Green & Red Vineyards has been producing top-notch wines since the 1970's. Located in Chiles Valley (that's in Northeast Napa Valley), they craft a few different Zinfandels (and a Syrah), and we like them all. The "Chiles Mill Vineyard" bottling is my favorite of the bunch. Sitting at 1,200 ft elevation, this estate vineyard produces a wine of brilliant dark red color. It's chock-full of deep yet bright black cherries, a bit of bramble, a hint of smokiness and very nice warming "winter" spices. This is a big wine with richness and depth that is as cozy as a crackling fireplace on a cold wintery night. Nice. 

 
Dan's Wine Pick for the Week

BELTANE RANCH

Sauvignon Blanc Sonoma Valley 2010  

$22/bottle, $237/case 

Crisp, fruity white is the go-to wine in my home. Perfect pre-dinner sipper and, often, a good match with the vegetable and fish-heavy meals we cook. We cook a lot of Chinese and Southeast Asian dishes too, and crisp white pairs well with these.

Which brings me to my pick this week: BELTANE RANCH Sauvignon Blanc. I put together Vietnamese Lettuce Wraps with chicken & shrimp the other day and shared with friends  along with a bottle of Beltane Ranch. Cilantro, mint, basil, garlic, chili flakes, lime juice, fish sauce and peanuts make the flavors in this classic, easy-to-make dish. Great pairing, and I'll tell you why in just a moment. Beltane Ranch is a winery, vineyard & farm (sustainable/organic), B&B, cattle ranch and olive oil producer in Sonoma Valley. They've grown Sauvignon Blanc and sold their grapes for a long time, and recently started making their own. Winemaking notes: whole cluster pressed (this makes white wine particularly fruity, which this is), fermented in a combo of steel and neutral French oak, aged on its lees for six months. 550 cases made.

We find our most popular Sauvignon Blancs, Beltane Ranch for example, are VERY FRUITY and VERY DRY. Smell and taste fresh peaches, pineapple, grapefruit and Meyer lemons. Tangy, medium-bodied and a bit creamy, Beltane Ranch SB works as well on the front patio with chips and dip as it does with my Lettuce Wraps. And back to why the wine worked so well with these wraps: this wine is all about its fruit. SB's common grassy/herbal flavors take a backseat, so the cilantro, mint and basil in the lettuce wraps make for a nice match with the wine's abundant fruit. And going with my complex food/simple wine match principal, the wraps' myriad flavors and the wine's simple deliciousness work well together. Give it a try and let me know what you think. 

 Order Beltane Ranch Sauvignon Blanc here.