Charles Krug Wine Tasting and Dinner with Special Guest Peter Mondavi Jr. at Wine Watch

Tuesday, August 7, 2018 - 07:30 PM

This Event has been read: 2315 times.

 

"Now wines are wonders; great wines are magical; and winemakers are mad. Like horse fanciers, they are always trying to improve the breed."  - William E. Massee

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Now that we have moved, and everything is in its place Wine Watch TV is back!  This is our first video this year and we will get back to “What I Drank Yesterday” with our first show featuring the Musigny versus Bonnes Mares tasting coming up later this week.   This “Once in a Lifetime” tasting featuring two wines that were shipped to California and back in the heat of the summer heat  one of them was a candidate for #WOTN! 

Charles Krug Winery has been on our radar for the entire 20 years that I have owned the store and I can’t believe that this is the first time we have ever hosted a Charles Krug Winery tasting.  The old wine store did not have a proper setting for a tasting of this magnitude but since opening the Wine Watch Wine Bar a year ago we are ready now for any major wine celebrity that comes our way.  Tuesday night the Wine Bar is usually not open but Tuesday August 7th we have Peter Mondavi Jr. here and we will open on Tuesday night for the first winery in Napa Valley history.

Charles Krug winery is one of the best not only in Napa but we challenge you to find a better Cabernet Sauvignon or Sauvignon Blanc from Napa Valley or anywhere else in their prospective price points.  These are both estate bottled and grown wines that come from not decades of experience in the wine business but generations.  It is hard to find value in Napa Valley today as Napa Valley is the most overpriced wine regions on earth.  There are more wineries that are charging $200+ per bottle for their first release than anywhere else that is why we are happy that one of the first families of Napa Valley still puts both quality and value as their first and foremost consideration for all the wines they produce.  

Join us as we welcome Peter Mondavi Jr. to South Florida for a special tasting and dinner at the Wine Bar.  Chef Toni Lampasone will be making a special five course tasting menu to compliment the wines and the fee for this event is $125 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9462 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com.

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Charles Krug Wine Tasting and Dinner with Special Guest Peter Mondavi Jr. at Wine Watch
Tuesday, August 7th 2018
7:30 PM

 

Menu

Image result for 2017 Charles Krug Sauvignon Blanc St. Helena Napa Valley

2017 Charles Krug Sauvignon Blanc St. Helena Napa Valley
Price: $16.75       Sale $14.74

Our signature style Sauvignon Blanc is hand-picked in the evenings and cold fermented to ensure naturally crisp acidity. This wine is well balanced with aromas of lime and grapefruit and flavors of citrus and passionfruit.

Pistachio crusted goat cheese salad with pink grapefruit and green peppercorn vinaigrette

 

Image result for 2015 Charles Krug Pinot Noir Carneros Napa Valley

2016 Charles Krug Chardonnay Carneros Napa Valley
Price: $20.75       Sale $18.26

This Chardonnay is grown in the cool, foggy Carneros region, where Burgundian-style grape varieties maintain their balance of acidity and ripeness. This medium bodied wine is half barrel fermented and aged sur lie; look for aromas of tropical fruit and citrus blossom with flavors of peach and pear.

 

Jumbo sea scallop with citrus chardonnay beurre blanc

 

Image result for 2015 Charles Krug Pinot Noir Carneros Napa Valley
2015 Charles Krug Pinot Noir Carneros Napa Valley
Price: $24.50       Sale $21.56

Charles Krug Pinot Noir comes from the cool, foggy Carneros region where Burgundian-style varieties maintain their balance of acidity and ripeness. Aromas of cherry, vanilla, raspberry and hunts of cocoa envelop flavors of black cherry and caramel.

Tuna carpaccio with black truffles, Harpke Farms edible flowers and Epoisses aioli

 

Image result for 2015 Purple Heart Sonoma County

2015 Purple Heart Sonoma County
Price: $18.75       Sale $16.50

 The Purple Heart – No honor better symbolizes the bravery, determination and selflessness of the military men and women serving our country. Inspired by this most noble medal, and in tribute to the late Peter Mondavi Sr.—a proud World War II veteran—his sons, Marc and Peter Jr., challenged veteran winemaker John Moynier to craft an exceptional red wine worthy of its iconic title. The wine serves as a testament to the integrity and virtue of the Purple Heart Foundation, and aims to further the organization’s cause through both awareness and fundraising. To this end, Purple Heart Wines proudly makes an annual donation to the Foundation, which goes toward serving the unmet needs of military men, women and families. Join us as we lift a glass in tribute to our brave heroes and thank them for the profound contributions and sacrifices they have made.

 

Image result for 2014 Charles Krug Merlot Napa Valley

2014 Charles Krug Merlot Napa Valley
Price: $23.75       Sale $20.90

 Our Napa Valley Merlot has expressive aromas of ripe red and black fruit followed by hints of spice. Supple body and medium tannins envelop flavors of berry and cherry which linger on the palate through a long, smooth finish.

 

Crispy duck confit spring roll with Asian slaw and plum dipping sauce

 

Image result for 2015 Charles Krug Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

2015 Charles Krug Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
Price: $35.00       Sale $30.80

 Ripe black cherry, blackberry and black currant flavors precede hints of dried blueberry and cocoa in our estate-grown and bottled Cabernet Sauvignon from our Yountville vineyards. The sturdy structure and lots of black fruits lend definition to the long finish.

 

Sliced medium rare NY sirloin with Beemster au gratin potatoes and cabernet sauvignon porcini natural sauce

Image result for 2014 Charles Krug Generations (Family Reserve) Napa Valley

2014 Charles Krug Generations (Family Reserve) Napa Valley
Price: $59.75       Sale $52.58

 A blend of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Petit Verdot, 4% Merlot, 3% Malbec.  Generations is a Bordeaux-style blend from our Napa Valley estate vineyards, created to honor our family's past, present and future. Aromas of black cherry, coffee bean and blueberry segue to a full-bodied wine with a long finish of ripe berry and toasty crème brûlée.

 

Bittersweet chocolate covered bacon served with blackberry catsup

 

The fee for this tasting and dinner is $125 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com.

A bit about Charles Krug Winery - The original Mondavi Family winery in Napa

 

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Charles Krug is Napa Valley’s first winery.  Founded in 1861 by Prussian immigrant Charles Krug, he came to America at age 22 with nothing but willpower and proceeded to become a major player in establishing the entire California wine industry. 

When Krug died in 1882, the winery was purchased by his close friend, James Moffitt, a San Francisco banker.  Moffett was a big city banker and loved the thought of retiring to the countryside and starting a family business, but his daughters and their husbands were not interested in Krug or the wine business.  Moffitt owned the winery through prohibition, then began looking for a winemaking family to carry on the Krug tradition.    Both Robert and Peter drove down to meet their father at Crocker First National Bank, where Moffett was the director, and the Mondavi’s were mere bumpkins from sleepy little Saint Helena.  It only took a few minutes to convince Moffitt that the Mondavi’s were a perfect fit to carry on the Krug tradition.

Cesar Mondavi was sixty years young when he and his wife, Rosa, purchased the winery for $75,000.  His two sons, Peter and Robert, were both attending Stanford at the time, when they finished with school they came back to run the winery.  Cesare died in 1959 and Rosa became president, then passed the torch on to Peter in 1966.  With obvious differences of opinions Peter and Robert decided to take separate paths in the wine industry.  The two brothers could not have been more different in terms of personality, Peter is private and relaxed and Robert inevitably attracts publicity and is constantly fired with energy.  Peter was content to tend the family business, while Robert was driven by a need for attention and bravado.  Peter avoids making waves; Robert rocks the boat.  Peter and Robert barely spoke to each other for the better part of twenty-five years.  One of the major disputes they had in the early seventies was lost in court by Peter and cost him some of his most prized Cabernet vineyards in Oakville. 

On June 13th 1985 two wine collectors Tawfig Khoury and Barney Rhodes staged an improbable reunion of the two Napa Valley winemaking brothers.  The two collectors had amassed a historic retrospective of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons from Charles KrugWinery, 1944 to 1965, and Robert Mondavi Winery, 1966 to 1984, and invited both Mondavis to attend.  This not only brought the two powerhouse California vintners together under one roof, but had also apparently helped ease the tension that existed between the two since their breakup in 1966. 

The Mondavi family is responsible for some of the most important innovations in California winemaking history.  Way back in 1937 peter Mondavi, Sr. developed cold fermentation, this enabled winemakers to produce exceptionally crisp, fruity white wines.  Charles Krug Winery was one of the first to use vintage dated varietal wines.  They are credited with the first winery newsletter Bottles and Bins.  Today, Napa Valley is the second largest tourist attraction in California, the first winery to initiate tastings on the lawn was Krug back in 1951.  Peter Mondavi Sr. was the first to adapt sterile filtration to winemaking.  He was also the first to use small French Oak barrels and glass lined tanks, providing safe, neutral storage for young wines.  It’s no wonder to us how they became one of the twenty largest wineries in the United States.

Peter lived to be 101 years old and credited his longevity partially to enjoying a glass of wine everyday.  His two sons, Marc and Peter, Jr. have taken over the responsibilities of running Charles Krug and C.K Mondavi.  Marc attended UC Davis, he oversees the vineyard management and winemaking duties.  While Peter, Jr. went to Stanford and manages the marketing, sales and general winery functions, sound familiar?  The two have no doubt seen their father and uncle’s life change due to their differences as young men.  They have learned that there is great importance in being a family winery first, but you should always follow your dreams.  This family has a history that is unparalleled in the California wine industry. 

Charles krug has focused on the major varietals grown in California.  They make a Sauvignon Blanc from the home ranch in Napa, a Chardonnay from Fracchia and Willow Lake Ranch in Napa, a Pinot Noir from Willow lake Vineyard in Carneros, a Zinfandel from both Napa and Sonoma fruit sources, a Merlot from Krug Ranch, Voltz Ranch and Mondavi/Lincoln Ranch, a Cabernet Sauvignon from Mondavi/Lincoln Ranch and Stinsen Ranch, a Sangiovese form Krug Ranch, and a line of reserve wines in all of the above varietals when vintage permits.  The “Vintage Select” designation for the best lots of Cabernet was introduced in 1946, at that time the wine was aged in old oak barrels and sometimes even in whisky barrels.  In 1991 Krug introduced a wine called “Generation” this is a blend of three of the traditional Bordeaux varietals; Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot.  The term generations signifies the continued tradition of innovation and excellence of the Peter Mondavi family. 

 

 

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