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Cultivar February Wine Club Wines

Announcing our 2022 Cultivar Rosé

Summer in a Bottle: Rosé Wine with Chocolate Pairings

As the sun sets lazily over the horizon, casting a warm glow across the sky, there’s nothing quite like sipping on a glass of rosé wine to encapsulate the essence of summer. Picture yourself lounging by the pool, a gentle breeze caressing your skin, and the tantalizing aroma of ripe strawberries and jasmine lingering in the air. This is the experience that awaits you with every sip of this exquisite rosé wine – a true embodiment of the season captured in a bottle.

A Symphony of Flavors

With each pour, this rosé wine unfurls a symphony of flavors that dance delicately on the palate. Notes of strawberry and jasmine greet your senses, evoking memories of sun-kissed afternoons and leisurely strolls through blooming gardens. But the journey doesn’t end there. As you take another sip, hints of pomegranate, watermelon, white peaches, and nectarines emerge, adding layers of complexity and depth to the tasting experience.

 
2022 Cultivar Rose

The Perfect Ending: Chocolate Pairings

But what truly takes this wine pairing experience to the next level? Chocolate, of course! The rich, indulgent flavors of chocolate serve as a decadent counterpoint to the light, fruity notes of the rosé wine, creating a harmonious union of flavors that tantalize the taste buds.

For a delightful pairing, reach for a bar of dark chocolate with a high cocoa content. The bittersweet intensity of the chocolate enhances the fruitiness of the wine, while its velvety texture provides a luxurious finish to each sip.

Alternatively, opt for a milk chocolate truffle filled with a creamy ganache – the smooth, melt-in-your-mouth consistency of the chocolate perfectly complementing the creamy finish of the wine.

Whether enjoyed on its own or paired with culinary delights and decadent chocolates, it’s a testament to the artistry and craftsmanship of French winemaking. So why should you buy it? Because it’s not just a wine – it’s a celebration of summer encapsulated in a bottle, waiting to be uncorked and enjoyed. Cheers to sunshine, laughter, and unforgettable memories!

Cultivar Wines are available in many retail stores and farm to table restaurants and steakhouses across the country, as well as our large formats online. Join the Cultivar Wine club to get these wines delivered to you.

We are crushing on our February Wine Club wines! From the just released 2022 Cultivar Rosé to the 2020 Cultivar Bordeaux Blend to 2021 Cultivar Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley to the 2021 Cultivar Pinot Noir from van der Kamp vineyard in the Sonoma Mountain….Get out your fav chocolates and nibbles!

Remember, the golden rule: your wine should always be sweeter than your chocolate to avoid a pucker finish.
Opt for white or milk chocolates with lighter wines like Rosés and Chardonnays, and save the rich, dark chocolates for those robust, full-bodied varieties.

 

Feb wine club wines paired with treats

Cultivar Wines are available in many retail stores and farm to table restaurants and steakhouses across the country, as well as online (our large formats online are exclusively online or at Cutlivar San Francisco or Cultivar Wine & Kitchen. Join the Cultivar Wine club to get these wines delivered to you.

Photo credit for these photos @Lori_Rice

WIne Pairings for Your Fall Gatherings

Wines Pairings to Celebrate Thanksgiving

 
Make this Thanksgiving an elegant holiday and build memories with Caspar Estate and Cultivar wines. We put together our Thanksgiving pairings to inspire you.

We have several menus for you to pick and choose from to make sure that you find just the wines and to pair with your favorite Thanksgiving dishes. We hope you to inspire you and get you thinking about the flavor profiles and combinations.

To find our Cultivar tasting notes click here or go to the media page. You will find additional ideas for wine pairings for our small lot award winning wines.

 Cultivar Brute Rosé
        serve with oysters on half shell

2022 Cultivar Sauvignon Blanc
        pair with Goat cheese toast topped with green olives, cheese board with mini peppers

2021 Cultivar Chardonnay, Santa Barbara
pair with a green salad with pears, candied pecans, gorgonzola with champagne vinaigrette
  
2020 Cultivar  Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast or
2020 Cultivar Merlot, Mt. Veeder
       Serve with your Turkey with rosemary chestnut stuffing and sides of green beans, Brussels sprouts with bacon, sweet potatoes, or garlic mashed potatoes.

2014 Cultivar Port, Alexander Valley
       Serve with pecan pie, pumpkin pie, or baked apples.

Cheers to a glorious Thanksgiving!

 
Thanksgiving dinner with dog watching

Our Friends Giving Meal

Cultivar Brute Rose  or Cultivar Sauvignon Large Format
hummus, toasted crustini with Boursin cheese and cucumber

2021 Cultivar Santa Barbara Chardonnay or 2021 Cultivar Russian River Pinot Noir 
Turkey dinner with cranberry sauce and all the pot-luck sides including Ina’s mac and cheese

2019 Cultivar Muscat, Anderson Valley
Cheese Plate of Blue cheese, aged Gouda, grilled grapes, chocolate figs

2014 Cultivar Port, Anderson Valley
Pumpkin mini pies

Cultivar Wines are available in many retail stores and farm to table restaurants and steakhouses across the country, as well as our large formats online. Join the Cultivar Wine club to get these wines delivered to you.

Eating Thanksgiving

For our Caspar Estate allocation members it is time to pull out our Caspar Estate Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Franc out from your cellar.
 Our newly released Cultivar Brut Rosé

First Course
Caviar topped potato chips and crème fresh, oysters on the half shell served with shrimp cocktail sauce.

Caspar Estate Sauvignon Blanc
Second Course
Green salad with melon and prosciutto, roasted pine nuts, tossed with a champagne vinaigrette.

Caspar Estate Cabernet Franc
  Main Course
Turkey stuffed with apples, onions, fresh thyme, and rosemary stuffed with a sage and sausage stuffing. Serve with your family favorite side dishes.

Dessert
Chocolate pecan pie, or cinnamon-spiced shortbread and pumpkin pie topped with rum whipped cream and apple pie and vanilla bean ice cream.

Thanksgiving table

Caspar Estate is the pinnacle of our wine making program. Sourced strictly from our Caspar Estate Vineyard, this ultra-premium label features our best expression of Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Franc.

Organically and sustainably farmed, in the hills overlooking the Napa Valley with Julien Fayard, of Fayard Winemaking as our winemaker.
These wines are available by allocation only to a limited audience.

Cheers to a glorious Thanksgiving!

Stunning Harvest of Sauvignon Blanc Grapes at Caspar Estate

Harvesting the 2023 Caspar Estate Sauvignon Blanc Grapes

 
As the super full moon set behind the Mayacamus Mountains, of the Napa Valley the sun was rising and the crew assembled to pick our organically grown Sauvignon Blanc grapes. We started on the western edge of the House Block of the vineyard. This vineyard was planted in 2015 with rootstock 1616-C in Sauvignon Blanc clone 2.
Sun Rising over the Napa Valley

The morning sky had a slight haze, making everything look rosy. Before harvest our vineyard team trimmed back the leaves to expose the grapes.

Our Eastern exposure in the early morning sunlight shows our rocky loam serpentine soil. With just one acre of Sauvignon Blanc we have a very small production, giving our vineyard team time to give each vine the attention it needs. Our small production wines are carefully crafted, starting in the vineyard.

Caspar Estate, Sauvignon Blanc harvest 2023

The clusters of the Sauvignon Blanc grapes were beautiful – see for yourself. We wish you could taste them, but it is just a matter of time.

Thursday, August 31st they were picked and taken to the winery to be made into our 2023 Caspar Estate Sauvignon Blanc.

Bin of Sauvignon Blanc grapes at Caspar Estate

Caspar Estate is the pinnacle of our wine making program. Sourced strictly from our Caspar Estate Vineyard, this ultra-premium label features our best expression of Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Franc.

Organically and sustainably farmed, in the hills overlooking the Napa Valley with Julien Fayard, of Fayard Winemaking as our winemaker.
These wines are available by allocation only to a limited audience.

/ Food, Harvest, Wine

Cultivar Wine Wins Gold at 2023 SF Chronicle Wine Competition

2023 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition

We’re thrilled to announce that Cultivar Wine and Caspar Estate have both been honored in the 2023 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition!
 
🥇GOLD: 2021 Cultivar Rosé
🥇GOLD: 2021 Cultivar Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands
🥇 GOLD: 2018 Cultivar Cabernet Sauvignon, Leaky Lake, Napa Valley
🥈 SILVER: 2021 Caspar Estate Sauvignon Blanc
🥈 SILVER: 2019 Caspar Estate Cabernet Franc
 
We’re incredibly proud to have been recognized in this year’s San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, and we can’t wait to share these award-winning wines with you! There were over sixty judges, representing various North American wine regions, evaluating 5,500 wines from nearly 1,000 wineries for the 2023 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.

 

SF Wine Competition

For those looking for a treat amidst the sea of reds and whites, we highly recommend giving rosé a sip. Cultivar Wine’s Rosé, in particular, is a standout. Made from hand-selected grapes grown in the picturesque Sierra Foothills of California, this wine embodies a perfect balance of juicy fruitiness and crisp acidity since it is made from 71% Grenache, 25% Syrah, 4% Cinsault Noir grapes.

But it’s not just the delectable taste that makes Cultivar Wine’s Rosé a must-try. The winery’s dedication to sustainable farming practices ensures an environmentally-friendly harvest. Additionally, Cultivar Wine’s commitment to producing small batches means that each bottle of Rosé has been carefully crafted with quality in mind.

Julien Fayard has brought a Provencal flair to this incredible blend of southern Rhone varietals, mostly sourced from the unique terroir of the Sierra Foothills in California. Rosé is one of the most food-friendly wines you can find, so pair this with everything from seared scallops to grilled pork chops.

As we move from Rosé to Pinot Noir, it’s important to understand that this grape is notoriously difficult to cultivate. However, when grown successfully, it produces some of the most exquisite wines.

Let’s start with the Santa Lucia Highlands. This small appellation, located in Monterey County, boasts a unique climate that produces elegant and complex Pinots. The 2023 competition saw a standout performer in the 2021 Cultivar Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir. This wine has a beautiful garnet color and is bursting with flavors of black cherry, raspberry, and spice. It also has a silky texture and a long, satisfying finish.

Moving north to Napa Valley, we find another region that excels in producing top-quality ruby color and is loaded with flavors of ripe blackberries, cherries, and a subtle hint of smoky oak. It also has a smooth and velvety texture.

Leaky Lake
The Leaky Lake vineyard is in the Napa Valley in hills between Rutherford and St. Helena. The winery’s dedication to sustainable farming practices ensures an environmentally-friendly harvest. Additionally, Cultivar Wine’s commitment to producing small batches means that each bottle of wine has been carefully crafted with quality in mind.

Whether you’re a fan of Santa Lucia Highlands’ complexity and elegance there’s a wine  for every preference at the 2023 SF Chronicle Wine Competition. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy a glass of one of these exceptional wines.

Try these pairings at Cultivar San Francisco.

Join the Cultivar Wine Club for first choice of these highly desirable small production wines delivered to your door! ​

Behind the scenes -glasses of wine laid out waiting for the judges at the SF Chronicle Wine Competition – photo from SF Chronicle.

The 2023 SF Chronicle Wine Competition has revealed the best wines of the year, and they are not to be missed. From the award-winning taste of Cultivar Wine’s Rosé to the exquisite flavors of Leaky Lake’s Cabernet Sauvignon, there’s a wine for everyone. These winning wines are a testament to the hard work and dedication of our winemaker Julien Fayard who strives for excellence. So why not treat yourself to a bottle or two and experience the greatness for yourself? As one of the judges put it, “Wine is bottled poetry.” Cheers to the beauty of wine and the art of winemaking.

Just Released Chardonnay from Santa Barbara

Cultivar Chardonnay

Just released Cultivar Chardonnay from Santa Barbara!

Unlock the Magic of 2021 Cultivar Santa Barbara Chardonnay. This California gem is distinct in every way; from its radiant golden hue to its depth of flavor— it’s a wine to be savored. Get ready for a journey of discovery – where you’ll explore its tantalizing aromas, crisp flavors and indulgent texture. Whether you’re a wine connoisseur or simply want to experience a unique bottle, Santa Barbara Chardonnay is sure to please. 

Cultivar Wines are thoughtfully crafted to pair well with food.

2021 Cultivar Santa Barbara Chardonnay’s golden hugh color is reminiscent of rays of sunshine peaking between the clouds. This is a California glass of sunshine. Aromas with hints of tropical fruits mix with a whiff of tangerine float up to greet you.

Crisp Golden Delicious apple and fresh juicy pear flavors with a kiss of vanilla keeps your mouth wanting more. Fresh and lovely with a rich and creaminess, textured but not too weighty.

Lively acidity balances a mineralility with smooth luscious mouth feel. Our Chardonnay is an easy drinking, food friendly wine. Pair it with everything from roasted or barbequed chicken, risotto, lobster, crab, shrimp, roasted peppers with goat cheese.

Pour yourself a glass and experience its sunshine-y yellow color; it hints at the flavor and aroma-rich journey ahead. Get ready to be whisked away to a beach paradise with just a whiff — notes of tropical fruit and tangerine swirling around your senses. And then comes the sip — the creaminess of the wine coating your palate in extravagant flavor. Notes of apple and pear add complexity, while its smooth finish will leave you wanting more.

 
 
The Scottish Salmon pairs well with our 2021 Cultivar Chardonnay. The acidity of the wine is perfect with the salmon, cauliflower rice, fava beans, jalapeño, chive & lemon vinaigrette.
 
Another dish that is amazing with our handmade fettuccine with grilled asparagus, fava beans, English peas, spinach, pecorino, Caspar Estate olive oil.
 
Try these pairings at Cultivar San Francisco.
 
 
Garden vegetable with handmade pasta

This Cultivar Chardonnay was aged in French Oak Barrels. It was then aged in a Clay Amphora. Half of the chardonnay was aged 14 months in barrel and the other half was aged 6 months in barrel then 8 months in an amphora as an experiment. Barrels were stirred daily during active fermentation, then once every week until the wine was racked.

The 2021 Chardonnay is part of our Cultivar Wine Club offering for February. Cultivar Wine produces and curates small lot wines that express terroir from the best California wine appellations. These sought-after wines with typically less than 200 cases available, are offered first to our Cultivar Wine Club members and our Cultivar SF wine bar & restaurant. With regular acclaim from critics like James Suckling and featured in Wine & Spirits, Wine Enthusiast, and more these wines sell out quickly.

Join the Cultivar Wine Club for first choice of these highly desirable small production wines delivered to your door! ​

Discover the magic of Santa Barbara Chardonnay. Let the golden hue, aromas and flavors transport you to the heart of California wine country and enjoy a unique taste you won’t soon forget.

/ Food, Wine, wine pairings
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