (think rabbit or lamb!) — a year ago