Learning about Graves-Sauternes Wines
Last week I attended a special wine dinner at Catalyst in Cambridge. Hosted by Graves-Sauternes, we tried lots of amazing wines all paired with the amazing menu at Catalyst. The four-course meal was created by Chef William Kovel and the guided tasting was led by local Boston wine expert Nick Daddona. Let explore the wines that we tried!
Where do Graves-Sauternes wines come from?
Graves-Sauternes wines comes from a small micro region within Bordeaux in South Western France.
What are Graves-Sauternes wines known for?
This region is home to over 450 winegrowers committed to cultivating their vineyards with all the family know how from centuries before. They are known to be small vineyards with big personalities. At the heart of the region is one of the wine world’s most diverse terroirs, which creates the ability to produce not only dry whites and red wines, but also the famously dark sweet wine, that many of us associate with the area, i.e. Sauternes.
Which wines did we try at the tasting?
Graves White: White wines from this area consist of Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Muscadelle. Semillon is the predominant white wine and comes in both sweet and dry varieties.
Graves Red: Red wines from this area are very popular all over the world as well. Cab Sav, Merlot and Cab Franc are all grown here.
Sauternes is one of my all-time favorite wines, so I was so excited to try a few different bottles of this as well. Check out the menu for a complete list of all of the wines from the tasting as well as what they were paired with in terms of food.
Wine Pairings
One of my favorite pairings was the roasted scallops with citrus butter and the Chateau Luchey-Halde, Pessec-Leognan, which is a dry white. The freshness was an excellent pairing with the light and delicate scallop dish. But of course, there is nothing better than a decadent Sauternes paired with a classic dessert. And for me that came through with the Chateau d’Arche, Sauternes 1998, Grand Cru Classe en 1855, with the pineapple upside down cake. Sometimes something sweet is what we all need at the end of a meal.
I love learning expanding my knowledge about wines and the good news is that Graves-Sauternes wines are headed for a super season, so I will definitely be following along to learn more!