2011 Sabina Pinot Noir - Wine of the Day

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2011 Sabina Pinot Noir

2011 Sabina Pinot Noir

$55

The 2011 Sabina Vineyards Oregon Pinot Noir opens with hints of raspberry and rose petal aromas mixed with flavors of cranberry, leather and green tea in the mouth. The wine is smooth and concentrated on the palate. Spice and sweet oak round out the rich, velvety texture producing a spectacular pinot noir for Sabina Vineyards.

The grapes were transported from Oregon to Napa where they were then fermented in 4 separate French oak open top tanks. Fermentation lasted 15 days. The 4 lots were blended and bottled after 18 months in barrel.

Roserock is perched on a ridge top towards the southern end of the Eola-Amity Hills AVA, which is located within the Willamette Valley, home to many of Oregon’s finest Pinot Noir vineyards. In 2011, a warm and dry harvets period gave way to cooler than expected conditions in late September and early October. Fortunately, the fruit was at or near its ripening plateau. A final heat spike at harvest dehydrated many clusters, reducing yields and concentrating flavors.

Sabina Pinot Noir Vertical - Wine of the Day

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Sabina Pinot Noir Vertical

Sabina Pinot Noir Vertical

$195

One of the ways that sommeliers learn to taste the differences between vintages is to taste them back to back.  When you have three or more, it is called a vertical tasting.  And that is what we at Qorkz are offering you! Three Sabina Vineyards Oregon Pinot Noirs from three separate vintages.

2011 Sabina Vineyards Oregon Pinot Noir

The 2011 Sabina Vineyards Oregon Pinot Noir nose is reminiscent of crushed cranberries, cherries and herbs, particularly  The acidity cleanses the palate following  while marrying the flavors picked up on the nose to create the ultimate experience producing a spectacular pinot noir for Sabina Vineyards.

2012 Sabina Vineyards Oregon Pinot Noir

The 2012 Sabina Vineyards Oregon Pinot Noir nose is reminiscent of freshly crushed cranberries, cherries and fresh herbs. Brilliant acidity cleanses the palate following the richest of gravies while marrying the flavors picked up on the nose to create the ultimate experience producing a spectacular pinot noir for Sabina Vineyards.

2013 Sabina Vineyards Oregon Pinot Noir

The 2013 Sabina Vineyards Oregon Pinot Noir opens with hints of raspberry and rose petal aromas mixed with flavors of cranberry, leather and green tea in the mouth. The wine is smooth and concentrated on the palate. Spice and sweet oak round out the rich, velvety texture producing a spectacular pinot noir for Sabina Vineyards.

2011 Genetic Pinot Noir - Wine of the Day

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2011 Genetic Pinot Noir

 2011 Genetic Pinot Noir

2 bottles for $100

The 2011 Genetic Pinot Noir is a special Oregon Pinot Noir from Sabina Vineyards. This wine has a nose that is reminiscent of freshly crushed cranberries, cherries and fresh herbs. Brilliant acidity cleanses the palate following the richest of gravies while marrying the flavors picked up on the nose to create the ultimate experience producing a spectacular pinot noir for Sabina Vineyards.

The grapes for this wine come from the Roserock Vineyard which is perched on a ridge top towards the southern end of the Eola-Amity Hills AVA, which is located within the Willamette Valley, home to many of Oregon’s finest Pinot Noir vineyards. In 2011, a warm and dry harvest period gave way to cooler than expected conditions in late September and early October. Fortunately, the fruit was at or near its ripening plateau. A final heat spike at harvest dehydrated many clusters, reducing yields and concentrating flavors.

The Genetic wines are an homage to the LGBTQ community and perfect for celebrating Pride Month!  We are offering these wines in pairs for $100.

Qorkz Kitchen - Solstice Edition

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I was researching customs for the solstice and actually found a recipe.  Mostly midsommer festivities involved fire, liquor and staying up all night keeping the witches away.  Witches in June?  I don't know why.  Some thing just are the way they are.  Or we have forgotten why.

In way of keeping traditions alive, I am making Portuguese soup.  Caldo Verde.  Yes, there is a green element.  Everything that I read about the soup indicated that it was a cabbage soup.  But all the recipes that I found used kale.  Maybe I am splitting hairs, but I think I have found a way to live up to the intent of the soup without having to pay $4 a pound for Lacinato kale.  The compromise I have chosen is by means to Savoy Cabbage.  Yes, that is cabbage in the picture.  The leaves of the Savoy cabbage are bubbly like the Tuscan type of kale but it isn't as expensive because it isn't so frou-frou at the moment.

Solstice Kitchen

Here are my ingredients:

  • 1 small head of Savoy cabbage (about 1 lb if it is over that is ok.  you are going to have bits that don't go into the soup)
  • 1 large onion (diced)
  • 1 lb of new potatoes (sliced thin)
  • Chopped garlic (I have seen quantities anywhere from 1-4 cloves.  Choose at will. I have 4 in mine - you have been forewarned)
  • 1/2 pound of chorizo or linguiça (sliced thin)
  • 2 quarts chicken stock
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper

That doesn't seem like enough ingredients for a heart meal.  Amirite?! Well, it is.  

Start the process by pulling leaves off the cabbage until you get down the the really pale inner leaves.  It will start getting difficult to peel these off.  Wash the individual leaves and dry them in a piece of paper towel or an actual towel.  Separate the leaf from the hard stem in the middle of each leaf.  I ended up with 2 pieces per leaf.  Then take several leaves and roll them together like a cigar then thinly slice the cabbage.  It will look like this:

Now you take your onions and garlic and sauté them in a couple of spoonfuls of olive oil. When soft but not browned add the potato slices and the chicken stock. (Which I hope is home made.  See instructions in our gravy piece.) My chorizo is a dry variety so I add it now.  If fresh, it is the last addition.... Let simmer until the potatoes are cooked then mash half of them in the pot to thicken the mix.  When nicely mixed then add the julienned cabbage a bit at a time and let it cook down.

The final cooking should take only 30 minutes but can stay on the back burner for an hour (the bright pretty color will fade but it is still awesomely good and yes, that is what I did).

Serve with country bread and red wine, may I suggest 2011 Genetic Pinot Noir.

Happy summer!

2011 Anthem Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Grown Mt. Veeder

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2011 Anthem Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Grown Mount Veeder

2011 Anthem Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Grown Mt. Veeder

$95

The 2011 Anthem Mt. Veeder Estate Cabernet is a special and unique 2011 Napa Cabernet. In addition to being the first Cabernet produced from Anthem’s incredible estate, this wine shows the exquisite structure, richness and depth that only came from mountain fruit in 2011.

The nose on our 2011 Mt. Veeder Estate Cabernet is incredibly complex with sage, mint, gunpowder, blackberries and black cherries. On the palate, it has tremendous density and richness as well as firm tannins, and is packed with roasted meats, graphite, tobacco and earth. Truly a monument to mountain Cabernet. Will benefit from decanting, and drink between 2015 and 2025.

2011 Petrified Forest Merlot - Wine of the Day

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2011 Petrified Forest Merlot

2011 Petrified Forest Merlot

$36

"Smooth and elegant with red fruit notes of dried cranberry, raspberry, and strawberry jam.  Framing the mouthwatering fruit are toasty oak notes of chocolate and caramel.  This compelling and nuanced wine has great balance now and is sure to please for years to come."  Leigh Meyering, winemaker (January, 2014)

2011 Anthem Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard - Wine of the Day

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2011 Anthem Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard

2011 Anthem Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard

$95

Our 2011 Anthem Las Piedras Vineyard Cabernet is a testament to how much a great site with well drained, rocky soils can mean. This wine shows great bright red fruits, spicy smoked meats, and spice. On the palate, it is full weight and incredibly smooth and seamless, exhibiting more red fruits along with dark chocolate, licorice, and candid cherries. This Cabernet has tremendous elegance, suppleness, and breadth, and will be superb with any meat dish. Exquisite to drink now, and will be even better in 3-8 years. 

Our 2011 St. Helena harvest was later than usual. Early autumn rains prompted many to harvest their grapes at lower Brix, but we took our chances and successfully weathered the storm so that we could pick fully ripe grapes of the highest quality. Due to the beautiful sunny, dry weather in the weeks before our arrest, our 2011 wine has gorgeous color, and deep, complex flavors.

V. Vineyards 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon - Wine of the Day

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V. Vineyards 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon

 V. Vineyards 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon

$78

The 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, 100% barrel fermented and barrel aged for 29 months in 80% new French Oak. A variety of cooperages were featured including Tonnellerie Ermitage, Taransaud, Tonnellerie Vicard, Tonnellerie Baron and others. The alcohol content is 14.3%.

Deep dark cranberry with hints of velvety red and purple, this wine is like an explosion of fruit like strawberries, cassis with touches of spices like basil, tarragon, tomato sauce lingering on Vanilla, cherry and pumpkin bread.  The mouthfeel has a soft velvety entrance evolving on tannins with soft dense fruit like black cherries, boysenberries lingering on plums, lavender and lilac.  

2011 Ascension Cellars Ascendance "Melange" Cabernet Sauvignon & Merlot - Wine of the Day

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2011 Ascension Cellars Ascendance "Melange" Cabernet Sauvignon & Merlot

2011 Ascension Cellars Ascendance "Melange" Cabernet Sauvignon & Merlot

$56

Our fathomless unfiltered Bordeaux-style blend was long aged, barrel fermented and hand racked for thirty-six months in French oak barrels. It is luscious, sleek and complex with floral red currant and spice box aromas that lead to layered, concentrated flavors of black cherry, mocha, white pepper, sweet cinnamon and oak that jump from the glass. Velvety-soft, round tannins linger on the mid palate, producing a rich, elegant, dry finish. Enjoy now or be rewarded if allowed to cellar for 3 years or more.


2011 Ascendance is beautiful alone and compliments medium to sharp cheddar cheeses, roasted game hens, duck, pork, grilled steaks, prime rib, filet mignon, lamb and good friends. Fill your glass with beauty and lift your spirits.

2011 Petrified Forest Cabernet Sauvignon - Wine of the Day

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2011 Petrified Forest Cabernet Sauvignon

 2011 Petrified Forest Cabernet Sauvignon

$48

"Aromas of black cherry, pepper, cola, and toasty oak.  Rich and silky texture with firm but yielding tannins.  The blackberry and black cherry fruit is complemented by the spice, pepper, and oak notes.  Drinking nicely now, but will age well for 10 years or more."  Leigh Meyering, winemaker (January, 2014).

2011 Sabina Estate Cabernet Sauvignon - Wine of the Day

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 2011 Sabina Estate Cabernet Sauvignon

$125

This Cabernet Sauvignon is rich and concentrated with well-defined acidity and lush tannins. Dark cherry, currant, and blackberry abound in the aroma, followed by a chocolate, herbal flavor profile wrapped in cassis and black cherry. The blend of vibrant fruit and earthy notes are made complete with a long finish and smooth, lingering tannins. This wine is amazingly approachable now and will age gracefully for a solid 10+ years.

Just like other growers in the Napa Valley during the 2011 harvest season, Sabina Vineyards also had to wait out the rains and time out the grape picking dates just right. The Estate Vineyard was harvested on 2 separate days allowing both lots to have slightly different flavor profiles which was an advantage when making the final blend.

2011 Oak Cliff Cellars Sonoma Chardonnay (Unoaked) - Wine of the Day

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 2011 Oak Cliff Cellars Sonoma Chardonnay (Unoaked)

$24

Because this wine is made and aged in stainless tanks, the fruit is crisp and clean: initially notes of Green Apple and Pear are predominant when served chilled properly, and give way to Melon notes with a hint of Citrus as the wine warms in the glass. The mouthfeel is especially creamy due to the fact that it has undergone 100% malolactic fermentation, converting harsh malic acids to softer, milky ones.

Grapes from this wine come from two Sonoma vineyards: one from southern Sonoma County in Carneros and the other from the Russian River area. Carneros is the cooler climate, with wind and fog prevalent conditions, meaning longer growing time, higher acidity and leaner fruit, while Russian River fruit tends to be riper and fatter in style. By blending fruit from the two distinctive areas, this wine results in high acidity and clean, crisp fruit leaning toward green apple and citrus, but with a nice, plump mid-palate of pear and melon.

2011 Petrified Forest Merlot - Wine of the Day

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 2011 Petrified Forest Merlot

$36

"Smooth and elegant with red fruit notes of dried cranberry, raspberry, and strawberry jam.  Framing the mouthwatering fruit are toasty oak notes of chocolate and caramel.  This compelling and nuanced wine has great balance now and is sure to please for years to come."  Leigh Meyering, winemaker (January, 2014)

2011 Humanitas 'Good Earth' Zinfandel Willy's Vineyard - Wine of the Day

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2011 Humanitas 'Good Earth' Zinfandel Willy's Vineyard

$45

Willy’s Zinfandel has a nose on it that is a cauldron of smells. Try mixing up a cinnamon apple with toasted coconut, raspberry compote and a little cola and that might come close. And as the wine sits in the glass, it continues to morph into more & more hints of things like orange zest, leather, white pepper…all really delightful scents.

On the palate, the wine is…intense! It is like essence of Zinfandel – thick, rich, full-bodied…it is really a striking wine one can’t help but remember. Spices & raspberries; tobacco & leather; earth & toast…all things we love about this varietal. This is BBQ ribs wine…or a good hearty tri-tip marinated & cooked over mesquite. Nothing shy about this wine – grab some of your more outgoing friends, grill up the ribs, blare some good old Southern Rock (how ‘bout the Allman Bros or some vintage Marshall Tucker?) and settle in for the ride. Willy will deliver a wine experience you will cherish!

2011 Anthem Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Grown Mt. Veeder - Wine of the Day

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 2011 Anthem Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Grown Mt. Veeder

$95

The 2011 Anthem Mt. Veeder Estate Cabernet is a special and unique 2011 Napa Cabernet. In addition to being the first Cabernet produced from Anthem’s incredible estate, this wine shows the exquisite structure, richness and depth that only came from mountain fruit in 2011.

The nose on our 2011 Mt. Veeder Estate Cabernet is incredibly complex with sage, mint, gunpowder, blackberries and black cherries. On the palate, it has tremendous density and richness as well as firm tannins, and is packed with roasted meats, graphite, tobacco and earth. Truly a monument to mountain Cabernet. Will benefit from decanting, and drink between 2015 and 2025.

 

2011 Petrified Forest Cabernet Sauvignon - Wine of the Day

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2011 Petrified Forest Cabernet Sauvignon

$48

"Aromas of black cherry, pepper, cola, and toasty oak.  Rich and silky texture with firm but yielding tannins.  The blackberry and black cherry fruit is complemented by the spice, pepper, and oak notes.  Drinking nicely now, but will age well for 10 years or more."  Leigh Meyering, winemaker (January, 2014).

2011 Anthem Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Grown Mt. Veeder - Wine of the Day

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2011 Anthem Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Grown Mt. Veeder

$95

The 2011 Anthem Mt. Veeder Estate Cabernet is a special and unique 2011 Napa Cabernet. In addition to being the first Cabernet produced from Anthem’s incredible estate, this wine shows the exquisite structure, richness and depth that only came from mountain fruit in 2011.

The nose on our 2011 Mt. Veeder Estate Cabernet is incredibly complex with sage, mint, gunpowder, blackberries and black cherries. On the palate, it has tremendous density and richness as well as firm tannins, and is packed with roasted meats, graphite, tobacco and earth. Truly a monument to mountain Cabernet. Will benefit from decanting, and drink between 2015 and 2025.

2011 Sabina Pinot Noir - Wine of the Day

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2011 Sabina Pinot Noir

$55

Roserock is perched on a ridge top towards the southern end of the Eola-Amity Hills AVA, which is located within the Willamette Valley, home to many of Oregon’s finest Pinot Noir vineyards. In 2011, a warm and dry harvets period gave way to cooler than expected conditions in late September and early October. Fortunately, the fruit was at or near its ripening plateau. A final heat spike at harvest dehydrated many clusters, reducing yields and concentrating flavors.

The 2011 Sabina Vineyards Oregon Pinot Noir opens with hints of raspberry and rose petal aromas mixed with flavors of cranberry, leather and green tea in the mouth. The wine is smooth and concentrated on the palate. Spice and sweet oak round out the rich, velvety texture producing a spectacular pinot noir for Sabina Vineyards.

V. Vineyards 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon - Wine of the Day

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V. Vineyards 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon

$78

The 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, 100% barrel fermented and barrel aged for 29 months in 80% new French Oak. A variety of cooperages were featured including Tonnellerie Ermitage, Taransaud, Tonnellerie Vicard, Tonnellerie Baron and others. The alcohol content is 14.3%.

The V. Vineyards 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon is a deep dark cranberry with hints of velvety red and purple.  On the nose is an explosion of fruit like strawberries, cassis with touches of spices like basil, tarragon, tomato sauce lingering on vanilla, cherry and pumpkin bread.  On the palate, this wine has a soft velvety entrance evolving on tannins with soft dense fruit like black cherries, boysenberries lingering on plums, lavender and lilac.

Enjoy.



 

2011 Sabina Estate Cabernet Sauvignon - Wine of the Day

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2011 Sabina Estate Cabernet Sauvignon

$125

This Cabernet Sauvignon is rich and concentrated with well-defined acidity and lush tannins. Dark cherry, currant, and blackberry abound in the aroma, followed by a chocolate, herbal flavor profile wrapped in cassis and black cherry. The blend of vibrant fruit and earthy notes are made complete with a long finish and smooth, lingering tannins. This wine is amazingly approachable now and will age gracefully for a solid 10+ years.