The wine selected for the Birthday
Dinner was Zephaniah Farm Vineyards (“Zephaniah”) 2009 Chambourcin Reserve.
I had recently been exploring the
Loudoun County Wine Trail on the Harmony Cluster, and stumbled across the
smallest Loudoun County Winery, Zephaniah Farm Vineyard. The tasting room is in
the living room of a historical rich manor house that was built in 1830. Due to
the small size of the vineyard, the family that owns the vineyard does all the
work themselves; they tend the grapes by hand and harvest is accomplished with
the help of friends and family. The
result is fine hand-crafted wine.
In
addition to being a vineyard, Zephaniah is a third generation, 376 acre working
farm. One of four siblings who grew up on the farm, winemaker Bill Hatch,
planted his first vines in 2002 after many years of dreaming of owning a
winery. Mr. Hatch uses the traditional
practice of canopy management in order to maximize leaf and fruit exposure to
the sun and incorporates sustainable farming techniques. The winery is named after Bill Hatch’s
great-grandfather, Zephaniah Jefferson Hatch who built and owned the Monticello
Steamboat Company in the late 1800’s. The
Monticello Steamboat Company crossed the San Francisco Bay three times a day to
Vallejo, the disembarking point then, for Napa Valley wine and travelers. In addition to his duties on the farmer and
winemaker, Bill Hatch is also a senior video operator for ABC news in
Washington, D.C.
Chambourcin wine is a deep colored,
Franco-hybrid, whose exact parentage is a bit of a mystery. Chambourcin was
developed by Joannes Seyve who often used Seibel hybrids from the 1860’s. Unfortunately,
Mr. Seyve passed leaving no documentation as to the lineage of Chambourcin, but
it is most likely includes the Sibel hybrids that Seyve often used. In
Virginia, more likely than not, Chambourcin is based on a number of
undetermined Native American species and Sibel hybrids. Chambourcin is a relatively new varietal only
being commercially available since 1963. While no longer a recommended varietal
under French wine law, it is still widely grown in the western Loire Valley in
the cool coastal region of Nantes. Chambourcin
is an easy growing, high yielder and due to its winter hardy nature has become
a favorite grape of the cooler growing regions of North America (particularly
in the Mid-Atlantic and the Ohio Valley). Chambourcin is also grown in upstate New York,
Canada and the cooler growing regions of Australia (particularly in the
Riverina region and the South East Coast of New South Wales). As an interesting bit of trivia, Chambourcin
is one of the parents of the Regent varietal. The Regent is a new disease resistant
varietal growing in popularity with German grape growers.
The tasting notes for Chambourcin wine, when
grown the Mid Atlantic, traditionally read as a deep colored red wine with an
herbaceous aromatic which does not suffer from the unpleasant hybrid flavors. It can be made into either a dry or off-dry
style and has been used as a blending grape.
The Milestone Birthday Dinner:
1)
Herb
Rubbed Roast Beef With a Basil- Curry Dipping Sauce;
2) Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes; and
3) Herb Roasted Vegetable Medley (Button Mushrooms, Asparagus and Red Bell Peppers).
With the first taste of the 2009
Zephaniah Chambourcin Reserve (which was opened to breathe or decant for
approximately one hour), one notes berries, hints of caramel, mild spices and
herbs. The wine is medium-bodied and has a nice finish. Upon tasting the wine with Herb Rubbed Roast Beef,
the wine pulled out the cumin and coriander herb notes of the rub. The Basil-
Curry Dipping Sauce pulled the spice notes out in the wine.
With the Herb Roasted Vegetables and
Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes, the wine enhanced the earthiness of the herbs
and roasted garlic but did not clash with the sweetness of the roasted red
peppers or mushrooms. The wine did not overpower nor was overpowered by the
mashed potatoes. The wine was mellow and
pulled the meal together creating a lovely tapestry of flavors that wonderfully
complimented each other.
I capitalized on Chambourcin’s traditional
food pairing: beef. However, this wine would pair well with a
traditional Thanksgiving dinner or meals that one would pair a Merlot
(non-peppery finish) or Pinot Noir. So
if you looking for an alternative to Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot
or Pinot Noir, Chambourcin is well worth considering. Enjoy and may this holiday season be filled
with many happy memories. Happy
Thanksgiving and Cheers!
