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July 21 2006
Comingoff of a wine trip, pulling the cork on your next bottle at home isn’tsomething to take lightly. I didn’twant to pull the cork on a clunker as I eased back into normal quaffing thatmixes in the inexpensive everyday stuff. It is a departure from a couple of the $40+ bottles that found their way inside my heart and my wallet while in PasoRobles.
Itended up being an inspiring choice. Iended up reading in bed for 20 minutes longer just to finish the glass. And, I crept downstairs to make sure I gave it an extra pump or two on the Vacu-Vin to make sure it stayed with me til I could reach the end of the bottle.
And,you gotta love a winery that has the following quote on their web site:
“Twothings that most readily fire the imagination: making love and drinking wine.”
Thisis an excellent, well-crafted wine. Thecolor is a deep ruby shading to purple and concentrated. The finish is longer then the finale of the1812 Overture and, to my palate, had notes of cotton candy—in a pleasurable wayand none of the white pepper that is characteristic of the varietal. And thenose was pure fruit—blueberries, black raspberries and caramel. Well balanced, this is a wine that I willbuy again (and again).
I read the S.F. Chronicle’ Thursday wine articles andcoincidentally, they had a feature on Lake County, the source of the grapes forthe Syrah and the location of the Steele Winery. Mountainous with rugged terrain, the Lake County region is noted for offering a geographical challenge to winemakers.
Despitea long history of growing grapes, Lake County’s modern wine industry is stillin its infancy, with only 14 wineries—11 with tasting rooms. A mere fiveyears ago, there were only four wineries. Industry giant Kendall-Jacksonstarted its business here in 1982 with the persevering talent of Jed Steele,the winemaker who helped create Kendall-Jackson’s successful style of Chardonnay.Steele left Kendall-Jackson to make his own wine in 1991 and opened hisKelseyville winery in 1996. Now, the iconoclastic Steele’s winery is theunofficial first stop for new arrivals looking to make stellar wine in thecounty.
Youcan find another article from Touring & Tasting magazine here.
Idid a spot check at a couple of stores in the Indianapolis market and the Syrahis not carried, and information is scant on the information as well. Jed Steele prides himself on being boutique,so you may have to hunt for this one, but if you find it, I think it’s wellworth the money!
June 22 2006
I mainly use a 35 bottle wine refrigerator with dual temperature control for reds and whites to store my wine at home.
I’m longing for a bigger house that will afford me the wine cellar in the basement.
In the meantime, I keep my inventory to about 35 - 50 bottles. Overflow is in the drinkable queue upstairs and some of the other nostalgic bottles are kept in my basement. Since I have a penchant for stopping at every local winery within 5 miles of my travels, I have a handful of wines that are more ornamental then drinkable sitting in the basement. Concord Creme wine from Lonz winery in Put-in-Bay, Ohio anyone?
This past weekend, as luck would have it, however, I found a 1999 Rabbit Ridge Old Vines Zinfandel. Ah, yes. I remember this one. I bought two bottles when in Sonoma several years back. I drank one, and, well, I have one left. The small marking on the corner of the back label indicated that I paid $32 for it—a tip I picked up from a buddy that remarked, "Mark the price inconspicuously. When you drink it in a couple of years you’ll want to remember how much you paid for it." Right he was.
What a bonus because I had completely forgotten about this wine.
From the Rabbit Ridge Web Site:
Our legendary Rabbit Ridge Old Vine Zinfandel, or "O.V.Z." is from our finest vineyards on the west side of Paso Robles, California. To live up to its name, Zinfandel from vines over sixty years old was blended with judicious additions of Primitivo and a touch of Petite Sirah. This 2003 O.V.Z. is the first successor to our 1999 O.V.Z. Less than one ton of grapes were picked for our O.V.Z., creating a rich, concentrated, jammy reserve Zinfandel blend. Enjoy lush flavors of strawberry, blackberry, raspberry, and rose petals. Only 1440 cases produced.
I cracked it open.
Just as I had remembered it. This is a really fantastic wine. This bottle was a touch cloudy, for some reason. I chilled it down and then it warmed up on the kitchen counter so that may have affected it, but the cloudiness didn’t effect the wine in an adverse way.
This wine finishes long and is incredibly mouth filling—very concentrated and almost like drinking a cup of raspberry coulis. I didn’t pick up on the rose petals, but to me this RR OVZ demonstrates a subtle backbone of minerality that I find very appealing in some Zins. It has that je ne se quois that is mystifying, but very satisfying.
The ‘99 wasn’t distributed, sold only at the winery and perhaps in the Dry Creek area. At the time, RR was on its run-up in the market and not widely distributed and was in the midst of a bunch of zoning legal battles because they were producing more then they were permitted for. But, if you run into the ‘03, I can definitely recommend it based on the delicious ‘99.
June 13 2006
Iwrote a couple of weeks ago about this sublime Barbaresco that I had while in
And,from NYC to
The Cascina Morassion sell sheet can be found below:
http://www.summavitis.com/p/CMBM00.pdf
May 7 2006
I polished off a bottle of the Hop Kiln 2004 "A Thousand Flowers."
Hop Kiln was one of my favorite wineries when I took a whirlwind sprint through Sonoma a couple of years ago.
A recent article on Winecountrythisweek.com had this to say about Hop Kiln:
The landmark Hop Kiln in Russian River Valley has been home togenerations of pioneers, ranchers and winemakers. Today, the100-year-old structure is a favorite winery site – a lively place wherelocal residents and Sonoma County visitors come to drink in thegorgeous views, warm hospitality and delicious wines. An icon of SonomaCounty’s rich, agricultural past and one of the only stone kilns stillstanding, the property is officially listed on national, state andlocal Historic Registers. Dramatic and welcoming, Hop Kiln is amemorable destination.
They’ve completed some renovations since I’ve been there, but then as now, it’s a charming, unpretentious way to soak in a historical site and do a tasting.
The wine blog "Walk the Wine" shares my sentiments on the ‘A Thousand Flowers" when they say,
the folks at Hop Kilnin Sonoma County have found the right formula to tickle my palate. Theymake a blend of chardonnay (38%), gewurztraminer (27%), riesling (22%),and sauvignon blanc (13%) that’s called A Thousand Flowers. And, it sells for only $13 a bottle.
The Thousand Flowers remains a favorite. The 2004 has aromas that arelush with flowers and tropical fruit and apples, so much so that youexpect to encounter sweetness with the first taste. But, instead, thisunique wine achieves a nice balance, like a fine Alsatian. While thechardonnay contributes a nice richness, I think it’s the gewurztraminerand to a lesser extent the riesling that carry the day here.
It’s a very nice wine—a somewhat muted nose when compared to the absolute delicate fruit and flower combination in the glass. It’s allergy season, so it might pop with more bouquet to me later in the summer, but it was very tasty. My bottle was a gracious gift from a friend in California, you may have to hunt for it as I don’t believe its distributed in every state, well, not mine, for sure. So, keep an eye out for it.
February 12 2006
As a member of Generation X (and on the younger side of the demo, at that), I continue to read about the 77M strong that is Generation Y. In fact, my new bride is the first year of those that are, by definition, Generation Y—born after 1977. She is 28.
While I was in Vegas dining with a customer at a trade show, we were talking wine. The customer in question was my parents age and had kids my age. He was suitably impressed when I knew that Parker was from Maryland, where he lived, and we continued to have a lengthy conversation about wine—the kind that he enjoyed (French) and the kind that I enjoyed (California and non-French wines).
My dining companion started drinking and learning about wine when he was in his late 30s. I, on the other hand really started when I was in my early to mid-20s.
We both, generationally, started at an average time.
This just in ... if there is any doubt that Generation Y is going to change the rules of the game regarding wine and its consumption.
Whiz Kids
Despite being younger than some of the wines they pour, youthful sommeliers are energizing the Bay Area dining scene
- Amanda Berne, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, February 2, 2006
Many people’s 21st birthday includes a tour of bars and praying to the porcelain god at the end of the night.
Mark Bright’s 21st birthday bestowed an honor that would shape the rest of his life: He became a sommelier at the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas.
Chicago-born Bright, now 23 and a sommelier at Michael Mina restaurant in San Francisco, is just one of many young wine pros who are flooding the Bay Area restaurant scene, uncorking their enthusiasm, eagerness and ever- expanding knowledge for the wining and dining public.
In a time of easy information, these youthful oenophiles are soaking up tips from mentors, books, travel and the Internet, as more restaurants push wine service as a necessity.
Beyond restaurants, Bay Area wine and specialty stores aren’t shying away from youth, either, squashing the notion that wine knowledge has only accumulated in those with gray hair. Jeff Porter, 28, is the bottle shop and beverage category manager at Bay Area supermarket chain Andronico’s, giving him the decision-making power for all 10 of its stores.
So, if it wasn’t bad enough that these guys are coming out of school making a ton more money then Generation X, they are supplanting them in jobs—now, albeit its a Sommelier gig at a restuarant, but just the same ...
Though, truth be told, I wish I would have thought of it coming out of school ...
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