Summer Feast! (Tara Bella and Wind Gap)

With wine that was NOT heat damaged.

With char-grilled seasoned corn on the cob and salad we had the delicious Wind Gap Gap's Crown Chardonnay (2015). Started out quite lithe and lemony. Very nice. With air and the corn, the Chardonnay took on a delicious savory, almost salty character that was a bit of a revelation to me. Delicious wine!

The best was still to come though: With smoked and grilled Tri Tip (medium/medium rare) we had the lovely, lean Bordeauxesque Tara Bella Russian River Valley "Reserve" (Pauillac clone) Cabernet Sauvignon. As with all their wines, this is all about the freshness. A LOT of things going on. Some pyrazines hinted at in the background. Lovely cassis fruit. A touch of earth to accompany the green. Even just a tiny hint of a candied note, but pulled back firmly from the edge by the refreshing acidity and overall balance.

Lovely, interesting, evolving, and complex cabernet from a cooler site north of Santa Rosa.

[Jenise]

The Tara Bella sounds particularly intriguing. Not a winery I've heard of (not surprising as I can't keep up with California wines anymore), but are they new?

Btw, last week I served grilled tri-tip to the local neighborhood wine group. To help with carving, I enlisted a man who has actually been through culinary academy. He DOES know his food, but that's not why I asked for his help--what I wanted was him WITH his electric carving knife. 24 pounds of meat would be slow carving by any other means. Anyway, he's originally from Wisconsin, lived most of his adult life in Germany, and now lives here in WA--a very northern perspective. And he told me, by way of objection over my choice: "Tri-tip is only for braising and smoking." My answer? "Naaah. I'm from California. We grill everything."

Jenise: Relatively new but they purchased the winery from the original owners.

It's a TINY place hidden away down a semi-gravel road off Olivet Lane north of Santa Rosa. Discovered on a whim while on a bike ride.