Category Archives: Syrah

LiLo unStitched

Ever since Your West Coast Oenophile launched Sostevinobile, our aim has been to discover and promote sustainable West Coast wines that elude the mainstream, both in terms of varietal offerings and from lesser-known wineries and AVAs. Which is not to say that we eschew Chardonnay and Cabernet, Napa and Sonoma, but look to go beyond these familiar offerings and popular locales.

The casual consumer or tourist may recognize Paso Robles and Santa Barbara as major wine regions in California, but others are likely to elude them. Which, of course, a main reason for us venturing out to both Livermore and Lodi recently. Admittedly, no one has yet to contrive a clever acronym these east-of-San Francisco, non-contiguous AVAs, as real estate agents are wont to do; apart from their relative proximity, the two regions are marked dissimilar in viticultural focus, weather, and terroir. But since I am under the gun to post on both this month, LiLo will have an ephemeral debut.

First up was our return to Lodi for their resumed annual Lodi Wine Experience on Lodi Lake, a pocket of the Mokelumne River stuck up on the north side of the city. COVID obviously had a deleterious effect on many of the leading wine regions, but Lodi seems not to have missed a beat in the three year stretch since I last visited,n something I find quite heartening. Unlike other AVAs emerging into prominence, Lodi has had significant hurdles to overcome over the past several decades. Its efforts to transition from principally a source for cheap filler grapes, back when the threshold for varietal labeling was only 51% encompassed a tremendous amount of missteps and, frankly, mediocre wines well into the late 1990s. Since then, it has been well-documented that Lodi has become a premier AVA for Zinfandel, and, in particular, Old Vine Zin.

Less well-known has been how several prominent wineries from outside the AVA are expanding their operations to Lodi and developing second labels here, not only to take advantage of the lower costs for viticulture but in recognition the suitability of Lodi’s terroir for Mediterranean varietals and its adaptability to meet the challenges posed by climate change. Ably showcasing an affinity for these grapes was Anaya, where Geraldo Espinosa vinifies grapes from his grandfather’s eponymous vineyard and other Lodi-based tracts. My first time sampling these wines proved revelatory, with standout bottlings of both the 2018 Tempranillo and the 2018 Nebbiolo, alongside a noteworthy 2019 Albariño and the 2019 Pinot Gris.

Similarly, former Napan Chris Mora’s Christopher Cellars featured a compelling pair of Rhône-style wines, his 2021 Carignan Mule Plane Vineyard and the 2022 Cinsault. Chris Rivera’s winery Seis Soles, on the other hand, poured more of eclectic mix, ranging from their Syrah-infused 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon and 2019 Soltierra, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon with Petit Verdot, Malbec, and Petite Sirah to the 2021 Grenache & Mourvèdre Rosé and the esoteric 2021 White Blend, a singular marriage of Grenache Blanc and Albariño.

I would have expected the coyly named Purple Corduroy to be extravagant in their varietal selections; rather, I found the 2020 Lorelei Cabernet Sauvignon to be a bit…khaki. And although Burlington Chandler sounds more like a company that produces Earl Grey Tea or crumpets, they comported themselves quite admirably with their 2017 Malbec and 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon. Though hardly monolithic, One Way Winery poured a somewhat orthodox skew of wines, highlighted by their 2021 Chardonnay.

It was disappointing not to see Michael Klouda at this event. Readers here know that I have been the unabashed champion of his unheralded wines. But this year’s rendition of the Lodi Wine Experience finally gave me the opportunity to sample the stellar selections of Markus Wine Company, headed by the inestimable Markus Niggli. To say his reputation preceded him is quite an understatement; all four wines poured here were spectacular, starting with his 2022 Nativo. Many winemakers now source Kerner from the Mokelumne Glen Vineyard, but this singular expression of the varietal, blended with 9% Bacchus, was especially noteworthy. The 2020 Essenzo proved equally compelling, deftly marrying Old Vine Zinfandel with 9% Carignane, 7% Petite Sirah, and 4% Alicante Bouschet. While his 2020 Zeitlos, a Syrah blend carries a similar supporting cast, the 2019 vintage poured here proved much more straight forward, being rounded out with 12% Cinsault and 11% Petite Sirah. But the most distinctive of this quartet had to have been the 2019 Toura, a nearly equal blend of Touriga Nacional from Silvaspoons Vineyard, along with Petite Sirah and Cabernet Sauvignon! Little wonder why stlawarts from Napa and Sonoma are seeking greener pastures—or vineyards—out near the Delta!

Of course, it was great to revisit so many old friends out here: Acquiesce, Bokisch, Berghold, Harney Lane, Lange Twins, Jeremy, St. Amant, while reacquainting with D’Art, M2, Oak Farm, Perlegos, Prie, Peltier, and others. But as this was a journey for new discoveries, I will bypass chronicling these wines for now and highlight the second leg of our LiLo excursion, the inaugural Cab Franc-A-Palooza in Livermore.

A bit of background, first. In 1988, I attempted to launch Thousand Points of Light Wines to produce George Herbert Walker Blush—A Kinder, Gentler Wine. With Pat Paulsen vacillating on our proposed partnership, I turned to Mirassou in San Martin as a bulk bottler, with a proposed commitment of some 250,000 cases. But TTB blocked approval of my label, thereby effectively nullifying our deal.

Fourteen years later, Gallo acquired Mirassou and rolled the label into its portfolio. I am no longer aware of the whereabouts of the Mirassou family members with whom I dealt. The physical winery in San Martin has now been razed and the vineyards have been turned into Silicon Valley housing developments. However, Steven Mirassou took his share of the sale and built his eponymous Steven Kent Winery in Livermore, producing Cabernets and Bordeaux-style wines that rival some of Napa’s best.

As such, the winery proved an ideal setting for Cab Franc-A-Palooza. Though moderately attended, the festival gathered an extraordinary range of producers, ranging from as far south as Santa Barbara to the Walla Walla Valley in the north, as well as east to the Sierra Foothills. Additionally, wineries came from Texas, Virginia, Colorado, and Long Island, plus importers representing estates from France, Italy, Argentina, and South Africa. Considering that most people in San Francisco need a map to find the Livermore Valley, this turnout was an extraordinary coup for a first-time event.

Little known outside professional wine circles is that Cabernet Franc actually commands a higher price per ton than its offspring, Cabernet Sauvignon, given the relative scarcity of its plantings in California. Which makes it all the more remarkable that Jean Hoefliger’s The Debate produces three distinct CFs from three renowned vineyards in Napa. Here, however, the winery introduced attendees to a stellar fourth selection, the 2019 Cabernet Franc Red Hills from nearby Lake County.

Equally focused on Cabernet Franc, Leah Jørgensen poured her three renditions from Oregon: a delightful 2021 Blanc de Cabernet Franc, her mainstay, the 2021 Oregon Cabernet Franc, and a truly outstanding 2018 Clos Rogue Valley Reserve Cabernet Franc. I should niotw that our host, Steven Mirassou, greeted attendees as we entered with the 2022 Cabernet Franc Blanc from his L’Autre Côte label, then followed up with two superb reds: the 2021 L’Autre Côte Cabernet Franc and the 2019 L’Autre Côte.

Sonoma winemaker Chris Taddei featured his 2020 Cabernet Franc Fountain Grove District and the 2021 Cabernet Franc (Tu Es Belle) from Chalk Hill, then dazzled with his 2011 Super Sonoman (it may have been 2017—I can never read my own handwriting these day). He also assisted in the production of the 2020 Cabernet Franc and the 2022 Burnett Ranch Cabernet Franc from Selin Cellars.

Usually I eschew the wines from regions Sostevinobile does not cover at these large tastings, but my curiosity got the better of me as I stumbled upon the table for Pindar Vineyards. Apart fro its alleged repute as Long Island’s leading winery, I took an entire seminar on the poet for whom it was named as a graduate student (I would wager I was the only attendee on hand this pareticular afternoon who had read the Pindaric odes in Ancient Greek). But as for their 2019 Cabernet Franc? Let’s just say we won’t be expanding our geographic horizons…

Wine Country Weekend

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Your West Coast Oenophile finds himself between the proverbial rock and hard place these days. Things are starting to feel close to normal in the wine world, at long last, but Sostevinobile faces a veritable quandary in its quest to launch a brick & mortar operation in San Francisco.So rather than wallow in my frustration, the best solution for now seems to be to get back on the road and revive my various wine connections whiole waiting for my $10,000,000 ship to come in.

And so I gathered myself up a couple of weekends back and returned to Sonoma for its rendition of my favorite quarterly gathering: the Garagiste Festival. I’ve written numerous times on how this event always enables me to discover half a dozen or more new or unknown (to me) labels; this session did not disappoint. Given that I eschew these new-fangled co-ferments like piquette and wine-cider hybrids, I glossed over the most of the offerings from Bard Clan, but did cotton to their 2018 Night Cabernet Sauvignon, Nearby, it was great to see Bertus van Zyl, head winemaker for The Farm Collective (Regusci Winery, James Cole Winery, T-Vine Cellars, and Tank Garage Winery), fronting for his own label, Belong Wines. His appealing 2019 Mourvèdre paired nicely with the distinctive 2022 Chasing the Sun Rosé, a proprietary blend of 47% Mourvèdre, 28% Cinsault, and 25% Grenache.

It was most interesting to discover that Darling Wines is the eponymous appellation for winemaker Tom Darling. Here, his 2021 Pinot Noir Turnstone Vineyard was accompanied by two other Sonoma, plus an amiable 2022 Pinot Gris La Cruz Vineyard from the Petaluma Gap. It may not be criminal, but Patrick Callagy achieves his vinification with Intent; his first degree bottlings here included the 2018 Pinot Noir Golden Fleece Vineyard and a most impresive 2018 Sangiovese Ipichella Vineyard.

Specializing in Sangiovese, Manzanita Grove piur a three year vertical, starting with a remarkable 2018 Estate Sangiovese. Not surprisingly, her 2020 Super Tuscan wowed with the intensified flavors of its Sangiovese blend. Next over,I confess I initially had trouble with Monroy—autocorrect kept insisting it was Monroe! But there was no need to ameliorate the three year vertical of their Cabernet Sauvignon Chalk Hill, capped by the superb 2020 vintage.

San Martin’s Moose Mountain is a rather esoteric venture, focused on an eclectic selection of grapes like French Colombard and Malbec, but their standout offering here was the 2019 Nattan but Tannat, a palindrome inside a palindrome. Similarly, Omega Road from the Livermore Valley showcased their distinct varietal bottlings: a delightful 2022 Torrontés and a rare 2022 Sangiovese Rosé.

New wine ventures at Garagiste are always intriguing to discover, and Parea comported themselves admirably with both their 2021 Cole Ranch Riesling and the 2021 H. Klopp Chardonnay. So, too, was the debut of The Elkhoury, a boutique husband & wife project from Carneros, producing both their 2012 Pinot Noir Estate and the 2022 Pinot Noir Rosé Estate. Though billed as their first vintage, Sugarloaf is a long-standing custom crush facility in Santa Rosa that numbers such acclaimed labels as Clarice and Korbin Kameron, as well as owners Joe & Elena Reynoso’s Crescere, but this eponymous label now offers a 2021 Estate Rosé Pinot Noir and a matching 2021 Estate Pinot Noir.

Ashley Holland of Read Holland
Always a standout!

Speaking of renewing acquaintances, I first met the alliterative Thomas T. Thomas more than 20 years ago through my college friend Alan Jones, who was then dating now Vice President Kamala Harris.Nearly a decade ago, he pulled up roots and planted Burgundian grapes in Philo. Admittedly, I was skeptical about his efforts to focus exclusively on Pinot Noir, along with an inaugural Chardonnay, but found myself most impressed with his offerings of both the 2018 Estate Pinot Noir and the 2018 Buster’s Hill Pinot Noir, a standout of the afternoon. But perhaps my most notable discovery of the tasting was Rob Barney’s aptly-named Stressed Vines. His standoput offerings included two distinct Cabs: the 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon Reynoso Vineyards and the 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon Cavedale Vineyards, alongside a profound 2021 Block 4 Chardonnay.

I was also quite impressed with Sonoma’s Tiny Vineyards, even though its 500 case production put it at mid-sized for a Garagiste winery. This nascent venture poured a redoubtable 2022 Chardonnay Sonoma Vineyard and their 2021 Eclipse Malbec, plus an atypical 2022 Requisite Red Blend, a mélange of Zinfandel, Syrah, Petite Sirah, and Cabernet Sauvignon. An even more esoteric offering was the 2022 Festa Bianco, a 100% Friulano sourced from the Sierra Foothills by Puppione Family Wines. Its sister 2022 Festa Rosso blended this same grape into a blend of 45% Syrah & 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, a unique combo to be sure. But their deftness with Syrah truly ruled the day, as evidenced by the superb 2021 Intero Syrah Don Miguel Vineyard.

As putative head of Risorgimento, I was also glad to add Puppione to our roster as the 852nd Italian varietal producer I have identified on the West Coast. Of course, I wish I could also add Tognetti, but for now none of these grapes constitute their selections. Srtilltheir deft utilization of Chardonnay in both their 2016 Chardonnay Aloise Francisco Vineyard and the sparkling 2015 Blanc de Blancs proved impressive, while the both the 2014 and 2015 Estate Cabernet Sauvvignon came close to flawless. And with that, I readied myself to cross the metaphoric divide and tackl;e the wonders of Napa winemaking on the next day.

It’s not often I get to try what is arguably the rarest grape in production in California.Even as Jonata is planting an array of Greek varietals in Buellton, Ponte and Cougar experiment with Vernaccia Nera in Temecula, pockets of Béclan are discovered, and even Saperavi is making an appearance, there is but one source for Koshu, the only true Japanese vitis vinifera. I had been introduced to Michelle Kazumi Sakazaki several months before, but had not had a chance to sample this esoteric wine.

It was well worth the wait. Kozumi, Michelle’s eponymous label, conducts its business operations from her parents’ well-appointed estate on Canyon Drive on Napa’s Atlas Peak, above the Silverado Resort & Spa. The release of her 2022 Napa Valley Koshu was cause for an intimate gathering, elegantly catered with original Japanese hors d’oeuvres paired perfectly with the three wines being released: besides the Koshu, her 2020 Sauvignon Blanc was a delicate , appealing wine, while the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon proved redolent of the myriad accolades this vintage has received.

But the Koshu was the star of the afternoon. Blended from two of the producing sites Michelele has contracted, this white winewas neither sweet nor aromatic, more akin to an Arinto than, say, a Viognier, and without the citrus overtones of a Sauvignon Blanc. Certainly a wine that can hold its own not only with an array of lighter Asian dishes but as a perfect complement to almost any shellfish or whitefish fillet.

I hadn’t originally intended to attend A Vintner’s Choice, the 59th Annual Grand Tasting benefiting the Napa Wine Library, but the promoters were generous enough to provide me with a trade pass, and since it was being held just down the hill from Kazumi, I was happy to trek over to the Silverado Resort. Wine in Napa is, of course, predominantly a commercial enterprise, but its wineries contribute enormously to innumerable causes and charities throughout the county. plus there are concerts, festivals, soirées, and such that have become mainstays of the community fabric.

But wine is far more than a commodity or beverage, but as integral to modern civilization as music or literature or art. And in this regard, the Napa Valley Wine Library Collection serves as a preserve for wine’s many cultural artifacts, “an incomparable resource for research, appreciation, andd understanding of wine in all its ramifications.” As such, it was a pleasure to participate in this event and raffle, to help maintain this most important endeavor.

As a guest, it is not my place to complain, but as I was requested to provide my insights into the event, given that I have produced similar affairs, I did note that the two hours allotted to the outdoor tasting was really insufficient. Not because of the price, as this was a charity affair, but becausde so many wineries generously offered their time and samples. With 57 vintners on hand and pouring, two hours equated to roughly two minutes at each table. Of course, only a rare person could even fathom visitng with everyone on hand, but donor wineries do hope to reach as many attendees as possible at such events.

Adroit as I may be, I began my tasting, as I am wont, with the handful of wineries I had yet to meet and try, then filled in as many others as I could. Striking out on her own, Carolyn Martini moved from the sale of her family’s multigenerational venture, Louis M. Martini, to their Chiles Valley vineyard where she built Napa’s secondmost formidable fortress, Castlevale. Aided by another third-generation vintner, winemaker Angelina Mondavi, she showcased her 2019 Chiles Valley Defender, a powerful Cabernet from one of Napa’s less-heralded AVAs.

Another longstanding Napa legend, Robert Pepi, now making wine at Gregory Rodeno’s Villa Ragazzi, further his renown for Italian varietals with a vastly impressive 2019 Napa Valley Sangiovese, along with the 2022 Oakville Rosato di Sangiovese. I would have expected Massimo Di Costanzo also to produce noteworthy Italian selections from his eponymous label, but nonetheless, I was greatly impressed with both the 2020 Napa Valley DI CO Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2019 Coombsville Caldwell Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon poured here.

Perhaps the most striking discovery of the day was Okapi, whose Jungle Love Vineyard sits on Big Ranch Road not far from Robert Biale. The non-vintage Proprietor’s Blend Alkimmy was indeed a revelatory blend of Old Vine Zinfandel, Petite Sirah and Merlot, while the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Jungle Love Vineyard more than warranted an O-E-O-E-O. But I had to save my greatest cries of ecstasy for the 2013 Calistoga Amoenus Cabernet Sauvignon from Maybach. I unfortunately get to taste these wines as often as I ride in one of their namesake automobiles, but it’s most certainly a rare treat when I do.

No butts

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Folks familiar with Your West Coast Oenophile know I (almost) never demur from making a pithy comment or witticism whenever I am given an opening. I may not be Dorothy Parker, but I do think some of my more piquant observations will stand the test of time.

Not too long, I opined that “natural wine is to the 2020s what granola was to the 1970s.” Given the half-century that spans my analogy, Millennials may dismiss this pronouncement as being out-of-touch, but I still hold it to be valid. When I previously attended a natural wine event in Richmond, I was quite stunned to find a swath of grass between the two tents littered with dozens of cigarette butts! So much for all the health and environmental benefits of natural winemaking that the 20somethings tout—this copious tobacco consumption and flagrant littering underscores the fact that their contentions are but a fad with blind allegiance for most of these adherents.

Do not get me wrong. I am not being dismissive of natural wine; many of its tenets completely align with what Sostevinobile looks to promulgate. But, by the same token, I refuse to be dogmatic about any individual school of œnology, as long as they adhere to responsible stewardship of the land and the environment.

Obviously, if we are going to serve any wine, the primary criterion is that it had better taste good! With no apology, here is where I do break with those who maintain that the mouse—or funkiness—that permeates so many of the natural wines is a mark of character. No, it is flawed, if not undrinkable, and should be eschewed, not espoused. But rather than reduce this to a generational argument, let me counter this pabulum of non-intervention with examples of superb natural wines from true craftsmen I encountered at the recent Wine from Here at Subject to Change in Point Richmond.

Harvesting its German from the acclaimed Mokelumne Glen Vineyard in Lodi, Vai e Vem excelled with its 2021 Psychosphere, an impressive rendition of Kerner, the vineyard’s main white varietal. Even more esoteric—at least at this stage— Matt Niess’ North American Press showcased its 2021 The Rebel Sonoma Coast, a wine derived from Baco Noir, the hybridized cross of Folle Blanche with an unknown member of North America’s native Vitis riparia family.

It’s hard for me to offer an objective assay of Clos Saron’s wines, given my long-standing friendship with winemaker Gideon Beinstock, whom many consider the de facto high priest natural wine; his wines can range from the unapproachable to the sublime, in which latter case, the 2018 Pinot Noir Home Vineyard richly attests. Nearby, Gideon’s protégés and Oregon House neighbors at Frenchtown Farms displayed their own virtuosity with an excellent 2021 Cotillion, a deft blend of Syrah, Sémillon, Zinfandel, and Carignane.

Meantime, Los Angles-based visual artist Ashkahn Shahparnia’s eponymous label showcased its subtle 2022 Clairette Blanche, a Rhône varietal that is finding increased popularity in California, especially along the Central Coast. Also boasting distinctive varietals from the Central Coast, Phelan Farm’s inestimable Rajat Parr featured a 2022 Chardonnay Rosé, a red-skinned mutation of the varietal rarely seen in California. Rajat also presented two esoteric blends, the 2022 Savignin & Chardonnay and the extraordinary 2021 Misturado, a Mencia rounded out with 25% Trousseau (aka Bastardo).

Not all the wineries on hand in Richmond were neophytes. Time-tested pros like La Clarine Farm proved their mettle with a delightful 2023 Vermentino and their 2020 Mourvèdre. Likewise, Healdsburg transplant Ruth Lewandowski featured a 2022 Stock Pot Grüner Veltliner and the noteworthy 2020 L Stone Sangiovese, while Megan Bell’s Margins impressed with a wonderful 2022 Paicines Verdejo. It is always a treat when a winery like Santa Cruz’s Florèz produces a 2021 Cabernet Pfeffer, while Sonoma’s Côte des Cailloux impressed with their 2021 Sauvignon Blanc.

Similarly, the 2022 Sauvignon Blanc starred at Les Lunes and Subject to Change’s Populis label, with the event host adding a jammy 2021 Old-Vine Zinfandel Mendocino. And along with its Sauvignon Blanc, the 2021 Thirst Trap, Stagiaire added its 2021 Epiphanies in Place, a Santa Crux Mountasin Pinot Noir and the 2021 Consistency in Chaos, a mouth-watering Syrah from Sonoma.

Of course, there were numerous trendy wines and hybrids on hand, including the ubiquitous piquets and ludicrous cider & fruit-blended wines. Then again, my generation had Boone’s Farm and Ripple, not to mention the viticultural equivalent of Pineapple Pizza, wine coolers. But, over time, we learned to put aside the pseudoscientific veneer of granola for the flavors and environmental benefits of organic produce, while stomping out pernicious tobacco from mainstream acceptance; and with this maturity came our appreciation of the centuries-old refinement of varietal selections. And so I have faith that this current myopia shall soon pass.

A cautionary tale

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Your West Coast Oenophile is starting to feel like the wine realm has returned to its pre-COVID demeanor, at least outside of the Napa-Sonoma axis. Having taken to the road on behalf of Sostevinobile last month, I trekked down to Paso Robles for Rhône Rangers, then stayed on to resume my favorite part of this occupation: visiting with the wineries. For this trip, I stuck with the Willow Creek District, what many consider the crown jewel among Paso’s sub-AVAs.

Among the places I stopped by was Denner, a premier winery that has long been on my radar. It did not disappoint: stunning architecture, incredible vistas—the hallmark of Paso’s westside wineries, and, of course, exceptional wines. Part of what Paso Robles such a dynamic wine region is its flexibility and experimentation. Unbound to the strictures of Bordeaux, as Napa mostly is, nor confined to other adherences, winemakers here feel free to cross varietals from differing regions to create esoteric blends. Denner is one of the region’s foremost proponents of this unorthodox approach to œnology, amply demonstrated by the five new releases I sampled. The 2021 Theresa, while technically remaining within the strictures of the Rhône, married six white varietals: Roussanne, Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Picpoul Blanc, Vermentino (Rolle), and Clairette Blanche, to produce a distinctive, if not proprietary blend that balanced just the right acidity to accompany any dish that called for white wine.

As billed, the 2021 Zinfandel might seem straightforward, yet with 7% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Petit Verdot as its blending components, this wine put a singular spin on its base varietals. Even more esoteric, the 2020 Ditch Digger augmented the traditional GMS (Grenache, Mourvèdre, Syrah) with both Carignane and Graciano to produce a most enticing mélange of this quintet. And the Carignane again played an atypical ancillary role in rounding out the otherwise orthodox Right Bank Bordelaise blend of the 2020 Gold Digger.

Perhaps even more esoteric, but easily as excellent, the 2020 Mother of Exiles focused on Cabernet Sauvignon, blended with nearly ⅓ Petit Verdot, then rounded out with Tannat as well as 1% Cabernet Franc. A truly remarkable wine at this early stage, with portents of a most superlative zenith over the next 3-7 years.

My procrastination in visiting Denner caused me to miss out on meeting with the original ownership, as sale of the winery marked Gallo’s entry into premium labels from the Central Coast. As always with such acquisitions, promises of non-interference and preservation of the brand have been made and so far kept. And, admittedly, I am somewhat placated by Gallo having reconfigured their operations and launched a luxury division to include their high-end brands like Denner and J. But such guarantees have been known to change.

A mere two years after purchasing Rosenblum Cellars for $105 million, Diageo shut down their Alameda facilities and rolled the label into their Napa operations ultimately eviscerating the prestigious label until it was acquired by Delicato and restored to its earlier luster under late winemaker Kent Rosenblum. Similarly, Gallo’s previous acquisition of Louis M. Martini revamped this Napa mainstay into a chimera that must have its founders spinning in their graves, while their redesign of alembic spirits pioneer Germain-Robin has been nothing short of tragic.

Still, nothing can quite compare to the dismantling of Château St. Jean. In its prime, St. Jean was a crown jewel of the California wine industry, so much so tha when the Merzoian family put it up for sale in the mid-1980s, it sold for what was considered nearly three times its valuation—much to my chagrin, my M&A client came in second in the bidding war—to Japan’s Suntory. Over the years, the winery changed hands numerous times, having lost its primary luster as the premier producer of vineyard-designate Chardonnays, only to recoup its glory with the 1996 Cinq Cépages, which won Wine Spectator’s Wine of the Year in 1999. The next year St.Jean was acquired by Treasury Wine Estates, which ultimately eroded the brand to the point that they eliminated its winemaker!

Late in 2021, Foley Family Wines added St. Jean to its ever-expanding portfolio and promptly set about to revive the label. Part of the strategy, I suspect, is to dump all of its lower-end inventory from its Treasury reign and start anew. At least, so it seems, given the sheer volume of Château St. Wines being turned over at Grocery Outlet Bargain Markets.

Now, as previously stated in an earlier post, many savvy buyers, including myself, discovered this chain during the pandemic and realized there were true gems among the clutter of failed American Canyon bulk labels selling for $5.99. My policy when shopping here is to eschew any label I can’t recognized and only buy those I would gladly have purchased for full price elsewhere. And so I picked up a bottle of St. Jean’s 2019 Merlot, expecting it to be a sound choice.

My verdict? Quite possibly the worst wine I have ever tried outside of the undrinkable Two Buck Chuck served at cheap art gallery openings. And so my sober advice to Denner, harkening my 12 years of Latin studies, is “Caveat scriptor!”

Everybody wants to get into the act

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Your West Coast Oenophile has been avidly involved in the wine realm for over 40 years now, including more than a dozen running Sostevinobile, but even with this track record, there are still some mainstays in viticulture whose popularity I do not comprehend. Like Valdiguié, formerly known as Napa Gamay, a varietal that flourished as ubiquitously as Chenin Blanc when I started out in 1982. Call it what you will, the varietal still strikes me as clawing. But, perhaps like Lagrein, an Italian grape to which I initially did not cotton, it the right hands, it can prove to be wondrous.

My introduction to Sauvignon Blancs came from the grassy-grapefruity renditions that dominated the 1980s; 40 years later, I still struggle to approach this varietal without trepidation. Granted, I am quite fond of Sauvignon Blanc deftly tempered with Sémillon or a blend heaviluy mixed with a Musqué clone, but when I am searching for a white wine, I will almost always opt for a Falanghina or Albariño or Roussanne or Pinot Blanc or a dozen other non-Chardonnay selections before I consider an SB. Try as I mght, the varietal simply doesn’t resonate with me the way it does with so many other dedicated œnophiles. On the other hand, if someone wants to gift me a bottle of the 2019 Screaming Eagle Sauvignon Blanc…

Just as I cannot comprehend the tremendous enthusiasm so many have for Sauvignon Blanc, I find myself unable to ascribe to the fanaticism many have for Pinot Noir. It’s not just Pinotism, the cult-like devotion to the grape, as Andrew Jeffords recently illustrated; I also revel in the nuances of an amazing Pinot but shy from the lesser expressions of the varietal. My incredulity, however, is more directed at the implied post-Sideways notion that a winery must produce Pinot Noir as the sine qua non in order to be considered credible. In recent weeks, I have attended events like Pinot Paradise at Gravenstein Grill in Sebastopol and the Petaluma Gap’s AVA-focused Wind to Wine Festival; of course, there were a plethora of truly wonderful Pinots poured at each. But my overall impression was “why?” Labels like Scherrer and Radio Coteau have long validated their inclusion in the upper echelons of Pinot producers. Likewise, major vineyard holders like Dutton Goldfield and Three Sticks offer amazing renditions of their own grapes. But how many wineries can make a truly distinctive Pinot Noir from the same vineyard?

I cannot recall a preference for or noteworthy difference among the half-dozen or so Pinots sourced from Sangiacomo Vineyards. Nor those I tasted from Sun Chase. I see the same inundation of labels from other distinguished vineyards in Sonoma, including Carneros, Russian River Valley, and West Sonoma. It becomes even more egregious in renowned Pinot regions such as the Santa Lucia Highlands, where innumerable labels source grapes from a dozen or so mega-vineyards like Garys’ or Rosella’s.

But Pinot Noir isn’t simply limited to plantings in Sonoma and Monterey Counties. Anderson Valley in Mendocino, Santa Maria Valley and Sta. Rita Hills in Santa Barbara, wide swaths of the various counties in Santa Cruz Mountains AVA, and, of course, Burgundy’s twin Willamette Valley AVA in Oregon all contribute to an amalgam of more Pinot producers than one could possibly enumerate.

And it doesn’t end there. Ridge Vineyards, a winery whose considerable prestige needs no validation, now produces a Corralitos Pinot Noir, simply because legacy owner Ichiro Otsuka wants it made. A similar reason releasing a Pinot was expressed by the financial partner of Tansy, a new label otherwise focused exclusively on Italian varietals. As the late, great Jimmy Durante was fond of saying, “everybody wants to get into the act.”

At its finest, I recognize that Pinot Noir offers greater complexity and variation than almost any other varietal. As my colleague Laura Ness recently illustrated, the grape offers a vast array of clones, each with distinctive character and viticultural properties. On the other hand, most mainstream (aka affordable) Pinots approach being lackluster, which once begs the question “why are so many producers insistent on making this varietal?”

Oenology may represent a cultural apex on par with the fine arts, but it is also has a pragmatic business aspect few producers can afford to eschew. I cannot fathom how so many labels can focus on Pinot Noir and thrive in a competitive market but it is not my position to tell winemakers what they should produce. I will, however, proffer that one can just as readily demonstrate one’s viticultural acuity with any number of other varietals, such as Chardonnay, Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Syrah, Tempranillo, Nebbiolo, Malbec, and, yes, even Merlot!

It may seem contradictory that, despite my protestation of Pinot fatigue, I am heading to Sonoma next week for the annual Pinot Noir-focused Healdsburg Crush, but I have interspersed these visits with a number of other Grand Tastings from AVAs that focus on a variety of different grapes. Though known as the foremost rival to Napa’s claim to Cabernet supremacy, its western neighbor excels in a number of varietals, including Sangiovese, Barbera, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and a wide range of Rhône-style wines. Labor Day weekend’s poolside Access Alexander Valley featured long-established wineries like Seghesio, Rodney Strong, and renowned Chardonnay specialist Robert Young, alongside showcase châteaux Lancaster and Ferrari-Carano, as well as ambitious starters like ACTA and La Cienega.

A couple of weeks later, I wound my way up to Yountville for the return of Taste of Mount Veeder, a showcase for one of Napa’s most prestigious hillside AVAs. Despite the threat of atypical September rainshowers, this event still proceeded on the lawn of Domaine Chandon; though the terrain proved challenging at times, the muddied field could hardly rival the famed “Pinot in the River” tasting in Healdsburg several years ago. But between intermittent cloudbursts, the afternoon proved a wonder opportunity to revisit with numerous wineries and sample through their current releases.

Of course, like Alexander Valley, Mount Veeder is known primarily for its Cabernet Sauvignon, but the vintners here demonstrated their prowess with a disparate assortment of varietals. with such bottlings as Lagier Meredith’s always-intriguing 2019 Mondeuse and the 2014 Precious Bane, a port-style (fortified) Mount Veeder Syrah. meanwhile, heir apparent Aaron Pott held his own with the 2021 Viognier Pott Art.

My overt fondness for Mary Yates aside, her Yates Family Vineyard’s 2018 Fleur de Veeder Merlot proved most impressive. As did the 2014 Mount Veeder Malbec from Godspeed. And relatively atypical Cabernet blends abounded here, like the sumptuous 2015 Mary Ann Red from Gamble Family, a Cheval Blanc homage consisting of 56% Cabernet Franc, 32% Merlot, and a mere 12% Cabernet Sauvignon. In signature fashion, Paul Woolls’ Progeny rounded out the typical five Bordeaux varietal blend in their 2018 Reserve Cabernet with 2% Carménère from their Mount Veeder estate, while Random Ridge replicated a SuperTuscan, marrying Sangiovese and Cabernet in their 2019 Fortunata.

Still, it goes without saying that Cabernet Sauvignon reigns supreme in this AVA, and it was most heartening to see Newton, an historic winery obliterated in Spring Mountains’ Grass Fire of 2020, rise like the Phoenix from its embers and dazzle here their 2016 Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon. But my guiltiest pleasure from any Mount Veeder Grand Tasting will always be the glorious yet unheralded Mithra Winery, which year in and year out produces one of Napa’s greatest Cabernets, represented here by the 2016 Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon and the near-flawless library offering, the 2009 Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon.

Ha-cha-cha-cha!

Paint It Black

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To some a glass is half-empty; others see it as half-full. I tend to regard it as a glass that is twice the size it need be. So now the pandemic (plus a little incursion along the Baltic Sea) has brought us to the point of $6.50/gallon—regrettably, I still drive a conventional vehicle as I save up for a Lucid Air—gasoline. But rather than bemoan the price, I marvel at have rapidly I can now pump $20 worth of Arco Unleaded whenever I fill up!

Earlier this month, Your West Coast Oenophile hit the road again on behalf of Sostevinobile, returning to Sonoma’s Veterans Hall for the revival of Garagiste Festival Norther Exposure. Given the two-year hiatus since its last rendition, I shouldn’t have been surprised that, of the 43 wineries on hand, 17 were either previously untried or utterly new to me, along with several I first encountered only last November at the Paso Robles session.

The only problem with tasting with and evaluating so many new labels is that I forget to take photos while jotting down my notes. And so, I’m afraid my sundry readers must make do here without the benefit of images. But know that i was impressed with this array of newcomers, starting with the potpourri of German, Italian, Portuguese and French varietals Accenti Wines poured. While all proved quite amiable, I was vastly impressed by the 2020 Dry Riesling Fountaingrove District, a wine that belied its reputation for having a sweet tinge. Meanwhile, microproducer Amrita Cellars firmly asserted itself onto the Pinotism bandwagon, with clear progress shown from its 2017 Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast to the more vibrant 2018 Pinot Noir Russian River Valley.

It’s highly tempting to call Sandro Tamburin’s Anthesis Wines the antithesis of the wines his father-in-law Ray D’Argenzio produces at their shared Santa Rosa facility. All punning aside, I’d be hard-pressed to select a favorite among the four superb wines Anthesis had on display: a 2018 Chardonnay from Napa Valley, the 2017 Pinot Noir Petaluma Gap, or two orange wines, a 2016 Picpoul Blanc and a 2016 Falanghina, both from Alder Springs Vineyard. Meanwhile, a marvelous discovery from the eastern Carmel Valley, a region from where one might expect a slew of Pinot Noirs, Boëté Winery made its stand a Bordelaise powerhouse. Sourced exclusively from their Saunders Vineyard, their three-varietal blend (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc), the 2018 Cheval Rouge proved a worthy homage to the Right bank’s legendary Cheval Blanc, while both 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2018 Merlot shone through for their own merits.Even more impressive, B0ëté’s 2017 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon easily rivaled a $250 Napa Cab for a third of its price.

Wesley Box probably never anticipated the emergence of boxed wines when he began his Box Wine Company. Fortunately, there was no double-entendre among his offerings here, highlighted by the 2020 Black Roses Sangiovese and 2020 Black Roses Pinot Noir, along with a distinctive 2020 Sirras Knights Valley. BSC Wines, short for Brue Skok Cellars, proved a rare find, excelling in both the Burgundian, with a standout 2016 Stony Point Pinot Noir and with their Bordeaux blend, the 2016 Geography Lesson—no mean feat for the same winemaker.

Hailing from Healdsburg, Charlie Gilmore’s vineyard-specific Cormorant Cellars comported themselves amiably, most notably with a 2021 Chardonnay Zabala Vineyard. Meanwhile, Forgotten Union sounds like a perfect wine to help consummate a one-night stand; nonetheless, their 2018 Vidi Vitis Cabernet Sauvignon from Oakvilleproved quite memorable. another Cab I quite cottoned to the Sonoma offering from Guerrero-Fernandez Winery, the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Knight’s Valley.

No suspense here. Lussier Wine Company will probably not gain many fans among vegan circles, but their 2019 Pinot Noir Golden Fleece Vineyard would certainly complement a plate of prosciutto, while their 2020 Chenin Blanc Green Valley Vineyard shone through on its own. Kevin Lee’s Marchelle Wines may fit the bill as a Garagiste, but winemaker Greg La Follette certainly is no neophyte. Breaking from the confines of Chardonnay/Sauvignon Blanc/Pinot Noir/Zinfandel that define his craft at Quivira and his eponymous label. And so the true delights here were the 2020 Cinsault Bechthold Vineyard, the 2019 Marchelle Carignan Jessie’s Grove, and a delightful rarity, the 2021 Pinot Meunier—my go-to wine for Thanksgiving, anytime I can source some.

One of the jewels of the Pine Mountain Cloverdale Peak AVA is Nikki Mustard’s Pine Mountain Vineyards, a winery, despite its small production, gives tremendous credence to this up & coming Napa challenger. Standouts from their exceptional lineup included the 2019 Estate Cabernet Franc, a 2018 Estate Red Blend, (a mélange of 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc), and perhaps the most impressive wine of the afternoon, the near-flawless 2012 Ampère Cabernet Sauvoignon PMV Estate. Nonetheless, I doubt anyone else could have charmed me more than Ashley Holland, co-owner and vintner at Sonoma’s Read Holland Wines. But her pulchritude belied the excellence of her vinifications, most notably her 2019 Pinot Noir Deep End and her luscious library selection, the 2016 Pinot Noir Deep End.

Arthur O’Connor’s Rondure Wines made a noteworthy debut, also with selections of his Pinots: the 2019 Pinot Noir Russian River Valley and the vineyard-specific 2019 Pinot Noir Sangiacomo Roberts Road Vineyard, both made with his revival of the Spanish tecnica de capas. Also featuring their first vintage from 2019, Terre et Sang excelled with his Santa Barbara Syrahs, in particular the 2019 The Long Road Syrah Thompson Vineyard and a deft Syrah-Grenache blend, the 2019 Leave It to the Birds Peake Vineyard.

Closing out my new discoveries for the afternoon, Gondak’s offshoot, Little X Little impressed with their 2020 Chenin Blanc Mangels Vineyard from Suisun Valley, while Tiana Sawyer’s aptly-named Wild Rising Wines showed across the board excellence, particularly with thee 2021 Ana Rosé of Pinot Noir, a 2021 Aqua Chardonnay from Petaluma Gap, and the deep-bodied 2019 Igris Cabernt Sauvignon.

Not to give short shrift to the other 26 wineries on hand, all of which I extolled in the past and happily tasted once again. But with so many wineries on hand, is there any wonder why I forgot to snap any photos?

Slowly winding up

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Sostevinobile has been affiliated with the Slow Food movement since our launch, but it was not without a degree of trepidation that Your West Coast Oenophile set out to attend the Slow Wine Tour at Pier 27 earlier this week. Initially, this wine tasting was incorporated as part of Slow Food’s annual extravaganza at Fort Mason that featured virtually every Italian restaurant in San Francisco. The first few years, only Italian wines were featured—not surprising, since Slow Food’s San Francisco founder, Lorenzo Scarpone, runs Villa Italia, a premier wine importer in South San Francisco. Eventually, however, the wines of Mendocino County, which bills itself as America’s Greenest AVA, were also included.

After a few iterations, Mendocino began holding its own San Francisco Grand Tasting—the first, at Fort Mason, included amazing aerial acrobatic performances à la Cirque du Soleil—which ultimately led to Slow Wine holding its own January event, six months after each annual Slow Food extravaganza. And just as Slow Food has expanded beyond its Italy & San Francisco beginnings, the wine tasting has grown to incorporate participants from throughout the West Coast AVAs.

I was quite surprised that The Slow Wine Tour held to its January schedule. ZinEx, Union des Grand Crus de Bordeaux, and others decided to postpone their tastings scheduled for this week, due to the Omicron surge. I resolved to give this event a whirl provisionally, determined that if the expansive ground level at Pier 27 felt even slightly congested, I would forego the event until 2023. But with only moderate attendance and ample ventilation through the opened garage doors, I deemed it safe enough for a limited visit.

Rather than trying to undertake the entire lineup of 102 vendors, I held to the parameters established for Sostevinobile and restricted my samplings only to the ample selection of West Coast wineries on hand this afternoon. Conveniently, Slow Wine placed the tables from California, Oregon, and Washington at the end of the numeric roster, so it was easy to migrate sequentially, pace myself accordingly, and take ample notes. And it was a particular pleasure to start my tasting with Angwin’s Adamvs, one of Philippe Melka’s standout projects. Around this time of year, I relish the annual Atelier Melka Tasting at Première Napa, but sadly it will not be taking place in 2022. Here, along the Embarcadero, I could not have been more impressed with the two wines Adamvs poured, both Cabernets: their 2016 Téres, a deft blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot, and 4% Cabernet Franc, alongside their flawless 2016 Quintvs, an exquisite pure expression of the varietal.

At the next table, organic wine pioneers Bonterra represented a continuum from Slow Wine’s Mendocino beginnings. Here they ably showcased the versatility of their viticulture with their 2020 The Roost, a biodynamic Chardonnay from their Blue Heron Vineyard, alongside the 2019 The Butler, a Rhône-style blend of Petite Sirah, Syrah and Grenache. Also included, for comparison, the 2016 The Butler, a library selection. Moving on, another storied Howell Mountain winery, Burgess, now part of the burgeoning Demeine Estates empire, featured a trio of wines from their previous incarnation. The 2014 Mountaineer proved an amiable blend of 46% Syrah, 43% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Petit Verdot, and 3% Petite Sirah. A slightly more orthodox blend, the 2016 Contadina Cabernet Sauvignon, absent the more frequently incorporated Merlot and Cabernet Franc, rounded out the varietal with both Petit Verdot and Malbec, while the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Vineyards clearly rose to the top.

Another conspicuous absence from this year’s Première Napa will be the popular Bottle Party at Cliff Lede. From their Mendocino vineyards, the 2019 FEL Chardonnay Anderson Valley exemplified how this AVA has grown into one of California’s premier Burgundian regions, but my preference still leaned toward Cliff’s Napa selections, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Stags Leap District and the utterly superb 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Stags Leap District Magic Nights. Showcasing another exemplary locale for Burgundy varietals, Carneros, Donum Estate, the former domain of the lustrous Anne Moller-Racke, comported itself admirably with three expressions of Pinot: the 2020 Rosé of Pinot Noir, a superb 2019 Pinot Noir Three Hills Vineyard, and the 2019 Pinot Noir White Barn Single Block Reserve, an Editors’ Top Selection.

From Camino in the Sierra Foothills, Edio, the homegrown label from Delfino Farms, offered a refreshing line up of their 2020 Albariño El Dorado County, the 2019 Grenache El Dorado County, and a delightfully Mourvèdre-focused GSM, the 2019 Frank’s Rhone Blend. From Edio Delfino to Ettore Biraghi—wines just seem to taste better with a strong Italian name behind the label! This eponymous label is a new Mendocino venture from this pioneering vintner, whose Purovino® certification exceeds the non-additive strictures of the Natural Wine Movement. Here, at the Slow Wine Tour, this sulfite-free technique shone through in the 2018 Chardonnay Pure and the striking 2018 Chardonnay Reserve. Underscoring this all-organic lineup: the delightful 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Signature, handpicked from Hopland’s Sanel Valley Vineyards.

Even before COVID struck, my efforts to visit Hamel Family Wines new Valley of the Moon facility were thwarted by an appointment-only policy. Allora, this obstacle will now be surmounted, but, in the interim, I greatly enjoyed the biodynamic wines poured here, starting with their excellent Bordeaux blend, the 2018 Isthmus. Far less of a tongue-twister, yet as appealing on the palate, their two reserve proprietary Cabernets: the 2017 Nuns Canyon Vineyard and the 2017 Hamel Family Ranch. Not long before COVID, I was able to snag a reservation at Saratoga’s prestigious Mount Eden, where I spent a wondrous afternoon sipping and sampling with Proprietor Jeff Patterson. Here, in a more objective milieu, the wines proved even more enticing, starting with a quite respectable 2017 Estate Bottled Pinot Noir. The 2017 Estate Bottled Chardonnay showed even more impeccable, but the 2016 Estate Bottled Cabernet Sauvignon was virtually flawless, a paean to the extraordinary expressions of this grape found within this coveted sector of the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA.

I am also an unabashed fan of Mendocino’s Roederer Estate, so was extremely pleased to taste with Domaine Anderson, their still wine adjunct in Mendocino. As you might expect from a sparkling wine producer, their three wines focused on Champagne grapes: the 2018 Estate Chardonnay, the 2018 Estate Pinot Noir, and the single vineyard 2018 Pinot Noir Dach Vineyard. If only they had bottled a Pinot Meunier, as well! Just below Mendocino, Geyserville’s Sei Querce is a relative newcomer to the winery realm (although they have been growing Bordeaux varietals since 2010). Their 2019 Sauvignon Ranch House made for an auspicious debut, but a pair of Cabernets , made under the tutelage of star winemaker Jesse Katz, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Six Oaks and the splendid 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Ranch House, proved exemplary. An added treat: their new First Edition Vermouth, an exceptional aromatic wine blending Sauvignon Blanc, Sauvignon Musqué, Sémillon and Viognier.

Postmodern winemaker Clark Smith, who helped found R. H. Phillips when it was a lonely outpost in Yolo County, brought the eclectic selections of his current label, WineSmith. Though based in Santa Rosa, Smith seems quite peripatetic, sourcing his 2017 Sparkling Grenache Brut Zero from Santa Cruz, a 2019 Tempranillo Tejada Vineyard from Lake County, and an interesting yet lackluster 2014 Meritage Ishi Pishi Vineyard from northern Humboldt County. Reaching out above the Emerald Triangle, Oregon’s Left Coast Estate made the trek to San Francisco to impress with their de rigueur selections: the 2019 Chardonnay Truffle Hill, the 2016 Pinot Noir Truffle Hill, and a superb 2018 Pinot Noir Cali’s Cuvée. Their standout, however, was the painstakingly-produced 2020 Estate White Pinot Noir, an exceptional example of this rare vinification.

Former Rubicon sommelier Larry Stone’s Lingua Franca similarly offered a Burgundian take on Oregon, with its own inimitable flair: a wondrous 2019 Avni Chardonnay, their 2018 Avni Pinot Noir, and the decidedly more complex 2017 Estate Pinot Noir. Likewise, Hillsboro’s Ruby Vineyard poured a pair of Pinots, the 2018 Laurelwood Blend Pinot Noir and the
2017 Flora’s Reserve Pinot Noir, alongside their unadorned 2018 Chardonnay. If pressed to choose, I think that Winderlea stood out in this niche, not just for the their 2018 Chardonnay, but with a trio of noteworthy Pinots: the 2017 Imprint Pinot Noir, the 2017 Legacy Pinot Noir, and the unassuming yet wondrous 2017 Pinot Noir Winderlea Vineyard.

Despite this uniformity, Oregon viticulture is hardly monolithic, as Cornerstone’s former President Craig Camp displayed here with his current project, the biodynamic- and regenerative-certified Troon Vineyard. Their 2019 Estate Syrah Kubli Bench was a most welcome bottling, while the 2020 Estate Vermentino Kubli Bench fit the overall Italian nature of the Slow Wine exquisitely. But their œnological prowess was truly on display with the 2020 Kubli Bench Amber, a most memorable orange (skin-contact) blend of Riesling, Vermentino, and Viognier. In fact so good, I had to take a bottle home!

Not to be downplayed, Washington did have representation here, a rare public tasting of the highly-acclaimed Cayuse Vineyards, with their splendidly-named 2018 God Only Knows Grenache, the 2019 Impulsivo Tempranillo, and an ungodly great 2018 Horsepower Syrah.

In other years,I might have remained at Pier 27 and cherry-picked my way through the various Italian tenute on hand. But even being triply-vaccinated, was wary about potential exposure to this pernicious Omicron variant. Still, if anything can kill a Covid virus, it would undoubtedly be grappa, and so before leaving, I sampled through the four selections Venetian distillery Andrea Da Ponte poured: the Unica Da Ponte 2011, Vecchia Grappa di Prosecco, their Uve Bianche,
and the Fine Grappa Italiana. So far, nary even a sniffle!

Are we back yet?

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In forming Sostevinobile, Your West Coast Oenophile dedicated this still-nascent venture not only to creating a singular temple for wines produced along the entire stretch of the North Pacific’s West Coast (Baja California—British Columbia), but committed these efforts to the highest level of sustainability we could attain. My personal dedication to this latter facet of our business is to cycle as much as possible, instead of driving, notably throughout the confines of San Francisco proper, as well as points attainable over the Golden Gate Bridge. At least as long as my increasingly wobbly knees will withstand.

And so, one might assume that I regarded the dramatic reduction of automobile traffic, particularly at the start the damned pandemic, as a boon. But, as it turned out, the remarkably clean air proved quite the annoyance. As soon the sun began settling past the meridian, the blinding glare became overwhelming, making any kind of westerly route unbearable, if not hazardous. Dare I say I actually began to miss the air pollution?

Heading to Paso Robles earlier this month, my route required that I pass through the confines of the tech jungle for the first time since 2019. Much to surprise, in the offing to my left, there hovered the famed San José smog along the Diablo Mountains that bifurcate Santa Clara County. Could this be an omen that the end of COVID-19 was finally within sight? Could foul air mean congested traffic mean a return to normalcy? It’s enough to make a wine guy want to learn how to plot an algorithm!

But nothing that Legoland (my derisive term for Silicon Valley) offered could dissuade me from reaching my destination for the weekend. Various complications had kept me from visiting Paso since 2018, so the opportunity to return for the revived Garagiste Wine Festival proved too compelling to miss. Arriving the day before the Grand Tasting, I spent the afternoon reacquainting myself with the township.

For the past several years, ground zero for cutting-edge winemaking in Paso Robles has been the eclectic collective known as Tin City. But what had been a relatively underground enclave had blossomed into a full-fledged destination, overflowing with wineries and tasting rooms, as well as breweries, cider plants, restaurants and artisan food purveyors. Not to mention teeming with locals and tourists alike. As Dorothy Gale might have said, “I’ve a feeling we’re in Kansas anymore!”

A sign of COVID times, simply dropping in on a Tin City tasting room no longer is an option, a change that severely hampered my modus operandi. Nonetheless, I was able to schedule a special trade appointment with Giornata, Paso Robles leading producer of Italian varietal wines. Brian and Steffi Terrizzi are both fellow members of NEB, so, not surprisingly, their 2018 Nebbiolo Luna Matta—for the uninitiated, Nebbiolo, the grape that constitutes both Barolo and Barbaresco, is known among cognoscenti as the wine for when Pinot Noir drinkers grow up—proved extraordinary, as did the 2018 Aglianico Luna Matta.

Giornata’s Fatto a Mano series of wines might be deemed “natural,” but the term hardly does justice to these painstakingly crafted wines that are aged in amphorae. Standouts among these selections were the proprietary white blend, the 2020 Bianco Estate, a deft mélange of Trebbiano, Friulano, and Ribolla Gialla, and their esoteric red, a co-fermented 2020 Grenache Moscato, produced with Moscato Gialla and an early picked Grenache Rouge.

As much as I enjoyed these two wines, my eyes nonetheless gravitated toward the 2020 Falanghina, my first experience with this varietal as a skin-contact wine. But, of course, I could not overlook the flagship 2020 Ramato, easily the intensely orange Pinot Grigio I have ever experienced. An utterly superb bottling!

Even after two hours, I could have stayed on—and perhaps should have, after learning that the renowned Luna Matta Vineyard, the crown jewel of Italian varietals in Paso Robles, was being replanted with Cabernet Sauvignon—a most egregious development in my book. But the Grand Tasting for Garagiste beckoned, and even without cohesive directions to the Paso Fairgrounds, I reluctantly departed.

COVID-19 has been so devastating, in so many ways. For like myself in the wine sector, its impact on trade tastings has been particularly arduous, not just stifling all aspects of our business practices but depriving us of the camaraderie these gatherings foster. Since California’s putative lifting the pandemic color coding system, there has been a slow reemergence of trade events, though most have been a pallid vestige of their former incarnations, with reduced attendance capacities, substitute pourers, a dearth of trade/media passes, and astronomical ticket prices—particularly in Napa, where some four different AVA events sought ~$175 for a two-hour tasting.

A number of imported wine events have resurfaced these past six months, including St. Emilion, Portugal, Georgia, and the annual Simply Great Italian Wines, though almost all were represented by their American distributors. While these events help as a point of comparison and often attune my palate to varietals like Saperavi or Alvarelhão that have scant plantings here in California, they offer little in the way of reigniting Sostevinobile’s core mission.

Since June, I’ve been happy to attend the inaugurals of both the Chardonnay Classic and the Cabernet Classic at Vista Collina, as well as Healdsburg Crush, the revamped rendition of Pinot on the River, all of which still were generous enough to accommodate select media and trade. And I was most please to be once again selected as a judge for USA Wine Ratings. But it wasn’t until Garagiste that I felt a true sense of return to normalcy.

The true beauty of these tastings is the opportunity to discover an array of small producers whom I might not have otherwise encountered. This time, after a 2-year hiatus, the list of newcomers was bountiful, with 23 wineries to add to the Sostevinobile database. Layout of the Paso Event Center lent itself to an easy alphabetical navigation, which I followed in reverse order. Just because…

Here’s a brief synopsis of the wineries I discovered:

Zanoli Wines, a local, 350 cases project focused on Rhône varietals. Standout selections included their 2019 Mourvèdre Glenrose Vineyard and the 2018 Red, a Syrah-dominated GSM blend
The Wine Boss, a winery & custom-crush facility in Paso Robles, offered an amiable 2018 Fortunate Youth Cabernet Franc
Executive Director for Rhône Rangers, Kim Murphy-Rodrigues, poured both a 2020 Picpoul Blanc and a 2018 Grenache Morro View Vineyard that may have been the afternoon’s best selection, for her family-owned Vigo Cellars
Thibido Winery, a new Paso Robles producer, showcased their 2020 First Date Grenache Blanc and the superb 2020 Just Because Carbonic Syrah—just because…
Another new endeavor, St. Eva Hill, seemed a decidedly mixed bag, but I did cotton to their 2019 Estate Petite Sirah, as well as the 2019 Estate Rosé
Bakersfield’s San Rucci, a truly boutique effort, impressed with their 60 case bottling of the 2019 Cabernet Franc
RF Fine Wines delighted with their 2015 Riserva Primitivo, but their forte was in a trio of Paso Robles Cabernets, most notably the 2018 Legacy Cabernet Sauvignon
From Turley’s vineyard manager, Brennan Stovall, the intriguingly-named Quench & Temper is uniquely focused on blending Graciano with Rhône varietal grapes, exemplified by the 2019 Chapter IV (+ Grenache) and the 2019 La Cantera (+ Syrah)
I was vastly impressed with Nenow Family Wines, another Paso-based Rhône producer, with excellent selections across the board, particularly their GSM blend, the 2018 Elevens and an astounding 2018 Syrah Kimsey Vineyard
In Atascadero, south of Paso Robles, John Merrick’s Mea Wine presented a cross-section of Italian, French, And Spanish varietals, and while I am wont to favor his 2019 Estate Vermentino, the 2018 Revelation, a Syrah-Tempranillo blend, proved equally compelling
In recent years, Paso has been home to California’s renewed interest in Mourvèdre, the proverbial Holy Ghost of the GSM Trinity. Here, Loma Seca best exemplified the stunning versatility of this varietal with their 2019 Estate Mourvèdre
Mourvèdre can also be known as Mataro or Monastrell. Like Grenache, aka Garnacha, it is popular as both a Rhône grape and a Spanish varietal, too. Still. it is uncommon for both grapes to be blended with a pair of more distinct Spanish plantings, Tempranillo and Graciano, but this quartet comprised a most distinctive wine, the 2019 La Macha. from Paso Robles’ Hayseed and Housdon
The familiar refrain, Don’t Call It Frisco, doesn’t apply if that happens to be your surname. Nor is it an apostasy for Frisco Cellars to produce their 2018 Blanc du Rouge, a painstakingly handcrafted white Cabernet Sauvignon
Because I can speak Italian, I was able to deduce the meaning of Familia Hicks, as it varies only slightly from our term famiglia. But were it not for this Paso Robles micro-boutique, I would not have known that their 2019 Kazoku, a Templeton Gap Syrah, also means family (in Japanese)
This name only seems like a typo. Etnyre Wines heralds from Pismo Beach and produces 200 cases of coastal reds, displayed here with both the 2016 Pinot Noir Quin’s Vineyard and the striking 2016 Syrah Quin’s Vineyard
Orion Stang partnered withColorado winemaker Richard Crockett to create Emercy , a Paso Robles winery on eclectic blends, like their 2019 Grenache/Cabernet Sauvignon/Petite Sirah, whose unimaginative name belies it’s extraordinary complexity
I vaguely recall Dracaena from their incubation at San Francisco’s former Crushpad facility, but now they have grown to a full-fledged Paso Robles operation, producing a noteworthy 2019 Classic Cabernet Franc, alongside their Rosé and Chenin Blanc offerings
Of course, even if your name really is Demeter, your wine should be biodynamic, but their 2015 Sangiovese Javadi Vineyards muted any criticism I might have had
On the other hand, I can’t saying specifically what a winery named Crush Vineyard ought to produce, but their 2017 Inception, a GSM blended with Tannat, proved most intriguing
I had met Paige Wilson at Concur’s Tin City facilities on the previous day, but, despite her libertarian proselytizing, promised to taste with her husband Patrick at Garagiste. Happy to report that there was nothing laissez-faire about the 2018 Tank, a Mourvèdre-focused GSM blend
I suspect I would have found Bushong’s wine selections as compelling even if it weren’t for their intriguing label designs. Certainly, both their superb 2019 Tannnat Vineyard 1010 and the 2019 Same Deep Water, a Spanish varietal blend of Cariñena, Tempranillo, and Garnacha proved complex wines that could overshadow even the blandest packaging
Similarly, Karin Langer’s Bolt To Wines matched the sheer excellence of her 2019 Chardonnay Sta. Rita Hills and 2018 Syrah Ballard Canyon withcevocative renditions of Central Coast flora and fauna
Given its resurgence in Paso Robles, I would have expected to find quite a number of Malbecs being poured this afternoon. Nonetheless, the 2018 Malbec Paicines AVA (San Benito County) from Arianna Wines was enough to suffice, while her 2020 Torrontés Alta Mesa was a perfectly refreshing white with which to wrap up this hot afternoon

I wish I could have remained in Paso Robles for several more days, but I had committed to the revival of the West of West tasting being held in San Francisco. Held amid the hyper-elegant confines of The Battery, this intimate gathering assembled all the hallmarks of a well-appointed professional tasting, compact yet easily navigated, hampered only by its lack of a printed program. To be honest, there was little revelatory to this event; given the narrow focus (Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, with a splash of Syrah) of the West Sonoma AVA, I have long been familiar with the selections each winery has to offer. My attendance here was primarily to show my support and to reconnect with the winemakers on hand after the arduous 20 months of pandemic separation.

Granted, these two events were not 100% back to pre-COVID status, but things finally felt close enough to declare “we’re back!” But then Taste Washington announced they were compelled to cancel for 2022, South Australian Shiraz: Iconic and Ageworthy postponed until January (or later) due to shipping difficulties, and up pops the Omicron variant. Sempre lo stesso…

Both sides now

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Your West Coast Oenophile hit the road this past weekend for Sostevinobile. Actually, I was doing double-duty, as we launched Risorgimento, the new trade association for producers of Italian varietal wines in California at Barbera Festival in Amador on Saturday. Having attended this event numerous times, at both Cooper Ranch and at its current site, Terra d’Oro, this marked the first time I actually poured instead of tasted.
Even when I have a particular fondness for a certain grape, it becomes quite difficult for my palate to distinguish the nuances of the various renditions of this varietal after 20 or 25 different samples. As I would have been, even this afternoon’s diehard Barbera aficionados took a liking to the selections of Arneis, Vermentino, Rosato di Sangiovese, Montepulciano, Sangiovese, and Charbono we served at our table—in no small part since we were one of the few participants serving chilled wines amid the 95°F weather! Regardless, the message was inarguable: wine lovers are clearly looking beyond the orthodoxy of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah, and Petite Sirah that constitute some 93% of California’s wine production.

The following day, I wound my way down to the Sacramento area, where Friends of the Clarksburg Library held their 31st Annual Wines of Clarksburg fundraiser at the storied Heringer Estates. As does Gallo in Modesto, Heringer has long dominated the Clarksburg landscape, to the point it seems, to outsiders, to be the only producing vineyard or winery in the town. But, in fact, there are well over 35 labels in the region, most of which were on hand this afternoon or had donated to the silent auction. And while Clarksburg seemed, for long, the last vestige of California’s once-ubiquitous Chenin Blanc, numerous other varietals are produced quite successfully in this AVA.

Last year, I had toured the riverside estate of Miner’s Leap on an impromptu tour of Clarksburg, so was happy to revisit with them here. To be candid, the 2016 Rosé of Pinot Noir left something to be desired, but I did cotton to their 2016 Tempranillo, along with their NV Harmony, a proprietary blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Petite Sirah, and Syrah. Another past discovery, Scribner Bend, situated on the opposite bank of the Sacramento, selected their 2018 Pinot Gris and a suitably-aged 2014 Syrah.

During my visit last year, I had sought, in vain, to locate Wilson Vineyards, so it was fortuitous to find them here. Sadly, though, this winery is winding down its operations, but still generously poured its 2016 Petite Sirah, along with a less-than-memorable NV Almond Sparkling. I had wrapped up that day most memorably at Julietta, an intimate operation which here poured their 2016 Beverly’s Inspiration was an austere combination of Zinfandel, Syrah, and Grenache. Their chilled offerings included a 2018 Rosé of Tempranillo and a far-from-obligatory 2018 Chenin Blanc.

Speaking of obligatory, I would have expected Ken Musso’s Due Vigne to be pouring a selection of their Italian varietals, and so was not disappointed to discover NV Romanza, an unspecified “blend of mostly Italian varietals.” Ironically, the 2018 Rosato Rosé, a redundancy whose name begs a mixed pedigree, wedded Syrah with 20% Cinsault. One Clarksburg winery from which I always expect great things is III (Three), an independent venture from Matt Cline of the third generation of Sonoma’s Jacuzzi family. Though Matt was not on hand this afternoon, his staff comported themselves admirably with his 2017 Sauvignon Blanc, an exceptionally approachable wine, along with the wondrous 2013 established 1885, an eclectic blend of 30.3% Carignane, 32.5% Zinfandel, 29.8% Mataro, 4.1% Petite Sirah, 2.9% Cinsault, and 0.4% Alicante Bouschet.

Due Vigne and III are both part of the winery collective at Clarksburg’s Old Sugar Mill. The original tenants of this facility, Carvalho, now operate on the north side of the Freeport Bridge, alongside their Freeport Wine Country Inn and Bistro. Produced in their former location, the 2016 Syrah seemed a perfunctory wine, while their Boot Shed Red Lot 7, a proprietary blend of Tempranillo, Syrah, and Teroldego, proved compelling. One of Clarksburg’s oldest wineries, Bogle, has been ensconced in its own facility since 1979. Here they ably demonstrated why they have managed their longevity, starting with their 2017 Chardonnay and 2017 Petite Sirah. Their standout, however, came from the 2015 Phantom, a truly deft blend of 44% Petite Sirah, 44% Zinfandel, 10% Merlot, and 2% Cabernet Sauvignon.

Twisted Rivers, a nearby operation from Duke Heringer, poured their 2017 White Raven, a contrasting Viognier/Chenin Blanc blend, alongside a nicely-aged 2011 Petite Sirah and a splendid 2016 Primitivo. Also geographically themed Grand Island showcased their premium line, with both their 2017 Salman Family Reserve Chenini Blanc and the noteworthy 2017 Salman Family Reserve Premier, a Bordeaux-style Meritage.

If it were coastal, Elevation 10 would likely be threatened by climate change in the none-too-distant future, but here in the Sacramento Valley, it remains a thriving enterprise with noteworthy wines. I usually associate their winemaker, Marco Cappelli, with the El Dorado AVA (alongside the Amador region I had just visited), and, indeed, many of their wines do herald from the Foothills. But their Clarksburg selections proved quite deft, starting with the 2016 Chardonnay and finishing with a superb 2016 Cabernet Franc. Dancing Coyote heralds from the Lodi AVA, but sources much of its fruit from Clarksburg. Examples here included their rather sweet 2017 Chardonnay, an adequate 2017 Rosé of Pinot Noir, alongside a more developed 2016 Pinot Noir.

Admittedly, Clarksburg will be on few people’s radar as a major wine region, but the newly-restored barn at Heringer easily qualifies as one of the most inviting tasting rooms I have ever visited. And in keeping with it reputation as the pinnacle of this AVA, our host winery shared with this event a 2018 Moscato (subsequently revealed to be Muscat Canelli) and a delightful 2018 Pinot Gris. But their forte at Wines of Clarksburg proved to be the spectacular 2015 Tempranillo, a wine ideally suited to the evening’s Andalusian breeze.

Keeping pace with Heringer’s vineyard operations in Clarksburg is the variegated operations of Ogilvie Merwin Ventures (not to be confused with advertising tita Ogilvy & Mather). here they debuted a new label, Fellow, which brought six of their wines to sample, including the 2018 Sauvignon Blanc, the 2018 Chardonnay, a dry 2018 Gewürztraminer, and a striking 2018 Chenin Blanc.On the red side, I found the 2017 Petite Sirah equally compelling, while the 2018 Pinot Noir served amiably for such a young wine. The 2016 Pinot Noir from sister operations Silt rivaled this bottling, but their 2016 Merlot clearly stood out. I have never been able to appreciate a Valdiguié, but here a 2018 Rosé finally brought me around to this unassuming varietal.

Silt, of course, produced its own 2017 Chenin Blanc, but partner Phil Ogilvie was intent on showcasing multiple expressions of this grape from an array of wineries that source his fruit. Local winemaker Jason Lee’s Zah opened with an excellent 2018 Chenin Blanc, as did Sonoma’s Dry Creek Vineyard. Another familiar label, Vinum Cellars. was represented with the 20th Anniversary Edition of their Chenin, the 2017 CNW. Again from Sonoma, West of West stalwart Gros Ventre juxtaposed their 2017 Chenin Blanc with a noteworthy 2018 Chenin Blanc Merritt Island. Like Risorgimento, Seven% Solution is a wine movement dedicated to non-mainstream wines; at its past tastings, La Pitchoune has been featured for its Chenin Blanc, exemplified here with its 2017 La Bombe. Lastly, Ogilvie displayed both of maverick Santa Cruz winemaker Megan Bell’s contrasting Margins bottlings: the 2018 Clarksburg Chenin Blanc with her utterly compelling 2018 Skin Fermented Chenin Blanc.

After Wines of Clarksburg, I detoured to Davis for a truncated dalliance, then reluctantly headed back to the Bay Area. An exhausting weekend, to be sure, but a weekend nonetheless well spent.

Monterey Jazzed

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It is not often that Your West Coast Oenophile finds himself retreating on a position taken here. Actually, Sostevinobile has never not held the wines of Monterey County in high regard, but, in the past, I have taken some issue with what I perceived as an over-reliance on conformity, particularly within the Santa Lucia Highlands. This AVA is not alone in producing a plethora of wines from its predominant vineyards—how many Napa labels produce a George III or To Kalon Cabernet? But, in the past, I have been hard-pressed to find an SLH Pinot Noir not heralding from Garys’ or Pisoni or Tondrē or Sobranes or Doctor’s, etc.

And so, it was most welcome to discover nearly all the wineries pouring at this month’s 26th Annual Monterey Winemakers’ Celebration focused on estate bottlings. Additionally, the array of varietals here encompassed far more than the preponderance of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay that I had anticipated. Among the most striking offerings I discovered were the 2013 Estate Bottled Mourvèdre from Shale Canyon, both the 2015 Syrah and 2015 Marsanne from Michaud, an alluring 2014 Carmel Valley Estate Syrah from Silvestri, and the 2014 Grenache from Scratch, which also poured one of the most focused Pinots of the afternoon, their 2013 Pinot Noir KW Ranch Vineyard. Both Testarossa and Hahn offered a captivating 2016 Pinot Noir, while the decidedly understated Blair Estate contrasted their excellent 2013 Pinot Noir Delfina’s Vineyard with an equally compelling 2013 Pinot Noir The Reserve from the same proprietary vineyard.

The Winemakers’ Celebration afforded me my first opportunity to explore a number of wineries lining Carmel-by-the-Sea’s cordoned-off 7th Street. Jackson Family Wines’ Carmel Ridge is probably best noted for its joint venture in producing Drew Barrymore’s wines after her less-than-stellar vintages originating from Italy at the beginning of this decade. Now calling Monterey home, these wines included her 2017 Rosé Of Pinot Noir alongside Carmel Ridge’s 2015 East Bend Chardonnay and their 2014 First Row Pinot Noir. Another collaboration, Seabold Cellars had included the late Peter Figge at the helm;m his deft topuch was evident in their 2015 Monterey County Chardonnay and 2015 Monterey County Pinot Noir, as well as the newly released 2017 Riesling and 2017 Rosé.

An old pro with a new label, Ian Brand has folded his acclaimed Le P’tit Paysan and Marea labels into I. Brand & Family. Needless to say, I was equally impressed with a crisp 2017 Albariño Kristy Vineyards, the 2016 Jack’s Hill Chardonnay, his 2015 Grenache Brosseau Vineyard, and the 2017 Rosé, a predominantly Mourvèdre blend , with Grenache and Cinsault.

In a resurrection of a different sort, Big Sur Vineyards, which was lost to the 2016 wildfires, has arisen like the phoenix with its Carmel Valley facility. Owner Lenora Carey poured a generous selection of her vintages, starting with her 2015 Monterey County Chardonnnay, the 2016 Rosé vinted from Cinsault and Grenache, a robust 2013 Pinot Noir from the slopes of the Laureles Grade in Monterey, a 2015 Syrah, and her proprietary 2015 Big Sure Red Wine, a delightful mélange of Grenache, Syrah and Petite Sirah. All in all, it was good to have her back and running strong once again.

As it was so good to see Monterey evolve so nicely. I was first introduced to the region in the mid-1980s when Ernest Gallo flew over the 10,000 acres he had under contract here in a prop plane and announced “we’re not buying any of these grapes this year.” Following that scramble came the nadir of the Coastal labels for brands like BV and Robert Mondavi. Fortunately, the evolution of the Santa Lucia Highlands turned Monterey’s fortunes around, but with a terribly monolithic focus. The current expansion of both varietal selections and estate properties holds even greater promise for the Monterey AVA; I was more than jazzed I could partake in it.