2009 Sonoma Chardonnay

2009 Sonoma Chardonnay – $19.99

Just released is this beautiful food and sipping wine that is getting notices for its fine Chardonnay character and its under $20 price tag.  The new 2009 Sonoma-Loeb Sonoma County Chardonnay was made by winemaker Phillip Titus and is a stunner.  The new wine is available online. What makes it even a better bargain is that we will pick up your shipping costs (continental US) so you can have it delivered to your home or business.

Here are the tasting notes from the winemaker

Aromas: The nose shows lots of youthful ripe fruit as well as a very nice layer of oak and spice. Pineapple, melon and lemon zest are integrated with floral notes and a background of nutmeg and cinnamon.

Flavors: Juicy rich flavors of baked pear, pineapple and lemon tart are heightened by the fresh and lively acidity. The wine is racy and delicious in its youth but built with the flavor and structure that will allow it to improve &  gain in complexity with additional years of aging.

Food Pairing: Enjoy with classic chicken and pork dishes, fish, seafood and cheese. The wine is versatile and lovely as an aperitif.

The wine was displayed at two stations: one station for the present vintage 07’ Sonoma-Loeb Reserve Chardonnay and the soon to be released new vintage, 08’ Sonoma-Loeb Reserve Chardonnay. The second station had the current 04 vintage of Sonoma-Loeb Reserve Cabernet and the new vintage 05’ Sonoma-Loeb Reserve Cabernet, which was just released. (Both Cabernet vintages and the 07’ Sonoma-Loeb Reserve Chardonnay have since sold out).

Chef Marc Poidevin designed the food presentations to marry the unique flavors of each one of these Sonoma-Loeb vintages. The goal was to show how well food and wines blend to enhance the dining experience. Listed below are the Chef’s selections and the wines paired with each:

HARMONIE CLUB

The Literary & Media Committee
And the Young Families Committee With Ambassador John L. Loeb	Wednesday, May 5, 2010 MAIN DINING ROOM
And Author Eli N. Evans P.M. to 7:00 P.M.	Wine Tasting/Cocktails: 6:00
Wine Tasting & Cocktails/Program	Program: 7:00 PM. to 8:00 P.M.

Approx. 100 Guests (check the reservations)

Two Stations
Station I
08’ Sonoma-Loeb Reserve Chardonnay
07’ Sonoma-Loeb Reserve Chardonnay

Cheeses to Include:
Brie, Bel Paese, Port Salut, Gorgonzola, Sharp Cheddar, Reblochon, Chevre
Bunches of Red and Green Grapes
Basket of Dried Fruits and Nuts
Bowls of Cornichons and Olives

Smoked Norwegian & Pepper Smoked Salmon, Fresh Rye Bread & Complete Garniture
Sautéed Shrimp with Tomato and Fennel
Baskets of Flat Bread

Station II
04’Sonoma-Loeb Reserve Cabernet
05’Sonoma-Loeb Reserve Cabernet

Carving

Roast Sirloin of Beef
Mustards, Horseradish
Split Olive Rolls

Tomato Basil and Artichoke Bruschetta

Pasta

Radiattore Pasta Primavera, Gnocchi Alfredo, Focaccia Squares

Ice Cream & Sorbet

Brownies, Lemon Squares
Cookies & Coffee
Following Presentations

After the wine and food pairing a discussion of Ambassador Loeb and Eli Evens recently published books on Jewish History in America was held. It was lively and interesting discussion that was be both entertaining and informative. It was a terrific evening that highlighted the passions of Ambassador Loeb and Eli Evens who are both authors of books on Jewish History.

Click here to view the Flyer!

Pinot Noir is a difficult grape to make into a fine wine, because the grape has a red skin and white juice.  Almost all other red wines have red skins and red juice.  So in the case of Pinot Noir, the only way to get the wine to be red is to leave it with the skins. The longer the juice stays with the skins the more tannin the wine picks up.  More tannin gives the wine more of a tart taste sometimes too tart to marry foods well. The trick is to carefully watch for just the right color.  When the color is right, somewhere between a light to medium burgundy color, then remove the skins from the juice and crush the pulp into the red tinted juice.  Some vintners add a small amount of Syrah to the blend, to get a deeper color but we at Sonoma-Loeb feel this changes the character of the wine, so we do not. Hopefully, we can all enjoy a glass soon! We expect to release the new Sonoma-Loeb Reserve Pinot Noir in September of 2010.

Sonoma-Loeb Wines, Simply the best!

A Loeb Family Selection!

“The barrels under the tarp are Russian River Chard destined for either the Sonoma-Loeb Vineyards Reserve Chardonnay or Envoy. They are under the tarp with small electric heaters and a fan to keep them warm (60*F) during the cold winter months so that they will go through Malolactic fermentation (ML). The bacteria are sensitive and don’t like cold, SO2, high alcohol or low nutrient levels in the wine. We added some nutrients for the bacteria and warmed them up and the ML has now almost finished. It took about 2 months to get it to go through. Our goal for the Envoy is to get the wine through ML so that it would be stabile enough to be bottled unfiltered without making a mess in the bottle. The quality of the lot is very high and showing the potential to become Envoy Chardonnay which is the designation we give to only very special lots.
Hope this tells the Story.”
Phillip Titus, Winemaker for Sonoma-Loeb Vineyards

The Ambassador Loeb Family Selections Wine Collection, Simply the best

Ever wonder how a great Chardonnay like Sonoma-Loeb Reserve Chardonnay gets made? Well it starts with a great vineyard and in our case two great vineyards. Within each vineyard there are differences in how Mother Nature touches the grapes. Phillip Titus the winemaker at Sonoma-Loeb has worked with Ambassador Loeb since the first crush. Phillip Titus has had a lot of experience with knowing what to expect from the different parcels. This experience give him the knowledge and the ability to treat various sections of the vineyard differently to extract the best flavors of each parcel. He actually has set up vineyards with in vineyards. To capture and separate the various tastes that the climate and soil have on the grapes Phillip treats each parcel differently. Once the grapes have been crushed and fermented and then come to a rest after all the fermentation is complete the blending begins.

Pictured below was our recent blend program help at the winery last week.

Phillip Titus wine maker Sonoma-Loeb wines and Dennis Murphy, General Manager of Sonoma-Loeb vineyards

The process is fairly simple the 10 glasses represent a sample of the various parcels Phillip feels are unique. They are blind, simply labeled A thru J. We both had to taste each wine and make some notes about each. Of the 10 wines we each had to have a top 5 picks and a bottom 5 picks. Once we had tasted all the wines and recorded our picks we discussed the one we agreed were or least favorite. Then we discussed the ones we agreed were our favorites and finally we discussed the ones we disagreed on. Once we discussed all the wines Phillip decided what wines will be blended into the final blend. This usually comes down to 3 or 4 and out of those one usually stands out as perfect.

First, we are close to the end of our 2007’ Sonoma-Loeb Reserve Chardonnay – get it while the supply lasts. Secondly, we will soon be ready to introduce our 2008’ Sonoma-Loeb Reserve Chardonnay, which will be a BIG White!  Full bodied with lots of oak and well rounded with layers of fruit flavors. Perhaps the biggest change with the 2008’ Sonoma-Loeb Reserve Chardonnay is the addition of Carneros grapes to our Sonoma Appellation.  The Carneros region of Northern California is noted for producing very small berries which yield a very intense concentration of flavors. This new 2008’ Sonoma-Loeb Reserve Carneros Chardonnay promises to be a winner. Because it is a “reserve” not many cases are being produced, so put it on your list today. An e-mail automatically goes out to our friends when it’s released. Why not get on our email list now!

ALSO ~ NEW FOR 2010

Ambassador John L. Loeb Jr. is happy to announce the introduction of Sonoma-Loeb Reserve Pinot Noir from the Dutton Ranch. Dennis P. Murphy, General Manager of Sonoma-Loeb Wines, was thrilled to announce that “an agreement has been reached to partner with the Dutton Family Ranch, who already has a reputation for producing a world renowned Pinot Noir. The combination of grapes, coupled with Phillip Titus’ fine handcrafting wine making ability will produce a world class Pinot Noir”.  This will be the first of what we hope to be many additions to the John L. Loeb family of fine wines, and should be available later this year. Why not sign up now and make sure you get all the release information? There will not be a lot of Sonoma-Loeb Reserve Pinot Noir so buy early.

GOING! GOING! GOING! SOON TO BE GONE!

The Ambassador Loeb Family Selections Wine Collection, Simply the best

It has always been Ambassador John L Loeb Jr. goal to produce wines that are the best wines money can buy. Judging from all the positive comments Ambassador Loeb should be pleased his goals have been meet.

The Ambassador Loeb Family Selections Wine Collection, Simply the best

Ambassador John L Loeb Jr. was pleased to see at the outcome of this campaign, He was glad to see how well the fine wines of The Ambassador Loeb Family Selections Wine Collection were received by our guests. Showing how well Sonoma-Loeb Vineyards Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon and Sonoma-Loeb Vineyards Reserve Chardonnay add to the flavor of foods is one of Ambassador John L Loeb Jr. passions. Many guests remarked that the Sonoma-Loeb Vineyards Reserve Chardonnay was the perfect choice to go with the Holiday meal.
Sonoma-Loeb Vineyards is always looking for opportunities to showcases their wines with food, and educating and exciting the consumer in the process. Maybe we will see you in a venue soon! Until then why not click on the Order tab and buy a bottle to try for yourself!
The Ambassador Loeb Family Selections Wine Collection, Simply the best

The Ambassador Loeb Family Selections Wine Collection, simply the best.

Singing carol's around the tree at Carnegie Abby Club

Dennis P. Murphy General Manager of Sonoma-Loeb Winery, Sally Hamilton, Marketing Consultant