Taking Wine Home That’s Made From Home
The other night I opened up a bottle of unlabeled wine. My co-worker Ryan (I’d call him my friend, if he’d let me) makes wine on his own label he dubbed Bonfire Vineyards. With the help (and storage space) from some friends, he’s been producing Barbera, Cabernet, Cabernet Franc, and some blends. A couple weeks ago as I was leaving The Villa, he handed me a bottle, on which he scribbled ‘2006 Blue Moon Sauvignon Blanc.’ I just called him to see where the grapes are from, but he couldn’t remember…so I don’t feel guilty for not providing any more information. (Edit: got a call back. Mendocino.)
This is the first white of his that I’ve tried. Having really enjoyed the reds, I was expecting good things. The only disappointment was not for what the wine was but what it wasn’t–my idea of a typical Sauvignon Blanc. And the only problem with that was that I was drinking it with my yummy crab and avocado salad with grapefruit vinaigrette. While there was no grapefruit in the wine, it had lemon, faint floral notes, and even a bit of white pepper. The acidity was not overwhelming, as it had a nice roundness to it. When I had it later with basil pesto, the pairing was much better. The wine worked nicely to soften the sharpness of the garlic.
If you’re interested in learning more about Bonfire Vineyards or getting your hands on some of the wines, contact me, and I’ll see what I can do.
Bonfire Vineyards, home winemaker
May 3rd, 2007 at 7:37 pm
Yeah, and as the wine makers wife I can help to pry a few bottles from his hands! I just read him the post and he was like “What!? She didn’t taste any grapefruit??” Ha ha ha! Glad you enjoyed the bottle Farley, there is always more where that came from.