What is it about the holidays that makes wine lovers think of cabernet? Is it all that baking spice that is often prevalent in California red blends? The fact that many Christmas dinners are centered around prime rib? Or the fact that people love sitting around the fire after dinner opining on the old days over some well-aged wine and a chocolate truffle or two? Even brandy-soaked fruitcake can be a good pairing. Just don’t get too close to the fire.
Marty Mathis of Kathryn Kennedy has a locally grown cabernet on special, including the 2019 Lateral (regularly $42, sale $30) and the always tempting 2021 Small Lot Cabernet, made from backyard vineyards that dot the hills above Silicon Valley ($46, sale $30). [email protected]
Other cabs to consider are Thomas Fogarty’s cedar- and pine-framed 2016 Gist Ranch Cabernet, Mount Eden’s 2018 Estate Cab and a double magnum of House Family 2012 Estate Cab for $375 (regularly $500). Testarossa has a 2017 Black Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon on case special until Dec 18. Buy one case, get one case 50% off.
If you prize cabs with some decent age on them—say 21 years—consider Kings Mountain Vineyards 2002 Meritage, an utterly swoon-worthy blend of primarily cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc. It was the talk of the town at the Menlo Park Wine Stroll. [email protected]
Complementary vibrant whites include the 2018 Fogarty Wirz Riesling or the 2022 M. Mathis Winegrower Godello, plus a chardonnay or two: the 2021 Sandar and Hem Mountain Winery Chardonnay is brilliant, as is the 2018 Mindego Ridge Chardonnay. You can’t go wrong with the 2021 Testarossa Santa Lucia Highlands Sierra Mar Chardonnay, with its apricot and marzipan aromatics.
Always have a pinot noir on hand, and a current favorite is the 2021 Testarossa Rancho La Vina Pinot Noir, from the Santa Rita Hills. This is a fairly new vineyard to longtime Testarossa winemaker Bill Brosseau’s portfolio, and one of his finest additions. Hard to beat the lithe strawberry and Luxardo cherry brilliance of this one.
Speaking of pinot noir, Neely Wines in Portola Valley is once again open for tastings Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m-5 p.m. Many gift packs are available in house or online, and you can customize orders with a gift box, tissue paper, satin ribbon closure, and a handwritten note. The 2019 Upper Picnic Block Pinot Noir is pomegranate and spice. Offers available through Jan. 5, 2024. [email protected]
Fogarty at 42
Fogarty Winery is celebrating 42 years in the Santa Cruz Mountains. In all that time, they’ve only had two winemakers: Michael Martella, who started in 1981, and Nathan Kandler, who took over as winemaker in 2012.
Martella recently said that the best and smartest thing he ever did at Fogarty was to hire Kandler. Having just tasted some of the newly pressed wines, he was pretty stoked about the 2023 vintage, telling me it’s the best in years. Kandler was still pressing off cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc on Dec. 4, with three more lots of Nebbiolo to go.
Right now, Fogarty has two vintage 2021 wines bearing a 40th anniversary ribbon on the label. The 2021 Fogarty Santa Cruz Mountains chardonnay and pinot noir are wonderful snapshots of a perfect vintage after the fires and brutal heat of 2020.
