We were headed to an Italian restaurant that has been around for quite awhile but new to us. At home looking at the current menu online a scallop and shrimp dish and veal Milanese sounded good so I quickly grabbed a bottle of Jolie Laide Pinot Gris which I thought would be a pretty good match and put it in the wine bag. That green tinted bottle did its job protecting the wine from light and my dumb eyes . When our server poured the wine I did a double take and suddenly realized I had taken the wrong bottle. Wife and I smiled, truly a first world problem when you grab the wrong bottle and it is also a premium bottle.
Well we loved the restaurant AND the wine. The wine has a lovely fragrance of cherries, flowers and graphite. Flavors are pure and fresh as the wine only spends time in old neutral barrels. Black cherry, black raspberry, violets, olives and black pepper are seamless. Medium to full body, good acidity with moderate sweet tannins the wine shows plenty of fruit but is also savory, a touch gamy and mouthwatering.
Was it the perfect match with the food… not really but the wine was balanced and delicious as virtually every Jolie-Laide wine is. 12.5% ABV, old neutral barrels and beautiful aromas and flavor. There is a lot to like and this is built to age for further development.
If you are interested the restaurant is Riviera Restaurant in Santa Rosa. Photos below.
Tom
Wrong Bottle, Right Bottle!
Scallop and Shrimp Entree
Veal Milanese
Max, have you had any other Jolie Laide wines. Scott Schultz Owner-Winemaker makes small amounts of a wide range of grape varieties and they are all worth buying!
Thanks for your note, Tom - I’m not sure I knew that Jolie-Laide was working with Halcón Vineyard fruit. I’ve really enjoyed most of the Jolie-Laide wines I’ve tried and Halcón is an excellent vineyard.
Had a very nice dinner at Riviera with Eric Anderson and another friend in spring 2017. Liked the decor and atmosphere, and everything I ordered there (caesar salad and homemade organic kale & spinach ravioli with braised leg of lamb) was great.
Ken, great minds think alike. The entree you had at Riviera, kale and spinach ravioli with leg of lamb, I was so close to ordering that. Next time
I looked at the Grape Nutz blog, I didn’t see any visits to Jolie-Laide by you. I can highly recommend a stop at Jolie-Laide on your next group of tastings in Sonoma County. Besides the excellent wines of Jolie-Laide, you can also sample Pax Wines and I believe Martha Stoumen is also making her wines at the Pax facility in the Barlow. Quite a nice sampling of wines in the same facility.
Good to hear that the kale and spinach ravioli is still on the menu at Riviera!
Jolie-Laide is definitely on my list of places to visit in Sonoma County, though I don’t seem to get up that way as often as I used to. I heard from Mike at Rootdown that Martha is indeed at that same facility (he’s been there too but is moving to the facility north of Healdsburg where Idlewild, Ryme, and Leo Steen are located). I’ve love to check out what Martha has been doing lately, as well as Pax.
Sounds like you’ll be coming to SF in April to do some tasting with Bryan at Harrington - looking forward to joining you there!
. When our server poured the wine I did a double take and suddenly realized I had taken the wrong bottle. Wife and I smiled, truly a first world problem when you grab the wrong bottle and it is also a premium bottle.
