News and Wine Blog
July Wine Club 2024: Wines from Mary Taylor
07/03/2024
Our simple White Label series is here to serve as your guide through the rural backroads and winding country lanes of the European wine route. Whenever you open one of our bottles, you’ll know you’re getting more than just another commercial brand or standard Chardonnay or Merlot. That’s because every Mary Taylor Wine is a genuine “wine of place,” sourced from some of Europe’s most classic regions and, best of all, priced according to the “Old World” view of wine as an accessible everyday luxury." Cheers! Mary
For the month of July, we are highlighting wines from France and Spain. Mary partners with grower-producers who farm their land respectfully and who are true artisans. In terms of winemaking, her foremost priority is to highlight the true diversity of terroirs. As a result, the producers she works with, uniformly employ little to no filtration, limit the amount of sulfur added before bottling, and choose to carry out their fermentations via natural or local yeast strains. They also avoid the use of overly intrusive young oak in order to emphasize the underlying expression of vintage, grape, and place.
AJ did the pairing with the main wine this month: It’s finally, officially, sweet summer time! There are few things better than spending time outside with friends savoring the long days and sharing food and wine. Wine preferences can change through the seasons; in the summer, I love bubbles, whites and light reds. Mary Taylor’s Coteaux de Giennois Rouge is the perfect light red to pair with an easy, yet fancy French meal. I paired this wine with a quick Chicken Fricasse. The Rouge is 80% Pinot Noir and 20% Gamay; my favorite thing to pair with Pinot’s is mushrooms, and this recipe has lots of them! The earthy, cherry and light herbal notes were really drawn out with the bright, silky sauce made with sour cream, lemon, tarragon, garlic, nutmeg and white wine. Many years ago, Deanna told me to never cook with wine that I would not drink, I pass this along to you, as it is one of the best kitchen tips I have been given! I call it cooking wine, some for the dish and some for me! I did put a slight chill on the wine, just pop it in the fridge for 30 minutes while you finish prepping dinner. For the side, I made herb-roasted potatoes with the tarragon, garlic and garlic chives from my garden.
I paired the the Manchuela (the region in Spain) which is 100% Moravia Agria. This grape is one of Spain’s more obscure red grape varieties, as its name suggests – agria is Spanish for "sour" - this is a grape with a fairly high natural acidity. This is definitely a FOOD wine and would go well with anything that has high acid. Acidic wines pair well with acidic foods, including citrus fruits, tomatoes, and tomato sauces. They also pair particularly well with fish as well as fried foods—the acid in the wine serves the same role as the acid in fresh lemon so often squeezed on these dishes. Acidic wines also often pair well with salty foods, helping to cut the salty taste on the palate. I paired with wine with a grilled steak, but made a sun dried tomato, herb butter to top the steak with. I also topped the steak with fresh chives. The key to this pairing was the the sun-dried tomatoes mixed with the herbs in the butter, and the topping of fresh chives. This would also go well with anything Italian with a red sauce.
The Muscadet Sevre-et-Mine (region in France) is 100% Melon Blanc. When you drink this wine, think New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc with a bit of creaminess to it. This wine has lots of herbal notes with hints of yeast and lemon with a briny backnote. I made a pesto shrimp dish with asparagus and radish. The herbal notes from the pesto and the slight bitter notes from the asparagus and radishes were a perfect complement to the notes in the wine.
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NOTES: This wine is chock-full of flavor and complexity with lemon verbena, sea salt, chalk, and green apple. Plus, its character is high-toned and zippy.
For the month of July, we are highlighting wines from France and Spain. Mary partners with grower-producers who farm their land respectfully and who are true artisans. In terms of winemaking, her foremost priority is to highlight the true diversity of terroirs. As a result, the producers she works with, uniformly employ little to no filtration, limit the amount of sulfur added before bottling, and choose to carry out their fermentations via natural or local yeast strains. They also avoid the use of overly intrusive young oak in order to emphasize the underlying expression of vintage, grape, and place.
AJ did the pairing with the main wine this month: It’s finally, officially, sweet summer time! There are few things better than spending time outside with friends savoring the long days and sharing food and wine. Wine preferences can change through the seasons; in the summer, I love bubbles, whites and light reds. Mary Taylor’s Coteaux de Giennois Rouge is the perfect light red to pair with an easy, yet fancy French meal. I paired this wine with a quick Chicken Fricasse. The Rouge is 80% Pinot Noir and 20% Gamay; my favorite thing to pair with Pinot’s is mushrooms, and this recipe has lots of them! The earthy, cherry and light herbal notes were really drawn out with the bright, silky sauce made with sour cream, lemon, tarragon, garlic, nutmeg and white wine. Many years ago, Deanna told me to never cook with wine that I would not drink, I pass this along to you, as it is one of the best kitchen tips I have been given! I call it cooking wine, some for the dish and some for me! I did put a slight chill on the wine, just pop it in the fridge for 30 minutes while you finish prepping dinner. For the side, I made herb-roasted potatoes with the tarragon, garlic and garlic chives from my garden.
I paired the the Manchuela (the region in Spain) which is 100% Moravia Agria. This grape is one of Spain’s more obscure red grape varieties, as its name suggests – agria is Spanish for "sour" - this is a grape with a fairly high natural acidity. This is definitely a FOOD wine and would go well with anything that has high acid. Acidic wines pair well with acidic foods, including citrus fruits, tomatoes, and tomato sauces. They also pair particularly well with fish as well as fried foods—the acid in the wine serves the same role as the acid in fresh lemon so often squeezed on these dishes. Acidic wines also often pair well with salty foods, helping to cut the salty taste on the palate. I paired with wine with a grilled steak, but made a sun dried tomato, herb butter to top the steak with. I also topped the steak with fresh chives. The key to this pairing was the the sun-dried tomatoes mixed with the herbs in the butter, and the topping of fresh chives. This would also go well with anything Italian with a red sauce.
The Muscadet Sevre-et-Mine (region in France) is 100% Melon Blanc. When you drink this wine, think New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc with a bit of creaminess to it. This wine has lots of herbal notes with hints of yeast and lemon with a briny backnote. I made a pesto shrimp dish with asparagus and radish. The herbal notes from the pesto and the slight bitter notes from the asparagus and radishes were a perfect complement to the notes in the wine.
Recipe links below. ENJOY!
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Mary Taylor Coteaux du Giennois Rouge:
NOTES: On the nose, dark fruits shaken and stirred by spice. On the palate, cherries, blackberries and blueberries competing for a spice crown. A blend of 80% Pinot Noir and 20% Gamay. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mary Taylor Manchuela
NOTES: The wine is made from forty-five year-old vines, fermented with native yeasts and raised in stainless steel. The 2020 version offers up a deep and complex, black fruity bouquet of cassis, dark berries, tree bark, coffee bean, dark soil tones, a touch of sweet botanicals and a smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, focused and complex, with fine soil signature and grip, tangy acids, moderate tannins and a long, well-balanced and nicely soil-driven finish that closes with a note of bitter cherry.
NOTES: The wine is made from forty-five year-old vines, fermented with native yeasts and raised in stainless steel. The 2020 version offers up a deep and complex, black fruity bouquet of cassis, dark berries, tree bark, coffee bean, dark soil tones, a touch of sweet botanicals and a smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, focused and complex, with fine soil signature and grip, tangy acids, moderate tannins and a long, well-balanced and nicely soil-driven finish that closes with a note of bitter cherry.
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Mary Taylor MUSCADET SЀVRE ET MAINE:
NOTES: This wine is chock-full of flavor and complexity with lemon verbena, sea salt, chalk, and green apple. Plus, its character is high-toned and zippy.
Post By:
Deanna Albertson