Tag Archives: March Sweet Club

March Sweet Club: Iowa

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Sweet Wine ClubChocolate_Martini_bottleRancho La Gloria Chocolate Martini Chocolate, Real Cream, Agave Nectar Las Vegas, NV

NECTAR WINE STYLE
Feeling fancy? This chocolate martini is dressed to impress with smooth, creamy milk, notes of dark chocolate and a touch of agave. Black tie optional. Best served chilled.

Varietal: 100% Agave Wine Analysis: 13.9% alcohol / volume Accolades: 2024 Tag Global Spirits Competition – Double Gold

WineStyles’ Wine and Cheese Pairing: Try this chocolate martini with an aged gouda. A caramelized, nutty Gouda brings out the cocoa notes while adding a little crunch from its crystalline texture. Learn more about our wine and cheese pairings here.
About Rancho La Gloria: Rancho La Gloria traces its origins to 1938 at the Rancho La Gloria Hotel in Rosarito, Mexico, where the Margarita cocktail was first crafted, forever changing the world of tequila. Building upon this rich heritage, Rancho La Gloria has evolved into a leading producer of premium agave-based beverages. At the heart of Rancho La Gloria’s offerings are their award-winning Single Estate Tequilas, made from 100% Blue Weber Agave. The agave is sourced from a single-origin field overlooking a historic Aztec temple, with each plant hand-selected and harvested at peak maturity, averaging between 90-110 pounds. Today, the brand continues to honor its legacy by offering a diverse range of high-quality agave-based products for every occasion. Learn more here.
Information & Photos © Rancho La Gloria – All Rights Reserved

Bartenura-Dolce-noir-bottleBartenura Dolce Noir Semi-Sweet Red Wine Italy

NECTAR WINE STYLE
This luscious, semi-sweet red wine is a delightful balance of fruity and earthy notes. The nose reveals aromas of ripe black cherry, raspberry, and plum. The sweetness is well integrated, with a lingering and satisfying finish.

Varietals: Cabernet Sauvignon and Barbera

WineStyles’ Wine and Cheese Pairing: Try this wine with a Gorgonzola Dolce, the creamy, slightly tangy blue cheese contrasts beautifully with the wine’s sweetness. Learn more about our wine and cheese pairings here.
About Bartenura: Bartenura is an international wine brand renowned for its iconic blue bottle Moscato and a diverse portfolio of Italian wines. Since its introduction, Bartenura has become a prominent name in the wine industry, recognized as one of the most successful kosher Italian wine brands globally. Its offerings include a variety of wines such as sparkling Moscato, semi-sweet red wines, and innovative products. Learn more here.
Information & Photos © Bartenura – All Rights Reserved

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March Sweet Club: Iowa

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Sweet Wine Clubterra-doro-zinfandel-port-bottleTerra D’oro Winery
Zinfandel Port
Amador County, California

NECTAR WINE STYLE

The name Terra d’Oro (Italian for “land of gold”) perfectly reflects the Amador region’s richness of its history, natural resources, and wines. Terra d’Oro Zinfandel Port’s amazing aromas evoke raisined berry fruit, candied dates, caramel, dark chocolate and orange peel. Rich flavors of cocoa, toffee, raisin and coffee follow through to a full-bodied, medium-sweet palate with a long finish.

WINE DETAILS:

Analysis: 18.89% alcohol / volume
Varietal: Port
Acidity: 0.6
Accolades: 93 points

WineStyles’ Wine and Cheese Pairing: Pair with an aged cheddar – the sharpness and nutty undertones will provide a delightful contrast to the sweetness of the Port. Learn more about our wine and cheese pairings here.

Vineyard Notes:
Terra d’Oro Non-Vintage Zinfandel Port is a fortified red dessert produced from Zinfandel grapes sourced from the rolling foothills of Sierra Foothills, a region known for creating elegant, rich and full-bodied Zinfandel. A combination of vintages of late harvested grapes creates a seductive history of Port in one glass.

Winemaker Notes:
Terra d’Oro Zinfandel Port is the last project during harvest, allowing the grapes’ sugar levels to rise and the acid levels to slowly fall, creating a sumptuous and sweet wine. After the Zinfandel grapes are crushed and de-stemmed, the must is inoculated and begins fermenting in stainless steel tanks. During fermentation, yeasts convert sugar to alcohol while extracting ripe juicy fruit flavor, tannin and color from the grape skins. Once the wine reaches a carefully chosen sugar level, the addition of un-aged grape brandy — a process known as fortification — is introduced. After fortification, the high alcohol levels stop fermentation and help extract even more flavor from the skins. The leftover residual sugar gives the wine its sweet edge. Using a traditional “Solera” style method of aging, the newest vintage is blended with several previous vintages. The Zinfandel Port is aged in a combination of French, American, and Hungarian oak barrels creating a velvety, rich and polished dessert wine.

About the Winery:
Amador’s first winery established after Prohibition was founded in 1970 by renowned winemaker Cary Gott, and he released the first wines under the Terra d’Oro label in 1973.  Terra d’Oro’s early success with Amador Zinfandel and other wines, in particular Italian varietals, were key in helping re-establish the region’s reputation for fine wine. In 1988, the Trinchero family, which had been purchasing grapes from the Amador region for 20 years, purchased the winery and 240-acre vineyard. Over the years, the family has invested in subsequent vineyards, and in early 2000, completed construction of a new, state-of-the-art winery at the site of the original winery, designed to unlock the potential of each acre of Terra d’Oro’s vineyards. Learn more here.

Amador County AVA:
The Amador County AVA is synonymous with Zinfandel and other rich reds such as Barbera and Petite Sirah, with good reason. The area’s elevation and its iron-rich volcanic and granite soils produce small yields of intensely flavored fruit. Learn more here.

Information and photos © Terra D’oro Winery – All Rights Reserved.

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March Sweet Club: Iowa

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Sweet Wine ClubSchlink_Haus_Kabinett_bottleSchlink Haus
Riesling Kabinett
Nahe, Germany

NECTAR WINE STYLE

The Kabinett is the lightest style of Riesling, ranging from dry to off-dry. This wine is delicately sweet and refreshingly brisk.

Varietal: Riesling
Analysis: 11.5% alcohol / volume
Sugar: 26.5 g/L
Acidity: 8.2 g/L
Quality Category: Quality wine with predicate
Style: Semi-sweet
Serving Temperature: 50ºF-53.6ºF
Critical Acclaim: Wine Enthusiast – Top 100 Best Buys of 2019

Schlink_Haus_Spatlese_bottleSchlink Haus
Riesling Spätlese
Nahe, Germany

NECTAR WINE STYLE

Spätlese means “late harvest”. This easy-drinking wine is medium sweet in style while balanced by acidity. It carries hints of earthy minerality on the finish.

Varietal: 100% Riesling
Analysis: 9.5-11.5% alcohol / volume
Sugar: 45-50 g/L
Acidity: 5-5.5 g/L
Age of Vines: 3-30 years
Soil: Loamy, sandy and slate
Fermentation Time: 8 weeks
Temperature Range: Cold Fermentation
Fermentation Container: Stainless steel
Critical Acclaim: Wine Enthusiast – Top 100 Best Buys of 2021

WineStyles’ Wine and Cheese Pairing: These sweet wines from our ‘Nectar’ section will pair well with a soft cheese, such as a brie. Learn more about our wine and cheese pairings here.

ABOUT THE WINERY:
Founded in 1886 by Josef Barthelmeh, the Schlink family is now on its fifth generation of winemaking. The family has produced the blue bottle Riesling for over 200 years (well before any commercial opportunity was created) in Nahe, Germany – located between Mosel and Rhein, it is one of the smaller wine regions in all of Germany. Blessed with an extraordinary range of soil types in this region, including the entire rock cycle of igneous (volcanic), sedimentary (sandstone, clay, limestone), and metamorphic (slate) rocks. This landscape of vineyards, orchards and meadows is intercepted with cliffs and striking geological formations. Learn more here. >

Information © Schlink Haus – All Rights Reserved.

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March Sweet Club Iowa

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Sweet Wine ClubLate Bottled Vintage Singlevineyard-small (1)Quinta Do Noval
LBV Single Vineyard Port 2014
Douro Valley, Portugal

NECTAR WINE STYLE

The Late Bottle Vintage (LBV) Single Vineyard Port is a remarkable example of the Noval style. It is treated exactly like a Vintage Port, with the use of only noble grape varieties sourced exclusively from estate vineyards, trodden by food and unfiltered. Unlike other Vintage Ports, however, this LBV Port goes through extended aging of five years in casks (instead of the typical two years). It has fine structured tannins, great freshness, and purity of fruit. 

Analysis: 19.5% alcohol / volume
Varietal: Blend of six traditional Portuguese grapes – Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca and Tinta Cão.
Fermentation: Grapes were trodden by foot to obtain the must, then during fermentation, they were macerated to obtain the best possible extraction in the “lagares”, the traditional stone vats from the Quinta.
Aging: Matures for 5 years in French Oak
Farming: The vineyard is farmed sustainably
Appellation: Douro Valley, Portugal
Serving Suggestion: Delicious to drink today, or it will age beautifully in its bottle
Critical Acclaim:

  • 90 pts. Wine Enthusiast – “It is nicely aromatic, with a touch of eucalyptus. The structure is downright impressive, and this needed the time in cask. It tightens slowly but inevitably as it airs out. The fruit flattens a bit at the same time, though. This is still a pretty nice achievement in the vintage. Noval doesn’t make traditional LBVs that fall apart—and it will stay on a plateau for a long time.” – Mark Squires, 9/2020

WineStyles Wine and Cheese Pairing: Sweet wines from our ‘Nectar’ section pair well with an aged cheese. Learn more about our wine and cheese pairings here.

VINTAGE NOTE:
2014 is characterized by heavy rainfall that was well distributed throughout the year. With reasonable temperatures in winter and a fresh month of August, the vines were able to maintain a healthy appearance, with lots of leaves throughout the cycle, which protected the grapes from the peaks of heat during the summer, safeguarding the health of the bunches. At the end of August, the harvest was looking wonderful, with beautiful healthy grapes and an excellent sugar and acidity balance, ideal for making great Port.

ABOUT THE VINEYARD:
All grapes come from the Qinta do Noval vineyard in Pinhão – the heart of the Douro Valley. Due to the major re-planting project of the early 1990’s, these higher quality varietal blends are planted throughout the vineyard. At this age, the fruit at the estate is entering its prime quality.

ABOUT THE WINERY:
Open since 1715, Quinta do Noval is one of the oldest Port houses known around the world. Today, Quinta do Noval is part of the international viticultural group of AXA Millésimes. It is unique among Port houses in that most of the Ports are made from estate-grown fruit and all of the vintage Noval wines are from the single Quinta Do Noval vineyard on magnificent old terraces. Their team is devoted to looking after their great vineyard terroir, and strive to make wines worthy of the Quinta do Noval name every year. Learn more here.

© Photo by Quinta Do Noval
© Photo by Quinta Do Noval
© Photo by Quinta Do Noval
© Photo by Quinta Do Noval
© Photo by Quinta Do Noval

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“Wine” not try our Sweet Club! 

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