Women’s Wine Council – October 5th
By Guest Writer Judee Smith

Terra d'Oro Home Vineyard Zin

We had another wonderful evening with the Women’s Wine Council tasting some reds from Amador County. My first pick was the Terra d’Oro 2007 Home Vineyard Zinfandel. From the earthy oaky aroma, I knew it would be a favorite for me. On the palate it provided soft raspberry, spice and cinnamon flavors. We sampled it with a variety of foods but it definitely seemed to me to be a great cheese wine. One in particular that I enjoyed with it was a goat cheese with cranberries and cinnamon. In spite of the wine being a light to medium body, it also stood up quite well to the heaviness of the barbecued ribs we tasted. The charcoal of the ribs and oakiness of the wine made a great marriage.

My second choice for the evening was the Terra d’ Oro 2008 Barbera. The perfect amount of acidity made this wine very food friendly. With flavors of black cherry and nutty characters, it provides a smooth finish. It was a touch heavier than other Barberas I have tasted but was definitely one of my favorites. Of the many gourmet choices we sampled with it, there was not a bad combination. However, for me the winning food match with this wine was the asparagus with horseradish cream cheese wrapped in roast beef. The blending of the flavors of the meat and vegetable was a perfect compliment to the wine.