Mer Soleil Chardonnay – $35 Mer Soleil Silver Chardonnay – $25 Santa Lucia Highlands, Monterrey, CA (samples provided by Mer Soliel)

I’m combining the review of these wines for one simple reason. The grapes are grown in the same vineyard with exactly the same treatment. The only difference is the wine making techniques. It isn’t often that you get to taste two wines side by side where the technique is the only difference. The wines are made by Charlie Wagner, grandson of his namesake Charles Wagner, founder of Caymus Vineyards.

While we thoroughly enjoyed both wines, it was the Mer Soleil Silver Chardonnay that really got my attention. Admittedly, I am not normally a big fan of un-oaked, non-malolactic chardonnays. I like oak and I like a buttery creaminess. That said; this un-oaked chard with no malolactic fermentation really surprised me. It had a really lush mouth feel and a subtle but unexpectedly rich creaminess especially as it warmed up. If served too cold you may miss some of the depth this wine has to offer. For those who like an un-oaked style, this wine will hit the spot with nice tropical flavors, well balanced acidity and minerality so you really taste the fruit and terrior. Monterrey Chardonnay fruit, like Carneros, is full bodied.

But let’s get back to the lushness and complexity of this wine. I did a little research and found that Mer Soleil is using un-lined concrete fermentation tanks. This is a new trend which is gaining in popularity and Mer Soleil was one of the first to embrace it. Click Here to see a wonderful video by Frankie Gutierrez and discussion of the tanks. Theory is that the porous concrete tanks breathe like wood which adds depth without adding oak flavors. The 2008 vintage is offered in a ceramic bottle to bring attention to the concrete fermentation style. This wine has consistently received well deserved ratings in excess of 90. We paired it with grilled bacon-wrapped scallops for a lovely end of summer meal.

The Mer Soleil Chardonnay (again 90+ scores) is a more traditional chard. Half the wine is fermented in oak (the rest in steel) and half receives malolactic fermentation. Now this wine was no surprise and was right up my palate alley. Because only half the blend is oaked, it is softer than many and is by no stretch of the imagination a “butter bomb.”  Look for rich flavors like apricot, pineapple and butterscotch in addition to some tropical and citrus flavors. Still plenty of acidity and some minerality shine through with a long and lush finish. Grilled Ahi Tuna with peach salsa paired beautifully with this lightly oaked Chardonnay.

The bottom line: two excellent Chardonnays. If you’re a fan of oaked chardonnays, the Silver has enough complexity and lushness to satisfy your palate. On the other hand, if un-oaked is your style, the balance, acidity and subtleness of the oaked Chardonnay may be a pleasant surprise.

Roger & Donna 1977

Picture San Antonio, Texas 1975. Willie Nelson was (and still is) King. Jerry Jeff Walker’s Viva Terlingua album played from every juke box (and should still). We were high school seniors (of legal drinking age – 18) and I had my first date with a girl I’d had a crush on for a couple of years. It was spring and we had agreed to babysit her younger siblings before we could go out. The restaurant was special, the quintessential hip 70’s fern bar, Reed’s Red Derby. I was suave in the pants to my leisure suit and Salvador Dali print polyester shirt. She wore a sun dress.

Mateus_Rose

The hostess showed us to an unromantic table in the middle of the hubbub. But I was bound and determined to do this right. I carefully and ignorantly perused the supposedly sophisticated wine list for something to impress. What would be the perfect wine to pair with Reed’s famous French onion soup with a pound of gooey cheese melted across the top? I looked to tables with tragically hip fern bar couples to see what those far more experienced than I (they may have even been out of college) were drinking. After taking it all in, I made a bold, exotic, European choice to show my worldly knowledge…Mateus Rose’! If you’re too young to remember Mateus, it was a cheap Portuguese wine in an artistic squatty bottle that was all the rage of worldly hipsters in the ‘70’s. Was it my excellent choice of wine or my Salvador Dali print shirt? I don’t know, but the magic worked. Donna and I are still together and still in love with each other and wine.

Wine itself, seduced me in my early 20’s but there was one experience that left me hopelessly in love. A mere ten years later Donna and I traveled to Napa Valley with another couple to experience wine country. Living now in Austin, Texas many of the great wines I would read about were just not available to us. So we ventured up and down Hwy 29 across the Oakville Crossing and all along the Silverado Trail loading up our rented Lincoln Continental with more wine than it was ever intended to carry. By the end we had 27 cases. Really.

There was one experience that proved to be my moment of wine enlightenment. One moment that as I look back now, if it had not happened, I doubt I would have grown to be as enthusiastic about wines as I am. It was late summer in Napa, vines pregnant with promise and a light drizzle was falling. We drove past a small sign with a name we recognized, Caymus, and turned in. The place appeared closed as we walked around but then we heard a gruff voice yell, “Can I help you?” We introduced ourselves and asked this old man in suspenders if we could taste his wine. He looked at us and said something like “you won’t understand my wine unless you see my vineyard.” The man was, Charlie Wagner. He took us out to the vineyard behind his house. We tromped in mud with two big dogs shaking like water sprinklers whenever they’d get near. We tasted unripe grapes from the vine, chewed on seeds tasting for bitterness. The rest of the afternoon was spent in Mr. Wagner’s kitchen drinking Caymus Cabernet and learning more about winemaking and grape farming than I ever dreamed possible. It was and will always be my single best wine day. I was deeply in love.

Plaque for Charlie Wagner

Caymus Cabernet Vineyard

During our September 2010 trip to Napa, we ventured out on a sunny Sunday morning to visit my first wine love. Charlie Wagner passed in 2002 at the age of 90, but Caymus and Wagner Family Wines are still family operations with Chuck, Charlie’s son, at the helm along with Chuck’s two sons, Joseph and Charlie II. We had a wonderful time at Caymus. It is still beautiful but not as quaint; we all grow and change. Standing in the same vineyard as we did 25 years ago, Donna and I reminisced, a glass of Caymus Special Selection in hand, about that day long ago with Mr. Wagner. We again tasted grapes and chewed on seeds. As I looked back on the house where we sat in the kitchen on a wet summer day, I quietly said “Rest well Charlie Wagner, my life is better for meeting you. Thanks.”

What wine did you share with your first love?

What wine seduced you to love the grape?

Do Tell…Do Tell…

In the Vineyards at Caymus

Donna and I began Sunday morning at the Napa Valley Coffee Roasting Company located a couple of blocks off Main Street in St. Helena. The coffee shop has a great old house feel and was full of locals. The late harvest and cool summer seemed to be hot topics of conversation.  The coffee was excellent, possibly the best soy latte I have ever had, as were the pastries. I had an oatcake that while it may not sound too exciting was delicious. After Donna devoured her Asiago cheese bagel, we were once again ready to start our day with a 10AM wine tasting. Hopefully, you see what tough duty being a wine blogger can be, being stuck in a beautiful place, with great people and amazing wine. It is not for the weak or faint of heart.

Caymus vegetable garden

Our day of tasting and parties began at Caymus Vineyards.  Caymus was high on our list because this is where I fell in love with Napa Cabernet on our first visit in 1985. On that trip we were lucky enough to spend a few hours tromping through vineyards and drinking Cabernet with founder, Charlie Wagner.  We were met in the gardens outside the tasting room by Frankie Gutierrez and his lovely wife Anita Gouloomian.  Frankie serves as the social media director for Caymus and is also an extraordinary wine documentary film maker. I encourage you to check out his blog, Frank Loves Wine, and take a look at the short films he’s made for Wagner Family Wines. These films are so entertaining and educational that I often send them to our son who is studying to be a winemaker at Texas Tech.

Frankie and Anita had our tasting set up on a picnic table on the edge the Caymus vineyard vegetable garden which you can also enjoy with wines from the adjacent Caymus tasting room. A more in depth review of the specific wines offered by Caymus and the Wagner family will be posted a later date.  As you would expect, the wines we tasted from Caymus and Belle Glos labels were all very good. The 2008 Caymus Special Selection Cabernet was the biggest surprise. I jokingly asked Frankie if we were committing infanticide to drink a bottled cabernet that should be sleeping in its crib. While this wine will age well, it was unexpectedly soft and drinkable, for one so young.

Big damn bottle

A walking tour of the property included the biggest wine bottle I’d ever seen. As you can see from the picture it is huge (note: I am 6’2”). The label is etched into the glass and yes, the bottle is full of Caymus Special Selection Cabernet. As a special treat, Frankie took us out to the vineyards we would have toured with Charlie Wagner nearly 30 years ago. As we once again tasted cabernet grapes, we could see the Wagner residence where Donna and I sat with Charlie at his kitchen table, sharing Caymus Cabernet. It all made for a perfect start to the day.

Next up was the Harvest party at Judd’s Hill off Silverado Trail. While many of our tastings and tours were opulent and elegant, Judd’s Hill was down home. The winery is now run by Judd Finkelstein (son of founders Art and Bunnie Finkelstein) and his wife, Holly. The party was held outside between the winery and the vineyard. When we approached the check-in table a very happy and enthusiastic woman greeted us by saying “Hi, I’m Bunnie, Judd’s mom.” The rest of the party was just as relaxed and fun. There was even a guy dressed in pirate gear and make-up making sure we all had an “ARRGG” good time.  The wines flowed, the band played and folks did indeed have a good time.

Roger & Judd Judd's Hill Winery

By this time in our trip we’d had so much cheese paired with our wines, we were glad to see hot dogs on the grill. In addition, they had flown in hot dog chili from the world famous Pink’s Hot Dogs in Hollywood. We’d never had Pink’s hot dog chili and I can now say I think it is the best we’ve had (sorry Skyline in Cincinnati).  Earlier Frankie told me about Judd’s Hill’s Burkes Blazing Barbecue Old Vine Zinfandel from Lodi. If you saw our video on “Zins with Funky Names”, you know I am no fan of Lodi Zins with that cherry cola flavor.   

When will I ever learn not to taste wines with a preconceived idea? This Zin was great and had no cherry cola going on. Let me tell you, it paired perfectly with a Pink’s Chilidog. We hated to leave the party early but duty called us back to Hwy 29 and Nickel & Nickel.

Nickel & Nickel

At Nickel & Nickel, we were back in the lap of luxury. The offices and tasting room are in a beautifully restored Queen Anne-style farmstead, Sullenger House, built in 1880. Nickel & Nickel began in 1977 as an offshoot of Far Niente. The first wines were released in 2000. All wines a 100% varietal and 100% single vineyard. Our tour began with a glass of their lush Truchard Vineyard Chardonnay and an informative stroll around the property. The Nickel family also owns one of North America’s largest wholesale nursery companies, Greenleaf. The beautifully manicured grounds are covered with colorful and fragrant flowering plants. We then entered the Gleason Barn, a fully restored circa 1770 barn that was spared from demolition in 2001, dismantled, moved and reconstructed on the site. The barn now houses the winemaking staff and a state of the art laboratory.

Nickel & Nickel tasting room

One of the most interesting exhibits on the tour were clear boxes of soil samples from many of the vineyards used in Nickel & Nickel’s single vineyard wines. The soils ranged from soft and dusty to very rocky. It was a great visual reminder of how many different soils and terriors there are in Napa Valley. After touring the fermentation barns and the barrel cellar, we were back in the Sullenger House for an elegant yet relaxed tableside tasting. We were offered five different Cabernets, each with its own distinct character. They also produce, Syrah, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Zinfandel and Merlot. My favorite of our samples was from Vogt Vineyard on Howell Mountain. Our tasting ended with a sample of the delectable dessert wine, Dolce.

with Michael Chiarello

As late afternoon approached, I didn’t want Donna to leave Napa without a chance to catch a bite at Bottega Restaurant and visit the Napa Style shop in Yountville. There was obviously an event wrapping up as we arrived on the grounds. Food Channel Star Chef and Botegga owner, Michael Chiarello, was seated at a table on the lawn finishing a book signing so we took the opportunity to buy one of his cookbooks and get it signed for my mother’s upcoming birthday (we couldn’t keep the secret…she knows).

After touring Napa Style, we found an open couch on the covered porch that wraps around Bottega. The odd thing about this place is that even though tourists abound, it is a local’s hangout. We ordered a bottle of Frank Family Chardonnay and kicked back to enjoy the summer like evening. There was a couple on the couch across the table from us. Who joined them? Michael Chiarello. He was great fun. A few minutes later another couple walked up looking for a seat. We offered the two empty seats near us. They seemed hesitant until Michael moved over and encouraged them to join.

Napa is a small world and you never know who you’ll meet. The couple that joined us were locals and asked where we toured. I mentioned that we’d started at Caymus. His response was “have you ever had the Belle Glos Pinot Noir Rose’? My father grew the grapes that went into that wine.” If you read my piece “Do Real Men Drink Rose’?” you may remember I rated that wine the best Pinot Rose’ to come out of California. Small world.

After packing for our return flight and breakfast the next morning, we ventured up Spring Mountain to visit with another historical Napa figure, Stu Smith of Smith-Madrone. Stu is featured prominently in James Conway’s second book on Napa Valley, The Far Side of Eden. We met Stu a few weeks earlier at a winemaker’s dinner in Denver. Being a Texas boy, I was immediately drawn to Stu’s no B.S. view of winemaking and Napa Valley. Much like Randy Dunn at Dunn Vineyards, Stu calls them the way he sees them and damn the torpedoes, to mix metaphors. To see what I mean, check out Stu’s controversial blog – Biodynamics is a Hoax.

Cab Franc grapes at Smith Madrone

Smith-Madrone is a no frills winery that dates back to 1972. The winery operation is housed in an old barn-like structure which adds to the charm. We were warmly greeted by Stu’s brother and partner, Charlie and soon Stu appeared with his energetic dog Curly. Smith-Madrone makes an excellent dry Riesling and we began our tasting there.  We were familiar with this wine and enjoy it very much. We then moved on to their Chardonnay which has a nice balance of oak and butter but still subtle enough to pair with food. At the Denver winemaker’s dinner, we’d enjoyed the Smith-Madrone Cabernet, so this time Stu pulled out a yet to be released or even named,  2007 Reserve Cabernet. This Cab had a much bigger structure than their normal offering. Still young, it needed to open up in our glasses.

view of Napa Valley floor from Smith-Madrone

We left the Reserve Cab to breathe in the winery barn and jumped into the gator with Stu to tour the property. Curly served as our very excitable tour guide. Smith-Madrone has been systematically replanting for a number of years so we were able to see vineyards in every stage of maturity. The view from Spring Mountain to the Napa Valley floor alone was worth the trip.  Stu shared some great stories and tales from his 40 years in Napa Valley. Upon our return, we were anxious to see how the Reserve Cabernet had developed. Wow…once this Cab had a chance to open up it was great. Big Cabernet flavors from mountain fruit…just the way I like it.

It then was time to head to San Francisco and our flight back to Denver, another Napa and Sonoma adventure came to an end, thanks for travelling with us.

Wineauxs Unite!…

It appeared that the momentum behind the ludicrous H.R. 5034 had waned, but just this Monday retiring Congressman Delahunt of Massachusetts re-filed HR 5034, aka the C.A.R.E. Bill, with some minor changes. He is also asking that the bill be heard before congress adjourns this year. The rumor is a hearing may be scheduled as early as September 29^th. Why the rush? Doesn’t Congress have bigger problems than your wine club shipment?

Congressman Bill Delahunt and distributors across the country are back trying to “protect” us from ordering wine directly under the guise of being champions of States’ Rights. I’d like to see how many from the liquor distributor industry have lined the congressman’s coffers over his career.

The letter to Congressman Conyers (Chairman of the House Committee of the Judiciary) states that the intent of the bill is to “protect societal interests in guarding against underage drinking, and will limit access to alcohol by preserving the states’ right to require face to face identification checks, etc. The language will continue to promote temperance and orderly markets.”

A letter from www.wineamerica.org (National Association of American Wineries) states: “While the bill removes much of the language that would have allowed states to violate federal antitrust and other laws with impunity, the principal problems with the bill remain.  Under the new proposal, states would still be permitted to discriminate against out-of-state wines.  While states would have to be careful not to explicitly discriminate against wineries, clever legislation could impose all kinds of protectionist restrictions on interstate commerce in wine.  The problems with the language are subtle, but the end result is that the bill would reverse decades of Supreme Court dormant Commerce Clause case law.”

So Wineauxs…it’s once again time to get out those #2 pencils and write your congressman. If we are quiet the distributors will win and you may no longer be able to order wine direct from your favorite wineries.

Get Involved! Click Here  to contact your representative…sample letters

See this great article in The Daily Sip

For more information go to Stop HR 5034.org

Alpha Omega Winery

This morning began at Alpha Omega in Rutherford, right off Hwy. 29. We were not familiar with AO but they were recommended by Kai Whitney at Merryvale Winery during our visit in March. We were greeting in the elegant yet understated tasting room by Rick Patton, tasting room manager. AO is fairly new, only 4 years old but the owners have owned wineries in other parts of California. The tasting room with views of a fountain pond and vineyards is divided into three parts. The first is a tasting bar and sales area with plenty of logo gear for purchase. The second is two private tasting rooms that can hold 8-12 people and the third is a wrap around covered porch with the pond and vineyard views.

A/O tasting room

Rick did a great job taking us through the wines. A local bartender had raved about their oaked Chardonnay but alas, they were out. AO is a very small production winery as compared to others on Hwy. 29 producing only 9,000 cases. This wine is found in only a few restaurants and is sold mainly to wine club members and to winery visitors.

We were joined by winemaker, Jean Hoefliger. You may recognize his name from his time at Newton. Jean is a tall broad-shouldered young man from Switzerland with a fiery passion about wine making. We spoke at length about their unique barrel fermentation style with skin contact lasting up to 90 days. I expected these reds to be so tannic my teeth would sizzle but in fact they were surprisingly soft and very enjoyable. These wines are consistently receiving well deserved scores from 88 to 94. We finished our tasting with a barrel sample of the yet to be released 2008 Era Cabernet which Parker rated 90-92 in barrel. This wine was so balanced, complex and supple I never would have guessed it was 2008.

Taylor's Refreshers

Next, off to a Napa gourmet lunch. We stood outside in line at Gott’s Roadside (Formerly Taylors Refreshers), an old drive in from the 1940’s. The line starts at about 11:30 each morning and can wrap the building. The burgers are legendary. Where else can you order a burger, sit on a picnic table near a highway and drink Shafer Cabernet or Rombauer Chardonnay from the burger stand’s wine list? Donna had a traditional burger while I had an Ahi tuna burger with jalapeno aioli. Life is great.

American Harvest Workshop Marketplace at Cakebread Cellars

We had some time to kill so we cruised along Silverado Trail and stopped in for a couple of tastings. Earlier in the day we had received an invitation from Dennis Cakebread of Cakebread Cellars to the American Harvest Workshop Marketplace on the Cakebread property. Here we were treated to a sampling of artisan foods and specialties from five chefs. We milled around the beautiful courtyard sampling some great food like fresh plucked oysters, lamb from Sonoma, fresh mushrooms, grilled duck and our surprise favorite, grilled Antelope from Texas. Antelope is very tender and is not at all gamey. Cakebread cellars served a Syrah and a Syrah driven Rose’ called Vin du Porch. The Syrah was lovely and the Vin du Porch was definitely a manly rose’.

Being the Napa history buff that I am, the highlight was a chance to sit on a small rock wall and chat with co-founder Dolores Cakebread. She is a beautiful, friendly and spry woman who just turned 80 years old. It was great to spend a little time chatting with a living Napa legend. I did not get a chance to try the Cakebread Sauvignon Blanc but I’ll take Dolores’s word when she emphatically says “it’s the best.”

Solbar at Solage Resort

We finished the evening in conversation with our friend and wine industry publicist, Julie Ann Kodmur. She is also the wife of well-known winemaker Stu Smith of Smith-Madrone fame. We dined on small plates under the stars at the SolBar at the Solage Resort near Calistoga. Julie Ann was kind enough to bring along a bottle of the killer dry Riesling from Smith-Madrone. We shared a number of small plates including sliders with onions cooked for 10 hours, pasilla chile rubbed pork tacos and spicy shrimp lettuce wraps. The Solage service was impecable. We watched from the SolBar as the sun set across Howell Mountain and on the end of another wondrous wine country day.

Entrance to Rombauer's wine cave

Day 3 – Guilty Pleasures Day

This day the theme was Guilty Pleasures because both Donna and I got to pick out long time favorite vineyards to visit. For Donna the choice was easy as she is addicted to the lush, rich and creamy flavors of Rombauer Chardonnay (The favorite drink of Cougars everywhere). For me, we ventured up Howell Mountain and through the quaint town of Angwin to visit the Dunn family of Dunn Vineyards – Howell Mountain Cabernet fame.

Another day of wine tasting (drinking) on the job started promptly at 10AM at Rombauer. The understated sign off Silverado Trail pointed past a beautifully pregnant patch of old vine Zinfandel and on up the hill to the tasting room and winery. The view down to the Napa Valley floor is breathtaking. As we walked in, we bumped into Rombauer’s winemaker Richie Allen. We had met in March when our son, Conch, and I came out for him to see the Napa side of winemaking. Richie looked up and without missing a beat, greeted us like he saw us every day. We chatted for a bit and Richie reported, like most other wine makers we’ve spoke with, that this will be one of the latest harvests in recent memory and for many is still 10 to 14 days away.

We were met in the tasting room by Rombauer’s social media director and fellow Texas Ex-Pat Hailey Cook. We had corresponded via Facebook over the past few months so it was nice to meet her. Hailey, like many others you meet along the way in Wine Country is passionate about her winery and very energetic. Hailey took us through the selection of Rombauer’s delicious new releases. She then poured two stems of their sumptuous desert wine, Joy, and we strolled along the wooded paths that surround the winery property. We ended up at the Lord of the Rings style cellar door where we met K.R. Rombauer, founder Koerner Rombauer’s son who serves as the National Sales Director

The real treat was the samples we tasted of Rombauer’s two single appellation Cabernets from Atlas Peak (2004) and the other from Stag’s Leap (2003) which in our opinion was the better of the two. One of the real benefits of traveling to wine country is the opportunity to taste and purchase very limited production wines that will never make to a store or restaurant. We spent a wonderful two hours at Rombauer. Hailey, thanks for showing us a little Texas Hospitality in Wine Country.

After a quick take out lunch of poppy seed coated seared tuna and smoked turkey at Dean and Deluca we headed up Howell Mountain to Dunn Vineyards. Dunn is a very small production winery making about 5,000 cases a year of some of the richest, best structured Cabernet you will ever taste. Before we arrived we had heard that the winery had a reputation as being unapproachable. Our experience was the polar opposite. We were greeted by the very friendly and enthusiastic Kristina Dunn, daughter of founder and legendary winemaker Randy Dunn. Randy was a true pioneer of fine Cabernet in Napa and much of their early days were chronicled the James Conway classic Napa – The Story of an American Eden.

Kristina walked with us around the small winery operation. No glitz or glamour here, just a family that knows how to and takes great pride in producing smokin’ good big boy Cabs. The family lives on the property along with barns, horses, dogs and critters. The vineyards snake around the property and are surrounded by one the most beautiful forests I’ve seen.

As we sat down to taste, the door in another room opened and in walked Randy Dunn in shorts and a tequila logo t-shirt. I probably would have less excited if Mick Jagger walked into the room. Randy sat and joined us for about 45 minutes and shared many stories of the early days of Napa and personalities that I had only read about. One interesting conversation we had was about the trend toward high alcohol wines. Dunn wines are surprisingly low alcohol at around 13.5% which brings out more terroir in the fruit and creates a cooler sensation on the palate.

Randy Dunn

With Randy and Kristina, we tasted their 2003, 2004 and 2005 Howell Mountain releases along with the 1998. It’s like being a kid in the candy store. Our preference was the 2003, probably just because it was aged longer. The 2005 was much more approachable than I expected it to be but will still age well for 15 or more years to come.

We spoke to Kristina about or son, the V&E major, and she offered to sell us a bottle from their library of his birth year wine, 1989 as a Christmas present. Of course, we bought it. I mention this to see if Conch and our other two really read the blog like they say they do.

The afternoon was growing late, long shadows from the enormous pines surrounded us and the horses were baying to be fed so we said our goodbyes and headed down Howell Mountain to the valley floor. Our guilty pleasures were nearly satisfied but there was one more treat to come.

We enjoyed an early dinner at the fantastic Go Fish Restaurant in St. Helena. More on this later but suffice it to say the food is a wonderful blend of sushi and non-Asian fish along with some beef and pasta entrees and a bartender, Jay, who is makes it all even better. Glenn Close, eating at a table behind us, seemed to be enjoying her meal, too.

We headed back to our B&B just after dark. The cloudless sky was full of stars and so we had no choice but to pull out a couple of wine glasses, sit on the grounds, watch the stars and enjoy a bottle of 1998 Dunn, a gift from Randy Dunn himself. Our guilty pleasures were now fully satisfied.

Emeritus Pinot Noir Grapes Approaching Harvest

If you  look at a map of Napa and Sonoma it appears that the trip between them is just a short hop from one wine country to another. The drive from Napa to Sonoma can take 45 minutes to an hour through beautiful winding mountain roads. The two areas both make great wine but in many ways that’s where the similarities end. One person told me to think of Napa as Las Vegas and Sonoma as Reno. The description isn’t far off. To me Sonoma is very reminiscent of the Napa I first visited 27 years ago. The countryside has much more of a rural feel and the folks seem much more casual and relaxed.Our first stop was Emeritus Pinot.

Emeritus was founded by Brice Cutrer Jones after he sold his namesake winery Sonoma Cutrer. Much of the Emeritus team came with him from Sonoma Cutrer. Emeritus is a working winery that is not really geared for tourists so we felt lucky to get shown around. I’ll write more on Emeritus later but don’t be surprised if you have not heard of their wines. The only make two Pinots, all from estate fruit. The Russian River Pinot is available in restaurants only and is immediately drinkable. The William Wesley Pinot is more structured and can be cellared for years to come. This wine is only available from the winery. Do yourself a favor and order a few bottles.We spent time in the vineyards with Ted Elliott learning about this year’s grape crop which, due to weather, has been challenging. We were able to taste nearly ripe grapes right off the vine.

We then toured their wine making facility and barrel room learning how the winemaking process for Pinot Noir is different from other winemaking. The highlight was getting a chance to taste unfermented freshly pressed pinot juice. It was absolutely delicious, very sweet and fruity. Take a cup of this juice, reduce it on the stove and pour it on homemade vanilla bean ice cream and it would rock your world.Pezzi King Vineyards and Winery

Pezzi King Vineyards and Winery

Our next stop was about 20 miles down the road at Pezzi King. We were not familiar with their wines until they invited us to visit. The long drive up a winding wooded mountain road was well worth the trip. As we reached the crest, we popped out into a bowl of vineyards and winery. Our tasting was done poolside at Rowe family residence (more like a villa) on a warm sunny afternoon. We had a lovely time with our hostess, Joanna and another visiting couple. During our tasting we were joined by Chris Barrett, the winemaker which is always a nice treat. The wines were all good but the two Zins stole the show and are a great value. The Riley’s Red Zin sells for $18 and the Old Vine Zin sells for $24. The OVZ is a well deserved double Gold medal winner. Again, these wines are great values and I’d suggest you grab or order some for yourself.

Jordan Vineyards Entrance

Our touring ended at the opulent Jordan Vineyards and Winery. The experience at Jordan has more of a Napa feel than the more casual atmosphere we found in other Sonoma wineries. That said, it is a great experience, a very good tour and elegant wine tasting. We visited Jordan for the first time in 1987 and we were so glad we came back. If you are a fan of Jordan, have you ever wondered why their wines are so consistent? They have had the same winemaker, Rob Davis, since their first harvest 1976. Our tour guide, Sean, was very fun and knowledgeable. The elegant dining room served as

tasting at Jordan

 our tasting room complete with fresh flowers arranged on the tables. Served with our wines was a selection of artisan cheeses and a bite of seared Ahi tuna served on a pepper tortilla chip, topped with a bit of quail egg. The best of show here was the 2003 Cabernet which is about to go into re-release. Grab a bottle if you see it.

We finished the evening in true Sonoma style sitting on the patio with friends and winemakers at the very stylish Affronti Restaurant. With live acoustic guitar in the background Donna and I met up Mark Blanchard of Blanchard Family Wines (click here to see our previous story) and his consulting winemaker Jene Chapanar of J. Cole Wines. Jene brought along an as yet to be released Super Tuscan (compete with hand sketched Sharpie label) and a couple of bottles of his sumptuous Syrah. Mark added a Pinot Gris from Windsor Oaks. The Pinot Gris was sourced from the same grapes Mark will be using when they add Pinot Gris to the Blanchard Family line up next year. I’m not generally a fan of Pinot Gris but I liked this one as it was unusually lush and creamy. Mark ordered a number of outstanding small plate appetizers for the four of us to share. Both of these guys are passionate and enthusiastic about their wines and a blast to hang with.

Unfortunately, we had the drive back to Napa ahead of us so we were forced to sip and not spend the evening drinking all wine in front of us. It all ended far too early.

Wine Caves at Kenzo Estate

Day 1

Each day we will give a summary of the day before. More detailed stories about many of the places we visit with specific wine recommendations will be posted in the weeks to come.

The fall B&B Napa/Sonoma sojourn I must admit had a dubious start. We were up at 5AM to make an 8:30 flight to San Francisco. While standing in the security line Donna received an automated call from Southwest Airlines saying our flight was delayed an hour due to weather in San Francisco. If you’ve ever been to the San Francisco airport and rented a car, you know what an arduous experience that is, including a 50 minute wait in line because Hertz had no cars. Fortunately, we got all the rough stuff out of the way early and had a great rest of the day.

The clouds of San Francisco dissipated as we drove across the bay bridge and on to Napa where it was sunny and 75 degrees. Our first stop was at the newly opened Kenzo Estate high above the town of Napa on Glass Mountain. Think of this as more of a destination winery rather than a stop by tasting room. This sleek, elegant winery is the 100 million dollar dream of Kenzo Tsujimoto of Japanese video game giant, Capcom. Heidi Barrett of Screaming Eagle fame is the winemaker.

When you arrive at the elegant yet understated winery expect to be greeted with a crisp glass of Sauvignon Blanc

Concrete Fermentation Tanks

 and given a short tour of their state of the art (and that’s an understatement) winemaking facility. The facility includes over 20,000 sq. ft of wine caves and computer/internet controlled fermentation tanks. The real treat is the wine tasting on the arbor covered patio furnished with elegant yet comfortable outdoor furniture. Kenzo Estate sits in 4000 acres, much of it untouched, lush and mountainous. All the grapes are estate grown on 70 acres. The view from the patio of vineyards and mountains is awe inspiring and the wines impeccable.

Provenance Vineyards

The only other folks tasting at Kenzo were a very engaging and wine savvy couple from Oakland. We sat around for almost an hour sharing wine stories. As they were leaving they suggested we stop by the tasting room at Provenance Vineyards which as luck would have it was on our way to the B&B where we are staying. So we really had no choice but to stop in. The fun and enthusiastic tasting room crew knew the gentleman by name that had referred us. The wine star of that show was the 2005 Hewitt Vineyards Cabernet. Another bonus for was that in this nicely appointed tasting room, one of our favorite Texas singers, Robert Earl Keen was playing on the stereo.

The evening finished with a wonderful dinner and wine at the bar complimented by good conversation with a couple of locals at Tra Vignae. The house made mozzarella and fried Meyer lemons (sounds weird but they were delicious) were unique standouts.

This morning we are off to Sonoma to visit Emeritus Pinot, Pezzi King and Jordan. We’ll finish the evening at dinner with Mark Blanchard of Blanchard Family Wines.

Bonny Wee Lassie in Texas Blue Bonnets

 A big “woof-woof” shout out to y’all. My name is Bonny Wee Lassie. No, I’m not a dog; I’m a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. What you probably don’t know is that I am the real driving force behind Bacchus and Beery Wine Blog and I’m here to tell you I’ve had enough!

The ‘rents (Roger & Donna) are off again on another wine country adventure. Where am I? Stuck here in Denver with those two damn cats. Last month it was the Texas Hill Country for grape harvest. I got to go to Austin but was stuck at home doing homeland security every time they left for wine tastings. Why can’t I go, too? People love me. The ‘rents just don’t get it. Now they’re off to Napa and Sonoma.

Will you help me? Ever since the ‘rents got that book on Winery Dogs, I knew being a Winery Cavalier was for me. I even follow Tucker and Tanner Shafer on Facebook so I know what to do. Dad says he’ll buy a winery and I can be the Winery Cavalier as soon a he wins the lottery. I don’t see that happening any time soon but at least he’s persistent. Hope he remembered to buy his lottery tickets before he left.

Here’s how you can help. If you have a beautiful winery with a beautiful tasting room where I can lie around (I prefer a leather couch) and enthusiastically greet our guests, I’m your girl. Hire me. I don’t like being dirty so I won’t spend much time in the vineyards and please, no snakes. But if it is slow, I’ll fetch a ball for you until your arm falls off. I do excel at fetching and I’m very good at barking at those mischievous delivery people. Can’t trust ‘em, I say.

Now wouldn’t that show the ‘rents who’s boss, if when they came home my bags were packed and I was ready for my new career as your Winery Cavalier? I’ll bet people would come to our tasting room just to meet me. Actually I’m sure of it. People love me and so I’d be good for your business. I’m not a picky eater; that’s good, too. See, I’d make the perfect Winery Caviler for you.

At the spa, I recently had a mani/pedi and my short nails makes typing ruff (that’s a little dog humor). So leave me a note and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

Cheers,

Bonny Wee Lassie

(To clear up any confusion, this is intended to be funny because Bonny hates to be left behind. We are not actually putting up for adoption)

By Donna Beery

I love neighborhood wine bars!  Of course, the other half of B & B would say that I just love wine anywhere.  That being said,, a wine bar becomes a neighborhood wine bar and one of my favorites because the staff treats you like family each time you visit.  Of course, they need to have good food, wine and atmosphere.  Since I split my time between the south suburbs of Denver, Colorado and Austin Texas, I have favorites in both cities.

Indulge Wine Bar – 1601 Mayberry Drive, Highlands Ranch, CO 

This is truly a neighborhood wine bar.  Most of the patrons live within the surrounding area and are thrilled to not to leave suburbia for good food and wine.  Owners Peter Fatianow and Delinda Romero do a fantastic job keeping a friendly, knowledgeable staff.  Peter and Delinda often are on hand to greet new customers as well as visit with long time fans.  They help to create a relaxed and friendly atmosphere which translates into most of the people at the bar talking to each other.  We always look forward to meeting new people and reconnecting with people we have met in our many visits to Indulge.  John Benson, the general manager and wine director, is on hand to help with your wine selections and I think he has one of the best palates I have encountered in my wine journey.  I always enjoy tasting wines with John because I learn so much from him.  Delinda put together our daughter’s graduation thank you dinner for out of town guests and did a great job.  Our family and friends from Texas and Maine fell in love with Indulge and where treated like visiting royalty (I think some of them let it go to their heads for the weekend).  The atmosphere, the delicious food, happy hour and the serene patio with a stunning Rocky Mountain view makes this one of my favorite wine bars and, in my opinion, a must try.

Cru Wine Bar - The Vistas at Park Meadows Mall, Lone Tree, CO

Yes, Cru is an upscale chain I think if you would give the location near you a try, you will find that it can become a favorite neighborhood wine bar.  We have also visited the downtown Denver Cru as well as the Cru in downtown Austin and had positive experiences. We frequent Cru – Park Meadows in The Vistas at Park Meadows Mall.  Once again the place is filled with friendly and knowledgeable staff, like Michelle and Ryan There is some chatting among bar customers but not as much as Indulge because it has more of a date night atmosphere.  The big, bald smiling man that greets you is Brian Thompson, the manager, who started at Cru as our favorite “guy behind the bar”; he is great to talk with and knows his wines.  One thing we love about Cru is that they offer an extensive, frequently changing and varied selection of wine by the glass, all severed at the perfect temperature.  Girlfriends; room temperature does not mean the room temperature in Denver and definitely not Austin. It means in the cellar in our castle across the pond, oops; I’m Asian so I never had one of those. 

Cru does amazing wine dinners at reasonable prices and I would strongly suggest you try one. They also have special events like Big Bottle Night and Girl’s Night Out – Champagne Tastings. I believe the Cru locations, especially mine, have definitely overcome the chain image to become one of my favorite neighborhood wine bars.

The Grove Wine Bar & Kitchen – 6317 Bee Caves Road   Austin, Texas

I am not sure I can be totally objective on this favorite of mine and I will tell you why.  In our early 30’s, Reed Clemons, the owner of The Grove, opened Mezzuluna in downtown Austin, which was the first upscale restaurant to have a lively wine bar happy hour scene.  The bartender, Ben Baroden, who watched my now 21 year old son, and a Viticulture and Enology major at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, crawl on the bar, has moved with Reed to The Grove.  Conch no longer crawls (at least that we know of) on the bar. He now discusses wines with Bennie. Behind the bar, are Tyson, super knowledgeable about his food and wine and a bit sassy and Kerry who is always smiling and there to care good care of you. Reed has realized that all of us have grown up and move to the suburbs.  His menu is family oriented with all the best recipes from all his previous restaurant endeavors along with great wines for Mom and Dad.  Another benefit is that all of The Grove’s wines are available for retail and can be taken home to enjoy. The enormous decks with “Big Ass” fans (yes we live in Texas and that is a brand of fan) and great water feature that muffles the road noise are fantastic.  If you don’t care to fight the crowd at UT home games, the deck’s big screens are tuned in so you have a 50 yard line seat with someone bringing you great wines. I say that my favorite wine bars treat you like family but The Grove really is family. 

My closing advice is, find a wine bar in your neighborhood, hoist yourself up onto a bar stool and make it your own.  Happy sipping.