The Wine Enthusiast on Volcanic Wines:

The Wine Enthusiast on Volcanic Wines:

Just one percent of the world’s surface is covered in volcanic soil, but more and more vineyards are cropping up on this ash-enriched earth. We’ll meet the man who’s heating up the volcanic-wine movement with an exciting annual event. We’ll find out why it isn’t just volcanic wine’s soil that’s complex. And we’ll hear from some of the most celebrated producers in this burgeoning wine movement.

Mike DeSimone:  …So you brought over a glass of wine from Lake County for me to drink. Why don’t you tell me what it is that we have here?

Maria Brunn, Lake County Wine Association: In front of us right now we have the 2010 Hawk and Horse Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s from the Red Hills Lake County AVA. I’ve been up on a vineyard tour. They have two separate vineyard sites. One’s at a little lower elevation, then they have one that’s at 2200 feet. They’re on these gently rolling hills, and from up there you’ve got the red soil, you’ve got these beautiful little crystals that pop up. They’re called Lake County diamonds. They’re biodynamically farmed. They were the first in Lake County, I believe. From day one they were organic and biodynamic and they’ve worked really hard to just craft these beautiful Cabernets.

MDS:  So let’s give this a taste. It’s a nice Cabernet. So Maria, what would you eat with that?

MB: To be honest, I would pair this with a beautifully rare steak. It would also go really well with charcuterie. You could sit and drink this, honestly in the afternoon. It’s so nicely made. It’s so well balanced.

MDS:  You know what, you got me there. So actually, cause I think of charcuterie, that’s kind of like an Italian breakfast, and our bacon cheeseburger is our lunch, and then we’ll have that rare steak for dinner. It sounds like we have our day all set, what do you think?

MB: I think that sounds like a great plan.