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Wine Details
Price:
Description:
This is our off dry (slightly sweet) white table wine that we aged in stainless steel that gives it a crisp fruit forward flavor. Like our Rosé mix, this blend will also change from year to year. The blend we have selected for 2010 is 4.1% Seyval Blanc, 15% Chardonnay, 22.4% Viognier, and 58.5% Vidal Blanc. We were once in the cattle business here at the Desert Rose Ranch and this wine is a tribute to our one remaining cow who has become a neighborhood celebrity.
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Varietal Definition
Seyval Blanc:
A French hybrid that is often thought of as "East Coast Chardonnay," or at least an alternative to same. Produced in a crisp, dry style, this white wine is often fermented or aged in oak to enhance the rather neutral flavors of the grape itself. It lends itself to service at the dining table and is food friendly. Seyval Blanc is often used in proprietary blends; good examples can be found from Prejean, Clinton and Château Lafayette Reneau.
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Chardonnay:
Chardonnay is by far the most widely planted grape crop in California and dominates California’s cooler, coastal, quality wine regions. The natural varietal ‘taste and smell’ of Chardonnay is surprisingly unfamiliar to many wine drinkers, as its true character is often guised with dominating winemaking signatures. Chardonnay’s rather subdued primary fruit characteristics lean toward the crisp fruitiness of apples, pears and lemon, but the variety’s full body is capable of supporting a host of complementary characteristics, such as oak, butter and vanilla. Regardless of what is the appropriate style for Chardonnay, the varietal continues to dominate vineyard plantings in every corner of the world. Close attention to clonal selection has made this broad geographic and climactic range of Chardonnay viable in thoughtful viticultural hands.
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Vidal Blanc:
A white French hybrid once widely planted in the south of France, it is more suitable for growing in warm and humid climates like the South. These vines are prolific, producing large golden berries, suitable for eating out of hand as table grapes. When vinified, Villard Blanc makes a fruity, mildly intense white wine (somewhat Sauvignon Blanc like) of fairly neutral and simple flavors. Primarily used for blending.
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Viognier:
The most acclaimed white wine grape from France's Rhône Valley, Viognier is a highly aromatic varietal, with a flavor profile that could include peach, apricot, nectarine, lichee, musk and flower blossom. The heady perfume of this varietal is one of its trademarks, although its flavors are sometimes problematic in matching with food. However, it does well with lobster, crab and moderately flavored fish. Use it as an apéritif as an alternative to Chardonnay. The "Rhône Rangers" in California have done an excellent job promoting this varietal.
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