January Feature: Super Bowl Sippers

What I know about football can be summed up in two words: absolutely nothing.  Sure, I’m familiar with words like “goalposts,” “touchdown,” “quarterback” and the like. But if you asked me for a precise definition, I’d be at a loss.

Nevertheless, I never turn down an invitation to a Super Bowl party. It’s probably the only football game I watch all year and, even then, the new television commercials are my major interest (unless one of the New York teams is in the game).

The food at these parties always seems to be the same: chili, nachos, and Buffalo wings followed by some gooey desserts. After all, it’s time to kick back and relax. Beer usually takes precedence over wine at these gatherings, but more often than not there’s always a red and a white on the table.

So when it came to decide on a theme for this month’s feature, we thought: Super Bowl food. The wines we selected to match the above-mentioned trinity had to be all-American, widely available, and under $20.  In fact, in keeping with the sports theme, we divided the wines, all from California, into two teams: The Whites (5 Chardonnays) and The Reds (5 Cabernet Sauvignons). These grape varieties are, after all, the wines that made California famous and continue to account for a large part of the state’s production.

Unlike my colleagues at TableWine, I am more of an Old World guy and tend to prefer European wines to New World offerings. However, I was pleased to find that the wines we tasted were all quite good. The Chardonnays were not the overly oaked ones I remember from the past, and the Cabernets were not the excessively extracted and high alcohol ones that could overwhelm almost any dish except a steak.  They all had a certain degree of finesse and restraint. They opened my eyes to the great values we have right here in the USA.

As is our custom at TableWine, we tasted all the wines first on their own and then re-tasted each with the food. We paired the Chardonnays with the cheesy nachos and spicy Buffalo wings and the Cabernets with the well-seasoned chili and beans.

One final note: we selected team captains based on our preferences and like the Manning brothers, both came from the same family: Hess.

Hess Select Chardonnay Monterey 2008 $9.99 Pale gold in color, this classic California Chardonnay has a forward citrusy, buttery nose. Medium bodied, it offers lemony flavors with some pleasant burnt-sugar notes. Well balanced, it has a lingering finish. It rose to the challenge and stood up well to the spicy chicken wings. As one taster said, “It completes the pass.” Given the price and the quality, we chose this as the Captain of the Whites Team.	Hess Select Chardonnay
Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay California 2008 $11.99 Pale gold in color, this perennial favorite has an oaky nose with hints of citrus. On the palate, it is light bodied yet buttery and offers bold lemon-zest flavors followed by a lingering vanilla finish. It complemented the wings nicely, almost like a coating. The full flavors stood up to the spice.	Kendall-Jackson Vintner's Reserve Chardonnay
Toasted Head Chardonnay California 2008 $11.99 Pale straw in color, the nose is subdued with butterscotch aromas. Almost unctuous on the palate, it delivers caramel flavors consistent with the nose and finishes with tart-apple and caramel notes. This wine popped with the cheese nachos with jalapenos and re-fried beans.	Toasted Head Chardonnay
Edna Valley Chardonnay Paragon San Luis Obispo County 2008 $12.99 Bright gold in color with a restrained nose, characterized by hints of butterscotch and pineapple. Light bodied, it offers dissipating butterscotch flavors that seem to improve with time in the glass followed by a pithy citrus finish. This wine was good, but not great, with the food. It would have been much better with a grilled white fish.	Edna Valley Chardonnay "Paragon"
Simi Chardonnay Sonoma County 2008 $13.99 This famed Sonoma Chardonnay is pale straw in color. The forward nose is characterized by crisp apple aromas with some hints of musk. On the palate, it is medium bodied with tart apple and caramel flavors, followed by a lingering, buttery finish. This wine was very good with both the wings and the nachos.	Simi Chardonnay
Bogle Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon California 2007 $9.99 Opaque ruby in color, this wine has a warm, forward raspberry nose. On the palate, it is medium to full bodied with ripe red-berry flavors. Nicely balanced with good acidity and a tart blue-plum finish. This wine stood up well to the chili.	Bogle Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon
Cartlidge & Brown Cabernet Sauvignon North Coast 2008 $11.99 Deep ruby in color, this wine has a voluptuous red-cherry nose. Medium bodied, it offers tart wild-cherry flavors. However, the nose promises more than is delivered on the palate. It finishes nicely again with tart blue plum. “A one-note wine,” commented one taster. This wine provided a nice backdrop to the chili, a good complement.	Cartlidge & Browne Cabernet Sauvignon
Hess Select Cabernet Sauvignon 47% Mendocino, 37% Lake, 16% Napa 2007 $12.99 Purple in color, this wine has an inviting nose of ripe strawberries with earthy underpinnings. Medium bodied, it is packed with earthy, black-fruit flavors. It is well structured, with balanced fruit and acidity. Finishes well with fruit, earth, and cocoa notes. This wine was perfect with chili, almost intermingling with it and making you want to eat more. We selected this wine the Captain of the Reds Team.	Hess Select Cabernet Sauvignon
Beringer Cabernet Sauvignon Knights Valley 2007 $13.00 Deep purple in color, this wine has a subdued cassis and earth bouquet. Light to medium bodied, it delivers dry cassis and cherry flavors enveloped with sweet tannins. The finish is lingering and smooth with black-fruit notes. This wine seemed to enhance the chili.	Beringer Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Francis Coppola Diamond Collection Cabernet Sauvignon Ivory Label California $15.99 Deep ruby in color, this wine has licorice and subtle cherry aromas. Light to medium bodied on the palate, it delivers juicy berry flavors supported by supple tannins. A good, persistent cassis and cherry finish.  This wine was excellent with the chili.	Francis Coppola Diamond Collection Cabernet Sauvignon

Tagged as: Buffalo wings, Cabernet Sauvignon, California, Chardonnay, nachos, new world, old world, spicy chili