Author Archives: donaldmarc

One I missed. The other I made.

There can be a considerable downside to the simplicity of Copy & Paste. Your West Coast Oenophile is starting to realize that the pressures of trying to handle all the needs of Sostevinobile can sometimes cause me to overlook small but important details when I transfer information to my iCal datebook. Like the word preceding the calendar date—the month.

Perhaps I should blame my oversight on my attendance at Rock Wall’s Spring Fling Open House. The weather was perfect Saturday (something Rock Wall always seems to conjure for their major events); the salsicce spicy and enticing; the bevy of Tibetan nursing students who arrived at the tail end of the event alluringly beautiful; the usual suspects—wineries who regularly participate in these quarterly gatherings—there in force. Carica Wines, Ehrenberg , R&B Cellars all poured essentially the same lineup I had tasted at my most recent visit and reviewed here.

Of the new wines I tasted, John Robert Eppler’s JRE label showed notable progress with their 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford. Matt Smith, with whom I had recently participated on one of the Connoisseur’s Guide to California Wine Tasting Panels, poured several releases from his Blacksmith label, including his 2008 Torrontés, a nostalgic 2008 Chenin Blanc and his Syrah, Grenache/Cabernet Sauvignon blend, the 2006 Hephaestus. Good always to see Sasha Verhage with his redesigned labels for his Eno Wines; inside the bottle, the 2007 Mr. Fix-It (Syrah) and 2007 The Change Agent (Grenache) lingered longest on the memory.

Rock Wall also debuted several wines, including the 2008 Cabernet Franc Holbrook Mitchell, the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Holbrook Mitchell, a Sonoma County 2008 Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc, and the 2008 Zinfandel Reserve. The true revelation of the afternoon, however, was the much-anticipated 2008 Montepulciano Contra Costa County. A distinct varietal, not to be confused with the Sangiovese-based Italian wine of the same name, I have enjoyed this wine only twice before from other California wineries. This 88-case bottling sold out in less than a week (I did my part by returning to the tasting table several times) and truly stand as a harbinger of the risorgimento of Italian varietals on the West Coast (more on this phenomenon later).

Following the Spring Fling, I rushed back to San Francisco to order online passes to the Vinify Winery Collective Tasting in Santa Rosa. With my e-confirmation safely logged into my iPhone, I mapped out an itinerary, arranged appointments in Glen Ellen and Kenwood, then headed out from San Francisco before my usual wake-up time on Sundays.When my companion and I arrived at the industrial complex on Coffey Lane where Vinify houses its custom crush operations, the parking lot seemed eerily empty. Sure enough, Vinify’s front door was locked and neither Hillary Lattanzio nor her husband Matt were answering their phones. The sun was sweltering, Dongzhe was impatient, and I was flummoxed.

I had noticed, as we entered, that Carol Shelton operated her tasting room from another one of the complex’s warehouses. Determined that our trip not become a total wash, I pulled up to her window, hoping to fulfill a long-standing promise to visit her operations. Unfortunately, Carol was off pouring at a tasting in Southern California, but her Hospitality Manager Joanne Emery was more than happy to accommodate us. A check of my Webmail account from Joanne’s computer affirmed that our party was in fact scheduled for the last Sunday in May, so we mollified our frustration with a rather comprehensive survey of Carol’s current releases, starting with her 2008 Rendezvous Rosé, a blush expression of 100% Carignane.

I skipped past a couple of her Zinfandels I had sampled recently, settling first for the 2005 Wild Thing Zin, a much-awarded bottling smoothed by 10% Carignane. The 2006 Rocky Reserve Zin, a bold, signature Rockpile showcased Carol’s considerable repute for this varietal, as did her perennial favorite, the 2005 Karma Zin. Rockpile’s special allure figured prominently in the 2007 Petite Sirah Rockpile Reserve, while the 2005 Exhale Syrah Reserve derived from a rare second bottling of a wine that had been left in cask for over four years.

My readers, fans of Sostevinobile, and our future clientele all know how I am constantly seeking out different and obscure varietals to add to our inventory. The lineup at Carol’s tasting room yielded just such a discovery with her 2008 Sweet Caroline, a late harvest wine crafted from Trousseau Gris. We closed our visit with a taste of Dark Chocolate and the 2008 Black Magic, a late harvest Zinfandel, a fitting cap to our impromptu stop.

I have been building the wine program for Sostevinobile for nearly two years, building on an extensive involvement in the California wine industry since 1982. During this development, I have reached out to and sampled wines from 2,000 or so labels along the West Coast; as such, it seems a natural extension of my research to provided consulting services to other ventures on their wine program, particularly in helping them gain more of a focus on the bounty of wines we have available at our own doorstep. In search of assisting a small group of Italian restaurants incorporate a selection of Italian varietals grown here for their wine list, we headed across Sonoma County to the Kenwood tasting room Michael Muscardini had opened.

Michael couldn’t meet us, owing to a charitable obligation, but we were ably guided through the selections by Tasting Room Manager George Delano. We started off with the 2009Rosato di Sangiovese, a bone-dry expression of the grape I look forward to comparing with other Rosé wines at the Pink Out SF tasting next week. Next up were the 2008 Barbera Pauli Ranch from Ukiah and the 2008 Sangiovese Monte Rosso Vineyards, one of several Sangiovesi Muscardini produces. We could not resist contrasting the 2007 Syrah Gracie Creek with the 2007 Syrah Unti Vineyard before moving onto the 2007 Tesoro, a proprietary Super Tuscan with 58% Sangiovese from both Merlo and Favero Vineyards, plus 21% of Unti’s Syrah.

The 21% remaining to this bottling was Cabernet Sauvignon from Ty Caton, which now shares Muscardini’s tasting room. No Italian varietals here, but memories of working our way through a mixed case of these wines with The Ginkgo Girl last year spurred us to try several of his current offerings. Setting our palate fresh was his crisp 2009 Riesling from the Central Coast, followed by his very approachable 2009 Syrah Rosé. With a wide choice of vineyard designate reds to chose, we opted for the 2008 Petite Sirah Caton Vineyard, the 2008 Upper Bench Merlot, and the 2008 The Ridge George’s Malbec.

Of course, we could not leave without a taste of Caton’s crown jewel, the 2008 Tytanium, a well-balanced blend of 37% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Petite Sirah, 24% Syrah, and 9% Malbec. I had first tried the 2007 vintage of this wine last year at the Open House for Eighth Street Wineries in Sonoma, an industrial warehouse complex that houses the production facilities for Ty Caton and a handful of other boutique wineries like Three Stick, Kamen and Enkidu. I had recently sampled Enkidu’s superb inaugural Sangiovese, the 2008 Rosso Fazekas, at QuestPoint Solar Solutions’ Appreciation and Rejuvenation soirée at Green Zebra, and was happily surprised to discover their new tasting room adjacent to Muscardini. Alas, however, this wine was not on their tasting list, so we departed for a meal in Sonoma Square before returning to San Francisco.

My premature trek to the Vinify tasting made me all the more resolute to enjoy the Taste of Mendocino in the Presidio the following Tuesday. If only the weather had decided to act as cooperative as it had in Alameda the preceding weekend! Within moments of leaving the Cow Hollow Fedex/Kinko’s, where I had dropped off the sunglasses Dongzhe had left under my car seat, I found myself caught in a downpour as I pedaled furiously over to the Golden Gate Club in the Presidio. I arrived thoroughly drenched, then spent the next 20 minutes seeking out a restroom with hot air hand blower to try drying my shirt!

When I finally did get myself to a point of appearing presentable, I beelined for the tasting room and caught up with Fred Buonanno, who was pouring his Philo Ridge. Though his name, like mine, begs for Italian varietals, Fred vinifies a more mainstream Mendocino varietal selection, with an elegant 2008 Pinot Gris Klindt Vineyard, the AVA signature 2006 CORO Mendocino, and his 2006 Pinot Noir Anderson Valley. Of course, the A-Z (Z-A?) in Mendocino wines decidely must be Fred Zmarzly’s Albertina Wine Cellars; an intimate, small production, single varietal operation, Albertina made an emphatic statement with their 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, a 330 case bottling.

Content merely to span the Bs, Brutocao Cellars and Bliss Family Vineyards herald from a single proprietorship, the former being the primary label. The more affordable Bliss brand offered a straightforward lineup, with an approachable 2008 Pinot Noir an easy favorite. Brutocao’s 2007 Pinot Noir Anderson Valley fell squarely in line with the overall excellence of this vintage throughout the West
Coast,while its 2006 Quadriga, a blend of 40% Sangiovese, 38% Primitivo, 18% Barbera, and 4% Dolcetto, provided a tantalizing glimpse of their Italian heritage wines that were not on this afternoon’s roster.

I don’t know of many wineries with the versatility to make an array of Sauvignon Blancs, but Chance Creek Vineyards certainly proved themselves quite adept in this niche. Of the three interpretation they poured, I greatly favored the 2006 95470 Sauvignon Blanc, while being slightly partial to the 2007 Sauvignon Blanc vs. the 2006 Sauvignon Blanc reserve. And, of course. I took quite a shining to their 2006 Sangiovese. The pinnacle of Italian varietals this afternoon, however, most certainty had to have been Chiarito Vineyard. Advance intimations of John Chiarito’s bottlings of several varietals unique to this region had lead a number of e-mail exchanges before the Mendocino event, and I was rewarded with tastings of his 2003 Negroamaro and his striking 2003 Nero d’Avola. To John’s credit, his 2007 Petite Sirah was no slouch, either.

I am always appreciative of a clever wine name, especially when the wine itself warrants attention, like the 2006 Sedulous from Rivino. I suppose the 18 months I have dedicated (so far) to building Sostevinobile’s wine program might qualify me for this moniker, as well, but Jason McConnell’s deft blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, with just a splash of Viognier, deserves the spotlight at this moment, alongside his superb 2007 Sangiovese. Meanwhile, the quaint family operations of Mariah Vineyards seemed to have posted a typo in the tasting guide, lisiting both a 2006 Syrah and a 2006 Syriah, but, indeed, the latter is a proprietary portmanteau (Syrah Mariah) and distinct bottling of but 51 cases, crafted by hand.

Kimmel Vineyards has nothing to do with late night comedy, just the production of a superb 2007 Merlot and an admirable 2007 Chardonnay. One might also suspect Naughty Boy Vineyards as well of having ties to Jimmy K., but is instead the domain of Jim & Emjay Scott and crafts a fine 2007 Dolcetto.

Diametrically opposite but without apparent sanctimony, Mendielle Vertu could easily have derived an esoteric name from owner Bently Luneau or winemaker Kian Tavakoli, but instead chose to honor Mendi, their ranch dog. Though focused on Merlot, with strongest showing from both their 2007 Proprietary Red Merlot and the 2007 Reserve Merlot, they flourished with their new 2008 Chenin Blanc. With as intense focus on Pinot Noir, Phillips Hill held forth with a trio of this varietal, the most definitive being their 2008 Ring of Fire Anderson Valley.

Claudia Springs also excelled with their 2005 Pinot Noir Klindt Vineyard, while also producing a 2009 Viognier Lolonis Vineyard and a 2009 Pinot Gris Klindt Vineyard. Coincidence? Foursight Wines brought along four Pinots, dominated by their 2007 Clone 05 Pinot Noir Charles Vineyard, and a companion 2008 Sauvignon Blanc Charles Vineyard.

Coming from opposite ends of the spectrum, two wineries showcased a single Chardonnay. Independent winery Demuth Kemos produced but a scant 96 cases of their 2008 Chardonnay Anderson Valley, while Constellation’s Mendocino Vineyards bottled 10,000 cases of its foray into organic viticulture, the 2009 Chardonnay. Other boutique proprietors included: Nelson Family Vineyards, notable for both their 2008 Pinot Grigio and 2008 Riesling; Cesar Toxqui, with a sturdy 2006 Zinfandel and a non-vintage Heirloom II, a blend of Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot; and Drew Wines, with under 1,300 cases of their three Pinot Noirs, plus a memorable 2007 Syrah Perli Vineyard.

Dreyer Wine displayed its dual personality, with its Il Cuore line and one name for the thoroughbred who ran with such heart, Seabiscuit Ranch. I warmed to Seabiscuit’s 2006 Superfecta Red, a traditional Meritage, but had my greatest fondness for Il Cuore’s new release, the 2006 Barbera, along with their 2007 Rosso Classico, a blend of Zinfandel, Merlot, Petite Sirah, Syrah, and Carignane. Meritage components starred at Le Vin Winery, which broke out their older 2002 Merlot and 2004 Cabernet Franc for this afternoon’s gathering.

Maple Creek Winery sees itself as a fusion of wine and art, so it should come as no surprise that they poured a 2008 Artezin Symphony, a grape that itself is a hybrid of Muscat and Grenache Gris. Their notable pour, however, was the 2005 Cowboy Red, a blend of Merlot, Zinfandel and Carignane.Its Mendocino compatrio
t, Trinafour Cellars, bottled straight 2009 Muscat Canelli and 2007 Carignane, along with their 2006 Petite Sirah.

Like Fred Zmarzly, Rosati Family is a Cab-only operation, bottling 1,000 cases each year; of the 3-year vertical they poured, the youngest, the 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, stood out as the most complex. One of the oldest names in Mendocino winemaking, Weibel Family Winery, demonstrated its small lot varietals, a 200-case 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon and a very approachable 2006 Zinfandel, bottled in the same quantity.

Of course, Weibel’s array of champagnes and flavored sparkling wines make it quite the substantial operation. I eschewed their NV Sparkelle for two of the leading méthode champenoise producers on hand, Scharffenberger, which poured its NV Brut Rosé, and the always-marvelous Roederer Estate, which indulged me in its 2002 L’Ermitage.

Following the sale of their family label to Brown-Forman, several of the 11 Fetzer offspring have started their own labels. Present today were both Saracina Vineyards, delighting with its 2006 Atrea Old Soul Red (Zinfandel, Syrah, Malbec, Petite Sirah) as well as its 2007 Petite Sirah, and Jeriko Estate, with its 2006 Pinot Noir and 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon. Like their original venture, the Fetzer spinoffs all maintain a great fealty to organic and biodynamic farming, a hallmark of numerous Mendocino wineries, including Patianna, which shone with its organic 2008 Chardonnay, and organic pioneers Frey Vineyards, whose Katrina Frey regaled me with the 2007 Sangiovese, as had her daughter Eliza with the previous vintage just as I was formally embarking on Sostevinobile’s wine program.

As always, I never seem to find the time to taste every winery with whom I set out to connect and often miss out on ones with whom I would love to reconnect. I did manage to squeeze in a taste of Esterlina’s excellent 2007 Pinot Noir Anderson Valley, along with their contrasting 2008 Riesling and 2008 Dry Riesling Cole Ranch. Edmeades offered a quartet of Zins, headlined by the 2007 Ciapusci Zinfandel. In turn, Elke Vineyard made its strongest impression with their pair of 2007 Pinot Noir Donnelly Creek and 2008 Pinot Noir Anderson Valley. I took in a quick tasting 2008 Pinot Gris and 2006 Riesling from McFadden Farm, along with their 2008 Sparkling, but somehow entirely missed both Meyer Family Cellars and Milano Family Winery (I will be sure to make amends at another date).

Had there been time to spare, I would have gladly caught up with old familiars like Lolonis, Navarro, Parducci, Bonterra, Barra, and Jaxon Keys, but, unfortunately, my unforeseen drenching en route to the event whittled away a significant portion of the time I had allotted. Fitting, therefore, that my finally tasting was the 2009 Chenin Blanc of Husch Vineyards. while my dampened attire did not lead to anything quite as dire as pneumonia, I did come down with a nasty bout of congestion and most unwelcome case of laryngitis, which kept me “hushed” for the next several days.

A tale of two cities

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It has been over 500 days since I last donned a necktie. Or cravat. Or noose, if you will. It has also been more than 500 days since I last set foot in San Jose. Anyone who knows Your West Coast Oenophile is well aware of my aversion towards Silicon Valley. Or 408-ville. Or Legoland, if you will. Which makes the following admission all the more remarkable:

Ten days ago, I attended two wine tastings on behalf of Sostevinobile, one in Menlo Park, the other in San Francisco; the former event was unquestionably superior.

The Quadrus Conference Center at 2400 Sand Hill Road is pretty much ground zero for the VC community, and as I remain heavily into fundraising mode for our wine bars, I had almost hoped more to bump into a venture capitalist or two (after all, this is where “spare change” is a 7-digit figure) than to discover an astounding Roussanne or Syrah/Zinfandel/Cabernet Sauvignon blend. But the portable PDF of our Keynote presentation, which I had logged into my iPhone in case I needed to make an on-the-spot pitch, received as much use as the list of wineries I had culled from the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance’s pre-published roster for its Grand Tasting Tour: Mid-Peninsula.

N’importe! This still turned out to be a representative sampling of what is arguably the most interesting AVA in California, comprising well over 240 wineries and more acreage than any other appellation. The afternoon began with a seminar from three of the more prominent wineries in the region: Clayhouse, J. Lohr, and Ancient Peaks. Each of the three wineries brought a representative selection of wines in the $16 range, as well as one of their higher-end offerings.

Though the allure of Paso Robles is that allows itself to be unfettered by orthodox varietal categorizations (i.e., Burgundian, Bordelaise, Rhône), each of the three winemakers presented selections that were consistent within their own strictures. Steve Lohr poured two blends in the Bordeaux tradition, the first in the style of Pomerol, the more luxuriant based on Médoc, though each contained a sufficient amount of its primary varietal to be labeled 2007 J. Lohr Los Osos Merlot and 2006 J. Lohr Hilltop Cabernet Sauvignon. David Frick first poured his 2008 Clayhouse Malbec, ever-so-subtly softened with 2% Merlot, then switched to a Rhône blend, the 2007 Clayhouse Estate Petite Sirah, this time tempered with 1.5% Syrah. Meanwhile, Mike Sinoir showed true Paso Robles temperament by first blending his 2007 Ancient Peaks Cabernet Sauvignon Margarita Vineyard with Malbec, Petit Verdot and Zinfandel, then showcased his 2007 Ancient Peaks Oyster Ridge Margarita Vineyard, a totally unconventional blend of 46% Cabernet Sauvignon and 24% Petite Sirah, rounded out equally with Merlot and Petit Verdot.

Following what turned out to be a lively exchange, I joined up with the main tasting, armed with a plan of attack that bore little correlation to what I found awaiting us. Because I had failed to try Anglim at each of the previous two Rhône Rangers, I first gravitated toward their table to sample their mix. while I found their 2006 Cameo (Marsanne/Roussanne/Viognier) and the 2006 Cerise (Grenache/Mourvèdre/Syrah/Viognier) blends quite approachable, I favored their single varietal 2007 Roussanne, the 2006 Grenache and the 2007 Mourvèdre Hastings Ranch Vineyard far more to my liking. In such company, their 2007 St. Peter of Alcantara, a Zinfandel, seemed a bit anomalous but quaintly nostalgic, the name being the same as the Catholic parish I attended, unmolested, in my youth. Nearby, Alta Colina’s 2008 Claudia Cuvée blended Grenache Blanc with Roussanne and Marsanne, while their 2007 GSM clearly excelled.

To my mind, nothing typifies Paso Robles more than its unusual blends—after all, such experimentation put Piero Antinori on the viticultural map. The 2006 Companion from Caliza, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Mourvèdre, Syrah and Tannat, could not exemplify this willingness to experiment better, but, again, I most cottoned to their 2007 Syrah. Paso’s true pioneer in this array, though, has to be L’Aventure, a winery that needs no introduction here. Even though I had liberally sampled their wines at Rhône Rangers but a few weeks before, my friend Jennifer Hong, who distributes their wine in the Bay Area, insisted that today’s tasting would be featuring some newly released vintages. Here the superb 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon was complemented by the even more imposing 2007 Estate Cuvée, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Petit Verdot.

Kenneth Volk had introduced me to Negrétte last year, but was pouring samples only of their Paso Robles wines this afternoon. Still, I delighted in the 2008 Viognier Live Oak Vineyard, the 2005 Cabernet Franc, and especially the 2005 Tempranillo. And though I had sampled their wines at Rhône tasting, the sardonic wit of their emissary, Katie Kanphantha, drew me back to Derby Wine Estates’ table where I retried their delightful though inexplicable 2006 Fifteen10 Red and regaled in their 2006 Implico, a Bordeaux Meritage.

At this point, the tasting took a turn for the definite better, as the ever-alluring BeiBei Song joined me for a guided introduction. We scurried out onto the deck to join Tommy Oldré, bedecked in a loud, fuchsia necktie (or cravat) (or noose), at his Tablas Creek table. As always, the 2008 Esprit de Beaucastel Blanc, their famed blend of Roussanne, Grenache Blanc, and Picpoul Blanc, proved an immediate favorite, while both the 2007 Grenache and the 2007 Mourvèdre charmed BeiBei in a way I thought only I could! We proceeded to Mike Giubbini’s Rotta Winery, a somewhat understated venture mostly producing traditional varietals like Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Zinfandel (I found the 2005 Rotta Giubbini Estate Zinfandel quite compelling). And while the 2005 Trinity, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot made for a more than competent Meritage, the real discovery here was the non-vintage Black Manukka, an oak-aged, rare dessert wine that begs comparison with a fine cream sherry. Dessert wine also stole the show at Robert Hall Winery. I found their 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon quite appealing, but their 2009 Orange Muscat tasted like a liquid Grand Slam.

In the past, I may have been critical in this forum of wines from Niner’s Bootjack Ranch. I now realize that the particular vintages I have been served as a certain wine establishment may well have been past their prime, for the current releases I sampled here more than favorably impressed me. I found much merit in the 2006 Sangiovese but truly relished the 2005 Fogcatcher, a skillful mélange of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, along with Cabernet Franc and Merlot. I hadn’t had previous experience with Silver Horse Winery, but found their Bordeaux bled, the Cabernet Sauvignon/Malbec/Petit Verdot combo of the 2007 SAGE enticing. More compelling, however, was their 2007 TOMORI, marrying Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot with Syrah, while their straightforward 2009 Albariño offered a nice contrast to most of the afternoon’s offerings.

A wide range of Spanish varietals have taken root at numerous Paso Robles wineries, like Stanger, vinifying a more than competent rendition with their 2006 Tempranillo Stanger Vineyards; their forte, however, might have been the 2007 Viognier Paso Robles, a clean expression of this finicky varietal. Meanwhile, restricting themselves to what they do best, Terry Hoage presented three takes on Grenache: the 2007 The Pick, a Grenache-dominant GMS blend, the 2007 The 46, a Grenache/Syrah combo, and the 100% 2007 Skins Grenache.

Kukla, Fran & Ollie

When I toured Paso Robles last year, I found myself rather intrigued by a gated Westside estate that was under development. Was this oddly-named winery a latent tribute to a Black & White puppet show that lurked deep in the recesses of my memory? kukkula, it turns out, is the Finnish word for “high place” (kukla is the transliteration of κούκλα or кукла, the respective terms in Greek and in Russian for doll), a most apt description of Kevin Jussila’s aerie. Finnish varietals are an unknown species to me, but Kevin compensates by giving his intriguing wines names like the 2008 vaalea, meaning “fair” or “white” to his Viognier/Roussanne blend or 2006 sisu, the term for “patience” or “perseverance”to his GMS blend. His superb mélange of Grenache, Mourvèdre and Zinfandel bears the label of 2006 Lothario, a moniker I often fancy for myself, while his Cabernet Sauvignon/Syrah goes by the inornate 2006 in the red.

During the height of the dot.com explosion, a popular Italian restaurant in Mill Valley decided to open a branch in Palo Alto; rather than clone the name, they decided to hold a contest to see who could come up with the most clever appellation (the prize being a free meal every week for life, if I recall correctly). I submitted Il Pastaio Ottimo, meaning “the best pasta maker” but also deftly abbreviated as I.P.O. kukkula also produces a wine with the same acronym, a mostly Cabernet Sauvignon blend paying tribute to Kevin’s real job as a financial advisor. I tried to persuade him to drop off a bottle of his 2005 i.p.o., along with his business card, on the doorstep of every VC firm in the complex, but he demurred. Maybe I should have purchased a couple cases and left a bottle with Sostevinobile’s card instead!

As much as I enjoyed kukkula’s wines, my great discovery of the afternoon had to have been Roger Nicolas’ RN Estate. I could lavish superlatives on these wines all day (in between repeated sips, of course)! Two of these wines, the 2007 Young Vine Zinfandel and the 2006 Enfant Prodigué, a Mourvèdre/Syrah/Zinfandel blend, I conservatively scored as excellent. The other two Roger poured, the 2007 Cuvée des Artistes (Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Zinfandel) and the 2007 Cuvée des Trois Cépages (a more traditional Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot) well warrant the resurrection of my highly-coveted.

I did skip a handful of attending wineries to which I have given extensive coverage in previous entries here, but concluded this tasting with Maloy O’Neill, another winery that had escaped previous notice. Quite the versatile viticultural venture, they impressed me with their 2005 Zinfandel, the 2005 Private Reserve Syrah, the 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Windy Hill, and the 2005 Malbec. However, I was most struck by their 2005 Lagrein, a wine that contrasted strikingly with the Lagrein from Sonoma’s Jacuzzi that I have previously assayed here.

As the trade portion of this tasting drew to a close, I sadly could not convince BeiBei to accompany me to the evening’s tasting in San Francisco. In retrospect, I probably ought to have fortified myself with a little sisu (the concept, not the wine) and loitered with the winery crews until the public arrived; instead, I basked in a few minutes of rare sunshine, then headed up Interstate 280 for Wine Enthusiast’s Toast of the Town 2010.

On surface impression, the wine tasting in San Francisco should have had everything going for it: a splendiferous setting inside the War Memorial Opera House, access to innumerable top-flight restaurants and caterers, a well-heeled crowd easily able to swing the $89 ticket price (if not the $169 tab for the VIP tasting), plus a prestigious wine publication as sponsor for the event.

And therein lies the rub. With this kind of clout behind the event, attendees had every right to expect a roster of wines of which only the true cognoscenti might be aware. Instead, table upon table proved to be subsidiaries of the leviathan wine corporations of this world: Gallo, Constellation, Château Ste. Michelle, Jackson Family Wines, Folio, Hess Collection, Trinchero, Coppola, Kobrand, Diageo, Banfi, Moët Hennessey, Delicato, Artesa, Crimson Wine Group, Foley Family Wines, Don & Sons (aka Sebastiani). To put things more succinctly, the greatest hits of Safeway’s wine aisle—minus Brown-Forman.

This isn’t to say that, even within these conglomerates, there aren’t quite a number of excellent labels and individual wines. I even sampled from BV, Cardinale, Archery Summit, and Robert Mondavi, to name but a few. But a neophyte could have put together this list as easily as Wine Enthusiast did—just without their imprimatur. And that hardly warrants an $89 premium.

On the plus side, Farallon generously shelled out tray upon tray of Champagne Poached Oysters, Cindy Pawlcyn’s Go Fish Restaurant whipped up a superb Shrimp & Lobster Salad, an Oakland establishment called Home of Chicken and Waffles covered everyone’s comfort food needs with Fried Chicken and Macaroni & Cheese, while Bistro Boudin from Fisherman’s Wharf incongruously assembled superb medallions of Alder Smoked Duck atop shot glasses filled what they described as Beet Gazpacho. Other food purveyors had offerings just as delectable, I am sure, but were already depleted by the time I arrived.

And in all fairness, there were more than a handful of independent wineries scattered throughout the four floors of this event. Jordan showed its usual flair with both its 2008 Chardonnay Russian River Valley and 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley. One of Crushpad’s last, lingering autonomous labels, PerryMoore, impressed with their 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon To Kalon Vineyard and their 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Stagecoach Vineyard. From Monterey, Josh Pierce of Pierce Ranch impressed me with his 2008 Albariño San Antonio Valley, while international wine mini-mogul Jean-Charles Boisset poured a selection of his family’s California and French labels, including DeLoach’s 2007 O.F.C. Reserve Pinot Noir, Lyeth’s wondrous 2006 Meritage, and newly-acquired Raymond’s 2007 Reserve Chardonnay.

Before I bring this review to a close, I wanted also to mention the presence of three promotional associations of independent wineries who poured a representation of their members’ wines. Unfortunately, each had far too many offerings for me to serve them justice during the limited time span of this event, and I can only urge them to hold a collective tasting like the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance sometime in the near future. Of course, I fully expect once again to attend the Grand Tasting for PS I Love You at Concannon, America’s birthplace of Petite Sirah, in the summer. And I hope Jim Ryan will use this event as a model for the members of his Livermore Valley Wine Country to establish a tasting of their own. Lastly, being sandwiched in-between Santa Cruz, Santa Lucia Highlands, and Paso Robles, Monterey Wine Country has plenty of examples to follow if it decides to a trade tasting of the diverse wines within their AVA.

Two tastings in one day—a lot to absorb, a lot to record, and (perhaps) too much to imbibe. My trek from San Francisco to Menlo Park and back covered nearly eighty miles and a wealth of contrast between the two cities and the events they had hosted. Perhaps Charles Dickens said it best: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way…”

Nyah! That’s way too much to swallow!

Back with a vengeance! The return of the Liberal Freeloader!

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Ah March! With all the events I had to cover for Sostevinobile—not to mention the inexorable task of sourcing our financing—it came as great relief to close the month with one of my favorite annual gatherings, the Rhône Rangers Grand Tasting. I can’t remember when I first attended this early spring festival, but it has always served not only as a harbinger of spring but of incredible wines on the cusp of reaching the market..

Your West Coast Oenophile actually held true to his strict two-pronged agenda for this tasting. First was to visit with the first-time participants at Rhône Rangers; once completed, I would next tackle those wineries who were part of my database, but I had yet to sample. First up, I gravitated over to Black Sheep Winery, who shared its table with Milliaire, another Murphys winery with the same ownership. Notable selections were the 2008 Cinsault Dusty Lane and the 2005 Syrah Milliaire, Sierra Foothills.

From Paso Robles, Caliza, my next stop, a winery given to diverse nomenclature for its Rhône blends. Its mélange of Roussanne, Viognier and Grenache Blanc, the 2008 Kissin Cousins, was quite refreshing; its GMS blend, the 2006 Azimuth, emphasized Syrah, while the 2007 Azimuth was Grenache-dominant. I followed my list to the anomaly of Coiled Wines, a venture that produces its wine in Napa from grapes it farms in Idaho! To be honest, I’m not sure how that benefitted its 2008 Syrah Snake River Valley..

Folin came down from Oregon to pour its array of varietals, with a 2007 Estate Viognier, a young 2008 Estate Petite Sirah, and a noteworthy 2006 Syrah. Further down the coast, Paso Robles’s Katin displayed a range of wines, with an exceptional 2008 Viognier Paso Robles and a trio of Syrahs, ranging from the 2007 Syrah Glenrose Vineyard and the outstanding 2007 Syrah Michaud Vineyard to their Oregonian 2007 Syrah Del Rio Vineyard. Martinelli Winery from Windsor also produced a Syrah Trifecta, showing with the 2005 Syrah Terra Felice, placing with the 2006 Hop Camp Gravel Lens Vineyard, and winning with the exceptional 2006 Syrah Zio Tony Ranch.

Though I tend to favor Roussanne, I am always impressed by a great Marsanne and certainly Michaud Vineyards did just that with their 2007 Estate Syrah Chalone AVA. They also managed to put themselves on Sostevinobile’s radar with their 2004 Estate Syrah Chalone AVA, the clear favorite among their four verticals of this bottling. From there, I progressed to Shane, one of Kosta Browne associate winemaker Shane Finley’s acclaimed sidelines; of the multiple Syrahs he poured, I cottoned most to the 2008 Jemrose and the 2008 Judge, while noting also the easy pleasure of his rosé, the 2009 Ma Fille. From Fair Play, Skinner Vineyards claims a legacy that dates back to 1861—fortunately I did not have to wait until their 150th anniversary to discover their exception Roussanne/Marsanne/Viognier blend, the 2008 Seven Generations nor their elegant 2007 Syrah Stoney Creek Vineyard.

I also confess that I had never heard of Oregon’s Hundred Valleys of the Umpqua, which sounds appropriate for a West Coast campus of Cornell, but provides a fitting backdrop for Spangler Vineyards and their Rhône-style plantings, the source of both their 2006 Syrah and 2006 Syrah Reserve. And, from the southern extreme of this tasting, Venteux Vineyards from the self-described “windy Templeton Gap” made an impressive Rhône Rangers debut both with their 2007 Grenache Paso Robles and 2007 Syrah Tache le Verre, as well as an amiable Châteauneuf du Pape-style 2007 Farmhouse Cuvée.

So next I moved on to cover those wineries I should have covered at previous Rhône Ranger tastings or other events. In my contrarian mood, I started from the nether realm of the alphabet with Zaca Mesa, a Paso Robles winery I was surprised I hadn’t previously chronicled. Nonetheless, I found much to admire in their 2009 Estate Viognier, 2008 Estate Grenache Blanc, the 2006 Estate Syrah and an estate GMS blend from the Santa Ynez Valley, the 2006Z Three. Up in Sonoma, Valley of the Moon Winery produced a likable 2007 Petite Sirah, while perennial favorite Unti contrasted its Rhône-style 2007 Grenache Dry Creek Valley with a 2007 Syrah Benchland that seemed almost Italianate.

I’d been introduced to Mats Hagstrom of Travieso and his 2007 Amaranta Kirks’ Fairview Ranch (Syrah) at a recent convocation of the Stanford Wine Club; new this afternoon was his 2007 El Chupacabras, a blend of Syrah, Mourvèdre, Grenache, and Viognier. On the other hand, I can’t recall the first time I met Tony and Jo Ann Truchard, but it was a delight, as per usual, to delve into their 2008 Roussanne. Another familiar, Andrew Quady, was not in attendance, but his new Oregon arm, Quady North, proved a worthy extension of his famed California operations, especially with the 2007 Viognier Steelhead Run and a striking 2006 Syrah Flagship.

Also comporting themselves with considerable aplomb, Pomar Junction showcased why Paso Robles has come to exemplify Rhône varietal viticulture in the New World with a 2008 Viognier, their dry 2008 Rosé of Syrah and the understated elegance of their 2007 Syrah. Reinforcing this claim to prominence. Paso’s own Lone Madrone poured a number of varietals and blends, highlighted by the 2007 Points West Red, a combination of Syrah & Mourvèdre. And, of course, L’Aventure crystallized this reputation, flourishing with their 2007 Rhône blend, the 2007 Côte à Côte.

Loosely translated from the Greek, Kaleidos means “beautiful form; its flavors, too, evoke a sense of beauty and delight, particularly its 2005 Syrah and its sumptuous 2006 Grenache. Jemrose is a portmanteau of uncertain derivation but offers no ambiguity with its distinctive 2007 Gloria’s Gem, a proprietary mélange of Syrah and Merlot.

Coincidentally, as I set about to keyboard in my notes on Holly’s Hill, I received an e-mail from their winemaker querying whether Sostevinobile would like to purchase some cases of their Mourvèdre, and while I cannot commit to any wine acquisitions until our program is in full force, I am happy to state that I did, indeed, find the 2008 Classique quite delicious! So, too, was the 2006 Estate Syrah from Solvang’s Harrison Clarke (no relation to Myron Harrison Clarke, a name some of my readers may recall with detached bemusement).

I neglected to ask Derby Wine Estates from where the name was derived, but their 2007 Fifteen 10 White (a blend of Roussanne, Marsanne and Viognier) and their 2006 Fifteen 10 Red (38% Syrah, 28% Grenache, 28% Counoise, 6% Mourvèdre) needed no explanation. In typical fashion, Concannon Vineyard flourished with their 2004 Reserve Captain Joe’s Petite Sirah but demonstrated their versatility remains unhampered since its acquisition by The Wine Group with their 2005 Grenache and 2006 Syrah.

I wrapped up the afternoon with a trio of wineries. Boulder Creek’s Big Basin furnished an impressive lineup of Syrahs, most notably the 2007 Syrah Mandala, Santa Cruz Mountains. Paso’s Clautiere Vineyards made its strongest impression with both the 2004 Estate Syrah and the 2005 Estate Mourvèdre while Clayhouse’s 2007 Show Pony Red Cedar Vineyard, an estate Petite Sirah, spoke loudest for this venture from the Middleton Family Wines.

Despite my best intentions, I failed to cover Los Olivos’ Curtis Winery, as well as Arroyo Robles and Arnot-Roberts, as I had penciled into my roster for the afternoon. If only there had been time to cover everyone I wanted to taste!

If Rhône Rangers had put my skills for advanced preparation and navigation to the test, two days of trying to cover the inaugural SF Vintners Market at Fort Mason showed how little they had been honed. I cannot commend Bridget Raymond of Courtesan Wines and Cornelius Geary of Radcru enough for how impressive tasting-cum-retail market at Fort Mason on April 10 & 11 turned out. Wineries from California, Oregon and a smattering of other countries filled the Herbst Pavilion at Fort Mason and showcased an impressive array of wines, ranging from hobbyist vintages to near-cult status.

Admittedly, a guide a bit more comprehensive than a four-column list printed out on a single 8″ x 11″ sheet might have made negotiating the roster of some 150+ wineries a bit easier and allowed me to cover the numerous labels I was not yet formally acquainted. In truth, however, the greater challenge to making my quota stemmed from that I was attending the Market not so much to sample new wines but to escort potential investors for Sostevinobile through the intricacies of the wine world, its products and its consumers.

As such, my notes on individual wines are scant, but I would like to commend the following wineries for the fine variety of wines I did sample and share with Sostevinobile’s suitors: Bialla Vineyards, Amapola Creek, Tom Scott Vineyard, Reynolds Family Winery, Kapcsándy, Sciandri, Dominari, Palladian, Captûre, Rosa d’Oro, Provenance, Perry Creek, Modus Operandi, Ochoa, Olivia Brion, Pavo, PB Hein, Sylk, Signorello, Spotted Owl, Lancaster, MadoroM, Ramazzotti, Respite, De Novo, TR Elliot, Terisa, Waits-Mast, Urban Legend, Two Mile Wines, Tristant, Coup de Foudre, and the collective wineries of Terroirs Artisan Wines. For now I can only acknowledge their contribution to our efforts and incorporate them into our roster, but more extensive reviews of their offerings will surely come.

By contrast, my 2010 excursion to the Trade Tasting for the Santa Cruz Mountains Winery Association in Campbell was a succinct, manageable affair. Nearly all of these wineries had participated several weeks before in a Santa Cruz tasting at Farallon, which left few new wines for me to sample. Plus, I had attended numerous Santa Cruz tastings in 2009, including an absolutely splendid staging of this same event at Trevese in Los Gatos, one of only four restaurants in Silicon Valley ever to have garnered a Michelin star.

And therein lies the rub. Much to almost everyone’s surprise, Trevese abruptly shut its doors not long after last year’s event, forcing the SCMWA to find a new locale to host their event. And certainly the Professional Culinary Institute is a fine space, albeit a bit cramped, in a building it shares with a branch of Gold’s Gym in Campbell. But whereas Trevese had pulled out all its stops, regaling attendees with trays upon trays of extraordinary cicchetti and other appetizers, this tasting furnished little beyond the customary fruit platter and cheese spread. Which would have been fine except that in between the two rooms housing the tasting was their professional kitchen, a state-of-the-art facility with expansive picture windows, which allowed attendees to peer in at the gourmet preparations these up & coming culinary stars were executing every time we passed from one room to the other! A veritable torture for even a moderate gastronome, and not even the exquisite kind!

Basta! I know I’m supposed to be discussing the wines, like my introduction to the 2005 La Rusticana d’Orsa, a single production blend focused on Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot from the winery bearing the same name. Another winery I had not previously encountered, Beauregard Vineyards, made a great initial impression with their 2006 Chardonnay Santa Cruz Mountains. A final winery so new to this event, they failed to be included in the program guide, Dancing Creek, hinted auspiciously at their potential with their just-released 2008 Pinot Noir Regan Vineyard and a 2008 Reserve Merlot.

No newcomer to this tasting or to Sostevinobile, Kathryn Kennedy did share a new perspective on their efforts with an inaugural release of their organic 2009 Sauvignon Blanc (I continue to be impressed how this varietal particularly seems to flourish in it organic expression). While at their table, I also happily partook in their 2007 Syrah Reserve Maridon Vineyard and in both the 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate and the outstanding 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate, the single varietal bottlings that help put this winery on the map. Silver Mountain struck a consonant chord with their 2006 Syrah Wiedeman Vineyard, while Michael Martella once again demonstrated his virtuosity with his 2006 Fiddletown Grenache Oleata Vineyard.

One winery that has consistently impressed me is Odonata, and their 2008 Grenache Alta Mesa did much to perpetuate my endorsement. I seem to receive e-mails every week from Pleasant Valley Vineyards, which may account for my overlooking their table a time or two in the past; today, I leisurely partook of their entire inventory, noting their exceptional 2008 Erika Anna Viognier, Hansen Vineyards, the 2008 Dylan David Pinot Noir, Lester Family Vineyards, Thelma Henrietta Block, and the 2007 Abby Madison Cabernet Sauvignon, Martin Ranch (I suppose, as Craig and Cathy Handley add more grandchildren, their roster of eponymous labels will increase accordingly). Finally, I stopped by to visit briefly with Frank Ashton, who had last year introduced me to my first Torrontés from California that Downhill Winery produced. This time, his 2009 Torrontés showed considerable evolution, while his 2007 Susannah’s Barbera proved an evenly-structured wine (as did his preview of his forthcoming 2008 Alessia Barbera from Amador County).

I hurried back to San Francisco to attend a reading by William T. Vollmann at the Mechanics Institute Library, to which I have subscribed for a decade or so. I can’t remember what wine they were serving, although I did partake in more than my share, along with the bowls of Japanese rice crackers. More evidence of my liberal freeloading? I’ll let my readers decide for themselves.

What has Your West Coast Oenophile done for you lately? (part III)

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So much has been happening since my last installment of this blog. Try as I might to catch up with the myriad tastings of this past winter, just as soon as I sit down before my monitor, it seems a new obstacle is thrown my way. But the dreary annual ritual of preparing my taxes has been postpones, and I am truly hoping to wrap up my explorations and finally bring my readership up to date with all of Sostevinobile’s doings.

Following the debacle of my truncated appearance at the Swirl tasting, I was determined to make sure I calendared the San Francisco installment of In Vino Unitas correctly and arrived with sufficient time to cover the entire tasting at One Market. Actually, the Dungeness crab tacos I had sampled at One Market a few nights before were so delectable delectable, I probably would have attended this event even if they were pouring Crane Lake and Corbett Canyon. But this cooperative marketing arm represents nearly two dozen highly prestigious wineries that distribute directly to retail and ventures like Sostevinobile, something that will prove clearly advantageous to our wine program (not that we will not also work with distributors like Swirl). Now, apparently Your West Coast Oenophile has become a bit of a known quantity at the various San Francisco trade tasting for his penchant for appearing in shorts and a polo shirt. Note, however, that this isn’t so much a fashion statement as it is a practicality; my dedication to sustainability (and admitted parsimony when it comes to parking fees) dictates that I arrive at these events, whenever possible, on my faithful Trek 14-speed. Shorts permit me both to pedal far faster and to avoid staining my Levis with chain grease. Flash your detached bemusement if you must—cutting a *bella figura* will always take a back seat to philosophical adherence!	Does this really make for an enticing wine bar?

Following the debacle of my truncated appearance at the Swirl tasting, I was determined to make sure I calendared the San Francisco installment of In Vino Unitas correctly and arrived with sufficient time to cover the entire tasting at One Market.

Actually, the Dungeness crab tacos I had sampled at One Market a few nights before were so delectable delectable, I probably would have attended this event even if they were pouring Crane Lake and Corbett Canyon. But this cooperative marketing arm represents nearly two dozen highly prestigious wineries that distribute directly to retail and ventures like Sostevinobile, something that will prove clearly advantageous to our wine program (not that we will not also work with distributors like Swirl).

Now, apparently Your West Coast Oenophile has become a bit of a known quantity at the various San Francisco trade tasting for his penchant for appearing in shorts and a polo shirt. Note, however, that this isn’t so much a fashion statement as it is a practicality; my dedication to sustainability (and admitted parsimony when it comes to parking fees) dictates that I arrive at these events, whenever possible, on my faithful Trek 14-speed. Shorts permit me both to pedal far faster and to avoid staining my Levis with chain grease. Flash your detached bemusement if you must—cutting a bella figura will always take a back seat to philosophical adherence!

Does this really make for an enticing wine bar?

Alpha Omega might very well be the first or last word in winemaking, depending on one’s perspective. On the epic bike journey through Napa Valley that I led the Ginkgo Girl in the early part of our relationship, we made our final stop at their just-opened facility. Today it would commence my explorations, as I had not had the opportunity to revisit with them since. I found myself re-impressed by a number of their offerings, including the 2007 Chardonnay Napa Valley, their newly-released 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon that presaged the excellence of this much-anticipated vintage, and the 2006 Alpha Omega Proprietary Red, a Meritage of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petite Verdot.

Over the past 18 months, I have had the pleasure of acquainting myself with many of the
wineries at In Vino Unitas; as such, this event more enabled me to solidify the relationship between Sostevinobile and these producers than to familiarize myself with their wines (although I did sample liberally and without disappointment). Naturally, it was a pleasure to see Phil Schlein of Diamond Creek and to navigate through the trio of his designate Cabernet Sauvignons: the 2006 Red Rock Vineyard, the 2006 Gravelly Meadow Vineyard, and the 2006 Volcanic Hill Vineyard without having to man the steering wheel of their gas-powered golf cart.

Similarly, Merry Edwards held forth with considerable aplomb, underscored by a triple play of her acclaimed Pinots: the 2007 Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast as well as the 2007 Pinot Noir Klopp Ranch and the 2007 Pinot Noir Meredith Estate, both from the Russian River Valley. The Nickel & Nickel/Far Niente dichotomy presented a representative array of their wines, notably Nickel & Nickel’s 2007 Zinfandel Bonfire Vineyard and the ever-popular 2007 Estate Bottled Chardonnay from Far Niente, while sweetening the proposition with their exquisite Sémillon/Sauvignon Blanc Late Harvest selection the 2005 Dolce.

Astrale e Terra poured at a number of tastings I’ve attended in 2009, so my sampling of the 2004 Arcturus served to underscore my fondness for their Scott Harvey-crafted wines. I’d also recently had opportunities to visit both Napa facilities of sister operations Twomey Cellars and Silver Oak, with personal previews of their respective 2005 Napa Valley Merlot and the 2005 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.

I could have bypassed their tables and still have known I relished Heitz Wine Cellars’ signature 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Martha’s Vineyard or the 2006 Chardonnay Carneros Selection from Grgich Hills. Thankfully, my stop at their tables also introduced me to Grgich’s 2006 Miljenko’s Old Vine Zinfandel and the fruit of Heitz’ progressive conversion to organic farming, the 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon Trailside Vineyard.

Likewise, my familiarity with their offerings did not prevent my visiting Duckhorn (along with its Goldeneye and Paraduxx labels) for a tasting of their 2008 Decoy Merlot, La Sirena yet again for the 2008 Moscato Azul and the 2007 Pirate Treasured, Testarossa for its array of Pinots—especially the 2008 Pinot Noir Gary’s Vineyard, and Mayacamas for its 2001 Merlot.

My biggest mistake of the afternoon would have been skipping over Gargiulo Vineyards simply because I had been invited for a private visit a few years back. Though my primary purpose in stopping by was to rib Jeff Gargiulo over having “deported” his daughter April to Hotchkiss during her formative years—much as my father had sent me when it was still an all-male boarding school, I serendipitously discovered how complex these wines had become over the past four years! The 2009 Rosato di Sangiovese was exquisite; the 2006 Aprile, a Napa Sangiovese, an absolute standout. Other Italian varietals that highlighted the afternoon were the 2007 Dolcetto di Nonno from Buoncristiani and the 2005 Charbono from Étude.

My rush through First Taste Yountville had not allowed me to linger appreciably over Gemstone’s lineup of intriguing wines, so today I partook amply of both the 2007 Facets Estate Chardonnay and the Cabernet-predominant 2006 Gemstone Proprietary Red. This afternoon also introduced me to Ehlers Estate, Ehlers Estate, a unique non-profit winery, with their 2006 Estate Merlot and the 2005 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 1886 and the leonine Meyer Family Cellars, pouring its&nbs
p;2005 Mendocino County Syrah and the 2004 Bonny’s Cabernet Sauvignon.

Two other additions to the Sostevinobile roster came from Larkmead Vineyard, impressing with both the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2007 Firebelle, a Merlot-based blend, and the multi-label venture from Krupp Brothers, featuring their 2007 Black Bart Syrah Stagecoach Vineyard and the 2006 Krupp Brothers The Doctor, an intriguing blend of Tempranillo, and Merlot, with smaller portions of Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon tossed in for good measure.

The most intriguing discovery of the afternoon, however, was the little-heralded Vellum Wine Project, a joint project of Karl Lehmann and Jeffrey Mathy, with their first release, the 2007 Vellum Cabernet Sauvignon. Blended with 10% Merlot and 6% Petit Verdot, this extraordinary debut seemed a consensus favorite among attendees.

Nearly two weeks would pass before I took in a new wine discovery, the launch of Michael Benziger’ and Ben Flajnik’s Evolve Wines at The Winery Collective. Right after sampling their 2009 Sauvignon Blanc, deftly rounded out with Muscat Canelli, I packed up my problem-free 2002 Corolla S for a much-delayed ski trip to Lake Tahoe. On my way up, I detoured for a truncated visit to the Shenandoah Valley Wineries, exploring many of the local Italian varietal specialists like Villa Toscano, Wilderotter, Bella Piazza, Terra d’Oro, Vino Noceto, and Bray. I had hoped to finish up here and swing through Placerville for a quick tour of Lava Cap, Boeger and Madroña, but, alas, I had to have picked the first day of Daylight Savings Time for my sojourn and the consequent loss of an hour meant I did not cross El Dorado-Amador county line until after all had closed for the evening.

	Of course, I knew I would be visiting with these producers and several of their other colleagues at the first El Dorado Winery Association tasting in San Francisco that coming Saturday, so I happy proceeded to King’s Beach and the slopes of Alpine Meadows for the next three days. On my return, I surveyed the new Ritz Carlton Lake Tahoe, a resort where a former potential investor had tried to cajole me into launching Sostevinobile as an Audubon-themed wine bar! (see above) before leaving the snow country and winding my way to the Bay Area.

Of course, I knew I would be visiting with these producers and several of their other colleagues at the first El Dorado Winery Association tasting in San Francisco that coming Saturday, so I happy proceeded to King’s Beach and the slopes of Alpine Meadows for the next three days. On my return, I surveyed the new Ritz Carlton Lake Tahoe, a resort where a former potential investor had tried to cajole me into launching Sostevinobile as an Audubon-themed wine bar! (see above) before leaving the snow country and winding my way to the Bay Area.

I had wanted to visit with Roger Boulton and tour the state-of-the-art sustainable winery at UC Davis is currently developing, but arrangements could not be made in time and I had to settle for a quick drive-by. Then things got interesting.

I had never made the trek from Davis to St. Helena before, but, given the deep connection, I assumed it would be a straight-forward drive. And,
besides, I always had the GPS on my iPhone to navigate me. But once I passed through Willits on Rte. 128, both data and phone service became non-existent. For the next 45 minutes, I wound my way through interminable hairpin turns, relying on faith that the exacting precision of the route signs would guide me past Lake Berryessa with more than sufficient time to make my 2:30 meeting.

If only! By the time I reach the juncture of Hwy. 128 and Hwy. 121, I was hopelessly late, unable to phone for directions, and quite unsure whether I should veer towards Napa or toward Rutherford, as the signposts indicated. Sticking my head inside the forlorn little bait shop & convenience market that occupied this juncture, I naïvely sought to ask the T-shirted, crewcut store clerk for directions. “Which is the fastest way to St. Helena?”

Without looking up, he replied. “Never heard of it!”

Incredulous, I pressed my point. “Do I follow the road to the left or to the right?”

“I have no idea,” he responded with unbridled surliness.“Wanna buy a bottle of water?”

“No,” I insisted. “I’m just asking a simple question!”

“Sorry. I don’t serve liberal freeloaders!”

Later on, I figured I made every correct turn until I reached Lake Hennessy and missed the sign for Silverado Trail. Thirty minutes later, my cell phone came back into range as I descended upon the town of Angwin, on the backside of Howell Mountain, twenty-five miles off course. Suffice it to say my familiarity with several the lesser-known enclaves of Napa County has increased substantially from the detour.

Finding my way to Postrio the next Saturday seemed tantamount a linear excursion from my front door to theirs. Though no longer operating as an everyday restaurant, the lower levels of the Prescott Hotel catered the El Dorado Winery Association’s tasting with hors d’œuvres still on par with Wolfgang Puck’s cuisine. Twenty-four wineries made the 2½ drive from the Sierra Foothills to San Francisco to pour a wide range of wines, in terms both of varietal selections and in consistency. Old friends in the crowd included Lava Cap, who has migrated over the past few years away from its Rhône focus to more standard varietals like Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. Still, I find their strength outside of the mainstream, as their 2007 Reserve Barbera attests.

Also flourishing with Barbera was Latcham Vineyards, with a 2007 Special Reserve Barbera that approached levels of the extraordinary. I also took a shining to their 2007 Special Reserve Zinfandel, while sister winery Granite Springs, long admired for their Black Muscat, made their statement with the 2006 Petite Sirah. One of El Dorado’s better-known wineries, Boeger, also impressed with their 2008 Barbera and a truly balanced 2006 Meritage Reserve, blending 38% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Cabernet Franc, 25% Petite Verdot and 12% Merlot.

I took immense delight in the 2006 Barbera from Gold Hill Vineyards, but reveled in the delicious pun of its proprietary Meritage, the 2006 Meriticious. David Girard, also a familiar presence, displayed his virtuosity with a number of Rhône-style wines, including the 2007 Grenache, the 2006 Syrah and the 2005 Coeur Rouge, a GMS blend with a touch of Counoise. An even more exotic blend came from Colibri Ridge, whose 2006 El Dorado Rufous Red melded a traditional Bordeaux Meritage with Tinta Cão, Tinta Roriz, Souzão, and Tinta Amarela
(I was also rather fond of their 2007 El Dorado Viognier).

As I had observed on my trip to the Sierra Foothills, Italian varietals constitute a significant focus in this region. Along with its amiable 2005 Syrah, Fenton Herriott poured a noteworthy 2007 Barbera. Similarly, Single Leaf Vineyards coupled its 2004 Reserve Zinfandel with its 2006 Barbera. And, at the risk of sounding redundant, Miraflores also staked its claim with a 2007 Zinfandel and, again, a 2007 Barbera. And to show I am not entirely monolithic, I also noted that Narrow Gate brought a 2008 Chardonnay El Dorado and a 2007 Primitivo.

Besides, readers know I am just as fond of numerous other varietals, like the 2007 Mourvèdre Reserve El Dorado Crystal Basin Cellars poured besides its very palatable 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve El Dorado. And my appreciation ran deep for the 2008 Cabernet Franc that stood out among the wines Auriga Cellars poured. Both Sierra Oaks Estates and Sierra Vista Vineyards brought a 2005 Syrah to which I cottoned, while Holly’s Hill Vineyards’ 2008 Grenache Noir also provided the backbone of its 2007 Patriarche, a GMS + Counoise blend like the Coeur Rouge.

Zinfandel, of course, is a predominant player in this region. Wineries that did feature this varietal included Cedarville, with its 2007 Zinfandel and Fitzpatrick Winery, which produced its 2006 Zinfandel at its CCOF-certified in Fair Play. Madroña Vineyards poured its 2007 Estate Zinfandel and accompanied it with its 2006 Reserve Malbec.

Perry Creek designated its basic Zinfandel the 2006 Zinman. Its reserve releases bore the whimsical label 2007 Altitude:2401 Dark Forest Syrah and 2006 Altitude:2401 Petite Sirah. Not to be eclipsed, Mount Aukum ensconced its SuperTuscan blend as the 2006 Vertigo but its 2007 Petite Sirah Fair Play was left unadorned. Its coup de grâce for the afternoon was the delightful Port-style 2007 Ace of Hearts, blended from Tempranillo, Tinta Cão, Souzão, and Touriga.

After this event, I took off the weekend to brace myself for a pair of tastings on Monday. The latter, a select pouring of Dutton-Goldfield wines, was basically a pretext to spend a delightful evening with BeiBei Song, who had charmed me when her Essinova crew had filmed the 2010 Cleantech Open Launch. The wines, as anticipated, were uniformly wonderful, particularly the 2008 Thomas Road Pinot Noir, 2007 Kyndall’s Reserve Chardonnay, and the 2008 Kylie’s Reserve Sauvignon Blanc; my companion proved every bit as charming as she is beautiful.

Knowing I had to precede our date with Henry Wine Group ’s 2010 Taste the World, I allocated what I thought was enough time to cover this event, then return home to shower and change. But my local trade rep had misinformed me about the times for the event (not to mention failing to clue me in on its vast scope), so once again I found myself in a slight frenzy trying to cover as much as I could in the truncated space of time I had left. Bypassing the numerous tables of imports, I stated out with Paso Robles’ Ancient Peaks and their array of Estate bottlings from their Margarita Vineyard. Both the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2007 Syrah were quite delectable; both these grapes are blended with Petite Sirah and Zinfandel in the proprietary 2006 Oyster Ridge, a true showcase for the winery.

Many Oregon wineries excel at any varietal in the Pinot “clan” (i.e., Pinot Chardonnay), and Anne Amie roved no exception with its 2008 Pinot Gris and 2006 Winemaker’s Select Pinot Noir, but it was the 2008 Cuvée A Müller-Thurgau that really won me over. I suppose it’s surprising that more wineries haven’t designed a pentangular wine label for their Meritage, so the geometry of Cain Vineyards label for its 2005 Cain Five s
tands out as much as the wine it adorns. Its four-varietal (sans Malbec) NV6 Cain Cuvée showed true dexterity with blending, while the 2005 The Benchland held its own as a straightforward Cabernet.

It was hard, of course, to bypass wineries like Calera, Benton Lane, and Adelsheim, but I moved onto Ceàgo, an organic/biodynamic spinoff from the Fetzer family. I found their 2006 Syrah and especially their 2008 Muscat Canelli quite enticing. Too enticing, of course, was the next table, Clear Creek Distillery, Oregon’s premier grappaioli. Licensing restrictions will not allow me to serve any of these exceptional distillates at Sostevinobile, but I had to have at least one taste of the Clear Creek Grappa Pinot Noir.

Leaning over, I consoled myself with the white wine virtuosity of Claiborne & Churchill, exemplified by their 2007 Dry Riesling and the 2007 Dry Gewürztraminer. Steven MacRostie headlined at the table his marketing agency Crawford Malone had set up and, as one might expect, showcased his 2007 Chardonnay Carneros. Crawford Malone also introduced me to Eden Stuart’s 2005 Zinfandel Korte Ranch and their organically-grown 2006 SO Zin.Their newest client, Round Pond, is a winery I have long sought to try; the 2006 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon most certainly did not disappoint.

I managed to scarf a final sip of Demetria Estates’ biodynamic 2007 Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills (the similarity of their name to the Demeter certification standard is no coincidence). Likewise, I rushed through the last samples from Long Shadows, another wine marketer from Seattle, with Columbia Valley offerings from former Penfolds winemaker John Duval: the 2006 Sequel Syrah and a Agustin Huneeus/Philippe Melka joint venture: a Bordeaux + Syrah blend called 2006 Pirouette.

And on that note, I complete my thirteen or so explorations that led up to Rhône Rangers, a review I will undertake once I have a glass of single malt scotch. Neat.

What has Your West Coast Oenophile done for you lately? (part II)

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Sometime after this year’s Super Bowl, someone named Danica Patrick “the World’s Worst Celebrity Endorser.” Given that she rather ubiquitously promotes Go Daddy.com, I presume much of this attribution stems from her product. I had meant to post one lengthy entry entitled What has Your West Coast Oenophile done for you lately?, but in “improving” its blogging application, which I use to post this blog and Sostevinobile’s other Web presences, the programming geniuses at Go Daddy’s Scottsdale headquarters reduced the capacity of the Tags field from unlimited to 500 characters, forcing me to truncate my entries. I’m starting to regard Arizona as the Bangalore of the Southwest.

I could extend the simile by comparing the burgeoning wine industries in both Arizona and India, but, fortunately, neither will find into the select program of sustainably grown West Coast vintages at Sostevinobile. And, in my perpetual quest to make this program incomparable, my next foray following WORDUP was an intimate gathering of Ivy Plus wine aficionados under the auspices of the Stanford Wine Club. These bi-monthly klatches have begun to take on an almost familial flavor, with many of the attendees regular participants. On this particular evening, a trio of Stanford-affiliated winemakers—Mats Hagstrom of Travieso, Chris Loxton of Glen Ellen’s Loxton Cellars, and Michael Muscardini of Sonoma’s Muscardini Cellars—all showcased their array of Syrahs from Sonoma and from the Central Coast. As per usual, these vintages were juxtaposed against a pair of representative imports—here a pair of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and, as is frequently the case, clearly outshone their European counterparts, according to my palate.

The international contrast was even more pronounced later in the week, as I attended Crushpad’s farewell outside event in San Francisco, Bottlenote’s Around the World in 80 Sips. Despite its billing, however, this event seemed predominantly focused on wines from California, with distributors for imported wines manning tables that featured a potpourri of their selections. Not that I’m complaining—the more wineries I can discover that fit Sostevinobile’s criteria makes it a win-win proposition all around.

My friend Alyssa Rapp assembled a wide span of participants for this event, ranging from large-production labels controlled by the large conglomerates to little-known high-end wines that I had yet to encounter. Wineries like Cellar No. 8, Clos du Bois, Francis Ford Coppola, Frei Brothers, Rodney Strong and William Hill were probably familiar to most attendees. Others like Cannonball and Foggy Bridge seem almost ubiquitous presences at San Francisco wine tastings. From my previous incarnation in the wine business, Spring Mountain and Trione (which had spun off from its Geyser Peak holdings over a decade ago) were comforting presences to revisit. Likewise, Ackerman Family, Château Montelena, Fisher, Corison, and Skipstone have all graced this blog with their intricate wines on one or more occasions.

I am surprised whenever Bottlenotes’ The Daily Sip newsletter uncovers a California winery I have yet to discover, and so it was a pleasant revelation to be introduced to a number of wineries at this event. Chamisal Vineyards from Edna Valley featured a delectable 2007 Pinot Noir. As Jimmy Durante so often said, “Everybody wants to get into the act,” and so, too, Bottlenotes itself debuted their own vintage, the 2008 Notoriety Pinot Noir Doctors Vineyard. Vineyard 29, which customized the bottling for Bottlenotes and shares a winemaker (Philippe Melka) with Skipstone, scored with their 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon St. Helena. I liked the 2008 PAX Roussanne/Viognier from Donelan Family, while the organic vineyard of Garden Creek, with its quaint “One Red. One White. One Family. One Vineyard” motto impressed with its five-varietal 2004 Bordeaux Blend. Hawkes Wine, which fortunately has no affiliation with my major nemesis from graduate school, offered an amiable pair of 2007 Chardonnay and their 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, while both Healdsburg’s Stonestreet and Geyserville’s Munselle Vineyards matched a 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon with a 2007 Chardonnay.

Kelley & Young is an offshoot of the acclaimed Robert Young Estate Winery—a case of Father Knows Best totally unrelated to the TV series; nonetheless, this startup production showed glimpses of its pedigree with their 2008 Sauvignon Blanc and 2008 Merlot. Stryker Sonoma is an equally lean organization that balanced its offerings with a 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon and a more modest 2006 Zinfandel.

Our two northern neighbors each made a token appearance at this tasting. Washington’s DiStefano Winery held its own with a 2004 Cabernet Franc, while Archery Summit, the Oregon sister to Napa’s Pine Ridge, clearly lived up to its billing with their 2007 Pinot Noir. A label that enjoys incredible fanfare and a cult-like following, Scholium Project, fired on all cylinders with three of its renowned bottlings, the 2008 Naucratis Lost Slough (Verdelho), the 2007 Choêphoroi Los Olivos (Chardonnay), and the 2006 Tenbrink Babylon (Petite Sirah). In addition to the opportunity of finally meeting Scholium’s guru, Abe Schoener, this tasting afforded me the chance to sample the 2007 Chardonnay he made for Tenbrink Family Vineyards’ own label.

I did taste a number of the other wines, partly in deference to Lisa Perkins of New World Wine Imports, Inc., who, besides supplying the Northwest wines, had furnished me with a ticket to the event. OK, but I’m not about to revamp Sostevinobile’s focus.

The following Monday, I paid one of my occasional visits to California Wine Merchant, where Robert Pepi showcased his Eponymous label’s 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley and its Bordeaux-style kin, the 2005 Red Wine MacAllister Vineyard, alongside his wizardry for Soñador, an Argentine label producing Malbec and Torrontés.

On very rare occasions, I actually get it wrong. I had originally intended to attend In Vino Unitas in Carneros the following day, but received an invite to the Swirl tasting at Jardinière for the same afternoon. I then changed my RSVP to attend In Vino Unitas on Wednesday at One Market in San Francisco and overwrote my calendar entry for Tuesday. Unfortunately, I neglected to switch the times as well, and so had slated the Swirl tasting for 1-4pm, the hours for In Vino Unitas, instead of the correct times of 11-3. My fashionably late arrival left me with less than half an hour to race through the tables, instead of the nearly two hours I had anticipated!

The good news, however, is that Sostevinobile had previously connected with many, if not most, of the wineries present; I was able to make the acquaintance of all the others I had not met previously, except for Maldonado (an omission I will surely rectify on my next swing through St. Helena). Certainly, I would hope Crocker & Starr, Elizabeth Spencer, Hollywood & Vine, Kapcsándy, Kobalt, LaTour, Favia, Lindstrom,and Revana feel no slight in my having bypassed their tables on this visit—my appreciation of their wines has been cited in this column on numerous occasions. Meanwhile, I did manage to taste an impressive 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley from Alondra, the sister label of Skylark. Somewhat of a misnomer, Anomaly also impressed with its 2006 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, along with a 2003 vintage of the same from it library.

Admittedly, if I had known my time was so constrained, I might not have lingered quite so long sampling the various vintages from Fritz Hatton’s Arietta Wines. Still, this music-themed label offered a number of mellifluous Bordelaise blends, including the 2008 On the White Keys, a combination of Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc, the Merlot-dominant 2007 Quartet, a more traditional 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon, a less orthodox Merlot/Syrah blend entitled 2007 Variation One, and his premium 2007 H Block Hudson Vineyard, a cross between Cabernet Franc and Merlot. At the next stop, Gary Brookman and Jack Edwards delineated their Rhône and Bordeaux varietals, pouring their 2006 Brookman Cabernet Sauvignon, as well as the 2008 La Diligence Marsanne Stagecoach Vineyard and the 2007 La Diligence Syrah Stagecoach Vineyard.

Regrettably, she may no longer be Celia Welch Masyczek (fellow members of La Società delle Cognome Italiane Pentasillabe and certain other readers know how much I revere intricate surnames), but her superb 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon for Corra Wines was no maiden effort! Another inveterate Napa winemaker, Karen Culler, offered equally tantalizing 2006 La Palette Cabernet Sauvignon and the 23% Syrah-infused 2007 Casaeda Cabernet Sauvignon from her eponymous label. I had sampled several of Rob Lawson’s sundry permutations at Wine Entre Femme back in February, but not his 2007 Blueline Vineyard Merlot from Hourglass. And though I had sampled numerous wines from Vineyard 29 only a few days before, their 2007 Cru Cabernet Sauvignon was a new discovery.

Another revelation during my truncated visit was Julianna Corley’s ever-so-aptly named Jules Mélange; her eclectic blends included the 2008 Vin Blanc, a combo of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Muscat, and the 2007 Vin Rouge, another Cabernet Franc-Merlot marriage, rounded out with 19% Syrah. By now, the event had ended, but fortunately some vendors do manage to be a bit remiss in clearly their table. Tricycle Wine Company, which bottles under the Molnar, Kazmer & Blaise, and Obsidian Ridge labels, dawdled long enough for me to taste their 2007 Obsidian Ridge Cabernet Red Hills, to contrast 2007 Molnar Chardonnay Poseidon’s Vineyard with the 2007 Kazmer & Blaise Chardonnay Boonfly Hill, and to luxuriate equally in the 2007 Molnar Pinot Noir Poseidon’s Vineyard and the 2007 Kazmer & Blaise Pinot Noir Primo’s Hill.

I suppose I, too, could linger here and jam this entry with my next investigative foray, but the new constraints of Go Daddy’s ineptitude and a redesigned interface to which I am just now adapting dictate that I draw this chapter to an abrupt close and resume momentarily…

Mine’s bigger

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I’m not quite sure what compelled me to attend the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium in Sacramento last month. Perhaps Your West Coast Oenophile was feeling a bit cooped up in San Francisco. Maybe I felt a leisurely drive past miles of rolling hills might feel therapeutic (few sights can rival the verdant Northern California countryside following a spate of winter rains). Part of me thought I might find fresh sources of funds for Sostevinobile, but, in truth, my primary incentive was a free exhibits pass I received from Kantharos, the Process Water Systems recently installed at Kendal Jackson’s Cardinale winery designed to reduce, if not eliminate, the need for wastewater ponds by filtrating and recycling water runoff.

My route to the Sacramento Convention center took me past the State Capitol but, alas, Arnold was nowhere to be seen (I half-hoped I might espy him taking a break in his cigar tent). I thought that Arnold’s famed Hummer might be the biggest vehicle in this town, but it turned out to be downright puny compared to some of the behemoths I encountered inside the Exhibition Hall. This array of backhoes, tillers and harvesters could make mincemeat out of the Guvernator’s ride, and given the way he has handled California’s economy over the past two years, as well as oversight of the whole state, I’m pretty sure there were more than a few attendees at the Symposium who would have volunteered for the task—provided Schwarzenegger were guaranteed to be inside!

It turns out the Symposium had little to do with showcasing wine, although a few of the exhibitors did offer tastings (Tablas Creek!)—not quite Plato meant by Συμπόσιον. True, there had been a wine reception following the informational forums on the previous day, but my excursion to Sacramento proved little more than a respite from desk duties. Besides, I had won a free ticket to the Good Eats & Zinfandel Pairing that evening and would have plenty to imbibe when I arrived back in San Francisco.

This soirée offered a (somewhat) less harried preview to Saturday’s Grand Zinfandel Tasting at ZAP. The most ginormous of all of San Francisco’s Grand Tastings every year, ZAP #19 was much like ZAP #18 was much like ZAP #17 etc., ever since they reached the point of filling two entire exhibit halls at Fort Mason. Although this year’s event may have been a tad less crowded and with slightly fewer participating wineries. And, like Family Winemakers this previous summer, the absence of an Aidells Sausage table was acutely felt (6+ hours of wine tasting demands protein)!

Having covered last year’s event in this blog, a flowery description of the setting seems superfluous. This year, I devised a two-pronged attack to make my way through the event—sample all the new members, then try to reach every table I had missed in 2009. An ambitious approach, to be sure, but one at which I succeeded quite admirably. As such, let me now enumerate my discoveries:

I began the afternoon in the Festival Pavilion—wineries H-Z, which brought me first to Paso Robles’ HammerSky. Both their offerings impressed me, but I strongly favored the 2007 Open Invitation Zin Blend, Paso Robles, an estate wine rounded out with 10% Merlot. Of course, I could not resist visiting with their tablemates, the incredible Harney Lane, a winery that never fails to impress me. As I expected, I immensely enjoyed both their mainstream 2007 Zinfandel Lodi and the designate2007 Old Vine Zinfandel Lizzy James Vineyard.

Somehow, I had missed J. Rickards Winery at last year’s tasting, so I was glad I could atone and savor their 2006 Zinfandel Ancestors Selection Block, a wine they describe as grown “from our block of vines replicating the century-old zin-yards of Alexander Valley” (given the plethora of “Old Vine” Zins I would encounter throughout the day, I welcomed the implied contrast of this designation). Next table over, J. Keverson Winery stood totally new to ZAP and to me but impressed in their debut with 2006 Zinfandel Hales from Dry Creek Valley and the 2007 Zinfandel Buck Hill, a Sonoma appellation.

Apart from being the first Vice-President to accede to the Presidency upon the death of his predecessor, John Tyler also holds the record for most (15!) children by a White House occupant. Sonoma’s Bacigalupi family, owners of John Tyler Wines, may not be quite so prodigious, but I still found myself enjoying a three year vertical of their wine, the 2003 Zinfandel Bacigalupi Vineyards standing out among its successive vintages. Next up, Napa’s JR Winery showcased a trio of Zins, of which I found the 2006 Zinfandel Los Chamizal and the 2007 Zinfandel Rocky Terrace the most compelling.

In Miwok mythology, the animal-spirit of the Hummingbird that predated human culture was known as Koo Loo Loo. Yountville’s Koo Loo Loo Vineyards may not be supernatural, but their organic vineyards yield a compelling wine, as evidenced by both their 2007 Organic Old Vine Zinfandel and its successor, the 2008 Organic Old Vine Zinfandel. Northwest of this winery, Mariah Vineyards of Point Arena marked its first ZAP with their 2006 Estate Zinfandel Mendocino while Ukiah’s McNab Ridge offered a 2007 Zinfandel Mendocino and a fortified vintage, the 2005 Puerto Zinfandel Port Mendocino.

Mendocino is also home to Neese Vineyards and their Giùseppe Wines, paying homage to their grandfather with the 2002 Nonno Giùseppe and the 2003 vintage of this Redwood Valley Zinfandel. Back in St. Helena, Nichelini, the winery that had introduced me to Sauvignon Vert last year, made quite the bold statement with their 2007 Zinfandel Chiles Valley. Ottimino, a quaint diminutive loosely translated as “Little 8,” is a Zinfandel-only winery in Occidental, Sonoma’s rustic Italian enclave. This exclusivity serves them well, as evidenced by their 2006 Estate Zinfandel, Russian River Valley, the 2006 Zinfandel Von Weidlich Vineyard and the 2007 Zinfinity (aka Little ∞).

Before they started selling off some brands last year, ∞ might also have stood for Constellation’s targeted wine output; they have since slipped back into a comfortable 3rd place among the largest wine producers. A brand they did keep, Paso Creek, is based in St. Helena but produced a 2007 Zinfandel Paso Robles. On the other hand, Proulx, the premium label from Blackburn Wine Company, is a small lot operations based in Paso Robles and offered two vineyard-designate wines from this AVA, the 2007 Zinfandel Reserve Paso Robles and the 2007 Zinfandel Jack Barrett.

The three R’s of Zinfandel have long been considered to be Ridge, Ravenswood, and Rosenblum, which has been subsumed by Diageo. Its worthy successor, Rock Wall, brought along a trio of Kent Rosenblum-inspired Zins: the 2007 Reserve Zinfandel Monte Rosso Vineyard, the 2007 Zinfandel Sonoma County, and the 2008 Zinfandel Jesse’s Vineyard. Other prominent R’s include Rafanelli, Robert Rue, Rombauer and, of course, the Sierra Foothills’ Renwood Winery, with their patriarchal tribute, the 2007 Grandpère and its companion 2006 Grandmère and 2006 Old Vine Zinfandel. Renwood, however, should not be confused with another veteran winery, Haywood Estates of Sonoma Valley, whose versatility shone brightest in its 2006 Zinfandel Los Chamizal Vineyards and its 2007 Zinfandel Rocky Terrace.

Sextant Wines showcased a trio of their Paso Robles Zins, but their real standout was the unlisted 2007 Night Watch, a blend of Petite Sirah, Grenache, Syrah and Zinfandel. Another unusual twist came from Starlite Winery, founded by former Stars maître d’ Arman Pahlavan and directed by Merry Edwards, a winemaker widely acclaimed for her Pinot Noir. Her versatility with this varietal was readily apparent, nonetheless, with the 2006 Zinfandel Alexander Valley and its worthy successor, the 2007 Zinfandel Alexander Valley. And yet another surprise came from ZAP newcomer Sierra Starr Vineyards, which countered its three Zins with a rather novel wine, the 2009 Zinjolais, a young, fruit-forward expression crafted like a Beaujolais Noveau!

I have to admit, there’s something instantly likable about a winery that calls its port-style bottling Portentous, and the Stephen & Walker Winery lived up to my preconceptions with a vertical of their Sonoma Zins, the 2005 Zinfandel Dry Creek garnering the most favor. I should also have cottoned to the 2007 Controlled Chaos from Thacher Winery, but my preference was for their 2006 Je T’Aime from Paso Robles. Meanwhile, the Valdez Family Winery in Geyserville topped all punsters with their 2007 Bottlicelli, a Rock Pile Zinfandel.

I was a bit surprised that I hadn’t previously partaken of Tofanelli’s wines, so I indulged in both their fine pourings, slightly favoring the 2007 Estate Zinfandel Napa Valley over its predecessor. As Virgil’s Vineyard was a newcomer to the tasting, I had no similar regrets in not having tasted his wines before but regaled in the mischievous delights of his 2008 Smuggler’s Son, a liquid paean to his grandfather’s Prohibition activities.

Some feel that the term
“Old Vine Zinfandel” is somewhat cliché, a marketing ploy at best. XYZin gives this moniker clarity with the precision of their Vine Age Series, offering a 2007 Vine Age Series, 100 Year Old Vines, Dry Creek Valley, the 2007 Vine Age Series, 50 Year Old Vines, Russian River Valley, and a fin de siècle 2007 Vine Age Series, 10 Year Old Vines. Winemaker also likes to bill XYZin as the last word in Zinfandel, but she is wrong! Napa’s Z-52 is a Zinfandel-only project from Philip Zorn and Brent Shortridge, with three vineyards in the Shenandoah Valley, another in Lodi, and my favorite of their single vineyard offerings, the 2007 Zinfandel Brsada Vineyard from Sonoma Valley. And holding up the end of the list, Templeton’s ZinAlley poured both an admirable 2007 Zinfandel Paso Robles and an alluring 2007 Zinfandel Port.

Having reached the end of my list, I now needed to address the beginning and head to the Herbst Pavilion. I did, however, first stop off and visit with my former squash opponent, Jack Jelenko, whose many wine forays have now led him to Villa Toscano in the Shenandoah Valley. Though specializing in an eclectic mix of Italian-, Spanish and Rhône-style wines, this winery cum bistro nonetheless handles Zinfandel quite ably, the 2007 Fox Creek Old Vine Zinfandel narrowly eclipsing their other two tastings. Over on the A-G side, I stumbled upon another noteworthy Shenandoah selection, the 2007 Zinfandel Potter Valley from Ione’s Clos du Lac, who also impressed me with their 2007 Reserve Blend Zinfandel.

Were it not for Italy’s perennial representative at ZAP, Accademia dei Raccemi, Barnard Griffin of Richland, WA would have garnered top honors for most remote entrant. Nonetheless, its 2006 Zinfandel Columbia Gorge fit right in with its California kindred. A stellar representative of that same vintage came from newcomer Arrowhead Mountain, whose 2006 Zinfandel Sonoma Valley hailed much closer to home.

I am not one of those wine bloggers who believes he can impart to his readers the particulars of how a certain wine tastes—every person’s palate is his or her own, and, frankly, the whole idea of this journal is simply to expose my readers to an array of wines I have enjoyed and let them discover what they find in it. Among those fellow scribes who do offer their rendition of a wine’s component flavors, flint or flint-like may be a frequently-cited epithet, but I have yet to hear a wine described as Flintstone. However, I was pleased to discover Sonoma’s Bedrock Wine Company, a promising young venture with young promising wines: the 2009 Zinfandel Stellwagen Vineyard and the 2009 Zinfandel Dolinsek Ranch. Coffee is a term more frequently associated with wines like Petite Sirah or Petit Verdot, but Peet’s Coffee baron Jerry Baldwin has focused his wine aspirations on Zin, with a commendable debut of his 2008 Rattlesnake Ridge Zinfandel from his Gerald Baldwin Wines.

I won’t try to make correlations between Beaver Creek’s name and the flavors of its wines. Their organic and biodynamic wines speak for themselves, as their 2007 Zinfandel Lake County attests. Close to the Lake County border, Howell Mountain’s Bella Vetta in Angwin sources its Zinfandel from estate vineyards in Dry Creek—certainly, their 2006 Jack’s Cabin Rockpile Zinfandel stood up admirably to its pedigree. On the other hand, I wonder how Celia Dineen Brown and her family managed to stay standing with the crowds that flocked to their table! Brown Estate superseded their popularity from last year’s ZAP with a striking 2008 Zinfandel Napa Valley, their dessert-style 2006 Arrested Zinfandel and a spectacular blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Zin
fandel, the 2007 Chaos Theory. Another winemaking family, the Hopes of Paso Robles, debuted their fourth line, Candor Wines, with a non-vintage Zinfandel Central Coast.

Usually sparkling and distilled wines come first to mind when I think of Philo, but Claudia Springs dispelled this perception with a quintet of vineyard-designate Mendocino Zins, including their 2007 John Ricetti Vineyard Zinfandel, the 2006 Valenti Ranch Zinfandel and their superb 2006 Rhodes Vineyard Zinfandel. Further south, I associate Alexander Valley more with Cabernet Sauvignon, but relished my chance to try Gia Passalacqua’s Dancing Lady and their vertical selection of Old Vine Zinfandel Della Costa Family Vineyard, with preference toward the 2007 vintage.

This year, ZAP decided to alphabetized the numerically-named wineries as if spelled, thus 585 Wine Partners and 5 Mile Bridge Wines were found among the Fs. The former, the victim of a ruthless coup d’etat the very next day, offered two organically-grown Zins, the 2007 Steelhead Zinfandel Dry Creek Valley (a joint venture with Quivira) and the 2008 Green Truck, along with their noteworthy 2008 Powder Keg Zinfandel. 5 Mile Bridge hails from Paso Robles and like 585, offers reasonably-priced wines that belie their quality, the 2006 Zinfandel Margarita Vineyard and the 2007 Stinger, a considerable bargain at $10.

I always make sure to visit with fellow Big Green wine producers, like Peay or Limerick Lane, so upon learning of Jay Fritz’ Dartmouth heritage, I circled over to the Fritz Winery table to taste their 2007 Estate Zinfandel Dr Creek Valley and a deliberately understated 2007 Late Harvest Zinfandel. I wound down ZAP with Gamba Vineyards from Fulton, a final Zin-only producer, whose 2007 Estate Old Vine Zinfandel and 2007 Zinfandel Moratto Vineyard made a superb coda to my 5 hour marathon.

Fortunately for me, no other Grand Tasting approaches the size of ZAP, so I hope to make up for lost time with more abbreviated summaries of the five or six events I attended in February. Something much bigger—the realization of Sostevinobile—demands that I do…

Definitive proof that wine can cure common cold!

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I haven’t been remiss in attending to this blog. It’s just that Your West Coast Oenophile has been pulled in many directions as of late, principally in my efforts to secure the funding Sostevinobile needs in order to be open by September. Then add to the mix that I had to purchase a new computer and port over all my applications and files from the old workhorse that could no longer keep up with the software I require.

Much to its credit, Apple makes migration from one Macintosh to another almost seamless. My first efforts over my home-based WiFi network did freeze up a couple of times before completion, so switch to a direct transfer via Ethernet and within less than two hours had my new Mac a perfect mirror of its predecessor, only running blazingly fast with Snow Leopard, 4GB of RAM and a dual processor somewhere in the range of 10x’s the speed with which I had been contending. Inevitably, I encountered a small glitch or two that required assistance from Apple’s highly commendable tech support, a service that most gratefully is not outsourced to an overseas locale, with specialists whose efforts at approximating colloquial English parallel my utterly futile attempts to dunk on a 10′ rim.

If only the same could be said for Adobe Systems. With my new system, I was finally able to handle the latest issue of Adobe’s Creative Suite, a leap of several versions. Rather than allot a couple of weeks to diligently learning the nuances of these upgrades, I thought by availing myself of their phone-in assistance, it would expedite my learning curve.

Wrong! The only thing worse than the average 65 minute hold time before someone would field my call was the dreaded sound of “Good afternoon, Mr. Marc. How might I facilitate a diligent response to the urgency of your dilemma?” And even that would not have been so bad, but this mangled attempt to offer assistance belied the assumption that the speaker on the other end of the phone had even the remotest connection to technical competence.

Over the course of a four-day period, I endured some twenty hours of complete ineptitude in my efforts to unravel the basic functionality of core features highlighted in the What’s New window of InDesign CS4. With frontline tech support failing to find a solution to my query, my issue was escalated to senior level staff and assigned a case number for further reference. These diplomates of the highly prestigious India Institute of Science only managed to exacerbate my problem, insisting after many hours of research that only a third-party PlugIn could allow me to create a new document and type without the constraints of page limits, a necessary requirement in my 20 year practice of eschewing all Microsoft products for the superior software of its competitors.

Given that this functionality was a major highlight of InDesign’s new capabilities, I objected vociferously and set off to find an answer on my own. Finally, despite twelve phone calls to Adobe and my nearly non-stop torrent of invectives, I managed to uncover the solution up front and center from the Helpful Tips on Adobe’s help site, the same basic manual from which these contractors were supposedly referring for the past 14 months. Forget raising money for Haiti—I am contemplating starting a Facebook site that will solicit the funds I need to acquire an atomic weapon to eradicate Bangalore from the face of the planet!

Meanwhile, in addition to the several days I lost mired in this inexorable abyss, I also contracted my annual winter cold shortly after filing my last blog entry. Nothing too serious—certainly not H1N1—but tiring and annoying nonetheless. Sudafed and Ricola during the day, steam bath after my workout, overly generous glass of hot brandy with honey before bedtime, and within 7-10 days, I’m back with a vengeance (if my usual pattern holds true). So, feeling only slightly debilitated, I pedaled across San Francisco to attend the Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers Association trade tasting at Farallon, a venue for wine tasting that I have repeatedly lauded in this blog.

Coming but a few days prior to the ever-overwhelming ZAP festival, this event compelled me to include an additional criterion to my usual tasting protocol: no Zinfandel! However, I seemed to have been less judicious in limiting my actual intake (vs. the professional swill & spit technique). Or perhaps it was an interaction with the over-the-counter remedies I was taking. Whatever the case, I stopped for a short respite and a chance to stretch out my legs in the lobby of the Kensington Park Hotel once the tasting had ended. Inadvertently, two minutes lapsed into two hours, and I awoke to find myself comfortably draped in a plush, Louis XIV armchair, unaware I had dozed off almost instantaneously. A bit embarrassing, perhaps, but, amazingly, my congestion was completely gone!

So maybe the New England Journal of Medicine will not accept my claim that wine can cure the common cold. This is a battle I will take up in a different forum. My readership here will choose to believe me or not; in any case, I am sure all will prefer to hear about my discoveries at the aforementioned tasting.

And, indeed, discoveries were made. Those who follow this blog should not be surprised I took an immediate shine to Watsonville’s River Run, a winery making its inaugural appearance with the SCMWA. I only wish owner J. P. Pawlowski had brought his entire inventory with him! River Run’s 2008 Chardonnay Moutanos Vineyard was a superb organic expression from Mendocino, as was the 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Moutanos Vineyard. I found much to like in their 2006 Merlot San Benito County and cottoned to both the 2006 Carignane Wirz Vineyard and their Rhône homage, the 2008 Côte d’Aromas, a blend of Syrah, Mourvèdre, Carignane, Viognier, and Grenache. I yearned, however, to sample the 2007 Négrette San Benito County, only the second time I’ve encountered this varietal from California, and I would have veered from my self-imposed prohibition for a small swill of the 2004 Zinfandel Port.

I probably should have asked Dan Martin of Martin Ranch Winery who J.D. Hurley was. The lower end label for this Gilroy winery seemed to be eclipsed by their more distinctive Thérèse Vineyards (eponymous for Dan’s wife) line, which impressively debuted their 2006 Thérèse Vineyards Syrah Santa Clara Valley and an affable 2006 Thérèse Vineyards Sangiovese.

Another new acquaintance, Hillcrest Terrace Winery, prefers a more orthodox Burgundian catalog, but excels in both Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Standouts were the 2008 Chardonnay Santa Cruz Mountains Regan Vineyard, the always dependable 2007 Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands, and a profound 2008 Pinot Noir Santa Cruz Mountains Fambrini Vineyard. Closer to San Francisco, the La Honda Winery shares a zip code both with rock & roll legend Neil Young and the experimental cyberwine forays of Clos de la Tech. Not to be eclipsed by T. J. Rodgers, they offered an impressive Cabernet Sauvignon/Sangiovese blend, the 2006 Super Tuscan La Honda Ranch Experimental Vineyard. Actually, La Honda farms 30 vineyards throughout the Santa Cruz Mountains appellation, including parcels in Woodside, Portola Valley, Atherton, Los Altos Hills, and Saratoga, while making its wine in Redwood City. Of their many selections, I particularly liked the 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Santa Cruz Mountains Lonehawk Vineyard and their 2007 Pinot Noir Santa Cruz Mountains Sequence. Also impressive was the 2006 Meritage, with Cabernet Franc and Malbec in addition to its backbone of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon.

Odonata is the taxonomical term for the order of aquatic palæopterous insects that includes damselflies and dragonflies, a species whose agility at inflight copulation puts the Mile High Club to shame; Odonata is also a family-run winery in Santa Cruz focused on organic grapes and sustainable wines, agile themselves at making a splendid 2007 Malbec St. Olof Vineyard, the very straightforward 2008 Chardonnay Peter Martin Ray Vineyard, and their 2007 Durif from Mendocino.

Having visited with the other participating wineries at a number of Santa Cruz tastings last year allowed me to take a more casual or social approach to sampling the afternoon’s offerings. Methodically, I wound my way down the list in alphabetical order, starting with Bargetto, a winery which intermittently shows flairs of brilliance with its Dolcetto. Though a straightforward expression of this varietal was not part of Bargetto’s current inventory, its proprietary 2004 La Vita, a deft blend of Dolcetto, Nebbiolo and Refosco from its Santa Cruz vineyards easily contented me. And my earlier partiality towards Black Ridge Vineyards remained intact as I tasted their current release, the 2007 Estate Pinot Noir Santa Cruz Mountains.

Clos Títa handcrafts small lots of artisanal wines emphasizing Pinot Noir and Bordelaise varietals. This event afforded my first tasting of their 2005 Gironde, an elegant mélange of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot from their Chain D’Or vineyards in Santa Cruz. Similarly, I had tasted the Pinots from Clos LaChance on a number of occasions, so I focused instead on their 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Central Coast from their Hummingbird Series and a striking proprietary Bordeaux blend, the 2006 Lila’s Cuvée.

The late Kathryn Kennedy was noted as one of the first women to start her own winery, as well as for her exclusive focus on estate bottled 100% Cabernet Sauvignon in Saratoga. It seemed only proper to visit her table after her recent passing for a tasting of three of her vintages. Indeed, the 2006 Kathryn Kennedy Small Lot Cabernet S
anta Cruz Mountains stands as a fitting tribute to this viticultural pioneer.

Medical pioneer Thomas Fogarty has long followed his success with angioplasty in crafting wines that have proved enormously beneficial not only for the heart but to the palate. Again, having recently tasted several of his Pinots, I focused on his 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Santa Cruz Mountains and the 2005 Lexington Meritage, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc from the Santa Cruz Mountains. Fogarty’s winemaker, Michael Martella, shared an impressive array of wines from his eponymous label, starting with the 2008 Sauvignon Blanc Monterey County. But, not unexpectedly, he excelled with his assorted red wines, a quartet that included the 2006 Grenache Fiddletown, the 2005 Petite Sirah Mendocino, a wondrous 2006 Syrah Hammer and the 2006 Zinfandel Fiddletown (OK, I succumbed)!

I don’t know if it’s possible to have every Ridge Zinfandel, but I’d wager my home stockpile comes pretty close. Now, had they been pouring their 2003 Monte Bello, which was depicted in the tasting program, I might have lingered at their table for a while, but I did manage to pay a visit with their mountaintop neighbor, Don Naumann and revisit with his always approachable wines, the 2006 Chardonnay and his 2005 Merlot Estate Grown.

Another prominent Santa Cruz vintner, Sarah’s Vineyard has long stood out for its Pinot Noir and, like Ridge, featured a label of the same on their page. Nonetheless, I veered away from the tried and true and opted for the 2005 Syrah Besson Vineyard and the 2007 Grenache Santa Clara Valley. I also revisited with Saratoga’s Cinnabar, cherry-picking their 2007 Chardonnay Santa Cruz Mountains, the 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Santa Cruz Mountains, the 2005 Cabernet Franc Lodi and their proprietary blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, the 2007 Mercury Rising. But, alas, it seemed that the 2004 Teroldego Central Coast, a wine I had so thoroughly enjoyed last year, failed to make the journey to San Francisco.

I’d been impressed by the Gatos Locos wines I had sampled at Clements Ridge when I visited Lodi in the fall, so it behooved me to stop by the table of their producer, Vine Hill, and to retry their 2007 Gatos Locos Chardonnay Mokelumne River and the 2006 Gatos Locos Pinot Noir Santa Cruz Mountains. I found their 2006 Vine Hill Pinot Noir Santa Cruz Mountains compared quite favorably. But by then, the armchair in the lobby was beckoning, and my medical breakthrough was not to be denied.

Wanna come up and see my composting?

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Call me prescient. Right after I graduated from college, I dreamt that Burger King had opened up a bar, and I was its first bartender. There I was, clad in one of their vapid uniforms, complete with yellow & red beanie, drawing Michelobs and chatting up patrons with the usual “How about them Mets?” and what have you. In a word, not the best use of my Dartmouth education. Lo and behold, the nightmare becomes reality! The first Burger King bar is set to open in Miami next month!

Your West Coast Oenophile won’t reveal how many years have past since that sweat-soaked nightmare, but let’s just say we’re past any statute of limitations for me to allege copyright infringement or make any form of claim to theft of intellectual property. Besides, profiteering from a Burger King enterprise might well nullify my credentials with Slow Food or any other segment of the sustainability movement. Still, even I can appreciate the irony that I am once again dreaming of opening a very different kind of bar, albeit this time with a far more holistic approach.

Irony seems to abound these days. I attended the Post-Holiday Party in Oakland this past Wednesday, a cocktail & networking event hosted by the Green Chamber of Commerce, Green Drinks East Bay and the Sustainable Business Alliance. The event’s sponsor, Alameda County’s chapter of StopWaste.org, came armed with a plethora of printed handouts, most strikingly a 32-page, 8½” x 11″ pamphlet entitled Paperless Express: A Paper Use Reduction Guide for Your Business. At least it was printed on 100% recycled paper (50% post-consumer waste)!

Of course, we all have moments of sustainable apostasy, including yours truly, who drove from San Francisco to attend this gathering—a mere two blocks from the 19th Street BART station. My excuse was I need to get back to San Francisco in time to catch the première of Phèdre at ACT, a feat I managed, despite the rain, in a mere 19 minutes from the time I left Oakland to parking one block from the theater, picking up my ticket from Will-Call, and securing my seat in the loge! Just try doing that on a regular basis!

So far, such milestones haven’t just been personal. 2010 portends to be a watershed year for Sostevinobile and, more broadly, the entire sustainable wine community in California and on the West Coast. At long last, the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance has launched its official certification program. It will still be a while before wines that have earned official certification as sustainable are commercially available, and even longer still before this standard garners sufficient market penetration to become the basis for Sostevinobile to qualify the wines we select for our program, but it does offer a model on which we can base our criteria for gauging the sustainable practices of the wineries and wine labels we consider, particularly with it model of progressive achievement (as opposed to creating a rigid, quantifiable benchmark) for assessing a winery’s implementation of sustainable practices. Still, with all the fealty Sostevinobile has paid to local, sustainable vineyards and wineries, it seemed bewildering that the Wine Institute and the California Wine Growers Association to fail to include this blog at the press conference announcing the debut of this program. But rather than belabor the point, I have sought to ensure that future developments will not reiterate this oversight.

At least the California College of the Arts remembered to invite me, not just to one recept
ion but a pair of openings held on the very same night in different galleries on their San Francisco campus. The first, The Magnificent Seven: Selections from the Life and Work of Michael Bravo, seemed to be an exhibit only someone truly immersed in this métier could fully appreciate. The upstairs exhibit, Route 1: R for Replicant offered a far more accessible, multi-disciplinary display, including some of the most engrossing 3-D photography I have ever experienced.

The truly amazing part of this reception, however, was the complimentary. I have become inured to the frugality of wine selections at art openings, and , historically CCA has offered no exception to the ever-so-predictable Two Buck Chuck, the “official” wine of art openings (or some relatively similar swill). Instead, this evening featured a case of the 2008 Sangiovese Monte Rosso Vineyard from Kenwood’s Muscardini Cellars, which an e-mail I had received only a few days before listed as being pre-release. Ceres, CA and its Central Valley satellites be damned! This handcrafted Italian varietal expressed itself superbly, well worth the $38 one must pay retail for one of these bottles. Donated or purchased—I have no idea, but certainly a standard to which other galleries and multi-billion dollar endowed universities ought to aspire for their programs.

Nonetheless, the true high point since I last posted here was a news report on the latest wave in marital discord—couples whose relationship founders because they have differing adherence to sustainability or in their commitment to containing the sources of global warming and other ecological perils! Imagine actually petitioning the court for divorce on the grounds of environmental incompatibility! Thermal negligence! Carbon cruelty!!

The offer I make now is sincere and has nothing to do with my trying to fill the void in my life after my irreconcilable split with the Ginkgo Girl: come to Sostevinobile with proof that you have been divorced because of your spouse’s lack of adherence to your sustainable beliefs, and your wine will be on the house all evening! Afterwards, if you want to check out my water flow reduction system…

Getting Lei’d in the 2010s

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Welcome to 2010! Call it hubris (ὕβρις), if you will, but I like to think this will be Sostevinobile’s era. Time, of course, will tell.

2010 marks a number of personal milestones. It now has been 20 years since I’ve touched a Microsoft program, other than to reaffirm what an execrable excuse for software the megalomaniacs in Redmond, WA produce. It also marks 35 years since “food” from McDonald’s (or whatever substitute they serve) has tainted my palate. And it’s now been 10 years since I’ve succumbed exclusively to my well-documented febrile predilection.

Nonetheless, things in 2010 have started out quite well for Your West Coast Oenophile (like most folks, I’d have to say that, after 2009’s debacles, where else could they go but up?). Typically, I gauge my prospects for each new year by how I fare in my inaugural squash match, a particularly telling sign this year since I had been plagued with assorted leg injuries over the past 12-15 months. This diminution of my agility, along with a concomitant rustiness to my game, had allowed numerous opponents whom I could previously dispatch with remarkable ease, to prevail effortlessly against my dizzying array of lobs, boasts, and rails.

And it seemed this streak of unmitigated losses might continue, as my opponent, John H., manhandled me throughout the first two games of our match and mounted a formidable 4-point lead midway through the third. But, as the saying goes, squash is to racquetball what chess is to checkers, and I knew I could muster the psychological fortitude that would prove the ungluing of adversary. I steeled my determination and held on to even the score at 10-10, then won 13-11 in the tiebreaker. The spell now broken, I coated through the fourth game and held ground in the fifth before breaking out with an 11-7 victory and, with it, the match. Decidedly, a true portent for the ensuing twelve months, both on and off the court.

An enlightened detail from Custom

The next day, I managed to prevail against the misdirected zealotry of the San Francisco constabulary and have my most recent traffic offense, a baseless charge of crossing through an intersection without stopping at the blacked-out signal light, dismissed as a gross miscarriage of justice. Actually, the officer on duty merely failed to file his report and appear at the hearing, but I do like to inflate my victories whenever possible.

Later that evening, I had the pleasure of attending the unveiling of Roman Padilla’s new art show entitled We are All Commis, a visual paean to sustainability. Commissioned by Hotel Biron, a quaint confrère near San Francisco’s Hayes Valley. This series of directed pastiches includes several fragments from my more whimsical writings—the first time Sostevinobile has been enshrined in art! Needless to say, copious amounts of 2006 Talmage Barbera and 2006 Siani Farms Carignane from Cazadero’s organically-farmed Wild Hog Vineyard were consumed over the course of the evening’s festivities, though not enough to test whether my earlier triumph over the SFPD might be replicated.

A clarion call?

A most heartening development for Sostevinobile in 2010 has been the sudden rash of blogs and discussions challenging the consistency of restaurants and other locavores establishments serving imported wines. The first has been a rather provocative LinkedIn discussion, started by Jon Wollenhaupt of Excel Meetings & Events in San Francisco and chronicled by SFGate bloggers Michael Bauer and Zennie Abraham, posed the question: “Should the ‘Eat Local’ ethic apply to wine as well? Should San Francisco restaurants only serve Napa/Sonoma wines?”

This thread has already reached 162 entries, including my own, and while it has veered off on numerous tangents that hardly seem germane to the origin query (particularly among restaurateurs in states that have limited production of local wines), it has shown that people here and throughout the West Coast do question the rationale behind serving imports when an abundance of excellent wine is available here.

Another wine blogger, Amy Atwood, posed a similar question on her mydailywine column: “Drink Local Wine Debate: A Harbinger of Change?” Much to my surprise, the most aggressive response came from local Australian wine evangelist Chuck Hayward, formerly of San Francisco’s Jug Shop:

“Do you mean to tell me that amongst the almost 3000 wineries spanning over 100 AVAs in California that they all make wines that are “too much?” They found those five wines, I am sure there are plenty of wines out there that meet the stringent criteria that somms want today. Just get to work and find them!!

“The real issue here, however, is hypocrisy. Preaching local and then saying that the wine portion of the dining experience is exempt is just plain elitist and hypocritical.”

I can only wish I had the temerity to make such an indictment, though outside of this forum, Sostevinobile has iterated much of the same. With so many others now echoing our central tenet, I suspect a successful launch and enduring run for our venture lays just beyond.

Still, the most auspicious omen for the upcoming decade assuredly has to have been losing, then amazingly recovering my iPhone Bluetooth earpiece. Seen to the right at nearly 150% its actual size, this teeny device fell, imperceptibly, from my pocket Wednesday evening sometime after I had shopped at San Francisco’s Rainbow Grocery. Several hours and stops later, I discovered that the Bluetooth signal on my phone had disconnected, but it wasn’t until I returned to my flat that I realized the earpiece was no longer on my person. A frantic search throughout my blue Corolla confirmed my worst suspicions—my headset had been lost, and hopes its retrieval, quite slim.

No, this is not a hash pipe!

I placed late night calls to Nihon Lounge and to Heaven’s Dog,the two establishments where I had stopped for cocktails and where I had reached into my front pocket for a pen to sign my receipts. Their searches in the vicinity where I had sat turned up empty, but I was reassured they would call me after the morning cleaning crew had swept through the bar. On the other hand, Rainbow did not reopen until the morning, so I had to wait until then before speaking with their Customer Service team.

The morning calls proved just as futile. Resigned to having to purchase a new device, I headed off to Traffic Court, determined to plead my case as vociferously as needed for my exoneration. I entered the court room at 1:36 PM and by 1:40, I had my dismissal in hand. Having allocated the whole afternoon for this appearance, I decided to take the time I’d been spared and make one final, implausible search to find my lost Bluetooth. After a futile return visit to Heaven’s Dog, I made a meticulous search of the area nearby where my friend and I had parked the night before, hoping that I might find the earpiece squashed on the pavement (whereby I could still claim it under Apple’s warranty). No such luck. I then pedaled over to Rainbow, in search of the same remnant, then figured I might make one last futile attempt to investigate the space where we had parked by Flour + Water.

From fortitude comes fortuity

As I had before, I crouched down and looked beneath the automobile that was now parked in the same space alongside 13th Street. As I ought to have expected, nothing. But just as I prepared to remount my 14-speed Trek, there on the sidewalk, out in plain sight, completely intact, lay my 1½” long Bluetooth earpiece, as if no one had even touched it over the past 18 hours!

I pressed the activation button and it connected to my iPhone with nary a glitch. Phoning my drinking companion from the night before, I queried through the remote microphone, “How do I sound?” “Fortuitous,” he replied. Here was the first crest of a wave of luck I whole-heartedly intend to ride throughout 2010.

And so far, I seem to be (at least until I show up at the 2010 Olympic Club Singles Squash Invitational this coming weekend). I discovered a pair of wines, grape varietals which have enjoyed cursory mention in this blog as components of blends, but not as distinct wines. The 2008 Sylvaner Flood Family Vineyards from Rancho Sisquoc showed faint reminiscences of a Riesling or a Gewürztraminer and married nicely to a Cajun-spiced catfish I prepared. On the other hand, I found the 2007 Chasselas Doré Pagani Ranch that Berthoud Vineyards produced a wine with no easy comparisons and a somewhat incongruous match for the Dungeness crab I steamed over the weekend. It did, however, pose a fairly decent complement to the store-prepared Italian Wedding Soup I consumed the next evening as the start of my avowed weight loss program for 2010.

The next evening, I attended my first party for 2010 at the Tonga Room, a San Francisco landmark purportedly destined for demise later this year. Guests at this kickoff event were asked to create name tags with their New Year’s resolution or other goals for 2010. Never one to turn down the opportunity for a pun, I scribbled in “Here to Get Lei’d,” a line that my friends and Facebook fans know belies my true avowal:

***2010 New Year’s Eve, I* will be pouring the West Coast’s finest bubbly at *Sostevinobile!***

Buon natale da Sostevinobile!

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(perché no l?)

2010 New Year’s Eve, I will be pouring the West Coast’s finest bubbly at Sostevinobile!

***2010 New Year’s Eve, I* will be pouring the West Coast’s finest bubbly at *Sostevinobile!***