Wine Wednesday – District Winery + Amber Wine

Wine Wednesday is where we discuss wines we’ve recently enjoyed, or not enjoyed, as the case may be. Because we are not wine experts, these “reviews” will be written in the typical B.S. style. We don’t take ourselves, or our wine, too seriously but hope you’ll enjoy our perspectives and maybe find a new bottle of wine to enjoy.

I’ve got some really fun wines for you for this round of Wine Wednesday, so let’s get started!

District Winery Cuvée Noir NV

In case you haven’t heard, DC’s first winery, District Winery, opened in Navy Yard this month and of course we had to take a taste. These wines were actually produced in their sister facility, Brooklyn Winery, but they’ve already begun making wine in the DC location and I can’t wait to taste those when they’re released.

We went with friends for a tasting and a tour of the new digs. District Winery purchases grapes from all over the country, allowing you to taste from wine regions across the U.S. in a single location. While I tend to prefer estate wineries, I think this is a really fun concept for us city dwelling wine lovers. Overall, we had a good experience and walked away with a couple of wines we liked. Up first, this Cuvée Noir – a nice, medium-bodied red blend with notes of jammy red fruit and a silky finish.

B.S. Bottom Line: This is a great alternative to Pinot Noir. Quite versatile with food, but nice on its own as well.

District Winery Dry Rosé 2016

We found another favorite in the dry rosé, made from grapes from Madera, California. It is a little pricier than I tend to spend on an every-day rosé, but supporting a new business was worth it.

B.S. Bottom Line: With notes of ripe strawberry and tangerine and a crisp finish, this is a great wine to finish out the summer.

Ribafreixo Barrancôa 2013

Tom and I celebrated our four-year anniversary in August. It’s our tradition to drink a wine from the year we got married on our anniversary, so we were happy to pop the cork on this 2013 Ribafreixo Barrancôa. We picked this up at Cleveland Park Wine & Spirits after doing a tasting with the owner of Ribafreixo. He even signed the bottle for us, which made it feel extra special on our anniversary.

This bold Portuguese red is a blend of Aragonez, Trincadeira and Alicante Bouschet grapes. It has a lot of structure and notes of smoke and leather. We enjoyed it over a celebratory steak dinner and couldn’t have been happier. It’s a great value too! I think we got it for around $14.
B.S. Bottom Line: Lovers of Cab and Merlot will enjoy this big red. Although we saved it for a special occasion, the price makes it accessible for every day.

Orgo RKATSITELI 2014

I enjoyed this bottle at a recent girls’ night dinner at Maketto, at the suggestion of our server. While I’m still new to the orange or amber wine game, the Orgo Rkatsitelli dry amber has piqued my interest. Amber wines are white wines made in the style of red wines (kind of the opposite of rosé, made from red grapes but taking on characteristics of white wine). While white wines typically have no contact with the grape skins during the winemaking process, amber wines are left in contact with the skins to add tannic structure to the wine. This wine was fermented with skin contact for six months, resulting in its dark orange color. Typically, the longer the skin contact the deeper the color.

Amber wine is very versatile, pairing equally well with crystal shrimp dumplings as it did with a hearty short rib dish. It was also fun to try a Georgian wine. I’ve had Rkatsitelli from Virginia before, but never from Georgia where it originated.

B.S. Bottom Line: If you’ve yet to try orange/amber wine – go for it! Better yet, head to Maketto and try it there.