Bottling: 2005 La Coppa Syrah

Region: California

Sub-Region: Santa Ynez Valley

Estimated Retail Price: $19 (Winery price)

Purchase Details: Purchased for approximately $16 at Arlequin Wine Merchant in the Hayes Valley neighborhood of San Francisco, California.

Tasting Notes: Blackberry and boysenberry flavors with an herbal, rosemary like finish.  There was a grainy textural quality that I find very appealing and more often than not, I find this quality in wines that also possess a “delicious” quality, the kind that makes you just want to go back to the well over and over again.

I haven’t had a wine like this in awhile and it was exciting to be drinking it.  I’ve tasted many wonderful wines that were well-crafted, impressive and downright outstanding.  There are few wines I’ve tasted though, that had the same quality this syrah had to make me want to drink it in the same voracious manner in which I would eat a can of Pringles.  Was there MSG in this wine, I wonder?

Food Pairing & Context in Which to Enjoy: How about a nice juicy rib-eye, or portobello mushroom if you’re a vegetarian, with a red wine reduction sauce.  I’m also thinking of braised short ribs on a creamy bed of risotto.

Winery & Other Background Information: I forget how good the wines from this winery are.  I haven’t had the opportunity to taste their wares that often, but when I do I’m always so impressed.  They’re dense, flavorful and always well-balanced.  The wine making duties are handled by Sashi Moorman, who definitely has quite the touch.  Along with having his own label Piedrasassi, he also assists in crafting the fine wines of the Evening Land project, a line of ultra-premium, high-end Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays from vineyards in both California and Oregon.

Winery:

Bottling: 2008 Sonoma County Chardonnay

Region: California

Sub-Region: Sonoma

Estimated Retail Price: $20

Purchase Details: A good buddy of mine with whom I used to work with procured this bottle for me.  Based on the many conversations we had about wine, he felt strongly that I would really like Lioco’s wines, so he bought it for me from the company his wife works for.  Thanks Mark, Lioco can now count me as a lifetime fan.

Tasting Notes: On the nose, the Lioco chardonnay gave off very fresh floral and tropical notes.  In the mouth, I loved the play and intensity of the tropical fruit flavors with the creamy mouth feel along with the fresh finish from the underlying acidity.   Although utterly delicious on its own, I just know that if this chardonnay were drunk alongside food from India or Thailand, a wine and food pairing nirvana would be attained.

The back label displaying the wine's nutritional info and instructions for enjoyment.

Food Pairing & Context in Which to Enjoy: This wine tastes nothing like a wine from Alsace, but if you treated it like one and drunk it alongside the types of Asian cuisine that typically pair well with Alsatian wines, I have no doubt that it would be a hit.  Think Thai, Indian and Malaysian food.  Mmm mmm good!

Winery & Other Background Information: From what I’ve tasted so far, I’m really digging the wines this company turns out.  Their wines have a sort of restrained and refined exuberance, if that makes any sense.  They possess flavor and texture profiles that are pure, alive and real.  Simply put, they’re well-made and very well-balanced.

I don’t know much about “natural wine-making” techniques, (for it’s what Lioco and increasingly what many other wine companies are preaching as their style) but winemaker Kevin Kelly makes wines that I would envision as the closest thing to the concept of what “natural wine making” would produce.

Bottling: 2004 Le Cigare Volant (35% Syrah, 38% Grenache, 12% Mourvedre, 8% Carignane, 7% Cinsault)

Region: California

Sub-Region: Santa Cruz Mountains

Estimated Retail Price: $30 – $35

Purchase Details: Purchased for $44 off the wine menu at Spork SF in the Mission District neighborhood of San Francisco.  A great deal considering restaurant pricing.

Tasting Notes: In the glass, pretty violet hues.  On the nose, spices and wild berries.  In the mouth, flavors of cherry, blueberry, pepper and dried herbs.  Tightly wound and taut tannins and a fairly long finish.  I think this wine has a nice blend of savory and sweet flavor components.  The sweet kirsch flavors are very apparent as well as the spiciness and meatiness of the wine and they work very well together to balance out the wine and give it a little yin and yang flavor dance.

This is a new world wine with an old-world sensibility that can easily age for several more years.  I think its worth having several bottles lying around the home cellar.

Food Pairing & Context in Which to Enjoy: We had this with a dish of piping hot steak stroganoff.  It was a nice pairing.  The dish had the same combination of sweet and savory as the wine and made for a great food and wine pairing explosion in the mouth.

Winery & Other Background Information: Le Cigare Volant is winemaker Randall Graham’s homage to the wines of Chateauneuf du Pape.  It’s a wine that solidified Bonny Doon’s reputation as a quality producer of Cal-Rhone inspired wines and allowed it to develop a loyal and cult following of consumers in the 80’s and 90’s.

Although I’ve known about this wine for some time now, as it used to be a powerhouse value in the mid-80s, I never had the chance to drink it until recently.  Upon researching the wine, I found that it had a reputation of being a super concentrated wine that held it’s weight and intensity well with a good tannin and acid structure.  In other words, it was intense, but un-heavy.

Although I enjoyed the Le Cigare Volant a lot, it didn’t fit the description of what this wine supposedly used to be.  The biggest knock on it is that it never maintained its quality once the winery started to ramp up production of all their wines.  With the recent sale of their Big House and Cardinal Zin brands though, the winery intends to re-focus their efforts on wines like the Le Cigare Volant.  I missed out on the eighties versions, so I’m excited to see this wine return to form in future vintages.

If you’ve just stumbled across this blog through your search for a wine, thanks for visiting and we hope you come back often.

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Bottling: 2006 Pineau d’Aunis “Le Verre des Poetes”

Importer: Metropolis Wine Merchants

Region: France

Sub-Region: Loire Valley

Estimated Retail Price: $20

Purchase Details: Purchased for around $20 from Arlequin Wine Merchant in Hayes Valley neighborhood of San Francisco, California.

Tasting Notes: In the glass, crimson and violet hues.  Not too much of a perceptible aroma or nose.  I get a little bit of plum, blueberry and an aroma that’s almost synthetic in nature.  In the mouth, the wine is not very expressive as far as fruit flavors go.  It’s a little more mineral and dirt driven.

The intriguing thing about this wine are the flavors I’m getting on the very impressionable finish.  Its a very floral, and again, very synthetic in nature flavor that reminds me of some sort of chemical.  Some minty, herbal flavors are also present.  The wine is very dry and has a very firm and austere mouth-feel.

The wine was a lot more drinkable on the second day and still had a very fresh flavor to it as if it had only been opened a few hours before.

Food Pairing & Context in Which to Enjoy: I hate to say this, but this is definitely a food wine.  I know its sort of a cop out by me, describing it this way, but I really think that’s the best way to enjoy this wine.  Earthy foods and game meats would fare well here.

Winery & Other Background Information: Another blogger, Deb Harkness describes this wine a lot better than I can, and really hits the nail on the head when she articulates it like this:

Pineau d’Aunis is at its best–like many wines–with food. This is not really a stand-alone wine unless you are wanting to come to terms with it on an intellectual level. This is only going to work with food, and then think about something earthy like mushrooms, truffles, beans, and charcuterie.

The grape is native to the Loire Valley and is often used to make sparkling wines.  I’d love to try one to see how the flavors from the dry red wine translate into the sparkling version.  Its not often you see a grape like this, so if you’re the type with an adventurous palate, then you should surely try it if you ever see it on a shelf or on a wine list.

Bottling: 2007 Barbera Santa Barbara County

Region: California

Sub-Region: Santa Barbara

Estimated Retail Price: $22

Purchase Details: Purchased for $20 plus tax from Blackwell’s Wines & Spirits in the Richmond District neighborhood of San Francisco, California.

Tasting Notes: In the glass, I’m staring at a pretty dark and opaque ruby red hue.  On the nose, the wine smells fresh and alive.  Aromatic scents of lavender, dried thyme, red fruits and raspberries.  In the mouth, wow!  Again the wine just feels alive.  Flavors of red and blue fruits like pomegranate, raspberries and blueberries tango in my mouth. (geez that was cheesy).  A tart, but fleshy finish ends the ride.

A well-balanced wine that really drinks well now, but could definitely cellar for a few years.  Absolutely delicious!  That’s the best way to sum up the flavor experience with the 2007 Palmina Barbera.

Food Pairing & Context in Which to Enjoy: We had this with a homemade bbq chicken pizza, which I proudly display in this post, and the wine was fantastic with it.  It’s a zesty wine, so it will pair well with a lot of with sweet, savory and earthy foods.

Great white shark sized hunks taken from the pizza indicate that the wine and pizza pairing was most likely delicious.

Winery & Other Background Information: Palmina Winery is owned by husband and wife team Steve and Chrystal Clifton.  They carry no formal education and background in wine making.  In fact Steve’s background is as a musician and Chrystal’s I believe is in art.  Reading stories like theirs are great reminders to me and should be to anyone aspiring to get into the wine business that anything is possible.  Career changes are pretty commonplace in this business.

The winery focuses on producing a host of Italian varietals from arneis to nebbiolo and even to ancient varietal like refosco.  They are captivated not only by the food and wine of Italy, but the way of life emphasizing family, friends and togetherness.  A quote from their website accurately sums up their wine making style:

“They are not trying to emulate the Italian versions of those grapes, but rather interpret the styles to the growing conditions and vineyard sites of the very unique characteristics of Santa Barbara County.  The wines are Italian by tradition and modern by design and all are designed to be an extension of the plate.”

Bottling: 2008 Le Saint Andre Vin de Pays du Var Rose (Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Cinsault & Grenache)

Importer: Paul M. Young Fine Wines

Region: France

Sub-Region: Vin de Pays du Var

Estimated Retail Price: $14

Purchase Details: Purchased from Solano Cellars in Albany, California for $13.50.

Tasting Notes: Very pale coral and salmon hue in the glass.  On the nose, delicate aromas of roses and mineral.  In the mouth and interestingly enough, this rose has flavors that are more reminiscent of white wines.  Apples and white peaches are the main flavors I remember tasting.  Unripe Safeway strawberries added actual rose flavors.  A very light-weight mouth feel and a crisp, dry finish complete the wine.
They also make another rose, the 2008 Cotes de Provence Magali, which we had a few months ago. The information on the website says that the fruit for both wines are sourced from the same vineyards and regions, so I’m not too sure what the differences are between the two wines besides the packaging and slightly differing taste styles.  This wine had a very similar flavor profile as the other except that it was a little lighter in body and a little drier.  I’ll just go ahead and conclude that the Signature series is a “better” line based on the more specific Provence AOC recognition.

The scallop, corn and arugula salad went oh so nicely with the Saint Andre.

Food Pairing & Context in Which to Enjoy: In my review of the winery’s other rose, I state that one must be a little careful with what you pair with the wine because it was so delicate.  With this Vin de Pays du Var being even more delicate than the Cotes de Provence, you need to be even more careful with what you pair with this wine.

Winery & Other Background Information: Alain Combard, an aviator by trade, bought this estate and vineyards in 1991 after working and training with fellow vintner Michel Laroche of Chablis for over 22 years.

I got a nice warm fuzzy kind of feel when I visited the website of this estate.  It’s a family run company that has some member of the family either tending the vines, answering the phone, managing distribution or chasing down the children in the vineyards.  They also make a host of other wines on the estate with reds based on the mourvedre, syrah and cinsault grapes and white wines on vermentino, semillon and ugni blanc.

Unfortunate zuchinni in the background, awaiting their fate.

Winery: Chateau Trinquevedel

Bottling: 2008 Tavel Rose

Importer: Kermit Lynch Wine Merchants

Region: France

Sub-Region:  Tavel, Southern Rhone Valley

Estimated Retail Price: $17

Purchase Details: Purchased directly from Kermit Lynch Wine Merchants in Berekeley, California for around $17.

Tasting Notes: In the glass, a saturated and intense, dark pink hue.  On the nose, ripe red stone fruits and ripe strawberries.  In the mouth, flavors of ripe strawberry and spice.  The wine is firm, rich and juicy and has a dry tea like, but surprisingly refreshing finish.  Although the fruit takes center stage here, the wine never seems heavy or cloying and retains a nice fresh quality.

I’m not sure what the grape make up is on this particular Tavel, but the grapes that are typically used include grenache, syrah, cinsault, mouvedre and carignan (not to exceed more than 10%).  Also, not one grape can exceed more than 60% of the blend.

Food Pairing & Context in Which to Enjoy: This wine can certainly take on the robustness of backyard bbq fare, but it will also pair nicely with an anti-oxidant rich piece of grilled salmon.  Oh yeah, drink it on its own as well

Winery & Other Background Information: Rose from Tavel have a reputation as being the most famous in France.  The fact that it is the only appellation in France whose sole wine is rose explains why.  The roses from Tavel are often robust, rich and fruit forward wines that have more structure and body than most roses.  They can be cellared, but who cellars rose?  I never do.  One of the virtues of rose are the freshness and liveliness that often displayed only in their youth, so drinking them early is a must.

Several factors attributed to the wine making practices contribute to the robustness of Tavel rose.  Portions of the grape must (which is the freshly pressed juice that contains the skins, seeds and stems of the fruit) are kept after “bleeding” – a process separating the skins from the must.  This darker must, which has spent extended time on the skins, is blended back into the lighter must to give the finished wine more weight and body.

If you solely drink red wine and haven’t yet bought into roses or white wines, because they seem froo-froo, try a rose from Tavel.  It may be a good tweener wine to expose you to other wine styles beyond red wines.

The day's specials at the Hendry table.

I know its been several days since the Family Winemaker’s public tasting event, so I apologize for not having my summary posted in a more timely manner.  Believe it or not, one can actually be pretty busy when you’re unemployed.

I tasted a lot of wines and had a lot fun chatting with proprietors, winemakers and sales managers alike.  The event was great and considering the size of the tasting, was very well organized.  The only negative aspect of the tasting was that I wasn’t able to taste everything there.  I know it was an impossibility, but I always go into these events with the hopes of covering everything.  My goal is to always try more new wineries than ones that I’m already familiar with, but its always tough when you walk by the familiar booths and feel the pull to revisit the wines you already know, so I definitely spent some time re-tasting some perennial favorites.

Yours truly doing his best to juggle the writing and tasting.

Here are most of the wineries whose wines I tasted and enjoyed.  I tried to keep good notes and keep everything in order, but its tough when you’re trying to juggle a clipboard, event guide, glass, pen and spit cup.  Somehow I managed, with the help of my lovely assistant of course.

Wineries:

Amapola Creek - Nice zinfandel and an even better cabernet sauvignon from the Sonoma County area.  The winery was started by Richard Arrowood, whose namesake winery was sold several years ago.  I guess Richard is getting back to his roots, so to speak.

Andrew Geoffrey Vineyards – They only had one wine to show that day, the diamond Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon, and it was one of the best cabernet sauvignons of the tasting that day.

Carlisle Winery & Vineyards – To me, one of the best California syrah and zinfandel producers making wine today. Tremendous value when it comes to wiens that are absolutely delicious and age-worthy at the same time.

Cavus – A new winery of which I’ve never heard of.  They had a red blend from the Stag’s Leap district that was big, robust and earthy.  Just found out that dave Phinney of Orin Swift is the winemaker.

Enkidu Wines – Really cool wines.  They do an excellent sauvignon blanc, and some solid syrah and Cal-Rhone blends.  Great people too.  Winemaker Phillip Staehle was a nice guy and actually the only winery and person I spoke with, who “got” and understood the wine blog concept.

Fort Ross Vineyard & Winery - Very pleasant chardonnays and pinot noirs.  They also produce a pinotage which is pretty rare around here.

Fritz Winery - really, just some enjoyable and easy to like wines.  Their reserve line, which I believe is only available to winery mailing list customers, were very good wines; especially the Russian River Reserve Chardonnay.  Owner Clayton Fritz was a pleasure to chat with.

Hendry Wines – Probably our favorite winery of the tasting that day.  Sales and Marketing Manager Susan Ridley was wonderful and patient with the pouring duties.  Well-made, classy wines.  I’m usually a little skeptical when a winery produces too many varietals, but these guys do a good job across the board.

Hollywood & Vine – They only make two wines, a chardonnay and a cabernet sauvignon from Napa, but they’re absolutely delicious!  Get this, the chard comes from Atlas Peak!  Mountain chardonnay fruit from Napa!

Judd’s Hill – Sales manager Devin Joshua represents the wines here. Great guy and solid wines from the family that originally started Whitehall Lane in Napa.

L’Angevin/Peirson Meyer - Outstanding pinot noirs and even better chardonnays.

Larkmead Vineyards – A perennial favorite of mine.  Great value in the Firebelle and always wonderfully textured cabernet sauvignons.

Lawrence Harrison – Micro-production, low-alcohol, bordeaux styled reds.  Very friendly, welcoming and gracious family.

Lone Madrone – Personal label of Tablas Creek winemaker Neil Collins.  Specializing in red and white Rhone varietals.  My favorite was the tannat.

Longboard Vineyards - Nice pinots, sauv blancs and syrah from the Russian River Valley.

Lynmar - Outstanding pinot noir, chardonnay and syrah from the the Russian River Valley.  Their single vineyard estate Quail Hill bottlings are always well-done.

Martin Alfaro - Single vineyard pinot noirs and chardonnay from select sites up and down the California coast.  Winemaker Joseph Matin does a great job across the board.

Praxis – A little bit of everything from viognier to pinot noir, and even an intriguing lagrein.

Robert Foley Vineyards – Finally got a chance to to sample their claret.  Expensive, but a damn fine wine.  Charbono was interesting as well and the petite sirah was solid.

Sensorium Wines - Winemaker and owner Jeff Ritchey does a nice job of showcasing the potential of the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA.  Nice wines and an excellent Santa Cruz Mountains Cabernet Sauvignon.

T-Vine Cellars – These are some intense wines.  Great zinfandels , petite sirah and grenache.

TR Elliott - This was a “sleeper” for us.  I never heard of this winery’s wines and I’m glad I discovered them.  Outstanding pinot noirs.  I believe those who enjoy Burgundy will thoroughly appreciate the wines from T.R. Elliott.  The Burgonet Russian River Pinot Noir was one of the best wines I tasted that day.

Titus Vineyards - One of my favorite wineries in Napa.  I’ve haven’t visited the winery yet, but their wines are always delicious. I love their petite sirah, year in, year out.  Awesome cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc as well.

Another interesting thing of note; I experienced at the tasting were the reactions to my saying that I was here as a wine blogger.  “Oh, wine blog? ooooh, o.k.”  It seemed like many people were either perplexed, disinterested and even skeptical about my presence and mission, and you know what?  It’s o.k.  I understand completely.  It was definitely something I was a little worried about as far as the perception of me as a legitimate trade member.  I’ll be writing a post on my reactions to these reactions in a few days, as it is a phenomenon I’ve been trying to understand myself.

You've seen one San Francisco wine tasting crowd pic at Fort Mason, you've seen them all. Here's my token picture.