2017 Festival Wines

This year, Litchfield Merchant Casa Baccus introduced us to Constellation Brands who generously donated a selection of four great wines for your enjoyment. Check them out below!

MARK WEST PINOT GRIGIO

MARK WEST WAS FOUNDED IN 1978 with the desire to craft remarkable wines that deliver exceptional quality.  With equal parts patience, hard work, and passion, we’ve followed our dream from vineyard to barrel to bottle, rewarded by knowing that wine drinkers – from newbies to seasoned connoisseurs – savor every glass just as much as we do.

Medium-bodied wine featuring flavors and aromas of honeydew, stone fruit, and citrus, especially lime.  The body shows crisp acidity, bright fruit flavors and a subtle, clean, lingering finish.

Appellation: California

Aging: 100% Stainless Steel to maintain the naturally occurring bright, crisp flavors.

Food Pairings: Fish and chips, summer salads, and steamed clams by the dozen.

SIMI CHARDONNAY

SIMI.  SYNONYMOUS WITH SONOMA COUNTY. When Giuseppe and Pietro Simi immigrated to Northern California, they settled in Sonoma County because it reminded them of their native Tuscany where wine had been made for centuries.  In 1876, they founded SIMI in Healdsburg, Calfornia.  Today, we’re still making wine from diverse Sonoma County grapes in the same stone cellar build in 1890.

Zesty fresh flavors  of tangerine, lemon curd, stone fruit, white peach, and nectarine framed by sweet toast and vanilla followed with wet-stone minerality and orange peel on the finish.

Scores: Wine Enthusiast, June 2017 – 90 Points – San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition – GOLD to Sonoma County 2015

Blend: 100% Chardonnay

Appellation: Sonoma County

Food Pairings: Smoked salmon; prawns sautéed with garlic, lemon & parsley; or a caprese salad w/ ripe peach slices, basil & fresh mozzarella

 

WOODBRIDGE CAB SAUV

Aromas of juicy plums marry with notes of herb and rich cedar.  Deep flavors of blackberry, cherry, and tobacco gives this wine excellent balance, with oak aging added a toasty, caramelized quality.

Scores: Intervin Awards August 2015 – BEST VALUE – 2015 World Wine Challenge – BEST BUY 86 Points

Blend: 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Syrah, 4% Barbera, 3% Tannat, 2% Petit Verdot, 2% Merlot, 5% other red varietals

Appellation: California

Growing Region: Mother Nature provided generous crop in the Lodi American Viticultural Area (AVA), one of the first recognized winegrowing appellations in California.  Warm days were tempered by cool breezes from the San Joaquin Delta, allowing grapes to reach full maturity, yielding a well-balanced, fruit expressive wine.

Food Pairings: Grilled meats, BBQ ribs, or tomato-based pasta dishes

 

VELVET DEVIL MERLOT

This little devil is wrapped in a velvet robe.  Full of density and bursting with flavor.  Dark fruit, cherry, blackberry.  Brimming with cedar, pipe tobacco and earth.  Truth in a name.  Velvet!

Current Past scores: Top 100 Best Buys 2016 – #23 – 90 Points (2013 vintage), Wine Enthusiast, May 1, 2016.

Blend: 94% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Malbec, 1% Cabernet Franc

Appellation: Columbia Valley – Washington State

Vineyards: Sundance, Art Den Hoed, Goose Ridge, Weyns, Oasis, Purple Sage

Food Pairings: Roasted Pork; Grilled Steaks