2006 Cade Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon

A fine steakhouse like Fleming's is a great place to celebrate a special occasion. Perhaps it's a big promotion, a deal with an important client, or an anniversary. Or, in our case, we had a bottle of 2006 Cade Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon that needed to be paired with a big, juicy, delicious steak.

Cade Winery is the sister winery of PlumpJack, and like PlumpJack they make some very nice Cabernet Sauvignon. The winery itself is perched on top of Howell Mountain, overlooking Napa Valley. Click on the link to view pictures of their winery -- you can just imagine yourself living the good life while sipping amazing wine.

Their 2006 Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon is made from grapes sourced from around Howell Mountain. It's 96% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Merlot and aged primarily in new French oak. It has a very herbaceous nose with a silky smooth front palate with tastes of plum and black cherry that gives way to nice acidity and big tannins. This is a big, bold Cab.

Our pairing? Steak. Sally had Filet Mignon and I enjoyed a bone-in ribeye. We split a side of Fleming's take on potatoes au gratin which has cream, jalapeños and cheddar cheese. Fleming's does steak to perfection and these two got along beautifully.

Days Off – Road Trip!

One of our guilty pleasures is a super delicious mac & cheese ‘recipe’ from Sam the Cooking Guy.  Earlier this week, as I was adding in the blue cheese, onions and bacon for this dish, I wondered what wine would go well with it ~ needed something not too strong, but strong enough to stand up to the blue cheese.  That’s when “Stan & Barbara” came to mind!

We discovered the fun-labeled “Days Off” wine while visiting the Andrew Murray tasting room in Los Olivos, CA earlier this year.  We very much enjoyed the dessert wine, First Kiss. Tonight, it was time to pop open (uh, unscrew) and try another one from the limited collection, Road Trip. 

Road Trip is a super-Tuscan inspired red wine blended with 80% Sangiovese, 10% Syrah, and 10% Cabernet.  This is a heavier red, without being overly bold.  It opened with dark fruits (think raspberry and black cherry), and a slight hint of spice, with solid but not overpowering tannins.  While this wine would definitely be drinkable from ingredients to dessert, we let it breathe a little and enjoyed every drop of it alongside the sinfully delicious mac & cheese! 

Unfortunately, it appears it may be very difficult to get your hands on a bottle of Road Trip.  Only 30 cases were produced.  However, you should check out some of Stan & Barbara’s other “Days Off” adventures.  All are very well priced, especially for limited production, and delicious wines!

Another fun time at Wattle Creek's tasting room

Visiting Wattle Creek’s tasting room in Ghiradelli Square is a must-do activity when you are in San Francisco. Granted, it's not hard to tell we are huge fans of this winery. We've blogged about previous visits (see our 2010 notes), included their wine in our Pinotpalooza and Que Syrah Syrah tasting parties, and yes, that's a photo of us at their winery on Share the Bottle's homepage. 

We dropped in about a week ago to sample some of their latest releases and had a blast. Forrest, our host, was very friendly and was able to answer all our questions with ease. He also allowed us to taste several verticals (multiple vintages of the same grape), which is always a fun way to learn about wine.

Check out Wattle Creek's website to plan your visit. Most of their wine is only sold through the winery.

Here were some of our favorites:

2007 Malbec
This is the reason we joined their wine club. It is a medium-bodied wine with lots of dark fruit and spice on the mouth and lush tannins on the finish.

2006 Cabernet Sauvignon
This is a big cab with deep fruit and stick to your mouth tannins. It’s 93% Cabernet Sauvignon blended with 7% Malbec and just screams “steak dinner” when you taste it.

2009 Shiraz
This is a nicely balanced Syrah with tastes of blackberry on the mouth, light pepper and earthiness mid-palate, and light tannins on the finish. 

CADE ~ great wines, great experience!

photo linked to cadewinery.comPlumpjack has always been a favorite of ours. So, you can imagine our excitement when we learned their sister winery, CADE, opened a new tasting room. With the tagline Live Green, Drink Green, we were intrigued and had to visit ~ what a great discovery!    

The drive to the winery alone is amazing. CADE is located on Howell Mountain, and has views spanning Napa Valley from North to South.  The day we visited it was overcast in the valley, but we sat high above the clouds at CADE.  We enjoyed our tasting in the lounge area, taking in the amazing views while sipping the equally enjoyable wine.  CADE is Napa Valley’s first LEED Gold Certified Winery ~ a distinction earned for their sustainable farming practices, as well as design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. The tasting room showcases their commitment to the environment.  Very cool. 

CADE winery produces four wines, two of which are high on our list:

Cabernet Sauvignon ~ Howell Mountain ($72)

98% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Merlot

This is a big cab ~ with big fruit and big tannins. For those that like a bold red wine, you’ll love this one. The nose has fruits of black cherry and currants, with a hint of smokiness. The flavors carry through in taste, adding in a dash of cocoa powder. There is no question on what to eat when you pop open this bottle ~ meat and cheese...a juicy blue cheese burger would be awesome with this one!  

Sauvignon Blanc ($26)

93% Sauvignon Blanc, 6% Sémillon, 1% Viognier

Another great screw cap wine!  This is a very lovely sauvignon blanc that has an interesting balance of citrus, crispness, and a little bit of oak.  It is a very versatile wine ~ great on own, and pairs well with lighter fare such as salads, grilled chicken/seafood and vegetables, or even herb flavored goat cheese.

If you find either in your local wine store, or on a restaurant list, give them a try.  They also have a list of nationwide distributors available on their website.  And, if you are in the Napa Valley area, visiting the winery is a must ~ it’s an experience you won’t soon forget! 

Wine is hanging out on our new bistro table found on our pizza and wine adventure...thought it appropriate to display on a re-purposed wine barrell!

Two Red Wine Finds

We recently discovered two new red wines, representing both ends of the spectrum ~ a high-end Cab, and an affordable Rhône.  If you happen to see either of these on a wine list, give them a try!

DeBeikes Oakville Estate Cabernet Sauvignon ($100)

100% Cab

This wine had a surprisingly spicy nose for a cab sav, but on the mouth its identity was very clear. It was very structured throughout, bold with a strong finish that didn’t linger too long. It was quite enjoyable on its own, but would go excellent with a hearty dish – bring on the steak! Check out this video review of the wine by wine-street.com

You can purchase the wine directly from the winery for $100 (plus shipping & tax). If you are in San Diego, check out Mosaic Wine Bar where you can pick up a bottle at the bargain price of about $78 (does not qualify for 5 cent sale). 

2010 Montirius "Le Cadet" ($10) 

50% Grenache, 30% Syrah, 10% Cinsault, 10% Merlot

We discovered this classic Rhône wine while dining at The Smoking Goat (awesome!) in San Diego. The nose was full berry with a hint of white pepper. The berry continued through as the earthiness developed in taste.  It has well balanced acidity. A very versatile wine ~ great pick for dining out as it works with a variety of options. We enjoyed with our spicy red snapper and grilled pork chop meals.  What makes this wine even more appealing is the price tag. The average retail price is about $10. The difficult part is finding it!  It looks like the best bet for purchase is online. 

Cheers!