Say Howdy, Valentines, to the Year of the Horse with Four Brix’s Scosso

January’s Full Moon ushered in a month of celebrations for the Chinese Year of the Horse which closes with the full moon over Valentine’s Weekend.

timthumbOne of the ways I’m recognizing the Year of the Horse is toasting the new year and the full moon with this bottle of Scosso from Four Brix, a winery based in my hometown of Ventura and which sources fruit from throughout the state.

Scosso has a very festive ruby pink color–perfect for Valentine’s Day! Made from  central coast grown grapes of 63% Sangiovese from the McGourty Vineyards in the Adelaida region in Westside Paso Robles, plus 31% Cabernet sauvignon, and 6% merlot, the 2009 blend offers spice and blackberry, structure and tannins without being overwhelming meaning.

A bit reserved at first, the second night the wine blossomed nicely, releasing more aromatics of blackberry and cherry. I was quite surprised to see that this well-balanced wine has a 15.1% alcohol because it does not taste “hot” at all and it is certainly not a fruit bomb so it will pair well with a variety of dishes.

While I enjoyed it with a gourmet turkey burger with an heirloom cherokee tomato, arugala, and blue cheese one night and a caprese fresh garlic pizza on another, it could definitely handle richer, more elegant fare including game. While not sweet, it has enough fruit that it would be a delicious wine with a dessert cheese plate of dried fruit, nuts and cheeses with a few salted dark chocolate almonds!

Retailing at $37, this wine was a birthday gift from Que Syrah Sue who is a club member there. She really enjoys the pickup parties and other events they hold that include music and food trucks. I’d been saving it for the right special occasion, then decided that I was done waiting!

Four Brix was established in 2008 by three couples who wanted to make four distinctive wines from four wine regions of the world: the super Tuscan Scosso (Italy), Rhonedezvous’s rhone blend (France),  Temptress (Spanish rioja style), Zeductive which is mostly zinfandel with some petite sirah. I met them in 2009 when they attended the Wine Bloggers Confernece and they landed on the bus I was hosting! While they are staying true to  their original vision, they’ve expanded into other excitements including bubbles and a delicious port style wine!

Winemaker Gary Stewart and his team of family and friends currently produce around 2400 cases total which they make and sell at their cozy Tasting Room located at 2290 Eastman Ave., 109 Ventura, CA 93003. Telephone: 805-256-6006.

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Want to try the Scosso yourself? While you can drop by Four Brix at this weekend’s  Valentine n’ Wine (Friday February 14-17)  unfortunately the 2009 and the 2010 are sold out; the 2011 will be released in March at a debut party. join their club and you’ll be invited!

Even without Scosso being the perfect Year of the Horse wine, you’ll enjoy the Valentine n Wine Passport event; I have! I missed out last year but I attended in 2011 and 2012.

For $50, you can sample a tasting flight at each of their wineries over the course of four days. You’d spend $110 if you paid the tasting fee at each of these participating wineries:

Camarillo Custom Crush
Cantara Cellars
Four Brix Winery
Herzog Wine Cellars
Magnavino Cellars
Panaro Brothers Winery
Plan B Wine Cellars

Valentine‘n Wine Passports Include:

  1. Wine Tasting flight at eight wineries (approx. five wines each)
  2. One-of-a-kind food-pairings at many locations.
  3. Wine purchase specials at many locations.
  4. Your passport is valid Friday February 14 thru Monday February 17, 2014 during each participating winery’s normal business hours.
  5. Visit www.vcwines.com for a current event map and winery list

Are you heading out to Valentine n Wine this weekend? If you’re go on Monday, maybe I’ll see you! Please say hello!

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