Naggiar Grapes in Featured Wines at Charity Event in Lake Tahoe

The Wine on the Water event at the Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe benefitted the Boys & Girls Club of North Lake Tahoe and gave the opportunity to taste wonderful wines and nibble on hallmark foods from some of Lake Tahoe’s best chefs.   It was a sunny day and moderately hot there on the lawn near the Hyatt’s great Lone Eagle Grill restaurant.

Among the wines were some with great fruit sourced from Nevada County in the Sierra Foothills.

The 2009 L’Ingenue from Elyse sources its fruit from Naggiar vineyards near Grass Valley in the Sierra Foothills.  This is an exquisite white Rhone blend of 40% Roussane, 34% Marsanne, 20% Viognier and 6% Grenache Blanc.    “Aromas of honeysuckle, lycee nuts, peaches and a hint of orange zest. Explosive fruit flavors,” notes the winemaker.  14.6 percent alcohol.   $28/bottle.

Another lovely Rhone blend from Elyse is the 2007 C’Est Si Bon, also sourced from Naggiar vineyards.  This red blend is a fruit, berry-flavored wine, with low tannin and, I confess, very much my favorite style in a Rhone blend.  The blend is 46% Grenache, 26% Mourvedre, 18% Syrah, 5% Cinsault, 4% Counoise and 1% Viognier.    I am a pushover for Châteauneuf-du-Pape lookalikes, and the Counoise grape is the grape is a key component of many of these wines.  Legend has it that Counoise was introduced from Spain into France  and it was offered it  Pope Urban V when the papacy was based in Avignon in the mid-14th century.  This yummy  wine from Elyse is 14.4 percent alcohol,  $28/bottle.

The Hyatt Regency at Incline Village is located at 111 Country Club Drive, Incline Village, NV.  All proceeds from this event are donated to the Boys & Girls Club of North Lake Tahoe.

To read a longer report on this event, originally published in The Tahoe Weekly, click here