Summertime wines

This weekend we tried two great summer time wines, first a Rose of Syrah from Ortman Family vineyards. This was a Rose that would appeal to red wine drinkers. It is full bodied with loads of Strawberry and Red Raspberry fruit. We found this to be a good complement for the marinated pork chops and macaroni and cheese. The Ortman wines are not available in Kentucky, but this wines is available in Ohio for around $15. Do not confuse Rose's with white Zinfandel. These are dry and very sophisticated wines and should not be overlooked.

The other wine we tried is not available locally, but a visit to the winery in Sonoma presents a wealth of opportunity to try different types of grapes. The wine is Wow Oui a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Muscat Canelli from a winery called Imagery. This winery started as creative spin off of Benizinger and allowed Joe Benzinger to experiment with grapes not usually found in California. Some of those are Malbec, Petite Syrah, Cabernet Franc and a hand full of others. The wine we tried had many of the common traits of Savignon Blanc such as Grapefruit and Tangerine. The Muscat Canelli brings a hint of minerality to the wine and moderates the the citrus. This wine worked well with the fried chicken we had for dinner last night and proved to be very refreshing on a hot evening. Though this wine is not available locally, there are many California and Washington State Sauvignon Blancs with similar characteristics.