Clif Family Winery Kit’s Killer Cab Cabernet Sauvignon 2008

Tuesday I felt like a kid waiting for Santa, except I was waiting for a little snow fall. Is there any better way to get into the holiday swing than a nip in the air, tiny little snowflakes and a little something in your wine glass? I can’t think of a single thing. To help get us in the mood, I chose a wine that I hoped stood up to its name and did it ever! Clif Family Winery Kit’s Killer Cab was like an early Christmas present. My husband and I needed a little pampering after spending 30 hours with no running water. Ah, the joys of living in the country and getting water from a well. Seems one of the hoses had a quarter size hole that for two days allowed sediment to come into the pipes and mid-Sunday, allowed no water at all into the house. You never really appreciate in-door plumbing until it’s gone. Heck, I would have been happy with outdoor plumbing at that point. All is well now so back to Kit’s Killer Cab.

Seductive plum and leather aromas draw me in for the first sip. Flavors are full of cherries, cocoa and vanilla. Well structured tannins and a long spicy vanilla finish. A great holiday splurge to bring to the table or just to drink on its own.

Appellation – Napa Valley

Varietal Blend – 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 6% Cab Franc
Alcohol: 14.1%
Release Date: Spring 2011
Cases Produced: 250
Winemakers: Sarah Gott and Bruce Regalia
Suggested Retail Price: $38

When I first wrote about Clif Family Wines, I was two days away from moving from warm, sunny and flat Florida to sometimes warm, sometimes sunny always hilly and mountainous NE Georgia. I spoke then about how the Clif Family embraces a certain lifestyle and I longed to have a different way of living myself. In the three months we’ve lived in our home, we’ve taken to more of a living off the land and buying local lifestyle. We’ve purchase 1/8 of a cow from Loganberry Farms in Dahlonega, my husband planted a small winter garden and plotted where multiple gardens, berry patches, fruit and nut trees will be planted in the upcoming months.

As I look out our front window, I marvel at the thousands of leaves blanketing the lawn. Every day the landscape takes on more of a wintery look. Makes me wonder, will the last of the leaves still clinging to their branches be covered with a fine white snow later today? No, I guess not but I look forward to waking up to a wintery wonderland in the near future. Just hope I don’t have to drive anywhere that day! Good thing I always have plenty of wine in the house.

If you would like to send samples for my review, please contact me at kstargaard@yahoo.com.

2011© Kellie Stargaard.  All Rights Reserved.

http://winechicksguidetoeverydaywines.blogspot.com/

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Baby it's cold outside, perfect time to warm your insides with port wines

This past Christmas my Father-In-Law sent us a bottle of W.& J. Graham’s 20 year aged Tawny Port. I must confess, ports are a wine I have overlooked in the past but after just one sip of that warming liquid, that has all changed. Lucky for me and you, this is truly the perfect time of year to dabble in a little Port tasting. With the temperatures dropping, fire pit going strong, sweaters and gloves donned, a few sips of Port will truly warm your soul.

Port wine is a Portuguese fortified wine meaning the wine has been blended with Brandy. In the latter part of the sixteenth century, red wines from Portugal were shipped to Britain only to discover the wines did not travel well. The British market grew tired of the poorly exported wines and the Portuguese king didn’t want to lose this potential financial windfall. Long story short, a monastery in Douro frequently added brandy to stop the ongoing fermentation. The blend produced a thick, sweet, high alcohol wine that Britain loved.

After some arguments with the British over adulterated port wine, Jose de Carvhallo e Mello, established the first government controlled regional demarcation for wine production in Portugal. Much like Champagne, to be called a port, the fortified wine must come from Portugal. There are several styles of port, too many really to list here, but I’ll cover a few.

Barrel-aged ports:
Tawny ports are wines made from red grapes that are aged in wooden barrels, gradually turning a golden-brown color.
Colheita is a Tawny port from a single vintage and will mention the actual year on the bottle.
Bottle-aged ports:
Ruby port is the most inexpensive style of port. After fermentation it’s stored in tanks and does not improve with age.
Reserve port is a premium Ruby port approved by the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e Porto.


Port doesn’t come cheap but then again nothing is when aged for 10, 20 or 30 years. So go ahead and imbibe, it’s a fine sipping wine which means the bottle can easily last up to six months after opening. Pair with some pungent and great tasting cheese and enjoy.

2010© Kellie Stargaard. All Rights Reserved.

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