Jere and Vickie Bone welcome the Wine Stewards to their home.
Left to right: Susan Parker, Bill Fideli, Beverlee Deardorff, Bernadette Fideli and Pete Toppan enjoy a tasting.
The Wine Stewards recently enjoyed a special Worldwide Wine-Tasting Tour featuring the best wines from Napa, Australia, Argentina and Chile. Chateau D’Bones, the home of Jere and Vickie Bone, selected six wines from award-winning vineyards for the Wine Stewards’ tasting pleasure. Members were seated at various linen-draped tables with platters of cheese and nuts atop each. Presentations preceded the sampling of three whites and three reds. Following the presentation and tasting, a dinner was served. Quiches, salads and dessert were offered along with a glass of the featured wines.
The Whites poured were a Riesling from Australia, a Sauvignon Blanc from the Napa Valley and a Chardonnay from Napa. Yalumba is Australia’s oldest family-owned winery, dating back to 1849. It is located in the Barossa valley and is Australia’s wine headquarters. The Australian Riesling class of wines has a tremendous fan following. Importantly for a quality wine it is in the top three white wine varieties together with Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. The Napa Valley, California Viticultural area is one of the premium wine growing regions in North America. The earliest vineyards date to 1836, and the oldest winery is from 1861. The Rutherford region lies in the heart of the Napa Valley and is home to some of the oldest and most storied wineries in the U.S. Round Pound Sauvignon Blanc has been a featured item on the Wine Spectator’s Grand Tour. It has a rating of 90. The Paris Wine Tasting of 1976, or the Judgment of Paris as it became known, was a wine competition organized in Paris in 1976. French judges carried out two blind tasting comparisons: one of top quality Chardonnays and another of red wines (Bordeaux from France and Cabernet Sauvignon from California). A California wine rated best in each category and established Napa, California, as one of the award-winning wine centers of the world. The Charles Krug Winery was established in 1861 as the first winery in the Napa Valley in the Los Carneros region, greatly influencing Napa’s development as a world-renown wine producing region. Their Chardonnay is delicate yet complex with firm structure and acidity.
The Red Wines featured a Malbec from Argentina, a Shiraz from Australia, and a Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa. Alamos Malbec comes from the Mendoza region of Argentina at the foot of the Andes Mountains. It is a robust wine with fruitful sensations that make it a perfect pairing for steaks and grilled meats and is the principal red grape of Argentina. Robert Parker from Wine Advocate has rated this wine a 90. Penfolds Winery of Australia has forged a reputation for quality that is without peer. Their Bin 2 Shiraz is greatly valued by winemakers for its blending attributes, and the popularity continues to flourish. Beringer Vineyards is Napa’s benchmark producer since 1876. Their Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon has won critical acclaim with a rating of 90 plus. Well-versed, well-fed and well-quenched, the Wine Stewards enjoyed another wonderful, relaxing and informative evening.