Welcome to Laurie Love on Wine! I am Laurie Love, a professional wine writer and educator based in Santa Cruz. I am filling in for Lily Belli this week while she’s on vacation and giving you a sample of my Lookout wine column, Laurie Love on Wine. In my regular biweekly column, I share my wine passion, knowledge and experience with Lookout readers through wine news, picks, education and local wine events. Follow me on Instagram at LaurieLoveOnWine, and on my wine blog, Laurie Loves Wine. I love email from readers! Stay in touch: Email me at laurie@lookoutlocal.com. Join me as we journey together through the wonderful world of wine.
LAURIE’S WINE OF THE WEEK
Each column, I share a particular wine that I’m enjoying now. The Wine of the Week this week is …
Ser Winery 2022 Dry Orange Muscat ($30)
This delightfully aromatic and refreshing white wine from Ser Winery is like spring in a glass. Sunny with Meyer lemon notes, orange peel, green pear, unripe peach, rose and just-flowering pink jasmine, the wine is so pretty. Very pale in the glass and delicate on the palate, it’s friendly and approachable.
The wine is made from 100% orange muscat grapes. This is a dry wine (that is, not sweet) made from a grape varietal that is typically used to make sweet wines. Orange muscat (or technically called Moscato Fior d’Arancio) is one of many siblings of the muscat grape. It is best known from Colli Euganei, a small subregion in the Veneto winegrowing region of northeast Italy, where a small portion of it is grown on hilly volcanic soils for sweet dessert wines. Here in California, it is very rare indeed. The fruit for Ser’s orange muscat came from the Carrasco Vineyard in Paso Robles, Ser’s first vintage sourced from there.
Ser’s Dry Orange Muscat makes an excellent aperitif or picnic wine. But it also works great at the table. It pairs beautifully with mildly spicy Thai or Vietnamese dishes, seafood salad and hard Italian cheese. The slight perception of sweetness in the wine counterbalances salty qualities in food and acts as a foil for spicier dishes. Serve chilled, but not too cold as that will stifle the inherent aromatic qualities of the fruit.
Read more here about Ser Winery, founder and winemaker Nicole Walsh, and the winemaking process.
WINE 101
Whether you’re a wine novice or seasoned expert, there’s always something new to learn in the wide and wild world of wine.
What’s happening in the vineyard now that spring has sprung? Bud break is happening; that refers to the moment the grape vines wake up from their winter dormancy and “push buds” along their canes. This marks the beginning of the vineyard year. Those buds will become shoots, new canes and eventually grape clusters during the growing season ahead.
Bud break is just starting to happen in some pockets of the Santa Cruz Mountains American Viticultural Area. According to Prudy Foxx, local viticulturist of Foxx Viticulture, “chardonnay in a couple of vineyard blocks in the Corralitos area, including the Christie Vineyard, started bud break on March 18.” The timing of bud break depends on location (climate, vineyard temperature, elevation, slope angle, exposure and so on) and on the grape varietal. It’s an exciting time as we witness the birth of a new vintage. Be sure to get out and enjoy some wine tasting among the vines and witness bud break for yourself.
Best of the Week Ahead
Below, find a curated list of the best food and wine events in Santa Cruz County for the coming week. At the top, I share my picks of unmissable local happenings.
News of the week
ICYMI – here are the food and wine news stories from Lookout that you might have missed, plus important news from beyond our borders.
- Laurie Love on Wine: Cabrillo’s Perfect Pair and Surf City Wine Walk set for June debut (Lookout)
- Alderwood Santa Cruz executive chef Jeffrey Wall quits suddenly (Lookout)
- Mystery among the vines: Why is the FBI probing some of Napa Valley’s fanciest wineries? (Los Angeles Times)
- Want help deciphering the label on an Italian wine bottle? Here’s a helpful guide. (Opening a Bottle)
Until next time!
Cheers, Laurie