This month the #WinePW crew received samples to taste from the Livermore Valley. I was lucky enough to participate and three wonderful bottles of wine showed up at my house, two reds and a white. I decided to write three separate posts on the wines so this is the first of three. For today’s post I focused on the Sauvignon Blanc that I was sent.

About the winery:

The wine is from Murrieta’s Well which is a very historic winery in California. According to the website, the winery was started in the 1800s with cuttings from Chateau d’Yquem and Chateau Margaux. I can’t think of any more impressive origin for a grape vine.

When I read that line it all made sense. I loved this particular Sauvignon Blanc, which is usually not my go to wine except for a few regions in France – Bordeaux and Loire.

Apparently in 1884 a certain Louis Mel fell in love with the estate and purchased the land for him and his wife. He sold the estate in the 1940s to Ernest Wente and it has remained in that family ever since, Today the winery counts on Jordan Wente to lead it, the fifth generation of the family at the helm of this winery. She has help from Robbie Meyer who oversees the vineyards and the wines.

The Murrieta’s Well estate has vineyards at varying elevations from 560’ to 860 feet above sea level with a variety of soil types. The wines here are all California Certified Sustainable

About Livermore Valley

As I noted in a piece yesterday, the Livermore Valley has a lot going for it; East to West Orientation; Maritime influence from the San Francisco Bay; and Thermal excursion which allows grapes to ripen and maintain acidity as well

About the wine:

The wine I received was the Sauvignon Blanc 2021 which is a blend of grapes 78% Sauvignon Blanc, 9% Viognier, 8% Orange Muscat, and 5% Malvasia Bianca. It was extremely fruity and delicate despite it’s 13.5% alcohol. I got lots of white fruit apple and pear with some more complex mango notes. It also had some oak notes and loads of texture. The oak came from the portion of wine that was fermented in French oak barrels and the great texture from the sur lie aging of another portion of the wine. This mixed fermentation and aging regime made for a complex wine with a long finish. I love the combination of varietals here as well.

About the dish:

Years ago in Italy was taught how to make a frittata by an ex-boyfriend who loved to eat. The key for me to make a good recipe is that is should have 4-5 ingredients at the most so that it’s easy and quick for a person like me. The second key is to have the perfect frittata pan, which I do, from William Sonoma.

Ingredients:

6-7 eggs

Salt and pepper

whatever vegetable you want

Asparagus is in season so I thought that it would be perfect for this dish. Asparagus also has lots of great vitamins and fiber. I cooked the asparagus in water for a short time and then sauted it with a bit of olive oil. I then folded it into my egg mixture and poured it into my wonderful frittata pan.

Many people use cheese in their recipes but I didn’t in this one and tend not to when making a frittata so as to make it less caloric and heavy.

It was so good I actually forgot to take a picture and we ate it so quickly. I can show you though my amazing frittata pan. I do not finish the frittata in the oven but on the stove top. I am never disappointed.

David is also hosting a twitter chat on Saturday at 11 AM ET that everyone is welcome to join.  You will find us by following #WinePW.  Here are some of the topics we will be discussing:

• Martin from the ENOFYLZ Wine Blog features “Surfing and Turfing with Livermore Valley Wines“
• Camilla from Culinary Cam is sharing “From California’s Oldest Wine Region: 2019 L’Autre Côte Cabernet Franc + Chimichurri Lamb Lollipops“
• Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm is “Celebrating Livermore Valley with the #WinePW Gang“
• Wine Predator Gwendolyn Abbey is writing about “Learning More about Livermore: McGrail, Murrieta’s Well, Steven Kent“
• Susannah from Avvinare serves up “Sauvignon Blanc from Livermore Valley Paired with Asparagus Frittata for Spring“
• David from Cooking Chat will share “Beef and Vegetable Stir-Fry with Livermore Valley Wine“