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Cabernet Sauvignons

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What is special about Cabernet Sauvignon

This is a quick overview of the most celebrated red wine variety in the world, the highly-respected Cabernet Sauvignon.

What is Cabernet Sauvignon?

Cabernet Sauvignon is the king of red grapes – it is a full-bodied red with a powerful and well-structure character. It is one of the two most popular wine in the global wine market today. (The other dominant wine variety is Chardonnay – the queen).

Cabernet-Sauvignon-grapes-in-the-harvest-season

Cabernet Sauvignon has a dark purplish skin – thicker skin than Pinot Noir grapes.

You might like to read our article on: The special medium-bodied red wine – Pinot Noir.

Where is the origin of Cabernet Sauvignon?

It’s of French origin in Bordeaux (primarily on the left bank of the river Gironde), France. Its pedigree is founded in the soil of the Medoc in the heart of Bordeaux wine region.

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Where are the growing regions for Cabernet Sauvignon?

Besides growing in the Bordeaux regions in France, other growing regions include California, Oregon and Washington states in US, Tuscany in Italy, Australia, Chile and China.

What does Cabernet Sauvignon wine taste like?

The classic Cabernet Sauvignon has a prominent taste of black currants, black plums and oak-related scents.

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The longer it stays in the oak barrel, it tends to have more distinguished notes of cigar-boxes and cedar wood.

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The younger variety of Cabernet Sauvignon from California has taste of blackberries and more jam-like preserved fruits notes, and less oak-related scents.

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When a Cabernet Sauvignon is aged in its bottle for 3 to 5 years, it can take on aromas like warm leather and dark chocolates, and ever-so-slightly scent of cardamom.

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How much is a bottle of good Cabernet Sauvignon?

A good bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon ranges from $1000 to $40. Here are some great vintages we have recently enjoyed with friends and family:

  • A premium choice: Opus One 2016 (priced around $1000). This full-bodied has beautiful deep garnet-purple color, with undercurrent of spicy cardamom. It’s the smoothest red we’ve sampled this year.
  • Another premium selection: Chateau Lafite Rothschild Pauillac, 2015 (prices around $1500). This is a complex and bold Cabernet Sauvignon from Bordeaux. It truly represents a structured red with firm tannins and impressive dark-fruits notes.
  • A great-value find: Stag’s Leap SLV Cabernet Sauvignon, 2016 (priced around $150). This is a medium bodied red with jammy taste of blackberries, spicy note of black pepper and warm cassis undercurrent.
  • An affordable choice: Chateau Buena Vista Cabernet Napa, 2018 (priced around $35). This is a full-bodied fruity red showcases the minerals in the Napa valley soil. It has high tannins and medium-high acidity.

What food is good with Cabernet Sauvignon?

Cabernet Sauvignon is bold and rich – it ranks high in acidity, alcohol and tannins. You want food with strong characters to go with this wine.

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Red meat such as beef, lamb and venison pairs well with Cabernet Sauvignon. Heavy sauce using cabernet sauvignon in its reduction also pairs well.

You might like to read our article on: wine paring with Steak Diane.

What is a good serving temperature for Cabernet Sauvignon?

Serve Cabernet Sauvignon around 65° Fahrenheit or 18° Celsius. The slightly warmer temperature here brings out its bold characters and level of tannins the best.

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Remember to leave some room in your glass to swirl the wine, and observe the “legs” of the wine. Use a glass with a narrower mouth – it will retain the aroma better.

Final Thoughts:

Why is Cabernet Sauvignon so special? Because:

  1. It is considered the King of red grape by wine producers, merchants and red wine drinkers globally.
  2. Its adaptability to grow in a variety of soil around the world is impressive.
  3. It is capable to develop gracefully as it ages in a bottle (a great attribute priced by wine collectors).
  4. It pairs beautifully with red meats, and heavy and flavorful sauces.
  5. It represents the noble character of a strong, bold and structure red wine variety.

cabernet-sauvignon-grapes-from-northern-california

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What to drink with Steak Diane

Growing up, my Dad always made ribeye steaks on the grill for us. But we would always have pan-fried fillet steaks (Steak Diane) for dinner whenever great-Grandma Diane or Grandpa Jack was visiting with us. Let me tell you about my great-Grandma, Diane – she was an elegant lady from New York City back in the 1920s. I always remember our sophisticated great-Grandma Diane (who lived till the graceful age of 97) – she is still one of the best dressed ladies I’ve ever known.

According to my grandpa, Jack, ‘Steak Diane’ was great-Grandma Diane’s favorite. Nowadays my husband and I are the designated ‘Steak Diane’ hosts for our family.

I suppose there are many versions of ‘Steak Diane’. Our family recipe uses steak fillet, seared on the pan. We use the steak pan juice to make our steak sauce which includes butter, shallots, cremini mushrooms, garlic, beef stock, red wine, cognac, Worcestershire sauce, and Dijon mustard. Our sides are potatoes and mixed greens. We make ‘Steak Diane’ at least once a year on great-Grandma Diane’s birthday. We coined it ‘Jack & Diane Day” to honor great-Grandma Diane and her son, our Grandpa Jack. And, of course, we have compiled a playlist of the ‘Jazz age’ from 1920s to accompany our evening of celebration of life.

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This set of pairings below is what we drink with ‘Steak Diane’ in our family gathering of ‘Jack & Diane Day” and, we always have the best time making our toasts to our elegant late great-Grandma Diane.

Here are our pairings to ‘Steak Diane’:

  • Cognac – Grandpa Jack’s choice.
  • Tennessee Whiskey – Dad’s choice.
  • Canadian Whiskey – Mom’s choice.
  • Earthy, not-aged Cabernet Sauvignons – my brother & my sister-in-law, my sister & my brother-in-law, my husband and my choices.

So, do we have the right pairings for our family version of ‘Steak Diane’? The fillet steak we use is seasoned with kosher salt and coarse ground black peppercorns, then it is pan-seared to medium rare. Our steak sauce is earthy, essence of steak and cognac. Our pairing is to complement our beautiful sauce.

  • Cognac works. It complements the sauce, as it was flambéed with cognac.
  • Tennessee Whiskey works. I don’t want to disagree with my Dad’s Jack Daniel’s. Jack Daniel’s uses charred oak barrels in its maturing process.
  • Canadian whiskey. My Mom is always right.
  • Earthy but not-aged Cabernet Sauvignons works. We usually have vintages from Napa, Sonoma and Wala Wala Valley. Our family members live in Northern California and Washington. We pick up boutique wines from various wineries that we have visited during the weekends. Then we sample and share our wines with friends and family on dinner gatherings at our home. As you have probably guessed – we love to cook and entertain at our home. (Our guests always stay at our home after dinners, and leave after breakfast in the morning. No ‘drink and drive’ for us.)

 Fun note:  I always keep the wine corks whenever we dine with Grandpa Jack – time spent with our loved ones are cherished memories.

Why do we pick not-aged Cabernet Sauvignons to pair with our version of ‘Steak Diane’?

  • We want a Cabernet Sauvignon that has a less predominant flavor of acid or tannin, but notes of currant or blackberry that would complement our ‘Steak Diane’. Hence our preference of Northern California Cabernet Sauvignons that are (in general) less austere but still rich yet soft. Of course, each wine maker has his/her intent of what characteristics are for their wines (in addition to the characters of a wine region); there are many Northern California Cabernet Sauvignons that are structured and aged in Bordeaux style.
  • We want a not-aged Cabernet Sauvignons. Sometimes (again, in general) an aged Cabernet Sauvignons can be oaky. We don’t want other prominent flavor to dominate our beautiful and earthy steak sauce.

You might like to read our article on: The king of red wine – Cabernet Sauvignon.

Quick tips about serving Cabernet Sauvignons:

  • Temperature. In our opinion, many people tend to serve red wine too warm using a rule that says serving red wine in room temperature. We cannot image a room in the Arizona desert will have the same temperature as a room in the Scottish highlands. We find that red wine serving at 65°F works the best.
  • Wine glasses. You have the right wine paired with your star entrée, you want to serve your wine with the right glass at this memorable dinner. Glass body shape and mouth matter. Choose a red wine glass (view on Amazon) with an oval-shaped body (bowl) that is narrow at its mouth for your many red wines such as Cabernet Sauvignons, Bordeaux, and Merlot.
  • How full to fill up the glass? You want to leave room to swirl and smell the wine. For red wine, one-third or a hint over that will give you margin to swirl and not to spill.

P.S. On another day, we will share with you – our Bordeaux cabernet sauvignons pairing for ‘Steak Au Poivre’.