The dessert wines that we tasted stood out the most for me. The favorite of the group would have to be the Blueberry Port, which was served with a piece of chocolate. We were instructed to take a sip of the wine then take a bite of the chocolate and then go back and take another sip. This pairing was absolutely delicious. There is a local chocolatier who uses this Blueberry Port in one of his chocolates, oddly enough named Blueberry Port. The other dessert wines were Aphrodite, a late harvest Gewurztraminer and Boysenberry Dessert Wine.

In terms of the Reserve list, they were sold out of their Ice Wine.  Of course this saddened my heart a bit but I moved on to the Meritage, a new release, described as “A Bordeaux wine of enormous complexity. A hand crafted wine with an extremely long ageing potential.” My initial thought after tasting this wine was ‘Steak’. Now I’m not a huge steak person. Once in a while I’ll crave steak, but if I see it on the menu my mouth doesn’t water. This wine with its complex tannins, full body and long finish could definitely stand up to a nice piece of meat.

In terms of the other wines they produce, cheese is the way to go. This is especially true for the dessert wines. What cheese? It honestly doesn’t matter. If you’re cheese shy then go to your local market and choose three cheeses you’ve never sampled before and try them.  Trust me, I wouldn’t steer you wrong. In general Duck Walk is appropriately priced, so why not try a bottle or two.  Enjoy and as always, Wine Your Diet.

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Pindar is a vineyard that has been in the North Fork of Long Island for 15 years. Usually they are dressed in a tacky label, and because of this I have always over looked it. What can I say, I like visuals. While walking the ailes of the local wine store I came upon a label with the Pythagorem Theroem across it, a2 + b2 = c2. It was called Pythagoras. My mom is a math teacher, though I’m not a math wiz, I always did enjoy algebra. Because the label was so different from any other Pindar wine I was shocked to find out it was in fact the same vineyard. That’s lesson number one, don’t judge a wine by its label.

Pythagoras, described as a rich geometric blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, and Malbec, was designed for their 15th anniversary. The break down of the varietals is not mentioned on the bottle but after a tasting it feels as if Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are taking a back seat as supporting character to the prominent Malbec, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.

Smoke dominates the nose, an infusion of cherry wood and figs. These same characteristics transfer over to the palate, but because the wine is so young in color and taste it is undistinguishable on its definite characteristics. If you were to hold on to this bottle for a year then it would be a stronger wine, but if waiting isn’t your speed then I would suggest opening the bottle and letting it sit for 3 hours. You are just going to have to be patient and let it sit, I know it’s a hard scenario but I believe in you, step away from the bottle.

I purchased this wine for $15 and for that I’m a bit on the edge if I’m all about it. Later I was embracing my inner geek and searching different sites online for their price point. I found, on average, that you can purchase this wine for $12. Now for $12 this is a great value and I say buy it. If not available in your local wine store then you can certainly purchase it online. For the most part Long Island wines range from $10 to $20. Sometimes you will cross wines that are over $20, I’ll be honest I don’t know if it is worth the buy. I haven’t brought myself to buying it yet.

In terms of pairing this wine with food I would go simple and stick with the basics, meat and cheese. Because this wine is young you don’t want to go too crazy, but the smokiness that is present here will taste delicious with some prosciutto and gouda. This is a wonderful welcome back to the states and what a way to Wine Your Diet.

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Seeing as the United States is playing against South African on the 30th of September, in the white wine department I will have to concede a handful of points the America for this fine Estate.

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