Tasting Wines at Vora

With some friends visiting from out of town, we ventured out one recent evening to Vora. They have a wine list, so it only seemed right to start tasting as much as we could--especially since we had others with us to expand how many we could taste!

It's cold. Real cold. Red wine was calling our names, so we started picking some random wines off of their red wines by the glass. Here's some tasting notes on the reds we tried!

Christophe Patrice (Pinot Noir/Cesar), Irancy, France 2022

Most people are familiar with Pinot Noir, but have you heard of Cesar? It's a red grape from Burgundy, France, that makes real dark, tannic wines, so it's typically blended with the main red grape from Burgundy (Pinot Noir) to soften the Cesar and beef up the Pinot. The wine can't be labeled as a Burgundy, however, as French law says only straight Pinot can be labeled "Burgundy." There's your French law lesson for the day! This one smells lovely, like cherry pie, but it still has that dusty quality that most red wines from Burgundy do. You even get a little bit of black licorice in this. With that Cesar grape mixed in, it has a little more punch that many Pinots, but you still get a lot of the flavors of Pinot that people love.

Antoine Renlaume Bourgogne (Pinot Noir), Cote Chalonnaise, France 2021

If you're a fan of light red Burgundy wines, this is your wine. It smells like Pinot, with notes of cherries (to Katie, it smells like Maraschino cherries, though it tastes like tart cherries) as well as cloves and dusty earth. We were also struck by the smell of dried grasses, like on a warm, dry day out in a pasture.

Maisulan 12 (Tempranillo/Graciano), Rioja, Spain 2019

Of course, we had to try the wine from Rioja. There's just something wonderful about how these wines smell! This one reminded us of dried plums and cherries, caramel, and fresh leather. It has big flavor, with some slight herbal notes to it as well. Rioja is a good mix of the fruitiness of many California wines and the earthiness of many French wines, without too much of either!

Domaine Lambert (Cabernet Franc), Chinon, France 2022

Did you know that Cabernet Franc is the father of Cabernet Sauvignon? Cabernet Sauvignon comes from a cross between Cabernet Franc and, as you can probably guess, Sauvignon Blanc. Chinon is well known for growing Cab Franc, and these wines (this one included) often have a floral and herbal note to them, kind of like smelling potpourri. You can also, if really looking for it, pick up some green notes like asparagus or green bell pepper. Cabernet Franc has lighter tannins than it's child grape, so it's a fun, interesting floral, lighter red wine.

Tenuta La Pergola Monferrato Rosso, Piedmont, Italy 2021

Our whole table really liked this wine! It hails from Piedmont, Italy, which is well known for its big, powerful Nebbiolo wines, but this one is mostly Barbera with some other mixed in red grapes like Dolcetto and Bonarda, making it a lighter red wine option from Piedmont. This one strikes you as having bright red fruit in it, tasting like strawberries and even with some notes of a sweeter red pasta sauce (in a good way). This would be lovely with pasta in red sauce or pizza, though it was certainly also very lovely on its own. This was a crowd-pleaser, for sure!

Aranleon 'Solo' Tinto (Bobal/Syrah), Valencia, Spain 2019

This Spanish wine has interesting notes of blueberries and black plums. There's also some mineral details in there, like a gravel path after it rains. This one has more oak to it than any of those above, with more vanilla flavors, making it a little more akin to a California red wine.

Granville 'Basalt' Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon 2022

You gotta love wines that give you exactly what you want. This Oregon Pinot does just that: it smells and tastes like Pinot should, with tart cherry and clove notes. It's very smooth and easy to drink. It's not as earthy as the French Pinots, and leaning more towards its California cousins, it has some oak notes to it, like vanilla bean. Oregon Pinots are just so good!

Battuello Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, California 2018

Here's another wine that delivers exactly what you're looking for, if you like big Napa Cabernets. It has aspects of blackberry bramble, black plums, baking spices, and the American oak notes of vanilla and coconut. It's big and juicy and warms you right up!

We had a great time tasting at Vora, and now we need to go back, because there's more to taste! One of the things that's most fun about Vora's wine list (though we didn't get to it this time) is their Coravin list, where they have nicer bottles by the glass because they keep the bottles on a Coravin preservation system. It's a great way to get to have a glass of higher-price wine, without having to buy the whole bottle! Definitely go check it out. We most certainly will. Join us!