What wine to pair with your PBS show: Downton Abbey Wine releases new varieties

Would a British countess drink Chardonnay? Maybe if she was really a Yank.

Just in time for the fifth season of “Downton Abbey� (which started Jan. 4), Downton Abbey Wines is releasing two new varieties that will make up their Countess of Grantham Collection, a Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay.

Both wines, made from California grapes, are a nod to the character of American-born Lady Cora Crawley, played by Elizabeth McGovern on the popular PBS series.

The wines, both from Lodi, are billed as “bold-flavored� and “fruit-forward.� The Cabernet is described as having scents of ripe red cherries and subtle oak, with spicy notes and soft vanilla on the palate. The Chardonnay offers “lovely aromas� of tropical fruits and delicate oak, giving way to citrus flavors on a soft palate.

Last year, the company debuted two bottles of wine from France’s Bordeaux region: Blanc, a “light and crisp white blend,� and Claret, a “medium-bodied red.� French Bordeaux was “the wine of choice amongst the British nobility in Edwardian England,� Downton Abbey Wine’s website explains.

We have to admit, the simpering, Cincinnati-born Lady Cora (nee Levinson) is probably our least-favorite character on “Downton.� It kind of doesn’t surprise us that she would prefer quaffing Chardonnay while her to-the-manor-born offspring sip their claret.

For Downton Abbey Wines’ next outing, we would love to see wines based on Lady Cora’s three daughters, though: a Snobby Shiraz for the cold-and-white-as-ice Mary, a Pouty Port for the matrimonially challenged Edith and a Romantic Riesling for the marrying-down-and-dying-young Sybil.

The new wines will be available at select retailers (including World Market) across the United States this month and retail for $15. To check on the availability of the Countess of Grantham Collection, go to downtonabbeywine.com.

What we are really waiting for is a Dowager Countess of Grantham Violet Crawley Gin to match the elderly matriarch’s dry wit. Just perfect with an acerbic twist of lime.