Tasting wine and food at J Vineyards & Winery is a culinary, wine pairing adventure in luxurious flavors. Their food & wine menu is delicately exquisite.
J’s been at the forefront of the wine and food experience, since their first tasting program launched in 1999. All of their recipes have been created by in-house Executive Chef, Mark E. Caldwell. And, their offerings are meant to perfectly pair with their outstanding portfolio of varietal and sparkling wines.
Not just a Sparkling wine house (with Vintage Brut, Cuvée, and Brut Rosé), varieties to also taste and savor include the following:
- Chardonnay
- Pinot Gris
- Viognier
- Vin Gris (dry rosé style wine crafted entirely from Russian River Valley Pinot Noir)
- Ratafia (brandy is added to Pinot Noir)
- J Pear Liquor (J Pear Liqueur is a twice-distilled pear eau de vie that is infused with de-ionized water and liquid sugar to produce a liqueur)
Their food and wine pairings take place in The Bubble Room. This is an ultimate Russian River Valley tasting experience. In their beautifully furnished, full-service tasting salon, you’ll enjoy a chic tasting. This will include not only rare Russian River Valley library wines, but also small-production lots… All of this is served with delicious fare from their executive chef.
The following is an example of what you could enjoy:
J Wine Flight:
2002 J Vintage Brut
Day Boat Scallop Ceviche
2006 J Pinot Gris, Russian River Valley
Creamy Spinach Melange, Pita Crisp
2004 J Chardonnay, Russian River Valley
Blue Claw Crab Herbed Ricotta Stuffed Mushroom
From Grape to Glass
J has 274 vineyard acres of vineyards, along the hillsides and floor of the Russian River Valley. The vineyards have diverse soils; and, the cool, coastal microclimates give their 10 vineyard sites a range of unique flavors. For J it’s all about quality and special care in their vineyards, which are expertly cared for by their viticulturist John Erbe. Erbe has been cultivating fine wines from the ground up for more than 20 years.
From their Website: At J Vineyards & Winery, John manages all viticultural practices and pays careful attention to every row, vine and grape cluster. Not only does John make key decisions about clones, rootstocks and trellising in our vineyards, he also builds relationships with other Russian River Valley growers, facilitating the mutual exchange of information.
Winemaker Melissa Stackhouse builds upon existing programs, created around their ten estate-owned vineyards. She also works to develop long-term relationships with key growers in the Russian River Valley.
According to Melissa: “Each one of our vineyards has a unique personality. We’re going to dig deep into the soil to better understand and encourage the right expression of flavor for each estate vineyard. It is important to distinguish and separate these flavor profiles, whether it becomes a J varietal wine, or a J sparkling wine.”
If indulgence is your pleasure, you might want to consider J Vineyards & Winery in Russian River Valley as your first-stop winery to check out for yourself.
This story was originally written for Custom Tour Concierge.
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