Tuesday Tasters celebrate the new year with favorite wines

Mike and Susan Miloser brought this month’s winning wine.

Mike and Susan Miloser brought this month’s winning wine.

Pat Wilson

The first meeting of the new year for the Tuesday Tasters was hosted by Wayne and MaryAnn Ballard. The theme was favorite wines to celebrate the New Year.

The evening started with a champagne toast, remembering old friends and celebrating new with wishes of good health for several members who were absent due to illness. Heavy on everyone’s mind was the loss in December of our good friend Dick Farnsworth; Janie and Dick have been members of the group for many years. Dick was a kind and humble man who was generous and caring. We miss you, Dick; rest in peace.

There were four wines tasted: Marietta Old Vine Red brought by Pat and Donn Wilson; Tenuta Di Somaro brought by John Saunders; DaVinci Chianti brought by Tom and Vicki Moses and the winning wine was Radius Cabernet brought by Mike and Susan Miloser.

The voting was very close; all wines were within one to two points of each other. Old Vine Red is a non-vintage blend of mostly Zinfandel, Petite Sirah and Carignane with small amounts of other varieties included for complexity. Ripe, juicy fruit and a lush mouth feel are the hallmarks of Old Vine Red, with peppery spice and dusty earth adding an extra level of richness.

Tenuta Di Somaro is an old-vine treasure from Puglia in southern Italy, packed with juicy black fruit and edged with toasty oak. It is aged six months in French oak casks and bottled with minimal filtration to preserve its flavor and complexity. Enjoy with roast beef, spicy pasta or a hearty casserole.

DaVinci Chianti comes from the Tuscany region of Italy. Over 200 local winegrowers have joined together to form Cantine Leonardo da Vinci, an innovative growers cooperative committed to producing authentic Tuscan wine. DaVinci Chianti is a well-balanced wine of medium weight with jammy flavors of ripe plums, cherries and red fruit. This wine pairs perfectly with all starters, pastas and meat dishes.

Radius 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon is produced and bottled by Radius Wines in Walla Walla, WA. Grown in the famed wine country of Washington State, it has aromas and flavors of currant, black cherry and red jam fruit. Hints of toasty oak lead to a long finish in this bold, red wine. Enjoy with red meats, game, sharp cheeses and dark chocolate.

The Tuesday Tasters wish you all a happy New Year full of fun, good health and full flavors.