Temecula Tours Wineries SauternesI was asked recently if I’d like to try pairing sweet Sauternes with savory and spicy foods. I jumped at the chance. With a group of fellow writers, we tasted eight different Sauternes and paired them with various foods. We mixed and matched the wines with spicy beef jerky, Sriracha cashews, spicy Calabrese, beet and sweet potato chips and more. It was truly a revelation. It’s easy to see what Sauternes are also referred to as Golden Bordeaux.

Sauternes comes from the Bordeaux region of France and is a white wine made with grapes infected with botrytis, also called noble rot. The result is a sweet wine that is elegant in the mouth, extremely food friendly and lasts literally for months after opening. The most famous is of course from Château d’Yquem, which can cost into the thousands of dollars per bottle. The ones we tasted were quite reasonable, each 375 ml bottle was well under $50, most in fact between $20 and $30.

After the tasting, which included wines from Loupiac, Cadillac and Sauternes, I put the wines in the fridge and pulled them out more than a month later to share at a Bordeaux tasting. The wines tasted every bit as good as they did the day I opened them. If you’re not able to finish a bottle in one evening, no sweat. They’ll hold for several months refrigerated.

winery tour temecula SauternesThe wines we tasted were

Château Manos Cadillac 2016 
Château Loupiac-Gaudiet 2016 
Château la Rame Sainte Croix du Mont 2015
Château du Cros Loupiac 2014
Château Dauphine Rondillon Loupiac 2011
Château Lapinesse Sauternes 2016
Château Filhot Sauternes 2015 
Castelnau de Suduiraut Sauternes 2006
Each was elegant with subtle differences on the nose and palate. The winter holidays are an ideal time to try these wonderful golden Bordeaux. Salut!

Tom Plant launched WINEormous in 2009 and is a member of the International Food Wine and Travel Writers Association. Based in Temecula, California, he offers intimate winery tours for no more than seven people. Tour details and pricing are available at www.temecula-tours.com. WINEormous is the recipient of the Luxury Travel Guide’s Wine Tour Operator of the Year award for Temecula 2015, 2016 and 2017 and the Lux Life Mag Best Customised Wine Tour Operator Temecula for 2019. Call now to book your Temecula Winery Tour at (951) 907-9701. Ask about special discounts.