Thursday, September 17, 2009

Clif Family Winery: Sustainability in Farming

In the 1990s I was bicycling a lot and even got into distance riding. It was during that time I found the tastiest energy bar - Clif Bars. The others all tasted like cardboard or worse.

I was surprised to find the energy bar makers have gotten into the wine business. The Clif Family Winery and Farm is located in Napa Valley and practice sustainable farming. I have a bottle of their Climber White and Red. Tonight, I opened the white wine.

The Climber White is an interesting blend of 88 percent Sauvignon Blanc, two percent Chenin Blanc, three percent Chardonnay, three percent Riesling, and four percent Muscat.

While the Sauvignon Blanc dominates the wine with typical citrus notes and minerality, the lighter wine grapes - particulary the Muscat gives the wine at texture of creaminess. It's a nice change of pace from the expected 'zing' of most Sauv Blanc!

This wine would be an excellent introduction to Sauvignon Blanc for those afraid of the acidity or sharp flavors. It has a smoothness missing from most Sauv Blancs. It would work really nice with milder flavored fish off the grill.

This is a nice wine at a very reasonable mid-teen price point. The white makes me anxious to try the red!

There's lots of great reading on the Clif Winery website. Here is a video where winemakers Gary Erickson & Kit Crawford talk about farming.

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