Autumn in New Mexico & Trapiche Wines

Trapiche Wines from Mendoza, Argentina -photo: ©John Lamkin

The autumn leaves sang with color. The brisk air quickened our step as we walked down the tree-lined dirt road to our Northern New Mexico home.

The tree limbs bowed with the weight of the fruit, apples, plums and pears—a very bountiful year.

The warmth of the house was augmented by the aroma of the apple pie in the oven.

Warm apple pie and Trapiche Oak Cask Chardonnay 2007. This is living!

Trapiche Oak Cask Char- donney

The color of the wine mirrored the quaking aspens outside.  The aroma was predominately…guess what…apple pie, pear and a touch buttery oak (aged nine months in oak barrels). A crisp, sweet, round wine, with good acidity and a lingering grape finish.

José Andrés

Celebrity Spanish Chef, José Andrés, pairs Trapiche Oak Cask Chardonnay with gazpacho soup with lobster.

I also tried Trapiche Malbec 2007, a rich red wine with violet hues with a taste of berries, plums and cherries, round in the mouth with just a touch of truffle & vanilla.

The Trapiche wines are a real bargain—great wines for a small price. Wine guru, Natalie MacLean has included them in her “Good Values Wine Picks” reviews.

The Trapiche Winery started in 1883 in the region of Mendoza, Argentina, at the foothills of the Andes Mountains (where “the condor soars”). Trapiche was the first winery in Argentina to import and use French and American oak barrels and the first winery in Argentina to export wine.

www.trapiche.com.ar
www.frederickwildman.com

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Wine, Good Friends, Perks & Scholarships

Ponte Wines

The storm clouds were gathering and an icy wind ripped across the mesa. We hurried from the car and into the wood-stove warm comfort of Ken and Madonna’s house.

The aroma of the spiced chicken sizzling on the patio grill wafted into the house and the Ponte Chardonnay 2008 we brought was just the right temperature.

We sat down with good friends to enjoy this sumptuous meal of spiced chicken, freshly harvested squash and a farmers’ market green salad with piñon nuts.

The Ponte Chardonnay 2008* was an excellent match to this wonderful meal and added a warm glow to the whole ambiance.

*A smooth, full-bodied Chardonnay—fruity with flavor notes of green apple, coconut and a hint of vanilla (it’s aged in oak barrels), and has a slightly buttery finish. Read more…

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Mision Wine from Cerocahui, Mexico

Mision Rojo Wine from Mision Winery, Cerocahui, Mexico

Cerocahui, Mexico: Tarahumara Indians, Jesuits and Wine
Story and photos by John Lamkin

Bumping along 45 minutes of dirt road from the train station, through the wooded landscape, the forest opens to reveal the alpine-like valley of Cerocahui (sero-kah-wee), a mile-high paradise. Below, I catch a glimpse of the hidden valley with its silver river winding through its vineyards and apple orchards — I could have been somewhere in Southern Europe, but I am actually near the edge of the Barrancas de Cobre(Copper Canyon), Mexico’s Grand Canyon. Little did I expect to find ancient vineyards here on top of the world.. Read the story on Global Writes

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