Wilson Artisan Wine & Chili Competition

Not going to lie – winter has proven to be the most challenging season for me as far as generating content for Vino for Breakfast.  It’s dark out a lot, the vines are barren and it’s been raining more than I would like.  None of these things scream a great time for wine instagram pictures.  So, what does one do during a period where it seems the pace of wine events is slower and you’re running out of content?  You head to Healdsburg for the annual Wilson Artisan Wine & Chili Competition.

The Wilson Artisan Wineries are a group of ten boutique wineries located in Sonoma and Mendocino Counties.  The wineries span several AVAs including Russian River, Dry Creek Valley, Alexander Valley, Anderson Valley, Rockpile and Mendocino Ridge, so there is a lot of diversity in the wines they produce.  Being a member at one means you get free tastings and wine discounts at all of their properties – all ten wineries and their two bed & breakfasts.

For this event, each winery came up with a fabulous chili paired with one of their wines.  Event participants got a card to collect stamps at the places they visited and to vote at the end of the day for their favorite pairing.  A lot of the wineries, however, offered tastings of several of their other wines, so it was a great opportunity to check out several wineries in one afternoon. 

I had (maybe too) many different wines over the course of the afternoon, but I have challenged myself to come up with my five favorite wines of the day and my top three wine and chili pairings:

**Note: I did not make it to Wilson Winery or Pezzi King, so this is of the wineries I visited .  

Top 5 Wines (not in any specific order):

1. deLorimier Primitivo, $40: deLorimier is a beautiful winery located in Alexander Valley, which is home to fabulous Cabernet.  So why a primitivo?  When you go to events, the wines start to blend togethe (particularly when you have wines from eight different wineries).  Yet, hours later, I was still thinking about this wine.  It was smooth and not too jammy, but it did have some nice plum notes on the finish.  At over 15%, it’s definitely a high alcohol wine, but it doesn’t taste like it, so be warned 😉
2. Soda Rock Sauvignon Blanc, $24: My boyfriend is not a white wine fan, so when he took his first sip of this wine and said “wow,” I knew I was in for a treat. This sauv blanc is a crisp citrus bomb, super refreshing and a great change of pace from all the red wines.  The best part?  It was on sale for $16.80 for members, so I got to buy one bottle (even though I’m banned from buying more!)
3. Soda Rock Twisted Rail Cabernet, $48: At the end of my visit to Soda Rock, I went to the tasting room bar to buy a bottle of the Sauvignon Blanc.  The woman pouring asked if we needed another taste of something before leaving.  We thanked her, but shared we had gone through the full lineup of about seven wines in the other room.  She pulled out this wine and said we needed to make an exception for just one more – I was so glad she did!  This cab was super smooth, with some yummy blackberry and dark cherry notes.
4. Jaxon Keys Primitivo, $26: Everyone who was pushing to the front of the line at the tasting bar at Coyote Den was asking about this.  So much so, that the bar was down to its last bottle of this primitivo before 2:30pm (and the event didn’t end until 4).  It’s easy to see why this is a crowd pleaser: it stood up on its own with the chili pairing, but I could easily see this as being a good couch wine for me.
5. St.Anne’s Crossing Bar None Zin, $45: This wine just won the SF Chronicle Wine Competition for best red overall, so I was super excited to try it.  This wine had nice spice aromas with some cinnamon and clove notes and was definitely one of their lighter zins.  People put off by peppery zins, I challenge you to try this one.  It’s smooth and lighter in body than you’ve probably had before.  In fact, the tasting room manager who was pouring said he was disappointed this was the one that won because it’s lighter than he likes.  Only 250 cases were made, so snag a bottle before it sells out super soon!

Honorary Mention: Greenwood Ridge Dragon Red (I would have had this in my top 5, but I just talked about it in a blogpost last week :))

Top 3 Wine and Chili Pairings:

1. Greenwood Ridge: Wild Mendocino Chili with Boar & Venison, Paired with Mendovino (Cab/Syrah Blend) From first bite, the chili and wine tasted like they belonged together.  I did some investigation on the recipe cards we were provided and realize there was a cup of the wine in the chili recipe…so no wonder it blended together nicely!  This was a hearty chili and the bold, ink colored cab/syrah blend was a perfect match to stand up to this.
2. Jaxon Keys: Fire Roasted Poblano Brisket Chili, Paired with Primitivo This one was a controversial one for a lot of people.  People who hate spicy food were not fans of this.  I thought, however, making a spicy chili was a good change of pace and the avocado crema that it was paired with cooled it down nicely.  Plus – spicy food and spicy wine? A dream for your palate.
3. Soda Rock: Lord Snort Chili Rock (Ground Pork and Ground Chuck Chili), Paired with Lord Snort Red Blend & Boar D’eaux Ok can we first talk about how cute and punny the name Boar D’eaux is for a red blend? Agree? Now we can talk about this pairing.  I loved the versatility Soda Rock offered.  Chili with two kinds of meats and two kinds of wine pairings – double the fun! Both red blends were easy drinking and I was so tempted to buy some, but my boyfriend made me stay firm.

This event is a true winner and I will definitely be adding it to my annual wine events list.  Thank you Wilson Artisan Wineries for the best day and keeping me full of great chili and wine!