{"id":74,"date":"2010-05-25T01:51:00","date_gmt":"2010-05-25T01:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.sostevinobile.com\/?p=74"},"modified":"2010-05-25T01:51:00","modified_gmt":"2010-05-25T01:51:00","slug":"two-for-the-price-of-none","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.sostevinobile.com\/?p=74","title":{"rendered":"Two for the price of none!"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Remind me to go see Tim Burton\u2019s Alice in Wonderland<\/a>. Your West Coast Oenophile<\/b> knows that a day will soon come when he can look back and regard all his efforts to create a truly different kind of wine bar as worthwhile, but for the time being, the demands of establishing Sostevinobile<\/font> feels like the Red Queen Effect<\/a>\u2014running as hard as I can to stay in the same place.<\/font><\/div>\n
My February included a whirlwind of wine tastings, starting with a couple of wine organizations I had not previously encountered. First up, the curiously franglais-labeled Wine Entre Femme<\/a> host an international tasting of sorts at the Metropolitan Club<\/a>, a bastion of female power and exclusivity on Nob Hill. This partnership of women vintners and winery owners included wineries from Switzerland, Turkey, South Africa, and Japan but focused principally on France and Napa Valley. While I did swill a few of these imports along the way, I concentrated, of course, on the selection of wines that met with Sostevinobile<\/font>\u2019s local criteria.<\/font><\/div>\n
I started off with a familiar face, Jane Wolf of Wolf Family Vineyards<\/a>, a San Francisco neighbor whose estate wines from St. Helena were a serendipitous discovery at Cheers! St Helena<\/a> last fall. As before, the 2006 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon St. Helena<\/b> deeply impressed me, while the introduction to her 2008 Estate Sauvignon Blanc St. Helena<\/b> only served to served to solidify my initial impression. One needn\u2019t be a schooled classicist to appreciate the 2006 Phaedrus St. Helena<\/b>\u2014\u03a6\u03b1\u03b9\u03b4\u03c1\u03cc\u03c2 is ancient Greek for Wolf; this profound Cabernet Sauvignon, rounded out with Malbec and Petit Verdot, seemed tantamount to dizzying in its delights.<\/font><\/font><\/div>\n
Karen Culler, Wolf\u2019s winemaker, was on hand to pour her own Culler<\/a> label. Her deft touch with Cabernet manifested itself twice again, in her exceptional 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain <\/b>and in her proprietary 2006 La Pallette<\/b>, 95% Cabernet Sauvignon\u20135% Petit Verdot from Alexander Ranch<\/font>.<\/font><\/div>\n
Another esteemed winemaker doing double-duty at this tasting was Heidi Peterson Barrett, first with the aptly-named Fantesca Estate & Winery<\/a> of Susan and Duane Hoff. Both their 2006 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mountain<\/b> and the 2007 Chardonnay Russian River<\/b> distinctively impressed. Heidi\u2019s own venture, La Sirena<\/a>, amply represented itself with a quartet of their wines. I have always been a fan of her blue-bottled Muscat Canelli and the 2008 Moscato Azul<\/b> did not disappoint. Another strikingly distinctive wine was her 2007 Pirate TreasuRed<\/b>, an homage to the \u201cTreasures of the Seven Seas,\u201d a near-impossible Sean Thrackrey-esque<\/i> blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, Grenache, and Petite Sirah.<\/font><\/div>\n
Even now, I\u2019m not sure I understand the cross-pollination and joint ventures among Pavi<\/a>, Fisticuffs<\/a>, Erna Schein<\/a>, Hourglass<\/a>, and Drinkward Peschon<\/a>. Rather than trying to decipher who is married to whom and yet joint-venturing with so & so, while collaborating with whomever, let me highlight each winery and their produce individually. Having long abandoned the rigidity of my Catholic upbringing, I remain fairly distant these days from any sort of canonical expertise, though I still retain enough recollection to know there never was an Angel of the Meat<\/i>, the whimsical figure who graces the Thomas Hart Benton<\/a>-style label for Erna Schein\u2019s 2007 Sainte Fum\u00e9e<\/b>, a superb Rh\u00f4ne-style red whose apostasy incorporates 10% Petit Verdot along with its blend of Syrah, Mourv\u00e8dre and Petite Sirah. Drinkward Peschon\u2019s 2007 Entre Deux M\u00e8res<\/b>, on the other hand, reflects a traditional Cabernet Sauvignon grown just below the M\u00e9doc region of Burgundy.<\/font>
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Fisticuffs seeks a more modest approach to its vinification; nevertheless, its modestly-priced 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley<\/b> resonates with the same flair winemaker Rob Lawson instills in such prominent wines as Colgin and Bryant Family. Hourglass has long made an esteemed 100% Cabernet Sauvignon; here Carolyn Duryea debuted her Hourglass Blueline bottlings of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, as well as a Blueline Cabernet Sauvignon. Though least expensive of the three, the 2007 Blueline Merlot<\/b> stood out amid its cousins. Meanwhile, the organically-farmed vineyards at Pavi yielded a quite drinkable 2008 Pinot Grigio <\/b>and an alluringly S\u00e9millon-based 2003 Vino Santo<\/b>\u2014but why didn\u2019t they bring their 2005 Dolcetto?<\/font>
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The presence of larger, familiar wineries like Merryvale<\/a>, Trinchero Napa Valley<\/a>, and Chappellet<\/a> gave Wine Entre Femme a certain degree of pedigree. Several of Wine Entre Femme\u2019s participants hailed from much-heralded wineries and offered wines whose considerable acclaim preceded them. What can I say about such wines as Naoko Dalla Valle<\/a>\u2019s 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon<\/b>, Joseph Phelps\u2019 2006 Insignia<\/b>, Philippe Melka<\/a>\u2019s 2006 Metisse Proprietary Red<\/b> or the 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley <\/b>from Spottswoode<\/a> other than to add that each more than lived up to its reputation? On the other hand, several of the wineries present may not enjoy as great familiarity among the general population but have garnered considerable acclaim in wine circles and previously in this blog, like Cathy Corison<\/a>\u2019s rich 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon Kronos Vineyard<\/b> and Lail Vineyards<\/a>\u2019 2006 J. Daniel Cuv\u00e9e Cabernet Sauvignon<\/b>. Similarly, William Cole<\/a>\u2019s 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Cuv\u00e9e Claire<\/b>, Luc & Genevi\u00e8ve Janssens\u2019 limited release 2005 Portfolio<\/a><\/b>, a Bordelaise blend, and Crocker & Starr<\/a>\u2019s equally-striking 2007 Cabernet Franc<\/b> and 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Stone Place<\/b> maintained my favorable impressions from previous events.<\/font>
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I\u2019ve known David and Monica Stevens, who organized this gathering, for a number of years from David\u2019s previous venture, Acme Fine Wines<\/a>, but had not previously tried their Shelter Wine Company<\/a>; the 2006 Headwater Cabernet Sauvignon<\/b> was excellent, the 2005 Butcher Cabernet Sauvignon<\/b> exceptional. Equally enjoyable was my introduction to Phifer Pavitt Wine<\/a>, with their whimsical 2006 Datenight Cabernet Sauvignon<\/b>. Arns Winery<\/a> had previously crossed my radar, but this tasting provided my first opportunity to sample their 2006 Syrah Melanson Vineyards<\/b> and the organically-farmed 2005 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley<\/b>. I was also surprised I hadn\u2019t previously encountered Titus Vineyards<\/a>, a Napa winery focused both on Bordeaux varietals and on Zinfandcl, exemplified by their 2007 Estate Zinfandel Napa Valley<\/b> and a lush 2007 Estate Cabernet Fran<\/b>c<\/b>.<\/font><\/font><\/div>\n
I closed this tasting on a light note, with the very approachable 2008 Sauvignon Blanc<\/b> from Amici Cellars<\/a> and a five-varietal blush wine, the 2008 Lorenza<\/a> Ros\u00e9<\/b>. By then, I was ready for the ground-floor swimming pool, but, alas, the Metropolitan Club had reverted its extended policies some 15 years ago, and no longer accommodated Ivy League men!<\/font>
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No such distinction marked the inaugural tasting of the Santa Lucia Highlands Wine Artisans<\/a> at Fort Mason a few days later. Followers of this blog may suspect that I had saturated myself with Pinot Noir throughout 2009, but this event offered a different focus than the plethora of other Pinot tastings I had attended. Granted, 26 of the 27 wineries on hand poured at least one Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot, and several of these had pour these wines at other, broader-oriented tastings, but this gathering was, to the best of my knowledge, the first exclusive tasting of wines focused exclusively on the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA to be held in San Francisco.<\/font>
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With all his various permutations, Ed Kurtzman has become a familiar face at numerous tastings. Here, his August West<\/a> label excelled with the first of the many 2008 Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands<\/b> I sampled throughout the afternoon. Close behind was his 2008 Pinot Noir Rosella\u2019s Vineyard<\/b>, another stalwart of the region. Belle Glos<\/a> brought but a single wine but made it count: a more than amiable 2008 Pinot Noir Las Alturas Vineyard<\/b>. Similarly, Tondr\u0113<\/a> elected to show only its 2007 Pinot Noir Tondr\u0113 Grapefield<\/b> and Sequana<\/a> brought its 2007 Pinot Noir Sarmento Vineyard<\/b> while Pey\u2019s SLH label, Pey-Lucia<\/a> showcased its 2007 Pinot Noir Frisquet<\/b>.<\/font>
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Hope & Grace<\/a> staked their singular claim with the 2007 Pinot Noir Hahn Estate<\/b>. Hahn Family Wines<\/a> was itself well-represented at the tasting with a quartet of their estate wines. Of the four, the 2007 Estate Syra<\/b>h warranted particular note. A second label, Lucienne Vineyards<\/a>, proved more distinctive, with the 2007 Pinot Noir Lone Oak Vineyard <\/b>and a superb 2007 Pinot Noir Doctor\u2019s Vineyard<\/b>. Nearby, Cr\u016b<\/a>, a label from Mariposa Wine, struck a most consonant chord with their twin 2008 Chardonnay Vigna Monte Nero Vineyard <\/b>and the 2008 Pinot Noir Vigna Monte Nero Vineyard<\/b>.<\/font>
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The lone Pinot-less winery at the tasting, Mer Soleil<\/a>, staked its claim with a pair of contrasting Chards, the 2007 Chardonnay Silver \u201cUnoaked\u201d <\/b>and the contrasting (and more striking) <\/i>2007 Chardonnay Santa Lucia Highlands<\/b>. In contrast, three of the wineries offered a Pinot-only format, starting with Roar Wines<\/a> ably displaying their 2008 Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands<\/b> alongside their striking 2008 Pinot Noir Garys\u2019 Vineyard.<\/b> Santa Cruz Pinot specialists Martin Alfaro<\/a> brought three of their seven current bottlings, highlighted by the 2007 Pinot Noir Garys\u2019 Vineyard<\/b> and the 2008 Pinot Moir Vigna Monte Nero Vineyard<\/b>. Meanwhile, La Rochelle<\/a> proffered four selections, punctuated by the superb 2007 Pinot Noir Sleepy Hollow Martini Clone<\/b> and the 2007 Pinot Noir Paraiso Vineyard<\/b>.<\/font><\/div>\n
In true Burgundian style, numerous presenters featured both Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, including the event\u2019s organizer, Morgan<\/a>. Their Monterey County Organic Certified property was the source for both the <\/font>2007 Chardonnay Double L Vineyard<\/b> and the 2007 Pinot Noir Double L Vineyard<\/b>. McIntyre<\/a> showed<\/font> the clear preferability of its 2007 Estate Pinot Noir<\/b> to the previous vintage it also brought, while their 2008 Estate Chardonnay <\/b>proved amiable. Owned by one of the \u201cGarys\u201d (the other being Gary Franscioni)<\/i>, Pisoni Vineyards<\/a> naturally sparkled with their 2007 Lucia Pinot Noir Garys\u2019 Vineyard<\/b> and offered a refreshing 2009 Lucy Pinot Ros\u00e9<\/b>, but lagged with their 2007 Lucia Chardonnay Santa Lucia Highlands<\/b>
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In my early days, my carroty hair garnered me a couple of Testarossa<\/a> ribbings along the way, but while most of my reddish follicles have forsaken me, the 2008 Pinot Noir Garys\u2019 Vineyard<\/b> only commends the Los Gatos winery bearing this moniker. Quite enjoyable, as well, was their 2008 Pinot Noir Sleepy Hollow Vineyard<\/b> and its sibling 2008 Chardonnay Sleepy Hollow Vineyard<\/b>. Neckties, too, were a symbol of taunting from my youth, so it is understandable why I shy from the tartan cravats of Carmel Valley\u2019s Talbott<\/a> <\/i>(do love their sweaters, though<\/i>). Their vinification efforts are equally lush, as evidenced by the 2007 Chardonnay Sleepy Hollow Vineyard<\/b>, the  007 Logan Chardonnay Santa Lucia Highlands<\/b>, and the 2008 Logan Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands<\/b>.<\/font><\/div>\n
Probably the next most popular varietal this afternoon was Syrah. In addition to their 2007 Chardonnay Lucia Highland Vineyard<\/b> and their noteworthy 2007 Pinot Noir Private Reserve<\/b>, Manzoni<\/a> highlighted<\/font> the tasting with their 2007 Estate Syrah<\/b>. Paraiso<\/a>, whose grapes grace La Rochelle\u2019s exquisite vintage, ably displayed their own versatility with Pinot, culminating in their 2007 Pinot Noir West<\/b>, but shone most notably with their 2005 Syrah Wedding Hill<\/b>. At times, the dual person\u00e6 of Siduri<\/a>\/Novy<\/a> may seem a bit schizophrenic, but there winemaking is always lucid; Novy, however, held the upper hand on this afternoon, with a standout 2008 Novy Chardonnay Rosella\u2019s Vineyard<\/b> and the 2007 Novy Syrah Rosella\u2019s Vineyard<\/b>.<\/font><\/div>\n
The 2005 Les Violette<\/b>s from Pelerin<\/a> comprised a Syrah atypically blended with Viognier, a grape also employed in rounding out their 2008 Les Tournesols<\/b>, a Roussanne. Ray Franscioni\u2019s Puma Road<\/a> chose to veer from the orthodoxy of the event with a 2007 Pinot Gris Black Mountain Vineyard<\/b>, the same property that grew its 2007 Pinot Noir Black Mountain Vineyard<\/b>, as well as its 2006 Chardonnay Black Mountain Vineyard<\/b>. Tudor Wines<\/a> sourced its Pinots from several plots, including the 2007 Pinot Noir Sarmento Vineyard<\/b>, while adding a 2007 Rador Riesling Santa Lucia Highlands<\/b> on the white side. Pessagno<\/a> also featured a 2008 Riesling La Estancia Vineyard<\/b> but flourished with their 2007 Chardonnay Intrinity<\/b> and the remarkable 2007 Pinot Noir Four Boys\u2019 Vineyard<\/b>.<\/font>
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The afternoon introduced me to two extraordinary wineries to which Sostevinobile<\/font> had not been previously exposed. Fortunately, I needn\u2019t inflict my mangled attempts at Dutch in telling my readers how splendid I found the wines of Boekenoogen<\/a> to be. The 2007 Estate Pinot Noir<\/b> provided one of the afternoon\u2019s most memorable samplings, while the stark contrast between their 2008 Chardonnay Santa Lucia Highlands \u201cStainless Steel\u201d<\/b> and the 2008 Chardonnay Santa Lucia Highlands \u201cOak Fermented\u201d<\/b> favored the latter, if but slightly. Meanwhile, I absolutely reveled in the grapes of Wrath<\/a>, with its twin delights: the 2008 Chardonnay McIntyre Vineyard<\/b> and the 2008 Pinot Noir McIntyre Vineyard<\/b>. The great revelation, however, was its near-perfect 2007 Syrah Doctor\u2019s Vineyard<\/b>, a wine I had to sample at least three times throughout the afternoon.<\/font>
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I realize, as I complete this entry, that I am still summarizing my discoveries of February as the close of March draws nigh. I can only hope the wineries and my readership understand the numerous demands of creating Sostevinobile<\/font>, and will know that I am toiling ceaselessly to bring this dream to fruition.<\/font>
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<\/font><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Remind me to go see Tim Burton\u2019s Alice in Wonderland. Your West Coast Oenophile knows that a day will soon come when he can look back and regard all his efforts to create a truly different kind of wine bar as worthwhile, but for the time being, the demands of establishing Sostevinobile feels like the Red Queen Effect\u2014running as hard as […]<\/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":[6,4,16,47,7,17,18,12,90,2,10,38,14,41,9,19,13,3,5,27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-74","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cabernet-franc","category-cabernet-sauvignon","category-chardonnay","category-dolcetto","category-grenache","category-malbec","category-merlot","category-mourvedre","category-muscat-canelli","category-petit-verdot","category-petite-sirah","category-pinot-gris","category-pinot-noir","category-riesling","category-roussanne","category-sauvignon-blanc","category-semillon","category-syrah","category-viognier","category-zinfandel"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.sostevinobile.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74","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=74"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.sostevinobile.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.sostevinobile.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=74"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.sostevinobile.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=74"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.sostevinobile.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=74"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}