This month I’m on a Napa kick and enjoying some great juice from California.
- For an everyday drink, I really like Clos du Val 2011 Napa Valley Merlot, composed of 76 percent merlot, 16 percent cabernet sauvignon, 5 percent petit verdot and 3 percent cabernet franc. Usually $35, it’s on sale for a limited time for $20.
- This truly is a cabernet sauvignon lover’s merlot. It has a silky smooth mouthfeel with a nice lingering finish, and is great with food or by itself.
- Also from Napa Valley is the 2009 Ehlers Estate One Twenty Over Eighty Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine is composed of 85 percent cabernet sauvignon, 9 percent cabernet franc, 3 percent merlot and 3 percent petit verdot.
- Retailing at $50 a bottle, I really like sharing this kind of juice with friends that understand the beauty of such a well-crafted red blend.
- Tasting notes: It’s a dense, rich, full-bodied cabernet sauvignon. The wine is plush and juicy with flavors of blackberries, truffles, black plums, toasted coconut, raspberry jam and cocoa. Great structure and balance, fine tannins, this wine, with proper cellaring, has the potential to age for decades.
- The Oracle Miner 2009 Napa Valley Red Wine is a big blend of 50 percent cabernet sauvignon, 25 percent cabernet franc, 15 percent merlot, 5 percent malbec and 5 percent petit verdot.
- The Oracle is an exceptionally balanced, full-bodied red blend made from grapes grown at Stagecoach Vineyard in the eastern hills of Napa Valley. Retailing at $100 a bottle, I would suggest serving this robust blend with a lightly seasoned beef ribeye steak. Consume with friends that understand and appreciate the complexity of such a great bottle or lay it down in your cellar for a special occasion. Please remember though, life is short, we should celebrate many special occasions on a more frequent basis.
Beer
When it comes to beer, my go-to style is usually IPAs, but for this time of year, I absolutely love a beer such as Third Coast Old Ale from Bell’s Brewery Inc., brewed in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Rich and boozy at 10.2 percent alcohol, it’s an ale for those who appreciate complexity and vintage character. Fill a snifter and enjoy it now or commit some bottles to the cellar and age them out for the next couple of years, or more. Sorry Bud drinkers, no “born on” dates or best by dates on such a libation here! Available from Veritas’ retail shop to go for $15.99 a six pack.
- From the great state of Ohio, I’m also enjoying Jackie O’s Brick Kiln Barleywine-style ale brewed and bottled in Athens.
- Brick Kiln Barleywine-style ale is brewed in the English tradition and its deep mahogany hue is accompanied by rich caramel and raisin notes. Light herbal jabs from European hops round out this complex brew.
- Similar to the Bell’s Third Coast Old Ale, as much as I enjoy this style of beer now, I would recommend laying this beer down in the cellar to see how it changes over the course of the year. Available from the retail shop to go for $5.99 bottle.
- We will soon put the North Coast Brewing Co.’s Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout on our nitro tap. This will be available by the glass only and served in our lounge (Veritas Lounge opens at 4 p.m. Monday-Saturday).
- Produced in the tradition of 18th century English brewers who supplied the court of Russia’s Catherine the Great, Old Rasputin is a rich, intense brew with big complex flavors and a warming finish. With an ABV of 9 percent and a 97 point rating, from Beer Advocate, this will be stout nirvana in a glass!
Matt Snyder is the Beer and Wine Guy at Veritas Cork & Craft, 505 Jefferson Ave., Toledo.
