Category Archives: Barbera

Shticks of One and Half a Dozen of the Other

The late, great Abbie Hoffman used to cite Mad Magazine as one of the most profound influences on his political philosophy. I would add that anyone whose formative years fell with the span of the 1950s or 1960s would attribute their anarchist or outré tendencies not just to Mad but to the musical parodies of Allan Sherman. No one else could concoct such inspired lyrics this excerpt from the purloined title to this installment illustrates:

Do not make a stingy sandwich

Pile the cold cuts high

Customers should see salami

Coming through the rye

Had he lived, Allan would have turned 85 next week. Your West Coast Oenophile attended a dizzying whirlwind of wine tastings, business meetings and sustainable summits, all in the pursuit of making Sostevinobile a viable enterprise. My half dozen or so undertakings included:

The San Francisco Green Festival
I hereby promise I will never again complain about the enormity of ZAP! This comprehensive three-day expo at the San Francisco Concourse, with 1062 trade booths, along with numerous stages, food and drink stations, and a full slate of lectures and forums overwhelmed even the most fervent attendee.

Granted, many of the exhibitions I eschewed may have held a significant personal interest; the sheer enormity of the event dictated that I restrict my time to those presentations that would likely offer a direct applicability to the sustainable designs Sostevinobile intends to implement in order to obtain LEED certification. Within the limited block of time I could allot on Sunday, I first paid my obligatory calls on acquaintances that have lent their support to my efforts, like Dharma Marketing Services, Green Key Real Estate, and Inka Biosphere. I missed the entire slate of lectures, including the Punahou Kid’s putative pal, Bill Ayers, and his wife, Bernadine Dohrn, but did manage to visit with a number of solar technologies, the Green Restaurant Association, and a green billfold manufacturer, a concept which, sadly, is designed to make your wallet qualitatively thinner, not, as I would have hoped, quantitatively fatter.

Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh!

To no one’s surprise, I eventually found my way to the sustainable wine section, where a handful of organic vintners displayed their wares. I wish that Coturri had not run out of wine so early, but I anticipate seeing them next week at the Green Wine Summit in Santa Rosa. On the other hand, La Rocca Vineyards came amply supplied, affording me opportunity to sample several of the wines I’d missed at the CCOF Organic Beer, Wine and Spirits Tasting. I found much to admire in their 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon and their 2006 Chardonnay, as well as their lower-end 2006 Zinfandel; still, rumors of a $50 Barbera and a reserve 2002 Lush Zinfandel left me with a sense of askance. Once again, Frey Vineyards held a strong presence, even without the soon-to-be wed Eliza. I do wish I could be more sanguine about their 2005 Biodynamic Syrah, a wine that cried for better vinification, but I was quite pleased by my first taste of their 2007 Organic Sangiovese.

Being a wine importer, Organic Vintners would normally fly beneath Sostevinobile’s radar; however, they do contract out a line of vegan wines from Mendocino that they bottle under their own label. I found their samples of the 2008 Organic Vintners Vegan Chardonnay and the 2007 Organic Vintners Vegan Pinot Noir accessible and refreshing. The surprise of the afternoon came from Beaver Creek, a biodynamic winery from Middletown (Mendocino County) showcasing their first release. The four wines owner Radan Bruno Kolias poured all made enormously favorable impressions, notably his 2007 Merlot Rutherford, the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Lake County, and the 2007 Zinfandel Lake County. Nonetheless, in this age of austerity, his one wine priced below $60, the 2007 Red Wine Napa Valley, proved the standout of the afternoon, a traditional Meritage that highlighted how skilled biodynamic farming can educe the intensity and incredible flavors inherent in each component.

On my way out, I passed by a table for Rudolph Steiner College, an institution in the Sacramento town of Fair Oaks, billed as a “center for anthroposophical studies and transformative adult education,” as well as a college for preparing teachers for the Waldorf system. Steiner may have concocted the elaborate rituals and practices of biodynamic farming, but I still managed to bypass their application forms.

The biggest door in all of San Francisco

Duty called unexpectedly the next night. I had hoped to spend a quiet evening at home, but around 7 PM I espied an Internet posting for a wine tasting at Local Kitchen & Wine Merchant, one of the more successful wine-focused operations in San Francisco. I say wine-focused because local manages to be a restaurant, enoteca, wine shop, tasting room, and corner convenience store, all in one setting. It also boasts a massive, 25′ high front door designed to ward off all but the most intrepid. Or perhaps it was inspired by another Allan Sherman parody:

Last night I met a man from Mars, and he was very sad
He said, “Won’t you help me find my girl friend, please?”
So I asked him, “What does she look like?”
And the man from Mars said, “She’s…
Eight foot two, solid blue,
Five transistors in each shoe,
Has anybody seen my gal?

I feel I can make small jest because Sostevinobile and Local, though widely disparate, are kindred operations with much to offer each other on a coöperative basis. The complimentary admission provided me and other members of the wine and restaurant trade speaks to this notion of camaraderie or alliance.

The tasting lacked any air of pretentiousness, so it seemed only fit to start off easily with San Francisco-based Heron Wines, an interesting collection of low-priced wines Laely Heron makes from vineyards she contracts locally and abroad. Her California wines approachable and eminently fair, for their price point; though Merlot is apparently her forte, I found the 2007 Heron Chardonnay the most compelling of the four wines being poured. At the other end of this evening’s spectrum, Trefethen showed its considerable chops, as it were. Its 2005 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Oak Knoll District, a wine rounded out with 4% Malbec and 2% Petit Verdot, certainly can hold its own against any Napa Cabs from this esteemed vintage, but their standout on this particular evening was certainly the 2008 Dry Riesling, a subdued wine would pair marvelously with a wide array of entrées or, as an apéritif, would be sure to “Loosen” up any affair.

It was good to “Bump” into Sandra Rex (iPhone aficionados know what I mean) from Deerfield Ranch Winery at this tasting and sample her 2005 Red Rex, a Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlot blend nuanced with Sangiovese, Petit Verdot, Syrah, Cabernet Franc and Zinfandel. Less complicated but as appealing were the 2004 Shiraz Cuvée and the 2004 Merlot Cuvée. Though restricted to the traditional Bordeaux varietals, the 2006 Meritage from Dry Creek Vineyard offered a nonetheless distinctive balance of 36% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc and 23% Cabernet Sauvignon, with 8% each of Petit Verdot and Malbec.

Raymond is a winery that can trace its roots back to the founding of Beringer in 1876. Their five-generation Napa heritage seemed abundantly evident in their 2005 Reserve Merlot and the 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon being poured at Local. Another long-standing wine operation, Gallo, showcased a pair of its North Coast acquisitions, the 2007 MacMurray Ranch Pinot Noir and the 2006 Napa Cabernet Sauvignon from Louis M. Martini.

Landmark Vineyards is a Kenwood winery known for its lush Chardonnays and colorful appellations. I enjoyed both the 2007 Overlook Chardonnay and the 2007 Steel Plow Syrah, but found the 2007 Grand Tour Pinot Noir easily the most memorable. On the other hand, I will always remember Alexander Valley’s Trentadue Winery because I belatedly discovered their sparkling wine two weeks after my 32nd birthday; this evening, their 2005 La Storia Zinfandel left a much happier recollection.

Two titans of California sparkling wine share a distributor, Maison Marques & Domaines, as well as a table at the event. Both the NV Roederer Estate Brut and the NV Scharffenberger Brut were exceedingly delightful. Their sister operation, Carpe Diem, is a California-based project from Christian Moieux of Château Pétrus and Dominus fame, with his Yountville site releasing its new 2006 Carpe Diem Cabernet Sauvignon and his Firepeak Vineyards in Edna Valley crafting the elegant 2006 Carpe Diem Pinot Noir.

The final station of the evening also featured a selection of different labels from Niven Family Wine Estates. Under its Baileyana label, I found both the 2006 GFC Chardonnay and the 2007 GFC Pinot Noir exceedingly delightful. The more moderately price Tangent line offered an impressive 2008 Riesling and the 2007 Ecclestone, an eclectic blend of Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Albariño, Viognier, and Riesling.

I lingered well after the tasting had finished, comparing notes with Local’s Carl Grubbs and helping to polish off much of the wine that had been left behind. How I managed to pull open the 25′ front door afterwards, I’ll never know.

Euthanamerica

The generational divide is hardly something new. Even things that now have become inextricable totems of our culture often met considerable resistance at their inception. Note Allan Sherman’s timeless paean to parental disaffectation, Pop Hates the Beatles:

My daughter needs a new phonograph
She wore out all the needles
Besides, I broke the old one in half
I hate the Beatles!

Needless to say, there are stark contrasts between the up & coming generation of winemakers and the generation that preceded them. Today’s new winemakers are folks for whom recollection of the Vietnam War holds no immediacy and who have known Michael Jackson only as being white. They bear no connection to that era when bigger meant better, more meant more, and the goal for most vineyardists was to force as many tons of grapes per acre that the land, along with chemical intervention, could sustain. Throughout California and the rest of the West Coast, this generation pays fealty to the notion that sustainable stewardship of the soil stands imperative not just for preservation of the environment and insulation against climate change but for the production of the highest quality of wine, as well.

Twenty of this generation’s most prominent practitioners of the viticultural arts took part in last week’s California’s New Generation Vintners and Growers, a joint presentation of The Wine Institute and the California Association of Wine Growers at Sausalito’s glistening eco-resort, Cavallo Point. Part demo, part workshop, this event bracketed a series of informative colloquia with a delectable tasting of numerous wines these 30-somethings are producing.

Not surprisingly, most of these representatives have enthusiastically embraced new media and social networking. The panel on Hip & Trendy Marketing highlighted a wide array of tools and techniques they have embraced for promoting their wines and keeping wine enthusiasts engaged in an active community. Everything from blogs and content-rich Internet sites (vs. strictly e-commerce or a static informational web presence) to audio and video podcasts to active Web 2.0 presence on Facebook, Twitter and the like, as well as targeted live events and promotions, all form essential components to this new mix. To put it another way (in references that may fly by this group), Orson Welles and Bartles & Jaymes have most definitely become passé!

Also passé is the kind of homogeneous winemaking style that prevailed in the period when jug-style blends dominated the viticultural landscape. As elucidated in Evolving California Wine Styles, today’s terroiristes focus on a winemaking style that reflects both the characteristics of the viticultural appellation from where the wine is grown as well as the individualized stamp of the winemaker. No longer can myopic attempts to be universally dismissive of the wines originating from here hold any weight, as sweeping generalizations like “California’s high alcohol content” of “fruit-forward focus” loom as relics of a by-gone era.

Much to Sostevinobile’s pleasure, green guidelines are not a matter of conversion to these new vineyardists and winemakers, rather principles by which they have always functioned. Though the terms “organic” and “sustainable” can sometimes be mutually exclusive, this generation is overseeing a convergence of both into a unified standard for upholding the ecological integrity of their vineyards and operations. Equally, these practices highlighted in Eco-Friendly Growing and Winemaking are deemed vital to the environment at large, elemental to the production of superior wine, and essential to the preservation of lands that often have been held by multiple generations of each family.

The notion of heritage holds strong for many of these panelists. In their opening session, Next Generation: Passing the Torch, ties to the wine industry and to family-held wineries ranged from 2nd generation legacies to 5th and 6th generational operation of holdings founded in the 19th Century. And, if not unabashedly heterosexual, this current wave of winemakers is certainly intent on passing on their legacy to yet another generation. Of the 20 young winemakers we met, at least eight were either pregnant or had a spouse imminently expecting!

My companion for this afternoon, San Francisco wine broker Karen Mancuso, and I both readily enjoyed the face-to-face contact with these rising stars of the wine world, and, of course, the opportunity to sample their wines. As we were scheduled to attend a reception for the Auction Napa Valley that overlapped this event, I may have bypassed a few stations, but found much here to merit my encomium.

Although Mike Heringer’s family dates back six generations in Clarksburg, his Heringer Estates winery is a label I had not previously encountered. I found his 2008 Viognier was the perfect complement to the extraordinary crab cakes from Murray Circle that circulated throughout the tasting room, while discovering his 2005 Petite Sirah proved truly serendipitous. I failed to convince one of the servers that the trays of crab cakes were intended exclusively for me; nonetheless, I did receive an overly generous second portion that balanced equally as well with the compellingly dry 2007 Riesling from Jason Smith’s Paraiso Vineyards.

Edna Valley Vineyard is a Diageo holding that produces a number of wines, particularly Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, in high volumes that stores like Safeway and BevMo readily scoop up; these vineyard-designated bottlings are well-priced and easily stand a cut or two above the various “Coastal” labels that occupy the same shelves. Less familiar is its moderate production of underrepresented varietals like Grenache, Mourvèdre, Pinot Gris, and Viognier, as well as a number of small bottlings sold only through their tasting room in San Luis Obispo. From this latter category winemaker Josh Baker brought the 2007 Estate Chardonnay and the 2006 Estate Syrah, a pair of wines that resonated with the same craftsmanship that distinguished this winery when it was still part of the Chalone portfolio. Still independent following six generations of family farming, Bogle produces a well-recognized budget brand that exceeds expectations for its price range. This Clarksburg winery’s vineyard manager, Warren Bogle, showcased his 2006 Petite Sirah, the varietal for which Bogle is primarily known.

Having a name like Cane Vanderhoof almost predestines one to achieving something distinctive in life, and the 2005 Sangiovese Temecula Valley and the 2005 Three Block Syrah he brought from his Miramonte Winery in Riverside County indeed validates my presumption. Andrew Murray may not have as distinctive a moniker as Cane’s, but his devotion to Rhône varietals helps create wines that are as intense. I greatly enjoyed his just-released 2007 Grenache, as well as a 2006 Syrah whose single vineyard I failed to note. Of course, there was no ambiguity in identifying the 2007 Rockpile Ridge Zinfandel from Mauritson Estate, along with winemaker Clay Mauritson’s subtle 2008 Sauvignon Blanc Dry Creek Valley.

As Karen’s wine brokerage connects her more directly with strictly growers who do not produce their own label, she was happy to introduce me to Nicholas Miller, whose family farms Bien Nacido, Solomon Hills, and French Camp Vineyards. From their grapes, we sampled the 2007 Chardonnay Clos Pepe from The Ojai Vineyard and a most compelling 2005 Syrah from Kynsi Winery. I needed no introduction to Alan Viader, as his sister Janet is always kind enough to invite me to innumerable wine tastings. And I needed no incentive to taste Viader’s 2006 DARE Cabernet Franc, after I had so delighted in the 2005 vintage earlier this year.

Another old familiar I whose current vintage I was happy to sample was the 2008 Gewürztraminer from Navarro, whose winemaker Sarah Cahn-Bennett had managed to avoid the pregnancy pandemic cited above. I can’t recall whether Cheryl Murphy Durzy from Morgan Hill’s Clos LaChance was enceinte, but she did manage to coax me into trying her 2006 Lila’s Cuvée, a superb GMS blend rounded out with Carignane. Rounding out (no pun intended) the tasting were the twin labels from Nick de Luca: Dierberg Estate and Star Lane Vineyard, ably represented by the 2006 Dierberg Vineyard Chardonnay Santa Maria Valley and the 2006 Star Lane Merlot Santa Ynez Valley.

I managed to squeeze in a few quick pleasantries with Judd Finkelstein, Kathy Benziger, and Aaron Lange, all of whose families I’ve met on several previous occasions before we were compelled to make our abrupt exit. About a mile before reaching Oxbow Public Market in downtown Napa, Karen looked at her iPhone calendar and exclaimed, “Oh no! The party isn’t until Thursday!” It was too ludicrous a scenario not to laugh. We decided instead to drop by the Bounty Hunter, where proprietor Mark Steven Pope, self-billed as “MERCHANT♠NÉGOTIANT♠VINTER” treated us to some of his own bottlings of Cabernet Sauvignon from Beckstoffer Vineyards. À propos of our misadventure, we dined on Bounty Hunter’s fabled Beer Can Chicken, the one that’s roasted with a full can of Tecate plugged up its…cavity.

Devi essere ancor più bella nel buio…

As Karen and I combed downtown Napa Tuesday evening, my iPhone rang with a call from the young Siciliana I was scheduled to meet after work on Wednesday. Why wasn’t I at our destination?

Again, my bemusement got the better of me. The next night, she reprised our meeting at Paréa, a quaint cafe in the Mission focused on Greek wine and cuisine. Despite this billing, I found the 2005 Pinot Noir Willamette Valley from Benton Lane a more apt compliment to the cold dishes we ordered. I think she ordered something Greek. I think she told me about a breakthrough sustainable UV technology her company was promoting. I kept thinking “if only she spoke Italian…”

$10,000,000,000,000 and counting

Thursday was my turn. I actually rose before 8 AM and pedaled across the City to the William J. Rutter Center at UCSF’s new South Beach campus in order to attend the Teaming USA Bay Area Workshop. I registered in the cavernous, ground floor lobby (everything at the William J. Rutter Center is cavernous), collected my three pounds of handouts, loaded up on some much needed coffee plus an Apple Crumb muffin, then scoured the Robertson Auditorium for an available seat.

I had thought this full-day workshop was intended to help emerging business like Sostevinobile navigatethe sea of opportunities available to start-ups and small businesses inthe wake of the Federal Stimulus Program. After all, the invite hadread: “Teaming USA will focus on preparing a business to be ‘contractready…’ Attendees will learn how to secure proper certifications,clearances, and registrations and identify new selling areas throughthe 85 billion dollar federal stimulus funding for California.”

Turns out I was way off the mark. This program was actually designed to enable small businesses to partner with large enterprises and help secure their government contracts. As such, the auditorium was overflowing, if then some, all looking to help enlarge the Federal deficit. As I slinked out the side entrance, I couldn’t help but contemplate that I could get everyone there to enjoy just one glass of wine at Sostevinobile, we’d be profitable within the first week!

An act of Providence

Despite how it may sound, Brown Entrepreneurs is not a Dick Cheney-sponsored, knee-jerk reaction to Green Technology. The local chapter of the Brown University Alumni Association has been holding these informal klatchs for the past several months in the hope of spurring the development of new enterprises spearheaded by its San Francisco graduates. Twenty-four hours before Thursday’s gathering, I unexpectedly discovered I had been selected to pitch my development plans for Sostevinobile. A golden opportunity, or so I thought, to meet with a number of potential investors and solicit the start-up funding we are currently seeking.

Despite having cracked the bifocal contact lens on which I have become so dependent of late, I was determined to make a stellar impression. I printed up several handouts of Sostevinobile’s Keynote presentation and summary, polished my Luccheses, and rehearsed my elevator pitch about a dozen or so times. Luck even seemed on my side, as I managed to coax the bartender at the University Club to serve me a relatively decent Pinot Noir (instead of the utterly dreary Salmon Creek that has become their standard pour) before joining the group in the private room that had been reserved for this event.

Much to my disappointment, the Entrepreneurs was more of a support and discussion group among a handful of people either contemplating new ventures or simply interested in the field. Not a VC or angel investor in sight. Despite my misconception, I resolved to deliver my spiel with comportment and enthusiasm.

Or so I intended. To put it gallantly (if not Gallicly), when it comes to public speaking, ceci n’est pas mon forte. Then again, I had attended Brown for its Graduate Program in Playwriting, a genre that enables me to compose words and have others speak them for me. matter. Still, the realization of Sostevinobile rests, at least for now, entirely upon me, and it was a valuable lesson to flub my delivery in front of an audience of this nature, rather than one that might have offered me funding.

Back when I moved to Providence, the Brown campus radio station, used to delight in taunting celebrity freshman JFK Jr. with Allan Sherman’s outré novelty hit, I Think I Slept with Jackie Kennedy Last Night:

Met this girl and she was real nifty
Even though she was pushing 50…

Oh wait, that was David Roter’s song…

Make Wine, not War—the Sequel

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I haven’t written about the Punahou Kid since he took office. Of course, if he had actually accomplished anything beyond soaring rhetoric over the past nine months, I might have felt compelled to comment. Still, I find it alarmingly incongruent that a person perpetuating one war and escalating another can be accorded the world’s most revered award for the promulgation of pacifistic ideals. Failure to see the inherent contradiction here fundamentally correlates to an unabashed appreciation of the Blue Angels as a precision flight formation performing purely for entertainment value, while myopically ignoring the militaristic propaganda underlying such displays.

Far better to see military facilities turned to civilian use. Once again, Your West Coast Oenophile had the pleasure of visiting one such converted base, this time on the man-made Treasure Island, a four hundred acre development attached to the natural formation of Yerba Buena Island at the middle juncture of the Bay Bridge. This past Sunday, the first annual Treasure Island Wine Fest hosted Lodi on the Water, a celebration of more than 40 wineries from this surprisingly diverse AVA can no longer be considered the backwater of the California wine industry.

A chance to see old friends, a chance to meet new ones. Before I started developing Sostevinobile, the Ginkgo Girl and I ventured out to the delta for Lodi Zinfest on a day where the temperature rose above 100° F. Not exactly the most conducive way to pour or to taste wine. This weekend, however, a fog so heavy the Blue Angels had to cancel their Saturday performance hovered well into the afternoon before dissipating.

Not that the wines still weren’t in danger of overheating. An overwhelming crowd had already inundated the tent Treasure Island had recently erected to host large gatherings even before I arrived—and this was only the preview reception for media and trade. Dreading the arrival of the public attendees, I beelined over to the table for Mokelumne Glen, a winery I believe is the only producer in California devoted exclusively to German varietals. With such scant basis for comparison, I concede I feel somewhat hesitant to assess these wines, though the 2008 Late Harvest Kerner certainly ranked as one of the standouts; also quite pleasing, the 2008 Bacchus blended Müller-Thurgau with a Riesling/Sylvaner hybrid.

Another hybrid varietal grown with greater proliferation in Lodi is Symphony, a cross UC-Davis developed from Grenache Gris and Muscat of Alexandria. Abundance marries Symphony with Sauvignon Blanc to create their 2007 Bountiful Blanc, a most distinctive blend. I used to drink their 1999 Viognier almost religiously and had hoped to sample their current vintage, Nonetheless, their 2005 Abundantly Rich Red, a Carignane/Zinfandel mélange, provided more than satisfactory consolation. Murphys stalwart Ironstone Vineyards offered an undiluted interpretation of Symphony with their 2008 Obsession, but true kudos belonged to their 2006 Cabernet Franc.

Ironstone’s Kautz family also produces Christine Andrews as a more sophisticated line of wines. Certainly their 2007 Malbec, though still young, portended a promising evolution, but I found myself wishing they’d brought their 2005 Tempranillo as a benchmark.

Not that the afternoon was lacking for Spanish varietals. Assuredly, Lodi’s leader in this category has long been Bokisch Vineyards, which also spearheads Lodi Rules, the rigorous standard for sustainability throughout this AVA. Markus could not attend this event, owing to harvest duties, but, much to everyone’s delight, this wife was on hand to promote the winery. Liz is the kind of girl who could pour Two Buck Chuck and make it taste good, but her own wines required no embellishment. I found myself liking the 2008 Albariño better than its previous vintage, while the 2007 Garnacha outpaced the other reds she offered.

Standing just behind her, Harney Lane’s interpretation of Albariño seemed somewhat fruitier, but both their 2007 Zinfandel and their 2006 Petite Sirah were monumental expressions of their particular varietal. Housed in Elk Grove, McConnell Estates also produced a noteworthy 2006 Tempranillo, as well as a forthright 2006 Petite Sirah, while Acampo’s St. Jorge Winery accompanied its stellar 2007 Tempranillo with a refreshing take on the standard Portuguese white varietal with their 2008 Verdelho. With a motto of “No Boring Wines,” Ripken Vineyards certainly produces strikingly colorful labels, but I felt neither the 2005 Vintage Port nor the 2006 El Matador Tempranillo had quite the same con gusto zest that their packaging conveyed. Still, I was quite enamored of their immensely flavorful 2006 Late Harvest Viognier.

What? No Pinot? In addition to German and Iberian grapes, Lodi offers a wide range of Italian, Bordeaux and Rhône varietals, not to mention a ubiquitous supply of Zinfandel (interestingly, no one with whom I spoke ventured to mention Tokay or the other filler grapes that made up the bulk of Lodi’s growing 25 years ago). I typically think of Peltier Station for their Petite Sirah, and was pleased to discover their new Hybrid label, a line of sustainable wines that included a new 2007 Hybrid Petite Sirah, as well as a nicely drinkable 2008 Hydrid Pinot Grigio. Watts Winery is a small operation with a big heart—they produce a special On Wings of Hope line to benefit Burkitt’s lymphoma research. I wish they would have taken their 2005 Montepulciano to the tasting, but their 2005 Dolcetto Los Robles Vineyard Clements Hills was more than delightful in its own right. Time constrains caused me to overlook the 2007 Pinot Grigio from Van Ruiten Family Winery, though I did manage a taster’s sip of their splendid 2006 Cab-Shiraz.

Several years ago, I introduce Macchia to Consorzio Cal-Italia; this tasting offered a chance to reconnect and sample their 2007 Amorous Sangiovese and their 2007 Delicious Barbera (one of several versions of this varietal that they produce). Still, it was their library offering of the debut 2001 Barbera that really sent me back. St. Amant Winery also brought a pair of strong Barbera vintages, contrasting their 2007 Barbera with a just-released 2008 Barbera, Another old acquaintance, l’Uvaggio di Giacomo has simplified its name for non-Italian speakers (something Sostevinobile will never do!), but the new Uvaggio label is undiminished with an outstanding 2005 Barbera and a 2008 Vermentino that makes for an easy apéritif.

The Woodbridge Winery not only compelled the gargantuan industrial wineries in California to start making wines with an eye toward quality, it also catalyzed recognition for the potential of Lodi as a varietal-driven AVA. Although this facility’s repute has dwindled since Robert Mondavi stepped back from personal control, and portends to devolve into an indistinguishable jug factory under the current regime, they still managed to produce a respectable 2008 Vermentino for this event. I can’t say that Constellation’s other holding, Talus Winery, struck much of a positive chord with any of their offerings, while Gallo’s Barefoot Cellars seemed outright pedestrian compared to their heyday as part of Davis Bynum. Once again, I could not bring myself to warm up to any of the lackluster Campus Oaks wines that Gnekow Family mass-produces. Central Valley conglomerate Delicato Vineyards ponied up to the table with four disparate labels, and managed to make a slightly positive impression with their 2007 181 Merlot.

Back to accentuating the positive. One thing for certain, Lodi has know lack of inventiveness in coming up with offbeat names for their wines.Witness Michael~David Winery,which seemingly tries to squeeze more life out of a pun than juice can be extracted from a ton of grapes. From their collection of collection of 7 Deadly Zins, I immensely enjoyed the 2006 Gluttony Zinfandel and luxuriated in the 2005 Rapture Cabernet Sauvignon; also noteworthy but obvious, their 2007 Petite Petit, a Petit Verdot/Petite Sirah blend. Grands Amis also offered a young but promising 2007 Petit Verdot and a similarly evolving 2007 Première Passion, a Bordeaux-style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Along with their noteworthy, 2007 Estate Petite Sirah, Vino Con Brio! shared their 2008 Estate Brillante, a deft mix of Viognier, Roussanne, Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc and the 2008 Passione Rosé, a blushing Sangiovese. Stama Winery made their pitch with the 2005 Curvaceous Cabernet and 2007 Zany Zin, but I cottoned more to their 2005 Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc.In and of itself, Klinker Brick is a great name, so they can be excused if their 2007 Farrah Syrah is a tribute to owner Farrah Felten and not the late Charlie’s Angel. Besides, their 2007 Old Ghost Zin was enough to make one downright jiggly!

A pun on the name of owner Dave Dart led to the development of d’Art Wines, a highly stylized line of wines that feature the artwork of spouse Helen Rommel Dart on the labels. With lush red coloring on the inside of the bottles, as well, they painted a bold swath with both their 2007 Tempranillo and the 2007 Zinfandel. m2 Wines featured their 2007 Artist Series’ Zinfandel, a perennial commissioned showcase, along with their appealing Syrah/Petite Sirah mix, the 2006 Duality and the 2007 Trio, which blends the same varietal with a predominant Cabernet Sauvignon. The artwork of painter Chris Spencer adorns the very Van Gogh-like label for Barsetti Vineyards. Though it may seem heretical these days, their oaky 2006 Chardonnay outshone their steel-barreled version from the following vintage.; their 2006 Zinfandel showed quite nicely, too.

Several Lodi wineries stay close to the basics and produce quite admirable wines. The Lucas Winery offered a 2006 Chardonnay, as well as a panoply of different Zinfandel bottlings, featuring their 2005 Zinstar. I remain surprised that Maley Brothers still lacks a website, but their trio of 2004 Merlot, 2006 Petite Sirah and 2005 Zinfandel remained as true as when I’d previously sampled them. Lodi mainstay Berghold Vineyards, a long-standing acquaintance, brought out a truly elegant 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, along with the debut of their 2006 Footstomp Zinfandel, both estate bottlings. And it was no onus to sample the 2007 Chardonnay and 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon from Onus Vineyards.

Readers know I am never hesitant to tweak the wineries, whenever I see an opening. I told Trinitas Cellars their 2006 Ratzinger Zinfandel tasted rather “papal;” I was also quite fond of their 2005 Old Vine Petite Sirah. I also thought Oak Ridge Winery needed a wine called Elvira, but they handled themselves quite ably with their 2007 3 Girls Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2005 Moss Roxx Zinfandel.

Call it an Italian thing—I’ll refrain from the obvious puns on Borra Winery, tempting though they may be. Their designated 45.7° series may seem eclectic to some, but their Fusion wines, particularly the 2008 Fusion–Red, a blend with 60% Syrah and 30% Petite Sirah (with other varietals comprising the remaining 10%) set the standard for this winery. I hold a similar respect for LangeTwins, a winery that has been cited for its implementation of sustainable technology and long-standing dedication to environmental preservation. Their 2007 Petit Verdot shows that their fidelity to the Lodi Rules only enhances the flavor of the wine; the 2005 Midnight Reserve is a finely-tuned Bordeaux blend, with Cabernet Sauvignon predominant.

Zinfandel being a hallmark of Lodi, it was not surprising to find some wineries exclusively featuring this varietal, like the Paul Simeon Collection, whose only pour was their 2007 St. Sophia Zinfandel. Benson Ferry staged a Zinfandel trifecta, with their 2006 95240 Zinfandel zipping by and winning by a nose. Jessie’s Grove Winery also featured a number of their Zinfandels, including the cleverly-named 2006 Earth, Zin & Fire and a deep 2006 Westwind Zinfandel; My true fondness, however, was reserved for their 2008 Chardonnay and the 2008 Jessence Blanc, a Roussanne/Viognier blend.

I concede that my fondness for Harmony Wynelands may have precipitated from the charms of event coordinator Kitty Wong, who was on hand to pour their esoteric 2006 GMA, a marriage of Mourvèdre, Grenache and Alicante Bouschet. This latter varietal, a cross between Grenache and Petit Bouschet, a hybrid vitis vinifera created from Aramon and Teinturier du Cher, which gives Alicante Bouschet the rarity of having red flesh; such a complex pedigree is cause for Harmony Wynelands to give its bottling the lofty appellation of 2005 Alicante Bouschet Premier Crush. On the less exotic side, I also found their 2006 Riesling quite approachable, as well.

In contrast, Heritage Oak Winery may have seemed to venture into the slightly exotic with their quite satisfying 2007 Vino Tinto, but its Spanish appellation belied a distinctly California combination of Zinfandel, Syrah and Petite Sirah. Their 2007 Block 14 Zinfandel was equally appealing. Namesake Carl Mettler of Mettler Family Wines provided a well-received 2007 Epicenter Old Vine Zinfandel, along with the 2005 Petite Sirah and a somewhat early 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon that offered indications of future promise. Further down the row of tables, Vicarmont Vineyards’ Vic Mettler chose to stake his claim in the Right Bank’s dominating varietal, with a 2007 Vicarmont Merlot and the palindromic 2006 vMv Merlot.

My general sense is that the Lodi AVA, which had but eight working wineries in 1991, has made sizable strides in its viticultural evolution, especially since my last visit in 2007. Even though I would rate the inaugural Treasure Island Wine Fest as one of my more manageable tastings this year, with 43 wineries attending, there clearly was a enormous amount of information (and wine) to absorb. Certainly, a more capacious guide than a two-sided 8.5″ x 11″ print would have helped make the event more manageable, but I managed, most ironically, to visit with each of the presenters, thanks to the Blue Angels! Had they not put on their display somewhere near the midpoint of this marathon, the bulk of the crowd would have remained inside the tent, and my mounting sense of claustrophobia would have never permitted me to finish. Go figure!

I managed to attend a number of other tastings this past week, including Napa Valley Vintners’ Battle of the Palates that kicked off Harvest Week in San Francisco on Monday and Wednesday’s sumptuous Wine & Spirits Magazine Top 100 Tasting at The Galleria. The Punahou Kid came to town Thursday, yet inexplicably neglected to invite me to either of his soirées. I could have stood outside the St. Francis and joined the protests over the predictably lackluster results of his stewardship or the feckless selection of the Nobel Prize committee; instead, I opted to spend the evening uncharacteristically uncorking unimaginative imported wines at the Officer’s Club at Fort Mason. The first military base ever converted to civilian usage!

A Columbus Day tribute: Welcome Back, Sangiovese!

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I am starting to suspect there may be more polyphenols than hemoglobin in my bloodstream. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, as far as Sostevinobile is concerned. Your West Coast Oenophile began last weekend with a fall swing up to Napa, with stops at half a dozen wineries before attending the final Cheers! St. Helena of 2009.

The wineries could not have been more hospitable. I first arrived for the Estate and Wine Cave Tour at Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, a winery I had not visited since its sale to Chateau Ste. Michelle some three years prior. Despite its parent company’s recent acquisition by Altria, there seems to be no nicotine taint on this brand, only slight wafts of tobacco aromas in their array of incredibly textured Cabernet Sauvignons and Merlot.

After a few overly generous tastes of their exceptional 2005 S.L.V. Estate Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2005 Cask 23 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, I headed north up Silverado Trail to Quixote Winery, the current organic wine venture of former Stag’s Leap apostrophic rival Carl Doumani. Liberated from his Stags’ Leap Winery, this contrarian vintner has set out on a highly Cervantean quest to bottle the perfect California Petite Sirah. Few, if any, would claim that his luxuriant 2005 Quixote Petite Syrah is tilting at windmills; equally delightful was the 2004 Panza Cabernet Sauvignon, an organically-grown “Rhôneaux” blend inadvertently poured by Quixote’s ever-affable hostess Anne White.

Anne had formerly worked at Diamond Creek, a later stop this warm afternoon. But first, I made a long-delayed swing over to Martin Estate in Rutherford, a boutique gem with 8 acres of organically-farmed Cabernet Sauvignon. Words cannot begin to capture the opulence of this winery, a 19th century edifice that originally had been constructed as a (comparatively speaking) miniature version of Greystone in St. Helena where Georges de Latour first made his wines. The building, converted in the 1940s to a residence, has been restored by current owner Greg Martin to include the current wine operations while housing part of his vast collection of antique arms and other artworks. From the decor of the mansion to the 120′ swimming pool to the Teutonic grandeur of the wine label itself, nothing about Martin Estate could be described as minimalist; befittingly, his wines, too, evoke an unabashed opulence, notably the 2005 Martin Estate Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon and his very limited port selections, including Greg’s “answer to Château d’Yquem,” the 2002 Martin Estate Gold, a botrytis-laden Late Harvest Chardonnay.

I swung back to Silverado Trail and wound my way up to Calistoga. There, it was a quick hop over to Highway 29 and over to Diamond Mountain Road, where I returned for a followup visit to Diamond Creek. Oddly, I somehow managed not to taste their array of vineyard-designated Cabernets while chatting with winery President Phil Ross. Phil did, however, provide me with a golf cart that enabled me to take a self-guided tour along the rickety paths that comb Diamond Creek’s three distinct vineyards, each distinguished by a highly differentiated soil composition and a definable microclimate that impacts their growing season. It is a tour best appreciated with one’s faculties fully intact.

Having managed not to flip the golf cart along the steep pitch of the trails, I thanked my host for his hospitality and zipped over to Twomey’s Calistoga facility. This winery, an offshoot of Silver Oak, exclusively produces their estate-grown Merlot (with an occasional touch of Sauvignon Blanc) while its sister facility in Healdsburg, the former Roshambo winery, sources and bottles a quarter of Pinot Noir selections.Of the several wines I tasted, the 2001 Napa Valley Merlot peaked beautifully at this age while the 2005 Napa Valley Merlot longed for more time in the bottle; my choices in Pinot Noir spanned the California Coast from Mendocino on down, with the 2007 Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir most pleasing to my palate.

My ailing friend and fellow advertising refugee Ira Zuckerman could not meet with me at Emilio’s Terrace; instead, I was hosted by founder Phil Schlein, an ardent devoté of organically-farmed grapes. A walking tour of his steep hillside vineyard crowned my boots with a fine layer of dust, a veritable badge of honor for this urban dweller. Inside, I partook of Phil’s considerable insight into the financial aspects of business development while sipping his straightforward 2004 Emilio’s Terrace Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve.

Porting home a bottle of their Cabernet Franc-based 2005 Moonschlein Red Wine, I found myself with enough spare time to attend the Friday afternoon Pulse Tasting at Acme Fine Wines. Up & coming winemaker Mark Polembski was on hand to pour from three of the wineries that employ his talents: Anomaly Vineyards, Charnu Winery, and Zeitgeist, a project he co-owns with his wife, Jennifer Williams of Spottswoode. All three wineries offered a limited-production 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, all quite good, with a slight edge going to Mark’s own label.

Cheers! St. Helena proved to be a veritable potpourri of local vintners, ranging from the large and well-known to the hard-to-find 400 cases operations that many people employed by other wineries put out under their own label. As my habitual readers know, I tend to find these large-scale events a bit of sensory overload and make best with what I can do. With barely enough time to introduce Sostevinobile to these vintners and manage a quick swill of their offerings, my observations on individual wines manage to be tenuous at best. Still, my introduction to Nichelini’s 2008 Sauvignon Vert was a pleasant introduction to a wholly unfamiliar varietal, while Soñador’s 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon was exactly what one might expect from this benchmark vintage. Roxanne Wolf’s trademark painting lend a certain concupiscence to the labels for Eagle Eye, certainly an apt trait for their trademark blend, the 2006 Voluptuous. On the other hand, the 2006 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon from Lieff let its considerable pedigree stand out front. A most auspicious debut was the 2006 Wallis Family Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Diamond Mountain District, while the 2006 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Peterson Family Vineyard from SwitchBack Ridge heralds from an estate that dates back to 1914.

I wanted to find out that Kapcsándy Family Winery produced a California Tokaji, but their 2006 Estate Cuvée State Lane Vineyard instead combined Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc in a true Pauillac blend that reflected the background of winemaking consultant Denis Malbec. I exchanged pleasantries and thoroughly enjoyed the wines I sampled from other Napa ventures, including Intersection, Varozza Vineyards, Calafia Cellars, Wolf Family, Front Row from Napa’s pioneering Carpy Family, Salvestrin, and Tom Scott Vineyard, while sundry other wineries offered their current Meritage or Cabernet Sauvignon, but, at the end of the day, the standout wine was the 2006 Sangiovese Eaglepoint Ranch from Abiouness, a pure expression of this varietal (as opposed to the mask of a Super Tuscan blend) that I have not experienced at this level in California for quite a number of years. I was ready to call it a day.

I was scheduled to attend the West Coast Green Expo in Fort Mason the next day but inadvertently stumbled on the debut of the Taste of Fillmore festival on my way to Walgreens. I tried to resist—surely my venal-CO₂H capacity had attained its maximum tolerance for the weekend. Alas, my ecological impulses fell by the wayside (though I did manage to attend the after-party at the Academy of Sciences later that evening), and I warily flung myself into the thick of the cordoned-off block between California and Pine. After revisiting Dick Keenan’s Carica Wines and his delightful 2007 Temptation, I sampled the nascent talent of Pacifica’s Barber Cellars, an array of interesting wines from Napa’s Farella Vineyard, and a consensus favorite, the 2005 Proprietary Blend, a mélange of Syrah and Grenache, from Singh Family Cellars.

The very French-focused Beaucanon Estate offered a septet of wines, including a Bordeaux-style 2003 Trifecta and the utterly compelling 2005 Beaucanon Estate Cabernet Franc ‘L Cuvée.’ This afternoon, however, belonged to Italian-style wines, starting with Kelseyville’s Rosa d’Oro, with a discrete selection of their varietals that included the 2007 Primitivo, 2006 Barbera and 2006 Aglianico. Ramazzotti Wines glistened with the 2007 Ramazzotti Frizzante, a Prosecco-style sparkling Chardonnay, and their compelling 2005 Ramazzotti Ricordo, a Zinfandel blended with Petite Sirah, Alicante, Syrah, Carignane and Chasselas Doré. However, as had been at Cheers! St. Helena, the 2002 Ardente Sangiovese Atlas Peak from Ramazzotti’s kindred Ardente Estate Winery defined this day’s tasting.

For Sostevinobile, it is particularly gratifying to see a winery stake their œnological claim with the resurrection of an Italian grape that has lost much of its cachet in California. While local expression of this varietal differed from its classical vinification in both Chianti and Brunello, I felt the 2000 Atlas Peak Sangiovese Reserve had solidified its inclusion among the leading wines produced on the West Coast.

Sadly, however, when Paolo Antinori reacquired the Atlas Peak winery, the Sangiovese vines were uprooted and replanted with Cabernet Sauvignon. This conversion coincided with a general downturn in production of Italian varietals on the West Coast and the collapse of Consorzio Cal-Italia, the trade organization devoted to local production of these wines. Originally, the Consorzio had paralleled Rhône Rangers and sponsored an annual Grand Tasting in Fort Mason. Industry ambivalence toward these varietals and internal financial disarray precipitated the collapse of this event after only three years. Some members tried to maintain the tasting as a larger food and wine festival in North Beach’s Washington Square to coincide with Columbus Day celebrations, but this, too, fizzled, after only one year.

Call it Columbus Day. Call it Italian Heritage Day. Either way, it is a celebration whose importance the Consorzio Cal-Italia tasting helped underscore. To the Italian people here, the incorporation of so many of our cultural institutions and artifacts by the population at large, while at the same time denigrating us in popular media and in social settings, is a source of both pain and bewilderment. The expediency of politicization aside, we take this one day each year to affirm the inextricable role Italians have played in the development of the cultures throughout the Western Hemisphere.

Senza la cultura italiana, la civiltà occidentale non esisterebbe. A translation is not necessary, but, as a popular Italian bumper sticker boasts, immodestly but accurately, “We Found It. We Named It. We Built It.” Each year, we express our pride in what we have contributed on this day. It would truly be wonderful to have a resurgence of Consorzio Cal-Italia, a reinvigoration of Italian varietals among the local wineries, and a return of an annual festival on this holiday weekend rivaling the other Grand Tasting held in San Francisco. These renewed forays into the cultivation and local production of Sangiovese may well be harbingers of greater things to proliferate.

I’m not Robert Parker (nor am I trying to be)

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Your West Coast Oenophile believes it’s entirely reasonable to expect that a San Francisco Chronicle Top 100 Restaurant serve decent Wine by the Glass. Especially one that has garnered

and warrants a $$$$ for relative pricing. My research for Sostevinobile has long since opened my eyes to the incredible markups some places charge in their programs—it is no longer shocking to find a per-glass price that comes close to the retail value for the entire bottle. But any establishment that has a respected sommelier ought to be able to craft a wine menu that reflects the reputation of their restaurant, with a consistent level of quality from their $9 glasses to those that top $20.

Professional conflict precludes me from identifying where I stopped by Saturday night in search of solace following the dénouement of my relationship with the Ginkgo Girl. Granted, I may have arrived with a bitter taste already in my mouth, but my desire was not to leave with the same. A more celebratory occasion might have warranted a $22 glass of the 2006 Ladera Cabernet Sauvignon; instead, my eyes gravitated toward the more reasonable ~$10 offerings. Judiciously, I requested a small sample of each of the three selections before making my choice

I expected to find myself partial to the 2006 Rock and Vine North Coast Cabernet Sauvignon, but this tenuous Meritage aggregated from vineyards in Lake, Mendocino and Napa Counties fell flat soon after crossing my palate—a scant approximation of a textured, Bordeaux-style blend. The wine I landed up selecting, the 2006 Sean Minor Four Bears Merlot, fared only marginally better. Given that it boasted a more centralized Napa Valley appellation, I had again anticipated a nuanced wine, only to find this offering mono-dimensional and lackluster.

A quick Internet search reveals the frugality implicit in listing these two decidedly mediocre selections; still, even that pales compared to the egregiousness of including the 2003 Niner Bootjack Ranch Barbera, a wine no longer commercially available, on this menu. Niner’s current release, the 2006 Bootjack Ranch Barbera, commands a retail price in the $16 range, making listing this wine at $9/glass quite a significant markup. Several years after its release, a truly special vintage (after all, the 2003 bottling did win a Silver Medal at the Denver International Wine Competition three years ago) might justify a premium price, but this Barbera was at least two years beyondits peak and, in all likelihood, was sold to the restaurant in a fire sale. Frankly, the wine tasted brutal.

Both bartenders tried to assuage me that this wine merely reflected a California style that was more fruit-forward than the kind of Barbera d’Asti to which I (!) might be accustomed—truly a hollow claim. Even in this moribund economy, there is no excuse for serving a wine that was so palpably undrinkable. Whatever profit margins this restaurant might sustain with such a parsimonious ploy will easily be offset by loss of subsequent business and damage to their reputation.

Allow me to make a rare concession. Apart from the inarguable flaws of this Barbera, it’s possible that the wine steward may have genuinely appreciated the other wines I’ve disparaged. Even though I’ve intensely devoted several years now to training and refining my palate, I recognize that my partiality in wines may not be held universally. Just as there may be people out there who like Barbra Streisand or cotton to the Geico Gekko, so, too, may others favor certain wines or styles of wine that I do not particularly relish. Sostevinobile cannot afford to pander to our clientele, nor can we succeed without addressing their tastes in our wines selections.

One man alone cannot be the definitive arbiter of wine quality. Unlike Robert Parker, Sostevinobile is building a team that will develop a consensus for the wines we select for our rotating wine l
ist. I am certain there will be many occasions when my preference is outvoted. My excursion Saturday to A Donkey and Goat’s Fall Open House Party highlighted this realization on a number of levels.

My recent review from San Francisco Natural Wine Week was a bit tepid on Tracey’s pourings that evening. Saturday afforded me a new opportunity to sample these wines, along with several others being introduced to coincide with the unveiling of their new label design. Perhaps it was the enhancement from Barbecued Ribs, served on recycled Banana Leaf plates, by Oakland’s B Restaurant and Bar, but the 2007 Four Thirteen El Dorado blend seemed more balanced and eminently more drinkable at this stage than I had allowed a few weeks ago. Even more enjoyable this time was the 2006 Syrah Fenaughty El Dorado, which seemed mellower when tasted alongside the 2007 Syrah Fenaughty El Dorado, one of the afternoon’s standouts.

Only the blended 2007 Mendocino Syrah, successor to the 2006 Syrah Vielles Vignes Mendocino County, failed to reignite my interest. On the other hand, a taste of the sold-out 2007 Tamarindo Roussanne made me regret not having purchased this wine when I had had the opportunity. The reincarnation of this wine, the 2008 Coupe d’Or blended Roussanne and Marsanne in equal parts and managed an exquisite balance. As is often their style, A Donkey and Goat tantalized with an experimental new wine they had no intention of bottling at present, the 2006 Prospector; when they finally do decide to release a Mourvèdre, it damn well better be this good!

The last trio of Syrahs took my judgment to task. To my taste, the 2007 The Recluse Syrah Anderson Valley most brought to mind the kind of Syrah that made A Donkey and Goat the major revelation of Rhône Rangers a few years ago. On the other hand, the 2007 Perli Vineyard Syrah, Mendocino Ridge, a principal component of the Mendocino blend cited above, seemed less distinctive, the kind of wine I’d expect Parker to rate in the 85-90 range. Perli vineyardist Steve Alden ebulliently described the 2006 Reserve Syrah, Perli Vineyards as a “meal in itself,” the kind of wine meant to be drunk as a cocktail or apéritif—more to the point, the kind of wine that should grace the menu at a wine bar.

I might concur, but with a retail price of $68, that would command a stratospheric by-the-glass price only the most extraordinary wines could warrant. Economic factors aside, the interesting aspect of this wine came from how many people gushed about it to me. Could there be something I was missing? I retasted it twice, without any major revelation. I again tried both The Recluse and the Mendocino Ridge without any shift to my original impressions. My personal assessments of these Syrahs remained in conflict to the preferences apparent majority; such disparities I can ill-afford to ignore in moving forward with my wine program.

Like any other enterprise, Sostevinobile needs to address practical realities in order to thrive. Even if I did have the perfect palate, I would still need to recognize that varying tastes do abound; a monomaniacal approach to wine selection can only doom what we are trying to achieve. If we can strike an honest balance between the strength of our wine knowledge and appreciation and what will genuinely appeal to our clientele, we stand a fighting chance at succeeding. With integrity and an intelligent approach to consensus, we can and we will always strive to offer wine selected by the dictates of quality, not cutting corners economically.

When nature calls

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Five cutting-edge wineries, all clustered in a single room. A mere handful of attendees compared with the throngs at Family Winemakers. An abject need to tear myself away from my keyboard and begin to confront life after the Ginkgo Girl. How could I possibly not attend?

Donning my Specialized helmet and slipping my feet into the toe clips, Your West Coast Oenophile headed out from my Pacific Heights exile last Thursday evening and leisurely wound my way down to Hayes Valley and Arlequin Wine Merchant. This recently-expanded wine shop/café is the offshoot of Absinthe, a popular restaurant with one of the most extensive premium liquor selections in California. In the year I spent as a starving artist between finishing grad school and entering the wine industry, I actually filled in as a bartender at Absinthe predecessor Ivy’s, an upscale, distinctly “festive” Civic Center institution, for a very brief period. Discretion dictates that I refrain from trenchant observations of the furtive liaisons engendered here, lest risking a boycott of Sostevinobile in this post-Prop. 8 era. Still, I did find it a more inclusive milieu to be among patrons whose principal predilection is for heterodoxical wines.

Despite the slight reservations I expressed in my previous entry, I was glad to partake in the celebration of San Francisco’s Natural Wine Week. Once I plunked down my $20 tasting fee, I beelined over to the table for Clos Saron, a winery that had been scheduled to pour at Golden Glass but failed to show. The delayed gratification was well worth the wait. Clos Saron proprietor Gideon Beinstock, who also serves as winemaker for fellow Oregon House winery Renaissance Vineyards, readily displayed his complete mastery of the viticultural practices natural winemakers espouse, artfully blending Burgundian, Bordeaux and Rhône varietals into his repertoire. Limiting himself to small lot productions of under 200 cases, his wines displayed an extraordinary restraint, evocative of terroir-driven vintages I have sampled from Paso Robles’ L’Aventure. Among the several wines Gideon generously poured, I was most impressed with his 2008 Carte Blanche, a triple-appellation mélange of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Roussanne and Viognier. The 2004 Heart of Stone also delighted with its blend of Syrah rounded out with Viognier. And, of the two Yuba County Pinot Noirs, I thought the 2007 Pinot Noir Home Vineyard clearly stood out.

Over the past few years, I’ve attended numerous “Meet the Winemaker” Monday night tastings at California Wine Merchant; certainly, a similar program will become an important component to Sostevinobile, both as a means of outreach to our clientele and as part of our commitment to showcasing the abundance of exciting and diversified wines grown here on the West Coast. One of the more intriguing wineries I’ve encountered at these sessions has been Lioco, a Los Angeles-based partnership between Matt Licklider and Kevin O’Connor (the name being a portmanteau derived from the initial few letters of each surname). On this warm evening, the duo tempered the gathering with a pair of cool, contrasting whites, the 2008 Chardonnay Sonoma County and a distinctly oak-free 2006 Chardonnay Michaud. Their forte, however, was the 2007 Indica, a Mendocino blend of Carignane rounded out with Mourvèdre and Grenache.

Few wineries here can match the scholarly approach Tablas Creek applies to its focus on a particular category, in their case Rhône varietals. Unti Vineyards in Dry Creek, however, is gradually building a comparable portfolio with Italian varietals. This father-son team has long delighted with their proprietary Segromigno, a Sangiovese-Barbera blend I frequently enjoy as the house vino alla spina at Delfina Pizzeria just down the street from my abode. At this pouring, their varietal 2007 Sangiovese Dry Creek Valley spoke eloquently of the resurgence of Cal-Italia wines. In tandem, a separate 2007 Barbera Dry Creek Valley begged for the kind of Neapolitan pasta sauces I simmer for a week before serving. Unti’s most noteworthy offering on this evening came from their 2007 Montepulciano Dry Creek Valley, to my knowledge the only bottling of the Montepulciano d’Abruzzo grape on the West Coast. I know I can look forward to offerings of several other wine debuts as George and Mick continue their research into the untapped potential for other Italian varietals in this welcoming climate.

Jared and Tracey Brandt know that I have lon
g been a proponent of their studious winemaking methodology at A Donkey and Goat. As an unknown winery several years back, they stunned the attendees at Rhône Rangers with the debut of their unreleased 2000 Syrah, an astounding wine that, in my aversion to the overwrought vernacular of wine descriptives, was best described as “pure velvet.” It’s a benchmark that’s extraordinarily difficult to replicate; otherwise, I might have been more effusive about both the 2006 Syrah Fenaughty El Dorado and the 2006 Syrah Vielles Vignes Mendocino County Tracey poured on this occasion. Nonetheless, their current 2007 Four Thirteen El Dorado, a blend of 45% Syrah, 35% Grenache, 18% Mourvèdre and 2% Counoise, displayed enormous potential to age beautifully over the next few years.

A Donkey and Goat really led the way for several Berkeley-based wineries that incubated at San Francisco’s Crushpad. Another graduate of this custom crush facility was Broc Cellars. From its inception, owner Chris Brockway has focused on Grenache, consigning his energies in other varietals like Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay to his affiliate venture, Broadside. recently, he added another Rhône varietal Mourvèdre, to his repertoire; the 2007 Mourvèdre Luna Matta Vineyard, Paso Robles was a worthy entrant, to be sure. His 2007 Grenache Cassia Monterey, however, was nothing less than (again eschewing traditional epithets) a stunning rendition of this varietal, far and away his best effort to date.

So did San Francisco Natural Wine Week make an acolyte out of me? To be sure, I have become a strong proponent for how this methodology allows a grape to express both its varietal character as well as the distinct traits of their vineyard/microclimate in which it was grown. Sostevinobile remains committed to the proliferation of the winemaking arts here on the West Coast and is more than happy to embrace this school as part of the diversity of our offerings.

Præternatural Wine

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Your West Coast Oenophile feels more like an OenoFill this week, having spent nearly ten hours visiting tables at Family Winemakers of California this past Sunday and Monday. It’s like undertaking a Master’s Swim class; no matter how hard you try, you can’t help but swallow a bit as you complete your interminable laps. I know I ought to rally and make it to at least some of the tastings for San Francisco Natural Wine Week that is now upon us, but we will have to see.

Natural wine is a bit hard to define, even for its proponents. There are elements, of course, that completely sync with the values that Sostevinobile espouses; nonetheless, there are indeed times when in the craft of making great wine—be it léger de main or the sheer artistry of a skilled vintner—when intervention can be warranted. And, as I have often rebuked those who monomaniacally extol the merits of terroir above all else, wine should taste of the soil, not like the soil. That small quibble aside, I’m sure the lure of good wine will lure me to at least one of the events. As they say in France, nous verrons…

The prospect of enjoying natural wine has made me ponder whether I’ve ever tasted præternatural wine. Some would justifiably apply this term to the 1945 Château Pétrus or the famed 1947 Cheval Blanc, and although I lack direct evidence, I feel confident they would be right. For me, the closest I can recall was the 2005 David Arthur Elevation 1147, a phenomenal wine that hinted at the greatness of their legendary 1997 vintage. Soon, quite soon, I hope to have added many of these ætherial wines to my list of “conquests.”

Præternatural wines do not often appear at industry grand tastings, but, as it has many times over the past 19 years, Family Winemakers did showcase a number of extraordinary bottlings. Not to mention some very good wines, as well. If only I had the endurance to taste every one of them. Figure if I allocated a scant five minutes per station, in my ten hours on the floor, I’d still only connect with 120 of the attendees—barely ⅓ of the wineries on hand—and that would be without a moment’s pause!

So, with apologies to all I must overlook, let me summarize my discoveries from this year’s gathering. In the spirit of generosity, I will first cite the 2007 Philanthropist from Indigène Cellars of Paso Robles. The somewhat odd placement of the accent grave in their name underscores their contrarian approach to the wines they blend. This assemblage of Cabernet and Petit Verdot that winemaker/owner Raymond Smith inoculated with white wine yeast might evoke cries of “Sacré Bleu” in Bordeaux, but here it drank quite artfully. Another winery from Paso Robles debuting at this tasting, HammerSky Vineyards, also presented a Bordeaux-style blend, their 2007 Party of Four, along with their noteworthy 2007 Zinfandel. Finding myself next to Paso stalwart Halter Ranch, I of course indulged in their nicely-aging 2004 Ancestor.

Older wines are not usually par for the course at these industrial tastings, so the 2004 Brion Cabernet Sauvignon from B Wise Vineyards was a happy exception. So, too, were the 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon and 2004 Syrah from Reynoso Family in Alexander Valley. Slightly younger, the 2005 Crazy Creek Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon from DeLorimier Vineyards, part of the Wilson Winery’s growing portfolio, did its Alexander Valley roots quite proud, while the 2005 Lytton Cabernet Sauvignon was quite the amiable Cab from Zinfandel territory. Many California wineries that blend their Cabernets with traditional Bordeaux varietals often omit Malbec, citing difficulties with growing this grape. Discovering the 2004 Malbec from Elements of Sonoma was therefore all the more gratifying.

The up & coming wineries in Paso Robles, Santa Maria, and Santa Barbara, on the other hand, often feel unbound by the rigidity of the French classifications, and have developed evocative Meritage blends from Bordeaux and Rhône varietals, among other apostasies. Jettlynn Winery poured two of their Masters Blend, the (predominantly 2006) NV Mon Couer, a Bordeaux blend with 4% Syrah in the mix, and the aptly-named NV Opulent, which softened with 10% Syrah. Once again, a mere table over introduced me to another Paso neighbor, Justin Kahler’s JK Wine Company, with its contrasting 2005 Syrah Chalone and 2007 Syrah del Rio, a strong showing for their Family Winemakers inaugural appearance.

And what would be a tasting without satisfying my penchant for esoteric varietals? Santa Maria’s Kenneth Volk Vineyards offered their 2006 Négrette while Arbios Cellars pleased with their 2007 Praxis Central Coast Lagrein. Slightly more familiar, Templeton’s Clavo Cellars shone with a noteworthy 2006 Grenache Blanc, while its red twin 2007 Grenache Mendocino marked Elizabeth Spencer’s high point. One could luxuriate all day in the intriguing varietals Tablas Creek produces, but I held myself to a quick sip of their 2008 Picpoul Blanc while introducing myself to fellow wine blogger Tommy Oldré. A number of Iberian wines proliferated the event, notably Fenestra Winery’s 2006 Alvarelhão, while veteran Cal-Italia specialist Graziano Family impressed with both their 2005 Enotria Dolcetto and 2007 Enotria Barbera.

The curiously-named Herman Story showcased an exemplary 2007 White Hawk Vineyard Viognier, while Calluna Vineyards, a name that might have been derived from Jerry Brown’s tenure as Governor Moonbeam, held forth with both their Bordeaux-style 2007 Calluna Cuvée and the 2007 Merlot Aux Raynauds. Twisting the tongue almost as much as Sostevinobile, Coquelicot Estate also featured their 2006 Syrah and a Meritage, the 2006 Mon Amour.

Mon amour is a term I am sure many a wine connoisseur has longed to whisper to Flowers Winery’s Keiko Niccolini, and it was not just the allure of their renowned Chardonnay and Pinot Noir that drew me to her table. So, too, did my well-documented fondness for the Yates sisters lure me to try their 2006 Cheval, a pure Cabernet Franc. Lust, of course, does not enter into my friendship with Peter Thompson of Andrew Geoffrey Vineyards, but his 2005 Diamond Mountain District Cabernet Sauvignon did inspire lascivious thoughts.

On the green side of winemaking, it was most gratifying to connect finally with LangeTwins, the Lodi appellation recently honored for their solar implementation. Their 2005 Midnight Reserve is a Bordeaux blend as admirable as their commitment to sustainability. Organically-farmed Ackerman Family presented a selection of their limited-release Cabs, culminating in a “sneak preview” of the 2005 Ackerman Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon. Terra Sávia was one of the few wineries bold enough to call themselves organic; their 2005 Petit Verdot made a bold statement in its own right.

I like to think of Ventana Vineyards as a somewhat traditional winery and have long been impressed with their Chardonnays, in particular; nonetheless, their 2007 Gewürztraminer Monterey Arroyo Seco was a notably subdued expression of this tangy varietal. Schug Carneros Wine Estate did, however, make their statement with the 2006 Chardonnay Heritage Reserve. Another winery that stood out in this vein was Athair Wines, with a notably crisp 2007 Chardonnay.

On the traditional red side, notable Cabernets abounded from Lawrence Harrison Vineyards, a winery led by their 101-year-old proprietress, with their 2005 Leo Joseph Cabernet Sauvignon; Tayson Pierce Estates, whose 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon barely attained the single varietal threshold, with a 75% Cabernet/25% Merlot blend; Alexander Valley’s Roth Estate, Lancaster Estate’s Cab-only division, with their 2006 vintage; Darms Lane, also a single-varietal producer from Oak Knoll in Napa, with their 2005 Darms Lane Cabernet Sauvignon, and Castello di Amorosa, Dario Sattui’s monumental erection, with their 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley.

I was hard-pressed to pick a favorite between the 2005 Hestan Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2005 Meyer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, both from Hestan Vineyards (perhaps they could have settled the debate if they’d brought their 2005 Stephanie Cabernet, as well). Recipient of numerous Robert Parker accolades Gemstone Vineyards offered a similar dilemma with their 2006 Facets of Gemstone Estate Red Blend, a Bordeaux-style Meritage, and the special release 2006 10th Gemstone, a Cabernet with 20% Petit Verdot blended in. Portfolio Winery, a venture in art and in wine, offered no dilemma, pouring their exquisite 2005 Portfolio Limited Edition, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc.

is the selective accolade I bestow on wines that truly strike me as præternatural—or close to it. Certainly Clos Pepe fit the bill with their seductive 2007 Pinot Noir Santa Rita. Also dazzling in the Pinot realm was consensus favorite Wedell Cellars, with both his 2006 Wedell Cellars Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir and his staggering 2005 Hillside Vineyard Pinot Noir from Edna Valley. Amid all the hubbub on the floor of the Festival Pavilion, I fell sway to the worldly charms of Jennifer Hong from TGIC Importers, who steered me to the wines of Skipstone Ranch; both their 2007 Makena’s Vineyard Viognier and Bordeaux-style 2005 Oliver’s Blend dazzled with their organically-farmed grapes. Jennifer, however, held the great surprise to the tasting herself as the representative for Paso Robles’ Opolo Vineyards. Their 2005 Rhapsody was yet another standout Bordeaux Meritage, but the 2006 Montagna-Mare, a blend of Barbera and Sangiovese, truly stole my heart.

As an addendum, I did manage to sneak out and attend the Natural Wine Week tasting at Arlequin in the midst of composing this piece. Look for my findings in my next blog entry.

Hinduism had damn well better be wrong!

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This isn’t part of my incessant rant against those infuriating outsourced call centers whose mangling of even the most basic tenets of conversational English (“how might I best facilitate the rectification of your importuned perturbance most congruently Mr. Marc?”) manages to elicit threats annihilating Bangalore from this foresworn pacifist. Rather, I speak of their—one would certainly hope—erroneous concept of reincarnation, where even a minor malfeasance could condemn a poor soul to enduring a subsequent lifecycle as an aardvark or some scatophagous species like a housefly.

If there really is reincarnation, I want to come back as Jamaican or a Caribbean Islander. Not because I find the accent so appealing. Nor is it necessarily the allure of a tropical climate or the island cuisine that is primarily focused on fresh fruit and seafood. And rest assured, Your West Coast Oenophile is not secretly harboring a desire to switch from wine to rum. Or ganja. No, in my next life, I simply want to be a professional steel drum player.

Wafts of reggae fusion filled the lawn at the Oakland Ferry terminal Saturday afternoon as the East Bay Vintners Alliance staged their fourth annual Urban Wine Experience. For a moment, it almost seemed that UB40 was entertaining the crowd, but the sound belonged entirely to Bay Area Caribbean stars Pan Extasy, with their star percussionist, Ashton Craig. To call Craig a virtuoso on the steel drum is an understatement—his tantalizing arrangements of The Temptations’ Just My Imagination and Van Morrison’s Brown Eyed Girl to reggae standards like No Woman, No Cry and I Can See Clearly Now provided the perfect backdrop to these sun-drenched festivities.

I was in attendance on behalf of Sostevinobile and, of course, to taste the wines that an eclectic collection of 16 East Bay vintners exhibited. The organizers of this event smartly paired each of the wineries with an individual food purveyor from the East Bay, as well, and I would be remiss in not recognizing the contributions of Adagia Restaurant, Angela’s Bistro, Asena Restaurant, Bellanico, Bucci, C’era Una Volta (a return visit from June’s Golden Glass), Culina, E-22 Café, Fabrique Délices, Levende East, the resurrected Miss Pearl’s Jam House, Pappo, Savory Cook Special Event Catering, Whole Foods, and—truly the last word in culinary circles—Zza’s Trattoria, Enoteca & Catering. As readers might expect, the abundance of Italian cuisine was hardly a disappointment. Various duck dishes seemed to abound, as well; a portent of which may well have been the huge gaggle of 60+ waterfowl I espied as I drove into Oakland, huddled together on nearby Coast Guard Island as if in complete trepidation of what lay ahead down the road.

As I had at P.S. I Love You, I started the tasting with Rock Wall, eager to sample what they were producing beyond Petite Sirah. Though young, I found their 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley showed great promise. Standout for me, though, was their 2007 Zinfandel Sonoma County, which I felt exceeded the Reserve version they were also pouring. Over at the next table, parent winery Rosenblum Cellars filled in for the regrettably absent Stage Left Cellars. Frankly, if they would always pour their 2007 Rockpile Zinfandel, I’d be happy to let them substitute for any winery they wished!

Rosenblum also poured their 2007 Fess Parker Roussanne. I generally find Roussanne preferable to Marsanne, except in the case of Alameda’s groundbreaking winery, where the latter varietal has always outshone the former (this afternoon proved no exception). Ironically, Rosenblum’s former winemaker, Jeff Cohn’s JC Cellars poured their 2007 Preston Vineyards Marsanne, alongside an excellent catfish entrée from Miss Pearl’s Jam House; I found it slightly wanting compared to his previous efforts, but satisfying nonetheless. Better exemplifying his skills was the 2007 Smoke & Mirrors, a Syrah balanced out 9% Petite Sirah and 6% Zinfandel. Quite a satisfying wine! At the next table, Rob Lynch’s Irish Monkey can best be described as a quixotic operation with some notable offerings. Their chilled 2008 Chardonnay Davis was most welcome in the 85°F heat, while their 2006 Syrah Lovall Valley was noteworthy in it own right. As instructed, I washed down C’era Una Volta’s creamy polenta plate with the 2006 Sangiovese Amador—indeed, it was splendid.

Valdiguié is not the most complex varietal, despite its tongue-twisting morphology; still, it readily adapts to a blush expression (again, quite welcome on a sweltering afternoon). I chilled down with Urbano Cellars’ version, their 2008 Vin Rosé, Green Valley and also found myself grateful for their 2006 Petit Verdot, Lodi. Unfortunately, their next door neighbor, Urban Legend, had promised to bring a tantalizing selection of Sangiovese, Teroldego, and Nebbiolo, but only mustered a premature sample of their unreleased Barbera. Allora!

A number of familiar faces were pouring this afternoon. Oakland standout Dashe Cellars brought an exceptional 2007 Zinfandel, Dry Creek Valley and 2008 Vin Gris, Dry Creek Valley (a blend of 40% Grenache, 30% Zinfandel and 30% Petite Sirah) to match. I also enjoyed their 2007 Dry Riesling, McFadden Farms Potter Valley. French-affiliated Aubin Cellars offered a fetching pair of Pinots from their Verve Label, the 2007 Pinot Noir Monterey Old Vines and the 2006 Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast—I forget which I preferred!

Even if Eno Wines was substandard, it would still be a pleasure to see Sasha Verhage and his wife Kiara. Nonetheless, their 2006 Yes Dear (Grenache, Eaglepoint Ranch), 2006 Acre of Happiness (Zinfandel, Teldeschi) and 2006 In Your Own Time (Syrah, Las Madres) all stood out as exemplary. I’ve also long enjoyed the wines from R & B Cellars, though I had yet to make the acquaintance of Kevin Brown before this afternoon. Ironically, none of their musically-themed labels (Swingville, Zydeco, Serenade) echoed the diverse selection (socca, reggae, calypso, Caribbean Jazz) that Pan Extasy included in its repertoire, which may account for why I was extremely partial to his 2004 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon and am eagerly awaiting the 2005 version.

This penchant for quaint names extended to Prospect 772, perhaps my favorite discovery of the afternoon. Along with some intriguing offerings from Bucci’s in Emeryville, including a shaved fennel cold dish, I reveled in their 2008 Baby Doll Dry Rosé, the self-styled pugnacious 2006 The Brawler (a Syrah tempered with 4% Viognier) and their standout 2006 The Brat (a 80% Grenache/20% Syrah blend). Another newcomer, Andrew Lane, blended Syrah, Zinfandel and Valdiguié to make their 2007 Andrew Lane Rosso Napa Valley. More distinctive, however, was their 2005 Andrew Lane Merlot and their multi-vintage Gamay Noir Four Vineyards Napa Valley.

On the food side of things, the Urban Wine Experience began with a Duck Paté and finished with a Duck Confit. This latter concoction paired up admirably with the 2005 Troubadour Paso Robles, an equal blend of Grenache and Petite Syrah from Tayerle. Though not listed on the program, they also poured their just-released 2006 Sun King, a Bordeaux-style red blended from Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Malbec. Of course, I managed to save some room for dessert, which consisted of pure liquid delight in the form of Mango Wine and Persimmon Wine from Adams Point.

On my way out, I held the iPhone up to Pan Extasy’s bandstand, so the Ginkgo Girl could hear a portion of what she had missed. It would be a shame if she misses any more of these gatherings. Nicely tanned and filled with both good wine and good duck, I strolled through Jack London Square and quiet soberly made my way back to San Francisco (after all, it would have been a shame to meet my end after such an enjoyable afternoon).

I still sometimes think the world is merely a figment of my imagination and therefore feel compelled to remain alive forever. But if I do go and reappear, I had better not downgrade to mallard the next time around. Human (or better) is a must, and if I am not gifted with an uncanny ear for melody, an intuitive sense of rhythm, and agile hands that can hammer out an intoxicating Calypso melody across the gleaming metal surface of a kettle drum, then at least let me come back as tall as fellow locavore pioneer and Caribbean rum authority Thad Vogler!

Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose

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Whether other nations make better wine than we do is debatable, although readers of this blog know that Your West Coast Oenophile has intoned mightily on this subject many times over the past several months. One thing that is inarguable is that they do know how to say certain things better, like the title to this installment.

I am not hesitant to concede the rather pedestrian perspective that shaped my introduction to wine. Wine selections at most of the suburban establishments where I dined consisted of an unidentified red or white and sometimes rosé, which was often a house-made blend of the other two offerings.

On the next level were the myriad imports. Italian wines consisted of Verdicchio or Soave, Valpolicella or Montepulciano from such august houses as Bolla or Cella; Chiantis, in their straw cradles, were mostly distinguished by competing lengths of their bottle necks. French wines meant a cheap Louis Jadot négotiant blend or one of Stiller & Meara’s totems to kitsch and tastelessness (the other being the films of their unctuous offspring, Ben). From Portugal came the tangy twins, Mateus and Lancers, whose ceramic bottles formed candle holders at nearly every red-checkered tablecloth spot I can remember.

The aforementioned generic white and red wines, frequently labeled Chablis and Burgundy, heralded from a quintet of California jug producers and their New York compatriot, Taylor (later on, Coca Cola bought up Taylor and launched Taylor California, which subsequently purchased both Almaden and Paul Masson en route to becoming the behemoth we now know as Constellation). All six brands produced an inventory of red, white and rosé in a variety of bottle sizes; Almaden, if memory serves correct, complicated the equation by offering a choice in whites: Chablis or Rhine. The backbone of all these wines were cheap, plentiful table grapes like Thompson seedless and Tokay, grown in abundance throughout the Central Valley. Of the six brands, Gallo was then, as it is now, predominant. In turn, Paul Masson distinguished itself with the overdramatic promotions of their pompous pitchman, Orson Welles, and atypical bottling in a glass carafe that usually found itself recycled next to the Lancers candlesticks.

The breakthough to this monotonous ensemble came with Robert Mondavi’s Woodbridge Winery and their ever-popular 1.5 liter blends, affectionately known as Bob White and Bob Red. These may not have been GREAT wines, but, at least, here were California jug wines that were PRETTY DAMN GOOD. Though not labeled as such, these wines had varietal character (Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon) and easily held their own as everyday table wine or as a thoughtful contribution to a BYOB party. Besides providing Mondavi with the funds he needed to establish his Oakville labels, these wines compelled the folks in Modesto to launch an aggressive advertising campaign** to assert their wine’s quality.

Focus groups automatically eliminate anyone in the advertising filed from participating on their panels. Advertising is an astoundingly cutthroat profession, curiously so in that one would think people ought to be able to rise to the top based on talent and the quality of their work, as opposed to certain industries where the hyper-aggressive accrual of money is the only barometer of success. But it is not so much a disdain for this sordid occupation as a belief that people who work in advertising might skew the results that causes marketing researchers to preclude them.

In its struggle for self-preservation, the hierarchy in advertising strives to maintain mediocrity and marginalizes individuals who might upend this equilibrium. Having been deemed too talented for my own good, I spent years outside the inner sanctum, churning out a modicum of subsistence as an indentured freelancer. As such, I never felt any compunction at not disqualifying myself when offered the opportunity to participate in a focus group. My responses have always been honest and unbiased by my professional activities. However, on topics of which I have a strong familiarity, like Apple-related products, I have not been at all reticent in displaying my acumen.

Such has been the case a number of times that I have participated in wine marketing reviews. It’s sad, of course, when a great label is acquired by one of the major conglomerates, who then systematically the brand. Twice I’ve asked to new launches from the once-esteemed Beaulieu Vineyards, first their BV Coastal label, then their subsequent BV Century Cellars, which, to my highly-vocal dismay, did not supplant the former sideline but was placed alongside it as part of Diageo’s reckless pursuit of market saturation. More recently, I was asked to preview the design for Solaire, a Central Coast designation apocryphally attributed to Robert Mondavi. Here was everything true wine lovers had long feared when Constellation bought up Mondavi’s portfolio; rather than restore the label to the prominence it had once enjoyed (over the several years preceding this acquisition, certain scions within Mondavi Generation II had eviscerated the brand, with a watered-down Coastal appellation and a fantasy of planting grapes on Mars), the astute folks from Canandaigua, NY continued the erosion with this blasphemous derivative.

Of course, it is highly improbable that California wine will return to its inglorious past and produce the markedly inferior jug wines of a generation ago. And, despite my continuing trepidation, I suspect its giant corporate parent will still manage to preserve the quality of Robert Mondavi Reserve and, of course, Opus One. But the devolution of this brand in particular, which has done so much to elevate the quality of wine grown here, as well as others like BV, into massive, almost generic factories under the guise of industry conglomerates is an atrocity, with little sign of mitigation portending.

Fast-forward to last Saturday’s Uncorked! Wine Festival at Ghirardelli Square, a placed for which I had once designed a commercial with liquid chocolate bubbling forth from its court fountain (naturally, the myopic principals at the ad agency quashed the idea). Billed as a festival with 53 participating wineries, there were quite a number of corporate-held satellites among the booths. Given the proximity of this event to Cellar 360, it didn’t come as much of a surprise that nearly all of Foster’s Wine Estates’ California portfolio was present, and, in all fairness, the majority of these labels (Cellar No. 8, Beringer, Chateau St. Jean, Sbragia, Etude, Meridian, Souverain, Taz, Stag’s Leap Winery, St. Clement and Wattle Creek) have maintained a remarkable degree of autonomy. Jackson Family Wines was ably represented by Arrowood Vineyards, which, like all of the wineries in this portfolio has been allowed to stay true to its origins. Constellation, on the other hand, has shown itself to be far more intrusive with its acquisitions (as noted above), but I cannot attest to how much control Clos du Bois, their sole holding at this event, has relinquished.

The last heavyweight pouring at Ghirardelli Square was, of course, Gallo, which has battled Constellation for several years now for bragging rights to the megalomanic epithet World’s Largest Wine Company. Their attendees included a couple of labels Gallo Generation 3 has cultivated out of their Sonoma vineyard acquisitions: Frei Brothers and MacMurray Ranch, along with 1.5 liter titan Barefoot Winery (originally Barefoot Bynum), and their premium Napa acquisition, William Hill Estate and Louis M. Martini. Changes to these latter two brands may appear subtle to the consumer, but changes are indeed underfoot, despite previous declarations of a hands-off approach. What will come, now that William Hill’s winemaker has been “transfered” to Martini remains to be seen, but the alarming development has been the launch of a second label from Martini, the Napa-Sonoma hybrid known as Ghost Pines. Some may celebrate this development of reasonably-priced Chardonnay, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon from these leading AVAs, but I found them rather underwhelming. Worse, I fear, they will be harbingers of more diminution of the brand along the lines of what Robert Mondavi and BV has endured at the hands of their corporate parent, if not worse. Years ago, Louis P. Martini invited me to lunch at his winery, where I enjoyed an animated conversation and a 1984 Barbera that still brings tears to my eyes. “Louie,” I told the girl pouring for William Hill, ”is most assuredly rolling in his grave.”

But let me close on a more optimistic note, for indeed, there were many delightful discoveries among the hitherto unfamiliar labels I encountered at the Uncorked! event, be it a subtle Tempranillo from Berryessa Gap Vineyards or the splendid array of Italian varietals from Rosa d’Oro. I promised the pourer for Deerfield Ranch that if the Ginkgo Girl and I decide to solemnize our relationship, we would serve his Super T-Rex***, an artful blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, with a touch of Dolcetto. Fellow Hotchkiss internee Zelock Chow showed off a noteworthy Cabernet from his family’s Howell Mountain Vineyards, as did Charlie Dollbaum from Carica Wines. Another Howell Mountain venture, White Cottage Ranch, pleased with their 2006 Merlot, while Hall Wines showed exactly how organically-grown Cabernet shines. The 2006 Seven Artisans from RDJ Artisan Wine Company proved a more-than-competent Pomerol-style Meritage, while a chilled 2007 Roussanne from Truchard Vineyards offered a welcome antidote to the rather stifling afternoon heat. Yorkville Cellars, a Mendocino organic winery, boasts of being the only house in California to grow and produce each of the eight Bordeaux grapes as single varietals, and while they neglected to bring their much-anticipated Carménère, the five wines they poured did not disappoint. Another Mendocino operation, Zina Hyde Cunningham, managed to satisfy my Barbera craving, while DL Carinalli Vineyards made good with their 2007 Chardonnay and 2007 Pinot Noir.

Speaking of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, I do owe acknowledgment to my new acquaintance from Suacci Carciere, who enabled me to obtain tickets to this event; thankfully, the 2.5 mile pedal from Pacific Heights to this event was a whole lot easier than the 35-mile roundtrip I made the previous week to their Sideways tasting in Larkspur. And despite my long-winded perorations the Uncorked Wine Festival was a welcome urban escape for a Saturday afternoon, supporting a highly worthwhile cause (Le Cocina) in these economically-challenging times and giving voice to a number of promising, independent wine ventures, as well as their house brands.

**Despite the late Hal Riney’s gravel-voiced recitation, the slew of gold and silver medals were mostly awarded to The Wine Cellars of Ernest and Julio Gallo, one of the myriad labels they offered in the 1980s, which accounted for significantly less than 1% of their total production.

***There’s a subtle, inside joke that only people who know us would understand.

What kind of wine goes best with apostacy?

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I would never think of serving venison for Christmas. A rabbit repast for Easter is, however, an indulgent heresy. Years ago, I tried adapting a Paul Prudhomme recipe for Cajun-style Coniglio Tetrazzini as the overture the post-prandial delectations of a young denizen of New Orleans who was summering in Santa Cruz, but, alas, she never did show for dinner,—or the follow-through breakfast I had so elaborately planned-and I was left to slough through reheated leftovers for the next four days.

Twenty-five or so years later, I decided to reprise my culinary fête for The Ginkgo Girl. Lacking my original recipe, I improvised, kneaded a batch of Red Pepper/Paprika dough instead of the Cilantro Fettuccine I had made the previous time, and cranked it through the spaghetti cutter on my well-worn Atlas Pasta Maker. Fresh spring vegetables (bell peppers, snap peas, button mushrooms) and butter were readily acquired on AT&T Coupon Night at Rainbow Grocery, but an exhaustive search found only Little City Meat Market stocked fresh rabbit for the coming Saturday.

Sunday morning, I set to task, first rolling out the noodles, then boiling and cooling them down as I prepared the sherry-cream base. In the middle of my preparations, I realized, much to my chagrin, that—horrors!—none of the wine we had on hand would complement the myriad flavors of my elaborate concoction.

Because it was Sunday, and a sacrosanct holiday to boot, I soon became aware that my options were quite limited. The Wine Club was closed; groceries, if open, were limited, at best; and all of my preferred wine shops were closed. Reluctantly, I settled for my last available recourse: BevMo.

Now, this isn’t to say that Calizona’s leading beverage chain does not offer a very nice selection of some very nice wines. One certainly can find a wealth of highly serviceable vintages in the $15-20 range that more than adequately address the need for an everyday wine. And their selection of higher-end wines is far from pedestrian. But a store like BevMo, quite understandably, leans toward predictably safe choices. There are rows upon rows of Cabernet, of Zinfandel, of Pinot, of Merlot, and of Chardonnay. They is an abundance of Sauvignon Blanc and Syrah, dollops of Roussanne and Marsanne, a smattering of Pinot Gris and Viognier, and an homage to Petite Sirah and an array of blends, both red and white. But none of these quite fit the menu.

The more traditional Chicken Tetrazzini could have withstood a strong white, perhaps a heavily-oaked Chardonnay that trend-seeking wine enthusiasts often deride. The peppers and spices that infused my rabbit/pasta mélange demanded something red, but on the lighter side. Don’t even think Valdiguié! Perhaps the charms of a California Dolcetto or the rare subtlety of a local Aleatico might have served my purpose, but the tiny tiers of the Other Reds rack offered only an array of GMS blends, a couple of
Petit Verdot and a lone bottle of Carignane. If memory serves true, there may have also been some $9 Sangiovese and a rather unassuming Barbera, but my quest for a well-paired varietal was not to be satisfied. Loathe as I am to admit it, Your West Coast Oenophile was stumped; eschewing the anathema of scouring the Imports aisle, I settled on a 2006 Cambria Pinot Noir (Julia’s Vineyard) and returned to the stove.

My fanatically Catholic mother would readily attribute my shortfall to the heterodoxy of my religious tenets—a divine retribution against my culinary foray. Who knows? I am not about to give her the satisfaction of acceding to her strictures. Next year, I intend to select the wine first and devise a recipe around it.

Whither Bambi Francisco?

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Somehow, Your West Coast Oenophile managed to lose track of Bambi Francisco at the 2009 Wine 2.0 Expo last Thursday. Because this gathering showcased the convergence of wine and technology, I could have thought up a highly inventive way to signal her, like Tweeting “tell Bambi I’m standing by the Cameron Hughes table” from my iPhone or by logging onto the Web app Nirvino had set up for the event and wryly posting “2007 Inman Family Russian River Valley Pinot Gris would sure taste great if Bambi were tasting it here with me” on their overhead screen. But like esprit de l’escalier, the notion didn’t occur to me until well after I had left.

Of course, I hadn’t been invited to this tasting to renew my acquaintance with this intrepid reporter, so while she filmed her podcast, I moseyed about the various nooks and crannies at Crushpad, searching for memorable wines to add to our growing roster at Sostevinobile and to include in this blog (a fairly formidable task, given the somewhat chaotic layout of the vent and program guide). Naturally, I first found myself at the table for Classic Malts of Scotland, where the temptation of Lagavulin 16 Year Old proved…too tempting.

Admittedly, it takes a few moments to cleanse one’s palate from the taste of Single Islay Malt Scotch, so let me take this time to explain what the intersection of wine and technology is not. At the bottom of the list, one would have to cite the automatonic wonder known as The Winepod™. This impersonal contraption has been billed as “George Jetson, Meet Winemaker” and could only come from the aesthetic void known as San Jose—throw in the grapes, flip on the switch and await your technologically perfect wine. Suitable, of course, to be dispensed in discrete 1 oz. shots at the nadir of the wine tasting experience, the late and not especially lamented VinoVenue. Technology, however, does offer the possibility of enveloping more people into the richness of the wine experience, and, as it has become the lingua franca of the under-35 set, there is much to be said for the virtues of marrying social networking and web-based communities to the sheer joy of œnophilia.

So onward to the wines I discovered (given the utter randomness of listings in the program guide, the order of my selections will likely seem splenetic). First up, though not because he invited me to the upcoming Pinot Days Grand Festival Steve Rigisch poured a pair of truly excellent 2007 Russian River Pinot Noirs, from Olson Ogden and his own Ketcham Estate. If this was a prelude to the June gathering, I am bound to be euphoric.

Post-prandial fare came early Thursday evening, with a 2004 Port of Pinot Noir, which 122° West Winery calls Sonoma County Dessert Wine. Their 2006 Napa Valley Sangiovese was equally impressive. Strains of The Deuces’ WPLJ (not the Long Island radio station) echoed through my head with my taste of Rick Kasmier’s White Port of Chardonnay, a wine that may well become timely in the midst of this economic neo-depression. In a similar vein, I admit I cringed before tasting his Kaz Vineyards’ 2008 Stimulus (seems every advertiser these days feels compelled to use this term in their promotions), but with a lineup that includes Lenoir, Malbec, Barbera and DeChaunac, I suspect a trip to his Kenwood tasting room will soon be in order.

In stark contrast to Kaz’ 27 varietal offerings, Bedarra Vineyards from Dry Creek Valley produces a mere 250 cases of a single wine. Their second vintage, a 2007 Chardonnay, showed tremendous promise. Meanwhile, making their first California foray, Y Rousseau Wines presented their understated yet refreshing 2008 Russian River Valley Colombard Old Vines.

Similar modesty was not to be found in Walla Walla’s lone representative, Wines of Substance. While their labels cheekily borrows from Breaking Bad’s twist on the Periodic Table, their wines are anything but chemical in composition or taste, with both 2007 Riesling and their 2007 Merlot ably displaying why Washington excels in these particular varietals.

Loyal readers of this blog well know my partiality for the Italian interpretation of most cultural expressions or phenomena. Naturally, I gravitated to Dono dal Cielo’s table, where I was delighted with both the 2006 and 2007 versions of their Newcastle (the California hamlet, not Newcastle-on-Tyne, the more renowned British brewery enclave) Zinfandel. Of greater fidelity, Due Vigne di Famiglia offer a quartet of wines, punctuated by their salubrious 2006 Nebbiolo and my predilection a 2005 Dolcetto.

It would have been wonderful if Michael Giarraputo had been able to speak with me in Italian, but his Think Tank Wine Company is quiet conversant in the sustainable values Sostevinobile espouses. His 2007 La Encantada Vineyard Pinot Noir is an excellent organic expression of Santa Rita Hills’ signature varietal. Another winery aiming at a different kind of appeal, Courtesan Wines, echoed the highly romanticized version of this Venetian archetype, so sensually portrayed in Dangerous Beauty. Hints of sensuality were abundant in both the 2006 Courtesan (Cabernet Sauvignon) and 2006 Brigitte (Merlot), both hailing from Oakville. The big O of the evening, however, was O’Brien Estate, whose 2006 Seduction is a Bordeaux-style blend that lived up to the promise of its name. Their 2007 Chardonnay was also a worthy counterpart.

A Palo Alto venture, Cannonball Wine Company, inspired me to whip out my iPhone 3G and play the immortal saxophonist’s Mercy, Mercy, Mercy. Their 2006 Cannonball Cabernet was a deft blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah from a decidedly unkosher mélange of four vineyards in Dry Creek, Mendocino and Paso Robles. A more traditional blend was the 2005 Estate Bottled Cabernet Sauvignon from Lancaster Estate, a stellar Bordeaux-style assemblage of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Malbec, 2% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Petit Verdot.

It’s a rare treat when a wine looks as good as it tastes. The labels Eric Kent Cellars commissions for their wines are vibrant, evocative and well-suited to their portfolio of Chardonnay, Syrah, and Pinot Noir from Sonoma. Most memorable of the evening was their 2006 Dry Stack Vineyard Syrah, a stellar Bennett Valley vintage with and equally memorable label from artist Colin Day.

Some people are drawn to wines by their rating points from Robert Parker or Wine Spectator. I tend to succumb to those wineries that can offer something contrarian in nature, as demonstrated by Delgadillo Cellars, which was just now releasing its 2001 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon! A splendid Old Vine Cabernet, this wine came closest to warranting the highly coveted

I topped off the evening with a return to the Classic Malts of Scotland table and, later, an unanticipated (and soon to be contested) rendezvous with the traffic constabulary from the SFPD. Though highly improbable, I can categorically state that a late-night encounter with the elusive Ms. Francisco would have been far preferable. Then again, she never did show up that time for the showdown on the squash court she had always promised…