Ever hear of desert island discs? It’s a weekly radio program broadcast on BBC radio since 1942 (yes, you read that right – 1942!!) that invites a famous guest, or castaway, to choose eight audio recordings, a book, and a luxury item that they would take if they were to be cast away on a desert island. I decided it would be fun to extend that idea to wines as well. Here are my desert island wines, along with my choice of music, book, and luxury item as well!
During my high school and college years, I recall listening to rock radio stations that had dedicated programming for desert island discs – the records that you would want to have with you if you were stranded on a desert island. They would ask famous musicians what their top desert island disc was and then play it from end-to-end.
That served as my inspiration for developing my own top 50 records of all time back in 2015, with the top eight being my very own desert island discs, the eight records I couldn’t do without if stranded on a desert island. I’ll share those selections with you next week, but first and foremost, I wanted to extend this idea by sharing with you the top eight wines I would want to have with me if I found myself stranded on a desert island.
So how exactly did I select these eight wines? I simply went back in time and reflected on the wines I loved the most when I tasted them, the wines that had the biggest impact on me at the time, the wines that have transcended all others in terms of quality and enjoyment. It wasn’t easy, but it also wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be! And just for the record, my assumption here is that I will have an unlimited supply of each of these wines on my desert island, along with the means to properly store and serve them at the appropriate temperature and in the correct wine glass!
So, without further ado, here are my eight desert island wines:
Louis Roderer Cristal Champagne ($360/750 ml): The absolute best sparkling wine in the world, period! You’ll pay a hefty price for this one, but it’s worth every penny. Scents of toast and yeast on the nose, with bright bubbles and acidity along with hints of Meyer lemon and almond on the finish. Laurie and I have had this wine twice now, in both cases to celebrate significant events in our lives!
Robert Sinskey Vin Gris of Pinot Noir ($42/750 ml): This is the best rose’ on the market. It smells and tastes like spring, with notes of ripe strawberries, tangerine, and lemon peel along with vanilla bean and nice acidity on the finish. A perfect deck sipper for a warm afternoon.
Shafer Red Shoulder Ranch Chardonnay ($70/750 ml): This perfectly balanced Chardonnay is lightly oaked, and showcases bright green apple, pear, and peach notes with vanilla and white pepper on the finish. Full-bodied and silky smooth, this wine is ripe and creamy with a long-lingering finish. This is a Chardonnay even Chardonnay haters would love!
Biale Black Chicken Zinfandel ($57/750 ml): Nobody makes Zinfandel wines better than Robert Biale Vineyards. In fact, they make about 10 different single vineyard Zinfandels along with a couple of Zinfandel blends as well. One of those blends is the Black Chicken Zinfandel, named after the code word that customers would use to order wine over the phone during prohibition (in addition to illegal wine, the Biale’s also sold chickens (hence the code word phrase, black chicken). This wine bursts with blackberry, dark cherry, and raspberry fruit and finishes with notes of baking spice and light oak. It’s medium bodied and goes down smooth and fast – perfect for a summer BBQ feast!
Saintsbury Brown Ranch Pinot Noir ($77/750 ml): This was one of the Pinot Noirs Laurie and I ever tasted, and it quickly became our favorite. It’s a splurge-worthy wine that’s well worth the price, with rich red cherry and plum flavors in the mouth. This is a complex wine that also shows light spice, red licorice, and earthy notes on the finish. Perfect for pasta or grilled fish dishes.
Gargiulo 575 OVX Cabernet Sauvignon ($200/750 ml): Gargiulo makes amazing Cabernet Sauvignon, and their 575 OVX (which is the address of the winery in Napa – 575 Oakville Cross Road) is their flagship wine. It’s a beast of a wine, built for aging. It has robust tannins along with rich, ripe dark berry fruit. Hints of oak, pencil shavings, and leather show on the finish. This is a fruit-forward wine that has all the complexity of the very best Bordeaux’s from France.
Mastroberardino Radici Tarusi ($59/750 ml): This wine is made from the Aglianico grape which is grown in Campania in southern Italy. This wine uses grapes grown near Mt. Vesuvius near Naples, and the wine takes on the earthy flavors evident in the soil due to volcanic eruptions (one of which buried and destroyed the ancient city of Pompeii in 79 AD). This wine is rustic, with tight tannins and a dry, dusty mouthfeel to it. It shows notes of raspberries, dark cherries, wet earth, and cinnamon spice. Tight and lean, this wine is a perfect match for rich pasta dishes and truly reflects the terroir of the region.
Calera Mt. Harlan Viognier Doux ($24/375 ml): My loyal readers will recall that I have already spoken lovingly about this wine – one of the best wine I’ve ever tasted! It’s the perfect dessert wine, with sweet, ripe fruit flavors pineapple and apricot along with hints of honey and burnt caramel on the finish. This wine is rich and unctuous, with acidity and light spice that cut through the richness of the wine and provided a perfect counterpoint to the sweetness of the wine. An absolutely wonderful desert wine!
Next week, I’ll share my eight desert island recordings, along with my choice of book and luxury item as well! But for now, if you could only have eight bottles of wine with you as a castaway on a desert island, what would they be? I’d love to know!
Comments