Year Of The Sparkling Dragon
Year Of The Sparkling Dragon
Iron Horse Vineyards creates sparkling cuvee for booming Chinese market
When Bill and Hilary Clinton honored Chinese president Jiang Zemin at a White House State Dinner in 1997, they discussed world affairs over foaming flutes of Iron Horse Vineyards sparkling wine.
The wine’s mousse was memorable. Fifteen years later, Iron Horse, a small, family-owned winery in Sonoma’s Green Valley, has created a vintage cuvee exclusively for the Chinese market, where wine consumption has more than doubled since 2005 according to Vinexpo, a French industry organization.
The 2007 Iron Horse Chinese Cuvee, which shipped to Beijing last month in time for Chinese New Year, was created to celebrate the Year of the Dragon. The label is fiery red and golden yellow – the colors of the Chinese flag – and bilingual. The character for dragon is featured on a fan at the neck of the bottle.
The limited-edition bubbly, a blend of 75 percent chardonnay and 25 percent pinot noir, retails for $98 and features a spicy lift, citrus notes, and a long, creamy finish. According to the winery, it was made to pair with Chinese cuisine and will most likely be sold to celebrities and entrepreneurs. Plans are to create a Chinese Cuvee every year.
Nice for the winery that 2014 is the year of the horse.
What is your favorite Chinese food and wine pairing? Tell us below.
Tags: Iron Horse Vineyards, Sonoma, Green Valley
