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Pairing Wine & Movies Round 5: Rombauer 2012 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

April 13, 2015 Christine Rosko
side-of-coffee-wine-and-movie-pairings-31
Have you ever thought of pursuing a hobby more seriously so that you could become more of an expert with it? That's how I feel about wine. I enjoy tastings and learning about blends, varietals, the growing process and everything else. I took two wine classes in college, one in Paris and one at DePaul. The one in Paris was a whole lot more fun and I feel like I learned so much more from it. I've been thinking about taking classes to become a sommelier. It's something that I'd need to do slowly and in time but I think it would be fun to complete the process. I mean, I talk about wine all the time. I might as well get officially certified, right? Anyway, that's just something I've been thinking about lately. This week's wine and movie pairing continues the Cary Grant trilogy with Houseboat. This was paired with Rombauer Vineyards 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon. We have a wine shop in my town called WineStyles. They host regular tastings and events for wine lovers and even some for craft beer. I've been to two tastings so far. The first was actually from Rombauer Vineyards and we brought home two of the six bottles we sampled. The second was an educational tasting for Chilean wines. I've had Chilean wine before but not a ton so this was a great experience to taste through the different blends and varietals they're known for and see what I liked and didn't like. There's one for Tuscany later this month I'm really excited for. I love Italian wine.
The 2012 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is a very bold red and has a very deep fruit flavor. The website says, "This wine displays a bright crimson hue and enticing aromas of black currant, blueberry and cedar spice. The palate is rich and textured with flavors of sweet cassis, blackberry and black cherry carried by supple tannins through the long finish." I'll tell you what I liked and didn't like about this wine. I wasn't a huge fan of the large tannin presence. It was a bit too strong for my preference. I loved the deep fruit flavors but you have to hold the wine on your palate for a moment or two to get passed a spicy bitterness that dominates your senses at first. It has a really nice finish, a little brighter than what it's original impression gives you. This pairs nicely with a heavy meal or good cuts of beef. Have it with a good steak. I also like to drink this with cheese. Sometimes if I don't particularly like a wine, I'll try it with different foods to see if it changes the reception of the flavor on my palate. Dark chocolate normally works with spicy or earthy Spanish reds. Cheese works with bitter reds and fruits are great with deep, bold reds like this one which is also great with strawberries. This is something I've learned for myself but what something tastes like to me has the potential to be completely different for you. So just venture out of your comfort zone and don't knock it after the first sip. Play around with foods and see if any of them enhance the flavor so that you like it a bit better.

Houseboat felt like a great movie pick for a red wine, especially one so bold like this one. Sophia Loren stars alongside Cary Grant and she has such a strong personality that I just love. She's a great woman to represent Italian culture in America. Her presence gives us a positive image in my opinion and I have a lot of respect for her both as a person and as an artist.  Houseboat is what I like to call a "dramedy." It's a comedy but not too silly making it a borderline drama. In Houseboat, Cary Grant's character, Tom, becomes a widower and finds himself the sole parent to his three children. After bad circumstances, Tom meets Cinzia, Sophia Loren's character, whose father is a wealthy orchestra conductor but is looking for a life of her own. She becomes Tom's nanny and in their move from the city to the country, their house gets hit by a train and they end up on literally a houseboat. After a lot of fixing, this place because home to everyone. It's a funny journey of two very different and stubborn people finding love, finding your way in life after a tragedy, adjusting to a major life change and looking at the good things in life. The red pairs perfectly with Sophia's sassy and no-nonsense attitude. If you're looking for an easy-going, light-hearted old movie, check out Houseboat. It's on Netflix right now too!

Next week will be the last Cary Grant movie for this particular round of pairings with a buttery white. The rose from last week was my favorite wine from this round but the white I'll be introducing you to holds a close second. I can't wait to share it with you.

Make sure you check out my other Wine & Movie Pairing posts! 2012 Penascal Estate Tempranillo Rose & Charade St. Julian Red Heron & The First Wives Club 2012 Luna Pinot Grigio & The Last Five Years Xo, G Pinot Grigio & Breakfast at Tiffany's Xo, G Pinot Noir & Jumanji Xo, G Rose & Into the Woods 2013 Kin + Country Validguie & Burlesque 2012 Wonderful Wine Co. Rose & Sideways
2013 Wonderful Wine Co. Riesling & Christmas in Connecticut
2013 Alcalà Monastrell & Love Actually
2013 Relevé Rosé & Crazy, Stupid Love
2013 Redux Sauvignon Blanc & Shall We Dance

In Uncategorized, Food, Lifestyle Tags Wine, Review, Wine & Movie Pairing, Personal, Movie
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