The third week of  #WineStuio’s focus on the independent spirit of US winemakers brought us to McPherson Cellars in Lubbock, Texas and Wollersheim Winery in Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin. This tasting was particularly exciting for me because my husband was born and raised in Wisconsin and I am a Texas gal! Furthermore, neither one of us has ever tried wine from Wisconsin, and we drink very little wine from Texas. As usual the #WineStudio virtual tasting was masterfully hosted by Protocol Wine Studio.  I hope you are joining in on the #WineStudio conversations to learn about these great Independent US wines on Tuesday’s at 6pm Pacific. Furthermore, please check out Le Metro Wine Underground’s web site to watch a short video of the passion and expertise that went into selecting the wines for July’s #WineStudio as well as exploring all the educational and wine offerings hand crafted by Aaron Epstein. The two wines below were provided by their respected wineries.

 McPherson Cellars Les Copains 2013 Dry Rosé: This was the first wine of the evening. It poured a vibrant pink into the glass and met the nose with a familiar smell: Green Apple Jolly Ranchers! (I often find rosés I like to smell like a flavor of Jolly Rancher, go figure.) The Jolly Rancher aroma was accompanied by fresh strawberries and fresh cut herbs. On the palate the flavors of bright strawberries, green apples, cherries and fresh herbs danced across my tongue and down my throat. This wine offered a crisp acidity that I loved, along with light dry body and long finish. It was heavenly! McPherson has made a lovely Rhone style rosé crafted from 55% Cinsault, 30% Mourvedre and 15% Viognier grapes, that contains 12.9% alcohol with SRP of $11.99. I paired this wine with two different meals: first, I cheated and opened it on Monday night because it was a perfect pairing with our Tex-Mex taco salad I prepared for dinner. YUM! On Tuesday night I prepared this lovely rosé with Ballpark Hot Dogs on the grill, beef cheeseburgers on the grill and regular and sweet potato French fries. I was told some time ago that good rosés pair perfectly with grilled hot dog in the summer heat. This was the first time I had tried the pairing and it was truly fantastic! I don’t eat many hot dogs but this was a pairing worth remembering! Try it and let me know what you think. Of course the hamburger was equally delicious with the rose.

The McPherson Family has been a pioneering family in the Texas wine industry for over 40 years. Kim McPherson created the McPherson Cellars label in 2000 to honor his father “Doc.” He converted this historic Coca Cola bottling plant in downtown Lubbock, Texas to the McPherson Cellars winery and it opened in 2008. It is one of the most beautiful, modern and efficient wineries in Texas. Kim McPherson’s philosophy is “planting to the land;” therefore, McPherson Cellars focuses on Rhone, Italian and Spanish varietals. McPherson is an internationally award winning winery and a bright spot in the Texas wine industry. I encourage you to visit their web site to view their entire portfolio of wines and order some for yourself. The wines are high quality and the prices are great.

Wollersheim Winery Domain du Sac 2013 Dry Red Wine: This dry red wine was a rich dark garnet with purple tones in the glass. On the nose the aromatic bouquet came forth with a deep smoky aroma accompanied by ripe dark berries and spice that were all very pleasing. The complex flavors flowed through the mouth with ripe black cherries, blackberries and hints of raspberries, followed by spice, black pepper and ending with a smoky cedar flavor. This wine had a medium body with fine tannins and a nice, well balanced acidity that offered enough dryness to make it very food compatible. As stated on Tuesday night I paired this wine with a grilled Ball Park hot dog and a juicy grilled cheeseburger. They both paired nicely with the great food wine. The following night I paired this wine with a baked sweet potato topped with taco seasoned ground beef, black beans, shredded cheddar cheese, fresh salsa and avocados. The wine paired great with this meal also. This was a versatile red wine crafted of 90% Marechal Foch and 10% Millot (both French winter-hardy hybrids) in a Beaujolais style (whole berry fermented, cold soaked, which allows the character of the grapes to shine through, fermented in French and Wisconsin oak, 1/3 new, for 5 months). Like Beaujolais this wine was recommended to be served at 55-58 degrees F, which makes it a great red wine to enjoy in the heat of summer!

Wollersheim Winery has a romantic history. The land was original selected for vineyards by Hungarian nobleman Agoston Haraszthy in the 1840’s. However, by the end of the decade he was caught up in the gold rush and went to California where he became known as the founder of the California wine industry! The land was taken over by Peter Kehl, a German immigrant, after Haraszthy and eventually purchased from Kehl’s grandson by Robert and JoAnn Wollersheim in 1972. In 1984 Philippe Coquard came to the winery from France on an agricultural exchange program and became the winemaker. To read the details of this wineries great history please visit the Wollersheim Winery web site. Like McPherson, Wollersheim Winery is an international award winning winery, including winery of the year in the San Diego International Wine Competition in 2012 and the Wollersheim Winery 2013 Dry Riesling winning Wine of the Year at the San Diego International Wine Competition in 2013! I encourage you to visit the Wollersheim Winery web site to view their entire portfolio of wines and order some wines for yourself. More high quality wines at excellent prices and they are happy to ship direct to your door!

These were certainly two high quality wines selected by Aaron at Le Metro Wine Underground. I recommend you order both as well as other wines in their respective portfolios from both these wineries! Also, please note the awesome wine tasting journal that was sent to me compliments of Livraison. They even personalized it for me. I love using it! Check out their web site to order one for yourself!

My Song Selection: In keeping with the theme of Independent Spirit, last week I selected the great American band Fleetwood Mac to pair with La Garagista 2013 “Coup de Foudre” Pétillant Naturel because of their unique sound and exceptional song writing skills. For these two wines I have also chosen two bands with great singer/songwriter talents and unique sounds that represent the diversity in homegrown American music! I have chosen to pair You Are the Best Thing by Ray LaMontagne with McPherson Cellars Les Copains 2013 Dry Rosé. I chose this song because of its relaxed melody and soulful sound. I can listen to Ray LaMontagne for hours with his raspy, sultry voice and while I am listening to him I am sitting outside in the cool night’s breeze sippin on McPherson Cellars Les Copains 2013 Dry Rosé.

The song I have chosen to pair with Wollersheim Winery Domaine du Sac 2013 Dry Red Wine is Bottom of the River by Delta Rae. This song has a unique sound from a very unique modern, up and coming band. The song has soul and style; likewise, the Domaine du Sac has depth of flavors and layers of aromas that give it soul and style. This wine and this song work great together because they both exemplify the Independent Spirit of America!

If you are not familiar with these artists or these songs you are in for a treat so please listen. Get your own bottles of  McPherson Cellars Les Copains 2013 Dry Rosé and Wollersheim Winery Domaine du Sac 2013 Dry Red Wine for these two wineries and let me know what songs you would pair with them. Cheers!