This month’s wine picks come from a boutique vineyard in Oregon, just outside of Portland. Antica Terra is known for its elegant and memorable wines.
To complement a party theme of Modern Indian Bites, I thought these wines would hold up with the spicy flavors of the cuisine.
HOBNOB did a tasting at Antica Terra’s wine room, a cavernous, chilled, barrel-bay-room with the proper Zalto glass for each sip. We were delighted and entertained by winemaker Maggie Harrison’s life stories, and some fabulous bites to eat along with elegant wines. Our favorites from the tasting: a chardonnay that bounced off the tongue, 2013 Aurata Chardonnay, $75; a rosé that’s not really a rosé: 2012 Angelicall—fantastically elegant light red with lively complexity, $75. Both wines would be a fabulous match to the Indian-inspired menu at this party.
More about winemaker Maggie Harrison: She began her career at Sine Qua Non in California, a vineyard with a cultish following. It was there she learned the artistry of creating special and unique wines. Nine years into her career, she came across eleven acres with the remains of a pre-historic seabed strewn with fossilized oyster shells and knew she was looking at something special. Antica Terra vineyard’s unusual terroir produces thick-skinned, tiny grapes that, in her hands, produce incredible wines with unique character, and have won her much acclaim.
If you are in Oregon be sure to attend a tasting. Antica Terra wines are offered, as well as bottles from other innovative winemakers. Along with the wines, enjoy small bites of Jamón Ibérico de Bellota, foie gras torchon, a selection of cheeses curated by Steve Jones of Portland’s Cheese Bar and chocolates from Xocolatl de David. See details on the website. anticaterra.com
See recipes for creating cool, mod, Indian-inspired bites to go with these wines in 08 India Calling
