GOLD RUSH CLUB Mar ch 2021Rel ease Guide
CUSTOM CHOI CE SELECTI ONS M A RCH 2021
2015 Bar ber a 2018 Gr enache 2016 Zinfandel 2013 Angel ica
2019 Viognier 2015 Souzão Por t-styl e 2019 Char donnay 2017 Petite Sir ah
UPDA TE FROM CA LI FORNI A At Ursa Vineyards, W inemakers Greg Stokes and Deborah Elissagaray have recently finished bottling the 2020 vintage of the Viognier, Chardonnay, and Tannat rosé wines. They have also been busy visiting vineyards; an annual process at the end of the winter months to check on pruning and bud break. They assist some growers with pruning, and new growers often take them up on individualized pruning seminars.
For long-term vineyard relationships, this time of year is about confirming grape needs and checking in. Greg and Deborah are in the process of selecting new and additional vineyards, too, for grape varieties like Viognier, Petite Sirah, and Syrah. And on top of these activities, Greg is preparing for one of his regular trips to Texas. COVID-19 has limited these trips, but he will travel in mid-March to work at Bending Branch W inery.
2015 BA RBERA LONE M EA DOW V I NEYA RD SI ERRA FOOTHI LLS A V A SENSE strawberry, black LICORICE, SOUR CHERRY, peppery baking spices, red currant, dark chocolate, DATES EAT CORNED BEEF, charcuterie, steak au poivre, TURKEY LEGS, mushroom risotto, brisket, MANCHEGO CHEESE, carne asada, chicken fajitas Retail $25, Gold Rush Club$20
2018 GRENA CHE SI ERRA FOOTHI LLS A V A SENSE cherry, BLACK PEPPER, intense cranberry, burnt sugar, fragrant STRAW BERRY, elderflower, pomegranate, CINNAMON BARK, clove EAT savory HAM, roasted beets, turkey with SAUSAGE STUFFING, TAPAS, grilled figs with blue cheese, MORTADELLA sandwich on seeded rye Retail $28, Gold Rush Club$22.40
2016 Z I NFA NDEL SI ERRA FOOTHI LLS A V A SENSE TART RASPBERRY, red plum, CRANBERRY, Bing cherry, BRIGHT SPICE, tobacco smoke, cigar box, white pepper EAT Sauerbraten, SHRIMP TACOS, linguine puttanesca, Chinese BARBECUE pork Retail $32, Gold Rush Club$25.60
2013 A NGELI CA RI NA LDI V I NEYA RD SI ERRA FOOTHI LLS A V A
SENSE CRÈME BRÛLÉE, mulling spices, CANDIED STRAW BERRY, rich caramel, GOLDEN RAISIN, menthol EAT ITALIAN CREAM CAKE, strawberry rhubarb pie, PECORINO ROMANO, chestnut puree on toast, seared FOIE GRAS, roast duckling, MUSHROOM CREAM SOUP Retail $45, Gold Rush Club$36
2019 V I OGNI ER HI DDEN M ESA V I NEYA RDS SI ERRA FOOTHI LLS A V A
SENSE ripe PEACH, stone fruit, TROPICAL pineapple, rich CARAMEL EAT CURRIED wings, shrimp and MANGO salad, roast TURKEY with mostarda, spicy LOBSTER taco, roasted root vegetables, prosciutto and BRIE panini with pineapple slaw Retail $24, Gold Rush Club$19.20
PORT-STYLE WI NES
By Bill Fore, Hospitality and Education Sweet, complexly flavored, and high in alcohol, wines made in the style of Port are popular all over the world. Port comes only from Portugal where the style was invented. But the technique, which dates to the mid-eighteenth century, produces delicious results with diverse grape varieties in many countries. The concept is simple. Grapes harvested at high sugar levels begin fermentation, often in a barrel. Before the yeast is allowed to consume all the sugar in the grape juice, high-proof brandy is added to the fermenting wine. This kills the yeast and stops the fermentation. The result is a high-proof, very sweet, fortified wine. It takes time for the wine and brandy to mature into the sensuously silky prize sought by aficionados of the style. In Portugal, highly prized vintage Ports are aged for a few years in barrel, then bottled and laid down to evolve, sometimes for decades. Longer aging in barrel speeds the maturation so, counterintuitively,
the wines are bottled later for earlier consumption, hence ?late bottled vintage,?or LBV. 2015 Ursa Souzão VinumDulcesis a late bottled, port-style wine with an international pedigree. Souzão, a native Portuguese grape variety, thrives in California?s Sierra Foothills AVA, where our Vinum Dulceswas fermented and fortified at Ursa Vineyards. It was then aged at Bending Branch W inery, in bourbon barrels sourced from Ranger Creek Brewing & Distilling in San Antonio. Many associate fortified wines with dessert, but port-style wines are also a fine foil for salty/ sour cheeses like crumbly aged cheddar, or blue-veined Stilton. Spicy dry sausages, nuts, and wheat crackers are natural complements. As a sweet course, pair fortified wines with desserts that are less sweet than the wine. Simple warm gingerbread or a caramelized apple tart take on new elegance with a glass of Vinum Dulces. W ith baked figs and tangy fresh goat cheese, the wine reveals culinary magic.
2015 SOUZ Ã O PORT-STYLE SI ERRA FOOTHI LLS A V A SENSE BANANA BREAD, black currant, RIPE ORANGE ZEST, toasted pecans, CHERRY CORDIAL, cassis, plum jam EAT STILTON CHEESE AND TOASTED PECANS, dry sausages, wheat crackers, BISCOTTI, tarte tatin, W ARM GINGERBREAD, BAKED FIGS W ITH TANGY CHEVRE, dark chocolate truffles by Sweet Comfort Retail $50, Gold Rush Club$40
A GED I N TEX A S BOURBON BA RRELS
2019 CHA RDONNA Y WI LSON V I NEYA RD CLA RK SBURG A V A
SENSE GREEN PEAR, brioche, wet SLATE, bright green apple, HONEYSUCKLE, pineapple, MEYER LEMON EAT cold poached trout, W HITE CLAM PIZZA, figs with GOAT CHEESE and prosciutto, SOUTHERN-FRIED CHICKEN, pork chop with creamy pesto, GRILLED ROSEMARY SHRIMP KEBABS Retail $24, Gold Rush Club$19.20
2017 PETI TE SI RA H SI ERRA FOOTHI LLS A V A SENSE dusty COCOA, sun dried tomato, RHUBARB, violet, BLACKBERRY, sour cherry, white pepper, PLUM, CLOVE, sweet oaky CARAMEL EAT moussaka, TEXAS-STYLE SMOKED BRISKET, bacon-braised cannellini beans with broccoli rabe, ROASTED RED PEPPERS with goat cheese and pesto, CHICKEN MOLE Retail $30, Gold Rush Club$24
Special thanks toour f riendsat TheIngenhuett on HighEvent Center in Comf ort f or sharing their spacewithus tophotograph theimages f or thismagazine. Imagesby Stella HausFilms.
Thank youf or your clubmembership. Wehopetoseeyouin Comf ort soon! Tomakea reservation at Ursa at Branch on High, call 830-995-3394 or email info@ursavineyards.com.