Julia's Vineyard 2011 Pinot Noir | Cambria Estate Wine & Asparagus and Bacon Bow-tie Pasta

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Cambria Estate Winery for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Cambria Estate Wines. It is intended for an audience 21 years and older. As always please drink responsibly.

As you all know, I'm always looking for a good wine to try. I was given the opportunity to try any Cambria Estate Wine, and after much thought on their selection of wines Cambria's unique wines (they make syrah, chardonnay, and pinot noir) I decided to try their famous Julia's Vineyard 2011 Pinot Noir. I normally am not a huge fan of Pinot Noir's unless they are from a good quality wine company, so it was my way to test Cambria Wines out and see how much I'd like it - and I must say, it was fantastic!

Cambria Estate Winery® is a company I've heard of before, I just hadn't tasted any of their wines. They are a family owned winery based out of Santa Maria, CA, located in Santa Barbara wine country and since they are an estate winery, they make wines from their own vineyards. They are a well-known winery and have received over 150 reviews of 90+ scores in the last 20 years Cambria's hand-crafted wines.

Their Julia's Vineyard 2011 Pinot Noir was incredibly easy to drink and had the perfect earthy, yet sweet taste. Here are the winemaker's notes found on the Cambria Estate Winery® website "Dark berry, earthy, and spicy aromas. In the mouth, the rich tannin structure creates a nicely textured wine with classic Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir flavor characteristics".
 


While researching their pinot noir, I saw that they said it paired best with asparagus and pork. One of my favorite things to eat with wine is pasta, so I thought why not make an asparagus and bacon pasta!



Asparagus and Bacon Bow-Tie Pasta
1 package of asparagus washed and cut into 2 inch pieces
1/2 package of bacon cut into strips
1/2 cup of parmesan cheese
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup of starchy pasta water (or as needed)

• In a large pot fill with water, add generous amount of salt and bring to boil
• Add in pasta of your choice (I used bow tie) and cook until al dente 
• While pasta is cooking, cook bacon until crispy, then take pieces out
• Add asparagus to bacon grease and cook enough to cook through, but still have a bite
• Drain pasta (reserve some water incase pasta is dry)
• Add asparagus (without grease) to pasta
• Add white wine to grease and let it cook down for a minute or so scraping any bits of bacon from pan
• While the wine simmers, add bacon and parmesan cheese to the pasta
• Pour wine/grease mixture to pasta and mix
• Serve immediately and enjoy!

The Julia's Vineyard Pinot Noir went so well with the pasta, not to mention the pasta was SO good!
I hope you all give this wine and recipe a try - I have no doubt that you will love it! Visit the Cambria blog for terrific recipes, DIY tips and news from the Cambria Estate Winery Vineyards.