YWT Presents: Holiday Wine Tasting with Michael Martella, Martella Winery

40409 Highway 41,Oakhurst CA 93644

06 November, 2021

Description

Join us at Yosemite Wine Tails, Saturday November 6, 2021 and taste through a solid line up of Martella Wines. Join us at Yosemite Wine Tails Saturday November 6, 2021 and taste through a solid line up with Martella Wines. Michael Martella himself will be pouring that afternoon. Michael Martella was the founding winemaker for Thomas Fogarty and since 1998 he has been making delicious wines under his own label. We will feature 4 wines from Martella Wines from different Santa Cruz Mountains appellations. Each will be paired for the ultimate tasting experience. Our Lineup of Varietals: RACY may be simply delicious, but it is not a simple wine. Consider the name itself, as defined in Webster’s New Third World Dictionary: “RACY: full of life, zest or vigor…having the distinctive or characteristic flavor, quality or excellence of a race or kind; manifesting the quality of a thing in its native, original, genuine form.” Also consider: it is a cool climate Sauvignon Blanc, it is whole-cluster pressed, it is fermented in native yeast, and it is fermented and aged (14 months) in French oak. Yes indeed, there’s a lot going on in this wine. Michael has wed the best of French winemaking tradition in the Sancerre style to California’s terroir (the sum of a vineyard’s soil and climate) and has created an elegant, complex Sauvignon Blanc that will give lovers of this grape variety a whole new look at its possibilities. TWISTED SISTERS refers to a unique blend of three white grape varietals ~ Viognier (50%), Chardonnay (25%) and Sauvignon Blanc (25%). The three varieties grow on twisty vines and are blended (twisted) together to form Twisted Sisters, fermented in neutral French oak and aged in the barrels for 14 months. Your first thought might be that it tastes like Sauvignon Blanc, but the other two wine grapes lend it a greater gravitas. Viognier gives it sweetness and solidity, Chardonnay gives its characteristic fruit flavor plus acidity and Sauvignon Blanc provides cool, crisp zing. All three varieties are grown in the Santa Cruz Mountains, basically a cool climate growing region – no one-dimensional fruit bombs here. These “twisted sisters” are sophisticated ladies with intriguing personalities. They also make excellent dinner guests. By the way, even if you like your white wines very well chilled, don’t over-ice Twisted Sisters or you will miss its nuanced blend of delicious flavors. SANGIOVESE is the most famous red wine grape of Italy and is synonymous with Tuscan red wines. Here in California you will most frequently find it blended with a hefty proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon (a so-called ‘super Tuscan’ wine) because Sangiovese on its own can be very light-bodied, acidic and lacking in character. This sounds like a challenge for Michael: it turns out that he has been making Sangiovese since 2012 with grapes from the high-elevation Ascona Vineyards in the Santa Cruz Mountains. True to his fashion, Michael has been experimenting: each vintage was picked at different sugar levels and each was vinified differently. But they are all 100% Sangiovese, and like all his red wines, are made with native yeast from the vineyard, and are unfined and unfiltered. Michael sees these then developing into mature wines at different rates of speed because of the different winemaking techniques employed. The 2012 Sangiovese has an intense sweet cherry aroma, characteristic of the variety. In the mouth fruit flavors are sweet cherry, blackberry and plum, jammy and rich with a warm spice note in the finish. Tannins are evident but civilized. Medium-bodied, this wine still has a big presence and clear varietal character. Sip it on its own or enjoy it with your holiday dinner! Michael's 2016 GRENACHE is a clear garnet in color with subdued aromas of cherry, vanilla and plum and floral notes of jasmine. It is a medium-bodied wine, silky in texture (a silkiness much enhanced by aeration). The small percentage of Syrah in this wine adds a layer of rich fruit flavor and spice notes. Ripe tannins and fine texture make the finish smooth and satisfying. Enjoyable on its own, it will also make a good dinner companion with roasted turkey and stuffing. Or try it with a roasted beet salad with pears, mild blue cheese and glazed walnuts.