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Let's
be clear. 'Sideways' did a lot to
make wine interesting to hundreds of
thousands of Americans. But I do think
there's something that
'Sideways' got wrong - Pinot
Noir is actually not the be-all, end-all
of Southern California wine success.
While there are lots of great Pinots
being made in this up-and-coming wine
area which is fast encroaching on
Napa and Sonoma's California wine glory
coattails, I think their Syrahs may be as
good - if not better - than their Pinot
Noir.
The year after 'Sideways' came out, I made a
pilgrimage to the wine area above L.A.
expecting to fall in love with Pinot, as
the movie had promised. What I did not
expect was finding amazing Syrah after amazing
Syrah everywhere I went. Each tasting room I
went to boasted which wines had been featured
in the movie, but inevitably I found a Syrah I
liked far better than the 'starring' Pinot
Noir.
The featured "Splurge" wine for this week's new
recipe -
Porcini Mushroom Risotto - is just such a
terrific Syrah from the Santa Lucia Highlands
region by Novy. As with the best wines from the
area, it's made in small lots by a
relatively new producer, so can be hard to find
but offers terrific value and an
utterly luscious drinking experience. If
you have a hard time finding this wine from
Novy, here are a few other Syrah producers to
try and track down:
Blackjack
Ranch Winery
Stolpman Vineyards
Presidio Vineyard & Winery
Au Bon
Climat
Happy
hunting!
Next Article:
Summer
BBQ Wine
Pairings
>back to Wine Blog
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