A Fiendishly Clever Tasting

Last weekend we gathered at Ridge for the final blogger's tasting of 2012, and many bloggers confessed they had been slacking on their blogging. I realized that I too haven't written much since the last Ridge Blogger's Tasting in September. I offer no excuses - all I can say is Thank You! to Ridge for continuing to inspire my wine writing.

The theme this time was Three Blind Mice: 3 flights of wine with 3 tastes per flight, blinded. The 3 wines in each flight had both common theme and distinct difference. All 3 flights had a common thread as well.

We began tasting. On the first flight I could swear I was tasting the same wine in 3 different glasses, but all were slightly different. Jeremy and I collaborated and concluded that it was the same base wine, but with varying levels of oak exposure. On one end the wine was lighter and easier to drink, but on the other end it was bigger and more tannic, like it had more time in oak and needed to settle down a bit (age). Our varietal guess was Merlot.

The second flight clearly showed an age progression, as the first wine was a paler red color with tinges of brick on the rim, while the second and third had brighter color and fruit on the nose. We guessed it was a Zinfandel blend going back to early 90s, then early 2000s, then a more recent vintage.

The third flight was most confusing, because the differences were so slight. We thought we were tasting Monte Bello at very small age intervals.

We were wrong... about everything.

Flight #1: Ridge Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 in 3 bottle formats: magnum, regular, and half-bottle. The perceived differences in oak that we tasted could be correlated to how wine ages in different size bottles. This is due to the ratio of air to wine, which is smaller in a magnum (it ages more slowly) and larger in a half-bottle (it ages more quickly). So the one that tasted more "oaked" was the Magnum, which is aging more slowly and still hasn't mellowed. Regarding Merlot vs Cab, in the past I have confused these two at Ridge - they almost tend to take on opposite characteristics.

Flight #2: The only thing we got right here was the difference in age, though we thought there were a lot more years in between. Again, Ridge Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, this time from 2004, 2005, 2006.

Flight #3: 3 bottles of 2007 Ridge Estate Cabernet Sauvignon. The ultimate trick! The same wine, same vintage, same size bottle. People talk about "bottle variation," how the same wine can taste different from one bottle to the next. This can be due to slight variations that may develop in the wine as it travels from the tank and through the bottling line. Wine is always changing, always evolving. But how big a difference there is can sometimes be all in your head. 

In conclusion: the mind plays tricks on us, especially when the host plays tricks on the tasters! 

Thanks again, Christopher, for a fun tasting and a great end to this year of wine.

Champagne bar atop Paris

Recently I made a quick work trip to Paris. I didn't have much time but I did make it to the top of the Eiffel Tower - at night. I went in search of a Champagne bar that sits at the very top. The elevator ride up was the scariest part - once I got to the top it just felt magical. It was freezing, but I made my way around the back, to the side that didn't face the major sights of Paris, and found this:

I ordered a glass of the Henriot rose and sipped it (quickly) while I enjoyed the (chilly) view.

Sante!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wiemer wines are still dominating my Thanksgiving table...

Riesling Dry 2008 (Magnum), Gewurztraminer Dry 2008, Riesling Semi-Dry 2008

Ratings at Ridge

At the most recent Ridge Vineyards Bloggers Tasting, the challenge presented to us was to order 5 recently rated Ridge wines from best to least-best (I don't want to say worst since Ridge does not make a bad wine). Before we began I asked the question, do we rate them in our order of preference, or how we think they were rated? The reason I asked this question is because rating wine is completely subjective - everyone has a different palate. Yes, a wine can be well-made but everyone may not like it. And yes, a wine may be badly made and plenty of people may still like it. Rating wine also calls into question several factors, including approach-ability, age-ability, and value for the money. Can you rate a wine that begs for a steak the same as one that can be sipped enjoyably on its own? Can you rate a wine that you think will be better in 5 years the same as you rate one that is ready to drink now? Would you rate a $125 bottle of wine the same as a $40 one? I'm obviously not sold on the rating system. Christopher's motivation was to conduct an experiment, to see whether there would be any consistency in our tasting group and if that would support the rating system.

There were 5 glasses of wine in front of us. I knew that Ridge had just released several 2009 and 2010 wines; I had seen some of the ratings on store shelves and knew that the 2009 Monte Bello scored 98 points. Would it be included in this tasting? Would I know which one it was? Christopher told us the 5 wines were all rated within a 10-point span.

I loaded up on cheese before starting and then some bread to cleanse my palate. I tasted through the 5 wines twice, without eating anything else, since I didn't want the nibbles to factor into my tasting. On the first run-through I thought they might all be Zinfandel blends from various vineyards. On the second run-through I started noticing more complexity and variety, and I was pretty sure I knew which one was Monte Bello and which might be a Zin-based blend like East Bench, Lytton Springs or Geyserville. I liked the Zin blend more - it was more approachable and enjoyable right now. I know Monte Bello is a great wine, but I also know it gets better with age and is not necessarily at its best on release. I ranked the Zin blend first, the Monte Bello second. I was wrong and I knew it. I made a point of it, even if no one got it but me.

Here are the wines we tasted, with the ratings from wine critic Antonio Galloni of Robert Parker's Wine Advocate:

Ridge 2009 Monte Bello, 98 pts
Ridge 2009 Klein Cabernet Sauvignon, 94 pts
Ridge 2009 Perrone Cabernet Franc, 92 pts
Ridge 2009 Estate Merlot, 90 pts
Ridge 2010 Geyserville, 88 pts

The wines in the order tasted.

Our rankings were all over the map. Half the bloggers put the Monte Bello in the top position. 1 person got the order completely right, and he won himself a bottle of 2009 Monte Bello (well done!).

My conclusion: I still believe that wine tasting is completely subjective and the rating system is flawed; there are too many variables and it's riddled with preconceived notions and biased expectations. (Critics do not taste the wines blind, so they are aware of the brand, its history, its style.) The rating system doesn't really serve my purposes, but it exists for the average consumer staring at a shelf full of wines or the budding connoisseur who wants to build a collection. For a winery, it's a stamp of credibility and may be used as a marketing tool.

As for Ridge, I enjoy all of their wines and I don't care what the ratings are, 98 or 88. Thanks again to Christopher for an enjoyable tasting on Monte Bello! 

For more on my fellow blogging tasters, check out A Ridge Blog: http://blog.ridgewine.com/2012/09/22/the-wbt-pre-game-show/ 

To filter or not to filter

One of the last steps in winemaking is usually filtering. When I worked at Wiemer, we used either the superfine cross flow filter or a pad filter for the wines made in smaller quantities. In winemaking you have to make some small sacrifices throughout the process. Each time you move the wine you risk exposing it to air, and inevitably each time you move it you risk losing a bit of its character, whether it be aroma, color, or flavor. Filtering is one of those steps that some winemakers would consider optional. The reason for filtering is to rid the wine of any bacteria or yeast that might remain in the wine and to ensure a “clean” wine before bottling. At Wiemer, where we made wines that often had some residual sugar left in them, filtering was necessary to ensure the yeast was completely removed from the wine. If any yeast remained, it could feed off the sugar and start another fermentation in the bottle, which at the very least might make the wine sparkle a bit, but at the worst it might cause the bottle to burst from the excess carbon dioxide and pressure.

Newton Vineyard in Napa was founded on the principle of unfiltered wines. Dr. Su Hua Newton, the first Asian female winemaker, began making unfiltered Chardonnay in the late 70s and then added the red Bordeaux varietals – Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec. Her husband, Peter Newton, had been the first to plant Merlot in Napa when he worked for Sterling Vineyards, and the Newtons were one of the first to plant Petit Verdot in Napa. Dr. Newton built a state of the art winery between 1977 and 1979, with gravity flow and 30 feet of underground tunnels in the hills of Spring Mountain. The Newton vineyards are the only ones on the southern side of Spring Mountain, whose steep slopes and volcanic soil contribute to small concentrated berries and softened tannins. The winemaking process involves hand picking only the ripe fruit, which means they skip over the unripe fruit and go back to it later, making multiple passes through the vineyard until all the fruit is picked. The various pickings are kept separate, vinified in oak barrels in separate, temperature-controlled rooms. Then, the wines undergo aggressive “battonage” every day for 6 months – this means that after the fermentation has been complete (after a couple weeks), a long baton is inserted into the barrel to agitate the lees (dead yeast cells) that have fallen to the bottom. This action contributes a certain flavor to the wine and is “naturally antibacterial,” helping to “clean” the wine so the impurities settle out to the bottom. It’s similar to the process of riddling for sparkling wine, where the lees from the second fermentation in the bottle are forced to the neck of the bottle by a partial turn each day for 3 weeks, acting like a squeegee along the inside of the bottle until they are eventually disgorged. After the 6-month battonage, the clean wine – 85% of the barrel - is pumped out (this part is not done by gravity) and the remaining 15% of wine and solids is discarded. That amounts to about 4 cases of wine lost from this process - a significant loss but one preferred to the potential loss of color and aroma from machine filtering. The wine is then bottled and labeled “unfiltered.”

Views from Newton Vineyard

So does unfiltered wine taste better? Can you tell the difference? Newton wine still looks clear and clean. I tasted 4 wines paired with small bites from the Domaine Chandon gardens in Napa and their onsite restaurant, Etoile (Newton Vineyard is now owned by LVMH, the parent company of Moet & Chandon).  The 2009 Unfiltered Chardonnay was creamy with butterscotch and crème brulee notes. It wasn’t overpowered by oak and it went deliciously well with a spoonful of English pea soup accompanied by dungeness crab and meyer lemon. The 2008 Unfiltered Merlot had bright red fruit, black pepper and other spices, nice acidity, and grippy tannins that would soften with a bit more age. It went fabulously with a bite of tea smoked duck. The 2009 Unfiltered Cabernet Sauvignon had great black fruit that almost tasted sweet and again nice acidity and tannin that would lend well to further aging. The last wine was their Bordeaux blend that they call “The Puzzle” because of the shape of the vineyard blocks that it is sourced from. The 2008 Puzzle is made of 42% Merlot, 36% Cab Sauv, 14% Cab Franc, 6% Petit Verdot, and 2% Malbec. It was silky, smooth and complex and went great with the heirloom beet salad.

The last bonus wine was a 2002 Unfiltered Merlot from a Magnum bottle, which holds the equivalent of 2 regular bottles and is a better format for aging wine because of the reduced exposure to oxygen. This wine was musky and floral with additional characteristics of beets and lead pencil. It had great balance and structure and was very smooth. After recently enjoying the Newton 1991 Unfiltered Merlot and now trying the current releases, it was awesome to taste a wine right in the middle.

Now back to the question, to filter or not to filter? I can’t say I would be able to tell the difference unless I had the same wine in filtered and unfiltered form side by side. Winemaking is a combination of art and science, and I tend to gravitate toward wines made with the least manipulation. And as a former winemaker, knowing how the wine is made makes me appreciate and enjoy it more.

Corkscrew trees and the garden atop the wine caves

Drinking the Stars at Domaine Chandon

"Brothers, I am drinking the stars!" - Dom Perignon

You may know the story of how sparkling wine was discovered - by accident. Dom Perignon, a Benedictine monk, was making ceremonial wine and the bottles started exploding, due to residual sugar left in the wine that re-fermented and gave off carbon dioxide, causing pressure in the bottles. He tasted it and proclaimed the above. He didn't totally understand it, and it wasn't until years later that the sparkling wine process was accepted, perfected, and demanded.

The rise of Champagne and the French Champagne houses have a very interesting history, and I'd encourage anyone interested in the subject to pick up The Widow Cliquot: The story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It. It details some of the history of the Champagne trade and how the methods in the winemaking process were tested and perfected.

If you know me at all by now, you know I love bubbly. I drink it whenever I can and I don't need a special occasion for it; sparkling wine makes any occasion special. A few weeks ago I visited Chandon in Napa, after meeting one of their winemakers at Pinot Days in June. Chandon is owned by Moet and Chandon, the French Champagne house/empire. I visited Moet and Chandon on a trip to France in 2007, and I visited Chandon Australia in 2009. So, after living in California for over a year it was high time I checked out the Chandon in my backyard. I always love touring these facilities and seeing their processes. Chandon uses huge tanks that could double as studio apartments in New York City. They produce a huge amount of sparkling wine. After a tour of the facility, I had a patio tasting of the entire portfolio. My favorite was the Brut Classic, their #1 seller. A blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, it was delicate, creamy, citrusy and refreshing... a classic!

Next time I'll have to check out Etoile (which means 'star' in French), the Michelin star restaurant on the property.

Bottle Shock

Chateau Montelena is a 130 year old winery in Napa whose Chardonnay is famous for winning The Judgement of Paris - a blind wine tasting competition organized in 1976 by a British sommelier / wine merchant that pitted 6 California wines against 4 French counterparts. In the red category, in which California Cabernet Sauvignon competed against French Bordeaux, Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1973 Cabernet took the lead. In the white category, Chateau Montelena 1973 Chardonnay was judged to be the best wine among the French Burgundy and other California Chardonnay. With an entirely French judging panel, the Paris Tasting of 1976 brought credibility and prestige to California wine. Chateau Montelena and the Judgement of Paris were the subject of the 2008 movie Bottle Shock, which depicts the competition and the drama associated with the 1973 Chardonnay. In the story, vintner Jim Barrett wants no part in the competition, but his son Bo secretly entered the wine. He later sees that the wine has turned brown in the bottles, and thinking it oxidized, he sends them to be dumped, but the samples have already been sent. Then, realizing the brown color is temporary and the wine has gone through "bottle shock," the bottles are saved, the wine wins the competition, and then everyone in France wants it but they can't get it (since it isn't French).  This story may or may not be true, but nonetheless, being the wine geek that I am, I found it very entertaining. Of course, there was a silly love story running through the plot as well that helped romanticize the whole thing.

So what is "bottle shock?" It's a condition characterized by disjointed or muted flavors, usually occurring shortly after bottling. I'm not sure there is definitive evidence of discoloration; this element may have been added to the movie for dramatic effect. Bottle shock can last a few weeks, as the wine needs some time to settle down from the bottling process and adjust to its new environment. It doesn't mean the wine is bad; it just tastes a bit confused. As a consumer, you would likely not experience bottle shock from a wine off the shelf at your local store, since most wines probably rest in the cellar for a bit before shipping. But, you might if you were tasting at a winery that had just bottled and needed to release the wine immediately to meet demand. Would you notice? I'm not sure I would, unless I had the same wine consistently from different bottles. A winemaker could detect it while tasting the wine throughout its life cycle.

Recently at Chateau Montelena, I recognized the building from the movie as soon as I saw it.  The Chardonnay is still made in the same style as it was in the 70s, and I found the 2009 to be very "Burgundian" in style. By this I mean subtle oak (only 10% new), steely acidity, crisp and clean. I love this style of Chardonnay, which is why I tend to prefer French Burgundy over new world Chardonnay, and I could see why the French judges were impressed with their style. The current vintage (2009) goes for $40 a bottle.

I don't usually get starstruck, but being at this winery, tasting the wine that essentially put California on the map, seeing those movie scenes in my head when I approached the building... I felt like I was among the stars (but not the actors).

Pinot Days

Yesterday I attended the Pinot Days Grand Festival Tasting at Fort Mason in San Francisco. My ticket included a sit-down tasting with 4 winemakers, and I chose the one called "Passion, Personality and Pinot," featuring the wines of Inman Family, Winderlea, Clos Pepe, and Big Basin. Each winemaker talked for 10 minutes about their vineyards, winemaking philosophies, and the 2 wines they chose to share with us. All of these wineries are small, low-production operations that use sustainable or organic vineyard practices and natural (spontaneous) fermentations. Each winery's offerings included 2 wines for comparison.

Inman Family: A one-woman show, Kathleen Inman called her winery Inman Family to encourage her daughters to participate. While her daughters and husband help out, she is the vineyard manager, winemaker, sales and marketing manager, and tasting room manager. When I think about the work I did at Wiemer, I marvel at how she does it all - she is one tough cookie (who drinks a lot of coffee). Inman Family is located in Russian River Valley and their focus is Pinot Noir, but they also make some rose and Pinot Gris. We had the 2007 and 2008 Inman Family OGV Estate Russian River Valley Pinot Noir. The 2008 was slightly richer but I preferred the more restrained 2007.

Winderlea: Located in Dundee, Oregon, the Winderlea vineyards are slowly being infected with phylloxera, a root disease that wiped out vineyards in Europe in the mid- to late- 1800s. The red basalt volcanic soil of the Dundee hills has helped to slow down the spread of the disease throughout the vineyard, so they are keeping an eye on it and replacing vines as needed. We compared the 2009 and 2010 Winderlea Legacy Pinot Noir, made from their older vines. 2009 was a warm vintage so this wine was very jammy, while the 2010 was a cooler vintage, and I preferred this wine's more earthy, spicy, refined flavors.

Clos Pepe: Winemaker Wes Hagen loves the cool climate and maritime influence of the Santa Rita Hills for the consistent vintages they are able to produce. When other areas in California are struggling with heat spikes, this area in Santa Barbara county hardly gets above 80 degrees, and on average their warmest temps are in the 70s. We compared the 2009 and 2010 Clos Pepe Estate Pinot Noir. Wes said that 2009 was a perfect vintage and allowed him to make a very deliberate wine - every action was due to his inclination instead of being dictated by weather. He described the 2010 as "overtly slutty" in the sense that it is showy and obvious in its intentions and delivery. I found it to be too fruit-forward for my taste, but Wes said he is making wines to be aged and this wine could probably use some cellaring so that it will eventually emerge as more of a "sexy librarian" like the 2009.

Big Basin: Bradley Brown is proprietor and winemaker of Pinot Noir and Rhone varietals (Syrah/Grenache) at this Santa Cruz producer.  Instead of a vintage comparison like the previous 3 producers, Bradley served 2 unreleased Pinots from the same vintage but different vineyards: 2010 Big Basin Coastview Vineyard, Monterey County and 2010 Big Basin Woodruff Family Vineyard, Santa Cruz Mountains. The Coastview Vineyard Pinot was more jammy but with a great minerality and acidity. The Woodruff Family Vineyard Pinot had great acidity, marked salinity, nice structure and balanced fruit. This vineyard is dry farmed (no irrigation) and is the oldest vineyard in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Bradley expects to release theses wine in a year or so. There's only about 100 cases of each.

After the sit-down tasting I walked around the tables and tried some more wines from local producers. Chandon (located in Carneros) is known for sparkling wines made from traditional Champagne grapes, but they also make still wines from these grapes. I tried their 2010 Pinot Meunier (fruity and lively), 2009 Pinot Noir (more structure and spice) and NV Brut Rose sparkling (65% Chardonnay sparkling with still Pinot added). I've been to Chandon Australia and Moet & Chandon in France, so Chandon California is a must-visit for me. Other tables I visited included Cuvaison, Buena Vista, Cartograph and Robert Sinskey, plus the earlier wineries from the sit-down tasting to further geek out with the winemakers and taste what else they had brought. Walking around a huge warehouse with tables upon tables of wine can be overwhelming, and you have to have some discipline at these things. So I stopped by familiar tables and producers I'd been wanting to try. After a couple hours I was feeling wine-fatigued, so I headed for the table marked "FOOD" and got some empanadas and alfajores from El Porteno, brought in from the Ferry Building. Yum!

A nice little Saturday.

Frances and Newton

Last week I finally made it to Frances, a popular restaurant that I've been hearing about for a year where you can never get in. It received 1 Michelin star in 2011 and is classic Californian, with a daily changing menu inspired by local ingredients and a casual setting. The reservation list is full for months, but they have a "bar" area in front with about 8 seats available on a first-come, first-served basis. I've tried to go in the past but with wait times over an hour I usually am too hungry to wait. This week though, to celebrate a special occasion on Wednesday, we tried again after calling and hearing that the wait for the bar wasn't too long. We got there and were first in line for 2 seats at the bar, a 30 minute wait. As we perused the wine menu, Jeremy had a thought that we should've brought a bottle from home. Corkage fee was only $15, and with a half hour to kill, why not go home and get a special bottle? So he went while I waited for the table. He got back 2 minutes after I was seated and presented a bottle of 1991 Newton Merlot - a bottle from his father's cellar. We had the 1990 a few weeks ago and it was really interesting, so I was excited to try this slightly younger vintage. The waiter decanted it for us, showed us the cork, which he managed to keep 75% in tact, and previewed by saying that while pouring it into the decanter it smelled amazing. We encouraged him to grab a glass and share some with us.

Amazing it was - rich and deep, with earthiness, leather, warm spice, and a bit of complicated fruit - not quite dried but still lively and bright. It went great with our meals (I had the Quail and Kale and Jeremy had beef) as well as the dessert - a decadent chocolate cake with bing cherries baked in and caramel sauce on top.

Frances and Newton - a match made in heaven!

Buff Brew

Being a wine lover, I have an affinity for alcohol in general. I enjoy beer and cocktails, and relaxing with an adult beverage after a long day is almost a requirement in my daily life.  So I wanted to take the opportunity to highlight a friend's new brewery in Houston, TX - Buffalo Bayou Brewing Company - which he started about a year ago. Rassul makes micro-brewed craft beer for the Houston market, and he's currently got kegs in over 60 bars and restaurants! Not bad for a fledgling beer business. 

I had a chance to visit the facility (which is not yet open to the public) on a recent business trip to Houston, sampling a few very unique and delicious beers. The first was called 1836, for the year that Houston was settled along the banks of the Buffalo Bayou, a waterway running through Houston. It's a rich "copper" ale with really nice malty notes. Second was a hibiscus "wit bier," which had a faint pink tinge from the flowers and a subtle floral quality to complement the citrusy notes in this light, refreshing beer, pictured above. Last was a gingerbread stout, which was dark, thick and creamy with a warm baking-spice quality. It's got twice the alcohol of Guinness, which brings it to around 8%.

I liked seeing the brewery equipment (pad filter above is quite similar to one we used at Wiemer) and hearing about how they're experimenting with flavors and barrels. Rassul acquired some French oak barrels and is thinking of doing a batch with oak aging. The great thing about beer is you can brew it anytime - you don't have to wait for a vintage like with wine. And you can add all sorts of flavors and essences to the batch to make a unique brew every time.

Currently Rassul kegs all of his beer and only makes bottles for sampling. He's looking to keep it local and remain a craft brewery for fellow Houstoners to enjoy.

Cheers to the Buffalo!

Bubble Lounge, SF

Right down the street from my office on Montgomery Street is The Bubble Lounge. I'd been to the New York location so I was primed to like this one. The focus is, of course, on sparkling wines, so what's not to like? Unsurprisingly, the SF location is bigger, and I could envision having a private party there. I didn't hesitate for a second in choosing the Champagne flight, since Champagne is one of my most favorite beverages. Pink or white, it puts a smile on my face every time. Recall that Champagne must actually be grown in the Champagne region of France, and it can only be made from 3 grapes - Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier. While many places around the world make sparkling wine in a similar method as Champagne, there is nothing quite like the original Champagne, and this is an example of terroir's influence on wine. The soil, the grapes, the climate - all have an effect on wine and contribute to regional differences in wine. The winemaking conditions also have an effect, and Champagne is known for its limestone caves where the wine is made and aged in naturally cool conditions.

From left to right: Henri Billiot Brut Reserve, Laurent Perrier Brut Rose, 

Gaston Chicquet Blanc de Blancs

The Henri Billiot is a traditional Champagne blend; the Rose is mostly Pinot Noir with a touch of Chardonnay, and the Blanc de Blancs is 100% Chardonnay, as the name requires. While I love the color and red fruit character of Rose, and I enjoy the minerality and citrus of Blanc de Blanc, the Henri Billiot won in my book for the ultimate balance, creaminess, and complexity of blended Champagne.

Wine Blog Awards... Nominations Open

Nominations are now being accepted for the Wine Blog Awards. If you've enjoyed accompanying me on my wine adventures over the last 3 years through this blog, please nominate Wine Maven in Training! You can even nominate a specific post if you have a favorite.


The goal of the Wine Blog Awards is to honor and celebrate the best in wine blogging; encourage the wine blogging community to continue marching to relevance and success in the area of wine education and reporting; and to draw attention to the wine blogging community.


More info: http://wineblogawards.org/
Nominate: http://wineblogawards.org/submit-your-favorite/
Current submissions: http://wineblogawards.org/submit-blogs/

Sonoma Slumber

We've had a couple more notable wines from the Indiana basement collection - these two both from Sonoma County.

Kalin Cellars 1993 Chardonnay, Sonoma County, CA

You could tell right away from the color that it would be oxidized, but it was interesting and pleasant nonetheless. Sherry nose with nutty, caramel, fig notes. Some residual oak on the palate, which led me to believe this was a super oaky wine in its youth - typical of '90s style California Chardonnay. It still had a nice acidity which is probably what helped it stay so long. We had it with sushi and it paired pretty well.

Hacienda 1986 Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma County, CA

This was the first wine from the basement collection whose cork came out in 1 piece! And, this wine was a beauty, once it opened up. Still a lot of fruit and complexity, silky tannin, nice acidity. 

Currently when I think of Sonoma County I think of Pinot from the Russian River Valley or Zin from Ridge, but there are a lot more treasures to be found up north in Sonoma, a diverse wine region as wide as it is long, with many different microclimates and a lot of variety. 

Why We Love(d) the 90's

A few weeks ago I visited Indiana with my boyfriend and we raided his dad's wine cellar. His dad had managed to get himself on a bunch of coveted wine lists in the 80s and 90s and still has a lot to show for it. Now a diabetic, he doesn't drink wine as much as he used to, so he said we could put together a couple cases and bring them back to California with us. I've been lucky enough to sample some of these cellar treasures, including Ridge from the 80s and Leonetti from the 90s. It is always a gamble with older wines - you never know how they will keep. This basement wine cellar that we raided is not actually a wine cellar at all - it's a boiler room. So every time we open one of these bottles, the cork crumbles, we dismantle it in pieces, push in what we can't get out, and usually end up decanting and sometimes passing the wine through a coffee filter (into a coffee pot if we've run out of decanters). The wine may be oxidized, it may have lost all its fruit. Or it may be amazing, complex, funky, silky, and downright delicious. Here are a few winners from the latest collection:

 Leonetti Cellars 1992 Select Walla Walla Valley, Washington

The components of this wine are unknown, but I suspected it was a Merlot/Cab Sauv blend. It was gorgeous, fruity, spicy and chewy, with no oxidation and a beautiful richness.

Newton 1990 Merlot Napa Valley, California

This wine wasn't as clean as the previous but still had a lot of fruit and spice to go with the funk.

Chateau Phelan Segur 1990 Saint-Estephe, Bordeaux, France

This 1990 Bordeaux, which is dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend, still had a lot of fruit, plus richness and complexity that is so typically Bordeaux. I've learned through my tasting and study that really good Bordeaux needs at least 10 years to be drinkable, at least to my liking (the tannin needs time to calm down) and this was a perfect example. Blackberry, leather, barnyard, and dried fruit mingled with a surprising acidity (that calmed down after being open for a day) and tannin that suggested we could have waited a bit longer to open it, but not too much longer. 

A. Rafanelli 1991 Zinfandel Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County, California

I tried this wine after it being open for a day, and it was pretty oxidized, but it still had a bit of fruit and spice and was drinkable. Jeremy said it was much better the first day.

Both of these last two bottles had been leaking, which was why we decided to open them. You can see how the bottle tops are kind of moldy and icky. 

All of these wines threw a lot of sediment, as can be expected in older wines, and the 1990 Bordeaux also left tartrate crystals behind, which is from the acidity precipitating out. 

We were just saying that we should probably get some cheap Tuesday night wine to drink so we are not opening interesting and potentially amazing 20-year old bottles on a whim, but really, we are opening the bottles from Indiana assuming they are bad from the storage conditions, but hoping they will surprise us. So far so good! Thanks again, Jeff.

Ridge Lytton Springs

Recently I visited Ridge Lytton Springs, the Sonoma county location of Ridge where they grow their signature Zinfandel blends. The main vineyard was certified organic in 2011, and it is an Italian field planting, which means that it is a mix of grape varieties including Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Carignane, Mataro (Mourvedre), and Grenache. This is a common practice in Europe, with vineyards being planted like this and harvested together in a "field blend." At Ridge Lytton Springs, someone knows exactly which plant is what, so they know what quantity of which grape they are putting into the blended wine. Some of the vines on the Lytton Springs property are as old as 116 years - they are so old and their roots so deep that they reach the water table and don't need irrigation.  In general, Ridge vineyards are dry farmed and only young, new plantings are irrigated individually until they establish a deeper root system.

A note on labeling: In the United States, in order for a wine to bear the varietal name on the label (i.e., Zinfandel) it must contain 75% of that grape. The other 25% need not be named. At Ridge, nearly all of their wines are blended, and the vineyard name is usually the distinguishing factor on the label. Ridge's Sonoma county vineyards tend to be Zinfandel-based blends, while the Santa Cruz mountains properties south of San Francisco are dominated by Bordeaux-style blends of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc (including the famous Monte Bello that I have had the pleasure of tasting before).

Onto the Ridge bottlings: first, 2009 Ridge Lytton Springs. 71% Zin, 23% Petite Sirah, 6% Carignane; 14.5% alcohol by volume. It was gorgeously fruity upfront and then became spicy and earthy as it sat in the glass.  Then we tried the 2003 vintage - wow. Coffee, chocolate, warm spice, herbs. Extremely balanced - 76% Zin, 18% Petite Sirah, 6% Carignane. Could age another 10 years by most people's standards, 20 years for wine geeks. We got a bottle of the 2009 and plan to age it for at least 5 years, since the 2003 was so good after 7. We could try to age it for 20 but I don't see that happening.

Next we moved to the Geyserville vineyard, with 80 year old vines in a similar field blend but with more Carignane than Petite Sirah (17% vs 6%). The 2009 Ridge Geyserville had bright, dark red fruit and the acidity was slightly more balanced than the Lytton Springs. The 2003 vintage was more complex, with tobacco, spice, a hint of dried fruit, and a similar earthy- and herbal-ness.

A couple others we tried:
2007 Mazzoni Home Ranch - 58% Zin, 39% Carignane, 2% Petite Sirah. Similar fruit character but lighter, more spice and acidity - a great food wine, very European in style.
2010 East Bench Zinfandel - 100% Zin, from a younger vineyard. 15.1% alcohol by volume. Whoa, strawberries! Super fresh, ripe strawberries hit me immediately as I smelled and tasted it, then black pepper moved in to dry out the sweet attack. Very interesting wine.

We migrated to the barrel room at that point, where I was amazed by their stacking system and barrel processes. Every time I enter a barrel room I immediately start thinking about the logistics of the barrels - how are they stacked, how are they filled, how are they emptied? Who does this work? - since I was once in that position. At Ridge Lytton Springs, a series of ropes and pulleys hangs from the ceiling, from which the cellar workers hang to empty, clean, and fill the barrels, keeping them in their same formation, as many as 10 high. I don't quite understand how this works; I would love to see them in action. They must use pumps... but how do the barrels dry after they are washed? Wonder if I could schedule an appointment just to watch sometime. Anyway, regarding the oak barrels, Ridge uses only American oak, and only 20-25% new.

In the barrel room, there were a few special bottles open for a separate event going on, so we got to try some new wines either pending release or just released. The first was the 2009 Estate Merlot - a 100% single varietal bottling only previously made in 1974, 1976, and from 1991-1997.  It had a classic Merlot aroma with spice, leather, red fruit, and vanilla. 75% new oak was used. We then had the 2009 Klein Cabernet Sauvignon, which happened to be one of the wines from the component tasting at the last Ridge Blogger's Tasting that I attended at Monte Bello in December 2011. It's 100% Cab Sauv with classic black fruit, dark currant, juniper, eucalyptus and spice. Nine barrels were selected from the Klein vineyard to make this single varietal wine. Lastly we tried the 2009 Monte Bello, 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, and 6% Petit Verdot. It was more earthy and tannic than the previous two, with nice vanilla notes. We compared that with the 2006 Monte Bello, which was 68% Cab Sauv, 20% Merlot, 10% Petit Verdot, and 2% Cab Franc. It was very Bordeaux-like, with red fruit, leather, vanilla and warm spices. Extremely long length.

For dessert we had the 2007 Geyserville Essence, a sweet wine made from Zinfandel grapes. Lush bosenberry pie and raisins were balanced by that Ridge acidity.

I'm so glad I finally made it to Lytton Springs! Special thanks to Eliot for a wonderful tasting experience.

Gravity Flow Winemaking at Vineyard 29

Lately I've been hearing a lot about gravity flow winemaking. I first encountered it in South America, having visited wineries in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay that are gravity-driven. The belief is that moving the wine via pumps is disruptive to the wine and steals some of its character. Gravity-driven wineries are constructed on multiple levels so that wine is transported from higher tanks to lower tanks by gravity. Conceivably you could require as many as 4 levels - sorting level for the grapes/juice to go in from the press, a level below for racking off sediment, another level below for racking off fermentation lees, and another level down into the barrel cellar. I was always skeptical - what if you run out of tanks in the lower levels? What about blending? What if you need to move the wine up to an empty tank? And forget logistics of the hoses - there would need to be trapdoors and tunnels everywhere. The mystery was solved during my recent visit to Vineyard 29 in Napa. There I understood the missing link - a holding tank that moves between levels via elevator, since they have just 1 level of tanks above the barrel cellar. With their elevator holding tank they have more flexibility to move the wine without relying on available tanks on a certain level. Hoses are snaked through tunnels in the walls and floor.

Above Tank Level

Tank Level

Holes for the hoses to snake through to reach the Lower Level

Red wine barrels in the cellar

Once we made our way through the gravity tour, we were welcomed in the barrel cellar for a round-table tasting.

Their 2009 Estate Sauvignon Blanc was unlike any I'd ever had. It was luscious, flowery and tropical while also maintaining the acidity and minerality so coveted in Bordeaux. The use of concrete tanks allows for an air exchange that makes the wine less sensitive to oxidation, so it can age for longer than most white wines - it was aged for 18 months in water-soaked oak barrels (minimal toast) before bottling. This wine was so complex and alive, yet refined and pretty. The finish was super long.

Concrete holding tank for the Sauvignon Blanc

The 2008 Aida Cabernet Sauvignon was blended with small amounts of Merlot and Petit Verdot. It was jammy and thick with super dark blueberry fruit. It was quite balanced in terms of tannin, acidity and alcohol - which was 14.8% but the wine didn't taste hot.

The 2009 Estate Cabernet Franc (75% Cab Franc/25% Cab Sauv) was also unlike any I'd ever had. It had a gorgeous rose/graphite/leather nose with an earthy spice and marked minerality on the palate. Not a ton of fruit but I did notice dark plum. It was very rich and complex with a long finish.

All the wines were decanted 1 hour before serving

Thanks again to Austin for a truly memorable experience - I look forward to enjoying the wines I took home.

Darioush

Last weekend I made another visit to Darioush in the Napa Valley, this time for a sit-down "table-side" tasting. A flat panel tv in our corner of the tasting room showed a video of the field crew harvesting the grapes at night - common practice here in California where fall days can be too hot for harvesting. I think this is such a great process - the field crew works all night and then by 7am the day shift gets to work sorting the grapes and getting the juice into tanks. I'm sure in many parts of the world (warmer climates mostly) this type of shift work is done; in the Finger Lakes it didn't really make sense for us, especially since it could get pretty cold on those fall nights.

Greg, our server, was very knowledgable about the wines and the valley. Darioush wines are made from 90% estate grapes (from vineyards they own) and 10% from vineyards that are leased over multi-year agreements. Owning your own grapes or at least leasing them is important, because it allows you to have control in the vineyard, where wine is born. Knowing the land and the vines gives you a leg up when it comes time to make harvesting decisions. The wines tasted were not far from the lineup I had on my first visit there almost a year ago - Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon. The Cab is their flagship wine and I had tasted the 2007 in March and loved it. This time I got to taste the 2006 next to the 2008 (2007 is sold out because it got great ratings and everyone went crazy for it). The 2006 was obviously smoother, with a silky texture and long finish, but the 2008 had tons more fruit and was much more exciting. The tannins were still gripping but you could imagine how a couple years in the cellar would really do this wine well.

Thanks again to Ryan and Greg for their impeccable service and attention! I highly recommend a visit to Darioush.

Evolution of a Brand

When my former employers took over Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard in 2007 from the namesake himself they made some subtle changes. First, they began hand sorting all the fruit that came into the winery. While extremely labor-intensive, this elevated the quality level and made the juice more "clean" - free of leaves, bugs, and other imposters that can find their way into the grape clusters. Secondly, Hermann had been experimenting with his different Riesling plots, making a Reserve Riesling from 100% one or the other in different years. In 2007, Fred, the current winemaker, decided to make 2 single vineyard Rieslings from those plots, which they called HJW Vineyard (the original site that Hermann planted in the '70s) and Magdalena Vineyard (land Hermann acquired and planted in the late '90s, now bearing his mother's name). The Reserve Riesling became something else - a small bottling of the best blend in the winery, from the various pickings and vineyard plots that were vinified separately.

Last weekend I did a comparison of the 2003 Riesling Reserve, Hermann's experiment with 100% fruit from the Magdalena vineyard site, and the 2009 Magdalena Vineyard Riesling, which comes from the same place. I worked on the 2009 during my time at the winery. Both had Wiemer's signature acidity, but of course the 2003 was more subtle due to the aging and the fact that 2009 was a wet year that resulted in extremely high acidity in the grapes. (All the 2009's have a crisp acidity that is just great for a variety of foods or several years in the cellar. Sadly, many are sold out, but you can contact the winery to see what is left in the library.) The 2003 was elegant and creamy while the 2009 was vibrant and zesty, but both had the tropical and stone fruit characteristics of fruit from this vineyard site.

A note on the packaging differences of these wines: 2003 is in the classic emerald green bottle typical of many German Rieslings. 2009 is in a taller olive bottle, which is now the status quo for the Reserve bottlings at Wiemer. It's a nod to the more high-end German Rieslings. Also notice the type font was changed and the overall layout and proportion of the label details were improved.

The one constant is, of course, the source of the fruit and the fact that Hermann chose the best sites in the Finger Lakes to make award-winning American Riesling in a tradition that continues today.

Happy New Year!