{"id":1419,"date":"2022-06-04T14:43:08","date_gmt":"2022-06-04T21:43:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.sostevinobile.com\/?p=1419"},"modified":"2022-06-04T14:43:08","modified_gmt":"2022-06-04T21:43:08","slug":"paint-it-black","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.sostevinobile.com\/?p=1419","title":{"rendered":"Paint It Black"},"content":{"rendered":"

To some a glass is half-empty; others see it as half-full. I tend to regard it as a glass that is twice the size it need be. So now the pandemic (plus a little incursion along the Baltic Sea) has brought us to the point of $6.50\/gallon\u2014regrettably, I still drive a conventional vehicle as I save up for a Lucid Air\u2014gasoline. But rather than bemoan the price, I marvel at have rapidly I can now pump $20 worth of Arco Unleaded whenever I fill up!<\/span><\/p>\n

Earlier this month, Your West Coast Oenophile<\/strong> hit the road again on behalf of Sostevinobile<\/span><\/strong>, returning to Sonoma\u2019s Veterans Hall for the revival of Garagiste Festival Norther Exposure<\/a><\/span>. Given the two-year hiatus since its last rendition, I shouldn\u2019t have been surprised that, of the 43 wineries on hand, 17 were either previously untried or utterly new to me, along with several I first encountered only last November at the Paso Robles session.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span>The only problem with tasting with and evaluating so many new labels is that I forget to take photos while jotting down my notes. And so, I\u2019m afraid my sundry readers must make do here without the benefit of images. But know that i was impressed with this array of newcomers, starting with the potpourri of German, Italian, Portuguese and French varietals Accenti Wines<\/span><\/a> poured. While all proved quite amiable, I was vastly impressed by the 2020 Dry Riesling Fountaingrove District,<\/strong> a wine that belied its reputation for having a sweet tinge. Meanwhile, microproducer Amrita Cellars<\/span><\/a> firmly asserted itself onto the Pinotism bandwagon, with clear progress shown from its 2017 Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast<\/strong> to the more vibrant 2018 Pinot Noir Russian River Valley<\/strong>. <\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s highly tempting to call Sandro Tamburin\u2019s Anthesis Wines<\/span><\/a> the antithesis of the wines his father-in-law Ray D\u2019Argenzio produces at their shared Santa Rosa facility. All punning aside, I\u2019d be hard-pressed to select a favorite among the four superb wines Anthesis had on display: a 2018 Chardonnay<\/strong> from Napa Valley, the 2017 Pinot Noir Petaluma Gap<\/strong>, or two orange wines, a 2016 Picpoul Blanc<\/strong> and a 2016 Falanghina<\/strong>, both from Alder Springs Vineyard. Meanwhile, a marvelous discovery from the eastern Carmel Valley, a region from where one might expect a slew of Pinot Noirs, Bo\u00ebt\u00e9 Winery<\/span><\/a> made its stand a Bordelaise powerhouse. Sourced exclusively from their Saunders Vineyard, their three-varietal blend (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc)<\/em>, the 2018 Cheval Rouge<\/strong> proved a worthy homage to the Right bank\u2019s legendary Cheval Blanc, while both 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon<\/strong> and the 2018 Merlot<\/strong> shone through for their own merits.Even more impressive, B0\u00ebt\u00e9\u2019s 2017 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon<\/strong> easily rivaled a $250 Napa Cab for a third of its price.<\/span><\/p>\n

Wesley Box\u00a0 probably never anticipated the emergence of boxed wines when he began his Box Wine Company<\/a><\/span>. Fortunately, there was no double-entendre among his offerings here, highlighted by the 2020 Black Roses Sangiovese<\/strong> and 2020 Black Roses Pinot Noir<\/strong>, along with a distinctive 2020 Sirras Knights Valley<\/strong>. BSC Wines<\/span><\/a>, short for Brue Skok Cellars, proved a rare find, excelling in both the Burgundian, with a standout 2016 Stony Point Pinot Noir<\/strong> and with their Bordeaux blend, the 2016 Geography Lesson<\/strong>\u2014no mean feat for the same winemaker. <\/span><\/p>\n

Hailing from Healdsburg, Charlie Gilmore\u2019s vineyard-specific Cormorant Cellars<\/span> <\/a>comported themselves amiably, most notably with a 2021 Chardonnay Zabala Vineyard<\/strong>. Meanwhile, Forgotten Union<\/span><\/a> sounds like a perfect wine to help consummate a one-night stand; nonetheless, their 2018 Vidi Vitis Cabernet Sauvignon<\/strong> from Oakvilleproved quite memorable. another Cab I quite cottoned to the Sonoma offering from Guerrero-Fernandez Winery<\/span><\/a>,\u00a0 the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Knight\u2019s Valley<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span>No suspense here. <\/span>Lussier Wine Company<\/span><\/a> will probably not gain many fans among vegan circles, but their 2019 Pinot Noir Golden Fleece Vineyard<\/strong> would certainly complement a plate of prosciutto, while their 2020 Chenin Blanc Green Valley Vineyard<\/strong> shone through on its own. Kevin Lee\u2019s Marchelle Wines<\/span><\/a> may fit the bill as a Garagiste, but winemaker Greg La Follette certainly is no neophyte. Breaking from the confines of Chardonnay\/Sauvignon Blanc\/Pinot Noir\/Zinfandel that define his craft at Quivira<\/span> and his eponymous label. And so the true delights here were the 2020 Cinsault Bechthold Vineyard,<\/strong> the 2019 Marchelle Carignan Jessie\u2019s Grove<\/strong>, and a delightful rarity, the 2021 Pinot Meunier<\/strong>\u2014my go-to wine for Thanksgiving, anytime I can source some. <\/span><\/p>\n

One of the jewels of the Pine Mountain Cloverdale Peak AVA is Nikki Mustard\u2019s Pine Mountain Vineyards<\/span><\/a>, a winery, despite its small production, gives tremendous credence to this up & coming Napa challenger. Standouts from their exceptional lineup included the 2019 Estate Cabernet Franc<\/strong>, a 2018 Estate Red Blend<\/strong>, (a m\u00e9lange of 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc)<\/em>, and perhaps the most impressive wine of the afternoon, the near-flawless 2012 Amp\u00e8re Cabernet Sauvoignon PMV Estate<\/strong>. Nonetheless, I doubt anyone else could have charmed me more than Ashley Holland, co-owner and vintner at Sonoma\u2019s Read Holland Wines<\/span><\/a>. But her pulchritude belied the excellence of her vinifications, most notably her 2019 Pinot Noir Deep End<\/strong> and her luscious library selection, the 2016 Pinot Noir Deep End<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Arthur O\u2019Connor\u2019s Rondure Wine<\/span>s<\/a> made a noteworthy debut, also with selections of his Pinots: the 2019 Pinot Noir Russian River Valley<\/strong>\u00a0 and the vineyard-specific 2019 Pinot Noir Sangiacomo Roberts Road Vineyard<\/strong>, both made with his revival of the Spanish tecnica de<\/i> capas<\/i>. Also featuring their first vintage from 2019, Terre et Sang<\/span><\/a> excelled with his Santa Barbara Syrahs, in particular the 2019 The Long Road Syrah Thompson Vineyard<\/strong> and a deft Syrah-Grenache blend, the 2019 Leave It to the Birds Peake Vineyard<\/strong>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Closing out my new discoveries for the afternoon, Gondak\u2019s offshoot, Little X Little<\/span><\/a> impressed with their 2020 Chenin Blanc Mangels Vineyard<\/strong> from Suisun Valley, while Tiana Sawyer\u2019s aptly-named Wild Rising Wines<\/span> showed across the board excellence, particularly with thee 2021<\/strong> Ana Ros\u00e9 of Pinot Noir<\/strong>, a 2021 Aqua Chardonnay<\/strong> from Petaluma Gap, and the deep-bodied 2019 Igris Cabernt Sauvignon<\/strong>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Not to give short shrift to the other 26 wineries on hand, all of which I extolled in the past and happily tasted once again. But with so many wineries on hand, is there any wonder why I forgot to snap any photos?
\n<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To some a glass is half-empty; others see it as half-full. I tend to regard it as a glass that is twice the size it need be. So now the pandemic (plus a little incursion along the Baltic Sea) has brought us to the point of $6.50\/gallon\u2014regrettably, I still drive a conventional vehicle as I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,4,34,16,32,45,388,7,18,8,14,41,36,3,1],"tags":[777,778,779,780,781,782,783,784,785,791,786,787,789,788,790,792,793,794],"class_list":["post-1419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cabernet-franc","category-cabernet-sauvignon","category-carignane","category-chardonnay","category-chenin-blanc","category-cinsault","category-falanghina","category-grenache","category-merlot","category-picpoul-blanc","category-pinot-noir","category-riesling","category-sangiovese","category-syrah","category-uncategorized","tag-accenti","tag-amrita","tag-anthesis","tag-boete","tag-box","tag-bsc","tag-cormorant","tag-forgotten-union","tag-guerrero-fernandez","tag-little-x-little","tag-lussier","tag-marchelle","tag-pine-mountain","tag-quivira","tag-read-holland","tag-rondure","tag-terre-et-sang","tag-wild-rising"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.sostevinobile.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1419","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.sostevinobile.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.sostevinobile.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.sostevinobile.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.sostevinobile.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1419"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blog.sostevinobile.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1419\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1429,"href":"https:\/\/blog.sostevinobile.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1419\/revisions\/1429"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.sostevinobile.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.sostevinobile.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.sostevinobile.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}