Our friends Kathy and Steve found a new local winery and invited us all to go to a private tasting one Saturday. I was interested and circled the hook, but the bait that got me to bite was the promise of a 100% Aglianico.
I am a real sucker for Italian (and French) wines, and so the mention of this classic Southern Italian grape growing right here intrigued me.
It was a sunny, warm February afternoon (god I love living in California and being able to say that...) when we showed up on an oak and pine studded hillside off Old 44 Drive.
The Old 44 Cellars off the old highway east to Lassen Park and Susanville.
The owner is Nick Mitchell, who is growing the grapes on about four acres of his parents' property. It is a great setup, and Nick has wine making experience from central California.
The six of us, Kathy, Steve, Lena, Jordan, Gail and I met up, stood in the sun a while admiring the property; about four acres planted with Grenache, Viognier, Aglianico, Petite Sirah and Zinfandel. (I don't remember about the Mourvedre, but I think it is his as well.) These are grapes that he likes, and that fit the region.
Then we walked into the warehouse where Nick has stainless steel barrels, French and American oak, the self-customized de-stemmer and crusher, all clean and organized neat as a pin.
Nick let us look around as we tasted, and we talked about the family business, about his wine, and life in general.
It was a great afternoon, and yet another example of our great fortune in living in a place where we actually get to know the wine makers.
I liked the presentation of the wine: the simple labels, the Aglianico bottle dipped in wax, the "44" brand on the corks. None of the bottles were foiled (I like this - it allows you to see if there is any leakage) with the exception of the Bellas Bubbles.
Everything we tasted was 2017 vintage.
He produces a rosé, a white, and a bubbly pink dry wine. The bubbly is a hot seller to the female clients, but I preferred the rosé.
But on to the reds.
The Aglianico was really well done, classic and dry, but ready to drink now or in the next few years (as opposed to laying it down for say ten years). It would really pair well with any tomato based Italian dish, and most meats.
Gail really liked the "Zin-lianico" which is a 50-50 blend of Zinfandel and Aglianico.
And we all loved Bella's Blend, a classic GSM (without the S) of 67% Grenache and 33% Mourvedre.
We bought four bottles of each, and I am sure we will return to top off our supply.
He also produces a Petite Sirah and Mourvedre which were very good wines.
This is a great place. You should call or email to set up a tasting.
I opened a bottle of the Aglianico and made a pretty simple pasta and pork dish.
I used Trader Joes Truffle Alfredo sauce, juiced up with a little white truffle oil. On top I placed butter-sauteed mushrooms, with Parmesan cheese. I also pan-fried a pork chop in truffle oil, adding a little truffle salt and pepper for seasoning.
The combination of tastes was good, but the Aglianico really set it off. It was a near-perfect pairing.
A really great food pairing was this Boeuf Bourguignon paired with the 2017 Bella's Blend. You can see I paired a French Bordeaux and the Old 44 with the meal, and the Old 44 Bellas's Blend won hands down.