March 22^nd Siduri Winery & Swanson Vineyards

Our dear friend Gabe, purveyor of fine wines from Chambers & Chambers, brought along 8 goodies for our 30+ audience of wine enthusiasts from two highly reputed producers, and in the confluence of wine enthusiasm, education and some just think we’re plain mad, we dive into another infamous Tuesday night tasting event at Rancho Cellars.

Swanson Vineyards, based in the Napa Valley, prides itself on small lots of Pinot Grigio, Merlot and a proprietary blend called Alexis, among other things, providing the culture of wine that pervades around the country with vino from one of the premiere growing region the U.S. has to offer (ever hear of the Napa Valley, thought so) at a price that puts many of its neighbors to shame.

Gabe also brought along the wines of Siduri, with Jill Kennedy, who travels to and fro promoting the products and dream of Adam and Diana Lee—native Texans who on a shoestring budget sought to produce world-class Pinot Noir from only the finest fruit available. The couple micro-manages every aspect of the vineyard and production making dozens of vineyard and appellation designate Pinots yet only just over 9000 cases a year. Quite a feat considering they buy grapes from Oregon to Santa Barbara County and a multitude of places in between.

Our best of show was bifurcated amongst the two wine labels, with Swanson Vineyards 2001 Alexis Estate Red Wine ($55) from Oakville in the Napa Valley clearly presenting itself as the best of the best per our tasters intrinsic analysis. Chef Janet chose a bite-size assembly of chateaubriand with roasted fingerling potatoes and a horseradish crème frâche sauce for pairing and the two couldn’t have been a better match. The proportions change every year and in 2001 the wine consist of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Syrah, 5% Cabernet Franc and 5% Merlot. Black fruits, cedar and a rich, plush mouth feel greet the senses—this is a food wine and as stated meats and veggies makes this a prime time feast.

The decision to choose a best of show winner for the Siduri Wines was a nail-biter for quite a few, with four different Pinot Noirs to choose from as well as Siduri’s other label, Novy, wherein a 2003 Sonoma County Syrah ($20.50) was put forth as wine number eight of the night. But ultimately it was the Pinot that prevailed, specifically the 2002 Muirfield Vineyard Pinot Noir ($39) from the Willamette Valley in Oregon. Since 1995 Adam and Diana have been trucking fruit in refrigerated trucks down to the facility in Santa Rosa for processing, and I thank them! Very pronounced in the nose with floral, lavender and black cherry notes, continuing on the palate with cherry, earth and mineral tones. As if the wine wasn’t balanced enough, throw in grilled salmon over zucchini and onion couscous salad on a slice of crusty bread and taste the magic meld and melt in the mouth.

It is always a fascinating experience to compare and contrast the wares of wineries and have the opportunity to hear their stories. Certainly my own keen interest revolves around this cultural thing called wine and alas I get to share and pass on what I’ve learned with the hopes that you too will enjoy the pleasures that these fantastic winemakers put so much time and effort into being. Remember, without them we’d be very thirsty!

March 29^th US West Coast Chardonnay

Sales guru Adam and long-time friend and throned ‘Chardonnay King’ Michael Burke from the Carmel Cheese Shop led our group of Chard-O-Holics down the west coast, from Washington’s Columbia Valley to Santa Barbara County’s Santa Rita Hills AVA (American Viticultural Area) and alongside we threw in some spectacular cheeses to match.

Michael is the king of Chardonnay, knowing every imaginable detail under the sun about producers, not just in the United States but throughout the environs of old-world wines, namely France and specifically Burgundy. The topics meandered along malic acid (think tart) conversion to lactic acid (think creamy), acidification of wines, clonal selections and the decision by many ‘purest’ winemakers to not fine nor filter the wines upon bottling (so what if it’s a little cloudy!).

Our best of show was an outright eight wine face-off with a significant nod towards wine number six from the Los Carneros region in Sonoma County. The 2002 Mi Sueño ($35), Spanish for ‘My Dream’, representing the dream of a family’s immigration from Michoacan in Mexico and the opportunity to work for themselves, doing something they love—making wine. Personally I would typify this wine as a rich butterball, rather untypical of the Carneros region (for me) which both Sonoma and Napa share at the shores of San Francisco Bay. Rolando Herrera, founder of Mi Sueño, likes using three different clones allowing flexibility in blending and ultimately a wine with greater complexity.

Not very far behind the outright winner was the yet to be released 2002 Bernardus Rosella’s Chardonnay ($N/A) from the local environs of the Santa Lucia Highlands. Very complex with apple, ginger, citrus and vibrant acidity in the mouth—a wine that will develop a lot more over the next couple of years. Given the close ties with our neighbor Bernardus in Carmel Valley we were extremely lucky to try this succulent wine (the current offering is actually the 2000 vintage from the winery) and unfortunately it may be another year and a half before this vintage hits the store shelves.

Chardonnay is one of the most vastly grown wine grapes on earth as well as one of the most recognized in reference to wine. As a result the mass-production and micro-production of wine style, and also respect for the varietal, have waned in so many directions it can be construed as being something like the homogenous pizza—you want a little butterscotch, pineapple and 100% malolactic fermentation with that, no than how about some slate, steel and mineral? Nevertheless, beautiful examples exist and the west coast of North America has the ability to emulate any style and at almost any price point, a certain advantage for all those Chard-centric folk swirling and swiping spring afternoon days away.

April 5^th 2003 German Riesling Tasting

Davoe Price from the Vienna Wine Company brought along a sampling of the profoundly desirable Terry Thiese selection, specifically his chosen Rieslings from the hyped 2003 vintage. Just hitting the shelves in the last few months, the slender green and brown bottles from these famed winegrowing areas in Germany aren’t having trouble dismissing the hype as a result of a spectacularly warm year in 2003 (thought to be the warmest since 1540!). The line-up of eight wines was intended to show our tasters what the primary regional producers have to offer in relation to Troken (literally means dry) and Halbrtocken (literally means half-dry) wines at various levels of sweetness (not all German wines are sweet mind you!).

Our literary guide was the Terry Thiese Manifesto, as I call it, more a novel than product portfolio pamphlet and going in depth about not only the producers themselves but also industry trends, breakdowns of the often misunderstood classification and labeling system German wines adhere to, as well as intermixed slightly esoteric meandering thoughts that Terry just can’t help but pass on to avid readers such as Davoe and I.

Our best of show was broken up between the best value Riesling and the overall best Riesling that our audience could conjure remembering smacking their lips towards during our 2-hour escapade. The ‘value winner’ of the night was the Merkelbach Ürizger Würzgarten Riesling Spätlese ($19) from the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer along the Mosel River. Noted for having generous fruit in the nose and mouth, with green apple, apricot and soft peach mingling nicely with the mineral and slightly salty notes on the finish. This in-house favorite paired wonderfully with a simple pâté over crusty bread—marvelous for the price!

The outright best of show went to the Müller-Catoir Fimmeldinger Mandelgarten Riesling Kabinett ($36) from the up and coming Phalz region just south of the rolling hills of the Rheinhessen. The Phalz is being proclaimed as one of Germany’s most happening regions and this Kabinett is plenty dry in the mouth with lots of herbal notes like flowering rosemary, lavender and a bit of spice to perk up the senses. A savory food pairing was a humble slice of a brie and grape tart.

I adore Riesling over any other white grape vinified. It’s racy, vibrant, refreshing and mineral—all the qualities that make my mouth water. Furthermore, when those sugar levels get bumped up by overripe grapes and the little fungus that could (Botrytis cinerea) takes hold, dehydrating the grapes, taking sugar levels to the moon—you end up with a silky, sticky, scrumptious concoction that practically brings tears to my eyes (actually it may just be a bit of drool, I’ll be honest it’s not a pretty sight).

In comparison to other European wines on the market today the value that is in every bottle of German Riesling is a true treasure and something that is extremely versatile with a wide array of foods and occasions. Additionally, the 2003 vintage will go down in living memory as one of the most unique of our generation and some of the Auslese and Eisweins will have the ability to go along with us into the latter half of this century. Beware, German Riesling is sort of a secret amongst us wine folk so buy and drink what you can now because once the masses learn I predict fistfights and little old ladies kicking butt to get those last few bottles on our store shelves.

April 12^th Northern Italy Piedmont

The French have invaded Piedmont! Well actually it was singularly Mr. Melac who took on the daunting task of conveying to our audience, in French-accented Italian lingo, the complexity, diversity and beauty that are the wines from this classic Italian winegrowing region.

Piedmont doesn’t produce much in the way of white wines, although we were able to try a few outstanding native varietals-specifically an Arneis and a Cortese, both exhibiting stone fruit, citrus, floral and mineral notes. Yet 70% of wines produced are red, with both indigenous and new addition varietals, like Merlot, filling out the spaces amongst rolling hillsides and seven DOCG designated wines (DOCG being the Italian ‘guarantee’ that an Italian wine came from the certain place identified on its label) as well as 44 DOCs, like Barbera d’Alba as an example.

Our best of show adventure for the evening was a mixed bag of best white, best red and the best Barolo we tasted. The best white wine was granted to the 2003 Ceretto Arneis Blange ($21), the grape name Arneis translating to mean someone who is difficult or demanding, not a far cry from a grape notorious for throwing fits and tantrums in the vineyards as well as at the hands of even the most eager and patience winemakers. However, our audience found it seemingly easy to savor the crisp and tangy wine, jumping with stone fruit and floral notes. The pairing with a shredded zucchini, mint and Pecorino cheese salad couldn’t have been more complimentary.

Classic brick-red color with varying rim tones and a perfume of spices and cedar greet the nose. Tannins are still robust but juicy red fruits add composure to the mix. The preceding could be none other then a Barolo, well actually it could be quite a lot of things but be assured we were drinking Nebbiolo, the classic grape of Barolo and its often perceived softer cousin Barbaresco. With the exception of the beautiful 2003 Bruno Giacosa Dolcetto D’Alba Faletto ($23.50) and a Barbera, the reminder was what many clearly sought for in placating themselves at Rancho Cellars for nearly two hours.

Much time is generally needed for an exquisite Barolo to reach a level of maturity, granting complexity, which can lead to a soft silky delight—especially when the right foods are thrown in just for fun. We tried a 1996, 1997 and a 1998 (the Barbaresco was also a 1998) all alongside polenta stuffed mushrooms, pork loin with a fig, onion and balsamic compote, magret of duck and even a little simple fontina cheese. In the end it was narrowly the 1997 Seghesio Barolo La Villa ($69.95) that claimed it king amongst our audience in the instance of Barolo. The overall favorite red was the 1998 Ceretto Barbaresco Bricco Asili ($99.95) for those of you keeping a weekly score.

For decades Italian winemakers have been shifting the tide of traditions that have been passed down for generations and it is this new generation of winemakers that continues those practices but is also making a wine that can be enjoyed in a multitude of settings, a wine that can be drunken in it’s youth but will also benefit greatly the keeper whom can manage to hold onto a precious bottled tucked away in some dark cellar stoop. Rest assured the impact of Piedmont won’t waver, more rather the diversity and continued excellence will continue to strengthen its roots for all to taste.

April 19^th Global Sauvignon Blanc Tasting

A principle of leading you along our adventure in wine, be it during one of our Tuesday night tasting events, an offering in our wine club, or a simple stroll through the aisles with echoed answers to any and all questions chanted back, is the concept of education and understanding, always pacing along side. We believe that the more you know about what you’re drinking, where it came from and who produced it, etcetera and etcetera, you will appreciate it more and further fine-tune your likes and dislikes. In the end no one wine is greater than any other; we all get to be individual in that perspective.

A slight bought of confusion wafted but Jacques took on a worldly pouring of Sauvignon Blanc, with the confusion stemming from the fact that we were doing this tasting out of brown bags, or blind. Our esteemed attendance of oenophiles only knew two things-the wine was Sauvignon Blanc and we gave them 8 earthly locations from which we felt best represented the grape from that particular place.

To make it all the more confusing (and fun!), Jacques read out paragraphs of information for each wine, but with the twist that the order in which he presented the wine was not that of which we poured—ahhh, mass hysteria ensues!

In fact we found that several of our tasters were already trained in the arts of blind wine tasting. They scoped out the bottle as it drifted by and relentlessly pestered us pour pourers about tidbits for which even we couldn’t divulge, for we also didn’t know what wine was in the bag with that exception that it came from one of eight places: California, British Columbia, South Africa, New Zealand, Italy and two from France, the Loire Valley and Bordeaux.

In the instance of food pairings our in-house Cordon Bleu trained chef Janet created an array of tasty tidbits that always seem to pair well with this grape regardless of origin. Cherry tomatoes with curried aioli, eggplant purée with curry naan bread, Garum Marsala Chicken with tomato chutney and an array of goat cheese, like Boucheron or St Maure.

The best of show was an eight on eight match-up with the 2004 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc ($23) from the Marlborough region on New Zealand’s South Island coming out the strong favorite. This is a wine that has truly put New Zealand on the world scene, particularly for cooler climate varietals. Herbal and grassy notes prevailed with just a touch of that classic gooseberry that is so very Sauvignon Blanc, particularly from New Zealand. On the palate a medium to full-bodied wine shows off a touch of spice with lemony citrus and herbal notes. We paired the wine up with Janet’s oven-warmed herbed mussels on the half-shell, a perfect pairing with Sauvignon Blanc.

With such a great response and enthusiasm over this format we certainly have enough grapes out there, grown in all major growing regions and often a stunning display of what is possible at the hands of a wily winemaker. We may choose the silky and sensuous Pinot Noir or perhaps the movie mocked Merlot, only time will tell. Be assured you’ll go away knowing more than the average wine connoisseur and maybe even have the gumption to host your own blind tasting party. We’re happy to make those recommendations of course.

April 26^th Robert Craig Cellars & Tablas Creek Vineyard

Jim Knight of The Henry Wine Group brought along a fabulous selection of fine wines from two distinct producers in opposite regions from California’s vast holdings of vines and vino.

First up was Tablas Creek, the vision of the Perrin family of Château de Beaucastel and Robert Haas of Vineyard Brands, who sought to recreate the growing and production of fine Rhône style wines in California. They specifically chose the western hills of Paso Robles for its limestone soils and ocean influence, subsequently imported all the key white and red grape varietals (vine cuttings) directly from the Rhône Valley in France and continue the traditional winemaking practices that have made them so world famous.

While Jim gave the low down for Tablas Creek it was Elton Slone, director of national sales and marketing from Robert Craig, who ran us through the intricacies of all that is Chardonnay, Cabernet and Syrah. A strong European wine lover, Robert’s first start in the early 90’s gained critical acclaim and since then the wines have maintained an elegance and refinement, not to mention value, that many other producers from the Napa Valley either never obtained or quickly ramped up production to levels where eventual quality was grossly compromised.

Our best of show run-down was split between our two esteemed wineries, with a majority choosing the best Tablas Creek wine as the 2003 Rousanne ($27), perfectly paired with sliced tomato and curried aioli over crusty bread. A touch of vanilla and coconut in the nose and a big, robust mouthfeel of pear, mineral and marzipan contrasted beautifully with the spiciness of the curry and the creaminess of the aioli.

The best of show for Robert Craig was a near tie between the 2000 Mt. Veeder Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($30) and the 2002 Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon ($52.50), but ultimately the higher elevation Howell Mountain wine took the prize. Paired up with a New York grilled steak and garlic-laced green beans, this 100% Cabernet Sauvignon shows off the intensity that stressed vines from rocky soils and high elevations (2,300ft) exemplify. Polished with dark fruits, black pepper and herbal tones, the strong tannins and vibrant acidity depict a young wine with many years of potential to look forward to.

The fierce integrity to maintain a certain level of standards, both in grape growing and winemaking, are hallmark traits for both Tablas Creek and Robert Craig. The future looks bright for these wine establishments from their high vantage points above Napa Valley and the rolling hills of Paso Robles. In regards to Tablas Creek, many winemakers are actively seeking out ‘Tablas Clones’, they’ve got nearly 16 to choose from, as the vineyard nursery continues to satisfy the growing demand for Rhône grapes throughout California and beyond.

The production of mostly Cabernet Sauvignon and related red Bordeaux varietals that are centric to Robert Craig will only grow at a snail pace, especially if top-notch fruit continues to raise in price as well as availability. Currently at about 7,600 cases annually, the results of winemaker Chad Alexander and the love of wine by Robert and wife Lynn are certain to ensure that only the best of the best ends up in each and every bottle from Robert Craig Wine Cellars.

May 3^rd Cal-Italia Tasting

A packed house was eager to see what we had in store for the evening’s theme of Californian grown and vinified Italian varietals. Some familiar and several rare and obscure concoctions were put onto display during our two hour escapade of wine and food. In-house sales guru Adam put together a spectacular mixed-bag line-up of white, red and a dessert wine finale for our fellow companions to dissect and distract themselves amongst the setting sun in beautiful Carmel.

Italian varieitals have been a mainstay amongst planted vines from the earliest days of California statehood with many gold rush miners quickly realizing they would make more money selling grapes or wine than trying to dig-up the mother lode. Additionally, several prominent wine families, some still in existence today, brought along the traditions of their homelands, further entrenching the vines into fertile soil.

Our best of show contest was split up between the white and red wines with our lone sweet dessert wine taking the spotlight all its own. The delicious Non Vintage California Vin Santo ($15) from winemaker Jim Moore, and his L’Uvaggio di Giacomo label, was a rare find and showed off raison and toffee with a nutty finish matched by a cube of Parrano cheese. This is a wine that should be just slightly chilled when serving so that the aromatics and flavors really have a chance to waft from the glass.

The best white wine of the evening was a landslide victory for offering number one, the 2004 Cá del Solo Malvasia Bianca ($13.50) from the acreage that Bonny Doon Vineyards, based in Santa Cruz, owns. This highly esoteric winery has a substantial foothold in southern Monterey County with a wide array of varietals beset just across the way from the state penitentiary. Pan seared Monterey Bay Salmon with cucumber, tomato and arugula was neatly packaged onto a crisp leaf of endive accentuating the tropical, litchi and stone fruit flavors. The wine was also bone-dry in the mouth and with a racy level of acidity proving to be the ultimate refresher for the start of our night.

The best red was narrowly granted to the 2001 Shafer ‘Firebreak’ Napa Valley ($35), a Cal-Italia Super-Tuscan, comprised of 93% Sangiovese and 7% Cabernet Sauvignon. Paired with an eggplant, roasted pepper and tomato pizza, the earthy and robust nature of the wine was a subtle reminder to a classic Tuscan version. Red fruits and a floral essence of violets and roses also protruded, while the balance between acidity and tannins was magnificent.

As if we hadn’t pestered our oenophile audience enough with competition and voting, a best of the best challenge for the night was evoked and the winner was the 2000 Paras Vineyard Nebbiolo Mt. Veeder, Napa Valley ($45), showing classic qualities of baking spices, cocoa and red fruits. Paired with a rosemary poached pork loin with white beans, the combinations were perfect and the little seen California born Nebbiolo was a treat to taste.

As the globe homogenizes in-tune with consumer demand for a diverse set of wines, as opposed to your standard Chardonnay, Cabernet, Merlot bunch, we’ll certainly see a proliferation of not only new varieties from unknown wards amongst vine acres but also a new standard in exceptional quality from those Cal-Italia wines already rooted in golden state soil.

May 10^th Under $30 Sparkling Wine Tasting

Our weekly tour of wine and food required a glass flute in every hand as 30-plus fizz freaks (I use that term in a good way!) descended upon Rancho Cellars for a worldly view of sparkling wines in all manner of delineation. Champagne, that being wine from the famed French region itself, was put on the wayside so the likes of Prosecco, Cava, Sekt and several wines made in the traditional la méthode champenoise could be pulled from their wire-encased chambers set for our dissection.

Sparkling wine, including Champagne, is something that for a variety of reasons conjures up a notion of elitism and subsequently has been consigned to the environs of weddings, anniversaries and that annual stroke of midnight festivity. Much of this is attributed towards price but also the fact that once a bottle of bubbly is opened its longevity is much, much more limited than that of a still wine. So the mindset of the evening was a display of inexpensive yet high quality sparklers that quite conceivably can be enjoyed on a daily basis.

Most wine producing regions or countries produce some sort of sparkling wine and use a wide variety of techniques to achieve the basic goal-bubbles in the juice. Certainly the traditional method developed and refined by the likes of Dom Perignon and Madame Clicquot are mimicked extensively, but technology has also allowed for very similar wines to be made at a fraction of the time and cost with little decline in quality.

Our best of show was an all out competition, eight on eight, with a near tie between the non-vintage Solter Sekt Riesling Brut ($24) from the Rheingau in Germany and the non-vintage Gruet Brut ($14.50) from the high desert of Albuquerque New Mexico. The longtime house-favorite sparkling wine made in the traditional méthode champenoise, the Gruet, was triumphant and equal acclaim came for the cheese gougeres, piping hot out of the oven and oozing with creamy goodness, which we devoured alongside.

Given the variety of sparkling wines tasted we thought it would also be interesting to do a worst of show feature, and it was with great amusement that three quarters of our panel chose the Australian non-vintage Fox Creek Sparkling Shiraz/Cabernet Franc/Cabernet Sauvignon as their least favorite overall. Frankly this is a great wine but definitely something off the beaten path, a hate it or leave it kind of beverage.

The quest for inexpensive, notably under $30, sparkling wine was a washing success and I even noted that at the price of some of these bottles you could do a lot more than just sipping (for some reason a bubble bath came to mind). The fact of the matter is, sparkling wine, including Champagne, is something to enjoy in any setting and will only add joy to your mouth and to your senses as the tiny balls of carbon dioxide tickle your tongue and the refreshing sensation of each sip coaxes you into a realm all it’s own. Cheers to that!

May 17^th Face-Off: Chile Vs. Argentina

The match was set; the battle would be fierce and if it weren’t for copious amounts of wines in breakable bottles forming a phalanx around us I have no doubt Scott Thomasen from Epic Wines would have landed me a good right-hook with his glove at the slightest escape of my attention towards our competition.

Our goal was to convince our respected oenophile bunch that Chilean wines were far superior to that of Argentina, or was it the other way around? Regardless, these two South American countries have a long-established grape growing and winemaking history yet it is only within the last couple of years that the world has really been able to see the excellent quality and value that stems from these southern latitudes.

Separation by the Andes Mountains plays a huge role in the terroir related aspects of what grows well and of course what wines we might see on shelves and into our glassware. On the Pacific side (Chile), big blue has a major impact in moderating temperature and creating an environment very similar to that of Central California, both coastal and valley. On the Atlantic side, up several thousand feet and into the more arid Altos de Mendoza region, different elements like lack of moisture, as well as gophers, provide ideal conditions for grapes like Malbec and Syrah.

Our best of show was an elaborate ceremony of multiple voting schemes, probably enough that we gave a few persons carpal tunnel syndrome, yet this is a necessity (I need something to fill a few paragraphs every week or I look like a slacker) because the proof would only come from our tasters as to whom brought the best wines to the bar on this particular evening at Rancho Cellars.

Pairs of wines, one from each country were voted side-by-side and it was Argentina that won three out of the four, with the first vote actually being a tie. An overall best white wine and red wine challenge was also put forth to vote and the 2004 Crios de Susana Balbo Torrontes Cafayate from Argentina ($14) took center stage. Paired with a grilled salmon and spicy tartar sauce baby lettuce salad, the obscure Torrontes, a hybrid of Criolla (Mission) and Muscat de Alexandria grapes, has a nose of passion fruit and wildflowers with moderate acidity and a slight herbaceous finish, perfect for our spiced salmon salad.

The best red wine of the night was (gasp!) from Argentina, that being the 2003 Tikal Malbec from Mendoza ($31) and showing beautiful Malbec characteristics, a compliment to what’s becoming the quintessential grape in Argentina. Flavors of roasted meats contrasted wonderfully with silky, creamy ripe tannins, all pairing well with a toothpick-poked tri tip with snap peas and roasted fingerling potatoes.

In the end I had to bow down to the holy Argentine grail as I was out voted time and time again, actually it was a fairly substantial sweep, yet one of the important reminders of this entire activity is to keep in mind that just because one or two (ok three) wines from a specific region or country don’t meet expectation the odds exist that a plethora of others will. Additionally, many up and coming wine regions start off by exporting en masse inexpensive wines, some good-some bad, but with time they are able to reach the acclaims of many and it is then that they can proudly hold-up the winning title belt and claim themselves masters of their region. For now Argentina holds the spot but rest-assured a re-match will prove differently the next time we meet (queue the evil laugh).

May 24^th Regional Bordeaux Tasting

The Bordeaux region in France is vast and comprised of far more than those First-Growths like Rothschild and Margaux commanding top-dollar and often needing decades to reach the maturity a vigneron envisioned. A multitude of smaller districts provides the opportunity to taste some classic examples of what can be done with Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and the remaining approved grape varietals that can be grown, all at a price that’s easy to digest.

Our regional tour sought to highlight our perception that this particular wine-centric spot is in the midst of an evolution rather than a revolution often seen in recent media. Grape growing and winemaking are taking on new forms as a result of global pressures and a complicated system of legal requirements, which have made the French wine business difficult for the current generation who strive to mimic what their fathers, grandfathers and great-grandfathers accomplished before them.

The best of show was a match-up of two whites and six red wines. On the white side it was narrow win for the 2002 Château Croustaut ($10.50) from the Graves region, showing off the citrus and floral qualities one would expect from 45% Sauvignon Blanc, 45% Sémillon and 10% Muscadelle. Chef Janet paired a mushroom goat cheese tart and the ohhs and ahhs wafted hither and fro about the room.

The top-pick for red wine was another tight race but the 2001 Château Belle-Vue ($31.25) from the Haut-Médoc took the prize. Seven small Châteaus focus production on a mere 3000 cases, blending 38% Merlot, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Petite Verdot, all from organic grapes, for their 2001 vintage. This is a classic wine, fully intense in the mouth, showing vibrant acidity with red fruits and coffee-chocolate tints in the nose. What better then beef to match red Bordeaux and the grilled New York with roasted new potatoes was a smashing conjuncture of solid and liquid flavors.

Overall, the mood was satisfaction, certainly for the wines, but our French host Jacques felt that the quality of wine and the grouping of style and taste were cleansing to his palate. This wasn’t a typical tasting at Rancho Cellars, where we may sip on a big and bold California Chardonnay; try some heavy Syrah or Zinfandel and finish off with an 18% alcohol fortified dessert wine—a feast no doubt but certainly something that could be overwhelming to many. Yet the traditions continue and the classic taste of Bordeaux is still showing strong with no need to expect the inexpensive reds and whites to lack in any way, shape, or form from truly dynamic depth of flavor and satisfaction.

This evolution has brought about innovation and awareness yet shouldn’t necessarily compromise the quality, rather make these wines more approachable today for a thirsty world. The vintages of the future will be the only tarot card to read.

May 31^st Kathryn Kennedy and Bernardus

Two of the finest wine making establishments not from that valley just north of the city by the bay were present for our final Tuesday night tasting at Rancho Cellars in the month of May; Kathryn Kennedy from Saratoga on the eastern side of the Santa Cruz Mountains and local Carmel Valley favorite Bernardus.

Kathryn Kennedy is as small a winery operation as it can get with just a few full-time employees and while visiting Director of Sales Eric Fountain spends much of his time making sales calls and contemplating marketing strategy he also does a fair amount of odds and ends, purely because the small team he’s part of has no one else to call on. Pulling weeds or promoting the wineries brand new and first ever Sauvignon Blanc ($22) is his 9-5, yet that can also bleed into weekends with scheduled tasting events, winery dinners and such—certainly a role with never a dull moment.

Dean de Korth has been around wineries for over 20 years, spending a fair amount of those early days working in France, Burgundy and the Loire Valley, prior to recent jobs at local vinifying bodies like Morgan, Talbott and David Bruce. Now the newly minted winemaker at Bernardus, Dean gave us countless stories on his fascination with wine as well as his liking for wisteria (to Dean everything seemed to smell of this non-grapevine on this particular night).

Our best of show breakdown of the night was a simple best of each winery regardless of white, red, price or availability. For Kathryn Kennedy it was a close call between the Cabernet mainstay of winemaker Marty Mathis—the 2001 Small Lots Cabernet Sauvignon ($57) from the Santa Cruz Mountains narrowly lost out to the 2001 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon ($140), the estate fruit coming from 32-year old vines that Kathryn and her family planted decades ago. The latter Cabernet is something of magnificence, with classic pencil, plum and red currant notes and remarkably approachable in its youth. Paired up with a wedge of old Amsterdam gouda cheese, the marvel of this wine is, as said, drinkable now, but traditionally these wines will hold up for decades, only adding to their grace.

Bernardus saw its 2001 Chardonnay ($40) from the Rosella’s Vineyard out of the Santa Lucia Highlands take the crown as best of show, matched up with a Spanish chicken and olive salad conveniently served in the bite-size lettuce leaf itself. Flavors of buttered pear, ripe green apple, racy acidity and soft toasted oak tones exemplify this as classic in-your-face California Chardonnay.

Small production in the instance of Kathryn Kennedy and vineyard designate focused wines from Bernardus are what truly set these two wine houses apart from the mass-produced and often bland bottles of red and white that dominate many shelves throughout the country. Our patrons and we alike realize the distinction between a handcrafted and limited product to that of one made in a gross of thousands, so with that in mind we’re more then willing to shell out a few extra bucks per bottle because we know that the wine that ends up in our glass will be far superior. Cheers to that!

June7^th Global Syrah/Shirz Tasting-Blind Origin

Most Tuesday nights at Rancho Cellars involve one or many of our staff babbling on about various wines and vines, or we may prod and poke a special winemaker guest about their wares, yeast usage and levels of toast they prefer at the head of their French or American oak barrel.

However, to keep our audience of wine-o-philes engaged we chose to put together a blind tasting of Syrah (Shiraz if you prefer-of course they are the same grape) from around the globe with the hopes of spooning out a bit of education, a la compare and contrast, and we hoped that some of our sippers would actually be astute enough to call out the name of the wine prior to ripping the garnet-stained bag from whatever bottle it had enveloped—and some did, we were pleasantly surprised.

Succinctly put (yeah, that’s an oxymoron when it comes to my typing or speaking for that matter) we gave everyone a list of places and the tasting notes that each of these wineries broadcast for their Syrah/Shiraz, yet the wines were poured in a completely random order—a sequence I wasn’t even aware of. From Carmel Valley and the Shenandoah Valley in California to South Africa, Chile, New Zealand, France’s Rhône Valley and Barossa or Mt. Benson in Australia we attempted to match-up the wines to what the winemakers notes embody—sometimes they were accurate, sometimes they weren’t.

Our best, and worst, of show had very interesting results. On the ‘worst’ aspect of things our audience overwhelmingly chose the 2001 Tardieu-Laurent Hermitage ($102) from the Northern Rhône in France. The fascinating angle to this loser was when the winners were later chosen they rung in at about a third of the price—which goes to show that just because a wine is expensive doesn’t necessarily always mean it will be the best wine to you or I. However it should be noted that in the after hours a few lonely employees who had stuck around gave this wine another whirl in the glass and low and behold with some time spent open in our oxygen rich environment a stunning example of Syrah cam forth.

In the ‘best’ aspect of things it was a tie between two new world producers: Chile and Carmel Valley. The 2003 Equilibrio ($26.50), from the Rapel Valley in Chile, offered a generous nose of violets and assorted floral components, along with typical white and black pepper tones. Fairly fruit-forward in the mouth with juicy red currant, strawberry and moderate tannins and nicely paired with a magret of duck with spicy garlic ginger green beans.

The other half of the winning camp came from Bill Parsons and his Carmel Valley Parsonage Village Vineyard 2003 Estate Syrah ($36), which we were lucky enough to be the first public audience to try this yet to be released wine. Bill himself came and presented his wine, noting the ripe-intense fruits flavors, spiciness and a mineral core granting great intensity to the youthful wine. This happened to also be my personal favorite of the night but alas until I sell the rest of his ’02 contacting the winery directly is the only source (feel free: www.parsonagewine.com).

With purple stained teeth and much education gained several of our weekly squatters could pat themselves on the back for correctly guessing many of the wines poured blind in front of them. Additionally, much debate had ensued throughout the night as to what Syrah/Shiraz really is, or rather is your preference a musty-barnyard semi-bloody representation (often old-world like a Rhône wine) or is it overripe fruity plums and berry (often seen in California and Australia)? Well the answer is quite simple—whatever pleases you!

June14^th Worldly Rosé Tasting

This wasn’t your typical pink kind of evening at Rancho Cellars, where we may dabble in only one thirst quenching salmon colored beverage as a kick-off towards exploration of more full-boded red wines like Pinot, Malbec or Cabernet. Then again, we don’t take the vantage of being all that commonplace when it comes to our offering of wines and vines, hence it was a Rosé soiree with no less than 9 pink studded gems from around the world, offering a vast representation of what can be done when winemakers have the urge, or need, to go pink.

This also isn’t a white Zinfandel waving bunch of oenophile folk and unfortunately the mass-perception of any wine that looks not quite white but not quite red gets the label of being overtly sweet and cloying. However, a typical rosé is made via the saignée (SEN-YAY) method when the winemaker drains, or bleeds, juice from red wine grape must just prior to fermentation. This ‘free-run’ juice is extracted to concentrate the remaining juice and ultimately fatten up the finished wine, yet the question then remained—what to do with the light and fruity remnants?

The classic wine producing regions eagerly drank there Vin Gris, Rosato, Wessherbst or Rosado (Burgundy, Italy, Germany, Spain) and cherished its crisp and refreshing characteristics, as well as its low levels of alcohol, something I believe most American drinkers have yet to grasp. Any variety of grape can be utilized and typically the Rosé produced took on the flavor profile and characteristics of its place (terroir) and of course the flavor qualities of the grape.

Today, winemakers may bleed the wine as a necessity but also don’t have any qualms about actively producing a pink wine to satisfy consumer demand, especially the segment of the population that is cognoscente of the splendor that is drinking these wines on a hot summer day.

It may not quite be summer yet but we did enjoy several wines from around the globe and we were also fortunate to have a special guest, Dylan Sheldon, local winemaker of Sheldon wines who had some tank samples of his 2004 Arroyo Grande Vineyard Grenache Rosé for all to try. Dylan’s wine has loads of berry fruit to greet the senses with a touch of chewy woodiness to it as well. He expects the very limited amount he made to retail for around $15, look for it on our store shelves in the weeks to come.

With so many great wines of such varying style, there were some that really stood out. The 2004 Tres Ojos Garnacha-Tempranillo Rosé DO Caltayud ($9) from Spain, the 2003 Tasca D’Almerita Regaleali Rosé ($14.50) from Sicily and our best of show, the 2003 E. Guigal Tavel Rosé ($19) from the Rhône Valley in southern France, just to name a few.

Of course what’s wine without food and like most wines there are endless choices to match. Broiled salmon with tarragon tartar sauce went great with Dylan’s Grenache Rosé, a wedge of roasted red pepper, arugula and anchovy pizza with fontina cheese created a beautiful contrast in flavors with our chosen Sicilian Rosé, made from Nero d’Avola and Nerello Mascalese. Finally, the naan bread with spicy tomato chutney, while very spicy, was instantly cooled by a Sangiovese basesd Rosé from Miner Family Vineyard, with fruit sourced from Mendocino County.

Pink wines have come a long way in recent years, from Blush to greater refinement, diversity and quality using top-notch grapes. Furthermore, many wineries will often offer a Rosé of Syrah, as an example, about 12-16 months before releasing the red sister wine giving us wine drinkers a small taste of what may come to fruitation when fermentation and aging has taken its place. The bottom line is that for this time of year in particular nothing could be better then sipping the pink while enjoying the soft green grass between your toes and watching the clouds roll by amongst summer’s warmth. One last thing, the standard pink wine is CHEAP when compared to other reds and whites, drink up!