Disclosure: I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Kenwood Vineyards. I received product samples and a promotional item to thank me for my participation.
California wines are some of my favorites! Kenwood Vineyards is located in the heart of Sonoma and the land has been producing wines since the early 1900’s. They focus on small lot production and have a strong commitment to sustainability. 40% of their grapes come from their main vineyards with the remaining percentages come from trusted growers. With their commitment in the Sonoma Valley Kenwood is focusing on helping to end hunger this Thanksgiving season by donating $25,000 to WhyHunger.
With a goal to connect those in need with nutritious, affordable food WhyHunger is a great cause to support this time of year. I donated vegetables and dessert (because those are some of my favorite things on the Thanksgiving table) and every family deserves to have those. And while we don’t always have the most traditional of Thanksgiving dinner we do always make time to give back and to help those in need. The past few years we have spent our holiday traveling but this year we will be with close friends at a cabin up north making new traditions.
In addition to sharing the news about the donation to WhyHunger, Kenwood also sent some delicious wines to try. We tried the Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, Sonoma Chardonnay and Zinfandel.
The pinot noir was perfect for a snowy, cold afternoon. If I just want to relax with a glass of wine I often turn to pinot noir. It tends to be a bit lighter with great fruit notes and a nice herbal finish. I love it with salmon or chicken too! Regular retail price on this is $20, but you can find it on sale at most liquor stores. Scott and I enjoyed this Monday night curled up by the fire. It was cold (a whole 11 degrees) and this was perfect with leftover chicken.
My favorite Kenwood wine was the zinfandel. Kenwood uses a variety of growers and some of the wine in this vintage comes from vines that have been producing grapes since the 1940’s and I love hearing about the history. The use of both French and American oak in this wine give it a great complexity. And I’ve seen this under $14 a quite a few places. This is a great everyday wine. And to be fair to the Chardonnay, it’s true to the California style. Chardonnay is not my thing. Nor are buttery or oakey. And this is both. If you like that in a chardonnay you would love the Kenwood. At around $14 this is also a pretty good value.
Not wanting to waste any of the wine (that is just wrong), I used the chardonnay to make a chicken dish with. Half the bottle was for the marinade and another 3/4 cup went to deglazing the pan. That left about a glass for each Scott and I. We enjoyed those glasses and especially loved the chicken. That feels like a win/win to me.