Yes I'm a Southpaw. I'm left handed. I always have to strategically place myself on the proper end of a table when dining so I don't bump arms with the person next to me. Did you know that 10-13% of the people are left handed. I now have something in common with the winemaker Scott Gares at Old York Cellars as he is left handed too and respectably named the wine accordingly.
The first Port style wine 2012 Southpaw White which was made with 100% Riesling grapes. I have to say, I really love the bottle and the label on this wine.
The wine was picked at 21.5 brix and had an residual sugar of 7%. I will say, it didn't taste as sweet as you would think.
I paired this with baked Brie with apricot jam and peppadew peppers. Since I was home alone this was my dinner. Peppadew peppers are sweet and spicy and are products of South Africa. This paired very well with the white port.
There was some mineral notes on the nose with a hint of apricot. There was even a subtle hint of petrol. On the palate you can taste some honey with some apple and apricot. I also tried this wine with a lemon cookie. What I found was it made the port taste brighter.
The red Port style wine is made with 100% Marechal Foch grapes, or Foch as I call it. This is a Ruby style a bit fruit forward. It was picked at 22 brix and has 5% residual sugar. It spent three days on the skins and a short time in oak.
Smokey cherry notes on the nose with some prune. Flavors of cherry, prune and subtle hint of raisin on palate with some candied apricot.
I pulled out the cookie platter for this tasting. The best pairing on the plate was the dark chocolate peanut butter covered pretzel. And just so you know, I did not eat everything on that plate.
**Disclaimer- I received the wines as a media sample from the Old York Cellars
