• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Living The Gourmet logo

  • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Featured
    • Writings
  • Recipes
  • Wines
  • Interviews
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube

Epicurious Wines

Jan 21, 2017 · Leave a Comment

Thank you to Epicurious Wines for sponsoring this post. Please enjoy responsibly.

I’ve written a numbers of times here on Living the Gourmet that the combination of food and wine ties directly into the idea of presentation – only in a far more direct way. One thing that master chefs learn, often by trial and error over the course of their vast experience, is that a ‘truly’ gourmet meal is not merely about taste and texture, although these are paramount. Instead, the truly gourmet dish is a feast for the senses. “We taste first with our eyes and nose, and then with our palate,” after all. Mood, emotion, atmosphere, all effect how one ‘perceives’ a meal.

Wine is a bit like that, in that it sets the ‘atmosphere’ for the palate for the food with which it is paired. Naturally, when winemakers share this philosophy, the resulting vintages ought to be something quite special. Thus, when I was contacted early last month by the representatives of “Epicurious,” I was simply delighted. If the name sounds familiar, it probably should, since they have been a leading publisher of recipes and cooking related content for the past two decades.

After agreeing to sample a pair of their bottles, I received a 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon, and a 2015 Chardonnay, both featuring grapes selected from various Californian vineyards.

All things red being first, the Cabernet Sauvignon features a dark garnet or ruby coloration on pouring, which intensifies towards the center of the glass. The wine greets with a largely characteristic cabernet bouquet, featuring dark berries off the top of the glass, intensifying to sliced ripe cherry or currants towards the middle, with hints of spice and toasted oak perforating throughout. On sampling, the nose largely carries over, with its dark ripe fruit qualities accentuated by a spicy, herbaceous backdrop, which fades into a lasting and pleasant finish.

On pouring, the chardonnay features a very light golden coloration, with hues of straw on catching lighting. The wine greets with a crisp fruity bouquet, with notes of pear, sliced apple, and white apricot predominating throughout, creating a very pleasant, largely by-the-book chardonnay experience. On sampling, the crisp apple from the bouquet is very much at the fore, with expected acidity laced throughout, mingling with hints of white apricot and assorted stone fruit.

Now, back to the original topic at hand – pairing. For this, I will largely concur with the winemakers themselves, as both of these bottles are very characteristic of their varietals. The chardonnay, of course, will fair best with lighter fare, think leafy green salads plated with grilled chicken, or as an accompaniment to light appetizers such as shrimp. For the cabernet sauvignon, think hearty meals such as roasts, hamburgers, braised lamb chops with herbs, or a simply with a good steak.

That being said, I was very pleased with both bottles and do recommend them to my readers.

Cheers,
Mike

More from my site

  • Finding the Perfect Cabernet SauvignonFinding the Perfect Cabernet Sauvignon
  • Valentine’s Day with Yarden WinesValentine’s Day with Yarden Wines
  • Flounder Fillets with PestoFlounder Fillets with Pesto
  • Be Bordo WinesBe Bordo Wines
  • Purple Heart WinePurple Heart Wine
  • Passover Wine Selections from Royal Wine Corp.Passover Wine Selections from Royal Wine Corp.
0

Wine Reviews Cabernet Sauvignon, chardonnay, Epicurious, wine, wine review

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Welcome to LTG

The heart of our home lies within the kitchen. For us, it is so much more than a place where meals are created; it is where memories are made over meals that are meant to be shared. It was from this belief that Living the Gourmet was born. Read More...

Looking for Something?

Subscribe to the LTG Newsletter

Find Your Influence

Copyright © 2022 · Cravings Pro

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings.

Living The Gourmet
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.