There's nothing better than a Napa Cab

 

... and I don't mean a Napa taxicab!

 

Well, actually, now that I think about it, having someone drive me around in Napa wouldn't be so bad after all. However, I'd rather it not be a taxi cab.

 

One of my go-to varietals is a Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley in California.

 If you have a table full of wine, or you are at a store and don't know which wine to pick, go with the Napa Cab. You can't go wrong...usually. Unless it's the Bust Her Over the Head Red from Napa which was a rare occurence. (See previous post for explanation.)

 

I grabbed a Napa Cab made by Sterling Vineyards at Safeway a few months ago when I needed to replenish my "everyday red wine" stash. I had never tried it or heard of it but the description on the bottle sounded good and after all, it was from Napa.....

 

 

I had tried the a few reds from the Sterling Vineyards Vintner's Collection (white label) but this one was much better! It is actually from the Napa Appellations collection, one of six collections that this winery produces.  Sterling sources its Napa wines from 14 diverse vineyards that span 1,200 acres of prime Napa growing terroir.  Diversity is one of Sterling's key strengths.

 

 

Intense aromas of fruit and spice (cardamom maybe) with a little manure was a nice surprise.

With flavors of dark fruits, what started out a little tangy turned into a very smooth finish.

 After letting it breathe for a little while, its finish became reminicent of dark chocolate

and was quite decadent.

 

While cool temperatures gave this vintage a slight more acidity than usual making it easy to pair with food, I found that ironically enough, it also paired extremely well with the 1979 Dolly Parton hit and oldie-but-goodie-favorite of mine....Here You Come Again.

Here you come again
Just when I'm about to get myself together
You waltz right in the door, just like you've done before
And wrap my heart 'round your little finger

 

Here you come again
Just when I'm about to make it work without you
You look into my eyes and light those dreamy eyes
And pretty soon I'm wonderin' how I came to doubt you

 

All you gotta do is smile that smile
And there go all my defenses
Just leave it up to you and in a little while
You're messin' up my mind an' fillin' up my senses

 

Here you come again
Lookin' better than a body has a right to
An' shakin' me up so, that all I really know
Is here you come again an' here I go.

For those of you who may be too young or not cultured enough to enjoy the amazing world of classic country music, here's the video_http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMP4w3ImARc
It's one of those that no matter how old I get I just can't help but sing along!

 

Just like classic country music will never lose its appeal, neither will amazing Napa cabs!

 

 

When it comes to wine, I tell people to throw away the vintage charts and invest in a corkscrew.

The best way to learn about wine is the drinking.

~ Alexis Lichine