WEEKLY FLIGHT 4/14 through 4/16/2022 - EASTER Flight: Perfect wine pairings

Rick Davis is no rookie to the wine business. With over twenty years of winemaking experience under his belt, Rick has close relationships with some of California’s top wine producers and growers, and has played a major role in crafting award winning wines for notable estates as Flowers Winery, Londer Vineyards, Halleck Vineyards, and Alcina Cellars. He developed Calstar Cellars with his wife in 1999 as an extension of these relationships.

 

Rick Davis has always been an artist in some form or another, studying regional planning at the University of Pennsylvania and then moving into a career as a leather artisan before following his gourmet food fascination and finding his way to wine. Calstar gets its name from Rick’s two cats, Callie and Star, who were around when the new winery first got under way. Rick would store his just-bottled wines under a tree in the backyard – a tree that Callie and Star began favoring as their new “hang out” spot as well.

 

We recently met Rick and adore his Manchester Ridge Chard!

 

THINKING EGG CASSEROLE? > High acid whites generally are loved by all and compliment any dish with creamy egg yolks!

Robert Brittan left Stags’ Leap Winery in Napa after 16 years as Winemaker and Estate Manager to fulfill his dream of making Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Syrah from unique sites in cooler climates. His winemaking career began in his dorm room at Oregon State University, where he was a physics and philosophy major. After leaving OSU he spent three years working in a large winemaking facility in the Central Valley, where he realized that this was something he wanted to do for the rest of his life. He then completed a degree in Enology at UC Davis and moved to Napa Valley, where he made wines for Far Niente, Saint Andrews and Stags’ Leap Winery. In 2004 he and his wife Ellen purchased a 128-acre estate in the foothills of the Coast Range in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. 

 

Tasting note: The 2018 Estate Pinot noir showcases notes of red currant, red plum, cherry and pomegranate which are accented with hints of five-spice, anise and tobacco. A lovely vein of salinity runs through the palate which finishes with the power and richness indicative of the 2018 vintage.(From Webs

 

THINKING POULTRY? > Lighter red wines with finesse and a clean finish make for brilliant pairing with turkey or chicken.